A/N: I tried writing the next chapter of Movie Star, and failed. So I wrote this instead :D

Summary: He just wanted his History book. And instead he got her. KK AU oneshot

Warning: This is just the usual high school setting, and I decided to mix in some reincarnation powder. I'm certain a lot of people have thought this up, but I want to make it clear that this particular story was not written to copy anyone. The plot is very much my own and I haven't seen any stories that are too much alike to it to the point of discomfort. However, if you have any complaints or concerns, I would very much like to hear them so we can clear things up just in case. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I am never going to own RK. Sniff.

The first time they met was the day they discovered their lockers were next to one another. He had just finished retrieving his History book and had just closed his locker just as she had started to unlock hers.

It had not taken long for his eyes to widen subtly before he started examining her. Nothing much had changed; she still had her hair in a high ponytail, and her eyes were still as blue as a summer day's sky. She had caught him looking at her and had smiled.

"Hello," she said, extending her hand. "I'm Kaoru Kamiya."

'I know,' he wanted to say, remembering the Meiji and not knowing whether he wanted to be glad or disappointed that she, unlike him, did not remember. He introduced himself and shook her hand.

O.D.

Kaoru did not know what it was about him that deemed it impossible for her to ignore him. Ever since the day she had introduced herself, however, she had found it hard not to be near his presence. It was like there was an unspoken agreement between her heart and his, that it was the natural order of things for her to always be beside him. It had never given her a sense of obligation; rather, it felt wonderful, having this feeling inside of her.

He didn't seem to disagree, either. Soon after their meeting she had found herself sitting with him at the same table in the cafeteria, found herself surrounded by the people close to him, found herself welcomed and loved.

He never gave her flowers, chocolates, never really gave her anything tangible that bluntly told her he was going to court her, but weeks after they met she found him walking her to every class, and she felt as if it were part of daily routine, as if it was something he'd been doing for her since the beginning of time, though she had no idea why.

O.D.

He saw her watching a few grade schoolers pass by with joy in her eyes and he remembered the gentle way she had carried their son around the dojo, the way her eyes had lit up every time he had called her, "Mother." Sadly, he also remembered the tears she had shed at the distance that had grown between him and his own flesh and blood, remembered how she had quietly accepted it, drowning in her felled hopes of having the closest thing to a perfect family life.

O.D.

One Saturday afternoon, he found himself trying to derive the formula for the Law of Tangent when the phone rang and his machine picked up.

"Hey," her voice startled him and he put his pencil down, puzzled, but smiling as she continued to talk. "Listen, sun's about to set in around twenty minutes. Do you want to watch it with me at Radley's End?"

He walked over to the phone and smiled even more as he answered. "Of course. I'll meet you there in five minutes."

O.D.

Radley's End was a closed down road, closed to vehicles but still very much open to people who wanted a shortcut to the park or the Atrium from the main part of the neighborhood. It rounded gracefully around a cliff, and faced the west just so the sun's dying rays fell on its concrete perfectly.

It was there when they were standing side-by-side that she finally noticed his hands and the calluses on them. "Have you always practiced it?" she asked, curious and thrilled that he, too, knew self-defense. "For as long as I can remember," he told her, and it was no lie.

"There's a dojo near the bookstore downtown. It's where everyone who practices goes. I go there everyday after school. How come I don't see you there?"

He chuckled. "I only go there during weekends."

He saw the question in her eyes and gave her a faint smile. "It's not very good for me to overstrain myself, you see, and when I feel I have to practice and it's not the weekend, I prefer practicing in my own backyard. I used to practice a lot more, but it came to a point where I overdid it. My physician Seijuro-san threatened to kill me himself if I didn't stop overdoing it."

She laughed. "Sounds like a really nice guy." He laughed as well. "Wait 'til you meet him."

O.D.

It was he who had convinced her to be part of Student Council.

And that was how she found herself attending meetings every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with him and the other members, and how she discovered another side to him.

"We earned more money than we expected to during the fundraiser last week," the boy she knew was the President (Mike, or Mark, or something; she could never remember his name properly) spoke with a rather childish grin on his face. "We were only aiming for a quarter of this amount to donate to the orphanage. I hope you all know what this means—extra funds we can use for the upcoming prom," The room was filled with cheers, as the other members laughed as well and gave each other the thumbs-up sign.

She had watched him as he remained silent for but a moment.

"I don't think so."

Kenshin's eyes had turned almost amber. "We already raised more than enough for the prom, as I am sure you all know from last meeting. You all also know that last year, we did not even reach the target amount we were aiming for for the same orphanage. Why not give them the extra to make up for what we lacked last year?"

