Wassup, peoples! Thanks for the reviews! If it wouldn't hurt anybody, could somebody please go and read my Zelda fic and leave a REVIEW? I haven't gotten one in YEARS. I. AM. NOT. KIDDING. Years. Even if you don't play viseogames or anything, it's an original storyline and everything,so you don't have to know too much. Anyway, I've had my chat time, now it's time to get serious!
Chapter 2- Fate's Findings, pt 2
(Fuu's POV)
As Jin and I continued our journey towards Edo, I felt the childish happiness flutter in my heart. I hadn't seen Hina since the last time- when she nursed me back to health after an accident and she accompanied us for a while- and thinking about everything made me ecstatic. For starters, she made the most delicious food you could ever eat, and the paintings she did in her spare time could easily put the hottest artist nowadays to shame. She always looked after me like I was her little sister, and as she got to know the guys better, they too were treated as family.
My mind also took me to the reason we had met, making emotions swirl around in a confusing blur. Just in the city outside from her home, I had been injured by someone shooting for Mugen. Evne today I'm still confused about the whole thing, even though it was mainly my fault for not moving. It doesn't help that before the whole thing had happened, the most embarrassing thing had occured. I won't really get into it, since my cheeks still flare when I think back on it.
As the days turned into nights, I would look for both of my friends, one a little more harder since he was a journey all his own. It only took Jin and I about two days before we reached a cute little town, several nearby signs reading that Edo was north by only a few miles. Also, I noticed several familiar landmarks and remembered passing by sometime before. This made me worry more about finding my other male companion rather than look for Hina, guilt threatening my mind. I was a little confused as to why I always thought about him more than anything else; I reached the conclusion-though I was still unsettled- that this was because I was afraid of the fact that he was so reckless and there was the possibility of him being hurt. Or worse, but I forced that thought out of my head quickly.
Jin tapped me gently on the shoulder after I had strayed from the road and and almost to the grass. I walked quickly and we were both jostled against the crowd in the street. There were businesses on either sides of the street, the houses dotting the outer parts of the town. It was a very attractive place, nicely kept and friendly faces wherever you turned, but the warmth of the place didn't reach my distracted heart. Once again Jin pulled me off from the side of the road, this time actually coming to a bench outside of a dumpling stand.
I exhaled appreciatively, seeing him looking out carefully, those spectacled eyes scanning so expertly over the crowd that I was reminded of a hawk."See anything?"
He had just shook his head when there came a squeal of delight.
"Fuu? Jin? Is that you?"
There she was. I saw my friend just as her arms threw themselves over me. I was almost knocked over, but just as quickly did the same. I saw from the corner of my eye a smile lift up on the corners of Jin's mouth. As soon as Hina was done with me, she went and gave Jin a hug too, only he was totally shocked, his eyebrows raised. I've always found it funny how he can express himself without speaking!
(Jin's POV)
After Hina finished..hugging me, if that's what you would call it, she bounced back and picked up a basket thrown to the side when we were spotted. She was smiling so much her eyes were small dotes on her smooth face. I noted how she too had grown over the years, looking more like the intelligent doctor she was: the brown bag carrying her supplies in it hung snugly on her hip, a pair of glasses hanging smartly from a chain around her neck. Her dark-brown hair was back in a ponytail, giving almost a teacher-like appearance to her as well.
"I'm so gald to see you again! I was just telling aunt about you," her eyes caught something behind us and she looked over my shoulder."Where is Mugen-san?"
The smile still playing on my lips disappeared as I saw Fuu's happiness wilt just a touch and sent a claer message to the doctor before me that he hadn't arrived yet. She caught me quickly, nodding and changing the subject like a breeze of the wind. "Well, you two must be famished by now, right? I bet you'd like a nice hot bath, too," she waved for us to follow. As we did, several townspeople called out greetings to her.
