Hello everyone! It's Saturday evening, and we all know what that means; update time! There are a couple of things I want to cover before we begin, so let's get that out of the way now. First of all, it becomes apparent in this chapter that Kaze no Fantasia does not follow the canon Yu Yu Hakusho storyline completely. The story does take place after the Dark Tournament, and in fact breaks continuity pretty much at the start of season four; the final battle with Sensui. In the standard Hakusho storyline- oh, crap, spoilers ahead- Yusuke is killed fighting Sensui and is revived by the Mazuku, ancient demon DNA in his own body. He comes back as a half-demon, is fired by the spirit world, and goes to hang out in the Makai for a while to meet his ancestral father, Raizen. In Kaze no Fantasia's timeline, that last battle with Sensui ended differently; at the age of fifteen Yusuke is still a spirit detective despite the Mazuku... or however you spell that, I just realized I don't really know... and after a few really bad battles Koenma thought it might be best to add a healer to his team; hence how Mana became involved with the group. As for Jin and company, in the canon storyline the six Dark Tournament fighters- Jin, Touya, Chu, Rinku, Suzuka, and Shishiwakamaru- actually trained under Genkai for about a year before going back to the demon world. I kept that canon, although their reasons for going back are not the same as the ones from the anime because, obviously, things happened a little differently... heh heh... poor Yomi... he should be grateful for that...
Also, since none of the Dark Tournament fighters have much in the way of backstories, I've had to take a few creative liberties with old Jin here. I tried to make them as logical as possible... which is a pain in the arse when the subject in question is where the hell he got that accent. But I think I did okay on that. Thank you.
I unlocked Jin on Dark Tournament for PS2 the other day- ya'all remember my rant about that game, don't you? Funny story, how I got Jin. I was playing arcade mode, smacking down Chu... good old Yusuke had an easy battle there... and lo and behild, I unlocked a character. It was none other than... Risho! Risho has to be my least favorite character in the whole bloody series, and he's definately the last character I would EVER play as, the dead last, for god's sake I'd just written a paragraph or two emphasizing what an idiot he was... so... well... I was not a happy girl. So I did what any good gamer does... I went online and got the cheat code to unlock every single character. When I'm not playing as Jin I've discovered I'm also pretty vicious as Touya; his ice sword combos flow nicely and don't even interfere with his other moves, so if there's an opponent I can't beat with one of them I try it with the other instead and I do pretty good. I just hope I never have to play against anyone who has the balls to have a go as Shishi. Characters that damage themselves to attack usually have some nasty ways of balancing that out...
And for anyone with a Gameboy Advance, I would definitely recommend getting Tournament Tactics just for one piece of dialogue. There's a scene where Touya compliments Yukina on her ability to control the cold and comments that with training, she could become a real ice master someday. Yukina says the compliment makes her happy, but she really only wants to protect her friends. Touya tells her that this is humbling, but that he can still tell she could be capable of great power, and he asks if there's anyone else in her family that has that sort of power... at which point Hiei jumps in and drags her off because there's more fighting to do, and Touya is left observing that Hiei isn't the most patient person. Now, the logical idea would be that Hiei doesn't want Yukina mentioning her missing brother, but my personal theory is that he just doesn't like this guy talking to his sister. Too cute. Really, it's worth it to get the game just for that.
And if you do get the game, and if you get to the last level, I can tell you how to level your whole party to max without actually fighting. And it's not a cheat! All it takes is leveling Jin or Hiei just right...
Well, I've rambled enough; it's time to get on with the chapter. We actually get a bit of history about two characters in this one; we finally learn a little about where Jin came from, and we also get to understand a bit more about Mana's past and how it shaped her into who she is today. Thanks as always for the reviews and faves; they really do make me that happy. So let's go!
Mana's chest was burning. Hugging her pillow to her, she fought back tears at the effort it was taking not to choke. For two nights now she'd managed to fight the feelings of nausea back. Tonight it looked like she was loosing the battle. She clung to the padded fabric, forcing herself to breathe evenly. Steady, even breathing, that was the key. She could fight this. She could be alright.
It didn't work. Mana held back the bile between pressed lips as she dove for her can. Damn it. Damn it! The coughing shook her entire body this time, the scent of her own fluids sharp in the air. She knew she should have asked for help, but she just couldn't. She'd never get any stronger if she just relied on other people. She'd been lower than this before and made it through on her own. She'd be okay...
