I know, took me forever to update. I honestly struggled with getting 3,000 words, let a lone trying to get close to 10,000. But this turned out to be a LONG chapter. I really don't like the wording of some spots, but instead of taking the time to rework it, I wanted to get this out as soon as I finished. I once again took some creative liberties and changed the path/location of their original journey to work for my story.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season, as well as a fun and safe New Years. To fill my curiosity, how cold did it get wherever you're from on Christmas? Here it was a bone chilling -47!
I do not own Samurai Champloo, or the character's associated.
Chapter 11- Hellhound Bound
Unfolding the piece of paper, Fuu studied the mysterious symbol once again. She compared it to anything she could on her tourist guide. Nagahama was a hot tourist spot, and it did plenty of business in dealing with guns. However, the guide seemed to be of no help. It listed major inns, restaurants and other things travellers might find interesting but there was nothing similar to what she was looking for. The "hot shot" city really seemed to be confusing, especially just looking at the map. Nagahama used to consist of three different districts, but it had since been combined into one.
She paid no mind to the people staring at her and her companion as the two of them seemed to be blocking the middle of the busy street. Normally in a situation like this, people would be bumping into her, nudging her, telling her to move it or lose it, but Mugen seemed to serve as a perfect deflector as he stood right behind her. One look at his sour face and they steered clear of both of them. His hang over was gone, but his stomach was still feeling under the weather apparently, which was leaving him in an incredibly sour mood. It wasn't anything new to her though, so even though he was emitting a dark cloud of hate into the world, it didn't faze her.
"Maybe..it's a business emblem? Or a clan mon?" Clicking her tongue, she squinted her eyes as if it would allow her to see something she might have been missing.
"-You think so?" Leaning down, Mugen hovered his head over her shoulder.
Tightening her grip on the paper, it scrunched under the pressure. She could feel his breath on her ear, and despite her inner resistance, her face felt hot. She would never want to admit it, let a lone show it, but the last few days she has been painfully aware of Mugen. He didn't behave any differently than he previously had, nor did he say anything different but at the same time it was as if everything had suddenly changed.
"I can't see it when you hold it like that. What the hells the matter with you huh?" Reaching for the paper, Fuu quickly adjusted it before he could full reach.
"Well, it's not like you can read it anyway!" Turning her face, she had forgotten just how close he really was. Her cheek rubbed against the stubble on his chin, causing her to step away. "-Too close!" Crossing her arms in front of her she made an "x".
"What's your problem?" Sticking his pinky in his ear, he worked at some wax that seemed to have finally worked its way out.
"If you stand close like that people might get the wrong idea!"
Slapping himself in the face, he couldn't continue to handle her ridiculous level of undeserved confidence. What the hell made her think he even wanted to be close to her? He was just trying to get another look at the paper. She was always weird but she had been extra weird for the last while, maybe she had been suppressing her true personality and was finally beginning to let it out.
Putting her thumb nail in her mouth she bit it lightly, not to tear or cut it, but out of habit. "Looking at the way it's worded...I don't think it will be that easy to just ask people, they obviously want to stay inconspicuous."
"Incon-what?"
Rolling her eyes, she pulled the nail out of her mouth and the adjoining hand on her hip. "It means they want to lay low, hush hush. Not that you're good at that. For all we know, someone else already took the job."
Unfortunately for her, Mugen's hungover state made what would have been an easy days walk, stretch out over two long and tiresome days. Almost every half hour, he would stop and attempt to take a nap. At one point he even used his crazy speed to run up ahead of her so he could nap until she caught up to him. And whenever they did get to a good pace he would get intensely dizzy, saying things like the world around him were moving faster than what his eyes and mind could process. It didn't help that his stomach wasn't able to hold down food the first day either. It was already past noon when he decided he wanted to try something and it took only a few seconds before whatever went down, came back up.
"Let's just hurry up and find whoever it is." Holding back his index finger with his thumb, he twacked Fuu's forehead. She seemed off in la-la-land again, and damn did it ever piss him off. She was either nagging him nonstop or doing this, not paying attention. How may times has it been that he's told her to get her head out of the clouds? At least 5 times too many.
"Ow!" Smacking his hand away, it felt like deja vu. "Okay, what time should we meet up again?"
"Whaddya mean, meet up?"
"Well..Nagahama is a big place. I figured we would split up-" Folding the paper in half, Fuu ran her finger nail and her thumb over the fold line, making it a sharper fold. Then with ease, she tore the paper into two pieces, handing one to Mugen and keeping one for herself. "This way we both have a copy of the symbol, and we can cover more ground."
Taking the piece of paper, he looked at it with indifference. "Last time we did that you didn't show."
"Irrelevant! I was still working, you just got impatient." Tucking her half of the paper into her obi, she unfolded the large tourist guide which was also a layout of the city. "I'll take this area, and you take this one. Okay? Mugen?" She didn't even need to look at him to know he wasn't paying any attention to her. His gaze was off into the crowd and to the buildings around them.
"Ya, I got it." Taking a quick peek at the guide, he had somewhat of an idea on where he was supposed to look- although he would really just go wherever looked interesting enough. "You still got that dinky little knife of yours, right?"
"Huh? My tanto? Yea, I still have it, why?" With the guide in her hand, she shoved it into her kimono sleeve, pulling out the pink lacquer of the sheath.
"No, reason, just checking is all." With his hands in his pockets, and his back slightly humped he turned and left without another word.
Readjusting the tanto within her kimono, she watched Mugen walk in the direction that she was supposed to go in. 'That guy never listens, does he?' Adjusting her bag on her shoulder, and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she set off to find any clue she could.
"Thank you for your time!" Bowing again, Fuu marked an "x" on the city guide. She was going to keep track of the streets she went to and where she asked for information in regards to the symbol. She had been down so many streets and had already talked to so many people but there really was nothing to help. There wasn't even so much as a clue to who these mystery people were. So far there was a pattern in how people were reacting, no one seemed to be denying nor confirming anything- they just wished her the best of luck in her search.
Nagahama was buzzing, it reminded her of Osaka. Everywhere she looked was a store or a group of people that were duplicates of those in her memory. The people around her buzzed like busy bees, trying to get to their business but keeping in mind to enjoy themselves. Mother's held onto their children's hands tightly as they urged them to hurry up so they wouldn't miss out on whatever adventure waited for them. Groups of young men and women walked together side by side, they were too young to worry about any real responsibility- all they saw was what was right in front of them. The girls that were around Fuu's age didn't care if they were unchaperoned, or that maybe they brushed a little too close to one of the guys. Fuu could see it on their faces, the excitement, the mystery, and the endless possibilities that they could face.
