A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. It was much appreciated. I would also like to thank my beta reader, DarkVerity. Now here's what you've been waiting for, Chapter 2! I'm also not going to tell my readers what characters are involved in the romance portion of this fanfic. You'll just have to read on.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Fuu, Mugen, or Jin. But one day….one day…

Here we go. (Insert fanfare)

Fuu sat on the cold earth, staring at the ground for what felt like an eternity. By the time Fuu lifted her head, Mugen was gone. Even as she strained her eyes, she saw no flicker of the man who once stood before her. As rough as the journey had been, she never thought that Jin or Mugen would go back on their agreement to help her. 'I guess Mugen wasn't the man I thought he was. At least I still have Jin, he'll still help me…right?' Fuu knew that the search would still continue, with or without Mugen, but she had a feeling that it would be a lot less interesting without him. She would at least liked to have said a proper goodbye, but if this was how Mugen really felt and if this is what he truly wanted then Fuu couldn't begrudge him that no matter how much his decision had hurt her.

Fuu rose from the ground, dusting off any dirt on her kimono. She stood up straight and stared directly into Jin's unwavering eyes. With a firm nod of her head, she turned around and headed back to Kyoto. "Come on Jin; let's try to find somewhere to sleep. It's getting dark." Fuu waited for Jin to catch up to her. Jin walked over to her and they set off to find some shelter, traveling in silence.

Despite Jin's calm exterior, his mind portrayed a more frantic expression. Fuu's lack of emotion was startling. There were no tears, no angry words, and no movement to race after Mugen. Instead, she showed a face made of stone. Even though her facial appearance gave away nothing of her emotions, her eyes leaked out everything she was feeling.

Jin knew Fuu would have loved to run after Mugen and convince him to say, but he could also tell that she was tired of trying to persuade him to continue their journey. Fuu had been the force that held the threesome together, but I guess after awhile, Fuu had been worn down and the force had snapped, leaving the group floundering. She was the one who kept him and Mugen in line, making sure that they didn't kill each other before their mission was over. At this instant, Jin could only imagine what kind of trouble Mugen would get himself involved in now that he was on his own again. Jin was sure that Mugen could handle whatever obstacles that were thrown in his way, but he knew that Fuu would constantly be wondering what trouble he had caused himself or others. 'This was bound to happen sooner or later. All we can do now is keep going. Looks like I'll be the only one helping Fuu for now. I hope for Mugen's sake he made the right decision.'

Throughout the expedition, the group hadn't learned much about one another. They spent most of their time together, but they were still strangers to each other. Jin didn't know much about Fuu and vice versa, which made the search for shelter very awkward. The silence was deafening, but trying to make idle chit chat would even make the situation worse. The event of what just happened was on both or their minds, but to talk about it would have been just flat out strange. Jin was quiet and reserved, while Fuu was usually loud and hungry, much like Mugen. Jin chuckled, 'That's probably why they fought so much. They're so much alike.' Jin's barely audible laugh made Fuu turn her head sharply. 'What could possibly be funny about this situation?' Jin's laugh had caused Fuu to divert her attention to him, instead of to where they were headed. Still walking, Fuu stared quizzically at Jin, letting her feet do the leading. Jin turned his head to stare back at her, but instead of seeing her next to him, he looked down to see her sprawled out on the earthen path. Fuu sat up, "Where did that come from?" pointing towards a large rock in the middle of the trail. Fuu sat there for a few minutes and cracked a smile, which turned into a giggle, then into a full fledged laugh. Jin let out a soft laugh at seeing the sight before him. Regardless of the upsetting events that had taken place not moments before, Jin and Fuu were laughing in the center of a dusty, road; Jin smiling and looking down at a hysterical Fuu. 'Maybe Mugen's decision will be easier to cope with than I thought,' Fuu mused while wiping the tears from her eyes. 'I never thought I could laugh so hard.'

Jin held out his hand and pulled the still giggling Fuu to her feet. After waiting a few minutes for Fuu to finally calm down and catch her breath, they continued on their walk. They still traveled in silence, but the stillness was comfortable rather than strange.

