Author's Notes: To Cui Sune, thanks for the feedback! About Touya's current condition - he hasn't mastered his ice talents in this fic yet. Mutants in the gmen universe – this AU world – usually get their talents at puberty and have to learn them from there. Touya is 16 at the oldest, possibly younger, and hasn't had the chance to learn about his talent (this will come up soon). The reason he's so cold and weak against heat is because he's sort of on self-destruct mode. ;p He's struggling to freeze himself to death (inherently difficult with his immunity to ice) and the sun is countering that. It's not the sort of thing that will last throughout the fic - like Hiei isn't hot to the touch unless he's using his fire.
The Naruto characters are really woven into Jin's 'homelife' background, so they're already established. They'll be playing more of a role as the fic progresses - starting in the next part. But again, note the pairings. I'm a big ShinoxShikamaru fan, so they'll get as much 'screentime' as NaruSasu.
Prequel to Gmen (KxH starts at part 21 of Gmen, and JxT at part 34)
Summary: When Jin rescues a lone Ice Master from uncertain death, he's eager to teach him about the simple pleasures in life. Touya warms to the treatment, but knows his past will catch up to him if he dares to settle down for too long.
Fanart: I've been doing quite a bit of JinxTouya fanart, it's available on my fanart page:
www . geocities . com / arigatomina / fanworks . html
Category: Anime, Yu Yu Hakusho, Naruto, Alternate Universe (AU), Yaoi, light school-fic genre
Warnings: angst, reference to violence, shonen ai, will have lemon content (off-site for ffnet readers)
Pairings: JinxTouya main; assumed ShinoxShikamaru, SuzukixShishi, KakashixIruka; references to ReishoxTouya; and light Neiji-Lee, Naruto-Sasuke, Sakura-Ino (canon rivalry, dash of shoujo ai)
Author: Arigatomina
Email: arigatoumina (a) hotmail . com
Website: www . geocities . com / arigatomina
Gleam
Part 2: Ice Blue; Just Breathe
It must have happened gradually because Jin didn't feel any sudden change. He was a good twenty minutes from town when he noticed that his chest and stomach were no longer cold. He'd been suffering an odd bout of headiness from flying on his back for so long and hadn't exactly been watching the body. It hadn't moved since he'd picked it up, so he had no reason to watch it.
He glanced down now, surprised that his chest didn't prickle with that 'frozen flesh waking up again' sensation. A peak at the shadowed face he'd been keeping his arm over revealed a stark change. He almost faltered for a second, only his instinct keeping him in motion.
That pale face wasn't white anymore, and it wasn't sunburned, as he'd thought earlier. It was flushed, ruddy highlights striking out on his cheeks like he'd been slapped across both sides of his face. And he was moving for the first time since Jin had spotted him on that hill. His mouth was open and shifting, a faint imitation of a fish out of water struggling to breathe.
Jin felt a sharp burst of fear and excitement. Finally he had absolute proof that the boy was alive. He could feel warm breaths through his cool shirt, so he knew the body wasn't frozen inside anymore, if it had ever been. But the way he was gasping…
He brushed his hand over the boy's forehead, feeling the cool sweat that had turned that frozen pale blue hair into little damp ringlets. If he hadn't known better, Jin would have thought the body had gone from frozen to burning up inside. He had the same feel Ino had when she'd gotten the flu a few months back – cold sweat but flushed and burning at the same time.
Since he didn't have to worry about his arms going numb, Jin did a turn in the air. He could fly much quicker head-on than he could backwards, and he had a horrible idea that the boy was melting. It was ridiculous, but the idea danced around his worried head anyway.
He flew like the proverbial Hell Bat, one arm over that damp head to keep the wind from stealing his breath. He could actually hear him now and it sent panicky little shivers over his arms. He sounded like he was suffocating, and all Jin could think was to get him to the halfway house because Iruka-sensei was good at healing sickness.
That was when the boy choked on him. He felt those loose shoulders tense under his arm, that damp head ducking down. Then the boy coughed and something warm and wet seeped through his shirt.
Jin's first thought, in a distressed little murmur of protest, was that the boy had thrown up on him. As much as he wanted to just be happy the guy was alive, his face twisted in distress. He grimaced and glanced down under his arm to where the boy had hidden his face. The stranger made an odd little hiccuping gasp and coughed again.
He was coughing up blood, choking on it till it spilled over onto their clothes.
