AN: *long sigh, falls forward on face* It's been a long time. Shame on me. I really mean to update. (Has it really been 4 weeks, Yukishiro Eniki?) Yes, to Eniki as well…life is rough, but not just mine. There are lots people worse off than me, I really shouldn't be complaining. Thanks for all the reviews. They seriously do brighten my day. By the way, if you enjoy Teen Titans I have a little one-shot up, and the Huntress and I will get cracking on Seth and Severus Snape soon (for those who are interested)
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Aoshi slammed his locker closed, brushing his hair out of his face. Hiko was going to make them run the mile today, and he was pissed off. Due to his strenuous work hours, he had had almost no time to prepare for this day, and Hiko would not be lenient with grades. He left the locker room first, leaving Kenshin to change into his gym clothes as well.
He sighed. Coed gym class sucked, especially with Hiko. Hiko was a bastard, but he knew when to quit. With the boys, that was. He had no idea about what girls could and could not endure. Even though girls had passed out in his class thousands of times (not to mention a few guys) Hiko just didn't get that some girls couldn't handle the same things Hiko was trying to condition into the boys. After a few parent-teacher conferences, Hiko now made the girls run 20 of the 45-minute class and recuperate on the bleachers. Boys had to work the entire class.
"GET YOUR LAZY BUTT UP, SHINOMORI!" Hiko barked into Aoshi's unsuspecting ear. "AND YOU, HIMURA!" Hiko thrust his finger in Kenshin's face as he casually walked out of the locker room, "I WANT TO SEE YOU COMPLETE THE OBSTACLE COURSE TODAY, AT LEAST THREE MINUTES UNDER SHINOMORI'S RECORD!"
Kenshin froze, eyeing Hiko's accusing finger. Hiko turned on his heel once he felt he had Kenshin shaking in his shoes, and walked out to the track and 'obstacle course' he had set up at the beginning of the year. Both Aoshi and Kenshin agreed that if the school board went through Hiko's obstacle course, he would be fired for endangering the lives of his students. The course was more of a torture device that Hiko loved to death. At lunch break, they could see him tightening the knots in ropes, making the bars higher and the safety nets smaller, with an evil grin on his face as he whispered "My precious, my baby, my little hell demon…"
But…back to the present situation.
Aoshi surveyed the class. There was a new girl. Aoshi grunted at Kenshin and subtly jerked his shoulder in her direction. Kenshin having known Aoshi so long, this was translated (roughly) to "Who is this pathetic person who dares to invade my perfectly balanced routine that I just got accustomed to?"
"Magdaria. I met her this weekend when you missed another 'movie fest'. It was Vampire Hunter D. Pretty good, even after the third time." Kenshin offered. He met Aoshi's glare. Kenshin had spoken over his daily limit….
Kenshin walked into health class, defeated and sore. Shishio grinned, pulling him gingerly up to the front of the class.
"Bruised yer bum a bit, eh, Himura? Now, boys and girls, what is the proper way to treat such a case?"
Some girls shyly raised their hands.
"Elevate the injured area." Eiko offered.
"Apply ice or a cold pack for 30 to 60 minutes at a time for a day or two after the injury!" Soujiro waved his hand around as he shouted this.
"Soujiro…I did not call on you." Shishio growled.
"I had my hand raised, sir."
"Wait for me to call on you."
"But my hand-"
"WAIT UNTIL YOUR SUPERIOR AND FUTURE DICTATOR OF THE WORLD CALLS ON YOU TO OFFER YOUR PATHETIC INFORMATION!!!"
The class, blown away by this statement, no longer offered any suggestions.
"Now then, who wants to tend to our maimed Kenshin?"
Much to Soujiro and Sanosuke's amusement, a flock of girls stampeded to the front of the room.
"I'm fine, really, no, wait…wait just a minute! I'm fine, really- YAAAAHH!"
"Damn, I wish I had bruised MY bum." Sanosuke muttered, inkling for attention from the girls.
"Like anyone would want to put ointment on your ass…" Soujiro laughed.
