Birthday Booty, a samurai champloo fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai Champloo.

Bithday Booty

Fuu was such a fucking slob. She left her shit lying all over the damn place, which also just happened to be Jin and Mugen's place, too.

"Hell, ain't girls s'posed to be all fuckin' tidy an' shit?" Mugen groused as he gingerly lifted a tiny blush pink thong from the cold vinyl tile floor of the kitchen. He tilted his head to one side as he held it aloft, staring at it consideringly. "Though I hafta' say, she's got great taste in panties," he muttered before snapping them across the kitchen into the laundry closet.

Jin, already up and alert at 7:00 a.m., barely spared the other man and his slightly perverted antics a glance as he grabbed his gym bag and prepared to leave for his Kendo class. "That's stereo-typing. That's like saying all tall men play basketball - "

" - or all guys with big hands have huge cocks," Mugen interrupted with an evil smirk as he held out his hands, palm up to show just how big they were.

Jin rolled his eyes behind his glasses.

"Except in my case, it's totally true," Mugen continued smugly.

"I'm leaving now," Jin announced coolly, heading swiftly for the apartment door as he expertly flipped his long hair into a low ponytail.

"Hey, wait up, don't you believe me? Come on. Wanna' see it?" Mugen was padding along behind him, reaching for the drawstring of his black cut-off sweats when Jin opened the door, obviously knowing exactly what his friend had planned, and determined to leave before it happened.

"Sexually constipated prick." Mugen made a face at the door as it closed, then sighed and ran a hand through his messy, wiry dark hair as he contemplated a shower before bed. He was glaring at a platform sandal laying in the middle of the hallway when the door opened a crack again, and Jin stuck his head in the door, his long neck making it look somehow disembodied.

"By the way, happy birthday," Jin said lowly, his expression completely deadpan. "Now you can drink - legally." The door closed as swiftly as it had opened.

Mugen snorted. "Yeah, and since when has that ever stopped me?" he called loudly. "Fuckin' goody-goody bastard."

In fact, he had been out all night doing just that - drinking. With some buddies, of course. He was no pathetic, lonely-ass drunk.

He'd stumbled in around four, ralfed in the kitchen sink, woke up Fuu using the garbage disposal - and what the hell had she been bitchin' about, anyway? At least he had been tryin' to clean up after himself, unlike her, who often left the bathroom sink full of girly shaving cream and leg-fur!

Cracking a loud yawn, Mugen stretched, still grumbling under his breath, and decided his six a.m. work-out in the apartment complexes communal gym had definitely garnered him a wash. He'd only smelled like smoke and sake before - now he smelled like smoke and sake, and...ass.

Wrinkling his nose, he dropped his arms and wandered through the apartment, wincing at the sunlight beginning to stream through the peaked ceiling-to-floor length window that made up the entire southern wall of the aparment. The scene through the window was one of complete greenery. It almost looked like a freakin' bamboo forest, with no sign that there was an over-populated metropolis just on the other side. It had been that window that sold Jin and Mugen on the apartment. The rent was more than a bit beyond their means, but they'd found a way to make due - Fuu.

Speaking of...

Sighing raggedly, Mugen backed up to the window, and leaned against the glass patio doors that lead out to the small wooden deck. He looked up at the open loft floor that hung over half of the living room and listened to the water running in the bathroom upstairs.

The nineteen year-old girl paid the least amount in rent, but of course she got the best fucking room in the place -the one closest to the only full bath.

"Fuu!" he shouted loudly, leaning back against the sun-warmed glass and closing his eyes.

"Fuu!"

Nothing.

Smirking evilly, Mugen yelled, "Oi, bitch!" at the top of his lungs, ignoring the loud thump of displeasure on the wall from the occupants of the apartment beside theirs.

After a moment the water shut off and he heard an annoyed response. "Wha-at?! I'm brushing my teeth! I hafta' leave early today!"

"Well, hurry the fuck up! I need to shower!"

"Well, that's new," came the dry response - and of course she turned the water back on full blast before he could respond.

Mugen's lip curled in a snarl. "Just who in the hell does she think she is?" he muttered to himself, absently scratching his chest through his ragged red t-shirt. One of his fingers got caught in a hole and he cursed, pulling the sweaty fabric over his head and balling it in his hands. He was using it to rub the sweat off his neck and chest when Fuu literally came tripping down the carpeted stairs, almost breaking her neck in the fuck-me high heels she insisted on wearing every day.

"Good morning!" she trilled brightly, posing at the base of the steps in her cutesy pink waitressing uniform. She worked in a fifties-style cafe at a mall several blocks away, and the uniform consisted of a high ponytail tied with a pink scarf, another gauzy black scarf around her throat, a very low-cut, psuedo-innocent tight pink sweater, and a black poodle skirt adorned with a pink poodle whose collar was a real silver chain that snaked up the skirt to encircle Fuu's slim waist. Her legs were bare, silk-smooth, and she wore little lace anklet socks with her sexy black heels.

Mugen grunted in response as he turned away into the small kitchen. Her outfit had always made him want to turn her around, bend her over, flip up that stupid skirt and find the warm, tight flesh he knew was underneath, but her obvious innocence - and her mouth - had always stopped him.

Nontheless, today he was having a hard time trying to keep his mind off what color thong she had on under all that stiff crinoline and fluff. From being forced to put her stuff in the dryer to use the washer, he'd realized the things she wore tended to look half-transparent, so if he got her wet enough, he'd bet it'd look like she wasn't wearing anything at all -

"Are you working today?"

"Nope." Startled a little, he turned away to hide the raging hard-on tenting his sweats, and threw open the fridge door, foraging for food.

"Why not?"

Mugen sighed impatiently, training his eyes on the contents of the fridge and not the hard little, bite-sized nipples he could see poking through Fuu's fuzzy sweater.

"'Cause I don't have any jobs scheduled for today." Urban landscaping was usually a very well paying job - when it wasn't raining, or winter.

"Idiot. It's a miracle you can make rent every month. Why don't you go check out the position that's open at the company where Jin works?"

Mugen closed the door to the fridge with a slam, balancing sandwich makings with a glare at her. "Fuck that shit. I told you, I don't work for nobody but me."

Fuu sighed and shook her head, looking at a glossy pink nail as he dumped everything on the counter. "Oh, well. I guess if you run low this month you could always start renting your massive collection of porn."

Mugen hid his surprise well, and then hid his mischevious grin, too...

Mugen didn't seem in the least surprised that Fuu knew about his weighty stash. "Hell, no," he grumbled around the hastily made sandwich he was stuffing into his mouth, "I'd get 'em back all sticky."

Fuu made a face, and then looked on in helpless desire/disgust as Mugen swiped a bit of his sandwich filling off his bare chest and sucked it off his finger.

