Ok peoples, I DARE YOU fine ONE misspelled word in this chapture! Keep in mind, Eseme's sentences are purposefully misspelled.
Oo0oO
"I see. Well Mugen boyo…" She said as she stood up and stretched her old bones. "I tink you'll learn soon enough dat when you really love somebody you put deir happiness first."
Mugen looked up at her with wide, almost horror struck eyes. His hair stood on it's ends, now more unruly then ever. "What the hell?"
Eseme slipped him a sly smile and left him alone in the room with his thoughts. "Chir chir?" Momo jumped onto the elderly woman's shoulder and stuck his nose in her ear. She laughed, and gave him a pat on the head.
She knew there wasn't anything to worry about. Mugen would realize soon that Fuu couldn't be happy without him, and then he'd be determined once again to run off to bring her back. It was a fool proof plan.
"What the hell…" He repeated, his voice quiet and almost quivery. He loved her? HE loved HER? It didn't seem logical, this was Fuu after all. The bitch who was dragging him along on a pointless quest. The bitch who complained more than she was useful. The bitch who ate way too much for her own good.
'The bitch who makes you happy.'
"What the hell do you know you stupid bastard, you're just a voice in my head!"
'You're the stupid bastard, can't your tiny little brain piece together any kind of explanation or conclusion for ANYTHING that's happened?'
Mugen was about to make a snide rebuttal, when he found that there were no words left in his throat. He tried again, but it was like he had lost the ability of speech.
He started thinking about it, and as the past two weeks replaying in his head he fell into a dizzy state of mind where nothing else in the world mattered.
o0o
Mugen heard two screams in the last minute, one was happy and one was not. But they both belonged to Fuu. He ran in the direction from which they came from, and as he got closer he realized he could hear the sound of rushing water. At last he burst through the trees into the clearing around the river bank he spotted Fuu, shivering and drenched. When he got closer he noticed that a good portion of her legs were showing too.
Though he hated it, the sight of her bare legs, shiny from the sun reflecting off the droplets of water, made his stomach do something weird. "What the hell?" He asked as he got closer, scaring her out of her goose-bump covered skin.
"You can't stay in those damn wet cloths, just take it off." As he said this he shoved his red shirt in her face, turning his head the other way with a 'damned if I care' look. Fuu looked at the shirt, then back up at Mugen. She blinked a few times, then took it from his hands.
Despite her assurance that she wasn't he put a hand on her forehead, his large fingers completely covered of it. "Don't got a fever." He said gruffly, quickly removing his hand. Her cheeks had turned a darker shade of pink, and something told him it wasn't from a cold.
"Damn it, what the hell are you laughing at?" "Y-your hair! It looks like a bush with all those leaves and twigs in it." She stuttered through several different fits of giggles. Mugen's left eyebrow twitched.
"So what if I've got shit in my hair, it's no different then yours!" He shot back angrily, not getting the humor she had seen in this new 'style.'
"Oy, show me you're hand." Slowly, almost timidly she lifted her hands, both were bloody and raw.
He knelt in front of the shallow rock she sat on, his head came up to her chest, and he had no difficulty reaching out to take up one of her hands. Examining the pink skin, the bloody scratches. "You complain about your feet the whole time we walk, but this you don't say a word about?" It made him angry that she hadn't done anything for her hands.
"I didn't want to say anything because I thought your hands were probably scratched up too, and if I made you mad then…" Her explanation had been rushed, the words tumbling over each other as they came out of her mouth, and it was hard for Mugen to catch all of it.
The next sentence was much clearer, and whispered. "Jin's not here to make sure you stay."
After a small silence Mugen made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort. 'You idiot.'
It didn't take him more then a minute to get the first hand wrapped. Mugen put extra strain on the last knot, then let her hand free. At first she didn't move it from where he had left it in the air, but she decided it would be weird just leaving it there. So she placed it back down on her lap near the other. Neither moved for a while.
"Thank you." Mugen didn't reply, instead he lay down close to her feet.
