Time of your life

Chapter 13: AGH!

Whee (: Ming here and I'm back to writing the subsequent chapters after a much awaited come back. Hope you guys are still reading! Review if you want to after this chapter yeah! It's been five months right? Well, thank you to all reviews that came in for chapter 12.

"AAH!" was the first thing that was uttered. And again, "AAAAAAAAAGH!" Kaoru clamped her pillow over herself, willing the loud screech to stop. All of a sudden, her blanket was whipped away, leaving her stark cold. And there was only one person who did it. "MUM!" Kaoru's eyes flew open and she sat up quickly, her black hair in a messy nest.

All her mother did was stare at the deformed lump next to her bed. "Is that thing even alive?" Her mother asked Kaoru in a deadly whisper and poked it. The lump moved and snored. Kaoru snorted and flung the futon's thick cloth away to reveal a huddled Kenshin snoring away peacefully.

"Mum, I would like you to meet Kenshin. Again." Kaoru laughed. Her mother heaved a sigh of relief. "Well, it least it wasn't a dog, or worse, another one of your beggars from the save-the-poor scheme of yours," Kaoru's mother smiled, " Well, get him up. You two have breakfast to attend to. And you'll be going to school next week, so catch up on the holiday homework too." Kaoru nodded and prodded Kenshin's barely breathing body with her toe.

Kenshin gave a loud snuffle and turned the other side. After a few more unsuccessful attempts of reviving Kenshin, Kaoru took a small cup from the bathroom, filled it with cold water and poured it all over Kenshin's messy hair. Once again a loud "AAGH!" was heard echoing through the whole house. Kaoru's sisters Ayame and Suzume dashed up the stairs with a patter of their small feet and launched themselves onto Kenshin. "GET UP KEN! WE HAVE PANCAKES!" they screamed.

Kenshin covered his ears, muttered something about "noisy brats" and "not morning person" and went to the bathroom to change. Kaoru laughed and carried both her sisters, one in each arm down the stairs, still in her pyjamas.

A few minutes later, Kenshin could be heard trundling down the stairs. He scratched his head and looked very amused when he found himself not in his sensei's house. "Oro?" he muttered. Kaoru's father glanced at him over his newspapers and replied, " Himura! How nice for you to drop by at 7 in the morning. Please, help yourself to the pancakes." Kaoru grinned at him and patted the seat next to hers.

Over the course of breakfast (pancakes, toast and waffles), the Kamiya family along with Kenshin discussed the latest happenings in the family. And then, it reached to the ultimatum. " So, Himura, why drop by so early?" Kaoru's father asked sternly. Kenshin dropped the pancake he was eating on the plate and munched thoughtfully, " Well sir, Kaoru was at her ballet summer camp, and I worked around that area for awhile, as a waiter in one of the summer inns. So when Kaoru decided to come back, I followed her back."

"What were you doing in my daughter's room then?"

"Well sir, uh, the couch didn't look all that comfortable…"

"Dad, he just came back from work, give him a break!" Kaoru cut in, trying to save the situation.

"Yes sir, I did sir. So Kaoru had uh, an extra futon, so she lent it to me. And it was cold in the living room, even for a summer's night. Yeah… so uh, that's what happened." Kenshin said quickly, and buried his face in his pancakes.

Kaoru's father grunted and flipped the pages. Her mother smiled and poured a cup of orange juice for Kaoru. Drinking quickly, Kaoru said, " I'm done!" and pulled her plate and cup along with Kenshin and left the dining room as fast as possible.

"Whoa, at least that was over…" Kaoru heaved a sigh of relief, " Actually, it turned out better than I thought, you know, with the over protective dad thing going on." Kenshin gave a small smile and walked up the stairs, " Well, I will not be bothering you until next week in the least. Sensei won't be happy that I didn't call him the moment I got back."

"Alright you, just because you got a two week break in the lovely sun of Hokkaido doesn't mean I can whip your ass flat," Sensei laughed. Kenshin grunted and got up, rubbing his ass sorely. Damn, he hadn't lost to his sensei this bad before. What had gotten him this bad? Was it Kaoru? Not sure. Was it the time spent with Shougo and Makoto? Not sure either. Or was it because he had been slacking over the past two weeks and he'd become flabby? Checking himself once over, he knew that wasn't right either.

"If you really want to know, it's just because you haven't been working out that hard for the past two weeks you silly student," Sensei said and drank yet another cup of sake. It was only 10 in the morning for god's sake! Why was he drinking sake at 10? Was he some psycho nut?

Kenshin calmed himself down. He wouldn't become so temperamental. Nope he wouldn't. He shouldn't! He should just get ready for the upcoming semester. He would be a senior. He would be bigger. He would be looked upon with respect. Now that's what you call setting targets. Maybe, just maybe, he'd have a shot at becoming the treasurer of the Kendo Club.

