Disclaimer: I own nothing. Pity me!

Author's Notes: Um, so sorry for the delay but I am back and there will be regular updates. My computer was in the shop for a while and it took me a while to get back into the groove of things and I had to re-read my own fic to remember what exactly I was writing about, haha. Anyway I hope everyone enjoys this. Thanks for reading in advance and don't forget to review!

Chapter Four: When the Levee Breaks

It was as if the whole nation was cloaked in darkness. The sun continued to shine through the clouds but each and every resident of Nashikiri seemed to have a shade cast down on their eyes.

Everyone was in mourning.

Their leader was no more.

…

"Stay back Recca," Ouka warned his son, "this is not your fight."

Recca looked from the toughened muscles of his father's back to the cloaked figure standing mightily on the banister. The stranger's face hid behind a silver mask and only through his striking blue eyes was Recca able to tell that it was a real person behind the red cloth and not some statue. His lips were covered but it was almost as if Recca could feel the malicious smirk painted on his face.

In the tense silence, Recca heard the steady drip of blood falling on the marble floor. He turned his head once more to the Hokage leader and saw the massive wound that slashed diagonally from his right shoulder and ended on his hips.

"Dad, you're hurt," Recca argued. Words were not needed, he needed to stay and fight beside his father.

"You have to take her to safety," the elder Hanabishi said, not once taking his eyes from the malevolent being above them.

It was only then that Recca remembered the soft figure beside him, her nails digging into his arm and shaking in fear. Recca had foolishly told her to stick by him when he should've herded her to the nearest exit. He wanted to punch himself for his brashness and stupidity, trying to play the hero and being proven once more to be nothing but a nuisance.

"Go, Recca," Ouka said with finality. With a flick of his wrist his right hand shone with his bright orange flame. "Now."

Recca could do nothing more than to grab the catatonic girl beside him as he reluctantly ran for the nearest exit. Before the door closed behind him Recca turned his head to see his father's flames burn brighter than Recca had ever seen before, seemingly engulfing him in holy fire. That picture will forever be burned into his memory.

…

"I still say that the boy is much too young! He is a teenager, he has no experience and has no grasp of responsibility! How can you possibly sit there and expect him to be able to run this country?" said a man cropped black hair and wolfish black eyes.

Fujimaro Kirisawa clenched his gloves fists above the table as he tried to hold back from his baser instincts, lest he lunge over the oak desk and strangle the country's finance chief. "This is not up for discussion. Recca is the rightful and legal heir to the throne and the military will have his full support."

"Be that as it may," the man began once more after drawing a puff of smoke from his pipe, "There is more to the leadership of this nation than throwing a shuriken and kunai. The boy has not even finished schooling and has no grasp on the intricacies and implications of politics and economy!"

"And what do you propose we do, Mr. Saito?"

The man, Saito, dropped his pipe as he heard the stern but decidedly feminine voice that seemed to have snuck up from out of nowhere. He turned his head to see the widow of Ouka Hanabishi standing by the open door dressed in a plain black kimono, her obsidian hair pulled tightly in a bun.

"I-I…"

"My husband has yet to be buried and here you are already trying to overthrow the government he had so painstakingly built in his thirty years as the leader of the Hokage clan," Kagerou said swiftly, not allowing the man time to respond, as she glided inside the room and righteously took her place at the head of the oak desk.

"Kagerou-sama," Saito struggled to respond as he haphazardly stood up and bowed his head, "That is not my intention, please. I was simply pointing out-"

Kagerou cut him off with a wave of her hand. "I heard you earlier and you do make some valid points." Saito gave a sigh of relief but she was not finished. "However, holding a meeting discussing such important matters could be taken as treason. Unless you would like to spend the next thirty years in a prison cell, I trust you not to make the same mistake in the future."

Saito, feeling thoroughly chastised, could only nod.

Kagerou turned to the man on her right, the severe expression on her face softening somewhat. "Fujimaro, thank you for informing me of this little meeting in a timely manner and for your stringent defense of my son. However, Saito-san does make some valid arguments, Recca is much too young and volatile and cannot be expected to fully and successfully assume the leadership of this nation."

Saito smirked while Fujimaro glared at him.

