Shadow Reapers

**Hang on...there's a complication in posts. Stella came to Audra's (and Kai's) room, but then when Kai woke up, it was just him and Kon. Someone needs to do something before I can post.**

(I think it was just a misunderstanding. I think she meant Kai's and Audra's in the sense that they might be sleeping together that night. Right now, it's just Stella and Audra in Audra's room. Does that clear it up?)

**Okay. Thanks.**

Audra

I smiled and joined Stella in the kitchen, pulling out a frying pan. Bacon would go in after the eggs, and toast would be heated in the microwave. Quick and ease, but still good.

"So, what did you think about yesterday?" I asked, just trying to start a conversation.

"That was just crazy!"

I laughed. So we agreed. "I know. But...it kind of flows together, you know. Everything that's been happening seems to fit perfectly, now."

She shrugged. "I guess. I'm not really into it that much."

I looked at her. That was a first. "Why not?"

She wouldn't look at me. "I'm just not."

Audra could sense that something was wrong. Stella didn't usually act like this. "What's wrong, Stella?"

"Nothing..." she said, although the tone of her voice stated otherwise.

"You're upset because you haven't found your powers yet, aren't you?"

She sighed. "I just want to be part of the battle. I don't want to be standing on the sidelines all the time and have to watch you guys fight."

Audra served the eggs and got started on the bacon. "I know how you feel, Stella," she told her, "I hated having to watch Kai fight, knowing if he got hurt there was nothing I could do to help him. But, you've just got to be pacient. Your powers will come someday, I know it."

Stella huffed. "That's easy for you to say, you've already found yours."

"Well...If it's bothering you that much you can always ask Ishida to help you."

Stella's head whipped around. "What!?"

"Well, you did say that Urahara told you your spiritual energy is similar to Ishida's. Maybe that means you're a Quincy, too. If that's the case then you should definitely get him to help you."

Stella scowled at the idea. "Are you kidding? That's guy's so selfcentered! I'd rather get hit by a car than ask him for help!"

There was a knock at the door. Kai's voice on the other side said, "Audra, hurry up or you'll be late for your first class!"

"Okay!" Audra turned back to Stella and told her, "Just think about it. Would you rather stay on the sidelines while the rest of us fight?"

_____________________________________________

Meanwhile...

Kon was walking down a small empty street a few blocks away from the college. As he walked he thought of what he should do next. "Well, now that I've left on an impulse...But what's next? I got no money, and I can't really go that far."

Movement further down the street caused him to stop. Two girls were walking in his direction. They were obviously on their way to the college. "Those are...!" He flopped down onto his back and played dead. When the two girls saw him they stopped.

Now pick me up! he thought. Yes, pick me up, girls from Kai's college! There's no way girls can resist the urge to pick up such a cute plushie!

One of the girls said, "Ah! Who would leave such a cute plushie out in the street like this?"

"Leave it alone, it's dirty," the other girl said as she started to walk, stepping on Kon in the process.

"Gyak!"

Both girls stopped in their tracks, slowly turning back to Kon. "...Did that thing speak just now?" one of the girls asked.

D-Dammit.

"Yes, it did," the other girl replied.

If Kon had real skin he would be sweating up a storm. There's no choice, in a situation like this... He jumped to his feet and ran as fast as he could down the street.

"Look at that! It's running!"

"Come on, let's go after it!" Both girls started chasing after the stuffed animal. "Get back here, toy!"

As he ran for his life, Kon screamed, "Why!? All I ever asked for was to be treated kindly!"

_________________________________

Fifteen minutes later Kai, Kestrel and Ichidan were in Proffesor Hill's English class. Audra and Stella had gone to their own classes.

Proffessor Hill was about to start his lesson when Ishida walked into the classroom. Both of his arms were wrapped up in bandages. Worried, Proffessor Hill asked, "Mr. Uryuu, how did you get those injuries?"

Ishida adjusted his glasses before calmly saying, "I fell down a staircase."

"I see... I'm sorry for your misfortune. please, get to your seat. I need to start the lesson now."

Kai stared at Ishida as he went to his seat. Some of the students were whispering to each other, talking about his injuries. Ichidan knew what Kai was thinking. He leaned over and whispered, "Don't stress about it too much. It's not like it's your fault. It's his own fault that he has those injuries."

Kai whispered back, "But he got hurt by saving me in the first place."

"Alright, settle down class," Proffessor Hill said, "Please open your text books to page eighty-three."

*I'm here for the next couple of days so I'll post as much as possible! Not sure really what to do but let's go, Barbie girls!*

Stella-

"So generally in the case of a ruptured spleen, the casualty will..."

Ah. Calming everyday stuff, this was. I rapidly took as many notes as I can. Kai and Kestrel were in an English lecture with Professor Hill, as was Sally. I missed English, I was good at English.

I had started a little earlier than them and as a result, I had fifteen minutes to kill. I decided to use them by walking over to the English block, past the library. It was threatening rain outside so I got in quick -not that I minded rain, I was quite at home in the drizzle, but my hair was glorious today and I didn't want to wreck it.

The class was just finishing as I got there and people were flooding out. I saw Ishida. Both his arms were wrapped up.

