[Sato Rin]

YOU HAVE ALWAYS WORN YOUR
HEART UPON YOUR SLEEVE ―

Rin fell unconscious after the punches he got from Jirou, one to the cheek and then a backhand. What followed were several strikes to his body. He wavered in and out until he was completely blacked out. The blond would wake up sometime later, confused and disoriented and nonetheless extremely sore in multiple sections of his body. There was water nearby, a running bit of water of some kind and this is what he heard before he saw anything as he came back to consciousness. The boy let out a small whine as if he had been horribly groggy or in an extremely deep sleep. Yet, exhaustion did not leave his body because of how hot he felt. The boy inhaled slowly, eyelashes would flutter, batting open.

The water here cooled the air and allowed him to wake, the sun wasn't in the air as it had been when he had lost consciousness. The first thing he saw was the outline of Sunagakure in the distance. Then he would turn his sore neck, managing to crane it just barely. It felt like stiff rubber, another whine left him. At least the sun wasn't bearing down as harshly as it had been, but still, he was in no less pain and no less heat exhausted. Being knocked out wasn't the same as sleeping.

As he moved his neck he noticed a dark figure nearby the water that he could hear, closer inspection as his vision swam more into focus was that the figure was familiar.

"Ugh.... Why'd you do that?" He managed his vocals feeling particularly sore from how much he had been suffocated. The boy slowly would lean up onto his elbows only lifting the top half of his body off of the ground, baby blues inspecting the man.

299 words. Kyōdai Jirou.

by sixsmith.

[Kyōdai Jirou]

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The running water babbled, making the night a little less empty. It usually came alive at night, when it was cool enough to move about without risking too much. It was easier to travel at night as well. However, traveling was not what the devout had in mind for tonight. Once he had found water and an abandoned - well it was abandoned now- camp with a tarp, some blankets and pillows, even a small bag of fruits and bread. Sunagakure wasn't far, the owners and their single camel would likely get there and ask for help, but... Before they would reach this place, Jirou intended to be gone. [break][break]

Jirou was sat by the water, washing the bit of bandage he was using. He refiled the bowl with water as well, making sure to clean blood off of it. Just as he was doing all this, the sounds of movement and shortly after the sound of Rin's voice would tell him the blonde had more fully regained his consciousness. A sigh would be all the answer he would give, but soon enough he was sliding down to sit by the medic, setting the bowl and bandage down. "You'd be better of going back to sleep for bit..."  he told him, his voice low, though it didn't hold any of the anger from before. It was more... More along the sides of tired and even a bit hesitant. Or regretful. Jirou reached for one of Rin' hands, gently lifting it to inspect it a little closer. Experienced eyes analyzing the damage and he gently rested the wrist on his palm, reached over for the wet bandage to clean it  up  bit more and provide some relief from any swelling or heat emanating from it. Another sigh. "Just be still." Bones scraping against each other or shifting inside you were quite a unique feeling but... It wasn't his own bones this time. It likely would never be again. To say he missed the pain and the aftermath of it was an understatement. This situation also felt eerily familiar. Last time it had been burns. Now it was a broken wrist. His gaze lingered at his own forearm for a moment, the pale scars of his own encounter with an inferno. Tested and cleansed by fire. [break][break]

He proceeded to treat the wrist as well as he could, his extensive knowledge of the body enabling him to do it as well as some of the best medics. Though no chakra was used. He worked silently, a small sign of tension on his face, only when he had bandaged the wrist did he gently place the arm back down and soaked another bandage piece in the water, folding the cloth, to the dab it at the scrapes on the medic's cheek. 
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Jirou + rin

made by gimmick

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[Sato Rin]

YOU HAVE ALWAYS WORN YOUR
HEART UPON YOUR SLEEVE ―

Rin huffed, only now realizing just how painful his hand was. He wasn't sure why... But further inspection of it would allow him to note that it was in fact broken. Or at least the wrist very much was, though his fingers were still movable not that this was a particularly pleasant sensation. The blond would plop back down into the sand, or what parts of him laid in the sand as some of him was laid out on bits of the encampment that Jirou had dragged them to. His head was throbbing, and he couldn't help but let out a pained sigh. This was not how he had imagined his day going, at all.

Jirou told him to remain still, which was something quite difficult to accomplish with him brushing a cool cloth against his broken hand. It made him hurt, and his other less damaged hand curled into the sand in an attempt to muffle any sounds that might leave his lips. It was a shinobi's job to not show pain or weakness... But Rin had no such great powers of resisting pain, in fact, his smaller, lithe frame was more prone to pain in some regard. Nostrils would gently flare as he inhaled and exhaled in rapid succession to try and ease the pain.