There was a long silence, Mugen wasn't sure if he wanted to let go of her arm or not. So it almost made him jump when he felt it go limp. "Eh?" He turned his head back to look at her again, this time she really was asleep. As her fingers began to slip down to overlap his he tightened his grip.
Then, as if realizing the error in this 'soft' action, let go. Her arm dropped down beside her head, probably not a usual sleeping position, but if he moved it, it would go against his principles
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm climbing a rock you dumb ass!" She yelled back at him, the anger in her voice was betrayed by the smile on her face.
Mugen stared up at Fuu, her feet were at his shoulder level, and he had to lean his head back all the way to see her face. She was smiling. "Yeah? Well you can get your ass off of there by yourself for all I care!"
Why did that smile make him feel so…warm?
"Mugen!" Fuu cried, running out from behind the tree she was hiding behind. "You're hurt!"
He reached with his left hand to pull the arrow from his shoulder, but Fuu stopped him. "Let me do it, you can't pull it out yourself. Its gone completely through." Mugen turned his head towards her, feeling her hand on his. Her face was so close to his, their foreheads almost touched. The slow loss of blood combined with the pain were dimming his sight, but he could still see that her eyes were watering over. "Fine." He said, removing his hand from her grasp.
He pushed himself up, using a nearby tree for support. "Na, it's no big deal, just a puncture." Fuu grabbed onto him as he tried to walk, holding him back. "It is too a big deal! You can't even move your arm and if you keep walking without bandaging those wounds you could bled to death!"
Mugen looked down at the hysterical girl who stood clinging to his arm. He really didn't want to put up with this, medical treatment just wasn't his thing. But, the look in her eyes, that strange, pleading look, made him fall prey to her wishes.
'Damn it…' He saw her shoulders were shaking, as if she were cold, or crying. "So, looks like we're gonna be staying here for a while longer." Fuu's head jolted up. Mugen had startled her, and he knew this.
A small smile played on her lips as she answered, "Guess so." Mugen came and stood behind her, their shoulders mere centimeters apart. "I hope you're not planning on getting yourself kidnapped. Thanks to that old hag I won't be much of a body guard for the next two weeks."
Fuu's face fell again, her eyes were sad. "Mugen…" She whispered. "I'm so, so sorry." Mugen was planning to say something about how weird this village smelled, so her words threw him completely off balance.
"You're sorry?" He could see the tears swelling in the corners of her eyes, and felt angry with himself for going outside.
"If I had just done what you asked you wouldn't have gotten hurt. It's all my fault…"
Without really thinking about it he brought his left arm around her shoulders, pulling her forcefully into him. Fuu gave a weak struggle once, then gave up, her small body seemed to melt into his.
"Damn right it's your fault..."
Two more tears trailed down her face, landing on the red material of his shirt. He held her more tightly, like he was worried she would try to get away.
"…but I promised to help you find the smelly guy, and if that means I gotta protect you then that's what I'm gonna do. I will protect you, but if you're gonna make it difficult then you damn well better not cry after."
"But…you could have been-" "Killed?" He finished. "Hell, I could've been killed in any damn battle. Just happened the odds weren't with me."
"Hey, what you crying for now?" Fuu leaning her head back against Mugen's collarbone. "You know, I'm really not sure."
"Cryin' without a reason is a waste of water if ya ask me."
"Oh there's a reason, I just haven't figured it out yet."
Mugen froze, for another reason he couldn't explain he felt like a criminal caught at the scene of the crime.
A moment of uncalled for awkwardness passed between them, then Fuu decided to take charge of the situation. She smiled, and said "I'm glad you're here. Think I can borrow your sword for a sec? I just need to cut the head off this plant."
Mugen took a couple steps closer, now standing in front of her. He raised one of his eyebrows in a skeptical way. "Ya think you can handle it? You're pretty puny." "I am not puny! And of course I can handle it, how hard can it be to use a sword? Besides, I used it before."
