AN: Alrighty then. This is supposed to be a sort of 'experiment' on my part. I've never written a Samurai Champloo fic, so just bear with me here. I know I have plenty of unfinished fics, but here's something to announce: They're all on indefinite hiatus, besides When Winter Met Summer…But I guess you could consider it on hiatus too, since it takes me so long to update. I feel horrible saying this, but quite a few of them were written a while back, and now I really don't have interests in them. I'm a horrible person, I know.
Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai Champloo, but goshdarnit, I wish I did.
On the Edge of All Reason
Prologue
It never occurred to Fuu how she got herself in these situations. She assumed she was naturally prone to bad things, things that would otherwise result in bad consequences. Sighing, she turned to look out the window of the rather dismal apartment. The outside area wasn't much more appealing either. The grass looked as if it had been left in a permanent drought, while the few flowers that had bloomed at one point or another wilted and shed their crisp petals.
She raked a hand through her chestnut hair, wondering why she had to be the one out of all these people. She was just trying to live her life like a normal civilian. For Christ's sake—she was only 17 years old, and already she landed herself in this mess!
Pull yourself together, Fuu…Panicking always makes things worse! However that thought seemingly did nothing to comfort her. Panicking was inevitable, and she wasn't one to be reasonable. She sent a sideways glance at the steel door, wondering when someone would show up and toss her the key to her freedom. Or perhaps the key that would end up locking her in this dump forever. Morbid thoughts danced around her head as she visualized a shadowed figure slashing her neck, or suffocating her, or even throwing her out the window…It was three stories after all.
Fuu decided to push those thoughts to back of her head and entertain herself with the idea that she'd be rescued within moments. The police would kick down the door and maneuver her towards her very escape. She'd go home and all would be well. A cynical laugh escaped her lips at the wishful thinking only a teenage girl would come up with.
Her thoughts began to drift back to how she got herself in this mess anyway…It was rather swift, and if she had the boldness to say it aloud, rather sloppy.
School had just been let out at 3:00, and she was more than glad to escape to the sanctuary of her own home. A small bounce was in her step when she remembered it was the weekend as well. The perfect time to sit around, eat, and be lazy. A childish giggle, borderline maniacal, almost escaped her lips. Not that she cared.
She was just about to unlock the door to her own apartment, when something slammed into her side.
An agitated yell erupted from her throat as she turned to see what had collided into her. However, the chance didn't present itself as something hard and metallic made contact with her head, knocking her unconscious.
Now that she thought about it, it seemed odd that whoever attacked her decided to do so right in the hallway where people could easily hear whatever activity was presenting itself. Then again, these days most people didn't care what happened to others. In fact, everything was going downhill—the government was in control and ruled with an iron fist. Something ominous had happened behind the scenes, and Tokyo was left in the dark.
Caught up in her musings, she didn't notice the soft click of the door unlocking, nor did she pay any attention to the man who approached her.
The sudden feeling of someone watching her fell upon her conscience as she turned to look over her shoulder. A small yelp escaped her lips when she saw him.
"You're the one who kidnapped me!" She screeched, assailing him with many other words of contempt and annoyance.
The man merely stood there, feeling a headache approaching soon. Damn it, I need aspirin before this bitch just kills me.
When no words were spoken, Fuu finally blew out a heavy sigh. "Just who are you anyways? And what would you want with me of all people? It's not like I have anything to offer."
Mugen raised a hand to his chin, rubbing the rough hairs growing on his chin. He stood there as if contemplating something. Fuu glanced at his eyes and traveled an invisible line to her chest. "You're right. You don't have much to offer. You have something…Just not a body, of course."
"Asshole!"
"Better get used to it."
Another irritated sigh was the only course of action Fuu could think to take. So far, he didn't seem like much of a threat…Besides bludgeoning her head, which hurt a lot to be honest, and of course sticking her in some apartment she didn't know. All signs pointed to kidnapping of course.
Her attention was suddenly snapped back to him when she noticed a long, sleek sword hanging off of his back. Her brows knitted together in contemplative silence.
"Why do you have that sword? This isn't the past, you know."
Mugen gave a careless look at the sword dangling innocently from his back. "It's effective."
Fuu screwed her face up into a look of disgust and curiosity. "Swords aren't even allowed in the streets as far as I can tell. It's illegal." She countered, wondering how he'd escape that one.
He merely smirked in that sort of aggravating way that made someone want to pull their hair out. "Tell me kid. What part of me looks legal?" It was a rhetorical question, though Fuu merely said 'nothing', beginning to wonder what it was he exactly did that required the assistance of a sword.
Instead of trekking further on the subject, Mugen threw his sword aside and less-than-gracefully jumped and landed on the couch, the remote control in his hand. Fuu edged away from him, sending him a wary look. Right now, he seemed rather mellow, mellow enough that any of her actions wouldn't faze him.
"Okay then…" She timidly poked her two pointer fingers together. "I'll just be going now, considering you seem to have no need for me…" With that said, she burst off the couch like a rocket waiting to launch, making a mad dash for the steel door.
Groaning, Mugen bent down to lift the sword off the ground before vaulting into the air. It was flying dangerously towards Fuu, though it arched right over her and landed in the wooden floorboards directly before her. She gulped before turning back to look at Mugen who didn't even seem to bat an eye at her antics. His attention was all on the TV.
"Figures…" She muttered. With a resigned sigh, she picked up the sword and held it gently around the hilt. It was beautiful, but deadly. In one precise moment, it could cleave off her head. She wouldn't even be able to see it coming. With it in her hands, she felt a source of empowerment. Looking towards Mugen, she realized she had a good chance of hitting him with it. Maybe not killing him, but good enough to stagger him for a few moments; she was told she had a lousy aim though.
Well, now's a good time to perfect it! Sticking her tongue out in concentration, she steadied her hand, moving it back and forth to make sure she had the right direction. Squeezing her eyes shut, she threw the sword in hopes of hitting her target.
"What the fu—"
Mugen rubbed his head, messing up the already-tousled hair upon his head as the sword fell to the ground with a loud clang. His narrowed gaze met Fuu, who merely smiled before wrenching the door open. You've got to be kidding me! This guy expected to kidnap me, and I'm already out…Talk about pathetic. She turned a corner, ready to race down the stairs, before something pulled at her sleeve. She screamed loudly before a hand clamped down on her mouth, forcing her to stop.
Once she was calming down, Mugen released his hand from her mouth.
"I hate you." She whispered.
Mugen simply grinned.
"You'll be hating me so much more after I'm through with you."
AN: Because one note wasn't enough! Please, please, please, if anyone does happen to read this fic (and actually enjoy it…-shudder-) don't badger me to finish it. It's a test run. Not an actual story. At least not now. I'm not quite sure, to be honest. –shrug-