Megumi wept and wailed, pouring her heart out over the final resting place of her beloved Sanosuke. 'Why? Who would do something like this?' thought Megumi wildly. Her tears fell, making small wet spots upon the earth that covered Sano. She finally, after a long period of crying, ran out of tears. As she stared at her lap, her hands clenched in sorrow, she recalled something. Her hands unclenched and she gently placed them on her slightly rounded stomach. He had known, of course. She told him the very first day that she had known. She remembered that day, better if any. She had been outside the clinic, standing on the porch staring at the colorful sunset when Sanosuke had snuck up on her and wrapped his strong arms around her. She looked up and smiled, then he had leaned down and kissed her gently.

It had been a pretty picture, but now, it was shattered. Sanosuke lay in the cold, hard and unforgiving ground. The harsh reality of the situation made Megumi make a decision, perhaps one of the few sane ones made that day. She would mourn privately at home, with no one to watch her. She slowly reached out, just to touch his face one more time… But when her small and shaking hand was just a scant inch away, the mound shook and shivered, startling her. She yanked her hand back just in time to see Sanosuke sit up, groaning and gasping for air as the dirt fell around him. Her eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted, leaving a bleeding and very confused Sanosuke staring at her. Without bothering to bind up his wound or even stop the bleeding, he picked up the unconscious Megumi and silently walked out the dojo gate, having remembered what had happened earlier between him and Kenshin. With him bleeding through a gaping hole in his chest and fighting to stay conscious he slowly made his way to the clinic, not caring that he bled over Megumi…

Back within the dojo, Karou sat with the dagger pressed taunt against her skin. As the cold metal slid across her smooth skin, she muttered to herself "No, that's not right…" and in one fluid move, she had transferred the edge of the blade from her inner arm to her throat, the tip of the blade pointing at it. 'For you, Sanosuke.' she thought sadly, and prepared to jab the blade into her tender exposed throat. She closed her eyes, and then gently began to slide the tip slowly into her tender throat. Her sliding door crashed open and Kenshin dashed in, his eyes wide. Without pausing, he raced over to her, and tried to wrestle the dagger from her. "NO! LET ME DIE IN PEACE!" screamed Karou loudly. Suddenly, there was a harsh pain in her chest, and she looked down in horror to see the dagger there, plunged up to the hilt. Her eyes widened, and she looked at Kenshin in surprise. Somehow, during the struggle the blade had slipped downward, and as he tried to catch it, he had gotten unbalanced and accidentally jammed the blade into her. He cursed loudly, scrambling to do anything to stop the bleeding. Karou wobbled slightly, blood forming a small crimson river flowing from her mouth onto the wooden floor of the dojo.

She swayed violently and Kenshin reached out and caught her before she fell, cradling her in his arms. She looked up at him and whispered, "We'll always be together, my dear one… And I was...so…h…appy to finally…s…" but got no further. Kenshin had leaned down and gently kissed her gently as the last bit of life she had slipped away, closing her obsidian eyes forever. Kenshin stood up, his face solemn and pretended not to notice as twin tears fell, mixing with Karou's ruby blood that lay on the floor. He quietly buried Karou in the same grave that once had held Sanosuke in its grasp, never saying a word the whole time. He fixed his sword upon his hip once again, then stepped out of the dojo and locked it up tight. He made sure that neither thieves nor animals could open it.

Then he walked to Yahiko's and told him what had occurred, picked up Ryu, and strapped his sleeping son to his back just as the sun was setting. The sunset reflected pink and purple rays over the wanderer and his last remaining kin as he threw one last glance over the city that he had once loved. Then he turned, and walked into the sunset, never to be seen again in that city….for now. He would wander to the ends of the Earth, trying to forget all that had happened. When his son grew old enough, he would pass on the task to him and his grandchildren until he found what he was looking for, whatever it may happen to be. A small girl watched the wanderer until he grew out of sight, then returned to her playing, not telling anyone what she had seen that evening. It was soon forgotten, as more important things came into her mind, such as how to avoid her bath later on…