Fuu's Dilemma
Chapter one: Ruisu
The hot summer sun beat down relentlessly on the city of Tokyo, and the many inhabitants went about their business slowly and reluctantly, the boiling heat robbing them of their strength and forcing some to retire to the relative coolness of their homes.
Umi Ryuuzaki grumbled to herself as she forced her way through the crowds around the local shopping center. Her long blue hair was tied neatly into two plaits, which stuck to the back of her neck as the sun fried her pale skin. She wore a sea blue skirt and a checked shirt, the front of which was tied up exposing her stomach. Under the crook of one arm she carried a basket filled to the brim with food. Like most, Umi would have loved to retire to a shady spot with an ice-cream or go swimming, but she was on her way to a housewarming party.
"Umi! Umi-chan!!!"
At the sound of her name being called, the blue haired teen turned around to spot a little figure running through the crowd towards her. With a squeal, the caller flung herself at Umi, who was grinning in amusement.
"Hey, Hikaru."
The little redhead grinned back and began to redo her long plait, which had come undone in the mad dash to Umi's side. "You on your way to Fuu's?"
Umi nodded and held up the basket.
"Me too. I've got her a housewarming present right here." Hikaru pulled out a small packet wrapped in light green paper from her pocket. "She told me on the phone that her new house is even bigger than the one she used to have! Isn't that cool?"
Umi nodded again and looked at her watch. "Oh, no...we're gonna be late!"
"Reckon we could make it if we run?"
"Maybe...come on then Hikaru-chan!"
The two girls raced through the streets as fast as they could without dropping their presents, Hikaru in front. As she rounded a corner, she turned to ask Umi what the time was.
BANG!
Hikaru ran straight into a boy standing just around the corner. The force of the collision sent both of them flying backwards, Hikaru narrowly missing Umi, who skidded to a halt.
Umi, ignoring Hikaru's squeals, went straight to the boy and tried to help him up. "I'm so sorry! Hikaru didn't mean to bump into you. She's so clumsy sometimes."
"Forget it." Rejecting Umi's outstretched hand, the boy got up. He looked a little older than them, with thick, midnight black hair that hung over his eyes and a sullen look on his face. The eyes that peered out suspiciously at them, however, were sky blue, the exact same color as the sky itself. The boy dusted himself off and brushed past them both, muttering something to himself.
"Ungrateful bastard." Umi growled as she watched him go, "Cute, though."
Hikaru eventually got to her feet, rubbing her backside. "Ow."
"Be more careful, Hikaru!" Umi admonished her, "Don't run into cute guys!"
After the unexpected delay, the two of them were forced to run even faster to Fuu's house. When they reached the new Hououji household, nearly all the other guests were already there and Fuu was waiting for them by the front gate.
The dainty blond haired girl flashed a smile as her two best friends raced through the gateway towards her. "My my, you didn't need to run."
"Sorry...we're late..." Hikaru gasped, holding a hand to her side.
Fuu smiled again as a breathless Umi offered her the basket, followed by Hikaru's present. "Oh, you shouldn't have!"
"We wanted to, Fuu." Umi replied, "We're best friends, and we've been through so much together."
At the mention of this, all of their thoughts immediately drifted back to the world that the three of them alone on Earth knew about. About six months ago they had finally rescued the world of Cephiro from three other nations, Autozam, Chizeta and Fahren , who were all trying to invade Cephiro because of the death of the world's Pillar, a beautiful maiden named Princess Emeraude who because she fell in love with a priest of Cephiro named Zagato, had to be destroyed by three warriors from another world, the legendary Magic Knights. Guru Clef had summoned the three to him, and those three were Hikaru, Umi and Fuu. The unusual thing about Cephiro was that it was a world where everything was governed by one's will and because of Emeraude's despair and the fears of the people, deadly creatures had been created.
Even when Cephiro had finally been restored and the pillar system destroyed by the three girls, they still occasionally visited the world and it's people, who they all loved as much as those in their own world. Hikaru loved two men, Eagle and Lantis, equally, Umi had a soft spot for both Guru Clef and the tactless Ascot, but for Fuu there was only one man.
