Shadow Reapers

"I'm...going...to die!" Kai said as he tried to struggle his way out from under Tessai, who was holding him down by sitting on his back.

Urahara was fanning himself with his paper fan. "Exactly. Once the Chain of Fate is broken, you can no longer return to your body. You will only die."

"Don't say it as if it has nothing to do with you," Kai mumbled angrily.

"Then I shall give you one more piece of information." He pointed at Kai's chain and explained, "The corrosion of the chain begins at the cross-section of the part it has been cut. Once it reaches your chest, you will become a Hollow and... The End."

Kai's eyes widened in fright. "Wh-What did you say?"

He closed his fan with a snap and pointed at Kai with it. "If you don't want to turn into a Hollow, then the only thing left is to become a Death God. Once you clear Lesson Two, then you can once again regain your strength as a Death God." He shrugged and added, "Well, you're free to choose which way you go."

Kai smiled. "It's already decided."

"Okay... then we shall begin." He pointed into the distance and shouted, "Go!"

The ground under Kai and Tessai suddenly crumbled. Kai screamed as he fell to the bottom of a deep and rather dark pit.

Urahara chuckled as he strolled to the edge of the pit, Jinta and Ururu following at either side of him. Ururu was holding a shovel in one hand. "Are you surprised by my feint?" he asked as Kai's screaming voice got quieter and quieter.

They waited a few moments for Kai to hit the bottom. "Hey..." Jinta uttered.

"It's quite deep," Urahara finished for him.

Ururu bowed and said, "I did my best."

After a few more moments, Kai finally hit the bottom. He grumbled angrily, spitting out some of the dirt that had went into his mouth during the landing. "That bastard..." He noticed Tessai was no longer on his back. He tried to get up, but his arms were stuck behind his body. His eyes went wide when he looked over his shoulder and found them bound by rings of metal. "Wh-What are those!?"

"Binding Art 99: Metal," a voice from across the pit answered. Kai Looked up to see Tessai sitting cross legged a few meters away. He made some type of sign with his hands, indicating that he was the one who had cast the spell. "Please forgive me for such rudeness, but until this lesson has ended, I'll keep your arms sealed."

"Kai! Can you hear me?" Kai rolled onto his legs and lifted himself up so he could kneel. He looked up at the small circle of light at the top of the pit and saw Urahara's body. His voice echoed down the hole when he spoke. "Please come up here in that condition. That's the lesson. The name is: Shuttered Shaft."

"What the hell is the matter with you!?" Kai yelled. "How am I supposed to get back up there like this!?"

"It's about can or cannot," Urahara told him, "there is no time for you to doubt."

The sound of chewing caught Kai's attention. He looked down and saw the end of his Chain of Fate standing on its own. The broken ring at the end of the chain had sprouted mouths and was gnawing away at the next chain link.

Kai screamed.

Urahara continued, "At the bottom of Shuttered Shaft, you have about seventy-two hours until the chain's fully corroded, which is three days. Please climb back up here as a Death God before then. Otherwise... we'll have to kill you."

(Come on, guys! It's been almost a week since anyone posted. Someone just post something, anything!)

Sorry, I'm just really low on time lately and this one's starting to drag a little for me. I'll see if I can get a post written tonight or tomorrow afternoon but I'm leaving in three mins...

(Alright, I'm going to try to move things along a little, since nobody can think of anything to post.)

3 Days Later...

Audra woke up that morning the same time she always did and got ready for her classes. She and Kestrel had been training everyday after school for the last three days under the watch of Yoruichi. She was finding it easier to call upon her own powers, but Kestrel was still having trouble. She couldn't seem to stop holding back. She must have been afraid of hurting Audra.

Even so, that wasn't what was worrying her that morning. Audra was worried about Kai, she hadn't seen him once since they started their training. Urahara had told them not to disturb his training. She knew she could trust him, but she still couldn't stop worrying.

Audra ran into Stella in the hallway on her way to her first class. "Morning, Audra," Stella greeted her.

"Morning..." she murmerred in response.

"What's the matter?"
________________________________

Soul Society...

Renji had come to visit Ichidan at his cell again, but today Captain Kuchiki had come to relay his brother's sentence. Ichidan remained calm and quiet after hearing his sentence, but Renji clutched at one of the cell's bars and stared at his captain with horror. "What did you just say? Captain Kuchiki...what is..."