"But my son is not just some run of the mill teenager. He has inherited his father's courage and loyalty to this country. With the proper tutelage and guidance, I have no doubt that he will surpass his father's leadership. He may not be ready now, but he will be. With that said, I would like to remind you all that I am Recca's mother and legal guardian and therefore have the right to assume the title of leader until such a time comes. I trust that you both, as chiefs of finance and defense, respectively, will continue your support as you have done so in the past with my husband. Is that clear?" She looked at Saito pointedly as if daring him to challenge her decision.

"Of course, Kagerou-sama," Saito answered promptly.

"Mine and my family's support and loyalty will always be to your family, Kagerou-sama," Fujimaro said.

"I'm glad we have that cleared. If there are no more questions, I would request that you give us this time to grieve for my husband," Kagerou said. She stood up without waiting for a response and left the room.

…

Fuuko knocked gingerly on the white wood of his door and waited patiently for a response. She received none, just as she expected and so she brought out a key and unlocked the door before carefully slipping inside.

"Leave me alone," she heard his gruff voice, devoid of emotion.

Anyone else would've promptly heeded the request, but she was Fuuko and this was Recca and she never followed orders from him. She quietly locked the door behind her before approaching his crouched form on the king sized bed steadily.

"This is the last night of the wake. People are starting to ask why you haven't made an appearance," she said.

"I could care less what people think," he said without looking up.

Fuuko bent down to remove her sneakers before climbing up on the bed. She knelt in front of him, her knees touching his bare feet, trying to speak with her warmth what she couldn't say with her words.

"Don't you want to see him, Recca?" she asked.

"You don't understand, Fuuko. I can't see him, I just can't…it just…it just," his words failed him as disheartening sobs broke out of his lips and he cried into his arms.

Fuuko wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I know, sweetie, I know."

"No you don't!" he lashed out at her.

Fuuko cupped Recca's chin and settled her forehead against his, forcing him to look into her eyes. "You're my best friend Recca, and I love you. When you hurt, I hurt. Don't push me away."

Recca broke into violent tears and wrapped his arms so tight around her waist she thought she might break. She cradled his head in the nook of her shoulders and let his tears seep into her shirt. "How can I see him?" he whispered through his sobs. "I failed him Fuuko, I failed him!"

Fuuko shook her head even though he can't see her. "Your Dad wanted you to live, he needed to make sure you lived. Because he knew, you were the only one who could continue what he couldn't finish. Trust your father, Recca. Trust how much he loves you, he would never ever want you to think that."

"I want to see him, I want to say goodbye, I want to tell him how much I love him," he sniffled.

"Then do that, Recca. I'll come with you, I'll hold your hand," she promised with a smile.

He lifted his head up and placed his hands on her cheeks. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably go and get yourself killed," she answered with a weak laugh.

He managed an insincere snicker before placing his lips on her forehead. "I love you, you know," he whispered against her skin.

She nodded. "I know."

…

"Stay here, Fuuko," Tokiya commanded going into full alpha male mode as he rushed towards the sound of the explosion.

"Like I'm going to do that." Fuuko managed to roll her eyes before sprinting after him.

The two madogu wielders expertly weaved through the sudden of stampede of civilians that were rushing out of the pavilion in the opposite direction they were heading. When they had reached the front doors of the building the crowd had already thinned out.

Fuuko rushed forward in front of Tokiya and headed for the front doors, dead set on going inside. Her heart beat against her ribcage at the thought of her family and friends that may still be inside.

She reached for the knob but a hand settled heavily on hers, stopping any movement.

"What are you doing here, Fuuko?"

In the melee she somehow did not sense the presence of the elder ninja she had admired since she was a child.

"Raiha!" she exclaimed in relief. "What happened? I think my family's still inside and so is Recca."

"You shouldn't worry about them, Fuuko, you should go back home where it is safe," he said calmly.

Too calmly.

It was at that moment that she felt Tokiya's presence right behind her. She didn't need to turn around to know that he had already activated his Ensui.

"Stand down," she said calmly, "This is Raiha. He's a friend."

Yet something told Fuuko deep in her gut that this was no longer true.

"Go home, Fuuko," Raiha repeated, "It is not time yet."

She looked down at his hand that still held hers. "Where did you get those blisters Raiha?" she asked. For the first time in her life, she felt dread in his presence.

A wicked smile and a sudden pull was all she could remember before her world suddenly blacked out.

