(A/N: Here's chapter twenty. Enjoy!

Phantom of the king: Thanks for being the 100th person to favorite this story! And thanks to all everyone else who favored, followed, and reviewed this story so far!

Konohamaya Uzumaki: Thanks for reviewing! Well, I can admit it is somewhat stupid for Orihime to leave Nina behind. But then again... She also wasn't sure if Nina actually did attract a Hollow. Like she said, Nina could have just been at the wrong place at the wrong time. And from what I've seen so far...most of the Bleach characters that have above average spiritual energy, but enough to develop spiritual powers, like Tatsuki and Keigo, don't necessarily attract Hollows. They're mostly attacked because they happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The only reason Hollows happen to attack them is because another person with higher levels of spirit energy is nearby, like Orihime, Ichigo, or another Soul Reaper. So, as somewhat unreasonable it is to leave Nina in Resembool, without powers of her own, it is also somewhat better with the later shit Ed and Al get into in the story. Simply, Nina can't be expected to follow them and be protected forever.

Inquisitor: Thanks for the review! Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to I hate long reviews. I meant to my rant the chapter before was too long. Anyway, I can agree that Ed and Al go by the 'no kill' policy, at least in Brotherhood. In the latter half of 2003 version, Edward as no qualms about killing, but that's beside the point. And I agree with most of what you said, except the part where Ed and Al would agree that Mustang and the others should take responsibility for the crimes they committed in the war. Ed and Al didn't really agree to it. Actually, they were fiercely against it because it would mean the possibility of some of their friends being sent to jail or worse executed. That's mostly what I meant when I said they, including Winry, were being hypocritical. Because they wanted to Scar to pay for his crimes for killing State Alchemists, but they don't want those same State Alchemist to eventual pay for their crimes for killing hundreds of innocent Ishvalans. But than again, they are just idealistic, little kids that don't know the horrors of war. For the most part, they see the world in black and white with a tiny bit of gray in Edward's case. However, other than that, I agree with you.

Elongation: Thanks for reviewing! Orihime can't really see Alphonse's soul, but she can 'feel' that it's different than a normal human soul should feel. It's distorted in a way. That's why she was able to tell he was a hollow suit of armor in mere seconds after meeting him, but Ed and Al don't know that. And I would assume anyone else with spiritual awareness would be able to 'feel' that Al is just a empty suit of armor with his soul attached to it. And about Alexander gaining his own powers... He probably won't. You've to remember that even if a stronger person effected another person's soul, that person has to have some latent, hidden potential in the first place in order to be effected that just needed to be awakened by a stronger being. That's why Orihime and Chad were able to awaken their powers while Tatsuki and the others couldn't because they had the potential to. Alexander won't have any powers, but can sniff out spirits. I actually don't know if dogs are naturally able to do this in the Bleach universe [after all, animals do detect things that humans can't], but Alexander can.

sacke110: Thanks for the review! I found Orihime kicking Ed's and Al's asses hilarious as well, mostly because it's unexpected! Glad you liked it!

Thanks for everyone else who has reviewed!)

She Who Is Not Among Us

As Uryu laid down in his father's hospital bed, he couldn't help but to reflect on what happened the past few months. The few months that Orihime has been missing, and how her sudden disappearance has affected them all.

Especially Ichigo.

The poor guy has been beating up himself ever since he found out the happy go lucky girl was missing. The orange haired former substitute Soul Reaper scowled more than he normally does and he was twice as grumpy and irritable.

His overly sour behavior was understandable though. Very much understandable. Orihime went missing again. Just months after she was rescued from the Arrancars. It was almost as if the universe was out to get the girl. And striking her in moments where Ichigo vulnerable, where he was unable to protect her… No wonder the poor guy was desperate to restore his Soul Reaper powers.

Uryu might not, although sometimes, stand the orange haired idiot, they both had a mutual friend in Orihime and would do anything to protect the girl.

But Ichigo wasn't the only person extremely affected by Orihime's disappearance.

When they broke the news to Tatsuki, the usual tough, tomboyish girl couldn't stop crying. It felt awful to see her breakdown like that. Just when she was requited with her best friend again after Orihime was starting recover from her ordeal in Hueco Mundo, then that same friend is forcibly snatched away from.

Not to mention, being a regular human with no powers, there was nothing Tatsuki could do about it, even if she wanted to.

