Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

*blinks* this is the last disclaimer for this story. *Sniffles* I don't do good with endings to epic stories.

I hope you enjoy the epilogue to A Tale of Dragons


August 25, 1792

Well, DoB, you will never believe what's happened in the four months that I've been gone. So much has happened, where do I even start? I ran away after Ichigo was attacked by a gargoyle, met and attacked Zangetsu (Sode is still ticked about that by the way), traveled into a den of dragons where I met Hyourinmaru, traveled back to a clearing where Toushiro attacked Zangetsu, then Hyourinmaru came at the worst possible time and attacked Toushiro, I managed to keep the two knuckle heads from hurting each other.

Now what else? Oh that's right we went to the Ryo Manako – this is an entire valley filled with dragons. I learned about the history of the dragons which involved gargoyles brought to life by dark magic (I know it's a little hard to swallow, but when you get attacked by one of these you learn real quickly they're very real). I was shot by one of their blasts, nearly died, treated in Kingdom Rukongai by this eccentric (does that even describe his oddness) . . . person, he's not a doctor so can't call him that yet he knows about medicine, go figure. We stayed in Rukongai for about two months. When we finally left we met this morphing creature called a faun named Kon, little creep was spying on me in the bath but he straightened up right after Zangetsu tried to eat him and Toushiro placed this weird binding spell on him so he wouldn't wander off too far.

We stopped at a smaller village overnight where we heard these soldiers were being attacked by some strange creatures (gargoyles to us, but monsters to them), leaving in the morning we made it to the forest at Karakura two days later. When it looked like we would be in the clear we find out that Karakura was being attacked by gargoyles. This wasn't just any attack this was an execution. Those things were trying to wipe out our entire village and everyone we know and love! Let me tell you, Toushiro and I along with Hyourinmaru and Zangetsu destroyed them in no time at all.

Of course, the army had to be stupid and charged the dragons . . . wait, I didn't mention that Hyourinmaru and Zangetsu are dragons, did I? Oops, well they are, and so is Sode no Shirayuki (Zangetsu's mate and quite possibly the most beautiful dragon I have ever seen). Hyourinmaru has a mate too, her name is Haineko and the two of them have a baby dragon. I can't believe Hyourinmaru never mentioned a word about having a family! The baby dragon is named Tobiume and she is the sweetest little baby dragon. She's not the only baby dragon that I've met, I met Sogyo and Kotowari in the Ryo Manako they are twin baby dragons and I can't decide between the three of them who the cutest is. If you ask Yuzu, she would say Tobiume is the cutest out of all of them. I'm really not surprised that Tobiume practically fell in love with my sister and they became best friends.

The army got over their fear of dragons just after we arrived at the village. Having your rear ends saved by the ferocious beasts you had been ordered to kill on sight really changes a person's point of view. It also helped that Toushiro was two seconds away from frying the entire group of them for attacking the dragons (did I mention that I was riding on one of them when the army attacked? No. Well now you know why the army got on Toushiros' bad side). Now the army is working with the dragons. There seems to be a dragon for each soldier that has stayed in the village. Byakuya matches well with Senbonzakura, Rukia became attached to Sode no Shirayuki, and Rangiku gets along well with Haineko, to Toushiro's regret. Now the two talk about Toushiro and his antics when he was younger, Haineko loves it but it embarrasses Toushiro to no end. Ichigo finally got out of the medical cabin two months ago. It is all thanks to Kisuke Urahara (the eccentric person (doctor?) that treated me in Rukongai) and this annoys Toushiro as well because of all of the training that Kisuke put him through: training his spiritual power to better control it, sensing spirit energy, and delivery boy to Rukongai.

Kisuke brought Benehime with him, or should I say he traveled here on Benehime (she's a dragon too). Let's not forget the group he brought: Tessai, Ururu and Jinta (if he thinks he can get a date with my sister then he's got a shakkaho spell with his name on it!). Apparently, Kisuke has a partner named Rantao who has taken over his old shop in Rukongai she's a real medical doctor with a degree and everything.

