Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ My Naga Knight ❯ Chapter 26

When the sun steadily rose back within the sky, Jin made it back to the Cormac Farm with Neda in his arms. Touya trailed behind him, making sure they were in the clear upon reaching the farm once more. Seeing that no knights were nearby, the redhead made his way to the front of the house slowly and cautiously. The weight of his body creaked the floorboards of the porch upon making it up to the front door.

 

Seeing Jin about to open the door made Touya hiss. “Jin! Just leave her on the chair right there, and let's go!”

 

“I don't want her to be outside,” Jin responded, opening the door with his tail acting as an extra hand for himself. The scales rubbed against the doorknob to slowly open it. Ducking his head inside, close to the floor, Jin sniffed the air to see if there was any sign of the human knight. Moving the door to the side to enter the house, he continued to pick up signs of another human within the building. “There is someone else in here somewhere…I can sense it.”

 

Touya cautiously made his way inside behind Jin. Remaining low to the ground out of instinct of being in a human area, he crawled his way to the smell. Moving just around one of the chairs, he spotted the sleeping Lily lying on the sofa. “It's…it's that woman!” He exclaimed quietly, waving Jin over.

 

Jin hurried over towards his friend to spy the elder Lily. Seeing the wrinkles on her face, he was a bit dumbfounded by the extreme change the woman went through. “She is…old.” Being as quiet as possible, Jin moved closer to Lily to make sure he didn't wake her. “I never expected so many moons to do this to her body.” Keeping Neda in his arms, he moved some of Lily's hair out of her face with the tip of his tail.

 

“Once again, Jin, human's age faster. They have a short lifespan.” Touya's eyes shifted over Lily's older form with a shrug of his shoulders. “She isn't that much different. She just has lines on her face and lighter hair. Just put Neda in her bed and let's go.”

 

Even if he had the desire to wake Lily and say hello to her, Jin knew it probably wasn't wise. He also wasn't sure if the woman even remembered him. Catching one last look at Lily, he made his way quickly up the human stairs to find his way back to Neda's bedroom. Making it over towards her bed, he carefully placed her on top of the mattress of her bed. “She should be safer here.” Removing Neda's boots from her feet, Jin got the covers to cover up the slumbering woman.

 

Touya listened to every sound that the human house would make, prompting his heart to beat a bit faster in nervousness. “Alright, she is safe. Now, let's get out of here!” He continued to urge Jin to move out the door until finally witnessing his friend moving in his direction. Standing to the side to let Jin through, Touya took one last quick look in the bedroom before hurrying behind the wind master.

 

“I am sure Lily will find Neda upstairs soon enough.” Jin was trying to reassure himself, as they made their escape back into the woods surrounding the front of the house. When Touya didn't say anything to acknowledge he heard the comment, he thought back on what Touya had said earlier. “So about Suzuka….”

 

Letting out a heavy sigh, the ice master stopped in his tracks to look over his shoulder at the wind demon. “Jin, you're not seriously considering that option, are you?” Ducking under a nearby branch in his way, he continued down the hillside in hopes of finding a safe place for the two of them to lounge together. “When I said that, I was just joking. I didn't expect you to go through with it.”

 

“Why wouldn't I?” Jin asked, following closely behind Touya. “Imagine the possibilities if you were able to walk around as a human.” He was hoping he could encourage his partner to join him on this crazy journey he had in mind. “Think of what you could do!”

 

“It wouldn't be our world!” Touya exclaimed defiantly. Catching the shocked look on Jin's face, Touya shook his head before guiding his fingers through his bi-colored hair. “Listen, Jin, I understand your desire to do this, but I think it is the biggest mistake ever, and I am sorry I ever brought it up.” When Jin didn't respond back, he knew he probably hurt him. Massaging in between his eyes, he tried to reside the pain he could feel in between them. “But I guess if this is something you want to do…I can take you to see Suzuka.”

 

Something seemed to be bothering Touya, but Jin didn't pry into the situation. He smiled to express his appreciation. “Thank you for this, Touya.”

 

“However, Jin,” Touya began forlornly, “if you go through with this, you are on your own.” He waved for his friend to follow him to the southeast. “I refuse to turn myself into one of those creatures for any amount of time. If you become human, I won't follow behind you on this one.”

 

“W-Why not?” Jin asked curiously, grabbing onto Touya's arm to make him stop to talk to him for a moment.

