CHAPTER TWO

Fuu hadn't given much thought to what Mugen had said, about their money, but as they neared the city, it began nagging her in the back of her head, as persistent and irritating as the flies that followed them around in swarms.

They smelled the city before anything. The stream they'd been seen in the woods ran to their left, and its smell became fouler and fouler the farther down the road they went. Not only this, but they began to see garbage floating along the side of the road. The road itself widened, from a small dirt strip to a spacious width, bordered by the stagnant drainage ditches that were occasionally clogged by dams of trash. Even the air got thicker and seemed dirtier.

"I can't believe I was swimming in that," said Mugen in disgust, as the trees thinned to give them a better view of the stream, murky and thick as oil.

"Yeah, like you care," scoffed Fuu.

Next they heard the city; somewhere over the hills they began to hear a soft white noise, like rustling, that quickly grew into an orchestra of shouting, rattling, clattering, clacking, braying, lowing, and other sounds. The trees were replaced with peasant cottages, and suddenly they crested a hill and went looking down a sweeping expanse of building and grid-laid roads, fitted in as tightly as possible. At the last town, they'd gotten the impression the city wouldn't be so large; but they had failed to realize that the people in the last town hated the city and permanently underemphasized its grandeur.

"This is it!" said Mugen happily, rubbing his hands together and casting a glance around. (It ended in a shake of his shaggy head.)

"Mugen, listen, I'm not—" began Fuu.

"Shut up and give me the money. In two hours we'll have plenty."

"Mugen, I really don't think—" she said anxiously.

"Know what'd be cool? We could stage a fight, you know, me and Jin…" He paused to pretend to punch Jin. Jin automatically held up his arm to block it. "But I don't think Jin could stand being beaten again."

"You didn't beat me," growled Jin. His hand had been wrapped around his sword's hilt ever since the city came into view; now it tightened.

"Okay, okay!" said Mugen breezily. "Anyways, Fuu, give me the money. At least five momne. You and Jin can take the rest. Do whatever you want! Have fun! Eat! Drink! Be merry!"

"For tomorrow we may die," said Jin, to himself.

"Huh?" asked Mugen.

"Mugen, I'm not—" started Fuu again. But as she spoke, she was reaching into her obi to touch the coins protectively, and she stopped abruptly when she realized that they were no longer there.

Mugen grinned.

"You!" she hissed.

"Yeah, me. Here, pal." Mugen flicked a couple of coins into the air. Jin caught them with one hand and they disappeared. "I'll catch you two later. Right here in three hours." He winked, gave a little ironic salute with two fingers, and side-stepped into the crowd, disappearing as easily as a shadow.

"ARRGG," cried Fuu. She stomped the ground and bared her teeth. "Sometimes I just hate him!"

"Because you do not pay enough attention to prevent him from pick-pocketing you?" asked Jin. It wasn't meant as a jib; Jin was being completely serious. But Fuu didn't take it that way. Color rose in her cheeks and she had to make a few more "arrgg" noises and stomp around before she was ready to set off.

"He'll lose it all," she fretted as they passed by brightly-lit inns and teahouses with lanterns hanging invitingly in front of the paper screens. "I know he will. He'll come back owing money."

"I have faith in his inherent ability to rip people off," answered Jin.

Fuu made a noise through her noise which strayed somewhere between disapproval and amusement, like one has at the punch line of a very crude joke.

It took them less than half an hour to become hopelessly lost within the city. Every street looked like the next, narrow dirt with tall buildings pressing in on either side. Or rather, "building," since most blocks only had one massive structure that had been divided into multiple shops with apartments above them. There were vendors everywhere, whom Jin and Fuu ignored like pros. There were maids and delivery boys running in the gutters, and more distinguished citizens strolling along in embroidered kimonos, arm in arm, sometimes holding umbrellas or fans. Occasionally they passed a garden or fountain. Fuu tried to remember these as landmarks, but they took so many turns that soon she was unsure whether they were a block away from where they'd started, or whether they'd crossed the entire breadth of the city.

