A/N: I always wanted to write a Samurai Champloo fanfic. So I figured one day, what the hell. I had a plan written out, so here it goes.


Moving In

Ch 1.0

"I don't give a fuck. Just tell the bitch tell move in then..." Mugen grumbled then looked down at the massive stack of papers in front of him. Jin, Mugen's best friend and business partner had just asked if Mugen would take in a roommate. Mugen's reaction was a complete surprise to Jin, especially since Mugen had a very boisterous appetite for women.

"You don't care that she may interfere with your... 'active' lifestyle?" But all Jin received was a grunted response. Jin took out his smart phone and began to type away. "When should I tell her to move in?"

"Shit, I don't know... Today?" Mugen took out his spare house key from his drawer and a card then threw it to Jin. "Here. Help her move in later. That's the key and the card for the elevator. I have a late 'business' dinner tonight."

"Thanks." Jin mumbled quietly as he walked out of the office... "Jackass..."

xxxxxxxxx

"So I get to move in?" Jin sat at the table of the diner as Fuu served him his meal. "How much do I have to pay?" Fuu was low on funds at the moment... Well okay, not just at the moment, for the past several YEARS she'd be low on funds.

Jin thought for a moment." He didn't actually specify. I think what you can manage will be fine. $500 I think would probably be a fair amount."

Fuu didn't want to tell Jin that that was a little too pricey, but she really needed somewhere to live. Hopping from home to home wasn't working. She needed something stable. "That'll be fine." 'For a little while at least...' With all her mom's medical bills and her own bills, she could never afford to live in a stable place. In fact she hadn't lived anywhere stable in 7 years. Back when she was 17.

Jin knew that Fuu would hop from one friend's house to another. Fuu even spent time with Shino and him every so often. For someone so young to be hopping from house to house was always a mystery to him. When he first met Shino she was a waitress just like Fuu. They had both worked here, but soon he and Shino's relationship became serious and eventually Shino stopped working all together. "You can move in today. Mugen will be working late, so he said you could move in whenever." Jin smiled at the sight of Fuu's eyes twinkling with joy.

"That's great! Will you and Shino help me move in?" That was an excuse, they both knew that. Fuu's belongings were whatever she could fit into her car.

"Of course." Jin handed Fuu a slip of paper with the directions and address to the house. "We'll come by when you get off work." Jin took out his wallet, but Fuu placed her hand on his.

"Food's on the house." A customer waved at Fuu from another table and she winked at the other customer. "I gotta go. Thanks Jin."

xxxxxxxxx

At 9 o'clock Jin and Shino waited next to Fuu's old broken down station wagon. It was packed with bags of clothes, a futon roll and a few keep sakes... It was basically everything Fuu owned. Shino frowned when she saw the objects inside. "Fuu needs someone." She told Jin. "She needs a decent guy. Someone to take care of her." Shino held tightly onto Jin's arm.

Fuu walked out of the dinner, blowing her bangs out of her eyes with fatigue. She was still in her uniform, a blue dress and an apron. "I thought that shift would never end!" Fuu smiled as she unlocked her car. Despite being practically homeless she always had a pretty sunny disposition about everything.

"Ready?" Shino asked with a supportive smile. Fuu nodded and they left towards Fuu's new home. They pulled up to a large sky rise and Fuu immediately felt out of place. She followed Jin and Shino as they drove through the parking garage. Finally they settled on a spot close to the elevator. The trio took all the items out of the car and headed towards the elevator. They headed up towards the apartment.

"So what's it like?" Fuu asked excitedly as she held two large bags in her hands.

"You'll really like it." Shino said with a small smile. "We had dinner here once." The elevator stopped and it opened up to a spacious hallway.

"This is the garage entrance, on the other end of the hallway is the entrance from the lobby." Jin told her as he unlocked the door. The second the door opened up Fuu's mouth fell open. "This is the penthouse suite." Jin said as he saw Fuu stood in the threshold.

