Home....sweet....home....

The sloping hills flowed into a level plain graded set of fields, then the smooth grassy dreams melded into a dusk covered forest that lead to a large path into a cave that was hidden by the rippling water of an over passing river. Jin's shoulder lost feeling after the third hour of carrying his son, a sign that his blood flow was still good. Jin thought to himself, 'I need to find out what that parasite took...if I plan on stopping what I sense coming...'

Jin's eyes must have closed while in deep thought because he son's motions grew curious. Jin opened his eyes, and looked over at his son with a questioning look.

"What are you thinking about?"

"One's thoughts are their own.", Jin harshly answered.

The boy's face grew long, and quickly turned back to its own business before another punishing comment could be made. Jin smirked, and replied to his emotions, "About protecting you...and trying to find out if I'm...'normal' now that that thing is out of me."

Arashi nodded, and then stopped moving to ask another question, "What was that thing?"

With out hesitation Jin answered, "Something old, so old that I don't have the slightest idea what the name could be. But, I know what it was doing. It was feeding off of my spiritual energy..."

Arashi shook his head, "I don't see why things do that. Why do things do that?"

Jin laughed, and replied, "All things wish to live. Anything that wants to die, is dead, or is heading to die. It's simply trying to survive until it can achieve what it feels is its purpose. Like all of us, on a journey with an end...Just like under that waterfall..."

Jin hadn't seen it in a full 5 year span. The calm water that flowed from the edge of the rocky entrance brought a sense of peace to Jin's body, his hands looser, his mind sharper with each step closer to the cave. Jin quickly stepped out onto the water, bringing his chakra to full bare for the safety of his new burden. He looked up at Arashi, and said, "Did you know that it's possible to control your chakra well enough that the water doesn't move?"

Arashi's eyes grew in size in amazement, "Really?"

Jin nodded, and took several steps out into the small pool of flowing water, his feet obviously disrupting the flow. Jin then slowly let tiny amounts of chakra disapate outward; then, he felt the exact amount that would allow them to stay above the water's head. He then took a few more steps, placing his weight on his front foot, and slowly rolling it forward. The water's flow kept moving through the position of his feet, making it seem that he wasn't there. Arashi's eyes grew even larger. Suddently a small splash of cool water caused Arashi to close his eyes, forcing a "Hey!" out of his mouth.

Jin smirked, and let Arashi down on the cool cave floor, "Always be ready...always assume the worst can still happen at anytime."

Jin then took his time to feel his hand deeper into the cave, pushing his back hand down towards the ground, signaling his son to stay behind. A quick flame appeared on the side wall just next to Jin's arm, soon after another tourch lit, then another, and another, quickly lighting up the whole cave in mere seconds. Jin turned, and motioned for his son to come with him. Arashi quickly jogged towards his father, his hands staying up. Jin turned back into the mass of the cave, and continued walking towards his last known "home".

Jin then came to it, a wooden door that still sealed off the area behind it. Jin pressed the door in with his right hand, leaving his left hand behind, open for his son to grab. Arashi noticed it, and quickly wrapped his small hand around several of his dad's fingers. The door slowly opened inward, and let out a smell that lit up Jin's memories of his old-self.

Jin whispered, "Shin-Jin has died...."

Arashi looked up at his dad, and didn't respond. The room was already lit, and well kept. Because of its location there was little dust on the clothing that was hanging respectfully on its proper shrines. Jin looked over at his desk, which was just at mid-shin level, and surrounded by several pads. Jin pulled his son inside, and closed the door.

A room full of weapons, scrolls, and beautiful items from a span of hundreds of years laid before the young eyes of the future Chisoku warrior. He couldn't possibly imagine what was soon to happen, but he did grasp that this was his father's work, and he was nothing short of impressed with what he saw.

Jin quickly ripped off that last remaining peices of his gi, and threw them on the floor. Arashi looked at his father's naked body, his face stunned with the lean, rippling miracle of a body. It looked sleak, as if it was meant to be in motion at all times, but yet it held some gurth, enough to bring some power. Arashi opened his mouth, but soon closed it when Jin turned and grabbed his undergarments. Jin then turned to a lit candle, and threw it on the peices of cloth. They soon caught fire, eat up into nothingness, and faded into small embers. Jin looked at Arashi, and motioned to the pads near his desk.

