250So, feeling that they were a waste of effort if I didn't publish them, I've decided to post them even if they do leave my story pretty open ended. Since someone's probably started a fic with a similar plot by now, maybe another author would take an interest in writing a continuation of this one.
Heck, maybe I could do it later on down the road. If all of your reviews have brought this fic back from the dead, maybe if they keep up, I might eventually get back to it. I do still read every one of them after all. ;)
IB
At last! The reviews about Fuu's age can stop, and I can stop looking like a complete bonehead to everyone that reads this. I'm making a stretch, I realize, but it's not totally unbelievable that she's been lying. Even though, I myself am married to a man that is 5 years older than me, I just felt dirty writing about someone who's almost 20 getting it on with a 15-year old.
Chapter 7 Release Rated M
Mugen was in heaven, or at least as close as a man like him could get to it. Fuu was here, in his arms, and not going anywhere. His body was screaming at him to throw her on the futon and do it fast and do it rough, but he was fighting it. If he scared her off now, he'd never have the chance to do things the way he wanted. For now, Fuu would get to be one of the only women that he would ever make the extra effort for. Feeling the uncomfortable bind in his pants, he hoped she was happy.
She touched him cautiously at first, then with more bold curiosity. Mugen smiled into her kiss. She was far beyond any point she'd ever crossed before, and he could tell, but he was far from minding. After a few moments of feeling her soft, warm hands exploring his rough cheeks and hard chest, he decided to push his luck a little. Her sleeping kimono was already untied, thanks to their earlier scuffle, and it hung loosely on her shoulders and around her pale colored chest. Slowly and gently, he moved his good hand down from her hair to the opening in the front. He felt her stiffen, but she didn't object.
Fuu felt his hand tentatively explore the exposed tops of her breasts. Then, it moved slowly under the soft fabric to her left side. She fought the urge to squirm under his tickling touch, but she couldn't resist a shudder. Suddenly, she was very aware of the texture of the fabric over her nipples. Mugen was happy to oblige their demand for attention. Fuu gasped a little feeling his rough thumb brush over the sensitive bud.
"Just relax," he whispered in her ear, and felt her tension melt.
Fuu complied, letting him push the robe off of her shoulders. Mugen pulled away from her soft kisses long enough to take in the new view. Fuu looked up at him questioningly, which only amplified how stunning she looked to him. Her skin wasn't the pale color of the some of the more 'cultured' women he'd been with, but it still stood out in stark contrast to his own weathered bronze hands. He noticed how her normally small breasts were a little heftier than he'd predicted. If she'd wanted his and Jin's (well, maybe just his) attention, why did she bind and hide them?
"How old are you, again?" he asked, not quite believing the last number he'd heard after seeing her in this new setting.
Fuu laughed out loud at the question. "Why? Are you starting to feel like a pervert?" she smiled.
"Well . . ." He hadn't really thought about that tonight. "I just can't believe you're fifteen," he said, scratching his head.
Fuu's smile softened. He was right about her looking a little older under her clothes. Binding her breasts and wearing her hair in the youthful style had sort of been part of her act. She'd always done it at the restaurant because of some of the rowdy and 'grabby' locals they'd get sometimes. The other men that came in who liked her were a little harder about beating the shit out of someone who harassed such a 'young' and sweet girl.
When Mugen and Jin had come in on the scene, she'd just kept it up, so they'd be less likely to start thinking about her . . . that way. Now here she was with Mugen in a very adult situation, and he was on to her. She doubted that a little thing like age had stopped him before with other girls, but maybe he deserved to know the truth about this. Besides, he'd kept her secret this well this long. Surely he wouldn't let Jin know about it now. Even if he did think about telling her other companion, it would put him in the awkward position to explain HOW he'd found out.
"It's because I'm not," she said at last, touching his chest again. He gently grabbed her hand and waited for further explanation. "I'm really seventeen," she explained, getting a raised eyebrow as a response from him.
"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked, releasing her hand and returning his to her side so he could pull her close to him again.
"Because, it's easier to protect a fifteen year old girl than a seventeen year old woman," Fuu stated, kissing him lightly on the lips. Mugen was starting to melt back into his former state of mind, and this was meaning less and less to him. "And, it was easier to keep the secret as long as I was the only one who knew."
'A very logical reason,' his mind hurriedly thought before he returned his attention to her soft breasts. Her nipples' color didn't stand out in the dark, meaning they were probably that adorable pink that he enjoyed. Maybe the next time he'd be able to do this with some light, so he could see her in all of her glory.
