After Shiomi left for school, Hisagi began to make his way towards the Urahara Shop. If his mission was to locate and defeat hollows, then the spirit communicator that would indicate their presences would be vital for the task's completion.

In a matter of minutes, Hisagi stood outside the renegade shinigami's store, carefully scrutinizing the outward appearance. It seemed to be a rather quaint location for such an accomplished soul reaper, but Hisagi wouldn't complain so long as Urahara could give him what he needed. The most noticeable aspects of the store were not the design features, but the two youthful employees standing outside of it, each one holding a broom. The kids appeared to be playing as opposed to cleaning.

Hisagi didn't pay much mind to the children, instead taking a step forward to make his presence known. His action succeeded in its purpose, as the young girl standing quietly by the loud red-haired boy pointed toward Hisagi, saying, "Jinta-kun, look."

Jinta turned around, crossing his arms at the sight of Hisagi. His voice was loud and possessed what Hisagi could only describe as an undeserved sense of authority. "What do you want?"

Ignoring the boy's rude tone, Hisagi replied, "I need to speak with Urahara-san. Is he here?"

Jinta's eyebrows narrowed in what could have been postulated as inspection of Hisagi. He only halted his examination when Hisagi's vice-captain badge came into his view. Thanks to his acute senses, Hisagi was able to notice this subtle yet abrupt change in demeanor, and could immediately tell that the redhead was aware of its meaning.

Jinta brought the broom up to rest on his shoulder, closed his eyes, and turned toward the shop's entrance. "Wait here," he commanded, opening the door, then letting it almost close until the young girl behind him followed.

Hisagi's eyes narrowed as he contemplated what the owner of this shop would be like. Like every other significant figure in the Seireitei, Hisagi had certainly heard of Urahara Kisuke, but he never had opportunity to meet him. As with most other shinigami his age, Hisagi was nervous for this first meeting. He could only expect an intimidating, intelligent figure-but he certainly wouldn't expect someone that would make the fukutaicho wait for a mere introduction.

"He's still out there, huh?" Jinta commented, peeking through the window of the front door towards the ninth division vice captain, who was now seated on the ground, his back supported by the telephone pole behind him.

It had been five hours since Hisagi first arrived at Urahara's shop, and he was beginning to lose his patience, even though he wouldn't let it show. He wasn't sure if Urahara was naturally tardy or if the man was purposely trying to irritate him. Either way, the latter's effect was gradually beginning to grow.

Urahara sighed, standing up and preparing to meet what he supposed would be an inevitable scolding from a Seireitei authority. He couldn't imagine another reason why such a high-seated figure would be at his humble abode.

"I suppose we can't postpone this much longer," Urahara stated, walking towards the door, his fan casually held in his hand. The door slid open, catching Hisagi's attention as Urahara shouted, "Hisagi-dono! What a privilege to have you here." Urahara bowed at the end of his declaration, making Hisagi wonder if his greeting was genuine or forced.

Hisagi stood from his position and walked toward Urahara as the ex-shinigami announced, "Please, come inside~!"

The blonde man walked away from the door, indicating for Hisagi to follow him. As far as he could tell, Hisagi thought that this shopkeeper was just as cryptic as others claimed him to be.

Hisagi followed Urahara into the store and through a door leading to a room featuring a round table. Urahara took a seat at one end and casually fanned himself, commenting, "Don't be so formal! Sit down!"

Hisagi did as he was told and sat cross-legged across from Urahara. He was finally able to take in the man's appearance, and he couldn't admit that he was impressed. The man had a sort of lackadaisical air about him, and his casual sitting position and method of dress confirmed this suspicion. In spite of Hisagi's first impression, however, he knew that he could expect more from the infamous Urahara Kisuke.

A tall, muscular figure sporting glasses entered the room, and Hisagi could acutely discern the tremor of the floor as he walked. The man bent down and placed two cups and a pot of tea in the center of the table, then filled both containers.

"Ah, thank you, Tessai!" Urahara commented, casually grabbing one tea-filled cup from the center of the table. "Help yourself, fukutaicho-kun."

Hisagi looked from Urahara to the porcelain container before him, then grabbed the cup, muttering a "thank you" to the tall man prior to his departure.

Hisagi slowly brought the cup to his lips, closing his eyes to savor the flavor of the tea. He opened them as he was drinking to observe the confusing man before him, who happened to be sipping his tea as well.

When he finished, Urahara put the cup back on the table and announced his satisfaction. "Ahh! Tessai makes the best tea! Don't you agree, Hisagi-kun?"

Hisagi smiled at the man in agreement, looking down at his cup. His eyes narrowed, finally having the courage to ask the first question that came to mind from the moment Urahara first called to him. "How do you know my name?"

A smirk was seen from under the shinigami's striped hat as the man leaned back onto his hand. "How could I not know the name of the ninth division vice captain?"

