OkitaSoujiro: Hey guys. I hope you liked the last chapter. Here's the next one: Food Fights and A Familiar Face. By the way, noticed my penname changed?
Dragonair™: Hey everyone! I'm OS' favorite Pokemon (next to Suicune, Articuno, Espeon, Vaporeon, Leafeon, and Glaceon who you will see in later chapters) and currently secretary for this chapter!
OkitaSoujiro: No need to get cocky now. Constructive criticism is expected and wanted, but no flames. Please read and review.
(A/n: I might make Tomoe a little OOC, sorry.)
Once again, I promptly apologize for the lateness of the update. I know what it feels like when a story you just want to keep reading doesn't get updated for a few months. (Not saying that mine is, unless you tell me so.) Also, my second story, Forgotten Memories under the Prince of Tennis category will have its second chapter changed. I can't decide how to continue on from Ryoma's -plah plah plah-. If you read the story, you know what I'm talking about. Please give me ideas! Thank you.
De wa, this is chapter 3 of Rurouni Kenshin: Rewritten. Please enjoy.
Oh yes, if the 'food fight' part of this story isn't as epic as you thought it would be, I am sorry. -bow- I humbly ask for your forgiveness. But besides that, please enjoy. :)
Rurouni Kenshin: Rewritten
By OkitaSoujiro
Chapter 3 – Food Fights and A Familiar Face
Deciding to hang around and wait for everyone to finish cleaning, Kenshin sat down against the wall of the Chemistry room and flipped through his assignment book.
Monday –
Social Studies - Complete
Math - Complete
English - Complete
Chemistry – None
Contented, he shut the cover of the book. Sleeping in his normal position (up with sword propped against shoulder), he shifted around to make himself comfortable before drifting off to sleep.
Feeling someone touch him, he shot up, his eyes glowing gold for a moment; an automatic reflex back from his days as the Battousai.
"Himura-kun?" A soft, yet monotone voice drifted into his thoughts.
Blinking sleep from his eyes, his vision cleared as he noticed a familiar figure staring strangely at him.
"Ah, Yukishiro-san." Kenshin bowed politely. "Sorry, this one was sleeping." He had not realized that Tomoe had caught the slight shift in his eye color.
"No need for such formalities." She answered. "Just Tomoe or Tomoe-san is fine."
"Aa. Tomoe-san." He stated, trying to get used to the name. "What time is it now, if this one may ask?"
"I believe it is already lunch time." Tomoe stopped and straightened. In that silence, several sighs of relief wafted through the slightly open sliding door.
"This is a lesson to all of you…" Shishio's pleasant voice came. "To be smarter… and to never let Sano be stupid again… okay?"
"Hai, Shishio-sensei."
"Repeat it 3 times. I want to be sure."
"Never let Sano be stupid again… never let Sano be stupid again… never let Sano be stupid again." The class chanted happily in unison, glad for the chance to bash their classmate who had kept them all in for 5 minutes into lunch.
Tomoe sweat dropped, but an amused smile graced her face.
"Hmph." A snort came from the teacher. "Dismissed."
"Aa. That's this one's cue." Kenshin stood up and brushed himself off. The door slid open and a grumbling group of students filed out. At the very back were Kaoru, Misao, Megumi, Yahiko, and a Sano with a very moody expression.
"Many thanks to Shishio-sensei." Sano stated sarcastically. "Now everyone hates me…" He continued, trailing off, with puppy dog eyes.
"It's okay, Sano." He pet him on the head.
"Thanks, Kenshin…" Sano froze for a second. "Wait. Kenshin… YOU!" He suddenly fired up and pointed in his face. "YOUUU ARE THE CAUSE OF MY MISERRRYYYYYY!" He said, extending each word like he was a zombie. "I KILL YOUUUU…" He began again, imitating Achmed the Dead Terrorist. "ITE!" He cursed at the person who had smacked his head with a textbook. "FOX LADY! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"
Kenshin, who had backed off a safe distance, watched with Tomoe as the fight unfolded. They both sweat dropped. Kaoru, who noticed Tomoe, inwardly seethed as she discreetly glared at the bishoujo.
