Disclaimer: I don't own Flame of Recca or any of its characters.
A/N:
FoR fanfics has this habit of sneaking up on me whenever I'm in the middle of writing another fic. But it won't get out of my already-confused brain…
Um, I don't know the name of the school Recca and the others go to and I don't know their section either, but I chose C because that's my section (yey! Go C!).
This fic may happen between chapters 9 and 10 of my Kindred fic. But you don't have to read that to understand this. All you have to know is that Tokiya and Fuuko are together (if you want to know how they got together, then that is the time to read my fic. Hehehe. How's that for a shameless plug?), but he's now in Tokyo U while Fuuko and the gang are in the last year of HS.
And if the characters are too OOC, it's just that this is set almost two years after the manga. And I fancy this to be a coming-of-age fic, whatever that means. =)
And to quote Kel of Kenan and Kel…. Oh-oh, here we go!
BLT Chapter 1: Boring Lecture of TeachersTick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
The breath of Class 3-C collectively held their breath as they waited for the bell signaling the end of classes to ring.
Reproductive health subject, though a relatively easy class, was a very painful one to experience.
"So ladies, remember, when it all boils down to it, it's your choice," their teacher rasped.
Fuuko sighed. There was something really ironic about their teacher teaching this particular class. Not that she had anything against Onno-Sensei, it's just that she's old (like 65 or something). And unmarried. And there's a rumor going around school that she's still a virgin, and would probably die a virgin, because she had saved herself for the one, the one who apparently never came.
Fuuko finished the doodle she was working on since the beginning of Onno-sensei's speech. She then put down her pencil and proceeded to fold the sheet into quarters. Discreetly checking to see in their teacher was watching, Fuuko leaned over to her left side. "Psst. Recca."
Recca, who was lightly dozing in the seat beside her, opened one eye and looked at her suspiciously. "What?" He whispered, only the corner of his lips moved.
Fuuko handed him the folded piece of paper.
Recca frowned as he straightened up and snatched it from her. He unfolded it. And turned red.
"Of course, it's not just a woman's responsibility." Onno-sensei droned.
Recca choked as he started to crumple the paper. He then threw it at Fuuko's head.
"Ow!" Fuuko glared at him as she rubbed her head.
Recca snickered.
Fuuko stuck her tongue out at him.
Recca did the same.
"Hanabishi-san, Kirisawa-san, is there something you'd like to share to the rest of the class?" Onno-sensei glared at them.
The two smiled at her cherubically. "No ma'am." They replied like good little boys.
"Really? I could have sworn that the two of you were subconsciously begging for attention." The thing about Onno-sensei, she might be old, but she was still sharp as a tack. She walked over to the two and crouched down as she retrieved the crumpled paper Recca threw. "Now, what is this?"
Fuuko's eyes widened as Recca cringed.
"Oh," Onno-sensei clucked her tongue. "It seems that we have a new addition to the bulletin board," she said dryly as she tacked a picture of a chibi-Recca making out with a chibi-girl (who, with a little imagination, looked like a Yanagi Sakoshita).
"I'm really sorry, Recca," Fuuko apologized for the thousandth time as they walked together towards Yanagi's classroom.
Recca gave her a cheeky grin as he waved her away. "Don't worry about it," he said dismissively as he placed both hands behind his back. "Although, if word gets around, you'll have to answer to hi—I mean, Yanagi-chan,"
"Oh, yeah, I'm shaking in my boots," Fuuko replied airily as she grinned back at her best friend. "So, we'll be cleaning the room before and after class for the next week, huh,"
Recca sighed. "You owe me, so you better do the bulk of the work."
"Hey!" Fuuko protested. "Not my fault that you don't know the meaning of the word discreet,"
"I'm a ninja!" Recca answered back cockily. "Discreet is
my middle name."
Fuuko rolled her eyes. "Dufus you mean," she shot back. "Speaking of, where on earth is Domon?"
"What, you're finally thinking of dumping Mikagami for Domon?"
"Shut up."
"Ooh, Mikagami a touchy subject?" Recca teased.
Fuuko once again glared at him, but this time, it was without any hint of teasing. He then knew that he had struck a nerve.
"Fuuko, I'm so sorry," Recca started, but Fuuko elbowed him roughly in the gut before stalking off. "Fuuko!"
"Mom!" Fuuko groaned as she followed her mother into the kitchen. "Please! I'm begging you!"
"Fuuko, honey, you're a young woman now, I can't help but worry about you, you know," her mother sighed as the elder woman opened the refrigerator and took out the vegetables needed to cook dinner. She went to the sink to wash them.
"Mom, I am a young woman now but I have a good head on my shoulders," Fuuko argued as she opened the cupboard and took out a knife and a chopping board. "I can take care of myself. I mean, I have to see him,"
"Honey," her mother started as she took the knife and started on the vegetables.
