::Between Love and Hate::
Himura Kawaii
Chapter One
*** Disclaimers apply... Blah blah.. RK's not mine.. Hail the Great Watsuki- sama... I'm now a college stud, but still poor!!..... Don't sue me! ^_^
"So, who's the new guy?" Meimi popped up beside Kaori who was busily doing her Maths.
"Don't care." Kaori answered without bothering to look up from her paper.
It was one of those ordinary autumn days when the leaves were starting to pile up on top of the roads and the wind was slowly picking up speed. It seemed to Kaori that it was just another ordinary day filled with schoolwork to do and responsibilities to attend to. Kaori was what you can call one of those over-achievers. people who like to do things right, and do extremely well in whatever they do.
Kaori wasn't interested in new guys, unlike Meimi who was obviously ogling at some new student in their class. Kaori thought it was a bit weird for a student to transfer in the middle of the semester. Plus their school didn't accept transferees for the senior year. It seemed odd that this guy was getting some kind of special treatment by the administration. This thought irritated Kaori and momentarily distracted her from her calculations.
The boy had come in earlier and she hasn't taken a good look at him yet. Now would be a good time, she thought. Kaori put aside her calculator, mechanical pencil and graphing papers and looked up. Standing directly in front of her, a few seats away, was a not so tall guy with shocking flame red hair parted in the middle. Some straight strands of his hair fell on his smiling violet eyes.
Violet orbs? Flame red hair? Kaori mused. How exceptionally weird.
His built looked like that of a girl's, yet he seemed a lot stronger than his fragile stature revealed. A group of boys and some girls, including Meimi, surrounded him as he talked animatedly. He caught sight of Kaori staring at him and he did a small salute as a gesture to her. Kaori immediately averted her eyes and pretended that she didn't see him.
Arrogant. She instantly concluded. Cute, but arrogant.
She was about to start doing her work again when a shadow loomed over her. She tucked a strand of black hair on her ear and looked up to see the boy sitting in front of her, grinning rather shyly. Before Kaori could say anything, he spoke up.
"Doing Math during a vacant period?!" He feigned surprise and added, "Seems like something only a real smart girl would and could do!"
Kaori stared at him indignantly as if to say, 'Are you mocking me?' but instead she made a cross comeback. "Well some of us have better things to do than go around and make small talk."
The guy seemed nonplussed by this retort. Either he was really good- natured, or he just plain missed the sarcasm dripping in her voice. Kaori decided he seemed like the first one, but was still annoyed at him for it. How could anyone continue smiling at you after you've insulted him?
This superhuman kindness thing that this boy possessed irritated Kaori even more.
The guy suddenly smacked his head. "How silly of me! I haven't even introduced myself yet, and here I am expecting you to talk to me!" He took out his hand and held it in front of Kaori.
"Watashi Himura Kenji."
Kaori could do nothing but offer her hand as they both bowed their heads. Kaori felt a shock of electricity as they touched and jerked her hand away. She frowned.
Even his touch is unnerving.
Kenji started to stand up. "Well, I better leave you to your math then." He looked at Kaori for a moment and grinned sheepishly. "It was awfully nice meeting you."
With that, he left Kaori to herself and her thoughts.
To Kaori, Kenji seemed to be the type who was nice and friendly. Nothing was really wrong with that. But she couldn't help not liking the way he easily and effortlessly endeared himself to everyone else. She was also annoyed at the way he didn't seem to own any bad trait.
Why am I so hostile to this boy?
Kaori inwardly shrugged and continued her battle with numbers.
The days slowly passed and Kaori had just aced her Math and Science long tests and was eagerly waiting for the results of her English exam. English has always been her favorite subject and she's always done well in it. One could say that no one can beat Kaori when it came to her language, grammar and writing skills. English was her forte.
She was especially looking forward to the results of this test because their professor told them that whoever will be among the top five will be given due credit by posting their names on the campus bulletin board and will be given free tickets o watch a critically acclaimed play that was to be presented that weekend. Kaori wanted to be among those students, and she wanted so badly to be on the top of the list. She was so sure she'd make it because she studied really hard for this one. harder than any other student would for English.
A short, stocky man of about forty-three years walked into the classroom as the students hushed and returned to their seats. The professor started talking about literature and poems and handed out copies of Sylvia Plath's controversial poem, "Daddy". For an hour they pored over and analyzed the disturbing poem. Kaori felt restless in her seat, unable to take the suspense any longer. She liked her teacher, he was always joking around and he made English more interesting, but today Kaori was impatient for the results of the test. When they finally finished, the professor took out their papers from his bag and distributed the papers to each of the students.
