Epilogue

Resolutions and Finalities

Saturday, May 24th, 2014 – 10:00 am

Serietei Safe House

Ichigo woke late that morning, still shaken by what had happened the night before. He was sitting on Zaraki's lap now and quite comfortable. The news from the early hours of the morning still was hard for him to believe. To think that Shiro and Nnoitra were both dead. He keenly remembered Shiro's good-bye, and knew how much feeling he had put into it. He also remembered that Byakuya and Renji had both been shot. He wanted to find out if they were okay, but he also didn't want to move because Zaraki was sleeping still. He didn't really want to wake him. He instead snuggled into his chest and concentrated on just being there at the moment. He breathed deeply and wondered what he was going to do. He was free of his Master now. Completely free.

"You awake, Ichi-babe?" he heard Zaraki rumble.

Ichigo picked up his head and smiled at him. "I'm awake," he said to him quietly without lifting his head.

"How'd you sleep after everything last night?" Zaraki asked as he threaded fingers through his hair.

"Well enough, I guess. I want to know how Renji and Byakuya are doing." He moved and sat up on his lap.

Zaraki nodded. "Let's go out and see if they've heard anything. Can you go out there?"

Ichigo swallowed and nodded. "As long as you go with me I can do it."

He slid off Zaraki's lap to the floor and waited for him to stand up. He took Zaraki's hand and let him lead him out into the larger living room. They came out to find Rukia sitting at the kitchen table looking worried but she didn't look horribly distraught. Zaraki pushed Ichigo forward and smirked at him. Ichigo swallowed and asked Rukia, "H-How are th-they doing?"

Rukia looked over at him and smiled. "I just heard from the hospital actually. Renji came out of surgery and now they're waiting for him to wake up after the anesthesia. My brother is doing pretty well, just needs some bed rest."

"How long until they let people from here go home?" Zaraki asked her.

"That I don't know. Ichigo, you'll have to decide where you're going to go. Your father will take you in, or you can choose to stay by yourself, or with one of your friends." Rukia looked at the way Ichigo was clutching Zaraki's hand.

"I want to stay with you," Ichigo said as he looked up to Zaraki.

He blinked in surprise and swallowed. "Are you sure you don't want to be with your family?" He paused and saw the crestfallen look on Ichigo's face, so he continued. "I have room, you'd have to get used to sharing a two-bedroom apartment with a teenage girl…"

Ichigo smiled and nodded. "I would like to do that."

"Alright, but you have to work hard if you're going to stay with me so you can get better. No skipping therapy or doctor appointments."

"What are we discussing?" came a new voice and Zaraki looked over to see Isshin walking into the dining room.

"Ichigo was deciding that he wants to stay with Kenpachi when he leaves here," Rukia explained.

"You don't want to come with me and your sisters?" Isshin asked with a little bit of a hurt look.

"I need him, I will see you but I'd rather get better before I spend a lot of time with you all." Ichigo ducked his head, proud of himself for expressing his wants. He was getting used to being free to talk and do what he wanted. "Kenni can give me a stability I think I need."

"I don't mind, and I'll make sure he's taken care of," Zaraki said to Isshin, squeezing Ichigo's hand once to assure him. "He has to live with a teenager, but Yachiru likes him a lot."

"What?" said Yachiru as she came bounding into the dining room. "Ichi is going to stay with us?"

"Looks that way," Zaraki said with a smile at his little sister.

Yachiru hugged Ichigo suddenly and quickly before she let go and smiled at him. "That's good. You and Ken-chan get along so well, and I want you to spend more time together."

Ichigo flushed a little and hid his face for a second. "Okay," he muttered.

By the end of the day, everyone was sent on their way to their various homes. With Aizen in custody, everyone who was housed in the Seireitei that had a place to go, left. Of course, those that had lived on Aizen's compound like Tier Harribel and her girls, and Barragan's sons had to stay there until other arrangements could be made for them. Grimmjow and Nel decided they were going to take care of Wonderweiss, and Hanataro and Rin wanted to stay in contact with him. Orihime, Uryū, Chad, and Tatsuki all went home since they lived in Rukongai. The Kurosakis and Urahara stayed there as well, having no home to go to yet. They would eventually find a house in Rukongai and settle there to be near Ichigo. The girls finished school and started University soon afterward. Luppi recovered and was able to walk. In the time he recovered, he became very close to Rose and they ended up moving in together. The other Vizard found themselves a large multiplex that they bought together so they could live near to each other.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Saturday, May 24th, 2014 – 1:00 pm

Shinigami Medical Facility

Byakuya woke up with no pain, and for that he was relived, though he had a feeling that had to do with the IV running into his arm. He looked over to the side and saw Renji was lying in the next bed. He managed to get himself to a sitting position. He saw the IV stand could move so he got to his feet, wincing as pain shot through his chest and shoulder. He managed to walk over to Renji's bed and saw a plastic chair beside it. He sat down and scooted it forward to where he could take one of Renji's slack hands into his. There were so many monitors that he was a bit worried.

