A/N - Thanks for letting me know about the formatting. Not sure what happened there. Hopefully it is ok now.
The horse thundered under Mugen's thighs, the wind hit his face and hooves beat heavily into the earth as he was propelled forward at speed. He looked up to see Mika a whole horse length ahead of him. He'd forgotten how much of an asshole the smug bastard was. He ground his heels into the horse's sides yelling as he did.
Mika looked back at him with a satisfied smile. Mugen had almost caught up with him when he suddenly reined his beast back, "Whoah, easy now".
He called back, "Mugen, you're slowing up with age. Once upon a time you would've never let me win". Mugen clenched his jaw and growled at the taunt. Fucking asshole! His anger boiled up inside. Something about Mika's friendly arrogance was grinding him the wrong way and he knew why; it had all to do with her. Mika flashed a smile at his anger, completely disregarding it. What a cocky prick.
He'd always been a show off, from their time together at the circus Mugen should've been used to it. He'd been a different person then. He'd tolerated it, even enjoyed watching it play out. Happy for any kind of attention, mentor... conversation. Now, he didn't trust a soul, his heart was bitter and twisted and his anger wanted to seep from his pores.
And though Mika didn't know it, he had threatened to take the only light in Mugen's dark away from him.
Mugen wanted to gut him with his sword.
"Now, now. You're not this riled up over a little friendly competition, are you?" Mika's tone dripped.
"If you were any good with a blade there'd be no need for stupid games" Mugen darkly muttered under his breath.
Mika circled him.
"Ha! Well, there's always another chance to win the prize... be first back to the stable", he kicked his horse into gear.
As Mugen's horse refused to overtake the other Mugen thought back to the day. It had started harmlessly enough...
The sun was shining, earlier and earlier Mugen had begun to notice. While he didn't resent the girl's decision, he did note that it was perfect travelling weather. Soon the scorch of the sun would beat their backs and make every move an effort. Not that he would complain. But he'd certainly notice.
He was up with the sun for once, he wanted to survey the landscape and get a read on some of the musters before they set out in a day's time. He didn't want Mika to be up before him, and he didn't want to spend anymore time with Fuu and Jin than he had to. This was his escape.
There were a few workers up already. Some replenishing drinking water. Others mucking out the stalls. They all eyed him carefully. The place was like a refuge for vagabonds.
Mika was leading in a colt to be broken. "Morning princess. Ready to earn your keep?"
"Only you could talk to me like that, and keep your life" replied Mugen darkly.
"My, my, aren't we sensitive this morning? Get out of the wrong side of bed?" Tsked Mika. But at the same time he flashed Mugen a grin. "Care to be the first touch on this wee time bomb?" The colt snorted nervously on queue.
"You breaking him in this morning?" Asked Mugen.
"Yeah, he's for a Lord a couple of provinces over. Gonna start getting him along before the new ones come in with the muster."
Mugen joined him towards the enclosed pen. Big enough to lunge the horses in.
"That girl you're travelling with..." Began Mika.
"Yeah, what of her?"
"Hm, nothing. Just wondering what her deal is? Seems like you two swords are trouble to me. Just wondering what you're up to?"
Mugen released a sneer, "none of your business, is what".
"Hmm", said Mika, disappointed, and a little pissed off at Mugen's cageyness, "well, she sure does love horses".
They both looked over to see Fuu up and already participating in the day. She was chatting happily to one of the young workers, smiling, while feeding a horse grass from her hand and stroking it gently.
"Here, you lead him in. I'll go say my good morning's - gotta see if that bed's still ok in the old hut." Said Mika, thrusting the lead rope into Mugen's hand and leaving him with a smile.
"Didn't ask me about my bed" grumbled Mugen.
He watched them interacting for a bit, smiling at each other. Mika placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned over to stroke the horse's neck.
Mugen grimaced, but then turned back to the colt.
...
Heat induced sweat licked Mugen's skin. He'd been working with the colt all morning and was currently lying sideways over the beast's naked back, the world upside down. A couple of workers, a young one and Isoda leaned on the rail. They'd been watching the ruffian's unusual techniques, themselves unneeded but silently impressed with his results.
