Samurai Champloo Fan Fiction ❯ Complexity ❯ i am here ( Chapter 1 )

I Am Here

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I have no perfect figure.

I have no perfect chest.

I don't even have the talent to seduce.

But I have a body. . . I have a chest. . . and aren't these kind words that can come out of my mouth enough to lull an ear?

Obviously, YOU don't think so.

And YOU don't have enough dignity to SHUT UP next door with all those women ravishing your ugly body.

Who do they see in you?

Seriously. Just WHAT do they see?

That ugly wild hair that makes you look like a stupid chimp that you already are?

That stupid no-samurai-talent that you have?

You're not even a samurai.

Why do you carry a sword to make it look like you are?

Oh, that's right.

You're a criminal. You learn how to survive from life with killing while I learn how to survive from disgusting hungry men wanting to fulfill their fantasies by making it come true using me.

" Mugen. . . ! "

All those ugly moans next door just made me realize. . . what I truly hate about you. It kept me sane enough to drown out the groaning with my own thoughts of hate.

What I hate the most is your stupid face. Go shave or something, for a change. Go wash your face. Go take a really long bath where it includes you dipping your whole head under water for three hours.

Even better, why don't you just stay beneath the water until your stench disappears.

Not that it will. . .

That's what I think when I see you, going to the bathhouse, walking around, gobbling as much food as you can than me, and just plain sitting on a corner being a loner.

Go clean yourself, you meanie.

Clean yourself from those women filth. Get rid of those disgusting fragrance of seduction. Get rid of the thoughts that come to your head about going in those women. Get rid of the thoughts of women you'd like to do in your head. Get rid of your stupid habits.

I don't like it it at all.

" Mugen. . . ! "

I grab a pillow and press it against my face.

Enough.

I despise you. I hate you so much.

This is the last night we all have before I leave you two. Yet you do nothing but make love right beside my room.

I'm leaving you both tomorrow forever. Don't you know that? Hold on. . . I didn't tell you. Nor am I planning to.

I try not to listen to the stupid moaning I'm sure Jin could also hear. Are they making out already? Heat crawls up my cheeks, not from embarrassment, but from a strange pang of small jealousy.

I've never had sex before, nor have I ever kissed anyone. So what if I'm still a virgin at the age of fifteen? It means I'm trying to keep myself pure, you filthy wild man.

But I will never think about having sex with I'll only sin my promises to find the perfect man. A man that is a complete opposite of you. I hate you, you know that. I really, really hate you.

" Uh. . . lady, hold on. . . "

I hear your voice but another woman protests and begins to groan. I growl and can do nothing but lie here on my bed, trying not to listen to you.

"Who'd want an ugly imp like you? Who'd want a stupid bully like you to live on this earth? Nobody wants you to live, you damned hell-born-hell-dead bastard

I want to tell you that every time you aggravate me, but they wouldn't come out. I let you say cruel things to me, but nothing crueler comes back out of my own mouth. Because I know that when I say those dirtied sentences to you, not only will you secretly hurt, will secretly regret my words, too. Still, you are so cruel, did you know that?

But I do nothing.

Because you've become someone more than a bodyguard to me.

Possibly. . . a friend?

That's what you've become. And I hate that I've accepted you as a friend. There is nothing about you that I like. There is nothing nice I can think of for you, omit the stupid damsel-in-distress saving crap.

Yet, you still tag along beside me with Jin.

Have you accepted me as a human being, too?

A human girl?

A friend?

When I see you alone I think,his guy can take care of himself, ' before I even knew who you were.

Now thoughts became clear as to thinking that,his man shouldn't be alone too long. ' Because I know, you're secretly hurting.

When I see you, Jin and I together, walking down the road to find my Sunflower Samurai, I think about how much fun we'd have together if we keep up this journey. I think about how much I'm going to know you guys so well.

That one night around the campfire where we told each other's secrets (although you'd look like you wouldn't care if anybody spilled anyone's secret. You'd just kill them, right?). . . you may not know, but I'll never forget that.

