Disclaimer: I don’t own Flame of Recca.
Claimer: This fan fiction and all its errors are mine.
This was meant to be multi-chaptered, but I decided it’s better as a one-shot.

“We’re so meant to be,” Miki said dreamily.

The school bell rang, making the students in the Calculus class groan in frustration. They were having their long exam, and almost everyone felt like the given time wasn’t enough. Their young professor, a genius when it came to numbers, happily smiled at the frowning faces of his students. “All right, time’s up! Pass those papers before getting out of the room. Don’t worry; I’ll give partial points for the effort!” he cheered them.

Tokiya handed over his paper as he pocketed his pen, the only thing he carried with him to the class. Unlike his other classmates, he uttered no complaint about the exam.

The professor’s smile widened. “Ah. Aced it again, Tokiya?” He looked at his student’s paper, nodding as he quickly scanned the answers. “Looking good,” he commented.

“Thank you, Sir,” Tokiya said, having no apparent change in his serious expression. He gave a polite nod to this professor and made his way out of the classroom.

It was his lunchtime, and he had the next one hour to himself. He planned to use the twenty minutes to eat, and the rest to -

“Tokiya!” a familiar female voice called out to him. In no time at all, its pink-haired owner was beside him. He narrowed his eyes, an expression of annoyance crossing his face. To be perfectly honest, he didn’t want to see her, this specific girl who had been pestering him for months now.

Miki, the assassin of Uruha.

Surprisingly clad in a proper school uniform, Miki grinned at him. “How was the exam?” she asked, like they were the closest friends. Her blue eyes flashed with mischief, an indication that she was there to bother him again.

Miki, together with her younger sister Aki, had transferred to the Nashikiri High School more than three months ago. When the Hokage had seen the two, it was of course unease that first seized them. Miki and Aki were still Kurei’s assassins, and they weren’t about to be welcomed with open arms.

It was the playful Miki who had first approached them and made friends with them, saying this: “We have no plans of assassinating anyone of you. Kurei’s wish is only that we go back to school and do well here. So don’t get worked up and just enjoy our company.” She had thrown him a teasing smile that time, and he chose to shrug it off.

Silly little girl, he had thought. He didn’t really trust her or her sister; he knew how sneaky and deceptive people like them could be. While the others warmed up to them in no time, Tokiya tried his best to avoid them and watch out for their actions.

“They’re not so bad,” Recca told him once. Far ahead, the Hokage, with the addition of Miki and Aki, were animatedly discussing schoolwork. “I’ve talked to Neon, and she even asked me to look after her sisters.”

Tokiya’s lips twitched into a smirk. He was pretty sure Recca was more than willing to oblige. The boy was a bit of a pervert, anyway. “Do you remember how they wanted to kill us just several months ago?”

Recca cocked an eyebrow, the stubborn look on his face a sign that he wasn’t about to listen to Tokiya. They had formed a sort of friendship during the Urabutousatsoujin months ago, but that didn’t mean they were ever going to agree on anything. “People change, you know. You just have to give them a chance.” He shrugged. “Even Kurei has changed. Have you seen him lately?” He snickered at the mention of his half-brother.

Tokiya narrowed his eyes at that. After the Urabutousatsoujin, the Mouri empire was in chaos, with its owner found dead in a car accident and his heir disappearing into thin air. It was until two months later, when the Uruha supposedly found Kurei, that the flame caster took over and put the company back together. After that, all that was heard were the acts of kindness of Kurei, paraded all over the news. Now it seemed like Recca had even forgotten how cruel his half-brother was. Stupid and reckless, the younger flame caster was trusting to a fault.

“Your optimism will kill you,” Tokiya told him bluntly. It was perfectly obvious that Recca had been keeping in touch with Kurei.

“Not if you kill it first,” Recca countered with a shake of his head. He motioned to their group, looking very relaxed. “Lighten up, Mikagami. Now will you join us for lunch or not?”

“No.”

Instead of answering her question, he smirked. “What are you doing here?” He knew that she always had her lunch with Aki and the rest of the Hokage, although she did make it a point to randomly show up and be a nuisance to him.

