Disclaimer: I no own Rurouni Kenshin…
Hidden in Study - Chapter 3 – By Cherry Chibi
Early next morning, everyone was in the main hall with a bowl of rice porridge with pieces of salted fish. Kaoru and Misao were sitting as far away as possible from the others.
"You think we can switch rooms?" Misao asked pleadingly.
"Why?" Kaoru asked.
"'Cos the Rooster-head is giving me a headache…" Misao whined, "He leaves his stuff everywhere!" She swallowed a mouthful of the porridge. She had woken up with a shock when Okina had entered the room with a stick and smacked them both to wake up; he went easy on her because she didn't know.
"No," Kaoru replied. "I don't think so…"
"Meanie!" Misao said. She looked around and spotted a table behind Kaoru that had probably the strangest boys she'd ever seen. There was a boy who had short black hair and blue eyes, a boy with long red hair tied into a ponytail and lavender eyes and a boy with short black hair with black-violet eyes.
"Are you going to be studying today?" Kaoru asked. She finished her porridge.
"Yep, I go to study every second day starting today." Misao replied. Suddenly, a tall boy with spiked brown hair grabbed Misao around the neck and scuffed her hair. "Hey!"
"Study doesn't start until fifteen minutes! Wanna go outside to play?" Sanosuke asked, laughing. "Come on Taka it will be fun!" Sanosuke saw Kaoru and grinned, "Hi, I'm Sanosuke Sagara."
"I'm Akai. Taka's brother." Kaoru said. She looked worriedly at Misao whose face looked like it had turned from green to blue to purple. "Um...."
"Oh sorry," Sano dropped Misao. Misao leaned forward and gasped for air. "So what do ya say?" After a nervous pause, "Alright!" He grabbed the collar of Misao and Kaoru's shirt and dragged them towards the door.
"Sanosuke, have you seen Seijuro-sensei?" Kenshin walked up to Sano. He paused and looked at Kaoru. "Hi Akai."
"H-Hi…" Kaoru wheezed. She was punching Sano's arm to let her go and when he did she gasped for breath. She made a mental note to herself that Sanosuke was a very big, and a very tough boy as well as stupid.
"This is Taka Kamiya." Sanosuke introduced Misao to Kenshin.
"Let… me… go!" Misao punched Sanosuke upside the head and then landed on the floor with a thump. "Ow…"
"Are you two twins?" Kenshin asked.
Misao and Kaoru looked at him and then each other. "Yeah… not identical though..." They both said at the same time. Sanosuke laughed.
Misao and Kaoru both stood straight and glared at Sanosuke. Misao suddenly got an idea that might work. "You know I can freak you out?" Misao asked Sanosuke in her 'guy' voice.
"Yeah right." Sanosuke said.
Misao winked at Kaoru.
"You better not Taka…" Kaoru didn't know what Misao was going to do but she pretended to.
Misao pretended to clear her throat and then in her normal girl voice, a bit exaggerated though, she said, "Oh Sanosuke, I'm gonna tell Okina about what you did last night with little innocent…"
"Oro?" Kenshin staggered back. Sanosuke took a couple of steps back.
"Er…" Sanosuke looked like he was going to run. "You really are freaky…"
Kaoru started laughing. Misao sounded like a doll talking like in the scary stories that other kids would tell each other late at night.
"Better get to class before Seijuro-sensei beats you up Kenshin," A tall boy with black hair and blue eyes said coolly to Kenshin before leaving the large food hall.
"Yeah," Kenshin nodded, "I'll see you guys later." He headed towards the door.
"Now, let's go and see what the pond has today…" Sanosuke said. He turned around to face Kaoru and Misao but found them rushing after Kenshin.
"WAIT FOR US!!!"
* * * *
Kaoru was seated in the back row of tables between Misao and Kenshin. The classroom was big enough for the students who were aged from six to seven years old.
"Who's our teacher today?" Kaoru asked Kenshin.
