Tales from the Counseling Office

author: carla, aka cali-chan
rating: PG-13, because of some swearing... but well, Sano DOES appear in this fic, so what were you expecting? Rating might go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.
genre: AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor ^^;;;
pairings: uh, "canon", mostly. I'll warn you if there's any alt couples.
summary: Classes are just starting in Samuikamen Boarding School, and Himura Kenshin has been appointed as the new Student Counselor. Will the school ever survive? Not your typical "RK charas in high school" fic.






Chapter 1






Kamiya Kaoru struggled to hold her shinai while hauling her two suitcases behind her. Carefully, she crossed streets and sidewalks while grumbling to herself. She seemed rather angry.

"Mou! Of all the days to sleep in!" she told herself, while she waited for the light to turn red, so she could pass. "Why does this always happen to me? I bet Genzai-sensei thinks it's real funny, going off to school leaving me behind, with only a small note on my dresser as an excuse! Argh." She didn't seem to notice that a few people were looking amusedly at her. "Now I'm so late! Ooohhh, I bet Okina-san has already closed the gates. I'm going to have to beg my way in... AGAIN!"

Yes, she was mad. She'd attended Samuikamen Boarding School her whole life. She was a good student, not overly intelligent, but she was good. She was captain of the Kendo Club. She had many friends. She was pretty, popular, nice, happy, polite. She was a great girl. Yet she ALWAYS managed to be late for the Start of Course day.

Now she was just a few blocks away from the school. She was aware that she was just strolling through one of the most dangerous areas of the city with all of her very-heavy belongings. That would surely make a lot of gang members think she was an easy pray, but she wasn't afraid. She was a trained martial artist. Surely she could deal with any possible-attackers quite easily.

She didn't count the fact that she was lost in these thoughts while stepping in the dark alley.

"Excuse me--"

When she felt the hand in her shoulder, she jumped back a few inches, and then her instincts took over. Sure she was being harrassed by some street punk, she let go of her bags and held her shinai with both hands, turning around with a loud "ATO!", and then hitting the person behind her repeatedly on the head.

"Ororoooo~"

When her attacker finally ended up spawled on the floor, she took a couple of deep breaths and then looked down, to check if whoever it was, was unconscious. If the person wasn't, she was ready to give him or her a mean kick and that was sure to do the trick.

"Sessha didn't do anything wrong, de gozaru..."

The problem was, the man didn't look like a regular ruffian. He was a little on the pale side, with long red hair that was pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was wearing grey pants (which were all dirty now), a blue/turquoise-ish shirt, and normal black shoes. He had a very unusual cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. Oh, and his eyes were all swirly and he had a giant bump on his head where Kaoru's shinai had hit him.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" Kaoru exclaimed, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment. She helped him get up. "I thought you were going to attack me! Oh, I'm such a dolt..."

"It wasn't your fault, miss. Sessha shouldn't have surprised you like that. Your reaction is perfectly understandable."

"Still, I shouldn't be so violent," Kaoru chastised herself. Hadn't Genzai-sensei told her that a million times already? Taking a good look at the man standing in front of her. He was only a bit taller than her, and now that they were face to face, she was mesmerized by his eyes. They were such an odd color... violet, such a magnificent shade of purple that only nature could get it just right. "I'm Kamiya Kaoru. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Sessha is a bit lost. Do you know where Samuikamen Boarding School is?" he asked her with a gentle smile, carefully inspecting his head to see if the bump was as bad as it felt.

She kept looking at him curiously. His way of speaking was weird. And he looked young, but not enough to be in High School. Was he a new professor or something like that? "Sure, I was just heading over there. If you want, you can come with me."

The red-haired man blinked, not sure how to answer. Kaoru saw this, and frowned. "Mou! I'm not going to hit you anymore! I just want to help, really, to make up for hurting you."

He smiled then, although a bit slowly. "Hai, Kamiya-san. Then Sessha will acompany you, de gozaru."

"That's great," she replied, smiling too. "By the way, you can call me Kaoru."

"Uh, very well, Kaoru-dono." Kaoru giggled at the phrase. It sounded a bit funny, she had never had anyone call her like that before. Reaching out for her bags, she saw the man doing the same (she hadn't noticed before that he was carrying a small shoulder bag that fell to the floor when she hit him), and then she turned in the direction of the School, ready to go.

