A VALIANT VAGABON

This story picks up around five years after the group went their separate ways and moved on to lead new lives apart from each other. We begin with Fuu, and once again she is working around the clock to roll in some dough. Someone unexpected decides to emerge from the shadows.

Twilight had arrived; the sun was retiring from another prolific day of lighting the paths for millions of travelers that walked amongst the gracious and vicious earth. Spring was alive and many things flourished and thrived with life. Flowers were forming into exotic and exquisite plants. Movement had returned to the quiescent rivers, winter was gone and so was all the icy snow. Life itself seemed to have been reborn within the whole environment. Not just the plants, but also the animals had returned to their animated lives as they steadily withdrew from hibernation and embarked on another season of forging and fighting. One of the most amazing products of the spring renaissance was the cherry blossom. There was a large lake shimmering and gleaming with the brilliant light from the setting sun. It gave the lake a beautiful shade of orange assorted with a pale yellow hue. Beside it grew an enormous weeping sakura. The tree's trunk was thick and broad like that of a rigid fortress's keep. Running into and through out the deep soil, its root system seemed almost infinite. In many ways the network of the trees sturdy roots almost resembled the intricate and demanding streets of an industrious metropolis. Large roots and diminutive roots curled, spiraled, entrenched themselves, and worked together to anchor the valiant flora. In the chilling evening breeze the branches waved placidly. Where the many branches ended was also where their name and history began. Pedals sprouted and garlanded the beautiful tree. Many hung in tranquil silence, while others took flight and glided elegantly on the smooth winds like great birds of prey. Twirling and gliding in the air they hovered over to a small beach. Sitting on a small wooden bench; a petite girl wrapped in a pink kimono and with a pair of chop sticks holding her hair up in a stylish pony tail sat in complete inertia. Her name was Fuu. One of her hands was placed motionlessly on her thigh that was crossed over the other leg. Her chin rested comfortably in her smooth palm of her other hand, and her fingers tapped and rubbed her cheek gently and mindlessly. She inhaled and sighed softly. With all this exquisiteness and serenity she felt shoddily out of it. However; there was a reason why she was sitting down by the water. She desired solitude more than anything, her life was eventful and enjoyable but every now and then she needed to occasionally seek refuge away from it. Seclusion, you'll always be a close companion of mine. After that thought the girl felt the cool breeze caress her delicate pretty face and sieve through her swaying hair. Don't worry I haven't forgotten you too she thought with a smile. The wind was also another eternal companion.

When she was sad she loved how it would blow against her skin and hair, it made her feel that they're was a formless life force that was embracing her. The resonance of it singing benevolently often soothed her when things felt like they couldn't get any worse. However; occasionally it did piss her off when it blew the things she was interested in like her diary the other day. Like a true companion sometimes it seemed like the most intrepid individual in the world, but also bugged the hell out of her sometimes. Gazing up at the pink and orange clouds she saw a small heap of the weeping sakura's vibrant white and pinkish pedals tumble across the sky. Raising her hand from her thigh into the air she collected a few of them. After catching them in her fragile small hand she looked at them vigilantly. There were three of them; she felt her thoughts come to a sudden halt. The small pedals reminded her of the days she traveled with those two guys that stole her life and her heart. I never thought I would miss them that much, especially him. One peddle was round and white and had a very vivid white complexion, that reminded her of Jin. It was bright and beautiful to the eyes, just like she remembered him. The next one was almost a pinkish red and looked like the wind had ripped part of it. Mugen she thought batting her chocolate eyes. Like him it was rough around the edges, but still attractive none the less. Then there was the third one, this one looked a little bit smaller than the rest. It was pinkish white and it had a very interesting oval shape to it. That one reminded her of herself. Cute and unique she thought with a smile.Then she lifted her hand and stretched her fingers and opened her palm up to the wind. With a hazy gust she watched as they were taken up into the air and carried to another destination. Very much like the inexorable wind, she wished she was free.

"How I miss those days," she said to herself in a low soft voice. Suddenly one of her amorphous companions informed her of something. As the breeze swept passed her face she caught the whiff of some kind of dish sautéing. "Do I smell teriyaki?" One of her co-workers that had worked in the kitchen told her that they were going to be having some kind of shrimp dumplings.

