A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've been really busy lately, what with the finals approaching and all. But here is the update, just as promised.

I hope you enjoy it, cuz this is the last chapter of Dead, a happy ending though. At least I tried to make it one.

Don't forget to leave a review.

Sakura was discharged from the hospital the following week when Dr. Masooma- who was this world's version of the one I knew- declared that she was fit enough to go home.

Physically at least.

Sakura's mental state disturbed me greatly. Syaoran's death had been something that had shaken her to the very core. She acted like her normal cheery self most of the time but there were moments when she would have panic attacks. It was moments like these that made me wish that I had the power to resurrect the dead so that I could bring Akira back and maybe kill her a thousand times over.

Sakura and Syaoran did not deserve to be torn apart like this. Syaoran still refused to tell Sakura about his condition, although he no longer vanished like he had been doing for the first five days when me and Sakura had been in the hospital.

But he knew he had to tell her soon. I had made him promise me that when he had begged me to not tell Sakura about it. He was just as scared as she was. He did not want to leave her behind but this world was for the living. A spirit could live here for only so long before it began to fade away. In Syaoran's case, the fading was happening at an exponential rate. He only had six weeks to move on before his spirit would just vanish forever.

And today happened to be the second last day of those six weeks.

Once she was discharged from the hospital, Sakura had developed a strange clingy attitude towards Syaoran. I suppose she needed the assurance of feeling his hand in her own to know that he would stay with her. But that was about to end.

"Syaoran," I spoke quietly, aware of the sleeping princess clutching on to his hand, "when exactly do you plan on telling her?"

"You know you don't have much time left." Kurogane added as he came and stood by me.

Syaoran dropped his gaze, watching the slow, steady rise and fall of Sakura's chest as he spoke.

"I was hoping that I might never have to tell her." he admitted in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Damn it kid!" Kurogane growled. "She is going to find out about by tomorrow no matter what. Why don't you spare her the pain and tell her yourself."

I saw Syaoran's set his jaw stubbornly.

"You can't stop it from happening Syaoran-kun." I sighed sadly, "it's going to happen whether you like it or not. I've seen you having trouble maintaining a corporeal form since last week. Yet you refuse. How do you think she will feel once she finds out about it?"

"I promised I would always be by her side." he answered persistently.

"You can't keep all your promises Syaoran-kun. I'm sorry that this happened but if you stay here, you'll vanish for good."

"…" he closed his eyes as he refused to meet my stare. Or Kurogane's for that matter.

"It's not fair." His voice cracked ever so slightly.

"I know Syaoran-kun," I couldn't look at his defeated face either, "I know." I, too, was watching the princess sleep peacefully, unaware of everything else happening around her. "And I'm sorry but..."

I trailed of when Sakura mumbled something before she snuggled closer to his hand with a contented sigh.

"I'll tell her about it tonight." He said after a long time.

"I'm really sorry Syaoran-kun." I whispered as I turned on my heels and exited the room. Kurogane followed closely behind.

-0-

I hate you! I could hear Sakura's angry screams as she yelled at Syaoran in her room. And knowing the boy, I knew he would be listening to her as quietly and as respectfully as possible. You promised me you would stay. You promised me!

Syaoran remained silent.

Go on then. She shrieked, Leave me. I don't want to see you again.

The door to her room opened and Sakura appeared in the doorway. Her choked sobs were loud in the wake of the silence that followed her angry outburst. Without sparing a glance in our direction, she raced past us, wrenching the door to the apartment open as she raced outside.

A couple of minutes later, Syaoran emerged from the room, his head hung low in defeat as he walked up to Kuro-tan who occupied the sofa same as me.

We should leave Kurogane-san. He spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Kid," Kurogane growled like he always does when he is irritated.

She doesn't want me around. He mumbled softly.

I saw Kurogane get to his feet as his right hand tightened to a fist. Since Syaoran was looking down, he did not see it coming.

Wham!

The startled seventeen year old ghost looked up at his mentor.

"You're being an idiot." Kurogane stated simply.

I'm sorry. The boy apologized as he lowered his head once more, looking just about ready to give up on everything.

"Syaoran-kun." He raised his head meet my gaze. "How about I talk to her?" I suggested kindly as I got to my feet.

"I'm sure Sakura-chan will come around," I patted him on the shoulder, "just give her some time." Without waiting for his answer or reaction, I walked towards the hallway and stepped over the threshold, letting the door shut behind me.

