Disclaimer: Flame of Recca and its characters are not mine. "Immigrant Song" is once again by Led Zeppelin.

Author's Notes: Here it is. I've set up most of the relationships and the plot in this chapter (I think) and hope it is to your liking. I dabbled a bit in action sequence, don't think I did too well and will try to get in more practice in the next chapters. General note, I confused a couple of people with the hands thing, I think. Some got it, but it was supposed to be a a bookend sentiment, read the first and last sentences, hee. I think I also failed to indicate their ages, I'll just say it now, Tokiya was twelve and Fuuko, Recca and Yanagi were eleven.

Thank yous: Thanks again to those who reviewed, mwah! Eirist (first review, yay! And yes, it's also a lot more fun for me to write them as teenagers. The teenage zeitgeist has been overplayed but I can never get tired of it) mikaro (Ah, read the note at the top. Hee, I thought that was cute too) JapanLi (Thank you, and I'm glad you got that part. Hope you like this chapter) Satomika (You have a naughty mind! That was supposed to be innocent, hehe) loujane14 (Ahaha, it's been a while girly! Yes, I did that on purpose. It's a completely alternate universe) ohchan (writing them chibi was very fun, I'm glad you enjoyed it!) lyris (Thanks, oh and I received a Y!M from you and I sort of messed it up cause I signed in from my phone, mind PM-ing me about it again? I think it had something to do with a request:)) justxsleep (Thank you, and thank you also about your comment regarding my two other fics. Hope you enjoy this as much as the others) asga (Thanks! Enjoy!) kyusetsuki satsuki (Thanks! And read the note up there :)) Nils (I wanted to try something different and hopefully you guys will enjoy it too!) abubi-chan (ToFuu definitely. There'll be a lot of focus on things other than the pairing, but of course ToFuu will always be number one in my heart!) aki reinhart (Happy to be your source of ToFuu crack. I hope you will have a lot of fun reading it!) khay (Yes it is! Thanks girly, now update your fic :p) Suryasree (Thanks! Glad you liked it!) winoa fuuko huel 13 (whew, that was a mouthful. And thank you! Hope you'll enjoy this update :) As for the delays, hopefully I can stick to my one chapter a week.) yanagi-chyan (GURL! THANK YOU! And now I feel guilty because I haven't been reviewing! I'll catch up! And I'll be PM-ing you about something soon-ish. And yes, OMG, I didn't realize the name until I've already published it and it was too late to change it! Heh. But I'll work it into a joke somehow.) SnowCharms (They do! Although I have more plans for Aunt Jun in the future, I don't want her to be a cardboard cutout villain, just trust me on this :)) shalei (Aw, thanks! And the hands thing is explained in the author's notes.)

Chapter One: Immigrant Song

Fuuko Kirisawa quickly tiptoed across the courtyard of Nashikiri High, intent on keeping her presence unbeknown to her best friend, Recca Hanabishi, at least until she'd managed to give him a noogie. Not that she needed much effort in her stealth, the boy was completely oblivious of anyone else other than the brown haired beauty currently walking up the school steps. Fuuko shook her head and smirked, her best friend was hopeless.

"Guess who?" she whispered naughtily as she closed two hands over his eyes.

"Fuuko, I can smell your stench from a mile back," the boy answered with a smirk, "Now get your hands off my eyes before Yanagi disappears."

Fuuko growled and elbowed his side. "I do not smell, jackass." She turned and watched the girl he'd been salivating over for the last five minutes. "Just tell her you like her, this admiring from afar shit is really getting boring." She took out her class schedule from her book bag as she waited for his usual reply.

Recca shrugged and answered, never taking his eyes away from the girl as she stopped to say hello to some of the cheerleaders. "Nah, it's not like I have a chance with her anyway."

Recca's eyes narrowed as he watched a boy, with long silver hair neatly braided on one side, wearing the same uniform as his although much more polished, walk familiarly towards the girl of his dreams and put a hand on her lower back. "Who's that?"

Fuuko looked up from her class schedule. "Oh that. That would be Tokiya Mikagami, Yanagi's betrothed. He just moved here yesterday. We had him over for dinner last night. He was so polite, it was irritating. They actually make a good pair--" Fuuko paused as she remembered who she was talking to, "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Recca said, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles turned white, "I knew she was off limits from the start."

