Shadow Reapers

***I had posted something, but I guess the computer deleted it. Oh well.

SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW! ***



Audra

I sighed, looking about the group. Everyone but Kai was here...and Kai was still asleep. And with all the action of the past weeks, he was more easily startled.

But by the looks of things, we didn't have much time to waste. Judging by the sun's position, it was almost ten.

"Fine," I finally gave in. "I'll go wake him up."

I entered the inn, waving at the elder who was wiping the counter down, and headed down the hallway. I finally reached Kai's room, opened the door, and looked inside. Yep, there he was, still fast asleep.

"Kai?" I tried softly, sweetly, hoping he would know it was me. "Baby, wake up. It's time to go." I sat on the bed, next to him, reaching to touch his shoulder.

(I meant to explain this earlier. Earth and Soul Society have opposite timezones, meaning if it's noon on Earth it's midnight in Soul Society.)

She touched his shoulder and lightly shook him. He moaned a little, but didn't wake up. She tried again. "Come on, Kai. Wake up, everyone's waiting." This time he woke.

"Morning already?" he groaned.

"Kai, it's ten in the morning. You slept in," she told him. "Everybody's already up and waiting outside."

"Maybe a good-morning kiss will help me get up faster," he suggested, smiling.


Everybody outside continued to wait for Audra to wake up Kai. Ishida sighed irritatedly and asked, "How long is Okami going to make us wait?"

"Audra just went in a minute ago," Stella told him. "You're probably the second most impatient guy I've ever met, Kai being the first."

In an attempt to make the waiting more tolerable, Kestrel asked Yoruichi, "So, where does this friend of yours live?"

"Kukaku Shiba doesn't like to stay in one place for too long. She moves her home from one place to another every year or so. The map the elder gave us will show us the way to her home."

"About that," Stella said, opening the map. She had been the one the elder gave it to. "It says her house is outside of the city."

"Of course it is," he said.

"Yeah, but doesn't that mean she's outside of Soul Society?"

Yoruichi raised a brow at the question. "You don't think Soul Society is limited to the perimeter of this city, do you?"

"It isn't?"

"Soul Society is as big as the real world," Yoruichi explained. "Just because Seireitei is the center of this world doesn't mean souls can't live outside of the city."

(Come on, guys. Let's not start making a habit of waiting more than two days before each post.)

***I will post later, when I'm not in such a pissed-off mood.***

**Okay.**

Audra

I giggled and touched his lips with lightly with my finger.

"You are really something else," I whispered, leaning down and touching my lips to his.

They pulled away after a few moments. Kai sighed and said, "I really wish I could have stayed with you last night."

"Me, too." Audra pat him on the chest before getting to her feet. "Come on, everyone's waiting." Kai let out a yawn before climbing out of bed and following Audra out the door.
______________________

Ichidan sat quietly in his cell. He hadn't moved from his spot in days. It was still early in the morning. The room was dark with the only light source coming from a small barred window near the ceiling.

The room suddenly got brighter when someone opened the large door into the prison ward. The bars to Ichidan's cell opened next. His back was facing the entrance to his cell, so he couldn't see who had opened it. But, he didn't need to see them to know who it was.

"What is it, Renji?" he asked. "Did they move my execution date up?"

"It's less than fourteen days to the execution," Renji told him. "The use of Sokyoku has been granted. You're being transferred to Shishinro, the Repentance Cell." Four guards in white robes were accompanying Renji. They were there to make sure Ichidan didn't try to escape on their way to the Shishinro.

The Shishinro was the tallest tower in Seireitei, located in the dead center of the Death Gods' district. It stood as a pillar, surrounded by smaller towers. The surrounding towers were built like a spiral, with one being progressively taller than the one before it. The tallest of those towers had a bridge that attached to the Shishinro.

All of Seireitei could be seen as they walked across the bridge. The rest of the world seemed to fade off into the horizon. Before them, the giant tower stood like a dark omen, a symbol of Ichidan's end.

