Disclaimer: From now on this will be a blanket disclaimer for the whole story. Samurai Champloo is not mine. This story in no way represents the opinions of Shinichiro Watanabe, Geneon or anyone else in this world and this writer is sooooo not making any money off of it.

Chapter II: Relaxation? I don't think so

She stood on the curb looking up at the building where she had lived for the last five years. It was a faded lavender Victorian home that had seen better days. But it was still home and she liked the lived in feel of it most of the time. But right now, after reflecting on her day during the bus ride home she missed the life she had enjoyed before the accident that took her parents away from her.

She'd been taken in by her grandparents. They owned a tea shop in Japantown where she and her sister, Shino, worked part time as servers. Thankfully today was her day off. Fuu didn't think that she could handle those bloody tourists with their crappy Japanese shouting "Ohayou!" to her at four o'clock in the afternoon. She'd had enough confrontations today to last her a lifetime. It was time to relax.

For Fuu relaxation meant a long bath and a sit and read in the bay window overlooking the park. She wore her mother's bathrobe because it smelled like her mother and it was soft and fluffy. Today the book she had chosen was Stiff. Fuu had been considering a career in biology for a while now and the book was recommended by her teacher. With her mousy brown hair wrapped in a towel she settled in the window and took a moment to watch the hippies playing hacky-sac on the grass. The one with the blond dread locks was getting pretty good by now.

With her forehead pressed against the window Fuu wished that she could be so carefree but she'd settled herself into a life of academia and she felt that such a counter-culture existence would hinder her. This was the thinking that led to her solitary life, everyone else at school was so intent on the next party or the next concert. She was worried about applications for college a year away. With a heavy sigh she turned to her book and settled down to read.

LATER

Something was wrong. . . Fuu turned her head to the side and heard a tearing noise. She lifted her head and heard it again. But this time she also heard something else. Someone was pounding on something. Shaking her head to clear the fog she could now tell that the pounding was coming from downstairs. Putting the book down and swinging her legs from the bay window she winced as pins and needles danced in the revitalized limbs. Walking stiffly to the door, she peered around the jamb and breathed a sigh of relief when no one was there. She stopped at the hall closet and pulled out the wooden baseball bat she was sure was kept in there . . . just in case. Step by step the stinging sensation in her legs began to dissipate leaving her with more balance. Now if only she could get her eyes to focus.

She heard the pounding get louder the closer she got to the first floor and when she finally reached it she could see what she thought was a tall dark outline through the frosted glass door front. Tightening her grip on the bat she crept towards the door and tried to get a better look but her eyes still wouldn't focus. The pounding was getting to her and she figured that she'd only get it to stop when she opened the door and beat the living hell out of the jackass on the other side. She removed one hand from the bat and yanked the door open. Quickly returning the hand she prepared to swing. . .

"Fuu."

The shadow spoke. . . and it sounded like. . . "Jin?!" She couldn't really tell who it was because her damn eyes wouldn't focus. "Jin? Is that you?"

"Yes, it is me. Uh Fuu, why are you holding a broom?" Jin stood calmly in the doorway and watched the small girl in front of him with a bemused expression. She was wearing a bathrobe and a towel was falling off of her head. Her mouth hung slack and her eye was glazed. "And do you realize that you have paper stuck to your face?"

"Oh for Christ's sake!" Fuu threw the bat. . . er broom on the floor and clawed at her face. And finally she could focus. Realizing what had happened she began to blush.

She had fallen asleep while reading and her face had fallen onto her book. When the pounding on the door woke her she had lifted her head tearing a page out of the book which had become stuck to her face. Thinking that she had grabbed a bat from the hall closet she had actually taken a broom. Feeling like the world's biggest idiot she turned away from him and stormed upstairs completely ignoring the fact that she had left him on his own.

She washed her face in the bathroom and quickly changed into jeans and a black t-shirt pink sakura screened onto the front. Wrestling a comb through her half dried and tangled rat's nest, she prepared to talk to Jin.

Who was Jin? Well, Jin was a freshman at the local university studying international business. He had long black hair that he usually kept in a tight ponytail and wore wire framed glasses, though she'd heard they were just for show, he stood straight and tall and wore clean crisp professional clothes and he was quite possibly the handsomest man that Fuu had ever met. She couldn't believe she'd made such an ass of herself in front of him. He was probably downstairs laughing at her right now. Not that it mattered. The only reason Fuu had even met him was because he was dating her sister, Shino.

Shino was the perfect daughter. So pretty, so smart, so put together. She never lost her temper and always had a kind word and solid advice to give. She had been accepted to every university that she had applied to but had decided to stay in the city so that she could help with her grandparents' business. She was studying social work because she wanted to help women from abusive homes.

She and Jin had met at the university union during a free speech rally and they had hit it off very well. They had gone on several dates and her grandparents accepted him into their home. They were just so. . . damn perfect.

Fuu loved her sister and could begrudge her nothing but sometimes she wished that she didn't have to live up to so much. She wasn't as pretty as Shino, she wasn't as smart as Shino, she got perfect grades but they always came so hard. Shino never had to pull an all nighter to get her perfect grades. Fuu had an infamous temper and many regulars to the tea shop avoided her tables when they saw that particular glint in her eyes. Shino's life seemed so well planned out, she graduated high school the most popular girl in school, got accepted to college, and met the man of her dreams. Fuu was the high school wall flower and the outcasts' whipping boy.

Still fuming but trying to get herself in control she mostly calmly walked down the stairs. She found Jin in the living room sitting on the couch and staring at the TV but not really looking. Plastering what she hoped was a smile to her face she sat in the armchair. "So what brings you here?"

"Um, I was hoping I could talk to you about something." Jin looked down at his clasped hands.

"ehhh?" Fuu leaned forward in her chair. No one had ever asked her for advice before. She didn't think she was very qualified for doling it out, but hell she'd give it a try.

"As you know I've been dating Shino for a while now. I have very strong feeling for her. I'm not quite sure if you're the right person to be talking about this to but I really have no other option." He looked up to see her face contorted with indignity and put his hands up in a placating gesture. "Ah sorry sorry, that came out wrong. I was just wondering what you would think if I asked your sister to marry me."

Fuu's face instantly took on a surprised expression. "WHAT!! are you kidding me? That would be awesome!" Inside she was drowning in the romance of it all and raging at the unfairness of the universe. Why didn't these things happen to her?

Jin's face lit up unexpectedly in a smile. "Really? Great. Thanks Fuu. Do you think your grandparents would accept me?"

"Well duh. You already practically live here anyway." She got up and jumped on the couch ala Tom Cruise. "When are you gonna do it? When are you gonna propose?"

"Well that's another thing. I'm not sure how to go about it. I was hoping you could help me plan something."

"But of course I can. This'll be great" And so Fuu started on her second assignment which she dubbed unimaginatively the Get Shino Hitched plan.

Author's notes: Okay so it's been prolly over a year since I wrote the first chapter and I'm so sorry about that but I couldn't think of anything to write and I've been wicked busy. And I know this chapter isn't that great and I'm not sure which direction I'm going with this but hopefully it won't be a year till the next chapter. Please review if you feel like it.