Dedication: This story — yes, this entire story — is dedicated to Zapenbits, who's been reading my stories literally from the very beginning, and who never has anything bad to say about anything I write. She's been very encouraging, and her reviews always brighten up my day, and I'm forever grateful for her. Love ya Zappy!

—:—:—…Previously…—:—:—

"Rukia?"

"Yeah?"

"March isn't that far away, huh?"

"Nope. The wedding planners—" AKA Hinamori and Hisana — "are not going to be happy with this decision. You can tell them."

"Gee…thanks." Rukia laughed. Well she could laugh. But Ichigo…well, between Byakuya an Hinamori and Hisana, he wasn't sure who he'd rather face less.

Shadow of the Day — Epilogue

—:—:—Sunday, June 21st, 2011 –10:53 p.m. —:—:—

(Eight Months Later)

"Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo was out of his seat before his eyes had even fully opened. He didn't even remember someone saying his name, but Unohana was standing in front of him, giving the worn man a small smile. So clearly she had called out to him, right?

"How…how did it go?" He finally managed to ask, his voice cracking from lack of use. If Unohana found this amusing, she didn't let on.

"It went well. I would say great, even, if I believed in describing surgeries in such simplistic forms. We were able to remove all the damaged tissue." Ichigo felt as if the floor had spiraled out from beneath him. He wavered a bit, but managed to keep himself steady. "We're setting her up in a room now, she'll be out for another couple of hours at least. But at this moment we have no reason to believe that the surgery wasn't a success."

He had absolutely no response to this. Feeling like an idiot, he ran his hands through his hair before scrubbing his eyes tiredly. It was done. The surgery had gone well. Rukia was fine.

His wife was fine.

Ichigo realized he was grinning when he looked up at Unohana again. "Can I see her?"

Unohana laughed quietly. "I was waiting for that. Follow me."

Ichigo's grin faltered when Unohana led him into Rukia's room. Her already pale skin was nearly translucent now, and the bandages wrapped around her eyes…it was almost frightening. He shook it off though. The bandages weren't there because something bad had happened to her. Her life wasn't in danger. She was okay. And when the bandages came off, she would be able to see. She would be able to see him.

Oh god…she's gonna take one look at me and go running in the other direction.

Ichigo chuckled a bit as he sat down in the chair positioned next to Rukia's bed, taking her hand in his and intertwining their fingers, squeezing tightly. He'd already forgotten that Unohana was standing in the door watching them, and that visiting hours were technically over and he technically wasn't allowed to stay. He didn't care about any of that.

He wasn't leaving this hospital until Rukia left with him.

Date Unknown — Time Unknown

Rukia had to admit, it was kind of annoying to wake up to darkness. Granted she knew the darkness was courtesy of the annoyingly itchy bandages wrapped around her eyes, and that they were for her own good. But still…hadn't she done her time in the darkness? She just wanted to see already…

"Rukia?"

A small smile pulled at Rukia's lips. "Hey," she mumbled, her voice hoarse. A second later a pair of lips pressed themselves softly against her forehead, and she laughed quietly. "I'm unconscious for who knows how long — well I suppose you know, but I don't — and I don't even get a decent greeting when I finally wake up?"

Ichigo laughed shortly. "Well ya know, I thought that might be kind of inappropriate, considering your brother and sister are standing here as well…"

"But we'll gladly leave if you two want some privacy," Hisana spoke up. Byakuya muttered something unintelligible, though Rukia had a feeling it was something along the lines of no we won't. Rukia tried to ignore the faint blush she could feel playing on her cheeks.

"Hi Nee-san. Nii-sama."

After a moment a pair of thin arms wrapped themselves around Rukia, holding her tightly, if not a little awkwardly. "Welcome back to the world of the living," Hisana teased as she pulled away. "You'll just use any excuse to sleep late, won't you?"

"Don't tease me, I'm injured," Rukia whined, pouting.

"Oh please," Hisana and Byakuya grumbled in one voice, and Ichigo laughed. Rukia scowled in their direction before raising a hand to play with the bandages around her eyes.

"Hey, hey," Ichigo chided gently, grabbing her hand and wrapping his fingers around her own. "Don't do that. Knowing you you'll mess them up somehow."

Rukia responded by sticking her tongue out at him. "Jerk."

Ichigo kissed her hand (still clutched in his), and when he responded she could tell he was smiling. "Only if it protects you."

