When Shiroko came to she saw Fuu sitting next to her and felt a wet rag on her forehead. "How do you feel, Shiroko?" asked Fuu.

"Urngh" was Shiroko's response. Then she whispered "What happened?"

Fuu grimaced and said "I don't know. Why don't you tell me? You were laughing pretty hard then passed out."

Shiroko smirked at her secret joke, then said "Don't worry about me Fuu, I'm fine. Plus, I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Oh, no you're not!" Fuu went from insistent to meek. "Jin, um, agreed to stay."

"Oh?" said Shiroko sitting up on her elbows "Why?"

Fuu fidgeted "Eeeh, well, after you passed out…heh heh…I convinced him to stay, heheh."

Fuu's nervousness made Shiroko uneasy. Jin's wife knew there was something she didn't now about. Shiroko's words were edged with anger. "Fuu?"

"Heheh" Fuu laughed nervously knowing she was caught "Ooooh! Well…uh…"

"Fuu?" said Shiroko.

"Umm you see…"

Mugen interrupted their conversation by yelling from the next room "PAGE!" The two women heard some loud thudding "PAGE? WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

Shiroko thought 'Page? Mugen doesn't have a –' "Oh My God Fuu, Jin's not—"

Mugen slammed open their door and said "Where's Jin, I want tea."

Fuu said angrily "You sent him to town to get stuff. Remember?"

Mugen scratched his head in thought. He angrily snapped out of it and stormed off yelling "Well how long's he gonna take?" As Mugen grumbled his way outside Fuu turned and cautiously looked at Shiroko.

Shiroko was burning with anger. 'How dare Mugen use me as an excuse to abuse Jin! How dare Jin allow it! I would rather die than be used like this!' Shiroko swallowed her aggravation, thanked Fuu for attending her needs, and tried to rest some more on her own.

Later in the day Jin returned. Shiroko heard Jins calm voice and then Mugen's senseless yelling. Shiroko began to cry and lifted the blanket over her head. 'This is entirely my fault. This humiliation he is suffering is entirely my fault!' She heard some shuffling at her door. She looked up and saw Jin and observed the worry etched in his forehead.

Jin saw her eyes full of tears. He opened his mouth to say something, but he could think of no words to console her 'She is ashamed of me. I don't blame her' he thought. Jin walked off to do some more chores.

Shiroko buried her face in the blanket and thought 'He's angry with me! If I were not pregnant he would not suffer these humiliations!'

Shiroko felt a lot better physically and decided to help Fuu make dinner. Jin was finishing up making some tea for Mugen when Shiroko arrived in the kitchen. Jin turned to exit the kitchen and came face to face with his wife. They locked eyes. Shiroko finally said "I can bring this to him. I'm sure you have other things to tend to." Shiroko reached for the tray perched on Jin's slender fingers.

He pulled the tray back and said "No , this is my duty. Go rest" then he brusquely then left the room. Fuu saw nothing unusual and continued to peel potatoes.

Fuu said "Don't worry. If Mugen gives Jin a hard time, then I'll give Mugen a hard time. We all balance each other out."

"Mm" said Shiroko. 'Where do I fit in?'

The day passed quickly once Shiroko convinced Fuu she was useful, even in her delicate state. The four ate dinner and went to bed without incident. Shiroko was disappointed Jin did not approach her to pillow that night, but she was not surprised.

The next few days followed in a similar manner. Shiroko would hear Mugen shamelessly berating Jin for a dirty spot in the training room (even though they were yet to receive any students), weak tea, and not being attentive when he was trying to 'teach.' Shiroko still wasn't showing too much and kept up doing minimal chores with Fuu. The brunt of the harder work fell to Jin.

Jin stood looking at the main training room. He tied and rolled up his sleeves and the legs of his hakama. He bent over and began to polish the floor. As Jin began his run around the floor he felt anger boil inside him. 'I've done this. I paid my dues as a student. I have become a master!'

He thought back to his childhood at the dojo. As a young man he ran pushing the rag around. He lost his footing and fell flat on his face.

Jin hadthought hewas alone, but he remembered hearing some chuckling. In his hazy memory, Jin remembered looking up and seeingYukimaru laughing at him. Jin stood angered that a junior member would dare laugh at him. Jin, as an adult, sneered at the memory then felt the pain of Yukimaru's loss. 'That damn boy.'

In the present as Jin thought about the past he sped up his movement, slipped, and fell flat on his face. For some reason it hurt more as an adult as it did as a child. Then he heard a giggle.

