Disclaimer: I don't own Ruruouni Kenshin.

Chapter 2: Home

"Hey Kaoru!" Misao chirped, dropping her bag at her desk. "How's it going?" she smiled.

I looked at the clock, then at Misao who still had a genuine smile plastered on her face. I really did wonder where it was that she got all of her energy. "I'm studying Misao." I finally answered.

"What for?" she asked, dumbfounded.

What else would we be studying for Misao? "The test we have today." I hadn't studied for it all week – a rare occasion.

"Oh sh-"

"Kaoru dear, have you heard of showering, or were you too busy working in the markets with those fish that you love so much?"

I looked up to see someone who I disliked even more than Kenshin – Megumi Takani. She laughed at her brilliant insult as she walked to her desk.

It was people like her that made it impossible for me to redeem myself. She would tell people I smelled like fish all the time because I worked in some run down fish market in a bad part of town because my family was poor. Crap like is why nobody – at least no one who knew better – came anywhere near me.

The first bell rang – this is when most people started piling into their classes. The tardy bell rang, and the class was full, save for one person.

The classroom door opened and shut loudly. Most of the people in the class turned (even though we all knew who it was).

"Good morning Mr. Himura." Mrs. Tae greeted, tapping her foot.

"Good morning." He smiled, as if he'd done nothing wrong.

Unexpectedly, I felt a hand lightly touch my ponytail, and flick it to the side. I turned around to see Kenshin smiling cruelly at me as he sat in his seat.

Mrs. Tae finished taking roll, and immediately handed out the tests. It was relatively easy – it would have been easier if I'd studied for it.

The school day went by like any normal one would. All the same crap from all the same people.

I pulled my light jacket closer to me. The temperature dropped more and more every day. Winter was definitely coming.

I sighed, readjusting the strap on my bag. School may have been over, but I still had to go home.

All the lights were off inside, and a television blared somewhere.

"I'm home." I announced, though I doubted anyone heard it. My father was most likely asleep now.

There were empty bowls and pots on the counters in the kitchen. That alone told me I would be eating by myself tonight. Not wanting to make more of a mess (since I would be the one cleaning it up), I heated a cup of ramen in the microwave. While it cooked for a whopping three minutes, I took out necessary materials to do my homework.

"Kaoru…" A deep voice mumbled.

I looked up from my notes. "Yes?" I asked exasperatedly.

My father mumbled a few more inaudible words and snored.

I shook my head and ignored him. What did my mother ever see in him? I could barely remember the man he used to be before she died. Five seemed like such a distant age now…

Depressed with the thought, I dropped my pencil and went into my room to sleep.

………………..

Kenshin flopped onto his king-sized bed and yawned. "I think I'm going to mess with Kamiya's head a little bit. It'll be funny to see what she does." He said, tossing his cell phone up and down.

"Come on man, she's going to hurt you if you keep doing that stuff to her." Sano laughed.

"Like she'd even try! I've got the whole damn school against that dork." Kenshin marveled at this accomplishment.

Sano shook his head. "Whatever man, just don't say I didn't warn you."

Kenshin looked at Sano with a smile on his face. Sano just looked down at his watch. "When are we gonna get going man? We're gonna miss the movie."

Kenshin sat up and pulled his red shirt off, walked over to his closet and replaced it with a black one with a band logo across the front. "Let's go, everyone will be waiting."

Sano rolled his eyes.

…………………

Beads of cold sweat dripped down my forehead as I turned to see the clock. It was a quarter till ten. I wiped my brow and sat up. A stabbing pain over my left eye suddenly sent me reeling. I stumbled into the bathroom out in the hallway and opened the medicine cabinet. I struggled with a small green bottle of over the counter pain medicine. I took a few more than the suggested dose in hopes that it would work faster.

I steadied myself with my bedside table before I sat back down in bed. I laid down, but I could not help but worry about my homework not being done. It wasn't due until the day after tomorrow, but I liked to have it done incase something like this ever happened. Eventually, I let the worry settle in the back of my mind. At the moment, it seemed to be the least of my worries.

"Kaoru, honey, I'll be back in the morning, okay? The doctors just need to see mommy for a little bit."

