An Unexpected Coupling
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Adult ++
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Category:
+S to Z › Samurai Champloo
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
12
Views:
8,371
Reviews:
53
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Samurai Champloo, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
A Rude Awakening
In case you missed it before, here's a repost of my fan art for this fic (it's a Fuugen, obviously =-P): http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/37556984/
CH 4: A Rude Awakening
“Jin…behind you!”
Flinching, the ronin opened his eyes in an instant, Kohza’s tanto whistling past his head before making its mark within its target in a sickening burst of scarlet.
His eyes widening, Jin became terribly shocked to find a member of the infamous Yakuza lying dead at his side, the tanto now embedded deeply between its eyes.
“Are you alright, Jin?” Kohza questioned, her feet padding softly through the downy grass as she went to retrieve her weapon. Not waiting for an answer, she continued, “If we’re smart, we’ll pack up and head off for Edo immediately. Who knows how many other Yakuza could be lurking about?”
Jin’s eyes narrowed with distrust. “And how do you expect us to just leave when you very well could be a Yakuza, yourself? Perhaps your master plan is to take us all out at the same time once we’re in Edo.”
“Or perhaps you are far too critical of a judge when it comes to changed individuals” Kohza shot back, a deep scowl souring her pretty face as she held out a hand for him to take. “Shall we go and tell the others?”
Jin ignored the Ryuukyuuan’s outstretched palm, yet he nodded his indifference
before rising up out of the water. “Let’s go.”
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It was well into the morning when the party of four finally reached their destination, Fuu still painfully aware of the fact that Mugen hadn’t uttered a single word to her ever since Kohza had reentered their lives.
It was quite clear to her that the girl and the pirate had been very close in the past, but how close? Had Mugen slept with Kohza, too? Did the Ryuukyuuan mean more to him than she ever possibly could?
Cursing her poor bout of luck, Fuu frowned to herself as she continued to watch Mugen casually trudge ahead of her, Momo snuggling affectionately against her neck as she miserably bowed her head and sighed.
“At least you care about me, Momo” she whispered, fondly stroking the rodent beneath its fluffy chin. “You truly are my only friend…”
“Quit yer yappin’ back there” Mugen groused, thus causing the poor girl to flinch in surprise. “This whole stupid journey’s your fault to begin with, so the very least you could do is shut up!”
Jin frowned deeply. “There was no need to be so cold, Mugen…this is the first she’s talked in hours.”
“Hmph…as it should be” Mugen muttered, kicking at a small anthill as he made his way past several shops and food stands. “This whole idea was shit, by the way…you know goddamn well that I coulda taken those Yakuza bastards with my own bare hands!”
“Maybe so” Kohza agreed from the side, “but are you really willing to risk our lives for the sake of showing off your stupid freestyle? Really, Mugen, you haven’t changed one bit.”
The pirate soured at being addressed so harshly. “Yeah? Well neither have you, bitch.”
Kohza didn’t respond, her soft brown eyes appearing to be pained as she folded her arms neatly beneath her bosom and bowed her head.
At this very moment Fuu couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl, her disdain for the Ryuukyuuan immediately melting away once she realized that they were both in the same boat. Kohza, too cared a great deal about Mugen, that much was obvious, yet the self-absorbed prick always pushed her away with rude, snide remarks that would undoubtedly scar her tattered heart. He did this to Fuu, as well, so she couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t just a front to protect himself from getting too close to the people that he cared about. Fuu desperately wanted to ask him if this was the case, but she decided that now wasn’t the time – perhaps it would never be.
Suddenly coming to an abrupt halt, Mugen raised his eyebrows and glanced over to his right at a shoddy establishment with a large, wooden sign that read ‘Madame Serenity’s’ in bold calligraphic letters.
“Why have we stopped?” Fuu demanded, giving the worn old building a once-over before deciding that it had to be a fluke. “C’mon, Mugen” she chided, “I thought you knew better than this. It’s just another cheap scam to swindle us out of our hard-earned money!”
