~As always, I only own the plot. I don't own the characters or series so don't sue me.

Epilogue

Six months had passed in the blink of eye since Ichigo had returned to his normal self. While Grimmjow had been busy dealing with the vasto lorde form of the shinigami, Gin had betrayed Aizen and managed to heavily injure him. The hougyouku had been separated from the brunet during this which allowed Urahara to step in and seal Aizen's reiatsu. The former captain was currently locked in the deepest part of the Maggot's Nest where he would spend the rest of eternity.

As for the hougyouku, it was collected by the Zero Squad and locked in a secret and heavily guarded vault in the Soul King's palace.

Rukia and Renji had teamed up, with the assistance of Orihime, to take down Ulquiorra so that they could return to Soul Society. However, by the time they made it back, the fight was already over.

Ichigo had been stuck in Soul Society for a whole month, recovering from his sustained injuries as well as giving his reiatsu time to fix itself. Returning home for the teen had been dreadfully boring. His hopes seemed to rise a bit any time a gargantua opened up and he'd rush out to be the first to intercept the hollow. When he had been asked about this, the oranget had merely shrugged. Seemed he didn't exactly realize his own feelings. But Rukia could tell. Well, everyone could tell honestly. It was painfully obvious to everyone except Ichigo.

He was clearly hoping for Grimmjow to appear so they could have their rematch. Their fights had all been interrupted and the last two weren't exactly fair. It was only natural he'd want to settle the score. But it was more than that. Ichigo obviously wanted to see Grimmjow again. Even if both parties were blind to it, there was a blatant connection between the two.

"You seem to be doing just fine," Rukia concluded after giving Ichigo a physical. She had been ordered by Soul Society to check up on him. They needed to be sure his reiatsu was still stable. The last thing they needed was for one of their best to change back to a toddler again.

"Congratulations by the way," he said. Rukia stopped putting the instruments away for a moment as she blinked at the oranget. "On your promotion?" He smiled as she sucked in a breath of air.

"Oh yes. Thank you." She returned to putting the tools away before continuing. "How did you know by the way?"

Ichigo laughed and simply pointed to her upper arm where the vice captain badge for division 13 now rested around it. Violet eyes shifted down before she too laughed with him.

"I keep forgetting about that."

They laughed softly for a few moments before quieting down. Ichigo released a sigh, unintentionally catching Rukia's attention. So it was finally starting to bother him. Perhaps he was consciously aware of his feelings now.

With a tender smile and a soft chuckle, Rukia nudged Ichigo's shoulder. "Why don't you go see him instead?" At his confused expression, she continued with a playful tone. "You're not fooling anyone Ichigo. You miss Grimmjow. Go see him."

He tried to contain his excitement, but it proved useless as he ran through Urahara's house toward the basement. Just before he jumped down the open hatch, Ichigo popped out of his body into his soul form. At the bottom of the training zone, Urahara stood, smiling softly, by the open gargantua.

Ichigo stopped for a moment before giving a smile to the blond and hurrying through the open portal. He emerged on the other side quickly enough. Hueco Mundo it seemed was still the same. Not that he should have expected anything different. Las Noches itself was the same as well. He figured the fortress would have fallen as soon as Aizen was out of the picture. But he could sense that familiar reiatsu inside. Seemed he was keeping the fortress all to himself.

Not one to waste time, Ichigo hurried through the empty halls straight for the main hall. It's where he could sense that energy coming from. Bursting through the doors, Ichigo couldn't stop the wide smile from crossing his lips. Grimmjow stood, looking rather bored with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

Took the kid long enough. He'd been waiting a while for his familiar energy to show up in his territory again.

A wide and devious smirk appeared on Grimmjow's face as his gaze connected with brown eyes. "Miss me shinigami?" he teased.

If possible, Ichigo's smile widened as he plucked Zangetsu from his back. "Don't kid yourself!" he shouted as he happily charged in with vigor.

[A/N: It's been a long ride, but we finally reached the end. In one piece no less! Their romance is implied, but still in it's infant stages. Clearly Grimmjow and Ichigo are just now coming to terms with wanting the other around. They'll eventually come around. As for me, this is it. I've loved all the years I have spent writing stories for you guys and now it's time to move on. Please enjoy all my stories to you heart's content. Who knows? Maybe I'll come back some day. But for now, it's time to focus on other things for me.]

I love each and every one of you dearly and I wish you all the best in whatever fate has in store for you! Thank you for reading and enjoying my works.

"Guess this is goodbye Ichigo..." Rukia episode 342