Samurai Champloo Fan Fiction ❯ Underneath it all ❯ 3.0 - the day the whole world went away ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: Kichi

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TITLE: Underneath It All 
AUTHOR: Kichi 
PAIRING (if applicable): Fuugen 
RATING: M 
WARNINGS: Spoilers, violence, blood,
gore, death, swearing, sex.   
NOTES: IU haven’t seen all the eps.
Of Samurai Champloo, but I saw the last 3! And this is post-series
anyway ALSO: “Screaming Slave” is a Nine Inch Nails song - Trent I love
you!!! 
ARCHIVE:
www.geocities.com/kichisama666/index.html 
SUMMARY: Fuu finds Mugen after her
escapes days of torture and abuse - Ch. 2 someone comes looking for
Mugen.. Ch. 3 - someone comes looking for Fuu. 
DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned Mugen, but
I don’t, or anyone else in Samurai Champloo - Manglobe has the
copyrights 
 
 
3.0 - The Day the Whole World Went
Away 
     
    When she woke to
the sound of a rattling cough it nearly scared her to death.  Then
memory returned and she sat up.  Mugen lay curled up beside her,
his face flushed, sweat standing on his brow.  She  brushed
his hair back from his forehead and he recoiled, his brow furrowing. 
    “Fuu?” he groaned
softly, his eyelids fluttering as if he was trying to open his eyes and
couldn’t.   
    “I’m here.” She
was quick to assure him.  “I need to go to the stream out back and
get you some water.” she said feeling his pink cheeks and sweaty
forehead.  He was definitely feeling too warm.  He tried to
take a breath but began to choke and she could hear the fluid in his
lungs.  She bit her lip feeling worry begin to twist her
gut.  His eyelids continued to flutter and she felt the beginning
of true fear.  “Mugen.” she said, keeping her voice as steady as
possible.  “Can you open your eyes?” his reply was a weak moan and
a slight shiver and finally his eyes opened. 
    “I- I’m so tired.”
he gasped and she heard a strange squeak when he inhaled.  She
placed her ear on his chest.  His heart was pounding quickly and
she could hear his lungs making the pitiful squeak.  She sat back
up slowly, her expression concerned.   
    “Akina will know
what to do.” she said, her features growing resolute.  “I will be
back.”  Mugen moaned weakly, his eyes sliding shut.  She
quickly brought the remaining water to him and propped his head up in
her lap.  “Drink some,” she urged holding a cup to his lips. 
He drank it down in greedy gulps.  He panted for breath when the
cup was empty and began to choke again.  She pet his hair lovingly
to calm him.  His body jerked against her as he coughed. 
When the spell faded he lay limply against her, gasping tiredly. 
“Just lie still, Mugen.  I will be back soon.”  He nodded
slowly, his eyes closed, his breathing shallow. 
 
     
    She did not want
to leave him.  Everything in her rebelled against it, but he was
truly ill.  And she needed help.  She was not too proud to
admit that she was scared to death and didn’t know what the hell to
do.  Akina lived in the new servants quarters.  She was a
well-respected healer.  Fuu and she had taken an immediate liking
to each other and Fuu often visited the older woman.  It was a
half hour walk to her rooms.  She ran. 
 
 
    Akina was in the
garden when she caught sight of Fuu running full speed towards her
home.  She had never seen the girl sprint like that and
immediately began to run to meet her half way. 
    “Fuu! What is it?”
she cried, seeing the panic in the young girl’s face. 
    “Akina!” she
gasped, and staggered to a halt.  “My.. Friend.. Sick.” she said
between gasps.  Akina left her to regain her breath and went to
gather her supplies.  When she began together herbs she shouted to
Fuu: 
    “Tell me what is
wrong with your friend!”  Fuu wobbled inside, still breathless. 
    “He’s.. feverish..
Coughing a lot.. Chest.. Making a ... squeaking noise.  
       &a mp;nbsp;    
She panted for breath as Akina began to pick her herbs.  “He says
he’s tired and... He was hurt.. Bad.  Whipped- and burned.” 
The older woman gasped and Fuu nodded.  “I took care of that,
but... I knew he was getting sick... I didn’t- I don’t know... what to
do.” she panted.  Akina frowned and finished gathering her things. 
      
