Title: As Swift As the Wind

Author: Haze

Disclaimer: I don't own Flame of Recca so don't sue me…

Chapter 4:

(Koganei's POV)

      We waited anxiously outside Fuuko-neechan's room. The doctors had kept us out even before we could enter.

      Ganko and I were still busy surfing the net especially on the part of a secret lab's website on psychics and such when Ganko's hand phone rang. We almost had a heart attack thinking that we've been caught or something.

      It was Mikagami-niichan. He called to inform us that Fuuko-neechan had finally woken up.

      We rushed to the hospital and found the rest there, standing outside the room.

      I don't know. But I suddenly feel that something is not right. It's just that with what Ganko and I found out about earlier and with Fuuko-neechan's sudden come back, something is really bound to happen.

      I hope it's not going to wreck our lives again. Because I don't know how much I could take.

(Fuuko's POV)

      I don't know what happened. The moment I made up my mind to leave my dark sanctuary, the same light I last saw before I came to this dark place appeared. When the temporary blindness it caused went away, I was staring at ice-colored eyes.

      Mikagami.

      I never expected him to be the one I'll first see. I had always thought I am just an annoying monkey to him. But when I saw his eyes back then, I saw relief, happiness, and something else.

      Was he just acting to be indifferent back then? Or is it because he pities me that he staged those expressions in his eyes?

      I wish I would know. But how can I when all that I feel now is still this dominating emptiness and pain?

(Yanagi's POV)

      We're all so glad that Fuuko finally came back to us. Although it had been three days since she woke up, we never really had gotten a chance to see her yet.

      The doctors said that it wouldn't be good for her to be within much noise or something like that. But it doesn't matter. We'll see her soon anyway.

      I wonder what she's doing right now. I wonder how she would react when she sees us.

      There are so many things to wonder about. But I'll never know what'll happen till it's there. I just hope everything will be alright now.

(Mikagami's POV)

      The doctors had finally allowed us to see Fuuko after a week. At the time that the doctors announced that, I was waiting outside her room with Fuuko's brother.

      He smiled at me and said that I may go to Fuuko and he would just wait outside to give me some time. He's amusing somehow. Shouldn't he be the one who should be given some time with Fuuko? Then again, he couldn't just blurt out that he's Fuuko's brother.

      When I entered, Fuuko was awake. She was lying there, staring blankly at the ceiling. She didn't even notice me when I sat at her bed and looked at her for a long time. It was only when I touched her hand that she stirred, apparently startled as her dark blue eyes focused on me.

      Her eyes clearly told me she's scared. But I didn't know what to say so I thought that maybe she needs something that I so wanted when Mifuyu-neechan left me.

      "What are you doing?" She asked just above a whisper.

      I withdrew a bit from the hug and looked at her. "I'm hugging you."

      "Why?"

      "Do you really need to know?"

      She looked at me, her eyes searching mine probably for assurance that I wasn't playing a twisted joke on her. A while later, she shook her head. "No."

      Just as I had predicted of her, she buried her face on my shoulder and encircled her arms around me. She had always been a vulnerable child in my eyes though she never knew that. Of course it was because I never was careful in handling her with my sarcasm. But I did that because I do need to make sure no one would suspect that I have gradually learned to hold her closer in my heart.

      Besides, she may be a vulnerable child inside, but she's also a proud fighter. I wouldn't want to injure her pride should I break her bubble by making it known to her that I can see through her little act of being invulnerable.

      Come to think of it, she is just like me. Only, in a different way. I caged my vulnerability in ice. She caged hers in fire. Her fiery disposition, her sunny smile – everything had its foundation rooted in fire – warm and bright. However, with the warmth and brightness she had exuded for others, she left nothing for herself. And the injuries that a fire might cause, she shouldered alone. She let herself be the fuel of the fire she had made to make others happy.

