DISCLAIMER: Rurouni Kenshin and Rurouni Kenshin characters are exclusively owned by Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shueisha, Sony Entertainment, Jump Comics and associated parties. Please note, this is purely fiction and for entertainment purposes only. This story is not meant for sale or profit.
Author's Notes: A silly A/U comedy about the anxieties Kaoru goes through while preparing for her first high school reunion and her first real kiss with Kenshin. The characters will be OOC, especially Kaoru and Megumi's character. I really pushed Megumi's bad habit of flirting and Kaoru's insecurity to the limit. There's no plot, rhyme or reason to this ficcie. I just wanted to have fun. Comedy/Romance "Kiss Me Again" by Gypsy-chan Enjoy!^_^
WINNER OF KISSING CONTEST: I would like to thank everyone who participated in my kissing contest. I truly enjoyed reading the ones sent by the various emails and the ones written in your reviews. It was so hard to decide between all of the ones I recieved. So I narrowed it down to three. And the winners are (the envelope please, heh, heh): KAORU HIMURA, CHIKI and KAMIMURA KAORU . (Applause! Applause! Applause!!) I was really impressed by what you wrote. It made me want to be Kaoru.^_^ Anyhoo, I combined the three written kisses into one scene. I hope you like it. As for the others who sent me their version of kisses, I am so happy to have received them. Thank you again so much! You guys are the best!!^_^ Okay, on to the conclusion of this ficcie. Enjoy!^_^
CONCLUSION
"Now, without further delay, it's time to announce the Queen and King of our first class reunion. May I have the envelope please."
Hoji walked on the stage and presented the envelope to Yumi.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
...... "Don't worry kitsune," Sano whispered, "I've already bribed the judges with some of the money I won when I bet against you. So, you're going to be queen for sure."
"I knew I could count on you tori-ama to help me win," she smiled slyly, "just make sure you act surprise when they call my name okay."
Sano winked at Megumi in response.
*************************
After accepting the envelope from Hoji, Yumi carefully slid her fingers along the edge of the envelope. She paused momentarily to glance into the audience. She could see many people sitting in intense anticipation of the winner. "This is really an exciting moment. I hate for it to end, but it is time." Yumi cleared her throat and began.
"Honored guests, before I announce the winner of our first high school reunion, I would like to say that the selection of king and queen was primarily based upon their life's accomplishments over the past five years. The selection process was very hard because of the many fine candidates we had to choose from. However, we do have a winner."
Yumi quickly opened the first envelope and read,
"The winner for King of our first high school reunion is.... Daigoro."
Itsuko and Daigoro were shocked. As the audience applauded, Itsuko began to shed tears of joy. Daigoro hugged and kissed her lightly on the forehead before standing. As he headed toward the stage, Yumi smiled and continued speaking with the audience.
"Daigoro was chosen as King because of his fine accomplishments as a former alumni of our high school. After graduating from high school, at a young age I may add, he went on to college to further his studies into astronomy. As a result of his hard work, Daigoro has been accepted into the space program in America. He will be staying in a place called..."
"Houston," Daigoro interjected as he was now standing next to Yumi.
"Please tell us what you will be doing there?"
"I will continue my studies in astronomy and then move into astrophysics. One day I hope to fulfill my dreams of exploring the universe and finding ways to colonize other planets."
The audience applauded after his statement. Sano stood up and yelled, "Hey Daigoro, when you get to Venus, make sure you give out my phone number to all the hot space babes! heh! heh!"
Megumi whacked Sano with her purse, "Sit down and shut up tori-ama!!"
"Ouch Kitsune! Not so hard!"
Kaoru, Misao and Kenshin laughed as they watched Megumi and Sano.
"He just doesn't know when to keep that big mouth shut," Kaoru chuckled. Kenshin and Misao smiled in agreement.
Back on stage, Yumi took the crown from off the velvet pillow that Hoji was holding and placed it over Daigoro's head. As she stood with crown in hand she announced,
"Daigoro, you have brought much honor to our school. We bestow this crown of King of our first class reunion upon you. We will be expecting great things from you in the future."
