Author's Note: Last chapter, I hope everyone enjoys. I wrote this entire thing in an hour and a half...specifically, from 12 midnight to 1:30 am. Anyway, please review, so I can have inspiration for another story. Thanks!

(In this chapter, when I have a line of means we're out of Kaoru's head. '' Indicates her not-sure-whether-she-wants-Kenshin-or-Battousai side, and "" indicates her wanting-Battousai side. Have fun)

Disclaimer: I own no parts of Rurouni Kenshin or anything, so don't sue. I have nothing to give you.

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Forgotten Memories by Supersaiyanchicken

"Kaoru! Megumi! What happened?!" Yahiko burst into the dojo's main room. Megumi was lying on the floor. Kaoru was standing over her, holding a bokken (the wooden sword she always uses, I'm not sure if this is how you spell it, but that's what I'll be calling it). She looked up as Yahiko ran in. He immediately scrambled to a stop.

"Get back!" she said. Her eyes were wide. She looked angry, but also very scared.

"Don't you get it, Kaoru?!" he asked pleadingly. "You have to help us to get Kenshin back! You can't help him!"

"I...I don't want Kenshin back..." she trailed off. Yahiko looked stunned.
"You...what?!"



Kaoru swung her bokken. Yahiko barely dodged in time, and the wooden floor shattered where he had been standing. Kaoru whirled around. The bokken was coming straight at Yahiko's head. He threw up his wooden sword in defense.

"Kaoru, don't make me fight you," he begged. Kaoru ignored him and thrust forward. Yahiko parried the attack and swung halfheartedly at her. Kaoru ducked and slammed her bokken into his side. Yahiko's eyes grew wide and he gagged.

"K-Kaoru..." he choked. He coughed and blood spattered the floor.

"Yahiko...move out of my way," said Kaoru.



Yahiko was still groaning in pain on the floor. Kaoru grabbed him by his hair and forced him to look at her.

"Just stay down. If you get up, I'll just hit you again."

"B-But y-you c-can't let him win..." rasped Yahiko.

"I can. And he will. So just drop it." She let his head go, and it immediately collapsed on the floor. Kaoru poked him with her toe, but he was unconscious.

"That's two down," she said, grinning slightly. "Although Sanosuke will be the hardest."

"Damn right." Kaoru jumped. Sanosuke was standing in the doorway, surveying the room with a look of shock and anger. He looked up at her. "What the hell is wrong with you, Jou-chan?! Why are you fighting us?"

"Stop it!" she cried. "Don't come any closer!" Sano ignored this and kept moving toward her. Kaoru raised her bokken.



Kaoru let the bokken fall from her hands. Sano's eyes narrowed.

"What? You expect me to believe that you aren't gonna fight me?" he asked incredulously.

"Believe what you want," she replied, sounding bored. "I don't feel like fighting you."

"But...you just went through Megumi and Yahiko...and now you're just going to stop?"

"That's right." Kaoru walked past him. A sudden thought occurred to him and he whirled around and grabbed her shoulder.

"You must really think I'm an idiot," he snarled. He pulled her back and stepped in front of her, blocking her exit. "You just want to get back to Kenshin!" Kaoru smiled at him innocently.

"Oh, you got me," she said airily. She looked very weird; almost as though she didn't know where or who she was.

"Uh...Kaoru...are you okay?" he asked. Her smile grew wider. Sanosuke felt a sudden red-hot, searing pain in his stomach. He looked down. Kaoru had jammed Megumi's dagger into his stomach and was twisting it back and forth. Sano gasped and dropped to his knees. Kaoru was smirking cruelly now.

"I guess you really are an idiot," she sneered. "You can't keep me from him. No one can." She walked past him. Sano tried to turn his head, but his vision was growing darker. He fell to the floor. The dagger was deep inside him, but he wrapped his hands around the hilt and managed to pull it out. Blood squirted out of the large hole in his stomach.

"Damn...Jou...chan..." He passed out.

* * * * *

"Battousai! Battousai, wake up!" Kaoru was shaking Battousai hard, trying to bring him back to consciousness. "Come on, lazy baka!"

"Uhhhhh..." groaned Battousai. He sat up.

"Finally! I've been trying to wake you up here for about ten minutes!" Battousai looked around dazedly before settling his gaze on Kaoru.

"What happened?" he asked rapidly. "Where's everyone? Are you alright? Did they hurt you? Did you hurt them?" Kaoru placed a finger on his lips.

"Everything's fine," she said. "I made sure they were out of the way before I came to get you." Battousai stood up.

"So you're positive they're going to be out for a while?" Kaoru nodded and smiled at him.

"It's just us." Battousai grinned maliciously.

"Good." He reached out and pulled her towards him.

* * * * *

Megumi groaned and opened her eyes. She saw Yahiko's slumped form lying a few feet in front of her.

"Yahiko?" she asked weakly. He didn't respond. She crawled to him and turned him onto his back. His eyes were all white. He was knocked out, maybe worse. She was about to pick him up when she saw Sanosuke lying in a pool of his own blood.

"Oh shit," she said. She scrambled over to him. He was completely out of it. He was muttering nonstop and his eyes were glazed and unfocused.

"Sano! Sano, can you hear me?!" she cried frantically. He gave no response. She swore again and looked down. She saw the source of his bleeding, the gaping hole in his stomach. Sanosuke's eyes cleared for a moment.

"Kaoru," he groaned. Then his head dropped back and he lost consciousness.

"Oh my God," murmured Megumi. "Kaoru did this? What's going on with her?" She tore off a piece of Sano's shirt and did her best to stop the bleeding. She knew that he had probably lost too much blood, that he was going to die. But she remained hopeful and finished covering the wound.

"Kaoru-chan...I don't know what's wrong with you, but you've gone way too far."

