Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I am making no money from this. Tite Kubo owns all, I'm just playing with them for a while. I also do not own any of the quotes I use at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

Author's Notes: This part is dedicated to everyone who loved "No Warm Memories," "Absence," and "Hanabi," and begged me for yet more HitsuKarin interaction. Oh, and their scene grew to long to be in this story, so it can be found in my newest HitsuKarin one-shot, "Live and Love." Another dedication on this part goes to everyone who embraced "Behind This Mask," and the lovely crack pairing that is ByaRan. And of course to everyone who loved "I'll Stand By You," as you were all the inspiration for "Until the Last Breath." Now that I've plugged almost half the stories in this series, enjoy this new part.


Until the Last Breath

By Lady Callista

Chapter : Forever

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Don't marry the person you think you can live the rest of your life with, marry the one you know you can't live the rest of your life without."

OoOoOoOoOoO

Byakuya shunpoed into their bedroom via the balcony, Rangiku sleeping limply in his arms. She hadn't spoken since he had gone to her, but she had clung to him while she cried, and seemed to take comfort in his presence.

He tucked her gently into their bed, putting her pink scarf and necklace carefully into the drawer of her nightstand and shutting it softly. He knelt there for a moment, just watching her sleep, his fingers brushing tenderly over her tear-stained cheeks. Then with a deep, cleansing breath, he flashed from the room and down to his meditation garden.

And realized the second he arrived that solitude and meditation were not going to be found tonight. "Rukia, why are you here?"

"Yoruichi told us about… about Ichimaru." Despite herself, Rukia couldn't help the shudder that went through her as she said the man's name. "Is she okay? Are you?"

"She cried herself to sleep." Byakuya said softly as he settled down beside his sister. "Kurosaki spoke with her; I don't know what he said but it seemed to help some, she didn't seem nearly so lost after he left her as she had been when she first ran off."

"And you, Nii-sama?" Rukia asked softly.

"This is not about me." He whispered. "Not about my feelings. All I can do is be there for her."

"I know you don't want to burden her with your own feelings, but you can tell them to me." Rukia offered gently. Two years ago she wouldn't have dreamed that she would ever be able to speak like this to him. "Ichigo almost died for me, after I had left him for the express purpose of keeping him safe. I was mad at him when I found out he had come for me. I was so mad at him…"

"She did express anger towards Ichimaru. She said she would rather have died herself than live with knowing he died for her." Byakuya couldn't look at his sister as he spoke.

"I remember feeling that way, especially when Renji joined Ichigo in trying to save me." Rukia whispered. "Two of the people in the world that I cared the most about, and they were ready to die for me. I… I don't know if anyone has ever done that for you… But let me tell you the worst thing about it."

"Rukia…" Byakuya turned towards her then, his expression unreadable.

"The worst thing about it is feeling like you're not worth it." Rukia said as a single tear slid down her cheek.

His hand came to rest gently on her shoulder. "How can anyone weigh one life against another? Especially when that life is someone you love? Kurosaki and Abarai felt that you were worth dying for. Just as you felt it would be worth your death if it kept Kurosaki and your other human friends safe."

"I've seen it from both sides. Just as Orihime has, and Ichigo. I've almost died for someone, and I've almost had someone die for me." Rukia wiped absently at the tears she couldn't believe she was shedding. "The first one was easy, the second much harder. And maybe if one of them had actually died it would be different… but… but in the end I could only feel lucky that I had people that loved me that much."

"I understand what he did." Byakuya said softly. "I've never had to make the choice, but I would die for Rangiku, as I would have for Hisana. I would die for you. But it would destroy something inside me to know that any of you died for me. Knowing Hisana died because of me is horror enough for one lifetime."

"Maybe someday I'll feel lucky that he loved me enough to die for me." Rangiku's voice came softly from behind them, her reiatsu so subdued that even knowing she was there neither Byakuya or Rukia could sense her.

"Ran-c… Rangiku." Byakuya whispered.

"But right now I'm still stuck on something in me being destroyed because I know he died for me." Rangiku whispered. "Rukia-chan, could… could you…"

Rukia understood immediately. "Find me if you need anything. Anytime."

