.
.
When Mifune died, when Black Star's sword lanced through him and the blood curdled up at his throat, Mifune thought of Angela, and how in that moment, he had failed her, his only reason for being.
Mifune hoped she would be strong. He hoped she would be okay.
xXx
.
Angela didn't like Black Star, no matter how much Mifune protested. "He's a meanie!" Angela said. She clung to Mifune protectively, hugging him around the waist. "He bullied you and he was mean to you, so how come you're so nice to him?"
"Black Star is just a child, not unlike yourself," Mifune said. He smiled at Angela, sadly. "When a child is alone, they act out sometimes. It cannot be helped."
Angela scowled, making a face. "He was still mean to you," Angela said, pouting.
xXx
.
There were times Mifune remembered his old life. The bodies and the blood and the dead red eyes staring up at him.
Those nights were lonely ones, a sack of coins and a katana in his hand.
Those nights, Angela would seem to sense how he's feeling, because she would come to him and snuggle against his chest. He knew she didn't like him feeling sad.
xXx
.
Mifune was fighting again. Metal crashing against metal, his samurai sword arcing through the night sky.
When Mifune dragged himself back home, Angela was perched on the couch, eyes wide and hugging a teddy bear to her chest. "Mifune-san?"
"Angela..." Mifune coughed. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
"Mifune-san!" Angela ran to him as Mifune dropped to his knees, breathing hard. "Don't die!" Angela said. She started to cry. "Please please please..."
"An...." Mifune wheezed, slightly. Slowly, he brought up a hand and pressed it reassuringly on Angela's head. "I will not die," Mifune said. "I will always protect you. Don't cry..."
Angela hid her face against Mifune's chest. "Promise?"
Mifune nodded. "Promise," Mifune said.
After that night, Mifune was sure to wipe the blood off his face and wrap his wounds before coming home.
xXx
.
Once, after a particularly vicious battle, Mifune found it difficult to pretend he was not hurt."Mifune-san. How come you're moving so slow?" Angela pouted, her eyes shining, suspiciously.
"Because you are heavy, child."
"Am not!"
"Ah. But it is like carrying a bag of bricks."
"Meanie!" Angela said.
Mifune tried not to smile. "Sleep, child," Mifune said, and he tucked her into bed.
It wasn't until Angela was asleep that Mifune collapsed, hand pressing against the gash in his side.
xXx
.
If Mifune could regret one thing, it was that they did not live as normal people did. Often they would pass by the storefronts, and Angela would press her little face up against the glass, watching the mamas and papas and the other children go by.
"Mifune-san! Do you think we can get a house?"
Mifune glanced up at Angela, who was riding on his back. They had been walking for hours now, and Angela had gotten tired. Mifune wordlessly had hoisted her up and set her on his shoulders, piggy-back style, carrying her as easily as he would a sack of swords. "Someday," Mifune said, mildly. He hoisted Angela higher. "We will get a house together and you will go to school, and you can be like other children, too."
"Really?" Angela's eyes were wide as saucers and her mouth split into a grin. "Mifune-san! I can really go to school?"
"Someday," Mifune said. "But first we must make sure you are safe."
"And after that we can get a house?"
"Of course."
"Yay!" Angela said. She bounced on Mifune's shoulders, her little hands gripping him tight. "I can't wait to go to school," Angela said.
xXx
.
Arachne's army loomed around him, large shadows leering ominously. "I don't like it," Angela said, and clung to Mifune's arm. Mifune kept his eyes forward, his face a careful mask.
"Angela. We must be careful. Arachne-sama will protect you, but we must prove first we are not a burden to her," Mifune said. Angela pressed closer, frightened.
"Why do we have to go to Arachne-sama?" Angela asked. "Can't we go somewhere else?"
Mifune glanced down at Angela, who was looking at him with wide, innocent eyes. "We cannot," Mifune said. "You are a witch, Angela-chan, and so are safest among your own kind. Do not be frightened," Mifune said. He gripped Angela's hand, tight. "I will be with you."
Angela nodded, solemnly, her little face obscured by the dark.
xXx
.
Life with Arachne was little better than life with the Yakuza.
Every night, it was "Kill him," or "Dispatch of my enemies, bodyguard; their sight disgusts me." And so Mifune did what he was trained, killing and avoiding his enemies' eyes.
Those nights, he would drag himself home and press a hand to Angela's face.
She was such a small child, feather-light and comforting in his arms.
xXx
.
Soon after, Angela started having nightmares. "Mifune-san!"
He flicked on the light and rushed to her room. "Angela, wake up. You're dreaming."
Angela cried big fat tears and buried her face against Mifune's chest. "I dreamed a monster was going to eat me!" Angela said. She clung to Mifune, terrifed.
"Shh," Mifune smoothed his hands over her hair. "Angela, that is silly. You know if there are monsters, I will take care of them."
"But what if you're not there?" Angela's eyes were wide and wet. "What if...what if you die?"
It was a thought Mifune had considered. Before, Mifune was a man who was not afraid of death. Now, with Angela in tow, he dreaded it, the thought of it was like a weight pressing against his chest. "Everyone dies," Mifune said, finally. He let Angela snuggle against him, her face pressing against the crook of his arm. "But my time will not be until I am an old man, and you are old enough to be by yourself."
"So not until you're a grandpa?" Angela asked. Mifune smiled.
"Until I am old and frail and Angela will have to carry me the way I carry her!"
"No!" Angela giggled, snuggling against his chest. "You're too big!"
"Oh?" Mifune frowned, comically. "So when I am old, you will leave your poor, frail Mifune-san all alone?"
Angela giggled again. "You're silly!" Angela said. Mifune smiled and ruffled her hair.
"Sleep, child," Mifune said. He stood from the bed and switched off the light. "I will be nearby. Do not worry about the monsters."
