So here we are at the conclusion of the story.

I hope you've enjoyed it thus far. Thanks to all of those who stuck with it to the end. It means a lot! If you enjoyed reading this, I'm happy to let you know that I WILL be writing some more stories. I have an UlqHime one-shot that I'm almost finished with and I should be submitting it soon. For those of you who like darker, more adult content, I will be uploading a story for that too.

Without further ado , I present to you the final chapter.

4 Stop and Stare- One Republic
4* Your Guardian Angel- Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

"Fourth Seat Officer Ulquiorra Cifer, you are being tried for your crimes against Soul Society. You have been found guilty on all seven counts; kidnapping and forcible detainment of a human girl and ally to Soul Society, allying yourself with the known traitor Sōsuke Aizen in an attempt to destroy Soul Society, refusing to keep in accordance with an order to distance yourself from a student of interest at Shinō Academy, resisting arrest, escaping from prison willingly and knowingly, traveling to the world of the living without a direct order to do so and attacking a Captain without probable cause. We shall now proceed with the sentence. Before this council I state, it has been decreed that Fourth Seat Officer Ulquiorra Cifer is to be executed in a manner to be decided at a further date..."

...

Ulquiorra sighed and stared up at the ceiling. It had been eight very long days since he had been sentenced to death by Central 46 and he had nothing to do but sit in his cell and wait for them to give him an execution date. He hadn't seen a single familiar face outside of Hanatarō Yamada's and even then it was only when he was bringing food. Everyone else that came in was violent and hostile. He heard footsteps approaching and hoped that it was meal time though he truly had no sense of time in the prison. As long as it wasn't some guard come to hassle him though, he didn't care who it was or what their intentions were. He was relieved when he heard Hanatarō's voice greeting him and he sat up to face the young Shinigami. "Good morning, Yamada."

Hanatarō smiled softly at Ulquiorra. "Actually it's evening." He brought a tray of food over to the man and sat it down just outside the cell. "I have good news for you."

Ulquiorra scoffed and lay back down on the bed. "Unless it's news that Central 46 has overturned their ruling, it can't be all that good."

"Well, it isn't that." Hanatarō glanced behind him nervously. "The thirteenth division was placed in charge of your care starting this week. They're the new guards and, well..."

Rukia entered the room calmly and walked over to the cell where Ulquiorra lay. "Ulquiorra Cifer."

Ulquiorra sat up and looked at Rukia curiously. He knew her as a friend of Orihime and Ichigo's but outside of a few chance encounters in Soul Society, they had never formally met. "Rukia Kuchiki."

Rukia smiled to herself and closed her eyes. "For better or worse, I was placed in charge of directing the officers here to care for you however I see fit. Despite that your future is now in my hands, there were still specific guidelines I was given to follow. One, I must never allow your handcuffs to be removed. Two, for no reason are you to ever exit your cell. Three, your meals will be given to you when dictated and if you do not eat in the allotted time then you do not eat at all. And four, perhaps the strictest and most important guideline, under no circumstances is Orihime Inoue ever allowed within the confines of this room. Do you understand?"

4 Ulquiorra nodded slowly and looked away from Rukia. "You didn't have to tell me that. I figured as much on my own."

"However, that's not to say that mistakes can't be made. I mean, it's my first night on the job and I don't know what I'm doing quite yet. So to say that I accidentally gave every guard in the facility the same fifteen minute break time would be understandable. It would also be understandable if, because of my rookie mistake, persons who have been prohibited from the facility somehow wandered into this room without proper guidance during that fifteen minute break." Rukia smiled widely down at Ulquiorra as his eyes widened in shock. She heard the door open behind her followed by rushed footsteps.

"Orihime!" Ulquiorra jumped to his feet and rushed over to the bars of the cell.

"Ulquiorra!" Orihime fought back the tears that were starting to form in her eyes and reached through the bars to touch his face. "R-rangiku told me that they want to execute you. Is that true?"

Ulquiorra pressed his face deeper into Orihime's hand and closed his eyes. "Don't think about that right now."

"Ulquiorra," Orihime looked to him sadly. "is it true?"

"It is." Ulquiorra opened his eyes slowly and stared at Orihime's pain filled face. "But I'm not afraid of death."

"This isn't fair!" Orihime put her head against the bars as tears began streaming down her face. "This is wrong!"

"They've been looking for a reason to rid themselves of me for a long time. Now they've found it. There's nothing we can do." Ulquiorra reached up with his cuffed hands and gripped Orihime's, bringing it to his lips. "I'm not afraid to join the cycle of reincarnation. It was more than I could have ever asked for when I was a Hollow and now, it's better than spending thousands of years in a cell alone being kept away from you."

"But..." Orihime shook her head. "I don't want to be without you."

"You won't be for too long. I'll be born in the world of the living. I'll grow up, I'll age, I'll die and with any luck I'll come here and find you all over again. It happens to us all eventually anyhow." Ulquiorra pressed his face into her palm once more and smiled sadly. "So don't be sad. Don't cry."

