Chapter 4: The Gang
Disclaimer: All characters in this fanfiction and Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Nobuhiro-sama (Nobuhiro: smirks) (Suzume: rolls eyes). BUT (Nobuhiro: huh? arches one eyebrow), this fanfiction, Spirit of Life, and "Nagoya High School" (if it doesn't exist) belongs to ME! Nyahahahahaha! (Nobuhiro: slaps forehead)
"Wake up."
"Aargh… stupid… don't disturb me sleeping…"
"Get up now! It's already noon, you idiot!"
"12? So early! Get lost! I want to sleep… Aargh…"
"Fine. Don't expect lunch then. Go on sleeping."
"Lunch?" Kamiya Kaoru sat up quickly on the couch. "Don't leave me! I want lunch!"
Himura Kenshin nearly laughed at her. "Then get up and brush your teeth, baka!"
"Hai!" A few seconds later, brushing sounds was heard from the bathroom. Kenshin went to fix up the bed and the mess of blankets on the couch. A weird girl who wakes up at the sound of food? Huh!
Just as he finished, Kaoru reentered the bedroom. She saw the piles of blankets on the floor, already neatly folded.
"Himura-kun, you actually fix up beds?" she asked curiously, staring at him.
"Yeah. So?" Kenshin replied.
Kaoru sighed and put her hands in her pocket. "Isn't that something that should be left, or something that guys usually don't do?"
"It is not something that is to be left, and some guys do it," Kenshin said, as he opened his wardrobe, picking clothes for lunch.
"Oh."
"And that is something basic when you live on your own."
"Huh? You live—" Before Kaoru could say anything else, Kenshin told her to change. She gave a silent nod and took some clothes out of one of her bags. "Get out, Himura-kun. I want to change here." Kenshin left the room.
By two, they were already home. After lunch, they had gone to a key-lock shop to forge another set of keys for Kaoru, in case Kenshin wasn't with her when she needed to get back. Then, they had gone to a furnishing stall in a shopping mall to get that extra wardrobe and a new futon.
Both of them were seated in front of the television, watching the latest episode of Naruto. Kaoru was intently keeping her focus right on her favourite anime, laughing at every funny thing that Naruto did. Meanwhile, Kenshin's mind was somewhere else.
Yukishiro Tomoe… how am I ever going to forget her…? Kamiya Kaoru… my new friend and housemate… weird tomboyish girl… Yukishiro… once the light of my life… is gone… Kamiya…could she be a light to me one day, whether we're friends or lovers..? Nagoya… Nagoya High School… Soujirou… new friends… Kamiya… no Yukishiro there… Sakabatou… can I continue kendo there…--
"Himura-kun?" Kaoru flashed a hand at his face. Kenshin got out of his trance.
"Huh?"
"Are you OK?" Kaoru asked.
He nodded. "I'm OK. Anything, Kamiya-san?"
"Have you bought your school books for the next term?"
"Yeah, Soujirou already helped me. You?"
"Eh? Seta-kun?" She gave a shrug before she continued. "Yeah, I've got all of them before I--" She stopped right there, looking away.
"Before you ran away." Kenshin continued for her. Kaoru sighed.
"Himura-kun, I'm sorry but can we just leave the matter of my gone-case runaway thingy? It's really stressful to even think about it," she exclaimed.
"Alright, alright, I know!"
"Hmph!" she pouted.
"But here's some advice. If you really need to find someone to talk to, just talk to a closest friend, ok?" Kenshin said. She saw his eyes go soft in pure concern, which made her blurt something minor.
"I don't have any close friends, Himura-kun." She looked back at him. "I mean I've friends at school, like Misao-chan, Megumi-chan and Seta-kun, but they are not close friends. And that fact, the fact that I don't have any close friends to trust, adds my stress, Himura-kun."
Kenshin stuck out his chest and thumped it. "You already have a close friend, Kamiya-san…"
"Eh?"
"Well, generally I'm your closest friend since we live in the same house, so you do have one!"
"But we've only known each other for three days! How can we be that 'close best friends' thing that fast?"
He only slapped his forehead. "No, not that close best friend thing. I mean, I'm practically your nearest friend because we're under the same roof, right? My God, what sense of language you have…" he shook his head in fake disbelief.
"Ah, sou desu ne…"
"And perhaps one day we could be best friends…" Kenshin added softly, looking put of the window.
"Himura-kun…"
And the day went on with Kenshin and Kaoru talking about each other... The day passed by with them not realizing that they could get along really well.
"Himura-kun, please prepare our breakfast! I'm not done changing!" Kaoru yelled from the bedroom.
