Death Offer Chapter 4: Reaper's Spirit, a zombie-loan fanfic

Disclaimers: I do not own ZOMBIE-LOAN

A/N GUYS AND GALS! ENJOY! I really hope you like this!! And so sorry for the wait!

Death Offer

Chapter 4. Reaper's spirit

Torrential rain had plagued the city shortly after the meeting that was held within Michiru's dorm room that night. It was as if Mother Nature herself could feel the sorrow and bitterness that pulsed from the depressed silver haired teenager. As such, she too found herself to be sad and cried for him in hopes that her tears would wash away his sorrows. However, no such outcome had ever occurred that night or the next day for that matter.

Chika had remained disheartened especially when he viewed the weather, the still pouring rain, as an ill omen. Even Shito-kun, with his wise remarks and irritating-ness that is Shito-kun hadn't even made the usual hot-tempered boy burst out in any way. No, it wasn't until they all confronted him, that he had been able to snap himself out of his bubble of misery. Though, it wasn't like he had much of a choice in the matter..

"Listen boy," Threatened a clearly pissed off Grim Reaper in a harsh tone, "You are clearly not understanding the issue at hand and the product of it all."

"M-maybe if you lowered you're scythe, he would listen?" Suggested a timid voice.

"Hardly, this usually helps wake him up. In fact, I could assist him if I could get my right hand.."

Golden eyes had blinked once, then twice, and had taken in the surroundings. Hm, in the crappy dinning room being poked at with a scythe and yelled at by three people. They couldn't just leave him to wallow in his unhappiness? Why was he unhappy again?

"By helping this soul cross over, a soul that was never meant to be tampered with in the first place, you will be able to pay off your entire debt. You will be free of the black ring around your neck, you will be human and have your hand back. You can also finally be with your family. Isn't that what you want? Because if it isn't, then I clearly have learned nothing during the time I floated above Michiru-chan's shoulder in my borrowed form." This somewhat encouraging speech had actually come from the slayer of souls with the menacing amethyst eyes, slightly surprising Chika.

"… Human..?"

The pressure on his neck created by the scythe was removed as soon as the word was muttered out. Michiru was the first to beam, "That's right! You can become human again, and live with your father and sister."

"Nee-chan…" He focused his eyes on Michiru now finally seeing her. Of course, how could he be so blind? The whole point of making money, of slaying zombie's, was so he could return to his family. Well, mostly his little sister, he'd rather pretend his father never existed. Still, he would be hunting his best friend so that he could free himself.

Seeing this sudden flicker of doubt, Shito had immediately spoken, "He chose his path Akatsuki. He could have joined us and freed himself from the ring but chose not to. He wanted to move on."

"But now—!" Chika bursted, interrupted by Zarame-kun almost instantly.

"—Now he's different. He's been different ever since his soul had been retied to this world. Now with my previous core he is driven by power and a dark desire to slay others. He is not the same person he once was, but a threat to this world. Understand that, Akatsuki." He said as a matter of fact, not in a way that made him out to be a prick.

Michiru had laced her hand into Zarame's, knowing that he felt somewhat at fault for such a huge matter to have developed. The entire thing had been an accident and a complete fluke but still managed to make him feel slightly guilty. This white and black haired boy was his girlfriend's friend, and special to her. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel sad in any way. She had learned this from him when they were training in his realm.

The first time she had cried was because she felt guilty about leaving Chika-kun, Shito-kun, and Yumi-chan back in the real world. She hated it and when she saw how he reacted to her tears, it made her feel even worse. Like everything was her fault, her family's death, the increase in zombies, global warming, animal extinction… And just everything…

"Please don't cry, I will return you now if you truly desire it. I promise not to trouble you anymore after that, I give you my word if only you will cease your crying, Michiru-chan." His bandaged finger had tenderly brushed away her tears, leaving a tingly feeling along her cheek.

She felt him squeeze her hand back, snapping her out of her flashback. Finally, they were able to get through to Chika, and she hadn't even noticed it until she noted that he wasn't leaning against the wall of the dining room anymore. In fact he was actually very lively yelling at Shito for something incredibly ridiculous.

"Are you alright Michiru-chan? You seem lost about something." He asked worriedly, tuning the background noise out completely.

The olive-eyed girl blushed cutely before shaking her head, "E-eh, n-no. It's nothing, just remembering some moments with you." She stuttered out, half expecting him to smirk or grin sexily at her. Instead, he had pulled her over into his arms and kissed her nose.

"Any particularly good moments?" He inquired in a sexy husky voice, dragging his lips over to caress her cheek next.

She knew he could feel the heat from her cheeks as he kissed her, because she felt his lips turn into his famous smirk. "A-ano.. I've experienced many delightful moments with you.." She replied in a slightly hesitant voice, her eyes drooping.

He chuckled, kissing down her jaw line lovingly while rubbing small circles on her back, "Such as..?" He spoke in the same deep voice.

She had completely closed her eyes and sighed happily, smiling shyly, "The first time you kissed me." She spoke in a coy whisper, feeling his surprisingly soft lips on hers in what started out as a chaste kiss.

While the couple continued their activities, Chika and Shito had ceased their arguing and decided to make lunch. They figured the sooner they were done eating, the sooner they could get out to start hunting again despite the rain and school.

So far the Z-Loan hunters had the advantage against the A-Loan wannabe hunters. What with them being zombies, they really did not feel the need to go to school, and its not like the rain would make them sick either since they were already dead. On top of that, they had the Gopher as a secret weapon.

Speaking of which…

"Oi! Gopher! Stop making out with the Shinigami already!" Chika bellowed, "We need to eat then go hunting!" He continued in a whine.

Zarame had pulled away from a very flustered Michiru sighing in disappointment, "Cheh, jealous?" He challenged, shooting Chika-kun a haughty look sported by a smirk.

