Disclaimer: Characters are not mine.
Aftermath 5 – Past, Present, and Future
He is beautiful in his ninja suit.
His long hair flapped against his back as the wind passed by, the light of the sun bouncing off it and causing a mesmerizing shine that almost blinded her eyes.
He pulled out his sword and started a sinuous dance that left her heart beating fast.
Then he stopped in front of her, an addictive smile tracing his tempting lips.
"This is our destiny…Fuuko." He whispered against her ear, making her shiver.
"My prince…" She whispered back, slowly wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
Fuuko was snapped back to her senses by the sudden sound that signals the end of a battle game together with a shout of victory from the big burly guy sitting beside her.
Then she remembered that two of her best friends came to their house and now they're playing Guilty Gear X in her PS2.
"You lose again, Fuuko." Domon announced smugly, stretching his big arms above his head.
Another guy with spiky black hair lying on the bed where the two are leaning on shook his head in disappointment.
"It was already bad that you were losing against Ganko, who's just 8 mind you. But damn, Fuuko, against Domon?" Recca commented, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "He couldn't even tell a kick from a punch."
"Hey!" Domon protested, scowling at Recca.
"It's not counted!" Fuuko said as she threw the control stick roughly on the floor in frustration. "I got distracted."
"Not fair! We already waved off three games!" Domon complained, looking incredulously at Fuuko.
"And we'll keep waving them off until I can focus." Fuuko argued back, pressing the start button on the PS2.
She pinned Domon with a menacing look, to which Domon groaned and surrendered as he picked up his control stick.
Recca bit back a laugh at the sight of his big burly friend reduced to a cowering coward under Fuuko's gaze.
She can be very intimidating when she wants to.
He can vouch for that.
When they started playing again, Recca noticed that Fuuko still has that dreamy faraway look on her face.
As far as he knows, Fuuko only gets that look whenever she thinks of a certain ice prince who she's been spending quite some time with.
A mischievous smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Daydreaming about Mikagami again? Careful, Fuuko, you're starting to act like one of his fan girls." He teased, poking the fuming girl.
Domon hooted and laughed while Fuuko blushed at the implication of Recca's words.
"And here I thought you love me, Fuuko. Aren't you supposed to be thinking about me?" Domon whined and pouted jokingly.
A year ago, he would have meant it and perhaps a part of him still meant it. But he knew that Fuuko can only give him her friendship and he's finally coming around to accept it.
"Shut up! It's not like that and don't keep your hopes up, Domon." Fuuko protested, freeing one of her hands and slapping both of guys with the back of her hand.
"Besides, I don't think it's him." She added in almost a whisper.
The two guys exchanged curious looks before turning to the girl.
"Hmm, that's weird. The chance of you having another guy in your life is highly unlikely since I doubt anyone has noticed that you are, in fact, a girl." Recca commented jokingly, to which he received another vicious slap from the purple head girl.
Domon laughed but stopped immediately when Fuuko turned her head to him.
"Anyway, I don't think Mikagami would appreciate that, Fuuko. He has some serious issues with fidelity, you know." Recca continued, slightly moving away from Fuuko's reach.
Fuuko glared at him and then focused her attention back on the game.
"FYI, I'm not with Tokiya." She said, raising her eyebrows for emphasis.
"Oh, but you're in a first name basis now." Domon commented nonchalantly, and then he pretended to look considerate, "Unless you're telling me this so that we can get back together?"
"I see a nice pair of black eyes in your future." Fuuko said through gritted teeth, glaring at Domon. "He's my friend, okay?"
"We're also his friends but he never lets us call him that." Domon pointed out, completely ignoring Fuuko's threat.
Recca nodded in agreement.
"You're a bunch of idiots, that's why."
Recca pretended to be hurt, placing his hands on his chest where his heart is supposed to be. "I take that to heart."
Fuuko snorted but couldn't help a smile.
"So, tell us about this mysterious other guy." Recca inquired, leaning eagerly towards Fuuko.
"Why would you want to know? And why should I tell you?" Fuuko asked incredulously.
"Yeah, why?" Domon chipped in, sparing Recca a questioning look before leaning towards him and whispering. "We're supposed to be loyal to Mikagami."
Recca rolled his eyes and whispered back. "That's why we need information so that we can kick the other guy out of the picture."
"I can very well hear you from here, thank you very much." Fuuko commented dryly with a huff. "In any case, I don't even know who the other guy is, if that makes you feel any better. In fact, I'm not sure if there is another guy. I could have conjured up this person in my mind."
"Well, what does he look like? Maybe we could help figure out if he does exist or not." Recca suggested.
"I didn't get a good look on his face." Fuuko answered, crossing her eyebrows. "Or rather it was not possible to get a good look at all. Everything was just a series of vague images of a ninja suit, dark long hair, a sword, and I could barely remember some crap about destiny."
