Revised Chapter

Fuu looked out the window of the carriage longingly. It had been almost two years since she had actually traveled anywhere for the most part, of course this time she was in much nicer accommodations. She and two other waitresses were traveling to the next town over. The woman who owned the tea house apparently had a brother in this next town who was hosting the wedding party for a couple in his restaurant.

Word was that the celebration would be huge. The owner of a local doujo and a kimono seamstress (who was rumored to be an incredibly kind and beautiful woman) were the two being married, Fuu hadn't had the chance to discover their names, though she figured it would be only a matter of time. The brother needed a couple helping hands for the special day and had sent out for extra workers. Fuu, to her own glee had been chosen. It was nice to get out after such a long time.

The view of the dirt road going by brought back memories. She could just see those two now. She wondered what they would think if they saw her? She had filled out finally, her figure becoming that of a woman's. She had hips and breasts, which she wasn't too shy about showing off. She didn't freak out if her kimono fell off her shoulder a bit here and there, though some elderly women would scowl a little. She was young and having fun. It didn't really matter anyway. She was already spoken for and she hardly ever got hit on by anyone. All the regulars knew who she was and the travelers soon found out.

Her hands fingered the edge of her sleeves. What would it be now? Two weeks? Yes, two weeks until her own wedding. She blushed inwardly. He was a nice boy. In fact he was the son of the owner of the tea house she worked at. She had met him only two months after she left that island, and six months later they began their little relationship. It had been nothing really. He was a sweet heart and he was incredibly kind to her. He had asked her to marry him about three months ago, and she had said yes. He was the kind of man who would make a great husband. He would always be there for her whenever she needed him.

Apparently he hadn't been there too much longer than she had. His mother and him had moved there a year or two before from a fishing village on the coast, which was apparent in his darker than natural skin and rough hands. When they had first began getting to know each other he would tell her stories about working the docks. His job had been to help the ships dock and unload, sending supplies to the necessary areas, but he had heard more than his fair share of stories about the sea. Other countries, precious jewels, pirates. It had all been interesting to her. Perhaps that was why she chose him out of all of the boys that had shown interest. He had kept her attention so easily.

Fuu's head popped up as the town started to grow in the distance, maybe seeing this ceremony would give her ideas about her own!

Mugen stretched slowly walking into the town. He had heard that there was a wedding ceremony going on, and where ever there were idiots getting shackled there was also lots of food, usually of the free sort. God, how long had it been since he had eaten? At least two days. The real question is how long had it been since he had eaten a decent meal, and that have been at least 4 months ago. He was out of money and irritable.

It had been a while since he had had a good lay. It had taken him a good couple of months to bring himself to screw a woman at all after what happened on the island. He would see those locks of hair laid out on his chest and all he could think about was Fuu laying over him and crying on that beach. That would always cause him to flinch. All thoughts of being hard went out the window when seeing all that blood flash across his eyes. Don't get him wrong, he liked a good fight, but that had been the one time he was on the verge of death and sure as hell wasn't willing to go.

Mugen ducked out of the way of a carriage heading straight for the center of the city. He supposed that's where he should be heading to as well, so he just followed the wake of the carriage into the town center.

He walked like some head strong rooster as he made his way through the crowd. People would stare at him from time to time but he was used to it. The tattoos and the scars already drew enough attention to him. Whispers always followed him where ever he went, children being pulled away. It suited him fine though. What did he care? He was proud of the tattoos. They were badges representing what he had been though. The three pale scars across his cheek made him look even more dangerous, but he liked to think of them as a harsh reminder. He would see them every time he looked at his face in the still water of a barrel or a lake. He won. It was the most difficult battle he had ever been in, but he sure as hell fucking won!

He gave off his classic smirk as he entered the center of the town. He could smell all of the food specifically coming from a restaurant nearby. The carriage he had seen earlier was stationed out front of it, its passengers having already emptied and gone inside. He would have to be patient and wait till the shackling was over, which made him want to gag.

How pussy whipped did you have to be to get attached to a nagging little bitch? How stupid did you have to be to think you needed someone screeching in your ear at all times? He was about to roll his eyes when he caught sight of the man dressed as the groom. Mugen thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head, and he tripped over his own getta clad feet hitting the ground with a crashing noise as he knocked over a bench.

Jin shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. This had probably been the first time he actually felt awkward. He was getting married to Shino. In only a few hours, he, Jin the loner, would be married. Sure he lived with her already but adding on that word to their relationship was territory he had never crossed. What scared him the most is that he was truly happy about it. He had never once pictured himself getting married in all of his life. He thought he would be dead by now really. But a year ago the hunting had stopped and he had actually been able to settle down.

He owned his own doujo now, which felt incredibly weird the more he thought about it. Most of his students were a few years younger than Fuu when he had first come in contact with the girl. Little men, who hadn't yet grown into their bodies, or really understood how they worked. There was something endearing about the awkward clumsiness to them. It was probably the reason why he had decided to continue teaching. Other than the fact he wanted to be survived by something.

