Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten Tears ❯ Chapter 1

There had always been a secretive air about her school. Day after day as she walked the halls, the air always seemed “heavy” in certain places. And she was almost certain that there were secrets of events that had happened long ago at her school, events that everyone had forgotten and were unaware of except for the records sitting somewhere, hidden from view, covered with dust and mold from years gone by.

Over and over she had asked other students; those few who would talk to her, if they ever had the same feeling when they were in the school building, but usually they would just look at her oddly and quickly walk away.

So, after a while she had given up asking and instead kept her suspicions to herself, trying by herself to discover the secrets of her school.

But, try as she might, the girl could never find anything. Not even a hint of what the school may be hiding from her.

Finally, after a long time and lack of results, she was about to give up with her quest when she began seeing glimpses of red out of the corner of her eye. At first she thought that she was simply overworked, stressed and therefore seeing things… but she still continued to see the red just out of sight, and then soon began having the creepy feeling that someone was watching her.

It was really unnerving.

Before this the girl had never felt so uncomfortable, even in the large building of her public high school. Even when there was no one around her, or when there was actually anything to make her feel uncomfortable.

As a child, her father had always said that somehow she was able to see, able to understand, and able to hear things that no one else could ever try to.

Before this sometimes it had been helpful, but when she started glimpsing things out of the corner of her eyes because of this “gift” - that was just annoying.

And what made it even more annoying was how she kept seeing flashes of red everywhere, coupled with the constant feeling that someone was watching her.

For as long as she could, the girl tried to act normally and pretend nothing was wrong. But, as expected, it didn't work. The red and feeling of being stalked didn't disappear.

After this, it didn't take her very long to realize that they only happened when she was at school, at home she felt free and was able to breathe easily- nothing plagued her mind other than the normal teenage things.

So, she tried to spend as little time at school as she had to.

As the days passed by, the girl became more and more unsettled until it got to the point where if she wasn't in class, she escaped to the courtyard to sit under one of the oak trees.

It was under one of those trees on a beautiful, warm spring day when she met the strange boy.

At first the girl simply though that he was just one of the more quirky students at her school, but then she came to slowly realize that he was more than just quirky and strange- there was something off about him.

She had been relaxing under an oak tree after a particularly stressful day that had included two tests she had studied for hours for, a presentation that she was pretty sure she had completely failed, and a gym class full of gossiping blonde airheads.

It was enough to make her want to bury her head in a pillow and scream with frustration until she lost her voice.

But instead the girl had chosen a closer place to get away from the stress of her student life. She had called her parents to tell them she was walking home- rolling her eyes at their warnings- before staggering over to sit under one of the oak trees and then closing her eyes to enjoy the calmness around her.

Minutes later, she still felt incredibly stressed and not at all better.

So instead the girl clenched her fists, curled her knees to her chin and leaned back against the tree.

And, screamed.

“Why is being a high school student so frickin stressful?”

In response to her yelling, the birds that had been perching in the branches above and nearby trees began a loud ruckus -to equal her screaming- and quickly flew away, circling above her and then away off into the sky.

“Excuse me, alright are you?”

The girl started and opened her eyes, moving away from the trunk of the tree to slowly stand up and stare into the branches above her.

But, no matter how hard she looked, all she could see were branches and leaves.

Frowning, the girl called, “hello?”

A few seconds later she caught a second's glimpse of red hair and dark clothes amongst the brown and green of the tree.

“I can see you okay? Just come down here and stop hiding. The gigs up!” She yelled at the half-hidden mysterious figure. But whoever it was didn't respond or reappear again.

It took several minutes for her overworked mind to connect the glimpse of red hair in the tree to the glimpses of red she had been seeing around school out of the corner of her eyes.

This realization annoyed her greatly. “If you're the one who's been spying on me around school then you better get down here before I bludgeon you out of that tree! And I swear I will!”

Above her there was a noisy rustling of leaves and a few seconds later a red haired teen appeared, standing a few feet away from her on the leaf-covered ground.

The girl smiled coldly at him, “I knew you were there. Now, what do you want from me? Why do you keep following me?”

Opposite her the teen blinked in confusion and then smiled sheepishly, a smile that surprisingly soothed the anger she was feeling about him.

“Sorry I am, ma'am. To frighten or annoy you, I meant not.” Even his voice melted her anger; it was smooth and light with rich tones that made his feminine appearance seem like a lie. He was both handsome and exotic-looking in a way she had never seen before. Plus his accent, one she didn't recognize, only made him seem even more exotic.

“Why, why didn't you just come up to me? Why were you following me?” She managed to ask quietly, her anger having melted into embarrassment and (nervousness).

The strange boy was silent in response to her questions, instead simply standing there with the fading daylight shining on his light hair, outlining his profile in glowing sunlight.

In the minutes that stretched on, the girl took the opportunity to closer study this strange boy.

He had on long, dark cloth pants that only came down to a few inches below his knees and looked they had been through rough times with the many tears and holes in the legs. Below the odd pants were dark socks that were pulled all the way up to the leg hems, and the girl wouldn't be surprised if they also had holes in them from constant wear.

The boy also wore a faded black shirt that most teenage boys wouldn't be caught wearing unless they were at prom or a very formal event, a shirt made of fancy material, with a high collar and buttoned cuffs. Over this he wore a dark buttoned sweater that appeared to be newer than anything else he wore.

