Tadaa… my first Samurai Champloo fic! And… an alternate universe one at that. I'm actually pretty proud of this one. It pulled me out of my writers block dilemma… -Needs to get back to Naruto-

Anyway, apologies for those who have been dying for a story. Striking a Pose has me at a loss. I may ask people to give me ideas for another lame-ass filler chapter. Haha.

This one's kind of a mix between serious and funny. So… pretty much like the anime itself.

Enjoy, un.

-Mourns Dei-kun-

She had always hated the dark…

Despite the brightness of the downtown Tokyo district, the alleyways behind the buildings were still unusually eerie and dank. The lack of light did not help her either as she sprinted between the buildings on her stiletto heels.

Gunfire and shouts were what loomed behind her. Darkness was what lay ahead.

Despite her fears, she preferred the latter over what chased her now.

"Now, now, lady!" One of the men called. "What are you running for? We already have your bastard husband!"

This made her skid and stop in her tracks. Her wide brown eyes turned to face the ones chasing her, and soon they slowed down in front of her; guns aimed and smirks plastered on their faces.

"We have you now, bitch." One man said calmly. "Try to run and your brains will be rat food."

Despite their threats and her current situation, she couldn't help but smile at the guns aimed at her.

"Why not ask my husband where it is?" She asked calmly. "If you have what you want already, why bother me?"

A hand reached out in front of her, palm extended upward. "I'm perfectly sure you know why." His fingers curled slightly, beckoning her to give him what he wanted. The woman's eyes darkened and she took a step back, clutching at her chest in fear.

"The necklace, you bitch." He sneered, but scowled when he saw her cringe further away from him. Without another moment's hesitation, he snatched it off of her neck, breaking the gold clasp. The brown-eyed woman looked up in horror at him, quickly stumbling back; her hand fumbling in her purse.

"Shoot her."

Four shots rang through the alleyway. The woman coughed and looked up at the leader, who merely grinned down menacingly as she fell to her knees.

"Poor thing…" He drawled, kneeling in front of her. "If you had simply cooperated, you might not have been sentenced to such a horrible demise." He stood up, wiping the mud off his dark grey pants. "But that doesn't matter now. We have both of the keys and map to your hidden loot. You aren't needed anymore." The man turned his back on her as blood dripped from her wounds. Blood was slowly filling her lungs, making it painful to breathe as she coughed up the coppery substance.

"Oh… and by the way…" He looked down at her in satisfaction over his shoulder. "Your husband's dead."

The woman remained silent, and for a moment, all that could be heard was the bustling noises of downtown Tokyo only fifty feet away. The flashing neon signs were all that illuminated the dark area, making her dark life's blood gleam maliciously.

But she only smiled.

"It's for the best, then…" She rasped out, as she finally removed her hand from her purse. "Oh… and by the way…"

Her dark smile grew as the man turned around slowly, his eyes narrowing in question.

"There are three keys."

A final shot echoed through the night, followed by a howl of anger.

She had shot herself in the head, making sure that the rest of her life was not spent being dragged along helplessly by these men.

"You… BITCH!" He roared as he tore through her items and clothes, searching desperately for said third trinket. There was nothing. Shy was trying to trick him! YES! That HAD to be it! What other reason would there be for her to tell them this at the last minute?

Turning to his men, he tossed his pistol to the side and into one of the nearby garbage cans. "I want information on that third key NOW!" He cried. "That treasure will not be taken away from me so easily!"

"Oi, Jin."

Dark eyes squinted at the light shining through the translucent parasol at their table. Grunting a reply as his partner sat down beside him, placing the newly bought tea before him.

"The cue ball called us." He growled as he took a sip of his own coffee. "He's got us a client…"

Jin quirked an eyebrow at this statement: "A new charge?" This left him slightly surprised. They hadn't gotten a client in at least a month…

… Not since that whole A-K incident that Mugen managed to pull off…

"Hey." Mugen nudged him. "I know what you're thinking about and I was NOT the only one that went overboard on that mission!

"You made overkill look child-friendly." He replied bluntly. "They're still scraping guts from the walls of that warehouse."

"Okay, I get the point…"

"They're considering painting it over because it's taking so long…"

"SHUT UP!" He roared, slamming his cup down. "I GET IT! I'M NEVER TOUCHING A FUCKING AK-47 EVER AGAIN!"

He found himself fortunate that nobody was around just then. Who knows what kind of hell would have been brought up?

"Fool…" He murmured as he sipped his tea. "What does Zuikou want from us now?"

"Don't ask me, four-eyes." he scoffed. "He wants us to come in an hour, so finish your goddamn tea and let's go."

Jin let out a sigh before taking another sip of his preferred beverage. Some things would never change, and Mugen was one of them.

