Shadow Reapers

(It's someone else's turn to post. I ended my last post like that so someone else can get their characters to ask Uruhara some questions, since I don't know exactly everything your characters would want to ask. I think Ayumi and kitty15 told me they wouldn't be able to post until Sunday, so they're off the hook for now. I'll be damned if I'm going to let this storybook die off like some many others before it. I find that storybooks last longer if the creator has a solid idea of what he wants to do with the plot instead of just winging it. Most storybooks I've seen that are set inside the universe of someone's favourite anime or video game tend to die off pretty quickly. I've done the same thing with my storybook, but the only difference is I've twisted the plots and events to make this story my own. Occasionally I go to youtube and watch some episodes of the anime for reference, but other than that what I write is my own material. To put it simply, I've changed an existing plot and turned it into one of my own.)

(Wow, I kinda rambled off there for a minute. Anyway, it's someone else's turn to post.)

*sounds like it's up to me... sorry, but I am going to be really inactive over the next few weeks owing to massive-life-changing-hugely-important exams... sorry.... also, I have never, ever watched Bleach. Should I have?*

Stella-

He's pretty hot, was my first reaction then I shook the thought out of my head. Oh, be serious. He's important.

I guess sleep deprivation was getting to me.

"Hi," I said, waving to him. "I'm Stella."

He nodded to me.

"Kai, what do you need?"

He pointed to Kestrel. "We would like your help as a teacher."

He cocked his head to one side and observed her for a second. "I reckon she'll be good," he said simply.

"So that's a yes?"

"I guess so," he said with a shrug. He looked at me.

"Nice hat," I said.

"There's nothing special about this one," he said. "No offence," he added quickly.

"Oh, just go on as if I'm not here," I said, waving him away. "So what's this demon magic? If Kestrel learns it, what can she do with it?"

(If you want to you can, but it's not mandatory for this storybook. Since I'm the creator I'm the only one who really has to watch the anime, but for you it may help to get a better grasp on all the characters we'll be using in this storybook and their personalities. It's up to you.)

(Also, I made a mistake. His name is spelled Urahara, not Uruhara.)

Urahara raised an eyebrow to the question. "Demon magic...?" He turned his eyes toward Kestrel and stared at her for a moment. His confused expression quickly changed into one of excitement. "Ah, a Shadow Seer! My, it's been so long since I've seen one of your kind!" He stared off into space and began rubbing his chin. "Let's see, how long was it? Two... three..." He clapped his hands together. "That's right, it was five centuries ago."

Everyone except Ichidan and Tessai stared at him with disbelief. "What's wrong?" Urahara asked.

Ichidan shook his head. "Sorry, I forgot to tell them. Urahara is a death god, just like me."

Everyone turned their eyes to Ichidan next. "He's a death god, too?"

Ichidan nodded. "You could say he decided to retire from his active duties after working for a few thousand years."

Stella blinked. "A few thousand... is he really that old?"

Ichidan nodded. "We aren't human, remember? We live exceptionally longer than humans do."

"So... how old are you, Ichidan?" Audra asked.

"Eight-hundred forty seven years old. I'm still young."

Everyone was so silent with awe you could hear a pin dropping on the floor.

Ichidan shook his head. "Sorry, we're getting off topic." He turned back to Urahara. "So, will you teach Kestrel to use demon magic?"

"Are you sure it's wise to involve a human?" Urahara asked.

"I don't have much of a choice. Besides, her powers can help us fight Hollows, but she needs to learn how to use them first."

Urahara was silent for a moment. Finally he said, "If you think it's the right thing to do, I suppose I can take some time to teach her."

"Thank you, Urahara, sir," Kestrel said.

Urahara chuckled. "Please, just call me Urahara."

Kai and Ichidan both turned at the sound of Hollows. Their howls were getting louder, which meant they were getting closer. "We'll take care of them," Kai said as he turned to Audra. "You and the others stay here until we get back."

Audra nodded. "Be careful." Kai leaned in a planted a kiss on her lips before dashing out the front door.

As Ichidan turned to follow Urahara said, "Ichidan, that item you ordered has arrived."

Ichidan nodded. "I'll pick it up once we get back." He ran out after Kai.

