Vol. 15 Tracing the Tortured

-Mugen-

Day two and still nothin'. No trace, no sign of Tsuki and Jin. I tracked down every lead that I could and I was left with nothin'. I was here at this bar because it was the last thing I had. Fuu made me take her with me because she didn't like us splitting up anymore. She told me that she had nearly lost us too many times and she wasn't about to let it happen again. She had been so mopey lately that I didn't have the heart to tell her she'd just be in my way. So we were sittin' next to each other, and she was talking up some guy. She was batting her eyelashes and flirting. I let her drink too much. Fuu wasn't the best at holding her sake.

"Yeah I'm a warrior," the man boasted. He put his chest out a little and had a big grin on his face.

"Really?" Fuu gushed. "I think warriors are dreamy." She swayed a little in her seat and giggled. My lip curled up. That was so wrong. "I think I've had too much. Hopefully I don't go home with a stranger tonight."

I arched a brow as the man's eyes got big. He was thinkin' that if he played his cards right, then Fuu would be willing to…Oh hell no. I asked her a hundred times to show me the goods and she was too afraid then, but now she was about to go home with some stranger? My muscles tightened with anger while I listened to the rest.

"Yeah, I'm real important with the government." He looked around and bent down to talk to her. I turned away to make sure he didn't think I was listening. "In fact, I aided in the capture of two of the most important fugitives in the country last night."

"No," Fuu whispered, shocked. "Where did you catch them? Are they secure? I would hate for them to get out and harm me." She put one of her soft hands on the man's cracked and raw ones. The man's focus went right to it. He started to fidget in his seat. "I would have to get myself a big strong protector then."

The guy tried to hold back his eagerness. Fuu was pretty much askin' for it. I didn't get why, but I was gettin' information so I wasn't about to stop her. "Oh, don't you worry about that. We took them straight from the city gardens to a secure fortress below the city."

Fuu laughed. "You honestly don't expect me to believe that do you? An underground prison? I may be young and naïve-" she swayed again and gripped tighter on the man's hand to keep her steady. "- and a little drunk, but I am not stupid."

"What!?! I'm not lying, the entrance is in the garden itself! That's how we were able to sneak up on them so easy."

Fuu's jaw dropped. "Really? Well you must be a very brave man. It's getting late though, would you do me the honor of escorting me to my hotel?"

I scowled. Fuu was takin' him to our room? The one that we didn't have anymore? That was it. I promised myself that I was never lettin' her drink ever again. I was going to say something but she grabbed the man's arm and started leading him outside, weaving and stumbling. What was that little bitch thinkin'? Fine, if she wanted to that bad, I'd let her go. It was her choice, it's not like I cared. I started tappin' my hands on the table, tryin' not to let my emotions get the better of me. She was gone for maybe five seconds before I went after her. I wasn't that mean, I couldn't let her do this.

I went out and looked around, but I didn't see them. Where in the hell were they? I just started walkin', not sure what I should do now. I listened hard, waiting to hear Fuu's familiar voice or anything that woulda led me to her. As I passed by an alley I heard a noise. It was sort of a grunt. Damn! The guy hadn't even waited until he got her home! I ran into the dark to save her. I stopped dead when I finally found her. She had a block of wood in her hand and the man she left with was knocked out on the ground.

"Eww, what a slimeball," she said, disgusted. She threw the wood at him and dusted her hands off. Then she turned to me and put her hands on her hips. "Well, now we know where to go. Let's go find that stupid entrance."

I just sat there. What? "Weren't you just plastered a second ago?"

"No stupid. I was pretending to be drunk. Men tell you a lot more when they don't think you'll remember in the morning."

Wow. Fuu was smarter than I gave her credit for. Not that I was ever going to tell her that…But it was somethin' that I wasn't going to get out of the guy with out spilling some blood. I looked at the guy on the ground as a small trickle of red liquid spread on the ground. Well, she had done it with less blood. And to be honest, I was relieved. I was glad she didn't do anything more stupid than this, like take the guy back somewhere. I mighta killed someone then.

Fuu grabbed my hand and led me out of the alley. "Now show me where this garden is so we can save those idiots."

"Fuu, that guy could have really hurt you or even raped you. You're lucky that worked." I was sorta confused by how my words come out. They sounded…caring. I shook it off and waited for her to talk.

She reached into the folds of her clothes and pulled out Tsuki's necklace.

"I guess she was right about this thing." She smiled and dropped it so that it fell back between her breasts. "It was nice that you were worried though."

-Jin-

It had been a long day. Actually, I wasn't sure just how long it had been. They separated Tsikiko and I, taking us to different rooms. They started asking questions about Mugen, Fuu, Ikitsuki Island, Kariya Kagetogi, and Tsukiko Hashinaka –who was apparently more of a criminal then she had let on-, and the things the three of us had done on our journey…I wouldn't speak, of course. I could never betray my friends, the ones I had said were the only ones I had. That is when the 'persuasion' part came in. They had used the full cycle on me; beating, crushing, stretching, and a few others. I could barely move because my body wouldn't allow it. It was worn and at it's end. It would take a while to heal these injuries.

Then they brought me back to this dark prison and left me. I had water and that was all. I just sat watching the shadows pass under the door and listening to their voices. Nothing was being absorbed, my thoughts were elsewhere. Tsukiko was not back yet. I wondered what they were doing to her. I immediately pushed it out of my mind as the possibilities made themselves perfectly clear. The things a group of men could do to a helpless woman were despicable. Again I blamed myself for the surrender. If I had listened to Tsukiko when she said to kill him then she wouldn't be where she was now. She may have been dead, but that might be better than this.

