Reunion
Chapter 1 - Reunion
“COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE TWIT! I’M GOING TO RIP YOUR STUPID HEAD OFF!”, yelled Mugen as he chased after a little redhead, who suddenly turned to the right and left the dirty street he or she was running on.
Mugen hadn’t been able to catch the little kid, what made him even angrier. That little brat had stolen his and Jin’s food.
Jin on the other side, was running after another kid, with short, black hair, definitely a boy.
He was, of course not as loud as Mugen, but at least as angry as him. They hadn’t eaten normal food in ages, because they were once again on a journey, searching for their friend Fuu.
He still couldn’t believe how this had happened.
Flashback
It was no ordinary pair that walked through the doors of the little village. The one was without a doubt, a Samurai. One look of his eyes, trough his thin glasses, would let you freeze, and his swords seemed to emit a mysterious aura.
The other one was, without a doubt, a criminal. You could see the prison-tattoos on his hands. His wild hair and his fiery attitude was able to give you goose bumps.
These two very unordinary men placed themselves right before a little stand, to buy something to eat.
“We barely have any money left”, whispered the Samurai.
“Tell me something I don’t know yet”, said the other one and ordered some Dangos and a few Onigiri.
The two men argued for a little time, whether they would find the girl they were searching for in this little village or not.
Then, after a few minutes a little boy with raven black hair approached them.
“E-Excuse me?”, he stuttered. “I-I accidentally overheard your conversation. H-How does that girl you are searching for, look like? I think I might know her.”
At first, the two men were looking at the young boy suspiciously, because his very timid attitude,, but then told him all about Fuu.
What they didn’t notice was the cute little girl with red hair, who stole their food, and ran away as fast as she could.
The little boy blinked. “Ehm…” He waited until the little girl was a little bit down the street. “I think your food just got stolen.”
Mugen and Jin, both shocked, turned around and immediately chased after the little girl until they heard the little boy cry.
“Thank you very much for lunch!”
‘That does it’, thought Mugen and pulled his sword.
“RUN AFTER THAT LITTLE BOY JIN! I’LL CATCH THAT LITTLE REDHEAD!”
Flashback End
‚I knew I should have stayed in bed today’, thought Jin as he raced after the little boy.
He turned to the left and ran as fast as his little feet carried him.
After a short run trough a very dirty and narrow alley, he turned left again.
The last thing Jin could see, was that the little boy dashed into a little teahouse.
‘Now I’ve got you, kid’. He ran to the teahouse… and suddenly bumped into Mugen, who ran out of another alley right next to him.
“What the…”, yelled Mugen and landed on the floor.
“They fled into the teahouse Mugen.”, said Jin as he collected his swords.
Mugen grinned evilly. “Oh really… I would really like some tea with my Onigiri.”
Within seconds, the two men ran into the teahouse, pulled their swords and took a look.
“ COME HERE! GIVE ME BACK MY FOOD YOU TWO LITTLE BRATS!”, cried Mugen. He didn’t care about the panic he caused in the teahouse.
The guests fled outside and stared at the entrance in shock.
The two little kids were pressed into a corner, the little boy standing in front of the girl in order to protect her.
“MOMMY! HELP!”. The little girl pressed herself against the back of the young boy and cried.
“Say your last prayers you two.”, whispered Mugen as he approached the two children.
Then, just before he could cut the black haired boy in halfs, something collided with his head.
“LET GO OF THEM YOU…”…the voice stocked.
It was a very familiar voice. A voice that Mugen and Jin had searched for a very long time now.
“Oh my god! Mugen! I’m sorry!”
Fuu threw away her pan and bent down on the floor to look at Mugens bump.
Then she looked up to Jin. “W-What are you guys doing here?!”, she cried and threw herself into Jins arms.
Jin hugged her in return tightly, completely forgetting about the two kids in the corner.
“It’s good to see you again Fuu-chan.”, he said and looked at her.
She had grown a little taller, and had definitely matured in certain areas, but her hair and her face were the same.
She had grown from a young foolish girl, to a young woman.
After a few moments, she let go of Jin and threw her arms around Mugen, who had just stood up.
“Uff..”, was the only sound that he could make, because he was trying to keep his balance. Putting on hand around Fuus waist and the other one on a nearby table, he couldn’t help but smile.
They had found Fuu. They were all together again.
“Let go of my Mum you ugly man!”. Suddenly the little redhaired girl kicked Mugens knee and pulled at Fuus Kimono.
