My Life For Hers
Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai Champloo. I wish Jin were mine though. . .tears. Neither do I own the song lyrics, those belong to Bryan Adams
A/N: This fic contains SPOILERS for the ending of the show, and I suppose for many other parts of the series. So if that bothers you, don't read! I also don't want to hear how much you think Mugen and Fuu belong together. This is a Jinn/Fuu fic, and if that bothers you, don't read, and don't flame please. Other than that, I will appreciate any other comments. The more reviews I get, the more I'll consider writing more one-shots.
Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for
I can't help it there's nothin' I want more
I would fight for you - I'd lie for you
Walk the wire for you - Yeah I'd die for you
You know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you
Everything I do, I do it for you by Bryan Adams
He broke the surface of the water with a gasp, gulping the much needed air into his aching lungs as he struggled to keep himself above the water, reaching out for the edge of the wooden pier. The samurai's finger's managed to latch on, and he clung to the steady structure for dear life, teeth set against the burning pain that laced his side.
The knot that had secured his dark hair had come free, and now the strands hung damply around his face like a curtain. Though any other time his thoughts would have been filled with rage and promises of vengeance, his foe was not the person predominate in his mind now. Jin gripped the edge of the wood tighter with both hands as he used all his strength to drag himself up onto the pier. He collapsed on the rough surface, dripping wet and shivering slightly. Slowly he raised his head, his dark eyes fixing on the island across the way, and felt a deeper chill run through his body. Assassins always made a clean slate of the job when sent to kill someone, eliminating all the enemy, including family. . .
"Fuu."
His lips formed her name silently, dragging himself upright onto his hands and knees and wincing. She was in danger, even with Mugen already on the island. Besides having an known enemy there he was fighting, the restraintless swordsman's skills would be no match for that assassin. Which meant that Fuu would be defenseless with no one to protect her.
He never remembered how he managed, but he found his way into the boat of a stupefied fisherman, ordering him to sail for the island in a tone that left no room for argument. Wearily he had slumped down against the side of the tiny wooden boat, his gaze riveted on the small land mass that was slowly coming nearer. It had never occurred to Jin to leave, to simply walk away as if he didn't care about the chatty, gluttonous, fifteen year old slip of a girl. Because that would be a lie. He did care, more than he would have ever dreamed possible.
When had she come to mean so much to him? Jin wondered, his fingers idly running along the ripped edge of his tunic. Was it when Fuu had begun to cling to him at the slightest hint of danger, her small hand grasping the loose material at his back and her slender frame pressing up against him? Perhaps it was the loving way she had hovered over him when he was injured, even sleeping by his side if he should need her. Or maybe it was when he'd believed Fuu had drowned and the utter relief he'd felt at seeing her alive and well. Jin didn't know for sure. But somehow she had wormed her way into his cold emotionless heart without even trying, with that utter innocence and love for everyone. A soft sigh escaped his lips, his head drooping with his weariness.
Sweet one. . . Fuu would never be able to harm anyone, not even if it were to save her own life.
His hand clenched over his sword, fighting to gain control over the pain, praying that he would not be too late. It seemed ages before the wooden boat ground against the sandy bottom of the shore, announcing that they had arrived on the island.
The injured samurai had gotten out of the boat before the fisher man had even turned to him, leaving a few coins behind as he began the trip up towards the cove. He had never been here before, never seen a map of the island, didn't even know where Fuu was on the blasted hunk of rock. It was instinct guiding him now, pure fear and anger giving him the strength to struggle on. His steps were slow and unsteady, focusing entirely on his task to keep himself going. Faintly Jin was aware of battle sounds coming from somewhere below his path, and registered dimly that it had to be Mugen, but he couldn't summon the energy to even turn his head to look. He feared that even looking away from his path would make him unable to continue, unable to reach Fuu in time.