“Maybe so” Mugen agreed, “but something about this place is calling to me…I have to go in.”
“But Mugen, I-”
“Wait here” he commanded, pushing Fuu gently off to the side so that he could enter.
Making his way through the blue beaded curtain at the entrance, he suddenly found himself surrounded by a world of darkness, a thick smoke of what smelled like incense filtering throughout the atmosphere and entering his lungs like a thrilling scented aphrodisiac. He had once tried a hookah throughout his travels, yet this was far better.
“Can I help you, young man?”
Mugen jumped at being caught off-guard, only to immediately curse himself for being so foolish. There, in the corner of the musky room was a small woman in about her late 40s, her wiry frame consumed by layers upon layers of multi-colored silk and lace. Her slanted, almond-shaped eyes were closed in what almost appeared to be prayer, her tiny mouth opening and closing along with what he guessed to be some sort of ethereal mantra.
Raising an eyebrow at her off-the-wall manner, Mugen finally dared to draw nearer, explaining lamely, “I dunno if you can help me or not, lady – I just felt like I had to go in, ‘s all.”
“Well good, because I’ve been expecting you.”
Mugen gawked at her in surprise, clearly disbelieving her. “Y-you have?”
“But of course! Madame Akira Serenity knows all!” she explained, proudly lifting her chest out as she reached into a gilded box and unearthed a small deck of Tarot cards. “You want your fortune done, yes?”
“Uh…yeah, sure” Mugen agreed, more than ready to perform his typical ‘take-it-and-leave’ technique of payment if need be. When Akira didn’t name a price, however, he immediately relaxed, his taut, wiry frame taking a seat in front of her as she began to glide her hands along the cards and swiftly cast them out onto the table in between them.
As soon as they were all set up, Akira reached out a bony bronze hand and flipped the card in the far left-hand corner over onto its back. “Ah, the Wicked Woman” she announced, eyeing Mugen with a newfound type of interest. “Is there a woman currently in your life?”
“I’ve got two squallin’ wenches that travel with me, if that’s whatcha mean” the Ryuukyuuan returned elliptically, a wry smile suddenly coming to his lips as he folded his hands smugly behind his head. “Are you tryin’ ta tell me that one of those chicks’ll try to get naughty with me?”
Akira frowned. “Hardly. What I’m trying to say is that one of your women will lead to your eventual downfall – that is, if you’re the only male traveler in your party.”
Mugen made a face. “Why the hell would one of them come on to Jin? That ugly Fish Face is a complete loser!”
“Or perhaps you are jealous of this Jin” Akira suggested, thus causing the pirate to flinch.
“What? No way! I’m completely comfortable with who I am!” Mugen shot back, by now unable to keep the heat in his cheeks from rising. When Akira merely shrugged in return, he urged sourly, “Go on, get on with it, will ya? I don’t got all day!”
In spite of being addressed so crudely, the clairvoyant flipped the next card over and bit the inside of her cheek after discovering what laid there. “The Tower of Destruction” she breathed, glancing up at Mugen with frightened eyes. “Surely you must know what this means?”
Mugen dropped. “Lady, do I look like a frickin’ mind reader? Of course I don’t know what it means!”
Akira bowed her head so that she didn’t have to gaze directly into the Ryuukyuuan’s eyes before returning softly, “You and your party are in store for a great disaster up ahead. Although I cannot yet tell you what that disaster is, you must proceed in your travels with great caution.”
“Yeah?” Mugen finally appeared to be interested. “What’s the next card say?”
Akira moved to object, only to immediately close her mouth and do as she was told. By this point she knew that dealing with a man of Mugen’s caliber was far too difficult, yet that made her next discovery no easier to handle.
“Oh, my God” she breathed, throwing a hand over her mouth in horror. “It cannot be!”
“What?” Mugen demanded, desperately trying to see, “what is it?”
Akira’s eyes grew glassy and she cast her gaze off to the side, her tone now unbearably soft and breathy as she revealed, “Your final card is the card of Death.”