"Seijuro-sensei, he teaches us history." Kenshin replied quietly. "After, Sekihara-sensei will be teaching us literature, she is also the cook," He paused for a moment and then continued. "Okina-sensei teaches us maths. The senior student teachers are Katsura-sensei, Takasugi-sensei and Takani-sensei."
"Baka-deshi! Quiet!" Hiko shouted as he entered the room. The students stood and bowed. They waited for him to gesture for them to sit. When everyone was settled, Hiko began to talk about past eras.
Kaoru was listening carefully. She didn't know how to write yet but she was determined to learn.
* * * *
After the lessons had finished, it was late afternoon. Kaoru and Misao were heading to the bathhouse covered in mud. "I don't know why you would want to learn all that," Misao groaned while yawning. "And I don't get why Rooster-head is so mean!"
Kaoru giggled. She was also covered in mud. When they entered the bathhouse, they were relieved that there wasn't anyone in there. "That's good." Kaoru closed the door and barricaded it. "You go first Misao; I'll go after but make it quick." Misao nodded.
Kaoru turned back to the door and kept an eye out for anyone coming.
Misao stripped off her mud-covered clothes and from the basin she used the water to wash of the mud. She quickly slipped into the cold-water bathtub and almost shrieked. Kaoru gave her a warning look.
After five minutes, Misao had dried and dressed up, it was Kaoru's turn. When Kaoru was in the bathtub, Misao spotted someone coming. "Uh oh…"
"What is it?" Kaoru asked while washing her hair.
"A group of boys are coming!" Misao grabbed a towel and passed to Kaoru as she dried herself quickly. Kaoru pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt. She slipped on her sandals and continued drying her hair.
Misao un-barricaded the door. The two exited the bathhouse. They were on their way towards the dorm building when the group of boys stopped them.
"Aren't you going to pay?" A big guy with short brown hair and eyes said. A shorter guy stood beside him. He also had short brown hair and eyes.
"Who are you?" Misao asked. She didn't like the look of this at all.
"We're the Himura Brothers! I'm Gohei." The taller of the two said.
"I'm Kihei." The other said. "Now are you going to give some money or do we have to force it from you two?"
"No way!" Kaoru and Misao said in unison. But they regretted it since there were another four boys behind the Himura Brothers that looked aggressive.
"What do we do Akai?" Misao asked. She looked at Kaoru. Kaoru returned the look.
"Do you know what we have to do?" Kaoru asked. Misao nodded. They both took a deep breath.
"RUN!"
* * * *
After dinner, Misao and Kaoru were sitting in Okina's office writing out lines of, 'I must not use an inked brush as a weapon on Gohei and Kihei Himura.'
"Psst, how many sentences have you written already?" Misao asked Kaoru quietly while Okina was snoring away in his seat. It was really late. Well passed their curfew.
"15. It's really hard to write these words, especially these two weird looking ones." Kaoru said. She pointed her wooden blunt end of her ink brush to the two characters.
"Those two characters are 'Gohei' and 'Kihei'." Misao said with a giggle. "I've only written 12 sentences and how many do we have to write?" She was getting really tired and sleepy.
"Two thousand." Kaoru groaned.
The two groaned and continued writing until early next morning. School was fun and really interesting for Kaoru but sometimes it really, really had its downsides.
* * * *
Six Months Later – July
Kaoru – 7 years old, Misao – 7 years old, Kenshin – 8 years old, Sanosuke – 8 years old, Aoshi – 8 years old, Saitoh – 8 years old, Soujiro – 7 years old
Seventh Month, Sixteenth Day
Dear Father and Mother,
School is fun and I am learning a lot. Taka and I miss you very much. We have made friends with a few boys. Their names are, Kenshin, Sanosuke, Aoshi and Soujiro. Taka and I would like to wish you all the best!