But what really completed the oddness of his appearance was the strange tweed cap set on his head that at least some of his hair seemed to be hidden under.

All together it made him look much older than the years just his looks gave him, and also made her feel like he was from another time altogether. Actually….

“Just how old are you?” She asked curiously, studying him still.

He simply blinked at her and shuffled his foot on the ground as the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward in a shy smile. “It matters? Why age matter more than knowledge gained over person lifetime? Person should be praised and respected for person own knowledge more than praised for age.”

The girl stared at him, his words seeming extremely mature for a boy who seemed to be the same age as her. There were few boys she knew of who had something on their minds other than girls, alcohol or sex. Most of the teenage males at her school were complete idiots and cared very little about school, or their grades. Whoever this boy was, he seemed to have a very unique outlook on life- plus his charming smile didn't hurt at all.

“I, I suppose not,” she replied quietly, finding herself not able to look him in the eyes. “I haven't seen you around school before, what classes are you in?” The girl asked him eagerly, she was enjoying someone else's company for the first time in many years and didn't want him to leave anytime soon.

His smile faded into a gentle, yet intense expression that led her to believe he was considering whether or not to answer her questions, and also that for some reason he was being wary and cautious of her.

Just when she was beginning to feel uncomfortable the boy spoke again, his expression softening slightly. “Not much interesting class. I only try to live each day in best way. Like everyone.”

“Right,” the girl agreed, smiling as well.

“I am very sorry for disturbing you, I did not mean to. I feel horrible. If you wish, I will leave,” during his apologies, or what she took as apologies, the strange boy bowed several times which caused his hat to flop around on his head and also for some of his hair to slip out from under it.

It was then that she realized he was barefoot.

“You're not wearing any shoes!” She exclaimed, pointing at his feet.

The boy blinked blankly at her, his confused expression making her warm to him even more, and followed her finger down. “Oh, you're right. How silly I am.”

She suddenly had the urge to hit her head against something hard. “Why were you up in the tree?” The girl asked with the intent of changing the topic before she began scolding him, or hitting his head against something hard.

“I enjoy nature. It is relaxing. A tree is a very good place to read.” The corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly, “as long as one does not fall out of tree. I imagine to do this would be unpleasant.”

The girl frowned; it seemed he was, truly, answering her questions- but only doing so by saying unimportant things that didn't truly hold any value. “What were you reading?” She asked, hoping he would remain in this cooperative mood. But he didn't appear to her to be someone who carried many belongings with him.

His smile returned slightly as he glanced over his shoulder, up at the tree. “I am, not certain.”

“After a few seconds of thoughtful silence, he walked back towards the tree and disappeared up into the branches until she could no longer see him.

When the boy had taken several moments to return, she assumed he had left and hidden again. So then she turned around and began walking away, a little disheartened that he had gone without saying goodbye. The first time in awhile that she had found someone who truly fascinated her (and didn't annoy her), and they had vanished.

It seemed that was just what her life was like.

“Ma'am, if you wait a moment, please.”The strange boy's soft voice called from nearby behind her. “However, if you cannot wait this is alright.”

She turned around on her heel, her shoe nearly slipping on the grass, to find herself staring into shadowed dark eyes. “No, no I'm fine. I don't really have anywhere to be,” the girl replied, feeling strangely transfixed by his oddly mature gaze. Suddenly she had the impression there was much more to this boy than she was aware of.

The side of his mouth curved slightly, the fading sunlight from behind him casting an almost unearthly glow around his figure. “Thank you very much.” He shifted the backpack now slung lazily over his shoulder, “how would miss respond if I invite miss for ice cream before she return home?”

“How did you know I was on my way home? I could have been going anywhere, I could-“she stopped herself from questioning the boy further, not wanting to follow through with the earlier physical threats she had made. Even though by now she was fairly sure he had actually stalking her recently.

In response the boy merely smiled secretly and tilted his head to one side.

“Alright, fine then. Don't answer my question. But in reply to your question, I'm sorry but I really do need to get home.” The girl forced a smile onto her face, “goodbye,” she whispered before walking away towards the parking lot.

She was almost to the edge of the courtyard when she heard him speak again.

“Can I ask one question more from miss? Please?”

She blinked at the random, sudden question then smiled brightly, “its Kaoru. My name's Kaoru.”

“Kaoru, beautiful name to suit more beautiful woman,” the boy remarked while looking at her with an expression she wasn't sure how to understand. But, she was grateful for his compliment anyways.

So, before Kaoru lost her courage she asked, “What's your name?”

To her astonishment he looked completely surprised, as if no one had ever asked him such a simple question before. It made her wonder just exactly who he was, or how many people he had spoken to before her.

He didn't reply for a while, instead he just stood under the tree with the backpack slung over his shoulder and the wind gently ruffling his loose clothes, as well as his hair that was free from under his hat. She still couldn't read his expression, except for the brief show of surprise he had shown several minutes ago.

Finally the boy said softly, his voice coming to her as a whisper, “Ken,” he paused, “its Ken.”

The girls smile returned, as bright as before, and bobbed her head slightly, “it's nice to meet you.”

Ken smiled softly, and bowed to her, “the same to you ma'am,” at her glare he amended, “Miss Kaoru. I anticipate meeting you for many days.”