And I try not to think about the end when all these will be gone. But it'll be tomorrow. I'm leaving you both of no words of farewell.

Without thinking, I jump off my bed and rub the weariness under my eyes.

With these much hours I have left with you, what am I supposed to do or say?

Barge in and join the other women with you?

Hell no.

Say how much I hate that I don't hate you?

Maybe not.

But why do I like you? I think back as to why but my head comes up blank. Because you've been kind enough to help me find find the person I'm looking for? That made a little sense but it still wasn't enough.

Every time I ask my self why I like you, my only thought is, ' why this ugly criminal of all the other innocent people in the world? '

I don't even know.

I marched out of my room and headed towards yours. With a huge sigh to encourage me, I act my composure, and slid the door open as loud and quick as I could.

"GOD! DAMMIT, MUGEN, FOR GOD'S SAKE, GEEZ

"Hello, Mugen. . ." came out instead.

I see three women piled up on top of you that I can barely see you. I don't know why, but I was happy that they were wearing clothes.

. . .why?

Your head pops out of a gap and you sucked in a deep breath. Is it just me or did you look a little. . . HAPPY. . see ME?

Is it just me or was I a little relieve that you weren't doing anything?

. . .why?

You look at me and tried to bring your arm out.

"Hey, you, good timing. Help me get these bitche—

"MUGEN! Just what the HELL do you think you're planning to do in the middle of the night BESIDE my room?I have EARS, too, you know, you stupid, stupid, dumb, idiotic B A S T A R DStop doing this or I'll kick your ass OUT OF THIS INN

. . .was what I wanted to say.

Instead, I frowned and held the edge of the sliding door tighter, giving him an equal stare.

"Mugen. If you're gonna do that all night, please keep it down."

I must have been really surprised inside when I saw a hint of stunned from your face. But it resides when you suddenly frowned.

"The fuck you talkin' about? These bitches came onto me first when I was sleeping. Why would I wanna fuck 'em when I just wanna fucking sleep for a change?"

For a moment there. . . even for just a tiny moment. . . under these circumstances. . . I wanted to cry.

Partly because of what he said and what it meant.

Out of happiness. . . content. . . relief. . . I don't know.

I didn't understand that time, but I just wanted to cry so badly, and maybe hug him and say I'll miss you so much the most, Mugen.

I stopped myself by rolling my eyes.

"Whatever, Mugen," I sighed, "just go to sleep after. And goodnight."

I know he was about to say something but I just slid the door close and left him the way he is. Whatever motive I have next after that was zero and I just zoned out and stood outside his room, looking at the rice paper walls that bordered between his space and mine, as if I can see through them and I'm searching for his figure.

He wasn't having sex with them. . . !

I was quiet for a second and stared at the door.

He wasn't making love. . . !

'Stupid', I think as I slowly pouted.

But I'm so happy to see that you aren't doing things I normally would suspect you do every time we go to a new town.

I wanted to sayĠreally like you' but that would make our relationship even stranger.

Maybe what we are right now is enough. . .?

What I hate about you is that you're so strange.

You fight for no reason. . . then you fight for a cause.

I don't get you.

You don't want to hang around with me anymore, but then you come back following me.
There is absolutely nothing about you that I would be turned on.

You don't really have the figure.

You don't have enough heart.

But you can get any woman you want.

I don't get you at all.

When I see you, I think to myself, ' he's not bad at all once you pass through his beastliness and get to know him. '

When I see him hiding his pain, I think to myself, '' it's not nice to press everything inside. It'll only make you look uglier and meaner. . . heh, kind of like what you look like now. '

Because I know what it feels like to press your pains.

I may look normal to you, but all I have are you two and I wouldn't want to lose the only person I truly want to accept me in return.

When I see you with other women, even if it's just for fun, my mind races to a point where I can't follow its trail anymore.

Because. . . 'here. . . I am here. . .'

Every syllable has its meaning and the one that I can't quite understand dances like the wind, unable to keep me thinking straight.

'. . . See me, Mugen, because I'm here, too.'