           
           
          
 
    Fuu left,
promising to return.  If he’d really wanted to ditch her for her
own safety, it was the perfect time to do it.  But even if he
wasn’t as weak as a newborn kitten he would have been uneasy with the
idea.  He knew he should, but he knew when he wasn’t totally beat
up and sick he was much better protection than her tiny daggers. 
And he didn’t like her having to defend herself, and he knew she didn’t
like it either.  And finally, he didn’t want to leave!  The
only regret about the night before was that he had been too fucking
hurt to do much.  He wanted to make her cum over and over. 
But there would be time for that.  Just then all he really wanted
to do was take a piss, get a drink, and go back to sleep.  He
pushed himself up on shaking arms, groaning in dismay at how difficult
it was. 
    “Fuck!” he gasped
as he finally got to his knees.  Dizziness made him wobble as he
sat up and the air suddenly caught in his throat.  And then he was
coughing and coughing, each gasp for air painful.  So Fuu hadn’t
been exaggerating when she’d said he was getting sick.  “Sweet..”
he sarcastically choked out, his features tight with anger and pain. He
was still for a long time as he struggled to breathe normally and not
choke.  He then struggled to rise to his feet. 
    It was difficult,
and it hurt.  His wounds protested all movement.  He grit his
teeth in pain, sweat suddenly covering him.  But he managed the
normally simple feat and began to stagger to the door.  He stepped
out onto the raised walkway that surrounded the house and was faced
with nothing but huge bushes.  He was relieved he didn’t have to
go far, it would be too difficult and painful.  He pissed on the
bushes and stumbled back inside to see Fuu walking in with an older
woman. 
    “What are you
doing out of bed?” she cried. 
    He shrugged
weakly, and shuffled back to the futon.   
    “Had to piss.” she
heard him mutter.  His voice was hoarse and she winced.  He
swayed a bit as he stopped to stare down Akina.  Fuu hurried to
his side.   
    “Mugen, this is
Akina, Akina, this is Mugen.”  She said quickly.  Mugen
grunted and nodded once as Akina bowed slightly.  He lowered
himself back onto the futon, barely hiding a wince as pain shot through
his abused body.  As soon as he lay down comfortably he began to
choke.  He slowly sat back up and watched as Akina and Fuu hurried
about in the kitchen. 
    “Fuu, boil me some
water please.” he heard the woman say.  He shivered suddenly and
snatched up the blanket that he had kicked off earlier and wrapped it
around himself.   He was slightly annoyed that Fuu had gone
to get help, but figured if she found it that necessary then he
couldn’t complain.  He would put up with the woman until he was
healed, then as soon as the woman left he would rip Fuu’s clothes
off.  He smiled faintly at the thought and gave up trying to stay
awake.  He settled onto the futon and closed his eyes. 
         
 
    He was roused from
sleep perhaps and hour later.  He was groggy and too exhausted to
even want to lift his head. His wounds and his head were throbbing in
agony, the light made his eyes burn.  They eventually got him to
sit up, but he pouted miserably and could not seem to shake off his
lethargy.   
    “Drink this,
Mugen.” He heard Fuu say.  He agreed without a fight, until he
actually tasted what they were trying to give him.    He
nearly shattered the cup as he hurled it and it’s contents to the floor. 
    “It is medicine!”
The older woman cried. 
    “Mugen, you
ungrateful jerk! We’re trying to help!”  Something about that
statement really aggravated him.  He was definitely not
ungrateful.  He knew they were trying to help. 
    “It tastes like
shit!” he snarled. 
    “How do you know
what shit tastes like?” Fuu shot back. 
    “Shut the hell
up.” he bit out. 
    “Mugen!” she
cried, shocking him into silence.  “Enough!” her face was pink
with indignation.  “Quit acting like a baby and take the damn
medicine!”  That got him.  Nothing made him angrier than a
woman questioning his manhood in any way. 
    “A baby?!” he
gasped, incredulous.  “I’d like to see you drink that crap!” 
    “I would if I was
in your place and you were in mine!” she yelled, the older woman hid
her smile as she watched the two of them.  She already had another
dose ready into the cup he had tossed across the room. 
    “Yeah right.” he
muttered resentfully as she handed him the cup and he tossed the
contents back.  They watched him for a moment, and it annoyed him
to be on the spot like that, also he wondered what they were waiting
for.  He cringed and couldn’t prevent the shudder that raced
through him at the awful taste.  Then they went about their work
and he felt sudden exhaustion hit him.    
     
