Of Gunshots and Sorrow

Chapter 18

Hoping For Tomorrow

AN:/

Moody1656: Hey guys! So thanks for the reviews! You're all amazing! I wanna cry. Also, this marks Jin's return so enjoy. Also, sorry for the cliché title it just kinda fits. Sooooo, on with the story!

Fuu jumped slightly at Mugen's proximity. His hands snaked to her stomach, pressing his front close to her backside. Admittedly, it was very nice. But since they woke up that morning the guy had been more grabby than ever. Just a few minutes ago, before they entered the wonderful dining establishment that is Burger King, he had groped her behind.

Needless to say, she had only just gotten rid of the red tint on her cheeks. Now that they were in line and he took it upon himself to get closer to her, she was regaining a nice pink complexion. She turned her head to the side slightly, not enough for him to see her embarrassingly red face but enough to let him know she was talking to him. "Geez, can't you keep your hands to yourself for ten minutes?" she attempted to say this in an annoyed tone but it came out in a tone tinted in simple and naïve curiosity.

He chuckled and dropped his head on hers, to her chagrin, "Yer just lucky I let ya get up this morning. I know you were having the time of yer life, girlie."

Her face burst into flames at the memory, and as she bowed her head she seriously prayed that no one around them had heard his comment.

Earlier

Mugen was contently watching Fuu's calm and dream dominated face as she slept peacefully through the morning. Amazingly enough, he thought when he woke up, there were no signs of regret in his head or in his (insert corny and unmanly place here) about the events that had occurred last night. Well, maybe just a bit on how fucking sentimental he let himself be when Saiai was brought up.

He broke down after years of never letting himself remember that part of his life. It was his old fifteen-year-old self resurfacing at the most inopportune time because a pretty girl decided to actually listen to him rant about how shitty of a life he'd had.

He paused in his thoughts, coincidentally at the same time that he noticed he was running his fingers through her loose hair. Fuck I practically told her everything. He groaned, eyes narrowing to slits. Damn it, when the fuck did I become such a fucking pussy! Thank whatever the hell is up there that Jin wasn't there. Dick head doesn't say much but when he does, Mugen was always left to bear whatever fucking insult the asshole—

"Morning," Fuu mumbled, groggy voice and blurry eyes. Mugen couldn't help but smirk to himself at how hot she looked right then.

So he did what he was good at, he pushed himself up a bit with his elbows and commenced what he hoped would be a common occurrence every morning after that. It wasn't long before Fuu got into the make-out session he started and somewhere in between she ended up under him, legs wrapped around his hips, panting, and shirtless. It wasn't until he had almost pushed her shorts off completely that Fuu snapped out of her state of euphoria and shoved him off.

She entered the bathroom, took a shower, changed clothes, and when she opened the door she was trapped against the door frame between Mugen's slim and powerful arms. He picked up from where they left off. This time Fuu had ended up wrapping her legs around him again and carried to the bathroom counter. She raked her fingers through his hair and hungrily attacked his lips. When Mugen had taken a moment to catch his breath she'd pushed him off again, told him to stop being so—so—so...she of course could not come up with a word, huffed in frustration, and told him to take a shower, before proceeding to slam the door of the bathroom shut.

Unbeknownst to her, he was laughing to himself about her reactions once she shut the door.

Unbeknownst to him, she had ran outside to the patio, where they had been allowed to leave Momo, and spent the majority of his shower hugging said mutt as her heart rate calmed down.

- - 18 - - 18 - - 18 - -

The two were back to their normal behaviors as they ate "breakfast" in a booth, separate sides, and they messily ate their food.

Regardless of the obviously dangerous and suspicious looking people around them, the two felt relatively at home. The same went for everyone around them, to the Ryukians the two were just another couple eating lunch.

This was despite the fact that Mugen was a dangerous killer.

Despite the fact that the man behind the register was on parole after having been to prison three previous times.

Despite the fact that the woman sitting closest to the exit with her three children was having a nice moment off from working the streets.

Despite the fact that three physically and mentally handicapped brothers stood in line with the eldest's eyes looking at the people eating in the fast food restaurant.

Despite the fact that there was a four-eyed, travel weary, lithe man who was just as dangerous as any of the others in Ryukyu.

