Moving In

Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai Champloo or any of it's characters. (Don't really want too either.. too much responsibility)

Chapter 2

"I'm sure it'll be a temporary thing.." Shino stated to Fuu, who had a wary look on her face. That afternoon Shino and Fuu had gone to the Platinum Club and Fuu interviewed for a position as a dancer. Needless to say she got the job. Getting a job that pays well is usually a celebrated event, Fuu couldn't be too excited.. because of the nature of her new profession. "I didn't do it for too long, it doesn't hurt to have this to fall back on." Shino stated with an encouraging smile as they walked into a coffee shop to relax. "I know it sounds terrible and very much unlike me, but I don't regret it."

"I start training tomorrow." Fuu laughed once they got their drinks. "I can't believe this..." The manager of the club wanted Fuu to start training right away, learning how to dance and to work out with the other girls on how "properly" use the pole. One plus about the job.. at least for the moment was that Fuu didn't have to be completely nude when she danced. The manager was very supportive about her modesty, but he did say that eventually it might be something she needs to do in the near future. "I'm a stripper."

"You're a dancer." Shino immediately corrected in a firm tone. "It's a great opportunity. Don't sell the job short, you need the money and there's a lot worse things that you could be doing than this."

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Once at home Fuu took to budgeting her expenses until she got paid. She'd have enough for rent if she didn't pay her really expensive bills early and waited until her first paycheck from the club. It was possible, but her bill collectors would not like it. After budgeting she decided to cook dinner for herself and Mugen. She was pretty sure that Mugen would come home late as usual, but she'd leave him some anyways. It was a little bit of a routine they'd developed during her short time there. She would get home from the diner and cook a quick dinner or leave him something she brought from work. For the most part she was usually in bed by the time he got home from work, but sometimes she'd be watching tv. Either way, he'd eat what she brought him. He'd never say thank you.. She figured that out. It was his way, never really acknowledging that he was grateful for what someone did for him, but she knew he was and that was all that really mattered. He was a pretty decent guy really even if he was a pig and rude. They were getting along pretty well.

Mugen walked in the door, a woman on his arm. 'Gross'. Fuu thought to herself, attempting to hide the disgust of the new skank of the night. "Hi," Fuu said with a bow. "I'm Fuu, Mugen's roommate."

The woman looked Fuu up and down and smiled menacingly. "Hiroyo." The woman clutched tighter to Mugen, who seemed to bristle at the woman's clinginess.

"You made dinner?" Mugen slipped away from the woman to see what Fuu was cooking. "Yakisoba!" Mugen tried to sneak some food, but she smacked his hands away with a wooden fork. "Hey!"

"Keep away from the food, it's not done." Fuu snuck a timid look to Mugen's female friend. "You're welcome to eat some too, if you want." The woman shook her head and shot Fuu a dubious look.

"Mugen took me to dinner already."

Fuu almost wanted to laugh, this woman was trying really hard to make Fuu feel like garbage.. It was working just a little bit, but she'd never admit that. At least not to anyone other than herself. Fuu almost laughed, I don't even like Mugen, he's a stinky, rude guy who sleeps with random girls. 'He's gross.' She decided, 'I do NOT like him.' She continued to cook as Mugen went into the wine fridge a grabbed a bottle.

"Well, I guess we'll see you later." The woman stated with a smile and ascended the stairs hand in hand with Mugen.

'I don't like him.' Fuu stated with a smile. 'I don't.' He probably had some sort of disease or something like mouth herpes... she shuddered. Gross. Mouth herpes.

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Fuu and Shino were going for a run after Fuu's first day of orientation. "I guess I gotta watch what I eat." Fuu stated as they jogged through the city. "Those girls have ridiculous bodies. She mumbled with a tinge of jealousy.

Shino laughed, "Mr. Tanaka wouldn't have hired you if he thought you weren't good enough. I'm sure he just wants you to keep doing what you're doing."