Fuu walked in with her bags of her belongings and thought she was dreaming. The penthouse had two levels with exquisite furnishings. "I don't even wanna walk in." Fuu said as she removed her shoes when she entered. She followed Jin as he walked up the stairs and towards the guest bedroom.

"This is your room. There's an attached bath and a walk in closet." Jin placed Fuu's things on the floor.

"There's already stuff in here. Am I supposed to move it out?" Fuu eyed the furniture curiously. Whoever this Mugen guy was had pretty decent taste.

"I highly doubt that Mugen will want you to move everything out. It's always served as a guest room, so I wouldn't worry about it."

Fuu smiled as she looked around the spacious room, the sleigh bed, armoir and other wooden pieces were made of dark cherry wood. She had no doubt the man spent thousands of dollars on the furniture alone. There was even a flat screen plasma mounted on the wall as well. Fuu fought the urge to pinch herself, but she felt like this HAD to be a dream. She hadn't had something of her own in a long time. Jin and Shino stayed with Fuu for a few more minutes then left for the night.

After locking all the doors Fuu went to take a shower, she was amazed at the marble countertops and obviously custom shower with dual shower heads. She took a shower, probably the best shower she'd ever taken in her life and wrapped herself in her favorite pink kimono. Maybe kimonos weren't the standard clothing anymore, but she loved it. It was comfy and familiar. She wandered around the penthouse a little bit, but didn't dare open any doors that weren't opened. She perused the kitchen, read the labels and smell some of the foods. "A wine fridge?" Fuu spied one in the kichen and shook her head. "This guy must be class up the ass..." She then walked up to the doors leading to the balcony and looked out. It held a beautiful view of the city. Fuu spent a few minutes staring down at a view of the city she'd never seen before then went back to her room.

xXxXxXxXx

It was about 4 o'clock in the morning when Mugen did come back to the penthouse. As he walked through the door he stumbled and nearly fell on his face. "What the fuck?" Mugen growled as he looked down. It was a pair of tiny, ugly ass black sneakers. They were obviously cheap shit. It must belong to that chick that Jin kept bitching about. He didn't even ask what she looked like, for all he knew there could be some ugly cow living in his guest bedroom. Instead of throwing the shoes like he normally would have he shoved them carelessly out of the walkway. "Who the hell leaves shoes in the middle of the walkway anyways."

After nudging the shoes out of his way he stumbled up his stairs and undressed. After undressing he collapsed onto his bed and immediately fell asleep.

xXxXxXx

At around dawn Fuu stretched out languidly across the huge soft mattress of her bed. Normally each muscle in her body felt tight and sore, but after a night on that super awesome mattress she felt refreshed and ready to start her day. She crawled out of bed, throwing on her light kimono and walked out of the room and into the kitchen. 'Maybe I'll make my new roomie some breakfast!' She thought excitedly. After gathering up some ingredients Fuu began making a huge breakfast.

Mugen woke up about a hour after he fell asleep to the sound of clanking pots and pans. He flung open the double doors to his room angrily, clad only in a pair of boxers. Stomping down the stairs, he was went into the kitchen and stared at the rude bitch who woke him the fuck up, WAY too fucking early. "Can you do that shit quieter?!" He asked rudely to the woman. She turned to him, wearing her pink kimono, her light brown eyes wide with surprise. Mugen stopped for a second, she almost looked like some scared kid. "Are you just gonna stare at me all day Girly? 'Cause I'm tired as shit, and I really wanna go back to bed." Mugen almost smirked at the way that the girl's eyes narrowed angrily.

"I WAS making breakfast for you too. But if you're gonna be a complete DOUCHEBAG about it then whatever..." The girl turned back to her cooking without another word. Mugen growled and stormed back upstairs and slammed his door shut.

When she heard the door slam Fuu thought she was gonna die from excitement. Her new roommate was handsome.. okay TOTALLY HOT! The way he looked compeltely disheveled, he looked dangerous. He had chocolate brown hair that went in every direction, his body was evenly tanned and he had two very odd blue tattoos on his wrists. Fuu fanned herself as she slaved over the stove. Good thing he was an asshole otherwise she might have jumped his bones right then and there.

