Disclaimer: I don't own Flame of Recca or any of the characters used in this fic.

A/N:

A little note about continuity…

All I know about Flame of Recca is what I watched from the anime…fortunately, I was able to watch all the episodes, but the only thing I know about the manga is the ending. I loved the idea that in the end, after everything that they all went through, everyone had normal lives. The only thing I didn't like is the fact that Koganei and Kurei went back to the past to change it or something. If they do that, won't that change everything?

Well, let's pretend that in this fic, Kurei and Koganei realized that changing the past would most definitely change the present, and would undo everything our heroes worked hard for, and that they are just chasing some pipe dream, so the two of them came back. Alright?

I strongly doubt if Recca and Yanagi would appear in my fic. Don't like Yanagi (never liked females who simply hang back, calling out their hero's names and being rescued, no offense. And she just seemed too perfect). I like Recca even less for choosing Yanagi over Fuuko. I mean, come on. Even my brothers liked Fuuko better (;p)

So what about Raiha, you ask. Well…what about him? =) I don't know just yet. I'll think of something eventually.

Please review. And no flames about my opinion about Yanagi…It's just my opinion.

Thanks to those who reviewed, I'm really flattered. Glad you liked the lizard part, it actually happened to my brother when we were little. Of course, my mom was panicking at that time, we only laughed at it years afterwards. ^^

Kindred

Chapter 2: Manic Monday

Mikagami cursed his ethics that forced him to arrive at the Kirisawa residence at five am sharp, even knowing that Fuuko may still be asleep. If there was one thing that he learned about his purple-haired teammate, it was that she was not a morning person. It took the combined effort of Hanabishi and Yanagi-san to drag her to the dining halls so that she would not miss breakfast.

However, to his surprise, when he arrived at his destination Ganko and Kaoru were already on the steps, eagerly awaiting for his arrival.

"Tokiya-niisan!" Ganko squealed happily when she spied on him driving his car.

Mikagami had decided to put the top of his convertible down, eager to feel the wind on his face. He parked the car right in front of the house so that his passengers could easily load their stuff.

"Kaoru-niisan, go tell mom that Tokiya-niisan is here!" Ganko said excitedly, standing up and waving furiously.

Mikagami descended the car gracefully. "These your bags?" He asked, indicating on the pink travel bag beside the child. At Ganko's nod, Mikagami placed it in the trunk of his car.

"Good morning, Mikagami-san," Fuuko's mom appeared in the doorway, supporting a semi-conscious Fuuko. "Domon!" She called out in the house.

"Ishijima is here?" Mikagami raised an eyebrow.

"Domon-niisan is the baggage man!" Ganko grinned.

"Yes, mom! Coming!" Domon appeared on the doorway. Or at least, his lower extremities appeared. His upper part was obscured by tons of baggage.

Mrs. Kirisawa arranged Fuuko carefully in the passenger seat before bonking Domon on the head. "Do not call me mom!"

With a resounding howl pain, Domon dropped all the baggage on the ground.

Clasping his hands behind his head, Kaoru grinned, his fangs showing a bit. "Now we know where Fuuko-neechan got her punches."

Mikagami shook his head as he wordlessly picked up two of the baggage Domon dropped to load them in the car.

Mrs. Kirisawa picked up a picnic basket. "I made some sandwiches and placed some snacks in here in case you get hungry." She said as she placed it behind the driver's seat.

Domon picked up a cooler.

"The cooler contains water, soda, and fruit juices." Mrs. Kirisawa continued.

Kaoru added his own bags to the trunk.

Mikagami had to arrange their stuff a bit so that it would all fit.

"Fuuko, my love," Domon said dramatically to the sleeping Fuuko. "I'll be counting the days 'til we meet again." Then, a rare flash of inspiration struck him. "And I'll wake you up with a sweet kiss," he closed his eyes, puckered his lips, and inched his face towards Fuuko's.