"But Mommy! Why can't you stay home tonight? I promise I'll take re-real good care of you! Honest, I will!"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Beep, beep, beep. My head throbbed with each beep my alarm made.I hit the off button and pulled my arm back under my warm blankets and went back to sleep.

………………...

"Hey, Makimachi! Where's Kamiya today?" Kenshin asked, approaching Misao.

Misao slammed her locker shut and turned away from Kenshin.

"Hey!" he called after her.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I was just curious, you know? She's never missed a day." Kenshin said sincerely.

"Yeah….I don't know. If she's not here I'll stop by her house later."

………………..

"Honey, the doctors are fixing mommy right now, okay? Can you wait out here and be a good little girl for her?"

Kaoru pouted, but nodded her head anyway.

"Good girl." Her father said running back into the room.

I shivered and opened my eyes. Mom never came back after that night like she said she would. They didn't even know what the hell was wrong with her. I shook my head. It just went so fast. They're there one day and the next they're just…slipping through your fingers. I looked at the clock again. It was almost two already. I'd slept all day! I didn't feel much better than I had before – nausea was now added to my list of ailments.

The small bottle of pain medicine sat on my nightstand with a glass of stale water. I suppose it had been quite long enough since I'd last taken them. I took a few more and swallowed them dry.

Too cold to be walking around in a nightgown, I changed into a pair of pajama pants with an old long sleeved shirt. With a blanket wrapped around me, I walked into the living room and sat on our couch and turned on the television. I didn't watch it often, but I figured I really had nothing better to do.

An hour or so had passed, and I hear this loud knock on my door. I hoped that if it were my father, he'd at least have the sense to let himself in.

"Misao." I was surprised to see as I opened up my door. "Kenshin…" I frowned, looking behind her.

"Heya." Misao greeted. "Just wanted to stop by and see how you were, since you weren't at school today." She smiled.

"Um thanks…What is he doing here?" I asked flatly, sparing no sincerity.

Misao glanced behind her. "He uh, wanted to know how you were doing, too."

"Why?" I asked Kenshin.

He looked offended, then shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not allowed to care what's going on when one of my classmates doesn't show up to school?"

"No." I answered, turning around. "Come in."

Misao started rummaging through her bag. "Oh Kaoru-chan, I brought you all of the assignments that you missed today – here." Misao presented me with a hefty stack of papers.

"Thank you so much." I said, taking them from her.

Misao and I sat for a while and talked, and Kenshin just sat awkwardly at the other end of the couch.

"Were you alright here all day Kaoru?" Kenshin finally spoke up.

I turned my attention to him. "…Just fine."

He smiled, and leaned back in his seat. "Good to know."

I rested my forehead on my hand. "…yeah…" I said quietly. "I think I need some more sleep. Thank you so much Misao for the work I-"

"Oh Kaoru-chan, when is your father going to be home? I can make you dinner! Some nice hot soup made from scratch…have you eaten at all today?" Misao asked.

I stopped for a moment then shook my head. "Ah – no Misao, but, really thank you so much, I need to sleep and I'm sure you've got things to do. I- I'll just heat up some ramen or something Misao, I-"

"Nonsense!" Kenshin said. "You go to bed, and we'll cook."

Misao and I both looked at Kenshin like he had two heads, then Misao thought about it for a moment. "Yeah Kaoru! Go get some rest, come on." She said, shooing me into my room.

Giving up, I went back into my room and went back to bed. …I guess it would be helpful…I wasn't sure what my father would think when he came home though.

…………………

"Himura, what are you doing?" Misao hissed, cutting up some vegetables.

"Helping out a sick friend."

Misao glared at him and continued chopping.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Author's Notes: oh my god I thought the damn chapter was never going to end! I was very close to just ending the chapter with 'kenshin let out a wicked fart, and everyone fell over and died.', my friend agreed with me, but, because I'm just so nice -:sarcasm:-, I didn't. On the bright side….I suppose this is the longest chapter I've ever written for a fanfic -.-; -:that doesn't say a lot…:-. Hmmmm….was that a good place to stop? It is now because I'm too lazy to think of anything else.