Hey, everyone! In light of the reviews (well, in light of one review, really), I revised this a little. Now you've got an extra 400 words or so! I think it's much better paced now. Enjoy!

"So, like this?"

Jin cocked his head, studying the girl. They stood in the spacious backyard of the latest inn, practicing. Fuu gripped her tanto tighter, and he considered the position of her feet, the set of her arms. She quivered and pursed her lips in her effort to hold still as he circled her. "No," he finally replied. "Your stance is too loose." Stepping forward, he manually adjusted her pose. "Tighten your arms a little, and stand with your legs further apart. Stability is important in blocking."

Exhaling, she shifted. "Better?" she asked, her brow twitching.

With a nod, he tapped the tanto. "It's sheathed now, but block with your hand against the flat anyway. The edge isn't as effective." A barely suppressed smirk tugged at his lip. "Or painless."

Fuu snorted at that as she adjusted the blade. "Good?" she asked.

"Very," Jin acknowledged, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'm surprised at how quickly you're learning."

She glared at him and dropped the stance. "Thanks a lot, Jin!"

"Well, you must admit, you've been kidnapped frequently," he said. "I had not thought you capable of self-defense."

Growling, Fuu smacked his arm lightly with the sheath of her blade. "Just show me the next move already."

Shaking his head, Jin gripped the sword at his side and thrust the blunt end of the hilt in front of him. "The pommel strike. It's not lethal," he explained, "but striking your enemy with the hilt of your weapon can be very effective, especially if the blow is delivered to the head or the softer areas of the body."

She frowned. "So I just ram the butt of my tanto into the bad guy?"

His lip quirked. "Something like that. Look." As he had shown her before, he set his legs apart, feet steady. She postured beside him. "One hand on the sheath, the other on the hilt." She mimicked him, and he continued, "With both hands, bring the entire blade forward - sheath and all - in a quick, sharp jab."

She shoved the weapon into the air before her. "I think the tanto might be a little short for this," she murmured, restoring it to its original position at her side.

"The length is fine," Jin dismissed. "Make the jab more forceful - all the muscles in your arms should be taut, like so." He demonstrated, slamming the sword forward.

A frustrated curse from inside the inn disrupted them, and Mugen flung the screen door open with a clatter. His eyes were wild, but they locked on the girl and the ronin and flashed with relief before narrowing into a glare. "Oi! Found you, brat!" he addressed Fuu, stomping into the yard. "I've been looking all over for you and four-eyes! I'm hungr-" The vagrant cut himself short and took in the scene: Fuu, scowling at him, tanto in her hand; Jin, tucking his sword to his side as he straightened. Mugen frowned at them. "The fuck are you two doing?"

Jin spoke first. "Fuu thought it would be wise to learn some self-defense and asked me to instruct her."

Mugen blinked at them, at the tanto in Fuu's grip. His face split into a lazy grin, and he knotted his fingers behind his head. A sharp bark of laughter escaped him. "I can't decide what's funnier: the brat defending herself or you trying to tell a joke."

"It's true," Jin interrupted, dropping a heavy hand on Fuu's shoulder as she growled and stepped towards the vagrant. "She has done quite well in her first lesson."

Though his smile never faded, Mugen's eyes flickered to Jin's hand on Fuu's shoulder, to the tanto tightly clutched at her side in an attack stance. His brow twitched, but he tipped his head down, eyes shut. "Hn." His smirk widened. "Whatever. Like you could teach her anything useful."

With a yell, Fuu slammed the pommel of the tanto forward into Mugen's abdomen. Eyes popping open, he grabbed his stomach, coughing for air.

"Very good," Jin commented.

A gasp escaped Fuu, and the blade and sheath clattered to the ground. She dropped to her knees beside the pirate as he crumpled on the grass, winded. "Mugen-" Her fingers grazed his arm.

"The fuck was that for, bitch?" he roared, slapping her hand away. He wheezed. "Fuck!"

Fuu recoiled, her lip trembling, then she squared her shoulders and slugged him. "I don't know!" she spat. "Maybe because you're a complete failure as a bodyguard?"

Mugen jerked his head up, his eyes wide. Slowly, they narrowed, his brow furrowing in a fierce glower. His voice came low. "Say what?"

"You heard me!" she snapped.

A snarl ripped from his throat, and he hauled her to her feet. "Way I see it, I'm the only bodyguard you've got!"

"Excuse me?" she retorted. "What do you think Jin is?"

"Like prettyboy does any of the heavy lifting around here," Mugen scoffed. "Can't fish, can't fight-"

"And what exactly do you 'do around here', Mugen?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

He rolled his eyes, advancing on her. "Oh, geez, I don't know; how about save your ungrateful, skinny ass?" he bellowed.

"You get me in trouble more often than you get me out of it!" she yelled, jabbing a finger into his chest.

He loomed over her. "I gotta rescue you every five minutes-"

"After you leave me alone and let me get kidnapped!" she shrieked.

"It's not my fault every jackass in this godforsaken shit-hole wants to kidnap you!" he yelled, clenching a fist. "And why are you only going off on me?" He threw an arm in Jin's direction. "Ain't four-eyes s'posed to be watching you? Where's he when you get your sorry ass kidnapped?"

"Somewhere better than wherever you go, that's for sure," she spat, but he interrupted:

"Bull-fucking-shit!" He grabbed her arm when she tried to turn, and his glare scorched her. "You know where I go when you get kidnapped?" She pulled, and he yanked her against his chest, craning his neck so that she was forced to look into his eyes, not an inch from her own. "I go after you! When has fish-face ever come to get you, huh?"

Fuu stared at him, for once utterly speechless. Point made, Mugen pushed her away and growled at Jin, "You ever try to teach her to do my job again, and I'll run you fucking through." The pirate's hand drifted to the sword at his back.

Jin's lip quirked. "Understood," he replied.

Scowling at the ronin's compliance, Mugen started back towards the inn, his original purpose forgotten. He stopped in front of Fuu and glared at her. "That stupid little tanto wouldn't do jack shit anyway." He seized her shoulder and gave her a shake, his eyes dark. "You'd still need me to save your scrawny ass. You got that?"

She nodded, her eyes round, and he stalked to the inn and slammed the screen shut behind him. Fuu stared at the door, her lips parted, her brow furrowed.

"Fuu," Jin said. She jumped at his voice, and he asked evenly, as if testing the air with his words, "Would you like to continue?"

Fuu blinked at him. "Oh. Um..." She bit her lip, her eyes drifting to the door. "How about we stop for today? It's about time for dinner."

Jin's mouth twitched in a knowing smile as he laid a hand on her shoulder. "Of course."

I've had this idea for ages, since I read a fic where Fuu developed fighting skills and Mugen found it to be a turn-on. I immediately thought, "Mugen would hate that. If Fuu was even remotely capable of taking care of herself, where would that leave him?" And so I thought of this. I don't know why I failed to write it all that time ago. I think I had trouble framing the conversation back then.

I'm glad that it ultimately came to fruition, though I have no idea how the characters are - I haven't watched the show in at least a year, maybe two. (EDIT - I rewatched the first six episodes right before revising this; I think the characters are much improved now.)

Let me know what you think, and as always, thanks for reading.