The inside was dark, with only a column of windows on one side of the tower to light it. A spiral staircase ran all the way up to the ceiling, but it was unlikely to lead anywhere. Ichidan went up to one of the windows to look outside. There he could see the place he was to be executed. A large cliff top
with a high wooden platform between the edge and a giant halberd. The halberd was held in place by ropes tied to pegs lodged into the ground.

"Can you see it, Ichidan? The two tools which will be used for your execution," one of the guards asked. "That is the Sokyoku." Ichidan simply stared silently out the window. "A prisoner who is held in this tower can look out the windows and gaze out at the Sokyoku and repent his sins. That is why this is called the Repentance Cell."

The guards turned and began to exit in an orderly fashion. One of them stopped beside Renji and said, "Thank you for transferring the prisoner here. Let us go."

"Yeah..." However, Renji just stood there, staring at his friend. He couldn't help but feel pity for him. After all, they had known each other for a very long time.

"Vice Captain Abarai." Renji turned to see the guards waiting for him at the door. He turned back toward Ichidan. After a few moments, he made a tch noise with his teeth and walked toward his friend. "Vice Captain!"

Renji placed a hand on Ichidan's shoulder and leaned in to whisper, "This is unconfirmed information. You already heard that there were Ryoka in Soul Society yesterday? There were six of them... one of which wielded a sword as long as his body. A Death God with brown shoulder length hair."

Ichidan's opened wide. He whipped his head around showing Renji the most emotion he had ever shown since he was arrested. "...What?"

Kestrel

"I say we just go without them!" Ishida exclaimed, scowling as he leaned against the wall. Stella rolled her eyes but even so, they were all grateful when the door finally opened and Audra and Kai walked out.

"It's about time," Ishida grumbled. Kai glared at him and looked about to retort but settled for striding forward.

"Good morning, Kai," Stella snorted, falling into step behind him with everyone else. It soon became evident that Kai did not know where they were going and Yoruichi took the lead, weaving through the streets of the city towards the outer gates.

Kestrel's head swiveled as they walked and she was disappointed that her mother wasn't in sight but cheered by the bustle of people back and forth. It felt like a friendly place, a place she wouldn't mind dying.

*okay, this is just a quick one while I am, ahem, packing, sorry, I was in school for the past two days and now I'm going to Austria so I won't be around for about... uh... two weeks...

Stella-

I grumbled. "I agreed to come to this city, I did not agree to go to the country."

"Come on," said Kestrel happily. "Fresh air, sunlight, it'll be nice."

"Yeah, mud, cow poo, culchies..." I sighed. "You should probably know, I'm actually scared of the country. Too much space."

She laughed and I saw Ishida smirk out of the corner of my eye.

"Oy!" I said. "You got a problem with that?"

"Just the fact that here you are in the middle of heaven-"

"Soul Society," I corrected. "This is not heaven. This is some weird, computer-game fake-heaven."

"Soul Society," he continued. "And you're afraid of the country."

I shrugged. "Yup."

He laughed quietly. "Stella, you really are quite something."

I was puzzled by what that meant but before I could question it another thought hit me.

"How do we know this won't be another disaster like the gate? Because I'm not getting covered in blood again. Mud's bad enough."

*I will bid you all au revoir til... um... well, when I get back.*

(All right. We'll keep Stella alive until you get back. Have fun.)

Yoruichi gave Stella a sly smile. "There's no way of telling the future. You'll just have to wait and see for your own eyes."

"So, you don't know either?" Stella asked.

"Maybe."

"A lot of help you are."

They walked for a few hours through vast fields of grass. They followed a dirt road that was used by merchants and farmers to get to and from Rukongai, the outskirts of Seireitei. They passed by a house every so often, but nothing big. A farm here, a cottage there, but nothing that would constitute as a real village.

After a while, Kai started to get impatient. He turned to Ishida, who was holding the map now, and said, "Are you sure this is the right way?" When Ishida didn't respond, he shouted, "Hey, Ishida!"

Ishida whipped around to face him. "Shut up, Okami! According to the map the elder gave us, it's supposed to be around here. If you have any complaints, then why don't you take the lead?"