Jin looked up and saw Shiroko giggling. "Don't worry Jin-chan, I didn't see anything." She continued to giggle as she served him some tea from the tray she was holding. "I thought that you might be thirsty after your hard work" she said. She watched him drink it.

He said "This is good, thank you."

"You're welcome." While he drank some more she reached out and pushed a wayward strand of his hair back behind his ear. He put the cup back on the tray and said "I'm sorry."

Shiroko was embarrassed and confused and said "There' nothing to apologize for Jin, Why would you say that?" 'We've already settled the baby issue and he would not revisit that.'

"I brought you here and now you have to watch me be a page. It's embarrassing for me, but it must be humiliating for you" he said.

Shiroko protested with passion. "No Jin, not at all! I am always proud to be your wife. I am proud because you are a good man, not because of your title."

Some of Jin's guilt was assuaged, but he still felt he had to be more for Shiroko's sake. He picked up his rag and said "I must get back to work."

"Yes, of course" said Shiroko. She then decided to help Fuu with whatever chores she was working on.

Shiroko made her way out back and saw Mugen chewing on a piece of grass. Shiroko bottled up her anger at the selfish thug then found Fuu. Shiroko offered her help to weed the vegetable garden. Shiroko then took out her anger on the weeds. She pulled with more ferocity than is truly necessary.

Fuu noticed Shiroko's extra vigor and asked "Hey, Shiroko?"

"Yes?" Shiroko yanked out a particularly stubborn weed.

"Uh, what's going on? You seem bothered."

"That's because I am."

Fuu plopped the weeds she pulled down on the ground. "Well…? What?" Fuu scooted over to her and asked with sensitivity "Was it, about um, the baby situation?"

Shiroko stopped yanking and sighed "Its' a lot of things. Its' the baby thing, its Jin being Mugen's page, it's the fact that if I had told him my suspicions we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You did what you thought best."

"Yes, I did and see how it turned out? I'm such a fool." Shiroko welled up with tears and said "Jin is so miserable and it's entirely my fault. "

Shiroko couldn't hold back her tears and let them flow. Fuu put her arm around Shiroko and tried to comfort her "No, it's alright. It's not so bad".

Jin stepped into the doorway and saw his wife in tears. He wanted to reach out to her and wipe away her tears. He wanted to hold her close and stroke her back. He stepped forward, but couldn't bring himself to go to her. His shame held him back. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth at the thought of shaming Shiroko. He stormed off to the training room and began to practice.

Jin swiped the air with his wooden sword and tried to lose himself in his art. Every time an image of Shiroko in tears came to mind Jin was all the more focused on regaining his honor…and hers.

Outside Shiroko got a hold of herself and Fuu approached Mugen and settled her hands on her hips. He looked up and ceased chewing his grass. He settled his eyes closed again and said "Wha?"

She responded with a balled fist to his forehead. "You JERRRK!"

"Whattaya hittin' me for?" he snapped as he sat up. Though Mugen was bigger than her she didn't back down.

"How can you do this! After everything they've done for us you treat them like dirt! You make me sick!"

He yelled back "If they didn't' want to they didn't have to agree to it!"

Fuu retorted with "She though she was pregnant, idiot! They couldn't go anywhere!"

"Huh?" said Mugen, almost forgetting Shiroko's condition. Mugen struggled to justify what he was doing "She shouldn't'a gotten pregnant!"

Fuu gasped at the statement and stormed off and Shiroko had made her way inside. Shiroko kneeled in a room trying to reconcile the decision. Fuu went inside to find her and the two women sat together.

Mugen followed them inside, cautiously strolled past them, and out back into the courtyard to find a new place to lay down.Mugen then heard some shuffling coming from the training room. Mugen slammed the door open expecting to see Jin cleaning the floor. Jin was neglecting his cleaning duties and practicing instead. The look Jin gave Mugen was full of challenge.

The thug went over to the wall and picked up a wooden sword.

"This is the end of this ridiculous game" said Jin.

Mugen retorted "Yea, and I'm gonna be the victor." Mugen first strike was powerful and pushed Jin back. They locked their swords in a battle of power. Mugen said "Urgh…you and your wife are here cuz you're fools!"

Jin's anger burned in his dark eyes. Mugen couldn't help but egg his opponent on even more. "What kind of fool are you that you couldn't tell she was pregnant?"

A fire began to burn deep in Jin's belly. Jin said "You wouldn't have known either. You probably wouldn't have understood even if she told you outright!"

Jin gained some leverage and pushed Mugen away far enough for the samurai to let loose a swipe between them. It cut nothing but air. They traded some blows and Mugen tried to push more of Jin's buttons.

