Shadow Reapers

(Ahh.)

Audra

I had no idea what to do or say. I couldn't even comprehend what had just happened! Everything was so insane, so fast...it was like it had never even happened at all, except in some dream world.

I held onto Kai as he tried to recover; his breathing was heavy, his skin pale and clammy. He was truly drained; that much was obvious. Ishida, even, was weaker than before. Ichidan just looked lost in thought.

"My room's open to crash in," I threw in after a long moment of silence. "If you need medical attention or rest, feel free to come in." I gave Kai a firm glare that said and-don't-you-DARE-object. "You have no excuse. You need attention!"

Kai looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I know."

Ishida got to his feet and began to walk away. Stella went in front of him. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"Home."

"I don't think so, buddy. You're coming with us!" She pointed at his arm. "Your arm is sprained and bleeding! It needs medical attention."

"I can take care of it myself," he said. "Please move."

Stella opened her mouth to argue some more, but Kai interrupted her. "Stella, let him go."

She stared at Kai, wide eyed. "What!? We can't let him go like this!"

"It's a guy thing, you wouldn't understand."

Stella rolled her eyes as she stepped out of Ishida's way. "So, you want to be macho? Fine, just don't forget to do something with that arm."

"Ishida!" Kai called out.

The Quincy looked over his shoulder at him. "Yes?"

"I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Ishida gave him and emotionless stare before turning around and walking away.

Kestrel

Audra began to lead the way to her room, supporting Kai carefully and Stella followed with only a fleeting glance after Ishida. Kestrel thought she heard her mutter something that could have been 'stubborn' and smiled a little but didn't follow.

"What are you waiting for?" Urahara asked as the two children gathered around him and Ichidan rose slowly.

"We'll talk later," Ichidan said, walking away to catch up with the others. Kestrel found herself alone with Urahara and his companions and she smiled uneasily.

"I just wanted to say thank you, mister Urahara," Kes said softly. "I think Kai will need that strength one day soon and he and Ishida seem closer, don't they?"

"That doesn't concern me," Urahara said with a shrug. "I just wanted to see if Kai could really defeat it." He turned and began to walk away with the others following as if they were his shadow and then he stopped. The others walked on. Urahara did not turn again but he said casually: "You might find Art twelve: Healing Light useful now."

Kestrel smiled. "Yes, I think I might," she said and set off in the other direction, moving steadily towards Audra's room.

"Where have you been?" Stella asked when Kestrel finally arrived.

"I just wanted to ask Urahara something," Kestrel said. "And I think I might be able to help Kai with his wounds."

Kon had followed the group back to Audra's room while he was still in Kai's body. When they arrived they put the modified soul back into his stuffed animal form. He had complained about it, arguing that Kai didn't need it at the moment, but one stern look from Audra was enough to shut him up. For some reason, he seemed to be more afraid of her than Kai.

Kai was laying on the floor with some towels covering the bleeding spots on his body. Audra knelt down beside him and gave Kestrel a look of gratitude. "Thanks, Kes, but I want to try healing him first."

Stella gave her an odd look. "I thought you said you used your powers to kill that Hollow."

Kai looked up at Audra then. "You have powers now?"

She nodded, then addressed Stella's statement. "I can use it in different ways." She lifted her arms straight outward, forming a triangle with her index fingers and thumb. Softly, she said, "Shun'ou, Ayame, I reject." One third of the now orange gem on Kai's ring shattered as the two winged fairies materialized from the shards and formed an bright orange dome around Kai's body. His wounds began to heal instantaneously.

"Audra, what are those things?" Kai asked.

She smiled. "My new friends."

*Weekly visit! But actually, I'll be here tomorrow as well!*

Stella-

I watched half in amazement, and half in jealousy. Okay, maybe it was more sixty per cent jealousy. I slid to the floor.

"This is so annoying," I mumbled.

"What is?" Kes asked softly.

"I've spent the past two years learning how to heal people and suddenly you can all do it in a blink of an eye!" I said louder. "It's so frustrating!"

"Stella-" Audra began.

"Look, don't lecture me," I said tiredly. "Only I hate this. Suddenly you all have powers but I'm just the... I don't know, the sidekick!"

Kai shrugged. "You don't have powers. So what?"

"It's a girl thing," I said icily. Then I sighed. "Sorry, I'm in a bad mood. I just wish..."

