Shadow Reapers

(No problem, anyone would have made that mistake.)

"Destruction Art 22: Blue Lightning!" A bolt of blue electricity crackled from Kestrel's hand, striking the ground in front of Ganju's lackeys, causing them to pause. "Move again, and the next one is going to hit!" she bluffed. If it came down to it, she wouldn't be able to go through with hurting anyone. It was something she still had to work on. But right now, if a bluff could hold them at bay, it was good enough.

She couldn't help but notice their strange sense of style. They all wore Japanese type robes, but their hair styles didn't seem to match their era. Heck, one of them had an afro. And not just the henchmen, but the boars, too. One of the animals had a purple mohawk for heaven's sake! But still, she couldn't let herself get distracted in case they tried something.

Ganju landed a pretty heavy punch to Kai's face, making him fall to the ground. His Zanpakutou skid a few meters away across the dirt. "Get outta here!" the man yelled. "While I'm alive, no Death God will be allowed to step foot in West Rukongai!"

With incredible speed, Kai raised his leg and kicked Ganju in the face. The man lost his balance and hit the ground. As Kai got back up and rubbed his face where he was hit, he said, "Geez, cut it out, will you!? If you want to fight, I'll fight you."

Ganju had to hold his nose to keep it from bleeding. "Why you... You punched my handsome face not once, but twice!"

"I kicked you the second time!" Kai shouted.

Yoruichi went to the others' side and called out to Kai. "enough, Kai! Don't use up your strength in this meaningless fight!"

Audra echoed, "He's right! We need to be thinking about our next move!"

"He started the fight," Kai said calmly. "If you want us to stop, tell him."

Yoruichi made a 'tch' sound, a sure sign of disapproval. Audra simply shook her head.

Ganju smiled slightly when he said, "It seems we're destined to fight, you and me." He grabbed the hilt of a sheathed weapon from his hip and pulled out what seemed like a carpenter's hatchet. The blade was rectangular and slightly larger than a normal hatchet.

The elder was the next to come to the front door. He seemed to sense the danger of what was about to happen. "Stop, Ganju! He is not an evil Death God!"

Ganju glanced over his shoulder at the old man. "Shut up! Death Gods are Death Gods. There's no good or bad." He faced Kai again and said, "Get ready!" before rushing toward him.

Kai acted fast, dashing toward his sword and picking it up. The bandage around the blade seemed to unravel at his touch. He lifted it just in time to block Ganju's attack. Their weapons met in a clash of metal. Neither of them pulled away afterwards, instead they stayed pushing their blades against the other's, testing each other's strength. Kai held his sword on an angle so the tip of the blade pointed to the ground.

"That's a pretty huge Zanpakutou you've got there," Ganju commented. "But don't think you can win with a bigger sword!" Ganju drew a circle in the dirt with his foot before stomping on the spot. He then proceeded to grab Kai's sword by the end of the blade by the handle and push it down. Kai's sword began to sink in a suddenly formed pool of quicksand. "Sink!" Ganju didn't stop until almost all of the blade was underground.

"Wha-What the heck is this!?" Kai shouted.

(Merry Christmas guys!)

Kestrel

It was hard to concentrate on the fight and watch the weirdos on pigs at the same time, so Kestrel settled for just the latter, trusting that Kai could deal with one ego-inflated fool. The four lackeys shouted and cheered their leader along but kept a wary eye on the girl in front of them.

"Wha-What the heck is this?" Kai shouted from somewhere to the right. Kestrel stole a glance in that direction and was astonished to see... Kai's sword sinking? In what looked to be a rather random pool of quick-sand.

A flicker of movement snapped her attention back to the lackeys who were getting restless and eyeing her up with a renewed interest.

"Don't even think about it," she warned.

*Sorry it's short and Happy Holidays all*

Kai tried to pull his sword out from the ground, but it wouldn't budge. That's when Ganju lifted his leg into Kai's face, knocking him away from the sink hole and his Zanpakutou. Kai got back to his feet and wiped some blood off his lip. "What the heck was that trick he just used?"

Ganju let out another yell as he charged at Kai once again. He lifted his hatchet over his head and brought it down over Kai's. Kai lifted his arm and blocked it by hitting his opponent's wrist. He landed a heavy blow into Ganju's face, causing his opponent to drop his weapon. Now they both had only their fists to fight with.

Kai flexed his hand a few times before saying, "You're pretty tough. A punch like that usually drops my opponents."

As the others continued to watch, Audra couldn't help but smile. Long before he even started fighting with a sword Kai had a black belt in Karate. She felt much more confident in him now that the swords were out of the picture.

***Sorry I've been gone. I've been distracted a new horse my cousin and I got. ***


Audra

I smiled as I watched the two face off, fist to fist, man to man. If Ganju was as dependent of his weapon as I thought, he would be toast. I remembered everything about Kai and his unbreakable connection to karate, even from three years ago, when we first met. Memories played in my mind...

He was in the courtyard, stretching one afternoon...all the stretches were martial arts.

He was in my room, the day after the dance. He was teaching me how to control my wild punches.

