Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Honeysuckles and Moonlight Shreds ❯ Lingering ( Chapter 4 )

Author's note: OH MY GOD! I'm still alive!!! Guys, I'm so sorry this took so long. There was a lot going on in my life, college being rougher than I thought it was, working on many project at once. I had no much choice but to put my fanfictions on hold for the time. So much has happened lately, I don't even know where to start. I realized that living alone was not an option for me. I'm a social being and living with only a cat is not exactly what I call social life. Of course, I went out with my friends and to school, but it really isn't the same. To every one out there who are thinking of leaving their comfy little room in their parent's house for a more independent life, don't go alone! The stress of paying all by yourself is too much. My mother thought I turned anorexic so much the stress was getting to me. Now I shouldn't complain for a loss of weigh.. but really, I had to buy a bunch of new clothes because nothing would fit me anymore and I feared I might lose my pants in front of my class. And when you're not the one being paid to pose nude, it's not something you really want to happen. So I moved to my grandmother's house. It's much less expensive and there's a lot of people around here to heal the lonely blues when it comes. I want to say to many of my online friends that I'm sorry I was not able to talk with you. Please understand that it's been rather crazy around here. On the line of excuse, if any of you wish to see what I've been doing lately instead of writing my fanfictions, I would be delighted to send you a few scans of my work. You see, this little one is starting her own manga pretty soon. I'm still in the character creation and scenario writing phase, but there's already a few nice artwork ready. Anyway. Once again, I beg you're pardon, I'm on hands and knees, I'm not worthy of you!! Now with no further babbling of my part, I wish you a nice time.

Disclaimers:  After moving in the middle of my contract with my last landlord, I'm pretty much broke. I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, it belongs to Watsuki Nubohiro-sama. I have no ownership whatsoever and am merely using the characters for entertainment and no monetary purpose. Thank you for not suing this poor moneyless girl!

Honeysuckles and Moonlight Shreds

By Evil Karyta

Chapter 4: Lingering

  She uttered a profound and long sigh, the exhale of breath straining longer than it should, staring at a blank sheet of paper, hearing the clock ticking, driving the teenage girl mad. The fear of all writers, the white whole, feeling as if the lines of the sheet were mocking you, words stuck in your throat, making you chock in near-agony, and the feeling that never again will the muse visit you. Kaoru Kamiya was experimenting the horror of the writer's block. Frustrating, completely, utterly, overwhelmingly frustrating, and leaving her with an itching need to just tear the page apart, shout so loud the western part of the planet would hear.

  Her foot was stumping in irritation, the clapping of the old footwear resounding in the room, steering quite the many glares in her direction. Soon, the tip of her pencil was joining in the dance of impatience that each student knew of a variation depending of personality. And there it went again, the crestfallen sigh of utter displeasure, the pressure of time passing by and slipping out of her grasp. Stealing a glance at the clock, 10 more minutes away and still nothing. Frustration was at its pike, her stomach churning as stress pointed its ugly nose within her, shoulder tensing, foot giggling faster, pen tap-dancing incessantly.

"Miss Kamiya…"

  Startled, Kaoru looked up to stare into gentle violet eyes, worry darkening the color ever so lightly. She was so warped up in her own little world of loath and self-pity -- as all writer or even artists find themselves falling into when inspiration oh so cruelly elapse then -- that she had not saw or heard the young teacher approaching her in concern for her unusual nervous behavior. She blushed, all movements stopped dead in their track, right foot half way down to the next step of 'Slap-the-Floor-Nervously' and pen pushed into the table. The man gave her a reassuring smile, keeping his voice low so she would be the only to hear in the heavily silenced room.

"Take a deep breath and try to calm down. Nothing will come out if you rush yourself, just try to relax, it's only a practice after all," he whispered, winking at her.

"Y.. yes," came her stuttered reply, face burning and eyes flitting away from his gentle gaze.

  The redhead uttered a small, inaudible chuckle returning to his desk, mind wandering back to the events that took place only a few hours ago. Humor still lingered within the memory of this morning's actions -- which, in a way, was not very far from an action-comedy play when given a second thought --. Smile playing on his lips, eyes absently watching his class hard at work, lost in the depth of inspiration or drowning -- in Kaoru's perspective anyway -- into the sea of Nothing Good Out of Stupid Mind of Mine that seems to always get a grip of one or two students every dissertation or another.