There was a gentle hand on her back. "Now see, wot are ya doin' that again for? For the life of me, I don't see how ya get along on yer own. Come on, drink up."
Damn it... Mana took the glass Jin held out to her, drinking obediently. At this rate she'd never convince him she was doing better. She didn't like that sort of situation. It didn't sit well with her. "Thank you..."
She felt him settle onto the mattress next to her. His hand was firm as he rubbed up and down her spine; it was more comforting than it was frightening, but it was still unnerving to her that he was bold enough to get that close. Why shouldn't he be bold, though, she thought wryly, she was pathetic right now. She was of no threat to him, not even if she'd wanted to be. He knew that. He was the threat. And yet somehow she couldn't bring herself to be afraid of him anymore. Mana sighed. She'd gotten herself into a very strange situation...
Her stomach clenched suddenly. Mana's eyes widened as she bent back over the bucket, the glass slipping from her hands. Jin's hand tightened around her shoulder, the other one catching the vessel before it could land on her bed. "Easy now. Yer gonna be okay." He waited until she was done coughing to hold the glass back up. "Finish this up now."
Mana did as she was told. Jin sat, watching over her, until the cup was empty. "Thanks," she mumbled again. "You don't have to keep doing this."
The redhead scowled lightly. "I don't know wot kinda people ya know, but I can only listen to something like that so many times afore I start actin'. I woulda thought ya might be the kinda lass who understood that, goin' by yer own actions."
"Did you come in to scold me?" Mana set the glass on her nightstand before she could drop it again. "I'm not in the mood for that right now..."
"Nah." Mana stared down at her hands and heard Jin sigh lightly. "Well, it is some improvement, right? Yer not doin' this quite so much any more." He patted her lightly below the shoulders. "Ya think yer ahright now?"
"I think so." She turned away, settling into her bed. Jin reached over to pull the covers around her neck, and Mana had to bite back a scowl. She was too old for that sort of thing. "I wish you'd stop doing that."
"It's not hurtin' ya any." Damn it, Jin's voice had an almost hypnotic quality when she was that tired. She peeked up at him from under the blankets; he was smiling. "See? Yer all nice and cozy now. Ya got nothin' to feel ill about any more, so now it's time to sleep."
No... she didn't want to sleep yet... "Why do you talk like that?"
Jin seemed startled by the question. "Ya mean the accent?" Mana nodded. "Wow... ya know, I don't get asked that quite as often as ya'd think. Wot makes ya want to know?"
"I'm just curious." And besides, she thought, it seemed like the easiest question to start with. Jin tilted his head, settling onto the foot of her bed the way he usually did. "It's not something I've ever heard before, except for in movies..."
Jin laughed softly. "No, I guess ya wouldn't have. Would ya believe me if I said my mother grew up here, in your world?"
Mana blinked. "It's been known to happen. The barriers weren't always there."
The redhead nodded, a strange sort of wistful look on his face. "When I was born, she came back. Didn't want an infant in a world like the one I be livin' in now, in the demon world. The Makai, it's not a safe place. She took me, and she went back to the land she'd grown up in." He smiled wryly. "We got ourselves chased back when I was just a lad. My mother, she was a pretty one, but she turned the wrong sort of heads. I couldn't've been more than eight or ten when we left. I don't really remember much about that place, but I guess the talk stuck with me. My mother, she talked the same way, so I heard it for the rest of my growin' up. It just seemed natural."
Mana frowned lightly, wondering how old he was but deciding not to ask. "What happened to your mother?"
The apparition's expression darkened. "Haven't seen her in years, to be honest with ya. I was already on my own long afore I ever joined up with the shinobi." Mana blinked; had she heard that right? "Good woman, my mother. Ya don't find many people willin' to work hard in a world where ya don't get much for it."
The girl nodded quietly. "Who are the shinobi?"
"Eh, ya want to know 'bout that now, too?" Jin blinked. "Can't believe I didn't tell ya 'bout them sooner, actually. I don't have much to do with them now; the group I was part of, it fell under kinda a bad leader. Risho, he was a bit too willing to sell out, Forgot wot honor meant, that one did. Guess there're a few bad ones in every group, though, right?"
"Right..." Mana was starting to feel drowsy. "So what'd you do, exactly?"
