Disclaimer: I don't own anything I didn't create.

A/N: I dedicate the first part of this epilogue to Nemos, an anoymonous reviewer who left some very heartfelt reviews, and who inspired me to write the first part of this chapter for her/him. I hope you'll enjoy. The rest of this story is dedicated to everyone who has happened across this story and come to love it, even if you haven't left your mark on the 'reviews' page. X) Out of all my stories, this is the one that has earned the most Story Alerts out of any of them, and at the moment, also has the most reviews. The amount of story alerts for this story truly amazed me, and to thank all of you, here's the final chapter to the story that you have all helped me to create.

The Beginning and the End

Being a body collector was a grim business, no matter who you were, I thought as I parked my Wheel of Fortune at the point where Kleizer and I had separated, scanning the battle field and searching for that familiar shine of red hair. Kleizer had done a good job. The ground was covered with the corpses of the guards who had chased us out of the building. My eyebrow twitched upwards when their body count accounted for all of them. All fifteen guards that had chased us were dead, and instinctually, I looked towards the middle of it all. There.

The sun gleamed off of red hair, blowing slightly in the breeze, Kleizer lying still on the ground, his face peaceful as his chest moved slowly up and down, bullet wound bleeding freely in the right side of his chest, blood soaking the hair at his temple as if he'd been hit. Wait! My eyes widened as I jumped to my feet, yanking my helmet off, watching his body like a hawk as his belly rose and fell slowly, gaps in between the breaths he'd take. He's still alive! I realized, and I slammed my helmet down on my dueling screen in my haste as I scrambled out of my Wheel of Fortune to leap over the dead bodies to half-kneel by his side, unconsciously grabbing his arm and shaking it. His eyes opened blearily.

"Kleizer! Kleizer! It's me Jack!" My chest was tight with adrenaline and unvoiced words as he gave me a half-smile. "We need to get you to a hospital, now!" I said, impulsively trying to pull the redhead into a sitting position, almost not seeing him grimace when I did so.

"It's over Jack." I froze, almost shaking as I held a supporting hand on the middle of his back. I watched him as he spoke to the pavement he was sitting on, his head down. "There's no point in trying now. I can already see The Light." No point in trying to save him. My brain informed me. I looked at him with shocked and somewhat fearful eyes, his calm disarming as I grabbed at straws.

"What about your sister? What about Mai?" He gave a sad half-smile, his eyes content as his chin rested on his chest. He didn't seem to have enough energy to lift it, so I lifted it for him so that his head rested on my arm, which I had snaked around to support his shoulders. He looked at me with the same look as before.

"You'll tell her I love her, right?" I nodded, watching him with a worried crease between my eyebrows. He smiled, his eyes happy. How can he be so happy when he's dying? I thought, amazed by him. "Then it's all good. Only…" He sighed, and I unconsciously gripped his shoulder a little tighter. "-I wish I had been able to apologize to Mrs. Fudo. She took such good care of us when we were little, and I repaid her kindness by doing drugs and running away." He sighed, more on his mind, shaking his head slightly as he frowned sadly at the sky, his voice getting fainter by the minute. "There are so many things I wish I could take back…" He trailed off unhappily, not saying any more. I bowed my head slightly, the understanding that he was going to pass no matter what I did about it weighing heavily on my mind.

"Mrs. Fudo was your and Mai's babysitter when you were young, wasn't she?" I asked, and he looked at me, nodded as much as he could, the effort sapping his strength. "Mai told us about her. She's Yusei's mom. Yusei Fudo." I said as if to clarify it. His eyes widened with hope.

"You know her?" I gave him an empty smile. Not personally. I thought, regret panging in my chest, and Yusei came to mind. He smiled happily, and it settled into contentment. "Could you possibly tell her that I'm sorry for everything I've done? Please." He said, averting his eyes and looking up at the early morning light again. We were in an area just off of the main street, and I could hear the hustle and bustle of everyday life beginning to stir just down the street by the Security Offices. It seemed to be world away. "Both of them, actually. Both Momma Fudo and Mai." He smiled slightly at the name as he whispered, as if it amused him. "And tell Mai I love her." I nodded silently, gulping back the tears that were threatening to spill. He smiled exhaustedly, seeming to know without looking. He's leaving. I thought, I knew with all of my body that it was true.

"You know?" He whispered, and I looked at his face as his eyes started to drift shut, his breath slowing. "Dying is beautiful. So…" he whispered as his eyes shut, smiling slightly. "…peaceful." A few moments of stillness passed, the sun silently warming up the space in between buildings where we were, a couple birds landing on the chain link fence, blocked off by bushes and trees on the other side, and greeted the sun with their songs. Kleizer's stomach moved no more with the absence of his breathing, and he was silent, motionless. I blinked, and a traitorous tear found it's way out of my eye as I held him close. It was as if nothing had happened, yet he was gone. I let out a shaky breath and swallowed back my tears.

