Disclaimer: Character's aren't mine.
Sometimes she still sees them, though it's fleeting and never true. At times the fusuma doors of the restaurant are left open because of the heat, and she sees a flash of a red shirt in the street or a man who is a foot taller than others around him with straight hair. It always makes her pause for a minute and stare longingly out past the entrance. Undoubtedly it ends with someone calling her name or for needing something rather annoyingly; She'll laugh bashfully and apologize for being distracted all while the owners wife rants loudly how she always has her heads in the clouds.
Three years it's been since they parted ways since finding her father and nearly dying. Three years since she said goodbye to two men that meant much more to her than simple body guards. Fuu traveled for months after parting, only stopping to settle somewhere for a week or two at most the first year. After a journey like the one she spent two years on, traveling served no real purpose anymore other than trying to find purpose, or even proving that there was still life to live.
The past years have been spent learning life skills though. She loved meeting people, and even she had found herself in some crazy situations, even without the guys around to help it gravitate towards her. Much like her journey to find her father, some experiences were quick and enjoyable while others she was sure changed her very self. Some she could look back and laugh on, like the time a man confronted her asking if she was the same woman in an art flyer he saw before. Asking to describe the sunflower portrait earned her a free meal after feigning deep offense at the impropriety of it all. Some events had earned her connections that she didn't know she longed for.
A group of women who ran a dojo helped teach her some self defense skills after her now dear friend Hanako had come to her rescue during one particular incident where now, Fuu was embarrassed with how naive she was to put herself in that situation to begin with. After applying discipline and learning the skills for a few months, it was time to move on. They asked her to stay and help others, but she truly isn't one to be teaching others violence, even if the defensive variety. She left with deep graciousness and new friend whom she tries to write every couple months.
Three towns later she took a short apprenticeship with a healer. Learning how to fix others and showing with pride in how she seemingly already knew a fair amount from different injuries she was faced with her own bodyguards was something she found purpose in. She thought she could come to truly love this, but then a deep sickness came upon the village. She helped the healer do everything he could, but still, she still had nightmares of being overrun by those sick and covered in rash and unable to breathe. Playing as if she were a god and trying to determine who to save and who was too far gone is a responsibility she vowed to never carry again. There was reward like bringing new life into this world, but there was too much death too. She will never shake the feeling of failing little ones who should still be running and loving their parents today. It's where she had to bury her Momo.
Her current situation was going to her fallback comfort of waitressing. She came upon this ocean town three weeks ago and she couldn't bring herself to just walk through. The ocean calmed her in some way she thinks, maybe even rejuvenated her. The owner appreciated how hard she worked and in turn has taught her how to go clamming, and has even offered on several occasions to take her out on the boat to show her netting and trapping. She supposed she will take him up on it soon before getting ready to head on the road again. In another time, in another world, she could see herself settling here, having a family. The seaside village during the day bustles with business, and children, and seems to have healthy tourism. At night, parties can be heard among neighbors, and the local watering holes and gambling houses boast diverse entertainment.
She thinks of Jin, who just a few months prior she saw in the smallest of towns in a joke of what they called a market. They had a long lunch catching up on what has happened in time since, both an odd calm and content in each other's company. She figured that by now, he should have collected Shino and hoped they were on their way to finding whatever the next chapter was for them in their story together. She's sure they would find a town or city similar to the one she's in now to settle. They parted that day with promises of seeing each other soon, as Jin would write and she could visit whenever they had things sorted.
It was nice thinking on how they must have all grown by now. Jin was starting a family, and according to him after a similar chance meeting with the an old student of his old dojo's, he has heard their pirate had been taking on odd bodyguard jobs himself. Their old wanted signs in regions have been taken down and replaced by the newest and most recent regional delinquents, and while not welcome exactly where ever they wanted to go from their prior travels, it seems the dust has settled for the most part and truly allowed for the trio to move on. Part of her wishes they never *did* move on, but knows that's not how time works. Still though, all this traveling and Fuu still finds herself wondering towards what.
She can't help sighing loudly as she clears and wipes her table, stacking the dumpling skewers all onto one dish and heading towards the kitchen. Starting to scrub the dishes, she stares out the window conveniently placed to the side of where she sits. The comforting sound of the tinkling bell of a customer in the background of her mind. It's not that she hasn't had the sweet occasional connection with a guy or anything but between her now being almost 20, with no dowry or family pride to offer- she has resigned herself in knowing that her life ultimately will be very different than she once pictured than what she hoped for as an adolescent. She has grown though to find joy in small pleasures, and for now at least, she is content in that. To be honest, it's not like any guy really matched up to him anyway.
"Oi! What's it take to get service in this joint?!" A husky, somewhat annoyed voice comes through the wall and Fuu immediately freezes. She holds her breathe, unsure if her ears have betrayed her and she's finally gone delusional. The next few moments seem to drag on forever.
"Hello?"
She drops the dish into the water basin with a loud thud, no doubt in her mind anymore.
"Hello? Oh yes! Hello sir, I'm so sorry on the delay! Please sir wherever most comfortable." The owner's wife drolls on. "I'm so sorry, our waitress should have greeted you immediately! Fuu! Fuu!!!"
Hearing the aggravated voice snaps her out of her stupor and she can't help but smooth down her light green kimono. Maybe climbing out the window is a viable option? No, no- that's silly. This is Mugen we are talking about here. She misses him so much as times it made her cry thinking back on him. She still got so mad at him that she would mutter comebacks she should have said to him five years ago when his teases and insults first started. She's had so many nightmares about that day in the church, that they've become welcomed at this point just so she can re-see his face again and take comfort that things *did* actually work out okay. This is Mugen. Smoothing her kimono one last time, and brushing her stray hair behind her ears, she straightens herself up and moves the curtain leading to the front of the house.
"Again, I'm so sorry, I swear she always has he head in the clouds."
She can't help but stop in her tracks as she comes out and sees him, standing half in the door with body facing the door she just came out of. Eyes staring right at her as the old woman continued to ramble. He looks more mature, muscular, even a bit taller than she remembers, but still so much the same all at once. With his shorts and red overshirt and eyes glinting mischievously, she can't help but smile and meet his small smirk with a smile of her own.
"Does she now?" He responds, eyes never leaving Fuu's.
There you have it. Im sorry for the cliffhanger ending, but I just feel that the feeling of 'now what' in this context is half the fun of it all. I'm not sure what is going to come of this, if this is a one shot or a series of more. I just have a lot of what-if thoughts for these two after my most recent Champloo rewatch and feel more could be said for/between them.- and this is what came out today :-)
Let me know what you think!
-CTS