zop: Thanks for the review. I know it was a bit short, but I just wanted to give an introduction. This chapter is definitely longer, so enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin
Enemies Till The End
Chapter 1
Kaoru was walking through the hallways to her next class. She sighed, unusually calm at the moment. Normally she would be all smiles, greeting everyone in sight. It was just her personality.
She carried a few books in her arms, including some heavy looking textbooks. A few boys had offered to carry them for her, but she had just laughed and said they were acting old fashioned and that she was perfectly capable of carrying them herself. She didn't need anyone doing things for her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the shock of something icy against her back. She yelped loudly and cursed as she felt dampness spreading down the back of her white uniform shirt, making it translucent. She whirled around to be confronted by three, immature idiots. Well, maybe only one, but the other two sure were stupid for hanging out with him.
The tallest one had just released another water balloon in her direction. Seeing it coming, she managed to dodge slightly, but it still smacked against her left shoulder, soaking the shirt and began to spread downwards.
"Sano, who stupid rooster head! You are so dead for this!" She yelled, more like screeched and smacked him over the head with one of the aforementioned textbooks. Needless to say he was left dazed on the floor. "And you two idiots stop laughing! It wasn't that funny!" She added to the two other morons standing there. She turned to storm away, but a cool voice stopped her.
"Hey, Kamiya, you better get a different shirt, much as I enjoyed the view, it just wouldn't be an appropriate look for school." She froze as the voice mocked her from behind, knowing that she wouldn't dare turn around now. He was so going to get it one she got a decent shirt on.
She held her head up high, and pulled her books against her chest. She swung her head back to glance at the boy who had made the comment. Her look let him know that he wouldn't get off easily at all and that his punishment was going to be severe. 'Just you wait Kenshin Himura. I am so getting payback for that comment.' His smug look only added fuel to the fire, especially when he delivered a mocking smile in response to her glare.
She decided that storming off would be too childish and walked away, feeling his eyes on her back, before she realized that her back was just as wet as her front. Her screech of "PERVERT!" reverberated through the halls. The two boys were left laughing.
She made it to the nurses a little after the bell had rung. She entered and told the nurse her predicament. Luckily the nurse had a spare shirt, but the problem was, it was too big. The top button rested a little too low beneath the collar bone for comfort and no matter what she tried, the top wouldn't stay together, sagging to the side without the support of a button. The bottom almost covered her plaid skirt, so she tucked it in and checked to make sure it wouldn't stick out.
She looked at her appearance in the mirror. Her hair was wet and a mess as well. She would just have to brush it out and leave it down till it dried. She scowled, at the thought. It came down to her lower back and could get very annoying, hence the ponytail every day. She took out her ribbon and tucked it into her bag and lightly brushed out her tangled strands.
She emerged from the bathroom and gathered up her stuff. The nurse smiled at her and handed her a pass, telling her to have a nice afternoon. She smiled and thanked the woman before heading to her class.
She entered the room quietly and handed the pass to her teacher, her hair sliding into her face and momentarily shielding her from the curious gazes of the other students. She glanced up and noticed everyone was staring at her with something akin to shock on their faces. Even the three boys seated in the far back of the room.
"Ms. Kamiya, do you mind taking the seat in the back? I allowed Haya to sit in your seat because she forgot her glasses today." The teacher asked, not noticing the stares her pupil was receiving. Kaoru just nodded her head and made her way to the seat.
Her luck was just not improving at all today. Who would the seat be in front of but Kenshin Himura. She barely noted his shocked look as she took her place in front of him. She placed her books on the desk in front of her and sat, adjusting her garments, as the collar slipped a little too much to the side, showing off a lot of shoulder to the boy behind her.
"What happened to you Kamiya?" He whispered to her, tugging on the slipping collar. "Isn't this outfit a little too risqué for you? I don't know if it's any better than your other shirt."
"You perverted moron. Get your hands off me." She said, slapping at his hands, which he pulled away immediately. "I don't owe anyone an explanation, least of all you." She swung her head back towards the front of the room, pulling up her collar as she did so.