"That, Sano…" Megumi paused to shift a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "-was because you fail to see your stupidity, and that it was your fault that everyone had to stay behind. Why am I lecturing you? It's not like it will get through your thick skull, anyway." Megumi concluded by herself, ignoring the fuming Sano.
"FOXXXXXX!" He growled, almost lunging for Megumi, but composed himself, knowing not to hit girls. He was a gentleman, after all.
He straightened his school blazer and cleared his throat. "Okay, okay, fine."
GROWWWWWLLLL…
Surprised, everyone looked around for the source of the noise. To their surprise (not.), Sano was quietly rubbing his stomach. "I only agree because I am STARVING. Now can we go eat? And invite your little girlfriend, Kenshin."
Both their cheeks were tinged a slight pink. Kenshin cleared his throat awkwardly. "Eto… ano…" Kenshin glanced around nervously, his pores oozing nervous sweat. "Ahaha, Sano, so, what do they sell in the school cafeteria?"
Sano, being the senseless idiot that he was, took the bait. His wry grin slid off his face, now replaced by a disgusted expression. "Oh, that crap? Jeez, it's not even worth eating, and that's saying something, after we half died from Jou-chan's cooking-" Poor, poor Sano. He must really have a death wish.
"Yeah, I just had the misfortune to be stuck with after training, when there was a thunderstorm." Yahiko shuddered. "She had to cook for me-"
Yahiko too.
A vein popped noticeably in Kaoru's head as Sano walked side by side with Kenshin, talking about the horrors of Kaoru's cooking. Yahiko nodded vigorously next to his taller friend. Kenshin, of course, noticing Kaoru from his peripheral vision, started backing up inconspicuously, step by step away from Sano and Yahiko, praying for their safety.
"-and did you know, whatever she cooks, it ALWAYS turns black? I swear, she crushes charcoal powder and adds it in the mix. I mean, seriously. I think she wants to poison us or something-"
A crack was heard audibly in the background. Sano, disturbed by the noise, turned around slowly, swallowing a gulp as an oppressive aura surrounded him.
"Uh oh… Jou-chan, please don't kill me!"
By now, Kaoru's eyes had turned a ghastly red, which reminded Kenshin all too much of blood. Fires and flames danced all about her small, but toned form as a low rumble rolled in the sky, signaling impending doom.
BOOM!
Scenario 2
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A chibi Yahiko and Sano disappeared from the exploding school ceiling and flew off into the sky, only becoming one dim glitter before vanishing into the sun.
End Sano and Yahiko's Mind Theater part 1.
"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH- huh?" Sano and Yahiko stopped yelling in unison, covering their heads in fear, when they realized that it was easier to breathe.
"Yay! We are saved! We are saved!" They dropped to their knees and worshipped a trashcan. "Thank you, almighty trash can, for saving us, although we have no idea why we are doing this and how you saved us!" They half sang and sobbed, smashing their foreheads repeatedly in the ground, their arms lifting up and down with every grovel.
"You're on your own, boys." Megumi coolly walked off, Misao tagging along happily, both traumatized by the pure idiocy they had just witnessed.
"Though, I wonder, why didn't Jou-chan murder us like she always does?"
"I wonder…"
"EH, WHO CARES!?" They screamed in each other's faces. They linked arm in arm and skipped off like girls to the cafeteria. Following after Megumi and Misao, and Kenshin and Tomoe, who had long left before the explosion.
"This…" Shishio grinned creepily. "Is going to be… GREAT blackmail." He smiled maniacally, lowering the camera he had in front of his face not a second ago.
What Kenshin and co. did not notice, though, is that they left a heartbroken, dumbstruck Kaoru, staring after them. Why is she so shocked? Let us see.
Flashback
By now, Kaoru's eyes had turned a ghastly red, which reminded Kenshin all too much of blood. Fires and flames danced all about her small, but toned form as a low rumble rolled in the sky, signaling impending doom.
BOOM!
"Ah, watch out, Tomoe-kun!" As an incoming lightning bolt almost struck her, he pulled her a little too quickly from her previous spot, where she accidentally slipped on her feet and tripped. Closing her eyes, she braced herself for the impact. However, she did not expect to land on anything soft.
