Author Note: Hello, everyone! We're back! Welcome to the seventh installment of Where Angels Fear to Tread. We hope you enjoy it!

Normal = prose, italics = thoughts or inner conversations.

Warning: Though the main pairing is HitsuKarin, there will be mentions of IchiHime, RenRuki, JintaYuzu, and a whole bunch of other couples. In addition, there will be violence and death and lots and lots of blood. If you don't like, don't read. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)

Chapter Eight: 'Til Death Do Them Part

+++Toushirou+++

I woke to the dawn's weak light creeping in through the flaps of my tent, drowsy yet with sleep and feeling very comfortable in my bed. I nuzzled closer to my pillow, which smelled different—almost sweet, like vanilla and oranges, like—

My eyes snapped open.

Oh.

It smelled like the girl who'd saved my life, who'd lain injured in this bed. It smelled like the warrior-mage who'd looked at me with distrusting eyes, who'd so easily changed her mind just because I'd made her laugh. It smelled like the vampire who'd stopped two elemental spells with nothing but her bare hands, who'd stopped a potential war with one exasperated punch.

It smelled like the woman I was marrying today.

I glowered at my pillows, mildly annoyed. I'd done the exact same thing yesterday, and though I knew logically that I'd have to get used to her scent in my bed, it was a reminder of the actual, tangible things that would change in my life. Things that I'd never really thought about, not until that chance encounter, when "the elder Kurosaki princess" had somehow transformed into "Karin," a girl with dark hair and dark eyes and a grin that made me want to grin back.

A girl who would leave behind everything she'd known to be the wife of a prince she barely knew.

I tossed aside my sheets, getting up to throw water on my face and scowl at my reflection in the mirror above the basin. I'd discovered that there was something to be said for our wedding customs after all—if I'd never met her, if I'd never seen her face before today, the way it was planned, I wouldn't be harboring these feelings of guilt over something I didn't even have any control over. The marriage had to happen, I knew that, she knew that, and we obviously both accepted it.

But still…

Yesterday, I'd gone through the traditional full-day vigil all grooms in Seireitei were supposed to complete—one last day to yourself, before you forever bound yourself to another person. The first part was mostly prayer, meditation, and then spending the afternoon receiving well-wishes and advice from friends. The second part, though, was spent preparing the chambers where you would spend the first night with your beloved. It was usually meant to be romantic, a way to show your wife how much she meant to you, how you would spend the rest of your life thinking not only of yourself, but of her.

I tried completing the task and nearly tore my hair out in frustration, because I realized I didn't know anything about her—not her favorite foods, not the side of the bed she slept on, not anything at all that could possibly make this transition easier for her.

I almost wished I could go back to being sullenly resentful of this marriage, convinced I was the sole martyr for the sake of my country, instead of one of two sacrificial lambs, both of us equally trapped.

I scowled at the wedding robes in the corner of my tent—they were black, the traditional Seireiteian wedding color, the Goddess of the Night's color. Karakurans, however, apparently wore white, the Death God's color, at weddings, and reserved black for funerals. Why that contradictory custom existed was beyond me, but Ayesegawa in particular had been pleased at the contrast that Lady K—that Karin and I would make, especially with our coloring.

"Your Highness?"

I looked up—speak of the demon, and he shall appear. "Come in, Ayesegawa," I said.

The Imperial Familiar entered my tent and bowed respectfully. "I'm here to assist you with your robes." His mouth quirked. "I know it's usually Matsumoto's job, and really, as your personal familiar, she ought to be doing it, especially today of all days. But she gets along best with Princess Orihime and Lady Yuzu, and we felt—"

"It's alright. I understand," I interrupted. I gestured towards the robes. "Well?"

A few minutes later and I was fully dressed, except for a few personal touches. I put on my crown—crafted from silver and diamonds—and reached for my sword.

Ayesegawa cleared his throat.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry. I'm not wearing a sword to my own wedding. I'm not that ignorant of tradition." One thing Seireitei and Karakura had in common was the belief that bringing weapons to the wedding invited strife in the marriage—not to mention wearing a sword in Kurosaki Castle was both an insult to their defenses and an act of aggression all in one.

Instead, I reached for the green silken sash that my scabbard hung on, smoothly removing it and wrapping it around my waist.

"Ah," Ayesegawa said, reaching out to smooth my robes one last time, his eyes on the sash. "I remember when your mother processed through the city on her wedding day, she wore a green scarf. I didn't realize this was the same one. Your father gave it to her, yes?"

