"Fuck". Mugen sat out on the porch of the hut, staring into the darkness of the night. He felt something he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Shame.
He had intended to just scare her. To show her that he wasn't someone to be trifled with, looked down upon. That if they chose to mock and judge him, then he would act. But he had entered a dark dark place, a place he was familiar with from his past. What had Mukuro said? There was no escaping the darkness in his soul. But what did that fuckhead know? Mukuro was dead and he was still alive.
He had gone too far. He realised he had.
Tempted to run away into the night, he thought of his companions. No, he would sit and wait, he would stay and fight. He would deal with the consequences.
He didn't have to wait long, soon the bushes rustled and Jin came into view first, followed by Yoshi. He still gripped his dagger with white knuckles, and his breath was ragged. Blood slicked the blade.
Jin looked at Mugen but neither of them spoke. There was no reason to. Mugen knew that Jin would've finished off the bandits with ease, he needed tougher opponents than that to test his blade. And now the forest was safe for all the weaklings who wished to pass through. What a fucking hero.
Yoshi looked at Mugen too, as he walked through the door into the hut, their eyes slid to one another. Mugen could tell he was jumped up on adrenaline. He puffed out his chest, licks of sweat made his skin shine. He glared at Mugen confrontationally. 'You'll need more than that to best me, buddy' Mugen thought. 'But you'll find out in a minute'.
He heard Fuu's voice "Did you catch up to them?" Wow, so she did wake up to the noise of them coming back afterall.
He braced himself, listening.
"Yoshi! Your safe." He heard her voice. It was thick with emotion and tears. He could tell that they were embracing.
"There, there Hatsu. We're both safe. The threat is over". Said Yoshi.
Hatsu sobbed into his chest.
Mugen listened as they all lay down to sleep. And soon the hut was as quiet as the night.
She hadn't said a word. Not a fucking whisper. He pondered that for a moment. Didn't mean she wasn't going to though. He'd wait and brace himself for when it happened.
Deciding to sleep outside, he settled on the high interlaced branches of a tree at the edge of the hut clearing. Settling in, resting his head on his folded arms, he kept his scabbard on and slung it through a branch to support him if he moved in the branches in the night.
He thought back over all the little moments that had led him to push her to the floor. He had been sure she'd been acting all afraid but secretly loving it, giving him masked glances through her hair. Mugen knew that girls lusted after the bad boy. And man did he live it up. He thought of all his conquests and then his mind wandered to the day's misread signals. A swish of her hair and seductive look back at him over her shoulder, coyly smiling and presenting him with his lunch, him catching her staring, awkward looks at Fuu.
Man he was angry as fuck and horny as hell. He must be going crazy. He must be fucking losing his mind.
It wasn't even true dawn when Mugen woke to footsteps travelling underneath him.
It was Jin heading out to do his dawn excersises and morning wash. They both sensed each other watching the other. They shared unspoken words embodied in a silent glance.
Mugen dozed again. Half awake but body wracked with tiredness. It can't have been much later, the sun was barely tinting the sky when he woke with a start to something coming from the hut. Something was wrong. Quickly he untangled himself from the branches and lept deftly to the ground. There were murmured sounds of a struggle now.
Bursting through the door with a growl Mugen was confronted by the women he was supposed to be protecting being assaulted by two men. Their bodies held down, their kimono being hitched up about their waists.
His sword ran through one lanky bandit easily. He pawed at Hatsu before blood poured from his lips and he crumpled down on top of her.
Yoshi's bloody and still body lay dismally to the side. "Shit, I'm too late".
Mugen looked to Fuu while he ripped his sword back, but a thick arm from the third bandit wrapped around Mugen's body preventing him from getting to her. He used his left hand to block a knife to the side of his gut. Barely preventing the tip from piercing his skin. This bandit was strong. He knew how to fight and loomed over Mugen. He had small historic cuts over his face and arms. He wore a ripped sleeveless top, tied at the waist with a colourful rope. In a single ear dangled a gem. He looked more like a pirate than a bandit.