"Don't even think about it!" Ganko cried as he gave Domon a left-across, sending him to the sky above, as she was not strong enough to send him to outer space yet, like her Fuuko-neechan does.

"Ganko, you've been hanging around Fuuko-neechan and Aunty too much!" Kaoru cried.

"Kaoru, don't tease Ganko too much during the ride," Mrs. Kirisawa glared strictly at him.

Kaoru grinned, glad that he was given room to maneuver. "Alright, I'll just tease her a little bit."

"That's my boy!" Mrs. Kirisawa beamed as she bent down to kiss Kaoru's cheek.

"Aw!" Kaoru protested as he hastily wiped his cheek, running to the car.

"Ganko, make sure Kaoru and Fuuko behave themselves." Mrs. Kirisawa smiled warmly at her youngest child.

"Hai!" Ganko turned her arms towards the elder Kirisawa. She was not disappointed as Mrs. Kirisawa hugged her and gave her a kiss. Satisfied, she ran over and climbed into the backseat beside Kaoru.

"Bye kids! Say hi to nana for me, Ganko," Mrs. Kirisawa patted his back. "Drive safely, Mikagami-san,"

"Yes, ma'am." With that, he turned away.

But Mrs. Kirisawa held his arm. "Take care of my children, Mikagami-san," she smiled as Mikagami turned to him. "And don't forget to enjoy yourself." With that, she gave him a quick hug.

Mikagami's reflexes seemed to have abandoned him for a moment as he stood frozen in the spot, but inside, he felt a warmth that he had not felt for so long…

Mrs. Kirisawa immediately released him. She dragged Domon (who had fallen down from the heavens already) a step backwards, to give the car room to maneuver.

Mikagami forced his feet to enter the driver's seat.

"Bye guys!" Mrs. Kirisawa waved cheerfully.

Domon was openly crying. "Fuuko! Return to me immediately, my love!"

Fuuko woke up around six-thirty.

Mikagami wished that she had just stayed asleep.

"How about there?" Fuuko asked.

"No." Mikagami replied.

Fuuko stayed quiet for a few minutes. "How about there?"

"..."

"Why don't you have one of mom's sandwiches?" Ganko asked from the backseat, offering her elder sister one.

Fuuko made a face. "No thanks. I've been living on mom's sandwiches forever." She turned in her seat and fiddled with the car radio. "What are these songs, Mi-chan?" She made a face as she ejected the CD playing. "It sounds like the stuff my nana listens to. And can we stop there? I'm starving!"

"I'll have it, then." Kaoru paused the game he was playing on his gameboy then snatched the food in Ganko's hands.

Mikagami glared at her for a long moment before looking at the road again. "It's classical music, Kirisawa. And no, we won't stop. I want to make it to the beach before it gets dark. I don't want to drive to unfamiliar roads in the dark. And don't call me Mi-chan."

"Aw, Mi-chan, where's your sense of adventure?" Fuuko teased.

Mikagami didn't comment.

"Mi-chan, how about there?"

"Tokiya-niisan, are we there yet?" Ganko whined for the umpteenth time.

"No."

They had been driving for hours now, the midday sun was on full  blast, forcing them to put the top back and turn on the air conditioner. Fuuko, thankfully had fallen back asleep around ten minutes ago, so Mikagami was spared from her incessant chattering. Kaoru was on his second set of batteries. Unfortunately, Ganko's mellow glow had worn off, and had started to whine as only she can.

Ganko sat back in her seat, fidgeting a little. "How long 'til we get there?"

Mikagami sighed. "Not until this evening. Kirisawa's breakfast stop-over had caused us an hour and a half in our schedule."

"Here, Ganko, it's your turn to play now." Kaoru thrust the gameboy in her hands, wanting to avoid an outburst from the former ensui-wielder and an inevitable sniveling from Ganko.

Mikagami appreciated the gesture, he indeed was getting irritated. But not at Ganko. He was more annoyed at the purple-haired monkey softly snoring beside him.

