T I T L E : Cruelty and the Beast
C H A P T E R : Chapter One - Realisation
A U T H O R : ViviBell
R A T I N G : T - Mugen's poor language. Sorry for the potty-mouth.
S P O I L E R S : Yush. Takes place after the series has ended.
P A I R I N G S : MugenxFuu MugenxOC
S U M M A R Y : She has the heart of an adventurer. Inside, Fuu can feel herself being torn between the logic of her mind and the desire and longing that lurks beneath her innocent facade; between the voice that screams for another epic journey and other voyage of self-discovery. But without the comfort of her companions Mugen and Jin can she manage?
D I S C L A I M E R : Don't own Samurai Champloo or any of its characters.
T WO . M O N T H S . L A T E R
The wind blew softly now; the sweet bell of the chimes resonating through out the small quarter to celebrate the blazon glare of the sunset. The gilded tips of the various houses and shops radiated a warm glow about the peaceful village, providing light for those few lingering customers that stalked through the aged walkways; straw hats curling secretively over their features in a shroud of darkness that erased the fine lines and curves that characterized a person.
It was beautiful no doubt. This small southern town was picturesque – a real quaint area that Fuu knew she would have longed for in her youth. The little tea house she worked at was far more productive and successful than the vague recollection of the old place she used to work at when she was still a young teenager. The villagers were kind; generally an older class of residents that were too old and senile to have even the slightest bad streak within them, that would come to the tea house for a relaxing afternoon. Of course, you had the odd character that was part of some gang that brought in his brigade of unorthodox geishas and asked for bottles of sake until closing time. Aside from those select few that Fuu had to batter away when they would reach out drunkenly for her kimono, all was relatively peaceful.
The petite waitress smiled weakly at her surroundings, comfortably inclined towards the wooden enforced frame of the doorway as she watched the citizens roll by; greeting the odd few that exited from the tea house before scuttling off onto their own paths in search of their home.
Fuu had not grown much in height since that faithful day she had parted ways with the ronin and the vagabond, nonetheless she had begun to fill out the gaps in her pink kimono with age though she was hardly prepared to admit that she had anything that could impress… him. She shook the notion from her mind.
"Fuu."
Fuu peered round her shoulder at a small woman who hobbled towards the exit; back curving with age with skeletal hands that clutched at a crooked walking stick.
"Hitomi-San," Fuu greeted the elder woman with a genuine grin, her arms outstretched to help her though she was waved off by the proud grandmother.
"Now Fuu, just because I am old doesn't mean I am to be pitied," she scolded the eighteen year old waitress despite her evident smile. Her withered arms clutched at the stick harder as she dragged herself to the exit; peering at the collection of people that trotted back and forth through the streets. Fuu was staring at them wistfully, her soft gaze caught on a trio in particular – two men and a girl that were lounging together at a cheap-food stand on the other end of the street. The foreigners were ravaging the food in front of them, reminding Fuu of memories that had never failed to cheer her up – and sadden her – when they played in her head.
"Ahh, what it means to travel, eh, Fuu?"
She nodded; a mixed glimmer of admiration and longing filtering into her chocolate eyes as she continued to observe the trio with interest. Although Fuu was a good business woman and would never get less than what was required, she had to admit that she had grown a soft spot for wandering travelers and would give odd discounts to the few that reminded her of times long past. She chuckled unhappily under her breath. It's over now…
"I shall be in here tomorrow Fuu, and I expect some good herbal tea as always," the old woman noted as she plopped herself down the few steps onto the bumpy path, molding into the crowds that blossomed around her.
"Of course! Have a safe walk home," Fuu called, waving her arm frantically to Hitomi regardless of the fact that the customer was no longer looking her direction. Without any company, Fuu felt lonelier than ever – and it was at this time, when she was told to close shop during the early hours of dusk that she turned to her memories; when she turned to Jin and Mugen.A few moments after the sunset, there was an uneasy silence. Rolls of dirt and trash flowed down the forgotten paths; the streets barren and cold in comparison to the warm lighting that illuminated the small houses in the distance.