"But I don't want you to be alone." Orihime ran her fingers through Ulquiorra's hair. "Let me go with you."

"What?" Ulquiorra pulled away from Orihime and shook his head in anger. "Don't say something like that! You've got your whole life to live-"

"Without you in it!" Orihime said through her tears. "And that's a life I don't want! It was hard enough accepting it once. I don't want to have to accept it another time! I'd live a thousand different lives if it meant I could have you by my side always."

"But Matsumoto and Kuchiki, Kurosaki and the others..." Ulquiorra stared at Orihime in confusion. "Your goal was to become a Shinigami so that you could work alongside them."

"My goal is to be with you." Orihime smiled and reached through the bars for Ulquiorra to come close again. "I just died in the world of the living. My life as Orihime Inoue can end and I'll be completely alright with that as long as the next life I have begins with you in it. Will you let me accompany you through the cycle of reincarnation?"

"Inoue." Rukia stared at her friend in disbelief. "There's no guarantee that the two of you will be reincarnated together. You may not even know each other!"

"Kuchiki, when bonds are formed our hearts tie together as one. Throughout this whole room is an invisible string that connects us all. It's that connection I share with Ulquiorra that lets me know that we'll be together." Orihime looked at Rukia with a sad smile. "I know this is a lot to ask, but could you help us?"

"Help kill you! Are you insane!" Rukia gawked at Orihime and shook her head. "There are other options!"

"There are, but there is nothing that sounds quite as fitting as getting a fresh start at a new life. We could run away. We could escape but we'd spend our whole lives looking over our shoulders waiting for the day when finally we are found and ripped apart all the same. I don't want that. I want a peaceful and happy life where we can just live without the fear of being torn from each other. I don't want to run and I don't want to hide. I don't want to have to live a life without him." Orihime looked at Rukia pleadingly. "I said it's a lot to ask of you and it is, but I can't think of another person I would rather have sending me to a new happy life than you, Kuchiki."

"This is..." Rukia clenched her fists tightly and reached out to slap Orihime across the face. "This is so unfair of you Inoue!" She stared up at the taller woman with tears streaming down her face. "No matter what choice I make, I'm the one saddled with the guilt! I'm the one that has to live with my decision!"

"I know. I'm sorry." Orihime looked down at Rukia apologetically. "I've been thinking about this since Rangiku told me his sentence. No, even before that. I think that deep down I always knew that we'd never be able to live a happy life together as the people we are now. The names we carry also carry a heavy burden and a lot of baggage. We were just fooling ourselves to think we could live this life together forever. There was always something against us and it wasn't necessarily the people. It was the fates that were tied to these lives that kept us apart. I want to escape all that and I ask you selfishly and unfairly to help me because I trust you and I can't trust anyone else with this task."

Rukia stared up at Orihime and started to laugh despite the tears running down her face. "Inoue, you were always such a selfless person. You always put everyone else's needs and wants before your own. Despite what you're asking of me, I'm glad to see you're finally putting yourself first for once."

"I'm sorry, Kuchiki. I really am. I know it isn't fair of me to ask you like this right here and now. but we might not get another chance." Orihime smiled at Rukia. "I know that we'll meet again one day and I may not remember you, I may not recognize you but you will always be one of my very dearest friends. I love you."

"I love you too, Inoue." Rukia drew her Zanpakutō and held it out toward the two. "Hanatarō. you should leave now." She stared at Orihime quietly. Tears were pouring down both women's faces but somehow, Orihime looked strangely at peace and Rukia felt the same. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

Orihime pulled off the hairpins from her hair and handed them over to Rukia as Hanatarō made his exit. "This is just for safe keeping, until we meet again."

Rukia nodded and smiled. "See you later, Inoue."

Orihime nodded with a sad smile and stepped closer to Ulquiorra. She reached through the cell and grabbed his hands tightly. "Are you ready?"

Ulquiorra stared down at Orihime. He had been ready to accept his death when it was only him that was going to die. Now he felt guilty that he was taking Orihime with him but he also felt joy that she was willing to go happily along with him to the next life. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure." Orihime pressed her face to the bars and pulled Ulquiorra against them so that she could kiss him one last time. She pressed her lips to his and smiled a genuinely happy smile for the first time in days.

"I'm ready." Ulquiorra gripped Orihime's hands tightly and stared at her calmly.

Rukia took a deep breath and held her Zanpakutō upside down. "Some no mai, Tsukishiro..." She watched quietly as the pillar of ice encircled Orihime and Ulquiorra and froze them over quickly. They looked so happy. She turned her back in enough time to avoid seeing the ice shatter into thousands of pieces and hurried out of the prison. There would be no evidence that she had helped them, there would be no trace of anything in the room at all except maybe some water from the melted ice and residual Reiatsu from her presence there but that was easily explained. She clipped Orihime's hairpins to the top of her right glove and pulled her sleeve down to cover them. She noted with sadness and a bit of relief that Orihime's Reiatsu was no longer emanating from the Shun Shun Rikka.