"You could actually order them to break the engagement, Aunt Jun would jump at the chance of having her daughter marry into royalty," Fuuko said with a sneer. She hated her Aunt with a passion.

"She wouldn't want that...I don't want her to be forced into anything," Recca said with a small voice.

"Like she isn't now?" Fuuko asked rhetorically.

"Just shut up, Fuuko," he snapped.

Recca thought Fuuko was a great friend but the girl couldn't possibly understand his plight. He was in love with Yanagi, it wasn't a passing fancy or an effect of boyish hormones. He was in love with her and all he wanted was for Yanagi to be happy, and he was certain that her happiness would not lie with him and his complicated life.

"Whatever," Fuuko said with a roll of her eyes, "Here she comes now, try not to look like you've been picturing her naked all this time."

Recca choked on his saliva.

"Fuuko-chan," Yanagi greeted amiably, "Recca-kun. First day of school, are you excited?"

"Immensely," Fuuko deadpanned. Recca meanwhile busied himself with unsuccessfully hiding his blush.

"Er, well, Fuuko, you have met Tokiya-kun?" Yanagi motioned at the man who stood closely by her and was staring at Fuuko as if she were a lab experiment.

"Yeah, so I guess we're going to be sharing classes," Fuuko answered unenthusiastically.

"Are you a senior as well?" Tokiya asked stiffly.

Yanagi decided to answer for her when it appeared her cousin couldn't be bothered. "Well, Fuuko-chan is a junior like myself but she's taking senior classes this year in preparation for her early admission into Nashikiri Military Academy next year. She's really quite impressive."

Fuuko had to smile at the sincerity of her cousin's words. They had never been close, despite Fuuko practically growing up with her since her father was always away. Their personalities were vastly different but while they're rarely together during their own good times, they were always there for each other during their bad times.

"Quite so," Tokiya agreed. Fuuko wondered for a moment if his uniform was made of stainless steel since he seemed so uptight.

An awkward silence befell the group of teenagers. Fuuko sighed, Recca turned red, Yanagi bit her lips and Tokiya...well he appeared unaffected and kept staring.

"So anyway, Recca and I have to run. We have Sayuki for homeroom, you know how he is," Fuuko blurted out suddenly and proceeded to drag her friend across the courtyard, short skirt flapping in the wind.

"He is so weird," Fuuko whispered to Recca as soon as they were out of earshot.

Recca turned back to look at the pair they'd left in a hurry. They were already on their way to the other side of the school, Yanagi was probably taking Tokiya to the registrar's office.

"Who? That Mikagami guy?" he asked.

Fuuko nodded. "He's too, I don't know, proper."

Recca sniggered. "Nah, you're just not used to guys who have no interest in either groping you or beating the shit out of you."

She socked the side of his head with finesse. "It's not that."

He rubbed the abused spot and winced at her. "Eh, whatever. Anyway, want to skip first period?"

"We've known each other since we were two, when have I ever said yes to that question?" she asked him wearily.

"I don't get why you're so anal about school," Recca answered, "and anyway, it's first day, nothing ever happens on the first day. It's always some introductory shit, like we weren't the same exact group of people last year."

She paused as Recca leaned against a pillar once they've approached the hallway leading to the stairs. "Because they do give out important information on the first day, so you won't get lost on the second, idiot. Beside, you know my Dad won't let me apply for NMA if my GPA isn't above 90. After all, brawn without brains and you might as well be--"

"Hey guys!" A bulking mass of muscles careened down the stone walkway, his blue uniform in array, dirty blue Chucks, gold hoop earring on his left ear and a skull bandanna wrapped around his head.

Fuuko smirked at Recca. "I rest my case," she then turned to the newcomer, "Hey Domon."

"Hey baby girl," he leered at her.

She decided to kick his groin in reply. "I told you not to call me that."

"But baby girl--" that earned Domon a kick to his shin.

"God, you're like that dumb guinea pig that keeps getting electrocuted. Do not touch the fucking cheese man!" she yelled in an exasperated manner.