Arashi slowly walked towards them, watching his father methodically check every nook and cranny in the quite large room. He sat down, and looked at the warm wood that sat before him. On the desk were several maps, areas marked for places to train, alone. Jin turned, and looked at his son, smirking to himself. He then felt something run down his chest, and soon realized that he forgot to dress his wound.

He took a small dark chest out of a smaller cubby, opened it, pulling out a small cotton mesh, and medical wrap. Jin quickly patted his chest wound with the mesh, and wrapped the tape around his chest several times before cutting it off, and placing it back into the box. Jin turned and walked over to his desk, sitting down at the head of the table. Jin's eyes slowly shut, bringing a calm to the room. A small wind rose up, brining the candle to a dim light. Arashi was looking all about the room, looking for the source of the wind.

Jin's hand slowly made their way to chest level, forming hand-seals in the order of: Horse-Rat-Tiger, repeating several times. Jin began humming, a sign of the purest concentration, and just then his cotton dressing fell to the ground, revealing a healed chest. Jin's eyes slowly opened, and he looked at his son, who had been waiting for the last 30 seconds in pure confusion. Jin smirked, and slumped, "It's a lot harder than it looks....I had to give up about 28% of my chakra..."

Jin leaned back, and sighed, looking at the ceiling as he kept his mind in deep thought.

Arashi then sighed, and did the same thing. Jin looked out of the corner of his eye, and smiled when he realized what his son did. He couldn't help but be tickled by how close they were even with a 5 year seperation.

Jin then caught something else out of the corner of his eye. A small black sphere, which glimmered in the candle light. Jin quickly stood up, the medical tape slipping off his chest, mating with the ground only to be smushed in the quick recovery of its previous owner. Jin slowly walked over, and sighed, placing his hands on his hips. He knew the sphere was the same from the forrest, but something was on it he hadn't noticed before.

A golden script wrote out in beautiful form across its side read, "念頭".

Jin, who had be familiar with the older text, whispered to himself, "Mind..."

The sphere broke, and split into sections of black dust. Jin quickly turned, and grabbed his son, covering him in protection. The dust quickly flowed into Jin's nose, and caused him to yell out in frustration. The room grew extremely dense, and heavy. Arashi fell to the floor, his hands melding into the warm wood by fractions of an inch. His arms shook quickly, a sign of weakness finding its way in him. Jin stopped yelling, and calmly loosened his hands.

He looked at his son who was now in tears from fear of the unknown energy. Jin turned his head, and walked a foot in the other direction before softly saying, "You shouldn't be afraid..."

Arashi couldn't find anything inside of him that wasn't afraid. Every bit of his being screamed fear, "run", survive. He watched his father's facial expression wear the same mask of frustration as a small, dark red symbol appeared on his left upper cheek.

Jin read his son's eyes, and raised his hands to the side of his cheek, and rubbed it. He didn't feel anything, but he knew something was there. No child could fake that simple, yet full look of amazement. Jin turned, and looked into a body sized mirror. His face now was covered with a small tattoo, a symbol of "I". Jin took in a deep breath, and lowered his hands to his waist's level.

A small rain seemed to trickel down in Jin's mind. A rain that seemed to bring back a sense of the parasite that just left him. Jin's forehead accumilated small beads of sweat before the old voice from just hours ago spoke, 'It couldn't be helped. You, the sole being that can rip spiritual things into existance with out its prior placement into this world, the judge of all things living and not. You will find that even your great power here to be dwarfed by what I can summon. You know what must be done.'

Jin closed his eyes, and stood for the longest span of time, or what seemed like it to Arashi. He then slowly opened his eyes, and sighed. He lowered his head, and looked over to his son. "We have much to do...but before hand, we have to address someone in the area. I sensed him speaking to someone in the village, but I couldn't quite place it until this 'thing' notified me of his real position. Son, gather up that sword, and a few spare shuriken for your own defense. I don't know how this man will react, but if need be, I will have to silence him, and fufill this on my own."

Arashi nodded, and watched his father start to re-arm himself with his former weaponry, everything and more. It was almost like a machine, every move counted, nothing wasted as if he didn't have any more time for folly. Jin placed his old straw hat on his head, and felt the same sensation as he did before the 5 year span of absence from the world. The sensation of passion, the same passion a true warrior finds on the field of battle.