He frowned at her when he saw her expression, and plopped down into a kitchen chair. "Hey, don't look at me all holier-than-thou. You forget I've seen the way you chow down, Fuu - half-woman, half-pig."

"Hey! A woman with a healthy appetite is beautiful!"

Mugen cocked his head at her. "Is that how ya' make yourself feel better when you're fat?"

Fuu shook her head and sighed. "Why are you such a fuck-up?"

"Why are you such a bitch?" he mumbled near-unintelligibly around another cheek-bursting bite. Despite the time, he popped open a beer and chugged it with obvious enjoyment. His throat muscles worked strongly in his tanned throat as he swallowed, unknowingly sending Fuu and her wild imagination into overdrive.

"Don't you care how you look?" Fuu asked hopelessly when he turned those impossibly dark, sharp eyes on her again.

He swiped a forearm across his lips and glared at her. "Do I seem like I give a rats ass how I look?" he spat.

Fuu put her hands on her hips. "You look like a dried-up, sour-puss old lady right now!"

Mugen choked down his last bite. "What?!"

"And what about that perpetual scowl of yours? I get a headache every time I look at those mean, beady eyes all scrunched up under those caterpillar eyebrows! And I won't even start on your hair!"

Mugen's jaw fell open, and he gaped at her onslaught of insults. "B-beady?"

"Could you shave once in a while for God's sake? It'd be different if you could actually grow a beard, but you go for weeks, and weeks, and only get that scraggly stuff that looks like chin pubes!"

Mugen's eyes flared briefly, but he smirked as he lifted his hand to stroke the coarse, sparse hairs on his chin.

"How would you know what pubes look like? A scrawny runt like you isn't even old enough to have any."

"Oh?!" Fuu's temper shot straight to the top. After a year of dressing like this, leaving her underwear and bras laying around for him to see, he still didn't get that she was a full grown woman who was more than ready for a man - more than ready for him! It was infuriating! That was what probably possessed her to do what she did next...

Up went the skirt.

Down went Mugen.

Face searing, Fuu dropped the skirt and took a deep breath as she glared at the man gazing up at her wide-eyed from the kitchen floor. She'd never seen that expression on his face before, and felt gratified to be the one who'd put it there...but her pleasure was overrun by her acute embarrassment.

"I'm going to work," Fuu muttered, turning on her heel as she marched to the door to pick up her bag and leave. "Happy Birthday, by the way," she called back in a tight voice.

"Eh...?"

Mugen came to slowly, trying to figure out what had just happened.

Fuu had put him on the floor.

Fuu had knocked him right out of his chair without even touching him.

He'd fallen out of his chair!

"What the hell...?" he said to himself dazedly.

"- going to work," he heard Fuu say testily from the hallway.

Damn, but she had a pair of brass knockers down there. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Mugen snorted as he picked himself up.

'Not the fuck like that you aren't,' he thought jealously.

"Happy Birthday, by the way."

'Not yet it ain't, but it will be,' he promised himself, moving up slow, cat-like, behind Fuu in the hallway.

"You ain't really goin' to work like that, are you?" he purred from behind her.

Fuu yelped, turning around in surprise, and Mugen pinned her against the door, his nostrils flaring as he stared down at her with unrestrained violence in his dark eyes.

"Yes, I'm going to work like this!" she yelped again, nervously.

Mugen's eyes turned even darker. "What are you, some kinda' moron?"

"Hey!"

"You're bare-butt naked under there, Fuu!"

"So?!" Fuu challenged, trying to work her wrists free of his grip.

"So?!" Mugen stared at her incredulously. "You do this every day?!"

Of course she didn't, but she wasn't going to tell him that! "Why not?" she asked saucily. "I do get better tips this way!"

Mugen's pupils exploded, expanding in a burst until only a tiny rim of reddish-dark brown remained. "You are some kinda' fucking moron! You work double shifts!"

"So, what?"

"You hafta' walk home every night, Fuu! You know how dangerous that is, espescially if you been flashin' it to every guy who's straight enough to look?! You're askin' for it, Fuu!"

Fuu shook her head. She wasn't like that at work, not one bit! She had a lot of regular customers who teased her sometimes, but they respected her...and she'd never flipped up her skirt at anyone - anyone besides Mugen, of course.

"You ain't leaving here until you put some fucking panties on, you hear me?"

Cheeks flaming, Fuu ducked her head as he gave her a little shake. "I don't ...have any."

"Hu...uh?" Mugen drew back a little.

Fuu looked up at him with a small pout. "I forgot to put my laundry in last night, okay? I don't have anything clean."

This time Mugen's pupils shrank to tiny pinpoints in reaction.

"Well...go put on some short shorts, or something, then!"

Fuu made a face. "It'll chafe!"

"That's the only way I'm lettin' you go out this door," he warned.

"Ugh! Fine!" Fuu stamped, accidentally stomping on his bare foot, and ducked under his arm and ran upstairs.

Cursing, Mugen hopped on one foot and turned just in time to get another good glimpse under her swirling skirt as she disappeared up to the loft.

When she trotted back down, she slapped at his hand as it rudely reached out to yank up her skirt, and Mugen grudgingly let her go on her way after he saw she was wearing some kind of filmy black lingerie short pants, with lace edging around the legs. He swore in the brief glance he got he could still see her neatly trimmed fur through the fabric, but at least she was covered.

Fuu glared. "Goodbye, and Happy Birthday - again - you overbearing ass!"

Mugen snarled, jumping at her a little, and Fuu scurried out the door, slamming it behind her, and making the neighbors bang on the wall again. "Damn little ingrate..."

After she left, he suddenly went weak in the knees, and slid down the wall to sit on the floor by the door to try and think some things out...like how to control himself enough not to go chasing after Fuu and finger-fuck her until she screamed. He was still sitting there an hour later when Jin came in, looking as calm and cool as usual, and definitely not like he'd just had the workout of his life.

"Mugen?"

Mugen ran his hands over his face and through his hair, attempting to look normal. "Was'sup?" He stood up, walking to the stairs and starting up them like someone who didn't have ramen for legs. "Finally work off those bitch-tits?"

Jin wasn't fooled. His sharp eyes narrowed on his friends face. "What's wrong? You look...like you're ready to kill someone."

Mugen dropped his hands from his hair and looked down at Jin, and gave him the finger. "Yeah? Well you look like shit." With that, he jogged up the stairs, dragged into the shower, and turned it full-blast on cold - he knew he could have taken care of his hard-on himself, but he also knew somehow that he wouldn't be at all satisfied.

Innocent or not, he was just going to have to have Fuu - all of Fuu - to himself, and soon.

Unknown to Mugen, Fuu didn't have a double shift that day. She got off work at four that afternoon, went to the bakery to pick up Mugen's cake - how original, a pair of huge boobs! - and went home to set about decorating for the party she and Jin had planned for that night.

