So it's been…almost two years since I last wrote for fanfiction.

It was a hard decision for me, but I think…I think I'm done. I loved my time on , and writing the fics, but I'm past that point in my life. I'm writing more original short stories and a huge novel-esque one at the current times.

I haven't read a Bleach manga (or any other manga, for that matter) in ages and I'm just…out of the fandoms. I still love the characters that I did but, I just don't have the time or energy to write or read stories for them anymore. My original characters need to take precedence.

It does break my heart to do this, but I feel it's necessary. I'll always check in every 10 months or so, maybe read a one-shot here or there. I'll still get notifications of reviews and whatnot in emails, so I'll know you all exist and are reading my works. I just won't be writing for them anymore.

I have an account on DeviantART where I put some stories, and I have a legit blog that I update about once a week, if you're interested (I'll put links on my profile, or just PM me if you want them).

So consider this my biding adieu to the world of fanfiction writing and to all those who have read and enjoyed my stories. And know that, if I ever become a famous author, it'll be here on where I go my start! Who knows? Maybe one day, years from now, I'll update again. No guarantees, but the hope is there!

Chapter 39: Saint Naïve

The tie was too tight. The jacket was too stiff. The shoes were too small.

A song floated out from the church sanctuary. It was some sort of hymn. Pretty, he thought, but not a song she'd have picked.

Hitsugaya glanced in through the giant wooden doors. Ichigo and his gang were sitting there, talking quietly. Kyouraku, Renji and some others from Soul Society doing the same nearby. Even Hinamori was there.

He paused. Wasn't sure how he felt about that. He didn't directly invite her, but…he didn't not invite her either. It was kind of open invitation.

She must have been there to support him. Just like everyone else. None of them had any other reason to be there. None, whatsoever.

Hinamori suddenly turned around and spotted him back by the door. She gave a small, sad smile and waved. He reluctantly smiled and nodded back. For a moment, the two former friends made awkward eye contact. Out of nowhere, Hinamori made a move to stand.

Aw, shit. She was coming back here to talk to him.

Luckily, quirky little Third Seat Emi must have been watching. As Hinamori stood, Emi slid up next to her, pushing down her shoulder and striking up a conversation. A pet peeve of Hinamori's; She couldn't ignore someone to save her life.

As they talked, Emi glanced at her captain and winked. He nodded gratefully before ducking back into the hallway.

The hymn changed. Something more religious, royal sounding. Hitsugaya grimaced. She would have hated it.

He checked his watch. Matsumoto wasn't necessarily late, but she'd better hurry up. He couldn't go in there without her. Along with the most obvious reasons, part of it was her idea, and him going in alone would seem…weird.

There was still about ten minutes until this thing started. As long as she got here before that stupid preacher, it was fine, he figured.

He sat down on the bench next to the wooden doors and sighed. It seemed like the first time he'd exhaled in months.

So much had happened.

Aizen had been defeated. That was the biggest thing. So many deaths and so much destruction had occurred. But it'd finally happened. Aizen was no longer a threat.

Hitsugaya was biased, though. In his mind, through all the destruction and pain felt by everyone, no one was hurt more than Matsumoto.

She'd lost Gin. Her former lover. Her best friend. Her family.

It'd been a long time. A year and a half? Hitsugaya had lost count. She still wasn't better. For everyone else, she was able to create a damn good mask. People thought her pain was healing.

They had no idea.

She still screamed in her sleep. Probably four or five nights during a typical week. She'd gone back to drinking more than she ate. Some days, if it got really bad, she wouldn't let Hitsugaya out of her sight, or out of her grip. There were days he couldn't even walk to the bathroom without her getting nervous shakes.

On missions, she was brutal. Would beat Hollow to a bloody pulp, and then some. If an enemy so much as looked at Hitsugaya – or anyone in their party – wrong, she went mental.

It's not like Hitsugaya blamed her or anything. It was a bad situation from the start. Then it went downhill from there.