Now it was Fuu's turn to laugh. "So eat like a horse and compensate by constant movement?" Shino nodded and they continued their run. "I will admit that the other dancers are really strong and actually really talented. I can't believe how much acrobatics can be involved. I guess I should be doing push-ups and stuff now because I'm probably gonna need some strong arms."

Shino agreed. "It's weird for me to think that I did that. But I can't say I don't regret it. It was an experience. You'll do fine. Don't over do the arm thing. Working out at work is pretty much enough, went you start doing arm work and pole work at the club, you won't really need to do any arm work at home."

The two women headed back to the penthouse and headed straight to the kitchen. They were giggling and smiling about Fuu's new job, Fuu was grateful she had a friend like Shino, bringing humor into such a strange situation. Mugen arrived at the apartment to see the women in a good mood. "What's up with you guys?" He asked as the two smiled politely. Mugen was carrying 2 paper bags and set them on the kitchen counter.

"Fuu got a new job." Shino stated with a small smile, Fuu blanched and elbowed Shino who then huffed and rubbed her side.

"Really? Where at?" Mugen asked curiously as he grabbed a few forks from the drawer and two cans of soda.

"Oh some place downtown. It pays more than the diner and the hours are better." Fuu stated, trying not to lie. She didn't know why she was being really secretive about her new job.. She just was. She didn't need everyone to know that she was a stripper now. It just seemed way to weird to her.

"I got dinner. You cook too much, so I brought back some Italian food." Mugen stated simply.

Fuu pulled out the food and her mouth watered. "Pasta!" Fuu looked over at Shino, Shino would know what Fuu's diet should be. Shino nodded approvingly. Fuu squealed as she opened up the food. "I LOVEEE pasta!" Mugen smirked as Fuu immediately began digging in.

"You love everything." Mugen stated seriously. "I don't think there's any sort of food that you don't like. You pretty much eat like a cow." Fuu glared at him and stuck out her tongue at the man who grimaced.

Fuu opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it immediately.. she couldn't think of food that she didn't like. Maybe he was right. Fuu just shrugged and continued to eat.

"Well," Shino said as she straightened her hair. "I'm gonna go home to Jin. If you're home Mugen that means my dear Jin will be too. I'll see you guys later." With that Shino exited the apartment.

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A few weeks had passed as Fuu worked at the club. She had learned several new dances and was even performing a few nights a week. Most of the time shewas acting as a waitress, not that she minded. Tonight was a Friday.. That meant big tips from tired businessmen. As much as the guys could get roudy at times, she did enjoy getting nice tips that she got to take home at the end of the night. She laughed to herself. When Fuu first began working at the club, Shino encouraged Fuu to learn how to use her sexuality in her work. Now she understood what that meant.

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"Come on you asshole, go to the club with me." Mugen smirked to Jin. "Unless Shino's got you on a shorter leash than I thought." Mugen looked for any sign that he'd struck a nerve, it was how he usually got Jin to go hang out after work. He had to use the 'you're on a short leash' card. It was a low blow, but it was pretty effective.

Jin frowned. "Fine, but why THAT club? There are so many clubs in Tokyo, of all of them why this one." The pair headed towards the elevator of their office.

"The girls there are hot." Mugen smiled genuinely and gained a distant look in his eyes. "Big boobs, flawless skin, and nice asses... It's like going to skank heaven.. I hope when I die that they send me to a place like that." He laughed and Jin shook his head. "You know what I bet you that a bunch of the guys would love to go too." With that Mugen sent out a mass text for his friends to meet them at the club. "This'll be fun."

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Mr Tanaka approached Fuu as she served drinks. "Fuu?"

"Yes Mr Tanaka?" Fuu placed her tray on an empty table.

"One of the girls called in sick. Can you dance tonight instead of serving?"

Fuu sputtered, but smiled graciously after recovering. "Of course I can." She hadn't planned on dancing tonight, but hey, dancing on Fridays racked in some major money.

"It'll be 2 songs then you'll be done for the night. You'll be the second then 4th to dance."

Fuu smiled. That meant she'd be able to go home really early tonight. "Sounds great."

