(Author's Note: sob... This is the last chapter. The tone is sort of different because I actually wrote this WAY back, about 15 chapters ago. But I think it's cool, and hope you do too. This story is like my baby... I wish it didn't have to end so soon.)

CHAPTER THIRTY

"I'm… I'm sorry about everything," said Fuu softly.

"Oh… that's okay," mumbled Rini.

She and Fuu stood together at the crossroads. It was four days after Shenji's death. Rini was cuddling Jin Junior, who was grunting happily; it was a bright and beautiful day.

"It's not," said Fuu, swinging her body uncomfortably.

"At least… I guess, at least I know the truth about Miyazaki-san now," said Rini. She took a deep breath and said, "I mean… Shenji."

Fuu nodded. "I hope you'll be okay."

"We'll manage." Rini gave her a brief smile, and the two embraced awkwardly, with the piglet between them. Jin Junior nuzzled Fuu's cheek slightly; she rested her hand on his head briefly.

"Bye, Rini. Bye, Jin Junior," she said sadly.

"bye, Fuu." Rini heisted. "Bye, Mugen. Bye, Jin."

Mugen nodded. He and Jin were standing beside each other uncomfortably, behind Fuu. Mugen had his arms crossed. Jin was staring at the ground, twisting his hands.

Mugen and Fuu watched Rini turn her back on them and begin her way home, down the right fork of the road. She turned after a moment and waved; then she set down Jin Junior, and with the pig trotting at her heels, resumed walking.

Fuu sighed and turned down the left fork, the fastest route north, to Nagasaki. Mugen and Jin followed her silently. For a long time, they walked with any exchange of words. Mugen and Fuu fell into step; Jin trailed behind, head bowed.

"You know I had to, right? You know I couldn't let you become a monster," said Mugen.

"I know," said Jin.

Fuu and Mugen were walking side-by-side down the middle. Jin was behind them, on the very edge of the road, his shoulders slumped, staring at the ground. He hadn't quite recovered yet; he limped along like a beaten dog, looking confused and sad at the same time. At least he was talking; for a few days he didn't utter a word, and Fuu had become worried it would be permanent.

"You know he wasn't worth that, right?"

"Yes."

"You're not going to keep moping, are you? Because you know we did the right thing. You're free of him now."

"But…" said Jin. He didn't finish. He looked hopelessly lost.

"Come on. Don't tell me it's your purpose. A guy like you probably has a way greater purpose than that," said Mugen soothingly. "Just because you don't know it doesn't mean it's not there. You'll find it. Someday you'll open your eyes and see the whole… gosh-darn beach."

"Gosh-darn?"

"Cripes, Fuu, I'm getting really sick of you repeating everything I say."

"Cripes?"

"I mean it… you're being a pain in the… butt… don't!" he warned

"Butt?" repeated Fuu.

"How come you never make fun of Jin?"

"I like Jin."

"You don't like me?"

"No."

Mugen wrinkled his nose at her and muttered something darkly, but then turned his attention back to Jin. He'd been comforting Jin almost non-stop. He would never admit it, but he would be devastated if Jin stayed permanently mad at him. And Jin would never admit it, but he wouldn't be able to stay mad at Mugen, anyways. He'd told Fuu last night, softly, that he wasn't sure he would have been able to go through with it.

"I wanted to," he'd told her softly, the firelight flickering over his face, his hair creating inky, distorted shadows over his face. Mugen snored behind them. "But… I didn't."

Somehow Fuu had understood.

"I just wanted to… feel again. And let him feel how it felt not to feel. Does that make sense?"

'Yes, Jin," she'd answered quietly.

"I just wanted… to take it back." Here Jin had stopped because his eyes had filled with tears, which had been happening frequently over the last few days. His thumbs, hooked in his obi, had slid to his sword hilt and he'd gripped it until his knuckles were white. He didn't have to explain any more; Fuu knew.

"Anyways," said Mugen as he walked breezily down the street, head held up and swinging his limbs in a contented way, "You're not really like that, you know."

"No," agreed Jin unhappily.

"And now you can move on."

"You could start writing again," added Fuu. "You haven't written since we gave you back your journal. And I thought you were pretty good at it."

Jin shrugged. He reached up to brush the journal in his kimono.

"Or you can find someone who really matters, you know? Love," said Mugen, half-teasingly.

