AAAAAH finally :)
Sorry for the long forestally thing, type of thing. Just got a job and all and then there was midterms. But the biggest setting back point, had to be ... I typed out the whole chapter and it was all great and yay and happy then I do believe that I lost it or deleted it or something and just wasn't satisfied with the attempted rewrite :(
But I hope this last chapter is up to scratch and leaves the reader with the warm fuzzy feeling inside :) I know this story has been lacking in the IchiRuki moments, but don't worry there are definitely some in this chapter.
Enjoy!
*** Note, there is a credits section in the story but at the very very end is a short epilogue :) and for the epilogue, if you've heard of Gundam Seed, it will probably make a bit more sense. If there is no Gundam seed knowledge in your artillery, just know that PLANT is like a huge (I mean huge, it has whole cities in it) glass structures that hold cities, and allow for humans to live in outerspace. They have trees, grass, road, houses, etc. etc lots of stuff!
* Last note, the name Lenore ... does it ring any bells with anyone that knows of the gundam world?
DeviantHollow23 - Thanks for you help in finding the story :) I took your advice and looked through your stories and Bingo! There it was! So great, and thanks for the review too.
Camilla. Shinigami - Ulquiorra the back hander? Hahaha it works! Thanks for the encouragement and for the review :)
Mamoru-usa8 - thanks for the support :) and also for the review!
Llyssa-maiden - No worries with the reviews, any reviews are great :) also thanks for the new review too!
Sim-Chan - There's no reason to feel sorry for not review :) and I'm glad you liked the last chapters! And yeah, I picked Nemu too, because she wasn't really one of the center characters and Aizen wasn't supposed to be the bad guy in this fic, so someone else had to enter as the antagonist. Thank you for the review :)
Ur_Fc3 - I don't like needles either! Especially in the hands of crazy people (not that I've ever been around anyone dangerous that had needles … but I'm sure I wouldn't like it) and thanks you for the review Yuki no Ryuu-Ryuuki :)
Hatake Tsughi - Glad my action writing wasn't too corny :) and thank you too for the review!
Anna Haruno - Yay :) I'm glad you liked Momo! And Byakuya too! (they're two of my favorite characters) and don't worry, Ichigo won't be leaving Rukia in danger again (plus she will be the Epistle after all). Thank you for the review!
The Purple Critic - Thanks :) I'm glad you like the story and thank you for the review!
OnigiriKami - Your review is very encouraging! I'm always worried that there's a lack of descriptive detail in my stories and the lack causes people to get lost as to what's going on, but I'm glad you're able to follow! Thank you for the review :)
Glon morski - Yay :) Your review is just what I love to hear! I wanted it to continue too but I'm considering a sequel of some sort or maybe a side story with one of the other characters as the main part. Thanks for the review :)
Song: Trust You - Yuna Ito (*Japanese song)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in any way (or Yuna Ito's music) or Gundam Seed.
종악장
Rukia was in a tunnel. A passageway of scenes flying past. Past events of a childhood that she didn't remember but recognized as hers. Past celebrations and memories of old.
It was as if she was approaching a final scene, a large window rushing up to meet her. The setting unfolded before her, Rukia a spectator in her own memory.
"Come here."
A smaller Rukia, around the age of five, wide eyed with fear, slowly padded over to the older lady. They stood, crouched in a darkened corner of a hallway as sounds of a brawl could be heard from below. The hall stretched on, door lining the sides and pictures decorating the walls.
The small girl reached out, immediately wrapping her small fingers around the older woman's thumb.
"Rukia," the woman tenderly reached up to rub the younger girl's face, "Promise me you'll be a good girl."
"But mo-"
"Rukia you must promise me that you'll go with your uncle and do as he says."
With hesitation, Rukia nodded, the older lady's eye trembling with emotion as she pulled the small girl to her body. "Rukia, I love you and I promise that we will see each other again."
A door nearby flew open and a tall man hurried from the room, stopping as he spotted the two others.
"Byakuya," the lady breathed, releasing Rukia.
"I need to take her now," Byakuya said kneeling down and reaching out to Rukia.
"Go on Rukia," the older lady pushed Rukia towards the man with a great reluctance. With slow steps Rukia stepped to Byakuya looking back over her shoulder.
"I'll take care of her," Byakuya stood, lifting Rukia in his arms, "Be careful."
