Of Gunshots and Sorrow
Chapter 5
Pictures
AN/
Moody1656: Here I go! Time to start Chapter 5!
Mugen: You're stalling aren't you?
Moody1656: I have no idea what to do!
Mugen: Figures.
Moody1656: Okay I need some type of problem in this chapter…rape, murder, selling…oh I got it!
Fuu: I hope I'm not the victim.
Moody1656: Well enjoy the second attack from Fuu's stepfather…yes anyone who guess that the stepfather sent the killers was right. Anybody who thought it was Mukuro…no!! No! No! Bad!
Fuu: She's still stalling.
Moody1656: What?! No I'm not!
Fuu: Yes you are.
Moody1656: Whatever. For any of you who really want to know when more stuff about Hino is revealed well it is officially on chapter 7…where Shino comes out! Yay!
Fuu: Poor Jin…He's gone.
Mugen: Good riddance.
Moody1656: Poor Jin…also for any of you who want to know when he'll be back…I'll announce it at the beginning of the chapter in which he appears.
Mugen: I don't want him to come back.
Moody1656: He only really stays with you two for like three days.
Mugen: Three too many.
Fuu: That's what you say after he gave you a home?
Mugen: I'm out aren't I?
Moody1656: Enough bickering. On with the story!
"Thank you so much." Fuu said after swallowing some food. "Thanks to my," Fuu raise her hands and made quotation marks, " 'Traveling companion' I was afraid I'd never eat."
"Oh, it's no problem at all." The man she'd just bumped into laughed. "My name is Hishikawa Moronobu, I'm a local photographer here."
"Hey, kid." Mugen called pulling up a chair next to Fuu. "I need something to eat." He grunted stealing her plate.
"You pig!" She yelled smacking him on the head. "You can at least be polite!"
Mugen looked from her to Moronobu and shrugged. "'Sup playboy."
Moronobu laughed awkwardly. "My name is Moronobu."
Mugen looked at him with a nonchalant expression. "Okay…"
Fuu looked at the confused man nervously. "Don't take it personally, he does that to everyone."
Mugen continued to eat what ever Fuu had gotten without paying either of the other two people much attention. "I see…" Moronobu said with a smile.
Fuu looked back at Mugen. "Hey where'd my money go?!" She yelled.
Mugen passed her the pink wallet she always carried and groaned. "You don't even have enough for a quickie. Your money is worthless."
"That's what you get for stealing from me." She said sticking her tongue out at him. Fuu looked back at Moronobu. "Sorry, he's naturally a jerk."
He waved his hand like if swatting away a fly. "I don't mind. Am I wrong to believe you are looking for some work?"
"Well, it would make things a lot easier." The young girl admitted.
Mugen kept his ears attentive, though appeared to not care about anything other than ordering more food.
"As it turns out the model that I was going to use for an advertisement in a magazine has moved out of the country," He laughed jovially. "Would you like to take her place? I would give you a fair amount of money for your services."
Fuu's eyes brightened and she blushed slightly at being proposed to model. "Really?! Oh I would really appreciate that."
"We can meet at my studio two blocks from here." Moronobu proposed handing her his card.
Mugen laughed to himself at the ridiculousness of the offer. "Do you have a problem?" Fuu growled.
"Don't mind me," Mugen said with a humored grin. "I'm just trying to remember when was the last time I saw pigs fly."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Fuu asked angrily.
"Well if you're getting offered a job to—" He stopped, chuckling slightly. "—model, the world must be backwards!"
"Mugen!" Fuu exclaimed. "Why do you have to be such a moron!?"
He scoffed, "It's not my fault that I'm honest!"
"Ha!" Fuu faked a laugh. "That' a load of bull shit!"
Moronobu laughed asking for the bill as the two argued senselessly. It was fairly entertaining. They continued to argue even after he paid so he spoke up. "I am quite serious about my offer." He told Fuu. "It would really mean a lot to me if you were to help me out of my current situation."
"Don't worry, I will!" Fuu assured him slapping a hand over Mugen's mouth. "You can ignore everything he says. He did drugs before I met him, probably still does. The guy already had brain damage to begin with." She laughed nervously.
His smile dazed her as he stood. "Can you meet me tomorrow?"
"Sure! I have nothing to do other than baby-sit him anyway."
"This is the best you could come up with?" Fuu asked depressed at the scenery before her.
Mugen scowled and grabbed her backpack and his own throwing it into the room. "Stop complaining. It seems like that's the only thing you do."
