Shadow Reapers

Audra smiled at her friends. There were trying so hard to cheer her up. "Thanks, guys. But, it's already nighttime. Do you think the gym is still going to be open?"

"It should be," Stella said, "it's open until ten o'clock every night."

Audra took the clothes and said, "Alright, I just need a minute to get dressed."

At that moment, Kai came in through the door. Everyone was surprised to see him, but not as surprised as he was when he saw what everyone was wearing. "What's going on here? What are you all wearing?" Kestrel and Stella explained how they wanted to cheer Audra up by helping her learn martial arts and the outfits were supposed to be uniforms for training. Kai smiled. "Well, I guess they'll be fine until we get you real uniforms. If you all tell me your sizes I'll call my dad and get him to order some for you. I'll even pay for it."

"That's a nice gesture, Kai," Kestrel said. "But you don't have to, we can pay for them ourselves."

"It's alright, I want to. Think of it as my way of thanking you all for helping me these past few weeks, I couldn't have made it through all those fights without you."

Kestrel nodded. "Your our friend, we'll help you however we can."

"Why are you back so early, by the way?" Stella asked. "I thought you and Ichidan received orders to kill Hollows."

"We did, but when we got there the Hollow was already dead." Kai proceeded to tell them what had happened when he was out, and how the Hollows had been killed by a guy named Ishida.

**Thanks.**

Audra

I watched Kai intently, listening to every word he said. How strange this all was; a guy named Ishida, killing the Hollows? Why was he here? What did he want? And why did he hate Death Gods?

I had so many questions, but I knew Kai didn't have the answers either. I would just have to wait.

"Things are never normal anymore, are they?" I commented at the end, half sarcastically. It was true, after all, but it didn't mean we had to like it.

"No, they're not." Kai answered me.

"And never will be." Kes and Jenna seemed to chorus, finishing the moment off.

I perked up, hoping to change the mood of the room. It had gotten to be very...anxious, almost. "Now, what?"

"Now, I can teach you some basic karate moves," Kai answered. "Ichidan will let me know when another Hollow will appear, until then I can start teaching you guys some of what I know."

"Do you think the gym is still open?" Kestrel asked.

Kai shook his head. "No, it's closed for the night. But that doesn't mean we can't still practice. There's a small clearing in the forest just behind this building. We can practice there." Kai led them all out of the building and into the clearing, where they practiced until midnight. Kai couldn't stop thinking about that Ishida guy, even after they all finished for the night and went to bed. He ended up laying awake in his bed until two in the morning thinking about how to address the situation. He decided after classes tomorrow he would confront this Ishida person, and make him explain everything.

(Note to whoever posts next, skip to the next morning.)

Kestrel

With a content sigh, Kestrel nestled deeper under her covers but the shrill squeal of her alarm cut through the lingering dream. Groaning, she pushed the covers back and shut off the alarm. Her body ached a little and for a moment she was disorientated amongst the coloured outlines but her head no longer hurt.

"Have you got class too?" Stella called, popping her head around the side. Kestrel nodded as she started to grab her stuff and then remembered that she hadn't dressed yet. Stella laughed at her good naturedly and returned to her own room to finish getting ready.

"My body aches," Kestrel grumbled as she dressed stiffly, feeling the wounds from last night. Kai hadn't been as easy on them as Kes had expected and she felt foolishly inept, having managed to be thrown much more often than she threw.

"Mine too," Stella sang out. "But I got Ka-aiiiiiiii." Kestrel smiled a little and giggled.

"Only once," she snorted.

Kai woke up the next morning, completely refreshed. His muscles ached from last night's practice, but unlike other people he liked it. It let him know that his body was getting stronger. He remembered telling that to his father once, which made him laugh. His father told him that the older you get the less enjoyable the aches get.

He got out of bed, only to hear something squeak under his foot. He looked down to see Kon's face under his heel. "Hey! Get the hell off me!"

Kai lifted his foot off the stuffed toy and asked, "What are you doing here?"

The toy lion sprang to his feet and said, "It's your turn to look after me, remember?"

Kai thought back to when they drew the pencils, he ended up having to look after him third. "Oh yeah, that's right. But wasn't Stella supposed to watch you yesterday?"

"Don't ask me, I don't know!"

"This is actually good. I may need you today."