Rukia stared over his shoulder as Byakuya began to run, the lady fading into the darkness of the hallway behind them.
Rukia reached her hand over Byakuya's shoulder, her fingers conveying her want, "Mother …"
작별
Urahara stood atop a high hill, overlooking the town of Karakura below basked in the light of the setting sun. He looked down at the screen of the small computer on the ground beside him. A map of Karakura was displayed before him, dots lining the perimeter of the town. The phone in his hand vibed and with no great sense of urgency he brought the device to his ear. "Go for me," he said, pullilng his hat down further over his eyes.
"We're ready to go," Ulqiourra answered him, "The perimeter has been set and all the pieces are in place."
"Let's begin then," Urahara said, not even waiting for a reply as he shut the phone. He looked backwards over his shoulder at the man standing behind him. "Let's go Grimmjow, time to start the memory wipe."
Grimmjow merely scowled, raising one hand up, his pointer finger extended forward. "Shut up and let's get this over with then," he said as a glow began to appear at the end of his finger tip, a growing light emitting from his hand. "This should be interesting, I've never done a large scale wipe of two people at once."
Urahara's eyes scanned the horizon, recognizing the growing lights forming a line towards the outskirts of the town. "The first step is now underway," he mused, "but now I have another appointment of sorts to attend to."
기억 장치 닦음
Rukia was running, her feet carrying her down a dark hall, one that seemed to never end. No door offered her escape from whatever it was that she fled from and no light awaited her at the end of her destination.
"No!" she gasped, her body shooting up into a sitting position. She looked down in disbelief. Her hands clenched about the white sheets of the bed she now sat in and the white walls of the room around her resounded a note of familiarity. Somehow, she had come to be in the medical room of Ichigo's house. She grabbed her head, feeling slightly dizzy at the sudden drop of blood flow from her head. With calming breaths, she rubbed her temples, urging the memories in her head to consolidate and make sense once again.
A dream?
No, that was her and that was her past.
"What's going …" she made to get from the bed, but a hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
"Rukia, what do you think you're doing?"
A well-known jolt, of skin tingling excitement rushed across her body. Rukia's eyes trailed up the hand wrapped about her wrist, up the arm and into the auburn eyes of Ichigo Kurosaki.
"Ichigo," she whispered.
Ichigo sat on the side of her bed, staring at her in rapt scrutiny, taking in every detail for any sign of damage. With a look of slight relief he grinned. "Are you ok?" he said, a note of guilt resonating in his words. He rubbed the top of her hand, turning it over to interlace their fingers.
She mutely nodded, not wanting to share her returned memories with Ichigo just yet. They were a personal dilemma she wanted to sort through herself and she knew that when she was ready to share, Ichigo would be there to listen.
His hands swept their way up her arms, skimming lightly over her skin, causing tremors of thrill. Ichigo's hands came to stop on her neck, rubbing the delicate skin, his thumbs trailing up to stroke her jaw line. He cast a saddened look to the bandage adorning the side of her neck, covering the evidence of his inability to protect his love. "Rukia, I'm sorry," he said with a muted tone, "for everything."
"Ichigo -"
He brought his lips to hers in a tender but building kiss. Without meaning for it to happen, Rukia felt the rush of emotion and the welling of tears. She and Ichigo had been so through so much, all of which she never would have expected to happen when she had first met him. They were now here together and it ached her heart so much, that she realized the depth of her love for the man that was now kissing her.
Ichigo pulled back, his eyes opening slowly then widening in shock as he stared down at the lovely face between his hands. "Rukia?" he whispered. "Wh-what's wrong?"
Rukia rubbed her eyes, Ichigo gently helping to dry her tears. "I'm fine, just suddenly feeling a bit, a bit …" she stuttered to a stop, at a loss for words.
"Relieved but overwhelmed at the same time?" he offered and Rukia merely nodded. "Yes," he let his lips brush over hers. "Yes, I feel the same way."
He leaned back, running his hand down her arm to capture her hand in his once again. He reached up with his free hand and smoothed the worry lines that had seemingly settled onto her forehead.
Ichigo stiffened slightly, as if on guard, and before Rukia could ask what the matter was, the door was opened.
"Hello there kids," Urahara said in his usual non-chalant fashion. "My, my I know Rukia had been attacked, but Ichigo you look like crap too."
"Rukia does not look like crap, Urahara and like you're one to talk."
