As Shane was about to enter the Urahara Shop, the door was thrown open and Shane was dragged inside by his shirt. He yelped in surprise and stumbled across the floor as he regained his balance. "Care to explain yourself, Akiyama?" Captain Hitsugaya asked crossly. Shane glanced up and saw the short captain glaring at him, arms crossed. He had several bandages across his face.
"Explain what?" Shane asked, dusting himself off and sitting down at the table across from the captain. Rangiku and Urahara were hovering close by.
"Explain how after several Arrancar appear, you are unscathed," Hitsugaya said. "Did you win so easily?"
"I don't see what the big deal is. From what I can tell, Rukia won her fight pretty easily and I'll bet Yumichika didn't get one hair out of place," Shane said.
"Did you even encounter an Arrancar?" Urahara asked.
"Yes," Shane replied.
"Did you fight?" Hitsugaya asked.
"No," Shane replied casually. Hitsugaya was taken aback and Urahara spread his fan to hide his face. "What do you mean, no?" Hitusgaya asked.
"No. Do you want me to spell it for you? N-O." Shane shot back.
"Why didn't you fight?" Urahara asked calmly. Shane shrugged. "I didn't feel like it."
"You didn't feel like fighting?!" Hitsugaya roared. "What kind of answer is that?"
"You questioning my reasons?" Shane said angrily. "Look at you! You're a Captain, yet you look like you got his by a bus! Rukia was impaled on someone's arm! Do you even know how stupid that sounds? Why should I fight someone I have no chance at beating?"
"Watch your tone," Hitsugaya threatened.
"Or what? You'll write me up? Oh I can see how that would go," Shane said sarcastically, and began reading from an invisible paper. "Lieutenant Akiyama, you are here by tossed in jail on the charge of 'Angrily Venting Frustration in a Loud Voice to a Superior Officer.' Bail is set at one hundred billion dollars."
"I don't know what Ukitake sees in you," Hitsugaya muttered.
"Join the club," Shane replied. After a long, tension filled silence, Urahara cleared his throat. "Did the Arrancar say anything?" he asked.
"He mentioned that one of the Espada had shown up," Shane replied.
"What's an Espada?" Rangiku asked. Shane had forgotten she was there and noticed she looked about the same as her captian.
"I guess an Espada is one of Aizen's most powerful Arrancar," Shane said. "Just how many of these Espada there are is anyone's guess. I'd put the number of Espada between five and ten."
"So what was the reason for their appearance tonight?" Urahara asked.
Shane thought for a minute and said, "I can think of one or two reasons. First, to gather intel. I find this chance very remote."
"Why?" Urahara asked.
"Isn't that the reason why those other two were here in the first place? Think about this. The short one didn't fight. He just stood there and watched what happened. He struck me as very calm and emotionless, exactly the type of person you'd want to make a detailed observation. Those Arrancar tonight went out of their way to target those with high spiritural auras, which brings me to my second reason. They were here looking to fight."
"I hate to say it, but I agree with you," Hitsugaya said. He narrowed his eyes and glared at Shane. This one's not as dumb as he seems sometimes. "Why would Aizen send some of his precious Arrancar to the Real World, just to start a fight? That doesn't sound like something Aizen would do," Hitsugaya said.
Shane shrugged. "Perhaps all is not well in the world of Hollows," he allowed. Urahara stared intently. "Please explain."
Shane cleared his throat. "Before I say anything, this is just a hunch and I have no way of backing this up with proof." Urahara nodded and Hitsugaya motioned for him to continue. "Let's say that those first two Arrancar, Ulquiorra and Yami, were sent here to gather information. They fought with Ichigo, Urahara and Yoruichi."
"We already know this," Hitsugaya said impatiently.
"However, Ulquiorra kept saying they were looking for one specific person," Shane continued. "I figured this person was Ichigo."
"Why him?" Rangiku asked, startling Shane. She'd been so quiet, Shane forgot she was there.
"Probably to gauge how strong Ichigo had become," Shane said. "Aizen's plan is to overthrow Soul Society, which he could probably do. However, the one wild card that Soul Society has is one powerful Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki." Urahara nodded in agreement.
"Evidently, Ulquiorra deemed Ichigo was no threat to Aizen. Why, I don't know. So then Ulquiorra goes back and reports this back to Aizen." Shane said.
"You still haven't given us a reason for tonight," Hitsugaya said crossly.