"Eh?" Tomoe opened her eyes.
A wide-eyed, flustered Kenshin stared back into her eyes, bewildered.
"Ah!" She quickly withdrew himself from his grip, almost falling down again in the process. "I'm… I'm sorry."
"I-it's fine." Kenshin stammered, suddenly finding the hallway interesting, glancing nervously at anything but her face. Gesturing in the direction that they were walking in, Kenshin smiled. "This one is quite famished. Could you kindly direct this one to the cafeteria?"
"…sure." Tomoe patted his shoulder. "You sound very strange when talking in third person." She giggled behind her hand. 'This will be an interesting school year…' She inwardly thought. She put on a shy smile. "This way-" She tugged gently on his arm.
"Ah, arigatou." Kenshin smiled sincerely, before following Tomoe to the cafeteria.
And this happened in the space of 30 seconds, which is the reason why Sano and Yahiko began worshipping a trash can, having avoided inevitable doom.
End flashback
However, since Kaoru is a strong woman, she recovered from her initial shock before punching the air in front of her. "I'm not going to give up!" She resolved, before speeding after her friends. "Wait for me!"
Thankfully, since Kenshin and Tomoe had departed early, they had gotten a table for everyone else in the overcrowded cafeteria. Lines were packed closely together, and there were still more students and faculty flooding in! Enter their next problem.
"Ah, crap. Lunch is only about 30 minutes…" Sano said, scratching his head. "We should've came here earlier…"
Megumi and Kaoru both shot him a look that said 'And whose fault is that?!'
"In any case," Sano fumbled on, pretending to be oblivious to Megumi and Kaoru's stares, "-I think the girls can get their lunch when they have their free period, which is next, but man, I don't think I can hold out till eighth period!" The growl returned as testament to this.
"Hmph, I don't mind." Megumi looked in any direction other than Sano's face.
"Ah, Tomoe-san," Kenshin suddenly asked, "-when's your free period?"
"Ah, I'm afraid I already had it…"
"Is that so?" Standing up from his seat, Kenshin turned to face everyone at the table. "Well, this one will be off to get lunch for everyone. This one shall return in about 5 minutes with lunches." And so he cheerfully walked off, leaving everyone who was familiar with the school's nature to gape at his back.
"H-hey, wait, Kenshin!" Sano yelled after him.
"Oro?"
"Can't you plainly see it's lunch hour?! Even if you went to wait, you wouldn't get our lunches anyway!"
"Are you not hungry?" The red-head blinked. "That's why I'm getting lunch."
Sano's jaw dropped even lower. "AND PEOPLE CALL ME SO THICK-HEADED ALMOST TO THE POINT OF BEING DEAF!" He groaned in exasperation.
"You are thick-headed almost to the point of being deaf." Megumi and Kaoru deadpanned from behind him.
Sano twitched, and resumed yelling, pretending he heard nothing. "OI! KENSHIN! DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?!"
"This one did. But this..." He gestured to the line as if it was the most typical sight in the world, "-is no problem." With that, Kenshin's form wavered and vanished, appearing at the front of the colossal queue in less than 3 seconds, prompting his friends to almost pop their eyeballs out in amazement. Many of those in the front of the line were startled by his sudden appearance, but shook it off as a figment of their imagination, not thinking that someone could materialize in the middle of a crowd fighting for food.
"W-what… what the hell?!" Sano looked like a fish, his mouth opening and closing.
It's no mistake, Kaoru thought inwardly. He's a swordsman. Or used to be, in any case. Her eyes narrowed. What are you hiding from us, Kenshin?
"Hey!" A large, bulky student called obnoxiously from the middle of the line. He towered over most of his fellow classmates. "OI! YOU! REDHEAD!"
"Oro?"
"Oh no." Sano groaned. "He's in trouble now. That's Hiruma Gohei. He got one of the teams suspended last year because he beat up one of the players from the other team."
