Hello all! Hope you all are enjoying your summer so far! Thanks to all of you who left reviews for the last chapter! Recently I received a lovely review on my other story, "Fear is How I Fall" that really got me thinking and made me realize that there were still a few things I needed to tie up. I hope to answer all of the reviewer's questions! I'll try to slip in a few things here and there, but all in all I think the big answers will be added on to the last chapter - which btw is chapter 10; I'm trying to write longer fics. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Review please!

Disclaimer- I do not own Samurai Champloo, any of the characters, or the song this fic is loosely based upon.

Chapter 4- Me Pretending

The morning air was chilly and numbed my face, waking me all the way in preparation for my quick task. I took off in a controlled sprint back up the mountainside. My breath puffed in small bursts and wisped away.

The trees started to thin away around me and then thicken as I weaved back to the place where I had found her days ago. Chance had brought us back together…I had been in the right place at the right time. I was nearby when I heard the landslide, and I figured that if there were people in it, I could make a few bucks from what they would have on them. I ended up finding something better.

Finally I reached the small site and stopped abruptly; my legs tightened against the cold and I grinned; this place was great for training.

Most of the road above had tumbled down, but I could still make out a small part of the road remaining up top. Down were I stood was a frikkin mess…how she had survived the fall, I'll never know.

I stepped up to the spot where I had found her and looked around me cautiously- there was still no sign of anyone who was looking for her, but I wasn't taking any chances.

I had to find it. She had mentioned it in her sleep, and when I looked through what she had, I didn't find it with her. I didn't really understand why I wanted to find it so bad, but I began not to care.

I unsheathed my sword and used it to push away clumps of snow and rubble. At first all I found were puffs of fur from the coat she had been wearing, but after a few minutes I found what I had risked getting caught for.

I picked up the small pink aikuchi I had given her all those years ago. I smirked at how clean and pampered it looked; unsheathing it, I could see my rough reflection in the polished steel. As I sheathed it, something else caught my eye- hanging by the string on the clip was a large clump of decorations. There was a dog, a long strand of six-sided dice, and last but not least, a cracked skull. I picked the unusually grim object out from the other trinkets and studied it carefully. Just as I thought, there was a crucifix in one of the eyes.

I sighed, slightly annoyed, and looked around again. I thought I had heard something close by, but it was probably just my nerves.

The little skull could be a big problem where we were going. That, and there was still the threat of people coming out to find here.

Without really thinking about it, I plucked the small charm from its string and dropped it into the snow below. I tucked the aikuchi away into my pocket of my heavy ghee and sprinted back to the cave. I had made sure to not make many tracks, jumping from stone to stone if I could, and the snow would fill in any tracks I had made in it.

I didn't look back once as I heard people moving close behind.

XXX

I slipped in and out of a deep sleep for what seemed like forever. When I was awake, Mugen would care for me, feeding me and making me medicine. I was surprised at his gentle gestures and how much he knew about treating wounds. I felt ashamed to have ever thought badly of him after how he treated me.

My arm began to feel stiff, but it was better than being in pain. I realized that I hadn't actually been told why my arm was in the cast to begin with, having been too overwhelmed by the company of my old captor to ask. I became a little worried.

I found myself disappointed that Mugen did not talk to me very much while I was awake. The only things he really said were commands such as "Sit up" or "Drink this". I will admit that it broke my heart a little. After all, we had not seen each other in so long, and yet there was nothing he seemed to want to say.

I woke up finally after a long nap and looked around. I felt refreshed and full of energy, sitting up and grunting against my splint. The pain that raced up my arm swept away any energy I had had and I sighed.

My eyes drifted around the cave until I was drawn to one of the walls of the cave by loud snoring. He was propped up against the rock, completely passed out and splayed out on the floor. His head was back and his mouth wide open, drool beginning to dribble out of the corner. My spirits lifted and my pain was forgotten. I tried to stifle a giggle but it was no use; with a snort he snapped awake and glared over at me.

"You're finally awake," he grunted, pulling himself back together and popping his neck.

I narrowed my eyes dangerously. "You were asleep too, y'know, so get off my case."

"Only 'cause you were out for so long. I got bored," he argued.

I knew this could turn into something more intense that it needed to be, so I quickly changed the subject. "Why'd you put this splint on me? Is my arm broken?" I unconsciously scrunched up a mighty handful of furry coat in my good hand waiting for his answer.

He shook his head," Naw, it ain't broke, but you sure did smack the shit outta it." I relaxed slightly. "You still won't be able to use it for at least another week or two."

I nodded in a slight daze and held my arm to my chest. I watched him closely as he began to throw food together and finally place it before me. Afterwards he began to pack everything else up and I felt a cross between worry and curiosity fill me.

