Title: Enemies of the Heart (working title)
Author: Neldluva
Fandom: Samurai Champloo
Rating: R
Pairing: Jin/Mugen
Warnings: yaoi, naughty language, liberties taken with the show's timeline, PWP-ish, ANGST
Disclaimer: I own nothing. It all belongs to those who created Samurai Champloo ... and made it so delightfully slashy.
Summary: Jin has a blond moment, and Mugen gets his revenge.
When Fuu walked into the room the next morning to rouse her companions, she found each of them in his own bed, preparing for the day ahead. There was nothing to see that would indicate what they had been up to the night before.
"Come on!" she shouted at them. "We've still got some money left over, we can get some breakfast!"
Jin rolled his eyes at Fuu, rising to tie his obi and follow her out. Mugen tagged along behind them, still scratching at his hair and yawning. "How much do we have?" he asked as they walked down the hall, stretching his arms and cracking his neck.
"Enough for a little breakfast," Fuu reported, reaching into her obi to retrieve the money. "We might even have some left over."
"Eh, just get me near some people, I can steal what we need quick enough," Mugen drawled, running his hand along the rice paper walls.
"Have you no honor whatsoever?" Jin muttered, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Nope!" Mugen skipped down the stairs into the restaurant area of the inn.
"He's weird, huh?" Fuu commented.
"Hn," Jin replied, a sound that could have meant anything. Fuu slapped her hands against her thighs and sighed with frustration. Could she have picked a worse pair to help her find the sunflower samurai? They were both crazy, but Mugen talked too much, and Jin talked too little. Fuu was starting to long for normal company.
The men entered first, leaving Fuu to order the food. Mugen slid onto the bench after Jin, nearly landing in his lap.
"Hey," Jin said, giving Mugen a small shove. "Get your bony ass off of me."
Mugen's eyebrows shot up, and he smirked mischievously. "Who's got a bony ass? You're as skinny as me. And you didn't complain last night."
Jin frowned deeply and scooted a few more inches away from Mugen. "You're so crude," he muttered.
Fuu returned to the table with three small bowls of rice and some dumplings. It was hardly a decent breakfast, but they were in no position to be picky. The meal was silent, save for Mugen's noisy chewing. Hardly had they finished before the owner of the inn came to their table, holding his hand out for payment. All three watched with longing eyes as the money disappeared into the old man's obi.
"We need cash," Mugen pointed out as they left the inn. His stomach grumbled a little bit, reminding him of his inadequate breakfast. "And the folks around here are too poor to steal from. We'd get crumbs."
"And no one looks rich enough to pay us much, even if we did manage to find jobs," Fuu said plaintively.
"Our only choice is the next town, then," Jin contributed. "And we can only hope they will be generous enough to allow us jobs and money."
They arrived at the next town at about midday, and already their stomachs had forgotten their meager breakfast. The town square was bustling with activity, but as far as they could tell, no one looked in need of either a bodyguard or a waitress, and no one looked interested in handing out free food.
"What now, wise guy?" Mugen muttered to Jin. "Where are we supposed to find a job in this?"
"Help! Someone, please! That man just stole my purse!" A woman ran past them, pointing towards a dark alleyway. "Oh, please! Help!"
"Oh, no," Mugen said when Fuu turned pleading eyes on him. "I do the stealing, I don't win it back."
"You're hopeless," Jin commented dryly. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." With that, he ran off in the direction the woman had indicated, his hakama and kimono flapping behind him.
"I will never understand that guy," Mugen huffed, lacing his fingers behind his head. "Explain this to me, kid. He kills all these guys, in the name of honor or bushido or whatever, and then he runs after a thief to save some woman's little purse. Same honor? It doesn't make sense."
Fuu just gazed in confusion at Mugen. "I thought you didn't care about honor."
"Well, not his honor." Mugen tilted his head back and stared at the sky. "I just hope he comes back, you know, because I'd hate for some stupid thief to get away with my revenge."