"Ahhh...to be young again." Sighing, Fuu let her eyes follow the group until she was almost fully turned around, where she did a quick spin on her heel- giving her one quick glimpse of the group before she had to continue on in the opposite direction. She wondered if she ever looked like that, bright eyes and a endless smile. The idea of finding a man used to consume her, until Mugen and Jin came around. Then it finally occured to her how reckless, stupid, idiotic, moronic, and hopeless men really were. The pick up lines from customers no longer made her blush or inflate her ego. Sure her eyes would follow when a handsome man would come into view but that was about it.
'I mean..I don't need a man...No..I don't want a man.' Nodding to herself, she looked back down at the city guide again. Watching the stores around, things seemed to be becoming more and more familiar to her. But it was more than just the similarities to Osaka, something was itching at her that she had been here before. The shops, the people, the drapery set up in front of them, it was like she had seen it before.
"Where..am I?" Looking at the map, she scrunched up her face. She looked up from the map, then back down again, up again and back down. Looking all around there was nothing around her that was mentioned on her guide. She must have trailed off of the main roads and found herself on the slower paced side of Nagahama. The buildings weren't as extravagant, and the people were in fewer groups. Everything seemed dull and brown. The streets weren't as well kept, the drapery and signs of stores weren't brightly coloured. It was like she was in a completely different place than where she was just a few seconds ago. The idea of just turning around crossed her mind but she didn't want to lose all the progress she had already made thus far. Looking further down the street, it split into two, she could either go left or right. But there was someone sitting on some sort of crate with their head hung low and a large hat covering their head so she couldn't get a good look at them. As she got closer, she saw that there was a small table in front of the person, she didn't notice it at first because of the colour seemed to blend in with their clothes.
"Erm..Excuse me? Could you help me, I'm trying to find someone." Shuffling, Fuu bent down, trying to get a glimpse of the mysterious person.
"For a price-" Raising their head, Fuu's heart almost stopped. She wasn't quite prepared for their appearance. Their face was painted completely white, and their eyes were thickly lined with black. The outer corner of each eye was powdered with rouge. Their lips were also dark, matching the colour of ther oversized scraf around his neck. "-I can tell you your future, and if this mystery person is in it."
"Hmm..how much?" Crossing her arms, she was still debating whether she should or not. It had been a long time since she saw a fortune teller, and so maybe she was due for a reading.
"2 mon." Holding out their hand, it wasn't even a question to them if Fuu was going to get it done or not. They just waited.
"-Fine." Pulling out two small coins from her sleeve, she placed them into the teller's hand. "I want to know how this symbol will affect my future." Setting the ripped paper on the small table, Fuu tapped her long tail on the symbol a few times, asserting the particular inquiry.
Raising up their other hand, the fortune teller held a large black rimmed magnifying glass in front of their one eye. Fuu wanted to laugh, because it made the teller's eye look comedically huge, but she did her best in keeping face and not cracking a smile. The large magnified eye looked Fuu over a few times. Looking up, and down, and then into her eyes, and then back down again.
"My child...you have faced many hardships, and there are many more to come." Raising to their knees, the teller leaned in, over the table, grabbing Fuu's left hand. Jerking her forwards, she was uncomfortably being pressed against the sharp edge of the raised platform. The large glass remained in front of the teller's face, the eye widened and intensifying with each word.
"The boar of Kansai follows the red sun, and a price must be paid! Red as the swollen lips, the eyes of eternity shall turn! Because of your hand, everything will bleed! From whence it comes is undetermined, but what price shall you return?" Letting go of Fuu's hand, the teller slowly sat back down with perfect posture. "-The thread shall break, by either thy own hand or by greed."
Staring at the now silent teller, her eyes felt as wide open as his magnified one. So much had been said so quickly that her mind wasn't sure what to make of it all. Trying to put together everything that said it all seemed like static buzzing through her ears.
"-Or something like that." Setting the magnifying glass down the teller shrugged.
"W-What? What kind of crap are you trying to sell people!?"
"It is up to you whether you believe my words or not. It doesn't change what has been said, or what is to come."
"I asked you about this symbol!" Tapping her nail against the paper on the table once again. "How does THIS affect my future? Where can I find it?!"
Looking at the symbol briefly the teller raised an eye brow but his face seemed uninterested. "Like I said, I can tell you anything, for a price." Holding out their hand once again, the teller waited.
"Do I look stupid to you?! You con-artist!" Grabbing the paper from the table, Fuu stomped away. She didn't try to hide her dissatisfaction with the teller's service. She stomped in a similar fashion as Mugen, with her knees outwards as far as her kimono would allow. Mumbling to herself she even crossed streets without paying mind to any of the on coming traffic.
"Whoa! Watch it Miss, you might get yourself hurt."
"Yea, yea, whatever!" Not bothering to look at who was speaking, she continued on in her "fit". With a quick "hop" of her shoulder, her bag straps had repositioned themselves higher and more comfortably. With one knee high in the air, ready to step down again, something urged her to turn around, like the voice was familiar, and yet different- just like the city she was in. Turning her head, she planted her feet back on the ground, trying to look for the one who spoke to her. No one seemed to be looking back at her, or standing in place. There were a few individuals walking across the intersection she was just at. They all seemed alike, no one standing out, nor anything pulling her attention. For just a few moments her eyes followed a particular group of men, 6 or seven of them- she couldn't quite count them all before they walked their way out of her view. But they seemed to be wearing matching yukatas; dark blue in colour with the hems a lighter shade of the same colour family.
"Hm..oh well." Quickly unfolding her map once again, she mapped out her next area where she was determined to find someone that knew something about the strange symbol. "Maybe Mugen's having better luck..."
Leaning into his elevated foot even more, Mugen pressed his poor victim's head harder against the sturdy wooden wall. With his hands in his pockets and a crack of his neck, Mugen used his tongue to pick at some left over food from his teeth. The man stuck between the iron clad geta and the wall pressed his hands firmly between himself and the wood, trying to push away but he had no such luck. His breathing was panicked and it sounded whispy through his pressed cheeks and lips.
"-Now, you wanna say that again?"
"I didn't shway anyshing! I shwear!"
Pressing into his foot even more, there wasn't any more give in the fat or skin of the man, which only pushed Mugen closer to him. Surprisingly enough Mugen was able to get a good look at himself on the man's bright bald scalp."Ya sure? I'm sure I heard ya say something? Or are ya calling me a liar?"
"Huh, Ahh. Yesh I'm shu-I mean no, shir, you're not a liar!"