Recca and Domon exchanged knowing looks but neither said anything.
Raiha.
They had met him during the whole incident with Recca's half brother, Kurei.
Aside from the knowledge that Raiha is one of Kurei's trusted companions and a formidable fighter himself, there's not much they know about him.
He's quite a mystery but he had expressed genuine interest and care towards Fuuko in the past.
But since Fuuko has been secretive herself when it comes to her association with Raiha, they're not very sure what had really transpired between them.
Notably, Fuuko had been uncharacteristically moody and snappy after they heard that Kurei and his minions, which include Raiha, had left the town to an unknown destination.
Recca was almost convinced that Raiha had left with more than just Fuuko's friendship.
If it was true, then it was smart for Fuuko not to tell them anything because Recca would have never allowed it.
Raiha's intentions might have been sincere but Recca knew that Raiha's capacity for commitment is close to nothing since he's bound by blood to Kurei.
"Do you have an idea who he is?" Fuuko asked suddenly, breaking into Recca and Domon's musings.
"No." Recca instantly denied.
Fuuko narrowed her eyes at him, obviously not convinced.
"You're a very bad liar, Recca." She commented before turning to Domon, who became unusually fidgety.
But before she could ask him about it, a head with short messy brown hair and striking features suddenly poked at the door of her room.
It's her brother, Ryuu.
"Hey, squirt, are you cooking something? Because something smells like it's burning." He said teasingly.
Fuuko scowled at him as Recca and Domon laughed, quite thankful for the distraction.
"Hey, what makes you think that I'm the one who's cooking when—" Fuuko started to say when she remembered that she had reheated soup for Recca and Domon and left it to check on them and ended up playing PS2.
She gasped loudly and hurriedly went downstairs.
The three guys sweat dropped.
"Did Fuuko forget that her talent for cooking is non existent?" Recca asked.
"It seems so." Domon quietly answered, pressing the stop button on the PS2.
When they got over their initial shock, Ryuu gave Domon and Recca a slight wave before disappearing into his room just across.
The two were left to contemplate.
"Why didn't you tell Fuuko that you know Raiha? Don't you think we should let her know about him?" Domon asked in bewilderment.
Recca thought for a moment before he shook his head.
"We don't even know what Fuuko's relationship was with that guy. How can we be so sure that remembering him will not cause her pain?" He reasoned, sitting up. "We have to know first who he is to Fuuko."
"And how exactly do you propose we do that?" Domon asked in disbelief. "I mean, really, humor me. You know how secretive Fuuko was when it came to Raiha. Who could possibly know anything?"
Recca sighed, "You're right."
Domon's ears perked up.
"Say that again."
Recca scowled, "Don't get used to it."
Domon glared in response.
"Come on. Let's check on Fuuko before she completely burns the house down." Recca said, standing up. "We'll just have to think about this some other time. I doubt Raiha will show up any time soon, anyway."
When they got to the kitchen, they were surprised to find Tokiya helping Fuuko clean the mess she made.
"When did he get here?" Domon whispered in bewilderment.
"Who knows? He has a knack for appearing out of nowhere." Recca whispered back, listening to the comfortable verbal sparring of the two.
He still couldn't grasp the thought that Tokiya is capable of smiling, but it's quite nice to see him like this, unburdened by his sister's death.
Fuuko is good for him.
And somehow Recca knows that Tokiya will treat Fuuko right.
As their friend, he must help to make sure that they're together and happy no matter what.
Raiha could have played a big part in Fuuko's life but now, he's just someone from the past and Recca hopes that he remains in the past so as not to complicate things any further.
Besides, Recca believes that Tokiya will not give up Fuuko so easily.
Not after all that has happened.
From the serious look on Domon's face, it could be assumed that he was thinking the same thing.
He exchanged a meaningful look with Recca and realized that he was, in fact, ready to completely let Fuuko go.
Although he never had her, on the first place, at least now he could move on and just be happy that there is someone who will take care of Fuuko even better than he could.
After settling their thoughts, they finally joined Tokiya and Fuuko.
A/N:
I've been saved yet again from Michan's clutches! Good thing Fuuko's always around to distract him lol.
By the way, Ryuu is an original character of yours truly. He was never mentioned to exist in Flame of Recca. But I wanted Fuuko to have a brother. I can't really explain why but I just have this feeling that it fits right for her to have one.
Well, what do you think, guys? I hope you will leave me a review. It can be very encouraging to read them, you know. It's a boost of energy for us, authors.
Anyway, I would like to make special mention to the following people:
shenhui, wijachan, loujane14, clotiheart, alf05, yanagi-chan, munlytangel01, malo, sailormars5194, ladylyris, larsha, snowcharms, carmela
Guys, I couldn't thank you enough for the support and the lovable reviews you gave. Thanks so much.
I will do my best so as not to disappoint you.