COLLECT & CONTRAST
-Kawaii Hana-
Disclaimer: I don't own Flame of Recca, its characters nor the original plot. There… enough said!
Author's Note: Hey people of the world! I have now come out of the Cave of Procrastination and into the Light of Inspiration… *gasps* OK, that was lame. Sorry… So, anyway, this ToFuu story serves as sort of a little break from my other fics, such as my first Tofuu story, "Reunion of the Hearts". Well, I haven't updated that in a long time… If you guys noticed though, our favorite pair in that story has grown to mature adults in their 20's. So, Tokiya's isn't that stoic or aloof anymore nor is Fuuko with the tomboyish attitude.
So, this story sort of goes back to their high school days with their signature attitudes explicitly shown. But there's a twist, however… The story will be narrated by an outsider's point of view, a.k.a an OC… As always, my Flame of Recca fics is solely based on the anime as it has pretty much a very ambiguous ending. But I do have some references taken from manga such as the name of their school.
Sure hope you guys enjoy it!
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
CHAPTER ONE: In the Eyes of Stranger…
It was just like how any day of my teenage life starts with.
Heck, I can narrate it to you right now…
The sun goes up. My alarm clock rings at 5:00AM. I wake up… I take a bath… I eat breakfast and leave for school by 6:10 AM. First is Homeroom by Tatesako-sensei at 7 AM sharp –always boring. The only time I actually listen when Sensei announces the festivals and events for the school. Next subject is Basic Algebra at 7:35 AM… Uggh, my head would always suffer a migraine during this period… Then comes P.E… As soon as the Algebra class ends by 8:35 AM, we go straight to the locker rooms to change into to our T-shirts and bloomers for us girls and jogging pants for boys… After the rigorous activities at 10:15, it was now rigorous training for the brain… English… Learning a language you did not learn until you are age 13 is a bit of a challenge, I must say… At 11:30 AM, it was now for long-awaited one-hour-and-a-half- long Lunch break… Some, who brought their homemade bentous, stay behind and eat in the classroom, while the rest who did not bring any, go downstairs to buy food from the cafeteria. By 1:00 PM, classes resume with Japanese next. 2 PM is Biology. Thursdays and Fridays are Lab days. And finally, we go back to Tatesako-sensei again, teaching Japanese History… The classes end by 4 PM. By then, we have gone to our respective clubs and other extracurricular activities. By 6:30 PM or depending on how each club sessions end, we all go home…
And that's that… Life as a mere student has always been uneventful. Today was always exactly like yesterday as if there was no distinction at all – just a continuous never-ending circle.
Who am I, by the way? My name is Shibata Hinako, 16 years old. But my family and close friends refer to me as Hina (xD). I'm a freshman studying at Nashikiri High school – a place just a few blocks past our home. Although I'm not what everyone calls it a genius, I do study and work hard to attain good grades since I certainly don't want to come out last. Well, since the first day of freshman year, it was pretty normal. Classes, club activities, hanging out with friends… and all that…
Nothing special…
But there was that one time just right after the summer break that was particularly peculiar. There had not been a dull moment or a boring day ever since… But first, I have to explain a couple of things…
0-0-0-0-0-0
Our class, 1-C, is a melting pot, ranging from the most genius to the dumbest, from the bullies to the bullied ones, and few other standout personalities. And these particular standouts have caught my eye recently.
First off, there was that ninja boy, Hanabishi Recca, the son of the Fireworks store owner. He was the one that every yankee (or idiot) wants to beat – just so that Hanabishi will become his ninja forever… Tsk! If you ask my opinion, that ninja concept is so corny and so obsolete. I can't believe there is still one lone person in this 21st century world that would still apply to that. Well now, I do. It's Hanabishi Recca…
One of those people who relentlessly chase after and fight Hanabishi was that big guy, Ishijima Domon. It was hard to believe he is still a freshman like me. I have a feeling he is a repeater. His huge body, his pierced nose and his Mohawk-shaved head… All of these are attributes are given to a stereotypical delinquent, alright. But there's one catch… He is particularly infatuated with a tomboyish girl. Well, what I can say? Maybe even a tough-tough guy like him would go insane for a woman. In Ishijima-san's case though, he is beyond critically insane for this girl.