"Aw, would you look at that. What a cute scene," they heard a sarcastic voice mutter, from the very back of the dark alley. Both Kaoru and the man let go of their belongings, quickly going into defensive mode.

Kaoru was just about to step forward, shinai ahead of her, to kick some street-punk ass, but her red-haired companion put an arm in front of her, to stop her. "Please stand back, Kaoru-dono. He could be dangerous."

*Dangerous, my feet,* thought Kaoru, frowning. She knew who the voice belonged to. She had heard it far too many times for her taste. It was none other than Hiruma Gohei, the leader of one of the local gangs, who, of course, got a kick out of annoying innocent passerbys, especially if they were students of the Boarding School. Kaoru had had quite a few unfortunate encounters with him throughout her years at the School, and she had gathered that Hiruma had been expelled from the School many years back and he seemed to blame Samuikamen for all his misery. Kaoru thought to herself that he had to be crazy to hold a grudge for so long. Also, he was all talk and no action. The faculty had managed to put him behind bars a few times, but he always managed to get out somehow. It seemed like he'd forever be a pain in the School's proverbial neck.

Hiruma decided to let himself be seen then, smirking down at them. "Heh. No way a puny little thing like you can defend yourself, much less her," he told the red-headed man, with a sneer. "Let's see what you've got."

Kaoru, conscious that her companion was unarmed while she held a shinai in her hands, stepped forward and got into a defensive position instantly when Hiruma attacked them with a knife. She planned her actions as if watching them frame-by-frame: hit him on his torso first, to stop him, and then give his arm a quick jolt so he'd drop the knife, only to hit him on the neck right after, to knock him out. Hiruma was a scant five feet away from her when she readied her shinai for action, but, surprisingly, she couldn't bring it down on him because she was grabbed by the waist and carried off to the side in that same moment. So, while Gohei stumbled on his steps, stabbing only air, she was a few paces behind, held up in the red-haired stranger's arms.

"Wha-?" she blinked, trying to figure out how something like that could happen so fast.

He was smiling at her. "You shouldn't place yourself in danger, Kaoru-dono." With that, he put her down. "Don't worry, I'll deal with him."

It took her a few seconds to notice that her shinai wasn't in her hands anymore. The man had it, and he was standing behind Hiruma, who was still on the floor, a bit disoriented. She noticed that the stranger wasn't attacking him; quite the contrary, he was serious and focused, like waiting for Gohei to attack him first, so he could defend himself. She could've sworn his eyes had taken a hauting amber hue. She also saw that his stance and the way he held the shinai were different from the kenjutsu style she practiced. He was holding it as if it were a sword still inside its sheath. Whatever style of the arts that was, it was obvious the guy knew exactly what he was doing.

Finally, Hiruma seemed to come out of his stupor. As predicted, he stood up, turned around, and with a growl lunged at the man, who jumped a few steps back and then seamlessly performed every single move Kaoru had planned on doing. She stood, entranced, watching as Gohei fell down, unconscious, while the red-haired man stood over him, being sure to kick the knife away. Kaoru was awed. The moves he had performed were pretty much basic for any sword-handling art, but when he did them they seemed so fluid... almost as if he were doing them by instinct. She just couldn't describe it.

He looked around for a few minutes, trying to see if any of Hiruma's lackeys were going to appear to avenge their fallen leader. When he was sure that wasn't going to happen, he turned around, handing her the shinai, while smiling radiantly, violet eyes back to normal. Kaoru couldn't help but gawk. There was no trace of the powerful swordsman that had been there a minute ago.

"We should call the police, de gozaru," he stated, whipping his cell phone out of his pants and dialing the familiar number. Kaoru, unable to decipher just what exactly had happened, just went to get her bags while he finished. After that, they continued walking what little distance separated them from the school, in what Kaoru felt was a very uncomfortable silence.

"So... you do kenjutsu?" she asked, trying to break the ice.

He smiled vaguely, as if recalling a memory she didn't know about. "Aa. Something like that," he admitted, re-accomodating the bag on his shoulder while making sure he didn't let Kaoru's bag (which he had offered to carry) fall.

