Warning: Shonen-ai (and perhaps some yaoi in upcoming chappies) so if you don't like boy x boy, don't read

the pairing should be obvious... -stares at blank faces- ...MugenJin... baka...

The night whispered of dark secrets as the moon, piercing a hole in the sky, bathed the roads in a gentle silver light. Things had happened that day that could not be undone; Things that would be regretted forever. The seconds ticked by as drop after drop of crimson fell to the earth. His legs trembled. He stumbled. He coughed. And all over him, tiny roses blossomed, painting streaks of red across his bare chest. His breath came out short and his vision blurred. He was reaching his limit… no, he probably already did. But he couldn't fall… not now, not here.

Somewhere in the shadows, a figure rustled past, leaving behind an echoing laugh, soft and menacing. Where was he? In what direction was he coming from? Mugen no longer knew… He tried to focus his senses, tried to pinpoint the laughter, tried locate something, anything… but it was all too dark and his mind was all too numbed by the pain shooting through his body. Was this really the end?

There was a low hum, a whistle of wind, two quick steps, and before anything could register, a silent blade sliced a trail of rose petals down the samurai's back. It all took no more than a second yet it took Mugen until his body gave out and he found himself on the ground, gaze traveling aimlessly down the endless road, to finally understand the state his body was in. An indescribable pain shot up his spine as the blood gushed out. He would have screamed had he any energy left but instead, his mind shut down, dropping him into a peaceful darkness.

- - - - -

The wind rapped violently against the windows, throwing massive raindrops against the glass. Pounding. Pounding. How long had it been? An hour? Two? Fuu sighed, looking despairingly at the outside world. She didn't like storms. But what she didn't like even more was being stuck in a dark, candle-less room with her silent samurai companion while there was a storm. It made everything seem so lonely. Compared to when they first started their journey, Jin had indeed opened up and become a lot less taciturn and aloof, but today, he was back to being his old self… perhaps even worse than his old self, if that was possible.

Heaving another great sigh, Fuu turned away from the window and stared into the shadowy darkness of the room. Somewhere in the far corner was a blotch of black, barely noticeable amidst all the grays. Cross-legged as always, Jin had been sitting there ever since last night and never once had he moved an inch. His expression was blank, his posture slightly slouched, and his eyes fixed rigidly on the hilt of his sword. Earlier, Fuu had tried to spoon-feed him some lunch since she figured they'd probably go hungry again once they left, but to no avail. The ronin didn't spare her a single glance and she wasn't about to pry his mouth open to make him eat.

To make things worse, Mugen still hadn't come back. He had run off some time last night. In fact, everything had started last night and Fuu was certain that it was not just a coincidence. Something must've happened between the two. Something really bad. She could tell just by the way Jin was acting.

Sure, he was silent all the time and so, this shouldn't have seemed abnormal in any way. But there was something…odd about his silence today. Fuu could feel it. Unlike his usual indifferently composed silence – this silence was that of extreme bitterness and misery mixed with a hint of regret. It was such an odd clash of emotions and for such an emotionless guy, that she couldn't help but notice.

"Jin…" Fuu paused and shook her head. It was useless. She had already tried to break his deathlike demeanor a thousand times over but all in vain. It wasn't likely to start working now. Silently, she turned back to the window and stared out at the rain-drenched town once more, which now seemed to melt with each new wave of rain.

- - - - -

Jin's gaze had not wandered a millimeter since the end of last night's ordeal. It was the same stitch in the same seam of the same cloth that bound the same hilt of the same sword. But then again, it was because he wasn't truly seeing anything. His eyes, his ears, his nose… everything had been shut down and his soul had burrowed deep inside himself, using his body as a line of defense against showing the pain that was welling up in his heart. It was all Mugen's fault, that rash idiot of a samurai who never used his brains. Of course, he didn't think he was wrong… that man never did.

Thinking back, Jin tried again and again to remember how it had all started. Where had their conversation tripped? And every time, he failed to recall. Fights were always like that. They never had beginnings, only endings of hurt and hate and regret.

"So, you still love her?" Mugen asked, his tone, one of forced nonchalance. But there was nothing the ryuukyu-born could hide from Jin. Just one look in his eyes and the ronin knew everything.