"We did wotever we were needed for doin'." Jin flopped onto his back suddenly. "We would take care of things, disputes and the like, for whoever could pay the price. I guess it was interestin' enough a life, although a body gets tired of hidin' in the dark all the time. Didn't stop us from makin' a reputation, though. We became a pretty well-known lot, and I was glad for the diversion. Got into some good fights." The redhead was quiet for several moments; Mana rolled over to see him better. "An' then I guess we set our sights too high. We tried to take a tournament for a bit o' land in this world here, and got the floors wiped with our backsides." There was a wry smile creeping across his face. "Was a spirit detective that did it, too. Good enough guy, but man did his team take us for a ride, and they had the disadvantage. Yer a mean bunch, ya detective folk."
"The only other spirit detective I know is a complete moron," Mana muttered. Jin raised an eyebrow.
"That bad, is he?" He sounded amused. Mana scowled under her blanket.
"You have no idea. He's condescending and rude and honestly, I don't see how he gets a single thing done, because he's stupid to boot."
The redhead looked highly entertained. "Ya don't think too much of him, do ya?"
"Not at all."
She heard a soft chuckle as her eyes began to drift shut against her will. "The guy I met, he was ahright. Pretty decent fellow, actually. I liked him. I've been wantin' a rematch pretty bad, but to be honest with ya I'd kinda like to get some more trainin' in first. A real brawler, that one is, and from what a fellow picks up it's like he just gets stronger and stronger." There was a moment of silence. "Ya in there, Mana?"
"Yeah..." The girl opened her eyes. "Sorry. I'm still listening. So the shinobi fell apart after this tournament?"
Jin's mouth twitched. "They might as well have, to hear Risho talkin' of it. We lost one of our best that day, and another that honestly I was kinda glad to see go. After the lengths Risho'd stooped to tryin' to buy us a win, me and Touya didn't much care to put up with him, so we walked out and let him go back to the rest on his own. It was a hard blow to Risho; now most of the others don't much care to listen to his plans any more. From what me and Touya picked up there's talk of a coup in the ranks, so Risho's been tryin' to get us back on his side. That's how we ended up here; he caught up to us for a chat and someone knew he was comin' along that way."
"Then shouldn't you be worried about getting him back?"
"Nah, I just want to find Touy. We might actually go back if Risho's gone and been killed, I don't rightly know. It was a pretty okay life, and we had some interestin' times. One time, I can remember..."
But Mana fell asleep before the story was through, and couldn't remember it when she woke up the next morning.
Thinking about it as he lay awake in bed, Jin decided he really was starting to like that little human. She was a nice girl and usually a pretty smart one, too, although that afternoon he'd had the distinct feeling that she had no idea of where she was going or what she was doing. Still, she'd been trying pretty hard, and that counted for something. He hadn't been just fooling when he'd said she was a good girl. Actually, her reaction kind of got to him just a little bit. The way she'd reacted, a person would think no one had ever said anything pleasant about her before. It made him more curious about her than he already was. Damn, he wished he'd had a chance to read that diary...
He was actually awake before Mana left for school that morning. Jin kept an eye on the girl as he ate his breakfast; she seemed to be doing a little bit better than last night. "So where are we gonna be doin' today?"
Mana didn't look up at him as she packed her book bag. "First I have to go out for a while. The twins and I usually get ice cream on Wednesdays." The girl paused, setting her bag down and looking over at him curiously. "Have you ever had ice cream before?"
"Ah... no, that's not a familiar one." Jin had to resist the urge to tug a braid as she sat down next to him to eat. "Wot is it?"
"It's a desert, or a snack. Would you like to come with us? That way you and I could head out from there."
"That sounds good." Jin lost the battle and reached over, catching one of her braids. Mana scowled lightly; he gave her an innocent look in return. "Ya know, ya need to be careful with these. Turn your head too fast and ya could really hurt someone with them."
"That's nice. Could you please let go now?" The girl tried to pull away slightly. Jin released her hair.
"So I should be ready to head out when ya get home from school again?"
"That would work the best." Mana actually cleared her plate faster than he did, jumping up to grab her bag. "I'll see you this afternoon, then, okay?" He nodded and waved, and she left through the front door. Jin watched her go. Now what was he going to do with the day?