'Why?! What's wrong with him…? Did I – did I really…break something…? He was frozen and now he's not so it's liquid and – and he's choking on it…! I was just trying to help, I didn't mean to-'
A stuttering tremble started in the boy's shoulders, and Jin hurriedly shifted him up so he was in an almost seated position, his shoulders and head slumped over Jin's arm. He could feel the blood.
'But he won't choke on it… Isn't that what they do? Face down so he won't choke on it…? I have to hurry. Even if it hurts him a little, that's better than bleeding to death, right? Wouldn't it be? But he's not just sick, something's broken inside…Because I moved him? I shook him…'
"Sorry," Jin whispered, not daring to look down at the shivering, coughing boy. "I'm really sorry, but…I have to get you to the hospital. I'll try to cushion you…"
'But it won't make any difference if something's already broken. Time. It's just time now, and I can cut through time.'
Tornadoes were known to have impossible winds, powerful, furious, and very, very fast. They could tear through a house and drop it miles away in a matter of seconds. But the eye was calm and protected, barely feeling the speed it was traveling at because the winds around it blocked out the turbulence.
That was the quickest way Jin knew how to travel. He just hoped he wouldn't shake the boy badly enough to break anything else when he started the twister around them. And he was vaguely grateful that the hospital sat on the outskirts of town. He could take them right up to it without having to tear a swath through the buildings on his way there.
Jin might have been a cheerful joker, but he knew how dangerous his twisters were. The only saving grace was that it took all of his concentration to control the miniature whirlwind he'd created. He didn't have time to hate himself for whatever he'd broken to make the boy cough up so much blood.
- - -
Jin stumbled on the front steps of the safehouse, his mind replaying the random words over and over and trying to make sense of them. The nurses had taken the boy from him without asking anything and had ordered him home. They knew him on sight. They'd call him afterward. They wanted Kakashi to come in with him afterward. Afterward.
'Internal bleeding. That's what they said… hemorrhaging, that's the same thing as bleeding... Punctured lung. But I didn't squeeze him, I know I didn't... Broken ribs. But that wasn't me…! I shook him, that's all, just a little shake to see what that sound was. I shouldn't have done that, but it wasn't hard enough to break ribs – you have to push or punch or really squeeze hard to break a rib. So…'
The man in the odd uniform – emergency uniform, head of the little team of doctors who'd rushed the boy off – had looked at him before they left. It was a suspicious, shocked look.
'Did he think it was my fault? Maybe I did make it worse, but I didn't mean to…'
His gaze fell to stare at his stained uniform.
'I have his blood all over me. What else was he supposed to think?'
He was standing with one hand on the doorknob, so he reeled a bit when it was jerked open. Wide blue eyes flew up to stare at him from a very white face. And a hand grabbed his arm and jerked him inside. He was immediately swamped by two staring, horrified, and curious girls.
"Is that really blood?" asked Ino.
She was standing back a bit, tugging on her long tail of pale blonde hair as she chewed her lip. The look on her face was a mix of disbelief and rising distaste – she'd sooner chew her ponytail off than admit to being disgusted by the sight.
"Are you okay?" Sakura demanded, scowling a bit as she circled Jin with appraising eyes. "This isn't yours, right? What did you do? Some woman called from the hospital and said you brought in a-"
"You're in so much trouble," Ino interrupted, her hands falling to her hips. "Iruka-sensei's been out of his mind worried about you and when the hospital called he nearly had a breakdown. Kakashi had to step on his head to knock him out of it."
Sakura tossed her head, her long pink hair flipping over one shoulder as she turned distasteful eyes on Ino.
"He didn't have to," she sniffed, "I think he wanted to."
She sent a look up at Jin and shook her head when the boy raised a wary eyebrow at her. "He thought it was funny until he found out you'd nearly killed someone. I can't believe you'd do something like that – maybe Gaara, but not you!"
"I didn't!" Jin blurted, his eyes wide. "I found him, but he was already hurt. I was bringing him back when he unthawed and started coughing and stuff, so I took him to the hospital, but I didn't do it. I did shake him a little at first, when I thought he was dead, but I don't think that's what-"
"Girls," another voice called, "I'd like to talk to Jin now. And thank you for letting me know he made it back."
Sakura had the grace to blush a little when she turned to face the tall man who'd spoken. Kakashi was usually a flippant and playfully annoying caretaker of the lot of them. But times like this, it was hard to tell he had a face beneath his blue cloth mask, his expression was so blank.