  The morning has been very usual, nothing out of the ordinary. He had left earlier than usual, having a few things to get ready for the morning class, instruction sheets to copy and a few works to revise along with a few correction of the previous day's dictation. Kenshin had been the first teacher in, he would probably be the last one out as well. The personnel had grown used to it, having witnessed a few times when he had passed the whole night in the teacher's room, the janitor finding the poor man fast asleep on his chair amid the mess of paper and notes on the old desk.

  The young man, after a quick and fructuous visit to pay his tribute to the god of It's Too Dang Early -- or as everyone else call it, the coffee machine -- he had stump down on his chair and started correction of messy student's work. Seriously, how come so many of those young minds had the tendency to get over with it as fast as possible, to hell the clean paper, making correction all the more difficult. And here we're not talking about those who wrote so small one would need a telescope -- yes, yes, that big thing with which you spy on the stars above -- to read. At this rate, poor Kenshin Himura would soon need a pair of glasses, it would add to the 'I'm the Serious Teacher Here' look that most of his fellow educationist claimed he lacked.

  He was straining his eyes over one particularly tiny hand writing when a loud crashing sound screaming 'The Apocalypse has arrived!!' startled him, his heart going into overdrive, drumming into his ears like a battery solo of a power metal group that lacked musical talent. Of course, when one gets surprised, they lack coordination, and down went the pile of copies that had been, for once, neatly placed at the corner of an otherwise crumbling desk. In addition, as if it was not enough, so was the warm Styrofoam goblet of steaming coffee, spilling its richly -- but awfully tasting judging by the faces the Writing teacher made -- warm brown colored content on the once clean floor.

  Violet eyes wide, the red head pushed himself on his feet and stumbled out of the teacher's room in search for the origin of that new 'Big Bang', with a little bit of luck, he would finally discover the ignition to the entire universe, which no scientists with their mathematical brains and lines of calculation can seem to figure out. A slight bit on edge -- more like nerves near the breaking point -- Kenshin slid the door open, looking left then right, trying to locate the source of the previous cacophony. He barely had time to lay a foot on the corridor when a second sound explosion was heard, along with a painful sigh of desperation in the middle of loudly murmured curses that seem to have as a starting point the room next to him.

  Now, where was the normal, usual morning when he used to blank his mind in work in peaceful silence and blessed loneliness? It went flying right out the window, as a new world seemed to be on the making in the classroom next to him. Passing a hand through the bright locks or fire that was his hair, the young teacher slid the door open after taking a deep calming breath that, he was sure, would be necessary. He was ready for everything, having a short time ago given up on normality, he was sure nothing would faze him again. After all, nothing could be worse than a drenched student coming late in class on the first day of school year, right? Right?

  There in the middle of the classroom, semi-crushed under a pile of desk and chair was a cursing heap or long black hair, school uniform and pure energy growling and very much near the third phase of world in making -- in simple words, near star formation heat, or if you rather, steaming un frustration --. And life once again proved him wrong, there was worse things.

"Stupid good for nothing PIECE OF CRAP!!!" yelled the disheveled girl, pushing away the furniture that crushed her down to the ground, but with no real achievement, only managing to tangle herself further into her sad mess.

  Oh yes, she was furious, ready to break anything apart and shred to pieces the first person who would see her like this, without exception. With a loud growl or exasperation, Kaoru pushed harder on the crumbled pile of school furniture, having enough sense to thank the gods for the event to have taken place while nobody was around. That is, she was thankful until she heard a faint chuckle drifting by, mocking her, teasing her mood and making her blood boil. Her appreciation turned venomous and soon, the teenager was hotly pestering over every divination she could think of. Taking a deep breath, she charged up her most menacing death glare and loaded her ammunition of curse every 'un-lady-like' replay she had gathered over the years.

