A/N: Well the WS Challenge has begun and now I have time to take care about my other stories. This idea was reborn, thanks to re-watching the series on the University Anime Night…

I. Prologue: Fortune teller

The sun shone brightly down at the little village where most people busy with decorating they homes and the streets. Everywhere were red and white lanterns hung out together with white lotus flowers combined with red roses. Both colors bore a special meaning for the people living here so they wee careful to only pick the most beautiful ones for the big festivities. A little group of three people were making they way through the busy streets. The village was little and with no red light district in sight could Mugen not throw away the little money they had gathered for women. Meaning they had finally something which you could call a decent meal in nearly two weeks. The two men were still staying at the little inn by which they stopped seeing that Mugen spotted a few women by a nearby table and had dragged Jin with him like usually. Fuu could only sigh at this, but didn't bother dragging the unorthodox samurai back seeing that she felt curious as to what the townspeople were doing. So after paying for they food she made her way outside to ask around.

This was the ground why she had soon found herself helping a woman in her late thirties decorating her shop which sells flowers.

"Is there a praticular ground why the town gets decorated in red and white?" she asked curiously at which the woman only laughed softly.

"Yes, my grandmother used to tell me a legend, well you could say it is more of a tragical love story." she answered while trying to call forth the memories of the old story.

"A tragical love story?" Fuu asked.

"Yes, there long time ago lived a rough samurai who only lived by the rules of his sword. There was no enemy he couldn't cut down and some even said he was a demon in human disguise. "Fuu had in the meantime sat down, similarly to the woman, a bouquet of roses in her arms "Most man feared him, but one day he had met a young frail looking woman. She was the adopted daughter of a samurai in search for the murderer of her father. She wanted the man to help her find that person, not giving in to the harsh words or threats the other threw at her till he gave grudgily in. Though as time passed the two of them fell in love with the other. They married right in this town right out there by the stone pillar. "with that she pointed to the hill outside of the village where an old stone pillar stood as a silent observer of time "They happiness was sadly short lived with the young woman falling ill through a wound she received while they protected the town from bandits. Her husband stayed on her side till the end. It was exactly the next day after her death that the man come to the village his love had searched for so long. A high ranking aristocrat right out of the royal court. The samurai identified him by the cut on his right check and killed him. Doing so though he would have been sentenced to death, but before that he took the body of his wife, dressed her in to the clothes she wore on the day they met. He then clad himself in to hi clothes and brought her to the pillar and laid her down before kissing her on the lips and committing seppuku."

"What is seppuku?" Fuu asked, she remembered hearing it once in the past, but didn't know what it meant.

"Sepukku is a for of suicide used by samurai. It consists from plunging a sword, usually the samurai uses they own katana, through the abdomen and moving it in a slicing motion from left to right." at this the young woman gasped in horror from the images appearing in they mind. "Samurai use this willingly so that they can die with honor. After the man had committed this he fell beside his wife and cradled her with his last strength in his arms. When later the townspeople and the royal guards went to the pillar they only found white lotuses and red roses on they place. This is the ground why we celebrate they love each year on they death day."

"That is really a sad, but still romantic story. He loved his wife till the end and fulfilled her last wish." Fuu said as she hugged the flowers closer to her chest.

"Yes, do you know what these two flowers represent?" when the brunette shook her head the woman let out a soft laugh. "Red roses can represent love, longing and desire though they also mean respect, admiration, devotion. According to some of the older people you can even represent regret and sorrow with them. The lotus on the other hand is a symbol of purity, health, honor and good luck."

"I see."

"Thank you for your help by the way, I don1t know how I would have managed today alone." she said suddenly with a kind smile on her lips.

"Your welcome, it was fun here." Fuu replied smiling.

"I'm glad to hear dear. Will you stay here for the festival or continue your journey?"

"I'm not sure, I still need to talk about this with my two traveling companions." the flower seller nodded in understanding before giving her two little bouquets, one containing four roses while the other four lotuses.

"Uh…anou…"

"I thought by the way you looked while listening to the story that you might want to take some flowers out to the pillar." come the reply to the young girl's confused look.

"Ah, yes I would really like that. Then I'm on my way." and with that she started running away waving to the other.

It was nearly a two hours marsh from the little village to the stone pillar, but Fuu thought that it was worth it. Sure she was somewhat tired, but when she looked back the view presented in front of her hazel eyes was amazing. From here seemed the village as if it self would be a large bouquet of the two flower types she was still holding in her arms. Turning away from the village she hastily made the remaining few steps up to the stone and laid the flowers carefully on the ground. Closing her eyes she murmured a soft prayer her mother had once taught her when she was little, the story of the lovers still present in her mind. It was sad that in the end they both died, but they love had touched her heart. Would she find also love when her journey had long since ended? She was not sure, as Mugen liked to point out was she not the prettiest of women even if she was still young and had time to develop. The thought of Mugen and his constant teasing brought a sense of annoyance over her. She would show him and become a desirable woman one day and then she would laugh in to his gapping face. Yes, that will be so much fun.

