Shadow Reapers

Damien gave Stella an odd look. "Verdict? What are you talking about?"

"Damien, could I get you to look over here for a moment?" Urahara asked. As soon as Damien turned his head Urahara was holding a device similar to the one Ichidan had in front of his face. He pressed a button and it made a small bang and created a smoke cloud around his face. Damien went unconscious, and if Stella hadn't been there to catch him he would have fallen to the ground.

She set him on the floor before looking up at Urahara. "Did it work?"

Urahara put the device back into his pocket. "Oh, most definitely. His memory of Kon and everything you've told him has been replaced with a fake memory."

"Heh, reminds me of M.I.B." Urahara gave Stella an odd look. "You know, Men in Black? It's a movie about a secret service that polices aliens? They use a device to erase people's minds and replace their memories."

"I have not seen that movie," he said. "I suppose I should start going out more."

"So, what memory do you use as a replacement?"

"I wouldn't know, it's always random. Although I am working on one that let's you choose what they remember."

"All we'll need is suits and sunglasses," Stella said, referring to the movie again.

Kestrel turned to Urahara and asked, "So, what am I going to be learning tonight?"

He smiled at her. "You get to learn how to cast demon magic tonight." He called out to Tessai in the other room.

The large man came in and said, "Yes, sir?"

"Could you help our friend find a place to sleep until he wakes up?"

He nodded. "Of course." He went over to Damien and picked him up. Stella followed him upstairs.

Kestrel

"Oh good because I want to be able to help this time," Kestrel said as she followed Urahara to the training room. She carried her clenched fists heavily by her side and her feet scraped their defiance against the floor. She couldn't help it. She felt so useless and that had filled her with such a determination that it seemed to emanate from her flesh.

"Oh?" Urahara prompted.

"I need to learn how to do some damage to those hollows or at least how to protect my friends," Kes said. They halted, climbing down the ladder to their usual domain and then stood in the middle of the room. "I'm ready," Kestrel said.

Urahara studied his young pupil with interest. He found her to be a strange young woman and she surprised him: he had not thought her to be capable of such ferocity.

"This first lesson may take a long time. Demon magic is complicated and it must be learned and used carefully in order to protect the wielder and those around him... or her," Urahara instructed.

"I understand," Kestrel said.

"The first thing you need to do before you can start using magic is to sense the spirit particles around you," Urahara told her.

"How do I do that?" Kestrel asked.

"The same way you used your senses to find the pearl in the first exercise," he told her.

She nodded and closed her eyes, using her senses to find the spirit particles. She focused harder until she could feel the air around her starting to fizz with spiritual energy. There were spirit particles all around her, it was the first time she could sense something so small, yet so large in quantity.

"Now, manipulate the spirit particles so they are concentrated in your palm," Urahara told her. "This is where the second lesson comes into play." Kestrel did what he told her and focused all that spirit energy into her hand. "Now hold out your hand and repeat after me, 'Destruction Art 22: Blue Lightning.'"

She held her hand out and repeated, "Destruction Art 22: Blue Lightning." The energy in her palm suddenly sparked and exploded into a blinding blue light that shot forward and tore up the ground in front of her. Even though she was blind she could still see the bolt of lightning as it sprung from her hand.

(Just so you know the lesson is far from over for Kestrel.)

Kestrel

"Wow,"Kestrel said, her retinas still burning with the aftermath of the blue light. "No matter how often I see that colour, I don't think I'll ever get used to it." She closed her arm and brought it close to her face, looking eagerly at the remaining particles.

"Very good," Urahara said.

"But what sort of damage does it do? Can I... can I hurt people with it?" A touch of fear entered Kes's voice and she wrapped her arms around her stomach, folding in on herself. "Because I still can't see people clear enough to trust myself with not shooting them by accident." Urahara scrutinised her for a moment. Kes felt his eyes boring into her face and wondered what it would be like to see them; what colour they might be.

"You will have to make that decision for yourself. But for now, I will teach you what I can."

