Well, here it is - the last instalment of Chicken Soup for a Kuchiki's Soul. It's been a long, difficult road, but we've all made it (mostly) intact. I think I'll take this moment to thank everyone who's kept up with this story, leaving encouraging reviews and giving me much-needed criticism; I wouldn't be here without you guys :). Anyways, let's get this note over with and get onto the epilogue!

Bleach still doesn't belong to me, although that's hardly surprising anymore.

Epilogue:

Ichigo wasn't quite sure if the world had ended, or if he'd simply lost it. Seriously, he'd only been on a month-long break. How else could you explain all the crazy shit that was going on?

First of all, Renji was apparently now the Captain of the Third Division – who in their right friggin' mind had made that decision? It gave the redhead eternal gloating rights, which was not, in Ichigo's opinion, something Renji needed.

Then, all of a sudden Rukia is a Lieutenant – not a seated officer or anything like that, just straight Lieutenant! Not that she didn't deserve it, oh no; Ichigo knew Rukia deserved more than just being a dime-a-dozen unseated soldier. But still, in his mind it was kind of a huge jump.

The biggest of all mysteries, though, was who she was a Lieutenant to. Ichigo thought that Ukitake would have jumped at the chance to have only one Lieutenant again, since it was common knowledge that the two fanatics he had now were probably shortening his lifespan more than the TB.

No, it was when Ichigo saw Rukia hurrying out of the Sixth Division, the sun glinting on her newly-polished Lieutenant's Insignia, that the orange haired Shinigami did a double-take.

"Rukia, what the hell?" he yelled, running up beside the Sixth Division's new Lieutenant, who seemed to be concentrating only on getting the pile of paperwork on her arms to wherever she was going without any flying away.

"Nice to see you too, Ichigo!" she called back, not turning around. Unohana-Taichou had asked for a complete summary of her time aiding in the treatment of Nii-Sama's illness by three o'clock, and if Rukia didn't get there in five minutes, she'd have to face the wrath of one of Seireitei's scariest Shinigami.

She skidded to a stop, however, when Ichigo swerved in front of her, effectively cutting off her direct route of travel.

"What are you doing? Can't you see I'm trying to get these papers somewhere important?" she demanded, tilting her arms slightly as the stack of papers tilted precariously to the right. If she dropped these, it would take at least twenty minutes to pick them all back up. That was twenty minutes she just didn't have.

"Well I figured from the way you were running away from me that you were doing something, but that's not important now. I need answers!" Ichigo snapped, standing at his full height to loom over Rukia. Huffing, she side-stepped him.

"Fine, but we're going to have to walk," she told him, pressing the stack against her cheek as a gust of wind whistled down the walkway. Shrugging, Ichigo caught up with her easily.

"Alright Rukia, so what the hell happened around here? I get back after my vacation and suddenly Renji's a Captain, and you're a Lieutenant! Did I miss some sort of Promotion Party?" Ichigo asked dryly as they ambled down the stone path. Shrugging, Rukia tried to look at him and keep her hold on the stack of paper simultaneously. As she turned her head, the stack wobbled dangerously. Alright, that wasn't going to work.

"For your information, Ichigo, Seireitei had a meeting to find a new Third-Division Taichou, and they chose Renji. Consequentially the Sixth Division had no Lieutenant, and Nii-Sama decided that I would be a good choice," she explained, blushing slightly as she remembered her inauguration meeting...

"I heard that Abarai is making monumental changes in the Third Division," Byakuya said offhandedly, stamping the Kuchiki Seal onto several documents as he spoke. Sitting at her small, brand new desk beside his own Rukia nodded, not looking up from the paperwork she was filling out for her own Division.

"Yes Nii-Sama, I understand he has taken them quite by storm," she told him, chuckling slightly as she remembered Izuru-Fukutaichou's face pale as he recounted the changes that Renji was bringing. Hearing her Nii-Sama let out a small noise of approval, Rukia lapsed back into comfortable silence.

After returning from the secluded hill that overlooked Rukongai, it had quickly becoming a ritual for the both of them to spend at least an hour and a half each night working together. Sometimes they would make conversation, but usually they just basked in the air of newfound familiarity. Tonight, however, Byakuya seemed to have something on his mind.

"Regardless of the changes he's making, the Sixth Division no longer has a Lieutenant. The rest of the Gotei Thirteen is beginning to take notice," he explained in his usual businesslike manner, but Rukia could sense something underneath his calm tones – nervousness, perhaps? Anticipation? Turning, she surveyed her Nii-Sama's face; he looked the same as he usually did, but Rukia could see that his jaw was clenched, and he was stamping the documents with more force than was necessary.

Rukia frowned; what could be putting her Nii-Sama on edge?

"Yes, I have heard some talk, but nothing negative. I wouldn't worry too much about it, Nii-Sama," Rukia tried to assure him, giving her brother an encouraging smile. Sighing, Byakuya have her a rare barely-there smile; one she was getting more and more frequently as the days went by.

"You're correct, of course, Rukia. It is not often that I care what the rest of the Gotei Thirteen has to say when gossip is involved. The lack of a Lieutenant, however, is a serious matter," his tone gravened, and Byakuya's gaze turned steely. For a moment, Rukia got the distinct feeling that she was being pinned to her seat.

"Um, yes, of course," she mumbled, stumbling over her words and trying to keep the blush from her face. The searching gaze Byakuya was giving her was making her uneasy...

"The selection of a new Lieutenant takes quite a bit of thought," he mentioned, once again in that offhanded tone, standing up as he did so. Confused, Rukia watched as Byakuya crossed the study, coming to a halt at an ornately carved wooden chest. Bending over, he opened the lid and began to rummage inside.