She wasn't quite sure how to interpret the last part of his sentence, but at least he was being respectful to her- albeit in an odd, unfamiliar way that people she knew didn't use and a way that she didn't all together understand.

“Um, thanks. I think. Now, I'm really sorry but I do have to go now-I'll come find you soon, alright?” Kaoru began slowly walking backwards, all the while smiling at him, “I promise.”

When he nodded in agreement the girl waved and turned around, continuing towards the parking lot in a slightly happier mood.

Just as she walked into the parking lot, Kaoru turned to smile and wave at him.

But, when she looked back- the boy wasn't there. He seemed to have disappeared.

Every day from then on, after school Kaoru went out to that same tree and waited for the strange boy to come.

He would always come without fail, arriving only a few minutes after she sat down under the tree- appearing with a small, welcoming smile and carrying the same backpack. From day to day his outfit would change slightly, but he always wore pants that came slightly below his knees and a long sleeve shirt- although not always with a collar, or as fancy as the one he wore the day they had met. He didn't often wear the odd flat hat again, most of the time his red hair was free and tied up in a long ponytail. She was constantly fascinated by his hair; it was so unique and pretty for a boy's, and his eyes even more so.

But whenever she questioned him about his strange appearance, the boy would give her one of his odd, intense looks and would then quickly change the subject to something entirely different.

Although sometimes, when she asked him about certain things he would get a strange look on his face, and his personality and behavior seemed to change right before her eyes. But it never lasted long, and he would quickly return to being the friendly red-head she knew.

Quickly after their first initial meeting, the feeling between the two formed into the same as between friends who had known each other for many years.

They felt comfortable about speaking candidly with each other, and often bickered or playfully criticized each other during their many, reoccurring conversations. For some reason she felt very comfortable around Ken, more so than the other kids at her school. He was just, different from them. She knew that most of the time he was honest and friendly with her, but sometimes she was very aware he was hiding things from her.

Especially when the girl questioned him about certain personal matters.

But, even though he often annoyed her with his vagueness about such things, important things, she much enjoyed the time with him. Often she wished to spend more time with Ken, but she only ever saw him when she was on school grounds and there weren't many people nearby. The few hours with him were usually the high point of her day.

She found him quirky sometimes; especially the times when his mood would abruptly change during their talks, or the times when his speech altered from his usual odd, broken English the boy usually spoke in, to an odd language he seemed fluent in. Ken would often continue until he seemed to realize his mistake and repeated what he had said before in English. Often he would give her one of his odd, looks in silent answer- the gazes that almost always melted her heart. Or how every time, Ken brought a book with him in his backpack- a mystery or romance novel written in, once he showed her, weird-looking characters that confused her and of which she couldn't understand how he read (yet he insisted he could read them)- and attempted to explain the plot of to her during lulls in conversation. The boy always had a book with him in that backpack, along with, quite often, a notebook and several pens.

What amused her, and surprised her when she realized it, was that Ken never carried any electronics or personal items other than a wallet with only a little cash yet no identification. Also, unlike other teenagers, the redhead didn't seem to own a cell phone, an iPod, or even a watch- and refused to buy any no matter how much she tried to convince him that he needed one.

Sometimes she felt the boy liked being permanently fixed in the time before a lot of the main technology was invented, and therefore didn't want anything to do with technology, or the hassles he claimed they brought. Although she suspected somewhat that he just didn't want to be tied down to anything… or perhaps anyone.

Ken was a very strange person, especially how sometimes she thought him very mature and knowledge for the teenager he appeared to be, but then other times he could act like an immature two year old, but either way she cared a lot for him. And was fairly sure he cared for her, at least a little bit.

Whenever they were together, it was as if all of her worldly cares melted away during that time, along with any other negative aspects in her life. With him the world became a much better and brighter place, even for a short amount of time each day. Ken had this calming and comfortable presence that always managed to soothe her.

She felt like her life had gotten much better now that she had become friends with Ken.

Not long after they first met, Kaoru began spending more and more time with Ken in the afternoon. She would wait for him as soon as school ended, by the large oak tree in the courtyard and then after he came the two of them would go somewhere and talk for hours until the girl had to go home for dinner.

Then the process would begin again each day as soon as the last bell had rung.

“Ken?”

He looked up at her from his sundae, “hai?”

Kaoru rolled her eyes, “you mean yes, right?”

“Yes, anything wrong?” The redhead looked slightly worried, although the image was ruined when he ate a spoonful of the sundae.

The girl shook her head, “nothing really. I just wondered, you've never really told me a lot about yourself- of the personal nature anyway- and I guess I was just, curious.”

Ken blinked innocently at her and slowly slid the spoon out of his mouth. “If I honest, not much to tell,” he mumbled around his mouthful of sundae, before swallowing.

“Come on Ken, you can do better than that. Give me anything,” she encouraged, taking a bite of her own sundae.

He looked thoughtfully over at her, tilting his head to one side, and after a long pause he said softly, in complete seriousness, “Color blue favorite, animal people favorite, food ramen favorite.”

For several seconds she stared at him, trying to fully figure out what he had just said.

“What?”

One side of his mouth twitched upward in what she recognized to be the beginning of one of his quirky smiles that weren't really smiles. “Color blue favorite, animal-“

“I heard you the first time! You don't have to repeat yourself.” The girl attempted to glare at him, but he only looked amused at her outburst.

