Tito Kubo owns Bleach, the characters and the copyright. I have respectfully borrowed them for this story. I do, however, own my own characters and ideas.

The emergency room of the Karakura Hospital was rocked by a bolt of lightning striking nearby followed immediately by a deafening rumble of thunder. The ambulance came to a screeching stop as the heavens opened up, pouring a hard, pounding rain down on the sleeping town. Lightning streaked across the night sky as two nurses wearing green scrubs burst through the sliding glass doors. One called back,

"Dr. Ishida, we've got a trauma. Two down from a single car collision."

"I'm right behind you." the man, wearing a white lab coat over his tailored dress shirt and slacks, snapped sharply. He pulled a yellow cover gown on over his coat as he walked. The two nurses exchanged knowing looks as the rear doors to the ambulance were flung open and a stretcher lowered to the wet ground.

"What have we got?" Dr. Ryuken Ishida said as he pulled on a pair of latex gloves, falling into pace beside the first stretcher as it was wheeled into the emergency room.

"Male...age 42...driver of the vehicle. Massive chest trauma. He was unresponsive in the field but he regained consciousness on the way in." the EMT called out as they transferred the man to trauma bed.

"Misa..." the man said hoarsely. "...where's Misa? Is she alright? Oh god...Misa."

"Stay calm, sir." a nurse with short black hair said softly. "What's your name?"

"Hisashi Watanabe." he gasped, as Dr. Ishida examined his gaping chest wound. "My daughter was in the car...with me...Misa. Please, is she alright?"

"Is that the other victim?" Dr. Ishida asked the EMT, still lingering in the room.

"I imagine so. The other patient is a young woman...maybe 20." he replied, watching the doctor probe an open hole in the man's chest with his gloved hand.

"Dr. Ishida," the second nurse, a pretty young blonde, spoke as she stuck her head in the room. The man on the gurney coughed loudly, a sharp wheezing sound accompanying his shallow breathing.

"His BP's 50/46 and dropping...pulse weak and thready...we're losing him, doctor." the dark-haired nurse warned as she hung IV fluids to the line attached to the man's forearm. She squeezed the soft bag of fluids hard, forcing them into the bleeding man's body.

"We need two units packed red blood cells STAT." Dr. Ishida called out. The second nurse stepped closer to the bed.

"Dr. Ishida, the other patient, Misaki Watanabe, is asking about her father." she said quietly, eying the man on the bed with a worried expression.

"How badly is she injured?" Dr. Ishida asked, inserting a tube into the man's chest. Blood ran out into the tube.

"Misa! Please...tell her to find Urahara...please..." the man struggled to say, hearing the nurse's words. Dr. Ishida paused, listening to the man's words with a strange expression. Then it passed as he snapped impatiently,

"Stay still, Mr. Watanabe. We're trying to help you."

"She's got some superficial cuts and bruises. Nothing serious. She said that she was thrown free of the car before it hit the tree." the woman explained. Ishida looked down at her over the rim of his wire-framed glasses.

"Lucky girl." he said simply, as he attached the chest tube.

"What should I tell her? She's very upset about her father. "I don't know if we can keep her calm." the nurse continued. Alarms sounded around them. The man on the bed gasped raspingly as the dark-haired nurse cried out,

"His BP's dropping. We lost the pulse. He's crashing!"

"Paddles!" Ishida yelled.

"Oh my god...Dad!" a voice cried out from the door. Ishida looked up as a blood-covered young woman staggered into the room.

"Clear!" he called out, releasing the voltage into the man's body. The man jerked convulsively. They all waited, staring at the monitor showing his heart rate. The high pitched alarm continued as the line remained flat and straight.

"Damn!" Ishida cursed. "Recharging."

"Dad?" the girl whispered, her hand hovering over her father's foot. She stared in numb shock at the body stretched out in front of her.

"Someone get her out of here." Dr. Ishida called out. The building was rocked by a loud clap of thunder as he pressed the paddles again to the man's chest.

"Clear!" he called out, his thumbs releasing the voltage. He saw the girl's hand drop down to touch her father at the same time. He tried to jerk the paddles up but it was too late. The man's body jerked up then the girl went rigid. A bolt of lightning struck the ambulance bay. The light's blinked off. For a moment all was silent. Then instantly the alarms sounded loudly. The lights flickered back to life. A loud scream of pain cut through the room as the girl fell to the floor, clutching her belly. A sudden, blinding flash of green light exploded from the young woman on the floor. It rocketed up and out of her, sending a shock wave of energy outwards that knocked over tables, sent the bed rolling into the door, ripped monitors off the wall and threw the hospital staff flying backwards. The light expanded out then seemed to hang in the air for a moment until it finally shot skyward in a towering pillar of green crackling energy. The rush of power pulled the tiles loose from the floor around her. It tore through the roof of the emergency room, opening it to the storm. Debris and trash scattered wildly around the girl. She knelt on the floor, her long, brown hair billowing up around her. The girl screamed then, with a loud pop, it was gone. The energy evaporated. Objects clattered to the ground around her. Rain fell on the ravaged room. Silence followed.