"What?!" He leapt up onto the dinning room table childishly, "You're a dead man! Rrrrah! Lemme at 'im!" He was about to jump off the table to tackle the purple eyed man but was sudden pushed back by a very strong arm. The poor boy had screeched before landing on the floor with a big thump.

"Jeez Chika, are you always this loud in the morning? Man, where's the food at in this place anyways?" A very sleepy Sotetsu grumbled in a tired voice, looking around the room for any form of food.

"Grrrah! Sotetsu! What the hell didja do that for?" A very pissed Chika groaned from the floor.

"It isn't morning anymore either, it's actually past mid afternoon." Shito had added smartly.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eye, Sotetsu had yawned and cracked his back, "Mm, yeah. Like I said it's morning.. You guys should have made food by now, why isn't there anything here? Did you eat it all?!" He asked in a mortified tone.

"Act-actually, we haven't made anything yet. We can go do that right now." Michiru had piped, finally able to relocate her voice again.

"I don't need to eat, I should actually be leaving right now Michiru-chan." Zarame told her, kissing her temple gently, "There's a lot of tracking that needs to be done."

"Can't we team up and do it together?" Michiru asked unhappily, her eyes clouded with confusion.

"You need to remain with your friends and lead them where you feel is best. I need to track the one who's responsible for beginning this whole ordeal." He insisted, "I'll be there to protect you if you're in trouble… But for now I need to find the source that is watching the Z-Loan building."

Grudgingly, Shito had spoken up and agreed with the Reaper, noting that it would be good to determine whom they were dealing with. "This might help us find out who it is that is disturbing the fate of these souls that are meant to pass over to the next world."

"Besides Gopher, we need your senses. As much as I hate to admit it, your boyfriend is right. We can't do our job without you." Chika added with a scowl, not enjoying agreeing with his partner or the reaper.

She smiled sadly and nodded, finally agreeing to everything. Once the goodbyes were said, Zarame was gone and brunch had been made. Sotetsu had left the dorms with a content smile on his face, patting his full belly with a chuckle. Of course, the kitchen was practically empty, not much food left anywhere for anyone.

"We'll have to ask Koyomi to go shopping when she gets back from school." Chika muttered.

"We should get going. If we plan on tracking during the day then we shouldn't waste our time." Shito pointed out, acting as the fearless leader for the day.

-X-

The door to the Z-Loan office had creaked open, drawing dull golden eye's up from his work sheets to peer at the visitor. Bekko-san had leaned back into his chair and sighed lightly, preparing himself for an oncoming headache, "Mr. New President." He greeted.

Said person had smiled almost darkly at Bekko-san before drastically changing his mood, "Bekko-chaaan! How many times have I told you not to be so formal! It's Hakka-chan!" He sobbed dramatically, "Don't you care about my feelings?"

The Ferryman continued staring at his unstable President, waiting for the reason behind the visit. He didn't mind Hakka-san that much, but sometimes he could be a hand full and well, annoying. Bekko-san wasn't the type to be cheerful all the time, especially during serious matters.

"Mou, you're not any fun anymore.." Hakka slightly pouted, crossing his arms. He had straightened himself out and resumed being serious, carrying a strange look in his eyes as he gazed at Bekko-san, "I've been looking at the test scores so far. Have you seen them?"

"You mean the money count for the hunts? I haven't even cared to look yet since it's only been a few days. Should I be watching it?" Bekko-san asked, blinking in slight confusion.

Hakka had narrowed his eyes in annoyance, taking Bekko-san's confusion as being a sign of arrogance. "How is it, that in merely days, your group of Z-Loan hunters have been able to rack up close to half of the amount necessary to win? And yet my group, equipped with advanced weapons and tracking, have only been able to collect less than a quarter of the total."

Turning his chair, he now viewed the outside world being drenched in rain. He paid closed attention to everything outside, his eye's flickering momentarily to see Hakka-san's face reflected in the glass as he spoke, "Perhaps my group is far more experienced than you gave them credit for." He spoke smoothly, noting his visitor's mouth twitch into a frown. "They also seem to get very motivated when they need to meet a deadline," He decided to add, not wanting to let on that his team had any form of extra power that he didn't have.

"I see, I suppose you're right. With them being dead, it is logical for them to fight that much harder to regain their lives." Hakka-san replied all too easily, shooting Bekko-san a very large fake smile before leaving the office.

"Ano.. Would you still like to have your tea Bekko-san?" Yuuta asked quietly, having finally emerged from his safe haven that is the kitchen.

"Eh?" The gloomy man turned his chair and focused on the boy. "Oh yes, just place it down on the coffee table." He muttered, 'Hmm…' Standing in his usual slouched manner, he had walked over to the couch to sit down. 'Nearly half way? Michiru-chan is proving to be quite useful,' He sat down and delicately picked up his tea. 'I wonder how much exactly she is like him..'

-X-

"Damn it! How is it that the Grim Reaper is back when that failure took his core?" A clearly pissed off Chitose howled, throwing a dart at the board to help relieve some anger. Of course the object had hit the centre and given him a bulls eye.

"Ah, but he isn't a failure Chitose. He had overcome the wheel of fortune and stolen the Reapers core to live again. That was something that had not even been written in our future records." Carmella reasoned with her partner, "Isn't that right Chairman?"

"Yes, that is correct." Hakka-san agreed, grinning darkly at the yellow clad woman.

She smiled brightly at Chitose in triumph, "Now that we settled that matter, what do we do about the Reaper and Z-Loan?"

The Chairman huffed and placed a delicate hand against his pale forehead in thought, "Things have gotten very complicating… They are all in our favour as well, or so I thought. Running Z-Loan out of business is clearly not working, leaving us no choice."

"Yes Chairman?" Carmella asked, urging him to finish his thought.

A tired sigh came from the other side of the room, the man rolling his eyes at the amateurs that stood before him. "What he's leading to is that if we can't indirectly eliminate Z-Loan, then we use the direct approach instead. Meaning the next step is to eliminate them ourselves." The dirty-blonde haired boy pointed out, leaning against his scythe proudly.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of leaving things to him Chairman! That baka couldn't even defeat two members of Zombie Loan! How can he possibly make a difference now?!" Chitose roared, pointing an accusing finger at him.