After spending many hours with him, Kaoru had realized that only some of the time she could read his emotions and thoughts by attempting to interpret the look in his eyes. The only problem was there were many times when they were together and she found herself not able to understand his thoughts- and therefore wasn't certain what to say.

Sometimes he could be an absolute mystery.

Ken merely continued to look amused and replied, “I answer question. You say tell something about me and I do so.” To possibly dissuade her from asking him again, he ate another spoonful of his sundae- and then another.

“Well, if you insist on continuing to be so unhelpful and vague then will you at least explain a bit?” She glared at him, “and I believe you've had enough,” the girl scolded, pulling his sundae over to her side of the table.

Ken gave her a look of long-suffering, glancing every few seconds at his sundae with longing eyes. But when Kaoru still didn't return his sundae, even though he was looking at it so longingly, the boy sighed and rested his head on his arms on the table.

“People watch I like. Like people odd habits note. Like see people each other interact. Like able watch and people know not. People interesting creatures, interest to watch.”

The girl sitting opposite him stared bewildered at him, surprised by his abrupt seriousness.

Before now Ken had been talking to her in a mocking and joking tone, baiting her for jokes and teasing her about her personality and habits. Which, now that she realized it, he could only have known if he had been watching her for awhile and knew her well. So why was he acting serious just as soon as he actually answered a personal question.

“So you were watching me back then,” Kaoru accused, leaning forward across the table.

His expression didn't change. “This I already admit, miss. There no reason scold me for thing I already say,” he looked up at her through his bangs with one eye, the other one being closed and half covered. “I not understand why this you upset about.”

“Because I don't like being spied on by people I don't know!” The girl shrieked, glaring fiercely at him.

“Now me you know,” Ken attempted to soothe her growing temper with words and a soft smile.

If anything, her glare intensified at his smile. “Not as well as I would like to!” She yelled back at him, “and don't try to worm your way out of this one Ken! You never tell me anything…”

Opposite her the boy sighed tiredly and buried his face in his arms, hiding his expression from her.

“Apologize much if behavior annoy. If no answer much annoy miss. But,” he smiled warmly at her, one of his half-sided ones, “I secretive person.”

“Damn it Ken!” Kaoru jumped to her feet, slamming her hands down on the table. “Don't give me that! Why must you always be serious and then not serious at all? Just pick one emotion and stick with it! Have you ever been serious in your life? And, while you're answering those questions, answer one more: why do you refuse to tell me anything about yourself unless I practically force it out of you? I've told you a lot about myself, so why do you refuse to return the favor?”

During her yelling Ken sat opposite her with a blank expression on his face and a meaningful look in his eyes-although she wasn't sure why. But, it tended to further annoy her.

Once she had finished shouting at him, and for a few minutes after, he still hadn't said a word.

“Ken…”

The redhead just continued looking at her in that way of his, until Kaoru had the urge to him over the head with something hard.

Finally his intense, studious gaze faded into a warmer more carefree expression that she had a feeling was supposed to calm her- but she also had a feeling he was trying not to smile.

“Miss, I sorry but…”

“Don't, don't say it. Come on Ken, I ask you to tell me something important about yourself and you tell me your favorite color and your favorite food?” She clenched her fists, leaning forward, “that's childish Ken!”

For the first time since the girl had met him, the redhead appeared upset and possibly angry. It was so different from his usual smiles and warm persona that she began feeling slightly uncomfortable.

He studied her for several long minutes before getting out of his chair to stand by the edge of the table. The boy held her gaze as he said quietly yet callously, “I leave now, goodbye miss.”

Then without looking back once, the boy walked down the aisle and out through the two revolving doors in the front of the coffee shop. A few seconds later she saw him walking past on the sidewalk and down the street.

Kaoru laid her head down on the table, feeling like she had completely messed up everything with her only friend.

The next day when Kaoru went to wait for Ken in the afternoon, under the oak tree, he never appeared.

She waited for hours until the sun had gone down and the air turned cold, but he still didn't come. During the day she hadn't seen any hint of him at all either.

It was the same for the next few days at the school. The previous glimpses of red and the sense of being followed and watched that she had felt earlier were gone now. She was free from them.

So why did the girl feel so awful about it? Why did she feel like part of her life was missing when she wasn't able to spend time with Ken every day? It wasn't that she was obsessed with him or anything, nothing like that.

In a desperate attempt to find the boy so she could talk with him- although she refused to apologize, Kaoru asked some of the students at her school who she was acquainted with if they knew or had heard of the red-haired boy.

But to her surprise, no one had. None of the people she spoke to recognized his name or his fairly unique appearance.

It was as if either he didn't exist, or if he did exist, no one knew of it.

Now feeling even more curious about the mystery that was Ken, the girl increased her search for him.

However, the next day as she searched for him after school, searching around and near the courtyard, she once again glimpsed a flash of red out of the corner of her eye- just the same as before she had met Ken.

Exclaiming in silent delight the girl turned, expecting to see her red-haired friend (yes, friend), standing under the large oak tree waiting as always for her with a smile.

But when she looked, there was no one there. The area under the tree was empty.

Attempting to sustain her dying hope, Kaoru took a step towards the tree and slowly raised her head to stare intently up into the branches, eager for a glimpse of her friend.