He ended up spending most of the morning reading. He was almost done with the series Mana had recommended; it was actually pretty neat. He just worried about what he was going to do once he was done with it. It was nice that he was able to get out more now, but he was still bored a lot when Mana was in school. Sighing, he flopped back on the balcony swing. At least the sun was nice...
Jin woke with a start to Mana looking down at him. The girl had a lightly amused expression on her face as she tapped one foot on the ground lightly. "You're not ready to go yet, are you?"
"Em... mostly, yeah... when did ya get home?"
"I climbed up just now." The girl was already pulling her braids out. "I'm going to let Sachi and Hachi in the front door and then get changed, okay? Try not to cause too much trouble with Sachi today."
"Right." Jin stuck his tongue out once Mana's back was turned. After a moment he heard voices at the front door; apparently the twins didn't like coming up the stairs outside. The only thing he really needed to go out was his hat, and Mana would probably bring that out herself, so he waited where he was. To his surprise, one of the black-haired girls actually joined him. He stared, trying to figure out which one it was. They were identical, damn it... "Em... 'ello there."
"Hello." Oh, this one was cheerful. It must have been Hachiko. "Mana has been looking better lately. Thank you for taking care of her."
"Yer welcome..." The girl sat next to him on the swing. That confirmed it; this was Hachi. The other one wouldn't have gotten within poking range. This was the one he had to be wary of.
"Mana said you're coming with us today." The girl was short enough that her feet didn't touch the ground when she sat back; she swung her legs lightly back and forth instead. "Are you worried about finding your friend?"
"I'm not worried any about Touya bein' safe; he can take care of himself. But if I don't find Touy, I can't go home. Gonna be in a lot of trouble if I can't go home, I am..."
The human nodded, staring up at him with a curious sort of expression on her face. The apparition stared back , and she giggled suddenly. "I think I can tell what the hat was for."
"Been there my whole life, that has. Mana insists I be coverin' it up afore I go out, otherwise she won't let me leave." Well, so far she didn't seem intent on asking any favors, which meant she probably wasn't going to make any threats, either. And that meant that maybe he could ask a question or two that had been bugging him. "Hey, how come ya didn't warn me about how Mana feeds?"
"Would you have offered to help her if you'd known?" Hachi's legs swung back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. "You're lucky she did it the nice way. The alternative hurts."
Jin raised an eyebrow. "And just wot would the alternative to kissin' a guy be?"
"Biting." She almost sounded gleeful. "Energy runs through the body on the inside and you learn to pull it out, right? If Mana can bite through someone's skin and get to their blood, she can drain them that way." He must have made a face, because she continued quickly. "She doesn't actually drink your blood or anything, though. She just has to be able to get to it, because that's where the energy is. I think the dumbest thing you could probably ever do is voluntarily put a hand over her mouth. She takes good care of her teeth. Her mother taught her to."
"Ya knew her mother?"
The legs stopped swinging. "Yeah, I knew Aunt Jennifer. That's what she had Sachi and I called her, Aunt Jennifer. We knew her and Mana since back when we were just babies."
Jin nodded. "Her other friends must be jealous, if you get to know a girl that long."
Hachiko stared at him, an almost startled look crossing her features. "Other... no, that's not a problem at all. Mana... Mana doesn't have any friends other than us."
The redhead stared. "Not even a one?"
"Not even one." Hachi sighed. "And honestly, she probably wouldn't even bother being close to us if we hadn't known each other for so long. Mana's not exactly social."
Jin shifted slightly. On the one hand, the conversation was starting to make him uncomfortable. On the other hand, his own natural curiosity was kicking in, in a big way. "How'd ya meet her, then?"
The girl sat back, her legs swinging again. "My mother told me this story, because we were all maybe about a year old then. None of us remember it, but years ago Mana moved into the same apartment building my family lives in, her and her parents. It was our mothers that met first. Spiritual power runs through our family the same way it runs through Mana's, and my mother has the bad habit of attracting wandering spirits. She's not powerful enough to actually help them in any way, so she usually just ignores them until they go away. But there was a particularly stubborn spirit that followed her around for a good few months without leaving. Mom inherited her abilities from her father, he's the strongest one in our family, and honestly she was about ready to ask him for help, when one day Mana's mother came up to her in the laundry room. 'I know you're probably not going to believe me,' she told Mom, 'but there's a dark force following you around. It's been there for a while now. I really think you should get something done about it. It seems to be getting angry with you.' Mom couldn't believe someone was bold enough to come up and talk to her about it that bluntly, but she took Aunt Jennifer's advice. She went to a temple the next day to get rid of the spirit instead of waiting to go see Grandpa."