“B-but there are more, so why can’tcha just-”
“I will read no more!” the clairvoyant harshly cut in, her dark eyes glittering and full of life. “The cards do no lie, Mugen-san, so you must now face your fortune on your own!”
Mugen blanched. “Wait, h-how did you know my name? Who’s supposed to die? Why can’tcha just-”
“Go, you foolish, Ryuukyuuan, go!” Akira pleaded, her eyes by now full of tears. “I cannot bear to witness the pain of others, so please…just go!”
Stunned, Mugen staggered back up and to his feet and ran as fast as his own two legs could carry him, his mind whirring a mile a minute with what horrors had just transpired as he couldn’t help but feel wary of his own fate.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That night Mugen was uncharacteristically passive, Fuu now watching him from out of the corner of her eye as they continued to eat around the small fire at their latest campsite.
Ever since the Ryuukyuuan had gotten his fortune done he hadn’t uttered a word, a permanent scowl now marking his face and leaving Fuu with an odd sinking feeling within the pit of her stomach. It pained her deeply to see him so distraught, yet she knew better than to ask him what the trouble was.
Bringing her chopsticks up to her lips with shaking fingers, Fuu couldn’t help but choke on her rice the moment Mugen sourly got up and flung his bowl into the fire, the group’s eyes widening as they watched him tromp off toward the far clearing with his tanto in hand.
Jin immediately looked to Fuu so she nodded, rising as well before excusing herself and beginning her frenetic trek after the reckless pirate.
“Mugen!” she called, racing frantically after his rapidly retreating form, “please stop! You’re not making any sense!”
Mugen, on the other hand, only sped up his pace, his brows drawing together as he inwardly resolved to never speak to Fuu, again – it would only succeed in making things worse if he did. Much worse.
“Mugen!” Fuu finally tried again, an unmistakable sob now within her voice, “please stop! Please…”
To her utmost surprise, the pirate did stop, the curve of his spine slumping over in defeat so that his broad shoulders immediately followed suit and left him with a miserably dejected stature.
“What do you want, Fuu?” Mugen demanded, his voice surprisingly hushed and defeated. “I ain’t got a damned ryo to my name, so surely you don’t want me to stick around just for my money.”
“No” Fuu agreed, wiping away at a lone tear, “but I – erm….we need you here. All I want to know is why you’re behaving like a child, Mugen. Something happened today in Madame Serenity’s and I need to know what it is!”
Mugen smirked. “You need to know, huh? Since when do you give a damn about my private life?”
Fuu felt her cheeks flush a brilliant shade of scarlet in response, her mind subconsciously thanking Buddha for the darkness that currently masked her true reaction.
When she didn’t answer him, Mugen finally whipped out a handkerchief from his pocket and placed it into her palm, returning dryly, “There…that’s what’s wrong.”
“A bloody hanky?” Fuu questioned, eyeing the soiled cloth with utmost confusion. “I-I must admit that I don’t understand. What’s all this about, Mugen?”
He smirked, yet she noticed that the typical smoldering passion in his wild russet eyes were now a cold and subdued gray, his spindly fingers wrapping about the handle to his tanto before he leaned in against the blade and released a very Jin-like “hn”.
“Mugen?” Fuu continued to press, by now fully frightened. “Please tell me what’s wrong! It’s cruel to do this to me after all we’ve been through!”
Mugen’s smirk only widened, yet this time he finally relented, “I’m dying, Fuu…is that what you wanted me to say? I coughed up that blood earlier this evening.”
“Well no, but…wait, what? Mugen, I-”
“Goodnight, Fuu.”
Before she could even stop him, Fuu miserably watched the Ryuukyuuan trod off down along the hill and back toward the campsite, tears streaming past her long kohl lashes and over her soft cheeks as she clutched the bloody handkerchief tightly to her bosom.
