KINTSUGI ⊳jin sakai x yuna

はち (eight)

Jin sees Yuna lower her bow when he steps into the clearing, Kage trotting behind him.

It's only dawn, but judging by the half-full pot above a few embers she sits beside, she has also been awake for a while.

"You're back." She states, sounding relieved. Jin feels a pang of guilt, aside from the shame that's already resting on his shoulders because of what he had done mere hours ago.

Looking back, he doesn't feel like it was him that acted that way, but an entirely different person. Has he grown so weak that he's become unrecognizable to himself?

He doesn't remember thoughts like that crossing his mind after his father had died, though the guilt was almost as unbearable as it is now.  Still, there are a few key differences between Kasumasa and Shmura's deaths, such as actively participating in his uncle's killing, compared to passively watching his father get murdered in front of his very eyes.

He doesn't know which one is worse.

"Sorry for leaving like that." Jin says, tying Kage's reins to a tree before he sits down beside her. He does his best to stop thinking about what has happened, and focus on what's right in front of him.

Yuna shakes her head. "You're allowed to leave as you please, Jin. You don't owe me anything."

He's silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Didn't I worry you?" He finally asks, to which she just shrugs.

"I saw no signs of struggle in your tracks. I figured you just wanted to take a walk to clear your head." Her back cracks when she stretches, then moves from sitting back on her knees to crossing her legs. "I would've come looking for you if you wouldn't have returned by noon, though."

Jin huffs, releasing the tension he didn't even realize was in his shoulders. He doesn't know why he thought Yuna would be mad.

"The tea's still lukewarm, if you want some. Or you can start the fire again, flint's over there."

"Lukewarm is fine." Jin says as he rises to his feet, takes the bowl from Yuna, and starts filling it with tea. "Have you been awake for long?"

Yuna's gaze rests on him as he returns by her side, them drifts up to the sky. "I woke up when the moon was almost behind the trees."

So about the time he had reached the field, he thinks. Jin brings the bowl to his lips and starts drinking.

They both sit in silence, though Jin occasionally glances at Yuna, who has closed her eyes and laid back on her elbows.

"A storm is coming up." She says out of nowhere, and Jin nods. He can smell it; the air is humid, but also cuttingly clean. "The sunrise is red," she adds.

"Is that how you can tell?"

"Isn't that how you can tell?" She asks with a raised brow.

"No, I can tell by the smell of the air."

"If you say so." She breathes in so deeply that her chest rises an unnatural amount, then exhales. Her expression shows no signs of an epiphany.

"I don't know how to describe the scent to you," Jin says. "It's just not the same one as usual."

They both fall silent again, but this time, it's different, somehow tense. He can feel Yuna's gaze on him.

"Did someone attack you?" She asks, tone careful. "While you were gone."

Jin shakes his head no, then asks why.

"You have blood on your face. And your hands."

Jin freezes, looks down at the cuts across his palms and where his fingers bend, from the way he had gripped the blade. He regrets it now more than ever, that he got so caught up in his own feelings. The lack of reason and rationality from those moments terrifies him the most, if he's being honest.