...

"What're you staring at?" Ichigo asked as he snuck up behind Rukia.

"Ack! I-ichigo! Don't do that to me!" Rukia stomped on Ichigo's foot and crossed her arms. "Why are you spying on me!"

"Because on the first day of every month you come here to this place and you stare." Ichigo looked at Rukia curiously. "Once a month you come to the world of the living. You've been doing it for the past five and a half years and your location has been sporadic until this year. What's so special about this place?"

"Stick around long enough and you might get to see." Rukia smiled as a school bell chimed and the gated playground before them became instantly flooded with children. She walked over to fence and waited patiently until she saw the face she was looking for. "Ai! Over here!"

Ichigo watched in confusion as a small girl with bright orange hair came running up to the fence. Rukia was not in a Gigai so the girl shouldn't have been able to see or hear Rukia but she did. He stepped closer to the two to hear what they were saying.

Rukia knelt down and pulled out the two hairpins that had once belonged to Orihime Inoue. She displayed them to the girl before her and smiled happily. "I want to give you a very important gift, Ai. These hairpins once belonged to a very special friend of mine. She gave them to me for safe keeping but I want you to have them now."

"Rukia!" Ichigo reached out to stop Rukia from handing over the hairpins but he was too late. "What are you doing? Those were Inoue's! Don't just recklessly give them to some little girl!"

"And why not?" Rukia asked irritably. She smiled as Ai tucked the hairpins into her hair and motioned to the little girl. "I think they suit her just fine, don't you?"

"I-inoue?" Ichigo stared down at the girl in awe as he took in the sight. The girl with her bubbly smile and bright orange hair did resemble Orihime a lot, especially with the hairpins in her hair. "Could she really be-"

"Now Ai, those are very special. It's important that you take very good care of them. You never know, they just might help you save someone's life one day." Rukia smiled cheerfully down at the girl before her. "Understand?"

Ai nodded vigorously and smiled up at Rukia. "Thank you, Miss Shinigami! I'll keep them safe and I'll always treasure them!"

"That's a good girl Ai. That's a good girl." Rukia stood slowly and looked into the distance. Near the sandbox sat a lonely little boy being picked on by two of the bigger kids. She smiled down at Ai and motioned to the little boy. "Do you see that little boy over there? It sure looks like he could use your help."

"Vacío?" Ai furrowed her brow and looked back at Rukia curiously. "But he threatened to tell on me for talking to you! He said I shouldn't talk to strangers, especially ones who dress all in black and carry samurai swords. He said if he had to, he'd tell the teacher on me just to stop me from talking to you. I don't like to see them be mean to him but I don't think he likes me very much."

Rukia laughed and shook her head. "Now, that's not true at all. I think the opposite is true. I think Vacío likes you a lot. In fact, I think he likes you so much that he's secretly worried about you but he doesn't know how to tell you so he threatened to tell on you because that's the only way he knows to keep you so safe."

4* "Really!" Ai looked up at Rukia with wide eyes. "You really think so!"

Rukia nodded with a bright smile. "I know so."

"So he's secretly really nice." Ai turned to face the sandbox and clenched her fists. "You're right, Miss Shinigami. I should save him no matter what it takes!" She turned quickly and waved to Rukia happily. "See you later Miss Shinigami. Bye bye Mr. Mean-face Shinigami!"

"M-mean-face!" Ichigo shrieked but Ai was already across the playground standing between the little boy and the two bullies that were kicking sand on him. "RUKIA!" He gripped Rukia's head tightly and grumbled at her. "When were you planning on telling me you had found Inoue and Ulquiorra's reincarnations!"

"I wasn't. It's a strictly need to know basis and you didn't need to know. Don't forget, over half of Soul Society still believes that Ulquiorra broke out of jail and ran off with Inoue. They don't need to know what truly happened. Besides, I wasn't even certain of it myself until I brought the Shun Shun Rikka here. Her Reiatsu is similar to Inoue's but it isn't completely the same. I didn't know for sure until I felt those hairpins vibrating in anticipation." Rukia smiled and shrugged. "And wherever Inoue was, I knew Ulquiorra wouldn't be too far away. He was the only child here that I had caught staring at me and Ai confirmed it. I can only assume it's him."

Ichigo watched as one of the bullies that had been kicking sand at Vacío now turned his attention on Ai and began pulling her hair. It didn't seem to take much of this for the timid green eyed boy to pounce on the bully and knock him over angrily. Ichigo chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, that's him."

Rukia sighed happily and began walking away from the school. "Do you think they'll grow up together and continue to protect each other like that?"

Ichigo followed after Rukia after taking one last glance at the two on the playground. "That was Inoue's will, wasn't it?"

Rukia nodded slowly and glanced back at Ichigo.

"And she has her Shun Shun Rikka now. They react to her will and make it a reality..." Ichigo smiled up at the sky with relief. "Yeah, I think they will."