"Ah, I see. So what did you say exactly? Just to be clear." Turning his foot in a side motion, Mugen dug the plates harder onto the man's flesh. Mugen already knew what the man said. He heard him in passing when this man and some others were laughing and and acting all haughty. Apparently they thought they were some big shots because they can afford to sit outside on their asses all day. Mugen wasn't even sure if it was exactly directed at him but because of his experience, he was sure as hell that it was. The man beneath his foot finally seemed to be breaking, holding back sniffles and trying to break free. "Ya know..if I didn't have shit to do I would show ya just what "useless pieces of shit" like me are really like." Lifting his foot off the man slightly, Mugen could hear the man's breathing relax a bit.
Feeling the foot release pressure from his head, the man quickly sprinted away from the wall and Mugen, not daring to look behind him. Turning the corner, the man fell onto all fours but quickly scuffled back up to continue his escape.
"Ah shit...shoulda asked him 'bout this thing." With one hand still in his pocket, he crumpled his half of the paper even more.
"-It's this way!"
"Hurry! We're gonna miss it!"
Coming from the direction that the man just ran off in, three young boys were running towards Mugen. They were scruffy looking, which was probably pretty normal for kids that age. Not that Mugen really knew how old they were just by looking at them, and he really didn't know much about kids either. But he knew that they were loud, roudy, dirty, annoying little bastards.
Snapping his hand down, he grabbed a kid by the back collar of their shirt, lifting them up off the ground. "Hey kid-" pulling out the crumpled paper, he held it up in front of the surprised kid's face. "-do ya know what the hell this is?"
Taken back a bit at first, the little boy looked at Mugen's face with uncertainty. The two other boys quickly retraced their steps and stood behind their elevated friend, unsure on what to make of the situation. His eyes roaming over the scars and marks, and then finally to the paper. He didn't look scared, but he was caught off guard. "It's a piece of paper." He and his friends all snickered at Mugen, as if he were nothing more than a simpleton.
"No shit, ya brat! I mean the circle on the paper!"
The child's large dark eyes studied the paper again and looked back to Mugen. "My mom says we're not supposed to talk 'bout them..."
"-My dad says they're nothing but glorified criminals."
"Nuh uh! No way, they're so cool-"
"Hah? One at a god damn time!" Releasing his grip, the boy fell down onto his rear. With his legs spread and his knees bent, Mugen balanced on the balls of feet- bringing himself down to their level. "I don't care what they do, just need to know who they are."
Each of the boys fidgeted, looking around to see if anyone else was near, or if anyone was listening.
"Kawara...they're called the Kawara group.." Avoiding eye contact with Mugen, the boy who had fallen to the ground still just sat there. His voice was low, like he had just confessed to something he shouldn't. The two boys behind him both nodded and confirmed with a hummed "Hm".
"The Kawara group huh? Sounds kinda interesting-" Looking at the paper again, Mugen stood back up, towering over the three young boys. So far today he hadn't bothered asking anyone, these kids were the first and man, did he luck out. If what Fuu said was true, then these guys didn't just go around letting people know their business, let alone let people know where they were. If he and Fuu were going to have any lucky finding them it would be because they bumped into them. Asking various people would just get him in trouble, it would seem suspicious and might set someone off. Fuu on the other hand could go wild, no one would think twice about a girl like her asking questions. Girls were curious by nature, and no one would take offense.
"Man, Kaoru! We're gonna miss it! Let's go!" Grabbing his friend up off the ground, the taller boy started to pull the other's along.
"Gonna miss what exactly?" Mugen didn't intend on following the kids, but so far everywhere he went was boring. The only half-ass interesting thing to happen to him all day was messing with the bald guy.
"There's a strong man competition!" Looking over his shoulder, the smaller of the three grinned at Mugen as all three of them started a full sprint- not wanting to miss a moment of the competition.
Standing with the large crowd, the kids instantly disappeared into the numbers. The noise brought on by the crowd was incredible, Mugen was barely able to hear his own thoughts. He wasn't quite sure where he was exactly but there were tall stone walls that surrounded the "arena" on all sides, and the only exit/entrance was behind him. The sky was open above them and the ground was just as dirty and dusty as the country roads they took to get here. Taking in the rest of the scene, Mugen could see girls blushing and pointing at men that were signing up for the competition. And even though it was illegal, people were exchanging money, placing bets on who would last the longest, who would lose to whom, and various other situations. Taking in a deep breath, Mugen could help but let the right side of his mouth curl up- forming an uneven malicious smile. He didn't know what the the purpose of this competition was, or what it all entailed but it was making his blood rush. The Kawara group, or whoever they were, could wait till later.
Knocking shoulders with people, he didn't even bother to look when he cut off a few people when he literally, took, his place in line. The groans and complaints of those behind him could hardly be heard over the sound of everything else going on around them. When he finally got to the front of the line up, he was met with a very big and very forced smile from a feeble man with round glasses.
"Hello there, sir! If you want to sign up, we need some information from you, as well as a signature on our release form. We also need to know your height and weight. Oh and plus we need the registration fee." The man pointed to about a dozen different spots where it needed to be signed, all while shoving a sharply pointed bamboo stick with ink on the end of it into Mugen's hand.
It was almost too much for Mugen to take in, and he sure as hell wasn't about to read it, even if he could read it, he wasn't going to. "How much is registration? And what do I get when I win?"
"Registration is 2 koban per competitor. And 60% of the sign up fees goes to the prizes. We section everyone off into weight classes. There are three of them by the way. And each winner of the weight class gets 20%, and from there the winners may choose to forfeit their winnings and challenge the winners of the other weight classes. So you could potentially win 60% of what we collect here, or you could walk away with 20-40%, or lose out, and walk away with nothing."
The man's words buzzed by so fast Mugen hardly had time to take it all in, but he heard all he needed to. He heard 60%, and that was what he was gonna get. Taking end dipped in ink, Mugen looped in his signature that he had created three years ago. It was about as good as it was gonna get as far as a signature went. He stared at the paper longer, not sure how to fill in his height or weight- both of which he himself didn't know, and even if he did know the numbers, he didn't know how to write them down.
"If you're not sure how much you weigh, I can just put in a number based on someone else's application." Before his sentence was finished, Mugen handed him back the papers. Looking at Mugen's signature, the man did his best to keep the overly cheap smile on his face. "What's you're name?"
"Mugen."
"Well, Mugen, we'll put you in at around 185 centimeters, and 79 kilos..! Now, we'll be needing the fee and your weapons. But don't worry! You'll get your sword back after you're finished."