***
Kaoru walked in the dorm to find Misao happily chattering away to Magdaria. As usual, Magdaria looked Kaoru over in analysis, came up with a conclusion with a satisfied nod, and went back to fooling around with her tarot cards. Kaoru often felt herself cringing under Magdaria's critical eyes, but was slowly getting used to the strange habit.
"Kaoru, some guy called for you," Misao said, turning over The Warrior. "Hmm….I'd say that describes me very well…"
"Was it Kenshin?" Kaoru asked, setting down her purse after fishing out a pen. There was homework that needed to be done.
"Kenshin? No way…this guy's voice was sooo hot. He was kinda pissed that he missed you, seeing you were out buying toothpaste and whatnot. And he was all 'Pshh, toothpaste, what kind of a lame excuse is that' and I told him you were the practical one anyhow and that I had told you to get some nail polish for me, and by the way did you get it in that metallic purple and not the glittery stuff like I a-"
"MISAO!" Kaoru growled. "I need a one word answer, or two if he left his last name. WHO CALLED?"
"Uhhhhhh…I know I wrote it down somewhere. Here it is! E…Eh-ni-shie…NO! Enishi!"
Misao and Magdaria watched in amazement as what little color Kaoru had drained from every inch of her skin. Her eyes widened in terror as she stood paralyzed in the doorway. Her hand shook for a moment, then she snapped out of her horrification by slamming her purse around as if it were her trusty bokken.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" She shrieked. "I thought this was IT, I'd gotten away SCOTT FREE! And here he is…AGAIN!" Kaoru stomped around the dorm, oblivious to the shocked faces of Misao and Magdaria. She stomped over to the phone, waving her hands around in the air madly.
"LEAVE ME ALONE YOU STUPID JERK!"
Ironically enough, the phone rang. Kaoru stopped immediately, paling again, and picking up the phone in her unsteady hand.
"H-hello?" She whispered. "No, no. I'm not scared. I'm not up to anything." She paused as someone spoke back. "Well, I wanted to better my education. I know I haven't seen you for a while. I'm really sorry, Enishi. Switching schools was a touch decision." The voice on the other end got louder. "No! Enishi, I just couldn't get in touch with you, I know it's second semester but the work here is tough on me, I'm taking advanced placement classes. And, NO, I have NOT met anyone NEW!" This time, the voice was practically screaming, though the words were still undecipherable. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose my temper. No, no! Please forgive me, Enishi." She paused, tears dripping down her cheeks as she choked back a sob "No, I'm not crying, just have a little cold." She paused, squeezing her eyes shut. "This weekend?" Kaoru replied weakly, nodding as if this Enishi were right before her. "Yes, that would be lovely. It's been a long time." Her voice was dull, mechanical. "I love you too, Enishi. Hugs and kisses, yeah. See you soon."
She dropped the phone to the table with a thud, dragged herself to the couch and flopped down face first. Misao, of course, spoke first. Magdaria had yet to utter one syllable.
"What the hell was THAT all about?"
"I have a boyfriend." Kaoru grumbled.
"What?!" Misao shrieked, scattering tarot cards everywhere.
"Yeah, I have a boyfriend, so what? He's an overprotective jerk that I've been trying to escape for about three years now, and my life is just dandy! He's coming to visit this weekend so the dorm had better be spotless!"
Silence ensued. Kaoru closed her eyes, falling back into a dream of the past, which had turned into the present nightmare.
[ "Kaoru…happy Valentine's day." Enishi handed her flowers, his lovely silver hair ruffled in the early spring breeze. He had been kinder then. Kaoru took the flowers, inhaling deeply.
"They smell lovely," She murmured, standing on her toes to try and give him a kiss. Unbalanced, she fell forward. Enishi smiled and caught her, taking off his sunglasses to give them better eye contact.
"Be careful," He whispered, taking her lips in his.]
Kaoru gave an involuntary shudder, then burst into tears
***
Soujiro woke up to a very loud noise coming from the computer. Groggily, he opened his eyes and moved his stiff neck. Lucky for him, the computer hadn't crashed while he was asleep. There was no way in hell he could afford to have his report on Lord Byron erased, especially since it was due tomorrow, AND Saitou was the one who had assigned it. Nope, Soujiro couldn't afford something like that.