And she happens to be also one of my classmates, the purple-headed Kirisawa Fuuko. Honestly, if she hadn't been my classmate since Junior high, I would have mistaken her for a boy. That's coz she just acts like one – loud and bold… and quite proud of it, too. But, that wouldn't be necessary. Because since we're all around 15-16 years old, Fuuko's the lucky one. She's the one who developed quite a large chest. That is the irony, though. She may act like a male but the regular clothes that she wears suggest the opposite. Just like Ishijima and those other stupid yankees, she wanted to defeat Hanabishi ever since… um… since the beginning… And when I say the beginning, I mean since Elementary days… Sigh…
But alas, that fighting-for-ninja thing is over. Why? Because that ninja boy has finally found the one person he was going to serve. But, of all the people in the world, it had to be that mild-mannered girl…
Her name was Sakoshita Yanagi – a brunette, straight A's student. Though, she's not my classmate this year, I know her quite well since the Junior High days. She is the only child from a well-to-do family and works part time at a day care center. I can't imagine how this delicate girl was able to win the ninja's favor. But for some reason, one day, Hanabishi goes around calling her his 'hime', constantly by her side. But come to think of it, I don't think Yanagi-chan won Hanabishi's service by fighting him to death. She probably won his heart - the old-fashioned way… You know what I mean! After all, Yanagi-chan is pretty much the epitome of the pure, innocent girl… And Hanabishi Recca, though really weird about his ninja otakuness, is still your average 16 year teenager… It's not surprising how Yanagi-chan had finally tamed the self-proclaimed "ninja"…
Well, the school had gotten used to it though, as have Ishijima, Fuuko-san and I.
But this is not all… The most unexpected is next… It was a particularly ordinary day, too… About a day or so after Hanabishi pledged his allegiance to his "Hime", while the whole school were raving about on how the hell Yanagi-chan did it. It seems even Mikagami–senpai started to have interest into the whole matter. There were rumors that he had approached Recca in a fountain park…
Mikagami Tokiya was also a Nashikiri High School student, one year above me. And he was the school's "idol". You know how this goes: Excellent grades. Angelic face. Teachers' star pupil. Aloof personality. His shoe box and locker crammed with chocolates every Valentine's day… Well, he always has confession letters in every single day, anyway… Yup, he was pretty much the popular type that the girls go crazy about. I'm ashamed to say that the reason there were more freshman girls than the boys in Nashikiri High in our year is because of him. While I particularly do think he is hot, being endowed with good looks and good brains, I was kinda turned off by his aloofness. So, rest assured, I am not one of those crazy fangirls that flock in our school…
But I was sorely mistaken about Senpai…
It was right after classes ended as it normally did. A friend of mine named Yuuto and I decided to hang out at the local amusement park. While he was away buying our snacks and I left alone sitting on a bench, I saw it… Mikagami-senpai going inside the Hall of Mirrors with Hanabishi… And then, despite the hustle and bustle of the amusement park, I thought I heard crashes from that direction… I saw Yanagi-chan hurrying over inside with Fuuko-san and Ishijima. All three were wearing worried expressions. Something was definitely going on inside… Something really bad… Before I could go in and check things out for myself, my friend had returned. His hands were full, trying to hold all the snacks and not drop them. I had opted to just tell a maintenance staff member instead.
"What's wrong, Hina? Did something happen?" My particular friend asked me.
"Oh nothing… I thought I heard a crash in the Hall of Mirrors."
My friend responded with a shrug and went on to seat at the bench beside me, as we ate. And he began to talk about something about his karate club that he was a member off. But I wasn't really listening to him. I was obviously worried about what I saw just a few moments ago…
I've never actually seen Mikagami-senpai being involved with people… So imagine my surprise when I saw Mikagami-senpai going in the Hall of Mirrors… with Hanabishi Recca, of all people. Did he want Hanabishi to be his personal ninja? Naah… Was he upset about the news that Yanagi became the "ninja's master"? Pfft! No way! No way was Senpai going to involve himself with that kind of nonsense! Or would he…? But the fact that I saw that he was actually conversing with another student was surprising enough already…
Suspiciously, there was a news article about the rampaged Hall of Mirrors in the local amusement park, the next day. I just know that Hanabishi and the others had something to do it because I saw him and Mikagami-senpai go in there BEFORE I heard the crashing sounds…
It was obvious it was them who destroyed the place but… mysteriously, nobody got in trouble at all…
0-0-0-0-0-0
After that incident, things suddenly went peaceful… Everyone at school has gotten used to the fact that Yanagi-chan had tamed the reckless Ninja boy. Fuuko-san and Ishijima-san had suddenly become friends with their former nemesis. And Mikagami-senpai? Well, not much changed to him, really…
A week since the "Hall of Mirrors" incident, after I had gone home from school, there was this piece of news that my father, a doctor at a local hospital, had me shocked… The trio was found injured while they were at Tatesako-sensei's house. At first, when my father told me about it, I snorted.
"Oh c'mon, Otou-san… Those three are always prone to injuries from all their fighting. There's nothing new about it."
