Another year, more stress, more noise, more BOOKS, more assignments….ah yes, didn't she just love the familiar smell of the dorm room ? Kamiya Kaoru couldn't care less. She trudged in, almost dragging her feet in disdain for the start of the new year. Gone were the carefree summer days when she would kick back and wouldn't give a rat's ass if she were in normal attire or her underwear in her room. But since this was a dorm room, in which quite a few people walked in and out of, she'd have to be a little more careful in what garments she had on.

            The cardboard box that Kaoru was carrying was set down on her bed, followed by the vigorous flexing of her arms. It was quite a walk from the car to the dorm room, seeing as how she had to avoid getting crashed into by a couple of basketball crazy people. The little swerve she took before balancing herself didn't add to the prolonged journey her arms were taking.

            Kaoru sighed again as her hands reached for the various items inside. Picture frames, some mementos and other trinkets of personal value began to occupy a small space on the bedspread. Later they would be placed on the shelf and some on the bedside table. As for the posters on the wall, that was usually Megumi's department.

            And speaking of her brainy but flirtatious friend, Kaoru was starting to wonder where she was until the door was kicked open, establishing Megumi's entrance.

            " Where have you been?" Kaoru asked as she turned around to face her friend.

            Megumi gave her a quick nonchalant shrug but then with a twinkle in her eye her face broke into a smile. " Hey, I just got here and you're already trying to accuse me of something."

            " And you're stuff is where?" Noted Kaoru when she saw that Megumi had not been carrying a package of things.

            " What's with all the sudden questions? I don't even get a 'hi-Megumi-how-was-the-holidays' ? Or an 'I've-missed-you' ?"

            Megumi had elicited a smile from Kaoru. She walked over to the taller female who was still standing near the entrance of the room.

            " Hi Megumi. How was the holidays ?" Kaoru recited approaching her." I've missed you."

            Megumi replied with a smirk," Holidays weren't bad. I raked in some money at the Akabeko. The only problem was that annoying git Sano. He'd come by to harass me any time he got the friggin' chance."

            Kaoru laughed heartily. If any two people engaged in foreplay so boldly, it would be Megumi and Sagara Sanosuke. Kaoru had known Sano almost forever. She knew his high points and weak points, quirks and which buttons to push to get him pissed off. Annoying others, especially friends, was a sheer talent of his that he like to revel in.

            Freeloading was another one of his "other" assets. It only wasn't until Kenshin convinced him to take a summer job, freeloading was done part-time and not full-time anymore. Joe's Video Rental Shack needed more employees to exploit so Kenshin pushed him into taking a chance. Nonetheless, Sano walked out with more money than he'd ever have over the course of a few months.

            Kaoru believed that Kenshin was indirectly doing Megumi a favor by convincing Sano to push the popcorn and fine people for bringing back their rentals in late. Sano had stopped hanging around the Akabeko as often as he had before.

            " God, I wish you would just stop dealing and get together. It's really such a waste of time to sit there and argue back and forth." Kaoru rolled her eyes." Sometimes I get this spontaneous….URGE, to just slap you two for your stubbornness !"

            Out of reflex, Megumi's face went from amused to clear distaste at the mention of her so-called fronting with Sano. Their lukewarm relationship was described as nothing but friendship. It was true that she hadn't known Sano as long as Kaoru or Kenshin, but they were good friends.

            Only on the odd occasion Megumi would find herself questioning what REALLY was the status of their relationship. She couldn't think of Sano as anything other than an extremely annoying, crude, inconsiderate, pig-headed, lazy ass, freeloading bastard that was constantly slugging around. Even if Sano was kind of cute……okay, really cute and did have one hell of a six pack, Megumi didn't want to pursue superficial assets.

            Kaoru sighed and shook her head with a smile at Megumi's reaction. It looked like she just accomplished putting her friend into ranting mode. Each rant about Sano would be the same as the one before. Megumi would let loose with a string of creative curses and names, all the while counting off all his bad traits on each of her fingers.

            " And he is ABSOLUTELY one of the most-- !!"

            " Alright, alright. Point gotten." Kaoru said, holding up her hands to fend off any more venting. She saw that her friend couldn't turn anymore red in her tirade.

            Megumi said with a cross of her arms." Well…well then good!"

            " Come on. We better pick up our books and the rest of our supplies before they're drained out by the rest of the student body."

            Stories were shared along the way as Kaoru and Megumi made their way down the steps of the house that was Delaney Hall. They passed the common room where already more people were arriving. When they saw that others had already had books swamping their arms, the friends' pace quickened.

            Megumi decided to bring in the rest of the things from her car later on. Kaoru already had her money out when they approached the nearby building in the plaza aside from the campus. The whole place was crawling with students. Every item was being grabbed for in a frenzy of swipes. There was even a heated argument at the nearest bookshelf.