Normally, Kai would have argued with Ishida, but the long walk was starting to take its toll. He simply sighed and said, "No, I'm not complaining."

"Yoruichi's friend probably wants to keep her identity hidden," Audra suggested. "Maybe that's why she lives so far away from Seireitei."

"Unfortunately, that's not the case," Yoruichi said. "It's just her personal preference to live far away from large settlements. But don't worry.She moves around quite a bit, but her house is always built the same. You'll recognize it the moment you see it."

They were coming to the top of a rather large hill. Being at the front, Yoruichi was the first to get to the top. Once he was up, he stopped and said, "Oh, there it is!"

They all stood staring at the building. None of them were quite sure what they were looking at. The house itself was normal, but there was a colossal smoke stack sticking out of the ground behind it. But that wasn't what caught their attention. There were two giant stone arms sticking out of the ground on either side of the house. The arms held a banner that read, "Kukaku Shiba."

Audra

I cleared my throat, shaking my head. It's different, if nothing else.

"Um...Yoruichi? She is sane, right?" Stella couldn't help but ask, staring at the structure uneasily.

"Oh, perfectly so," the cat insisted. It seemed nobody believed him, not even I. "Come along!" He led the way up the hill.

"Interesting, though," Yoruichi said as he led the way toward the house. This time it's human arms holding the banner. It's pretty neatly done"

"...What was it last time you saw it?" Audra asked, even though she was afraid of what the answer might be.

Before he could answer, two voices from above yelled, "Who goes there!?"

Everyone looked up to see two men, each on the top of one of the arms. From where they stood, all they could determine was that one wore a yellow robe, and the other wore a white one.

"Strangers!" one of the shouted. "And one of them is a Death God!" They both jumped down and landed in front of the group. They were both very muscular with chiseled faces and mustaches.

The one in white said, "I, Koganehiko..." They the one in yellow added, "And I, Shiroganehiko..." Then together, they both said, "will not allow you to pass!"


_________________________

How many days has it been since I saw his face looking so alive? Renji thought as he walked away from Shishinro. Ichimaru was the one who confronted them, so that brat probably isn't even alive. He stopped to take one last glance at the tower behind him. I was probably right not to tell him.

"Hey, Renji." Renji turned around to see a captain from another squad approaching him. "It's been a while, Abarai," he said, with a warm friendly smile.



"Captain Aizen," Renji said, a little surprised. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Do you have a moment?" The captain asked. "There's something I'd like to speak with you about."

"Uh... sure."

Renji followed Aizen to his office. Once there, the captain started flipping through some papers on his desk. "It's been a while since we've had a chance to talk, hasn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"How many years had it been since you were sent to Kenpachi's place?" Aizen asked. "Your with the 6th Squad now, right?"

"Uhh...what did you want to talk to me about, sir?" Renji asked, a little worried.

Aizen said nothing. Instead, he walked past Renji and closed the front door. Once he was sure it was locked, he said, "Abarai, you were close to Ichidan Kuchiki, right?" Renji seemed a little taken aback by the question. Before he could answer, Aizen turned to face him and said, "Don't deny it. I heard you two were chums from the old days in the Rukon District."

"Yeah..." Renji answered.

"I won't waste any time then." Aizen looked him straight on and asked, "In your eyes, should he die?"

Renji stared at him for a moment, not sure of how to respond. "No... I don't understand your question."

"Don't you think it's strange? His crime was the unauthorized transfer, and loss, of his spiritual energy, and staying on Earth longer than he was allowed. Certainly, heavy crimes, but the problem is how to deal with them. The order for immediate return and disposal of his faux body, the lessening of the grace period from thirty-five days to twenty-five days, and the use of the Sokyoku on someone who is ranked below the level of captain. These are all outside the norm. I have a feeling that this is the will of one person."

"Hold on a sec, Captain!" Renji said. "Just what are you trying to say!?"

"I have a bad feeling. Abarai, I may-" Aizen was cut off in mid-sentence by the sound of clacking wood in the distance. It was the sound of their alarm system. A voice spoke a moment later, echoing all throughout Seireitei.