Rangiku nodded, and her friend vanished into the night.

"How long were you there?" Byakuya asked in a neutral tone, his will alone holding him still. He wanted more than anything to go to her, but didn't know how she would react. He would give her whatever she needed, even though what he wanted was to hold her and make everything else go away. But as he had told his sister, this wasn't about him. And he knew neither he nor anyone else had the power to make everything better.

"Since Rukia said the worst thing about it was feeling like you weren't worth it." Rangiku whispered as she crossed to him, curling up on the ground beside him to rest her head against his chest.

His arms came around her with a sigh, and he tipped his head down to rest his cheek on her hair. "He may have done it only for you, but he saved us all."

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one?" Rangiku quoted, anger flashing into her voice as she pulled back from him.

Byakuya let her slide partly away, but caught her shoulders in his hands firmly. "That's not what I mean. I'm not saying we would have lost if he hadn't told Hitsugaya… I'm not saying I would let anyone sacrifice themselves for the rest of us, not if there was another way. But after you left… something Hitsugaya said made me think. We may be called gods, but we cannot see the future. We are not omniscient. We cannot know for certain what changing a single event would do. We do not know if our lives would be better or worse."

"We still lost so many in the War, even with what he did." Rangiku whispered. "But we could have lost so much more. All the Shinigami, and the entire world, could have been destroyed. Or we could have saved the world and he might have died anyway."

"I…"

Rangiku met his eyes as he trailed off. "Please, say what you want to say."

"I've spent the past two years hating him. First because he offended my sense of honor by betraying us, and later because of how much he hurt you. Every time you woke in the night, crying for him, I hated him a little more." Byakuya admitted with a whisper. "Not because I was jealous of him, not because I was jealous that another man knew what it was like to be loved by you. Not even because I ever thought you loved him more than you loved me. No, I hated him because of how much he had hurt you, and because I didn't understand how anyone could want more in life than your love. But now that we know why he did it, I cannot hate him. For I would do the same thing for you."

Rangiku melted back against his chest, her arms going around him. "It's more for me than what Rukia said. More than just not thinking I'm worth it. The one thought that keeps popping into my head is that if things had been different I might not have you. I might not have fallen in love with you. And I can't imagine my life without you in it. I can't imagine not loving you. And that makes me feel so guilty. Guilty that even knowing someone died for me to have this life, I can't regret the past two years. I've been so happy with you, and I never would have had that if Gin hadn't…"

Byakuya's arms tightened around her as she started to cry softly, and he whispered into her hair, "That's what he wanted. He wanted you happy."

"I… I want everyone to know." Rangiku whispered into his chest. "I want everyone to know that he wasn't a traitor."

"Yoruichi-sama told Rukia and some of your other friends. Which means it will likely be all over Seireitei by sunrise." Byakuya said softly.

"Thank you for understanding." Rangiku whispered softly. "I know it can't be easy for you to watch me cry over him. Again."

"It is not as difficult as the times you have cried because of me." Byakuya replied. "Ran-ch… Rangiku…"

"No." Rangiku interrupted him, pulling away enough to see his face and rest her fingertips lightly on his lips. "Not Rangiku."

"Ran-chan." He whispered as her fingers withdrew.

She curled into him again, and without another word to picked her up again and carried her up to their bed.

Only this time he spooned himself behind her and held her as she continued to cry softly.

He knew it would take time, but he knew she was strong enough to get past this. And that he would help her in any way that he could.

He had spent years wishing that he could have killed Ichimaru himself. Or at least wishing that Kira-fukutaicho had killed him much more slowly and painfully.

Now, as he slowly drifted to sleep with the woman he loved in his arms, he only wished he could thank Ichimaru for his sacrifice. And make sure he knew that Ran-chan was safe, happy, and loved, and would be for the rest of her life.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Did you hear?"

Rukia paused in the act of taking off her waraji by the door to Renji's rooms in the barracks. Although they had rooms at the Kuchiki mansion, most of the time they were more comfortable in the barracks, away from the Kuchiki elders.