Prince Ferio.
Even at the mere mention of the world of Cephiro, Fuu would immediately think of him. Ferio was the younger brother of the late Princess Emeraude, but Fuu hadn't actually known this until after her death on their second visit to Cephiro. Ferio, however, held nothing against Fuu or the other girls because of this, in fact it had made his respect for them and his love for Fuu even stronger.
Ferio...
Ferio with his green colored hair and piercing amber eyes. The cute scar across his nose and the huge sword he wielded with ease.
Ferio...
Fuu shook her head clear of these thoughts and invited both Umi and Hikaru inside, leading them out to the back garden where the other guests waited and giving them a brief tour along the way. Like Fuu's house, the garden was huge, and packed with her relatives, school friends and neighbors. Fuu's older sister Kuu handed them all a glass of champagne.
"We can't start yet." Kuu told them with a smile, "The next door neighbors haven't arrived yet."
"Mother and Father invited the neighbours from both sides." Fuu explained to her friends, "They said a housewarming party would be a good way to get to know them better."
"Yes. I've never met them but Mother says they're very nice." Kuu added.
Just as the girls were settling into the nearby buffet, Fuu's mother called her over.
"Fuu, dear, our neighbors are here. This is my youngest daughter Fuu, and this is Mr and Mrs. Tendo and their son Ruisu."
The two adults, both middle aged with light brown hair just beginning to gray, bowed to Fuu and she returned the gesture. Umi and Hikaru peered round her in curiosity as the son was brought forward.
In the sunlight his thick, midnight black hair seemed darker than anything else, but as he raised his head and shook his long fringe away from this face, his sky blue eyes twinkled like little stars. He stared right at Fuu, and Fuu stared back.
"It's him." Hikaru whispered to Umi.
Ruisu stepped forward slowly and handed Fuu a large present wrapped in dark blue paper. As he handed it over, their fingers touched, ever so slightly, and not for one second did his eyes leave Fuu's face. She felt her heart do a somersault and where his fingers touched, they left a path of tingling fire. Fuu was completely entranced.
"Welcome to the neighborhood, Fuu Hououji." He told her quietly. His voice was deep and husky and deep like a dark forest pool, completely unlike the harsh tone he had used when talking to Umi and Hikaru earlier.
"Th...thank you, Ruisu Tendo. These are my best friends, Hikaru Shidou and Umi Ryuuzaki."
A flicker of recognition past Ruisu's face as he spotted both girls standing behind Fuu. "We've already met."
"You have?" Fuu turned to Hikaru and Umi in surprise.
Umi gave a little nod. "Hikaru ran into him on our way here."
"Oh, then I must apologize," Fuu turned back to Ruisu. "Hikaru can be terribly clumsy at times. She didn't hurt you I hope?"
"If she did, meeting you made everything fine again." Ruisu whispered in her ear as Fuu politely took him to the buffet table to get him some food.
The rest of the afternoon past relatively well. There was dancing, music, food and plenty of games for the teens and children, but throughout it all, Fuu remained dazed. Hikaru, who was an innocent when it came to boys, didn't realize this at all, but Umi did. As dinner was served in the garden and the air began to cool, Umi saw her chance.
"So, Ruisu, how old are you?" Umi asked him as he sat opposite to her on the table for the children.
"I'm 17."
"Oh. So where's your girlfriend?"
Ruisu looked slightly puzzled.
"I thought that someone your age would have a girlfriend by now."
"No, Umi, I don't have a girlfriend."
"I see. So why were you near the shopping center earlier when you were supposed to be here for the party?"
"My mother has a cough." Ruisu replied darkly, his eyes cold as he fixed them on Umi. "I was fetching her some more medicine from the doctor's. Finished with your questions, Miss Ryuuzaki?"
Turning away to carry on eating his food, Ruisu didn't notice Fuu hiss at Umi. "Why are you being so nasty, Umi? Can't you show some manners?"
"I don't like him." Umi hissed back defiantly. "He's slippery, like an eel."
"Don't judge people before you get to know them." Fuu replied quietly.