Although he couldn't see them, Hisagi could feel Urahara's eyes on his figure as he placed his cup back on the table. By now, Hisagi was able to figure out that regardless of what question he asked Urahara, he would never get a straight answer, so further inquiries would be meaningless.

"So," Urahara began, sitting back up with his elbows resting on the table, his chin supported by the palms of his hands, "what brings you to my modest shop?"

Preferring to get straight to business, Hisagi reached into his pocket and pulled out the remnants of his spirit communicator. Urahara snapped his fan shut and put his palms on the table, leaning forward to get a better view of the demolished device.

"What's that supposed to be?" Urahara innocently asked.

"It was my spirit communicator," Hisagi commented, slightly irritated that the only person with access to Soul Society technology at hand in the world of the living was unaware of what this common device was. "It's broken, so I was hoping you could give me a replacement."

Urahara leaned back in his seat and pulled out his fan once more, covering his lips as he spoke, "Are you sure it's broken?"

Hisagi's eyebrow twitched. He had begun to lose his patience when the man made him wait for five hours simply for a replacement device; now he was going into overdrive. Hisagi was, however, intelligent enough to know that acting rudely towards Urahara would certainly not warrant what he desired. So, as calmly as he could, Hisagi replied, "Yeah. It doesn't work."

Urahara released a "hm" of contemplation, then began to rub his chin. "I think I have just the thing!" he exclaimed, suddenly snapping his fan shut and standing up.

Hisagi followed suit and joined the shinigami as he walked out of the room. He followed Urahara down one hallway and to a closed door. The man gestured for Hisagi to wait outside as he slid the door open and entered. Vague sounds of opening boxes and falling equipment could be heard, but Hisagi knew better than to worry about it. Although he was slightly aloof, he could tell that Urahara knew what he was doing.

"Ta-da~!" said man called, sliding the door open and shoving a plastic-coated device towards Hisagi. "It's the unofficial shinigami spirit communicator!"

Hisagi blinked, then grabbed the communicator. It was covered in hard PVC packaging, and words in flashy fonts were strewn throughout it. Although the device appeared the same as his old one, Hisagi still had doubt about its authenticity.

"Unofficial?" he asked.

Urahara delightfully nodded. "It isn't recognized for use by the Seireitei, but it works the same!"

Hisagi looked at Urahara again. "Then why is it unofficial?"

Urahara pointed towards a collection of words on the packaging. "This one has games."

Hisagi looked at the packaging and began reading the words as Urahara continued to explain that this communicator worked exactly the same way as his old one, with the exception of the entertainment section.

"I suppose they thought that shinigami would get too distracted with colorful pixels to focus on work," Urahara rambled, leading Hisagi back to the room previously occupied. "But I know that won't be a problem for you, Hisagi-kun!"

Urahara flashed a smile at Hisagi, who in response muttered, "Thanks."

The other shinigami closed his eyes in acknowledgement of the fukutaicho's gratitude, then proceeded to ask, "Might I ask why a vice captain like yourself would have a mission in the world of the living?"

Hisagi looked up from the spirit communicator and elaborated on the details of his business in this world, including the recent menos attack.

"Where was the attack?" Urahara asked.

Hisagi was slightly surprised by the man's interest in the subject, but answered nonetheless. "In Naruki. It attacked some girl with a high reiatsu."

Although he didn't much care for calling Shiomi, who had treated him with such undeserved hospitality, "some girl," Hisagi wasn't sure how else to describe her without sounding interested in a human.

"Oh?" Urahara commented, his interest obviously piqued. "How old was she?"

Hisagi shrugged. "She's in Kurosaki's class."

Urahara smirked at this, then replied, "Is she cute?"

Hisagi's eyes widened slightly in suprise at the blunt inquiry. He wasn't sure if he should reply honestly or if Urahara was regularly this informal.

"I think she's a little young for you, Urahara-san," Hisagi replied, maintaining his demeanor.

Urahara laughed in response, fanning his face. "It's not for my benefit, Hisagi-kun."

Hisagi raised an eyebrow in response. Just what was this man getting at?

"Well, it's not exactly like humans are accustomed to getting attacked by hollows then rescued by a stranger," Urahara clarified, leaning against the wall behind him. "Don't you agree?"

Hisagi looked down. It was evident following their second encounter that Shiomi was attracted to Hisagi, even if it was only a childish affection. The only problem that Hisagi assumed was that he didn't want to get too attached to anyone or anything on this brief mission, and he had a foreboding feeling that it was already too late to fulfill that wish.

In an attempt to disprove his emotions to both Urahara and himself, Hisagi replied, "She's not really my type."

It was true; Hisagi was more interested in women having a stature similar to Matsumoto's. Shiomi, however, in no way resembled her. She was petite, and Matsumoto was curvy. Shiomi was average in height, and Matsumoto was tall. Matsumoto's boobs were huge, and Shiomi's were... well...