Rukia studied Ichigo more carefully, amazed that she hadn't noticed his drawn and weary demeanor before. His skin was pale, and there were dark circles under his eyes. "Ichigo?" Rukia tugged lightly on the hand.
"Hmm?" he answered her but kept his attentions on Urahara.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," he didn't meet her gaze.
"Nothing?" Urahara was picking at the hem of his long sleeve, not even bothering to look at the people to whom he was talking. "You should be happy miss Kuchiki. You were asleep for almost a week and Ichigo here never left your side. So touching." Rukia somehow doubted that Urahara had really found the whole thing touching, he didn't seem like the type of guy that could be "touched" except maybe in the head.
Rukia turned her eyes to Ichigo, a frown on her brow as he in turn kept his gaze on Urahara, glaring daggers at the man.
Ichigo glowered, "Shut up Urahara." Ichigo got to his feet, putting up a protective stance between Rukia and the approaching man.
"Now, now Wrath, I'm not here to cause any harm," Urahara took a step back, to a safe distance out of Ichigo's reach. "I'm just here to offer you some friendly information."
Ichigo did not appear to believe his words but nodded at him, indicating he should continue, "What would that be?"
Urahara casually glanced over his shoulder, satisfied that no one else was there and turned forward to face Rukia and Ichigo. "Yoruichi's tattoo," Urahara said in a low voice, his words striking a note of seriousness, "the bracelet has been completed and the markings have begun to fade."
Ichigo's eyes immediately darted to Rukia's arm, left exposed by the short sleeves of the white gown she wore. He breathed a slight sigh of relief at the lack of ink running along her skin. His look of relief was short lived as his eyes crawled back to Urahara, a slight apprehension filling his words, "Urahara, what exactly are we talking about here?"
"Ms. Kuchiki here will be falling into the role of Epistle a bit earlier than we thought. The tattoo may not be there yet, but since Yoruichi's is fading, Rukia's is sure to appear."
Ichigo glanced back between Urahara and Rukia. "How long?"
"What was that?"
Ichigo reached out, gripping the front of Urahara's shirt and pulling him roughly forward, "I said, how long until the tattoo appears on Rukia's arm?"
Urahara seemed unfazed by the grip Ichigo held on his shirt, "I don't know, Rukia is only the third Epistle. It could be and hours, it could be days, I don't know. This is like a great new fascinating experience for me too."
Ichigo shook his head, releasing Urahara and shoving him away. "You make it sound like an experiment, a mere occurrence just for you to study."
Urahara remained silent, neither denying nor confirming the implication. Ichigo inferred the answer from the silence, casting Urahara a look of disappointment and turning back to Rukia.
With swift movements, Ichigo grabbed her small form, wrapping the white sheet about her and sweeping her up into his arms. He was out the door of the infirmary in less than a second, despite Rukia's voicing of protest and Urahara's words to stop. Ichigo ignored both, his legs swiftly carrying him out to the center room and up the stairs.
"Hey, Wrath where are you going?" Urahara's voice could be heard from somewhere behind them.
Ichigo's eyes were set in determination, he kept his focus forward, ignoring the protests from Urahara behind. Rukia reached up with a hesitant hand, clasping the front of Ichigo's white button down shirt, "Ichigo."
The scowl on his face was in place and a sense determination had taken over. He stared straight ahead, "Rukia, I promise you that you are destined for something greater than being the puppet of the family," he glanced over his shoulder, satisfied that Urahara hadn't decided to follow. With caution, he proceeded out the front door of the house and into the dark of the night, his attentions wary of any threatening movement.
Rukia kept her panic in check, she was with Ichigo after all, but she couldn't help but feel, that a great burden of sorts was about to fall upon her shoulders. She looked at her right arm, her eyes running the limb's length, meeting with no signs of the tattoo that would one day be.
Ichigo crept into the garage, finally setting Rukia back on her feet. "Stay here and hide, I need to go and get keys."
"But, let me go with-"
"No, I promise I'll be right back."
"Ichigo."
He was doing it again, rushing off to be a hero and leaving her to fend for herself. Rukia stilled in her forward movement, pulling the white sheet tighter about her shoulders as Ichigo released her.
He turned on heel, dashing back to the door that they had entered and stopping last minute to avoid a head on collision with the man standing on the other side of the door.
"Brother?" Rukia whispered.
