I rushed through the forest on a mission. I had finally learned of the bastard's location, and this time, I wouldn't lose him. I've been searching for this motherfucker for decades now. It's been so difficult because he knows I'm after him. How? I'm not really sure, but that doesn't matter.
I jumped from branch to branch, growing closer and closer to him. I heard the struggle and hoped that I wasn't too late, but when the scent of blood wafted through the air below me, my vision went red with rage.
"He is not dead." I ground out, jumping down from my perch and onto the ground. I stalked up to the scene, blood boiling higher and higher.
My target lay on the ground, covered in blood. His blood. Above him stood a dark looking man with wild, dark hair. He laid his sword across one shoulder and looked uninterestedly down at the body.
"You.. what have you done!?" I yelled, running toward them. The man looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
"A lover?" He said simply.
I screamed through clenched teeth and held my head, sinking down to the ground. My hands were shaking with anger. All this time I spent chasing down the bastard, across oceans even, and I simply didn't get here soon enough?! This is unacceptable.
"Mugen!?" A shrill voice yelled as two others emerged from the forest.
A girl and a samurai.
The samurai simply looked down at the body and 'hnn'ed. It pissed me off.
They were speaking among themselves. The girl was yelling at the one called Mugen. Something about how he was supposed to have been gathering money for something.
"Who's this?" The girl asked.
Mugen shrugged. "Dunno. She just showed up and freaked out. Must be a lover of that guy." He nudged his chin toward the bastard's dead body.
The girl gave him a look. "That guy? No way. He's so old..."
I threw a rock at him, which he dodged easily, but while he was avoiding the rock, I sprinted in front of him and unsheathed my sword.
'Where in the- Where did that sword come from?' Fuu thought.
I held my sword to his throat, completely aware of the fact that he had twisted his sword around so that the tip of his sword pressed against my abdomen.
"I'm not his fucking lover."
"Oh, yeah? Then why the hell are you so pissed?" He asked in a taunting tone.
"HE WAS MY PREY." I screamed.
His violent eyes widened slightly, only slightly. His surprise soon disappeared and he scoffed. "You snooze, you lose, bitch."
I pressed my sword into his throat, then pushed away and sent a kick toward his head. He easily dodged it, surprising me with his agility. He moved his body easily in a way I had never seen before.
"Look I'm not all that into hurting women." He said.
We stood across from each other, blades drawn, like two snakes waiting to strike.
"HEY!" The girl yelled and ran between us with her arms wide. She was starting to really piss me off. Is she an idiot? "You can't kill him! He owes me a favor. When he's done, THEN you can kill him."
He scoffed. "As if she could."
I nearly growled, but pulled back. I glared angrily at him, eyes burning with a passion for killing. His eyes were almost just as dark and primal. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he was less than human. A promise? Does she really think a man like this would stick with her just because of a promise? How naive can you be...
"Tch." I scoffed and closed my eyes. "Then leave."
"Wha-" Mugen started. "Who the fuck do you think you are? Ordering me around like that-"
"Sure." The girl said.
"Fuu." Mugen growled.
She turned toward him and glared.
The samurai had been quietly observing the ordeal, but decided to say his input. "I agree with Fuu. We have more important things to deal with." He said. His voice was cold and distant, a lot different than that Mugen character. And the one named Fuu just emanated innocence.
Mugen sighed heavily and placed his sword into its holder on his back. Before he left, he glared at me once more.
When I was finally alone, I returned my sword back into its hidden place on my thigh underneath my yukata. If people saw a woman walking around with a katana, they would be too suspicious. Luckily for me, I'm no ordinary woman. I looked down at the body with a scowl, then bent over and reached into his clothing. I pulled out a small pouch, one that he had stolen from my family. It held a precious stone, the priceless stone my father had given to my mother. I tucked it into a pocket inside my sleeve and turned to walk away.
"May you get what you deserve in hell." My voice carried on the wind as I walked away.