Hisagi was drawn from his comparisons when Urahara questioned, "What makes you say that?"

Hisagi turned towards Urahara, and stated the only suitable cause for his squandering of emotions towards Shiomi: "Too human."

Urahara laughed. "That's cruel, Hisagi-kun."

Hisagi smirked at Urahara, whose laughter had died down. He then remembered something he had wanted to ask Urahara about Shiomi.

"Urahara-san," Hisagi began, claiming the man's attention, "would it be possible for Shiomi to learn to protect herself?"

Urahara looked slightly surprised by Hisagi's suggestion and rubbed his chin in contemplation, allowing Hisagi to continue. "She has such a recognizable reiatsu that I'm sure hollows will continue to pursue her after I leave. And it's not like Kurosaki can constantly travel to Naruki on short notice."

Urahara looked at Hisagi, initially with a serious expression, which eventually faded into a jovial one. "Of course it's possible!"

Hisagi's eyes widened at Urahara's response; he didn't honestly think that the ex-shinigami would agree so easily. "Really?" Hisagi confirmed.

"Sure!" Urahara added, walking past Hisagi to lead him back to the front of the store. "Have her come by sometime."

Hisagi frowned. Although he had gotten what he wanted, it seemed too easy-like there was something Urahara was hiding from him. Urahara's reasoning behind his acceptance of training Shiomi became evident when he continued speaking.

"And if you honestly say that you don't think she's your type, Hisagi-kun, I'll believe you," Urahara said, his tone lightly sarcastic. "It is exclusively out of the goodness of your heart that you want this random human girl to have independent protection, right?"

Urahara turned around, eyeing Hisagi's shocked expression. Hisagi didn't consider Urahara's words to be accurate (as they were obviously not intended to be), but he mentally tried to consider why he so wanted Shiomi to be protected. Maybe it was because she expressed such concern for him that she would go out of her way to provide him with sustenance. Or maybe he just felt guilty that he would never reciprocate her feelings that this would be the only way to compensate. While both of these theories were possible, Hisagi couldn't deny that he found Shiomi to be a very interesting girl, and she certainly did not deserve a premature demise.

Hisagi wasn't able to reply to Urahara as a cacophony of shouting came from the front of the store. So, in an attempt to get the last word in, Hisagi added, "I probably do feel something for this girl, Urahara-san. But it's definitely not what you're implying."

Urahara refocused on Hisagi as the fukutaicho moved towards the door to the front. "Of course, Hisagi-kun," Urahara replied.

Hisagi let Urahara's last comment slide, and thanked him for the replacement spirit communicator one last time before opening the door to the front of the store. Hisagi was immediately hit with a small body, and looked down to see a mass of light brown hair, immediately identifying the girl who had collided with him.

"Tch," Ichigo began, crossing his arms, "what was the point of that? She comes here for five minutes, then leaves?"

Hisagi ignored Ichigo's comment and thanked him for leading Shiomi here, even if it was only for a brief encounter. At least she knew where the store was now.

"No problem," Ichigo responded, smirking at Hisagi.

Hisagi could vaguely see Urahara trying to inch his way out of the room, making it obvious that he didn't feel much like getting yelled at by Ichigo again. The orange-haired boy immediately spotted this attempt, however, and resumed his shouting.

"Where are you going, Urahara?" Ichigo began, his voice steadily increasing in volume.

Urahara turned around abruptly and attempted to recover for his failed escape. "No where special~!"

Ichigo's expression immediately transformed into a scowl and he pointed at the man in question, "I need to talk to you about something."

Urahara winced slightly, almost like he knew he had done something that would obviously upset Ichigo.

"I've been fighting hollows nonstop for the past two days," Ichigo began lowering his arm. "What's going on? Did someone use bait or something?"

Urahara seemed to release a sigh, which, luckily, escaped the notice of everyone present in the room. Ichigo's announcement was obviously not what he had expected, and he seemed rather glad about that fact.

"Hmm," Urahara began, sitting on the ground. "I didn't hear anything. But Hisagi-kun was just telling me about how he's here on a mission to defeat a predicted menos gathering, so maybe they're related."

Ichigo looked down, obviously not satisfied with the answer. Urahara ignored his response, however, and continued his explanation. "This is purely speculation, of course. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks," Ichigo replied, rather unenthusiastically. It was understandable that the prospect of fighting weak hollows non-stop wouldn't excite the accomplished soul reaper.

Knowing that his business was now done here, Hisagi stated, "I guess I'd better get going."

He bid the group farewell, and almost reached the door before Urahara called, "Hisagi-kun! I'll have your gigai ready soon!"

Hisagi turned around, his confusion evident. "I didn't ask for one."