“Mommy! Get away from him! He’s dangerous. He wanted to kill us!”
Mugen let go of Fuu, because of the pain in his knee, and because of surprise.
That two little kids called her ‘MOMMY!
‘This can’t be’, he thought. ‘What happened with her the last years?’
Fuu bent down and pulled the little girl close to her and lifted her into her arms.
She scowled. “Mayu, Jirou? Did you two steal other peoples meals again? I told you two to stop that! We might not have very much, but it’s enough for the three of us.”
She sighed, and turned again to Mugen and Jin.
“Well. I think I have to explain some things to you to. First of all: Welcome to Sakura Inn , my own teahouse.”, she smiled. “I’m sure you two are very exhausted. As you are my friends you can stay for free.”
She let the little girl back to the ground, who ran back to the boy.
Fuu walked to the corner and stood behind the two children. She put her arms around both of their shoulders and smiled.
“And I want you two to meet some very precious kids. These are Jirou…”, she shaked the little boy a little, “…and Mayu.”
Then she took a look at one of the tables, only to find the onigiri and the dangos. “I’d say these are yours? I’m very sorry, I told them so often to stop stealing other peoples food. You two! Appologise.”
The little boy crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“I’m not apologising to people I don’t even know.”
Fuu hit his head.
“Well than I’ll have to introduce these two men to you. These are Mugen and Jin. I told you a lot of stories of our journey together. Don’t you two remember?”
Mayu and Jirou were staring with awe at the two scary men, while Jin and Mugen stared at Fuu.
‘She has CHILDREN?!’, they thought surprised.
Jin tried his best not to look too shocked, while Mugen just stared at her in utter disbelief.
Fuu herself felt very uneasy. A very weird silence had settled between the five persons in the teahouse, so she decided to speak up.
“Well we have a lot to catch up to! Jin, Mugen you two can sit down and I’ll serve you tea”, she said smiling.
“And you two”, she shot freezing looks at the kids “… are going upstairs until I call you down here. Understood?”
The two kids nodded, and dashed off.
And so they finally were together again. Fuu, as happy as ever. Jin, not so cool as ever. Mugen, shocked like never before in his life.
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Questions and Answers
Chapter 2 – Questions and Answers
The silence she, Jin and Mugen were in was the most uncomfortable thing that Fuu had ever felt with the two men.
She couldn’t believe that they had searched for her, and they were finally together again.
All those years Fuu had imagined that Jin and Mugen would come back to her.
That they wanted to head for another journey with her.
Now Mugen sat right in front of her stuffing Dango in his mouth, while Jin was silently drinking his tea.
Fuu breathed in deeply to speak to Jin. She knew that Mugen wouldn’t answer her anyway when he was eating.
“So Jin. What did you do in the last five years?”, she asked and smiled.
Jin, polite as he was, answered her question, stoic as ever.
“After we parted, I went back to Shino as I promised her. Living for her is still dangerous like it was five years ago, so I’m just able to visit her from time to time. She has to stay in the temple.”
He sighed and sipped on his tea again. “The rest of the last five years I spent as ever. Working as a bodyguard when I needed money…”
“… and fighting Evil wherever you could.”, grinned Fuu and took his cup. “Want another cup of tea?”
He only nodded and Fuu went back into the kitchen.
Right after she vanished behind her curtain, Mugen bent over to Jin and hissed.
“Did you see that?! The two little brats are hers! They called her MOMMY!”
Jin pushed his glasses back up. “Believe me Mugen, that little girl yelled loud enough for me to hear that.”
“And how are we supposed to deal with that?! What are we doing anyway now that we found her?”
That was indeed a really good question. Jin and Mugen had agreed to search for Fuu, but now that they had found her, they didn’t know what to do next.
Would they head for another journey? And if yes, what sense would it make to walk all around Japan?
“Take a good look Mugen.”, Jin whispered and looked around for himself.
“Sakura Inn”, Fuus teahouse, was certainly a new built building.
The wood was still bright and stainless.
The sun shown brightly trough the door and two little windows on the right side.
It was certainly not older than three years.
“And what am I supposed to see here?”, Mugen asked dumbly and leaned back. He looked at Jin questionably.
Jin thought to himself, ‘Why am I even travelling with an idiot like him’, and then answered: “This is a very new house Mugen. Probably it was only built for her and the children. And the father of her children I’d say. Why would she want to leave her home? Besides, she wouldn’t let the kids get into the danger of being murdered by the Shogun or some other guys.”
