Author's Note:

Hey everyone! This is the last chapter of Pandora's Box, and I want to thank everyone who's come with me along this journey. Pandora's Box started as a quick gift-fic for IchiNaruSunshine, and soon evolved into the novel-length story that you all read. I never thought that would happen, or that so many of you would enjoy it, so thank you all! Major thanks to those who reviewed, followed, or favorited (Akrximay, Guest, Doubleblade Miriko, Junichiblue, and Soulmore, thank you for your reviews on the last chapter), but also major thanks to everyone who's been reading along silently. You are all awesome, and the reason I keep writing!

In other news, the M-rated oneshot I promised you all is up, under the name Pandora's Surprise. Check it out and let me know what you think!

And now, I hope you enjoy the last chapter of Pandora's Box.

Chapter 15: Epilogue

The crooked sign above the shoten, visible only to those with a sufficient amount of spiritual pressure, read 'Otherworld Embassy.' It had been painstakingly hand-painted by Ururu, but the paint job had been blistered by a stray cero within a week of completion, so it now looked like it had acquired a strange case of boils. The tail of the 'y' was also missing, having been chopped off by a bored Zaraki attempting to cajole Ichigo into a fight. According to Rangiku, there was now a running bet in the Soul Society concerning how long the sign lasted; most odds put its lifespan as less than three months.

Grimmjow had burst out laughing the first time he saw it, but now he merely cocked an eyebrow as they passed under it. "Wonder what Hat and Clogs wants now?"

Ichigo snorted, secretly amused by the way the espada had adopted his nickname for Urahara. "No idea." He ran his fingers through his already-messy hair, tangling it further. "Hopefully it's not as annoying as the last job, though. If I never see a desert sand worm again, it'll be too soon." The damn things multiplied like hydra heads – every time he chopped them apart, the pieces morphed into two more worms. He and Grimmjow had eventually resorted to a combination of cero and getsuga tensho to quell the rapidly-growing horde, which had left them covered in noxious worm guts. It was not an experience Ichigo was eager to repeat.

A grimace twisted Grimmjow's lips. "Next time, we're bringing one of those things back with us so he can see how he likes them," he grumbled. "Fuck 'improving shinigami/hollow relations' and 'valuable service for the community,' anyway."

"You don't really mean that," Ichigo retorted, pushing open the door to the back storeroom. The small space had been cleared out, renovated, and retrofitted with a host of kido spells to serve as the focal point for the new embassy.

"Don't mean what?" Rukia stood just inside the doorway, hands propped on her hips. When her eyes fell on Grimmjow, she scowled. "Still here?" The hostility in her tone was unmistakable – she'd never quite forgiven Grimmjow for almost killing both her and Ichigo.

The espada grinned insouciantly and prowled forward until he stood nose-to-nose with Rukia. "You got a problem with that, sweetheart?" he drawled.

Rukia glared up at him fearlessly, reiatsu boiling around her. "First," she bit out, "I'm not your sweetheart. Second…" She placed a palm on his chest and shoved him backwards. "Get out of my face!"

Before Grimmjow could retort, no doubt escalating the conflict, Urahara hurried into the room. "Oh good, you're…" He cut himself off as he took in the tension swirling through the room, then sighed. "Children, children, don't squabble," he chided, snapping open his fan and fluttering it in front of his face. "I swear, you're as bad as Jinta and Ururu sometimes."

Grimmjow smirked. "Who are you calling a child?" he challenged, taking a step towards Urahara with eyes gleaming.

"You're in fine form today," Ichigo muttered, casting a halfhearted glare at Grimmjow's back. The espada was clearly spoiling for a fight. While he usually had no problem with that – a blush spread across his face as he recalled just what their last fight had turned into – now was not the time.

Or place. The majority of the shinigami world remained oblivious to their unconventional relationship, and Ichigo was determined to keep it that way. Urahara and Yoruichi knew, of course, and Ichigo suspected that both Juushiro and Shunsui had inklings as well, but no one else had guessed yet. To the bulk of the shinigami, Grimmjow was simply an ally who was frequently found sparring with Ichigo, which was how Ichigo liked it.