"Oh brother." Rukia knew Hisana was rolling her eyes now. "Come on Nii-sama, lets give these two some privacy."

"Why?" Byakuya deadpanned.

"Because I don't feel like watching this. Besides it's lunchtime. You can buy me something down at the cafeteria."

"Fine, I — wait, what?" Hisana laughed as light footsteps carried her across the room. "Wait a minute Hisana, you have money on you, I'm not buying you anything," Byakuya protested as he followed her out.

"You're such a mean big brother…"

Ichigo waited until they were both long gone to speak. "Have you ever considered having the two of them committed?"

"Kind of hard to do that when they're the ones that were taking care of me," Rukia pointed out logically. She could feel the smile on Ichigo's lips as he pressed them against her, kissing her lightly.

"Maybe. But that's my job now. So if you want to take a look at some psych wards, I'd be more than happy to help."

"Only if we can send your father with them," Rukia joked.

"Done," Ichigo replied at once. There'd been absolutely no thought involved. Rukia wondered if she should be worried.

"You've actually thought about this before, haven't you?"

The lack of answer was all Rukia needed.

—:—:—Tuesday, June 23rd, 2011 – Time Unknown —:—:—

"Okay Rukia-san…you can open your eyes now."

Rukia opened her eyes slowly, blinking a couple of times. This wasn't the same darkness she was accustom to — the never-ending, oppressive darkness that had ruled her life for twenty years. This darkness was more blurry, and clearly human-induced. It was the result of being in a room with no windows, lights, and not even a crack in the door for light to come in under.

But Rukia could almost make out shadows.

"Rukia-san?" She tried to focus on where Unohana's voice was coming from, but her eyes kept darting around, taking in the shadows that surrounded her. Her heart began to race just a little.

"Ichigo?" She questioned after a moment. One of the shadows moved, and she jumped a bit. The shadow froze.

"Sorry," he mumbled, sounding a bit abashed. Rukia shook her head quickly.

"No, don't be. You didn't…I just wasn't expecting that."

After a moment the shadow moved again, and a large hand wrapped itself around hers. She returned Ichigo's grip before finally focusing on where she'd heard Unohana speaking before. "When can we turn on the lights?" She demanded after a minute, and Unohana laughed.

"Soon, Rukia-san. Your eyes need time to adjust. The bandages are going to have to go back on when we're done here." Rukia groaned. "I know, I know…soon, though. I promise."

Rukia huffed in annoyance and turned to look at Ichigo — to look at Ichigo. The thought of such an idea made her laugh.

"What's so funny?" Ichigo demanded, though he didn't sound annoyed. More curious than anything.

"I can almost see you."

"Yeah, well I've never been told that I'm funny looking. So what's the joke?"

But Rukia shook her head. "I love you," she said instead.

"Not much of a joke." Rukia could tell from Ichigo's tone that he was kidding. "I love you too."

The words lifted Rukia's heart.

—:—:—Thursday, June 25th, 2011 – Time Unknown —:—:—

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever thought about what it's like to be able to see?" The question clearly bewildered Ichigo. But Rukia couldn't think of any other way to put it, though not for a lack of trying. She'd been playing with the question for hours. "I mean…I don't know how to say this."

"I think I get it," Ichigo promised. "And…I don't really know how to answer it. It's not something you really think about, is it? Just like you never thought about what it was like to be blind, I never thought about what it was like to see. At least…not until I met you."

He sounded embarrassed to admit such a thing. "Oh yeah? And what was the conclusion you came to?"

Ichigo chuckled. "Honestly I don't remember, it was so long ago. I remember I used to think about how amazing you were, navigating as well as you did. Most people who can see trip over their own two feet constantly. Yuzu was the biggest klutz for the longest time, she could barely go a day without falling over something. But you've always been just fine on your own."

Rukia smiled as she reached her hand out, finding Ichigo's hand and wrapping her fingers around his, squeezing tightly. "I was fine on my own," she agreed quietly. "I'm better with you though."

Ichigo chuckled. Rukia blushed a bit as she realized just how corny her words sounded.

"I'm better with you too."

—:—:—Friday, June 26th, 2011 – Time Unknown —:—:—

"Ready?"

Rukia swallowed hard and nodded, smiling widely. She was bouncing a bit, earning a laugh from Unohana, her siblings, and Ichigo. "Ready," she finally responded. Unohana's fingers played over Rukia's skin as she carefully unwound the bandages for the final time. Her heart was racing, trying to beat its way out of her chest. She didn't care. She just wanted these bandages off.

