Vol. 6 Role Reversal

-Mugen-

We found a small shack to sleep in. Jin went to see if he could kind some food and I was babysitting Fuu. It had been two days and she hadn't woken up yet. She was sweating real bad. Jin said he hoped she wasn't getting an infection. That would be bad, she might die if that happened. She groaned and turned her head. I got up and went to sit next to her.

"Fuu, you awake?" I whispered. She didn't say anything. Maybe she was havin' a dream or nightmare. I got the cloth out of the bowl with water in it and wiped the sweat that was trickling down her forehead. Fuu was usually the one to do this crap, but now it was her. I figured I owed her. Her hair was all plastered to her head and she was pale. I wasn't too surprised about that, this was the first time she'd ever been hurt this bad. She had been hit a few times and there was the bad beating she got at Ikitsuki Island, but never stabbed. I didn't think this would be it for Fuu. She was a stubborn bitch, no doubt she would be back getting on my nerves in a day or so. I sighed and threw the cloth back into the water harshly.

-Jin-

"Worried?" I asked Mugen when I saw him throw the cloth. I had inadvertently snuck up on him. I knew he was worried about Fuu, and so was I. I knew Fuu had some kind of feelings for Mugen ever since that night back at the river when Fuu told me of her fears of us splitting apart. Maybe she didn't feel that way anymore, but it had only been a few months since we saw each other.

"No…maybe a little." He looked up at me. "I just feel kinda bad, ya know? We always save her ass and this time we didn't."

"I feel the same way." I laid down some fish it had taken me forever to catch and started skewering them.

"Good, you got dinner. I didn't know you could fish now, you used to suck at it."

I glared at him and jammed the stick a little harder than I should have through the fish's middle. Mugen grinned crookedly, an expression that was familiar to me but had been so long since I had seen.

"Just like old times, eh?"

I nodded. "Mmm."

"Kinda funny how this keeps happening to us. We started goin' in three separate directions, and here we are all ending up in the same place. To top it all off we're back to saving Fuu again." He chuckled again. "I don't think that the three of us will able to get away from each other, no matter how hard we try."

"So it seems," I agreed. It wasn't the worst prospect in the world. They were my only friends.

"So what have you been doing for the past few months?" Mugen questioned.

"Not much," I answered as I leaned against the shack's wall.

"Apparently you haven't gotten to like talking any more. You're still quiet as ever."

"I doubt that will ever change."

-Fuu-

My eyes cracked slowly open. Firelight dimly lit the room I was in. My side hurt pretty bad, it was then that I remembered what happened. Jin…Mugen…the magistrate stabbing me. I sat up quickly with a gasp. Jin and Mugen's heads turned to me quickly. My kimono slid down my shoulders and I pulled it up quickly. I blushed knowing that they had to take it off to do something about my wound. I still had my --- on to my relief. I think I would have died of embarrassment if Mugen had snuck a peek while I was asleep. He would do something like that too…jerk.

"What are ya tryin' to do, reopen the cut?" Mugen asked like I was stupid. Yup, same old Mugen.

Jin came and gently pushed my shoulder until I was lying down again. "You are badly hurt, you need to stay down."

"I'm fine," I assured him. "I'm kind of hungry though."

"What's new?" Mugen mumbled.

"How did you guys come to the village?" I asked. "Where have you been?"

Mugen answered first. "I was in the city and some guy decided to pick a fight with me, then when I took care of him some guy offered me five ryo to do security at a wedding."

"Five ryo!?! Did you get the money?"

"No, I got some of it, but the rest was going to be paid to us after the wedding. Look at this stupid thing I had to wear," he said pointing to the outfit he was wearing. "The lady who did the outfits made me one special 'cause I didn't like the others."

"You were the guard who refused to wear the outfits?" Jin questioned. "Chiyo told me about you."

"How do you know Chiyo?" Mugen asked.

"Who is Chiyo?" I interrupted.

"Chiyo was a woman whose husband asked me to deliver medicine for their sick son. I too was in the city when I was recruited. When I got here the woman asked me to help her. She is the local seamstress and was making the garments for the wedding. She asked for my help."

"Ha! You were doing a chick job?" Mugen laughed in disbelief.

"You were staying at the seamstress' house?" I asked. "I was working at the teahouse next door. I was working as a waitress and they let me stay in a room upstairs."

"The cute waitress was you?" Mugen questioned. "The old lady lied."

"Hey!"

"It seems we were all staying very close to each other, and passed at just the right moments to not see one another," Jin interjected, stopping the argument. He handed Mugen and I a skewered fish.

"So what happens now?" I asked. It had been on my mind since I saw them. Would we split up again, or would we stay together? I didn't know which would be best, but I knew what my heart wanted. It wanted to be with my friends again. I had been fine by myself these past few months, but I was lonely. I had proved to myself that I could make it on my own.

"I dunno," Mugen shrugged. "I didn't really have any plans."

"Nor did I," Jin added. "Where did you come from Fuu?"

"Nowhere really, I've just been walking around. Me and Momo. I was just trying to pick up a little money while I was here. It was my birthday last week you know, I'm sixteen now."

"Happy friggin' birthday," Mugen said uninterestedly.

"Thanks, jackass." I missed calling him that.

"Happy birthday Fuu," Jin said more nicely. There, that was a more proper birthday greeting, maybe a little reserved. Still better though.

"So here we are. The three of us back together, just like before. There isn't anywhere to go though, we don't have a mission."

"Like we would ever do any more favors for you," Mugen sneered. "The last one you wrangled us into was a trick. By the way, I should kick the shit out of you for that."

"You had fun and you know it," I teased. I knew that Mugen wouldn't have traded our journey for anything else. We had some good times back then, not that it was that long ago or anything.

"Maybe until we both almost died," he protested, gesturing to Jin as well.

I crossed my arms and stared at him with a skeptical look. "So you're telling me that you two didn't think that those were the most challenging and thrilling fights of your lives? And that if you could do it all over again, you would take it back?"

Jin shook his head, and reluctantly, so did Mugen.

"So what's your point?" he asked, disgruntled.

"That was it," I shrugged.

"I think we'd better get some rest," Jin said. "We have to move along tomorrow before any one tries to catch us."