Forgotten Future

Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin *Pouts*

Author's Note: This chapter is a bit weird. The next chapter will introduce the villain. Anybody know any good names? It will get better I promise you. Even though Kenshin seems a bit OOC, it's only for this chapter; he will get back into character. By the way, I was informed that I but the wrong word for Kaoru's wooden sword. It is a bakutou.

By the way, a beta reader is a reader who edits the chapter before it is put up. Should be someone extremely familiar with the original story and/or language. I need one. Please HELP!

Chapter 2: Blood of the Past

"Megumi, get in here! Kenshin isn't breathing!"

Kaoru heard a muffled thud in the next room and was satisfied that Megumi was up. She ran to Kenshin, tears in her eyes. "Kenshin, you can't leave me. You promised, you finally said you were home, why won't you stay?"

Slowly, Kaoru began angry. "How could you! Don't you dare leave me! I'll never speak to you again!" With that she hit him hard on the chest. To her surprise, Kenshin drew in a ragged breath and continued breathing. (a/n hehe, couldn't resist.)

"Well little girl, you got your wanderer back. Whether he will thank you for it or not is debatable. I don't think you care much about that though. Love it selfish." Megumi had come in while Kaoru was ranting at the prone Kenshin. "Is Kenshin going to live?" "I don't know. For now, yes. All we can do is sit and hope."

"I can do that." Kaoru said resolutely. Just then, a soft moan filled the room. (A/n timely huh?) Kaoru gasped and spun toward Kenshin. Kenshin's good eye fluttered open and Kaoru was surprised by the look that was hidden in it. It seemed that the second Kenshin had re-gained consciousness, he was on his feet.

"Who are you? Where am I? Where is my sword?" "Kenshin, lay down. Your at the dojo, don't you recognize it? It's me Kaoru." Kenshin just gave her a look that said he didn't believe her. "Oh dear. I was afraid this would happen. Kaoru, he doesn't remember anything that has happened in the past few years." (a/n amazing how she was able to figure that out after only a few sentances.Ah the miracles of modern medicine, right?) "What do you mean?" This was from Kenshin.

"Kenshin. Sit down or you will make your injuries worse." Kenshin looked at Megumi suspiciously and slip into an almost sitting position. "What has happened to me." He made the question a demand. Megumi bristled, but didn't react. "First, tell me what you last remember." Kenshin's gaze became sorrowful. "Tomoe." Kaoru gasped in pain herself, the woman Kenshin had mentioned, Tomoe, was his dead wife.

Now Megumi looked surprised. "You don't remember anything after that?" Kenshin shook his head, his eye holding a mixture of sorrow and suspicion. "Well, after Tomoe's dead you spent three more years being an assassin, then the war ended and the Meiji era began. You spent ten years under a vow never to kill again and carried a sakabatou (a/n is that spelling right?). Two years ago, you met Kaoru and began living at this dojo.

"Then about a year after you began living here, fighting various people because they were threatening the safety of the people, you had to separate from Kaoru and everyone here you care about to go and fight your successor, Shisho Makota. After a long battle, you won and returned here with Kaoru.

"Only a little while after that, you had to fight Enishi, the brother of Tomoe." Hear Kenshin looked shocked. "Because he blamed you for the death of his sister. When he took out his 'Earthy Justice' on Kaoru, and made you believe she was dead, you totally shut down for a while. You when to Rakuminmura; The place where people who have been betrayed by the new era or have betrayed the era go. Luckily, Aoshi, one of the Oniwaban, found that Kaoru wasn't dead. But Yahiko, a boy you saved from a life of theft, got into trouble with a guy you have fought before, and so you roused from your depression to save him. When you saved him, you found out that Kaoru was still alive and went to save her. You fought Enishi and got her back. Enishi is still living somewhere, but we haven't seen him.

"Then a few nights ago, I told you of your condition. I told you that if you continue to use the Hiten-Mitsurugi style you wouldn't be able to use a sword in a few years. That night, you disappeared, only to re-appear in the morning, looking like you had been in a terrible fight, barely alive and collapsed in the garden. You had a gash across your face, which permanently damaged your eye, and gash in both you side and back, and another in shoulder. In addition to many smaller cuts all over your body." She fell silent.

Kenshin blinked a second, thinking this over. "You lie. I wouldn't forget 12 years of my life because of a few injuries." "Kenshin." "How do you know my name?" "You told me. The first day you met me. This is your home Kenshin, it has been for two years." "No. I don't have a home." "Kenshin, look in the mirror. Is that the way you looked last time you remember?"

Megumi brought Kenshin a mirror. Kenshin cautiously peaked into the mirror. And gasped at what he saw. "That-that's not me. That's a trick." He caught sight of the scar Tomoe had given him, and slowly he brought his hand to it. "That was just yesterday. How-" He sighed miserably. "Tomoe." He whispered the last part. Kaoru felt, for the first time, pity, for Kenshin. He now only remembered himself as a child. That was the life he still thought himself a part of. A child in a man's body. The man she loved.

"But even if what you say is true.why is everything tinged with blood? I can smell it, but nothing here is bleeding but me." Megumi answered, "I don't know. It is your regrets for killing that cause everything to be like blood. Only when you forgive yourself and find happiness, as you did here, with Kaoru, will things stop looking and smelling like blood."

Megumi stood up. "I have to go now. You are not to get up. I want you to lay back down. I'll come by later to change the bandages. Kenshin.you try to remember something." With that Megumi left the room. "Kenshin.you really don't remember anything?" "No Kaoru-dono. I am sorry." (A/n is that suffix right? Or is it san?) "Oh." Kaoru seemed to be at lose for words. "Would you please bring me my sword and wakizashi?" "You don't carry a wakizashi, only the sakabatou." (A/n is that right? I have no idea. Help!)

Kenshin sat in silence. "Please bring me the sakabatou then Kaoru-dono." Kaoru nodded and left the room to get Kenshin's sword, which they had left on the table in the kitchen. When she returned, Kenshin was again struggling to his feet. "Kenshin, sit down. You'll hurt yourself." When Kenshin looked at her, his eye was angry, boring into her. Kaoru backed away slowly, clutching the sword to her chest.

"I-I'm sorry!" Kenshin pulled himself to a semi-standing position and motioned for her to bring him his sword. "I would never strike an unarmed woman." He went quiet, remembering the first girl he had said that to. His wife Tomoe. Suddenly he looked up.

"There is an intruder!"

TO BE CONTINUED.

Author's Note: There. Done. Hope you enjoyed the chappy! Don't know if I got the names for the swords and such right, but I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong. Like I said earlier, Kenshin (and this whole chapter) are weird, but it'll get better. It's all just adjusting to the fact that there's ten years of his life missing. Yup! I still need a beta reader, so if anybody wants the position.Anyway, Review!

Thanks to

CurlsofSerenity- Nope, couldn't breathe, but then, you know, I just couldn't kill him. Thanks for the advice on the Japanese plurals, but I'm not really so good at english grammer, much less any other language so I think I'll just leave it the way it is. Thanks for reviewing!

^.^ Identity Thief - Thanks for the info about the bokken, glad you like the story. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Starlyn- Glad you like the story. Thanks for the info on the bokken. Hope you liked the chapter.

Shiomei - Glad you like it, hope you like this chapter.

Storm Elf- Well, that's what happened to him. Hope you liked it.

Phantasy- No, not evil per say, just returns to the Battosai, which will be more obvious in next few chapters.

long gone reader- Glad you like it.Hope you liked this chapter.

Crazy Girl Person-Thanks, hope you enjoyed this chapter.