Jin stopped his tread in front of the booth where the new unofficial couple sat as they themselves ate and fed a black mutt. "Mugen. Fuu." That was all he needed to say as a greeting, to be honest neither of the two other travelers knew whether they were expecting him to say anything else.

"Jin...what happened to you?" Fuu was the first to speak, mainly due to her shock. The man was thinner, paler, and looked exhausted. Plus she could smell him. For the first time since her journey began, she was next to a man who smelled worse than Mugen.

His cool eyes turned to her patiently, not one to point out how rude they were being by not offering him a seat, "A lot. I have been searching for you both."

Mugen glared at the man, "Well, you've found us. Go back home, fishface." While Jin watched him passively, Fuu sat gaping at Mugen.

"Mugen! Are you an idiot? He's tired!" That's when she realized the mistake Jin had noticed a while before. She kicked the man's shin under the table, "Move over and let him sit down!"

"Little bitch! If you care so much, you move over!" He growled out, much more feral like than he originally intended.

They were back to this. Fuu honestly wanted to pull her hair out, but instead she settled for pointing at the dog occupying—laying in the seat next to her. "Momo is next to me. Stop being such an asshole! Move over and let Jin sit down!"

By now they were attracting attention. Mugen rolled his eyes and settled for whistling. The mutt quickly scrambled up and rushed toward Mugen's side, his loyalty remained with the other stray in the group.

Fuu grabbed a handful of fries and threw them at Mugen angrily before moving over to let the older man sit down. Jin knew he should probably say something about their ridiculous display, but kept his mouth shut and took a seat.

After a few seconds he was ready to tell them why he was there when the little brunette spoke up softly, "Why are you being so rude to Jin, Mugen? He's obviously had a hard journey looking for us, I'm surprised he even found us."

"Asshole kicked us both out," he grumbled.

"We left voluntarily, remember!" she hissed.

Jin decided it was time to interject before the bickering old married couple decided to not just make a scene but mutilate each other, "I left home two months ago to find you both." He turned his attention to Fuu, "I understand I made a mistake. I did ask both of you to leave. I thought Mugen was not being serious when he rescued you, clearly I was wrong."

"What the hell would ever have you think I wasn't?" Mugen hissed. "I fucking keep my promises unlike some other dickheads I know. I don't do things half-assed, and you know that."

"I should know that," Jin conceded. "What you said in the apartment before, about Shino and our family, you were right. I knew you were. It took me a few weeks but I finally decided to do what I should have done a long time ago. I was with Shino and my kids for the last few months. I wanted to help you when she told me you were still traveling together, but I needed to fix a few things at home first."

Mugen rolled his eyes, "Fuck, I get it. You needed to get your shit straight before you found us. Honestly, I don't fucking care why you decided to do that or how the hell you found us. Why are you here?"

"I would like to help you during your journey. I am sure you have some idea about what you will be doing now." He gave them both look that said 'for-the-love-of-God-tell-me-you-have-a-plan'.

"Not anymore," Fuu answered with a sigh. "There's just been too many complications."

"Then it's a good thing I found you two before you both turned up dead somewhere." He turned his attention to Mugen who was pointedly trying to ignore him.

Mugen was angry. He wasn't sure exactly why he was so angry that his old roommate and pretty much only friend had actually taken time to look for him. He knew it was the idiot's way of trying to make-up and apologize for telling them to leave. But he had his suspicions Shino asked him to help them, he had his suspicions that this was just another way for the dumb ass to put off being with his family, he had his suspicions that he knew they had both almost died on several occasions, he had his suspicions that the asshole thought that Mugen couldn't do a good enough job on his own, he had his suspicions that the prick knew a lot more than he should and he was not just there to help. Plus, there was the whole situation between himself and Fuu. He knew that since the prick was there he would not be able to cozy up to Fuu like he wanted to.

"I assume neither," Jin started talking again and shot the other man a look, "of you have any objections to my proposition."

Just as the Ryukyan was ready to stand up, throw a few insults, and then leave; Fuu took the conversation by its reigns. "We...We need to discuss this first. I'm sorry, Jin, but this is—it's, I don't know, kinda unexpected. And I need to talk to Mugen about something seriously before we can even think about adding another person to our travels—I mean money wise we're not that well off now." She sheepishly smiled at the quiet man, "Does that make sense?"