"Attention all captains! Attention all captains! An urgent meeting will now be held! Repeat! An urgent meeting will now be held!"

"Looks like we'll have to continue this descusion later," Aizen said as he unlocked the door and led Renji out of his office.

Kestrel

"I wonder why people are always so insistent on stopping us from entering places," Kestrel mused as she looked across at the two men. She had decided that she'd never get bored of studying faces and these two were interesting, quite unlike those she'd seen so far. She stared at the white robed man in particular and he started to look a little uncomfortable.

"Does Kai have to fight you as well?" Stella asked irritably.

"I feel that we should warn you he defeated Jidanbou just yesterday," Audra added. The two men looked a little worried but equally resolute.

"That is of no concern to us," they both said together. The scrape of metal filled the air as Kai released his sword and Yoruichi tsked.

"Tell Kukaku Shiba that I Yoruichi have come to see her."

The two of them looked down at him, as if just noticing the cat. "Master Yoruichi!" they both shouted with glee. Shiroganehiko, the one in yellow, said, "It's been such a long time! Why didn't just say it was you?" He rushed over to the front door and opened it. He motioned for everyone to come in. ""Please, come in! Master Shiba will be happy to see you."

"A moment ago they were telling us to stay out, now he's holding the door open for us?" Kai asked, a little confused.

"They're Kukaku Shiba's guards. You can't blame them for doing their job," Yoruichi said as he led them into the house. Koganehiko, the one in white, stayed outside to continue guarding his post.

The moment they stepped into the house they were met with a dark staircase going deep into the ground. It seemed a strange way to build a house. Ishida was the first to voice his concern. "A descending stairway as soon as you enter? This house really is weird."

"Yeah," Stella said. "I wonder how you're supposed to get upstairs, if there even is a second floor."

"Please pardon our previous actions," Shiroganehiko said as he escorted them down the stairs. "We did not know you were all yoruichi's companions. Please forgive our rudeness."

"That's all right," Yoruichi said. "It's my fault for not notifying you beforehand."

"Thank you! Such generous words from such a great personage!"

Audra whispered to Kestrel, "Is it just me, or does everyone we meet here seem a little...off?"

"You're just noticing that now?" Kestrel responded.

They finally made it to the bottom. The hallway they were in now was brightly lit, as apposed to the dark stairwell. The walls were made in the traditional Japanese style with wooden frames and paper windows that couldn't be seen through.

Shiroganehiko stopped in front of a sliding door and said, "Please wait here a moment. I'll let master Shiba know you're here." With that, he went through the sliding door and closed it behind him.

"Listen carefully, everyone," Yoruichi said. "Kukaku has a... short temper. So please try not to say anything that would anger her."

Shiroganehiko came back a moment later, opening the door for everyone. "Please, come in."

Kukaku shiba sat at the other end of the bare room against a couple of pillows.



"It's been a while, Yoruichi."


Kukaku Shiba: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bleach_characters
(Just so you know, I couldn't find a proper article about her, so you'll have to go to this page, press Ctrl+F and type Shiba.)

1

(Come one, guys. You can't think of anything to post? Nothing at all?)

Sorry Dynamo, I'll have a go at posting but this just doesn't really feel like a storybook to me. The whole plot is already ordained and I've always thought the fun of storybooks was when you devised plot twists with other participants or surprised everyone by having your character do something crazy. This is more a story that's already written and we're just filling in touches of details.

Kestrel

"It has," Yoruichi said, sitting himself down not far from the pillows. He licked his paw absently as he watched the woman out of the corner of his eye. "My friends would like to ask a favor." Kukaku arched an eyebrow and moved her gaze on to the others who hovered awkwardly around the door.

"Well?" she said.

"We need to get through the gate," Kai said quickly.

"Through it?" Kukaku laughed heartily. "Through it? Not even I could get you through it."

"But Yoruichi said-" Audra quickly elbowed her boyfriend, having picked up on the cubtler phrasing.

"But you can get us in another way?" she asked.