Hey guys! Hope all is well! Here's the next chapter! Please please please check out my original story, Rain in Akita on fictionpress dot com PLEASE, I will love you forever! LOL

Enjoy!

Chapter two: A small doubt

When breakfast was done, the morning crowd came in to once again enjoy the cooking styles of Aki and Shiro. Their restaurant had become a major hot spot for travelers and normal town folk. It was the rich smell of cooking noodles, roasted oysters and shrimp that lured the herds in. No matter what time of day it was, the restaurant was always packed. Fuu had been helping out with the dishes while Shino cut out the meat and vegetables.

She was thinking very hard on her new baby, wondering if it would be a girl or a boy. She didn't really care what it was, as long as it was healthy. If it was a boy, she wanted him to be strong and honorable like Jin. If it was a girl, she wanted her to be like Fuu, a strong willed girl who stood up for what she believed in. She often wondered about Fuu, and her past, but never wanted to ask. Whatever horrors Fuu's saw, she hid in the deepest part of her heart, away from all her other emotions. She wondered about how Jin never fell in love with Fuu, she was perfect for him. They were opposites, and opposites often worked better. Jin was protective of Fuu, and was only on that journey for her. What stopped him from loving her, was it Mugen?

"Nani?" Fuu asked catching Shino staring off at her. Shino snapped out of her momentary trance.

"Looks like Jin's teaching you to be weird too" Fuu laughed. Shino blushed and nodded trying to shake off her deep mysterious thoughts. She smiled back at the young girl, with her sleeves rolled up and quickly washing the dishes. Aki and Shiro were cooking and serving just as quickly as possible.

"Fuu-chan, can you cook up three orders of grilled fish?" Shiro asked. The crowd was getting thicker, with the line up outside stretching. Aki smiled nervously, she always wanted to have a successful business, a place where she could feed people, but she never expected this. Fuu nodded happily, but she was nervous, this was the first time she would be going near the fire grill. As she slowly approached the rocky grill she swallowed. Than she remembered that this was no different than when she was on her journey. She always cooked in an open fire, which was much scarier than a controlled cooking environment. She sucked it up, and got ready to cook. She armed herself with the tools of the culinary trade and started work. Shino smiled at her.

"Fuu-chan, you'll need to get the fish first." She giggled. Fuu's face became a swirl of embarrassing marks and veins as she retreated back to the fish kept in large icy boxes. Fuu sighed, she always worried about her cooking skills. And Mugen loved to eat, just as much as her probably. What if she burned the food, or made it grossly, would he love her less. She looked at Shino from the corner of her eye, paying attention to how gracefully she cut her vegetables and meat. She had perfect hand eye coordination. Fuu looked down to her filet fish, it was horribly battered. Her face bubbled into a humiliated round balloon as she sighed. She worried about it.

'What if I can't cook?' She thought. Mugen loved to eat, and Shino was the only person who was good at cooking. She worried.

……………………………..

His belly had ballooned. He burped satisfied of yet another great meal. Jin was with him, walking along side to Mizu's newly built home. They had been working tirelessly at it for four months, trying to restore it back to it's former glory. Satoru, Mizu's trusted advisor saw Mugen and Jin slowly making their way to the other side of town.

"Oh, good to see you Jin, Mugen" The mid aged man said happily. He was walking his children back home from the temporary school they had set up close to the market. His wife was ill, and was not able to bring them home. Mugen groaned.

"Yo. He your kid?" Mugen smirked looking down at the young boy who fearlessly stared back up at Mugen. He could see the passion in that boys eyes, he recognized them to be of a warrior. Satoru smiled.

"Yes, he is 9." He gestured for his young son to smile or say his hello to Mugen and Jin, but the boy, frightful of strangers, ducked behind his father.

"It's your swords. He doesn't like swords." Satoru smiled. He wanted to explain that his grandfather was killed in front of his son, but it was all in the past. Kao's insane government was no long here to rape the town. Mugen smirked at the boy and started to walk away. Jin followed.

They were quiet for a while, when Mugen finally broke the silence.

"Oy, so you ready to be a father?" Mugen mocked. Although he pictured Jin being a father, he was always very mature and calm. Perfect father material. Mugen was jealous of that, but at the same time relieved that Fuu was not expecting. He pictured a family, but he didn't want to jump into the water just yet. He wanted to take things slow. He wanted to marry Fuu and than see what life brought. But he wouldn't know what to do with a child if Fuu had one.

"Hmm." Jin responded. It was his famous answers, he had not shaken that habit. Jin suddenly realized that a father was not only there for the fun times. Not only there for the teaching and learning. He would be there all the time. A piece of him would be created. Another soul would come into the world, a soul that he would be responsible to protect. The duty wasn't any different from what he did as a Samurai, but the price was very high. Was he really ready for that responsibility? He shook his head. He knew he was ready, he loved Shino with all his heart. She was the reason he risked life and death for. He smiled, realizing that what he was feeling was just anticipation.

"Ah, thinking of getting me one of those. But I thought Fuu and I have some fun first. Can't get in it if there's a child sitting there watching." Mugen smirked nudging Jin.

Suddenly Jin was overwhelmed. He didn't know why he thought of it, but he did. The idea of Fuu being taken by Mugen. He had never thought about it before. He wanted Mugen and Fuu together, after all it was meant to happen. Fuu brought him a lot of happiness, he could see it in Mugen's eyes. However, she brought Jin lots of happiness too. Fuu was beautiful, funny and a very strong person. He wondered why it had not happened the other way around. What stopped Jin from being Fuu's. He shook his head, stopping for a moment.

'What am I thinking?' He questioned himself.