Groaning, Mugen pulled the sword and the sheath off from his body, as well as pulling out the last of his money. He spent all but 2 kobans back at the brothel, and the hotel was more than what he would have liked- but it was a good place to sleep off part of his massive hangover. Following the directions given to him, Mugen found himself waiting with about twenty other men- whom of which had all already removed their shirts. No shirt, meant no cheap moves. He assumed he was in the right group because they all seemed to be about the same size as him. Finding a place to stand within the group, none of the other's even bothered to look at him. It was a strange thing, because usually he was sticking out like a sore thumb but, not in this group. As far as Mugen could tell, he was one of the more "normal" looking guys in the group- even with his tore up hand, wild hair, scars and tattoos. All eyes seemed to be on two individuals.
The one, Mugen spotted almost instantly, well actually he heard him before he could see him. At first Mugen thought he was taller than anyone else, but he realized it was just because of his hair. The sides of his head seemed to shaved right down, with barely a shadow growing back. But on top, the black locks stood straight up, about 6 inches. He looked like a hard bristled brush. He was flexing his muscles, and running his mouth about how everyone should just give up right now, and if they're nice, he will take it easy on them. It didn't seem to be sitting so well with a few guys, they were getting riled up- which was what that guy was wanting. Once you lose your cool, you're done for. Losing your cool meant you lose your edge, and then you get sloppy. Mugen had more than a few scars to prove that point.
Then there was the other guy...
Everyone seemed to be steering clear of him as he stood alone. Hell, even Mugen thought he looked like a freak, and for good (or rather strange) reasons.
Bare footed, he still stood as tall as Mugen with his getas on. But, he wasn't as well built as the other guy, but Mugen figured he was close to his own physique. What was truly off putting about him was his tattoos. Almost every inch of skin was covered in what used to be black ink. It was faded from time and from the sun, even his shaved head, and most of his face was covered. Mugen wasn't sure what the hell the tattoo was supposed to be, it just looked like one continues strand of swirls-like black flames. He just stood there watching the crowd, waiting for his turn.
Normally, Mugen wouldn't just judge someone's strength by the way they look. But, he knew. It was the looks in their eyes. It told Mugen all he needed to know, and if there was someone else within the group that was stronger, one of them would eventually take them out. Whether it was tattoo face or bristle hair, chances were that one of the three of them would be the top of the group.
It didn't take long before the three groups of fighters were then grouped into pairs, and then a roster was made. From the looks of things, Mugen's "weight-class" had 22 men registered, and a total of only 18 from the other two groups. One fight from each group would be happening at once. They had three large circles drawn on the ground with the numbers drawn in the center. Somehow, the tiny man with the glasses that Mugen spoke to at the sign up table managed to get the large noisy crowd to go silent. He explained the rules, which were scarce: 1. No weapons 2. The Fight is over when someone is forced out of the ring, or if someone is knocked out, or if one participant is no longer able to participate.
"Easy enough.." Ripping off his own haori and shirt, Mugen pressed his shoulders back, trying to make his shoulder blades meet- resulting in a satisfying crack. All he had to do was win a few fights and we would be in for some good money, and man, was he ready to fight without any consequences. He had a hard time not jumping into the ring from the start, but his fight was near the end of the first round. So all he could do for now was watch.
"This guide makes no sense! Argh!" Finally fed up with the confusing guide, Fuu scrunched it up into a ball and tossed it onto the ground. It was no help to the rural areas of Nagahama, it only showed major shops and sights. Plopping herself down on a shaded bench, her one foot was throbbing. Mugen's make shift fix on her sandal was starting to come apart. The top surface was beginning to split where the nail had been placed, making it shift. The straps and part of the nail had been rubbing between her toes, making the skin red and raw. But there wasn't much she could do about it now. 'Maybe if Mugen get's this job he can get me new..." Shaking her head, she quickly knocked that idea out. There was no way he would buy her new shoes, he may have been "generous" lately, at least for Mugen, but he would just add it onto her debt.
Grabbing the hair stick out of her hair, her long locks quickly unravelled. Her scalp felt relieved, even though the style wasn't done tightly, her hair still had some weight to it and it had been focused on the back of her head for a few days. Holding the hair stick infront of her, it made her stomach feel funny. Placing her hand on it, she tried to calm down her insides, placing the blame on being hungry and the heat.
"E-Excuse me miss, I was wondering if you would join me for a meal?"
"Hm?" Looking up from the hair stick, her eyes almost jumped out of her head. There was no mistaken this face. Everything from his shape, the scraggly facial hair, the round strapped glasses and his mole like features. She wasn't sure if she should run, say something, or act coy. His face looked flushed, but he smiled brightly, perhaps not remembering, or recognizing her. It was three years ago afterall, and she had done a lot of growing up since then.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Standing side by side, the girl that had been her companion since getting pulled in this hell hole looked to Fuu, unsure on her intentions.
"Can't you tell?" Flaring her nostrils, scrunching her eye brows and putting on a horrific frown, Fuu's face and body was shaking from maintaining the look. "Instead of catching the customers eyes, I'm scaring them away. If we don't get any customers, we'll be fired, and we'll be able to leave here, right?"
"Ohh..."
"Don't give me that 'Oh' stuff! You do it, too!"
"Great! What a terrific face!"
"Heh?"
"You're the one for me!" Holding onto a "bar" of the window, a rounded, short man, reached in, and pointed right at Fuu. His face was flushed, and his he practically emitted steam from his nose from all the excitement.
Shaking her head, she managed to pull herself back to reality. She tried not too think of that time in the brothel too much. If it wouldn't have been for her quick thinking with the vase, this pervert would have raped her. But also, if it wouldn't have been for Jin and Mugen, the girl that stayed by her side that got pulled into it all wouldn't have been freed either. 'What was her name?..I can't..remember." Even though she could remember every little detail of this pervert's face, and she remembered the way his nostrils flared as his eye roamed all over her, she could not remember the woman's name or face. She just remembered a soft, kind, voice.
"Well? Miss?"
"Haha..oh, I'm actually on my way to meet a friend right now." Turning her head away, she decided to go with the coy act. After all, he said he liked the dominant, loud, type. So maybe this would put him off.
"Are you sure, Miss? Nagahama can be a dangerous place to wander by yourself. Especially for a delicate thing like you."
"I'll be fine, thank you." Clenching her teeth together, she spoke harsher towards him. She really just wanted him to go away, but he seemed to be leaning in closer, making her lean back as far as her seated body would allow. But in order to keep her balance, her shoulders were shrugged back and her developed chest up. She could hear his breathing hitch, much like it had years ago.