"So you decided to get those dealt with after all, then?" I said. He made a face at me and I called him a rude name as he walked off. I began searching for Kai and Kestrel but I couldn't see them anywhere. Figuring they would be easier to spot outside I went out and looked around.

A flash of knee-high yellow fur sped past me. Screaming.

There were people chasing after it.

Ishida was close by. "What was that?" he said.

"Here," I said, throwing my bag at him. "Take this."

Then I began to run after Kon. Oooh, look at that, Quincy-boy, I thought. Maybe magical powers weren't everything.

(Just so you know for the future, our characters aren't supposed to find Kon during his little "journey". It's just a funny side story to keep things interesting. He's going to come back on his own accord, so don't worry.)

"WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO MEEEEEE!?"

Even after two blocks of running the girls were still chasing Kon. As he ran, he thought, No good, I can't keep running forever! I need to find some place to hide! He ran around the corner of a building to find a handicap access ramp leading off the raised platform he was currently on. Without a moment's hesitation he jumped over the edge of the railing to the short drop below.

The two girls came up to the railing and looked around. "Where did it go?" one of them asked.

"I don't know. looks like it got away." The two girls finally gave up and left.

Stella arrived shortly after. She looked around, but found no sign of Kon. "I'm positive he went this way." She sighed, turned around and went to find Ishida, who was still holding her bag. "Oh well, I'm sure he'll be fine. I wonder what I'm going to have for lunch today?"

Meanwhile, Kon lay inside a trash can he had landed it when he jumped. As he climbed out, he moaned, "Dammit..."
_______________________________________

Kai, Ichidan, Kestrel and Audra had all met up in the cafeteria a few minutes ago. They were standing in line to pay for their food when Stella showed up. Her bag was slung over her shoulder. "Hey Kai, I just saw Kon a few minutes ago."

Kai merely raised his eyebrow and said, "Really? What was he doing outside my room?" It wasn't quite the reaction she was expecting.

"Don't ask me. He just ran past me a few minutes ago being chased by two girls."

"He'll be fine. I'm not going to miss lunch just to look for him." His eyes began to wander off into the eating area of the cafeteria. In the far corner of the large room, eating by himself, was Ishida.

Kai led them all across the cafeteria when they were finished paying for their food. He came up to Ishida's table. "Ishida."

Ishida gave Kai his usual cold stare. "Yes?"

"Let's eat lunch together."

"No thanks."

Despite Ishida's refusal, Kai set his tray down and sat down directly across the table from him. "Well, I'm sitting here anyway, whether you like it or not." It was clear in his eyes that Ishida didn't like the idea of eating lunch with Kai, but he didn't say anything. The girls all exchanged confused looks before sitting down, too. Ichidan didn't say a word.

The two of them stared at each other the entire time as they ate. The tension in the atmosphere was palpable. For the longest time, they ate in silence.

Surprisingly enough, Ishida was the first to break the silence. Everyone except Ichidan and Kai jumped at the sound of his voice. "Okami, why did you want to eat with me?" Kai continued to munch on his food as Ishida talked. "Is it because of my injuries? If that's the case, you're talking to the wrong person. And honestly, being worried about in such a way is just a bother."

"You talk too much," Kai said. "I just felt like eating with you today, that's all. It's not because I like you or anything. Just be thankful we're here, otherwise you'd be eating alone right now."

"Thankful? I told you "no" and you sat down anyway. Plus, I like to eat by myself."

"I'm also the eat-my-meal-alone type," Kai told him.

"The at least look the other way when you eat."

"Why do I have to look away?"

The others simply listened to their conversation. Weird...they're both the same, Audra thought.
_______________________________________

It took Kon a half-hour to clean himself off. After that, he got right back on his journey to find someone who would treat him nicely. He found himself at a nearby highschool. It must have been gym class because girls in gym uniforms were playing soccer behind the school. Kon was sitting in a nearby tree, spying on them.

"Heheheh... This is perfect. Surely one of these girls will take me home with her. That incident earlier was just a little rehearsal, the real thing starts now." He went over his plan in his head. "First, I'll act as a helpless plushie by lying in the grass and wait for one of them to notice me. One of them will surely embrace me kindly and nurse me in the valley of Gods." To Kon, valley of Gods meant a girl's breast.

He hopped out of the tree and headed toward the playing field. "I have to act quickly. After this, I'll be experiencing comfort like never before against the chest of one of these fine young girls!"

One of the girls had the ball and was heading toward the net. Another girl from the other team came up along side her and kicked to ball. The soccer ball went flying out of the playing field right into Kon's direction. The ball slammed him into the side of the tree before bouncing off to the side. They didn't even notice Kon when they retrieved the ball and started playing again.

Kon lay slumped against the trunk of the tree, the entire front of his face indented from the ball. "...Dammit..."

*does anybody know why all the font on YWS has shrunk, or is that just mine? Help, someone! It's all tiny... Or at least, smaller than I remember it....*

Stella-

"Well, this is sufficiently awkward," I said, smiling at Audra and earning myself some death stares from the boys.

"Okay, okay," I said. "But you think I'd be allowed to talk. And seriously, who likes eating alone? Doesn't it make you feel really fat?"