 

Touya was silent momentarily, trying to gather his words as they stood near an upcoming dirt road. “Because I feel this is just something you need to go through alone.” He leaned against a nearby tree to support himself, as his body was feeling awfully heavy suddenly considering the emotional weight on him. “Just promise me you'll be careful when you do this.”

 

Jin was unsure of what to say other than nod to show he would do so. Crossing into the road, they followed it south. The trees limbs towering over their path rustled slightly in the tranquil wind. “I have never been to Suzuka at all. I have heard about him from Dustin here and there but that was it.”

 

“There never is a big reason to ever go to Suzuka unless you want the impossible done,” Touya explained. “I can imagine once Dustin maybe went to go see him for something. I am not sure what for exactly.” The ice master seemed to pause to look at one of the nearby trees, which had an awkward scrape upon the bark. Rubbing his fingers against the mark, he found it to be made by some human weapon. He knew it meant humans walked up and down the path leading to Suzuka's but it didn't surprise him as the man helped both humans and demons. People considered him a wizard as wizards and witches were usually defined as people who worked for anybody and any side. “I am sure whatever he went to see him for was probably important,” he mumbled, as Touya was thinking to himself for the most part. Smelling of the air, he couldn't pick up traces of any knights going by. “Be careful and stay close to the woods. Humans walk up and down these roads for the most part.”

 

“I guess humans need more help from him than anyone,” said Jin, as he did as he was instructed. “I can only wonder what Dustin went to Suzuka for in the past.” He couldn't help but be curious though he knew there would be no way of finding it out now.

 

The woods began to get thicker as the road progressed. Touya stopped towards the end of the road to find one of the trails leading off towards Suzuka's house, though the dirt passageway was almost disappearing completely due to rocks and grass growing over the area. “This way,” he beckoned, ducking back into the woods to try and follow the disappearing trail. “I guess over the years, nobody bothers to keep this road on the map.”

 

“With him being a wizard, I wouldn't doubt it. Nobody holds them in high regard.” Moving some of the naked branches out of the way, Jin noticed things seemed to get a bit darker and drearier the further in they went. Some harmless green snakes lowered from the branches to eye the two demons as they passed. Everything almost appeared as though it were in a swamp with the mist gathering on the ground and all of the plants and trees looking dead. “I could have sworn he was a man of `beautifulness' if I was told correctly by some stories. Why would he live out here?”

 

Touya spread the bushes up ahead to stand aside in attempts to show Jin where the house was located. Everything in the clearing looked lush and green. Fresh mushrooms lined the area and the bright sun shined through the canopy above to light up the small building in vibrant colors. “Does that look beautiful enough for you?” He asked with a bit of sarcasm, as he made his way towards the house.

 

Jin looked about the area in disbelief at how quickly the atmosphere changed. Not attempting to question it, he hurried behind Touya to make it towards the door. “This is all so weird.”

 

“Well, Jin, you can either knock or just turn back.” Touya moved aside so Jin could make his decision. “It is your choice.”

 

Knowing that it would be pointless to come that far just to turn away, Jin turned back to the door to get ready to knock on it only to have his knuckles stop inches from the door when it opened slowly on its own. Confused by that, Jin looked dumbfounded at his partner behind him with his mouth slightly opened. With Touya obviously not having an answer, Jin moved inside of the house.

 

The inside was just as colorful as the outside. Seeing nothing but a hallway before him, Jin cautiously slithered further down the wooden floorboards. The door shutting magically behind him when he got midway there startled him only slightly. Resuming down the corridor, he made it to the room at the end of the hallway. The room was mostly filled with potions lining the shelves and a few beakers filled with different colored fluids. The room was dark for the most part and lit by a few candles here and there. Taking interest in some of the bottled fluids, he about touched one only to have his hand slapped away. “Hey!” He exclaimed, waving it slightly to make the sting stop.

 

“Don't touch that!” Suzuka demanded, making his appearance on the opposite side of the table containing his beakers of potions and concoctions. Stepping closer into the lit candles, the blond haired demon raised his brow at the serpent demon with his blue cape moving forward slightly with his actions. “What is it? What do you want?”

 

“Are you…Suzuka?” Jin wondered, as he had never seen the man up close and personal before.

 

“The one and only,” he remarked, heading over to a weird looking cauldron he had in the room. The almost tentacle looking cauldron opening up when Suzuka got close enough, he began to poor some of the potions and liquids into it. “So what exactly do you want from me?”