She and Jin paused for a moment to get their bearings when, over the noise of the city's traffic, they heard a very clear number of giggles.

Jin's body didn't move, but his head turned. He looked like a deer that raises its head from grazing and turns toward where it suspects a hungry wolf might be. Fuu leaned her whole body over and craned her neck to see around Jin like a curious child peering around its mother.

A cart passed by them, blocking the other side of the street. But once it had left they discovered the source of the giggling; sitting in a garden, nestled between two shops and protected from the street by a low fence, were five geisha sitting around a low table drinking tea. Their faces were painted white, but their lips were startling red; their hair was piled up on their heads and their kimono were so bright that Fuu's might as well have been gray. Not only were each a different color—deep blue, pale green, emperor's purple, gold, and baby blue—but each showed a fantastic scene. The dark blue one, for example, had fireflies all over; the pale green one had flop-eared rabbits grazing on it; the gold one showed autumn leaves trailing down a cliff, a small temple nestled in the background. The magnificent view portrayed by each made Fuu feel worse about her own clothes, which, she was suddenly aware, hadn't been washed in well over a week.

The geisha were all giggling helplessly as girls, even though the youngest (sky blue with lily pads) was twenty-three, and the oldest (purple, a sunset over the mountains) was well over thirty.

"Let's go," said Fuu in disgust, turning away. But Jin stayed rooted to the spot. "Hey!"

He strode over in long, even strides, hand balanced loosely on the edge of his sword. Fuu followed reluctantly. Jin hopped over the low iron fence that separated the garden from the street with the elegance of a skilled dancer. Fuu barely cleared it, and at one point her obi got caught. (The obi of the geisha were multiple colors, interwoven with designs and beads that matched their kimono.) Gold and Purple laughed at her, and she hurried after Jin feeling very cross.

Jin didn't say anything when he stopped in front of them, but bowed. The geisha all laughed; four stood and bowed back. The one in gold bowed while still kneeling, prompting more laughter and even a small smile from Jin himself.

"May I be of any service?" he asked politely.

"Oh, yes," said the one in pale green. She covered her mouth with a small, delicate hand; her eyes twinkled with mischief. "My friend here, Satsu…"

"Oh, don't!" squealed Baby Blue, presumably Satsu.

All the girls tittered, and pale green continued, "She wants to know how long your sword is."

They all collapsed into a pile of mirth. Fuu rolled her eyes with impatient and poorly hidden revolt. She tugged Jin's sleeve gently, but he acted like he didn't notice her. In fact, he didn't seem to notice anything at all; he had a broad smirk across his face that Fuu had never seen before.

"You can see for yourself," he said, unsheathing his weapon. The girls all gave squeaks of fake fear; he held the sword out to them.

"Can I touch it?" asked the gold one sweetly. The rest of the geisha laughed.

"Certainly," said Jin. "But be careful. It's sharp, and I often think it has a mind of its own. You see, it never seems content unless it's penetrated a certain number of people every week…"

The girls howled. Fuu groaned. "Oh, come on!" she said, yanking Jin's sleeve. For the first time, the geisha noticed her, although not very kindly.

"Oh look. We've been so busy stroking this man's sword, we've neglected our manners," said the purple one. "Who's your little friend?"

"This is Fuu," said Jin dismissively; Sky Blue had put her hands on his shoulder and was leaning over him, fondling his sword in what was a deeply erotic metaphor.

"Your… sister?" guessed Dark Blue.

"No, just a friend," said Jin mildly, who was now showing off the beads around his wrist to Pale Green and Sky Blue.

"And now that you've introduce her, she can introduce you," proposed Purple brightly. All five turned expectantly to Fuu. She sighed and gave in. "His name's Jin," she mumbled.

"Jin!" they all chorused, batting their eyelashes at him. "And we're… Satsu, Tsutami, Kiosai, Kiokame, and Kiochiri!"

