The next morning Shiroko awoke to the sound of the students. They weren't clacking their swords together nor were they talking in the courtyard. Shiroko managed to get herself up and crawled over to the door. She saw the students filing out into the street. She slid the door open after they had all passed. Shiroko could hear Fuu in the courtyard. "Those jerks! You don't need them, Jin! What rotten disloyal-huh?"
Jin just walked away while she spoke. Jin decided to check on Shiroko. He walked inside and saw her open door. They sat in their room together. Shiroko was due any day. Fuu poked her head into his room through the open shoji door and said "Hey, I'm sorry Jin. This is all my fault. If I hadn't had that fight with Mugen—"
Jin interrupted her "This is not your fault."
Shiroko asked "What happened?"
"They asked about Mugen. They all left to find him" said Jin succinctly.
"Against your wishes?" asked Shiroko.
"No, I told them to do what they thought was right" he said evenly.
Fuu said "They're such idiots! How could they up and leave? There goes Mugen screwing it all up again because who knows when they'll all be back!"
Shiroko noticed that the students did tend to favor Mugen's in-your-face style of sword slashing. She suspected it had to do with how Jin was often left with the less glamorous job of having to discipline the students. He taught them the fundamentals of kenjutsu that Mugen never had and the philosophy that aided in keeping a cool head during battle.
Both Master Jin and Master Mugen had knowledge that complimented the others teaching styles and both were necessary elements. Though it was obvious to anyone who watched the students as much as Shiroko did that the students had more fun during their freestyle sessions with Mugen than they did attending lectures with Jin. Being encouraged to bounce off the walls and swing themselves wildly around had more appeal to the young boys and adolescent men than sitting quietly and concentrating on 'their path'.
Jin said "No, this is good. He has, for once, acted selfishly at an appropriate time."
Both Fuu and Shiroko said "Huh?" simultaneously.
Jin said "They needed to apply their skills. Tracking Mugen down will exercise that need."
Fuu kneeled down next to the husband and wife "You mean you had all this planned?" she asked angrily.
Jin said "No, don't be foolish. Of course not."
"Then what do we do?" asked Fuu.
Shiroko looked at Jin and he said "Wait."
Later that day Jin went to the training room to burn off some anger. Fuu watched him slice the air with his wooden sword in an attempt to slice away at his layers of anger. He swiped once and thought 'How could I not be responsible enough to prevent Shiroko's condition?' The sword came up and cut the wind again.
'How could Shiroko not mention her suspicions sooner?' The sword came down. He raised it up and with extra force pushed it downward again as he thought 'And Mugen! If he hadn't exacerbated our situation, angered Fuu, or run away, we wouldn't be in this mess.' Jin's form was impeccable and his face a blank mask. 'Fuu! Fuu too! Fuu…for…for…for talking too much!' he thought. Swipe. Every time Jin dropped the blade the air whistled. 'Me! Shiroko! Mugen and Fuu!' He practiced for quite a while that morning and when he was finished was soaked in sweat.
Two of Keiki's men were outside the dojo, waiting for some information that they could report back to their gang leader. Instead they saw an opportunity.
The evening before one of the instructors, trudged out to the next town. They sent a couple of gang members to follow him to find out where he had settled and kill him. There was no word yet from the men sent to follow him. The two left outside the dojo were about to send a message to Keiki about Mugen's departure when they saw a stream of young boys and young men walking out of the dojo.
One man said to the other "I think that's all the students!"
"What luck, hahaa! Go tell Keiki. I'll stay here and snoop a round" said the second gang member.
Word got to Keiki that only Jin and Fuu were at the dojo. Keiki and all of his gang members closed in on the dojo. Fuu was standing in the doorway of the training room and jumped when she heard their front door slam open. Jin stopped practicing and picked up his real sword. Jin told Fuu to hide and she reluctantly did so. Jin slid his sword into his belt and crossed the courtyard and sent to the receiving room. There he found Keiki and his gang.
Jin realized Shiroko was in one of the next rooms over. Jin heard Keiki's words in his mind again 'You ruined my life, now I will ruin yours.'
Jin wanted Shiroko to stay hidden. "I know you are not here alone, Jin"
Jin did not flinch. "You and that Fuu woman are here together. Mugen and all those street rat students of yours are gone as well". The gang members fondled their weapons. Some of their weapons were home made, others must have been plundered from samurai.
Shiroko was crouching in the next room over wishing she had more than blankest to hide under. She listened to the scuffle and heard the sound of blood splattering on their paper screens. There were men whose cries were gurgled and whose last thoughts were that they bit off more than they could chew.
Keiki ordered some of his men to search the grounds for Fuu while others occupied Jin.
