Hokage Theater Presents
By
Brandon Rice
Disclaimer: FLAME OF RECCA and all of its characters belong to Nobuyuki Anzai, Shogakukan, Inc. and Viz, LLC. None of it is mine: EXCEPT for the plot of this story and of the play they put on. Oh, I also own the man in black and his assassin.
Author's Rant: I didn't do Fuuko and Mikagami justice last chapter. I'm sure if it wasn't so late; I could have done it much better. Oh well, I'll just hope this one turns out better.
Oh. Odio, the man in black, has a bit of an annoying habit. He cuts himself with piano wire. It's pretty sick, so I'll have a big bold warning before that part, in case you don't want to read it. I really don't think you should have a problem, but I'd know some people, myself included, have issues with self-mutilation and such.
Oh. I suppose one could argue that this story contains some Domon-bashing. I really don't mean for it to come across that way, but I'm afraid that it will. I mean, he acts like a jealous, idiotic loaf throughout most of it. I don't mean to bash him at all . . . so I'll just make him do something heroic later on. Or not. I don't know yet. Just wanted to say I don't mean to bash Ishijima.
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Chapter Three: Romance Problems At The Kirisawa House
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Mr. Tatesako's house, which despite some damage taken from Kaoru and Mokuren's attack, was just like Recca; covered in ninja stuff. The difference was Tatesako had a much more complete collection than Hanabishi did. However they were not in the large corners of the house dedicated to Tatesako's undying love for the Ninja clans of yesteryear. Instead they were in a small room that his wife had converted into her safe-haven away from the Sengoku Era. She loved her husband, and she could put up with his Ninja-worshiping, but there was only so much she could deal with.
Now Mrs. Tatesako was sitting behind her sewing machine, diligently turning out an authentic costume. It was only a simple garment; but it was the most realistic looking outfit someone like her could have produced. This was due mainly to Kagero; who had overseen it with her vast knowledge of the Sengoku Period. Mr. Tatesako himself was also present; he was sitting in a corner with Yanagi, Kaoru and Ganko working on the props. They'd already agreed to use the Madogu; but they would also need some other, less lethal objects for use.
As the sadness swelled up inside her, Ganko nibbled on her lip. She really couldn't get all emotional for no reason; but it was hard not too. Sliding the knife down the edge of the wood, Ganko's hand slipped and the side of the blade plunged into one of the fingers of her other hand. Ganko blinked for a moment, and then she burst out in wailing tears. (For a former servant of Kurei-the-evil, she sure didn't handle pain well.)
Kaoru, who had been sitting not far away helping Yanagi glue a large, fake diamond to the crown for Prince Hakugin (Mikagami would look so girly in this crown; not that he didn't already look pretty girly.) looked over his shoulder at Ganko. Her pinky finger was bleeding profusely. Now in terms of blood in the body, a heavy-bleeding pinky wasn't anything serious. However, this didn't stop Kaoru from moving. He moved across the room quickly, snatched a scarf off the wall, and before the others had even figured out what happened the thirteen-year-old had wrapped the old black scarf around Ganko's finger. Ganko stopped crying and looked over at Kaoru with a couple small sniffs and a slight blush.
"That was a Takeda battle scarf." Mr. Tatesako said, almost in a daze. "One of five remaining in the world."Kagero nudged him in the ribs and shook her head. Back with Team Hokage, Yanagi had found her way over and she unwrapped the scarf and took Ganko's finger in the palm of her hands. The cut was gone in a flash and Ganko smiled up at the redhead happily. Then she threw her arms around Kaoru, who blinked once and began to squirm.
"Hey! Hey Hey!"
"Thank you Koganei-kun!" Ganko squeaked.
"Getoffme!" Kaoru growled.
Yanagi couldn't help but smile.
----
This room, like all of the rooms in the mansion, was black. However this one was much worse. There were no windows, so the rain was muffled since it was only hitting the walls. However, the sound of rain did not break the man's concentration. Odin Okawa was his name, and he was big. Domon Ishijima would have looked like a French poodle compared to Odin. His head was clean shaven and he wore a black training Gi. His body was well sculpted and his arms held muscles that looked rather like swollen rocks.
In front of him was a large training dummy. Odin lifted his fist and moved it back. He was ready to throw the punch when the door behind him opened. Odin's eye twitched, but he didn't move. A much smaller man walked into the room. He was thin and tall; but not as tall as Odin. The smaller man wore all black and his cape was draped down his back. His hair was like thin piano wire; something that he loved. He wore a black belt and on the edges of it were two large black boxes that resembled oversized dental floss containers. His hair was only for look; but those boxes held the real lethality.