One eye caught on Jin's wary gaze, the other hidden by Kakashi's sloping headband. "Come along, then. And don't drag your feet. If they're that heavy you can float."
"Hai," Jin mumbled, ducking his head when he saw eyes peering at him from the common room.
Kakashi led the way back to his office, where he'd left a somewhat jibbering mush once named Iruka to wait for him. He raised his visible eyebrow when he found one of the teens leaning casually in the hall.
They'd all be told to wait until their elders knew what happened before they started butting their curious little noses into it. The girls couldn't be blamed since Sakura was a natural worrier, and Ino just had to play rival worrier – even if she wasn't that fond of Jin personally Oh, Ino didn't dislike him at all, she just hadn't liked him that much since the incident in the bushes.
That was the way the girls were. Shino was different.
"And what do you think you're doing?" asked Kakashi, his tone lightly amused.
Shino glanced over the top of his dark round sunglasses, which he almost never took off. His hair was thick and black, standing in a straight upward cut similar to Kakashi's style, but not nearly so loose. He had the appearance of either a punk or a weirdo, which he encouraged with his typical high-collar trenchcoat.
"I'm providing moral support," said Shino, his voice a calm monotone. "I'd hear whatever was said whether I'm in the room or not. I might as well be there in person."
Kakashi smirked, the expression visible through his tight cloth mask. "Or you can sit with the others and keep your spying little bugs out of my office. Iruka's nervous enough without twitching at the creepy-crawlies."
"No he's not," Shino countered. "He's got his ear scrunched to the door listening to every word we say. Now he's blushing and grumbling about itchy little insubordinate things that could be crawling up his pants leg. He's also-"
"All right," Kakashi interrupted, rolling his visible eye. "Get your little friends out of there before he starts a striptease looking for them. You can give the delinquent moral support."
Jin's eyes welled up and he gave a helpless pout, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm not a delinquent!"
"Sure you're not," Kakashi drawled. "You've just be accused of skipping school so you could mutilate some kid. And going by the blood on you, you really look the part. If I didn't know how squeamish you are, I might actually believe you'd done it."
The man opened the office door and crossed over to push a fitful Iruka into one of the chairs. Jin scowled a little as he followed, Shino shutting the door behind them. Iruka made one disgruntled but not quite angry look at Shino before turning wide, bright brown eyes on Jin.
"Tell me you didn't," said Iruka.
"Iruka-sensei!" Jin protested, hurt widening his eyes. "You know I wouldn't. You don't really think I'd do something like that, do you?"
"I don't know what to think," Iruka said sadly. "They said you'd – you…is that blood?!"
"It's not his," said Kakashi. "You got the call, remember? Now, then. Spill it, Jin. If that boy dies you're going to find yourself repeating it all to an officer, so tell me everything you know."
Jin gulped in more than a little fear. He didn't think he'd be blamed, but telling an officer that he'd found a frozen body in the hills? And that he'd unthawed it only to find it drowning in blood…? That wasn't a very likely story, even to him and he'd lived it.
He started from the beginning, not even bothering to lie about skipping class. And through it all, Iruka was the only one to make a sound. Kakashi just watched him with that blank face he used when he didn't want them to know if he were angry or amused.
Beside him, Shino was a silent pair of eyes that didn't judge or question. Jin ended up sitting closer to him by the time he was finished, only his guilty conscience keeping him from ruffing a hand over his friend's hair in thanks for that quiet companionship. It was nice to have someone on his side.
"So that's it," said Jin. "They told me to come back here and that they'd call afterward. And I'm supposed to bring you with me when I go back," he told Kakashi.
Iruka stared for a few minutes, his face a tortured mix of happiness, sympathy, and worry. Then he broke and swept Jin into a tight hug, mumbling about sweet boys who got themselves into trouble for the best reasons and how could he ever have doubted him when Jin was one of the sweetest most kindhearted boys he'd ever met and oh how he hoped Jin forgave him for even thinking such things.
Jin sweatdropped a little, a slow grin tugging at his lips as he patted his hands on his sensei's back.
"Hai-hai," he said quickly. "Forgiven, forgotten, and I did skip class you know. Can't let me off that easily, right?"
"Well, just this once," Iruka sighed, giving a weak frown at Kakashi's amused expression. "You did save a boy's life, after all."
"Maybe," said Kakashi. "We don't know that yet."
Jin lost his smile, his shoulders slumping down. "You don't think he'll make it?"
"I don't know about that," Kakashi admitted. "What I meant was we don't know if you saved his life. From what you told us, the boy either is a mutant, or was attacked by a mutant. I'd wager it's the former."
