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Additional Thanks go to Todd Hill, who is my dear friend. His wonderful Ranma fanfic "Careful Destiny" is a large part of the inspiration for this story.
Small warning...I've inserted myself into this fic...You'll know me when you see me, because I'm keeping my real name.
Someone was in his room. A second later he was on his feet, staring at the intruder.
&bnsp; The intruder's eyebrow arched in question. "Well, aren't we a morning person? And I'm not an intruder. I'm your guide. So just sit back down and listen to me, okay?"
: Kenshin grudgingly settled himself back down. This person...He couldn't tell if was male or female, was short in stature, and had close clipped white blonde hair. It was perched comfortably on a stool that had magically appeared in the corner of his room.
"I'm here to inform you your wish has been granted." The being began. "God, IHVH*, Allah, or Kami-sama, whatever you want to call him, likes you. He's been watching you for many lives, and he's decided that you deserve a break for at least one lifetime."
"Now that I've informed you of this, I need to prepare you for your next life. Yes, your old body died. Deal with it. Kaoru lived her life, and stayed single the whole time. Now, since your wish focused on Kaoru and you being together, she'll be in your next life too. We've just stepped up the pace a bit."
The being hopped off the stool and handed him a manila folder. "The year is 1999. You're 17 years old. Your name is now Kevin Hannah. For your sake, we've allowed you to look the same, but we've removed your scar. And no, you can't have it back, so don't ask. It's inappropriate for the era."
"In the folder is your birth certificate, ID, Social Security card, and Passport. You were born in the United States; Sacramento, California to be specific. Your father is in the US. Air Force, so your family has just moved to Japan. Your mother is a very accomplished psychologist. Your older brother is an English major in college."
"After much debate we've decided to allow you to keep all your memories of being Himura Kenshin. However, we have to supply you with other new memories, so the new technology doesn't shock you too badly. Also the Japanese you speak is far too archaic, so try to use what I'm going to give you now. This may hurt a bit."
The being placed it's palms on his temples, and pressed lightly. "Get ready, here it comes!" A flood, no an avalanche, of memories passed through his brain, he saw himself being born, falling out of a tree when he was five and having to get stitches, his first day in school, and later on, his first relationship, the first time he smoked a cigarette...they just kept coming and coming... finally he saw himself go to bed the night before, his first night in Japan. He had to start school in the morning. He had to wear a uniform. The now huge part of him that had lived in California and spent his evenings drinking coffee with his friends, cringed at the idea, while the part of him that had been a peaceful rurouni in the Meiji era of Japan didn't think the idea was a bad one at all.
"Hey! Kevin!"
"Yes?" He felt himself respond automatically.
The being nodded happily. "That a good sign! Hey, what year were you born?"
"1850...."
"No, the other time you were born!"
"1981?"
"Right! Much better. Try not to get the two mixed up okay? I've divided your memories so they should be able to stay separate. Also, I'll be going to school with you, so if you need help, you'll be able to find me. My name is Nicky, by the way." The being snapped it's fingers and took on a decidedly female appearance, complete with school uniform. She looked at the uniform in disgust. "I may have to wear this dumb uniform but I'm not wearing loafers!" She exchanged her brown loafers for a pair of calf-high black lace-up boots.
: Flashing a V sign, she winked. "My trusty Doc Marten's! I never leave Heaven without them! This is what I'll look like. And now...." Nicky looked at her silver wristwatch. "...Okay we still have some time. Do you have any questions?"
Kevin started. Questions? What in the world should he ask? He was now aware of things like automobiles, microwave ovens, computers, department stores where you can buy almost anything, and those machines that spit out money, called ATMs. He was vaguely aware that once, back when he had lived in California (he wasn't quite sure what that was yet) that he had had his own car. Although the memory was slightly fuzzy, he could still remember, or perhaps see was a better word, how to drive it, and even fix it if he needed to.
Was that how it was going to be? He -remembered- being Kenshin. He had been Kenshin for 28 years. Kevin was someone that he had never been, although he now had his memories, his body (which looked exactly like his) and in fact his whole life. He had literally been uprooted, and unceremoniously dropped in some poor kid's body.
Nicky shook her head at him. "Your missing something vital, my friend. Kevin has always been you. I didn't give you his memories; I gave him yours, although it felt the opposite to you. But you have always been the same person. Did that make any sense at all?"
"Not really. So your saying that we've always been...?"
