Companions

By: Farren O'Blivion

"I'm home, Jin! I got some fresh fish at the market for dinner tonight," Fuu called happily as she entered the hut with her purchases. It was a small house and slightly apart from the rest of the village which suited the young girl just fine. "And look! Dumplings!"

She quickly started to prepare the evening meal before kneeling beside Jin's prone form. "Mmm. Smell that fish, eh, Jin? Doesn't it smell yummy?" Her companion neglected to answer. Carefully, she unwrapped a layer of the bandaging around his throat and neck and examined the wound she'd been nursing for the past week. "Always getting into trouble, aren't you?" Fuu tutted as she re-wrapped the sore and returned to the fish sizzling over the fire. "You never learn. Just like–"

She was interrupted by a loud thump from outside. She looked through the still open door and saw –

"Mugen!" She snorted in disdain at his arrival. "Of course you decide to show up now," she grumbled, dividing the fish and dumplings into three servings instead of two. She turned her back but shot him a dark look over her shoulder as he came through the door. "Now that we have food you just happen to drop by after a week of..." She trailed off on an angry huff of air as she set Jin's share in front of him. She glared at Mugen's dirty and haggard appearance as she dished up his portion. "Ew, Mugen, you stink! Ugh! Did you spend the week in a back alley puddle of – are you bleeding? Oh, Mugen!"

Fuu quickly set his food down in front of him and began examining his body for fresh wounds. "You moron!" she hissed, finally spotting the gash on his head, just behind his ear. She pulled a needle and thread from her sleeve. "I don't know why I bother with you," she muttered, sticking the needle into a glowing hunk of wood in the fire pit for a moment to clean it. "You only ever show up to be fed or patched up." She expertly threaded the needle before scooting closer to her target. Mugen growled lightly at her but didn't bother to raise his face from his dish.

"Oh, quit your whining," Fuu chided him anyway. "Just eat your dinner and keep quiet." She gently fingered the ragged cut on his head. Mugen jerked back from her touch and the prick of the needle with another soft growl, again not bothering to stop eating. "Really, you're acting like I've never done this before!" Fuu snapped at him, tightening her hold on him and beginning the rather unpleasant task of sewing him up. "Just look at Jin. Last week I had to patch him up after he... what is this?" She squinted at a dark mark on his neck. "Ai! Gross! Mugen, you need a bath! Well, I'm all finished anyway, so..."

Mugen's only response was a loud belch. He moved away from her touch and toward the door.

Fuu frowned at him and crossed her arms. "Oi, is that all the thanks I get?"

Mugen paused just outside of the door... but only to enjoy a full body stretch and a loud yawn before sprawling across the porch to enjoy the last of the day's sun. Fuu huffed and picked up her own bowl of fish and dumplings. She turned to Jin who had managed to eat his dinner in stoic silence despite the wound at his throat. He raised his eyes from his empty bowl and fixed them upon Fuu's frowning face.

Slowly, her frown curled into a small smile. "You're welcome, Jin."

At that, Jin stood and turned toward the door. In silence, he joined the other on the porch, casting him a distasteful look before settling into his own patch of waning sunlight. For a few moments the three sat in quiet companionship. Fuu sighed in contentment as she finished her (albeit meager) meal before joining the others outside. She sat on the stair between them and allowed her mind and eyes to wander. She watched a late season butterfly flutter past, a bright colored bird flit from branch to branch in her garden's tree, a fat slug slowly slide by her foot on the bottom step.

Her eyes were drawn by a sudden movement to her right. She turned toward it and watched Jin stretch his leg up over his head and begin to lick the inside of his thigh. She turned away only to be greeted by the sight of Mugen rearing up and twisting around to furiously gnaw on his own backside before returning to his snooze.

Fuu sighed and shook her head in disgust. "Lazy good-for-nothings," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just like your namesakes!"

A/N: Okay, be honest. Did you figure it out before the end? :D