"All right, close your eyes." Rukia huffed in annoyance as she did as she was told. "Eyes closed?"

"Yes."

Finally the last of the bandages fell away. Rukia tried to open her eyes, but somehow her eyelids felt too heavy. She couldn't find it in herself to do so.

"Rukia?"

Ichigo's soft voice, so close to her ear, spurred Rukia into action. And finally, finally she managed to make her eyes open.

The light hit her hard, sending a pounding through her head, and she cringed, quickly snapping her eyes shut again. She hesitated before opening them again, letting them dart around to take everything in. She cursed internally; she wanted to focus on Ichigo. But her mind had other ideas. There was so much to see…

When she could finally force herself to prioritize, she didn't stop to look at the doctor that had performed this miracle, or the man and woman who had raised her for the better part of her life. They went straight to the person sitting on the bed next to her, holding his hand in hers. The person that had saved her.

Her husband.

"Ichigo."

His face split into a wide grin as their eyes met. There was an intensity in those orbs unlike anything Rukia could have ever even begun to imagine. Nothing in her imagination had ever done Ichigo justice.

She heard Hisana mumble something, and after a moment she, Byakuya, and Unohana had backed out of the room, leaving them to themselves. Ichigo raised his free hand, gently pushing back a loose strand of Rukia's hair, trying very hard not to go near the stitches on either side of her eyes. Her beautiful, seeing eyes.

They didn't say anything. It wasn't necessary.

"I love you," Rukia finally whispered, her voice shaking. She tried to put everything she was feeling into those words. Tried to make them sound less inadequate. Wished there was something more she could say.

But Ichigo understood.

"I love you too."

—:—:—Sunday, June 28th, 2011 – 7:52 p.m. —:—:—

"Ready to go?" Ichigo asked. He couldn't help the grin that ruled his features when Rukia's eyes swiveled to look at him. And she grinned back.

"Definitely."

She jumped off the bed, crossing the room with a confident step and reaching a hand out for Ichigo to hold. He reached out and met her halfway, their fingers intertwining.

They passed Unohana on their way to the elevator. The couple gave her identical smiles and more thank you's — not that they'd ever be able to thank her enough. The older woman smiled as she watched them walk away.

Rukia closed her eyes and took a deep breath as they walked outside, the cool night air washing over her. She tilted her head back to look at the sky, her grin widening, if such a thing was possible, when her eyes landed on the stars. The stars that had been her guards, her blanket for so many years. They'd watched her walk home when she hadn't been able to do it for herself. They had taken care of her. They had watched her.

And now she could watch them.

"Are you sure you don't want to have your sister pick us up?" Ichigo asked, looking down at Rukia, who met his gaze with a firm stare.

"No. I want to walk home."

Ichigo chuckled. "All right. Well lets go then."

They started down the street hand-in-hand. Rukia kept looking around — at the trees, the streetlights, the signs, the cars, the moon, the stars — but she kept coming back to the same thing — Ichigo. Eventually he caught her staring, and laughed.

"See something you like?" He teased, poking her with his free hand.

"Only a lot."

Ichigo smiled softly. "Well there's a lot more where all of this came from," he said, waving his hand at the world around them.

"I want to see it all," Rukia responded at once. Ichigo pulled her to a stop, turning her around and kissing her lightly.

"And I want to show it all to you," he murmured as he pulled away. Their eyes met, and Rukia smiled as she realized she didn't really need to see the world…

Because she'd found it in the amber eyes that were looking into hers.

Author's Note: So the epilogue is kind of coming out of nowhere, I know…I really didn't mean to end it so abruptly, but I'm starting to realize that balancing college and Fanfiction is hard — more so because I've kind of lost inspiration for this story. So I figured instead of dragging it out and waiting months at a time to update — like I did this last time around — I might as well just put us all out of our misery. But anyways…thoughts, opinions? Was it awful? Are you angry I didn't show the wedding? Sorry about that. I never planned to, if it's worth anything. But yeah…

This story has certainly been a roller coaster. It was an experiment in the beginning, and honestly, I'm happy with how it turned out. You guys have all been really supportive through this entire thing, especially with the slow updates, and I'm incredibly grateful to all of you for all the encouragement I've been getting. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

And so, for the last time with this story, I encourage you all to review, and let me know what you thought of this — the epilogue and the story in general! — Sam