She let herself into the apartment quietly, knowing she didn't really have to worry about any noise, since Mugen usually slept in the late afternoon, and like the dead; but still aware that he had really amazing reflexes, and he didn't like to be disturbed while resting.

She remembered a night about a year ago, not long after she'd first moved in. She'd been woken up by a riot of noise, and had gone to investigate, only to find the front door wide open, swinging on its hinges, and a trail of clothes leading into Mugen's bedroom. She'd gingerly peeked inside and saw an unconcious Mugen lying face down on his bed, completely naked. Her cheeks had been burning with embarassment, but she'd looked her fill in the light spilling across his still form from the hallway. He'd had the tightest ass she'd ever seen!

He was obviously dead drunk, and totally out of it, and she'd foolishly decided that she absolutely had to touch it to see if it was as hard as it looked.

Mugen had almost taken her arm off before Jin rushed in and pulled the drunken idiot off of her. Fuu had been terrified, but Mugen had just drifted off again as soon as Jin pulled her away, and closed the door. Jin had warned her that Mugen had had a very violent past, and it wouldn't be a very good idea to touch him again while he slept - unless she wanted to live, that was.

She'd learned to avoid touching him again, no matter how badly she wanted to, more for his sake than hers. She'd had a rough childhood, too, and knew what it was like to wake up suddenly with someone grabbing at you...

Pushing away bad memories, Fuu took off her thrice-damned shoes at the door, wriggled her aching toes as she slid on some slippers, and then peeked in Mugen's room.

He was lying length-wise across the bed, well-muscled, but spindly legs hanging off the side, a blanket barely covering the taut curve of his ass. He was drooling, snoring like there was no tomorrow, and he looked like he'd gone to sleep with his hair wet. It was going to look like its usual rats nest when he woke up, and probably flat on one side.

He looked adorable.

Smiling fondly, and still shaking her head at why her heart was so set on him, Fuu closed the door and set about creating the perfect birthday party for Mugen.

"Jin helped, too? Holy shit," Mugen, already more than a little drunk, reached out to rub his knuckles roughly over his friends scalp. "Sweet! I didn't know ya' cared! Aw, who's my bitch?"

Jin looked at Mugen impassively, but his eyes held the look of someone who had suffered long and painfully. Fuu noticed he often looked that way around Mugen.

"You know, I've always wondered about you two," Fuu said seriously.

That made Jin's eyebrow twitch the slightest bit. "Do not insult me - I have much better taste in men."

Fuu laughed weakly. She kind of wished she did!

"I hope he's not talking about me," said Shino, Jin's girlfriend, dryly.

Fuu forced another smile, and then looked around for Mugen, who was already off in a corner with one of her gorgeous girl-friends from work, flirting in his usual crude way.

Kanna, to her credit, wasn't acting overly interested, though Fuu knew she had been curious about Mugen ever since Fuu had told her about him. Kanna knew Fuu had a thing for him, and liked her enough to respect her 'claim'. Her and a few of Fuu's other friends had actually made a pact to help Fuu out by keeping Mugen away from the other single women at the party - espescially the ones who had had on and off 'relationships' with him in the past.

Fuu caught Kanna's eyes, and the other girl gave her a sly wink, and then used the hand on Mugen's shoulder to motion her over.

Rolling her eyes as she saw Mugen's hands reach out to grab Kanna's waist, Fuu hurried over and grabbed Mugen's shoulder, yanking him around to face her.

"Okay, Birthday Boy, time to blow out the candles!" she said brightly, steering him toward the kitchen.

Mugen resisted, though, and turned toward the bathroom, making a jerking-off motion with his fist in front of his crotch in her direction as he smirked evilly at her.

"Whatever. You blow 'em, you could probably use the practice. I gotta' take a leak."

Fuu followed him right into the half-bathroom, furious, and hurt, and slammed the door shut behind her.

Mugen was already pissing, and he looked over at her in surprise as he hunched over a little. "What the fuck, Fuu?!"

"What's wrong, Mugen? Afraid I'm going to see your pint-sized pecker?" Fuu taunted, even as she abruptly lost her courage.

"Pint-sized - ? Why you - !"

"Don't forget to wash your hands," Fuu giggled nervously as she turned around and fled.

"Oi! Come back here and say you're sorry, damn it!" Mugen howled from behind her. "You wanna' start some shit with me?! I'll show you pint-sized!"

Dark, reddish-brown eyes cut into her across the room, and Fuu could feel it when they finally left left her.

'Why was he looking at me when he made his wish?' she thought frantically, until Jin called her forward to help cut and pass out the cake of questionable taste.

A pair of strong hands cupped her behind suddenly, making her gasp and lurch forward and almost drop the sharp knife she held in her hand. "Oi, if you want it, let's go get down to business," a deep, velvety warm voice whispered in her ear.

"Why are you such a pervert?" 'Ohmygod, he's touching my ass! Finally!' a tiny voice screamed excitedly inside Fuu's head.

"Hey, you're the one who flashed me the goods this morning, then followed me into the bathroom to take a peek at my wank just now!" Mugen hissed in her ear, making her shiver. He didn't miss it, either. "What's next, baby, you gonna' show me your hooters?" He gave a low chuckle. "Look at you...you're all excited you gave me a boner. Too bad you chickened out back there."

"I-I am not! I didn't! I didn't see your...thing, Mugen!" Fuu hissed back as she continued trying to cut the cake boobs in even slices. 'Please, oh please don't let anyone be watching!'

Mugen's fingers tightened, dug into her hips, and he pulled her back against him, grinding said 'thing' into the crease of her bottom. "My 'thing'? It's called a 'prick', Fuu. That's your problem! You act like such a damn pussy! That, and you got absolutely no sex appeal at all."

"Hey!" Well, she had to have something, or she doubted he'd be practically dry humping her in front of all their friends.

"Well...you do kinda' have a nice ass, I guess. But it ain't nowhere near perfect." Mugen murmured in her ear as one hand slid warmly over her soft curves.

"Oh?!"

"Nah, bitch. It's got a crack in it." Mugen smirked, slipping one finger firmly down the crease.

"Ha, ha...ha." Fuu gulped, feeling a rush of heat between her thighs. The sensation was so overpowering that she almost fell to her knees.

"Er...um, how about some cake?" Trying desperately to control herself, she lifted a slice of cake up to Mugen at about chest height, not paying attention to the fact that it was the biggest slice with a perfect pink candy nipple on top.

"Oh-ho, photo-op!" somebody yelled, and about ten camera flashes went off, half-blinding her as everyone sought to immortalize the moment when Mugen leaned far over Fuu's shoulder and took a huge bite of the top of the 'breast'...

A few hours later the party was slowly dwindling down, and Fuu was resigning herself to looking at yet another friends digital version of 'The Photo'.

"It's not fair," she was saying lightly, for what had to be the hundredth time, "the fake boob is prettier than mine!"

