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No Roads Where We're Going
Chapter 2: Merge
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Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Samurai Champloo!
Part 1: Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear
Definition: A safety warning required on all motor vehicles in the U.S. and Canada intended to decrease driver misperceptions of the space to the immediate right of the vehicle. The passenger-side mirror distorts the driver's perception of an object's distance. When a driver sees a car in the passenger-side mirror, that car is closer than the reflection would indicate.
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The vagrant's mind was completely blank as he lay on a musty futon, staring up at the aged ceiling of the rundown wooden cabin. He'd been trying to figure out what to do with himself next, but eventually his attention span dissolved and he began fixating absentmindedly on the sunbeams shining through cracks in the roof. He was so entranced that he didn't notice the sound of someone approaching from outside.
To his startled surprise, the door slid open, revealing the silhouette of a small, feminine frame standing in the entryway.
A woman. Not too bad lookin' either. Little slim for my taste, but still got curves in all the right places.
The female spoke tentatively, "Who... Who's there?"
He lifted one arm to shield his eyes from the flood of daylight that partially obscured his vision. He couldn't quite make out her features, but he'd know that voice anywhere.
"Girlie?"
"Mugen?"
He sat up on the futon. "Well, I'll be damned."
In utter disbelief, Fuu stepped inside the dimly lit hut. "Is it really you?"
"The one and only," he said with a lopsided smirk.
The man could see her clearly now. He recognized her large, round, cocoa orbs and silky chestnut hair, but the rest of her appearance had changed since he last saw her three years ago. She was a couple of inches taller now, her body had filled out into a womanly shape, and she wore a plum kimono with an aubergine obi that accentuated her mature figure. It was more sophisticated than the flowered pink he remembered. Her hair was fastened with her red-beaded hairpins into a neat bun with a few loose strands framing her rosy cheeks.
He unabashedly scanned her body up and down. "Shit, girl, you're all grown up. Look at'chya."
Fuu's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
In the muted light of the tiny dwelling, she glimpsed the details of the seated man for the first time. He had an unruly mop of wild black hair, lanky bronzed limbs, and a lazy slouched posture. He wore a deep red haori and an amused crooked grin.
"You look exactly the same," she said with a wide smile.
Without warning, she ran to the Ryukyuan and tackled him in a bear hug, nearly knocking him back onto the futon.
"Whoa, easy, Girlie!" She had invaded his personal space. Unsure how to react, he draped his arms noncommittally over her shoulders while she squeezed him tightly.
She whispered, "I can't believe it's you..." Then her voice turned into a squeal of glee, "I can't believe you're here! I'm so happy to see you!"
Now he was getting uncomfortable.
"Okay, okay, I'm happy to see you too, fuck. Now get offa me, dammit!"
Fuu relinquished her death grip and sat back on her knees. She focused on him intently, as if still trying to convince herself that the ex-pirate was really here, sitting right in front of her.
"Mugen." She stated his name with contentment.
Her eyes were steadily fixed on him, unmoving... penetrating. He didn't know why, but it made him feel exposed. His rough, sarcastic mask threatened to crack under the piercing intensity of her gaze.
He suddenly became aware that his heart was thumping in his chest, and there was a strange fluttering in his stomach. He was sure he'd never experienced this sensation before. What was going on?
Then he realized it.
He couldn't help but stare back at her in astonishment when it finally dawned on him that Fuu was beautiful.
Of course he'd been attracted to her mature curves when she first walked into the hut, but this was something entirely different. It was her vibrant presence, the warmth behind her smile, the sweetness in her voice when she said his name, and the glimmering tenderness in her eyes. It was her.
Damn... was she always like this? Wait, what the hell am I thinking? She's still the same Fuu. Still a loud-mouthed brat, and still not my type.
At least that's what he told himself. He quickly overcame his momentary lapse in composure, and the cool mask and crooked smirk returned to his face.
Fuu was brimming with anticipation as she began asking questions about everything she was dying to know. It came out so fast that it formed one long sentence.
"I can't wait to catch up! Why are you here? Where have you been? What have you been doing for the last three years? Tell me everything!"
Mugen was slightly taken aback by the sudden onslaught of Fuu's cheerfulness. Not ten minutes ago, he was lying here in solitude, thinking about absolutely nothing.