"Hai! I've already started!" Kenshin shouted from the kitchen.
It was their first day in Nagoya High School, and school starts at 8.30am. They should wake up at 7.00am, which Kenshin did, but Kaoru (the Miss Sleepyhead as addressed by Kenshin) woke up 20 minutes later after minutes of pushing by Kenshin. Therefore, here we see Kaoru rushing into her uniform.
Kenshin, meanwhile was done preparing breakfast. As he placed the food on the dining table, a door opened and was slammed so loudly that Kenshin winced.
"Hoi, Kamiya-san! There's no need to slam the door, ok? Do you want the ceiling to fall?" Kenshin scolded Kaoru.
"Eheh, sorry, Himura-kun! Ermm, it's just that I'm late, you see," Kaoru said sheepishly as she seated herself beside Kenshin.
"Your fault, if we're late today! Nobody asked you to wake up late!"
"Fine, fine, I'm sorry, ok?"
"Argh… Just quickly finish breakfast," Kenshin said. But she was already looking at the food prepared.
"Himura-kun, is this my favourite mayo' egg sandwich?" she asked eagerly, as if she forgot about her lateness already (or perhaps she already did?). Kenshin nodded, grinning proudly.
"Oh! My favourite sandwich! Only Himura Kenshin can prepare such delicious mayo' egg, ne, Himura-kun?"
"Oro?"
"Itadakimasu!"
"Hai, itadakimasu…"
Breakfast went silently, but Kaoru didn't seem disturbed at all. In fact, she was happily munching away at her sandwich. Kenshin'd just made a simple toast for himself.
After the both of them were done with eating and slurping down coffee, Kaoru went to tie up her hair into a neat ponytail with her long, wide traditional-style blue ribbon. Kenshin tied his hair into the usual low tail and dabbed some hair gel to create 'special-effect' spikes. They both put on their socks and shoes. By 7.45am they were on their way to walk to school, which was a good 5 minutes away.
The walk was another silent moment. Kenshin was thinking hard about how to make a good appearance at his new school, while Kaoru was trying to clear a 'nightmare' which kept popping into her mind: she and Kenshin in love and holding hands on top of a hill.
Kenshin and Kaoru found Seta Soujirou standing at the main gate of Nagoya High School. Kenshin called out to him. Soujirou waited for them to reach where he was standing.
"Ohayou, Kenshin! Ohayou, Kamiya-san!"
At least he dropped the '-chan' surfix, thought a relieved Kaoru.
"Ohayou Soujirou!" said Kenshin.
"Ohayou Seta-kun!" chirped in Kaoru.
Soujirou stretched. "At last, our first year as the elderly seniors of… HIGH school! No, no, no… I mean old school!" he chuckled and made a few hip-hop moves with his hands. Kenshin and Kaoru laughed at his gestures.
"Really, Seta-kun, I know you love hip-hop and rap, but just keep it down and don't exaggerate it, ok?" Kaoru exclaimed.
"Huh? You know that he likes hip-hop?" Kenshin asked.
Kaoru slapped her forehead. "Then what do you expect from a guy that sings and dances rap-style in class? I mean, look at him!" She pointed to Soujirou who was still singing rap and moving like hip-hop with his arms and hands. "Nagoya High School's super, stupid, mental, idiotic, smiley face hip-hopper!" Kaoru fumed.
Kenshin halted in his steps. "Soujirou, you sing and dance rap in class?"
"Uh-huh, yeah yeah, I do, oh yeah, here we go! I do, I do," Soujirou replied with hip-hop rhythm. Kaoru gave him a hard back slap.
WHAM!
Kenshin winced. "Ouch. Well, I don't know about that hip-hop thing of yours, Sou…"
Soujirou was like, yelping. "Chill, chill, Kamiya-chan! OK, I won't rap again!" he said in normal speech tone, rubbing his back. "That hurts, ok?"
She gave him another backslap. "Cut the –chan or I'll really kill you."
Kenshin winced again, familiar to Kaoru's aggressive attitude after staying with her for a month.
Soujirou voiced up to Kenshin. "Kenshin, since you stay in the same house with Kamiya-chan--" Another backslap was heard. "Ow ow ow ow ouch… can you stand all that aggressiveness of hers?"
"Oh yes. It's part of my life now, come to think of it."
Kaoru giggled 'evilly'.
Finally the roofed walkway from the gate to the main building ended, and the three of them continued walking to a corridor. There, rows of lockers leaned against the walls. Kenshin followed Soujirou and Kaoru down the corridor. Many people were already opening their lockers, placing in and taking out things. Nearly all of the back of the locker doors had pictures or some sort of decorations stuck onto it. Kenshin took a few secret glances at the stuffs pasted.