WHACK. "OUCH!" Kenshin yelled. "That's what you get for zoning out for the third time since you started, stupid." Sensei laughed again. Kenshin rubbed his sore spot and readied himself. He wouldn't lose this time. He would show sensei that he was made of tougher stuff.

"Class 2-A! I see you've been behaving yourself, done all your homework. Good, very good." It was the first day back at school. Everybody was there. The familiar faces seemed to pop out in rows after row. And as usual, the whole gang was sitting at the back of the class in their own corner. Everybody had turned slightly brown after the trip to Hokkaido.

Misao and Soujiro were back together in full force. After that whole crazy incident, it seemed that they were almost inseparable. Soujiro had even forgiven Misao for kissing Makoto during the summer trip. Misao had told everybody about her adventures with Tsubame. It was petty exciting though.

During history class, the teacher was speaking once again, to the board, marker in hand, writing the details of the morbid killing that had taken place during the Meiji era. And of course, the class wasn't listening. Their textbooks were placed flat on the tables and the students were whispering about their summer holidays.

Suddenly, the class door opened and a lady stepped in. The whole class stood up to greet the principal. "Well, I'm here for a special occasion. And I'm proud to introduce you to your new student, Myoujin-san!" she announced. Kaoru stood on her tiptoes and peered over the towering heads in front of her. It couldn't be… not him… it must be another boy with the same surname… right?

A loud clatter was heard and a spiky haired boy entered the class amid the 'oohs' and 'aahs' of the class. The boy was quite tall and tanned and he walked proudly, surveying the classroom with a raised eyebrow. Bowing grandly, he smiled and said in a loud voice that didn't sound very Japanese, " Hi, my name is Myoujin Yahiko and I just moved here from America."

Kaoru fainted.

Kaoru opened her eyes to be met with blinding white lights. Feeling nauseated she shut her eyes again, willing the white lights to disappear. And disappear it did when she felt a cool hand touch her forehead and a few small whispers. When she looked up again, she was looking into the most violent purple eyes she'd ever met.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru croaked out. There was a loud cheer from the back. "She's alive! She's alive!" Misao cheered. Kenshin smiled at Kaoru. "Well, it seems you fainted after looking at Yahiko." Kaoru almost puked out the entire contents of her stomach. So it wasn't a nightmare she was having. It was very very real indeed.

"Is he here?" Kaoru asked. Kenshin shook his head and pulled her to a sitting position. Kaoru looked around to find the whole gang in the infirmary. There was the matron tutting loudly at the boisterous crowd. Kenshin sat next to her on the bed and gave Kaoru a reassuring smile. "So what's so interesting about this guy that made you faint huh?" Kenshin asked her.

"Nothing." She replied sullenly.

"Really? Maybe Misao would know more about this." Kenshin turned his head to Misao who was smiling brightly and raising her hand as high as she could.

"Yahiko's her cousin!" She blurted out. Kaoru groaned and flopped down on the bed again. "But what's so bad about this cousin of hers?" Kenshin asked curiously.

"He's a terror," Kaoru moaned, " All he ever does is brag about how brilliant America is every time he comes here. And he always prattles on and on about his girlfriend which I am sure he doesn't have. I mean, isn't he hideous to look at? And from young, he's been bullying me. He pulls my pigtails; he makes snide comments about my cooking. I mean, I know it's bad but I'm improving at least! The most he can say is a word of encouragement right? He's just vile!"

"That's such a nice thing to say to your cousin isn't it, ugly!" A voice floated in from the door. Kaoru looked as if she was going to cry. There, leaning casually on the doorframe stood Yahiko Myoujin. Kaoru felt as if she could shoot an arrow straight into this face.

"Hello, what a pleasure to drop by," Kaoru replied icily. "I didn't know I had an effect on people. You know, with that whole fainting thing. Didn't know my dear cousin would actually faint at seeing me. My oh my, what should I tell you mother?" Yahiko said rudely.

"Keep that cocksure attitude of yours up, and you'll be seeing the effect I have on people when I'm angry," Kenshin snarled. "Well, if it isn't the cat that's here to save the raccoon. Nasty little fur ball you are, what with your orange hair all tied up. You sure you didn't dye it or something. It's against the rules." Yahiko shook his head and rolled his eyes. Man, was this guy some deranged lunatic who just escaped from the mental hospital? "Say that to the bullies in the Year 3 and they'll whack the stuffing out of you!" Soujiro plastered a smile on his face and stared coldly at the new boy.

"Yeah, as if I care. I'm good in Kendo. I'll be able to handle those brats anytime," Yahiko scoffed and slammed the door shut behind him. Tsubame sighed. He sure was good looking, but with that attitude of his, he'll be in need of serious adjustment. And she wasn't sure who would be able to do that.