Feeling her having to readjust to keep her legs from falling asleep, Mugen opted for another position change. Fuu was lifted off of his lap and he pulled her down onto the futon with him. To his relief, she didn't assume the worst was going to happen and let him continue. Also, to his pleasant surprise, she finished taking off her sleeping kimono, slipping her arms out of it and wrapping them around his chest as she lay up against his lean body.
Mugen exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. This was where he wanted to be. It wouldn't have mattered if they'd been in this situation in the finest bath house in Edo or at a cold wet campsite. He felt her small hand brush over a rigid wide scar in their innocent exploration and stop. As deep and painful as he remembered it being, he couldn't recall, just now, where that particular one had come from. But, the thought did reemphasize in his mind that he was a criminal and a murderer. Maybe Fuu did deserve someone better than him.
But, he needed her.
The lean samurai rolled over onto his side and clasped the hand that had stopped. He pulled it to his lips and kissed the warm soft palm. Fuu smiled at him in the dark and brushed it against his cheek again before pulling his face to hers for another sensuous kiss. He let his calloused hand trace its way down the contour of her body, making her shudder again at his surprisingly feather-like touch. It came to rest atop her supple thigh where he paused to push the kimono the rest of the way off of her.
Fuu didn't know whether this was a good time to start protesting or to trust him. Every nerve ending that he touched felt like it caught fire, and the heat at her core was building. She knew she couldn't stop him now even if her conscience had wanted to. She just hoped that Mugen's body's will power was a whole lot stronger than hers.
Mugen gently pressed her hip back so that she was lying on her back, and he slipped his hand back from her firm hip to her inviting naval. He circled it with his thumb once, twice, then paused before sliding further down the soft flesh. He hadn't broken away to look, but he was fairly certain that the rough hair that he encountered was the same appealing chestnut brown as the tresses that were spilled out on the mattress behind her head.
Fuu's breath caught in her throat feeling him so close to the center of her body's burning heat, and her legs clenched tightly out of instinct. For a moment he didn't move from that spot, then she felt his fingers follow the line that was formed by her inner thigh and prod curiously. Feeling her holding her breath and not relaxing her thighs anytime soon, Mugen smiled retreating and brushed up her side again.
"Do I have to knock?" he teased. Fuu smiled a little, releasing her held breath. Even at such a sensual time, Mugen couldn't resist a snide remark. Her legs relaxed and Mugen returned to his exploring.
He slipped a finger into her forbidden place, surprised when she didn't scramble away from his touch. Her heart was thundering in her chest; he could feel its steady beat against his own chest. He smiled, satisfied at what he found there.
"You're so wet," he whispered to her, as if announcing a discovery that was unknown to her.
"Does that really surprise you?" she asked, smiling shyly. "I thought I already admitted that I wanted you." Her back arched suddenly at the sensation he was creating just then.
"I remember it being mentioned," he smiled, rubbing over the place again and getting a similar reaction. Increasing his speed and pressure, her body arched up to meet his touch again. Fuu's breath came more rapid, and she whimpered in the back of her throat.
"Mugen . . ." she stuttered, trying to catch her breath. "Oh . . ."
"It's okay to make some noise," he grinned, whispering heatedly into her ear. He didn't understand why first-timers wanted to be quiet about it. Was there some sort of feminine dignity he didn't know about? It didn't really matter, he reasoned, slipping his fingers down a little further so his thumb could take its place. They always made some noise in the end.
Fuu gasped, feeling him create a very different sensation. Her body bucked a little under his teasing hand, trying to get him to give what it wanted. After what felt like ceaseless torment, Mugen complied, and Fuu couldn't hold back a soft moan of ecstasy. He was glad she was having such a good time. She didn't realize it, but Fuu was killing him. He paused to readjust his position, but by this point, it was very much in vain.
During the pause, a flushed Fuu looked up at him questioningly. His eyes were closed and his skin clammy with sweat. It hadn't dawned on her until just now how selfish and unfair she was being to him. For her sake, he was sacrificing his own needs for once. She smiled again, gently pushing his hand away from her and sitting up beside him.
Mugen opened his eyes and watched her as she touched the waist of his pants. It probably would've been more right of him if he'd stopped her, his mind was telling him through foggy thoughts, but he just couldn't. Fuu delicately loosened them and went to pull at the hem resting on his pelvis. Feeling like absolute shit, he forced himself to grab her hand and stop her.
"Fuu, don't . . ." he mumbled, but she pressed her finger to his lips, followed by a tender kiss.
"Shhh," she smiled, "It's okay. It won't hurt anything."
As pleasant as the relief was when she slipped his pants off of his lean hips, she had no way of knowing how much more of a challenge the turn of events would present him with. He looked at her to find her staring at her new discovery, and when she looked back at him with a playful grin, it made it even worse.