Soujirou and Kaoru stopped somewhere close to the end of the corridor, where it turned into another corridor. Soujirou's locker number was 210. Kaoru's locker was right beside his, 211.
"Sorry guys, but I don't know which my locker is," Kenshin said.
"Of course you won't! Wait until the class teacher hands out your locker key, then," said Kaoru, who already opened her locker and placed her new schoolbooks and stuffs in it. Kenshin saw photos of her and two girls, a photo of her arm-wrestling with a tall, lanky but well-built guy with brown spiky hair with a group of people cheering from behind; the last year's class photo; a photo of her battling kendo with yet another tall guy with a serious face but has blue eyes that obviously expressed fun and simplicity; and last of all, a photo of a younger Kaoru sitting on a man's broad shoulder, and a lady hugging the man.
Kamiya-san's parents, surely… The woman with the same flowing raven-black hair and bright-coloured lips… The man with the same sapphire-blue eyes, nose and face-shape… What happened to them… until Kamiya-san had to run away…
"Himura-kun? Your books?" Kaoru's voice broke his thoughts. "You don't have a locker yet, so for the meantime you can share locker with me," Kaoru offered.
"Ah." He then proceeded to put all his books and bottle into Kaoru's locker.
Kenshin took a last glance at the photos before Kaoru locked her locker. All the three of them were left with was their pencil cases and small notepads for jotting down any memos. Then Kenshin followed his two friends (a friend and a cousin, precisely) as they began walking somewhere else.
"Where are we heading?" Kenshin asked.
"To the main hall. We're checking which our class is for this year," Kaoru said. "Just follow us."
Kenshin nodded.
Soujirou slowed down his pace to walk alongside Kenshin. "You know what? You should've shared locker with me. There could be some lingerie in her locker," he whispered to his amused cousin.
"I heard that, Seta-kun!" Kaoru warned from in front of them. "I'll get you for that!" She stopped walking, waited for her two friends to walk past her before giving Soujirou another backslap.
Soujirou winced, mouthing a silent "Ow…..". Kenshin laughed and said, "Your fourth backslap in 30 minutes, dude! That's a record."
"Yare yare, another backslap from Kaoru-chan?" a female voice said from behind them. Another female voice added, "It seems that only Sou-kun and Sano-kun get backslaps from her, ne?" The two voices giggled, and Kenshin, Kaoru and Soujirou looked over their shoulders.
"Misao-chan! Megumi-chan! Long time no see!" Kaoru chirped as she ran to them. "Himura-kun, these are my two friends Makimachi Misao--" The girl with two pigtails bowed. "And Takani Megumi." The other girl with dainty red lips and long hair left to flow down her back bowed too. "And this is my new friend Himura Kenshin." He bowed to the two girls. "He's Seta-kun's cousin from Tokyo, and a newcomer here in Nagoya."
"Hi, Himura!" Misao and Megumi said to Kenshin before giggling and exchanging glances. A confused Kenshin wondered why they were giggling at him.
The five of them soon reached the main hall. A lot of students were already there. Kenshin followed them to a big notice board where many people were craning their neck to look at some pieces of paper there.
Soujirou pointed to the papers. "There. The name list. Every year we go there to see which class we are in." Kenshin nodded in acknowledgement. To Kaoru, he said, "Kamiya-san, there's so many people there. How are we supposed to take a look at the name list?"
Kaoru sighed. "Do I have to tell you this every year? Just push in! That's the only way you can go through!"
Misao and Megumi gave an exasperated "Aawww…? Not pushing in again…! Kaoru-chan, chill! Just wait for people to get away, and then we can find a space to squeeze in!"
"Fine. Stay if you want. I'm gonna push in. Anyway, do you want me to check for you guys too?" she asked.
Misao and Megumi stayed, not wanting to spoil their 'gracefulnesses'. Kenshin and Soujirou chose to follow Kaoru. They walked towards the crowd.
Meanwhile, the crowd mostly represented that year's lower grades, or juniors. Two of them caught sight of a very familiar girl, walking with two guys, one with short, neatly cropped black hair, while the other guy had long red hair pulled back into a tail.
"Faster make way! The Kamiya girl is here! Make way before she pushes through!" one junior whispered.
"Isn't Kamiya a senior student this year?" another whispered. The crowd continued muttering things, as they shuffled their feet to move.
By the time Kaoru reached the crowd, the crowd shuffled to make a small way for Kaoru and her two friends to walk through.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, Kamiya-sempai!" the crowd greeted.
