Disclaimer: I don't own Flame of Recca or any of its characters.

A/N:

I'm attempting to write in a Recca-Yanagi romance without actually writing Yanagi in. How's that for a challenge? ^^; Ok. It's a challenge, but I'm trying to swallow my dislike for the girl.

Anyway, I was rereading chapter 1 of this fic and then this installment, I realized one thing, this is going to be a lot heavier than Kindred. Yeah. More mature themes, I guess. I don't know! Ask my therapist!

BLT Chapter 2: Best Friends, Lonely Hearts, and Tuition Money

Fuuko stared at the stranger in the mirror.

Hesitantly, she picked up the brush and started to comb her hair in even, measured strokes. Her long hair.

She closed her eyes and rubbed at it wearily. She sighed. Who was she kidding?

Her mom, who didn't believe in taking things moderately, was ecstatic when she asked her to go shopping for clothes—girly ones. A shopping spree that was inspired last summer after the hundredth girl had looked at her and commented, "That's Mikagami-san's girlfriend?" in disbelief complete with a roll of the eyes and a wrinkle of the nose in disgust. OK, she wasn't that into clothes. She liked them comfortable. But she was sick and tired of people, girls in particular, looking at her like she won the lottery or something and at her boyfriend like he had lost his mind.

So they went shopping.

And Fuuko nearly went insane. She didn't know there were so many kinds of blouses; she had to choose the color, the cut, the fabric, with poackets, without pockets, with zippers, buttons, or none at all…And then came the lower half. She had to choose between skirt, shorts, or pants. And then the length, the color, the fabric. And oh! Don't let her get started on the shoes!

The worst part of it was she knew Tokiya didn't care one way or the other. He liked her just the way she was.

"But he had to deal with the all-new Fuuko, huh," she muttered to herself.

Not that it mattered. A month after her wardrobe make-over, he went away to the University.

"Fuuko, honey!" Her mom called from downstairs. "Recca's here!"

"Coming!" She called back. "And don't call me honey in front of Recca!"

"So it's just the two of us tonight?" Fuuko asked as she fell in step beside the raven-haired boy.

Recca nodded. "Yanagi's grandparents are visiting and Domon's flower shop had this huge order of flowers for a party."

Saturday night was their movie night, a tradition that helps the four of them unwind from the pressures of school.

"Just two more of these nights to go, and it's over," Fuuko grinned. "I am so looking forward to graduating."

Recca smirked. "But just the other day, you were obsessing about it."

Fuuko hit him playfully. "I am not obsessing about it." She denied. "I'm just a little—"

"Emotional."

"I am not emotional." Punching him in the shoulder a little too forcefully.

"Girl, you're gonna get it now!" Recca teased.

Fuuko laughed as she danced out of Recca's reach.

"Oh, what a sweet couple," an elderly woman told her male companion as she looked at Fuuko and Recca.

The two teenagers froze.

"But we're not—" Fuuko started to deny.

"Oh, honey," the elderly man grinned. "They're still in that stage of denial,"

The woman giggled. "Don't they remind you of us when we were younger?"

"Much younger," the man laughed.

"But,"

"Save it, they're not gonna listen." Recca told Fuuko as he started to walk away, placing both of his hands behind his head.

Fuuko nodded as she ran after Recca. "We look like a couple." She snorted.

"Well, yeah," Recca affirmed. "It is Saturday night, after all."

"Eww!" Fuuko wrinkled her nose in disgust. "How come we never had that problem last year?"

Recca grinned cheekily. "Well, have you looked in the mirror lately?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fuuko growled.

Recca placed a friendly arm around her shoulders. "Heh! A year ago, you looked more manly than I do."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" Recca laughed.

And then, the next thing he knew, he was being launched into the air—Domon-style.

"Well I might look like a girl now but I still punch like a man!" Fuuko called after him.

The movie they watched was a sad romantic film with a very unhappy ending, one that Yanagi suggested to Recca.

"I sob can't believe sob that they sob didn't end up sob together! Waaah!"

