A/N

Thank you sooooo much everyone for helping me! All your suggestions were brilliant . . ^_^ And they helped - A LOT!

Queen of Shadows: Thank you! Yes (about the Saito part) and no at the same time . . . ^_^ you'll see! And thanks once again! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

kitten kisses: I'm one of your favourite authors? blush gosh . . . thanks! And you like my story? Thanks! It might seem that it's 'easy' at first, when Aoshi's in Misao's school . . . but trust me, he's not going to be there for long - just to start their soon-to-be love relationship (like what Poppy2 said!). Thanks for your suggestion! And thanks for the review! Hope you like this chapter!

Seri chan: Your suggestion was interesting and sensible. I mixed it (your suggestion) with a few others, such as Poppy2's and Arisonu's. Thank you and I hope you like this chapter! ^_^

Dynast: You wanted the rival school one right? Well, after reading this chapter, don't worry . . . you'll get the rival school thing too . . . ^_^ Thanks for your suggestion, and as for ending up in a match . . . very interesting . . .

Ice Demoness: That can be added too! Thank you . . . though it might come in a few later chapters . . . hope you like this chappie! ^_^

Lilfrozenfire: Thanks for the suggestion . . . yes, the rival school thing does work always doesn't it? It'll happen . . . sometime or the other . . . ^_^ I'm afraid you'll have to read on to find out! ^_^;

Nobody: grins Thank you! I'm soooooo happy . . . you made my day ^_^; and no I'm not lying! Poppy2's idea was VERY interesting, wasn't it? Hope you like this chapter!

Poppy2: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Oh, did I forget to say thank you? ^__^ That was really, really interesting! Honestly - I'm not lying. It'll happen . . . with a little stuff changed, and at different points in the story. Thanks a lot for your suggestion. Mixing it up a bit with a few others, I think I've managed to sort out the problem. Thanks, and I hope you like this.

Dragowolf: Thank you! Here's the update, though it's a little late . . . gomen! Hope you like this! ^_^

Water demon3: Thank you ^_^ I used yours and Dragowolf's ideas too! Thank you!

Kitsune KeNsHiN: You're right. When he goes to - er - forget I said that . . . ^_^; * ahem * yes, he shouldn't be a rival of everyone's - that'd make him all alone even though he'd have his darling Misao with him ^_^ Thanks for your suggestion! Hope you like this chapter!

Amy: Yes . . . different school will appear as well - sometime! Thanks for the suggestion. I must admit that I didn't really understand what you were saying about Soujirou and Aoshi . . . I'm sorry . . . I might be a bit thick ^_^ Do you think you could tell me what you meant? If you don't mind, of course! Enjoy this chapter! ^_^

Arisonu: You are so right - about high school rivalry. Definitely. Yes, if Aoshi and Misao's love can survive amidst that type of rivalry, it has got to be real . . . not to mention very deep. Thanks! Hope you like this chapter!

Once again, thank you EVERYONE, for helping me out. I wouldn't have been able to do this chapter without you guys! ^_^ (am I starting to sound a bit sentimental? Gomen if I am!) ^_^;

Anyway, here's chapter four! Enjoy!

Chapter Four: New Student

Saturday passed rather quickly for Misao. Her 'excuse' about working shifts at the Aoiya did indeed come true. Omasu had high fever and couldn't work so Misao was asked to just step in temporarily for her. After seven hours of work, Misao was starting to wish that she hadn't agreed to help.

Sunday dawned quickly.

*

Kaoru opened the front door of her house, smiling. She was rather tired after hanging out with her friends, but she was also very happy. As she lifted her right hand to close the door behind her, she remembered a little incident that had happened whilst they were watching TV.

Flashback to Sano's house:

Sano and Megumi had gone to get the popcorn whilst Soujirou and Yahiko were trying to figure out which video they should watch. She had been sitting with her back against the wall in the far corner of the room when Kenshin sat down beside her.

"You look thoughtful, Kaoru san," he said, smiling his trade mark smile, as he settled down beside her.

"Thoughtful? Oh no . . . " she managed to say, noting that his hand was a few inches away from hers.

"I never knew how much I missed this place . . . and the people . . ." said Kenshin, smiling as she glanced hurriedly at him.