“Oh, Mugen…”
A/N: Yep, as you can clearly see, this will be a bittersweet fic…but a surprise ending, it shall be. :) Don’t ask me why I’m talking so strangely, it’s 5AM, so yeah…TIRED. Hope you enjoyed! More Fuugen moments on the way…another LEMON is in store, too, so you’ve been forewarned! REVIEW! ;0)
CH 4: A Rude Awakening
“Jin…behind you!”
Flinching, the ronin opened his eyes in an instant, Kohza’s tanto whistling past his head before making its mark within its target in a sickening burst of scarlet.
His eyes widening, Jin became terribly shocked to find a member of the infamous Yakuza lying dead at his side, the tanto now embedded deeply between its eyes.
“Are you alright, Jin?” Kohza questioned, her feet padding softly through the downy grass as she went to retrieve her weapon. Not waiting for an answer, she continued, “If we’re smart, we’ll pack up and head off for Edo immediately. Who knows how many other Yakuza could be lurking about?”
Jin’s eyes narrowed with distrust. “And how do you expect us to just leave when you very well could be a Yakuza, yourself? Perhaps your master plan is to take us all out at the same time once we’re in Edo.”
“Or perhaps you are far too critical of a judge when it comes to changed individuals” Kohza shot back, a deep scowl souring her pretty face as she held out a hand for him to take. “Shall we go and tell the others?”
Jin ignored the Ryuukyuuan’s outstretched palm, yet he nodded his indifference
before rising up out of the water. “Let’s go.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was well into the morning when the party of four finally reached their destination, Fuu still painfully aware of the fact that Mugen hadn’t uttered a single word to her ever since Kohza had reentered their lives.
It was quite clear to her that the girl and the pirate had been very close in the past, but how close? Had Mugen slept with Kohza, too? Did the Ryuukyuuan mean more to him than she ever possibly could?
Cursing her poor bout of luck, Fuu frowned to herself as she continued to watch Mugen casually trudge ahead of her, Momo snuggling affectionately against her neck as she miserably bowed her head and sighed.
“At least you care about me, Momo” she whispered, fondly stroking the rodent beneath its fluffy chin. “You truly are my only friend…”
“Quit yer yappin’ back there” Mugen groused, thus causing the poor girl to flinch in surprise. “This whole stupid journey’s your fault to begin with, so the very least you could do is shut up!”
Jin frowned deeply. “There was no need to be so cold, Mugen…this is the first she’s talked in hours.”
“Hmph…as it should be” Mugen muttered, kicking at a small anthill as he made his way past several shops and food stands. “This whole idea was shit, by the way…you know goddamn well that I coulda taken those Yakuza bastards with my own bare hands!”
“Maybe so” Kohza agreed from the side, “but are you really willing to risk our lives for the sake of showing off your stupid freestyle? Really, Mugen, you haven’t changed one bit.”
The pirate soured at being addressed so harshly. “Yeah? Well neither have you, bitch.”
Kohza didn’t respond, her soft brown eyes appearing to be pained as she folded her arms neatly beneath her bosom and bowed her head.
At this very moment Fuu couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl, her disdain for the Ryuukyuuan immediately melting away once she realized that they were both in the same boat. Kohza, too cared a great deal about Mugen, that much was obvious, yet the self-absorbed prick always pushed her away with rude, snide remarks that would undoubtedly scar her tattered heart. He did this to Fuu, as well, so she couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t just a front to protect himself from getting too close to the people that he cared about. Fuu desperately wanted to ask him if this was the case, but she decided that now wasn’t the time – perhaps it would never be.
Suddenly coming to an abrupt halt, Mugen raised his eyebrows and glanced over to his right at a shoddy establishment with a large, wooden sign that read ‘Madame Serenity’s’ in bold calligraphic letters.
“Why have we stopped?” Fuu demanded, giving the worn old building a once-over before deciding that it had to be a fluke. “C’mon, Mugen” she chided, “I thought you knew better than this. It’s just another cheap scam to swindle us out of our hard-earned money!”
“Maybe so” Mugen agreed, “but something about this place is calling to me…I have to go in.”
“But Mugen, I-”
“Wait here” he commanded, pushing Fuu gently off to the side so that he could enter.