 
    Fuu was avidly
listening as Akina instructed her how to make the medicinal tea when
they heard the jingle of a harness and the clomp of horse hooves. 
Fuu knew that no one searching for Mugen would be so obvious, but she
grabbed her tanto anyway and headed to the front entrance.  Mugen
was curled up on his side, shivering, having kicked off his
blanket.  She was more than tempted to fix that, but had to see
who was outside first. 
    A young girl rode
up on a dark brown horse.  Fuu cursed under her breath.  She
had forgotten that Eri was supposed to come over, she had been much too
distracted.  She rushed out to meet her. 
    “Eri!” she cried
as the girl jumped off the horse. 
    “Hi Fuu!” she
cried then noticed the distraught expression on Fuu’s face. 
“What’s wrong?” 
    “I found Mugen
last night! He’s sick and..he’s hurt.  I totally forgot you were
even coming over I’ve been so busy and worried.. 
    “I can help.” she
said, he expression soft and sad.  “My brother, Sunao was very ill
for a long time, and I took care of him a lot.  For three months
he could do nothing but lay in bed.. Until the day he died, that is.” 
    “I’m sorry, Eri.”
Fuu began, but Eri cut her off as if she’d not heard her 
    “How he managed to
get all the way to town as thin and weak as he’d become, I’ll never
know.  He was determined to die fighting I suppose.  And
someone obliged him.  Someone.. Heh.” she snorted her face grimly
amused for a moment.  “That man wasn’t human, he was a
demon.  I got there just as he was flicking the blood from his
blade.  I started to scream and he turned on me and stared at me
in such a way..” She shivered.  “I never want to see that face
again- it gives me nightmares!  That man would have murdered his
own mother with that frightening look on his face.”  Fuu had a
sinking feeling in her gut that she couldn’t quite define. 
Something about this tale was making her nervous.  Perhaps it was
the calm in her friend’s face as she told the terrible story. 
“‘He got what he came looking for baby.’ the bastard told me.” 
Fuu felt her heart rate speed up. ‘No way, It couldn’t be Mugen she’s
talking about..’ Fuu thought nervously.  ‘The odds of that are
staggering, I’m just being paranoid.’ 
    Nevertheless, she
eyed Eri a bit warily until the older girl smiled briefly.  “I
meant to tell you.  You said you were looking for someone years
ago, and now so am I...” Fuu shook off another bout of unease, and
hoped she was wrong, but that phrase sounded just like something Mugen
would say. 
    “Well,” Fuu said,
smiling.  “I could used the company, he’s totally out of it from
the medicine.”  Eri nodded, smiling and they headed inside. 
     
