Chapter 5:
If You Love Something…

"You JERK!" Mugen heard Fuu cry from the porch. Jin had just taken off rather dramatically. It seemed she was not taking it well.

"You awake?" Fuu demanded, storming back into the room.

"No," Mugen said, his eyes closed.

"You heard that?"

"No."

"Yes, you did. The correct response if you hadn't heard that would have been 'Heard what?' But since you know exactly what, you said 'no,' which gives you away."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he moaned, slapping his palm to his forehead in frustration.

"How could you let him go?" she cried, dropping to the floor in an equally bombastic gesture. It was amazing there was ever any scenery left to chew when these two really had at it.

"How could I let him go?" Mugen shot to a sitting position, sending Rodriguez sailing across the room. "You're the one getting all mushy over the whole thing. Why should I have to stop him?"

"Because you're sworn to kill him!" Fuu cried. "Just like he swore to protect me! And now he's just breaking promises all over the place and you're just going to stand there and take it like….like…..like a bitch!" she said, with almost a hint of triumph.

"Like a what?" Mugen asked, not sure whether to be enraged or to bust out laughing.

"You heard me."

"You have lost your damn mind," he said, standing up. He was suddenly feeling very claustrophobic. There was an intense amount of bullshit swirling about him and he felt the need to walk it off. "Jin can take care of himself." He turned and attempted to walk out the door but Fuu scooted in front of him, folding her arms defiantly. Her entire body, from her hair down to her toes, was locked in. None shall pass, she said without speaking.

Mugen raised an eyebrow at the entire display, to which she replied, "You saw him last night."

And there it was. That damn lurch in his stomach. Mugen didn't always understand the whole code of the warrior thing, at least not as rigidly and as absolutely as Jin. But he knew what it was to be a warrior. And he knew the look of someone who had one singular goal, and what it looked like when that goal was not his own survival. Something was going on with him. Was it a chick? Who knows? But he did know, suddenly and with absolute certainty, that there was no way in hell he was going to let one of the baddest cats he had ever known go down on account of being polite.

Fuu and Mugen took off sprinting down the street, and Mugen was taken with Fuu's sudden ability to keep pace. "Where are we going?" he called out to her, when he realized he didn't know.

"The brothel!" Fuu called over her shoulder, and then screeched to a halt. Mugen slammed into her, but she didn't even care to scold him for it. "Right?"

"I dunno. I guess."

"I think so," Fuu said with more certainty. "It has to be."

"They would have taken his swords. They do that."

"So you've heard."

"No, I mean like they do that. When I go there to bang chicks."

Fuu rolled her eyes, but that was all the response she had time for. "We gotta go get them then. I don't know how good he is with his hands."

Mugen grinned. "I think at least one broad would say…"

"Shut up."

"…he's very good with…"

"Seriously, I hate you."

"…his hands." Mugen stood smirking in the street for a moment, pleased he was able to smash that particular lob right out of the park.

"You finished?" Fuu asked.

"All set."

"Then let's go."

When they got there, it was clear that someone had already called shenanigans on the whole operation. There were signs of a ruckus, and the distinct buzz of gossip and controversy hanging in the air. "He wears glasses. Isn't that so adorable?"

"I heard he was some count who won her in a bet to see who could catch the most flies with chopsticks."

"I think he might be an ex-lover. A childhood sweetheart maybe."

"WHERE DO YOU KEEP THE SWORDS?" Fuu shrieked like an Amazon warrior. Everyone froze to stare at this tiny girl, looking desperate and crazed, suddenly standing the in doorway. She was breathing heavily, her face flushed, the veins in her neck throbbing. A tall lanky kid stood behind her, looking almost apologetic.

"How's it hanging, ladies?" he asked, waving.

The ladies looked at one another, not sure what to think. "I…did you leave one here?" one of them hazarded.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" Fuu repeated, somehow louder than before. "If you don't tell me, I'll tear this place apart myself!"

No one had the slightest bit of trouble believing that. "Over there!" one of the girls spoke up. "In a box behind the sake glasses."

Fuu leapt over the bar and began rummaging through the wares. There were enough weapons to outfit a small army, but she knew Jin would only want her to take what was his. Not that she knew what to do with any of this stuff anyway. She grabbed his katanas and made a break for the door.

"So…" Mugen said to the small gaggle of women that had gathered to watch this spectacle. "You here often?"

"Mugen, let's GO!" Fuu cried, jabbing him in the back of the head with one of the hilts as she passed. If there was anything Mugen liked more than sex it was violence, so he had little trouble following.

As they approached the scene, Mugen was a bit let down with Jin's assailants. Jin was more than holding his own without the swords. With them, and with Mugen's assistance, it would be a very short battle indeed. It all didn't seem worth it. "I got out of bed for this?"

Mugen watched as the ronin took off with the girl, The Girl, the lady of the hour. Funny, she seemed kind of ordinary to Mugen. "She's kind of pretty," Fuu agreed when the dust settled. The implication was that she wasn't terribly prettier than Fuu. "Do you think they'll get married or something?"

Mugen shrugged. "Dunno. Prob'ly shouldn't stick around here, though."

Fuu sighed. "You're right. Let's go back."

xxxxxxxxx

Somewhere on the bank of the river, a lone warrior lets the one person he could have loved drift away. She floats to safety, to ruin, to salvation, to the unknown. And he remains. He would wait without waiting, his body ever wandering while his heart stood still. They stare at each other as she leaves him, wondering if this is the last look they will ever share or the first of many.

And somewhere down at the inn, a pirate contemplates the beetle sitting in his hand. He shoves his palm upwards and the beetle takes off, buzzing as it awkwardly lumbers through the sky. He stands watching the empty space where it once was for a long time, thinking about many things at once and yet nothing at all. And then suddenly, in the very same space, stands Jin. He stands as stiffly as a startled doe, as if he is not sure if it is safe to approach. "Hey," Mugen says.

And Jin knows that everything is fine. "Hey," he replies. They shrug and turn back to the inn. There is a philosophy in all of this mess, Mugen knows. He just isn't sure what it is.

The End

Hey, no musical credits! So I have nothing to say here! Nice to see some of the old crew still lurking about, and hiya to the "new" guys. I'm way too old to be doing this shit, that's for sure. Hope you liked it, thanks for reading, oh and…..

Agent Orange out.

Suck it, Seacrest.