(Peeks out from corner) Um… hello, everyone… I guess I'm still alive over here (although just barely). Yes, I know how many of you now hate me (probably) for leaving you hanging… but I won't apologize, seeing as it's not enough.

I was thinking of how I could pick up where I left… but since I couldn't come up with anything, I started reading RKHM myself from the very beginning. Damn, I surprised myself. Lol It had been such a long time since I've worked with it that (even though I consider it utter crap) I enjoyed it as if I hadn't been the one who wrote it… until I got to the last chapter I had written. It was then where I started thinking… Damn… I wanna know what happens next... but this is sooo crap. So I decided to re-write everything, beginning with this, chapter one. Expect better writing and eloquence, Sora not being a Mary-sue, no more fan girl Japanese, and more Kenshin x Kaoru moments, seeing as I originally kind of neglected them.

Well, I hope you guys enjoy this, RKHM Remix. My most sincere wishes.

Love,

Sora

Rurouni Kenshin Highschool Madness Remix

By Sora Himura

Chapter I: Tokyo isn't all that bad

Current mood: More than Words - Extreme

"Oh, no! I'm gonna be late for school!"

Seventeen-year old Kaoru Kamiya slammed her hand down on the alarm clock and practically jumped out of bed in a hurry. She couldn't believe she had been so lazy as to press the 'snooze button' fifteen times before actually waking up. Now she was going to be late for school!

She was entering a new school, Tokyo's Silver Star High, although it was January. She and her younger brother Yahiko had recently moved here to Tokyo and in with their cousin Sayo after their parents' untimely death. Since today was her first day, and she didn't know anything or anyone, save for the fact that her homeroom number was C-2, she had wanted to make an early rise so she could head into the school's counseling office for a tour, but now all her plans were shattered. Now she just prayed she could make it to the school on time.

After an extremely speedy shower, Kaoru quickly put on her school uniform, consisting of a pleated dark blue skirt, white short-sleeved top and a tie, dark blue stockings and black school shoes, and then literally flew down the stairs into the hallway.

"Yahiko, have you seen my bag?" she anxiously asked her bratty younger brother Yahiko as she dashed into the kitchen. The spiky-haired kid made a face at her and threw her bag at the front door, which consequently landed with a loud thud.

"There it is. Now hurry up or you're gonna be late, ugly." He sneered taunting her.

A vein popped in the girl's forehead. It was much too early for this. Resisting her strong urge of slamming Yahiko on the head with her wooden sword, she made a mental note to get back at him later for that 'ugly' commentary.

At the table, she quickly pulled up her long raven hair into a ponytail, which she tied with her favorite indigo ribbon. Then dashing to the fridge, she grabbed a glass of orange juice, which she downed quickly, and an apple as a snack for later. Passing by the table, she snatched a piece of toast and her jacket before running to the foyer.

"Bye, Yahiko. Sayo must be at school already." She called out as she slammed the door behind her. Her cousin Sayo, who was a year older than she was, had been going to a very strict all-girls catholic school since she was very young, so she couldn't accompany Kaoru on her first day.

Outside, the birds twittered, and the sun shone brightly. Small piles of remaining snow were clustered around the borders of the sidewalk, but nothing too serious. Feeling slightly chilly, though, Kaoru slid on her jacket.

The sapphire-orbed girl then began a quick run toward the school, which fortunately, was only a couple blocks away. If she kept up her pace, she could arrive a good twenty minutes before the bell rang.

She was thinking so hard that she was going to be late that she didn't notice somebody was right in front of her until she had already collided into him. There was a thud, then a crash, then a swirl of twittering birds going round and round her head as she went swirly-eyed.

Quickly recovering, she promptly turned to make an apology.

"Oh my gosh… I'm so terribly sorry. Are you alright?" she apologized as she bowed her head repeatedly.

She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "I'm good. Are you okay? We took a pretty nasty fall, that we did." The boy answered in return. His voice was sweet yet cool at the same time. Surprised at his kindness and carefree attitude, seeing as he didn't seem mad at her, she looked up at him for the first time.