 
    As soon as Fuu
heard a choked cry leak from Eri’s lips, she knew.  She swung
around to see the girls face and Eri’s eyes were locked on Mugen. 
    “It’s him. It’s
him.” she gasped her face white. 
    “Oh Kami, no.” Fuu
moaned.  Eri lurched forward.  Fuu grabbed the collar of her
kimono.  “Mugen!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.  Eri
was hitting her, screaming, pulling her hair.  Her eyes stayed on
Mugen. 
    He’d sat up as if
pulled by a string.  His eyes blinked in confusion. 
    “Murderer!” Eri
shrieked, punching Fuu to get the younger girl off.  Mugen
painfully rose, his expression growing hard with anger.  He
grabbed Eri and dragged her off of Fuu.  Eri began to scream in
panic.  “Demon! Murderer! Scum! I wish your mother would have
drowned you at birth!” Fuu gasped at the tirade, her heart clenching. 
    “Shut up!” she
cried.  Eri’s gaze switched to her, ablaze with wrath.   
    “And you! I
thought you were my friend! You care so much for a Ryukyu prisioner-
your no better than him-“ she was cut off by Mugen’s large, tanned hand
wrapping around her throat.   
    “Shut up.” he
hissed his face contorted by murderous fury.    
    “Mugen!” Fuu
gasped.   
    “Leave Fuu out of
this.” he snarled in her face.  Eri blinked in astonishment before
nodded rapidly, face turning red.  He released her throat and
grabbed her wrists as she gasped and choked for air.  “Fuu is not
like me.”  But Eri was weeping softly. 
    “I hate you..” she
whispered repeatedly.    “Don’t touch me you filth!” she
hissed trying to break his grip. 
    “Promise you won’t
hit Fuu.” he snapped. 
    “It’s you I want
to kill, not her.” she spat back.  He released her and climbed off. 
    “Get out and don’t
come back or I’ll kill you.” he said as she climbed to her feet. 
Before he reached full height she lunged at Fuu with a blue tanto
raised.  Fuu screamed. 
    He dropped back
down and swept her legs out from under her and raised his foot,
bringing his heel down towards her face with almost inhuman speed and
force.  Fuu trembled in a corner, flinching as she heard a
sickening crack.   
 
 
    She felt his hands
on her as she tried desperately to wipe her tears away.  He pulled
her close as she shivered and trembled. 
    “Are you alright?”
he murmured softly into her hair.  She nodded, not trusting her
voice.  “Then why are you crying?” 
    “She was my
friend.  She recognized you because you killed her brother.” 
She felt Mugen stiffen and draw back.   
    “But-” he began,
confused. 
    “I know.” she
sighed.  “I know.. But I really liked her that’s all.  I’ll
get over it.”  He nodded and rose to his feet and began to drag
the dead girl outside.  A large crimson smear followed them. 
         
 
    He threw dirt on
top of the smashed up face.  He knew Fuu wasn’t really angry at
him, but it didn’t matter.  He had hurt her.  He hadn’t meant
to, but he had just the same.  But what the hell was he supposed
to think?  He woke to her screaming his name, being beaten by
another girl.  He hadn’t planned on killing the girl at all, he’d
seen that she was obviously not a fighter of any kind.  If she
hadn’t drawn her tanto and rushed at Fuu she would still be
alive.  He didn’t regret what he’d done, he only regretted that it
upset Fuu.  He didn’t want to hurt her.  She was the only
person in his life that he could remember that had ever shown him real
kindness.  She wasn’t doing it to gain anything.  Perhaps she
had at first just so he and Jin wouldn’t abandon her.  But he had
made it too difficult for her to keep up.  He had taken every
opportunity to insult her, it amazed him that she didn’t hate him. 
    He sighed in
frustration.  There was nothing he could do about it.  Fuu
would have to deal with it as she’d said she would.  It raised
another argument for his hasty departure, but the only thing that was
going to make him leave Fuu’s side was Fuu herself.  And after
she’d chased him down last night, he was fairly certain she would do it
again. 
    The grave was
filled.  He was exhausted again.  He was covered in sweat,
and his back was throbbing from the whip-lashes that cris-crossed
them.  He wearily trudged back inside. 
 