Realising I was babbling, I grinned at Audra again. "You talk."

"So..." she said, swallowing a bite of her roll. "Ishida, do you have any hobbies?"

Not taking his eyes off Kai, Ishida replied "I sew."

"That's... interesting..." Audra said and looked at me desperately. I shrugged.

"I sew. Well, I used to and then I kind of fell over my sewing machine so it's back to needle and thread and I really just don't have the time."

I could practically hear the crickets.

"Nice weather today, isn't it?" Kestrel tried.

"Yeah, it is," I answered a little too quickly. "I mean, it will probably rain later but I do have to say that I like the clouds."

"Oh yes, clouds are marvellous."

"I don't think they're given nearly enough credit," I said back.

Kai and Ishida were both chewing. Slowly. But they had stopped staring at each other. They were staring at me.

"I'll stop talking then," I muttered and took a textbook out of my bag. "I know it's bad manners to read at the table but I really don't think the manners here could get much worse."

I flicked a few pages when Audra whispered in my ear "Why don't you talk to Ishida about what Uruhara said?"

"And get my head bitten off? No thanks!" I hissed back.

"Rude to whisper," Kestrel called and Audra sat back again, giving me a stern look.

"I'm not doing it. No way," I said. "I'd seem like an idiot."

"Doing what?" Kai asked.

"Nothing," I sighed. There was no point in even attempting to. I looked round at all the others and glanced at Ishida. If I discovered what powers I had, did it mean I would turn out like him? Because if so, I'd rather just stay on the sidelines. But at the same time it was like an itch I couldn't scratch, I just wanted to be able to ask him straight out and then do something about it.

(How much of the anime Bleach have you watched, Stella? I know for a fact that you wouldn't have known Ishida sew unless you watched the show. I'm actually a little relieved that you made him bring it up. I was having trouble thinking of a way to incorporate his sewing into the story. And about the text, a while ago the font had changed in size, but that was probably over six months ago. If you're just noticing it now, then it probably is just you.)


Kestrel turned to look at Ichidan. He hadn't spoken a word all morning. With her new found ability to see people's details from the outline of their reiatsu she could see his face. Being blind all her life, she was not familiar with most of the facial expressions she has seen so far, but she could tell that something was troubling him.

"Ichidan, is something the matter?"

He looked at her, a little surprised that she had noticed. He tried his best to mask his expression and said, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've been very quiet all this time. I was just wondering if something was wrong."

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Audra suddenly perked up. "Oh, I just remembered something." She turned to Ichidan and said, "In a few days the college is going to hold a cultural awareness festival. There's going to be lots of food from different countries, music, and fireworks. Me, Kai and the rest of us were planning on going together, and since you've done so much for use we were wondering if you'd like to join us?"

Ichidan seemed to think about it for a moment before saying, "I'll think about it, but thank you."

She turned to Ishida next. "How about you, Ishida? Would you like to come, too?" Everyone was suddenly staring at Audra.

"Why would I want to come?"

"Well, you did save my boyfriend's life after all. I was just trying to repay the favour, that's all." She looked at Stella and said, "Oh, that reminds me, Stella has something she wants to talk to you about. Maybe you two can get together after lunch?"

Stella spat out her drink all over the table. Thankfully, none of it got into anyone's food. She turned angry eyes to Audra and said, "What the hell are you saying!?"

"What do you mean? You need to ask him about that thing, don't you?" Audra asked.

"Well, not right this second!"

As Ichidan watched what was happening, he thought, This place...This place is not where I belong...
_________________________________________________________

After having each one of his plans foiled in some way or another, Kon had decided to make another plan. His next destination was Urahara's shop. He snuck as quietly as he could around the side of the little store, he said, "Why do I have to be treated like this? Dammit! This is all because of that bastard Kai."

He sidled against the wall toward the nearest window. "Wait right there, Kai. I shall use the special killing weapons collected here by that maniac manager, and I'll have my revenge!" He heard a sound to his right. When he looked, he saw a black cat sitting on the top of a nearby fence. It was staring right at him.

"What're you looking at!? Wanna bring it on!?" Kon shouted. "Just because we're both in the cat family doesn't mean I'm the same as you! I'm the great lion!" The cat let out a low mew before walking across the fence, away from Kon. "Hah! Got scared!? You'd better run! Just be glad you didn't have to see me use my claws!" When the cat was gone, he went back to what he was doing. He looked up at the window he wanted to get into and said, "Now, how am I going to do this?"

After a few minutes of struggling, he finally got up to the window sill. He took a moment to catch his breath before saying, "That wasn't too hard."

"Interesting...mod-souls can even enter toys."

"Eh?" Kon looked down into the room to see the two kids from the shop sitting on the floor, looking at him.

The girl said, "Hello..."

"H-HOW!?"

"Yoruichi told us." It was then Kon noticed the black cat from before was laying in Ururu's lap. The cat let out an adorable mew.

"You're the bastard from earlier!" Kon declared.

Jinta got up and went to the window. He grabbed Kon and said, "Now, let's see, what should we do with you?"

"Hey, hey! Stop that!"

"Hey, Ururu, grab his feet."