An upside down Jin scowled as he collected horse poo. He didn't notice Mugen chuckling at him from afar. Mugen's eyes then flicked beyond, to Fuu and Mika exiting the barn. They were laughing and Mika picked some strands of hay from Fuu's hair. She didn't mind the intimacy, and just smiled back up at him happily.
Jin caught Mugen's concerned gaze and turned to see what he was looking at. Immediately flicking back. Mika's hand caressed the side of Fuu's face.
Mugen growled and swung up onto the colt's back. He grabbed it's mane and kicked it into a trot around the yard. He then stood up on the rump to get a better look at the couple as they approached. Isoda gasped, he was more surprised than the colt, who seemed to just accept Mugen.
"Well, it seems you've showed him who's boss. That didn't take you long." Called Mika.
Mugen directed the horse over to them.
"Mugen that is amazing!" Cheered Fuu.
"Hmph, that was nothing.
.. And I'm not showing him anything. He's not taking orders from me. He just trusts me, is all".
"Ah! Of course, of course. ..Fuu would you like to pat him? Here, give him this carrot".
Fuu smiled and jumped up on the rail, leaning in. The colt got a fright, snorting back.
"Whoah. Easy now" came Mugen's reassuring voice. Slowly he made his way back to Fuu and accepted her offering. Mika placed a steadying hand on her back.
"You've got a good way with horses" said Mika to Fuu, "they like you".
"They like what you've got to offer" snorted Mugen.
"Oh, I think it's more than that" said Mika, "it's a natural connection".
...
That afternoon they'd been summoned to Mika's father. All but Fuu. She was none the wiser, helping in the kitchen. Mika sat to his father's side, Mugen and Jin sat in front.
Keisei addressed them both seriously. "There's something we need to discuss before you boys head off on the muster tomorrow." Jin looked up interested, he wasn't going as far as he was aware. "My son and your travelling companion have struck up a strong bond. I have long desired him to settle down here and carry on the family name, but... he has always had, er, other ideas. Now that he is older and wiser, he desires to take a wife." Keisei paused.
Jin spoke up, "and you ask for our blessing in place of her father?"
"She has told Mika she has no father or family to speak of. And to me, you both seem more than simply bodyguards. You are like family; she is your responsibility. I think that we can make a sensible decision for her. One that will benefit her future."
Jin and Mugen looked at each other, then Mugen rolled his eyes in derision, "good luck with that! You might want to ask her about all this. I can't see anything keeping her from her goal, whether it's for her own good or not. Least of all pretty boy here."
Jin, thought long and hard. Here was an opportunity for Fuu to settle down. To have a good life. One free from bloodshed and conflict. They were undoubtedly being followed, probably due to one of the numerous crimes they had committed on their journey. And Fuu was not excluded from the consequences of those. Here she had a chance at a normal life. It would be difficult for her in the long run, if she continued to the sunflower samurai and delivered her retribution. There was no clear path after.
Yet it was up to her. And Jin knew that she would make the right decision. She was a force with the strongest sense of duty he'd ever encountered. "I agree that you must ask Fuu. And accept her decision, whatever it may be". He turned to Mugen as he spoke, for he knew that his words were as much for him, as they were for them.
"Then let us call for her. And hear what she has to say" said Keisei begrudgingly.
Fuu entered the room with no sense as to what was going on. Here were Keisei and Mika, facing off with Mugen and Jin. The air was thick with tension.
"What did you do?" She turned to Mugen angrily. He must have done something, and they were figuring out a way to pay for it.
He turned to her with a cocky smile, that this time she thought looked a little sad, "Actually sister, it's something you've done".
She gulped. And looked around her frantically, but Jin was giving nothing away.
Keisei broke the silence, "Fuu we've asked you here to discuss your future. My son wishes to make you his wife, and I am very supportive of this. From what he has said, you would also likely be agreeable to this pairing. You are too young and innocent to be without solid prospects for your future. Here we can offer you a home and security".
