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Enchanted	By : fuukonomiko Category: +. to F > Flame of Recca Views: 3227 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Flame of Recca, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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ENCHANTED
Chapter 1
Stranded
by Fuuko no Miko
May 14, 2000
Question:
What does one get from spending too much time in Joker's House of Cards?
Answer: This fanfic !

My apologies if it's a little OOC for some people here. I'm not too
familiar with Joker-san's chara other than what he shows at the House
of Cards. This is fanfic, so forgive me and my possible inconsistencies.No offense to Kurei-Neon fans. I did
this as more of a teaser than anything else. MAJOR DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Flame of Recca or any of it's characters. This story was written for purposed of amusement and entertainment. The only thing I own in my stories are original characters, no more, no less.

***********

"Are you sure you know
where we're going?" Neon demanded as she followed the tall,
heavily-armored Uruha assassin through a pathless thicket. She shoved a
huge clump of tree branches barricading her way. The twigs and branches
had been unyielding and they've already caused innumerable scratches on
her ivory skin. Neon cursed as the hem of her uniform got caught in a
stubborn little bush and tried in vain to pull it out without ripping
it any further.
"Trust me, Neon-han." assured
her fellow Uruha in his heavy kansai accent. He tipped his headgear
slightly to get a better view of the forest before him. Which
unfortunately looked the same in all directions. All gigantic trees
looming over them, with vines hanging like thick ropes and all sorts of
unrecognizable flora covering anything that might have resembled a
pathway. Much as Joker wanted to believe what he said, he couldn't
convince himself. Much less a very angry Neon.

"That's what you said two hours
ago." accused the red-haired assassin as she finally gave up on her
dress and just tore the edge. "I told you we should've taken the
Western area...but nooooo...you had to insist a shortcut." She shoved
him out of the way and tried to get a view of anything possibly ahead.
"Like this is anything but short."

Joker chose to keep his trap
shut. Arguing with Neon would be pointless. She was as stubborn as they
come. I should've just left her back at the mansion, he sighed
inwardly. But Kurei's orders were for the two of them to finish a very
important task. Joker had insisted he could do it by himself, yet his
Master was more insistent. Not that Neon was a pain in the behind. She
was good at what she does. And she had been a great help to their task.
It was just during scenarios like this that he knew he could do without
her.

They were heading home from the
mission Kurei had sent them on. They had taken a speedboat then. They
were forced to change direction when a storm loomed ahead. It was
during this change of ways when they had begun debating on which
direction to take.

"Where do you think you're
headed off to?" Neon had asked him earlier.

"Eastward." he answered
confidently, manuevering the steering wheel to his chosen direction.

"The way home is West." she
said.

"Neon-han, I know what I am
doing. The way home is East. We'd take West if we were on the same
course a while ago. But we changed because of the weather. So now it's
East." he explained confidently.

"If we took the earlier path it
would be East. We turned around, so I say we go West." she reasoned.

"We did not turn around." Joker
argued. "We turned a little left. I should know. I'm driving this
thing. Besides, East is a shorter way."

"West."

"East."

They went about like that for
over half an hour before Joker finally turned the boat and went his
way, much to Neon's dismay. By that time, the storm had also taken a
reroute and they almost ran into it. The large waves violently rocked
their motorboat and Joker decided to dock on one of the smaller islands
they found lest they get swept and crash against the humungous rocks
that loomed among the island shores. By that time, the tail of the
incoming storm had made its way to the island and they had rushed to
the forest for cover when the downpour began.

That was two hours ago. Now
they find themselves in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a forest
as thick as the Amazon, with trees as tall as buildings and whose wide
branches shielded any view of the sky. The thunderstorm had stopped an
hour ago. They remained relatively dry because of the shield the trees
had given. They had debated on whether to stay put or walk on, with
Neon insisting on staying and Joker persisted on going. The latter had
won.