The Chairman merely kept his grin and waved Chitose off, "I like the way you think, Shiba."

-X-

Later that night, Bekko-san had given out orders for Yuuta to call and bring in Chika, Shito and Michiru. Not that they were in any trouble or anything. No, it was quite the opposite actually. He wanted to congratulate them on their hard work thus far and what better way to do it then taking them out for dinner for 99 yen a plate?

Chika sat cheerfully in his chair, thrilled beyond belief that they were in the lead and not A-Loan. Bouncing slightly, he could see his favourite beginner dish coming his way and had snatched it before Shito could even think of taking it, "I love eating out without having to pay the bill!"

"This still isn't really fair. Bekko-san did say that Sotetsu-san, Otsu-san, and Undertaker-san had also been working hard to pay their quota. We should all be eating out tonight." Michiru said with a bit of uncertainty. On top of all things, she still missed Zara-kun and hated that she could feel his presence in town and yet not be able to go to him and spend time with him.

"You shouldn't think about the downside of things Gopher. There's an upside and that's why we're out tonight eating good food! We did some good work today and for the past few days and are getting rewarded for it. The others will just go out with the Ferryman another night without us is all." Chika reasoned with her, albeit it was with a full mouth, but nonetheless a very calming gesture.

"Remember to take the blue plates everyone. I won't pay for the red ones." Bekko-san reminded in his usual bored tone.

Michiru had smiled warmly, admiring her friends and how wonderful they all were. Chewing on her food silently, she had glanced up at Shito and then Chika, remembering various moments shared between them. Her life would have been forever dull and bleak if she hadn't met up with them at the cemetery to help hunt down the killer nurse.

'I've grown up a lot, gotten stronger, and I'm more.. I feel like I fit in much better now that I'm at least at their level of power.. I… I—' Her train of thought had frozen mid way, the entire room suddenly freezing in time as she felt an aura spike.

Her olive green eye's had droop and gone emotionless as she concentrated on the new presence that seemed to be disrupting the energies in the air. 'Zara-kun.. He's found something.. And he's angry..'

"Kita-san.."

"Oi, Gopher!"

"Are you alright? Kita-san..?"

They were merely muffled voices in the background of her thoughts.

'Things are getting cold.. The air is freezing..' She continued to think, 'He needs to be calmed down.' Her vision focused on what was ahead of her. It wasn't a rotating belt, or a bunch of chefs, or any people whatsoever. She merely sat in the middle of nothing, staring ahead of her to find out where his presence was coming from.

Objects rushed by her vision, and she never blinked until she could see a flickering image of Zarame sitting on a nearly entirely frozen roof of a standard work building. Thick ice coated mostly the surrounding sections where Zarame sat, showing that the ice was clearly coming from him.

'There,' She mentally noted, the objects that had previously washed by her vision now returning as she watched the image of Zarame grow smaller in the distance. Soon she could see the inside of the restaurant again, the chefs, the food, and a waving hand in front of her eyes. The world around her had reverted back to normal and she had squeaked in alarm when she could see Chika's face nearing hers in concern.

"Kyaaaaa!" She had leaned back in shock and fallen out of her chair, landing painfully on the floor.

"Kita-san!"

She could feel her face turning crimson as the boys looked down on her in concern, others just looking to see what the commotion was about. Swallowing whatever little pride she had left, she had stood up with a bit of help from Shito-kun, half glaring at the laughing Chika as she sat back down.

Shito had also glared at his partner for his rudeness before turning his attention to the embarrassed girl, "Are you alright Kita-san? You were acting strange."

"Arigato Shito-kun, I'm fine. I just.. well, I should leave.." Michiru answered truthfully.

"Leave? Is it a zombie?" Shito asked in pure seriousness, "If there is something new out there, we should—"

"No, it isn't. I just.. Zara-kun… I think something's wrong with him." Michiru muttered uneasily, not noticing Bekko-san glancing her way.

"Cheh, I wouldn't worry about it. If anything, he can take care of himself. There isn't a power strong enough to hurt that cocky bastard." Chika brushed off once he finished laughing at her expense.

'I'm not worried about him getting hurt, more like him hurting someone else.' Michiru had wanted to say, but had hushed up and eaten her food instead.

The rest of the night had been a blur in Michiru's perspective. Nothing out of the ordinary had alerted her besides the growing power that was being emitted by her beloved Zarame-kun. It was due to her fierce concentration on his power that the remainder of the night had flown by quickly. She hadn't realized just how much she had zoned out in the boys view until it was time to return home.

Apparently, none of this had gone unnoticed by the now intrigued Ferryman that followed the group momentarily out of the restaurant. He had separated from them shortly after, muttering goodnight to them before wandering in the other direction.

Waiting near a bus stop, Bekko began to loose himself deep in his thoughts. It honestly didn't take a genius or a weak moron to have been able to feel the kind of power wave that the Reaper had let off earlier that evening. He thought that the boys would have at least felt the thunderous power strike fear into them. Yet they had acted indifferent, unlike Michiru.

That young girl had felt it several moments before he did, one who was an immortal. Even with the kind of training she received from the Reaper, her power should not be as advanced as this.. 'Yet she surpasses all laws of logic and again makes things.. Interesting..' He thought with a quirk of a smile.

'Yes this girl is very unique.. In fact, I wonder if the night Chika-kun and Shito-kun took on that additional debt to save her was really necessary.' He blinked up when a bus seemed to have magically appeared before him. How he dreaded taking such a filthy way of transportation.. But cars were bad for the environment, expensive, difficult to park, and he really preferred spending less money on a simple bus pass than anything.

He mentally cringed as he sat down in an empty seat, 'Well, you get what you pay for.'