He cast a dubious glance at Rukia, who was now arguing vociferously with both Grimmjow and Urahara. She would probably take the news the worst, he thought, but there would be plenty of shinigami who objected to the liaison. Never mind that he was basically half hollow, while Grimmjow was part shinigami – the hole in Grimmjow's stomach was all they needed to convict him, in their minds.

Urahara's current project might go some distance towards lessening that prejudice, though. The Otherworld Embassy had been formed with the express intent to formalize relations between hollows and shinigami, as well as other magical races like the Quincy. Head Captain Yamamoto had even grudgingly given it his blessing, though he'd threatened to shut the whole thing down the first time word of a problem with it reached his ears.

Thus Urahara's need for Ichigo and Grimmjow. Yamamoto apparently expected the embassy to deal with everything from hollow predation to Quincy/shinigami territorial disputes, which was far beyond its current capabilities. Urahara could smooth over many problems, but he couldn't be everywhere at once, and Yoruichi wasn't exactly the diplomatic type. Shunsui and Juushiro were conspiring to conceal the most problematic reports, but they couldn't do that forever. So when situations arose – like, say, a hollow clan being driven out of their territory by a sudden infestation of sand worms, forcing them to hunt for prey in the living world – Urahara sent Ichigo and Grimmjow to deal with it.

Thus far, Ichigo had very few complaints. The incidents gave him a chance to get his blood flowing, and proved a welcome distraction from studying, but didn't interfere too much with his schoolwork. He was even passing calculus again, thanks to patient tutoring from Orihime. The troublemakers were generally strong enough to give him a proper workout, as well, while the bounties provided a decent amount of pocket money. All in all, it was a pretty enjoyable job.

He stole a glance at Grimmjow's butt and blushed. And, well, the perks were excellent.

Grimmjow glanced over his shoulder and smirked. "Come on, Ichigo, join the discussion!" His grin widened. "Urahara was just explaining why it's better for all of us if we get along."

"Explaining?" Ichigo asked dubiously. From what he had heard, 'lecturing' would be a better verb. Though he happened to agree with Urahara's basic premise, it was not an argument he was eager to join.

The former captain sighed. "I really shouldn't need to go over this again," he pointed out smoothly. "Unless you want the shinigami and arrancar to return a perpetual state of war, the success of this embassy is critical, and cannot be accomplished without your full cooperation. Squabbling like children…" He tapped his closed fan on his palm. "Let's just say, it's counterproductive. Besides…" He tipped his head to one side, then shrugged. "Never mind."

Rukia scowled at him. "What?" she demanded, tapping her foot irritably.

Instead of answering, Urahara smiled urbanely. "You'll see soon enough," he promised. "Right now, let's adjourn to my lab; there are some things I want to show you."

As they all traipsed down the narrow stairwell, Grimmjow nudged Ichigo with his shoulder. "Still think this is a good idea?" he whispered, breath stirring the teen's messy hair.

Ichigo glanced over his shoulder at the espada, who stood just a bit too close for friendly conversation, and rolled his eyes. "Yes, obviously, or we wouldn't be here," he muttered, keenly aware of his lover's proximity.

Amusement flavored Grimmjow's tone as he purred, "Fine, but I can think of far better things to be doing." He ran a finger down the back of Ichigo's neck and snickered as the teen squirmed. "Can't you?"

"I…"

"Are you guys coming or not?" Rukia stood at the bottom of the stairs, hands propped on her hips.

Ichigo jumped and hastily pulled away from Grimmjow. "Yeah, we're coming, we're coming," he called down, trotting down the stairs two at a time. As Rukia turned away, he cast a semi-irritated glare over his shoulder at Grimmjow, who smirked back unrepentantly.

That smirk quickly turned to a frown as they reached the bottom of the stairs and a familiar voice met their ears. "What the hell is he doing here?" Grimmjow demanded, hand reaching for the sword on his hip.

Urahara smiled urbanely. "Ichigo, Grimmjow, I believe you already know Marrok. Rukia, may I introduce you to Marrok Serayan, formerly of Aizen's army?"

The hulking arrancar, who had been sitting at the workbench next to Yoruichi, rose to his feet. "It is a pleasure to meet you," he intoned, offering the diminutive shinigami a bow. The injuries caused by Arietta's poison and Kinderras's sai had healed into livid pink scars, giving him an almost monstrous air, but his amber eyes were as placid as ever.