"Dear brother." Odio, the smaller man said. "I do apologize, I know you're training, but we have a job."Odin snorted. "I was busy."
"Indeed." Odio replied. "However, Kurei has paid for your services; and we do not disappoint our customers."
Odio and Odin were famed among the underworld bosses of the world. Everyone from the Tokyo underground to the New York Kingpin was likely to hire them. Simply because they were the best. Odin was famous for his cooler-than-normal head even in the fiercest combat. People told stories of his splitting men's skulls with those Freddy Kruger gloves of his. His brother Odio was even worse. He was rumored to keep cases of steel wire on his belt. It was sharp and thin and could cut skin down to the bone. And Odio was famed for slicing his enemies into shreds. Combined they were the sickest assassins in the world.
"Who are the targets?" Odin asked, walking across the barren floor to the corner where a table sat in the shadows. The only light was the light from the open door; and this table looked near-invisible in the shade. Odin always trained in pitch-black and with a scarf over his eyes. To be able to fight without sight was a very useful skill. It sharpened his senses and made his more likely to win in a nighttime battle."Tokiya Mikagami, Fuuko Kirisawa, Kaoru Koganei, Domon Ishijima and Ganko Morikawa." Odio responded. "I have pictures downstairs."
"Fine." Odin replied. "What's the policy on civilians?"
Cutting Warning.
Odio smirked. Odin could see his brother twirling a thin wire in his fingers. Odin winced. He didn't know how Odio could stand that annoying idiosyncrasy of his. As Odio slipped the wire around his wrist he pulled it slowly and gave a sharp intake of breath as his arm slit and a small trickle of blood seeped down.
End Warning.
"Stop that." Odin growled. "It's sick."
Odio blinked. "You can slice a man's skull in half, but you wince at my wrist?"
"Yes, because a man is someone. You are my brother. You do it to yourself. It's . . . sick."
Odio rolled his eyes, but he untied the wire from himself and instead let it lie in his hand boringly. He then leaned against the table and looked up at his larger brother. "Civilians are allowed to die. Just leave Hanabishi and Sakoshita alive. Kurei wants them that way."
"Whatever." Odin replied. He reached down and picked up a dark leather jacket from the desk. He put it on and then reached down once more. This time he extracted a pair of black leather gloves from the desk and set them in the pocket of the jacket gently. Odio smiled rather insanely.
"Take my wire too." He replied, extending his hand containing the blood-stained wire. "And cut the Kirisawa girl for me.""Hell no!" Odin responded, pushing his hand away. "I'm not doing that nasty crap."
"Please?"
"Can I just kill them my way?" Odin growled.
"Fine." Odio sighed in defeated. "But at least take the wire with you. Keep it with you at all times so that my protection is with you?"
"Goddamn it, fine!" Odin shouted, taking the wire and quickly putting it in his pocket.
Odio smiled madly.
----
"Why does Fuuko have to kiss Mikagami?" Domon asked, for the umpteenth time, as he walked behind Recca, Yanagi, Kaoru and Ganko. Recca and Domon had spent this Sunday afternoon practicing the fireworks once again, and then they had gone to pick up the group from Mr. Tatesako's house. Oh Kagero could easily transport them back to their own homes, and she had offered to do so, but Yanagi had wanted to walk and Kaoru and Ganko had gone with her. So Recca and Domon had come to walk them all home; since Recca didn't let his princess go anywhere without him if he could help it.
"Stop criticizing the princess's play!" Recca shot back.
"I'm not criticizing the play, I'm just saying it was stupid to have Fuuko kiss that icy bastard.""I'm sorry." Yanagi sniffed. "I didn't mean to be stupid."
"You made princess cry!" Recca growled, throwing a punch at Domon. Domon growled and the two of them were soon exchanging blows as they had since they first met. Kaoru rolled his eyes and he patted Yanagi gently on the arm.
"Domon's just jealous. Your play is wonderful."
"You really think so?" Yanagi asked, sniffing once more.
"I do." Kaoru responded, trying to keep his voice low and still be heard over the sounds of Recca and Domon dueling it out. Yanagi smiled warmly and hugged the small boy, who blushed as red as a beet. Ganko seemed annoyed, and Recca too had a slightly put-off look to him. Domon, who was now sitting on the ground holding his bloody nose, just looked angry.