Fuu then returned with the tea and looked at the two questionably. She decided that she didn’t want to know what the two men had been talking about and sat down.
“Mugen? What about you? What did happen to you the last 5 years?”
Fuu set down the tea for Jin and took her time to take a closer look at Mugen.
The prison tattoos around his wrists were the same as they were 5 years ago.
His hair was now a little bit longer than it had been and he had grown even taller.
As she looked in his eyes, she recognised that he was staring at her.
“I’m not the one with two little kids running all over the place. You should tell US what happened to you.”, he growled.
‘Is he angry?’, she thought confused and turned around. She couldn’t see the two kids listening, as they normally did when she had guests.
The always sat on the very top on the stairs where they thought nobody could see them.
Probably Jirou had to calm his little sister down. She was afraid of almost every guy with weapons.
“Who’s the father Fuu? Do we know him?”. Mugen kept on asking, while Fuu thought of a way how to explain it the best.
But before he could ask another question, he felt something crawling up his left leg.
“WHAT THE..”, he yelled and leaned back too much.
He fell from his bench, directly on the floor.
Momo, Fuu’s little squirrel was crawling up his trousers and quickly flew back to Fuu, as he tried to hit it.
“MUGEN! Don’t you dare hurt Momo. He’s not a young squirrel anymore you could seriously hurt him!”
She stroked Momo and gave him something to crunch on.
“That was my target”, he mumbled and pulled himself back on the bench.
“I’m also curious Fuu-chan. These two kids seem to be a little bit older than five. Are they even yours?”
“You’re right Jin”, she sighed and her look was getting sad. “I don’t know exactly how old they are. And I don’t know who their parents are, or where they come from.”
Confusion filled the room. Mugen didn’t notice, but he let out a sigh of relief.
“I found Jirou and Maya four years ago. I was searching for a village where I could work and live in peace, and on my way here, I found them. They were lying in the sand, unconscious and seriously injured.”
Jin and Mugen were watching her carefully. She seemed lost in her thoughts.
“I took care of them until they woke up and got better. They had lost her memories and I was the only person they could cling onto. Like me, they didn’t have a place to stay, so we decided that we should stay together and search for a village we could live.”
She smiled again. “We were searching for 2 long months. They decided to call me Mom. I don’t know why but I didn’t really mind. I felt as I had full responsibility for them and that we were all meant to be together.
She looked back at Mugen and Jin. “They couldn’t even remember their names, so I decided to name them after my two best friends.”
As expected, Mugen didn’t really understand. Fuu sighed and started to explain. “Don’t see any commonalities Mugen? Mayu is named after you. Mayu – Mugen.”
She turned to Jin. He had already noticed. Jin – Jirou. “I feel very honoured Fuu-chan”
She gave him one of her sweetest smiles in return.
Mugen on the other hand, didn’t know what to think. Fuu had named the little red-haired brat after him. She wasn’t their biological mother. ‘Good thing’, he thought, but he didn’t know why.
“How did you all land here in this little village?”, asked Jin.
Fuu continued to tell her story. “We desperately needed some money. So we decided to make a stop and found this teahouse. It was belonged to a very nice old woman. She really needed help. She let us live for free and I helped her with her guests.”
Fuu was once again lost in her precious memories. “Her name was Sakura. That’s why the Inn has this name now. For 2 years we all felt like we were a real family.”
Mugen noticed, that Fuu had tears in her eyes. As she continued with her story, he found out why.
“I found out later that Sakura-baa-chan was Christian, just like my father was. She was hunted by the Shogun.”
Tears were now running down Fuu’s cheeks. “One day the kids and I went grocery shopping into the neighbour village. W-When we came back in the evening, the teahouse was all burned down and Baa-chan was nowhere to be found.”
Fuu wiped her tears away, but they didn’t stop flowing. “The villagers said that the Shogun’s assassins had captured her. H-Her last wish was that I would rebuild the teahouse and life here with the kids.”
Jin had reached for her hand and tried to comfort her. She bit her lip in return. “The whole village helped to rebuild the teahouse. That was 2 years ago and now we three are a part of this village. That’s why the inhabitants are never angry with the kids if they steal a little bit of food. They know that they do it to help me.”
She sighed deeply. “Well. That is what happened to me.”
She smiled at Jin and squeezed his hand lightly before she wiped her tears away again.