The audience cheered and applauded as the crown was placed upon his head. Daigoro smiled and waved to the audience and then stepped to the side so that Yumi could stand before the microphone again. After the audience had settled down, Yumi asked Hoji for the next envelope.
Kenshin took Kaoru's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She blushed and smiled. "Well, this is it. I'm soooo nervous, but I'm really glad that Kenshin is here sharing this moment with me. I hope I am chosen to be queen, but if not, I hope Misao wins and not Megumi."
Aoshi discretly slipped his hand under the table and took hold of Misao's hand. Misao blushed deeply upon his gentle touch. "Ahhh... Aoshi-sama.... I still can't believe we are finally together. I'm so happy. I would be even happier if for once in my life, I am chosen to be queen. If not me, then I hope Kaoru or even Kamatari is queen. Anybody would be better than Megumi."
Megumi and Sano glanced at one another and smirked inwardly. Megumi became lost in thought.
"Hmmm.... I wonder which shocked expression and acceptance speech should I use? Maybe I will put my hand over my mouth and then say something like... 'Oh my? Me? Queen? Why, I didn't expect this. I am so happy that you chose me.....
Not bad, but I think something more sophisticated and emotional would be better. I'll start off by shedding a few tears and then say something like.... 'Thank you all so much for selecting me. I know there are others more deserving of this crown, but I am so honored to be the one you chose'... Hmmm.... The last idea sounds a little corny, but I think it will work. Ohohohohohoho!"
Back on stage, Yumi was preparing to make the announcement of queen. She looked into the audience and began,
"The winner for Queen was a close one. There were many fine candidates to choose from in this category also. However, the winner for our first high school reunion is...." Yumi paused while quickly opening the envelope. She smiled heartedly as she read the name, "Megumi Takani."
Megumi smiled widely before allowing a few tears to escape her eyes. "I won! I won!! Okay, remember, sophistication with a trace of emotion."
Sano leaned over and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Congratulations kitsune, I knew you would wi...."
Before Sano could finish speaking, Megumi had covered his mouth with hers into a kiss. After the kiss she whispered, "Don't spoil this for me tori-ama. Keep your big mouth shut or the celebration tonight is off. Understand." Sano nodded silently.
Megumi smiled as she took in all the attention she was receiving from the audience. The cheers and applause grew louder as she made her way toward the stage.
Kaoru and Misao looked at one another. Disappointment was etched upon their faces. Kenshin and Aoshi pulled thier women closer which cause them to return a smile to their respective partners.
As Megumi stepped upon the stage, Yumi continued speaking. "Megumi or rather, Dr. Megumi Takani, is the first female doctor our school has ever had. She comes from a long line of fine doctors dating back to the Edo period. After graduating high school, she went on to attend a prestigious medical college in Aizu. The same college her family attended. Dr. Takani continued the family tradition by graduating top of her class. She has recently been accepted at Aizu General Hospital. Please tell us what your goals are.
"I have many goals Yumi, but my ultimate goal is to become a surgeon. I want to heal people and save lives. I dedicate my life to medicine because," she began to choke up, "I... I truly care about people." Several teardrops escaped the corner of her eyes.
As the audience applauded, Misao looked over to Kaoru and mouthed, "What a big phony!"
Kaoru nodded and mouthed in response, "Yeah, I know. I feel like puking." She pretended to stick her finger in her mouth. Misao giggled.
Back on stage, Yumi hugged and kissed Megumi on the cheek before placing a dozen roses in her arms.
"Your dedication to the medical profession has brought our school great honor. We are all very proud of you."
Megumi smiled widely and through shedded tears replied, "I'm so happy that I could bring honor to my school. I would like to thank everyone for selecting me as Queen. I know there are others more deserving of this reward, but I am truly honored to be the one you have chosen."