When Shino got his, he let out a loud "Kuso!" Chou followed this with a "Baka roosterhead!" and soon Saitoh was calling them both "Ahous"
Kaori laughed along with the class. She only had four mistakes. The test had been a toughie and she was sure that not even Arashi, the resident Math genius could top her in this one. She sat back and watched as Chou and Shino threw insults at each other with Saitoh flaming their anger. The professor cleared his throat and everyone became civil once again.
"Now, I want all of you to know that you've all done exceptionally well." The professor started. "Except of course, for a few of you who still can't make the subject-verb agreement work," He paused and looked at Shino and Chou. "Anyway, here, as promised, are the top five achievers."
"Number five, with nine mistakes, is Makimachi Misao."
The class clapped as Misao hi-fived with her best friend Soujirou.
"Number four, with eight mistakes is our ever cheerful Seta Soujirou."
Soujirou grinned broadly and thanked his classmates.
"With only five mistakes, our top three is Shinomori Arashi."
Misao yelled, "Nice one Arashi-sama!!" While Arashi only smiled slightly as if this was expected and it only seemed natural that he would get only five mistakes.
"Our second best, with only four mistakes is the very talented Kamiya Kaori and the top-notcher in this test, with only one mistake is..
.Himura Kenji!!!"
The class erupted into loud hoots and claps were aplenty but all Kaori could hear was the loud rumbling in her ears, the constant repetition of 'second best', and the blurry sight of her classmates coming over to congratulate her or pat her on the back. She mechanically held out her hand and nodded her thanks, but she couldn't see straight. God, she couldn't even think straight. Her mind didn't seem to want to register the fact that she wasn't the first.
"One mistake?" She blurted out. "How is it possible that a stranger from nowhere land is three points smarter than me?!"
Kaori blinked a couple of times.
Maybe she was only dreaming.
Maybe she heard the professor wrong.
Why is the classroom starting to spin?
Maybe she really was the first and that Kenji was only second.
Why is she having difficulty breathing?
Maybe she should get out of here.
"Omedetou de gozaru yo!!" She looked up to see Kenji cheerfully congratulating her.
Maybe not.
Kaori managed to compose herself and pasted a brave smile on her face.
She felt like throwing up.
"Demo, I should be the one congratulating you!" She shakily held out her hand to take his.
Do I HAVE to?!
After they shook hands, Kaori stood up abruptly, took her book bag and excused herself, leaving Kenji staring after her, his arms still outstretched, his mouth hanging open.
Kaori ran to the bathroom and started sobbing hysterically in front of the mirrors. Thankfully, no one was around because classes were still going on. She didn't even have a hall pass, she realized.
"Why am I even crying?!"
She tapped the faucet and cold water started pouring out. She splashed some on her face and dried her face with napkins.
Someone else beat her at what she did best.
If she didn't excel in English, where else could she excel?
What else is left for her?
Her head was spinning with dumb thoughts but she didn't care. She sure didn't feel swell.
She had no intention of crying, really. But there was something oddly familiar and warm about Kenji's touch, like an old friend, or a brother, that made her want to break down and cry and tell him how awful she felt.
Except that Kenji was the one who made her feel bad in the first place.
And two, it would be very weird to hug someone you've just met and aren't even close to.
She hastily dug into her bag for eye drops and waited for her eyes to go back to normal.
The cold water had refreshed her and awakened her senses.
She stared at her reflection as she slowly realized that the new guy had become an enemy.
If she was to hate him, she was going to hate him with passion. She was going to put her entire being into making sure he doesn't beat her at anything at all.
"I will beat you, Himura Kenji. I'll make sure of that."
Okay. how was that? Please tell me.. cuz I dunno, I suddenly got the inspiration to do this while I was talking to my cute and super intelligent classmate last night. I just thought, I wanna hate this guy, but he sure as hell was making it hard because he was so nice and sooooo sweet. So there, viola! A new fic! ^_^
I used the names I used at Mirai. lack of originality, eh? Hehe. Shino= Sano, Meimi= Megumi, Kaori= Kaoru, Kenji=Kenshin, Aoshi=Arashi. I only retained Misao's name cuz it would be very weird to say 'Makimachi Maki'. right? Hehe..
Please comment and review!! You guys know I live for your reviews!!! ^_^ tell me if you still wanna read more. and I'll do my best!!
