mission report for bellemelody (part 2 of 2)

[capn_planet]

Back to Part 1



3: The quest

Being lost in an alternative world, being one of the chosen ones and being on a quest that might bring his death might not be the only things in Kame´s life that are utterly weird and so far inexplicable at the moment. He is actually more worried about certain feelings attached to the tall stranger that is supposedly his protector.

He wonders what glues his eyes to his figure all the time; he is also annoyingly conscious that a couple of times he blushed intensely when Jin caught him staring.

The day before, after the visit to the disgusting Cyclops that Jin calls his master, they fell asleep almost immediately. Jin didn’t explain much about the current situation, just that they needed to find some lost sword and kill some scary dude before the red circles in the moons and suns disappeared. It was all too surreal, but nobody really discussed it, by Jin´s bossy manners and all that, it was just a hard task, that, and the fact that they were all exhausted, and now all over again walking their asses off to God knows where.

They have been walking for hours, and the suns are burning them mercilessly. He dares a glance at them but the brightness, even through the spectacles, is too much to bear; he feels his eyes tearing almost immediately.

“Why are there two suns? The stars here seem to be the same at night, maybe it’s another planet or dimension,” he speaks out loud.

Jin looks at him curiously, as if wondering himself or as if he was trying to figure Kame out. “There is a legend. In fact, the ancients once said that there was just one moon and one sun, ages ago of course; it’s a romantic tale actually. Supposedly the moon and the sun were in love, but they could never be together, one being the guardian of the day and the other the light of the night.”

“Oh, I think I’ve read about that somewhere,” Tackey says and keeps walking. He rubs his back and stretches a bit, fatigue painfully evident.

“As I was saying,” Jin continues. “The sun and the moon could only see each other two times a day, once at dawn and other at twilight, right before one hides and the other rises, and only for few moments. Eclipses were a gift brought by Universe for them to make love, for the lovers to be finally reunited.” Jin hears Ryo snorting mockingly at the romantic tale and Ueda smiling at him in complicity. Not the romantic types those two. “Anyway, the sun and the moon, after spending millions of lifetimes in that pattern, decided to talk with the Universe. They asked him to please end their misery and let them die, together. The wiser Universe told them that it was impossible, since their death would mean the end of life as we know it. But taking mercy on the two lovers, he created a magic mirror that reflected the form of true love. That’s why it’s said that that the moons at night aren’t two but one and the mirror is just reflecting the other one.”

“It doesn’t feel like only one, I tell you that,” Pi says, cleaning some of the sweat with his sleeve.

“That’s as tragic as it is beautiful,” Kame says, moved by the story.

“But then they are by themselves, not with the one they love, right?” Tackey reasons.

“Well, there are several beliefs in that matter. The legend is a fairy tale with a moral, so some people say they managed to be together because, theoretically, the one that’s your true love lives inside you. Others say that to maintain the equilibrium of the world the moon and the sun changed respectively to keep respecting day and night as they come, and others say that they simply doubled themselves , that there was no mirror, they just got tired of being alone and apart, and at the end by dividing themselves they created two halves, imperfect, incomplete but part of a whole. That’s one of the most popular beliefs, because apparently it explains how come when you find true love you feel like that person completes you.”
“Two halves of the same orange, we have that saying too,” Ueda smirks knowingly.

“A bunch of bollocks,” Ryo chimes and they both laugh.

“There’s also a more scientific explanation,” Pi explains “Some of the most respectable oracles and elders astronomers of this world, more than once said that there’s another world exactly like ours right next to us, the extra sun and moon we have are borrowed from that world, maybe you guys come from there...”

“Shouldn’t we see two suns and two moons too in that case?” Tackey asks while frowning.

“Yeah, besides we have plenty of technology to know if something like that was so near us don’t you think?” Ueda speaks and smiles knowingly.

“Teklogy what?” Ryo asks.

“Tec.no.lo.gy is what makes our world so awesome,” Ueda explains, “Here, this is my phone, it's out of battery but at least you can see what technology is about”

“What’s this?” Ryo asks once Ueda hands him the phone, Pi and Jin closely behind him looking curiously at the device.

“It’s a mobile phone, you can talk through it with other people over long distance,” Ueda continues and smiles fondly at their faces: they look like little kids amazed by a huge candy.

Kame grins too, but his mind wonders to the story that Jin has just told them, so romantic, two lovers pulled apart by destiny, so tragic and so Romeo and Juliet. Of course they didn’t have to live in a strange world, but it was strange compared to modern life. His mind keeps rumbling while he looks at the suns hiding in the distance.

“Maybe the mirror does exist, maybe it’s a polarized mirror so you can see from the inside but not from the outside. That could explain why we don’t see it but you can,” he says, hopeful.

“Whatever, can we walk faster? Night is falling and we're still far away,” Ryo says, and they all quicken their pace.

Kame sees himself being pulled out of beautiful stories by the unfriendly environment and the necessity to get out of there soon, that last thought being more painful than he thought it would be.

***

Two hours later, they finally arrive and the moons are high in the sky. The green vegetation is tall and majestic waiting for them.

Jin can’t keep his master's words out of his head. When he explains to the rest what they should do, he is relieved that nobody asks him more - he's uncomfortable at the thought of explaining the ultimatum the oracle gave him. How can he explain everything when he doesn’t understand himself?

He has spent the last day thinking and over-thinking everything that happened after Kame, Ueda and Tackey literally landed on top of him and his friends. After his master’s words, it all has some twisted sort of sense: why they didn’t kill the foreigners the minute they saw them, which had never happened before; why they feel more protective of them every minute. He is more conscious than ever of the strong bonds that weave complex patterns through and around them, and how those strong strings are getting stronger every second, as if some invisible ancient magic has suddenly taken over their lives.

And also, why he inexplicably feels more and more connected with Kame and with his friends, and he knows his friends feel it too, Pi is a blushing mess and Ryo has quit his distrustful attitude, and that is something.

“My body aches so badly,” Tackey says interrupting his thoughts while he stretches like a cat, it is quite sexy; he sees Pi´s eyes never leaving Tackey´s form, the latter grins amusedly and winks at him. Pi rubs the back of his head awkwardly and starts preparing the shelter for that night.

Jin snorts at how obvious Pi is, can’t he hide his attraction a bit? Like Ryo does?

Like…he…does?

He knows magic works this way, but Pi looks like a hormonal teenager, he is having huge waves of second hand embarrassment thanks to him, not that all of them are not awkward about all of this even Kame and his friends seem lost when the unseen pull is working. And maybe that is exactly the reason they should avoid fraternizing that way, the chosen ones are meant to leave that place in two days and nothing is changing that, no matter what they do.