He grinned at Mugen as he threw him back through the door of the hut, closing it behind him as he stepped outside, standing straddling the porch. "Well, well, well, this could be interesting. Why don't you and I play outside while Boo has his breakfast fill."
Mugen looked up at him from the dirt, watching as the tower drew a long straight blade from his back.
"You bastard!" He yelled as he regained his balance and launched at him.
The bandit also jumped at Mugen, meeting his attack with force.
He was so strong that he blocked Mugen's strike easily and pushed him back, simultaneously landing a closed-fist punch to Mugen's jaw. "Missed me."
This was no swordsman. Here was a man used to fighting for pleasure, just like me, thought Mugen.
Meanwhile, inside the hut Fuu is fighting for her life. The dirty bandit's hands grab at the fold of her kimono wrenching it apart. She screams.
That sound is enough to distract Mugen from his quarry. A second hard punch lands on his face, this time making contact with his cheek and temple. He reels while his opponent grins.
"Shit", he shakes off the groggy feeling and abandons the fight to sprint for the hut door. He almost makes it, but is forced to halt and block a huge swing descending on him from the tower of a man.
Hatsu has been sobbing into Yoshi's silent chest. But is brought back to this earth by her friend's stricken panic. Yoshi still grips his long-blade knife. Clumsily Hatsu pries it from his dead hands and screaming launches herself at the bandit wrestling Fuu. He turns though, grabs her wrist and twists it cruelly. The knife clatters to the floor. Hands pick it up again. Dirty hands. Bloody hands. They thrust it up into Hatsu's stomach and her breath escapes her.
Mugen makes it to the porch but knows his opponent is too close. His steel-plated geta make sharp sounds as he runs up the side of the building, twists and meets the bandit from the air. He blocks though and throws Mugen across him, back onto the dirt.
This time he's lightening fast - a killing blow heading towards Mugen's neck.
It never arrives. Jin stands at the other end of the block, and the fighting is drawn away.
"I was wonderin' when you'd care to show up" shoots Mugen, before dashing for the hut door.
He crashes inside, making as much noise as possible. He wants this guy to hear his death coming.
"Times up."
He's right, in that the dirty bandit turns with fear in his eyes.
Mugen is relieved to see, that although Fuu's kimono is splayed and her hair is disheveled, she appears to be unmolested - as yet. He curses himself for being late yet again. She's got a couple of shiners to her face but it's still full of her classic rage. His heart sinks when he also sees her fear. No quick jibe about how late he is.
Mugen strides to the bandit and quickly slices his throat. He's not fucking around. He wants the bastard dead already.
Only then does he sweep the room and rest on Hatsu's body. She's slumped, resting on Yoshi, clutching at her belly. He kneels down and carefully peels back her fingers. It's the worst kind of bad. Blood seeps from her stomach to everywhere.
He lowers his eyes "I'm sorry". Two words that perhaps he's never uttered in a lifetime.
She just looks at him. "Take care of Fuu" she whispers. Then gives up on any bravery, falling to her husband.
Jin enters. His hair is loose and he sports a red cheek the same as Mugen. That monster sure had a sock to him. There is blood on his clothes, possibly from his own mouth, possibly from when he killed the bandit. He moves immediately to Fuu, helping her to sit up properly and comforts her.
Even though it's only morning, the trio look exhausted.
They decide to leave the bodies as they are. Eventually when the enforcers sweep the mountain pass for the bandits they will come across the scene.
Fuu and Jin stand at the edge of their would-be travelling wards. They clasp their hands in prayer. Mugen is crouched in the corner, but surprisingly stands to join them. "I'm sorry" he says again, causing his two friends to turn to him in awe.
He bends down and reaches his arm inside Yoshi's clothing, removing his fat coin purse and placing it in his own pocket.
"I'm sorry" he repeats, quietly, before turning and heading out. For the road.
'Hope you've learned ya lesson, you little moron. It's hard enough keeping your one skinny arse out of trouble. And there's two of us.' He thinks, but doesn't say. It's too harsh. She'd feel the sting too deeply, he just knows. So he doesn't say anything, nothing at all. Just keeps walking. Walking towards their common goal: the samurai who smells of sunflowers.