"Uhh... I was travelin'?" He wasn't quite sure which question he was answering.
"Traveling? Where? Any place interesting?"
"All over, I guess."
"Really? That's it?" she was a bit disappointed that the vagabond wasn't at her level of enthusiasm. But it was Mugen. What did she expect?
"No place special. Just... around." His lips curled into a salacious grin. "Brawlin' n' brothels." Then his playfulness faded into a lengthy pause before he shifted the attention back to Fuu. "What about you? Where ya been?"
"I was traveling too! After we split up, I went to a bunch of places!"
A bunch of places that did nothing to allay the emotional turmoil she'd been trying to escape.
Fuu was wearing her own mask now. She was careful to focus only on the positive experiences of the past three years, of which there weren't many.
"I started in Nagasaki, then... let's see... Oh! I worked for a while in Kyoto. The Imperial Palace is huuuge! I saw Biwako, you know, the big lake? It was like a whole ocean! It was so pretty! Then after that, um..."
Mugen tuned her out while the she chattered about her travels. Definitely still a loud-mouth.
"...I decided to visit my father's grave, and"—she had the man's attention again—"here I am!"
With a measure of skepticism, the rogue raised a scarred eyebrow. "Your dad, huh?"
"Yeah... um...," she hedged, "that's... why I came back here." She hoped she hadn't tipped her hand with the hesitancy in that last statement.
Mugen wasn't an idiot, and he knew the girl better than either of them would care to admit. He got the impression that the brat was holding out on him. He was all too familiar with the way she evaded questions about her father, and emotional issues in general. He wanted to know her real motivations for returning to the island, but he decided to let it go for now, lest she bring it back around to his own reasons for coming here, which he didn't fully understand himself.
After a tense silence, she changed the subject. "So what are your plans after this? Are you headed anywhere in particular?"
"I dunno. Prob'ly just start walkin'." He glanced at the floor. He still hadn't figured out what he would do next, but the more he thought about it, the more he figured it didn't matter all that much. It's not like he had any place important to be.
Another uneasy moment passed before he looked up at the young woman. "You?"
"I'm going to stay here for a day or two, I think. At least spend the night, maybe tomorrow night too. After that, I'm not sure."
The ex-pirate stretched his spindly arms while he yawned and scratched the back of his neck. "I could stick around for another day or two."
"That's great!" she exclaimed in delight. Then her excitement gave way to nervousness.
The air was unpleasantly still, and it felt like the cabin was getting smaller with each passing minute. It seemed that neither one of them knew how to keep the conversation rolling. They were each hiding something important from one another, something that occupied the forefront of their minds, but that neither of them was prepared to discuss. They had nothing else to talk about.
This was starting to feel awkward.
"Um...," Fuu broke in, "what should we do? Do you want to go for a walk with me? I want to see the island."
"Why not." Maybe this walk would reveal some hint of the truth behind her motives.
She smiled at him warmly, and his heart raced again.
Damn that smile of hers. Why's she gotta look at me like that?
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Mugen stood some distance away while Fuu knelt over her father's grave in a silent prayer. He wondered what actually happened to her father on that fateful day three years ago. She had never fully explained it.
I guess if she wants to tell me, she will.
When they began walking on the gradually sloping path, through the sparse green grass, the vagrant noticed immediately that the woman's expression turned darker. She seemed anxious, maybe even frightened.
What's she afraid of?
Fuu, for her part, was holding herself together rather well. Mugen's presence gave her strength. Had he not been there with her, she was positive that she'd be a blubbering mess right now. She was grateful that he'd chosen to stay.
The two of them followed the dirt trail through scant vegetation, walking all over the rocky, windswept landscape. Although they didn't speak, the vagabond was keenly aware of Fuu's apprehension as she struggled to hide whatever it was she was feeling.
When they reached the field of dead sunflower stalks, she said in a somber voice, "You know, I actually thought this whole place would be blooming with yellow. Isn't that silly?"
The man glanced down and saw the despondency in her face. "It ain't silly, Girlie."
Girlie. She liked it when he called her that. She gave him a slight smile before she gazed out over the expanse of bleached remains.
"This is where I was kidnapped," she said timidly, "but without the sunflowers, it doesn't feel like the same place anymore. I don't know if that's good or bad."