"Let me go, right now!"

"Ready? Three, two, one!"

"NOOOOOOO!!!"

*lol, dynamo, I haven't watched anime since Cardcaptors (that was so fun! Especially the theme song!) when I was about ten. No offence, they're just not my thing -I don't watch that much TV in general, and it's BBC, RTE and Channel 4 all the way-usually drama and comedy! But when you introduced Ishida you gave us a link to his Wiki and I very dutifully... uh... scanned the parts that looked as if they would interest me in the slightest. And it said he liked to sew. And as a matter of fact I loooove to sew and trying to persuade my parents to get me a machine for Christmas. Hence Stella falling over hers . And the text is reallllllly annoying me. I can see it, it's just really small. But I really am rambling now so I'll stop.*

Stella-

"About what?" Ishida said, sounding a tiny bit interested.

"None of your business," I replied sharply.

"It clearly is if you plan on talking to me about it," he said. Oh, I hated people who had good comebacks.

"It's fine, you don't have to," I said quickly, sighing. "I'll survive."

"No, no, please," he said, obviously not wanting to seem impolite.

"Well that's sorted. Why don't the two of you go get a coffee or something and talk it over?" Audra said.

"I will totally get you back for that," I muttered to Audra, who laughed.

"You're all talk, Stella, you needed a push if you were ever going to do something about it." She stood up with her bag and stretched. "Come on, Kai," she said, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Let's go."

"Stay, Kes, please!" I hissed.

"I'll see you later, Stel," Kestrel said with a hint of a smile as she began to leave as well.

With a grimace, I tossed my book back in my bag. Ishida sat unmoving. "I guess we might as well get it over and done with," I told him. "You coming?"

"Why not here?" he said, gesturing to the cafeteria.

I sat back down. "Fine," I said, getting grumpy. "Let's get straight to it, I'm here 'cause a friend said something strange to me that I'm curious about, and I think you're probably the only person who can tell me more."

*Hope that's okay*

(Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I was also thinking about something. I need everyone's output on this. How would you guys feel about controlling one extra character when our characters get to Soul Society? This is just make it so we know what's going on behind the scenes with the Death Gods, because there's going to be a conspiracy involving three powerful Death Gods while our characters are there. It's important to the storyline, but it'll seem tedious to describe the entire thing if not even one of us is involved in it in anyway.)

"Go on," Ishida said. His expression was as cold as usual.

Stella scowled. "Will you stop looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

She pointed at his face. "Like that! It makes you look all high and mighty and it annoys me."

"Are you going to ask me your question or not?"

She sighed annoyingly as she slumped back into her seat. "Fine, I'll get to the point. A friend of mine who... has powers like the rest of us told me my spiritual energy feels similar to that of a Quincy's."

Ishida's expression didn't change one bit. "And?"

"Well, I'm tired of standing back and watching my friends fight all the time. Since my spiritual energy is similar to yours, I guess that makes me a Quincy, too. So, I was hoping you could-"

"No."

Shocked at his sudden refusal, she asked, "What? Why?"

"I know for a fact that I am the last of the Quincy. Whatever you are, you are not the same as me."

"Well... okay. But, can't you teach me some of what you know? That way I might at least learn how to harness my power."

Ishida suddenly stood up. "Do you know what it is you're asking for? It takes a Quincy years just to learn the basics of his powers. I do not have the time, nor the patience to teach what I know to someone who won't even benefit from the knowledge." He left the cafeteria, leaving Stella to sit alone at the table, his words echoing painfully in her mind.
_________________________________________

Kai and Audra headed back to their rooms together once all their classes were finished. It had been a long day and the sun was already beginning to set. As they left the school, a voice called out, "Kai!"

They both turned to see Ichidan running toward them. "What's wrong?" Kai asked. "Is there a Hollow in the area?"

Ichidan paused for a minute before saying, "No, not that." He was silent for a few moments, then said, "Are you two... feeling alright?"

Kai flexed is arm and said, "Yeah, everything feels fine now."

"Same here," Audra added.

"I see... That's good to hear."

"Is another one like yesterday coming?" Kai asked.

Ichidan explained, "Menos Grandes could hardly appear that often."

"Ichidan, you've been acting strange today," Audra said.

"That's right," Kai added. "Did something happen?"

Ichidan looked away. He was silent again for a few moments before starting to say, "Well..."

"KAAAAAAIIII!!!!!"

All three of them perked up. They all recognized that voice. They looked ahead to see Kon running toward them. When he was close enough, he jumped toward them. His aim had been for Audra's chest. Kai caught him by the tail in mid-air before he could touch her. "Hey, what do you think you're doing!?"

"I'm sorry! I was wrong to run away from home! I get it now. With you is the place where I really belong! Kai!" He was speaking to Audra, even though he was supposed to be addressing Kai.

"You ran away? You- Hey, I'm up here!"

"Since I ran away, the stormy seas of life crashed mercilessly down on me. I-I'll go back to your room!"

Ichidan's expression turned solemn as he whispered, "Go back, huh?"

"What's wrong, Ichidan?" Audra asked.

"No, I was just thinking that Kon's really become attached to both of you."

