Katana Wands
Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it? Just read the others.
Chapter Two:Old Friends, New Life
Misao looked out over the landscape as it sailed by the window on the jitenshya. She saw the trees and rice fields slowly but steadily replaced by more and more buildings and roads. As she looked toward the front of the train, she could see the Tokyo sky line in all its glorious majesty creep upon her like a predator stalking its prey at an annoyingly slow pace. It wasn't that she didn't want to go visit Kaoru, quite the contrary, considering Kaoru was one of her very best friends since her first year at Hogwarts, but she was somewhat reluctant to take this trip.
Misao had always seen Kaoru as friend and sempai. They shared the same view on how to deal with those who were ignorant enough to target them and their friends as easy pray: a swift right hook to the jaw, and/or a succession of wacks on the head with the closest kenjutsu weapon at hand. And, that explained how at the end of Kaoru's second year, the only people fool enough to mess with the feisty kenjutsu shihondai were a few key Slytherins that couldn't get it through their thick skulls that she was not to be messed with. And Enishi still hadn't learned, even though he had graduated this year.
She was the kenjutsu komichi.
And, that was why Misao was more than a little reluctant to see her.
The day that Kaoru had been told of her father's death, she and Misao had met in the hallway on their way to class after breakfast. Misao on her way to the seventh floor, Kaoru on her way to Transfiguration. But, then McGonagall-sensei walked up to them and asked to talk to Kaoru, and told Misao that it would be best that she be there as well. She led them to an empty classroom where they couldn't be overheard.
To someone who would have been watching the scene play out from the outside, all they would have been able to see would be McGonagall-sensei speaking to Kaoru, and then, Kaoru looking as if she had just been slapped in the face. Kaoru said a few short words and McGonagall-sensei slowly and reluctantly shook her head. Kaoru's knees gave out as she sank to the floor. Misao caught her just in time. The dam broke and tears began to fall from her eyes in a steady cascade of sorrow. The occasional sob that came, when Kaoru could not hold them in, the only sound that were heard.
That was the last time Misao saw Kaoru. Right after that, Dumbledore-sensei had given Kaoru leave to go back home to Tokyo to attend her father's funeral, and before Misao could say goodby, Kaoru was on her way back to Japan.
Misao looked up as she noticed that the jitensha had stopped and the passengers were rushing by her seat on their way to get to the exit before the doors closed.
Misao quickly picked up her bag and headed out the doors right before they slammed shut behind her. She looked around the gigantic station trying to get her bearings. She spotted the sign that pointed the way to the east gate and thanked her lucky stars. The exit wasn't far off.
One bus ride and a short walk later, Misao found herself heading down the street Kaoru and Genzai-sensei lived on.
Misao was so lost in her thoughts that it wasn't until she was half-way up the block, when she noticed there was someone standing in front of the gate, as if debating whether or not to go in. Misao did a double take, just to make sure she was seeing correctly, but then she realized it was completely obvious why this particular person would be here.
"Konnichiwa, McGonagall-sensei," Misao called out in her bright genki voice.
McGonagall-sensei started at the sound of the enthusiastic voice of one of her students. She turned and saw Misao walking towards her at a lighter step than before. "Ahh, Makimachi-san. Genki desu ka?" she said somewhat brokenly. No matter how many years Hogwarts had spent in the exchange program, McGonagall-sensei was still not entirely fluent in Japanese. But, at least she kept her dubbing necklece with her in case of emergencies.
"Hai, sensei. Genki desu" replied Misao, "Are you here to give Kaoru-san her work from last-"
CRASH!
Misao's question was cut off by a crash and shouts coming from inside the gate.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, BUSU! KILL ME!"
"FIVE HUNDRED MORE SWINGS, YAHIKO!"
"WHY DO I HAVE TO LISTEN TO WHAT YOU SAY!"
"WATASHI WA ONEESAN, THAT'S WHY!"
