A/N Whew! It's been a little while, hasn't it? Hope you all have been doing well, and not getting into too much trouble (winks) I went on a little bit of a vacation myself, but I had also taken a bit of a break because I was kind of discouraged. I haven't gotten many reviews, or views for that matter, and it upset me a little. I've decided though to not let that get to me- the reviews I have gotten have been helpful and awesome, so thank you guys. I'm gonna write this for the people who are reading, and also for myself, because I honestly like this fic a lot and think people should give it a chance. If not, too bad. Well, I think I've chatted enough- on with the show!!!

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

Chapter 7- All I Need

This little village was really pissing me off. Everyone here thought they were safe from the law and that they could live their pathetic little lives as they saw fit. Worst of all, that bastard thought that he was one of them. It made me hunger more for revenge...the sweet smell of blood and that feeling of acomplishment...

Gods...I could feel myself slipping farther and farther into insanity. Soon I would be just like my little brother. My scythe begged for a life, whether it was mine or the one we sought. Our arrival at this little shit-hole was making our lives so much better though- we were now so close I could nearly smell him.

We looked around, trying not to draw too much attention to ourselves. It was becomming a little difficult since Denkibo knew we were close, his short, hunched figure trembling and twitching and with his muttering and whimpering. I scowled at him as he picked up his old haibit of chewing on his hand, something he only did when he was excited.

"Denkibo!" I snapped.

He jumped and looked up at me, his hand still locked between his jaws.

I stopped myself from yelling at him, pity for my poor brother overtaking me. "Go look around."

His hand finally dropped to his side. "For him? Do I get to kill him yet? Oh, please let me kill him, Big Brother! I want to kill him so bad!"

"No. If you find him, come right back to us. Then, when the three of us face him, you can kill him."

He seemed disappointed and mumbled some more, but he scampered off and I knew he would obey.

I smirked, looking back at my big brother, and felt my hopes rise.

Now it was just a matter of time.

xXx

The next morning I awoke to find that Mugen was gone. I changed into one of my new kimonos and made myself some breakfast. While I did, I figured with him gone, I could go out by myself for a little bit. I needed to get out of the house desperately.

I skipped back to my room to put on a warmer kimono and to get my purse and aikuchi; it was a must for a place like this, and I was a little unnnerved to have to have it with me. Soon I was walking down the walkway to the busy street of the village. I immediately felt refreshed, even if it was a little chilly, and sighed in content.

The snow from the day before made the street a little slippery, but I enjoyed the crunch my feet made in the white crystals. Some shopkeepers had shoveled it away from the doorways of their shops, and it depressed me a little that they had.

While I looked around the open market for items for dinner, I noticed a strange man looking at me from across the street. He had an eye-patch over one of his eyes, and his other eye was dark and intense. There was something about him that I didn't like at all, but I tried to ignore him and went back to the vegetables and fruit in front of me. I could still feel his eyes on me, but when I looked up, he was gone. I shuddered and left the stand emptyhanded.

I ducked into the bookstore in search of new reading material, but found something else that I found that I needed. I bought some paper, some ink, and a brush to write with, unsure of why I needed them.

Afterwards I continued to look around the little markets for several hours. While I shopped, I became a little homesick- I'm not sure why I did, since this place looked nothing like my old home. I pushed aside those feelings for the time being. This wasn't the place or the time for such things.

While I shopped I saw a beautiful comb for sale. It was a beautiful ivory comb with pink lacquered flowers and a string of pink cloth flowerpetals hanging down. When I saw it, I thought of two people: Mugen- since I wondered what he would think of me if I wore it- and my mother. I don't know why I thought of her. I guess it's because it matched the kimono she had given me, and also because it seemed like something she would have worn.

I would have bought it, had it not been for the soft voice saying my name.

"Fuu-chan..." I recognized the calm voice immediately, but the surpirse laced lightly into those two syllables was unfamiliar.

I turned around and smiled shyly. "Jin...hi."

His eyebrows were raised slightly, but his face was soft and warm. He was wearing a winter kimono like I was, but still wore the wire-framed glasses. I always found them to be a little ridiculous, but I welcomed what had become his image. I was startled to see a pack with him and pointed to it. "What's that for?"

His eyes darted to it, then to the people around us and finally back to me. He sighed, "Perhaps it would be easier to explain if we were somewhere a little more private."

I knew he also meant less dangerous, but smiled and pointed to a teahouse like I didn't know what was going on. We slipped into a table away from other people and ordered small bits of food and some tea, eating in silence when it got there. As we drank what was left of our tea, he resumed the conversation.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here? The last I heard, you were suppossed to be..."

"Dead?" I rolled my eyes. "Long story." I sipped my tea nonchalantly, trying to pass off the whole situation as an everyday occurance. "I just decided that it was time to leave, that's all. There was a bit of a misunderstanding as far as that goes. I can't really get into it."

"Mmm..." he sighed. Silence fell over us again, the only sounds coming from the kitchen and other people sitting inside.

All of a sudden, we both started talking, our words jumbling together. I blushed brightly. "I'm sorry! Go ahead."

He shook his head and didn't say a word. Since he was letting me go first, I continued to try and steer the conversation away from what I knew he wanted to talk about.

