--Devotion--

"I'll see you around."

Those were the last words spoken before they all went their separate ways. Somehow, in the depths of their subconscious, they all knew where they would all wind up, after all.

She walked slowly back the way from which they had all come, knowing that eventually, she would reach her old village where it all started. She walked back, along the same roads, crossed the same plains, and passed by the same shops. She didn't stray one bit from the original route; she wanted to take in every single memory they had shared while walking that path. She wanted to relive it, in a sense. And that led her back to the beginning, to the only place she felt truly welcome and at peace. She was ready to normalize her life, but she wasn't aware that she was straying away from the man she loved. And she didn't realize it until that night.

He roamed wherever his feet would take him, but he wanted to go to a certain little village. He wanted to go there so badly it nearly ached, knowing he'd feel at ease upon his arrival, but as a felon, he felt he shouldn't take any chances. He was thinking of going somewhere east, although he knew that he didn't have many options regarding hospitality, and sure as hell wasn't going near that damned island. He wanted to believe that he didn't care if he went back to that little village of hers, but somewhere in that ridiculously hard head of his, he knew that he did. So that's why he decided, at the last minute, to take a right at the crossroads instead of a left like he had planned. He took a chance. Because she really was all that mattered…but he denied it until that night.

And as for him, he followed. He, too, was a drifter, like the other man, but he had gotten so used to being in the midst of allies that he simply couldn't walk away from it. Not even having gone a hundred meters, he stopped dead in his tracks, realizing what and who he was parting from. The man knew that he would only find trouble wherever he was going anyway, so he did the first thing that came to mind. It wasn't his style, but he did it. He sprinted back to the crossroads where they separated, and followed either one of the two, desperate for company. At that moment he decided he was going to be the observer. And he did so until that night.

These three people, with such different ways of going about themselves -such different personalities- became friends, despite their never-ending differences. But things change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, and they were all aware that changes would be happening, but they didn't know what exactly was going to change. Neither of them knew that there was an undefinable bond amongst them that would eventually trigger a myriad of emotions, ranging from positive to negative to completely unexpected. That's why that night was unaccountably important.

And somehow, it proved to be one of the most meaningful nights either of them had ever had.

As soon as she set foot on the battered cobblestone steps, Fuu breathed in the clean evening air of her village. It had taken her several days to get here, and to be able to finally rest comfortably was a gift.

'Ahhh…' she sighed, and continued walking. She was exhausted, but relieved at the same time.

Everything was familiar; the shops, the homes, the song of the crickets, the people -some of which acknowledged her and welcomed her back- and she loved it. She loved familiarity. It was good to be somewhere she could at least consider home, where there were people who knew her. Now that the Daikan and his son were gone -and, ironically enough, both of their deaths of which Stupid Jerk Mugen and Fish Face Jin were ultimately responsible for- the village was free of harsh tax demands and bankruptcy. The town just never bothered with politics after that, so they had no Daikan, which was rather rare. Though it was definitely better than when Fuu was still with Kikuzo and Ogin, the teahouse owners.

Things had really changed here, but even so, it was the same. It simply lacked the corruption and injustice it had had before her journey, which started five months ago.

Five months. Nearly half a year. They had been traveling together for so long, but…it felt far shorter than Fuu would have liked.

'Hey. Make way, miss. We've got to get through.'

Fuu immediately got off Cloud Nine, and realized she was right in the middle of the road, daydreaming…already.

Two middle-aged men pulling a wooden wagon filled with goods were glaring at her, clearly in a hurry.

'Oh! Um, my bad!', she apologized, jumping to the side of the road hastily. She flashed them a sheepish smile, but they merely shook their heads in return.

'Damn youngsters these days…' she heard one of the men mumble. She puffed her cheeks and then stuck her tongue to the man's back as they were speeding off. Fuu sighed and continued on walking.

'Is it ever good to be back,' she said to herself, as she stretched her arms above her head blissfully.

She passed by several restaurants and nearly swooned when she smelled the medley of aromas, and, having her endless pit of a stomach, suddenly felt incredibly hungry.

'Oh, am I ever starving. I don't even have enough ryo to buy food. God, I'm going to have to find some work soon, or else...'

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

'Fuu! Fuu, is that you?'

The said girl whipped her head towards the source of the shouting, and scanned the massive crowd, wondering who it could be, when suddenly she saw Ogin's daughter waving her over.

'Akiha!'

She sped up, and when Fuu got close enough she greeted her good friend with a warm embrace. She was like the older sister she never had. Akiha pulled back from the hug and grinned that wide grin of hers.

'I'd recognize that kimono anywhere. It's good to see you again. How've you been, love? Pops told me you went on a journey of your own, searching for someone. Did it go well?'