Grimmjow scowled. "Again, what the hell is he doing here?" he enunciated, teeth bared.

Urahara lifted an eyebrow. "Marrok is our guest," he replied, a touch of reprimand in his tone. "Play nice." As Grimmjow opened his mouth, the former captain held up a hand. "As for your question, Marrok has agreed to be one of the first arrancar ambassadors." A smile flickered over his lips. "Nelliel offered, but we felt that her, ah, unique talents would be better suited elsewhere. I believe she and Yachiru have struck up a friendship; I believe Nelliel will serve as a prime example of the fact that not all arrancar are dangerous."

"And you think letting her run around with Yachiru will prove that?" Rukia demanded. "What happens when they blow up half of the Seireitei?"

Ichigo had to agree with her. In her childlike form, Nel was reasonably harmless, but Yachiru was a force of nature, and both, despite their looks, were deadly fighters. There were more than a few shinigami who were bound to react badly to the sight of an arrancar, even a young one – what would happen if they attacked? Rank and file shinigami had less than no chance against a lieutenant and the former tercera espada. And if the Eleventh comes to the aid of their lieutenant… Not that Yachiru would need the help, but the fighters of the Eleventh were hardly likely to turn down an opportunity for mayhem. He could easily see it turning into a total shitshow.

He cleared his throat. "Ah, Hat and Clogs, are you sure that's a good idea?" Massive destruction wouldn't exactly endear the arrancar to the shinigami, after all.

Urahara fluttered his fan in front of his face. "Both Nel and Yachiru assure me that they'll be on their best behavior," he informed Ichigo, lips twitching. "Besides, business for the construction industry has been slow lately."

Ichigo groaned. "You're planning on Nel getting attacked, aren't you?" he accused. He had no idea why Urahara would want that to happen, but such a plan had the eccentric scientist's fingerprints all over it.

Urahara shrugged. "I can hardly predict or control what the hotheads among the shinigami do or do not do," he replied smoothly.

"Actually, yes, you can," Ichigo muttered, cradling his head in his hands. The whole embassy scheme had seemed mad enough at the beginning, when it was only the six of them rooting out problematic hollows before the Gotei 13 got wind of them. But now they had a childlike former espada running around the Seireitei, surely causing mayhem and panic, and the new ambassador was an arrancar who'd recently been trying to kill them. What would Urahara come up with next?

Urahara chose to ignore the subvocal comment. "Anyway, I believe that Marrok will be a great ambassador. His aid was already invaluable in cleaning up that little mess with the college students. You remember the one?"

Grimmjow snorted. "Yeah, that random boy he mauled on live TV. What about it?"

"That boy," Urahara corrected, "was not a random victim. He has just been charged with attempted sexual assault, and it's thanks to Marrok that he didn't succeed." His expression darkened. "His victim has no memory of the attack, as she was under the influence of a heavy dose of rohypnol at the time, but she's recovering as well as can be expected."

Ichigo swallowed hard, feeling an unusual sickness twisting in his gut. That poor girl… "I hope she'll be okay," he murmured.

Yoruichi's mouth was pressed into a thin line and her eyes were frozen chips of ice. "She will be. Her attacker, on the other hand…" She folded her arms across her chest. "Let's just say he won't be doing that again." Pure steel turned her tone into something frightening enough to make both Ichigo and Grimmjow take a step backwards.

Grimmjow was the first to recover his poise. "So, how'd he…" He jerked a thumb at Marrok. "…help with that?"

Urahara tipped his hat down over his eyes, shading his expression. "Well, it turns out that our arrancar friend here has a rather interesting power when in resurrection form. His roar has the intriguing effect of inducing a state of waking nightmares in those without sufficient spiritual pressure to resist it, often leading to vivid hallucinations in those affected."

Yoruichi bared her teeth in a humorless grin. "And, it turns out that those nightmare hallucinations are easily shaped by kido. So we gave that asshole a taste of his own medicine, as it were."

When she paused, Urahara took up the thread again. "It's truly a fascinating effect; I believe it taps into some primal part of the subconscious, which makes it very powerful. We need more data to determine its full effectiveness, but I suspect that it would be capable of incapacitating up to lieutenant-level shinigami." Marrok shifted uncomfortably at that, and Urahara smiled. "Not that we're planning to use it against them! But that would be good information to have."

