Kostantiniyye

1491

Yusuf came to with a faint whimper, feeling a tickling numbness spread throughout his body. He gave a thin whine and creaked open a single eye, but the light from the far window made him wince. He swallowed once, twice, than tried to speak.

"Bahhj….Bajj?..." Allah, his voice sounded terrible. Like he'd been unconscious for weeks. He tried once more to open his eyes, and squinted. He was in his normal sleeping quarters… He vaguely remembered having knives - no, needles, his foggy brain reminded him – embedded in his chest. And even more recently, he remembered them being removed, although that particular memory was quite a bit more hazy. He vaguely remembered blood, bandages, the soft clink of metallic tongs…an Oriental man with a thick accent, and Bajram's angry snarls. But mostly he remembered the stinging agony of the needles being removed, and the off-putting sensation of something being tugged forcefully from his flesh. Even now, Yusuf could still taste the copper in his mouth from when he had bitten down on his own tongue.

"…Baj…." He croaked weakly.

"Yusuf." The voice was not Bajram, but Yusuf was relieved to hear it none-the-less. Rafat approached the other Assassin's bedside, giving him a small smile.

"I did not expect you to be awake yet. Jin Mai thought perhaps another day or two…"

"Jin…My?"

Rafat's smile flickered away. "Yusuf." He started slowly. "Jin Mai is the man who almost killed you. He is an Assassin. One of us."

Yusuf's brow furrowed. "But..he...attacked me." He grumbled, shifting uncomfortably. Rafat leaned closer, resting his palm against Yusuf's shoulder.

"I know, Yusuf. Biliyorum. Believe me."

Yusuf wheezed tiredly, risking a glance at his chest. It was...not as bad as he had expected to be, to say the least. His chest and upper part of his stomach were tightly wound with bandages, but the blood was bearly soaking through. He groaned softly – it was too much of a strain to lift his head.

"I have been writing to Seref about your condition."

"Do not expect an answer." Yusuf groaned, his head swimming. "Where is Baj?... How long have I been out?..."

"A full day. Bajram has almost never left your side. He has been very attentive to your treatment." His eyes flickered to the closed door. Yusuf hissed in pain as he struggled to sit up on his elbows.

"Where is he?" He stressed.

"He went to...speak...with Jin Mai." Rafat's tone stiffened. "Yusuf, lay back do – "

"I need to speak with him. With Bajram."

"I cannot just let you just leave, Yusuf. Not in your condition." Yusuf's mouth formed a thin line, and he evenly met Rafat's eyes with his own.

"...then you can help me."

Bajram Sahin had never been so infuriated in all his years. Even when he and Yusuf were younger and feuding, he had never been this angry with a fellow Assassin. No...Bajram wouldn't even grant Jin Mai so priviledged a title. The man was nothing but a cowardly worm. Nearly killing a man simply for calling out...for trying to help. Assassins did not do that. They did not harm innocents.

Of course Bajram had no intention of killing Jin Mai. If Yusuf had died, of course, it would have been an entirely different story. No...Bajram simply wanted the foreigner to feel even a shred of the pain that his en iyi arkadaşım had felt.

Bajram had not left Yusuf's side until early that morning, after making Rafat give him his word that he would stay with the injured Assassin. Bajram had not told him entirely where he was going... He prefered to give him complete deniability, just in case. But Rafat was certainly no fool. And if he objected at all to what he suspected Bajram of doing, he gave no such indication.

Taking Rafat's support for what it was worth, Bajram made his way from the hideout's sleeping quarters to the main living areas. He knew Ishak Pasha was in his study, sending notices to his various contacts throughout the Eastern World. Jin Mai had been placed on the 'honor code' that he would stay at the den until Ishak could decide what to do with him. Bajram snorted in distaste. He would have had the Chinese man imprisoned, if he were Mentor. Not that he thought of Ishak as weak... On the contrary, he greatly admired the man who had first recruited him to the Order. However, perhaps a bit too much trust was placed into the wrong hands. But to his credit, and to Bajram's amazement, the foreigner had not left, although he had had ample oppertunity to do so. Bajram found him in the library of all places, glancing curiously through one of the Ottoman Assassin's many ancient texts. Bajram stood in the doorway behind him, glowering at the back of his head, until Jin finally broke the silence.

"I take it...you are upset with me." He noted quietly, without so much as a glance over his shoulder. Bajram set his jaw, eyes narrowed into little more then slits.

"I am more then upset, aptal." He replied coldly. "Which is highly unfortunate for you." Jin Mai finally turned, an opened book resting in his hands. He closed it, then heaved a sigh.

"I truly did not mean to hurt your friend." He said slowly, struggling through the difficult pronounciations and thick Oriental accent. "I was...messy."

"Evet... messy..." Bajram's mouth formed a fierce snarl. "First you arrive here in Kostantiniyye without invitation. Then you are careless enough to create a disturbance, before severely wounding a fellow Assassin." He stepped closer, the rage all too clear in his dark, almost black, eyes.