Word was, at the end, Ichimaru attacked Aizen. No one but him knows why. Did that make him a hero? Or a villain who saw the light?

For Hitsugaya, he was pained by the loss of Gin Ichimaru through association. It ate away at Matsumoto, therefore ate away at him. Thinking about it, maybe Gin was a hero after all. He had come to warn them before all hell broke loose. He'd even promised not to attack them. A promise he kept, to an extent.

The preacher walked by, giving Hitsugaya a soft smile. "Almost ready?"

"Whenever you are." Hitsugaya sighed. The preacher nodded, walking into some other room. Hitsugaya checked his watch again.

The months following the showdown were eerily calm. People didn't go out much. Trips to the living world were very few, and only for the higher ranked.

Ichigo had lost his powers, but not his memories. His friends could still see the shinigami, though. That's why he was here. When Matsumoto had told Orihime about today, she'd immediately told him he needed to come. Of course, most of them were in gigais anyway, so not like it mattered much. Only a select few of the shinigami who came weren't.

It had recently started to be…okay again. People actually smiled around the compounds. More trips to the real world were scheduled. Things were going back to being as normal as normal could be defined these days.

The church door opened and Matsumoto stood there, somewhat breathless.

She rushed at him and gathered him in her arms before he had the chance to stand, a normal occurrence since Gin's death. "Sorry I'm late. Orihime's car wouldn't start." She whispered.

"It's fine. The preacher guy didn't go in yet." Hitsugaya said. He glanced over as Orihime quietly walked in. "Not like it'd matter. If he did, then we could just leave and not go."

"Parking is so hard to find around here!" Orihime breathed. Matsumoto finally released Hitsugaya and looked over at her friend.

As the two talked for a minute, Hitsugaya couldn't help but stare at them. There wasn't much more of a contrast than orange/strawberry blonde hair and a black dress.

Of course, Hitsugaya's eyes lingered on Matsumoto. She looked like a freaking nun. Her black skirt went to right above her knees, with black boots right below the hem. Her black sweater went right up to her neck, with the collar only dipping slightly past her collarbone. The only accent was the silver chain of a necklace that was perched delicately on her throat.

"Well, I'll go in and sit with the boys. I'll ask them where they want to go after, okay?" Orihime asked as she backed into the church. Matsumoto nodded.

As Orihime skipped up the aisle, Matsumoto looked at Hitsugaya. "Are you sure this is okay?"

Hitsugaya shrugged. "It's not my type of thing, but is it really anyone's?"

Matsumoto rolled her eyes and chuckled softly, "You know what I meant, Toshiro."

"Of course it's okay." He whispered, taking her hand. "Everyone in there knows what he did at the end. And everyone is grateful for it."

"But it won't upstage…" Matsumoto started.

"I highly doubt it." Hitsugaya smiled as the walked into the sanctuary. No one paid any mind as the two of them sat in the front row, next to Bernie and Kira. "You can't really upstage the funeral of a 102-years-old woman with a memorial for a ghost."

Yea, things had recently started to be okay again, when Hitsugaya received a phone call one day from Bernie, his mother's assisted living nurse. She had suddenly died in her sleep, clutching the old framed picture of her husband and their 5-year-old son.

In reality, it wasn't sudden. She was freaking old. But that didn't make it hurt any less.

Bernie said he'd make all the arrangements, since he was her last living relative. She'd be cremated, and the service would be at the town's oldest church. All Hitsugaya had to do was, in Bernie's words, have his "ghost ass show up."

Hitsugaya told Matsumoto, who then told the rest of the world. Their friends felt bad for the kid. All of his mother's friends and family were dead. No one would come to a funeral for an old woman they didn't know.

That's how Ichigo, Kyouraku and the rest ended up sitting in church pews. They'd come to support their friend in his hard time.

As the funeral date got closer, Hitsugaya and Orihime had noticed a change in Matsumoto. She became more withdrawn. She sat on Orihime's couch without speaking for hours on end.