The recess bell rang and the whole gang lead by Kenshin rushed to the canteen to queue up for food. "Hmm, lobster bisque. That's nice," Kenshin rubbed his stomach hungrily. Soujiro laughed, " Anything that canteen makes is okay. But wouldn't you rather try the salad to stay on the safe side? The other time I had the pizza, it smelt kind of off. And guess what! I threw up later!" Misao dug into Soujiro's ribs and glared at him, "That was Kaoru's food! The canteen's food is just fine!" Kenshin chortled with laughter and ruffled Kaoru's hair absentmindedly.

Yahiko sauntered up to the queue and jutted in. Giving the rude sign to the girl behind him, he waited to be served next. The next thing he knew, he was pinned to the ground in the centre of the canteen. The whole area was deathly quiet and from the corner of his eye, he could see the whole gang with his cousin guffawing.

"What the hell did you think you were doing you freak?" A deep voice growled. Yahiko looked at the person pinning him down. Must be the third years. "Trying to cut the queue of my girl? Who the hell do you think you are? God?"

"No, but at least I don't smell of dog. What are you? A canine breeder?" Yahiko grinned. This guy would be easy to take on. Looking at him, he might be bigger, but the bigger they were, the less smart they became. As the senior threw a punch down on Yahiko, Yahiko dodged to his left and with one swift movement, kicked him where it hurt. The senior grunted and rolled over, stiff.

Yahiko spat on the senior, "And who do you think you were?" There was a roar from the back as the rest of the senior's gang made a blind lunge at him. Trying as hard as he could, Yahiko knew he wouldn't be able to fight this battle on his own. In a matter of minutes, he was pinned down on the ground again, his stomach so painful, Yahiko spat out blood.

Wiping the blood from the sides of his mouth, Yahiko tried to stand up but was pushed down by the leader. "Guess what brat, I have a gang and you don't. Pull that stunt again, and you would find yourself bedridden for the rest of your life," he sneered. Yahiko stared hard at him and replied coldly, " Try it on me." The leader glared at him and kicked Yahiko again. The leader kept on repeating the same thing over and over again until a hand grabbed his leg.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kenshin said coolly, " There are teachers around here. You might get kicked out of school."

"What's your problem? Butting into other people's business. You're just lining up to get killed!" The gang leader shot back. Kenshin smiled up the leader, try me, it screamed. With a deafening roar, the leader punched at Kenshin, only to find he had hit a metal tray. Hard. He leader howled and pointed at Kenshin for the rest of the gang to attack.

Soujiro appeared in a flash backing Kenshin up. "You sure you want to do this?" Soujiro asked amused, " This guy hates your girl." Kenshin rolled his eyes, " This isn't about my 'girl' or hating anybody or whatever. It's more of a stand up to justice." Soujiro laughed.

In the next few minutes, almost the entire school population stood witness of two of the best swordsmen in the school. The rowdy gang of third years ran out of the canteen, their tails between their legs. When the last one disappeared, the school cheered noisily. Yahiko on the other hand had fallen into unconsciousness.

"You do know that you weren't supposed to do that right?" Tsubame sighed at Yahiko. He was sitting with his legs dangling off when of the beds in the infirmary, with an ice bag in his hand. "Whatever. They shouldn't have been messing around with me. I could have taken them on anytime," Yahiko replied. Tsubame poked Yahiko hard in the rib. His shirt was off, revealing quite a few badly bruised parts and a very well defined body. Apparently, all those Kendo lessons did pay off. Yahiko winced at the touch of his body. Girls usually never did it. Actually, they never did. Not even in America. In America, he kept close to the Asians, only becoming popular with the rest of the school crows when he beat some thugs up for hurting another girl.

Then he had to move back to Japan. All because his parents thought that continuing his studies in his motherland would be better. He had studied English for long enough in America. Now, he had to pay back to his own country. And also because he was wrecking to much trouble in the boarding school.

"What's your name?" Yahiko asked Tsubame brusquely. "Tsubame. Sanzou Tsubame. And you have just made yourself a name in the school," Tsubame stood up and eyed Yahiko, "I suggest a lot of sleep, rest and food. The next time you see Kenshin, I say you apologise and thank him. You know yourself that you wouldn't have been able to defeat those thugs if it weren't for Kenshin and Soujiro. Goodbye."

Yahiko grabbed onto Tsubame's hand, " Wait. Thanks. You're the only who've I've been able to talk to so far." Tsubame laughed and retracted her hand, " The only reason to that is because you've been an obstinate mule. You aren't living in America anymore. Get used to Japan, because you'll need it. And stop being so rude to everybody. If you need any help, I can always recommend you to Aoshi who is in a distant land, but I am sure, he would definetely come back to change your attitude. Oh yes, if you want to join the Kendo Club, ask Kenshin. He'll get you in, but only if you're polite." Tsubame leaned in and kissed Yahiko on the cheek. As she stood up, Tsubame smiled before leaving.

Once she was gone, Yahiko touched his cheek. No one had ever been so nice to him. Maybe he really did need to change.

Cheer! Finished yet another chapter. Yayayayay! Hope you guys are having a great day! -Ming