A/N: Hey guys! I'm SO sorry it's taken me so long to update! I have been SWAMPED with stuff, and not having a computer at my house doesn't help either . So yeah, I'm so thankful for you guys who enjoy the story- just so you know, there's still a few more chapter to go before the end, so just wait- it's not over by a long shot. Anyways, thanks again for reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Just A Dream

Fuu awoke the nest morning to find Jin already dressed and gone. She found a note on the nightstand that read,

Fuu-

I've gone to get a job. I'll be back before evening

-Jin

Fuu rolled her eyes as she set the piece of paper back down. Jin….wasn't a normal worker or employee. He was the town's 'assassin', a hired killer who would take on jobs for pay; a practical handyman. Unconventional, sure, but it brought in good pay and, with it, good food and shelter. She didn't think that Jin could, or ever had, a 'real' job. She sighed to herself as her memory started to return and feign sleep, and the event's of the previous night crept back. Then another, fleeting though tshe had been trying desperately to avoid and suppress flashed through her mind.

Mugen.

She had to tell him…There was no way around it. Just the thought of it made her sick to her stomach….Wait…What? She felt her stomach rising and ran into the kitchen where she promptly threw up into a bucket. After she was through she wiped her mouth and grimaced- why would she be sick? Had she caught something? She was about to start her red flow, so maybe it was simply that. She smiled inwardly- Jin hated the red flow. It always made Fuu nasty and mean, and he always took care to avoid her during that time of the month. Or, it simply was her anxiety. She sighed, and stood- her body felt achy and she moved about gingerly. She washed her mouth out and went to change into a rosy kimono. She was just tying her obi when Mugen came into the room, yawning loudly.

He swept her into his arms, lifted her in the air and spun her around. When he set her back down, he smiled and gave her a sloppy peck on the mouth, "Hey Fuu," he greeted her simply.

Fuu smiled slightly and felt sick to her stomach again; only this time, she didn't think it had anything to do with her monthly flow. She looked up at Mugen, looked into his face and felt tears welling up again. Mugen noticed this and tightened his grip on her, where she buried her face in his chest. Mugen wasn't very good with words, so he kept quiet and simply held her, a slightly uncomfortable look strewn across his face. Just hold her he though to himself. It should be fine…

"Mugen…" she said, uncharacteristically quietly, wrapping her won arms around him, bringing him in closer to her. She held him as if she'd die if she let go.

"What is it Fuu?" he asked rather softly and gruffly; his voice sounded confused, bewildered.

She just continued to breathe heavier, and he stood with her patiently, caressing her hair and her back simultaneously. Suddenly, between breaths, he heard her mumble, "…Jin…he.."

He pulled away from her, hands on her shoulders, his eyes interrogating, "..What about Jin? I mean, I know he's gone; guy wants to go get himself killed while he's still hurt, doesn't bother me. Maybe then we can have some alone time."

Fuu didn't laugh. She didn't even look remotely happy, or cheerful. Mugen shivered inwardly, and tightened his grip on her; he didn't like seeing her like this. Not at all. A concerned, almost angry (or stern? Could Mugen look stern?) look swept over his face.

"What about Jin, Fuu?"

"Last night…he.."

"Did Jin hurt you Fuu? What did he do to you?" His voice was strong and held a hint of rising anger.

She shook her head.

"Humph," he said skeptically, "Fuu, if he did do-"

"-he asked me to marry him, " she suddenly blurted, covering her face with her hands. There was a short pause, and then the air was filled with Mugen's cautious laughter, "Um…OK. Kinda weird. Ha! Well, I don't know what the big deal is," he said, wiping the corner of his eyes, which had filled with tears of laughter, "I mean…you said no, right?"

He looked at her, awaiting her confirmation, but it didn't come. His smile wavered slightly, and his eyes looked her over, "…Right Fuu?"

She gave a stifled sob.

"….Fuu..?"

Fuu looked up at him with watery eyes, her whole body aching and quivered. She couldn't find her voice; it seemed to have caught itself in her throat, choking her in its inability to function. She finally managed to whisper, "Mugen…I'm so sorry…"

Mugen stared at her, his entire body frozen. His brain had stopped. He couldn't think anymore. There was…only nothing. There was nothing.

And then…he felt it.