The stars provided a strange glow; a mysterious shine that equated the sunset in beauty, yet had an eerie quality that both unnerved and enticed the waitress. Quietly, she bonded the shutters together before making her way towards the entrance to the tea house that acted as her work place and home. "Another… uneventful day," she murmured to herself as she lingered by the entrance, hoping for something, anything that could break the rift in her chartered life.
Nothing. Just the hushed coo of the wind.
She turned to leave. A hand sudden gripped her shoulder.
It was reflex – that's all it was. Simple reflex. She'd learnt the hard way that being a woman in this day and age was impossible: kidnapping, brothels and insane men were all part of the job of being of the feminine gender. So she'd learnt that kicking or swiping at whatever touched her would serve her better than the timid façade that she adopted as a teenager and allowing that to happen. If they didn't want her… well… they shouldn't be grabbing young women anyway!
Twirling round she shoved her hand roughly against her assailant, eyes held shut as she used her gut instinct to propel her movements. She was thankful she hit something; the pliable underside of something. In the heat of her victorious hit, she couldn't contain her excitement and adrenalin rush.
"TAKE THAT Y'A JERK!" She yelled triumphantly, feeling the bony fingers that surrounded her shoulders ease up slightly. She heard the man groan in agony though the string of words that followed were muffled against the hand that covered his face.
"F'luffin, blish," was all she could make out, but it wasn't as if she cared whether he said anything or not – until she was safe inside, she wasn't prepared to stop and stare.
Lunging for the doorway her kimono flew out in waves around her; the loose sleeves swooshing along side as she made a desperate leap for safety. So near, yet so far. Fuu felt like she was extended in mid-air for minutes before she realized that the door was not coming any closer and her extended hand was simply grappling at thin air; stretching for something that was far beyond her clutching fingers. Her attacker had grabbed hold of her free arm while she turned, preventing her from making a run.
That's when the panic settled in and Fuu reverted to her frantic struggles rather than focusing an attack on her capturer. Adrenaline surged through her veins and the world around her seemed to drift into a haze. All that mattered was that few steps that stood between her and the door. But her flailing didn't get her anywhere – all it managed was to make her more tired, and in the process, more panicky and erratic with her movements. It was a cycle that continued to drain her of her energy.
"LET – ME – GO!"
"Bl-udy he-wll. Cwazy blish."
Turning her head to the side, her eyes tried to focus on the person behind her. She couldn't see straight. Her body trembled and continued to wrestle despite the uselessness of it all. It took her a minute, but her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness that engulfed them, and the blazon stripes of blue that were tattooed on the wrist of the assailant, taunting her memories to reveal themselves. His hand continued to conceal much of his face, and Fuu did not dare call out his name without proper recognition in spite of the temptation to do so. She had not said his name out loud of so long now: she only dare whisper it in her mind from time to time – and even that was difficult to do.
Fuu could tell by the way he was rubbing that she must have taken a good swipe at his nose – hence the appalling pronunciation of his words."W-who are you?" she asked, calmer now.
"A broke custo'ma, you 'tupid girl," he replied, finally releasing his nose from his pincer grip and letting his hand drop to the side.
He didn't notice her – but Fuu recognized that face anywhere; that violent gleam in his eyes that burned like little jewels in the night light. Before she could stop herself she had halted her thrashing and whirled round into his grasp. Her arms were wide open and while she attempted to embrace him, she managed to slap her backhand against his chest in effort to reach his neck. She pulled back sheepishly as he recoiled from the second blow from the female.
"Shit! D'you always abuse your customers?" he asked the girl, perplexed by her second attack. Nonetheless, as he glanced at her a second time he seemed to adjust to the fact that it was indeed… her. Fuu acknowledged the recognition in his eyes and beamed up at him.
"Mugen!"
"Bitch?"
Not exactly the right word, but she let it slip considering that she had just assaulted him… twice.
"You didn't recognize me, huh?" she stated proudly, believing that it was her noticeable change in curves that deceived Mugen.
"Yea'. Dunno how I didn't though."
She looked at him, perplexed. "What do you mean?"