"Whew," Joker said. He had not
wanted to stay in one particular place, as he felt unsafe with the
surrounding territory. He had wanted to go looking for any possible
protective shelter, like a cave or better yet, a civilized dwelling.
Based on the look of things now, it appeared there wasn't any safe area
at all. They had been walking seemingly forever, and not a trace of any
human endeavor at all could they find.

"I should've thought of this
sooner." Neon said, drawing her flute. "Cover your ears." she
instructed her companion who complied. She began playing the tune to
activate her Fukyo Waon. The power from her madugou caused the covered
earth before her to rumble, and in no time, an explosion occured,
blowing all the thorned bushes in all directions and clearing the path.

A sideward smile appeared on
Joker's lips, "Very clever, Neon-han." he clapped his hands in
approval. "Very resourceful indeed."

"Hmph." Neon ignored him and
went on her way. This time she led, and Joker followed. They had been
walking for less than five minutes when they came upon what seemed to
be a clearing.

"Yes!" Neon exclaimed, running
towards a small, clear lake that lay in the middle of an open-aired
area. This part of the forest had a view of the ominous-looking sky.
The clouds were dark, gray and heavy, seemingly filled with rain that
was threatening to fall any minute. Neon did not seem to care though,
as she rushed to fill her dry throat with the fresh water before her.
Joker scanned the area and found a cave not too far away. He went over
to check it out while his fellow Uruha took her fill. He returned a few
minutes later.

"There's a cave nearby." he
told her. "It looks safe, and its dry. We can stay there until this
storm lets up."

Neon agreed. She let Joker take
his turn at drinking before they trekked the way to the said cave. It
was roomy and dry. A few stalactites hung over the inside, and moss
covered the walls. Otherwise, it was clean and it appeared relatively
harmless. Neon took a seat on one of the rocks, removing her boots and
removing the pebbles from them. She stretched and leaned on the cave
wall. Joker rested on a rock near the cave entrance. He removed his
headgear and the upper part of his armour.

"What do you think you're
doing?" Neon asked stiffly. Her body ached from all that walking, and
she felt her lids getting heavy from exhaustion.

"Getting comfortable." Joker
replied, as he took the rest of his armour off, revealing a shirt and
tights underneath. "You're not conscious, are you?" a naughty smile
appeared on his lips. "Well I do know how irresistable...owww!" he
touched his forehead that had been pelted with a rock.

"Airhead." she accused, trying
to fight off the drowsiness coming upon her unsuccessfully. She was
about to lay on the floor to get some shut eye when he held her arm.
"What now?" she grumbled.

"It's not too comfortable
sleeping on a cold, stone floor." he reasoned. Joker took his long cape
and spread it on the floor of the cave as a blanket.

A smirk appeared on Neon's
lips. "Sometimes you surprise me, Joker."

"Being a gentleman is just one
of my numerous, unrecognized attributes." he beamed proudly. But Neon
could no longer retort as exhaustion took over her being. She curled
into a semi-fetal position and closed her eyes, falling into a light
slumber.

Joker watched as the downpour
began, falling mercilessly like a waterfall from the sky. At this
rate, we'll probably get home tomorrow he thought. Though he didn't
fancy spending the rest of the night in a dark, unfurnished cave with
Neon and her sharp tongue, there seemed to be little choice. He was
exhausted as well and there was hardly, if any, chance that there would
be any more suitable dwelling that the cave they were in. He just hoped
that his companion would sleep it off until daybreak. The moment she
wakes up she'll be bound to start complaining about food. He leaned
back and sighed. He was aware he shouldn't fall asleep, lest some wild
animals come along and decided the two of them would make a suitable
rainy day feast. But his eyes were getting heavy as well, and he
couldn't help himself.

"Oi, hey there...are you
alright?"

Joker slowly opened his eyes.
His immediate reflex was to grab his Taishaku Kaiten, aiming it at the
one before him whose image was now clearly coming into view. It was a
tiny old woman, assumingly no bigger nor older than Genjuroh. But this
benign appearance did cause him to let his guard down, as he knew that
one should never take things at face value.

The old woman backed slightly
away seeing the weapon aimed at her, a look of fear registered on her
face. Feeling a little bit guilty, Joker pulled back his weapon.