"You heard me," Byakuya calmly replied, "do not make me repeat myself again and again. The class one felon, Ichidan Kuchiki, shall be confined on death row, and twenty-seven days from now he shall be put to death in the Central Court. That is Soul Society's final decision."

Renji couldn't believe what he was hearing. He bore a horrified expression as he wrapped his mind around what was just said. His mouth moved to form words, but nothing came. Ichidan, on the other hand, remained silent. He seemed to accept his fate.

Byakuya looked into the cell at Ichidan. "This shall be the last time you and I speak." He turned to leave, and as he was walking away he said, "Ichidan, the next time we meet shall be on the execution platform."

Ichidan sighed and closed his eyes. We must not shed tears, he thought. That is the defeat of the body by the heart. Because, for us, this thing called "the heart" can become nothing less than proof that one's existence is superfluous...

Kestrel

Training wasn't going well for Kes. She'd been trying hard to increase her power but every time she prepared to release it, phantom hands grabbed the reigns and drew it back in so that only the lightest of attacks was launched. She couldn't help it. Even when just attacking a wall or a dummy, Kestrel couldn't send her anger forth without some edge of caution and fear.

Kestrel sat in her first lecture of the day, barely listening to the instructor as she played the flute held to her lips.

"No, this is no good," Mrs Manders complained, coming to stand in front of Kestrel who looked up, half surprised to find herself in the small music room with the three other flutists.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"If your mind is not on music, you play wrong," Mrs Manders lectured. Kestrel nodded, snapping her thoughts to the job at hand.

"I'll try better," she said. But when the lesson was over, she wandered absently down the hallways and it wasn't until she started to feel hungry that she realised she'd missed dinner and it was almost time for her only other lecture that day: English literature.

None of the usual group were in the lecture but Kes found a seat near the back where she wouldn't be disturbed and thought hard about other exercises she could try that night. If I come up against one of them, and it's my life or theirs, I don't know if I'll be able to kill them... but I must. In order to protect my friends.

Audra

I shrugged. It was really nothing, but it was still something, but...but...

I sighed. "I'm worried about Kai, is all. I haven't seen him once since he started training with Urahara."

Stella seemed to think for a moment. Finally, she spoke. "I'm sure he's fine. Urahara wouldn't let anything bad happen to him - "

"We don't know that - "

"But, just in case, we must trust Kai. He'll be fine; I know he will." She waited, watching my unchanging expression. "What do you say we do something after school, just you, me, and Kes? Make it a girl's night out? Hmm?"

I considered it. It would mean less practice, which we needed...but it might help with the stress I was under. I finally nodded. "Sounds good. Catch you later, then."

I headed off toward class.

Seventy-two hours have almost passed, and Kai was nowhere near completing the lesson. His Chain of Fate had just finished its eighteen errosion, and was almost up to his chest. From the length of the chain he estimated it would take two more errosions before the whole chain was gone. The errosion lasted a few hours each, and seemed to rest for another few hours before starting the cycle again. He can't do anything during the errosion either, the pain he felt from it was so intense he can't even move.

Kai slowly rolled onto his knees and got up. This is my only chance, he thought. If I don't get out of here, I'm as good as dead. He ran toward the wall as fast as he could, digging his feet into it and running up its surface. It was easier to do in his spiritual body because he weighed less, but after about six steps gravity pulled him back down to the bottom.

Urahara, Ururu and Jinta were all sitting at the top watching Kai's attempt to escape. "That guy is unbelievable," Jinta mumbled. "He's actually climbed about three meters up this almost vertical wall using that approach."

Urahara waved his paper fan as he watched Kai intently. "Oh. Well, well..."

Ururu simply said, "Dummy."

After falling to the bottom after his third try he remained on the ground to catch his breath. "Dammit!" he said.

"Heeey!!" Kai looked up to see Jinta yelling down at him. "You hungry at all?"

"No, I'm not!" Kai yelled back. "I'm a spirit right now! How can I be hungry!?"

Jinta smiled mischievously. "That's good. I'll tell you something interesting. If you get hungry while you're a soul it's a danger signal that you're one step away from becoming a Hollow. If you're just thirsty, you're still okay. When that happens, you can drink some of my spit!"

Kai yelled, "Stop taunting me, brat!"