After finishing up breakfast and saving a plate for Mugen she got ready for work.

xXxXxXx

Later in the morning Mugen slid out of bed and down towards the kitchen. 'Wonder if the bitch is still here?' On the kitchen counter there was a note.

Still made you a plate, even though you DON'T deserve one. Look in the fridge.

He laughed and opened up the fridge. There was a large plate with plenty of food for him. With a wide grin he heated up the plate of food and brewed himself a large pot of coffee. Maybe rooming with this broad wouldn't be such a pain in the ass. She certainly could cook, that was a lot more than he could say about a lot of chicks he met. Most of the chicks he came across were heiress bitches who'd never even boiled a pot of water. He dug into his food quickly and finished pretty quick.

After showering and tossing on a dark gray pinstripe suit Mugen left for his office. He hopped onto his black Mercedes Benz and drove through the streets of Tokyo. Mugen got to his office a few minutes later and his secretary Yatsuha bombarded him with a stack of papers. "This is for that divorce case for that big shot marketing exec." She said pointing to a specific line on the papers. "The wife wanted to add some other demands from her soon to be EX-husband." Mugen sat down at his wide desk and began to absent mindedly read the papers.

"It's all reasonable demands." Mugen leaned back against his chair and read at the paperwork in his hands. "I think we can convince the husband to agree, but I have to see what Jin thinks."

xXxXxXx

Further down the street, in a little diner, Fuu was running around the packed diner. She'd been working for 5 hours already, though for most she only had a few more hours to go, but FUU had a double shift. So that was an extra 8 hours of dealing with disgruntled people, carrying heavy trays and trying to keep up with refilling drinks.

"Miss, could I get another cup of coffee?"

"I need some ketchup."

"Where's my silverware?!"

Fuu huffed with fatigue, but expertly diffused each situation with ease. Her tips had always been good. She was an expert at pleasing the crowds. Her feet ached constantly and she swore that she was wasting away her twenties in this diner.

"Ma'am? Could I get a kids menu?"

xXxXxXx

At the end of Fuu's day she decided she wanted to just go back to Mugen's penthouse and watch a movie. After changing into her freshly washed pink kimono she browsed Mugen's collection of DVDs. She ended up picking out a scary movie and then settled herself onto the couch with a bowl of popcorn.

Mugen heard screaming coming from within his penthouse. "HELP ME!!! PLEASSEEE!!!" Panicing slightly he quickly unlocked the door and burst into the walkway. It was dark in the apartment, except for the flickering of his TV. Mugen recognized the sound of his favorite scary movie. The lawyer kicked off his shoes and walked into the living room as he loosened his tie. His new roommate was sitting on his expensive Italian couch, eating a bowl of popcorn and staring with wide eyes at the screen.

"Enjoying the movie?" He whispered from behind her.

Fuu jumped from her place on the couch at the sound of Mugen's low, smooth voice. "Geez!" Fuu yelled out with irritation. "Scare the crap outta me why don't you!" The man smirked at her and tossed off his gray blazer. Fuu scooted over on the couch and allowed Mugen some room next to her. Wordlessly the girl shoved the bowl of popcorn towards Mugen in offering. 'Why do all the good looking ones have to be jerks?' She thought to herself.

"Eating my food too?" Mugen smirked, Fuu's head snapped to the man and her eyes narrowed a bit.

"I'm gonna split the cost for food too." She looked at Mugen with irritation. "Jerk." She muttered quietly.

Mugen chuckled at the woman's response. She was a btich, but it was definitely entertaining. "Wanna tour of the joint?" Mugen offered awkwardly.

"Sure!" Fuu had only known of four places. Her room, the kitchen, the living room and the balcony. She knew there was an upstairs, but she hadn't quiet mustered enough courage to go up there.