"Don't just stand, damn it. Or are you just too blind to see when someone needs a hand. If that's the case, don't bother and pass your way," she paused in the middle of her speech, struggling with the tangle of hard legs growling and grunting like a mad dog," or maybe you enjoy seeing a girl like this?" Saying that Kaoru angled her head so she could glare at the intruder upside down, her vision a bit distorted and unable to discern who exactly was by the doorframe. "Or maybe you're just too stupid. I doubt your brain can even register the pain some people are going through right now, all cause where you are taking your fun out of someone's misery!" Pushing some more on her tumbling cage, she raged more, wishing the day human invented such things never came. "You'd think someone would come to help, it's common knowledge, you know. Didn't your mother ever tell you to be good with people and helping them when in need?"

"I recall her saying so a few times, yes, Miss Kamiya."

  Kaoru froze in her struggle, her blue eyes widening to the size of spaghetti plates as the calm and collected voice reached her ears, went through the electric channel of her brain and hit her memory, placing the image of her teacher right on the big screen of her mind, the red marking screaming "Warning, warning" and the flashing red light going crazy in her encephalic HQ. She stood there frozen, not that she really had choice her present predicament rendering her already near zero movement capability, watching as the upside down image of the red head came closer to her. He was smiling gently, a glint of humor in his deep pools of amethysts. Kenshin reached for the chair that seemed to hold the pile together and carefully pulled it out, the rest sliding down around her in a loud roll of wood and metal crumbling to the ground.

"Mmm… Mr. Himura… I…" for once, she was speechless, her spunk and vitality drained with the perspective of yet another Saturday spent in the detention room. Her aunts were going to love this.

"Here, let me help you up," he said, offering her the hand she had asked for.

  All the color of her skin drained, aside of the bright blush that covered her cheeks, Kaoru let herself being lift to her feet by him. Her eyes were running all over the place, scanning the floor, the messy pile of furniture right beside her, the windows, the black board, anything that wasn't Kenshin. The teenage girl's hand were fumbling around, smoothing the wrinkles of her skirt, dusting her arms, trying to keep herself busy and ignore the unsettling atmosphere that surrounded her.

"Ah... um… Thank... you."

"Don't mention it," smiled the teacher, already starting to clean the mess. "Just how did you managed all this?" he then asked, his voice somewhat teasing.

  Kaoru's brow knitted, her temper rising again at the memory of this 'adventure' that had her buried alive. Humping, sniffing her anger, trying her best not to tear or break anything as she forcefully started to replace the annoying objects of her previous torture, she recalled the events leading to it, with great animosity.

"I was on cleaning chore today. Got up early so I could get done with it and pass on to other stuff, you know." She started, putting a chair back on its legs while talking. "I kind of went to bed too late yesterday and I was a bit tired and... well..." another desk back to its rightful position, "I guess you know how that is, when you're tired I mean. You don't really focus the right way." The girl uttered an uneasy laugh as she saw Kenshin pick up the half of a broken broomstick. "Well… that got stuck into a chair and I kind of tripped over the broom and then… everything fell."

  The black haired gave the young teacher a semi-apologetic, semi-uneasy smile, rubbing her foot behind her calf, her stare finding great enjoyment on the dullness of the floor patterns. Kenshin, on the other hand, had trouble keeping himself from laughing out right, not wanting to further embarrassed the girl or mark himself as a good target for stress and frustration relief -- or as we call it, a living punching bag --.

"You don't look like the clumsy type," he sputtered without thinking, feeling much like he would soon regret those words.

"Well you'd be if you only got 4 freaking hours of sleep," Kaoru snapped, and so did the chair she was pulling up.

  Rubbing the back of his neck, Kenshin tried to smooth his little mistake. "That's not what I meant…"

"That's how it sounded," was her angry muttered replay.

"What got you so late in bed," he inquired feeling that a slight change in subject and ignoring the low but heated retort was the best of option regarding the safe keeping of his life.

  She blinked, picking up a torn piece of paper. "I've been working on ideas for the contest, trying to make a list, you know… Reading stuff, other people's poetry over the… subject…" her voice felt a bit uneasy as she looked away, pulling a lock of stray hair behind her ear.

"You're having trouble with the subject?"