-X-

Sneaking off into the night was effortless for someone as skilled as her. It's not like she's very full of herself or anything. No in fact it's the very opposite. She always doubted herself and her power until he taught her to believe and let her true power be released. From then on she had learned to easily cloak her aura while being in her superior form, and of course many other tricks.

Leaping off yet another building rooftop, she had taken flight into the air breathing in the fresh, cool element that gently pushed her tattered white cloak behind her with every bound. Though no matter how many times Michiru leapt into the air, no amount of wind would ever be able to pull back the hood of her cloak off her head.

One of the many tricks that the Reaper taught her so that her identity would always be safe and so that it created less of a hassle for the clumsy prone girl. Basically her outfit was like an extension of herself laced with her power. Though it hadn't started out as such.

Originally her clothes were merely normal clothes that eventually got tattered with the amount of training they did to the point where Zarame told her that she actually looked like a true warrior. With some added adjustments such as the boots for better comfort during battles, the white fur hood and white cloak for warmth and for protection, the leggings just for the sake of looking good and finally the bandages again for protection. She had everything on her to help improve her safety and keep her alive for as long as possible.

So, from the moment Zarame had complemented her, she didn't want to part with any of it and so was taught to lace her entire body, inside and out, with her strangely pure magic. Once she had done that, he had told her to hold back all but a small amount, which she did.

That's when the most embarrassing moment in her life happened. Since she had gone into his world with only the clothes on her back, well this was her only outfit that she wanted to have for every battle that was ahead of her. As soon as she cut off her power… Well… She wasn't very decent…

She had screeched so loudly that Zarame had ringing ears for a week. Though he had luckily had the decency to hand her his cloak and look away. That's when she had mastered transforming into her obviously superior form and into her human form. Eventually they had found her some form of clothing that would due whenever she would turn back into an almost useless human.

Back to her hood staying on her head thing.. Since everything is an extension of her being she can control certain parts. It's just the basics of manipulating power, nothing very complicating, 'Anymore. Everything was so difficult until I finally began to understand it all.' Michiru thought with a slight tint on her cheeks.

She was practically flying through the air of her beloved town, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu until she had located the exact spot her vision had led her to. Landing softly on the solid roof, she had cautiously walked over to the spot where he had been sitting several hours ago. It was as if he had left only moments ago, the ice still thick and coating a good portion of the roof.

Sighing, she had withdrawn a bandaged hand from the safety of her warm cloak to touch the ice, "He still needs time to control his temper." She whispered with a slight tug of a smile. She had placed her fingers on the cool surface, just barely touching it, and instantly every spot of ice had melted into water and evaporated. 'I'm sure if anyone would have seen this they would have been baffled at the cause.' She thought.

"And who.. Might you be?" Sang a voice behind her.

She had turned her head lightly, the voice bringing back old memories. Though this posed as a bit of a bad thing considering she needed to keep her still growing power a secret, 'I'll have to distract him.'

There was a pointed pressure on her back that she assumed was his scythe. Rolling her eyes at his obvious cockiness, she had easily turned and knocked the scythe away with her left arm, using her right one to create a strong flash of light to blind him.

"Aaaahk!" He dematerialized his weapon to cover his eyes, only hearing a light chuckle before she had completely disappeared. It was several moments later when he was able to uncover his eye's and finally see, albeit there were some dots in his sight but he could deal with that for a while.

Cursing loudly, Shiba had decided that he had better head back to the others to report in. On top of that he had to be extra careful that the energy the white figure had let off didn't attract that damnable Reaper. The last thing he wanted was to try and outrun him again. So with that thought in mind, he had fled the rooftop.

-X-

Michiru clutched her racing heart once she had reached the safety of her room. That adrenalin rush had felt beyond amazing. She hadn't felt this good in a long time and not to mention very proud. Her ditching skills still needed some improving but clearly they were good enough to escape the false Reaper any day!

"What happened?"

To escape the real Reaper though… she always had problems with that one.

"Nothing, I just went to clean up your mess on the roof. I didn't think that he would be there too." Michiru answered sincerely, transforming back into her bedtime pyjamas.

Zarame's eyes glowed with fury, "He was there? That brat had actually dared to show up and you didn't take your chance to slay him?"

Michiru huffed, "No, I didn't. I.. Don't quite understand it yet.. But I feel like it isn't time yet.."

Growling, he had walked over to her and crossed his arms, "He was meant to die long ago. And the sooner his soul actually moves on the better. There is no proper time for him anymore. The ring on his neck is black. His time is up as it always has been." He argued.

"I-I know… But still… It isn't my business to send his soul to the next world. Not without Chika-kun or Shito-kun." She reasoned calmly, bringing a warm hand up to his crossed arms and detangling them. As usual, his hands were freezing and hers provided such warmth that it was comforting and soothing for the both of them.

"You know Michiru-chan," He began, much calmer than before. "I swear we were made for each other. Almost like opposites coming back together at long last."

A smile tugged at her lips as she blushed at his sweet words, "You're probably right Zara-kun." She leaned up and playfully kissed his nose, "Are you only visiting or can you stay the night? … Y-you need some rest too you know." She stuttered shyly.

Sighing he had shaken his head to decline her offer regretfully. Though he had had the courtesy to lift her up and place her down gently in bed, tucking her in, "I can't stay. I have work to do. Besides, I'm an immortal. I don't need as much rest as a human does." He knew that she could have argued against him so he had decided to kiss her goodnight to make sure she didn't try to start anything.

The feel of his velvety lips against hers sent unexplainable tingles down to the tips of her toes. She had never felt so.. so loved by someone in all her life. Reaching a hand up to caress his cheek she had returned the sweet kiss without a second thought, loving how he would always be so gentle with her. Though the kiss was cut short for fear that it would turn into more than just a goodnight kiss and more like another of their make out sessions.

"Sleep well." He whispered with a grin, "Dream of me."