Kaoru immediately went into Kendo mode. "Really? I do too! I've practiced and seen a few different styles, but I hadn't seen yours before. Is it a new school? What's it called? It was really good!"

He opened his mouth, either to answer her or just to wave her off, but then he saw the very high metal gates that were standing a few metres in front of them. "Ara. Is this it?" he asked her.

Kaoru nodded, and then groaned. "Aw, great. It's closed. Ugh."

They walked towards the gates. Kaoru was going to ring the doorbell, but then thought better of it. She didn't want any "high" faculty member hear it, see her and then accuse her of being late (which she was, but it wasn't her fault!). So she settled for good old yelling. "Okina-san! Okina-saaaaannnnn! Could you open the door for us, please?"

She heard the red-haired man chuckle behind her. Yes, so she was weird, trying to sneak INTO school, but that was just the way she was. She continued yelling, until she was interrupted by someone speaking.

"There you are! Baka-deshi, you're always late!"

She gulped. She knew THAT voice too. And effectively, coming towards them from the other side of the gates as a very tall, very muscular man, with long dark hair drawn back in a low ponytail, dressed smartly in black pants, a green shirt and a long, red-trimmed, white trenchcoat. Kaoru closed her eyes. Surely it was not her lucky day. That was exactly the one man she didn't want to be caught by; it was Hiko Seijuro, the Principal of Samuikamen. Oh boy, was she in trouble.

She was just about to open her mouth to blabber incoherent excuses, when the man that was standing behind her replied for her. "It is good to see you again, Shishou."

She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Seijuro-san wasn't speaking to her? The question was answered when the Principal opened the gates and, simply ignoring her (not that she was complaining), quickly grabbed the man by his shirt, hauling him inside while grumbling about how he hadn't changed a thing and how he was still a baka, to which the man replied with a series of weak "oros". The stranger barely had time to let go of Kaoru's bag.

She was left standing there, open-mouthed, until Okina-san appeared and greeted her, then showed her in.

---

"So? Spill!"

Sitting in her favourite chair in her bedroom, face illuminated by the Official Interrogating Lamp (tm), Kaoru definitely felt like a big bug placed under a microscope. Upon entering her room, her best friend and roommate, Makimachi Misao, had forcefully taken her bags away from her, while at the same time making her sit and asking her a miriad of questions before she could even react.

"Spill... what, exactly?"

"Come off it, Kaoru-chan. Who's the man?"

"Man? What man?" Kaoru asked, having no clue what her hyperactive little friend was talking about.

"Mou! KA-O-RU! You're acting weird and I just KNOW it's because you have a crush on someone. Now, tell me who it is!" she exclaimed, absolutely sure she was right, the hand that wasn't holding the lamp on her hip.

"Why would you think I'm acting weird? I just got here, and I haven't even SAID anything to you yet," Kaoru said, trying to avoid the subject. Misao couldn't know about the red-haired man, could she? Trying to avoid her angry questioning glare, she took the lamp from her hand, and stood up from the bed, finally leaving the lamp over her bedside table, where it should be.

Misao had always had a flare for the dramatic. So just when Kaoru turned around, she put her hand on her chest, where her heart would be. "You know, this really hurts. I've told you ALL about my crushes and I'd hoped you'd tell me about yours when the time came. Now I see it's just too much to ask. I thought you were my friend!"

Kaoru rolled her eyes. Time for the guilty trip, huh? Well, it WAS true that Misao had told her about all her crushes (more like forced her to listen, really), but the tactic didn't have effect on Kaoru because Misao had only had one crush. She'd been in love with the same man since she was three. Still, it wouldn't be so bad to tell her what had happened that morning. It was out of the ordinary, to be sincere. And it's not like she had a crush on the red-haired swordsman, she just thought he was cute and well... mysterious... "Ok, ok, I'll tell you," she agreed, walking to her bed again and laying down on it, hands behind her head.

"YATTA!" Misao exclaimed, jumping a bit, and then proceeding to sit on her own bed. "I knew it!"

"How DID you know, anyways?" Kaoru asked, arching an eyebrow.