Mugen felt a pang of anguish in his chest as Fuu began to describe the events. She had never told him the details of how she ended up in the church.
"It happened right after I got here. I was walking to my father's cabin, and that man was waiting for me, hiding behind the flowers. I tried to run, but he caught me, and he..."—she shuddered at the memory of being groped by that disgusting man with the eyepatch—"he knocked me out." She didn't want Mugen to know the rest.
She stared into the distance. "I woke up inside that church with him leering at me, the creep. He tied me up and hit me over and over again with his kusarigama. It was horrible."
The rogue began to feel agitated... his sorrow and shame were on the verge of resurfacing. He thought he'd already dealt with this last night.
But listening to Fuu's story caused him to feel heartache in a different way. It wasn't about him and his need to destroy his nightmares with fire. It was about her, and what she needed. She needed someone to listen and understand.
"He was going to kill me... or leave me for dead. That's what he told me while he was hitting me." Her eyes were far away. "I didn't know if you'd come."
"I wasn't gonna let ya die, girl. You know that."
She looked up at him, first with sadness, but then a small smile formed on her lips. "I know." She took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "Thank you, Mugen. Thank you for saving me." Her smile broadened. "You always save me."
This time her touch didn't make him feel uncomfortable. Her hand was warm and soft, and so tiny. Her little squeeze around his large calloused palm was reassuring. She didn't hate him or blame him in the way he hated and blamed himself. He hadn't expected that.
With just a hint of a grin, and an expression of sincere kindness that Fuu had never seen before, he returned a light squeeze around her delicate hand. Fuu found herself studying his features. Was this his subtle way of showing affection?
A new emotion awakened in Mugen's gut, and it thoroughly confused him. He suddenly felt an overwhelming need to protect the girl and keep her safe.
But that feeling had always been there, right? Isn't that why he always went after her when she was in trouble? Or was this different?
Fuu removed her hand from his and continued down the path. The Ryukyuan lingered for a few minutes longer and regarded the young woman in the plum kimono as she walked away. He realized right then that keeping her safe meant more than just rescuing her from danger.
It don't matter if she's in trouble or not. I don't want her to be afraid or upset. I see it in her face and it kills me. I wanna keep her safe right here and now.
Mugen wasn't exactly sure how to do that, but he would find a way to try.
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Part 2: Raison D'être
Definition: French, 'reason for being.' The most important reason for one's existence; a strong term for something that gives a person's life meaning.
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Mugen didn't know where they were going, but he was certain that Fuu had a goal in mind. Her pace had quickened and she walked with determination.
She was headed for the place where the most frightening events of her life took place. The anxiety in her gut made her want to turn back, but she had to deal with this now. She needed to get it over with. The question was, once she got there, would she be brave enough to stand up to her fears and not run away from them?
They hiked over jagged grass-covered pumice until they reached the edge of a tall cliff overlooking the sea, with a rocky beach below that the vagrant knew well. The blustering wind ruffled the woman's hair and chilled her ears as she stood with her back to Mugen, staring out over the glistening slate blue waves. He couldn't see that she was on the verge of a meltdown.
The crippling anguish and dark despair that she'd experienced in this particular location were coming back to her as if she was reliving the ordeal all over again. Her courage started to dissolve. The young woman's lower lip quivered and her cheeks burned as her chest filled with agony and panic. She didn't want Mugen to watch her fall apart, but she couldn't contain it in any longer. She collapsed to her knees and dropped her face into her hands. Salty droplets streamed through her fingers.
With genuine concern, Mugen came around and knelt down in front of her.
I hate seein' her like this. I can't stand it.
"Look at me, Girlie."
Fuu shook her head, concealing her grief in her palms. She was both ashamed of her sudden outburst, and unable to speak through the heartache gripping her from the inside.
"Look at me," he said firmly.
She glanced up timidly, tears still streaming.
"Why don'chya tell me why you're really here."
Fuu's expression was a mixture of surprise and embarrassment—Mugen had known all along that she'd been keeping this from him. She turned away.
"Look at me." He wasn't going to let her hide. "I know ya need to get it out. So get it out."
She met his eyes again. They were steady and encouraging without a hint of judgment. She gently nodded, took a few deep breaths, and tried to speak.
"That day..., " she sniffled, "I thought I had it all planned out, but everything went wrong... Everything."
