Mugen was slinking along the street, seeing if anything of interest was around. Maybe a fight or some sake. 'Man, I need a drink.'

"Gentlemen!"

He was heading to a nearby sake stand, when that booming voice suddenly thundered from his right, making him stumble. He looked around and saw that he was not the only man who had been surprised.

A man in a brightly colored garish robe stood on a platform to his right with a paper cone up to his mouth. The cone was amplifying his voice and men were drawing closer to him, curious about what was going on.

The announcer smiled and continued his speech for his new audience. "Who here desires women?"

The men in the crowd, now drawn into his spell, gave shouts of agreement.

"Well, then you are in luck! For tonight, we have, in this establishment only, women of such unequaled beauty and passion, the likes of which you have never seen!"

The men responded by clapping and cheering, more enthusiastically this time.

Mugen, who had been drawn in with all the others, was growing bored. This man was nothing new. Every whorehouse had an announcer who promised one thing or another, but in Mugen's experience, all the women were the same. The only thing that ever changed was the price. And even though Mugen had enough in his money sack to buy the whole building, he wasn't interested.

He tried to escape the throng of anxious men, and found himself being pushed closer to the stage. "Get the fuck off me!" He snarled viciously to one of the men who had just stomped down on his foot. He was about to draw his sword and take out some of his frustration, when the men suddenly all got quiet. He looked up to see what had happened, and his breath caught in his chest.

A girl had appeared on the platform, head bowed, wearing a scarlet silk kimono. It was form-fitting and had a wide neck-line that exposed her thin shoulders and a hint of cleavage. The train was long and lush, coming up to create an alluring slit to her hips. The creamy skin of her thighs peeked through. She obviously had no wrappings on underneath and the crowd all Oooh'd and Aaah'd as she stepped closer on the platform, her breasts straining against the silk.

Her hair was a dark chocolate brown and tightly pinned back on the top of her head with hair pins. A matching scarlet fan was artfully arranged in her hair, tassels hanging off the sides. When she finally lifted her head, Mugen suddenly remembered how to breathe. 'Fuu!' She wore no make-up except for a thick lining of kohl around her eyes.

'Oh god, her eyes!' Mugen felt nauseous suddenly when he saw her eyes. They were dead. Gone was the spark of mischief that usually shined there. There was no laughter or anger or even despair in her eyes. It chilled him to the bone, and he gave an involuntary shudder.

The man who had previously stepped on his foot noticed and turned to him. "Creepy, ain't it. It's like she's a zombie. Still, though, She's a pretty thing. I think I'll buy her." He chuckled and nudged Mugen with his elbow. "I bet I could bring some life back into those sad e-AH!" He was suddenly cut off as Mugen swiftly brought a small dagger up to his throat.

"You will never touch her." Then he just as quickly removed the dagger and slinked away from the crowd. He strayed to the shadows and watched as the men started to bid on her. He wasn't surprised to find that the offers weren't high. Her eyes were enough to turn any man off. He shuddered again.

Finally, the announcer gave up when he realized that the men weren't going to up the bids, and called the winner forward. Mugen growled in his throat when he saw the middle-aged man waddle up to the stage. 'That fat ugly bastard ain't touching Fuu!' He watched as the man walked into the building and a new girl was led onto the stage. Fuu was already being led off to the back doorway to be prepared for her buyer.

While everyone was distracted by the new, much more enthusiastic girl on stage, Mugen took the opportunity to slip unnoticed inside the brothel and he quietly followed the man to his room, hiding in the shadows. A women ushered the bidder inside, then informed him that his purchase would soon join him. Then she closed the door and walked back down the hallway.

Mugen, who had hid in the dark doorway of a nearby empty room, stalked over to the door, and quietly slid it open. The man was sitting on the floor, already half-naked waiting for Fuu. Mugen walked right up to him and conked him on the head with the handle of his sword. The guy crumpled to the floor without a sound and Mugen pulled him to the corner of the room, hiding his unconscious form with a sheet from the nearby futon. Then he waited.

He didn't have to wait long though. The door rustled and slid open as Fuu slowly entered with her head bowed.

"Greetings Master. How may I please you?" She spoke in whispers and Mugen had a hard time hearing her.

It tugged at something inside him to see her so submissive. 'What happened to you Fuu?' Before he could stop himself, he crossed to her and pulled her close, wrapping his lanky arms around her. He cringed inwardly when she didn't even react. "Fuu."

She looked up at him with those dead eyes. He saw a spark of recognition in her eyes.

"Mugen." Her voice was toneless.

He was a little hurt that she wasn't excited to see him.

Her eyes became vacant once again. "I understand." She removed herself from his arms, then unceremoniously unwrapped her kimono. It pooled to her feet and she stood there, staring at him.

"What the fuck are you doing!" He whirled away from her naked flesh, but not before getting an eyeful of her creamy skin, pert breasts, taut stomach, and the dark patch of curls between her-

'STOP IT!' He wheezed uncontrollably, trying to shake the image of her skin from his head. With his back to her, he fought to calm his breathing and manged to speak in a gruff voice.

"Put your clothes back on, stupid bitch! No one wants to see that!" He heard her pick up her kimono and he glanced behind him. She was retying her sash. With a relieved rush of breath he turned back around and looked at her.

"What the hell did you do that for?" He demanded.

"Isn't that the reason you're here?" Again she spoke in whispers.

"What? NO! Fuck Fuu! I'm here ta rescue you!"

"You bought me to steal me?"

"I didn't buy you, that fat bastard is over there in the corner." He gestured to the lump under the sheet.

"I knocked him out, now let's get going. We can get out the window." He went over to examine the drop from the window, relieved to that they were only one floor up and above an alley. He swung one leg over the sill and looked back at her.

She hadn't moved.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Don't you want to be rescued?" He nearly shouted.

"I'm not a prisoner here. I work here of my own free will." Her voice was almost too soft to hear.

Mugen gawked at her, uncomprehending what she just admitted. He paused for only a moment, then stood and stomped over to her. He was so angry, and he didn't know why. Just then, the man in the corner groaned painfully and he reacted quickly, taking his sword and knocking Fuu hard against the back of the head. She collapsed, but he caught her and threw her over his shoulder. Without pausing, he raced to the window and leapt out into the dark alley.

His steel-lined geta landed with a solid thunk and he sprinted down the alley away from the main street. He could hear the excited voices of the men and the loud announcer still pawning off women. Mugen grimaced. Shifting Fuu's slight weight off his shoulders down into his arms, he cradled her to his chest as he ran. He would take her to a different town and then he would find out what had happened to her. After all, they had only split up a year ago.

Mugen thought for a minute. 'It hasn't even been a year. Only like...' he counted slowly, trying to remember how. 'Eight and a half months. How can someone change so much in so little time?' He looked down at her limp form. Old feelings suddenly came rushing back to him and he clutched her tighter against him. 'I'm here now, Fuu. I'll take care of you again.'