Fuu was shocked. She looked to Jin's face, but he only looked at the floor. Mika smiled gently at her and Keisei examined her closely. She daren't look at Mugen, but she could feel his direct gaze on her, waiting.
She was about to speak, but he interrupted. "Dunno about innocent, old man".
"Mugen!" She screeched. She was embarrassed by the others' looks.
"What I mean is, she did have to be rescued out of a brothel". Mugen chuckled.
Fuu's face flamed as her anger boiled up. She was about to announce that she actually rescued herself, when Keisei interrupted.
"That is of no consequence. My son himself has an interesting past. You know this.
Fuu, we wish to know your thoughts on the matter. And sooner rather than later, your decision.
I think I can say that we are all in agreeance, that we think this marriage would be best for your future. However, it is your choice".
Fuu looked around the room and Jin and Mugen would not meet her eye. Mugen only grumbled at the floor.
So they did think this was best for her! Both of them. The wind was almost knocked out of her and she was angry.
"Thank you for your very kind offer and hospitality so far. ...I will have to think on it." She said quietly.
...
It was late, and he was up watching the stars. He hadn't beaten Mika back to the stable. He hadn't fought him and won. He wasn't the strongest. And hadn't done anything - he'd just survived - struggled to survive - and that was all. Was it enough? Was he just waiting for death? He was gazing up at the sky, contemplating, when he saw them go into the barn together. He felt his stomach flip and the feeling drain from his limbs.
"Here she is. Not even a few hours old." Mika and Fuu leaned quietly on the stable door watching the new foal shake on her new legs. "She's beautiful!"
They watched as she suckled and Mika leaned in close to Fuu.
"I do like it here," she said carefully, "but I know almost nothing about you."
"Ah" said Mika as he took her in.
He flopped back casually into a pile of hay. "Well?" He gestured and smiled at her.
"So why did you join the circus?" Asked Fuu.
"Ah! For the adventure," Mika grinned at the memory, "I'd been here all my life. No real chance to explore or break out from my designated lot in life. Didn't really help that we had to travel a lot, delivering the horses. I got to see too much of the country without really experiencing it". He turned and looked at Fuu deeply, as if he knew that she would understand, "and then one day the circus came to the town, so I ran away to join it. I was young, a little older than you are now".
While Fuu's sense of adventure could understand, her duty certainly forbid it. How could he abandon his family? She wondered. Though she did know what it felt like to be young and feel trapped.
"They accepted me and I continued to work with horses. I was paired up with Nina and together we wowed the crowds, using the horses in our act, balancing on them with one hand, while holding Nina aloft, that kind of thing. She was a beauty and it was a sight to behold." His eyes shone with pride as he reminisced.
"Mugen joined our act for awhile. He was already a good rider. He was a fast learner and had amazing skill and balance on the horse".
"Mugen?"
"Yes, he was a very talented young man. It was a pity how it worked out. While the circus was good to me, it was very hard on him". He stood back up and leaned awkwardly against the wall.
"Oh, how so?" She asked. He bowed his head.
"Well, I may have been with the circus by choice, but Mugen certainly wasn't.
I remember the day he arrived, he was covered with dirt and acting like a wild animal. They even had him in a cage. He certainly hadn't volunteered to come, but I'm unsure if they bought him or simply took him." He said quietly.
Fuu gasped in shock.
Mika continued sadly, "They used to do that occasionally, to get children to work for them, or for putting them in the attractions."
"That's awful" said Fuu. She was crouched on the ground, near the hay where Mika had been. She examined to floor boards. Lost inside her mind.
"That's nowhere near the worst of it" said Mika downcast."I'm pretty sure you don't even want to hear the rest of what I know about Mugen - and I only know a little bit, plus
what I've been told".
Fuu studied the ground, then said softly, "I think I do want to know".
Mika sighed and lay back on the hay. "He ran away as soon as they let him out of the cage, but he was caught stealing food in the town and returned. The next time he ran away they branded him for theiving."