…

Tokiya sat on his bed, his eyes glued to the television screen in front of him as it reported on the gruesome attack of four days past. There were twenty casualties, sixteen civilians, three ninjas and one great leader.

His parents had called him and begged him to come home. There have been rumors of a planned coup, a hostile take over yet no one knew for sure. Oh he was sure there was something malevolent in the horizon. This was just the beginning, a warning of things to come. Whoever were the instigators behind the attack have yet to make themselves and their reasons known, but he had no doubt that they will in the coming days. This was just a reprieve.

But he denied his family their pleas. He was a ninja, not just any ninja, he held the legacy of the Ensui. He had a duty to protect these people. And he had a need to stay beside her.

He heard a scratching sound outside his window and when he turned to look he saw her standing there, looking as if she were in a daze.

"I don't know what I'm doing here," she said shyly, her arms crossed over her chest as if she were cold.

"How have you been?" he asked as if it was common occurrence for her to be in his room in the middle of the night.

The last time he had seen her she was still unconscious. He promptly caught her in his arms when the elder ninja, the one she called Raiha so familiarly, knocked her out. He forgot everything else and took her to safety. At that point army men and paramedics had reached the scene and after recognizing Fuuko, they took her from him and assured him that they would take care of her.

He had tried to seek her out, wanting desperately to know if she was alright. He finally learned from Yanagi's mother that Fuuko was staying with the Hanabishi's for the meantime and were surrounded by heavy security. They were both children of high profile members of the community and their safety were of utmost priority.

Tokiya brushed off Mrs. Sakoshita's suspicious glance at him when it was only then that he had bothered to ask how Yanagi was. She had promptly told him that Yanagi came out fine, Recca Hanabishi took care of her and brought her to safety.

His thoughts were cut off with the shuffling of Fuuko's feet. "I'm good, I guess." She licked her dry lips and his heart broke at the red puffs around her eyes. "My Dad told me to go back home and rest for the funeral tomorrow."

He only nodded and moved forward until he was a breath away from her form. "He's right. You look tired," he said as he tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

It was as if she didn't hear him and she continued speaking. "I lost two people that day." One was a father figure, the other was half responsible for his death. She didn't need to tell him.

"They say that he was the one who set off the explosion. I don't understand it, I trusted him. We all trusted him."

When she choked back a sob, he could do nothing more than gather her in his arms and let her cry quietly against his chest. He rubbed her back until the shaking of her shoulders calmed down and continued to hold her as she hung limply against him, her hands fisted against his shirt.

"I can't cry in front of Recca, I have to be strong for him," she said, as if trying to explain to him why she was there, why she was letting him hold her.

"But you're hurting too," he said and a fresh wave of tears flowed out of her eyes.

"It hurts so much, I just want it to stop hurting so much," she said again and again between muffled sobs.

He didn't know how long he stood there, he didn't really care. He would do everything that he can to try and make her pain stop. He held her tightly as if trying to absorb even just the little bit of burden in her heart.

Fuuko's arms slowly let go of his shirt and wrapped around his waist and he didn't think it was possible but somehow she pushed herself even closer against him. And he knew it was wrong and he knew she was vulnerable and she wasn't thinking right but when he felt her soft lips place kisses on his neck on his chin, he didn't think twice about leaning his head down and catching her sweet lips with his. Because she needed him and he couldn't ever deny her. And because he needed her. He needed her so, so much.

And when she asked him, no, begged him, to make her feel better, he pushed back thoughts of another girl (and he felt more guilty that it was so, so easy to forget) and he opened his mouth over hers, urging her to do the same before tasting her, devouring her whole. And dear god it was so good.

And when she clawed at his clothes and prayed for the pain to stop, the hurt to go away he didn't hesitate to touch her so wantonly, take off their clothes and lead her to the bed. And when they tumbled on his bed, somehow innocent in their nakedness, somehow he knew it was temporary and there just might be more pain after this but he couldn't find it in himself to care. Because she needed this. And he needed her. And to him, she was the only thing that mattered.

To be continued...

A/N: Whew! I'm quite happy with how this turned out. I had half a mind to give in to a little Rec/Fuu but Tokiya would have hit my head with a bat. I've been going back and forth regarding going in this direction, I have always pictured that this was how it would happen but I wanted to skip the drama, but I couldn't because it felt so right writing that part. So anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Please review!