"Narrator?" Kiriumi looked around for the procrastinating woman, but could find her nowhere. "Where the hell is she hiding now?"

Urghhh…

Kiriumi whipped out her sword and stared wide eyed at the Narrator, who had turned into a zombie. "What happened to you?"

My readers who are all ready to maim me won't do so if they think I'm dead. So from now on I'm going to pretend to be a zombie. It's fool proof!

Holding the sleeping infant, Kiriumi stared listlessly out of the window into the red sky. All week she could feel the hole in her heart throbbing; she never even got the chance to hold her baby girl. "I can't think like his." She sighed, caressing the cheek of Kenichi.

The time was coming. The night was closing in, which meant that very soon she would be facing Hitomi once more.

And she wouldn't be leaving without her little girl.

"Kiriumi." Kenpachi's voice was soothing to the troubled mother. Placing his hand on her shoulder he looked down at the child and his lover. "We gotta go."

Standing to face her captain, Kiriumi met his visible eye. "Kenpachi, I've realized what needs to be done." Lowering her eyes she met eyes with her little boy. Through those eyes she could tell that he knew something was going on. "I don't want to kill her. I don't. But I will if I have to."

"Kiri…" Kenpachi started, but she held up her hand to silence him.

"I know, Kenpachi." Leaning her head against his strong chest, she sighed. "I just need to know that you'll let me do what I need to do, even if things look bad."

Somehow he'd known that she'd be asking something like that. "I understand." It was true, he did understand. This was going to be her moment, and no one could take that from her.

"Thank you." Kiriumi smiled as she leaned up to place a gentle kiss on his lips. "I love you, Kenpachi."

Softly he brushed her bangs away from her eyes and placed his forehead against hers. "Love you, Kiriumi."

A quiet coo was heard from between the two of them. Snuggling Kenichi closely, his mother softly kissed his cheek. "I love you too, Kenichi."

The door slid open, drawing the incomplete looked at Ikkaku and Yumichika. "Time to go, you three." Yumichika said, reaching out to take Kenichi.

Kiriumi gently passed the infant to her dear friend. "You two know I trust you both completely. And right now, I am relying on the two of you to keep him safe."

Ikkaku meaningfully placed his hand on her shoulder. "We will. I promise."

Slowly walking the empty streets of Karakura Town, Kiriumi kept a hand on Hoshiyabun. Kenpachi followed at a safe distance, preparing himself for anything. Ikkaku and Yumichika also remained diligent; Urahara agreed to allow them to stay at his shop to hide Kenichi.

"Hitomi-chan, I'm here! Let me see my child now!" Kiriumi called, having returned to the place where she'd first reunited with Hitomi.

"Getting demanding now?" Hitomi glowered, holding the child in one hand and a sword in the other.

Hesitantly the new mother released her hold on Hoshiyabun. "I know that you don't want to hurt her. Just hand me my child. I will give her to her father and we can talk about this."

"You think I'm that stupid?" Hitomi cried, holding her sword up to Kiriumi's throat. "No, this won't be over until you're dead!"

The young child in her arms shrieked when she felt the presence of her mother.

Swiftly unsheathing Hoshiyabun, Kiriumi deflected the thrown sword. "Why did it come to this?" Despite the awkwardness of holding the child, Hitomi still found ways to attack using her fists. Kiriumi, fearing she would accidentally harm her baby girl, threw Hoshiyabun to the ground and used her forearms to take all the attacks. "Don't you remember? All the time you spent raising me? Hitomi-chan, please tell me you haven't forgotten everything!"

Stopping the barrage, Hitomi placed her hand to her head. All these memories she still had were too strong. "You were little..." She could see a little Kiriumi, always smiling and affectionate. The memory of Kiriumi's first love and heart break came back to her. Even the day she left, when she cried and promised to visit again and again. "But you left us!"

"I came back!" Kiriumi pressed, placing her hand over her heart. "I wanted so much to see you all again, but I didn't realize what had happened! When I got there everyone was dead already. It wasn't my fault!"

"That's a lie! It has to be!" The distraught woman continued cradling the infant carefully as she lunged at Kiriumi once more.

Seeing an opening the fourth seat dove for her weapon. Hitomi spun around just in time to feel Hoshiyabun thrust through her stomach. "I'm so sorry…" Kiriumi began to tear as she held Hitomi and her child as Hitomi sank to ground, blood dripping from her lips. "I want you to know that I never wanted this to happen."

"I know…" Hitomi looked up at her old friend, loosing feeling to her lower body. "I can see clearly now." More blood flew from her mouth as she coughed. "Kiriumi…I'm so-"

"Shh…" Kiriumi smiled sadly as she hugged her dying friend closer. "I know. You are still very dear to me, Hitomi-chan."

"You will be a wonderful mother…I love you…"

A choked sob escaped her lips as she lowered her dead friend to the floor. Holding her baby girl close Kiriumi continued to cry.

Kenpachi approached his lover and daughter and kneeled down next to them, wrapping his strong arms around the crying woman. "Come on, Kiri. It's time to go home."

