Disclaimer: No, I don't own Flame of Recca. Gimme a break. If I owned that wonderful anime, do you honestly think I'd be writing fanfics?

A/N: Ok! My first FoR fic!! Well, actually my second…but I don't really count the other one cuz when I wrote it, it wasn't really directed to any specific anime. Go ahead and read that one too (It's called "Mirror Image" – review I tellya!!) if you want – try to guess who's my main character in that one!! It's a toughie!

Well, anyway, back to *this* story – enjoy!



1.1.1 Midnight



Chapter 1: Whispers in the Wind

~*~



She walked through the tattered streets. Who was she? Kirisawa Fuuko. The same Kirisawa Fuuko the nobles took extra caution to avoid because of her rebellious nature. The same Kirisawa Fuuko who was now scrimmaging through the streets, doing what her lowly job required her to do. All this for her family.

Technically, it wasn't really a family, but it was as close to one as it could get. The only blood relative that was left, however, was a cute little blonde named Ganko, her imoto.

The next closest "family member" was a spiky-haired boy named Recca. She and Recca both had been good childhood friends. He had saved her once when she was very young. From then on, Fuuko had always looked up to him as an older brother. Recca had taught her how to fight, and how to defend herself to survive. It was then when she showed him her family heirloom, a strange armband called Fujin. Showing her his own elemental weapon, he taught her how to control her madogou.

Since he worked at the palace, Recca managed to get her a working job at the palace, too. She wasn't one of the higher servants, but it was much better than the life she and her imoto were living outside the palace. Much better, considering how she was favored among the servants. He had introduced her to Domon, his long-time friend, and Yanagi, the love of his life.

When she met Yanagi, Fuuko was thoroughly surprised. When he said 'his love of his life', Fuuko hadn't expected the Hime of the entire country! But, she was happy for Recca, for Yanagi no Hime loved him back with all her heart. Fuuko and the Princess became good friends, and they acted like sisters.

Although Fuuko hated being pitied, everything she did was for her imoto. Before Recca had found her, Fuuko had to beg for food. As much as she hated to beg, she understood that sometimes it was necessary. After all, her imoto's life was on the line. Try as she may, but getting jobs was extremely difficult. They only got paid for what they did and money meant food and clothing. But without money, Fuuko had been forced to take extreme measures, no matter how disgraceful, including stealing. She didn't want to see her only family starve.

Well, so here she was, walking back from the market. She had been given an order to buy some extra supplies for the great feast that was going to take place that night. She looked down in her basket to make sure she had everything.

Loud noises interrupted her train of thought. Looking to her right, she saw a crowd begin to form. To her surprise and shock, she saw a great white horse and guards both in front and behind it. On top of the horse was what surprised her the most – a dangerously handsome man wearing the royal seal.

Fuuko was a peasant, all right, but she wasn't stupid or uneducated.

/That looks like the royal seal from one of our neighboring countries…what could they be doing here?/

Although she didn't realize it, she was actually staring at him. With his silky silver hair, broad shoulders, and perfect figure – who wasn't? His face and stature were no less than perfection.

Finally gaining consciousness of what she was doing, she shook her head violently.

/Hmpf. I bet he's a spoiled brat that gets whatever he wants! Snobby noble…/

It wasn't surprising that well over half of the crowd was made of the female population. Same story over – women drooling with their dreamy expressions, and men glaring on with envy.

Fuuko watched with disgust. As far as she was concerned, physical attraction was as far as it got.

As she neared her destination, Fuuko heard a familiar scream.

"Let go of me, you creep!"

"Come here you disrespectful wretch!"

"I SAID LET GO!!!"

Praying that she had heard wrong, Fuuko ran to where all the commotion was starting up. Unfortunately for her, she had heard right. A little blonde girl was being ganged-up on by three drunk soldiers. She was just in time to see one of them cut the girl's arm slightly with a knife. What she saw almost scared her out of thinking straight.

Almost.

/Ganko?!/

Her instincts clicked on and she ran in front of the only real family member she had left just as one of the other drunken soldiers was about to hit her sister.

/Thank Kami Recca taught me how to fight…/ she thought as she blocked the hit with crossed wrists.

"You bitch!" the soldier yelled at her, as he sloughed around and tried to gain balance in his drunken state. Mustering all her strength, (which is quite a lot), Fuuko kicked the poor guy in the gut, sending him crashing into merchant stands. Fuuko had always been trained to calculate strategically under pressure and work efficiently with fast reflexes to gain the obvious advantage. Sliding into her impeccable fighting stance, she was more than prepared, as some other soldiers got ready to attack her.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the man on the white horse, just watching with an expressionless face.

/That bastard! How dare he just sit and watch soldiers beat up a little girl – ESPECIALLY MY IMOTO!/

"Ganko! Get out of here!"

"But nii-chan!"

"Go! NOW!"

"But what about you?"

At this distraction, the same soldier from before began to advance upon Ganko and slashed her cheek with a knife. Ganko was lucky that she had seen that just in time, and jumped back, so she only had a slight cut. When Fuuko saw Ganko's blood, burning rage empowered her. Anger is an understatement for what Fuuko felt. Ooh she was fuming. With pure hatred, Fuuko used her Fujin to fling the offender with a wave of her hand, while blocking another with both hands.

"Ganko. Go. Now."

Still a little uneasy with leaving behind her sister with the drunken men (not mentioning that they were armed, too!), she was about to protest when familiar hands grabbed her, pulling her into an empty area.

"Recca?" her sweet innocent voice betrayed her fear.

"Ssh…stay quiet Ganko."

