Shouts of joy could be heard throughout Soul Society as the shinigamis celebrated the end of the bloody war, while those in the Soul Realm catched their breaths, taking a moment to process the end of the battle, those who died, those who lived, the future ahead.

They had been cut, injured, almost died more than once and had pretty much gone through hell, and after all that, the silence of the palace was a welcome embrace as they took a much deserved rest, balance once again restored.

Byakuya saw as small smiles were given here and there and the air filled with a mix of feelings.

Wars tended to do that, as a warrior he'd seen his fair share of death, for some the end of battle meant having to live on with the burning memory of those who would no more, for others it was the beginning, the start of a new era.

For Kurosaki that was it, quite distant from the bittersweet taste the winter war left in it's time, a moment where the boy had realised how it felt to be powerless, unable to be close to the life his soul yearned for and the people he'd grown close, the quincy war had instead brought light, his questions had been answered and he was ready to make his choice, his eyes searching for the one who'd changed his life and given him the power to crush destiny.

Byakuya was no blind man, many thought of him as a cold man, stoic and unfeeling, but he was no stupid, the look in the now full fledged shinigami wasn't just friendship and the look given back by his sister wasn't just admiration.

And that made it all easier for him.

Ichigo and the rest watched in shock as the captain of the sixth division fell to the ground, hands to his stomach, the wound that had never fully healed opening again, he'd been going on borrow time and knew that it would soon come an end.

Rukia run to her brother, uncaring for her own injuries, her shouts breaking the silence

He knew she'd do that but he also knew that she'd be able to go on, she was strong that way

- Rukia, you're my pride -


He couldn't understand what was happening as he opened his eyes, a blinding whiteness surrounding him, a golden field underneath.

- Byakuya-sama -

Gray eyes filled with surprise as they met with blue ones.

A sweet smile on her lips as she looked at him, his head on her lap, the light tone of her voice as she greeted him, everything about her messing with his heart.

- Hisana? How? Why are you... - his voice failed as he stared at the face of his wife, her smile unwavering

- Byakuya-sama, let's live together once again... - she delicately took his hand in her smaller ones - ...In another life -

Byakuya had lived a long life, had cared for his family, had lost and had loved, he'd treasured all the small things of his life with the woman he loved, had opened up, learned to trust and let others into his life, and had seen his sister grow to be a warrior more than capable of protecting herself and knew that she'd be happy with someone she loved and who loved her back.

Byakuya had lived a long life and at the end of it he had no regrets.

- Let's go, Hisana -


Hey, liked the story? Well, if you're wondering from where does this...thing...come from, uh, it was inspired after watching a Bleach review that made me realize that maybe Byakuya's inner monologue about time in the last chapter might be a foreshadowing of his impending death and it made think about how beautifully tragic it would for the latest scenes of Bleach being about everyone happy about the end of the war and then Byakuya dies from the wound As Nodt made because it couldn't really close and then we cut to the epilogue (kinda like at the end of the winter war when Ichigo collapsed and then we're shown what's been going on since then)

Hope you like!

fs_rm