Imaginefun- XD I didn't even realize I made a Death Note reference!

Icyheart666- Thank you!

ThisStrawberryIsYours- Don't worry, I'll continue it!

8888Dearie8888- Of course, never forget the flowers!

general zargon- ^^' Yeahh, I'm a pretty blunt person, so sometimes I forget to add a little more detail to the story, but thank you for the critique!

Whew, sorry it took so long to update this! The last two stories really wiped me out and I'm pretty stressed (I HATE BEING A SENIOR!) Anyway, here is the next chapter, hope you all like it!

UPDATED: 2/4/15

He felt rather than saw Asura's attack. He had been blinded by his rage and Asura used that to his advantage, using a single beam from Vajra to stagger Death. It hit him in the chest, forcing the air out of his lungs. He dug his scythe into the ground, slowing his inevitable fall. When he was completely stopped he looked up to see Asura heading directly toward him. Death unearthed his scythe and used it to block the Kishin's attack.

"I thought you would be stronger than this, master. I'm a little disappointed." Asura scorned.

Death's eyes narrowed and four shadows in the shape of his mask slithered from his body toward Asura, their eyes narrowed just like their master's. They latched onto Asura, black blood spurting from the wounds. Death surged toward him, scythe poised to slice through Asura's body. Asura grinned.

"You're still blinded by your own rage! Jumping right in to attack isn't wise, isn't that what you taught me?!" Asura opened his mouth.

Death summoned his shield, the beam forcing him back some. He grunted from the force. His shield shattered as Asura's attack stopped.

He is right; I'm not even thinking properly. I need to stop attacking him immediately. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Remember: a sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. He exhaled and opened his eyes again.

Asura was waiting patiently, his palms pressed together. He was preparing his more powerful attack, Death realized. He held his ground, the two beams racing toward him. He deflected one, but the other disarmed him. He hastily distorted his frame, curving his body into a semi-circle, letting the beam zip past him. He looked around for his scythe, only to find it broken. He felt a flitting pang of grief. That scythe had belonged to the Shinigami for generations. He clenched his claws together.

"You aren't very useful without your scythe, aren't you, Death?" Asura mocked.

Eibon and the remaining warriors stepped closer to him, weapons ready, but he held his arm out. They stopped and stared at him incredulously.

"No. I'll handle this; don't get involved." He ordered.

"But, Death, you do not have a weapon. How can you possibly hope to defeat him without one?" Eibon queried apprehensively.

Death looked at his signature and smirked. He clenched his massive right hand. "With my bare hands."

His right arm stretched out and he brought his hand crashing down onto Asura's skull. The force brought the Kishin to his knees. Asura growled and his scarves rushed toward Death. They constricted around his body, knocking the breath out of his body. He grit his teeth and sent waves of his own soul through the scarves. They struck Asura and he hissed, his scarves recoiling back as he coughed blood from the internal attack.

Death's shadows appeared again, latching onto Asura's arms and legs, and dragged him closer. Death wrapped his hand tightly around Asura's neck.

"Kishin Asura, your soul is mine." He dug his claws in and began rip Asura's skin off.

Asura shrieked with agony, flesh hanging off his bones, and opened his mouth. Death quite literally saw red as the beam hit him point blank in the face. He was forced to release Asura as he was sent flying back. He landed heavily on his back and lied there for a moment, stunned. His mask was made out of a very resilient material, but he felt a part of it shatter like it had been made of glass. His face was throbbing and he brought his left hand up, parted the hood of his cloak, and felt his face. It stung and when he pulled his hand back, it was darkened with blood.

"Damn it…" He growled as he put his hood back over his face. He needed a new plan.

"Master, you aren't dead, are you? No, no, I can still feel his wavelengths." Asura cackled from nearby.

Stiffly, Death returned to his feet, clenching and unclenching his right hand. With a burst from his Shinigami Jets, he surged toward Asura. Asura clucked his tongue. "You'd think you would have learned not to come at me head on!"

He opened his mouth and attacked. Still racing toward the Kishin, Death opened his mouth beneath his mask. The crimson beam entered through the eye sockets of his mask and into his mouth. It burned red hot but he forced himself to swallow it, a little belch of smoke emitting from his mask.

Asura blinked at him, disconcerted, and didn't react in time. Death slammed his open hand into his former apprentice's face, throwing him to the ground. With the young Kishin stunned, Death grabbed the flaps of flesh and tore the skin off Asura's body.

With a howl of pain, Asura's body dissipated, leaving behind his inflamed soul. Still clutching his skin, Death grabbed the soul and sealed it within the bag of skin he was now clutching. He placed seal after seal onto the bag. He could feel the soul surging violently inside, the seals beginning to burn off. He growled and continued to place more seals on it. Eibon neared him.

"Death, it will not be possible maintaining all those seals. He will get out."

Death sighed. "No, he won't. There is only one other thing for me to do."