He stared at her for a few seconds before he nodded and stood up to leave them again. "Meet me here at noon with your answer."

There was a moment that passed while they silently listened to the man walk away. Once Mugen saw him leave he turned to Fuu, "No."

"Mugen, we need him." She tried.

His eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, "No we don't. Didn't you just f-ing tell me last night that I was doing a good job taking care of you? We don't need him."

She groaned and bent down to pull her backpack up. Mugen watched impatiently as she dug through her stuff, knowing that she was nowhere near dropping the conversation. When she finally stopped she produced a wrinkled paper and put it on the table in front of him. "It's from—" She stopped knowing he was not going to remember who she was talking about if she used an actual name. "The playboy." She rolled her eyes as he smirked.

"So he didn't die?" he chuckled darkly. He ignored the nasty look she was probably giving him as he opened the folded piece of paper and started reading it.

I a...apo...apole...

He stopped and dropped the paper. "So what?" He would ask Fuu to just tell him what was on the paper but there was no way in hell he would admit to her that he could not read.

She glared at him, "Are you kidding me? Did you even read what it said?"

"Got bored half way through."

"Mukuro and my step-father are working together! We need Jin's help." Fuu averted her eyes from him, fully aware of the fact that he was glaring at her now (most likely because she held back the information from him). "I know you've been able to take care of me for all this time by yourself, but you promised you wouldn't leave me right? If they both end up attacking you at the same time it could be bad. I don't want you to die."

"I won't die." He hissed, "Look, I'm a hell of a lot tougher than either of them. So four—"

"If you die then it's only a matter of time before I'm next!" She exclaimed. By this point she was oblivious to the eyes on them, "Get over your pride just this once. I don't get what your issue is with Jin all of a sudden but—"

He glared, "He didn't expect us to've lived this long. I could tell as soon as he came in." He scoffed, "At least not you."

There was an awkward silence while Fuu tried to figure out how to retort while Mugen silently waited for her to give in. Her eyes went down to her lap and he took that as his chance to say a bit more, "Look, I won't leave you. I ain't about to die after all the shit we've gone through. And I'm sure as hell not gonna let you die. The thing's that four eyes—fuck, how the hell do I say it without coming off all soft?"

Fuu watched him impatiently as he tried to gather his thoughts. The lines on his forehead were enough to clue her into how against the idea he was. "You remember his family don't ya?" She nodded, starting to see the direction he was headed. "He's doin' it all over again, avoiding them." Her cheeks puffed up, ready to tell him how he of all people should know that people can in fact do better. "Fine, fine. I might be wrong, but if I am he's probly only here 'cause Shino asked him to look out fer us. He's just not the type to go traveling a good 200 miles to be with his family and then leave it all fer a good deed. Dude's a hell of a lot less generous than I am and that's saying something. He's not here for us."

"So?" Fuu deadpanned with an eye roll. "Look it doesn't matter who he's helping us out for as long as he's on our side. It's pretty frickin' obvious that the guy is not willing to take no for an answer so easily." He sighed slouching lower in his seat. "He's coming with us Mugen. You still need to get back at Mukuro for everything he's done to you, and if it means that maybe we can take down that asshole who won't leave me alone then we should let Jin stay with us."

She quirked an eyebrow at him waiting for a response, "Still not convinced?"

- - 18 - - 18 - - 18 - -

He could practically here the sound of a whip by his ear when Jin walked into their motel room with a disgusted look on his face.

"This is where you have been staying?" He asked with distaste.

Mugen smirked and threw an arm around the tall man, "Yup! Best fucking place in Ryukyu. Ain't it just swell?" He wanted to just cackle when the man removed his arm from his shoulders with a set frown.

"Very."

Fuu rolled her eyes, "Don't get all high and mighty. It's all we can afford either way. Anyways, I'm assuming you'll be cooperating on expenses unlike the selfish jerk over there." Mugen proceeded to stick his tongue out at her childishly before pushing Momo aside roughly when the dog managed to grab onto his shoe as usual.

He trudged over to her and smirked, "Stop being such a tight ass and admit you love taking care of me."