  Kaoru became stiff. Of course, the subject was hard, how can you write over something that never really was there. Honestly, when she agreed to participate in it, she never thought there would be a given subject, and especially not one that spoke of so much depth. While passion is a wide area to explore, attached to so many things, but when one never truly felt it… how can you describe it, much less prose over it?

"I... um... It's just…" She nervously rubbed her right forearm with her left hand, keeping her back to the educator. "I can't really describe something I don't think I ever felt…"

  Kenshin nodded, leaning on a desk, watching as the girl nervously played with the helm of her sleeves, her head turning every now and then to face different direction. He could see the rose spreading over her face, the silence not uncomfortable but not welcome either. Around them, the world seemed to be going on smoothly, an endless swirl of life that was slowly engulfing the establishment of knowledge. Not so far, behind the walls of the room, students were walking in, chatting, not much of a care in the world beside of the next assignment, the new love interest and daily teenager's problems.

"I was as surprised as you were when I received the instructions for the contest," he confessed. "It's hard to imagine such feelings when you are so young, and the many faces of passion can be disarming."

"You tell me…," she murmured feeling rather sarcastic.

"Passion is something very hard to describe. Most authors have had a hard time; it's a deep feeling burning inside. You can probably imagine it," as he talked, he got closer, thoughts swirling over old memories. The tone of his voice changed, the feel to it was not exactly different, but it seemed weary, somehow, but enchanting in the richness of his tongue. "You get crush by it, driven far away from normality, forgetting your mind, your purpose, yourself. Many only think of passion as something pleasurable…" he shook his head. "there's something very wrong about it, something painful as it grips you and pulls you down deeper in the swirl of the emotion that created it."

  She looked up and backward, "... Kenshin...?"

  The man was a few feet behind her, his gaze lost into the cerulean heavens, absorbed in the memories of long ago, far, profound. Kaoru somehow felt remorseful as she saw regret and sorrow cross those beautiful orbs of lavender. It was odd, she never truly noticed him before. Of course, he was handsome, the girl was not blind, but there was something more, something that called to her, something that… She shook her head violently; this was her teacher for crying out loud. The mere thought of it was just sinfully wrong. And yet… the melancholic way he would stare at the fine silk of the sky, the bittersweet undertone of his voice, it made the teenager tremble.

  She carefully sat on the desk that was behind her, facing the large clear windows, watching the fluffy forms of imaginary animals, furniture, food and whatever other daily object the wind would mold into them. Her fingers played with the worn wood at the edge of her invented seat, feeling the crafted marks of pencils and other sharp edge that took sinuous curves to draw words, symbols or sketches to mark they're passing into these room. She too, did leave a few marks of her existence, far back, where she belonged, where her dreams resided, where her life once meant something. Nevertheless, it was gone, forever, finding herself alone to craft herself new dreams, new meanings for her.

  Sighing, the girl whispered, "I…. Looking at it this way… it sounds so sad and harsh."

  Twisting his neck, Kenshin looked at the sobered teenager. She seemed somehow smaller, perched there on the old scholar equipment, her blue eyes watching the drifting clouds. It suddenly seemed as if a world has collapsed not so long ago, somewhere in the distance of her sapphire, a land of imaginings, sweet reveries had crashed and saw the real world. At this moment, in his mind, this small girl, as tiny as she seemed as she curled her legs together and arms hugging her chest, no longer appeared to him as a child.

"All of our dreams, of love, of passion, what we thought would be… they are just that. Idle thoughts, meaningless and illusive," alleged Kaoru. 

"I... didn't mean it that way, that I did not" he felt as if he had shattered her hopes. Settling himself on the desk that stood beside her, purple orbs watching the soft movement of the heavens and the turning back to his student, he tried to reassemble the broken pieces of his previous remorseful statement. "It doesn't always turn that way. Life is unpredictable, and words have many meanings. Kaoru, passion is not just what I described it as… I merely wanted to give you a different point of view, one that is not often explored by authors."

