A/N: Here you got the next and last chapter. I will warn you from now that I'm absolutely horrible when it comes at battles or action. Hope you enjoy though and sorry if it's lame, which I think it is or at least the battles… Anyway, it's something like an epilogue to the story. Maybe someday I would rewrite it, again, and make it even more presentable and more promising but that's all for now. Sorry in advance if I disappoint you. Sorry if there are any mistakes also...
A few days had passed since Toshiro and Ichigo has left and today, it was Karin's birthday.
Obviously, nobody was festive enough to make a big deal out of it, or any deal at all for that matter, so it just passed as though it was another day.
Everyone was very worried about their friends and family.
Matsumoto did all the paperwork needed and more than that to pass her time and forget her worry and stress.
Momo was cleaning the house again and again like a maniac even though it wasn't even her duty.
Karin passed her time reading, training and watching over the garden, while Orihime was like an empty shell of her previous happy-go-lucky persona.
It took them a few months to go to their somewhat usual personalities even though they were still feeling empty.
At least, Toshiro had given Karin a present without knowing and it was the talk and life of the entire house. They were all very pleased and able to forget even a little of their problems when they started noticing it.
Toshiro and Ichigo had met their alliance in two days time and they had continued together. It wasn't a big army, just twenty good trained soldiers, Ichigo, Toshiro and Renji.
They were riding horses and walking for a few weeks now but they were only halfway to their destination still.
Everybody got to know each other better since they had nothing better to do the little hours they were resting themselves and their horses but talk.
Toshiro and Renji sent messages in every opportunity by an eagle but that was all their connection to their families. They rarely got back a reply but this was still enough.
At least they were doing well. As well as they could that is with so much sorrow inside their hearts.
The one good thing was that they knew that they had someone to wait for them with open arms when they return.
About three and a half months later, they had arrived at their destination. They had camped for the night on the forest right outside of town and the three leaders, together with the three army's officers and a soldier were inside a tent talking about their plan of action.
"I say we go in there and take them by surprise. We then fight Aizen and take my baby back."
"I agree with Ichigo. Let's go and break everything on our way. They won't know what hit them."
"Yes Abarai-sama. I totally agree."
Toshiro sighed at the two redheads and the bald one in the company. It seems that Madarame Ikkaku, Renji's commander was as hot-headed as the other two.
Thankfully, the commanding officer of his army was as collected as he was so he thanked kami for choosing to bring Shuhei Hisagi with him. He really was the best out of all of his soldiers.
Uryu Ishida, Ichigo's army officer, and Sado Yasutora, one of Ichigo's best friends and best soldier were also quiet.
He turned to the three that had spoken and looked at them in the eye.
"We can't do that. Aizen always has a plan and is almost never outsmarted. I had fought with him before so I know how he thinks. This plan is bound to be a failure and we may not even find your son by the time that we go against him. The only logical plan is to go silently and swiftly in our attack. If I know something, it's that Aizen has his best guards inside his palace, but that is all. Everyone else is outside looking over the rest of the city and being something like terrors for the people that live there. I have a plan, but to let it work, you have to follow every little detail I say. Are we all in favor? Good, here's the plan…"
The next day, before even the sun got out of its hiding place, Ichigo, Toshiro, Renji, Ikkaku, Shuhei, Ishida and Sado were already setting Toshiro's plan into action.
They sneaked into the palace when everyone was sleeping and they went their separate ways when they passed the front doors.
Ichigo continued straight ahead with Sado and Shuhei, while the rest of them took right and left sides in groups. Toshiro went with Ikkaku while Renji went with Ishida.
With Ichigo, Shuhei and Sado
They made their way inside without facing any problems or noticing something unnatural on their way for a few moments when the passed a corner and came face to face with two humans that looked nothing like it.
They were both wearing white clothing.
One was bald with bark skin and a tall body with worked muscles while the other had light blue hair and eyes and an excited grin on that looked like it was about to split his face in two.
He looked kind of frightening with that predatory crazy gaze on his eyes.
"This is how far you go guys. My buddy, Zommari and I here won't allow you to go any further."
They all took fighting stances while Ichigo talked to the blue haired one.
"And who might you be to have the guts to go two against one?"
"My name is Grimmjow, and I'm number six in command of Aizen-sama's armies, so we are more than enough for you."
The first to exchange swords after his words were Ichigo and him but the rest soon followed.