"You must all be exhausted." Urahara motioned them toward another room. "Would you all like some tea?"

All three girls said yes.

Tessai bowed his head to Urahara and said, "I'll go make some," and went into another room, probably the kitchen.

The room Urahara led them to was designed with an oriental theme, straw mats, sliding paper doors, and a round knee high table with pillows to sit on. Once they were all comfortable Urahara said, "To answer your question, demon magic is one of the many weapons a death god uses to fight Hollows by manipulating surrounding spirit particles."

"What can I do with this magic?" Kestrel asked.

"Lots of things! You can use it to attack your enemies with a bolt of energy, you can use it to cast wards or barriers, you can bind your enemies to stop their movements, you can even use it to heal injuries."

Stella-

Thousands of years old! It was impossible. The oldest person I knew was a woman back home who was one hundred and four, she was death in one ear and nearly blind, but she still went to church every Sunday and sang the hymns out of tune.

These two didn't even look thirty.

"So she can't use it to like, make fake Chanel dresses?" I asked. "The magic, I mean."

He chuckled. "That's not generally the idea."

I shrugged. "It'd be useful."

"When can I start learning?" Kestrel asked eagerly yet quietly.

"Whenever you like," he said, pouring tea out for us.

"Mm, thanks," I said.

"We could even start tonight if you're not too tired," he told Kestrel.

She shrugged. "Maybe."

"What about Audra and me?" I asked, seeing as Audra looked asleep on her feet, and I was going the same way. "What can we do?"

(Hey Stella, if you have any ideas for powers you would like your character to have PM me and tell me so we can bounce them around. If not, I've got some ideas of my own that will fit into the story.)

Urahara examined them both with his eyes for a moment, as if he was seeing things about them they could not see themselves. "There is definitely something about you two the sets you apart from other humans, other than the fact that you can both ghosts."

"Do you know what our powers are?" Audra asked.

He sighed, "I'm afraid even I cannot say for sure this early. You both have potential, but you have yet to awaken them from their slumber."

"How long do you think it will take for our powers to awaken?" Audra asked.

Urahara lifted his arms and shrugged. "Who knows? It may be tomorrow, or it may be five years from now. If I were to tell you how long your powers would take to awaken I would be lying. But, once they do awaken come back to me and I will do what I can to train you both." Urahara waved over Tessai. He whispered something into the large man's ear.

"Yes, sir. I'll be right back." With that Tessai left the room. the four of them continued talking until Tessai returned. "I have done what you asked, sir."

"Ah, thank you, Tessai." He turned to Kestrel and said, "Would you like to start your training now?"

Kestrel nodded. "Yes, I would."

"Excellent. Please follow me to the basement." All three of them followed Urahara into the storage room where there was a hole in the floor and a ladder. They all climbed down one-by-one until they reached the bottom.

Kestrel couldn't see what the basement looked like because she was blind, but what Audra and Stella saw left them wide-mouthed in awe. The basement was larger than the Toronto Sky Dome, a baseball stadium located next to the CN Tower. The landscape was made to look like a mountainous region with towering rocks and cliffs all over the place. The ceiling was painted to look like the sky, and truthfully it was hard to tell the difference.

"Wow!" Stella said. "This place is huge!"

Audra nodded. "Yeah. Who would have thought something this big would be under that shop?"

Kestrel was more interested in what she was going to do for her training rather than what the room she was training in looked like. "So what will I be doing first?" she asked.

"I asked Tessai to hide something in this room," Urahara said. "It's a pearl about the size of your thumb, inside it is spiritual energy that I have personally fused within it. Your first test is to find that pearl using nothing but your senses." He turned to Stella and Audra. "And neither of you are allowed to help her." He turned back to Kestrel. "Naturally this test may not be finished in one night's time, so if you do not find it tonight you may come back tomorrow after your classes."

Kestrel

The challenge sounded reasonable enough and Kestrel immediately turned in a small circle, searching for the glimmer of an aura but the abyss of the basement was dispersed only by the auras of the people standing with her.

"When you say only my senses, am I allowed to move around the room?" Kestrel asked, beginning to realise how difficult this could be. Such a small scrap of spiritual energy might be beyond her ability to find... but - no- It couldn't be! She had to be strong enough to help.