Standing in the door way, and blocking Ichigo's path, was none other than Rukia's brother, a jacket slung over his arm and a silver pistol in the hand of the other. "Wrath," Byakuya Kuchiki's glare was as sharp as always, "I thought I asked you to take care of my sister."
Ichigo took a small step backwards, setting a safe distance between himself and Byakuya, all the while eyeing the gun. "Byakuya, What do you think I'm doing?"
Byakuya stepped into the garage, silently shutting the door behind him. Ichigo bristled, taking a fighting stance. Byakuya seemed unworried by Ichigo's actions, he tucked the gun into an inner pocket of his jacket and pulled from his outer pocket, a set of keys. With two steps forward, Byakuya reached out, roughly shoving the keys into Ichigo's hand. "How is leaving my sister alone, taking care of her?"
Ichigo glanced down at the keys and then back up at Byakuya, understanding crossing his features, only to be quickly replaced with his trademark scowl. "Che, shut up, Kuchiki. There's no way in hell I'm going to let anything happen to Rukia." His voice held confidence but his eyes held guilt.
A rare smirk appeared on Byakuya's face, "You better not, or else I'll smash past recognition, that pitiful thing you consider your favorite organ." And with that, Byakuya reached out, turned Ichigo around and shoved him back in Rukia's direction.
Rukia glanced at her brother, or the man that had acted as her brother for more than ten years. "Brother?"
He looked up at her, bringing his attentions from the growing commotion in the direction of the house. His grey eyes fixed onto her violets, "Rukia?"
She bit back her emotion of sadness, hoping that their departure from each other would only be temporary and that they would indeed meet again. "Thank you," she said, "for everything."
He looked a bit surprise at her words but smiled nonetheless, only to shortly afterwards fix his face back into his expression of indifference. "Here," he took the jacket that was slung over his arm and held it out to her, waiting until she came with slow steps to take if from him. Byakuya gave her a tiny nod of his head, "Go on, you need to get out of here."
Rukia nodded, watching her brother turn on heel and disappear out the garage door. He pulled the gun from his inner pocket as he left, glancing back over his shoulder to give Rukia one last look before sweeping from her view and into the night. She slipped the jacket on over her white robe, taking the sheet and wadding it into a bundle to throw in the corner of the garage.
Ichigo cast one last look in the door that Byakuya had left out of, a press of worry on his brow before turning his attentions back to Rukia. He held out his hand, letting his fingers close over hers once she placed her hand into his. "Let's go."
"Right," Rukia answered, still unsure of where they would go from here. She knew that she and Ichigo would be leaving, but where would they be going? She was just up and leaving, starting a whole new life.
Ichigo's grip on Rukia's hand momentarily tightened and he frowned, "Rukia?"
Rukia quirked her head sideways to look at him, answering with a simple, "Yes?"
"Are you …" he paused, taking a deep breath before finally proceeding, "Are you mad that I've left you alone so many times? And whenever I do, terrible pain seems to befall you."
Turns out that Byakuya's words had had an affect on her sin.
They had slowly started walking, Ichigo's head downcast, his hand still clinging to Rukia's. Rukia couldn't help but feel guilty. It looked as if he had been beating himself in guilt. He must have felt responsible for the harm that befell her when she had been captured.
Rukia stopped beside his car, pulling on Ichigo's hand to get him to stop. He kept a downcast gaze on the ground, an air of uncomfort in his posture. With affectionate movements, she raised one of her slender hands to the side of his face, running the tip of her thumb across the skin of his defined cheekbone.
"It's ok," she said in dulcet tones, "I forgive you."
"But-"
"No, now-"
"But-"
Rukia clapped both her hands to the sides of Ichigo's face, the slap resounding in the garage. "I said it was ok, so we are all ok, ok?"
He nodded, still a bit taken aback by Rukia suddenly taking control of the conversation. The relief was very much present on his face but his eyebrows still had a slight knit of worry in them. She attempted to smooth the troublesome hitch but sighed as the traces of guilt refused to leave his face. "I know you did not do it out of cruelty Ichigo," she said softly, "and you need to not cause yourself such grief."
"Ruk-"
She shook her head, placing her hand over Ichigo's mouth. "Now, we need to get going," she said directing her eyes in the direction of the keys in his hand. "We can talk later."
He followed her gaze, looking slightly confused, but then began to nod once again.