 

When the combined mixtures exploded in the cauldron, Jin covered his mouth and waved the red smoke away from his face. “I heard you can make anything,” he managed to get out through his coughs. “And I was curious if you could make me a potion or cast a spell that could turn me human.”

 

Hearing of such a demand, Suzuka paused briefly in his work to look at Jin from across the cauldron. “You want to become human?” He would occasional shift his eyes from the potions in his hands back to Jin. “Is there any reason in particular why?” Before the wind demon could open his mouth to explain, Suzuka halted his words with a wave of his hand. “Maybe this can tell us.” He hand his hands on either side of the tentacle like opening of the cauldron. Suzuka beckoned Jin over with a wave of his finger. “Come here.” When Jin refused to move at first, he said it a bit firmer. “Come-here.”

 

Jin made his way over to the large pot to look into the swirling red and gold water. When he got close enough, the liquid began to stir a bit violently before part of it turned into mist to swirl around to show an image it could sense within Jin's mind. His eyes widened as it produced an image of Neda. “It is amazing.”

 

“Aaah, so you have unrequited love on the other side?” Suzuka wondered, catching the image as well from where he was standing.

 

Scoffing at the notion, Jin shook his head. “No! I don't love her like that.” He turned back to the moving image of Neda. “I was asked by their mother to watch over her and her sister, but she thought I killed them to begin with. I wanted to cross over to get a better idea of taking care of her again and to make sure that I can tell her that it wasn't us who intentionally did it.”

 

Suzuka waved away the picture by gesturing his hand through the smoke picture. “Anyways, if you're that interested to become human, I can easily make a potion for you to take.” Here, he made his way to the large book of spells he kept not too far away from beside his bed. Unlocking the book, he turned a few pages knowing he had a recipe for the potion somewhere. “I never used it often, because it is a type of forbidden potion of mine.”

 

“Forbidden?” Jin questioned a bit nervously. “How is it forbidden?”

 

“It is never meant for demons to crossover into the human world is why.” He ran his fingers over the encrypted text in front of him before turning a few more pages to find what he was looking for. “Here we go!” Memorizing the ingredients, he made his way back over to the wooden table where most of his potions were. “I am afraid the potion isn't going to be long term. When you drink this potion, you'll have a year to spend with this girl and get whatever message you need across to her. I would say that is fair and enough time, right?”

 

Jin watched as Suzuka started to work away at pouring the right liquids to prompt the concoction to work. “It is fair. It should prove to be more than enough time.” He lightly tapped one of the nearby beakers to watch the liquid inside react. “Other than what you said, it is completely safe…right?”

 

Grabbing a few bead like objects and what appeared to be salt in texture and color, Suzuka began to mix the two together in a single bowl in front of him. “It should be! I have performed it a few times in the past. I've been trying to work on making it a permanent transformation, but the potion can be weak without the right things, you know.” He brought in a few more ingredients to add to it before the potion puffed up a slight red smoke to show that it was finished. “There we go!” Waving his hand over it slightly, he mumbled a few words under his breath before grabbing a smaller tube to put the potion in with a cork in the top to hand over to Jin. “There. I would suggest drinking it somewhere close to a town. The transformation may really wear you out to the point you pass out. You will want someone to find you, as you will no longer be a demon but a human, thus, you will be as powerless as one.”

 

Hearing he would lose his powers made Jin nervous, as he took the potion. “What-what am I to do then if I lose the ability to control wind!” He exclaimed between them. “How will I protect myself?”

 

Suzuka made his way over towards Jin to place his hand on the demon's shoulder, ushering him down towards the exit. “Well now, you'll be walking amongst humans! Usually your protection is that in form of the knights. Now, if you need anything else, let me know.” Opening the door with a wave of his hand, he made sure Jin stepped outside. “But right now, I have other things that need to be done!”

 

The door shut in front of his face, Jin turned his focus to the potion he now held in his hands. Eyeing the house once last time, he slowly backed away from it. Slithering over the tall, green grass and over a few flowers, he made it over towards the opening of the dreary woods. “Jin,” Touya's voice called from the other end of the clearing. Jin stopped in his tracks to spy his friend. “How did it go?”