"You think he's a mutant?" asked Jin, his eyes wide. "Really?"
Kakashi gave a sage nod, his eyes glinting at the boy. "If he's a mutant with the ability to create ice and snow like you saw, then he may have frozen himself to keep his injuries from killing him. You did say he didn't choke until you…thawed him out."
"Then it really was my fault!" Jin cried, his face stricken. "He could have been healing himself and there I went trying to help and I ended up actually hurting-"
"Easy there," Kakashi drawled. "You might have sped things up by keeping close to the sun, but he would have 'thawed' eventually either way. If you'd left him there, you wouldn't have been able to get help back to him in time. No, you were impetuous, but you did the right thing."
It took a minute before Jin would let himself believe it. Then he slumped again, a very tired smile spreading over his face. "I thought I was doing the right thing. It was really hard, though – cold, you know? I really thought I was going to drop him a few times when my arms went numb. Come to think of it, my chest sort of burns, too…"
He ducked his head, pulling his stained shirt back so he could peer into it. He abruptly reeled back with a horrified expression. "I'm freezer-burnt! Iruka-sensei!"
With a somewhat embarrassed, but highly amused and fond smile, Iruka moved over to see the problem. He wasn't a strict healer, but he did have a way with simple problems like illness or rashes – freezerburnt for Jin, meant a reddish reaction to the prolonged cold. It only took a bit of concentration to heal that minor injury.
"Now go upstairs and change into something clean," said Iruka. "Bring the clothes back with you, though. You might need them later, just in case."
- - -
Touya knew where he was long before he opened his eyes. It was the beeping off to the side, the one that quickened when his heart went faster. And he could feel the tight pressure on his chest and arm. It would have been déjà vu if he hadn't felt feverish on top of everything else.
'Here again. How can I be here again…? Why is it so hot when my hands feel so cold? Cold. That shouldn't bother me… I felt it numb me, it didn't hurt. Why does it hurt again…?'
Silence surrounded him, broken only by that now-quick beeping machine. No doctors nearby, at least none he could hear. He gave a tentative movement, checking his situation.
'They did it again. Exactly the same. Am I reliving it…? It was so hard, I don't want to do it again…'
Despite his thoughts, he forced his eyes open, wincing at the bright white above him. His left arm was held straight and immobile, but his right arm shifted when he tried.
'Heavy again. Why does it have to be so heavy? Will it take me an hour just to get off the bed? Again. I've already done this…!'
He glared bitterly at the cord strapped to his arm. Just like the last time, he knew he couldn't remove it without sounding an alarm and bringing a rush of doctors to his side. And it was so very hard trying to move when he had to be careful not to pull that small cord free.
His neck was braced, an uncomfortable sensation, but it wasn't the thick cast they'd put on the last time. This one was more temporary, as if they'd only put it there for the time being. Like they were in a hurry?
He fumbled with the clasps, his cold fingers almost hurting from that light contact. But removing it was much easier than the cast had been – he'd been forced to wait and cut it off days later. The moment the brace was gone, he tilted his head to see his chest, ignoring the needling pain that movement caused in his neck.
They'd wrapped his ribs again – no more than the last time, just cloth bandages. And he couldn't help the bitter smirk that twisted his lips at the sight.
'Do they really think that helps me? One hit and they'll crack again. If they want to protect me, they should have used a cast. An iron cast, maybe. Can't they take an X-ray and tell my ribs have been broken more times than I can count? And what do they do? They wrap cloth around my chest and send me back. Fools.'
It wasn't until he turned to his left arm that he noticed the first real difference from his last hospital stay. They'd actually put on a leather brace. It was tight and warm and sturdy enough to hold his arm straight so the bone would mend. He blinked in surprise.
'I'll keep that. It's better than the ridiculous cloth they used last time. This might actually help, assuming it doesn't slow me down...'
No matter how confused he was to find himself back in a hospital, in almost the exact condition he'd been the last time, Touya had a brief heady rush of something similar to relief. He bit down on the sigh and berated himself for it.
'I didn't want to die. I just didn't want to be here again. And look - just as I knew it would happen, I'm here again. What went wrong...? It was so isolated, the perfect place, the only place. I've never seen a more isolated place. And still I ended up here?'
But there really wasn't time to think about it. His first attempt hadn't worked. He'd ended up in the hospital, yes, but his injuries weren't enough to keep him for more than a few days. And he'd known once he was sent back he wouldn't get a second chance at a simple death.
