A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews everyone, you have no idea how much I appreciate them. Charas might be somewhat OOC, especially since I can't swear and thus write it awkwardly. Plus I wanted this to be fluffy so... yeah... sorry. I know I was meant to say other stuff but I forget what so meh.
It's some unnamed form of blissful symbiosis. She goes to the teahouse, he disappears, reappearing to pick her up, full of scratches and sunburns. She refrains from asking. They talk, they laugh, and they do silly things together by the beach, as if making up for the childhood they didn't have the luxury of experiencing. Aside from the time he leaves her at the teahouse, he's by her side all the time. He accompanies her when she goes grocery shopping, ready to pounce on anyone who poses any sort of threat to her. He'd accompanied her when she was bored the first time, thinking that it would be a one-time thing, but seeing the way every man looked at her, with fawning heart eyes made it clear how imperative it was that he stay there to make sure that she remained... unharmed. Yes. That was it. It was her safety that was important, he'd nodded sanctimoniously in his head.
A few times some idiot, maybe not associating the hulking figure to the petite lady, had been as brazen as to try and pick-pocket and purse-snatch her. Fuu'd never said it, for fear of encouraging him any further, but she loved the way Mugen fought. To watch him in motion was better than watching any kabuki play there was to offer. She'd mentally named his moves long ago when she'd travelled with him, and now as she watched him curb stomp the petty thieves, she noticed the new ones in his repertoire, naming them too. Her favourite was the deranged top, where he spun on the back of his neck, hammering the adversary with his powerful legs. She'd always watched with her heart in her throat, for fear of his neck snapping in an attempt gone wrong, but at the same time, she was mesmerised by the way his hips jerked, piloting his legs and his momentum, and way his swords spun. She'd always had to snap out of it and stop Mugen before he turned them into pulp. But Mugen always stopped when her voice got high and firm enough, and she never missed the look of pride as he would toss her purse over to her and oh so casually drape his arm over her shoulders.
It had seemed to good to be true.
And the end seemingly came a couple of weeks later.
It came in the form of a messenger. Breathless, shaking, his horse foaming at the mouth from utter exhaustion. The messenger had originally come from this village, before going into the service of the province's daimyo. He'd ridden harder than was necessary to give them warning before it was officially due, so that they had time to prepare. He'd made everyone gather at the marketplace. It turned out that the daimyo needed a new wave of servants, since many of them had died in battle serving his soldiers, and all the unmarried women 17 and over were obligated to serve.
Fuu and Mugen had taken the message silently, the former stoic and latter fuming, as they had walked back home. Fuu had mechanically started packing as soon as she entered the cottage, holding back tears that threatened to fall. She made her voice overly chirpy as she addressed the sullen figure before her.
"You can stay here if you want! Although you probably want to travel, ne~"
"What's the matter with you Fuu? How can you act ok? The fuck you're fine!"
"So what do you want me to do? Cry?"
"I'm going to murder those bastards. Then you won't have to go."
"Stop growling idiocies, Mugen. You kill this daimyo? So what? Will the war stop? Will the need for servants stop? And what's to say that the next daimyo wouldn't be more corrupted than the one we have now?"
Mugen didn't know how to answer her. He didn't know what to think either. His way was the direct approach, and it had usually worked for him. But now that Fuu was talking, he could see the sense in her words as well. At that point, his train of thought was broken by the sound of a thud and a strangled sob. He looked up to see that she'd dropped the water jug, chest heaving as she sobbed as silently as she could as water drenched her legs.
He made his way to her in a flash, picking her up in his arms and sitting down on the futon with her in his lap. He tried to hug her and wipe her tears away at the same time, and he made shushing noises because he didn't know what to say. But instead of quieting down, Fuu only cried harder.
"Hey, look at me." Fuu raised her watery eyes to his, and he'd never felt a stronger urge to run a swords through a man.
"Marry me." Fuu stopped mid-sob, unable to react. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers and she just stared at him unblinkingly.
"Let's get married. He only wants unmarried girls, right? If you're married, you don't have to go."
"You don't have to do that for me Mugen." She shook her derisively, she whispered, halfway between a laugh and a sob.