  She nodded slightly, letting her gaze travel down from the sky to the imitation of granite that was the floor. She uncrossed her feet, swaying them back and forth, the old reddish black laces hitting the old polished soles with a soft 'click'. Sadness still marred her crystals, her hand gripping the worn edge, her knuckles turning white. Something about his earlier statement had been so very true, so poignant; it left a knot at her guts. Her brow furred, thoughts swirling within her mind, turning into images that she wanted buried along with everything else. As if sensing her torment, there was a sudden warmth on her shoulder followed by a gentle pressure and soothing rub. She looked up to meet comforting amethyst and encouraging smile.

"Don't worry yourself over this. Passion or any other emotions for the matter, we all feel them differently. It's something that only one can feel, hard to describe, hard to name. Many others just don't have name. Sometimes, words are just not enough to express and silence can worth more than a thousand of words."

  Kaoru blinked, finding herself somehow trapped in the incredible color of his eyes so richly brought up by the bright color of his flaming mane. Something about this teacher, this person… this man was so different, as if a thousand lives worth of knowledge seeped through his veins. Maybe it was because of her young age, the few she saw of life, but within this man was something that appealed to her, loudly. She could feel it, deep inside her, making her heart set into a long stride of enthusiastic solo.

"I…" she stammered, at lost.

  Meanwhile, Kenshin had not withdrawn his hand, it hung there; warm her shoulder, as if glued there. It should have been odd; they should have felt out of place, somehow doing something wrong, awkward and clumsy. Wasn't it how it always turned out between student and teacher? But this felt, and it was the only oddity about it, very comfortable, easing them both. The golden warmth of the sun reached the room as time passed and both had yet to move. The silence was as cozy as the old patchwork comforter, heavy upon you but so comfortable, pining you in warmth and bliss instead of making you feel confined or caged.

  Their eyes locked, trapped in a precious moment when time would slip unnoticed, passing by gently, almost musically like. It was amazing, how without words, everything seemed to peaceful, calm and easy. It was a feeling both of them rarely ever experienced, and at this moment, she understood exactly what he meant, everything about words and their lack of importance. It was so clear, nothing could really describe how this moment, flitting and fragile, had so deeply moved them both.

  And just as it had become, it was gone along with the horrid shriek of the bell. Kenshin blinked, has time really flowed, and the most precious of things seemed to always fade too soon. Outside of their bubble, student and teachers rushed about to their daily routine of education and mind filling of knowledge. His hand slid down her shoulder, a faint smile adorning his warm feature, fingers lingering a few seconds before his arm fell to his side, already turning to leave. The room has been cleaned, not perfectly but the job had been done, it was ready to receive the flow of not so eager young minds on this early morning in the middle of the week.

  As he reached the exit, her classmates were already joining her in, chatting over petty subject, their youth sparkling, and innocence obvious in their lack of awareness in the future and what it could hold for them. She had sat there, blinking, watching the red head leave and realized that, somehow, during the short time they just spent together, something had changed.

  A small load of mobile sheets was shoved flat in front of him, forcing the young teacher out of his reverie. He looked up to see a girl smiling smugly at him before returning to her chair, as if proud of he deed, he frowned. A quick glance at the clock hanging about the teacher's door was enough to bring him completely back to reality. He stood, eyeing his class, many of the eager teenagers still frantically looking through their dictionary, trying to get rid of as many mistakes as possible, most of them truly aiming for the best grades, the rest simply slacking, their work scamp, not much caring even though the white exams were getting closer and closer. A furtive look to his right showed him that Kaoru had finally come in terms with her blockage, her graceful hand scraping the paper in black inking, the color not as rich as that of her hair. There was a twinge at his facial muscles, softening his feature, glad the girl would finish in time.

"Fifteen minutes left class," he declared watching as a wave of near panic shook his audience. "Those of you who are finished, you can give me you're copies and you may return home, you deserve it."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  Yahiko was feeling bored. Sanosuke and he had come to the gates of Kyoto High, waiting for Kenshin to make his exit and follow them for the weekly meal they shared. To the young turbulent boy, the only decent intake of food he had. His uncle did not have much of cooking ability, fish being the only things eatable the tall brunette could come up with, least to say it did not exactly hit his taste buds. Grinding the dirt with the tip of his new shoes impatiently, the spiky haired boy shoved his hand into his pocket; stomach pestering over the little it had been given this afternoon. Then his brown eyes widen upon a delicious discovery, a magnificent treasure buried deep into his pants. Excitedly, his hand was quickly tug out of the relatively tight space and there, in his palm, laid an old, partly melt chocolate bar.