She let out a small sob and a sniffle.
"I was going to make my father understand what he did to my mother and me. I was so angry. But when I finally saw him, he was so sick and frail that I pitied him. It was confusing. I didn't know how to feel. How could I pity the man who hurt us?" She stared down for a moment, caught up in the memory. Then she met Mugen's gaze again. "But I couldn't back down. I had to tell him, or we would have come all this way for nothing. So I said everything I had to say, and I walked out and told him that I wouldn't see him again."
She wiped her cheeks and continued. "Then that samurai... the shogunate assassin... he was sent to kill my father. Before he lowered his sword, he asked my father if he had any last words." She choked back another little sob. "My father said he thought about us every day, and he loved us. He said he was sorry for leaving us, and he asked me to forgive him." The young woman cried, "Then he was gone, and I wished I could take it all back. But it was too late. It happened so fast."
She paused to take a deep breath and rubbed her tense forehead with wet fingertips. "After that, the assassin came for me. I was so terrified." She glanced down at her knees.
Mugen's eyes were still fixed on her, unwavering, while he patiently listened to every word.
She sniffled between two deep breaths and continued. "I ran. I ran as fast as I could, and I ended up right here on this cliff, right where we're sitting now. When I got here, I looked down over the ledge. I saw you lying on the beach, and I thought..." Her expression was pained. "Then I turned around, and the samurai was standing right there." She pointed to the spot. "He had me cornered and I had no place left to go. He would've killed me if it wasn't for Jin... But Jin... he..." She began crying uncontrollably. "I saw that samurai's sword come straight through Jin. He fell to the ground and he wasn't moving, and there was blood everywhere. I thought he was dead... I really thought he was dead..." The memory ached inside her. "Then I heard the explosion. It was so loud that it echoed on the rocks. I looked over the edge of the cliff, but the smoke was so thick and black that I couldn't see you." Her voice faltered as she struggled to speak through her sobs. "I ran to the beach, but when I found you, you were already gone." She wept hysterically. "I thought I lost you... and I felt like I would die there with you."
The girl's shoulders slumped and her small body shuddered. She couldn't speak anymore. She gazed down at her tear-soaked kimono, barely able to focus on her knees through watery eyes.
"Hey." Mugen gently lifted Fuu's chin. "Look at me," he said softly. "I ain't gone, Girlie. I'm right here, and I ain't goin' anywhere anytime soon, okay?"
She nodded feebly and closed her red, puffy lids tightly. Her face fell into her hands and her upper body crumpled.
"C'mere..." Mugen scooted closer to Fuu and pulled her into his chest. He wrapped his strong arms securely around her petite frame. He needed her to feel safe again, like she used to, before this whole fucked up mess ever happened.
And she did. Fully enclosed in his warm embrace, she was able to confront the haunting pain and fear, and the terrors that had caused endless suffering for the past three years. With Mugen protecting her, she knew that no matter how much it hurt, she could get through it.
The Ryukyuan felt strangely comforted too. Knowing that she was safe made him feel safe.
This level of honesty between them was intimate in a way that he couldn't possibly have imagined. It was completely foreign to him. He spent much of his existence shielding himself with carefully constructed walls to avoid exactly these types of situations. He always believed that this emotional crap would make him soft and weak. But for once in his life, he didn't resist it. This was calming and reassuring, and in a way, liberating.
Maybe he needed this as much as she did.
In a soft tone, Mugen made a confession about something he had vowed never to speak of.
"What ya don't know, Girlie, is that you saved me." He could still feel the sensation of being lifted away. "When you found me, I really was gone. But I heard your voice... it was your voice that guided me back." He cradled Fuu's head in his large hand and pulled her in even closer. Gently he whispered, "I'm alive because of you."
Fuu's arms reached and wrapped tightly around him while she wept with her face buried in his warmth. He rested his chin lightly on her head and held her protectively in his grasp.
They stayed there for what seemed like hours, until she had cried it all out. She was unaware that he fought like hell to prevent his own tears from spilling over.
When Fuu was ready to speak again, she pulled back from Mugen's embrace and looked into his eyes. They were still patient, still steady. She took in a breath, cleared her throat, and wiped her cheeks dry.