And, to her surprise she saw him there, several yards up, leaning against the trunk of the tree lounging lazily on one of the higher branches with one knee tucked up against his chest and the other stretched along the length of the branch. He held a small paperback loosely in his hand, resting the book against his knee at a height where his dark eyes could easily scan across the page, the light wind gently ruffling the hair that sometimes fell across his eyes.

As she watched, he came to the end of a page and as his eyes rested for several seconds his free hand raised and turned the page in a fluid motion. Then he began reading again, his eyes running across the page again as if nothing had happened.

Kaoru stared at the boy for awhile; captivated by the view and the candidness of the moment she had caught him in. She felt slightly that as soon as she had seen him, time had stopped for them- as if time no longer mattered for the two of them, or could no longer touch them. It was a very odd feeling, but didn't last long since she soon regained her senses and was able to finally fully comprehend the sight before her eyes.

After so many days, after so much searching, Ken was here in the tree; Ken was only a few yards away.

She gave a quiet cry of relief and happiness, and then began hurrying towards the tree.

As the girl moved forward Kaoru kept her eyes locked on the red-head, although he didn't seem to notice her presence at all. Step by step she attempted to focus, but as she neared the tree little by little the boy disappeared from sight.

By the time Kaoru was standing underneath the tree branches, she could no longer see him at all.

Confused, the girl paused near the tree trunk to raise her head in order to gaze up into the branches above. But there was no difference in what she saw.

Ken was no longer lounging up on the tree branch, reading a book.

For several minutes she stood there, looking carefully around her and also looking carefully up into the branches. But no matter how much or how long the girl looked, he wasn't there, and never appeared either.

Disheartened, Kaoru turned and walked back towards the parking lot in the same direction of her house.

Up in the tree, hidden by the leaves and limbs, Ken sat perched on a branch watching as the girl he had found himself gradually caring for, walked away with her head lowered and a sad aura surrounding her.

“I so sorry Kaoru, I not mean hurt you,” he whispered quietly, the book hanging forgotten in his fingers as his dark eyes followed her shadowed profile until he could no longer see her.

The boy continued sitting on the branch silently, gazing off into the distance until the sun was nearly melded with the horizon.

Once it was almost completely dark, Ken sighed and ran his fingers lightly through his hair.

After a few moments he half-turned to grab his backpack, stuffed the book inside it and then zipped the bag closed.

When the boy slung the backpack over his shoulder, and finally jumped down off the branch, he never landed, or even touched the ground.

The day afterwards, Kaoru stopped returning to the tree to look for Ken after school. She gave up attempting to find him, although she continued keeping an eye out for him, and apologize for what she had said. After she realized that Ken was apparently ignoring her- after disappearing when she saw him in the tree and attempted to confront him- and also didn't care for her anymore, even after all those moments they had spent together which obviously meant nothing to him.

A few times the girl had felt like crying, and had gotten quietly upset, but she found her strength and simply devoted herself to schoolwork and academics instead.

For a few days her method of ignorance and imagining worked, but after it failed she simply felt lonely and missing his presence.

Nothing she tried worked, and when, after a few days her parents actually noticed they tried their own methods of cheering her up.

But instead she simply continued on, day after day.

It was a normal, lazy weekend evening in Kaoru's family's household when her life returned to some semblance of normality.

Her father had been lying on the couch, reading the newspaper for several hours, when the doorbell rang.

“Kaoru, can you get that?” He yelled in the direction of the stairs, setting the paper down on his knees.

After a few seconds of silence the man sighed, rubbed his forehead and slowly slid off the sofa.

As he slowly walked towards the door, the doorbell rang again causing him to groan. “I'm coming!” He yelled.

When the man finally arrived at the door, he reached out towards the doorknob and slowly, slowly opened it.

The sight that met his eyes and the person standing on the doorstep caused him to stand in surprise for several minutes, in the unexpectedness.

Standing before him was a boy of around his daughter's age, with brilliant red hair wearing what appeared to be a pair of old, hand-me-down pants that didn't quite fit him and only came down to slightly above his ankles. The shirt he had on made the boy appear to be on his way to a formal event, and the long socks the boy wore looked ridiculous on him. Together with this attire, all the clothes looked like they had survived one or two assaults by a shredding machine or a bunch of rocks. The flat cap looked like it had been smashed in, and the shoes had many marks on them as well as worn laces and soles.

He didn't quite like the impression the boy gave from this, although he otherwise seemed like a normal teenager- it was just his appearance that was off.

The man frowned, “can I help you?”

On the doorstep opposite him, the boy turned and smiled warmly at him. “Good afternoon, sir. I give good wish on this very beautiful day.”

Kaoru's father stared, albeit rudely, at this strange boy who had raised his head to reveal vivid violet eyes and long, red bangs beneath the cap of his hat. He had never seen anyone with such unusual coloring.

“Thank, thank you,” he stuttered in reply, his hand still on the doorknob. “How can I help you? Do you need something? I'm afraid if you're selling something that we are absolutely not interested.”

In response the boy stared at him with wide eyes for a long pause before he suddenly started laughing. His laughter was light and warm, without any hint of mockery that people usually had. It sounded like a child's laugh, and it was also infectious.

When the boy finally stopped, he drew in a long breath and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I sorry, sir. I was very rude. I much apologize, sir.”