"And ya got to know each other after that?"
She nodded. "My mom went back to the laundry room almost every day after that, and finally Aunt Jennifer came back down. Mom wanted to know how she'd sensed the presence of the ghost so easily. They got to talking; Aunt Jennifer didn't really have a lot of control over her abilities, so Mom took her to meet my grandfather. Mom got her powers from Grandpa, who got them from his father, who got them from his mother, and so on. It goes way back in our family. Grandpa taught Jennifer how to control her abilities, and then when she'd learned all she could from him he introduced her to someone else who could help her more. Mom told me that was about the time Mana started reacting to strange things, too. Grandpa takes care of an old temple, a really old one, and there's usually stuff all around it that no one can actually see, but they can feel, you know? Spirits and the like. Have you ever been to a place like that?"
"Not exactly. I just live in a place where sometimes even the plants will eat ya. There's nothin' weird there."
Hachiko winced. "Good point. Anyway, there's always stuff around my grandfather's temple that you can feel, but not see. Well, one day Aunt Jennifer was visiting him and Mana started to cry. At first no one could figure out what was wrong, but then Grandpa realized there was something in the room with them. It was hiding itself well, but somehow it had startled her. They kept an eye on Mana after that and realized that she always acted weird around the temple. She stared at stuff that no one else could see, the things that everyone could feel but couldn't pinpoint, and she always moved her eyes and her head like she was following things around the room. Sometimes she'd get scared and cry, but Mom told me that a lot of times she would also start laughing, too."
"Mana laughs?" Jin tilted his head; that was news to him. He'd seen her laugh with her body, but the sound was never there...
"Not any more, she doesn't." Hachiko sighed. "We haven't been able to get a laugh out of Mana for six years. It's like she's forgotten how. We can barely even make her smile..."
"I've seen her smile," Jin muttered quietly. The girl tilted her head, curious.
"How many times?"
"Three times, I've seen her smile." Three times, he reflected silently, twice brightly beaming and once the kind of sweet little smile that makes a person feel fiercely protective inside.
Hachiko tilted her head. "You must have some kind of gift. Three times in one week, for a stranger? That's unheard of. Even for Sachi and I, getting two full smiles in a week is a miracle."
"How come she's like that?" Jin looked up at the sky. "Wot makes a girl stop smiling altogether that way?"
"Her mother died." Jin's eyes widened as he looked back towards the black-haired girl. "Six years ago, when Mana stopped laughing? I can tell you the exact date it happened. It was the day her mother died."
The wind master didn't know what to say. How did a person go that long without laughter? No wonder the girl was lonesome, she couldn't even count on herself for company. How in any world did she...
"Is everyone ready to go?"
Jin blinked as Mana came outside. The girl had changed into a simple blue skirt and a cheerful yellow blouse. The redhead studied her face carefully, nodding as he did so. Something didn't add up in his head; why did the girl go to such lengths to be solitary when she seemed so pleased just to have someone to talk to? If he'd only had a few more minutes to talk to Hachiko, he could have asked. Now he'd have to wait for the chance...
They took the elevator to get downstairs. Jin walked behind the three girls, letting them chat. The wind was clear; it carried for a long distance that day, bringing with it the sensations of life all over the town. For a moment he thought he sensed a slight chill, but it was gone before he could get a firm hold on it. Damn...
"Jin! Hello!" Jin blinked; Mana was waving a hand in front of his face. He stopped walking. The girl sighed, and he wondered just how long she'd been trying to get his attention. "We're going in here now."
"Ahright." He followed her into a small building with a brightly colored front to it and looked around. Well, it looked like an interesting enough place. Everything was light and cheerful here. He thought he might actually enjoy this...
"What flavor do you want?"
Jin blinked down at the girl. "Wot?"
Mana pointed up at a board on the wall. "Ice cream comes in different flavors. What kind do you want?"
The wind master stared blankly at the wall. He still wasn't even sure what they were eating, and she was asking him to make a decision about it? "Em... wot's good?"
"Pretty much everything up there. I'm having mint chip and fudge brownie in a cone. You can try a couple of different flavors, if you'd like."
