Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this fan fiction. Except myself, of course. But then again we really all could be in the matrix and then the machines own my battery/ body. But I digress. On with the chapter!

AN: Okay. It's the last chapter. Phew. You know, even I don't really know what's going to happen. So it could be anything. It actually is probably going to be kind of harsh in the beginning (but nothing to bad!) so be prepared.

One question to answer: Animeluver4, I was talking about Sano. Megumi/Aoshi... not my cup of tea, as my grandmother would put it. Anywho... here goes!

Megumi was being followed. She realized it early on, hearing the shuffle of footsteps behind her. Not being able to think of anything else to do, she merely increased her space and hoped that her stalkers would leave her alone. This tactic proved unsuccessful. Several members of the group behind her slipped by her sides and surrounded her.

Crap. She was screwed.

One figure stepped forward toward her. In the pale moonlight she could make out Kanryuu's repulsive face. She stepped away from him cautiously.

"Did you really think that I would let you leave without me, baby?" He growled, stepped more towards her. She took another step backwards, and bumped right into one of Kanryuu's thugs. Oh god.

"Get away from me." Megumi pleaded, knowing that he would not do as she requested. He laughed cruelly, his voice grating. She was really in for it.

"You're mine, bitch. You're coming with me tonight." His face was twisted into a smile that scared her.

"I don't want to go with you. Leave me alone." Megumi replied, trying to keep terror from cracking through her voice. He grabbed her left wrist, hard.

"No one cares what you think, Megumi. Like it or not, you're with me tonight."

Shivers of disgust ran through her body at just the thought of him. He was a louse, a maggot. Would he seriously take advantage of her weakness like this? Her body trembled with anger and fear. What... what would he do to her.

"Why the look? You should be happy to come with me. I can pay you well, if you know what I mean."

Megumi lost it.

She kicked him hard, where it counted. He doubled over in pain and she dove to the side, hoping to make a run for it. Strong hands caught her arms and her waist and restrained her. Shit.

"You... whore..." Kanryuu gasped. He stumbled towards her, face made monstrous with rage. His thin hand shot to her throat. He applied more and more pressure and she was struggling to breath.

"You think you can get away with that? You're not strong enough. And out here, no one's going to save you." He snarled. Her lungs burnt painfully. Someone... oh god, what would he do to her?

"Someone... will... come..." she gasped.

"Who are you expecting? That idiot Sanosuke? He defended you earlier. But where is he now, huh?" Her whole body was in agony. Her head was much too light. If he didn't let up soon, she would pass out. As it was her lids already felt heavy.

"Where is your adoring idiot now?" He sneered. She hated him so much. He world was going dark...

Suddenly the hand on her throat loosened. With all that was holding her up gone, she collapsed to the ground. Cool air rushed into her lungs, saving her from the brink of unconsciousness. She rolled over and looked at why her attacker had desisted.

Someone was holding Kanryuu up by the front of his shirt. The person was tall and lanky, with a familiar slouch. She couldn't make out who it was, really. Her eyes were still dark with lack of air.

"Her adoring idiot is right here." She knew that voice all to well and her heart swelled with affection. Sanosuke. He had come. Now that she looked up she could clearly recognize his spiky hair and brown eyes... eyes that were currently burning with anger that was reflected in his dangerously low voice.

"I would call you scum, but it would be giving scum a bad name." He was trembling with fury. "There are no words to describe what I think about you. So I'll try to let you understand it through my actions." With that he punched him hard in the face, a punch that would have made the elevator very proud.

No one made any move to help Kanryuu, who was developing a bad nosebleed and moaning loudly. Aoshi stepped forward, regarding the still fuming Sanosuke through long bangs.

"You love her." Aoshi said, more of a statement than an inquiry.

"I do." Sanosuke said, voice still tense. Aoshi nodded once, motioned to his men. They quickly vacated the scene. One of the bigger guys threw a protesting Kanryuu over his shoulder. Leaving Sanosuke and Megumi alone. Neither of them could think of the right words to say to the other. Silence fell in the night.

(Back at the cast party... Monigue had somehow secured a live feed of the scene that was happening in the parking lot, and had decided that this was the right time to start showing it. The whole cast had parked themselves in front of the television, captivated by the scene. What could they say? All of them were curious as to what would happen between their two leads. And plus some of them had a hell of a lot of money riding on what was playing out in front of them.

A few of them, including Monigue, were shouting out suggestions.

"Why doesn't one of them make a move already, dammit!" Kaoru shouted.

"Yeah! I've got twenty bucks on them within the next hour." Monigue shouted.

Everyone turned to look strangely at her.

"What? Misao and Yahiko have bets within the hour too."

"Isn't this a gross invasion of privacy?" Kenshin asked sheepishly.

"Ain't it great though?" Monigue sighed, grinning.

"Shut up!" Misao shrieked. "They're doing something."

The whole room fell silent and turned their attention to the screen.)

"Jesus, Megumi, are you alright?" Sanosuke gasped, dropping to his knees. Megumi slowly sat up and looked at him. "Did he hurt you? God, I'll kill him. I swear I'll rip him to shreds..." Sanosuke snarled. Megumi just smiled a little bit at him, her heart overflowing. She throws her arms around his neck and drew him into an embrace.