"What might you want with this one?" Kenshin said pleasantly, yet loudly enough for Hiruma to hear. He balanced four trays, laden with food, on both arms, 2 on each arm.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF THE LINE, SHORTY!"
"Oro?" Kenshin look over his shoulder and tilted his head innocently. "Isn't it first come, first serve?" His eyes flashed gold. "Or are you just looking for someone to beat up?"
Hiruma shivered noticeably, put off for a few moments before he continued. "Y-YOU LITTLE-!" He snatched one of the cafeteria's glass plates from another student's tray, and with surprising accuracy, threw it at Kenshin's head.
"KENSHIN! WATCH OUT!"
The sea of people around him, who had been alerted, screamed and ducked as they watched the plate soar towards Kenshin. Despite warnings, to their surprise, Kenshin did not move, letting the plate hit his head with a 'thwack' as it shattered into several tiny pieces.
"Daijobu desu ka?" Kenshin asked the girl in front of him kindly. She shook her head timidly as she watched him in awe.
So that's why he didn't move his head... Kaoru observed.
Kenshin turned around to stare coldly at Hiruma before he did what one would deem impossible.
Kenshin narrowed his eyes for a moment before snapping them open with terrifying focus as he threw the four trays lying on his left and right arms upwards. He then proceeded to catch every shard with god-like speed, finding the time to send them all – accurately - into a trash bin nearby before catching and balancing the trays on his arms once more, not a drop of liquid on them spilling.
His eyes returned to their normal size, and he smiled before walking to the cashier to pay for the food. Blood dripped from the back of his head, but Kenshin seemed unfazed as everyone stared.
The crowd, which is to say, everyone in the cafeteria, especially those near him when the plate was thrown, began to clap and shout cheers of 'Sugoi!' or 'Kakuii!'
One of the P.E teachers, a violence hater, Yukyuzan Anji, who had a personage much like a Buddha as well as a large stature, pulled Hiruma out of the line and silenced him with a stern look before marching out of the cafeteria, tugging the student's arm painfully.
Kenshin strolled back over to his table a hero, as he had pulled off the miraculous feat of getting the food – as he said he would. Sano had clapped him on the back, sheepishly saying that he believed that Kenshin would've been able to pull it off anyway, despite him yelling at him not 5 minutes before.
"Kenshin, that was cool!" Misao chirped. "How'd you do that?"
Kenshin froze mid-bite. "Do what?" He asked nervously. The question that he had been trying to avoid.
Immediately he was shot down by four suspicious looks.
"You know what she's talking about." Sano, Kaoru, Megumi, and Yahiko said in unison.
"N-no, I really don't-"
Kaoru slammed her hands down on the table. "YOU KNOW WHAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT. Only a trained swordsman could've pulled that off! Not even a handful of dojo masters can do that these days!"
"Ahahahaha..." Kenshin scratched his head. "Ow..." Then he remembered his head injury. He stared at his hand. A fair amount of blood was present.
"And how can you be so calm as if nothing happened?" Megumi demanded. "A glass plate hit your skull and only NOW you notice it?"
"Ahahaha... this one has gotten worse injuries before-"
"WHAT?!" Whoops. Bad time to say that.
"Ken-san..." Megumi approached Kenshin before pulling up the sleeve of his school blazer.
"Chotto, Takani-san...!" He was too late as his numerous scars from obtained from serving in the army was revealed to the group. Tomoe could not stifle a gasp. Thin, white hued lines ran in all directions up and down his arm, contrasting strongly against his slightly tanned skin.
"These scars..." Megumi looked furious. "This degree of scarring..." Everyone knew what she meant.
Uh oh. Panning his vision left to right as he saw the expressions of the suspecting party turn into murderous ones.
"Um..." I need a diversion, I need a diversion, I need a diversion... He chanted in his head, mindful of the snort that accompanied it.
Kenshin must be one lucky guy.
"Excuse me." A tall, dark-haired senior sauntered over to his table. "If I might intrude?"
"O-of course, senpai!" Their polite instincts kicking in, they stopped Kenshin's interrogation. Misao was drooling at the sidelines, hearts in her eyes. "Aoshi-sama..."
