I DO NOT OWN SAMURAI CHAMPLOO or 'BUTTERFLY' by DJ MYSTIC

Breakdancing Butterfly – A Samurai Champloo Fanfic
xXxXxXxXxX By some strange turn of events, shortly after the three went their supposed 'separate ways' at the end of episode 26, our threesome met back up and decided it was fate that brought them together... again. They are now traveling back to the region Fuu wants to live in, the two guys as her body-guards. XxXxXxXxXx

Chapter 5 – "Someone Who is Strong"

Jin chopped at the vegetables with skill and precision. His culinary skills had improved ever since that time at the eel stand. That thought itself warmed his heart as he thought of the woman he had met in that town; Shino. Soon, he would see her again, soon.

He continued on after drifting off for a while in past memories, cutting the vegetables and setting them in a bowl to the side.

He sighed and looked over the board and at his little wooden puppet. It was staring at him with those black painted dots of his. He was just staring at him, judging him.

He squinted and turned the puppet around so it wasn't looking at him.

His fellow slicer gave him an odd look. The other man just shook his head sadly and then pushed over a small tea cup and dropped in a coin for the poor guy.

Jin raised an eyebrow and eyed the jar with contempt. Were they mocking him, or did they truly think he was troubled enough that they had to give him a donation bucket?

If he wasn't making so much money from being this 'retarded cousin' he would have shown everyone there by now just why he carried around those samurai swords.

Roughly pulling out a radish he quickly chopped it into small dices, letting his frustration vent through the blade and into the vegetables.

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Fuu awoke and rolled on the bed and sighed happily in the warm blankets. Then memories from last night came back to her and her happy sigh turned to an unwelcome groan. The more she thought about it, the more she just wanted to cover herself in the blankets and hide from the world.

What she heard next really wanted her to keep hiding. Someone was walking across the room towards the bed. She recognized the sound of the geta shoes on the wooden floor. It was Mugen, definitely.

Uncharacteristically, he was being quiet, she noticed.

Oh no, was he planning something? Was he sneaking up on her while she slept? Would he do something similar to last night? And the final question ringing through her head was –would she stop him?

She didn't even want to begin to think about or analyze just went on last night. First of all, her body had gone against her mind when he had bit her, and then he said that –which for the most part sounded genuine, that is except for that grimace the moment he uttered it. Then, she felt her heart sink when he had done it; making her even more confused. Did she want him to say it and mean it?

Her ears ringed and suddenly she noticed that the footsteps stopped. Did he leave? She tried to stealthily look out from under the blankets. She saw one end of the room. No one was there, then she slowly lifted up the blankets and looked around some more. No one. Maybe she was just imagining things.

She flung back the covers and sat up upruptly, and then screamed.

Mugen was at the foot of the bed, perched at the baseboards, leaning over and staring at her. He was smirking. "Boo!" He exclaimed and she jumped back and yelped again in surprise.

"Mugen!" She threw a pillow at his head, which was swiftly cut in half by his quick swordmanship. Feathers flew into the air.

"Thanks. I needed a morning exercise." He replied as feathers fell like chunks of snow. He sheathed his sword again and then just continued to give her a strange glare.

The feathers had almost all fallen before Fuu regained control of her stunned mind. "Mugen. Why were you staring at me? Better yet, why are you still staring at me?" She asked, a little uncomfortable under his dark gaze. She held the blankets around her tightly.

"Nothin." Mugen replied, sounding as non-chalant as he could; because it was partly an untrue statement. What he was really doing was trying to figure her out. They had spent so much time together, and yet now it all seemed different.

There was a knock at the door and Haichan made her way in and paused at seeing the mess of feathers all over the bed, and Mugen looking down at Fuu, who was still in bed. They both turned to look at her; and she nodded knowingly –these two lovebirds were at it constantly, obviously.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm afraid you two need to get ready for the rituals." Haichan replied.

"Rituals?" Fuu and Mugen asked in unison.

"Yes, of course. In order to prove your undying love for one another, and to appease us –the ones who are giving you free room and board- you need to do some rituals for us. The first one begins in one hour. Please be ready at the main street by then. Goodbye."

Fuu and Mugen watched as she left and then turned to eachother, both looking a bit scared.

"I say we make a run for it." Mugen replied, ready to make a swift getaway.

"What about Jin?"

"Screw him." He spat.

"Marriage rituals? Well, how bad could it be? Let's just get them over with."

"Right." Mugen agreed, huffing.

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10 am Taishitebaka restaurant...

Jin placed the vegetables into a soup broth that was boiling. The puppet was dangling from a small neuse tied to the rafters; but that didn't help because his stupid little black dots-for-eyes were now eye level with his own. Why couldn't that damn puppet look somewhere else!

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10 am Main Street...

Mugen picked at his ear and Fuu sat at the fountain's edge. They were being as patient as they could be. Haichan appeared before them and stared at the couple with a devilish grin on her old weathered face.