When the two finally asked her about it, she mentioned that Gin had never gotten a funeral and reluctantly asked if they could do something for him at the same time they honored Hitsugaya's mother.

Hitsugaya didn't hesitate for a second before accepting the proposal. He called Bernie, who'd called the preacher, while Matsumoto called Kira. Everything was set.

The organist, who was no spring chicken herself, suddenly changed hymns again. The preacher walked up the aisle and immediately began speaking.

He talked about how Rachel had a good, long life. He read scriptures and mentioned Heaven, and the afterlife. Hitsugaya, and a few other shinigami, snickered quietly.

Since Hitsugaya was technically dead, Bernie was the one who got up and said a few words. As he talked, Matsumoto, Orihime and a few other sympathetic women cried. At the end of his eulogy, the preacher handed him the urn of Rachel's ashes. As Bernie left the alter, the preacher motioned for Matsumoto and Kira to approach.

Hitsugaya unwillingly let go of her hand. This would be hard for her. Maybe too hard.

Both she and Kira said eulogies for Gin Ichimaru. Both she and Kira broke down into puddles of tears while they spoke.

When they were finished, the preacher stood behind them, calling out a blessing and then whispering a prayer. Everyone was free to go after that.

The preacher left immediately, leaving the mob in the sanctuary free to do what they wished. Some shinigami opened a gate and went straight back to Soul Society from there. Others stuck around, mingling.

"You take this," Bernie said, placing the urn in Hitsugaya's hands. "She was your mother. I'm just a distant relative."

"I really appreciate what you did for her, Bernie." Hitsugaya said, shaking his hand.

"Don't mention it." Bernie smiled. "She was family. Tell her hi for me on the other side, okay? Tell her that I'll miss her and her crazy ass ways."

"If I can find her, I definitely will." Hitsugaya returned the grin.

Matsumoto, who had finally composed herself somewhat, looked over Hitsugaya's shoulder. "Bernie, some of us are going down to the local pub for a while. Would you like to join us? Drinks are on us."

"Thanks, but no thanks, Rangiku." Bernie said. "Already had an invite from some friends to go out tonight. Catch you guys on the flip side? In sixty or seventy years?"

"Hopefully not that soon!" Matsumoto laughed. Bernie waved goodbye as he snuck out a side door.

Within an hour, the mob turned into a group of around fifteen, and, after stopping at their respective homes to change, they had made their way to the pub a few blocks away. Hitsugaya lost the jacket, tie and urn of ashes. Matsumoto traded the black sweater for a yellow one.

As everyone mingled, Hitsugaya and Matsumoto sat in a booth, arms wrapped around each other, slumped back against the cushioned seat, watching the festivities. People were laughing, people were dancing, people were giving their life stories to someone they just met.

Emi had stopped over to check on them a few times, before being whisked away by Hisagi. Other than that, most people left them alone, which was fine by them. They needed the time to themselves. To watch the world pass by from an outsider's view for a while.

"You okay?" Hitsugaya asked midway through the evening, as they watched Ichigo and Emi attempt a dance-off.

"I'm…better now." Matsumoto muttered in response, leaning her head on his. "I think it's what I needed to do."

"…I hate seeing you cry like that." He answered as he began to stroke her fingers.

"I know." She answered. "But I promise…I might get better now."

Hitsugaya couldn't help but laugh at her contradiction. He had laughed so loud that a few people glanced over at him.

It even caught the attention of Hinamori. Maybe she'd had a few drinks or maybe she was just feeling brave, for she slammed her empty glass down on the bar and began making her way towards Hitsugaya and Matsumoto's private table before Emi or anyone else could stop her.

"Shiro, can I…" she hiccupped, confirming the drinks theory. As she approached the table, she tripped over a stool, stumbling into the corner of the booth. "…er…talk to you?"

The two hadn't been close for a while. A long while. But Hitsugaya couldn't deny that she was still important to him. She'd had just as rough a time with things as everyone else. He couldn't ignore that.

