Ukyo was cleaning his camera lenses in the living room when he heard the door to his bedroom creak open. He set them down along with the cleaning cloth and stood from where he had been stooped over the small round pieces.

"Hanako?" He called softly; he didn't want to startle her.

"U…" She called back, she sounded weak. "Ukyo?"

"Yes." He rounded the corner to the hallway. She was leaning against the wall, it looked like she was hardly able to stand. "Hanako!" He rushed to her side.

"I…" Her cheeks were flushed. "I need to go."

."No!" He knelt on the floor in front of her, holding her arms to steady her. "You are in no condition to go anywhere."

"But…" Her chin quivered. "You don't know me…"

"You don't know me either." He smiled. "It's okay. You're sick. You need to get back to bed."

The tears that formed in her eyes made his heart break. "Yes, I do." Again she reached out for his face, allowing her fingertips to rest on his cheeks. There was a jolt that ran through Ukyo's body and he saw another flash in his mind, this time of cherry blossoms in a park. He gasped at the feelings that surged in his chest. As soon as her fingers left his skin the memory was gone and he was able to regain his senses.

"Yes, you do need to get to bed." He agreed with her. "Let me help you." He practically carried her back into his room and helped her crawl under the blankets. He made sure she was comfortable and turned to leave.

"Ukyo?" She called softly. He turned around to look at her, she looked so tired. "Thank you."

He smiled. "Of course, let me know if you need anything."

Again he leaned against the door after he closed it. What was that memory? It wasn't one that he could pull forward to the front of his mind when he wanted to like others he had. It was as though it had been buried deep, like he had been forced to forget. He tried to pull it forward and felt the familiar pain in his head. He closed his sore eyes and rubbed them with his fingers, holding them there until the pain passed. When he finally let them fall and opened his eyes he was standing in the kitchen, holding a large carving knife. Startled, he dropped it. The sound of it hitting the floor reverberated through the small room.

What was wrong with him? He shook his head. Leaving the knife on the floor he made his way to the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and let the water heat up. The resulting steam fogged up the mirror as he leaned against the sink. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked okay, maybe a little tired, but he had a terrible time sleeping the night before. He splashed some water on his face, hoping to clear his head. He returned to looking at his reflection in the mirror. It had changed. Something about his face was different. The dark circles under his eyes were worse and he was smiling. He didn't feel like he was smiling. He leaned in closer and pressed his palms to the glass, smearing the steam in to drops of water that ran down the mirror. His reflection was laughing. He could hear the laughter as if he was laughing, but he wasn't laughing.

"What is wrong with me?" He asked himself.

"You are remembering." His reflection answered. "You opened the door that everything was hidden behind, including me." The other him grinned wickedly. "And now I will rid this world of her, like I have done so many times before."

"What!?" He yelled at his reflection. "What is happening!?" He slammed his fists into the mirror, shattering the glass. His reflection returned to one he recognized and he froze. Hopefully he hadn't woken Hanako with is yelling. He turned the faucet off and decided it was time for him to go to sleep. He was just exhausted. He pulled his shikibuton out of the closet and laid it out in the living room along with the matching kakebuton and settled in for the night. It had been so long since he had slept in one of these, it was comforting. It reminded him of when he was little, his mother tucking him in at night and kissing him on the forehead.

"You are my little bunny." She would whisper, rubbing his cheek. "I will always love you."

I will always love you.

He smiled as he drifted off to sleep.

They were sitting in a green field at a park. She was lying on her back, with her head resting on his leg, looking at the clouds.

"That one looks like a bunny!" She pointed.

"Do you like bunnies?" He chuckled.

"Yes." She blushed. "I think they're adorable."

"My mother use to tell me I was her bunny." He smiled down at her.

"Really?" She sat up and looked at him. "Now you are my bunny." She grinned at him.

He laughed. "Forever."

She reached out to him and ran her fingers through his long, fine hair. "Here." She said, shifting so she was sitting facing him. She began to braid his hair. She secured it at the bottom with a small tie she produced from her white purse. "Now we match!" She smiled and turned her head so he could see her braid.

He ran his fingers down his long braid and smiled. "We do."

"Will you leave it in?" She asked, blushing.

