Shadow Reapers

(To tell you the truth, as a Canadian even I don't know much about my country outside of Ontario. Sad, isn't it? The next part involves kitty's character pretty heavily, but what we can do is have Kestrel run into Stella on her way to Urahara's. To make things even more interesting we can also have Kon come out of the backpack in front of Stella's friends.)

Audra sat in her bed while she ate. Kai had gone down to the small cafe in the girl's dorm lobby to get her a soup and a tray to eat over. She was careful not to spill the soup.

Kai took the tray and bowl from her when she was finished and set them on her desk before sitting on the bed beside her. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Better. The pain is starting to go away." Audra saw the regret in Kai's eyes. She frowned. "Don't start again, Kai. It wasn't your fault, you did the best you could and I'm grateful for it."

Kai closed his eyes and nodded rigidly. "You're right. You're right, I did the best I could. But that doesn't mean I can't still feel bad about what happened to you."

Audra sighed as she climbed out of bed, and into Kai's lap. Kai's arms wrapped around her body almost automatically. She held his face and forced him to look at her. "Listen to me, Kai. There's no point dwelling in the past. What's done is done. The only thing left to do is to think about the future."

**Okay. Enjoy your little trip, Dynamo? lol You know you totally suck! The nearest water park and beach are both three hours away!**

Audra kissed him softly, lovingly, before embracing him completely. She squeezed him tightly as she put her mouth next to his ear.

"No matter what happens, I will always love you and appreciate all that you've done," she told him. "And know that I can never be mad at you, no matter how badly you screw up. And know this: this time was not your fault, you can feel bad about me getting hurt, but do not blame yourself. Okay?"

She kissed him on the cheek as she shifted so that her head was against his shoulder. She was not tired; she just felt like cuddling. Not to mention, she knew Kai needed her.

*************

Meanwhile, Kes finished loading her purse with her necessities, making sure to leave space for Kon. She would be heading out to Urahara's soon, to practice her magic. Hopefully, this session would be better than the last ones.

(kitty still has another week before she gets back from her trip and can post with us again. The next part where she learns how to use demon magic is something I need her to participate in. So with Stella's help I was hoping we could drag the story on a little more before she gets back so we don't have to stop altogether and wait for her.)

Kai let out a sharp breath as his arms tightened around the woman he loved so dearly. He whispered into her ear, "I made a promise when you were still unconscious, a promise to you and myself."

"What was it?"

"I promised that I will do my very best to make sure nothing like this ever happens to you again. I will not stop until I become strong enough that you will always be safe by my side, rather than in constant danger like now."

(All I can think of at the moment.)

**I see your point...**

Audra

I nodded. I could respect his decision; it was a smart one made out of love and dedication.

"Just promise me you won't get hurt or killed in the process," I smiled. "But know that I will always be here in case you need me, for anything."


**All I've got, lol.**

Okay so-

Stella-

"Walk you back? I'd like to see your dorm," Damien offered.

"Sure," I said, and we began on our way back. I saw a familiar figure coming in the other direction.

"It's my friend Kestrel," I told him. "Kes!" I called. She turned to us.

"Hi," she said with a smile.

"This is Damien," I said, by way of introduction. "Dame, meet Kestrel."

"Nice to meet you." They shook hands.

"So I'm just going to... class," Kestrel said.

"Cool," I said, knowing that she meant Uruhara's. "So we'll talk later?"

"Sure," she said with a smile and began to set off.

"Aren't we off campus here?" Damien asked with a frown.

"Oh, yeah, she takes extra class because of her eyes," I made up blindly. "Come on," I said and we continued on our way.

Just then, a horribly familiar voice shouted my name. "Stella! She's put me in a bag! A bag! I thought she would've been better than Kai!"

Kon jumped out. Kes gasped and spun round.

"Um..." I said. How was I going to explain this one?

*is that okay?*

(Perfect.)

Damien stared at the stuffed animal. "...Did that thing just talk?"

Kon froze when he saw Damien looking at him. His jaw twitched before whispering,"Not good!"

Kestrel tried for fake laughter as she tried to push Kon back into the bag. "Oh, this is just a new toy straight out of Japan. It can walk and talk all on it's own!"

Kon struggled as Kestrel shoved him back into the bag. His voice was muffled as he shouted, "Hey, stop shoving me! I'm not a toy!"

Damien turned to Stella. "What's going on, Stella?"

*oh thanks, give me the hard part*

Stella-

"Um..." I said. "Look, it's like this," I began, then trailed off.

"Like what?"

I wanted to tell him, but first of all, I didn't know if I should or not. And apart from that, where did I begin?

"I don't know where to begin," I said truthfully. Kes gave me a grimace, but seemed as lost for words as I was.

"At the beginning?" he suggested.

"I think that was where I met Kes..." I said with a frown. "And there was all this stuff going on, I rang you!"

"Gawd, Stella," he rubbed his face. "I didn't think you were serious. I thought you were just, being you! And now you have a talking toy?"

"I'm not a toy!" said Kon's muffled voice.

"He's not mine," I said, waving him away.

"Then whose is he?"

"Nobody's. He was... this soul thing, and he needed a body, so I suggested we put him in there and-"

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know!" I shrieked. Should I tell him or not?

Kestrel stepped forward. "Look, something happened to our friend a few days ago and now he can turn into a spirit and fight monsters called Hollows."