Yawning and rubbing a hand over the area of his chest that she slapped, he gave a nonchalant shrug. "I should'a known no chick could have such'a whiny voice as yours."
Yup, that was Mugen alright; crude and vulgar as ever. Nonetheless his presence alone was enough to overshadow his faults, and Fuu again found herself inclined towards him, hoping for an embrace.
Mugen backed away warily at her advances. He eyed her extended hand with renewed caution and she laughed at his response.
"Would you like to come inside?"
"That's what I want'd in the first place," he told her casually, retaining that façade of indifference that was characteristic of him when he did was no in control of the conversation. Fuu merely smiled and turned on her heels, trying with failing difficulty to control that twisting in her gut and the muscles that twitched at the corners of her lips. He was here.
Fuu watched her companion contently as she placed the bowl of cold dumplings before Mugen.
"Sorry we didn't have anything else. The place closed down hours ago."
Mugen did not appear to hear her as he ravaged the meal in front of him, shoving stick after stick of dumplings into his mouth until his cheeks were bloated and his lips failed to close in around the amount of food. He looked the same – if not wilder that before. A dry patch of blood led from his nose to his lip as reminiscence of Fuu's attack, adding to his wild appearance. His hair was only slightly longer than before, yet it still defied gravity and grew upwards like horns from his skull. All in all, she was glad to see he was alright, but his ravenous appetite showed that he had seen some difficult times. Still, she was not about to question it now – at least, not directly. She couldn't bring herself to be so straightforward with her old companion; even after all they had been through. It had been three years after all – and time changed people.
"So, why are you all the way down south, Mugen?" she asked as passively as she could. Her nervous gestures – looking at her nails, tugging at the lining of her kimono – all revealed her anxious nature. She knew he hadn't come all the way down here to see her – no! Preposterous idea! The thought of it made her convulse, though admittedly, her cheeks flushed at the prospect.
"Do shit," he said as he swallowed the remains of his meal. He wiped a hand over his mouth and coughed loudly.
Fuu felt her heart sink. "Oh… so not to see me, huh?" she whispered before she could stop herself. Mugen could not interpret the disappointment in her voice and continued apathetically.
"Fuck no. How'd you expect me to find you here? After you and four-eyes buggered off." He paused and took a swig of his tea to chase the food down. He grumbled madly and pulled a face, imitating Jin. "'Lets meet again' – what bullshit! How'd we s'ppose to meet if we haven't got a clue where he's at? Idiot."
"Maybe he believed fate would bring us together again."
"Pft. Whatever."
"Well it's true. Look at us now? Pretty hard not to believe its fate, huh?"
Mugen seemed to consider her words, but he did not voice his answer.
"So, why are you-"
"D'you have 'ny sake around here?" he said loudly, his voice bounding off the walls as he spoke. Fuu felt her heart give a jolt at the volume and her eyes darted to the small corridor that stemmed off into the recesses of the tea shop where the owners were sleeping. She was sure that they would fire her for sure if they caught her with a customer this late at night.
"Mugen," she hissed. "Lower your voice!"
"What?" He squinted at her. She was speaking in such a low voice that he could not interpret what she wanted.
Fuu slammed her palm onto her forehead, cursing in an effort to release some of the tension. He was such a dunce when he wanted to be.
"Not. My. Tea. House! Owner. And. Noise. Equals. Firing." She pronounced each word sharply, not daring to read Mugen's expression in fear of it being that same blank stare he always gave when she was talking sense to him.
"Hmpf. You still waitress-ing for someone?" he said unkindly – but, quieter to Fuu's relief. Nonetheless, she did not let the response slide and acted defensively as she always had when criticized.
"You still killing people for a living?"
Mugen glared at her but he smiled wickedly up at her, enjoying her retort. "'Course! It's my gift."
"More like a curse, Mugen! Don't you think a normal job… would be… sufficient," she trailed away, realizing that she was losing him again. Had to speak Mugen's language. "Something that makes… money and gets you… women?" she tried again. He understood, but deterred from the point completely.
