Disclaimer: I no own Rurouni Kenshin…
A/N: I've made the final decision of making this fic a Kaoru & Battousai/Kenshin fic. Because of Kenshin's age, he'll be Kenshin for now and slowly become Battousai. ^.-
Hidden in Study - Chapter 2 – By Cherry Chibi
Two days later, Kaoru and Misao were preparing for departure to Kyoto. They have received word of the school that would accept them as boarders. However, Misao was organised to help out at the school and do part-time learning – because she didn't want to study all the time.
"Why did I have to cut my hair?!!!!" Misao's now short hair was neatly cut (imagine Captain Sagara's hair but only with shorter hair) "I look weird."
"You look cute." Kaoru whispered.
The two girls stood beside a carriage dressed in boy clothing. They helped Kaoru's parents load their luggage on the carriage. Kaoru noticed that her mother had been weeping. She had heard her parents argue and felt slightly guilty but she was going to do what she dreamed of doing – attending school.
"Don't worry mummy, I'll write." Kaoru said with a smile, "I promise."
"Take care of yourself." Her mother hugged her tightly and so did her father. Misao was soon caught in a tight bear hug as well. The driver opened the carriage door and helped the two 'boys' in.
"Remember Kaoru, you name there will be Taka and Misao, your name will be Akai." Kaoru's mother whispered to them. They nodded and looked at their hands. In black ink, they had written their 'boy' names written on the palm of their hands.
"You will take them to the city?" Mr. Kamiya asked the driver.
"I will." The driver replied honestly.
* * * *
Kaoru and Misao waved goodbye as the carriage departed. When the small cottage and the farm were no longer in sight, the two settled into the seats. "Do you think that we'll be OK?"
Kaoru turned to Misao and nodded. "We will be. I'm sure that as long as we have each other, we'll be alright." She smiled. "Well, we better memorise our names." The two sat back and stared at their hands.
Misao glanced and Kaoru's hand and Kaoru glanced at Misao's hand. Then both of them said,
"Wanna switch names?"
* * * *
When the two arrived at the Taiyou no Kokoro school, it was night. They were welcomed by a group of boys as well as teachers. Misao and Kaoru glanced sideways to each other.
"Welcome Taka and Akai Kamiya. I see that you two are very promising boys." An old man with a white moustache and small beard walked up to them. "I am Okina Kashiwazaki, the principal of this school."
'Scary…' Misao thought.
Kaoru was biting her tongue to keep in her laughter. 'His moustache moves funny when he talks…'
"Now, because Taiyou no Kokoro school is so popular, we don't have a room for the both of you to share. No matter, I've organised for you to stay with two other boys who will surely help your stay." Okina said.
"Uh oh…" Misao and Kaoru breathed.
"Now, I hear that Akai is not going to be studying but helping the teachers in classes." Okina continued.
"No, I'm Taka, Akai is studying here." Misao spoke up in the most boyish voice she could muster.
"Oh, must have gotten your names muddled up. Alright, I won't hold you two up any further; let's get you to your rooms." Okina said. "Mr. Seijuro will take you to your room Akai." He said to Kaoru.
She nodded and then turned her attention to the very tall man wearing a white cloak. "Hello Mr. Seijuro."
Hiko smiled grimly at her before lifting her heaviest bags and leading her towards the building. Kaoru picked up her smaller bag and gave a glance to Misao. "I'll see you later, mi- I mean, Taka."
Misao nodded.
"Hurry up Akai." Hiko said.
Kaoru scurried after Hiko. He led her through the large halls and then he entered a room that was very small with only two futons, blankets and headrests folded up at the left side. At the opposite wall was a desk with two chairs. There was one built in closet and a window. The room was lit by a candle on the desk.
"The bathhouse is at the back, however, for juniors, you would only be able to use them from after lunch until dinner. Senior students use the bathhouse during the mornings and night." Hiko said as he placed her bags beside the bed closest to the window. "Your curfew is at eight."
Kaoru nodded and looked into the room. "Thank you Mr. Seijuro."
"If you need help, the baka-deshi in this room name is Kenshin." Then Hiko left.
Kaoru opened the closet and found that the shelves on the whole left side of the closet were empty. She unpacked her clothing, folded them and placed them on the shelves. Her bags she packed at the bottom of the closet. When she was done she stretched.
She soon realised a problem. There wasn't a secluded place in this room where she could change without her roommate seeing. 'Better change now,' she quickly took of her shirt and wore another on, it fitted her comfortably. Her mother had been busy sewing clothes for her and Misao. She changed her pants.
