Samurai Champloo Fan Fiction ❯ Dancing Cherry Blossoms ❯ Liar ( Chapter 13 )

Dancing Cherry Blossoms

 

Chapter 13: Liar

 

 

 

 

Sakura stared at Shoubi. Shoubi looked incredibly sad for some reason. Sakura raised an eyebrow. She took a step toward her friend.

 

“Is something wrong, Shoubi?” she asked. Shoubi looked down at the ground. Sakura just continued to look confused. Shoubi looked back up at her.

 

“I'm sorry, Sakura,” she said quietly.

 

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked.

 

“I'm so sorry,” Shoubi repeated. Sakura's eyes widened. She turned around and looked in the direction in which she had come.

 

Shit, she thought as thunder sounded up above.

 

 

Ayame landed almost silently on top of the roof of the home of Mugen, Jin, and Fuu. In the dim light, she listened quietly. There were three voices that she heard: two female and one male. She recognized one of the female voices. Frowning, she knew exactly who it was. She jumped down silently from the roof and landed in the grass. Moving stealthily around to the front of the house, she heard the door slide open. She hid under the steps as someone walked down them. Two men were leaving. Ayame sighed.

 

Damn, she thought. She sighed. They went into a building at the end of the street. The two females were still in the house. Ayame moved from her hiding place. Smiling, she slid the door open.

 

“Back so soon, boys? I don't recall you two not being able to hold your sake,” Fuu said as she turned around. She dropped the plates she was carrying when she saw Ayame. Ayame waved at her. Kyoko was coming around the corner.

 

“Fuu, did you drop some...” Kyoko stopped when she saw Ayame.

 

“Did you two miss me? I'm not interrupting anything am I?” she asked. Fuu looked to the left at her set of tantos. She made a break for them, but Ayame threw one of her own, pinning Fuu to the wall. “I did not come here to fight you...yet, at least.”

 

“Oh yeah? Then what do you want?” Fuu asked. She reached for the tanto to remove it. Ayame pulled another out.

 

“Don't touch it, or I'll put another one right in your kneecap. Please, have a seat.” Ayame gestured to Kyoko. Kyoko did as she was told, looking quite frightened. Ayame looked both of them. “Listen closely. I bet you keep wondering why I keep trying to kill you, don't you?”

 

“Yes,” Fuu groaned.

 

“Well, you're not my targets. Although, you are quite tempting,” Ayame said, looking at Fuu. Fuu made a face. Kyoko cleared her throat.

 

“So, who is your target?”

 

“Sakura,” she said.

 

“Sakura? Why?” Fuu asked.

 

“Sakura is one of the Hanafusa Shikyakus. She is an assassin just like me. She was sent here to complete a job. She completed her first one. She's having a bit of a harder try completing her second. We see that as betrayal. Once you betray us, we kill you. That's the punishment,” Ayame said.

 

Kyoko and Fuu just sat there in utter awe and shock. They could not believe what they were hearing. How could Sakura be one of them?

 

“Was Sayuri one of them, too?”

 

“Yes. That's why Sayuri died, too. They brought it upon themselves. If Sakura was to complete her job, it would all cease. I would stop coming around, and you could go on with your lives,” Ayame said. Kyoko nodded. She looked at Fuu. She dreaded asking this question, because she was sure she already knew the answer.

 

“Who is Sakura's job?” Kyoko asked. Ayame smiled and handed Kyoko a scroll. Kyoko unrolled it and read it. She gave it to Fuu. Fuu gasped.

 

Ayame walked over to Fuu and removed the tanto. She put it away and walked back over to the door.

 

“Send Sakura my regards,” she said. With that, she disappeared out of the door.

 

Fuu and Kyoko looked at each other. They made a mad scramble for the door. They ran all the way down to Ai's. Mugen and Jin were having a drink with some other men and Ai while being entertained by some of the ladies. Fuu rolled her eyes, dismissing it for the time being. She pulled them away.

 

“What's the deal?” Mugen asked, gulping down some more sake.

 

“We've got something to tell you,” Fuu said.

 

When Sakura got back to the house, it was empty. The door was open and the candles were still burning brightly. She looked confused for a moment. She entered the house. No one was inside. She heard soft footsteps behind her. She sighed and closed her eyes.

