KINTSUGI ⊳jin sakai x yuna

にじゅう (twenty)

The hot spring isn't too difficult to find, considering the openness of the field. Jin can't say that the lack of trees doesn't feel unsettling, but he tries not to dwell on it for too long.

Instead, he uses some of the cedar wood from the temple to start a fire. He leaves some barley and wheat along with water from the hot spring to soak in a bowl, hoping to obtain something close to porridge. There's nothing he can boil them in, so this will have to do.

Upon having gathered a yarrow balm the monks had given him and fresh bandages, he prepares to undress to tend to his healing wounds. Until he hears a creak, undoubtedly of wood. The cart.

His first thought is that Yuna is finally, finally awake, so he drops everything and makes it to the cart faster than he can comprehend.

He can't believe his own two eyes.

Yuna's approaching the edge of the cart on unsteady legs. The look on her face is one of both fear and focus — she looks like she's trying to figure out her situation and is ready for just about anything to come crashing down on her.

Only the kami know what might have gone through her head as she returned to consciousness, but Jin blames himself at the thought of her waking up all alone.

"Yuna," He speaks, as calmly as he can, approaching her. Her head whips in his direction, and for less than a second, she looks frightened. "It's just the two of us, don't worry."

She exhales at his words, one hand propped against the cart to support herself. "I was suspecting the worst," she admits, moving forward.

"You had every right," Jin says as he watches her advance with anything but her usual ease and light-footedness. He can tell she's getting dizzier with the second, so he puts his hand in her reach. She's too proud to accept it.

"How did you get us—" She hops out of the cart, but in her lightheaded state, she stops mid-sentence, almost tipping over. Jin extends his arms with lightning fast reflexes, and she's quick enough to grab a hold of them. Within seconds, she's steady again, but Jin can't find the courage to let go of her forearms.

She's close. He wishes he could hug her and mentally thanks every deity above that she's made it.

"Careful. It took you a long time to wake up," He half-scolds her for her stubbornness and half-asks her to go easy on herself. Jin dips his head a little lower to get a better glimpse of her face. Aside from the unpleasant look he expects from nausea, he picks up on some pain on her expression as well. "How are you feeling?"

"Just fine," She says, her fingertips lingering on his palms as she retracts her hands out of his hold.

"For how long was I gone?"

"Long enough to make me worry." Jin realizes his words only after he has said them, and rushes to fix them with a clearing of his throat. "For about four days."

She smirks at that in a way that Jin can't pinpoint, but it's both fox-like and sleepy. "Four days is nothing compared to you back in Komoda."

Good to know Yuna hasn't changed. Jin's heart feels like it's swelling with pleasant warmth just from her usual sarcastic tone. It sounds sweeter than any melody he's ever heard.

"I was making porridge." He offers her his arm for support. "Let me help you to the campfire and make you some too."

She still doesn't accept any form of help.

"I'm no old crippled woman. Take care of the porridge." Yuna tells him as she drags herself towards the fire, and Jin follows. He'd never tell her, but he watches her every move with great care, ready to step in if she were to lose her footing once again. No such thing happens, but she still lets out a hiss of pain once she plops beside the campfire.