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Mugen, Jin, and Fuu emerged from the restaurant and began to walk off. Jin felt the burden of responsibility weigh him down. His steps became sluggish and he found he had stopped. Mugen growled "Oh c'mon! You tell me we have to escape then you go and slow us down? C'mon Jin we don't got all day!" Jin didn't respond, but looked back over his shoulder.

Back inside the owner was stunned at Shiroko's secret. Shiroko broke free from Kakimoto's grip and ran out the door. Once outside she dropped to her knees. Her angry tears dropped on the sandy path. The owner's wife went outside after her and said with regret "I hope you understand Shiroko, it isn't that we think you're a bad person, but…"

"I know" said Shiroko "the honor to your name may be tarnished. I am sorry." She wiped the tears from her face and found her hand gripping a pile of dirt from the ground. She stood and said "I will leave as soon as possible."

The owner's wife lay her hands on Shiroko's shoulders and tried to look her in the eye. She said "If I were you I would reconsider Kakimoto's proposal."

The owner of the restaurant emerged with Kakimoto. The vile man had a tight victorious smirk on his face. "Well, lady Shiroko, what are you going to do now other than marry me? Hm? Ha ha haaa!"

Fuu slowed to a stop with Jin, but Mugen only sped up.

Shiroko tossed the dirt in her hand right into Kakimoto's face. The owner and his wife were horrified at Shiroko's loss of composure and especially when she screamed "I WOULDN'T MARRY YOU IF THE WORLD WERE FLOODED WITH PISS AND YOU LIVED IN A TREE!"

Mugen stopped and turned when he heard the insult and laughed. Shiroko then ran off down the trail past Mugen, Jin, and Fuu.

Kakimoto was outraged. He screamed vehemently as the owner and his wife tried to dust off the dirt from his kimono. Kakimoto pushed them away and shook his fist at the disappearing Shiroko. Fuu and Jin caught up with Mugen and they continued on their journey.

A short while later Fuu said "Should we go after Shiroko?"

Mugen replied "I think she can take care of herself. She's not as helpless as you skinny."

"Skinny! I told you before my body type just looks slender in clothing…"

Jin had his own thoughts on the matter. 'If we continue on this road we are sure to find her. She will have to return for her possessions. She would not leave them behind.' He sighed listening to Fuu and Mugen argue pointlessly.

Fuu and Mugen's bickering faded as Jin's mind traveled back to the night before he left for the dojo, right after his parents passed away. He remembered white moonlight filtered through the paper screens and his friend, Yukimaru breathed deeply on a futon across from him. Jin remembered his feelings of uncertainty and fear as if it were yesterday.

Jin's father had been killed a few years ago and his mother recently passed away from illness. Yukimaru's family was taking him in for the time being, but Jin hated the feeling of indebtedness which weighed down on him. He also thought of his new life at the dojo. 'I owethis family everything. I will be leaving for the dojo tomorrow. What will it be like? Where will I rank compared to the others?' and other such thoughts sped through his mind.

Then he heard the screen crack open. He slid his eyes up and saw Shiroko smiling, trying to steal a peek at him. 'Urgh!' he thought 'If I had any spare time I wouldn't waste it on a girl like Shiroko. Fat, ugly, silly girl.'

Though Shiroko had changed he still saw the girl he knew in the woman she had become. 'Had it really been so long?' he thought.

His memory continued. Mariko caught Shiroko and Jin smirked when he heard the sound of Mariko's hand 'disciplining' Shiroko. A couple of hours later Jin found he still couldn't sleep. Shiroko coming to spy on him gave him an idea that he just couldn't shake.

Jin rolled over and checked to make sure Yukimaru was still sleeping soundly. Jin got to his feet and treaded softly into the hallway. He heard noises coming from Mariko's room in the form of soft voices. Jin wiped his nose and peeked in a hole in the paper door.

