Chapter Text
I.
The familiar process of formulating a plan does little to ease the numbness encapsulating Jin’s heart. It’s been less than a half-hour since his messy assassination, and the nausea in the pit of his stomach continues to churn. The next several kills did little to soften that first blow to his code.
Yuna continues to speak about Taka and the tools he could potentially make, and the pressure on Jin’s chest only intensifies. There’s so much to do. He’s only one man…
He barely catches her last sentence and it feels like a betrayal. Leave the island?
Distantly—in the corner of his mind—he’s aware that it’s purely selfish how he almost takes her statement as a personal affront. She is the one who showed him how they can fight back—how they can catch their footing in these overwhelming odds. And now she’s thinking about leaving when so many of their people need help? He opens his mouth, numbly trying to persuade her because please, I need to rescue my uncle…
But he knows, at the end of the day, he cannot force anyone else to take on his burdens.
With a last-ditch, failed attempt at reminding Yuna that this island is their home, he assures her that he’ll meet her in Azamo prefecture soon. He just has to do…so much first.
“I know this wasn’t easy.”
Jin blinks. His mind is having a hard time catching up to her meaning at the moment.
“Going against your code.”
She’s…trying to comfort me? Yuna’s been quite blasé on fighting back without honor up until this point, so these words must be solely for him.
Her own words echo in his mind, if only for something to use in response. “I did what I had to.”
He’ll process what that means later.
But something shifts anyway. Maybe he shouldn’t be surprised. Just because she’s a thief and kills without honor does not mean she lacks compassion. She may not think much of his rules, but she still sympathized with his difficulty to break them.
Even her ulterior motive for saving him does not devalue the fact that she braved the bloodied battlefield in the first place.
Her genuine relief when he’d returned from his failure at the bridge at Castle Kaneda.
Jin had always thought himself open-minded.
Yuna challenges that, and there’s something about her that tells him he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Her quiet ‘thank you’ softens the overbearing weight of his duty—if only for a moment. It makes what he’s done here a little bit easier.
He should thank her for that. Instead, he watches her ride off into the night.
II.
“Where do we hide now?”
Taka’s question grants Jin the perfect segue. The people of Komatsu are scared and cowering, but Jin cannot do this alone. He won’t push them into directly engaging the enemy, but continuing to craft strong weapons for those that can fight is a step towards retaking their home.
He tells them as much, and he watches the flickers of hope spark in their eyes as they step from the shadows of the forge. They believe in him.
He prays he can live up to their expectations.
The crowd begins to disperse and Jin almost lets it go.
“Vengeful spirit?”
His eyebrow quirks up as he addresses Yuna. Her fanciful story was only going to add fuel to the whispers that were already spreading about his abilities. Uncertainty stirs in his belly.
“I think they liked it.”
She’s so confident and sure of herself in this. It makes him want to believe it’s a good idea.
And Yuna hasn’t steered him wrong yet.
Jin feels comfortable with her. Yuna had his back the entire time and he never doubted for a second that she’d do everything in her power to keep him safe. Side by side, it felt like the battle for the forge would unquestionably end in their favor.
They haven’t spent much time together outside of fighting for their lives, but Jin wouldn’t mind that chance one day.
Something stirs in his chest.
He’s certain she must have a good reason for spreading her stories.
She’s proven time and again how resourceful and intelligent she is. And something about her lack of decorum makes him feel closer to her. Like he can trust her.
As she offers to walk Yukio’s wife back home, Jin knows he’s placed his faith in the right place.
Despite the horrific circumstances, he can allow himself the small joy of finding a friend in her.
III.
Jin’s heart flutters as Yuna rides up to the gates of Akashima. If he’s not careful—
Focus, Jin.
The war band behind her is quickly upon them, but the three of them eliminate the group just as fast.
Though the odd tension now almost makes him wish they were still fighting.
As they make their way inside, Jin’s hesitancy doesn’t let up as he’s certain Yuna didn’t miss the way Lord Shimura interrupted her. He’s always known his uncle to be direct—he is the Jito, after all—but his actions have never caused Jin this type of displeasure before. Still, it doesn’t diminish his joy at seeing Yuna so soon again.
With the quiet bearing down on them, he expresses as much.
“I’m glad you came, Yuna.”
“You were an effective distraction.”
No! He barely bites back a comment. His uncle’s rudeness is unnecessary. Jin had already explained how brave and loyal she is on their ride over. Her past actions don’t define her worth. It wasn’t the samurai that saved this island. They wouldn’t be here if not for her.
“A pleasure to serve, my lords.”
Jin grinds his teeth, hating that she’s lumped them together. Just as his uncle had done with her and Ryuzo.
“We need more warriors like you,” Jin starts, hoping that he can smooth this over. Reiterate to his uncle that she’s worthy while communicating to her that he appreciates everything she’s done.
Yuna doesn’t respond as well as he would have liked, so he keeps silent the rest of the way to the lighthouse. He’s embarrassed, and he keeps his face forward, lest she notice the pink tinting his cheeks.
“I put down the Yarikawa Rebellion. Its people have no love for me.”
Uh oh…
“I know. I grew up there.”
Jin’s brain short circuits. A quick glance at his uncle reveals his mutual shock, though Lord Shimura recovers much more quickly.
“Is that where you learned to steal?”
And now is absolutely the time for Jin to intervene before their petty jabs go too far. Neither is pleased, clearly, but at least the results get them closer to defeating the Khan.