Recca had a good laugh as he watched the two exchange their version pleasantries. "Yo Domon, you wanna skip first period?"

"Stupid punk, let's skip until lunch," Domon answered with a stupid grin on his face.

Fuuko rolled her eyes at her two friends. "Whatever, I'm gone."

Recca grabbed her wrist before she could fully turn away. "You want me to bring you anything back?"

"Double patty cheeseburger and milkshake," she said with a grin. She reached for her pocket to bring out some cash but Recca stopped her.

"You know I never let you pay for anything," he said. He wrapped one arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. "I'll see you later."

Fuuko nodded and spied from the corner of her eye Domon moving forward to do the same thing. She whipped out a swiss knife before he could even mutter 'Baby girl' "Just try it."

"Wasn't even thinking it," Domon quickly said as he raised his palms in surrender.

...

It took great effort on Tokiya's part not to turn his head and look backwards as Yanagi's gentle hand guided him to the other side of the school building. It was clear that she, that girl with the purple hair, didn't remember him. Not at all. It shouldn't be too surprising, they've only met for five minutes when he was but twelve years old and it isn't likely that such a short memory would survive years of her apparently eventful life, what being the daughter of a great general and herself an aspiring military prodigy. It just felt unfair that he remembered her so clearly. She had cut off the lush purple hair, keeping a short sensible bob that ended right under her ear, but her face had remained the same, and her eyes, they were still intimidating and caused a shiver to run up his spine.

He shook his head to will away his thoughts. It was improper to think such things of a girl when the woman you are bound to marry was clinging to your arm. Not that he held any sort of interest in her, he convinced himself. It was just curiosity. Something that could be attributed to his sheltered upbringing. He'd been surrounded by women who dressed beautifully and crossed their legs when they sat, he was not accustomed to women like Fuuko. He was sure that once he had met several females of her...type, that this fancy would whither away. Or so he hoped.

"We are here, Tokiya-kun," the soft spoken Yanagi whispered into his thoughts.

Tokiya nodded and looked up the kanji signs that marked the registrar's office. "I can manage from hereon Yanagi-san. You should get to your class. I wouldn't want you to be late on my account."

"Are you certain?" she asked timidly.

He nodded, feeling rather excited over her concern and attention. He was a lucky man to be promised to such a beautiful and kind girl. Although the fact that she might as well be his Mifuyu's, his older sister, twin was rather unsettling. But he supposed he will get used to it.

She bestowed him an innocent smile. "Then I will meet with you at lunch? If you don't mind, I usually sit with my friends from the cheerleading team. You have met them earlier?"

He nodded, remembering the squealing girls with a bit of regret. "You do not sit with your cousin?" He wanted to kick himself once the words tumbled out. Why was he so interested to find that out?

Yanagi didn't appear to suspect anything, it was perhaps naivete or she was just naturally trusting of people. "Fuuko and I move around different circles," she said without a hint of malice.

"But she lives with you?" he asked, remembering his slight shock last night when he saw her at the dinner table.

"She just stays with us when her father and brothers are away. All of them are in the military and travel a lot," she explained.

"I see," Tokiya answered with a bit of a frown.

"I'll be off then, Tokiya-kun. Call me if you need anything," she said with a smile and a small wave as she walked away.

"I will," he promised before turning towards the door and moving in.

...

Fuuko was wont to admit it but Recca was right. Her first period was filled with introductory claptrap. But she remained steadfast in her decision not to skip school. Ever since she had stepped into her first class in kindergarten, she had never been tardy nor absent and she had but one school year and summer school left before NMA, she wasn't about to break her record.

She turned on her iPod and switched to an upbeat tune, her legs subconsciously walking with the beat of the drum as she walked towards her next class. She was about to turn the corner when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned around to face the last person she'd thought to approach her. Her cousin's fiancée.

Fuuko watched several moments as his mouth moved yet no sound came out. She stared at him blankly before an impatient look crossed his face and ripped the headphones lodged in her ears.

"Can you hear me now?" he said with a hint of sarcasm. His voice was deep and...handsome. It was a strange way to describe someone's voice but Fuuko couldn't help but think that his voice would be the type of voice a dashing prince would have.

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that," she apologized insincerely.