"Um..." Misao's obsession unerving him slightly, he did his best to ignore it as he faced Kenshin. "I'm Shinomori Aoshi. I'm the captain of the Oniwabanshu Various Martial Arts Club."
"Oniwabanshu..." Kenshin turned the name over in his head until he remembered why it sounded familiar. "The group of ninjas that was established to provide information and other things in the late 16th century?"
"I see you know your history." Aoshi commented dryly. "That maneuver you pulled off was no easy task. I'm scouting and recruiting for the club. You would be a great boost to our club's morale in the competitions. After all," Aoshi gestured around the cafeteria, "-everyone has witnessed your skills."
"I'm sorry, but this one will pass on that generous offer. Thank you though, senpai." He bowed. "This one is not looking to join any clubs at the moment. I have a situation that I need to take care of at the moment. But if senpai would be so kind as to keep the offer open, I might join later this year."
"Hm." Aoshi nodded. "Alright, come and find me once you have that resolved. The offer will be open anytime from now until the beginning of the district tournament – which will be in 1 month." He walked off.
"Haha, Aoshi-sama kakuii~..." Misao squealed dreamily. Aoshi shivered noticeably, feeling the gaze bore into his back as he walked away.
"Well," Kenshin set down his chopsticks, "-this one is done with lunch, so if you'll excuse me-" Kenshin made to follow after Aoshi before a hand grabbed the edge of his sleeve. "Oro? Tomoe-san?"
"S-sorry..." Tomoe withdrew her hand and placed it on her lap, not offering any explanation as she kept her head bowed.
"Oro..." Kenshin looked as if he was going to make a move to comfort Tomoe, but terrible timing made the bell ring at that moment. "Tomoe-san, if you'd like, I'll take you to your next class?"
"Arigatou."
Kenshin helped Tomoe up and disappeared from the group's sights as they exited the cafeteria.
"I really, REALLY..." Kaoru seethed, "-hate that seductress."
"Blame your personality and appearance for the fact that the only first real crush of your life doesn't like you back." Megumi interjected smoothly. She picked up her messenger bag. "If you'll excuse me, I'm off to the library. I want to finish this homework. I've got more apprenticeship training after school today. Are you coming, Misao?"
"I'm going to go to the club..." Misao said cheerily. "Okina said he was going to teach me something cool. I have to impress Aoshi-sama! JA!" The hyper-active raccoon snatched her bag off the table and sped off, leaving a trail of dust behind.
"Mataku..." Megumi said, amused. "That girl never stays in one place for long." She too left, leaving Kaoru in an almost deserted cafeteria.
"Might as well go to the club to train..." Kaoru said to herself, sighing. "I have a class today..." Her thoughts drifted back to Kenshin. All I've done almost all day is think about him... His smiling face appeared in her mind. "ARGH!" She suddenly yelled, startling the remaining inhabitants of the cafeteria. What am I thinking? I've got other things to do right now! Slinging her backpack on her shoulder, she stomped off, mentally berating herself. Kaoru allowed one last thought about the red head before she pushed it out of her mind. I don't care about people's pasts... but something about Kenshin bothers. me Come hell and high waters, I'm going to find out soon.
"Well then, Tomoe-san." Kenshin gestured to the class. "Is this it?"
"Arigatou, Himura-san." Tomoe said softly.
"This one is sorry if I upset you earlier." Kenshin replied sheepishly, scratching his head as he recalled the look on her face.
"Don't worry about it. Just... just some memories I want to forget."
"Ah. This one won't ask further then. See you tomorrow, Tomoe-san."
She inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement before sliding the door open and entering her class.
"Now that Tomoe-san is in class..." Kenshin attempted to remember the directions Sano gave him.
"Oro...?" Kenshin stared down a long hallway of identical looking doors. "Ah... which one..." A sudden tingling feeling passed through his body for a moment. What...? An unseen force pressured him. Kenshin whirled his head around, looking for the source of that strong, familiar ki.
"Oi, baka deshi, what do you think you're doing still wandering the hallways? Class is about to start." A deep, authorative voice from behind him froze him in place. Hoping it was not who he thought it was, he turned around slowly.