Urahara leaned back, a knowing smirk on his face. "I'm positive you'll find it useful. Trust me."

Hisagi closed his eyes and turned around. "Whatever you say..."

He thanked Urahara for his assistance one last time before departing. Back in the shop, however, Ichigo asked, "Why're you giving him a gigai if he doesn't want one?"

Urahara laughed. "How else can Tanaka-san go on a date with him?"

Ichigo, Inoue, and Sado all raised their brows and looked at one another before shrugging off the comment.

"He'll thank me for it," Urahara added. "I know he will."

Hisagi sighed as he repeatedly pressed the buttons on his new "unofficial" spirit communicator. Since Urahara claimed that it would be more high-tech, Hisagi merely assumed that it would be easier to work; the opposite, however, proved to be true. Hisagi couldn't even figure out how to turn the device off.

Hisagi continued to randomly press buttons to observe their effects. He didn't even think to consider that his setting may have been slightly odd, as the people in the park passing by were staring at the empty park bench that beeped consistently. Hisagi wasn't even sure why he chose to take up residence where he had, but he didn't feel much like traveling farther. So, the park bench it was.

He must have spent another fifteen minutes examining his new device before a light, girly voice interrupted his inspection.

"Hisagi?" Shiomi questioned, standing a couple of feet away from the bench.

She was wearing a white t-shirt that made her athletic physique more than apparent, as well as the black sports bra that she wore beneath it. Her tan, toned legs were hardly covered by the black athletic shorts that barely hit five inches to her thigh. High socks were covering her calves, and she was supporting a large bag on her shoulder, which most likely held her sports equipment. Had he not been so taken by her appearance, Hisagi may have wondered what could have been inside such a colossal container, but he didn't care. He was much too busy observing how wonderfully the setting sun accentuated the light sweat coating her face, and gave an ethereal shine to her long brown locks.

Shiomi was aware of Hisagi's stare, and knew that he would be judging her. Why the hell would she choose to approach him when she was sweaty and gross, having just come from soccer practice? She must have looked terrible—and she didn't want Hisagi to memorize that image of her.

In an attempt to distract him from her disheveled appearance, Shiomi questioned, "What are you doing out here?"

Hisagi was slightly taken away from Shiomi's appearance at this question, but he couldn't remember why he had chosen to sit at this particular bench in that particular park. Actually, he couldn't even really remember if he was in a park.

"No reason," Hisagi replied, trying to hide his lack of knowledge.

Shiomi smiled as she walked over to sit next to Hisagi. As she did so, she was able to see a perfect image of the sunset directly across from their place. Shiomi didn't much care for the sunset, and she didn't understand why other people were so fascinated with it. She hated the thought of what it implied-the end of something wonderful and the beginning of something terrifying and mysterious.

"Why are you out here?" Hisagi asked, trying to redirect Shiomi's attention, as she seemed to be staring off in some random direction.

"This is how I get home," Shiomi replied. She looked down at her lap and immediately realized how close she actually was to Hisagi. She could just reach her hand out and touch his, which happened to be resting on his thigh. She tried to distract herself from this knowledge by asking, "What about you?"

Hisagi raised an eyebrow, then curtly replied, "You already asked me that."

Shiomi blushed and tried to laugh off her embarrassment. "O-oh, yeah!"

She scratched behind her head and tried to think of something to do, something to say to prolong the end of their meeting. It was too late, however, as Hisagi stood and stated, "I should go."

Shiomi looked up at him. He, too, seemed to be taken by the sunset, but for another reason. Hisagi loved sunsets. He knew that girls liked them for their beauty and the romantic side of seeing the setting sun with a loved one, but the coming of night brought about such mystery and terror that it made Hisagi shiver. He didn't fear night, so much as he loved what it brought about-drinking, parties, and the casual atmosphere that accompanies such activities. It released the tension of the day, and he loved it.

"Um," Shiomi began, trying to regain Hisagi's attention, "do you want to have dinner with me?"

Hisagi turned towards Shiomi. She stuttered, assuming that his look was one of negative judgment. "I mean, if you've eaten already, I guess you don't really want to, so I'll just—"

"Okay."

Hisagi stopped her rambling, causing Shiomi to look even more flustered than before.

"Okay?" she confirmed.

Hisagi smirked at her. "Yeah. I said I'll go with you."

Shiomi was too surprised to smile. She stood up and gathered her belongings quickly.

Hisagi didn't know why he agreed to go eat with her. He assumed that it was just her endearing method of asking, but he appreciated the thought nonetheless.

"You know it'll look like you're eating by yourself, right?" Hisagi asked. But some part of him already knew her reply.

"I don't care," she honestly stated, causing Hisagi to smirk. "U-um," Shiomi continued, shyly trying to look Hisagi in the eye. It was more than obvious that she didn't do this very often. "Do you like sushi?"

Hisagi smirked. "I love it."