The young man had long, wild red hair tied back in a low loose ponytail, and behind his amazing flaming bangs you could see sparkling amethyst-colored eyes and a curious cross-shaped scar present on his left cheek. Through his slightly unbuttoned school shirt, she could notice a smooth toned chest and hard abs. The girl couldn't help but blush furiously. This guy was extremely cute. Much cuter than any guy she had ever seen in Osaka.

"I-I'm alright. It was all my fault…" she stammered, looking down.

"It was both our faults. I should've been more aware of my surroundings." He smiled gently, picking himself up from the floor and dusting off his pants. He then extended a hand to her. Blushing slightly, she took it.

She avoided his gaze as he pulled her up. "Thank you… umm…"

"Himura. I'm Kenshin Himura." He clarified for her. His smile was just amazing.

The boy suddenly paused to look her over, quickly recognizing the uniform.

"You go to Silver Star High too?" he more stated than asked. Kaoru nodded her head in agreement.

"It's my first day here… I just recently moved from Osaka, so I had to transfer in the middle of the school year." She muttered, looking somewhat sad.

Kenshin frowned slightly at this, and tried to cheer her up. "Well, I'm sure you'll like it very much here in Tokyo, miss… err…"

"Oh… sorry. How incredibly rude of me!" Kaoru sweatdropped. "First I run you over, then I forget to introduce myself! I'm Kaoru Kamiya." She extended her hand to the redhead. Kenshin took it with a smile once more present in his face.

"Kaoru…" he repeated pensively. 'What a beautiful name… it definitely suits her.'

Kaoru suddenly looked at her watch and gasped. "I think I better get going."

Kenshin looked down at his own watch. "I think so… Mind if I walk with you?" he offered, taking Kaoru by surprise.

'He wants to walk with me?' she was inwardly starry-eyed, but managed to maintain her composure. "Yes! I mean… no, I don't mind."

Kenshin just smiled his famous rurouni smile. "Thank you."

"Kamiya Kasshin style?"

On their way to school, Kenshin and Kaoru had started a conversation, mostly about Kaoru's hobbies and interests. And one of them, much more than a hobby, more like a passion, was the Kamiya Kasshin style of swordsmanship.

"Yes. It's my family's swordsmanship style. It was developed by my father." Kaoru stated proudly. "We used to teach it in our dojo back in Osaka… and I'm planning on opening a dojo here too, as soon as I get settled."

"Just you?" Kenshin voiced in wonder. "Wow… I take it you are a master at the style?"

"Yeah. Back at home, I was the assistant master, and my father was the teacher." Her gaze suddenly saddened, just a bit. "Now that my father's gone… my brother Yahiko and I are the only ones left who can pass on the Kasshin to others."

Kenshin put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. It sounded as if her loss was recent. He was really curious about the subject, but decided it was better to not press the matter.

"I'm sure you and your brother will do just fine."

The pair made it to school just as the bell rang. The front of the building was crowded by many students, male and female, who now seemed to move in an unanimously large mass to the inside.

Kaoru found herself in a small predicament.

"Oh, how am I supposed to find my classroom? They all look the same." Kaoru whined, causing Kenshin to chuckle amusedly.

"What's your class number?"

"C-2."

"Then it's right over… there."

Kenshin led a blushing Kaoru by the hand to her classroom.

"Here we go. This is your homeroom." The amethyst-eyed boy smiled at Kaoru, letting go of her hand.

"Thank you very much, Kenshin." She thanked him shyly, her gaze fixated on the floor.

"No problem. Well, I have to go now, or I'll be late. See you, Kaoru." He waved as he disappeared into the crowd of rushing students.

"See you… Kenshin." Kaoru whispered to herself as she entered her classroom. Peeking slightly inside, she noticed the classroom was almost already full. Scanning the room for a chair, she noticed a few available ones at the far bottom of the class.

"Hey, you can sit next to me if you want." Came a voice from Kaoru's left. The raven-haired girl turned to where the voice came from to see a friendly-looking girl waving at her. She appeared to have a petite frame, and had her dark blue hair tied back in a long braid. She also had a big smile and lively sky-blue eyes.

"Thank you." Kaoru smiled gratefully as she took a seat next to the friendly lass.

"I'm Misao Makimachi. What's your name?" the girl asked cheerfully. Kaoru immediately liked her presence, and guessed her cheerfulness must be contagious, for she found herself smiling widely as well.