"You'd better not be planning anything, Hat and Clogs," Ichigo warned, dropping onto a bench and leaning back against the crowded table behind him. He recognized that glint in Urahara's eyes – when the scientist had an intriguing puzzle in mind, all other concerns fell by the wayside.

Urahara pulled his hat lower over his eyes. "Of course not!" A faint smile crossed his lips. "You shouldn't worry so much, Ichigo."

The substitute shinigami rolled his eyes, and Yoruichi smirked. "Don't worry, I'll keep him in line," she promised, casting an unreadable glance at the former captain.

Urahara fluttered his fan in front of his face. "Such suspicion! What did I ever do to deserve that?" When Yoruichi opened her mouth to reply, he added hastily, "No, don't answer that." She laughed, and he smiled at her. "Anyway, I believe my current project will be taking up most of my time, thank you very much."

Rukia frowned as she dropped onto the bench next to Ichigo. "What project?"

"Why, this, of course!" Urahara gestured around the lab. "The Otherworld Embassy!" He folded his fan and strode over to the large screen hanging on the wall. "And, speaking of the embassy…" A tap of a button, and the screen began to flicker to life. "I have some good news."

"Renji!" Ichigo exclaimed.

The redheaded soul reaper waved. "Hey, Ichigo. Hi Rukia." He glanced behind him. "Come on, guys, the connection is live." As more lieutenants stepped into the screen's field of view, Renji grinned. "We're here like you requested, Urahara." He glanced around. "Or, most of us, anyway. The captains have a meeting, Yachiru is terrorizing the Twelfth, and Nanao is on some errand for Shunsui, but everyone else is here."

A smile spread across Ichigo's face as he stared at the collection of soul reapers. Rangiku, eyes lidded, leaned on Ikkaku as he argued with Yumichika, while Shuuhei and Kira watched with amusement. The sound quality wasn't high enough for Ichigo to make out all of what Yumichika was saying, but it appeared to be something about the proper use of glitter.

Renji rolled his eyes and jabbed Ikkaku in the side. "Hey, moron, shut up! You're on the screen now!"

Ikkaku snorted, punching Renji in the arm. "What?" He glanced up. "Oh, hey Ichigo. When are you coming back to the Soul Society? Zaraki-taicho still wants a rematch."

Ichigo shuddered. One battle with the battle-crazed captain was enough for him for one lifetime – sparring matches were one thing, but he was fairly sure that Zaraki didn't know the difference between a friendly spar and a death match.

His hollow snickered at him. You could always let me play with him, it suggested. Then, when Ichigo started to blush, it laughed harder. Not like that, though! Ichigo blushed harder.

Luckily for his peace of mind, Urahara intervened before he could come up with a response. "I'm afraid I need Ichigo in top notch condition," he explained, leaning on his cane. "And I'm sure the Eleventh would prefer their captain in one piece, as well."

Yumichika waved a dismissive hand. "Unohana-taicho is a pretty damn good healer, she'd have them back on their feet in no time." He smoothed down the feathers over his eye. "They wouldn't be out for more than a week or so."

The corners of Urahara's lips twitched. "Nevertheless, I don't think that'd be the most efficient use of resources," he replied in a bland tone.

Grimmjow glanced at Ichigo, then at the screen. Ichigo had told the espada stories about most of the shinigami, so he knew who Zaraki was, but he'd only seen the fierce captain during the fight in Hueco Mundo, when he'd been practically dead. Still, he grinned. "If your captain wants a fight, I'd be happy to give him one," he informed Ikkaku, baring his teeth.

The bald lieutenant peered at Grimmjow, then smiled. "I'll let him know."

Ichigo stifled a groan. Letting Zaraki and Grimmjow at each other sounded like a recipe for mayhem – the two would probably destroy half the Seireitei once they got going. He wasn't worried for Grimmjow, precisely; he trusted his lover to hold his own. But he didn't particularly want to see him torn to shreds, either.

Then again, King, don't you think it'd be hot to see the two of them go at it? his hollow murmured slyly. You've never really gotten to watch him fight, but I've seen how you sneak glances at him during your sparring matches…

Ichigo felt heat rising to his cheeks, and quickly did his best to stifle it. Shut it! he snapped, glancing around the room. Thankfully, no one was paying much attention to him, though he did intercept a curious glance from Rukia.

