Far away, Olivia suddenly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. She rushed to her window and looked out. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but she had the feeling that something was very wrong. Then she felt the presence of two familiar sprit energies.

"I hope I make it in time," Olivia said. She quickly got dressed, grabbed her Soul Slayer and supply bag and rushed out the door.

Shane and Akuma's battle had long past any form of sportsmanship and approached insanity and brutal savagery. Anything that was caught up in their ferocious duel was turned to dust. Akuma came in with a quick three hit combo, then kicked Shane as hard as she could. Shane went flying through three abandoned houses, the last collapsing around him. Akuma was breathing heavy and wiped the blood from her mouth. "I hope you aren't done yet," she called out.

The rubble began to shift slightly, then was blown away in a release of spirit power. Shane then reappeared in front of Akuma and laid into her with heavy blows. A powerful rising knee strike to the face launched Akuma into the air. Shane jumped after her and grabbed her by the belt. He swung her around and around to build up momentum, then threw her into the ground as hard as he could. The impact threw up a large cloud of dirt. When the dust settled, Akuma stood on shaky legs, supported by her Soul Slayer. She began to laugh.

"This battle is shaping up to everything I thought it would be!" she cried out. "I've been looking forward to the day you and I would fight like this."

"This isn't right," Shane said from above. His robes were shredded and he was bleeding everywhere. Every deep breath caused him sharp pain from several broken ribs.

Akuma sneered at him. "Since when has war ever been right?" She pulled her sword out of the ground and pointed it at Shane. "With as much crap that comes out of your mouth, the humans could blame you for their Global Warming problem."

"And you're a psychotic killer who should be locked away," Shane shot back. Akuma shrugged. "Well, to each his own I guess." Suddenly, Akuma appeared in the air above Shane. His eyes went wide with surprise. "How-"

Akuma lashed out and Shane fell to the ground, making his own crater. Before he could get up, white-hot pain tore through his shoulder, causing him to cry out. He looked up and saw Akuma standing over him, pining him to the ground with her Soul Slayer.

"Aw, does it hurt?" she asked and twisted the sword, sending new waves of pain through Shane's body. He reached up and tried to dislodge the sword in his shoulder. Akuma pulled her Soul Slayer out and Shane gasped. Blood began flowing from the new wound and pooled with the blood from other injuries.

Akuma licked a bit of the blood off her sword and smiled. "Izanami has been begging me to kill you and absorb your spirit power," she said.

"What do you mean?" Shane asked.

"Izanami can be pretty sick and twisted sometimes," Akuma explained. "Right before I kill my enemies, Izanami absorbs their spirit energy."

"So that's how you've become so strong," Shane gasped.

Akuma stepped back. "Now I want to show you something I've been working on," she said. Akuma held her Soul Slayer close and whispred, "Reap their souls, Izanami!" Shane then realized that she had been fighting this whole time without her Soul Slayer released. Akuma's Soul Slayer changed shape and became wooden stick about two feet long with a long, curved blade.

"You remember this don't you?" Akuma asked. Shane nodded meekly. "But this isn't what I wanted you to see," Akuma said. "Captain Aizen has been working with me and you'll be the first to witness." Akuma held Izanami out to the side and uttered two syllables: "Bankai!"

"Oh crap," Shane whispered. His words were lost in the explosion that resulted in the massive release of Akuma's Spirit Power. Shane struggled to his feet and was awed at the amazing display. He suddenly gasped as the enormous weight of Spirit Power engulfed him. This spirit energy is full of malice and darkness, Shane thought. He staggered back a step and the dust cleared.

Before him stood a robed figure, its face hidden in the depths of the hood. The cloak reached to the ground, obscuring the wearer's feet. The edges of the cloak were made of shadow seemed to pulse and move about as if they had a mind of their own. A thin, bony hand held a large scythe. The staff was covered with scales and had a sharp talon at the end. The top resembled a bird's head and the long, wicked looking blade was the beak. The blade seemed to glow with its own evil. The figure reeked of death.

"So, you like my new figure?" a raspy voice asked. "This is the true form of my Soul Slayer, Izanami-no-mikoto."

Shane bowed his head and knew he'd been beaten. He looked at his Soul Slayer. It was beaten and scarred from the fight, but the blades were still sharp. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Rise, Tsukuyomi," he said.

Akuma chuckled. "You think you can beat me like that?" Shane shook his head and held his Soul Slayer in front of him. "I want Tsukuyomi to see what we're up against. I want Tsukuyomi to get a good hard look, so the next time we fight," Shane brought his Soul Slayer in close for a stance. "We can beat you."

Akuma laughed and charged. In the back of his mind, Shane had to admit, Akuma's Bankai was very impressive. Akuma's attack power rivaled that of Kenpachi Zaraki and with each blow, blocked or not, Shane could feel his energy being eaten by Izanami. Shane jumped back and pondered his next move.

"Now for something new!" Akuma cried out. She held her left hand by her side and gathered a ball of energy and threw it at Shane. He quickly sidestepped. and avoided being hit. But it was just a ruse. While Shane was distracted by the ball of energy, Akuma rapidly closed the distance and lashed out. Shane felt himself being tossed in the air. Before he could fall back to the ground, Akuma reached out with her Soul Slayer and slammed him into the ground. Shane coughed up blood. Akuma kicked him in the ribs and he cried out.

"Hmm? Are you done? I guess I broke you." Akuma said. She stood over Shane's bleeding and broken body. She flipped him over with her foot so he was laying face up. She bent down and looked into his glazed eyes. "Become stronger and come after me," she said. She grabbed a fist full of his hair and brought their faces close together. "I'll leave you a parting gift," she said. Akuma stood up and stabbed Shane with the sharp talon end of Izanami. HIs eyes bugged out and the blood that came from his mouth was pink and frothy.

"This talon is poisonous," Akuma said. "But don't worry, you won't die. What you will do is become a raving monster. Every day that passes, you will loose more of your humanity and you will become a monster that thrives on instinct and power." Shane couldn't comprehend what she was saying. Akuma sighed. "I'm probably wasting my time explaining this to you, but I don't care. I want you to come after me. I want you to seek me out. And when you do, we'll fight again."

Akuma looked to the sky and stepped back. Shane struggled to his feet, bleeding profusely from the gaping hole in his chest. Akuma looked to Shane and said, "Good bye." Shane could only watch as the sky was ripped open and many Gillian-clas Menos Grande appeared. A shaft of yellow light appeared around Akuma and the small chunk of land she was standing on began to raise into the air.

"Wh-where are you going?" Shane managed to ask.

"With Captain Aizen to the land of the Hollows," Akuma replied, her voice getting smaller and smaller.

"Why?" was all Shane could think to ask.

"He has his reasons, but I'm going to fight Hollows," Akuma replied. "There are hollows in Hueco Mundo with power you've never seen before. I'm going to fight them, just to see how strong they really are." With that, Akuma disappeared into the dark void in the sky, along with several others. Then the void sealed up, as if nothing happened.

Shane stood there, staring at the sky. His grip loosened and his Soul Slayer clattered to the ground. Darkness appeared at the edges of his vision and his eyes blurred. Then Shane fell flat on his face, unconscious before he hit the ground.