Kon blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Never you mind." He grabbed the stuffed lion by the head and stuffed it into his backpack.. "Just get in there."

When Kai left the boy's dorm building he made his way over to the girl's building. He wanted to see Audra before going to his first class. He was almost there when he saw the guy from last night. He was walking down the sidewalk, one hand holding his bag and the other holding a book that he was reading.

Kai knew this was his best chance to confront Ishida make him explain everything. But he couldn't do it here, there were too many people. He decided to follow him and wait until they were alone.

________________

Kai followed him for a few minutes, he was extra careful to stay out of sight the entire time. Oddly enough, Ishida had led him away from the campus and into a suburban neighbourhood. The streets were empty since all the adults were at work and the kids were all at school. When he came to a street corner, Ishida suddenly stopped. He stood there for a few seconds, before saying, "Are you going to follow me all day, Kai Okami?"

Kai smirked as he stepped out from behind a streetlamp. "When did you notice I was following you?"

Ishida looked over his shoulder at Kai. His eyes were cold and emotionless. "I knew since you were spying on me from the moment you saw me back on campus."

"That's pretty impressive," Kai said. "You've got some skills, I'll give you that much."

"It's hardly a matter of skill," he said, "it's because you always let your reiatsu leak out like an idiot." Kai's eyes widened. "Even a monkey would notice."

"You want to turn around and say that to my face?" Kai asked, his voice low and menacing.

Ishida was unaffected by Kai's threatening voice. "Apparently, you lack the ability to sense other people with high reiatsu. As proof, you've never noticed my existence until this day."

"Well, excuse me. I'm not good at remembering people's faces and stuff."

Ishida finally turned around to face Kai. "That's not what I mean. I noticed the day you moved in to residence the inordinate height of your reiatsu. And the fact that you acquired Death God powers around the beginning of September, as well as Ichidan Hatsuga's true identity."

The air suddenly went thick with blue mist as long white threads appeared around Ishida's body, fluttering ever so lightly in the wind. "What the heck are those?" Kai asked with wide eyes.

"You have Death God powers, yet you do not know what these are. That only proves how inept you are. These are spirit threads, spiritual energy in the atmosphere condensed and visualized. Every creature in this world, living or dead, has one." Ishida suddenly vanished into thin air, only to reappear a fraction of a second later in front of Kai. He reached forward and grabbed something in front of Kai's face. It materialized in his hand as a long thread just like the others, except this one was red. "This is your spirit thread."

"Why is it red?" Kai asked. He fought to keep his voice as calm as possible.

"Didn't you know? Death Gods' spirit threads have a different color." He released the red thread. An instant after the blue mist cleared as the atmosphere surrounding them went back to normal. "Why don't we have a match, Okami? I'll make you understand which of us is superior, and that Death Gods are unnecessary in this world."

Kai stared at him for a few moments before shaking his head and saying, "This is ridiculous."

"What was that?"

"Why should I have to do this? It's just a waste of time, I have better things to do. I don't know what you have against Death Gods, but it has nothing to do with me."

"So," Ishida said, "you are running away?"

Kai simply looked at him. "You can't provoke me. I'm just saying, between me and you, it'd be no competition." He turned around and began to walk away.

"Oh, that's right, I remember now." Ishida adjusted his glasses before saying, "You're a Death God who got his strength from Ichidan. In other words, a substitute Death God. Without his permission, you can't even lift one finger."

What Ishida just said made Kai stop in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder and gave him a cold stare of his own. "What did you say...?"

"I think you heard me."

Kai let his backpack slip off his shoulder and onto the ground before turning to face him. "Fine, I'll give you a fight, if that's what you want." He kneeled down to open his bag and pull out Kon.

"Dammit, Kai! Why does everyone stuff me into their bags like some kind of toy?"

"We're switching," Kai told him.

Kon's eyes went wide with panic. "Wait a minute! Again?" Kai's hand was already fishing around in the stuffed lion's mouth before he had a chance to argue. He found the green pill and pulled it out. He wiped it on his shirt before putting it in his mouth.

Kai's spirit form sprang out as his physical body went to its knees. "Kon, watch the fight," he told the modified soul inhabiting his body. "Watch me pound this guy concave!" Kon didn't waste any time grabbing the stuffed lion and Kai's bag and getting out of the way. When he was out of the picture, Kai turned back to Ishida and said, "Okay now, go ahead and explain the rules of this match."

