So, the final chapter. Mission complete!

Right, so I even managed to throw a little humour here and there! The characters certainly deserve that by now!

Anyway, we should just get on with it, shouldn't we?

ALLONS-Y!

Thirty

'This is so cool!' Ichigo exclaims, grasping his father's hand as he swings around excitedly. Behind him, another small boy watches his twin with a surly expression. Their father smiles back at the younger twin, looking as anticipated as Ichigo.

'Cheer up, Shiro-chan,' he says. 'This is a very special day.'

Ichigo laughs happily as the hospital they're heading towards comes within sight. Hichigo just rolls his eyes and thinks of happier times when it was just him, Ichigo, Mommy and Daddy. There were only four years of life before today for him and Ichigo, but so far they've been relatively okay.

'Let's go meet your sisters,' Isshin says with a goofy grin.

'Will it hurt Mommy when they come out?' Ichigo asks as they reach the front entrance to the correct department in the hospital.

'Um… a little bit,' Isshin says hesitantly. 'But Mommy will be fine.'

'Will we get to see them come out?' Hichigo pipes up.

'No, son,' Isshin replies. 'You two don't need to see that. We can go to see Mommy and your sisters when it's all over, okay? And it looks as if you're actually a little excited,' he adds teasingly.

'I'm not!' Hichigo protests, scowling. 'I don't want any sisters.'

'But we can play with them!' Ichigo tells him, his brown eyes opening wide.

'No! They'll be all girly and stupid!'

'No they won't!'

Isshin chuckles as the two four-year-olds continue to bicker.

When they reach the ward where Masaki is supposed to be, Isshin, Ichigo and Hichigo are told to sit in the waiting room. The twins immediately amuse themselves with the toys placed on the table for any children visiting, and Isshin sits nearby, watching them cheerfully. His eyes are filled with both excitement and nervousness, and he hopes that nothing will go wrong and that the family of four will now become a six. He and Masaki have been discussing baby names ever since they found out that they are expecting twin girls, and they're pretty set on 'Karin' and 'Yuzu'.

'Hello, Isshin,' comes a familiar man's voice. Isshin looks up to see Masaki's cousin Ryuken Ishida standing there, for once not giving him his usual cold look.

'Here for Masaki?'

'Of course. You know I work in the A&E department. They've given me the afternoon off so I can come over here. I've just checked with the nurses, she went into labour two hours ago.'

'I know. It could be any minute now,' Isshin says excitedly.

The two boys are two busy playing with plastic miniature trucks to acknowledge that Ryuken is here.

'Do you think they'll play fight with us?' Hichigo asks hopefully.

'I don't know,' Ichigo answers.

'See? That's why I wanted brothers,' Hichigo says moodily. 'They're gonna be all girly and play with dolls and like the colour pink-'

'It might not be so bad,' Ichigo says, trying to reason with his brother. 'We'll be their big brothers! We'll look after them and stop people being mean to them.'

Despite implying how irritated he is about this situation, Hichigo is secretly rather excited. He keeps looking up at the door, waiting for a doctor or a nurse to come in and tell him, his daddy and Ichigo that it's okay to go and see his mommy and his new baby sisters now.

Finally, a kind-looking woman approaches the family and tells them that the birth has been successful, and that it's okay to go in. Ryuken stays in the waiting room, knowing that Masaki should be greeted with the sight of her immediate family first.

The nurse leads Isshin and his sons into the room where Masaki lies on a hospital bed, waiting for them. Ichigo and Hichigo immediately rush up to their mother…

''… and they both yelled, 'Mommy!' really loudly, which didn't make much difference to the noise in the room because both of the babies in my arms were squealing away already.

''Isshin's expression mirrored the look on his face the day the boys were born. He immediately scooped up Karin and Yuzu in his arms so the older twins wouldn't squish them as they leapt onto the bed to give me a big hug!' Wow. I can barely remember that day,' Ichigo adds to himself as he finishes reading the paragraph. He stares down at his comatose brother, wondering if he'll open his eyes and agree, stating that he too can barely recall that day.

Nothing.

Ichigo sighs and keeps reading.

''I know I should have been overjoyed, and believe me, I was. But I wasn't solely focused on my family after the overwhelming happiness of my husband and my four children had lasted a while. I began to wonder whether Sôsuke might turn up. After all, he did turn up soon after the boys were born. But I know I shouldn't dwell on that. I have a nice, large family to be focused on!''

