How long has it been? 10 years now? Sorry. Lost motivation and interest.

But here I am! And here we go!

Thanks for reviews and for reading.

I don't own Samurai Champloo or any of the characters… etc.

It had been days since he saw her last. Was it supposed to be this way? This wasn't exactly the epic meeting he had assumed it would be. They were in the same town, and yet they weren't bothering to see each other.

Well, maybe it was a little more one-sided than that. Mugen had no idea where Haratsu lived…

He couldn't help but wonder if Fuu had thought about him as much as he had thought about her.

"Got a pretty sweet offer to work…I'll be leaving as soon as it's over." That's what he had told her.

What the fuck had he been talking about? He had gone from place to place to place, fighting down the hope that ached through his chest that he'd find her. For years now he had refused to believe that she had been the cause for his wandering. But now that he had stumbled upon her, he didn't really know what else to do with himself. If he left, where would he go, and why? And to make matters worse, the whole thing had been anticlimactic, really.

She was probably a stone's throw from him, and there he was sitting around on his ass. But would he lower his pride, march up to her and kiss her blindly?

Fuck no.

Cause what would that lead to? Either a slap in the face or marriage. And like hell he was going to walk straight into either one of those freely.

Marriage…

"My daughter is to be married come next month." He recalled Haratsu saying.

Suddenly his heart sank.

"My daughter will be bringing you the food!"

Haratsu had said that his daughter was going to be bringing him food, and it had been Fuu that had brought it.

Haratsu was calling Fuu his daughter. And his daughter was getting married.

That meant—

Mugen shot up, eyes wide, mouth agape. Fuu? Getting married?

"No fucking way."

That's when the anger began to ignite his entire being. He grabbed his sword and took off into a thicket, swatting at anything that came in his path.

Fuu—slice—getting—stab—married! Married? Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab… Stab.

Fuu tip-toed up to the front door of the hut.

"Mugen!" She hissed in a whisper. "Mugen!" She said a little louder.

"What?" Fuu jumped and turned to face the direction his voice had come.

"I brought you this—are you okay?" Fuu had held up a bowl of rice, but lowered her arms when she noticed a particularly cold stare from him. "What? Are you mad I haven't been around for a few days? I had to be discreet, dumby!"

Mugen snatched the bowl of rice from her hands and pushed past her into the hut. "Thanks."

This was a where he needed to make a decision: show his anger to her about her marriage, or just let her go.

"Mugen," She put a hand on his shoulder. "What's the matter with you?"

He spun to her, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders, and gritting his teeth. The almost-frightened and innocence in her eyes brought him down, and he let out a soothing breath. "I'm just tired."

What the hell would a girl like her want with a guy like him anyway?

He released her arms and sat on the ground, back to the wall. Fuu sat with her back against the paralleled wall.

Then they sat in silence as Mugen ate, just basking in each other's company.

Fuu crawled onto her mat and stared at the ceiling.

Even though she had found a new life with Haratsu, she hadn't forgotten her old life; the one with Mugen and Jin. At least Jin had the decency to pay a visit now and again. But Mugen, well Mugen she had figured was lost and would never be found. Knowing him as well as she did, she knew he was either far off getting into trouble, wooing women, or dead.

The absolute relief that had come with Mugen's sudden appearance… It was as if there had been some sort of burden she had been carrying, and with his arrival it had disappeared.

The anger he had shown was still a mystery to her...

Tomorrow she would sneak to him and perhaps actually get some words out of him.

That night she slept with a smile on her face, dreaming and reliving a night she had spent with a pirate almost three years ago.

Hopefully it's not another 347384 years before I update again. Adios!