This is a cute, fluffy little oneshot prize for C-jin who came second in the IchiHime-Madness contest. It's them all in the future, about 15 years in, and they're all at a fair. There are lots of pairings and some hinted ones too.
Enjoy!
"Masaki, Sora!" called Orihime, pushing her waist-length orange hair behind her ear. "Don't run off too far!"
The two orang-headed children waved to show they had heard and kept running towards the fair.
She sighed and turned to her husband who was watching them closely, "I think they got that side from you."
Ichigo grinned and ruffled his hair that matched hers, "What can I say, I'm adventurous."
She shook her head and continued to push the pram towards the festival that was taking place on the high hill-side that overlooked the canal. It had been 15 years since the defeat of the ruthless ruler known as Aizen. Since then, much had changed, for the better. Orihime and Ichigo had finally admitted their love for each other and married after leaving school. He was now studying medicine and she ran her own bakery which specialised in Red-Bean paste.
"Argh when are the others gonna get here?" complained Ichigo.
Orihime put her hand above her eyes, peering into the distance, "Is that them there?"
Sure enough, two figures walked into view, causing Orihime to let go of the pram and run towards them, hugging her friend tightly. Ichigo quickly caught the pram that had started to roll down the hill and followed, raising his hand at his tall, dark friend.
"Hey Tatsuki, hey Chad!"
"Hey," replied Chad, waving his hand at them.
"How're you doing Tatsuki?" squealed Orihime, releasing her friend.
The black-haired girl staggered back then straightened up and smiled at her, "I'm doing just fine Orihime, since the last time I saw you, what was it, two days ago?"
The woman giggled and brushed her hair back nervously, "Hehe well you know me Tatsuki."
Before she could reply, another couple walked up to them, a black haired man and a woman with dark, shoulder-length hair, followed by a small boy with the same black hair and eyes as his parents.
"Ishida, Nemu-chan!" cried Orihime, running forward and hugging them too, Nemu hugged her back happily, Uryu leaning back reluctantly. "And hello to you too Ryuuken-chan," she turned to smile at the young boy.
He looked up shyly and clutched his mother's hand. Masaki and Sora ran back from the festival and waved at him.
"Hi there Ryuuken!" cried Masaki, reaching out and grabbing his hand. "Come see the candy stall, they've got these lollipop's bigger than your head!"
The three children ran off to the stall where there were indeed, giant lollipops bigger than his head.
"Ichi-nii!" came the call from a small, light-brown haired woman running towards them followed by a red-head boy and a tall black-haired girl.
"Hey there Yuzu," replied Ichigo, waving at his younger sister. "Hi Jinta, Ururu, glad you guys could make it."
Jinta just shrugged at him, watching Yuzu hug her older brother.
"Thank you for inviting us," smiled Ururu, looking around happily.
"Where's Kira-san and Urahara-san?" asked Orihime.
"Izuru couldn't make it today, he's on a mission in Tokyo, he sends his apologies," replied Ururu, blushing slightly. "As for Urahara, he's minding the candy stall of course," she pointed to where the three children were admiring the giant lollipops.
"What?" cried Ichigo, turning red.
"I'll go get them," said Nemu, shaking her head and walking off to where the children were.
Suddenly they felt a rip in the sky, everyone turned towards the source, which was on the other side of the canal.
"They're here," said Uryu, pushing up his glasses.
Sure enough, barely a minute later, seven people walked into view, four of which looking very uncomfortable in their gegai's and human clothes. There was a squeal and a woman with long green hair ran towards them, hugging Ichigo and nearly knocking him down in the process.
"Hi Nel-chan," said Orihime, also receiving a hug.
Another woman with strawberry-blonde hair and a petite woman with short black hair ran and joined in the group hug.
"Good afternoon Orihime!" squealed Nel, leaning back and analysing her friend. "You look a bit peaky, are you eating enough?"
"Yeah it's not like you to look that pale," agreed the blonde Rangiku.
"I think it's the processes of motherhood," laughed the third, Rukia.
Orihime laughed as well, "That's true, looking after an eight year-old and a five year-old as well as a six month-old baby does take its toll."
"Hmm," Rukia patted her bulging stomach under a sun-yellow dress tenderly. "I hope this isn't going to affect me too much."
Rangiku turned around and yelled to a red-head with tattoos, "Renji, are you gonna be taking over her captain duties while she's down?"
"Hell no!" he scoffed. "I got my own captain to worry about, let alone having to deal with Squad 13!"
"I'll help out," said a silver-haired man grinning wickedly.
"Err no thanks," said Renji.
The girls giggled and turned back to admiring Rukai's belly and then Orihime's own baby.
Ichigo turned to the four men who had arrived and clasped hands with Renji and a blue-haired man which turned into an arm-wrestling match.
"Oh would you two stop it!" snapped a white-haired man with ice-blue eyes.
"Ya're no fun Toshiro," teased his silver-haired companion.
"It's Caption Hitsuguya to you Ichimaru," he grumbled.