 

Jin showed off the vile in his hands. The liquid swirled about as if it were alive. “He told me it will last for a years time, and that is all I will get.” Knowing that the moon would rise eventually, he hurried back through the surrounding, dead woodlands back towards the Cormac Farm. “I know I have to take this near the farm. She will see me soon enough to fetch my body.”

 

“That isn't a wise idea,” Touya insisted, grabbing Jin's shoulder to stop him momentarily. “If you want to take this potion and be noticed, it is wisest to do this closest to a trade route humans usually take into major towns or cities.” He didn't want Jin to take it right outside of the farm to possibly be out cold and vulnerable for awhile. “Even if your point is to find Neda and talk to her, your best bet would to be around many humans to understand how they act. Otherwise, you'll probably go right to her, and she'll know for sure what you are.”

 

Jin sighed, wishing he could just go right to the source. “So where do you suggest I go to?”

 

Touya cupped his chin as if to think. An idea popping into his head, he grinned a bit before grabbing Jin's wrist and hurried towards the direction of the town he could think of. “The one that you stole the chickens from,” he reminded Jin, as he tried to race against the sun in the sky. “There is a spot not too far from there that I have seen humans travel on. If you use the potion there, you will get spotted and turned into the town.”

 

The two demons raced towards the village, as they had a lot of road to cover if they were going to make it before the ending day.

 

 

 

The sun about to set for the day, Touya and Jin managed to make it to the human town. Hiding in the nearby foliage, the ice master pointed to a stream up ahead that had a small bridge built over it to allow carts to pass over the water safely. “That area is your best and safest bet.” He turned Jin around to have the wind master look into his eyes. “I need you to promise me, Jin, that you'll be okay. For a year I won't be able to speak with you.” Touya hid the fact that, deep down, he was upset he'd have to spend so many moons alone.

 

Jin nodded almost hesitantly before hugging Touya tightly. “I promise I will do my best.” Not wishing to part from his friend too quickly, he knew he had better if he were to walk amongst the humans. Parting from the embrace, he smiled down at the ice master. “Just stay in our nesting spot, and I will try my best to visit you whenever possible.”

 

Touya looked down at the ground beneath their scales before shifting his narrow eyes back up at Jin. “A pleasant lie, that.” A smile was still upon his lips regardless of what he thought about Jin's words. “Now, hurry,” he encouraged with a smile, pointing where Jin needed to go.

 

Making his way out of the bushes cautiously, he held the potion close to his bare chest. Taking in a deep breath, he moved towards the bridge before pulling the cork off of the vile with his sharp nail. Tossing the cork off to the side, he nervously held the vile up to his eyes first. “Here goes nothing…” Moving it closer to his lips, he drank the liquid down quickly. As soon as it made it into his system, Jin could feel his body going through the painful transformation.

 

Throwing the vile off to the side, he grabbed onto his throat while coughing violently. His body shifting into that of a human, his bones began to crunch to mold into the proper shape of one. Digging his nails into the ground, he panted heavily through his nostrils when his serpent half slip in half to make way for legs. The scales disappearing slowly off of his body, his fangs soon did as well as the horn on top of his head. His ears shrunk down to human size as his nails did the same. Feeling completely exhausted, Jin closed his eyes and passed out on the ground, as Suzuka expected would happen.

 

Touya waited in the shadows for somebody to come along to help his friend. “Come on,” he whispered to himself, eyeing Jin's body closely to make sure nothing tried to attack him. Feeling the ground beneath him shake, he hissed lowly to himself knowing the vibrations were that of humans. Gazing over the white bridge, he spotted a rider coming from the opposite side of the river. His narrow, sky-blue eyes shifted back over to Jin's body hoping that the rider would spot him.

 

The peach colored stallion hurried across the land in hopes of reaching the town with the young, male rider on the steed's back. His pale lavender eyes spotting the body of the former wind master, he pulled back on the reins quickly. “Whoa!” The horse letting out a startled neigh, the man managed to keep the horse under control before dismounting to make his way over towards Jin. “Where did you come from?” He whispered to himself. His layered, blond and black tipped hair, which didn't make it into his ponytail, fell down about his face when he examined Jin's body.

 

Continuing to watch from the sidelines, his nails racked nervously against the bark of the tree he was hiding slightly behind. Touya was still very nervous of this idea. With the man so close to Jin's fragile and vulnerable body, he was ready to spring into action to save his friend if the human man tried anything Touya didn't approve of.