Soujiro read the IM. He shook his head.
PuRrNGrrL1938: hi u wanna talk
Soujiro hated IM. He hated bad spelling and poor grammar, and he especially hated people that were only out for cyber sex.
SmilinPsycho666: If you're out looking for a good time if you know what I mean, no not really. By the way, your screen name sucks.
PuRrNGrrL1938: ya well *** u
PuRrNGrrL1938 signed off at 4: 07 AM
A sea of other IMs was clustered on the toolbar. Soujiro sifted through them slowly, hardly paying attention who he was talking to.
BadAsS-zanza: dude w^?
SmilinPsycho666: Doing Saitou's report on Lord Byron.
BasAsS-zanza: WTF that's du tomorow?
SmilinPsycho666: Yep
BasAsS-zanza: holyshit I'm so screwed
SmilinPsycho666: I'm sure you are.
Sanosuke immediately signed off to go write some bullshit about Lord Byron. This involved a long tale about an Australian cattle rancher and his crazy sister he kept locked in the basement. This was an after effect of the marijuana of course, but there was nothing much else he could come up with. Soujiro got rid of the rest of the IMs one by one. He sighed. One more annoying window to go.
NinJaLadAy965: Hey Sou, what's up?
SmilinPsycho666: Nothing much….how did you get my s/n?
NinJaLadAy965: Kenshin gave it to me ^-^
SmilinPsycho666: Ah. So what are you doing up at 4:30 AM?
NinJaLadAy965: Homework, duhhh.
SmilinPsycho666: Me too.
NinJaLadAy965: So…you wanna talk while we work?
SmilinPsycho666: Um…sure, I guess.
If there was anything Soujiro absolutely HATED about IM, it was that he could (and WOULD) say things that he could not say in person. It was like he was someone else. Soujiro was just another guy on the street. If you were on the Internet, you could be anyone…
NinJaLadAy965: Hey, anything bothering you, Sou?
SmilinPsycho666: I'm just always…so…lonely…..
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ANOTHER!!! AN: Crappy way to end, huh, and short no less. I'm really tired. I'll try really hard to update once a week, but you never know when writers block will hit.
-------
Aoshi slammed his locker closed, brushing his hair out of his face. Hiko was going to make them run the mile today, and he was pissed off. Due to his strenuous work hours, he had had almost no time to prepare for this day, and Hiko would not be lenient with grades. He left the locker room first, leaving Kenshin to change into his gym clothes as well.
He sighed. Coed gym class sucked, especially with Hiko. Hiko was a bastard, but he knew when to quit. With the boys, that was. He had no idea about what girls could and could not endure. Even though girls had passed out in his class thousands of times (not to mention a few guys) Hiko just didn't get that some girls couldn't handle the same things Hiko was trying to condition into the boys. After a few parent-teacher conferences, Hiko now made the girls run 20 of the 45-minute class and recuperate on the bleachers. Boys had to work the entire class.
"GET YOUR LAZY BUTT UP, SHINOMORI!" Hiko barked into Aoshi's unsuspecting ear. "AND YOU, HIMURA!" Hiko thrust his finger in Kenshin's face as he casually walked out of the locker room, "I WANT TO SEE YOU COMPLETE THE OBSTACLE COURSE TODAY, AT LEAST THREE MINUTES UNDER SHINOMORI'S RECORD!"
Kenshin froze, eyeing Hiko's accusing finger. Hiko turned on his heel once he felt he had Kenshin shaking in his shoes, and walked out to the track and 'obstacle course' he had set up at the beginning of the year. Both Aoshi and Kenshin agreed that if the school board went through Hiko's obstacle course, he would be fired for endangering the lives of his students. The course was more of a torture device that Hiko loved to death. At lunch break, they could see him tightening the knots in ropes, making the bars higher and the safety nets smaller, with an evil grin on his face as he whispered "My precious, my baby, my little hell demon…"
But…back to the present situation.