Jin sees how everybody arranged everything, while he sharpens his knife with rage at his last thought, near the fire they made. He suddenly feels sad and frustrated as if something invisible pricks his heart insistently. He looks at Kame who is warily looking at his clothes, probably wondering if he washes them would they be dry in the morning, not that the suns wouldn’t do the job in minutes. Jin is smiling before he is aware of it and all the negativity leaves his body as fast as it came.

“Well pussies, I’m off to take a bath,” Ueda says and stands up, Ryo looks at him frowning.

“Where do you think you’ll do that? The lake over there is full of dangerous creatures you know?”

“You can come and save the day if you want, for all I care, but I’m taking a bath,” Ueda states and walks to the lake, Ryo sighs tiredly and follows. That’s the reason he likes Ueda, Jin reasons, he just knows how to deal with Ryo. In the twenty years he has met Ryo he has never encountered someone apart from Pi and himself that could do that. The copper headed prick is admirable.

“I’m going to search some food,” Pi says, and prepares to leave, his eyes widens when he sees Tackey right next to him, as if silently voicing his company. Jin smirks knowingly.

Soon enough Jin finds himself alone in the shelter with Kame, the latter shyly sits in front of him and he suddenly feels very self-conscious. He watches Kame yawning and moving his neck from side to side releasing some of the tension and he finds his eyes glued at the fine line of his neck, his mouth asking how would it taste.

He coughs noisily trying to send those inappropriate thoughts to the back of his mind and smiles at him sympathetically.
“Life rhythm here is not what you are used to huh?”

“No,” Kame sighs. “The hardest I’ve ever worked out in my life was in elementary school, and only because I liked the coach, that is your world’s version of a master,” he says and laughs at the memory.

“Older guys….nice.”

“I always found them more…. Mature…. if you like.”

“There’s not much time to think about those things in our world.”

“No time for sex!?” Kame asks and frowns horrified making Jin laugh heartily.

“I said no time to think not to do.”

“Ohhhhhhhh… so you and your friends…?”

“Sometimes, mostly when we deal with near death experiences...”

He is surprised at how fast Kame reads him and his twisted way of talking, understanding him completely, he also sees Kame´s lips straightening in a thin line. Jin wonders if he is jealous of knowing that from time to time he and his friends find each other’s company more than pleasurable. His heart flutters with an emotion that Jin doesn’t quite figure; It isn’t such an uncommon thing between most nomads, they probably only see human girls two times a year, a guy has to live off something right? he justifies. But deep inside, he feels uncomfortable, as if the idea of disappointing Kame is somehow something he should avoid at all cost.

“Can I see it?” Kame says out of the blue, making Jin jump. For a minute there he thought Kame was going to punch him, like if he broke some fidelity rule or something. The hell? That's just ridiculous, he tells himself.

“What do you want to see?” he asks, but Kame doesn’t answer, instead he approaches him and lifts his arms, really slowly, he reaches his head and attempts to take his bandana off. Jin stops him and looks warily at him, wondering how Kame knew about his secret. And then he remembers the cave and how he opened it. Kame, ignores his silent protest and just looks at him, he stares with such an intensity Jin feels his breath caught in his throat and forgets all complaints and all the reasons why he shouldn’t let Kame see it, shouldn’t let him in that way, no one has ever seen it before, not even his best friends and sharing that with him is exciting but terrifying.

He should know by now, that all his defenses live in the ground as far as Kame is concerned, one look at him, one gentle touch and Jin is already at his mercy.

He feels the cold air of the night on his forehead; he does not recall the last time his third eye was left in the open like this, he sighs with difficulty and dares a glance at Kame´s eyes, expecting to see a disgusted green face, he is surprised when he realizes that his eyes are fascinatingly looking back at him.

“Why is it open?” he asks and Jin feels his fingers tracing the path around it, he closes his eyes at the tingling feeling, the proximity and the intimacy of it making him feel fuzzy.

“I can’t close it, if I do, I die, I can’t blink either, that’s why I have to cover it for dirt not to hurt it.”

“Can you see with it?”

“No it’s blind, although it sees. It's not like a normal eye, but rather it sees what’s beyond normal vision.”

“Why is it blue? Your eyes are brown.”

“Blue is the color of water, it represents what flows, everything that flows naturally is what my third eyes sees, whether it is time, future, reality, truth, lies or magic; it sees it all.”

That’s why I can see you so clearly, the tiny voice in his head muses.

Kame is touching his face now, so slow and so tender. Jin feels his heart speeding against his rib cage and swallows, he looks at him, his smooth skin, his enlarged eyes, his thin muscular frame everything his two eyes can see, the third one, only makes it worse, he feels how it flows, magic between them, as simple and natural as life itself.

He sees Kame´s soul, how deep his heart loves, his friends, his family, how frightened he is of being there but feeling grateful for it being the reason of meeting each other. Jin understands that because that is how he feels too.

He recalls the oracle’s words again and a gulps forcefully. Was he talking about Kame, about this stranger bringing love to his life for the first time just to crush his heart by leaving? He shivers at the merest thought of it.

“What’s that?” Kame asks and lifts his eyes to the sky watching glitter upon them and hearing a sweet chorus at the background.

“Fairies are singing,” Jin explains, his eyes still glued at Kame´s mouth, he licks his lips unconsciously, already imaging them on his own.

“Why? They didn’t last night...”

“They only do it when the environment is heavy with magic.”

Jin feels his cheeks blushing, his bold explanation conflicting with his self preservation instinct. He shouldn’t let things go far, his master was clear, Kame doesn’t belong to his world, and trying to change things is a mistake that could only bring pain to both of them.

He realizes Kame´s face is only few inches from his own, he feels his own arms embracing him as if they had life of their own, and he curses all his logic out of him. He notices how he and Kame fit together.

Two halves of a whole.

Oh crap…

His lips look soft, like the rest of him, that describes Kame very well: smooth, soft, hot, consuming and breathtakingly beautiful.

The magic and the stupid fairies are blown out of sight in a second when his stupid best friend comes back stumbling down with food, which makes them jump at being caught. Jin turns around and covers his forehead once again rapidly and then glares with all his might, but his friend ignores him clearly oblivious, out of breath, and tomato red. Tackey follows right after with a smug grin on his face.

“This is all I could find.”

Jin furrows when he notices their faces and their red swollen lips.

Stupid Pi, he thinks, and soon enough Ueda and Ryo arrive, both soaking wet and pulling their pants up.
Jin simply hates his friends.

