Disclaimer: Flame of Recca or its characters do not belong to me.

A/N:

Monday was my first day of school. Due to the inhumane amount of readings and paper works our professors gleefully assigns, updates would drastically be cut down from twice a week to once every two weeks, if I'm lucky sighs

Where have the summer gone?

Anyway, to all ye folks out there, if this chapter seemed forced, it probably is ^^;; Told yah I can't seem to write the continuation of chapter 5. This is the best I could come up with…but I think the next chap's going to be better.

If not for the enthusiastic reviews, I wouldn't have bothered with this chapter (hint! Hint!).

I need a transitory chap between the kiss and the main climax/crisis of my story. =) And yes, that is my unsubtle way of saying for you to review my fic! Thanks!

Thanks to Ranka for the beta! Oh, thanks for reminding me about Aya. I had something really big planned for her, but scrapped it out at the last minute. I'll write her back in.

Kindred Chapter 6: Fantastic Friday

"Mmm, it is fruitier!" Miko savored his first spoonful of colorful cereals. He was resigned to eating cereals because his mom and aunts had decided that it was their day off and had gone off to watch the sunsets with their husbands.

Across from Miko, Shoji was drinking his morning coffee while reading the sports section of the paper. Beside Shoji was Mikagami who was ignoring his breakfast completely, favoring the front page of the paper.

"Uncle Miko, leave some for me!" Yuki protested as he grabbed the box of cereals.

"And me," his identical twin brother, Yuui, agreed.

"Alright, alright, there's enough for everyone," Miko said as he stood up and grabbed two bowls for the twins.

The twins sat down rather clumsily as they settled on the kitchen table.

Moments later, a rather ruffled Fuuko walked in the kitchen. "Morning guys,"

Miko checked his watch. It was way too early for Fuuko to be up.

Miko saw that Fuuko had Mikagami's attention the moment she walked in the kitchen. A slight smile was playing on the iceman's lips.

And when Fuuko noticed this, she turned bright red. But she too had a secret smile playing on her mouth.

Miko grinned like the cat which swallowed the canary.

Fuuko saw Miko grinning like he had something up his sleeve. She was instantly nervous. "What?"

"Did something happen in the cave that we should know about?" He asked slyly.

Fuuko reddened while Shoji folded his newspaper to listen in interest.

Mikagami lowered his newspaper a bit before deciding not to get involved. He turned the page and resumed his reading like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"W-what makes you say that?" Fuuko stuttered.

"Exhibit A," Miko said, dramatically gesturing towards Mikagami. "A man who can't eat."

Shoji smirked.

"Exhibit B," this time, Miko gestured towards Fuuko. "A woman who can't sleep. And what are they symptoms of?"

"Love!" The twins shrieked in unison.

Miko beamed. "Right! And the grand prize goes to Yuki and Yuui!"

Both twins jumped up and started bouncing in excitement. "Aunty Fuu-chan's in love!" They sang.

Fuuko's palm met with the back of Miko's head. "Don't encourage them." She turned to the twins. "Eat your breakfast," she told them.

Yuki stuck his tongue out before he and his brother dutifully obeyed her.

"Itai!" Miko cried as he rubbed his head. "But that doesn't answer my question, my dear Fuu-chan," Miko told her with a relish. "Did something happen in the cave yesterday? I mean after you guys came out, you were both acting pretty weird,"

"Something did happen, Miko," Shoji finally cut it.

"Really? What? What?"

"They captured a purple starfish."

Fuuko didn't say anything about the latest development in her life to any of the Kirisawas. She was positive that Mi-chan didn't.

But somehow, they knew. They knew that she and Mi-chan had become more than mere friends.

"Maybe it's the way Mikagami's eyes kept following you around," Miko had suggested to her when she broached the topic to him. "Or is it because of the idiotic grin you've been wearing since disembarking from the boat yesterday? Of course, I might be persuaded to do more research if you tell me what actually happened in the cave,"

And they weren't even surprised! The elder Kirisawas were looking at them with a knowing look in their eyes, like they knew from the beginning that it would come to this.