I was impressed by all of this. Only three years had passed and she had found a comfortable life. We were led to the houses towards the back, only she turned sharply to the right and up a hill just past the outer stores. A fenced in yard came into view, surrounded by an assortment of trees and flowers. Once I lay eyes on the house, I knew we were at our destination. A large, comfortable looking house stood in the middle, sakura trees just outside of the porch and even more garden plants around the back. I could smell the aroma of a meal being prepared, my stomach reminding me of how hungry I was. As she stepped through the gate, Hina called out, "I'm home!"
I looked curiously as two chlidren bounded out from the porch, a little girl about eight years old and a little boy looking to be no more than three. They tackled her, reminding me of a previous greeting I had gotten from the doctor. There were giggles and babbling from both children, but as the two saw Fuu and myself, their tones dropped and their eyes grew wide.
"These are my cousins: Kimiko and Hoshi," she pointed to the girl and then the boy. Afterwords, she told the children our names, Fuu even going to Hoshi and picking him up. He seemed to like her right away, but looked my way in an unsure way. Kimiko came to me, her eyes locked on my swords. I saw that she had the same colored eyes as Hina did and even the same hair color.
"Hey mister, are those real?"
"Yes," I said slowly, reluctant to tell a child this in case she might find it as a new toy. This was not the case, however, as she only nodded.
"Hina says that swords are dangerous and only for grownups."
I looked up to her at this as she laughed, "That's right."
The front door opened loudly and an older woman came out, drying her hands. I figured her to be Hina's aunt, though otherwise I would not have guessed them to be related. There were creases of age along her forehead, making her look much older then she probably was, and her jet-black hair was short and wispy. I didn't like her eyes that much either; twin orbs of peircing black that made me feel that she was looking right into my soul.
"Are these the people you were telling me about?" her voice was sharp.
"Yes, all but one," Hina said, taking Hoshi from Fuu's arms and coming to get Kimiko. "Aunt Kumiko, is it all right if they stay here for a bit?"
"I have no choice it seems. Help those two get cleaned up. I'll go set extra plates."
After her aunt left, Hina sighed heavily,"That woman terrifies me! Come on then." Just as she passed by me, she whispered out of the corner of her mouth,"Don't worry about anything. I'll get you situated. Both of you."
(Fuu's POV)
It felt wonderful to have a full stomach for once! At dinner we had to tell Hina what we had been up to for the last few years, making us talk long after dinner was finished. When we were done, I got to bathe in a real tub with hot water. You have no idea how good that feels after walking around for three days!
My futon was soft, and I was peaceful. I wished for Mugen to be here, of course, somehow getting the feeling that he would be soon. I didn't know why, but the feeling just wouldn't go away.
Jin and I were there for a week before it happened, and on that day, Hina was going on her weekly trip to the store. She was gone, but it only seemed like minutes before she came back, a look of pure shock sparking curiousity into me. She didn't say what it was, only pulling Jin off to the side. He came back out soon enough with the same look, only he looked down at me for the longest time. What the hell were they looking at, and why wouldn't anyone tell me? My answer came to me just after supper. I was outside with the kids, playing with them as they used up the last bursts of energy. I had just picked myself up from when Kimiko had knocked me down, when I saw someone at the gate.
My breath caught in my throat, and I dared to whisper his name,"...Mugen.."
There was silence spare the slaps of my feet on grass and then the creak of the gate opening. I stopped just a few feet from him, panting as I looked at the man who had saved my life so many times before. I was hurt to see scars littering his body, a claw-like set on his right cheek. His eyes startled me the most, the brown orbs looking like that of a dog's even more than before. The ghee that the old man and I had given him still hung from his skinny body, but I could see fresh stitch marks as though it had been sown back together. He looked even more ragged than I rmembered, but I couldn't get over his eyes.
As they peirced into my own, I felt...afraid.
A/N: Ooo, dramatic end! Well, the three are together again and the tempo's going to pick up a little more in the following chapters, hopefully to please readers who like the pairings and everything. I think it's... chapters 4 and 5 that really get things moving. Anyway, review please! Also, please, please check out my Zelda story! I have the newest chapter that I'm about to post up if it interests you. You can find it on my Favorites, I think, or search for Anime Creature. The title is: "...The Heroine of Time". Okay?