"And you?" Jin asked steadily, sitting in his normal cross-legged fashion.

"What about?" The brown-haired samurai grunted.

Jin looked him over with his naturally composed countenance but, like Mugen, there was a hidden tension in his eyes, "All those prostitutes you've slept with?"

"That's different," Mugen said, waving away the accusation as if it was no more than a fly, "it's…" he scratched his head "…not love."

"Then what is it?"

"…fun."

"Fun?"

The ryuukyu-born took a deep breath, "Don't make it sound so bad."

"So it's good?"

"…what's your point?"

"I…" Jin's gaze slipped away from the brown-haired samurai. After a moment's pause, "What's yours?"

Mugen shrugged, "Nothing. I just wanna know… you still love her, don't you?"

"Why do you want to know?"

There was an awkward silence.

"You…" Mugen pulled himself off the floor and walked around the room a bit "…still owe me that gold." But what was supposed to lighten up the atmosphere came out sounding strange and out of place.

"You've never been in love, have you?"

"Been in love? Of course I have."

"No, you haven't. Otherwise, you'd know that…it's not easy to forget."

"Who said anything about forgetting?"

Jin paused "…why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you always bring her up? What's Shino got to do with you?"

"You don't know?"

"No."

"Don't play dumb."

"I'm not."

Mugen turned towards the other man, diving into his eyes for the truth behind his ignorance. Did he really not know? An inexplicable anger rose in Mugen, "Damn you! Don't fuck around with me!" Pulling Jin up by the collar of his kimono, he slammed the ronin into the wall, "Do you still love her? Tell me! Tell me, you bastard!"

Jin glared back with the same intensity and said simply, "Let go of me, Mugen."

But the brown-haired samurai didn't. "Do you still love her?" he repeated.

For a moment, the two lost themselves in all the anger and irritation building up in each other's eyes. "Why do you want to know? You still haven't told m-"

Without warning, without a single word, and fueled by all too much frustration, the ryuukyu-born pushed his lips onto Jin's. Caught up in a moment's surprise, the ronin's mouth slackened letting Mugen's tongue through. For what seemed like forever, but was probably only a matter of seconds, they were tangled in a fit of passion, Mugen deepening the kiss until it was more painful than fervent. Months of irritation and unfathomable rage came crashing down on Jin and just when the ronin began to grasp what was happening, Mugen pulled away. Without a glance, the ryuukyu-born turned and ran.

What had started so abruptly, had ended all too soon… Was left hanging… Unfinished. Had he really left? Just like that? Not a word. Not a glance. Gone? Jin found himself standing against the wall in a dumbfounded silence. Shocked. Confused. …scared. Waiting. Waiting. The seconds ticked by until what had happened turned into little more than a dream-like shred of memory. With his back still pressed against the wall, Jin slid down to the floor and fell back into his cross-legged position.

What? Why? Even now, Jin could not understand any of it. Do you still love her? It echoed in his mind. Why should Mugen care so much? And to… to kiss him? What had it all been about? Somewhere in the back of his mind, it had probably already clicked but the ronin couldn't find where. Was he in denial? And if so, of what?

A/N: ACK! -covers head for the incoming shower of tomatoes, shoes, fish, and other miscellaneous objects- Plz don't kill me! I know I know, it seems I've killed Mugen but -audience prepares to fire- M-MATTE! Onegai! Take notice of the word "seems". Yes, and look at what I've written at the very top... yeeeeeeees... wakateru?

Jin: (prepares to unsheath sword)

Me: okokok! So my hinting wasn't as clear as I thought it'd be... To put it simply: Mugen is NOT dead. This is only the first chapter of a fairly long story (hopefully) Plz bare with me here and wait patiently for the next installment...

Oh and reviews would be nice though I don't think this is long enough to review... (T-T)

oh and by the way, this has not been beta'd so I bet it's really bad. I already see a paragraph that needs major editing...xP but we all know how lazy I can be... well if you spot an error or find the paragraph I'm talking about andhave some advice, plz tell me. Critique is more than welcome on this one :oD

-Ai