Jinx hated Valentine's Day.
Of course, this was the first year where she actually had an opportunity to celebrate it, but she hated it all the same. And her situation didn't help.
Out of the ten members of Sigma Six, eight were attached; Duke and Hi-Tech were the first, having inadvertently revealed themselves to the team when Duke had gotten hurt after a mission. Following them were Heavy Duty and Tunnel Rat, who had apparently been together for a lot longer, but had been a lot better at hiding it; that is, until they'd been having an impromptu celebration about their latest victory over Cobra, and Tunnel Rat had gotten too carried away, jumping into Heavy Duty's arms and kissing him. Then had come Snake Eyes and Kamakura—no one was quite sure how that one had come about, Kamakura having a crush on him one day and them being together the next, but even if it wasn't evident to everyone else, Jinx could tell that things had changed. And finally, the one that had surprised everyone was Long Range and Spirit; the two had never conversed much, at least while in the presence of the others, so seeing the two sitting together, Long Range with his arm around Spirit, had been a bit of a shocker.
It was funny; the only two people left single were the only two women in the group, herself and Scarlett. She wondered if Scarlett disliked the holiday as much as she did. She doubted it; Scarlett was a lot more optimistic when it came to that sort of thing, and wouldn't as easily let herself get upset over something so trivial. But Jinx couldn't help it; she hated being one of the only ones not attached on a day devoted entirely to couples. It also didn't help that she knew, had things been normal, that she and Scarlett would have most likely been the only ones attached. Not that there was anything wrong with the fact that they were, but if they hadn't been constantly fighting for their lives together, saving each other, depending on each other—if they were just normal people living normal lives rather than a group of highly trained special operatives that technically didn't exist—none of them would probably be together. (Then again, she doubted any of them would know each other, but that wasn't what was important.) And that wasn't even the worst part. No, the worst part was Kamakura trying to comfort her about the whole ordeal; it made it seem even stupider than she knew it was. He told her things like 'It's OK to be single on Valentine's Day' and 'It's not like there's going to be a celebration or anything.', things she already knew and really didn't want to be reminded of. She knew he meant well, but she wished he would just leave her be.
Or maybe the worst part was not knowing you were one of the only single people around, but having the fact proven for you wherever you went.
She didn't always mind living in such close quarters with her teammates, mostly because she could always find somewhere else to sleep if she needed to (such was the advantage of being a ninja). However, the R.O.C.C was not the place to be when you wanted to be alone. Everywhere you went, you were practically tripping over someone; or, in this case, two people.
The place she knew to avoid like the plague right off the bat was the computer room. Not that she ever had a reason to go in there in the first place, but that day gave her an even better reason to avoid it; Duke and Hi-Tech had practically barricaded themselves inside of the room, with no signs of coming out any time soon. She also knew that avoiding the front of the vehicle was probably a good idea, because that was Long Range's usual hide out, and today that meant Spirit was with him. Unfortunately, one thing she couldn't avoid was running into Heavy Duty and Tunnel Rat on her way out; they had occupied the conference room, Tunnel Rat lying with his head in Heavy Duty's lap, occasionally reaching up to feed him a chocolate from the half empty box sitting nearby. They were talking, but their voices were too low to hear, which Jinx was thankful for. The less romantic drivel she had to listen to today, the better. She quickly evacuated the room, and therefore the vehicle, eager to escape the suffocating atmosphere. She hated seeing couples everywhere. She hated them all being so romantic.
She hated Valentine's Day.
Jinx had no idea how long she walked, but it was a long time. Admittedly, she didn't get very far, but that was because she was going so slowly; normally she would have just run the way, but she thought better when she was walking.
She was somewhere in the small woods they had parked near. Small as it was, there were plenty of trees, and they all but entirely blocked out the light; small streams passed through the thick canopy, dotting the path with light, but aside from that, it was almost completely dark. It gave the illusion of walking through the woods at night, which she enjoyed. She'd always loved to walk at night. Everything was calm, tranquil. She could almost forget what day it was.
Almost.
Her tranquility was ruined when she heard voices coming towards her. Or rather, one voice. One very familiar voice. In an effort to avoid having to run into them and make things awkward, she retreated into the foliage.
"...I don't know, sensei. She seemed upset." Jinx heard Kamakura say, just as he got into her range of sight. He was walking, hand in hand, with Snake Eyes, although they were doing it rather discreetly. Snake Eyes put his hand on Kamakura's shoulder, in a reassuring manner, as though telling him not to worry about it. He sighed. "I know. It's none of my business." Snake Eyes nodded, taking his hand once again.
Once Jinx was sure they were gone, she walked back onto the path, looking at the ground. There was a sick feeling in her stomach. She hated causing so much trouble for them. She hated being a burden. But she hated being the odd-one-out even more.
The walk back to the R.O.C.C was quicker, and not nearly as calming. She didn't want to run into any other happy couples on the way.
"Um...Scarlett?"
The red haired woman looked up from her book, absentmindedly placing her bookmark back between the pages.
"Whad'ya need, Kamakura?" she asked, setting the book on the table in front of her, secretly hoping that whatever it was, it wouldn't take very long. She was reaching the critical point of her murder mystery novel and was dying to reach the end.
"It's about Jinx." he replied, leaning against the wall. She was still getting used to seeing him walk around without his mask on; until a couple of weeks ago, she'd had no idea what he looked like under it. Now he rarely wore it outside of missions. "She's upset."
"About what?" she asked, thinking she already knew the answer.
"About...all of us guys being attached." he replied. "I tried to talk to her about it, but I didn't help. I thought you would probably be able to talk to her more effectively." he explained. Scarlett smiled.
"She probably just needs somebody she can relate to better to talk to." she replied. "I'll see what I can do to help." Kamakura smiled.