 

Looking for any injuries on Jin, the man saw nothing. “Well, you don't appear to be hurt.” Grabbing onto Jin's arm, the man helped the unconscious demon to his feet to help him onto the back of his horse. Seeing as Jin was rather heavy, he merely helped the wind master over the back of his horse gently to allow him to lie over the side of the mount before pulling upon the saddle to situation himself. Heeling the horse in the sides, he headed towards Neldron Village.

 

Touya witnessing Jin being taken into human care made him relieved and worried at the same time. Ducking back behind the tree, he sighed heavily before heading back to their nesting site they had claimed deeper into the woods.

 

---------------------------------------

 

Jin cringed a bit when he was coming to his senses. Slowly he opened his eyes to find everything a big blur. “What-what happened…?” He placed his hand upon his head to massage out the pain he could feel there as he sat up in the bed he was resting upon. A loud barking going off in Jin's ears, the demon panicked at the sound. His eyes widened at the black, Scottish terrier barking at him. Jin was aware of the pets of humans. Dogs that barked usually alerted humans, namely, knights. Forgetting that he was even human, Jin tried to get out of the bed to `slither' off into the nearest hiding spot only to trip over the covers he was wrapped up within to land face first on the floorboards beneath him.

 

Hearing the redhead hit the floor, a middle-aged woman with white hair spun around from where she was cooking dinner. “Oh my goodness!” Wiping her hands off on her apron, she let the soup sit for the moment, as she hurried over towards Jin. “Are you alright? I promise, he won't hurt you.”

 

Hearing the human female beside him, Jin felt his heart pounding against his chest. He looked up and down the chubby woman with long, white hair. She was obviously an older woman given the few wrinkles he could make out on her face. Realizing that the woman wasn't running and screaming in terror at him, he tried to find the human words he had collected in his years. “I-where am I? What is going on?”

 

The woman blinked a bit, confused at his accent she could hear in Jin's tone. It sounded like he was trying to put a lot of tension on almost every other word he said. “You speak with a funny accent, my friend. Where exactly do you come from?”

 

Jin was unaware he spoke with such an accent seeing as Lily never cared to point out. However, with 12 years of no humans to speak to, he did mostly speak in demonic. The realization that he took that potion Suzuka gave him to become human finally dawned on Jin. Raising his right leg slowly upwards to see the covers fall away from it to reveal his toes, he moved each one with a bright smile. Realizing he was asked a question, he bit his lower lip wondering what he should come up with, as he was none too familiar with the areas about Eytheria. “I-um-I don't really remember to be honest…” He added a nervous laugh at the end of his statement, hoping that the woman wouldn't know what he was.

 

“Oh my,” the woman said worryingly. “You poor thing.” She ran her pudgy fingers through Jin's wild, red hair to feel of his forehead. “You must be suffering through amnesia.” She looked up and down Jin with a worried frown on her face. “Do you remember anything? My son was the one who found you passed out with no clothes in the road coming to this village when he was coming home for the night.”

 

Jin knew it wouldn't be wise to speak about the fact he was a snake demon to the human female. “Umm, well, my name is Jin. That I remember.”

 

“Jin? That is a very foreign sounding name,” the woman said. “It sounds like it would be something from the east of the world.”

 

“I know I came from the east sometime ago! I came with my older brother and best friend,” Jin said enthusiastically. “I was really young when we moved in this area.”

 

“Well, my name is Daisy Ellsworth,” the woman introduced herself, placing her hand upon her chest. “So what happened to your brother and your friend?” She stood to her feet, folding her hands in front of her apron she had about her commonly colored dressed. When Jin looked somberly at the ground, Daisy withdrew the question. “I am sorry. Do you remember anything about what happened to you before you passed out?”

 

“I don't really remember anything,” Jin continued to say, not wishing to try and pull together a story he knew he wouldn't remember later. Moving his feet a bit more, he grabbed onto the side of the bed to force himself up on his two feet he now had. His legs began to tremble, as he wasn't used to putting force on two appendages. Trying to stay upright, Jin was unable to do so and quickly fell back down on his backside. This is going to take some getting used to, he thought to himself, cringing from the pain his rumpus took from hitting the carpeted floorboards.