Making his way through the blue beaded curtain at the entrance, he suddenly found himself surrounded by a world of darkness, a thick smoke of what smelled like incense filtering throughout the atmosphere and entering his lungs like a thrilling scented aphrodisiac. He had once tried a hookah throughout his travels, yet this was far better.
“Can I help you, young man?”
Mugen jumped at being caught off-guard, only to immediately curse himself for being so foolish. There, in the corner of the musky room was a small woman in about her late 40s, her wiry frame consumed by layers upon layers of multi-colored silk and lace. Her slanted, almond-shaped eyes were closed in what almost appeared to be prayer, her tiny mouth opening and closing along with what he guessed to be some sort of ethereal mantra.
Raising an eyebrow at her off-the-wall manner, Mugen finally dared to draw nearer, explaining lamely, “I dunno if you can help me or not, lady – I just felt like I had to go in, ‘s all.”
“Well good, because I’ve been expecting you.”
Mugen gawked at her in surprise, clearly disbelieving her. “Y-you have?”
“But of course! Madame Akira Serenity knows all!” she explained, proudly lifting her chest out as she reached into a gilded box and unearthed a small deck of Tarot cards. “You want your fortune done, yes?”
“Uh…yeah, sure” Mugen agreed, more than ready to perform his typical ‘take-it-and-leave’ technique of payment if need be. When Akira didn’t name a price, however, he immediately relaxed, his taut, wiry frame taking a seat in front of her as she began to glide her hands along the cards and swiftly cast them out onto the table in between them.
As soon as they were all set up, Akira reached out a bony bronze hand and flipped the card in the far left-hand corner over onto its back. “Ah, the Wicked Woman” she announced, eyeing Mugen with a newfound type of interest. “Is there a woman currently in your life?”
“I’ve got two squallin’ wenches that travel with me, if that’s whatcha mean” the Ryuukyuuan returned elliptically, a wry smile suddenly coming to his lips as he folded his hands smugly behind his head. “Are you tryin’ ta tell me that one of those chicks’ll try to get naughty with me?”
Akira frowned. “Hardly. What I’m trying to say is that one of your women will lead to your eventual downfall – that is, if you’re the only male traveler in your party.”
Mugen made a face. “Why the hell would one of them come on to Jin? That ugly Fish Face is a complete loser!”
“Or perhaps you are jealous of this Jin” Akira suggested, thus causing the pirate to flinch.
“What? No way! I’m completely comfortable with who I am!” Mugen shot back, by now unable to keep the heat in his cheeks from rising. When Akira merely shrugged in return, he urged sourly, “Go on, get on with it, will ya? I don’t got all day!”
In spite of being addressed so crudely, the clairvoyant flipped the next card over and bit the inside of her cheek after discovering what laid there. “The Tower of Destruction” she breathed, glancing up at Mugen with frightened eyes. “Surely you must know what this means?”
Mugen dropped. “Lady, do I look like a frickin’ mind reader? Of course I don’t know what it means!”
Akira bowed her head so that she didn’t have to gaze directly into the Ryuukyuuan’s eyes before returning softly, “You and your party are in store for a great disaster up ahead. Although I cannot yet tell you what that disaster is, you must proceed in your travels with great caution.”
“Yeah?” Mugen finally appeared to be interested. “What’s the next card say?”
Akira moved to object, only to immediately close her mouth and do as she was told. By this point she knew that dealing with a man of Mugen’s caliber was far too difficult, yet that made her next discovery no easier to handle.
“Oh, my God” she breathed, throwing a hand over her mouth in horror. “It cannot be!”
“What?” Mugen demanded, desperately trying to see, “what is it?”
Akira’s eyes grew glassy and she cast her gaze off to the side, her tone now unbearably soft and breathy as she revealed, “Your final card is the card of Death.”
“B-but there are more, so why can’tcha just-”
“I will read no more!” the clairvoyant harshly cut in, her dark eyes glittering and full of life. “The cards do no lie, Mugen-san, so you must now face your fortune on your own!”