That garnered the expected laugh, and the friend promised to send her a copy via e-mail, and Fuu acted like it was fine. But it wasn't, because she was so embarrassed by it that she hadn't been able to look Mugen in the eye for the past three hours. She didn't even know where he was!

When the last of the partiers left, it was past two in the morning. The only ones left in the apartment were her, Mugen, Shino, and Jin. Shino and Jin helped her to clear away the mess while Mugen wandered off to the outside deck. He was still out there when they finally finished up, and Shino yawned and hugged her, and went outside to wait for Jin in his car.

Fuu yawned in return, and absently wound a crumpled length of red crepe paper around her hand.

Jin took her aside. "You do know that he is a mess," he said quietly, giving her a concerned look through his glasses. "And he has not exactly been blessed with good judgment."

Fuu nodded. "Duh."

"Or much of anything else in the brain area," her friend continued flatly.

Fuu rolled her eyes, and shook her head.

"And you are still going to tell him?"

"I've been waiting a long time, Jin. Now or never." She shrugged, a flighty smile reaching her lips before disappearing again as Mugen stalked back in through the living room, passed them without seeming to notice, and went into the kitchen.

Jin searched her face for a long moment before sighing, and the giving a reluctant nod. "My cell will be on. Call if you need me."

"I will. Thanks, Jin."

Mugen was searching for any kind of left over alcohol when Jin came into the kitchen, dropping an armload of beer bottles into the recycling bin. Of course they were all empty, the bastards.

"I will be staying at Shino's tonight," Four-eyes announced.

"Oh, yeah?" Mugen reached far back into the fridge and dug out a beer before straightening with a snarky grin. "Is her kinky friend Eiri gonna' be there, too? Well, have fun. Just be careful ya' don't put your back out again, Chief." He saluted Jin's past prowess with a tip of the bottle. "Or should I call you 'Master Jin'?" he added in a breathy falsetto.

Jin's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Just be careful with Fuu - she may not act delicate, but she is," he said quietly before he walked out of the kitchen.

Mugen's smirk fell from his face as he stared at the floor.

"Yeah, I know...bastard."

Shino suddenly popped her head back inside the door, waving a little drunkenly at Fuu. "Hey, I forgot, a bit of advice!" she hissed.

Fuu finished tying off a trash bag and looked at her expectantly as Jin returned from the kitchen. She needed all the advice she could get!

"Wait until he's totally out to lunch, then jump him - believe me, it works. He won't be able to turn you down!"

Blinking, Fuu looked at Jin hopefully. "Is this personal experience talking?

Jin sighed morosely as the two women ganged up on him, giggling.

"She took advantage of me while I was sleeping," he finally said flatly, his expression stoic.

"And drunk," Shino added shamelessly.

"You should be ashamed," Fuu told Shino.

"Oh, I am, I'm bad, and I should be thoroughly punished," Shino purred, reaching out and grabbing Jin's arm, and dragging him through the door.

The last Fuu saw of Jin was the door closing on Shino devouring his lips. It looked like he was the one who going to end up being 'punished'.

Fuu sighed. She wished she was the one getting punished tonight...

"Mugen? Can I...talk to you?"

They were finally alone, and they were both scared to death. Fuu was scared because she had something to tell Mugen and was afraid he'd laugh at her, and Mugen because he was afraid he was going to lose control and ravage Fuu.

"Whatever."

"See...I...I'm in love with somebody..." Fuu blurted suddenly as they warily stared at each other from across the living room.

Mugen ignored the hurt jolt in his chest when she said that. "Listen, I ain't mentor material. Why don't you go talk to tall, dark, and four-eyed?"

"Jin's not the one I'm in love with!" Fuu blurted again, wincing.

Mugen caught his breath and stared at her in disbelief.

"You gotta' be kidding me!"

"What?" Fuu asked, annoyed now.

"You think you're in love with me?" Mugen cocked his head and looked at her. "Is this about this morning?"

"Huh? No!"

"'Cause ya' know, if I turned you on...that's not love, baby, that's lust."

"Mugen, I am not in lust with you!"

"You sayin' you don't want me?" he asked slowly, confused.

"Of course I want you! But I want all of you, Mugen, not just the convenient, occaisional fuck when you're bored and in-between girlfriends!" she shouted. "And I know you would want more than that, too."

"How would you know?" he scoffed. "I like bein' a convenient prick, y'know?"

"I know because of the way you acted this morning! You were jealous! You cared about what would happen to me! I know everything about you, you idiot! Like how you get all giggly when you're faced with the prospect of getting laid!"

Mugen drew back, looking deeply insulted. "Fuck that! I don't giggle!"

"Whatever. When you get horny, you get hysterical. You're like a big, violent - monkey!" Fuu waved her hands wildly above her head to make her point.

Mugen's eyebrows shot up. "Wha-? Did you just call me a monkey?"

"Well, you certainly scratch like one!"

"Yeah, well you smell like one!"

"Will you just - ugh! I'm in love with you, you stupid, immature ass!" Fuu took a step forward, and felt stabbed when Mugen just as quickly took a step back.

"Who you callin' stupid?! Besides, there's nothin' to love about me - unless you count the monster hanging between my legs," he added smugly.

"Why did I even bother to try and show I care?" Fuu sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

Yawning, Mugen lifted one hand to scratch the back of his head. "Hey, come to my room. Believe me, there ain't nuthin' like havin' a hot chicks legs wrapped around your head. I love that."

"Can you stop thinking with your dick, and put it away for five seconds, Mugen? You're incapable of having a relationship unless it's based totally on sex, aren't you!"

That made him sound shallow. Did he care? "That ain't true!"

Fuu crossed her arms. "Oh, yeah? What about Yatsuha?"

"Hey, it didn't last long, but at least she left me happy!" Mugen shouted defiantly, dropping his hands to his bony hips.

"She left you unconscious!" Fuu yelled. "After she nailed you in the rocks! Twice!"

"Yeah. I kinda' miss her." Pouting slightly, Mugen rubbed his scarred brow.

"You're hopeless! And...not that attractive! A-and sick!" Fuu threw up her hands and left the room, stomping up to the loft.

"Yeah, she wants me," Mugen said with a half-hearted grin.

Had he just called her a hot chick?

And why did that make her happy? She should be insulted.

Fuu paced across her room, arms crossed, fuming until she heard Mugen come up the stairs. Heart beating wildly, she waited with baited breath for him to approach her - but he headed right into the bathroom, instead.

And then he locked the door.

Stunned, Fuu listened to the lock click, loud in the silent apartment, and then her mouth dropped as she heard the shower start.

He'd locked the door!? As if she was going to try and walk in on him!? Did he really think she would!?

Well, she had, earlier, but she wouldn't do it again! She'd just been mad, what did he think she was, some kind of freaky pervert!? No, because he would've liked that! So why lock the door? How insulting - ! As if she wanted to see anything of his at all!

