Samurai Champloo Fan Fiction ❯ Heart of a Warrior ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

I don't own Samurai Champloo or any of its characters.  I just write about them! Ok guys I know it's been awhile.  If I have interested, ardent fan readers I'm sorry!  I went and got engaged to my own real life Mugen (winks) and its exam time in college! I decided to take a break from studying frog guts to do some more. I'd love some reviews if anyone wants to leave them - I'd like to know what you think about my first attempt at publishing anything I've written!  Constructive criticism highly appreciated! Chapter 3 "This way... it's quicker", her voice came out of the night-darkness ahead of him.  "Can't you move any faster?" Not like I could move much faster myself.  But he doesn't have to know that. "Quit bitchin'.  I can't see out here, even though you obviously can." he muttered, concentrating on where he was putting his feet. "Oh."  With that a light appeared to his right.  He blinked in surprise.  Where in the hell did that...  His eyes widened.  There was a ball of fire floating there!? ********************************* "Wha...?"  He stared at the orb, dumbfounded. "Just... come on.  Please", she said. She almost sounds like she's sad about something.  Well... I suppose I've seen stranger things.  He blinked.  I got attacked by creatures from hell with burning spit.  My companion is a chick in some kind of weird getup that hides her face and body.  She can summon fire-orbs and, from the way she talks, she's something other than human.  Hopefully on my side, since she bothered to kill those creatures with me.  He would never think of anyone saving him.  The idea was ridiculous.  He didn't need saving.  He would of won, eventually, of course.  She just saved him some time and extra blood. Her voice broke into his reverie, "I keep a few places stocked with food and bandages in this forest.  In case I ever need them.  There's one nearby...  Next to the river.  I think this one might have some shelter too...". He grunted and coaxed a little more energy from his sore limbs and wounded leg.  Food... he thought, I haven't eaten since I left that damn village... His mouth started to water just thinking about the possibility of a meal.  Eat when you can.  Eat as much as you can when it's there.  He'd learned the lessons of hard survival well, and he would always remember them, no matter how long he spent settled somewhere.  He could never truly tame himself down to city life.   After all, he grew up where people lived in what could best be described as packs and battered each other for what little they could get on the islands. ----- Soon enough, they rounded a bend in the path and there it was.  A small clearing next to a small creek, probably runoff from a mountain spring somewhere nearby.  There was a log next to what could only be a fire pit - it had been used before and there were still ashes in it and rocks ringing it.  A dark spot against a nearby cliff face hinted at the possibility of a cavern of some sort.  Maybe just a shallow overhang... She turned towards him and motioned him to a nearby rock that was large enough to sit on.  "Sit down.  I'll treat you first...  It looks like you took more damage than I did.  Absently, she retreated towards the opening in the cliff, seeming deep in thought. He considered resisting.  He considered telling her just where to shove her orders.  He thought about it.  No one tells me what to do.  No one but me!  But...  One look at the rock decided him.  He sat. "I don't need your 'treatment' you know.  None of this is anymore than  scratch."  he called over in the direction she'd disappeared to gruffly. She emerged from the "cave".  "You do realize that the bite from those creatures is poisonous?  You do realize very very few people have ever survived it?  The saliva should at least be cleaned off your skin so it doesn't get into any of those 'scratches' you have there", she glared at him, daring him to contradict her again. He started to rise to the challenge in her glare, sending a death glare right back at her.  As he shifted to get to his feet, a jolt of pain lanced up his injured leg, causing him to stagger slightly.  I'm done in.  I need to rest and recuperate.  I'll beat her bossy ass later, he thought to himself. While he was thinking she'd gathered some logs and put them in the fire pit and turned her back to him.  She did - something­ - and the logs burst into flame. He grunted and shifted position, no longer looking at her. She took it as permission and set to work, laying out bandages, clean cloths, and some kind of dried powdery herb.  Then she went to the stream to fetch some water and set two small pots of water to boiling by the fire.  She added some things to one of them, he couldn't see what from his angle though, then came back over to him, leaving the other to boil.  She made another trip over to the stream and brought the bowl of clear water with her this time as she settled down near him, laying it out next to everything. "Move this way, human, so I can see better." "I have a name, bitch.  