KINTSUGI ⊳jin sakai x yuna

ご (five)

His entire body feels like it's about to freeze. Jin wakes up drenched in sweat when it barely dawns. He can't remember the last time he felt so tired in spite of sleeping for so long.

The thick coat Yuna had rolled up and used as a pillow to sleep on beside him is gone. So is she. Panic grips him for a moment, before he briefly remembers her mentioning something about supplies and Ichi's inn the night before.

Sighing, Jin rubs his eyes then pinches the bridge of his nose. His throat is dry, so much so that it's uncomfortable to breathe. The wound on his shoulder is pulsing, and when he touches it, he has to suppress a flinch. It's swollen, more than any injury should be under normal circumstances.

"Damn..." Jin whispers through gritted teeth. He needs to find a way to warm up, and fast. The first idea that he gets is the hot spring, but he quickly discards it when he remembers just how much his wounds would sting and hurt from the water. Besides, he's not sure if it would help the building infection either.

Glancing outside, he finds another solution. Kage rests on the ground, legs folded below himself and head laid down in the grass. He must be warm, or at least warmer than Jin is.

He crawls towards the nearest wall, then props himself against it as he rises. There's a limp in his step, but at least the slash on his thigh shows no signs of infection.

Kage neighs softly when Jin reaches his side, lifting his head to look at the samurai. Sighing, he plops down next to his horse, resting his back against the animal's side. Kage only closes his eyes and goes back to sleep, and soon enough, so does he.

·𖥸·

He doesn't even want to remember what he's just dreamt. It's so obscure, so utterly out of this world, that Jin fears he's lost his mind for a few moments.

He wakes up to a cool hand placed on his forehead. He doesn't have to open his eyes to know it's Yuna, but he does it regardless.

"Gods, you're burning up."

It doesn't feel like it, he wants to say, but abstains from it. He still feels like he's running around naked in the Kamiagata snow.

"Come here." He feels an arm snake around his waist, careful to avoid the small cuts on his skin, before the grip turns more stable. He's being hoisted up to his feet, but without Yuna supporting his weight by putting his arm over her back, he knows he would fall like a puppet without strings. "What were you doing out here?" she asks.

"I was cold." He rasps.

He can barely keep his eyes open, but he tries. Yuna has done far too much for him already. If there are any other ways he can avoid burdening her, he'll take them.

Though having to drag him around is obviously nothing new to her.

"Sit here." Yuna instructs once they make it inside the broken house again. The makeshift bed from before is gone, replaced by a mat. "Ichi gave us two mats. Well, the one for you was free of charge, actually."

"She still hasn't forgiven you?" Jin says, though he doesn't put that much thought into his words. If anything, he's stating the obvious, but he would feel bad for keeping silent. Yuna helps him lower himself to sit on the mat.

"She can appreciate what the ghost has done for her."

"What we have done." Jin corrects, then crosses his arms over his chest. It worsens the pain in his shoulder a little, but he can't keep himself from shivering.