To the man's surprise the boy actually took off his hat and bowed in a stylish manner, just like people used to decades ago in order to show respect.

After the stranger had straightened himself, and replaced his hat, he said smiling, “I wonder if possible to speak with Miss Kaoru.”

“Miss Kaoru?” He frowned, “you mean Kaoru?”

The boy nodded.

“I'll go see if she's free,” the girl's father said, giving the boy one last look- just now noticing the bouquet of flowers poking out from the top of his backpack, then stepped back inside the house and closed the door.

“Kaoru?” Her father called, knocking on the door to his daughter's bedroom.

“Yeah!”

The man took this as an invitation to enter and did so, opening the door and walking inside.

She was lying on top of her bed reading what appeared to be one of the romance novels she had recently become obsessed with. After he came in, she made an odd squeaking noise and stuffed the book under her pillow.

“Dad? What's up?” The girl asked, reclining against her pillows.

The man leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms, “there's a boy downstairs on the doorstep who says he wants to talk to you. So I came up to…. `Fetch' you I suppose.”

“A boy? Really?” Kaoru asked, sitting up eagerly from her pillows before she swung her legs over the side of the bed.

Her dad nodded and smiled at her, “yes, you heard me right. There's a boy here, and can I just say before you go downstairs that I'm very glad you're making more friends at school. I'm proud of you for taking the big step, I know how you feel about talking to people you don't know.”

Kaoru smiled brightly at her father, blushing slightly, and ran over to him to tightly hug him. “Thanks dad,” she kissed him on the cheek, “I'll be right back.”

Just as the girl was about to disappear down the hall and then the stairs, her father walked out and called after her, “Kaoru! Just who is this guy?”

His daughter turned on the fifth step down and smiled at him again, “just a good friend.”

Kaoru ran wildly down the stairs and rushed over to the door before seizing the knob and quickly opening the door in excitement.

Standing there on the doorstep, just as she had hoped, was the redheaded boy she had come to think of as a very good friend- and who she missed dearly.

“Ken!” The girl shouted happily and rushed towards her friend to tightly wrap her arms around him.

As he turned around at the sound of his name, the boy suddenly found himself enveloped by warm arms as a warm body pressed against his front. He slowly raised his arms to cautiously wrap them loosely around her, enjoying her warmth. It had been so long since he had been able to hold, as well as touch, another person and to feel their warmth. He'd only known coldness and loneliness for such a long time that the girl's presence was a very welcome change; she had helped him revive his few ties with the real world. Ever since Ken had met the girl he felt as if his life had briefly returned to how it had been many years ago, in her company he was once again able to enjoy himself- and he was very grateful to her for the favor.

So, in the same spirit, he continued to gently embrace her and lightly moved his hand up to between her shoulders. “Wonderful to see again Miss. I miss you much.”

After he spoke, Kaoru stepped back- still within his arms, to look curiously up at him.

“Ken, where have you been the past few weeks? Were you ignoring me, or avoiding me? I, I just haven't seen you in so long…. I,” she glanced away from him, “I've missed you, a lot.” The girl smiled softly into the distance, causing Ken to feel self-conscious.

“I apologize Kaoru. I not mean leave Miss alone for much time after talk in café, but I sidetracked.” Ken removed his arms from around her waist and slid one of his hands into a pocket while he raised the other to gently rest on her shoulder and from there lightly play with the ends of her hair. “Forgive me for do this, please. I also ask you forgive for what earlier say at café. I mean and rude words say.” He bowed slightly in the small open space between them, releasing her hair, before straightening once more.

She turned back to look at him, still smiling, and shook her head. “Don't worry about it. I'm just very glad to see you again.” The girl slowly slipped the hand on her shoulder into hers.”Thank you for coming to visit me here,” Kaoru bit her lip and frowned, trying to settle her thoughts.

In the meantime Ken removed the hand from his pocket and slid the backpack off of his shoulder to further open it. From inside, the boy pulled out a small, slightly flattened bouquet of flowers and then held it out to Kaoru.

When she saw the flowers, the girls face lit up with joy and a large grin stretched across her face. “Oh Ken, they're beautiful! Thank you so much!” She exclaimed happily, carefully taking them in order to examine the beautiful flowers more closely.

“I glad them you like,” the redhead replied softly, watching her with an amused and calm expression. He was friends with such a remarkable woman, and was very thankful that fate had given him a wonderful chance to get to know her- at least as he was capable.

The girl glanced up at him, still beaming, “I'll just go put these in a vase and water, alright?”

With that she turned back towards the house and walked inside. After she waved at him, Kaoru giggled as she nearly skipped through the living room and then out of his sight.

Ken watched the girl until he could no longer see her and then turned to gaze out towards the empty street and lawns. He was glad she had enjoyed the flowers so much, he had gotten the idea when he passed a flower shop on his way to her house and then decided to buy some for her. She deserved those flowers- although they weren't nearly as beautiful as Kaoru was.

Inside the house, the girl took the flowers to her kitchen before filling a vase with water and placing the flora inside. She fanned them out slightly and then walked back into the living room carrying the vase which she placed in the middle of the dining table.

When Kaoru turned towards the front door, she expected for Ken to be standing nearby. But he wasn't anywhere in sight, no matter how much she looked around.

“Ken?”

