Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite. iPod belongs to Apple. Not me, unfortunately.
Yes, it is the final chapter. I hope that you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It's also the first time I have ever written a whole story, start to finish. Thank you so very much for reading, the reviews and the support. You have my thanks. -bow-
--
-15 Years Later-
A normal weekday morning in the Aizen household: Orihime with her hair tied up, scrambling around the kitchen getting breakfast ready and lunches prepared, Sousuke sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, watching her.
"You sure you don't want any help, Princess?"
"Do you even remember the one time I let you cook? Do you remember how we all choked?" She pauses to smile playfully at her husband before returning to work.
"I just want to help."
"You can help by staying right where you are, okay?"
He sighs, then takes long drink of his coffee. "Fine." he says, as Orihime walks to the foot of the staircase.
"Hey! Come on, you guys! Breakfast! Let's go! You'll miss your train, the lot of you!"
Two girls and a boy dash down the stairs, almost running over their mother.
"Hey! What's wrong with you kids?"
"Sorry, Mom." Sakura winks. Her brown hair is cut short, her overlong bangs in a side part and her hair spiking sharply in every direction. Her dark eyes sparkle with her love of mornings. "It's not my fault Set-chan nearly tripped me."
"Hey! I thought I told you not to call me that!" the other girl snaps, clearly not a morning person. Her hair flows down her back, fanning out a her waist, like her mother's, only darker and curlier. Today, she's pulled up the top two layers into little pigtails at the top of her head.
"You said, and I quote, 'Don't call me Set-chan at school'." Sakura says, sitting at the table next to her father. "And I don't believe we're at school, are we?" Her mannerisms are his exactly. Sousuke smiles and throws an arm around his daughter.
"That's my girl!"
"You know it, Daddy."
Orihime hugs her younger daughter. "Well, Set-chan, if it makes you feel any better, I packed your favorites for lunch."
"Roast chicken ramen with wasabi and honey?"
Orihime hugs her daughter tighter. "That's my girl!" she chirps.
"Yup. That is most definately your daughter right there." Sousuke says, eyebrows raised and a grin on his face.
"I feel left out here." The boy finally speaks, his dark hair flopping over the lenses of his glasses.
"Geez, Raito-kun, get you hair out of your face!" Orihime reaches up to get his hair away from his eyes; thirteen years old and he's already three inches taller than his mother and sisters.
"Mom!" he complains, grabbing a piece of toast and sitting down.
"Son, take that thing out until you start walking to school." Sousuke reaches over and tugs the boy's earphones out of his ears.
"Ow!"
"Sousuke!"
"What?"
The soft-spoken boy begins to eat. "Itadakimasu!"
"Itadakimasu!"
As they stuff their faces, Orihime finally speaks. "I have to say, you girls look great in your new uniforms."
"Yup. You two look exactly like your mom did at that age."
Orihime pretends not to notice the way he's looking at her and changes the subject. "Your first day of high school, I just can't believe it!" She shovels down another piece of omlet.
"Anyone gonna say anything about my uniform?" Raito asks.
"It's not your first day." Setsuna says, patting her little brother's head. "You got that uniform last year."
"True, true." Sakura says.
The clock chimes 7:15.
"Ohmigosh we're gonna be late!" Sakura and Setsuna sprint up from their seats, while Raito slowly gets to his feet, and puts his and his sisters' dishes in the sink.
"Those two can be so scatterbrained sometimes." he says, shaking his head and bending down to pick of his briefcase. "Bye, Mom." he says, bending down to kiss her cheek.
"Have good day, Raito-kun!"
"Yes. Have a good day, son."
"Alright." he says, collecting his iPod and turning it back on. As he strides out the door, his sisters come down the stairs again, almost running him down.
"What the hell?!"
"Geez, get outta the way, ya damn pest!" Sakura's yell very commanding, like her father's.
"Bye, Mommy!" the older girl chirps, pecking her mother's cheek and grabbing her lunch. "Bye, Daddy!" she cries, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You're going to see me tonight, honey-!"
"I know! But I love you!"
"Can't... breathe...!"