"So what's with the hair then?" He inquired quietly. "I don't ever remember you wearing it down before to school. You always wear it in that childish ponytail." He said, tugging on her hair, knowing that it would get her thoroughly annoyed. His favorite pastime when they were younger had been pulling her ponytail.
She swung her hair out of his grip, pulling the large mass over her shoulder to pool in her lap. She ignored the comment, but retaliated by dropping the papers the teacher was passing back on his desk, allowing them to fly all over. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were taking them out of my hand." Was her innocent comment as she looked at him, an equally innocent expression on her face.
The class finished and she left immediately, trying to get as far away from Himura as she possibly could. She opened her locker and shoved her books in. Wasn't it enough that he was in all of her classes? He didn't even do anything, yet still managed to stay in the honors and AP classes. She put up with his harassment on a daily basis, in school and out.
She sighed. At least she got a break. Lunch was this period and she would have her two friends to support her. Megumi was especially good at comebacks and insults.
The lunch room was crowded with socializing teens. Kaoru glanced around and wove her way through the cafeteria, towards her usual table. She was receiving many looks and glances as she sat down. She waited for her friends to arrive as she pulled out her lunch.
Megumi Takani was a tall girl with flashing brown eyes and dark hair. She was always dressed according to the styles and trends, outside of school, of course. She and Kaoru had met when Megumi needed a math tutor in ninth grade and they had become good friends.
Misao Makimachi was a year younger than both Kaoru and Megumi. She was a bright, bubbly girl, full of energy. She had jade eyes and long hair that was always in a long braid. She and Kaoru were next door neighbors and childhood best friends.
There was just one problem. Misao was nearly obsessed with Aoshi Shinomori, Kenshin and Sano's other idiotic friend. And, although she tried to hide it, Kaoru knew that Megumi had a crush on Sano. She would cover up by saying that she liked looking at Kenshin, but that was really just to annoy Kaoru. What was she supposed to do when her two best friends were in love with her enemy's friends?
The two girls sat down, interrupting Kaoru's thoughts. Megumi was the first to comment on Kaoru's new look.
"Well, I never thought that you would be the one to wear something so risqué, Kaoru." She said, innocently.
"That's exactly what he said." Kaoru groaned.
"Who said what?" Misao piped up.
"Nothing. Anyway, it wasn't my fault. I can't help it if the stupid shirt won't fit. Anyway, it's all that idiot rooster's fault. He got me in the back and then the front with water balloons. How he even got them into school is beyond me, but I needed a dry shirt. This is the only one the nurse had." Kaoru explained.
"How you two can possibly be related is beyond me." Megumi commented.
"Yeah, you two are polar opposites!" Misao added. "You're smart, he's stupid. You're short and he's tall." At that bit, Kaoru made a face. Noticing this, Misao said, "Hey be lucky you're not as short as I am! Anyway," She continued, "You have black hair and blue eyes and he has brown hair and brown eyes."
"That is all true. I bet he was switched at birth. That's the only reasonable explanation." Kaoru said.
"You do realize that you're attracting the stares of almost every single male in the room, don't you?" Megumi broke in.
Kaoru immediately blushed bright red and tugged at the slipping collar self-consciously. "No. They just think it's weird that I have my hair down, is all." She said as she felt the wavy strands of her hair. "Anyway, it's dry now so I can put it put it up."
"I don't think you should. It looks really pretty down. That's why all the guys are staring." Misao said.
"No." Kaoru blushed darker. "Anyway, all the more reason to put it up." She pulled the strands back into her normal high ponytail. Two pieces slipped out and down to frame her face.
Megumi wasn't sure if that made the situation any better. Now everyone was stealing glances at Kaoru's long, elegant neck, made obvious by the low and slipping collar of the oversized shirt. Oblivious to the looks, Kaoru started eating her lunch. Her two friends followed suit after glancing at the room.
