Living with him was a disaster. Before, when they had traveled on the road, it didn't matter because they were outside most of the time, or they shared a room for one night. But Fuu finally had a place she could call her own, and it was hard cleaning up after him.
Sure, Mugen remembered to take off his shoes when he came in, but even the lowest Japanese people did that. She still had to sweep the rush floors because even though he took off his shoes, his feet weren't any less dirty. He also made a huge mess when he ate. When she swept, she found rice and half-chewed pieces of meat in the farthest corners of the room. He even managed to get food in the bed! He wore his clothes until they were stiff with dirt and sweat, and she had to pry them off to wash them. She scrubbed them down at the river to save herself from having to use pail after pail of water. Luckily, he had brought two other outfits with him, or he would have been sitting around naked, in which case she would never get his clothes cleaned.
That was another thing. He wanted her all the time! She could come home dog-tired after a long night at work, and he would always be awake, his eyes and hands freely roaming her. She could tell him to stop any time, but once he got started, it felt so good that she just went with it. She had her moments, too. All he would have to do was give her a certain look, and she couldn't stop herself from tackling him. She was starting to think that was the reason why he never stayed with women. They all turned into animals like him.
Despite it all, Fuu did her best to keep her house clean. It was only one room, but since she had starting sleeping with Mugen, she separated the bed from the rest of the room with a curtain. Mugen teased her about it, but they used the bed at different hours of the day, and since she didn't have a decent lock on the door, she didn't want Jin or Shino showing up and seeing them in the middle of something. It didn't help that Mugen didn't like to use a blanket unless he was actually sleeping. Fuu had moved the sleeping mat over to the window so that, uncovered, their summer nights were like being outside. She was thinking about going out of the city with him soon, so it could be a little like the old days. She could tell that Mugen liked it best outdoors, especially when she started decorating the house with flowers. She was so sure he would poke fun at her for that, but she caught him sniffing one when he thought she wasn't looking. That night she had stuck the flower in her hair, and he never took it out. The next morning she laid it on his naked chest before she went to the market.
Now, as she strolled in the sunshine, she tried to remember what things Mugen liked the most. Like her, he would eat just about anything, but he favored meat above all else. Not just fish either, but red meat. She wondered if he would eat it raw and bloody. Yep, she could picture it. Bloody wolf-man Mugen. He crunched through bones and sucked out the marrow in her imagination. Suddenly she felt queasy. Ugh, I hope he doesn't want me right away when I get back. Thinking about him like that, I wouldn't even be able to kiss him without wanting to hurl.
Fuu went to the fruit stand first, so she could settle her stomach before venturing to the butcher's. There was another young woman there, and she wore clothes that resembled a ninja's. It surprised Fuu to see a ninja shopping for oranges. She decided to ignore her, since she could be dangerous, and even though she had Mugen to protect her, she didn't want to get involved in anything. She was about to head for the vegetables when she heard the woman's voice.
"Excuse me." Fuu turned.
"Yeah?"
"I was wondering...that earring you're wearing..." Fuu tried really hard not to gasp out loud, and her hand went to the smooth stone that dangled from her ear. Did she know Mugen?
"Yeah, what about it?" Her voice came out rougher than she had meant it to.
"It's so beautiful. Did you get it around here?"
"Well..." Fuu hesitated. "It's actually a gift." The woman's eyelid twitched like she was trying to hide surprise.
"Oh, is it an heirloom? I've never seen anyone wear polished stone from Ryukyus before. Except this one guy..." Fuu was outraged. She did know Mugen! And she'd bet her obi that she was trying to find him. She decided to lie.
"I got it from my mother. My father made it for her. He polished stones and made jewelry for a living. But I've seen a few shops around here that sell work similar to his. There's a pretty good one over there." She pointed to a place she'd never been in, but it kind of looked like they sold jewelry. She hated to lie, but she was irrationally jealous of this pretty ninja woman. The girl looked at her for a long moment, and Fuu wanted to bolt. Finally she just shrugged.
"Thanks. I'll look into it. Take care." Fuu stared after her, watching her ponytail bounce and noticing her perfectly sculpted body. Oh, great, she thought. There are probably a ton of women around here that slept with Mugen. Would he...even with me for his...?" Fuu wasn't sure he wouldn't. He had been betrayed in his own life plenty of times, and usually when something happened to someone often enough, that was all they knew. Maybe being with him, trying to make him choose only one girl, was impossible. Maybe she should just give up.
When she reached her little house, her baskets weren't the only thing weighing her down. She didn't know what she'd do or say to Mugen when she saw him. He'd said that he would stay with her. Wouldn't telling him that she didn't want him anymore be like a slap in the face? No one had wanted to stay with him, make him theirs, his whole life. She tried to picture what his face would look like. Would he be angry? Sad? She'd never seen him cry before, but she doubted even she could bring tears to his eyes. Hopefully, he would just get pissed off and scream at her. She could handle that. But she really didn't want him to leave. Confused, she started to open the door to her house, when she heard a strange noise. It was coming from the back of the house, towards the bushes that she had planted there. She put down her other basket and crept along the wall. It sounded like Mugen. She heard ragged breathing, and just when she was about to dash through the bushes in a blind rage, she heard retching. She poked her head up from the plants just long enough to see Mugen throw up on them. He was hunched over like a whipped dog, clutching his stomach and gasping in pain between each upheaval. When it seemed like he had been sick for hours, he finally flopped down on the ground and moaned. Fuu gingerly stepped out of the bushes, trying not to step in the mess. She had wanted to come to him sooner, but the risk of being puked on was too much for her. She approached his shivering body and knelt next to him.
"Mugen?"
"What...what the hell did you feed me, girl?"
"N-Nothing! I didn't... I always buy fresh food!" He clasped his hands to his head and groaned.
"Ugh...quit your shriekin' and help me up, would ya?"
When she got him in bed, she soaked a rag in cold water. He tried to protest, saying he was cold, but she knew he was feverish. How could this have happened? Mugen never got sick. As she covered him with a blanket, she realized that all her doubts about being with him had vanished.