Angela nodded gravely. Mifune smiled again and gently closed the door.
xXx
.
There are those who say Samurai and children do not mix.
When Mifune worked with the Yakuza, his enemies openly mocked him, leering suggestively and drawing their swords.
The mafia life was no life at all. Cold nights, aching muscles, the plume of his breath dissipating in the cold night air.
xXx
.
She was riding on his shoulders, laughing and pointing at the houses as they walked past. "I like this one! And this one too! And maybe we can get a pink one! Can we, Mifune-san? Can we?"
"Of course," Mifune said. scanned the houses quietly; he could feel the presence of shibusen all around them. They had to be careful. "We will buy a small house and we will paint your room a bright pink, and you will go to school and make friends with the other children."
"And I can leave the Scary Place?" Angela asked. The Scary Place was Arachne's lair.
"Yes," Mifune said. "But first we must make sure you are safe." Angela pouted against his shoulder.
"How come we have to be careful all the time? Can't we just go somewhere else?"
"I wish we could," Mifune said. Angela scowled.
"It's not fair!" Angela said. "I don't like it there, it's dark and scary and can't you just beat them up, Mifune-san? I don't wanna be there anymore!"
"I know," Mifune said. "I don't want to be there anymore, either."
xXx
.
He was fighting again, swinging his sword and cutting down his enemies. Slash, slash, cut. He whirled around, his sword arcing through the air.
Later, when he dragged himself home, he found Angela sleeping against the couch cushions, her face snuggled up against the armrest. Wordlessly he covered her with a blanket and switched off the light; he didn't want to wake her when she was sleeping so peacefully.
In the bathroom, Mifune silently stared at his reflection in the mirror; his face was gaunt and his eyes were bruised, and the cut across his chest would leave an ugly scar. He washed his face in the basin and bandaged up his wounds.
xXx
.
Mifune tried not to think of his former life. Dead men and haunted eyes, and other men's blood spattered on the ground.
Angela was his sunshine; she made everything bright.
xXx
.
One night, Mifune woke to the feel of a child squirming up against him. "Angela? What's wrong? Another dream?" Mifune asked.
Angela nodded, pressing her face against Mifune's chest. Mifune frowned.
"You are having too many nightmares," Mifune said. He pressed the palm of his hand against Angela's hair. He wondered silently if this was part of the madness Arachne had talked about. Wordlessly he let Angela cuddle up against him, pulling a blanket over them both.
xXx
.
Mifune was cooking breakfast when Angela asked him out of nowhere, "What happened to my papa?"
Mifune stopped. Bacon sizzled slightly over the campfire and Mifune frowned, contemplatively. "I don't know," Mifune said, honestly. He scooped the bacon from the griddle and slid them onto a plate, carrying them for Angela to eat. "Do not think of these things, Angela. It is nothing but the past."
"But..." The little girl's face furrowed. "But how come I don't have a papa?" Angela asked. "How come I don't have a mama like the other kids do? Didn't they like me?"
Mifune sat down next to her, handing her the plate. "I'm sure they liked you," Mifune said. "Sometimes a mama and a papa can love a little girl very much, but sometimes they are not strong enough to protect her. Sometimes things happen that take them away from her."
Angela stared at the plate, frowning. "Like what?" Angela asked.
Mifune paused. He thought of the Yakuza and the bodies strewn along the ground. "Sometimes people die," he said. "Sometimes before they are ready."
"...oh."
Mifune shifted uncomfortably, wondering just how much the little girl understood.
"Mifune-san?"
"Yes?"
She fiddled with her napkin, staring at her hands. "I wish you were my papa," Angela said. Mifune's eyes filled with tears.
"Mifune-san! How come you're crying?!"
"I'm not..."
Mifune closed his eyes. He brought a hand to his face; his shoulders shook.
"Mifune-san! Did I say something bad?" Angela was stricken. Mifune shook his head, smiling.
"No, child. No, you made me very happy," Mifune said. "I love you as if I were your papa. It makes me happy that you feel the same."
Angela nearly knocked him over when she jumped into his arms.
xXx
.
"Mifune-san?"
"Yes?"
Angela clung to his arm. "You're not going to die, right?"
Mifune smiled, wanly, and ruffled Angela's hair. "Why must you ask these silly questions?" Mifune asked.
"Because...." Angela's eyes filled with tears. "Because you're my second papa and I don't want you to die."
There was a knot in Mifune's chest and he hated himself for it. He let Angela cuddle up against him, baby soft and innocent and warm. "I will not die," Mifune said. "I will always protect you. You mustn't be afraid."
The child was troubled; Mifune looked at her with darkened eyes. It angered him that Arachne-sama would expose the child to so much death; Mifune had tirelessly shielded the girl from it, making sure her childhood was as innocent and happy as possible. Now death was a daily occurrence; often he would find Angela cowering, terrified, as a pile of bodies stacked up around her.
"We will get a house with a fence and a little pink bedroom, and you will go to school with the others and have lots of friends. We already decided this, right?"
Angela nodded against his shirtfront. "Good," Mifune said. "Now sleep. You want to sleep to grow up strong."
"So I can grow up and protect my Mifune-san?"
"Hai." Mifune smiled. "So you can protect your Mifune-san when he is old and frail and you will wish you didn't have a second papa."
And Angela giggled and snuggled and hugged him tight.
Mifune hated to lie.
xXx
.
The night before Mifune died, he stood at the foot of Angela's bed, watching her sleep. She was breathing softly, her face buried into the pillow.
He smiled then, and turned to close the door.
A/N: Poor Mifune. He was one of my favorite characters and I always thought how he protected Angela was really sweet. I really wish he got to be a shibusen teacher like what Tsubaki had said :(