"Yes," Urahara replied. "But you are not to try and feel for the pearl." Kestrel nodded and then, the search began in earnest.

Gradually, Kestrel moved about the room while the others watched but as the hours slipped away, they yawned more frequency, cutting across her fading concentration often until finally they left the basement when Urahara offered to show them to a room they could spent the night in. He returned a half hour later.

"Will you retire for the night?" Urahara asked.

"Not yet," Kestrel replied, her head pressed against the cold, stone floor as she searched the ground. She did not hear Urahara leave and turned to find that his aura was still there, outlining his body, seated cross-legged on the floor.

"I will observe," he said. Kestrel nodded and returned to her work.

Stella-

"Thanks for this," I told Urahara. "My roommate's gone out, and after what happened tonight, I don't want to go back to my building by myself."

"It's no trouble," he said, opening the door to a small, clean room. "Please, make yourself at home."

The funny thing was, I was still in my pyjamas from earlier, so I curled up in the bed.

My mind was a complete ocean. It was funny how your life could change so quickly. One minute I was worrying about Damien coming over, and where to eat, and where to go, and now there was a completely new world for me to explore.

But was it really my place? I couldn't decide. Kestrel certainly fitted in. But me? There was nothing special about me.

At least, I didn't think there was.

In any case, I couldn't think where that pearl could be. The only way I would have gone about it was a combination of logic and desperate searching.

That was my last thought before I fell asleep, completely exhausted.

*Dynamo, I really have no ideas, but if you do, that's great!*

(Alright, Stella. Although with my idea it's going to take a little while for your character to discover her powers. I want to give each of our characters their own little story before moving onto the main plot. It's about time we put the spotlight back onto Kai and Audra.)

Kai put his large sword back into its sheath on his back after cutting down the last Hollow. Fortunately there weren't many of them so it was easy for him to slay them. Ichidan helped out as best as he could, but without his powers the best he could do was relying on his demon magic.

"That's all of them," Kai said. "We should head back to Urahara's."

"First we should go back to the college so you can go back into your physical body," Ichidan said. "That way you will recover more of your strength."

Kai nodded. "Good idea." Together they went back to the college to retrieve Kai's body.

About twenty minutes later Kai had gone back into his body and made it back to Urahara's shop with Ichidan. Tessai was there waiting for them. "Where's Urahara?" Ichidan asked after noticing he wasn't around.

"He's in the basement training Kestrel," he said. "We're short on rooms so you'll have to share with some of your friends."

"I think I'm going to see how Kestrel's training is going," Ichidan said.

"Don't stay up too long, Ichidan," Kai warned.

Ichidan nodded and said, "I won't, but you should get some sleep."

Kai turned back to Tessai and asked, "Can you show me where Audra's room is?" Tessai brought Kai to Audra's room.

Audra was fast asleep in a Japanese style bed that consisted of a futon, blanket and pillow. Tessai had mentioned there was an extra futon and blanket in the closet, but Kai had no intention of using them. After everything that's happened all he wanted to do was crawl into bed and fall asleep with the woman he loved in his arms. He took off his shirt and socks and crawled under the covers beside Audra.

She moaned a little when Kai wrapped his arms around her. She opened her sleepy eyes to look at his face. "...Kai?"

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

Audra

It took a minute for his words and face to register in my mind. I was still half-asleep as I finally realized it was him.

I rolled over and snuggled against his chest, savoring the warmth of his body. "I don't mind."

"Are you sure?" His voice was soft and caring. The way I liked it.

"Mmhm."

I turned my gaze to his face. "Are you okay? You're not hurt or anything?"


**Ugh...I might not post much this week (I'm currently babysitting my two toddler cousins, and one is autistic), and I won't post at ALL next week (I'll be gone to JROTC Camp). Sorry...**

(That's okay. Sounds like you're going to be pretty busy. Don't worry, I know your character well so I can control her in your absence.)

Kai smiled as he brushed a strand of hair out of Audra's eyes. "I'm fine, you don't have to worry." He gave her a gentle brush of his lips and asked, "How are you holding up? I know things have become scary for all of us."

