Author's Note: Good Lord. I'm absolutely exhausted, and it's only the first week of school! And I'm really sorry for not updating sooner, you guys, but I just haven't been able to find the time or energy until now! (And even now, it's just the time. The energy is replaced by the guilt I feel at not updating for almost 5 days...)

As consolation, I'm updating with TWO chapters tonight. We're getting closer and closer to the conclusion, my friends. Get excited!

Disclaimer: I don't own "Samurai Champloo."

Lifesaving Lies

"FUU!" Fuu jolted awake at the sound of her name. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and sat up in bed, yawning.

"Ishido, what is it?" she asked. The little boy glanced around the room nervously, as though expecting something dark and scary to leap out of any one of the corners and gobble him up.

"You have to lie and say you're Sazuko Yamanuki," he said. Fuu raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"Why?"

"Because if you don't, they'll kill you," Ishido answered anxiously. Fuu's mouth opened of its own accord, hanging wide.

"Bu - I - what?" she stammered. "I don't even know who this Sazuko girl is! How in the world can I act like her?" Ishido shrugged.

"Just pretend to be rich, and act like everything is beneath you. Oh! And also say that you lied to me to see if my Master would buy it and let you go - which he won't like, but if you play it right, it could work for you. Just flatter him by saying stuff like you shouldn't have tried it at all, now that you know who you're dealing with. Act kind of impressed with him, he'll like that," Ishido explained. Fuu nodded, eager for whatever help she could get.

"Should I know why they captured me - I mean, Sazuko - in the first place?" she asked.

"Yeah, your dad's filthy rich and my Master wants his money. You're part of the ransom deal."

"Why are you helping me?" Fuu wondered. Ishido flushed and looked down at the ground.

"I, er, don't like it when my Master kills innocent people. He doesn't do it often, but it bothers me when he does, you know?" he said quietly. Fuu smiled at him.

"Well, thank you."

They were interrupted by a loud knock on the door, and a tall man entered the room, glaring at Ishido.

"No talking to the prisoners, Ishido, you should know that," he scolded. Ishido glared at Fuu, then, pointing a small finger at her accusingly.

"She lied about the whole thing, you know! She just admitted it!" he yelled. The tall man raised an eyebrow at Fuu, who smiled with fake smugness and shrugged.

"What can I say? I thought I'd get away with it. But then this little brat -" Sorry, Ishido, she thought, "- told me I'd probably get in more trouble if I kept pretending. I know all you want is my father's money. The sooner you make the deal with him, the better," Fuu said, hoping her acting chops were up to par. The tall man seemed to accept this, and he beckoned for her to follow him.

"All right, all right. Toraga wants to speak with you," he said. Fuu gulped and followed him out the door, stiff-backed and nervous. She hoped desperately that the man striding in front of her couldn't hear her frantically beating heart, nor sense her terrible nerves. I really hope Mugen and Jin can get me out of this before I get too far in. What will Sazuko's father do when he realizes that I'm not actually his daughter? Will I be killed?

"Ah, Miss Yamanuki. Please, make yourself comfortable." Fuu hadn't even noticed that they had reached their destination until she heard a charming male voice speaking to her alias. Her gaze swiftly moved to a dark silhouette of a man sitting on an elevated dais, his arm held out, motioning for her to take a seat. Fuu obeyed numbly, her heart still thumping loudly against her ribcage. She felt, but didn't see, the man break into a broad smile. "Miss Yamanuki. I assume you know that I heard of your shenanigans, and that I disapprove. I am, in fact, a little disappointed. I would have thought the daughter of a nobleman would have more... sophistication when faced with a situation like this."

"I'm still a bit shaky about the whole thing, really," Fuu said quietly, trying desperately not to avert her eyes and give away the lie. "I was sure that my kidnappers would fall for the trick, but I can see now what I'm really up against. My father would be better off just giving you the money you want, wouldn't he?"

"Clever girl," the man said, his voice amused. Fuu began to hope that maybe she wouldn't be executed on the spot. "An emissary has already been dispatched. He will be arriving at your home any moment now, and proposing the ransom deal to your dear father. Your life, for ten thousand gold ryu." Fuu blanched inwardly at the sum, but managed to keep a calm outward appearance; such money would probably be usual for the Sazuko girl she was supposed to be acting like.

"Master." A new man entered the room, bowing deeply. "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but we have word of Gorin's whereabouts."

"And?" The Master's voice hardened, a drastic change from the sickeningly sweet tone he had been using with Fuu.

"He's dead, like you thought, Master. Someone really did a number on him. His body is completely ravaged, but we managed to salvage all the pieces before the police found him," the man explained. The Master didn't answer immediately, and there was a heavy silence for a few moments. Then:

"Pieces?" The messenger gulped.

"Yes, Master."

"Show me." The Master gracefully rose to his feet, and Fuu saw that he really was quite tall. He was about to exit the room when suddenly he turned back to her, beckoning. "Come. I'll show you what will happen to you should your father refuse my request." Fuu bit her lip nervously and followed him through the shadows into an adjoining room. As soon as she had passed through the threshold, the coppery scent of blood and death hit her like a ton of bricks, and she had to pause so as not to retch.

"Here, Master," the messenger said, gesturing to a cart that had been pulled into the large room. The Master kept a fair distance away from where the cart was, as did Fuu, but both could still see the terribly ruined corpse of a man lying in it. Fuu moaned and looked away, clutching her mouth with a shaking hand. Even though it was the body of the man who kidnapped her, she couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. In the back of her mind, she vaguely wondered if it had been Jin or Mugen who had committed this murder, then allowed her thoughts to drift back to them.

Please be safe, you two...

-----

The Yamanuki household was dark and quiet.

The young man carrying his Master's proposal hesitated at the gate, wondering if he really wanted to do this. Why, oh, why had he volunteered for this job? Every shadow hid an assassin, and every soft breeze was a killer breathing down his neck. Finally steeling himself, the young messenger walked resolutely up the pathway leading to the front door, his gaze never straying from the cobblestones before him.

Maybe if he had taken one glance to his right, he could have prevented his demise.

The sword came from nowhere, and the young man had time only to widen his eyes before he was cut down and knew no more.

The silence following death was broken by the sound of a piece of paper being unfolded.

"Ten thousand gold ryu," a calm voice said from out of the darkness.

"Damn. And I actually would have had to give him that," cursed another quiet voice from near the house.

"Don't worry about that now. Just get it ready. I have work to do."

Author's Note: ... I hope you know who's talking during the last part. I thought it was pretty obvious, but I've often been wrong about those kinds of things.

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