AN: Here it is. Last chapter! Phew. I originally didn't intend to make this story so long, and afterward I was scared I wouldn't stay committed enough to finish it. I'm very glad I did though. I want to thank all the people who took the time to leave me a review: you guys rock! Especially the people who reviewed every single chapter. (:

Well, this is the last bit of the story. I hope none of the formatting or words got messed up. Sometimes when I upload things from MS Word to the documents on it messes with some stuff. TT It's not really a chapter (because I wanted 8 official chapters X3 obsessed much) since not much happens, it just shows kind of the beginning of life after all this drama. I hope you enjoy it.

On another note, I posted the last chapter today (July 11th), for a reason: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHUNSUI!

: Afterward – Awakening :

It was warm. Yes, warm. It was warmth that could touch a person at their very soul, or in a soul reaper's case, soul chain. However, it was not hot, not even mildly warm, but nonetheless, it was warmth. No, this feeling wasn't warmth… It was completeness.

Wait, did that make sense? Fragments were being pieced together now, forming reasonable thought. As the grogginess that surrounded one's consciousness in the state of slumber lifted, Nanao felt her mind clear as the sleep gently pried its fingers from her mind.

Eyes still heavy with sleep, she kept them shut as she waited for her brain to catch up and stop pounding inside her skull. All seemed to be in a moderate state of normal. However, there was an unidentified pressure in her chest, and something felt different…

She was feeling slightly sore, though she pinpointed the source of said 'soreness' to be her bandaged leg, where she had been injured several days ago. Yes, several days ago…she thought, mind finally catching up. She experimentally moved her fingers, flexing them a few times to make sure they were still working properly.

Fingers: check.

Legs: slightly sore around the wound, but it's to be expected...check.

Head: pounding but still functional, check.

Taicho: check.

Chest: heavy, but still working… check.

Everything seems to be in— wait… Did I just say—think, 'Kyouraku-taicho?' She rubbed the back of her eyelids with her left hand before opening her eyes a fraction.

Pale sunlight streamed through a window on the opposite wall, indicating that it was just past the time she normally woke. I'm late for work… she thought, feeling no will to return to her monotonous life in the office. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the light. Once the blinding white lights on the edge of her vision had cleared, she slowly turned her head to the right.

She began to wonder if she had possibly been extremely drunk the previous night when she came face to face with a sleeping, and gently snoring, Shunsui. He was sprawled on his chest, one arm draped over her body and the other under the pillow, curled beneath his head. She panicked slightly when she saw he had no shirt on.

Gathering up her courage and blushing furiously, Nanao peeked under the covers. She gave a small sigh when she saw his hakama still hanging around his waist, if just barely.

Her initial reaction would have been, obviously, to put as much distance as she could between herself and the sleeping form next to her, but an extremely large amount of self restraint was put to use as she forced herself to stay still. There's obviously a good explanation for this… Nanao closed her eyes again, finally finding the memories of the events that had taken place during the previous night.

The missing memories of what had transpired the night before hit her like a well-aimed kido spell. Oh, right.

A feeling similar to butterflies yet more pleasant arose in her stomach as she took in the scene set before her. She carefully lifted her head to look at the clock: 6:45. She was late. Surprisingly, she felt that she couldn't care less.

Then again, the world probably did care, even if she didn't. She carefully slid Shunsui's hand off her waist and onto the bed. She watched, amused, as his hand groped around for her until it finally settled on pulling her pillow against his chest. She smiled before quietly walking away from the bed.

Kyouraku Shunsui woke up to a cold bed, which was normal. The thing that was not normal, however, was that this wasn't his bed. Also, this room was way too neat to be his. Ah, this must be Nanao-chan's room, he concluded. Odd… He had always imagined waking up with his Nanao-chan curled up against him.

Shunsui sat up and glanced around, seeing his clothes neatly folded and waiting on the corner of Nanao's desk. He smiled appreciatively; he wouldn't mind waking up like this every morning.