"Thanks, Scarlett." he said. "I appreciate it."
"No need to thank me. I'm always willing to help." she replied. "Any idea where she is now?" she asked. Kamakura shook his head.
"I haven't seen her all morning." he replied. "I think she wanted to avoid all of us." Scarlett nodded. She understood the feeling. It wasn't easy being a single woman essentially living with a group of attached men. Especially men who were attached to each other.
Jinx kicked a stone away from the R.O.C.C, her arms crossed as she stared at the horizon, her eyes unfocused and cloudy, deep in thought. There was a definite bite to the air, but like Snake Eyes and Kamakura, she could barely feel it anymore.
"Jinx?"
The kunoichi snapped back to her senses, turning around after hearing her name called. She forced a smile when she saw Scarlett approaching, wearing a heavy sweater.
"Are you OK out here wearing just that?" the older woman asked.
"Yeah. I'm used to the cold." she replied. "During training we usually have to live high in the mountains, and the temperatures were really low, so we had to get used to it really quickly. It was much colder than this." she explained. Scarlett chuckled.
"Right. Ninja. I sometimes forget that you're one of Snake Eyes' apprentices." she said. Jinx smiled, somewhat awkwardly. "Sorry, that was supposed to be a compliment. I just meant that you always strike me as such a normal person. Kamakura, too. It's hard to believe you two have been training for years, and that you're such good fighters, just by talking to you." she explained. Jinx smiled, this time sincerely.
"Thanks, Scarlett. I always try to make sure I don't get too caught up in sensei's lessons that I start acting differently. It's probably pretty unprofessional of me, but sensei seems to approve, so." She shrugged, her eyes wandering back to the horizon. Scarlett leaned back against the R.O.C.C like Jinx was, staring at the same spot, more because she was trying to think of what to say to Jinx than because of any actual desire to. "...Scarlett?"
Apparently, she didn't have to wait for long.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Do you ever feel weird about being single because of the guys?" she asked.
"Sometimes." Scarlett admitted, crossing her arms. "I guess it's more because I've been with them for a long time and didn't think any of them would ever get together, though. None of them ever really struck me as gay. Except for maybe Tunnel Rat, and even that's sort of a stretch. It's kind of disappointing, I guess, knowing that I won't be getting into a relationship any time soon." she said, sighing sadly. Jinx looked to her feet.
"You don't think it would be possible to have a relationship with someone outside the team?" she asked. Scarlett shrugged.
"Some have managed it." she replied. "It usually ends badly, though, or the person would leave the Joe's so they could actually have a normal life with that person. It's hard to keep a relationship when you're practically in a different place every day, and you never know if you're going to come back alive." she explained. Jinx's face fell, then gained an expression of realization. She looked up at Scarlett.
"Did that happen to you?" she asked. Scarlett smiled, sadly but fondly.
"Once." she replied. "But that was a long time ago. It's not a big deal." she assured her. "But what I do know is that you shouldn't get worked up about being single. I know it can get frustrating, but your time will come." she said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Jinx smiled.
"Thanks, Scarlett. It's just...I guess I kind of feel left out." she explained. "Kamakura and I used to be inseparable, but ever since he and sensei became a couple, I've been sort of on my own, I guess." Scarlett gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"People can sometimes be like that when they become a couple. It can be hard for them to focus on anything but each other. But once they get used to it, things'll become more normal. It won't be like things used to be, but it'll be better. I promise." she said. "We'll just have to put up with being the singles for now." She winked at the apprentice, who laughed. "Feeling better now?" she asked. Jinx nodded.
"A lot. Thanks." she said. Scarlett smiled at her.
"Not a problem." she replied, stepping away from the vehicle. "I'd better get going. On the off chance Long Range comes out here, I wouldn't want him to see me leaning on his baby." she said. She turned to walk away, intent on getting back to her book.
"Scarlett?"
She turned back towards Jinx when she heard her name called.
"Happy Valentine's Day." the young ninja said, giving her a little wave. Scarlett waved back.
"Happy Valentine's Day."
After her conversation with Scarlett, Jinx had returned to the tranquility of the forest. Now that the worry of running into her teammates had lifted, she felt it was safe to walk through the dense trees again. It was snowing now, very lightly; or maybe it was snowing heavily and only a little could slip through the dense leaves. Either way, it was beautiful. Every now and again, she'd stop and catch snowflakes on her tongue, something she hadn't done since she was a little girl.
"Hey, Jinx!"
She turned around upon hearing her name, to see Kamakura (alone, thankfully) rushing up to her. Once close enough, he smiled and handed her an envelope.
"Scarlett told me to give you this." he explained, as she took it.
"Thanks, Kamakura." she said.
"So...you're not, uh..."
"Pouting? No, I feel a lot better." she replied. "Valentine's Day is just another day of the year, after all. No need to get so high-maintenance over it." Kamakura smiled even wider.
"Glad to hear it." he said. "I'm going to, uh, go back to—"
"Sensei?" Jinx finished for him. He turned a slight shade of red and silently nodded. "Don't let me keep you." Before she even really finished her sentence, Kamakura took off, headed, unsurprisingly, deeper into the forest. Before, it would have upset her. Now it just made her laugh.
Once he was out of her sight, she turned her attention to the envelope he had given her from Scarlett. She opened it slowly and carefully, wondering what was inside, before pulling out a folded piece of intricate cardstock. Unfolding it, it appeared to be in the shape of a heart, with the traditional 'Happy Valentine's Day' written on the front in intricate handwriting, with lace around the edges of the heart. Upon closer examination, there were words below the Valentine's message, which said 'turn over'. She did so.
'Everyone deserves to get a valentine on Valentine's day.' it read.
She smiled.