"Maa maa, you two. We can settle thi- ORO!" And, another crash was heard. At the sound of this new voice, McGonagall-sensei gave a slight start. She knew that voice. 'Am I hearing things?'
McGonagall-sensei looked in Misao's direction and their eyes met. They knew what they had to do. And, with an intake of breath, Misao and McGonagall-sensei pushed open the gate and entered what they expected to be a battlefield (complete with fox holes). Instead, they found an almost pristine courtyard with the exception of some kitchen utensils and cookery (a tempura wok being among them), thrown about and a dented metal wash basin complete with wet clothes strewn about and a soaked, swirly-eyed, red-haired rurouni with a large bump on his head laying in the middle of the carnage.
"Kenshin! Gomen nasai! Daijoubu ka!" A worried Kaoru ran across the yard to help the dazed redhead.
All while this was going on, the two people at the gate witnessed the chaos with slack jaws, not quite sure what to do. All they could do was just stand there and watch as the strange man reassured Kaoru that he was all right. That is, until Yahiko noticed them out of the corner of his eye, and turned to face them.
"Hey, Misao!" he said waving to her. Both Kaoru and Kenshin looked up and noticed the visitors as well. "Tomodachi wa dare da? Obaa-san?"
'. . . obaa-san . . ?' was all that McGonagall-sensei could think with a huge amount of indignation before two fists sent Yahiko crashing into the dojo wall.
"KORE WA MCGONAGALL-SENSEI, BAKA!" yelled both Misao and Kaoru, their faces as red as Kenshin's hair.
" . . . oh, oops." said a dazed Yahiko before collapsing on the ground.
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After putting Yahiko in his room so he could get bandaged up after his double beating, Kaoru and McGonagall-sensei went to the kitchen where they could talk in relative privacy. Kaoru took another look at her teacher. Kaoru was used to seeing McGonagall-sensei in her witche's robes and always thought that she was the type of witch whom would mistake a nightgown for a set of dress robes, but now that she was in the Muggle part of the world, Kaoru had to kick herself for thinking that McGonagall-sensei would not do at least a little bit of research on what Muggles wore before venturing out among them. She could pass for a strict schoolteacher . . . which she was.
"McGonagall-sensei?" asked Kaoru, as she closed the door (making sure that Yahiko couldn't eavesdrop this time). "I know that you came here to give me my work for the term I missed, but really, you shouldn't have bothered." In reality, she didn't want to have this conversation, but she knew it would have to happen sooner or later. And she had thought about how to break it to . . . someone.
"Nonsense, Kamiya-san. You are one of my best students and I have no intention of letting you fall behind in your-"
"That's not what I meant, sensei," Kaoru stated, putting her hand up to halt her teacher. "What I meant to say is that I have decided not to go back to Hogwarts."
&&&&&
Misao eyed the redhead, who was back to doing the laundry with his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, with suspicion. 'Well, who wouldn't be suspicious when this guy is currently washing your best friend's underwear?' She had promised Kaoru that she would wait to hear her explanation about why she had opened her home to a total stranger. She knew that Kaoru was many things, and a fool was not one of them. So why had she done something so foolhardy? For all Misao knew, this guy could be a serial killer and was planning to rape and kill Kaoru in her sleep (A/N: DAMN IT, what is it with me and rape, I HATE NCS FICS). She did, also, notice the way that McGonagall-sensei had looked at him when they made eye contact. And visa-versa.
It definitely looked like they knew each other from somewhere. And, it also looked like they hadn't expected to run into each other. There was a moment of combined shock, surprise, and recognition from both McGonagall-sensei and this "Himura" character, even though there was more shock and surprise coming from Himura's direction than from the sensei's.
Tons of questions burned on the tip of Misao's tongue, but she couldn't ask them. She had promised Kaoru she would wait for her to explain what this man was doing here. And, when she thought back to how McGonagall-sensei had recognized him, even more questions came.
So she just sat there on the steps watching the strange red-haired man.
'Well, might as well start the interrogation.' She had promised Kaoru that she would wait, but there were questions she could get out of the way without making it look like she was pressing too hard.