At school I'm learning a lot about writing, maths and history. I heard that next year I would be able to learn about art and culture. Taka is learning how to fight using kempo and kunai and I am learning how to fight with a sword. Maybe one day I will be very good at it like you, Father!
Love from,
K. Akai and M. Taka.
Kaoru and Misao read over their first letter ever to be written with smiles. 'Mummy and daddy will be very happy.' Kaoru thought. She carefully folded the piece of paper after she was sure that the black ink had dried and sealed it in its envelope. She passed it to Misao.
"I'll go and give it to Seijuro-sensei!" Misao rushed off.
Kaoru packed away her brush and ink. She sighed and stretched her arms. Today was the seventh day (Saturday) of the week; that meant that they were having a break all day. Kaoru and Misao had gotten up early so that they can write a letter to their parents.
When Misao came back the two of them left Misao's room and headed outside where they were greet by a group of boys.
"We're allowed to go to the lake to have a swim!" Sanosuke said with a broad smile. "It's not far from here so bring something to swim in!"
Kaoru and Misao looked awestruck. "No thanks."
Sano slumped. "You're just like Aoshi, Saitoh and Kenshin. Come on! Soujiro and I are going!"
"I'd prefer to just walk there." Kenshin said, "I don't like swimming."
"Yeah right," Sano said mockingly, "Last time you did go swimming."
"Was my first and last time with you," Kenshin said with a smirk.
"Boys! Wait up!" Tae came rushing up to them with a baskets filled with food. "You must not leave without taking something to eat." She said. She passed the basket to Kaoru and another to Misao.
"Thank you, Sekihara-sensei," They bowed to her then they all walked towards the woods where Sano was leading the way.
"I didn't know that he can swim…" Misao muttered.
"Well, he can, and he asks us to bring our swimming stuff so that we have to jump in to get the fish." Kenshin said.
"That's what happened to Kenshin last time only because he was the fastest. The truth is that he just makes us almost drown." Aoshi said coolly.
"I don't mind that, I'm too fast for him to get me." Soujiro said with a smile.
Kaoru and Misao nodded. That made a lot of sense. Plus, it was a good thing that Tae had packed them a lot of food because Sano does eat a lot.
* * * *
So much for not swimming. Sano and practically thrown everyone into the water after they joked about him and a certain girl.
"That Takani girl is always buggin' me!" Sano fumed at them. "She even dobbed on me for just insulting her!"
The group couldn't stop laughing. Megumi Takani was the daughter of Dr. Takani and she always picked on Sano. The two never got along well and when they meet, it was hilarious.
"Oh shut up!" Sano dunked Kenshin's head under the water. He splashed at Kaoru and Misao.
"Water-fight!!!" Water splashed everywhere. When the group was tired out they swam to shore and took a break. Soujiro and Misao took out food from the baskets and passed on fair shares to everyone.
"It's late afternoon, if we go after this, we might be back in time for dinner." Aoshi said. He took a bite of an apple and chewed on it.
"Yeah! I'm starving!" Sano said between mouthfuls. He took a bite from a rice ball.
Kaoru and Misao laughed at Sano. "Ow… my stomach hurts!!!" Misao exclaimed while laughing which made it funnier.
"What are we going to be studying tomorrow?" Soujiro asked.
"Literature and Maths." Kenshin replied.
After that, the group ate quickly and then walked their way back to the school. Over the six months, they all had become close friends. But for Misao and Kaoru, it was a relief that they had become friends with boys who aren't swarmed with attention seeking girls who wanted to play dolls.
* * * *
Late at night, Kaoru was woken up by noises of shuffling papers and flicking of books. She sat up in her futon and found Kenshin studying at the table. "What are you doing so late at night?"
"I'd forgotten that tomorrow we're having a test on Japan's eras…" Kenshin said with a yawn. He flicked over another page.
"Just read from the second page to the fourth." Kaoru yawned. "Those pages explain everything." She leaned back onto the head rest and fell asleep again.