      And now, she had exhausted her strength. It was obvious enough with her hugging me of all people. I know how she looks at me. A cold person inside and out. But I know she wanted to help me regardless of her impression. Because she is warm. She will sacrifice herself for others to smile and live once more.         

      "Will you leave me?" She whispered.

      "No, I won't leave you."

      She drew back a bit and looked at me with eyes brimming of restrained tears. "Really?"

      She amazes me. She's still restraining what she can when it's obvious enough that she needs to set herself free even for a time.

      "Really?" She repeated.

      I nodded.

      She continued looking at me for a long time. "Why are you doing this?"

      I was caught off guard. But of course, I had been trained to think quickly.

      "You're my friend."

      "Am I important then?"

      She looked lost. She looked as if she was looking for assurance that she still belonged.

      "Of course."

      A tear fell and I withdrew one arm to brush away the tear with my fingers.

      "I'm such a jerk. I was so weak. I disgraced everyone."

      With her tirade came her tears. I withdrew my hand and hugged her close, letting her feel through my warmth that I will never leave her whatever she thinks of herself. . . whatever she becomes.

(Recca's POV)

      It's been two weeks since Fuuko woke up and a week of seeing her awake.

      She's still a bit depressed with what happened and I think she knows that her parents are dead and her Fuujin is destroyed. She never asked us any questions yet but she will soon. And I don't think I want to be around to see her reaction when the time comes.

      She's tough but Hime always reminded me that everyone has a breaking point. Although I haven't seen Fuuko break apart yet, this is not an assurance that she won't. It is even scarier if given a careful thought, because that would mean she had bottled up too much negative emotions away.

      I don't think I'll be able to handle seeing her when she starts asking questions and we have no choice but to answer because I have been too used to seeing her smile.

      I'm sorry for putting her in a platform with a sign 'should always smile for others to have hope'. But do I have a choice? She chose her path as we all chose ours.

      I hate myself for being selfish and letting her force herself to keep up with the image we have imposed on her unconsciously. But what can we do? She alone is fitted for the path she chose and I suppose she had carried well with her mask.

      Yes, mask. Everyone has a mask. I mask my fears and frustrations with my cheekiness, Mikagami with his coldness, Hime with her gentleness, and so on.

      Fuuko's mask is no more now. And I'm scared with the mask she will adopt in the future. People always had this nature of changing drastically when faced with a situation almost unbearable as emptiness and pain.

(Ganko's POV)

      I wonder when Amethyst will come to visit. In almost three weeks of Fuuko-neechan being back, Amethyst just visits her when she's sleeping. He said it wouldn't do Fuuko-neechan good if he comes in her life immediately.

      I don't really understand him. But if he thinks that it would be the best, who am I to contradict it.

      Kaoru and I still haven't had the guts to ask him or Shane about what we discovered. And we are pretty worried that he'd read our mind.

      But honestly, I'm not scared with him. It's not because he's so good-looking but more so because he has this peaceful air about him. Still, I don't know what to think after I read that. I do hope he has no connection whatsoever with those people who attacked Fuuko-neechan. Because he's scary if he's within their level and maybe he could've ended so many lives.

(Domon's POV)

      We were all laughing like crazy. For the past hour, we have talked about nothing but jokes.

      I'm really so happy that everything is turning out well. And Fuuko seems to be more alright. Although, she still can't leave the hospital for reasons unknown to us. I suppose it has something to do with the doctors wanting to monitor her health and all.

      It's not like we care anyway for as long as everything is starting to turn out for the better. But still there is something that bothers me. Perhaps only I am the one bothered. I guess I'm a little bit pessimistic.

      Maybe those guys are already dead or something. Yeah. I suppose so. They haven't shown themselves for the past four years – whoever they are.

      I shook my head to get rid of unnecessary thoughts. The kid might find this amusing.

      Funny. Kid. He's over six feet and he's just eighteen. I don't think kid and Amethyst fits in the same sentence. He's more mature than could be expected. He's cheerful, that's for sure. But he knows when to be serious and when to laugh.