Mugen snorted, then, using his left hand, removed the blade--scabbard and all--from it's usual place on his back. He tossed it to Fuu, who wasn't expecting the sudden throw, and had a difficult time getting her hands around it.
Giving him a defiant look, she placed her hand on the hilt of the sword, and the other halfway down the scabbard. With an unsteady jolt she pulled the sword--a little too quickly--from it's protective case. It was heavier then she had remembered, but not too heavy. After swinging the empty scabbard over her shoulder, she turned to the sunflower she had chosen as the first of four for Eseme.
Fuu lifted Mugen's sword high above her head, then brought the full weight of her body down onto the long green stem. The tip of the blade merely bounced off the wax-coated surface of the plant, sending her backwards.
Mugen swore again as he caught her right hand, making sure the violent blade didn't go anywhere it wasn't suppose to. "Damn it, I said you couldn't do it!"
"I just need to swing harder that's all." "No idiot, if you swing harder then you'll bounce back harder." Mugen, pushing her with his body, brought them closer to the pesky plant.
He grasped her left hand more firmly, and forced it around the stem a few inches from the head. "Hold it there, then slice up and to the right." He said, trying not to become annoyed by her slow reactions. "Ok." Fuu grasped the stem tightly between her left fingers, it's waxy and furry outer layer felt weird against them.
He was brought back from his momentary thoughts by a happy squeal of triumph from Fuu. She had successfully removed the head of the sunflower, and had caught it before it hit the ground and scattered it's precious cargo. "Mugen that worked!" She cried happily as she put the head in the basket and turned enthusiastically around to face the man behind her.
A girlish blush came to her cheeks when she saw how close he was. "Whoopee." He said sarcastically, though inside he felt a little happy, a strange feeling that rarely came to him.
Fuu was being almost too apologetic, and Mugen noticed that her hands were trembling terribly. Not able to stand her in this sorry state any longer Mugen reached out and grasped her hand tightly in his. "You're hands are shaking. Ya won't get anything done that way." Fuu blushed, and she apologized again. He gave her captured hand a tighter squeeze, hoping to wake her up from whatever mind-frame she had woken up into. "Don't do that either, it's a waste 'a breath."
Fuu smiled a little, "Alright." When her hand stopped shaking he let it go, now white in places with the shapes of his fingers.
"Damn it don't do that!" He blurted, not sure of anything else to say.
Fuu's wet eyes widened. 'What?' She lifted her head, her cheeks glistening with salty water droplets.
The confused look he read on her face was an annoyance. She should have known what he was talking about. "I'm sorry alright? Just knock it off." With these words he released her previously captive wrists.
Two more great tears came down the sides of her face, and without thinking he reached up and caught them on his thumbs. "I said stop!"
She flinched at his touch and the volume of his voice, or so he thought. He quickly removed his hands from her face, and continuing in a more hushed--but still rough--tone said. "Ain't no reason to waste tears on a guy like me. 'Guess nobody ever told you criminals and murderers don't get friends."
"Where'd you get that?" She asked, running a finger clumsily over the scar on his neck. Her cold fingers sent shivers down his spine, and he felt a physical urge to hold her. Momentarily blocking his mind from thinking about her question.
"Mugen?"
Mugen furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember, at the same time trying to imagine her as something revolting and gross. 'If I just wait long enough she'll fall asleep…'
But then the dimmed memory came to him. It had been a long time ago, back when he was still living on Ryuukyuu. Story telling wasn't one of his usual customs, then again, falling asleep with women without having sex with them wasn't one of his usual customs either.
0o0
Somewhere in that dismal night he had fallen asleep, and the memories turned to dreams. Dreams of them having a "happily ever after." Of slightly different situations, situations where he wasn't a lowlife criminal. Where actually he had something to offer her. If he was the Lord of some town they wouldn't have anything to worry about, nobody would get in the way of their happiness.
Mugen could feel the warm sunlight on his face as he lay on his side on the futon. His eyes, though they were closed, felt heavy. He peeked one open, and looked down at the space between his arms. When he saw nothing there his frown deepened.
