A/N: The finale! Enjoy :)

Standard disclaimers apply.

Epilogue

"Let's go!"

Heads were thrashing in the Volkswagen van as guitar riffs filled their ears.

"The needle on my record player has been wearing thin," Kenshin, Kaoru, Misao, and Yahiko screamed.

"This record has been playing since the day you've been with him!" Soujiro and Megumi sang loudly after them.

"No more long rides home/no more of your station!" Sano howled, making everyone else in the van laugh.

Yahiko swung into a parking spot at the best location by Westfield beach. "Yes! We only have to walk twenty feet!"

"What the fuck Yahiko, that's so far away. Can't you do better than that?"

"Fuck you Sano. I get excited about a parking spot and you totally freak out on me."

"I don't blame you, it's the little things in life that make you happy," Kaoru said from the middle row, patting Yahiko's shoulder.

"Damn straight!" Kenshin exclaimed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and bringing her close to him.

"Jesus. Kenshin's been on a high for about three days now," Misao told Megumi and silent Aoshi, rolling her eyes as they got out of the car.

"Why?" Megumi asked.

"Because he found a group of girls at First Absolute's last gig singing along to his songs."

"Hell yeah! It was fucking incredible," Kenshin noted as he slid out of the van.

"Remember the time we realized 'Thriller' was our favorite song!" Soujiro and Megumi sang, the song still playing in the background.

Soujiro laughed. "Finally, someone who understands my love for post-millennium punk songs!"

"Yeah, who'd of thought?" Kaoru said amusedly. She was learning more about Megumi with every passing day ever since she became friends with the boys of First Absolute.

Megumi grinned and looped her arm through Soujiro's. "We're just musical soul mates."

Kenshin side-glanced at Sano, who was focusing on unpacking. Although Soujiro had no romantic feelings for Megumi, and Megumi had none for Soujiro, it still bothered Sano that Soujiro was closer to Megumi than he was.

"Save for him not liking Rise Against. That's unforgivable," Megumi added as an afterthought. "But that's okay. Sano and I can listen to them."

Sano smiled softly, which nearly made Kenshin gape. But instead he smiled too, because he knew that Sano was going to be okay. One day it would work out.

Kenshin turned his attention to Kaoru, who was standing with Yahiko on a spot of sand, saving it. The wind was blowing strands of hair in her face, and his breath was momentarily taken.

He was glad that Yahiko was warming up to Kaoru. After she and Kenshin became friends again, the boys were skeptical of her. Soujiro was the first to accept her at the end of the school year. Sano said he wouldn't forgive Kaoru until she did something for Kenshin to prove that she was there to stay. Kenshin had no idea what Sano meant by that comment.

Sano went over to Kaoru and Yahiko to place a large towel on the ground. Aoshi and Misao went over to them, Misao blabbing about there not being enough room for everyone to sit on it. Megumi brought over the bags of food, complaining about the weight. Kenshin watched old and new friends come together and he felt whole, a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Dude! Stop gawking and get your ass here! We need some tunes, yo!" Sano called out, breaking Kenshin out of his reverie. He took his bag out of the van, shut the door, and came over to the towel.

Plopping himself down next to Kaoru, his phone began buzzing. It was Sozo.

"Hey, what's going on?" Kenshin asked.

"Nothin', nothin' just calling my favorite brother in the entire world."

"What the hell do you want?"

"What kind of hoodlum do you think I am? Why can't I just ring up my younger brother just to say hello?"

"Because then you'd be clinically insane."

"Fine. I actually need you to pick me up tomorrow from Chou's house."

"What the fuck why?"

"Because some douchebag rammed into my car –"

"You've got to be joking – dad's gonna flip a shit. Your insurance must be insane!"

"Hah, you got me. No actually Sumi needs to borrow my car because she got into an accident with hers. Please? Pwetty pease?"

Kenshin had a look of disgust on his face. "Fine, I'll pick you up."

"I'm glad you see it my way."

"What time?"

"Whenever you feel like it. Just call me before."

"Okay. You owe me."

"Whatever. Peace!"

