The night was silent except for Jin’s soft breathing as he maneuvered around trees and fallen branches. You drifted in and out of a strange sleepy feeling as he carried you, but forced yourself to stay awake. *Don’t fall asleep. Stay awake! That will be weird.* With your head against his back, you could feel the soft vibrations of his steps as they traveled up his body, and they were somewhat soothing, which did not help with your dilemma of trying to stay awake.

“Does your leg hurt at all?” Jin whispered unexpectedly.

You lifted your head of his back and rested it on his shoulder, your eyes dropping, “No. It’s fine,” you said reassuringly, even though there was a slight sting.

“That’s good,” Jin nodded, glancing your way. You could tell that was the end of that conversation. You bit your lip trying to think of something to say.

“So… Koki really got us, huh?!” you laughed softly, trying to light the mood.

“Yeah,” he replied simply. You couldn’t see his face but you could tell that he had smiled slightly.

“Do you have your cell phone?” you asked as you shifted on his back.

“No. Why?” Jin asked slowing his pace and looking back at you.

“I thought we could call one of the guys,” you said, leaning further over his shoulder. You were only a few inches from his face, but you felt more comfortable than awkward like you had before.

“We’ll be there soon enough,” Jin stated, turning his face away from you.  You leaned even further over his shoulder, so you could see his facial expression.

“Why were you running?” you whispered in his ear, remembering his heavy breathing earlier. Jin spun his head towards you at the sudden question and was surprised to see how close you were.

He jerked his head away a bit, “Running? When?”

“When you were looking for me,” you responded seriously, trying to read his face. He looked the other way so you couldn’t see his eyes.

“I… Everyone was. We didn’t know where you were,” Jin used as an excuse for his extra worry. You eyed him suspiciously, but sensed he wasn’t going to change his story.

“Ok,” you submitted with doubt. “Is everyone else still looking for me?” you asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

“Probably, since none of them know yet,” Jin shrugged, making his shoulder bump your chin. You frowned. *Why is he being so quiet?* Neither of you said anything else as Jin carried you through the rest of the woods. After a few more minutes, you saw the warm glow of the fire from behind the trees.

“We’re almost there,” Jin stated. You nodded, knowing he would see you out of the corner of his eye. Jin continued forward, stepping over a few more logs and as you got closer you heard the group before you saw them, but when you finally saw them it was a heart-warming sight.

“Where could she have gone?!” Kame shouted, flailing his arms around like a crazed conductor.

“Jin is missing now too!” Maru shouted appearing from some trees on the other side.

“This is all your fault Junno! You idiot!” Koki yelled, smacking Junno on the back of his head.

“You jumped out though! I just led them there!” Junno screamed back, rubbing the back of his head and pointing at Koki with his free hand.

“It was your plan so don’t even try to put the blame on me!” Koki yelled back, lifting his hand up, threatening to hit Junno again.

“Well… you…” Junno started to retort.

“Cut it out! Both of you!” Kame shouted over both of them. “We need to figure out where ~~~~~ went and then find Jin too!” Everyone quieted down. “Now think where~~~~~ could have gone!” Everyone grew silent and the only noise was the crackling fire and Ueda’s quiet breaths from sleeping on the bench.

You smiled, “I think I know!” you called from the edge of the clearing. Everyone spun around to look at you.

“~~~~~!” they all screamed.

You laughed, giving them a sweet smile, “Yeah!” Everyone bolted over to you except for Ueda. You pat Jin’s shoulder and whispered, “You can let me down now.” Jin looked at you for a second and then bent over to let you down.

Maru began questioning the instant your feet touched the ground, “Where were you?!”

“Are you okay?!” Kame exclaimed with concern.

“Oh my gosh! What happened to your knee?” Junno shouted, pointing at your knee. “See what you did Koki?!” he continued, snapping his head towards Koki.

Koki looked down at your knee and saw all the blood, “I… I’m sorry,” Koki breathed dropping his head.

“You guys are over reacting!” you exclaimed, waving your hands. “I am fine and it’s not Koki’s fault. I was just careless,” you explained. Koki’s mood seemed to lighten slightly.

“Here, I’ll help you back to your room,” Kame ran over to your side, offering you his arm as if it was a crutch.

You lifted your hand, willing to take Kame’s offer, “Thank yo…”

“That’s fine,” Jin interrupted. “I’ll help her.” He wrapped his arm around your shoulder, and pulled you closer to him and further away from Kame, causing you to stumble over yourself.

“But aren’t you tired from carrying her so much,” Kame asked, taking a step towards you. You eyed him as if saying was that just a dis.

“No. I’m fine,” Jin said, taking a step away and pulling you further behind him. You leaned into Jin slightly, getting tired of standing on one leg for so long.

“It’s fine Kame. Jin can help me. Like I said, I am fine,” you said just wanting to get your leg bandaged and go to bed. Kame gave you a nod of understanding and you turned towards the house. Jin put one arm under your arm and on your back so you wouldn’t fall and as you hobbled along, you could’ve sworn that Jin had a victorious smirk on his face as if he had just won a battle. Which you had no clue was actually a battle to help you.

Had a hard time concentrating on this! I probably need to get more sleep :/ oh well! Looks like Kame and Jin will have a showdown soon, but will a fourth party come in and ruin it all JI hope you look forward to the next chapter. PLEASE COMMENT!