"Well, at least you know now," she said, smiling. "And I mi - uhh . . . many people here missed you too." She turned red and looked away from him.

"I know they did, Kaoru san. I know they did." She didn't dare look at him again, in fear of blurting out more than he needed to know. Sano and Megumi entered the room with rather large bowls of popcorn and packets of crisps. Seeing Sano struggling to balance everything (considering the fact that Megumi was only carrying two packets of crisps) Kaoru made to stand up. She was eager to get up not only to help Sano, but also to stop herself from telling Kenshin that she . . . well, telling him more than he should know. She was almost up when she felt someone grab her right hand. She turned around, knowing whom it was. Her face was warm.

" . . . I missed the people that missed me too, Kaoru san," said Kenshin, his violet eyes smiling at her. "Every single person." Looking into her eyes for a second, he let go of her hand. "Sano looks like he could do with a bit of help." She nodded, standing up and almost running up to Sano. Her mind was whirling with emotion. Had he meant what she thought he meant?

~

She sighed as she gazed at her hand. He was the sweetest guy she knew . . . Shaking her head, she walked down the hallway and peered into the kitchen. Her mother wasn't there. She was walking past the living room when she spotted someone seated on the couch. All she could see from her vintage point was black hair.

Curious, she walked up to the couch. There was no possible way in which he could see her, but he turned around abruptly as though he had sensed her presence. She stopped dead in her tracks, staring at him as he stood up.

His back tensed as the hair rose on the back of his neck. Someone was there . . . behind him. Abruptly, he stood up and turned around, coming face to face with a girl with long black hair. Glancing sideways at the picture of Kamiya Kaoru that hung on the wall of the living room, he knew at once that this was Kamiya Kaoru. She looked mostly like Kamiya san - from the blue eyes to the hair colour. Yet something about her face reminded him of him.

Kaoru stared at the tall male in front of her. One look at him, she knew she had never seen him before. She would have remembered if she had seen him somewhere before. His hair was black, just like hers, and fell in bangs over his eyes that in turn were an icy blue. He was tall and lean - not too thin, not fat. What caught her eye at once, was the fact that something - she couldn't place her finger on what it was - but something about him . . . looked like she had inherited it too . . .

Kaoru no baka! How could you possibly INHERIT something from him?

They stood there, facing each other and trying to figure out what it was that was familiar about the person standing in front of them. That was how Mr. Kamiya found them when he entered the living room. He didn't know what was going on, but seeing the way Kaoru had tensed up, he didn't like it.

"Kaoru, had a nice weekend?" he asked, in a would-be-casual voice, walking up to them briskly. Aoshi's guess was confirmed. She was Kamiya Kaoru. Kaoru turned to face her father, her eyes still a little wide.

"Er - yes . . . it was fun," she mumbled, wondering whom the other person was. Mr. Kamiya frowned slightly as he saw Aoshi staring hard at his daughter.

"Is there something wrong young man?" he asked, looking directly at him. Aoshi turned his gaze away from Kaoru and focused it on Mr. Kamiya. What was he supposed to say? "Yes, something is wrong, Mr. Kamiya. Your daughter looks like me in some aspect or the other . . . and I want to know why." That didn't sound appropriate. He chose to shake his head and mumble;

"No . . ." Kaoru glanced at him. Who was he? And why did she get the direct impression that her father didn't like him at all? Mr. Kamiya was glaring at Aoshi. He didn't understand this boy at all - or rather, he didn't want to understand him at all. He was still berating himself for agreeing with his wife to let him stay with them for a while. What was he thinking? He, as his wife had told him, was the son of one of her old school friends. Shouldn't he have realized the danger in having him - an 18 year old boy - in the same house as his precious daughter - a 16 year old girl? What if something happened?

And what disturbed him the most was that there was something extraordinarily alike between Kaoru and the other boy. He wasn't sure if it was something that could be dismissed as something that happened from time to time. Why, he was sure that there was at least one person in the world that looked like him - and he wasn't referring to the dog from the house next door to Misao's. Their alikeness was something - he was sure he was overreacting - that was inherited. That was impossible. As far as he knew, he hadn't had any other affairs, and neither had his wife.