 

“Where is everyone, Ayame?” she asked.

 

“I take it there at that place down the way. You know, the one with all the women,” she said. Sakura turned around. Ayame did not have a weapon drawn. She was just leaning leisurely against the wall.

 

“Why so casual? You know at any moment that I could kill you?”

 

“Because you'll have bigger fish to fry in about five minutes, Sakura. Try not to make a mess of things. Meet you back at Hinome's.” Ayame ran off. Sakura's eyes widened when realization washed over her.

 

“YOU BITCH!!” she yelled. She heard Ayame's cackling in the night. Sakura looked down the street at Ai's and started walking towards it.

 

Mugen and Jin sat after Kyoko and Fuu had just spilled everything Ayame had told them. Neither looked too fazed by what had been said. Jin just took another sip of his sake and Mugen stared blankly at the two women.

 

“Doesn't that bother you two?” Fuu asked.

 

“Yeah. Aren't you worried?” Kyoko asked. Jin shook his head.

 

“I already knew,” he said.

 

“What?!” Kyoko yelled. Fuu grabbed him by the neck.

 

“And you didn't see the need to tell me that there was a killer sleeping under our roof necessary?” she asked, her eyes blazing with rage.

 

“That wouldn't make much sense, would it?” Mugen mumbled. Everyone looked at him.

 

“What do you mean?” Kyoko asked.

 

“He could've been referring to me, too,” he said. Fuu rolled her eyes.

 

“Don't get cute, Mugen. You're the one who's been screwing her,” she said before she realized what she was saying. Mugen stood up abruptly, knocking over everything at the table. He stood to leave just as Sakura walked in.

 

Sakura cursed mentally. As she was walking over here, she had been praying that the first person she saw was not Mugen. Unfortunately, luck was just not on her side today. The two stared at each other for a moment in what seemed like complete silence to them. Then, without warning, Mugen struck.

 

Out of sheer anger, Mugen grabbed one of Fuu's tantos that were strewn across the floor now and threw it at Sakura. Somehow, it managed to miss four people before it got to Sakura. Sakura put up her sword, catching it on her sheath. She looked at the tanto lodged in her sheath. All the partying in Ai's lodge stopped. Ai turned around to look at the disruption. Sakura looked back at Mugen, obviously a bit miffed that her sheath had been ruined.

 

“What the hell is your problem?” Sakura yelled at Mugen. She began stalking towards him.

 

“You're my problem! You're an assassin sent to kill me! That's what my problem is! You lied to me!”

 

“I never lied to you; you just never asked the right questions! Throwing tantos at me isn't going to solve anything! I didn't come in here to kill you!”

 

“Oh well. It looks like you're going to have to!” Mugen unsheathed his sword. Sakura did not unsheathe hers. Mugen frowned and began attacking her. She blocked most of his attacks. People scurried around them to get out of the way. Ai went over to Fuu, Kyoko, and Jin.

 

“What is going on?” she asked, kneeling down to them.

 

“Turns out Sakura's one of those assassins we've been hearing about. Mugen's the one she's supposed to kill. I think he's a bit mad with her now, though,” Fuu said. Ai nodded.

 

“Mugen, I don't want to do this!” Sakura yelled. She kicked him in the stomach. She still had yet to unsheathe her sword.

 

“I don't care what you want.” Mugen pushed her into a wall. Sakura coughed as she had the wind knocked out of her. She felt pain in her chest from previous wounds. Mugen saw her wince a little. He hesitated for a moment, but then remembered that she was an assassin sent to kill him: the enemy. Sakura looked up to see the underside of Mugen's sandal coming towards her face. She gasped and immediately moved to the side. Mugen's foot slammed through the wall. Ai screamed at the hole he made. She stood up, angry and seething.

 

“That's it! Mugen and Sakura, take it outside!” she yelled, staring at the gaping hole in her wall. Mugen glared at her. Sakura took this time to leave. Mugen turned around to see her push open the door to the room.

 

“I'm not done with you, yet!” he yelled. Jin shook his head. Fuu and Kyoko looked at him.

 

“What's wrong?” Fuu asked.

 

“Mugen has made her mad. That was the wrong thing to do,” he said.

