Samurai Champloo Fan Fiction ❯ Twin Souls ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

The day before had come like many others Mugen, Jin and Fu had known. They were all exhausted and hungry, but barely had enough to see to it that one of them ate, let alone all three of them. Taking what little money they had, it was Mugen's suggestion that they try to double it by gambling. Perhaps if their luck really held, they could even triple their current finances.

 

Fu reluctantly agreed and Jin, as usual, did not have much of an opinion. He had learned early on that having just a little money was much like having no money at all, only it was worse. Worse because it taunted you by letting you believe that the situation was better, but yet, you still couldn't afford to eat or sleep decently.

 

The gambling house was easy to find, as the town they were currently in was small, but sufficiently corrupt. Mugen became impressed with their morning's activities quickly after winning a few dice games. Even Fu's attitude was brightening. However, their winnings weren't accumulating the way they'd hoped. They'd been lucky, but even luck is useless when those you're gambling with are as poor as you are.

 

It was then that Mugen overheard the conversation of two nearby men, preparing to walk through a doorway that led to the lower levels of the gambling house. They spoke of a high stakes game that was only for warriors and swordsmen. Instantly, Mugen's interests were piqued.

 

Without so much as a word, he grabbed Fu and Jin by the robes and marched them to the lower levels of the house. The found themselves surrounded by a thick haze of smoke and well over a hundred individuals, all carrying weapons. There was a stage at the front of the room where a man performed a kata of fighting moves. It seemed as though those in the crowd were bidding on him.

 

“What exactly are they bidding on?” Fu asked, suspicious.

 

An older gentleman behind the trio began to chuckle at the young girl's question, but indulged her in an answer all the same.

 

“My dear,” he said, “they are bidding on the chance to fight him.”

 

“Why the heck would they do something like that?” Fu asked, turning to the stranger.

 

Again he laughed. “I can see this is your first visit to our establishment,” he said, wiping a string of spittle from his lower lip. His face was stretched thin and calloused, reminding Fu of overly beaten leather.

 

“They fight to the death,” he continued. “The winner takes home half of the house money that's wagered on the fight. In addition, the warrior being bid on takes home the high bid as his payment for putting his life on the line.”

 

“So lemme get this straight,” Mugen interrupted. “I sign up for free, you auction me off and I get to keep what they pay for me?”

 

“That's right,” the leathery gentleman affirmed.

 

“And then I fight the dude that bought me and if I kill him the house pays me half of what it made on the fight?”

 

“Right again.”

 

“So where do I sign up?” Mugen asked with a confident sneer.

 

“Right here, my boy,” the man said, producing a ledger. “Just give me your name and I'll have you on the auction block shortly.”

 

Mugen happily obliged him. The man took his information quickly, then nodded in Jin's direction. “What about your friend there?”

 

“I must respectfully decline,” Jin said simply.

 

“Oh come on, four eyes,” Mugen taunted, “don't tell me you wouldn't wipe your ass with half the people in here. Easy money.”

 

“We really could use this kind of a boost,” Fu said softly.

 

Jin furrowed his brow. This was not the type of battle he would ever consider fighting, but he was weak to Fu's wishes. There were other ways to make the money, he was sure, but the young woman's pleading brown eyes always softened his resolve.

 

“Very well,” he sighed.

 

“Excellent!” proclaimed the registrant. “When your name is called, please come to the stage. Do whatever you feel will attract more bids. A kata, some sort of display as to your prowess. Remember that the idea is to get someone to challenge you with his or her money. And the more money they pay, the more you get to keep.” He gave them a final wink as he made his way through the crowd, taking their registrations to the auctioneer.

 

They had called for Mugen first. Taking his place on the stage, the well-tanned warrior merely stood there, his arms folded and a scowl across his face.

 

Barely a bid was placed.

 

“Oh come on!” Mugen shouted. “I know you sons of bitches have more in your pockets than that!”

 

Laughter from the crowd ensued. The men before him were all accomplished warriors of one caliber or another, and almost all considered him nothing more than a common street fighter and not worth their time or hard earned money.

 

However, the local street gangs were happy to bid on the vagrant to the extent of their abilities. In the end, a well- respected leader of one such gang had purchased the opportunity to go toe to toe with Mugen for the mere price of five silver monme.

 

“Not even what a whore would make,” Mugen grumbled, hopping offstage.

 

The auctioneer smiled and ushered Jin on the stage to take Mugen's place. Like his traveling companion, Jin had no intention of making a display of himself. He stayed as stoic as possible, looking more like a slave being auctioned than a proud fighter ready to take on any adversary.

 

Whispers and mumbles circulated throughout the crowd. Finally, a familiar voice to the ronin rang out.