            Kaoru ran a frustrated hand through her silken black mane. They were only in here for ten minutes and everything seemed like a whirlwind of stress. She grabbed a set of pencils and tossed them over to Megumi, who quickly grabbed them and headed towards the shelf. She watched as the shouts and hollers obliterated Megumi's voice when she disappeared into the mass of swarming people.

            Stepping to the side so she wouldn't get shoved into the discount bin of paper, Kaoru reached forward to grab an Ancient World History text. A quick wind blew and the next thing Kaoru knew, the book had left her fingertips and instead was dangling in front of her face. Whipping around in irritation, she didn't have to guess who it was.

            " I'm surprised you're even here !" Kaoru spoke loud over the chatter. She tried again to snatch the book out of the teasing hand. Sano's grin shifted wider when he held it up out of arms' reach.

            " Yeah well, I wanted to get first hand on some stuff before the rest of these moochies devour the whole place." Sano said.

            When Kaoru had executed a jump and eventually seized the book from Sano's grip, she gave him the standard scowl. In response, Sano gave her another of his toothy grins and slung a sculpted arm around her shoulders.

            The weight of his relaxed arm was a pain she'd have to live with ever since he started growing taller than her. And that was a long time ago.

            " So, where's the fox lady ?" He asked her expectantly.

            " Why would you care ? The last time you saw her, you said she had cellulite."

            Sano gave Kaoru an incredulous look." What ?! Did I ? But I was trying to say something nice about her skin ! How it was all smooth, glow-ey and shit, you know ?"

            " No." Kaoru said, promptly walking away from Sano's arm." I DON'T know. You were TRYING to compliment her on saying she had cellulite ? Do you even know what it is ? Sano, seriously, I think you should try to write a book on how to pick up chicks. I'm sure it would be quite the number one bestseller."

            " Oh, your sarcasm just kills me Jo-chan." Sano exclaimed as he pursued her into the crowd. He dodged a skinny brunette trying to heave a thick book of Abnormal Psychology out from the topmost shelf. It swung round, almost catching him in the arm.

            Kaoru was a few steps in front of Sanosuke, moving more out of his reach when she passed another empty bookshelf that had already been cleared of Advanced Calculus for Applications.

            " So yeah, I didn't see you that much during holidays." Sano changed the subject when he finally caught up with her in the Languages and Literature section." Where the hell were you ?"

            " I told you I went up north to visit some close friends."

            Sano fake-sniffed a tinge of sadness." And you didn't even bother to visit me….Joe's had a discount week !"

            Rolling her eyes, Kaoru reached for the last English text book." Sano, Joe's gets new releases a friggin' month AFTER the stupid movies come out. Besides that, you leering at me from the counter waiting to charge me extra for jack shit isn't really what I would call a visit."

            " But you didn't HAVE to rent anything." Sano continued to fuss falsely. A little grin was playing at the corners of his mouth." All you had to do was just stop by……and maybe even bring along the fox lady."

            " Her failure to notice you comes from the fact that you just plain suck."

            " I do NOT suck."

            " Oh yeah, you'll be needing this." Kaoru grabbed a heavy Social Science book and shoved it into Sanosuke's chest. A muffled "omph !" was heard before she gave a snicker, proceeding to walk off.

            " I do not SUCK." Sano repeated again." And the hell's with the me and Megumi thing ? The girl's a shrew. Enough to bug the living shit out of me."

            As if on signal, a slender female with blazing eyes stepped out from behind the shelf. A slight irritation was written on her face as she crossed her arms in a grim fashion. The small look of disdain temporarily washed over her expression when her eyes caught the familiar height of Sanosuke's form.

            " The feeling's mutual." Megumi said with a touch of dryness to her tone. She waited until Sano turned around. Her red lips shifted into a smirk." I supposed it's good to see you too."

            " Um, did I say 'shrew' ? Cause, I didn't mean SHREW per-say as in er-…..no." Sano momentarily fumbled. As if to save face, he put on his lop-sided grin and stalked over, closing the gap between himself and Megumi.

            " So, what's up fox lady ? I could see you mighty well had a good time."

            " I guess you could say that." Megumi half-retorted." But your slugging around the Akabeko I could've seriously done without."

            Sano huffed and looked from one girl to the other. Where the hell was Kenshin when he needed him for backup ? " Oh what the hell ! Was this day designated 'Insults and other smart-ass cracks for Sano' ? Sheesh…….I hate women."

            " And women hate you. Anyway, what's that ?" Megumi replied nonchalantly but shifted subject on the conversation when she eyed the large textbook in Sano's hands.

            " Erm…." The taller male peeked down at the parcel. He didn't even bother to check after Kaoru slammed it against him." Social Science."

            " Interesting. Seeing as how this place is getting wiped clean, I think you got one of the last ones."

            " Thanks to my assistance." Kaoru chimed in.

            Sano sighed with a sardonic look." Oh yes. Thanks to your wonderful intuition."

