Chapter 5

Into the Woods

Mugen was very much asleep. It was the most asleep I think I'd seen him since we were reunited. Nary an elbow to the face or kick to the stomach as I lay beside him. Funny that he never seemed to be truly comfortable in my flat, yet on the run from the law in an abandoned grain silo, he easily found peace.

I knew why this was, of course. The reason was lying to my other side, patiently waiting for me to realize he was not so sleepy. I rolled over and stared, giving him the cue that he could slowly shift his gaze to meet mine, if he so desired, and we could still pretend this was all spontaneous and accidental. Such was our secret language, still perfectly fluent after all this time. "Hmmm," I said when our eyes finally locked.

"Hmmm."

We stood just outside the doorway, gazing at the night sky. We often shared a good stand together on our journeys. Some people have long talks into the sunset. Jin and I always had long silences. "Fish, huh?" I said, after a time.

"Hmm," he said, and this particular "hmm" was dusted pink with the slightest flush of self-consciousness. "I picked up some pointers on the road. I thought it might suit me."

"Does it?"

He took a moment to formulate his answer, as he always did. I got the impression that he was constantly proving and disproving an array of thesis statements in his head, so that even when he ordered lunch, there could be no doubt it was the best possible lunch to order. "In some ways," he said. "I like the stillness. And I like the certainty. Knowing that tomorrow, I will fish. And the day after that, I will fish. And I will get two coins for each at the market."

I nodded, understanding. But then, here we are. Not at all still and not at all certain. "Then why did you come?" I asked. "Traveling with Mugen is none of those things."

"Stillness suits me in some ways," he replied. "But not all."

In some ways, but not all. In some ways, Jin knew me as deeply and as profoundly as one can know another person. But not all.

In some ways, Mugen filled the cracks and holes inside me, made me flush with things I could never feel or even give a name to otherwise. But not all.

In some ways they were the journey. In some ways they were the destination. In some ways I am only truly myself in their presence. In some ways. But not all.

"Egg?"

I awoke with Mugen practically shoving the thing up my nose. "Thanks," I snatched it away from him, rubbing the sleep from my eyes with my other hand. "Where'd you get it?"

He shrugged. "Around."

I gazed out the doorway and noticed a small blizzard of chicken feathers emanating from a nearby coop. Well, we're not long for this silo. "Suck it down, babe," he confirmed. "We gotta move."

I disliked raw eggs, but food was food. "Where are we going?" I said, after choking the goo down my throat.

"I got places."

"Quit being coy," Jin said flatly, gathering his hair away from his face. "It's irritating."

Mugen gave him a look before saying, "We're going to Danbo-rushi. Mean anything to you?"

Jin shook his head. I shrugged. "Feel better now that I've told you?" he asked.

We both shook our heads. "Then trust me for once in your god damn lives and lets go."

Since that one fell neatly under the What Choice Do We Have category, Jin and I obliged.

The more we walked, the more I realized we were going further and further into the woods. I tried to bite my tounge about my growing discomfort, but the truth was, I didn't trust him. To have my back when the shit went down, yes. But he could not be counted on to do what was safe, or wise, or to avoid what was not necessary. We were in enough trouble as it was, and it was getting dark. "Mu.." I began.

"Shush," he snapped.

"It's just…"

"Shut up."

"I mean, its getting sort of dark…"

"Seriously."

I huffed and looked away from him. How dare he bust "seriously" out on me. I am always serious. That would be like telling Jin to simmer down. Besides, I'm not the one leading my friends around on some wild goose chase, getting them in trouble with the law and being all coy about it. I was about to officially register this complaint when several people dropped out of the canopy above, all of them wielding weapons. It wasn't long before yet another sharp object was pointed at my throat.

Jin's sword was already drawn, but Mugen did not budge. It was that strange fact, and I imagine that fact alone, that kept our assailants alive. Jin would have already ended them, otherwise.

"Mugen-san!" one of them exclaimed. "Shit, we thought you were dead!"

Mugen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. What else is new. Yo, these are my, er…This is Fuu and Jin."

Jin and I looked at each other and then gave an awkward little bow. "Isn't that the guy they contracted to kill you?" one of the other men asked, pointing a sai right underneath Jin's nose. Jin, for his part, was unimpressed.

"Nah, he's cool," Mugen said, already walking away.

The man gave Jin a harsh once over. Jin regarded him as if he were a mosquito that had just alighted on his arm. "I don't trust him," the man declared.

"That's good," Mugen called back over his shoulder. "Cause he'll kill ya'. Don't you idiots have anything important to do?"

The young man gave Jin a "We're not finished here" look, before suggesting, "We need firewood."

"Great. Do that," Mugen said, still walking.

And so it seemed the young man did. There were several men of a similar age milling about the woods. In fact, the further we walked, the more apparent it became that this was some sort of makeshift village. And that Mugen was the mayor.

"What shall I do with these rabbit hides, Mugen-san?" one asked as he scampered up to us. He also paused to give us a withering glare.

"Uh...you could..." Mugen seemed to look at us for assistance.

"Tan them?" Jin suggested, ever helpful.

"Sure. Yeah," Mugen said. "Tan 'em."

"I could make hats!" the boy said.

"That's...uh, yeah. OK. Make hats," Mugen said, quickening his step.

"I shall make hats for everyone!"

"Goody," Mugen grumbled, dusting the kid off. "God damn," he said, when the boy was out of ear shot. "Hats. What's this world coming to?"

"You tell me," I said. "You seem to be running it."

"I don't run shit," he said with his usual casualness, even going so far as to grab a twig to stick in his teeth. Dum de dum.

"So you're saying this all sprang up around you like mushrooms?" I asked, gesturing at our surroundings. "That you went to bed one night after a good rain, and woke up to find a bunch of kids gathering rations and taking orders?"

"I don't give orders!" he snapped, a little louder then I think he had intended. Everyone stopped to stare. He cleared his throat, nothing to see here. Dum de dum. When it was clear we still had an audience, he spun around and glared. "I said, dum de dum!" his expression said, and everyone resumed their work, practically whistling as they did so.

"I think, perhaps, you have a tale or two to tell us?" Jin asked, his voice kind.

Mugen rolled his eyes and leaned up against a tree. "Perhaps."