"I guess I really came here to confront my fears, and find some sort of peace. I've been holding this in for three years. I thought it would just go away eventually, but it's stayed with me all this time. I wanted to find a way to let it go. I wanted to move past it." She sniffled and wiped her face. "You were right, Mugen. I needed to get it out." She smiled up at him. "Thank you."
The rogue returned a small grin. "You got it, Girlie."
Hearing her words, he finally understood what compelled him to come to this island. He came here for the same reasons she did. He needed to confront his own fears and find his own peace.
Maybe this is my peace, right here...
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Part 3: Confluence
Definition: A flowing together of two or more rivers; a gathering, flowing, or meeting together at one juncture or point; an act or process of merging.
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The ronin covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time, and he passed through dozens of towns along the way. Of three things Jin was certain:
1. Mugen and Fuu traveled separately.
As soon as he realized this, he began to concentrate his search on Fuu. She was in greater danger and she already had a propensity for getting kidnapped, even without the enormous bounty on her head.
It didn't help that she willingly gave her name to practically everyone she came into contact with, making it all too easy to track her. She really was naïve. Jin would have to lecture her on this when he caught up with her.
2. Fuu traveled west.
Initially it was difficult to catch her trail. Her path had been erratic, but when she turned west, her course straightened out and her pace quickened. As Jin tracked her through the villages of southwestern Honshu, he soon found himself on familiar roads. He now had a good idea of where she was going.
3. Their paths converged somewhere around Shimonoseki.
When he crossed over to Kyushu, Jin found evidence that Mugen and Fuu had passed through the same towns, albeit at different times.
Mugen was first, but not by much. The vagabond most likely had no idea that Fuu was trailing behind him or he might have waited.
The ronin now had to assume that his two friends were traveling toward the same destination. If that was true, they would arrive within just a few days, and probably within a day or two of each other.
Jin was cutting it very close. He had to get to Ikitsuki Island as quickly as possible.
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The sun was low in the sky when Mugen and Fuu returned to the wooden cabin on the hill. The bitter wind had picked up in the afternoon, and they were both chilled to the bone. The vagrant got to work on building a small fire.
"I brought a little bit of food," Fuu said, as she sifted through the contents of the sack she carried. "It's not much. Just a few onigiri and dried sweet potatoes, and some tea leaves."
The rogue's stomach rumbled. "I'll take whatever I can get."
They ate quietly, staring into the gentle flames with vacant expressions, never looking directly at each other. Fuu was still processing the events of the day. Mugen had given up on trying.
After a while, the young woman broke the silence.
"Why did you really come here, Mugen? You never told me."
He had hoped to avoid this question. Even though it clicked into place for him while they sat together on the cliff, he still didn't know how to verbalize it. He was uncomfortable expressing himself in words. Nevertheless, Fuu had told him everything she was feeling, at his insistence. He grudgingly admitted to himself that it was only fair to return the gesture.
He took in a deep breath and exhaled with a long sigh. His words came out awkwardly. "Same reasons as you I guess. I didn't get it at first... how I was feelin'. I ain't good with this kinda stuff." He paused and looked down at the floor. "I had dreams...," he said quietly before trailing off.
Fuu's voice was delicate, "What kind of dreams?"
"You got hurt and I couldn't stop it. I should'a been there."
"Mugen, it wasn't your—"
"The church is gone," he quickly changed the subject. "I burned it down."
"Why?" Fuu was mildly surprised, but more curious than anything else.
"I dunno." He was somber as he shifted his gaze back to the flicker of burning wood. "I hated that place. I hate what happened there. I wanted to tear the whole goddamn thing down. All of it. I wanted it gone." The firelight reflected in his dark eyes. "Ain't nothin' but a pile a' ash now."
"You know I don't blame you. I'm so grateful that you came for me."
She moved to sit next to him. She took his hand in hers, but he jerked it away.
He had never felt so vulnerable. His first reaction was to isolate himself and shut her out. But she wouldn't let him escape so easily.
"Mugen." She reached for his hand more forcefully. This time he didn't pull away. "You have to let this go. I have, and you helped me do it."
She waited for his reaction, but he remained quiet, still staring vacantly into the flames.
In a gentle and compassionate whisper, she encouraged him, "It's okay to forgive yourself."
A sharp pain twisted in his chest. His eyelids squeezed closed and his forehead creased with tension. His self-torment was plainly visible all over his face.