"Let me escort you, to make sure nothing bad happens." Leaning in even closer, his shaky hand grabbed her hand that was holding the hair pin. His breath was so heavy that she could feel it shift some strands of hair.
"Don't you-" Stranding up abruptly, she pushed him down onto the ground and towered over him. "-dare touch me!" Staring down at him, her face was stern. She knew deep down that this might have just been his way of trying to be nice, but that didn't warrant for him to touch her, especially when she had already rejected him, twice.
"T-T-That face!" Holding himself back up on the palms of his hands, his face flushed even more. "It's terrific!" Like everything suddenly came rushing back to him, his eyes darkened. "It's you from that brothel a few years ago! I paid good money for you, and you gave me this!" Looking down, he showed her the top of his balding head to a small scar that was left- persumably from the vase she cracked over his head.
"Oh my? Did I do that? I think you're mistaken sir." Slowly and calmly, Fuu brought her feet up, and hooked a finger around the straps of each shoe, removing them. "-But I gotta go! Bye bye!" Making a mad dash, it all made sense to her now. Why everything seemed so familiar to her. Why the stores, the signs, and even the atmosphere itched at her. She had been here before, three years ago. She was freed from the brothel, but not really by any legal means. She had been put in there for "breaking" a vase and a gang tossed her in there. If her memory did serve her right, Mugen and Jin got into a rather large fight, and somehow the boss of the entire operation got killed. So there was never any worry of being found again, but if that pervert recognized her, there was no garauntee that there wasn't someone else in charge looking for any reason at all to get another girl working.
"Oof!" Falling onto her rear end, the street showed no mercy in her landing. From the surprised reaction that wasn't from her, she knew she had run into somebody. "So sorry! I'm really clumsy!"
Also sitting on her rear, was a woman with her dark hair tied up on top of her head. Her body was slightly sideways as she propped herself up with one hand and tightly held onto a yellow sling that was tied around her back and held something to her chest. "It's okay, I'm fine." a small, crackling cry broke what would have been the start of Fuu's apology speech. The woman quickly cradled the body that was held to her chest, rocking herself and gently bouncing her arms and what they held. She tried to soothe with a soft and gentle "Shhh".
Shoulders growing stiff, Fuu felt even worse now. She had just knocked over a woman and her infant. Guilt spread throughout her. Slipping back on her shoes, Fuu stood up and offered her hand to the mother. "Please, let me help you."
Pulling one hand away from her new soothed infant, the woman extended her slim, manicured hand and placed it onto Fuu's. "Thank you so much-" Turning her face up, the woman's deep and matured brown eyes met Fuu's large and bright ones. The woman froze in place, staring at Fuu's features, but ultimately, landing on her eyes once again. "-Fuu?"
With just the call of her name, it came flooding back to Fuu. It was the face she couldn't remember, the one that went with the gentle and soft voice. "Osuzu."
Rolling a now hardened booger between his thumb and index finger, Mugen wiped it off on the closest sleeve that wasn't his. He hand already fought twice at this point. They weren't even worth the effort it took, they had no technique (not that Mugen had any either), but all they did was try to swing a punch, and tackle him down. And unfortunately for them, it would take a hell of a lot more than that to do him in. In one match, two people were disqualified because they both fell out of the ring in an attempt at bringing one another to the ground. So that left nine men left in his grouping, even for someone as uneducated as him, he knew that it didn't work for groups of two. Somehow, they would have to make it work. Only two or more fights and he could be walking away with the 20%. And if he chose, two more after that, he would have 60%.
'I guess when I'm done here I should go meet up with the brat..' Wiping some saliva off of his mouth, he had done a good job at avoiding any blows to the face. He knew that if he showed up with a broken and bruised face he wouldn't hear the end of it. Even if it was for a competition she would go on some rant about his "sense of responsibility", or rather, lack of.
"Ah, shit!" Scratching at his brain, he couldn't remember where the meeting place was supposed to be. Did she even tell him? Or was he just not paying attention?
"What a cocky little bastard, eh?" With a hard jab of an elbow, the bristle haired man stood next to Mugen. His eyes were watching the events playing in the ring that Mugen was too distracted to pay attention to. "-That's the winner of Group 1 apparently. Said he wasn't ready to be done and gave up his winnings to fill in a spot in our group." Crossing his arms, bristle hair narrowed his eyes, clearly focusing on the fight. "-Pay attention, 'cause one of us will be fighting the winner of this match.."
Somehow ignoring his urge to elbow the guy back, Mugen looked to the ring that was meant for his weight class. During the time he was lost in thought, two fights had already happened, which left the three of them to fight. But obviously they weren't going to allow a three way fight, so something had to be done. And as annoying as bristle hair was, Mugen liked his sense of strength. Even though there were two other competitors left for them, he was counting them out- just like Mugen had. It seemed all the other groups had already finished, and the "victors" decided. But in the ring stood the tattooed freak and some short guy that Mugen didn't see before.
"So that little guy already won but came back for more?" Mugen came to the conclusion that he was either stupid, or he knew that he could easily win. There was no way the guy was taller than Fuu, so it was clear that the tattoo freak would have a reach advantage. From paying a little bit of attention, Mugen knew that tattoo freak had a great defence, and he only moved when he needed too. He made his opponent come to him and only attacked between his defence when there were holes in his opponents stance. He was smart, he conserved his energy. He was the complete opposite of Mugen and bristle hair. Both of them were strong attackers, going hard from the start. But Mugen was confident that he was faster than him. Bristle hair seemed to know what he was doing, like he trained somewhere for hand to hand combat like this. But he still managed to get knocked a few in the face and sides- but then again, so did Mugen. The two of them had scrapes and cuts on their knuckles already. They would both probably be a bloody mess after they were done with each other.
"HOLY SHIT, DID YOU SEE THAT?!"
"Huh, what?!" Focusing back on the fight, it was already over. Taking a bow was the short guy, with the tattooed freak flipped onto his back outside of the ring. Dust and debris still filled the area surrounded the defeated foe from the impact on the ground. It seemed everyone was still in shock, and the entire arena was silent. "What the hell, I missed it!"
"Well, buddy, looks like it's our turn." Lacing his fingers together, bristle hair, extended his arms, bending his fingers backwards, cracking every single knuckle.
"You bet your ass it is."
Standing opposite of bristle hair, they were once again "graced" with the rules. The crowd seemed to close in on the single ring, since there were no other fights to watch. Earlier, because there had been other fight's happening, Mugen didn't notice the onlookers as much, but now he felt like a spectacle. Well, more of one anyway. The noise made by the crowd overpowered the announcers, but somehow all the chatter and cheering got Mugen's blood rushing. Who knows, maybe there was a hot piece of ass out there watching him.