She kissed him back and held him tighter. "I'll be alright. I just wish I could be of more help to you all." Audra leaned her head against Kai's bare chest and let out a soft shudder of joy. After everything that's been happening it felt like so long since she last felt his bare skin against her's. The sensation of it was breathtaking.

Kai picked up on this quickly and lifted her chin so he could kiss her. The kiss was full of his need and desire. Soon his tongue found its way into her mouth. It took her a moment to realize what he was trying to do, but soon returned the gesture.

They pulled away from the kiss, breathless. Audra took a deep breath and said, "I can't remember the last time we kissed like that."

"Audra, listen. With everything that's been happening I know I haven't been able to give you the time you deserve. But, if you feel up to it I was hoping tonight we could..." He leaned in to whisper the last part into her ears. What he had said caused her cheeks to flare red.

(As always, skip to the next morning before it gets to the good stuff.)

**All right. I just wanted to let you know ahead of time.**

**And, yeah, I know the drill, silly. lol**

Audra

I felt the heat of my blush. Why his words affected me so, I had no idea. It wasn't like we hadn't already done it...

I purred nonetheless, and pulled him on top of me, leaning up to claim his lips with mine. Moments found us in a lip-lock, trembling with our excitement and desire as we were swept away, into the night.

Kestrel was still looking for the pearl when a familiar energy pattern caused her to stop and turn. Ichidan had come down to the basement and was sitting beside Urahara, watching. He waved to her and she waved back and continued to look.

"How's she doing?" Ichidan asked.

"She hasn't caught on yet," Urahara told him.

"What do you mean?"

"The first part of her training is to find a pearl full of spiritual energy using nothing but her senses."

"You had Tessai hide it down here for her to find?" Ichidan asked.

"No," Urahara said.

"Then where is it?"

"I hide it in the one place she would never think to look," Urahara said.

Ichidan smiled when he realized where Urahara had hidden the pearl. He made sure to whisper as quietly as he could when he said, "You have it, don't you?"

Urahara smiled back. He reached into one of his pockets and flashed the small pink pearl before hiding it again. "If she doesn't figure it out in the next forty-six hours, then I cannot teach her."

**I'm going to give Kitty and the others a chance to post before I do. How does that sound?**

(Sounds good. Our characters are pretty much out until the next morning anyway.)

Kestrel

Outwardly, Kestrel was calm and silent as she knelt in the centre of the room, eyes closed. She had relinquished the method of moving across every corner of the room. It was useless. Or at least as useless as this method. Try again, Kestrel ordered herself, don't give up. Use your senses and by that he clearly doesn't mean your eyes. She smiled a little at that. Strangely, she found that her spiritual sense were at their best with her eyes closed and body still. In fact, for the last half an hour, she had been certain that the pearl was located behind her without turning around.

"But how to pin-point the location?" Kestrel wondered aloud, her voice barely a whisper. She stood slowly and turned around, finding her senses momentarily hindered by the two blindingly bright auras. That's their trick isn't it, to make this harder! Calmly, Kestrel knelt again and once more stared straight ahead, eyes closed.

"Are you ready to sleep now?" Urahara asked.

"No," Kestrel replied, "But if you are tired, you should go up. Don't let me keep you awake." Kestrel found that speaking did not interrupt her concentration so much as listening did.

"We will stay awake as long as you do," Ichidan said confidently. Kestrel nodded her acceptance but a part of her mind wondered why? Don't they trust me, is that it? Do they think I will touch every corner in search of it or is it just the added difficulty of seeing past their auras or.... If Kestrel's eyes had been open, she would have blinked. Could it be that simple? Without being too obvious, she turned her head towards the two auras and there it was! In Urahara's pocket! At first, she was delighted and wanted to scream her discovery throughout the house. And then she started thinking.

But that wasn't using my senses was it? I might not have found it without the aid of logic, I might have failed. I'll have to admit to my false method and do the entire challenge again! Kestrel sighed deeply and stood, opening her eyes.

"It's no use!" She exclaimed. "I'll have to start the entire challenge again. The pearl is in your pocket but only logic told me that."

"Which pocket?" Urahara asked quietly. Kestrel, amazed by his reaction, pointed in silence and from that pocket, he withdrew the pearl.

"There, then it wasn't just logic, was it?" Urahara asked with a sly grin.