"No, Hina… Listen…" And he proceeded to tell me where their injuries came from. I had my mouth agape throughout the entire story. For the first time, I heard from Otou-san that they weren't fighting at each other anymore; rather they were defending themselves from someone. Sensei's house was found ransacked. Fuuko-san and Sensei's wife were seriously injured. Hanabishi and Ishijima were okay but it seemed they were in a pretty big and dangerous fight. Tatesako-sensei and Yanagi-chan were nowhere to be found…
What on earth could have happened in Tatesako-sensei's house? Did Hanabishi cause another rampage again? That would be impossible. Tatesako-sensei was a ninja otaku like Hanabishi. That's the reason why he is even in our class. No teacher actually wanted to have Hanabishi under their supervision. That way, after class, they could go on and on all about ninja as long as they want. Surely, he wouldn't want to cause trouble in his favorite sensei's house…
This startling news spread quickly to the school the next day. Well, there was nothing strange about that. One teacher and a student, two people from our school… are missing after all. My worries went to the trio. Despite being the topic of every conversation in school, they were down and unusually quiet… Was this the first time they've lost? I couldn't help but feel sorry for them… Here they were being scrutinized for being the troublemakers, and the ones at fault for that incident… But nobody had ever paused to think that they've just lost their two friends…
Well, the next day…
It was like nothing bad had actually happened… Tatesako-sensei and Yanagi-chan were back! Imagine our shocked faces when Sensei showed up for our Homeroom. His explanation for everything that transpired was that it was burglars who ransacked his house because of his valuable collection of ancient ninja artifacts and such… Hanabishi-san and the others had unfortunately been there in the wrong place in the wrong time… He explained that while the trio tried to fight back, they were helpless against those pros of the crime world. They kidnapped Sensei and Yanagi-chan for good measure… But they would leave them alone in an abandoned lot, unharmed and free…
Which is why the two were able to go back safely…
I sneaked a glance at the trio… They were back in their usual energetic selves, of course. But what really caught my eye is that they were obviously trying to hide their injuries… Fuuko-san, for example, is someone whom I have never seen wearing our school-issued pink blazer… And yet, here she was… complete with the ribbon and everything… The same goes to the boys, too… They were all buttoned up and their sleeves not rolled up this time… It was bizarre…
Then, something clicked inside my head… Somehow how it made sense…
Hanabish and his gang went out of their way to save Sensei and Yanagi-chan last night…
Yes, I can't believe that they were able to do something that amazing in just one night… But, just what explanation is there? Those three are the most hot-headed people I know… Surely, if one of their friends gets hurt, they would do something about it… no matter what dire consequences may befall them…
Whatever it is that they did supposedly; I honestly thought it was very brave of the trio to save them. I think I have gotten the wrong impression about them. They are not how they appear to be…
0-0-0-0-0-0
It was now the end of the school day once again… Everyone was still talking about Sensei and Yanagi's safe and miraculous return… Our class, 1-C, is quite popular now… Everyone seems to be "star struck" at us whenever we pass by the hallway or enter the school cafeteria… It was quite bizarre…
"Himee! Are you ready to go home now!?" I could hear Recca's voice from a distance. He was at the Yanagi's classroom next to ours. For some reason, I found myself hiding behind the door. Yes, I know… I was eavesdropping… I know it's wrong but I just couldn't resist…
"Just a minute, Recca-kun…" Yanagi replied shortly after… I rolled my eyes. Yep, they are definitely an item. No denying there…
"Heeeey you two lovebirds!" Fuuko suddenly came bursting inside, unknowingly hitting my head when she slammed the door. I had to bite my lower lip, to not make a sound.
"Fuuko-chan, w-we're not… uh…" I can hear Yanagi stuttering her words. I can imagine her face getting red. It would surely look cute.
"Awww! No need to be shy, Yanagi-chan!" Fuuko encouraged.
"Fuuko-chan, my love!" Ishijima-san swooped down to hug Fuuko but she stepped back and he landed painfully on the floor instead.
"Owww… Fuuko-chan, why?"
"Domon!? Would you please!?"
"Sorry…"
"So what's this all about? I heard Hanabishi is calling us here…" Mikagami–senpai suddenly appeared before them. I didn't notice that he had actually gone into the room. Wait, if he's here, does this mean he also was involved in rescuing Yanagi-chan and Tatesako-sensei, too?
"Oh good! Everyone's here! Listen up!" Hanabishi began to call everyone's attention. "Kage Houshi just sent me message. She said there's something she wanted show us in her house. I asked Tatesako-sensei and he said he's willing to take us to whatever that place is… I hear it's over the mountains…"
Kage Houshi? Who is this person? Was she involved in the rescue last night, too? There is just so many questions…
"Let's meet up by the construction site again… I'm sure everybody knows that place…."
I have to go now… Whatever what they're planning to do…. I better not get myself involved… I sneaked one last glance at this unlikely group of friends… They may be all mismatched but they sure look great together…
Little did I know… I was headed in for the greatest surprise of my life yet…
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0000 (KAWAII HANA 08) 0000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
OK, this is the end of the chapter…. But wait, there's more… Click on the next chapter! xD