After a few moments of silence, Fuu spoke again. “As I already mentioned, as my best friends you two are invited to stay here. You don’t really have any plans of what to do next right?”
Mugen only shook his head.
“Well what about some holidays then? I’m sorry Mugen but you will not find any brothels here so you will have to spend your time otherwise.”, she grinned and stood up.
“I’ll close the teahouse for today, it’s already late anyways. Time for some sleep.”
That was what they all needed after this much information.
Fuu went up the stairs and showed them their rooms. After wishing them a good night she vanished into the kids room to talk to them, before going to bed herself.
It had been a very exhausting day. But she was happy that she had her two best friends around her again.
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Stories and Lost Memories
Chapter 3 – Stories and lost Memories
Sunshine was filling the little room in which Mugen slept in. The birds were singing outside and you could hear the wind blowing and the water flowing.
But these noises weren’t what woke the pirate up. It was Fuu’s screaming. Her voice was full of panic and concern.
“MAYU?! Mayu come out! Where are you?!”
Mugen sat up and immediately. Taking a confused look around the room and then remembering where he was he ran outside… only to bump into her.
She didn’t seem to notice. She ran down the stairs, constantly screaming for the little girl.
“Fuu!” Mugen ran after her, but she didn’t stop. She was furious. Without noticing anything around her, she ran into the kitchen and opened every cupboard and every cabinet.
“Mayu!” She ran past Mugen, who was standing in the doorway and took a short look through the dining room.
“FUU!”, he shouted. She wanted to pass again, but Mugen quickly packed her wrist. She then did notice that he was after her.
“M-Mugen?”, she sounded confused and blinked. “Why are you up this early?”
She didn’t look him in the eyes, but scanned the area of any hints for the little girl.
“Fuu! Listen…”, he cupped her face with his hands and forced her to look at him. His voice was deep and calming.
“Calm down.”; he said and looked her deep into the eyes.
‘She’s beautiful’; he thought, but shook his head immediately. ‘What in the world am I thinking?’
“What’s wrong?”
Fuu had blushed a little, but took a deep breath and answered: “Mayu is gone. We have to find her!” She then looked around again in fear. “What if something happened to her?” She had tears in her eyes and was trembling. She barely managed to stand on her feet.
Mugen wanted to answer her, but he couldn’t. Suddenly he let out a scream of pain and let go of Fuu, jumping on one foot.
“Let go of my Mom, you pig! What did you do to her?!”
Jirou, who woke up from his “mothers” screams, had kicked him and now took Fuus hands.
“Mom where is Mayu?”
Fuu kneeled down and hugged him tightly. “I don’t know.”
Jirou smiled. “You know she can’t go that far if she’s in that state. We’ll find her!” He gave her a comforting smile and took her hand, to lead her to the backdoor.
Mugen followed, cursing under his breath and jumping on one foot. “I’m going to kill that little brat someday.”
As the three entered the garden, rain was falling from a few single dark clouds which had managed to defeat the sunshine.
“Mayu!” Fuu let go of Jirous hand and ran towards Jin.
He was soaking wet, his hair sticking to his face. He held Mayu in his arms, bridal stile.
Her eyes were searching for Fuus voice, her little hands clinging to Jin in fear and confusion.
“Mommy!” She was crying and shivered. She reached for Fuu when she was near enough to reach her.
Fuu hugged her tightly and stroked her hair.
“I’m here sweety. Everything’s alright again…” She gave a wink to Jin to follow her into the house.
OoOoO
They all were sitting in the dining room a few minutes later. Jirou had gotten some towels and Mugen had made a fire.
“Fuu.”
Jin placed himself onto the bench right beside her and looked at her questionably. “What happened? I found her lying on the grass.”
Fuu sighed deeply.
“My first thought was she’s unconscious or dead.”
Fuu lifted Mayu up and gave her to Jin, so she could dry herself. She didn’t answer.
“Mommy? I did it again, didn’t I?” Mayus voice was full of fear and guilt, tears running down her cute little face again. She tried to hide herself in Jins chest and drew up her knees.
Fuu only smiled at her and cupped her cheek. “It’s not your fault baby. You can’t do anything.”
“I’m.. s-sorry…” Jin carefully stroked her hair and tried to calm the little girl down.
Fuu directed her look to Jirou. “Jirou take your little sister back to her room. She needs to change her clothes, and sleep a little.”
Jirou only took Mayus hand and helped her upstairs.
