GRAVITY | Chapter 08: "The Situation"


Jin hated the way his bones compacted together as his atomic structure was compressed into a single dimension; he hated the way his lungs were flattened so much that it proved impossible to breathe. Every part of him screamed to be back to normal size, to breathe the foul Demon World air, to relish the blood rushing through his three-dimensional veins and feel the frantic pounding of his heart. But, since he was trapped in a rift of time and space with no way out and no choice but to let the rift string him along its winding course, he let his crushed molecules drift through a sharp haze of pain and discomfort.

Landing in Spirit World was little better. As quickly as Jin had been compressed, he was released. His lungs expanded and stretched painfully as his bones crackled back into their places and his muscles inflated like aching balloons. With a grunt he stumbled from the portal into a brightly lit room. In front of him sat a large desk; the tall chair behind it was turned away so its occupant could face the massive television screen mounted on the back wall.

Jin had visited Spirit World a handful of previous times, and the impression he had garnered had been one of organized chaos. Ogres of many colors had sprinted from desk to desk and door to door like supernatural honeybees, shouting about paperwork and deadlines, but now the large white room was bare of desks and no doors brimming with ogres lined the walls—the doors had, in fact, vanished. Even Koenma's ever-present blue ogre was missing, a fact that disquieted even Jin's go-lucky sensibilities.

The sound of footsteps prompted Jin to turn around just in time to see Kurama leap gracefully from the portal. The hazy spot then disappeared, and the demon fox smiled a grim little smile over Jin's shoulder.

"We got him," Kurama said.

Hiei—who Jin had failed to notice—was standing to the left of the desk, and he nodded at Kurama as the fox moved to the desk's right. The chair promptly spun around, revealing the child-king Koenma. Lines marred the toddler's forehead as he sucked madly on his characteristic pacifier.

"Jin, welcome," he intoned. "I apologize for the suddenness of the summons and the lack of information, but we have a lot to do and very little time in which to do it. So pardon me for saying this, but shut up and listen so we can all get down to business."

Jin grinned at the brusqueness of Koenma's tone, but secretly felt relieved. Touya had told him to play nice, and Koenma's apology for leaving him in the dark made it much easier. "Sounds good t' me," the redhead said.

Koenma studied him for a moment. "You're an elemental user, with a bond to the element of air."

"Yeah, but you knew that already, didn't ya?" Jin asked.

Koenma nodded. "But you still have a good grasp on basic elemental techniques? The kind you would teach an elemental user before their bond is chosen?"

Jin grinned again and took a step toward the desk. Cupping a hand around his mouth, he said in a mock whisper: "I'm gonna let you in on a lil' secret, that I am. The trick to wind manipulation is basic elemental technique. Strong n' powerful n' simple, that's the name o' my game."

Koenma couldn't help but smile. "Very good." Opening a drawer, the toddler picked up a small black remote control. "Before I show you this, let me explain," he said. "Some time ago, one of our operatives sensed the presence of a young human psychic who was completely unaware of her powers. As is common with ignorant psychics, her mental energy…" He stopped talking, sucking on the pacifier with new vigor. "Well, it's hurting her."

Jin grimaced. He had had a similar experience as an unlearned cadet until he learned proper releasing exercises. "Go on."

"We apprehended her and tried to tell her the truth, but she… resisted." Koenma sighed and hung his head. "Had we not waited so long, this mess might have been avoided, but as it stands… she needs help." Turning, he jammed one of the remote's buttons at the huge TV screen.

The screen lit up, and Jin's grin widened. He was familiar with the concept of television; there had been one in the Dark Tournament hotel suite, and he had loved it, though the time spent with it had been all too brief.

The image on the screen, however, made his smile fade. It hurt him just to look.

Pink and black hair clung to her greasy head, and lips that looked more used to laughing were white and beaded with pearly globes of sweat. Angular cheekbones showed off a hectic flush, and a distinct jaw line trembled in pain. Sheets tangled about her legs and twined between her grasping fingers as her chest heaved for air; she panted for breath and moaned pitifully in her sleep. At her side, the ice apparition Yukina dipped a cloth in a bowl of water and breathed on it. The liquid frosted over, and with a finger she cracked the film of ice and lifted the cloth onto the dying girl's forehead.

"She's in pain!" Jin said, fists clenching.

"Agony," said Koenma. "Her name is Miranda, and she is in agony. We don't know how to fix her. Genkai says that the nature of Miranda's sprit energy is too different from her own, and that…"

"How did she get that way?" Jin asked. He kept his eyes locked tight on Miranda's face. "There is no way this is plain ol' energy build-up!"

Kurama stepped forward. "When we told her about the existence of us—" (he waved his hand over the room's collection of demons) "—and she had a bit of a meltdown. Hiei set out to subdue her, and—"

"Backlash?" Jin asked. When Kurama looked confused, he turned to Hiei. "Did her will go back inside o' her before she could use it?"

Hiei nodded, red eyes ablaze, and Jin could tell he hated the words he spoke next. "My guard was down. Her energy repelled mine, then attacked the others. She started screaming and pulled it back in before it touched anyone."

"She hasn't woken up since," Kurama added.

Jin began to pace, eyes unusually fierce. "When did this happen?"

Koenma looked uncomfortable. "Two days ago."

Jin swore loudly and colorfully. "She could be dead by now—why the bloody hell did you wait so long to come 'n get me?"

"We didn't know—"

"Get me to her," Jin snapped. When Koenma just sat there looking sheepish the wind master shouted: "Now!"

"Alright, alright," Koenma grumbled, and with a wave of his hand he conjured another rift in the air in front of Jin. "This will take you to her, but I have to warn you that—"

However, it was too late for warnings, because Jin had already leapt through into Human World.


He didn't know why he felt the way he did. It was only a human girl, after all, and although Jin was one of the few demons who felt that humans deserved the life they had been granted, he was not used to caring for them so much. 'Let them live their lives, let us live ours' was his motto. Jin was not one to get involved in another specie's disputes—he was too busy dealing with demonic tensions. It was Touya who wanted complete integration. Jin only desired Human World's sky.

Something about the girl, however, struck a chord within him. Her suffering face stirred up memories—memories of his own foray into the world of the Shinobi and of all the pain he had been put through. Jin had had no one, growing up, no one at all other than Touya...and there had an utter lack of guidance from adults. Thus, he felt himself empathizing with the pitiful human girl. She was alone, unused to her powers and unwilling to accept them, and she needed a mentor to guide her through this dangerous time. That fact—coupled with Spirit World's utter negligence in dealing with this situation, a detail that Jin was painfully aware of—made him want to rush to her, made him want to take her away from all of this. She was, surely, alone and scared and feeling helpless, and if Jin could right the wrong he had experienced as a child… well, he would do it, wouldn't he?

His emotions didn't make the crossing over any less difficult. Again his bones compacted, his lungs screamed, his eyes lost the ability to see. But when he emerged from his constricting prison, the Human World sky burned blue above his head.


It's short (1500 words) but at least I updated. Sorry for lack of character development—it's coming like a late train. Still, we saw Jin, and that's always good. Next (hopefully longer) chapter will have Miranda and Jin together.