"Okay! The first ritual is called Poetic License! You must both write eachother a poem of your undying love!" She announced and two other old women came up and handed them both a piece of parchment and a brush with ink.

Fuu nodded. "See? Easy." She whispered to Mugen.

Mugen's eyebrow quirked. "Would she quit saying 'undying'..." He replied and then quickly grabbed the brush and ink and started on his task, trying to finish it as quickly –and as sloppily- as possible.

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10:30 am Taishitebaka restaurant...

Jin tried to throw his puppet in the outgoing garbage, but it was found and returned to him. He proceeded to continue to stir the pot of vegetable stew.

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10:30 am Main Street...

Fuu proudly jotted down the last sentence and smirked to herself. She glanced over to see Mugen, actually still at work, making a mess of the ink as he quickly and loosely drew the characters to his poem. He finished with a noise of half-hearted victory.

Haichan clapped her hands. "Now read them to eachother. Fuu, you first."

Fuu stood and held the paper and faced Mugen, who was sprawled out across the fountain's edge, waving his own poem across his face for a fan. She cleared her throat.

"Oh, how I love you,
my loving darling you.
You make me so happy
That I throw up till I'm empty
Empty of all my insides,
All my guts and organs,
All the bones and muscles,
All but one –my heart.
Your face makes my heart race,
Race until it explodes,
Explodes over my lifeless body
That is overflowing with love,
The love to please my husband.
Oh, how I love your face!
I reminds me of a horse,
Oh how I love horses...
Your eyes! They look like an Eel's,
And you know I love Eel,
So you know I love you,
My loving... darling... YOU!"

She smiled so big her eyes were closed. She skipped and took a seat next to him on the fountain. His face was indescribable; almost like he had a bad taste in his mouth.

Haichan laughed nervously. "That was... nice. How about you Mugen?"

Mugen shot up from the fountain and brought the paper up with one arm and struck a pose similar to a stone statue pointing onward –only his hand held a piece of paper. He cleared his throat too, only he spit out the wad onto the dirt road and then began to read his own poem.

"Blood stains are Red and the bruises are Blue,
How much I love being with you.
I like your bitchy voice, I like your plain hair,
I like your big ass, I like your small chest,
Can you see I don't care,
About any of this."

Fuu tilted her head, thoroughly disgusted. Only Mugen would make a poem like that. What did that last part even mean? He made no sense whatsoever!

Haichan gave another nervous laugh. "Okay, let's not do any more poems. On to the next ritual." She replied, sweating. There had gathered quite the crowd to observe the proceedings. She'd have to find something else that didn't require them to be so expressive in their... 'love'.

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11 am Taishitebaka restaurant...

Jin washed some bowls to get ready for the lunch customers. He hadn't succeeded in trying to drown the puppet; it was wood after all –it did float. That damn puppet...

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11 am Down Main Street...

Mugen ran down the streets, looking around for something, anything!

Fuu went the opposite way, looking rather stressed and frazzled. She had to find them!

Haichan smiled as she watched them run around frantically.

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12:00 Taishitebaka restaurant...

Jin provided entertainment with his still soaked and dripping puppet while customers ate their lunch. The damn puppet –which was it's new name; at least to Jin- was leaking water all over his sleeve and his feet. He tried to bear with it as he bounced it up and down slowly, tyring to imitate dancing as best he could –he was not succeeding.

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12:00 Main Street Plaza...

Fuu collapsed on the ground, her hands dumping an arm-load of stuff onto the ground. Mugen trotted up and dumped his stuff next to the collapsed Fuu. They both looked a little fatigued from running around.

Haichan smiled. "You both made it! I hope the love scavenger hunt went well. What twelve items did you get for eachother –that best suits their personality and tastes?" She asked and saw Fuu grumble and finally sit up and gathered her items.

Fuu held up a big bar of soap. "He may not like it, but he needs it." She threw out another bar of soap. "This is for his mouth." She then picked up a peach, then a pear, than an apple, then a bundle of steamed dumplings. "He loves food." She shot him a glare as he began to munch down on the food items. She pulled out three more bundles of dumplings. "Lots of food." She grumbled, and then pulled out a bottle of medicine. "This is for hangovers... he drinks a lot." She pulled out a jug of Sake. "A lot." She pushed out the last item. She placed a small dagger out; it was actually pretty nice –a dark red and black laquer with a design that closely resembled an infinite symbol. "And he likes to... be destructive."

Mugen looked down at the dagger. It was a nice dagger.

"Now, your turn Mugen." Haichan said.

He nodded and smirked. He tossed out some used chopsticks. "She puts these in her hair I think." He threw out some cotton stuffing. "That's for her chest –to make 'em look bigger." He held up some more stuffing. "A lot bigger." He tossed out a piece of cloth. "This is to shut her up." He held up a basket with two holes in it. "This is to hide her face." He hefted out three bundles of dumplings. "She loves food," he said in a mocking tone. He tossed out three more bundles. "Believe me... a lot." He then reached in his pocket and took out his last thing. He opened his hand to reveal a handful of sunflower seeds. For some reason, he didn't say anything, he just laid them in a pile next to the others.