"You must be able to trust them with not only your Division, but with your life as well," he carried on, not looking up. "They must be loyal, perceptive and above all else, powerful." As if in a trance, Rukia watched him turn around, the symbol of the Sixth Division's Lieutenant resting gently in his cupped hands. The unasked question hovered in the air between them, hesitant but unwilling to go away until it was answered.

"Nii-Sama..." Rukia trailed off, not quite sure what to say. She'd been told many times over that she was too strong to be wasting away as an unseated officer, but Lieutenant...that was certainly a large gap.

"Please don't see this as an apology for holding you back," Byakuya burst out suddenly, and it was then that Rukia realized what had been making her brother so nervous – that she would view this as a peace offering, rather than an acknowledgment to her skills. Chuckling slightly, Rukia stood up.

What a stupid thing to be worried about.

"Of course not, Nii-Sama. I accept," she told him, coming to a halt right in front of her Nii-Sama and putting a hand on the insignia. Byakuya had smiled, and reached over to tie the cloth around her arm...

"RUKIA!" jumping at the loud yell, Rukia turned to glare at Ichigo.

"Don't yell like that Ichigo, I almost dropped all of my papers!" she seethed, reaching up to grab a single sheet that had escaped from the rest of the stack. Rolling his eyes, Ichigo grabbed the sheet as it flew over her head, returning it to the stack.

"Whatever, you were so completely out of it that you were about to walk into a pole," he told her dryly, motioning to the wooden beam that had somehow found its way directly in front of her. Cheeks reddening furiously, Rukia stomped around the pole, hoping that no one had seen that. There were many who expressed doubt at her being a competent Lieutenant already; she didn't need to go giving them any more reasons.

"Either way, we're here," she told him, relieved as the Fourth Division's sign appeared over the horizon, the clean white and black paint shining in the mid-afternoon sun. As they grew closer, Rukia felt her legs go slightly cold. Unohana-Taichou was standing in front of the main doors, smiling contentedly.

If Rukia had learned anything in the Gotei Thirteen, it was to fear that smile.

"Unohana-Taichou," Rukia called out the greeting with a slightly breathless voice as she jogged the last bit of the path before coming to a halt right in front of the Fourth Division's Captain.

"Rukia-Fukutaichou, I see that you have the documents I asked for," she returned the greeting kindly, the smile changing slightly, becoming warmer. Rukia felt relief flood her – if she was late with her report, Unohana-Taichou didn't seem to care. Turning, Rukia waved slightly at Ichigo, who took the hint and turned around.

Sure, he hadn't really gotten any detailed answers, but he wasn't about to go busting into Unohana's office demanding them. Maybe he could find Renji; the redhead would be more than happy to rub his title as Captain in Ichigo's face, he knew.

Following Unohana-Taichou into her office, Rukia glanced down at her Lieutenant's Insignia, never ceasing to be amazed that it was really there. Things had changed so much in the span of a month, it made her head spin just to think about it. She'd gone from being afraid of her Nii-Sama, to pitying him, to almost enjoying his company. Then, of course, she'd been furious at him – even now that Rukia understood why he'd held her back, it didn't stop the prickle of anger she got in the pit of her gut every time she thought about it.

Nevertheless, Rukia saw this anger as an advantage. It was what let her perform her Lieutenant duties as flawlessly as she could, to object to her Nii-Sama's ideas and debate her own when she needed to. She wouldn't be able to show Byakuya how capable she really was if she were to simply follow him around like a puppy, now would she?

"Please just place your report on my desk," Unohana-Taichou called, disappearing into a back room Rukia hadn't noticed until now. Nodding to herself Rukia did as she was told, before stepping back awkwardly.

What now?

"So I hear that you're doing much better as a Fukutaichou than most had expected." Turning, Rukia watched silently as Unohana-Taichou returned with a large brown file labelled 'KUCHIKI, BYAKUYA' and slid her report gently inside. Deciding it was safest to say nothing, Rukia only nodded. Still smiling, Unohana-Taichou sat at her desk, placing the file down in front of her.

"I must say, I had my own doubts as well. The thought of an unseated officer suddenly springing to the rank of Fukutaichou perplexed me. You have, however, proven to be an asset to not only the Sixth Division, but Kuchiki-Taichou as well. Your ability to change his mind is astounding," Unohana laughed at this, enticing Rukia to chuckle; it was true, she did have a way of making her Nii-Sama change his mind on some of his more outrageous demands...

"I appreciate the praise, Unohana-Taichou," Rukia told her, edging towards the door, "but I told Nii–excuse me, Kuchiki-Taichou that I would be back within the hour. Good day," she excused herself quickly, bowing before shutting the office door. Turning towards the sunlit end of the corridor, Rukia let out a smile.

Now all she needed to do was convince Nii-Sama to let her go and see Renji, then maybe go for lunch with Ichigo; she knew she still had some explaining to do. Walking out of the building, she smiled up at the sky; the cherry blossoms were beginning to fall, filling the air with pink petals. Holding out a hand, she plucked one out of the air, examining it closely.

It flew out of her hand as she sneezed violently. Putting a hand to her hotter-than-normal forehead, Rukia's eyes widened in dismay.

Oh god, not again...

THE END

And so, it is done! Heh, I always had a feeling it would end like this...although the rest of the story has been a mystery-until-written! Once again I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed and followed this story - you guys rock for keeping me motivated throughout the whole thing :)

Farewell for the last time,

StarsAndSparks44