Epilogue

The rain was perpetual, it poured down endlessly to darken the surroundings into a misery gray. Ichigo watched as droplets formed on the edge of his umbrella, becoming burdened with the weight of accumulation, before they fell from the edge to splash onto his already sopping sneakers. It really was a miserable day.

He hurried down the darkening path, pulling the collar of his shirt in more tightly to try to keep out the cold wind that was tearing through his clothes. Yet at the same time he felt slightly comforted by the rain, as if the world were being washed clean again, like a fresh page being smoothed down before the pen begins to tattoo its mark upon the surface. The idea of things being refreshed was so appealing and it seemed to apply so readily to his life.

It had been two years since the events at Hueco Mondo and the war with Aizen, and though it didn't sound like an overly long period of time, to Ichigo it felt like a different life. Things had settled back so easily into their regular patterns that sometimes it felt like his mission with Rukia, Renji, Chad and Uryuu had all been a dream. But he only had to look into Orihime's eyes to know that it had been all too real. He only had to see the lining of grief that kept her shoulders stiff and her smile slightly crooked to remember what those events had cost them.

Irony struck Ichigo as he rounded the next bend on the esplanade and walked into a still frame of his thoughts. Had thinking about Inoue summoned her to him? Ichigo laughed mirthlessly under his breath. Perhaps it was just that nuisance of a thing called fate acting on his behalf again. But he wasn't ungrateful as he turned and began walking towards the red head, just frightened by the reminder that so much was out of his control.

Orihime obviously hadn't seen him coming for she stood looking up at the tree before her resolutely, oblivious that there was anything else around her. Ichigo noted that she was soaked through from the rain and as he wandered why he noticed the bright splash of yellow within the tree. He smiled at the snagged umbrella, the daisy pattern made it obvious whom it belonged to.

He had expected her to notice his steady approach but even when Ichigo was only a few feet away Orihime remained perfectly still. He noticed with a pang of regret that her eyes weren't really looking at her caught umbrella, he knew that they were seeing a place he could never hope to see. Her eyes were straying from this world, as he had often caught them doing since Hueco Mondo, peering into a time and place with her mind that her body simply couldn't follow. Ichigo also knew that the wetness on her cheeks was not entirely at fault from the rain either.

He found these moments so hard, he would more gladly have faced off with a wayward hollow than have to witness that pillar of grief that Inoue carried around break through her coping charade. It broke his heart every time he had to acknowledge that though he had fought so hard to bring her back a part of her heart was still trapped in that lifeless place, still caught in the gaze of a pair of teal eyes.

As if called, Inoue's head suddenly jolted back and her eyes began to focus again. She turned to face Ichigo with a surprised look as if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Oh…Kurosaki-kun, you startled me."

Ichigo smiled away the pain from his eyes. "Sorry Inoue, but I thought that you might have needed some help with the escapee." Orihime's gaze followed his hand as he motioned towards the umbrella. For a moment she looked at the caught object with confusion and without comprehension.

"Oh of course! I was walking along when the wind snatched my umbrella right out of my hands, the tree caught it but it's up too high for me to reach." Orihime told him with a lot of exaggerated hand movements.

Ichigo handed her his own umbrella wordlessly before he sprung up from the ground, his long limbs allowing him to reach the lowest branch with ease. He plucked the wilful umbrella from the foliage and dropped down swiftly, the rain droplets barely having time to fall from the leaves before he had handed back Inoue's umbrella.

But as the protective canopy of the umbrella left him Ichigo was rewarded with a shower of dislodged rain drops. He grimaced as the water slid from the crown of his head to trickle down the back of his shirt. He stood there awkwardly, feeling like a drowned cat, when suddenly Inoue burst out laughing.

Ichigo's mouth dropped in shock as the umbrella's fell from Orihime's hands so that she could clutch at her sides as her body shook with laughter.

"ha-ha-ha I am so sorry Kurosaki but…ha-ha you looked so funny just now!" Ichigo's shock turned to relief as he watched the small girl laugh whole heartedly; it had been a sight he had longed to see for so long.

