It was fun for a while... but we've all finally been proven wrong per the the final chapter of the manga. Oh well. I guess I'm glad my interest in Bleach in general diminished, so this wasn't a heart break, but for whatever reason, I just randomly looked around to find where Bleach was at this point and found out the last chapter has Ichigo and Orihime married with a kid 10 years in the future... and Rukia likewise with Renji. At least Rukia made Captain...

I remember, exactly 10 years ago, when a friend of mine introduced me to the series via the Anime. It seemed like Ichigo and Rukia were destined. It also seemed like the series would be really great for a long time. How times have changed...

https://ichi-ruki.livejournal.com/998505.html