'Til next chappie!!!
Himura Kawaii
Chapter One
*** Disclaimers apply... Blah blah.. RK's not mine.. Hail the Great Watsuki- sama... I'm now a college stud, but still poor!!..... Don't sue me! ^_^
"So, who's the new guy?" Meimi popped up beside Kaori who was busily doing her Maths.
"Don't care." Kaori answered without bothering to look up from her paper.
It was one of those ordinary autumn days when the leaves were starting to pile up on top of the roads and the wind was slowly picking up speed. It seemed to Kaori that it was just another ordinary day filled with schoolwork to do and responsibilities to attend to. Kaori was what you can call one of those over-achievers. people who like to do things right, and do extremely well in whatever they do.
Kaori wasn't interested in new guys, unlike Meimi who was obviously ogling at some new student in their class. Kaori thought it was a bit weird for a student to transfer in the middle of the semester. Plus their school didn't accept transferees for the senior year. It seemed odd that this guy was getting some kind of special treatment by the administration. This thought irritated Kaori and momentarily distracted her from her calculations.
The boy had come in earlier and she hasn't taken a good look at him yet. Now would be a good time, she thought. Kaori put aside her calculator, mechanical pencil and graphing papers and looked up. Standing directly in front of her, a few seats away, was a not so tall guy with shocking flame red hair parted in the middle. Some straight strands of his hair fell on his smiling violet eyes.
Violet orbs? Flame red hair? Kaori mused. How exceptionally weird.
His built looked like that of a girl's, yet he seemed a lot stronger than his fragile stature revealed. A group of boys and some girls, including Meimi, surrounded him as he talked animatedly. He caught sight of Kaori staring at him and he did a small salute as a gesture to her. Kaori immediately averted her eyes and pretended that she didn't see him.
Arrogant. She instantly concluded. Cute, but arrogant.
She was about to start doing her work again when a shadow loomed over her. She tucked a strand of black hair on her ear and looked up to see the boy sitting in front of her, grinning rather shyly. Before Kaori could say anything, he spoke up.
"Doing Math during a vacant period?!" He feigned surprise and added, "Seems like something only a real smart girl would and could do!"
Kaori stared at him indignantly as if to say, 'Are you mocking me?' but instead she made a cross comeback. "Well some of us have better things to do than go around and make small talk."
The guy seemed nonplussed by this retort. Either he was really good- natured, or he just plain missed the sarcasm dripping in her voice. Kaori decided he seemed like the first one, but was still annoyed at him for it. How could anyone continue smiling at you after you've insulted him?
This superhuman kindness thing that this boy possessed irritated Kaori even more.
The guy suddenly smacked his head. "How silly of me! I haven't even introduced myself yet, and here I am expecting you to talk to me!" He took out his hand and held it in front of Kaori.
"Watashi Himura Kenji."
Kaori could do nothing but offer her hand as they both bowed their heads. Kaori felt a shock of electricity as they touched and jerked her hand away. She frowned.
Even his touch is unnerving.
Kenji started to stand up. "Well, I better leave you to your math then." He looked at Kaori for a moment and grinned sheepishly. "It was awfully nice meeting you."
With that, he left Kaori to herself and her thoughts.
To Kaori, Kenji seemed to be the type who was nice and friendly. Nothing was really wrong with that. But she couldn't help not liking the way he easily and effortlessly endeared himself to everyone else. She was also annoyed at the way he didn't seem to own any bad trait.
Why am I so hostile to this boy?
Kaori inwardly shrugged and continued her battle with numbers.
The days slowly passed and Kaori had just aced her Math and Science long tests and was eagerly waiting for the results of her English exam. English has always been her favorite subject and she's always done well in it. One could say that no one can beat Kaori when it came to her language, grammar and writing skills. English was her forte.
She was especially looking forward to the results of this test because their professor told them that whoever will be among the top five will be given due credit by posting their names on the campus bulletin board and will be given free tickets o watch a critically acclaimed play that was to be presented that weekend. Kaori wanted to be among those students, and she wanted so badly to be on the top of the list. She was so sure she'd make it because she studied really hard for this one. harder than any other student would for English.
A short, stocky man of about forty-three years walked into the classroom as the students hushed and returned to their seats. The professor started talking about literature and poems and handed out copies of Sylvia Plath's controversial poem, "Daddy". For an hour they pored over and analyzed the disturbing poem. Kaori felt restless in her seat, unable to take the suspense any longer. She liked her teacher, he was always joking around and he made English more interesting, but today Kaori was impatient for the results of the test. When they finally finished, the professor took out their papers from his bag and distributed the papers to each of the students.
