Season of Fireworks
AN: Gomen! I didn't finish the other version of "Season of Fireworks"! I just didn't know at all what to write anymore! Well, I hope you all like the new version of "Season of Fireworks" in RK style!
By the way, you might get a little confused when you read this… (--')
Chapter 1
Be Careful What You Wish For
"Kaoru! Quick!"
"Coming!"
A 17-year-old girl with long black hair tied in a pony-tail ran out from her bedroom and raced down the stairs of the two floored house that was situated in the city of Tokyo. Her name was Kamiya Kaoru. She munched down a fried egg and gulped down a glass of orange juice.
Then she grabbed her bag and ran out the door where she saw a petite 17-year-old girl with long black hair tied in a braid that reached her waist.
"Geeze Kaoru! We're gonna be late!" The girl said in annoyance as she waited for Kaoru to put on her shoes.
"Shut up, Misao. It's not my fault Yahiko turned off my alarm in the middle of the night. Baka little brother." Kaoru grumbled as she fixed her skirt.
"Let's go! I don't wanna be in the principal's office and look at Shishio-sensei's mummified face so early in the morning!" Kaoru stated and they ran off.
-Bakumatsu, Tokugawa Era-
"YEAG!"
A scream erupted from an alleyway in the middle of the night in the ancient city of Kyoto. At that time of war, it was very common. Blood splattered on the street and the dead corpse's head rolled on the floor.
The corpse lay with its front on the ground. And in the darkness, the dim light of the cloud covered moon shined on what looked like a katana on the corpse's back.
Barely seen by the faint light of the moon, a figure stood beside the corpse and took out the katana from it. The man swung his katana to the side, removing the red liquid on it, and sheathed it. His amber eyes shone intensely and his flaming red hair was tied in a high ponytail.
"Battousai!"
The man with red hair turned around to see a man of the Ishin Shishi coming towards him with a lantern. With the aid of the lantern, an x-shaped scar could be faintly seen on his left cheek.
-Present day, Tokyo-
Kaoru manoeuvred through a crowd of high-school students flooding the halls of the school. She reached a grey locker that had the number 175 on it and started turning the wheel until she heard a faint click.
As she opened her locker, she could hear voices calling her name in the background. She stuffed her books in her locker and relocked it as the owners of the voices came closer.
A tall, muscular, brown-haired man was the first to approach her. "'Sup, Jou-chan!" "Hi Sanosuke." Kaoru greeted and turned to the black haired woman beside him. "Hi Megumi. Where are Misao and Soujirou?"
"They're already at the cafeteria. We just came to fetch you." Megumi answered as they started walking down the hall.
"Hey, Jou-chan, could you please lend me some money? I kinda used mine all up and I can't buy lunch." Sano said hopefully, clasping his hands together in a pleading manner. "Kitsune here won't give me any." He whispered in annoyance and pointed at Megumi with his thumb.
Megumi just flipped her hair behind her at the comment. "Just because I'm your girlfriend doesn't mean I'll give you money all the time."
Kaoru sighed. "You should stop wasting your money, you know. You already owe me ¥1000."
Sano cursed under his breath and mumbled something about greedy tanukis and kitsunes. This earned him two hard punches on both arms. "Ite! You didn't have to hit me that hard!" At his complaint, his two friends stuck their tongues at him and ran ahead. "Matte!"
The three friends sat down with their trays of food on a table occupied by a smiling, brown-haired man.
"Konnichiwa Soujirou!" The two women greeted as they sat down on the table. "Hi, Smiley Boy!" Sano said as he sat down beside Soujirou and swiftly began to gobble up his food.
Megumi looked at her boyfriend and sighed. "Oh well… Anyway, where's Misao?" Soujirou stopped eating and pointed behind her with his chopsticks.
Kaoru and Megumi turned around to see Misao hiding behind a garbage can. The emerald eyes of the petite woman were gazing at the figure of a tall, black-haired man with icy blue eyes.
"Oh! It's her beloved "Aoshi-sama" again!" Kaoru said with a giggle but stopped when she started choking on the hamburger she was chewing on.
Megumi patted her on the back until she stopped. "Geeze, Kaoru! Can't you be careful while you're eating?" Megumi asked with a sigh. "Shut up, Kitsune." Kaoru said in annoyance as she rubbed her throat.
Suddenly, from behind them, they heard a voice ask with much excitement, "Did you see him! Isn't he so cool?" Everyone covered their ears in attempt to shut the noise away. "Konnichiwa Misao-chan…" They all said in unison as the cheerful girl bounced back to her seat.
"Did you see the way he walked and talked? Well, he hardly talks… The way he looks at you with those eyes makes you wanna melt!" Misao ranted on and her friends mimicked everything she said, for she always said the same thing right after she saw Shinomori Aoshi.