"...something tells me we'll be seeing that woman again." Fuu said, breaking the silence. She walked behind Mugen and Jin.
Mugen grinned, holding his hands behind his head. "She was kinda hot."
Fuu gave him a sidelong glance. "You really do have weird taste in women..."
"Hnn. She was a beauty." Jin said.
"What?! You too?!" Fuu yelled.
"Something about her was different." Jin said.
Mugen nodded. "She wasn't the normal passive woman."
Fuu's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the fact that they were ignoring her.
Mugen smirked. "It's been a while since a woman was that pissed at me."
Jin smiled slightly and raised a hand to push up his glasses from the bridge of his nose.
'The woman in a green yukata with leaves on it... come to think of it, we didn't even get her name.' Fuu thought as she looked up at the sky. "Usually, women don't wear their hair down like that." She said absentmindedly.
"Usually, women don't carry a sword." Jin said.
"Yeah, where the fuck did that come from." Mugen said, lowering his hands. "It's like she just pulled it from nothing." His eyebrows furred in annoyance.
"Maybe we just didn't notice?" Fuu asked.
Jin's eyes opened and he stared ahead of him. He knew better. Something about their newest acquaintance was definitely off.
"She was damn fast, too." Mugen smirked again, cupping a hand to his chin. "I kinda do wish we run into her again."
Fuu lightly glared at him. 'That pervert.'
The trio soon found themselves in front of a small restaurant.
Fuu looked dreamily at the dumplings that the other travelers were eating and held her stomach. "So hungry..." She turned to the two men who accompanied her. "Do we have any money?"
Mugen gave her a bored, yet pointed look. "What do you think."
She sighed and hung her head. Suddenly, Jin pointed behind them. They looked up to find... the girl in the green yukata?
"YOU!" Mugen yelled and pointed an accusatory finger toward me. "You're stalking me, aren't you." He stomped toward me.
I looked disinterestedly at him and ate a dumpling off of the stick. "It was by chance. This time." I said. I glanced at Fuu and noticed her watching my dumplings.
That's how I ended up sharing a table with the three, even though I only fed two of them.
"COME ON." Mugen yelled.
"Fuck you." I said, biting into my fried squid.
His eyebrow twitched. He looked around at Fuu and Jin, who were both enjoying their food. He quickly snatched a skewer full of dumplings from Fuu's plate, ignoring her protest, and gobbled them down before she could fight him on this.
"Dammit. This isn't fair." He whined.
I glared at him. "Oh? You know what else isn't fair?" I started, then threw my empty skewer at him, watching it bounce off of his forehead. I slammed my hand down on the table and stood, leaning over the table in front of him. "YOU KILLED MY PREY." I yelled.
"FOR FUCK SAKE WOULD YOU LET IT GO!?" He also stood, yelling in my face.
While we bickered, Fuu and Jin continued eating their food that I bought them out of the kindness in my heart.
'Again with referring to the man as prey..' Jin thought, observing me without my knowledge. 'A woman who carries a sword, which seemingly appeared out of no where, knows how to use it well, and wears her hair down. Prey.' His eyes squinted with suspicion. 'Besides that, why does she know how to fight so well.'
I sat down with a huff, while Mugen mimicked my action. He glared at me, breathing heavily after yelling for so long.
The shop keeper was an old, kind man. He walked up to us and smiled awkwardly. "Miss, is everything okay?"
I giggled. "Of course. Thank you for your concern." I smiled, dismissing his worry.
Mugen stared at me as if I had grown another head. "Oi, what the fuck is wrong with you. You have two personalities or some shit?"
Fuu sighed heavily. "Can you two just shut up already."
Mugen and I glared at her. "You're a real pain in the ass." We both said. Our eyes widened and we glanced at each other before turning away.
Fuu laughed. "Looks like you do have something in common."
Fuu and Mugen sat aruging about their next destination, while Jin sat smoking a kiseru. I held my chin up by my hand.
