I tried a Yui-Tokiya pairing in one of my fics but reverted it back to the original pairing. Anyway, here's my first official Yui-Tokiya story. Please enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi and Recca no Honou are not mine.

Chapter One

By Slavedriver2008

I CURSED IN MY HEAD. My feet sloshed through small pools of rainwater, damping my newly-washed white sneakers. I was late for work and it was all because of the rain. If it had not brought thunder, I wouldn't have squirmed in one corner of my room, covering my ears. I love the rain but I hate lightning and thunder. Why do they always have to co-exist?

School had closed down for the summer and the most logical thing to do for a high school senior was to get a job. I'm in my final year in high school. I need all the money I can earn for university. The greenery of the park caught my attention and I glanced at my wristwatch. I can make it in time if I run faster. The way to the restaurant where I work traverses the national park, a place full of hydrangeas in violet and blue. I watch them sometimes from the restaurant window but I had never seen them after the rain.

I unintentionally slowed down, looking at them as I passed. They were beautiful, petals glistening with after-rain mist. I smiled as the smell of damp earth tickled my nostrils. I love the world after a good rain. It was always refreshing and clean. A strong wind passed through me and my hair was hitched up, my skirt was blown upward and I pushed them down immediately to cover my legs. But it was futile, anyone would have seen my knickers.

The sound of clicking came from the side and my eyes widened when I saw three men, watching me. The two were surprised, mouths opened. The one in the middle made my face burn. Anger lit up inside me and I looked back, mortified. The man, with long dark gray hair tied in a high ponytail, stood up and glared. It took me awhile before I finally mustered the courage to stomp toward them, flushed at being exposed.

"Give it to me," I demanded, heaving because of mixed humiliation and anger. The man held tightly into his camera.

"Why should I?" he asked with jaws clenched.

"You harassed me—You took photos of my underwear!" I breathed out angrily. His companions had stood up from the benches. "I demand you delete my photos—"

"It's a film camera, woman," he said sternly. "You ruined it by running into the frame. You wasted my film." I looked at him with disbelief. How can he be arrogant? "I waited for weeks to get that shot and you ruined it." He turned back and arranged his camera in the case.

I walked in front of him. "Then give me the film." I put my hand up, demanding the roll. He looked back with a smug reaction.

"In your dreams," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"I said give it to me!" I grabbed his camera and he immediately hit my hand. I reacted as pain shot though the spot. His hand was heavy and strong and my skin immediately reddened from the slap. He was taken aback by my reaction, surprised at what he did.

"Tokiya, take it easy," the man wearing a baseball cap walked between us. "Miss, we're sorry. It was an accident." I bit my lip out of anger. I was trembling and tears beaded my eyes. My right hand hurt.

"Don't waste your breath Recca," he said with a hostile reaction. "She's angry. She won't listen to reason. They're all like that." He turned his attention on his gadgets, zipping his bag and putting it on his broad shoulder. He turned and our eyes met. If he wasn't such a cad, I would notice how handsome he was. But I was angry, who cares about how he looks? He took something from his pocket and threw it at my direction. I caught it with my hands, it was an ointment. "Let's go." He turned and walked away.

"We're really sorry," the man named Recca repeated, bowing down.

"Please forgive Tokiya, he's really very hot-headed lately," the other man, with a Mohawk and a burly body, said apologetically. "The ointment can make your hand heal faster," he added with a smile. They bowed and followed the man named Tokiya.

I clutched the ointment and angrily threw it. It hit the back of his head and he turned instantaneously, face contorted into shock then anger. "If you make copies of those photos, I will break your neck."

I turned around and ran toward my part-time work. I glanced at my wristwatch and I ended up cursing for real. Now I went beyond the 15 minutes grace period and will be berated by the manager. I would be lucky if he allowed me to continue working. I was heaving when I reached the door of the restaurant and Miaka immediately ran after me, dressed in the same uniform.

"Yui, you're late!" I walked past her and headed toward the counter. "Did something happen? Your hand is red!"

"I'm fine…" I answered, rubbing the spot with my thumb. I immediately changed into my uniform. "Did Yuuko-san come in already?" Miaka shook her head and I heaved a sigh of relief. What an incident to start a day of work. "I'll do the dishes later so you can go home early," I told Miaka and her eyes brightened.

