Vol. 10 Midnight Discussions

-Mugen-

We sat around the campfire, eating the fish we had caught a while ago. We were all happy to be around the flames, it had gotten fuckin' freezing since sundown. We had all had pretty good luck at the river, except for one of us. Tsuki hadn't caught anything and wasn't giving up. The bitch was stubborn. Even Jin had got a few.

"I can't believe there's a worse fisher than you," I snickered after swallowing a mouthful of the tender meat. Fuu giggled. I just had to mess with Tsukiko some more. I turned around and put my hand to my mouth. "Hey! I'll give you some of my fish if you promise to be my slave!"

"Shut up Mugen!" Tsuki yelled. She sat on the bank of the river, twisting her hands around the pole. She looked about ready to snap it in half.

"Sure, but it won't help you catch a fish!"

She stood up and stormed over to us. My eyes narrowed, unsure if she was going to come and hit me or not. She grabbed the bow and an arrow from the quiver she had found earlier. She loaded one in and pointed it right at our heads. Shit! I didn't have a chance to move even. She let the arrow loose and it went right past my ear and into the bushes behind us. I was gonna kill her for tryin' to get me. There was a loud shrieking noise, surprising us. Pursing her lips she went over to the thick forest. She went in and came back a few minutes later dragging a wild pig.

"Have your fish, I'm eating pork," she gloated. Holy crap. She dropped it in front of us with a thud. Fuu, Jin, and me all leaned in, mouths watering. She put her hand on it and leaned towards me. "I'll give you some Mugen, if you promise to be my slave."

-Tsukiko-

I woke up in the middle of the night after a nasty dream. I shivered, sorry that we didn't have any blankets. My teeth started chattering. To distract myself I started to look around in the darkness. I could just make out the silhouettes of the others. Fuu was sleeping serenely next to me. Her eyelashes fluttered every few seconds, telling me that she was probably having a dream. Mugen was snoring away obnoxiously. He was sprawled out on his patch of the floor, his right arm at an odd angle. Jin was…nowhere to be seen.

I got up quietly and went outside to look for him. I started down the river's bank, hoping that I was going in the right direction. I found him sitting on a rock staring at the moving water. I didn't try to sneak up on him, I didn't think that our relationship was there just yet. I just walked up and sat next to him. The moonlight reflected off of his glasses as his head turned to look at me.

"If you're looking for leftovers, I wouldn't bother. Fuu ate everything," I told him. I was trying to break the ice a little. Things were tense between us; I knew he didn't trust me. He was smart.

"Something you'll get accustomed to," he replied quietly.

I laughed. "So she does this often?"

"Mmm." I took that as a yes.

Other than the cold, it was a nice night. The small crescent of a moon wasn't providing much light, but the stars helped. It reminded me of home. I pulled my legs up and put my arms around my knees. I started to warm up a little as I rested my chin on my knees. The soft fabric felt nice against my face. I was getting used to the kimono. I hadn't worn one since I was little and I had taken one of my first trips to this country. I fell in love with it right away. The country, not the kimono.

"Why are you up anyway?" I asked, feeling the silence had lasted long enough.

"I wasn't sleeping well."

This guy wasn't big on words. It didn't bother me, it was intriguing. Of all three, Jin was the hardest for me to figure out. I liked them all, and Fuu was becoming a good friend. Maybe because we had so much in common. Mugen was just fun to mess with. But Jin, he reminded me of a character in the mystery novels my father used to buy for me. I wanted to know what made this aloof ronin tick.

The breeze pulled a strand of my bangs loose. It tickled as it floated across my skin, making my nose wrinkle. I tucked it carefully behind my ear and went back to the conversation.

"Me either," I said finally. "Nightmares."

"What about?"

"Things I've seen. I have witnessed some terrible things on my journey." I paused in thought, unwillingly remembering. "I've done some pretty horrible stuff too."

"We all have."

"I lost the man I loved," I told him bitterly. It wasn't divulging some huge secret, it was just something that had happened to me. He looked at me with an odd expression. It was a few seconds before I understood it. "Not my sensei." He nodded. "That would be so wrong. I told you he sort of adopted me, he was more like a second father."

Again we sat in a careful silence. The steady rushing of the river and the rippling of the trees the only noise. Most of the animals were asleep now.

"There was a woman I cared for, but she's gone," Jin told me as his eyes turned skyward. People were always doing that, as if there were answers up in the indigo darkness. Must be some kind of reflex.

"Dead?"

"Home for ex-brothel workers." I was surprised that he was voluntarily talking about personal information.

"Ah."

That stunned me and didn't at the same time. Jin was well-mannered enough to be noble blood, but he was wandering aimlessly around Japan. I had heard enough about his past to know why -if he was nobility- he did not have all that he was entitled to. He had killed his master…he was a ronin. He would have been trained for childhood to pick a wife for good breeding. Whoever this woman was that Jin had fallen for must have been something if he was going against everything he had been raised for.

"What happened to yours?" he asked in an exhale. I knew that reaction; painful memories. This answer would no doubt drag more up for me.

"He died. He was a sailor's son, so the sea was in his blood. He started the journey with me when we were young and just friends. When we got to India, he went to the docks to get some money…I think he missed the water. Bad weather struck one night and his ship, along with the rest outside of the harbor, were destroyed. Over five hundred people died that night."

"That is very unfortunate. Many of the people in your life have died tragically." Jin shifted into a more comfortable position.

"I wouldn't call it unfortunate, I don't think there are words for things like that." I silenced for a moment, thinking about my lost love as well as my family. I snapped out of it and tried to perk up. "So what's keeping you from seeing said lover?"

"She's not allowed to go out or see anyone for three years. She's also married to a low-life gambler who sold her into prostitution to pay his debts. She doesn't love him."

"But she loves you?" I pressed. He shrugged, which I didn't believe. He knew if she loved him or not, but I wasn't going to push the matter. "Wow, even nuns in convents get out more than that. So what's keeping you from getting your girl?"

"I just said-" he started. I stopped him by putting my hand up.

"If you really love her, then nothing can or will stop you." I tossed a rock into the flowing river. Jin stood and started walking back to camp. "I didn't mean to offend you, Jin. If I did, I'm sorry."

"No, you just gave me something to reflect upon." He took a few steps and then stopped again. "Goodnight Tsukiko."

"Night," I sighed, throwing another stone into the water. I watched until long after the ripples were gone before standing and heading to bed myself.

Please R&R!!!!!!