"So what's up with you three." I said absentmindedly. "A ronin, a young girl, and an idiot-"
"OI." Mugen yelled.
"You're an odd bunch... How'd you even meet?" I finished.
"Well, these two made me a promise." Fuu said.
"Ah, again with this promise thing..." I said.
"I'm looking for the samurai who smells of sunflowers, and Mugen and Jin are going to help me." She finished with a smile.
Fuu and I sat across from each other, chatting mindlessly. Mugen leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes, while Jin sat comfortably on the other side of the table.
"So, Saya, is it? Why are you travelling alone?" Fuu asked, peaking the interest of both men. "And why were you so interested in that man?"
My eyes grew dark. "My family is dead. That man killed them all." I said, sipping my drink.
The room grew silent. I rested my chin on my hand and gazed out of the door, eyes dark and far away.
"I had been tracking him for... a while. I finally caught him-" I turned a glare toward Mugen. "But it seems he got there first."
His eyes were surprised from the mention of the death of my family, but he returned to his usually wild demeanor. "Tch." He looked away.
"I have decided on my revenge. Since you killed my prey, I will kill yours." I said, still staring at Mugen.
"Well, sucks for you because I have none." He smirked.
"Except Jin." Fuu said.
My eyes widened and in an instant I was behind Jin with a dagger to his throat. This one was hidden along my left forearm. It was nestled in a flat, metal sheath, which I also used to protect against the swing of a sword during battle. It was much smaller, but sharp enough to cut through even bone.
Mugen abruptly stood and unsheathed his sword. "NO FUCKING WAY. I'm the one who's gonna kill that bastard!" He yelled, stomping toward me.
My blade glistened as I moved it tighter to his throat. "What was it that you said? 'You snooze you lose'?" I smirked.
Fuu slammed a hand down on the table and stood. "ABSOLUTELY NOT." She yelled, throwing all of us off guard. "I told you. These two promised me something! You can kill them after, but there will be no blood shed before!"
I lowered my blade in exasperation as Mugen did the same. We stared pointedly at Fuu.
"You can't possibly believe that an ex-con and a ronin will uphold this promise of yours." I said blankly.
Mugen gave me a look, but didn't speak.
"They will." Fuu said simply as she said back down. "Because I saved their lives."
I blinked, eyes widening. "You?" I said in surprise.
We ended up returning to our spots as Fuu told me the story.
I stared pointedly at Jin and Mugen, then back at Fuu. "How about I kill them both, then help you find this sunflower samurai."
Mugen's anger flared. "You sure have a big mouth for such a small bitch." He growled.
Jin also gave me a nasty look. "Indeed."
I smirked. "Don't underestimate me." I winked at them.
"Hey, so what are you going to do now? Go back home?" Fuu asked, tilting her head in line of sight to get my attention.
I blinked. "I don't have a home." I said simply.
"Hm." She looked down. "Where are you from?"
"Okinawa." I said simply.
Jin and Mugen gave me a surprised glance. Ryukyu?
"Wh-what? Seriously?" Fuu gasped.
"It's not that bad in certain areas." I shrugged.
"I'll take your word for it..."
We grew quiet, then Mugen rose, followed by Jin. "Let's go, Fuu." Mugen said.
She glanced up at them, then back at me. She fidgeted with her fingers, then looked up at me. "Why don't you come with us?"
"WHAT!?" Mugen yelled.
"Shut up, Mugen!" Fuu yelled at him. "She can obviously help us!"
"HOW?" He protested.
"We wouldn't go hungry." Jin said, obvious to the fact that I had a good amount of money on me.
"Then that settles it!" Fuu smiled. "You're welcome to join us."
I crossed my arms and stared at them.
I really can't tell you why I agreed... At first, I had decided it was because I wanted to make sure those two wouldn't get themselves killed, so I could do it. But, part of me knew it was because of my curiosity with the brash, tanned one with the blue bands on his arms and ankles.