"Well, Kirisawa-san, right? I was hoping you could help me," he said without embarrassment, "I'm a bit lost and those girls over there weren't at all helpful with directions." He nodded his head to a group of sophomores standing against their lockers who continued to giggle his way.

Fuuko couldn't help her smirk. "You better get used to it, you have the makings of a heartthrob."

Tokiya blushed at her naked assessment and decided it best to ignore it. "Anyhow, I have gym next, but it appears this school takes physical education very seriously, so I'm not sure which of eight gym rooms am I supposed to be heading."

"Mikagami-san, you do realize this is Nashikiri, home of the Hokage ninjas. Most of us here only go to school so that we can eventually get into the military, of course we take physical education seriously," she said joshingly, "what do you have anyway?"

"Advanced Weapons Training," he said.

"Really? What do you specialize in?" she asked with a bit of awe, she didn't picture him to be the type to handle a weapon.

"Swords. I studied under Meguri Kyoza back in my old home," he said proudly.

"That muse mean you own a Madogu. From his reputation, I doubt Kyoza-sama would waste his time with someone who simply wields an aluminum stick," she assessed realistically.

He nodded. It figured that she would be familiar with his master. "My family's legacy is the Ensui."

Fuuko's eyes widened. "Woah, I would like to see that some time. My Dad says it's an amazing sword...you must be really good if you're using the Ensui."

"Of course." Well, he was. "Do you mind telling me now where the class is?"

"I'm on my way there actually," she said, "We can walk together, I suppose."

"You're in the same class?" he asked.

She nodded. "And I suppose you also have an extra course for psychic devices?"

"Two actually, theory and practical," he answered.

"Wow, it seems we're going to be sharing a lot of classes, future cousin-in-law," she said with a smirk. That didn't sit too well with Tokiya.

"What's your Madogu?" he asked as the meaning of her words finally seeped in.

"Fuujin," she answered readily.

Tokiya couldn't help the awed look on his face. He had known the Fuujin to be one of the most powerful psychic devices, he had no idea that it had fallen into the hands of this slip of a girl with intimidating eyes.

"Perhaps," he began carefully, unsure if his words would seem appropriate, "I could demonstrate to you the secrets of Ensui, if you would show me some of Fuujin's moves?"

If he had been a little more worldly then he would have questioned the meaning of his invitation and if she had thought of men beyond playmates and sparring partners then she would have second guessed her answer. But he was an eighteen year old socially inept boy who was home schooled for most of his life and she was seventeen year old girl who learned how to throw a shuriken at three and started mastering her Fuujin at six. Both very skilled yet very innocent when it comes to the dynamics of men and women. And so he asked his question and so she gave her answer.

"Sure."

...

Fuuko and Tokiya didn't speak a word to each other for the entirety of the two hour long gym class, except for that one time she ran out of ink and asked him for a spare pen. She had wordlessly invited him to sit beside her on the bench. He had accepted as it would be easier to take on a reluctant invitation than to look for a place in the sea of strangers.

Their sensei drolled on about his rules and his expectations, never going out of breath for a full thirty minutes, before deciding that there wasn't much left to say and the class might as well go their own way since there was nothing to do.

At that moment Fuuko felt her phone vibrate in the pockets of her skirt. She pulled it out and read the text message from Recca telling her that they were back in the campus and would wait for her at their usual hangout; the water tank at the rooftop of the school.

Fuuko turned to Tokiya who looked at her expectantly. She had never been to a new school and even in kindergarten she knew all of her classmates before classes begun and so she couldn't understand the feeling of being lost in a very new and very strange world, but she didn't think she owed him anything. He had Yanagi and she should be enough of an anchor to hold on to.

"Well, I'm off," she said awkwardly, "I assume you'll be meeting Yanagi for lunch?"

He just nodded, looking slightly disappointed that she would be leaving him to his own devices. "I'll just wait for her, I suppose. She should still be in class."

"Well, you can wait in the library, they have interesting material regarding the history of Madogus," she suggested. Sure she found it interesting that he wielded Ensui, but she wasn't about to invite him to join her and her friends. He didn't seem like he would fit in.

"I'll do that," he acquiesced as he stood up and fixed his book bag on his shoulder.