I looked at him, surprised. "You remember that?"

He laughed. "I was barely out of toddlerhood at the time, but an imperial wedding isn't an event you forget any time soon. And I think everyone's heard the story of how your mother fell in love with your father when he bandaged a wound of hers with the very tatters of his silken robe, and how she always wore that strip of cloth from that day forth."

I looked down, running my hand over the silk. "Yes. She did." Every single day, without fail, until the day she'd been killed.

If Ayesegawa noticed my sudden shift in mood, he didn't comment. "Are you ready?" he asked instead.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied.

He bowed and left, and I spent a few more minutes, preparing myself for the day ahead.

Could I really do this? Change not just my life, but the life of a girl with a striking smile and eyes like the moonless night, who surely deserved better for a husband than a boy who didn't even know her favorite color?

I spared one last glance in the mirror, saw my mother's eyes staring back at me from my own face, and remembered exactly why I would never see her again, remembered exactly what I swore by the Death God I would do.

Aizen, I swear that I will kill you.

I'd already made one irrevocable vow. What was one more?

For my mother's sake, for Momo's sake, for the sake of everyone I loved, I would do anything, even this.

My resolve set, I strode from my tent, ready to meet my fate.

+++Karin+++

"You can't wear a sword to your own wedding," Yuzu said, exasperated.

"Why not?" I replied mulishly.

She placed her hands on her hips and glared at me. "Because it's bad luck."

I scoffed. "I don't believe in luck, good or bad—we make our own."

"Yeah? Well, if you don't take off that sword, I'll show you how much bad luck I can make for you," Yuzu said, her eyes narrowing threateningly.

The sword came off.

Yuzu smoothed nonexistent wrinkles from the shoulders of my dress as Orihime fiddled with the train and Nel got my veil ready. Each of them wore a dress of deep, bold red, the color of blood and life and vampiric power, though Orihime's was of a slightly brighter hue to signify her status as a Vaizard. Each of them also wore small, tight smiles that did little to hide their tension.

In her chair by the door, Natsuko sat fidgeting. She wore the light yellow robes signifying her status as a young witch in the coven—as she grew older and more powerful, the color would darken accordingly. The stole around her shoulders, black as the Night and recently acquired, showed that despite her youth she was still a priestess of the Goddess. At the moment, however, her normally calm demeanor was shaken, and she kept a tight grip on my bouquet. I could sense her nervously infusing power into the knots she was tying into the ribbon, turning the cloth into an increasingly complex charm as the minutes went by.

Izumi was standing near the window. The scarf she wore to obscure her features was a deep blue, the werewolves' color, and marked with Clan Kuroda's symbols. She was holding a copper lamp, a concession to Seireiteian wedding customs—apparently the first member of the bride's entourage was supposed to hold one and "light the way of the procession," according to Yuzu.

Ururu, sitting cross-legged on the bed, held the white cloth that was our wedding custom, meant to bind husband and wife during the ceremony. The fabric rippled through her hands like a living thing, the only sign that even she wasn't as unaffected as her placid expression might suggest.

Tatsuki, actually clad in a dress for once—black, of course, since Ichigo's Guard always wore black—leaned against the door and absentmindedly played with a knife. Her eyes kept straying to the clock on the wall, and after a few more minutes of fussing, she finally said, "We're gonna be late if you keep her any longer."

Yuzu's hands tightened involuntarily on mine, and her eyes swept over me to look for a flaw, any flaw in my appearance to justify keeping me for a few more seconds. "Wait, I think we should—"

I shook my head. "It's time, Yuzu." I reached out to take the veil from Nel's hands and draped it over the lower half of my face, covering everything from my nose down. I made sure it was secure before picking up the white gold circlet studded with alternating rubies, yellow diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires.

I placed it upon my head, completing the picture of a Karakuran bride of the royal family. Red for vampires, yellow for the witches, green for the humans, blue for the werewolves, and white in honor of the Death God who bound us all together.

I looked solemnly into my own eyes in the mirror. They were my father's eyes, pitch-black and slightly tilted—my uncle's and paternal grandfather's, too. The Kurosaki eyes, my mother used to tell me, had always been made for laughing, especially in the face of danger.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to face my sisters, my friends, my family. "So," I said, deliberately putting a hint of laughter in my voice, "are we ready to get this circus started, or did you just put me through three hours of torture for kicks and giggles?"

Everyone cracked a grin at my words, though Orihime and Yuzu's looked more than a little teary. Grabbing both their hands, I nodded to Tatsuki, who bowed and opened the door, and the three of us walked through it together, the rest of my entourage right behind us.