"You're so much weaker now, Grimmjow," teased Ichigo.
"I hate geigai's!" the said man growled.
"Mummy mummy!" cried Masaki, running back to her mother, followed by her brother and Ryuuken, Nemu trailing them. "There's a Ferris Wheel!"
"You want to go?" Orihime asked with a smile.
"What are you lot eating?" snapped Ichigo, glaring at the giant lollipops they were all sucking happily.
"Urahara-san gave them to us for free," Masaki grinned.
He was about to retort when Nel interrupted, "What's a Ferris Wheel?"
"That," said Nemu, pointing to a large, rotating wheel on the hill.
"Ooh can we go?" squealed Rangiku, turning to Gin.
He shrugged, "Looks fun, sure."
"Yippee!" she cried, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the wheel.
"Come on Grimmjow!" exclaimed Nel, jumping up and down and following them.
He rolled his eyes but followed dutifully, hands in his short pockets. Nel turned back and looked at Sora and Masaki.
"Come on darlings, we'll take you two up as well."
They squealed happily and followed her and Grimmjow.
"Dad?" asked Ryuuken quietly. "There's an archery place where you can win a giant blue panda."
Uryu's mouth twitched slightly, "Fine, come on."
He smiled happily and ran back to the fair, his parents following slowly.
"Right, well if everyone's going, let's go and find something to do Toshiro," said Karin, placing her hands on her hips.
"Do we have to?" he grumbled.
"Are you scared I'll beat you at the games?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
He glared at her and began to walk off to the gaming areas, "You wish."
Yuzu laughed and grabbed Jinta's hand and followed them, Ururu walked after them. Ichigo turned to the remaining three, Rukia, Renji and Orihime.
"Shall we take a look around?" asked Orihime.
Rukia smiled and linked her arm with Orihime's and Tatsuki's and pranced off with them, leaving Ichigo to push the pram and Renji and to tease him about it.
The day proceeded with lots of rides, games, and plushie toys. Renji won Rukia a giant Chappy and Orihime a purple duck while Ichigo and a very accommodating Grimmjow (whose main aim was to beat Ichigo in everything) got Masaki a pink Elephant, three My-Little-Ponies, four Barbie dresses and a water gun, which turned out to be a mistake as she spent the rest of the day spraying anyone nearby, mainly Sora. This resulted in them having to get one for him too as well as a truck, a transformers figurine and a Sponge-Bob Squarepants doll. Uryu spent most of the time winning prizes for Ryuuken and Nemu while Rangiku and Gin went on every single ride and ate lots of fairy-floss, ice-creams and hot dogs. Tatsuki and Chad spent the time looking at the stalls and buying gifts until Chad eventually agreed to go on the rollercoaster with her. Toshiro and Karin versed each other in every game they could find, and Toshiro won by one game, which meant he had to buy her an ice-cream. Jinta, Yuzu and Ururu went on all the rides and Jinta got to hold Yuzu on the rollercoaster, which was perfectly fine with him.
They all gathered on the hills over the canal to watch the sunset, armed with Hot Dogs and soda; Ichigo and Uryu wouldn't let them drink Sake in front of the children.
"It's so beautiful," whispered Rangiku, smiling happily as she leant against Gin's arm.
He grinned, "Yeah but it neva lasts."
"That's true," she sighed, as the last golden rays disappeared behind the hills. Then she glared at him, "But you'd better. I swear if you nearly die again, I'll kill you!"
"I'll keep that in mind."
"This is weird," said Grimmjow, drinking a bright blue slushy. "What is this Ichigo?"
"Eh?" he looked over at the blue-haired Shinigami. "It's called a Slushy, it's flavoured crushed ice."
"Oh," he said, looking confused. "Meh, wanna try Nel?"
She nodded and took a sip, "Mm yummy."
Orihime leaned back on the picnic rug and smiled at Ururu who was playing with her own slushy unenthusiastically.
"I'm really sorry Izuru couldn't come," she said sympathetically.
"Hm?" she said, looking up at her dazedly. "Oh, right. That's OK, really. I mean, it would have been nice if he could, but he's got a job to do. Besides, it wouldn't do any good if the captain and the lieutenant were off having fun."
"I dunno," grinned Grimmjow. "Nel and I did."
"But that's because the two of you are so irresponsible Squad 7 can function on its own anyway," said Uryu tartly, pushing up his glasses.
"I think I'm a brilliant lieutenant," retorted Nel, crossing her arms. "I'm the brains, and he's the brawn, it all works out."
"Well he's definitely got no brains," sniggered Renji, earning a high-five from Ichigo.
"Oh and who is it that still can't defeat his own captain, not to mention hasn't earned a promotion in 16 years?"
Rukia shot an icy-glare at him, "Nii-Sama will recommend him when he thinks he's ready."
"Would you all just shut up!" snapped Toshiro. "The fireworks are about to start!"
