A/N: Welcome! This is Twins' EDITED (April 2012) 4th chapter. If you want to read the original (crappy xD) 4th chapter, just go to my LJ. They're the only public entries there. :D
And the Kurenai in this story is just a normal human not associated to the Hokage, to Kurei or to Flame of Recca at all. She just looks like the real dead Kurenai.
But anyway, thanks to: radcliffe-dreams, EiRist and Satomika for reviewing! Keep the reviews coming!
Chapter 3: Gotta Find You
Yanagi innocently opened the door and was taken aback by what she saw.
"Good evening."
"Oh my..."
Mikagami sensed something suspicious upon seeing Yanagi's shocked face. He went inside and was led by a fast-paced Yanagi to the living room. There, everyone stopped what they were doing and gawked at him as if he got resurrected from the dead.
"B...but you said you're coming after a week? There are still 2 days left and..."
"Am I not welcomed, Yanagi-san?" Although uncharacteristic of him, he sweatdropped.
"Uh, no! That's not it...um..."
"Where's Fuuko?" He questioned them while he stared at the round, wooden table in the living room. Bottles of beers and snacks lay on it and he remembered the laughing sounds he heard a while ago.
Yanagi just bit her lower lip while thinking up of an answer. Recca looked at the others and thought 'Shit, why did he have to appear now?'
"Mikagami, let us explain." Recca spoke in an anxious tone. Tokiya just nodded and the boys sat on a circle while the girls went to the kitchen to prepare tea.
- - - T - o - F - u - u - - -
"Where's Shiori? I've already searched the entire mansion but I can't find her!" Just as Sayaka was scratching her head in frustration, the doorbell of the Kirihara mansion rang.
"Hmm?" Sayaka went to the door and cautiously opened it. She couldn't help but gasp upon seeing a lovely lady with long, curly brown hair.
"Good evening, Miss. I'm Kurenai Harada, is Mrs. Kirihara home?" The lady flashed a big smile like that of an angel's.
"Oh, Mom's not here yet. Please come in."
"Thanks. Are you Mrs. Kirihara's daughter?"
"Yes, I'm Sayaka. Nice to meet you, Miss Harada."
"Nice to meet you, too. I've heard that you were missing but it's good that you were found." Although Kurenai said it with no bad ideas in mind, her statement sounded like Sayaka was a little girl who got lost inside a small grocery store.
Sayaka couldn't help but laugh nervously at what the other lady said. "Do you want juice, tea or coffee...?"
"Oh, no, thank you. I just came by to give her purse back. She forgot this when she visited me." Kurenai handed a blue purse to Sayaka.
"Okay, I'll give it to her when she gets back." As she took the purse from Kurenai's hand, she wondered inside her head, 'How could someone forget such an important thing?'
"Hmm, I hope you don't mind me asking this, but how old are you?" Kurenai knew nothing of this girl since she's still a new business partner of Mrs. Kirihara. Her being missing then being found together with a baby was also suspicious. It bugged her to no end.
"Oh...I actually don't know. I lost my memory a few days ago and can't remember anything. Ehehehe, so embarrassing." Sayaka's face couldn't help but turn into a tomato at that moment. She then asked herself her question a few moments ago, 'How can I forget such an important thing?'
"Oh." Kurenai giggled outside but her eyes weren't saying the same.
"It's okay. I hope you gain it back, it's hard waking up everyday knowing nothing about yourself." Somehow, Kurenai couldn't help but pity Sayaka. The girl has lost her memory and on top of that, she lost her child which is now in her hands. She felt her conscience pushing her to the edge of a cliff called Truth. She's having a feeling that what Mrs. Kirihara said about the mother not wanting the child might not be true at all.
"Yes, but I won't think of it as a hindrance to enjoying life." Although what the other lady said was true, Sayaka stayed being positive and beamed a nice big smile. She might not know her past life but she was sure she'll regain her memories of them little by little soon.
"That's the spirit." Kurenai smiled back at her before remembering other appointments. "I have to go now. Sorry if I disturbed you and thanks for the little chat. I'll visit again some time when I get the chance."
"Okay, you're always welcome here." The two ladies bid goodbye and as Sayaka closed the main door, she felt a strange pain rushing inside her head as if it was getting turned upside-down. Although she never showed it, she felt a little uneasy while talking to Kurenai. She said it was her first time meeting Sayaka but the latter felt different.
It was as if she has heard of the name Kurenai before or it may be she had met someone with the same name in a different time, place and occasion. As she was shrugging the thoughts away, the pain in her head slowly subsided.
Sayaka was again left with nothing to do in this big mansion. The servants of the house were nowhere to be found so she had no one to bug. That's when she decided to turn on the TV and let it that way to give this lonely house a little noise. She was going upstairs when she heard Shaggy's music video 'Angel' playing on MTV.
Girl you're my angel, you're my darling angel
Sayaka stopped in her tracks and listened to the song for no reason. No, it's not like she was a fan of Shaggy. There was just one word that kept repeating inside her mind that made her freeze in her spot.