She smirked in return, "Not when it means having to sleep in a cemetery."

"One time!" He defended as she laughed.

Jin cleared his throat, "I think this is the appropriate time to mention I have a car. We can leave as soon as you're both ready."

They looked at him calmly, before both took a seat on the bed simultaneously. "I still have something I want to take care of," Fuu said meekly.

"The hell do you have ta do?" Mugen asked in disbelief.

"Just some stuff." She left it at that by standing. With that she took out her wallet and pulled out a fifty, she then handed it off to him. "Here, it's getting colder now and the flimsy jacket you got me before isn't really helping. Get me an actually warm jacket and a scarf, ok?"

Jin let him himself smirk at the fact that his self-proclaimed badass friend was being sent out shopping for girls' clothes.

He glared at her, " I'm not yer fuckin' errand boy. Go do it yourself."

She glared back and pulled out ten, "There. That should be enough for some beer. After you've gotten my clothes."

He grinned at the money, "That's better."

She smiled, "Ok, I'll see you guys later then."

Jin was about to object about to object about her going off on her own in Ryukyu when Mugen beat him to it by grabbing her wrist. "Ey don't do anything stupid, got it?"

His deadly serious expression made her start to doubt what she was doing, she knew he probably knew what she was going to do. "I know better by now," she masked her nervousness with a smile.

"You're carrying it right?" Jin watched the exchange curiously, it was strange to see the younger man be so protective—even more than he was with Hino. She nodded. "One hour, ok?"

Fuu chuckled dryly, "Or you'll come looking for me?"

He shrugged, "If I ain't too drunk." She rolled her eyes, pushed him, gave him a hug, and left.

While she rushed out of the grounds of the motel, without drawing attention to herself somehow, Mugen watched the door warily.

"You know where she's going?" Jin asked after silence had taken control of the room for some time.

He nodded, "She's gonna look for Saiai."

Jin could do nothing more than stare at the brunette with a confused look. After all, how the hell was he supposed to know who Saiai was.

- - 18 - - 18 - - 18 - -

"Ayame?" An older woman with coats of make up asked in a nasally voice. Fuu nodded. "Do you know her stage name, last name, anything else?"

After Fuu mentally groaned at the fact that she never even asked Mugen for his last name, she noticed that the woman had called Ayame's alias a 'stage name'. She furrowed her eyebrows trying to think of anything else that could be used as an identifier, "Um...well, she was killed in the brothel she worked in while she was in the middle of...business." She could not stop herself from sighing out the word. "By the guy's 'pissed off wife'."

The woman stopped for a moment trying to remember anything that would lead her to the mysterious Ayame woman. "Mmm, I think I know who. Pretty thing, not much younger than me or any more of a looker but she was pretty." Fuu bit her tongue so she didn't shoot the older woman an insult. "How's her family?"

"Not much better." Fuu took this time to explain her intent in coming. "That's why I'm here. I'm trying to find the youngest out of her siblings, Saiai."

"Never heard of her," the woman deadpanned.

"Her youngest brother too, Genji." The woman shook her head. "Anyways, if I could track down the woman that had taken care of Ayame while she worked here," it had taken her only one other try to get to the right place. "I might be able to find them."

The woman nodded, trying to rack her brain to see how she could help. It had been at least five years ago that Ayame worked here, they had both been added to the staff around the same time so she was sure she could remember something. "An old woman?"

Realization hit the older woman when the pieces snapped, "Aa, Ms. Matsuoka. I remember her."

"Do you have any idea about where she might be living now?" Fuu asked, trying hold back any desperation so the woman wouldn't ask her for money in exchange of the information.

- - 18 - - 18 - - 18 - -

The room was silent as the two ex-roommates avoided having a conversation. Jin did so because of how he was quiet by nature, but Mugen did so because he still wasn't happy with the choice Fuu made. Any of the choices she made today, actually.

"I saw the toys," Jin spoke up first. Mugen turned his eyes to look at the man, passive. "I suppose I should thank you."

Mugen cracked a smirk, "Yeah, you better."

"Thank you." The two shared an understanding look. Jin knew Mugen understood that he wasn't there out of his own kindness, and Mugen knew Jin understood that he wasn't happy he was joining them. However, they both figured they could get past that knowledge and return to normal.