     
    Fuu was kneeling
on the futon, her back facing him.  He could see her shoulders
shaking.  He felt like someone had stuck a knife straight through
his heart at the sight.  She heard his shuffling steps and
straightened, hastily wiping her tears. 
    “I’m sorry Fuu.”
he said.  He was shocked at how easily the apology had sprung from
his lips.  It had never happened before, but he hadn’t really ever
felt like saying it.  She heaved a sigh and turned to face him,
her eyes red and puffy and a forced smile plastered on.  The knife
twisted.  She immediately read the anguish in his face- she was
stunned to see it.   
    “You don’t have to
be-“ 
    ”Bull shit. 
Your crying because of me.”   
    “No, Mugen-“ 
    ”Yes, Fuu. 
You know she wouldn’t of tried anything if I hadn’t killed her brother
like she said.” 
    “Her brother
wanted to die! He was sick, he was dying! If it wouldn’t have been you
it would have been someone else.” she sighed.  “Now come sit down
and let me change your bandages.”  He scowled but let the subject
drop without hesitation.  He knelt before her and she gasped. 
    “What did you do?”
she cried. 
    “What?” he snapped
back. 
    “Your bleeding
again. Damn it!”  He didn’t know what to say.  He wasn’t sure
if he should apologize again or dismiss it as he usually did, or say
nothing. 
    “I don’t know.” he
mumbled.  She growled behind him and he grinned at the
sound.  It had reminded hi of a kid he’d seen the other day
pretending he was a tiger and chasing a younger girl who ran
screaming.  He’d even laughed at the sight.  A chuckle
escaped him before he could stop himself.   
    “What?” Fuu
snapped. 
    “That little sound
you made.” he said, laughing again.  He glanced over his shoulder
and saw her blushing, trying to concentrate. 
    “Shut up.” she
muttered sullenly. 
 
 
    “I’m going to
start cooking lunch.” Fuu announced when she finished bandaging him
up.  She reached out and felt his forehead and cheeks and sat back
with a frown.  Her almond colored eyes locked with his.  “You
need to rest now, please.”  He considered her request for only a
moment before nodding and lying down.   
    She went back to
the kitchen and began to boil water for rice.  For the first time
since Mugen had re-appeared she wondered how Jin was and what he was
doing.  She wondered if he’d gone to find Shino, she honestly
couldn’t even remember the city they had been in at the time.  Jin
probably remembered though.  She smiled at the thought.  She
hoped her friend found happiness.  She hoped to see him again some
day.  She sighed and began to chop vegetables. 
     
 
    “Why do you fight,
boy? Accept that you belong to me.  Do my bidding as I wish and
you shall not have to suffer anymore.” the man said softly, as if
attempting to console Mugen.    Mugen’s head fell back
as he began to laugh, harshly. 
    “I fight because I
hate you, I despise all of this.  You treat me like some pet- like
a brothel girl- and you want me to accept it?”  He laughed
again.  “Your insane.”  In the dim light he saw the man
scowl, and he decided to push it further.  Perhaps if he pissed
the man off enough he wouldn’t have to suffer his groping hands, or his
unwanted kisses.  He shivered in rage and began to spew
curses.  “You can’t find anyone who wants you so you have your men
kidnap people so you can rape them.  Your fucking sick- I want to
kill you slowly.  I want you to die screaming! I’ll never accept
this- I’ll die first.”  But instead of growing angry the man
smiled. 
    “You are so
beautiful like this, how could I ever let you go?” the man said with a
wicked smile.  Mugen kicked his legs and roared in fury, pulling
against the manacles that bound him.  “Aren’t these perfect? 
I got them from a white trader.  They are made of iron.  He
said I could keep anyone locked in these forever.” he said, lightly
touching the thick, metal cuffs around each of Mugen’s wrists.   
    “Fuck you!” Mugen
screamed.   
    “But as much as I
love your face when your in a rage, I also love to see you weep.” the
man said and in an instant his hands locked around Mugen’s
throat.  Mugen grabbed at the hands holding him and kicked
frantically, but the man had climbed on top of him and sat on his
waist.  He was huge, muscled like an ogre, and as usual Mugen was
helpless against him.  His lungs felt ready to burst and spots of
light popped before his eyes.  When the man released him he almost
threw up from choking so hard and gasping so deeply.  He was too
disoriented to feel his shorts being tugged off.  But he felt it
when the man penetrated him.  He turned his head away in shame and
fought the tears he felt rising.  He knew the man wanted to see
them.  Suddenly his face was whipped to the other side by a brutal
slap.  “Don’t act like you aren’t enjoying this you little
whore.”  Mugen bit his lip. 
    “Die.  I want
you to die!”  He gasped.  “How dare you do this to me!” the
man laughed and thrust harder.  Mugen tried to break free of the
grip on his thighs, the man groaned.   
 