"What are you doing?"

"Packing."

I eyed him closely, "Why?"

He turned and looked at me impatiently. "Because we're leaving." He rolled his eyes and went back to packing.

I sat quietly, slightly dumbfounded, until he pulled my fur coat off of me. "Hey!"

"Then hurry and get your ass up!"

I scrambled to my feet, grunting as my arm twinged in pain. Mugen's head snapped in my direction and I saw how his eyes softened. Any anger that had started to collect within me evaporated immediately and I felt my cheeks grow warm.

"I'm okay…"

He grunted, his eyes going over me one more time, and started to pack again. I tried to help as much as I could, moving few bags we had together in one area and rolling up the mat-like cushion that had been underneath me while I slept. There wasn't much I could do, and I felt embarrassed.

When everything was packed, he took the ashes from the fire in a pail and dumped them over the side of the cliffs nearby. I watched him clean out the pail with snow from the entrance of the cave, the coat pulled up to my chin. He came back in the cave and placed some of the smaller bags inside.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Gets rid of our trail."

"Is someone following us?" I jolted.

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it." Before he packed away more bags, he pulled out some tabi and handed them to me. "Here. So your feet won't freeze."

I nodded, putting the worry of people nearby behind me. If there was something to worry about, Mugen would not have been this calm. I figured he was moving us because of them.

I took the tabi and put them on as Mugen finished with everything else. It took forever to put on the thick socks, but when I did, my feet felt much more comfortable and warm.

Mugen gave me the small pail from before and as I took it, he slung everything else over his back. He carried them effortlessly, but I knew they had to be heavy. He strode outside of the cave, looked around, and waved for me to follow. I began to obey, but something suddenly dawned on me and I froze. It took all my strength in my body not to break down right then and there.

I was with him again. All those years I had yearned to see him again, be here in "his" mountains with him, be that other person again…All the emotions I had bottled up inside me had seemed like a fool's hope, but now I was here, and he was here with me. I had never felt so refreshed before in my life. It was a new start…a new life.

"You comin', or what?" he said loudly, and it startled me to my senses. I took a deep breath, smiled, and nodded. I ran up next to him and we started off.

It was bitterly cold outside, but I hardly noticed. The sun reflected off the snow on the ground like little diamonds- it was so beautiful that I felt bad stepping on them.

My fast-beating hearts also made it hard to feel the cold. I found it hard to look at him next to me for some reason. Being this close to him was wonderful and I bathed in the sensation.

We walked long into the afternoon, rarely taking breaks, even to eat. My feet ached from all the walking, but at least they were warm. Mugen stayed in front of me towards the later parts of the day, his tall getas acting like snowshoes and his thick ghee protecting him from the fierce winds. With his body in front of me, I didn't feel as much of the wind and stayed slightly warmer.

As the sun began to set and the sky changed colors, I saw signs of life nearby. Just past the mountainside we were walking on, I could see the tops of houses and large buildings.

Mugen quickened our pace as we neared the buildings and helped me down a slope to a small path towards civilization. There was a broken front gate at the end of the path, marking the entrance to a run-down village. As we passed underneath, I saw several people out in the street. They looked rough and turned to watch us as we went by. I moved close to Mugen, who had come to my side, and cast my eyes down to my feet.

After we moved away from the rough patch of people, I looked back up, gazing around us at the tiny village around us. There were a few vendors selling more people food and clothing, and a man with a basket of fish walked past us to enter one of the stores. More people came by the further we went in. As we waked, I noticed that there weren't many women or children. Most of the women I saw were prostitutes, hanging out of the windows of the brothels trying to get customers. The few children clung to a small group of women who looked almost as rough as the men.

I felt many eyes on me specifically as we walked, and I tried to hide my discomfort. I looked up at Mugen only with my eyes to see him glaring at a large group of much younger men. They had been some of the ones looking at me, but when he glared at them, they quickly returned to their own conversation.

Finally we turned off the main road onto a smaller street, winding up the small side of the mountain to a clutter of homes. There was a bigger house separated from the others and I knew somehow that it was his. Sure enough, when the path split into another, twisting up towards the big house, Mugen turned with it and strode towards it.

We reached the front yard and he turned his head. "What do you think?"

I gaped at the well-kept house before me. "It's amazing!"

The house was a one-story house, but was absolutely huge. It sat on top of a steep hill and the path that we had taken continued on up into the mountains. I guessed that there were at least four extra rooms beside the master bedroom. Behind it I could see the side of the washhouse and a well, along with a back porch. I took a few steps to the side to see more of the yard. There was a rock garden and several fancy trees, complete with a pond. I smiled excitedly and Mugen grinned. "Wait 'til you see the inside."

