PHOBIA  (PART 1): FEAR BY ANY OTHER NAME…
by Jacquey
Well, so now I’m churning out a new ficcy. It definitely will be a better effort, or I’ll give out u pple leave to flame me. Thanks to Bottou-chan, Fuuko no miko, Kat and Ling-chan for encouraging and giving me ideas. This one’s dedicated to you all. In all my fics, there had to be someone in trouble or distress, but both Fuuko and Mi-chan are just too strong and too stubborn for their own good, so there was trouble in creating a situation whereby one of them would be helpless. But this would be OOC for both characters, wouldn’t it? But as I was plotting this new fic, a roach flew it, and scared me to death. Yup, I’m entomophobic or insectophobic, which means I’m scared of most insects. Actually, just those big, flighty, yucky ones. Now, NOBODY would call me a weakling or a scardey-cat, since everyone would have a phobia of something. So I thought it would be perfectly reasonable for Fuuko to have a phobia, especially if it had been caused by a traumatizing incident. The reason Mi-chan isn’t the one suffering is because, based on their anime characters, Fuuko would be more likely to seek help. Come on, do you actually think that Mi-chan would ask for help? After all, this is what the fic is loosely based on. Anyway, the preamble is far to long, and I’ll start my ficcy now…
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She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t hear. She couldn’t see. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t feel. Her limbs felt like lead, dragging her further down into the frigid, black waters. She tried to scream for help. But the moment she opened her mouth, freezing water would enter instead, overwhelming her screams. She could taste. The terrible saltiness. There was water everywhere, tossing her like a ball in a basketball game. A weightless ball. The cold numbed her entire body. She tried to swim, to float, to surface, but her nerves were dead and wouldn’t respond. It’s strange, that my nerves are dead, but I can still feel so cold. It was all she could do to prevent her teeth from chattering; shivers wrecked her entire body, in a futile bid to generate some heat. She didn’t need a mirror to know her lips were blue and that her skin had taken on a bluish, pale tinge. She wondered how long would it take her freeze to death from hypothermia, or to drown, whichever came first. Let me see, that biology teacher said it would take about 3 or 4 minutes, didn’t she? Well, I’ve been here for about an hour or so! Seems like she’s wrong. She willed her arms to move, to cut through the dark waters, but the moment they parted for her, another huge wave would come crashing down again, engulfing her, and the undercurrents would pull her beneath the surface, to claim her for their own. She flailed, to no avail. I’m not giving up!

Again and again she would make it to the surface, again and again she lost the battle. Seeing the sky gave her hope. Or is that a premonition? The sky was completely black, storm clouds ranged from miles around. Lighting and thunder reigned the sky alternately. Rain came tumbling down in torrents, though it did not matter to her. Water from below, water from above, what difference does it make? She wished so hard to be home again, not on this ill-fated cruise. She had never been so scared before, not even when facing Kurei. This was different. She could control the outcome of any fight in the UBS by fighting harder, by analyzing her opponent. This, was a one-sided tournament. She hated this, she hated anything she couldn’t control. No, wait a minute, I can control this! I have my fuujin! Her heart was filled once again with strength and hope, and as she activated her weapon, she knew she would survive. She was so wrong. Instead of lifting her clear out of the water, as she had hoped, the whirlwind effect the madogou created, did the exact opposite. It pulled her and the surrounding water, down in a miniature tornado, spinning her round and round, dragging her towards the abyss of the icy ocean. Damn, I forgot. The air currents are light, it would lift me. But the waters are heavy, and I will be sucked back down. NO… I’M NOT READY TO DIE… She screamed in indignation as she was pulled deeper and deeper into a watery grave…

‘No… no… NO!’ Fuuko sat straight right up, panting and gasping for air, as her erratic heartbeat slowly calmed down. Her eyes were glazed, and perspiration covered her forehead and temples, plastering her hair to her head. She wiped the pespiration off with a towel, and sighed. I should have taken up Brother’s offer to come over, but I didn’t want to bother him. He’s doing great at the military school, but if he knows what had happened, he would be so worried that he wouldn’t be able to concentrate. Same goes for Mum and Dad. It’s better if I deal with it myself. Anyway, I’m already a big girl… Fuuko suddenly froze like a deer caught in a spotlight. Her eyes travelled to the balcony. Dread crept into her, as she stood paralyzed, gazing at the balcony. She felt herself trembling, spots swam before her eyes. Her legs felt like jelly, unable to support her weight. Her beat had accelerated from normal to completely breakneck speed. Cool down, Kirisawa. It’s nothing. Remember, it’s nothing… But she only heard her heart thundering in her ears. She willed herself to move, to force herself to get over this little, insignificant terror. While it had worked its magic before, this times it failed. Miserably. Fuuko felt the onset of a panic. She didn’t panic; she was never anything but calm, cool and composed. But she couldn’t help it. Her heart contracted as terror seized control. She could only stand there, trying to fight the paralysis. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Fuuko dragged her unwilling body to the balcony, and slowly grasped the handle, gasping at the bare contact with the cold metal, and quicky slammed the doors shut. But she wasn’t fast enough. The chill had gotten to her. So had the rain. The freezing water. The cold. I can’t protect herself. Not anymore. Not with the fuujin, which laid in the corner of her drawer. She couldn’t control its power, and it had become her enemy instead of her ally. She crumbled down and started sobbing. At least there’s no one to see me breaking down. She couldn’t even protect herself from the rain and the icy wind, which howled its victory as it swept past her window.

Fuuko bit the end of her pen, her brows furrowed in concentration. There were so many silly options, and it was all she could do to prevent herself from laughing. Ablutophobia? Honestly, they should come up with better names! Fear of Bluto perhaps? She skimmed through the rest of what seemed like an endless list, chuckling silently to herself. Allodoxaphobia? Fear of options? That’s silly. Franchophobia, fear of France? Jeez! Fuuko shook her head in disbelief. Suddenly, she came to the options that made her mouth go completely dry. She found it hard to swallow. Biting her lip, she ticked the small boxes beside the words, ‘Cryophobia – Fear of extreme cold, ice or frost,’ Frigophobia – Fear of cold things,’ ‘Chionophobia – Fear of snow,’ and ‘Pluviophobia – Fear of rain or being rained on.’ She knew she had to do something about her phobias, and seeing a psychiatrist was the first and foremost step in overcoming these fears. Well, at least the insurance company is paying for these sessions. Might as well give it a shot. If I don’t like it, I can always pull out. Remember, I MUST overcome these silly fears! With that thought firmly etched in her mind, Fuuko gritted her teeth and handed her form up to the secretary.
 

So this is Part 1. Well, I put in much more effort, as you can see, it’s really kind of long and long-winded. This deals with Fuuko’s inner feelings. The other Hokage members will be appearing in the other parts. I mean Fuuko should get a WHOLE part by herself, since she threatened to skin me because I made her seem like a total sissy. I’ll be writing this fic and submitting it in parts of about 1000 words. That way, it’s easier to keep track of. Well, so what do you think?

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