"Right, we should be getting out of here huh?" he found the clicker on the keys and pressed the button. Rukia frowned in worry again, but couldn't help but inwardly grin at the ability she and Ichigo seemed to have of being able to argue in almost in situation, comedic or otherwise.
He twirled the keys in his hands, coming to a stop before his Lexus. There was confusion on Ichigo's face, as he clicked the button to unlock his car, and found that the beeps came not from the Lexus, but from another car further down the line. Ichigo pressed the button again, following the beeping and pulling Rukia along with him.
"What the hell," Ichigo muttered, "what did he give me keys to?"
Ichigo stopped, Rukia almost running into him as he gaped at the car in front of them. This was definitely not a car they had had before. Ichigo slowly reached out, touching the shining silver surface of the Aston Martin Vanquish S now parked before him.
"Um Ichigo," Rukia lightly shook his arm, unfazed by the car herself, after seeing her brother driving it before. "Are we going?"
"Yeah, yeah," he turned back to give her a grin, "Your brother isn't half bad after all."
He walked around to the passenger side, opening the door for her, "After you."
Rukia stuck her head in, jumping back in surprise and stepping on Ichigo's foot in the process. "Rukia?" he said in worry, grabbing her by her upper arm and pulling her away from the car. "What's wrong?" he gently shoved her behind him, his sword dropping into existence, in the blink of an eye.
"In, the car … someone," Rukia said, trying to look past him and confirm who it was that she had seen. "I think it's-"
"Hitsugaya?" Ichigo practically shouted as the white haired boy poked his head out the open passenger side door from his position in the back seat. He cursed in annoyance and threw his sword aside, letting it shatter and disappear.
"Yo Wrath," Hitsugaya's voice was as calm as always, "Let's get a move on. Don't want the family finding out what's going on."
"B-but."
"Momo and I are going along with you, if Rukia was left with you, you'd probably leave her alone somewhere and forget about her."
"What-"
Rukia shoved Ichigo over, ignoring his scream of aaaaah before the resulting crash. "Momo, where's Momo?"
From behind Hitsugaya, Momo appeared, leaning out the door, "Rukia!"
"Momo?" Rukia happily reached out, grabbing … uh … hugging Momo's head. "Are you ok?"
Momo's with her limited range of motion, nodded, pulling free from Rukia's arms. "Come on, we can talk later, first we need to get you out of here." Momo said, her voice all business. She and Hitsugaya sat back in their seats, looking expectantly at Rukia to follow.
Hitsugaya reached at arm out and pointed a finger at Ichigo, "Let's go Wrath, get to driving."
"Why the hell are you two coming with us?" Ichigo asked, walking around to the driver's side nonetheless. With slight curiosity, Rukia settled into the passenger seat.
"We're going with you obviously," Hitsugaya scoffed. "You need someone with a brain to go along with you to take care of the future Epistle."
Ichigo shut his door with a bit more force than needed and glared at Hitsugaya in the rear view mirror. "How dare you say Rukia has no brain!"
Hitsugaya reached forward, conking Ichigo on the back of the head. "Like I'd say that about Rukia, the no brain I was referring to was you."
"Oh, that makes sense," Ichigo pressed the button to open the garage door, shifting the car into drive. "Wait, what the hell Pride?!"
동행자
They had been driving for hours, Rukia sleeping through most of it, only having stopped to get gas once and taking a break in another small town for a quick meal. Ichigo and Hitsugaya kept their senses wary and were constantly looking about, their eyes shifting from one person to the next. It turned out, that the family had indeed been planning on locking Rukia up in a room, at least until her tattoo appeared. According to Hitsugaya, they wouldn't be too angry that Rukia had escaped, after all there was no avoiding the passing on of the Epistle's power and sooner or later, Rukia would have to take on the responsibilities the title implied. The escape merely angered Yoruichi and kept her tied to the family for longer and for everyday that Rukia remained untrained.
Most of the family was split in their loyalties. The Sins feeling that the loyalty should lie with old Epistle that had maintained order for centuries but at the same time felt obligations to the new family's leader. Ichigo had no doubt to whom his loyalty belonged and with Momo's devotion to Rukia along came Hitsugaya's loyalty. The rest of the Sin and Virtues were still at crossroads, but from what Hitsugaya thought, it seemed that most of the Sins would not willingly turn against Rukia.
"So, what's the plan?" Hitsugaya asked once again after antagonizing Ichigo about his lack of planning things ahead.