***

It is morning and the torture begins once more, the only thing that keeps Kame going is that sweet feeling of sharing something special with the most unexpected person he ever imagined.

It’s not every day you develop a crush on a three-eyed stranger who comes from another world. He blushes at the memory of the night before and the almost kiss they shared. He is actually surprised at his own reaction and the effect Jin has on him. Kame, if he is honest with himself, is someone who has had many crushes over the years, but he has never felt this level of connection before and that scares him a bit. Not enough to ignore this feeling, like Jin is doing, since something deep inside him is telling him that Jin is avoiding whatever is happening between them.

Such knowledge might be depressing for other people, but not for him, he realizes that Jin has a weak spot for him. He can tell by the way he looks at him and the way he is restraining the emotions rising out of both of them.

He knows that he doesn’t belong here, but for once, he decides that this experience is more important than to keep his heart aching with the what ifs. Besides, he could stay there, despite the unforgiving climate. He has been thinking of it for a while now, since he first realized he is totally and utterly head over heels with Jin.

He hasn’t talked about it with anyone, but the thought has definitely crossed his mind. Once everything ends and they kill whatever they have to, he wants to stay there some more, to know Jin more, and who knows, maybe give a shot to something that destiny is so selflessly giving him.

A guy has to take his chances right?

“Why can’t we walk at night?” Ueda fumbles irritated while drinking water.

“Because nighttime monsters are way more dangerous than the ones active during the day,” Pi answers.

“That doesn’t make any sense, in this planet everything is upside down, the desert is a jungle at night, Jungles in the day are deserts at night,” Tatsuya continues and Kame vaguely remembers Cromell and how it ended up being a desert land once the suns hide.

“How is it in your world?” Ryo asks curious.

“Jungles stay jungles and deserts stay deserts for thousand years, it takes a lot of time for those things to change unless we humans go around destroying everything. Unfortunately, that seems to be something rooted in our nature,” Tackey replies bitterly.

“Our worlds are not that different then, humans here are the worst, monsters are what they are because they don’t have any choices but human kind here is not very pleasant either. The way I see it, that’s even more despicable. SAt least we do have a choice,” Jin says.

They stay in silence for a while, walking, always walking, and Kame wonders if there is something about humans in every world that always make things complicated or hard to handle.

“What are at nights so dangerous?” Kame asks then.

“Macklos,” A chorus of voices reply.

“Who are they?” Ueda wonders.

“They were once humans, taken to the dark side by their greed and envy now they live under the orders of Mackraff, that’s the one you have to kill,” Jin answers as if he was talking about the weather and not a war that might be their end.
“But is it really necessary? Can’t you guys do it?” Tackey voices doubtfully.

“We can’t, apparently, our magic or powers don’t work with him, our powers don’t work around you three, maybe his doesn’t either. That’s probably the reason he won’t be able to see you coming, not even his most trained oracles would predict your arrival.”

“But isn’t it dangerous? How would we do it?”

“We will ask for help, the sword of justice lies in a land full of not only trolls but warriors too, some of them might want to join us and help,” Pi states, skepticism clear in his words.

“Are you sure?” Ueda asks, reading between the lines.

Silence is his answer.

***

It has been so long since he last saw the land of his birth. Jin observes with bitterness that nothing has really changed, and that surprises him since the last time he saw it, it was half destroyed. He remembers a time when everything wasn’t so dark, when everything was just about playing around like kids and not having any concerns. The protection of loving parents was shield enough against darkness.

He knows his friends are thinking the same. He watches Pi smile with fondness at the back of the canteen where they used to steal beers and Ryo checking the lake where they used to hang out and swim, the cliff where they all challenged each other to jump and the ancient half destroyed sculpture where the elders used to tell legends around bonfires.

As they walk by, he gazes at the small houses with their thatched roofs and the little roads made of stone. He recalls their last day there, the night when the Macklos came, recruiting new teenagers with special abilities to take with them, forcing is more accurate though. Their parents reunited that night to hide them, of course those horrible creatures found them, he still hears the screams of his childhood friend Kouki when one of them stabbed his mom. He still sees as clearly as if it was yesterday all their parents bleeding to death, in their valiant but doomed attempt to save their children.

He shivers at the memories, and the cruelty of being part of it. That fated night, he, Ryo, and Pi barely escaped from there and had to live as nomads in order to have at least the tiny bit of freedom the dark forces wanted to take from them... if living constantly on the run is any form of liberty at all.

It has been hard; kids lost trying to figure out their own abilities and trying to survive with them. The only time he has been separated from his friends was when he went training with the oracle. Jin is aware that his friends never really forgave him for leaving them behind. He didn’t know a thing about them for more than three years, until he left his master and used his own powers to search for Pi and Ryo.

They had changed a lot during their time apart, and Jin had to do a lot for them to finally trust him again and earn a place back in their lives. They were everything he had left worth fighting for. Well, up until now, he thinks while peeking at the chosen ones.

He has a vision right then and there, of a group of men attacking them and killing them in minutes, his body reacted before he could tell his friends, his body language informing them regardless.

“Protect them!” he yells and a second later, the men of his vision materialize.

He hears Kame, Ueda and Tackey screaming and his stomach jolts from fear of anyone harming them. A sharp blade of a sword passes only centimeters away from his throat and he fights back fiercely, avoiding punches and quick weapons that threaten to end his life in just one go. He hears Pi voicing enchantments quickly and Ryo flying above them grabbing the attackers with his claws and throwing them against the structures of the houses, focusing their attention into keep the menacing men away from the time travelers.

Someone punches him hard in the nose and he yelps in pain, his vision now blurred by involuntary tears.

“Jin?” A voice he doesn’t recognize asks, and he looks up to see a bald men with a huge scar crossing his face from his left eye down to his chin. This man orders the rest to stay still and lower their deathly weapons, and Jin frowns in confusion.

He feels his heart still racing in awareness, his senses alert and his rapid breathing drying his mouth. His pulse throbs in his temples, and neither he nor his friends quit their fight positions, still afraid of the outcome.

Something crosses the stranger’s eyes that Jin recognizes.

“Kouki?” he asks back.

***

Kame´s aching fearful heart almost gives up on him when he sees Jin being abruptly embraced by the assassin, for a second he thinks Jin´s going to die right in front of his eyes, he unconsciously prepares himself to put himself in the middle and protect Jin no matter what the cost. But then Jin and the scary looking hit man are laughing and talking as though they were old childhood friends.

“The fuck?” he hears Ueda voicing his own confused thoughts, but then they see Pi and Ryo approaching the men who minutes ago had clear intensions of murder and start hugging and talking as well.

