"Ugh, Mugen! Can't you just be reasonable for once?!" Fuu shrieked. Mugen was about to town to drink off the money they had saved for food. Even Jin was against his going, but, of course, the vagrant took no orders from nobody.

"I'll be back at the shack by tomorrow," he called, not even bothering to turn around. Jin looked up angrily while Fuu just gawked. That idiot! "Jin," Fuu growled, "next time that jerk doesn't get any food." Jin nodded his agreement and bolted forward. Mugen may not get food the next time they eat, but they needed money to eat in the first place.

Jin drew his sword and leveled it in front of Mugen's face.

"Hey, watch it, fish face," Mugen started.

"Don't go spending all of our money. You're not the only one who has something they want."

"I haven't had a decent drink for the past couple weeks!" Mugen protested, as if this was all the justification that he needed.

"Maybe if you helped us get some money, then we wouldn't have this problem!" Fuu asserted, jogging down the hill to meet them. She must have landed wrong, though, because she stumbled and broke the strap on her sandal. Landing face-first on the ground, she heard an awful ripping sound.

"Ow ow owww…" she griped. Jin and Mugen stared at her, dumbfounded.

"How do you manage to be so klutzy?" Mugen sighed.

"Shut up!" Fuu sat up and looked down. The whole from of her kimono was ripped open, save the white juban underneath, and she moved to cover her body quickly. Her sandals were rendered useless. Jin looked away respectfully, but Mugen checked her out.

"Looks like you got a little something underneath there after all, girly."

Fuu's face exploded in a furious flush of red, and she began to yell at him. "What the hell are you doing checking me out anyway?! I thought you said I had no sex appeal and… and…"she trailed off, getting more flustered.

"What're you getting all hot n' bothered for, huh? It's not like I meant anything by it. Besides, you're not my type." He leaned in close to her face, and she flinched away. "Maybe you can try and sell that body of yours for a little bit of profit. That way you can quit harpin' on me." Fuu stared at him, wounded.

"I'm going to town," she said slowly, standing. "I can't travel like this." She clutched her kimono tightly, kicked off her other sandal, and walked past the both of them. As soon as she was out of hearing range, heading downhill towards the town, Jin looked at Mugen.

"She'll get attacked that way," he stated simply.

"Whatever, it's not my problem." And with that, Mugen followed the trail Fuu followed, making a left where she had made a right.

"It's not my problem," Jin repeated, sighing, turning his back on the sunset.

…..X…x…X…..

Fuu wandered into town, trying to stay in the alleyways. Maybe if I keep hidden, no creeps will notice me, she mused hopefully. Unfortunately, she stuck to the shadows too well. She managed to make it into the red light district. She couldn't believe that Mugen would talk to her like that! She didn't really feel like arguing with him, so she stomped off without a word. She could buy a new kimono for herself, anyway. If only she could find the stupid kimono shop… Fuu peeked outside of her little corner and saw the shimmering red of this section of the town.

Oh… shit! I gotta find my way back! The small girl scampered backwards and crashed into a wall. Ouch! She stood there for a second, and then she noticed the shop on the other side of the street. They had a small kimono on sale! The juban for it came free!

Fuu bolted to the other side of the street, thankfully not stopped by anyone on the way. The shopkeeper was a woman, too. Lucky! she thought gleefully. She quickly bought the kimono and asked if she could change in the back room.

"Of course," the shopkeeper grinned. "Wouldn't wan' a young thing like you running around like that now, would we?"

"Thank you!" Fuu bowed and scurried to the back room.

She didn't notice what the kimono actually looked like… and how little it actually covered. The kimono was a pale cherry color, a bit darker than the one she had just stripped off, and it only went down to her mid-thigh. The cleavage line didn't plunge down too far, though, so it was almost okay.

After she was done changing, Fuu walked out of the room, thanked the shopkeeper again, and headed out to her alleyway. This time, though, a man stopped her, using his arm to keep her standing against the wall.

"Hey, little lady, the name's Soiichirou," he smirked. He reeked of sake, and he had a ridiculously short topknot.

"Not interested," Fuu snorted in reply, making a move to walk the other way.

"You don't understand, baby, I'm the big shot of the yakuza in this town," as he was speaking, about four other men wisped out of the shadows to surround them, "and I get everything I want."

"Not me," she retorted, "I've got two bodyguards that'll kick your asses!"

"Then where are they now?" Soiichirou sneered. Fuu gulped back her response, realizing she couldn't answer that question.

…..X…x…X…..