"I told you," Ichigo kept his eyes on the road as he drove, "We're going into hiding." Simple as that, Ichigo's plans usually required more action and less of the planning ahead factor.
Hitsugaya was no as impressed with Ichigo's idea, "Yes, I've got that part, but where? The family is almost impossible to escape, there are sweepers in every country."
"I know," Ichigo huffed, "But I'm not going to let them lock Rukia away."
Hitsugaya scoffed, "Foolhardy as ever." With no lack of calm, Hitsugaya reached a hand into the pocket of the black slacks he wore and withdrew a piece of paper. He reached forward, slapping the post-it sized paper onto the side of Ichigo's face causing the car to slightly swerve off the road.
"Pride, what the hell?" Ichigo steadied the car and freed one of his hands off the steering wheel to take to paper stuck to the side of his face. He glanced at the words momentarily before casting Hitsugaya a look in the rear view mirror. "What is this?"
"Directions."
"To what?"
"An airport that a friend of mine owns," he said simply. "You want to go into hiding and I figure the best way to do that is to leave the country."
Ichigo looked down at the small piece of paper again, then over at Rukia who gazed ahead through the front window. "We're leaving Japan?" she whispered to herself.
"Hey," he said to her, waiting until she looked up at him, a slight look of overwhelmed in her eyes. "I promise you'll be fine, but if you don't want to leave, we can arrange a way to stay in Japan."
Rukia mulled over his words, her eyes on Ichigo, "No," she said taking a deep breath, "No, my home is no longer here after all. Wherever you are is my home now."
계획
Yoruichi threw the cell phone across the room, cursing loudly once again. "Urahara," she yelled, beginning to pace the room. She strode in front of the three people bound and kneeling before her. Rangiku and her Virtue kneeled beside each other, Aizen by Gin's side.
"Yes dearest," Urahara said walking into the large pillar lined room.
Yoruichi glared at him, attempting to calm her nerves, "Did you find them yet?"
Urahara seemed reluctant to answer, "No, we've lost all sign of them."
"What about the rest of the Sins?" Yoruichi's voice was full of anger.
"Uh," Urahara once again looked as if he didn't really want to answer, "No, we as of yet still don't have any idea where Greed, Sloth, Lust and the rest of the Virtues are. There is a pretty good hunch that Pride and his Virtue are with Wrath."
Yoruichi struck out, punching the nearest pillar and causing a large crack to appear and spread in the marble. "Why, why are they all betraying me now?"
Rangiku looked up, her lip still bleeding from an early interrogation, "We aren't betraying you, you are just no longer the Epistle. We are bound to you no more."
배반하십시오
Now that they had a plan, a really holey and crappy plan, but still a plan, Ichigo still had one more issue that he wanted resolved. A guilt had begun to gnaw at his heart and to be able to be happy with the woman he so loved, he had to take care of the remorse that panged him. He sat in the back of the car, Rukia by his side and Hitsugaya driving, Momo chatting away happily beside him.
Ichigo gave Rukia a small sideways glance, hesitant to interrupt the thoughts of worry that had seemingly taken up permanent resident on her features. With cautious movements, he placed his palm on the side of her face, letting her turn her head to look in his direction. Her eyes were weighted with deep worries and the amethyst color of her irises had lost their usual sheen.
"Rukia," he said softly, pulling her from her own preoccupations.
She slowly blinked, her eyes focusing on him, "Ichigo."
"I thought I should tell you something," he said in hesitating words, "about Nemu."
Rukia's eyes fell to the floor of the car, a feeling of loss overtaking her senses as she remembered her friend, or at least the person she had considered her friend. The one person Rukia had been able to confide in at her house, her companion when Byakuya had been gone and her caretaker for years.
She knew that what had happened to Nemu would need to revealed eventually, as a closure of sorts, but she was unsure if she was ready.
She took a shuddering breath, "Yes," Rukia said, her voice barely audible.
"I had to," he paused, playing over his next words in his head, trying to find the best possible combination. "I had to cleanse the demon and … end her life."
Rukia nodded, her mind connecting what he had just said with what it truthfully meant. She had already known, deep down that Ichigo would most likely kill Nemu, but the words from his mouth brought the reality to her suspicions. She didn't know what to say, was it an action to thank or was it one to reprimand? Did she even have a place to make such a judgment?