Fuu let out a sigh of exhaustion and leaned against a desk. “It’s getting worse and worse”, she mumbled and looked at Mugen and Jin for explanation.
“She’s sleep-walking.”
Mugen and Jin looked at each other confused.
“That means that she is walking around although she is sleeping. She can’t control were she’s walking and she’s not able to remember it.”
Another sigh.
“We only know it, because she’s not waking up in her bed, but somewhere else.”
Mugen looked at her with a serious face. “Why did you panic that much, when you knew that Fuu?”
She smiled sad. “This stance can be very dangerous Mugen. The last time she was sleep-walking she nearly drowned in the ocean, because she left the house and fell from the small cliff.’
She rubbed her eyes and suddenly stood up. “Enough of that. I think it’s time for breakfast.”
She then went to prepare the meal, while Jin and Mugen were left confused and worried for her, in the dining room.
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“Why exactly am I doing this again?”, Mugen asked as Fuu gave him another two bags of rice.
Fuu smiled evilly: “Because, my dear Mugen, you didn’t want to be left alone with..” she cleared her throat..” Fish face and the two little devils”.
He sighed and went after her. He had volunteered to help her with the groceries, which she needed for her customers and dinner, while Jin was watching the kids.
He felt that the little kids didn’t really like him. In fact they were afraid of him. Of course, good-looking uncle Jin was another think. The knight-in-shining-armor had saved little Mayu. He’s the hero. Mugen pulled a face.
Fuu broke out in hysterical laughter. “M-Mugen…th-that face was… adorable..”
She couldn’t stop herself and clutched her stomach.
She was happy to have him again. And she was proud of herself. They hadn’t bickered one single time since the two had arrived, and he even managed to make her smile.
Picking up her bags again, she took Mugens hand and suddenly pulled him off the way, to the opposite direction.
“W-Where are we going?”, he answered, but followed suit.
Fuu only grinned. “I’ll show you something.”, she only said, but didn’t let go of his hand.
And she hoped that he didn’t notice the slight blush on her cheeks. ‘Damn. And here I thought I was over him’
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“Jin-san?”
Jin opened his eyes. He was sitting outside, treating his swords. He looked at Jirou, who placed himself next to him.
“Thanks for finding Mayu-chan.” He sighed deeply and looked up to the sky.
“Don’t mention it. The important thing is that she’s back. It doesn’t matter who found her you know?
Jirou smiled sadly: “I’m worried about her. Is it right for a boy to worry, Jin-san?”
This question surprised him. The little boy was only 8 years old. Why did he ask such questions? ‘He surely went through a lot it seems.’
Jin took his little hand and placed his sword into his hands.
Jirou looked at the sword with awe and fear.
“Before I met your mother Jirou, I was fighting, because I searched a reason to fight. Then, after travelling with her, I found my reason. I wanted to protect her. She’s a part of me you know? Because she’s nice, caring, and a really good friend to me. Because I worry about her, I’m fighting.”
He managed to smile at the little boy. “If it hadn’t been for her, I’d certainly be dead by now. She was worried about me, and I was worried about her and so I fought to protect her. Is this answering your question?”
Jirou only gave him back his sword and nodded happily.
“Thank you Jin-san!”
The two of them sat there a little longer until they heard the backdoor open.
Mayu was peering at them.
Jirou waved and she came over and sat into Jins lab. At first surprised, he then put an arm around the little girl and smiled. ‘She’s cute’, he thought. ‘She might not be Fuu’s biological child, but she’s very similar to her.
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Festival Plans
Chapter 4 – Festival plans
Mugen took a close look. The street they were walking on was very … He didn’t know how to describe the huge amount of flowers everywhere.
Of course he knew that it was spring. There was nobody who wouldn’t notice that the days were getting longer, the snow was melting and that everything was getting green again.
Life was coming out wherever you looked, but he had never seen so many flowers at one single place, like on this road. It was …very…
“You don’t like it, don’t you?”, sighed Fuu and looked very sad.
Flowers were very…girly. Since searching for the sunflower samurai, his opinion concerning flowers changed although flowers and the samurai didn’t have anything in common.
“… It’s very… colourful.”, he said and once again took a look. “Why are there so many flowers anyway?”
Fuu took a bellflower from one of the nearby stands and walked beside him again. “Tonight’s the Flower Festival. This village celebrates it every year. A lot of fireworks, a lot to eat, dancing, having fun…”, she sighed again.
“What’s wrong?”, questioned Mugen.