Fuu looked from one to the next trying to remember these names. She knew already that Sky Blue was Satsu, and thought Pale Green was Tsutami, but the other three were virtually impossible to tell apart. Pale Green and Sky Blue were the youngest, Jin's age, but looked much younger, like Fuu's twin sisters. The elder three, by contrast, looked far older than they were. Under her pasty make-up, the purple one had wrinkles in the corners of her eyes; she and the gold one looked like old women trying to pretend they were children, and Fuu didn't think they were very pretty at all. The dark blue one said very little and kept her head down most of the time; her personality pointed out how out of place she really was.

"Jin…" pleaded Fuu. She already knew it was futile. Jin had finally knelt comfortably between Satsu and Tsutami, the two clinging to each arm like dogs to a bone. He was obviously enjoying himself.

Fuu flopped onto her knees next to Dark Blue in a huff.

"I wonder what service we've done Fate, for her to drop such a handsome samurai into our laps?" asked Satsu sweetly.

"If he in your lap already? Well, I always said you were indecent," said Gold. They all giggled like hyenas.

"I don't think it was you who did Fate a service," said Jin once the laughter had died down. "It's not every day I attract the attentions of five beautiful women." He bowed his head in Purple's direction (Purple was the oldest and had a haughty expression that implied she was the leader of the operation). She bowed back.

"Oh, don't you?" asked Gold, leaning over Pale Green in an effort to pour Jin a drink. "I'm shocked, such a gorgeous man like you, receiving so little attention!"

Jin looked flattered; perhaps even a little overwhelmed. He bowed his head again with a sheepish smile, unable to find the words. Fuu groaned. Dark Blue poured her a drink.

"And look at these eyes!" exclaimed Sky Blue, gently pulling off Jin's glasses. "No wonder he hides them; they would make any girl swoon in the streets."

"Haven't you ever seen a samurai with glasses before?" teased Jin.

"Yes, only one. He comes here weekly, but he's not nearly so lovely as you…"

"Jin," whined Fuu. "We've got to go."

"Go where?" asked Jin irritably. Well, of course he didn't want to go, though Fuu. Pale Green was stroking his ponytail and Sky Blue was still holding his face. Both were practically lying on top of him. Gold had a mischievous look (Fuu had already figured out that she guarded against her old age by being a crude, suggestive trouble-maker) and Purple kept refilling his cup. Only Dark Blue seemed to be in agreement with Fuu about leaving.

"We've got to go... before you spend all of our money!" said Fuu quickly. She hoped Jin, who was usually a very reasonable person, would realize the geisha were only trying to cheat him out of everything he could possible have by showing him with compliments.

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Purple quickly. "We'll treat both of you ourselves, for the honor of having a meal with Jin-sama."

"Jin-sama?" asked Fuu in disgust, hoping Jin would see what a ridiculous situation they were in. But he wasn't looking at her; his eyes were half-closed and he was practically purring while Satsu and Tsutami stroked him, occasionally giving a little shivery shake of his ponytail like a horse swishing its tail.

Fuu tried, in vain, to point out that they should be going; but Jin only asked "Where, Fuu? Where?" Finally she stopped trying and brooded, while Jin and the five geisha talked. He told them about his fighting; they told him about the city and the surrounding area.

"It's a shame you weren't here in the spring," said the one in purple. "All the trees are in bloom then, it really is magnificent. The cherry trees and peach trees are so heavily laden with blossoms…" she sighed.

"Peach trees?" repeated Jin in what Fuu felt as a very distracted tone. "Hm." He reached up and rubbed his chin, as if he were thinking of something. The geisha noticed too.

"What are you thinking, Jin-sama?" asked the pale green one sweetly.

"Oh, nothing," he said.

"Tell us," insisted Sky Blue.

Jin's mouth twitched oddly, like he was trying to force a smile and not really succeeding. He lowered his head so his hair came over his eyes and mumbled: "Without a word remaining between us, with a sharp knife she cuts the soft yellow peach to the ragged bloody core."

"Oo," said all five geisha at once.

"I had no idea you were a poet," said the green one.

"I'm not," replied Jin hastily, looking sheepish in a way Fuu had never thought possible for him. She decided to take advantage of it.