Fuuko was about to get up when a hand was thrust into her face. She looked at it strangely for a couple of seconds before remembering those etiquette lessons her Aunt had forced upon her. With elephantine grace, she placed her hand in his and let him help her off the bench. She didn't see the point in it, she could very well get off the bench on her own but she couldn't help but marvel at his unsolicited offer, because for once in her life, someone treated her like a lady.

...

Fuuko slammed the heavy metal door open and was greeted with the sight of Domon and Recca throwing a football back and forth. Just as Domon threw the ball back to Recca, Fuuko swiftly run up between them and intercepted it with ease.

"Lame throw," she said as she flipped the football in one hand and put her bag down near the water tank.

"So how was class?" Recca asked as he moved to steal the ball from Fuuko.

She easily dodged his hand and swung around to face away from him. "Boring. Where's my burger?"

"Check the bag," Domon answered. Fuuko looked to where Domon and Recca's bags were lying and right between it was a semi opaque plastic bag that had a red and yellow logo. Fuuko handed the ball to Recca and went to her prize. She sat Indian style and leaned her back against one of the water tank's stands as she bit into her burger with gusto.

Recca took his place on her left and Domon went to her right. "You want to come over later? Dad and Raiha said they were going to help me train with my dragons."

Recca had discovered when he was thirteen that his flames weren't simple like his father's. Ouka Hanabishi couldn't contain his pride to find out that his son had inherited the legendary Flame Dragons that had only been known to occur four centuries back. He thought it was proof that his only son was to be the greatest flame caster in the history of Hokage ninjas. Of course it was a bit of a drawback that the Dragons appear to have their own personalities and were very stubborn but Ouka was determined to help his son tame them. In the last four years, Recca, with the help of his father and his right hand man Raiha, had gotten control of three of seven; Saiha (only because he finally took pity on Recca after the boy was pathetically bitch slapped by one of the other flame dragons), Rui (who was Recca's favorite due to her habit of materializing in front of him nude) and Nadare (who was impressed with the young boy's resilience.)

Fuuko nodded appreciatively. "Anything to escape Aunt Jun and her madness."

Recca snickered. "She still on to you about the Débutante's Ball next month?"

She shook her head slightly. "Nah, she didn't ask anymore, I guess she figured it would be useless. It's just all these tweetering débutantes are always over their house for rehearsal. And of course it's all she ever talks about during dinner, she keeps fussing about Yanagi's dress and that she flew it in from Paris or something."

Recca let a fond smile form on his face. "Bet she'd look really pretty in it."

Domon groaned before Fuuko could react. "Dude, can you stop being so gay about your crush on her?"

Fuuko chortled and Recca scowled at his two friends. "Fuck you both."

"We're your friends and all, but it's like you turn into this really bad Lionel Richie music video when you talk about her and it's...vomit inducing," she teased.

"You just don't get it," the flame caster sulked.

"Yeah, yeah, you're in love," Fuuko said before being reduced into a heap of giggles with Domon. Domon giggling was not a pretty sight.

"I can't wait to laugh in your face when you finally fall in love," Recca said but was merely ignored in favor of another round laughter.

...

Recca wiped the sweat dripping down his chin as he somersaulted backwards, away from the bomb of fireballs he delivered with Nadare. He watched the mushroom cloud dissipate and waited impatiently for the shadow of his opponent to appear.

"You still alive bitch?" he yelled arrogantly.

Fuuko coughed and spluttered from the smoke and dust but managed to stand shakily even with the pain of her bruised knees.

"Like that lame attack can bring me down," she returned, her voice quivering, obviously out of breath. She suddenly flipped backwards, narrowly missing the fireballs that followed her path. She hated to admit it but Recca had always been superior to her physically, she had never been able to beat him no matter how much she trained. He was preternaturally gifted.

She twisted around and and swung her left arm upwards, sending a sharp attack of whirlwind towards Recca. He curled his body inwards, placing his arms across his face to block most of her attack but the slashes of blood on his arms told her that it was futile. Just when she thought she had the upper hand, Recca's fetal form disappeared in front of her eyes. It was too late when she realized what had happened.

"Damn it, he used Rui," she cursed.