With that Fuu headed back to the dressing rooms and fixed her make-up and picked out her costume. One of the girls approached Fuu and helped her with her hair. "What dance will you do today?" The woman asked curiously.

"I think I'll do my interpretation of the 7 veils."

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"Hey Tanaka." Mugen greeted his friend as he entered the club. "What's the line up for today?"

Mr. Tanaka smiled. "We have a new girl, I don't think you've been here when she started working here. She's the epitome of innocence. She'll be doing the second and fourth dances."

Mugen scoffed, "Ya right. You know those new ones and innocent ones don't do anything for me." Tanaka laughed and shook his head, Mugen had been coming to his club since he was old enough to legally be inside. When he was in law school, sometimes he'd even show up with his textbooks. He had to admit that while Mugen was a complete creep for showing up so much, he was a smart guy.

"This one is good Mugen. I think even you might think so."

Mugen attempted to change the conversation. "I have some friends coming by too. So you're gonna have a full house tonight."

Mugen and Jin took a seat near the front of the stage. Their friends filed in as the first dance began. The woman dancing was attractive and tall. She spotted the men wearing expensive business suits and set her sights on them. Mugen cocked an eyebrow as the woman mouthed the words of the song to him seductively. Mugen rolled his eyes, but allowed the woman to try to impress him as he downed a beer. After the dance the dancer headed to the back of the stage.

"You guys!" The dancer grinned. "Mugen's here." The other girls smiled and tried to peak, but Fuu paled. She was fully dressed in her costume and had a red veil obscuring her face.

"Oh Fuu, you have to see him." Another danced urged. "He's sitting in the front. He's so hot AND he's loaded. He hasn't been in for a little while, but when he does he tips really well."

"But for you, don't ever get too drawn in by him. He's one of those love them and leave them kind of guys." The other dancers agreed. The music began to play and Fuu headed out towards the stage. Fuu walked out onto the stage and headed towards the closest group of men, moving her hips seductively to the beat of the music. She yanked out one of the veils and tossed it towards the man who snatched it up in his hand.

Mugen watched, not quite bored as he expected with this dancer. She was different than the other dancers, not the typical dancer body or height like the others. She was short and didn't have the huge rack that dancers usually had. She had natural beauty. He eyed her, expecting the dancer to spot him, but she never did. He was surprised, when the dancers saw someone who spoke of money they usually went straight to him, but it was almost like she didn't want to approach his end of the stage. Her movements were seductive and Mugen was sure that he was the only one who could tell that she was inexperienced as a dancer. The woman was down to 3 veils and she had visited all the groups of men excepted his. She tore off 2 of the veils, leaving the one on her face and did a spin on the pole, she did all the moves she could without revealing her identity to Mugen. She might not be very experienced, but she was pretty good. Her body was fit, her skin was pale and flawless and she wasn't bad at all.

As the dance was nearing the end Mugen took out a hundred and discreetly placed it in front of him for the dancer. She approached him and placed the hundred in her petit bra. She eyed Mugen warily as she danced on him, trying not to get too close. Mugen leaned in and whispered hotly. "Not bad, tits are kinda small, but not bad." The woman huffed and continued to dance. "What's your name?" The girl shook her head and continued to dance. He leaned in once more as he watched her body undulate seductively to the music. She's probably pretty decent in the sack. "Tell me your name and I promise that I'll show you what it's really like to be with a man." The woman blushed and he chuckled quietly. "Your entire body blushes even if I can't see your face." The woman swung around him and leaned towards his ear.

"Hitome." She muttered in a whisper.

Mugen laughed. "Fake name, but whatever. I can understand that someone in your business doesn't wanna give out a real name."

Fuu returned to the stage and finished her dance. She went behind the stage, her heart was beating out of her chest. She had to admit she was a little bit excited about the way that Mugen had spoken to her, even if he didn't know who she was. He found her at least somewhat attractive.

Mugen got a call and missed Fuu's second dance, much to her relief, she didn't have anything to shield her face that time. Jin seemed to be a little bit surprised when he saw Fuu dancing on stage and politely went to the bar during her dance. At the end of her dance she went backstage and saw a text message from Jin.