"Sure, Momo." Hitsugaya said, gently squeezing Matsumoto's hand as he slid out of the booth. Hinamori took a step and immediately almost fell. Hitsugaya caught her, and helped her walk towards the door. Once outside, he gently sat her on the curb and placed himself next to her. "So…"

"I miss you." Hinamori said immediately. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the loss of your mother, I'm sorry for what happened with Aizen, I'm sorry for what I did to you…"

Hitsugaya smiled, "Momo, you didn't do anything wrong. The things that happened, happened. Nothing was your fault."

Hinamori wasn't exactly responsive. Instead, she just kept talking, almost like he wasn't even there, "You warned me. You tried to protect me. And I just ignored you. I hurt you, Shiro. Friends don't do that. Family doesn't do that. So I guess that makes me neither…"

"Momo…" Hitsugaya muttered. Suddenly she started to cry. She threw her hands up to her face, trying to block him from seeing the tears.

"I'm so sorry! I don't…I don't know what I was thinking." She paused for a moment, trying unsuccessfully to catch her breath. "I was…jealous, you know. When Kira told me about you and Matsumoto. I was furious, but I'm not sure who I was furious at. You? Her? Me? I broke into your apartment. I think I smashed a picture somewhere…"

She continued to mutter about things that she'd felt or done in the past year and a half, though Hitsugaya already knew about most of them. He gently put his arm around her shaking frame and drew her into a tight hug. "You're okay, Momo. I don't blame you for anything. You did what any normal person would do in the circumstances you were in."

"But Shiro…"

"You're still my family." He said, cutting her off. "And you will always be my family."

Hinamori instantly wrapped her arms around him, as her tears began to lessen. "Thank you, Shiro…"

The bar door opened and Matsumoto stood there with a warm smile. To Hitsugaya, it was the first real smile she'd had in weeks. "Hinamori, dear…Kira is looking for you."

"Right, right…" Hinamori stood, immediately wiping her face of any tears. She walked passed Matsumoto giving her arm a quick squeeze as she glanced back at Hitsugaya. "Thanks, Matsumoto…take care of him for me, okay?"

Matsumoto nodded as she closed the door, joining Hitsugaya on sidewalk. She looked at him for a minute, as he stared up at the late afternoon sky. "She gonna be okay?"

"I think so. She just needed to get a lot off her chest." Hitsugaya sighed. "But back to our conversation. What about you? Are you going to be okay?"

Matsumoto didn't answer. Instead she took her gaze away from his face, and up to the sky he was staring at. "Are you going to meet up with her somewhere? Rachel, I mean? Your mother?"

"In about an hour, yea." Hitsugaya said.

Matsumoto couldn't say she was surprised. She had a feeling he'd do something like that. "Is…your father coming?"

"Got the call from Urahara right before we got here. He said Dad's good to go. Also said he called a cab for us. Will be here in…" Hitsugaya checked his watch. "Five minutes, ironically."

"I can hold down the fort here, until you get back." Matsumoto offered.

"Are you kidding me?" Hitsugaya glanced at her, somewhat annoyed. "You're coming with me."

"You nervous?"

"I don't know."

There was a honk down the street as a cab turned the corner. Matsumoto stood, waving at the driver. The bright yellow car stopped in front of them, the overhead light turning off. Hitsugaya stood, both of them getting in the car.

The drive took about forty-five minutes up through the mountains and valleys. That was all right. Everyone needed to think anyway.

After finding out his mother was still alive, Hitsugaya kept in touch with letters and the occasional text to Bernie's phone. He'd even gone to visit her once after Aizen had been defeated. During the visit, he and Rachel had made an agreement. Whenever she died, she would be free to do what she wanted. Go to Heaven, roam the Earth, relax in Soul Society…whatever.

But she made her son promise one thing. Before she chose what she was going to do, she wanted one last family reunion. Mother, father, son.

Finding his father wasn't all that hard. He just asked for help from Urahara. He was good at that kind of thing, and was happy to help. It took him just three months to track him down.