"Yeah, I guess," Kai said. He finally noticed the condition the mod-soul's body was in. His fur was covered in dirt, many of his seams were ripped and torn, and someone had written profanity all over his head. "But man, you're sure messed up. Your cotton's showing." Kai was still holding him by the tail when he lifted him to eye level.

Kon began to flail around. "Hey, what're you doing? Put me down!"

"I'm amazed you're not dead."

"We're going to have to fix you up," Audra said, "but none of us know how to sew."

Kai sighed. "There's no other way. I'll have him take a look."


After a half-hour of searching, they finally found Ishida's dorm room. Kai knocked on the door. Ishida opened the door a few seconds later. His room was pretty plain, with the exception of the white robe that Kai had first seen him in hanging in an open closet. "What do you want?"

Kai showed him the condition Kon was in. "We need you to fix our mod-soul's body."

"Why me?"

"Come on, aren't you good at this?" Kai asked.

"I refuse." He started to close the door, but Kai jammed it with his foot.

He forced the door back open and asked, "Why?"

"There's no need to answer."

"Please, Ishida? You're the only person we know besides Stella who can help us, and she's been acting strange since lunch." Audra said.

Kai suddenly perked up. "That's right! It's impossible with those hands." Ishida's eyebrow began to twitch under his glasses. "It is impossible to do, right? With those hands, you can't even put a thread through a needle!"

Ishida finally snapped. "How rude! With only these kinds of injuries!?" He grabbed Kon out of Kai's hand and stormed over to his desk. He took a small metal box from one of the shelves on his cupboard and slammed it on the table, opening it up to reveal various sewing equipment and materials. "You shall see with your own eyes the job of a God!" He went to work on repairing Kon's body. His hands were moving quite literally one hundred miles an hour. Kai, Audra and Ichidan all moved closer to get a better look at his work. "With these hands, I'll..."

"Is he going to be okay?" Audra asked.

"I wonder..." Kai replied.

In no time at all he was finished. He adjusted the collar of his shirt before stepping aside to let them see his work. "Here, finished."

All three of them were simply awe-struck at his work. Kon was repaired, alright, and now he was wearing a beautiful red dress and blond wig with purple bows. Kai was the first to say, "...Who are you?"

"What do you mean?" Kon began to look himself over. His eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw what he was wearing. "What is this!?"

Ishida smiled as he adjusted his glasses. "In order to meet the demand of orders at any given time, I always have high quality fabric in stock. By the way, the material I used here-" His sentence was interrupted when Kon threw a spool of thread at his head.

Audra started to giggle, then Kai and Ichidan snickered. Pretty soon they were all laughing like crazy. Kon started yelling at them. "Hey, get a hold of yourselves! Stop laughing at me!!!" They didn't stop. In fact, they started to laugh even harder. "I guess I'll run away from home after all!!!"
______________________________________

Meanwhile, back at Urahara's shop...

Yoruichi the cat was sitting just outside Urahara's shop. He was watching the sky as the sun began to set, taking note of the incoming storm clouds.

Urahara came out with a bottle of milk and a saucer. He noticed the cat looking up at the sky and asked, "What's wrong, Yoruichi?" He knelt down and set the saucer and milk beside the cat. "Is it going to rain?"

"Stop all the cheap acting," the cat said in a deep male voice. "You know all about it, don't you?" Yoruichi turned his gaze to Urahara. "They have arrived."

Urahara's expression went serious when he said, "That talk...shall we have it before or after the milk?"

(Just so you know, Stella, your character is still going to get her powers, it's just going to take a little longer. Trust me though, it'll be worth the wait.)

*that's fine although I am beginning to get curious... But I don't have much so apologies that this is going to be real short*

Stella-

"Hi, it's Audra, I'm not here right now, so leave a message!"

"I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You," I said angrily down the phone. "I've just completely humiliated myself and what did I get for it? Absolutely nothing. Zilch! Nada! Dada, faic," I said, making use of my language skillls. "I am extremely angry with you." I sighed. "No, I'm not, you're right, I needed the kick. I'm just frustrated is all. Sorry, I... don't even know why I'm leaving this message. It's completely pointless. Ah well. Perhaps it'll brighten up your day. Later, I guess."

I cut off and sat down to watch some bad afternoon TV and pretend to get some work done. There was a knock at the door a few minutes later and Kestrel walked in.

"Are you okay?" she said.

"No," I answered grumpily. "I want to be magic."

She sat down. "I'm sure you'll find your powers."

"Yeah, but seeing as Ishida won't even tell me if I've got any doesn't seem like it will be anytime soon."

"You could always... try and see for yourself."

"No such luck," I said, slumping. "I thought about that already, but there's really no way to go about it is there? Not until I know what they are. I mean, do I get a big sword like Kai, or little faeries like Audra or, let's face it, frankly awesome psychic blue fire stuff like you? Or nothing at all. Zilch, nada, dada, faic," I repeated myself.

"Dada?" she asked inquiringly.

"Doesn't matter," I said, turning the TV off. "Got any idea where the others are?"

"Something about going to find Ishida..."

"Why? Not like he'd help them with anything."

"You're in a seriously bad mood aren't you?" she said, cocking her head. "I've never seen you like this before."