Misao crossed her arms and smirked. "Kaoru-chan, we've been best friends for four years. I know you like the palm of my hand. Of course I'd notice something like this right away!" Then, she leaned back on the bed, supporting her weight on her arms. "Besides, Jiya told me he saw you at the gates with a weird-looking red-haired man."

Kaoru sweatdropped. "I should've known," she muttered. Okina-san ("Jiya," though only Misao called him that), was the school's janitor and Misao's adoptive grandfather. They were certainly two of a kind. Actually, Misao's whole family were a weird bunch. None of them were really blood-related, but they all got together somehow when Misao was a baby and have been as tight as lycra until present day. So tight, for example, that when it was Misao's turn to start high school, that is, enroll in the Boarding School, they all decided to come with her! Nobody really knew how Okina-san managed to convince Hiko-san to give him, and Okon, Shiro, Kuro and Omasu, jobs in Samuikamen, but the fact was that they were there, at least until Misao graduated.

"So, tell me about this dashing companion of yours," she prodded, and Kaoru relented with a sigh. Without missing a single detail, she told her what happened that morning.

"So he does Kendo?" By the time Kaoru was finished, Misao was all eyes. "Kaoru-chan! That's perfect!"

"Hai, you're right. He's very good with the sword. I was thinking of asking Hiko-san if he could be the Kendo Club supervisor, that is, if he's staying..."

"No, NO! Not that!" Misao exclaimed, springing from her lying position to sit indian-style on the bed, hugging her pillow to her chest so tightly that, had it been a person, he or she wouldn't be able to breathe anymore. "I mean, you both have the same interests... you're obviously MADE for each other!"

Kaoru blushed. "Oh, come on, Misao-chan! I don't even know his name! I didn't even get to thank him for saving me... not that I NEEDED any saving, thank you very much, but anyways, it's the intention that counts, so..."

"Does he have a nice butt?" Misao cut her off.

Kaoru almost fell of the bed, as red as Superman's cape, now. "MISAO! Why would I be looking at his-- AGH, how can you ask that?!"

Misao frowned, then glared at her. "Kaoru-chan, you're such a prude. There's nothing wrong with looking. It's natural!"

"Agh. Can we change the subject, please? I've already told you what you wanted to know," she pleaded, standing up to take her bags to the bed, so she could unpack. When she was done, she turned around to suggest the Kendo Club idea to her friend again, but didn't dare utter a syllable after seeing the conspirational gleam that Misao had in her eyes. "Oh, no. No, I'm not going along with your mischievous plans this time..."

---

"Aw, god, this is like last year all over agaaaaaaiiiinnnnn..." Kaoru whined while they made their way towards the principal's office. "Honjou-san will not be able to save us again if we're caught, Misao-chan."

Misao glared at her. She knew students weren't supposed to go near the principal's office without being called, much less were they supposed to be snooping around for information like little James Bond wannabes. Still, Misao did not like being "in the dark" about anything, even if it had to do with the faculty. She had a big obsession with uncovering mysteries. Kaoru often joked that the little weasel-girl must've been a spy in one of her past lives, or something like that. But because of her insatiable thirst for knowing the truth about anything, they'd gotten in trouble quite a few times. The prior year they had gotten caught while digging in Hiko-san's desk drawers, looking for the reason the Boarding School had cut off fundings for the Kendo Club. Fortunately, Honjou Kamatari, the principal's secretary, interceded for them ("I sent them to look for something in there," was the excuse) and saved them from spending two months' worth of weekends inside school grounds, bored to death.

"We're not going to trespass on private property again, Kaoru-chan. This time we're just going to ask some questions," she declared, with a nod of her head. "After all, we only want this guy's name and the reason he's here. It's not like we have to check the school's financial status or anything."

"We'll find out in the Start of Course ceremony, anyways," Kaoru assured her, trying to get her to change her mind about this new investigation of hers.

Unluckily for her, Makimachi Misao was as stubborn as a mule. "Not if he didn't come here to work! What if he's just visiting Hiko-san? You told me the man called him 'shishou', after all. And I'm not letting him walk away from you just like that, not when you're obviously destined to be together!"

Kaoru sighed. There was no way she could deter Misao's romantic-slash-passionate ideals. She just hoped Hiko-san wouldn't confine them to their rooms as punishment when he caught them.