Hoji stepped forward holding the crown for queen on a red velvet pillow. Yumi lifted the crown from off the pillow and turned to Megumi, who was now smiling and blushing deeply. Yumi placed the crown on Megumi's head and said,
"Congratulations Dr. Megumi Takani on becoming the Queen of...."
"WAIT!!"
All eyes turned toward Kamatari as she ran upon the stage. "Wait! We just received one more vote!"
Low murmuring sounds were heard in the audience. Yumi frowned at Kamatari and stated, "The voting is over and the decision is final! Megumi Takani is the Queen of our class reunion. Now if you would let me proceed...."
"No! I demand a recount," Kamatari challenged. "An honest decision can't be made until ALL the votes are entered. We still have one vote unaccounted for."
"I say we have a recount," shouted Misao as she looked at Megumi.
Megumi narrowed her eyes at Misao. Kaoru smirked inwardly and hollered, "Yes I agree! We want a Recount!" Megumi glared over to Kaoru.
The audience was now chanting, "Recount! Recount! Recount!"
Yumi stood not knowing what to do. Shishio took the stage. The audience became quite. After exhaling smoke from his pipe he said, "Due to the circumstances at hand, we will take a short break while we recount all the votes."
Yumi and Megumi stared at Shishio before yelling in unison, "What!!!"
"Shishio, this is absurd! Why are you agreeing with Kamatari," Yumi angerily asked.
Shishio didn't answer. Kamatari smirked at Yumi, "He knows I'm right. Now get to counting."
Yumi could feel herself becoming heated. Through clenched teeth, she turned to Kamatari, "I'll deal with you later!"
She then graciously turned back toward the audience and smiled, "We will be back with the winner for Queen momentarily. Please feel free to enjoy the refreshments at the buffet table while you await our return. Thank you."
Megumi turned to Yumi in disbelief. "I can't believe this is happening!?!" She covered her mouth quickly after realizing what she had said out loud. In a lower tone she said, "I've worked so hard for this! I deserve to be Queen!"
"Sorry Megumi, but I had nothing to do with this," Yumi uttered in reply. She gently removed the flowers from Megumi's arms. Megumi stood frozen. "My flowers... She took my flowers."
Yumi was now reaching for the crown on Megumi's head. Megumi took both hands and secured the crown upon her head.
"No! I'm not giving up my crown," she whispered harshly.
Yumi shook her head and whispered in return, "Please don't make this difficult Megumi. You and I have been best friends for years. And you know I would do anything for you. But I must be fair, especially in front of all these people. I'm sure after the recount, the crown will be rightfully restored to you. Now please hand over the crown and stop making a scene."
Megumi could feel the eyes of the audience upon her. She handed Yumi the crown and feigned a smile toward the audience. She said out loud, "You're right Yumi. I'm sure this whole thing will all be straightened out soon. I will go back to my seat and wait to be called again."
The audience applauded for her as she left the stage. Upon reaching her seat, she grabbed Sano up by the collar and dragged him out of the room. As they stood in the hallway, she whispered harshly, "I thought you said you took care of this!"
"I did," he whispered back. "I paid Usui..."
"What!" Megumi stopped shortly upon hearing someone behind her. After the person passed she glared back at Sano, "You paid a blind man to fix ....
"Usui is blind," Sano asked out loud. "I didn't know he was blind. He told me he wore dark glasses so that he could look cool for the ladies. He even sold me a pair. See."
Megumi smacked the dark glasses off his face. "Baka!!"
Back inside the room, Misao and Aoshi decided to join tables with Kenshin and Kaoru. The girls sat together giggling.
"Kaoru, did you see the look on Megumi's face when I yelled recount."
Kaoru snickered, "Yes. She looked like she wanted to kill us both." They giggled again.
"I guess that means you two still have a chance at being queen," Kenshin said.
"That's right," Kamatari replied as she strolled over to their table.
"Way to go Kamatari," Misao chirped while giving Kamatari the high five. "You're the woman! I mean the man! I mean... aw forget it!"
Everyone at the table laughed.
"I think now with the recount, the selection will be fair," Kaoru said. "I honestly believe that it was fixed."