She refocused her eyes on Ichigo, taking note of his stiffer than usual posture and the feeling of edge that seemed to exhume from him. He was waiting for her, for her reply, her thanks, her scolding, waiting for anything from the person that was now the center of his life.
"I understand," Rukia murmured slowly, holding out her hand, palm side up. "I know you feel guilty," she curled her fingers around his, "but, please don't, because as I always will, I forgive you."
His hand tightened in hers, his posture relaxing under her gaze. "Thank you."
Rukia smiled, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For everything."
He looked over at her with slight fascination, before chuckling and pulling Rukia against his side, wrapping one of her arms about her. Rukia almost laughed at the moment they seemed to be having, only to hear real laughter occur from the front seats.
"Aaah so cute."
"So corny."
"Toshiro," Momo kindly chided, "That's not very nice. It was such a darling scene of love."
"It was corny," Hitsugaya stubbornly replied.
"Shut it both of you," Ichigo shouted, the slight tinge of a blush on his cheeks. He reached forward, freeing his hand from Rukia's, to make swatting motions at Hitsugaya as the car swerved all over the road.
Rukia grinned, facing forward to gaze down the road and into the unknown. She didn't know what Yoruichi would do once she found Rukia and Ichigo again and she didn't know when she would become Epistle. She had no idea how she would be able to live now, since a normal life no longer seemed possible and she hadn't the slight idea what the location of her brother was ...
Ichigo paused momentarily in his bickering with Hitsugaya, casting a sideways grin at Rukia. His breathtaking brown eyes held hers of violet momentarily, a hint of mischief behind them before facing forward once again.
Yes, Rukia didn't know where she was going, or what the result would be, but as long as she had the man beside her as support, she knew she could handle anything.
끝
--
Credits:
Editors: Trzy, Trois (Thanks bunches)
Reviewers:
Anna Haruno - love your questions, always had me thinking and pondering the answers.
Hatake Tsughi - Great reviews, and you were the one that introduced me to 07-ghost (which I totally became obsessed with) thanks much!
Sim-Chan - My fellow lover of the title "little one," and a great source of encouragement, thank you bunches!
Llyssa-maiden - Yay for your reviews :) and you were also another that kept me on my toes and helped to develop the story. Thank you!
Yuki no Ryuu-Ryuuki - Your reviews were always so upbeat! And made me feel excited about the story too :) thanks mucho for all the reviews!
DeviantHollow23 - My very first reviewer! Great reviews, always unique and always fun to read. Thanks :)
Mikazuki Mitsukai - Ah, your questions were always so good! They were about things that I would not have thought of originally and helped me to fill out the story. Thanks for everything :)
NinjaBunnyOverlord - Lovely reviews, and I enjoyed reading your thoughts and that we both have boondocky places with lack of internet that we have to visit. Thanks for reviews!
Nekura Enzeru - So much thanks to you for all the help, insight and advice. You're a great writer too! Thanks bunches :)
Grace of Angels - Your reviews were so encouraging :) and I'm glad that you liked my story. Thank you much!
Mamoru-usa8 - Loved your reviews and the support. Still can't believe your crazy reading skills with reading all the chapters in one night. Thank you for the reviews :)
Green Eyed Tabby - I am so appreciative that you read my other stories too :) and that you left me reviews! Bunches of thanks!
SilverStella - Big grin for you reviews, they made me happy and kept me motivated :) thanks big time!
Dissonencia Serenidad - Glad that you stumbled across my story and left me reviews. You are super! Thank you thank you :)
The Purple Critic - Thanks for reading my story and thanks for the reviews :)
OnigiriKami - First off, LOVE KOREA! And thanks for the review and I'm super happy that you liked my story.
TsugiNoMai - Another crazy reader that read the story in one night! You are amazing, for you reading skills and for the reviews that you left me. Thanks thanks :)
xleger sourirex - I'm happy that you asked about the story idea and thanks for answering my random questions. And of course, lots of thanks for the reviews :)
antonia.c - Your review helped to sooth some of my worries about not having enough detail to be ale to tell what was going on and were very much appreciated :) Thank you much!
star133 - You always sounded so excited in you reviews :) and made me feel bad about taking too long to update. Thanks for the review!
Hekka - Ah, yes I was always looking for twists to add to the story and good to know that they were appreciated. Thanks for reading :)
Ichi-Ruki4Eva - I enjoyed reading your musing and predictions (which were usually close if not spot on) good to know that readers are giving the story serious thought :) Thanks for all the reviews!
xikauai - Your reviews were great and were definitely happy causing :) Thank you!