"Shino's better?" Mugen asked, successfully masking the fact that he actually cared to know that the woman was fine.

"Yes. A lot happier now, as well." Jin watched Momo warily as the dog tried to get his attention. "As soon as we return from whatever your goals are we will be getting a marriage license."

Mugen nodded, knowing that the actual ceremony would be pushing it for either of the two lonely parents. Shino just wanted him home permanently and Jin wanted to keep her happy after everything he'd done wrong.

The tall man in question cleared his throat, ready to change the topic from his personal life. So he decided to move onto the other male's personal life, "I owe you an apology for assuming you were taking care of Fuu because she reminded you of Hino."

"Meaning?" Mugen asked with a warning tone in voice.

"Your relationship is obviously not like your previous relationships with your sisters." Jin decided to push it and be more blunt about his approach, "I do hope that you haven't forced her into anything."

- - 18 - - 18 - - 18 - -

Fuu looked up at the clock in the room, wondering how it was possible that she had only just wasted half an hour. She was sure she had been pushing Mugen's time limit when she ran to the old woman's home. Maybe she could finish in time?

"Tea?" The kindly, weak, and almost blind old woman asked Fuu with a crooked smile.

She smiled politely, "No, thank you. I hate to be a bother but I'm actually running short on time."

Matsuoka-san shakily took a seat in front of Fuu, "Ayame, right? That's why you came?"

"Actually, I'm trying to find Saiai, Ayame's sister." The woman's sudden frown made Fuu's spirits drop. So Mugen really wasn't exaggerating the old lady's reaction. She hastily rushed her next sentence, "I know that it's probably not my place to ask but I really need to find her."

The woman's previously cheery disposition darkened, "He buttered you up, huh? A pretty little thing like you didn't stand a chance. That man is never getting near her. I won't let him." Fuu's eyes widened, she couldn't believe that a woman whose home was littered with family pictures would want to keep a family separate. "I know you're young, but that filthy bastard is taking advantage of 'ya. That pervert is not going near that girl, you understand?"

"But he's been looking for them for years, both Saiai and Genji. Do you really want to keep a family apart? He's broken." Fuu began to feel her throat close, both from confusion and sadness. "Mugen hasn't been able to get past what happened. He just wants his younger siblings back. After he lost his entire family, you must understand that if they're alive he needs to see them a—"

The woman stopped her by raising a hand. Fuu waited patiently while she began speaking again, "Mugen?"

"Yes, ma'am." Fuu nodded.

Her wrinkles made her eyes get smaller as she concentrated, "The older brother?"

"Yes." Maybe there was some hope.

The room was silent, minus the sound of the clicking clock hanging from a wall. Fuu really hoped that her questions meant that she was at first thinking that Fuu was talking about Mugen's dad and now that she knew she was talking about Mugen she would reconsider.

Mugen might have had no luck in the past, but maybe she would. After all, she did have a knack for being lucky.

- - 18 - - 18 - - 18 - -

"One, fuck you man." Mugen complained. "Two, I haven't even slept with her yet or nothin'."

Jin quirked a brow from his new spot against a wall of the room, the dog was not leaving him alone until he got off the couch so he could take the man's place. "I'm shocked."

"Dude, shut the fuck up." He rolled his eyes and then continued, "And four, why the hell should you care?"

"You skipped number three."

Mugen glared at the glasses wearing smart ass, swinging his legs off the side of the bed to look up at the man better. "Three was 'shut the fuck up'. So, shut the fuck up."

Jin rolled his eyes, "Clever."

A pillow was consequently thrown at the tall man, which he easily dodged regardless of the object's dangerous velocity. The pillow made an echoing thump when it hit the wall next to him. "Get off my case, asshole. It's never been your business who I take to bed anyways."

"Considering I will be with you both throughout your journey it is." The man's glare was not weakened through the glass lenses. "You do remember your knack for hurting the women around you, right?"

Mugen stood up angrily, "Like you know jackshit!" After what he had to relive yesterday, Jin's comment hit a sore spot. "What the hell do you call what you did to yer fiance, huh four eyes?"

Jin glowered at the other man now, "I am making up for my mistakes, Mugen. I'm just not sure if your capable of not repeating yours."