"Forever." He cupped her cheeks in his hands, he loved it when she blushed.

"Ukyo." She breathed as his face came closer to hers.

"Hanako." He whispered and pressed his lips to hers. They kissed as cherry blossoms fell down around them.

Ukyo's eyes fluttered open. He stared at the ceiling of his living room, sunlight streaming in through the curtains. He blinked away the tears that were forming in his eyes. The sadness that filled his heart was heavy, so heavy he could hardly stand it. He sat up and rubbed his face. He wanted to cry. Even though she was sleeping in his bed in the next room over he felt as though she were gone forever. He hardly knew her, but the idea of never seeing her again ripped through him like a breaking wave. He had to peek in on her; he had to see her again.

He crept down the hall and silently cracked the door to his room. She was there, sleeping. He pushed the door open and made his way to the bed. He stood over her watching her peaceful face, but soon found himself sitting down next to the bed.

"Hanako…" He breathed. "Who are you?"

Her eyebrows moved, as if she could hear him in her dreams. He reached out to her and placed his fingertips against her forehead. Her fever had gone down. He sighed in relief. She was getting better. Perhaps he should make her some soup, he could wake her up for a little bit and coax her to eat. He smiled as he watched her face change as she slept.

"Come with me." She whispered. "Ukyo, please…" Her eyebrows were pulled together in worry and tears were beginning to run silently down her cheeks. "Please, we can leave together."

Was she crying for him? He reached out and wiped the tears from her face. She hardly knew him, what could she be dreaming about that would cause her so much pain? As he stroked her cheek her face seemed to relax and her breathing returned to normal. He finally tore himself away from watching her sleep and made his way to the kitchen.

As he entered the small space he was greeted by the knife he had dropped there the night before. He stopped and stared at it. He still couldn't recall how he had ended up with it in his hand. He bent down to pick it up, but felt the same pain in his head as his fingers brushed the handle. Silly as it made him feel, he didn't want to touch it. Just thinking about what had happened the night before made him uneasy.

He pulled a small pot from the cabinet and began to heat some chicken broth on the stove. Just broth would be fine. He would be happy just to get her to drink that. He stirred the liquid slowly and watched it as it spun around and around in the pot. He allowed his thoughts to wander as he was mesmerized by the spinning broth. They finally found their way to the feeling of her lips on his. That dream had felt as real as the nightmare the night before. He ran his fingertips along the edges of his lips and thought about how much he really would like to kiss her. If they felt anything like they did in his dream, it would be wonderful. He felt his cheeks burn with blush as he thought about how her face would look as he leaned in to kiss her.

"No, no, no." He shook his head. "You've only met her. You shouldn't be thinking such things." But he smiled to himself. He did like her.

"Hanako." He called to her softly. "Hanako, I have some broth for you." He placed his hand on her shoulder.

Slowly her eyes fluttered open. "U... Ukyo?" She looked confused as she pushed herself up into a sitting position in the bed. "What…?" She looked around and realized where she was. Her face turned a bright shade of pink. "What am I doing here?"

"I found you sleeping in the entry way of my building." He smiled at her. "You had a fever." He held the broth to her. "You've been asleep for almost two days, you need to eat."

"I have been sleeping in your bed for two days?" She asked, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Yes. I have been resting in the living room on my old shikibuton."

"I am so sorry." She closed her eyes. "I have been such a burden."

"No." He frowned and set the bowl down on the nightstand. "You have been no such thing. It was my pleasure to care for you."

She opened her eyes. "You are so kind."

This time he blushed. "I wouldn't say that. You saved my life. I can spare my bed for a few days for my savior."

She laughed a little. "I was just in the right place at the right time."

"Still." He picked the bowl back up. "Please eat."

She took the bowl from him and drank some of the broth down. "Thank you." She smiled at him.

"You're welcome." He returned her smile. "Perhaps if you're up to it I could walk you home this evening, that way you can rest in the comfort of your own home, shower and change your clothes."

She looked away. "Y… yes." She hesitated.

"Is something wrong? If you're not ready to go home that's fine, just tell me. I won't push you to get up before you're ready."

"No!" She looked back to him. "I am feeling better."

"Good." He patted her hand. "I know you didn't want to go to the hospital, but there's only so much I can do here for you."

