Of Gunshots and Sorrow
Chapter 3
Better Than Home
AN/
Moody1656: Okay so I decided to make up for the long wait I'd post this chapter a few days after the second one. The truth is I was grounded……again…like it's my fault I'm lazy! Okay it is. Jin if you will distract me please…
Jin: Moody1656 does not own any of the characters in Samurai Champloo, she did however create the character Hino.
Mugen: Are you going to say stupid things here again?
Moody1656: I think I'll wait until later.
Fuu: Are you sure?
Moody1656: Yup! On with the story!
He woke up to a strange feeling that caused him to wake up. No, not the usual migraine feeling, more like the watched type of feeling. Mugen slowly opened his eyes, trying to focus them. He automatically looked up and saw Fuu staring at him. "What?" He grumbled.
"I was just thinking." Fuu said yawning.
"You were staring at me." He pointed out.
"That's what I'm thinking about." She continued to say. "Why I'm stuck staring at you, because of your bad bandaging I can't move."
Mugen rolled his eyes and sat up yawning. He turned to face her again, "Fuck you."
"Why'd you sleep on the floor?" Fuu decided to change the subject, and not argue.
"'Cause some ungrateful bitch took my bed." He snapped at her. She muttered an apology which he ignored. "What time is it?"
"By now it should be about 7:30." She answered uninterested bout the time. "Mugen?"
"What the hell do you want now?" He muttered trying to sleep again.
"Why'd y—" Fuu was cut off by her growling stomach.
Mugen's eyes opened in a glare directed to the girl. He growled sitting up and facing her. He looked at her with an I-hate-my-life look and grudgingly stood up.
She watched as he stretched before leaving the room. Fuu kept her eyes patiently on the door frame as she waited for him to get back. She heard the familiar trudge of his get closer and soon he came into view again. He carried in his hands to tin cans.
Mugen dropped on the chair he had been sitting on the day before. "Don't whine." He warned tossing a can at her and popped his drink open.
Fuu blinked at him but mimicked his motions and sipped tentatively at the drink. She felt a slight burn go down her throat and coughed. "Mugen! This is beer! I'm only 16!" She told him holding the beer away from her face in her lap.
His eyes remained impassive and he shrugged, "So what?" She stared at him incredulous. Could the buffoon really not understand the concept of a legal drinking age? "I'm 19 and I've been drinking since I got thrown out of my parents' house."
The fact that he had even told her his age surprised Fuu. She stretched to learn more about him and asked, "How long ago was that?" Mugen glared at her and looked from the beer to her again. She understood what he meant and took another sip of the beer.
He smirked; happy he finally had some control over her. Mugen took a large gulp of his beer before deciding to look at her again, "I was a year younger than you. Been on the streets since."
His contentment with that fact surprised her. The age surprised her. "But you live with Jin," Fuu pointed out. "Is it really the streets if you have a home?"
Mugen rolled his eyes, "Yeah right, like if I really want to stick around with fish butt. This deal is only temporary, it won't be too soon when he either kicks me out or I ditch this place." He finished off his beer and crushed the can in his hands. Mugen stood and walked over to Fuu and took the can from her hands putting it on the small bureau next to the bed.
Fuu watched with patient eyes a he sat back down. "So after this you're going back to the streets?" She asked confused.
"That's the plan," He stated matter-of-factly. Mugen's mouth opened like if he were going to say something but he hid it from Fuu by playing it off as a yawn. "You should go back to sleep girly."
Fuu glared at him at the name, but laid her head back down on the pillow on Mugen's bed. "Fine." In truth it didn't even take her too long to fall asleep, just after she heard him drop back on the ground she found herself dreaming of her father, about a time before he died.
When she had opened her eyes again her first thought was to see if Mugen was still asleep. Surprisingly when she looked over he was gone.
Fuu's stomach growled once again and she sighed looking at the beer. It was probably not as good anymore but it was something. She drank a little before deciding it was too bitter for her tastes and left it on the bureau already feeling a little sick. "I wonder if Jin got anything food."
With that said she spun her body carefully on the bed. This time Fuu took Mugen's advice and held onto the bed frame for support as she stood up. The pain wasn't what made walking hard, but the fact that her legs had gone numb. "Crap." She hissed taking a step forward while holding onto the wall. She continued this pattern as she walked out of the room.