When Kenshin hung up, he said, "I hate that son of a bitch." He paused for a moment. "Who wants to come with me?"

Everyone was silent. Kaoru sighed and raised her hand. "Fine. But you owe me."

"False – you already owed me. This is making it even."

"For what?"

"For doing your last three homework assignments in math while you were doing post-election stuff."

"Oh, come on."

"Oh, wait, and I did help you on studying for Government. So, technically, you still owe me, Miss President."

Kaoru groaned, but a secret thrill ran through her stomach. It never got old being reminded that she was president of the student government. "Okay, okay. I'll think of something quick to get me out of your debt."

She looked away from Kenshin to the ocean, where children were playing on the shoreline. Her eyes drifted to Sano, who gave her a pointed look. She knew what he wanted her to do.

"Let's go in! Since it's August, the water's going to be warm!" Soujiro said.

"Yeah!"

All the boys, save for Aoshi, took their shirts off and ran toward the ocean. Aoshi pulled out a book from his backpack and began reading. Misao snuggled up to Aoshi, despite the hot temperatures and Megumi was stripping down to her dark red bikini.

"You coming?" Megumi asked Kaoru.

Kaoru nodded toward the beach. "Wait. I just want to see their reactions."

All the boys dived in, but Sano was the first scream. "Fuck! It's so cold!"

Kenshin's redhead bobbed out of the water, his arms crossed over his chest. "Let's go in, the water's going to be warm," he mocked Soujiro.

Kaoru laughed before standing up and removing her shirt and shorts. "Okay, now let's go."

"That's a cute suit, where did you get it?"

"I found it at the mall – got a good price for it."

"Really? Hmph, this suit cost me quite a lot."

"But it's looks so good on you."

Megumi giggled. "I know."

Kaoru laughed, but soon shuddered when the water washed over her feet. "It is pretty cold."

"I'd say so!" Kenshin said, wadding his way to the shoreline. He stood next to Kaoru and nodded at her and Megumi. "You guys going in?"

"Maybe."

"I will!" Megumi said, bringing her hair up in a bun before walking into the water and gracefully diving under a wave.

Kenshin laughed as Megumi let out a string of curses when she surfaced. "I'm glad we became friends. Seriously."

Kaoru smiled. "Yeah. She fits right in. It's kind of…strange."

"Like fate?"

She scoffed. "I don't like the idea of fate, you know that."

"Whatever. So…what do you think?"

"Of what?"

"Megumi and Sano? Is it possible?"

She sighed and looked at the two of them. They were currently arguing about something and Soujiro was trying to be the peacemaker. "I don't know."

"He likes her."

"I know he does…but I doubt they're ready for each other. You know what I mean? I think maybe in a few months…or even years."

He sighed. "I suppose so. I just want him to be happy. I don't want him to wait forever for a lost cause."

"I'm not saying it's a lost cause."

"Well you're insinuating it."

"It's just…I hate the idea of seeing some other guy break over a clueless girl."

Kenshin let out a deep sigh. "I know what you mean. But he's less pathetic than I was."

"That's not fair – don't judge yourself. It's different with him – he's just beginning to know her. You had already known me for years. Big difference. Also, Megumi's not a complete bitch."

"Hey, if I can't rant about what a lame person I am, then you can't either."

She smiled. "Deal."

They stood in a comfortable silence, watching their friends play Marco Polo, except Sano was clearly cheating, making the game rather pointless, as noted out by Soujiro.

"How was your lunch with Tomoe yesterday?" Kenshin asked suddenly.

"It was really good. I think we're on a good track."

"What did you talk about?"

She sighed. "What we've been up to. She apologized, too. Said I was like a little sister she never had. She didn't realize that I could make my own decisions too…I suppose it was just all spawned from her wanting someone to look up to her."

Kenshin smiled a little. "I suppose that would feel kind of awesome. The idea of someone finding you to be…such a great person. An older sibling should be that…too bad mine was a bit of a fuck-up."

"At least you have a relationship now. And had one before she died. I never really experienced having an older sibling figure until high school…and I really liked it."

"Of course you did," he noted pointedly.