Just when she finished, the shouji door slid open and a boy entered. He had flaming red hair, lavender eyes and was wearing black pants and a white shirt. It looks at if he had been training for something earlier on.
"You must be my roommate now." Kenshin said in his quiet voice.
"Yeah, my name is Akai Kamiya." Kaoru said.
Kenshin didn't say much after that. He walked over to the desk and piled up text books. Kaoru packed her clothes and slid the closet door shut. She rushed to her feet and walked over to the desk.
"Are these…"
"These are text books that we would be studying from for the rest of this year." Kenshin said. "For maths and literature." He then walked over to the closet and slid the right side open.
Kaoru quickly turned her attention to the books and opened a book. 'I'm supposed to be a boy, I am not a girl now… well… I am but I'm pretending that I'm not…' She tried to distract herself from blushing by reading the literature text. Then she heard Kenshin's voice rasp out in pain.
She turned around and almost gasped but she avoided that. 'Don't become girlish now…' She walked over to Kenshin. He's back was bruised badly and there was a minor cut near his shoulder. "What happened?"
"Nothing." Kenshin replied sharply.
"Really?" Kaoru crossed her arms, "I bet that you have been sword training or did you get into a bash up with some guys?"
Kenshin didn't reply.
"I've got a first aid kit, you can use it." Kaoru took out a wooden box and in it were ointments and bandages that her mother had packed for her. "It's important to treat wounds early."
"Thanks… You want to become a doctor?" Kenshin questioned.
"Nope." Kaoru replied. She smiled and then shoved the box into his hands. "I don't want the floor covered in your blood tomorrow morning." She then started unfolding the futons.
Kenshin was eyeing her strangely.
She looked up at him and said, "What?" Then she realised that he was guy and thought that she was being weird because she was doing a job like a 'girl'. "It's a habit; my parents made me do a lot of things back at the countryside." Then she tried to laugh it off.
"You are… eccentric." Kenshin walked over to the futon furthest from the window and placed the box on the floor. "Where do you come from?"
"The countryside, like I said, although I'm not so sure where, I think its east from here." Kaoru said, then she set up her futon, she pulled out the blanket and placed the headrest into her desired position.
"I've lived here most of my life," Kenshin said quietly, "I never knew who my parents were, they died when I was very young." He then opened the box and took out a roll of bandages and a bottle of ointment.
'I wonder how Kenshin got hurt so badly…' Kaoru thought, 'by looking, I think that some of them are old cuts. Is someone beating him up?' She thought some more until, 'I'll follow him around tomorrow night and find out.'
"Um, could you give me a hand here?" Kenshin asked quietly, "I can't see where to apply the bandages," He was looking over his shoulder.
Kaoru held in a laugh, she walked over to him and then quickly wrapped the bandages. "No one has ever taught you right?"
Kenshin kept silent.
Kaoru sat back and crossed her legs. "Alright, so far, all I know about you is that you're name is Kenshin, you're quiet or shy, you're strong by seeing that you endure wounds well and that you are smart for your age 'cos you use big words." Kaoru smiled. She had purposely skipped saying 'you've been here most of your life', she thought that he probably didn't want to think about it.
There was silence for a while until Kaoru chuckled. "I think that you don't want to talk anymore so good night." She crawled under the blankets of the futon, before she shut her eyes to sleep she asked, "What time do we have to wake up?"
"Just before the sun rises," Kenshin said. He had expected Akai to start complaining about it would be far too early to wake up and that they should sleep in, most of the boys do.
"Easy." Kaoru yawned, "OK, night."
Meanwhile…
"Will you please shut up?!" A six year old boy with spiked brown hair glared at Misao but then regretted his words straight away.
"Don't talk to me like that!!!" Misao punched Sano in the face and then again in the stomach. "You should know that you should always be nice to new kids." She crossed her arms. "Well, what are we gonna do about your personal stash of food?"
"Nothing!" Sanosuke ducked under the covers and covered his head with the blanket. Misao glared at him and then decided that she should get to bed. She blew out the candle on the desk and slipped into her futon.
* * * *
A/N: There's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it. ^-^x Next chapter will be better, the actual schooling starts. Hehehe…
Ja!
Nee-chan: Yeah, you've got it! That was the inspiration for this fic but I'm not gonna use it all. I just took little bits and pieces. By knowing the basic storyline of that tale, it won't spoil what's gonna happen later on. So no worries there!
~ Cherry Chibi