"Hisashi did I hear - Kaoru!" said Kamiya san, smiling warmly at her daughter.

"Kachan," said Kaoru, smiling back at her. Aoshi watched them exchange smiles, and something stirred inside him. Something he couldn't really explain . . . but something that made him feel a little - hollow? Kamiya san glanced at the look of hostility her husband was giving Aoshi and the look of confusion Kaoru was giving Aoshi, and decided to do some introducing.

"Kaoru, I'd like you to meet Aoshi san . . . Shinomori Aoshi san," she said, smiling at Aoshi. "He'll be staying with us for a while . . . a long while."

" . . . . . ."

"Ni - nice to meet you," said Kaoru still confused. Long while? Staying?

"Aoshi san, meet my . . . daughter, Kaoru," said Kamiya san, again smiling warmly at Aoshi.

" . . . Nice to meet you . . ." mumbled Aoshi, finding it difficult to put any sincerity in the four words, as he found out he wasn't sincere about his greeting at all. He understood the look that Mr. Kamiya had been giving him a few seconds ago. Geez . . . Mr. Kamiya couldn't possibly have thought that he'd be dishonorable enough to do anything to his daughter . . . could he? The atmosphere had gotten tense.

"Well," said Kaoru, brightly - breaking the tension as she spoke. "I'll just keep this stuff upstairs and then go over to see Misao chan."

Kamiya san did her best to hide the smile that was threatening to form on her face as Kaoru mentioned Misao. Friday's revelation was still fresh on her mind.

"Kaoru . . . when you meet Misao, ask her about her 'good looking burglar' ok?" she asked, knowing full well that if she had been Misao's age, Misao would have throttled her.

"Good looking burglars?" asked Kaoru, looking over her shoulder at her mother. "What's that supposed to mean?" Aoshi and Mr. Kamiya were staring at her too. Kamiya san just smiled.

"She might tell you," she said. "If she doesn't die of embarrassment." Positive that her mother wasn't going to say anything more, Kaoru walked towards the staircase. Good looking burglars? What did they have to do with Misao?

Mr. Kamiya raised his eyebrows at his wife.

"You mentioned something about those good-looking burglars to Misao earlier as well," he said. "Is there any point in asking you why?" Kamiya san grinned. As her eyes fell on Aoshi, her grin widened.

"No. There's no point," she said, chuckling to herself as Aoshi stared at her as though she was losing her mind.

Kashiwazaki Residence

Makimachi san made her way to the front door wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing as she went.

"Ah, Kaoru chan," she said, smiling at her. Kaoru smiled back. "Had a nice time at Sano's?"

"Hai! It was great . . . it's a pity Misao chan couldn't come," said Kaoru. "But . . . helping you and Okina san at the Aoiya seemed more important to her . . ." Makimachi Rika was glad that Kaoru couldn't see the big blue question mark forming in her head. Had Misao known that Omasu wasn't going to come? Is that why . . . no . . . that was just Misao's made up excuse for not being able to go with them.

"Yes . . . well, Misao's upstairs. I can call her if you wa - "

"Oh no, I'll go up. Thanks Makimachi san," said Kaoru, smiling at Misao's mother before running up the stairs.

*

Misao was seated at her desk, staring into space when she heard a knock on her door. The door slowly opened to reveal Kaoru.

"Kaoru chan!" she exclaimed, jumping up. She had almost forgotten entirely about the spend the night, in an attempt to stop feeling bad. "How was it?" Kaoru smiled.

"Great. It was fun . . . Sano got scolded so much by his mum that it was HILARIOUS," she said. "And the Sagara's LOVED Kenshin and Soujirou." Misao grinned.

"Why am I not surprised?" she asked. "Anything else? Sano and Megumi? You and Kenshin?"

"Well . . . Sano and Megumi just fought over stuff . . . you know, like they usually do," said Kaoru, off hand.

"And you and Kenshin?"

"Oh - nothing much -"

"Nothing MUCH?? What happened? TELL ME!"

"Okay, calm down . . ." said Kaoru, sitting down on Misao's bed and folding her legs neatly under her. "Well . . . we were talking as usual . . . but there was this one part when Sano and Megumi went to get the food, and Yahiko and Soujirou were trying to figure out which video to chose . . ."