I think that as I walk back to my room, wondering to whichever Gods out there why I didn't fall head over heels with Jin instead.

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THREE MINUTES LATER. . .

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" Shit, let me sleep, you fucking bitches. . . ! "

I'm quite surprised that you, Mugen the womanizer, would say such things to women. I never thought that one night in my whole life you'd want to instead of fucking girls. Here I am back on my bed, hoping that telling you to keep it down would actually work.

I suppose it didn't, did it?

Because you're as fucking loud as ever.

" Mugen. . .! Come on. . .! "

" Leave me the fuck alone. "

I snorted, hoping that it wasn't too loud. I press the hem of my blanket over my mouth.

" But. . . we've got nothing to do tonight. . . "

" Why don't you all just fucking sleep? That's what I'm trying to fucking do. "

There was an obvious eye-rolling you must've done when all three women groaned with disappointment.

" But. . . ! "

You growl. I hear a faint thud against the wall I'm facing and I see that the rice paper wall is a little dented above my head. That must be your pillow.

Why, Mugen. . . are you trying not to kick them out with your foot?

" FUCK OFF! "

I bit my bottom lip and pushed the cloth against my mouth. I'm really trying not to laugh, Mugen.

" Fine. . . ! "

" Asshole! "

" Jerk! "

You've never acted like this, especially this morning when you and I had a little eating battle of 100 bowls of eels and rice. . .

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(FLASHBACK)

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Inn Bargain: 100 bowls of unagi-don or more in less than an hour and all is FREE FREE!

Fuu, Mugen, and Jin stared at the small sign barely seen under the inn entrance door window. With a happy leap, Fuu smacked the window with two hands and observed the sign closer against her nose.

"Hey, hey! Why don't we try this?" she asked. "A hundred bowls should be enough to fill our stomachs for today! It'll be like last time at that eating contest!"

"And, shit, maybe another hundred more tonight," Mugen did the same and pressed his face against the window beside hers, peering inside. He ignored the costumers looking at them and scanned the food that was served on each tables.

"Ooh, one hundred bowls," Fuu breathed cheerily, "I wonder if that'll fill my stomach."

"Fuck that, it'll fill mine."

"Mugen, you barely ate fifty bowls from that last contest and you think you'd finish one hundred?" Fuu challenged, "let's see you try."

"I will, bitch," Mugen growled and pressed his face closer against the glass, squinting his eyes at the served dishes, omitting the uneasy gazes. "Just watch me."

"Do you wanna try, Jin?" Fuu asked, still glueing her face against the window.

Mugen and Fuu watched as Jin marched along some of the empty seats, obviously inside the inn already. He shot them a quick look and sat on a table close in front of them.

"That asshole!" Mugen snarled. He pulled his face off the window and ran inside the hostelry.

"Hey, wait up!" Fuu cried, following his suit.

"How may I help you, miss? Sirs?" a waitress smiled at them as Fuu and Mugen took a seat in front of Jin.

"Um, yes, we'd like to try the inn bargain, please?" Fuu smiled.

The waitress looked at her innocent smile to her stomach then back at her face and smiled once again, toothier this time. This child won't even last three bowls! she thought.

"Why yes!" she clapped her hands, "One hundred bowls in an hour, no less, will give you and any other companions a huge banquet of free meal for tonight! More than a hundred bowls will allow you to stay in the inn free for three days with the remaining days of free food! But, I warn you! Nobody ever finishes their fifty-one-th bowl!"

' . . .without leaving the inn with a pain-stakingly hurtful stomach and food poisoning for one month ', her twisted happy face told them. Oblivious, Fuu and Mugen didn't see it. Jin, though, caught it and merely kept his face compose from looking way too bemused.
"Just give us the damn food, woman," Mugen smacked the table angrily.

Fuu smacked him from behind his head hard, causing him to bang his face on the table.

"Mugen! Stop being so rude!" she yelled. She turned to the woman. "Yes, please!"—fucking, bitch!" Mugen growled—us your first batch!" She looked at Jin, "how about you, Jin?"