"Maybe it's because we knew that the Kirisawa charm would be too hard to resist, Fuu-chan," Aunt Rika had told her. "Even for a—what's the word you used again to describe him? Ah, yes. A refrigerator,"

She didn't know whether to be flattered that her family knew her so well, or be terrified that her family knew her so well.

Of course, dealing with the grown-ups was a snap. It was the teenagers and the kids they would have a problem with.

She should've taken the incident that morning with Miko as a premonition of things to come.

However, her esteem of Mi-chan was going up, seeing how well he was handling the brunt of the teasing and the lecturing of her family.

"So, Miko's right, you guys discovered your love for each other while you were alone in the cave," Ruriko sighed. "How romantic!"

Fuuko reddened. "It's nothing like that!" She tried to protest.

"I knew that the two of you would finally come together Thursday afternoon," Yuri grinned victoriously. "I win! Pay up guys!"

Instead of merely tainting her cheeks, this time Fuuko saw red. "You were betting on us?" She demanded, her eyes narrowing.

"If only I thought of bringing the two of you in the caves on Wednesday," Miko grumbled, handing a handful of yens to his elder brother. "Then I would've won,"

Mikagami could've sworn that steam was coming out of his new girlfriend's ears. He then felt his lips draw up. Girlfriend. That was new to him. But it had some nice ring to it…

"Why you—" Fuuko had shaken a closed fist at her offending cousins. Her cousins and Ruriko thought that was their cue to get out of the kitchen.

Fuuko was about to follow them, but she was jerked backwards by her niisan.

"Do you know what this is, Mikagami?" Shoji asked holding out a small packet for the two to see.

Fuuko gasped, then reddened. "Oh, please, don't let it be what I think it is," she groaned as she snatched the thing from her brother. She glanced at it and screeched, tossing the thing into the counter like it was a snake ready to bite her. Agitated, she stormed out of the room, muttering about crazed elder brothers who have dirty minds.

Mikagami barely glanced at the offending object on the counter. "Was that really necessary?" He asked.

Shoji grinned at him. "Fuuko, despite acting the way she does, is actually quite conservative," he replied. "She couldn't stand talks about the birds and the bees."

Mikagami could only shake his head in amusement. It's true that the Kirisawas would go to such extreme lengths to annoy and torment each other. But Shoji takes the cake. To think of giving his younger sister and her new boyfriend a condom! It must be one of those family things, Mikagami thought to himself.

"But seriously, man," Shoji turned to him, all serious now. "I'm glad that the two of you finally came together," with a cordial pat on Mikagami's shoulder, Shoji went after his sister to continue his tirade about handling the responsibilities of being in a relationship.

"My dad and his four brothers grew up in this house," Fuuko told Mikagami. "Now only nana lives here. But she says she's OK with it."

Mikagami took a long gulp of his iced tea. He was seated beside Fuuko on the sand, sharing a towel. However, two people could fit into the space between him and her. They didn't even try to come into contact with each other since their, er, encounter the day before.

The two of them were keeping an eye on the kids, and generally just hanging out, enjoying each other's company. It was an activity that was very foreign to him. In the past, he felt that hanging out is a major a waste of time, done by people with nothing else better to do. Now, he found that he was appreciating Fuuko's mindless chatter.

Suddenly, he felt an arm around his shoulders. He turned to his companion in surprise. Fuuko may be aggressive, but he didn't think she was this forward!

To his surprise, instead of Fuuko's attractive face, he saw Miko's instead.

Miko had crawled between Fuuko and Mikagami, and had placed his arms around the two's shoulders, drawing the two of them towards him. "Are you sure that finding that purple starfish was the only thing you did yesterday?" He asked, his voice dripping with innuendo.

Mikagami saw that Fuuko's face was becoming overridden with veins.