"And you write off your actions as...messy." In perhaps one of the most insulting acts of disrespect, Bajram spat at the ground near Jin Mai's booted feet. "How about cowardly? Reckless? Offensive?" He leaned close. "What about traitorous?..."

"No!" Jin snapped, suddenly angered. He straightened up, although he remained at least two inches shorter then the taller Bajram.

"I am not traitor!" He snarled spitefully. "I make mistake! Honest mistake!"

"You almost killed an Assassin!" Bajram hissed back, slamming his palm into the wall mere inches from the Chinese man's face. Jin's instrincts screamed at him to thrust his blade into the man's gut, but he didn't exactly need to make the same mistake twice. However he was beginning to fear for his safety...if not his life.

"I did...not mean to..." He stammered, avoiding the enraged Assassin's fiery eyes glaring at him from under the Assassin's sharply pointed cowl.

"You did not mean to... Well, I suppose it's all fine, then. Everything is forgiven then, arkadaşım."

Jin Mai wasn't entirely foreign to sarcasm. The use of it made his blood boil, for he viewed it as being nothing more than a weak man's humor. His brow furrowed, but he kept his mouth closed. Bajram pulled his hand back, glowering at the shorter Assassin.

"I want you to leave... git." He loomed over the smaller man.

"Leave Kostantiniyye. I don't want to see you back here again." Jin stared up at him, hardly believing the audacity of a man who wasn't even a Master Assassin, much less the Mentor.

"Ishak Pasha will not be pleased." He said at last, struggling to keep the weary edge from his tone.

"Do you think he wants the likes of you amongst us?" Bajram replied testily, pure venom in his voice. "Do you not think he is planning, at this very moment, what to do with you?" Jin swallowed hard. As confident as he could be in his abilities, he was under no illusion that he could best an Assassin of Bajram's status. Still, he had his honor...and that was worth as much as anything.

And sometimes, people did stupid things to keep their honor intact.

"I will not go." He said stiffly, meeting Bajram's eyes. "You cannot force me."

Bajram's eyes grew wide, then filled with anger. Before he could come to his senses he struck out with his hand, his thumb and forefinger splayed as wide as possible. His hand collided with the other man's neck, just above his adam's apple. A shooting pain errupted in Jin's throat, cutting off his oxygen and bringing stars and tears to his eyes. He collapsed on one knee, coughing and choking. Bajram grabbed him by the tunic and pulled him back to his feet, fully prepared to strike again, but a sharp voice cut through the air, bringing Bajram's revenge to as sudden a halt as it began.

"Bajram!" Yusuf's sharp tone cut through the scuffle. Bajram jerked his head, startled, then narrowed his eyes as his badly injured friend came into view, his arm slung across Rafat's shoulders. His other arm was wedged firmly against his aching chest and stomach. The pained expression he wore was enough to make Bajram seethe with fury once more. Allah, he hated the Chinese man, so.

"Go back to bed, Yusuf." He growled, turning his dark eyes back onto Jin. "You should not be on your feet."

"This ends now, Baj." Yusuf tilted his chin to Rafat, who helped forward. Together they made their way into the library. Yusuf took several short breaths – Rafat had warned him not to breathe in too deeply, or he could reopen the wounds. His gaze fell to the frightened foreign man. Yusuf had never gotten a good look at him... He was smaller then Yusuf would have expected, but still about their age. He was clearly Oriental, and his clothing, which appeared like that of an Assassin and sporting the same deep hood and slight cowl, was otherwise unfamiliar.

"Jin Mai..." He said slowly, carefully slipping his arm off Rafat's shoulders. The other Assassin pursed his lips but did not verbally object. Yusuf turned his gaze to Bajram, and rested his hand on his friend's outstretched arm.

"Baj...end this." He said, quietly, but firmly. He gripped Bajram's elbow to emphasize his point.

"Yusuf, he almost killed you!" Bajram protested, not taking his eyes off the nervous smaller man. Yusuf took a slow breath, briefly closing his eyes, as if thinking deeply over what he was going to say.

"Evet. And I have already suffered for it. No one else needs to." He firmly pushed down Bajram's arm, managing to worm himself between the two confronters. Bajram stared at him, shocked. Yusuf managed a thin smile, despite the constant pain in his chest and belly.

"Not him. And not you, if our Mentor were to find out what you would have done." He murmured. "End this, Bajram." He glanced over his shoulder, quickly meeting Jin's nervous gaze, before leaving the two in silence. Rafat took his arm – noticing a light spattering of blood on Yusuf's chest that had not been there minutes before – and wordlessly helped him back out of the room. Bajram's eyes returned to Jin's, still angry, but lacking the murderous aura they'd held earlier. Without futher comment Bajram turned away and followed Yusuf and Rafat out of the library.