"And so we substitute 'X' with 'Y' plus seven and simplify…"

Brown eyes watched the chalkboard lazily as she scribbled the algebra notes down. A sigh escaped her lips as she glanced out the window to the schoolyard below. Math was only halfway done and yet it seemed like hours had passed.

Fuu frowned as she thought back to her morning. Her parents hadn't been home, which didn't really bother her. There were occasional days where they would be late and not make it home until much later. She had been on her own before. It was no big deal.

Another morning issue was sitting to her right. He was a new student named Shinsuke who had felt the need to sit beside her in her classes. Not that the sudden lack of desk area was an issue… but the fact that his gender and looks seemed to make the females a little more rabid than usual. Of course, being the new male that he was, he was currently oblivious to the current standings of popularity and where he unknowingly stood… or sat in this case. Soon enough he would realize this and move to another desk just like every other living being that was foolish enough to sit beside her. But something was different about this boy.

Maybe it was the fact that he sat beside her in EVERY class that they were in together. That's coincidental enough. Of course, maybe it was the fact that there was an empty seat beside her helped draw his attention. But she knew that sooner or later he would move away, giving her that prized space that she desired.

"Kasumi-san, you're needed out in the hall."

Breaking from her trance, Fuu stood up silently and exited the room with her bag; blocking out the glares from the other schoolgirls and keeping note to avoid her preferred entrances after school was finished.

Stepping through the doorway and into the hall, she came face to face with the principal of her school followed by a sweaty looking middle-aged man she didn't recognize. The headmaster was gazing at her gravely.

"There is a man here to see you. He states it's something very urgent."

Meanwhile, back in the classroom, the new student regarded the girl in the hallway with a somber expression.

"I swear, I don't know how, but you've somehow learned to cheat at Jan-Ken-Pon."

"You're just pissed off because this round was over the car."

Jin glanced over at the messy haired man as he set the alarm on the gleaming black Porsche before heading towards the exit of the underground parking lot.

"So what kind of charge do you think we've got, huh?" Mugen asked from behind. "He did happen to mention that our client is a she… I hope she's got tits."

"I really doubt Zuikou would trust you of all people with a busty woman, Mugen." Jin pointed out thoughtfully. Mugen merely scoffed and headed towards the exit, his raven-haired companion in tow.

The two reached Zuikou's office in a matter of minutes, bickering all the way. Mugen didn't even bother knocking as he opened the door; Jin following him inside.

Zuikou looked up from his work; a small smirk on his face. "Ah, there you two are." He said as he leaned back in his leather chair. "I know it's been a while since you've had a charge…" he glanced at Mugen with a glint in his dark eyes, "… and I feel that this job is more than enough for the both of you to handle."

"Ah, cut the fancy talk, chrome-dome." Mugen spat. "Just cut to the chase and tell us what it is."

He paused only as he felt a sharp pain spreading in his forehead, followed by a strange warmth spreading downward. He suddenly felt very dizzy; finding that he had to hold onto the desk for support, spitting out curses the whole while.

Jin sighed as he picked up the heavy stapler from the ground; placing it back on Zuikou's desk. "You must really stop abusing Mugen like that." He chastised lightly. "As fun as it is, his concussion will make it hard for him to remember the lessons he learns from you."

"You fucking BASTARD!"

"That's true." Zuikou replied with a light laugh. "But you must admit; the effects are amusing."

"Agreed."

"What the HELL did you do that for?!"

"Mugen, please calm down. You're bleeding on the carpet."

"You THINK?!"

"My name is Kuramatsu Manzo." A man in his middle aged years explained with a curt bow. Fuu noticed several things about him that set him out in her mind. The receding hairline and sweaty brow as well as chubby cheeks and hands with fingers like sausages. He appeared to be a tad overweight and his professional looking suit and trench coat didn't seem to help his overall appearance. In fact, he seemed quite uncomfortable.

What was he trying to do? Cook his fat off?

Despite this, there were other things that aroused her curiosity. She had never met this man in her life, and he certainly didn't look like someone her family would know.

"You're an officer, aren't you?" It was more of a statement than a question that escaped her mouth; she herself was mildly surprised when it slipped. Manzo paused, but nodded curtly. The principal, meanwhile, bowed and made his leave, meaning that Fuu and Manzo were in the hall alone.

The older man coughed after a moment before speaking. "Umm… perhaps we should sit down, Kasumi-san."

"Kasumi Fuu is our client." Zuikou explained. A recently bandaged Mugen frowned with distaste while Jin remained stoic. "Of course she doesn't know this yet. It was laid down by her parents."

"Have you heard anything on the news this morning?" Manzo asked Fuu in a quiet tone. The girl shook her head.

"I tend not to watch TV in the mornings."