Fuu stared at the seeds, actually almost feeling tears come to her eyes. Even after all the other things he got for her that aggravated her to death, that small pile of seeds was enough for her heart to ache slightly.

Before either could utter another word, Haichan burst in "Now, speaking of food... Fuu!"

She was dragged to a large kitchen where she was placed in a cook's outfit. A drumroll sounded and bright candles were lit to shine hotly on her. Haichan stood at the back of the kitchen, surrounded by a large audience –much like an arena around the kitchen.

Haichan laughed maniacally. "Fuu! You have been challenged by the town to cook a full course meal for your husband in exactly one hour! Your dishes have to reflect the secret ingredient..." there was a bigger drumroll; Fuu gulped. "...WASABI ROOT!"

Fuu nearly fell over. "Zombies..." She grumbled.

Mugen stuck out his tongue. "Zombies..." He mumbled, but before he could think of anything else concerning the disgusting meal he was about to be cooked and served, he was yanked away and to a lumbar yard.

"While she is cooking, you have to build! Build a wonderful hut in one hour, or else we will take away your free meals!" Haichan replied warningly.

Mugen exclaimed some obsenities before he finally went to work, working as fast and as sloppily as he could.

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1:00 Taishitebaka restaurant...

Jin had a one hour lunch break, but since he wasn't hungry, he decided to play some chess... with his puppet. But what he couldn't figure out for the life of him was... how in the hell was the damn puppet winning?

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1:00 Kitchen Stadium...

Fuu heard the buzzer ring and leaned against the counter, glad it was finally over. She was sweating, and she had managed to burn herself several times trying to fix the meal.

She saw Mugen enter, sweating more than she was, covered in woodshavings and blood... wait a minute, blood? She looked down and saw a nail embedded in his hand! He collapsed in his chair, and raised his bloody hand. "Food please!" He then fell head first into the table, exhausted.

Fuu looked at him wide eyed. That was strange... Mugen had said 'please'.

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2:00 Taishitebaka restaurant...

Jin was still playing the puppet, and a big crowd had gathered to watch the game. There was quite a big pile of coins being stacked on the puppet's side. That damn puppet –how could he make more money than he was?

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2:00 Forrest...

Haichan handed Mugen a bow and arrow. "You have to prove you can provide the food that Fuu needs to cook you great meals with! Bring back five things in one hour!"

Mugen, in a little bit of a daze, looked down at his bandaged hand that carried the bow and arrows. He coughed a little –due to the overwhelming taste of wasabi in his mouth- and closed his eyes. "Free food, free food, free food..." He mumbled over and over as he took off into the woods.

Haichan turned to Fuu.

Fuu bit her lip. "Will he be okay? He gets lost easily."

"No need to worry. Here!" Haichan gave Fuu a bundle of material and needles and thread. "He needs a full wardrobe, you need to sew three pairs of clothes in an hour! Get to work, little one!"

Fuu closed her eyes and chanted, "Free food, free food, free food..."

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3:00 Taishitebaka restaurant...

Well, the puppet won. Jin tried to stay calm.

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3:00 Forrest...

Mugen had not arrived yet.

Fuu was almost done with the nightshirt, but she had pricked herself with the needle several times and there was blood all over the material.

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4:00 Taishitebaka restaurant...

Jin diced some meat, using the cleavers two-handed, trying to let out some of his frustration. Damn puppet was sitting, guarding his bucket of coins.

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4:00 Forrest...

Mugen returned finally, carrying with him two frogs, a snake, a snail, and a mushroom with an arrow through the center.

Fuu tossed Mugen his handmade clothes with a very interesting pattern of blood stains as the design.

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5:00 Taishitebaka restaurant...

Jin left for the day, taking his damn puppet with him, too tired in mind and spirit to care.

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5:00 Temple...

Fuu and Mugen collapsed on the bed, exhausted in mind and body, not noticing that they fell down with eachother. They closed their eyes and fell right to sleep, not caring about dinner –just that they were finally alone and they could rest!

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A/N: Well, it's an update. Sorry if it seemed a little 'kooky' and there were some inside jokes in there -so you might not have gotten all of them (like the zombie one -and okay, I know they never admitted they were zombies, but hey-inside joke here people, leave me alone!) (oh yeah -and if anyone else got the 'iron chef' reference -yay! someone else other than me watches it!) Sorry if the poems sucked... i hate poems; maybe i'm traumatized from my creative writing class. HEY! REVIEW PEOPLE! I only had half the reviews last chapter... and I thought people liked this! Please? C'mon, I know I'm on a lot of favorites -only 1/4 of you are reviewing? Please review! It makes it all worth it, and gives me a reason to continue! Anyway, as always -please tell me your favorite part! Mine was when Jin lost to damn puppet. LOL. REVIEW!