"I never said it was no good." Domon muttered. "I just don't want to see Fuuko kiss Mikagami! And I know you don't want to either, Fuuko, right?"
Domon then blinked. He looked around and seemed to have noticed for the first time that Fuuko was not with them. Then he quickly grabbed Recca's shirtfront and pulled him towards him. "Where's Fuuko!?"
Recca blinked. "She said she was going to see Mikagami."
"WHAT!?"
----
Not far from where Tokiya Mikagami lived there was a large junkyard. The yard was piled high with various trash, as well as old cars. It served both as a landfill and an impounding lot. They crushed cars and stored trash. Or at least they sued too before the city cut the funding and the place was closed down. Mikagami was happy the place had been closed, because now he had a place to practice his swordsmanship without interruptions. Standing in the midst of the junkyard was a large box set up with some targets set up.
The targets; a garden gnome statue, a fake Christmas tree and a cardboard "Rocky Balboa" used in movie theaters fro those Sylvester Stallone movies. Mikagami held his dagger out in front of his chest and poured a small bottle full of drinking water over the blade. Slowly the water and the knife's blade became one and extended far. Then he held it before his face and watched the water-blade to become a blade of hoarfrost.When he was satisfied with Ensui's ice form, Mikagami held it before him. He paused for a moment. Then, without warning, Mikagami ran forward faster than a hummingbird's wings. He swiped his arm out with the swiftness of a dog chasing a rabbit and watched, with approval, as the blade passed through the lawn gnome. The gnome was severed in half, and both halves were frozen at the severance. The silvery-haired swordsman whirled around and flashed the sword through the Christmas tree a few times fast, and when he jumped away the tree fell into six equal pieces; each frozen solid. Finally he turned to the Rocky cutout and thrust his sword forward. It should have pierced right in-between the red gloves of the boxer; but it did not.
A gust of wind, which Mikagami knew was not nature's doing, picked up the cutout and moved it back several hundred feet. Mikagami's eyes flashed to the side and he spotted Fuuko, a large grin plastered on her face, sitting on top of an old battered car's roof. Mikagami glared and jumped forward; but the cardboard cutout flew at Tokiya. Tokiya sliced it in half and watched the frozen halves smash the ground on either side of him.
"Not bad Kirisawa." Mikagami said. "If you're fighting the gorilla."Fuuko jumped off the car roof and landed on her feet with a certain grace that seemed almost useful. She rose up and held between her fingers several ice picks. Mikagami held the sword. Neither of them had really said 'Say, would you like to spar?' but neither of them really had too. Mikagami had never really fought Fuuko, and he could use the practice.
Fuuko jumped forward, hurling four of the ice picks at various heights and velocities. Mikagami was impressed at how quickly she could throw them; but it was far from good enough for her current enemy. Swinging his sword in a counterclockwise motion, Mikagami was able to pass the blade through each of the ice picks; freezing and breaking them all."Do any of you monkey's have a different fighting style?" Mikagami asked, being reminded strongly of Recca's recklessness.
"Fuuko's style is one of a kind." Fuuko replied with a smirk. She ran forward, throwing the other hand full of ice picks. Mikagami was no fool. He did not believe that she'd try the same move twice in a row. He jumped back, slicing his sword the same as he had before. He was right. She let him cut the first three picks with ease; but her Fuujin blew the fourth one off course and it went flying. Mikagami twisted to his left; but he was too slow. The pick cut across his side and he landed on his feet as the blood stained his shirt. "Still unimpressed?" Fuuko asked. "Quite." Mikagami responded coldly. "But you did draw my blood faster than Recca did. Kaoru was better, though."Fuuko glared. "It's not the speed, it's the quality."
Mikagami's eyebrow rose and he stood. He didn't bother running towards her; since it wasn't his style. Fuuko however, yawned and walked over in an obvious fashion that meant the battle was over. Pity. Mikagami thought she might have had some merit in combat. However he did lower his sword and Fuuko let her hand that contained the Fuujin hang loosely at her side.
"What do you want?" Mikagami asked."I wanted to talk about this kissing thing."
"Oh no, not again. Honestly Kirisawa, we went over this."
"I know!" Fuuko spat. "But . . . look, we have to do it."
Mikagami shook his head. "Yanagi can change the script."
Fuuko nibbled on her lip. "Yeah. Well I asked her earlier. But Recca and I sat down and had a discussion about it, and we came to the conclusion that it was best I suck it up and let you kiss me."
Mikagami's eyebrow went even higher on his head. "Recca kicked your ass because he didn't want Yanagi to cry?"