  With eagerness only children had, he ripped the flashy envelop and buried the treat deep in his mouth, not taking his time to savor the rich taste of the chocolate mixed with nougat and creamy caramel. Hearing his nephew's squeal of delight, Sanosuke turned his head in the youth's direction envy quickly overtaking his warm brown eyes.

"What's that in your mouth brat?" he spat.

  Yahiko froze and gave his older companion a death glare, mouth full of the sweetness, he was ready to defend it with his life. "It's mine!"

  Raising an eyebrow, he took a step forward, a smug grin playing on his lips. "Where did you get that?"

"None of your business!" declared Yahiko, high on defensive, hiding the precious bit of food from the part-time gambler.

"I don't recall giving you any money…"

  Yahiko growled under his breath like a dog jealously protecting a bone. "I had some saving…" the truth was, he had no idea how he got it.

  Looking at the kid skeptically, spying on the candy enviously, he took yet another threatening step forward. "Really… money flows out of your hand just as easily as through mine!" Sano pointed a finger at the desired morsel of sugary goodness and declared vehemently, " It's mine!" before jumping right at the boy.

  A fierce battle issued, a cloud of dust engulfing the friendly duo -- as friendly as the crocodile can be to the fish in his mouth --. Students passing by to return to their home gave the two a strange look, a few girls giggling at the older one's behavior and there was also some cheering from mocking boys and girls. However, soon enough, Sanosuke was triumphant, candy bar in mouth, his foot pinning the poor kid to the dirty concrete savoring to his best the marvelous taste of victory -- today's flavor, nougat, caramel and chocolate -- taunting the poor boy viciously some may think.

"Give it back!" yelled to poor defeated Yahiko, wavering his hands about looking like a fish caught out of water and under the foot of a pelican.

  Swallowing his bite, Sanosuke grinned. "No wa--…"

  He never could finish his sentence as a foot was connecting with his jaw, sending him tumbling a few feet away, still standing though. The dark haired man glared at whoever dared to crash his fun and his gaze met with blue fire raging on a pretty girl's face. He smirked, nursing his aching cheek with a steady hand. The girl was rather small in stature, but the force in the kick she had sent his way was surprising, not enough to knock him off, but it was surprising none the less.

"Calm down Missy."

  Her eyes widen and fury was clearly written all over her face, too bad he could not read that well. "Give him back his chocolate." Her eyes leveled with his threateningly.

  Fate has this strange thing about it that no body understood. When you think you'd never see someone again, they get shoved right into your face, when you believe the world is a wide place full of people, a place easy to blend in, you always stumble across acquaintance of some sort. Yahiko stood up, feeling angry, his ego bruised badly, and when his eyes fell on his 'savior' all hell broke loose.

"Mind your own businesses you hag!" he snarled.

  Kaoru blinked and turned her attention toward the kid she thought she was helping. As soon as she recognized the bratty face, her cheek turned a frightening shade of red as anger overtook the young woman.

"You!" she yelled, pointing a finger at the kid who simply smiled smugly.

  Sanosuke was a bit at lost watching as his nephew and the violent girl both glared angrily at each other. He blinked several times, not understanding the abrupt change. Was she not aiming for him in the first place? The sting at his cheek reminded him so, but now it seemed that she would beat up the brat without any hesitation. The tall man smirked; she he was not the only one who's nerve could easily rise when near Yahiko.

"I can take care of myself!" claimed the child.

"Had I know it was you, believe me, I wouldn't have moved even a finger," venom was dripping in her every words.

"Girls can't fight anyway," he spew acidly.

"Come again!"