'He isn't stupid, he must know I did it on purpose. He'll never lose control like that again. That was my way out and I failed. And here I am again, failed. It's some inevitable chain I just can't break free of. If I can't die free, I'll slit my throat...quick, efficient...I should have done it years ago. I wouldn't even need a knife if I can store my energy enough to make my own weapon. It would be messy, and...distasteful. I don't want to die like that, but I'm not going back.'
He shot a nasty glare at the beeping heart monitor when it sounded faster, matching his own pulse.
'It doesn't matter, anyway. I just need to get out of here. I'll do it right this time - I'm thinking clearer than I was before. Drugs for the pain, I'm sure. But it helps. I'll plan ahead and make sure the plane is going to a city large enough to disappear into. I won't let myself be isolated again with no way out but to die or be found. It's a good thing, then, that I'm here again. I used to know how to get around on my own, it'll come back again...or it should...
'I used to heal quickly on my own, too. I never got that back. Face it, just face it...I can't even remember what it felt like to not be exhausted. And what I did back there on that hill? It meant nothing. It was entirely useless. I wasted what little energy I had left and now the only thing I can count on is that I'm small enough to hide in most shadows. That's it, that's all. So stop whining about it and find a shadow.'
His glare faded into a small, distant smile. And he lay still for a moment, just letting it sink in.
'I hate my driving pride. And I love myself. Would that make me a hypocrite? Who said you had to hate yourself if you hate your life? Pride hurts me, drives me to suffer and survive, but I can trust it not to let go unless there's no other way. It's honest, never lying to me, not out of cruelty or kindness. If all I have is my pride, at least that's something to hold onto, something that's mine. And after all, isn't it fitting to love the thing you trust?'
'Ah...and how could I forget my mentally verbose nature? It's time to move.'
He inched his head upwards, his legs sliding over the side of the bed closest to that tattling machine. And he discovered the second difference from his last hospital stay. The bandages around his chest darkened when he moved, a dull burning sensation the drugs had hidden from him. He froze in disbelief.
'Cut me? They cut me open? Why...? My ribs, but they've been broken so many times and the doctors never...'
Something about that numb, almost peaceful memory came back to him. When he'd created the snow and ice, namely the ice. There had been something then...a tug and then a tearing sensation. He'd felt it just before everything faded away. It hadn't mattered at the time.
'Then it's my fault? My fault... I did this to myself?'
A strange expression spread over his face, some faint sort of grimace around his eyes, a tight smile on his lips, and a flash of pale blue over his pupils.
'I can't believe it...I've never hurt myself before... I've thought it, but I've never actually done it! And here I've done it without even meaning to...!'
That expression tightened as he pushed up to sit on the edge of the bed, grimacing more with his eyes but not losing his wide smile. For a moment he sat staring down at that faint, blossoming pink spot on his bandaged chest. And then he made a sound he hadn't heard in years. It was a very quiet chuckle, but it was real.
"Mm! What a nice laugh you have!"
Touya's head snapped up and a number of things happened in rapid succession. The fast movement sent a shard of pain down his neck. He slipped off the edge of the bed, the cord ripping away from his arm and sending the machine into a high pitched 'bree' sound. The landing jarred both his splinted arm and his chest, harsh enough to make the pain known over whatever drugs he'd been given. And he curled his right arm over his chest with a whispered curse, hiding his face from the stranger.
"I'm sorry!" Jin blurted, hurrying over to crouch by the injured boy. "I was just surprised to see you finally woke up, and then I heard you laugh and - I didn't mean to startle you. The name's Jin, by the way. I'm the one who brought you in. You're a mutant, aren't you? The doctor said you did some sort of healing thing after the surgery, really wiped you out. That's why you slept for so long, you know. And it's great that you're awake, but you probably shouldn't be getting up like that. You've had a pretty bad cold."
"What...?"
Touya had turned after a moment of that rapid speech. Now he found himself staring wide-eyed at the happily chatting redhead, a little stunned at the impossibly friendly tone from someone he'd certainly never met before.
"Who are you...?" asked Touya.
"Jin! You wouldn't remember, but I've been visiting you since you came in. Well, not the first few days. They sort of thought I'd mutilated you at first, but I explained what happened and the doctors confirmed that your injuries were at least a week old before I even brought you in. I think I did sort of complicate them, but it was an honest accident, really it was! And wow, your voice is a lot deeper than I thought it'd be, considering you're so small and all. Not that I don't like it! It's really soft and smooth."