She giggled at his obvious cheesiness but had nodded nonetheless, brushing locks of his auburn hair away from his eyes. He had grasped her hand and kissed her palm making her smile even more before she had cuddled comfortably into her bed and watched him leave. He had grinned one last time before disappearing in a blur of black feathers leaving the lilac haired girl to finally get some much needed sleep.

-X-

"Guidance complete," Chika announced with glee, resting his katana again his shoulder.

Shito had dematerialized his pistol and nodded to Michiru, "Where to next?" He asked the girl.

Michiru had smiled and pointed east, sensing a form of disturbance in that general area. "I think that it's a strong one, I can almost barely pick up any minor Zombies besides us." She told them with slight worry laced in her tone, "I-I know that it should be a good thing but…"

"Less zombies to kill means less money." Chika finished for her, "Plus there's the damn A-Loan wannabes that don't seem to want to quit either, even after your boyfriend gave them a scare." He smirked slightly at the memory of their faces.

Sighing, the blue haired boy had glanced away from Chika and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "You know, there is a way to truly win and free ourselves at the same time Akatsuki."

The smirk had been wiped right off the teens face as he saddened. Dematerializing his katana he had stared at his hand grimly, "I don't know if I can do it though. I can't… I can't kill him again. But I know, that it is the best thing for him and for us."

"You don't have to carry this burden by yourself Chika-kun. We're all here, and we are all capable of taking on our share of foes." Michiru comforted, smiling brightly at him to cheer the poor boy up. "I promise you, that he won't suffer when I send him to the next world. I will put his soul at peace Chika-kun."

He recalled them comforting him yesterday and now today again. His friends were truly ones that he could never replace, even Shit-Shito. Just looking at them now as they all stood once again in some dark alleyway, he could see them standing there towards the end, where the light shined brightest. That's where he belonged, and as always they were waiting.

"We better get a move on baka before the A-Loan members decide to go for our money." Shito growled, glaring at Chika in annoyance for lagging in the dark alley.

"Cheh! Don't tell me what ta do ya damn jerk!" Chika fumed, trudging to them and passing Shito with a glare of his own, not forgetting to exchange hands with the red-eyed pain.

Instantly the two got into a competition to see who would be the leader while Michiru laughed sheepishly to herself while staying behind them and timidly telling them which way to go.

Eventually the group had decided to take a bus since the direction Michiru was leading them to was clearly near or beyond the outskirts of town. The bus could only take them so far until they had reached the very end of the city.

"Looks like whatever is out there is really far. We're going to need to call someone to take us." Chika reasoned, digging in his pocket for his phone.

Michiru's stomach had growled loudly, causing her to blush a bit. "A..Ano.. It's nothing, I'm just a bit hungry.."

"What do you mean you're at an all you can eat buffet?!"

Shito had twitched one of his eye's slightly, glaring at the loud white haired idiot behind him before turning back to Michiru, "I don't think that will be an issue Kita-san."

"Just take it and go!"

She had nodded in agreement, focusing her attention on the land that was beyond the city. It was well into the afternoon and it didn't surprise her that their great saviour was eating at a buffet. And as much as she wanted to perform her little trick and magically turn into some really strong reaper-ish thing, she knew she shouldn't.

The less she did it the better, and it meant that they kept the advantage no matter what.

'Strange…' Her eyes dulled as she focused ahead into the green land, 'There's a very strange aura far ahead. Most definitely not normal by even zombie standards.' She thought in alarm.

"Get your ass down here Sotetsu or I'll—"

The sounds of a very familiar motor vehicle approaching had cut off the slightly rampaging, foaming-at-the-mouth, angry Chika from shouting out some very bad language.

"Yo! Call for a taxi!!!!!"

"Yo! Call for a taxi!!!!!" Shouted a very proud Sotetsu, his voice echoing through the phone and down the road due to his loudness.

The group could clearly see him approaching and they had all taken a few steps back nervously when they spotted him on his cell phone with one hand, and the other waving at them casually as he continued to speed down the road to get to them. Even Michiru, someone that was trained not to fear anything (though that never went well with her to begin with..) was scared out of her wits.

Her glasses had drooped down the bridge of her nose as she let out a blood curdling scream of pure terror when the motorcycle was just a few feet away from them. Funny thing was, she wasn't the only one screaming but the boys as well. All except Sotetsu that had happily put on the breaks and stopped only a couple of inches before their faces, while still sporting the same old crazy smile of his.

He waited a minute, staring at them…

Still staring at them…

Still staring…

"The hell are you guys just standing around for?!"

She had grasped her racing heart and jumped a little at his voice, but had calmed herself in the end. "W-we thought that you were at-at a buffet—"

"Ha! Fooled ya good, right?! Nah, I was just on my way over here anyways since Bekko-san said something about a weird zombie outside of town." Sotetsu chuckled, revving the engine of his motorcycle a bit, "Anyways, I don't know how we're gunna do this… But you should be up front with me, and I guess Chika and Shito will have to share the back seat." He scratched his head in thought and nodded to himself, "Yup. Only way to do things."

"You…" Chika growled darkly, "You tricked me!! And now you want me to sit in the back with this pompous ass?!" He gestured to Shito, "No way! Why can't you buy a freakin car like a normal person!!"

"And give up my baby?!" Sotetsu gasped in horror, patting his motorcycle gently, "Never."

Shito had glared at his partner, not amused whatsoever by this turn of event. "There must be some other way." He told the red head, but only received a giant you're-shit-outta-luck grin.

"Nope."

Michiru had sighed and given in. Pushing up her glasses, she had proudly marched next to Sotetsu and motioned for him to make a little room for her to squeeze in. She sat perfectly comfortable, though just ever so slightly squished, in front of the strong male. She had received incredulous looks from her partners and in return she had shrugged her shoulders, "It won't be a long ride."

The next one to climb on was Shito, though he had a bit of a hard time actually getting his butt on the seat since there really wasn't any space for a third person, let alone a fourth. He had managed to sit just on the edge, not liking how close and personal he was being with Sotetsu, but he ignored it. "It's doubtful that we can do this.."