He stepped out of the small inn and into the center of the town where their ceremony was to be held. He didn't understand it but something about Shino and himself had spoken to the town's people here. They took them in easily and they had become a vital part of the community. Shino had been elated when people wanted to help with the ceremony, and free of cost. The only thing they really had to pay for was the food and they still got a bit of a discount on that as well.

Jin couldn't think of a time when anyone had been so generous to him. Well maybe Fuu had been but one person and fifty people were really quite a different matter. He would have like to invite her to this ceremony but he hadn't seen her since they separated. It really was thanks to her than he and Shino met after all. If he hadn't been traveling with her he would have never stopped there.

Jin turned his head sharply at the sound of a crash, gripping the hilt of his sword, ready for any imminent danger. Today would be a day of firsts it seemed. Jin's stoic expression actually broke into one of shock for about three seconds before returning to normal. Jin walked over to a crumpled Mugen and stared down at him.

"Something wrong?"

Fuu and a few of the other girls rushed out of the restaurant at the loud crashing noise. To her utter shock, there before her stood Jin and Mugen. Well Mugen wasn't really standing, but he was there, right in front of her eyes.

"M-Mugen? J-Jin?" she could hardly spit the words out of her mouth as she stepped forward.

It didn't take her long to notice what Jin was wearing and realization smacked her in the face. Without even really thinking about it she skipped right over to the both of them and hugged Jin, and hard. She had missed the brotherly like figure. She pulled away and looked at Mugen, who from the looks of him had no idea about Jin getting married. It only took her a second to figure out why he was here. The prospect of free food.

Mugen didn't even get a chance to answer Jin's question before a flock of what were obviously waitresses rushed out of the restaurant. Most of them looked at him in fear, but one woman took a hesitant step forward and he heard his name tumble from her lips. It was the sound of her voice that sent Mugen through another dramatic state of shock. It was Fuu. She sure had filled out though.

The more he looked at her the more he saw her. Her face was basically the same, maybe a little more angular as she had lost some of the childish baby fat. It was just the body that threw him for a loop. When she bounced over and hugged Jin it confirmed it. Always glorifying the fish face. Mugen was just the flea ridden dog. He frowned slightly and picked himself up off the ground.

Jin was in the same sense of shock, though he didn't show it. The shock faded into happiness as he felt Fuu's arms hugging him though. He had missed the girl. Though he probably wouldn't voice it. Even on the day of his wedding he wasn't emotional enough to go spilling that kind of stuff. He didn't say anything. He only smiled slightly and gave her shoulder a light squeeze.

It didn't take him to long to notice that Mugen wasn't all too happy about Fuu hugging him. He had always supposed Mugen liked Fuu, and she had surely liked him, but nothing had ever been confirmed. Thefact was any act of jealousy could also be him feeling like he was insulted by not being put on the same level.

Fuu of course didn't notice any of this as she walked over to Mugen once he was up off the ground. She dusted him off quickly. She always did take care of him when she had traveled with him. After making sure he wasn't filthy she hugged him as well. Though the hug didn't last as long as the one she had given Jin.

She hadn't cared about Mugen in the same way she did Jin. Jin was her protective brother, Mugen was something different entirely and she couldn't let him know about how she had felt, how she still felt when she looked at him, she wasn't really sure she was ready to confront those emotions herself. She was getting married and that was that. She didn't have time to dream about the beautiful wild man who always came to her rescue as fast as he could, and just as fast could enter a verbal sparing match with her.

Mugen felt like slapping the little brat the entire time she was dusting him off, and he was about to lift his hand to do so when she had hugged him. He had to keep his concentration straight in front of him once he saw Fuu's chest squished up against his own. God it was cleavage heaven down there, the way he could see straight down the front of her kimono. He was almost relieved when she pulled away sooner than she had from fish face.

He could tell from the expression on Jin's face that he was laughing at him on the inside and all Mugen could do was glare at him. He wanted to yell. 'Ha ha laugh your fucking head off pansy! At least mines got boobs!' but at the same time he knew Fuu wasn't his to be saying that about. And he wasn't in the least bit going to admit that he had missed her like that. He wasn't going to admit that he missed her at all if he could get away with it.

Jin couldn't help want to laugh at Mugen's expression when Fuu was hugging him. Considering Jin had never felt attracted to Fuu, her breasts against him really hadn't fazed him. He had Shino for that kind of thing anyway he supposed. Even if they had bothered him he would have covered it up a whole lot better than Mugen was doing. He had looked down at Fuu when she hugged him, his eyes getting big for just a second before his head had popped up to stare intensely at a plank of wood not too far away. Jin only gave his eyes a mischievous look, before leading the two into a tea house across the open square.