The blue-eyed redhead tilted his head to the side and flashed a wide, guileless smile. Touya let out a quick breath, blinking dazedly.
"Did...did you say I'd been here days?" Touya asked, his heart suddenly pounding in his ears.
'Days...? I...I don't have any identification on me. Even if they know I'm a mutant, it'll take time for the...John Doe...? It'll take time before my description gets around. It would have to. I...the plane - I'm not even in the same country anymore! It would take at least a week, at least. I still have time, I still have-'
"You were asleep for more like a week," Jin winced. "You really used a lot of energy on that hill, you know."
Touya reeled back, his mind caught on that direct contradiction to what he'd been thinking, what he'd been hoping. He stared with wide pale blue eyes that were filled with horrified suspicion.
The look startled Jin, who immediately ventured a glance behind him before accepting that it was directed at him. "What did I say...?"
"Are you...in my head?" Touya breathed, his right hand curling into a painful fist. "Reading my mind...?"
'There are mutants with that talent! If he can read my mind he'd know everything...everything about me... They'd know my name, who to call, where to send me.'
"No!"
That slight, pale and injured boy was actually quite strong when he got scared. Jin admitted as much when he found himself shoved so hard he fell back and knocked over the heart moniter. He scrambled back up just as the patient tried to beat a hasty dash out of the room.
"Woah!" Jin cried, grimacing at what he'd done and at the knowledge that Kakashi would kill him once he found out. "Hold up, would you?"
He caught the short boy around the waist and shoulders, doing his best to avoid his ribs and arm. The ice user certainly didn't act like someone who'd been in a deep, drained sleep for the last week. Jin ended up pulling them both over backwards, the struggling youth was simply too frantic to hold him still without hurting him.
"Easy," Jin murmured, his eyes wide and worried. "I'm sorry I scared you, really...! But you can't leave like that. You just woke up - you'll hurt yourself if you go tearing out of here like that. And it'll be all my fault for scaring you off. Though, I'm not sure what I did to scare you. Was it something I said...? Is it okay for me to let you go now? You won't try to run again, will you? If you wait, I bet the doctors would release you. They said you were healing well, aside from your energy loss, of course."
The redhead just kept talking and Touya found himself losing that instinctive panic. The stranger had caught him from behind and pulled them both onto the ground. But the hold on his shoulders wasn't painful any more than the boy's voice was dangerous.
'He's so young, and he sounds so honest... Why is he here? He can't have read my mind or he'd never be touching me, even to keep me from running. Which means...? I have no idea.'
Touya swallowed roughly, his eyes still wide and locked on the door. "They'd release me...?"
His voice was that same soft whisper he'd used before and this time it really caught his attention when he heard it.
'I sound so old...! I've never...that isn't the way I sounded before, on the hill. But he's right. It really is soft and smooth - and deep. It's just the way I thought it might sound someday, if I had a someday. And it's only been a week since then...?'
"Of course they'd release you," Jin was saying, a relieved smile spreading over his face.
The blue-haired boy was so petite he barely reached Jin's shoulders. But his hair was pretty to look down on, and soft. He knew how soft it was because he'd sat with Ino and Sakura when they'd brushed it for the sleeping boy during the last few days. It wasn't as cute as it had been all wet and curly, but it was very pretty.
Jin snapped his eyes away and grinned sheepishly as he let the boy go. "Yeah, they'd release you. You didn't do anything wrong. It's a hospital! Not a jail."
"And I can just walk away?" asked Touya, his eyes suspicious as he glanced warily back at the redhead.
"I guess," Jin shrugged. "They said you didn't have anything on you, no one for them to call. So unless you want to call your parents or something, I don't-"
"I don't have parents."
Jin blinked, a swift change flashing over his face as he went from curious to sober. "Oh. That's actually what we thought. You're an orphaned mutant. That's why you came here, isn't it?"
Although Touya had no idea what the boy meant, he was starting to get a hopeful knot in his stomach. He kept that from sounding in his voice. "And if that is why I came here?"
"If it is?" Jin repeated, his confusion clear on his face. "What do you mean, if? It is or it isn't, right? Did you hear about the halfway house? We've had a few mutants wander here because they heard about it. Sort of a 'home when you have no home' deal, ne? Unless you were just passing through..."
They had no idea who he was...and they didn't care. No one was even searching for parents or guardians because they assumed he had none. He was as unknown as he'd been on the hill. And that heart monitor had been flatline for who knew how long and not a single nurse had rushed in to check on him.
