KINTSUGI ⊳jin sakai x yuna

じゅうし (fourteen)

It's been too long since he has fought alongside other samurai. Not that Yuna's adaptability leaves anything to complain about — but the thrill of metal clashing with metal and blood rushing through his ears is something else. The energy that courses through him when he attacks head on is not in any way above the one he feels when striking from the shadows, but a change of pace was needed. It gives him a boost of confidence he had long forgotten came along with it.

As Jin pulls his sword out of a dead mongol, he turns around just in time to lift the katana. A mongolian spear bounces against the fine blade, his enemy stumbles backwards from the impact.

With a well-placed slash across the man's chest, blood spurting into the air in the direction of his katana, the mongol drops.

Jin risks a glance to his left, where he had last seen Yuna. He can't spot her at first, especially with the battles of the four samurai going on around him. Not until he glances at the ground, and finds her towering above a mongol. With a sound so angry that it sounds more like a tiger's roar, she stabs her enemy in the neck.

"Ronin, watch out! Bomb!"

Perking up at the voice of one of the other men,  Jin sees a black powder bomb land at his feet. More out of instinct than clear thinking, he rolls away from it.

The mongol that had thrown it is a short sprint away, so Jin wastes no time. Sword at the ready, he charges at him. The bomb explodes behind him, all that he feels is a wave of dust hit against his back, and the characteristic bitter-salty smell.

He's not a man of words, but he gets his message across perfectly with just a hack of his katana. Don't mess with me.

It's a message written in the way that he holds himself, holds his sword, and the way blood drips off of him. By the time the remaining mongols pick up on it, it's too late.

Only a handful of them have the sensibility to run away, but that doesn't get them far. Yuna and the young, tall samurai — Kazuro? — shoot as many of them down as they can.

Jin flicks his katana, sheathing it. A cut on his upper arm stings, but he has suffered no other harm. Siding with the strangers was a good idea.

"It would have cost us more time, and maybe even more blood to deal with them on our own." One of the men says, approaching Jin. His voice is low, but warm, and he sounds slightly out of breath. He seems to be the oldest, in his late thirties for sure. He gives Jin a thankful nod of his head, and, remembering that he has to treat the man not as a fellow samurai, but as a superior, Jin bows. "We were lucky to have another skilled swordsman pass through here at the same time as us."

"Thank you," Jin begins, then, he hastily adds: "my lords." He walks over to where Yuna is kneeling beside a corpse and retrieving arrows. When she has plucked the last one out of him, he puts his hand in her reach. He pulls her up to her feet easily.

"You fight very well for a ronin," the same middle-aged samurai remarks. He has kind, soft features, in spite of his weathered skin. His eyes remind Jin of a dog's. "Who do you serve?"

"No one, for now." He says, rummaging his mind for a believable backstory. He finds it so quickly that it shocks even himself. Maybe Yuna has had a bad influence on him. "I used to be a part of the straw hat ronin, under the command of the traitor Ryuzo. When he joined the Khan, me and my wife left." It still feels undoubtedly strange to call Yuna that, but he'd much rather say that than pretend she is his sister. Anything else would sound far from believable. A man and a woman of the same age, which are just friends, and traveling together?

"She is a good archer, especially for a woman." The lanky Samurai, the one he had first encountered, says.

Just from the way Yuna tenses beside him and her brow twitches, he can tell that his words are bothering her. In spite of it, she still manages a convincing: "Thank you, my lord."

"Where are you headed?" The samurai with the dog-like eyes asks. "I believe it would be wise to travel together if we're going the same way."

The unsavory look that the tall samurai shoots the older one doesn't go unnoticed by Jin. Yuna steps in before he can.

"My sister has a farm, north of here." She clarifies. A much better excuse than saying they're headed to Jogaku.

"Ah," the man says. "A shame. We're going south, to Omi village. We're supposed to occupy an estate there."

Jin's stomach flips at that. His estate.

"The one that belonged to the Sakai clan," the tall samurai intervenes, tone weirdly...venomous? His eyes rest on Jin with a menacing frown. In spite of the age difference, Jin feels vulnerable before him. What has he figured out? The young samurai hasn't put his bow away like Yuna has, he still holds it before himself, arrow put in place, but not drawn. It's both a warning and a threat. "What can you tell me about the last warrior of clan Sakai, ronin?"

"Katsuro, please." The oldest samurai says, placing his hand atop the younger one's shoulder. "You have to stop assuming that every man on this island who wields a sword could be the ghost." Apologetically, he switches to look at Jin and Yuna. "He's been paranoid ever since we got here, yesterday. There was a man that came to greet us and show us to our horses when we had just arrived, and all my son did was warn me about how he could be the ghost."

"Father—" Katsuro growls, but the older samurai is having none of it. Under their breaths, they start to bicker. Jin risks a quick glance at Yuna, which tells him all he needs to know. The second Katsuro's suspicion becomes confirmed, they'll have even more enemies on their hand. Something that should be avoided at all costs.

An uneasy feeling settles in Jin's stomach. He feels like he has pig blood all over his hands and he just stumbled across a hungry wolf. The young samurai came looking for trouble, and if he even knew just how close it was...

"Show us your sword, ronin." The young samurai demands, and his father sighs.

Jin catches onto Katsuro's intentions quickly. The blade has the Sakai clan symbol engraved in it, as does the handle, which he has covered with his arm. He must have caught a glimpse of it during the fight.

"Why?" Jin asks, doing his best to appear confused. "I do not wish to fight you, my lord."

"I don't want to fight you." He says. "I just want to see the sword."

"You fought beside him. You've seen it." Yuna intervenes, then grabs a hold of Jin's sleeve. "My sister wants us to make it to her farm by noon. I'm sorry, my lords, but we should get going."

In the blink of an eye, the young samurai raises his bow, drawn so tight that the string creaks. "Sword. Now."

"That's it." His father stomps towards him, arm outstretched to stop him. "Katsuro, they're just commoners, stop threatening—"

He aims the bow at Yuna, lets go of the arrow.

Just a heartbeat later, Jin draws his sword, and breaks its trajectory. The fine wood splits into two pieces which are sent flying.

Part of him hopes that the men don't know what the symbol of clan Sakai looks like. But he knows there is no such luck — he hears the seal of several katanas being broken at the same time.

A wicked smile worms its way onto Katsuro's face.

"And you were calling me paranoid, father."

—

Okay so I know that the sakai clan symbol is NOT actually engraved on the blade, but I saw someone on reddit who had made a custom katana inspired by the one in-game and had added the sakai clan symbol onto the blade. I hope that doesn't break your immersion, it was just me having a little fun with certain details. Let me know what you thought of the chapter, comments make me endlessly happy! Also, many thanks to @ktbl on AO3 for showing me some amazing action scene writing resources!