"Oh, so now you're the match-maker?" asked Fuu cynically.

"I have my charm," said Mugen.

"You have about as much charm as a giant squid with leprosy."

"Vivid," said Jin. He finally looked up at the sky, smiling slightly.

"I dunno why I even bother…" mumbled Mugen, scuffing his toes in the dirt, kicking up dust that hit Fuu in the face. She put her palms out as if she could push it away, turned her head and coughed.

Fuu hadn't really given much more thought to Jin's and Mugen's newfound "friendship." She didn't really care, either. They still got into fights, got on each other's nerves. The only thing that was different was occasionally waking up to find them curled up together, sometimes Mugen absent-mindedly stroking Jin's neck, or Jin's arm around Mugen like he was a pillow. Even if they were… well… like "that," it didn't matter much. Not to Fuu, not as long as it didn't mess up her quest, which was finally back to where it had been before anything had happened.

"…and lots of girls love my street-smart, delinquent, animal magnetism!" Mugen was saying.

"Yeah, sure, whatever, Mugen."

"Fuu, you're a real slu—"

"Slut?"

"No… um… you're a real… slug. Yeah."

"Slug?"

"SHUT UP!" roared Mugen, who was still getting the hang of self-control. "Just shut up! Stop trying to make me snap! I'm trying to improve myself, okay! Maybe this is the reason I never tried before, because people like you make fun of me! I don't even know why I agreed to this stupid mission thing, anyways! When are we getting to the next city?"

"Rini said tomorrow," said Jin.

"Going to try to dump me again?" asked Fuu.

"Definitely. Me and Jin'll give you the slip so fast, your head'll spin," said Mugen. "And then we'll hit the whorehouses! Sorry, I mean, we'll hit the… um… 'bathhouses.'" He put "bathhouses" in quotations using his fingers, to implicate his meaning.

Fuu groaned.

"Find us some sweet pieces of as—asphalt. On the road, I mean. Ah, forget it, we're gonna get laid. I'm talking…" He used his hands to demonstrate the silhouette of a woman, finding it difficult to talk without using his normal vocabulary. "Yeah, some girls with real nice hooters… sorry… real nice… um… 'personalities…'"

Jin looked up a second time and smiled. "That would be nice."

"See! Told you you didn't want to fu—fuddle with a guy."

"Fuddle?"

"Next time you repeat what I'll say, I swear, I'll knock your block off."

"Yeah, whatever, Mugen." Fuu rolled her eyes and lessened her pace, letting Jin catch up to them. He and Mugen fell into step, Mugen with his open, swinging form, and Jin with his painful limp. Fuu smiled at the two walking in front of her, the sunlight lighting their way. She saw Jin glance down the path in front of them for the first time; and when Mugen reached up to slap his back, she noticed he'd added some beads to his nenju.

-The End-

(Author's Note: You know I love my thank-yous, so here is goes. deep breath... Thanks, firstly, to the real Shenji, who translated Japanese for me, who explained many Japanese things to me, and who wasn't too mad that I used his name for the evilest sociopath ever. Thanks to Wagel, my best friend, who put up with my constant writing over the last month and was cool enough to offer suggestions, such as, "Have them kiss," and "Some bondage would be hot, too." Riiiight... Thanks to Far Strider, who put up with manyh ours of rambling and helped me bang out a lot of great ideas. Thanks to Silas and Mirf, who haven't read this, but who helped me just by talking. Thanks to Keith and Sean, who are my Toshi and Tamasine. Thanks to Paula o' Keefe for her amazing Amalgam Champloo website, and to Lorrie Wendall, who answered all my e-mails and answered all my questions. Thanks to Kevin, who got me most of the Champloo songs to listen to during my writing. Thanks to my girlfriend and ex-girlfriend, who both got into a huge fight and whose hormonal teenage drama provided fodder for my story. Thanks to Dan, Mike, and Steve, who were pretty understanding about the whole shounen ai thing, although Mike did tell me he was "okay with it" if I'm gay. And, last but not least, thanks to my gigantic cat, Spring, who can't even read, butwho is truly a furry version of Jin Junior. And now, one final tanka...

Captive by the mouth,

Words are generally ignored.

Until the teeth lift,

And spout wisdom or deceit.

This double-edged sword is freed.