Kaoru stopped walking. "Ee…h?" sounded a confused Kaoru. "Kamiya-sempai?"
Kenshin and his cousin were confused too. "What the—" Soujirou said incompletely.
Kenshin smirked. "Looks like you've got the respect, Kamiya-san!"
Misao and Megumi along with several students saw what was happening at Kaoru's side. The two girls were giggling helplessly. Kaoru couldn't help blushing.
Knowing that she was blushing, Kaoru coughed and resumed her 'cool' personality.
"Ahem! Arigatou, minna! Thanks for the respect, guys. I appreciate it very much," she said, nodding her head with folded arms, like a grateful person. Then she went to check the name list. Kenshin followed her, while Soujirou went to chat with his 'juniors'.
Kenshin was the first to spot all of their names. "Ne, Kamiya-san, Soujirou, Takani, Makimachi, you and I are in class 1 of our grade!"
She didn't reply. Instead she kept on looking at the name list.
"Shinomori-kun and Sagara-kun are in the same class too?" she barely whispered as if shocked.
"Huh?" He took a look at the names Shinomori Aoshi and Sagara Sanosuke, whose names appeared to be below his own name. Kaoru mumbled a barely audible "Oh no… not again? Masaka yo…"
"Who are they?"
"You'll see in class. Anyway, you've a lot to learn about our class. All the people here this year are all weird. You'll learn how to cope, though," Kaoru exclaimed.
"Oro?"
"Never mind. Let's go. Seta-kun!" she called.
Soujirou said his goodbyes to the juniors. "You people take care, ok? Ja!" And he followed Kaoru and Kenshin to Misao and Megumi. A small group of girls said in a high-pitched tone: "Mata ne, Seta-sempai!" and giggled.
Soujirou looked back. "See ya! Oh yeah, don't forget my cousin! Name's Himura!"
Kenshin glared at Soujirou.
The girls said back, "Mata ne, Himura-sempai!" Kenshin sighed.
"So which class am I and Megumi-chan in?" Misao asked.
"All five of us are in Class 1 of our grade," Kaoru replied. Her two friends grinned. "Together with that stupid rooster head and Mr. Don't-Play-Play-With-Me," she added. Megumi and Misao seemed happy at the news. "Can't understand why you like those two dumb people," she continued.
Then the bell rang. Kenshin couldn't wait for classes to start, since he was so eager to experience his first day schooling at Nagoya.
At Class 1, the whole class was there already except for another five students. When the five of them stepped in, the class greeted their hi's and ohayou's to them, but kept on staring at an unfamiliar red-hair guy. Probably a new student…?
"Kaoru-chan! Megumi-chan! Misao-chan! What took you so long?" a girl with her hair held back by a scarf said from her table. She got up to the group.
"Seta-kun! You're also with them?" she added. Then she caught sight of the red-haired person. "Sorry, but you are…?"
"Himura Kenshin," the red-hair guy answered.
"Ah, ohayou gozaimasu Himura-san! I am Sanjo Tae. You're new here, ne?" Tae said.
"Yes."
Then she was pulled into a conversation by Kaoru, Misao and Megumi. Kenshin was left with Soujirou.
"OK, Kenshin? Let me introduce you to our gang," Soujirou said. First, he went to some tables on their left where a group of boys were chatting after having a look at the new student.
"Yo guys! What's up?" Soujirou greeted them with a big cheerful smile.
The guy with brown spiky hair who Kenshin remembered seeing in that photo arm-wrestling with Kaoru stood up. "Yo Sou! And this might be your cousin you've been telling us about?" he said.
"Yup. Himura Kenshin. Hey guys, why don't you introduce yourselves to him?" Soujirou suggested.
The over 'enthusiastic' brown-spikes guy already stood up and was about to begin talking when the blue-eyed guy from that kendo-fencing photo pulled him down.
"Keep the suspense," he said, almost expressionlessly.
Soujirou, Kenshin, the brown-spiked guy, and two other boys from the 'gang' cast confused glares on him.
As if he read all of their minds, he simply said, "Meaning, let him hear the intro's during the individuals introduction later on during class. Besides, you weird-weird people have weird-weird intro's that tells everything about yourselves. So, keep the suspense."
They all nodded knowingly. "So, does that include you?" ask the guy with sleek black hair tied into a high tail.
Suddenly the serious guy tensed up. "Well, er, sort of," he said, scratching his head unconsciously.
"Huh. Of course you're included," another guy from the group with black spikes spoke up. "Didn't you mention that we're weird-weird people? Don't forget you're weird too. You and your eerie quietness… Brr!" he mocked a shiver, hugging himself. "You're weird too & since you're so serious I bet your speech will be something weird like you."