While they were all eating, Umi noticed that Ruisu did nothing but pick at his food and stare at Fuu, who did exactly the same. But whenever their eyes met, they would immediately look away again. It was a crush, and a big one at that.
The rest of the party past quite well. Ruisu and Fuu were chatting together while Hikaru and Umi watched them from nearby. The other guests were either chatting amongst themselves or dancing in the area set out as the dance floor.
"I don't get it, Umi." Hikaru twisted her plait around a finger as she talked. "He doesn't seem too bad to me."
"Oh?" Umi growled, "Hikaru, don't you remember how nasty he was to us when you ran into him? Or how he looked at us when Fuu introduced us?"
"Well...yeah Umi, but I should have been more careful in the first place. You said so yourself."
"I still don't like him. He's getting too friendly with Fuu and they barely know each other! She's too love struck to notice!"
"Aww Umi-chan, don't be like that. Fuu's a clever girl, she knows what she's doing. Remember how she handled Ferio when we first met him?"
"Exactly! What about Ferio? He loves Fuu, he'll be heartbroken if he finds out she's run off with some...freaky bastard."
"It won't come to that, Umi-chan. Sheesh, let Fuu have some fun! It's harmless, and I don't see any romantic stuff happenin'."
"You wouldn't, Hikaru...you wouldn't."
When the last dance came towards the end of the night, Fuu ended up dancing with Ruisu, something insisted upon by both their parents. Umi watched anxiously from her position as Mr Tendo's dancing partner. The fact that she was dancing with a middle aged man who kept mentioning his fondness for younger women bothered her less than Shinji did.
Ruisu placed his left hand on Fuu's hip and drew her close to him. She was trembling with conflicting emotions as the fingers of his right hand and her left entwined like snakes. She noticed blankly that his hands were very warm and more tanned than her own. As the music started, slow and gentle, like all the other couples dancing, they moved to the sound. Ruisu kept his eyes on Fuu and as she accidentally looked back into his, she found herself sucked into the turquoise depths and unable to escape.
"It's been a wonderful evening, Fuu Hououji." She heard him say. "I'm glad I had this opportunity to meet my new neighbors, especially you."
"Really?"
"Really really. You're very nice, you know that? And from what I heard you talking about with your friends, very intelligent too."
"Oh I'm not so clever..."
"So modest too. And such a pretty smile. Tell me, Fuu-chan, I'm sure a beautiful girl like yourself has a boyfriend."
"Oh...no I don't. Not a proper boyfriend." Why did she say that? Fuu felt a twinge of guilt as she immediately thought of Ferio.
"I see. Well, I..."
"Ruisu! We're going now!" The voice of Mrs Tendo shattered the conversation as the final notes of the song drifted away into the night sky. Ruisu slowly let go of Fuu's waist and hand.
Solemnly, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it, watching her face all the time. Fuu blushed, feeling an odd sense of deja vu.
"Goodnight, sweet Fuu Hououji."
"G...goodnight, Ruisu Tendo."
Then he was gone without a backward glance. Fuu stood there for some moments, her mind in a total blur. She could still feel the heat of his kiss on her hand. Quietly she bid goodnight to the other guests as they gathered up their things and bid her and her family goodbye. She said very little to Umi and Hikaru, who were being picked up by their parents because they lived so far away.
After all the guests were gone and the tidying done, Fuu went to bed. She didn't dare to look out of the window at the Tendo household, but only laid on her bed on her back and stared at the ceiling of her new room.
'Such a pretty smile.'
Reluctantly, almost against her will, Fuu picked up her small mirror and smiled into it. She couldn't see what the fuss was about. It was only now that she realized that the whole day had passed without her thinking of Ferio once. She felt a sharp pang of shame as she thought of him. She'd been so caught up in enjoying her time with the handsome Ruisu that she hadn't thought of Ferio. Ruisu had been so nice...but so was Ferio. It was too late and Fuu too tired to make sense of anything right now, so sighing and pushing both Ruisu and Ferio to the back of her mind, Fuu rolled over and fell into a dreamless sleep.