Mugen blanched. “Wait, h-how did you know my name? Who’s supposed to die? Why can’tcha just-”
“Go, you foolish, Ryuukyuuan, go!” Akira pleaded, her eyes by now full of tears. “I cannot bear to witness the pain of others, so please…just go!”
Stunned, Mugen staggered back up and to his feet and ran as fast as his own two legs could carry him, his mind whirring a mile a minute with what horrors had just transpired as he couldn’t help but feel wary of his own fate.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That night Mugen was uncharacteristically passive, Fuu now watching him from out of the corner of her eye as they continued to eat around the small fire at their latest campsite.
Ever since the Ryuukyuuan had gotten his fortune done he hadn’t uttered a word, a permanent scowl now marking his face and leaving Fuu with an odd sinking feeling within the pit of her stomach. It pained her deeply to see him so distraught, yet she knew better than to ask him what the trouble was.
Bringing her chopsticks up to her lips with shaking fingers, Fuu couldn’t help but choke on her rice the moment Mugen sourly got up and flung his bowl into the fire, the group’s eyes widening as they watched him tromp off toward the far clearing with his tanto in hand.
Jin immediately looked to Fuu so she nodded, rising as well before excusing herself and beginning her frenetic trek after the reckless pirate.
“Mugen!” she called, racing frantically after his rapidly retreating form, “please stop! You’re not making any sense!”
Mugen, on the other hand, only sped up his pace, his brows drawing together as he inwardly resolved to never speak to Fuu, again – it would only succeed in making things worse if he did. Much worse.
“Mugen!” Fuu finally tried again, an unmistakable sob now within her voice, “please stop! Please…”
To her utmost surprise, the pirate did stop, the curve of his spine slumping over in defeat so that his broad shoulders immediately followed suit and left him with a miserably dejected stature.
“What do you want, Fuu?” Mugen demanded, his voice surprisingly hushed and defeated. “I ain’t got a damned ryo to my name, so surely you don’t want me to stick around just for my money.”
“No” Fuu agreed, wiping away at a lone tear, “but I – erm….we need you here. All I want to know is why you’re behaving like a child, Mugen. Something happened today in Madame Serenity’s and I need to know what it is!”
Mugen smirked. “You need to know, huh? Since when do you give a damn about my private life?”
Fuu felt her cheeks flush a brilliant shade of scarlet in response, her mind subconsciously thanking Buddha for the darkness that currently masked her true reaction.
When she didn’t answer him, Mugen finally whipped out a handkerchief from his pocket and placed it into her palm, returning dryly, “There…that’s what’s wrong.”
“A bloody hanky?” Fuu questioned, eyeing the soiled cloth with utmost confusion. “I-I must admit that I don’t understand. What’s all this about, Mugen?”
He smirked, yet she noticed that the typical smoldering passion in his wild russet eyes were now a cold and subdued gray, his spindly fingers wrapping about the handle to his tanto before he leaned in against the blade and released a very Jin-like “hn”.
“Mugen?” Fuu continued to press, by now fully frightened. “Please tell me what’s wrong! It’s cruel to do this to me after all we’ve been through!”
Mugen’s smirk only widened, yet this time he finally relented, “I’m dying, Fuu…is that what you wanted me to say? I coughed up that blood earlier this evening.”
“Well no, but…wait, what? Mugen, I-”
“Goodnight, Fuu.”
Before she could even stop him, Fuu miserably watched the Ryuukyuuan trod off down along the hill and back toward the campsite, tears streaming past her long kohl lashes and over her soft cheeks as she clutched the bloody handkerchief tightly to her bosom.
“Oh, Mugen…”
A/N: Yep, as you can clearly see, this will be a bittersweet fic…but a surprise ending, it shall be. :) Don’t ask me why I’m talking so strangely, it’s 5AM, so yeah…TIRED. Hope you enjoyed! More Fuugen moments on the way…another LEMON is in store, too, so you’ve been forewarned! REVIEW! ;0)