"So what's that bag for?" I pointed to the bag that had been on his back only minutes before. "Are you going somewhere?" I eyed him dangerously as a thought crossed my mind. "You weren't...looking for me, were you?"

"No," he said flatly, and for some reason, I felt a little disappointed. "But I am looking for someone."

I grinned devilishly. "Old girlfriend?"
"You could say that. I haven't seen her in quite some time."

My eyes widened- I had only been kidding, but he seemed completely serious!

"Well, I hope you find her, " I said sincerely, and also to make up for being nosy. "But what about work? Does my father know you're here?"

He nodded. " I left his services not too long ago. As a matter of fact, it was just a few days after you had been..." He cleared his throat and fell silent.

I looked away from him and stared the empty tea glass in my hand.

"Are you with him?"

I snapped my head up to look back at him. "What?"

"That man from before- are you with him again?" His dark eyes bore into mine, searching for the answer I could not give. When I didn't answer, he sighed through his nose and I turned my head away.

That awful silence fell over us again and I had the sudden urge to get away from that place. I didn't want to be around Jin anymore, and I knew when he spoke again, he would say something I wouldn't want to hear.

As I predicted, he said, "I think you should go back, Fuu-chan."

We were where we both knew we would end up. It was the topic we had both tried to avoid, and yet knew that we would come back to it eventually.

Rage began to build up inside me and I held it back as best I could. "No."

"This place is dangerous. You could get hurt, or worse."

I scoffed. "Too late for that."

He looked into my eyes sternly. "You know what I mean."

I looked back into his with equal intensity. "I'm not going back."

"You are throwing your life away for nothing," he said, sounding more angry than stern.

"It's my life. I had nothing that I wanted. This is what I want," I argued.

"Do you love him?"

I found myself unprepared for such a question, and I lost a bit of my edge against him. I craftily whipped back with " Do you love her?" His eyebrow twitched and I smirked, only to feel slight guilt afterwards.

"That has nothing to do with the conversation."

"Then why'd you ask?" I snapped. "So what if I did? It's none of your business, anyway..."

"I just don't want anything to happen to you," He said softly, and the anger I felt melted away.

My eyes drifted down to my teacup again. "I'll be okay."

We left soon after that, no more words passing between us. I knew this place wasn't his final destination and that we would have to part ways soon. I felt both anguish and relief at the thought, and ended up walking with him to the other end of the village to the exit.

I stopped just under the gate, with him just out from under it. "It...was nice seeing you again." I felt like such a brat saying that to him. Quickly I added on "I really hope you can find her." I smiled when I saw the hope rise in his eyes. My feelings were stirring at that moment, so much I almost felt nauseous.

"Fuu-chan...there's something you should know. Your father..." he paused, and I could see that he was having a hard time putting thought into words. "...he knows you are alive."

That starled me. "What?"

"He had let you go. Kasumi-sama...he knew that you were going back to him. That's why he called off the search for you. The police announced you dead for the public's sake; he doesn't want people to know that...Mugen-san is alive, because people still believe that he is dead."

I nodded, still in shock but listening carefully to him.

He put a hand on my shoulder, and I found the gesture welcoming. "If you do not wish to return, at least let him know you are well. You owe him at least that."

I nodded vigorously, tears clouding my vision. I choked on a sob, and I felt Jin tense. "Are you...?"

I forced a smile." I'm okay. Go ahead, I'll be fine." I wiped my eyes and kissed his cheeks softly, and he turned and walked away. I called out his name suddenly, and when he turned back to me, I bowed. "Thank you."

When he walked away again, I did the same- when I was sure he couldn't see me anymore, I broke out into a run. The cold winter air stung my hot, tear-stained cheeks, soothing and painful at the same time. I ran all the way back the house, and thankfully I didn't fall or trip on the way there. I don't remember the run there, whether people looked at me, or if people said things to me. I made it to the walkway before my foot snagged on something, the sudden jerk making me stop and come back to my senses.

I stood there and let myself cry and catch my breath. My heart stung and beat hard against my chest. It reminded me of the pain I felt the day my mother died.

I collected myself as best I could and walked slowly up the rest of the way to the house. It didn't occur to me that Mugen could have been back by now, and didn't until it was too late.

As I reached the front yard, I saw Mugen waiting outside, and it seemed that he was looking for me. I saw how the anger melted away from his face to what almost looked like worry, and he bounded over to me.

"What the hell, Fuu? Why are you...?" He took my face in his hands and brought it up so he could look at me. "Did someone hurt you?"

I shook my head, and the tension in his hands lessened.

"What's the matter, then?" He tried to take his hands back, but I suddenly took them and wrapped them around me, burying my face into the cloth of his ghee.

"Just...stay like this for a while, ok?" I smiled.

His whole body stiffened, but he didn't push me away.

"...okay..."

A/N Awwww, how fluffy! LOL Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I was really proud of myself with this chapter- there's a lot of dialogue, but it doesn't ramble on. I'm getting better! I'll try to update as much as I can- there's a lot of stuff I've been doing lately, so I don't know how much I'll be able to type. (It's times like these I'm thankful that I write everything down beforehand XD) Until then! Review please!!!