“I kind of miss you,” she said, the mischievous smile never leaving her lips. They last saw each other this morning; she had waved to him from inside her classroom as he was walking down the hall.

He narrowed his eyes. “Tch.” He turned on his heel. He wasn’t about to waste his time talking to her and tolerating her antics. She was too childish, too loud, too daring. Even if she weren’t one of the Uruha Oto, he was pretty sure he still wouldn’t like her.

Miki was right behind him, as if expecting his reaction. “I saw your classmates. They looked like they were in pain after the exam. Was it difficult?” she asked, trying to make a conversation.

Tokiya knew that she knew the answer to her question – she was in the same year as he was, after all. Although he didn’t understand why she put so much effort in making him talk, he thought it would be rude not to answer. She was still a young lady, no matter how rashly she acted around him. “Not really,” he replied briefly. That could pass off as a decent reply, right?

Miki pouted. “Why do I even bother asking you? You’re a genius; of course the exam won’t be too hard for you. You best Chemistry, Calculus, Physics – ” she trailed off, as though she remembered something.

Tokiya quickened his pace, impatience showing in his eyes. He inwardly cursed when he noticed the meaningful glances thrown to them by acquaintances in the hall. It wasn’t that he cared, but that she cared. She cared – and she never passed up a chance to show him just how much.

Even more annoying about the whole thing was that their friends and classmates cared, too. And why shouldn’t they?

On her first day in school, Miki shamelessly announced that she had a big crush on him, the ever serious, no-nonsense Tokiya Mikagami.

That had been quiet an experience. Of course there were girls who tried to befriend him, but none of them had gone so far as to declare to the whole school their feelings for him. His serious façade not cracking, he had chosen to not comment about the whole thing and let it pass. He thought that if he ignored her, she would stop bothering him.

He obviously thought wrong.

Miki chuckled, effortlessly matching his speed. The Idaten was a practical madougu, and despite the fact that she wasn’t using it now, years of using it served her good. “Tokiya, slow down. You almost look like you’re running away from me,” she said, a wicked smile on her lips. She undoubtedly enjoyed the idea, which annoyed the hell out of him.

By then they had almost reached the lunchroom. Miki skipped to the first empty table her eyes caught sight of. “I’ll stay here while you buy lunch. I’ve eaten, so don’t buy me anything,” she told him.

Having no choice, he proceeded to fall in line, all the while irritated by the fact that she was too… gutsy. The bravest girl to approach him gave up after one week; how could she continue for months? Instinctively, he flashed a look to the lunchroom door. It didn’t take long for him feel stupid. I’m not trying to run away from her, he told himself, and felt even stupider for being so defensive.

He let his eyes wander to where she was, noting the mirth that she almost always seemed to possess. It was puzzling, especially to him who was always so serious. She confused him, and he didn’t like it.

She had no right to confuse him.

He came back to their table several minutes later, holding a tray of food. She cocked an eyebrow when he handed her a canned fruit juice and a sandwich. “I told you I’ve eaten. Aki and I didn’t have classes an hour ago, so we had early lunch.”

“It’s my treat,” he said, and sat down from across her. He began his lunch, watching her pick up the sandwich and open the can of fruit juice.

“That’s so sweet of you,” she said, smiling. “Thanks, Tokiya. I’ll eat the sandwich later,” she continued, sipping from the bendable straw. “Some people think you’re a snob, but I think you’re just naturally quiet.”

He looked up from his food and found her watching him, almost looking… mesmerized. He knitted his brows to hide his discomfiture. Why was she looking at him like that? Didn’t she know that it was rude to stare? He raised an eyebrow in query, sensing that her statement had a conclusion to it. He sipped his drink and -

“We’re so meant to be.”

- he nearly choked. He coughed as he gathered himself. “What did you say?” he asked, looking at her with disbelief written all over his face. Did she just say what she just said?

Instead of being offended, Miki flashed him an amused stare. “You all right?” Her expression said she couldn’t believe anyone could almost choke after hearing her out.

“I’m all right,” he snapped, and tried to go back to his food. Her ideas never ceased to throw him off-guard, and he didn’t know if he should be irritated with her for doing that or with himself for being always affected somehow.