He didn’t want to admit it but he suddenly had the urge to comfort her.
He didn’t like it when she was sad. He hated it when she was crying. Especially when he was the cause of it.
‘What in de WORLD is wrong with me?’
“Always went alone the last 3 years, because kids aren’t allowed. You think Jin would like to come?”
‘You wouldn’t want to come along with me anyway. Watching all the beautiful girls in the village I suppose.’ she thought and walked on.
Mugen nearly dropped one of his rice-bags.
“Oh I knew it. You still have a thing for him haven’t you?”
He hated it, that he nearly sounded jealous. But he sure did sound angry.
Fuu waited for him and gave him a confused glance. “Wait, what do you mean still? And no, I don’t have a thing for him. I never had. He’s one of my best friends and you know that.”
Before Mugen was able to answer, the two heard a voice behind them, calling for Fuu.
“Fuu-chan!!”
They both turned around and saw a young man with short, dark-blonde hair running after them.
When he reached them, he rested his hands on his knees and breathed heavily.
‘Who’s that?’, thought Mugen and took a closer look at the man who slowly gained his breath back.
His clothes weren’t fancy, he was a little bit smaller than him. His eyes were a catch though. They were ice-blue. Mugen also noticed, that he surely wasn’t born in Japan.
“Eric-san.”, smiled Fuu and gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “How are you?”
‘Eric? What’s with that weird name? And what’s up with that kiss?!, thought Mugen and set his rice bags to the ground. ‘He’s not armed. Good.’
“Oh darling, I’m worn out.”, he sighed and returned the kiss. “I just wanted to know…”, then he seemed to notice Mugen, because he was shooting death glares at him.
“And who might that be?”, Eric said, smirking. He eyed Mugen from head to toes.
“Oh. I’m sorry Eric-san.” She smiled. “This is Mugen. You know, I told you about him and Jin. They are here for a visit.”
She turned to Mugen. “Mugen, this is Eric-san. He was my first friend in town and he often helps with the kids.”
“Ah the famous Mugen! Nice to meet you!”, he took Mugens hand and shook it enthusiastically . “I always wanted to meet the guys who took care of my precious Fuu-chan.”
Mugen was too shocked to defend himself. ‘HIS Fuu-chan? What the hell is this guy talking about?’
Before he could answer, Fuu spoke to Eric again.
“Eric-san, how often have I told you not to be like that.” She giggled. SHE GIGGLED!
Mugen let go of Erics hand and watched him again. “You’re embarrassing me”, she continued and glared at Mugen.
“I’m sorry. Anyways darling, I wanted to ask if you’re coming to the festival tonight. I’m always saving some candy and sake for you. Your friends are invited too of course. I’m desperate to meet Jin-san!”
Mugens thought were filled with at least a hundred different ways to torture Eric. ‘Darling… She’s MINE you stupid…Wait a minute.. what did I just…’ Confusion was written all over Mugens face.
“Fuu, can we go now? I need to … talk to Jin.”
Fuu gave him a confused look. “Okay. We’re going now. Eric-san of course I’m going to be there. I’ll bring Jin with me.”
She gave him a hug again and then pulled Mugens hand.
“What the hell, Mugen?! I thought you were going to kill him with your look! What was that about?!”
Mugen looked back to see if Eric was still there, watching them, but he couldn’t see him.
He glared at her.
“What was with that guy?! That nearly was sexual harassment! And he’s… blonde. where is he from? He’s weird. You shouldn’t meet him again…’
Fuu stood there dumbfounded. ‘Is he really jealous?’
She was angry. Really angry. “Don’t you tell me who my friends should be! Eric-san is really nice! Oh please that was so NOT sexual harassment. And why would you care anyway?”
Then she had an idea. She smirked. “Or, do you want me not to meet him again, because YOU want to meet him?”
Mugen gave her a confused look.
“He’s gay you know.”
Mugen thought. 2 seconds. 3 seconds. 4 seconds. 5 seconds. “WHAT?!”
‘GAAAAH! That guy shook my hand. The way he looked at me. HELP!’
Fuu blinked: “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice that.”
She sighed and slapped her forehead. ‘Why am I in love with such a dumb bastard? AAAAAAH he makes me crazy sometimes.’
She sighed. “Let’s go home. I’ve got to tell Jin about the festival. Are you coming or not?”
Mugen didn’t hear her. He was lost in his thoughts.
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‘I’m trapped.’