"Hey! Get your lazy ass up here!" a voice boomed from far behind her. She looked over her shoulder and standing up on a small hill side and she saw her friend Keen wearing his usual long dark sleeved baggy shirt and pants, around his forehead hung a white bandana with a red dot in the center of it. On one of his shoulders rested a long bo staff, he would often train with one to maintain his physic and sharpen his combat skills. He was one of the young boys that had volunteered to be a sentry for Mr. Ryoko's territories, and had been sent by the shogunate. He was one of the few people at this place that she had a real friendship with.

"I'm coming!" she answered happily. Keen smiled at the sight of her trotting towards him with her thin arms flowing with her swift and ditsy strides.

"You're never late, if food is part of the equation," he said with a smile and then turned back towards the forest that loomed behind the small beach and lake.

She had been working for a healer and acupuncturist by the name of Mr. Ryoko. He had studied the arts of healing from ancient Chinese scrolls, as well as western medicine and the books of the great healer known as Hippocrates. He worked not for profit but for the wellbeing of the people, this is why the shogunate didn't charge him taxes or other duties for his land and always provided great protection during precarious times. Fuu wanted to learn all about these arts and that's why she had volunteered like so many others to live and work alongside of this great teacher and healer. Fuu also thought it was beneficial to work with Mr. Ryoko for a while because he once told her that he had managed a restaurant in his younger days. Desperately she wanted to at least be able to manage a tea shop. Even though it had been many years since Fuu had worked at one, she still had ambition. Serving people who were on the road or just simple town folk was something that always interested her. Together they walked abreast down the dirt road that linked to the stunning and vast bamboo garden.

The garden was also a favorite of Fuu's. It had a wide variety of bamboo species sprouting out of the ground and towered over their heads. The huge garden was segmented into walkways and was decorated by a multitude of diverse and vivid flowers. They were the gems of the garden in Fuu's opinion. Her eyes strayed away from her companion and gawked at a small bed of red and white roses. Their unspoken and optic beauty always managed to occasionally rob Fuu of her train of thought. Mr. Ryoko greatly admired nature and always found that they brought solace to the people he had tended. Crmp! Crmp! Crimp! The damp and crunchy sounds of grass folding under her feet made her feel revitalized for some reasons. The girls striking chocolate eyes traveled back to her companion, he held a very pensive idiom. In an attempt to break the icy silence between them Fuu started to question him.

"So? How was your day?" her voice was sweet and soft but also irresolute. Keen sighed quietly; something seemed to really be on his mind.

"It was fine," he answered. Fuu noticed that he could be very moody at times when she had worked with him. "I got a chance to train and work out with that new comer."

"Oh, you mean Sensei-Watanabe? I heard he was very skilled, and a tough one to beat," she responded with an affable wink.

"That he is. That he truly is," he responded with a smile. Looking on ahead she spotted that red wooden bridge that curled like the segment of a serpent. Below it black waters flowed with numerous large golden fish swimming about it free as the water itself.

"So how was your day?" Keen asked.

He's asking me how my day went, that's a first. "Not to bad, kinda busy though,"

"Busy. You, that's a first," he responded with a grin. This dude always got the better of Fuu, and it pissed her off sometimes.

"Hey. You know I work plenty hard, so don't go off criticizing me like one of your grunts," she retorted angrily.

"Don't get your panties in a knot, I was just foolin around with you," he defended in a cool voice.

"And you wonder why I don't always talk with you," she said turning her nose up at the sky.

"It doesn't matter if you're happy with me or mad at me you want say anything to anyone soon." He was correct because the sent of roasting herbs, tamari, teriyaki, and wasabi was getting stronger by the minute. "We all know you're a Zen master when it comes to food." he was also correct about that statement as well.

"Well, your right about that, me, and my food, are one!" she said in a serious but sarcastic voice putting both of her index finger tips together forming a triangle. He laughed under his breathe at her joke. It was times like these she felt closest to him. They both had a great sense of humor and would often make small jokes or laugh about the circumstances of the day. At times she wished that she had the opportunity in her lifetime to have grown up with a boy like him. She had only known him for a short time yet she felt as if she had known him her whole life.

