A/N: I can't believe I'm finally saying this. This is it guys. The final chapter of a story I started over two years ago, something that's one of my masterpieces so far I think and something that was made even more precious to me thanks to all you awesome readers. I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much as I did writing it :)

He smiled encouragingly at the witch as he helped her walk across the room, half-supporting the weight of her weak body, helping her recondition the muscles in her legs into moving properly. Being bedridden for over a month had left her too weak and her muscles too stiff to function normally. Magic had, of course, sped up her recovery considerably but as there had been a lot of patients and not enough healers to spare, there was only so much the exhausted magicians charged with taking care of the infirm could spare for Sakura's fears of his own body growing weak during the time he had spent at the witch's bedside, Fai was just fine after Kurogane made him take some blood.

His vampirism ensured that no matter what happened, he would always recover inhumanly fast as soon as he had had the blood of his prey. Quite convenient, even if it still made him feel guilty to take the ninja's lifeforce. He could remember being set adrift in the infinite cold after the silver-haired hunter had gutted him open but the ninja's blood had literally brought fire back to his cooling body. That was something for which he would be forever indebted to the , for his part, had merely scoffed and brushed his gratitude aside as though saving his life was something he had long since gotten used to…which in hindsight probably held quite a lot of truth in itself. His attention was drawn towards the auburn-haired woman stepping through the door with a smile.

"Fai-san, Masooma-san," the elder version of Sakura greeted, jade eyes shining in excitement on a face unmarked by the ugly scars that now marred the skin of her original. "Everyone is ready and they're all just waiting for you now."

"We'll be right there Sakura-chan," the blond responded, redirecting Masooma to the wheelchair that was placed in one corner of the room. While the witch was not permanently bedridden- as proven by her walks across the room during the past week- she was still too weak to be able to stay on her feet for long without support.

Chest heaving as she settled in the chair, Masooma pushed her now short hair out of her face as he began wheeling her to where Sakura stood, patiently waiting for the duo.

-0-

Kurogane watched the trio approach the rest of the group, noticed the way the smile slid off Nixon's face when he sensed them arrive, saw the way the older brat's eyes lit up at the sight of his wife, a silly grin forming when he seemed to realize she was not about to vanish. Kurogane could only try to put on a poker face because he knew what was coming next. He had known that this time was coming for quite a while now and he hated to admit it, but he wasn't ready yet. Not for this. He had gotten used to this life, constantly travelling with the rest of the idiots, looking after them and making sure nothing could harm them in his own way- failing rather spectacularly sometimes at the keeping them safe part, but he'd tried his best all the same. But now… the time had come where they would all begin to part ways.

Maybe there might still be months left before everyone went their separate ways but he'd somehow known ever since he'd seen the mage look at the witch that first night, in a manner exactly replicate of the way the kid looked at his wife that the man would never ever leave her behind again. With the clones having gotten their bodies back, the time would soon come when they'd come to their homeworld and they'd leave the group for they'd reach Clow and the princess and the kid would both settle down there, possibly even get engaged, if the king didn't get too fussy over it. And then one day Kurogane would find his own home and he'd look upon his princess and know that he would never leave her side again either. What had begun so many years ago was now coming to a close, an end, and Kurogane still did not like admitting that he wasn't ready for the goodbyes.

They were all going to go their separate ways and he would lose the little, dysfunctional family that he had acquired on a journey that had begun as a punishment but had turned out to be the best one ever.

"And look who finally arrived." The Oracle pointed out in a voice much louder than was necessary as he sauntered up to the mage and the witch. The cheery tone of his voice betrayed the pain Kurogane had seen flash across his face before and was now mirrored in the faces of the couple before the Oracle. "Oh, come on now, what's with the long faces? We all knew this day was going to come sooner or later." The man said, keeping up the cheerful façade. "Mr. High Mage here is no longer insane and out of control, and Miss I-can't-really-stay-out-of-trouble is nearly back on her feet and that's just a big fat happily ever after waiting to happen, so what's with all the sadness, hmm?"