That was the first thought Jin had, when he woke up, because he heard the front door opening.
He must have fallen asleep, because the last thing he remembered was, telling the kids the story about how he and his friends rescued Shino.
Now, Mayu was still sitting in his lab, sleeping. She looked like an angel, beautiful and peaceful.
Jirou on the other hand, was sleeping soundly, lying in the grass right next to him.
He didn’t want to wake Mayu or Jirou, so he decided to sit until someone would come to look for them.
A couple of minutes later, Fuu entered the garden and smiled.
“Hey Jin”, she whispered and lifted Mayu up from Jins lab and lay her down beside her little brother. She wasn’t waking up.
She took Jins hand, helped him up and lead him into the dining room.
“She has a deep sleep. Thanks again for watching them”
She ran into the kitchen to make some tea.
Jin took a close look at Mugen.
He was obviously very angry, very exhausted, and surprisingly he was deep in thought.
“Did something happen?”
Mugen looked up and frowned. “I’m not gay, just for your information.”
He continued to watch the floor.
Jin only blinked. “Okay?”
Shortly after that, Fuu came back with the tea.
“He’s just shocked because I told him Eric-san was gay. First he accused him of sexual harassment against me, now he isn’t sure if the look he gave him was suspect or not.”
“Ah. I see.”, he only said and thanked her for the tea.
“Jin, tonight the village is celebrating the flower festival! It’s one of the biggest events. Do you want to go? The kids can be alone for some hours. I think Mugen wouldn’t watch them.”
She looked at Mugen with a sad expression. ‘And he wouldn’t want to go with me either.’
Jin didn’t know if he wanted to go or not. It sure would be nice to take a closer look at the village in which Fuu was living though.
“Please?”, she pleaded. “I don’t want to go alone again?”
“Why don’t you ask Mugen?”
Both, Fuu and Mugen stared at Jin.
“H-he already helped me with shopping, I’m sure he’s exhausted. And he’s better off alone anyhow.”
Jin smiled. “Okay. I’m going. But only if he’s coming with us.”
He meant Mugen
“I don’t want him to be alone with the kids. He may kill them if they get on his nerves.”
Fuu pondered. “Probably true.”
Then she smiled again!
“Thank you Jin”, she exclaimed and hugged him.
OoOoOoOoOoO
Beauty
Mugen didn’t dare to hurt the little girl. Fuu was in the room next door, and she would hear him. Not to mention the other little brat. He already had a lot of bruises on his knees, he didn’t need another one. But he didn’t know how much longer he would last.
“U-uncle Mugen…You have to hold still!”, whined Mayu as she was brushing Mugens hair. “I only allow you to accompany Uncle Jin and Mommy if you look fine.”
Mugen sighed. ‘I shouldn’t have said yes. Now that Eric-san will stick to me all the time. But maybe Jin is more his type’, he thought and let the little girl continue.
Fuu had tried to wash a Yukata for him, that he would have to wear, but he was strictly against it. Jin had been given a new one, which fitted him perfectly, but Mugen didn’t want to look too nice. That was not his style.
OoOoOoO
“Mommy’s late.”, Mayu said, sitting next to Mugen and Jin in the dining room.
They waited for her to go to the festival.
‘Why are girls always that late when they have to dress up?’, thought Mugen.
He leaned back and took again a look at little Mayu.
She was called Mayu because of him. He didn’t know whether to like that or not. ‘She’s cute though’, he thought. And this thought shocked him.
‘What the hell?! I’m a man! That word shouldn’t even be in my vocabulary!’
He stood up and began to run around in the dining room nervously.
Jin shot him a confused look.
“Something wrong Mugen?”, he asked and almost had a concerned face.
He didn’t have the chance or the air to answer.
Fuu was walking down the stairs, but he had to look twice, to make sure that it was really her that was wearing the shining blue kimono, with the dark ribbon, a little white bag, white earrings and shoes and a dark blue flower in her hair.
“Mom!”, called Jirou. He was running after Fuu, holding a silver necklace with a dark blue stone on it.
“You forgot something.”, he said and placed the necklace around his mothers neck. He grinned.
“Perfect. You look amazing Mom.”
She smiled and tousled his hair. “Thanks. What would I do without my Knight-in-shining-armour?”
Fuu gave him a kiss on his forehead, and stroked Mayus hair, who was hugging her legs.
Jirou blushed a little, but didn’t say a word.
Jin smiled. “You look amazing Fuu-chan.”, he said and stood up.