Masaki, Sora and Ruuken put down their water guns and sat on the edge of a rug near Uryu and Nemu who handed them some leftover Hot Dogs. Orihime gently tucked the baby into the pram and lay down next to Ichigo, who put his arm around her. The two stared up at the inky black sky, the only things scratching its surface being the smattering of stars that were starting to come out.
"Things are so different now, aren't they?" murmured Orihime.
"Huh?" said Ichigo, turning his face towards her. "You mean since 15 years ago?"
She nodded, "Yeah. Back then, we never had the friendships we do now, it was all so tense." She giggled, "Remember that time you went in to save Rukia-chan from the Soul Society, and Kukaku-san beat you and Ganju-san up?"
He grinned, "Yeah, we were such enemies then…Renji and I hated each other, until we started working together."
She laughed lightly, "I still remember the time he turned up to school in that 80s outfit."
"Urgh the idiot," he said. He went quiet for a moment as he turned to look at Grimmjow and Nel, sharing a Slushy.
"One thing though, I never would have imagined Grimmjow and Nel were alive and would come back to be high-ranking officers."
"You're right about that, they're both so different from the first time we met them."
"Yeah," he laughed, "Nel was a small kid playing games in the desert."
Orihime joined in his laughter. Suddenly she stood up and held her hand out to him.
"Do you want to go for a walk, we've got a few minutes until the fireworks?"
He nodded and took the hand, pulling himself up. He indicated to Chad and Tatsuki where they were going, and walked off, hand-in-hand. They walked silently for a bit until Orihime pulled her hand out of his and skipped lightly to the side of the canal, peering in solemnly.
"This is the place isn't it?" she murmured as he came over.
He looked up at the sky and sighed, "Yeah."
She wound her arm through his and kissed him gently on the cheek, "You don't still blame yourself do you?"
He shrugged, "Maybe a little."
"Well don't, you were a little kid. My brother died too, and I couldn't do anything about it, you know that."
He smiled and turned around to embrace her gently, "I know, it's just still hard to think about. But," he added with a grin, "Masaki looks just like her, except she has our hair."
"She does, she's got the same positive attitude, although I think she's a lot like you," laughed Orihime.
"Me?" he cried indignantly, pulling away. "I am nothing like her! She's always bouncing full of energy, saying whatever she wants, never giving up-," he broke off as she raised her eyebrow at him. "OK, maybe you're right. But she's got your looks, Sora has your personality, or at least the one you had before I really knew you."
"Aah yes, what was it that triggered it again? Oh I remember, I was kidnapped by a psychotic butterfly-man and imprisoned by his emo subordinate," she teased, sticking her tongue out at him. "And if I remember properly, you died and I had to save your guts by screaming for you to come back."
"Hey I did all the work!" he exclaimed, then his face when solemn. "I still wish that had never happened though, I wish you had never been kidnapped, that I had woken up when you were there, telling me you loved me."
"Hey," she took his face in her hands and pulled it down to look him in the eyes, starry grey to warm brown. "Don't go blaming yourself again, alright? It was my fault, I was stupid and presumptuous."
He kissed her lightly and grinned, "Well why don't we just say it's both of our faults?"
She giggled and let go of his face, "You realise we always have this conversation, and that it always ends with one of us suggesting it was both of our faults?"
He laughed and began walking back, "We're such dumbasses aren't we?"
She ran after him and jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck as he hoisted her up to ride piggy-back style. She lay her head on his back, looking up at the stars with a smile on her face as he trudged back. They were almost back to the picnic grounds when he stopped and put her down, panting slightly.
"OK I'm done; you're a lot heavier than I remember."
She hit him gently, "Don't let Nel hear you say that, I distinctly remember her telling you that you must always tell a lady that she's as light as air even if she's a Hippo."
He grinned, "She's only saying that because she is one," he added in a whisper, "Don't tell her or Grimmjow I said that or I'll be out of action for the next year."
She was about to reply when they heard a loud crack above their heads. They looked up to see the inky sky ablaze with a kaleidoscope of fireworks. Orihime sighed happily and turned around to hug him tightly. He bent down and kissed her passionately as the multi-coloured fireworks exploded above them. They pulled apart, smiling at each other.
"I love you," Ichigo whispered.
"I love you too," she replied.
"Mummy, Daddy!" came a call.
They pulled apart and turned around to see Masaki and Sora running towards them. Orihime held out her arms and picked up the boy as he ran to her while Ichigo picked up Masaki and swung her up to sit on his shoulders.
"They're so pretty," exclaimed Masaki, pointing up at the sky.
Orihime shifted Sora to sit on her hip and smiled up at her daughter, "Come on you lot, let's go back. I think Rangiku brought us all a treat from Paris from her last mission."
With that, the Orihime and Ichigo walked back holding onto their children, the fireworks still erupting above them, igniting the canal with their luminous glow.
There we go, hope you enjoyed that. Could anyone figure out all the pairings? There were some hidden hinted ones too so if you can guess them all, you get a virtual cookie! Leave me a review if you guessed them :)