Ishida just smiled.

(For the next person that posts, this is far away from the campus so your character won't be able to interfere. I have other things in store for them anyway. Ayumi and Stella, if you want your characters to discover their powers, keep them on the campus grounds.)

**Sorry I didn't post sooner.**

**Ha, is this coincidence? Concussions last for at least two or three days once you get them! This is funny...kind of.**

Audra

I woke up, still sore and with a mild headache. I was certain I had a minor concussion, but there was nothing I could do about it. Just take Advil every so often to lessen the pain...

But last night had been great. The practice had been very informative and helpful; already, I somewhat understood how to use your weight and size against your opponent.

I stood up, stretched, and began to get ready for the day.

(Don't forget, Ayumi. I need Audra to wear the ring and necklace.)

Ishida reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a tablet of some kind. "Let's use this," he said.

"What's that?" Kai asked.

"It's anti-Hollow bait. If you break it and scatter it around, Hollows will gather."

Kai's eyes went wide. "What!?"

Ishida continued, "The one who beats the most Hollows in 24 hours is the winner. How about it? Simple rules, right?"

"Screw you!" Kai shouted. "You want to put the people of this city in danger just for our match? Who the hell do you think you are!?"

Ishida said simply, "Shut up, you pompous bastard. You don't have to worry about the other people. I'll destroy every last Hollow that shows up." Kai narrowed his eyes in anger. "If you have confidence that you can protect the people from Hollows, then you should be able to accept this challenge." Before Kai had the chance to argue the point, Ishida crushed the tablet with his fingers, letting the pieces be carried off by the wind.

Moments later they all heard strange noises. They seemed to be coming from everywhere. Kai looked around to see where they were all coming from when he saw a black hole open up in the sky. A Hollow came forth from the hole and let out its eerie roar.

There was a sudden flash of light as a bolt of spiritual energy was fired by Ishida, hitting the Hollow in the dead center of its head. "One down," he said. Kai ran up to him, grabbing him by the collar and forcing him to the ground. His breathing was heavy with anger as he stared at him with rage. "You should see your face, Okami."

"Undo it!" Kai told him. "Send the Hollows back!"

"Soon this city will be buried in Hollows lured by the bait. The die has been cast, as it were." Kai tightened his grip on Ishida's collar. "Isn't there something else you should be doing instead of attacking me?" Kai hesitated, but finally released his hold on Ishida's shirt. "If you want to protect as many people as possible from the Hollows, that is."

As Ishida got to his feet and began to walk away, Kai muttered under his breath, "You bastard..."

"Have you forgotten?" Ishida asked. "Hollows have a tendency to prefer attacking humans with high reiatsu."

Kai gasped as he remembered Audra, Kestrel and Stella. Urahara had said that Audra and Stella had powers that hadn't been awakened yet, and Kestrel being a Shadow Seer would definitely attract attention from the Hollows. He ran as fast as he could back to the college, Kon following close behind. As he ran he saw more and more holes opening up until the sky was riddled with black dots.

(Just so you know, Kai is going to be held up by Hollows. He won't get back to the college in time.)

Kestrel

"Try not to be la-ate!" Stella called as she dashed off to class.

"I won't be, don't worry," Kestrel said, laughing. She shouldered her rucksack and sat back on the bed so she could slip her feet into a pair of trainers. She stood quickly and bent over to tie the laces, absently watching Stella ascend the steps of the main college building. Some might call it spying on people but in Kestrel's case, she couldn't help it. And she liked to know where everyone was. It made her feel safer.

For instance, Audra was in her room, just starting to get ready so Kes turned away, blushing, trying to ignore the other people around her dressing, safe in the knowledge that they were behind closed doors. As she left the residence buildings, she looked around for Kai and found him running towards her general location. What's up with... Suddenly, a hollow appeared before him, its aura seeming to fall from the sky and then another and then...

Kestrel turned this way and that, staring as hollow after hollow came into view. I have to get to Audra and Stella, I have to help them! Kes decided, turning back towards the residence buildings but suddenly a hollow blocked her way, its blindingly blue aura pulsing. For a moment, Kestrel stood still, unsure what to do but it swept towards her and she held her hands before her face, shaking a little.