"It's a store; an empty, old store." She sighed looking at the dingy place. It seemed to be an old abandoned liquor store. It was in an even worse part of the small city they were in. The place had broken windows, a collapsed ceiling, and its very own graffiti mosaic on the outside. In short it was a dump. "Are there no inns or hotels around here?"
Mugen rolled his eyes, "Does it seem like a dump of a city like this would have anything good. I bet all the inns around here are worse than this place."
"Don't tell me your real reason has to do with money," Fuu sighed shaking her head.
"Fine if you want to go to the dump inns here we'll go." Mugen decided picking up his things. "I just happen to know these parts better than you, so I guess you shouldn't listen to me."
"Fine," Fuu sighed, sitting down on the ground next to where he was standing. Mugen smirked victoriously and sat down as well. "Hey Mugen, I was thinking that you should get a job too."
He looked at her strangely. "A job?" She nodded. "You're getting one, why should I have ta too?"
She moved to sit with her knees close to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. "I was just thinking that if we got enough money we could skip some walking and reach the next town by cab or something."
"Why don't I just hijack a car, saves the trouble of work." Mugen pointed out.
Fuu rolled her eyes, getting tired of his thought process. "Never mind," She said lying down on her back with her backpack as a pillow.
He looked at her confused before lying down as well. "Hey kid," Fuu turned to face him to show him he had her attention. "I don't want you to go with that guy tomorrow."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "Why not? He offered me a job!"
"The playboy just rubs me the wrong way," Mugen explained. "I don't trust him."
"He bought us food; Moronobu doesn't seem like a bad guy." Fuu argued.
Mugen glared at her. "Look, I know that your fucking stomach commands your brain or somethin' but you have to trust me on this one."
She narrowed her eyes. "Stop acting like if you're my older brother or something. I don't think anything bad is going to happen."
"Listen to me for once okay?!" He snapped; the comment about being a brother set something off in him. "It doesn't seem safe for you to go. But if you want to go ahead and get raped or worse, fine! Just don't think I'll go save your ass a second time."
Her expression softened. "Really, why are you so worried?" Mugen turned his gaze on the collapsed ceiling. "Even I'm not worried about this guy." Mugen turned the other way from her and tried to block her voice out and sleep. "Mugen…?"
"Sleep, brat…" He ordered.
"Fine…"
The next day when Fuu left to the studio Mugen followed her from a distance. He didn't care what she said, he knew he was right. And he would make sure that he was there when he was proven right!
She walked in after Moronobu had let her inside. This was a flaw in his plan. He looked around the building and noticed an alley next to it. Mugen snuck around the building and looked for a window. Luckily he found one that was slightly hidden from view from them but still open. There were some thin curtains on the inside making anything on the other side blurred. Fortunately all he needed to see were the two figures, and could tell who was who by the size.
"Wow!" Fuu marveled at all the portraits around the studio. "Are these all yours?"
Moronobu chuckled but nodded, "Yes every one of them."
Fuu looked at the many portraits of normal people, places, and other things. "These don't look like advertisements."
"No," He smiled shaking his head. "These were from my past days of just wanting to be recognized as an artist. But you have to pay bills some way or another."
Fuu's eyes stopped on a field of sunflowers. "Sunflowers…"
Moronobu noticed which one she was looking at. "Yes, I took this picture when I had gotten my first job as a photographer."
"Wow, you're really good." She grinned at him making him grimace a little before smiling as well.
"Well, we should probably start…" He said guiding her to his equipment.
Mugen scowled as he couldn't see as well anymore. "Crap…" He reached in carefully and pulled the curtain slightly so he still couldn't be seen but he could look at them through a small crack.
Moronobu handed Fuu something else to change into and pointed out a changing room for her to go to. When she was gone he sighed and took out a cell phone, "Are you almost here? …If they are outside then why won't they come in?" He spoke to someone on the other line. "…I'm not sure if this is right…I know your orders sir, but--…right, forgive me, I know it isn't my place to question you…can I know why you need her anyways…your stepdaughter, sir? …Right, I'll go see that they get in."
"What the hell…?" Mugen asked himself watching Moronobu hang up. "Was he talking to the girl's stepfather?"
Two shadows managed to sneak up on Mugen while he contemplated things over. When he noticed them however he wasn't quick enough and he was hit unconscious with a bat.