Still in a whisper, she implored, "If you can't do this for yourself, Mugen, then please... do it for me."
With an expression of conflicted uncertainty, he lifted his gaze from the glowing fire and looked into the woman's walnut brown eyes. They were deeply intense, yet sympathetic and nurturing. It reminded him of the way she examined his wounds when she would patch him up after a fight, when she wasn't aware that he was carefully watching her.
Those eyes pierced straight through him now, and for a moment he was lost in them. It rendered him completely defenseless. Never before had Mugen let anyone get into his head. Half the time he didn't know what was going on up there himself. But somehow she found her way in, for the second time that day.
How did she do it? How did she break his walls down? How did she make him feel safe? And why did he suddenly feel like he needed this... like he needed her?
"Alright," he agreed in a low voice with a tenderness that neither he nor Fuu expected. Behind this very simple answer, she knew that what he really meant was, 'I'll do it for you.'
She smiled up at him and wrapped both of her tiny hands gently around his larger one. Her soft touch caused a small smile to form on his lips. She leaned lightly against his shoulder, and he felt her body relax into him as she fell asleep.
He glanced down to see her resting at his side, and he was once again astonished by the impact of her warm and vibrant presence.
Mugen never had a home or a family, but he imagined that this is what it must feel like, this sense of belonging, with someone who genuinely cared for him. He finally understood what it felt like to be loved, even if he still didn't fully comprehend what it meant.
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The Ryukyuan immediately snapped to attention when he heard an unexpected noise. "Girlie," he said in a hushed tone, nudging Fuu awake.
"What is it?"
He raised one finger to his lips, telling her to stay quiet.
Clouded moonlight streamed in through the narrow vertical windows of the tiny dwelling. Mugen stealthily peered outside. He glimpsed one man approaching the door. A samurai. He was a large man with broad shoulders, wearing a gray kimono and black hakama. Mugen heard the sound of at least one other man whom he couldn't see.
He gave a signal for Fuu to get back. She huddled in the dark corner.
The vagrant leaned his back against the wall next to the door, sword drawn and ready. When the door slid open, he lunged at the man outside. Two more men lunged back at him. He was surrounded by three samurai, dressed identically in gray and black, attacking at once.
Mugen quickly sliced a deep gash across the first attacker's chest and kicked him in the stomach, forcing him to fall to his back. The other two men swiped at him from either side. He easily parried their attacks.
He flipped onto his hands and landed a spinning kick to the second man's face, breaking his nose and knocking him to the ground. He stabbed the man through the gut, twisting his blade before pulling it out.
The last of the three men stood alone, obviously outmatched by the ex-pirate. With one well placed swing, Mugen cut the samurai's throat wide open. Blood poured from the open wound and stained the man's body as he fell to his knees and collapsed.
All three attackers were effortlessly defeated. The rogue was slightly disappointed that it wasn't more of a challenge.
That wasn't even fun. Dumbasses could barely handle their swords.
He surveyed the area and spotted a fourth man approaching from down the hill. Mugen taunted the would-be assailant, "You want some, too, huh?"
With an evil grin, he raised his sword and charged at the the man, going straight for the kill shot.
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It was nearly dusk, and the ferryman was tying up his boat for the night. He had seen a petite young woman early that morning, and a tattooed man in red late yesterday afternoon.
Jin paid the old man three times the normal fare to convince him to make one more trip across the channel. The boatman warned Jin that he'd be stranded on the island for the night; the ferry would not return until the next morning.
He worried that his friends had already been followed. Mugen would have known if he was being tailed, but Fuu would be unaware. He only hoped he wasn't too late to warn them.
The boat docked at Ikitsuki Island just after dark. A layer of wispy clouds filtered the silver luminosity of the waxing gibbous moon, hanging high over the tiny village at the base of the hill.
Something didn't feel right when Jin entered the village. He took extra care to observe his surroundings as he moved silently among the rundown homes.
In the hazy lunar glow, he noticed a large dark spot on the ground just outside the door of a shabby wooden dwelling, and another in front of the next house. He approached the second hut, and quietly slid the door open to peek inside.
Blood. The elderly couple who lived here were lying on the ground, their throats cut.
