Destiny's Hand

Tears And Tea Shops (Ending)

The next few days passed in a blur to Fuu. There was much that had to get sorted out. She knew she had to speak with Keiko and the Chins, no doubt they were worried sick. They needed to know she was alright, but she wasn't sure if the truth was the best remedy. After speaking briefly with Jin concerning the matter she knew that Haru's death had been claimed an accident. She had tried to press him for further details, but as usual he stayed close lipped. She had weighed out her options about telling Keiko the truth, but she was worried it would ruin their friendship. She put herself in Keiko's shoes. What if Keiko told her Mugen had attempted to murder her and in the end was killed because of it? There was no way she could put her friend through that emotional turmoil. In the end, she would have to lie through her teeth to ensure her friend's sanity. Keiko would already be torn over Haru's "accidental" death, it would be cruel to push her over the edge.

She mustered up her courage and went to Keiko's home. Her friend was puffy eyed and hysterical. Fuu spent the day consoling her. Luckily, Keiko was distracted and didn't press into the matter of Fuu's disappearance after Fuu gave her a shaky alibi. Keiko was heart broken over Haru's death and Fuu's heart bled for her. Fuu knew what it meant to loose someone you loved and she didn't wish it on anyone, even if the deceased person was a back-stabbing piece of crap.

Mugen had been wary about Fuu staying at Keiko's for the day. Fuu had not fully healed and she needed to take it easy. He was also worried that Keiko was deceiving Fuu. He didn't think it was that far fetched, Haru and Yoshirou had done the same thing. For all they knew Keiko had been involved in Katashi's conspiracy from the start. He didn't mention any of this to Fuu. When she explained to him where she was going for the day he had stayed silent, taking Fuu by complete surprise. She had readied herself for an all out battle, but he held up no resistance. He had wanted to argue with Fuu and tell her to get her butt back in bed, but he had decided against it. Fuu had more than proven herself a fighter and survivor, she could handle herself.

The realization was hard for him to accept. What had happened with Katashi had shaken him to the core. Watching him gallop away with Fuu was an image branded in his brain as if with a hot poker. He had never had a similar pain as to the thought of losing Fuu, and he had faced death more times than he could count. Somehow he was able to push it all aside and swallow his worries for her. It bothered him that he had made such a rational decision especially since he wasn't quite sure how he came to the conclusion. But his gut told him it had something to do with Jin's speech about priorities.

While Fuu was out he took the opportunity to train. It helped to clear his mind. He planned on spending the entire day doing just that, when he was interrupted by Jin. It had surprised him that Jin was home. The past few days he had been going to Takeshi's from morning until night. He knew that for Jin to have come to find him in the middle of the day, there had to be something big going on. That didn't mean he was going to make it easy, so he continued kicking and hitting at the air while Jin stood silently on the sidelines.

After a few minutes of silence, Mugen halted his movement and stood panting. He gave a quick glance over to Jin and nodded his head. Jin knew this was Mugen's cue that he was actually listening. "There are some matters we need to discuss."

Mugen slid the back of his hand over his brow to get rid of the beads of sweat. "Yea, what's that?"

Jin stepped forward, "Apparently the Yakuza had a price on their heads."

Mugen finally turned his head to look Jin directly on. He moved his head back and started stretching out his limbs, "Is that so."

Jin continued, "Apparently Katashi allowed them to murder and plunder as they saw fit. As we saw first hand they had no self-control. Because of Katashi's influence and wealth, he was able to cover their indiscretions. Now with Katashi out of the picture there are no fear of repercussions. Warrants were issued and a reward was posted."