Jin held out his forefinger and pushed his glasses in place, closing his eyes.

"Happy Combo B, please, no side stuff, just the main course."

"Alright, comin' right up!," the waitress smiled and quickly left the table.

"Hey, Jin, how come you never order as much as I, or the pig-head, do?" Fuu frowned, "it'd be nice to fill up your belly completely with us."

Said name calmly closed his eyes.

"Unfortunately, I don't have a stomach of a bottomless pit of an endless universe as you do, Fuu. And a rotting belly of food poisoning and shit like the idiot," he answered coolly.
A chair fell with a loud thud. Mugen stood up quickly and slid his sword off his sheath, pointing it an inch away from Jin's bottom lip, a feral look in his face.

"What's that, ass wipe?" he sneered, gritting his teeth.

"Mugen!" Fuu yelled.

"I'm only being truthful," Jin replied.

"Say that one more time and I'll scrape your fucking lip off your fucking ugly skin, fuck-face."

A few costumers began to murmur, some leaving in fear of his threat. Fuu sighed and place a chin on her palm, looking out the window with a fed-up look.

"Geez, really," she muttered," every time we find an inn, you guys. . . every time."

"I said, I'm only saying what needs to be heard," Jin said. "Unfortunately, your hearing isn't getting any—

He swiped one of his sword off from his side and easily blocked Mugen's swing.

"Really, learn how to use your sword."

Mugen growled and jumped onto the table. He pushed his sword down with as much force as the table began to tip over from his feet friction.

"Oh dear," a woman whispered to Fuu from behind, "this never happened before."

Another woman from the same table nodded as the third one leaned against Fuu and whispered, "are they always this feisty?"

Fuu snorted.

"Believe me. Feisty isn't the word. More like 'beasts'."

She raised as eyebrow when all three woman giggled.

"You hear that, ladies? Beasts!"

"Mugen, she says, too! A wonderful name!"

Fuu turned back around and stood up. She smacked the table and adjusted it back on it's four legs, causing Mugen to wobbled a little.

"Every single time, you morons!" she screamed, grabbing Mugen's ankle and pulled it hard until he fell flat on his face, hard.

"Bitch!"

"Stoppit!" Fuu shrieked, "or else we WON'T. GET. OUR. BARGAAINN!"

Luckily, it shut them up.

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"Eigh. . . eighty-nine. . .! eighty-nine bowls!"

Waitresses and chiefs watched as Fuu gobbled one bite a bowl after bowls.

"Ninety-two. . . ninety-four. . .. n-ninety-eight. . .!"

"Chief, she hasn't even gotten a food poisoning!"

"Surprising! How is the other doing?"

"He collapsed a long time ago. . . from his fifty-one-th bowl. . ."

"Figures—

"Ahh! Done!" Fuu slammed her one-hundred-twentieth bowl and leaned back against her chair. Jin politely kept on dabbing his napkin on his already cleaned lips, hiding his surprised and, as always, stunned look as he stared at the piles of bowls that nearly obscured Fuu's (ten times as) chubby face.

"More than one hundred bowls!" Fuu jumped up in the air with happiness (but seeing how plump she had gotten, she only made it at least one and a half inches off the ground), "free nights and meals!"

She hopped around Jin and squealed.

"I told you there'd be no problem when we get to the next town!" she grinned, unknowing that he was trying to snub her intentionally. She strode on the other side to tell Mugen. "No more camping outside!"

"Mugen! Stupid, wake up!" she screamed at his ears.

He was limp on the floor with a stomach twice the size of his body. He rose his hand up and groaned.

"Just what. . . the hell. . . is in those shit?!," he grumbled. He grabbed a handful of Fuu's kimono, shoving her face down close to his nose and growled. "Get me medi. . . cine, bi. . . tch!"

"That doesn't matter, I got us three nights of free rent and meals! All thanks to me!" Fuu smiled, pulled Mugen off his feet, and grabbed his hands to lead him in an aching dance of celebration.

"Oh. Shit," Mugen puffed his cheeks and vomited.

—

to be continued.