Suddenly the ground leveled off, startling Jin so much that he fell to his knees in the grass, his breathing coming in sharp gasps. For what felt like hours he was unable to move, remaining there in his undignified position until the sound of running feet caught his ears. Lifting his head, the samurai saw Fuu running down from a shack on the hill, quite some distance from himself. She tripped, and fell to her knees much like Jin had himself, and glanced fearfully over her shoulder. Following her line of sight, he saw the straw hatted figure following slowly after the fleeing girl, the leisurely pace of one who knows that there is nothing to stop him. With a frightened cry, Fuu scrambled to her feet and took off again. With mounting horror, Jin watched as the girl fled blindly, in her fright not paying any attention to where she was heading: towards a cliff. She was cornering herself, only making the assassin's job worlds easier. Soon both had vanished from his sight, and he knew that it would not take long for Fuu's short life to end in a flash of steel. Jin grimaced as he pulled himself to his feet, the knowledge of her intense need for him overcoming the pain as he started off once more.
With each step he straightened, his head lifting and eyes focusing. It didn't take long for him to crest the small hill and begin his approach of the cliff where his charge stood, facing the assassin. Fuu's mahogany colored eyes were large with terror but filled with defiance as she glared up at the tall bearded man who sought her life, and his heart ached with relief that she still lived. Then her gaze moved past the assassin and focused on the samurai coming up from behind.
Even from where he stood, he saw her eyes widen, and heard her soft voice whispering his name.
"Jin!"
Kariya turned around in surprise, Jin could see a faint flicker of fear in those eyes as he came calmly closer, but it was gone in an instant as he spoke incrediously.
"I should praise you. You somehow managed to escape being hit fatally and saved your own life." He paused, and a condescending sneer played over his cruel features. "However, with that body of yours, you can't defeat me. Why did you come? Do you want to throw away the life you picked up? Didn't you say there isn't a lord that you'll risk your life for?"
Jin smiled slightly, the wind blowing through his long dark hair as he responded quietly. "Yes. I've been fighting for myself all along. My sword was just for myself." His dark eyes moved past Kariya to Fuu. "However. . ."
Images raced through his mind, of his Master telling him how to win against an opponent he didn't think he could defeat, but other memories followed. Fuu's cry of warning as one of the dojo's former student's attacked him, her running up to him as he made it back to their room after his thrashing in the street, Fuu's hurt expression as he left to go to Shino, her shoe floating near the shore of a river, her calm eyes saying that she was there for him as she glanced at him over Yukimaru's body, chasing after her to a bridge, those angered cries and scoldings that didn't hide her relief or tears when he had found them after his fall, and that conversation by the river that was forever burned into his memory.
No lord was worthy of Jin's sword, no lord he considered worth dying for. That was true. But for a common girl who had accepted him, who had believed in him, and cared for him. . . she was worth it.
Sweet one. . .
A slight smile curved the samurai's lips, his words a soft sigh. "This sure is an unpleasant part."
Jin's hand moved slowly, gripping the hilt of his sword though his eyes never left his foe. Kariya smirked as his own hand repeated the gesture, eyes shadowed by his straw hat. Fuu was standing there motionless, panic in her gaze, her small hand clasped at her breast. The eyes of the two men locked for what felt like eternity as each waited for the other to move.
In one lightning fast motion, Jin's sword had cleared the sheath, followed scant seconds later by the sound of Kariya's. The two men lunged for each other, blades mere silvery blurs as they swung them through the air. Engaged in a deadly dance they whirled and spun, dodging and attacking with a grace that could only be achieved by a samurai. Their blades locked momentarily, and Jin braced his body, preparing himself for what was going to come, praying that he would not fail, not when Fuu was depending on him. . . He ducked another swing from Kariya, and did something that his training screamed at him not to do: he kept his back to his enemy for too long.
He gasped as the sword penetrated his side, clenching his jaw against the scream that threatened to escape his throat. Jin closed his eyes and shuddered, hearing Kariya chuckle gloatingly behind him. But then it died, changing to a surprised grunt of pain, his eyes widening in shock as Jin's second blade buried itself deep into his body.
"JIN!" Fuu cried, her eyes filled with horror as she took a step forward.
Kariya groaned in pain again as he struggled to speak in a raspy voice laced with agony. "For you to get stabbed on purpose and then. . ."
The blade was jerked upward in a killing blow, ending whatever Kariya had been about to say. Jin then yanked his blade from the assassin's body, hearing the man's dying groan as he slumped to the ground below. Seconds later, and explosion rang out from the beach below.
Fuu whirled. "Mugen!"
