(a/n: I just have to say this before I get started. Thank you (sincerely) for everyone who came back to read and left comments. Even though I left for a while you guys came right back and weren't even mad. : D . So for you guys, I am posting an over-crazed and emotionally exhausting chapter dedicated to you. Aw….)

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Vol. 21 Disclosure, Distraction, and the Dramatic

-Jin-

"Shino," I repeated in disbelief.

Her delicate face stared back in shock. She looked exactly as I remembered; no, better. She had more light in her eyes. The worry that had once made her face sorrowful was gone. She looked radiant. She had the umbrella that she had once left at the little eel stand with her. The very same umbrella that I had so determinedly returned to her. It was open, I assumed to shade her from the sprinkling rain. She held it out in front of her carefully.

I was puzzled, she did not look entirely happy to see me. I decided to articulate the thought.

"You don't seem pleased by my presence."

A frown creased the skin between her brows. After another moment she shook her head. "It's not that…I just…I'm not allowed to have visitors."

I took a tentative step forward and she moved back. My turn to frown.

"Jin, there's some thing that I should probably tell you."

-Mugen-

"So whaddya wanna do now?" I asked Tsuki. She had been draggin' me along all day to one place after another. It's not like I really minded, she bought me a lot of stuff. Fuu apparently couldn't hack it with all of this emotional crap and had gone to get a job for fun. Screw that. I could ignore the emotional crap and focus on the good side: free shit. And maybe, just maybe, if I played my cards right I could get Tsuki to get me a girl.

"I don't know," she sighed. We had outrun it as long as we could and now it was catching up with her. "I'm out of ideas."

"Well," I began in my most persuasive and cool voice.

"No hookers. I veto the brothel idea," she said before I could finish.

"Damn." I thought again for a few seconds. "I got another one."

She looked up at me hopefully.

"Let's get drunk."

She actually laughed at that one. "You know what? That is the best offer I've heard in months."

We kept goin' down the street until we found a bar. Tsuki pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the dark and smoke filled place. Heads turned to look at us. Some of the guys who thought they were badass sized me up and then checked her out. Maybe they thought that we were together. I wondered if one of 'em might try to steal her from me anyway. It's not like I cared, but it would be the principle of the thing. If one of them hit on her, I'd kick their ass. Just to liven it up. I needed a good fight.

Tsuki inhaled the stale smoke. It looked like it cheered her up. We sat at the only empty table. There were some working girls in here, all over the guys who were payin' or who they thought eventually would. A few eyed me and then turned away. Probably jealous of Tsuki. Most girls wanted me, they were always all over me. It was exhausting.

A lady came up to the table to take our order. She had some wrinkles, but wasn't over forty five. She might have been pretty hott once. My eyes slid down from her face. Still had a nice set though…

"What'll you two love birds have?" she asked. She was smiling real wide, like she really was happy that we were a couple. Tsuki was about to burst her bubble but I leaned over and put my arm around her. Her eyebrows rose in surprise, but she played along.

"A bottle of sake for my fiancé and I," she told the woman. The waitress sighed like she was remembering what it was like when she was getting guys and walked off.

"Fiance, huh?" I asked. "I know you thought I was sexy, but I didn't know ya wanted to marry me. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to get in line behind all the other women. Chicks always want a ride on the Mugen train."

She gave me a mocking look. "Oh, I'm sure."

"You know it's true," I teased.

"Yeah, and in a few hundred years people will be walking on the moon." (a/n: Mind you this is the Edo period in Japan.)

"It could happen," I protested.

"Right…."

The woman came back and set down two small sake dishes and poured some in from the bottle. Then she nodded, set the bottle back down and left. Tsuki and I picked up the dishes; me carelessly in one hand so the liquid almost spilled out, and Tsuki carefully with the fingertips of both hands. We looked at each other.

"Cheers," we said together.

-Fuu-

I wanted a job. Anything to get my mind off what was going on. The thing with Tsukiko and Jin was too much. And Mugen…it was good to get away from him sometimes.

So here I was in the market selling something I knew little to nothing about: fish. The old couple that owned the place were great. They both looked like they were approaching their 120's and were very different from one another. The old woman was sever and ill-tempered, and the man was sweet natured and kind. It was he that hired me –on the spot- and taught me how to sell them, the fish that is.

"You can haggle with the customers, we overprice a little so that when we agree to a lower price they think they are getting a deal," the woman told me smugly. Apparently she thought she was smart. I thought she was a crook. "If you drop a fish, it is ruined and must be tossed out. That will be taken from your pay. Do you understand?"

I was working for too little money to take this crap, but I nodded. This was supposed to be for fun. Woohoo.