"There, there. Let it out. Here, have a hanky. Wipe those tears away."

Which resulted in more tears streaming down, like waterfalls.

"That was sob sob so sad!"

"Oh, Recca!" Fuuko finally snapped. "For crying out loud, try to control yourself. People are starting to look at us strangely."

"I'm sorry sob. I just sob can't help sob it." He sniffled as he tried to get the tears under control.

OK. What does a girl answer to that?

"Uh, come on, let's go to an ice cream shop. An ice cream would make you feel better right?"

"Uh-huh sob"

"Alright." She began to pull him towards the shop, somehow, the big lump of a man that was her best friend really reminding her of Ganko in one of her worse moods.

Moments later, a much calmer Recca was pigging out on a banana split. "Thanks for bearing with me," Recca told her after finishing his food.

"Don't mention it," Fuuko waved her hand dismissively.

"It's just that, it reminded me of me and Yanagi." He sighed. "Come the next school year, we'll be torn apart." He sighed. "The University I got accepted to is on the other side of the country."

"I mean it." Fuuko said. "Don't mention it again. Ever."

"That embarrassing, huh?" Recca flashed her a grin, then immediately went sober. "Fuuko, how do you do it with Mikagami?"

Fuuko shrugged. "I have no idea." She admitted.

"Aren't you worried?" Recca asked. "I mean, Mikagami's quite a hit with the ladies, and he lives alone in his apartment, and it gets a trifle lonely out there…" His voice trailed off.

"Well, I wasn't worried." Fuuko glared at him. "But now I am."

Recca grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." He sighed. "Yanagi said that she'll come with me to the school I got accepted to,"

"And?"

"Her parents wouldn't let her." Recca's face scrunched up in anger. "They said that they wouldn't let her throw away her future for a nobody like me."

"Recca!" Fuuko gasped.

Recca gave a bitter laugh, the first she heard from her best friend. "In fact, they told her to get the hell away from me."

"I'm sorry."

"They're right, you know," Recca continued. "What do I have to offer her? I can't even protect her properly anymore." With that, he stood up and swept out of the room.

"Recca!" Fuuko called as she ran after him. "Wait! Recca!"

"Five more minutes, mom." Fuuko grumbled as she turned over and placed her pillow over her head.

"Fuuko, wake up."

"No!"

"Fuuko!"

The blanket was jerked violently off. And since it was twisted around Fuuko's body, she too, was jerked off the bed and onto the floor with a thud.

"Ouch!" She growled at the person who woke her up. And did a double take. "Recca?"

"Get dressed. We're going somewhere today."

"And good morning to you, too. By the way, sorry for deserting you last night. Oh, and is it OK for me to go into your room?" Fuuko grumbled.

Recca blushed. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry 'bout last night. I don't know what came over me." He scratched his head.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She stood up and stretched.

"And Ganko-chan let me in."

"You're in a better mood today, huh?"

Recca nodded. "I just thought of the best way to solve my problem with Yanagi."

"This is not the best way to solve your problem with Yanagi."

Recca sighed and impatiently raked his hand through his hair. "So what is?" He demanded irritably.

"I don't know, but this is definitely not it."

"Fuuko," he started. "You're my best friend, and I really would appreciate it if you would stand beside me on this one." He said. "But if not, then I'll do this without you,"

Fuuko's lips thinned as she sighed resignedly. "Alright. I'll stop. But what did your father and mother say about this?" She looked at him. "You didn't tell them, did you?"

"They'll just try to stop me."

And probably with a good reason, Fuuko thought. But she didn't eve dream of voicing that out loud. She didn't want to push Recca away from her confidence.

"Here you are, sir," the salesman said.

Recca took the diamond ring the man was giving him.

Recca's great solution was to ask Yanagi to marry him. That, to Fuuko, was simply adding much more complication to the two's problem. Not that Recca would be willing to hear that.

Fuuko hoped that once Recca learned of the price of the ring, reality would hit him on the face and regain his sanity.