Finally, the wrist was stabilized - though no less in pain - and left alone. Jirou turned his attention to the cuts on his cheeks from their spar and from Jirou's abrasive behavior before he had fallen out of the world. Rin swallowed hard but managed to gather up some wherewithal to look at Jirou, to find toughened amber eyes.

"Thank you," He'd murmur, though he was still a little annoyed that it had even come to this... He felt a bit of gratitude well upon his stomach just because Jirou was being gentle. Rin knew the man enough to know that he was not one to be extremely kind or tender and yet here he was caring for his cuts and wounds. He could have just left him, that would have been far more Jirou-like. For a moment, Rin almost forgot that he wouldn't even be laying here if Jirou had shown some restraint with his emotions... But that was a lesson for another day most likely.

383 words. Kyōdai Jirou.

by sixsmith.

[Kyōdai Jirou]

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Jirou avoided eye contact with the medic as he cleaned the cuts, he had enough going on in his head right now. He didn't need the medic prodding at him and his thoughts with his wide blue eyes and quiet demeanor. Their spar had spurred on a bit of... 'an episode'. They had become more frequent as he had aged and ascended to this position in the religion, but he was usually alone when it happened and the bouts of melancholy and going through old memories never was allowed to last for long. Though reflecting on his life and all Jashin had granted him was usually spent in prayer. Tonight it might just end in Jirou rolling over on his side and muttering himself to sleep... He dapped at a nasty cut with a slightly souring expression. [break][break]
What am I going to do with you???[break][break]

As Rin thanked him, all the medic would receive in terms of recognition was a soft "mhm." With the last cut taken care of he dropped the bandage into the bowl and went to wash it out and hung the bandage pieces up to dry before rummaged through the backpack and found a packet of dried meat. He looked to Rin, then the meat. "Here. Eat." He would then sit down against the pillows and then looked to the medic again. Was he going to be cold? He didn't want to be woken up and the sooner the medic fell asleep the sooner he could be left alone...[break][break]

"Are you going to be cold? ... Never mind." It was easier to simply throw his jacket at the medic and hope it'd be enough.  

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Jirou + Sato Rin

made by gimmick

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[Sato Rin]

YOU HAVE ALWAYS WORN YOUR
HEART UPON YOUR SLEEVE ―

Rin kept staring at Jirou, who seemed to be forcefully avoiding Rin's following gaze. Baby blues attached to the tanned skin of the man tending to his wounds, he couldn't help it. It was one of the only movements of reprieve that he had been this close to Jirou in a moment where he didn't feel a huge amount of tension upon his chest. He could inspect every detail without having to rush. Jirou was fairly youthful, or at least he looked to be though Rin was uncertain of his actual age and what he had seen from his passive scans, was that Jirou was not necessarily all that youthful on the inside, at least not all parts of him.. Whilst other parts would contradict what Rin knew entirely. He was an anomaly, a strange blip in the world.

He was torn away from his ponderings when Jirou finished cleaning and offered him dried meat, something that he had a lot of it seemed. Rin reached out to take it and sniffed the food. It wasn't all that bad last he had tried it, but he could only wonder how long it sat with Jirou before given to him or eaten by Jirou himself. Dried meat lasted long, but just how long? Convincing himself that he would not be sick later he would take a bite, tearing through it with a bit more force than normal. He wasn't overly hungry, but this snack would do nicely for the time being.

As Rin focused on the jerky he had a question asked and then a jacket thrown over him. Another surprise for the evening as Rin looked over to Jirou who was leaning against the pillows of their abandoned camp.

"Er... Thanks," He responded, sitting up a little bit more and getting the jacket around his shoulders. It was quite a bit bigger than him, but it made a better blanket. Swallowed in Jirou's jacket he would look at the man.

"So, um... When am I going to know more about you?" That was a pretty awkward way to breach the topic, but Rin didn't know how else to do so, since he was pretty certain at this point that Jirou was not a merchant of anything and if he was he was extremely jacked to the point of being able to keep up with a jounin in movement and speed. Not something merchants really tended towards.

406 words. Kyōdai Jirou.

by sixsmith.

[Kyōdai Jirou]

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A small thank you was muttered at the slightly caring gesture the jacket represented, it wouldn't receive much response in turn and Jirou wouldn't react until the next question was posed. For a short moment he would remain a statue, contemplating if he should ignore it or actually answer. It could open up for a discussion he wanted, but the chance it'd end in something entirely different. It could confirm his suspicions. It could calm them and chase  them from his mind for a while. [break][break]
Golden eyes studied the blonde medic for a moment. [break][break]

With a sigh Jirou pushed himself up a bit and sat a little straighter and a little more comfortable since it was unlikely he would be sleeping any time soon if the medic wanted to play 20 questions for the professor. So he made himself comfortable, leveling the medic with a rather dull gaze, only a hint of curiosity burning in them. [break][break]
"Idle tongues get no answers, boy. Ask."[break][break]
He already knew what he did for work, so what could be interesting for this medic of Sunagakure? 