They don’t recognize the language, though it sounds somewhat like Latin. The pounding in his heart relents when he realizes they are not in danger anymore, and once it happens he understands that for the first time, the fright of losing someone he cares about is stronger than the fears he feels all the time. He knows he is not the brave type, but for once he really feels he could be.

Once they calm themselves, they are dragged all together to the canteen, and he finds himself in a group full of strange looking men, offering some beers, or whatever the version of that is in that planet.

He lifts his eyes just to see Jin smiling, he has never seen that smile before, happy of seeing all those men again, he realizes that probably Jin grew up there, that that one once was his home, and these people were his friends and somehow that makes his heart content, he likes the idea of a happy Jin, not the always wary person he has in front of him ninety percent of the time.

He hears them presenting themselves, the scary bald one with a huge scar is Kouki, there’s another one with a huge nose called Nakamaru and a bunch of goofy looking guys called Yoko, Yasu, Maru and Hina. There’s another one whose serious face makes Kame think he would be good at playing poker whose name is Subaru and a tall really attractive man called Ohkura. They apparently are the defenses of the town. They explain that they thought the nomads were part of the Macklos forces so naturally they had to defend the village, no hard feelings. Kame snorts at the ways of these people, maybe the MO in that planet, is attack first and then ask, at least it looks like it since that’s how he and his friends ended up when arriving too.

He also notices their scars, injures and slightly pained faces; he has observed that same saddened expression in all members of that community actually just upon arriving, there is something lying hidden in each and every human there, something depressing, something dark and inevitable, and for the first time he recognizes how important it is to help them.
He sees a little boy with a bandana clinging onto his mother’s legs looking fearfully at them, and his heart constricts; he imagines Jin like that as a kid, and wonders what have those Macklos done with this planet. They were the force that took away all happiness from the world and made people fearful of living.

They start talking in English then, finally attentive to the lack of understanding Tatsuya, Tackey and himself have of their dialect.

“So what brings you here?” Kouki asks and sips on his beer.

“We are searching the Sword of Justice,” Jin says bluntly and the rest widen their eyes.

“What for?” Subaru wonders in distrust and frowns.

“We can’t tell you, but we need it today. We are heading to Macklos kingdom tomorrow,” Ryo answers and Kame realizes that even if these are old friends, their protectors aren’t willing to give any vital information to anyone. His heart flutters by knowing that even now they are shielding them.

“Gorloc hid it before dying,” Yoko explains. “Nobody has seen it in years.”

“But you know where it is,” Jin deadpans and looks at them pointedly.

“Don’t get me wrong we are more than thrilled to see you three again, we thought you were all dead,” Yoko starts.

“But…” Pi intercedes.

“But why should we give it to you? That thing is the only weapon we have against Macklos,” Yoko continues and sighs.

“Besides the sword is protected by ancient magic, only the chosen ones can take it out of there,” Hina chimes in.

“Let us worry about that when times comes,” Jin says in his leader voice, and there’s something about it that makes everybody wince and frown at him.

“Look, would you help us or not?” Ryo says irritated.

“Why should we?” Subaru barks back.

Kame sees how they start fighting again, with words this time around, each of them raising their voices annoyed, the fight escalates to a point his ears hurt.

“We are the chosen ones,” Ueda states out loud and looks defiantly at the group, who stare back surprised and gaping, not quite believing it. Jin face palms and Pi sighs.

“The hell, why are you telling them that!?” Ryo screams at him with murderous eyes.

“Is that true?” Maru wonders skeptically.

They fall to silence, Jin´s childhood friends not believing them but looking curiously and slightly hopeful at them, Ryo, Pi and Jin himself look annoyed of such information being now in the open, they intended to find help without giving too much information apparently, quite a hard task and now, how can they prove it? That these really are the chosen ones? Their protectors needed an oracle to believe them, how can they show them they are saying the truth and finally help them?

“Look at the window, what do you see?” Jin suddenly asks, evidently making a silent decision for all of them.

“The suns,” Nakamaru answers boringly after removing the curtains out of the window for everybody to see.

“What’s different about them?” Jin insists patiently.

“The red rings….” Yasu says and everybody gulps, Kame hears the rapid breathing between them and hopes with all his might that this would be enough for them to trust.

“We need the sword, and fast,” Pi urges, they all stand up now immediately, confident and decided expressions on their faces.

“Okay,” Kouki voices finally, “but it won’t be easy.”

“Of course it won’t….” Tackey utters, resigned.

***

The road to the mountain where the sword resides is not as far as Jin thought. They have only few hours until night and they need to be back in the shelter by then.

He peeks to his left where Kame is talking cheerfully with Nakamaru. He frowns, something liquid and green creeping up in his being, that makes him frown. He shakes his head at his unfounded jealousy and pushes it back for the sake of the mission. He doesn’t like the way some of his old friends look at Kame and the rest, though. Not that he isn’t happy that his friends are alive, in the least. AAccording to Kouki, the night they escaped some of them were taken by the Macklos. It took them years to get back. He admires them for going back to protect the city, and he feels guilty for a moment for never doing that. But he honestly thought that there was nothing to come back to: his natal city had been almost completely destroyed that night, and all their parents were murdered. Yet he is aware now that he should have come back, to at least protect what was left, like the rest did. He wonders if they think Ryo, Pi and him are cowards. Maybe they are.
He glances at Pi who wears a miserable expression and he watches how Tackey rubs his cheek reassuringly, and how his friend smiles weakly at him.

Ryo, on his part, looks annoyed. Jin isn’t sure if he is mad at life, at their old friends or at himself. He purposely ignores Ueda´s attempts to cheer him up; instead he glowers and stays silent. Ueda sighs and starts talking with Ohkura, which makes Ryo even more upset.

Jin notices that Kame is grabbing him; he is facing Nakamaru since he is still talking to him, but his fine hand is clenching his forearm possessively.

Suddenly Jin does not hate Nakamaru anymore. Intelligent guy that Kamenashi, he thinks, giving someone else’s his attention but never forgetting to remind Jin that he is right there. He smiles and caresses his hand swiftly before his mind tells him not to. Kame turns around then, just for a moment to smile brightly at him.

They arrive at the mountain, they had to kill several trolls to get there, but with his other friends' assistance it is an even easier thing to do. Gorloc was one of the elders of his town; he was a wizard like Pi, the one who gave Pi his first magic lessons - until everything went to hell. The elderly magician had hidden the sword there - or rather more precisely, he had created a whole mountain to guard it.