      I like him. He's much nicer than could be expected. It makes me wonder why he doesn't have a girlfriend. I mean with a face like that, a good height, a nice body, a fat pocket, and a good personality; it is not hard to find a girl who wouldn't want to be his girlfriend. Heck, even some of the guys at the mall were looking at him.

      I think they've gone gay. Not that I can blame them. He's unbelievably good-looking that one might even suspect him as a visiting angel or something.

      Speaking of angel, over the span of time Fuuko slept, her physical appearance changed so much. She looked like Amethyst – an angel. She was beautiful before and now, too beautiful to be true.

      I think she'd cope up well. She's strong. We're here and she has another family in Amethyst and Shane. Besides, I'm sure she'd be too busy dating that she wouldn't have time to stick to misery and grieving. Her parents wouldn't like that.

(Amethyst's POV)

      It wouldn't be good for Fuuko to be introduced to me this soon. She might ask questions as to who I am. I'm sure her friends would have trouble in explaining that I'm her brother. Besides, if she does learn about that as early as now, more questions will arise. And I am certain that those questions will touch her recognized family's well-being and such. I cannot afford to make her feel more pain than she already is feeling from not being able to fight back well.

      Fighters have much pride especially uncommon ones namely those who use powers and such. When pride is injured, it can cause much internal conflict. And at her stage, she is still trying to recover from her traumatic experience. To cause more painful stimuli may devastate her. And that is something I do not intend to do.

      She is a long-lost sister. She is the only one blood relative I will have soon as my father will not last in his current state. Meia is still missing.

      I wasn't able to protect Fuuko before but now that I am here, I will give up anything I have to not lose another sister.

      I will get to the bottom of what happened to Fuuko a little more than four years ago even if I get punishments from –

      "Amethyst." Shane interrupted.

(Shane's POV)

      He looked back at me from his stare outside the window of his office building here in Tokyo. "Yes?"

      "I hate to interrupt your contemplation but there are more pressing matters that require your attention."

      "Paper works? New business proposals?"

      "No. Much more than that."

      "Is there something wrong with Fuuko?"

      "No. But I have just received a message – an urgent summon for you."

      "I see. It's been so long. Five years of vacation."

      He walked away from the windows and to his desk, leaning and looking at the pictures of his family and friends, and his newfound sister. He picked up a picture of Meia, his missing sister, and Fuuko.

      He may not notice this but his aura is changing into something heavy and sad before it turned cold as he placed the pictures down and he walked towards the door. With his hand holding the knob, he turned to look at me. "I'll leave Fuuko to you. You know how to access my accounts should there be a need for more money."

      "When will you come back?"

      He smiled. I suppose the wavering of my voice told him so much.

      "You're worried about me." He teased. "Don't be."

      "I can't help it. When ARE you going to get back?"

      "You know pretty well that every urgent summon means less than a percent of me coming back."

      "Meia–"

      "I will find out soon if her disappearance had been from an urgent summon."

      "You know you can't question the organization."

      He shrugged. "I can't but I will."

      He opened the door and walked out before I could say anything else. I was standing there in the middle of the large office room feeling a chill go up my spine.

      I hate it whenever a message of summon comes. It causes much pain. I have seen Meia throw away everything and endure all pain. And I've seen Amethyst hurting so much for Meia.

      I didn't understand at all. It may be selfish of me to ask this but why do they have to sacrifice too much for beings that wouldn't even care to know or thank them afterwards?

      They have sacrificed enough and I know it's time for them to mind their own well-being. I feel sorry for Fuuko. She may not be able to meet her brother after all.

(Recca's POV)

      I can't believe this! Shane is telling us to keep Fuuko quiet for another month! Does she think it is easy to stay with Fuuko and wondering when she will ask questions? Does she think it will be easy to lie to a close friend when she starts wondering?