"So, how long have you known Kaoru?"
Kenshin looked up from the laundry, faking a slightly-startled look. He had sensed that Misao was practically burning with questions. However, he still managed to pull off a convincing "Oro? Ettou, for a few days." And he went back to cleaning clothes.
Misao stared at him. "And she lets you wash her laundry?"
Kenshin sighed. "Misao-san? It's ok for you to ask your questions. I will answer them as well as I can."
Misao thought for a little bit, trying to come up with a question that would seem unobtrusive, or at the very least, not too personal, so as not to break her promise to Kaoru. 'Well, let's start with the most obvious.'"Majo, mahoutsukai, squib, or Muggle?"
This time he didn't have to fake it. "ORO!"
"Anou . . . ok. I asked whether you were a majo, mahoutsukai, squib, or Muggle," she repeated, then thought, 'What the hell does 'oro' mean?'
"Ettou . . . mahoutsukai desu. Misao-san, I don't think that was the question you wanted to ask me. You can ask me any question you want," Kenshin corrected.
Misao momentarily wondered how he knew she was faking . . . but then she remembered how lame the question was. "Ok. I would just like to know what the hell you are doing here," she said flat out.
Kenshin gave her one of his most innocent smiles and said, "Sentaku imasu."
Misao facefaulted, then got right up in his face. "TALK!"
"KAMIYA-SAN! I really must protest!" the voice, which officially ended the argument (and sent Misao careening to the ground), sounded from the direction of the kitchen. "This is your education you're talking about! Your future!"
Misao and Kenshin looked at each other and silently decided to go check it out. They met Yahiko at the door, who apparently shared their view.
All three of them silently slid the kitchen door open a crack, and saw Kaoru and McGonagall-sensei sitting at the table talking, or rather, arguing. It seemed like they had been at it for a while. McGonagall-sensei looked like she was about to explode. Kaoru kept her face straight and resolute. She really did want to go back to Hogwarts, she really did. But then . . . what about the dojo? She had thought long and hard over this. Looked at every possible angle, scowered every possible course of action, yet came up with the same conclusion each time. Even if she could get the dojo's reputation back up to where it was before the fake Battousai incident in time for her to go to school, there were still many other things that kept her from going back to Hogwarts.
"I know this is about my future," she said, "but this dojo has been in my family for at least a century. Yahiko is the only other person in my family, and he's too young to take charge of the dojo while I'm at Hogwarts." (At this, Yahiko tried to storm in and give Kaoru a piece of his mind . . . but Misao and Kenshin grabbed him and covered his mouth while he struggled.) "I'm the shihondai of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, and I can't keep the dojo alive if I'm stuck at Hogwarts."
"But, you so wanted to go into magical law enforcement. You would make a splendid Auror. You'd be giving up on a career where your talents could be utilized in the most perfectly possible way, in both physical and magical. You could do so much good!" McGonagall-sensei was grabbing at straws, trying to find a way to convince Kaoru to stay in school. Kaoru was such a good student that it would be a great loss to the whole wizarding community (as well as Gryffindor, Hogwarts itself, and Kaoru) if she were to drop out. She had lost some of her steam after Kaoru's reasoned response; she couldn't think of a way to fix the situation, so she tried the "What you would be missing" approach.
It didn't work. Kaoru held firm to her decision.
"I know I had my heart set on being an Auror, I might still be able to accomplish that through the night classes that the ministry offers."
McGonagall-sensei saw the opening and latched onto it. "But that requires you to be fluent in two languages. You've already started on English, and there's no better place for you to learn than Hogworts."
Kaoru almost rolled her eyes at the last ditch effort to sway her decision. "Let's face it: with all the work Tanaka-sensei gave us before my father died, and the fact that I was already struggling in English, the only way I would be able to get a passing grade next year would be to get a private tutor: and, right now, I can barely afford to pay the bills. And, even though Megumi-san went to Hogwarts (and she's the only other person I know who has) she has assured me that her English is very weak."