"My apologies, Obaa-han." he
said, scrutinizing the old woman fully behind his bangs. "You caught me
be surprise."

The old woman smiled, bowing
her head. "I didn't mean to scare you. Gomen nasai." She was around 60,
he guessed. Petite and fine-boned with long, silky, white hair that was
tied in a knot behind her head. She was dressed in a lovely blue kimono
with white cherry blossoms decorating it. From her face one could tell
she was a beauty in her youth. He wondered what a finely-dressed old
lady was doing in a creepy jungle like this one?

"What's all the ruckus about?"
a newly-awakened Neon spoke up, rubbing her eyes. "Joker, how dare you
assault a defenseless little woman!" she accused.

"It's nothing." the old lady
defended, smiling. "I just shocked your husband a little I guess..."

"Husband! Why I..." Neon
exclaimed, now fully aroused.

"What would you you be doing in
a place like this, Obaa-han?" Joker asked, interrupting Neon's protest.

"I live here." the elderly
woman spoke, causing the two Uruha assassins eyes to pop out.

"In this...jungle?" Neon asked.

"Not here..." the woman
laughed, she motioned to a wooded area about a stone's throw from where
they were. "Over there. My house is just beyond those trees."

Joker and Neon exchanged
suspicious glances, which did not escape the old woman's eye.

"I know you may think its
ludicrous. But please, come with me and see for yourselves." she
invited. "Follow me."

They followed the old woman who
went through a clump of tall bushes. They walked slowly, their eyes
taking note of the way they were going. A man-made stone path was
revealed and it led the way to another clearing. This one was bigger
than where they had come from. It was an open field where a
moderate-sized, old-fashioned house stood in the middle. A little
shrine was at the left and a small pond was at the right. The house was
lighted and smoke was coming from the back. The air smelled wonderfully
of a hot soup brewing.

"Would you kids like to join me
for dinner?" she asked. "I'm afraid I don't have much to offer, but I
do make some good sakura tea."

Neon looked at her companion,
"May we be excused for a little while?" she politely asked permission,
to which the old woman nodded.

"I don't trust her, Neon-han."
Joker vocalized his thoughts.

"Neither do I." Neon agreed.
"But then...what do we have to lose?" she reasoned. "If we take her
offer, we could get some decent shelter for the night, and maybe
something to eat too."

"If she turns out to be some
kind of whacko..."

"Then we'll send her to Kingdom
Come." Neon said finally. She then turned back to the old woman,
"Yes...thank you very much for your offer. We'd be honored to join you
for dinner."

"Then follow me."

They walked over to the
old-fashioned house which was bigger close up. The old woman pushed the
door to let them in. A young girl, around ten years of age greeted them
and ushered them to the house. It was an antique house with the
furniture dating back to a much older era. It was like a small museum
rather than a house in the middle of nowhere. The two Uruha assassins
were shown to the guest quarters by the young girl who had introduced
herself as Hiroshi. It was a large room beautifully furnished with the
same kind of antiques the rest of the house seemed to be decorated
with. A futon the size of a king-sized bed was at the middle of the
room and on top of it lay towels, bathrobes and neatly-folded kimonos
for changing.

"Would you like some hot water
for bathing, Neon-sama?" Hiroshi asked.

"Oh I would, thank you." Neon
said. The young girl bowed before leaving the room. Joker set his armor
aside and plopped lazily on the futon, resting his head on folded arms
and whistling a tune. "Oi, get off my bed you moron."

"What do you mean your bed?"
Joker querried. "This is our bed."

"Our bed?" Neon's eyebrows shot
up in question, "I wouldn't share a bed with you in a second
lifetime...or even a third. Now get off." she tried in vain to push
Joker off his lazy recline unsuccessfully.

"Neon-han, it's rather obvious
we were meant to be in this room together...I mean, little Hiroshi
didn't show me to another place to stay in, did she now?" he asked
as-a-matter-of-factly, though this did not prevent a smile from
wandering to his lips. "Besides, aren't you flattered to be sharing a
room with an incredible specimen of manhood such as my...umphhhh!" he
muttered as Neon tried to cut the air to his lungs by stuffing his face
with one of the pillows.