Alas, his luck took a downturn.
In all his glory, Hiko Seijuro, the current master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu AND Kenshin, loomed over Kenshin, his presence almost engulfing him.
"Ahahaha... nice to see you again... shishou..." Kenshin's voice shrunk with every word. Hiko narrowed his eyes. The temperature went down several degrees. "That's all you have to say after deserting your training and running off the join the army, eh? That's why self-righteouness does you no good. You've probably learned your lesson by now."
Kenshin bowed his head in shame and respect. "Hai, shishou..."
Hiko gave him a strange look. He cuffed the back of Kenshin's head gently, eliciting an 'ow' from Kenshin. "Go get that looked at, baka deshi. I don't want you dripping blood all over my classroom floor."
"Hai, shishou..." He obediently turned and walked in the opposite direction, intending on heading to the nurse. "WAIT. WHAT?!" The last of his master's words finally registered in his head.
Hiko grinned wickedly. "Oh, you didn't hear me wrong. Except now I'm known as Hijikata-sensei of Sword Studies. See you in class, baka deshi." He laughed evilly the entire way, earning a sweatdrop from Kenshin.
"Uh oh." Kenshin mumbled to himself the entire way to the nurse. "Shishou as my teacher? This cannot be happening. No, no, no, no, no, no..."
So, that's your master, huh... Battousai observed from Kenshin's mind. I want to cross swords with that man. He is a formidable opponent.
'Are you insane? He's the one who taught me this style in the first place! What makes you think you can defeat him?' Kenshin asked incredulously.
Not you. Me. Another voice echoed from deep inside Kenshin's subconscious.
Shinta...? Battousai and Kenshin asked, surprised, at the same time.
By the time Kenshin had walked into the office and gotten patched up, earning a lecture from the nurse as he did, he was no longer consciously moving. The door slid open, and Hiko – Hijikata now – looked up and saw Kenshin staring at him with a eerily calm face, his eyes a tawny brown hue, unlike the sharp amber of Battousai's eyes.
"Oi, Himura, have you gotten that looked at?" He asked gruffly.
Shishou... Hiko heard a soundless murmur of his title. Hiko blinked. What was... A memory flashed in front of him. A little red-headed boy was swinging a shinai happily.
Hiko shook his head as if to clear it. "Take your seat." He grumbled, as if nothing had happened.
Kenshin blinked, and the brown disappeared, replaced with Kenshin's normal violet. "Hai, sensei." Kenshin plopped down in an empty seat next to Sano.
"Oi, Kenshin," He whispered, "Why'd sensei space out like that? You know him or something?"
"No, this one doesn't." Kenshin answered normally, before promptly politely ignoring Sano and his other quesitons.
"Geh." Hiko stood up. "I'm Hijikata. I'm your teacher for Sword Studies. As you should know, for some reason or another, the government installed this class as a core, and mandatory. Probably because they want to draft some of you for the army, what with the social instability and all. Kind of stupid, but whatever." He said, bored. Everyone sweatdropped. "I'm not here to teach you how to use a sword, but on the different sword styles there are available. As a long term project, you are to research one of these styles, learn it, and present it in a sparring demonstration at the end of the year for a grade." The students began murmuring excitedly amongst themselves.
"Shut up." Hiko said curtly. The class silenced. "Punishment for talking during class is 100 sit ups and 100 pushups with textbooks on your backs. No girls take this course because the government also likes to be sexist bastards."
(A/n: This is purely a work of fiction. Any insults to anything or anyone that really exists is only a figment of my imagination in this story, and should not be taken literally by anyone.)
This earned a few snickers from some of the guys in the class.
"Yeah. Whatever. So, who already has a style?"
To everyone's surprise but Sano's and Hiko's, Kenshin was the only one who rose his hand.
"What style?"
"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu."
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu...? Sano echoed in his head, tossing the name around. That sounds familiar... one of oyaji's files, maybe...?
"Hmph." Hiko pretended to note it down. "Alright, the first style we are going to research is-"
And so the class of Sword Studies, which would soon be Kenshin's favorite subject, began.