      Where the hell is Fuuko's brother anyway? Why can't he just come and tell Fuuko? He's the brother anyway. I can't do this. I can't.

(Yanagi's POV)

      What is going on with Amethyst? Why has he left for a business? Did he think his business is more important than Fuuko-chan?

      There must be something else. I don't think he is capable of abandoning someone just like Fuuko-chan. And from what Kaoru-kun told me about Amethyst's visits to a sleeping Fuuko-chan, I think he will never abandon her. Never.

(Domon's POV)

      Here I am, staring into my instructor's back, thinking about what Shane said. I really wonder what type of business the kid had left for.

      I don't think he'd leave Fuuko for paper works. I know he wouldn't.

      Shane is hiding something. She didn't mention about the business even if we asked her. She just said that it was important.

      Oh boy. Fuuko sure has a very complicated family life.

(Mikagami's POV)

      There must be something going on that I should know of.

      Koganei and Ganko are hiding something from me. I just know so. It may gave something to do with Amethyst as they were both looking at him when they arrived at the hospital after I called to inform them that Fuuko woke up.

      I need to know what is going on. Amethyst wouldn't leave without a good reason. That kid is more reasonable than anyone could expect. So something big must be behind this business as Shane had lightly put so.

      Amethyst stepped inside a big room calmly and stared at five people sitting around a long table.

      "We have called you for an emergency." A girl said.

      "That's why I'm here." Amethyst replied coolly, sitting down at the other end of the table.

      "Ever so cool, Amethyst. Good." A blue-haired bishounen commented tapping a pen on the table. "Now that we're complete, it is time for the briefing."

      Amethyst looked steadily at the man. "This isn't about the Essence, is it?"

~tbc (soon)~

Author's Note: Special thanks to those who reviewed. Sorry if his chapter is boring and uneventful. It's just that my major problem is still here. And I do apologize for any error incurred in this chapter and the previous ones. Just feel free to correct me. Thanks again ^^

My Answers to the Reviewers:

mischie I will try to make it more interesting the way you would like it to be.

Fuuko-san I'm sorry for the confusion I caused. I didn't put whose POV it was to see if the people reading know how each character would think or react. About Fuuko, I think it's somewhere in her first POV. About the touching thing *question marks hovers around* Well, I'll just leave you to your opinion. ^^ And I wouldn't stop as long as I know that people are still with me.

kaze' yurei Yeah, I think this is going to be a long one. Though, I'm not too sure about the 'good' part. You know, I could still screw things up with my blunders.

Dream Yup, Fuuko woke up and yup, this is going to be a ToFu. Though I'm still having a hard time coz it wasn't really the original plan but someone suggested and I just thought that maybe I should give it a try.

Yanagi I didn't notice. *sweatdrop* Maybe this time around I didn't. I hope so. My mother would freak out if she reads something blue or tragic from me like the last time. She thought I wanted to commit suicide. *major sweatdrop*

Dark Phoenix I think it's a bit vague on what'll happen but I needed to cut this because it's already too long. Anyhow, I just hope that by the next chapter, things will start to really show.

hyper_shark Was that a positive response or a *gulp* negative one? I know you find it weird.

vanessa I leave you to your opinion. *coughs* Anyhow, I will continue with this as long as there's support ^^

Ranka You mean the one where Fuuko woke up with Mikagami being with her? Or was that Fuuko's POV?

TouTetsu There isn't much event here as I had to cut the long chapter. But hopefully, by the next one, the events would be more stimulating.

Melyan Hehehe. Didn't know that Fuuko's condition could cause a worry-wart syndrome in you. Anyhow, I'm trying in the ToFu part. I wouldn't want to get clobbered.

bishounen lovah Not much interesting changes for now. About her relationship with her bro and sis, I think by next chapter it'd be there. And before I forget, thanks for the correction. Sorry about that. I don't usually have time to polish and check. I hope by break I'd be able to change all the errors on the others.