MaRuune - Another lover of the "little one" and I'm glad you enjoyed the name too! Reviews were awesome and much loved, thank you :)
Emotionalcrack - Thanks for reading the story and sticking through it even through the crazy information overloads at time (sorry) and the reviews were wonderful, thanks bunches :)
lelouchgurl - Awesome reviews and great questions :) Thanks for reading the story!
blusake - Your questions were great :) and were a super help to the story and helped bring about a great story. Thanks too for the reviews!
jojovmr - Lovely review, keeping it short and simple but it was definitely much appreciated :)
xXxMiserableLoveFairyxXx - Still enjoying the "it's so messed up it's good" comment. Really unique compliment that encouraged me to keep it unique and work hard for you reviews :) Thank you!
Allyieh - Good to know that chapters can never be too long :) and were encouragement to keep the details in the writing. Thank you much!
KuroiTsuki7 - Sorry for any confusions :) and thanks for the spell checking skill! And also for the review :)
kini6625 - Sorry for all the cliffs and unexpected turns but I'm glad you kept reading and left me reviews :) Thank you!
AvaLuna - I am so glad that you decided to read my story and thank you fore reviewing :)
chad001 - Your help (and review) was much appreciated :) and was definitely put to use.
DanceOfTheWhiteMoon - I love the enthusiasm that was conveyed in your reviews :) and thanks you for the reviews too!
nightsky321 - Reviews were wonderful and much appreciated, thank you bunches :)
Sassymom25 - Haha I could totally understand your "start a story and run out of chapters" thing! And your reviews were great, thanks :)
AllShallPerish - Thank you for reading and of course thanks for the reviews too!
None93 - Sorry about putting off the whole reveal of Ichigo's virtue being Rukia for so long :) and thanks for the reviews too!
Cinthia7483 - Your English was by no means hard to understand and your reviews were great! Thank you :)
ranmyaku-neko - Sorry for all the cliffs and thanks for reading and reviewing :)
Sgt. Notorious - Your review was so so great :) so many likes! Especially glad that you like Soi Fon, thank you for the review :)
anime fangirl 13 - Glad you liked the story :) and thanks much for the review!
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감사하십시오
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Epilogue:
Rukia and Ichigo stood together, staring out through the thick glass into the endless scope of space. The small lady took her husband's hand, running her finger over the wedding band that wrapped about his left ring finger. Her features were still that of a teenage girl, and the man beside her looked to be similar in age. Her body may have looked young, but her mind contained years of knowledge and centuries of memories.
How long they had been together, Rukia had no idea. The years had melded together, years turning into decades and decades into centuries. Every year presented a new challenge and every obstacle she overcame with the support of the man she loved.
Rukia smiled, turning to gaze up at the tall man beside her. If she had known what troubles would have resulted from meeting this man, would she still have been drawn to Ichigo as she had been and still was?
She faced forward again, her eyes unfocused on the walls of the PLANT. She knew the answer, without any doubt. Wherever he went, and whatever trouble would befall him, she would always be by his side.
"Where is Lenore?" Ichigo said, referring to their young, adopted daughter as he pulled Rukia closer, wrapping his muscled arms about her thin waist.
Rukia smiled, reaching up to unconsciously to rub the area, now vacant, on her husband's wrist. "She's out playing with the other children of the colony," Rukia looked down, glancing at the black markings peeking out from beneath the sleeve of her black, long-sleeved shirt.
Ichigo followed her gaze, reaching up to push her sleeve up her arm. He rubbed her tattoo, following the long line that crept down her arm and circled her wrist, "It's begun to fade."
Rukia nodded, looking to the black ring encircling her wrist. "Yes, the time has come to go and reveal the new Epistle."
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Questions? Feel free to shoot them my way. If you leave a review with questions in it, I will make sure to send and PM with the answer :)
Sorry for all the cliffs and the long wait for the last chapter and any confusions and the lack of IchiRukia and anything else.
I know that the ending kinda leaves some "open to imagination" situations, but I thought this would be best for this story, it leaves the reader free to choose how he/she thinks that the middle section of events went down between when Ichigo and Rukia were leaving the country to when they are seen once again in the PLANT.
Thanks to all of you who've been with the story from the beginning, You are all awesome!