Inoue's giggles were cut off by a sneeze and as she sniffled loudly they both remembered their circumstances. "I suppose we had better get out of this rain before we both catch our deaths." Ichigo said, bending hesitantly to retrieve his dropped umbrella. There was a moment of unease as Inoue moved to do the same and Ichigo was not entirely sure what to say next.

"Um…if you don't mind Kurosaki-kun, my home is only just two blocks over if you wanted to get dry there before you went home. After all, your place is a lot further than mine and it's a long way to walk when you're wet."

"Ah, really Inoue? You wouldn't mind?"

"O-of course not!"

Ichigo walked into step beside Orihime, still surprised by the invitation. He hadn't been to her place since they had returned her there two years ago. And when they arrived it was exactly how he remembered it. He wasn't sure why that shocked him, Inoue wasn't a messy person. The furniture of her apartment was neatly arranged and the familiarity comforted him.

They began stripping off the outer layers of their clothes, discarding wet scarves and jackets to hang unceremoniously from the front railing outside the door. As Ichigo turned back to Inoue, who was busying herself with boiling water in the kitchen, he took stock of her thinner frame. She had lost a bit of wait around legs and arms and even her chest, probably from the shock she had experienced from returning and also the recovery. She had returned in pretty bad shape, it angered Ichigo just remembering the way she had been.

He had wanted to kill Grimmjow, not just because of their foolish rivalry, but because he had let Inoue follow after the Espada trusting that she would be alright, yet she had returned bloody and wounded in the arms of that filth. If she hadn't been in his arms, Ichigo would have cut down Grimmjow within a heart beat and torn him to pieces. But instead the hollow had walked right up to him and held her out without even a hesitation. He had taken Inoue's battered body, snarling at the bastard the whole time.

He had spoken then, but had never looked Ichigo in the eye. The Espada had kept his gaze trained on Inoue's face the entire time, seemingly impassive.

"You had better hurry Shinigami, the wound is not fatal but she is in very real danger of bleeding to death."

"You bastard! You dare to tell me that after giving her this wound? I should kill you right now." Emotion had finally sparked in Grimmjow's eyes and he had turned towards Ichigo threateningly, "You fucking fool! What do you think you came here for huh? You gonna just let her die while you try to settle this? The animosity between us is worth that much to you is it?"

Ichigo had just glared at Grimmjow, caught between pride and emotion. He had clutched Inoue closer to him in answer and a mirthless smile had cracked across Grimmjow's lips.

With simply a movement of his hand the fabric of the Hueco Mondo had been torn, seemingly with thin air, and a gateway was created from this nightmare. He had turned towards the portal but paused, and for reasons that he still did not understand he had turned back to look at Grimmjow and ask, "What do I tell her when she wakes up?"

The next part Ichigo had seen in his dreams many times and knew with certainty that he would never forget it. The Espada had stepped forward and reached out a bloody hand to entwine it amongst the tangled tresses of Inoue's red hair. As he pulled his hand away again, a few bright strands remained twirled around his fingers and he closed his fist to trap them in the safety of his palm. "Tell her; 'If it takes courage to watch someone suffer and die when you have the power to save them then it would be better to be a coward.' And…I am what I am I guess."

When he had told Inoue what Grimmjow had said she had cried, not just a few quiet tears, she had howled and screamed and thrashed until her throat had been too hoarse to do more than sob. He had sat by her the entire time just listening to her cry her heart out. When she had finally calmed down a bit she had looked up at him and smiled, but the mirth had not reached her eyes. She had whispered sadly too him, "I guess we are what we are; a couple of cowards and fools." Ichigo knew that the 'we' Inoue had spoken of was not inclusive of him.

He had tried to accept that something significant had happened between Grimmjow and Inoue, though he could never bring himself to call it 'love'. He had let Inoue be to grieve over whatever it had been she had lost and simply waited, hoping that with time her hurts would heal enough for her to open up to him again.