'Damn dreams…'
Groggily he pushed himself into a sitting position. His head hung limply as he tried to wake up. It had been so real. The feel of her skin, the sound of her voice, it was like she had really been there.
"Mugen…" She mumbled sleepily into his chest as they lay on their own futon. His dream self and his dream Fuu were locked in each other's embrace, the room was bright, and everything had a fuzzy appearance. Locks of her brown hair, now down to her waist, dancing over her features and covered her bare shoulders. The Fuu in his dream was much more beautiful then the one in real life, but that was to be expected. Dreams were about perfection, right?
As if he were angry with himself for thinking still about his imagination's passion play he brought his fist down hard on the side of his face. The pain of the collision woke him further, and he went off to find Eseme.
Mugen stormed into the room, nearly kicking down the sliding paper door in his passion-filled outburst. "Oy!" He yelled at Eseme, pointing an accusing finger at her. "Look old hag, just 'cuz I want to keep her safe, and just cuz I let her take care of me, and just cuz I want her to be happy doesn't mean I love her!"
His eyes glowed wild, like a beast in strange territory. "Sure, I like her, I'm physically attracted to her, I care, but I don't have to LOVE her!"
At first Eseme had been startled out of her wits, and she spilled the tea she was just about to put to her lips. The look in his eyes frightened her, and for a moment she wondered what could be going through his head. What had been going through his head all this time.
"See it your way, but you are going to bring her back yes?" Eseme asked as she mopped up the hot liquid from her nice wood floor.
Mugen didn't answer, but instead sat down at the table and tossed a dumpling in his mouth.
"Won't you?"
He sighed. "Yeah, if she wants to."
Eseme had expected an answer like this, based on his words from the night before. Her short grey hair fell into her face, shielding her blue eyes. She didn't want Mugen to give up, she wanted him to realize that there was no way Fuu could ever be happy being Rukono's prisoner.
"You know, however happy you may tink she looked, Fuu is Rukono's prisoner. Fuu is alive un unharmed because he is keeping her fresh for your arrival. And she will stay dat way as long as he still has un interest in your life. " Her eyes drilled into his head like a military General, trying to get it through the skulls of their new recruits that they might die that day. "If you don't come for her he will kill her, or sell her. You tink you are making Fuu happy but in truth you kill her."
Eseme's words hit him like a large tree, one that had fallen over and crushed a tiny ant. "What the hell! How come you didn't say any of this shit yesterday!" He screamed, his sword already inching from it's scabbard.
"Because I knew you would 'ave to realize how important she was to you before you did dis. You are reckless Samurai, Rukono is a disciplined tactician. He will have been planning his revenge since de moment he realized his brother's murderer was you. If you flail your sword about you could get somebody beside yourself killed. Go to him, walk into trap un den spring it before he can. Dat is only way you win."
The old woman's words slowly began to sink into his mind, and he stood there in shock for nearly four minutes before she raised an eyebrow in wonder.
"Ello? Anybody home?"
For one of the first times in his life Mugen knew that everything depended on how he was going to react, on how he played the pieces. He would have to be the one pulling all the big strings. He was important.
His hands were actually shacking.
"So now what?" He half whispered as he fell hard on his ass down on the wooden flooring.
"Now you wait." Eseme said, looking down at him over the slightly crooked rim of her nose. "…un maybe help 'ol woman in kitchen with sunflowers…" She added slyly, fully intent on finishing those sunflower medicines today.
After a few more seconds of thinking Mugen pushed himself back up and followed.
O0oO0o
The next morning Fuu woke with a wide smiled on her face. Neta and her futon were absent, but she guessed that her friend had work to do around the house.
Today was the day. This feeling of absolute happiness, she just knew it was a sign that Mugen was coming for her. Neta had told her how the Rukono brothers had searched and searched for the most secluded spot in the valley. This very home was the secluded spot. It was hard to find, first of all, because of the difficulty one would have spotting a waist high roof from far off. Second, because of the guards posted at stations each five meters from the other. Anyone who got close enough to knock on the door got there because Iro or Mechi had wished it.