    He was jolted
awake by hands shaking him roughly.  He pushed the hands away with
a cry. 
    “Mugen! Wake up!
It’s me, Fuu!” a familiar voice shrieked.  He lay frozen for a
moment, trying to stop shaking.  He felt her trembling hands
running over his face and through his hair.  “It was a dream, it’s
all right.”  He couldn’t speak.  He could only stare at the
ceiling as he gasped for breath.  ‘It was no dream.. It will never
be all right.’  “Your burning up.” she murmured softly.  She
rose to get cold water and was brought back to her knees and pulled
down into Mugen’s arms.  She melted into his embrace without
hesitation and sighed when he squeezed her tight for a moment. 
His heart was pounding rapidly under her cheek and she frowned. 
What in the name of the Gods had he dreamt of?   
    She had just
finished cooking and had taken everything off the fire to serve them
when he had begun to talk in his sleep.  Most of it was garbled
but she had repeatedly heard him say: “No.” loud and clear.  She
had gone to check on him and saw his face distorted with
loathing.  As soon as she’d laid a hand on him his voice rose
dramatically in volume and he’d begun to thrash in panic it seemed. 
    Again she could
help but wonder what had happened to him and his earlier words came
back to her: ‘Someone might come looking for me.  I- I wasn’t
allowed to leave.’  A fierce protectiveness welled in her and she
clutched him tighter.  Slowly his heart rate calmed and instead of
clutching her like he would drown without her he began to slowly caress
her, and squeeze her gently.   
    When she began to
get drowsy her stomach rumbled, reminding her that their food was most
likely growing cold.  Mugen’s stomach rumbled just as she opened
her mouth to ask him if he was hungry.  She laughed weakly. 
    “I was just going
to ask, but I guess that answers my question.” 
    “Yeah.” he said
softly.  She dared to peek up at him.  His eyes were clenched
shut for a moment.  When they finally opened the pain she saw in
them made her gasp.  She quickly ducked her head and squeezed him
tighter.  He sighed softly and squeezed her back.   
    After awhile she
pushed herself up and headed to the kitchen and sighed when she found
that the food had indeed gone cold.  She set everything back over
the fire and went outside to get more water.  She found the clean
wound dressings and frowned when she realized there was not much
left.  She would have to go out and buy more. 
 
    Mugen wearily sat
up with a ragged sigh.  He hated all this.  The emotions
within that he was apparently no longer able to control.  He had
never felt such burning hatred and misery in his life and he had been
in fits of rage that left him with gaps in his memory.  He had
been in a rage since he first realized how uncaring the world
was.  Since his mother had died he had been allowing more and more
hate into his heart until it had turned his heart into a stone. 
At least he thought it had.  All he had to do was look at Fuu to
know that wasn’t totally true.  Sometimes looking at her made his
heart hurt.  Sometimes he thought it would just pop from all the
giddy joy he was feeling.  Maybe it was the constant flux that was
driving him crazy.  How could someone be so miserable and happy at
the same time? 
    Pain and Misery
was something to hide and push away.  And he was good at it. 
But lately it was getting more an more difficult.  Saké
helped, and he suddenly wondered if Fuu had any in stock.  He
wouldn’t say no if she offered him any.  He heard her rummaging
about in the kitchen and the scent of food hit him.  His stomach
roared in anticipation.  He heard her suddenly begin to swear
after a loud crash.  Before he would have rushed in there to laugh
at her, now he couldn’t even crack a smile.  Part of him had died,
and he didn’t know if he could ever be the same. 
 
 
    “Matahachi has not
returned?” 
    “No, my Lord.” 
    “You said he
followed Mugen after he escaped, yes?” 
    “Yes, Lord.” 
    “Then we can
safely assume he is dead, I think... Take three of your best men and
find the demon, would you?  I paid well for him and would see him
returned.” 
    “Yes, Lord.” 
 
      
     
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