He indicated a puzzled Eibon to step back, which the wizard obliged curiously. Death closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply. He sent out pulses of his wavelength out, letting them wash over everything within the vicinity. The more he did this the larger the range grew until his wavelengths encompassed several miles. His wavelengths soaked into the ground. His brow twitched and sweat poured down his face as he sought out the magnetic field of the earth beneath him. Once he found it, he began to resonate his soul with the magnetic field and Asura's weakening wavelengths. The earth shook violently as he struggled to maintain the resonance and he felt his soul expand outside his body. He bit his lip to keep from crying out from the indescribable pain of his soul exiting his body. His wavelengths connected to the magnetic field as they reached their limits, two kilometers away with him being the epicenter. The earth beneath him crumbled until it was miles deep, but he didn't fall into the hole. Rather, he dropped the bag of skin containing Asura down it.

He waited for a few minutes and when Asura did not arise, he relaxed and looked at his warriors. His vision blurred and he staggered. Eibon jogged over to him and supported him.

"What did you do?" Black Mass demanded.

"In order to seal him away, I had to root my own soul to the earth here." He replied tiredly.

Eibon's head snapped sharply in his direction. "You mean-"

Death nodded. "I can never leave this area again."

"What are we supposed to do?" One of his other warriors asked worriedly.

"...We will disband. I am useless unless the area in danger is here. I must guard the Kishin's soul for the remainder of my life, however long that may be. I don't care what you will do, but your plans cannot include me." He was sullen. The idea of being rooted to one spot until the end of time certainly was cumbersome.

"What are you going to do, Death?" Eibon asked, sounding genuinely worried about his old friend.

What was he going to do? Now that he only had to protect a single location, he would suddenly have a lot of free time. An old childhood dream of his—before Shi nipped that right in the bud—came to mind.

"I will help the people rebuild this town. I think I will also open an academy to prevent this," he indicated the hole where Asura rested, "from happening again. I will send word worldwide for weapons and meisters to come here to train."

Eibon nodded and said kindly, "Until we meet again, then, my friend."

He and the other warriors disappeared, leaving Death standing there amongst the rubble of the ruined town. He was uncertain about whether or not he could trust humans to weed out evil humans but with him out of commission someone needed to uphold Order. Besides, it might be fun to teach students willing and eager to learn.

The people of the town warily came back, sobbing as they saw the ruins. He dared to go over to them, watching them cower as he drew nearer. Ophelia pushed her way through the crowd over to him, her injuries almost healed, much to his surprise and worry.

"You're okay!" She exclaimed with relief, smiling unevenly at him. It didn't seem she had noticed her injuries were healed.

"Of course I'm okay." He addressed her before looking at the people behind her. They flinched, but he paid it no mind as he said, "I apologize for the damage done to your town. I will help you rebuild it to newfound glory. However, I have a request. I would like to start a school dedicated solely to preventing another Kishin to arise. I will need help building such a school."

The people talked amongst themselves, hesitant about the idea. For an uneasy moment, Death feared they would refuse. Then, the Town Elder stepped forward and nodded his approval. "We will help you, Lord Death, as thanks for you protecting us from the Kishin."

He blinked in surprise at the "Lord" added to his name, but said nothing about it. "Thank you. I assure you, you won't regret making this decision."

The Elder turned back to his people, giving them orders. Death turned away from them and noticed Ophelia was no longer there. Having an idea to where she had gone, he went to the remains of her house. She was standing there, her back to him, watching her still blazing house. Her hands were clenched into fists and her shoulders were shaking. Death uncertainly went over to her, carefully placing a hand on her shoulder. Rather than recoil from the touch, her hand reached up and touched his claws.

"M-my poor flowers..." She murmured.

"I'm sorry. When the town is completed, I will make a garden for you." He offered.

She turned to look at him, tears in her eyes, and she smiled waterily. "T-thank you, Death. F-for saving me and my town."

He didn't respond. He just watched as her house collapsed, snuffing the fire out. He sighed and she suddenly said, "Your new school: who can attend?"

Bemused by the question, he responded, "Weapons and humans who can wield them. Why?"

She ignored his question. "How old would they be?"

"I don't know. However old they are now, although perhaps it would be better to teach children...Adults are probably going to be less willing to learn from a Shinigami. Children, I hope, are more open minded." He thought aloud.

Ophelia turned completely around. "You're going to have to change your appearance then."

He rose an eyebrow. "Why?"

She rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Your appearance now will scare the children half to death! I mean," she gestured to all of him, "you're terrifying. And your voice! Can you change your voice, too?"

He waved his hand at her. "The children won't be scared of me! You're being ridiculous."

But he wasn't one hundred percent confident in his response. Asura had not been afraid of his appearance when he was a boy, but other children might not be so open minded. After all their parents had undoubtedly taught them to be afraid of Death. Still, he didn't want to admit he was having doubts. He turned and walked away from her.

Ophelia huffed and called, "If you look like that and try to recruit weapons and meisters, don't expect them to run to you with open arms!"