I walked off to meet my destiny with my friends at my back and my sisters at my side, standing fierce and proud and with my head held high, secure in the knowledge that I would never, ever go into battle alone.

Seireitei, here I come, I thought.

+++Toushirou+++

Karasu's temple to the Goddess of the Night was a grand but surprisingly welcoming building, though apparently it paled in comparison to the Great Temple located in the witches' lands, one of the helpful, elderly priestesses was telling me and my wedding party, which consisted of Hisagi, Madarame, and Prince Ichigo and the male members of his Guard. Matsumoto, Rukia, and Ayesegawa were also accompanying us as we walked through the side passages of the building, detouring through the mass of people currently packed into the pews.

"Can't be helped, of course, considering that it's only a third of the size. Still, I think it's pretty enough, especially what with all the flowers and stuff," Granny Chizuru, as Priestess Yoshida insisted we call her, said. "Whoever thought of the daisies was a genius."

Matsumoto beamed. "Lady Rukia and I suggested it—Princess Orihime was thinking of using just white roses, since that is the official flower of Seireitei, but daisies—"

"Are Karin's favorite flower, yes," Granny Chizuru interrupted. "It was really nice of you to think of that. Thank you, young lady."

Matsumoto blinked, but managed to cover her surprise well. "You're welcome, Granny Chizuru."

Prince Ichigo muttered something in a disgruntled tone, and Granny Chizuru whirled around and banged her staff against his chin. "No complaining! It's your sister's wedding day—the least you could do is try and not be an idiot." She gestured at me. "This young man here looks like he'll make a decent Mr. Kurosaki, so you shouldn't even be complaining that much!"

Matsumoto furrowed her brows. "Mr. Kurosaki?"

Granny Chizuru smacked her forehead. "Oh, right! I forget that everybody else is, uh, what's the word, Ayane?" She turned to her companion, the thus far silent Priestess Yano.

"They're patrilineal," she replied.

"Yeah, that's the word," Granny Chizuru said. "Weird if you ask me."

"So…Karakurans are matrilineal?" Madarame asked, looking confused.

Rukia sighed. Apparently her diplomatic lessons had been ignored by the more battle-focused lieutenant. "No, Madarame, it's just the witches."

"Oh." He looked more closely at Granny Chizuru. "I didn't realize you were a witch."

She waved a hand. "S'alright. It's kind of rude to be constantly reading everybody's aura."

"Yes," Priestess Yano said, shooting a very pointed look at Ichigo and his Guard, who'd been extremely tense all morning. She casually reached over and tied a complicated knot in the sash around Ichigo's waist. "There. That ought to stop you from causing any trouble." She raised a pointed brow at the other boys, and beckoned them to come closer. "That goes for you, too."

Renji, the turned vampire, groaned. "Oh, come on, Granny, we don't need a blocking charm."

Rukia made an interested noise. "Oh! A blocking charm! Most of the few witches in Seireitei aren't capable of making one so quickly," she said, impressed.

Priestess Yano shrugged. "It's mostly age and practice, and it's not like that flimsy thing would hold him back if he really wanted to attack." She leveled her gaze at me, a silent threat, then looked away. "We're nearly to the front, now, so be ready."

"What's with that, anyway?" Granny Chizuru asked. "The girl walks down the aisle to the boy? That's so weird."

Priestess Yano frowned. "Chizu, I know you've been to vampire and human weddings before. It's not unfamiliar to you."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't make it any less weird." She turned to face us, walking backwards easily. "For witches, the boy makes his way to the girl, bringing a gift. The werewolves get to the celebration together, running hand in hand. What I don't get is why vampires and humans make the girl do all the work."

"They could be teaching the boy patience," Yano said dryly.

"Oh! I see!"

Rukia looked absolutely fascinated at their conversation, and I couldn't help but grin a little at her enthusiasm. It was nice to see someone enjoying herself.

Eventually, we reached the front of the temple.

Priestess Yano introduced us to the former high priestess, Sawako Kuronuma, the leader of the Coven, who was currently performing a few last blessings—on us, on the thousands of people gathered here, and on the altar itself. Then she introduced us to the man who will be performing the ceremony, a tall man dressed in flamboyant robes, who was apparently Karin's favorite priest.

Don Kanonji solemnly shook our hands, then insisted we all do a strange little pose "to relax us before the wedding."

