Chapter Twenty-Four
The next several months passed in a strange way. Between becoming the sanbi's host, puzzling through the new information that Hisashi had given him, and the news that war seemed to be brewing on the horizon from a force that they could not yet determine the size of yet, Jin was not certain how to feel about the way things were turning out.
He had been sending letters to Kakashi as often as he could manage, taking care not to write about anything important, in case any of the letters were intercepted. It wasn't the same as talking to Kakashi in person, but Jin treasured any sort of contact he could have with him, even if it was at such a long distance.
Most of Jin's time now was spent either working with Sasuke and Hinata on improving their skills, working on forming a partnership, if not a friendship, with the sanbi, and working with Hisashi to piece together what had happened to him and why things were turning out the way they were.
Currently, Jin was sitting in the apartment that he had rented temporarily in the center of Kiri with Hisashi, going through the things that his father had left behind.
"This one was Kotaro-nii's." Hisashi said quietly as he pulled a delicate glass mask from the bottom of the last box. It had hardly dulled with all the time that had passed, though somehow, small traces of Kotaro's blood remained on the mask, a final imprint of his life and death.
He set the mask next to an assortment of other odd trinkets, mostly composed of strange jewelry or weaponry.
They had spent the day picking out each relic of days long past, items which had belonged to Hisashi's immediate family and which still held a fraction of their essence. Jin could almost feel the air shift in pressure when Hisashi told him which piece had belonged to who, and he began to understand the fate that the Yuki clan had faced with graceful endurance and boundless hope.
"Jin-san, I don't know how I was brought back, but I know that the threat you're facing now may be greater than what you can handle on your own." Hisashi said quietly. "If you can figure out how to perform the same technique that gave me my life back, I recommend that you do the same for the rest of my immediate family. I'm not saying this out of a desire to see them again, but instead because I do not wish you to face the same fate that we did. I can guarantee the support of my family, and I can guarantee that we'll help you with whatever is to come in the future."
"I couldn't ask that of you." Jin offered him a smile, patting his head. "You have suffered so much already. But...I'll see what I can do to bring them back so that you can see them again." He meant every word, though he knew that the chances he would actually be able to do it would be slim.
"We may have been born several generations apart, but you are still family, Jin-san, and family sticks together, through thick and thin." Hisashi put his hand on Jin's arm gently and smiled at him.
Jin smiled back at him, his attention turning to the door when he heard three sharp knocks. He got up and went to the door, peering through the peep-hole before opening the door and tilting his head at the cloaked figure on his temporary doorstep.
Face hidden in the shadows of her dark cloak, Terumi Mei pushed past Jin into the apartment, glancing back to make sure no one had seen. She shut the door and then swept into the next room, stopping when she spotted Hisashi.
"You didn't tell me your whole bloodline was so damned pretty." She commented, staring at him for a moment.
Tired as he looked, Hisashi was still very pretty. His long hair swept over his shoulder in a loose ponytail and wearing a loose, informal kimono that Jin had lent him. His delicate face held a bewildered expression as he stared at the Mizukage, not knowing who she was or why she was here.
"Yeah, well. That wasn't really on the top of my list of priorities." Jin scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry, Hisashi." He glanced at the poor, bewildered shinobi for a moment before turning back to Mei. "Anyway, what's with the cloak and dagger routine?"
Mei's expression darkened as she pulled her hood down, taking care to keep away from the windows. "We have a major problem, Jin." She began, her eyes narrowed. "It's just the three of us here, correct?"
Jin nodded slightly. "Sasuke and Hinata are training with Ao and Midori right now. What happened?"
"You are no longer safe here. I've received information that the elders and council have agreed to work with our enemies. I don't know what they've been promised, but I know they're going to come for you." Mei spoke gravely. "Get out tonight. Don't trust anyone in this village but Ao and Midori, until I can determine who is involved. I'll send Sasuke and Hinata along with Ao and Midori later. You'll be safer in the Leaf, than you will be here."
"I'll go with the children, too." Hisashi spoke up, frowning. "They'll be after me, too, but I'd rather risk staying longer to guarantee their safety."
Jin frowned, glancing between the pair of them. "I'll go now. It would be better to leave as soon as possible, rather than to wait until tonight. Hisashi, please stay safe. You haven't yet fully recovered. Mizukage-sama…" He stared at Mei for a moment. "Be careful."
Without another word, Jin turned and went into the room he was using, packing just the bare necessities. He didn't like the idea of running away, but for now, he didn't have any other options.
Jin left as soon as he was able, making sure that he went undetected. He abandoned his normal kimono for something more practical, pulling a cloak around himself, and allowing his face to stay shadowed by the hood.
He patted at the glass mask beneath his cloak, feeling rather conflicted about taking it with him. But Hisashi had insisted, and he hadn't the heart to tell him no.
Admittedly, he could see the logic in taking it with him if he could figure out how to bring Kotaro back the same way that Hisashi had been brought back. Kotaro would be a powerful ally.
He had his theories, and wondered if it were connected with the reanimation jutsu and just branched off in a different way. However, he had no way to test them, and even if he did, it would certainly not be ethical. He would be left with a considerable amount of guilt if it worked the same way the reanimation jutsu did.
Leaving the village was the easy part, but he found that once he was several miles from the village and on his way to the shoreline, where he would catch a boat back to the mainland, that he was being followed. For now, he only sensed the presence of two shinobi, neither particularly strong or worth worrying about, assuming they were alone.
If they were just tracking him, then all he would really have to do was lose them and throw them off the trail. He didn't want to lead them back to Konoha or any other place he could hide for the time being, worried he would give them a reason to start a battle before anyone was ready for it.