“Okay, this is it,” Yoko says when they reach an entrance. It is a double wooden door with three sets of hands engraved in the middle, old symbols of a language he doesn’t identify surrounding them. Yoko looks pointedly at the group, and continues. “We can’t go in, only the chosen ones can.”

Jin swallows with difficulty; his chest tightens at the knowledge that he will have to let Kame and the others in there alone, with no protection. He looks at Pi and Ryo who wear the same horrified and anxious expressions. Just out of pure stubbornness he tries to push the door open by launching himself at it with his shoulder, Pi starts reciting enchantments and Ryo tries to forcefully open it by transforming his arm in a huge mace.

Needless to say, the ancient magic works perfectly, and shoves them painfully to the back of the group abruptly with rays of bright white lights and a cracking sound of a mountain growling in rage and discontent.

Jin rubs his butt wincing at the pain, that landing was everything but graceful.

Kame reaches and helps him up.

“It’s a waste of time,” Subaru says, and Jin hates him for being right.

Jin realizes that Kame is shaking at his side, full of fear of going there by their own, Jin sighs and realizes that he needs to encourage him right now, if that mission is ever going to be completed then the chosen ones need to find the guts to do it. He watches Kame biting his lip nervously and his heart jumps in a mix of lust and tenderness.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“But…I can’t…I’m not strong enough to do this.”

“Look, you are strong, look how far you have come,” Jin says with all his heart and caresses his chin sweetly. “Besides, this magic is so powerful nothing in there is going to harm you, only you three are allow to go in, that means that there are no monsters there. I don’t think our ancestors would mean to harm the chosen ones, that doesn’t make any sense,” he reasons. Jin begs for it to be true. If not, there is no God, creature, or elder magic in this lifetime safe from his rage if they dare harm Kame.

He hates not being able to have visions about Kame, because then, he would know if they were going to make it, and his heart would have some peace.

Kame nods at his words and walks to the door, Ueda and Tackey right after. They stand there for a moment, then one by one put their hands on the door. The symbols instantly illuminate and the three are rapidly absorbed by the door. It never opens; it just swallows them so fast that when they try to think of it they are already gone.

What follows is the longest hour of Jin´s life.

4: The prophecy

“Ewwwwwww what the fuck is this?” Ueda says, and Kame retches in disgust.

He looks up and sees the depths of the mountain, full of black rocks and that bubbly substance in which they landed.

“It’s seriously disgusting,” Tackey agrees, and they fight to get away, swimming through it until they reach a huge rock a few meters away.

Once they are out of the white slimy liquid they see a corridor. It’s strangely quiet, and also, somehow, very peaceful. He watches his friends warily before leading the way through it. The rock walls are slippery and they change color depending on who is touching them: pink, blue and yellow. Kame remembers those same colors exploding out of the oracle basinet when Jin's master put their hairs into it.

“It’s very spectacular if you think about it,” Tackey says, and Kame can’t help to agree.

“Just because life couldn’t get any weirder,” Ueda chimes and they laugh despite the fear of the unknown and the situation.

Their laughs get interrupted by the appearance of a huge creature, a giant snail that slowly approaches them They jump in fear waiting for it to attack, but the creature just looks at them from the eyes on top of two stalks and bows its long neck at them in a sign of respect.

Kame knows that it’s not going to harm them. The creature slowly turns around and Kame follows.

“What are you doing?” Ueda asks warily.

“He wants us to follow, don’t you feel that too?” The pull feels so strong that he can’t quite believe his friends are not feeling it too.

“Yeah I do, and I feel like that too but that doesn’t mean we have to, I mean we could end up dead you know?” Ueda voices reasonably.

Kame ignores him and keeps walking behind the giant snail; he sees the same symbols of the door on its shell.

“I think we owe this little guy over there that slime pool we landed in,” Tackey says, making his friends snort.

They walk for what seems like hours, time dragging with the slow pace of the giant snail. The end of the tunnel slowly brightens and Kame's heart pounds the nearer they get, until he just has to blink repeatedly from the force of the brightness.

Once his eyes get used to the light, he takes a look at his surroundings. It is a cave entirely made of crystals, huge crystals suspended above them and to their sides, with the same colors he has been seeing since they discovered they were the chosen ones. There’s a particularly bright crystal in a myriad shades in the middle of the cave, and something surfaces from it. Squinting against the light, Kame sees the Sword of Justice standing up proud and defiant, and his fingers tingle from the urge to hold it.

It is a strong feeling that takes possession of them, just the sight of the sword makes them feel invincible, but not in a selfish way. It is pure magic destined to make everything worthy and rightful once more. As if its blade only shines with the pure will of restoring balance again.

As if he is in trance, Kame walks to it. He can hear his own heartbeat ringing in his ears. He watches his hand grab the handle of the sword and sees the hand of his friends right there on top of his own, grabbing it at the same time.

“Be worthy of the gift that has been given to you,” the snail says, and Kame´s mind can’t register the fact that the creature is actually talking, they are rapidly soaked up by the dazzling, vibrant crystal and he feels everything spinning around again, until soon enough they are again out of the mountain in front of the doors.

Kame´s mind is still dizzy when his feet touch ground again and his stomach stops convulsing.

“Ewwwwww,” he hears Ryo saying, but he can’t care, all he cares is that Jin is suddenly hugging him tightly as if his life depends on it. He throws the sword to the floor and forcefully embraces him back.

It feels like returning home.

***

Jin looks at Kame emerging from the bathroom, the moons and their fiery copper rings romantically illuminating the room, the Sword of Justice just few feet away. He feels a sense of accomplishment and at the same time realizes that his time with Kame is reaching an end. Before he knows it, he will be alone and lost all over again, with hope, in a world less dark or evil, but what does he really care if he doesn’t have Kame at his side?

In the short time he has known him, he already knows air would hardly reach his lungs if he leaves, that life will be moody, empty and without purpose as it had always been. If there is something he has to thank Kame for, it is for giving him purpose and direction to his life. He is terrified of losing that once everything ends.

“I thought I was never going to get that mucus out of my hair,” he hears him saying and Jin laughs despite his heartbreaking thoughts.

“You are like a girl sometimes,” he says, and smiles at him lovingly. Kame blushes a deep shade of red at his words.

“Hey, a man that takes care of his appearance is still a man” Kame defends and Jin grins amusedly at him.

They keep in a comfortable silence while Kame dries his hair and Jin remembers how much he has gotten to know Kame since he arrived, when he first met him it was as if he always scared, always shaking, tearing and on the edge of breaking into tiny pieces. But today a hidden force inside him has surfaced and he can’t help but admire him more because of it. Truthfully, Kame is not a coward, never has been one. He is someone who is afraid to show his own strength or explore it. Jin suspects it probably has a lot to do with the way he was raised or the peaceful world he lived in. But it took a while for him to realize that he was stronger than he thought, his power lives in his heart and this is the way he loves, accepts and welcomes people, always ready to be there for someone that needs him.

