Disclaimer: i don't own D. Gray -Man yeahh D:

Years later, Krory could feel it. The shadow of death and decay hung over him with all the bittersweet rancour of old age. Not wanting to pass his last days in silent solitude in a mucky old house, he started on journey across Europe. Not that it was easy, of course. Each step he took could, at times, make him double over with pain and exhaustion. Rheumatism, he decided, was definitely not a prerequisite for travelling.

Day by day he walked on, pausing now and then to enjoy the fluffy clouds, or the chilling wind.

And then he saw her – it. It was one of those objects that disappear into the murky earth; chameleon-like in all it's mundane self. Hidden from sight by sprays of dark, dirty ferns, was a stone, clad in the colour of mud. And on that stone sat Miranda's name. There it was, staring quietly at the ground, absorbed in isolated contemplation of the grey world. A harsh croak seemed to escape from him; in seconds, he had thrown himself flat upon the dusty ground, wrinkled fingers running over those crudely engraved words. Miranda Lotto. His Miranda.

What did those words below her name read? He squinted.

She must have died some decades before. Well then, that provided a reason why she hadn't tried to find him. He should have known that Miranda would never have abandoned him like that.

He hugged the stone marker. Miranda, why did you go away from me?

But there was no one to answer his question now. Miranda was no longer of this world; she slept below mounds of earth, with only a tiny nondescript stone marker to remember her, and her life as a member of the Black Order. There was no grand marble grave for her, no, merely a spot of earth and a mossy length of stone. And Allen too, could not answer his question; how could he, when he had turned into ashes and scattered into the wind? Perhaps, Lenalee might have told him the answer he sought, but it was too late to ask her. Like Allen, she was now merely one of the ghosts that haunted the Black Order Headquarters.

He howled.

Weeping, he fell asleep among the dank leaves littering Miranda's grave. The moon rose to illuminate the touching portrait of an old man mourning his long-dead lover. When the sun rose, swallowing the moon in their eternal cycle of life and death, the golden rays shed light on the road before the grave. Nestled in shadows, though, were the bodies of Miranda and Krory, one deep in sleep beneath earth's gentle embrace, the other sleeping in peace at long last after years of despair.

A/N: hah i finally finished it! :D my tests are coming up soon, so i probably won't be posting any stories until maybe dec? omg that's quite a long time :O maybe not then. anyway, i know the ending's abit rushed and not very original, but still, thanks for your patience in reading this! i hope you enjoyed it heh :D