"Mom, it's the last two weeks of school and it's like he's disappeared from the face of the planet," Fuuko told her mother. "I mean, no letters, no emails, no SMS messages, no nothing!"
"It's the last two weeks of your school, honey, but it's his finals week," Mrs. Kirisawa said. "He's studying,"
"Right, and I want to see him one last time before he buries his head in his books,"
Mrs. Kirisawa took the knife from her daughter and started chopping. "I suppose I could trust Tokiya-kun," she allowed.
Fuuko groaned. "I can't believe you would trust him but not your own daughter."
"Well, don't take it personally, honey," Mrs. Kirisawa paused her chopping as she gave her daughter a grin. "I wouldn't trust myself with him."
"Funny,"
"But, I don't want you to bother him. Tokyo University is not like high school, honey, you have to work doubly hard if you want to stay in, even him."
"I know," Fuuko dropped dramatically on a stool.
"But?" Her mother encouraged her.
"But," Fuuko sighed as she placed her head on her arms. "The results of Tokyo U got out last week."
"And?"
"And Yanagi got in,"
"That's not surprising." Mrs. Kirisawa said as she dropped the vegetables to a boiling pot of water. "But?"
"I don't know!" Fuuko shot up suddenly in frustration as she began to pace in the tiny kitchen.
Mrs. Kirisawa smiled knowingly as she stirred the pot. "Can your mother render a guess?"
"No."
"You're jealous," she ignored her as she added spices in the pot. "And stop pacing, you're making me dizzy,"
Fuuko unceremoniously plopped back in her stool.
"And I'm your mother. I can overrule your decisions," she replied. "You're jealous because she get to go to Tokyo U. And you're afraid that maybe some of Tokiya-kun's old feelings might resurface,"
"I thought you were a lawyer and not a psychologist."
"And you feel like you're betraying your friendship with Yanagi-chan for feeling this way."
"Mom!" Fuuko protested. "No more pop psych. I need motherly advice."
Mrs. Kirisawa covered the pot and went to her daughter. "Honey, you have to trust Tokiya-kun. After all, there can be no—"
"I know, I know. There can be no love when there is no trust." She rolled her eyes. "I heard all that before, mom."
Her mother smiled. "So, my daughter does listen to me,"
"But mom, he was my boyfriend for a grand total of two months before he got shipped off to college." Fuuko said. "And then we saw each other during his school breaks and Christmas vacation. But, I don't know, I don't know exactly how to handle this."
"Fuuko,"
"Plus, I'm also off to college. It's just scary that we might drift apart during that time,"
"Relationships take work, Fuu-chan," her mother said as she placed an arm around her daughter. "And you have to work doubly hard when there's distance between the two of you."
Fuuko looked at her mother blankly. "I'm sorry, but you just lost me there," she said as she blinked. She slid off the stool. "I'm calling Recca. I need some brainless fun."
"Sure, honey. But you're not going to Tokyo U!"
"I came up here for you to cheer me up!" Fuuko told Recca as she threw a pillow at him.
Recca stopped in mid-stride. "Sorry. It's just that," he sighed as he sat down on the floor and crossed his arms. He had been ranting to Fuuko about the fact that Yanagi got in Tokyo U, while he did not. He burrowed his head as if he was deep in thought.
Fuuko then collapsed on Recca's bed. She closed her eyes. An image of Tokiya filled her mind. She missed him. She missed his voice, his eyes, his rare smile. She sighed. She got it bad.
"Fuuko, which university are you going to?" She heard Recca ask softly.
Fuuko struggled to sit up. "I don't know yet. You?"
"Don't know either."
"I got accepted in my safety school and two others." She offered.
"Hey, I got in too," Recca gave a grin. He and Fuuko had the same safety school. "It's scary, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"We've lived here our whole life. You've been my classmate and seatmate for as long as I can remember. And suddenly we're going different directions," Recca gave her a sad smile. "I can't believe everything is changing so fast."
"Stop it right there," Fuuko growled. "You're starting to sound like my mother."
Recca blushed as he scratched his head. "Sorry about that."
Fuuko grinned. "Don't worry about it. That's what I do. Plus we've still got the whole summer ahead of us,"
"Right. But first, we have to pass finals."
"Just open it."
Fuuko whirled around. "Ganko! Don't scare me like that!"
Ganko rolled her eyes as she dropped her Powerpuff backpack on the floor. "Open it," she challenged her as the younger girl gestured towards the sealed envelope on Fuuko's dresser.
"I don't want to."
"Coward." Ganko told her.
"I am not!"
"Yes, you are."
"Ganko, if you don't mind, I'm brooding here,"
"I do mind. This is my room too."
Fuuko glared at her.
"Open the thing, or I'll open it for you!"
"You will do no such thing!"
Ganko sighed. "You are hopeless."
"Thank you. Now go away."
~tbc
P.S. Please review!