Urahara continued to watch in silence.

Stella-

I popped back into my room, forgetting my phone. The curtains were still drawn.

"Sal, get up, sleepy! It's time to go!"

Sally rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Hey, Stel," she murmured. "Where've you been?"

"Busy," I said, going over to open the curtains and revealing my mobile sitting on the sill. I grabbed it and shoved it in my pocket.

"Doing what? Hanging out with your new friends? Are they better than me?" she asked.

"Of course not," I said, going over and giving her a peck on the forehead. "One of them needs help, that's all."

"Which one?"

"Remember Ichidan?"

She frowned. "Ickydun?" she said, and shook her head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"Go on, he joined your lit class a few weeks ago. Kinda Asian looking guy? Bit strange? Hung out with Kai Okami?"

She nodded. "I remember Kai but... not the other guy..."

I frowned and bit my lip. "I gotta go," I said. "Are you angry with me?"

"Worried, is all," she said in return.

I left and walked out to the Science building, her thoughts running through my head.

Ally and her boyfriend were getting rather intimate on top of the seat I favoured, so I cleared my throat and they broke apart.

"Hi," Ally said a little embarrassed.

"Hey," I replied, staring at her boyfriend. "Hey... English is your major, right?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Do you remember a guy called Ichidan? New this year. Hangs out with Kai Okami?"

He shook his head. "Doesn't conjure up any faces," he said.

I sat down, agitated, but managed to make it through the lecture. At the end I stood up.

"Hey," said Ally. "Want to go grab a coffee?"

"No," I answered. "Got people to see, sweetie."

I walked down to the shop. Inside, Yoruichi was curled up on the counter but no one else was there.

"Hey, cat," I said and rubbed him behind the ears. He shook me off.

"You're early," he said. "There is no one to watch."

"Isn't Kai down the hole?" I asked, surprisingly calm about the whole thing.

"In fact, I think he may be nearly done," Yoruichi said. "You seem like you have a question."

"Yeah. Nobody remembers Ichidan. Why is that?"

Kestrel

It was almost time to head down to the shop and resume training but, in a daze, Kes wandered down to the park. She walked through the grounds, stepping cautiously on the unfamiliar soil and grass, using her awareness of the people to guide her. It was strange. Movement around the school and between there and the shop had become second knowledge and she never put a foot wrong but suddenly she found she was being hindered by her lack of sight again. If only objects had auras...

At one place in the park, people moved upwards and over, showing clearly that there was a bridge spanning something. Kestrel edged her way closer and took a step too far, finding her right foot to be cold and wet: a lake. She followed the edge of it, keeping her right foot on the inside so as not to place the other in the water. Finding the bridge didn't take long and she ascended it, settling herself on the wooden side, her feet dangling over the edge.

Why us?" she wondered. Why of all the people in this world were we granted with these abilities? Who deemed us worthy to protect others, to fight this evil? Thoughts like this had started troubling her more and more recently and when coupled with her fears of hurting people, they could no longer be ignored.

Wind beat down on Kestrel's back as time passed and still she sat in contemplation. People came and went, at the edge of her perspective, their auras shifting in and out of her range of sight. A girl with long, coiled hair chased a boy back and forth, their feet thudding loudly over the bridge and more softly through the grass and soil.

I have to release constraint of my power or more people will be hurt... or killed. If I can't do that, I'll be useless to my friends.

"It's because he was taken back to Soul Society," Yoruichi answered.

Confused, Stella asked, "How does that work?"

"It's...complicated. When a Death God goes back to Soul Society, all the memories of him or her held by any human will be erased completely. It would be as though the Death God had never existed."

"But how come we remember him?" Stella asked.

"Because you all are not ordinary humans. Only humans with high levels of spiritual energy can resist this phenomenon." This conversation was worrying Stella. She started to wonder everyone would forget Kai and the others when the leave to Soul Society. "Don't worry, your friends will not be forgotten when they leave. They were born in this world, so it won't affect any memories of them."

"What, you can read my mind now?" Stella asked.

Yoruichi smiled. "I don't have to read your mind when the answer is showing plainly on your face."

**I probably won't post much today or tomorrow...I'm not feeling too well.**

*Well I'll post again... I won't be here next weekend, by the way... hiking -fun, right?*

Stella-

I bit my lip and sat on the counter. "So what do I tell people?"