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On the other side of town, in a small candy and curio shop known as the Urahara Shoten, the shock wave created by the sudden burst of spirit energy rocked through the small building. A beautiful, dark-skinned woman with a large golden eyes looked up in surprise. Her companion, a fair-skinned man wearing a green and white bucket hat, dropped the tea cup he was raising to his lips.

"Did you feel that, Kisuke?" the woman asked. His pale eyes, barely visible under the brim of his hat, widened.

"It can't be...it's too soon." he whispered, jumping up so quickly that he knocked over the table. The woman leaped back in the blink of an eye. "Not now...no, not now. Tessai!"

"What is it?" the woman demanded. A tall, muscular man with a thick mustache appeared in the doorway. He wiped his wet hands on the dark apron he wore.

"I felt it, sir." the man, Tessai, said darkly.

"Urahara!" the woman snapped sharply, visibly disturbed by the pale haired man's agitated state. He was pulling open drawers from a desk on the other side of the room. Frantically, he searched through the overflowing drawers.

"Tessai, where is the address for Hisashi Watanabe?" he asked loudly, ignoring the woman.

"I think it's in your bedroom, sir. You put it away with Natsumi's zanpakuto." Tessai replied calmly. Urahara spun around, staring at the man thoughtfully.

"I believe you're right." he said quietly.

"Kisuke, what's going on?" the woman growled, grabbing him by the arm when he tried to hurry out of the room.

"The seal's been broken, Yoruichi. This is bad. This is very bad." he said urgently, pulling away from her and hurrying to his bedroom.

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In Hueco Mundo, Sosuke Aizen leaned back on his chair. He templed his hands in front of him, resting the tips of his fore fingers against his smiling lips. The silver-haired Gin Ichimaru poured tea for the two of them.

"So you're gonna kidnap the girl?" he asked Aizen.

"No, do you think me completely heartless? I would never forcibly drag an innocent young girl away from her friends and family to live here in this land of perpetual darkness against her will." Aizen replied easily, reaching for the tea. Ichimaru paused, considering his friend before carefully saying,

"You don't think she'll come of her own free will, do ya?"

"Yes, I think she'll do exactly that." Aizen said quietly, a smug smile on his lips. The strange shock wave of spiritual pressure rippled over the blinding white landscape of Hueco Mundo. It passed over the two former shinigami. The delicate tea cup in Aizen's hand rattled loudly against the china saucer he held in his other hand.

"What was that?" Ichimaru said softly, looking around nervously. Aizen didn't speak. His gaze was focused on something in the distance.

"You felt it as well?" he asked his friend quietly.

"Of course." Ichimaru snapped. "Where do you think it came from?"

"That spiritual pressure...It felt like..." Aizen whispered. He focused his eyes sharply on Ichimaru suddenly.

"Go find Szayel. I want him to pinpoint the source of that reiatsu...immediately." he ordered the other man harshly. Ichimaru jumped slightly at the sharpness of his tone.

"Right away, Aizen-sama." he replied, on his feet quickly. He darted out the door without looking back. He had rarely heard Aizen speak in such a manner. He didn't want to linger to see what violence might accompany it.

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In the heart of the Soul Society, within the towering walls of the Sereitei, Commander-General Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryusai sighed deeply as he faced the tall, intimidating figure of Captain Kenpachi Zaraki. The two were separated by the wide expanse of Yamamoto's large, wooden desk.

"Captain Zaraki, I realize that you are somewhat short-staffed with Ikkaku and Yumichika in the living world but it is unacceptable for you to allow the new recruits to fight to the death." Yamamoto spoke quietly. Zaraki grinned sharply.

"Why? It weeds out the weak ones quick enough." he replied with a casual shrug. Yamamoto frowned, frustration evident on his lined face.

"There are less...permanent...ways to achieve that goal, Captain." he snapped. The booming wave of spirit energy surged over the two men then dissipated quickly.

"What the hell?" Zaraki growled, sitting up straight. Yamamoto's frown deepened. He stood, without comment and threw open the door to his office. His lieutenant, Chojiro Sasakibe, looked up from his paperwork.

"Yes, sir?" he said quietly.

"Find the source of that spiritual pressure." Yamamoto ordered him. The man was on his feet and out the door in the blink of an eye. Captain Zaraki stepped out of the office, his teeth bared hungrily.

"I hope it was nearby. I been itching for a good fight." he growled eagerly.

