(A/N: hello again, peeps! Um... to sally... I'm not sure what happened... and I'm not even sure if I believe whatever could be going on my parents don't allow me to believe anything... but, if it's true or if it's not, I don't really care, and I say you should put your sister's fanfics up on the net, and possibly... tell me what you're talking about? I'm a bit lost. I really know your sister was a HUGE fan of this fic... or is? I don't know. I'm confused. You didn't really leave anything open. Everything was sorta guessable or whatever... Well, I suppose that's all I can say for now... if you're even attempting to read this...)
Chapter 11: Reincarnation? Kenshin returns to school!
"Oh, my God!" Sano said aloud from the wall in the commons.
"What now?" Megumi asked, walking up behind him and whacking him on the back of the head.
"Duh… Look! Himura and Jou-chan are walking together!" Sano said, pointing over-dramatically.
"Hm? Oh… Ken-san," Megumi smiled devilishly. "Now, really. You don't think he'd go for a cheerleader, would he?"
"I dunno… Weren't you supposed to be a cheerleader, foxy?"
"Don't call me foxy!" Megumi kicked him where it hurt.
"My… mistake…" Sano winced, falling over. He recovered surprisingly fast. "So… like, you were, right?"
"I don't have time for dancing around in mini skirts. I'm going to be a doctor, so I have to study."
"Wow… Your life is like… the opposite of mine. I don't study at all."
"You don't have to tell me that. I've seen the report cards you've thrown in the garbage."
"Deh…" Sano's eyes flattened. "Well, uh… Yeah…"
-
"I'm really sorry… Kenshin…" Kaoru said, slowly looking over at him.
"Oh…" Kenshin realized his bummed out mood. "Oro? Oh, I'm okay, de gozaru yo!" He put on his best fake smile.
"Are you sure?"
"Of c-course I am! I wouldn't lie to you, Kaoru-dono, de gozaru yo."
"Okay…" She smiled at him. "So, I guess you'd better go find your friends, huh."
"Oro?… Oh, you mean Sano and Yahiko and Megumi-san!" Kenshin rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Kaoru giggled at him, and it was as if he was in heaven.
This is so impossible… Someone wake me up. There's no way that a cheerleader can be so happy to be here… with me! ME! Oro… I must have rolled out of bed and hit my head, and now I'm in some sort of coma, de gozaru yo…or maybe it was just the alcohol.
"Kenshin?"
"Oro?"
"He's been calling you for awhile now."
"Oro? Oh… Hajime-san…" Kenshin felt that wave of uneasiness slip over him again.
-
Kenshin slowly walked up to Saitou and smiled sheepishly at him. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about, Hajime-san?"
"I heard that you're living with Seijirou now," Saitou said.
"Um… yes, I am, but what does that have to do with anything?"
"I was just making sure that everything I'd heard really happened… Himura, do you believe in reincarnation?"
"Oro? Wh-what kind of question is that?"
"Just a simple one," Saitou shrugged, puffing on his cigarette.
"Um, I don't think that's allowed on school grounds, sir," Kenshin said.
"I know."
"So, you want to get fired?"
"I've got plenty of better job opportunities lined up," He shrugged, his golden eyes gleaming.
Kenshin looked down at the floor. "I… suppose I believe in reincarnation…"
"I suggest you go through Hiko-san's bag, then. There is an article in there that might help you find out why your parents were murdered."
"What?" Kenshin was stunned. "How did you--"
"I help the police once in awhile. By the way, do consider this my help. I don't like you, but I dislike the Juppon Katana even more."
Kenshin's eyes widened. "Juppon… Katana…" He felt that broken feeling within him again. His fists clenched, and his lips quivered. "They…"
"KENSHIN!"
"Oro?" Kenshin fell over. Yahiko stood above him, cocking an eyebrow. "Oh, hello, Yahiko."
"Where were you yesterday?! We got our butts kicked in kendo!"
"Maybe I was avoiding kendo, de gozaru yo…" Kenshin laughed.
"What?! HEY!" Yahiko shook his fists in the air. "You can't skip!"
"I didn't…" Kenshin stood up, brushing himself off. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Huh?" Yahiko watched him walk into the building. He changed so suddenly… I wonder what's wrong. "Hey! Wait for me!" Yahiko yelled.
-
Kenshin kept almost silent through most of the day. Sano and Yahiko did all they could to pry out answers, but he just smiled his best fake smile and said that it was nothing. It seemed hopeless to get an answer from him.
Gym class rolled around. Kenshin changed into his gym clothing and walked out, hands behind his head.
They had rolled out mats and put up dummies to beat up. It seemed that they were doing another kendo class. Apparently, the last one didn't go too well.
Kenshin walked up to the group of Sano and his crummy buddies and smiled at them. They seemed happy to see him, and many of them congratulated him on his fight against Chou. He didn't really think too much of himself, but that did remind him of Hiko's blade.
Now, Kenshin sat on the bleachers, going over the fight in his mind. Something felt different when I held that blade in my hand instead of a boken. It wasn't because it was heavier… It was…something else…
"All right!" Hiko yelled out, walking in.
"Oro?"
"Everyone find a spot. The boken are lined up behind the mats as you can see. Just grab one and get to work." He went and sat down on the bleachers, opening his bag and going through it.
Kenshin paired up at a dummy with Sano since there weren't enough for everyone.
"Hmm…" Hiko pulled out a handful of papers. "Huh?" He had forgotten about them. "Saitou's weirdo theory?"
Kenshin reached out behind him and grabbed a boken, not even bothering to look. He wanted to hurry up and get started.
"Uh, Kenshin…" Sano began.
Kenshin's eyes narrowed at the dummy. He imagined it being Chou, and his vision blurred. He quickly propped his glasses up on his head and prepared his boken.
"Kenshin, isn't that…" Sano began again.
Kenshin' felt the wood between the fingers on his left hand as he prepared to draw from his right.
"Stupid Saitou… What's he thinking?" Hiko said aloud as he flipped through the papers.
"Kenshin, that's not-" Sano reached out.
Kenshin drew the boken from his hand, but the wood didn't leave his left hand. He sliced the dummy at lightning fast speed, making everyone turn around and look.
Hiko's eyes widened greatly. That was…
The dummy broke in half and fell to the floor. Kenshin glared at it. "Ah… Oro?" He blinked and pushed his glasses back down on his face. "This is… no boken… de gozaru yo…" Kenshin held up Hiko's blade. Apparently, he had found a new sheath for it.
"That was…" Sano stared at Kenshin. "That was… That was… AWESOME! WOAH!"
"Hey, can you teach me to do that?" Katsu asked.
"Yeah, me too!"
"-and me!"
"Ooooorrrrrooooooooooo….." Kenshin got swirly-eyes as he was surrounded by men eager to learn how to cut a dummy in half.
Hiko stared at them from across the gym. He looked down at the papers in his hands. "Maybe Saitou's not so crazy after all…" He said looking at the articles. "I hope he's not completely correct… I can't even imagine if Battousai walked the earth today…" Hiko slipped the papers back into his bag. Maybe I should do some research of my own…