And I'm not under your orders!"  She looked up, annoyance burning almost like fire in her eyes.  He glared right back, equally furious.  After all, he could only take so much bossiness from anyone, let alone a woman!   I'll never be under anyone's orders again but my own! She blinked and sighed, the fire fading from her eyes.  "I... I'm sorry.  I've been alone so long that I...  What is your name?  And will you please come sit closer to the fire so I can see to clean your wounds?  If any of them managed to bite you...  their venom is a slow, painful way to die for humans and People alike." "Mugen", he grunted as he rose, swaying a little.  He walked over and dropped cross legged in the sand surrounding the fire pit, near her. "Sorry?" "My name's Mugen", he repeated, an edge of his earlier anger still tinting his voice. "I'm Riyana.  Riyana Homura*.  You may call me Riya if you like.  I have never seen a human that could fight like you before", she replied quietly. She began washing his wounds, making sure none of the marks were from the creatures teeth as she worked.  No one's dressed my wounds for me since Fuu...  And she was always yelling at me for getting beat up in the first place while she did it, he thought.  He sighed to himself, relaxing marginally.  The quiet's kinda nice.  His mind started to drift. ******************************* She made a paste of the herb powder to add to the wounds while she thought.  That was interesting.  I haven't talked to another person in years.  Mugen huh?  The infinite?**  Ah well.  He fought amazingly well.  She looked over at him while she prepared the paste.  I'm certainly impressed.  She wondered about it.  The way they'd fought together, like they'd been partners for years rather than strangers just met.  The way their moves complimented each other, two different styles of fighting blending easily.  I wonder where he learned that fighting.  It's like no style I've ever seen.  Wild and unpredictable.  She thought about the fire she'd seen in his eyes when he'd locked eyes with her in their death-glare match.  I haven't seen fighting spirit like that in a long time. She finished smearing the paste on his wounds - it would help them heal faster and kill infection and got to her feet, brushing off.  Looking over, she realized he was in another world.  Probably asleep with his eyes open, she thought. ******************************* A tap on his shoulder brought him back to reality.  "Do you want something to eat?", she asked, holding out a bowl of something that like heaven to the hungry convict-turned-ronin. He didn't even dignify the question with an answer, he just grabbed the bowl and dug in. She chuckled softly.  He stopped shoveling the stew in his mouth long enough to glare at her. Is she laughing at me again? She seemed to be, grinning at him from behind her mask, her eyes crinkled at the edges and sparkling in the firelight.  She noticed his glare and grinned harder.  "It's been so long since I've had any company.  Forgive me.  My friend Kai used to eat like you - no manners and shoveling it in like he could never eat enough!" she explained. He returned to his food.  Used to, huh?  He wasn't stupid, contrary to popular belief.  He just didn't always feel like putting forth the effort of acting on what he'd figured out.  And his intelligence usually tended to disappear when alcohol or whores were involved in the equation.  Usually. He lowered the empty bowl thoughtfully.  "That was you in the forest wasn't it?  Singing?  And that place wasn't just a clearing - it was a grave."  The last part wasn't a question. Her eyes darkened and she looked away.  "Yes.  He was my partner in keeping the peace for the villages around here, keeping the monsters and creatures of this forest inside the forest boundaries and away from humans.  And my only friend.  He died to the bite of the alpha... Mazoku***...  There was nothing I could do." He watched a tear like molten gold slide down her cheek and soak into the fabric of the mask that covered her face.  Then he looked away.  I have troubles of my own.  I don't need to add another person's to them, to weigh me down even more. Damn she's a good cook. "Could I have some more?", she looked up again and almost smiled. "Have as much as you like.  I already ate while you were dozing off."  She gestured to an earthen pot next to the fire. He smirked and took another helping.  "Well then missy... I mean Riya.  You won't have any left when I'm through!" Her chuckle reached his ears from across the fire, and he grinned to himself.  I like the sound of that! ****************************   *Riyana Homura;  Homura means flame in Japanese.  Riyana is pronounced like it's spelled - Rii ya na (long i sound like ee).  It doesn't mean anything I just liked the sound of it. **Mugen means dreamless, the infinite, no boundaries. ***Mazoku means demonic of magic being in Japanese.  It is a denizen of hell (or the spirit world).  I thought that an apt description for the creatures.