"Keep your pants on. I'm getting there," Shane said with annoyance. "So then it would seem that there is a small faction in Aizen's group that is unhappy with Ulquiorra's analysis. They decide that anyone with any amount of spiritual power should be eliminated, hence what happened here tonight."
"Bravo," Urahara said, clapping his hands. Hitsugaya was unimpressed.
"Well, like I said, all this is merely speculation on my part," Shane said sheepishly.
"Wow! I never knew you were this smart!" Rangiku said and wrapped her arms around Shane's neck, causing him to blush. "I guess these really do make you smarter!" she added, poking at his glasses.
"Enough, Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said. "You should head back to Orihime's house. No telling what might happen next." Hitsugaya got up and left with his lieutenant.
Shane felt something soft rubbing his leg. He looked down and saw a black cat with large, gold eyes rubbing its head on Shane's knee. He picked the cat up and began to pet it. The cat purred with approval. Urahara watched with mild interest from behind his fan. "So what are you going to do now?" he asked.
Shane shrugged. "I don't know. I'm willing to bet we'll have a bit of down time for a while, until the Arrancar come back."
"So you really didn't fight because you felt you couldn't win?" Urahara asked.
Shane stared off into space and thought for a while. "Yeah, that's right," he finally said.
"What are you going to do about this?" Urahara asked.
"I imagine everyone else will undergo training to improve their skills. They'd have to if they want to survive against the Arrancar," Shane said. Urahara said nothing and fanned his face. Shane looked at the clock and stood up. "It's getting late and I'd hate to keep you from your business, since you seem to be so busy," Shane said. He offered a short bow and left. Urahara and the cat watched him leave. "Any thoughts?" Urahara asked.
"Glasses aside, he really is a smart kid," Yoruichi said. "I'm impressed he came up with all that on his own."
"Well, I'm sure he's got most of it right," Urahara said. After a moment's thought, he said, "You seem to really like him. I don't think I've ever seen you this friendly."
"I think he's got potential if he can straighten himself out," was all Yoruichi said.
Shane sat on top of the hill that overlooked the cemetery and Karakura Town. He closed his eyes and felt two slender arms slide loosely around his neck. He couldn't help but smile. "I'm glad you're here," he said.
"Me too!" Olivia replied cheerily. "It's not often I get the chance to come to the Real World."
"So why are you here?" Shane asked.
"It was decided that Captain Hitsugaya's Expeditionary Squad could use some medical relief, so here I am!" Olivia explained. "Sorry I didn't arrive sooner though. I hear it was pretty tough."
"Well, that depends who you talk to," Shane replied. He grew silent and Olivia became concerned. "Did you meet one of those Arrancar?" she whispered. Shane nodded his head. "We didn't fight though."
"Why not?" Olivia asked and Shane rolled his eyes. "Sorry, but I already went through this once tonight, and I don't really want to explain it again," he said.
Olivia stepped back and looked Shane over. "You seem tense, on edge. Is something wrong?" she asked and began to gently massage Shane's shoulders.
"I haven't been feeling quite right," he confessed. He closed his eyes and relaxed, letting Olivia's experienced hands do their work.
"Wanna talk about it?" Olivia asked softly. Shane sighed and began to open up. At first, he was hesitant, but Olivia coaxed him on, and soon, Shane spilled everything.
"Wow," Olivia said when Shane was finished. "I've heard of this type of thing, but it's very rare." Shane lay back and rested his head in Olivia's lap. "So what's the diagnosis, Doctor?" he asked.
Olivia frowned and put her finger to her lips. "How to explain this?" she thought. "Well, a shinigami and their Soul Slayer share a bond, a connection. When one looses confidence in the other or the bond is broken, the shinigami effectively looses their Soul Slayer and the ability to effectively be a Death God."
"So Tsukuyomi has lost confidence in me?" Shane asked. "Yeah, that sounds about right."
"Sometimes, the rift between a shinigami and their Soul Slayer is so great, the shinigami looses all their powers, effectively becoming a normal human soul," Olivia warned. Her face brightened as she added, "But I don't think you're that far along yet."
"Do you think there is something different about you, me and Akuma?" Shane asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Olivia asked.
"All the hollows I've ever come across all say that I 'smell' different than other shinigami. During our fight, Akuma mentioned that there was something different about us," Shane said.
"Different how?" Olivia asked. Shane shrugged. "I don't know, just different." He suddenly sat up. "Do you remember those girls I told you about?"
"Yeah, why?" Olivia asked smiling. Shane grinned. "Wanna meet them?"