25 Years Later:

Byakuya stretched in the practice yard, while he waited for his wife. Even though he rarely voiced it, at least when anyone else could hear, he smiled on the inside at the very thought of it. Since they'd been married, Miki had grown into her new life quite nicely, but there had been a few disturbances. That, he supposed, was to be expected, and he'd always been right there to help her out. Perhaps a small part of him actually enjoyed being needed. At times, it seemed to him that nothing much had changed at all, but at others, the whole world felt very different.

Something fell to the ground in front of his feet with a pathetic thump, and in that instant, he knew Miki had returned from her errands. He bent to pick up the little stuffed animal that lay in the dirt, dusting it off as he looked up at his wife.

"The newest Mini-Bya," Miki said, with a smile. "Who knew Aika was such a seamstress? I think these will sell like crazy."

That was something that had changed. Miki had become determined to find some place for the girl, and had done so by hiring her to make the Mini-gami. The two had developed a good friendship, with the insane amount of sales they'd made. It was enough, even to keep Yachiru interested.

"Not as well, I hope," he said, closing his eyes. "As Matsumoto's."

"Doubtful. Everyone has one of those!" she said, rising onto her toes to give him a kiss.

He looked down at the stuffed animal he held in his hands. A horse, with black and white spots on it, peered back from beneath a jet black mane, which was held into some semblance of order by tiny silver kensaikan. No detail had been left unattended, right down to the hilt of its little katana. He resisted a smile, and handed it back to Miki, his gaze drifting up to meet hers.

"You're wearing it," he said, noting the colored sash Kimie had made for her so long ago. "Does this mean...?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," she laughed. She looked up at the cloudless sky in thought, and turned her back on him, tossing the doll to the edge of the yard. "You know, I still never did put you on your knees."

When she again faced him, he did not like the malicious grin she wore at all. His eyes widened when she drew her katana and wasted no time in releasing it. Her skills had grown over the years, and she was capable of maintaining four of the ribbons now.

Launching himself into the air, he avoided her first attack. He spared a moment to look down on her from above, and saw the three silver ribbons. She'd warned him about that, said the silver was the one he ought to watch out for. So what was she about now?

"Are you angry with me?" he asked, knowing that was likely not the case. When she was mad, she preferred to use something a little more personal, like her fists. Some things, had not changed at all.

"It would be difficult to be mad at anyone right now," she said, taking to the air herself, and sent the ribbons flying at him again.

She was playing with him, in the same way a cat does a mouse. In fact, the same way he'd done with her countless times before. He dodged left and right, up and down, avoiding her attacks, which seemed to be gaining momentum. Then she stopped.

"Hmm," she said, looking up to the blue sky. "Show me yours and I'll show you mine?"

He laughed. "You've had all this time, and that is the best you could come up with?"

She dropped to the ground and said with a shrug, "No? Suit yourself, then."

He knew she'd been practicing for years, but had no idea she'd been this close to it. Her practices with Jun and Daiki had certainly paid off, despite the frosty air when the two were in close proximity. They had never been able to completely patch up their differences, though he suspected their obvious hatred toward each other was nothing more than a front.

"How'd that go again?" Miki asked, capturing his attention again.

"Perhaps you mean bankai, dear?"

"Oh, right, that's it! Thanks," she said.

The world seemed to bulge at her sudden increase in power when she called upon her weapon. Before his eyes, her clothing seemed to melt away, but then she begun to spin, and his eyes could not seem to maintain a clear focus on her.

"It's... it's.." he sputtered a moment later, when she finally stopped. Her arms, legs and stomach stood bare before him, the rest of her wrapped in nothing but thin yellow ribbons, barely concealing anything.

"Inappropriate?" she supplied, with a laugh as she twirled for him.

"Yes! Put some clothes on!" he finally managed, while in the same breath he called forth his own weapon, simply to keep the sight from prying eyes.

"It is what it is, dear," she laughed, then her attacks began anew.

She gestured and a pair of purple ribbons appeared in her left hand, radiating with a silken glow. Her hand flew out toward him, and he easily dodged.

Then she again said the words she hadn't spoken in over a quarter of a century. "I'll have you on your knees."

"Why?" he asked aloud. If she'd gone so long without the need of trying to best him, why was she doing this now? Had something happened while she was out? It all made absolutely no sense to him!

She ignored him, and sent the ribbons flying at him. He dodged, making no counter attacks of his own, trying to think his way out of this. Suddenly, there were too many ribbons coming at him at once, and he found no means of escape. They wrapped securely around his left thigh, and he summoned a blade to cut himself free.

"Unohana sends her regards," Miki said, casually, as though they weren't in the middle of a fight. "I saw her during my appointment today."

As he was attempting to free himself, Miki had brought the deadly silver ribbons out with her other hand, and they easily encircled him. Before he knew it, he was trapped, and left quite without a way to fight back. He watched helplessly as the silver began glinting in the sunlight, and he could see they'd formed razor sharp edges on them. With nothing else to do, he stood perfectly still.

"She wanted me to deliver a message to you," Miki continued. "She says 'Congratulations, Daddy!'"

Byakuya couldn't seem to make sense of what she was saying. Surely Miki had a point with all this, but it was totally lost on him. And what exactly did she mean, Daddy?

And then it hit him. "You're pregnant?"

Miki nodded, "Yes, we're going to have a baby!"

His knees felt weak, no longer able to support his weight. For a split second, he worried that he'd crash to the ground, right through Miki's sharp ribbon, but as he lowered himself down, they moved with him, always resting against his skin, but never close enough to do any damage.

"Really?" he said, looking up into her eyes, and the realization came over him that she finally had him on his knees. As always, that woman had sent his world spinning. That, apparently was something that hadn't changed.

She dropped her hold on him then, and he stood, closing the distance between them in a flash. He scooped her up into his arms and twirled her around, no longer caring what she wore. She reached down and pulled his lips to hers, and with that kiss, he knew that though his life was about to take a sharp turn, there would be plenty of happy times ahead.

Well, there it is :) Hope you all enjoyed it! Couldn't resist the happy ending! Thank you all for being so supportive of me, through this! It certainly was a lot of fun writing this, and I'm glad to know that it was enjoyed :) As always, feel free to let me know what you think!