"好きな人を忘れようとするなんてことは、知らない人を覚えようとするのと同じだ"*(See A/N at bottom for translation)
-Anonymous.
Fuu sat up from where she'd been resting for the past few hours, with her two useless bodyguards in the nearby springs bathing. In the middle of the tiny shack where they were staying at, sat a fire that illuminated the whole space. As she brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, she could see some tattered up material lying near Mugen's sword.
After several minutes of staring at the material, it looked to have some writing on it. Fuu stood up and scurried over to it, she crouched down and carefully unfolded the old material. Just as she suspected, there were two characters written out on the paper. Yasu, the character meaning gentle, and Haru, the character meaning spring.
"There's no way Mugen could have written this, he barely learned how to read and write a few weeks ago and this looks super old…" the young girl mumbled off to herself, her slender fingers ran over the ink soaked characters.
"You stupid bitch, didn't yer momma ever tell ya' to stay outta of people's things." Mugen's voice was loud and pissed.
She spaced out and let her mind wander, she hadn't noticed her two companions come in from their bath. With a quick yank, the material was out of her grasp and in the hands of its owner, Mugen.
"Oh you're one to talk, you go through my stuff all the time! What's that anyway, and who's Yasuharu?" Fuu jumped up and crossed her arms, making the two looked like an old married couple at war.
While the pair were at each other's throat, Jin inspected the cloth as best as he could, but he wasn't able to get a good look because Mugen still had it in his grasp. The bespectacled man recognized the material to come from the other side of Edo, where the trio had originally come from. It was usually used in smaller villages, as it was cheaper and easier to make.
Mugen noticed Jin inspecting the material and shoved it into his pants. "I don't gotta answer none of yer stupid questions, ain't nobody for you to worry about."
Fuu smiled, her index finger tapped her chin. "Ohh~ It must be an old girlfriend, I didn't peg you for the romantic type that would carry old keepsakes around.".
Both Fuu and Jin knew Mugen was anger-prone and impulsive with his actions but when he grabbed the collar of Fuu's clothing, both were put off guard. His face had twisted into an expression that they'd never seen; it was different from his usual anger, it was almost...regretful.
"You should learn when to shut yer trap." Giving a push, Mugen let her collar go.
With not so much as a grunt, Mugen slammed the door to the shack open, only to slam it shut when he was outside. He mentally slapped himself when he realised he had left his sword inside. That wasn't like him at all, although he was never completely himself when that name came up.
As he sat on the hot rocks next to the springs, the sun was beating down on him like a day he'd long forgotten or tried to at least. Long before he met his two traveling companions, there was someone else, someone who cursed his mind.
"Yasuharu, what a pansy name to match that stupid ass pansy." He leaned back and sprawled out on the heated rock, one hand resting behind his head and the other hand held up the ink soaked material. The characters were so steady and neat. Mugen set the material over his head, covering most of his face.
苦あれば楽あり *
Mugen had never seen such a voluptuous garden even back on Ryukyu island; the fruits and vegetables were begging to be eaten. The only problem was the house the garden was attached to, storm shutters wide open with the house having a clear view of the greens. Mugen supposed it wasn't a problem but more of an inconvenience if he had to kill the people living inside.
The vagrant's stomach begged in the form of a loud growl, at this point he didn't care if someone saw him. With swift movements he tore and pulled at anything that looked edible, his cheeks were soon filled with a mixture of dirt and raw vegetables and it was hitting all the rights spots. He hadn't eaten in more than a day and had no intentions of starving, it was obvious to him that the garden would have to do for now.
"At least wash it off before you eat it, dirt can't taste good with those yams." a voice called out, the tone almost matching the tone of the cool breeze that day.
Mugen jerked his head to face who he assumed lived in the house. A young… Man? The stranger looked like he could be easily taken out, with Mugen quickly moving for his sword and pulled it out.
"If ya' call for the cops, ya' won't live to finish calling out for 'em." Mugen choked down what food was in his mouth and glared at the young man.
"No use in calling them, all you're doing is eating. The police would probably be angrier with me for calling on such a stupid reason. I feel like it might be a bigger crime if I only offer you uncooked table scraps." Brown eyes met Mugen's, his voice was irritating Mugen for some reason.
Mugen didn't quite get what the other was saying, tilting his head without moving his sword an inch. "I don't got time for this meaningless jabbering, we gonna' fight or you gonna' let me go?" Mugen's voice was much harsher than his counter.
"How about you let me serve you a meal, I live in this place all by myself and eating alone is no good. Plus you look like you could use a good meal. I give away what fruit and vegetables I don't use so you didn't do anything wrong. Please join me." A lighthearted smile grew on the stranger's face as he moved towards his home, almost like he didn't fear Mugen would strike him.
Mugen watched him pass and walk into the house out of view, only to return moments later with a bowl of water and cloth. He kneeled on the engawa and held the bowl out. Mugen hadn't lowered his sword but moved it in the homeowners direction.
"And what's that for?" Mugen spat out, it could have been poisonous for all he knew.
"It's water to wash your mouth out with, you ate quite a bit of dirt and you wouldn't be able to taste my magnificent cooking with the taste in your mouth." As he spoke, the stranger almost looked like he was laughing.