On the doorstep, the redhead was shaken from his quickly darkening thoughts at the sound of someone calling his name (it had been so long), and turned to see Kaoru standing a few feet away framed in the doorway while looking at him with her hands on her hips.

“Why are you still standing out here?” She asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

He bit his lip and frowned, trying to think of a plausible excuse that Kaoru would accept instead of considering suspicious. “I, I-“the boy paused, “enjoy view of you, you, neighborhood- and of you house.”

Kaoru stared at him for several seconds, trying to figure out if he was being truthful or not. “Alright then,” she finally replied with a sigh, “are you finished enjoying our view?”

Even though she sounded annoyed and impatient with him, he took her small smile to mean that she was instead actually amused.

“Yes,” the redhead answered with his own sly smile. But, it faded when the girl turned once more- now with her back to him- and said, “Well, good then,” before she walked back through the living room and out of sight again.

Despite her words, and apparent teasing, Ken remained on the doorstep staring into the dimness of Kaoru's living room. He wanted to follow her, not eager to answer more of her questions- as selfish as that sounded. In the short time they had known each other, Ken had discovered he cared deeply for her- and yet at the same time dreaded the moment when she found out the truth about him, because he knew that sooner or later she would.

And then, as soon as the girl found out, she would leave- he was certain of it.

“Ken! Will you get in here already? Stop stalling!”

The boy smiled tensely at the sound of Kaoru's annoyed voice, and then took a slow step forward and then another until he was right outside the doorway- barely an inch away.

After a moment's pause he moved again and, for the first time in countless years, he entered someone's home.

Following Ken's visit to Kaoru's house, the two of them quickly became even closer as friends.

 

The afternoons when Kaoru wasn't swamped by schoolwork, even on the weekends, she would walk the school grounds in order to find Ken and spend time with him.

She often wondered during the later days of their friendship why usually the only times when Kaoru saw him was near the school- he seemed to only leave the school area when they went places together. Otherwise Ken was always nearby the school building, or on its limited grounds.

But then she always had so much fun with him that while they spent time together the girl would forget the questions she always wanted to ask him, and only remembered afterwards.

She had quickly realized that he was a very fun person to be around, although many times she found him to be incredibly distant and vague at times. Ken could change from being comical and making her laugh so hard that her sides hurt, to suddenly being nearly silent and either side-stepping her questions or answering with one-word statements or changing the subject all together. He was a very strange person in all, especially when it seemed she always found him sitting in the same large oak tree reading one of his novels or when he drifted into speaking in his strange language she couldn't understand and from which his broken English seemed to come from.

Ken intrigued her so much that she began intently watching him and studying him. During the school day Kaoru kept her eyes open for the familiar red hair while at the same time listening intently for the also familiar light, male voice with the barest hint of an accent she still had yet to place. But, all the while she listened and watched the girl never heard or saw anything. This puzzled her and greatly heightened her curiosity about the redhead. Kaoru figured if she had any way to get access to the school records and look at them, she could use them to uncover the answers to her many questions.

But, alas, she wasn't able to find such answers. So the girl decided she would have to use more old-fashioned methods, otherwise known as talking to the inhabitants of her school- both students and teachers.

In their many, and lengthy, after-school and evening talks Kaoru never mentioned to Ken the research and inquiries she was looking into about him. Instead they discussed more appropriate subjects for people their age, although Kaoru often had the suspicion during those times that the redhead knew something, or suspected something about what she was doing in her free time when they weren't together- and that it somehow concerned him. For some reason Ken seemed to be constantly amused, or fascinated, by her; although there were other times, during their rare arguments when Ken appeared to be annoyed with her, although she had yet to see him angry- if he ever was.

Ken was truly a dear person, he was funny, amusing, smart and chivalrous, and he always worried about her going somewhere on her own. If he had time, or was available Ken would insist on accompanying her. But the redhead could also be infuriatingly mysterious.

After school, between the time class ended and she went out to meet Ken, Kaoru started going to the school library in order to look through the old school newspapers. The newspapers began in the mid-1800's and were quite faded and shabby, but still legible to young eyes- and very helpful. There were many papers to go through, starting from the mid-1800's, but Kaoru stubbornly continued to plow through them.

In the meantime the girl continued to meet Ken by the tree an hour or so after school let out, always convening at the tree- although several times he had met her just inside the school gates (she would walk out of the building to find him waiting for her near the brick wall and the towering gates). The girl rarely saw him so close to the edges of the school grounds on his own, otherwise he seemed to always be on the grounds- somewhere.

Many times when the two friends met they never did anything special, most often they went for a drink or bite to eat before resting some place to simply talk or enjoy each other's company. There was only that one time when Ken had visited her house, and also met her parents. She had asked him about why he had taken the effort to come to her house, but as usual he had shrugged and smiled before changing the subject.

Kaoru hadn't even thought to ask him how he had gotten her address, let alone found out her last name. But it didn't really matter anymore; she was actually more concerned about her research.

After nearly a week and a half of research, Kaoru finally found her answer.

But they were most definitely not the answer she had expected.

It was one of those hot, scorching and windless days of spring when everyone was restless to get out of the stuffy school. When everyone's eyes, even the teachers, were fixed permanently on the clock and no actual learning was done at any point in the day.

But Kaoru was stubborn and resisted the urge to run outside, instead holing herself up in the library in order to continue her research.