"I see that you are the first one this year to bring flowers to the lover's grave." said suddenly an elderly voice from behind her startling Fuu.

"Ahh…" she gasped before whirling around.

"I didn't mean to startle you my child." the old woman said kindly as she looked over at the flowers. "I always come up here shortly when dawn breaks and wait for the first person to arrive with the two flowers." she explained as she moved from beside the stone, silver gray hair falling softly over sea blue eyes.

"Why do you wait here each year for the first person to arrive?" Fuu asked a bit curiously.

"You see my dear child, I'm a fortune teller and ever since my grandmother's dynasty we come out her to met the person each year who first comes to pay they respect to the lovers. As a little thank you we tell that person about they future." and with that she pulled out a worn pack of cards out of the sleeve of her deep blue kimono.

"Ah, well…I don't exactly believe in such things." she replied a bit uneasily.

"You are a strong girl who is on a long journey to find a part of her past which she had lost many years ago. Fate has given you two companions on your side through a chance meeting. Even thought they don't know that the man you seek is the one whose blood you bear in your veins." Fuu stared at this with wide eyes at the old woman. How could she know? "I see now you believe me."

"You can really see in to the future with your cards?" she asked finally.

"Yes, this was a gift from the Moon God himself to our family long ago. Now my child should I tell you about your future?"

"Yes please tell me." her voice become tick with excitement, hope and a slight fear.

"As you wish my child. The journey on which you are will filled with thorns, tears, but also laughter. You will reach your goal even if it will be in tragedy, but your future is filled in the end by brightness."

"Thank you." was the only thing Fuu could say when suddenly someone yelled her name from behind her.

"Hey Fuu what the Hell do you think you were doing? We searched through the whole fucking village after you." yelled Mugen as he come up the hill with Jin calmly strolling behind him.

"Well excuse me that I was not interested in watching you flirt around with other women." she snapped before turning back to apologize to the old woman, but she was strangely gone.

"Is something the matter?" she heard suddenly Jin ask as he stepped beside her.

"No, nothing." she answered hurriedly, but the silent samurai didn't seem to believe her, but didn't press any further.

"Hey you two stop with the idle chit-chat and get moving, we still need to find that Sunflower Samurai." they heard Mugen yell.

Fuu was personally a bit disappointed that they hadn't staid for the festival, but her mind was also plagued by the words of the old fortune teller. They were currently walking through a tick forest and the sun was slowly setting. She was somewhat tired, but decided not to complain, but to think. She would find her father, but according to the woman's words it will be a sad meeting. There was also the fact after that, that she would most likely find happiness later. This could mean many things of course seeing that many different things made people happy, but her first thought in her case was love. Would she really find someone to love? Could she even trust a person with her heart seeing how her own father broke that of her mother? Was there such thing as true love in this world seeing how you could even buy that nowadays? Her memories drifted back to the legend the flower seller told her. Yes, there still could be something like that, maybe. The trail of her thoughts was suddenly broken when she felt a presence at her side. Turning her head found brown eyes themselves staring in to blue ones.

"Is everything alright Fuu? You seem somewhat troubled." Jin said in his usual calm voice, but Fuu was sure that she had detected some faint concern in his eyes.

"No, it is really nothing Jin." she lied and was sure that this time he would continue asking her questions when she was saved by Mugen's brash voice.

"We will camp in that clearing for the night." he said before making his way through the bushes. The other two didn't say anything, just followed.

Setting up a camp is actually pretty easy if you had practice in it and through they journey they did it a lot. As usual was Jin the first one to take watch by the fire while the other's slept. Fuu just tried to do the same, but her mind didn't want to cooperate with her body and there was also the feeling of Jin's eyes resting on her back. He would surely try finding out what was wrong the first chance he gets when Mugen goes away hunting for food. Letting out a soft sigh she tried forcing herself to sleep till her ears suddenly picked up a faint sound. Usually she would at least tense somewhat even tough both her companions were with her, but the sound felt smoothing. Listening more closely she thought that she heard a faint lullaby being sung…

Nen nen korori yo, okorori yo
Bouya wa yoiko da, nenne shina

Bouya no omoriwa doko e itta
Anoyam koete, sato e itta.

Sato no miyagene nani moratta
Denden taiko ni sho no fue…

…and then she fell asleep.

To be continued…