AN

So this is awkward. Here I am with the promised epologue a year later. Now that I finally had some free time, I sat down, reread the whole story and realized that I couldn't just leave it like this. I know how it all ends, but you guys deserve to see inside my head as well. So, better late than never, right? Right? Oh well, so here it is. I hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer-I own nothing.

To Love A Warrior

Epilogue

Rukia called Commander Zaraki the very next day after their big announcement at the station. Surprisingly, he didn't chew her out as she'd expected. Instead, he'd praised her choice of a husband and wished them well.

Later that day when Ichigo convinced her to face the music, they went to pay a visit to his dear aunt and uncle. Predictably, Yoruichi lost her marbles when they came in all nervous smiles and hands interwoven saying that they'd gotten secretly hitched and were now living together. She'd spent an entire hour alternating on congratulating them on their nuptials and raging at the injustice of their slapdash ceremony. They'd finally managed to placate her by agreeing to let her put together a wedding reception for them that would take place in the following weeks.

Three days before their reception, Karakura town was rocked by the revealed scandal of the Kunas. A rather mundane work day had been interrupted by Mashiro escorting her father to the station and his subsequent confession of his role in his wife's murder eleven years ago. Despite their attempts to keep the affair hush-hush, the whole story ended up in the papers not a day later.

On that fateful day 11 years ago, Mashiro left her home to attend a party being held by some of her school friends. Immediately afterwards, Meiko had confessed to her husband that she was leaving him for an out-of-towner she'd been having an affair with for the past two years. Shocked and baffled, Seno had demanded to know who this person was. She'd ignored his question, picked up her suitcase and wished him well.

Grabbing the revolver he kept on hand for emergencies, Seno ordered her to stop. She'd laughed at him, told him to get on with his life and continued on her way. That is, until a bullet had split her skull down the middle.

Seno had stood there for a full fifteen minutes, unable to process what had just transpired. After his paralysis had faded, he picked up his deceased wife with one arm and her suitcase with the other. Dumping the bag in the garage, he'd loaded the dead woman into his car and drove out to the lake.

Once there, he unloaded a folded lawn chair from his trunk and found a length of rope in his toolbox. Placing Meiko in the chair, he'd secured her to it with the rope and then unceremoniously dumped her, chair and all into the lake and watched it sink to the bottom. He got back in his car and numbly drove back to his house, where he then proceeded to burry the gun in the backyard.

After that, he'd returned to the master bedroom, presumably to clean up the mess he'd made only to find his daughter gawking at the blood spattered rug. Mashiro had just gotten home after a wild night and had intended to return the earrings her mother had loaned her. But instead, she was shocked to find a pool of blood on the floor.

Seno had placed his hands on her shoulders and steered her back to her room, telling her to forget what she saw and not to worry. He'd smelled the alcohol on her breath and hadn't been concerned about her remembering anything in the early hours of the morning. He'd been partially right; Mashiro had woken up the next morning with a raging headache and no memory of what had happened the previous night.

She'd accepted her father's excuse for her mother's absence without much of a fight and tried to get on with her life. She felt bad for her father and tried her best to please him in any way possible. Years later when her mother's body is discovered, she begins to have troubling dreams and little flashes of memory.

Once she is able to put all the pieces together, Mashiro confronts her father and begs him to turn himself in. Seno agrees after telling her that he loves her and apologizing for his actions. He is sentenced to life imprisonment with no hope of bail.

Jushiro admitted to dragging his feet with the investigation, but swore that he had no knowledge of Seno's murder and subsequent cover-up. In fact, he'd known about Meiko's affair for some time and just hadn't known how to inform his friend. That's why he honestly believed that Meiko had finally come clean and skipped town.

For her part, Mashiro admitted to knowing about her father's guilt weeks before turning him in. She admitted that she'd hoped she was wrong and hadn't wanted to believe it. She was also waiting for her father to confide in her and tell her the truth, though it didn't happen until she'd confronted him. Eventually, the courts had decided not to arrest Mashiro since the repression of her memories hadn't been intentional.

On a happier note, the reception had been an overwhelming success. Practically the whole town had showed up to congratulate the Kurosakis and all throughout the day, Yomi Shihoin bragged that she always knew it would end this way ever since Ichigo had requested her to make that angel cop ornament for Rukia. But nobody bragged louder than Yoruichi, who insisted on telling everyone and their mother the story of how her tenants had fallen in love, with some added embellishments of her own of course.

For the first year of their marriage, Ichigo and Rukia continued to live in their little house with the rabbit, aptly renamed Usagi by Ichigo. They devided up the chores among each other without too much trouble and developed their own system. Whoever arrived home first would usually cook, and the other would clean up. Rukia became very close with Nanao and Ichigo couldn't be happier for her. She finally had a friend of her own in town who she could chatter to about inconsequential things.

Everything was going smoothly until Rukia became pregnant. Ichigo had insisted that she take some time off, which resulted in their first real fight since being wed. Both were stubborn in their views and neither gave up. Rukia continued her duties and Ichigo watched her like a hawk, silently brooding the whole time. Even in her final trimester, Rukia could not be persuaded to stay home.

In fact, she'd went into labor after arresting a couple of bank robbers. She'd been rushed to the hospital, where after 48 hours of labor she'd given birth to their son, Kenichi Kurosaki. Immediately following his arrival into the world, Rukia's whole attitude had changed. She'd instantly fallen in love with the bundle in her arms, and though she'd at first had trouble picturing herself as a mother, she couldn't bare the thought of leaving Kenichi alone.

So she'd agreed to stay home with their son for the first year of his life and Ichigo temporarily took over her position as Captain. To keep her from going stir crazy, Ichigo constantly consulted her on matters at the station and always tried to keep her in the loop. When he was old enough, Kenichi began accompanying his parents to the station where he was fawned over by a dozen other cops.

Meanwhile, Ichigo had secretly been having his dream house by the lake constructed. Once Rukia announced her second pregnancy, Ichigo felt it was time to let her in on his secret. She was delighted and they moved out to the slightly larger house without any trouble, taking their beloved furniture and pet with them. Rukia accepted her pregnancy with a bit more grace this time, and relented to some time off every now and again.

Maybe because of this, her delivery of their daughter, Miyuki Kurosaki, was a lot less strenuous. Once again, Rukia stayed home with her daughter for the first year before entrusting her to strangers at a daycare program. On his 34th birthday, Ichigo received a call from Commander Zaraki informing him that he had been promoted to Captain of the Osaka substation. Rukia and his family had rejoiced with him and congratulated him readily.

His Lieutenant turned out to be his old friend Shinji, who had no hard feelings serving under Ichigo. This led Rukia to promote Renji, who had also become one of her closest friends, to her Lieutenant, a decision she never came to regret.

They were happy. Such a simple statement, and yet so profoundly true. Despite her observations, Rukia was a great mother who was never cold or distant with her children and was in fact very intuitive to their needs. Ichigo was, as to be expected, very overprotective of his family as a whole, but they loved him even more for it. Whether it was on duty or off, Ichigo and Rukia made a stellar team. They unfailingly supported each other through triumph and tragedy, and never faltered in their love for each other. They were true warriors; warriors who had learned to love. Even through all the heartache and confusion, they had found each other. If ever given the choice to go back and change their history, they wouldn't. Because it had all been worth it. They were where they were supposed to be, and wouldn't have it any other way.

AN

Thanks for reading and I hoped you liked it. I'm sorry if you wanted dialogue but this was the only way I could think to rap everything up neatly. Once again, thank you for your devotion to this story and I hope to see you soon in another. Review please!