For Wind and Loyalty

Chapter 9

By shukuchi

None of the Flame of Recca characters are mine. Otherwise, it'd be a shoujo manga.... Oh, and please review, but I'll post the next chapter once I have the one after it done.. Strange logic, eh?

"Raiha?"

Fuuko-san's bright emerald eyes sparkle in the sunlight as she nervously glances at me. She almost looks... intimidated. That can't be good.

"What is it? Are you in danger?"

I can instantly tell that I said the wrong thing, as her jittery nervousness instantly transforms into embarrassed anger. "Of course I'm not; I can take care of myself. I just wanted to ask," her cheeks turn vaguely pinkish and I smile at the innocence, "if... well, before at the restaurant, if... if that was a date." The last part she says very quickly as if to get it over with, and my smile turns mischievous.

"You could call it that, Fuu-chan," I chirp, emphasizing the last word.

A very hard fist slams into the side of my face, and I wince, adding to my earlier comment, "-but you'd be very, very wrong. In fact," I state to try to appease her, "it'd be hard to be more to the contrary. Can't fight on an empty stomach, can we? I didn't know that place took so much care in feeding people. It was just an honest mistake." I wait a moment before quickly saying, "Fuu-chan."

With an annoyed sigh, she mutters, "Good. Now..." she glares and waves a hand at me. "Goodbye!!!"

I blink. Apparently, she doesn't find my presence welcome. "But I was here first, Fuu-chan. What's wrong?"

"I'm training!" she half-snarls at me. Poor girl still doesn't seem to have recovered from when she asked me about my feelings....

"Training with others will actually help you improve faster. Besides, it really helps with stress relief" when there's someone around to take everything out on.

"Don't you get the point yet? I want you gone!!!" my companion yells as she flings a shurakin at me. It flies through my hair and attaches to the branch behind me with enough dramatics to make me wonder if she knew that wasn't my head. I remove it and take two more of the pointed objects from my pocket and start juggling them, feeling amused at how quickly her ire turns to exasperation. "You're hopeless," she mutters under her breath.

"Thank you, Fuu-chan," I smilingly respond. For a moment, darkness fills my eyes as an unsummoned memory comes. In it, there are two boys standing, frozen in time, looking at one another. Yet a smile stays on my face, hiding everything, and I force myself to focus on the present. With a slight nod before turning my face to the trees I acknowledge something: it's getting easier. Maybe I just have more practice now....

A sharp pain breaks me out of my thoughts, and I glance down. In my distraction, I didn't quite catch a shurakin, and now it stands on end, tip buried in my hand. A single drop of blood rolls away from the wound like a scarlet teardrop, and I stare in surprise. Fuuko-san says something that I don't quite hear, and I glance up. Suddenly, the whole situation seems like a metaphor for my life, and it all points to one thing: she will be the one to take me from the pain of my master's death. Didn't I know this all along?

I know I'm staring without a trace of a smile, but it doesn't matter. She looks at me as well, with confusion probably matching my own. However, after a shake of her head as if to clear it, she turns away to use a tree for target practice, and my eyes unconsciously widen. If this is a metaphor for my life, what is meant now? I am answered as she vaguely tosses a shurakin over her shoulder at me, and I reflexively catch it. There is one future for both of us: we will fight as we are destined to. Beyond that, what else can I expect?

Nothing. She lives in a world that I can never be a part of.

"I'll leave you alone now, Fuuko-san." With that said, I retreat into the forest where I can brood alone.

Bring!!!!

I pick up the phone without a thought and hold it to my ear. The fact that I should say anything doesn't occur to me until I hear a nasal muttering in the background. Joker. I don't want to speak with him right now, and I hang up.

Someone still cares.

No they don't.

I turn to glance at where a stone-grey tentacle hangs out of a box, and glare.

I do not need to hear your opinion. Stop talking, now.

If you do not appreciate me, why keep me around? There are many who would want such a strong weapon, and I know that you would not care what happened to them.

Good question. Why don't I just get rid of you?

I'm your only tie to the girl. I am what made you meet, and what binds your destinies together. Without me, you're just another worthless admirer, never to so much as touch a dream. You know this, and that is why.

Go now to the wind master. She will make you feel better. However, nothing can make you forget me.

She cares about me as a friend, and not as a madougu wielder.

Are you willing to test that?

I leave my room. Joker can save me from a moment's worry, but only she can help me leave this life. Assuming she wants to....

Why would she want to save a worthless traitor?

I don't know.

And I wonder, was it Raijin I just spoke to or myself?

A chill wind blows as I step outside. It is the most reassurance I've had all day.

"Why do you fight?"

"Because it's fun. Besides... I think Fuujin was given to me for a reason. I'm just the type of girl who'd dream of flying, I guess. Wind rushing through my hair... That's how fighting feels too. It's a part of me. Besides... it does kinda remind me of being in the air, and hey, maybe one day I will get that opportunity."

I am taken aback by her response. The question which slipped from my lips wasn't of any importance, but her answer tells me everything and removes all worries. A breeze ruffles her hair, sending the thin strands in all directions, though mine is too heavy to be affected. Yes, she will fly. And even if I never soar to those heights, maybe I can help her into the air. A smile spreads across my face. I wouldn't be able to pull her down even if I wanted to.

In a way, that makes our future fight much more bearable than before.