Even though he was certain that he would be just fine, he had written two letters; one to Kakashi and the other to Tsunade. He would make sure that in the event that he was captured, they would know what had happened to him.
For a while, his followers kept their distance, only making their appearance when he was about to leave the cover of the trees and make his way onto the beach to find a boat.
The two shinobi were masked, and while their headbands were hidden, he recognized them as hunter nin, their traditional masks giving them away. They didn't seem as if they cared about hiding their allegiance, and Jin couldn't help but wonder if Kiri had fallen already into the hands of the enemy.
"Are you going to make this difficult for us?" The taller shinobi asked, her deep voice cold and passionless.
"Mm...I haven't decided yet." Jin replied, sizing them up. They wouldn't be difficult to deal with, he decided, but there was a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that wouldn't subside. "What do you want with me?"
"Preferably your head on a stick, but the boss wants you alive, unfortunately." The shorter shinobi replied, her voice much higher than the taller one's and much colder.
"I should mention that, even should you defeat us, there are more on the way, and you cannot beat them." The taller one replied again, quirking her head in a curious manner.
Jin narrowed his eyes, realizing that they had no reason to lie to him. They didn't seem to fear for their safety, at least. His gaze shifted between the two shinobi as he tried to figure out what to do.
And then he understood. He'd written those letters for a reason, and he had two items that belonged to the dead. It would be more certain that he'd get the letters back safely if he sent two shinobi instead of one of his summons, which could be more easily overwhelmed. All he needed to do was subdue these two hunter nin long enough for a very specific jutsu.
Jin struck first, sending the shorter shinobi flying into a tree with a single strike from the blunt edge of the bone blade that Raizo had given to him before his death. He drove the blade deep into her shoulder, pinning her to the tree, effectively trapping her.
He ducked backwards when the taller shinobi aimed a blade for the back of his neck, spinning to face her. A blade of ice began to form in his hand, and he quickly used it to block a second attack from the shinobi.
It took only a few extra moments to subdue the second shinobi, her skill level far below his own. He jammed the blade deep into her shoulder, pinning her to the ground.
By now, he was beginning to sense the presence of a large group of shinobi approaching fast.
While he'd never used it before himself, Jin had an idea about how to use the reanimation jutsu, and quickly went about making the hand seals over the shorter shinobi, who remained pinned by the blade of bone. It was a last resort, but he felt that it was necessary, no matter what it did to his heart.
He realized, as the technique strangely began to work, that even if he were captured, it would have its benefits. He could gather information on the inside, and find a way to get it back to Tsunade and the others, since he was wanted alive.
A strange noise startled him out of his thoughts, and he glanced up. At the sight before him, he felt as if his heart were constricting in his chest. Instead of the short hunter nin, there stood Raizo, standing there as if hardly anything had changed, although so much had.
Jin turned away quickly, clearing his throat, and went to the taller hunter nin, crouching next to her. At the sound of Raizo's voice, he flinched, pausing in his attempt to grab the glass mask.
"Jin...what's happening?" Raizo asked, his voice ever so soft and concerned; a tone that he reserved only for Jin.
"I don't have a lot of time to talk right now." Jin replied, nicking his finger on a spare kunai in the pouch he had placed the glass mask in. He ignored it and grabbed the mask, unaware that he was dripping his own blood all over it. "I need you to take a message back to Konoha for me."
He placed the glass mask over the hunter nin and quickly made several hand seals, hands shaking in a barely noticeable manner. Unable to help it, he flinched when Raizo placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Stop it, Raizo. This is hard enough already." Jin whispered, shaking away his hand. He turned back and completed the reanimation jutsu, standing up and walking away. He needed to put some distance between himself and Raizo.
A few moments later, he turned back, and standing before him was another shinobi, greatly resembling himself, and looking thoroughly confused, but far more alive than Raizo looked.
Jin squinted for a moment, narrowing his eyes as he tried to figure out what was different. He'd done things the same way, and yet, it seemed as if Kotaro were the only one that was truly alive again.
He shook his head, realizing he didn't have the time for this. Ruffling around in his pouch again, he retrieved the two letters he had written and passed them along to the two shinobi. "I don't have a lot of time to explain, but I need the two of you to take these to Hatake Kakashi and Tsunade." He avoided looking at Raizo, instead focusing his attention on Kotaro. "Kotaro-sama, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Your brother has told me about you. He'll meet the both of you in Konoha soon."
Kotaro seemed no less confused by this strange turn of events, seeming more startled by the fact that he was alive than anything. "Where is Yoshihisa?" He asked softly, shifting his attention from his own hands to Jin.
"I don't know." Jin wasn't quite sure it was a good idea to tell him the truth yet. "Now go. I can't have you two getting caught as well."
Raizo narrowed his eyes, but did as he was told, unable to completely disobey him because of the reanimation jutsu's effects. "Stay safe, Jin. I love you."
Jin watched them disappear, Kotaro following after Raizo, before turning away. It hurt more to hear those words than it ever did before.
A/N: it's a late update, and still short, but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It takes me a little longer to write this fic than any of my others because I never wrote notes for it, and it's been almost two years since I actively worked on this fic, so it's been a little difficult searching through almost four hundred pages of this fic for the things I need to double check. Forgive me, but the next few updates will probably be just as slow to be posted as this one! I have found that it's easier to write this if I have something else to write in between chapters, however, so I'll probably start another fic after I wrap up Desiderium! If you like Kimimaro, keep an eye out for it!
Thanks again for reading!