He led me to the very front door. We took off our shoes and stepped up into the house, and right away I smelled sake and some sort of perfume with a faint smoke behind it. The porch area we had just come from was partially closed off from the rest of the house with a set of double doors, but he had left them open to reveal a beautiful living room with a large table and fancy pillows around it. I noticed how they were slightly ruffled as though they had been sat on, and some were arranged as though one had been asleep on them.

He took the bags I had been carrying and I slipped off my coat to explore the wonderful interior. It was a little messy inside, but not as bad as I thought that it would be. There was a huge kitchen area that almost took up the entire left part of the house. I found that there were in fact five rooms beside the master bedroom.

I was surprised to see a Buddha statue in one of the walls, but it was dusty and the incense in the holder had not been lit.

I made my way back to the main part of the house and saw him standing there with his hands in his pockets. There was a smug smile on his face. "Nice, huh?"

"How can you afford all this?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Sold some crap from the temple, worked a few odd jobs here and there…"

I turned away from him to look around the house again. "This is amazing…"

I felt his eyes on me and gulped. I shyly looked back at him. "Where are we, anyway?"

The smile remained, but it seemed strained all of sudden. "An outlaw town. Everyone here's wanted. The cops don't know we're here, 'cause nobody snitches. If somebody does, everybody's screwed."

I made sense to me, but seemed unnecessary and dangerous. I quickly forgot about it due to my excitement and amazement at the house. Mugen's voice brought me back only momentarily.

"…room?"

"Huh?" I shook my head to clear it.

"Did you pick out a room?" he asked again, raising an eyebrow.

"No…" I said, starting off to do so when I stopped and met his eyes. "How do you know I'm going to stay and that I would even come with you?"

"You were climbing up a mountain with my old temple on it. I'm not as dumb as you think." He rolled his eyes, but I saw for a split second a flash of genuine happiness in them. It was hard for me to wrap my head around, especially since it had been from someone like him. I knew that I had seen it, and it made me happier than the house around me.

"What were you doing all the way out there?" I asked.

He shrugged. "My gut told me to go there." I detected a slight lie but decided to let it go.

I rubbed the splint unconsciously and asked barely above a whisper, "Why did you save me?"

His eyes twitched and the smile disappeared. His face scrunched in confusion and he looked away from me. A thick silence settled over the house. I'm not entirely sure why I felt the need to ask him of such things at that time. They had been drifting in and out of my mind since I saw him in the cave, and had been two of the things that I had wanted so desperately for him to answer.

"Go pick out your room," he said surprisingly softly- it had sounded as though he had wanted to command me, but couldn't. He did not look up at me, but I could still see how confused he was.

I obeyed without a word, walking quickly down the opposite hallway from where I had just come from. I saw that most of the bedrooms were here, but not the master bedroom; it was at the end of the other hallway next to the kitchen. I knew that this was Mugen's room and had not looked inside.

Finally, at the very end of the hall, I found the perfect room. It had a huge closet and plenty of space, but that wasn't why I chose it.

It was the view of the ocean from the window.

Past the mountains and trees was a beautiful view of the shore and the rocks in the deeper areas of the water. I could barely make out the docks, but I could clearly make out the boats at them and in the water. There were some familiar to me, but some that were not, their sails white and puffy, with strange flags tied to the mast.

I loved the ocean, having seen it and actually been in it only once in my life. Unfortunately, I had gone when I was very small and could not remember much of the trip.

There was a dresser near the window and the futon, and I undid the pack on my back to put some things on it: my brush, some light make-up, various pieces of jewelry, a book, my journal, and finally, the only picture of my mother I had. It was actually a family portrait of when I was younger, painted right after my father was promoted. My mother had me in her lap and in the picture I looked peaceful. She smiled with a strange look in her eye. How much differently things had been then…

I set the painting down and wiped away the tears that had welled in my eyes. I stood quickly and returned to the front room. I had my aikuchi with me, feeling that if we were in a village full of outlaws, it would be necessary.

Mugen stood in the doorway of the double doors. I smiled confidently and told him which room I had chosen.

"Figured you'd choose that one." He stepped down where our shoes were, slipping on his getas. "C'mon."

"What? Where?"

"The store. You'll need groceries so you can cook. I can't, so there's shit in the pantry."

"But…my arm…!" I started, but he cut me off.

"It'll heal pretty quick. In the mean time we can order at the restaurant down the street, but after that, you're makin' me some food."

A/N: Whew! That was a long chapter! When I wrote it on notebook paper, it didn't seem all that bad, but now, it was a nightmare! XD I had already been planning to answer some of those questions in this chapter, but I managed to slip in a few more here and there. I'm getting better at it, I think. Anyway, please remember to leave a review! They might not seem all that important, but they really are! Until then!