"Arigatou, Yui-chan!" She embraced me before going back to work. Taka always fetches the brunette from work. We stay up until midnight to do a canvass of the ingredients inside the restaurant before calling it a day. I volunteered to do the extra work so Miaka can meet Taka earlier. I was really happy for them. No one comes in for me anyway. It's been almost a year since Tetsuya and I broke up and the last I heard, he had a new girlfriend. "There's a new group of customers in Table No. 16," Miaka said as I placed my name plate. I nodded and headed toward the table, pulling down the skimpy skirt that was my uniform.

If the owners were not neighbors, I wouldn't be in this job. It required too much time and energy, not to mention too many demands from the customers. I pulled out my little notebook and offered the customers my warmest smile.

"Ohayou! What would you have?" My eyes widened when my eyes met a pair of blue gray irises. The man who took photos of my exposed self earlier looked at me from head to foot, with a scrutinizing gaze that made my heart beat unbearably fast.

HER BLUE EYES WIDENED. I noticed it earlier, the color of teal, an unusual hue. And then her mouth moved to a frown, starkly different from the smile she donned before our eyes met. If she didn't get too dramatic, I would call her a beauty. But those little exaggerated reactions ruined it all. I hated the way women contort their faces to get what they want, thinking it was cute and attractive. Women, I have never been too annoyed of a woman before.

"Ah! Yui-san!" Recca greeted, in a warm smile he was famous for. My eyes landed on the breastplate where her name was written down. Yui. Elegant cloth. Probably Japan's most used girl's name. A normal name for a normal girl wearing a normal uniform in a normal restaurant at a normal district.

I hated it. It made me sick.

"Espresso, double shot," I said roughly. She was taken aback and then jotted down my order. "Ah no, make it triple," I said and she immediately erased what she wrote. When she was done I said again, "No, make it a single shot espresso." Her fingers clutched the pen and her jaw tightened, not saying anything.

"Would you have anything—"

"My espresso, make it a double," I said out, enjoying the anger that brewed over her face. "On second thought—"

"Tokiya," Recca hushed, frowning. Life was cursed when these two monkeys were around. Why can't they let me have my fun? "Sorry about that, Yui-san. Tokiya will get a double shot espresso. I'll get the caramel frappe!" he said eagerly. "Domon, what will you get?"

"Eh? Let's see…" The burly man looked through the selection in the counter and smiled. "I'll get a banana split!" he said aloud and the girl nodded.

"Hai!" She wrote everything down, now with a smile on her face. I leaned back on the seat, giving her the most intense glare I could. I wanted her to squirm in fear, in exchange for hitting me with the ointment. Her hand, I noticed, were still throbbing and red.

She refused to look my way as she walked toward the counter. I smirked, following her with cold piercing eyes. She pulled her skirt down and she almost dropped the notebook out of awkwardness. She was like all the normal girls in the world, blushing under my gaze. Annoying. It had always annoyed me, the way women lay in front of me, unmindful of their characters or what little respect they had of themselves. She consciously tugged the end of her braid, heaving a sigh. She almost lost balance while carrying the tray and I laughed. I wanted her to trip and fall, to graze her knees. I wanted to see that angry, blushing, mortified face again.

Recca made a sound and when I turned to him, he smiled wide, slowly. I looked back with a stern reaction, struggling to read the expressions on his face. Recca always smiled but when he don the mischievous look, I knew he was up to something. She handed us our orders and the strong smell of coffee filled my nostrils. I gulped it and immediately frowned, annoyed that it tasted good. Regardless, she wouldn't know that, would she?

"Bad shot," I said, placing the little glass before her. She looked back, surprised.

"But it was served before 10 minutes—"

"Your friend did something wrong with the concoction. Get me a new one, on the house." She breathed out and smiled thinly, taking the glass. Our fingers brushed, very light, very quick. I frowned.

"Hai, I'll get you a new one…" she said obediently and my hand clenched.

"You're very moody today," Recca noted and I leaned back on the seat, closing my eyes. "You should relax Tokiya. And don't pick on the girl for god's sake. From the way you look at her, you look like an obsessed maniac."

I grumbled, eyeing him sharply. Domon sniggered. "She ruined my day. It is only right that I ruin hers." The man stopped speaking when she came close, putting the cup in front of me. I took the cup under my nose, it smelled good. I drank it and smirked. It was good and lethargic. "Better," I said and she looked victorious.

"Yui-san, do you have a boyfriend?" It was Domon. The girl was taken aback and smiled thinly.

"I'm sorry, I don't have one," she squeaked. The two idiots nodded. Recca hit the table and smiled wide.

"Tokiya doesn't have a girlfriend—You two should date!" My eyes widened and she frowned. She didn't blush and instead of squirming like the normal girl that she was, she shook her head.