"Yeah? Well at least I'm smart enough to avoid knocking my women up in the first place!" Their wooden swords clacked again and again. The image of Shiroko in tears flashed in Jin's mind. Guilt nearly overwhelmed him and he almost lost his footing. Mugen felt a bit confident and kept at his jeering. "If you'd a kept your dick in your hakama you wouldn't be in this mess!"

Jin thought 'He's right. Damn him. The only thing I can get out of this is to win this match!' Jin saw Shiroko and Fuu in the doorway.

"C'mon lover boy" said Mugen "Where's that fighting spirit, huh?" Mugen laughed enjoying the idea of Jin scrubbing the dojo.

The ladies turned from annoyed to curious when Jin dropped his next blow. It was a powerful one and pushed Mugen back a few paces. The scruffy ruffian almost lost his balance. The second he regained his footing, Jin was on top of him again attacking so aggressively Mugen did not have a chance to advance.

"What gives?" said Mugen at a loss for words concerning Jin's sudden anger. 'I can't get a strike in edgewise and what's with that look in his eye?' Mugen couldn't help himself from continuing to taunt Jin. Mugen felt threatened and he didn't know how to back down. "Can't take the truth lover-boy?" Mugen knew he was digging his own grave with each comment but he couldn't hold back.

Jin replied "It is my fault and now I am rectifying the situation!" Jin's strike hit the ground where Mugen was standing and cracked the wooden floor.

Mugen stumbled then rolled away. He decided to try his favorite technique of standing on his hands and letting his feet do the work, but Jin was prepared for this. As Mugen spun feeling invulnerable Jin ran towards him, dropped down to the ground and slid past the spinningMugen. As Jin slid under Mugen's legs he smacked his opponent hard across the ribs with his wooden sword. Mugen heard some sickening cracking noises and fell to the ground, knocking himself unconscious.

When Mugen went limp and fell Fuu screamed at the top of her lungs "NO!" she ran to Mugen and collapsed on him. She began to cry hysterically and Mugen stirred back to conciousness.

Shiroko went to Jin's side and gingerly touched his arm. Shiroko said "I can't imagine what that would've been like with real katana."

Mugen stirred and groaned to consciousness. Jin said to Mugen, between pants "I told you when we first met that your stance left you wide open."

Mugen moaned again and looked up at Jin. "You've been savin' that move up for a long time, then, huh?"

Jin did not respond. He only looked down at Mugen. Mugen felt like a fool.

"Why you asshole!" blurted Mugen as he tried to sit up. He grunted in pain and Fuu tried to tend to him. "You've been, urgggh, holdin' out on me all this time? You are so goin' down!"

Beavisrose217- you were my first reviewer for this story: ) Thanks a bunch!
poornmiserable - Hmmmm what are they indeed. Don't worry. Their relationship will continue on shrouded in ambiguous implications. Hahahaha...just kidding...actually, no I'm not. They're not married, but I'd say they're more than friends ; )
crazy4dogboi - As for the email I wanted to maximize my chances for reviews, but you're welcome for the email. I'm always super appreciative of reviews! They really make me want to continue writing!
Asphyxiating Elgar- Ah! A crossover reviewer! Thanks so much! It's nice to know that more than one of my stories is of interest to you. Thanks (Oh, and don't worry. Mugen won't die in this fic).
Nilee - Cruel to Shiroko? I wouldn't go that far. Fuu is trying her best to be helpful to her and Jin is just not very communicative. Mugen is...well...he's Mugen.
Windox- It's so nice to see your name again! ) Happy happy! I'm glad you've returned for the sequel.
Chizz-muffinChik- You're reviewing the story! YEY! Jin isn't being mean to Shiroko, he's just concerned for her. Plus, Jin is not an overly affectionate man. That's not the way he is...in public.

I think on the whole Jin's behavior thing is being taken the wrong way. He said and did the things he did in the first chapter because he was concerned for Shiroko's health and well being.
+Jin's "You fool" comment was just out of suprise, not malice towards his wife or any ludicrous feeling that she really had control over the situation. He was worried about her. People often lash out when they're worried.
+When he did not answer Shiroko after she dropped the 'I'm-havin'-a-bebe' bomb it was because he was distracted by his concern for her safety.
+When he said "No. I think I've said enough" he's saying - in that brilliant face-saving technique the Japanese have mastered - "No, I"ve said too much and am going to stop before I upset you anymore."

I'm glad you're enthusiastic about what's going to happen next and I appreciate your reviews! Thanks so much!