“You were very brave today,” he says, and he means it with every fiber of his being.

“Thank you. You were right, though. There was nothing dangerous there, just a huge snail.”

“What’s a snail?”

“You know…the thing with round eyes on top of two stalks that moves really slowly.”

“Uh?”

“Never mind.”

“I don’t think we have creatures like that in here...”

“Well, apparently you do!”

Kame says, and grins dismissively at him. He looks happy, as if he pleasantly surprised himself today. He really isn’t aware of how awesome he is, of how important he is, Jin thinks and coughs at his last thought, he is not sure if he is talking about Kame as the chosen one or Kame as the guy that in few days has managed to turn his life upside down and bring tiny rays of sunshine not even the two bright suns of his world have ever given him in his lifetime.

They hear a loud growl that can only be Ryo to their left and a giggle to their right that sounds a lot like Tackey. Jin blushes with awareness.

“So….These sleeping arrangements are kinda….awkward...”

And it is true. Yoko has prepared three rooms for them, and before he knows it, Ryo and Ueda are entering one and Pi and Tackey the other, leaving him no choice but to share with Kame. NIt isn't that he hates, rather thethe complications that would be all too likely to arise. Jin does not think he would be able to restrain himself with such an opportunity knocking on his door - or more precisely, lying in his bed.

“Why so?” Kame asks, and looks challengingly at him, the mischief of his tone surpassing the obvious adrenaline rush he is still feeling after finding the Sword of Justice, and the probable death experience they will face tomorrow.

Jin gasps and watches in awe as Kame throws his towel on the floor and approaches the bed. His eyes widen when he sees Kame moving slowly in his direction. The feline look in his eyes makes Jin feel nervous. The constant knot in his stomach, the one he has since he first saw Kame, tightens painfully and he swallows. If he is honest, he is ready for Kame the chosen one, he is ready for Kame the brat, he is ready for Kame the quest partner and he is ready for brave Kame, but he is not ready for this Kame, for straightforward Kame, for passionate Kame, for in love Kame and above all, for leaving Kame.

“You shouldn’t do that,” Jin warns when Kame stops just few inches away from his face, his lips more precisely. He licks them unconsciously, his body urging him to react, to do anything and get himself lost in the human that has broken down all the walls in his heart. His breath quickens and his heart stops for a second just to resume activity a thousand times faster.

He grunts, in a mix of rage and forbidden desire and God all he wants is to kiss him.

“Why?” Kame asks softly, dangerously, and Jin feels fear, of everything, of having him and losing him, of loving him completely just to see him part from him> If he is strong he would stop this, if he is strong he would stand up and leave that room.

He wants to protect what’s left in his heart that doesn’t belong to Kame already, the tiny bit he knows he will lose the minute their bodies join as one.

He looks at Kame in the eyes and knows he has lost the battle, there’s no way, now, that he could ever walk away. He grabs Kame’s face with force, pushing it close then away from his face, fighting, still fighting against the pure magic that binds them. He closes his own eyes forcefully and gives in, he swallows, he knows he has to tell him the truth first, to give Kame the chance to decide for himself, because there is not a forever after, as much as their hearts wish there to be.

“I have to tell you something….”

“Later.”

Jin´s thoughts fly out of the window when Kame kisses him, for a brief moment after the breathtaking feeling of having their lips pressed together; he realizes that all the magic in his world can’t even be compare to this.

He and Kame are magic.

It is simply made to happen.

***

Kame´s eyes flutter open with the first rays of daybreak. His head is resting against a naked chest, and when he tries to move the pain in his lower areas makes him recall the events of the previous night. He blushes heatedly when he remembers his bold attitude and the way he seduced Jin, taking complete advantage of the attraction he is sure Jin feels for him.

After everything that has happened, all the fear, the pain, the quests and that invisible string between he and Jin, he just wanted to be with him, to be part of him and let Jin bury himself deep inside him.

Just to be one.

It’s the first time he feels this happy, of belonging to someone. He is sure they spent most of the night making love over and over again, never getting tired of the ardor and intensity of the passionate, wonderful experience. He believes that he could tell Jin he wants to stay after the battle.

He lifts his eyes to see Jin snoring peacefully. Kame can’t help to smile lovingly at him and caress his chest, and Jin´s embrace tightens drowsily.

He breathes and Jin´s smell reaches his nostrils that fresh essence mixed with the sweat of exertion, the sweet blissful passion the moons brought and now the suns remember.

His contentment explodes in utter shyness when he realizes that there is just one more thing to do before telling Jin that he is staying though…

He needs to say he loves him.

***

The heat that day is unbearable. Jin mopes over the fact that they are going to reach Macklos land and be exhausted with all the walking.

He is not sure if he is so annoyed at the merciless nature or at the fact Kame is leaving when the last rays of the suns reach earth and the red rings that had been a blessing as much of curse fade away. A blessing because they brought Kame to him, and a curse because they are also taking him away.

He holds Kame’s hand a little tighter.

I’m not ready yet, he thinks in panic, but he knows he never will be. These thoughts make him depressed all over again. He wonders how he can push all these horrible thoughts out of his mind; they are at the verge of a war that might mean the end of the oppression his world has been a victim of for centuries.

And he will do it, the one he loves, the one that owns him.

He chokes back a whimper, but the tears reach his eyes anyway, the sunglasses would hide his shame from others but not from himself.This is the first time he has cried in years, since his parents' deaths; even his third eye is tearing, as if mourning the soon-to-be loss of the most pure and beautiful magic it has ever seen.

Kame, oblivious to his concerns and throbbing heart, clenches his side adoringly and rubs his face against his arm.

Jin hates his life, he hates destiny and hates Kame, for making him love him so deeply and so much.

***

They finally arrive in Macklos land. Thanks to Pi´s power and his protecting enchantments and invisibility spells they didn’t have to fight any creature or Macklos whatsoever. Kame is now aware that the reason they might have escaped so many times of terrorizing creatures or sleep at night is thanks to those spells, which unfortunately seem to last only for a few hours and by the time they got there they have worn off.

According to Pi, they would have to anyway since Macklos has wizards in its regiments that could fight that magic regardless.