I looked around for a little while before walking towards the right, towards the stairs that led to the roof of the building.

Sakura sat huddled on one of the cemented water tanks, her legs drawn up to her chest, arms looped around them as her head rested on her knees. Her eyes were bloodshot and her pale cheeks glistened with tear tracks in the silver light of the moon. Her hair were fluttering about her face in the gentle breeze as silent sobs wracked her slim frame.

Wordlessly I jumped and landed neatly on the solid ground next to her. She did not acknowledge my presence as she stared at the glittering yellow lights of the city spread out below us. Understanding her need for silence, I sat down without making a single sound, watching the same sight she was.

Minutes ticked by as she sobbed and wept noiselessly and I just stayed next to her.

"Fai-san?" she addressed me in a hollow voice, her eyes still trained on the nightlights of the city.

"Yes Sakura-chan?"

"Am I a selfish person?" she asked quietly, still not looking at me.

"Why would you say that?"

"Isn't it selfish of me to want to keep him with me?" she echoed the question I myself had once asked. She turned her head to lock her jade-eyed gaze with mine, "Doesn't it make me a bad person to not let him go?"

"No," I shook my head after a while, wiping the tear trails from her cheeks with my forefinger, "It's perfectly human." I repeated the same answer that I had received because now I understood. My gaze travelled down to her looping hands.

"It's just…" I saw her fingers dig into the palms of her hand as she spoke, "I-I… I can't bear the thought of a life with him… not being a part of it."

I did not interrupt her then. She still had something to say.

"It's not fair… I don't want him to go away."

"I never really told you about this," I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair, "I used to have an apprentice in Celes. She was an amazing person. Hardworking. Intelligent. Bright." I smiled despite myself, a small chuckle escaping my lips as I spoke, "Stubborn beyond belief. Her name was Masooma. Ashura-ou gave me the job of tracking down a gang of serial killers. Their targets were mainly magicians. I managed to capture all but one of them. The killers were tried and punished for their crimes."

Sakura did not utter a single word but I knew she was listening.

"The one who escaped," I said, "was Akira." I saw her eyes widen at this revelation but I paid no mind to that. "She was out for revenge and the best way for her to get to me was through someone I held dear. She kidnapped Masooma."

"What happened?" she asked in a small voice when I did not say anything else.

"She tortured her for days, giving me small clues on where I could find her but every time I got close to finding her, Akira would change the place. By the time I found them it was too late. She died in my arms."

"I'm sorry." She whispered, hiding her face behind her auburn bangs as she lowered it.

"It's alright." I replied, letting my gaze travel to the silver orb that hung in the sky. A cool breeze blew across my face. "For a long time, I blamed myself for her death. Akira used a spell to destroy her spirit before it could move on and I was devastated. Masooma didn't deserve it but it still happened to her."

"I didn't find out about that until six weeks ago when we went after that witch, but Masooma survived somehow or well her spirit did at least."

"When I discovered that her spirit was still here," I locked my eyes with Sakura's, "I didn't want to let her go."

She looked away, as though she knew where I was headed with this. She most probably did.

"We nearly died that night, Sakura-chan. You and I." I clarified quickly, "But she and Syaoran-kun fought against Akira's magic, leaving me enough strength to get us all to a hospital. Still the drain of having to prevent you from dying and stop Kurogane from disappearing, was something that could have killed me. Only it didn't. Do you know why Sakura-chan?"

"She saved you?" she asked quietly.

"Not only did she save me, she gave Syaoran the means to save you." I answered. "Syaoran-kun was so afraid to lose you; he connected your life to his own spiritual energy."

Sakura's eyes widened on hearing that. So my suspicions were correct. He had not told her about this.

"This saved your life but it also greatly reduced the time he could spend in this world." I continued, pretending to not have noticed her shock. "Still he struggled with all his might to be there for you. He didn't want you to know about any of this but he promised to tell you someday when I threatened that I would tell you if he didn't."

"You know," I chuckled at the memory, "he shouted at both me and Kuro-tan when we had threatened to forcefully send him to the next world himself if he did not go willingly."

"He said he promised to stay by your side as long as you wished." I put a hand on her shoulder forcing her look back at me as I gave her a soft smile. "And I don't doubt it for even a second Sakura-chan. He will continue to fulfill that promise regardless of what becomes of him."