"AND? WHAT HAPPENED???" Misao was practically sitting on thin air - not her chair.

"Well, Kenshin said that he didn't realize how much he missed 'this place' and the people . . . and I said that at least he realized now . . . and - oh Misao - I said 'And I miss - uh - everyone here missed you too!' wailed Kaoru, looking teary eyed at Misao. Her teary eyes soon turned into slits in her face as she saw Misao clutching the chair for support, whilst laughing her head off. "Misao!"

"Go - gomen! But . . . that's - that's SO like you . . . heh heh heh! I can imagine you say - saying that!" squealed Misao, laughing loudly.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY, MISAO! I NEARLY TOLD HIM THAT I - " Kaoru stopped in mid-sentence. "Come on, Misao. Stop it. It's getting annoying." Misao nodded, wiping her eyes.

"Sorry . . . go on. What did he say?" she asked, trying to control her laughter.

"Well, he just smiled and said he knows that they missed him. Sano and Megumi came in and Sano looked like he needed help so I started to get up - " continued Kaoru.

"Did you start to get up just to help Sano or to stop yourself from blurting out more stuff to Kenshin?" asked Misao.

"Well . . . both, actually. And then - he grabbed my hand - "

"HE WHAT?!!!" yelled Misao, almost falling off her chair.

"He . . . grabbed my hand and said that he missed the people who missed him too. He said he missed every single person that missed him," said Kaoru, her face bright red.

"OH MY GOD! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?!!" screeched Misao.

"Misao - stop overreacti - "

" - THAT MEANS THAT HE - "

" - No, Misao! He doesn't like me! Don't say that! Well . . . I don't know if he does or not . . . but - "

" - Oh, I wasn't saying anything about him liking you or anything Kaoru chan," said Misao, realizing what her friend was going on about.

"Then? What were you going on about?" asked Kaoru.

"I was going to say that that means that he knows. He knows that you like him," said Misao. The look on Kaoru's face was one of pure horror.

"Kami sama . . . no! It can't be - I tried so hard to hide it! No!" she wailed, burying her face in her hands.

"Kaoru chan, that was just an assumption. You don't know whether he knows for sure," said Misao, realizing her stupid mistake in telling Kaoru what she thought.

"No . . . it makes sense . . ." came Kaoru's muffled voice.

"Kaoru chan, listen to me, it's not true. It was just a stupid guess," said Misao, staring in concern at her friend. "Fine, then answer this. Was he normal throughout the rest of the spend the night? Normal towards you?" There was a pause in which Kaoru lifted her face to face Misao.

" . . . He was normal," she said, sincerely. "He was very normal. 'Oro'-ing etc." Misao smiled brightly at her friend.

"See? That means that he doesn't know," she said. Or if he does, he's not showing it.

"You - you really think so?"

"Kaoru chan, would he act 'normal' if he knew?" asked Misao. He most probably would, knowing him . . .

"I guess not . . . he doesn't know then. Thank god," said Kaoru, taking a deep breath. Misao nodded, hoping that he really didn't know.

"Yep," she said.

"You should have come Misao," said Kaoru. "It would have been more livelier with you." Misao smiled weakly.

"Yeah - well . . ." she said. "I'd be robbing Sagara san of her sanity if I came!" Kaoru grinned.

"True . . . oh! That reminds me Misao, Kachan asked me to remind you about - er - 'good looking burglars," she said. "Do you have any idea wha - Misao? Misao??" Misao's eyes had suddenly become huge, and her face had turned bright red. Why did Kamiya san have to remind her of the very thing she was trying to forget? "Yoo hoo! Misao! Snap out of it! MISAO!!" Misao 'snapped out of it' still blushing.

"Oh . . . sorry . . ." she said, hoping against hope that Kaoru wouldn't ask her to explain everything. She should have known better.

"Misao chan . . . what's up with this burglar thing? Did you meet a burglar? Was he good looking?" asked Kaoru, watching her friend carefully. Misao shook her head.

"If I had met a burglar, Kaoru chan, I'd be dead by now," she said. "And besides, who, apart from Rukawa Kaede, Clef and Lantis, do I think is good looking? And in case you didn't realize, those three aren't even human!" The explanation was reasonable and proved her point. Her red face, however, told a different story.

