FicWad

Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai Champloo.

Hurt by FrustratedPhoenix


"Hold still, Mugen!" said Fuu as she firmly pressed a cloth soaked with medicine onto the squirming pirate's torso. "Or your wounds will reopen."

"Shit! That crap burns, Bitch." He yanked the cloth from Fuu's grasp and tossed it across the room. Mugen smirked as Jin slowly peeled the cloth from his face. The silent samurai calmly handed it back to Fuu and coldly glared at Mugen before closing his eyes and leaning his bandaged head against the wall of their inn room.

Mugen groaned as he stiffly reached for his bottle of sake. He said, "This is all the medicine I need." and took a swig. Fuu grabbed the bottle and set it out of his reach. "Damn bitch! Give it back."

"No," she said, "And if you don't behave, I'll smash it." Fuu ignored his evil glare and applied more medicine to the cloth. "You can have sake when I'm finished." She noticed the stubborn set of his jaw and knew reasoning with him was no longer an option. Action was needed. Fuu roughly shoved Mugen onto his back and straddled him. She swiped at his deepest cut as she shouted, "Hold still, dammit!"

Mugen grunted as they wrestled. "Stupid girl, I don't need your damn help!" He grinned wickedly. "You only want an excuse to touch me."

Fuu stilled and gaped at him in wide-eyed astonishment. Mugen acted swiftly, taking advantage of her momentary shock to grab her wrists and pin them together in one hand. He laid his free hand on Fuu's thigh and squeezed. "You didn't have to wait until I was hurt, Sweetheart. Next time you have an urge, ask."

Fuu's mouth opened and shut several times before she shrieked, "Bastard! Arrogant! You!" She wrenched her wrists free, slammed the hand holding the cloth onto Mugen's chest and smirked in grim satisfaction when he yelped.

Mugen laughed as Fuu struggled futilely to pin his flailing limbs. "Help!" he shouted. "Rape! Rape! Help! For the love of Kami, somebody save me from this frustrated virgin!"

Fuu's face burned scarlet from hurt and embarrassment. She leapt to her feet and hurried out of their room, slamming the sliding door behind her to block the sounds of his laughter. She kept her eyes lowered and ignored the smirks and crude remarks from other guests at the inn. When she reached the inn's courtyard, Fuu hid behind a large Sakura tree and quietly wept. Anger soon replaced humiliation. Fuu took a deep breath, wiped her tears with her hands and walked with dignity back to the room.

Voices raised in anger silenced upon her return. Fuu coolly stared at Mugen. Without breaking eye contact, she picked up the sake bottle and smashed it against the wall. Her gaze dared Mugen to say something. Some innate survival instinct warned Mugen to keep quiet, but as usual he ignored it. "What the Hell did you..." Fuu left before he finished speaking.

Mugen would slice off his own tongue before voicing concern over Fuu's welfare, but several hours had passed and her prolonged absence worried him. He growled and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Where is the crazy, little bitch?" Jin arched his eyebrow and stared unflinchingly at Mugen. "Not that I care or anything," mumbled Mugen, "I...I'm just hungry, dammit!"

"Hmm", said Jin.

Fuu returned at dusk bearing dinner, blankets and more medical supplies. "Where the Hell have you been?" yelled Mugen. Fuu ignored him, turned her back to him and began to divide the food into individual portions. "Well?" demanded Mugen. Fuu didn't even glance at Mugen as she plopped his food in front of him. Already angered by feelings of guilt and worry, Fuu's silence further fueled the flames of his inherent bad temper. So, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her toward him. She fell to her knees in front of him as he ordered, "Answer me!"

Fuu remained silent as she glared at him. When he didn't release her wrist from his grip, she used her free hand to press against one of his unhealed wounds. Mugen hissed in pain but didn't let go. Her gaze held his in defiant silence. Mugen dropped her wrist and sneered. "Fine, don't speak. It'll be nice not to hear your whiney voice bitching about the Sunflower Samurai for once."

Fuu resumed serving dinner. Although she kept her back toward Mugen she made certain he could see her select the plumpest dumplings, freshest vegetables and most tender cuts of meat for Jin. She knelt before Jin and presented the colossal serving of food to the quiet samurai. Sweetly, she said, "Jin-kun, your hand still looks sore, let me help." As she leisurely fed Jin, Fuu chatted about her day, the weather, overheard gossip, travel plans, and any other little tidbit she felt like sharing with Jin. During the retelling of a particularly juicy piece of gossip, Fuu accidentally spilled food on Jin. Although she didn't peek, Fuu could have sworn she heard Mugen's chopsticks snap in half when she dabbed at some sauce on Jin's chin.

Jin credited his many years of disciplined samurai training as the sole reason he wasn't currently laughing his ass off. Halfway through the meal, Mugen had given up any pretence of appearing unaffected by Fuu's actions and was completely incapable of hiding his jealousy. Jin had almost choked on a dumpling when Mugen had slammed his rice bowl to the floor with enough force to fling its contents into his shaggy, unkempt hair. It was simply impossible to feel threatened by Mugen's infamous death glare when the foul-tempered pirate was surrounded by spilt food, had cooked rice in his hair and was attempting to eat with broken chopsticks. The stoic samurai allowed a tiny smirk to grace his solemn features as he thought, "The rooster appears to have lost his crow. Tonight should prove entertaining."

Jin held Mugen's gaze for a long moment then turned to Fuu and stared deeply into her eyes. "Thank you, Fuu. I have eaten my fill. Please eat your meal before it grows cold." Jin glanced at Mugen. "I would feel terrible if you did not enjoy your meal after all that you have done for me today."

"Suck up," muttered Mugen.

Fuu smiled. "When has cold food ever kept me from eating? Besides, it was my pleasure," she said, "After all that you've done for me it was the least I could do."

Mugen's eye twitched and Jin barely contained his amusement. "If looks could kill," Jin thought, "I would have died a thousand painful deaths by that glare alone."

"Oy!" said Mugen, "If you're done coddling the overgrown wuss, bring me more food."

Fuu narrowed her eyes, but quietly walked to Mugen and dumped Jin's leftovers into Mugen's bowl. Jin interrupted the heated stare down by clearing his throat and humbly asked, "Fuu, if it isn't too much of a bother would you please bring me some more tea."

She smiled sweetly and said, "Anything for you, Jin." Fuu glared at Mugen one last time before she left to get Jin's tea.


To be continued...