Closer than my peeps you are to me, baby
Shorty, you're my angel, you're my darling angel
Girl, you're my friend when I'm in need, lady
"Angel..." As she said it, pictures of the past she never knew she had came flooding inside her mind. They were replaying too fast and in a weird sequence too. A girl who looked like an angel and a man with a scarred face. She didn't understand why she was getting these memories at this moment.
"Kure...nai...Kure...i" The names she mentioned weakened her knees and she lost consciousness while dramatically falling from the stairs.
- - - T - w - i - n - s - - -
"...That's what happened. We don't know where Fuuko is and we heard nothing from her ever since that day." Recca explained to Tokiya who was very calm and silent the entire time.
"The police weren't of help either." Yanagi spoke as she poured more tea into Tokiya's cup.
His face was emotionless, his bangs were covering his eyes and it looked like he found the table more interesting than what Recca was talking about. He sighed, "If I just went back here before she gave birth, this wouldn't have happened."
"Too late to blame yourself now, I also don't see the point in doing so." Domon patted Tokiya's back. "Don't worry, we'll find them."
"Oooooh, this calls for the..." Someone said out of nowhere.
"The Hokage Detective Squad!" Recca, Koganei and Domon shouted in unison and posed. They wore detective outfits as well as black shades. Where the costumes came from no one knows, and it will forever remain a mystery. The two girls were smiling and clapping their hands in amusement but although the others found it amusing, the ice-king sure didn't.
Tokiya stood up from his seat and shouted, "This is no time for jokes! My wife and daughter are missing yet you can still laugh and have fun at this time?"
Everyone silenced. They just kept their heads low and didn't dare stare at his cold eyes. He was right. They shouldn't be having fun while Fuuko and Miyuu are missing and no one knew if they're safe or what.
Recca sighed, walked up to Tokiya and put a hand on his shoulder. "We're sorry. We understand how you're feeling because we're worried like shit for Fuuko and Miyuu, too. By doing this, we could lessen the tension and be able to think clearly and not panic like crazy."
"Like I told you before, we'll find them." Domon interrupted.
"Coz we're the great Hokage." Koganei added. At that remark, Tokiya smiled inside.
"Yeah, let's go, Hokage." Recca spoke. Everyone raised their right hands and shouted in unison, "Oh!"
- - - T - o - F - u - u - - -
Tokiya was wandering alone in the streets of Nagomu town. He told the others that he'll just take a walk and breathe some fresh air. It's been 4 months since he last saw their town. Since the town's yearly Natsu Matsuri would be in 4 days, many people are busy cleaning and decorating the town.
A few people were starting to hang pink and green lanterns and others were pasting "Let's go to the Summer Festival!" posters on a few house's walls.
Oh, god knows how much Fuuko loved festivals she won't forgive herself if she missed it. This is also the reason why Tokiya arrived earlier than planned: to join Fuuko and the others enjoy the town's festival together. Sadly, here comes the bad news.
Not wanting to depress himself more, he decided to head back to the Hanabishi's. That was when he saw a girl Fuuko's height, with brown hair the same length as Fuuko's. She was wearing a cap and was dressed in red long sleeves and loose jeans. She was waving to someone while running and since her cap was hiding her face well, Tokiya couldn't really decipher who she was.
Despite noticing that the girl somewhat shares a few traits with Fuuko, he continued walking and ignored her. He kept on chanting inside his mind that the girl was not Fuuko but the thought of her really bugged him.
'Hey, what if it's really...Fuuko?'
He turned around but the girl who looked like Fuuko was nowhere to be found. He shook his head and headed back to the Hanabishi's.
"Oi Sayaka what the heck, I've been looking for you! Do you know how big this town is?" A guy with sky blue hair spoke while he trapped the said girl in his arms.
"Mengo, mengo, Kei-chan. But hey, I was also looking for you!" She grinned and hugged him back.
- - - To Be Continued - - -
Author's Notes: About Nagogiri or Nashikiri, it's actually read as "Nagomu". I started collecting the pocket volumes of FoR and in what volume I forgot, (it was during Koganei's story with Hiroya though) there was a sign which said "Nagomu district junior high school" with furiganas. :D
Unimportant Notes: I was reading the raw version of Flame of Recca volume 15 when I stumbled on the extra page where Anzai sensei puts his rants. He was ranting about how no fans of FoR were recommending new mangas to him when they send him a letter. He said that even mangakas reads and enjoys other mangaka's works too.
He asked a girl "why aren't you recommending any mangas to me?" then the girl answered "Most of the time I read yaoi and I can't possibly recommend that to you."
He then stated that he won't be mad or angry. (But he said that if it's yuri then he'll seriously get angry.)
Then, there was a girl cosplaying as Fuuko who handed him a book with the title in front of it: "Raiha X Kurei"! And then he was like, "No, thank you!" with his eyes popping out when he read the title. Mwahahaha!