"Here is your hot water,
Neon-sama." Hiroshi announced after knocking gently, making Neon
withdraw from her murder attempt of her arrogant companion. Joker was
nearly blue and choking when she got off him, but Hiroshi thankfully
didn't notice. When the young girl left, Neon picked up the robe,
towels and soap and headed off to the bathroom located at the end of
the hallway.

"I'm giving you ten minutes to
find a room for yourself." Neon announced. "Or else..."

"I'm giving you ten minutes to
find a room for yourself or else..." Joker mimicked in Neon's low,
dangerous tone as his fellow Uruha shot darts at him with a gaze. He
didn't move an inch from his position as she proceeded to take a warm
bath.

Half an hour later, the old
woman called for dinner. Neon entered the dining room wearing the dark
red, silk kimono provided to her by Hiroshi. The dress was decorated
with an intricately designed floral pattern in gold. Her hair was tied
in a knot at the back of her head. Under the pale yellow light given
off by the lamp, her skin glowed a faint pink and she smelled of fresh
spring blossoms. The red of the dress and her hair glowed like fire in
the night.

"You look quite like the fire
bird, the Phoenix." complimented the old lady, to which Hiroshi agreed.

Phoenix. Fire Bird. Like
Kurei-sama's flame...only of a different color, Neon thought as she
thanked the two hostesses for their generosity.

"You look very fetching,
Neon-han." Joker commented from behind her. And he was telling the
truth. While he always regarded her as a fellow assassin, Joker
acknowledged the fact that Neon was a beautiful woman. Now dressed
immaculately in a kimono that made her look fragile, vulnerable,
almost...untouchable he had to admit she took the breath out of him.

Neon was a little surprised out
of the compliment he had given her, as she was used to hearing him
compliment mostly himself. And subconsciously, she found herself
blushing at his remark. "Thank you."

Joker himself wasn't quite the
man she knew. He had also been given a kimono, this one in velvety
black. He had taken his braids off to dry his hair, and it hung loosely
on his shoulders, falling like a black cascade of waterfall on his
back. His fine bangs still covered his eyes and his fanged smile showed
through. Neon found herself staring at him despite herself.

"Let's have dinner, shall we?"
the old woman spoke at last, breaking the strange silence. The two
Uruhas took opposite seats while Hiroshi and the old woman sat across
each other at the table ends. Hiroshi poured sakura tea in their cups
while the old lady passed around the steaming hot soba for everyone's
enjoyment. The two guests ate in silence as their elderly hostess
introduced herself and spoke of her secluded dwellings.

"I am Akamatsu Yukiko." she
introduced, "You both know Hiroshi here," she motioned to the young
girl. "She is my adopted granddaughter. An orphan. Her parents died in
an accident when she was just an infant."

Yukiko had lived all her life
on this uncharted island. She had been born and raised in this old
house. She had been living alone for the past 40 years after the rest
of her family died in an epidemic. She goes to town every once a week
to buy supplies. Leaving the house was out of the question since it had
been in the family for centuries, surviving wars, disasters and
man-made holocausts. Her nearest neighbor was a good two miles away,
and the town she spoke of was five more miles from there.

"Don't you ever get scared
here, Yukiko-sama?" Neon asked curiously. She wondered how anybody
could last that long with hardly any company, much less protection.

"There is nothing to fear." she
smiled mysteriously, "The spirits of my ancestors watch over me all the
time."

Her facial expression and
manner of speaking caused Joker's hairs to stand on end. This is
getting creepy, he thought. It's like a scene on one of those
cheap horror flicks Mokouren loves to watch so much. He shuddered,
and recieved a curious glance from Neon who sat opposite him. "I'm a
little cold." he offered lamely which Neon obviously did not accept.

