As Shane entered his apartment, Rin ran up to greet him. "Hey! Where have you been all day?" she asked. Shane smiled wearily and replied, "I was working." Rin made a face as if she didn't believe him. "Anyway, you promised you'd read me a story today," she said.
"I did?" Shane asked. Rin rolled her eyes and grabbed Shane by the hand, leading him to the room he had set up for her. She pushed him down on the futon and she ran out of the room to grab a book. Shane leaned back and closed his eyes. "Telling her straight out would be best," he muttered.
"Who are you telling?" Rin asked. Shane looked up and saw Rin standing impatiently in front of him. She handed him the book she selected, but Shane put the book aside and patted his lap. Frowning, Rin sat in Shane's lap and he adjusted her position so she could look at him. Rin's face became worried and she asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Kind of," Shane replied.
"Did I do something wrong?" Rin asked, her voice becoming small. "I said I was sorry about the sword thing."
"No, it's not about that," Shane assured her. He sighed and said, "The world is not a nice place and there are a lot of bad people who want to do bad things."
"I know," Rin said.
"There is a very bad man who wants to come here and do very bad things," Shane explained. "He is very strong and all the people in charge are worried they won't be able to stop him."
"Why does he want to do bad things?" Rin asked. "What does he want?"
"Basically, he wants to become God," Shane said. Rin thought for a moment and asked, "How do you do that?"
"By hurting a lot of people," Shane said. "This bad man has other people who do bad things for him, and I think some of them are coming here to Soul Society."
"Can you stop them?" Rin asked. Shane looked down into his lap. "I...we are going to try our hardest." Rin leaned against him and Shane put his arm around her. "You know I'm kind of an important person here right?" he asked. Rin nodded her head. "And the bad people know I'm an important person. This means they will try and do things to make me do what they want." Shane tilted Rin's chin up so they were looking eye to eye. "Do you know what that means?"
Rin's lip quivered slightly as she said, "The bad people might come and get me."
"That's right," Shane said softly. "They will try and make me say things I don't want to say, or do things I don't want to do. They might even hurt you." Tears began to form in Rin's eyes and she grabbed Shane and held him tightly. "I...I promise to be a big girl and not cry," she stammered. Shane wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I know we haven't know each other very long, but you are special to me," Shane said.
"You saved me and took care of me when you didn't have too," Rin said. "You are special to me too, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
Shane blinked away the tears and gently stroked her hair. "No matter what happens, I will do my best to keep you safe."
Rin looked up and said, "I love you Shane."
"I love you too sweetheart," Shane replied. "No matter what happens, no matter what I might say, I want you to know in your heart I love you." Rin buried her face in his chest and began to sob. Shane held her gently in his arms and thought about Olivia. Is this the right thing? I feel like I've sentenced her to a lifetime of pain and agony. I wish you were here right now. I miss you so much.
When Rin stopped crying, Shane said, "I have something for you," Rin dried her eyes with her hands. "What is it?" she asked. Shane reached into his uniform and pulled out a small dagger. "This is called a tanto. It's a small dagger used when you can't carry a big sword." He held it out and Rin took it. The dagger had no hand wrap or guard. The hilt and sheath were made of a dark colored wood polished to a high gloss. Rin gripped the dagger and the blade pulled easily. She admired her reflection in the six inch blade. "Is it sharp?" she asked.
"Very," Shane said.
"Can you teach me to use it?" she asked and Shane nodded his head. "I want you to be able to defend yourself, but I don't know how much time I'll have to teach you properly." Shane snapped his fingers as he suddenly remembered. "I have something else for you too," he said and dug around in his uniform. Rin watched curiously as Shane patted himself down and searched for the missing item. He finally pulled out a small folding fan and handed it to her.
"What's this?" Rin asked.
"A fan silly," Shane replied. Rin carefully opened the fan. The segments were polished ebony and the light blue paper had a black dragon pattern. Rin opened and closed the fan several times and waved it around.
"Did you know you can fight with a fan?" Shane asked. Rin looked at him skeptically. "How do you fight with something like this?" she asked.
"Some fans are made out of metal and open and close like normal fans. They have sharp spikes and razor edges. Plus, you can hit people with it closed," Shane said. "But people mostly use them for cooling themselves on hot days, or use them in dances."
"Do you know how to dance with a fan?" Rin asked. Shane smiled and shook his head. "I've seen it done, but I'm not a very good dancer." Rin looked at her gifts and smiled. "Thank you very much!" She jumped up and ran around the room fighting invisible enemies. Shane chuckled to himself at her antics. "Okay you crazy woman, come here so I can read you a story." Rin settled back into Shane's lap and he started reading. Before long, Rin was asleep. Shane tucked her in and turned out the light before leaving her room.