"Come on, little cuz, you can tell Miko here what you did," Miko prodded Fuuko. "I wouldn't tell nana or Shoji,"

"Am I invited to your funeral, Miko-san?" Mikagami asked him seriously.

Miko frowned as he pondered the question. "Funeral?"

"You are soo dead!" With a yell, Fuuko grabbed Miko's arm that was on her shoulder and had tossed him forward.

Apparently, Miko had the same grace and agility as his cousin. He deftly flipped in the air and landed on his two feet like a graceful cat. "Oh. Was that a joke, Mikagami?" He was looking at Mikagami, yet at the same time, dodging Fuuko's blows.

"Stay still!" Fuuko grated out as she rose from her sitting position and tried to land a punch or two at her irritating cousin.

"You want a piece of me?" Miko playfully provoked Fuuko. "Come and get me," he took a few steps backwards in retreat.

"I'll come and get you alright!" Fuuko snapped back at him as she ran towards him, her fist ready and able.

The two began a rather complicated combat with Fuuko on the offensive while Miko was on the defensive. To a bystander, it would seem that the two's movements were choreographed with all the elegance they were exhibiting.

The kids saw the two and decided that they wouldn't want to be left out from all the fun. As one, the kids had thrown themselves on Miko, causing him to fall down.

Mikagami smirked.

A shadow fell on him.

He looked up.

"Hi," a long haired girl wearing a red bikini was standing in front of him, waving a flyer in his face.

Mikagami took the flyer but didn't say anything.

"I'm Rei," she said. "I'm, like, inviting you to a free concert in boardwalk, like, tonight." She grinned flirtatiously at him. "I'll, like, be there,"

"Miko here," Miko immediately shook Fuuko and the kids free. He was beside Rei in an instant, slipping an arm around the woman's shoulders. "And I'll be there, baby," he said in a smooth, deep, and incredibly cheesy voice.

"Like, ew." Rei grimaced. She shrugged Miko off and turned her full charm on Mikagami. "So, like, how about you?"

Miko, unruffled, grinned mercilessly at Mikagami. "Dude, take your girlfriend there," he told him with a wink, emphasizing the word 'girlfriend.'

"You, like, have a girlfriend?" Rei asked in horror.

"Yes," Miko answered for the ice prince. "In fact, that's her over there," he gestured further towards the beach where Fuuko, loosing interest in Miko, was now playing in the waves with the children.

Rei looked over her shoulder. "Oh," she sighed in disappointment. "I guess I'll, like you know, be seeing yah," she stalked off muttering 'what does she have that I don't' under her breath.

"So, I'll look for you there, right?" Miko called after her. "Right? Hey, Rei-san! I'll see you tonight, right?"

"Tokiya-niisan!" Ganko screeched as she jumped up and grabbed Mikagami by the neck. She suddenly squeezed the life out of him in a tight bear hug.

Kaoru suddenly appeared beside him, knowingly nudging the taller man with his elbow. "You sly fellow, you," he smirked.

Holding the two kids by the scruff of their neck, he wrenched them away from him.

"Are you Fuuko-neechan's boyfriend now?" Ganko asked him, a happy smile plastered on her face.

Mikagami put them down and started to walk away. Ever persistent, Ganko followed her niisan.

But Kaoru had something better in mind. "I always thought Fuuko-nee liked Raiha-niisan,"

Mikagami suddenly stopped. Ganko, who was walking right behind him, smashed into his legs.

"Give me a warning before you stop, will you?" Ganko grumbled, rubbing her injured nose.

Kaoru knew that he had his niisan's attention. "Raiha-niisan calls himself Fuuko-neechan's prince. He saved her life twice." Kaoru grinned.

Ganko frowned as her hand absently stroked her chin. "Hey, not that you mentioned it, I often saw Raiha-niisan in the house after that horrible Mori-san incident." She shuddered at the memory.

Mikagami knew that he'd been had. He wanted so badly to ask what had happened with Raiha, but he'd rather cut off his own hand than ask.