"Is Marmatu really cooking those shrimp dumplings?" Keen nodded silently. "Alright! For once were really having something good, not to say that he usually cooks bad food," she explained gazing at the vivid orange and red sky.

"I'm going to have the best cooking in the world in a couple of weeks," Keen said rubbing his stomach.

"Really, why is that?"

"Because my pops is having his fiftieth birthday and I'm going to my parents home by the ocean. Also Mr. Ryoko always honors those that still keep in contact with their relatives," Keen elucidated. "Nothing and I mean nothing beats grandmas rice balls. There the freakin best!" Fuu felt a strong stab of sorrow.

"Oh," she said softly looking back down at the water. In the dark rippling pond she could see a group of gold fish swimming together. The sight mirrored how she once was when she was growing up with her mother and her friends. She was an only child and both of her parents were dead. It had been less than a decade but it felt more like a century since her parents passed away. She wished that she could have been like the fish, living together in a cluster of life, or even like Keen. He may have been so far apart from his family in the world, but in their hearts he was less than a block away from them.

The dinning hall was full of people eating and conjugating with more vigor than a lively bon fire. Some were rambling on about their achievements of the day and their current major interest. Many were bragging in booming bigheaded voices and some were laughing hysterically. Girls flirted with the guards of the facility and many gossiped about nonsense. A few bodies were inebriated and smashed with sake, but all was in good fun. There was a very optimistic aura surrounding the souls of the room, except for Fuu that is.

Picking at her food she looked down at it with great dismay written across her pretty face and apathetic eyes. She sat at the very far end of a long wooden table, most of the people she knew at the table were all locked in conversation. Wanting to be by herself she sat away from them. One of her hands that was placed on her foreheads played with her long brown bangs.

"I thought you loved the food," a deep voice sounded behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw the massive but joyous Marmatu standing with a mountain of sullied dishes in his chunky hands. He reminded Fuu of a great sumo wrestler that lived in her home town when she was a little kid. A warm smile rippled across her un-enthusiastic face.

"It's not the food at all, it's very good actually." She stabbed a shrimp with her chop sticks and bit it off. After swallowing it she looked back down at her plate with an ominous face. "It's the mood I'm in." The hefty man looked down at the floor. He was now in deep thought and completely ignored the repugnant stains that tarnished his floors.

"I see," he responded quietly. "Like the great one once said, do your best, and that is all you should worry about," he spoke in an earnest voice.

"Thanks," she responded. The large man smiled at her warmly.

"Remember to save room for desert, were having this stuff brought over from Europe called danishes they're really good." With that said he moved on to his hysterical kitchen. Fuu was hungry but her bad mood simply diminished her endless appetite. She picked up another seasoned shrimp and popped it into her mouth. It tasted very good and it heightened her taste buds, for a moment she forgot about the pains of being terribly alone in a crowded room full of affection and intimacy.

When she finished her evening meal she walked back to her corridor. Her head hung low her hands rested at her side. Walking along the stone roads that connected all the different buildings she saw so many other young people like herself moving about carrying out tasks. Fuu was like them, she was doing her part, but for some reason she felt ever so distant from them. It was like she was sitting up high in the canopy of a forest while she wordlessly watched a party and explosion of human happiness and togetherness erupted blissfully below her. How was it possible for so many people to be happy and together and yet she was so ever distant from all of them. The stars were out and night had fallen. They gleamed and sparkled endlessly and relentlessly in the dim azure awning. Her footsteps of her sandals clacking across the bridge that lead over a small river seemed to echo in her mind. Sound itself started to fade from her troubled ears. Her mind was a web of unanswerable questions and notions of what she was doing and why she carried out with her life. Fuu was an optimistic girl, and always found a good reason to smile. However; tonight squeezing a smile felt harder than trying to bring eternal peace to the universe. What was the principle of smiling, why? If a tree falls it is soundless if the ears around it are deaf or aren't within earshot. The same exact theory applied to Fuu with her positive attitude. What is smiling if there is nobody there that cares or appreciates that person's optimism? Emotions of anger, confusion, sadness, and vacillation clouded her basic mind. Warily she rested her body on the wooden railing of the bridge.