"Hear what?" She asked as she continued to remove her shoes. The way rumors flew around Seireitei it could have been anything, although it was likely a version of the truth she had heard less than an hour ago from Yoruichi.

"I was out drinking with Izuru and Shuuhei, and Yoruichi-san flashed in and told us that…."

"That Ichimaru never really betrayed us." Rukia said softly as she padded across the room to put her arms around him, shivering slightly as she said the man's name.

Renji wrapped his arms around his wife instantly, confused by the look in her eyes he had seen before she cuddled into his chest. "I didn't think you interacted with him much."

Rukia sighed deeply, for once not protesting when he picked her up and cradled her in his arms before crossing to sit on the couch. "Before you and Ichigo saved me, when… when I was being led to my execution… He spoke to me. I had accepted my fate, and was willing to die if it meant Ichigo and the other humans would be safe. I accepted that I had broken the laws; I even accepted my own brother turning his back on me. I accepted my death. I was at peace, and it was okay. Then he spoke to me."

Renji ran his hands lightly up and down her back, hearing her voice begin to show the tears he could see running silently down her face. "What did he say?" Renji whispered after she was silent for a bit, and one of his hands came up to brush at her cheeks.

"He made it seem like he was going to help me. Like he was going to save me, help me escape. And even though I had accepted my death… when it seemed like I was going to have a chance to live…. That hope…. I broke. I wanted to live again. And then he laughed that creepy laugh of his, and told me with that creepy smile that of course he wasn't actually going to help me."

"Bastard." Renji growled it low in his throat, able to imagine what Ichimaru's comments had done to her psyche.

"That's what I thought then too, what I've thought for the past two years. But if he was actually on our side the entire time…" Rukia trailed off, brushing impatiently at her cheeks. Even in front of the one she loved most, she hated to cry.

"Then why?" Renji asked softly, his hands continuing to caress her soothingly.

"He had met Ichigo by that point, and would have read reports of his interactions with the other taicho. He knew he wouldn't give up. I think he was trying to make sure I wouldn't give up either. I was so mad at you, and at Ichigo, when you saved me. But part of me was grateful too, and I'm not sure that part would have been there if it hadn't been for what he said."

"If you want me to feel grateful to him…"

"No." Rukia's voice was clearer. "I don't really feel grateful to him, and I doubt I ever will. But as I just told my brother, I know what it's like to be willing to do anything for someone, even die. I assume Yoruichi told you why he…"

"For Ran-chan." Renji said softly. "He made everyone think he was a traitor, all to make sure she was happy in the end. The same way I betrayed Seireitei when I helped Ichigo save you."

"Everyone forgave you." Rukia whispered as she turned her face up to look at him.

"Do you think they'll forgive him, now that they know?"

"I don't think it matters, or that he would have cared. I just hope Ran-chan can forgive him, and keep being happy with her life."

Renji kissed her gently. "We might not be this happy without what he did. We might not even be together."

"I still don't know if I can be grateful, or forgive him, but I think I can stop hating him." She kissed him back, deepening the kiss. "When I think I might not have you…"

"Don't think about that." Renji replied as his hands slid to her belt. "I never want to think about not having you with me."

Rukia smiled as he finished untying her belt, and slid his hands into the neck of her shihakusho, pushing it gently from her shoulders. "Don't worry, you're stuck with me forever."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Across town, Karin stood with her arms comfortably wrapped around Toshiro from behind as he stood looking out the window at the stars. Her cheek rested comfortably in the hollow between his shoulder blades, and her eyes were closed in thought.

He had just assured her that it wasn't really her fault, and that on most levels he was glad that Rangiku finally knew, although he did wish there had been a better way for her to find out.

They had been standing in comfortable silence for a few moments before Karin said softly, "I'm glad Ichi-nii stayed up here. Because I know what he means when he says mom died because of him. But I don't understand why he said she died to protect him."

"You've never told me how your mother died." Toshiro offered hesitantly.

Karin shuddered slightly. "Can we lay down first? I want you holding me while I tell you."

Toshiro turned to face her, pulling her into his arms in a tender hug. "I'll never say no if you ask me to hold you." He whispered the promise in her ear, the heat of his breath and the intensity in his voice causing a shiver to roll down her spine.