Misao bounced up to the desk that was now in front of them. "Konnichiwa, Kamatari-san!"

The secretary looked up, finally looking up to the two girls with a sweet smile. "Oh! Misao-chan! Kaoru-chan! Konnichiwa! How are you girls?"

"Ah, just genki," said Misao with a shrug. She was going to ask a question right away, but Kamatari spoke before she could.

"What are you two girls doing here? Don't tell me you're investigating something again... I don't think my beauty and striking personality will be able to charm Hiko-san again."

Kaoru and Misao sweatdropped. As pretty and cheerful as Kamatari-san was, they were sure Hiko-san would stay as far away from Kamatari-san as possible, because he (and the whole school, as well) knew the awful truth... Kamatari-san was actually... A MAN (*gasp!*). Not that there was anything wrong with him being a crossdresser, of course, because it was his life and no one had a right to criticize it, but still, it was a bit weird to see him glomp fully-grown men like they were teddy bears. It had been sort of funny when everyone found out, because, even though he wasn't really hiding it, no one had a clue at first. It was especially embarassing for Hiko-san, who had tried to hit on him (thinking he was a her) during the Start of Course ceremony that year. Since then, Kamatari-san always was oh-so-happy to remind him of the incident as often as he could, which of course explained how Kamatari-san (and Kaoru and Misao by extension) could get away with pretty much anything.

"Um, actually, it's nothing as risky as the last investigation..." Misao started, trying to get away from the topic of Kamatari and her gender preferences. "We just want to know if there are any new members in the faculty this year."

"In the faculty?" Kamatari-san asked. He blinked a few times and then squealed girlishly, taking some papers out of his desk drawer. "Oh, yes! We have two new professors, and we're still expecting two more. Apparently, the Ministry of Education hasn't handed their official credentials in yet, but they will start classes later this month." He hurriedly showed them the papers, which were actually files for each of the new professors, and of course they contained photos. One of them was a brown-haired woman, pale and very pretty, and the other one was a black-haired man, tanned and with a smirk on his face. "See this? He's your new History professor," he said, pointing to the picture of the man. "He's soooooo dreamy, don't you think?"

Kaoru and Misao sweatdropped yet again. "Ano... but the one we're looking for isn't there," Kaoru stated, feeling rather silly.

"Oh?" Kamatari-san asked, arching an eyebrow. "You're specifically looking for someone?"

"Yes," replied both girls, nodding their heads.

"He's not very tall, has red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek," Kaoru explained, waiting expectantly to see if it triggered something in Honjou-san's memory.

"Hmmmm..." the pretty man murmured, tapping his chin lightly with his finger, while staring off into space. "Red hair... Oh!" he exclaimed, and the girls leaned forward as if he were telling a story and they were waiting for the surprise ending. "Yes, yes, I know who he is! He came by this morning. His name is Himura Kenshin... he's going to be the new Student Counselor."

Misao jumped and exclaimed "YATTA!" while Kaoru frowned a bit and Kamatari looked at them, a bit curious.

"Umm... do you know where he is now, Honjou-san?" Kaoru asked, her cheeks a little red.

"Well, he went off with Hiko-san. He must be in the Counseling Office by now," Kamatari supplied helpfully.

"Oh, well, I'll just... go now... I guess I have... I have to thank him," she babbled, turning around and breaking into a run, barely having time to yell back to Misao that she'd meet her at the Start of Course ceremony.

The little weasel girl smiled at her best friend's fading silhouette. Although maybe "smiling" was too light of a term to use in her case. It was more that she was grinning like the Chesire Cat.

"So?" Kamatari-san inquired, leaning over his desk. "Are you going to tell me what all this was about, or not?"

Misao turned around, grin still in place. "Oh, you bet I am!"

---

Kaoru walked towards the Counseling Office, which was on the complete opposite side of the school, all the way berating herself for babbling aloud about thanking the red-haired man. Kenshin, was it? Well, the fact was that by now, Misao would have Honjou-san completely convinced that she was having some sort of passionate affair with the Counselor. How embarassing.

When she finally got there, she saw the door was closed. What was she supposed to do? Wait outside? Knock? Just burst in with a quick "heya, remember me? I'm the girl whose rear you saved this morning"? She decided it was best to just knock and wait. But when she walked towards the door, she heard voices.