Mugen didn't move, even after his counter stopped talking. No way was he going to drink something this guy gave him without testing it. Just as he thought that, it was as if the hands holding the bowl read the criminal's mind because the bowl was soon lifted to soft lips as the unknown person drank a sip of the water.
"I wouldn't go to all the trouble of inviting you to eat just to kill you minutes later." The voice sounded more serious than before. Mugen's eyes were glued to the damp lips as they moved, a hot meal was sounding better and better.
He lowered his sword and pushed it into the sheath, if anything happened Mugen would strike the other down in a heartbeat.
"My name is O-Yasuharu." The soft voice trailed off as he finished his introduction.
Mugen scanned Yasuharu, from head to toe wondering how the prissy looking guy had survived on his own. He opened his mouth but was hesitant whether he was going to give out his name so easy. Instead of saying anything, the Ryukyu native held the bowl to his mouth and swished the water around. After cleansing his mouth of the dirt, he set the empty bowl next to its owner.
"You can call me Mugen, I ain't ever had someone offer me nothin' for free so if you try a damn thing I won't mind killin' ya'." His statement was nothing but true, yet Yasuharu responded with a smile.
Yasuharu hadn't gotten many chances to open his home to guests, but he wouldn't do it on such a whim. It was the condition Mugen looked to be in that had tugged at the young homeowner's sympathy.
Mugen was guided by the other into the house, the vagrant's dark eyes scaled Yasuharu's fragile back. Long brown hair fell just above the petite stranger's waist, it was almost sickening for Mugen to look at. It would be so easy to just deal with him right then and there. Chapped hands twitched at Mugen's sword, but he wouldn't touch it.
"How'd ya' get this place all to yerself, ya' don't look old enough to have this cushy place without a mommy and daddy around to spoil ya'." Mugen was finally shown to the dining area attached to the kitchen, sitting upon a floor cushion for the first time in his life when presented the option to do so.
Yasuharu didn't reply as he placed a bowl of rice in front of the vagrant, he wasn't particularly fond of the question asked but didn't want to be rude to his guest.
"My parents have both passed away, this home and garden outside belonged to my father. I try my best to live up to my father's gardening skills, but I'm not quite as good."
Mugen was only half listening as grilled fish was placed at the center of the table and pickled daikon cut into slices placed next to his bowl of rice. Without a response to his host, he started stuffing his mouth, since he hadn't eaten a full meal in weeks and couldn't control himself.
The meal was eaten in silence, neither one of them knew what to say. It almost seemed like a crime to break the soothing silence. Mugen's dark eyes focused on Yasuharu, the other's attention focused on what he was eating so the criminal could study his expression without fear of Yasuharu noticing. Once both finished their meals, Mugen leaned back and rubbed his stomach. He'd eaten more than he should have and his stomach felt like it expanded three times its normal size.
The vagrant's eyes watched Yasuharu gather the dishes and clear the table.
"Yer mommy and daddy kicked the dirt, so why don't ya' have this place filled with broads every night to keep you company?"
Yasuharu pressed his lips together, hands gripping the fabric of his kimono. "Taking care of the home, garden, and my daily needs requires most of my time, leaving no room for companions of that sort."
Mugen moved from his floor cushion to lay on his side, using his pinky nail to clean his teeth. Dark eyes narrowed at the back of the homeowner, his gut was telling him something was up with Yasuharu.
"So screw the whole housewife act, not like anyone's around to check up on you anymore. Seems like a waste of time, when you could be out making money and taking care of some other needs."
Mugen watched for Yasuharu's reaction, his hand had slowly traveled to his sword mid-sentence. Although the vagrant was expecting a bad reaction from the fragile-looking man, he felt shocked to see no reaction what-so-ever.
Yasuharu's back gave off an almost lonely feeling as he finished cleaning any trace of food. The room was silent for several minutes after Mugen finished his question, which caused the swordsman wanting to leave. As he sat up and prepared to do so, he heard the soft, breeze-like voice speak up.
"Because I belong nowhere else."
At that point, Mugen was standing, his dark eyes scaled the back of the other's head. Behind closed lips, his teeth grind together and his hand twitched. The sudden urge to reach out and grab a handful of Yasuharu's neat hair was making its way to his hand. The only movement Mugen made was to turn and start walking away.
Mugen stopped inches from the edge of the engawa by Yasuharu grabbing his arm-the vagrant surprised to feel the strength of the grip.
"From what I can gather you have nowhere to go and I have many rooms in this house, so I think you should stay here for the night."
Mugen looked back, his eyes examining Yasuharu's expression. He looked like he was almost begging Mugen to stay, not that the criminal cared. Mugen's brow furrowed. This prissy brat was pissing him off more and more.
A/N:
/ Dès Vu : The Awareness That This Will Become A Memory /
ETYMOLOGY
From French dès vu, "seen as soon as" or "seen from this point forward." Like déjà vu, but in the reverse order—already remembering something as you're living it.
/ Translations /
"好きな人を忘れようとするなんてことは、知らない人を覚えようとするのと同じだ" - "Trying to forget someone you love is like trying to remember someone you never met"
苦あれば楽あり * - After rain comes fair weather.
Engawa - the wooden deck of traditional Japanese homes.
Thank you for reading! This is a six-part prologue for a longer Samurai Champloo fic. The sequel to Dès Vu will be posted after I have completely finished and posted this. Constructive Criticism welcome.
XOXO