"What the hell?" Mugen stuffed his hands in his pockets. "We're supposed to baby sit a brat for her parents?"

"Not exactly…"

"You see, there was a shooting late last night in an alleyway somewhere in the downtown Tokyo district…"

"…as well as a murder in a hotel room across town a few hours earlier. The victims were a man and a woman. Coincidentally, they were married."

"They were both your parents." Manzo's hands were fidgeting. Fuu didn't even move.

"The Kasumi house was broken into earlier this morning as well." Zuikou stated firmly. "As I'm sure you've noticed by now, these three incidences are far from a coincidence."

"Nothing appeared to be stolen, but we'd like your confirmation on that as well." The officer leaned forward slightly. "We also believe…"

"…that Kasumi Fuu is their next target."

There was a short silence in the office as the two men seemed to be deep in thought.

"So in other words, you want us to be bodyguards for this girl." Jin said quietly.

"Ah, so it is babysitting." Mugen added, stepping back towards the door. "Well count me out. I don't care how fancy you make it sound. I'm not interested in watching some little girl."

"They're paying ten million yen alone to the guards that keep her safe."

His hand froze before it touched the handle.

"You're shitting us, right?" He was back up at the desk in seconds. "Ten million yen? That's quite the bit of dough just to watch over a kid."

There was a faint beeping sound from inside the desk. The man groaned and pulled out one of the drawers, immediately pulling out his cell phone. Flipping it open, he scowled at what had been written.

"She's been taken in by the authorities already." He cursed before flipping it shut. "We're going to need you guys to bring her in. Preferably quietly…" He added the last part hastily. Mugen grinned and stretched his limbs.

"Ooh, a kidnapping. I like the sounds of that." He chuckled as his joints cracked. "This job is getting better and better!"

Jin looked down at the picture of the teenager with a mild frown. "She's not even fifteen in this photo." He pointed out softly. He looked up at Zuikou with a serious expression. "Just how important is she to you?"

"She's important enough to have her parents killed by these men." Zuikou quipped, flicking a photo in Mugen's direction. The messy haired man caught it easily before turning to look at it.

Jin watched as his partner went rigid; his eyes widening and his brow furrowing in anger.

"I'm sure you're familiar with him." The bald man stated lightly. Mugen's teeth were clenched as he replied,

"You bet your ass I am."

Fuu was surprised to find herself at the police station only half an hour after hearing the news about her parents' murders. She had noticed that this officer who had been sent to give her the news was not much of a people person, as he not only broke the news to her quickly, but also explained her current predicament, which a normal person would have fainted in shock over.

Fuu, however, found herself feeling unusually calm.

Maybe it was because her mind refused to believe it. Another part thought that she had seen it coming, and that it was only a matter of time. It wasn't like she didn't know about her parents' ties. Nonetheless, she never recalled them doing anything wrong.

On another note, she couldn't help but be surprised at how fast she was informed of the death of her parents, who had been killed just hours ago. How did they find her so fast? It was very unusual to get a message so soon.

She ran a small hand through her loose hair. She really didn't know what to think. She needed to get away from it all.

And so she pulled out her sketchpad and began to draw.

"Fuck, the cops are acting fast on this case." A rough voice drawled from the back of the car. Mugen was sprawled out sideways on the seats, his feet dangling inches above the ground. Despite his laid back attitude, he knew to keep his feet off the leather. He just didn't bother with anything else. Jin, who was currently behind the wheel, hummed in agreement at this notion.

"Do you find it suspicious?" he asked Mugen as he stopped at the light. The scruffy man rubbed the stubble on his chin in thought as he turned to look out the window.

"This chick's got to be pretty damn important if not only Zuikou wants her, but the cops as well." he pointed out lightly. A grin spread on his tanned face as he stretched out. "She must have a pretty nice rack."

Jin sighed. It was always boobs with him. Mugen chuckled to himself before righting himself in the back seat.

"How do you think we should go about this?" He asked. Jin glanced at Mugen through the rear-view mirror and shrugged.

"Just find a way to get her out of there, and fast." Jin replied. "Knowing your outrageous tactics, you'll come up with something on the spot."

Mugen chuckled to himself, running a thumb over the stubble on his chin. "What can I say?" He grinned. "I've always been good at improvising."

Zuikou sat at his desk, feet propped up on the mahogany surface as he sipped his tea. His eyes were closed and his face calm. Everything seemed right in the world.

But as he reclined in silence, a thought struck him and he cursed, scalding his tongue with his tea.

"I must be losing my memory with age! I forgot to give them the picture of their client!"

TBC…

Yahho Watashi Wa Kataze!

Woot! I got it done! –fistinair- I really hope you people like this. Chapter two will be out eventually. For now… I need a job!

Reviews are always welcome!