Yuna’s leaving, and there’s so much more that Jin wants to say. To reassure her that his prejudices are not his uncle’s. That she’s valued as more than a warrior. But with his uncle stubbornly waiting for him so they can ascend the lighthouse together, Jin settles with a promise to meet her in Old Yarikawa.
The way Yuna’s face softens as she personally thanks him makes it all worth it.
IV.
Yarikawa is peaceful today.
Contented chatter reaches Jin’s ears as the people focus on cleanup, which has been well underway since dawn. It’s late morning now, and he slept way too much. Yuna’s already scolded him once for worrying about it. But that doesn't change the fact that he still has things to do.
Lady Masako is waiting for him further north in Toyotama. Sensei Ishikawa is near there as well, continuing his hunt for Tomoe. Norio needs him at Kushi Temple.
And he still has to return home.
He told Taka a few days ago that everyone has to return home and confront their past eventually. Hopefully helping Yuna and Taka do so will give him the courage for his own reunion.
Jin finishes saddling Nobu and takes a moment to do a last minute check on his supplies.
“Jin!”
Yuna makes her way over, carrying a heavy-looking sack.
“Good thing you didn’t leave yet,” she says, giving Nobu an off-hand pat. “This is for you.”
Jin peers inside and sees that it contains a few days’ worth of food. He looks up questioningly, but she holds up her hand before he can comment on it.
“Just accept it. You need it as much as anyone.”
“But, Yuna—”
“We’ll be fine. You can’t keep giving away part of your rations. We’re counting on you, and I’m not having you collapse halfway through a fight just because you felt like being noble.”
It’s not a shock, really.
Though Jin expected it to be a bigger moment, like in the stories his mother told him as a child.
But the feeling washes over him all the same. A cold shock of lightning followed by a warmth that’s been stoked and tended to the past few months—all of it culminating in this quiet moment.
They’ve shared a lot.
She allowed him to know of her past—all of the horrors and trials she had to face, and stayed strong in spite of them. He’s heard of her and Taka as children, catching grasshoppers in bamboo cages and making them fight. He’d scoffed that they’d dub the losing grasshopper Shimura, but he can’t hold that against them. He isn’t blind to the other side anymore.
Building a kinship with Taka had been unexpected. From playing with leftover metals as a child to trying to be brave in the face of danger now. Their missions together were short-lived, but as the three of them were sneaking through the secret tunnel from their childhood, Jin could pretend he was part of the family. If only for a moment.
He’s glad his disagreement with Yuna hadn’t lasted. He’d let out that sigh of relief when she offered him her sake gourd.
He hopes one day they could drink together again in less dire circumstances.
“Thank you.”
He ties the sack to Nobu while she waits. Jin briefly recalls Master Izo’s words of choosing between duty and himself. He wishes he could spend just a little more time with her…
But he knows what he must do.
“I’ll see you at Lord Shimura’s camp.”
“Good luck.”
Jin climbs onto Nobu. He knows he wouldn’t have been able to say anything else. Not now when the realization is too new.
He gives a final nod to the woman he’s fallen in love with before riding out of the city.
He’ll see her again soon enough.
V.
Jin tells his uncle that he wants to face Ryuzo alone.
But after spotting Yuna across the camp…well, repaying Ryuzo for his betrayal might be a little easier if she’s there.
The shock that they’re leaving hits him harder than he anticipated. He knew it was always a certainty, but the suddenness of it…
It takes him a moment to actually respond to her, blankly stating that he needs her help one last time.
He can feel the walls that he’s built up from years of being a samurai crack under the resignation of her words. You must not show your emotions.
Jin’s heart is already breaking knowing he has to kill one of his oldest friends. He hasn’t fully come to terms with that yet. How is he supposed to also say goodbye to the woman that’s changed his life? The one he loves.
“Please understand...”
He knows he does understand before she even explains.
Yuna deserves a better life—maybe even a chance at happiness. She’s amazing and he wants that for her.
But he tries once more, and even offers to see her off himself. It’ll break him, but at least then they could have a little more time…
She steps closer and he wonders how often they do that. How often do they step into each other’s orbit like it’s nothing?
“All I want…all we need is to start a new life.”
Her brown eyes plead with him to let her go. He wonders what his eyes say.
A new life away from the war is understandable. It’s harder to accept when that means a life away from him, too.
But he would never stop her or try to take that choice away.
He swallows around the lump in his throat. “Thank you, Yuna. For everything. I hope you find peace.”
He hopes his eyes convey everything that his mouth cannot.
Maybe she sees.
Taka steps up and Jin bids him to listen to his sister. It wouldn’t do to have him get hurt after everything. After all she’s sacrificed.
“I can do this alone.”
But I don’t want to…
+
The bustling noises of the preparing war camp muffle the moment he slides the shoji closed. It’s just the two of them now. The room is silent and heavy with sorrow. Jin knows there’s nothing he can do or say to help.
She said she didn’t blame him. And maybe that’s enough to not feel crippled by it all.
Yuna stands and reminds him that Taka believed in the Ghost, as do the people of Yarikawa. They’re all risking their lives for him.
He thinks that—despite everything—maybe she believes in him, too.
“I would give my life for the people of Tsushima…”
She’s so close, and the room’s darkness makes him brave.
“…and for you.”
It’s not the right time and it probably won’t ever be, but Yuna deserves to know she’s cared for. That she’s loved.
That he’ll try not to let her down again.
The slight softening of her features, the glint of realization in her eyes...
She knows. “Let’s hope it doesn't come to that.”
He wishes her well before he leaves, and she promises to see him on the battlefield. A place she shouldn’t have to be.
Jin promises himself that he’ll keep an extra eye out for her.