"Destructive art twenty-two: blue lightening," Kestrel said shakily. Energy burst from her hands in a feeble beam and hit the hollow, causing it to snarl. Kes rallied her strength and got a-hold of her fear, pushing it back, deep inside her.

"Destructive art twenty-two: blue lightening!" Kes shouted and this time she could feel the energy as it was ripped away from her and cast towards the hollow. Kestrel immediately felt weakened and she bent over, breathing heavily. When she looked up, the hollow was gone but others were moving in and somehow one had got past her and was approaching Audra's room.

_________________
*Post edited*

**Sorry about the delay.**

Audra

I looked in the mirror, trying to figure out what to do to spice up my outfit. A simple, grey tank, blue jeans, and Vans weren't much. I played with the drawstring on the shirt, debating on whether to leave it partially open or closed...hide the inch of cleavage that would show if I left the drawstring open, or not...

I sighed, my gaze settling on the necklace on my counter. It was a chain with Kai's class ring... I picked it up, held it in my fingers for a moment, then put it on.

As soon as I had fastened the chain, something burst through my door. I looked into the dorm room and saw a snake-like Hollow...

"Shit!" I darted for the window, jumping clean through the glass as the Hollow lashed out at me. I fell that eighteen feet from the second floor window, landed roughly, but rolled to my feet and kept going. I ignored the blood trickling from various cuts.

Ten minutes ago...

Ichidan was on his way to Urahara's shop that morning before classes started to get some answers. When he arrived, he saw Jinta and Ururu playing rock-paper-scissors in front of the shop. They saw him approaching. "It's you, what do you want?" Jinta asked.

"Is Urahara available?" Ichidan asked.

Ururu nodded. "Umm... Yes, follow me."

Ichidan followed the child into the shop to where Urahara was sitting. He had a paper fan in his left hand that he was using to keep himself cool. "Well, well, if it isn't Ichidan. Need something?" Tessai was beside him with a tray with cups and a tea kettle.

"Well, for starters no matter how many times I called, you didn't answer, so I had to come here myself."

"Oh, sorry about that. We've been rather busy here lately, too."

Jinta came up beside Ichidan and asked, "Hey, isn't that brown-haired college guy that Urahara's always talking about supposed to be with you?"

"He had to go to class this morning," Ichidan explained. He turned back to Urahara and said, "I have some things I need to ask you."

"What is it?" Urahara's voice suddenly went a tone lower, indicating he had gone serious.

"Does the name Quincy mean anything to you?"

"Quincy..." Urahara began to rub his roughly shaved chin. "Long time since I heard that."

Tessai poured a cup of tea. "It is most certainly a nostalgic sound," he said as he passed the cup to Ichidan. "For almost 200 years, I haven't heard that name."

Ichidan graciously took the cup from Tessai, before turning back to Urahara and asking, "What does that mean?"

"The Quincys were an anti-demon clan that specialized in anti-Hollow combat which were scattered across the globe. Their clan was destroyed over 200 years ago."

"Destroyed?" Ichidan queried.

"That's right." Urahara continued, "In today's terms, humans with power like Kai became aware of the existence of Hollows, and in order to stand against them, they began to train in order to defeat the Hollows the same way as Death Gods. It was said that was their beginning. However, there was a defining difference between them and the Death Gods. That was whether to kill or not kill Hollows. As opposed to the Death Gods who purified Hollows with a Zanpakutou and sent them to Soul Society, the Quincys adhered methodically to killing the Hollows."

Urahara leaned back and scratched his chin again. "If you think about it, it's quite a human choice to make. Hollows eat human souls. Why should we have to calmly send something that injured and killed our friends and family up to Soul Society? It's easy to see why they would feel that way. So they stubbornly tried to kill the Hollows believing they were avenging their comrades. However, it was because of that belief that they were eventually destroyed."

"I see..." Ichidan crossed his arms over his chest as his mind digested the information. "But, if they were all destroyed then why is this Ishida person here now?"

"Hmm?" Urahara looked up. He seemed to be staring through the ceiling at something far away.

