Hey all, Chewbecky here! This is just a little story about Mugen, Jin and Fuu and their feelings after their separation.
I don't own Samurai Champloo, but you knew that...
Alone in the dark.
Chapter 1: After the crossroads
It was a cold dark night. Light from nearby lanterns burned all around him. Women sat on the laps of men, pretending to be fond of them but all the while their eyes were on the money. Men drinking sake like water, laughing all the while knowing the truth. No matter how many people were in this dank dingy tea house it was like a hell frozen in time. The only warmth he had now was the sake burning in his stomach. It was sadly funny, before he couldn't wait to be alone. He couldn't wait to be rid of her, but now without her he felt empty. Useless, thats a better word.
He had no purpose now, no one who needed him. He cursed the day he left her at the crossroads, wanting so much to tell her everything. The truth about how she held the highest place in his heart. The truth about how his heart ached with hers when her father died. All his life he was cold and relentless, he was just a shell really. A death artist, his sword being his brush and blood being the ink. Human flesh was his canvas and he did with it the only thing he knew to do, create a masterpiece of death. He knew no other way of life, being born on an island of felons.
He didn't know love, not until he met her. She taught him to love, although it was a bit strange and twisted. It was better than nothing. He contemplated asking her to stay with him, but what could he give her? She saw the type of man he was, the only way he would let her see him. He wasn't really the providing type. Brothels, gambling and alcohol...she was better off with that fish face samurai.
In the next town over a dark haired samurai sat in a shabby hut with a small fire burning. He stared at the night sky. There were no stars, no clouds, just a pale full moon. He stared at the moon through his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. Memories passed through his mind and he watched them play out over the empty, blank sky. The corners of his mouth twitched in a smile as he remembered the first time ever meeting her. The little waitress in a pink kimono...If he knew then what trials he would go through with her...he would do it all over again.
He missed her, but being the conservative samurai that he was he could never admit it to her. He missed fighting for her, her voice, her breathing, her eyes. The list was never ending. He couldn't understand himself...Wasn't he kind and caring? The type of man who was stoic and would never leave the helpless? Why did he leave her? Was he afraid? No. Afraid of what? His inner most feelings being found out? Finding out she loved another? The answer, to put it simply, was rejection. He was afraid of being replaced by some younger, stronger man.
How had this relationship become so complicated? He wanted to hold her forever that night she was in his arms. He wanted to be her protector forever, her love... So why did he walk away at the crossroads? He should have told her then and there that he would always stay by her side, that she could always count on him. He was weak, and afraid. Always trying to do the right thing and act so damn stoic, never able to take a chance. He was ashamed of himself, he had become just like that sloppy, lecherous, messy haired samurai. He left her, they both left her alone in the dark...
She layed on her futon in a spare room above the tea house she worked in. The owners were an old couple who took her in out of the kindness of their hearts. She'd rather be a waitress than a whore any day. She stared at the dark ceiling clenching her blanket, tears welling up in her eyes as she thought about them. She knew that this would happen, that they would all part and go their separate ways. Why did hurt like this though? How could they just walk away like strangers in the street? Like they never knew each other, like they never traveled on a journey together...
She had her suspicions that Mugen would leave, but she didn't think he would walk away from her so easily. Hadn't they shared something together? Maybe not love, but a bond at least. Didn't they laugh together on occasion? The way he protected her on the island, she thought that maybe he had cared for her. If it wasn't love, than at least like a brother protecting his little sister. She knew she had become fond of him over the course of their journey. He was crude, but strong. It was his wild strength that caught her attention and sparked something within her. His eyes, so powerful, it was almost like being caught in a trance when looking into them. They were deep pools of passion, they were always passionate...especially when he fought. She knew she wasn't his type of woman though, and more than likely couldn't give him what he longed for. Thats why she should have known better than to think that maybe he would be emotional at their parting.
Jin was a complete surprise. She thought that he would have at least stayed with her long enough until she had found somewhere to stay. He was always the caring one out of the two samurai. She had often daydreamed of them being together and raising a family. When he embraced her that night by the fire, she was completely immobilized. She couldn't think, couldn't speak, all she knew was that she never wanted him to let go of her. But he did, just like that. He walked away from her at the crossroads just as easily as Mugen had. She knew Jin was a man of little words, but she had expected him to care. Didn't he care about whether she was safe or taken care of? Maybe she was just being selfish. All she knew was that in her heart they would always be considered her samurai. With that thought she drifted into sleep, dreaming about the past.
Tell me what you think! Please review!