"W'ah? Who said I ain't got no women?" He upped the intensity of his voice again and Fuu fumbled to make amends to save her hide from both an offended Mugen and a very strict set of bosses.
"No – well. You… you're broke!"
"So you sayin' I got'ta pay for a woman to have one?"
Again, she tried to intervene, but he continued over her spluttering.
"I can have whoever I want, whenever I want, got that, girly?"
Fuu nodded eagerly; glad to see that his tirade came to an abrupt end with her submission. But with it, came an end to their conversation, and the two sat in silence for two painstaking minutes.
"So… have you got a woman?"
"No," he said simply to Fuu's annoyance. He was the most infuriating person she had the misfortune to have met – he could push all her buttons, rub her the wrong way, and throw her mind into madness with just the smallest ministrations. And still, she enjoyed his company? Perhaps it was because she did not have anyone else that she was so accepting of his careless attitude, or that she genuinely had an interest in his character and admired him for his few virtues. Whatever it was it compelled her to stay calm and relatively collect in his presence.
"Then are you just passing by?"
"I got'ta job."
"What? You just said that you did-"
"Well, you don't count fightin' and killin' as a profession do you?"
"Oh… right. So you're still a sword for hire then?"
"Kind'a."
His vague answers were beginning to prickle Fuu's nerves. Her eyebrow twitched and her fingers ran repetitively over the surface of her kimono. In the light of his closure she examined him more closely. He wasn't as well as she had first interpreted.
The dark rings beneath his eyes were prominent and the trace of a bruise was still visible under the bulge of his left cheekbone. He looked exhausted and Fuu felt herself longing to offer him some form of comfort – but for someone like Mugen, there was no telling what could ease his suffering. Fighting, booze and women was his entire comfort zone – and she certainly was not going to joust with him, give him liquor, or be his personal courtesan.
"Well, can at least know where you are headed?"
"Satsuma?"
"Satsuma!"
"What are you, thick? That's what I said."
She waved her arms elatedly and had a grin that stretched from ear to ear. Mugen watched her as if she was some form of entertainment though his controlled façade faltered as she let out a squeal of excitement.
"You cumin' or what?"
She blushed furiously and mumbled an incoherent retort. "Satsuma is really close to here!"
"You don't say?"
"Oh, so that's why you're here!"
"Clever little bitch, aren't ya?"
"Mugen," she chided, placing her hands against the even plane of the table. It dark wood shone in the dim light, silver like the streaks of Mugen's ebony hair as the moon's gentle rays bathed him in an ethereal light. His shoulders were hunched over, with his arms sprawled across the tabletop. The little sprouts of hair littered the tip of his chin and Fuu watched in mild interest as he scratched them when in thought. It would have been a cute gesture had it not been Mugen.
Inclining herself towards him, she saw that her looming presence drew him from his musing.
She was staring at him intently, and had it not been for his questioning look, she would have continued to hold his gaze.
"Let me come with you."
He stared back at her, unflinching.
T WO . M I N U T E S . L A T E R
"MUGEN!" she hissed, stamping her small feet against the floorboards to grab his attention. The tall vagabond was walking casually towards the exit, one hand deep in his pockets while the other waved back at her.
"See ya, girly."
"Mugen, stop overreacting! You are taking it like I just proposed or something!" She dashed after him, clinging at his gi with both hands while digging the heels of her geta into the floor. "You are being such a baby!"
"I told you! I don't do shit with people, 'n you'd be a pain in my ass anyway. You can't fuckin' take care of yourself, 'nd I've got better shit to do than save your from brothels and fuck knows what." He continued without a moments pause, not even bothered by the extra weight that hung from his attire.
"YES! So that's why I need you to go with me! Do you want me to get raped and kidnapped? I will if I go alone!"
"Not my problem."
"MUGEN!" Fuu was glad as the sound of his metal geta pounding against the floor, stopped. She looked up to see Mugen glancing down at her from the corner of his eye, barely tilting his head in the process. She gawked up at him, her eyes beseeching. "Have you completely forgotten about our journey?"