But she did. She really, really did.

"Shit," Fuu muttered, pressing her hands to her eyes. She wanted him, more than anything. She wanted to see him, feel him, touch him...and he'd let her, she was sure, but only on his terms. Love obviously didn't enter into what he wanted at all.

The question was...how badly did she want to be with him? Did she take what she could get, for as long as she could get it? And...could she pretend it didn't matter?

Mugen was angrily washing his hair when the knock came at the door.

"What?" he snapped rudely, his sexual frustration at its peak.

"I-I forgot to tell you," Fuu called through the door. "I, um - left your present on your bed."

That knocked him for a loop. "Uh...okay. Thanks," he said slowly, feeling a little guilty.

Fuu didn't answer.

Sighing, Mugen leaned his head against the shower wall and closed his eyes. She'd sounded...sad. Resigned. But maybe that was a good thing. He wasn't any good for her. He wasn't any good for anybody. She'd be dissapointed. He would be too rough with her, for one, and she was obviously a virgin. She didn't know what he liked, where or how he liked it. It would be messy, and boring, and...damn, he wanted to fuck Fuu! He wanted to be the first to fuck her. Hell, he wanted to be the only one she ever fucked!

And that scared the living shit out of him.

Aching and hard, and confused as hell, Mugen finished washing his hair, before turning the tap to cold with an agonized groan.

The lights in her room were off when he finally came out, wrapped in a towel and shivering from the cold. His teeth actually hurt.

Mugen almost - almost - went into her room, into her warm little bed, into her warm little body - but he didn't. He could have cried by that point, and he cursed himself all the way downstairs to his room. Why the fuck was he restraining himself? She wanted him! He could have her legs gripping his hips in a second if he wanted!

Because she was the kind of girl who deserved commitment, and he wasn't made that way.

He ended up going to his room, instead, his temper mounting with every reluctant step. The towel he'd wrapped around his waist practically hung off his - still - rock hard cock. Thoughts of that stupid wench upstairs had coaxed out the monster, and it obviously wasn't going to go to bed hungry.

Mugen was getting desperate. His thoughts were racing around in his head, and he kept trying to remember where he'd left his cell that morning - it had all the numbers of his 'companions' conveniently tucked away in its little black plastic body, and he felt like he'd go crazy if he didn't find it and arrange for some hot, sweet, balls-to-the-wall nookie, soon - yeah, a little birthday booty -

"What - the - fuck?!"

Fuu was lying across his bed, clad in nothing but a towel.

Mugen had to refrain from rubbing his eyes. Was this what she'd meant by his birthday present? 'Cause if it was, it was the best fucking gift he'd ever gotten!

"Let me guess," she sighed, eyes squeezed shut, "you don't want me."

Mugen begged to differ. Hell's yeah, he wanted her! Every morning he saw her he wanted to throw her down. The sight she presented right now, though, would be sure to reside in his own personal spank-bank for years to come.

Fuu gave a little groan of defeat and jumped off the bed, snagging the throw from the end of it to hide behind as she dashed for the door.

Mugen could've laughed. She actually thought she was running away? She actually thought she wasn't getting fucked raw tonight?

"Goin' somewhere?" He blocked the doorway with his body, a hungry, unholy grin splitting his face.

"Yes! Out! I - this was a mistake - " Fuu sputtered, shaking her head. Her long, loose hair swept the tips of her nipples where the blanket and towel slipped, and Mugen actually did have to steel himself against an eager, high-pitched giggle.

"Hell, no, it wasn't, you dumb broad! You ain't goin' nowhere! I didn't invite you, but since you're so eager...where's my birthday present, Fuu?" He stepped against her, crowding her. The door swung shut behind him.

Fuu clutched the blanket to her breasts and gasped. "But...you don't love me, Mugen!"

Mugen forced her backwards, nearer to his rumpled bed with every step. "I don't know about love," he purred deeply, "but I like you, Fuu. You're...like...a...a friend, or somethin'." He paused, frowning a little in thought. "I mean, that's gotta' mean somethin', right? I can't tell you how many times I've woken up next to some chick I hated, but fucked anyway."

The way Fuu recoiled from him made him feel dirty. He grabbed her hands and made her look into his eyes. "You don't hafta' worry about it - I get tested regularly, and even when I'm messed up I'm careful - "

Fuu turned her hand in his and gripped it tightly. "No! It's not...I trust you, Mugen. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel like you had to say that, I guess...I guess I'm just jealous, is all."

"You don't hafta' be. We weren't fucking then, were we?" he said matter-of-factly. "Listen, I won't mess around on you, Fuu. Not while we're..like this."

"And...how long would we be...'like this'?" she asked carefully, her eyelashes fluttering down to cover her eyes.

"Fucking?" Mugen asked belligerently, his chin jutting out in defiance and impatience. "Say it, Fuu, if you really want me. You know me. I don't have any patience with the shy crap. If you want me, you're gonna' hafta' stop bein' such a damn pansy and tell me exactly what you want." He paused and moved in closer, deliberately crowding her again, his face right up in hers, his near-bursting cock rubbing against her hip through the layers of blanket and terry cloth. "Let me know you can handle what I wanna' give you."

Fuu's eyes went wide with panic and sensual shock. The throw slid from her grasp.

He stared at her, daring her, praying she was up to the challenge, because he wasn't sure he could just take no for an answer and back off, now...

Fuu went a violent shade of red before she forced herself to look him in the eye and call his bluff. "How long are you going to be fucking me, Mugen?" she asked delicately, trying to slow the soft, excited pants of her breathing.

Instead of answering her, Mugen grabbed her arms and pulled her against him, surprising her silly as he forced an opened-mouthed kiss on her.

Fuu had never liked it when guys had started off a kiss by directly slipping her the tongue - she always had to start off slowly, and work up to frenching...but Mugen kissed like he did everything else in his life. He took her mouth aggressively, fast, and hungry, like he wanted to eat her from the inside out.

Fuu was a little overcome at first, a little afraid, but then she remembered, vaguely, something Jin had once told her about Mugen, something about how Mugen was a creature of instinct, and had practically no self-control because of it. His morals were lax, Jin had said tiredly, and he would never change his ways.

At that point, slowly sinking into mindless desire with every strong stroke if his tongue, and every helpless mewling sound she made, Fuu realized she didn't want him to change, not ever. His wildness and unpredictability were really what drew her, and he wouldn't be Mugen without them.

"Take off the towel," he snarled in her face when he finally broke the kiss to let her breathe.

Shocked yet again by his harshness, Fuu felt her whole body shaking as she nervously, but willingly, worked the loose knot in the towel free.

He surprised her by laughing. "Stop shivering, Fuu - I ain't gonna' hurt ya'. I can be...gentle." Then he snorted, and gave a groan. "I can try, anyway. I know you've never done this before."