 

“You poor thing!” Daisy exclaimed, running to help him to his feet slowly. “You are unable to walk too? Whatever happened must have really taken its toll on you.” She helped Jin sit back down on the bedside with the covers over his lap. “The doctor was brought here when you first arrived three days ago. He said nothing appears to be broke or anything of that nature. He said your legs are oddly not strong enough for you to really use in some areas, so it may take some practice to get you to build up the strength to use them.”

 

“Three moons ago!” Jin exclaimed in wonder. “I didn't expect to be out that long!” He watched as the woman headed back to cooking, as the pot began to hint it would boil over at any minute if she weren't careful. “What all has gone on since I was out?”

 

Finding his wording odd, Daisy said nothing about it, as she already knew he was foreign. She grabbed a nearby cloth to pull the top of the pot off to check on the soup before removing it from the fire to begin stirring it. “Well, my son, Norris found you, as I said. He came home with you on his horse. He had a hard time bringing you in as you are quite the heavy thing compared to that thin son of mine.” She chuckled a bit at how Norris nearly fell over just trying to get Jin in the house. “But he brought you in and gave you one of his nightshirts to wear to bed. He was watching over you day in and day out when he was able.” Grabbing a clay bowl, she spooned some of the soup into it before handing over towards Jin. “I think he was really worried. You were responsive to some food given to you in your sleep that he and I fed you from time to time.”

 

Jin looked from side to side to examine the first room. He could see the front door, just beyond the dinning room table, from where he was resting on the bed. To the left was a small section for the kitchen that had a clay oven and a small wooden table with a few pots and pans on it. He noticed there was one bed in the main room and that was the one he was on. “So this bed I am in belongs to who?”

 

“That bed is mine,” Daisy chuckled, joining Jin on the bed. “The bedroom through that door over there belongs to Norris when he comes home from time to time or for travelers.” There was another door in the room to the right of the building that Daisy was referring to. “We would have put you in there, but you were way too heavy for a woman and a young man to move.” Blowing on the hot soup, she guided the spoon over to Jin. “Here. You really should eat.”

 

Drinking down the soup, he wiped the small bit that tried to slip from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “Thank you. That is really good.”

 

“I assume you know how to feed yourself, right?' Here, she handed the bowl over to Jin to let him do it himself.

 

“Yeah, I do remember that,” he assured her, accepting the spoon and bowl. He recalled how to feed himself with the human utensil when he fed Neda that one time. It had been awhile, but he was sure he could remember how to do it. Wrapping his fingers about the end of the spoon, he scooped up the soup and got it into his mouth.

 

The front door opening, the young man who found Jin entered the house with a package under his arm. “Hey, mom.” His eyes caught onto the redhead he had escorted to the house a few days ago looking wide-awake. “Oh, I see that he is finally awake.” Norris put his package on the dinning room table before making his way over towards Jin. His hands upon his knees, he leaned forwards to get a good look at him. “It is good to see you awake finally!”

 

Swallowing the bite he was working on, Jin put the bowl off to the side on the nightstand he saw near the bed. “Thanks for finding me,” he managed to get out. “My name is Jin, and your name is N-Norr-is?” He tried to find the right words that he heard Daisy say. He always found certain names hard to pronounce.

 

Noting the accent in Jin's voice as well as his difficulty to speak, he tried not to make it obvious that he found it bizarre. “Yeah, my name is Norris. I guess my mom told you that? It is nice to meet you, Jin.” He extended his hand to accept Jin's for a handshake.

 

Jin was confused. He looked from the hand up to Norris not sure what he was supposed to do. Slowly he slipped his hand into Norris' to have the human's fingers wrap about his hand to shake it up and down. “It is nice to meet you as well.”

 

Turning back to the table where he left his package, Norris picked it up to hand over to his mother. “I managed to find that meat you asked for in the Eytheria Market Square. It wasn't easy, but I found it.” He sounded pretty triumphant in his accomplishment. “And before I forget—.” Norris dug around in his pant's pocket to pull out something Jin almost recognized instantly. “I found this outside of the house one night after some mysterious knock on the door. It has your name on it.”

 

Accepting the book back into his possession, Jin opened his dairy to the first page to see all of his writings were still there from the time he moved from the east. When he continued to turn the pages, a single metallic, blue scale slipped from one of the pages to land into his lap. Picking up the scale, he examined it before smiling to himself. “Touya,” he whispered to himself. Even though the two of them probably wouldn't be able to talk for awhile, the small gesture couldn't help but warm his heart.