Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, or anything else I might seem to add from other things, except the original parts of the storyline and my OC! She is mine!

This is my first Kenshin fic, so please be gentle and no flames!

Enjoy!

Mistaken Identity, Tears, Pain and Sorrow

"Keiko! What have you done to yourself?!" her mother shrieked, horrified by her daughter's appearance.

"Mom, calm down, I just dyed my hair and put colored contacts in my eyes. Everyone who knows me says I look a ton better this way. Now I don't look like some foreigner," Keiko stated, tying her black hair up in a high ponytail, her sapphire eyes sparkling.

"You should never dye your hair on impulse! Just the same as you shouldn't wear contacts unless you really need them!" her father reprimanded.

Keiko snorted, then turned away. "If you hate it so much, then I won't come back, ever."

This had happened quite a bit between her parents and her, but this time she meant that she wouldn't come back, even though her parents would eventually forgive her.

Hmph, I don't care what they'll say. As long as I don't come back, it'll hurt them more than me. I don't need them.

She kicked a stone across the dirt, as she walked through an abandoned lot. I hate my parents. They always have to fight with me in everything I do. They just don't know anything. Maybe I should just hate grown-ups altogether. They're a pain in the butt, so if I really vanished off the face of the planet, no one would care.

Kicking another rock, she noticed a looser patch of dirt. Maybe I could just bury myself in this hole. I'd be better off dead.

As she stepped on the spot, it collapsed under her weight, and she fell. She cried out as she hit water, then blinked. Water? What's this? Did I fall in a well or an old spring or something? She surfaced and coughed, then yelped, as something hard hit her on top of her head. "Ouch! That hurt!"

"Hey Kenshin! I recognize that voice! It's Jou-chan!" a man's voice cried.

"What would Kaoru-dono be doing in the well?" another asked.

"I dunno! Let's see if it is her!"

"Okay, Sano."

Light came from the hole and Keiko looked up, eyes wide. Two men, a tall one that had brown hair that spiked up like a rooster's comb and a shorter one with long red hair and remarkable lavender eyes, looked down at her. She blinked, then cried, "Help me! I fell in!"

The redhead's eyes widened and he called, "Kaoru-dono! We'll get you out of there right away, before you drown!"

"Yeah Jou-chan, don't go anywhere!" the rooster-headed guy agreed.

These two are weird. Why are they calling me "Jou-chan" and "Kaoru-dono"? I must be losing my mind or they have to have me mistaken for someone else.

She shook her head, just as a rope came down with a loop at the end.

"Kaoru-dono, just take hold of the rope and we'll pull you up!"

"Don't worry, Jou-chan, we won't drop you or anything!"

She glared at the chicken-headed man and yelled back, "You'd better not! Or I'll beat you black and blue once I get out of here!"

She grabbed hold of the loop in the rope and held on tight as she was pulled up. When she was high enough, the red-haired man held out his hand for her. She took it, not refusing anything from her rescuers, even though she could've just stayed quiet and drowned. But there's something about these two that feels…I don't know…familiar, almost, though I don't know why.

When she was out, she gasped, coughing a little, since she'd swallowed some water while she'd been floundering in the well. It was very cold and her clothes were like icy blankets draped around her. She put her arms around herself, trying to warm up, although from the wind chill and darkening skies, keeping warm wouldn't be an easy task.

"Kaoru-dono, are you all right? We should get you inside and changed, or else you might get sick, that you might."

Her eyes widened when she saw that instead of an empty lot, there was a building in front of her. Where did that come from?! That wasn't there before! This has to be a dream or something. If it is, I don't want to disrupt it. I've had bad experiences with stuff like that.

She was brought to a room where there hung a pretty kimono and obi. She looked down at herself and found she was wearing a set of clothes she'd never seen before. Go with the flow, go with the flow…how do I put on a kimono again?

"Jou-chan, you do know that it's getting late, so why don't you just have Kenshin warm you a bath so you can warm up?"

She blinked, then nodded. "Okay." A hot bath would sure feel nice with how chilly I'm feeling.

The redhead smiled. "You can just wait here until this one is ready, Kaoru-dono. Watch her Sano, this one doesn't want her catching her death because of the cold night air."

"Sure, Kenshin."

Keiko looked around, eyes wide. I was absolutely sure that this was an empty lot before. Maybe I've died and gone to heaven. Scratch that, I must be in hell. No way is heaven this confusing. And these two can't be guardian angels meant to lead me to my destination. No way they wouldn't know my name and call me by a completely different one. I'd bet even if these were hell's messengers, they would know my real name. So what is this?!

She started feeling dizzy from all the thoughts and the chill settling in her body. I wouldn't be feeling sick like this if I was dead, then I have to be alive in a strange place. Where the heck am I?! I'd rather choose death than be in a confusing place like this!

"Jou-chan? You feeling all right?"

Without a word, she fell over, hitting her head on the stone step before blacking out.

"Kenshin! Kenshin!"

Kenshin looked up from the fire he was preparing for a bath and gasped, as Sanosuke ran to him, the limp girl in his arms, blood coming from a deep cut on her forehead.

"Kaoru-dono! What happened, Sano?!"

"She just fell over and hit her head! I think a fever's struck her!"

"We'd better get her to Dr. Gensai's. Megumi-dono ought to know what to do."

Kenshin doused the fire and the pair ran to the clinic. When they got there, Sano yelled, "Megumi!"

"Megumi-dono!" Kenshin called.

The woman doctor appeared from one of the many rooms. "Ken-san, what happened to the tanuki-girl?"

"She fell into the well, then while this one was about to prepare a hot bath for her to warm up, she fainted, hitting her head," Kenshin explained.

"Jou-chan sure is clumsy to have fallen into the well," Sano commented, as Megumi looked her over.

"High fever, loss of consciousness, she must be suffering from a concussion plus a fever from the chill. I need to clean the wound and stitch it up. You'd better hold her, just in case she wakes up."

Kenshin and Sano did as told, and Keiko winced, as the needle went into her skin the first time. She didn't move after that. Megumi stitched it up expertly, then wrapped bandages around the girl's head.

"She should be fine now, as long as she gets some rest. You two are lucky you got her here so fast, or she could've died from the wound to her head or the fever."

"We thank you for telling us what to do, Megumi-dono," Kenshin replied, smiling.

Sano nodded. "Thanks, fox lady."

Megumi hit him over the head. "Ken-san, you're welcome, I would help you anytime." She laughed, fox ears popping out of her head.

Kenshin sweat-dropped and looked over at Keiko. She seemed different somehow. She was confused when they pulled her out of the well, and he'd noticed that her chi wasn't as bright and cheerful as normal. She looked exactly like Kaoru, but was she really Kaoru? She hadn't said much since then, so he couldn't tell. If she wasn't, then she had to be an imposter. He would have to question her when she was feeling better.

Okay, what do you think? A bit confusing, I know, but it's good...right?

My OC is frazzled so much, that's why she didn't remember how to put on a kimono, if you were wondering that.

Next chapter will be up soon and more things happen (of course)!

Please review!