"But I never saw him again after Kaoru-niisan and Kurei-niisan came back," Ganko continued her train of thought.

Ah. Mikagami smirked. He now knows what had happened. With an arrogant 'hmp,' he feigned indifference and walked away.

"Hey! Tokiya-niisan!" Kaoru shouted after him.

So, Raiha left Fuuko when Kurei came back, Mikagami thought. Apparently, the blood connection that the ninja had with his Master Kurei was stronger than what he felt with Fuuko.

He crossed his arms as his eyes quickly located a certain girl on the beach.

Well, all the better for him…

"Let's go!" Fuuko shrugged on her jacket as she made her way to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ruriko asked Fuuko.

Fuuko's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "To the concert." She replied. "We're going, right?"

"And what do you think you're wearing?"

Fuuko glanced at her T-shirt and baggy shorts. "Uh, same thing as everyone else," she gestured towards what her brother and cousins were wearing.

"Exactly," Ruriko grinned maliciously at her. "We couldn't have you running around dressed like a guy, could we?" She took a firm hold on Fuuko's arm and started dragging her upstairs. "Give me half an hour, guys."

"What? Wait! Ruriko-chan! Where're we going?"

"Are you sulking?" Miko asked as he peered intently into his cousin's face.

Fuuko ignored him and continued walking, determined to get to the concert without talking to any of her relatives.

"You are sulking," Miko laughed.

Fuuko pushed him away. "I am not sulking."

"Hey, guys, Fuu-chan's sulking," Miko laughed, running ahead to catch up with Yuri and Ruriko who had walked ahead, holding hands.

Mikagami fondly watched Fuuko who was walking ahead of him. She was indeed sulking.

When Ruriko had dragged her upstairs that afternoon for a change in outfit, all the Kirisawa women (Ganko and Aya included) had decided to join in the fun. Together, they dressed up Fuuko like a doll of some sort. Fuuko was now wearing a form-fitting black tank top with the word 'Rebel' printed in bold red at the front. Ruriko also lent her a mini-skirt that showed off Fuuko's long legs (to Mikagami's combined pleasure and horror). A sliver of flesh occasionally peeks from between her top and skirt. The wives of her elder cousins had pooled their jewelry and lent Fuuko all the silver pieces they could gather (and making Fuuko feel like a walking lightning rod. Oh, joy!). And she finally wore the strappy sandals that Eri had given her last Christmas but never wore. Fuuko was now dressed like a girl, and a stylish one at that!

But that wasn't why Fuuko was sulking. The clothes, she can take. After all, she didn't really care what she wore so long as she's comfortable in it. What she couldn't take was that her aunts had insisted that she take off her headband, never mind that her headband is a symbol of something that's very important to her. Her aunts had fixed her hair (which had gotten considerably longer since the Mori incident) into braids. True, it looked good on her, but it's the principle of the thing! She wants her headband back.

"But you look exceptionally beautiful tonight, my dear imouto-san," Shoji smiled at her as he patted her back and ran after Miko.

Mikagami and Fuuko were now left to walk together alone. Mikagami decided to take a gamble.

Slowly, without looking at her, he took her hand in his.

Fuuko looked at him in surprise. Slowly, a smile lit her face.  It was a bit uncomfortable first, walking like that, but she soon found out that she rather liked it. She appreciated the close contact, something which she knew that Mikagami never cared so much for. And to think, he was the one who initiated such!

Mikagami stole a glance or two (alright, a lot of stolen glances!) at his radiant companion. He knew he was a long way from verbally admitting to her (he could barely admit it to himself) the feelings that he was beginning to be aware of. But at least, through such small things, he could show her how important she had become to him.

Miko turned around and saw the proximity between Fuuko and Mikagami. He leered at them. "So, when are you going to tell me what happened in the cave? I want details, baby!"

The concert was well underway when their group arrived. And as soon as the Kirisawas heard the loud, pounding music, they started to move to the beat, bobbing their heads up and down.

Mikagami, more restrained than the carefree Kirisawas, contented himself with merely looking around.