"You….bitch!" he said, almost like he couldn't believe he was speaking like that to her, like he was appalled by his own words. He took a step back from her, eye incredulous and hollow, turning to stone, yet burning with a black flame that Fuu could feel in her core. She had never seen his eyes like this. She couldn't look at those burning eyes for too long, for fear of screaming or losing her mind. Without another word he swept away, out the window and up over the fence in the backyard. Fuu ran towards the window, yelling after him, "Mugen! Please, come back Mugen!"

Another wave of nausea came over her and she rushed to the kitchen and threw up into the bucket once more, just like this morning when the world hadn't ended just yet. She wiped her mouth, the weight of things crashing down on her, and she vomited again, still not really knowing why.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Mugen stormed down the main road that led north of the small town, a good twenty minutes from the outskirts. The trees seemed to be caving in around him, shadowing his face from the sun and from the humiliation. He didn't want to bask in the sun. He didn't want anything good. He had left the house without his getas or his sword, so he stalked barefooted and unarmed. And, honestly, he didn't care.

He punched a nearby tree hard, retracting to have red, bloody broken knuckles. But he just kept walking, cursing and muttering foul names under his breath.

Mugen had never been so angry before in his life. He had never even hurt this bad. It felt like the scar on his chest and not only reopened, but some brown-haired fiend was pouring salt over it as well. He wanted to strangle something, to make someone else- make her- hurt as much as he did right now. But, for some reason, a voice in the back of his head told him that no matter how much blood he spilt, it would never take away this pain.

And to think of what he nearly told her! He had nearly told her the one thing he had never told anyone else before, as far back as he could remember. He clenched his fists, not even wincing as his knuckles screamed out in pain and dripped blood. Something inside him told him to go back to her, try and figure something out, but it was almost completely covered up by his body, which howled and raged in pain. Besides, he didn't think he could stand to look at her right now without slicing off that pretty face of hers.

Mugen sat down by the side of the road in the shade, back leaning against a tree. He was beyond the point of tears anymore- crying was for weak people anyway. And there was no way in hell he was weak. What did he care, anyway?

Then why are you still here?

Mugen crossed his arms and leaned his head back on the smooth bark, staring up through the intricate patterns in the leaves up to the sky above. It was clear today- had it been any other day, he would have sat here admiring it. But nothing was beautiful to Mugen right now. He would have gladly gone back to that lake and taken a soothing, cooling swim in its crystal waters, if certain events had not gone the way they did. The leaves rustled calmly in the breeze, but he noticed none of this. He sat, and sighed, trying to suppress not only his anger, but everything.

Damn. The only girl he ever loved, and she was marrying his best friend.

Why! She told him she loved him, and only loved Jin like a brother. Did…she lie to him? No…No, she couldn't lie about something like that…especially not to Mugen…But…then again, she never really outright said that she loved Mugen. But he knew. He knew by what she did, how she acted around him. How she had sobbed when he had found out about her and Jin living together, how she had cried when she told him about their proposal…how she laid next to him on the beach, curled up right next to him as he held her sleeping body…how she told him that, wherever he went, she would go…He knew she loved him, she didn't have to say it.

Then why in the hell is she going to go through with!

And then, serenely almost, his mind wondered back to the lake….He could remember her voice, could remember her lips and her eyes….

"How long will you stick around? You're a wanderer, Mugen…How long will it be before you leave again?"

It was just a dream…

Slowly, realization crept into Mugen's face. His eyes widened slowly in understanding, and he felt his heart sink. He now understood, just a little, why she had accepted Jin's proposal. Mugen was a wanderer, who never stayed in one place for too long and could never settle on just one thing. He was the apex of the Unconventional Lifestyle. This, in itself, made him a veritable loner, a drifter in a sense. Even though he wanted to be with Fuu, he didn't even know if he would stay. He loved her, but he knew it, them, their relationship or whatever the hell it turned into, couldn't be real. Mugen sat forward, sniffing and wiping his face on a sleeve. You know, what did he care? He's go back, stay a few more days like he said he would just so Jin wouldn't get suspicious, and then leave. After that, he didn't care if he ever saw either of them again. So what if they were the other two parts that completed him- he was willing to never be whole again, if it meant not having to see their sorry asses ever again. Plus, he kinda wanted his stuff back.

And then he thought about himself at Jin and Fuu's wedding. He stood up and pocketed his fists.

The very thought made him want to throw up.