"As we all are." Yukiko said,
"I'm afraid I can't stay up and tell you any more stories about this
household much as I'd love to," she gently rose up from her sitting
position. "I'm a little bit tired." she smiled at the two guests,
"Perhaps tomorrow we can continue. I would like to know more about you
two. for now, I bid you good night. Sleep well." she bowed and turned
about after they had bid her the same. Hiroshi set about cleaning up
the table. Neon offered to help but the young girl refused.

"You are a guest, Neon-sama."
Hiroshi reasoned, "Please, I can do this. It is but a simple task. You
and Joker-sama may take your rest now. It has been a tiring day for
both of you."

The two simply complied and
left after wishing Hiroshi a good night. Neon proceeded to her quarters
and Joker followed her, silently closing the door behind him.

"Didn't I tell you I am NOT
going to share a bed with you?" Neon asked irritably. "Either you find
a bed of your own or you spend the night on the floor."

Joker smiled, his fangs
showing, "Oh come on now Neon-han. It isn't very doting of you to let
your 'husband' sleep on the cold floor while you doze off comfortably
on your more-than-adequately-sized bed?"

Whomp! A pair of pillows found
their target on Joker's face. "In your dreams," Neon snarled, "Not now,
not ever."

Neon pulled back the covers and
snugged comfortably in between the immaculate white sheets. She pulled
the pins off her hair, spreading the silken strands on the pillow like
a red tide. She almost bounced off when Joker plopped beside her.

"Joker!"

"Shhhh..." the fanged Uruha put
a finger to her lips. He looked around before speaking in a hushed
voice. "We don't want to wake up the entire household, Neon-han." And
when the latter realized that there was another reason for Joker acting
as such, she propped herself up on her elbows.

"This place gives me the
creeps." Neon admitted anxiously "It's too...strange. I mean, an old
lady and a little girl alone in the middle of nowhere with a house
filled with a fortune in antiques and no one to protect them." she
shrugged, "It sounds like a plot on one of those dumb B movies with
plastered play-doh effects to pass off as monsters."

"You're not afraid of a few
zombies are you?" Joker asked, "We've faced much stronger adversaries
than that."

"Yeah well, I don't think the
Fukyo Waon or even your Taihatsu Kaiten will do us any good if we're
fighting supernatural forces." she retorted.

A moment of silence followed as
neither of them knew what to say. The dark clouds had faded, giving way
to the full moon whose bright beams entered the bedroom window,
illuminating the otherwise dark surroundings. There even appeared a
handful of stars. There was hardly any trace of the storm that has come
earlier.

Joker stood up from the bed and
proceeded to the other side of the room. He pulled out a clean mattress
from one of the closet doors and laid it on the floor. He had found
this one in the closet earlier while waiting for Neon to finish using
the bathroom. He spread clean sheets over it and slid in comfortably.
It wasn't as soft as the king-sized bed but it was certainly better
than the hard wooden floor. He turned his back to Neon and took his
madougu that was leaningon the wall. He laid it next to him in bed.

"Joker..."

"There's no sense in borrowing
trouble, Neon-han." he spoke. "I think we should be thankful for
Yukiko-han's generosity. It's probably just coincidental that she lives
in such a place. If there is no sign of trouble, then let's not look
for one." he paused, turning his head to Neon. "If there is something
that's more than meets the eye here, we'll be ready for it." a glint
appeared in his eye. He smiled. "I'm not staying here for any other
perverted reason, Neon-han. I just think it would be safer for us Uruha
to stick together." He then turned his back again. "You would have no
worry with me. I just want to be here in case anything happens...and
besides..." he laughed, "You're not my type."

Through his drowsy state, Joker
could hear Neon calling him all the synonyms for arrogant in her
multilingual vocabulary. He merely snickered through it all. He drew
his madougu closer, closed his eyes and left off for dreamland. Neon
followed suit within five minutes. The room lay perfectly silently
still for about a few hours. The antique clock in the living room then
announced that it was two in the morning.

The door of the guest quarters
then quitely opened.

"Are you ready, Hiro-chan?"

The little girl nodded.

"Then it is time."

TO BE CONTINUED
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- 2
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