Mugen was oblivious to Jin's deep thoughts. He was too busy thinking about Fuu's body. He loved being with her, not just for the sex, but for everything else. He loved walking with her, talking to her, fighting with her. The way her nose scrounged up when she was furious with him. He loved it. But he was jealous of what Jin had. He was married now, and was now going to be a father. Shino was a lovely woman. She had layers to her, just like him. Her silent manners and soft smiles always did catch his attention. Mugen suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing Jin to stop as well.

"What is it?" He asked Mugen, who seemed stunned.

"Ah, nothing." He blurted walking again. He didn't understand what he was thinking, or why he was thinking such things. He loved Fuu, only Fuu. He risked his life for her, and would do it over again at the sound of her call. He raced blindly into battle for her, and would keep it up for the rest of his life. Fuu was his, only his. And he was hers, only hers.

………………………………………….

Mai had shared a wonderfully long time with Mizu, alone. It was around the same time the gang sat down at the restaurant chowing down. Mizu was surprised to see Mai come to him with the bag of food. He smiled and blushed a lot when she was around. The colours from the sun rise were still lingering around when Mai took out his food. Mizu had dismissed his men to go eat as well, and to come back later to finish up the east side of the school. Mai was blushing as she served him. There was a small moment where they were both stuck in a intense lock. For months now, they had been avoiding looking at each others eyes, since they shared their first kiss; they had fallen so hard into love. Mai smiled as he finally woke from his trance.

"Thank you Mai-san." He whispered. He looked down to his bowl and than to her, she wasn't eating.

"Mai-san, eat with me please." He asked stuttering slightly. Her eyes were glassy from passion. She smiled.

"It's alright Mizu-san, I'll eat when I go back to the restaurant. Besides there is only one bowl, and you need to eat. You have been working very hard." Mai smiled. The pink shades flushing her cheeks brought out her dark brown eyes, and her straight black hair. She was lovely. Mizu thought about it, looking down to his chopsticks and bowl.

"We can share." He gestured with his bowl and chopsticks. Mai was taken back, and so was he. Sharing the same bowl and chopsticks is what lovers normally did. He turned red.

"No, that's not what I meant. Its' just that you, and hunger, and one bowl." He muttered madly. Mai blushed looking away shyly. Mizu finally calmed down and exhaled.

"I want you to eat with me. I bet you haven't eaten anything." He said softly. He put down the bowl of rice and his chopsticks.

"I won't eat if you won't." He looked down, his voice determined. He cared for her a lot, he never understood why he wasn't able to say the things he wanted to say, but he hoped his actions spoke for him. Mai blushed. A romantic silence fell over them.

"Please Mai-san. Here, you can eat first." He pushed the bowl and chopsticks to her. She looked down to his kind gesture. She smiled to him, tears wanting to come down.

"Nobody has been this nice to me without, …wanting something in return." She whispered softly hugging herself. A gentle breeze brushed her, letting her long black hair dance in the wind. Mizu could have sworn she was a princess. He felt badly for her.

"I want something in return Mai-san." He said suddenly. Mai looked up sharply to him, her eyes sadly staring at him, wondering if her ears had deceived her.

"I want you to be happy." He sternly voiced. He wanted her to move on with her life, and forget the past, the past that had haunted her for so long.

"You're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you." He gently said. Mai could have cried. He was right, and she knew it. She really was safe now, all the bad things were gone, she was at peace now. She nodded with a sweet smile.

"Now, please eat." He leaned closer to her, pulling her chin up gently. His smile possessed Mai, and her eyes hypnotized him. They were locked again suddenly in a romantic breeze. He found himself moving down, his lips inching closer to hers. Mai didn't move, she sweetly stared up to him; waiting for his soft lips to touch hers. His body adjusted, and he knelt down, moving his free arm to hold on to her shoulder as he closed in. Her eyes closed as his nose touched hers, and soon he was there. The world vanished, as he leaned further to her, sealing his mouth on hers.

The kiss was a moment's breath long, but it would be enough to give her will for the next four months. He was blushing, but his eyes were passionate and intense. It was becoming harder and harder for him to control his mind. Mai smiled up to him.

"Mai-san…" He whispered looking deep into her eyes. Mai smiled back.

…………………………………

When Mugen and Jin arrived, Mai had already gone. Mizu was shaving a long piece of wood, which would go on the wall to support the weight of the structure. He had memorized his fathers humble home and the school, and planned to make it exactly how it was supposed to be.

"Oy, where's everyone?" Mugen asked cracking his shoulders, getting ready for work. Jin looked around, the school was coming along nicely. He noticed how happy and blushful Mizu was, and wondered why he seemed so shy.

"They've gone home for an hour, to rest. We have been working on this before sun up. It's hard to work when it's so hot." Mizu smiled wiping the sweat from his forehead. Jin and Mugen both had to admit they were very impressed by Mizu. He was really after all very dedicated to the town, and to the people. He had worked hard to convince the Shogonate to allow him to open a informal bank system in his town, so that he could start dispensing money to the victim's families. He had accomplished a lot in four months and was still striving to better his town.

"Ah, I guess we should get working than." Mugen groaned picking up a large piece of bark casually and started on his way to nailing it to the wall. Mizu was very humbled by Mugen's strength, sometimes he thought that Mugen wasn't human. He felt the same about Jin. They were both very different and yet completely the same. Mizu smiled and helped in the effort.

Well guys, I'll leaving it here…I think you guys all can see where I'm going with this. DON'T panic, I'm not re-arranging the pairs, I'm just creating doubt and fear. And the rest will fall into place. Just wait and see.