Chapter 6

School Time!

By the time they arrived from their mission, buying Kenshin a completely new wardrobe, the pair was exhausted. Who knew that one simple shopping spree could be so hectic? (AN: I do!) Okay, there were some cases, but generally, their dilemma didn't happen to anybody else. Unless you have a samurai from the Bakumatsu era transported to the present, you would know exactly what they went through. Let's just hope you don't.

"We're back." Kaoru announced wearily, as she shut the shoji door behind her and collapsed on the tatami-covered floor. Kenshin, was far ahead of her as he was already snoozing against the wall.

Surprisingly, or not, Hiko came out from the opposite door and muttered, "about time!"

Kaoru glared at her uncle and snapped, "well, try taking this baka to the mall on a 'weekend' and experience some agony, why don't you?"

Hiko rubbed his chin pensively and mumbled, "That makes sense." Then he sat down by on a cushion and poured himself a cup of sake. "Want some?"

"Ojii-san, I'm a minor." Kaoru said flatly as she sat up.

Hiko merely shrugged and replied, "It's not like anyone's going to know." Then he turned to the sleeping red-head and said, "Watch." The large man walked up to his unsuspecting victim, opened his mouth and poured the whole bottle of sake into it. And this isn't just any sake. The whole Hiko line made homemade sake that was stronger than any wine ever invented! Sure, Kenshin drank sake when he was in the war, but not Hiko's specialty sake.

Poor little red-head.

The results were immediate. Kenshin eyes opened groggily and hiccups came one after the other. "Wha's goin' oon 'eere?"

Kaoru raised an eyebrow. It was hard enough understanding a drunken man's slurred words but the way Kenshin hiccupped after nearly every other syllable made it even more incomprehensible.

"Ojii-san! What did you do?"

Evil laughter was heard from the gigantic man who was snickering in the corner, drinking out of another bottle of sake.

"Ga'ru-do'o?"

Kaoru switched her attention to the drunken rurouni who was swaying from side to side. "I beg your pardon?"

His eyes flickered to her once before closing and he collapsed to the floor once again.

"What the heck is 'Garudoo'?" Kaoru wondered out loud before kicking the idiot from her path and gathering her things. "Ojii-san, I'll be going now. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Un, leave the bakadeshi with me." Her uncle replied lethargically, leaving Kaoru uncertain about his assurance as she left the dojo.

"Ojii-san! I'm here to bring Kenshin to school!" Kaoru yelled as she pushed open the wooden gate and entered the empty courtyard.

Of course, empty doesn't always mean silent.

Screams and crashes erupted from the dojo as Kaoru searched for the pair. Soon, as she was running in the hallway, she saw a pair of chopsticks burst through the ricepaper door.

"What's going on in here?!" Kaoru exclaimed as she open the door to reveal Hiko gobbling down some rice while Kenshin sat on the tatami with a wok planted firmly on his head.

"Oh, there's the girl." Hiko said, pointing at his niece. "Hurry up, bakadeshi, before I decide to make you do more chores."

The rurouni need not be told twice and was out the door before the kenjutsu master could utter another word, dragging Kaoru along with him.

"What on Earth was going on at the dojo?" Kaoru inquired once they had stopped at the bus stop. Although Kenshin could run extremely fast and had a ton of stamina, running for his life took a toll on the poor samurai and he collapsed to the floor after her final word.

"Eto…" Kenshin wheezed, panting heavily as he clutched his new leather school bag in his arm. "Shishou decided to 'start my training early'." He emphasised the words with the movement of his fingers. "Meaning… he wanted to make me his slave and force me to do all the housework starting at 4 am."

Kaoru cringed at the thought, knowing full-well the kind of horrors her uncle could create with just seemingly innocent 'chores' having experienced it herself.

"I feel your pain," Kaoru told the traumatized teen, patting his shoulder sympathetically. "Anyway, stand up, so that I can see if you wore your uniform properly."

She pulled him by the arm and checked his clothing as he stood straight and expectant. The male uniform was composed of dark blue pants and a matching blazer which had the school logo on it, a white collar shirt, and a necktie. Nothing could possibly be out of place, ne?

A stifled giggle was heard as her eyes landed at the base of his neck.

"Nani?" Kenshin asked in a worried tone, looking down at the object of her amusement.