He looked up when a nurse came in. She was a pretty young lady with blonde hair tied up in a bun on her head. Her eyes were piercing and blue, and she wore a set of yellow scrubs. "Mr. Kuchiki, you're awake, good."

"What about Renji? How did surgery go? Has he woken up yet?" he asked staring at her.

"I heard you were going to be distraught until we told you how he was. He made it through the surgery well, and his outlook is good. He still hasn't woken up from the anesthesia, but he should be coming around any time now," she said with a gentle smile as she checked the lines and monitors on Renji. "He's a strong one, so I think he'll come through this just fine."

She left then, and Byakuya laid his head on Renji's hand. He didn't think he'd ever been so scared in his life as when he thought Renji might die. That thought killed him inside so much that he couldn't stand it. But he was going to be fine. She said he was going to be fine.

"Hey," he heard and looked up to see Renji looking at him with sleepy eyes.

"Hey yourself," Byakuya said and felt tears in his eyes but he didn't care if anyone saw them. "You had us worried."

"Ah, I told you I wasn't dead yet," Renji said with a slight smile.

Byakuya swallowed and kissed the back of his hand. "I think I want to have a wedding even if it isn't legally able for us to marry. We can still have a ceremony, what do you think?"

Renji smirked and nodded at him. "Is that a proposal, Byakuya Kuchiki?"

Byakuya smiled and nodded. "I'd say yes."

"Well, sure, but not until we're upright again. I don't want a ceremony in a hospital." Renji squeezed Byakuya's had with a grin.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

September 2014

Zaraki/Kurosaki Residence

The months had passed quickly, and slowly Ichigo became better. He spent every week going to a therapist that specialized in working with human trafficking victims. In that time, he had become able to do a lot of things, but he still couldn't handle crowds. Because of that, he tended to stay in the apartment instead of going out. The therapist said that it may be that one day he would be able to handle crowds again, but it was best to take it slow. He had gotten to where he could handle seeing his family and his friends. Both of them decided to stay in Rukongai for the time being.

In that time, he'd gotten even closer to Zaraki. They spent almost every day together because he was on extended leave from the Shinigami until Ichigo was well enough to stay home by himself. The feelings that Zaraki had didn't fade, and Ichigo's attachment became even stronger. He spent much time learning how to take care of the home, and would study with Yachiru since he'd missed the last of his education. Zaraki had arranged for a tutor to come get him ready to take the tests he needed to get his graduation.

This day, it was a cool Wednesday in September. Ichigo was up early preparing breakfast for Yachiru and Zaraki. Yachiru would be going to school and leave them alone for the rest of the day. Ichigo had been discussing his relationship with Zaraki with his therapist and he told her that he wanted to take the next step with him finally. He felt like he was comfortable with the thought of becoming intimate with another person again. His mind no longer spun out of control at the mere thought of doing things with another person, and he believed he loved Zaraki. Zaraki likewise expressed affection and love toward him as well. It was time, he felt.

"Morning, Yachiru," Ichigo said as the younger girl as she wandered into the small kitchen.

"Hey, Ichi, what's for breakfast today?" she asked with a yawn as she sat down.

"I made omelets for us with spinach and cheese," he said as he sat a plate down. "Is Kenni on his way?" he asked.

"Yeah, he was in the bathroom when I came out," she said and started eating.

Ichigo sat down a plate for Zaraki and one for himself but he finished cleaning the kitchen while he waited for him to come out. He was washing the pan when he felt the presence behind him and felt him place hands on his shoulder and kiss the top of his head.

"Morning," Ichigo said, turning around and smiling at him. "I made omelets this morning. I've been practicing from that western foods cookbook you bought me."

"That's good, can't wait to try it," Zaraki said and pushed Ichigo toward the table.

Zaraki still tended to take control of him, but it was done in such a way that Ichigo enjoyed the constant attention that it gave him. He liked to be able to let go of himself for a little while and let him take over worrying about things for a while. It was comforting. It had taken him almost two months before he'd go without the collar; now he settled for a choker style necklace that had a plain silver chain. It, like letting go of control for a while, felt comfortable. It reassured him.

They both sat down to eat. Zaraki rarely talked as they had meals, and that was okay with Ichigo. He still wasn't the most comfortable with idle chatter. Yachiru was reading a text book while she ate. She finished and checked the time.

"Well, gotta go, you two have a good day. Are you going to try to go to the market today again?" she asked.

Ichigo swallowed hard and nodded. "Attempt number three. Maybe I'll be able to get out of the car this time."