"We'll never forget you Kleizer. You'll be a part of history, and one day I'll make sure that a statue is made of you, so that no one forgets you. I promise you that. You won't be forgotten." I held him like that for a couple more minutes, before begrudgingly relaxing with a sad sigh and taking my phone out of my back pocket as I flipped it open and dialed a number, putting it to my ear. They had to know about this.

"Hello, Ushio? There's something I need you to do…"

It's been a couple weeks now, since we rescued Mai and Kleizer died. She took the news pretty hard. Jack had gone back after the doctors at hospital had flushed out Mai's system and woken her up to reclaim his body. Aki was always by Yusei's side since he rarely left the hospital, and Jack drifted in and out, sometimes with Carly by his side, sometimes not. I stayed here no matter what, the doctors checking up on my injuries every now and then. Never in a million years would I ever let anything like what happened to her happen again. Speaking of which, we had called Mina and Ushio to the hospital about an hour after Mai had been sitting in her bed, recuperating- and told them about The Organization. There was now a gigantic lawsuit going on, and the S.S.O. were losing that battle, much to our satisfaction. They were also paying for Kleizer and Wife's funerals. Yes, she had died too, and it was a shock to our systems when we found out. She really had been willing to do anything, and we paid her our proper respects. I knew that Kleizer and her had been good friends at least.

When the time came for Kleizer's funeral, Mai had gotten a temporary leave from the hospital. Aki and Carly had gotten her a modest black dress to wear on this gray day, and I held her around the waist, letting her cry on my shoulder as the ceremony commenced. Jack had insisted that we all wear tuxes, or at least as close as we could get to it. So Yusei and I both wore black jeans and black shirts, and Yusei's mom had given him an old black business jacket of his father's to wear, and she currently stood by his side mopping her tears with an old black hanky as Aki leaned into his side, looking sad but unable to express the proper sorrow as she had never gotten to know Kleizer. Yusei's sadness was enough for her. Jack was in a similar situation, scowling grumpily down at Kleizer's tombstone while Carly tried and failed a few times to make him feel better. As for Mai and I… Kleizer was her beloved brother. She was the only one here besides Mrs. Fudo who knew him as well as she did. I had just gotten to know him, but he had made quite the impression on me, and having Mai crying into my shoulder seemed to unlock my own tears as I held her, even though I wasn't crying nearly as heavily as her.

Days passed and she was released from the hospital, system clean, flushed free of all the access drugs that had been pumped into her, body repaired from the abuse at the S.S.O just as Mina and Ushio won the lawsuit against the S.S.O. and all of the other abused women flooded the hospital, free at last. Last minute rehab centers were put up to help those who were traumatized, and help centers had a whole new section for the victims set aside, to help them get their lives set back on track. On the whole, a lot of good was coming out of a lot pain. Just like how the sky is darkest before dawn.

Months passed, and Mai was getting better. The seasons were passing to fall and she had been living with Mrs. Fudo as she healed from the loss of her dear brother. I walked with her every day as she visited the family grave to pay her respects to her parents and to hold a conversation with the raw hole in her heart where her brother had been. I was so proud of her, not having lost herself in her grief, remembering what was important even as she lamented. Mrs. Fudo and I were no strangers to each other as my feelings for Mai almost impossibly grew larger and stronger. Fall turned to winter, and winter to spring. Yusei and Aki and Jack and Carly were as sweet as lovebirds, and my heart was in my throat as I fiddled with the little velvet box I had saved up so much for in my pocket. I didn't want to jump the gun, but it was comforting in a way to know that Yusei had bought a little velvet box as well.

Mai and I sat under the sakura trees when time permitted, the little pink blossoms drifting down on gentle breezes as we sat and talked together, sometimes kissing. She knew I loved her, and she made me one of the happiest men in the world by loving me too. We had loved each other, felt something for each other ever since we first met, and the feeling had only grown over time. I did everything I could to make her happy, and she was healing, gradually, and I knew it would take time, but she was healing, and she was happy with me. I was happy when she was happy, so when we went to the tournament party Jack had dragged us all to, and we were standing in the courtyard garden of the fancy building the event was being held in, sakura blossoms drifting down on the wind, and she was laughing, with that happy glow in her eyes, and she gave me the courage to do what I had wanted to do since we had saved her. Her eyes widening as I went down on one knee, cameras immediately turning their lenses to us as I took the little velvet box out of my pocket, fiddling with it and biting my lip nervously before opening it and showing it to her.

"Mai, will you marry me?"

"Of course I will." I now knew what it sounded like when over 50 girls cooed simultaneously at the top of their lungs. Now, because of Mai, I was the happiest man in the world.

Every end has a beginning. Every dusk has a dawn. From pain comes strength, and from death comes life.

Sequels are the 'Birth' series. 'Toriko', 'Hiroto' and 'Akito'. I hope you've enjoyed the story. 3

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