Well. Here it is!!! The final chapter!! I know many would be a little dissapointed with this, 'cause I don't resolve all the problems, but I am content with the way I left this. ANd I hope you will like it too.

My thanks to my editor: Kyomi-sama. Without her help I don't know when I would be able to put this chapter up. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

Four months had passed since Kenshin and Kaoru had found each other. The temperature had descended drastically since those shiny days of spring. Now the freeze of winter could be seen in the snow that fell more each day in the cold city of Tokyo.

But that wasn't what the students inside the cafeteria were thinking about. The final examinations had finished that morning, and four friends were laughing merrily in a corner of the crowded place, happy that classes were over at last and that the tension of the last few days were over too.

"Maa maa, Misao, Sano didn't mean that." Said Kenshin, trying to calm down his three companions - something that never happened.

"Well, tell him to stop calling me weasel then, Niiyama. Why can't that stupid rooster head stop calling all the girls names? Kaoru is a raccoon, Megumi a fox and I am a weasel!!" shouted Misao furiously.

Even if they had been shouting and fighting over the last five minutes (that was the length of time they had been there), no one around seemed bothered by it. After four months of following the same routine, the other customers were already used to the screams of the table next to the window. There, the weirdest group always sat, and unusual things always happened.

There was the redhead; many knew him for being one of the best litigants of the law faculty. In front of him was the oddest couple in all college: Megumi, medicine student of octave grade and her boyfriend Sanoshiro, Mechanical Engineer student and star player of the American Football team. At one side of the table was the youngest member of the Oniwabanshuu, Misao "the weasel." She was just on her first year of Communications, but it was rumored that she had a great future. She was also in charge of the College PaperNews, and she was always seen next to Hayashibara Aoshi, whom didn't seem to be bothered by her presence. The gossip around was that there was something between them, but it hadn't been confirmed. This was also Aoshi's last year of college, but many believe that they would still see him around from time to time - after all his sister, Hayashibara Kaoru, was studying there as well.

And speaking of the Hayashibara siblings, there they were, just entering the cafeteria. They were both popular. Aoshi was respected and feared, cold and distant with everyone, with the exception of his little sister, whom he tended to overprotect, especially where Niiyama was concerned. College students didn't know exactly when the relationship had begun between Kenshin and Kaoru. The only thing they remembered was a day when Kenshin had gone to his classes covered in bandages. Some said that he had a fight with Aoshi, others said that it was against Kaoru's father. No one knew exactly what had happen, but it was a fact that since that day he was officially known as Kaoru's boyfriend. And that fact was pretty much lamented by the male population, because Kaoru was very well liked. But no one dared to flirt with her - not just because Kenshin would have shattered him into little tiny pieces, but because of what happened to the first and only poor loser that tried to force Kaoru.

That was a well known story. There were many witnesses. It all happened when Kaoru was finishing one of her programming classes. It was midday, and the law students had gone to a tribunal for practice. Kaoru's brother hadn't gone to classes that day either, because he was attending a competition at another Tokyo college. So you could tell that the poor loser thought that because Kenshin and Aoshi were absent, he had a chance with Kaoru. He had been seen laughing with his Industrial pals about how Kenshin didn't deserve a girl like her.

Taking advantage of the fact that she was 'unprotected,' he shut the door of the classroom when she was alone, secluding both of them inside and discouraging anyone else from entering the room. Well, no one knows exactly what he said to her. However, many girls in the hallway were able to hear things like 'babe,' 'hotty' and 'honey' mixed with Kaoru's outraged yelps, suggesting improper movements of his hands. What is a fact is that the poor loser ended breaking two computers, three desks and the classroom door from the set of kicks she delivered, plus three broken ribs, broken leg and a black eye. Did I mention that the poor loser was the captain of the athletics team? Well, he hasn't been able to do any sports since then, but he doesn't limp too much any more. There were no charges against Kaoru; after all, he was the one who tried to attack first, and he was high too, which was demonstrated by the blood test that the college made him take.

And that wasn't the end of it, because when Kenshin and Aoshi found out what had happened, the poor boy had to run all out and pelt through the sport campus to escape a enraged boyfriend and an overprotective brother.