"But Stel, you can see Hollows can't you?" Kes said. "Isn't there something in that?"

I bit my lip. "Uruhara said something, but he was probably trying to humour me anyway. I mean, full marks for trying but it's not exactly plausible. Not sure I entirely understand what he was saying, but there's a lot of that going around at the moment."

"What did he say?"

"That my aura felt a little tiny, tiny bit like a Quincy's, I think it was. Which cannot be true. I refuse to be connected to that guy! I mean, what's wrong with a little antiseptic or a brace? Or do you people just shun modern medicine altogether? And why are you all staring at me?"

Kes burst out laughing and the others followed.

"Told you it was implausible," I said, relaxing again and hoping that was what they were laughing at.

Audra

I finally stopped laughing and turned back to Kai. Shun'ou and Ayame were still flying about, taking in everything. Kai was forcing himself to sit up, and I couldn't help but be concerned.

"Take it easy, love," I instructed, ready to support him if the need arose.

"I'll be fine," he responded. "I just need to rest."

Ayame and Shun'ou landed on my shoulders, standing there like little guardian angels. Guardian Angels; that was what they were to me. My Guardian Angels.

"Thanks, you two," I addressed them warmly. "I'm glad you guys are here."

"We already told you; thank your beloved for helping create us."

The looks that we three got were completely bewildered. And so the story of their creation began again.



**By the way, Dynamo is having technical difficulties with his computer. He won't be back on until after tomorrow.**

"What do you mean?" Kestrel asked. "Are you saying Kai had a hand in your creation?"

"It all started three years ago," Shun'ou explained, "when that other girl kissed Kai against his will. Audra became upset, thinking he was cheating on her. But his love for her was so strong that it compelled him to chase after her and make her understand what really happened." The little fairy pointed at the ring hanging from Audra's neck. "That ring was very special to Kai, it was given to him by a friend he met in Japan. Even though it was something he valued very much, he gave it to Audra to show just how much he loved her. The instant Audra held the ring in her hand, we were born. The happiness she felt was great enough to bring us to life. We have been inside the ring all this time, waiting for the day that she would be able to summon us."

Kai noticed the orange gem and said, "That gem used to be red."

Shun'ou nodded. "It did, but that was before we were awakened. As long as the gem remains orange, we will be watching over Audra. We will see everything that's going on around her, and we will hear everything that she hears, so that when she calls us, we will always be ready."

Kestrel

"That sounds real swell, guys but I think I'm going to head off now. It's been a long day and I'm feeling awful tired," Kes said as she stood up and hovered by the door. She was starting to feel a little out of place and her eyes were aching from trying to see she shapes that her aura was sensing.

"Okay, Kes. We'll see you tomorrow then," Audra said.

"Yeah, sure. If you need me, just wave an arm in the air and I'll see it," Kestrel replied as she waved a little and then left the room. She closed the door firmly behind her and headed to her room. She was beginning to hate the way everyone's auras hung in her head, even when she closed her eyes but she acknowledged that it was better than seeing nothing at all.

Kes felt around under her bed until her hands settled on the long, thin case. She pulled it out and opened it, loving the texture of the cold, smooth metal.

Flute music echoed around the room as Kestrel put the instrument to her lips and the more she concentrated on playing, the less she was concentrating on the auras of those around her. At first, Kes didn't notice this, too lost in the peace of her music but when she did, her playing faltered and a false note squeaked out, stinging Kestrel's ears.

(By the way, kitty, I'm thinking the colour of a Quincy's aura should be blue, but I'll leave it up to you to think of what'll make it different from a Hollow's or a regular ghost.)

Ichidan was leaning against the door as everyone talked and laughed. His face was full of worry. A Menos appeared...and Kai beat it back, he thought. This information will probably reach Soul Society soon.

Kai noticed the look on Ichidan's face. "Hey, Ichidan. What's wrong?"

Ichidan suddenly perked up, erasing the worried expression from his face. "Oh, nothing. You did well today, Kai. I'm impressed." He turned to open the door. Before leaving, he said, "I'm going back to my room, I'll let you know if any new orders come in."

(For the next person to post, do a time skip to the next morning.)

Hmmm. Dark blue would work as hollows and ghosts are both bright blue.

(Come on, guys! It's been three days since anyone posted!)