"I'll just try what yer havin'." Mana shrugged, stepping up to the counter. Hachiko headed towards the booths lining the wall; Jin decided to follow her lead. "Hey, can I ask ya somethin'?"
The black-haired girl settled into one of the seats. "How did I know that was coming?" Jin stared; Hachi laughed softly and nodded across the table. "Ask away. I know you probably haven't gotten a lot of information from Mana herself, so I might as well fill in a few more gaps."
Jin sat down. "About Mana... how come she doesn't make friends? Any fool can tell the lass is lonesome somethin' fierce, so why does she avoid people?"
The girl smiled sadly. It wasn't the same heartbreakingly sweet expression Jin had seen on her pale friend, but it was close. "You know how her mother died, right? Mana's going into that same line of work. She's devoted herself to it for years now. As best as I can figure it, she's afraid of dying and leaving loved ones behind the way her mother did."
Ouch... The redhead swallowed. "Yer pretty good at readin' people, aren't ya?"
"It's been a gift I've had since I was small." Hachiko smiled. "I can tell a lot about a person just by meeting them once. I know if somebody's trustworthy or if they should be avoided. I have an even better track record than Mana does."
"'Cause of what runs in yer family, right?" The apparition studied the girl; that explained why she'd warmed up to him so fast, at least. "Is yer sister the same?"
The smile broadened into a wide grin. "My sister? She's about as sensitive as a rock. The only power she has is what we share between us."
Oh, yeah. This was definitely the twin to be wary of...
Mana came over then, carrying... Jin stared at it. So that was ice cream? She held one of the cones out. "Here. Just try not to get too hyper, okay?"
"M'kay." Alright, now how was he supposed to eat this? Jin glanced over at the three girls. Hachi and Mana were both looking at him, that didn't help, but Sachi hadn't waited; she was working at licking the drips from the cone with her tongue. Jin gave it a try. "Eh! That's cold!"
"Well, yeah." Mana rolled her eyes. "That's why they call it ice cream."
"Ah..." Jin watched as she took a dainty bite and gave it a try himself. Hey... this stuff was actually pretty good! He gave it a few more experimental bites. It was really, really good! Jin grinned to himself as he ate... and then nearly dropped the cone. It felt like someone had planted a chunk of ice in his head! "Hey! 'At hurts, 'at hurts!"
"She didn't warn him." Hachi sounded pleased. "You owe me five dollars, sis."
"Warn me wot?" Jin held his head with one hand, shaking, when it dawned on him. He stared at Mana. "Ya knew this was gonna happen, didn't ya!"
"Um..." Mana rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I kind of forgot to mention what happens when you eat ice cream too fast. You probably don't want to do that again..."
Jin scowled as his head finally began to clear. "Just for that, I'm takin' yers..."
Mana didn't relinquish the cone, but before they left she did get him another one. Jin thought he just might have a new favorite food; the stuff was good! He followed Mana out onto the street once the two twins had left. "So wot kind of plan do ya got today, Mana?"
"Today? Today we're doing what we should have done yesterday." The girl stretched for a moment before looking around. Jin tilted his head. He knew she didn't have a plan the day before...
"And wot would that be, then?"
Mana looked around before sighing softly and closing her eyes. "We're going to go whichever way the wind takes me." Jin stared at the blonde. Yeah, he'd heard the phrase before, but somehow he had the feeling that she actually meant it literally. That was new...
And so was that! Jin stared. Was the girl's energy actually rising? The difference was faint, but it was there; as Mana stood, eyes closed, breathing deeply, her reiki signature actually got stronger. No... it wasn't that it was getting stronger, it was that she was releasing it into the air more. Jin watched, curiously. Mana was sending minute bits of her own energy out into the air, and the air was reacting to it. He knew that technique and knew it well; she was actually trying to feel the world around her through the wind. He didn't know humans could do that. Mana opened her eyes, and Jin raised an eyebrow. They looked just a bit brighter now than they did before. "Come on. Let's walk this way."
The redhead followed her as she turned, focusing carefully on the air around her. Funny how he hadn't taken the time to do this sooner; the girl had a nice breeze going around her. Then again, she'd been so weak lately that there hadn't been much of a wind about her to go by. Jin walked alongside the girl, his hands in his pockets. "So the wind, it talks to ya?"