Ichigo thought of all these things as he stared at the scare that was partially expose from the open collar of Inoue's wet shirt. After she had recovered a bit from the injury he had implored her to use the strength she had gained to 'reject' the wound but she had refused. She had healed slowly without any extra help and had let the scar that Grimmjow had left upon her stay.

"That frown on your face tells me you are thinking about this." Ichigo startled out of his reverie as Inoue spoke, motioning to the rippled scar tissue on her chest. Ichigo knew it was useless to try to deny his thoughts so instead he simply stayed quiet.

To his surprise Inoue began to unbutton the top of her blouse more to expose the pinched flesh. "I know you would prefer it if I rejected the scar completely, but sometimes I am so sure that my time at Hueco Mondo was just a dream I…it is better to have this as a remembrance." She whispered, stroking the scar. "Despite everything I don't want to forget. Those times…they made me who I am today."

"But you are so much sadder than you were before." Ichigo nearly bit off his tongue as the words escaped him. But Inoue just smiled.

"I know sometimes it might seem that way but…really I think I am better than before. I went through life so carefree; my mind was so narrowed by my resolute belief in right and wrong. I understand things so much better now, life is not perfect and things don't come in black and white. Not everything is as beautiful and righteous as I had believed them to be, not even love."

Ichigo went stiff to her words as his mouth began to move unconsciously. "So you don't believe in love anymore?" He looked away from her, afraid of what Inoue might see in his eyes. But soft hands pulled his face towards a pair of gray eyes. "Kurosaki-kun, I never doubted love. I just know that it's not as simple as before, but my heat hasn't gotten any smaller. Sometimes it's so big that all the love I do feel for everyone aches in my chest so strongly and sometimes…" Inoue's words were choked off as a sob rattled within her chest. Ichigo watched as tears pricked the corner of her eyes and he held his breath. "Sometimes I ache because the love I feel it…it needs to be heard by someone but I find myself alone and I…I want so desperately for you to hear it!"

Ichigo couldn't draw breathe. He thought about how still she had been in the park earlier and how her eyes had gone vacant with that lonely look…it couldn't be that…"But you love Grimmjow."

Inoue's tears spilled out over her cheeks at his words but she still smiled, "Yes I did love Grimmjow, and a part of me always will. But that was only one shade of my love. I will remember him always because he was a part of my past but…but he is not my future, Kurosaki-kun…"

The rest of Inoue's words were muffled as Ichigo pulled her into his arms. He pressed his cheek against the crown of her head and squeezed his eyes shut. Her hair was ruffled by his harsh breathing as he inhaled the scent of her. That familiar smell rode through his senses as he marvelled in the warmth of her. He didn't ever want to let her go again.

He smiled as her body was jolted from a sneeze and he reluctantly pulled himself away from her. He kissed her brow as she blushed apologetically. "I-I suppose we still need to get out of these wet clothes."

"Yes, yes we really do."

--

Inoue had been right; it was very different with Kurosaki. He was gentle and quiet. He didn't grab after her with a mad passion, he took his time as if to savour every moment of it. His kisses were soft and whispered across her skin like a silken caress and when she let out a whimper at the first moment he spoke softly into her ear and waited for her. He was completely different, yet no less enjoyable.

When they were finished they lay together immersed in the soft sheets and Inoue took note of how there skin was joined at every interval to curve together in touch. She marvelled at how different two acts of love could be. Was it the same with everybody? Did they love differently?

She smiled at the thought. She liked the idea that the way Kurosaki and her loved each was different from others, it made their love all the more special because it was a different shade of gray.

--

I can't believe it's finished! But that was the epilogue to the end of the story, The previous chapter was supposed to be the 'final' in which Inoue actually dies but in the end I couldn't do it, I just love happy endings too much (even if Grimmjow and Inoue could never be)

Thanks to all who read and comment, you make writing out my fantasies so much more enjoyable. Regards (for the last time) Eia