Jin tried to distract as many as he could, but soon ended up back up against a door. Keiki noted how intent Jin was on guarding the entrance to this room. Keiki gave the word for all his men to attack the door. "Don't kill Jin just yet. I want him to suffer first" ordered the gang leader. The sheer numbers over whelmed Jin and they knocked him unconscious with a blow to the head. Keiki took Jin's sword and slid it into his own belt. "Open the door." Beyond the door sat Shiroko.
Fuu sat squatting behind a barrel in the store house crying. 'What if Jin is hurt? What if he's killed? "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!"" Fuu decided to get her own blade and help her long time friend. Then she realized Shiroko was also still in the house.
Mugen reached a fork in the road. The noon high sun was strong and it was time to make a choice. "Which way to go? Hm." One path seemed rather barren, and lead to a dead tree further down the road. The other path had more vegetation, but not necessarily much more life. It was dark and the path was overgrown. The barren path looked more convenient and a bit safer, but Mugen knew what it was like to travel away from a water source; unpleasant. He looked back the way he had come. The trees were lush and green and rays of sunlight lit the path. The birds sang and it was familiar.
Mugen then called out "Okay guys, I know you've been following me!"
Four strange men stepped from the trees with swords in hand. Mugen smirked.
A group of Keiki's men gawked at Shiroko who covered her round belly with blankets. She thought she'd have a chance if there were fewer men, but with the number of gangsters there she realized she was overpowered and couldn't use her knives to kill them all.
From where she sat she saw Jin's hand and his beaded wrist laying limp beyond the gangster's sandaled feet. She lost her stoic composure and screamed "JIN!"
Keiki pushed his way to the front of the crowd and looked down at Shiroko "Well, well, what do we have here?" Keiki quickly put the pieces together. "Don't worry sweetheart, he's not dead…yet. Okay boys, tie her up and bring her to the training room."
When the men lifted her from the blankets they saw her round belly. One of the men stepped back in shock "BOSS!"
When Keiki saw Shiroko's condition he grunted and smiled. He then nudged an unconscious Jin and said "This will be more fun than I thought."
Mugen finished his quarrel with a few quick slices and took a look at his blade. He decided to whip the blood from the bland as he had seen Jin do on occasion. It worked rather well and he said "Well I'll be damned."
Mugen looked back down the green path. He thought about how nice it was and decided to walk back in that direction.
A few paces back into the green he saw a crowd of young men running in his direction. 'What the?'
Mugen saw it was his students. All of his students. When they caught up with him he snapped "What're you doing here?"
"You are our master!" said a tall student in the back.
A midsized boy said "We go where you go!"
"Shit, can't a guy take a walk to clear his head? Did Master Jin and I teach a bunch of pussies?" was Mugen's response. "Isn't Jin your master too?"
"Well, yes" said one of the students digging his toe in the sandy path. "but…"
Another student finished the thought with less shame "We can't trust him!"
The group agreed all saying "Yeah!" "That's right!"
"What?" said Mugen now totally lost.
"Another student stepped forward and said "You know after that visitor came we're not sure we know him anymore! How do we know we want a man like that teaching us?"
Mugen punched the kid hard enough to knock him over.
"You don't know him which means it could go either way jackass!"
The student wiped his bloodied nose and was helped up by his fellow students. A younger one stepped forward and asked "Whatta ya mean?"
I mean since you don't know what happened you shouldn't assume the worse asshole! How do you know his master didn't betray him first, huh? Whatever, my walk is over now so let's go."
Kage pushed his way to the front of the crowd with his eyes on the ground. Mugen looked down at the little boy and said "So you went turncoat too, huh?"
The boy's bottom lip trembled and Mugen rolled his eyes. "Shit, kid" the little boy reached up and grabbed onto the corner of Mugen's red shirt and they all headed back to the way they came.
Keiki's gang dragged an unwilling and shrieking Shiroko across the dusty yard to the training hall. They put her down none too gently and tossed Jin's limp body down as well. Shiroko looked at his chest and saw he was breathing, but that he had a large bruise forming on his head.
Keiki instructed all but four of his men to wait outside and keep others form interfering. They propped Jin up against the wall and walked out. Keiki stood back and looked at Shiroko "You must have been pretty before you were bloated by pregnancy."
Shiroko grimaced hearing Mugen's words though he was not there 'He'd say 'Nah, she always looks like that!' Shiroko realized she actually wished Mugen was there.
Fuu saw a group of men spill out of the training hall and talk to a single man who had been waiting there. The man pointed down the road and then they all drew their swords and began to fight with the returning students. She saw Mugen among them and the relief she felt overwhelmed any anger she had previously experienced.
Author's Note:
crazy4dogboi - I dont' think Mugen will ever learn, sigh. Hahaha, his assinine behavior is still fun though, right?
Chizz-muffinchick - Oprah skills! HAHAHAHA! You kill me!
Listersgirl - I was worried! Wow, you really made up for your absence, though. All those reviews! They're always so thoughtful. Thanks!
It makes me sad to get only one review for each hit. So sad, so sad...please leave a review for me.