 

 

Mugen ran outside of Ai's. Sakura was not there. He looked towards the house, but she was not walking down there. He looked in the other direction and saw her small figure walking alone towards the former headman's house. Mugen raised an eyebrow. She was unbraiding her hair as she walked. Sakura only unbraided her hair when she bathed.

 

“Sakura!” he yelled. She did not turn around or even acknowledge him in any way. When she finished unbraiding her hair, it fell down her back. “She's going to fight with it down?” Mugen wondered aloud. Wondering about Sakura's tactics, Mugen walked after her. When she got to the gate of the headman's house, he broke into an almost silent sprint. When he was almost directly behind her, he raised his sword to slash downward. Sakura turned around quickly. The smell of cherry blossoms beset Mugen again.

 

As Sakura turned, her sleeves and hair blinded Mugen. He heard the clang of metal meeting metal as Sakura drew her sword out of its sheath and it collided with his. He also felt his sword leave his hands. Sakura spun again, this time tripping him up. Mugen landed on his back. When he opened his eyes, he saw the glimmer of Sakura's sword in the moonlight; he was looking down the business end of it. Her hair hung in her face, and she did not look happy. Mugen's sword had landed about ten feet away on the dirt.

 

“So, now you want to fight with your hair down? Nice,” Mugen said. Sakura frowned and pushed the tip of her sword in his neck. Mugen flinched slightly.

 

“I said I didn't want to fight you. Unfortunately, you seem intent on wanting me to kick your ass,” Sakura said.

 

“Oh, I highly doubt you'll kick my ass,” Mugen said. Sakura removed her sword. Mugen moved away from her, rubbing his neck. Sakura stepped back towards the gate to the headman's house, turning her back to Mugen. Mugen was surprised at her arrogance.

 

“I'll say it again: I don't want to fight, Mugen. But, if you're so intent on doing it,” Sakura turned around to look at him, “catch me if you can.” She took off.

 

“Why you little bitch!” Mugen yelled after her. He saw her disappear inside the abandoned house.

 

Mugen burst through the door and looked around. Sakura was nowhere to be found, but her smell was evident. Her little laugh echoed throughout the house as she taunted him. Mugen could not see that well in the darkness.

 

Sakura sat on the steps, watching Mugen. He was moving blindly about.

 

“Having a hard time finding me, Mugen?” she asked loudly, making sure her voice echoed. Mugen smirked.

 

“That's only because you don't have the balls to face me like a man,” he said. Sakura laughed. She jumped down from the stairs. Mugen turned quickly to block her strike.

 

“Well, it'd be nice if you'd grow some in the first place,” she said. She kneed him in the groin. Mugen stopped moving for a moment. Sakura smiled.

 

“Cheap shot, you whore,” he said. Sakura made a face.

 

“What is with the name calling tonight? You're really starting to piss me off with that. Keep it up and I'll have to get really nasty. I don't want to get nasty, Mugen,” she said. She kneeled down to his level. “Now, can we stop this? I don't want to ki...” Mugen smacked her before she finished. Sakura fell to the side.

 

“No, we can't.” Mugen stood up. He looked down at her. Sakura wiped her nose. Blood was on her fingertips. She turned around and looked up at him, her eyes full of an ire that Mugen had never seen. “Oh shit,” he whispered. Sakura picked up her sword and stood up.

 

“You want to fight? Let's do this,” she said. She lunged at Mugen, swinging quickly at him. Mugen barely managed to block her. She never fought him like this before; she had certainly never been this fast. She spun around and cut his cheek. Mugen was backed into the wall. Sakura tried to kick him, but he grabbed her leg and threw her to the floor. Her sword flew some ten feet away from her.

 

“Somehow, you keep ending up there. If you would just stay down, I could make this quick and easy,” Mugen said. He raised his foot to bring it down on her chest. Sakura grabbed his ankle and twisted. Mugen fell down, his sword skidding across the floor.

 

Sakura rolled over and got to her feet as Mugen did. They looked at each other, and then flew towards each other, punching, kicking, grabbing, and calling each other vulgar names.

 

 

Fuu and Kyoko flinched as they stopped in front of the headman's house. They heard the entire ruckus going on inside. Jin walked up behind them, no emotion on his face. Fuu looked up at him as she heard Sakura scream in pain.