I went with him to one of his tournaments, where his performance was outstanding.

And so many others.

Nope, I had no doubts now. I knew he would win. I just knew it.

*right, my turn... only I don't know what to do*

Stella-

"Turns out we didn't have to fight," I muttered to Ishida.

"We might still," he muttered back. "If Kai wins this, Ganju's lads might turn on us."

I looked around doubtfully. "With their pigs?"

"The pigs too," he said rather wryly, glancing at me.

"I don't want to fight a pig with strange hair," I said. "Anyway," I said, catching Kes's eye -how nice I could do that now that she could see!- "Even I can beat Kai."

She nudged me in the ribs. "That was once!" she said. "Now, shush, this is serious."

Audra was standing on the other side of the circle, mouth slightly open, moving this way and that with each blow thrown. Kai did a spinning-kick-y-thingymajig and hit Ganju in the stomach.

"Nice one," said one of the boys on the pig a little grudgingly. "For a Death God boy."

The fight was a bit like a dance, each of them anticipating the other's moves, dodging, serving and throwing their own blow. There were scuff marks on the ground from where they had pivoted, and deep dips where they had landed heavily on their feet, Ganju especially, being about twice Kai's size.

It was certainly interesting, but I had never much been into karate and it was difficult to tell who was winning. I settled into a more comfortable position and waited for it to be over.

(I hear you. I know it's boring for you guys to have to sit through Kai's fights, so I'll finish it up in one post. Don't worry though, from what I remember, this'll be the last fight before everyone gets into Seireitei, and something's going to happen beforehand that separates everyone. When that happens, Audra will be with Kestrel, Stella will be with Ishida, and Kai will be with Yoruichi.)

Kestrel continued to watch Ganju's lackeys as the fight raged on. She found yet another thing about them that was strange. One of the four men wore a clock strapped to his back, like a rucksack. She could understand the need to know what the time was, but wasn't that overdoing it a bit?

Kai was doing well to fend off his opponent's attacks. When Ganju threw a wide punch, he ducked under his arm and grabbed him by the front of the shirt. Using his strength, Kai pulled him off balance and threw him a few feet away. He didn't give his opponent any time to recover. Kai jumped toward him, aiming his foot to land on Ganju's face. A split second before it hit, Ganju rolled out of the way.

The two of them gave themselves a chance to catch their breath. Ganju spat some blood from his mouth once he was back on his feet. Kai tightened his fists as he waited for him to move again. "What's wrong?" Kai asked. "Come at me!"

Ganju returned to a fighting stance before rushing toward his opponent. Kai just stood there, fists up and ready to block the attack. Ganju let out a battle cry as he reared his fist back to strike.

The clock on one of the lackeys' backs began to blare. Each and every one of their faces shifted to shocked and scared expressions. The sound caused Ganju to stumble and lose his balance. He fell flat on his face mere inches away from Kai.

He ignored Kai completely as he got back to his feet, his face covered in dirt. He looked just as scared as the rest of his men. "Hey, what time is it!?"

One of his men yelled, "It's bad, Big Brother! It's already nine!!"

"Wh-What!? No! Bonnie, get over here!" He put his finger and thumb in his mouth and whistled. The ground under Kai's feet began to rumble as the boar Ganju had arrived on rushed toward him. He managed to jump out of the way just in time to avoid being trampled by the animal. Ganju climbed onto the beast and started to ride away, followed by his men.

"Hey! Don't run away from me!!" Kai shouted.

"Who's running away!?" Ganju yelled back. "We'll settle this for sure tomorrow! So you just wait there until then!!" They watched as the group of strange men disappeared into the distance on their strange boars.

***I'm still sore from my adventure yesterday, and then the landscaping I did throughout this morning didn't help. If I don't post much over the next day or so, know that I'm either soaking in a hot bath or asleep.***


Audra

I stared at the dust cloud and retreating backs, mixed emotions running through me. I wanted to laugh at their cowardice and ridiculous styles, but then I was angry that that had been a waste of time, and then I was relieved because the fighting was over with.

I walked up to Kai, standing beside him. He was still staring at the boars as they ran off. "That was...interesting, if nothing else," I finally scoffed.

He growled; he was annoyed, definately.

I touched his arm. "Just let it go. Don't worry about losers like that. Please?"

He stared off into the distance for a few more seconds before nodding. "You're right. What's important right now is thinking of how we're going to make our next move."

"That reminds me," Ishida said. He turned to face Yoruichi and asked, "Who is this Kukaku Shiba you were talking about earlier?"

"An old friend of mine," he said. "Kukaku is a master pyrotechnic who knows a way into Serieritei."

"Pyrotechnic?" Stella queried, "So, this Kukaku person makes fireworks?" Yoruichi nodded. "And he knows how to get into the Death Gods' part of the city?"

"Yes, she does," Yoruichi corrected. "But right now we should rest. I'm sure Kai's fights today with Jidanbou and Ganju have left him exhausted."

Stella-

I grumbled as we went into the house. "I'm a fan of sleep and all, but just because Kai was fighting, doesn't mean we're all exhausted," I said to Ishida.