I have new duties, besides going to school (still bored out of my mind, hence this entry) and that is teaching these soldiers how to ride and interact with dragons. They're not too bad, but they've got a lot to learn. Speaking of which, I see Rukia has stepped into the class building and looks like it's time for me to whip those soldiers into shape and get over their fear of flying (which happens to be my new favorite activity, there is nothing like having the wind whipping through your hair at incredible speeds. It helps that there is a saddle to keep me on Zangetsu, but I still like to ride bare back – don't tell Toushiro he would flip out.) Now we just have to find a dragon for Ichigo. Someone *cough*Toushiro*cough* tried to get me to give Zangetsu to Ichigo since he's in the army but Zangetsu snapped at my brother and flew away from him. He is my new friend and no one is going to take him away from me (sorry Ichigo). Uh oh, Ms. Hoshi is walking back to my seat.

Looks like this is the last entry for this and all future Diary of Boredom; see you later. Signed Karin Kurosaki


Epilogue:

"Captain Hitsugaya, the session for the Sereitei academy is starting in one week so you have to leave now if you're going to get there on time." Shunsui looked down to Toushiro who was pulling his bag over a shoulder.

"Yes, Captain Kyoraku," Toushiro replied and nodded his head to Captain Byakuya stepping up beside him.

"I have spoken with Princess Shihoin and she has everything prepared for both yourself and Rangiku. Once you get to Sereitei you will see the princess directly for class and room assignments." Byakuya reported. Toushiro nodded his head and thanked the older captain.

"Speaking of Rangiku, where is she?" Shunsui questioned looking around the group. "You guys have a good week's ride to get to Sereitei so you guys need to leave today to get there on time." Hyourinmaru walked up behind the captain and snorted.

"Have you forgotten you have dragons? A week's travel on foot is a mere two day flight by dragon." The dragon stated with pride.

"Thank you, Hyourinmaru." Toushiro answered. Since the soldiers were riding dragons, Toushiro set up a system that each rider would have some type of dragon fur or skin from the dragon they each rode. This way all humans could understand the dragons no matter if they were touching a dragon directly. Toushiro wore a wrist band of Hyourinmaru's fur just below the wrist on his right arm. Rangiku had a necklace of Haineko's fur that she weaved into a small, thin chain she wore around her neck.

"That brings me back to Rangiku, where is she?" Shunsui asked once again.

"She's almost done packing her bags to take to the academy. She said she'll be out in a few minutes." Toushiro responded. Hyourinmaru knelt beside the boy so as to allow his bags to be thrown on the dragon's back.

"Toushiro," Karin ran out from the school cabin, followed by Rukia, to where the small group stood in the middle of the village. "Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, we have to go," Toushiro answered with a nod of his head.

"Okay, then you have to keep your promise." She demanded pointing a finger at him, "you have 1 year to finish all of your school. If you're not back in this village by August 26 of next year then I'll go to Sereitei and drag you back to Karakura. Deal." Karin extended her hand for Toushiro to shake and seal their deal.

"Deal," Toushiro answered. He slowly let go of her hand and she smiled to him. Toushiro could not help but to smile back.

"And you better write or call me no longer than once a month. There is a kido portal in that kingdom so you have no excuse to contact me!" She demanded, and Toushiro agreed to her request. After all, it would not be that hard to call her from Sereitei, he could certainly do that in between his training and classes. Right?

"What is taking Rangiku so long?" Shunsui complained looking down to her cabin down the lane.

Rangiku knelt on the floor staring down into her dresser drawer. Inside was a package she had not seen in 11 years. To be honest, she forgot all about the pendant she received on that stormy night.

xxxxx Flashback xxxxx

Rangiku opened the door to strong pounding to reveal a soldier standing under her porch, rain pouring from his saturated shirt while his cloak was curled up along his right arm.

"Please, allow me shelter, I beg you." The man requested falling into a fit of coughs.

"Of course, come in." Rangiku opened the door wide. The man stumbled over to a chair at her table where he collapsed. The chair barely held his weight with a creaking groan. Looking outside Rangiku spotted a white horse that the rider rode. She would need to take him under the barn behind her cabin, but first she had to see to this strange guest. Shutting the door and locking it tight, Rangiku ran over to a kettle of water she had heating on the iron stove.