She remained frozen where she was, her mouth slightly open, lips parted as she breathed through her mouth, her eyes glistening with fresh tears yet they did not spill over this time.

"Why…" she hesitated as if trying to decide what she wanted to know, "Why did he say that he had to leave tomorrow?" she asked softly.

"Because tomorrow is the last day he can cross over," I replied, "if he stays any longer than that, he'll vanish completely."

She drew in a sharp breath as the dams broke once more. Her whole body quivered beneath my finger as she wept.

-0-

He will vanish…

Vanish…

I felt like hitting myself. How could I have done this to him?

He loved me enough to put his own existence at line for my sake and here I was demanding him to make promises to stay by my side.

I… I couldn't do this to him.

"Fai-san," I spoke as I climbed to my feet, wiping the tears from my face with the back of my hand. I jumped to the roof from the tank and gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

He returned it with an enigmatic smile of his own before I turned around. "You are welcome Sakura-chan."

"Sakura-chan." He stopped me just as I stepped down the first stair, "could you send Kuro-tan up here?"

"Sure." I replied as I raced down the steps. I knew what I had to do.

Kurogane-san was sitting alone on the sofa when I reentered the apartment.

"Fai-san asked you to join him on the roof." I told him as I tried to locate Syaoran.

I sensed his aura in my bedroom so I headed that way, quietly opening the door and stepping inside. He was sitting by the windowsill, watching the moon that peeked out from behind a cloud. He appeared lost in deep thought since he did not notice me enter the room.

Silently I observed his profile. His messy chocolate-colored hair were falling into his eyes, his face slightly turned away from me but I could still see the profound sadness and utter heartbreak etched into his features. My own heart clenched painfully when I realized that I was the cause for his pain.

I hate you. Oh God. I had yelled at him. I had never yelled at anyone in my entire life, if you don't consider Touya-niisan that is, but that's beside the point. I had yelled at my most precious person and not only that, I had told him that I hated him.

I took a hesitant step in his direction but he gave no acknowledgement of my presence. Wordlessly I took another step and then another and another till I was standing just a couple of feet away from him.

"Syaoran?" I asked uncertainly. I had hurt him. The one person who had given up everything or my sake and I had hurt him.

O-oh, Sakura-hime, he whirled around, his amber eyes dark with dread, I'm sorry. I'll go.

Swiftly, he tried to make his way past me, his head lowered as though afraid to look at my face.

"Wait!" I grabbed his arm, halting his attempt to leave.

Hime? He expression was one of bewilderment, a spark of hope lightening his orbs but I could see the apprehension in them too. He wasn't looking directly at me though.

"I'm so sorry," I cried, throwing my arms around him, no doubt greatly shocking him. I felt his body stiffen in my embrace, "I didn't mean what I said."

Sakura? That hesitancy, that uncertainty, it was still there in his tone and when I looked up, I saw a small frown gracing his lips as he looked anywhere but at me.

"I don't hate you," I tightened my hold around him, afraid that the minute I let go, he really would do what I had told him to do earlier.

Leave.

He made no attempt to move but he didn't relax either.

"I'm sorry I hurt you so much. I didn't mean what I said before." I said earnestly, "I don't hate you Syaoran. I don't think I can ever do that. Even if I wanted to."

Finally, his jaded amber orbs met mine, fully trusting but still afraid that I might have a change of heart at the last minute. My heart started pumping faster and harder as I stood on slightly tipped-toes, lightly brushing my lips against his.

"I love you, Syaoran," I kissed him, "and nothing in this world or the next can change that."

I could feel him smile as he encircled his arms around my waist.

Thank you. He whispered gratefully against my ear before he moved to cover my mouth with his. I closed my eyes, feeling the butterflies in my stomach as I lost myself in the feel of his soft, cold yet warm lips.

-0-

A/N: And that's it for now. But not to worry, there is still a epilogue to wind thing up. ;)

What? You really didn't think I would leave it incomplete, did you?

Review if you thought this was the end.

Review if you didn't think this was the end.

Review if you thought, there is no way I am going to let her live with that crappy ending (before you read my note that is.)

Review if you…

Oh what the heck. Just leave a review. ;)

Keep your fingers crossed for the epilogue people.

The next and the last update for this story all depends on how soon I can reach my newest goal that was mentioned in the previous chapter. ;) ;)