Rukia in particular took to it, though everyone but Ichigo eagerly joined in on the Karakurans' part. Shrugging, I did the same, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the whole crowd stand up and join us, laughing.

"Karakurans," Madarame muttered.

"I think it's cute. Crazy, but cute," Hisagi said.

Soon afterwards, Priestess Sawako was gently guiding me over to stand to the left side of the altar, and has me face the door. She signaled Granny Chizuru to lead Rukia, Matsumoto, and Ayesegawa to their seats, while Priestess Yano prodded Ichigo and the others to fall in line behind me. Once they had everyone arranged to their satisfaction, the three witches left and went to sit with the rest of their coven.

"Toushirou," Ichigo said as soon as they were out of earshot.

"I don't recall giving you permission to use my first name," I said, not glancing at him.

Still, I could practically feel his glare burning a hole into the back of my head. "Look," he continued, "I just wanted to say that Karin is one of the strongest people I know, but if you ever hurt her—"

"—we'll burn your country to the ground," the younger Ishida finishes.

"Ah, ah, please, no violence, Lord Madarame, Lord Hisagi. We are merely stating facts, not issuing threats," Kojima, the human familiar—or well, not familiar, he was a noble in his own right and simply descended from familiars—said in response to Hisagi's hiss and Madarame's snarl.

"Doesn't sound like it to me," Madarame growls.

"Well, either way, it is five minutes before the start of a wedding to ensure the alliance of our two countries, so you wouldn't want to do anything drastic, yes?" Kojima said cheerfully.

"It's fine," I said curtly, and sensed Madarame and Hisagi's auras subside. "still, the timing is a little off, isn't it?"

Chad, the werewolves' Clan-Lord, though apparently the werewolves themselves preferred to address him as "Alpha," said, "This is the only time we can speak with you in relative privacy."

"We're standing in front of half your capital city, and you think this is private?" I said, incredulous.

Asano, seemingly the weakest and least-threatening of the bunch, pointed out, "Hey, your First Battalion is over there, with the werewolves sitting behind them and the Vaizards on the other side of the aisle. And nobody can really hear anything right now anyway, so who cares if we threaten—oww, don't step on me, Mizuiro!—ahem, if we 'familiarize you with the facts.' After this, you and Karin are gonna be tied together at the wrists, literally, and our girl hates it when we go all protective on her."

I opened my mouth to angrily reply that my wife would need no protection from me when Madarame said, "Wait, tied together? What's this about? You're going to tie His Imperial Highness up?"

"Wedding custom," Hisagi explained. "Night, you were really zoned out when Hiruzen was giving us the rundown on the culture, huh?"

"They tie people up when they get married?" Madarame repeated. "Goddess, that's barbaric."

"Well, you wear black to weddings!" Asano said petulantly. "That's barbaric, and disrespectful to boot!"

"You wear white! That's worse! That's the color of the Death God!"

"Who's married to the Goddess!"

"Doesn't mean he ought to get invited to freaking weddings!"

"Why, you blasphemous snob!"

"Shut up."

All of us turned to blink at Lady Yoruichi Shihoin, who'd appeared seemingly out of nowhere and was now casually leaning against the altar. "Behave, boys," she said. "We want to end a war, not start it. And all of us had better get used to the differences between us to even have a chance of making this alliance work, so no more arguing."

"Aunt—" Ichigo began.

"I know," she said. "I know. Her wedding day wasn't supposed to be like this. But it is, and we deal with the hand we're dealt. Now, all of you pull yourselves together, or I'll rip out your guts and feed them to the crows."

She sauntered off, her speech concluded.

Madarame whistled in admiration. "Now that's how you issue a threat."

The others apparently agreed, because the fighting stopped and we all settled down as the music started.

It was time.

+++Karin+++

It was time.

"Are you ready, Dad?" I said quietly, my arm cradled in his as we waited in the back of the temple.

Izumi had already stridden down the aisle, holding the lit lamp aloft as soon as the music had begun. Tatsuki had followed her, then Ururu, Natsuko, Nel, Orihime, and then finally Yuzu, who stopped at the doorway to shoot me one last smile and wink.

He laughed, the sound teary. "No, and believe me, I've been preparing myself for this day since you were born. It hasn't worked, obviously."

I smiled at my feet and fiddled with the daisies in my hand before I turned, rose on my toes, and placed a kiss on his cheek. "It's alright, Dad. I'm going to be alright."

"Are you sure? Karin, if you don't want this—"

"—I'd still go through with it anyway," I said firmly. "We need this. Besides, I'm not the only one sacrificing here. Toushirou is, too—he's letting some strange girl be the future mother of his children and sit beside him as empress. It's time I met him halfway."