"Take him," the man begged extending his cloak out to her. 'Him?' She thought but took the cloak finding it had a solid form underneath the wrapping. Pulling aside the hood Rangiku spotted a small child with white hair no older than two years.

"His name is Toushiro Hitsugaya," the man gasped digging into his breast pocket he brought forth a wrapped package. "This is the symbol of his birth." Rangiku took the boy from the soaking cloak and laid him down on the bed, making sure to wrap him up in the thick blankets.

"I need to go get the doctor." She stated picking up her own cloak.

"Wait!" The man coughed harshly, even Rangiku could hear the congestion in his lungs, but managed to hobble over to her. "Take this, keep it safe. It will prove to anyone this boy's family name." Rangiku was confused but took the package anyway quickly she placed the package on her bedside table then ran out into the storm to get Dr. Kurosaki.

xxxxxxxxxx Flashback xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Prove Toushiro's birth," Rangiku mumbled and finally opened the small package. Inside was a simple chain with a pendant the width of her hand with a circle enclosed by a star and within the star an intricately designed snowflake. The eight point star was attached to the silver circle and colored a golden yellow while the snowflake took on a blue hue. The piece was beautiful and obviously made out of a sturdy material, but Rangiku could not tell what kind. She gazed at it for a moment more before she wrapped it back up and placed it in her bag.

"This will lead me to Toushiro's family," finally he would know where he came from. To be sure people in the Sereitei would know about this . . . She turned to the door hoisting her bag onto her shoulder.

"Rangiku!" Rukia ran into the cabin staring at the older woman standing in the middle of her room. "Everyone is waiting for you. You have to leave with Captain Hitsugaya to get to Sereitei, my brother says you have to be there in one week."

"Alright, I'm coming Rukia." Rangiku answered walking after Rukia toward the front door. At her front door, she looked back to her room thinking about how simple her life used to be and marveling at how much it changed in so short a time. She stepped through her front door to the lane where everyone was waiting for them.

"Are you ready to go?" Toushiro asked Rangiku once she joined him at the dragon's side. Hyourinmaru stood over Toushiro and looked between the two humans. Rangiku stepped over to Haineko and patted the dragon's shoulder.

"Yes," she replied. Haineko knelt down so Rangiku could sit at the dragon's shoulders. She watched as Toushiro leapt up to Hyourinmaru, adjusting his bag to rest at his back and make sure it wouldn't fall off during the flight.

"Well, we had better be going." Toushiro stated to the dragons. Hyourinmaru easily leapt into the air. Karin jumped over to Zangetsu and flew up to hover beside Hyourinmaru waiting for Haineko.

"Remember your promise, Toushiro." Karin told him and he nodded his head. "You have 1 year and if you're not back then I'm going to Sereitei and drag you back." She demanded and the dragons chuckled at her serious demeanor. Toushiro nodded just as Haineko and Rangiku joined Hyourinmaru.

"Bye Karin," Toushiro stated and the two flew out toward the West side of the village.

"Bye Karin," Rangiku waved to the girl following Hyourinmaru.

Karin and Zangetsu hovered over the center of the village as the two watched their friends leave the village of Karakura. She waved to the two retreating dragons with their riders and whispered "I'll see you guys later."

*******THE END*********

A/N: Can you believe I finally finished it! I told you I would! Sadly it took 4 years but a lot happened in those 4 years. Now as you can see by the ending there is the chance to be a sequel to this story. I need some help. So anyone willing to collaborate with me in writing the sequel then I am open for the help. I have a story line in my mind but will need some help in getting it down on paper. Shoot me a private message and we can get started on that next story. This one will not take 4 years, as long as I have help and someone to keep me motivated. Thanks guys.

I want to thank everyone who kept up with this story and who reviewed. Your reviews mean a lot to me. Again, I apologize for taking such a long absence.

This story is inspired by DreamWorks "How to train your dragon." I hope you have enjoyed this story and I look forward to your reviews.