Author's Note: Hey Guys! Can you believe it, THE FINAL CHAPTER! I'm sad to stop and at the same time I'm glad. Now i can work on some of the ideas that have been jumbling and dancing around in my head. Who knows, maybe you'll get to see a story about Zelman and an OC of mine. Anyway enjoy this last chapter and i'll try to post an epilogue within the next few days.

Chapter 18

Jiro shakily stood and winced as his body protested at the movement. The massive explosion was unexpected and had caused him to fly through the air and hit one of the walls. Cassa, who he had been fighting earlier, was flung away from him as well but instead of landing and righting herself; her silver chain wrapped around her neck and decapitated her. He looked sadly at the pile of ash that had once been Cassa, his mentor, his rival, and his enemy at the end. Still holding his sword he looked towards the center of the explosion his eyes widening.

There they stood, swords through both chests and dripping with blood. They stared into each others' eyes as they held the other in a death grip. Mimiko no longer looked like Alice. Instead she was human once again, her body shaking with the strain and sheer exhaustion. Aku grinned down at her insanely. He chuckled and began to laugh crazily as Mimiko's eyes widened. Glaring she twisted her wrist and he coughed out blood still smiling at her. "I will return." He whispered.

"Never again." She whispered back fiercely. And she sunk her blade further into him and sliced upwards, the silver blade cutting through his flesh like butter and turning him to ash in a matter of seconds.

Without his body holding her up, she fell to her knees her blade sinking into the hard ground with a chink sound and the one through her chest knocking against it. She sucked in a hard breath and gripped the blade intending to pull it out but by then her hands had gone numb and she was reeling backwards. Strong arms caught her and held her against a warm body that smelled and felt familiar.

"Jiro." She whispered smiling as she looked up into his face tenderly.

"Mimiko." He cried softly, his face pulled into a grimace as tears pooled at the corners of his eyes and streamed down across his cheeks.

She raised her hand up and shakily wiped away the tears. "I love you, Jiro, I will always love you." She said her own tears beginning to flow from the corners of her eyes.

"I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life." He leaned down kissing away her tears before kissing her lips softly. They sat there, her life draining away, for no mortal could live through this, and neither could a vampire for the blade was silver.

Jiro could hear her heartbeat slow and her breaths became shallower as she rested her head against his chest. He held back his tears as best he could until he could hear her heart no more. Silently he slid the blade from her chest and glared at it, throwing it a few yards away where it sunk into the ground. Turning back, he brushed Mimiko's shorn hair away from her face and let his forehead fall to hers. With his love gone he let out a scream of such animalistic anguish that vampires from miles around could hear it. His tears flowed freely from his eyes falling to her face and neck as she lay still in his arms.

Hearing footsteps fast approaching he looked up and saw as Kotaro and Cain were rushing towards him. Kotaro fell to his knees before Mimiko, his body wracking with his sobs as he leaned over her chest. His childlike cries were full of heartache and Jiro felt his despair double at the pain this was causing him. Suddenly Kotaro sat up and bit viciously at his wrist holding over Mimikos' mouth and letting the drops fall down her throat.

"Kotaro," Jiro whispered, "it's no use, she's…she's gone." He grimaced at the thought, another wave of pain hitting him like a ton of bricks.

"She can't be, she promised we would all be together after this was over. She promised!" he cried. "Mimiko, wake up! WAKE UP!" he cried again and grabbed her shoulders as if to shake her.

Jiro quickly stopped him and pulled him against his side, letting his brother cry into his shoulder as he himself cried into the chest of the woman who was his whole world. There was silence as Cain let them mourn when suddenly a familiar gong-like sound rang around them. With a deep gasp, Mimiko arched up and cried out, holding her chest. Jiro watched as the wound from the silver blade mended itself and the blood surged into her body. She breathed heavily, her eyes wide and blue as she turned towards him.

"Jiro." She whispered and then smiled.

They came together, arms clasped around each others' bodies as they kissed furiously. His hands surrounding her waist and cupping her head as hers wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer, her kiss deepening as her urges flared up around the man she loved. He kissed her back equally as hungry but parted when he felt them being watched. Slowing the kiss to tenderness he kissed her lips and then forehead before gazing down at her with the biggest smile she had ever seen gracing his face. She grinned back and before she could kiss him again, a little blonde bundle of arms and legs leaped onto them, causing them to crash backwards, flat on the grass. Kotaros' arms wrapped around her waist, clinging to her desperately as she hugged him back and he giggled.

Leaning back he looked at her and grinned. "I knew you wouldn't break your promise!" he cried and laughed happily.

She smiled back and mussed the blonde curls on his head before turning to Jiro again. He hadn't stopped smiling since she broke away from their kiss and she felt her heart skip a beat as she looked at the smile that was hardly ever on his face. "I love you, Jiro." She whispered.

"I love you Mimiko," he murmured back and leaned in to whisper into her ear, "Forever and always."

Suddenly the clearing they were in was filled with vampires and police. Sei and Zelman both arrived within minutes of the mass and moved their way to Mimiko and everyone else.

"Mimiko," Sei smiled when he saw her, "I trust you are well." He didn't say anything about her bloody appearance or the shorn hair that stuck up around her head like a porcupine.

She smiled back and stood with Jiro's help until she was righted on her feet. As they began discussing what all had happened Zelman looked at Jiro and jerked his head to the right. Jiro nodded and they both slipped away and walked towards the edge of the crowd.

"What the hell happened to her?" Zelman growled his eyes sparking with a ferocious fire.

"She saved all our asses, that's what happened to her!" Jiro growled back getting into the fire users face.