"What's wrong, Urahara?" Ichidan's phone began to ring. "Damn, a Hollow? At a time like this... Sorry, Urahara. We'll continue later." As Ichidan began to walk out of the shop his cell phone made a high-pitched noise. When he flipped open the device the screen was blank. "The signal already disappeared..."

Ichidan couldn't see it, but Urahara was staring at him. There was look of dark knowledge in his eyes, as if something bad was going to happen and he knew it.

Ichidan smiled. "Ah, that Kai. Most impressive." He turned back to Urahara. "Looks like we'll be able to continue this conversa-" His cell phone rang again. As soon as he looked at the screen, it made the same noise as before and went blank. "It disappeared again... What's going on? Don't tell me it really is broke."

The phone rang yet again, and this time the signal didn't disappear. Dread began to build in his gut as he saw arrow after arrow appear on the screen, like blips on a radar. "W-What's going on? I-It's practically i-impossible for Hollows to appear at this rate!"

The unmistakable sound of a Hollow's roar sounded from outside the shop. Ichidan ran out the front door and looked up at the sky. His fears were confirmed when he saw all the black holes in the sky. They all seemed to be in a cluster directly above the city, and in the center of that cluster was a particular hole, much larger than all the others.

"What is... this wildly chaotic spirit pulse? Just what... is about to happen?"

All the while, Urahara sat in his shop, more silent as he had ever been.

Stella is so popping in again! Just for a bit!

Stella-

"Try not to be late!" she told Kes and sprinted. Living a double life wore a girl out, especially when her first class was on cardiac diseases. But she was content, because she totally kicked Kai's arse last night.

Once, admittedly. He got her a lot more than she got him. But still.

She slipped in -only a few minutes late- to her lecture beside her semi-acquaintance Ally.

"You're late," she hissed.

"I've got stuff going on," Stella whispered back, taking out a notebook. She sighed and then focused on the front of the room where the professor was speaking. Good, solid facts about the aorta, blockages, clotting, things she could depend on and for a few minutes it was like the Hollows didn't exist.

Until she heard screeching outside.

"Damn, damn damn," she hissed, slamming her notebook shut. "Never going to learn anything at this rate."

"And neither am I," said Ally prissily. "What are you doing?"

"Saving the world," Stella said, looping her bag back onto her back. Most of her friends were used to her saying stuff like that and they probably wouldn't work out that this time she was telling the truth.

Kind of.

She hurried down the steps only to see Kestrel hurrying back towards their dorm building. She kicked off her cherry red pumps -gorgeous shoes and she wasn't wrecking them while doing deadly battle (although, she thought grumpily, there wasn't much she could do) and went up after her.

"Kes!" she called, and then saw Audra fall out the window.

She swore loudly and uncharacteristically.

"Audra," she said hurrying over. "What the hell is going on?"

(Just so you know, I was originally planning on having the three characters start off away from each other so it would make it easier for me to establish Audra and Stella's powers. Because they're all together, that means I can only do one at a time and have it make sense. This isn't a bad thing, though. It just means I'll just have the other character discover her powers later on.)

(Also, I'm going to try and speed this up a bit so we can get to the fun part of the story. The real plot will start after this so-called chapter. Just a warning, this post is going to be long.)

As if to answer her question, a Hollow followed Audra out of her window. Kes reacted quickly, raising her arm and facing her palm toward the enemy, like she had done so many times before during her training, except this time it was real. "Destructive Art 33: Blue Fire!" A bolt of blue fire shot out of her hand and struck the Hollow, effectively killing it. All the students in the courtyard saw it and panicked, they screamed as they ran away.

"Kes, we can't fight here!" Audra shouted. "We might endanger the other students!"

"We can't leave," Kes explained, "if we do then no one will be here to protect them." Kestrel's heart suddenly skipped a beat as another Hollow appeared in her vision, except this one was much larger and had a more solid aura than all the others.

Audra and Stella saw it, too. It didn't have a body, it was a large white mask with violet tentacles growing out the back of its head like hair. It didn't attack yet, it just stayed floating in the air as it said, "My, you three have lots of spirit energy, don't you? You will all make a delicious meal." Its voice was that of a woman's.

"Audra, Stella," Kestrel said, "you two get out of here while I hold it back."

"None of you are getting away," it said as bumps began to form all over the smooth surface of its mask. The bumps suddenly shot off its head like bullets, breaking many windows in the process. One of them hit Kestrel in the shoulder, bursting in a splash of green ooze and knocking her on her back.

