Disclaimer: Yes yes, Rurouni Kenshin isn't mine
XD: A huge thank you to all who reviewed (on We Meet Again)! I'm ecstatic to know there are people who are interested in my story.
A special nod to flaming-amber for such an enthusiastic review and yes, the whole childhood friend is SO old but I just love it! But dang, way to lather on the pressure "I have this wonderful feeling that you plan on taking it to the next level" O.o I'm not even sure what the next level is but I will do my best
Lyrl: Thanks so much for pointing out that silly typo!
Killua K: Heehee, I liked it too
Oh and Kenshin doesn't have his long locks as all of you have been accustomed to, he has hair like THIS: srv0110-08.oak1./g/p/4daee7c45e8b1fa366a5d65657d9dc1bweb.jpg
I now present to you the second chapter:
"Baby Good morning everyday I wake up with you with the lovely call."
Kaoru shut off her alarm clock with a resounding hit, stretched her body horizontally while still lying in bed (she liked to believe that if she kept doing that, she might gain at least few centimeters in height) and rubbed her eyes awake with the palms of her hands. After putting on her glasses, Kaoru swung her legs over the side of her bed, slipped her feet into hamster slippers and hurried downstairs to the kitchen where the aroma of French toast and pancakes were beckoning to her.
When she entered the kitchen, she saw that her aunt was cheerfully whistling while she flipped a pancake over in a pan. "Morning, babe! So how do you feel? Today's your first day at your new school. Now is the perfect time for new beginnings. New stories to unravel. New adventures to embark on. And new romances to blossom." Sachi gave Kaoru a meaningful look.
"Mwuh? Dif chu shay somfinkt?" Kaoru looked up from her half devoured plate with her mouth cramped full of pancakes. Was this the best pancakes she ever had or what?
"... Never mind. So would you like a ride to school?"
"Nah. It's cool, I can just walk. It should be only a 10 minute walk from here anyways."
"Okay then, but do try to pay attention to where you're going, honey. You always manage to find yourself lost."
"Yeah, yeah I know." Kaoru took one last large bite of her French toast. (She never could understand those people who skipped breakfast. Or any meals for that manner. Food was just too good.) "I wanna get there kinda early so I'm going to get ready now. Thanks for breakfast. It was really good." Karou scooted her chair backwards, dropped her dish off in the sink, and went back upstairs to change into her uniform. (XD: Yes, they are going to wear uniforms because I don't have time to think of what she's going to wear everyday.)
A short while after, Kaoru said her goodbyes and left her house in what she thought was a fairly presentable manner. She pulled at her skirt at the end again to try to make it longer but it was a lost cause. The principal must be some kind of pervert, who else would make these skirts so freaking short?
After about fifteen minutes of walking, Kaoru noticed a house that was more traditional than all the other houses surrounding it which had more of a western style, Kaoru's included. (XD: You know the house in Fruits Basket where they all lived? It's like that.) The house was enclosed by a high thick wall but being the curious girl she was, Kaoru peered through the metal gate it had at its entrance and a soft "whoa" slipped out of her mouth.
Flowers. A luscious garden of flowers of all kinds and colors looked to have exploded in front of her. There were roses, honeysuckles, lilies, tulips, snapdragons, orchids and hundreds of others she couldn't name. All the colors of the rainbow were interspersed among colors she hadn't seen before. Karou stuck her nose through the gate and breathed deeply. All the diverse smells coalesced to form an incredible smell that was just so clean. It was Mother Nature at her best.
Someone was a damn good gardener.
Kaoru had never been really interested in flowers but you had to admit, that was an amazing piece of work. She admired the garden for awhile and walked off. That was when she realized that she had been walking for quite awhile and still hadn't arrived at the school. A few days ago, her aunt had driven her to the school and Karou was sure she had the way memorized but it looks like she was wrong. She glanced at her watch and saw that school was going to start in ten minutes. "Aw dammit."