He frowned. "You're actually complaining about getting some sleep? From what I know of you, that isn't normal."

"It isn't!" Kes said, turning to us. I stuck my tongue out. Stupid girl with heightened hearing, it wasn't fair, because now she could see as well as hear better than me.

"You must be a little tired, you saved Jidanbou's life after all," Ishida pointed out.

"Also true," I sighed. "And I have to borrow something else of Audra's or Kes's to sleep in. I better go."

"Yeah," he said, and it felt as if the hurried excuse should be followed by something, so the two of us stood there awkwardly. In the kitchen, Audra and Kai were making their goodnights. I blushed and bowed my head, suddenly aware of the only inches of space between me and Ishida, and him towering over me, seemingly as embarrassed as I was.

"Well, goodnight," I finished lamely, and hurried up the stairs to the room I was sharing with the other girls.

(I don't have anything to post for the moment. Make sure Stella tells the others why she decided to follow them into Soul Society.)

Kestrel

Audra was rummaging through her rucksack as Stella entered the room but Kestrel was too busy looking at everything to pay either of them much heed. She loved the splash of colour across the bed covers and the painted pictures hanging on the walls. No one had ever taken the time to tell her how stunning a painting could be but now she knew.

"Oy, if you keep running around the room like that, we'll all end up exhausted," Stella complained, causing Kestrel to finally come to a rest by one of the beds. She smiled happily and plunged into the covers.

"Okay, I'm done now. And hey, as great as it is to have you here, how about telling us what's with that? Why'd you change your mind?" The covers were soft and inviting but Kes propped herself up again to better see her friend's face. There was something about expressions that was just amazing and while she could usually guess a person's thoughts by the tone of their voice, seeing the face sure did help.

"I almost forgot!" Stella said, smacking her forehead playfully. She reached into her pocket and lifted out a tiny, silver charm. "Here, you dropped this." Kestrel blinked. She came all this way after us because of that... Audra's face exploded into a grin and she hugged Stella close.

Stella-

I laughed and hugged Audra back tightly. I broke apart and sat, a little deflated, on the end of the bed.

"I don't know. I think, to be honest, the keyring was an excuse. I just..." I exhaled deeply. "I just didn't want to be left behind. You were all going, and I was just meant to go back to my old life? When I know that all this is going on and that you were here, fighting evil and saving a friend and I-" I sighed again.

There was a pause and Kes reached over and squeezed my hand in wordless support.

"Thanks," I said, smiling at her and Audra. "Only thing is, I'm going to get killed, aren't I?"

"No!" Audra said, and took my other hand. "We'll look after you, us and Kai and Ishida..." she trailed off with a mischievous glint in her eye. I picked up a cushion and threw it at her.

"Stop!" I squealed, but I couldn't help smiling, until Kes hit me back with another cushion, and my face must have been the picture of surprise, because they both fell about laughing.

When it died down, Audra pointed out, "We should go to sleep."

I nodded and went over to my own low bed on the other side of the room. "Goodnight," I said softly. "And... thanks."

Kai could hear the girls making noise in the next room over as he made his bed. He had wanted a room with Audra tonight, it had been a few weeks since the last time they slept together and he was starting to miss the closeness. But, the elder was an old-fashioned man. He believed that men and women should sleep in separate rooms, regardless of their relation ship. What's worse, it forced Kai to sleep in the same room as him. He glared across the room at Ishida, who was setting up is bed as far away as possible.

Ishida noticed Kai's cold stare and responded, "I don't like it anymore than you do, Okami. But the elder is paying for our rooms, so there's no point in complaining."

Kai sighed as he flopped down onto his bed. "Yeah, you're right."

"What do you think this Kukaku person is like?" Ishida asked.

"We'll find out tomorrow, won't we?"

(For the next person who posts, I was thinking we could start off the next day with everyone standing outside, waiting for Kai to wake up."

(It's been four days since someone other than me posted.)

*oops, sorry! I was waiting for you to post, I didn't realise you already had...*

Stella-

It was a lovely day in the Soul Society, with the sun beating down already, at some ungodly hour. I yawned, and perched on a stone that looked like it had once been an old-fashioned water pump and leant my face to the heavens.

"Where're the boys?" I asked the other two.

"I'm here," said a voice, and I looked down to see Yoruichi.

"Where did you sleep?" I asked him, reaching down and scratching his head.

He snorted. "In a basket in the kitchen."

We saw a figure through the window on the stairs and presently Ishida came out.

"You take your time," Audra said wryly. He shrugged.

"Not as long as Okami."

"Where is he?" asked Kestrel. "We've got a busy day."

"He's still asleep," said Ishida, lounging against the wall.

I groaned. "Can one of you please go and wake him up? Audra?"

"No!" said Audra, shrinking away. "He's seriously cranky when he gets woken unexpectedly.

I sighed. "So we just wait until he gets up? Fine, didn't want to die today anyway." I squinted and tilted my face upwards again. "I spy with my little eye..." I began and somebody- not entirely sure who, punched my arm.