24.

Brrrring. Briiiiiing. Bri—

Beep.

"Hello, children. It's your Papa. I simply wanted to find out how you all were doing. Uncle Gin is also here, as is Momo. Tousen is…a little busy at the moment."

"Good evening, Rukia dear, Ichigo, 'Shiro, Izuru. Oh, and Renji and Uryuu too. Momo wants to say hello as well. Say hello, Momo!"

"…Hello…"

"Pa—Aizen! How did you—" Rukia began, as Ichigo and the others instantly stiffened and looked up from their TV program. Hurriedly she put them on speakerphone.

"It certainly has been lonely around here. We miss you, you know. I miss my little dancing partner."

Rukia blushed and clenched the phone tightly. "I am not yours, Ichimaru."

"And 'Shiro—I know you're there—you and I were starting to get along so well! And it was so nice to have Izuru by my side again. Poor Momo was distraught when you left without her. We even had a picnic planned out with all your favorite foods."

There was a crackle of static as the sound of someone—obviously Gin—sighed dramatically.

"You know as well as I do that we will never return to you. But we will get Momo back."

"We'll see." Aizen chuckled into the phone. "Don't forget about us so soon. We promised we would always be together, remember Ichigo? We would always be one big happy family, together forever. And Papa always keeps his promises. Remember that. Goodnight, now."

"Good night, everyone. Pleasant dreams, Rukia dear. Bye-bye."

The phone went dead.

With the phone still in her hand, Rukia turned to the others, her expression grim.

"We will get Momo back. It's just a matter of time."

And she hung up the phone.

END

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I would like to thank everyone for sticking with this fic as far as it has come. Your reviews have made me work even harder to make One Big Happy Family on par with your expectations. Without your reviews this fic wouldn't be as fun to write.

So, a big thank you to (in no particular order): wallflowerxiii, Chiremae, Artificial Life Creator, MandyFreckles, One Guardian Strawberry, DelMarch, Helen Storks, yume girl 91, Pyrokatt, Twi BOX, death wish girl, AisuHime, liepe, nocturnalchild17, Winx-Soul-Reaper, Sweet Scrifice, Music-Warrior-Nightsong, wynn12, Ichimaru-taicho, aventurninne2, Volital, imisscalvin, Leaf of the Wind, Lira1123, ichirukifan, and anyone else who wants to express their opinion.