Actually, the concert was in occasion of the opening of the new arcade along the strip of the beach. The organizers had put up a stage in the center of the area. The people were encouraged to wander around to buy food and souvenirs and stuff while listening to the concert.

"This is a great place for a first date," Miko elbowed Fuuko on the ribs unrepentantly.

"Get lost," Fuuko grumbled at him.

"Right," Miko leered. "I get it,"

"Oh, for crying—" Fuuko grated out.

"Hey guys!" Miko called out to the rest of their companions. "Fuu-chan and Mikagami want some alone time with each other!"

Mikagami watched as Miko twirl Fuuko in time to the music.

"C'mon, Mi-chan," Fuuko called to him. "Join us, it's fun!"

Mikagami glared at her and crossed his arms. "You wish,"

She knew he didn't mean anything by it. It was just his way. She knew that he would rather die a thousand painful deaths than admit that he was actually feeling all sorts of things towards her and her family.

"Oh, sorry," a girl had 'accidentally' bumped into Mikagami. She looked up and batted her baby blues into Mikagami's icy ones. "I'm Miaka, by the way." She grinned seductively. "And you're—"

"Not interested," Miko replied as he jostled for position. "But I am. Miko, at your service. Can I call you Mia-chan?"

Miaka grimaced as she totally ignored Miko and turned away, but not before slipping a piece of paper to Mikagami's breast pocket, gesturing to Mikagami to call her.

"That's what? The twentieth girl tonight?" Fuuko asked Mikagami with an amused smile.

 "Twenty-first, actually," Mikagami replied with an arrogant smirk.

Miko delightedly took the paper with the girl's number from Mikagami. He added it to the others in his pocket. "I like your company, Mikagami."

"So, Fuu-chan, you're not jealous?" Shoji teased his sister.

"Me? Jealous? Of Fridge-Boy here?" Fuuko waved her hand dismissively. "Don't make me laugh," actually, she was quite used to seeing women fawn over her Mi-chan. She also knows how he treats them. So jealously was the farthest thing on her mind.

Mikagami was so relieved that Fuuko wasn't the jealous and possessive type. He had encountered his share of jealous women in the past, women even without the faintest claim on him. He was disgusted by it. And the last thing he wanted was to be owned by anyone.

"Let's get louder!" The lead vocalist of the band on stage yelled.

"Yeah!" The crowd cheered.

Fuuko and Miko turned their attention to the front, cheering and clapping with the rest of the people.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mikagami noticed one of the concert goers in front of them almost breaking his neck with the way he kept looking back at Fuuko. Mikagami frowned. From that moment on, he kept an eye on the stranger. To his immense dissatisfaction, he noted that the stranger's eyes never strayed away from Fuuko for too long.

"That was fun!" Ruriko laughed after the concert, holding on to Yuri's hand.

Yuri nodded. "Too bad we're going home tomorrow. We wouldn't be able to explore the new arcade."

"Miss!"

Fuuko stretched. "I'm beat," she admitted.

"Let's call it a night, then?" Shoji asked.

"Miss!"

The rest of the guys nodded in agreement.

Mikagami contemplated on whether or not to reach for Fuuko's hand again on the way home. But just as he was about to reach for it, the stranger he was eying with contempt earlier had suddenly appeared in their midst.

"Miss!" He panted. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't just let the night pass without at least getting to know your name,"

Shoji elbowed Miko. "Want to get him off Fuuko's back, like you did with Mikagami's admirers?" He whispered.

Miko gave a look of pure  pain. "You injure me," he groaned, but he was watching Mikagami closely, anticipating how the latter would react to Fuuko's new admirer.

Mikagami pursed his lips. His eyes narrowed. His hands clenched into tight fists.

"Er—" Fuuko tilted her head a bit as she gazed contemplatively at the man.

The stranger, encouraged by Fuuko's stare, bravely pressed on.

"Well, we have to give him points for bravery," Yuri whispered to his girlfriend.