"Not quick enough," a male chuckle came from behind her, heat from both body and flame wrapped around her as she felt Saiha's hot blade on her throat. "Now say 'Recca's a stud muffin and I want to jump him.'"

Fuuko crossed her arms on her chest. "Seriously?"

He grinned smugly before letting go of his hold on her, Saiha's blade retreating back in his arm. "Would've been fun."

Fuuko just shook her head at his silliness. "I need a drink."

They were in the rather commodious backyard of the Hanabishi manor. If you could call it a backyard, it was more like a small country, really. The five acre land stood at the edges of Nashikiri and it was a forty minute walk from the entrance gate to the manor's front doors. The backyard, which the family treated like training grounds, spanned from the horse stables up to the edge of the forest. Only the Hanabishi family and their most trusted comrades and friends were allowed to walk the grounds freely and Fuuko had always been thankful of being bestowed such privilege.

A booming clapping invaded Fuuko's thoughts and she turned to see Recca's father, otherwise known as Nashikiri's great leader, Ouka Hanabishi, with his chief adviser Raiha two steps behind him.

"Very, very impressive. You have been practicing, Fuuko. Fujimaro would be proud," he said with much pride. Having no daughters of his own, he doted on Fuuko like she was his own and had expressed desire in uniting the two in marriage some day. Both Fuuko and Recca promptly told him that that was gross. Thankfully neither her father nor Ouka had been fans of tradition and thought it best that their children should be free to choose who they would marry...or not at all if the case may be.

"Thanks," Fuuko answered shyly, "but he still beat me."

"The day will come, Fuuko-chan," a soothing voice answered. Fuuko couldn't help the blush on her cheeks as she heard Raiha speak with a certain amount of admiration. She had given up on fancying him when she was eleven, the man was ten years her senior and it was futile to pine after someone who would never think of her as more of a sister. But he was still handsome and she was still a girl who couldn't help but blush when he paid attention to her.

"Like hell it would," Recca said arrogantly.

Raiha laughed at the young man's impenetrable smugness. Youth always tends to make one feel untouchable. "She could surprise you. I bet you could match Fuujin now with my Raijin, Fuuko-chan. You're very innovative with your Madogu," he observed.

She shrugged. "I've been experimenting with my moves. The wind has no limits after all."

"True, true," he said as he patted her head, something he always did since she was young and only came up to his hip.

"So when will we have our match Raiha-san?" she asked zealously.

"Now is not the time, but trust me, it will come and we'll know then which Madogu would reign supreme," he said cryptically.

She frowned at his words, he had always said the same thing whenever she requested for a match with him and still his answer puzzled her.

"Enough of that," Ouka intervened, never one for seriousness in front of his child and friends, "would you be joining us for dinner, Fuuko? I'll have the butler set a plate for you."

She nodded gratefully at his invitation. "Thanks."

"Yeah, her stupid Aunt would be too busy over that Debutante ball to feed her anyway," Recca supplied unnecessarily.

"Language son, the Sakoshitas are good friends of our family," Ouka warned him, though he had to admit the Sakoshita matriarch was rather annoying. It was hard to imagine that she was related to Fuuko or her deceased mother.

"But you agree that she's stupid?" Recca insisted.

"No comment," Ouka said.

Fuuko and Recca snickered all the way to the manor as they followed him.

...

A man sat on his blood red leather chair, wrapped in the smog of cigar smoke and the smell of vodka. The thick drapes hung gloomily over the glass windows, blocking the room from rays of the sun that had long set.

"I trust everything is in order."

A calm voice emanated from a tiny black box, "Yes, the family does not suspect a thing."

He grinned wickedly, the thought of one man twisting in agony as his empire burned around him aroused his senses. "What about that brother of mine?"

"He will be of no consequence, as he is now, his skill hasn't reached even a tithe of yours," the man on the other end honestly assessed.

He picked up the glass of clear poison and let the liquid burn his throat, leaving him satisfied.

"You have done very well."

"Thank you. I am your most loyal servant, Kurei-sama."

To be continued...

Next Chapter: Will be extrapolating more on and establishing their relationships (not just ToFuu, but you know how I love them so expect a lot), the plot will not roll until the third chapter.

THANKS FOR READING AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!