My. The water is deep down there she thought looking down at the water. They gleamed brilliantly like a patch of a million diamonds stretched across a blue waving cloak. Oh no don't think about shit like that. She shook her head to free herself of the thought. The deep water and the fact that she was alone in the dark made her almost desired the thought of suicide. It wouldn't matter, even if I did who would really notice or who would it impact. She sighed and sobbed quietly in the dark. Even though she felt that she was at finally on the right track in life, she also felt like she was caught in a world that didn't understand or accept her existence. For many years she had actually felt like this on the inside. Only now it was beginning its dismaying and overwhelming manifestation.

"Is there something wrong?" a monotone and masculine voice sounded from behind her. She peered over her left shoulder and saw a man wearing a large straw hat. He stepped towards her and she could now make out his features clearly, it was Mr. Ryoko. He had a long mustache and wore a white shirt with a long brown cloak. Running a hand past her eyes she smiled at him weakly.

"Good evening Mr. Ryoko," she said with a bow. "I'm okay, and thank you for asking," she spoke softly and then turned back to the glossy glimmering river.

"You feel that there is something missing," her mentor remarked. Her eyes widened with that statement. It was like he had gazed straight into the very depths of her bleeding heart and her hollow soul.

"Yeah," she answered him quietly. "Something like that." Smoothly he walked right beside her and placed both of his hands on the railing.

"It is a very exquisite sight isn't."

"It sure is."

"Its beauty is not one that is an external mask shading its truthful intent, nor is it one that desires just to be worshiped. In many ways you could say this beautiful sight is almost as mysterious as the human soul," he spoke in a studious tone. Fuu batted her beautiful eyes aimlessly.

"Huuuhhh?" he had lost her when he began to mention something about masks. He looked over at her and smiled.

"What is really important however is that one that is so beautiful like this gift from the earth, shouldn't be so lost in sorrow," he said rolling his knuckle across her pale wet cheek. She actually smiled at him warmly. "Why don't I take you back to your room," he said leading her away from the railing.

"I wish everyone in this world was as kind as you," Fuu thanked him.

Mr. Ryoko almost never took the time to just sit down at speak with someone casually. Generally he was busy working, or he was running some kind of errands. It didn't matter really what he was up to it just always seemed that he was always preoccupied. Fuu left the bridge really feeling gifted.

Back at her room she laid down on her European style bed and flipped through the pages of her dairy. She was reading many of the entries she had made a while back when she had been traveling with Jin and Mugen. Lightning danced and slashed the sky and thunder came crashing down above her head. She sighed as she finished reading another page. One of the things Fuu missed most about her days with her two companions was all the action they had endured, and all the adventures they had embarked on.

"Oh that day was just craaaazy!" she said out loud. The day they had spent in Hiroshima running around with those punk-like twins that squared off with graffiti was a day that she still remembered as if it happened a month ago. "That guy was so handsome," she recalled that evening she had spent with that Ainu man. Like Mugen she felt it in her heart that he was still venturing somewhere far away. "Uh, that was just creepy," she flipped over to the entry about the day they ran into that Shige guy and his army of zombified laborers. There were times when she questioned if that adventure was just one big trip. She didn't remember eating any mushrooms, but anything was possible. "And then there was that day," she said in a sad voice recalling the day she met up with her sick father. Trying not to cry she flipped around to another page. "Oh that adventure was just hilarious," she laughed recalling the time the three of them entered into an eating contest. Suddenly there was a knocking sound at her door. Quickly she placed her book of memories under her pillow and ran over to her door. She opened it and was met with a drenched Matchiko. He was another one of the volunteers taking up acupuncture.

"Fuu! Please come to the infirmary. We need all the help we can get," he said with great haste. He handed her an umbrella quickly. She nodded and took it from him and dashed with him into the pouring ran. Her bare feet smacked the hard earth but she didn't care.

"What's happening!" she questioned snapping her umbrella open.

"Terrible situation, one of the worse duels I have ever heard of," he answered. Fuu suddenly found herself wanting to know more than just the bare minimum. "Many of those so called samurai had been engaging in a multitude of illegal duels that had taken place by that large mountain range." Suddenly Fuu fell into a state of remembrance and awe as thoughts about Mugen and Jin spun around in her skull.

"Oh my god," she gasped.