As their booted steps faded away, Jin let out a shaky whimper and slid down against the bookcase until he was seated on the chilly stone floor. His throat burned as he swallowed painfully, but he knew things could have turned out a lot worse. He hugged his knees tightly to his chest, unable to calm the trembling. Bajram could have killed him...should have killed him, by all means... Why Mentor Ishak had not ordered his execution – or at least his banishment – felt entirely unexpected. Jin wondered if the Mentor had something specific planned...if he wanted to humiliate Jin, or perhaps the Chinese Assassin Order in general. Jin felt an unfamiliar swell of guilt bubble up inside of him. He was not used to the sensation, and it bothered him greatly. But what bothered him even more was the sudden realization of just how much shame he had brought upon the Assassins of his beloved homeland.

Jin Mai slowly climbed to his feet minutes later. He replaced the tome he had dropped in the scuffle with Bajram back into its rightful place on the shelf. He stood still for another minute, taking a deep breath. He understood what his conscience was telling him to do.

Eventually he stood outside the door to Yusuf's sleeping quarters. He'd broken into a nervous sweat on the way there, and was now using the fabric of his hood to dry the beads of perspiration settling on the back of his neck. Chewing wearily at his bottom lip and quickly praying that he wasn't inviting further comflict (his throat still throbbed and was very tender to the touch), Jin knocked quietly on the heavy wooden door.

The silence that ensued was longer then Jin had expected. Then he heard the soft scuffle of footsteps, and the quiet creak of the door opening. The Oriental's eyes went wide as he found the frightening, olive-skinned Assassin glaring down at him, with the look of a man who had just caught a thief in his home. Jin felth is heart skip a beat. But just as Bajram opened his mouth, Jin cut in.

"If I may... I would like to see Yusuf." His voice came out hoarse, and even cracked as he spoke the Assassin's name. Swallowing only caused the throbbing ache to worsen. Bajram's lip curled, and Jin felt his loathing for the man intensify. Then he caught sight of a shape moving behind the other Assassin.

Ishak Pasha. His Mentor.

Jin unconsciously straightened his shoulders, meeting the eyes of the one they called Grand Master. The much older man tilted his head in approval.

"Yusuf is here, Jin Mai. Bajram, if you would step aside."

The thin growl escaping Bajram's throat was largely ignored as the Chinese man slipped carefully past him. His knees were shaking as he walked. He briefly bowed his head to the Mentor before allowing his eyes to wander over the room. Little had changed since he'd been there just twenty-four hours earlier. The blood had been cleaned from the worn sheets – either that or they had been replaced entirely. The latter was the more likely of the two possibilities. The injured Assassin had been returned to his cot, but was at least able to sit up, although he leaned back heavily against the headboard in an effort to keep his balance. His torso had just recently been rebandaged.

The more olive-skinned Assassin cleaned off his hands in a small bowl of water near the nightstand, which was otherwise bare save for a small pile of twisted gauze. Meanwhile, Yusuf eyed his former assailant with the look of an exhausted, but vaguely interested, man. His head gave the slightest tilt, waiting for Jin Mai to begin. The Chinese man ran the tip of his tongue nervously against the front of his teeth before he finally spoke.

"Yusuf...Tazim." He struggled to say, the name sounding terribly foreign in his mouth. Yusuf gave the slightest of nods. Jin pursed his lips together a moment.

"...I have brought shame upon myself. Upon my Order." He swallowed. "I acted rashly. Did not follow ways of the Assassins. Please..." He bowed his head, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

"...please forgive me. I did not mean my actions."

The silence stretched longer then Jin had been expecting. He hesitantly raised his eyes, and was shocked to find Yusuf with a crooked smile on his lips. Jin's face twisted in a mixture of puzzlement and nervousness, and then some degree of alarm when Yusuf even chuckled.

"You are a strange man, Jin Mai." He said at last, wincing from the ache in his belly made worse from the laughter. "I don't know why you arrived from China, or how you were able to get here by yourself." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "...you are not a traitor, Jin. You are untrained, and undeciplined. That, and making a mistake, do not equal betrayal." His eyes flickered briefly to Bajram as he spoke.

"I don't know why you came. But if you are inclined to stay, you will be suitably trained before partaking in any measures against the Templars." Out of the corner of his eye, Jin spotted Ishak Pasha nodding slowly as his long-time student spoke.

"...or else you may return to China. It is your choice."

Jin looked back and forth between the Mentor and Yusuf Tazim. He suddenly discovered how wise a man Yusuf was. Although he had only arrived days ago, he could already tell from the way Ishak was looking at his pupil that Yusuf would likely be made leader of the Assassin Order in Constantinople someday. Perhaps this was all a test that Yusuf was apparently passing with flying colors. Regardless, if Jin wished to have a place in the Order maybe five years from now, he knew his best chances at doing so lay with Yusuf.

Jin Mai straightened his back and shoulders and tilted his chin upward, before giving a respectful bow.

"I would be honored to stay, Yusuf. If you will have me."

biliyorum – I know

en iyi arkadaşım – best friend

aptal – fool

evet – yes

arkadaşım – my friend

git – go