A penis was nothing new to Fuu. After the many times that Mugen and Jin had gotten the shit beaten out of them, Fuu was usually the lucky person who got to stitch them up. Fuu had seen both men naked, and hadn't thought twice about it under the circumstances. Plus, she'd been in a brothel, and had been unfortunate enough to have gotten up close and uncomfortably personal with them on a couple occasions before Mugen and Jin had come to her rescue.
Mentally exhausted, Mugen tried to relax a moment, but he quickly choked back a startled gasp at the feeling of her warm soft hand on him. "Oh, Fuu," he groaned, sitting up and taking hold of her shoulders. She was testing every boundary of his will power.
Fuu pressed her lips to his half-open mouth and sucked at his bottom lip as she traced a tickling line down his length, making him quiver and his stone-colored eyes roll back a little. Damn, maybe she wasn't as inexperienced as he'd first thought.
"I thought you said you didn't know what you were doing," he managed to whisper, weakly smiling. He felt her smile as she kissed him again.
"Maybe it's just coming naturally," she quoted him. "Or maybe you and Jin should've gotten to that brothel a little sooner, before I had a chance to pick up on a few things."
Mugen would've paid a kings ransom for this kind of treatment if he'd been aware of her 'education' before he'd rescued her. He wondered what else she'd learned during her time there. Or if . . . a thought occurred to him and his mind revisited the idea that he might have gotten back to her too late.
"Fuu," he breathed, "They didn't . . ."
In the dark he saw her shake her head. "No," she said running her free hand's fingers through his drying hair. "You saved me from losing that," she assured him, and he breathed easier. He didn't know if he felt better because the option was still available to him or because he'd genuinely saved her innocence for her sake.
He moved to lay back down, a little more relaxed, but she stopped him. "Don't lay down yet," she said, running her palm down his inner thigh from its naughty point of origin. Mugen was helpless to argue. "You might want to watch," she smiled, backing away from him and moving to face his nether regions as she clasped him again in her dainty hands.
She wouldn't, he groaned inwardly with excitement. To his extreme pleasure, she dipped down to him preparing to do what he hadn't imagined her even thinking about doing at this point in her exploration. Just before her swollen lips touched him, however, there was a knock at the door.
"FuuuuuUCK," he drawled, anger boiling over at whoever was stupid enough to bother them at the absolute worst time EVER.
"Mugen," a familiar voice called from the other side of the door. "Are you in there?" Jin asked. Mugen's eye spasmed with a flutter of twitches at the sound of the dark-haired samurai's calm and quiet voice.
Fuu was blushing wildly as she wrapped her sleeping kimono and blanket around her. Mugen watched her for a second, sighing in defeat, then growling with a new kindled rage.
'Alright, get a hold of yourself,' Mugen thought to himself as he hastily put on his pants and grabbed his sword. Taking a deep breath, he collected himself before opening the door. 'Don't kill him. Don't kill him.'
Seeing a scowl twitching at the corners of his traveling companion's mouth, Jin arched an eyebrow. Mugen saw him scan him from head to toe and felt exposed. "Everything okay?" Jin asked peering around him to check on Fuu, who was just beginning to lay back down with her back facing the door.
"Fine. Everything's fine," Mugen assured him, sliding the door closed behind him.
Mugen quickly ditched Jin back at the room and made his way to the restaurant. When Jin had asked him about the man they had seen earlier, Mugen mentioned that Fuu had seen him too and had screamed when they'd opened the door. The quiet samurai seemed to buy his story about how he'd wound up in her room.
Jin told him that he'd gone down to the restaurant, deciding that he'd needed a nightcap too, and not finding him there, he'd worried that maybe something had happened.
"Damn it!" he muttered, taking a seat at the bar. He needed a drink now more than ever. While waiting for the old man to get to him, he scanned the familiar looking jars, pots, and wooden vessels for something to satisfy him. Sake wouldn't get him drunk fast enough tonight. The occasion called for something stronger.
He buried his face in his hands and felt like screaming all over again. He would've went back to Fuu, but Jin had decided to watch him walk to the restaurant. Besides, she probably would've gone to sleep by now. And, even if she hadn't, there was practically no chance at all that she would want to risk Jin walking in on them again.
"You look like you could use a drink," a cracked voice said, making Mugen look up. Up close, the waiter looked a bit more haggard. His white hair was missing a sizable patch of scalp that Mugen doubted had come from natural balding. One milky eye wouldn't open all the way, probably due to the scar that made a path across his wrinkled brow. And, he didn't notice until the man moved to pick up an empty sake pot that someone had left that he was missing his thumb and ring finger on his right hand. It sort of scared him a little to think it, but Mugen felt like he was looking at himself 50 years from now.
"What'll ya have?" came his broken voice again.