"There is more?" Kestrel asked.

"Oh yes. Much more but are you ready to learn?" Urahara asked. Kestrel thought about it a moment, recalling her helplessness and then nodded firmly.

"Yes. I'm ready."

Urahara nodded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pearl they had used in the previous two tests. Kestrel gave him an odd look. "Excuse me for asking, but is there a reason why we keep using the same pearl for every lesson?"

"Of course. I haven't told you this but this pearl is a special artifact, one of many that were used by Shadow Seers many centuries before you were born. It is used as a right of initiation if you will. When a Shadow Seer is able to break the orb with their magic they will be considered a person of great power. On top of that, the spirit energy inside will fuse with them, making them even stronger." Urahara placed the orb on the ground and took a few steps back. "This lesson will be the last one you have with me. It's over when you break the orb."

Kestrel readied her magic and aimed at the orb. "Destructive Art 22: Blue Lightning!" The blue energy struck the orb with great force, but when the dust receded the orb was still in one piece. Not even a scratch stained its perfect surface.

Kestrel

Again and again, Kestrel tried to break the pearl but she knew as soon as each blast left her hand that she had failed and soon her breathing was heavy and an uncomfortable sweat had broken out across her brow. She removed her jacket and looked to Urahara for some encouragement but he offered none, as impartial as a glacier to her trials.

I'm thinking about this the wrong way again, Kes thought unhappily, guessing that there had to be some trick to it. She crawled closer to the pearl, surprised at just how much energy those attempts had cost her and she picked it up. How do I break you? She glared at the perfect surface and touched the smooth, icy curve with her thumb. She placed the pearl down again and closed her eyes, drawing deep inside herself.

"Destructive Art 22: Blue Lightning!" Kes declared, her eyes thrown open to stare straight ahead as she threw her energy out in a pure, concentrated blast. It hit the pearl and sent it rolling across the floor. Kes scrambled forward to retrieve it, looking mournfully at the lack of cracks but then she turned it over and saw just the smallest of nicks.

She prepared to try again, intending to concentrate all of her energy on that one, tiny crack.

Kestrel fired time and time again, making the crack a little larger each time. After two hours the crack was an inch long. She held out hard hand again, determined to make even more of an impact than before. "Destructive Art 22: Blue Lightning!" Her hand merely sparked with a small amount of electricity as she felt the last of her energy fade. She fell to her knees and fought to catch her breath.

Urahara helped her to her feet. "Let's take a break for now. You need to rest for a bit before you can continue."

"But if I don't keep going I won't be able to finish this before midnight." Considering how long it took her to get to just where she was she figured it would take at least that long.

"Rest comes first, Kes. This weekend is a long weekend, isn't it? You can stay over night if you want and continue in the morning." He gently pushed her toward the ladder. "It's only 8:00, you have all night. Let's have some tea while you rest."

Stella-

Once I was sure my friend was asleep, I sneaked downstairs, to where Urahara and Kestrel were sitting.

"Hi," I said, sitting down nearby. "He's asleep. You sure he won't remember anything?"

"Yes," said Urahara. "He shouldn't. You'll just have to explain how he got here."

"Oh, don't worry," I said. "I'm very good at making up stories."

He poured me a cup of tea. I looked up at Kestrel. "How's it coming?" I asked.

"Difficult," she replied. "I just can't get it. And it's exhausting."

"Don't worry," I said soothingly. "I'm sure you'll get it." I wished that I could give her advice, but I didn't know what, so I just said "Just don't stress out." It was my favourite philosophy.

Both Kestrel and Urahara smiled at that. I sipped my tea.

Kestrel

Kes smiled and allowed the hot tea to trickle down her throat, now grateful for Urahara's insistence that she take a break.

"You and Damien should spend some time together, tomorrow," Kes said to Stella, placing her cup back on the table. "It must be hard seeing so little of your friends now." Kes didn't mean to probe but at the same time, she was curious. What was it like to be leaving friends behind? She didn't know. Kestrel had been a distant girl, consumed greatly by the loss of her mother and the joy she found in music. Kestrel hadn't had anyone to miss for a long time.