Someone spoke up. Kaoru didn't know who. Her eyes were still on Kenshin.

"Aw! Come on, Himura! It's not like they noticed we didn't reach the target last year—they were just happy to get donations at the least! We deserve the extra funds. We worked hard this year, you know that."

"Exactly. We worked hard and we were aiming to help the children in the orphanage. It wasn't in the agenda to raise money for the prom, because that has been dealt with and as aforesaid, it yielded satisfactory results already. Do you mean to tell me that it is more important for the Student Council to help prepare a superfluously grandiose prom rather than help those who need help more?"

No one had spoken after that, and shortly after, the meeting had ended.

As they walked out the door, she picked up the courage to hold his hand and give it a squeeze. "I'm glad you spoke up," She whispered.

He had intertwined his fingers with hers with a gentle smile, earning him a blush from her. "I am, too. I would love some coffee. Would you?"

O.D.

She could feel Misao, Megumi, and Tae's eyes on her as she rummaged through the rack that held an entire row of possible prom ensembles.

Tae leaned a little to Misao. "Has anyone asked her yet? Has Ken-san…?" The shorter girl looked up helplessly at Megumi, who had just finished fitting three dresses. Megumi shook her head. "No, I don't believe he's asked her yet."

"But it's less than a week away!" Misao had a very loud whisper, Kaoru realized. She smiled slyly as she pretended to be interested in a particular cocktail dress. Tae's murmur wasn't any quieter than Misao's.

"I am going to kill that man!"

O.D.

She finished adding the finishing touches to her hair and put down her comb to examine her work. She hoped he would be there soon. It was seven-thirty and the prom started at eight. And it wasn't as if they had agreed on the time. It wasn't as if he had asked her, either.

Then the doorbell rang.

She opened it, and was gladdened by the blush that colored his face as he looked at her in her simple black-and-blue garb.

O.D.

"Beautiful,"

It was the second time he had whispered the word in her ear as they danced, and she let out a small sound of laughter. They twirled about as if there was no one else in the dance floor, and she saw him nod to someone in the crowd.

"Who was that?" She whispered, her eyes subtly looking at the man who had returned Kenshin's nod with a smile.

"Katsura Kogoro. Head of the History Department. You've never seen him before?'

She shook her head and watched as his expression turned pensive. "He's one of the greatest men I know," And then he smiled at her again and pulled her closer, planting a light kiss on her jaw.

O.D.

He was nervous. He was very, very nervous.

This was it. The results had been released today. He raised his hand to tap lightly on her bedroom door, then hesitated.

He had passed the exam. Had she…? Would they go to the same university? They'd still see each other even if she went elsewhere, of course…but still…it wouldn't be the same…

He was finally about to knock when the door flew open, and he found himself leaning back dangerously, almost falling with the impact of the body that had thrown itself mercilessly onto him.

Her laughter filled his ears, and he recalled all the times in the Meiji when she had embraced him with the same force as she had now.

"I'm guessing you…"

She kissed him on the cheek. "Come on! Let's jet to the nearest McDonald's. My treat!"

He grinned, offered her his hand, and together, they walked out of her house.

'I'm always going to come home to you.'

N.S.

"Tadaima."

"Okaerinasai…Shinta."

A/N: Um…there. As for Hiko being a physician, I was thinking more of, Megumi certainly can't fill those shoes yet, they're still in high school. As for Dr. Gensai, I felt it had to be someone else who had to drill it into Kenshin's head this time around, someone who's more associated with authority, so I picked Hiko. You see, in this story I wanted to show how Kenshin remembers his past life all too well and would really like to turn things around a bit more at this, dare I say, 'third' chance to learn from the past. As you remember, it was a big issue then that he had not listened to his Shishou (albeit it wasn't about health issues), and I guess at this modern era pint-of-view I wanted to show how much he really wants to make up for that.

I would have included more characters, really (Tomoe, Enishi, Aoshi, Yahiko, Sano…), but I couldn't find the space, plus this is just a oneshot, so…Anyway, if you guys are wondering what positions Kenshin and Kaoru had in Student Council…well I'll leave that up to you. The main point I was driving at there is that I didn't want to take away Kenshin's political half so easily even though he was just in high school, although I also showed that politics and the like are not exactly the center point of his life anymore.

So there.

If you guys have any questions, just PM me, or say it in your review :) Thanks for reading! I enjoyed writing this.

God bless!