* * * * *

Battousai softly caressed Kaoru's cheek. They were lying side by side on the futon. Kaoru had fallen asleep after they had finished, and Battousai had for a moment lain and simply stared at her. She was beautiful...and smart...and kind...and his.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Can't you see something's wrong?"

'Wrong? How could anything be wrong?'

"She said she 'took care' of them! What do you think that means?!"

'And more importantly, why do you think I care?!'

"Please, I know you don't like them, but, for God's sake, one's a woman, and one's a little boy!"

'So? I'm not the one who did it. Why should I feel any regrets?'

"Because she only did it for you!"

'I feel proud of myself. Why don't you?'

"These people are my friends dammit!"

'Well, they are not mine. And I am in control. So leave me alone!'

"No! This has gone on long enough. Remember what happened the last time we got too close to a woman?"

'...'

"You remember Tomoe, don't you?"

'...'

"What's wrong? Don't remember?"

'Of course I fucking remember! What kind of question is that?!'

"After she died...after YOU killed her, it was YOU, not me, but YOU who decided to become a rurouni. It was YOUR choice, and YOU were the one who created me! You had a reason for it! Have you forgotten this already?"

'No. But this is different!'

"How?"

'Kaoru isn't Tomoe. They are two different women!'

"She's been in danger many times since we met her. Remember Enishi? That was the last time, but it was a pretty bad fight. And Jin'e? We can't get attached to her the same way we did to Tomoe. I don't want to see another woman die at our hands."

'She won't! Stop talking to me! GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HEAD!!!'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Battousai let out an animalistic howl and bolted up from the bed. Kaoru immediately rose and stared at him in confusion and fear.

"Battousai! What's wrong?!" she asked worriedly. Battousai grabbed his head and staggered around the room groaning and moaning in agony.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" he screamed. Kaoru jumped back, a tear glistening in her eye.

"But...Battousai..." Battousai shrieked and began pulling at his hair, running his fingers down his face, slamming into the wall. Kaoru backed up against the opposite wall. Battousai flung his head up and glared at her. His right eye was amber. The left was violet.

"Kaoru...help me! AAAHHHH STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT GO GET OUT LEAVE ME ALONE SHUT UP!!!!" Megumi burst into the room.

"Megumi!" cried Kaoru, running toward her. Megumi didn't move or answer. She was staring in shock at Battousai.

"What's going on?!" she demanded. Kaoru shook her head.

"Damned if I know," she replied. Megumi turned to her.

"And what's going on with you?!" she said angrily. "You almost killed Sanosuke!" Kaoru stepped back in surprise.

"WHAT?!"

"You stabbed him! He's been bleeding this whole time!" Kaoru was looking horrified.

"No...what have I done...?"

"I'm not sure what's been going through your mind, but I think it has something to do with Battousai's influence on the people around him. He used to be in love with another woman, Tomoe, I think her name was. She was originally sent as a spy to gather information on him. But after she lived with him for a while, she began to love him. In the end, she ended up diving in front of him to save him from his enemy. Ken-san cut through both of them and she died in his arms. After that, he decided to give up killing and become a rurouni." Kaoru was silent for almost a minute, and all that could be heard were Battousai's piercing screams.

"I don't want to keep Battousai awake," said Kaoru at last. "He's had too many problems to deal with. It wouldn't be fair." Megumi nodded. Kaoru suddenly turned to her, eyes wide with fear. "Wait! Hasn't his memory of Kenshin been destroyed? If Battousai goes now, who will be left?" Megumi gave her a small smile.

"I don't think he ever forgot anything," she replied. "He may not have noticed it, but he's been saying some things that he could only have known about had he not lost his memory. He knew I was a doctor, and he knew that kimono you wore yesterday was new. He's been faking this whole thing, just to get you."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes. "So he's just been tricking me?"

"I think so."

"Dammit! I actually fell for it!"

"Don't blame yourself. I already said that he has a strange influence on the people around him. However, I think that our Kenshin has just woken up. I think they are fighting for control right now, and that's why he's acting like this. If he gets through this, I think he'll end up as our Kenshin, and not as Battousai..." Megumi trailed off. Battousai had collapsed on the floor and had fallen silent. Kaoru and Megumi slowly made their way towards him.

"Uh...Kenshin?" asked Megumi tentatively. The man on the floor slowly stood. He looked Megumi straight in the eyes. Both his eyes were violet colored. He gave her a warm smile.

"It looks like I'm back now, that I am," he said. Megumi gave a shout of joy and flung her arms around him. Kaoru, after seeing this, ran forward and embraced the rurouni as well.

"It's good to see you too, Kaoru-dono," he said. Both women stepped back and smiled back at him.

"Good to see you too, Kenshin."

* * * * *

"Okay, you sure you two will be alright on your own?" asked Megumi. Kaoru and Kenshin nodded.

"Don't worry about us," said Kaoru. "He's not Battousai anymore."

"We won't be gone for too long," said Yahiko. "We're just going to get Sano a few more bandages and pick up some food. We should be back in a few hours."

"All right. We'll see you soon." Megumi and Yahiko walked out the front gate. Kaoru immediately threw her arms around Kenshin's shoulders and pressed her lips against his.

"Well," said Battousai after they drew apart. "It looks like they fell for it." His eyes had already regained their amber coloring. Kaoru smirked.

"Pretty easy, if you ask me," she said. Battousai nodded and lifted her into his arms.

"Why don't we go and have some fun while they're out?" suggested Battousai playfully. Kaoru's smirk grew wider.

"I was just thinking the same thing," she giggled. Battousai turned and carried her into the dojo.

That's the end! Please R&R, and don't hate me for writing this (I think it sucks!) Hope you enjoyed!

Aku Soku Zan