After moments of going absolutely anywhere with this, Ichigo got fed up with the whole situation so he looked at his comrades. With an exchange of glances, they gave it their almost best and an opening appeared in front of Ichigo, which he didn't wait to take. As Grimmjow was about to intervene with this escape plan by going in front of him, he was stopped by Shuhei's sword as it collided with his own.
"You are my opponent now…"
Those were the last words he heard as he made his way further inside where his gut told him that the real was.
With Renji and Ishida
They made their way to the left of the castle running all the way but it didn't take long before their run was cut short by a guy in white clothing and pink hair.
Renji outright laughed at his appearance when he saw him while Ishida remained collected with his bow ready for battle.
He could have sworn he saw a vein pop on his opponent's forehead from the laughter of his partner and he seriously wondered if Renji was as good as they said he was as he was acting like a lunatic at the moment and not like a soldier.
"Do you seriously have the nerve to laugh at me? Who do you think you are boy? Have you got any idea who I am? I am Szayelaporro Granz, one of the tops officers in Aizen-sama's army."
Then, the laughter stopped coming from Abarai and his expression could be considered serious if you exclude the smirk he had on his lips.
"Good, I would get bored fighting a loser, but even though you obviously look like one, you seemed to not be. Would you look at that? It seems we got ourselves a good one, ne Uryu?"
He was left stunned at the confidence his partner conveyed but nodded none the less.
Their opponent really seemed like a good fighter and besides… Ishida hadn't underestimated anyone before and it's not time to start now.
He will see how good they both were in this battle.
With Toshiro and Ikkaku
The direction they had taken, not only it had any doors whatsoever, but it was also an empty hallway.
They still made their way through it though since it seemed to take a turn in the distance so that should at least lead somewhere.
As they turned that corner, they came to be in a more opened area; where in the middle of the end of it had a single door.
From the other side, baby's crying could be heard and so they looked at each other before marching for that door.
They were stopped almost instantly though, and so they backed away for more space to analyze their opponents.
One was a blonde woman that hid her mouth and nose behind a white cloth-mask-thingy. Her clothing was also in the color of white as the other guy's too.
It would seem that Aizen fancied that color a little too much.
The other guy was of the macho type with red hair that was styled in one side.
Toshiro threw a glance to his partner while he just grinned and took action into the fight while yelling an 'I call the macho one.'
This is why he was now standing opposite to a woman who was ready to fight.
He would have forfeited the fight if lives weren't on the line.
His morals didn't allow him to fight a woman, but considering the bloodthirstiness in this particular woman's eyes, that was the other reason he started fighting back.
Oh, and also so he could stay alive.
With Ichigo
Finally, after a lot of running and many agonizing minutes later he found the doors that lead to the throne room. He was ready to open those doors and march inside when his entrance was suddenly blocked by someone's body.
That someone had black hair and green eyes and was looking like he couldn't care less.
"I'm sorry, but this is as far as you will go. Aizen-sama doesn't have the time to deal with small problems like you. I'll deal with you."
Ichigo didn't like where this was going and he was away from his son long enough.
He charged before his opponent had the chance to move, but he underestimated him since he answered his attack with one of his own.
With Sado and Shuhei
Finally, after a lot of sword clashing and a lot of sweat-dropping, the two fighters stood victorious above their fallen opponents.
They weren't dead, just unconscious and so unable to continue battling.
They looked at each other, shook their hands in congratulation of a work well done and took off after their comrade while hoping that he was still okay as well as the rest of them.
With Renji and Ishida
Renji smirked as he was starting to stand up from the sitting position he took after knocking out their opponent.
He would have to admit, even though he looked ridiculous, this Granz guy fought quite good.
Even he had a few scratches here and there and some of them were pretty deep and blood was dripping on the ground below him.
His partner had gone somewhere back during the fight and fought some minions of this guy so he turned around to see how he was doing.
He smirked when he saw him throwing one arrow towards the last opponent standing and went up to him as he clutched at his left arm that had a deep cut.
When Ishida saw him doing that, he went up to him and while taking a cloth from his arrow case he put it on the bleeding and secured it tightly around it to stop.
"Thanks…"
"No worries, let's continue."
"Yeah…"
After this friendly (…?) conversation, they took off further inside.
With Toshiro and Ikkaku
Toshiro was tired of this meaningless battle.
All he did was avoid this woman's ridiculously long sword.