"It mightn't be bad to come up with cover stories while they're gone, indeed," Yoruichi said.

"I'll tell them that Kai's gone to a comic-book convention. Seems like the type." Yoruichi laughed. "And Audra... perhaps she'll go to visit family, yeah, her cousin's getting married in Seattle, say. Oh, and after the convention, since it's in British Columbia, Kai will go see her there, if it takes that long. And Kes... easy, I'll say she's having an operation on her eyes and will be out for a few weeks."

Yoruichi gave a feline smile. "They may have their own cover stories."

"None as good as mine, though. Oh, and I'll say Ishida's getting lace-making lessons from an old woman in Venice. That's plausible too."

He laughed again. "And what will you do when they're gone?"

"Worry. And wait 'til they come back. And you know, eat, sleep, talk. The usual."

"Will you wish you were there?" Yoruichi asked.

"'Course," I replied. "But not because of the thrill or anything. Just because I'm scared they won't come back." I shrugged. "Trust me to fall in with the wrong crowd, right?"

I looked at my watch. "It's after one, they should be here right now."

Yoruichi did not reply. I sighed. "D'you reckon Kai's gotten out of the pit of doom yet?"

(No one was told what kind of training Kai would be doing, so Stella wouldn't know anything about the pit. But, I'll roll with it anyway.)

"Show me your watch," Yoruichi said. Stella held out her arm and showed him the time. "It seems he has fifteen minutes left to get out."

"What do you mean?" Stella asked, worried. "What happens if he doesn't?"

"If Kai does not climb out of the pit in the next fifteen minutes as a Death God, then a Hollow will be born today."
_________________________________

Kai had tried and tried again to get to the top, but every time he ended back at the bottom. It was impossible to climb up the pit's rocky walls without the use of his hands. As he lay on the ground to catch his breath, he thought, Dammit, I can't climb it. What can I do to climb up something like that? He signed and looked up to the top. How much time has passed by?

He noticed movement at the top of the pit. Someone was starting to climb down. When the person got close to the bottom, Kai recognized him as Jinta. He landed near Kai with a large plate of fruit. "I brought you some food," he said with a smile. "It's about time for you to start getting hungry."

"What are you talking about?" Kai asked. He looked down at his Chain of Fate, which had six links left. "There's still a relatively large chunk of chain left."

Jinta's smile suddenly disappeared. "I deon't blame you for not being able to tell time in a hole like this."

"What do you mean?"

Jinta placed the plate of fruit at his feet. "It's been exactly seventy-one hours and fourty-five minutes since you've come down here. Fast ones are already turning into Hollows." Kai rolled onto his knees and knelt up. "And one more thing: The last corrosion's scale is incomparable to the ones before it."

Kai suddenly heard that oh-so familiar rattle. He looked down to see the mouths starting to re-appear. Except this time, the entire chain changed. "A-All the chain!?" The pain Kai felt as they began to eat away at the chain was ten-fold from all the other times. It literally felt like the pain would kill him, despite the fact that he was already a spirit. "Stop...Stop it! Stop eating the chain!!" It was no use, the mouths kept knawing away, until the corrosion arrived at his chest.

The metal piece that held the Chain of Fate to Kai's chest crumbled away. All that was left was a gaping hole in his chest. The pain had stopped, but Kai's heart was still race. It began to race even faster as he felt liquid oozing from his face. At first he thought it was blood, but the liquid was too thick. It started to move around, to morph into something on his face. What it was morphing into was a mask.

All the while, Kai screamed.

Jinta had already started climbing back up when the transformation had started. Now he was at the top. "He's going to become a Hollow after all!"

Ururu got to her feet. "I'm entering aid mode."

"Hold on." They both looked at Urahara. "Look at him carefully. When a normal soul becomes a Hollow the spiritual body usually explodes first, and then reformation begins. But the order is totally messed up for his situation. His body still remains normal while the mask is created first. This is proof of his resistance. There is still some possibility of him returning to being a Death God. Let's wait and see for just a bit longer. Until he really turns into a Hollow.

"Just a bit..."

(Does anyone have an idea of what they're going to post, or should I just go again?)

***I guess you could go ahead...I'm blank on ideas. Actually, I'm interesting in seeing what happens to Kai; after all, he is my character's fiance-to-be. **