Opening after opening. "But, what about Himura-san? He went to Hogwarts and, I can assure you, when he left, he was most fluent. And, might very well be still."
"TSU!"
Kaoru and McGonagall-sensei froze for a moment before turning to the source of the sudden sneeze: the door.
Both Kaoru and McGonagall-sensei walked over and opened the door to see Kenshin, Misao, and Yahiko in a slightly-tangled mess (thanks to Yahiko) and at least one of each person's hand placed on Kenshin's mouth in a belated attempt to stifle Kenshin's unexpected sneeze. Each one looked as if he/she had just been caught with their collective hands in the cookie jar.
&&&&&
"So is it true that you got full marks in English at Hogwarts?" Kaoru asked in an almost avid manner, wanting to be absolutely sure that 1. This was not a dream and 2. She had not misheard McGonagall-sensei earlier.
All of them were now sitting at the kitchen table after getting the eavesdropping trio untangled. Kaoru was looking at Kenshin with barley-canceled excitement. For the last few weeks, after her father's funeral, she had resigned herself to never going back to Hogwarts because she believed it next-to-impossible with all the problems that kept arising. But, now a glimmer of hope started to shine through the curtain of gloomy resolution she had hidden her pain in since her father's funeral.
"Hai, I did, and I have tried to remain fluent during my travels, though it's hard with no one to practice with," answered Kenshin, a little nervous at suddenly being the center of attention.
"But, you still got full marks?" Kaoru pressed.
"Hai."
There was a pause of about five full seconds, then, Kaoru knelt in front of Kenshin, her forehead pressed against the floorboards, and said, in the most respectful voice she could muster, "Onegai, take Sessha as a student in the art of the English language."
To say that the other people in the room were holding their breath would be an understatement. They were on the edge if their seats with anticipation for the future of their friend as they all looked in Kenshin's direction. And, Kenshin never expected anything like this to happen to him. Ever. He was planning to go back to England one of these days, but teach English to someone else? That was something he had never even considered. He would be the first one to say that he didn't know the first thing about teaching.
It was around this time that he started to feel a little bit uncomfortable with everyone staring at him. Plus, Kaoru looked like she was starting to get stiff in that hunched-over position on the floor.
"Kaoru-san, I really don't know all that much about teaching."
"You don't have to!" Kaoru cried out, as she straightened up, yet still kneeling. "All you have to do is tell me if I'm getting it right or not."
Kenshin took a moment to consider this: 'I suppose I could do that, and it would help Kaoru-san in going back to school. There are already to many dropouts out there.' "Ettou . . . I guess I could . . ." he began tentatively, but was then interrupted by both Misao and Yahiko as they both started celebrating. "But, please, don't bow, it would be really awkward," he said to Kaoru, averting his eyes with a blush, as she sweatdropped. And right then, Kaoru noticed her shirt was . . . showing a bit. She closed it quickly as her face went as red as a tomato.
&&&&&
And so it went. For the next few weeks, Kaoru could rarely be seen outside of practice in the mornings, giving lessons, and meal times. The rest of her time was spent walled up in her room, putting her nose to the grindstone as no one had ever done so before. Kenshin would periodically go in and tutor her throughout the day, so she would be kept on track, and fixing problems from where she was either doing things wrong or where she needed improvement.
Kenshin proved to be worth his weight in gold. He was not only fluent in the language, but he also knew the history behind it. To how the German language branched off into English when it came to the British Ilse, to why the French changed the rule of "who" and "whom." He knew it all.
And, that was why, near the end of July, Kaoru (with Kenshin's help) was completely up-to-date in her make-up work, and then some. Which, by a happy coincidence, is when McGonagall-sensei decided to drop by once more. But, this time, she wasn't there to see Kaoru.
&&&&&
A knock sounded through the dojo yard as Kenshin was bent over the metal wash bin. He stood up, walked over, and opened the door to reveal "McGonagall-sensei! Douzo." Kenshin stepped to and let her in. "Ogenki desu ka?"