"Nixon," he heard the witch murmur, the smile almost completely gone from the Oracle's lips as he took his hand in her own.

"It's okay, Masooma," the man replied, crouching to her level.

"No, it's not." She shook her head, slipping out of the wheelchair to wrap her arms around his neck, "but… I just want to say thank everything."

The Oracle held on to her for a lot longer than necessary as the mage looked on with an unreadable expression until the blind man drew away, shaking his head with fragile smile. "I'll do it all over again if I ever have to." Looking up at the blond, he clambered to his feet, helping the witch back into the wheelchair as he continued, "But now that Fai is here, there's no need for me to do that. Besides, I think it's about time I started looking for my own little happily ever after, wouldn't you agree?"

"Nixon," now it was the magician's turn to pull the Oracle in a hug, "I'm truly grateful for what you did for for me. Thank you."

"Ah, so you finally admit that I'm much better than you are, don't you?" the blind man attempted to joke with a soft chuckle.

"Only in your dreams," the blond shot back with a challenging glint in his eyes, something Kurogane had only previously witnessed back in Infinity-but unlike the way the mage had looked at him, there was no anger, no hatred in this look, just an ease to his posture that came only when in the company of someone he trusted to the greatest degree. Kurogane was happy to know he was one of those people too.

He watched the kids move in to say their goodbyes, hanging back until the last possible moment, trying to figure out just what the hell he was supposed to say when it was his turn. In the end, he decided to give the mage a brief and awkward one-armed hug.

"Try not to get killed when I'm not around, idiot." Later on he would refuse to acknowledge that his voice shook just the tiniest bit when he said those words. He watched the manju spread it wings as the familiar magic circle appeared beneath his feet once the meat bun had had its full of hugging the blond, tearfully saying goodbye to the ones who were staying behind. As the last of Magihidusi faded away in wisps of magical smoke, Kurogane was saddened to internally admit that he'd miss the grinning idiot and the witch they had left behind.

His attention was soon drawn to the lavender-eyed woman awaiting their arrival in the very next world. The moment his feet touched the ground, he forgot all about being sad as he tried not to grin like a fool at the sight of his princess.

-0-

Nixon could sense the ninja's disappointment when the man realized the woman waiting for them was not exactly who he had thought, but another version of her. Tomoyo graciously invited the travelers to ride with her as she escorted them to a lavishly furnished mansion. The young woman waited until they were all securely inside before squealing loud enough to make his ears ring. By the time he got his hearing back, she was gushing over the two princesses, declaring how much better it would to film the two 'cute' Sakuras together, declaring she would be dressing them both up for the duration of their stay in that world. He was later informed by the ninja that Tomoyo had done the same with the princess's clone the last time they had come to Piffle.

When Tsubasa wondered how it was that she had known of their arrival, the president of Piffle Princess Corporation explained how a friend of theirs-Watanuki- had contacted her to inform her of the conditions surrounding their arrival. According to the shop owner's instructions, a team of specialists had already been arranged for Tsubasa's physical analysis. Hopefully in less than a week they would have enough data and test results to proceed with his operation and then once his physical therapy was over and done with, he'd be back on his went to bed feeling a lot happier that night. The next morning was the start of a long string of visits to healers that specialized in that world's mode of healing which, strangely enough, heavily incorporatedthe use of machines in analyzing a patient. He supposed humans had to find some way to deal with sickness and injuries when they had no magic to aid it was an interesting approach to the art of healing, one he was sure Masooma would have been fascinated by.

It took him a while to remind himself that he was supposed to be searching for his own happily ever after now, same as he had promised his two best friends he would. When Mokona hopped over to wordlessly cuddle with him, Nixon did not push the little guy away, softly petting the little creature as he 'watched' the world move on around him while they waited for the doctors to explain their diagnosis.