She reached a hallway and plodded down to where she could make out a door with a peep hole down in the corner of the room at the end of the hall. As she got closer to the end of the hall she saw a small living room with a couch and chair around a coffee table adjoining a kitchen with a counter where the sink was located creating a window to see inside the small kitchen or outside to the living room, she noticed that the kitchen was also so small only one person could probably fit there at a time.
The sound of a book closing averted her attention from the kitchen. Jin looked up at her from the couch questioningly. "You're walking?"
Fuu laughed slightly, "Stumbling really. It's not really the pain anymore, but my legs did fall asleep." Jin nodded, noticing that she didn't seem to want any help he let her trip her way to the chair.
Gripping the top of the chair she walked around the back and plopped down in the chair. After Jin had noticed she was okay and sitting down h went back to his book, ignoring her presence. Fuu sighed realizing, that she would have been just as entertained staying in bed.
The clock in the kitchen kept ticking away from 3: 35 to 3:36 and Fuu became impatient and tried to break the silence. "Jin? Do you know where Mugen went?" She couldn't believe she was actually wondering about him but she really hoped he was getting food. Jin didn't look up and just shook his head. "Do you know when he'll be back?"
"He left a few minutes before you came here, so there's no way to be certain." Jin kept his voice stoic and impersonal.
"Oh…" she realized that if he went for food it was probably only for him. From the few hours she'd come to have the pleasure of knowing him she had already learned he liked booze, sex (a lot), was as fond of his roommate as he was of him, he was looking for someone and he was a selfish bastard. But did she really have the right to say that when he was helping her and even gave her his bed and some clothes to borrow, even bandage her wounds? She shook off the last thought and stuck with her first.
Fuu continued to try and keep her mind busy and off of her hunger. An hour passed and her thoughts had turned so boring that she fell asleep all over again. Jin paid her no mind and continued to read his book. He heard her start snoring as the clock reached :20 PM and sighed placing his book on the couch.
Her head bumped against his chest after he picked her up in his arms. Jin walked calmly back into Mugen's room, even more upset at the growing mess, and walked over all his trash and clothes around the bed and pillow and sheets next to its left side. He carefully placed her on the bed so as to not wake her or hurt her.
When he turned around he heard the front door close and Mugen's familiar trudge to his room. As he began to exit Mugen went in ignoring his presence and placing a plastic bag full of clothes on the bed. The slight pressure on her feet woke Fuu again.
"Why are you taking care of this girl?" Jin asked Mugen's back. Fuu realized they didn't know she was awake and decided to wait and listen to what they were talking about.
Mugen shrugged. "Do I need a reason?"
"It's about Hino isn't it?" Jin asked calmly.
Mugen turned to face him and glared. Fuu tried to keep her breathing controlled and listen carefully. "Don't mention her."
Jin's voice calmly replied. "I noticed when you brought her in. They both look alike, not to mention the girl is also in the same condition as Hino before she—"
There was a slam against the wall. It appeared that Mugen threw something at Jin and he dodged it. It sounded like if it broke when it collided with the wall. "Shut the hell up! You don't understand how it happened!"
There was a silence as Mugen breathed through seethed teeth. "I'm telling you now Mugen. You can't use her as atonement for your previous mistake."
"I didn't make any fucking mistake!" Mugen yelled, his tone clearly stated that he himself was desperate to believe what he said. "It was all her fault anyways. She was always a genius and then she goes and fucks herself over." He forced out a chuckle.
"If it doesn't have to do with Hino, then would I be correct to guess that Fuu is starting to grow on you?" Jin asked
"As if…" He scoffed regaining his calm.
Jin waited silently as Mugen controlled himself again. "You can't use the girl like this."
"Who the hell are you to talk?!" Mugen snapped back with a scoff. "Why don't you go back to your family, huh Jin?! You're just as bad as I am. I'm not using her as whatever the hell you said, but you are using me as an excuse to not have to return."
Fuu tried not to furrow her eyebrows as she thought over what they said, and still couldn't make any sense of it. Jin let out a sigh as she thought making it easier for her to relax. "I'll mind my own business then."
He walked out so quietly Fuu had to strain to make sure he was gone. Mugen kept on breathing hard and deeply. His breathing got closer and soon she felt a weight on the bed on her left side. Fuu opened her eyes to see his back and left side. "Mugen…?" She asked sitting up.
Mugen grabbed the bag from the end of the bed and placed it next to the pillow. "Here, I got you some clothes. I don't need any of my clothes smelling clean." He grunted.