Mugen was finally walking away from that nuisance of woman, if you'd want to call her that. 'She's no woman, but she's definitely a pain in my ass. Her and her stupid flower samurai. I don't need this shit.' Mugen physically had no problem with leaving Fuu and Jin behind, but it seemed that his mind needed a bit more convincing. Mugen honestly had no idea what he was going to do now, but he knew that he'd find someway to get some money to get out of here or maybe he'd wind up staying in Kyoto. It was a moderately prosperous town and had plenty of rich suckers to swindle. Yes, Mugen would stay in Kyoto for awhile. His first order of business was to con those blatantly wealthy men he saw in the teahouse. 'I'm sure those rich bastards will cough up enough yen to last me a few months. If not, I'll just have to persuade them to give me a little more.' Mugen sneered at how easy it would be. He wouldn't disguise himself as a petty beggar as some people did. He was too proud for that, he would deal with them using the same approach he had employed earlier. Mugen continued calculating his strategy, but no matter how hard he thought and how involved he became in his plans, every ounce of his subconscious was occupied by something else. He was trying so hard to keep his attention away from the promise he had broken, that he became disgusted even with himself. 'The last thing I need is a guilt trip from myself. I could use a drink, badly.' Mugen slid his hands into his pockets and realized he still had his yen from earlier. 'Now I could definitely use a drink.' Mugen turned around and headed back to the town. He'd find a relatively cheap place to down a few drinks and hope he'd have enough money to rent out a room at an inn for tonight.

Mugen searched the backstreets of Kyoto, searching for the dirtiest, cheapest teahouse he could find. He stumbled upon a small shack that looked as though it could collapse at any minute. 'If it does collapse, at least I'll be too drunk to notice.' He entered the building, which seemed to contain an atmosphere entirely composed of smoke. Mugen walked through the heavy vapor and seated himself near the back of the establishment. A homely young woman arrived at Mugen's table and gruffly asked what he wanted. Mugen simply requested a large pitcher of sake. She flashed what Mugen thought was the ugliest smile he'd ever seen. She was missing a few teeth, but Mugen knew that after several drinks, she'd have the most beautiful smile he'd ever witnessed. While waiting for his pitcher of sake, Mugen looked around the room with quiet interest. There were several drifters and beggars in a corner, obviously drunk off their asses. Mugen saw a few other women in the teahouse, but all of them were even homelier than his waitress. Even though he ordered the sake, he wouldn't have advised eating any of the food they offered. Whatever people were eating, all of it looked like throw up and smelled like it too. The waitress returned with a pitcher and a sake cup, placing them in front of Mugen. She batted her eyelashes at him and left, but not before giving him another one of her gap-toothed smiles. Mugen snorted at her pathetic attempt at flirting. 'Surely she must be joking. I'd even choose that flat-chested, loud mouthed Fuu over her; and that's saying something.' Mugen quickly finished the entire pitcher in ten minutes, leaving the jug as dry and barren as a desert. He thought about ordering another pitcher, but realized he probably wouldn't have enough money to pay for a place to stay. He left some yen on the table and got up to leave. His waitress waved as he left the shop. Mugen hoped he would never have to see her again.

Mugen stepped out into the muggy street, feeling quite queasy as a result of the humid summer evening mixed with his copious consumption of sake. Mugen knew how to hold his liquor and instead of vomiting, he set off to find a nearby inn to rest. He staggered and stumbled through the streets of Kyoto before stopping at a quaint lodge on the corner. The couple who owned the inn were very polite and helped escort Mugen to a small room. Because of the fact that Mugen was too drunk to pronounce his own name, the couple agreed that he would pay them for the room in the morning. Mugen could have cared less about how the room looked; all he was concerned with was getting to sleep and forgetting about the day's events. He tottered onto his tatami mat, allowing sleep to overtake him. He would deal with things in the morning.

Jin and Fuu wandered along the road despite the enclosing darkness. Fuu was ready to give in to her exhaustion and fall asleep right in the center of the walkway. Jin was slightly less fatigued. He watched Fuu, making sure she didn't nod off in mid-step, which had happened previous times. Jin wondered why Fuu didn't bother to stop Mugen from leaving. Was it because she didn't care? Or maybe she was tired of trying to convince him that there was something worth staying for? 'Whatever her reason is, I'm sure it's a good one.' Jin would miss Mugen in the way the sun would miss the moon; both powerful rivals for the same glory. 'Now that he broke the promise to stay and help Fuu, would he also break the promise to not kill me? I wouldn't be surprised. That barbarian is without honor or morals. He doesn't care who he hurts, as long as he reaches his goal, but I will be waiting. Sooner or later, we shall see who is the better fighter as well as the better man.' It was unlike Jin to express feelings of his intense rivalry with Mugen. He was always the calm and collected one, while Mugen was the nagging instigator. After Mugen had walked away from Fuu, leaving her emotionally wounded in the dirt, Jin had lost all respect for him as a worthy rival. No matter how tiresome and never-ending this mission proves to be, a promise is a promise. Mugen had confirmed Jin's doubts about his trustworthiness. 'This is just another milestone in our journey, I guess.' Jin's thoughts were interrupted by the rumbling in his stomach. The sun had set and they had no money. Searching for food was a lost cause at the moment. Hopefully, Jin and Fuu would be able to gorge themselves on sustenance tomorrow.

