The Future, The Past, The Present (Jin)

The Steel whistled through the night air, again and again Sal's arm cleaved nothingness, the sword drill repeating a thousand times and a thousand more until it would become as familiar to him as his name, instinct that his body would call upon without a conscious thought.

He needed everything right now, every single ounce of strength he could push from his body had to be harnessed. They were ready and he was not, he and his ragtag group. All that stood in the way of oblivion for humanity.

The stars bore witness to his brutal regime, the massive Claymore which he seemed to wield so easily before now felt like a steel girder in his hands, he had become progressively slower over the last twelve hours. Each movement took a toll upon his stamina, every subtle adjustment made his body ache, his arms quiver and muscles twitch in agony.

The flat roof of the highrise flats had begun to feel like jelly under him, more than once he'd stumbled only to drag himself back up and face his invisible enemy once more. What he was fighting for was out there, the darkened city of Glasgow his home in life and now in death, its lights like a pale reflection of the billion stars in the heavens, its residents blissfully unaware of the what lay ahead for them and the rest of the world.

He staggered to a stop and his sword arm fell to his side like a dead wieght, his head tilting back trying to suck in more oxygen than it was able, a film of sweat covering his body, drenching his trousers, and cooling upon his bare chest.

"Not...good...enough...." He panted and then using the last of his Spiritual power resumed his drill with nothing but tenacity and fumes to sustain him.

He stepped forward and pierced his foe with a powerful lunge, his footing shifted and his upper body tilted to the right and his sword swung up in a diagonal arc to cleave another from pubic bone to shoulder. He flowed with the momentum and turned his body, dipping as he did, and slashed horizontally and another fell within his minds eye.

Over and over and over and over he killed again and again and he still felt unsure, unconfident, and unready. He began to think a long time ago that this time he wouldn't be coming back from this one, no matter how hard he fought.


Sometimes the good guys don't win.

The stars floated aimlessly above. No cares, no desires, nothing more taxing on their agenda than sitting above, wordlessly watching those below. If only it were so easy for the living, the years had passed but they had not been easy, Jin’s travels across the planet had taken him many places, they had shown him many things, but they refused in earnest to allow him to indulge his lazy nature.

The light breeze of summers end caressed the bare skin of his cheek as his silhouette phased into existence, shunpo carrying him to a roofs edge. The past months had been arduous, since his vacation of the seretei life had become undeniably less catered. Gone were the days he could do nothing but lounge on in the training fields for hours on end, done were the times he spent with nothing more pressing on his itinerary than a little light paper work. No. Now he was on his own, facing the world as a lone soldier, shouldering the burdens that came with it and trying to follow his chaotically neutral path as best he could.

It was a strange twist of fate that brought him here, Glasgow, a dimly lit pit of violence and poverty. Well perhaps not but he’d be damned if he was going to describe it as any nicer with his current mood. His muscles cried in testament to the struggle it had been to carry himself here, his eyelids drooping as 72 straight hours of travel began to take their toll, he knew respite could not be allowed, every moment he allowed himself to rest was another stolen from from the countries fast dwindling longevity.

Most of his recent weeks had been spent scouring England, rumours of insurgence and brewing chaos having drawn him to the place though it was not a choice that was long appreciated. Travelling the country had got him hunted by a faction he’d nearly conceded his life to, they’d produced opponents of a calibre that far eclipsed any hollow he had ever known and chased him from their domain with a tenacity unparalleled but what he had been able to take with him would be said by many to have been undoubtedly worth it. Of course when it was his life on the line you could be sure to say he was not one of them.

“Tch, still as sloppy as ever”

The black haired shinigami chastised, floating down atop the roof alongside his long time associate. Here before him was the reason he’d come to the derelict setting, he’d been cursed with information that there was only one he could entrust to. He would have never openly admitted it but somewhere between the constant bickering, numerous skirmishes and general conflict Salemn narongachi had become one of his most trusted comrades, which was why what he had to say could only be said to him.