They fell into another silence until she noted sadly, "They still don't like me."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is. I mean, Soujiro is the only one nice to me. Yahiko is kind of warming up to me. And Sano flat out hates me."

"Sano doesn't hate you. He's just…" He narrowed his eyes, trying to pick the right words out. "He's afraid that you're going to do what you did over a year ago."

She stared at him. "You're so confident that I won't hurt you again."

He merely smiled and said, "Yeah, because I know you never will. I can see it. You'll never find it within yourself to cut me off again."

She nudged him. "You make it sound like I'm dependent on you."

"There's nothing wrong with that. I'll openly admit that my full happiness partially relies on you. Besides, you're too good of a person."

"No," she whispered. "I'm not."

"Hey, you admitted that it was a mistake. It just proves that it isn't who you want to be."

His understanding hurt her, and healed her at the same time. Just because they came together too early, and weren't ready for the things relationships entail, didn't mean they weren't meant to be. And she somehow knew that they were.

She unabashedly stared at him as he strummed his guitar and sang familiar melodies. Soujiro accompanied him by the fire they built. Flames flickered in his violet eyes, turning them amber. Even when they finished, she continued to look at him.

She grabbed her drawstring bag as she stood up. Stepping off the blanket and onto the cold sand, she made her way over to him and tapped his shoulder. She silently beckoned him to follow her.

He gave his guitar to Soujiro and quickly caught up with her, their strides coinciding in perfect harmony.

"I made you a mix," she said when they reached the end of the beach. Large, jagged rocks were before them and continued through the water. He climbed to the top and held out a hand for her to help her up.

"You did?"

"Yeah, but it's really short. And it's not that amazing. Some of the songs I took from the one you made me in April."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a CD. He opened the case and tried to read the contents. Frustrated, he took out his cell phone to light the page, making her laugh.

Songs That Remind Me of You

The Mixed Tape – Jack's Mannequin

Don't Stop Believin' – Journey

The Middle – Jimmy Eat World

I Want to Hold Your Hand – The Beatles

Everything You Want – Vertical Horizon

Memory – Sugarcult

Everything Is Alright – Motion City Soundtrack

Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol

Time After Time – Quietdrive

If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out – Cat Stevens

A soft smile was on his face as he read down the list of songs. She smiled at him before she continued walking down the rocks. He quietly followed her and listened to her softly sing, "You can do what you want/The opportunity's on/And if you find a new way/You can do it today…"

"Kaoru?" He could do it tonight.

They stopped at the highest point on the rocks. She stared at him with sparkling eyes, the moonlight reflecting in them. This was it.

"I know you asked me to wait for you…but…" He looked down at his feet, getting lost for words. Taking a deep breath, he looked directly into her eyes and said, "I love you. I have for a while now."

Her eyes grew wider. She wasn't suspecting this at all. She thought that maybe they would get back together, but not have this conversation.

"I know that this is really fast…even my mind is going in circles over this…but…it's true. I wouldn't joke about something like this."

"…I know you wouldn't."

He let out a breath. "You don't have to force yourself to say anything. No awkward 'thank you' or anything like that. I just…wanted you to know that I want to be the one who holds you. Now and tomorrow and every day after that."

She swallowed, staring into his too-serious eyes. She closed her own, thinking about the past three months when they became friends again, then what he had done for her during spring break, then the year where she went out with Enishi. Everything was for her, and that made her feel so guilty. But it also gave her a fluttering in the pit of her stomach. He did love her.

"Yes," she found herself whispering. She opened her eyes to find him staring at her. "I…" Her voice disappeared, but she mouthed, "I love you."

His smile was so large, so bright, and so…happy…that she couldn't look at him. That pure joy wanted to make her cry for keeping him from experiencing it. So she brought his face down to hers and kissed him.

As he held her as close as possible, she had to agree that it was fate. It was the only explanation for how perfect everything felt. Although she hated it, she supposed she could deal with this.

A/N: I've enjoyed writing this story a lot, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it – it's been a hell of a ride!

Please review and make sure to keep an eye out for my next story! ;)

MissGoalie