"Yes, always. I guess a better way to put it is that you have the same soul, although your personalities are different. And you were many other people before you were Kenshin and Kevin. And you'll be many more after. Life isn't a one time thing."
"What about Kaoru-dono?"
"What about her? You'll see her soon. Her name probably won't be Kaoru anymore, but most likely she'll look almost the same. Once again, it's a different body with different memories, but the vehicle is carrying the same passenger. I'm sure you'll notice simalarities between your Kaoru, and who she is now. But there will be differences too. Now you know some things about the time you'll be living in, you know that everyone's values are different. Sex isn't taboo. Being different is a good thing. The major thinkers say to question authority. I guess you could say, that this is the age of idea revolution. Everyone passively agrees to disagree. Parents and children, the goverment and it's citizens, workers and their bosses. Wakari de gozaru ka?"
"Hai de gozaru!"
"Dammit, I knew that you would say that! You gotta stop that!"
"Yes, yes..."
"There! Anyway, I'm sure you'll run into plenty of modern things that will confuse you or drive you batty, and that, my androgynous little friend, is why I am here. To help you out, and answer your questions. I used to hate all this modern bullshit, but once I got used to it wasn't so bad."
"How long have you been a guide, Nicky-san?"
"Oh, a couple thousand years. Not too long, but the Big Cheese likes me, and I do my job well, and since you're one of his favorites, he paired us up. He wasn't going to give you an amateur! Anyway, do you feel ready to jump into the fray now?"
"I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be. "
"Alright sweetie, your mom is going to wake you up to go to school. When you're all ready, I'll be waiting on your doorstep to walk you. I can't have my charge getting lost on his first day of school! See ya in a few" Nicky waved a quick goodbye, and her image fizzled out of sight.
That's right. Nicky said my name is Kevin now. It was Kenshin, but now it's Kevin. He pried himself out of bed, and looked at his mother, who was trying to shake him awake.
My reflexes are gone. Normally someone's presence would have brought me instantly awake. But I have a mother again..."Mom, I'm awake! I'll be up in a minute."
He certainly didn't sound like himself. He couldn't. That would be weird. Talking like he used to, now. He still had to sort out his memories properly. He had to see how much of Kenshin was left. How much had the wish given, and how much had it taken? He supposed he would find out soon enough.
His mother had left the room, after placing his uniform on his dresser. Such a drab looking thing. Black with a high collar and brass buttons. At least it's cut well, a foreign piece of his brain added. It had matching black slacks, with no pleats in the front, thank god, that same section added again. To part of him, the whole thing looked hopelessly foreign, the part that was used to a loose fitting gi and hakama. Those pants looked unforgivingly tight.
He heaved himself out of bed, and promptly fell on the floor. Western bed, his brain supplied, not a futon. After a second heave, this time off the floor, he made his way to his dresser, and dressed quickly. He ran his fingers through his hair, which was thankfully the same color, and a similar length, if not longer then before. He worked out the tangles that had developed from sleeping, and then tied it back at the nape of his neck. He needed to find a pair of socks. Check your dresser drawers nitwit, that new little voice in his brain supplied. After digging through a couple of them, he produced a pair of white socks. Not quite what he was used to, but they would work.
The full-length mirror on his door showed him the new -him-. He was taller then before, but only by perhaps two inches. Most noticeably to him, and as Nicky had warned him, the cross-shaped scar that had been on his left cheek since he was fifteen years old was gone. He missed it for what it had meant, but he was secretly glad to have his perfect complexion back.
Since when have I been vain? He thought. It seemed a lot of Kevin had mixed it self into him already. He gave himself a quick look, before nodding firmly, and moving to retrieve his shoes from the closet.
It seemed Kevin had had a thing for shoes. He pulled out the plainest pair he could find, which was a black suede, and had a pointed toe and a huge silver buckle, but at least weren't shiny, hugely platformed, or animal printed somewhere. All the other pairs were. He eyed one pair especially; fuzzy leopard printed creepers (he somehow just knew that was what they were called) with four inch platforms, and swore they would never leave the closet again.
"Kevin! Hurry up!" His mother called up the stairs.
"Coming!" He called back down. He grabbed what he assumed was his new book bag (but it looked more like a briefcase) and hurried down the stairs.
&nbps; "I'm leaving!" he called as he ran out the door, and promptly tripped over Nicky, who was, as she has promised, sitting on his doorstep. He caught himself and actually managed to land somewhat gracefully.