Two days ago, Hichigo was brought to this hospital, on the verge of death. Ichigo, Grimmjow, Nel, Ulquiorra and Dark were also taken away despite none of them being wounded physically, and they were treated for shock, although none of them felt at all scarred mentally and were far too concerned with Hichigo's safety. Ichigo is aware that Aizen was also brought to the hospital in another ambulance and has been treated somewhere in another ward. Whether he's still here or whether he's already been taken off to the police station is a mystery to Ichigo.

The police took into account the message Nel recorded on Aizen's phone, proving that Aizen admitted to having killed Nel and Grimmjow's families, Makoto Cifer and Masaki Kurosaki. While he was being dragged out of the warehouse by the police, Ichigo could vaguely hear him laughing hysterically as he yelled about having enjoyed shooting Byakuya Kuchiki, so he's to be found guilty of that too when he'll be brought before the court. Ichigo feels numb whenever Aizen's confessions echo around his head.

Ichigo blinks away a single tear in his left eye and continues to read out Masaki's diary to his younger twin, wondering whether Hichigo can actually hear him. Probably not. Ichigo was just planning to read it to himself, but he's often heard of the families of comatose patients talking to them in the hope that they'll wake up, so he figures it can't hurt to read out their mother's diary.

He reaches the end of the entry, smiling at how excited his mother sounds at the thought of now having four children. 'Hey, Shiro-chan… you'd be happy to hear that Dark's been cleared of all charges. Grimmjow and Nel are being given a test run outside the institute to see if they're capable of beginning an ordinary life. Ulquiorra admitted to shooting Aizen twice, but as Aizen lived, he's not being charged with much, especially since they put the incident down to self-defence. He's going to spend a few more months in the institute, but after that they'll let him do the same as Grimmjow and Nel. And guess what? You're cleared of all charges, just like Dark. The police want to monitor you, which is probably gonna suck, but that's only 'cause of all those fights you used to get into. When you wake up and they release you from hospital, they send you can come and live with us again.'

Hichigo stays completely still in his hospital bed, showing no signs that he has heard his brother.

'And you know, I plan to continue calling you Shiro-chan now that you're back,' Ichigo says with a sad smile.

Still nothing. Ichigo sighs. He just has to wait. It may be for a very long time, but he knows that Shiro-chan will wake up. He has to, because until then, Ichigo won't be able to give him a proper apology.

Ichigo doesn't like to think of when they first arrived at the hospital. Once he had convinced the doctors that he was fine and completely not in shock, he had stumbled through the hospital corridors, unable to read the signs on any of the walls properly because despite what he told the doctors, Ichigo certainly was in shock and was completely panicking internally. He eventually made into the A&E waiting room to be greeted with the sight of Uryu's father, who was explaining everything that had happened to Isshin, Karin, Yuzu and Tensa, who had all just arrived. Ichigo greeted them shakily, talking in a rushed voice without even intending to say anything. Yuzu looked absolutely terrified and Karin was visibly shaking. Tensa looked like he was going to be sick. There were tears in Isshin's eyes as Ichigo had recounted what happened. The teen couldn't even bring himself to leave out the parts where he was accusing Hichigo of being the murderer, and so he told Tensa and his family absolutely everything that had happened. To his surprise, he was hugged tightly by Yuzu at the end and Karin soon joined in as well. Even though Ichigo had believed Hichigo was guilty, even though he had pointed a gun at his twin, his family and Tensa forgave him. They were told to sit in a waiting room, unable to see Hichigo because he was in theatre.

'They've all visited you, you know,' Ichigo whispers to his brother now. 'Grimmjow, Nel and Ulquiorra were granted twenty minutes here in the hospital, and Dark and Rukia come quite often, both to see you and their brother. He's apparently being released soon. Tensa comes quite a lot too. Tatsuki visited yesterday, and she said she'd try and come today too. Some of my friends, even the ones you don't know, like Chad, Uryu and Orihime, said they're going to come when they can…'

One of Hichigo's fingers twitches ever so slightly, but Ichigo doesn't notice it, too wrapped up in his monologue.

'… Dad, Karin and Yuzu are coming in about an hour. The nurses wanted me to leave with them when they finally went home, but… I don't know. I guess I wanted to just read this book, and I think it's better to read it to you instead of at home. They say you're stable, but they don't know when you're going to wake up, so I guess I could be waiting a long time-'

'Geez, do you ever shut up?'

Ichigo stares in absolute shock at his brother, who is watching him with exasperated, black and yellow eyes.

'You're awake!'