He didn't know what was going to happen at this family gathering. A chat? Just a hello? A picnic?

The car stopped. Matsumoto paid the fare as Hitsugaya got out. They were near an open field, one clear to his memory.

This was the Weekend Spot. Whenever his father was off work, they would come here. To fly kites, play hide and seek, catch fireflies…

As Matsumoto got out of the cab, and it drove off, Hitsugaya spotted two figures about a hundred yards away, near the tree by the hillside that looked over the town.

When the cab was gone, Matsumoto and Hitsugaya immediately stripped themselves of their gigais, suddenly back in their captain and vice-captain uniforms.

As they walked forward, Hitsugaya kept his eyes on his parents, who had now noticed their arrival.

In death, his mother had taken her younger form. To anyone, she couldn't have looked more than 32 years old. Her wrinkles were gone; her blonde hair was shining in the dipping sun.

She was holding the hand of her husband George, who never had wrinkles to being with. He'd died at 37. But even he looked younger by a couple years. There were no spots of gray in his black beard and moustache and a bright sparkle in his eyes.

"Son," he whispered as Hitsugaya approached. He let go of Rachel's hand so he could take his long lost son in his arms.

"Dad," Hitsugaya returned the gesture, involuntarily closing his eyes. How long had it'd been…?

"Your…ah…your mother, here, has just been telling me about your…job." He said, backing away and motioning to the white captain's haori. Hitsugaya just grinned awkwardly in response. His father smiled, "I'm so proud of you, Toshiro."

"Thanks, Dad." Hitsugaya breathed. George glanced over, and stuck his hand out to Matsumoto, who shook it gratefully.

George winked as he clicked his tongue, "Almost as pretty as your mother, Toshiro. Good work."

Matsumoto blushed and let out a nervous giggle. Hitsugaya just smiled as he stared at her, before looking at back to his father. "I missed you, Dad."

"And I to you, Toshiro." George grinned. "If I'd have known about you going into the Soul Academy and becoming a captain…Hell, if I even knew you were in Soul Society, I would have come looking for you decades ago. Not now, at the last chance."

"Last chance?" Matsumoto asked.

"George and I have decided we're going to…stay on Earth. At least for a few years." Rachel smiled in the other woman's direction. "You know, go to all the places we never got a chance to. Do all the things we never got the chance to…"

"And then after a few years?" Toshiro asked.

"Heaven seems a pretty damn good place to go." George answered. "I think it'd be like, retirement, or something!"

"Will you join us there one day, Toshiro?" Rachel asked, tilting her head slightly. "Rangiku?"

"Maybe," Hitsugaya whispered. "It's too soon to tell."

The sun dipped behind a mountain, its rays causing strange patterns in the sky. George stared at the scene for a moment before turning back to his wife and son. "Darling, I know it's been brief, but I think it's time we get going."

Rachel smiled at him, and then looked to Hitsugaya and Matsumoto. "You two be safe, okay? Look out for each other."

"You two as well." Hitsugaya answered. "And don't get into trouble. Or I may have to deal with it."

"I don't think that'd be so bad." His father winked again. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto both laughed. Rachel and George stepped forward, gathering their son in a hug one last time, an embrace that needed to last a millennium or more.

Rachel openly cried. George let tears silently slide down his face. Toshiro just stood there, holding his emotions in, letting them be unknowingly comforted by the fact that after what seemed like a thousand years, he was with both of his parents again.

And they were all…happy.

After a minute or so, he released the two and stepped back. Rachel hugged Matsumoto quickly, and George bowing, kissed her hand.

The sun was almost completely below the horizon, casting a long, dark shadow from the nearby tree. George reached out for Rachel's hand and together they walked towards the shadow.

"Oh, Mom!" Hitsugaya called out. She turned and her son smiled. "Bernie says he'll miss you."

Rachel let out a sunny laugh as she turned back and took another step forward. The moment their feet hit the shadow, there was a flash of white light. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto covered their faces. When they were able to look again, the man and his wife were gone.