Maybe all my reflexes aren't gone after all. The feeling of helplessness that had been growing since he had woken up abated slightly with that comforting knowledge.
"Yo asshole, you gonna apologize for getting me all dirty before we've even left for school, or not?" Nicky stood indignantly behind him, tapping her black booted foot impatiently.
"Gomen, Nicky-dono" He tried to sound sincere, but for some reason he just wasn't feeling it. These major personality differences were starting to get to him. He should care. He needed to care. Nicky was here to help him out.
Nicky harumphed loudly. "Apology accepted. But if you dono me again, I'm gonna hurl on your shoes, got it? People will look at you REALLY weird if you use that term now. I'm sure that if I puke on your shoes you'll learn quickly enough."
Kevin blinked in surprise. He desperately hoped that not all modern people were like Nicky. First of all, she was loud. Too loud. And she was far to blunt. He did understand what she was getting at though. Over-politeness would be taken as rudeness in the wrong situation. That was always the case, but it seemed more so now.
He followed Nicky all the way to school, simply because he had no idea where he was, or even what the school was called. He did however memorize everything on the way there for future reference. Some old habits die hard.
All too soon, they were in front of a large building, with an even larger gated yard. "Here we are! We're already late, so let's get this over with."
But it sure felt that way.
The kendo club was getting new uniforms, but that wasn't a huge deal. It was cool that they had been able to raise the money, but still. This was even a different sort of different! It had nothing to do with the club. She did notice that she felt nervous for some reason. And the closer she got to school the more nervous she was. Was there a test she had forgotten to study for? Perhaps a report due, that had slipped her mind? She would be absolutely mortified if it was either or.
When she finally reached the school gates and walked through them, she felt a quick flash of something, not nervousness this time, but anticipation. And then it was gone, as quickly as it came. She found herself rearranging her school uniform, and checking her hair. As usual, not a one was out of place. The obvious red highlights in her long glossy black hair glinted in the sunlight. Something had told her not to wear it up today. It fell in a long fluid sweep to her waist, and was slightly wavy. It was her pride and joy.
Quickly she made her way to her classroom, and seated herself in her customary seat in the row closest to the windows, and towards the back of the room. Most of the other students were already there, some milling about, some chatting with friends.
Immediately, one of the boys trotted up to her desk. "Hey Prez, have the new uniforms come in yet?"
She smiled at him. He was one of the newer members of the kendo club and hadn't even had a uniform yet. No wonder he was excited.
"Yeah, they came yesterday! I'll be handing them out at today's practice."
Several of the other boys in the room who were also part of the club over heard, and ran to her desk. Soon she had an animated throng chatting happily around her desk, not only of new uniforms, but also of upcoming tournaments and practices.
Kaori knew most of the girls in the school hated her. Even now, the looks tossed her way could wither small plants. She didn't care to terribly much about her clothes (as long as they were clean), and she certainly didn't care about what they thought of her. They felt she had an unfair chance with a lot of the guys. They didn't realize that to them she wasn't girlfriend material, because she was -one- of them.
&nbs;p She heaved a sigh as the teacher came into the classroom. The guys clustered around her desk scattered like sheep being chased by a wolf.
The teacher waited for a few moments for the room to quite, and then held up one hand for attention.
"Class, we have two transfer students today. This is Nicky Townsend-" A short girl with equally short and spikey blonde hair and huge green eyes waved brightly to no one in particular. "-and this is Kevin Hannah."
A slender boy with nearly waist length red hair tied back in a low ponytail stepped forward briefly as he was introduced. He smiled slightly as he nodded, his dark purple eyes earnest.
Kaori felt her heart heave in her chest as the boy stepped forward. This was a new feeling. Even in her most important tournaments her heart didn't skip beats. But that was precisely what it had just done. More accurately it had -stopped- and the restarted.
There were several oohs and aahs at the two new people mainly directed at them from their respective opposite sexes. The two girls who sat behind her were giggling madly.
The teacher harumphed loudly, before continuing. "Kevin is from America, so I expect everyone to be willing to help him out. Kaori-san, you were an excellent English student as I recall; why don't you go with Kevin to the library and begin tutoring him?"
She heard several female gasps of outrage, as she gathered her things. She quickly made her way out the door, and waited patiently for the new boy, Kevin to follow.
This was going to be an interesting day alright.
*IHVH is the Hebrew spelling for Jahovah ^_^
Pointless Note--I have a pair of four inch platform leopard print creepers ^_^;;;