When Shino got his, he let out a loud "Kuso!" Chou followed this with a "Baka roosterhead!" and soon Saitoh was calling them both "Ahous"
Kaori laughed along with the class. She only had four mistakes. The test had been a toughie and she was sure that not even Arashi, the resident Math genius could top her in this one. She sat back and watched as Chou and Shino threw insults at each other with Saitoh flaming their anger. The professor cleared his throat and everyone became civil once again.
"Now, I want all of you to know that you've all done exceptionally well." The professor started. "Except of course, for a few of you who still can't make the subject-verb agreement work," He paused and looked at Shino and Chou. "Anyway, here, as promised, are the top five achievers."
"Number five, with nine mistakes, is Makimachi Misao."
The class clapped as Misao hi-fived with her best friend Soujirou.
"Number four, with eight mistakes is our ever cheerful Seta Soujirou."
Soujirou grinned broadly and thanked his classmates.
"With only five mistakes, our top three is Shinomori Arashi."
Misao yelled, "Nice one Arashi-sama!!" While Arashi only smiled slightly as if this was expected and it only seemed natural that he would get only five mistakes.
"Our second best, with only four mistakes is the very talented Kamiya Kaori and the top-notcher in this test, with only one mistake is..
.Himura Kenji!!!"
The class erupted into loud hoots and claps were aplenty but all Kaori could hear was the loud rumbling in her ears, the constant repetition of 'second best', and the blurry sight of her classmates coming over to congratulate her or pat her on the back. She mechanically held out her hand and nodded her thanks, but she couldn't see straight. God, she couldn't even think straight. Her mind didn't seem to want to register the fact that she wasn't the first.
"One mistake?" She blurted out. "How is it possible that a stranger from nowhere land is three points smarter than me?!"
Kaori blinked a couple of times.
Maybe she was only dreaming.
Maybe she heard the professor wrong.
Why is the classroom starting to spin?
Maybe she really was the first and that Kenji was only second.
Why is she having difficulty breathing?
Maybe she should get out of here.
"Omedetou de gozaru yo!!" She looked up to see Kenji cheerfully congratulating her.
Maybe not.
Kaori managed to compose herself and pasted a brave smile on her face.
She felt like throwing up.
"Demo, I should be the one congratulating you!" She shakily held out her hand to take his.
Do I HAVE to?!
After they shook hands, Kaori stood up abruptly, took her book bag and excused herself, leaving Kenji staring after her, his arms still outstretched, his mouth hanging open.
Kaori ran to the bathroom and started sobbing hysterically in front of the mirrors. Thankfully, no one was around because classes were still going on. She didn't even have a hall pass, she realized.
"Why am I even crying?!"
She tapped the faucet and cold water started pouring out. She splashed some on her face and dried her face with napkins.
Someone else beat her at what she did best.
If she didn't excel in English, where else could she excel?
What else is left for her?
Her head was spinning with dumb thoughts but she didn't care. She sure didn't feel swell.
She had no intention of crying, really. But there was something oddly familiar and warm about Kenji's touch, like an old friend, or a brother, that made her want to break down and cry and tell him how awful she felt.
Except that Kenji was the one who made her feel bad in the first place.
And two, it would be very weird to hug someone you've just met and aren't even close to.
She hastily dug into her bag for eye drops and waited for her eyes to go back to normal.
The cold water had refreshed her and awakened her senses.
She stared at her reflection as she slowly realized that the new guy had become an enemy.
If she was to hate him, she was going to hate him with passion. She was going to put her entire being into making sure he doesn't beat her at anything at all.
"I will beat you, Himura Kenji. I'll make sure of that."
Okay. how was that? Please tell me.. cuz I dunno, I suddenly got the inspiration to do this while I was talking to my cute and super intelligent classmate last night. I just thought, I wanna hate this guy, but he sure as hell was making it hard because he was so nice and sooooo sweet. So there, viola! A new fic! ^_^
I used the names I used at Mirai. lack of originality, eh? Hehe. Shino= Sano, Meimi= Megumi, Kaori= Kaoru, Kenji=Kenshin, Aoshi=Arashi. I only retained Misao's name cuz it would be very weird to say 'Makimachi Maki'. right? Hehe..
Please comment and review!! You guys know I live for your reviews!!! ^_^ tell me if you still wanna read more. and I'll do my best!!
'Til next chappie!!!