"You were supposed to protect her, not let her get the living daylights beat out of her. She died for hell's sake. I know! I felt it!"

"I know." Jiro murmured his eyes downcast and to the side. He hadn't wanted Mimiko to get as involved as she had been. He should have been the one to defeat the Kowloon King; he should have been the one to die in her arms instead of her in his. He was just glad that Kotaro had been able to revive her.

Zelman watched him in anger before realizing he was beating himself up over everything that had happened, especially concerning Mimikos' death. He sighed rubbing the back of his head and then looking up at Jiro. Jiro looked up and Zelman glared. "I'm giving you one more chance youngling," he stated holding his finger up, "you let her get hurt or worse die and there will be a flaming inferno waiting for you." He grinned.

Jiro nodded his own smile forming before he grew serious, "I'll never let anything harm her ever again." He promised and they shook on it. "So does this mean you'll stop harassing Mimiko?" he asked as they turned to walk back to the crew.

"Whoever said that?" Zelman smirked and took off with his vampire speed to appear behind Mimiko. She jumped and looked over and laughed and Jiro smiled at hearing that lovely sound grace her lips. She cocked her head to something that Zelman said and then turned to look at him. She smiled and walked away from everyone else coming to stand before him.

"Jiro?" she asked tenderly.

He took her hands in his and rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles smiling at the feelings she stirred within him. Looking up he gazed into her eyes and smiled. Holding her gaze he slowly knelt before her and she gasped her eyes wide. "Mimiko Katsuragi," he said tenderly, "you are the love of my life and I can't even fathom a day without you in it. Although I know there will come a day where we will have to give our blood to Kotaro to return him to his full Sage mode, I want to spend that time from here until then with you. Will you do the honor of making me the happiest man alive by becoming Mimiko Mochizuki?" He smiled as her eyes filled with tears and she grinned nodding her head furiously.

"Yes!" she cried. "Yes! Oh, yes!" She tackled him and kissed him with all the love she held for him and he responded in kind, not even realizing that those around them had stopped to watch the spectacle and began clapping for them.

They broke away finally noticing and grinned sheepishly before standing and making their way back toward the crew. Jinnai stood there watching them his eyes full of happiness for the girl he had rescued from Hongkong and basically adopted so long ago. Kotaro was running around with joy and while Zelman pulled a disgruntled look he was obviously happy for them both. At this time Sei encouraged them to go with him to his mansion where they could all sleep soundly now that this was all over and done with. Everyone agreed and walked through the streets silently, the moon guiding their way.

Mimiko sat next to Jiro, curled into his side as one arm rested against the arm of the couch and the other draped across her shoulders, holding her close. She breathed in his scent deeply, glad she was alive and here with him and all of her friends. They were all safe. She could hardly believe that, especially with everything they had gone through. She was still trying to sort out what had actually happened in that warehouse. She couldn't really believe that she was the one to defeat the Kowloon King. Granted she had help from Jiro, Cain, Kotaro, and even Alice but still she had dealt the final blow. It was baffling.

"So what will you both do now?" Sei asked eagerly.

Jiro looked down at Mimiko and smiled and she smiled back. "We're going to get married and live out our days until the time comes for us to return the Sages' blood to Kotaro."

"About that," Kotaros' Sage-like voice said and everyone turned to him. He stood and made his way over to sit on the coffee table before them. "I tried to tell you this earlier but I will not need your blood." He stated.

A collective 'huh?' echoed around the room and Kotaro smiled. "Let me tell you a bit of our bloodlines' history, Jiro. I didn't really tell you much back then because I had thought we would have had plenty of time, but things don't always go the way we plan. I will only ever need your blood if I become gravelly injured. Like when I was killed by the Kowloon King ten years ago. Though at that time Cassa had given me her blood that still held some of the blood I had given her. That is why she guarded my ashes so closely for so long. She was assuring herself that she had done her duty to me as my protector by having me resurrected. After she had done so she decided to follow the Kowloon King. I assume she is the one who told you about giving me blood to resurrect me and I assume she also exaggerated it a bit as well."

He paused and Jiro nodded, this information sinking into his brain and instantly making sense. He looked down at Mimiko and she looked back as well a small smile slowly spreading across her face as they both realized they would have forever together. Like it should be.

"That's not the only good news," Kotaro explained, "Unlike with other clans, the Sage bloodline is different. It is a bloodline based on creation, which is why those of our bloodline tend to have elemental powers: earth, water, wind, fire; yes Zelman, your ancestor was part of my family at one point, though he deviated slightly from the rest of us. Since our bloodline is based on creation it allows us able to procreate." He smiled coming forward to place a hand on Mimikos' stomach. "I look forward to meeting my little sister in a few months time." He grinned at them both eyes filled with happy tears, "I am happy for you, both of you."

Suddenly the wisdom in Kotaro's eyes faded and the child-like innocence returned. "I'm going to be a big brother!" he cried hugging against Mimikos' stomach. Mimiko turned to look at Jiro in shock and Jiro looked back as well. He grinned and kissed her and she responded, smiling when they broke apart.

"I'm going to be a father!" Jiro exclaimed, and then his eyes widened and he looked distraught, "Oh shit! I'm going to be a father?"

"You'll be fine," Mimiko laughed, "I'll be there to help, for forever actually."
He looked back at her and she giggled already rubbing her belly affectionately. He smiled again, linking his hand with hers and drawing it up to kiss the back of her hand gently. "And I'll always be there, protecting you," he grinned, "for forever." And once again he kissed her, there love for each other surrounding them both and flowing out into a never ending stream to include their friends and the world around them.