Kame is aware of all that, he is not prepared for the hell that breaks loose once the spells disappear though, suddenly there are huge dangerous creatures, such as trolls, centaurs, chimeras, huge monsters with big pointy teeth and claws and a never ending army of Macklos pouring out of the ground like water. The Macklos were new to him, and terrifying, with black outfits and iron helmets and dark cloaks, and their faces simply skulls. He swallows the acid sourness that creeps in his throat by that first view and forces the fear out of his body.

Nakamaru and Yoko are Chimeras themselves, so they transform as equally huge monsters as the enemies, Ryo followed. Subaru and Yasu are Wizards as well so they work along Pi to destroy as many enemies as they can.

Jin is the only soothsayer, since it is a rare ability, he fights by telling them when a deathly blow is near, but the amount of them makes the task almost impossible, at least to protect all of them since Jin´s priority is the chosen ones.

The rest is simple and complicated, they are warriors, but amazingly good, it only takes seconds to end each enemy or bring them down, it is spectacular to see them work as a team, together, and synchronized so perfectly.

Yet, they are losing. He can feel it by the way they are being surrounded and losing ground.

Kame is now swallowing hard, frantic, not really knowing what to do, but at the same time knowing Ueda, Tackey and him can make the difference in this war.

He securely grabs the Sword of Justice to his chest, he feels it pulsing, and he thinks it’s impossible since things don’t have life, but this one feels alive and it’s pulling him to take it and fight with it. He feels the same pull with his friends, who approach him and take the sword in their hands.

From then on, he is not Kamenashi Kazuya any more.

He hears Ueda and Tackey in his head and they literally join into one mind, and one body, a fuzz of dust distorting their body, only the brightness of the Sword is clear.

They point the sword against the opponent army and one by one they fall to the ground, the magic of the Sword sucking the life out of them.

He hears and feels the combined disgust of Tackey, Tatsuya and himself, being the first time they killed anything in this life, but it is more important to get through it. It is the chosen ones or the enemies as simple as that, and the compelling feeling of bring justice to the world, something that he recognizes the most from his friend’s thoughts. It’s the unmistakable ferocity with which they want to protect Pi and Ryo, Kame takes into notice for the first time that he is not the only one feeling the pull to that world, to their protectors, to the Sword and to the Justice that needs to be done.

They are all in the same boat.
~United in force,
Balance will be restored~

The words of the prophecy resounding in his head, he closes his eyes, and feels the joined mind doing the same.

When he opens them again, there are thousands and thousands of bodies laying on the ground: monsters, Macklos, and everything that is murky, bad and sinister is dead.

Layers of dark dust surround the whole place, it is sad to see, but at the same time it’s comforting, knowing that these creatures of hell won’t bring pain or death any more.

“We aren't finished yet,” Hina says and Kame swallows in response already knowing what is coming, it takes him a minute to realize that he is he again, and his friends are two different minds and beings once more.

“Am I cool or what!?” Ueda asks and lifts his arm for Ryo to high five him, the latter looks at him at lost of what is he supposed to do. Tatsuya simply rolls his eyes, grabs him by his collar and plants a forceful heated kiss on him; Ryo jolts in surprise, eyes wide as plates and flushes terribly. He grunts at Tatsuya by the public display of affection, but Kame sees how he is trying hard to hide the smile.

He looks hopefully at Jin, who is worriedly looking at the half hidden suns in the distance.

“We need to hurry,” Jin says, flushing Kame´s wishes of doing the same as Tatsuya and Ryo down the toilet.

“Party killer,” he utters and he feels himself being pulled by Jin urging him to run, to the Castle that stands tall, proud and menacing in the distance.

***

You need to save him.

That is all Jin can think about, he knows Kame is tired of all the running already, but they need to kill Mackraff before the sunset and the bastard is nowhere in sight. They search every room in the castle, the fright and the pain of his own sorrow preventing any possible vision of his whereabouts. He hears the steps of the rest of the group at his back, a little far from them since he is the one that is rushing the most.

He pulls Kame to make him run even faster.

“Jin! Jin! You're hurting me!” Kame complains and tries to get his arm back, Jin´s heart constricts at the pain in his voice.

“I’m sorry,” he says sincerely, but keeps running. “We have to get there before twilight!”

“Jin, it's okay, we will get there, we'll kill him and everything will be alright.”

“No, you don’t understand!”

“Then explain it to me! The day ends at midnight that’s common sense, we have until then to find him and then we can go back home.”

Jin gulps, a twinge of blind ache crossing his chest. Home, he could almost see it, him and Kame, together having a life together, a house and waking up every morning to him. He feels his heart crushing at the beauty and the impossibility of such a thing.

He swallows hard. “No, you are going back to your world tonight,” he says and hears his own unsteady voice shaking at the finality of it all.

“What?” Kame´s voice breaks, he tries to free his arm once again. “Stop…Stop…Jin, STOP!”

Jin does what he is told, the command and the blunt pain in Kame´s voice making him momentarily forget about everything else. He hates himself right now. He knows it’s him hurting Kame and that goes against everything in his nature.

“You…you don’t want me?” Kame asks with a cracking voice and Jin swears he never imagined he would see him so crushed.

Jin winces at the wounded sorrow, disappointment and clear vulnerability in the question, he feels his entire being trembling in anguish and he wants to cry at the unfairness of everything. He takes off his sunglasses and Kame´s as well, inside the castle there’s no need for them and right now, he needs to see Kame´s eyes, and to show him at least through them how deeply he loves him.

“It's not that,” he finally explains weakly.

“Then what is it?” Kame´s eyes look at him, full of tears.

“We don’t have time for this,” he urges, but the look in Kame´s face stops him from grabbing him again, he sees how the rest of the group passes near them frantically searching the evil King in a blur “The…the oracle told me-” he starts and the knot in his throat and the anxiety makes him stutter. “Th-that you and your friends will die if you stay here after nightfall.” Kame´s eyes widens in realization.

“What!?” he cries, outraged. “Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“I tried to, but I think I just wanted….I don’t know what I wanted.”

Jin nervously looks at the ground, feeling disgusted with himself for waiting this much. What did he expect? That some miracle could make Kame stay? That everything bad would just go away? He hears Kame sobbing for good and a second later he feels him against his chest hugging him like if he doesn’t ever want to let go.

“No, no this can’t be, it was supposed to be different, I was going to tell you that I love you and then you would confess too, and we would live together here. I was going to stay here Jin, for you.”

He cries and weeps, and Jin realizes he is crying too, squeezing Kame hard against his chest, he wants to say something, million things, how touched he is that he loves him back, how he craves for that future too and how crushed he is that is never going to happen.

“I don’t care! I prefer dying to leaving you here,” Kame says stubbornly and Jin can’t help but love him even more.