Jin: So this is your new job?

Fuu: Sure is. It's not that bad.

Jin: No wonder Shino was so secretive about it.

Fuu removed her make up and changed her clothes as she always did.

Fuu: She just didn't want you to get all protective and big brother-y about it. You're not disappointed are you?

Jin: No. Sometimes we have to do things that we normally wouldn't when we need the money. Do you need a ride home later?

Fuu smiled as she read the text message.

Fuu: I'm actually leaving now, I don't want to cut your evening short.

Jin: Don't worry. We took my car. Mugen can get a ride. I'll meet you in the back of the building in 10 minutes.

Jin headed out the door and spotted Mugen talking on the phone. Mugen asked the person to hold on as Jin spoke. "I'm gonna go. Get a ride with one of the other guys or something." Mugen nodded and Jin headed to the back of the club.

Fuu smirked as she got in the car. "Does Shino know you're here?" She didn't know whether to laugh or yell at Jin for being at a strip club.

Jin nodded. "She does. Mugen insisted on coming to the club and insisted that I go. Shino doesn't get TOO mad about it." She knows how determined he gets when he sets his mind to something.

Fuu smiled genuinely at Jin, "Thanks for taking me home." She looked down at the floor of Jin's car shyly for a moment. "You don't think he knew it was me do you?"

Jin looked over at the girl knowingly. "No, even I didn't know." Jin admitted. "I will admit that the entire situation is weird looking back on it." He smiled slightly. "The situation with Mugen is definitely more entertaining though. He had no idea that it's you."

Fuu frowned at this thought. "I figured after the way he kept talking to me." She blushed at the memory. Fuu had to admit to herself that she was little bit disappointed that he didn't know that it was her.

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Mugen headed into the club after Jin left, hoping to see 'Hitome' dance again, but she never did. After finding out from Tanaka that the new girl had gone home for the night Mugen took a taxi home.

Fuu was home when he arrived. She was sitting on the couch, freshly showered and watching some cartoons on TV. She looked up nervously at Mugen for a moment before turning back to the tv. "Want a beer?" Fuu offered getting ready to get up from the couch.

"Ya, but I'll get it. You want one too?" Mugen opened up beers for himself and Fuu. "How was work?"

Fuu started at his question and eyed him warily. "It was okay." She immediately turned back to the screen. "No girls tonight?" Fuu blushed at the thought that merely a few hours ago he was whispering into her ear and eyeing her like she was a piece of raw meat. And she didn't know why, but the thought that he wanted to take her alter ego bothered her. 'I don't like him'. She thought to herself once again, that sentance had become a mantra to her lately.

Mugen looked over at Fuu who was glaring at him and laughed. "Not tonight. I just wanna hang out today. I thought I'd sit here with my nagging roommate who bitches at me the moment I get home." He began to laugh and Fuu attempted to suffocate him with a pillow. "Okay, I give up."

Fuu smiled triumphantly and they went back to watching the movie in companionable silence.

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The next day before work Fuu retrieved the mail. She walked through the door and picked out the mail that was hers. She opened one envelope and frowned instantly at the letter.

'Shit...' She cursed silently as she read the letter. It was a bill for $30,000. 'I thought this was taken care of...' She wanted to scream. Here she was, thinking that she had taken care of at least some of the hospital bills left behind, only to tack on $30,000.

Dear Fuu Watanabe,

You have an outstanding balance at Tokyo University Medical Center for $30,000...

Luckily at that moment Mr. Tanaka was calling, hopefully she'd be able to get him to have her dance more instead of waitressing. The difference between the pay she received as a dancer was of course way more than she got as a waitress. Luckily, she was getting paid enough than she didn't have to pick up more shifts, she just needed to dance more.

As she went into her room to talk on the phone Mugen walked into the apartment. He noticed the disgarded letter on the counter and began to read it.

A/N: That is chapter 2 for ya. I know it's been a while since I've written. I didn't really know where exactly I wanted to take this story. So I guess I'll just take it as I go.