As the girls rush out of the door, Orihime smiles to herself.
"That's one crazy group we've got there." he remarks as she begins to load the dishwasher.
"You're tellin' me." She grins. "But you can totally tell they're our kids. Especially Sakura."
"...She scares me..."
"She's a fifteen-year-old girl, Sousuke!"
"Yeah, but she looks and acts just like me...!"
"You're right. That's scary enough in itself."
"Was that a stab?"
"Maybe." She smiles as he leans in and kisses her.
"So," he begins, brushing hair bangs back from her face, "how's your new book coming?"
"Pretty good, I think. I need to print up the first 50 pages and send them to my editor by the end of the week." She grins, estatic that her writing career took off so well.
"Oh, I meant to ask you- are you sure you don't want a job with my company?"
Orihime rolls her eyes. "Yes, I'd just love to sit a desk with a routine and sell paper all day for a failing paper supply company."
"That's why I keep telling you to take a job with me," he says, pulling on a jacket, "so we can call it a paper supply company rather than a failing paper supply company."
"Whatever." she says, putting a lunch into his hand and kissing him again. "I'll be here when you get home."
"Okay. I love you, Orihime."
"I love you, too." she says, patting his shoulder as they walk to the front door. "Go sell somebody some paper, okay?" She smiles.
"I will." He kisses her one last time before walking out the front door, opening the gate and walking to the train station.
She sighs and leans against the doorframe, finally in love with her life.
--
Hinamori Momo opens her eyes, yawns, and streches. She climbs out of bed, tosses open the door, and smiles. The air has bit of a chill, but the sun is warm on her face. She spots Unohana walking and runs to meet her.
"Ohayou, Unohana-taichou!"
"Ohayou, Momo-chan." The other woman grins. "You might want to get dressed before one of your subordinates, sees you, Hinamori-taichou."
Hinamori pulls on her haori, shivering. "For once, I wish I hadn't cut the sleeves off the one they gave me..."
"Why did you?"
"Because I like the look of the short-sleeved one better."
"Whatever you say, Momo-chan. Would you like to take a walk with me?"
"Uhm, yes, just let me get changed."
So the two women walk through seiretei, talking about what's been going on in their divisions lately and their luck that Hinamori was promoted.
"I'm just upset that it took me so long. I can't be believe I let my squad suffer so badly." She giggles. "I still can't get over how that sounds. My squad."
"You get used to it, in time."
"I'm sure." Hinamori turns her face to the sky, smiling. "Excuse me, Retsu-san, I have some errands to run."
She gives the small girl a knowing look. "I understand. Will you be coming by for tea this afternoon?"
"Yes, of course." There has not been an afternoon since Inoue Orihime's baby shower that Hinamori has not had tea with her dear friend.
And so Hinamori walks out, past the white sakura tree at the gate to seiretei, and stands in a field. The grass grows knee-high and wildflowers are in bloom. She walks to a tree and sits beneath it, closing her eyes and seeing her Aizen-taichou's face behind her eyes.
Aizen-taichou. I hope I can live up to the legacy you left as our captain. Maybe someday, I may even surpass you. Wouldn't that be nice? She smiles, feeling the sunshine on her face. I really should get going, but... Maybe I'll just sit here for a bit.
She opens her eyes, turns her face to the sky and smiles, content with the way things have turned out for her.
--
Author's Note: I can't believe that this thing is over! I grew so attached to the pairing while I was writing this. -glomps the AiHime family-
Anyway. There are some poeple I need to thank.
First off, I want to thank God for giving me this ability to write. I honor him every time I sit at my laptop to write, which is awesome, because I want to bring glory to God in any way that I can. : D
I'd also like to thank Kubo Tite for creating Bleach. What an amazing writer he is. -bows-
Finally, I would like to thank all of you for reading not only this very long list of credits (silly yes, but that's how I roll xD), but for reading this thing! It totally ate my life while I wrote it, but I am so glad I did.
If you all could tell me what you liked, hated, and/or how I could improve, please review! Thank you again! Look forward to more fics with odd and rare pairings from Bleach and other series! Thank you!! : D
-Yuzuna-chan