He scoffed at her. "You living in the past, bitch – times change. I ain't nobody's lapdog, and I ain't gonna baby sit you unless I'm gettin' paid stack loads." He turned to leave, but hesitated. "Why the hell d'you want to go to Satsuma so bad? What? You got 'a Samurai who smells of fish down there?"
Why did she want to go? There were several reasons. The tea house was great, but she longed for adventure – she yearned to travel somewhere. It did not need to be as epic as the journey they made three years ago – but just… to escape, for a little bit, from this cycle of boredom. Mugen was just the perfect excuse for her to travel and to Satsuma - and Satsuma of all places! It was one of the more animated and modern places this side of Japan. Naturally, she could not let such an opportunity pass her by.
"Be-because! I-I have to go!"
He cocked a brow. Obviously he wanted something more.
"Besides," she began, clearing her throat and releasing Mugen's shirt from her grasp. She pressed her palms against her kimono, flattening the ripples in her attire and composing herself.
"You need money, and food, and I am sure as anything that you have no idea how to get to Satsuma-"
"I do know how," he growled, presuming that Fuu sought to undermine his intelligence. Her mind raced to come up with a more appealing prospect.
"Well-uh,- you don't know the secret way to get there!"
"…the secret way?"
She nibbled on her bottom lip, nodding furiously. She was improvising completely now. Sure, travelers had told her of this way that cut across much of the pathway, but it wasn't as if she had perfect mental map in her head or anything.
"Uh-huh. You get a lot of tips in this place – not all of them come in the form of money." She let out an exasperated sigh as she saw Mugen absorbing all the lies she managed to vomit out of her system. She wasn't a very convincing person, but it seemed that her companion was not interested in cross examining her at the moment.
"So, It'd get me there faster?""Yup. And I have some saved tips we could use to get there."
Mugen was scratching his little beard once again."Let me come with you."
T WO . M I N U T E S . L A T E R
Fuu was bounding excitedly, leading the way to her room in the far corner of the tea house. It was far enough from the owners to allow her the liberty to do a little happy dance without the fear of being caught. Behind her, Mugen was listing the rules on his fingers, but she was barely listening – only making out the odd "bitch", "I'm not" and "saving your ass" at random intervals. Her mind was more preoccupied with other things – like envisioning what Satsuma was to look like. She voiced her enthusiasm as they walked, completely overpowering Mugen's listing.
"Gosh, I cannot wait! We'll leave first thing in the morning! This is going to be fabulous!" She turned the corner into her room. The small quarter was nothing to brag about, but it had a homely feeling that she had come to admire. A small vase of sunflowers were poised near a small window that overlooked the main street of the town, and the room was polluted by its sweet fragrance. The futon in the center was rather large and took up much of the room the quarter had to offer, but it still allowed room for Fuu to squeeze into the gap between that and a small rack which contained a few possessions.
"Its supposed to be a really nice place – everyone says so! Got amazing food – and theatre and arts! I have to see something there – and oh, lots of European goods, I heard! A few travelers told me some neat shops were they store foreign bits and pieces – they'll be expensive, but what isn't you know?" Fuu rambled on excitedly as she rummaged for the mattress on the bottom shelf, heaving it from a pile of pictures and junk that collected on top.
"Its gon'na rain," Mugen said, though his comment when unnoticed by the waitress.
"I bet they have lots and lots of food!" There was a thud behind her, but she was too immersed in her thoughts to acknowledge it. She pulled out the mattress with a heave of her skinny arms and glowed proudly at the fact that she didn't break anything else in the process.
"Okay! Now you can sleep on – MUGEN!"
As she turned round she saw the young vagabond collapsed on the top of her bed; sword discarded to the side of each arm which ran parallel to his body. His mouth was open and saliva already collected in a wet patch on her covers.
"Mugen!" she said firmly, reaching over and poking him with a finger. He didn't budge.
Fuu grumbled and plopped herself down on the edge of the bed, staring down at the curled mattress in her hand.
"He owes me big for this."
N O T E S : Couldn't leave the prologue all on its lonesome. It looked too bland!
Either way, here is the second installment, or the first chapter, technically.
Reviews are obviously, loved.