The necktie was a fist-sized knot of blue fabric at the base of his neck, completely hiding the view of his neck from the front.

After 5 second of trying her best to keep her laughter in, Kaoru burst laughing while Kenshin tried his best to hide his embarrassment. "It's wrong?" He questioned her as his face assumed a confused expression, making the black-haired girl chortle even more.

"O-okay." She stuttered after a few seconds, pulling at the fabric. "Here, I'll do it for you."

She took a small step closer to him and carefully undid the knot. "Why didn't you ask Ojii-san?" Kaoru asked as she worked on tugging out the impossible tangle. "Ano…" Kenshin started, face turning a pale shade of pink caused by not 'only' his embarrassed reply, "I was scared to do so since… uh… I'm scared of him."

"Of course you are! He's an evil psycho!" Kaoru exclaimed. "Un, that's right!" Kenshin agreed.

After a couple of minutes of practically choking Kenshin to remove the cursed necktie, Kaoru finally managed to retie it properly around his neck.

"There! Much better!" Kaoru announce proudly, patting his shoulder. "You actually look like a regular 21st century teenager!"

Kenshin stared at the necktie in amazement, muttering, "so that's how you do it!" like a buffoon. Then again, he could be called a buffoon indeed.

Kaoru sweat dropped at the immature idiot before sighing in annoyance and knocking on his skull. "Hello! Earth to Kenshin? Are you back from the land of the idiots?"

Kenshin, knocked out from his reverie blinked at her in confusion. "Nani?"

Kaoru pointed behind her shoulder with her thumb at the bus. "We're going to be late if you don't hurry up."

And, after a few seconds of shuffling for his things, they got on the crowded bus and were off.

Fifteen minutes later, the pair arrived at the front of the gates of the school, panting and bickering. Bickering about what, you ask? Well…

"You paid the bus driver with a coin from the Bakumatsu era? Are you insane? It's a good thing I stopped the driver from wringing your neck before you put that thing in the coin slot!" Kaoru exclaimed between pants as they entered the main building.

"It's not my fault! It said 'Insert money here' and it's not like I had any money from this century!" Kenshin snapped in annoyance.

"Shut up, would you? Unless you want everyone to know you're an idiot hitoriki from the Bakumatsu!" Kaoru barked as she pulled him to her shoe locker by the collar of his uniform, successfully shutting him up.

"I-tte!" Kenshin chocked out breathlessly, clutching his neck. "Oh, gomen!" Kaoru said apologetically, releasing her grip on him and opening her locker.

Pulling out her white indoor shoes, she resumed their previous argument saying, "Anyway, I already paid your fare since I wasn't sure if Ojii-san gave you any money. That's why I said, 'Come one Kenshin, I paid already'!"

Kenshin, who was rubbing his neck to ease the pain from her earlier actions, looked up at her dubiously and asked, "You did?"

A vein popped up on her forehead, her fist clenching in preparation for her next act of violence. "Baka!"

"Oi, Kaoru!"

Both Kaoru and Kenshin, who was currently nursing his latest bruise, turned to see two tall males, one with black hair and one with spiky brown hair, and one petite female with a long black braid.

"Ohayou, Kaoru-chan!" Misao greeted as she bounded up to her cheerfully. Stopping beside Kaoru to get her shoes from the locker beside hers, she noticed the redhead and inquired curiously, "who's that?"

"Ah!" Kaoru squeaked in realization as the other two approached. Kenshin, on the other hand, muttered an "oro" and continued to stare at them from behind Kaoru.

Sano peered behind Kaoru and questioned, "Jou-chan, who's the short guy behind you?" Aoshi just silently took out his shoes as the other two bombarded the raven-haired girl with questions.

Kaoru sweatdropped nervously as she felt Kenshin tense behind her. One thing that you must never mention to the Battousai is his height. Or his lack of height. "Ano… actually…"

"Oh, I know!" Sano suddenly exclaimed, tapping his fist on his open palm. "He's you boyfriend!" His right pinkie was held up in the air and a goofy grin was plastered on his face.

The next thing Sano knew, he was face flat on the floor with a bruise on his left cheek.

Kaoru pulled back her fist and grabbed the surprised red-head before running down the hallway, yelling behind her. "Shut up, Sanosuke!"