Mugen growled and pulled him up by the collar into the wall. "Listen, here four eyes. You've been here for less than a day so shut your stupid arrogant mouth."

Jin narrowed his eyes dangerously, "You know I'm right, Mugen."

He smirked, "Like hell. You just got your life straight for once and now you think you can go around judging how I deal with mine? Well, I got news for you, no matter how fucked up I am my life's always been better off than yours. So keep yer nose outta my business."

His eyes stayed cold and calculating, showing Mugen he would not back down anytime soon. He growled again and slammed his fist into the thin man's stomach. Jin's eyes stayed the same even though he winced slightly. Mugen sighed in resignation, "Fuck off. I'm not gonna hurt the brat. I know even if everything turns out good and the cops don't get a trace of me that I still can't have her. She's too clean for some fucking ex-drug dealer like me."

Jin lowered the intensity of his facial features and looked at Mugen with pity for the first time since he first met the man. "I'm not saying that, Mugen. If you actually care about her," He left out the added thought of Like I can tell you do... "Then you won't play the same games you usually do with other women. Fuu doesn't seem like the type of girl who would be willing to just give it up to you and be fine with leaving soon after."

"Who said I'd let her?" Mugen retorted. He groaned looking at the clock, "Look I gotta go get that stupid girl's crap. If she's not back in ten minutes get your car ready, cause we're gonna go look for her."

- - 18 - - 18 - - 18 - -

Fuu looked down at her watch with a grimace. She only had ten minutes left until the time Mugen gave her would be up.

She sighed sticking her hands in her thin jacket's pockets. Feeling a cool breeze she frowned, That idiot better have her jacket by the time she got back. She sighed, her fingers lightly toying with a piece of paper in her pocket.

The old lady told her how the two siblings had gone to her house looking for a way out. Apparently, their father had taken them away. Ready to leave the city and his troublesome son behind. But Genji didn't want to be stuck with his miserable father for the rest of his underage life. So when the man had stopped for gas he took the chance to get into the driver's seat and leave the man behind.

They went straight to the old lady's home asking for her help. She was frightened and unsure of what to do, then the two children begged her to get them out of the city before their father found them again. Saiai was crying so much that the old woman called her brother in law's best friend's son over to her house to take them to her sister's house.

That was all she knew.

The bright side was that the small piece of paper in Fuu's pocket contained the sister's address and her name.

When she asked the old woman why she had yelled at Mugen to leave when he came to her home, she answered that she didn't want to have anything more to do with that family. She cared about them, but as long as the two younger ones were safe she didn't want to see the drug dealer and even less his father.

At least she felt sorry for keeping the family apart, otherwise, Fuu thought, she wouldn't have given her sister's address up so easily.

She smiled brightly to herself as she began walking back to the motel, ready to leave the broken city and hopefully bring some happiness back into Mugen's life.

Geez, the thing's I do for that guy. You'd think he'd be more grateful. Fuu laughed to herself, trying to restrain the worry in the back of her mind that shouted: everything's changing.

AN:/

Moody1656: Tada! Again, I never expected to do much with Mugen's past and I'm not planning to. Maybe. Honestly, I don't know. It's up to you guys. I'm thinking about not resolving all of Mugen's problems until the end (which is only a few chapters away!) but if you guys actually like it I might just keep including it.

Fuu: Next chapter will be much more normal, meaning less talking.

Mugen: 'Bout time.

Moody1656: I missed writing about Fuu's sleezy step-father and various other sleezy characters.

Preview for Next Chapter:

Fuu's eyes enlarged at the sight in front of her. "Mu-Mu—"

The man looked up at her annoyed. "Shut the hell up. I don't care about you right now. Not yet anyway." He slipped a folded piece of paper, it must have been folded three times, across the table and stood up coolly. "I'm just delivering a message for now."

She shut her eyes tightly and held her breath as the man shrugged past her. "See you around, babe."

Moody1656: Yup! Review people, because guess who I am finally reintroducing into the story after his long absence! Bum, bum, bum!

Mugen: Fuu's sleezbag?

Fuu: Step-sleezbag.

Jin: Review.

Mugen: The hell? Where'd you come from?