Hi guys! I am LovefromtheSword, and this is my first fanfic. Answers to review questions will be on the bottom of the page. Thank you and wish me luck!

CHAPTER 1

Kenshin opened his eyes, expecting to see his beloved wife Kaoru looking down at him. Instead, to his surprise, Kenshin was standing next to himself. He was looking at his own body. I must have died...Kaoru brushed some hair off his body's cheek, revealing...nothing.

She smiled and said, "At least, at least, you died happy."

Tears came to Kenshin's eyes, blurring his vision. He wept unashamedly and his hand traveled to his own face. There was no scar tissue, no cross, no mark of what terrible acts he had committed to Tomoe (his first wife) and her fiancee. Only tears streamed down his face. Slowly, he walked toward Kaoru. To his horror, his wife bent over and collapsed. A loop of chain emerged from her back and broke, revealing a more translucent version of Kaoru next to the body. Her soul had a length of chain connecting to her chest.

Suddenly, Kenshin looked down at his torso in panic. There was a chain fastened to the center of his own chest. He reached for one of the metal links.

"Kenshin?"

A pair of arms curled around his shoulders. A warm puff of air tickled his neck.

"Kenshin? It's over. I'm here...Please...Don't cry."

Kenshin had forgotten about the remains of his previous episode. Hastily wiping the tears staining his face, he turned around and saw Kaoru. She was smiling, her loose hair swaying in the breeze.

She bent over, resting her chin on his shoulder. He could feel her steadily breathing against his chest, and Kaoru's heart beating with his. Her breaths tickled his ear.

Turning her head toward his neck, she whispered, "Its over now. We'll both be happy."

"What about Kenji and Yahiko? What about Sanosuke?" Kenshin's brows crinkled in worry.

"They'll get over it."

"But-"

Kaoru's small, white fingers covered his lips gently, silencing him. Her other arm snaked around his back, clenching his blue-colored gi.

Then she let go, and said, "I love you Kenshin."

Kenshin quickly snatched her into his arms and squeezed her. The cherry blossoms flying around them, the warm sunlight filtering through the trees, the warm waist in his hands...Kenshin was finally at peace.

Clutching her head in his hands, he leaned forward to kiss her on the lips.

A gasp. A stifled scream. Kaoru's face convulsed in shock. Warm blood covered his face and chest. A tentacle was impaled through her chest. A red flower bloomed from the center of her breast on her brown kimono. Stunned, Kenshin watched helplessly as his lover doubled over onto the ground. What?

"Kaoru?"

The slime covered tentacle lifted the soul off the ground toward a large and gaping mouth. It was a monster. A six legged monster that was black all over its body. A dull white, bone-like mask served as a face. Spines adorned the creatures back, razor sharp and glistening. Its feet sported long, seven inch claws covered in blood and remains of its last victims. Tentacles were attached to the shoulders. Muscles rippled under the skin. And a hole in the underbelly. A hole you could see through. A hole empty of everything, a void with no feelings.

Kenshin had no sword. He did not have one anymore. He had given his sakabatou as a gift to Kenji through Yahiko. He could not do anything.

Kaoru was tossed into the creature's large jaws. CRUNCH. A shower of blood soaked his body. Falling to his knees, his whole body trembled. A chain soaked in red liquid hung out of the monster's mouth, the only sign of Kaoru left. Kenshin closed his eyes. And screamed.