As for himself, Uryu could only feel ashamed himself. After all, he was there the moment Orihime disappeared, and yet he couldn't do a single thing about it. He was there, yet he was powerless to stop her from being taken away. He didn't fight back against Ichigo's furious verbal lashes and Tatsuki's resentful accusations because he knew he deserved them.

He failed them.

He failed Orihime.

As his pride as a Quincy, he failed to protect her in Ichigo's absence.

The only thing Uryu couldn't understand was what the vortex in the sky was. He saw the sky ripple as it shifted around Orihime. He could not explain it, but it was almost like Orihime was sucked into the sky or another dimension.

Uryu, along with Chad, visited Urahara and told him what happened. Judging by the calculating and serious expression on the usual perverted trickster's face.

After thinking about it, the shopkeeper admitted that he never heard of rare and unnatural disturbance in the sky. But he did acknowledge that he did sense a weird sort of energy rippling through the sky that day. It was hard to trace though, seeing as it didn't have any spirit energy in.

Uryu was utterly confused by that. That would mean the option of her being taken the Soul Society or Hueco Mundo was out of the question since those worlds were littered with spiritual energy, being a world full of Soul Reapers and Hollows respectively.

Urahara offered to look more into it, however, it was going to take a bit of time. After all, he first needed to decipher what kind of energy the ripple was, analyze it, and trace it back to where it took Orihime. Unfortunately, all that could take months, maybe years to complete the whole process.

Neither Uryu nor Chad didn't like the option of waiting. They both wanted to rescue Orihime right away. But they also knew they couldn't get there without Urahara's help and they were just going to have to be patient and wait, no matter how agonizing and painful it may be.

In the meantime, Chad informed the Quincy that Ichigo was training with the Fullbringers in order to regain his lost Soul Reapers. He also warned him to watch out for a rogue Fullbringer by the name Tsukishima.

Uryu felt that he meet the guy before. He was the man who severely injured him and put him the hospital. Although, the Quincy wasn't sure if that was accurate though. He felt like there was piece of the puzzle missing. A crucial information that he was forgetting.

He frowned, pushing his glasses up. He wondered if these Fullbringers were connected to Orihime's disappearance since they were pretty adamant about recruiting Ichigo into their ranks, especially pushing him to join because the former substitute Soul Reaper was in desperate need to regain them.

But still, Uryu didn't fully trust those Fullbringers. He knew they weren't just helping Ichigo out of the goodness of their hearts. They were after something, they wanted something from the desperate orange haired teen, but what?

That was what Uryu was trying to figure out. If he could figure it out, he could warn Ichigo to stay clear from the Fullbringers.

Nevertheless, no matter how much he distrusted the Fullbringers, they were the only people who could help restore Ichigo's former Soul Reaper powers, and could blatantly understand the insatiable need to get them back. The powerless he felt when unable to protect himself from a Hollow that day after he lost his Quincy powers. He almost would've died that day, if it wasn't for Ryuken's, there's no way he'll call that man his father, perfectly timed interference as he easily defeated the Hollow.

But to conclude the experience, Uryu completely understand Ichigo's desperation and extreme desire for power.

After all, there was nothing nothing worse than the feeling of powerlessness. The anguished uselessness of being unable to protect oneself or their loved ones.

Besides, they needed Ichigo to regain his powers, if they were going to rescue Orihime from whatever she was taken to. He'd only hoped...that there weren't any more problems or conflicts along the way. Orihime's disappearance is already stressful and agonizing enough.

"We're waiting for you… Ichigo."

(A/N: That's the end of chapter twenty! Hoped you enjoyed this short snippet. Yes, as you can see the Fullbring arc hit off much sooner than it did in canon. And it's gotten to the part where Uryu lays in the hospital after being attacked by [spoiler alert] Ginjo. Although, he thinks [sort of] for the moment along with everyone else that Tsukishima attacked and injured him. Honestly, the arc is going the same way it did in canon, except it's happening six or seven months sooner than it did in canon and Orihime isn't there, being stuck in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist and all. Other than that, it's the same. Nothing much to say… Urahara is trying to figure out where Orihime disappeared to, and everyone's training to get stronger for their eventual journey to their unknown destination. Don't know what kind of people or enemies they'll encounter there. Well, leave any questions, suggestions, and comments in a review! Now, back to the FMA world next chapter! Off to Central to decode Dr. Marcoh's notes. See ya!)