'It really is...a paradise of annonymity. I don't believe it...'
Touya turned to put more space between him and the redhead. He didn't bother to get up from the floor, just curling his legs a bit so he was balanced better.
"What was your name again?" he asked.
An almost pained look spread over Jin's face as he gave it for what he knew was the third time. He couldn't help the hurt little frown that curved his lips. "You must not like my name if you have so much trouble remembering it..."
Touya acknowledged that with a slight nod. "I'm sorry. I was...distracted."
"Oh, right," said Jin, grinning a bit and waving the comment away. "I knew that. You're just really lucid and all, so I have to remind myself you just woke up from a really long sleep. I'm Jin, and what's your name? Want to tell Jin your name?"
If he didn't know better, Touya might have thought the boy was teasing him, the way he repeated his name. He didn't give any response to that, keeping his tone polite at best. He was good at being polite and distant. "You don't need to repeat it, I won't forget your name again. I'm Touya."
Jin grinned and hopped to his feet, only to feel a little sheepish at how small the seated boy was to look down on. He reached out a hand, offering to help him up. "Nice to meet you, To-ya! Want a hand?"
"No, thank you," Touya said quietly, his eyes narrowing just a bit at the odd pronunciation of his name. "It's Touya, not To-ya."
"Okay," said Jin, "Touya. Now you try my name."
The teen was giving him one very cute grin. Touya almost leaned away from it. He simply didn't know what to make of the redhead. "Jin."
Touya leaned to his right and made his way carefully to his feet. He was suddenly mindful of his injuries - if the place were as safe as it sounded, he might actually be able to stay put and heal. At least until his energy was strong enough for him to move without feeling the cold. His fingertips still ached.
"I want to leave now," said Touya. "You said they'd release me."
"Now? Are you sure you're okay to-"
"I'm ready to leave," Touya nodded. "I'm fit enough for that."
Jin gave an uncertain look but didn't argue when the boy turned to the door. It wasn't until Touya reached the open doorway that he remembered himself. "Wait a second! You don't want to go out there like that. Here."
The redhead had shrugged off his jacket, offering it with another of those bright, seemingly honest smiles. Touya stared for a moment before accepting it - only because it was better than walking around with only blood-tinted bandages for a shirt.
"Thank you."
"It's pretty baggy on you," Jin noted cheerfully. "Really cute! Shikamaru's clothes would fit you better. I bet you'd look great in mesh..."
Touya raised an eyebrow, not sure if he felt confused or wary over the 'cute' comment. "Mesh?"
"You'll see when you meet him," said Jin. "School let out an hour ago, so he's probably at the house by now. I'll show you over after we check you out. Come on, the front desk's this way!"
Touya followed carefully, holding the baggy jacket closed over his bandages to conceal the pink tint - just in case - and watching the various strangers they passed. The people all seemed to be doctors and nurses, and orderlies, if the outfits said anything. He expected that. What he didn't understand was why none of those people did more than smirk when they walked by, or why their eyes were on Jin instead of him.
'What kind of hospital is this...? Where did that plane take me - another planet?'
The tall redhead fairly bounced down the hall, quicker than Touya felt comfortable walking. He let him go.
'I'm going to heal this time and do it right. I don't know how long it will take for my energy to replenish itself, but I'm going to get it back. And then, I'm going to disappear and start over. I know I can start over and do it right this time. I won't be taken in by anyone. I don't need to. All I need is my strength back.'
"Oi! Don't let me leave you behind like that!"
Touya jumped at the hand that had clapped down on his shoulder, reproach and suspicion shining in his eyes. Jin was oblivious as he steered the shorter boy down the hall.
"I guess I better let you go first," Jin said amiably. "Wouldn't want to lose you in the crowd, right? Er...if there was a crowd, I mean. This place doesn't get much action. But they're pretty good doctors - they really hopped to it when I brought you in."
"You brought me?" asked Touya, sending a frown over his shoulder at the boy. "How?"
"Carried you," said Jin. "Wasn't easy, either. You really have that frozen thing down. I didn't know you were an ice-using mutant back then, though. I know it's not too bright of me, but I really thought you were frozen by accident when I first saw you. Even thought you were dead for a while there."
That caught Touya's attention, and he pulled away from the hand pushing him along. He stepped aside and walked beside the boy instead. "Was I frozen, then? Really frozen?"