Sal stopped mid-swing. He knew that voice, that mocking tone, the air of arrogance infecting every word. It took him a second to believe that it was actually who he thought it was, he had held out hope for awhile that Jin Yagami was still alive but like so many other things hope fades with time....

He turned, expecting to see no one, it wouldn't be the first time a comforting voice had sounded on the edge of his hearing in his darkest hour, but there he was grizzled and dirty. He had seen the wars, Sal could see it in his eyes.

The mocking words only made Sal smile, it had been a long time since he had heard a friendly voice even if it did come with a bad attitude. Many nights he hoped Jin would come back, especially in the beginning when he was afraid and alone. He was the only person he had ever trusted and the Shinigami had never let him down.

"Did you forget what a shower looks like?" Sal called up to him. "I can smell you from here."

His heart smiled as the worn features of a familiar face turned to greet him, The years had not been kind to solemn and nor had the enemies. Fresh scars littered his body, a testament to his brutish and heavy hitting combat style. He never had been one for finesse in his work, and the idea of him using something as structured and intricate as kidou was just plain laughable. No, sal was a man who fought his battles tooth and nail, infact constant struggle just seemed to be how he thrived. It was unfathomable to the shinigami, the idea of burdening yourself with so much excess injury but as they said, to each his own and if that was what worked for him who was he to question it.

“As it turns out, hollow don’t make a habit of hanging out around bath houses. Fortunately though I managed to keep from looking homeless, which is more than I can say for one of us.” Ahhh it felt almost too nostalgic for words, slipping naturally back into the constant quarrel that was their relationship.

While he enjoyed their little back and forth, he could feel his knee’s shaking under his uniform, legs about to give out from beneath him. It had not been easy getting this far and if he wanted to pass of the message that had made his arrival so crucial it would be best he was quick about it.

“As fun as this reunion is, it’ll have to wait till later.” His gaze darkened as the gravity of the words he had to say bore down upon him “The twelve are about to make their move, and it’s far worse than we could have guessed. I don’t know how well you’ve been following them, but their influence has become multinational. They have pawns in nearly every government superpower. Using them their plan is to- -“ his words were cut short as his arm clutched to his torso and a heavy cough sent blood spraying across the rooftop at his feet, several heavy breaths to steady his thoughts before he could speak again “A nuclear strike” this time getting straight to the point before his body could fail him “They plan to launch a mass nuclear strike, in order to release spiritual energy on a scale we have never seen……Sal, they’re going to bring an end to the world as we know it”

Sal was at Jin's side before he even knew what was happening. He'd gravely underestimated his friends condition, the spray of blood send a pang of worry through his gut. It was difficult to see, Jin was the only one he knew to be as strong as he was. To see him in this condition, so weak and injured, only leant weight to his own dark thoughts.

"We know about the puppets they have across the world," Sal said his face a frown of worry. "We just didn't know why they needed them..." He slung Jins arm over his shoulder to steady the man.

"Come inside, get yourself a drink and sleep. I'll fill you in on everything that's happening from my end. You aren't the only one who's been busy you smug bastard." He said with a weak smile.

OOC: sorry for the wait, got some exam resits at the minute slowing me down.


His pride stung a little, as he was almost brought to his knees before the one person in front of whom he swore to show no weakness. But there was not helping it, beneath his robe wounds littered his flesh many still fresh from the reconnaissance that given him this insight, if there was one thing he had learnt over the years was that if you wished to aquire something important it always required finding the most dangerous location and penetrating the heart of it. Foot soldiers, lackeys, grunts, they knew nothing. For anything of value you had to go straight to the top and unfortunately it was exactly those people who held both strength and resources meaning it was never and easy job.

He nodded to the suggestion, picking himself up to let sal lead the way, there was no way in hell he was getting carried everywhere using that guy as a crutch.