Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai Champloo or its characters.

Author's Notes: This is set sometime during the middle of their journey. No spoilers. I'm also not really sure when Valentine's Day was first celebrated in Japan but for the purposes of the story, there was little knowledge of the holiday in Japan.

Fuu rubbed her eyes and sighed. No, not another mirage, she thought. Fuu opened her, eyes. "It's still there," she said, more to herself than either Jin or Mugen. She stopped walking and just stared at what looked like the top of a temple. Had they finally reached a village? Visions of food and a warm bed filled her head. She had to be seeing things, it was too good to be true.

"What are you doing, Fuu?" Mugen asked impatiently. "We'll never get to eat if you stand there staring like an idiot."

"Is that what I think it is?" Fuu asked, not Mugen but Jin. "Have we finally reached another village?" She started to walk slowly still staring the top of the temple. Fuu was afraid if she looked away, it would disappear.

"Yes, of course it is. You don't see mirages of temples." Jin stated as he walked in front of her.

"Wait! I'm coming." Fuu felt her pocket for the money. Jin had earned quite a bit of money playing some game with a Dutch trader in the last village. The game itself had looked interesting but had the oddest name, chess. What kind of name was that for a game about war?

They walked for about another hour before they reached the village. It was larger than most of the villages they had been through. The village had a large inn, a few restaurants, and a teahouse. The three argued which to do first. Fuu was starving and wanted to find a restaurant immediately. One day without food is more than anyone should have to endure. Mugen wanted to go to a teahouse to enjoy a cup of sake and the local women. Naturally, Jin being the most responsible out of the trio, wanted to reserve a room. It had been nearly a week since they had slept indoors and he did not want anything to get in the way of him sleeping in a warm bed.

A young man heard the three fighting. "Excuse me, but why are you three arguing?"

The three travelers glared at him and the boy looked down and started to walk away. Fuu chased after him. "Wait, I'm sorry. We've been walking for hours and are just tired. Don't mind them." Fuu winked at him. "What were you going to say?"

The teenager looked warily at Jin and Mugen who were still glaring at him. He whispered something into Fuu's ear and it made her smile.

Fuu couldn't contain her excitement. She hugged the young man quickly and blushed. "Sorry, it's just that…I couldn't contain my excitement. Thank you, umm, what is your name?"

The teenager blushed this time. "My name is Akito and may I ask your name?"
Fuu smiled at him and bowed slightly. "I'm Fuu. Perhaps my friends and I will see you later, Akito-san."

Akito bowed and nodded. "Yes, perhaps we will, Fuu-san."

Fuu walked over to Mugen and Jin wearing a smug smile on her face. "Our problem is solved."

Mugen smirked at her. "What are you going to be sleeping in your boyfriend's room tonight? Me and Jin can do whatever we want. Perfect, give me the money then and we'll spend the night at a brothel."

Fuu smacked him. "First of all he is not my boyfriend. Second of all, if I were to give the money to anyone it would be Jin. He did earn it, after all." She started to walk away.

"Wait! What are we doing?" Mugen yelled.

"That man told me that the inn will fulfill all our needs. They have rooms, a small restaurant, and a teahouse." Fuu started to walk and smiled when she heard them behind her. I love being right, she thought. ?xml:namespace prefix o ns "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /

"Wait a minute. I thought the inn would serve all of our needs. What about my need for some company." Mugen asked. He had not gotten laid since they started the journey and he was growing impatient.

Fuu sighed. "Don't worry, they have entertainment at the teahouse, you pervert." Fuu answered.

· · ·

Jin and Fuu paid for the room. Mugen couldn't be bothered with waiting and was already drinking his first cup of sake at the teahouse before they were finished checking in. Fuu shook her head at his behavior. She wondered if alcohol and women were all he ever thought about. She looked at Jin for several moments. Does he ever think about women?

"Are you ready to eat, Fuu-chan?" Jin asked. "Fuu?"

"Oh sorry, Jin-san. Of course I'm ready!" She answered and hoped he had not noticed her looking at him.

As the two headed towards a restaurant, they saw a young woman who appeared to be selling something. A crowd had gathered around her and Fuu's curiosity got the best of her. She pulled Jin towards the table and asked one of the other young women what the girl was selling.

"It is delicious, chocolate candy. Aren't you going to buy your husband some? Tomorrow is Valentine's Day." The girl said.

"Valentines Day?" She asked. The candy did smell good and it was making her hungrier than she already was.

"You haven't heard about it? An Italian merchant visited this town and told us all about it. Valentines Day is the holiday of love. You should buy some for him. He is very handsome." The girl said looking at Jin as if she wanted to eat him.

"Him? Oh no, he is just a…a friend." Fuu explained. She glanced over at Jin who seemed oblivious to their conversation. He just looked incredibly bored. "A holiday of love? Thank you for the information but I need to go eat some real food now." The only love she had right now was food.

After the two ate, they headed upstairs to the room. Jin went for a walk while Fuu rested on her bed, trying in vain to get to sleep. She could not stop thinking about the candy and what the woman had said. A holiday for love? And she had mistaken them for husband and wife. If only, Fuu thought. If only things were different and she had met Jin somehow else. She almost laughed at herself. The thought that a samurai like him would have even considered her for anything more than a friend was ridiculous. Still, Fuu wondered if fate had thrown them together for a reason.

She could not believe what she was doing it but Fuu could not stop herself. She paid the money to the girl selling the chocolate candy. "This holiday, is it just for people who are already lovers or in love?"

"No, many women give candy to several men they desire, men they want for their lover or husband." She winked at Fuu. "There is only one for you though, right?"

Fuu thought about it and an image of both Mugen and Jin popped into her mind. No way, would I ever buy him anything. Mugen would get a bigger head if I did that. Besides, Mugen doesn't think of me that way. He's always telling me I look like a kid . Fuu answered her, "There's only one man that I'm thinking about today."

She returned to her room with a small box that held a few heart-shaped chocolates. Fuu took a pen from her pocket, wrote Jin's name on the box and set it on his bed. She didn't write any message on it, just giving him the candy was hard enough. Part of her wanted to take the box back and hide it. Leaving it there was one of the hardest things she had done.

· · ·

When Jin returned from his walk, Fuu was sound asleep. Mugen wasn't back but then he didn't expect him to return to the room. Fuu had given him enough money for sake and sex. He was sure Mugen would be spending the night with at least one woman. He sat down on his bed and picked up the box with his name on it.

He smiled when he saw that it was from her. Of course, who else would it be from? Jin recalled what he had overheard the girl telling Fuu. The chocolate candy was for the Valentines Day. He had heard about this holiday from his old Master who had read about it in books from the West. Lovers gave chocolate to their partners, lovers, or those they desired. Fuu couldn't feel that about me, could she? He wondered to himself.

Fuu looked so innocent when she slept but he could not deny that part of him was excited by Fuu's feelings. Jin wished for a moment that he was a little more like Mugen, that he didn't always have to do the proper or right thing. He wondered if he would ever do something not because it was honorable but because it felt good. Jin knew in his heart that he wouldn't do it now. The samurai hoped, however, that Fuu was still in his life when he did. Instead of seducing Fuu, Jin kissed her lightly, on the top of her head before laid down in his own bed. As he drifted off to sleep, Jin cursed his honor as he thought about what could have been.