"Good luck, Ichi. You can do it." She picked up her bag and took off to catch the bus.

"Do we have to go today?" Ichigo asked with a frown.

"You know the therapist wants you to make one attempt a week. She wants to get you acclimated with being out in the world again," Zaraki responded, finishing his own plate.

Ichigo sighed deeply, remembering that last week he froze when he was about to open the door because a couple came walking by the car. The time before they hadn't even made it to the market before Ichigo insisted they go back home.

"I feel like a failure when I can't do it," he said and ran a hand over his head.

"Don't be that way, babe. You are doing your best and your therapist knows that. You've come a long way in just a few months, remember that. Don't forget how far you've come," Zaraki assured him.

Ichigo took a deep breath and nodded to him. "Okay, we'll try again."

He got up and cleared the dishes, heart hammering in his chest. This was so much harder than anything else. He wanted to do it though. He wanted to be able to do all the things that normal people did. He wanted to be able to go take the bus or a taxi where he wanted to go and not be frightened of all the people around him. He at least didn't have bruises and bandages anymore, and his ankle had healed well. He still walked with a bit of a limp that the doctors said probably wouldn't go away, but it was okay. He was fine with that as long as he had his Kenni.

They got ready, dressed in jeans and t-shirts, and headed to the car. He got into the car and heaved a couple breaths.

"Steady," Zaraki said with a gentle smile as he could manage.

"I know. I'm ready. I'm going to do this today," Ichigo said with a surety to his voice. "I have to do it today."

They drove to the small local market and parked. Ichigo swallowed a lump in his throat and got out of the car. Zaraki came around and offered his hand. Ichigo took it tightly and nodded to him. Together they walked into the small market. It was off hours in the morning, so it wasn't super busy. Still, there were other shoppers around. Ichigo clutched Zaraki's hand tightly as they picked up a cart and started to go down the aisles looking for things to buy.

"Anything you want, babe," Zaraki said with a look toward Ichigo.

"Ooh, okay," he stammered but finally started picking out a few things as they went down further. There was a couple ahead of them, and for a minute, Ichigo balked, but Zaraki squeezed his hand. They passed them without incident and he was glad.

It only took about twenty minutes to go down all the aisles and pick out some groceries and fresh vegetables for dinner that night. To Ichigo it felt like an eternity that he was on display. Even if no one was looking at him, he felt like he was the center of attention. As they were checking out, the checker kept staring at him, and Ichigo kept avoiding looking at her. He knew it was because he had ended up keeping some of the piercings like the gauges in his ears and a couple of the lip rings along with one of the eyebrow piercings. He'd also kept a couple of the industrials in his ears, the nipple piercings, one of the belly button ones, and the tongue piercings. His hair was a bit shaggy and falling to his chin. He swallowed and realized that Zaraki had noticed the stare.

"Yo, you got a problem?" he said finally.

The woman looked up at him. "Um, no, no problem." She tried to resume checking out without saying anything else.

"You keep staring at him. That's pretty damn rude," Zaraki said with an arched brow.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly and looked only at the merchandise she was checking out. "I don't see many people with facial piercings in here."

Ichigo wished that he hadn't said anything because now he felt even more on the spot. He had worried that keeping some of the visible ones might cause some problems, but he didn't think it was that big of a deal. Of course, he was also used to having more than that so taking them all away felt wrong. He looked down, but Zaraki put his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't hide, babe, your choice to have them is just that, and no one has a right to make you feel bad for it. Don't let other people bother you," he said gently.

The woman just kind of stared for a minute then finished bagging the groceries and rang them out. Zaraki carried the groceries with one hand and put the other around Ichigo's shoulders as they exited the store and went to the car. Ichigo got into the car and started breathing hard. He'd done it. He'd actually done it. So did that mean he could do what he wanted to do and initiate something with Kenni? He felt a slight thrill at the thought because it had been frustrating in some ways to wait so long. He had wanted to intiate something sooner but Kenni hadn't wanted to rush things. Well, now today he'd done something he didn't think he could do, so he figured he could do something else he wanted to do.

When they got home, Ichigo put away all the groceries and checked the time. It was just past ten. He smiled and went in the living room to find Zaraki sitting on the sofa looking at a magazine. He swallowed nervously and approached him.

"Kenni, I want to do something intimate." He stood there and waited to see what he said.

Zaraki looked up and blinked at him. "Something intimate? Are you sure you're ready to do something like that?"

"We've been sleeping in the same bed for months. I want to do something more with you. Not because I think I have to, this is because I want to." Ichigo put his hands on his shoulders and smiled at him. "Come on, at least let me use the things I learned in the way I want to and not how someone else tells me to use them."

