Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Samurai Champloo, I only own my imagination.

Notes: Okay this is a short chapter; I was hoping to warm up with this one before really diving into their relationship. Tell me what you think. Oh and in the last chapter I had a note about Suzume's name and the title. I took the name from a Japanese fairy tale about a sparrow, and as far as I know Suzume means sparrow, so correct me if I'm wrong. The title will play in later hopefully.

Chapter Three

The sun rose over the treetops, playing across the water-laden clouds and damp air in an array of colors. The morning was comfortably cool, the surroundings a bright spring green. The two had already been walking for over an hour on the dirt path leading out of town. Metal and stone made an odd clanking sound as they struck together, but Mugen didn't care. The sound of his geta on the gravel wasn't enough to drown out Fuu's ceaseless nagging.

"Do you think he went to find Shino? Because if he did than we should probably look in Edo. Mugen? Mugen!"

Did she ever run out of breath? He was walking at a lazy pace slightly ahead of her, his hands at the back of his head, his eyes half closed and staring onwards. She'd been talking since they'd left, and frankly, he was getting sick of it.

Fuu ignored his lack of interest and kept talking. Her arms swung at her side relaxed, her dark brown hair bounced with the motion of her steps. She didn't get it, did he really not want to go find Jin? When they had all parted ways she thought there was a feeling of brotherhood between the two, but maybe she was wrong. It felt so awkward not having the familiar silent figure by her side, she missed his 'nhn's and his 'uh's.

Mugen looked back only when he realized that she had become silent. By the look on her face she was deep in thought. Mugen half smiled, half smirked. She always got a funny look in her face if she tried to concentrate on something. It was weird, but those funny little quirks were what he had missed most about her when they parted. He had a funny tingling feeling deep in his gut; it wasn't the usual feeling of lust. This was different, and it only took him a few seconds to realize he was grinning like an idiot.

"What?" Fuu's irritatingly sweet voice broke through his thoughts.

"Huh…? Nothing." He faced forward again, dropping his arms to his sides.

"I'm hungry." She whined, her stomach growling audibly.

"Well, unless you got money, we ain't stopping." He ignored the groan that erupted behind him and trudged on, the sun at their backs as they headed west.