Kenshin flicked back to the second page and found papers that had notes written by Kaoru. He read through them and found them easier to understand than the textbook.
* * * *
"No way! You've got to be kidding me!" Misao checked under her futon, "You're dirty socks are under my futon!" It was late at night and Misao was woken up by a dreadful smell.
"I'll clean it up tomorrow!" Sano ducked his head under his blankets.
"Get rid of them now!" Misao demanded. She pulled Sano's blanket from him and pointed to the dirty, smelly socks under her futon. "I'm not going to let your sleep!"
Sano was really agitated and tired. "I said I'll clean them up tomorrow!"
"Oh I give up!" Misao opened the closet and pulled out her bag. She packed in her clothes and belongings. "I'm out of here!"
"It's passed curfew!" Sano groaned.
"I'm not coming back!" Misao warned. "Friend or no friend! I'm really angry with you!" She lifted her bags and marched out of the room. Leaving Sano sitting there dumbfounded.
* * * *
Misao could go to Kaoru's dorm room and ask if she can stay there but it was really late already. 'I'm not going back to that messy room,' Misao thought. She pondered a bit. She soon met up with a familiar girl. 'She's the one that usually helps out in the kitchen…' Misao thought.
"What are you doing up so late?" The girl with chin-length black hair asked. Her brown eyes were worried.
"What about you?" Misao asked.
Silence.
"I asked you first." The girl said in a soft tone.
"I'm leaving my old dorm room because Sano is so messy." Misao replied. "What's your name by the way?"
"I'm Tsubame." Tsubame said. "If you want, you can stay in the spare room near the kitchen area." She suggested kindly.
"That'd be good." Misao said. "I'm Taka Kamiya."
Tsubame smiled. "I'll show you the way but don't be noisy, Seijuro-sensei has good hearing." She led Misao through the halls towards the Dining Hall and then into the kitchen and behind the kitchen was a few rooms. They were probably for Tae, Tsubame and a couple of servants. Tsubame showed Misao a small room with one futon, and desk with a candle. Almost the same as her other room only half it's size. "Here we are."
"Thank you Tsubame." Misao said with a smile.
"That's alright, um… I've gotta get back to bed before Tae finds me gone. Good night Taka." Tsubame said as she walked towards a room.
"Good night." Misao entered the room and slid the shouji door closed.
* * * *
A/N: Sorry for the late update! But I've been really busy preparing for my exams as well as keeping up with my homework. Thanks for all of the reviews! I'm so happy! ^-^x
Ashcandy: I'll definitely keep going with this fic. It's a nice change from my other three. ^-^x Thanks for your review and hope that you liked this chapter!
Lynnie6: *blushes deep red* Thanks! You really encouraged me! Hope that you liked this chapter as well. ^-^x
Mika: *laughs* Well, thanks for your comments. Hope you liked this chapter!
Forbi: V ^o^ V Happy readings! Thanks for your review!
D: Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. ^-^x
Ixchen: You're just the best! You've reviewed practically all my fics right? *hugz* Thank you!!! ^o^x
The Sacred Night: Yeah, I agree. Kenshin's alternate selves developing are what I look forward to writing about. Anywayz, thanks for reading!!! ^-^x
Flyinangel777: Oh no, no, no, I'm not 'pairing' the characters up yet. I just thought that I should separate Misao and Kaoru so that they would meet the other characters and have their own adventures, giving me wider options so that I would avoid writer's block. Anywayz, thanks for reading and for your reviews!!! ^-^x
Nee-chan: Yep… I think that I should update more often but my schedules are getting stuffed up again since my exams are coming, and the teachers are getting behind on teaching us the right topics. *shrugs and frowns* Thanks for reading my fics! You rule!
Jin Nori: I hope that this chapter answered your question. ^-^x
Thanks for reading guys and gals! You all rule and I hope that I'll update this Friday. (No promises though) Sorry for a real late update. Until next time,
~ Cherry Chibi