After a moment, Shunsui amended that thought: he wouldn't mind waking up like this every morning with his Nanao-chan.

Arriving late to the office as usual, Shunsui was not surprised to find his diligent lieutenant already working hard on another stack of papers. She didn't glance up as he entered, but he felt her eyes on his back when he turned around to circle the room once before stopping in front of her desk.

"Good morning Nanao-chan!" He sang, leaning over and propping elbows on her desk, his head on his hands.

"Good afternoon, Kyouraku-taicho." She replied, not looking up.

He pouted. "Why so cold this morning?" He asked. "Wake up cold in bed again?" He joked. Her eyes snapped up.

"Actually, I woke up perfectly warm in bed today." She narrowed her eyes, glancing at the door, then the window.

"That's wonderful!" He continued without a second thought. "You should wake up warm everyday—"

"Taicho! None of this is related to what we should be doing," she continued before he could interrupt with some perverted joke, "which is: working on these." She motioned to several stacks of paper.

"Yare, yare." He stood up. "So proper in the office. You weren't so formal last night." He winked at her as she blushed.

"That's enough, thank you taicho." She replied curtly. "Please take these forms regarding the upcoming war and sign them." She held up a large and rather intimidating stack of papers. He took them from her, making sure to brush his hands against hers. She twitched slightly, but then quickly turned and buried herself back into her work.

Several grueling hours later, Shunsui returned to her desk to drop the finished forms in her completed pile. She looked up, shock briefly crossing her face, before returning her attention to the paper before her.

"Nanao-chan," his voice sounded behind her and she made sure not to give any implication that he had taken her by surprise, "you shouldn't work so long; it could be hazardous to your health."

"Notice, Taicho, that it was my leg that was injured, not my wrist or my fingers." She rolled her eyes, though the edge on her voice was gone.

"Nanao, I'm giving you an eight second warning." Shunsui said, placing his hands on her waist. "I'm about to pick you up and whisk you away to dinner."

She put her pen down, setting the last form on top of the pile. "Oh really, Shunsui?" She asked with a smile on her face.

"Yes, my dear." He whispered in her ear. "After that, I plan on returning to your quarters for some unfinished business." He gave her a cocky smile.

"I think not." She said, turning around to face him. She smiled as his face dropped into a frown, placing a short kiss on his lips. "We'll be going to your quarters tonight." She watched as a mischievous twinkle entered his eye.

"Even better!" He swept her up in his arms, bringing his face down to hers again. "Your bed is too small for what I had planned anyways." With that, he shunpoed away, leaving the office behind

Outside, Matsumoto turned to Ukitake with a smug grin on her face. Ukitake groaned and buried his head in his hands, though she didn't miss the smile on his face. Though he was happy that Shunsui and Nanao had finally gotten together, he had hoped for at least a few more days.

"I told you." She said happily, clapping her hands together.

Ukitake looked up at her in response. "How much do I owe you?" He asked hesitantly. The smiling blonde took out a sheet of paper from inside her gi and handed it to him. "I'm almost scared to look." He joked nervously.

"Well when you do decide to… there's the total." She said as he took the paper from her. Ukitake sighed before peeking at the sum out of the corner of his eye. His eyes widened slightly with shock. Wow, money builds up fast over time…

Ukitake smiled as they stood up to leave their positions in the bushes. "You know… I've never lost a bet when it comes to my best friend… But, I suppose, there's a first for everything."

: End :

End Note: Gotta love the cliché ending and all. Hope you enjoyed my story. Sorry if it didn't live up to expectations or anything. I've been reading over some of the earlier chapters and I think I might go back and fix some of them up a bit. I don't mean change them completely, just some of the wording and what-not. Heh.

Regardless, please drop me a review and tell me what you think. Love, hate, mistake, ANYTHING you'd like to point out, feel free to. (: I'd love to make it to 100 reviews. Officially, this is my first chaptered story on but I hope to write more in the future. Well, that's about it.

Thanks again, I had a great time writing this.