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Jirou + rin

made by gimmick

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[Sato Rin]

YOU HAVE ALWAYS WORN YOUR
HEART UPON YOUR SLEEVE ―

It seemed obvious, just to ask, but Jirou had never given the indication or aura to Rin that he could simply just ask. In fact, he seemed a bit secretive, or as if he might twist your head off for asking the wrong question. Granted, Rin did not worry about his head getting twisted enough by Jirou, the man seemed to always come around and he did appear to have some fondness for Rin so, Rin felt he was safe if only a little bit.

He would lean forward, wrapping his arms around his legs, his chin resting now in his knees comfortably. Or at least, as comfortably as he could manage.

"Where are you from? How did you become a.. Jashinist?" He knew that the man was in fact a worshiper of Jashin. Rin didn't know much about it though, it wasn't exactly tvery common place, and even as a jounin, it wasn't something that was taught. Religions were among those things that were shrouded in mystery, even for the most seasoned of shinobi, and Jashinism? It was far from common enough to be taught. So, he relied on asking for now.

Rin's baby blues would slowly make their way over to Jirou, to listen steadily for what he had to say. He wanted to finally know more about the man, far more than he had come to know in the last few years of seeing him fairly regularly.

240 words. Kyōdai Jirou.

by sixsmith.

[Kyōdai Jirou]

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And so he asked. Even if it wasn't something he would always entertain, some moments were safer to ask such things in. It was pretty simple questions. But simple questions could be answered two ways - simple or complicated. Golden eyes observed the other as he made his decision. What would give him the most reward? It was always like that. What would keep the medic here, keep him interested enough to not seek back to the damned heathen village he called a home? [break][break]
"I'm from Law Country. It is far to the west. Doubt you have ever been, few this far east have been."[break][break]

He groaned inwardly, running a hand through his dark hair, ruffling it a bit. [break][break]

"As for how I became a jashinist... I just believed. Had faith and Jashin answered." [break][break]
It was corny. I was no explanation like the on he was likely looking for. Jirou wasn't about to sit here and walk the medic through his entire life. It would take far too long and they'd be awake the entire night. But perhaps it was needed. It was not like he cared enough to let the kid use it against him in any way. He was who he was and there wasn't much else to it. No regrets. [break][break]

"I grew up on the streets in Law Country, pretty rough environment. Taught me how to survive better than anyone ever did... I think I first met the church when I was around five. Heh, I gave them hell from day one, but Jashin never punished it. I was feral, or so they said. Tanuki, my adoptive father, said it was because I was hut and had seen all the pain the world could offer. He took me in, taught me the way of Jashin and I became a follower when I was around... fifteen? Thirteen? I can barely remember it has been so long. Jashin fed me, clothed me and gave me a family. Freedom to be who I am and keeping me safe from harm." [break][break]
He explained, it was not something he had recalled properly in a long time. He seemed to stare at one point out in the distance, lost in the ocean of memories he had collected over the almost eight decades he had been around. He blinked and seemed to return, his gaze settling back on the medic. Did he want more? Did he need more to satiate his curiosity? 
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Jirou + rin

made by gimmick

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[Sato Rin]

YOU HAVE ALWAYS WORN YOUR
HEART UPON YOUR SLEEVE ―

Rin would respond with only a simple head shake. Jirou was correct, in that Rin had never been to Law Country. He had heard of it, but of course, it would have been a part of his training in the academy to see the map of the world and to recognize the countries printed all over it. Only the most Western countries of the world really truly had dedicated shinobi armies, Law Country... He didn't recall it being that way and as Jirou mentioned, it was quite far east so his mind etched where he vaguely remembered it to be, still resting where he was, leaning forward only a little bit.

He watched Jirou run his hand through his hair. Was he flustered at the question? Perhaps a little bit, that had not been Rin's initial intention, nor his intention at all but it seemed to simply be a reality. The other was going to be a little flustered with the questioning, it was personal and the baby blues were probing and scanning to find answers in the other male's body language as well.

The response about religion seemed phoned in, corny, Rin wasn't sure he could believe it. But, that was how all religion was. It was all about having faith, and being answered by a very nebulous entity. He wasn't sure he could ever believe such a thing, there was not even a physical representation for the belief except for maybe the manifestation of powers that religious zealots received in return for their service and faith. There wasn't much to know about Jashinism though, perhaps that would be his next question?

