Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai Champloo or any of the characters pertaining to the Anime/Manga series. They are the rightful property of their creator. I wrote this story just to enjoy myself. It has not been posted or created in attempt to receive any type of profit. All additional characters are my own.

A/N: I have pondered on this idea for a couple of months now. I planned it to fit in my other (German) story but I had to write it. I'm still learning English. Dear readers, be nice, please. :-) I plan to make this a series of one-shots. What do you think? Please, let me know. R&R

Enough of that and enjoy.

The wound

Fuu was cleaning the tables when a new customer entered the tea-house. She didn't look up. "Good evening. I'm sorry. We have already closed for today. Will you come back tomorrow, please?" She heard the man gasp and sit down. She turned towards him and stopped breathing. Tears flooded her eyes.

"Mugen" She exhaled.

The pirate looked up at her. He wasn't surprised to see her here. Actually, he had hoped that she hadn't left this place. A small smile appeared when he recognized her earrings.

"Where have you been?" She continued to clean the tables as if nothing had happened and he hadn't stayed away for over two years.

"Dunno. Everywhere and nowhere." He leaned himself against the wall. The pain was nearly unbearable but he did his best to hide it from her. The girl didn't look in his direction and adjusted the chairs around the tables. "Why did you leave?"

"Dunno. You screamed at me to get lost. I only did what you wanted." He could clearly remember. He fell asleep in her room after she had told him what had happened on this island. The fighter could feel the pain and rage again that he hadn't been able to save her from those insane brothers. He hadn't intended to pin her down and to force a kiss on her that morning. She had just startled him.

"Hmpf." She really couldn't blame him. She wasn't herself when she shouted that. She regretted it right away when she realised that he had left. If Jin and the others hadn't helped her, she wouldn't have been able to live through the following time. And now he was sitting here and she was furious and glad at the same time. He was back, finally. "Why did you come back?"

"Dunno..." He breathed laboriously and held his right side. Fuu turned to him worriedly. He held his abdomen and she could see blood soaking through his shirt and hand. She paled and ran to him. "WHAT HAPPENED?"

"Some ass-hole got me good. But he paid for it." The rogue smirked.

"Let me see." She reached for his hand.

"There is nothing to look at." He tried to hold her back.

"You're bleeding." She knew him. He would make a fuss first and eventually give in. She had treated both of them so many times. Sayo, who had given her a home since those final days on the island, taught her what plants she could use to heal illnesses and how to prepare salves, teas and so on. She wanted to become a healer like her. The wound had to be deep and she could clearly see his pain.

"You have to come back to my place." It wasn't a suggestion. She wouldn't let him go. Not this time. She knew, she had loved him for a long time and couldn't bear to lose him again.

The fighter raised an eye-brow. Her voice was demanding and he could see that the girl has matured over the years. When he left she was living with an elderly woman whose name he already had forgotten. "Are you still living with that woman?"

She nodded. "Of course. I didn't know where else to go."

She turned off the lights and dragged him out. The waitress closed the tea-house and led him to her home. It wasn't far away. They reached the house a few minutes later. Sayo wasn't at home this evening. She had met an old friend and they probably would talk the whole night. Fuu manoeuvred the man upstairs and opened the door to her small room.

A futon laid in the middle of the room. The window was on the opposite side and you could see the ocean and the island where her father had died. A warm breeze came from it and it smelled like seawater, seaweed and the coming summer. The sun set and the horizon was painted in various shades of orange and red. On the left wall was a shelf with her few belongings and many books. A tanto with a pink lacquered sheath lay on top of a pink kimono.

"Lay down. I'm going to bring a bowl of water, bandages and salves. I'll be back in a minute." She pointed at the futon and left.

He sat down slowly and took off his shirt. The wound was still bleeding and he felt just slightly bad about ruining her blanket. He turned to lay on his back and to let her treat his injury. The stray closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. He put his hand behind his head and relaxed. Something only her nearness could do for him. He had tried to forget her and that lunatic journey but her picture would come to his mind every night.

She came back and put down the things she was carrying. She leaned over him and touched his wound very lightly. "Ouch" He opened his eyes and glared at her.

She knew him too well to be scared. "I'm sorry but I have to cleanse the wound and I'm afraid it has to be stitched up, too."

"Go ahead." He sighed and closed his eyes again. He felt her gentle but determined hands on his abdomen and wound. It hurt a lot and he tried to not to groan in pain that often.

She had to shudder nearly every time when he was flinching. While she was washing out the towel she took the time to examine his body with her eyes. He was thinner than before and had some new scars. The girl suppressed the desire to touch those which she knew that her journey had caused him. She took needle and thread. "I'm going to start now."

He nodded and readied himself. The pain was blazing but she put a salve on it and the pain eased. He lifted himself a few inches to help her with the bandages when he felt a droplet of water on his chest. He opened his eyes and looked at her face.

"Oy, why are you crying?" This wasn't good, he never knew how to deal with her tears. What was it the woman had said to him two years ago? Dammit, he couldn't remember.

"I've missed you since that day." The girl sobbed. She couldn't help it and she still didn't know how to tell him that she loved him. Would it scare him away forever?

"It would have been better if you had forgotten me." The man muttered. He had tried to stay away from the town, from her, but he always ended up in the outskirts. He refused to go to the tea-house and left as fast as he came here. But this time, there was this idiot who wanted to have his money. He still didn't know how this scum managed to hit him but he made sure that this was the last thing he ever did. Her anger got the better of her and she put a little bit more pressure on the bandage than needed. "Ouch. Be careful, will ya?"

"BAKA. How am I supposed to forget you when you come back to me?" She screamed and wept bitterly.

"Did you really try to forget me?" He screamed back angrily and slightly desperate.

"How could I? I love you." She blurted out. Both of them looked at each other in surprise.

"Do you really love me, not fishface?" He was shocked.

She nodded and hid her face in her hands. He didn't know if this feeling was love he felt at this very moment. But he lifted his arms and pulled her down. He had the urge to hold her tight and never let her go again.

Her voice was muffled. "Are you going to leave now?"

"No, I'm going to stay with you. Whether you like it or not." It sounded like a threat but it was the nicest thing she had ever heard him say. She lifted her head and smiled at him.

"I don't mind."