            " I'm sure this time you'd actually be working this year instead of slacking ? Or am I wrong ?" Through Megumi's mind flashed an all too familiar memory of seeing books, binders and other notes littered around Sano's dorm while he had been promptly trying to massacre Stone Cold Steve Austin with the Rock. Yep, the Playstation had beaten the study notes in Sano's internal struggle.

            " No, you're probably wrong." The sarcastic playfulness in Kaoru's voice was certainly catching. Sano yanked the last package of erasers from a nearby hook.

            " Your dorm looked like the Apocalypse happened, what with all your crap combined with Tsunan's." Added Megumi as she countered for Sano's "shrew" bit about her.

            Sano turned back to them at the mention of his best friend's name." What, you mean Katsu ? He kept all his junky art stuff in the closet."

            " Katsu, Tsunan, you know who I'm talking about. Same person right ? Yup."

            " Where is he anyway ?" Kaoru queried. She began searching for a head of long glossy black hair complete with a forest green bandana." I figured he could be with you."

            It was true that Sano and Tsukioka Tsunan (Katsu as his nickname) have been close since they were children. They had always watched each other's backs in times of strife and trouble, thus establishing a certain bond between them that they themselves would only understand. Katsu was Sano's only link left to the memory of his late deceased guardian, Sagara Souzou. Sano had put Souzou on such a high pedestal after being showered with kindness after Souzou had made him a proper home; he had taken Souzou's name after he passed away. Katsu also lived with them, looking up to Souzou in the exact same manner.

            " No." Sano suddenly muttered." The asshole got his own apartment off campus. Lucky bastard."

            " Why ?"

            " He's a major in art remember ? Besides, all those studio projects that were lying around the dorm were starting to get on my nerves. I'd have to watch where I friggin' stepped or else he'd be bitching at me for wrecking a piece of canvas."

            Sano's eyes spoke volumes that he was definitely going to miss rooming with Katsu. He had always known that his friend was ambitious about the world of art. The dorm room wasn't enough to work with when another messy person was occupying the other end. At the end of the last year, Katsu had been hunting for an apartment.

            But it didn't matter that much to Sano. He wasn't upset, he just preferred that Katsu stayed around.

            Both Megumi and Kaoru nodded." You'd still be able to see each other. I think you mentioned before that you had a class with him. It's not like you wouldn't miss getting together on a daily basis to get piss drunk on weekdays."

            " Heh, that too." Sano grinned.

            Kaoru mindlessly twirled the end of her long ponytail around her index finger and asked." And the next victim is ?"

            " Victim ?"

            " I meant 'roommate'." She exaggerated pointedly at Sano." But then again, victim and roommate can both be mixed up or interchanged when they're applied to you."

            Sano let Kaoru's snide comment slip when the unsuspected recollection crept up on him." I would think I'M the victim this time." He replied." The school thought it would be hilarious to stick me with a paperweight. They were saying something about how there was no time available for me to find a roommate myself and someone from out of town needed a place to crash."

            " Hmm….Sagara with stranger." Megumi thought out loud purposely." Thinking about it is too much to comprehend. But I'd like to see that happening. Have you met him?"

            " Yeah." Came the dry response. Sano made a face." God, the guy has no personality whatsoever. He just….just SITS there with no expression and it's hard to see whether he thinks you're okay or you're an asshole."

            " So I take it he doesn't say much." Megumi glanced at Kaoru briefly at their friend's story.

            Sano scoffed loudly." Take a wild guess. He's a yardstick." The young man's eyes momentarily wandered around the bustling of students when he caught a recognizable view of his new rooming companion.

            " There he goes." He mentioned to the girls." At least I think that was him."

            Kaoru and Megumi's gaze shifted quickly to where Sano was looking, anxious to see the guy that had Sano's frustration level up. Kaoru thought she should congratulate him for dealing with her rooster-headed friend in such a method that was not yet thought of. On the other hand, the way that Sano described him, Kaoru probably wouldn't get anything as much as an eye twitch.

            There was nothing to see anyway. Sano had proclaimed that he was gone and all they saw was the swinging exit door and more students shoving each other.

            Megumi shrugged." Ha ha, well good luck. Maybe it's time someone put you in your place."

            " I'd like YOU to put me in my place." Sano leaned closed and gave Megumi an exaggerated longing glance. He executed it with a purr.

            Sano knew that look on Megumi's face. It was the "I'm-going-to-slap-you-so-hard-that-when-you-wake-up-your-clothes-will-be-out-of-date" kind of look." You're a prick." She stated simply.

            " Thank-you."

            Kaoru watched as Sano bowed mockingly low as Megumi proceed to the cash register. She could barely contain a laugh as they continued their antics all the way through the process of purchasing. All the while Kaoru wondered where Kenshin could be. All other thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind, even the thought that contained Sano's rendezvous with the newcomer.