(A/n: I know nothing about Sword Styles (except the Tennen Rishin Ryu) and I should research them and add it in to make this interesting for you, but this chapter is already extensive enough... ahaha...)
"Hey, Kenshin. Class is over. Let's go." Sano was waiting at the door while Kenshin was still placing his papers and books back into his gym bag.
"You go ahead Sano, I'll catch up. There's something about the curriculum that I wanted to ask Hijikata-sensei about."
Sano sent him a weird look. "Okay..." He walked out, waving a hand behind him.
"What, baka deshi?" Hiko said roughly.
"Shishou, Shinta says hello." With that, Kenshin darted out, an impassive Hiko staring after him. But Kenshin knew what that face masked.
"Shinta, huh..." Hijikata leaned back in his chair and placed his feet on the desk. "Its been a while since I've heard that name." He stared out the window.
"Man!" Sano flexed his arms and patted his stomach. "Hijikata-sensei is brutal!" Sano had made one too many attempts to talk to Kenshin before Hiko had snapped and made him do push ups and sit ups.
"Maa, you were talking during class..." Kenshin answered sheepishly, the peacemaker he was.
"Well, next class is P.E. We're almost done with the day." Sano said cheerily, in such a good mood despite the punishment Hiko made him go through.
Kenshin, being as observant as always, was naturally affected. "Um, Sano? Did something good happen while I was gone?"
"Oh, no. Its just that the teacher we have next is totally awesome and also totally hot." Sano said dreamily.
"Um..." Kenshin took a few steps away from Sano as he swooned like a fan girl.
Sano, not noticing, continued his rant about the P.E teacher. "I swear Kenshin, when you see her, even a guy like you will automatically fall in love with her."
Kenshin stared at Sano, a little afraid, not seeming to realize the insult entailed with "even a guy like you".
They walked into the gym, where a group of students was already gathered, gossiping and chatting loudly. Yahiko, Megumi, Kaoru, and Misao were already waiting, still in their school uniforms as they waited for their teacher to arrive and give instructions. Kenshin hurried over to them, a little eager to get away from the obsessed Sano.
"Oh, so Sano told you about sensei." Misao looked not the least bit taken aback. "Even all the girls here admit that sensei's in a different league, even if they are the biggest snobs in the universe." Misao chirped.
"What do you all think you are doing?" Kenshin shivered as a ki loaded with fury washed over him. "Shut up and get into line." A tall, long-haired teacher dress in a gi appeared from the office, his face set into an eternal glare.
"H-hai, Hijikata-sensei!" Everyone chorused automatically, gulping, as they all placed themselves in neatly arranged lines.
"Hijikata?" Kenshin leaned over to ask Sano.
"Oh yeah, same name as Sword Studies Hijikata. They aren't related. Though they really could be..."
"Sagara! New kid! Drop to the ground and give me 100 push ups!"
Sano groaned. "See what I mean?"
A pleasant, chime like laugh wafted over from the direction of the office. "Maa, Hijikata-san, you don't have to be so strict!"
"Okita-sensei!" The class cried out in relief. A female teacher in a gi strode over gracefully, her long, dark hair held up in a high ponytail. She was the opposite of Hijikata, an eternal smile etched on her face.
"Sagara-kun, don't worry about it. Just get in line." She said gently as she brushed past them to stand next to Hijikata. She whacked him on the shoulder gently. "Mou, you need to be less tense, Hijikata-san."
"Whatever, Saki."
Her laugh filled the empty gym again. "Most of you know me, but for new students, I'm Okita Saki. And this guy is Hijikata Toshizou. Nice to see everyone again! I hope we have a great year." She sent a knowing smile in Kenshin's direction and he immediately knew that she knew his secret.
OkitaSoujiro: Bahahaha! I think from my PenName, you can guess why I put Okita in here! Fem Okita FTW! :D I'm going to use her as sort of the 'sheath' for Kenshin, not in Tomoe's kind of way, but someone he could talk to. -squeal- I can't wait!
Dragonair™: Yup. Look forward to the next chapter: And this Insane Day Finally Comes to an End. The next secretary will be Suicune™. See you soon!