Chika knew that he could fit on there just as he did when they left on the rescue mission for Shito-kun. He had approached the motorcycle hesitantly and swallowed hard since this would be the most embarrassing thing that he has ever done in his life. So, sucking in a good amount of air he had proudly hopped onto the bike, positioning himself right behind Shito and holding onto his shoulders as he half stood on the back of the bike.

"Let's go! We've got some money to make!" Chika howled in excitement.

"Alright! Everybody hold on tight." Sotetsu revved his engine and they had sped off down the road.

Eventually they had gotten so far into the country, and in the direction that Michiru kept steering them in, that there was no road left to take but just some sketchy paths leading into a very creepy looking forest. Even the bold Sotetsu didn't want to go down them with his precious bike for fear of getting the paint chipped. So of course he had flat out refused to continue journeying with his 'baby'.

Michiru had assured him that it wasn't too far ahead now, that they were very close to the location. However Sotetsu wouldn't have it, instead he suggested that he stay behind (guarding his baby) while they went ahead to scout out the place. If they figured they could take on the thing, then by all means go for the kill. But if they couldn't, they were to immediately return and they would either book it out of there or he would abandon his bike (yes, tearfully abandon it) and go help them fight.

"Does he really think we're gunna need his help?" Chika asked a bit annoyed, "We're pretty strong! 'Snot like we can't take care of a single stupid zombie." He growled as they trudged ahead.

"Perhaps he thinks that there are going to be several." Shito suggested quietly.

"Whatever the case we should be on our guard." Michiru told them sternly, "I feel something strange around here."

"It's probably the zom— Aaack!" Chika was interrupted when he had collided with something that gave off some form of electricity. Sparks flew all around him and he had immediately pulled away from whatever it was that was in his way, his white cotton shirt giving off some smoke, "Wh-wha—the hell!"

Michiru had gasped and rushed to the white haired boy's side, "A-are you alright?!"

"Ch-cheh!" Was his only reply as he grasped his shirt and breathed in deeply, "Just a bit burned."

Shito had narrowed his eyes and taken a step forward, extending his arm forward slightly and receiving a light shock of electricity on his fingertips. He observed his smoking hand and frowned, "Some form of shield."

"A barrier," Michiru corrected. "This is something only an immortal with a great amount of strength can create," She explained, looking beyond the barrier wearily.

"Something ya learned at reaper school." Chika assumed, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Crimson orbs had turned to Michiru in wonder, "Do you know how to get passed such a barrier?"

She began to chew on the inside of her cheek in nervousness, "I…" She hesitated. 'It must be where Shiba-kun is, but what if Chika-kun isn't ready yet to face him?' She thought with worry, turning her olive eye's to Chika's. "I can break through a weak barrier like this in my sleep."

"Then it's settled, let's go—"

"W-wait! I.. I don't think we should go in yet." Michiru told them, "It's best we go in when we've all eaten and replenished our strength."

"I don't see why we should wait." Chika shrugged, "Let's just get this over with."

Shito rolled his eyes, "Akatsuki, we don't know what's in there, but it's strong enough to make this barrier and there could be possibly more than one. Kita-san is right, we shouldn't rush in like this. We'll return later tonight with the others and face them then."

"Man!" Chika kicked at the dirt beneath their feet, "I hate waiting."

-X-

Later that night, Z-Loan had re-grouped at the dorms including Otsu-san, Sotetsu, Yomi, Yuuta-kun, Shimotsuki-san and Lyca, Bekko-san and finally the three main hunters Shito-kun, Chika-kun and Michiru-chan. All had been present except Undertaker-san since he had a daughter to look after and wanted no part in violence. And so they had all managed to fit into the living room and began the reparations for entering into the barrier zone.

So far, Otsu-san and Sotetsu were all for it and had agreed to go since they were born warriors. Yuuta-kun had decided to go for the sole purpose of healing the injured whenever they needed it and had been entrusted to Lyca, the Lycanthrope part man part wolf that had been found during their vacation in the mountains to the hot springs. Apparently he had been personally trained by Shimotsuki-san and would be of great service to them that night if only to protect Yuuta-kun from danger.

As for Yomi, she had regrettably declined going due to the amount of darkness that lurked beyond the barrier. She felt as if it would be too difficult to keep her body under her control while fighting a large amount of zombies. Michiru had agreed with Yomi concerning her involvement since she too suspected that something very big was being hidden in the barrier.

"There's definitely something going on. I've been keeping watch of the news on TV and there have been many reports of missing persons over the course of a week. People have been gradually disappearing," Yuuta informed sadly.

"Which leads us to believe that hey have been taken and turned into zombie soldiers." Bekko-san huffed, "How very troublesome." He pushed up his glasses and glanced over to Michiru, "You must be thinking of using your powers tonight."

She had blinked at him and nodded, "Uh h-hai! I have no choice since we'll no doubt be dealing with an immortal, Bekko-san. I-I think.. That it might partly be where.. Shiba-kun is.." She said in a bit of a whisper, looking briefly over at Chika-kun's pained face.

"As Ferryman, I also have my duties to fulfill. If it is indeed an immortal creating the barrier, it is more than probable that the stolen Akashic Records are nearby along with the traitor," Bekko-san added.

"Right then, what are we waiting for?!" Sotetsu howled in excitement, partly snapping Chika-kun out of his daze. "Let's go kick some ass!"

They had of course taken Otsu-san's car and Sotetsu's bike so that everyone was comfortable for the ride there. And this was partly done because Sotetsu hated sitting in cars and wanted nothing more than to ride his motorcycle.

When they had arrived at the trail, everyone had begun walking down the dirt road, abandoning their vehicles since it was way too thick to go through with them. They weren't very surprised to see the three A-Loan soldiers fighting to get through the barrier. It was actually more like anger that they were feeling versus surprise since Chika and Shito just plain despised A-Loan. On top of things, they looked even more like simpletons with their attempts to get through. Obviously simply kicking it wouldn't do anything to damage it, or trying to break it with weapons like swords and guns.