"Weird coldness," the rest of the group agreed.
Kenshin was smiling, slightly laughing as the group teased the 'serious' guy who was sighing.
I've a lot to understand about my weird new friends! Kenshin mused. Even Kamiya's weird… Kamiya-san? Where is she?
Kenshin looked around the classroom and spotted Kaoru being pulled by Misao, Megumi, Tae & another two girls towards Soujirou, him and the rest of the gang.
"Noooo……. I don't wanna go there….. Noooo…..! Don't let me see that face again……" Kaoru was moaning.
"Eh?" Soujirou noticed the loud moaning from Kaoru and laugh at the sight of Kaoru helplessly dragged by four girls that he knew well. "Hora, minna," Soujirou pointed at the five girls.
"Kamiya-tachi!" Soujirou called out. All six girls stopped before the boys. Before they could holler out his name, he told them not to say their names to Kenshin.
"But Himura-kun already knows our names, & by the way you just said my name," Kaoru protested.
"But not my twin sister, ne?" the black-spikes said.
"Eh? Twin sister?" Kenshin said, surprised. He looked at the girls & easily spotted the twin sister, the one with her black long hair clipped up, having the same face characteristics as his black-spikes friend.
"According to Kaoru-chan, you're Himura-san, right?" she said in a soft and cute voice.
"Hai. And you are…?"
"Takatsuki Toki desu!" Behind, her twin brother sounded an exasperated 'Aaw'.
"What?" she asked.
"Why did you say your name… OUR surname…?"
Then Toki remembered what Soujirou said earlier. "Oops, gomen ne…"
"Hah!" the sixth girl said, who had long, wavy brown hair. "The new guy already knows, Kaoru, Misao, Megumi and Toki's name, so why not me?" she protested.
Soujirou sighed. "Fine, fine, then only the girls can introduce their names to Kenshin."
Then she turned to Kenshin. "Hai, Amakusa Sayo desu! Just now, Kaoru mentioned about you."
Suddenly, Kaoru squeaked up to him. "Himura-kun, help me!"
"No, you're not escaping!" Misao cried. Looking at Kenshin's curious face, she started explaining. "You see, Himura-san…" Kaoru mouthed a desperate 'no' and tried to struggle away from her friend's tight grasp over her arms. "Last year, Kaoru & that ice-man over there--" Misao made a face at the 'ice-man' who only shook his head & sighed. "They battled kendo. And apparently, Kaoru lost the battle--" another 'nooooo…" from Kaoru. "And because of that Kaoru doesn't want to face him anymore!"
"Hmm…" Kenshin mused. Then it came to him. "You mean, you girls are sort of close with the boys?"
"Yup!" Megumi said. "And you should see all the fun we have together!"
Kaoru was covering her face with her hands while the girls pushed her in front of the 'ice-man'.
"Class teacher's coming now!" a fellow classmate who had been standing at the door announced.
Finally the girls let go of Kaoru. She and Kenshin looked around the class for seats. All the tables were in two, and there was only two tables left together behind the class. Kenshin & Kaoru had no choice but to sit together for the rest of the year. They quickly settled down in their chairs. The ice-man & Misao were sitting at the pair of tables in front of them, Soujirou & the brown-spikes on Kenshin's right. Kaoru on Kenshin's left.
Kenshin was rummaging his pencil case for a pen when Soujirou nudged him with his elbow.
"What?"
"Look. Our class teacher," Soujirou's face was nearly pale as his eyes widen with shock.
Kenshin looked up. The teacher seemed vaguely familiar… like he had seen this person somewhere before… a long time ago…
"Ano hito…"
"Ano hito te nani?" Kaoru asked Kenshin, puzzled.
And then it hit him in the head. He exchanged looks with Soujirou.
"Him…!" they both mused together in shock.
"Huh?" Kaoru was totally blur at that moment, wondering what the heck was wrong with the teacher for her two friends.
Tsudzuku
A/N: Haha, so this is the end of Chapter 4! Anyway, I think Chapter 1 & 2 were kind of boring, & I just realized that they don't go with the storyline I was planning, so I'm revising those 2 chapters. If Chapter 1 & 2 has a bracket beside them saying 'revised', means that that chapter is already revised. If not, then wait till I put up the revised chapters. Chapter 1 (revised) is coming up soon, so, please read it!
Oh yeah, see that little button down there? Please click that button & review my story! I don't mind reviews telling me about mistakes or whatever, but please review!
And can you guess who's that "Him" that made Kenshin & Soujirou so shocked? What about the identity of the four other boys in the gang:P REVIEWS PLS! ONEGAI!