"On his wrists!" Exclaimed Fuu. Mika cringed, "No they were later. First they branded an ankle. Then the next time they branded the other".
"For stealing?" Asked Fuu.
"Yeah, everytime he ran away eventually he was caught again. But I suppose he had to steal to survive. He was young, maybe just over ten years old. I was pretty young and naive myself".
"They branded him that young? But he was only a child" she contemplated.
"He wasn't the only child working there. But he certainly stood out from the rest. So defiant and full of anger. It was a hard life, but it wasn't all bad really. Things like mucking out the horse stables and working all day to perfect our moves. Tough, but good work I enjoyed.
...They never really trusted Mugen though, and he was still locked up at night".
"It sounds like he was a prisoner" said Fuu.
"It was different for him and me. For him there wasn't a clear way out. He was too young to understand and isolated. Nina and I, we tried to take him under our wing. We taught him everything we knew."
"I don't think I understand either" she said, shaking her head.
"He didn't know how to fit in with everyone and live the life. Do as he was told and gain their trust. After a few years he could've probably just left. Maybe. But he wouldn't take orders from anyone or do anything without being forced to. It was kind of exhausting. It was hard to have sympathy."
"Hmm" said Fuu. It sounded to her like Mika was just too blind to see the truth. Or didn't want to acknowledge it.
"I loved being in the circus. All the travel. The comradery. I stayed for years.
There sure were some villains and assholes though. Gurta was a dubious character."
"Gurta?"
"Yeah, Gurta was the strong man who they paired up with Mugen, so that he would keep an eye on him. When Mugen was also put to work with our act; Nina and I, we taught him how to use the horses. How to balance on them. And Gurta taught him how to fight. We incorporated that into our act: he would duel with Gurta while he was standing on a horse's back, as it galloped round the ring. Was a pretty good act, if you ask me. We did it for about a year, but I left soon after that.." Mika trailed off. He looked pained.
"Why did you leave?" She asked.
He had hoped she wouldn't.
"Because Nina and I were in love. And when she died I couldn't bear it anymore.
...Mugen was so young. He couldn't bear it either."
"What happened?"
"Nina was thrown by a horse and killed. And I left that night.
When I came back to the circus a year later I didn't see much of Mugen. He was part of the fighting ring, that spectators could bet on, or try and win against. There was good money in it, but it was kept separate from the main circus and held in relative secrecy at night".
"Oh, well that explains a lot" said Fuu.
"I only know what I heard, but I also got told that Mugen had taken Nina's death hard. He'd lashed out and slain a few of the horses. They'd branded him again and he was paying off a hefty debt."
"So that's why he doesn't like horses - because of Nina".
"I left again after not long there. The people had changed, or I had, it seemed a lot more sinister and desperate... I heard that they were making good money pitting Mugen in the occasional fight to the death match. And they had to keep him locked up again, he was so filled with rage".
"I don't think I want to hear anymore".
They both suddenly became aware of an angry shadow standing in the doorway. He spat towards them with venom, "You left out the bit about your dodgy interest with young girls," Mugen interjected. "And that you're totally gutless to boot." He had been listening. Fuu felt her face redden with shame.
"And how I got sent back to Ryukyu for killing all those fuckers who made my life a living hell". His sword was drawn now, and he swooped it dangerously close to them as he yelled.
"Mugen" said Fuu.
"But not before they put me in prison first".
"Oh Mugen" she looked up with him, her eyes full of pity.
"If you want to pair up with a spineless show pony like him, go ahead, be my guest. I just think it's a waste of everything, for you to have come this far and have some smooth talker hold you back." He glared at her, but his eyes were not ashamed. He almost looked like he pitied her instead.
"There's no way I'm going to stay here Mugen" she said defiantly.
"You're not?" Said Mika, looking up surprised.
"No I'm not. I set out to find the samurai that smells of sunflowers, and I'm not going to let anything keep me from that - not you, not him." She said angrily.
"Well then let's get the fuck out of here" said Mugen.
She looked at him hard, direct in the eyes, "You're right. Let's go".