Fuu walked slowly down the beach. Jin was going to be angry when he returned to the little house and found her gone after he specifically told her to rest, but she couldn't bear one more minute in that place. She kept seeing Mugen for the last time, hearing his hard voice saying he wouldn't change his mind as he walked away forever, and she couldn't forget the hunted look in his eyes. Why had he taken such a dangerous job with a man he hated? It couldn't have been the money-they had been broke their entire journey and it had never bothered any of them before. There was something else-something she would never know and never stop wondering about.
Fuu heard a strange sound and looked down the beach to see a man backing away from something, blubbering in fear. She hurried to his side as he fell to his knees. "What is it? What's wrong?"
He pointed in horror. "There's a dead body!"
She looked over and saw a familiar form dressed in black shorts and red jacket, tangled in a fishing net. "Mugen!" She fell to her knees, leaning on her hands, tears as endless as the ocean pouring out of her. "Oh, Mugen, why? Why did you have to die?" There was a harsh choking sound and she gulped and looked up. Mugen's body convulsed as he threw up the water he had swallowed and Fuu crawled over to him, a sudden hope in her heart. "Mugen?"
He shuddered and drew in a ragged breath, his eyes rolling up in his head, and she spun around. "You!" The man who had found Mugen was still there and he jumped at the tone of her voice. "Help me get him back to my house!"