Zaraki nodded and stood up, letting Ichigo lead him into the bedroom. Ichigo pushed him to sit down on the bed and smiled at him. He leaned forward and kissed his lips gently before it turned into a passionate thing. Kissing they'd done before, but that was as far as they'd gotten.

"I want to show you what I can do, so take off your pants," Ichigo said with a smirk.

"Are you sure about this?" Zaraki asked with a curious look at him.

Ichigo nodded and pulled his t-shirt off. Zaraki unbuttoned and pulled off his jeans. Ichigo dropped to his knees and proceeded to put his piercings to use by his own volition. It didn't take long for him to bring Zaraki over the edge. He came up and smirked at him.

Zaraki gave him an astounded look. "I've never got off that fast," he muttered.

"I told you I was good at it," Ichigo said as he crawled up onto the bed. "Want to continue?"

"If you're sure," Zaraki asked, already becoming hard at the thought. Ichigo smirked and stroked him idly as he undid his own jeans, sliding out of them to lie down beside him.

"There's lube in the nightstand. I ordered it online," Ichigo said with a blush rising to his cheeks as he was nude in front of Zaraki for the first time.

Zaraki nodded and reached over for the bottle. He was most certainly going to do things properly for this. Unlike his previous experiences, Zaraki wanted to make sure this was at Ichigo's pace. He poured some on his fingers and reached down to circle his entrance with his fingers. Ichigo flinched at first but nodded when Zaraki checked to see if he was okay. He gently pressed a finger into him, sliding easily. Ichigo gasped a little and swallowed as he felt good sensations go through his body. Zaraki slipped a second finger into the tightness and thrust his fingers deep, searching for…ah there it was. Ichigo arched a little and started to pant a little as he slipped his fingers against his prostate.

"You still okay?" he asked as he leaned over to kiss Ichigo's lips.

"Fine, yeah," he gasped out as he writhed back on his hand. "I'm okay. Keep going…I can take you."

"Are you sure?" Zaraki asked, knowing that his size was significant as it was in proportion to his height.

"Yeah, please, keep going," he whined and looked up at him with dewy eyes.

Zaraki nodded and pulled his fingers out after a few more minutes of massaging the muscles to make sure they were loosened enough. He'd only done this a couple times, but he remembered that it was a lot different than being with a woman. He moved to kneel between Ichigo's legs and pressed himself against him just slightly.

"Come on," Ichigo begged, looking at him with wide eyes. Zaraki opened the lube bottle and stroked some onto himself to make sure things went smoothly.

"Okay, babe, you got it," he said as he pushed forward, sliding into the tight heat of his body.

Ichigo arched a little as he slowly pushed in to the base, finding that Ichigo took him easily. Ichigo reached up and grabbed him around the neck, pulling him down into a kiss as he began a slow and steady rhythm. Ichigo kept moaning his name, almost like a mantra.

"Kenni, Kenni, faster," he said with a sigh.

Zaraki complied, thrusting faster as he requested. He clutched him tightly to his chest, kissing his neck gently as he could. He felt his body constricting on him and it was a fight to keep from going over again. He continued to hold him and let him cling to him. He was a little glad he'd left his shirt on because otherwise he would have had fingernail scratches all over his back from the tight hold he had.

"Are you going to go soon, Ichi?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, soon…" he panted, his own harness rubbing against their stomachs.

It didn't take long for Ichigo to gasp out again and Zaraki felt his body constrict tightly down on him. He held on for a few more thrusts before he came to his own release. He held onto Ichigo until both of them stopped trembling. He then released him and pulled out and laid down beside him. Ichigo turned over and captured his lips again. Zaraki smirked at him. "You seemed to enjoy yourself."

"Yeah, for the first time in a long time. Thank you for waiting for me so patiently," Ichigo said as he sighed. "But gimme your shirt, I'm all sticky."

Zaraki laughed a little and pulled off the t-shirt so Ichigo could clean himself up. He then tossed it in the clothes basket with a sigh.

Their life together wouldn't be perfect, and there would be times that Ichigo couldn't stand to be touched by anyone. There would be more times that he did want to feel whole again. It didn't take long for him to start to be able to go out in public more and become comfortable when people stared at him for the piercings he'd kept.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Late November 2014

Rukongai Shopping District

A woman with light blonde hair and distinctive eyes of black and gold watched a couple seated in a café as they shopped for Christmas. The couple inside was attracting attention of the people around them, but then, they were unique. The taller, dark haired man had his long black hair tied back. The other one was even more attention grabbing. He had bright orangey red hair and several facial piercings. But the couple didn't seem to be bothered by the attention they gathered.

The woman smiled to herself, tightening her coat. She guessed things were okay. She was glad. She had her information and knew what was going on in Rukongai, but sometimes she just had to see for herself that her beautiful Kuro was okay.