"Me too," Kamatari agreed. "So, I wonder who will win?"
"This is still so exciting," Misao shrieked. "Aren't you excited too Aoshi?"
". . . "
"Aoshi?"
"Aoshi is overwhelmed with joy," Kenshin replied innocently. Everyone at the table laughed again, except for Aoshi.
A half hour later, everyone was asked to come back into the room. Yumi was now on stage.
"May I have your attention ladies and gentlmen. We have recounted all the votes. The winner for Queen of our first class reunion is..... Kaoru Kamiya!"
Megumi sat with her mouth wide opened. "I lost... to her?"
The audience turned to where the raven haired young woman was sitting after Yumi made the announcement. Misao was jumping up and down at their table screaming,
"You won! You won!! Kaoru, you won!!!"
Kaoru seemed to be in shock. "I won? Is that what I heard? I won?"
Kenshin leaned over and kissed Kaoru on the cheek jarring her out of her shocked condition. She blushed slightly as she touched the cheek he had kissed. Kenshin smiled and whispered. "You won Kaoru. You won. Go get your crown my love."
Kaoru blushed again as he helped her stand. She glanced over to her best friend who was cheerfully displaying two thumbs up. Kaoru smiled back at Misao and began nervously journeying toward the stage. The cheers and applause continued after she stepped upon the stage and stood next to Yumi. Tears began to flow down her cheeks as she looked into the audience and saw all the smiling faces.
Yumi presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
"Kaoru Kamiya, you were chosen as Queen because of the amount of revenue and recognition you brought to our community. Your industriousness as a beautician has allowed you to obtain many contracts from famous people. We have just learned from the representatives of the Miss Universe Pagent that the pagent will be held in our town next year. You have honored our school by your diligence and we therefore, crown you as Queen of our First High School Reunion."
Yumi placed the crown upon Kaoru's head. With the bouquet of flowers in hand and the crown upon her head Kaoru smiled and bowed graciouly to the audience. When Kaoru looked toward her table, she noticed that Kenshin wasn't sitting in his seat. Her eyes began to fill with tears and her bottom lip began to quiver. "Where is he?"
Suddenly, she felt strong arms lifting her off her feet. Kaoru shrieked in delight when she felt herself being twirled around and around. The bouquet of flowers that was in her arms flew out and began to rain across the audience. Many women scrambled to their feet in hopes of catching a rose.
"Hey those are my roses! Give them back," Megumi demanded as she ran around the room trying to retrieve all the roses. Naturally, no one paid attention to her pathetic demands. Instead, the audience continued to applaud and cheer for Kaoru.
When Kaoru's world stopped spinning, she found herself gazing into the eyes of her beholder. She smiled upon seeing the most beautiful pair of violet eyes gazing lovingly back at her.
"Kenshin."
Kenshin watched Kaoru's sparkling blue eyes with his violet ones. It seemed as if he was looking into her very soul.
"Kaoru."
A gentle blush played across her delicate features as he whispered her name again. Kaoru.
Kenshin gently placed Kaoru upon her feet. Daigoro walked over to the couple and removed his crown and placed it upon Kenshin's head.
Yumi went over to the three on the stage. "Daigoro, why are you giving away your crown?"
Daigoro pushed his glasses upon the bridge of his nose and simply replied, "Every King needs a Queen. "I have my Queen," Daigoro said as he took his wife's hand into his.
"And I have my King," Itsuko added as she rested her head upon Daigoro's shoulder.
"Well, this certainly has been a very exciting and most unusual high school reunion," Yumi replied. "I wonder if our next high school reunion will be able to top this one."
The audience laughed.
"Now that the King and Queen has been officially crowned, why don't we relax and listen to some...."
"Wait!!!"
Yumi shook her head and mumbled, "Not again."
All eyes turned toward Misao's table. She yelled out, "We want to see the King and Queen kiss!"
Kenshin and Kaoru blushed deeply.
"Don't just stand there baka deshi, kiss the girl."
"Shishou!"