Fuu rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air, deciding not to point out that Mugen himself was a "stupid thief." She was relieved when Jin returned to them; any time spent alone with Mugen was too much time alone with Mugen.
"So?" she asked anxiously. "Did you return the woman's purse?"
"Yes," he answered shortly.
"And?" Mugen pressed. "Did she give you a reward or anything?"
Jin held out his hand. In it were three small coins, and Fuu and Mugen both groaned with displeasure.
"That wouldn't buy a cup of tea!" Fuu said tearfully, wringing her hands with disappointment. "What are we going to do? You two need to go find jobs!"
"Did I hear you say you needed a job, little girl?"
All three spun around to find an old woman standing behind Jin, a harmless smile on her thin lips. "I could use a pair of strong young men."
"We're not interested in that sort of job, Grandma," Mugen growled. "C'mon, there must be someone around here…"
"Forgive him, Grandmother," Jin said, bowing respectfully at the old woman. "He does not have the best of manners. We would be pleased to help you in whatever way we can."
She smiled, showing her few teeth. "It is a small job, but I will pay well."
Mugen stopped in his tracks and turned around, returning to his companions. "Pay? Why didn't you say so, lady? What kind of job?"
"Come back to my house, and I will show you."
"So, you want us to take a carpet to your friend?" Mugen asked through a mouthful of food.
"It's a tapestry, Mugen," Fuu corrected quietly.
"I noticed you were travelers," the old woman said. "If you would happen to be going north, then my friend's town will be right on the way."
"We are going north," Jin supplied. "Forgive my directness, Grandmother, but I feel it is necessary. How much would we be paid for this delivery?"
"Well enough," the old woman replied, smiling at Jin. "I can pay only a little, but my friend will reward you handsomely. Enough to keep you wandering for a few weeks, young samurai. And I insist that you stay in my house tonight. It has been so empty since my children left."
"You are so generous, Grandmother," Fuu said, bowing over her meal.
Mugen belched quietly and stretched. "Well, great," he said, grinning manically at the rest of the table. "Hey, Granny, where are our rooms? We better get an early start tomorrow."
Jin raised his eyebrows. Common sense? From Mugen? Well, that was a first.
The old woman led them to their rooms; Fuu in one, Jin and Mugen in another, the same arrangement they had had at the inn. She closed the screens once they were inside, leaving Jin and Mugen to stare at each other over the beds. Both wondered if there would be a chance to relive the previous night's experience.
Jin was the first to move. He loosened the ties on his obi and hakama but chose to remain mostly clothed. He had a feeling that if he expected too much from Mugen, the pirate would let him down, and he didn't feel in the mood for fooling himself that night. He settled under the blankets and closed his eyes, willing sleep to come.
Still, he wasn't that surprised when he heard Mugen rise from his bed and settle himself close to his back.
"Hey," Mugen said, jabbing Jin in the shoulder with his finger. "You asleep?"
Jin opened his eyes. "Not anymore," he replied in a sharp tone.
"Good." Mugen clearly didn't pick up on Jin's annoyance because his hand immediately slipped into the folds of his kimono.
Jin sighed and turned over, looking Mugen straight in the eyes. "We will have to be quiet," he said seriously. "This woman is very kind to share her home with us."
"Yeah, yeah, we'll be quiet," Mugen grumbled, pushing Jin onto his back. "You know, I owe you for last night. I don't let just anyone do that."
Jin raised a skeptical eyebrow, but he allowed Mugen to peel away his clothing. "Not that it was difficult," he retorted. "I expected a little more fight from you. I was disappointed."
Mugen growled as he tossed Jin's kimono aside. "You wear too much fucking clothes," he muttered.
Jin sighed with exasperation, quickly untying the rest of his clothing and sliding from it. "You are just too impatient," he quipped in a murmur as Mugen pulled off his own clothing. "Are you planning to talk me to death tonight?"
"Now who's impatient?" Mugen settled down on top of Jin again, smiling slightly. "I sorta like the view from up here. I should visit more often."