There, by candle light, was a perfect view of a nude Mariko. Jin was in heaven for about ten seconds. Then a man come into view and lay down on top of Mariko. Jin backed up and wiped his nose again.

He silently ran back to Yukimaru's room and slipped back down onto his futon. Jin remembered his panic and the numbness that accompanied it. He knew what he saw, and he also knew he wasn't supposed to see it. 'Mariko isn't married! How could she? Who was that awful man?' He wiped his nose and shut his eyes tight. Tears welled up and spilled out onto his arm. 'Why…She'll never want me.'

Jin, now an adult, realized it had been way over a decade since that night, and yet that realization still hurt.

Before the travelers knew it an hour had passed. Fuu walked on ahead of the two men and continued a familiar whine. She was hungry she and began to nag her two companions about what they were going to do for money so they could buy food.

Jin felt a presence on the breeze and instinctively put his hand to the hilt of his sword. Mugen stopped suddenly and spread his feet readying himself for a potential battle. Fuu stopped and asked her companions "Do you hear that?"

Jin focused his hearing and heard a woman crying. Mugen walked up past Fuu and said, "Yeah, some chick is crying. C'mon, we got somewhere to go."

Fuu ignored him and walked a few feet into the brush. Jin followed and Mugen waited in the road. He called out to them "Hey! What if it's a trap! I'm not going to save you!" After he got no response he grumbled and followed them.

Mugen found Fuu crouching down next to the waitress from before, Piggy. "Oh, come now, it's not all that bad" comforted Fuu "It's not too far to the next town."

Shiroko wiped her tears and said "That's where I was headed, but…but I left my things at the restaurant."

Mugen said "You don't need stuff when you travel, it just slows you down. C'mon lets go, everybody."

Shiroko gave him a questioning look, but Mugen began to walk back to the road. Jin said "Yes, I agree. Fuu, Shiroko, lets move."

The ladies looked at each other now aware that a decision had been made. Shiroko said to Fuu with a giggle "Don't I get to discuss this?"

Fuu laughed and said "I guess not. It's rare they're so welcoming! C'mon! Let's go!" With a heavy heart over the loss of her few possessions Shiroko began her journey with Mugen, Jin, and Fuu.

Shiroko was familiar with the area and told her new companions about a river that was close by. Later that night the four travelers sat around a campfire preparing fish they had caught earlier in the day.

They finished their meager meal and sat quietly. Mugen lay on his back and chewed on a piece of grass he snapped off earlier. Jin sat with his eyes closed and legs crossed, meditating, but Fuu was convinced it was so he didn't have to talk to anyone. Fuu was uncomfortable in the silence and tried to start some conversation. Shiroko sat on her feet and looked up at the stars through the trees.

"So..uuuh…Shiroko, what umm…" Fuu had no idea what to ask.

Mugen knew what he wanted to ask, he had wondered frequently about Jin, and now he had an opportunity to ask. He leaned back on his crossed arms and kept his eyes on the stars above. "What was Jin, here like as a kid?"

Shiroko giggled and passed a glance at her samurai acquaintance. She said "Well, Mugen what do you think he was like?"

Mugen pulled the grass from his mouth and checked out what damage his teeth did to it. Jin had opened his eyes and Mugen could feel them on him. Mugen figured he'd have some fun with Jin while he had his attention and said "Well, I figure he was a tight-ass cry baby." Then he went back to chewing.

Jin grunted quietly and furrowed his brow. Shiroko laughed a little louder and responded "No, not quite. He was very unruly though. He wasn't the polished final product you see before you." Shiroko looked in Jin's direction, but not at him. 'I can't deny he has grown up even more handsome than I thought he would, yet he isn't as loveable. He's changed.' Shiroko's smile faded and she said "He was very passionate, but not a crier."

"This is ridiculous" said Jin.