Fuu's heart sank at the last part, recalling the horrible scene where that awful beast of a samurai sliced her father in half right in front of her. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to will it away from her mind, and as she reopened them, said:

'Yeah. Yeah, it went okay. I found him in the end, so it's alright.'

But Akiha wasn't one to be fooled. Her expression tensed, sensing that something had gone wrong.

''It's alright'? Wait, what's 'alright'? Fuu, judging by the looks of you, it didn't go exactly as you had planned, did it?'

Fuu sighed. There was no use trying to hide things from Akiha.

'No. Not really. The person I was looking for was my father.' Akiha's eyes widened at this. 'He left me and mom to support some religion or something.… anyway, all I wanted to do was sock 'im, you know, for abandoning us, and especially when mom was sick. But then when I finally saw him, he was in such poor health, like mom was…all I could do was feel sorry for him. I just gave him a little speech; I couldn't hurt him. He was nearly blind, too.' She paused. 'Then that samurai came along and… and killed him. Just like that.'

Akiha seemed confused, worried, and sorry at the same time.

'Boy, that was a lot of information to register in forty seconds…' She quickly shook her head. Akiha wasn't quite too good with saying the right thing at the right time. 'It seems like you've had a really rough life during these past five months.'

She had. Fuu recalled all the times she had been kidnapped and taken hostage, which happened far more than she would have thought, and the times she had been scared half to death. Like when that creepy guy summoned those zombies from their graves, or…

Or when she nearly lost Mugen. Twice.

'Oi. Fuu? Daydreaming again, I see.'

Fuu snapped back to the present, slightly annoyed that she was capable of being distracted by her own thoughts so easily.

'Heh…yeah, I have had a pretty rough time.'

Akiha nodded. 'But I'm so sorry to hear about your father…it must've been horrible. I can't imagine going through something like that…watching a loved one die…'

Fuu considered the term 'loved one'. Of course there was a familial love between them, but Fuu hadn't known her father well enough at all to say she truly loved him for who he was. But she did know that he was a good man, regardless…she knew, despite him being a wanted, disgraced samurai.

'Well, it wasn't as bad as you might imagine. I never shared any memories with him, I never had a past with him… he was never in my life. That made it a bit easier to take. But then, I realized that my father had just been killed. Not just a sick old man, but my father. And that moment was also when I had truly become an orphan, which got me kind of depressed. But I had those two to help me cope…' she smiled, remembering Jin's consoling words, and Mugen… well, Mugen had his own way of going about it that made her smile all the same. Even though he was still a huge lanky jerkwad.

'I see. Well, at least you don't seem-'

A scream interrupted her sentence.

'Somebody, help! Thief! Thiiiiief!'

Fuu became alert. Thievery wasn't common in this part of town, so this was rather unsettling.

'Sounds like trouble, darling. I'm itching to go look,' Akiha stated enthusiastically.

'Oh, yes, because at the ripe age of thirty-two you're always ready for trouble.' Fuu giggled at Akiha's responding facial expression.

'Hmph. I'm readier than your average thirty-two year old. And besides, I look twenty. Now let's get moving!' And with that, she got a firm hold of Fuu's wrist and dashed through the sea of people, nearly dragging the young girl, heading this way and that, muttering ''Scuse me's and 'Pardon me's all the while. Fuu smirked; she acted so childish. If there was one thing Akiha was certainly good at, it was cheering people up.

When they finally got to the scene, which was completely filled with curious passers-by, they saw the same men who were handling the wagon earlier, with a nervous look on their faces. Straight across from them was a boy, in his mid-teens, holding many bags of goods from their stock, with his face plastered against the dirt road as a tall man was holding it down with his foot.

'If I ever catch you stealing again, young one,' the man said, 'I won't let you go unpunished. This time I spare you. Now if you'd kindly give those back-' he gestured towards the bags- 'I will let you leave as if nothing had happened.'

The boy grunted and, knowing that he didn't stand a chance against a samurai this strong, agreed.

'Alright, alright… take 'em.' He threw the bags, despite being forcefully held down, back onto the wagon with ease. The tall man lifted his foot, and the youngster scrambled to his feet and sped off, gaining sharp glances and harsh 'Tch's from the townspeople as he ran. The two men thanked the mysterious stranger and continued their work.

Only when Fuu had stopped being in denial did she realize that the man was not a stranger at all. She ran up to her black-haired friend and didn't know why she doubted it was him in the first place; she could recognize him from a mile away.

'Jin!'

At the mention of his name, he glanced over his shoulder, knowing who it was, and expressionlessly said:

'You're probably wondering why I'm here.'

Fuu was beyond surprised, and really, she didn't know why he had come, but she maintained a casual attitude.