"Screw your schedule, Mi-chan," she grinned uncaringly. "We're on vacation, not in boot camp. And who cares if we don't get there before the sun gets down? I've been going there my whole life."

So Mikagami had conceded to her desires, just to get her to stop pestering him for the rest of the ride.

But that wasn't the thing the thing that was bothering him.

He was bothered by the fact that he was playing chauffer to them.

He was bothered that Ganko had him wrapped around her tiny pinky.

He was bothered that his respect for Kaoru was growing by the minute.

He was bothered by Fuuko's smile and the fact that he was beginning to like it.

Most of all, he was bothered by Fuuko's legs…

Fuuko was wearing her signature green tank top, denim shorts, and sandals. The shorts were short, way too short. But then they were going to the beach, so maybe that was her excuse. And Fuuko was not exactly known for her modesty.

Almost subconsciously, Mikagami stole a glance at those legs again, before turning his attention back to the road. Long, shapely legs, with creamy skin, smooth complexion, unblemished…

"Tokiya-niisan, when are we stopping for lunch?" Kaoru leaned between the driver's seat and the passenger seat, interrupting his impure thoughts. "Aunty packed lunch for us so we can stop for a picnic somewhere."

Mikagami cleared his throat, glad of the interruption. He, unlike some persons he could mention, was not a pervert. And he was not especially fond of monkeys as it is. "As soon as I find a good spot," he promised.

Must be the hormones. As much as he hated to admit it, he was a teenager, dammit. He was just as entitled to lapses of judgment that could be blamed to hormonal surges that plague a typical teenager. Right?

"You drive me crazy," Fuuko, Ganko, and Kaoru sang at the top of their voices. "I just can't wait,"

Mikagami gripped the steering wheel.

Fuuko, to her immense delight, found an old album of Britney Spears in his CD collection in the car. He tried to explain that the CD was given to him by a fan girl. He meant to give it back, but had forgotten about it.

The infuriating monkey had popped the CD in and turned the volume up. She then insisted to put the top down.

The trio had then started singing along Britney Spears. 

"I'm so excited, I'm in so deep,"

Mikagami felt a headache coming.

"Come on, Mi-chan, sing along!" Fuuko turned towards him.

"No,"

"Aw, come on, Mi-chan." She begged. "If I had a yen for every no you say in this trip, I'll be rich by now."

"Look at me, I'm Britney Spears!" Ganko had peeled off her shirt and was only wearing her bikini top. She did a little dance before bursting into giggles.

"And I'm Tokiya!" Kaoru joked. He had swiped one of Ganko's elastic bands and had tied his hair back in a pony tail. "I secretly like Britney Spears, but am too manly to admit it."

Mikagami groaned. Was it only moments ago that he was admiring how mature Kaoru had become in the one year since he had known him?

But far from being irritated, Mikagami found himself amused, enjoying their antics, even.

He only wished that he could laugh as freely as Fuuko did.

"We're here! We're here!" Fuuko had jumped out of the car, not even bothering with the door. She ran ahead towards the dark beach, eager to feel the sand beneath her feet.

"Neechan, wait for me!" Ganko cried out, but she was held back, struggling a bit with her seat belt. Kaoru leaned over to help her.

It was now dark. Mikagami was exhausted as he had been driving the whole day, save from the occasional pit stops to stretch their legs and eat. However, exhaustion did not dull his senses. He knew something was wrong.

"Kirisawa! No!" Mikagami screamed as he jumped down the car, running after her.

Hidden by the darkness, they didn't see five large, burly men. The men were now simultaneously running towards Fuuko.

Mikagami was too late.

The men had hurled themselves towards the slender girl, causing her to fall down beneath the large, manly bodies.

"Kirisawa!"

~tbc

*To Kaze Yurie, yeah, you can, if you still want to that is. =) Gosh, now I'm pressured to write better…