Fuu thanked him, and gently pushed Mayu aside.
“Okay you two. I don’t know when I will be back okay? You will be eating dinner and then go up to bed. Is that clear?”
Jirou pulled a face. “But Mommy! What if the Pig-uncle is mean to you? I have to protect you!”
Fuu sighed. “Jirou. I’ll tell you that one last time. Don’t call him Pig, that’s my line. And secondly, he would never hurt me. Isn’t that right Mugen?”
She smiled and looked at him. He had gained his coolness back and smirked. “Never.”
He sighed. He didn’t want to be near that little brat anymore? “Can we go now? I want some sake.”
“Is that everything you are thinking of Mugen?”, asked Jin and fixed his swords. He went outside and waited for Fuu to come out.
Mugen was the last to leave the teahouse. He followed Jin and Fuu, who were talking with each other a few meters in front of him.
He didn’t want to talk with Fuu, because he wasn’t sure if he could talk without drooling.
‘Okay, okay, I admit it. She looks gorgeous’, he thought and sighed. He desperately needed some sake.
OoOoO
“Oh! This is such a sad story Jin-san! You only get to see Shino san a couple of times in the year? That’s what I call real love!”, cried Eric, as Jin finished his story.
Fuu giggled. “All that matters is, that he’s happy, don’t you think Eric-san?”
Eric smiled back. “Of course darling. Here have another dango.”, he said and gave her and Jin another tablet.
“Thank you Eric-san.”, said Jin and was happy that he had something to occupy him. He wanted to go and sleep. This person really was nice, but also annoying when talking too much. Worse than Fuu in her former days.
“Jin, do you know where Mugen went?”, asked Fuu and looked around.
She was a little concerned about him. He hadn’t talked much since they had gotten here, and normally, especially when sake and something to eat was involved, he was very talkative.
“I don’t know he answered.” ‘When did he escape? Idiot. Could have taken me along’, he thought and took a sip from his tea.
“I’ll look for him”, she said and stood up.
‘My chance!’, thought Jin and also stood up. “I’ll help you. Eric-san, it was a pleasure to meet you.”
He went out, leaving Fuu and Eric behind.
“A very gentle man, don’t you think Fuu-chan? He would make a wonderful husband.”
Fuu blushed a little.
“Eric-san! You heard him, he already has a woman he loves. And I already have another man in mind.”
Eric smiled. “If you are searching for this man, I saw him leaving a while ago. I think he went to the centre of town.”
Fuu gave him a thankful smile and winked. “Good night and thanks Eric-san”, she called, and left his teahouse to search for Mugen.
Jin was nowhere to be seen. ‘That’s coherent’, she thought and had a lot of pity with him. Eric-san hadn’t stopped asking him everything that he wanted to know. ‘Poor Jin.’
She was greeted by a lot of people, while walking down the street. Everyone in town knew her and the kids, and they loved them.
Fuu didn’t have to look for long. After a while of walking, she saw a lot of people, standing near a stand, watching a man with a very unordinary haircut and a sword, trying to win prices with throwing little balls and knock over cans.
She sighed. “Mugen?”, she asked, but he only smirked. “Fuu? What do you want? I’ll win you a price.”
Now that was something new. He had never given her something. He didn’t give a damn if she was happy or not. Why would he like to give her a present?
“Doesn’t matter. I already won 2 stuffed animals. Take them.”
He put the balls back on the table of the stand and pulled her aside, away from all the people.
“M-Mugen! Hey! Don’t pull that hard okay?!”.
But he didn’t hear.
Fuu, having a little brown bear and a little white bunny in her arms, was being pulled down the street.
“Sorry. I had to get out of there. They were all staring at me like I was some kind of…”.
He sighed. “You know what I mean.”
He sat down on a little bench and rested his arms on his knees.
‘What’s up with him?’, thought Fuu and took a seat beside him.
“Mugen? Are you alright?”
Once again, her voice sounded concerned. He hated it when she was concerned.
“I’m okay”, he said, without looking at her. He couldn’t look at her. He didn’t know if he could restrain himself.
She frowned. “Mugen…Don’t you dare lie to me. You’re acting weird.”
He gave her a short laugh and picked the little brown bear from her arms.
“I’m winning little toys for your little brats. Of course I’m acting weird.”
He sighed. “And I don’t know why.”
And before he could realise what happened, Fuu hugged him.
‘Physical contact. Exactly the thing I wanted to prevent.’
