KINTSUGI ⊳jin sakai x yuna

じゅうはち (eighteen)

Yuna doesn't wake, neither that day, nor in the three following ones. While the monks have told Jin to remain patient, he feels like he's a child that has to relearn the concept anew. How Yuna has managed to save him, nurse him back to health, and remain sane, all by herself, he has no idea.

The key difference, Jin concludes, is that it was never her fault that he got hurt. She was always there to save the day, never to get him into even more trouble. Once again, guilt is at fault. Aside from Jin himself.

"The wound is getting better, my Lord," one of the monks speaks up. With his trained hands, he can manage to change Yuna's bandages in less than a few minutes. Jin helps the only way he can: with strength. He holds up Yuna's torso, elbows hooked under her shoulders, to ease the bandaging process. "And her skin isn't so pale anymore. She should wake up soon."

He doesn't even know what to believe at this point. Are the monks lying to ease his pain, or does he want to believe their words so much that he fools himself into thinking he's telling the truth?

"Thank you." Jin sags as the monk ties off the bandage, then moves to stand. As carefully as he can, he lays Yuna back down on the mat. It's difficult to hold and carry her when all her muscles are so lax. Not only because her weight seems to pull down on his joints more, but because it's always there to remind him of his fault.

The floors of the pagoda creak under hurried, pressed steps.

"Sakai!" Sensei Ishikawa pushes the shoji door to the side so hard that it starts shaking. "Pack your things."

Adrenaline rushes through his veins within less than a second. "What's happening, sensei?"

"Five samurai are at the gates. They're looking for the Ghost and an archer woman with a wound on her side."

Shit.

Jin's blood seems to stop in his veins and freeze.

The monk that had just bandaged Yuna waits for no orders, he darts towards one of the corners of the temple, and returns with a basket, which he hands Jin.

Packing is one thing, sure, but where should he go? How can he get out of here? All by himself, he would have managed, but he can't with Yuna. Not if she's unconscious. Not all over again.

He can come up with something, Jin tells himself, he just needs to think. He can take one of the carriages, use that to transport Yuna without undoing how much she has healed thus far. But what if the samurai recognize him?

Sensing his stress, the sensei speaks up. "Stop thinking and just pack. I talked to the sake merchant, he'll try to sneak you out of here. You'll meet him at the northern gate."

Some of his worries melt away at that. "Thank you, sensei."

Kenji is a decent swindler, he'll find a way to get them out of here. Once there is nothing left to say, the sensei does what he excels at: watching judgmentally while Jin packs as much as he can.

Jin starts to stuff some of his kimonos into the basket, along with some of Yuna's. What else, what else? Two mats, food, he needs to take rice with him—

"You knew this day was coming," Ishikawa speaks up.

"I was hoping it wouldn't be this soon."

"The shogunate is as merciless as the Ghost. Keep up." He huffs, then nods at the basket. "Give me that once you've finished packing. I'm not carrying her."

—

"You are welcome to check all pagodas, my Lords. We have nothing to hide." A monk's distant voice says just as Jin exits the small temple, after the sensei. Yuna sags against his torso and arms, but at least she's warm. The blanket they had shared when they had first gotten to Jogaku is cocooned around her. Jin's shoulder is still very much in the middle of healing, he realizes after a few seconds of carrying her. But he doesn't let the pain stop him, if anything, he tries to hold her as securely as he can while also keeping his step light.