"Don't get used to it. Soon enough, you'll be looking up at me from the dust."
Mugen frowned. "Now, that isn't very nice, and I think you want to be nice to me tonight. I'm not in a forgiving mood." He pulled Jin's glasses off his nose.
Jin narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Put those back," he ordered.
"I think not. You look almost pretty without them, four-eyes." He carefully set them a safe distance away, turning back to Jin with another crazy grin on his face. "Much better," he decided. And then he kissed Jin.
Jin fought at first; it was only to be expected, with such a surprising attack. Mugen fought back, pinning Jin by his thin wrists and taking advantage of the samurai's gasp to slip his tongue into his mouth.
Jin stilled, his body going limp in Mugen's grasp. Mugen kissed like his life depended on it, dominating instantly and leaving no room for struggle. He plundered Jin's mouth like he would drink him down, like he would crawl inside and curl up somewhere in Jin's guts. He spread his legs a little, allowing Mugen to slide between them, and pressed up with his hips.
Mugen moaned happily into the kiss, remembering just in time to be quiet about it. Jin tasted really good, all nice and fresh and clean, and he was doing some sort of great uke thing by going all limp and submissive. He really couldn't care less whether Jin was naturally seme or uke, but if this fuck was as good as the last one, he'd have to take advantage of this position more often.
At last, they broke for breath. "Damn," Mugen gasped, staring at Jin with heavy-lidded eyes. "Where'd you learn how to kiss?"
Jin opened his eyes to glare at Mugen. "What do you care?"
Mugen shrugged and let go of Jin's wrists. "Guess I don't, then. You a virgin?"
Jin's cheeks colored slightly. "No…"
"Good." He prodded between Jin's legs, a wide grin on his face. "You know, I wouldn't want to hurt you too bad or anything, I've got quite a sword here –"
"Just shut up and get on with it? Unless you really do intend to talk me to death."
Mugen quirked an eyebrow. Despite Jin's sharp words and sharper glare, the samurai had made no move to force him to behave. Apparently, Mugen would be able to enjoy full seme privileges, and the thought made his grin wider. Without any more ceremony, then, he pushed forward into Jin.
"Ah, fuck," he muttered, grunting quietly when Jin gasped and arched up to meet him. "You hurt?"
"No, I'm fine." Mugen snuck a glance up at Jin's face, and while he was panting breathlessly, there was no sign of pain. Licking his lips and placing his hands on either side of Jin's head, Mugen took up the unspoken invitation to continue.
Mugen usually had pretty good staying power; he could usually make his fucks last a nice long time. But he could tell quick that this one wasn't going to last too long. The way Jin brought his knees up to let him slide in further, the way he started making little happy moaning sounds, the way he had to pull Mugen into a kiss just to stay quiet – it all just turned Mugen to mush. He didn't last much longer, and when Jin came without ever being touched, well, that did him in.
Mugen ran his tongue across Jin's belly, lapping him up, tasting him. He felt Jin shiver contentedly. Once they were safely clean again, he retreated to "his" side of the futon, staring at Jin with sleepy eyes.
"I've been thinking," he started with a yawn.
"Oh, that must have hurt. I hope you didn't pull anything."
"Shut up, asshole. I've been thinking about what you said last night, about how you don't like girls. What was the deal with that whore we set free a while back, Shino?"
Jin narrowed his eyes. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah, c'mon. You two had a thing or something, huh?"
"I guess we did." He took a deep breath, letting the air out slowly. "I think I might have loved her." Mugen snorted, but remained otherwise silent. "That's all over now, though. She is in the past."
"Mmm," Mugen mumbled. "Probably best." He reached out with his left hand, gently clasping Jin's wrist in a show of comfort. Jin just closed his eyes, but he didn't pull away.
"I'm going to kill you."
"I'll kill you first."
To be continued!
Vocabulary (once more by Wikipedia):
Bushido: "way of the warrior", is a code of conduct and a way of life, analogous to the European concept of chivalry.