"Really? Jashin did all of that for you?" It didn't seem possible that a non-physical being could do so much, but perhaps it was more the church, the temples that had helped Jirou on his way in his youth. "Would you say Jashin still shields you in such a way?" This would be a good segway into the question that he had burning at the forefront of his mind. "Protects you, keeps you safe from harm? You travel so much, surely you come across many dangers..." Jirou was still alive, sure, but when Rin had first come across Jirou all that time ago, Jirou had not exactly been 'safe from harm'. In Rin's opinion, it had been entirely the opposite situation. With all those festering wounds in the hot summer sun. Rin had some doubts, but he wanted to hear what Jirou thought, and less about what he thought in this situation.

425 words. Kyōdai Jirou.

by sixsmith.

[Kyōdai Jirou]

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Rin seemed to be a critic. Which was to be expected when he had been raised to sacrifice himself for war and becoming an instrument for the world to use as a dagger. Another source of pain. But perhaps it could still be fixed by showing him a little bit of Jirou's truth. He nodded, glancing at him as he posed his next question.  [break][break]
With a grunt the man got up and rummaged around until he had his katana in hand and rather unceremoniously dragged the blade across his abdomen. The bite of the blade he expected was absent and existed in his memory. All he gathered from it was that the blade needed to be sharpened. Blood and guts should have spilled from the opening, but it didn't happen. Instead the skin split apart and the blood which had spilled would crawl back into the wound and close. A hand ran over the skin, no trace of the cut was left behind. [break][break]

"Jashin is gracious. He keeps all who serve him from death. From pain."[break][break]
Golden eyes settled on the blonde medic. Contemplating his next move as he put the sword back in its sheath and threw it to where his backpack was. Then he went to sit down again, looking out into the night. [break][break]

"You are quite lucky ya know? You grew up in peace times. I remember the second war of the shinobi. We never had the same kind of... battles. It was stupid. And yet it made it so clear how corrupt and damaging your society is. The number of times I have heard some shinobi say that one more battle will be the final one, will be the one to bring about peace is astronomical. Most of you can't event see how poisonous you are. You make children fight the battles of Daimyos and nobles. Mow down farmer fields and houses all because of one man. All those who saw the truth came to Jashin. Found a home which was safe. Found fields and warriors capable of shielding them... Not even the third war managed to teach you anything... "[break][break]
Jirou turned and rearrged himself so he could face Rin. [break][break]

"When was the last time you did something good without being assigned it as a job?"[break][break]

Jirou was far from a saint. He had done all the above, but he took care of his own. Those under the protection of Jashin was under his and if any of them came to him for advice or aid, he would offer it. Crude as he was, it did not always come across as kindness...


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Jirou + rin

made by gimmick

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[Sato Rin]

YOU HAVE ALWAYS WORN YOUR
HEART UPON YOUR SLEEVE ―

In Rin's mind he has always been a critic, he would critique the world if he so chose. It was easy, the world offered few sensical answers. Even the origins of jutsu seemed muddled and uncertain. Even his position as a shinobi was at best dubious in the world. So, Jashin as a God seemed just as easy to critique as everything else. If Rin could scrutinize the Kazekage, then why not Jashinism too? But why not criticize this religion, as he was not totally convinced that the religion itself was one that protected its followers.

That was when Jirou pulled a katana, and unceremoniously without a single word to warn Rin with, dragged it across his abdomen. Rin would yelp in response, a short little bark of shock and surprise as he almost scrambled forth into action to heal Jirou for his ridiculously stupid actions. But, there was nothing to heal. Nothing spilled, in fact, it all seemed to zip back up neatly like chakra, or perhaps simply by the absence of chakra. The blond blinked a few times, staring in disbelief. This was not what Jirou had displayed when they had first met. Was he different now, somehow?

Jaw would visibly tighten, a hiccup of air that locked itself up in his lungs before he realized he was staring and would make an attempt to relax by releasing all the oxygen he held up.

Jirou spoke. At first, his voice was muffled, droning on in Rin's ears until he came back to reality. He remained on his knees there until he would bid his body to move, slowly spinning back towards Jirou to face him as he stared out into the night.

The second war? The third war? Jirou didn't look that old, in fact, he didn't really look a day over thirty, Rin's brows would weave towards the center with scrutiny and once again confusion. But the question caught him off guard, he had an answer for it though.

"Every day. I don't need to be assigned something to use my abilities for good. Perhaps, sometimes, I am ordered to do something that I don't like to do. Perhaps it's right for the village, perhaps not. I do it to protect people I care for, denying commands given to me would be a death sentence to those people..." He paused and looked down at his legs, at his lap. He was sad for a moment, but then he almost laughed, no, he chuckled gently.

"You probably think I'm some brainwashed puppet for Sunagakure... But I don't care for the shinobi system as much as you think I do. I've given it lots of thought... I hate it. But I don't know how it could ever end, people want protection and then other people want protection from that protection... And then the violence never ends and if you don't train to defend yourself against that violence, well then you become the victim."

494 words. Kyōdai Jirou.

by sixsmith.