**I would post, but...yeah. You already heard about my crazy week thus far... I'll try and post tomorrow.**

*Sorry, but here now... I don't really know what to do, but hey... worth a shot...*

Stella-

Sally had left me a note saying "I let you sleep, you were too cute to wake up." I scowled, I didn't like being told I was cute.

I got up and dressed -I put a skirt on and if today was anything like any of my other crazy days this week I would probably regret that choice later, but it was a nice skirt, so I felt justified.

Usually I would meet Kestrel and go to see the others, but a quick inspection of her room proved her to be conked out on her bed.

"Wake up, it's nearly eleven!" I said loudly and closed the door, going to Kai's and Audra's. I wasn't particularly keen to go in there by myself in case... you know... I walked in on something.

I knocked the door very quietly. "Come in!"

I opened it with relief. Audra was up and about.

"Good morning," I said cheerfully. "Any chance of breakfast?"

"If you make it," she said.

I put the kettle on and sat down at their table.

*sorry, all I could think of.*

Kai was sleeping soundly in his bed. The sun was shining through his window, yet it was so warm under his blanket that he didn't want to get up. But the sound of a muffled voice at the door caused him to open his eyes. He sat up to see what the noise was. There, hanging upside-down by his tail with a piece of string tied around his body and a piece of tape over his mouth, was Kon.

Kai yawned before asking, "What did you do this time?" He didn't seem at all surprised. Kon started struggling more, his muffled voice growing louder as he fought to speak past the tape. "Oh, right. Hang on." Kai walked over to the door and ripped the tape off his mouth with one quick jerk.

"YOUCH!! That hurts!"

"Keep it down, you're going to wake up everyone on the floor. Now, what happened?"

"I didn't do anything!" he said. "Audra just got mad for some reason and tied me up!"

"And when did this happen?" Kai asked.

"Last night after you went to bed. Will you get me down from here already!?"

Kai sighed as he lifted the stuffed lion off the door's coat hanger. A piece of paper fell to the floor when he loosened the string. He set Kon on the floor as he picked it up. It was a note, and it was in Audra's handwriting.

Dear Kai,

Last night I found Kon trying to spy on me in the shower. I was going to tell you, but you were already asleep and I didn't want to wake you up. He's your problem now. If he ever pulls something like this again, I'm going to rip his ears off.

Audra

Kai crumpled the piece of paper in his hand and looked at Kon. "How many times have I told you not to make Audra mad?"

Kon jumped up onto Kai's chest and held on by the collar of his shirt. "She's lying! That woman is evil I tell you! Pure evil!"

Kai grabbed him by the face and pulled him off of his shirt. "Audra wouldn't lie about something like that. She says she'll rip your ears off if you ever try something like that again." Kai looked over his shoulder at the clock, it was already eleven. "Crap, I'm going to be late for my first class." Kai threw Kon over his shoulder before rushing his room to get dressed and gather his things. He was in such a hurry that he hadn't even noticed Kon had landed in the trash can. Once he was ready he said, "Don't cause anymore trouble while i'm gone," before going out the door.

Kon climbed his way out of the trash can, bits of paper and crumbs stuck to his fur. "Dammit. Why am I always the one that gets treated like this?" he said, talking to no one in particular. "Wasn't I part of the team? Weren't we all of equal status?" His foot slipped as he was lifting himself over the edge of the can and he ended up face first on the floor. He was scowling when he said, "If that's the case, I'll leave and go on a journey. Then I'll find the one who will embrace me kindly. The place where I'll truly belong!"

Kon brushed the garbage off his body before climbing up Kai's bed, onto his bedside table and onto the window sill. The little stuffed animal pushed the window open and hopped out. What he failed to realise was Kai's room was four stories high. He landed with a loud squeak in a bush with sharp needles. "DAMMIT!!!"


Kai made a stop at Ichidan's room before leaving the building. He knocked on the door and said, "Hey, Ichidan. Time to go." There was no answer. He tried again, this time louder. "Hey, Ichidan!"

The door finally opened. "Calm down, I can hear you just fine." Ichidan didn't seem to be in a particularly good mood this morning.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Nothing happened. I'm just a but tired from yesterday's incident, that's all." He closed the door behind him, locked it and started walking down the hall.

"Then I guess it's all right," Kai said as he began to follow him.

(Just so you know, your characters aren't going to be running into Kon during his "journey". It's just a little filler to keep everyone entertained as the story progresses to the next plot twist. And don't worry, he's not going to be gone for good.)