Everyone laughed. Sano stood and started everyone to chant, "Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!"
Yumi turned to the couple and smiled, "You heard your people, they want a kiss from their new King and Queen."
Kenshin gave Kaoru a chaste kiss on the cheek.
"Come on baka deshi, you can do better than that. Kiss her again!"
Kenshin glared over to Hiko.
Kaoru gently took her fingers and guided his chin back to hers. "You heard what he said, kiss me again."
Kenshin smiled and asked, "is that what you want my Queen?"
"Yes my King. I want you to kiss me again," she answered sweetly.
Kenshin began by brushing his lips tenderly across her forehead. Kaoru felt tremors running through her body from his first kiss. At this point, they had forgotten that they were standing on stage in front of an audience. Kenshin and Kaoru were now lost in their own world. Kenshin began trailing sweet kisses on her cheeks until finally capturing her lips in his. It was a gentle kiss at first, but then became more passionate. Kaoru enjoyed the feeling of his lips on hers. He kissed her in a way that she so desperately wanted, so desperately needed.
Yumi smiled at the two lovebirds on stage. She signalled Hoji to dim the lights and signalled Chou to have his band play something soft and romantic. The audience had already forgotten about the two lovebirds on stage and was now having a good time dancing.
"They look soooo cute up there," Misao sniffed. "I'm so happy for them."
"I'm happy for us," Aoshi utterd softly as he took Misao into his arms and kissed her. After breaking off the kiss, Aoshi led her to the dance floor where he began to slow dance with her.
Megumi was standing in the hallway with a broken rose in her hands. "It should have been me up there. It should have been me," she cried inwardly as she held her head down.
Sano strolled over to Megumi and placed a dozen freshly cut roses in her arms saying, "for my Queen."
She lifted her head in surprise. "Sa... Sanosuke?"
"Come on kitsune, let's go inside and have some fun," he urged gently while rubbing her shoulders. "It's over now...."
"No! I can't go back in there," she said, breaking into tears, "I'll be humiliated. This is all your fault! You said I would win!"
"Okay, I'm sorry I screwed things up," he said while resting his hand upon her shoulders. "But life goes on Megumi. Now let's..."
"No," she scowled after jerking his hand off her shoulders. "You just don't get it do you! That crown belonged to me! I should have been the one on the stage enjoying the glory of the crown. Not her!"
Sano stared at her for a moment. "Oh... I get it. This is not about the crown, it's about Jou-chan."
"I don't know what you are talking about," she replied sarcastically before turning her back to him.
Sano whirled her around to face him. "Don't try to play me for a fool Megumi. You know exactly what I am talking about. You're jealous of Jou-chan."
"Me? Jealous of tanuki?" She laughed haughtily. "Ohohohoho! What reason would I have for being jealous of a tanuki like her?"
"Maybe it's because Kenshin chose her again and not you."
Megumi remained silent.
"It's ashame," he stated looking away from her, "I thought when we made love this afternoon, that it really meant something to you. But I see I was wrong. You were only using me as a substitute for Kenshin."
"How can you stand there and say that to me," she cried. "The love we shared this afternoon meant something to me too. I know that Kenshin doesn't love me. Even when were were dating, his thoughts were only of her. He has always loved Kaoru and there's nothing I can do to change that. So don't think that I'm treating you as a replacement for Kenshin."
They both remained silent until Megumi decided to speak. With a sad smile she started, "You know, you were right when you said I was jealous of Kaoru. Kaoru was everything I wanted to be. When we were kids, she was the little tomboy, while I was the little princess. She was free to make mistakes and grow from them, whereas failure was never an option for me. Her parents allowed her to be a normal silly teenager, but my parents wanted me to be a responsible young adult.
I realize now that I shouldn't have allowed my jealousy to ruin what could have been a good friendship. The way I was being treated by my parents wasn't her fault. I should have dealt with my problems with my parents in a different way instead of taking them out on her. I wished I could tell her that. But whenver I'm near her, the tendency to be spiteful seems to come out. I've always hated myself for doing that."