"C'mon Itachi! Give up on Shinomori already! That Ice Block would never notice you anyway!" Sano said in irritation as he slurped his ramen.
"Pfft! Just you wait and see! He will one day!" Misao declared confidently and started to munch on her food as quickly as possible.
Soujirou sweat dropped. "By the way, what do you have next? I have Art."
"Ge-owr-affy." Sano said through his chewing. A punch landed on his head which was followed by Megumi's voice saying, "finish your food first!"
"Chemistry," Misao answered before she sipped on her Pepsi.
"English." Megumi replied then continued to eat her food.
"History…" Kaoru groaned and slouched on her seat. "Baka Mibu Wolf-sensei's gonna teach us about the Bakumatsu or something."
Soujirou smiled sympathetically and told her, "If only you switched to Kamatari-sensei's History class in the beginning of this term so you didn't have to deal with Hajime-sensei."
Kaoru pouted. "If only I could! When I found out that I would be in Saitou-sensei's class in the end of the 1st term, I wanted to switch! But my mom forced me to stick to that schedule!" She crossed her arms and gulped down the rest of her Pepsi. "She doesn't know how much pain I have to go through!"
There was a loud ring and they got up. After throwing their garbage, they all bid their farewells and went their separate ways.
-1 year after the Bakumatsu-
A short red-haired man traveled alone on the dusty route that led to the capital. His soft lavender eyes shined as he whistled a tune. His long red hair, which was tied in a low ponytail, was flying behind him with the breeze. The x-shaped scar on his left cheek was hidden from view by his long bangs.
His magenta gi and white hakamas were tattered. The little sac that he brought with him was held by his right hand. And, tied on the left side of his waist was a sheathed sakabatou.
As he entered Tokyo, he listened to the bustling noises of the marketplace. People moved around him, even the horse-drawn carriages. Everyone was busy. He smiled at the scene in front of him.
'Not at all like those days…' The samurai thought with a slight smile. And he continued on until he saw a group of men putting up stands and banners in an open area. The sight caught his interest and he moved closer.
A man nearby noticed him and called him over. With a small "oro", the samurai walked towards the man obediently.
The stranger smiled kindly. "You're new here, aren't you? What's your name?"
The red-haired man hesitated before he replied with a steady tone, "Sessha wa Himura Kenshin, de gozaru yo."
The other man nodded towards the working men and said, "I guess you're wondering about this, ne?" Kenshin nodded politely in reply. "Well, tonight is the Fireworks festival. You should stay and watch the festival tonight! It's spectacular!"
Kenshin mumbled a little "oro" before nodding his head. "Hai. It would be an honour for sessha to go, de gozaru yo."
-Present-day, Tokyo-
On the 2nd floor of a simple white-walled house, an annoyed Kaoru sat at her desk in her bedroom. She muttered something under her breath about killing a certain history teacher before slouching back on her seat.
"Mou! Hajime-sensei no baka!" Kaoru exclaimed in frustration.
Her bored eyes scanned the page about the Bakumatsu but her brain would not process anything that was written.
A vein popped on her head and she banged her fist on the table. "Darn it! I wish someone from the Bakumatsu could just come here and tell me what it's all about!"
Suddenly a flash of bright light emitted from her History textbook. The shocked raven haired girl fell of her seat in surprise. Her scared voice trembled as she spoke. "Na-nani? What's happening!"
-Fireworks Festival-
The dark sky was filled with colourful, flashing lights. Everyone in Tokyo watched the fireworks in awe and delight.
Kenshin smiled in content seeing the joy in each of the people's faces.
'Sessha's glad that all that chaos in the Bakumatsu did something good, de gozaru yo.'
His lavender eyes darted back to the velvet sky as soon as a red beam shot up and exploded into a million little, red sparks.
But just as the red lights faded into the darkness, there was a bright flash in front of the red-haired rurouni.
By instinct, Kenshin immediately crouched in battou-jutsu stance. His amethyst eyes changed to amber with a blink of an eye.
"What's that?" He asked before he vanished into the light.
-Kaoru's bedroom-
The light illuminating from Kaoru's book disappeared just as sudden as it appeared.
Kaoru got up from the floor and peeked at her book. "What was that all about?" she asked in annoyance as she sat down again.
Behind her, she could hear a scuffling noise. She swiftly turned around and gasped in fright.
There in her bedroom was a guy with long red hair and a scar on his face. His scarred hand grasped the hilt of a sword. His golden eyes stared at her as if she were ghost.
"Wh-who are y-you?" Kaoru questioned, gripping her chair hard.
'What happened here? Is he going to kill me? Where did he come from?' Unanswered questions filled her mind. She glanced at her textbook and a gasp escaped her lips.
"Hitokiri Battousai!"