"Many are hurt but few will pass away, especially if everyone is in there tonight," Matchiko continued.

"In that case," she jogged closer towards him and positioned the top of the umbrella over his head. "I know who's the better jack of all trades here, so you better not get sick on me," she said with a smile. Matchiko smiled at her as he jogged through the bombarding rain.

Inside the main infirmary both chaos and progress seemed intertwined. People were rushing in wounded samurai and lying them down to be aided. Out front metal stretchers brought many of the wounded warriors into the huge structure. Even though it was a bit smaller than Hiroshima castle it reminded her of it with its traditional architecture. Fuu was dashing around the place like a starving wolf pursing a petrified deer. She carried bandages and medicinal herds from one room to the next. It saddened the young girl greatly to see so many hurt, but what made her even more depressed was the fact that she didn't see Jin anywhere. Even though it would have been a crazy turn of events, she had hoped that he was one of those guys engaging in those duels. Many of the samurai had just suffered small nasty cuts, and few had severe injuries like served limbs. She walked up to one man lying down on a red rug in one of the rooms upstairs. She placed all of her tools down and took out a small bowl of greenish cream made from crushed up herbs and other plants.

"Please, just don't thrash around," she stated. Carefully she placed a glob of it on his wounded elbow. His teeth clinched with pain and he growled fiercely. "Let go, just let go, relaxing is the only way your body will be able to work with the medicine and make you better," she spoke softly holding one of his hands. Then his hasty breathing started to slow down and his eyes closed. Seeing that her work was done and that she needed a serious break she got up from where she knelt and headed for the door. Quietly as she opened it she heard the samurai behind her say something.

"Th-thank you," he said in a pain stricken voice. Looking over at him Fuu's mouth curved and formed an affable smile.

Outside on the front porch of the infirmary Fuu sat down with both of her hands on her cheeks, and her elbows rested on her knees. The rain was fast and relentless. Sitting under the porch made her feel like she was taking refuge behind a massive waterfall. She looked up at it flowing down from the dark and mystifying sky.

I wish I could become the rain once in a while. Then I would be able to make contact and touch people, feel what their hearts feel, tap into their souls, and actually understand what they are going through she thought enviously. Another thing that bothered Fuu is even though she was helping many people she often didn't know who they were or anything about them. Suddenly she heard footsteps of an approaching person. She looked over her shoulder and saw Matchiko walking towards her.

"How many have you helped so far?" he inquired.

"Tch, too many to even count," she answered triumphantly. Then it became quite apparent to her to ask that question that she needed to ask. "So, did you see anybody that looked like?"

"Like what? Oh yeah. That samurai with glasses, unfortunately I haven't yet. It would be very rare to collide with someone who owned a pair of western instruments like that."

"Oh," Fuu answered with the sound of defeat and depression in her voice. "Well thank you for trying."

"What I did hear though is you know the smaller infirmary down the small sandy path that overlooks the lake?"

"Yes, they only use that when there are so many injured that-"

"I know, but I've had my ear to the ground and I heard something about their being this really strange guy they put down there." Abruptly Fuu felt something erupt inside of her. The closest thing she could describe it to was the feeling of joy, and emotions of hope. "They don't know what his name is and he was with the dueling samurai. Also many people tried to help him but he just rejects anybody who comes near him.

Could it be? She thought with a smile. "I think I'll go check him out," she said in a very confident voice.

"In that case." she saw a folded up umbrella come into her field of vision. "You'll need this more than I," Matchiko said with a grin. She thanked him and dashed down the small steps and into the rain with her umbrella towering over her petite figure. Matchiko stood and smiled as he watched her disappear down the small sandy path. There was something about her cute running pattern that always made him happy.

Soon she got down to the small house on the edge of the dock of the large lake. A man with a yari-spear stood out front and saluted her. Fuu simply waved to him. Sliding open the rice paper door she gazed down the hallway. There were so many doors and sets of stairs.

"Excuse me, but do you know which room that guy in the strange clothing is in?"

"Last one on the right," the man answered.