A calm breeze blew over the field. Both captain and vice captain let out a sigh of relief before deciding to sit and take a rest after such a long day. Matsumoto wrapped her arms around Hitsugaya, letting him rest against her chest. "You okay, Toshiro?"

He gently wrapped his fingers around her forearms, "I asked you first."

She smiled, resting her chin in his hair. "It's what Gin would have wanted. I'm happy with how it turned out. Kira's eulogy was lovely, too. Gin would have been so proud of him."

"That's not exactly what I asked."

Matsumoto laughed. "Yes, yes. I'm okay. I just…I needed that. The closure. The ending of something to start something else, so to speak."

"I'm glad." Hitsugaya answered dreamily. Matsumoto glanced down at him to see his eyes were closed. "Really glad."

"Now your turn." Matsumoto said, nudging him slightly.

He chuckled, "Yes, I'm fine. Though, mine wasn't much about closure." He opened his eyes again, and cocking his head to the side to stare up at her. "My mom's been alone her whole life. Ever since Dad and I…Well, we left her. Plain and simple. She was so lonely. For over sixty or seventy years. When she died, she was relieved of that. In death, she was no longer alone. She found her family, her old friends…"

"She found her husband." Matsumoto whispered with a smile. "And her baby boy."

"I wouldn't say she was miserable in her life." Hitsugaya continued, matching the smile. "But she's happier now, in her death. So, since she's happy, and my dad's happy, I'm happy."

The two sat there, wrapped up in each other, until the sky moved from pink to orange to blue to black. Neither spoke much. They just held each other, appreciating the company and knowing that things were going to change.

Things would be better. There'd be more smiles, more laughter, more love, and more happiness. The cloud of despair was slowly being lifted, from both their lives and those of their friends.

At least, they hoped. And sometimes, hope is all you need to get started.

A wolf howled from a nearby hill. Matsumoto turned her head in its direction as she whispered, "What now, Toshiro? What's going to happen now?"

"I don't know, Rangiku." He answered as he gently kissed her arm. "But as long as I've got you here, with me, I can't imagine anything bad. Anything I can't handle. We can't handle."

Matsumoto grabbed Hitsugaya's face between both hands and tilted it back, pressing her lips firmly against his. As she pulled away, she stared into his eyes as she grinned, the smile reaching her eyes for the first time in months. The grin turned into a laugh. A full-out belly laugh. She began laughing so hard that she, and therefore Hitsugaya, fell backwards into the grass. They still couldn't get untangled from each other. Of course, they didn't really want to get untangled either. And that unspoken fact made them both have to wipe happy tears out of their eyes.

As their laughter finally died down, Matsumoto just stared into the green eyes of Hitsugaya. After a moment, she moved her head so it was touching his. He brought his hand to her face, lightly stroking her cheek. As she sighed under his fingers, it had the faint air of being purely content. Another breeze rolled over the hills as she began to hum a soft tune under her breath.

More smiles. More laughter. More love. More happiness.

They seemed to be making progress already.

I know this is weird, and isn't all that romantic until the last third of it but…it's basically the end. What do you want me to do, here.

The whole chapter/story is based off the lyrics of "Saint Naïve" that go:

"Don't worry your pretty little head, tomorrow we might be dead. Just play us a song and we all might get along."

Song: "Saint Naïve" by Jonsi. As always, go check this man's stuff out. So lovely~

So, for the last time, this is BlackAngel signing off. Until next time, for all you lovely folk. And hopefully that next time is me being a world famous author~

And if you want to stay in touch (because I will chat with you on Twitter and wherever else!) or follow my other works, just let me know in a review or a PM.

I really do appreciate every single one of you who have ever read any of my stories, and have enjoyed them. You all mean so much to me, and I really will miss you all.

Oh god, look at me, getting all sentimental and teary-eyed!

I hope the fates treat you all wonderfully, and you all have amazing lives. :)

~Sarah