They sat quietly as she sipped the rest of her broth.

"Ukyo?" She whispered.

"Yes?" He took the empty bowl from her and stood to leave.

"Thank you." She flushed.

"You're welcome." He smiled at her. He really did love how she blushed so easily. He returned the bowl to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and stared at the knife on the floor. He wasn't sure what to do about it. Something about the idea of touching it made him cringe, but he couldn't just leave it there forever. He inhaled and exhaled, steeling himself, preparing to pick it up. He bent down and wrapped his fingers around the handle.

Suddenly he was standing in a building, he could feel the weight of the knife in his hand and the heat of a fire all around him. He looked around. He recognized the building from a local university that he had done some photography work for. Why was he here?

He heard whimpering across the room. He looked around for its source and found her hiding under a table, blood pouring from a wound in her shoulder.

"Hanako!" He called to her. He knelt down so he could see her better.

"No!" She screamed. "Please, no!" Tears were streaming down her face.

His brow furrowed. Why was she so afraid of him? He looked at her shoulder, then down to the knife in his hand. It was covered in blood. So was his hand and the front of his clothes. He dropped the knife and fell backwards.

"Hanako… I…" He looked at her, feeling panic rise in his chest.

"Ukyo?" She looked at him, confusion on her face.

He stared at her. "I… I don't know…"

"Ukyo!" She called to him.

He felt himself return to reality. She was standing on his bed, holding her hands out to him, fear etched into her face. He quickly realized what was happening. He had the knife in his fist, raised above his head as though he was going to bring it down on her.

He dropped the blade to the floor and fell on his knees. The terrible pain that had been coming and going was back and was full force now, raging in his mind. He covered his face with his hands, crying out in pain.

"Ukyo!" She cried and hurried to his side. She placed her hands over his. "It's okay."

"No!" He yelled and scooted away from her. "What is wrong with me!?" Tears were streaming down his face. "I don't understand what is going on…"

"It's…" She folded her hands and placed them in her lap. "It's me."

"What do you mean?" He stammered. "I've only just met you."

"No," She was fighting tears. "We've known each other for a long time. You've just forgotten."

"What…?" He was having trouble breathing.

"Years ago, in this world, we met." She began, her eyes filled with memories of the past. "We…" She began to choke on her own words.

"We fell in love." He finished for her, his voice filled with realization. It was as if he knew this story, but couldn't tell it himself.

"Yes." She nodded. "But there was an accident."

His eyes widened. "You died."

They sat in silence. He tried to process all the information that was flooding his mind. He knew things about them, dates, facts and some emotions, but he couldn't conjure specific memories. He could tell you when they went on their first outing, but not what they did. It was more like knowing the facts of a historical event, but having never lived it in person.

"Then what?" He knew there was more, he had to know more.

"You came looking for me." She blushed, holding her hands to her chest. "You looked and looked for so long."

"It was as if I lived a thousand years…" He was beginning to remember flashes of seeing her in a café, at a school, in a market and in a park. He knew her, but she didn't know him. He saw her, but she didn't see him.

"You looked and looked for a world in which I lived, and you lived." Her chin quivered. "But you couldn't find one. In every world where I lived…"

"I died." He buried his face in his hands. "I remember dying. I remember waiting for death, afraid of it coming for me, knowing it would always find me."

"Yes." She nodded. "I remember seeing it reported on the news all the times you were killed. In all the different worlds. I didn't know it was you when I would see the reports, but somehow it made me sad."

"I died, over and over… until…" He was beginning to remember the laughter. "Until he came."

"Yes." She murmured.

"He killed you." He covered his mouth in shock. "I killed you."

She nodded.

"You remember them too?" He was mortified.

"Yes." She smiled, tears running down her cheeks. "Every one."

"Why?" He began to cry. "Why are you here? You should stay away from me."

"It's okay." She crawled across the floor to sit next to him. "It's okay." She stroked his braid. "I love you."

Just so there is no confusion, I want everyone to enjoy and understand my story, this is placed after the series ended. Like our Heroine chose the path of the Joker, but when she arrived in the world he didn't remember her. It was as though his memories had been erased, so if she didn't choose that path he would be waiting for her for forever.