Mugen liked to irritate Fuu.

A snide comment, a yank on a lock of her hair, catching the back of her sandal under his geta to make her trip, burping and blowing it in her face. All the little, childish, mindless aggravations that, building up over months of hard travel, can literally drive a person insane.

He liked it because it was fun. Every time he thought he had witnessed every fit of rage, felt every type of blow from her tiny fists, heard every screaming insult she could possibly throw at him in retaliation, she would surprise him. Mugen had now seen her punch a tree (much to her own regret), had been hit in the face with a shoe, a piece of squid, and a broom, and had been called a brainless motherless monkey-fucker.

Mugen didn't know she knew words like that. He was sort of proud.

It gave him a strange thrill when she raged at him. He had thought about thinking about why being called horrible names by Fuu made him happy, but decided that thinking about it was stupid. He liked it, so he did it. Driving Fuu crazy was the highlight of his days.

There was only one thing he liked more, though he would never in ten million years admit it to anyone, and he tried very hard not to admit it to himself. But every so often, usually when he didn't even mean to, he would say something wry or witty or just exactly what needed to be said, and Fuu would throw her head back and laugh. This made Mugen warm in all those stupid, useless, mushy ways that were dangerous and that he hated. But him hating it didn't change anything.

Mugen loved making Fuu laugh.