"Jin," she said in a hurry. "We've been here ages, and it's been really nice and all, but we've got to meet Mugen, and it'll take us a while to find our way back."

"We can help you!" said Satsu quickly.

"Oh, no, that really won't be necessary…"

But too late; they were already leading Jin out. He strutted down the street proudly with one on each arm; the other three came after him, giggling; Fuu brought up the rear, scowling. She was glad to see Mugen scowl as well when he saw them.

"Hey, I've been out working hard and earning money! What're you doing, you bastard? You've been out messing with girls! Fuu!"

"It's not my fault!" cried Fuu.

"Jin-san hasn't messed with us at all," said Sky Blue.

"Not yet," said Gold.

"And what's your name, cutie?" added Dark Blue.

"Mugen. If you'll excuse us…" He peeled Jin away from Sky Blue and Pale Green, who gave cute little groans of disappointment. "Man, what's with you?"

"You said you wanted to find girls. I found some," said Jin.

"First of all, I told you to let me find them. Besides, those are the wrong kind. Those are geisha, not whores! We don't have enough money for them and couldn't fuck them anyways!"

"But they're nice."

"You only think they're nice because they keep talking about how big your sword is," snapped Fuu.

Mugen choked and had to turn away for a moment. Jin looked pleased with himself.

"Get out of here!" yelled Mugen to the five geisha. All five protested. It took Mugen—crude as he was—a full ten minutes to scatter them, and four managed to slip Jin cards before they hurried away making faces at Mugen.

Mugen rubbed the thin, short hairs on his upper lip (he was the only person who thought it was a mustache; according to the rest of the world, he needed more than a dozen hairs to call it a mustache) and scratched his head. "Well, I got the money," he said.

Fuu looked disappointed that he'd proved her wrong.

"A grand total of thirty-six momne. That's… um…"

"Twelve per person," said Jin. Mugen looked up from counting on his fingers.

"Yeah, okay, twelve. I asked around for the cheapest district, and it's that way." He stood on the tips of his feet and pointed over Jin's head, to the city's left.

"Cheap district for… food, right?" asked Fuu.

"Food, girls, whatever."

"Mugen, I don't think it's a good—"

"Shut up." He threw his arm around Jin again. Jin winced. "We'll have plenty left over. We can always earn more. How often do we have these opportunities?"

"Kindly remove your arm from my shoulders."

"Aww, lighten up, Jin-chan."

"If you ever call me that again, I will kill you," murmured Jin. And he clearly meant it. Fuu didn't understand why he was suddenly bristling. The geisha had been flirting with him for ages, saying all sorts of ridiculous things, and he'd been hanging on their every word. And now he was suddenly ready to kill someone just because of a dumb nickname.

"Whatever."

Mugen steered them along the city's borders. The path they were on grew cracked and eventually turned to dust. The buildings were lower, more crowded, and in disrepair. He dragged them into the first restaurant he saw.

"What's a guy gotta do to get some squid guts around here?" he yelled.

"Why do we keep him around again?" asked Fuu, burying her face into her kimono sleeves. (She didn't want to touch the stained wooden table directly.)

"He gets us squid guts," said Jin, taking a steaming bowl from a busty waitress and passing it to her. Mugen gave her a slap when she turned.

"Ahh. This is my kind of town," he said, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet on the table.

"I can't eat with your feet in front of me…"

"Sheesh, grow up, man."

Fuu had to admit, for all of Mugen's faults, he got what they needed. They left with money to spare, and full stomachs. It was late afternoon. Mugen cast an eager eye around the city. Jin looked disdainfully at the dust settling on the bottom of his hakama.

"Can we meet you here tomorrow morning?" asked Mugen.

"What? You're just leaving me?" cried Fuu.

"Here's half the money, okay? Don't get kidnapped or anything."

"But—"

"Nope, not listening!" said Mugen loudly. He grabbed the sleeve of Jin's kimono and led him away. She watched them disappear down an alleyway, and groaned in frustration before making her own way into the heart of the city to see the sights.