"Who is it Misao? Who's the guy that you've fallen for?! TELL ME!!!" screamed Kaoru, almost lunging at Misao in curiosity.

"It's nothing, Kaoru chan. I really don't know what Kamiya san is talking about," said Misao, hurriedly. "Honestly. But, if you like, I can go looking up some good looking burglars and hand them over to you." Kaoru scowled in defeat.

"Fine! Don't tell me. But when I find out . . . oh man, you'll wish you told me in the first place!" she said, and Misao, shuddering mentally, knew she was right. "Although, if you're looking for good looking guys - minus the burglar part - just come over to my place." Misao glanced sharply at her, her blush deepening.

"W - what do you mean?" she managed to ask.

"Well, when I went home, this guy was sitting in the living room. He has super sensitive senses - I'm telling you! Ahem . . . anyway, he was kinda - okay, he was very good looking . . ." said Kaoru. She was too busy re-tying her hair to notice Misao's blush.

"O - oh . . ."

"Exactly. Kachan said he'd be staying with us for a while - a long while," said Kaoru, grimacing as she had tied her hair too tight.

"Ah . . ."

"He's tall . . . and let me tell you, I'm positive he's got a good body," said Kaoru. Misao had the strong urge to hide her face in her hands. Blushing should be made illegal, she thought, furiously. "And - well, he's got black hair that falls over his cool ice blue eyes."

"Oh - r - right . . ." said Misao twirling her plait in her hands.

"He looks athletic . . . I really don't know . . ." said Kaoru. "But I'm sure that after one look at him, Megumi will forget Kenshin!"

"What's his name?" asked Misao, nonchalantly.

"Er . . . hang on . . . Shinomori Aoshi . . ." said Kaoru, finally finished with messing around with her hair.

"Shinomori Aoshi . . ." mumbled Misao, absentmindedly. Kaoru glanced at her, eyebrow raised.

"Misao chan?" she asked. "Did you say something?" Misao shook her head vehemently.

"No, no . . . nothing. I didn't say anything," she said, hurriedly.

"Ookay . . . must be hearing things then . . . well, I better get going - Kachan will be expecting me for lunch and for details of the spend-the-night," said Kaoru, getting up from the bed. "Minus the Kenshin part though! See ya. Oh, and if you want to see that good-looking guy, come over sometime okay? Ja!"

" . . . Ja . . ." said Misao, as Kaoru walked out of her room. She rested her chin on the top of her chair.

"Shinomori Aoshi . . ."

Two days later (Tuesday):

Misao groaned as she sat down in front of Kaoru, in her form class. This was not her week - or day. Firstly, their dear captain, Saito Hajime informed them that they all were horrible in running, except for Soujirou and he never said anything about Kenshin. Chicken brain and brat had become his official names for Sano and Yahiko, and he had chosen to call her weasel girl. Coming from her friends, she didn't mind - but from HIM?? Secondly, their practice had been extended by an hour, making them dead tired when they got home, and not giving them enough time to do all their homework which led to thirdly getting into trouble at school. Fourthly, she kept on having these nightmares about burglars - who looked astonishingly like Kaoru's guest - laughing like madmen at her, and fifthly she kept on dozing off in the middle of everything - lessons AND discussions alike. The dreams she blamed on Saito Hajime too, since if he hadn't increased the practice time, she wouldn't be so sleepy and dream of such weird things.

She had a solution for all her problems. It was simple. Eradicate Saito Hajime. Kuso . . . that was easier said than done. Or rather, thought than done.

"Misao chan! Honestly, do you ever listen to others when they talk to you?" snapped Kaoru, fed up with her friends behaviour. She had dozed off. See? Saito Hajime's fault.

"It's Saito's fault . . ." mumbled Misao, wearily.

"Misao chan?" asked Kaoru, very concerned.

"Hnn . . . I'm fine . . ." mumbled Misao, finding it very difficult to keep her eyes opened. "On second thought . . . do me a favour Kaoru chan and pinch me - HARD."

"What?!" exclaimed Kaoru. "Why?"