-0-

Tsubasa was feeling apprehensive, a big ball of nerves building up in the pit of his stomach. Even though he had been assured the procedure would go on well enough, the possibility of something going wrong was still there. The doctors said there was still a fifteen percent chance of failure. His body might not be able to adapt to the foreign chip implant in his spine and might reject the object altogether. Which,of course, would mean that he truly was crippled for life, but everyone had been telling him to focus on the positive aspects and the huge eighty-five percent chance of everything going just right for him. Everyone except for Kurogane, that was. The ninja had yet to actually speak to him properly. In fact, with everything that had been going on with him ever since they had arrived in Piffle, the red-eyed warrior had not said more than three words to him in the span of a week. And not all those words had been said at the same time.

His mother and father came to wish him luck in his room, half an hour before he was to be put under for the surgical procedure. His own Sakura waited for them to be done before awkwardly making her way to him. Although things had improved a lot between them, there was still a small distance that they both seemed to be still trying to bridge. But he knew they'd get there one day, even if now wasn't that time. He inhaled her familiar and once-again-comforting scent when she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, telling him it would be alright. He allowed himself to draw strength from not only her words but her presence as well. The tight knot inside his gut loosened just a little bit. She smiled at him through tearful eyes as she drew back, giving him a quick peck on the lips then trying to dart away, though he managed to pull her right back in. The familiar taste of her against his tongue was so unlike the tainted, twisted taste he had come to associate with her during his time spent in captivity. A part of him wondered how he could ever have taken that vile woman to be Sakura when his princess so sweet and unique.

Her calloused fingers brushed against the back of his neck as she brushed through his hair. Much to his pleasure, his body did not shake in revulsion to her sudden touch, a sure sign that he was recovering. Maybe there was hope for him yet. They both broke apart at the sound of someone clearing their throat rather loudly. Blushing beet red to the tips of his hair, Tsubasa met the amused grin of his former mentor.

"Tomoyo is looking for you, Princess." The man said, smirk still present on his lips as he cocked his head at the corridor behind him. "She's got that recording device of hers with her, so unless you want to be filmed making out with the kid…" he trailed off, his smirk widening when the princess squeaked out an answer while heat rose along the back of Tsubasa's neck. Offering him one last 'goodluck', she scurried out the door to stop Tomoyo before she found them together.

"How're you feeling, kid?" Kurogane said as he pulled up a seat next to his bed and settled down.

The words 'I'm fine' died right on his lips as he met his mentor's gaze and all the feelings he had been keeping concealed came tumbling out before he could stop them.

"It's not weakness to admit you're feeling scared," the man said as he reached over to ruffle his hair the way he used to when Tsubasa truly was a kid. "Letting that fear over take you and blind you to the possibilities offered beyond that fear is true weakness. It's going to be okay."

And in that moment he believed the man wholeheartedly.

A/N: The end. Drop me your final reviews and tell me what you're thoughts are. A big thank you all who stuck by this story and the irregular updates for these past couple of years. You guys are awesome.

I'd just like to clarify a few things regarding something my beta pointed out concerning Fai's vampirism. He's still part-vampire but like Yuuko had said back in Acid Tokyo, once he'd gotten his eye back, he was no longer dependent on Kuro's blood to survive. I mean yes, if he gets the blood, his vampire half will be stronger but even if he's not to get any blood ever again, he won't die because his magic is strong enough to ensure his survival. The vampire half would just sort of go into hibernation if you will. ;)

I deliberately left the ending open to reader-interpretation instead of making it out to be something definitive but I think considering the rest of the story and the way I tried to portray what happened to them, a concrete happy ending wouldn't fit as well as a hopeful happy ending did, don't you agree? ;)

P.S. There won't be any sequels for this story but don't worry, I do have a Celes-based prequel in mind that will focus on Fai's life there before he left for Yuuko's shop. I'm not sure when that will be up because I'm hoping to finish Shattered Secrets and Whispers in the Dark first. But if all does well, I will most definitely be writing it out so keep an eye out and well… put me on your alerts for regular updates.

P.S.S. The prequel will be titled 'Learning to Live'