Shiroko noticed Jin felt a little uneasy. 'Perhaps he's afraid of me slipping in what his nickname was. He should be.' "Hmmmm, what else?" Shiroko smirked knowing it was a bit cruel to leave Jin hanging on what secrets she would reveal to his companions, but she enjoyed it never the less. "He was generally in good health, yet I can't remember a day when—"

"That's enough" said Jin with a no nonsense voice. "There's no point in discussing the past, it's already over and done with."

"That's not true! It seems to keep coming back to find you!" said Fuu matter of factly.

"We are all indebted to our pasts, and those who came before us. It is a basic teaching, all of you know this" said Shiroko.

Jin wrapped his arms tighter around his swords and looked away from the fire and his companions.

Shiroko continued after giving Jin a stern look. "Stubborn. He was very stubborn. I see that hasn't changed." Jin and Shiroko's eyes connected and both set's narrowed.

"If I was so easily upset and so stubborn why were you so in love with me?" said Jin causing a redness to take over Shiroko's face.

"I don't know" Shiroko said "I really can't figure out what was so redeeming about you. At all." Jin realized it was too late to take back what he said and there was nearly nothing he could do to stop the consequence. She continued to describe Jin as a child to the others. "My brother called him—"

"I really don't see why you people have such a fascination with the past—" said Jin in a last ditch effort to delay what he knew, deep in his bones, was coming.

Shiroko said "Booger."

Fuu's jaw dropped and Mugen's mouth let out a snicker. Jin said "That was a long time ago."

"Booger?" asked Mugen.

"Yes," Shiroko said "Everyone called Jin, Booger, after my brother started it. It suited him. He always had—"

"Shiroko, I think you have done enough damage for this evening" said Jin without humor. "If you desire shaming me please wait until morning."

"No" said Shiroko, "Then you'll think about it all night. I'll get the torture all over with right now" she said with a sweet smile." She turned back to Mugen who was eagerly awaiting more information about his opponent-companion. "He had this one dangly drooly drip of snot that just hung from his nose" Shiroko illustrated the fact by mimicking Jin's nasal secretions with her finger. "It would dangle, just like this."

Mugen nearly pissed himself "HA! Booger! HaHAAAA! Our stoic samurai was a snot nosed brat! HA!"

Fuu hit Mugen's shoulder, but he barely felt it. "Mu-geeeen! Quit laughing idiot!" she said watching Jin become more and more angry.

Mugen caught his breath again and said "I can't help it. First Piggy then Booger, it's too much! Ha haaa!"

Fuu glanced at Jin, whose anger was beginning to make the corners of his face twitch. His controlled ire made Fuu begin to giggle. She quickly brought her hand up to her mouth and tried to hold in her giggles. It was no use.

Shiroko smiled broadly and began to laugh boldly. "Piggy" she said "Now that's a name I haven't heard since I was child." She was speaking to herself as she watched Fuu and Mugen roll on the ground.

Jin turned and looked at her. He said "Doesn't their laughter make you angry? They're laughing at you too."

Shiroko turned her smile on Jin and said "I know. But that name reminds me of good times." She let out a small laugh and said "I was a little piggie."

Jin's mouth cracked open a little and he quickly replaced the smile with his mask of stoicism.

Fuu tried to sit up, and was still holding her stomach from laughing so hard. "Okay," she sighed. "I'm going to try and get some sleep. Hmhmhm."

"Good idea" said Shiroko. The fire crackled a bit in the ensuing silence and Shiroko drifted off to sleep dreaming of wildflowers.

Jin sat and closed his eyes and let his fingers glide against the smoothness of his katana. 'The restaurant is not that far down the road. If one were to run it would not take too long to get back there.' He glanced at Shiroko sleeping next to the fire. He went over the events of the day and realized 'Shiroko has Yukimaru's daring streak.' "Hmf" he laughed to himself. 'I guess, Yukimaru, that she is all that is left of my kinship with you. Jin stood, placed his swords in his belt, then took off on a light footed run.