Bringing both fists up and then flexing his arms, bristle hair cheered back to the crowd. He seemed to gather a few high pitch responses from some girls.
"Are ya here for show, or to fight?" The lowering sun felt nice on Mugen's exposed torso, but he wanted to get this started. This was the first fight of the day that he was really looking foward to.
"Hm?" Standing up straight, bristle hair finally lost his smile. "I could ask you the same thing." Readying himself, he placed his feet shoulder width apart and kept his elbows tucked in tight, and held his fists in front of him. He was ready, unlike his opponent ,Mugen.
Shoulders still slumped, Mugen stood there as slack as he usually would. There was no need to stance himself, that was for people with technique, and training. Mugen didn't need any of that for something like this, it was hit or be hit. There wasn't as much as a rush as there was when it was kill or be killed, but hell, he didn't need a damn technique for that so why would he need one for this?
"Yea, I'm ready-" There was no point in standing around waiting, taking the first opportunity, Mugen closed the small gap between them, bringing in a right hook, only to be blocked.
A knee was immediately brought into Mugen's gut, which he tried to block by raising his own knee, but his timing was off. It didn't hurt as bad as getting shot or sliced but he knew it would hurt tomorrow. Even so, Mugen didn't back away from him- he wouldn't win a fight by backing off. TIme and time again, Mugen tried to get him in the temple or the jaw- or hell, even square in the nose, but bristle hair would bring his hand between his face and Mugen's in a circular motion, completely deflecting the attempts. But bristle hair was faster than Mugen was expecting, between blocks he managed to get a few strikes in on Mugen's sides.
"You're starting to piss me off-" Clenching his jaw at just the right moment, a quick but firm "rabbit" punch was placed on his nose. The warm tingling sensation was instant, and the warmth of fresh blood fell from his nose. "Fuck it!" Jerking his head back, this move was a lose-lose for both involved, but damn, he needed to do something. Slamming his head forward, his forehead met with bristle hair's. The two of them finally separated, embracing their own faces to ease through the pain. The crowd seemed to have a mixed reaction about the move, gaining some "Oooohs", and surprised laughter.
Taking advantage of the disoriented state of his opponent, Mugen ran at him, finally placing a right hook and then an upper cut afterwards. Bringing his leg up, he had hoped to get the guy in the side but his opponent recovered faster than he was hoping and caught Mugen's foot.
"Nice try-" Securing Mugen's foot between his arm and his side, bristle hair made it so Mugen couldn't move.
"Could say the same to you!" Reaching up, Mugen grabbed the tall spiked hair of his opponent and used his grip to help in the momentum of his other fist slamming time and time again into his face until the grip on Mugen's leg loosened. Freeing his leg, Mugen let go of his opponents hair and was met with a hard, breath taking, punch to the side. Falling down with the momentum, Mugen caught himself on his knees and one hand. Wrapping one arm around, he held onto himself as his lungs tried to take in the air they wanted but his body just wouldn't allow for it. His back was facing bristle hair, but the shadows still allowed for Mugen to see what was coming for him.
A clear dark form stretched along the ground. Elbows kept in and tight, one leg down and sturdy, and the other swung up into the air, about to come down on the back of Mugen's head.
"Shit-" Rolling out of the way, Mugen barely dodged the attack, but he was followed with kick and kick again. Continually rolling on the ground to dodge, he wasn't given a moments break between attempts. The dirt and dust on the ground began to be kicked up between Mugen rolling around, and the hole creating kicks of bristle hair. "-Fuck off already!" Landing on his back, Mugen brought his own feet up, catching the back part of his opponents knee, stopping the next assault. Quickly reading the situation, Mugen managed to swing his shoulders against the ground, thus forcing the rest of his body to follow suit. Spinning on the ground with his legs up, Mugen kicked the other leg out from under bristle hair.
Using the momentum of his own body, Mugen pushed his hands against the ground, hoisting himself back up onto his feet. He finally towered over his opponent- he had the upper hand. Smirking down at the still disoriented man, Mugen was getting ready to get ontop of him and pumble that shit eating grin.
"PARTICIPANT MUGEN, DISQUALIFIED!"
"Hah?!" Distracted, Mugen looked off to the short man that was at the registration table earlier that day- somehow, over the large crowd the man's voice reached him.
"-For violation of Rule No. 1. Usage of weapons!"
"Bull shit! I ain't use no damn weapons!" Going to turn himself, a foot met his gut, making him stagger and fall back down to his knees.
"-I call bullshit too." Wiping his mouth, and rising back to his feet, bristle hair didn't pull his gaze away from Mugen. He wanted to finish this.
Walking over to the towards them, the short man, escorted by four other larger men, cleared his throat and pointed down at Mugen's feet. "Shoes are permitted, but not with those enhancements."
'Fuck...' He didn't even think about the steel he had forged on the bottom of his getas. Kicking them off of his feet, Mugen shrugged. "Can we keep going now?"
"Shota, you're the winner. You will move on. And you, Mugen, are disqualified. Try again next year." Grabbing onto Shota/bristle hair's wrist, the short man lifted it up, raising both of their arms- officially declaring him the victor. The crowd seemed confused, and other's upset over losing their money in another bet.
Kicking his shoes, Mugen flipped them so they were the right side up once again and slipped them back onto his feet. Pressing one nostril closed with his thumb, he puffed out a large glob of blood. There was no use in arguing the matter, although he very easily could, and from the look on Shota's face, he wasn't ready for this the over yet either, and it wasn't like short stuff there would be able to break the two of them up. But now, he was all out of money.
"For fuck sakes!" Making his way out of the circle, the crowd instantly parted for him, but he was met with mixed reviews. Some called him a cheater, other's saying he was cheated out of his money, and other's just wanted the next fight to start. Finding where he left his shirt, he quickly slipped his arms through it but before he could get his haori on, a hand placed itself on his shoulder, and firmly squeezed.
"-You got guts, I've never seen anyone spin on the ground like that before." Displaying his usual grin, Shota gave Mugen a thumbs up.
"-And you got fucking bricks for fists." Shrugging off Shota's hand, Mugen slipped his haori on.
Laughing, Shota rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't sign up for this just for shits and giggles. I came to win-" Noticing some female onlookers, Shota offered them a wink. "-and the girls. You should stay, until after my next fight. I'll buy ya a drink afterwards."
"How bout you just give me my money back after you kick that shorty's ass?"