Once she had found the answer to her numerous questions about Ken, an answer that, although it was indeed an answer, was an almost unbelievable one, the girl sat in the wooden chair open-eyed and wide-mouthed staring at the old newspaper article she had found- she sat staring because it was only thing she could do without having to perform the tedious task of thinking.

When the girl finally recovered, she sprang out of her chair and hurried to the copying machine. After she copied the newspaper page, Kaoru rushed out of the library, down the stairs, through the halls and out onto the grounds.

She hurried to the side of the school where usually students lingered after class near the picnic tables, but the late afternoon band practice was serenading trees, grass and birds instead- and over towards the tree which she stopped a few feet away from.

Kaoru planted herself in place, silently fuming and, waving the sheet of paper wildly in the air yelled towards the apparently empty tree, “Ken! Ken, get down here!” She was screaming like a madwoman.

For a few minutes she stood, glaring up at the tree while continuing to wave the paper about. Then, just as she was almost certain he wasn't going to appear- probably because he was too terrified of her now, the redhead jumped down from the tree to land several feet in front of her.

He smiled at her, in that way of his which always managed to charm her. But at the moment her anger with him outweighed his ability to enchant her.

“Yes Miss?” The redhead asked, tilting his head.

Kaoru stomped forward, decreasing the distance between them until she was right in front of him and then thrust the paper at him. “Don't you “yes, miss” me, when were you going to tell about this?!”

Ken leaned back in order to focus on the paper in front of him. As he briefly read the headline his confused expression faded into surprise and then finally into regret, and sadness.

The boy raised his head to look at her over the top of the paper, his eyes shimmering. “I sorry, Kaoru,” he whispered.

“That's all you have to say? That you're `sorry'?” She glared angrily at him, her temper rising. “Ken, Kenshin, whatever, you lied to me! Actually that's not exactly true… you purposefully didn't tell me the truth. I told you about myself, I shared secrets with you, but you never told me anything in return.” Her eyes were stinging with tears now, “I thought we were friends Ken, Kenshin, but obviously not.”

To his credit, Ken look embarrassed and guilty as he didn't meet her eyes. “It's Kenshin actually,” one side of his mouth twitched upwards, as he said softly to himself, “it's been so long since I've been called by my real name. So long.”

Kaoru stared at him, and then blinked slowly before saying cautiously, “Ken, why didn't you tell me about this? You should have told me.”

He had glanced up momentarily when the girl had said his name, but then winced at her questions and studied the ground instead.

Finally, after several minutes had passed the redhead whispered, “I apologize again, Miss. I, I frightened was, of Kaoru reaction to truth. This,” he took a quiet, gasping breath, “very like how you react now.”

The boy said several words quietly in the odd language he spoke to himself sometimes then ran a hand over his face and slowly sank down to the ground, still muttering.

“Ken, anyone else would react the same way. It's a natural response,” Kaoru scolded, her tone a little lighter than it had been several minutes ago. Before, she thought he had deceived her on purpose, with a negative intent. But now that she knew Ken had deceived her, apparently simply out of fear, Kaoru felt her anger lessening slightly.

With a start, she realized he was still kneeling on the ground. “Ken, it's alright. I understand.”

He whispered softly, reminiscent, with his arms wrapped around his knees, curled to his chest. “You my first friend in long time. You only person to notice, many not see me. I very thankful, very grateful for you kindness. I not speak to person in long time, no one notice.”

“Ken, I understand that you were lonely and am glad we met, but- this isn't something you don't share with someone you consider a friend. And, I'm still very upset with you for not telling me.”

The redhead raised his head slightly at her words, “I know this, I promise. But I afraid-“

“For god's sake Ken. I understand that you were afraid to say, but why didn't you tell me you're a ghost?!”

Her fists clenched at her sides, leaning forward to glare fiercely at him with her hair falling wildly around her face, the girl found herself being studied by a pair of sober, calm violet eyes.

She opened her mouth to lightly scold him further, but then shut it again as her anger began to slowly subside.

“I repeat I say, I not mean deceive you. I happy have friend and not want lose friend only have in decade.” He smiled at her, both his expression and eyes warm, “thank very much.”

Then, to all appearances, the boy disappeared.

Kaoru yelled his name over and over again, apologizing, pleading and calling for him.

But no matter what she said, not matter how long she stood calling, not matter her tone… he didn't reappear.

Finally, after weeks of worrying, of sadness, of anger and of habit- Kaoru gave up calling for her friend, and also gave up the hope of him returning.

In her room she taped the article she had found, the one that had revealed the truth about Ken, on the wall right next to her bed where she could see it.

Every night before the girl went to bed she would reread the article and gently touch the inset school photo of him, and then fell asleep with a smile on her face.

She followed this routine for the rest of her life, never forgetting the mysterious red-haired ghost she had met as a teenager.

When Kaoru moved out of her parent's house, and into her own apartment, she took the article with her and taped it up in the exact same spot in her new bedroom.

After she married, the article still stayed with her. She loved her husband very much, but the woman could never stop thinking about her red-haired friend.

Years later, when she passed on after a long, happy life, the article still held its honorary place on the wall beside her bed. Although the paper had faded and numerous wrinkles and creases had appeared from age, its headline was still barely legible:

“15 year old Asian high-school student dies in mysterious night fire at school,” and to the side, written in small, faded text was the date, “November 27th, 1905.”