"Yup," I answered. "A very bad one."

*language lesson for the day, "dada" and "faic" (fwack) mean nothing in Irish . Also "Tada." We have fun words *

Audra went back to her room later that night. The first thing she did was listen to her messages as she changed into her leisure clothes.

"Hi, it's Audra, I'm not here right now, so leave a message!" The machine beeped and went to the first and only message.

"I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You."

Audra stopped what she was doing at the sound of Stella's voice on her machine. "...Stella?"

"I've just completely humiliated myself and what did I get for it? Absolutely nothing. Zilch! Nada! Dada, faic! I am extremely angry with you." Stella sighed before saying, "No, I'm not, you're right, I needed the kick. I'm just frustrated is all. Sorry, I... don't even know why I'm leaving this message. It's completely pointless. Ah well. Perhaps it'll brighten up your day. Later, I guess."

The answering machine beeped again before an automated voice began to say, "Your mailbox is empty. To replay your messages, press one. To save a message, press-" Audra turned off the machine and finished dressing before leaving to find Stella.

I didn't think this would happen, she thought. All I wanted to do was help. I need to find her and appoligize.


Meanwhile, back in the boy's dorm building, Kai was heading toward Ichidan's room. They usually went down to the residence dinning hall and ate dinner together. He knocked on Ichidan's door and called out to him, "Hey, Ichidan, it's dinnertime! Are you coming, or what?" There was no answer. "What the..." He knocked on the door again. "Ichidan, are you in there?" Still no answer. "That's weird, he's usually home around this time. I guess he must've gone somewhere else again."

Kai decided to see if Audra wanted to eat with him instead. Although, he failed to notice the envelop on the floor in front of Ichidan's room. The front of it read, "Thank you for everything."
____________________________________

Ichidan stood just outside of the campus. He was wearing a jacket, a backpack was slung over his shoulder. For a few moments he just stood there, staring at what had been his home for the past week or so, before turning around and running down the street.

Little did he know, he was being watched. A few blocks away on a lamppost stood two men in black Death God kimonos. They both had a sword at their side. One man was tall with long black hair and an expressionless face. The other man was slightly shorter with long red hair done up in a spiky ponytail. Tattooed on his forehead were black lines in the form of hieroglyphs.

The man with red hair was looking through a pair of black shades. "Back matching, 113. Nerve system bonding is at 88.5%. Are you kidding me? He really is in a gigai... And I didn't really trust the information that was acquired from the images." He lifted the shades onto his forehead and smiled. "Ichidan Kuchiki, I've found you!"

(Now the real fun begins. You'll find out later in the story why he said Ichidan's last name is Kuchiki instead of Hatsuga.)
______________________________________

Byakuya Kuchiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byakuya_Kuchiki
Renji Abarai: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renji_Abarai

***I honestly have no idea what to post. Gimme some time to think on it, and I'll try and post later...***

(Actually, I can double post just to move things along. Maybe it'll also give you some ideas on what to post next. This post is a long one, so be prepared for some reading.)

"Give me that sword, Death God."

"Me, Kai and the rest of us were planning on going together, and since you've done so much for use we were wondering if you'd like to join us?"

"Last night, you risked your life to save us. At that moment, were you thinking about your duty as a death god?"

Memories of the past week replayed over and over in Ichidan's mind as he ran down the dark, empty streets of Toronto. It was hard to believe that so much had happened in such a short amount of time, not to mention all the people he had met, the friends he had made. Yet, when he first came to the Human world, this was exactly what he had hoped wouldn't happen.

"If I must eventually leave this place... then all these things would be nothing more than shackles...sympathy...friendship...attachment...such bothersome things. None of these are even necessary emotions for a Death God." He shook his head. "You're a mess, Ichidan... I have involved myself in this world a bit too long after all."

"YES!!!" Ichidan stopped dead in his tracks. He looked up, with wide eyes, at a figure sitting at the top of a telephone pole. "You do get it." The man drew a katana from his side and held it up in the air. "Well...to put it another way, since you stayed on this side so long you basically got to live just a little longer...Ichidan!"

"Renji..." Ichidan spoke louder when he said, "Renji Abarai!?" The man jumped down from the telephone pole, his sword poised to strike. Ichidan saw the attack coming and managed to step back in time to dodge it. As Renji's sword passed in front of his body it created a bright green stream of light. The energy from the attack created an strong updraft that made both their clothes flap in the wind.

When the energy died down, Renji lifted his head and said, "You had a pursuer from Soul Society closin' in behind you, and you were so lost in thought that you didn't realize it until I spoke? I don't care if you are in a faux body, in just this past week, you've gotten way too soft." As the dust from the attack began to disperse, Ichidan could see the cracks in the concrete caused by Renji's attack. He rested the flat edge of his blade over his shoulder before saying, "Spit it out, Ichidan. Where's the human who took your powers?"

Ichidan tensed, his hands curling into tight fists. He fought to keep his face blank when he said, "What are you talking about? Just because I'm in a faux body doesn't mean my powers were taken. Furthermore, what makes you think the one who supposedly took them was human?"