Sano pulled her into a warm embrace. Megumi wept in his chest. "I never knew any of this. I wished that you could have confided in me. We could have worked your problems out together."
"I was so scared of telling anyone," she continue to cry.
"Why don't you try and make amends with Jou-chan now. She is a very kindhearted and forgiving person. We can go together and talk to her."
"No," she sobbed into his chest, "I can't ask her to forgive me for making her life miserable and taking Kenshin away from her. I don't deserve her forgiveness."
"Maybe you do."
Megumi froze upon hearing the voice that spoke. She turned slowly and found Kaoru standing behind her smiling softly.
"It's okay Megumi. Now I understand why you treated me so badly. It wasn't your fault. We were young back then and didn't know how to deal with our problems."
"How can you stand there and be so forgiving," Megumi asked as tears continued to roll down her face. "I've done so many bad things to you. I was the cause of the break up between you and Kenshin."
"It's all in the past now," she said as she slipped her hand into Kenshin's. "I think it's time to make a fresh start and form a new friendship. Don't you?"
Megumi eyes widened as she saw Kaoru extending her other hand out to her. Sano nudged Megumi toward Kaoru. The women hugged each other and cried.
"I'm so sorry for treating you so mean," Megumi cried.
"It's over now," Kaoru replied through tears of her own.
Aoshi and Misao walked over to the small group. Misao arched her eyebrow at Kaoru.
"Kaoru?"
Kaoru smiled at Misao and pulled her into a hug with Megumi. "Everything is okay now. Let's just be friends."
Misao smiled happily and started to cry also. "Okay."
Sano chuckled at the crying women. "Women... I can never figure them out.
Kenshin smiled and nodded. He rushed back in the room and came back with his camera. "How about a group picture to start off our new frienship?" Misao, Kaoru and Megumi quickly dried their tears and smiled widely for the picture.
"Aoshi, Sano, go over there and get in the picture too," he instructed.
Kamatari, Yumi and Soujirou walked over to the group. "Can we join too," Soujirou asked.
"Alright Sou-chan," Misao shrilled. "Come stand next to me."
Kenshin arranged his tripod camera to take a group picture. Kenshin, Kaoru, Sano, Megumi, Aoshi, Misao, Soujirou, Kamatari, Yumi and Shishio all smiled brightly as their picture was taken.
Everyone hugged and laughed after Kenshin finished taking pictures. As the group went back inside to dance to the last song, Kenshin and Kaoru snuck out to the garden.
"This really was a fun evening wasn't it," Kaoru asked while they strolled through the garden.
"Yes," he answered as he slipped a stray lock behind her ear, "it was my queen."
Kaoru playfully hit him on the shoulder and giggled, "Kenshin you baka." He chuckled in response.
As they contined walking in the garden, Kenshin glanced over to Kaoru.
"Kaoru..."
"Yes?"
"What happens now?"
"What do you want to happen Kenshin."
He stopped walking and turned to face her. He pulled Kaoru into his arms and uttered, "Kaoru, I want us to be together. I don't want to live the rest of my life without you." Tears of joy ran down her eyes. Kenshin took her chin and turned it toward his. She closed her eyes in anticipation of his kiss. He leaned in and took her lips hungrily, possessively. After breaking the kiss, Kaoru smiled and purred sweetly, "Kiss me again."
Author's Notes: Yay! I finally finished. Sorry I didn't get Saitoh back in here, but the story kind of went into another direction. Also, I do apologize for taking so long to update. But between my family stressing me out, getting writer's block, my job and school, I just couldn't finish as fast as I wanted. Also, you know how family can get sometimes. "Stop spending so much time on cartoons." It's anime okay, baka family. Anyhoo, arigatou for all the totally awesome reviews and the continued support on this wacky romantic comedy!!^_^
As usual, constructive reviews are welcomed as long as they are genuine and not sarcastic. (Psst... Hey you... Yes you... Thanks sooo much for constantly pushing that review button. You're the best, wink wink! Bye!^_^)