Startled, Fuu looked up at him, frowning. "Huh? But I have - I'm not a virgin, I mean."

Mugen drew back a little, losing a bit of the feverish glint in his eyes. "You're...not?"

Fuu shrugged. "Well, I've been with a couple of different guys before. It wasn't casual, but we weren't super-close, either. It was...interesting."

Mugen arched a scarred brow. "By that you mean boring. They didn't know what the hell they were doin'."

Offended, Fuu glared at him. "Oh? And you do?"

Mugen drew his head back in indignation. "Fuck, yeah, I do! If you'll shut-up for once, I'll show ya!"

Fuu did.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to feel those legs of yours huggin' me like this," Mugen panted roughly a few moments later after they made it to the bed.

"Oh?" Fuu asked coyly, tightening said legs around his lean waist.

Mugen surged against her in response, breath hot in her ear. "Yeah...once you finally started eatin' decent, and got some curves on ya', anyway. You used to have some scrawny ass legs, y'know."

"Hey! Thanks a lot, jerk!"

"What, I was tryin' to give ya' a compliment, you picky bitch! Aw, just shut the hell up and kiss me."

But Fuu was having other ideas. She'd planned for this night, after all. Tugging one hand free from where he held them above his head, she used it to divert his lips. While he was confused, she rolled out from beneath him and reached over the side of the bed.

"Aw, c'mon, Fuu, don't make me chase - what the fuck is that?"

Smiling coyly, Fuu held up a small, but heavy black wooden paddle. Coming up on her knees, she gently smacked it against the flat of her outer thigh.

"Oh, I think you know what it is," she said in a seductive, sweet voice.

Mugen's eyes widened, and then he looked at her warily through his dark lashes.

Fuu tilted her head, letting her eyes drift over the tight muscles exposed to her.

"Time for your birthday spanking, Mugen..."

Mugen was in hell, and Fuu showed no signs of letting him out any time soon.

He was gonna' kill Jin, that lousy sonuvabitch! He shoulda' known 'ol Fishface was settin' him up for something, earlier! He was already mentally rubbing his knuckles in preperation for that particular throw-down...

"Shit," he hissed against his pillow, his ass hot and stinging from the latest blow Fuu had given him. He couldn't believe he was the one on his face, ass in the air, being schooled by some tiny bit of nothing girl like her. Why had he let her talk him into this?

Because some part of him had been turned on like never before by the thought of her dominating him.

But he hadn't expected it to take so long - or for it to turn him on so much. She'd been true to her promise to only spank him twenty-two times - twenty-one, and one to grow on - but she'd been very careful about going slow. Her strokes were well-spaced out, and very precise, and they left him trembling. About mid-way through she'd leaned down and taken his cock into her little hand. He'd almost come right then, but as if she'd known it would happen, her palm had clenched tight around him - not tight enough to hurt, but enough to keep him from blowing his load.

He'd actually, almost cried.

As mindless as he'd become, though, he'd somehow managed to keep count along with her. Anticipation was making him shiver, and Mugen tensed every muscle as she reached twenty-one, ready to flip her over and take her hard, willing or not.

"...and one to grow on," Fuu finally said with a satisfied purr as the paddle delivered its last stroke.

Mugen growled and started to roll over, but Fuu kept her hold on his dick and kept him frustratingly in place.

"Hold up, pal," she said in a quiet, amused tone. "I'm not done with you, yet."

"Goddamn tease!" Mugen snarled, ready to move his hands from their place beneath the pillow and turn on her, when she suddenly leaned over the bed again. Turning his head, he watched as she lifted up a single, dripping piece of ice. He started to protest when it touched the hot, aching skin of his backside. It was soothing, and exhilerating, and torturous all at once as she slid it slowly over the contours of his ass, making him bite back a whimper. His balls tightened as her other hand slowly began stroking his seeping cock. He felt like he was going to die...

And that was when she slipped the ice into the crack of his ass. He choked on a gasp, startled, when she ringed his opening twice, three times, before the ice trickled into cool water dripping down his overheated sack, and the backs of his thighs.

"Uhn," he moaned, burying his face in the pillow again.

Fuu gave a small giggle at his reaction, and then totally blew his mind by suddenly reaching for more ice - but instead of torturing him more, she let go of his cock and suddenly slid under him, but only so far as his lower abdomen. He looked raised up onto his elbows and looked down his body at her impatiently. "Fuu - "

She interrupted him by sighing in obvious pleasure and taking the swollen head of his prick in her mouth.

"Fuck me!" Mugen almost jumped out of his skin.

Now he knew where the ice had gone...

Fuu had never really enjoyed giving head before. It had always seemed like something she had to do, or was expected to. Come and sweat wasn't exactly her taste of choice, but she'd soldiered on with her previous boyfriends, and she knew she'd been good at it. She had even overcome her extreme gag reflex, eventually, and had learned how to swallow and make it look like one of the most erotic moments in history. She'd gotten really good at acting.

She wasn't really surprised she didn't have to act for Mugen. She'd wanted him for so long, she'd practically been able to taste him when she looked at him.

Mugen moaned brokenly when she flicked the melting ice in her mouth around his hard length, and the sound thrilled her. She suckled him hungrily, moaning low in her own throat, taking him deeper and deeper as her throat relaxed and suddenly, she existed only for him...

She knew she was teasing him, mercilessly, and playing dangerously - but that was what she wanted. His trying to be gentle was sweet, but not what she wanted. It went against his nature. She wanted to see the animal she saw so often in Mugen's eyes come out and play. She'd teased and tortured him to the point of losing all control - now, if only he would do something about it...

Mugen felt Fuu humming around the base of his cock, which shocked and aroused him even further. No girl had ever been able to swallow him so deep, so whole, and he had to fight not to come. He thrust his hips against her, basking in sensation, and despite his best efforts, was about to lose it when Fuu allowed him to pop wetly out of her mouth.

Beyond aggravated by dissapointment once again, Mugen howled and roughly grabbed her, dragging her up under him. Breathing raggedly, teeth bared and clenched, he stared down at her as he roughly shoved between her thighs and settled the length of his body against hers so she couldn't move.

"You are so fucked," he muttered harshly.

Fuu stared up at him with wide eyes.

Mugen paused at the innocent, somewhat fearful look, actually considering stopping - for about a half-a-second. Fuu was playing another game, and it was driving him crazy. He let a small snarl curl his upper lip. "Contrary bitch, ain't ya'? What, you scared of me now? 'Cause you definitely got reason to be, believe me."

She gasped a little, looking shocked.

"What kinda' foreplay was that? I hate bein' teased, you know that? Guess not, or ya' wouldn't have spanked me. That hurt like hell, by the way. Maybe I should do it to you, now, huh?"

His rough fingers stroked over her nipple. He nuzzled her neck, grumbling low in his throat, his mouth hot on her skin - then he scraped her skin with his teeth. "Maybe I'll forgive you this once, though, since you suck cock so good."

