Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach; Tite Kubo does. This story, however, is mine.
Maelstrom
Epilogue: 150 Years Later
"So, princess," Byakuya asked quietly as he sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at his now-grown daughter, "does that answer your question?"
Rukia looked back at him with wide, brilliant violet eyes and said nothing for several moments as the story washed over her, before blinking and giving her father a wide smile.
"Yes, father," she replied, "it does. Can I ask you a question?" Rukia mumbled as she settled deeper under her covers, and Byakuya nodded.
"Of course."
"You said you attained your bankai because you loved mother so much and had no choice other than to save her, right?"
"That's right," the Captain said, smiling faintly.
"So, do you think someone who's really, truly in love can do anything?"
Deciding to indulge his daughter, Byakuya's smile widened and he shrugged.
"I don't see why not," he answered, "if their resolve was strong enough."
"Even stand up to the Sogyoku?" Rukia pressed, and Byakuya's calm was almost overturned by the shock that hit him when he heard that word.
"What?"
"The Sogyoku," Rukia repeated, giving her father a smaller version of one of Kuukaku's stares of disbelief at having to repeat herself. "Uncle Kaien told me about it the other day. He said it's the strongest weapon ever made."
"Your point being what, exactly," Byakuya asked, "other than that your uncle has a big mouth and no filter?"
Rukia frowned in exasperation, shocked that it was taking her normally perceptive parent so long to understand her.
"I'm asking if you think someone who loved another person enough could save them from the Sogyoku, father."
"I am aware of that, Rukia," Byakuya parried, "but I fail to see how this is relevant. The odds of anyone you know being executed by the Sogyoku might as well be zero. I'd never let you try something that foolish in any case, least of all for that brat Kurosaki."
"Father!" the young Kuchiki half-shouted, the darkness of the room hiding her blush. "I am not in love with Ichigo!"
"So it's first names now, is it?" Byakuya teased wryly, and Rukia was so stunned by both the implications of that statement and the fact that her father had just teased her that she could do nothing but lie there, mute, while the Kuchiki patriarch vanished in a flash of shunpo. A few moments later, Rukia came back to herself and rolled over onto her side with a huff.
"Boys are such idiots," she mumbled, clutching her ragged stuffed Chappy to her chest and drifting off to sleep at last.
"You," Byakuya said as he rejoined the dinner crowd at the table and pointed to his brother-in-law, "Are forbidden to speak to Rukia for a week."
"That'll be kind of difficult, Kuchiki," Kaien said around a mouthful of sushi, "considering I'm her Lieutenant. Why, what did the little spitfire say now?"
"She told me," the Captain of Sixth Division said icily, "that you told her about the Sogyoku the other day."
"So?" Kuukaku broke in from her place next to Miyako, her new sister-in-law. "I think it's great Rukia's interested in weaponry, Byakuya; I want to be able to spar with at least one of my kids, and Hisana's still as delicate as a freaking cherry blossom."
"A few more weeks with Abarai should knock that right out of her," Kaien broke in, laughing as Byakuya glared at him and catching a thrown piece of sushi in his chopsticks. "Tuna," he commented smugly, "my favorite. Really, brother, you're too kind."
"I hate you," Byakuya growled under his breath, before venting the rest of his anger on a poor piece of octopus.
"I must say, Byakuya," Miyako chimed in from her place, "I still believe you're acting shockingly cavalier considering the quality of male companion your daughters are keeping."
"I have no reason to be concerned," Kuchiki answered calmly, having regained his footing. "Renji is my Lieutenant, and if I cannot keep my eye on him I do not deserve to be a Captain."
"And Ichigo?" Kaien prodded, reveling in his role as antagonist. "How do you plan on keeping Zaraki's Hound at bay, Byakuya?"
Ichigo Kurosaki was the current Fourth Seat of Eleventh Division, and the word going around was that if Yachiru hadn't beaten him to it he could just as easily be the Lieutenant. It was Kuukaku, however, who answered her brother's question with a snort.
"'Hound'?" she repeated derisively. "Give me a break. That kid might have a terrifying level of power, but put him within twenty feet of Rukia and 'Zaraki's Hound' is nothing more than a whimpering puppy.
"Besides, if that Ichigo kid ever tries anything," Kuukaku finished, clenching the hand of the oaken arm that had been her wedding present into a fist, "I'm going to rip that runt a new one, not Byakushi over there."
Kaien laughed hard once again, raising his sake cup in a toast.
"To Renji Abarai and Ichigo Kurosaki," he said theatrically, "the two unluckiest bastards in all of Soul Society!"
"Here, here," Kuukaku chorused, and the clinking of cups and ringing of laughter soon filled the room.
The End
A/N: So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. I know I left some threads dangling at the end there, like where did Ichigo come from in this timeline, but that gives me something to return to if I ever decide to continue this plotline in another story. For now, the tale of how Byakuya and Kuukaku met, fell in love and did many other things besides has been told, and that's what really counts. As always, let me know what you thought, and I hope you enjoyed this story!