Stella pulled Kestrel by the arm and whispered into her ear. "Kes, what are you doing!?"

Kestrel patted her arm. "It doesn't matter if he knows or not. Ichidan can just erase his memory about this conversation. He did it to the girl, Rei, remember?" Ichidan had told her about it. He had used some kind of device to erase Rei's memory and replace it with another one. She hadn't believed him until she saw her the next day. The girl said she had seen two sumo wrestlers fighting on the street.

Kestrel continued to tell him everything.

(It's been three days since anyone has posted.)

**Concerning Audra, I posted last... And I have no idea what to write.**

Hey everyone, I'm home! Did you miss me much? Okay, looks like it's time for me to pst and then we're back in business.

Kestrel

"And so you see why Stella was nervous about telling you," Kestrel concluded as she rummaged around in her bag, making more space for the sightly humbled -- but still complaining -- Kon who was strutting about the corridor gleefully, basking in the telling of some of his wonderfully heroic deeds.

"Wow, that's quite a tale," Damien said as he stared wide eyed at the teddy lion, his surprise accompanied by some skepticism, and then he glanced slightly apprehensively at his friend Stella who nodded warily.

"Yeah... it is. You should come meet Ichidan actually, you and he would get along so well," Stella suggested, her bright smile false and the beginnings of a worried frown digging at her brow as she deceived her close friend. Kestrel felt sorry for her and cut in, trying to shift some of the guilt.

"He's with Urahara too so you could both walk down there with me... I mean us," Kestrel added, picking Kon up and pressing him gently into the crevice she had made amongst her belongings after squeezing his paws playfully. Kon objected but his voice was soon muffled by the bag and Kestrel hissed: 'shush, you've caused enough trouble already.'

"I thought you were going to class?" Damien asked suspiciously and Kestrel giggled easily with the skill of a born actress.

"I am. My lessons with Urahara are very serious and he's as much my teacher as any of these professors."

**WELCOME BACK!!! WE DID MISS YOU!!! How was the trip?**

It was lovely. Greece is a very beautiful country =)

(Weclome back!)

Damien nodded. "Okay, I'll come with you. I'd like to find out more about these Death Gods and Soul Society."

"I'm coming, too," Stella added. Soon they were off to Urahara's shop.

It took them fifteen minutes to get there. When they arrived they saw two children sweeping the front of the shop. One of them was a red headed boy and the other was a girl with black hair in pigtails and bangs that covered her face. They both looked about ten-years-old.

The red haired boy complained, "Man, cleaning the shop is so boring, don't you agree, Ururu?"

The shy looking girl shook her head. "...I don't think so..." She noticed Kestrel and the others approaching. She turned to the and asked, "...Uh... May I help you...?"

"Yes, is Urahara in?" Kestrel asked.

"...Just a moment..." She went into the shop and a few moments later she came back out with Urahara.

"Oh, Kestrel, Stella, it's good to see you again!"

"Hello, Urahara. I'm here for my next lesson," Kestrel said.

"Ah, yes." He hesitated for a moment then said, "I don't believe you've met these two yet." He motioned to the girl first. "This is Ururu, and this is Jinta."

Ururu bowed her head. "...It's nice to meet you..."

Jinta rested his hands behind his head. "Yeah, whatever."

"I haven't seen these kids around your shop before," Stella pointed out.

"Oh, that's because the first time you came here they were asleep, and when Kestrel came here for her lesson last night they were out on an errand for me. Ururu and Jinta live here with me, they help keep the shop tidy." He noticed Damien finally. "Oh, who is this, a new friend?"

"Oh, this is Damien," Kestrel said. "He's Stella's friend."

"Nice to meet you," Damien said. "Stella and Kes have told me a lot about you."

Urahara cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, they have, have they?"

Kestrel turned to Stella for a moment. "Hey, Stella? Why don't you show Damien around the shop? I need to speak with Urahara for a moment."

"Okay." She led Damien into the shop. She obviously knew what Kestrel was going to discuss with Urahara.

"Do you think it's a good idea telling him about us, Kes?" he asked.

"No, which is why I wanted to talk to you." She explained how Kon had jumped out of her backpack in front of him and how they ended up having to tell him everything. "Ichidan once erased the memory of a girl at school after she saw one of his fights with Hollows. Since Ichidan is watching over Kai and Audra while they recover from our last encounter I figured since I was coming here anyway I could bring him so you could erase his memory."

*Okay, not sure what to do next-if this isn't okay, just tell me and I'll edit

Stella-

"This shop is seriously weird," Damien said, inspecting something or other.

"Yeah," I said, not really concentrating. I was looking through to the next room where Kes and Uruhara were deep in conversation.

"You've gone all distant again Stell," he said. "Something else you're keeping secret?"

"No," I said coming back. "No, of course not."

He frowned. "You're not plotting to kill me or something?"

"Now look who's being melodramatic," I teased him. "No. They're just discussing something that I'm interested in."

"What?"

"Uh... where Kon's going to stay tonight," I invented quickly. "He was supposed to stay with me, but what with Sally and everything."

"Why don't you just tell her like you told me?"

I sighed. It would make things so much easier. But Sally had a big mouth. And even Damien, who was the picture of discretion-most of the time, was going to have to forget pretty soon.

I figured that you couldn't have the best of both worlds.

Uruhara and Kestrel came into the room. He frowned, looking Damien up and down. I smacked my lips.

"Well?" I said. "What's the verdict?"