"Thank you," she called back. Then she started to walk down the still and quiet halls. Her soft foot steps are all that bounce off the walls. Now that night had fallen all seemed quiet; except for the crickets humming cheerfully. The notion of who this man really captured her attention. Was he big or small, powerful or humble? She didn't know why but for some reason her heart was deeply drawn to this stranger. With a slight creak she opened the door. The room was very dark and she couldn't really make out his features. He was lying face down on a few thick blankets. The only light that came into the room was from a torch that was lit in the hallway. Above where he laid there was a window, but it didn't provide much luminosity. Trying not to even make a squeak she entered the room stealthy as a vigilant ninja. Because He was lying face down on his stomach that also made him even less distinguishable. Suddenly her eyes saw a scabbard lying next to him. All that was really visible to her was its silhouette. She picked up one of the tall slender candles that stood in a holster on the floor and carried it out into the hallway. Using the burning torch on one of the hallway walls she lit the candle. When she got back to the room she lit the other two candles on the ground. Now that the room was glowing lively with orange radiance she could see the man and his sword.

His sword was a long sword, and its style looked to be Europeanesque. It had a straight silver cross guard and a black scabbard. Her eyes swayed over to stranger and she noticed something was very familiar about him. He was wearing a pair of dark shorts and a crimson jacket. Fuu's eyes narrow, she also knows his hair is a heap of split ends and tangled bangs. Words could not describe the sudden emotion of shock and amazement.

"Mu-Mugen," she said in a whispering voice. Carefully she got down on her knees and hands and crawled towards him with great caution. Was it him, it was certainly possible, this person had the same build and design of clothing as Mugen. With gentle hands and careful amounts of force she rolled the stranger over on his back. Her heart jumped again. Mugen! It was him alright. His features could have never been mistaken for anyone else's. His chin was narrow and sharp, like the great mountains they had climbed when they met that Ainu archer. However; there was nothing feminine about this facet of his facial features. Yet his eyes were so richly beautiful she remembered. They were hazel and had both anger and passion merging and mingling endlessly and powerfully. His face was broad and striking just like she had remembered him perfectly. Abruptly her thoughts came to a screeching halt, his mouth opened. A vulgar and painful groan came ripping through his jaws.

"Mugen! Mugen!" she squeaked in a desperate voice. She wrapped her thin arms around his waist and buried her face in his stomach. There wasn't a form of lexis that could portray her feelings for him or do her express how she felt in that desperate moment. Mugen lifted one of his hands off of the ground and rubbed his forehead, he snarled with pain. Like a small baby bird peering out of its nest for the first time in its existence Fuu looked up from his body and gazed into his distorted face. "Are you okay?"

"What, when, why, and how, wait a minute, did I just get some or did I jussst!" His words were running into each other like jousters crashing and shattering their opponents. He didn't talk like he was sober

"Its me, Fuu," he voice was a soft and concerned as ever.

"Who?" he asked in a grumpy voice

"Fuu!" she growled. "Remember! Tea shop girl, sun-flowery samurai, that guy with the glasses you were always fighting."

"Whoa! This isn't about that!" he said rubbing his eyes drowsily.

"About what?" she asked.

"That one nighter, because I haven't for at least six months, which is kinda freakin-" Fuu slapped him in the stomach lightly. He growled with pain and looked directly at her. This time he seemed to notice her more.

"Wait a sec, I do know you," he said with a smile. Fuu felt a great sense of relief sweep and flutter through out her being. "Your that feisty and ditsy little bitch that stiffed me and that dude with the glasses with that coin," he spoke this time in an angrier tone.

"Yep I sure did," she responded looking down at the floor.

"Yeah. And I still haven't gotten you back for that one yet," his words carried a threatening and aggressive pitch and density. Fuu felt her heart quicken with fear, her legs started to quiver slightly and sweat started to damp her neck.

"Wait. Now look. That was all around five years ago, at least," she defended trying to force herself to smile.

"That don't freakin matter if it was a second ago or a decade ago. What matters if I'm in the state to get my revenge!" he said pushing himself up off the floor. Fuu had a very terrified radiance in her eyes. "If I'm alive, I can claim what's mine," he said smiling sinisterly.

And ONCE AGAIN the all mighty cliff hanger emerges!

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter/episode as much as I did writing it.

Stay tuned because the next chapter is going to be a big foundation layer for the overall storyline.