Renji spoke in a harsh voice when he said, "He is human. Otherwise, you wouldn't have that stupid human expression on your face!" Ichidan's eyes suddenly widened in shock. Despite his best efforts, he wasn't able to hide his emotions. Renji continued, "You're just another kid from Rukongai like me...and still you were lucky enough to get taken in by the Noble House of Kuchiki. With all that money and effort spent on you, weren't you supposed to become one of the Death God elite!? Eh!?" He pointed at Ichidan and shouted, "You're Ichidan freakin' Kuchiki, damn it! There's no way it's right for you to wear that human expression!" He lowered his arm and looked over Ichidan's shoulder. "Ain't that right, Captain Kuchiki?"

Ichidan's heart suddenly caught in his throat at the mere mention of that name. He slowly turned to look behind him, and there, standing in plain sight, was the one person he hoped would have never found him here. "...Byakuya...Brother..."

"Ichidan..."

The sound of a metal clink caused Ichidan to turn back to Renji. The man with red hair was charging forward, his sword poised to strike again. Ichidan jumped out of the way in time to dodge the blade. Every time Renji swung his sword, the blade produced a green ray of energy along its path that remained expended in the air for a second before disappearing.

Ichidan felt something wet on his cheek. He wiped it with the back of his hand and saw that it was blood. Renji had nicked his cheek with his sword, if he had been any slower he would be dead right now.

"The transfer of Death God powers to a human is a felony, ya know," Renji explained. "Leaving the execution to us, instead of the Corrections Corps, was probably the Brass' version of kindness. Now, spill the location, Ichidan. We're here to capture you, and kill the guy who took your powers. Don't protect him." Renji readied his sword for another attack. "You realize it, don't ya? You didn't dodge my first two attacks, I let you dodge them. The next will kill you."

Ichidan braced himself for the next attack. Renji began to move forward slowly, to get close enough to land the final blow without fail. But just before he struck, movement from behind Ichidan caused him to tense. His eyes were suddenly very wide.

A blinding blue light passed over Ichidan's shoulder. Renji moved his head just in time to avoid being hit. Ichidan's ear rang from the sound generated by whatever had just flew past his head. He looked over his shoulder to see a figure approaching them. The streets were poorly lit, so he couldn't make out his face.

"Two men with weapons attacking an unarmed person...not a very pleasant thing to see." Ichidan recognized the newcomer's voice as he stepped under a nearby lamppost, carrying a bag full of groceries in one hand. "I don't really like that sort of thing."

Renji's surprised was clear on his face. "You can see us... Who the hell are you?"

The newcomer adjusted his glasses. "Just a classmate."

"Classmate?"

"One that hates Death Gods, that is."

Ichidan turned to the newcomer and said, "Ishida? Why are you here?"

"Just a coincidence. It's nothing for you to worry about. But, if you must know, I was on my way back to the college after buying some groceries when I happened to walk in on you three."

A stream of green light suddenly appeared across the front of Ishida's grocery bag before it ripped and fell on the sidewalk. "I'm askn' you a question over here. I said, who the hell are you?" Ishida said nothing. "Well, if you don't feel like answerin', that's fine, too." Renji pointed his sword at him. "I'll just kill you first."

Ichidan stepped in front of Ishida. "Wait, Renji! He's not a part of th-"

"What are you talking about!?" Ishida asked, ignoring Ichidan. "I gave you your answer. I'm just one of Hatsuga's classmates. One that hates Death Gods, that is."

"I call that not answerin'."

Ishida sighed, closed his eyes for a moment, then said, "My name is Ishida Uryuu. Pleased to meet you."

Renji tilted his head in annoyance. "What's with you all of a sudden?"

"Nothing. I just thought even a Death God would at least want to know the name of the man who defeated him."

Renji's arm began to tremble, then it moved up his shoulder to his face. His face suddenly lit up with anger. "That's it...I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!"
___________________________________________

Kai was on his way to Audra's room, but he decided to make a trip to the men's washroom first. He let out a long yawn as the toilet finished flushing. "I wonder what Ichidan is doing right now? He doesn't usually go out this late at night." He began to turn toward the stall door and leave. "Well, in that case, tonight I'll take a break from the Death God busin-"

A muffled voice made him jump. His back slammed into the door. "What!? What's that sound!?" He looked around the stall, trying to locate the source of the noise. His eyes finally set on the toilet. He went down to his knees and crawled around the toilet. That's when he saw Kon bound to the back of the toilet by tape. His mouth was also taped shut, which was why he was making muffled sounds. "Kon!?"


Kai was back in his room a few minutes after freeing the stuffed animal. Kon was overjoyed to be free. "Man, I owe ya! You seriously saved my ass!"

The smell coming off of Kon's was so horrid he had to plug his nose. He tried to say your welcome, but it ended up sounding like, "Yer welgobe." He reached up to one of his cabinets for a spray bottle of Febreze.

"Anyways, in that position, I couldn't tell who came in, so I had to judge just by aura and sounds to find out whether or not it was you." Kai sprayed the bottle of air freshener at the toy lion's face. Kon hadn't been expecting it, so he lost his balance and fell on his back. When he got back up he jumped and grabbed onto the front of Kai's shirt, bringing his face up to his. "What the hell do you think you're doing!? Is that how you treat a best friend who's endured long hours of suffering!?"

