This is it! It's a bit short, but I didn't want to just add unnecessary padding and make it boring. It's an epilogue and not a proper "chapter" anyway, so I think I can get by with it.

And to I'm in Pain- Thanks so much for the kind review! And yes, it is Chenshi. I feel dumb- I was getting her name mixed up with Cherche from FEA and ended up combining their names. I'll definitely go back and fix that. I also made another mistake in chapter six that I addressed on Tumblr but not here- Lao's line is "Where are you?" and not "I love you!", which is what is written in the fic. I decided to leave it in- it's not out of character or anything.

And, since nobody was able to guess the answer- the reason behind Lao and Cross' connection is :

He was the biological father of her baby! The "He didn't have much money" hint was that he'd donated sperm when he was much younger to earn some quick cash.

The fact that he resembles Cross' father also ties in a bit, though this wasn't mentioned in the main fic. Dawn's victims all closely resembled her father. She was drawn to them, due to her having somewhat of an obsession with her father (Or more specifically, her father's bloodline) which ultimately led to her killing several men and women that resembled him. She also was drawn to men who looked like him when making a selection of men to be her baby's father. The fact that one of her victims, Lao, was also her baby's father was something that nobody knew- not even Nagi.

Epilogue

Rain

I lie down and feel the warmth of Earth
Whenever a star passes by
I think of you.
Since when is the sky so far?
The sky heard the tree and the Earth talking.
It brought gentle rain,
so that a rainbow would appear.

Believe what she said today,
Remember how to come from the rain!

The morning was grey, damp. Miserable. The warmth of Lao's cheap coffee through the paper cup in his hand did nothing to dispel the chill. The seat at his table had been dew struck, but the diner had been somewhat busy with the breakfast crowd and the noise had been grating.

Lao apathetically watched a few cars pass by the diner. The roads were connected enough now that one could drive to any of the districts, though some were still quite roundabout. NLA, as it was called now, looked a great deal better than it had one month ago, right after the crash- but it still needed a great deal of work.

Lao rose from his seat and threw away his cup. Today would be busy- his new team needed a lot of training before going out in the field. That kid, Shingo, still hadn't learned to hold his gun correctly- and he still had more promise than the other two. Saiden was a good friend, but no fighter, and Mondo had shown far more interest in maintaining his weapons than wielding them. If he could get somebody with experience in melee combat to help train his team, he'd have a much easier time, but who could he rope into training rookies? Doug was too smart to get caught in that trap... Lao continued walking along the edge of the Industrial District, lost in thought. It was beginning to rain.

The drizzle was weighing down his hair, and his bangs were bothering his eyes. He reached up to wipe them away-

And was suddenly hit by a speeding car.

Lao rolled over the roof and landed painfully on the pavement. He was dazed, could barely make out the sounds around him.

"Oh my God! You hit someone!" A car door and loud footsteps- "I told you to hit the brakes!"

"He's a mim, it's fine."

He sat up, with some difficulty. The yelling woman was coming towards him.

"I'm so sorry! Are you-?"

The woman stopped short. He met her orange eyes for a moment- she looked somehow familiar…

She slammed into his chest an instant later. Her arms held him tightly, almost painfully. She was crying- "I'm so sorry!" she repeated.

"Look, I-I'm fine, there's no need to cry," he grunted out. This was incredibly uncomfortable.

She only cried harder then (and held him tighter, much to his discomfort.) She was muttering something he couldn't make out, but he caught his name. "Do I know you?"

She looked up at him, released him and wiped her eyes. She had dark skin and brown hair highlighted in red, with a crimson X painted over her face. She looked incredibly familiar- he felt like he was looking at an old friend. Somebody he hadn't seen for a long time- that he'd thought he'd never see again. She smiled tearfully.

"No, we've never met before."

That didn't seem right- but at the same time, he knew she wasn't lying. She stood and offered him her hand, and he took it. Her hand was small and delicate, but warm. Holding it felt… right.

She pulled him to his feet and for a moment, they stood hand in hand. She looked over his shoulder and smiled. He felt an impulse to turn.

The clouds had parted and left behind them a rainbow, illuminated by the rising sun. The sky was on fire, with droplets of light returning to them. The morning rain washed away the bitter remains of a broken promise.

He felt himself smile.

"The sunrise is beautiful."

Let's find the key we've lost.

...Tell me what you're thinking.
Tell me, what's your way?

Don't give up!

Live your life!
Survive!

Don't give it away!