"Icy cold," Jin nodded. "You weren't frozen solid, not hard like ice, but you were cold all the way to your breath. It's kind of cool now that I think about it. But it wasn't much fun at the time. I was really worried I'd drop you. My arms kept getting numb and I had to flap them around to wake them back up. Then there was the frostbite. I thought it was freezerburnt at first, but Iruka-sensei says it was a light bit of frostbite. Weird, though, since I don't think frostbite is supposed to be red and rashy looking."
Touya blinked, taken back by the happy and endlessly revealing chatter. The boy didn't seem to care what sort of information he revealed. He was just talking away, saying whatever came into his mind. And for the life of him Touya had never heard anything like it.
"Did..did you say frostbite?" Touya managed, staring in confusion. "I froze and it gave you...frostbite?"
"Yep," Jin nodded. "I had to carry you on my chest, see, because I was flying on my back. That's my talent - wind. So I was flying with my arms facing the sun so they wouldn't freeze completely. It turns out that made you unthaw quicker than you probably should have. I'm really sorry about that. I didn't know you'd frozen yourself because you were bleeding inside!"
The redhead was giving him a very open and sad look, wide blue eyes shining down on him. Touya leaned away, uneasy to say the least. "You're sorry because I was frozen, or because I hurt myself?"
"Huh?"
Jin blinked for a moment, then tilted his head to the side. "I'm sorry I put you so close to the sun and made you unthaw. You were so icy the blood wasn't choking you till I unthawed you. I almost didn't get you here in time. I'm really sorry about that. But what do you mean you hurt yourself? Your ribs were broken and poking into your lungs - no way you could have done that to yourself. Come to think of that, what did happen to you?"
"I...strained myself using my talent," said Touya. "It wasn't intentional."
"Yeah," Jin nodded, "that's what Kakashi said. He's the guy who runs the halfway house, Kakashi is. He said you must have burnt yourself out freezing the hill and yourself the way you did. Really dangerous of you. But I meant your ribs and arm. Did you fall or was it-"
"It doesn't matter," Touya said, his voice sharp and final. "They've been broken for a while. I don't heal like I used to, that's all."
Jin sent him an odd look, not sure what to make of that cold tone. He wasn't dense and he could hear the 'don't ask' tagged onto the boy's words. But it was disappointing. He'd looked forward to actually talking to the boy - assuming he ever got around to waking up. Now he didn't know if he'd offended him, or if Touya were naturally quiet.
"Okay," said Jin, his voice softer than it had been. "I won't ask about that anymore. Okay?"
There was a hopeful, almost innocent shine in Jin's bright blue eyes. Touya looked away with just a little nod. "Thank you."
"Sure...sure," Jin smiled. "You don't ask me about my parents and I won't ask you about your injuries. That way, neither of us has to feel uncomfortable and we can both be friends. I bet you're a really nice friend to have. You look like you are. I mean, you do look a little stuffy, no offense. But you also look like you're really sweet. You're the prettiest person I've ever seen! I really like how pale your eyes are. Did you know your pupils disappear when you laugh? I hope you laugh a lot, because it was really neat. My ears twitch when I laugh, but I guess that's just funny to see since people laugh when I do it. I have no idea why it's funny. It's like making fun of someone who smiles when he's happy! It's not just rude, it's stupid, too."
Jin paused for a moment, his smile widening when he caught sight of Touya's stunned expression. "And you're really cute when you blush, too! Kawai!"
That wasn't the sort of thing Touya could pass off with a polite 'thank you', nor did he want to come right out and ask that the boy not say things like that - he'd be admitting that it bothered him if he mentioned it. So he simply tore his eyes away and did his best to cool down his heated face.
"I'd like to see this halfway house," Touya said slowly, his eyes still averted. "Today, if possible."
"Ah!" Jin winced. "Sorry for blabbing on when you're being so patient. You're probably really tired, too, standing around after being asleep for so long. I promise, not another word till we get to the house. Unless the receptionist asks me something, of course. Then I'd have to answer her or she'd think I was being strange. Not that she doesn't already think that. You should have seen her eyes bug out when I brought you in here. Now that was funny."
"Ah," Touya breathed. He had nothing to say to that. The teen, Jin, seemed content to talk for the both of him. It was a little unnerving, but comfortable at the same time. He didn't have to say anything - Jin could easily fill in any silence before it became uncomfortable.
'I just hope these mutants at this house are as easily distracted. I don't know how to talk to people, even if I wanted to...'
- - -
TBC