"Mugen!" Fuu gasped again.

Smirking, he tightened his hands around her wrists and forced them high above her head, so her breasts stuck out firm and high, nipples tight and flushed. "What? You tryin' to tell me the rough stuff ain't turnin' you on, Fuu?" He switched his hold on her wrists to one hand, and used the other to trail his fore-finger down her throat to the point of one breast, where he flicked her nipple - hard.

Fuu wasn't turned off, not by any means. She'd known he'd be like this - lustful, rough and wild. She licked the stubble on his chin, shaking with need, and then kissed his lips again. For a guy with some admittedly disgusting habits, he took good care of his mouth. He tasted amazing. She got sidetracked when he lifted his head away.

He looked down at her, eyes dark and intense, and she realized he'd rolled a condom on without her even noticing.

"You're sure you ain't a virgin?"

Fuu nodded, biting her lip in excitement.

"Good," he purred, and then he moved so fast he was inside her before she even knew what was coming.

Fuu gasped, and cried out, arching and straining, panting as her hungry body greedily tried to take in all of him at once. "Oh, god, yes! Yes...!"

"Mm, yeah, baby...damn, you're tight," Mugen muttered against her breast. One hand was holding him up over her, the other was full of the silky underside of her left thigh as he pushed it high against her. He wasn't gentle about getting into her, had no mercy as he thrust against her until her inner muscles relaxed and let him fully inside.

Fuu couldn't remember anything ever feeling so good. She was so aroused she could cry, and they'd barely even begun!

"Please, Mugen," she begged as he pounded her, "please!"

Mugen looked down at her, hair swinging in his fierce eyes, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.

"What is it, Fuu? You want somethin'?" he asked smugly between fast breaths.

Fuu moaned, closing her eyes. She had to come soon, or she was going to die. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it might explode.

"Mm, please, Mugen! Fuck me," she moaned again, the friction and heat making her frantic.

Mugen shook his head, though he increased his pace, his hipbones slamming against hers. "Nuh-uh, Fuu...I'm already fuckin' you. You're gonna' hafta' do better than that."

Fuu turned her head back and forth on the pillow, desperate for release. "Mm, more, Mugen! Give me...more. Don't stop, don't ever stop! Please, please...my pussy is so hungry for you..."

"Oh, yeah, I like that, baby," Mugen whispered roughly, abruptly dropping her leg and rolling her over onto her front. "Y'want me to fuck you like this, Fuu? Get ya' nice n' deep, take you all night 'til you're sore, huh, baby?"

Fuu was about to complain about his abandonment until he put one hand between her legs and shoved two fingers deep into her slickness. Crying out in abandonment, she put her ass in the air and buried her face in his pillow as he fucked her with those long, incredible fingers...

With a low and sexy chuckle, Mugen pushed another finger into her, and after a few more moments, another.

Fuu winced a few times at the pleasure-pain of it, but she was so turned on by him she couldn't get enough.

After a few minutes, Mugen pulled his fingers free, giving her lush bottom a fond smack, before positioning himself at her entrance again and thrusting in.

Fuu reared up on her hands, throwing her head back in pleasure. After the harshness of his rough fingers, the velvety fullness of his cock was so soothing...

Suddenly, after a few hard, fast strokes, Fuu felt him swelling inside her, and she knew he was getting close. She bit her lip hard as he quickly changed the angle of his thrusts, hitting a sweet spot both inside and outside of her, and she caught her breath as she finally came, mewling long and low as he, too, violently released. The hot sensation was so erotic that she actually came again, making him emit something close to a whimper as she clenched mercilessly around his super-sensitive cock.

Trying to catch her breath as she came back down, Fuu collapsed onto her stomach.

Mugen leaned down over her back, completely covering her, and Fuu was suddenly overcome by her feelings for him. This was the closest they'd ever been, and it was probably the closest he'd ever allow her to get.

"Heh," he startled her a second later by murmuring in her ear, "'pint-sized prick', huh? Bet you're regretting that right about now, eh, Fuu?"

Fuu's thoughts about how endearing he was flew right out of her head, and she elbowed him in the ribs, making him roll off her with a groan.

"Ow, that hurt, you bitch!"

Fuu sat up, eyes flaring behind her long, tousled hair. "Good!" She stuck her tongue out at him and scrambled off the bed, taking the top sheet with her.

Mugen sat up, looking angry, and confused, and - heaven help her - so delicious.

He scratched his chest, frowning up at her. "What the hell was that for?"

"You asshole! You're sitting there, making jokes, as if this isn't a big deal to you at all!"

Mugen sleepily squinted at her. "Is it? A big deal, I mean?"

"Mugen!"

"Wha-at?" he groaned, flopping back on the bed and covering his head with his pillow. "You're acting like we just invented fucking, Fuu! People fuck all the time. Hell, I bet Jin's fucking Shino and her friend right now! It ain't a big deal!"

Fuu swallowed. "So? Does that mean what we just did doesn't mean anything to you?"

Mugen was quiet for a minute, and just as Fuu started to turn away and head back to her lonely room to cry, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down on top of him.

Sprawled against his lean chest, Fuu gave up on her anger and went limp, curling into his warm flesh.

Mugen didn't say anything, and Fuu waited for a little bit longer before she dared to lift the pillow off his face and look at him. He was asleep!

Huffing indignantly, Fuu dropped the pillow to the side, and prepared to scoot off of him. Before she could move, a big, warm hand latched itself around her waist, and pulled her back down onto him.

Face pushed into his comfy chest, Fuu sighed, and relaxed, especially after she felt his entire body do the same. She thought maybe she should still get up and go, not knowing what kind of reception she'd get in the morning, but she couldn't forget the memory of his sleeping expression in her mind. His harsh, pointy features were softer...almost handsome. Almost peaceful. More at peace than she'd ever seen him, anyway.

Was it maybe because of her?

Even as she mentally laughed at herself as she fell asleep, Fuu couldn't let go of the niggling hope that he might return her feelings...

The Morning - or rather, The Afternoon - After...

Fuu woke up with a face full of Mugen's hair, and an ache between her legs that she knew was going to take a while to go away.

Moaning, she tried to shift position, and almost fell off the bed. She blinked tiredly as she lifted her head to get her bearings, and noticed how cold her butt was. Mugen was on his side, facing away from her, snoring like a freight train, and hogging all the blankets, leaving most of her legs and her bottom exposed to turn blue in the cool air. He had one of her legs trapped in his, though, and the heat generated between them under the blanket was making their slick skin stick together.

Fuu sighed, brushing her hair out of her face. She'd forgotten how difficult - and weird - it was to sleep with somebody else. At least he hadn't totally kicked her out of bed.