  She was brandishing her fist menacingly, anger and fury mingling in her pretty eyes. Whoever that girl was, she had spunk. Sanosuke liked her on the spot. Maybe he just found himself an ally in his quest on unnerving his pupil. The tension between the two was palpable, the air taking an electrifying feel of high anger voltage; so much that the brunette could swear he saw a spark. If no one intervened anytime soon, they would be at each other's throat within the matter of seconds. Sagara Sanosuke was thrilled with the idea, but sincerely hoping none of them would get hurt… too much.

"I said girl's can't fight!" he taunted again, stressing the last word so it would struck deeper.

"Why you little brat!"

  Losing her temper, she charged, her mind set resolutely in only giving him a scratch or two. Her hand rose high above his head, powerful, aiming for his cheek. Yahiko braced himself, closing his eyes and waited for the impact… that never came. Opening one brown eye, he saw near his face the hand that should have smack him, slightly trembling like a leaf about to fall off a tree. He looked up to see the girl's furious red face, her lips thin and pined, her eyes menacing a dangerous glint in their blue depth. Her chest rose and fell, trying to contain her rage. Why she had stopped eluded him. Sanosuke was just as flabbergasted; to him Yahiko had deserved the blow.

 Taking one last deep intake, her voice harsh, last remains of her anger. "If I hit you, I would be playing the same game. Don't get me wrong, you deserved it, but it doesn't mean it's right to hit." She gave icy glare in the direction of the tall spiky head to her left, the last part seemed to be more for him than the kid.

"You're right, Miss Kaoru," said a gentle voice behind her.

  A light blush spread across her cheek as recognition set in her mind. "M.. Mr. Himura.." turning her stunned expression behind her, she saw her teacher.

"Kenshin," he smiled before continuing. "I keep telling Sano not to play into his game. You're the first one who seems to understand."

  Sanosuke turned red be weather it was because of shame or not was hard to tell. "Say that again after one day with the brat."

  Yahiko frown, displeasure clear on his young face, it seemed he was ready to tear the giant of a man apart. Kenshin only smiled, Kaoru not really understanding the meaning of this all, her confusion flagrant for all to see. Sanosuke chuckled, keeping the murderous youth at bay, one large hand covering most of his head, the smaller one waving his arms, hands fisted in a hope to hit his uncle.

"I'm Sanosuke Sagara and the fly batter over there's Yahiko Miyojin, but I'm sure you met."

  Blinking the girl nodded. "Yes… a few weeks ago."

  Grinning, Sanosuke turned to his long time friend. "You ready to go?"

  Yahiko was heaving, and after some more fruitless swings at his tormenter, he gave up turning a beaming face toward the red head. "Where're going to eat today?"

  Kenshin smiled amiably at the kid, starting to walk toward the old rusted thing he called his car. "To the Shirobeko." He declared.

  Kaoru cocked her head to the side, blinking. "My aunt's restaurant?"

  The teacher shook his head affirmatively. "I heard the clientele was going down because of that new big American restaurant that opened right beside it. I just think we should encourage those who needs it."

  The black haired girl smiled softly, thankful to his kindness. "Maybe I'll see you there tonight. I'm lending a hand."

"May we offer you a ride there, Miss Kaoru?" offered the small man.

  Yahiko seemed about to protest, his mouth gaping ready to flare his protest loudly. "No, thank you. I need to go home and get a few things first." Explained the young woman.

"Alright then, we'll see you there."

  She acquiesced, turning to leave, pulling her heavy old backpack over her shoulder. Kenshin unlocked the door, inviting his friend inside. Yahiko jumped in, relieved the girl was not joining them, he fastened his seat belt happily, the prospect of a good meal shoving away more than one problem to the back of his mind. Sanosuke stood beside the car, watching the school girl strode away. He had to admit, she was very different from the rest of the students he had met since Kenshin started to teach 5 years ago. But something was nagging at him, some sort of warning sing flashing bright. He stole a glance at the red head who was already putting the key into the ignition, fighting with the old engine to get the darn machine working.

"Who's she?"

"Miss Kaoru?" innocently inquired the purple-eyed man. Sano concur with his head. "One of my student. Very talented young woman, that she is."

  The tall man curled his body so he could fit in the rather small transport. "You seem pretty close, closer than you ever been to a student before." There wasn't exactly a tone of reproach, but a faint warning seemed to be floating around his words.