The calm of the early morning filled the eleventh division. The large captain of the division slept soundly, snugly holding his wife as he did so. The peace was quickly interrupted, however, when the door slammed open and two energetic children dashed into the room and launched themselves onto the bed. "Kiri!" The girl cried, hopping up and down on the bed. "Time to wake up!"

The boy also hopped on the bed, instead trying to push his father off of it. "You too, Kenpachi!"

Lazily Kiriumi swatted at the two on the bed, slowly opening her eyes. "It's so early…" Taking hold of her little girl, she snuggled the struggling child. "Oh, is Hitomi-chan afraid of snuggles from me?"

The little girl shrieked in playful excitement. "You gotta wake up now!"

"C'mon, Kenpachi," Kiriumi smiled, "You can't leave me to take on the two of them by myself!"

Kenichi jumped over his father and landed on his mother and sister. "Let's get her, 'Tomi-chan!" The two children then began to playfully tickle their mother while she attempted to wrestle the two into submission.

Suddenly Hitomi was picked up by her collar by the large man who was now lazily opening his eyes. "Well, I got one." Kenpachi couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips as the small girl struggled wildly.

"Now this is a fair fight!" Kiriumi laughed as she pinned down the young boy that continued to wrestle against his mother. Once the two children had been detained, the mother looked at her husband. "So what do you think we should do now, Kenpachi?"

"I say we put 'em to work." The captain grinned, watching the kids' faces scrunch up.

"What a grand idea!" She laughed, taking her sun and setting him on the floor. "I'm going to get started on breakfast, and I want you guys to wake up everyone in the division and tell them that taichō has ordered everyone to run laps around the division."

"Yes, Kiri!" The two chimed running off to do as they'd been ordered.

Lazily rolling out of bed, Kiriumi dressed for the day and went off to the kitchen. Surprisingly the kitchen was already occupied by Ikkaku and his girlfriend Majimeko. "Good morning, you two." She greeted, heading over to the stove to start breakfast.

Maji smiled sweetly, pulling her hand away from Ikkaku's. The poor girl was always very nervous in the eleventh division, and she seemed even more so in front of Kiriumi. The girl from the fourth division approached Kiriumi and smiled shyly. "Is there anything I can do to help, Unohana-san?"

"Please, Majimeko-san, call me Kiriumi." The chef smiled. "And if you'd like you're more than welcome to begin chopping vegetables for an omlette."

As Maji complied, Yachiru sauntered into the room. "Hey, Kiri!" The lieutenant had grown much in the years that had passed. No longer did she look like a little child, but now she appeared to be a blossoming young woman. "So what's going on this morning? Where are Hitomi-chan and Kenichi-kun?"

"Is that a hint that you're bored?" Kiriumi smiled, handing a large mass of eggs to the girl and very large bowl. "I've got some eggs that need cracking. And the children are waking everyone in the division."

"So here's where everyone is at!" Yumichika smiled brightly as he joined the group in the kitchen. "I'm assuming everyone's being put to work. Shall I begin on the rice?"

Another smile graced her lips as she watched everyone take their places. Ikkaku had gracefully made his way over to where Maji worked on slicing, and picked up a knife to help her out. Everyone member of the family had their roles to play. Two strong arms pulled the distracted fourth seat close to a strongly toned chest. "So what's left for us?"

Spinning to face her husband, Kiriumi smiled brightly and stood up on her toes to place a loving kiss on his lips. "Honestly, there really isn't much. I figured I'd fry up some meat, if you want to help me with that."

The captain hummed in response as the two walked over to the stove. Kenpachi stood behind his lover, his hands holding her hips as she worked.

When the kids returned to the kitchen they found a feast prepared and set out on the long table. The two took seats on either side of their older sister figure, Yachiru, across the table Kenpachi and Kiriumi sat close, Yumichika sat between them and Ikkaku and Majimeko. Together the family that they were could really shine.

Kiriumi watched her children, her first love and his new love, her darling friend, and her true love and felt the joy filling her. So many years had passed since it all began. So many people had come in and out of her life. The terror of falling in love again, the chaos of having children…It had all made her the woman she was today.

Even the bad things: The war with Aizen, killing Hitomi, that presence that had not been felt again since that day. Everyone still felt a slight bit of unease knowing that there was something out there, but considering how many years it had been since it last appeared, the presence was not often thought of.

The future was what really excited her the most. No one knew what would happen for certain, however, Kiriumi had a good idea. Ikkaku had found the one for him, Yumichika was forever involved in the lives of his friends, Yachiru was growing more and more independent by the day, Kenichi and Hitomi were growing up so quickly too. And Kenpachi. Oh, Kenpachi. The two lovers were as tight as ever; married and still madly in love with each other.

And, though he didn't know it yet, their family was about to expand once again.

Placing a hand on her still barely noticeable baby bump, Kiriumi used her other hand to take Kenpachi's. "Perfect…"

Well, I think that is the best ending I've done yet.

"I approve," Kiriumi smiled happily. "It's been quite a journey, huh?"

That it has. And who knows? We may meet again…