"Whatcha got?" Mugen asked, returning his gaze back to the restaurant's collection.
"Sake's good," the man said half interested. "It'll help you sleep."
"Nah, I'm done with sake for tonight," Mugen said. "What do you have that's good and strong? I wanna feel some pain," he smiled.
The old waiter's face split into a smile that was missing several teeth. Who in the hell would hire a guy that looked like this to work in a place where people ate, Mugen wondered absently as the old man reached beneath top of the counter and retrieved an unglazed earthen pot.
"My own personal recipe from home," he casually informed the samurai, setting a china cup before him and pouring out the clear liquid. "See if that suits you."
Mugen raised the cup to his nose and smelled the mystery liquor. He grinned slightly. "You from Ryukyu?" he asked, making his host raise his split eyebrow then return his smile.
"I take it you've had awamori before?" he said watching as the lean man downed the drink in one dose. Mugens eyes watered at the burning in his gut. "It's a pretty fresh batch; hasn't had much time to mellow," he explained a little too late. "Would you like some water to sweeten it?"
Mugen shook his head, pouring himself another. "This is fine," he said. "I haven't had it fresh for a long time," he said softly.
The bartender nodded. "Kinda makes you homesick, don't it?" he said knowingly. His usual customers would have erupted in a show of coughing and sputtering. But, every now and then, he'd get someone who knew how to handle it, and they all came from the same place.
Mugen snorted. "Only for this," he said after drinking his second, savoring the familiar taste.
The old man nodded. He understood where Mugen was coming from. "So, why would a tough looking shit like you want to 'feel some pain' at an hour like this?"
"Pain is the only thing that helps me think," Mugen said truthfully, setting down the cup and digging out a few coins which he sat on the counter. The old man took them and pushed the pot over the rest of the way to Mugen. Apparently, this guy had a lot to think about.
Fuu slept soundly after Mugen left and to her surprise was awake before the sun came up all the way. The young woman sat up and looked around her, the scattered memories of the previous night collecting themselves at the sight of her tanto laying beside her bed where she'd left it when Mugen had made the move on her. Her light sleeping kimono still hung loosely around her body, just as she had left it when Jin had come in. Had she really almost done what she thought she did?
Fuu couldn't believe that she'd actually been willing to go that far with the Ryukian before Jin had unknowingly interrupted. Fuu smiled at the thought of how Mugen had been so close to being putty in her hands, or had it been the other way around. She probably would've done anything he'd told her to last night just as long as he'd kept making her feel the way she had.
No doubt he'd gone and drunk all comprehensive thought out of his mind as soon as he'd left. But, she knew he wouldn't forget too soon about what had almost happened. There would probably be an attempt to pick up where he'd left off if the opportunity made itself available. Fuu didn't know how she was going to deal with it just yet, but she'd worry about it if the time came.
Getting up and stretching magnificently, Fuu put on her traveling kimono and went outside into the new day for a moment. The air was fresh smelling, cool and moist thanks to the previous night's thunderstorm, and Fuu loved it. Down the deck and around the corner she heard a door open. A moment later, Jin walked down off of the deck and toward the stream that separated the inn from the main road. Fuu watched in silence as he began his morning exercises.
She remembered thinking, before things had gotten interesting, about how she could've put up more of a fight for Mugen if she'd only stuck with her morning routine. It dawned on her again that Mugen and Jin wouldn't be with her for much longer, and she might need to start freshening up on her skills again. After her mother had died, Fuu had just stopped training. And, during the past few months with her bodyguards, she hadn't had the opportunity to practice without them seeing her.
Fuu went back inside and picked up her tanto. A few hours of practice this morning, while she had the chance, might do her a world of good, she reasoned and took off her pink kimono again. She'd be able to hear either of the two men approaching her room in time to hide it away and look like she'd just woken up.
After the trio had long since packed up their belongings and continued on their way, a crazed man named Denkibou, accompanied by his brother, Umanosuke, slid open the door that lead into Fuu's room. Much to their advantage, housekeeping hadn't made it that far yet and the room is still in disarray.
Denkibou crept up to the bed and clutched the thin blanket that Fuu had slept under. After holding it to his face and inhaling deeply, the stooped blond man rocked on his feet, contemplating. He laughed venomously, turning to his brother with an insane smile of satisfaction.
"Mugen . . ." he growled. "Mugen was here with her. It's so perfect," he said, his smile disappearing and almost giving way to tears. "They came close, but he didn't fuck her. He didn't get to, but Mugen wants to. He wants the girl."
"How perfect, indeed," Umanosuke said with a smile. "Revenge will be easier than I'd planned." He let his brother out and slid the door closed behind him. "We'll just have to take her from him, since she seems to mean so much."