The ronin cautiously stepped back to take a closer look at the houses around him. It was difficult to see in the indistinct shadows cast by the veiled moon, but there was blood on the ground near at least half a dozen other homes. He guessed that the entire village had been slaughtered. Whoever did this had no need to murder these people. This was an act of pure bloodlust.
Then it's exactly as I feared...
Jin hurried up the hill. As he approached, he heard the metallic echo of two swords clashing. Then again. And a third time.
He broke into a sprint. When the hut that once belonged to Fuu's father came into view, there was a fight taking place. There were at least three men against one.
By the time Jin was close enough to recognize Mugen's wild hair and unconventional fighting style, all three of the men were dead.
Mugen angrily raised his sword in Jin's direction. "You want some, too, huh?" He ran at the ronin to attack.
Jin raised his katana to deflect the strike, and Mugen was pushed back.
"Mugen." Jin said evenly.
The Ryukyuan stopped and lowered his sword.
"Jin?"
Mugen stepped closer to see the tall man's pale face in the dull moonlight.
"Holy fuck," he smirked, "I was about to run ya through."
A small, amused smile crept onto the ronin's face. "You were about to try."
To be continued...
続く
A/N: Coming up next - Jin reunites with his friends and they discuss the dangerous situation at hand. Inner thoughts are explored as each of our heroes takes time to reflect on past, present, and future. Drama, humor, light fluff-H/C.
Please review! :)
Thank you so much for reading!
Additional Author's Notes
Another installment of "What in the heck was this author thinking?"
Japanese words used in this chapter
Kimono, Obi, Haori, Kusarigama, Hakama, Ryukyu, Samurai, Ronin, Shogunate, Onigiri, Katana
You can find definitions of these words on my Tumblr (username Drealyn22) in a post called "No Roads Where We're Going Glossary."
Fuu and Mugen
Awkward reunion, right? Imagine that you ran into an old friend who you used to know really well, but it's been a while since you've seen them, and you know absolutely nothing about their life now. Add to that the fact that you're on a mission to do something very personal, and you don't necessarily want that friend to know about it. What on earth would you talk about? They might as well be talking about the weather.
But in the end, Mugen's presence gives Fuu the confidence to tackle her issues, and Fuu indirectly uncovers Mugen's issues for him. They work through it together. They both have to learn to let it go.
Mugen sees how broken Fuu has become, and he's not okay with it. He hates seeing her this way so much that he makes it his purpose to protect her in any way he can.
He also has this revelation when he sees Fuu for the first time. He doesn't quite know what it is or what it means, but he sees her in a different light. Won't it be interesting to see how he deals with that?
Jin
He's been searching for weeks by this point, and as soon as he figures out where Fuu is going, he moves as fast as humanly possible. He's on a goddamn mission. Must. Protect. Fuu. He's definitely hardwired to protect her, out a sense of duty, loyalty, and friendship. He's not unlike Mugen in that way.
Jin plays the role of catalyst and facilitator in several ways in this story. In this case, he's the one who's going to kick off their journey by warning them of the impending danger. More on that in the next chapter.
Getting Attacked
Those samurai were intentionally kind of lame. I have to assume that a lot of bounty seekers will think they can take Mugen and Jin down, having no clue that each one of them individually is a one man army, to say nothing of the two of them combined. So this was just the first wave of attackers. It wasn't a challenge to defeat them, but nonetheless, it's a sign of things to come. Plus, those A-holes slaughtered an entire village of innocents. Those are the kinds of people who are coming after Mugen, Jin, and Fuu.
Mugen and Jin
Those last lines... I had fun with that. I liked the idea of them unknowingly coming head-to-head. Mugen is arrogant and over-confident, and Jin basically puts him in his place, with very few words as only Jin can do.
I really want to expand on their relationship together. They're friends but they're still jerks to each other, yet they have deep respect for one another, and they share the common purpose of protecting what they love - which, even though they would commit seppuku before admitting it, includes each other. I'll try to give them more interactions in future chapters, especially humorous ones, because those two always cracked me up in the series.
Fuu's Kimono
As a broad generalization, bright colors and patterns are worn by girls. As women get older, the colors of their kimono get darker and more muted, and patterns get more subdued or the kimono is just solid, especially for married women. So putting Fuu in a darker, solid kimono is a sign that she's grown up and isn't a young girl anymore.
That's all for now
Thanks for reading!