Kai grabbed him by the head and pried him off his shirt. "Who said you're my best friend!? You stink!"

"It's not my fault! Ichida-" Kon gasped, covering his mouth with his paws. He suddenly started thrashing about, freeing himself from Kai's grip and grabbing back onto his shirt. "Oh, yeah, Kai! It's Ichidan! He's in trouble!"

Kai grabbed him again. This time he tossed him against the door. "I said, get away from me!"

Kon got back to his feet and started jumping around. "The letter! The letter!"

"What are you talking about now?"

"He put a letter on his door!"

"Who, Ichidan?" Kai asked. "I was just at his room and I didn't see any letter."

"Maybe it fell off the door! You have to go get it!" Kai left his room to find the letter Kon was talking about. Sure enough, it was laying on the floor just in front of Ichidan's door. When he got back to his room, Kon started jumping around again. "That's it! That's the letter!"

"What is this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kon asked. "It's a goodbye message!"

Kai looked at the stuffed animal and asked, "How do you know all this when you've been taped behind the toilet all this time?"

"After that thing with the dress, I wanted to run away. So, I decided to say good-bye to everyone. I started with Ichidan, but when I climbed through his window I caught him writing the letter. He taped me to the toilet so I wouldn't be able to tell you in time."

"Tell me what?" Kai asked.

"Ichidan left us behind and went away."

"What!?" Kai got down to his knees so his face was level with Kon's. "Why!? Without one word to me?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know!?"

Kai sighed and looked at the letter in his hand. "Dammit, what the hell is he thinking?"

He opened the letter and began to read. Kon jumped onto his shoulder so he could read it, too. There was a note on the side of the letter that said, "Enjoy deciphering this."

"Let's see... Orfe yme sonsrea, I stume eavle..." Kai grunted in frustration. "What the hell is this?"

Kon pointed to the left side of the paper. "Hey, what's that?" He was pointing to a crudely drawn picture of a pig. Beside it were the words, "Here is a hint."

"Oh, I get it," Kai said, "It must be pig Latin." He tried reading it again. "For my reasons, I must leave. Do not look for me, and do not worry. After you read this letter, burn it. And if you can, hide out for a while..." He scratched his head. "I still don't really know why he left."

"You don't know?" Kai looked at Kon. "Something...happened." His face was full of dread as he rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Burn the letter...Hide out...Why is Ichidan worrying about us so much? It's obvious. Something happened between him and Soul Society! So in order not to involve us, and the people around him, he left by himself!" Kai's expression went solemn as he listened to the Modified Soul's words. "For all we know, he could be d-"

"Stop it!" Kon looked at Kai who was now standing. "Let's not let our imaginations get out of hand. Nothing will get solved just standing around and talking like this."

"Kai..."

"Let's go, Kon. I'm going to change to Death God and follow Ichidan."

Kon raised his arm and shouted, "Yeah, count me in!" Kai's eyes narrowed on the stuffed animal. That's when Kon realized what he was really saying. "W-Wait...Not again!?"

Kai started walking toward the Modified Soul. "You know the drill, Kon."

"No! Stop!" Kai reached down to grab him, but Kon jumped onto his desk. Kai reached out to grab him again, but the stuffed animal jumped away again, this time landing on his bed. "Wait a second!"

"Get back here!" Kai jumped onto his bed. Once again, Kon was just out of his reach. He was now climbing to the very top of his bookshelf. Kai tried to reach up and grab him, but he was still out of his reach. "Ichidan is in deep trouble, this isn't the time to be like this! Id I don't change to Death God, I can't do anything!"

"But why do you always have to shove your hand in my mouth!?"

"Shut up and get down here!"

"Hello there." The two of them turned to see Urahara sitting in the frame of Kai's window. He held in his hand a cane with the same fiery skull picture on the tip as Ichidan's glove. "I see you're in a bit of a bind. Anything I can do to help?"

(Sorry about the long post, hopefully we can keep this going so I won't have to double post again.)

*Hm... I have no idea where I should send Stella... to Ichidan and Ishida or to Kai or to right where she is? Oh well. Tell me and I'll put it in my next post (I'll be here for the next ten days, would you believe????)*

Stella-

There was a knock on the door and Audra came in.

"I just wanted to apologise," she said warily.

I frowned. "Why?"

"You left death threats on my machine."

"Audra, I was totally kidding!" I said, putting my arms round her. "Well, not really. I was a little angry. But I didn't mean that stuff. I was just frustrated."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "You want some tae?"

"Sure," she replied, flopping onto my sofa as I boiled the kettle.

"Well, your idea completely backfired for one thing," I said.

"I gathered that from the message," she said. "Is it really that big a deal?"

"Yes!" I squealed. "No," I said. "I just wish I knew what was going on."

"You and me both," she answered. "This whole thing with Kai and Ichidan and your Ishida..."

I spluttered. "Since when was he 'my' Ishida?"

Audra stuck her tongue out. "Joking."

I poured the tea. "Do you want to go out tonight?" I asked. "Have some craic?"

"Sure," she said.

*from there I guess we can go wherever...*