“We’re so meant to be,” she repeated, throwing him a meaningful glance.

Tokiya stared at her unthinkingly, noting the half-dreamy, half-smug glint in her eyes. When he finally realized what he was doing, he quickly glanced away. He shook his head, feeling weird. “You’re kidding me,” he said. “We’re…” he faltered, sort of crept out by the way she had worded her sentence, “so not meant to be.” What the hell was he doing, staring at her? He must be losing his mind.

Miki raised an eyebrow, unconvinced by his statement. She didn’t seem to notice his confusion. “Do you enjoy Physics?”

At the question, Tokiya’s uncertainty faded to the back of his mind. Physics was a much, much better topic. It was a safe ground for him. “So?” He was so sure that the tone of his voice told Miki that he didn’t just enjoy Physics – he aced the whole thing, too.

“The law of attraction and repulsion,” she said, looking very certain of herself and her opinion. “Opposites attract.”

“Tch.” All he could do was shake his head. “I don’t see what that has to do with us.”

It was then that she giggled, very preened.

He arched an eyebrow. “What?” What did he say this time?

“Us, huh?” she repeated. “I love how you put us.” She laugh to herself again.

This time, an expression of frustration crossed his face and lingered there. Goodness, but she frustrated him so much, with the way she turned practically everything to her favor. “There’s no us,” he said, and he wished he knew how he could emphasize that more.

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. “Soon there will be,” she teased, and laughed good-naturedly at his expression. “Tokiya, you should see the look on your face!”

He just grunted and continued eating. Stupid clichés.

۞۞۞

Miki’s lips curled up in a smile. Oh, she knew that it wouldn’t be easy to convince Tokiya of her idea, but it would be worth it. Besides, she always loved it when he disagreed with her – he looked even better when he was irritated. It took so much of her willpower not to kiss him there and there.

Damn him for being so damn tempting…

Uh-oh, I’m zoning out again, she thought, shaking away the temptation to just stare at him. It was almost foolish, how she liked pissing the heck out of him. But she never got tired of it, simply because at least, he reacted to what she was doing. At least, she could see and feel that he was more than the standoffish jerk most people considered him to be.

And what the hell – seeing him always made her day. When Kurei had ordered her and Aki to go back to school, it was Tokiya’s name that made her give in. Aki laughed at her for a while back then, but Miki couldn’t care less. Silly little crush, her blue-haired sister had called it.

“It always begins that way,” Miki said, shrugging. “And it will remain that way if I don’t do something about it. I’ll give it a shot first, and I’ll decide if it’s as silly as you think it is.”

The determination was so vividly printed on Miki’s face that Aki had to chuckle. “Suit yourself.” She leaned on the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest. “Although I don’t really know how you can like him. He doesn’t even talk, and when he finally opens his mouth, he says about one sentence and keeps quiet again.”

Miki laughed at Aki’s remarks. “Actually I’m terribly interested to know what he thinks.”

She had said that in jest, but she was surprised to realize the truth in her answer. Because ridiculous as it was, she knew she wanted just that - to know what he thought of. To know what he liked, to know what he wanted. To know what made him ticked, what made him angry, what made him happy. To know what made him smile – if he ever did.

Looking at Tokiya, Miki could only grin to herself.

۞۞۞

Miki was shrugging her shoulders as she spoke. “To-ki-ya,” she began, syllabicating his name playfully and uttering it in a singsong. “If you end up with someone like yourself, you’ll die of boredom.”

Tokiya glanced up, watching her chuckle. It was obvious that her imagination was running wild again. He frowned. “What makes you say that?” he asked, not sure if he should be offended or not. He wasn’t… boring, was he?

Miki was grinning. “What will you talk about? The latest scientific advancement? The chemical reactions in her body that causes her to blush? The life of Shakespeare? The derivatives of trigonometric functions?” She laughed upon seeing him blink in incredulity.

“It won’t be so bad,” he said, his voice laced with doubt. It was hard to admit it, but discussing schoolwork could be particularly draining and boring. Dammit. She can’t be making sense. “We won’t talk about those things everyday.” He sounded like he was convincing himself.

