KINTSUGI ⊳jin sakai x yuna

さんじゅう (thirty)

Something is missing from his arms, from against his chest, from around his ribs. Yuna. She's gone, even though they had both fallen asleep in their gentle, blissful hug. Jin wants to call himself a fool for drifting into unconsciousness instead of enjoying it, but as he shifts in the slightest, he understands that he has other worries for now.

It's the second night he spends without a bamboo mat. Without a doubt, his bones and joints feel even more broken and taut than usual. Jin has got to stop falling asleep outside.

Sunlight shines directly on his face, he sees nothing but the dark burgundy of the back of his eyelids before he blinks. The air's chill from before is long gone, it's almost a little too warm outside for his kimono. Jin figures he'll have to find a merchant and buy a yukata soon, summer is approaching much faster than he thought it would. If it isn't here already. He's not too sure, to be honest. Time has been a distant concept ever since the invasion.

"You're doing good. Just don't hold it so close. You'll risk cutting your nose off with the string when you let go of the arrow." Yuna's voice.

Yawning, Jin props himself up on his elbows and looks around. Through half-lidded eyes, he finds Yuna standing a short distance away, facing the target she had set up for practice earlier, Benjiro in front of her.

"Exhale, let go on empty lungs," She instructs. In spite of his lacking form, the boy has the necessary strength and steadiness to keep the bow taut without even the slightest sway. He exhales audibly, and lets go.

The arrow lands somewhere in the bushes beside the tree, eliciting a few surprised chirps and flutters of wings from nearby birds. Benjiro sighs.

As he steps away, Yuna gives his back a light slap between his shoulder blades. "Straighten up, even after you shoot. It can mess with your aim if you don't."

"I always knew you were better at throwing punches than at shooting arrows. Maybe you should just stick to that." An unfamiliar voice speaks up, warm and soft in tone in spite of its clear intention to taunt Benjiro. Only a sibling could talk like that.

"I'd like to see you hunt a rabbit with your bare fists," The boy retorts as he approaches the bushes and starts looking around for his lost arrow.

"We've got a fishing rod and a river near our old house. We won't need rabbits."

Benjiro clicks his tongue as he descends further downhill, still in search of the arrow. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Jin watches Yuna easily plop down next to who he assumes to be Benjiro's brother, and striking up a conversation with him.

After tensing and stretching his entire body, Jin finds that he feels no need for any additional sleep. While rolling his shoulders, he makes his way down to Yuna and Michio.

At the sound of grass rustling below footsteps, Yuna perks up, and finds Jin with her glance. "Good morning," She greets, giving him a little smile. "Porridge is by the campfire. It should still be warm."

With a thankful nod her way, Jin adjusts his direction towards the dead campfire for his share of breakfast (if eating one's first meal of the day around noon still counts as breakfast).

"I always thought a samurai to be the type of people to wake up before everyone else and give orders for everything." It's undoubtedly Michio, Benjiro's brother, that says it. His tone is low, almost a whisper, with just a hint of his voice evident in the vowels.

It earns a small, sincere chuckle from Yuna. "Don't tempt him," she whispers to the boy. Her laugh quickly simmers down into just a coy smile when Jin settles beside her. Michio's expression goes from amused to guilty within seconds.