She grabbed the bag and opened it in her lap seeing a few pairs of jeans, t-shirts, a new sweatshirt, socks, and even underwear. In order to not anger him even more at the moment she ignored the underwear or the fact that he had gotten all of her sizes right and decided to just be grateful. "Thanks…" Fuu was tentative at the next thing she said, "Are you—are you okay?"
Mugen chuckled. "Why the hell wouldn't I be?" His tone obviously meant that she should just shut up and forget everything.
Fuu sighed and threw the bag back to the end of the bed. "As long as nothing's wrong." She said sarcastically.
He turned to face her and was about to snap again but instead ended up chuckling. "You sure are a dumbass."
"Hey!"
"Anyways, you were interrogating me this morning so the least you can do is explain why the hell would a girl like you be running away from some guy?" At that he laid down next to her on the bed and she moved closer to other edge trying to keep some space between them. He was now lying on his back facing the ceiling and she was still sitting up. "I mean any idiot who's after you must have serious brain damage."
Fuu hit his stomach making him jerk up. "Asshole! It's not like that. He's my stepfather." She explained looking down at his blank face. "A few days ago I found out he was the one who killed my dad. So I told my mom and when she confronted him he killed her. I got in the way while he tried to get to her, which is why you found me so beat up, and as he killed her with a kitchen knife I just bolted. Now he wants to kill me." She sighed and flopped down beside Mugen, her head hurting from remembering the events. "Anyways, I'm really glad I met you. Thanks to you I'm alive."
Mugen stiffened at the seriousness of her words, gratitude, and silent tears. Stupid kid was starting to grow on him. "Man you're annoying." He mumbled.
"Shut up." She mumbled back. "Are you going to sleep here or on the floor?"
Mugen smirked to himself and pulled the sheets from the ground. In one swift movement he pulled the sheets over them both, wrapping his arm around her waist. She tensed up as he pulled her to his chest. "Relax, I don't plan on doing anything." Mugen spoke into her hair. "But if you want me to…" He smirked slipping his bony hand under her, really hi, shirt. "…I guess I can come up with something."
"Mugen! Get off!" She yelled trying to push him away. Mugen smirked at the fact she thought she could beat him. So being as noble as he was he rolled on top of her and tightened his grip on her.
Mugen hovered his chapped lips over hers, pleased at the sound of her yelling his name. It amused him how easily she fell for it. At that he moved back to his previous position, chucking. "Idiot, I may just about lay any girl, but you're way too damn flat chested."
"Ass!" Fuu exclaimed elbowing him. "It's only…" he looked at the glass of her watch. "It's only seven."
"What of it?" he grumbled looking at her through the corner of his eye.
Fuu began to open her mouth t respond but for the third time was beat by her stomach. "Is there anything to eat?"
"What did I give you this morning?"
"A can of beer."
"So what do you think you can have?"
Fuu sighed. Moving the sheet off of her she tried to stand up from the bed. After she found her balance she looked at Mugen again. "When you moved me here where'd you leave the grey sweatshirt I had on?"
Mugen grudgingly rolled out of bed, literally rolled off of the bed onto the floor. Fuu walked to where he fell to make sure he wasn't too hurt. When she saw him though, she was surprised to see him digging under his bed. "Here." He said throwing her sweatshirt to her.
She stuck her hand in the pocket and pulled out a pink wallet. "Are there any decent places to eat around here?"
Moody1656: Again another chapter!
Mugen: You made me sound emotional…I hate you.
Moody1656: I'm sorry!
Jin: Soon, however, you will be extricating me from this story.
Moody1656: It's only for a few chapters! You'll come back! To any Jin fans, I am very sorry for this but it must be done!
Fuu: For the meantime I'll usually be stuck alone with the walking stink bomb…yippeeh. (Sighs sarcastically)
Mugen: Do you have a problem with how I smell.
Fuu: Yes.
Moody1656: Anyways, time for the preview!
Preview for next chapter
"What happened?" Fuu asked finally snapping out of her thoughts.
Jin ignored her question and resorted to glare at Mugen. "I don't know or care why you've taken it on yourself to protect this girl. However, I won't let her stay any longer." Jin finished and turned to Fuu. "Excuse me."
Mugen looked down at Fuu's shocked and frightened face and walked after Jin. "Hey, wait." Mugen called following him into his room.
Moody1656: Oh snap-crackers! What will happen?!
Mugen: I have to—
Moody1656: Shush! Jerk, they need to review to find out! Also if any of you think you know what Hino's relation to Mugen is or think you know what might have happened to her, please try. I'd love to hear people's guesses, plus see if I made it too obvious. Well thanks for reading!