Aoshi surveyed the class. There was a new girl. Aoshi grunted at Kenshin and subtly jerked his shoulder in her direction. Kenshin having known Aoshi so long, this was translated (roughly) to "Who is this pathetic person who dares to invade my perfectly balanced routine that I just got accustomed to?"
"Magdaria. I met her this weekend when you missed another 'movie fest'. It was Vampire Hunter D. Pretty good, even after the third time." Kenshin offered. He met Aoshi's glare. Kenshin had spoken over his daily limit….
Kenshin walked into health class, defeated and sore. Shishio grinned, pulling him gingerly up to the front of the class.
"Bruised yer bum a bit, eh, Himura? Now, boys and girls, what is the proper way to treat such a case?"
Some girls shyly raised their hands.
"Elevate the injured area." Eiko offered.
"Apply ice or a cold pack for 30 to 60 minutes at a time for a day or two after the injury!" Soujiro waved his hand around as he shouted this.
"Soujiro…I did not call on you." Shishio growled.
"I had my hand raised, sir."
"Wait for me to call on you."
"But my hand-"
"WAIT UNTIL YOUR SUPERIOR AND FUTURE DICTATOR OF THE WORLD CALLS ON YOU TO OFFER YOUR PATHETIC INFORMATION!!!"
The class, blown away by this statement, no longer offered any suggestions.
"Now then, who wants to tend to our maimed Kenshin?"
Much to Soujiro and Sanosuke's amusement, a flock of girls stampeded to the front of the room.
"I'm fine, really, no, wait…wait just a minute! I'm fine, really- YAAAAHH!"
"Damn, I wish I had bruised MY bum." Sanosuke muttered, inkling for attention from the girls.
"Like anyone would want to put ointment on your ass…" Soujiro laughed.
***
Kaoru walked in the dorm to find Misao happily chattering away to Magdaria. As usual, Magdaria looked Kaoru over in analysis, came up with a conclusion with a satisfied nod, and went back to fooling around with her tarot cards. Kaoru often felt herself cringing under Magdaria's critical eyes, but was slowly getting used to the strange habit.
"Kaoru, some guy called for you," Misao said, turning over The Warrior. "Hmm….I'd say that describes me very well…"
"Was it Kenshin?" Kaoru asked, setting down her purse after fishing out a pen. There was homework that needed to be done.
"Kenshin? No way…this guy's voice was sooo hot. He was kinda pissed that he missed you, seeing you were out buying toothpaste and whatnot. And he was all 'Pshh, toothpaste, what kind of a lame excuse is that' and I told him you were the practical one anyhow and that I had told you to get some nail polish for me, and by the way did you get it in that metallic purple and not the glittery stuff like I a-"
"MISAO!" Kaoru growled. "I need a one word answer, or two if he left his last name. WHO CALLED?"
"Uhhhhhh…I know I wrote it down somewhere. Here it is! E…Eh-ni-shie…NO! Enishi!"
Misao and Magdaria watched in amazement as what little color Kaoru had drained from every inch of her skin. Her eyes widened in terror as she stood paralyzed in the doorway. Her hand shook for a moment, then she snapped out of her horrification by slamming her purse around as if it were her trusty bokken.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" She shrieked. "I thought this was IT, I'd gotten away SCOTT FREE! And here he is…AGAIN!" Kaoru stomped around the dorm, oblivious to the shocked faces of Misao and Magdaria. She stomped over to the phone, waving her hands around in the air madly.
"LEAVE ME ALONE YOU STUPID JERK!"
Ironically enough, the phone rang. Kaoru stopped immediately, paling again, and picking up the phone in her unsteady hand.