Mugen meandered through the town, denying to himself that he was looking for Fuu. He didn't need to worry himself over that bitch, anyway. It's been at least an hour, though, he argued in his head. Oh, well. I don't care about her.

Mugen felt some spare change in his pocket. He took out the money that was there and counted enough to score him a fun time for the night. He ambled along to the red light district, eagerly waiting for the moment he found the cheapest woman. He found a nice-enough looking place and trotted in.

"Hello, okyaku-san! We'll be right with you!"

There was a woman eying him from across the room, and she made sure to catch his gaze. And catch it, she did; she had the perfect body, nice, round breasts, full lips, and a small kimono. Her hips did a sashay as she walked across the room. Mugen could feel himself almost drooling as she walked over to him.

"Am I good enough for you tonight?" she asked coyly, dragging a finger down Mugen's chest. He smiled just as conspiratorially as she and answered: "That's alright with me." In a sharper voice, the woman called for her boss.

"So you'll take Miyuki, then?" the boss guy grinned creepily. He took Mugen's money, and Miyuki led him to her room.

"You don't mind if we skip the formalities, do you?" Miyuki queried, closing the door.

"Not at all."

Mugen sat on the floor with his legs slightly spread apart so the woman could slide between them, and so she did. He rolled over so she was pinned underneath him. Her kimono slid open a little bit to reveal a tease of her bare chest. He leaned in and started nibbling on her neck. She moaned slightly, and that's when they heard the scream from outside.

"Jin! Mugen! Help me!"

Mugen grimaced and sighed, pulling away from Miyuki. "Stupid bitch," he muttered. "Why the hell does she have to call my name like that?" to the befuddled prostitute, he added, "sorry, gotta go. I'll come back for this before my time's up." He leaped out of the window and onto a guy's head. His face was smashed into the ground. Mugen stood.

"Alrighty then, who's next?"

"Mugen!" Fuu called happily. Soiichirou, angered by the confirmation of the little wench's words, clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her away.

Mugen unsheathed his sword and pointed the tip at a man straight ahead of him. "You guys aren't any fun at all." He lunged forward, slicing through the man's chest. He went down with a gurgled cry while another man ran in from behind him. This is so annoying, Mugen thought. The same thing happens every time we go to a new town. This bitch gets kidnapped, I beat up the guys that did it and save the day. He sidestepped a weak attack and plunged his blade into the roaring yakuza member's shoulder and threw him into another guy. They're all ridiculously dumb, too. Mugen slouched, surrounded by the felled men slumped on the ground. He finally noticed Fuu was gone.

"Shit."

…..X…x…X…..

Fuu was choking on Soiichirou's sleeve. They reached a beaten-up wooden warehouse, and he threw her inside. She landed with a shout. He shut the door behind him. The furious girl scurried away from him.

"I don't know where you think you're going," Soiichirou chuckled, "but it ain't far."

"I can't believe you're scared of one guy," Fuu snarled. "He'll come and save me. You'll see." She didn't realize how threatening this Soiichirou actually was. He was huge and muscle-y and had an enormous shifty air about him. And he was fast. He flew forward before Fuu had time to react and gagged her with a piece of cloth. She didn't even want to know where that had been. When she tried to remove the gag, he snatched her wrists and tied them tightly together with a rope he had spotted nearby.

"Mmmf! Mmmf!" Fuu wasn't about to escape, though. She stopped squirming when she realized Soiichirou standing at the window, not making a move on her. The girl silenced herself and awaited her savior.

…..X…x…X…..

Mugen was running through the town. He could feel his body tensing up when he didn't find any signs of her. Damnit… where the hell is she? He realized he forgot about that prostitute what's-her-face, but he didn't really care. He had another woman on his mind. He slammed his geta on the ground and skidded to a halt. What?! She's not a woman, she's a girl, and she's nowhere near important enough to shun a hot babe out of his mind! he argued with himself. He shook his head vigorously and started to run again. His instincts were becoming muddy because of the confusion in his head, but he was sure she was at this warehouse up the road a ways.

He sighed. The same damn thing, every time. I bust in the door. Kill the guy. End of story. Mugen could feel himself stagnating because of this pattern they had gotten themselves into. Maybe Jin could do the saving for once. He found the idea irked him. He could be the one doing the saving; fish-face could keep him and his damned glasses out of his way.

Mugen slid on the ground in front of the warehouse, preparing to kick in what was left of the door. He heard some shuffling from inside, and a terrified squeak. Damnit, he was going after her. The vagabond fired up into the air and smashing the wood. When he landed, he glared up into the room. Two mice scattered away, and Mugen stood slowly in astonishment.

The room was empty.

Fuu wasn't there.