Ruriko nodded. Brave, that he was. brave, but Stupid. Fuuko was accompanied by three guys—Miko, Shoji, and Mikagami. But since Mikagami and Fuuko did not hold hands or did anything couples usually do, people could not tell that they were in a relationship. On the other hand, the tell-tale purple hair and purple eyes indicated that Fuuko was related to the rest of the guys. It was a logical assumption that Fuuko did not come to the concert with anyone, logical but erroneous.

To Mikagami's horror, Fuuko's face broke into a warm grin.

"Hey, I know you," she told the man.

"Ah, yes." He grinned flirtatiously at her. "I'm a soccer player from the local university. You might have seen me play…"

Fuuko shook her head. "No. It isn't that. I know you. From before," she scratched her head in contemplation. Then it hit her. "Shuuichi Fujima? Shu-chan?"

The man, Shuuichi nodded, giving Fuuko his best killer smile. "And you are?"

Miko started sniggering. Even Yuri and Shoji were amused.

But Mikagami didn't find anything funny in the exchange.

"Don't tell me you don't remember me?" Fuuko laughed out loud.

"I'm sure I would've remembered such a pretty face,"

Fuuko took the compliment in stride. "I was sure that you wouldn't forget me, but I doubt that my beauty is the reason for that,"

Was Fuuko flirting? Enraged, Mikagami opened his mouth to speak, to put the two in their proper place. However, a look from Shoji restrained him.

"I don't—" Shuuichi tried desperately to recall the woman before her.

"It's Fuuko." She encouraged him.

"Fuuko…" Shuuichi's brow furrowed in concentration.

"Kirisawa, from the blue beach house. Don't you remember?" Fuuko pressed him.

Shuuichi finally shook his head. "I'm really sorry but—"

"Then, let me refresh your memory," Fuuko told him playfully. "I know that your two front teeth are false and more importantly, I also know why."

Shuuichi's eyes grew as wide as saucers. He turned red, then white, then green, then into a shade Mikagami couldn't identify. Quickly, Shuuichi mumbled something incomprehensible and made his quick exit.

"What was that all about?" Ruriko asked, raising an elegant eyebrow.

Finally, the Kirisawas succumbed to laughter.

"I beat him up when we were kids," Fuuko admitted. "He was the neighborhood bully."

Yuri nodded. "He once stuffed Miko in a garbage can,"

Miko reddened. "I was seven."

"And you were a shrimp, even for a seven-year old." Shoji added. "Fuuko, by the way was five and a half."

"Actually, Miko was a geek," Yuri added playfully.

"And when I found out, I broke Shu-chan's two front teeth," Fuuko finished proudly. "I was what then, six?"

Mikagami felt relief as it was Fuuko who reached for his hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.

As they walked home, he let himself bask in the warmth that the Kirisawas never failed to elicit in him. But something was nagging him from inside.

Did he really feel the bitter stabs of jealousy when he thought Fuuko was flirting with the stranger?

For crying out loud, he was acting like a jealous boyfriend!

To be jealous meant that he was feeling something very, very deep for Fuuko. To be jealous, he had to lov—

He shook his head. Nope. Mustn't go there.

He glanced at the woman holding his hand. She looked at him at the same moment. She gave him a reassuring smile.

Then, his grip on Fuuko's hand tightened when a realization hit him.

He was actually a jealous boyfriend!

That thought brought immense satisfaction and pleasure. But most of all, he finally felt the ember of happiness burning from within him.

Happiness…

He realized that he hadn't thought of Mifuyu since he left for the trip.

And when he finally did, he realized that remembering his sister wasn't as painful as before…

~tbc

P.S.

Er…right…whatever. =p

Feedback, please!

To cattleya, I'm a Filipina through and through. That's also my excuse for messing up the names of my OCs. =)

Yeah, just realized that yuri means girl love, right? Whoo, boy. Sorry, Yuri-san. Don't have enough Jap names to go around. ^^;;