'Well, it's not like I could continue getting all that shut-eye with you speaking for the country in the background,' Hichigo complains. 'You were so busy talking you didn't even notice me wake up. I've been conscious for about a minute.'

'Wha- really?!'

Hichigo rolls his eyes. 'I was enjoying a dream, too. Thanks a lot. It was a memory of when Karin and Yuzu were born-'

'So you could hear me reading the diary!'

'Huh?' Hichigo looks puzzled.

'I was reading Mom's diary to you, hoping you'd… I don't know, wake up.'

'I've been having loads of dreams,' Hichigo mutters, staring up at the ceiling. 'Some of them were really bad. There was this really bad one where you went to go and see Aizen and he was planning to kill you. Then I had to come because I didn't want you to die. Then you were still convinced that I was Mom's murderer, and you were threatening to shoot me. The worst part was when Aizen took the gun off you and shot me, and it really hurt, even though it was just a dream. And when it ended, I was really worried because Aizen was probably going to shoot you next… What?' he adds as he catches Ichigo looking at him strangely.

Ichigo bites his lip and leans forward on the chair he's on to hug his brother as carefully as possible. Despite how gentle he is, Hichigo still yelps in pain and looks extremely confused when Ichigo finally pulls away.

'That wasn't just a dream,' Ichigo whispers eventually, not looking into his brother's eyes. 'It… it really happened. You got shot.'

Hichigo's black and yellow eyes open even wider in shock. 'R-really?'

Ichigo nods, looking down at his lap. 'Why do you think you're in a hospital bed and you're wired up to all these different machines?'

'That would explain why my chest hurts,' Hichigo murmurs. 'B-but… then… that would mean that you really did go to Aizen, and I had to…'

Ichigo's fists clench and unclench nervously for a few seconds as his younger twin begins to realise that all of this did indeed happen.

After a while, Hichigo quietly asks, 'Where's Aizen?'

'He… he got shot by Ulquiorra. Once in the hand and the second time in the shoulder. He's probably being treated for it, but he's under arrest and they might have already taken him to the police station.'

'Ulquiorra shot him?!'

'Yeah. He's supposed to go back to the institute for a few months, but they're gonna let him out after that…' Ichigo goes on to explain what's going to Grimmjow, Nel and Dark, and Hollow looks quite relieved when he hears that they're all okay and Aizen has confessed to the police.

'Hichigo- no, Shiro-chan… I'm… I'm so sorry,' Ichigo says, finally looking up at his twin. 'All of this was my fault. If I'd just believed you in the first place, none of this would have happened and you wouldn't have been shot-'

'Yeah, you were a real jerk,' Hichigo says with a laugh, which is a bad idea. He doubles over, clutching his chest. '… Damn, that was stupid of me. And stupid of you, getting back on subject. But I didn't die, so I guess we're good,' he adds with a grin.

'Really?' Ichigo is stunned.

'Yeah, I can't stay mad at my bro,' Hichigo jokes. 'Besides, you realise what a dick you've been now, so that's okay.' He sighs and looks up at the ceiling again as if contemplation. 'So Aizen's definitely gonna be found guilty, and I can come home again.' His grin widens as he looks back to Ichigo again. 'It looks like I can stop being 'Hollow' and go back to being 'Hichigo' again.'

'Welcome back, Shiro-chan,' Ichigo says with a smile.

'Ulquiorra!' Nel shrieks as she opens the door to find her black-haired friend standing on the other side, carrying a medium-sized present in his hands. 'You came! Grimmjow reckoned you weren't going to make it.'

'They allowed me to attend the party for a few hours, but I have to go back by the end of the day,' Ulquiorra replies. 'Besides, it's not like I'm going to miss Hollow's sixteenth birthday, is it?'

'He's back to being called 'Hichigo' now,' Nel says as she stands aside to let Ulquiorra into the Kurosaki house. 'It took some getting used to, but we mainly use 'Shiro-chan' when talking to him.'

'That is the most annoying nickname ever!' comes Hichigo's angry voice from the lounge.

'You'll live with it,' they hear Ichigo say.

'You can talk, strawberry.' This is accompanied by a chorus of laughter.

Nel giggles and shows Ulquiorra into the lounge. They're greeted with the sight of a quite large group; Isshin, Karin, Yuzu, Ichigo, Hichigo, Tensa, Tatsuki, Rukia, Dark and Grimmjow are all sitting in various chairs, the sofa or on the floor. There is wrapping paper strewn all over the carpet from Ichigo and Hichigo's different birthday gifts, and everyone is happily chatting away to each other.