"I'm sorry," my father said. "You'll never know how sorry I am…"

I shook my head. "Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry about. You're the greatest dad who ever lived." I smiled crookedly. "Besides, you should be happy—you'll finally get those raven-haired grandchildren you always dreamed of. Kurosaki genes ought to trump Hitsugaya ones."

My father grinned, his pitch-black eyes finally lighting again. "That's true," he said. "There's always that to look forward to."

And, with one last kiss pressed to my forehead, we walked down the aisle together.

+++Toushirou+++

"Bloody moon," Madarame said. "Would you take a look at that?"

I said nothing in return, though I wasn't sure that would have even been possible, considering the sight before us.

Karin walked toward me, head held as high as any queen's—white dress, dark hair, pale skin. Ayesegawa had been right: the contrast was stunning.

"That's our girl," Ishida said with quiet pride.

Behind me, I could hear Ichigo swallow.

She and her father eventually reached the front, and I walked down the steps to meet her, hand outstretched. King Isshin, his solemn expression at odds with his people's fond description of his normal demeanor, let go of her reluctantly and stepped away.

She came forward to meet me, her palm sliding smoothly over mine. Her eyes met my gaze over the veil, straightforward and unafraid, and from that point on never looked away.

She held my gaze as her twin, a pretty, slight blonde, came forward to take the flowers—white and yellow daisies—from her hands.

As Don Kanonji began the ceremony, his deep voice reciting the words that would bind us together.

As I said my vows, the words formal and familiar, Seireiteian through and through: "With my hands, I thee hold fast. With my fangs, I thee protect. With my body, I thee worship. With my eyes, I thee reflect. With my heart, I thee adore, always, for now and ever more."

As the First Battalion said the scripted reply as witnesses: "With our eyes, we see. With our ears, we hear. With our hearts, we hold thee to thy words."

As she said her own vows, the words fierce and possessive: "By the light of the stars, I declare you mine, in sickness and in health. By the dark of the night, I claim you for my own, in times of bounty and in times of loss. By the shadows of the moon, I give myself to you, for better and for worse. By the fires of the sun, I swear that I am yours, from this moment on, until death do us part. By the name of the Dark Goddess, by the name of the Burning God, I promise this by all that I am and all that I would be.

As her own people replied, "So mote it be."

As she took the ceremonial knife in hand and sliced a clean, thin cut across her forearm.

As I did the same, the actions well-known, one of the few traditions both our countries shared, and took her hand in mine and pressed our wounds together, blood meeting blood, strength meeting strength, life meeting life.

As her priest tied our other hands together, binding us for one night as we had now been bound for life.

As he declared us husband and wife, the words met with an uncertain, somber silence.

The only time during the entire ceremony that her dark, steady stare had stopped was when she shut her eyes and leant forward, pressing cool, closed lips to mine.

And it was done.

Lady Karin Kurosaki, First Mage of the Night, Second Heir to the Throne, and Princess of Karakura was no more.

In her place stood Crown Princess Karin Hitsugaya, Heir to the Summer Throne, future Lady of the Eastern Realms, and Empress-to-be of Seireitei.

My wife.

Endnote: WOOHOO! We promised you a wedding, and a wedding has been delivered! Wow, they're finally married after eight chapters. Yay! Alright, we're finally moving from Karakura to Seireitei, where stuff REALLY starts going down. But first, we have to get through…DUN-DUN-DUN…the wedding night. Wish us luck, people! :D

In additional notes, for anyone who was curious, in the last chapter, Sawako, Chizuru, and Ayane are indeed the main characters from Kimi ni Todoke, and Jun and Riko are named after (though are not exact expies of) the characters in Kuroko no Basuke. Yamabuki Keikain, the author of the book Ulquiorra gave Karin, is an amalgamated name referring to Yamabuki Otome and Yura Keikain of Nurarihyon no Mago. Kudos to anyone who caught those references—and no, we don't own any of the above works or characters either. ;)

As for the wedding vows, bits and pieces were taken from traditional wedding vows and given a slant that would fit into the world of WAFT. We hope it and the other wedding traditions worked for you. :)

Thank you for reading this chapter, and thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D

Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter: Twistedkorn, IStoleDaCake, SakiXX, BeInfinitexx, dyingbreed003, Furionknight, Kendran, Alexandria Nightingale, and a Guest! ;) You guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)

Again, thank you very much, and please review!