Jin opened his eyes wearily, swaying on the spot as he registered the fact that it seemed his rival had been killed. Only for the samurai to follow him minutes later, ironically enough. His vision was blurring as he saw Fuu whip around to face him, heard her cry out his name.
"I'm sorry Fuu. . ." was all he could manage before he collapsed, nothingness obscuring his senses.
&&&&&
It was the sound of weeping that drew Jin from the darkness, and he became aware of the pain in his body, a sure sign he wasn't dead. Summoning the last scraps of his strength, he opened his eyes, and was stunned. The day had slipped away in his unconsciousness, the sun hovering low on the horizon, but the lost hours were not what stunned him. It was Fuu, kneeling at his side, clutching his hand, and sobbing his name with a face heavily stained with tears. When she saw he was awake, she gasped sharply, relief flooding her red rimmed mahogany eyes.
"Jin," she whispered hoarsely, and seemed to collapse inwardly as her grip tightened on his hand. "I was so afraid that you would never wake up-" Her low voice broke and she seemed unable to go on.
"I didn't expect to," he admitted, blinking to bring things into sharper focus, and his mind froze. She was up here with him? Why wasn't she with. . . "What about Mugen? Is he alive?"
Fuu sniffed, shaking her head. "I don't know," she murmured, her eyes still over bright. "I haven't left you since you passed out. . . "
Jin stared at her in shock, and for the first time noticed her kimono was ripped, the bottom a ragged mess. His first though was that her captors or the assassin had done it, and he felt a surge of rage at the thought of her being treated in such a manner. But as he shifted slightly, he realized she had bound his wounds the best she could with strips of cloth taken from her clothing, the once bright pink material now stained crimson from his blood.
She was whimpering, and the moisture in her eyes overflowed, spilling down her cheeks as she spoke haltingly. "Y-you saved my life- I was so afraid that y-you had d-died because of. . of me." Unable to control herself any longer, Fuu's hands covered her face as she broke down into deep heaving sobs.
Those tears were for me? The shocking realization swam to the surface of his mind as he stared up at the girl he had come to save, the girl he had been willing to throw his own life away for. Slowly, grimacing as he did so, Jin sat up, reaching out to touch her. His fingers lightly brushed her wrist, and he spoke her name in a low voice.
"Fuu. Please, look at me."
She didn't move for a moment, but then with a small hiccup she slowly lowered her hands, blinking away tears as she met his gaze. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this," she whispered, "So sorr-"
He placed a finger against her lips, silencing her. "No apologies," he told her firmly. "If I hadn't met you, I never would have realized what it was I was looking for on my journey. I was looking for people to trust, people to care about."
Fuu stared at him in stunned silence, moisture clinging to her eyelashes like tiny pearls. Jin's free hand cupped her cheek as he leaned closer and, in an act that was impulsive and completely unlike him, covered her lips with his. Fuu gasped against his mouth, shuddering with a soft whimper as her small body went limp. His kiss was a strange mixture of aggression and gentleness, holding her to him as he tasted the salt of her tears for him on her lips. Fuu clutched at the remains of his blue tunic as she returned the passionate gesture, moaning softly as the samurai deepened the kiss.
It was over as quickly as it had begun, Jin drawing away from her with a ragged sigh. Fuu seemed to have been silenced permanently, staring at him glassy eyed. Her lips parted as she tried to speak, but she seemed unable to form words and merely settled for gazing at him in wordless wonder. There didn't seem to be a need for words, just as their hadn't that night by the river. They understood each other without saying anything.
Reality broke in on them all too quickly as they realized the sun was starting to set.
"We have to find Mugen," he said softly after several moments of silence, and she started, a look of fear entering her eyes.
When Jin started to rise, Fuu immediately stood, tucking herself under his arm and offering him support. He shot her a grateful look as they started their descent to the rocky beach to where Mugen was.
Jin glanced down at Fuu who looked just as lost in her own thoughts as he was in his, and wondered what was going to happen between them now, what had befallen Mugen, where the three of them would go from here. He knew that they would have to part for a time, and that things between him and Fuu might never be the same again. But no matter what, Jin vowed silently as he glanced down at her lovely pale face, I'll always give my life for hers.