About Kenshin and Aoshi's relationship, lets just say that Aoshi goes on all the dates Kenshin and Kaoru have - and always with Misao. Although he hadn't gone to the last two or three parties - it seems that he had, at last, admitted that Niiyama is a good guy and accepted him. They had even been seen talking, and in Misao's words: "Aoshi-sama knows that Niiyama wouldn't touch a hair on Kaoru's head without her consent. And to be realistic, if Kaoru wants to be with Niiyama, there is no one on this planet able to stop her. Not even my Aoshi-sama." No one knows what she meant by "my Aoshi-sama," but it was after that comment that gossip about the two began. Nobody had doubts that the weasel was crazy about Aoshi Hayashibara - that was obvious - but Aoshi's fans got angry, because that sentence appeared in the College Weekly News. Many of those girls asked Aoshi to deny the comment, but he had yet to say anything about it. So you can say that they are something like 'the unofficial college couple,' because we must add that every single social event to which Aoshi had gone, Misao had gone with him.

Kaoru walked to the table where Misao and Sano were trying to strangle each other, while Megumi ate a salad without a care in the world and Kenshin was just shaking his head in resignation. His efforts to stop the fight were ineffective, maybe because he stopped pulling Misao down the moment Kaoru came into the room so Misao was then able to reach Sano's neck.

Kaoru laughed at the scene. It didn't surprise her in the slightest and she moved closer to Kenshin to give him a soft kiss on the lips. He smiled contentedly as he retrieved his jacket from the chair next to his, allowing Kaoru sit there.

Aoshi looked at the table. His sister and Niiyama were sitting one next to the other, their backs to the window; just in front of them were Sano and Megumi. On the other side of the table was Misao, who had her things on the chair beside her while she strangled Sano, who was turning blue. In front of Misao was an empty chair, which was his usual spot. But Aoshi walked past the chair without looking at it, and took Misao's things off the chair next to her, to sit there instead. That caused Misao to forget about Sano, Kenshin and Kaoru to stop looking at each other like they were the two only people in the whole world, and Megumi to stop eating (Sano didn't pay attention because he was trying to catch his breath).

"A-Aoshi-sama..." whispered Misao with her eyes as big as tea saucers. Never before had he sat next to her by his own will. It was always she who went to him, always she who began a conversation, always she who asked to go with him to the parties, and always she who did everything to get his attention - he just assented without a word. And now he was sitting next to her by his own free will? Misao just couldn't believe it.

"Misao, could you stop calling me Aoshi-sama? Aoshi would do." Said Aoshi while arranging all the books and jackets and putting them aside.

"B-but Aoshi-sama...you-you are the okashira of the Oniwabanshuu, I must..." she began, but Aoshi interrupted her.

"I am no longer the Okashira, Misao - this is my last day in college..." he began to say, but then he saw the sad look in Misao's eyes, "... but we will still be in touch, don't doubt it."

Misao was ready to jump from happiness, this wasn't a confession of eternal love, but it was a beginning, and she was definitely not the type of person that would give up so easily. Before she could answer Aoshi, he began talking again.

"I wanted to ask you if you would like to go to the graduation ceremony with me." he said, looking straight at her blue-green eyes. The silence at the table was absolute; even Sano was quiet, looking from one to the other, disbelieving what he was hearing. In fact the entire cafeteria was quiet, since they noticed that the usual activity of the special table had stopped, everyone had turned to see what was going on, and now everyone was waiting for Misao's answer. Never before had a graduating student asked someone of first year out before. And if something could confirm that there was something between them, this was it.

"Ha-Hai Aoshi-sam... I mean, Hai Aoshi." Answered a blushing Misao, with stars in her eyes and a dreamy expression.

Aoshi nodded and looked around. Everyone was staring at him, and that was something that he disliked a lot. The silence was absolute; no one moved or talked. Until a yell made everyone start with surprise.

"SUGOI!!! It was about damn time Aoshi!!!" shouted Sano, careless of the many heart attacks that he could have provoked.

Kaoru immediately added, faking a serious voice, "Maybe I should go to the ceremony - after all, I can't let my friend Misao go with a senior guy without supervision, he could take advantage of her..." she finished, laughing merrily. Kenshin started laughing too, as Misao tried to compete for the prize of "the reddest woman of the world."

Megumi looked at her nails, fox ears popping up on top of her head. "Hohohoho, I think it's time to talk with the weasel about certain things, and don't forget to always use protection, it's the same advice I give Kaoru every time she goes out with Ken-san."

That last comment made Kaoru and Kenshin shut up and become as white as paper. Kenshin turned his head slowly to look at Aoshi, and found himself looking into a pair of the coldest eyes he could ever imagine, at the same time that Kaoru started shaking her head left to right desperately. At which Misao and Sano began laughing their heads off.

Soon the chasing began, but nobody was sure if it was Aoshi trying to kill Kenshin or Kaoru trying to strangle Megumi as Sano made some remark about weasels and tanukis that made Misao take her kunais out.

What was certain was that the cafeteria was back to normal, and no one was really surprised to find at that table the best and craziest friends ever.

