Author's note: And here it is. The final chapter. I hope you guys appreciate it, and all the work I've put in to writing this.

Well, that's all I can think of! Please read, review, and ENJOY!

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Chapter 19

Kaoru stared at the man in her arms, not believing the truth. Falling forward, she pressed her face against his bloody chest, crying harder than she ever had before. He was gone. He was truly gone, never to return.

Never.

She sobbed into his chest, and as she wept, she realized that this meant Sojiro was gone as well. The curse had taken them both in a matter of moments. In those short seconds, the two of them had slipped through her fingers. And now her tears fell for Sojiro as well, the boy that would never smile again.

"-ru." Kaoru just barely heard the voice, but she refused to look up to see who spoke. They called her again, but she refused to listen to them, to allow them to tear her from her mourning.

And then the voice broke through her barrier, and she realized just who it was coming from. Not believing her ears, she pulled away from Kenshin just enough to look at his face.

His lips were parted, his eyes open. "Kaoru," he said again, and this time, Kaoru heard him load and clear. "KENSHIN!" she yelled, crushing him in a hug. She didn't care about the rest of the words that spewed from his mouth. She'd even forgotten about her own injuries. All she knew was that Kenshin was alive, and her life was perfect.

"Kaoru!" he pushed her away, just enough to look into her eyes. Kaoru didn't wait. With that, she shoved herself into him, kissing him full on the mouth, her tongue slipping in between his surprised lips. She vaguely noted Megumi gasping in the background as she realized that Kenshin was awake. She didn't care about anything else accept for the taste of Kenshin in her mouth, the feeling of her body pressing into his...

"Kaoru-dono!" Kaoru's eyes opened, and she turned to look at who was addressing her. It couldn't be. But it was.

Himura Kenshin stood in the doorway to the dojo, dressed in his magenta kimono and white hakama, his orange hair tied back in a neat ponytail. Kaoru immediately felt ridiculously stupid. It occurred to her then. "The curse is gone!" She dropped Sojiro, who she had thought was Kenshin, and ran over to jump into the real Kenshin's arms, glad he was back in his familiar body.

"But how?" she asked after a few moments, looking around the room at Sanosuke, Megumi, and Sojiro. She had just noticed they were all there still. "How did that happen?"

Sojiro smiled, getting up off of the ground. "I can only guess, but the curse was cast out of hatred, right?" Everyone was staring at him now, as he dusted himself off. "Because it was cast of pure hatred, it was broken out of pure love. You said you loved him, Kaoru-san, and you meant it. I guess it broke Shishio-san's curse."

Kaoru nodded, not sure if she should cry or yell for joy. She settled herself by hugging Kenshin again. "I'm just so glad you're back!" she said to both him and Sojiro. "So glad!"

Sano snickered. "Talk about your near death experiences," he joked. "You two nearly scared me to death!" Megumi pushed him playfully. "You two made this man cry," she said, flicking Sano's chin. It seemed the incident had made everyone closer. "I just feel bad for Yahiko. He missed it all."

Sojiro's head shot up. "Yahiko?" he asked. "How is he?" He then noticed the three Hiromasus lying on the ground. "What happened?" he said, shocked.

Kenshin laughed. "Yahiko is fine, and he'll be up soon. As for what happened here, this one will tell you later, Sojiro. For now, let's just clean up."

"Forget that!" Megumi yelled. "Dinner for you all at the Akabeko. All on me!" At this, Sano's eyes lit up, and the rest of the group laughed.

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The Black Hitokiri's Revenge:

THE END

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Author's note: So that's how it ends! Please, please, please tell me what you think! I don't want to have to take a break from writing again. I really hope you guys liked it, and I REALLY hope you guys check some other fics of mine out.

Please review!

This is Saja Natalia, signing out!