"She wants to wake up, Kaoru," said explained Soujirou. He and Kenshin seemed to be the only two people that weren't being affected by the extended athletics practice.

"Oh. Well, if you say so," said Kaoru, still thinking Misao was mad. She pinched her -HARD.

"ARGHHH!!!!!" yelled Misao, sitting bolt upright in her chair. Soujirou grinned at the expression of shock on Kaoru's face.

"See? Instant alertness," he said.

"They're mad . . . all of them," said Kaoru. "Yahiko, you want me to do the same to you?" The sleeping bundle on Misao's right - which turned out to be Yahiko - mumbled incoherently.

"Nah . . . it's the 4 into 100 meter race they'll want to win . . ." he mumbled. Misao and Soujirou exchanged amused glances.

"Oy, baka. We're in class, not athletics practice," said Misao, whacking him on the head.

"YOUCH!! WHAT DID YA DO THAT FOR??!" bellowed Yahiko, waking up completely and glaring at Misao.

"To wake you up . . . registration's gonna start soon. You don't want to be caught sleeping, do you?"

"I wouldn't mind. That way, if they asked us why we were sleeping, we could tell them about the - the slimeball that's doing this to us," said Yahiko, sourly.

"And get into more trouble? From the slimeball and Takashi sensei?" asked Misao.

"Grr . . . I hate it when you're right," muttered Yahiko, running his hand through his hair.

"Why don't you guys just tell Saito san? He'll listen to you guys, won't he?" asked Kaoru. Misao, Yahiko and Soujirou stared at her in disbelief.

"Explain to her why we can't do that Sou chan, I'm too tired," said Misao, at last.

"If Saito san was the type of person who'd listen to other people, Kaoru, we wouldn't be in this state right now," said Soujirou, trying to explain the problem to her without insulting Saito.

"What he is trying to say, busu - "

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

" - Is that you might as well talk to a wolf's backside and expect it to respond pleasantly," said Yahiko.

"What is it with you people and wolves' backsides?" muttered Kaoru, making a face.

"Ask Megumi," said Yahiko.

"That'll be the day," said Kaoru.

"GOOD MORNING CLASS!!!" yelled Takashi sensei, in his usual greeting as he entered the class.

"If he shouts one more time I'm so gonna kill him . . ." threatened Misao, wincing as her head started pounding.

"You're not gonna be the only one," agreed Yahiko, rubbing his temple.

In another senior class:

"Ohayo, minna!" said the brown haired lady, walking into the class, a tall boy dressed in their uniform at her heels. The male population of the class found that they were the only ones that responded to their sensei's greeting.

"Ohayo, Kurogawa sensei!" The female population of the class was too busy staring open mouthed at the boy that was walking behind her. Kurogawa sensei sighed, shaking her head.

"Dear me, we do seem a little star-struck," she joked. "Anyway, minna, this is a new student - Shinomori Aoshi." The boy turned to face them, giving them a clear picture of him. He was tall - probably the tallest person in the class - and had black hair which fell in bangs over his eyes. The girls took sharp intakes of breath as they saw the ice blue colour of his eyes.

"Oh brother . . ." muttered a dark brown-haired boy, leaning towards his red haired friend. "What's the bet he'll become 'Mr. Popular'.

"Jealous, Shogo?" asked Kenshin, grinning. The look Amakusa Shogo gave Kenshin was one of venom.

"Excuse me? Do I care if I'm 'Mr. Popular' or not? Hell, it'd suit me better if I were not. I might actually be able to tell her if I'm not popular . . ." he said. Kenshin's grin widened. Ah yes, how could he forget? Being the resident 'Mr. Popular' had deprived his friend Amakusa Shogo of admitting his feelings to the girl he had liked for a little while now.

"You might not need tell her, Shogo," he said. "She might manage to WEASEL it out of you . . . considering she's known as a we-"

"She is not like that! In any case, it's better being something like that than being a - I dunno . . . a bear, perhaps?" asked Shogo, evilly.

"That's not funny, Shogo," said Kenshin.

"Once you two boys have finished your discussion!" called Kurogawa sensei, from the front of the class.

"Gomen, sensei," said Shogo, flashing her a grin. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Mr. Popular, your grins don't work with me," she teased. "Anyway, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself, Aoshi san?" Shinomori Aoshi glanced hurriedly at her.