"The hell do you guys think you're doing!" Chika had growled, his eye's burning with intense irritation.

"Oh great, the old guys are here." Zen whined but had winked nonetheless at Michiru and shot her a grin.

Clearly Toko was also annoyed with Z-Loan's arrival since she thought her skills at tracking were much more advanced than theirs, plus there was the little issue of Zen having a 'thing' for Michiru. Basically she was just as angry as the others and hated the gods for punishing her like this.

"Having a bit of trouble passing through?" Sotetsu asked Toko, earning a slight blush of embarrassment.

"Cheh! As if you old timers could do any better! There's no way of getting through here. Not even a combination of Shuji and me can get through." Zen sneered at them, mostly getting Chika riled up more than anything.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Shito snorted. "Kita-san?"

She had smiled warmly, "Just one moment." She promised, moving ahead of the group and ushering A-Loan away from the barrier, laughing nervously when Toko shot her a glare.

Closing her eyes, a flash of light had surprised everyone as she had transformed into her reaper form with a bang, the light flowing down to the very end of her now materialized cape. Such long wispy cape flowed up into the air wildly as strong unnatural winds, due to the immense amount of raw aura pulsing from her body, swept it away. Glowing white feathers fell from her hood and pooled around her feet as she began to contain her aura and lower the winds as she opened her eyes. Her form looked beyond frightening and new to the others, including some of the Z-Loan whom had yet to witness it.

Her tattered old school uniform clearly displayed the amount of hardship she had gone through to get where she was right now, the boots she had just looked amazing to begin with and as for the rest of her outfit.. Well she just gave off a very strong I-can-kick-your-ass-in-two-seconds look.

To say that the A-Loan group was surprised would be an understatement. Especially since Shuji was reminded of the threat placed on him by the Reaper himself about touching Michiru. As she was now, it didn't even look like he could simply poke her without his fingers disintegrating!

Placing a bandaged hand on the barrier, Michiru felt the pulse of electricity fight against her. For a moment, she could hear them all take in a breath as she kept her hand in place and in seconds something had happened. A warm light was being emitted from her hand and the barrier had shown itself as semi-transparent. Slowly, large cracks were forming in the barrier beginning from her hand and moving outwards. Finally the whole barrier that seemed to be larger than they had even expected, had shattered into hundreds of pieces and disappeared.

"S-sugoi Gopher!" Chika congratulated, "Heh heh! Goes to show you wannabes what we're really made of." He mocked, sticking out his tongue childishly at them.

Michiru had slightly turned her head towards A-Loan, her cold eyes frightening them as she continued to stare. Her olive eye's had never flickered as she spoke to them, "I can sense more than fifty undead soldiers and several immortals beyond this point. You are taking your life in your own hands if you continue from here," Closing her eyes she had breathed out and returned to her human self in another flash of light and slight bang, patting her school uniform to remove some invisible dirt.

She had felt their eyes on her and she had turned to them and blushed, "E-eh?"

"Impressive," Otsu-san admitted.

"We should get moving," Lyca suggested.

"By all means! There aren't anymore barriers, and Zara-kun will be joining us very soon." Michiru announced, moving forward down the path. She could feel the others hesitating for a moment but only a moment. Soon Chika was right behind her, followed by Shito, and they had exchanged their hands and formed their weapons.

"Ready?" Chika asked.

"Humph, I always am Akatsuki." Shito retorted.

"Hey now," Sotetsu chuckled, walking along with them. "No fighting children."

Michiru had to hold in her giggles as they walked down the dirt path together, an ominous wind stirring the trees as they continued forward. She knew that A-Loan was following, and she didn't mind. In the end, they would need their help to get through this. 'But I can't help but worry.. There's great power just ahead, and I sense Zarame's power mixed with something else. It must be Shiba-kun, and there are three others.' She concluded, chewing her bottom lip with worry. Her eye's also darted around them, back and fourth between the different sections of forest, 'They're there, but they won't attack us.. They must be waiting..'

They had made it to a clearing and discovered an old building that seemed to practically glow with death in Michiru's perspective and most likely Toko's as well. It wasn't normal and proved that there were many within that were of the undead variety.

The building itself looked similar to the abandoned hospital where Shito-kun had been taken. It had a very dark look to it and there were some old pieces of rubble covered in moss around it showing just how old it really was. The grass was green and very long all around the clearing, but only in the clearing. Just around the structure there was nothing alive, only dry soil and remnants of what looked like blood.

"This place reeks of death," Shito said bitterly, keeping his guard up for anything suspicious.

"Ah, so you broke through did you?" Came a voice from far above them, on the roof of the ten story high building. "I'm surprised. But I guess that saves me the trouble of bringing the fight to you." He grinned, forming his scythe in his right hand.

The light provided from the moon sent a glimmer from the scythe and made the hunters tense up instantly. Though they were mildly surprised to see him, Shito had wasted no time pointing his pistol at Shiba, pulling down the safety lock, "You're a dead man."

"Funny, I was going to say the same to you." Shiba mused.

They were on full alert when the doors to the ground floor of the building had bursted open, several zombies walking out towards them while others had been hidden in the forest and surrounded them from the rear.

"Do you really think this is going to stop us Shiba!!" Chika yelled, successfully earning his ex-best friends attention. "We won't stop until you've crossed over." He promised.

Shiba had a wild look in his eyes as Chika had said this, and laughed almost maniacally. In a split second he was gone from the rooftop and next to Chika, swinging his scythe at him, "That's what I'm counting on Chika-chaaan. Fighting you.. is fun." He laughed again feeling resistance from Chika's katana.

That was the cue that had set off the small army of undead towards them. Though the A-Loan group had a difficult time understanding why Michiru wouldn't change already and fight along side them, they decided not to dwell on things and had formed their weapons and began fighting.