"I'm Kaoru Kamiya."

Misao had curious wide eyes now. "Ooh.. Nice to meet you, Kaoru. Are you new? 'Cause I've never seen you around here… and trust me, I know a heck of a lot of people."

Kaoru laughed slightly. "I just moved here last week with my brother." She turned to look out the window, from where you could see most of the campus. "I'm still trying to get used to here, though."

Misao's pout turned into a friendly grin. "Don't worry; I'm sure you'll fit in just fine. I'll show you around."

"Thank you so much, Misao."

The cerulean-orbed girl was about to say something in return, but was cut off by Professor Hajime Saitoh entering the room. Saitoh was a very tall and lean man, with his dark hair impeccably slicked back, save for a few stray strands. His presence overall was very imposing, which made Kaoru just want to sit back completely straight and listen to his every word.

The man had a sour expression on his face, nonetheless, which made it clear that it was definitely not a good day to tick him off. Not that any day was a good day to get on Hajime Saitoh's nerves.

"Good day, students." He barked, sounding none-too-friendly.

In mere seconds, all eyes and attention were focused on him. The beginnings of a smirk formed on the corners of his mouth.

"Very good. I am… ahem… pleased to see all of you again after this winter vacation." He continued, while Misao faked a cough. Liar. He wanted to see them back almost as much as they wanted to see him… not at all. Kaoru tensed when he sensed the professor seemingly glare in their direction.

"Anyway, before I send you off on your merry trek of learning, I think we have a new student here with us today."

Kaoru took this as her cue.

"Yes, sir. My name's Kaoru Kamiya." She stood up, only to immediately bow respectfully. She felt her face heat up suddenly as she felt all gazes on her, and hear people murmur something or other. Saitoh's smirk softened a little. At least the girl was respectful.

'Stay like that, and I assure you, you will get far in my class.' He seemed to tell her as their gazes locked.

The old wolf's eyes were suddenly filled with a curious sheen. "Kamiya, you say?"

"Yes, sir." She nodded.

"Very well." He waved her off. "You may take a seat."

"Thank you, sir."

Saitoh then turned to the rest of the class. "As you all know, there are kendo club try-outs this afternoon, for whoever those who are interested." He seemed to shoot Kaoru a look. The girl widened her eyes in disbelief. How did he know?

"Well, you are all dismissed. On to your first class." He declared, moving to sit behind his desk. As you remember, this is only home room period, so it's only several minutes before the students move to their first class.

Idle chatter immediately began, students talking and laughing animatedly as they told each other of their winter vacations. Kaoru was about to follow Misao out the door, when Saitoh called her.

"Miss Kamiya. Would you be so kind as to lend me a moment of your time?" he requested. Kaoru looked at him, then at Misao, who shrugged her shoulders and made motions to tell her she would wait outside. Nodding, the girl walked over to the teacher.

"Yes, sir?" she said tentatively, wondering what he wanted her for.

The man seemed to take a deep breath. "I'm sorry about your loss…" he started, and Kaoru immediately knew she was talking about her father. "Koshijiro Kamiya was a fine man indeed."

"How did…" she began flabbergasted, but he beat her to the punch.

"He was a good man, and a good friend… Anyway… if you are Koshijiro's daughter… I'm sure you will have no problem in making the kendo club."

Heartfelt, Kaoru bowed again. "T-thank you, sir…" she whispered.

"Now hurry along. I'd hate to be the reason for you to be late to class."

With a final bow, Kaoru exited the room and walked into the hallway, where Misao was waiting for her.

"Everything alright?" the cerulean-eyed girl asked, worry present in her tone. Kaoru suddenly smiled.

"Yeah, everything's just fine."

"Ok. Well, let's go. Hate to get on Professor Murakami's bad side… He's a regular sour lemon, even more so than Saitoh." Misao shrugged, pulling Kaoru with her to their Geometry classroom.

As she sat next to Misao in the classroom, and as a short, white-bearded old man barked at the class to be quiet, Kaoru sat thinking about everything that had happened so far. Quite an eventful morning… there was Kenshin… then Misao's friendliness and Professor Saitoh's understanding and support. Much more than what she could have ever wished for.

You know, maybe Tokyo wasn't all that bad after all.

… End Chapter I …