Fuu yawned, waking up a little more as each moment passed, and realized something was sticking to the underside of one of her upper thighs, making her itch. Frowning, she reached under herself and made a face as she ripped the empty foil condom wrapper away from her skin. She tossed it over the side of the bed, grumbling, and was scratching her abused thigh when Mugen's amused voice reached her ears.

"Ha. Looks like I'm not the only one 'round here who scratches their ass in the morning," he said with a slightly hoarse laugh, ducking back when she cursed and swung a pillow at him. He lunged back under her attack and grabbed her around the waist, still laughing.

"Let me go, you big jerk! God, I don't know why I fell in love with such an insensitive swine like you!"

Mugen wasn't even fazed. "Whatever. If I'm a pig, then you've just been 'porked', baby."

Fuu groaned.

Snorting, Mugen swatted her on the butt, and set her aside. He stood up from the bed with a crackling of joints, stretching and showing off his muscles before scratching the back of his head and turning to look down at her.

"Wanna' go shower?" he winked at her.

Fuu almost swallowed her tongue.

After an amazing half-hour in the hot shower - which did incredible things for her sore body, Mugen included - Fuu found herself sitting in the kitchen, watching Mugen devour the leftovers from his party. He even polished off the last of his cake, which had Fuu blushing a little as she recalled the pictures everyone had taken.

Fuu waited until he was done before she asked, "So?"

Mugen went very still as he looked cautiously over at her. "So what?" he asked with no little attitude.

"What about us?" she asked quietly, trying not to look away. He was wearing cut-off sweats again, and another of his seemingly endless supply of ratty band logo t-shirts, and his hair was a damp mess - but he still made her chest ache.

Mugen made a disgruntled noise in his throat, and stood up, slamming his plate and glass in the sink before stomping out of the room.

Fuu got up and followed him, crossing her arms over her plain white babydoll tee. She hadn't worn a bra, hoping to distract him from thinking too much, but it hadn't worked out as she'd hoped.

She tailed him into the hall, scared he might leave. "Mugen?"

He stopped and turned slowly to look at her, a frustrated - and fleetingly scared - look passing across his face, before he pushed his hands though his hair and hissed a curse.

"Look, Fuu. You - you're too cutesy for me. It's annoying."

Fuu's jaw dropped, and he turned away again, sitting down on the stairs leading up to the loft. He leaned back and put his hands behind his head, closing his eyes as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"You didn't think that when you were screwing me last night! So tell me the real reason!"

Mugen was quiet for a long time before he asked, "Are you at all aware of the kind of past I have, Fuu? Believe me, if you knew what I've done, you wouldn't be so fired up about bein' with me."

Surprised, Fuu sighed in disgust. "Give it a rest! I haven't had such a sterling past myself, Mugen!"

Mugen opened his eyes and looked at her. "Oh, yeah? I've killed people, Fuu! How's that, huh?"

Fuu didn't even blink. She knew bad things had happened in his past. "I'm sorry," was all she said.

"Sorry," Mugen snorted, looking away. "Sorry. Yeah, I bet you are."

"Not in that way, idiot. I'm sorry it happened."

"Whatever."

" I can't say I know how you feel, but...well...I haven't killed anyone...but I wanted to."

"Right."

"I mean it, Mugen. Everyone has issues. Some more than others," she said quietly. "From as far back as I can remember, 'till I was eleven, my grandfather...he molested me."

Mugen looked at her sharply.

Fuu nodded. She didn't cry. "It was a long time before I even knew what he was doing was wrong. He was all I had. He took me in when my parents were killed. The really sad thing was, my grandmother knew." Fuu gave a little laugh, and smiled bitterly. "She knew, and she never did anything. After awhile, she died in her sleep one night, and I heard a public notice about child abuse on the radio. That was when I knew." Fuu drew a huge breath and let it out, as if to calm herself. "I stopped it, then. He didn't force me, and I stayed away from him. I hated him. I still do. He died when I was sixteen. I moved in with a friend and her mom, and started working." She looked up at him with grateful eyes. "And then I met Jin, and you, Mugen. You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

Mugen stared at her, frozen. He'd known she'd had some problems, family stuff, but this...

"I..uh..." Feeling his throat tighten, he looked away from her. He reached up to scratch the back of his head, and found himself whispering, "It happened...to me, too. Only it was my asshole uncle." He dared a look back at her, and clenched his jaw at the sorrow he saw in her eyes. "He did force me. I killed him with his own gun. When I was eight."

Fuu shuddered. "Oh...Mugen." She sniffled.

Mugen drew back a little. She was crying? For him?

"It was a long time ago," he said gruffly, regretting having told her. She was bawling now, heartbroken, all for him...and he hadn't even told her the worst of what had happened to him when he was a kid. Reform school had sucked ass... From that point on, it had seemed as if he'd led a cursed life, with no real home, no where safe to run to - until now. It was a scary thing, realizing he finally had something to lose.

"Don't cry, Fuu," Mugen said after a minute of silent reflection. "I didn't tell you to make you feel sorry for me. I just...want you to know, you're not alone."

"Oh, I don't feel sorry for you," Fuu said, wiping her face with a determined expression. "It just kills me to know you were hurt. Especially like that. I wish I could have been there for you. Maybe...maybe we could have taken care of each other."

Mugen smiled a little. He wouldn't have wished his early life on her for anything in the world. "Yeah, maybe," he said.

Fuu looked at him, walking over and sitting on the step beside him hesitantly. Mugen reached out and grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers.

"We're a lot alike, I guess," she said, stroking his palm with her fingertips.

The answering tingle sent heat racing to his groin, and Mugen pulled her into his lap and kissed her. "Yeah," he said after a long, breathless moment, "I guess we're both kinda' fucked up."

Fuu giggled instead of taking offense, and caught his hand against her cheek. She twirled a lock of his hair around her finger, and looked at him shyly.

"You know, I can see your nipples right through that shirt," he said to her, cracking a grin.

"Why do you think I put it on?" Fuu reponded teasingly.

Mugen smiled slowly, lowering his head to kiss her again...

The front door creaked open.

Startled, Fuu and Mugen looked up, squinting against the afternoon sun.

Jin walked in...very, very slowly. His expression never changed, but it was obvious the way he held himself, that he'd strained something in his lower back.

"Well, ain't that a bitch," Mugen drawled as he watched his friends slow progress, his and Fuu's entwined hands dropping to dangle lazily between his legs. "What'd I tell ya'? Got hurt playin' 'Master Jin' again, didn't ya'? Dumbass. Guess that new 'strategy' didn't work out too well for ya'. Who was it this time? Shino and Kyoko? That hairy Yamada chick?"

Jin didn't quite succeed in hiding his pained wince.

Fuu and Mugen looked at each other. "Eiri," they said in unison, before breaking out into mean-spirited laughter.

Jin's eye twitched behind his glasses, his lips tightening into a straight line as he hobbled past them and into his room, carefully, carefully, closing the door.

The End