"Shut up." Fuuko snapped, confirming Tokiya's theory. "I'd rather kiss you than fight dragon-boy."
Mikagami's head, which had already been shaken once, shook again. "No.""Fine." Fuuko said, using her ace-in-the-hole. "But you tell Yanagi. I don't like making girls cry."
Mikagami's face twitched. He wouldn't in a million years do something to make Yanagi cry for his own personal gain. He would only cause her pain if it was for her own good. This was simply for his selfish desire not to kiss the monkey. Yanagi looked, and acted, too much like Mifuyu.
"Fine. We'll kiss."
Fuuko wasn't exactly thrilled. "Well. . ."
Mikagami growled. "Not now! On stage!"
Fuuko nodded. She took acting almost as serious as she took fighting, and she'd be damned if she'd use a new move on Kurei without first testing it on Recca. It was the same deal here; she knew how awkward it would be to kiss Mikagami. And she would have to practice. But she wasn't going to push her luck today. She could use her mind and use guile and patience to make sure the play went perfectly.
"We need to rehearse though." So much for guile and patience.
"I'm beginning to think that you want to kiss me." Mikagami announced.
"Don't flatter yourself." Fuuko responded hastily.
"Oh right, you're type is the tall, bulky and moronic."
Fuuko shook her head. "Domon likes me. It's one-sided all the way."
Mikagami nodded, but the roll of his eyes gave away his obvious disbelief. Fuuko's eye twitched but she didn't respond.
"What about . . ."
"Raiha is just a friend." Fuuko responded almost naturally. Mikagami didn't know why he was so interested in this, and he was in an even greater confusion about why he felt relieved to hear this. Maybe he was spending too much time about the simian-trio and his brain cells had committed seppuku."So . . ."
"Yeah."
The two of them stood very awkwardly. On the one hand, Fuuko really wanted to get used to this so it wouldn't be as awkward on stage. But at the same time she didn't want to kiss Mikagami. That was just . . . eww. Cold, emotionless and rude wasn't her type. Come to think of it, she didn't really have a type. Fuuko wasn't the romantic type at all.
"Well. Kiss me." Fuuko said at length.
"Why should I kiss you? This was your idea." Mikagami responded at once.
"You're the man. Or at least you claim you are girly-boy."
"I happen to be very secure in my masculinity, thank you very much." Tokiya snapped back.
"You'd have to be to have hair like that." Fuuko responded. "I can smell your strawberry shampoo from here."
"How would you know?" Mikagami growled. "I thought hair-care was too 'girly' for the great Fuuko Kirisawa?"
"It's okay for girls to act like guys. That's why we wear pants and dresses. But guys who act like girls; well that's just wrong."
"I do not act like a girl. I simply like looking better like a human, as opposed to something from the zoo." Mikagami replied, eyeing Fuuko's torn jeans and her old, over-sized and stained shirt.
"Get your eyes off my chest, girly-man." Fuuko snapped. Mikagami heaved a sigh since he was simply looking at her ugly clothes, not her . . . accessories.
"This isn't going to work. Domon can have my part." Mikagami announced at last. Fuuko flushed.
"No! I don't want to kiss Domon!"
"Well you obviously don't want to kiss me either, and the feeling is more than mutual. So let's just call it quits."
"No way." Fuuko cried out angrily. "I'm not going to make an ass of myself on stage just because I have to kiss you."
Mikagami was ready to say something, but what smart-ass reply he had on the tip of his tongue would be a mystery forever. Fuuko, for all her flaws, was a great actress. While her tough-girl image may be ruined by admitting it, she loved the stage. In elementary school she had been on the stage every day of her life that she hadn't already wasted fighting with Recca. She was going back on the stage for the first time in years and she was not letting her comeback be ruined by this bastard. So Fuuko did the only logical thing she could do. She wrapped her hands around Mikagami's face and pulled him into a kiss.
Really it wasn't that bad. Tokiya wasn't big on romance and aside from pecks on the cheek by some of the girls he had tutored in middle school, and the kisses he had exchanged with his mother and sister before their own demises, he hadn't quite "kissed a girl". Not like this. He hadn't expected Fuuko's kiss to be quite like this. Her lips were . . . soft. That was a shock. He expected her lips to be callused and hard; like the rest of her. But they weren't. They were soft, and they had found some ground right in the middle of being dry and wet. It was actually enjoyable. Though he'd sooner slice his right hand off than admit that.