The door opened and two of the men threw Tsukiko's limp body inside. Another came in and set a tray of what I guessed was food and left. The door shut and again we were sealed in the darkness. Tsukiko stayed unmoving, her eyes closed, her hair blanketing her torso. Fear struck through me at that moment, white-hot and crippling. What if they had pushed her too far? What if she wasn't going to make it? Surely she couldn't be dead if they brought her back here, they would have disposed of her body. That thought sent a shiver through my shoulders. Maybe they had put her here just to show me that she was dead.

"Stubborn bitch," I heard one of the men telling the other. "She hardly even cried."

The silence closed in again, and I listed for any noise from Tsukiko. She wasn't breathing. I forced myself to move to her. She couldn't be dead could she? I crawled over to her, willing my muscles to work. They burned in protest so painfully that it made me gasp. I finally reached her though I wasn't sure I wanted to continue. She was on her stomach with her face turned away from me. The first few attempts at rolling her over were unsuccessful. My body was giving out from its day of torment. Finally I managed to turn her and a wave of nausea hit me. She looked dead. I bent and put my ear close to her partially opened mouth. She was breathing, but very shallowly. I checked her pulse…still strong. Her face was covered in blood, dried and fresh. I pulled the water close and ripped off a piece of cloth from my hakama that they had given me to replace my other clothes. I started to wipe away the layers of crimson, rust, and brown, scowling when I saw the black and blue bruise that had flourished down her delicate cheekbone. I touched it gently to gauge the swelling.

Suddenly she let out a sound that was something halfway between a sob and a gasp. Her hand shot up, gripping my wrist with an iron hold. It made me start. I expected her to be nearly dead but she moved so quickly that I had hardly seen her. Her eyes slowly opened, but only halfway at first. When she saw it was me, they got wider. Her eyes were glazed with tears, but none fell. She blinked furiously with her long dark lashes. She was holding them back, trying not to cry. I stared into the rich blue of her eyes, waiting…

"Jin," she breathed. Her grip didn't let up, if anything it got tighter. It was uncomfortable, but I didn't make any attempt to pry it off. If she needed something to anchor her, than I would be it.

"Are you alright?" I asked hoarsely. The torture had made me wear out my voice. I cleared my throat, but it only made the rawness worse. "What did they do to you?

She swallowed with what looked like great effort and shook her head ever so slightly. "Does it look like I'm okay?"

"Did they harm you?"

"If you're asking if they raped me, no. They said they were saving that for later." She struggled to sit up. Her hands that were in the dirt attempting to support her weight began to falter. I helped and she didn't protest. When she was satisfied that she wasn't going to fall, she looked over to me. "How are you doing so good?"

"I've been out longer than you." I grabbed one of the bowls of…soup? I handed it to Tsukiko. She grimaced at its contents but raised the bowl to her lips. She began to eat shakily. The broth was nearly spilling over the edges of the crude bowl each time she raised it. Her arms were too weak even to hold something as light as a bowl. "Let me help you."

"No," she said sternly, almost threateningly. "I have to do this on my own."

I smiled at her defiance. Her eyes were burning with rage as she stared, unseeing, at the wall across from her. She was mad at the ones who had done this to her. An odd possibility crossed my mind suddenly and my mood changed. Maybe her anger was towards me…Anger for letting her get taken to this place. Did she think it was my fault? It wasn't though, I had no choice. She shouldn't be angry with me when all I was doing was trying to preserve her. If that was the way she felt then she was not the person I thought.

"If you wish me to leave you alone, then I will," I informed her in a steady tone. Even to me it sounded cold.

She stopped, the bowl's rim touching her petal-colored bottom lip. An uncertain look filled her eyes as she lowered the bowl to her lap. "What's your problem?"

"I understand you blame me and are disappointed with my choice of action, I don't expect you to understand."

She sighed and set her bowl down. She started moving towards me, despite the agony on her face. I watched curiously until she settled in front of me. She took my own bowl from my hands and set it down.

"Is that what you think?" she asked softly. I turned away, but she put her hand on my face and gently turned it back so that I was forced to look at her. I didn't try to look away again. Her gaze held me. She stared intently at me and arched a brow. "What gave you the notion that I'm mad or disappointed with you?"

"Because I didn't kill that man when you said to, and now we're here," I explained. Did she not feel the way that I thought? "You think that all of this is my fault."

She laughed weakly. "Are those my thoughts or yours? Jin, you did what you thought was right. And we're both alive, right? So no harm done…by you. I think you are suffering from exhaustion. Stop beating yourself up, you've had enough of that today." She smiled warmly at the relief that washed over my face. "I just don't get how you'd think I could be disappointed in you."

She pressed my bowl back into my hands and reached for her own. Then she sat against the wall next to me, her left side pressed against my right, and started to eat again. When we were finished she leaned against me, her head falling on my shoulder. I didn't know what she was doing until her breathing evened. She was asleep. Her body gave me warmth from the cold that slowly crept in with the night. I adjusted so that I was a little more comfortable and tried to get some rest too. My head rested on the top of hers, my cheek pressing against her silky hair. I was happy when sleep began to tug on the edges of my consciousness. Lord knows I'd need it.

(a/n: Okay, that was the first new and improved chapter. I'm trying to take a little more time making the story better instead of spitting them out like crazy. So it will be more time between chapters, but I think that you guys might like it better. Please tell me what you think or if the story sounds any better. R&R. Thanks.)