"It wouldn't work, Recca-san. I don't want to date someone I don't like." My nose flared and I made a sound of disbelief. "I also don't date men with no manners. Sumimasen," she said, moving away toward the next table to get their orders. I was fuming underneath.

The two monkeys sniggered and I leaned back on the seat, eyeing her murderously. To outrightly humiliate me… I stood up but Recca pulled my arm and I fell back on the seat. She briefly turned to us and looked away immediately, avoiding my gaze. How can a girl, a normal-looking girl with no spectacular background ruin a day I had been waiting for months.

I slapped his hand away and pulled a bill from my pocket, banging it on the table. I stood up and walked out of the table, clutching my camera bag and placing a hand inside my pocket.

"Eh? Tokiya!" Recca called, in a tone that annoyed the shit out of me. She turned and our eyes met again. I turned away and passed her as the two scrambled off their chairs, placing money on the table, rushing to follow after me. "Hey, wait up!"

I want them off my back, just for today. I want to be alone.

Rain water damped the soles of my shoes, black leather shoes I bought almost a year ago, when not getting shabby and dressing properly was a requirement. A time when my damned life was carefully planned and arranged, each day was a pleasure to live in. But now, it had become like the season, unpredictable, moody, cold, and irritating.

I reached my apartment in less time, entering the barren place with soles leaving traces of mud on the floor. My feet led me to the dark room and I quickly took off my shirt, letting the humid air bring heat to my body. How long was it since I last set foot on this place to print photos? I have almost forgotten the concoctions and as I dip the paper one at a time, the familiarity came back one at a time.

Blue. The pictures were supposed to be submerged in tones of blue. It was the theme of the end-summer collections. It had been a year since I stopped taking photos, since I stopped using film cameras, since I led a purposeful and meaningful life. A year since I stopped joining club activities and since she left me in this dump.

The images appeared, the hydrangeas with after-rain mist. I pinned it one by one, letting it hung dry. I watched the colors come and the contrasts come into play. The only thing I wanted to take photos of were the hydrangeas. But I got an image of her instead, running into the frame, stopping, the wind blowing fast and strong, lifting her skirt.

I lit a cigarette. The last picture was of her turning to me in those wide teal eyes, a hand clutching the hair on her cheek while the other keeping the skirt down, knees bent. I pulled it out of the line and brought it out into the light, leaving the others behind, scrutinizing the tiniest details of the picture. Bitterness spread through my tongue and I placed the picture on the table, walking toward the window to look at the park below, where the hydrangeas were in full bloom.

The phone rang and I let it. I don't want to talk to anyone, not with a busted mood. It stopped and then rung again, piercing the solitude of my apartment. I angrily took it and brought it to my ear, relishing the taste of nicotine.

"What?"

"Moshi moshi Mi-chan!" It was a girl. Yanagi Sakoshita. I put out the cigarette and slumped on the bed, watching the plain blue ceiling as she started to talk. "Recca told me you walked out on them today—"

"What do you want?"

"The Summer Festival is coming this Friday, do you have a date?" she asked and I didn't respond. What a stupid pathetic answer. "Oh, anyway. I met up with a childhood friend today. I want to introduce the two of you at the festival—"

"I'm not interested."

"Come on! It's been a year since you didn't go out on a date! The Summer Festival would be perfect, let's all hang out together so you won't feel pressured to talk to her," she said without breathing and I let her be. Even if I want to, I cannot take it in myself to disrespect Yanagi. She looked damn like my sister.

"I don't want to date," I said, not in a tone that intended to argue but one that will not be easily assuaged.

"Fine, it's not a date. I'll just introduce her this Friday. Don't forget to dress very nicely!" She gave me a few more instructions before she hung up. Women were annoying that way. Always thinking they're in control one way or another. "Oh and Tokiya-san," she said when I was almost about to drop the phone. "O-tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu!"

I threw the phone on the floor when the dial tone came. It continued to rung in my ears, an annoying repetitive sound. I stood up and pulled a shirt from the drawer, putting it on and heading out of the apartment. I don't have to walk far to know where to find her. She lived on the next door, used to always ask for water when she wanted something else from me.

The door parted slowly and she came out, dressed in a black lingerie, her usual outfit after a day of work. She rubbed her eyes and turned, yawning, asking silently what I want. It was the usual of course. I smirked. She understood and let me in. As the doors closed I knew that this birthday was the worst in the world.

A/N: Dark and angsty, this first chappie. :D Don't forget to leave reviews!