As for Fuuko's thoughts, well she was just taken aback. She had just kissed Mikagami. That wasn't like her. Then again . . . it was. He had told her that she could not kiss him. And everyone knew that when you tell Fuuko not to do something, she simply had too. The angry reasons for the kiss seemed rather lost to her know. She was just surprised at how warm his lips were. Honestly she expected to pull away and have her mouth frozen.
Pull away. Neither of them had done so yet. That was odd. For two people who had complained about having to do this, they sure seemed to enjoy it."FUUKO!"
Fuuko did pull away this time. She fell backwards, glancing up at Domon. Mikagami's senses seemed to return and he froze, looking at himself as if he was questioning whether or not this was a dream. Domon was standing at the edge of the junkyard with a look of horror on his face. He fell too his knees and it looked like he was . . . crying?
Now Domon wasn't known for his clever wit, or his intelligence. He wasn't "Domon the Devil" because of his cool-head and rational thinking. His face twitched, he stood up, and he charged forward. Fuuko took a step back, not wanting to be trampled. Domon threw back his fist and then he threw it forward. Mikagami was in such a daze (he was aghast to find he had enjoyed kissing Fuuko) that he never saw the punch coming. Mikagami was knocked back to the ground. Domon jumped towards him for the second hit; but Mikagami wasn't that messed up. Domon stop in mid-air, and just in time, because Ensui was an inch from his throat.
"Down baka." Mikagami snapped, his mood fouler than usual. Mikagami stood up, gave one look at Fuuko, and then turned and walked towards the exit of the junkyard. Fuuko took a step to follow him, but he turned around, said the word 'no', and then turned back to finish his course. Fuuko fell to her knees and leaned her head against Domon, now very confused. Domon was crying again.----
By that night word of the events at the junkyard had spread through the Hokage. Everyone was talking about it when they dropped Ganko off at the Kirisawa house. She had barley taken any notice in the problems that Kaoru and the others had discussed the entire trip. Ganko stayed in her own little world as Mrs. Kirisawa bade her goodnight while she went down to the room she and Fuuko shared. Upon arriving she found Fuuko was already lying in bed and she had a annoyed look on her face. Ganko changed in quiet and made no sign to talk to the older girl until she lay down, at which point she turned on her side and looked over to Fuuko.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Fuuko grunted. Ganko decided to pretend that was a 'yes'.
"How do you know when you have a crush on someone?" Ganko's question surprised Fuuko; since it was one she had been pondering herself.
"Don't worry about that stuff Ganko. You're only nine; you shouldn't drive yourself crazy with romance yet."
"Why?" Ganko asked. "Why can't I?"
Fuuko rolled onto her side and looked over at the kid. "Ganko . . . I'm not the person to ask this stuff about. I'm not the romantic type. You should ask Kagero, she was married."
"But . . . I wanted to ask you, Fuuko."
Fuuko looked at Ganko for a minute and the look in the kid's eyes was enough to melt the mighty Fuuko into mush. Blah. She sighed and rolled back onto her back, casting her eyes out the window and at the starry night sky.
"I don't know Ganko. I guess . . . I guess you'll know because you'll feel like you've never felt before. And you'll feel it around that person."
"Oh." Was Ganko's only reply. "Fuuko? Did you kiss Mikagami?"
Fuuko's eye twitched and a sweatdrop fell down her face. "Domon told everybody, huh? Yeah I kissed him, but nobody heard the whole story. I'm sure that bad dog twisted it into something it wasn't."
"Do you have a crush on Mikagami?" Ganko asked.
"Of course not!" Fuuko snapped. Ganko looked hurt by the rudeness, and Fuuko quickly apologized. She wasn't very good at being the sweet and sunny person needed to raise Ganko. Sighing she shook her head. "It wasn't like that."
"Then . . . why did you kiss him?"
Fuuko sighed.
"I wish I knew."
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
More Rant: Wooo! I got more reviews! That makes my day.
Tell you what; if I get ten of them before chapter four I'll make you guys a little present. I don't know what it'll be. Maybe a comedy ficcy, or a comic or something. Just some kind of thank you.
Oh. And Domon will be an idiot for a while yet to come. But he'll be brave later.
Speaking of which, should Domon and Mikagami fight? I thought about it, but don't know if I want to do it or not. What do you guys want?
Review Replies
marisha
You flatter me too much with those kind words.
Have a cookie.
Akira
In character? If you say so... I'll believe you since I might just be being hard on myself. And thank you. I've got a lot of complements on this plot. It makes me feel good. Have a cookie too.