Mugen led her up the stairs and into a hallway. "This door is to a spare bathroom, that one is to my office and that one leads to my bedroom and bathroom. Basically, all these rooms are off limits." The pair walked back down the stairs. "Out there is the balcony. It has a pretty bitchin' view of the city."

"It's great." Fuu muttered in amazement as they entered the balcony. "You've got a fantastic view."

Mugen snickered. "I know. I pay a shitload for it." Fuu just rolled her eyes.

xXxXxXxXx

A few days later, Fuu entered the large penthouse and saw a note on the kitchen counter and an envelope with some cash. She hadn't seen Mugen much, he always came home at some ridiculous time in the middle of the night and would leave by dawn. She didn't want to pry and ask where he goes all the time.. It'd be way too rude.

Since you live here too might as well chip in with the groceries. Here's a list...

Fuu frowned when she saw all the brand name and expensive items on the long list. She pulled her pay check out of her pocket and sighed. "Good bye money." She said before shoving the money back into her pocket.

Fuu wrote some more things she needed onto the list. She took out her phone and called Shino to meet her at the penthouse. An hour later the two girls were pushing a cart in the local grocery store.

"I can tell this is going to get very expensive living here."

"Maybe." Shino said with a finger to her lips. "You know you could always......"

"No Shino." Fuu interrupted with a stern frown. Fuu grabbed a box off the shelves.

"It's just a suggestion." Shino shrugged. "Anyways, what's it like living with Mugen." Fuu's head snapped towards the now blushing Shino.

"What about Jin?"

"What about Jin? I'm just ASKING." Shino smiled laughingly. Fuu shook her head and laughed.

"He's not there often and what do I know.. I've only lived there a week."

"According to Jin they've been working a lot on some big case. It's supposed to be over soon. Or at least that's what Jin keeps saying. Maybe you'll start seeing Mugen more often."

xXxXxXxXx

Mugen walked into his apartment later that night and was surprised to see Fuu sleeping on his couch. She was wearing that pink kimono again.. He didn't know why she'd wear something so outdated... whatever. He approached her and nearly smiled, she looked so peaceful and completely exhausted. Mugen thought back to a short conversation he and Fish Face had earlier in the afternoon.

"Do you even know her name?" Fish Face said with his usual.. fish face.

"No..." Mugen said with a shrug. "We don't talk much."

"How is she adjusting to your place? Does she still walk around amazed?" Mugen swore he saw a small smile tugging at Jin's lips.

Mugen's face scrunched up. "How the hell should I know? I know my apartment's the shit, but what's the big deal? I'm never there anyways.. Just to sleep."

" HEY GIRLY!" Mugen yelled, Fuu jumped up from the couch and immediately hit the floor with a loud thud.

"What the HELL Mugen?!?!" Fuu glared at him, rubbing a painful spot on her bottom.

Mugen pulled her up roughly by her wrist. "We're going to dinner." Mugen told her shoving her towards her room. "Get dressed. Wear something nice." Fuu was about to protest, but Mugen shot her a look that said that he was not messing around. She walked into her room and looked at her sparse closet, she honestly had nothing that seemed remotely "nice". She had a few pairs of ratty jeans, tee-shirts, several work uniforms and a few kimonos. There was one dress, but she'd never were it unless it was a really important night. The dress was once her mother's...

"Hey Jerk!" Fuu called out into the hall. "I have nothing to wear." Mugen burst into the room and looked at her empty closet.

"You weren't jokin'." His face was scrunched up. "Just grab something casual. I'll save the fancy meal til Friday. So buy something decent on Friday will ya? No grandma dresses or business shit. "

Fuu placed her hands on her hips and looked pointedly at the man in front of her. "Will you just get out so I can change?"

Mugen grunted and made his way to leave the room, "It's not like you got anything to look at anyways." He grumbled. Fuu screeched and shoved him out the door. Slipping into a pair of jeans and a pink baby tee she walked out of her room.