----------

Christmas had came, the soft and white snow covered Kyoto. It was midday of December 25th and after several hours of travel from Yokohama to Kyoto, the car in which Kenshin and Kaoru were sitting stopped smoothly in front of a typical Japanese house that had Christmas decorations on the door and roof.

Kenshin turned off the engine and glanced to his side, where a pale Kaoru tried to smile at him. Kenshin returned the smile while covering her hands with one of his.

"Daijoubu, everything is going to be fine." He whispered to her affectionately, using his other hand to brush back a couple of black hairs that had gotten free of her ponytail.

Kaoru agreed, even if she was feeling like she had a hole in her stomach. She took a breath, inhaling deeply, and then opened the door, letting the cold winter air surround her.

They walked together to the front door. Kenshin rang the bell, and in a few seconds a woman of about 25 or 26 years opened the door. Her hair was tied in a low tail at the base of her head, and her dark eyes shone brightly when she recognized her little brother.

"Kenshin!" exclaimed Tomoe happily, knowing that they would spend Christmas together after all. " I am so happy you could make it here." She said, looking at the young woman standing next to her brother. "And you must be Kaoru, ne? I am glad your parents let you come all the way to Kyoto. Kenshin has talked about no one but you since classes began." She added walking closer to Kaoru and hugging her in welcome.

Kaoru blushed, feeling the strange dread that was bothering her minutes before fading away. In no time everyone was seated in the living room. Kaoru had been introduced to Akira, Tomoe's husband, and she had also met their two small children, Akito and Tomoyo.

At first Kaoru had been incredibly nervous about meeting Tomoe, but it just took a couple of minutes in her company to feel that they could became best friends. Both were different in many aspects, but that didn't matter.

Tomoe was happy with Kaoru. Since her brother had called her months ago, to tell her that he had a girlfriend, she had been wondering what she was like. Tomoe had watched the two of them as they talked to each other. It seemed to her that Kaoru knew what was happening inside her little brother's head, something that had always been a mystery to her. And she couldn't miss the way his eyes sparkled every time he looked at his young girlfriend, or the sweet way he said her name, or how many times, without noticing, he had mentioned her during his phone calls

Tomoe could see that it was true the other way around as well. Kaoru seemed fascinated with Kenshin. So Tomoe took good care in making her young guest feel comfortable.

In a few hours the whole family was at the table, ready to eat a Christmas lunch. Kaoru was next to Kenshin, and he didn't lose time in taking one of her hands between his, while whispering in her ear: "You see? The only one that is going to suffer with family affairs is gonna be me. Tomoe loves you."

Kaoru laugh merrily. "Maa, love, you aren't still sore about that little joke of Dad's, are you?"

Kenshin frown faked disgust. "Joke? Kaoru, your father almost killed me yesterday! How dare he lock me in the freezer!"

Kaoru laughed again, "Come on, Kenshin, let it go already. And, who sent you to get inside that machine after all?"

"Oroo, you father told me to take out the meat, and it was at the base. I couldn't reach it, so I had to jump into that enormous freezer of yours. I didn't think Saitoh would lock the door!"

This time Kaoru couldn't stop laughing. "You should have seen Mom's face when she went to the freezer and found you inside. Mou! Believe me, Dad didn't go unharmed of that one. Mom managed to lose the keys to the sword room, and you have no idea how much that means to him. And Mom let me came to Kyoto with only you in compensation, ne? Mom likes you." She finished just as Tomoe delivered a large piece of cherry pie in front of her.

Kenshin tightened his hold on Kaoru's hand to recall her attention, because she was looking hungrily at the pie. "Let's go to the park after we eat, ok? These days it is a custom to have ice sculpture contests, they must still be there." Kenshin said while thanking his sister with a smile when she served his portion of pie.

Kaoru turned to face him, then kissed him on the lips quickly, smiling happily. That was all Kenshin needed. He let go of her hand so she could eat. But the smile on his face didn't leave him - not that day, or the days that came after that.

--- Owari, The End, El fin ----

Okay. I know I didn't answer all the questions on this fic. But let's just say that about the past memories the only ones that remember everything were Kenshin, Kaoru and Saitoh. Even if Kenshin told about it to Megumi and Sano, they didn't believe him. And I think that didn't matter. The past is the past after all. It just help them to meet again.

I hope I have at least satisfied some A&M fans.

Thanks to everyone who read this fic!! I will continue writing. I have another K&K idea in my head beging me to be write. I am just trying to find the time to do it.

Thanks again to everyone!!!! And don't forget to review!!! Onegai!!!