“Just most of the time,” she answered, amused. She sipped her drink, rolling her eyes the way people did when they thought of something. “I don’t really see myself with someone so like me. Imagine how chaotic that would be. He’ll want to talk but I won’t let him, because I like talking and I want people listening. We’ll just end up arguing - and an argument where no one listens ultimately leads to – ” she sighed dramatically “ – breakup.”

What logic. Tokiya was beginning to be very irritated. He had underestimated her, and now he didn’t know how to counter her. “People who are opposites of each other break apart, too,” he muttered, and pushed away his empty plate. He drank his juice, unable to say anything else. He tried to justify his silence by the fact that he was no expert when it came to relationships. Lame, he couldn’t help but think. “They should have something in common as well. Too many differences can also kill relationships.” He hoped he sounded believable.

Miki shrugged. She stood up from her seat, placed her hands firm on the table, and leaned across to him. “We’re both wielders of madougu. I think that’s a start.”

Tokiya couldn’t help but back down against his seat, feeling dazed when he realized how close she was to him. He swallowed as he caught a whiff of her perfume. Don’t you dare think about how good she smells, idiot. “W-What the hell are you doing?” he demanded, reminding himself that they were in the lunchroom, and that practically the whole school could see them. In fact, he could feel the curious eyes on them at the moment. Damn.

“Tokiya…” she whispered, her voice hoarse and almost seductive. “You’re attracted to me, aren’t you?” Her blue eyes bore into his, and he found himself unable to think straight. Something about her eyes told him that she knew more than she should, and that she was using this to her advantage.

Dammit, Mikagami! Don’t just sit there! Answer her! he scolded himself, watching the strands of her hair cascade down her cheeks. Yes or no? he thought, and couldn’t help but swallow at the realization that even though he couldn’t say yes, he couldn’t say no either.

Shit.

He was screwed.

۞۞۞

And Miki knew it.

She laughed at the play of emotions on his face, very pleased. “Of course you are,” she said, answering her own question with utmost confidence. She moved away from him and sat back down in her seat, triumph in her eyes.

“I’m not,” he snapped through clenched teeth. He looked like he wanted to commit murder there and then, which made Miki laugh all the more. He stood up stubbornly, throwing her an irritated stare. “I’ve had enough of your nonsense.”

She looked up at him, unaffected by his anger. “You look even more adorable when you’re angry,” she said instead. She smiled deviously as she watched him walk off. He didn’t even acknowledge Recca and the others when they waved to him on his way out.

The Hokage and Aki gave Miki a questioning look as they approached. “What’s gotten into him?” Recca asked. Yanagi, Fuuko and Aki exchanged curious glances, while Domon looked like he was at a loss.

Miki shrugged innocently. “He just realized he’s attracted to me,” she said, and picked up the sandwich Tokiya had given her. She took a small bite, meeting the eyes of her friends. “Now he’s running for his heart.”

At this, all the girls in the group snickered. Recca and Domon seemed a bit confused, though. “There’s just no way he likes you,” Recca pointed out bluntly. “I don’t even think Mikagami likes himself.” Domon nodded in agreement.

“Oh, c’mon. You guys don’t know anything,” Aki said, laughing with Yanagi and Fuuko when the two guys with them scratched their heads, very puzzled. “Is it too late, for Tokiya?” Aki continued, the amusement evident in her voice.

“Let’s just say he’s running for something that has always been mine,” Miki replied, and flashed the surest of smiles.

…the law of attraction and repulsion…

For some reason, this one-shot had been so easy to write. The words seemed to write themselves, and before I knew it, I’ve finished this fic. Awesome, huh. :D

I noticed that there are a lot of TokiyaFuuko fics in this place. It sort of surprised me, because I don’t remember ever seeing any remarkable scene between them in the anime. I have to say that I see more chemistry between Tokiya and Miki than between him and Fuuko. Episode 30 pretty much helped me decide on that, is all.

This is just a first from me. I plan to write more, given the chance and time, because I really think TokiyaMiki deserves more attention.

So how about a review? I’m really curious to know what ToFuu fans have to say about this. :)

Hilaire
04.13.09