But Recca's eyes simply sparkled as the jeweler told him the price. "Perfect." He said. "Could you hold the ring for me?"

"Recca," Fuuko followed him out of the store. "How exactly do you plan to pay for that ring?"

Recca grinned. "I've got it all figured out," he told her confidently.

Fuuko didn't like the gleam in her friend's eye. "Oh, please don't tell me you're going to use your tuition money to pay for that,"

"Alright." Recca said calmly. "I'm not gonna tell you."

"But Recca!"

"I told you I got it all figured out." He told her dismissively. "Yanagi could still go to Tokyo U. I'll find a job there somewhere, and we'll live simply but comfortably in an apartment."

Fuuko shook her head. Things sure are changing fast, and she wasn't quite sure that she liked it.

"Hello?" Fuuko asked absentmindedly to the phone cradled between her cheek and shoulder as she hurriedly took the pot off the burner. "Mom, you left breakfast to burn again," she called out. Like her, her mother was not a morning person. But once in a blue moon, mother and daughter would wake up early in a good mood, refreshed to tackle the day. Today, was not one of those days.

But her mom had something important planned for that day and raised enough racket to raise the dead. So she was up and about that morning and she knew it would be one of those days when she won't have to run for her life to get to school on time.

"Sorry, hon," her mom shouted from upstairs.

"Sorry about that," Fuuko apologized to the person on the other end of the line as she put down the pot and held the phone properly. "Kirisawa residence, how may I help you?"

"Nice to know that some things never change," a familiar dry, yet oddly amused, tone reached her ear.

Fuuko almost dropped the phone. "Mi-chan?" She squeaked. She was so unready for this!

"So, how are you doing, Fuuko?" Tokiya's voice immediately turned serious.

"Uh, well—" she began, but a beep interrupted her train of thoughts. Call-waiting. Great. That would give her time to marshal her thoughts. "Uh, Mi-chan, can I go back to you? Mom's expecting an important call," without even waiting for an answer, she turned on the other line. "Hello?"

"Fuuko?" A tortured voice rasped out. But it was oddly familiar…

"Recca?" Fuuko asked incredulously. Usually Recca's voice on the phone was a manifestation of his personality; manic, boisterous, loud. "What's wrong?"

"I asked her last night, Fuuko," he rasped out. "And she said no."

"Hello?" Ganko frowned at the phone. "Ganko speaking. Who's this?"

"Ganko-chan?"

"Tokiya-niichan?" Ganko squealed. "How are you? When are you coming back? Did you get me anything? Can I come visit?"

"One at a time, Ganko-chan." Tokiya said in an amused voice. "And don't forget to breathe."

Ganko obediently took a deep breath.

"Is Fuuko there?" Tokiya asked. "I was talking to her earlier, but she had an incoming call and we got cut off."

"Oh. She rushed out of here like the place was on fire or something. She was saying something about an emergency,"

Tokiya was immediately on alert. "What emergency?"

"I don't know. But I overheard her saying to mom that she and Recca are meeting in the school roof tops,"

"I see. Now, Ganko, I have something important to tell you, so listen to me very carefully."

~tbc

~Guess who's back? Back again? Shady's back, Shady's back, Shady's back…~

I'm looking forward to hearing y'all!

I'll post the next update maybe Friday night. =)

A shout-out to the following: G-Cleft (thanks, hun. I just hope that I can live up to your standards, and speaking of, when's your next installment coming? Stop reading and start writing, woman! ^^), anne_890 (wow. Thanks for reading Kindred, but I have to warn you, as I've stated above, this is going to have a different theme and tone than my other story), lilian (well, I hope to write more FoR fics too, but sometimes, it's like squeezing blood from a stone =p ), Kaze Yurei (thanks, I will do my best), Dark Phoenix (Hey! You got my plot in one go. That is so not fair! =) Well, maybe this time I can finally unleash the angst), and G (hmm…is it still too short? I was thinking that if I make it short, I can come up with faster updates ^^)