"Stop... Sanosuke." She whispered. "You've done enough. Thank you." He wrapped his arms around her hesitantly. His touch was as gentle with her as it had been rough with Kanryuu. She was almost surprised that such rough hands were capable of such tenderness.

("Make a move Sanosuke! Make a mooooooove!" Yahiko wailed.)

"I was scared for you, Megumi." With his left hand he carefully brushed the hair of her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm all right now. I owe you, though." She smiled, her voice soft. If it had been anyone else with her, she would have been shaking and terrified. Somehow Sanosuke just made her feel... safe. She loved that about him.

("Why hasn't he asked for a kiss already?" Kaoru asked. She was shushed by most of the people in the room.)

"Can I collect one of the favors now?" He asked. "Um... punching Kanryuu... didn't do good things for my hand."

"Oh geez. You mean you punched him with your bad hand? You idiot!" She scolded, pulling away from him and grabbing her right hand. His hand was truly not a pretty sight. She started working at pulling off the bloody bandages. "Ug. You really managed to screw your hand up, didn't you? I don't have a first aid kit either, so we'll really have to go to the nurse."

("No! Dammit! My chances of winning are shot if they go to the nurse! Stop them!" Yahiko yelled.

"Don't worry." Monigue grinned. "I've got this covered.)

Just as Megumi started to get up something fell with a metallic clang next to her.

"What the hell?" She muttered, looking at the object that had just fallen from the sky. With surprise she realized it was a first aid kit. "How did this get here!?"

Sanosuke was peering up at the tree branches above them. A small furry form was visible by the light of the moon. A low cawing sound rang out through the lot.

("You had... the squirrel... drop them a first aid kit." Yahiko stated, in shock. "You're a freaking genius!")

"I'm not going to ask..." Megumi shook her head and opened the kit. Gently she started to bandage his hand.

"Megumi? Can I ask you a question?" Sanosuke asked.

"You just did. So now I get to ask you a question before you can ask another one." Sanosuke scowled but was silent. "Was it you who gave Kanryuu the black eye earlier?"

"Sure was. Enjoyed it, too." Sanosuke grinned. "Okay, so it's my turn. Why did you kiss me like that?"

"I was trying to figure something out." She stated, grinning evilly.

"... and?" Sanosuke waited.

"Hey, I answered your question. Now it's my turn again." Sanosuke rolled his eyes but didn't object. "Why did you follow me out here?"

"I was watching you at the party and I saw that jerk leave after you. I... didn't want you to get hurt by that idiot."

Megumi smiled a little, still touched by how much he had worried about her.

"What were you trying to figure out?" Sanosuke asked, knowing that she would only use his question to stall more.

"Whether I was in love with you or not." She responded, cheeks a little bit pink. "Do you love me?"

"Yes." He responded, looking into her eyes with such intensity that a shiver ran down her spine. "So it's my question again. I'll ask you something that I've wanted to know for a long, long time." She had finished with his hands by now. He reached into her lap and grasped both her hands. He leaned in until his face was barely an inch away from hers.

"What..." he whispered. Megumi was tense with apprehension. "are your measurements?" Megumi's eye twitched once, then twice. If Sanosuke grinned any wider the bottom half of his face would fall off.

("He did not just do that." Kaoru chortled, laughing despite her horror.)

"You.... Are... such... an idiot..." She growled, whapping him over the head, hard.

"Hey! Hey! I was just joking with you. I knew you wouldn't answer that question." Sanosuke was laughing now. "You should've seen the look on your face..."

"Just get on with it. Since I didn't answer that question you get another one."

"Alright. Alright." He said, getting his laughter under control. "You know that I'm just joking with you."

"You're still an idiot."

"Yep, but an idiot that you're possibly in love with." Megumi was silent. "Do you love me?"

"Despite my better judgment and the protest of my pride..." She sighed, then allowed a small smile. "I do."

("Almost there! All he has to do now is to kiss her!" Yahiko shouted excitedly. Someone hit him and he shut up.)

"Fox..." He smiled. "You don't know how long I've wanted to hear that. Not as Juliet to Romeo, but just you talking to me." He leaned in a little bit. "How long I've wanted to kiss you as myself and not as my character. Without fear of dying a painful death, of course." He grinned, remembering how terrified he had been of her after kissing her in front of Sayo.

"Then kiss me already, you idiot." She grinned.

"I thought you'd never ask." He whispered, then kissed her on the mouth. The kiss started out tender, but quickly grew more intense. Just the taste of him made Megumi crave more. His touch on her neck made her skin burn. He was so damn amazing....

Very softly he broke the kiss. A faint sound was heard in the background.

"Was that... cheering?" Sanosuke asked.

Megumi listened. It did sound like not that far away, a crowd was making quite a rucus. "I don't want to know." Megumi laughed. He just kissed her again.

FINI!!!

AN: It's... over... (GASP!) I may write an epilogue. Depends on what kind of response I get. Please review! Thank you to anyone who read and reviewed and encouraged. You guys rock my world! (Hugs to all.)