 

“Should we go stop this, Jin?” she asked.

 

“They might as well get it out of their system. I highly doubt they'll kill each other. They haven't got it in them,” he said calmly. Kyoko gasped and whirled on him.

 

“So letting them practically beat the shit out of each other is okay? Sakura is an ASSASSIN, Jin! She's probably holding back for his sake!” she yelled.

 

“And he's most likely holding back for hers,” Jin whispered. Fuu and Kyoko gave each other strange glances. “Have you ever wondered why Mugen is wanted dead?”

 

“The thought has crossed my mind, yes. But that's beside the point, Jin. The fact is that we don't know how good Sakura really is,” Kyoko argued as they heard something knock into a wall.

 

 

Sakura wiped blood away from her mouth. She looked at Mugen, who was currently hanging his head. She had knocked him into the parallel wall. He was not moving, but she knew he was still alive.

 

“Is that the best you've got? You can't do no better than that?” she yelled at him. His smirk was his answer. Sakura watched as he climbed out of the rubble. He stood shakily and looked at her. She did not know where he got the energy, but he ran towards her. Sakura did not react in time and took a knee to her stomach. Mugen was a bit confused at how easy it was. Sakura smiled surreptitiously. Mugen suddenly had a flashback.

 

Sakura always keeps her sai in her sash, he remembered. He moved away from her just as she reached for one. Mugen had grasped one in the process.

 

Sakura stopped breathing as she stared Mugen in his eyes. She was barely touching his neck with the sai she held in her hand. He held the other, its pointed end touching her neck. Swallowing was dangerous.

 

Fuu flinched as she heard silence. There were no more grunts, no more yelling of obscenities. All the fighting had seemingly stopped. She started to run forward, but Jin grabbed her shoulder. She turned to look at him.

 

“What is it?” she inquired.

 

“They aren't dead,” he said. Kyoko looked towards the house.

 

“Stalemate,” she said.

 

It felt like they had been standing there for an eternity. Mugen looked in Sakura's eyes. He could tell that her heart was not into this. In all honesty, neither was his. Who would be the first to give in? Although Sakura's eyes betrayed her, her demeanor did not. She pushed a bit harder into his throat as she felt his hold get weaker.

 

“No! You wanted this, so you take it!” she yelled. Mugen saw a small cut form on her skin from where the sai was. Mugen shook his head.

 

“I can't,” Mugen said. He lowered his arm as his anger dissipated. Sakura frowned. She reached for his arm and put it to her heart.

 

“I have to! It's my job! It's my job!” she cried. “Do it!” she yelled.

 

“I'm not going to!” Mugen yelled back. He wrenched his arm out of her grasp and twisted her other arm, causing the sai to drop. Sakura looked at him. He sat down next to her. “I wasn't ever going to.”

 

“Really?” Sakura asked, wiping some tears off her face. Mugen nodded. Sakura laughed. “You're such a pu...” Mugen kissed her. When he stopped, Sakura looked at him again. “I have to fix this, Mugen.”

 

“Come on,” he said, trying to lift her. Sakura laughed.

 

“Mugen, you're in worse shape than I am! You'll never lift me, let alone carry yourself out,” she said.

 

“Watch me,” he said. Sakura gasped as he picked her up. She shook her head as he began to carry her outside.

 

Stubborn ass, she thought.

 

 

Outside, Kyoko, Fuu, and Jin were awaiting their arrival. Fuu and Kyoko looked surprised at the condition they were in. Jin, however, somehow expected them to be much worse off. Mugen put Sakura down in front of them.

 

“I have to go. I have something I need to finish,” she said.

 

“You know where she is?” Jin asked. Sakura nodded.

 

“She's most likely waiting for me. After I'm done with her, I have to go see my bosses. I only really care about betraying one of them. Maybe she'll understand, maybe she won't. Either way, I have to fight for my freedom,” Sakura said.

 

“We'll come with you,” Fuu said. Sakura shook her head.

 

“Your gesture is appreciated, even after what I've done. I have to do this alone, Fuu,” she said. Fuu looked Sakura over.

 

“At least let us patch you up. You'll bleed to death if I don't do that, at least,” she said. Sakura laughed. She leaned against Mugen and they supported each other back down to their home.