"Not exactly..." Was the girl blushing? "It's just that I can get a sense from it sometimes. Like, if something good is about to happen, I can feel it on the wind. Or if something is dangerous, if I'm close I can tell by the air. It's like an instinct thing."
"So it talks to ya." Jin reached over to poke her under the ribcage. "If yer askin' the wind which way to go and yer gettin' an answer, that's called talkin'."
"I wasn't asking anything. I was just trying to find a direction that felt okay." Mana's shoulders were hunched sullenly. The apparition frowned. That wasn't a good response. Why was she so sensitive about the wind? Sighing, he reached over and seized the girl by the wrist. Mana turned to stare at him. "What are you doing?"
"We're changin' course. Come on." He could see trees in the distance, enough that it had to be the park. Mana tried to pull free of his grip, but he held on tight. Finally the girl seemed to understand that he had no choice but to follow him; he felt her stop trying to pull back as they neared the trees. "Every time the talk turns to the wind, ya clam up. Doesn't seem right to me, that. Not when it's somethin' we've both got in common so well."
"What are we doing here?" Mana's voice was soft; it sounded like she was trying not to get angry. Oh, good, Jin noted, this was better than a park; he'd managed to stumble across an actual forest. He dragged her in towards the direction where the trees seemed to be the thickest.
"I'm gonna show ya a little something' I can do." Let's see, if he went just a bit farther out this way... now the girl was struggling again. Jin sighed and turned around, scooping her up into his arms. Mana shrieked lightly.
"Put me down!" Mana's hands were balled into fists. Jin studied her arms as he walked, trying to decide whether it was worth it to take a punch. "I will hit you!"
"Now, now, there's no need to be hittin' anyone. I'm not gonna do ya any harm and ya know it. Now calm down or yer gonna make this difficult." Let's see, this should be far enough out. Jin grinned slightly as the wind around them picked up; it was enough to make Mana squeak and actually hold on to his neck.
"What are you doing? That doesn't feel natural!" Jin chuckled as the girl clung on to him. After having to hold his energy back for so long, it felt good to stretch it out a bit! "Jin, seriously, put me down!"
"But if I did that ya'd fall right on yer face!" The redhead grinned as he felt his feet lift up off the ground. That felt good. He rose up a few more feet. "There we go." There was no reply. He glanced downwards; the girl had her eyes shut tight as she clung against him. Jin tilted his head. "Mana, open yer eyes. Yer okay." Slowly, he started to see a hint of violet behind her dark lashes. "Come on, just a little more now. There we go." Now he could see some full color. "Look down."
Mana did as she was told, her eyes widening comically. They couldn't have been more than five or six feet off the ground, but the human's arms tightened around his shoulders considerably. "How... how are you doing that?"
"With the wind!" The redhead grinned. "It's been my friend for as long as I can remember, talks to me just the same as it talks to ya, if ya'd just admit it." He settled into a cross-legged position. "The wind likes ya, ya know, if it talks to ya. It's nothin' to be ashamed of." The girl nodded shyly, peeking downwards again. "So no more bein' sulky. That's not allowed, so says I."
"Alright..." Jin watched the way her hair fluttered as she looked around, amused. The wind must have liked her; it usually took more effort than this to carry a passenger. He thought about what Hachiko had told him; that the girl was afraid of making friends because it would mean leaving people behind. That seemed like a cold way to live. "Can you go higher than this?"
Jin chuckled, dropping his legs down to land. "I can, but not today. One of these days I'll take ya for a real flight, way up into the sky. How's that sound?"
"Okay." He set her down carefully. "That... that sounds nice."
He waited a moment before speaking again, but she didn't smile for him. He sighed and smiled at her instead. "So no more dodging the subject, eh? If ya got a an ability like that ya should be happy about it, so I'm sayin'. Ya shouldn't be ashamed of it if ya can do somethin' other people might not understand. It don't make ya strange or anything. It's a gift."
"Oh... okay..." Almost, almost... now that was enough to drive a man insane. She came so close to smiling that time before she stopped. "We should head back into town now."
"Yeah, that sounds good to me." Jin tilted his head. "Hey, ya think we can get some more ice cream?"
A roll of the eyes and a light smack on his shoulder were the only answers he got. He decided he could live with that. Tomorrow, for sure, he would get her to smile again.