“You can’t do that to me, I live to protect you, I would go against the same magic that pulls us together if I let you do that.”
Kame looks at him then, so full of…everything…love, passion, hurt, thankfulness, and Jin wants to die too, for being just seconds away of losing it all.

“In here!” Ryo screams interrupting them.

For a second Jin ignores his friend and hugs Kame with all his force, he hugs him so forcefully that thinks it might crush him with its strength.

“I love you,” Jin says and kisses Kame with everything he has, pouring every feeling into their last kiss. He then grabs him and makes him run toward Ryo.

They arrive at the dungeons where Mackraff is fighting with dark magic against them, enchantments, curses, the warriors and the Chimeras fight the powerful king. Ueda and Tackey are already waiting for Kame grabbing the Sword of Justice, which is shining and pulsing; Jin has never seen this amount of pure magic in any one object.

Kame lets go of his hand, and Jin instantly feels the loss. He reaches the sword and the blinding light that crosses the King's chest makes the earth shake at their feet.

The frame of Mackraff starts breaking as if it is made of rock and shines of pink, blue and yellow lights creep out of the cracks, he breaks onto million pieces and Jin´s eyes hurt because of the glow that emanates.

Once he can see again, Kame, Ueda and Tackey are no longer there.

He hears a chorus of victorious cheerful screams across the dungeon; he sees Pi panting, silent tears running down his face, and Ryo punching a wall with furious tears.

His legs give out on him.

Nothing makes sense anymore…

His reason of living is gone…

5: In each and every Universe

Kame cries for hours after they arrive home, his heart throbbing painfully in his chest. He feels as if someone has taken his heart away, and left a hole in there, a huge black hole absorbing everything in its path, all happiness draining out of him and the painful knowledge that nothing will ever change that.

How unfair it is, as hard as it is to find someone to really love in this short messed up life, when he finally finds it, for it to simply drop away from him like sand in his hands.

Tackey and Ueda are no better. Ueda keeps punching his boxing bag all the time with fury and Tackey paces through their dorm as if he was lost. Kame understands them completely, because that’s how he feels: outraged, lost, and heartbroken.

A week has passed since they came back and it’s all the same as it was when they left, funny that just five days in another world changed his life that much. He walks down the corridors of his university to go take a walk; he needs a distraction. As much of a lost cause he might be, he thinks walking might ease his heart at least a little. He knows it’s a bad idea when he sees their boring stupid one sun. Damn, he feels depressed all over again.

He glares at the sun rancorously.

“Kame? Is that you?” Kame turns around and sees Matsumoto staring at him obviously gladly surprised; he snorts at his own luck, funny how he was lusting after this guy just a week ago. “You look different,” he says and Kame widens his eyes in surprise. “You always looks so…and now…you are all strong…mature even…” he stutters embarrassedly, and Kame is certain Matsumoto is about to ask him out. He smiles, bows politely, and leaves him talking on his own. He feels sorry for Jun and the mixed signals he has sent, but his heart isn’t in it; his heart is not even in his own chest any more.
Kame continues walking until he reaches the huge beautiful university fountain. He wonders what can he do to go back there, go back to Jin, to his waiting arms and bury himself in his protection. He chokes a sob back and rubs his eyes, frustrated. He has spent hours in the library searching for every book related to time travel and parallel worlds, not even one of those shitty books giving him any kind of answer or solution his heart so desperately desires.

A laugh at his left catches his attention, and he glances, for a moment he thinks he is hallucinating or drunk all over again. His body jumps into action before his brain gives the order.

He feels his eyes focusing on the tall figure that in such a short time has become his most important treasure. Logic fights feelings and he realizes the impossibility of his love really being there, of him standing there as if nothing happened laughing with his friends. It’s impossible, he thinks and yet there he is.

To hell with logic.

“JIN!” He screams and runs desperately, his body not reacting as quickly as he wants, as fast as he needs. It seems like years before he finally shoves himself at the man he thought he was never going to see again. He kisses his plush lips ignoring the surprised jolt from the other man; Kame was just happy, too giddy and unbelievably content to be resting against his chest again. He runs his hands over Jin’s features, reassuring himself that he is in fact there, that it is not a dream and presses his lips against him once again, this time around, not surprised jumps on the love of his life whatsoever.

“Wow! Do I know you? You look familiar, how come you know my name?” Kame doesn’t really listen and keeps kissing him, grabbing him so hard, afraid of losing him again, of life, cosmos and reality breaking them apart again. “I’m new, I got transferred from the Kobe prefecture...” he registers all the babbling from Jin not really giving a damn. But wait…

“You don’t remember me?” Kame asks and his heart shatters in tiny pieces all over again. What a fucking sadistic bastard the universe is to give him Jin again only to take him away from him once more.

“Well no, but I can’t say I’m not happy about this welcome,” Jin grins sheepishly and Kame steps back, staring at him, really staring at him, for the first time. He realises that this Jin, is different, more human-like, empty forehead, and no third eye at all. “What’s your name?” Jin asks blushing lightly.

And Kame recognizes that blush, and wonders if this is the Jin his world has prepared for him, hope bubbles from deep inside of him collecting the pieces of his heart again only to make them even warmer than before, and he smiles.

“I’m Kamenashi Kazuya,” he says and can’t help but blush after realizing his display of affection.

“Well Kame, maybe you can be my guide and show me around, coz you know, I’m new in town, I’m Jin Akanishi by the way... although it looks like you already know it,” Jin replies, nervously biting his plump lips.

Kame suddenly hears a rush at Jin´s back. He peeks just in time to see Ueda punching Ryo hard and Tackey shoving Pi against a pillar.

“What the fuck was that for!?”

“Where the hell have you been!?”

“Excuse me, do I know you?”

“So- kiss- who- kiss- are- kiss- you?”

“Not- kiss- important- kiss-”

Kame laughs and looks into those beautiful eyes that he had missed so much; Jin is gaping at his friends in utter surprise.

“So, you need a guide?” Kame smirks. “I think that could be arranged,” he says and embraces Jin again, glowing from the happiness this new opportunity life has given him.

This time Jin reciprocates, no questions asked.

***

Meanwhile, in a not so different constellation, three men whose friendship, love and bravery have brought peace and love to their world, pace near the beach mourning silently over those precious things they have lost.

They hear voices singing on some rocks, three mermen splashing their beautiful tails on the water enjoying the light of the twilight of the two suns, huge waves breaking onto the rocks spattering bright water drops leisurely over their upper half human bodies.

Jin gulps and his heart speeds up frantically when he recognizes their features;

It seems that in the end, destiny is not that cruel.

The beginning.