"Kes! Are you okay?" Audra began to run to her friend's side. As she did, more bumps began to form on the creature's head.

Stella saw this and ran after her. "Audra, get down!" She tackled Audra to the ground just in time, but ended up being hit by one of the pellets instead. Her back was covered in the same green ooze.

Audra rolled out from under her. "Stella!"

Stella got up as she shook off the pain. "I'm fine, Audra." She looked over her shoulder at the stuff on her back. "Whatever this gross stuff is, it's not burning."

Audra turned back to Kestrel to see if she was okay. Stella's hand was suddenly on her arm, squeezing it tight and holding it behind her back. "What are you doing, Stella?" Audra demanded.

"I-I don't know! My arms are moving on their own!"

Audra tried to pull away, but Stella's grip on her arm only tightened. She knew she couldn't break away from the hold without hurting her friend, and that she wasn't willing to do. Kestrel was suddenly beside her, grabbing her other arm and doing the same. "What's going on? I can't control myself!" Kestrel's voice was just as panic stricken as Stella's.

Audra suddenly realized what was going on. The green ooze had done something to them. She looked at the Hollow and yelled, "What did you do to them!?"

"I just used a bit of my power," it said. "I'm not fond of fighting, so I control my opponent's bodies with theses seeds from my forehead, forcing humans to fight amongst themselves." It laughed before saying, "Okay, everyone, let's begin."

Audra heard footsteps behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see a number of students from the college. Just like Kestrel and Stella, they had green ooze somewhere on their bodies. They approached, walking like zombies. Stella and Kes' eyes were unfocused, they were now under the Hollow's control. "This is bad," Audra said.

"Now, I think I will start with you," the Hollow told Audra. "And when I'm finished with you, I'll move on to the rest of these humans, starting with the two that are holding you." Its mouth opened as it began to float toward her.

This can't be happening, Audra thought. This wouldn't be happening if I had some kind of power like Kestrel, or Kai. It looks like I'm useless after all... She shook her head. No, I'm not useless. I refuse to be the one watching from the sidelines as my friends do all the fighting. I want to fight, too! I want to protect everyone! I want to protect Kai!

A light began to shine from Audra's chest. When she looked down she saw the red gem in Kai's ring was shining brightly. Then two things happened at once. The gem shattered into six shards and flew into the air. Then a whirlwind of energy suddenly erupted around Audra's body that threw Kestrel and Stella to the ground, along with all the other students under the Hollow's control.

"What!?" the Hollow shouted as it, too, felt the power of whatever was causing the whirlwind.

"I won't stand by and watch as my friends get hurt any longer," Audra said as the whirlwind began to die down. As she spoke, six small bird-like objects flew around her body. "I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Kestrel and Stella!"

"Wh-What the hell are you? Using some weird power, what is that?"

One of the objects flew right past Audra's head. Finally noticing their presence, she said, "What are these things?"

"You didn't even notice us?" a voice asked.

Another voice said, "No, you must have realized our existence. After all, we have been so close to you for some time now." One of the bird-like objects, a green one, landed on Audra's shoulder. It opened up to reveal a tiny, blonde haired girl in red clothing. Her shell remained attached to her body as wings. "Please to meet you, Audra."

The rest of the objects started flying around Audra's body, all of them different colours. One was black and red, one was silver, one was blue with yellow polka-dots, another was red with yellow squares and the last was pink.

The first one said, "We are the Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield. We were born out of the love of another to protect you. We are your power."

Audra simply stood there, awe struck and staring at the tiny creatures. "Flying fairies are talking to me. Am I dreaming?"

"We're not fairies," the first one explained. "I told you. We're the power of your soul, born from the love of someone very close to you. We are a part of you, and we can only be seen by you. Although, someone like Kai Okami could probably see us, too."

"Kai? What do you mean?" Audra asked.

"We were born because of him, after all"

"You're taking forever!" The black and red fairy flew in and pushed the first one out of the way. He had spiky black hair and a cloth tied around his head to hide his face below his eyes. "Hey, woman," he said to Audra, "you don't need to understand who we are or where we came from."

"Wow, aren't you the pompous one, even though you're so small." she said.