Just then, she noticed two boys who had a similar uniform to hers and were running their ass off. She sprinted after them, hoping she didn't look like an idiot, and five minutes later she was panting in front of the door to her classroom. She waited until her heartbeat slowed down, pushed her spectacles up with a finger, and entered the classroom.
Usually in mangas and such, when the new girl (usually the heroine) enters her new classroom, the class would already have started and then everyone quiets and turns to look at her. The teacher would say something along the lines of "Are you the new student? Welcome! Class, please give the new student a warm welcoming." The whole class would stare at her and she would smile brightly and say, "Nice to meet you. My name is insert name." Then she would go to sit in her seat and all the guys were already be thinking of hitting on her and she would make friends with the other girls instantly.
That wasn't the case with Kaoru.
Kaoru found all the students to be wandering around or in small private groups chattering loudly and only four people (at the most) gave her any notice. The teacher was leaning back in his seat with his feet up on his desk, immersed in his Sudoku book.
"Excuse me." Kaoru cautiously went up to the side of desk.
Mr. Sangsu (XD: totally made that up) erased the number 4 from one of the squares and looked up and seeing no one there, bent his head down and focused on his little book.
"Uh, over here." This time, Mr. Tagaki turned his head to his left and noticed Karou standing there. "I'm Kamiya Kaoru. I'm new here."
"And...?" Kaoru thought that he had given her a slightly annoyed look.
"And I'm supposed to be in your class."
Kaoru thought she was just imagining it when she saw him roll his eyes, yes, a man in his mid forties rolling his eyes, and say "Then sit your butt down and wait for class to start."
Geez, was everyone here a jerk? Kaoru wasn't sure which seat was occupied so she settled for one that didn't have purses or backpacks on it. She had barely slid into her seat near the back right corner of the classroom when Mr. Sangsu stood up from behind his desk.
"Time to start."
Students shuffled nosily back to their seats and Karou could feel the stares from the pupils sitting around her. She gave them a small smile but they either gave her a weirder look or turned away; she wasn't that great at meeting people for the first time. The seat to her right, she noted, was empty. Maybe the person who sits there is really nice.
Mr. Sangsu briefly looked around, "Everyone here? Good. Remember, don't talk too loud and don't ask me to go to the bathroom. Just go. Got it? Good. And we have a new student." He pointed Kaoru out with a lift of his chin. Then he sat down and picked up his Sudoku book and pencil.
The entire class looked her over and then started to bustle around again, changing seats and sitting on top on desks. Apparently, education wasn't a priority at this school. Not that she was complaining; school wasn't her forte anyways.
No one was sitting around her anymore and Kaoru sat there for 15 minutes wondering what she was going to do when she heard a soft voice, "Hi. My name is Yukishiro Tomoe."
Karou turned her head and saw a pretty girl with long midnight black hair that was unbelievably straight who was looking shyly at her.
"Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm Kamiya Kaoru. So, is the class always like this?"
Tomoe sat at the desk to Karou's left and replied, "Most of the time. Although sometimes, Mr. Sangsu tries to teach us something so our test scores aren't too terrible and the principal gets suspicious."
They chatted for about half an hour and discovered that they liked a lot of the same bands and had many other similar interests. Later, Tomoe left to take a phone call and go to the restroom so Karou sat fiddling with her mechanical pencil.
A short while later, the door slammed open and Kaoru looked up half expecting it to be Tomoe but instead, a tall slim guy wearing a black beanie with a white skull and dark shades walked in. Mr. Sangsu, without looking up, said in an impassive voice, "Decided to show up today, Himura?" Himura? Where have I heard that name before?
He ignored Mr. Sangsu and started to walk to the back of the room, not without, Kaoru noted, almost all of the female mini groups trying to beckoning him to join them.
Kaoru chose to ignore him even when he sat in the seat on her right and continued to spin the mechanical pencil with her fingers. When she couldn't resist it anymore, she turned her head to discreetly peek at her curious classmate and was startled to see him staring straight at her. Or she thought he was. She saw her twin reflections in his shades and turned slightly pink with embarrassment and hurriedly faced forward again. What if he wasn't looking at her? He could be looking at someone behind her for all she knew.