But the petite shinigami had other things on her mind. "Can we get back on task?" she demanded, propping her hands on her hips.

Renji nodded, casting an admonishing glare at Ikkaku. "Yeah, sure." He looked back at the screen. "So, why'd you want us all here, anyway?"

Urahara smiled smoothly. "I have good news for all of you. As of yesterday, we have tentatively concluded negotiations for a treaty between Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society."

Grimmjow burst out laughing. "Treaty? Really? Who the hell were you treating with? We're not like you shinigami, with your government and your laws and your society – we're fucking loners!" He snorted. "I mean, Barragan tried to become king, but he never had more than a couple hundred hollows following him. Even Aizen didn't have everyone, though he sure did get most of us." The former sexta practically snarled the last sentence.

Ichigo noted the omission of Grimmjow's own ambitions to rule, and hid a smile. Maybe his lover had finally decided that those were futile. He couldn't imagine the espada being very good at ruling, anyway; he didn't have the necessary patience.

If Urahara, too, had noticed what Grimmjow didn't say, he didn't mention it. Instead, he leaned on his cane and nodded slowly. "All true, for the most part. However, Harribel assures me that she will do her best to contain her more unruly subjects."

"Harribel?" Grimmjow began to snicker, but then stopped abruptly. "She's… actually, she might be pretty good at that."

Urahara nodded again. "There will still be plenty of work for all of us to do," he warned, gesturing around the room. "Yamamoto-soutaicho will not be happy if this fledgling treaty falls apart and we return to a state of semi-permanent war due to our actions, or lack thereof." He sighed. "Now that we know many hollows are sapient, we cannot keep treating them all like mindless monsters. This treaty is a good step in the right direction."

"Uh…" Renji raised a hand. "But most of them are, well… mindless." He glanced apologetically at Grimmjow and Marrok. "Sorry, but it's true."

Marrok shrugged. "Many of the denizens of Hueco Mundo are no more than animals, it's true. But there are more intelligent ones than you might think."

A variety of expressions passed across the assembled soul reapers' faces. Neither Yoruichi or Urahara showed any sign of surprise, though most of the lieutenants bore various signs of shock. "Really?" Rangiku exclaimed, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

Marrok's bone-covered shoulders lifted in a half shrug. "Well, I don't know the numbers, and we mostly keep to ourselves or our packs, but Aizen had a pretty substantial army, and a lot of them are still alive. And he didn't collect everyone, just the ones nearest him."

When the arrancar paused, Urahara took up the thread. "From what Harribel has informed me, intelligent hollows operate on a form of a tribal system. Hueco Mundo is gigantic, easily as large as the living world; there are hundreds – if not thousands – of tribes out there. She's convinced the ones in her territory to cede the ultimate authority to her, though they'll still maintain their own hierarchies as well." He tapped his fingers on his cane. "Menos-class hollows are significantly more numerous than we have been led to believe." His face and tone were perfectly neutral as he made this pronouncement; it was impossible to tell what he thought of it.

Yumichika lifted an eyebrow. "So, what, these hollows are simply going to peacefully accept this Harribel as their leader." He sniffed delicately. "That sounds unlikely."

"Nevertheless, that is what Harribel assures me. And she is, if not the strongest, then one of the strongest arrancar remaining," Urahara replied calmly.

Grimmjow wrinkled his nose. "Who's stronger? Starrk, obviously, but he's still moping in his tower." He glanced at Ichigo. He'd explained the process of ranking within the espada to the substitute shinigami, and both of them knew that Harribel had more than earned her rank as tercera. Ulquiorra's strength and speed were no match for her water powers, even in his second resurrection state. If Barragan's resurrection hadn't possessed such nasty powers that no one wanted to challenge him, she probably would have been second in the espada ranks, as her spiritual pressure exceeded Barragan's.

"Other than him, I'm not sure," Urahara told him with a shrug. "But we don't know all the hollows out there, and I don't blame Harribel for being chary with information. It wasn't long ago that we were at war, after all."

All of the shinigami winced, and Ichigo bit his lip. The war had taken a toll on all of them, him included, and they were still recovering. It would probably be years before the Gotei 13 was back up to its full strength. And a number of the shinigami bore scars that would never fully heal.

