Chapter four.
Jin woke with the feeling of ash in his mouth and a pounding head. Sweat wet his body all over. It was still very early and none of the family that hosted them were up, not even yet to prepare the breakfast.
He groaned as he lifted himself to his feet. Dust hung in the air of the small storeroom. Cursed sake. Vowing that he would never drink too much again, he smoothed the fabric that stuck to his skin. He was dressed exactly as he was the night before.
Out in the yard the birds chirped as they too awakened. The ground was dewy and everything smelled fresh.
As Jin traversed the path to the hut he wondered how his companions had fared. He imagined Mugen teasing Fuu about being his wife the whole night long.
As he stood at the door of the hut he paused. He heard nothing. His companions mustn't have woken yet, he thought, though he did sense movement inside.
He started to slide open the door to the hut and stopped dead.
Inside the room, on the far side, he could make out two sleeping figures on a double futon. Fuu who was dressed only in her under kimono and Mugen who was completely and utterly buck naked. The curve of Mugen's bottom protruded into Jin's line of sight, his arms rested up above his head towards where his scabbard and sword lay on the floor.
'Surely not!' Jin's mind ran a million miles an hour. There was no mistaking that they lay there together as though they were indeed husband and wife.
His thoughts darkened. Mugen really was the lowest of the low. Fuu had been drunk like him. Had Mugen taken advantage of her? He couldn't bring himself to think it. Instead of acting he slowly slid the door back in place.
Turning quickly, he made his way towards the nearby river. Intending to complete his morning exercises, manage his thoughts and see what the day brought.
He decided he would stick with his travelling companions, no matter what.
Mugen's eyes opened at the sound of the door closing. It took him a minute to come round to the fact that he lay without his clothes on.
He slid his eyes over to the woman in his bed, relieved to find that she still slept soundly. Happily snoring. 'Bloody sake lightweight' he muttered to himself.
He eyed for his shorts. Unfortunately they were all the way on the other side of the room. Quiet movements were required in order not to wake her. This could get awkward.
Then his senses were alive. He listened carefully. There! Without looking he realised that there was another presence in the room, over near the dark corner behind him. It started to move.
In one swift move Mugen had drawn his sword from its scabbard, rolled, and blocked the intruder's knife attack. He was still in a vulnerable position though, on his back on the bed.
He pushed the attacker off, no easy feat while lying on your back, and jumped up using the force of his legs to swing him up. The ninja that had attacked him was no where to be seen.
Mugen stood over Fuu protectively. She still slept soundly. He swept the room. There! In the far corner, behind him again, he sensed something.
Again the ninja launched, intending to stab him in the back. Mugen swung around and the ninja avoided the strike narrowly. But as he swung a second attacker dropped from the ceiling. Landing a blow with his knife to the thick of Mugen's shoulder, not his intended mark. Mugen grabbed him and flipped him over his shoulder before the knife could penetrate deeply. He yelled out in annoyance.
Fuu woke to see the fighting around her. Shocked, she easily noticed that Mugen was still completely naked.
The two ninjas were not super strong, but they were lightening fast, they were nimble and they were cunning. They avoided Mugen's blows and then slipped away for another attack from a position of advantage- just out of sight, in front and behind him or in unison from down low and up high.
Fuu covered her head with her arms, trying to sink herself into the futon for protection. Blades whizzed past her, close.
Mugen managed to grab one of the assailants and held him firmly from behind, pinning the ninja's arms to his side with one strong arm of his own. His sharp sword blade tickled the ninja's throat.
The second ninja fled towards the door in defeat.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Mugen yelled after him. Then he turned his attention upon the one within his grasp.
"So, what's your deal?"
The ninja didn't respond, he flailed wildly.
-
Jin had found a very secluded part of the river and removed his outer clothes. In undergarments he carefully lowered himself into a slow-flowing part of the water.
The cold hit his poisoned body and he sighed in relief. Placing his swords aside on the riverbank he submerged his head. It felt like the river flow washed away the taint of alcohol from the night before.
When he resurfaced, to his shock and horror his swords were gone. Frantically searching for his world-be attackers Jin saw no one. They must be concealing themselves in the surrounding trees, he thought. His mouth set into a hard line.
Quickly he leapt from the water, on high alert.
He was reaching for his clothes when a volley of ninja stars came flying inbound. Quickly rolling to avoid them, more appeared when his momentum stopped.
This time Jin moved to the side. He glanced to the trees. 'I must go on the offensive' he thought, 'I'm completely exposed out here'.
Running for the tree line, evasive action was needed again, as this time ropes appeared from the dark of the nearby bushes. One had a large grappling hook attached, that glinted in the light as it hurtled towards him.
He dodged this one, but the other managed to wrap it's way around his arm, binding Jin to the rope.
Jin encircled his forearm with the rope and tugged hard. His would-be captor fell forward into his sight. It was a ninja.
Clearly these attackers were skilled. Jin had no idea that there were still ninja with these abilities. 'Skilled fighters, not to be underestimated' Jin thought. They had obviously been sent to assassinate him. But why? They had committed a lot of crimes on this journey... and in their collective pasts. But Jin struggled to think who would hire assailants this skilled.
"Who sent you?" He called, as he dodged a scythe on the end of a rope this time.
"Someone you cannot hope to defeat" came an authoritative voice from the bushes.
There! Jin used this voice to pinpoint where to launch the rope he had commandeered. It caught a ninja, wrapping around his chest and arms, squeezing them. Jin pulled him into view.
-
Back in the hut, the ninja Mugen captured was not giving up any information. Though Mugen was taunting him; breaking the fingers of a hand- one by one.
Managing to free an arm, he reached down to his ankle. Mugen prepared for a weapon, but instead the ninja produced a small pill concealed there, which he threw into his mouth and quickly crunched down hard.
Instantly his body became slack. Mugen let him slump to the floor, unconscious. A small amount of froth spilled from his mouth at each corner.
"What the fuck?"
Mugen looked down at Fuu. She had buried herself into the ground. Her arms clamped around her head and eyes. She looked unharmed.
"Girlie, you ok?
"Yeah. But Mugen, for Pete's sake, would you please put some clothes on!" She implored, her eyes covered with her hands.
... to be continued.