A few minutes later he woke up. "What hit me…?" He grumbled trying to rub his eyes but noticed his hands were tied behind his back as were his ankles. "What the…" He looked around and noticed he was inside the studio next to Fuu, who was tied up as well. In front of Mugen stood Moronobu and the two men who had sneaked up on him. "What the hell are you doing?!" He demanded from the photographer.
He looked at him nervously. "Um, I…"
"You tricked me!" Fuu yelled as well.
"Shut up!" Mugen yelled at her. "Maybe if you listened to me you wouldn't have gotten us in this mess!"
Fuu stared at him apologetically. She turned back to Moronobu and glared, "You work for my stepfather don't you?"
The taller of the new men laughed hoarsely, "Yeah. And the boss is getting annoyed by your disappearance."
"Hey," The other one said. He was younger than the first and unlike the first man who as bald he had a full head of black hair. "Why don't we enjoy ourselves before we turn her into the boss?"
"W-Wait guys," Moronobu protested stepping in front of them. "The boss never ordered that."
"Yeah well, the boss ain't here." The taller man said shoving him aside.
Fuu looked on worriedly before snapping her head to Mugen. "Can't you do something?"
Mugen glared at her with his teeth clenched. "What the hell am I supposed to do?! I'm tied up!" The younger man kicked Mugen in the side after he yelled at Fuu.
"Shut up!" He exclaimed leering at Mugen.
"You're going to regret that…" Mugen grunted while bending forward. In the act he was able to reach the back pocket of his pants and pulled out a pocket knife without them noticing.
The other man just laughed at him and kicked him again. Moronobu was sitting behind them shaking his head. He mumbled to himself, "This isn't supposed to happen…" as the balding man neared Fuu he grabbed hold of the metal bat that the men had used on Mugen. He pulled his arms back and swung forward hitting the bald man on the neck knocking him out.
Fuu held her breath as the man fell on top of her. The second man turned around ready to shoot Moronobu. Mugen moved around to his back and kicked the man in the side. He toppled over letting go of his gun. Mugen took the chance and flipped himself to his feet. He went over to the man who lay on his back stunned and spat in his face while he kept trying to loosen the ropes. The act only made the man get angrier than he already was. "Here." Mugen told Fuu tossing the knife into Fuu's lap ridding himself of the rope.
The man stood up wiping his face full of rage. Mugen stood in place as the man attempted to hit him, all he really even had to do was bend his legs down and move his body from one side to the next. The man looked at him confused and Mugen took the chance to grab him round the neck and push him to the nearest wall.
As the man picked himself up Mugen undid the ropes on his ankles and smirked contently. He grabbed the gun from the floor and when the man stepped forward he shot him. He turned to shoot the bald man next but the gun was out of bullets.
Mugen turned to Fuu expectantly but saw her still in shock. "Dumb ass! You were supposed to use that!"
Fuu glared at him, "Well I can't when my hands are tied up!"
He groaned pocketing the gun and grabbed her off of the floor harshly. Mugen draped her over his shoulder like a rag doll and scoffed when she yelled at him. "Fine then I should just let ya stay!"
"Well you could have given me a warning!" She yelled back.
Moronobu stood and looked at Fuu. "I'm really sorry."
"Yeah well—"
"I know how my stepfather can be," Fuu assured. "I'm sure if it wasn't an order you wouldn't have helped."
"I wouldn't have." Moronobu assured.
Mugen scoffed, "Well whatever playboy. See you in hell." He said before darting to the door he had seen in the back not too long ago.
"Bye!" Fuu yelled back annoying Mugen who moved her callously.
Moody1656: Chapter 5 done and done.
Mugen: That was a stupid chapter.
Moody1656: You're a stupid person.
Mugen: So you actually expect people to review this?
Moody1656: I would hope so, yes. Anyways, here goes the preview.
Preview for Next Chapter
"You will work for me, yes?" The orange haired man urged.
"What?" Mugen asked still confused by his accent.
"Doing what?" Fuu asked level headedly.
He pointed at Fuu, "You can do the cleaning around the rings after closing hours." He now pointed at Mugen, "And you will help with the sparring."
"What do we get in exchange?" Mugen asked though he would fight anybody unconditionally.
"A place to sleep in, of course."
"I can just go find somewhere else," he scoffed arrogantly.
"And I won't call cops."
"Sounds great!" Fuu exclaimed eagerly.
Moody1656: Yeah it was a pretty short preview, but there's only a few things that are really interesting next chapter.
Fuu: Should you have really said that?
Moody1656: Why? Was that something stupid to do?
Mugen: Yeah, kind of.
Moody1656: Oh well. Please review guys!