Chapter two

Subtlety and the art of Seduction

Mugen and the tattooed woman were bound in ropes, their wrists and necks were connected to a long rope that was tied to the saddle of a horse which was leading them both to the police station at the edge of the city. Being a sailor, Mugen had to admire the knot work the guards did to accomplish the convict tether that was currently around their necks.

Mugen turned his attention to the woman who was walking next to him. How in the world could I miss that, he thought to himself. He looked at her face and the answer was clear. Half a false moustache hung limply on her mouth, Mugen had cut it by accident when he tore through her clothing with his sword. He did this while spinning through air over, a well. His landing was greeted with a shocking surprise.

Realizing what Mugen was staring at, the woman attempted to rip the remainder of her false moustache off without success. It was difficult with her wrists bound and the primary tether of the restraints constantly pulling her forward.

"You probably used a little too much bonding gum" Mugen said. "I've had my experience of disguises and believe me, that stuff is a bitch to get off."

Ignoring him, she continued her work with the mustache in silence.

After a few attempts she finally completed her task revealing the face of a comely young woman. Almost as if on cue, a breeze picked up, blowing her soft dark hair in an eerie, slow motion pattern. Some of the guards took note and just started to stare at her as they walked. One guard fell off a small bridge, because he wasn't watching where he was going. Strangely, the procession seemed to pay the missing guard no mind and continued to move over the bridge and on.

Even Mugen had to appreciate her natural beauty. There was no make up to hide her perfect skin, the soft curves of her body could now be seen between the makeshift wraps of silk which previously held her bosom tight, giving her just barely enough masculine quality to appear as a young boy.

But now, with the wraps gone, her qualities of a woman could be seen in an almost indecent manner. She is probably one of the best fighters I've gone up against in a long time, Mugen thought to himself, as he spied her tight muscles glistening with perspiration from the fight. He always had a great respect for someone who could hold their own in a fight, especially in a fight against him. That and the ropes holding her bondage gave Mugen a growing tightness in his loin cloth which he could not hide.

Damn these ropes. Please don't look down. Please.

Somehow one of the guards happened to notice Mugen's growing tightness and broke out laughing. To make matters worse, he came up behind Mugen, and with the flat of his scabbard, slapped Mugen's backside. The contact made Mugen's member grow to almost double its size.

"Whoa! He likes that" the guard said, sending the other guards into a fit of laughter.

"You are so dead" cried Mugen. "I'm killing you first, you piece of shit!"

"Sergeant Hatori! This is not a side show" it was the constable, he road back to see what was going on. "I see any of you doing that again and you will join them in restraints, do you understand?"

At that, the entire formation stopped what they were doing and faced the constable.

"Yes" they all responded in unison. This was followed by a bow and then silence for the rest of the trip.

During the incident the girl just smiled.

The formation moved uneventful for a few more minutes and then Mugen turned to the girl.

"I'm getting outta here" he whispered.

A minute later he continued "When we reach the gates, I'm gonna need a distraction. You seem pretty good at doing that" he said, moving closer to her. "I need to get as close to the guy pulling your rope as possible, he has my sword." The girl looked up and noticed the guard did indeed have Mugen's sword strapped to his back.

The guard that swatted Mugen's backside noticed that the two were whispering and moved in closer to break it up.

"Hey, stop whispering or I'll bust your teeth in" said the guard pushing Mugen away from the girl.

Mugen turned to the guard and in a calm voice said "Remember…your first."

The girl slowly turned to Mugen and smiled. That was a yes in his book.

A few minutes more and they were at the gates to the city. The jailhouse, where they would be interrogated wouldn't be too far from that point.

Just then the girl fell to the ground and was being dragged. The guard on the horse pulling her stopped and turned around to see what was going on. Mugen moved in and grabbed the end of his scabbard. The guard wearing his sword pulled it away easily, laughing. Mugen then pulled hard and the dagger concealed in the butt end of his scabbard came free, much to the shock of the guard holding the sword.

In one fluid movement, Mugen cut the primary tether around his neck and impaled the groin of the guard who was approaching him from behind.

"I told you, you'd be first" Mugen said, twisting and the ripping out the guard's bowels with a second slice.

Grabbing the guard's sword, Mugen threw it to the girl who used it on her primary tether and then to sever the guard's leg who was holding Mugen's sword. Blood sprayed the area as the guard sat limp in the saddle.

What happened next could only be described as a dance of death, with Mugen reunited with his sword and the girl both, cutting down any and all that came within weapons reach. Back to back their skill as a team was amazing, kicking, spinning, moving effortlessly as if the two had done this before. After leaving a moaning circle of dead and dying, the pair made their escape towards the woods.

By the time the rifle column was ready to fire, the bloody duo had disappeared into the nearby forest, dodging bullets that whizzed by the trees.

The next hour was spent chasing the girl through the woods. Mugen was once again taken by surprise by the girl's limitless endurance as the two of them ran through streams, climbed hills and slalomed trees in order to create distance between them and the city guards.

Finally after four hours of non-stop running, the girl stopped to rest. Mugen bent over feeling like he was going to vomit, but there was nothing inside his stomach to come out.

He had to respect this girl's stamina; the only thing that kept him going was the thought that a girl was going to beat him. Breathing deeper he watched the girl stretch, feeling that familiar pressure return.

A few miles earlier they had reached a stream and the girl dove in allowing the blood from the previous battle to wash away from her perfect flesh. Mugen joined her, but as soon as he made his way near her she got up and she was off and running again. He called her a 'Bitch' but she didn't seem to hear him, and even if she did, she was a machine. Nothing seemed to stop her constant motion. All Mugen could do was tag along and hope there was a break in the near future.

"Why are you following me" she asked, as she finished her stretches. "It's obvious that you are a lone wolf type, lone wave, take your pick. What do you want?"

Mugen nodded his head. "Well it was gonna come out anyway" he said, making himself comfortable on a moss covered tree log. He then pointed at her stomach.

"I want half of the treasure."