 

“I'd be happy to pay handsomely for the honor of killing my master's traitor! One ryu!”

 

It was a fellow pupil of the Mujuushinken dojo. Jin could not remember his name, but could vaguely recall that he was a newer student at the time their master was betrayed. Clearly, this auction was going to give him more than he bargained for already.

 

The crowd gasped at the bid, being that it was the largest opener of the day. Then, from the back of the room, a figure clad scantly in shadow raised a fan.

 

“Two ryu,” it said in a rich, velvet tone. A tone also unmistakably feminine, it too caused the crowd of anxious bidders to pick up their whispers and hushed speculations.

 

The student growled and thrust his hand into the air without hesitation. “Three ryu!” he shouted furiously.

 

Again, the figure in the shadow calmly raised a fan. “Four,” it said coolly.

 

Fu gasped, Mugen choked and Jin's eyes widened. Four ryu would not only buy them a decent meal and lodging, it would sustain them for almost the remainder of their journey.

 

Flustered and beaten, Jin's fellow student clenched his fists and shoved his way through the crowd and out of the house. Clearly, he did not have the finances to continue such an extravagant battle of bidding.

 

“And the winner is Lady Venom!” the auctioneer announced. “Clearly, this will be an interesting match! Remember to place you bets before the fight commences tomorrow morning!”

 

Jin lowered his head and approached the stairs leading offstage. He had never killed a woman, and now one had not only challenged him to a duel to the death, she'd done so and paid handsomely for the privilege. It was enough to make his stomach turn with disgust for the resulting circumstances.

 

He found the winning bidder awaiting him at the bottom of the stairs as he descended. She was slight of frame, wearing a heavy black cloak that concealed the simple robes she wore underneath. When he was within inches of her, she looked upward to his face and pulled the hood of her cloak back to reveal her features.

 

Jin wondered if she was called Venom because of her intoxicating appearance. The woman had an exotic guise to her that could have been mistaken for foreign, no matter what country she claimed as home. Her hair was the color of ebony and was tied back tightly so that not a single strand strayed from its place. Eyes as green as fresh cut emeralds twinkled with a fire that could lure any onlooker to stare into them for hours. She smiled at him faintly with thin but supple lips.

 

“Your price, sir,” she said, her voice an emulation of her appearance.

 

“A moment of your time, if you don't mind?” Jin asked, gently ushering her to the side of the stage and away from the crowd. He had not taken the ryu from her hand.

 

“A strange request…” she said, following him cautiously. “Most of my opponents take their money and run.”

 

“I'm not concerned with the money,” Jin retorted. “What I want to know is why you felt it necessary to spend such an contemptible amount for the right to challenge me.”

 

Venom smiled. “When you were registered, I overheard that other bidder talking about you to some of the other men. He bragged of your skill, and well, my last adversaries have been very lacking. I want a challenge.” She gave him a coy wink, then added, “I hope I get what I paid for.”

 

“I'm not accustomed to the thought of killing a woman,” Jin said flatly. “It might be better if you spend your money elsewhere.”

 

This time, Venom threw her head back in rich laughter. She calmed herself to slight chuckles and locked her eyes with Jin's again. “Please,” she said. “don't be one of those samurai that has a strict moral code of ethics regarding fighting women. I can assure you that there are many women who are either ninjas or assassins, and I can further assure you that I'm not such easy prey as what you may think.”

 

“I am sorry,” Jin said, “but you do not have enough ryu to wipe away my honor or personal ethics.”

 

Venom nodded. “I understand.” She took his hand and pressed the four large gold coins into his palm. “I was hoping you'd say that.”

 

She turned and took a few steps away from him, then paused and turned her head slightly over her shoulder. The eyes he longed to look into again were instead giving their fire to the floor beneath them as she spoke so softly it was barely audible.

 

“You see, if I am to die, I wish it to be at the hands of an honorable man. That would mean more to me than conquering any challenge.”

 

Without time for Jin to protest, she turned back and strode into the crowd, quickly vanishing within the gathering multitudes.

 

“What the hell was that all about?” Mugen asked in a huff, making his way towards the ronin with Fu close behind.

 

“Nothing,” Jin said softly.

 

“Good, let's get something to eat then. I'm starved,” Mugen said with a yawn.

 

“Me too,” Fu chimed in. “I would have never guessed someone would pay that much to fight you, Jin.”

 

“I don't think it's the fight she paid for,” Jin remarked, tucking the coins into the folds of his gi.

 

“Then what was it?” Mugen asked impatiently.

 

Jin did not answer. It was not Mugen's business, nor was it any concern of Fu's. He would take Venom's money and sate their questions with food instead. Yet, inside his mind, the answer to Mugen's inquiry burned like hot iron pressed into his soul.