"Whatever you mean?" eluded the red head, pulling the car into motion once the reluctant engine finally came into function.

"Kenshin…" warned his friend.

"I think you're imagining things, that you are."

  To Sanosuke, there was a blatant doubt in his mind. Sighing, he turned his head to the window, watching the world pass by. He only wished his friend would not get into trouble. Stealing a mournful glance at the young boy sitting behind him, he sight. They already went through so much.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

a/n: Ok, I hope this was good enough for you. The story is getting more complicated than I actually intended it to be and I realize the number of chapters is going to increase. It's going to be a long ride. I also wish to so, those of you who are 'fans' of Within Souls, I reached a difficult part of the story. I'm still working on it and I'm not about to abandon it. There's a chapter on the way, but I'm having trouble with a few background characters and a minor plot scratch, as I call them. The complexity of some characters is getting obviously deeper and it's a lot to handle all at once. I'll be working some more on it during the next few days or week but I'm positive that there might be one chapter for it out soon enough (but with me soon could be in a month.. heh.) Also, there will be an edited version of this chapter out soon, I just thought that it would be too cruel to make you wait 2 more days before getting the chapter. So in a few days, there's going to be a new version of this chapter out, keep you're eyes on it because their might be a few changes.

And now with the infamous KARYTA'S THANKS TO HER LOVELY REVIEWERS!!!

You guys overwhelm me with your wonderful comments, I'm in heaven!

Kaye: Thank you, you're comment really made my day. I was so unsure of my humor writing ability. I must say, what happened to Yahiko with the toaster did happen to me once. It's pretty frustrating when someone as Sanosuke (yes I know someone like him) note to you that it's not even plugged… Stupid morning syndrome… Glad you liked it!

emsdesire: The beginning part was one of my favorite too. Lot's of childhood found memories in there… kind of. Heh. I hope this one was just as enjoyable.

aglaia102: Thank you very much.

Aya the White Dragon : You have no idea how hard it is to write crudly in another language that is not exactly yours. I spent a long time trying to figure how to say a few things the right way. Maybe you found this funny because it's a possibility in your life that your toilet start vomiting at the ungood hours of the morning… heh. I had great fun with that part. But the whole story is enjoyable to write.. unless you get a writer's block.. sigh.

Leokia: I'm sorry this took so long. I'll try my best to shorten the wait between chapter but.. I'm a slacker. Sigh. I'm glad you like it anyway.

Black Chiney: Thank you.

bitterSWEET-love: I don't like the Tomoe/Kenshin paring that much. I never thought, even reading the manga and watching the OVA that they belonged together. But I must admit their story was really touching. I'm working on this the best I can, I hope it'll come up to your expectations.

Siluial: You have no idea how good it is to know that people laugh. As for the memory, everything will come to light one day or another.. heh. Just keep faith.

storm_warrior_91: Yes, the poem is from me. I don't really like to use what is not actually mine… beside characters for fanfictions. I'm glad you like them.

Female Hitokiri Battousai: My dear girl. I'm so, so sorry. I'm not angry at you at all you know. It's just that stuff around here is a bit complicated and my online time is not as frequent as I would want it to be. Besides, I had trouble with Hotmail Messenger, if you want to reach me try AOL, I know it's not as good as messenger but it's the only thing that works acceptably well on this crappy computer of mine. I feel so guilty now.. I'm so unworthy.. !!! (but on a guilty chibi Kenshin face trying to make you feel better.) Really, I missed you… Anyway, if you still want to talk with me and are not too mad at me you can reach me on AIM (screen name edenviator). Once again, I'm so, so sorry! Here, a big hug and a huge box of your favorite sweets!

Mishorou Mie: Thank you.

  Again thank you guys for you're patience. My mail box on hotmail is still open for you to send your angry message of unfulfilment. I'll try not to keep you in the dark too long. I check my mails at least once a week and I answer them all. Just make sure that you make it clear that it's for one of my stories because messages with 'hi' or 'hello' or any of the such are deleted. I get too much junk. Well, until next time, take care all of you guys!