Not only that, but Ikkaku had gone off somewhere while fighting his opponent and he was now also worried about him. The plan was to always remain at least two people together.
He narrowly avoided one more of her hits.
"When do you think you will start fighting back? I'm tired of your behavior. I doubt that's your real power, so man up and show it to me. Don't underestimate me."
He sighed. Time to end this once and for all, even though if he had to harm a woman…
He wondered how everyone else did as he threw his sword on the ground and charged.
A few moments and quick steps later she was lying on the ground unconscious while he went to retrieve his sword.
He went and opened the door while thanking every kami he knew about his lessons in martial arts. With only two quick presses in the base of the neck and every opponent was becoming limp on your arms and unable to wake up for a few hours.
Inside, there really was a baby and that baby was living and well. Thank goodness… Sora was safe and sound and all this suffering was finally coming to an end.
Thankfully, the baby somehow remembered him from the wedding and so it didn't take long for his crying to cease and for him to bring his hands up waiting to be hugged and got out of here.
As he was coming out of the room with Sora in his arms, he was startled a little by the smirking but wounded Ikkaku. He rushed to him and after ripping a strand off of his top and wrapped it around his wounded head.
"Heh, I guess I got a little carried away over there, uh?"
"You think…? Anyway, time to regroup with the others and see how they are doing. We got what we came here for so it's time to flee from this place. Let's go."
They went the way they came, because beside that door where the baby was, there was nothing else around.
It was a dead end.
Everyone, after defeating their opponents, went the way Ichigo had gone.
They got to him right when he was about to slice through the throat of the fallen black haired guy so Renji rushed and took his hands in his own preventing him.
"Let me go… Just let me kill this unfeeling bastard."
"Ichigo… Ichigo, relax. It's over. Your baby is safe. Calm down."
"No, this bastard said that they killed him, they killed my boy so death is gonna be their punishment."
"Would you just shut up and listen for a minute Kurosaki? Your baby is right here in my arms, so how could he be dead?"
When Ichigo turned around from the commanding tone Toshiro used and saw that indeed, his son was in his arms.
He dropped swords and weapons in an instant and rushed to take him in his hug and snuggle his head between his head and shoulder just to make sure that he really was touching him and it wasn't some kind of illusion.
"Geez, you're more stubborn than even Karin. I didn't know that was even possible…"
Toshiro whispered that part as he saw the exchange between father and son taking place and remembered yet again his lovely wife.
He briefly wondered how she was doing before he was brought out of his thoughts from one of comrades' words, namely Ishida.
"Now that we got what we came for, we better get out of here. That was the plan, wasn't it? Take the baby and leave?"
"Ishida is right. We better leave…"
"No, I'm gonna kill that bas…"
"Kurosaki… Listen to us and let's just leave. You would gain nothing by killing him; and here none the less. He is the law here and if we do something unnecessary we could get in serious trouble. Do yourself a favor and don't fall into this hatred circle, because hatred brings only hatred. Think of your son and your wife who is waiting for you. We still have a very big journey in front of us and we better start as soon as possible. Just think… If he comes, we will be ready to make war with him but now is not the time. Just let it go for now."
He thought for a few moments before looking to his comrades and to himself.
Nobody was uninjured, but at least they were still alive. His son was safe and sound also and in his hands.
Yeah, he would leave it at that for the time being. He wasn't a murderer anyway. No, that job was another's.
He sighed and nodded before they all turned around and rushed out of there and from the city itself heading to where their yesterday's camp was.
They were out of the walls of the city at the nick of time. No wonder they hadn't passed any civilian when they were coming out even though if it was almost noon.
They all knew about what was to happen and had long abandoned it.
Maybe, even Aizen had knowledge of that but no one will ever know if that was true since he was buried under tones of bricks and rocks caused from the explosion.
A few months has passed since our heroes were able to see their houses again. They had parted ways a few days back and finally, they were returning home.
Renji was greeted with a kick in the head and then a hug from his strong petit wife.
Ichigo was reunited with his wife and child and so the family was one again.
That was not the reason though why the Hitsugaya household was holding a celebration, nor was it the return in general.
No… the reason that Toshiro was officially the happiest man alive at the moment was because when he returned home, the most unexpected and happiest surprise was waiting for him.
That's right… it seems that his family was about to welcome a new member in a few months. The doctors said it may be a boy…
Fin…