'I know why. You couldn't leave me for even a minute because you're so dedicated, so you followed me back here,' she exclaimed jokingly.

Jin chuckled. Partly because her tone was amusing, and party because there was some truth to it.

'Oh, what have we here!'

Akiha stood behind them, raising an eyebrow.

'So, you two know each other, hmmm?'

Fuu nodded excitedly.

'Akiha, this is Jin, one of my-'

She was about to say 'traveling companions', but she knew that was no longer true. Instead, she finished with:

'…one of my friends.' Jin didn't show it, but he was happy to have someone call him a friend. Fuu knew it, too.

'Wait- was he one of the two bodyguards that travelled with you? But didn't you say your goodbyes when you left a few days ago?'

This time, Jin spoke.

'It was more difficult for me to part with them than I thought. After considering it, I decided that I had to go on with one of them… otherwise, I know I would have been alone once again, with no more purpose to fight, like before. So I decided to follow Fuu back here. After all, I am her protector.'

Fuu scowled, somewhat disheartened.

'So you only came back with me so you could still have a reason to fight? Jin! And I thought you were being nice.'

Jin shook his head lightly.

'I feel an everlasting need to protect you now, so I must be with you in order to carry out that duty, of course…however…'

Fuu gave him a questioning look.

'However what?'

Jin shook his head again.

'It's nothing,' he said in that vague manner of his, and quickly changed the subject. 'Well, now that we're together, we should find a lodging of sorts.'

'Not so fast, pretty boy!' Akiha took a grand step towards Jin and looked him straight in the eye. 'A strong, handsome samurai… I can't just let a man like that slip through my fingers!'

Fuu punched Akiha's shoulder, and the latter yelped in pain.

'Jeez, Fuu, could you hit me any harder?'

'He's been taken, Kiki. Don't try anything funny, or I'll just hit you harder.'

Akiha smirked at the use of the old nickname.

'He is, is he? I'm not surprised, really. I mean, with his looks…'

Jin said nothing, now clearly annoyed with Akiha. He also didn't like to be reminded of Shino… it would still be more than two and a half years until she'd be released from that Enkiri Dera*. But he couldn't afford to be wistful now. He ignored the obnoxious flirt and turned to Fuu. 'I am growing quite tired already. The long journey back here was exhausting. We could stay over there-' he gestured towards a small inn- 'and don't worry about the cost. I'll take care of that.'

'Okay,' Fuu agreed. 'Thanks. I'm pretty beat myself. We can figure out what we'll do from here in the morning. I just want to sleep.'

She faced Akiha, grinning like they did when they were younger.

'Well, it was great to see you again, I really missed you, Akiha.'

The said girl still wore that mischievous smirk, and said:

'Definitely, love. Glad to finally have you back." And with that, she turned around and walked down the opposite road, back to her small home.

Jin began walking towards the old hospice, but Fuu stopped him.

'Jin,' she began, 'I'm sorry I brought up Shino. I know you hate being reminded of her. But Akiha is too much sometimes, you know?"

'I know,' he interrupted coldly. 'Don't worry about it.' And he ended it there. He continued walking, and approached the front doors.

Fuu simply sighed. Of course, Jin was being his normal, emotionless self again. Sometimes he could be so unpredictable… not to mention a complete jerk, like that time he and Mugen abandoned her in the middle of nowhere, or when he wouldn't share any of the delicious European meat in Nagasaki. But she had to admit, for someone who had never had any friends before, he was a good one.

'Are you coming?' Jin looked at her, uncertain.

'Of course,' she smiled, and turned to follow him through the doors.

But before he stepped through the threshold, he stopped.

'Oh, and Fuu.'

'Yes?'

'I'll have you know that I am not fond of Akiha.'

* An Enkiri Dera is a temple of sorts where rehabilitating prostitutes, or rather, 'soiled doves', would like to gain freedom and/or get an annulment or divorce from their husbands. However, the women are required to stay there for three whole years before they can be released.

Hello, lovely readers.

I truly hope that you guys enjoyed reading the first chapter of Admission.
It's my first fanfic published on the net, so I'm a bit nervous about the quality... Eheh.
Any reviews are greatly appreciated. I love reading people's comments and critiques, so type whatever your heart desires, especially constructive criticism. I love that stuff.
So again, enjoy. My goal is to get at least 3 reviews before bringing up chapter 2. But if I feel nice, then I'll post it real soon for you.

YAY IMPROVEMENTS~
Thank you. :)

P.S. Just wondering - do you guys like Akiha? I tried to make her really enthusiastic, kind of a pick-me-up kind of girl- not to mention, symbolically, a piece of Fuu's past-
but if you aren't too fond of her like poor Jin, I can just kill her off.
:D