He forced the dark thoughts away. There was no point in mourning what might have been; today was a day for celebrating their current accomplishments. It was…

The strident blare of an alarm startled him out of his thoughts. Grimmjow swore. "What the hell?" On the screen, the shinigami bolted upright, hands reaching for zanpakuto.

Urahara beamed. "Oh good, it works!"

"Hat and clogs…" Ichigo warned, reaching for the substitute shinigami badge on his belt.

Urahara smiled at him. "It's nothing to worry about – or, well, I suppose it is, but we have plenty of warning. The alarm simply means that a garganta to Hueco Mundo has opened, signaling a possible attack."

"So much for your alliance," Grimmjow muttered, rolling his shoulders backwards and flexing his hands. His tone was pessimistic, but a spark of battle-lust flared in his eyes.

Yoruichi snickered. "Hey, we never said you'd have less work," she pointed out, stretching her back. "Harribel can't control all the hollows; this is probably just a mundane incursion. But…" She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "We still need to go check it out."

Urahara turned to face the screen. "We'll fill you in later," he promised, lips twitching at the expressions of disappointment on Renji, Yumichika, and Ikkaku's faces. As they all nodded, albeit reluctantly, he shut off the screen, then turned to face the group in his lab. "Alright, people, this is our first test. Yoruichi?"

The slender shinigami stepped forward. "Marrok, Grimmjow, I want you to take the lead on this. If they're intelligent, capture if possible. Otherwise, dispatch them as efficiently as you can." She glanced over at Rukia. "Your zanpakuto is ice-based, correct?" When the petite shinigami nodded, Yoruichi smiled. "Alright, if the arrancar disable their opponents, trap them in ice. Ichigo, act as backup."

"And what'll you be doing?" Grimmjow drawled, shifting his weight from foot to foot in anticipation of the upcoming violence.

Yoruichi favored him with a feline grin. "Watching to make sure things don't get out of hand," she purred.

Ichigo hid a smile at Grimmjow's outraged expression, which quickly morphed into reluctant acknowledgement. If this was an ordinary hollow attack, everything would go just as planned. But, if it wasn't, Yoruichi and Urahara would be ready to step in, like always. That tendency of theirs had annoyed him for a long time, but he was used to it now, and even acknowledged that it had some value.

Like in situations like this. Urahara's alarm hadn't specified anything about the intruders – they could be anywhere from newborn hollows up to vasto lordes. The former was more likely than the latter, but they didn't want to go in unprepared. Unlike that time with the 'dog' hollow…

His hollow snickered. You two nearly got your asses kicked by a puppy!

Ichigo rolled his eyes. That puppy was a freaking vasto lorde, he pointed out silently. By some freak of evolution, it had ended up looking almost identical to the little hollow animals that ran around the desert, and had somehow managed to conceal its spiritual pressure as well. Ichigo still wasn't sure if its form was a deliberate choice on its part, or if it had simply been unlucky, but the damn thing had nearly torn his head off when they surprised it.

Thankfully, it had proved amenable to talking after their initial misunderstanding was smoothed over – Urahara disapproved of killing potential allies.

"Hey, Ichigo, you coming or what?"

Ichigo glanced up at Grimmjow's words and blushed when he realized that everyone was waiting for him. Hastily pressing his soul reaper badge against his chest, he yanked his gi straight and gave them a sheepish smile. "I'm ready. Let's go!"

As they streamed out of the shoten, Ichigo cast a glance backwards at the sign reading 'Otherworld Embassy.' Peeling paint, boils, and cero burns aside, it had a strange air of hope to it. He smiled. A world without war… what would that be like? His entire life as a shinigami had been spent in combat – what would it be like to finally have peace?

His hollow snorted rudely. You'd be bored silly in days. Now stop being an idiot and hurry up, or they'll leave you behind.

Ichigo grimaced. His hollow was probably right; he'd be bored without any outlet for his energy. But true peace was still a tantalizing prospect – he could always spar, after all. And there would always be monsters to fight.

But the treaty was a major step towards a more peaceful world, and he wasn't about to complain. After all – he stole a glance at Grimmjow's ass and grinned – peace meant more time for fun.

And he had plenty of plans for how to enjoy it.