"Is nii-chan gonna be ok?"

"Of course, silly! After all, I was the one who taught her!" he replied, attempting to lighten the mood.

One look at Ganko proved his attempt futile.

"Ganko, Fuuko will be fine."

"You really think so?"

"I'm positive. But for now, we had better get your cuts cleaned up." Only until Recca mentioned it and reassured that Fuuko was ok, Ganko felt her cuts sting.

Together, they rushed back to the safety of the palace, both hoping that Fuuko be safe.

/Safe? What in the world am I talking about? I've known Fuuko long enough to know that she literally LAUGHS at danger!/

And indeed, that was exactly was Fuuko was doing. Recca almost fell over when he thought he actually heard Fuuko laughing.

Fuuko wore a huge evil grin on her sun-kissed face as the last of the drunken soldiers fell into a neat heap on the dusty earth.

Even without using much of her Fujin, the wind goddess found it ridiculously easy to take on the soldiers all at once, now that she was no longer distracted by protecting Ganko. Bystanders thought she was crazy when she declared she would fight all of them at once, and some even whispered that she was signing her own death warrant.

The pitiful soldiers crawled away, most of them now sober, some casting a glance of fear and panic at her. Fuuko's eyes narrowed and her grin disappeared.

"Don't you ever dare think of harming my imoto again," Fuuko hissed, her voice practically screaming murder.

After her threat, Fuuko used her Fujin to jump onto the roof of a house and kept jumping from roof to roof. This way, it would appear as if she had disappeared and no one would be able to follow her, hypothetically. Eager to see if Ganko was all right, Fuuko sped up her pace.

She had been relieved when Recca had decided to step in and pull Ganko out. Even thought she didn't see him, she was able to feel him. If he hadn't intervened, she might have lost her life, not to mention her sister's life. Try as she might, she still did not have complete control over her Fujin.

XXX

The silver-haired man was still atop the horse, watching the wind goddess jump from house to house. Everyone else was looking around in confusion.

Though he would never admit it out loud, he realized that she had potential. He had watched the strange woman's every move with great interest. It had certainly been a while since he saw a woman fighter. His keen vision did not leave the retreating woman.

/Hn. She has a madogou. Why would a peasant like her have one?/

XXX

Ganko sat on the edge of the bed in the room she and her sister shared. Fuuko closely examined her cuts.

"Ganko are you ok?"

"Hai. Yanagi healed me." Ganko ran up to Fuuko and hugged her.

Fuuko frowned at sight of the scar on her cheek. "She healed you?"

"Hai…but Recca-kun said that I'd probably keep this scar because it was a little deeper…but me and Recca were really worried about you!"

"It's 'Recca and I,'" Fuuko corrected. "There's nothing to worry about Ganko. See? I'm fine!"

Ganko held her sister tighter.

"Come on, Ganko. We'd better go get everything ready for the celebration tonight."

"Okay!"

**That Night**

Even though Fuuko and Ganko had to set everything for the celebration that night, Yanagi pleaded with her father to let them participate. Unable to refuse his daughter anything, he agreed to let them join as special guests.

Everyone was dressed up. To Recca and Domon's surprise, Yanagi had actually gotten Fuuko to wear a nightgown for the occasion. It was nowhere as fancy and luxurious as Yanagi's, but it had a simple elegance to it, enhancing her feminine side. Fuuko had long grown out her hair, due to much persuasion on Yanagi's part, and now it was up on a bun. Dark amethyst locks of hair framed her face, accenting her rosy cheeks. Her headband had been removed, and replaced with a silver tiara, from special request from yet again, Yanagi. Even Ganko was dressed up.

Yanagi and Fuuko sat together at a table while waiting for the ball to commence.

"Yanagi, you never mentioned why we were having a ball tonight," Fuuko asked, curious.

"Father wanted to welcome some friends."

"Friends?"

"Hai. They're actually my cousins."

"Yanagi?"

"Hai, Fuu-chan?"

"Arigato for letting me and Ganko participate in the ball tonight. I know that Ganko had always wanted to dress up like a princess and dance in a ball, and I want to thank you for giving her this chance."

"Lighten up, Fuu-chan. We're practically sisters!"

A voice ran across the room, announcing the arrival of a very important guest of honor, a certain handsome prince.

"Look, Fuuko! There's my itoko! Let me introduce you guys."

Fuuko caught a glimpse of Yanagi's cousin, who was already being bombarded with females.

/Silky silver hair?/

Yanagi practically dragged her friend over to the door, where her cousin entered.

/Ice blue eyes…/

"Konnichiwa, Tokiya-itoko!"

"Konbawa, Yanagi no Hime," was the curt, but polite, reply from her cousin.

Fuuko tried desperately to figure out why those aspects were so familiar.

"Where's Mifuyu and Koganei?"

"They'll be arriving later."

"Ah..o well. Meet my friend, Kirisawa Fuuko," Yanagi continued, dragging Fuuko in front of her. "Fuuko, this is my itoko, Mikagami Tokiya."

Fuuko finally had a chance to clearly see his face. Eyes widening and recognition apparent on her facial features, only one thought fluttered across her mind.

/YOU?!/



***

AN: Yay!! Done!! You like? I hope this is good enough to earn at least a few reviews…*sniff* so special…I think this may be the first alternate universe fanfic on this couple done this way…but if it's not…eh, o well, I guess.

This story was just sitting somewhere after I wrote it because I didn't really like the title. In fact, I still don't, but I can't really think of anything at the moment, so I might as well post it this way. Suggestions? In any case, the title might be changed sometime.