"I will be in the house cleaning more stock. I want you to sell at least twenty fish before I get back, or you're fired."

What? Could she do that? She left before I could say a thing. I looked helplessly at her little old husband perched on his stool with his hands folded over the head of his cane. He was supervising. He smiled, one tooth was missing, and gave me an encouraging wink. At least he believed in me.

A tad bit later……….

I was doing fairly well at my new fish peddling job. I had sold double my quota by the time the woman came back. She had told me that I might be worth keeping around after all.

"So where do you hail from?" the old man questioned when things began to wind down a little.

"I'm sort of an orphan. I have been traveling for a long time."

"Alone?"

"No." I did a half-smile, half-grimace. "I have three friends. At first it was just the two guys and me, then a girl came along. Now it's the four of us."

He tilted his head curiously. "Are you having troubles with them?"

"Yeah, but I don't really want to talk about it. It's why I got this job really, to get away from it all."

The man nodded to someone behind me. I turned to the customer. My mouth dropped open a little. There was a guy at the counter and he was totally gorgeous. I stepped up and began talking rapidly like most girls do when they are nervous.

"Uh, hi. What can I get you? We have a great selection of fish –unless you don't like fish, which is fine of course. The eels and squid are really fresh. Don't you think squids are kinda funny looking? I mean, why do they have so many legs?"

I stopped babbling right about there. I felt completely idiotic. This guy probably thought I was a nut. The old man behind me was trying to cover a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. The guy smiled at me. Dazzling.

"I'll take some squid and the rock crab, thank you." I just nodded, refusing to let myself talk for fear of saying anything else embarrassing. "I haven't ever seen you here before, are you new in town?" I nodded. "I'm Kazu."

"Oh, uh. I'm Fuu," I said awkwardly as I wrapped up his order.

"Fuu, what an interesting name." I handed him the bundle and he handed me the money. "I'll see you around Fuu, I hope."

With another mind-fogging smile he was gone. I turned to the old man who was full-on laughing now. I waited patiently for him to stop.

"Smooth," he cackled.

"I was caught off guard!" I argued. "If I was on my game, it would have gone better."

"I should probably tell you then," he sighed. "The young master Kazu is a monk."

"So?" I asked, unsure of what this meant.

"So, he's not allowed to have a woman…" My face fell. "Ever."

Damn, just when you meet a cute guy who seems interesting. I was going to end up an old spinster. Nope, no husband for Fuu. Not that I wanted to be married right at the moment, but an offer from someone other than a creep would be nice.

"Why do all of the cute ones have to be unavailable!?!" I cursed, more to the heavens than anyone else. I think I actually shook my fist at the sky.

The old man got off the stool with a creak and hobbled over to me. He peered into the sky where I was looking. "If you're listening, please take my wife before me!"

My shoulders slouched and I just shook my head.

-Jin-

"What?" I asked eagerly. I didn't know or care if this news was bad or good, I was just happy to see her.

A light turned on and she grabbed my sleeve and pulled me into the dark cover of some trees. The door opened and a head peeked out. After whoever it was was satisfied that no one was trespassing, they returned inside. Shino looked up at me. Most of her face was shadowed, but I could see enough of it to know she was worried. She still clutched the open umbrella close to her body, a paper and dowel barrier between us.

"What is it?" I demanded this time, though I said it gently. "Are they mistreating you in this place?"

She shook her head and looked down.

"You don't have to protect them if they are. We could still escape together, if you would want."

She was crying now; golden streams catching the setting sun's last light, sliding down her powdered skin.

"Jin," she finally managed to whisper.

I carefully gripped her shoulders to steady her. "Yes?"

She said nothing, but let the umbrella fall to the ground. I stared. I could do nothing else. Her eyes searched my face to gage my reaction to this surprise.

"You're pregnant." An obvious statement seeing that her stomach had grown to the size of a large melon. She nodded. This small action seemed to bring me back to what little sense I had left. I knew what had happened. I had left and she had found someone else. I had considered this a possibility when I left, but seeing and living it was much more distressing…or relieving perhaps… "I am sorry I have intruded then. I hope I have not caused too much grief by my unexpected arrival."

I turned to go but she caught my sleeve.

"Jin, no. Don't you understand?" I shook my head. "It might be yours."

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(a/n: Imagines all of the reader's faces to that last little line of dialog. He, he, he. Honestly, how many of you saw that one coming? Now, I know some of you want to kill me right now -or at the very least put me in critical condition- but I urge you to read on. there is still so much fun (for me at least) to come. Please R&R, just don't try to murder me via the net. I thank you very much.