She gave him another glance, saw that he was still looking in her direction and decided to introduce herself, "Hey. I'm-."
"-Kamiya Kaoru. I know who you are."
Kaoru was caught off guard. "What? You do...?"
Mr. Sangsu's voice calling from his desk made them both look up, "Himura, take off your silly hat and glasses. Don't think you don't have to follow the rules like everyone else."
Karou turned to see Himura take off his beanie and place his shades on the desk.
"You! You're that jerk from before!" There was no forgetting (XD: you wanna bet on that?) that red hair or those amethyst eyes.
"My name's not 'you' and you're not one to speak." He moved in his seat so his entire body was facing her. "You're not the perfect picture of kindness either, little Miss Bratty."
"If I'm a brat, then you must be a butthead." Kaoru crossed her arms. "But forget that, what was all that "you want me" crap from the day before? I don't even know you! So get it through your head, I don't like you."
No sooner had she finished speaking, Himura grabbed her chair on either sides and swiftly pulled her toward him until the only thing separating their faces was a distance of six centimeters. He gazed into her eyes and smirked.
He whispered in a soft tone, "You sure? 'Cause I think you do."
Kaoru made a face and placed both of her hands on his chest (she couldn't help but notice that it felt very firm) and shoved him away. She moved her chair farther to the left than it was in its original position and glared at him, "Then you're a complete idiot." She scooted away another inch, fixed her glasses and demanded, "Stay the hell away and don't touch me."
Himura put his hands up, palms facing her, in mock defeat and said, "Hey no need to get all riled up, I didn't touch you, only your chair. Plus, you're the one who touched me." He pointed to his chest with his right index as if she didn't know.
Kaoru growled a little. "Pervert."
Himura made sad noise, "You're always talking so callously toward me. 'Idiot, jerk, moron' and now 'pervert.' You know, one of these days you might really hurt my feelings."
"Uh huh. Yeah right." Kaoru thought back to when they first met. "Just wondering but why were you running from that woman before?"
"She was going to kill me."
Kaoru stared at Himura.
"Or give me a beating I'll never forget."
"Hm, you probably deserved it."
"You kidding? A saint like me would never do anything to deserve that."
For some reason, I really doubt that. ... Ok, where was Tomoe? She should be back by now. Save me from this weirdo.
It was as if the heavens were taking pity on her for Tomoe walked through the door right at that moment. Kaoru immediately went up to meet her new friend before she could come to her seat and said, "Let's go somewhere else to talk, ok?"
"Okay then."
Thankfully, there was a spot on the left side up near the front, and after Mr. Sangsu gave them a look that said, "Don't bother me", Karou asked Tomoe, " What's the deal with that Himura guy?"
"Himura? He's extremely popular."
"Why?"
"Just look at him! He's so handsome and cool. And he's really kind!"
Pfff. If by kind, you mean really moronic, then I concur.
"A lot of girls really like him."
Sure, who doesn't love a big fat flirt like him?
"But do you want to know something?"
"Sure."
Tomoe moved closer and said, "He's still hasn't had his first kiss! Or at least that's what the rumors say." She looked like this was unheard of.
"Still hasn't, huh." Kaoru tried to sound like she didn't care (and she didn't about Himura) but what about her? She never kissed anyone before either! Actually, she has never really thought about kissing, although she used to fantasize about kissing a certain someone. For God's sake, she was seventeen! There was a good portion of girls who had already given up their virginity let alone their first kiss. That's it. This school year is going to be different!
"He's so mysterious and that's why so many girls want to get close to him. But whenever they try to kiss him, he pushes them away. Why do you ask by the way?"
"It's nothing. Anyways enough about him, did you know Big Bang released a new mini album?"