"Well you really did go casual." Mugen snickered slightly.

Fuu huffed and pushed a piece of her hair out of her eyes. "Jeez, not all of us wear Armani suits every day." She slipped on her nicest pair of shoes, which were actually 2 year old pointed toe flats.

"Whatever." The pair went down to the parking garage and Mugen walked towards a shiny red sportscar.

"You know what they say about guys with sportscars?" Fuu said in a giggle. Mugen shot her a dark look.

"Fine, if you're gonna bitch." Mugen began walking towards a new Mercedes. "And if that's too flashy for you. We could take the Audi or my motorcycle."

Fuu rolled her eyes. "Don't you have more worthwhile things to spend your money on? If those are my choices I guess I pick the Audi, but I still think it's a little flashy."

Mugen snickered. "Come on." She followed behind him as they got to his silver Audi. The pair got in and began to drive through the streets of Tokyo. They ended up at Mugen's favorite burger place and each ordered a burger and fries. "So..." Mugen began, 'Step one find out her name.' But Fuu had food on her mind as she inhaled her burger in 5 huge bites.

"Sorry what was that?" She smiled bashfully as she picked at her fries. Mugen stared slack jawed at the woman.

"You eat like a cow."

"WHAT?" Fuu growled angrily. "You're just jealous I have a high metabolism."

"For now." Mugen chuckled. "Wait a year or 2. You'll be as big as a house." He took a bite of his burger. "So tell me about you."

"Did Jin put you up to this?" Fuu asked suspiciously. The man sputtered and Fuu smirked. "He did. I don't care. I'm a waitress who can never seem to make ends meet." Fuu smiled. "That's it."

"That's it?" He asked, he could tell she was lying. It was obvious.

"What about you?" Fuu asked inbetween bites. "What's your story?"

"I'm a lawyer, I was top of my class. Jin and I started our firm about 5 years ago and we've expanded extremely quickly. I fought my way through life to get where I am now. The end." He took a sip of his drink. "Oh, and I live a very active life. Literally, sexually.. you know." He waggled his eyebrows, elicitly a disgusted snort from Fuu.

"Wow." Fuu said with an amused smile. "Good story." The bill came and Fuu screamed at Mugen to let her pay for herself. "I can pay for myself!" She insisted angrily. Finally, Mugen relented, though he didn't feel that it was right since he was the one who insisted they eat out. They arrived at the apartment a few minutes later and it was starting to get late.

"I have an early day." Mugen stated simply.

"So do I."

"Oh, before I forget. Rent's due in 2 weeks and splitting it in fourths would be $1500. I figured a fourth was fair because I have my room, a spare room and an office. I don't care if you leave cash or a check.. It doesn't really matter." Mugen completely missed the way Fuu's face paled.

'I definitely am NOT going to be able to make this payment.' She could feel the stirrings of a panic attack coming on. The pair left and as they drove Fuu could feel herself beginning to sweat. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it would beat out of her chest. It was getting harder to breath and she felt like she needed air. Splitting the rent into fourth was fair, but was STILL out of her price range. WAY out of her price range. Maybe it was naive of her, if she asked why his apartment was so damn expensive.. She refused to look completely foolish in front of him.

"Are you okay?" Mugen asked as they approached their apartment.

"No." Fuu squeaked. "Thanks." Mugen shrugged and Fuu heard him locked himself into his office. She rushed into her room and sifted through her bags. She pulled out a ratty box of cigarettes and snuck out onto the balcony. Lighting up quickly she sank into a chair. As awful of a habit it was, it was her habit. It was definitely the worst habit she had.. She just needed to calm down after that mini panic attack.. 'Great... I just reminded myself.' How was she going to get enough money to pay rent. Her paychecks left her with barely $250 after her expenses. It wasn't like she even spent any money on anything extravegant With all the money she used on food she was going to be left with even less than that. She needed money.. and fast. Taking out her cell phone she called Shino.


A/N: It's a very long paragraph.. I admit that.