As Kaoru got up to throw her trash out, a boy from Misao's grade approached. She thought that he was just tossing garbage as well, but she was wrong. The boy was blushing and stammering over his words as he spoke to her.
"You look very pretty today, Kamiya-san." He stuttered.
"Thank you very much." Kaoru was surprised, but she answered the boy with a smile. She watched the boy as he made his way back to his table.
When she sat back down, Misao immediately asked, "What did Yukio-san want?"
"He said that I looked very pretty today." Kaoru told her friends. "It was very nice of him." At that statement, Megumi and Misao looked at another and started giggling.
"I think that you have an admirer." Megumi said, causing Kaoru to blush yet again. Then, the bell rang, interrupting the teasing.
"I have to go! I'll see you two after school!" Misao ran off, calling over her shoulder. Megumi and Kaoru were left to walk to their lockers and their next class, which they had together.
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After school, Kaoru met Megumi and Misao at the front doors of the large school. They were stopped, however, by Sano's voice.
"We'll meet you by the gate, okay Kaoru?" Megumi said and dragged Misao away.
"What do you want?" Kaoru asked Sano, impatiently.
"Can you tell dad that I'm going out with the guys and I'll be home later?" He asked.
"No. I'm not your messenger service." Kaoru told him. "Anyway, you have a cell phone, use that and call him." She turned to leave.
"I can't. I used up all my minutes for the month." He said. Kaoru looked at him. She could have sworn he was blushing slightly. Then it clicked.
"It's because you've been calling Megumi, right?" She laughed. "You should know by now that all she's going to do is hang up on you or yell at you."
"Whatever. Just tell dad." He turned and left, not giving Kaoru the chance to say no again.
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When Kaoru arrived home, she heard noises coming from the kitchen. It was her eleven year old brother, Yahiko.
"Hey, Yahiko. How was school?" She asked as she dropped her school bag on the ground and plopped onto on of the counter stools.
"Fine." He mumbled, his head in one of the cabinets. Finding what he was looking for, his head jerked up and he cracked his head hard.
"Oh no! Yahiko, are you okay?" Kaoru helped her groaning brother to his feet and led him toward one of the table chairs. "You're such and idiot sometimes." She said as she looked through the freezer for an ice pack. She found one and pressed it firmly on the back of his head. "You act like Sano so much sometimes, it scares me." She told her wincing brother.
"I'm not anything like that annoying rooster." He said, indignantly.
"Trust me, Yahiko-chan, you're more alike than you think." She said, assuredly.
"Don't call me that!" He said, folding his arms belligerently.
"What, little? Why can't I state a fact? It is true you know." Kaoru said innocently and pressed the ice pack a little harder against the back of his head. He winced again and grabbed it away from her.
"I can do it fine on my own now." He said and stood up. He walked over to retrieve whatever he had dropped before and walked into the living room. Kaoru heard him turn the tv on and then the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Kaoru, it's Dad." Kaoru heard her father's voice.
"Hey Dad!" She replied cheerfully.
"I'll be home early tonight and I'll pick up dinner on the way, okay?" He asked.
"Okay! Are you sure you don't want me to make something?" Kaoru inquired.
"No." Her father responded a little too quickly. "No, that's fine. I'll just pick something up." It was a good thing that Kaoru wasn't paying too close attention to her father's voice, or she would have heard a slight note of panic in it.
"Okay. Oh yeah. Sano's with his friends and he didn't say when he would be home. You should probably get something for him and he can eat it later." Kaoru said.
"Sure. I'll be home later." Her father hung up and Kaoru put the phone down on the counter.
'I wonder what he'll bring home for dinner.' She thought as she wandered into living room and joined Yahiko. Soon after, the two could be heard arguing about what to watch and who got to hold the remote.
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Okay, well this was the first chapter. I hope that everyone likes it so far. I actually wasn't going to make the chapter this long, but I did, so here it is and I hope that you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, leave a review or email me. I love feedback, so reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Keta Himura