"Shut up!" he shouted. "More importantly, learn how to control us right this minute!"

"And how do I control you?"

One of the other fairies began to talk, the one with the blue and yellow polka-dot wings. He had long ears and wore a purple jumpsuit on his tall, skinny body. "Our power is the power to put up a shield and reject things."

The fairy with silver wings had a round, tough looking body build. He said, "What's required to do... That is in your heart and in your magic words." The other two fairies were both girls. The one with pink wings was pretty, with red hair, orange goggles and a blue jumpsuit that was cut above her thighs and past her shoulders, leaving very little to the imagination. The one with red wings was shy looking, with a young face and black hair done in two long braids that hung on both sides of her face. She wore a long kimono style outfit that covered her entire body. All of these creatures were no larger than Audra's hand.

"Magic words?" Audra asked.

"Wait!" The black and red fairy turned toward the Hollow. "It's coming."

The Hollow floated down, landing lightly on the ground a few yards away. "What are you so damn confused about!?" More seeds began to grow out of its forehead. "You, little girl..."

The fairy in the purple jumpsuit shouted, "Quick, Audra. Call out our names!"

"I don't know your names!"

"I am Hinagiku!" the blue winged fairy said.

The silver winged one said, "I'm Baigon!"

The one with pink wings said, "I'm Lily!"

She didn't understand how saying their names would help her situation, but it was worth a try. "Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily!"

"Sacred Tri-Link Shield, I reject!"

"Sacred Tri-Link Shield, I reject!" The Hollow fired its seeds just as Audra finished reciting the magic words. The three aforementioned fairies glowed with a strange light as they constructed an orange triangle barrier in front of Audra. The seeds slammed into the barrier, but none of them did any harm to Audra.

"What?" The Hollow was surprised by this sudden turn of event.

The green-winged fairy explained, "Their power is to reject what's outside the shield. They put up a shield between you and the enemy and stop attacks aimed at you." She flew over to Kestrel and Stella with the red winged fairy following her. "And our power is to stop what's inside the shield. We can return objects within a limited space to a state before they were destroyed. Go on, call our names. I'm Shun'ou."

"I'm Ayame," the other one said.

"Then say the magic words, Sacred Dual Return Shield, I reject!"

"Shun'ou, Ayame! Sacred Dual Return Shield, I reject!" The two fairies constructed an orange dome barrier around Kestrel and Stella. The green ooze on their bodies disappeared, along with any visible bruises they had. "Kestrel, Stella!" Audra began to run over to her friends, but the black and red fairy stopped her.

"Woman, you don't have time for this! It's my turn next. My power is rejecting both sides of the shield. I put up a shield inside the enemy and reject their physical bonds. In other words, it means I split the enemy into halves." He soared toward the Hollow. "Repeat after me! Tsubaki! Sacred Solitary Cutting Shield, I reject!"

"Tsubaki! Sacred Solitary Cutting Shield, I reject!" The fairy's body was engulfed in orange light as it suddenly picked up speed. The Hollow barely had enough time to scream before the tiny creature flew through its body and pierced it in half.

"Impossible..." The Hollow screamed in pain as its body dissolved to nothing.

(Sorry if this all seems so confusing. In the future, Ayumi, all your character has to do is say the fairies' names, followed by "I reject," to use her power. If you're confused about their names and what they look like, take a look at the link below.)

________________________________________________
The Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orihime_Inoue#Abilities

**Cool!**

Audra

I stood there, staring at where the Hollow had been. I had killed it... I had killed it. A smile was plastered to my face.

Then I remembered: Kes and Stella. I ran to them, the fairies flitting around me. "Kes! Stella?" I dropped by their sides and put my hand against their backs. They were alive... Thank God.

Now, what to do?

I looked at the fairies. "Thank you. All of you."



**All I've got right now...**

"You don't need to thank us," Shun'ou said. "We will always be with you, to protect you. Whenever you're in trouble, feel free to call us." All six fairies suddenly shone with a bright orange light. Together, they fused back into Kai's ring and restored the gem. It used to be red, but now it was bright orange.

Audra suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion. Calling on their powers had taken its toll. She passed out beside her friends. A few moments later, Urahara and Tessai appeared...
_______________________

Elsewhere...