"Yeah, it is," Stella replied. "What about you? Do you miss your friends?" Kestrel held her cup loosely, tracing a thin crack with her finger.

"All the time," Kestrel lied, wanting to avoid the inevitable pity. "But I'll be seeing them in the holidays."

"Oh so you're going home at Easter?" Stella queried. Kestrel nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be staying with my father."

"How about you, Urahara?" Stella asked, "Do you have any family or friends that you miss?"

Urahara scratched his head. "Well, I can hardly call the people I used to work with back in Soul Society friends. But I do have a friend who visits me every now and then."

"Really? What's he like?" Kestrel asked.

Urahara was about to answer when something started scratching at the front door. "I'll be just a moment," he said as he got up.

Stella watched Urahara go to the door, curious to see who it was at this time of the day. "It's a cat," Kestrel told her.

"How do you know?" Stella asked.

"I can see its aura on the other side and it's shaped like a cat." It was odd, though. Even though it was a cat it had the same red aura as Urahara.

Urahara opened the door to see the cat. He beamed as he picked it up in his arms. "Yoruichi! You're back!"

When he came back to the table with the cat in his arms Stella asked, "Is that your cat?"

"No, he's not mine," Urahara said. "He's the friend I was about to tell you about."

Stella gave him an odd look. "...Your friend is a cat?"

(It's been three days since anyone other than me posted.)

*Sorry, darlings, I was in Londres!*

Stella-

"I'm more of a dog person," I said surveying the animal. "So, does it talk, or anything like that?"

"It's complicated," Uruhara said.

I wasn't one for over-complication so I shrugged. "So he's your only friend?"

"Well... there isn't much chance to make new friends in my line of work, as such," Uruhara said with a shrug.

I grinned. "Then I propose a toast. To friendship?"

Kestrel laughed. "I'll second that," she said happily, and we clinked cups.

Uruhara looked from one to the other. "Doesn't it take time to make friends?"

"Not for me," I said, shifting to find a more comfortable spot on my seat. "About five minutes, generally. Except for cats. Sorry, honey," I said, and as compensation reached out to stroke the creature.

*sorry all I got*

**I would post, but I have nothing to say on this part. I'm actually waited for Kai to respond to MY post! lol But it's okay. Kestrel's story is good!**

Kestrel

"Making friends doesn't take time but waiting for the right people to come along... that can take forever," Kestrel sighed. There was quiet for a moment and then Kestrel spoke again: "Okay, I'm ready to give it another go."

"Are you sure?" Urahara asked.

"Yeah, I feel great," she replied, standing up and placing her cup back on the table. Stella stood also and asked:

"Could I come and watch?" Urahara nodded and led the way, carrying the cat in his arms.

"Yes, let's all go down." That made Kestrel feel a little nervous and it wasn't Stella's involvement that sent shivers down her spine. For some reason, the cat was making her feel very apprehensive. Perhaps it was the matching, red aura or maybe the way she had felt its eyes watching her at the table.

"Hey, wait! What about me?" A familiar voice called out as Kon waddled over.

(Our characters are asleep, Ayumi. When morning comes we can post for Kai and Audra again. Sorry about the wait.)

Stella crossed her arms and said, "I don't know if we should let you come after all the trouble you put us through with Damien."

"Hey, it's not my fault! Kes' bag was so stuffy that I couldn't breathe!"

"Be nice to him, Stella," Kestrel said, "I think he's learned his lesson." She picked up the stuffed lion and followed Urahara back down to the basement. When they were down the ladder she set Kon onto the ground and went to the spot she had been training. She took the pearl out of her pocket and placed it back on the ground before continuing her lesson.

(Hey, kitty. Why don't we have Kestrel break the pearl in the next post just so we can get back to Kai and Audra?)