"...diot! What do you mean you can't take it? You can't do that! Do realize that I wouldn't have called in a dork like you if I wasn't desperate.You can't just leave!"

"Sessha is sorry, shishou, but sessha just doesn't think he is the best for this job, de gozaru. Surely you can find a suitable replacement for sessha."

She couldn't help but eavesdrop a little. Hiko-san and Himura-san were arguing and... Himura-san was leaving? That was weird... it was only the Start of Course day! Classes hadn't even begun yet, and he was quitting already?

She heard Hiko-san sigh. "This is unbelievable. Just my luck, the only person who's stupid enough to take this job has to be my baka-deshi, and he's too much of a moron to let go of his past. Geez..."

Now Himura-san sighed, but didn't say anything else. Hiko-san let out a grunt. "Fine! Do whatever you want. It's not like I care. This school could do so much better than a baka like you..."

Kaoru heard footsteps coming closer. Hiko-san was coming out of the office! She freaked out... she couldn't let him find her! Gah! In the end, Hiko-san opened the door before she could decide what to do, and she had to comically jump behind the door so he wouldn't notice her presence, like those wanna-be thieves did on cartoons. Definitely a reflex action, but hey, it worked like a jewel.

Carefully watching Hiko-san's retreating back, she tiptoed into the Counseling Office. Of course, since she was standing with her back to the room, she didn't notice that the Counselor himself was looking at her, with the world's biggest clueless expression, while she walked around the corner like the Pink Panther.

"...Kaoru-dono?"

"Gah!" She turned around, eyes wide open. She bit her lip, guiltily. "Oh. Sorry if I'm interrupting, Himura-san."

He smiled. "Don't worry, that's okay. Do you need anything? Please come in, and close the door behind you, de gozaru. We wouldn't want anyone to eavesdrop, right?" His violet eyes shined warmly when he looked at her, with an amused expression. He was sitting behind his desk, pen in hand, but not writing anything.

She blushed, embarrased. She was caught yet again, and she couldn't even blame Misao this time. Closing the door as she was asked to, she started explaining, clumsily: "I'm sorry about that. I was just coming to see you, and Hiko-san was yelling, so I couldn't help but..." She pulled back the chair that was in front of the desk, sitting on it with a light plop-sound. "Is it true? You're leaving? Why?"

As if she had shot him instead of just asked him a question, he looked down, a deep frown covering his features. "Sessha is just not the best person for this job. Sessha is sure sessha would mess things up somehow."

She arched an eyebrow skeptically. "Well, your self-confidence sure does change when you don't have a sword in your hands! Why do you say that? I think you're just the kind of Counselor this school needs. All the others were stuffy and looked down at us, sighing with an overly-dramatic 'oh, these poor young ones' attitude. Believe me, I speak from experience," she added, laughing. Himura-san laughed too, albeit a bit more weakly. "But you," she continued, "you seem like a normal guy."

"Sessha doesn't think you'd find 'normal' anywhere on sessha's record," he replied, still sporting the weak smile.

Kaoru crossed her arms. "So, what WOULD I find in your record?" she asked, like challenging him.

"Sessha hasn't had much experience," he admitted, shifting his position a bit, and dropping his pen on a penholder that was over the desk. He obviously did not like speaking about that issue. "And the little sessha has, wasn't good at all."

"What happened? I'm sure it can't be that bad..."

"It was," he murmured, looking everywhere but at her. "Deaths were involved."

"Oh," she said. Rather stupidly, she thought to herself. So that's why he keeps referring to himself as 'unworthy'. "Well... you didn't mean for anyone to die, right?"

He shook his head, his eyes firmly glued to his desk, his expression dark. "Of course not."

She smiled again, trying to lighten the environment of the room. "Then it's okay! You shouldn't worry about that anymore, you know? It doesn't matter what you did. The past is past. What matters is who you are now and what you can do in the future."

His head snapped up when he heard those words. Suddenly he was looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, violet eyes glazed, mouth half open. Kaoru felt herself blush again. "It's just... Sessha is not sure he could help anybody, de gozaru," he stated, or more accurately, he whispered, so lightly that she could barely hear it. He looked... scared, Kaoru decided. Confused. It seemed that he needed her advice, and not the other way around.