Yet another Hollow disintegrated as it fell victim to Kai's Zanpakutou. He had just killed his twenty-seventh Hollow and he was starting to feel the effects of his exhaustion. As he panted, he said, "Damn that Ishida. I'm not going to let him get away with this!"


Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Ishida had just killed his fifty-eighth Hollow. His fingers were bleeding as found it took more and more of his strength to fight. I'm starting to lose the strength to kill in one hit, I see, he thought. But, what is wrong? There are just too many for that small piece of bait. It seems like they are attracted by some other, greater force. He curled his bleeding hand into a tight fist. But that's irrelevent. The next part he said out loud. "Grandfather, I'll definitely avenge your death!"


"Destructive Art 4: White Lightning!" Ichidan fired his spell at the Hollow in front of him, only to have it slapped back at him by the creature's long arm. He managed to jump out of the way before the spell hit him. The bolt of energy blasted a large chunk out of the street.

"Damn it! These kind of Hollows are weaklings, and I can't even defeat one this weak... Does this mean my power hasn't even recovered in the slightest?"

He heard footsteps behind him and looked over his shoulder to see someone approaching. It was difficult to see his face past the glare of the sun. He suddenly jumped, flew over Ichidan and kicked the Hollow square in the face, cracking its mask and causing it to tumble onto its back. When the newcomer landed, Ichidan was able to see his face. "Kai!"

"Guess again," he said in a tone that was a pitch higher than his usual voice.

Ichidan recognized the voice and said, "Kon, is that you?" He nodded. "If you're here in Kai's body, that means he became a Soul Reaper, right?"

A worried expression crossed over Kon's face as he pointed behind Ichidan. "Uhh... Ichidan? Behind you."

Ichidan looked over his shoulder to see the guy from the other night, Ishida, standing behind him. "That's good, it looks like you two are fine," he said. "Ichidan Hatsuga, this is the first time talking to you face-to-face."

"I see. Is this your doing?" Ichidan asked. He took note of the guy's bleeding hand.

"Most definitely. This is a battle between the Death God and I."

"What did you say?"

Ishida continued, "But I do not intend to let anyone die in this city. Even if Okami comes to an end, I'll use all my strength to protect the people of this city. In front of him, while the Death Gods watch, I will protect everything from the Hollows. If I can't do that, this battle would be meaningless."

"What on earth do you..." Before Ichidan could finish his sentence, another Hollow appeared behind him and Kon.

Ishidan immediately formed his bow of spiritual energy and pointed it at the creature's head, but before he could shot it a line flashed down the center of its body. Half a second later, it split in two and disintegrated. An astonished look passed over the Quincy's face as Kai landed in front of him.

"I've finally found you, Ishida!" Kai said with a smile.

Ishida smiled back. "Okami..."


(Just so you guys know, Audra, Stella and Kestrel are all going to wake up in Urahara's shop.)

*Oh sorry, Dynamo, would have edited.*

Stella-

I rubbed my eyes and looked around. This was the bed I had -what night was that?- in Uruhara's shop. I sat up, feeling groggy which was strange. Through all of my teens I was a morning person. But I was still wearing the clothes I had been when I saw Audra come flying through the window.

Wonder what it would be like to have a normal life.

I traipsed down the stairs, but the others were still asleep. Uruhara however, was sorting through the eternal mess of the ground floor.

"Yo," I said. "Any chance of some tae?"

He bowed. "I made a pot of tea already."

We sat on the cushions in the kitchen and I sipped at it.

"Well, this sucks," I said.

"What does?"

"Audra's got superpowers," I said with a sigh. "So I'm caught up in all of this, and I'm the only one that isn't, like, magical."

He only smiled. "Magical powers aren't everything."

I grunted. "Still wish I had them," I said. "Would make things so much easier. And I wouldn't be such a hindrance. Don't you ever get that?"

"Get what?" he asked slowly.

"When you're with your friends and you feel like you're slowing them down."

He shook his head.

"Right," I said. "You don't have friends." I sighed. "Wish I didn't."

He didn't smile at that one. I finished my tea in silence. I wasn't usually the type to get depressed like this, only sometimes I did, only for an hour or two.

"I'm going to go," I said standing up.

"What about your friends upstairs?" he asked.

"They can do without me, I suppose," I said and left to go back to campus.