"H-hello?" She whispered. "No, no. I'm not scared. I'm not up to anything." She paused as someone spoke back. "Well, I wanted to better my education. I know I haven't seen you for a while. I'm really sorry, Enishi. Switching schools was a touch decision." The voice on the other end got louder. "No! Enishi, I just couldn't get in touch with you, I know it's second semester but the work here is tough on me, I'm taking advanced placement classes. And, NO, I have NOT met anyone NEW!" This time, the voice was practically screaming, though the words were still undecipherable. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose my temper. No, no! Please forgive me, Enishi." She paused, tears dripping down her cheeks as she choked back a sob "No, I'm not crying, just have a little cold." She paused, squeezing her eyes shut. "This weekend?" Kaoru replied weakly, nodding as if this Enishi were right before her. "Yes, that would be lovely. It's been a long time." Her voice was dull, mechanical. "I love you too, Enishi. Hugs and kisses, yeah. See you soon."
She dropped the phone to the table with a thud, dragged herself to the couch and flopped down face first. Misao, of course, spoke first. Magdaria had yet to utter one syllable.
"What the hell was THAT all about?"
"I have a boyfriend." Kaoru grumbled.
"What?!" Misao shrieked, scattering tarot cards everywhere.
"Yeah, I have a boyfriend, so what? He's an overprotective jerk that I've been trying to escape for about three years now, and my life is just dandy! He's coming to visit this weekend so the dorm had better be spotless!"
Silence ensued. Kaoru closed her eyes, falling back into a dream of the past, which had turned into the present nightmare.
[ "Kaoru…happy Valentine's day." Enishi handed her flowers, his lovely silver hair ruffled in the early spring breeze. He had been kinder then. Kaoru took the flowers, inhaling deeply.
"They smell lovely," She murmured, standing on her toes to try and give him a kiss. Unbalanced, she fell forward. Enishi smiled and caught her, taking off his sunglasses to give them better eye contact.
"Be careful," He whispered, taking her lips in his.]
Kaoru gave an involuntary shudder, then burst into tears
***
Soujiro woke up to a very loud noise coming from the computer. Groggily, he opened his eyes and moved his stiff neck. Lucky for him, the computer hadn't crashed while he was asleep. There was no way in hell he could afford to have his report on Lord Byron erased, especially since it was due tomorrow, AND Saitou was the one who had assigned it. Nope, Soujiro couldn't afford something like that.
Soujiro read the IM. He shook his head.
PuRrNGrrL1938: hi u wanna talk
Soujiro hated IM. He hated bad spelling and poor grammar, and he especially hated people that were only out for cyber sex.
SmilinPsycho666: If you're out looking for a good time if you know what I mean, no not really. By the way, your screen name sucks.
PuRrNGrrL1938: ya well *** u
PuRrNGrrL1938 signed off at 4: 07 AM
A sea of other IMs was clustered on the toolbar. Soujiro sifted through them slowly, hardly paying attention who he was talking to.
BadAsS-zanza: dude w^?
SmilinPsycho666: Doing Saitou's report on Lord Byron.
BasAsS-zanza: WTF that's du tomorow?
SmilinPsycho666: Yep
BasAsS-zanza: holyshit I'm so screwed
SmilinPsycho666: I'm sure you are.
Sanosuke immediately signed off to go write some bullshit about Lord Byron. This involved a long tale about an Australian cattle rancher and his crazy sister he kept locked in the basement. This was an after effect of the marijuana of course, but there was nothing much else he could come up with. Soujiro got rid of the rest of the IMs one by one. He sighed. One more annoying window to go.
NinJaLadAy965: Hey Sou, what's up?
SmilinPsycho666: Nothing much….how did you get my s/n?
NinJaLadAy965: Kenshin gave it to me ^-^
SmilinPsycho666: Ah. So what are you doing up at 4:30 AM?
NinJaLadAy965: Homework, duhhh.
SmilinPsycho666: Me too.
NinJaLadAy965: So…you wanna talk while we work?
SmilinPsycho666: Um…sure, I guess.
If there was anything Soujiro absolutely HATED about IM, it was that he could (and WOULD) say things that he could not say in person. It was like he was someone else. Soujiro was just another guy on the street. If you were on the Internet, you could be anyone…
NinJaLadAy965: Hey, anything bothering you, Sou?
SmilinPsycho666: I'm just always…so…lonely…..
-------
ANOTHER!!! AN: Crappy way to end, huh, and short no less. I'm really tired. I'll try really hard to update once a week, but you never know when writers block will hit.