"Hey, you have to pay
for that!"
The shop keeper yelled out the door after a man,
whom was now running furiously down the street.
He had just run
out, not bothering to pay for his dumplings. One of many
dine-and-dash's for this young criminal.
Clopping his way down the
dirt road, his wooden shoes kicking up dirt, was Mugen, a stick of
dumplings hanging from the cornor of his mouth.
He wound past
carts and around buildings, his full belly bouncing up and down in
tune to his feet.
Skidding to a stop in an alley, he hastily
downed the remaining dumplings, placing the wooden sewer between his
teeth.
Picking back up a steady pace, he ran straight out of town,
hoping to get out of there soon. No doubt, the owner had called
gotten ahold of someone, who was no doubt tracking him down at this
very moment.
It would seem Mugen had gone back to his old ways
again. Though, he had never really gotten rid of them in the first
place.
Lately though, he had been out of trouble; no murders in
his name, and no new bounties strapped to his head.
Fuu and Jin
had helped set him a little bit straighter. Though his attitude and
actions would always remain well off the richter scale.
At the
edge of town, he came upon a forested area, dark, dense, and perfect
for hiding.
Stumbling a good ways through the underbrush, Mugen
slumped down nest to a tree, leaning back his shaddy head to stare up
at the treetops, clouds just visible through the tangled leaves.
It
had only been about a month since Mugen, Jin, and Fuu had departed,
and already Mugen was getting bored as hell.
Mugen burped crudely,
scratching his scruffy neck and face.
"Damn...nothing to do."
Mugen groaned, still panting a bit from his rapid escape.
Taking
out his sword, he plunged it into the tree next to him, watching it
wag back and forth.
Breathing in deeply, he suddenly
faultered.
Sniffing some more, he stood up, grabbing the hilt of
his sword and retracting it swiftly from the tree, sliding it
smoothly into its shieth at his side.
Walking thoruhg the wooded
area, he sniffed again, a familiar smell coming to
him.
"Sunflowers?"
Walking further on, he came to the
edge of the mass of trees, his eyes growing big.
Covering the
field in a golden sheen, were thousands of sunflowers, standing out
plainly against the backdrop of blue skys and trees.
Mugen stood
at the edge between the forest and the field, breathing in
deeply.
"Fuu..." he said quietly, taking a step into the
field.
He walked past the flowers, seeing Fuu's face at the center
of every one.
Crouching low, he leaned over one, studying it.
In
its center, he could just see Fuu's bright eyes staring back at him,
her soft hair framing her face, sweet smile and all.
Mugen shook
his head, scowling disappointedly.
How could he even think of her
like that?
"She doesn't even have boobs." he told
himself, staring up at the blue sky, every inch completely
cloudless.
Looking back at the flower, he kissed the yellow
petals, closing his eyes, thinking.
Rising to his feet again, he
whipped out his sword, swiping it swiftly at the stem, yanking the
flower up quickly before it fell.
Placing the stem through his
belt, he let the head stick out, turning it towards the blazing sun.
