A/N: Kudos, hugs, and cyber-chocolates to the following:

---ICHIHIME!!!!, Blitch, NaruHinaFanboy, HungryReader, Raye1084, DancerGrl16, Ookami Kangen, Witko1, CatGirl R and S Fan, ninchick01, and pieman12367.

…thank you also to Justine and Mitsuki Sakira, who I know will read and review when they have the time:).

Please let me know if I forgot you…you all are very important to me and deserve the proper props!

LAST CHAPTER!!!! Here goes nothing…

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Chapter Seven: Tsubasa Wo Matsu Mono

"But why can't I see Ichigo now?" Orihime cried. So close, but I can't –

"Don't worry," said Rukia. "I just had an idea; it's just one thing to show you, and it's really close to here…"

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'This is the Tenshi No Enka : the 'Angel's Beacon'," said Rukia. They were standing before a small, tarnished white gazebo-like structure that was overgrown with climbing whorls of ivy and rested on a small patch of sparse, grey-green grass. "It's so old, no one knows for sure when it was built. But it's been a long time since those stone steps have been walked on by a true demigod…" she was looking at Orihime, a question in her eyes.

What can it hurt? Thought Orihime, and she slowly walked up the three steps of smooth marble and stood under the domed roof. She closed her eyes, for it felt right to do so, and loosened her hold on her reiatsu just a little…

A gentle but sudden wind began to stir around her, playfully tossing her hair, and she heard Rukia gasp.

Orihime opened her eyes to see the ivy burst into flower and the grassy patch bloom with colourful blossoms. The pillars of the Beacon not only seemed pure white, but they also glowed with the most pale and delicate gold light.

Beautiful, thought Orihime in awe. The breeze spun around her again, like a cocoon of wind, and she felt her rikka slip from her hair. Orihime watched as the little flowers seemed to fall in slow motion. In the soft gold light, the petals looked strangely like…feathers…

The pins disappeared before they hit the ground and Orihime felt a new weight added to her shoulderblades.

Rukia gasped again and Orihime gave a bubbly laugh of pure delight.

She declared joyfully, "Ichigo will really be surprised now!"

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Ichigo sat under the sakura trees, alone, as he always was. He didn't want to be around anyone, as it would only be a reminder of the absence of one person…

A sudden breeze kicked up, sending the gossamer pink and white petals across his vision. Irritated, he stood up to move to a different place, but stopped. Someone was standing before him.

He couldn't keep his jaw from falling open.

No way! Impossible!

"Orihime…?" The name came out sounding like a whisper.

Her luminous porcelain skin contained a rosy flush. She wore a magnificent kimono of sparkling gold, embroidered with a pattern of black branches, green leaves, and white flowers, and her obi was a shimmering ivory. Her braided sandals, worn over white tabi, were gold as well. Her flaming hair was pinned up in a mass on her head, save for a few random tendrils; clipped above her ear were a few white and pale green chrysanthemums surrounded by gold filigree combs. Even her dark-chocolate eyes shone like stars.

Then he saw …

…two amazing wings, robed in creamy feathers with gold tips and silvery-blue shafts. The were flecked with speckled of black and light blue and rippled gently in the wind.

"Orihime…?" Ichigo said again.

She could hold back no longer; she ran to him and hugged him, and then kissed him with all the fervour she could muster.

At that moment, Ichigo knew that, despite everything, the impossibility of it all, it really was her.

'Orihime…" he breathed, and he kissed her back.

When they finally came apart, Ichigo gazed into her eyes in wonder.

"How?" was all he could say.

'Do you believe in angels?" said Orihime with an impish grin.

Ichigo smiled – a phenomenon so rare, especially as of late.

"I do now," he replied seriously, and pulled her back to kiss her again. The sakura petals danced around them, spiraling up to the sky above, but they would be forever unable to surpass the bounds of the pair's happiness.

For it was in this moment in death where neither of them had ever felt more alive.

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A/N: There ya have it! Soooooooo, what's ya think?

Please feel free to check out any of my other fics!

Thank you all so much for all your support; I really appreciate it. I'm gonna miss you guys! But that's what happens when you come to an end…

Bye, peeps! Peace!

~Raye Lynne