Vol. 11 Abnormal Amusement

-Mugen-

In less than a day we reached Osaka. It was good to be in a city where I could get the hell away from everyone and do something…fun. Fuu was dragging Jin shopping. How in the hell that happened, I didn't know. Fuu wanted Tsukiko to go, but she said she didn't have the money. I was happy that I finally got to a place where I could get rid of all the extra energy I had pent up.

I left me and Jin's room and saw Tsuki sitting alone in her and Fuu's room. She was brushing her hair. Damn, it was even longer when it was down. She looked at me in the mirror when I passed and smiled. I stopped and leaned on the door frame.

"What are you gonna do while we're gone?" I asked. I didn't really care, but I figured I'd ask so that we'd know where she was later. Jin had said he wanted us to keep an eye on her.

She shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Well," I sighed. "Have fun with that."

"Hey Mugen!" she shouted when I was a few steps away. I stopped.

"What?"

"Where are you going?"

"To get some action." I didn't care if she knew. What I needed, I had a feeling she wasn't gonna give up. I went a couple more steps.

"Mugen," she said a little more quietly.

Maybe she was going to offer. Sure as hell there wasn't any way I was sayin' no. "Yeah?"

"Have fun." She came out of the room as she said it and passed me. She was walking away. I frowned. She said she didn't know where she was goin', but she looked like she was heading somewhere. I caught up with her.

"I thought you said you weren't doin' nothin'."

"No, you asked where I was going. I said 'who knows?' I still don't know where I'm going, I'm just…going."

She was tryin' to be clever. Maybe she really was an assassin or spy from the government and was off to report the shit she'd learned. There was no fuckin' way I was letting her out of my sight. I was finished with those government assholes.

"I thought you were going to get some action Mugen," she said over her shoulder to me. Yeah, right.

"I was re-thinkin' it. You hungry?"

"Shouldn't we wait for Fuu and Jin to get dinner? I mean, we are going to meet back at the rooms at sunset."

"Fine," I thought for a second to come up with something else. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Depends…" she said slowly. She turned and looked up at me with this weird look. It was like she was tryin' to figure me out or size me up right before a battle. I tried to do the same thing, but couldn't get anything. There was a secret in those eyes of hers. Behind all of the blue and the careful emotion, there was something I wanted to know. "Mugen."

"What?" I asked, forgetting that I was talking to her.

"The question?" she said expectantly.

"What question?" Then I remembered. "Oh yeah. You said earlier that you don't work for no one but yourself, and I wanted to know why you were givin' your life to Fuu if that was true."

"I'm not working for Fuu, I'm fulfilling a promise. It's not like I have anything else to do. I really didn't have to come here, but I thought it was the right thing to do."

I laughed. She arched an eyebrow at me and pressed her lips together. "Oh, I get it. You're a do-gooder."

Now she laughed. "I rarely make it a habit of doing 'the right thing'. I steal, I drink, I do pretty much everything an honorable woman shouldn't do. I would hardly call myself a do-gooder."

"So you're a bad bitch then?"

"Oh, well if you want to call it that…Then the answer is yes."

"I got an idea of what we can do to kill some time then," I told her with a grin.

"What's that?" she asked, interested.

Later…

-Fuu-

"What in the hell are they doing?" I asked Jin, shocked and very bewildered. We had just walked in on them doing this, and now we were just standing there watching. It was actually just getting good.

"I don't know," he answered. "I can assure you that it was Mugen's idea though. Tsukiko doesn't seem like the kind of person to do this for no apparent reason."

I turned back to the scene in front of me.

"Why are you holding back Mugen?" Tsuki asked, sweat trickling down her forehead. "Don't think I can take it?"

"I don't know if you're ready for something like me," he panted.

"Someone is going to pull something," Jin sighed, talking to himself.

"Give me everything you got. Don't think because I'm a girl that I can't take a little pain."

"I like a girl who can be rough."

"You don't know the meaning yet," she groaned as she put in more effort. Mugen bit his lip in the effort. I was absolutely fascinated by this.

"How did it even come to this?" Jin wondered aloud. "We leave for a few hours and they start acting like animals. How long have you two been at it?"

"About an hour and a half," Tsuki breathed shakily. She had started to tremble all over. Mugen was doing the same thing. I had a feeling that this was going to be done with soon. "I didn't think that he would last this long."

"You either. I thought you'd give out," he was snarling now. Probably from the effort. "NO!" he yelled as Tsuki started to get the advantage. "My damn body can't take this shit."

"Errrggh.." Tsuki growled as she pushed farther and farther. Then it was done. "Ha! I told you I'd win Mugen. You owe me a round of sake now!"

"You two are so stubborn. All of that pain just to win at arm wrestling. Sheesh," I cried. I sat down next to Tsuki, who was nursing her arm. "Why were you doing that?"

"He said he was stronger than me any day, so I said that I'd prove him wrong. He didn't think that a broad could beat him in a competition of strength," Tsukiko bragged.

Mugen looked pissed. "Hey, I was off today. I'll get you another day."

"Fine with me."

"To think we missed this to go shopping," Jin said sarcastically. "Can we go and eat now? God only knows what would happen if Mugen challenged Tsukiko to a wrestling match."

(a/n: Tee he he…Ah, that was good. Okay, now this next part takes place parallel to the time Mugen and Tsukiko were getting into it. This is what happened when Jin and Fuu were shopping together.)

-Jin-

"Jin, what do you think of this fan?" Fuu asked of me as I looked at a new sharpening stone. My old one was worn and I required a replacement. I needed it for upkeep between real sharpenings. I looked up to the fan. It was white with lotus flowers painted on it. I didn't know why she kept asking me for my opinion, but I answered despite my inexperience on the matter.

"I think that it's nice."

"I agree. The pink one would go better with my kimono though." She picked up a decorative hair comb. "How about this?"

"It looks expensive," I warned as I handed the man two coins for the stone.

"Do you think that Tsuki would like it?" she wondered. Fuu was getting very attached to Tsukiko, and we still didn't know if we could trust her. I needed to say something to her.

"Yes, but I think I should talk to you about her." Fuu looked at me intently, willing to hear what I was about to say. "Tsukiko is very charming, and I understand why you are becoming friends with her. You have to remember though, that this kind of thing happened before with Sara. We have a lot of enemies, and it is always a possibility she is one of them."

"I know Jin." I was surprised by her reaction. She was calm and had a small smile on her lips. "I learned my lesson. I know that I trust people really easily, but I've been keeping an eye on her."

"I'm happy to see that you learned something. Maybe this means we won't have to save you as much now."

"Really?" she asked earnestly.

"No," I told her with a smile.

Please R&R!!!!!!!!