"O jama shimasu, genki desu," said McGonagall-sensei.
"Yokatta desu. I think that Kaoru's in the dojo," explained Kenshin, heading over to the building.
"I didn't come here to see Kamiya-san, Himura."
Kenshin looked back at McGonagall-sensei. "Oh?"
"Yes," she said, "in fact, I'm here to offer you the English position job at Hogwarts."
At that precise moment, the door to the dojo opened and there stood Kaoru and Yahiko, who, by the looks on their faces, had heard everything.
"Kenshin wa sensei?"
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A/N: I know, I know, it's almost been a year since I ast updated, but you try writing a fanfic while your switching schools and the school you're going to changes your schedule every five weeks. And then, your editor loses her motivation (I thought I was the one who was supposed to have motivation). Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long to write. Ok, Chosha, I've updated, your turn. Thank you to all of the reviewers . . . all six of you.
See you next time.
Glossary:
Anou-uh . . . that's what it means.
Busu-ugly, hag . . . and proof that Yahiko is blind.
Daijoubu ka-Are you all right? Take the "ka" and it's just "all right."
Dojo-A school for marshal arts.
Douzo-After you, come in, just your all around polite word.
Ettou-uhm . . no, that's literally what it means.
Genki-literal translation is "healthy, fine."It can also mean "up beat" or "energetic." Well, at least Misao is healthy.
Gomen nasai-I'm sorry, forgive me, basic plea for forgiveness. The "nasai" at the end is optional, use it to be more polite.
Hai-Yes. 'Noughsaid.
jitensha-it basically a train that runs directly from Tokyo to Kyoto and back, it's about a two hour ride.
Kamiya Kasshin Ryu-Kaoru's sword style.
kenjutsu-literally, and figuratively means sword arts.
Kenjutsu komichi-I looked up the actual translation for "komichi" and it literally means "lane or path." But I guess there's another translation out there that makes "kenjutsu komichi" translate into something like "princess of swordsmanship."
Kenjutsu shihondai- Assistant master of swordsmanship.
Kenshin wa sensei-Kenshin, a teacher? Will he except the post? Dun dun duuuuunnnnnnn.
Konnichiwa-Good day, literallytranslated, it means "this day is" but is basically just a greeting now a days.
KORE WA MCGONAGALL-SENSEI, BAKA!-THAT'S MCGONAGALL-SENSEI, YOU IDIOT! "Baka" being "idiot."
Maa maa-Now now, as in settle down children.
Mahotsukai-wizard.
Majo-which
O/ Genki desu/ ka-depending on whether you use the" ka" or not, it can mean "how are you doing?" Or "I'm doing well." The "O" is also optional, But only for asking the question, and want to be even more respectful.
O jama shimasu-forgive the intrusion. Literally it means that you're about to do something rude or get in the way, but now it's just used when you're entering someone's home.
Obasan-grandma, old lady, old hag . . . no wonder Yahiko got pummeled. He probably just meant grandma but, there you go.
Oro-just something Kenshin says when he doesn't have anything else to say.
Rurouni-Wanderer, and if you didn't know that, than what are you doing reading an RK fanfic.
Sempai-upperclassmen, or just person above me.
San-Mr., Miss, Mrs., . . . need I say more.
Sensei-teacher, professor, and that way we get "Professor McGonagall"
Sentaku imasu-Doing the laundry. "Sentaku" equals "laundry" and "imasu" equals "doing."
Shihondai-Assistant master, adjacent master, instructor, you get the idea.
Tomodachi wa dare da-Who's your friend? "Tomodachi" is "friend" and "dare" is "who." The rest of them are conjectures..
TSU!-ACHOO! . . . sniff. At least that's what my first Japanese teacher told me.
WATASHI WA ONEESAN-I'M YOUR SISTER! "Watashi" is "I" (at least for polite people), and "Oneesan" means older sister.
Yokatta-I'm glad, that's good to know, just . . . good.