"It felt...familiar." Yamamoto said softly, his gaze thoughtful. The two men waited anxiously until the door to the main office flew open again. Lt. Sasakibe rushed back in and announced,

"Commander Yamamoto, Captain Kurotsuchi reports that the spike of spiritual pressure originated in the living world. It has since disappeared completely. Division 12 is unable to pinpoint the source."

"The living world?" Zaraki repeated curiously. "Maybe it's another powerful ryoka like Ichigo?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki is one of a kind, Captain Zaraki. More likely the source of the reiatsu is hollow based. We need to investigate this further." Yamamoto said with a sigh.

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Misaki was kneeling on her hands and knees amid the broken tiles. Silence surrounded her. She looked around, unsure of what had happened. The intense green energy was gone but the trauma room was destroyed. Thunder boomed overhead, growing steadily distant as the rain slowed to a gentle drizzle. The nurses looked around at the mess surrounding them. The silver-haired doctor was the first to move. Cautiously, he approached Misaki.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, watching her closely through his wire-rimmed glasses. He helped her slowly to her feet.

"I...I think I'm okay." she insisted, looking around fearfully. "My father...is he..."

Misaki's voice faltered. She saw her father standing next to the trauma bed, now pushed up against the door. His white shirt was hanging open over his chest. Dark stains covered it. As she moved closer, she saw that his chest, too, was covered in blood and a thick chain was hanging from his chest.

"Dad?" she called out softly. He smiled sadly at her. The doctor turned following her gaze. His expression hardened slightly.

"You should let me check you out, Miss Watanabe. I think you may have bumped your head." he said quietly, trying to turn her around to face him.

"No, I need to check on my father." she insisted, pulling free of his grip.

"Dad? Are you okay?" she whispered, moving forward slowly. He didn't look right. It took her a moment to realize that she could see the wall behind him as well. She was seeing through her father's form. He was transparent.

"Misa, I'm sorry. I tried to hold on, pumpkin. My body just couldn't take it, I guess. I don't have long so you have to listen to me. There's a man you need to find. He lives in Karakura Town. His name is Kisuke Urahara. He'll explain everything. He's been looking out for you since before you born." he said softly. A figure in black stepped through the wall beside him. Misaki stared in shock at the man dressed in black. Her father turned towards the stranger.

"Misa, I have to go now. Please, go find Urahara. He'll take care of you. The fact that you can see me...it means the seal's been broken. You have to be careful, pumpkin. He'll look after you now. I...I can't anymore. I'm sorry, pumpkin." her father whispered.

"Wait, Dad. I don't understand." she whispered, reaching out to him. The stranger in black drew a sword from his belt, ignoring Misaki completely.

"I love you, pumpkin. Don't ever forget that." her father whispered, watching her with a sad smile.

"I...I love you, too, Dad but...wait! What are you going to do with that sword?" she cried out as the man in black raised the sword into the air. He cut the chain with one strike.

"Goodbye, Misa. I hope we can find each other again in the Soul Society." her father said, sighing deeply.

"Dad..." she cried out, moving forward as the man with the sword raised the hilt into the air. Misaki grabbed his arm, startling him. He shook free of her grasp, visibly startled.

"You shouldn't be able to see me. Humans can't see shinigami." he said more to himself than her. She watched in horror as he raised the hilt of his sword and brought it down hard on her father's forehead. His transparent figure seemed to shimmer for a moment then he vanished. In his place floated a black butterfly. It floated away, out through the wall, disappearing from sight. The stranger soon followed but not without giving Misaki a dark, doubtful parting glance.

"No...No...No!" she screamed, lunging for the wall. "Dad!"

The bespectacled doctor grabbed her before she could fling herself against the wall. Quietly, he said,

"He's gone. At least he had a chance to tell you goodbye."

Misaki stared at him blankly as she whispered,

"Gone? Where...what..." she stammered, unable to make sense of what was happening to her.

"Miss Watanabe, your father was in an automobile accident. He was badly inured. We did everything we could but his injuries were too severe. I'm sorry but your father's dead." he said in a low, firm tone, holding her securely by the shoulders.

"No, he can't be...I saw him standing there. You saw him. He was real. Please! Bring him back! Dad!" Misaki pleaded, tears running down her cheeks. The doctor motioned towards one of the nurses standing nearby.

"I know you're distraught. You're seeing things, Miss Watanabe. This will help." the doctor said coldly. Misaki felt a sharp sting in her arm. She jerked her head to the right in time to see a short, blonde nurse pulling a syringe from her left upper arm.

"Just relax, sweetie. It's all going to be alright." she said quietly. Misaki stared at her.

No, she thought, it wasn't going to be alright. It was never going to be alright again. The nurse smiled at her then everything gradually went black.

Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks! :)