And so they climbed into bed together, and he held her in his arms while she told him a sad story.

OoOoOoOoOoO

The words Ichigo had been trying to find for weeks were finally clear in his head. Suddenly it didn't seem scary at all. He knew he wasn't going to blush, or stammer. He knew he wasn't going to get nervous and back out. He was damned if they were going to be interrupted again.

All his love for her burning in his eyes, Ichigo asked softly, "Orihime, will you marry me?"

Orihime's eyes filled with wonder and joy. "Ichigo… why now? Why…"

"Because you understand me like no one else ever could. Because there's nothing I can't tell you. Because I can't imagine not waking up with my arms around you, or at least with your scent on my pillow. Because I can't imagine my life without you." Ichigo released one of her hands, and raised his own to cup her cheek. Although he had felt the blush rise to his cheeks as he began to speak, it had actually faded rather than growing stronger. He couldn't be embarrassed when he knew it was right. "And because we both love each other more than our own lives. We already know we're going to spend the rest of our lives together. I… I knew the first time we made love that there would never be anyone else for me. I want everyone else to know how much I love you. I want you to be my wife. And I promise to love you always, in this life and the next."

Tears sprang to Orihime's eyes at the depth of emotion in his as well as at his words, and she gasped as he pulled a velvet box out of his pocket, turning it so she could see it before opening it to reveal a beautiful diamond solitaire, sparkling on a band of gold.

"Will you marry me?" Ichigo asked again, softly, as she continued to stare at the ring, although he could see the answer in her eyes.

When he wanted to be, he could be so romantic. Not that anyone but her ever saw this side of him. "For five lifetimes." She whispered without thinking.

"What?"

Orihime gave a slightly nervous giggle, her hand rising to caress his cheek in a mirror of how he had touched her a moment ago. "When I said goodbye to you, before Hueco Mundo… I was thinking about how I was going to die down there. About how I would never get to do all the things I wanted to do. But there were so many things I wanted that I never could have done them in a single life anyway. I saw myself having different jobs, living in different places; I saw everything that my life could have been. But no matter where I was or what I was doing, I saw you by my side. You said we don't know who we would be if our lives had been different. But I know that no matter what, I would have fallen in love with you."

Ichigo leaned in to kiss her softly, and after only a brief second Orihime pulled back just enough to whisper her answer against his lips. "Yes, Ichigo. Of course I'll marry you. I'll love you forever, and I can't imagine not spending my life with you."

Ichigo slid the ring onto her finger softly and kissed it before their arms wrapped around each other and they continued to kiss. Ichigo slid her into his arms without breaking the kiss and carried her into their bedroom, sitting down with her on his lap as his hands started to rove under the back of her shirt.

Orihime slid her hands up into his hair as the kiss deepened, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction and rightness when a strand of his hair caught in the gold setting of her new ring. And then she could swear she felt a pulse of reiatsu from the ring itself, one that was familiar and yet not at the same time.

"Ichigo?" Orihime whispered breathlessly as he unhooked her bra so his fingers could trail uninterrupted up and down her spine, something that always made her shiver in pleasure.

"Hmmm?" His lips cruised down her neck as his other hand began to teasingly trace over her thigh.

"This ring…." Orihime said softly, trailing off when she realized his fingers were tracing the kanji for love over and over as he slowly moved higher up her thigh. "Was this ring…"

"My mother's." Ichigo whispered. "Dad wanted us to have it; he said to tell you that… that mom would have loved you. Although not as much as I do. No one could ever love you that much."

Orihime melted back into his arms, and for the rest of the night the two of them forgot about the rest of the world.

TBC…..


AN: As I said in the beginning, the scene with Toshiro and Karin was so much longer than this that it became it's own story, "Live and Love." And I hope those who have been waiting for the Renji & Rukia story in the series enjoyed this little cuteness with them. In fact, I hope all the readers who followed me to this from various other stories are enjoying the moments with the other couples, and sorry to those people who are here just for the IchiHime story. Hope there was enough of them. Please review. Pretty please?