"Come on! Did you see the reaction we got during the fight? The girls can't look away."
Pulling at his collar, Mugen scratched at his collar bone. Some blood had fell and crusted on his skin and was starting to irritate him. Curious, he looked over at the girls Shota had just winked at. When his eyes met theirs they giggled in their group and started to act coy, or cute, or some stupid shit. But for some reason, Mugen just found it annoying. The giggling, the hush hush whispers they exchanged, the squeeling- annoying. Maybe it was because that's what they were, girls, plain girls, not exactly his type. He liked women, big busted, red lipped, and hips that don't stop.
"They're cute aren't they?" Rubbing his chin, Shota was now standing next to Mugen, looking at the girls.
Shrugging his shoulders, they weren't exactly ugly, but they weren't exactly sparking anything in him either. "-Seen better. Maybe with some actual tits they wouldn't be half bad." Just thinking about breasts brought a smile onto Mugen's face.
"Really? I guess I can't complain about tits, but well..I like my women petit. Small, and slender."
'Petit..I guess the girl is petit...but her hips and ti-' Shaking his head, he knocked the thought right out of him before he could finish it. "Fuck..I gotta go." The day had already wasted away, and the sun set was stretching across the sky, the brat was probably already waiting for him, lost, or something had happened. There was no in between with her, but..where the hell was he supposed to meet her?
"Huh, where?"
"Gotta go find my girl."
"My husband said he was patrolling here. Are you sure you don't want me to send him to find your friend? You could come back with me and wait." Squeezing Fuu's hand, Osuzu had one arm wrapped around her baby as they looked at the backs of the people in the tightly packed crowd.
Holding Osuzu's hand back, Fuu liked the warmth she felt. She often wondered what happened to Osuzu after they left three years ago. Who knew they would find their way to each other again. "I'm sure, I just have a feeling I'll find him here." A feeling was an understatement. Fuu was certain Mugen was here, it had his name written all over it. It was some kind of "strong man" competition, but it was more like a legalized street fight. At least that's how Osuzu put it. She didn't go into much detail about her, her husband or what they do, but from what she was able to gather up, it seemed like they travelled the province quite a bit. But they were around for this event the last two years.
Holding onto Fuu's hand more firmly, Osuzu lead the way into the crowd. People didn't seem to pay them any attention. They were too focused on the fight, or the lack of. Fuu couldn't see what was happening but she managed to get glances over peoples shoulders and heads, there were 6 or 7 people in the ring at the moment, and all they were doing was standing around. Some people were yelling something about cheating, other's saying let the fight continue. Other's were ruthless, yelling profanities and threats. They weaved and circled around most of the crowd already but Osuzu couldn't quite seem to find her husband, and Fuu couldn't find Mugen.
"Osuzu, what does your husband look like? Maybe we could split up and look?"
"Perhaps. Or you could go look for your friend. It should be easy for me to find my husband, or at least one of the members.."
"Okay!" Grabbing Osuzu's hand in both of hers, Fuu held it tightly. "We'll meet back at the entrance, whether we find them or not, okay?"
Nodding her head, Osuzu, and Fuu went in opposite directions. Pushing her way between two men that were pressing against each other's shoulders, Fuu managed to get out of the large crowd. She looked at the backs of all the people again, trying to catch a glimpse of red, but there was nothing. At first she thought maybe she saw Mugen in the fighting ring, but from what she could see, none of them were wearing a red haori.
"Mugen, where are you?!" Sticking to the outside of the crowd, Fuu walked around, stopping every now and then to get up on her tippy toes, trying to look over the crowd. "Muuuuugen!" Holding her hand open next to her mouth, she hoped that he or maybe someone who saw him would hear her.
"This way! He's going to the gate!"
"Excuse us, Miss."
Rushing past Fuu, some men in matching blue uniforms had their hands ready on the handle of their blades. Waiting to draw when they found whoever it was that they were looking for.
"Sheesh...they're in an awfully big rush.." Adjusting her bag on her shoulder again, she peeked down the top of her kimono at the napping Momo nestled in her bust. Momo seemed to be napping more and more these last few days. Which usually only happened in colder weather but for whatever reason, Momo seemed to be increasingly tired. "Come on Momo-san...let's go find Mugen.." Looking up from the material, she gently patted Momo from overtop of her clothes.
Following the path of the crowd again, the curve of bodies started to grow closer and closer to one of the arena walls.
"Excuse me." Trying to wedge herself through, no one would budge. "I said-" Bringing her fist in to her chest, Fuu kept her elbow out for the attack. "-Excuse me!" Jabbing a few people, Fuu managed to push her way through the people and the closeness of the wall. "Jeez, jerks." Fixing her kimono she was a foot or two away from a series of wooden benches that were placed in an "open square" pattern. Closing in on three sides, and keeping the fourth side that was directed towards the fight rings open.
"Did you enjoy the show?" A foot was propped on the nearest bench, and a wide smile flashed Fuu's way. He was sweaty, his face must have taken a few hits, and although he wasn't swollen, there was some yellow discolouration on certain spots of his face. The hair that wasn't shaved down was messy, falling down in different directions. His arm was propped up on the knee that was perched on the bench. She couldn't get a view of his other hand, but the one that fell next to his knee was cut up and turning shades of purple and red. And finally...he was shirtless.
Pulling her eyes from him she looked close to him, but not directly at him. "Huh? Ah, I didn't see it. I'm looking for someone, I think he-"
"That's a shame. I won, just so ya know.." Taking his foot down, he lost the large smile, and scratched at his neck. "But...you don't care. Who ya here looking for?"
She felt a bit guilty at his words, but it was true. She didn't know who he was and she really didn't care, but he seemed to be the only one willing to give her any attention. "His name is Mugen. I think he might have been here."
"Mugen? Ohh.." Looking Fuu up and down, his wide grin came back. "So, you're his gal. You're pretty cute."
"His gal? What?"
Lacing his fingers behind his head, his elbows went up into the air and he sighed. "Wish I had a cute girl like you cheering me on."
Feeling her brow twitch, her face instantly went into waitress mode. It was the one when she forced herself to be polite. "Where'd Mugen go?"
Realizing there was really no chance, he just pointed across the crowd to where the entrance was. "Said he had to go get his sword, and you apparently." Probably getting the exact reaction he was wanting, Fuu quickly turned her back and walked away listening to his laugh.
"Thank you!" Bowing a few times, she wished him luck on his next fight and then began working at getting back to the entrance. Quickly pushing her way past everyone once again, she found it easier to get out than what it was to get in. Clenching her jaw, she pursed her lips to keep from smiling. For some reason what that guy said really seemed to hit something in her. She felt like she was walking on air, and her destination was Mugen.
