James groaned as he came to in the Medical Ward of Squad Four. His body was one big bruise and it hurt to so much as breath. His right arm and chest were wrapped heavily in bandages while his left leg was in a splint. He glanced to his right and saw Ichigo in a very similar situation. The orange haired captain had both arms and chest wrapped in bandages along with his head.
"How are we still alive?" James breathed.
"I don't know but I kind of wish I was dead," Ichigo groaned.
"Ichigo!"
The captain cried out as he was smothered by the ample busom of his girlfriend. Orihime had come running in and thrown herself on top of him when she had come in and seen that he was awake. She cried and held him tightly, Ichigo struggling to breath.
"Orihime, I… can't… breath!" Ichigo gasped as he struggled to push her off.
"Sorry!" Orihime gasped as she immediately sat up, kneeling on the edge of Ichigo's bed. She blushed profusely but looked at Ichigo with concern. "I tried to heal you earlier but I was so low on power that I couldn't do much."
"It's okay, Orihime," Ichigo smiled. "We made it back and that's all that matters." Orihime smiled widely before gently lying down next to him and resting her head on his less injured shoulder.
The sound of giggling drew James' attention to the doorway. His sister Michelle stood there. A hand covered her mouth as she tried to cover up her giggling as she watched Ichigo and Orihime. She came over and sat beside her brother as Orihime and Ichigo continued to chitter away softly in Japanese.
"How you feeling?" Michelle asked softly.
"Like I went ten rounds with a meat grinder," James groaned. Michelle made a noise of exasperation. In a more serious tone, James added, "Did we win? The last thing I remember was the world exploding."
"We all made. Everything is fine. You saved the world big brother," Michelle smiled.
"How did you stop the ritual?" James frowned.
"Captain Stark and Captain Einstein appeared soon after you engaged the two Princes. They managed to dispel the ritual's magic and prevented the Nexus from detonating. Immediately afterwards the Nexus weakened and went back to sleep."
"How are everyone else? How long have I been out?"
"Ten days. The others are fine. Some had more severe injuries but they healed much faster than you two."
James raised his eyes to the ceiling and contemplated on that.
Ten days… Long time to be recovering.
Well-deserved rest Ragnarok whispered in James' ear. You unleashed the full power of your Bankai and Resurrección. You fought the Twin Princes of Hell. You were nearly killed doing so. Rest now my king. The war is over. Use the peacetime to reflect, tend to your people, and prepare for the next war.
Thank you, old friend James smirked.
"You're awake, hehe. Good. You own me a fight wolf boy."
James paled as he glanced towards the doorway. There was standing Captain Zaraki. The man had a few more bandages but he still looked like he was up for a good fight.
"He just woke up! He is in no condition to fight!" Michelle protested.
"Eh, I guess you're right. He'd be no fun to fight if he doesn't have much power," Zaraki scratched his chin. He grinned manically. "Heal fast! You own me a fight!" With a laugh, Kenpachi left. James turned to Ichigo and asked, "He always like that?"
"You have no idea."
Soon the room was filled with other members of the Allied Forces. Rukia and Renji gathered with Ichigo and they joked about the battle and old memories. Captain Pearce came in and congratulated her fifth seat for the excellent job.
"You did an amazing job saving the world," Evelyn smiled.
"Only doing my job Captain," James stated.
"General Patton is planning on giving you and a few others the Medal of Honor for going above and beyond the call of duty," Pearce smiled. "After the ceremony though, I want you to take a very long much deserved vacation."
"I greatly appreciate your concern Captain, but I really just want to return to my post in Blackwater," James smirked. Evelyn shook her head and patted James on the shoulder.
"You've made me very proud." In a displace of affection not proper for a captain towards her subordinate, Pearce hugged James and kissed his forehead. Smiling she left the room.
"So what's going to happen to the Espada?" Ichigo asked his friends.
"It's kind of in the air at the moment. They proved to be a highly valuable asset during the fighting, but it would be highly unorthodox to allow Hollows into our ranks," Rukia explained. "The Head Captain is deliberating with the other captains at the moment, but rumor is that they will be placed under your command as a special unit within the Japanese Soul Society."
"What?" Ichigo cried.
"Everyone saw them pledge their allegiance to you during the fighting. While it rubs a lot of people wrong, I think Head Captain Yamamoto is willing to forgive their previous transgressions because they were merely tools used by Aizen and because they respect you," Renji stated.
"But, but, but," Ichigo stuttered.
"Don't worry about it Ichigo. You just focus on getting better right now. We can worry about this all at a later time," Rukia stated. Ichigo nodded and tried to contemplate the idea of having soldiers under his command. He was just an honorary captain. He had been given the rank because of his accomplishments and power; he didn't actually have a squad outside of Orihime, Chad, and Uryū. Having people under him who weren't Soul Reapers or human allies, people he had fought in the past and had been enemies was definitely going to be different.
A few days later, James and Ichigo were discharged and a ceremony was held in their honor. General Patton presented Medals of Honor to all the American Soul Reapers who fought in the battles and gave his deepest gratitude to the Japanese combatants. After the ceremony, a banquet was held. Everyone enjoyed the festivities and even the Espada were invited. The occasional drunken brawl broke out, including Grimmjow fighting Zaraki and Zaraki chasing after both Ichigo and James demanding for the two to fight him.
The next morning the Japanese Soul Reapers returned to their home, the Espada in tow. Their situation was still in the air with Captain Kurosaki needing to discuss the matter personally with Head Captain Yamamoto.
"Thank you for your help," General Patton stated as he shook Captain Kuchiki's hand one last time. "If the Japanese Soul Society ever needs help, just send the word and my men will be on their way."
"The offer is much appreciated. Thank you." With a final bow, the Japanese Soul Reapers and Espada returned to their homeland.
James sighed as he rested in the massive oak that sat in the middle of Blackwater Ridge. He smirked as the thought crossed his mind that this very tree had almost brought about the end of the world. He stiffened as he sensed the presence of a Hollow. Jumping to his feet, James took off to go kill it.
Just another day in the life James smirked as he sped through the air and saw the beauty of the rustic town he had come to love.
Thank you all for the support and reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if the final chapter isn't to your liking; I'm not very good at conclusions, but I feel like it does an okay job. See you next time for a different story.