'Geez, it's been months, Ulqui,' Grimmjow calls as he gets up to greet his friend. 'You should visit more often.'

Ulquiorra rolls his emerald eyes. 'Trash. I'm still in the institute, you know. It's not that simple.'

'Nice to see you, too,' Grimmjow grins.

'So, I hear they did lock up Aizen in the end,' Ulquiorra says quietly to Isshin as he sits down next to him. He has never actually spoken to Hichigo's father before, but he'd rather not say it loud enough for Ichigo and Hichigo to hear because he doesn't want to kill the mood.

Isshin nods. 'Life imprisonment. I know about the…' He looks a little apprehensive. '… situation with your mother. He actually mentioned her once when he came back into our lives, when Ichigo and Hichigo were eight.'

'What did he say?'

'He said that he had been in a relationship with someone named Makoto, but he had ended it when it didn't work out.'

Ulquiorra nods his head in acknowledgement as he pulls out the photo he found in Aizen's safe all those months ago. He now knows that the woman with raven black hair and green eyes in the photo is his mother, Makoto Cifer, and he's aware that the piece that was torn off once showed him as a young boy. Ulquiorra figures that Aizen tore his part of the photo off because he only wanted to remember the second woman he ever loved.

A tiny smile appears on Ulquiorra's face as he looks down and the happy woman in the photo.

'Why don't we just do whatever it is you want us to do downstairs with everyone else?' Ichigo asks as Hichigo leads him into their bedroom.

'Did you read the last entry?' Hichigo says.

'What?'

'The last entry Mom ever wrote in her diary. Have you read it?'

'No. Have you?'

'No. I just thought I'd save it for something… big. Even if the entry itself isn't that… I don't know, monumental.'

'Of course it will be monumental,' Ichigo says. 'It's the last entry she ever wrote.'

'I know, I just felt kinda apprehensive,' Hichigo admits, pulling the diary off their desk where they keep it safe under some papers. 'I mean, the content will probably be as ordinary as any other entry, because it's not as if she knew it would be her last entry. I just didn't want to feel… disappointed or anything.'

Ichigo understands. It's pretty exhilarating to imagine that there's some goodbye from their dead mother in a way to conclude the diary properly, or at least a message that will have some sort of special meaning. But the chances of that are so slim. Either way, Ichigo and Hichigo both decide that tonight will be night they finish their mother's diary and reach an end.

They both sit on the red sheets of Hichigo's bed and stare down at the last page.

16th June

I'm worried about Shiro-chan. It's almost as if he feels lost right now, and he's still four years away from being a teenager! I know… I shouldn't joke about this.

I don't think he knows that Isshin and I still love him. How terrible is that. I think he's too young to understand that a parent's love is unconditional. Isshin and I have both been talking about it, and we think that it would be a good idea if we take the kids somewhere enjoyable next weekend. Maybe a theme park. Maybe, then, we'll see the happy little kid I know is still in there.

But I know there's one thing that's never going to change about him, which is some consolation, even if it gets him into pretty dodgy situations. He's never going to stop defending Ichigo from anything he considers dangerous. And no matter what Hichigo does, Ichigo always finds a way to forgive him, even if it takes a while.

They're brothers and the best of friends, which must be some kind of miracle! I hope the two of them stay like that forever.

Ichigo and Hichigo take a moment to process what they've read. The trip to the theme park that never came. The love that Hichigo couldn't see back then. The trust the twins had in each other all those years ago, meaning they could always confide in each other, no matter what. And now they have regained that.

The two smile as they reread their mother's final entry, before Ichigo eventually says, 'Come on. We should get back to everyone.'

Hichigo nods, his black and yellow eyes shining brightly as he and his twin contemplate how content they are with their mother's last words on the page. 'Yeah,' he says, smiling right back at Ichigo.

They're confident that now the memories have all been revealed, they can safely say Masaki's last entry was ideal for what they needed to hear. To Ichigo and Hichigo, it concludes the past in a new light.

They place Masaki's diary back on the desk and step out the room, ready to embrace the future.

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End

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One year later, and it is finished! *slams head against desk* Finally!

So, because I am always so under-confident with the quality of the ending to each of my stories, I hope that wasn't too cheesy or whatever, and I really hope you enjoyed this story so thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed etc.

Okay, so how about I finish Will Of The Heart now? That seems practical. But before that, I just need to get some rest... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

*eyes snap open* What? Oh, right! One more thing-

BYE!