After changing back into the kimono Neta had given her yesterday Fuu ate some of the food laid out before her on a dark oak tray. 'Well, being the prisoner of a rich-ass isn't so bad…I guess…' She thought while she chewed on a soft, steam-cooked pork dumpling.
"But it doesn't matter, 'cuz Mugen's coming for me today." Fuu proclaimed passionately as she slammed her drink down onto the tray.
"What doesn't matter Fuu?" Neta asked as she slipped in through the hidden doorway. Neta's smiling face faded a little when she heard Fuu talking about being rescued. She knew better than anyone else did that this home was more then escape-proof. And if one could not get out, one could not get in.
Fuu turned to Neta with a face like she had slept with a melon peel in her mouth. "It doesn't matter that the food is awesome, or that the company is good."
Neta kept her smile, but inside she felt awful. Without much more continuation of the conversation she took up the tray of dirty dishes and left.
'I'm just such a terrible person…' She thought with tears in her eyes as she worked at cleaning the large pile of dishes. Mechi had told her to take Fuu's mind off the fact that she was a captive. To have Fuu enjoy herself so that when he brought her to see Mugen the next day she might have something to look sincerely happy about. Fuu had been so great to her, and she was helping her oppressor.
As far back as she could remember she had always followed Mechi, always did what he said, because she loved him. Even when she was just a little girl she loved him.
o0o
"Hey Neta, wanna come fishing?" A young Iro asked cheerfully, dragging behind him a fishing pole much longer than his own height.
Neta, younger than him by a year, looked up from her polishing work. She sat on Eseme's front desk, a little pot in her tiny hands. "But Miss Eseme said I gotta clean these before I play."
"Aw, but Neta you're the only girl we know who can fish good!" Mechi, the older of the three, came in behind his brother. At his entrance Neta's face burned bright red.
Slowly she nodded and put the pot down, then swung her legs over the edge and eased herself down. Whatever he wanted, she always did. Even if she knew better.
o0o
Neta went to check on Fuu around the time when the sun was in the middle of the sky. The girl's eyebrows went up, seeing her sitting there. "Fuu, aren't you bored? Just sitting there?"
She expected that Fuu's hopes would be weak now, that she could maybe try to take her mind off of Mugen's rescue. For she knew well enough there would be no rescue today.
But Fuu just turned around, smiling at Neta with a warm grin, and said: "Oh don't worry, he'll come. I know he will, it might take him a while but he will. He always comes." The confidence in her voice was mind shattering. It made Neta think of her own confidence and belief in Mechi, and she recoiled her thoughts of influencing Fuu's.
Later that night Neta went back to Fuu's room to deliver her dinner, and found the girl still sitting in the same position as she had left her in that afternoon.
"Fuu?" She asked quietly setting down the tray, and kneeling down in front of her. Fuu's eyes were blank, they had no sparkle to them. Void of hope.
Her feat has lost their feeling long ago, as had her legs, and now she could feel a tingling in her knees. Though her heart hurt most of all.
"He…didn't come…" She breathed, her words almost below a whisper. Slowly she turned her head to look at Neta. "He…really didn't come." Then Fuu broke down in tears, clinging to Neta's kimono. "I-I d-don't get it… Why didn't he-he come?" She managed to get out, between coking on her own tears, and gasps for breath.
'Oh poor Fuu…' The older girl looked down at Fuu's shivering body with utmost sympathy. 'Why does the world have to be so cruel to lovers?' She thought as she put a hand over the brown locks of loose hair, small tears swelling in the corners of her own eyes.
Hi, if there r any photographic memory readers who noticed that the flashbacks with Mugen are short and different from their original versions it's cuz I changed them so that you only get Mugen's actions and some mental commentary. After all, if it's him remembering then how would he know what was going through Fuu's head? Lol heck, if he could do that this story'd be over