Walking back home, Karou decided that her first day at her school wasn't that bad, she met Tomoe who was a little quiet but quite friendly nonetheless and she only had Kenshin in two of her classes, in her first and last period. She saw that she nearing the extraordinary house from that morning and was taken back when she heard her aunt's laughter coming from within the walls. She looked in through the gate, and sure enough, there standing on the porch in front of the house was Sachi chattering animatedly with a woman with hair the color of fire. She's that woman who was chasing Himura from before. It was hard to believe though, seeing her standing there so calmly, nodding her head with a small smile at her aunt.
"Kaoru sweetie! Come here and say hello." Sachi had spotted her niece and was beckoning her to come closer. "The gate's open so come on in."
"O-okay." Kaoru pushed open the gate and entered. With flowers to the left and right of her, Kaoru felt like she was in a field full of blossoms while she was walking down the stone path to her aunt and the woman.
Standing next to her aunt, she bowed to the woman and introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Kamiya Kaoru."
She never expected what would come next.
The woman flung her arms wide open and tightly embraced Kaoru, "Oh, I already know that, you silly goose!" She released her and instead grasped Karou's upper arms and examined her from head to toe. "It is amazing how much you have grown. Just look at how beautiful you have become!" She was positively beaming at Kaoru.
Speechless, Kaoru was rooted to the spot. "I, uh, um, do I know you?"
Sachi gave a small chuckle, "Honey, you still don't remember? Think back to when you were small, where did you spend your days playing at?"
When I was small...? I remember going in the mornings to a place where it would smell delightful all day long and I...
"Maiya! I can't believe it's you!" Kaoru couldn't believe her eyes. Eight years has passed but she still looked at beautiful as ever. She does look skinnier than I remembered though. This time Karou gave Maiya a hug and said, "I'm so happy to see you!"
Maiya smiled, "As am I."
Sachi, not wanting to wait anymore, spoke up, "Alright, alright, I'm tearing up. Sorry to break up the reunion but Karou, remember how you were talking about wanting to make some extra cash? Well, Maiya here has a proposal for you."
Kaoru tilted her head slightly to the right and looked curiously at Maiya.
"Recently, I have been finding it a little difficult to keep up with all the housework. The idea of hiring a stranger doesn't quite appeal to me, so how would you like to work here? It will just be easy tasks such as vacuuming and watering the plants. The pay will not be too bad either. In addition, it will give us a chance to catch."
"I would love to catch up with you but if you need extra help, you can just ask me, I'll be glad to help out anytime; you don't have to pay me or anything.
"No no. Please do not worry about that, I know that a little extra cash can come in handy sometimes. It will be my pleasure."
Well, if you put it that way... "Well okay then! I can start today if you would like me to."
"That sounds perfect. Also my son – oh, here he comes now. I think you two go to the same school."
Oh yeah, I used to play with her son...
"What are you doing here?"
Himura was standing at the other end of the stone path with an irritated look on his face, eyes focused on Karou whose eyes widened. She gasped, stuck her right arm out, pointed directly at Himura and exclaimed, "I remember you now! You're Himura Kenshin!"
"Kaoru, you did not even remember my son? My, you have forgotten a lot. And Kenshin, I expect a better greeting than that." Maiya raised her eyebrow at her son.
He went to the porch but didn't step up and remained standing on the ground. Kenshin shot Kaoru a cold look, someone doesn't like people at their house, Karou thought, bowed to his mom and Sachi, mumbled his 'Hello's and then he quickly straightened and asked, "But Mother, why is she at our house?"
Sachi whispered into Karou's ear, "Sweetheart, I'm not too sure I want you working here with him here. He certainly wasn't so rude when he was younger."
Maiya went over and wrapped her arm around Kaoru, "Not to worry, Sachi, my dear friend, I will make sure Kenshin gets along with Kaoru. Soon, they will be best friends like they were when they were little kiddies."
That grabbed Kaoru's attention and she asked, "How are you going to do that?"
Maiya gave Kaoru's right arm a light squeeze, smiled and said, "Why you two will be working together."