Shito had fired a round from his pistol at Shiba, just barely missing him. The false reaper had leapt back in time and smiled darkly, "Two on one isn't fair."

Chika had glared at Shito, "Don't interfere, Shiba-kun is mine!"

Michiru had winced at the tone Chika was using and looked away with grieving eyes. Turning her gaze up she had noticed a yellow clad boy staring down at them from the fifth floor, holding a dart in his hands. 'Who is that..? I can sense that he's immortal..' She thought. Though she was standing in the centre of a battleground, she could see that the ones around her seemed to be doing fine in their fight, taking down one zombie after another.

It wasn't until she had heard Chika's howl of pain that she had snapped out of her minor daze and turned to him. Her eye's had widened when she saw Shito on the ground, his legs frozen with a thick layer of ice, preventing him from moving. Chika was not too far away, holding his katana weakly as his right arm bled and dripped on the ground.

"Yuuta—!" Michiru half called, but gasped when she noticed that Yuuta-kun was just as busy as the others trying to avoid being torn apart by zombies. Even with Lyca's protection and strange power to morph into a wolf, they were still having a hard time.

"I'm not weak, Chika-chaaaan. I've grown sooo much stronger. Or maybe, you got weaker? Well, who knows?" Shiba shrugged. "Just take a look around you, soon you'll be dead with all your friends, I'll kill every. Single. One. Including your very weak Michiru-chaaan and her useless reaper eyes." He purred, admiring his reflection in his scythe.

Shuji had his machine gun out and was already shooting away at the zombies on his end, Zen guiding them to the next world while Toko merely pointed out the ones that were hiding and trying to take them by surprise.

"That isn't true. We're different, we're better than you. You could have come with us! Why didn't you? You were my best friend Shiba!" Chika wanted to know, grasping his right arm tightly to stop the bleeding.

Several zombies had noticed Shito's little predicament and had decided to try and take him on, however he wouldn't have it and began firing rounds at them. It wasn't until one had come from behind and held his arm back that he was really in trouble.

"Hn? No reason really, I just didn't want to." He smirked and swung his scythe back, "And look what happened! I got these amazing powers… With these.. I can do anything!" He laughed, holding out his hand and forming sharp ice crystals floating in midair.

Turning to look one last time at the fifth floor, Michiru had shot them a glare and dared them to watch her. Just watch… She urged, now seeing that the yellow clad boy was indeed staring at her, merely standing in the centre of the battlefield. At least, she was before a flash of light had appeared, and she was gone.

-X-

"Chairman, we're in trouble." Chitose said in alarm, backing away from the window slowly.

-X-

She had let her white hot power pulse through her veins and change her appearance in merely seconds. She hadn't even given it a second thought before she had leapt over to Shito's aid, her long tattered cloak flowing behind her as her hood had kept snugly in place as she flew in midair at an incredible and almost demonic speed towards Shito. The white cloaked girl had grabbed the dark zombie by the scruff of his torn shirt, while still in mid air, and tossed him like a measly rag doll back into the forest where he had come from.

She had landed softly on her toes next to Shito, turning quickly to examine him. She had heard him mutter her name in shock as she place her hand on the ice and almost instantly turned it into vapour.

-X-

"Where is that aura coming from?" Carmella asked, feeling the hairs on her arm stand up.

Approaching the window, Hakka-san had looked down. He noted that his team was working fairly efficiently, Z-Loan was also there somehow and… 'Who is that?' He narrowed his eyes at the white figure below glowing. Noting that her power held familiarity his eye's had widened and he had taken a step back, "It can't be.. It's impossible."

-X-

"Wh-wha—?" Chika gasped, readying his katana.

"Like I was saying, absorbing this core was the best thing that could have ever happened to me," Shiba told him, throwing the large crystals at Chika.

The teenagers had barely been able to knock away the first round, it wasn't until the second round that he got worried and feared of truly being torn apart limb from limb. Dozens of crystals were formed around Shiba, and he stood with one hand in the pocket of his beige trench coat as if this little trick was nothing!

"Farewell, Chika-chaaan." Shiba sang, cueing the crystals to fly his way, all flying to the one target, Chika.

"Sh-shit.." Chika cussed, gripping his katana tightly. Though he was afraid, he refused to let Shiba win and most certainly refused to show him fear.

However the crystals had never struck Chika, they didn't even have a chance to touch him. A large flame, seemingly to have come out of nowhere, had engulfed all of them and turned them to vapour in an instant, shocking both Shiba and Chika-kun. Though, Chika had recovered from his state of shock when he noticed that somehow in that split second that he thought he was going to really die, Michiru had appeared in front of him.

Standing tall, she kept her hood firmly in place and her cloak covering her entire form to keep Shiba guessing who she was. Though she was taught not to play with her targets, she couldn't help it. Shiba had caused her friend so much pain, had hurt Zarame, and intended to continue his dark ways. A little revenge was in order…

"You.." Shiba muttered in pure shock, his eyes widening as the figure before him glowed with obvious intensity that it sent shivers down his spine.

-X-

"Chairman?" Carmella asked with uncertainty, standing from her position on the couch.

"We're leaving." Hakka-san announced, fully stepping away from the window to hide and gather their things.

-X-

"Hai." She answered firmly, tilting her head up to meet Shiba's slightly frightened gaze with her stern olive eyes, "Me."

A/N I hope that this chapter is really good guys! I wrote a little bit more plus I wasn't cruel! I could have stopped right after Shiba had attacked Chika and left you guys a REALLY bad cliffy, but I didn't!!!!! So be nice to me, eh? Even though I took forever to make this..

Yeah, I gotta say, the Zombie-Loan soundtrack is really inspiring, so I hope you guys have it cause I love it! It definitely helps get ya in the groove of things. And uh.. Besides that.. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Obviously there's gunna be another one! So stay tuned! Review!!