"Fuu!" Waiting around the "bend" of the crowd and near the entrance was Osuzu. "Did you find your friend?"
Shaking her head, Fuu tucked another strand of hair behind her ear. "No, not yet. But he should be near here. Did you find your husband?"
"Yes, he's just a bit preoccupied right now." Gently patting the back of her baby, Osuzu started to bounce herself slightly. "-There's a man here that they've been trying to track down for quite some time. But he's putting up a bit of a fight, so we should stay here until it's clear."
"Huh, where are they?" Sticking her head up, Fuu looked over Osuzu, trying to get a glimpse of the action. Just outside the entrance, men in blue caught her eye. It wasn't exactly the colour that stood out to her, but the symbol that was sewn onto the backs of their matching uniforms. "That's..that's it! Who are they!?" Pointing like a child, all Fuu could do was stare.
"Them? That's my husband and some of the other men, they're-"
"I've been looking for them all day! They're the reason Mugen and I came here!" Pulling out her half of the paper, Fuu showed it to Osuzu. "I can't wait to rub it in Mugen's face that I found them first!" Doing a complete 180, she was now excited to find Mugen for an entirely different reason. Who would have thought that after all that effort, that she would not only find Osuzu but the mysterious owners of the symbol as well.
"Fuu, did you say, Mugen?"
"Yes! Do you remember that guy that was with Jin and I a few years ago? Well, we are travelling together again, and he-" Over Osuzu's shoulder, Fuu's eyes caught sight of the men in blue once again, they seemed to be scurrying about. Their swords were drawn but they weren't attacking, but whoever it was that they were trying to surround sure was. Part of the entrance still covered most of the scene, with the angle Fuu was standing at, the edge of the wall cut off the rest of the view. But every now and then she could see a sword swing, and a foot fly up- keeping everyone away. "Ah..I see. Excuse me Osuzu."
"Wait, Fuu!"
Starting off slowly, Fuu made her way towards the entrance, and the man made circle of blue robes. Her speed increased and the distance closed, and sure enough, stuck in the middle was Mugen. Why was she not surprised? And it was now a safe bet that they weren't going to hire him, and from the looks of things, they have enough people as it was- so why the flyer? None of the men in blue were attacking Mugen but every single one of them had their swords drawn and weren't moving to let him through. Mugen also had his sword drawn and knowing him, he would attack any moment. The fact he was only trying to get them to move was a big improvement on his previous behaviour.
Bringing her left leg up, Fuu pulled one of her heeled sandals off. "STOP IT!" Widing her arm back, Fuu launched the sandal into the circle, knocking Mugen on the back of the head- halting him and all the men. "MUGEN!" All heads turned to look at Fuu, who interrupted.
Most seemed surprised and confused on why a girl in a dusty pink kimono was interrupting something like this, and then there was Mugen. Who seemed nothing less than pissed off.
"What the hell was that for?!" Bending down he picked up her shoe and threw it back at her, not holding back any strength.
Stepping out of the way, her shoe hit some bystander in the background- but she would worry about that later. "These are them, Mugen!" Pulling out her part of the paper she waved it. "The symbol, it's theirs! They're the-"
"We are subordinates of the Kawara Clan. And you, Mugen, are wanted in conviction to aiding in the misdeeds of Rikiei Nagatomi, leading to our previous leaders death." The largest man of the group spoke up, but sheathed his sword. His hair was pulled back tightly into a high ponytail which bushed out the other end. His lips were dark and thick, and his face seemed to be stuck in a permanent scowl. His skin was tanned but not as dark as Mugen's. "-This is not up for negotiation. Either come with us now, or let your life end here."
Spitting at the large man's feet, Mugen barely missed his target. Between the cut in his mouth and the small amount still coming from his nose, blood had mixed in with his saliva. "Like hell I-"
Somehow, running between the circle of men, Fuu jumped at Mugen. Wrapping both of her arms around his one, she made him stumble a bit. "-We will! We'll go with you!" Looking from the large man, and back to Mugen all she could do was nod her head and hoped that Mugen would trust her.
What the hell was he supposed to do now? His sides ached, and his nose still tingled. He probably looked like a bloody mess, and some how Fuu managed to find him. She was always calling him reckless, and hot heated but yet she ran next to him like this was nothing but child's play. Sure these guys said they wouldn't do anything as long as he followed them, but that could just be a front. For all he knew, they could just be planning to lead him away from the crowd and off him the first chance they get. And who the hell is this Nagatomi guy they're talking about?
With a large sigh, Mugen eased his grip when Fuu seemed to hold onto his arm tighter. It was a good distraction from the smug look on thick lipped guy's face, but it wasn't the time for this kind of thing. Shrugging the arm that Fuu was latched too, he tried to shake her off but she only seemed to hold on tighter. Finally looking away from the large man, Mugen looked down to Fuu.
Her large brown, doe eyes were staring at him. 'Don't be lookin' at me like that, for fuck sakes..'
Why didn't she get it? Why didn't she get that they were more than likely going to kill him, and if she stayed, they would most likely kill her too? The kids earlier said the "Kawara" clan were nothing more than glorified criminals, which meant they were yakuza- surprise, surprise.
"So, what's gonna happen if I go with ya? Just prolonging my execution, or?"
"That's for the heir to decide, not me."
Spitting another gob on the ground, the copper taste was slowly getting weaker- or he was just getting use to it. Alongside the wet spot on the ground, Mugen dropped his sword. It was either he give it up now or they take it from him as soon as it's sheathed. One of the men clad in blue quickly went it and retrieved the surrendered weapon.
"Brat..you better be right about this, or else I'm taking you down with me"
In an instant, Fuu was pulled from Mugen's side and the backs of his knees were kicked in, dropping him to the ground. And like a heard of wild animals (well trained ones at that), the men were on top of Mugen, securing him to ensure there would be no funny business. They tied his hands behind back, and continued the same rope down towards his feet, which would only allow him to shuffle slowly.
"WHAT THE HELL, GET THE FUCK OFF MMPHH-" a thicker rope tied around Mugen's face, keeping him from talking.
Fuu watched on horrified, regretting her decision to go with them, but Osuzu's soft hand squeezed her shoulder.
"It's all for show Fuu. Your friend will be fine..."
Nodding was all Fuu could do. She didn't know what to say, she wanted to yell at them and push them away from him. Slowly pulling her hand off of her tanto blade, she had to fight every voice inside of her that was telling her to cut Mugen free. She just had to keep faith in herself, and in Osuzu.