"Hey," she began, grinning warmly. "You helped me this morning, remember?" She shrugged. "I rather think that's a good start."

He blinked and let out a shaky breath. The corners of his mouth were beginning to curl up again. "Arigato."

"You're welcome!" she exclaimed happily, standing up. "I have to go back to my room now. The Start of Course ceremony will start soon and I've got to change." She went out of the room, still smiling. Himura-san stayed inside his Office, pondering about her words.

Not two seconds later, the door opened again and her head popped back in. "Oh! By the way, thanks for the save this morning! Hehe, that was my reason for coming here since the beginning, actually..."

Himura-san nodded in acknowledgment. Kaoru waved her hand a little and dissapeared behind the door, this time for real.

Kenshin couldn't help but smile. That was one special girl, no doubt.

---

Within an hour, the students were called to the front garden, where the Start of Course Ceremony would take place. Kaoru and Misao, now clad in the dark blue, light blue and white plaid skirts, white t-shirts, light blue overshirts, white socks and black shoes ensemble that made up their uniforms, stepped by the school cafeteria to say hello to Tae, Okon and Omasu, before heading outside.

They decided to stand by the fountain, which was the coolest place of the area, even if the fountain wasn't working. Besides, Misao had brought with her an umbrella that matched their uniforms, and while they looked ridiculous standing under it in the middle of a school gathering, at least they weren't burning to death like the rest of the students.

Five minutes later, when Misao was nearly done interrogating Kaoru for the second time that day, Hiko-san went up on the improvised stage the school always set up in front of the main doors whenever there was a special event. As he neared the microphone, a low murmur rose from the audience. He smirked, thinking the students were awed by his imposing figure and charisma. But it was quite the opposite situation, in fact. The students were merely wondering how the hell he could stand under the excessively hot midday sun wearing that thick (and ugly) trenchcoat.

The Principal smiled his trademark 100-watts smile before beginning his speech.

"Well, well, well... if it isn't the same hormonally imbalanced crowd that barely managed to get out of here last year... I do hope that you're ready to put all your energy into re-learning all the stuff you've already forgotten since last term... although that might be a bit too much to ask of you people, I guess..."

Misao snorted loudly at Hiko-san's speech. Kaoru, on the other hand, was focused on other things. Like the people that were currently walking up the stairs to stand behind him.

She recognized the first two from the pictures Honjou-san showed them. The third one was even more familiar.

It was a man with red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek.

Himura-san had decided to stay after all.

She was glad.

He stood behind Hiko-san, a little to the left, keeping a discreet distance from the other two figures, a man and a woman (who, by the way, seemed to be standing a little too close to simply be colleagues that have just met). His hands were on his pant pockets, and his purple eyes were quietly moving among the crowd, as if he were looking for someone.

They finally met hers. She smiled at him.

He smiled back.






---






widdle author's notes by cali ^^

well, this is it for the first chapter, i guess. i've had this bunny jumping around my brain since a LONG time ago, but lack of time and inspiration had me stuck, i guess ^^;;;; but now, after many nights of staying up until ungodly hours in the night in order to get a few paragraphs, it's done. hah! the lack of sleep paid off...

i'd always wanted to write a kenshin-in-HS fic! *squee* this is so exciting... *hugglez sano 'til he can't breathe* more characters coming up later! i hope i can keep them IC. but gosh, writing them without including swords and stuff is HARD. geez.

i think you guys understand most of the japanese words i've used here, so i won't put a glossary in here. if i'm mistaken with this assumption, though, tell me and i'll put one up next chapter. and OH! let's spice this up a little-- any of you who can tell me just WHO the two new professors were (the ones in the photos kamatari showed kaoru and misao), will get a mini-cameo in next chapter. weeee...! ^-^

for anybody who has read my other RK fic ("sometimes") and is wondering just why the hell i haven't updated in YEARS-- do not worry! i'm working on it. it WILL be finished! hahaaaaa!

for updates and snippets on this fic, please check my ficlog-- kyoudai.net/blog, and to read my other stuff, be sure to step by my writing archive-- kyoudai.net/ame. bai bai! -cali-chan.