Fuu didn't realize how tired a person can truly become. She felt and looked like the living dead; barely able to shuffle her feet along. She secretly wished that this day had never happened, but it was no use wasting her desires on something that was impossible. Mugen had broken his promise and he had left, but the impression he had emblazoned on Fuu still remained and would stay there forever. No matter how much Mugen loathed Fuu, she would always think of him as an important chapter in her life just like this journey and Jin was. She had had no real family except for that kind couple who had taken her in and most of her significant memories were of Mugen and Jin. She wouldn't give those recollections up for all the rice and dumplings in the world. Fuu sighed, letting out all her frustrations with one long exhale. 'There's nothing I can do now, but I do hope our paths will cross again after this is all over.' Fuu realized that remaining in one another's lives would never happen. She was too much of an idealist and she knew it, but what one would call idealistic, others would call optimistic. 'Who am I kidding? It's only a matter of time before Jin gets fed up and leaves, just like Mugen. He would never do that…would he?' Fuu tried her hardest to dismiss these unsettling thoughts from her mind, but a shred of realism would always creep back in, spinning her emotions into another whirlwind. Her mental tug-of-war continued to weaken her even more. Every time she'd blink, her eyes would remain closed longer and longer than the previous time. Her eyelids felt like heavy, tumbling boulders that desperately wanted to come to rest. Fuu tried to will herself to remain awake and keep her eyes open, she couldn't just fall asleep on a deserted road. Unfortunately, her body would win this battle, giving in to her extreme fatigue. She blinked, but her eyes stayed closed. Fuu felt herself falling back, but could do nothing to stop herself. Her limbs refused to move, acting more like deadweights, dragging her down faster. She expected to hit the ground with a hard thud, but the sound never came. She heard no sound at all, yet she could not bring herself to open her eyes to figure out what had happened.

Jin was exceptionally tired, but never showed it. He stayed alert all the time, even while sleeping. It was one of the many talents he had accomplished while training to be a samurai. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fuu's head dip down. She had fallen asleep again, but expectantly he waited for her to wake herself up. Seconds passed and Fuu had not stirred. Maybe she had actually fallen asleep this time. Jin smiled 'I'll just go wake her up, even though it is kind of funny to see her standing there, asleep.' Before Jin could shake her from her slumber, Fuu began to fall backward, succumbing to her weary limbs and drained psyche. With his swift movements of an experienced samurai, he caught he before she hit the soil; so quick that not a sound was made nor a sleeping woman disturbed. Jin debated whether or not he should wake her, but his kind consideration won this time. 'Fuu's had enough excitement for one day. She deserves a break just like the rest of us,' and with that final deciding factor, he scooped her up in his arms. Despite the large amount of food she normally ate, she was surprisingly light. Even though she wasn't heavy, he hoped that he would come across some shelter soon.

Although it was the middle of the night, the moon was large and bright enough to illuminate the path, allowing Jin to see where he was going. He wasn't concerned with being able to distinguish his surroundings, considering as how they've been on the same path for most of the night. Jin reached a fork in the road and contemplated on which route he should take. It didn't matter really, since he wasn't familiar with this town and whatever path he chose it would lead him to somewhere foreign to him. Fuu elicited a snore in response to Jin's predicament, which caused Jin to grin. In the end, Jin decided to head left for reasons unknown to even him. Jin continued on this path for a few minutes, praying for the slightest bit of shelter. By now, Fuu's snoring was getting annoying and Jin desperately wanted to lay his head down. He was so anxious for sleep that he was deliberating on laying down under a tree somewhere.

At last, Jin saw a structure in the shadows. It was offset from the trail, but it got his attention nonetheless. The building appeared to be an abandoned cabin. It was covered with vines and other plants, but he doubted that Fuu would care, she was already asleep anyway. The door was hanging off its hinges, which Jin took as a signal that it had been uninhabited for quite some time. He stepped through the doorway, walking into a wall of sheer cobwebs. He almost dropped Fuu, but regained his grip on her. He set her down in a corner and gently picked out the cobwebs from her hair and face. 'I wonder how she'd react if I just left the cobwebs clinging to her face. On second thought, I'd rather not find out how she'd respond.' He finished gathering the webs and proceeded to clean himself off. Jin settled himself into the corner opposite of Fuu and looked at her for a few brief moments, "You know Fuu, despite what Mugen says, you're far from ugly." He knew Fuu couldn't hear him, but he felt like he needed to say it. Fuu was like a little sister in a way and now that Mugen was gone, he really wanted Fuu to be treated better. Jin rested his head against a nearby wall, "We'll deal with things in the morning."

A/N: So…what did you guys think? Like I said previously, I'm not going to give away what romances will bloom. You guys will just have to keep reading. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you have any constructive criticism, I'll be more than willing to hear it. Now, go…review, review, review!