Kuso . . . I hate this . . .

Looking back at the class in front of him, Aoshi saw the girls looking very attentive, and the boys grinning or rolling their eyes. His eyes fell on a boy sitting towards the back of the class. It must have been the red hair that caught his eye. He was talking to a brown haired boy seated next to him. As though sensing his glance, the red haired boy turned to face him. He had a strange cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, making Aoshi wonder how he could have got such a scar. The red haired boy grinned (in his usual grinning way) and nudged the brown haired boy, no doubt telling him to stop talking.

He took a deep breath.

" . . . I'm Shinomori Aoshi . . . I transferred here from Eigamura High School . . ." He stopped. What else was he supposed to say?

"How old are you?" asked a girl, cheekily. He glared at her, making her wince visibly.

"That's getting a bit off the topic, Seiya," said Kurogawa sensei. "Thank you, Aoshi san. Why don't you take a seat? There's one at the front - oh, no . . . ah, there's one next to Kenshin - over there." She pointed towards the red haired boy. There was a free desk on his right. He walked up to the desk, ignoring the gazes he was getting from the girls, and sat down at the desk.

"I'm Himura Kenshin," said a voice from his left. It was the red haired boy.

"Shinomori Aoshi," he said, in his usual tone of voice.

"I know . . . you told us already," said Kenshin, smiling, making Aoshi feel like a complete idiot.

" . . . . . ."

"And this is Amakusa Shogo," said Kenshin, nodding at his friend. Aoshi nodded at him.

"Okay, Aoshi san, if you need any help in anything, ask Kenshin, okay?" called Kurogawa sensei from the front of the class. Aoshi nodded slowly.

" . . . Hai . . ."

"Good. Now let's get to work," said Kurogawa sensei. "WORK, not stare at Aoshi san," she added, looking pointedly at the girls. Kenshin and Shogo glanced at Aoshi, amused. Aoshi had suddenly gone deaf and blind - thus making it impossible for him to hear or see what people were saying and doing.

During morning break:

They were seated at their usual table - Kaoru, Sano, Megumi, Misao, Soujirou and Yahiko. They were missing one person - a person who was never late.

"Where's Kenshin?" asked Kaoru, looking around the room.

"I dunno . . ." mumbled Sano, rubbing his eyes.

"Hmm . . . I wonder where Ken san is . . . perhaps he's trying to avoid you, Kaoru," said Megumi, looking evilly at Kaoru.

"Shut up Megumi," snapped Kaoru. "He's probably trying to hide from you."

"Really? I don't think so. Did he say 'good morning' to you today? I thought not . . . well, he said good morning to me," said Megumi, knowing that Kaoru would burn up even more.

"That's probably because you were stalking him," said Kaoru, turning pale green.

"Me? Stalking him? I'd say it was the other way around."

"What are you implying, Megumi?"

"I'm merely saying that Ken san in mine . . . and there's no way he would fall for a girl who can't even tell him how she feels," said Megumi. Soujirou - the only other person who was 'awake' - watched in fascination as Kaoru's face turned from dark green, to red and finally to deep purple.

" . . . You . . . DON'T . . . KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!!!!" Misao stirred.

"Erk . . . Kaoru chan, please . . . lower your voice," she said, still a little drowsy.

"Yeah . . . take it outside, you two," said Yahiko.

"That'd be fun to watch; Bear girl versus Fox lady," said Sano. He received a kick in the shins from Kaoru and a whack on the head from Megumi. "Youch . . . very violent people . . ."

"Misao, you're falling asleep on your sandwiches," warned Kaoru, watching as Misao's head drooped down.

" . . . Yuck . . . thanks . . ." said Misao, sitting up and rubbing her eyes violently. She didn't like this at all.

"Gomen, minna," said Kenshin's soft voice from behind them. "I had to help someone around the school . . ." Kaoru turned around at once. Standing behind Kenshin was a tall figure -

" - Aoshi san!"

A/N

Well???? Hope ya liked it! And once again, thank you for giving me your opinions! Thank you very much! I found them really helpful.

See ya soon and please review! ^_^

Siriusgirl