Ice

For Kame, waking up from that night´s sleep felt more like regaining his senses back after long unconsciousness. As his mind was slowly floating back to reality, he started to be aware of his surroundings. Feeling incredibly heavy, he was unable to move, but at the same time, he was sure about being completely safe. An arm circled around his form gave him that feeling of safety and he wished to remain in its hug forever. However, quite soon he realized, that his own head didn´t have such a good effect on his current condition.

Kame´s eyelids were glued together firmly and it took him a few attempts to open them. The face of a sleeping young man right in front of him brought a soft smile on his lips.

Then a hammer hit him somewhere inside his skull, making his vision blurry and full of tiny stars. He couldn´t suppress a painful gasp and he curled up in a desperate attempt to escape that sudden torture.

Just faintly, he was able to scold himself in his mind that he had probably drunk too much last night…

Jin was pulled out of his deep sleep by some disturbing sounds and movements. As soon as he recognized the heavy exhales coming from the slim body next to him, he opened his eyes to see Kame´s face contorted in pain.

"Kazu? What is it?" he asked startled.

Jin heard own voice hoarse and almost unrecognizable. Right after he asked that question, he was attacked by the awful throbbing drums in his ears, which made him shut his eyelids again. Only then he realized, what was wrong with Kame. What was actually wrong with both of them. They had a hangover as hell.

"Shit…" Jin hissed out palming his face.

He was somewhat used to the morning states like this, but not Kame. The younger one usually didn´t drink much of any alcohol, and they had quite a huge bottle of tequila last night, plus all those tankards of beer...

Jin had already experienced worse mornings, but despite that, it took him almost forever to sit up carefully, suppressing the dizziness, which was trying to take over him. Kazuya remained lying on the bed, curling up like a child and whining softly. Jin reached out to pat the younger´s shoulder comfortingly.

"Hold on a minute," he said quietly. "I´ll be right back…"

The drums in Jin´s head sped up their cruel beats, when he stood up slowly and it took him a while to overcome the awful nausea. He was not sure about anything what happened the previous night, after they successfully consumed a half of liquid in the precious bottle and he really didn´t want to think about that.

Strongly focused on keeping his legs steady, Jin took the empty washbowl from the table and set off on the long trip downstairs for some fresh water.

*

When Jin put his head right under the flow of ice-cold water from the pump on the back yard, his mind cleared up very quickly. Not that it would make him feel better, but he was capable of thinking at least.

He noticed that he was still dressed in his clothes from the previous day and that his right hand hurt like hell. Guessing about the time, he thought it was around noon already, as the weak sunbeams were flooding the saloon´s building and the stalls in front of him. No matter the sunny day, it was damn cold, and Jin´s breathing was creating thick smoke clouds in the air. He started to shake a little, so he filled up the sink hastily and headed back inside. He put the water aside on the stairs and walked through the empty taproom to the kitchen first, from where some nice smell was coming out.

"Er... good morning..." Jin greeted politely to let the cook woman know about his presence.

Miss McBain, who was dancing around the stove and a few pots preparing some meal, turned to him.

"Oh, finally awake, young man!" she welcomed him amused. "It´s almost noon already, but good morning to you, too."

"I´m sorry to bother you, Miss McBain, but could I ask you for some coffee?" Jin requested apologetically, even though the woman seemed more like having fun than being angry.

Miss McBain wiped her hands into the towel and raised her eyebrows.

"Coffee?" she repeated. "Don´t even think about it!" the chipper woman crossed the kitchen to the small cellar door. "I´ll give you something else instead," she decided, already searching through the shelves.

"It´s rather for my friend than for me..." Jin murmured, rubbing the last sleepy mess from his eyes.

"I so knew that!" Miss McBain reacted, looking out from the door. "Our dear Kame feels worse than you, right?"

"Well…" Jin was not sure about what to say.

"Here, give him these," the woman didn´t pay attention to Jin´s embarrassment and forced the small jar of pickles into his hand. "This is much better for hangover. And after that come down here, the chicken broth is almost ready."

"…thank you," Jin nodded gratefully.

"Men… Unable to learn, really," he heard that nice woman complaining for herself in the kitchen as he set off on a hike up the stairs.

*

Kazuya was still in the position, in which Jin had left him. He didn´t even open his eyes, when the older one entered the room. Only now, Jin sensed the awful smell of heavy air, which was filling up the space, so right after he put the washbowl and the jar with sour cucumbers from Miss McBain aside, he went to open the window.

He also undressed from his coat and shirt, which smelled like it was washed with beer, and took a small towel from the wardrobe. He soaked it in the cold water first and then sat down on the bed carefully, not to shake with the mattress too much. Jin folded the towel into the long rectangle and leant over Kame, who was pressing his forehead against the bed sheets.

"Kazu… Come on... This will help you," Jin made the younger one turn on his back gently and placed the towel over his forehead.

Kame stiffened at first, before a soft relieved sigh escaped his dry lips.

"Thanks…" Kame whispered and raised one of his hands slowly to press the cold stuff against his skin more.

Jin stood up again to take the pickles from the table, took one out and chewed on it carefully, waiting for the agreement of his stomach. It was very sour at first, but as soon as he gulped it down, he had to admit that it was damn good.

He returned to his place next to Kame, just at the moment the younger one dared to open his eyes.

"Don´t tell me there´s the sun outside," he murmured heavily, while frowning in front of the light.

"It is," Jin confirmed, enjoying the taste of the second cucumber.

"Hell, what time…?" Kazuya asked quietly.

"Almost noon," he informed him calmly.

"Aah…" Kame moaned again, which Jin considered quite cute.

The younger one sat up carefully, keeping the towel on his head.

"This is… horrible…" Kame breathed out heavily, trying to overcome the dizziness, which was almost literally blinding him. "I will never…"

"Don´t say that," Jin cut in, knowing exactly what the other wanted to say. "It is always a lie."

Kame looked at him through narrow eyes.

"What the hell... are you eating?" he asked confused, not able to recognize the content of the jar the other was holding.

"Pickles from Miss McBain," Jin responded satisfied with the effect of fresh sourness. "You want some?"

Kazuya put on an expression of clear disgust: "Not really…"

"Later then," Jin put the jar down on the floor and reached toward Kame, grabbing his arm gently. "Come here, you shouldn´t get up yet."

"I´m quite sure I´m not even able to," Kame stated weakly and let Jin drag him down.

"Turn it inside out," the older one advised him, taking the towel into his hand and replacing it on his forehead again.

Kame let himself rest against Jin´s chest, closing his eyes, while the older one circled one arm around his body, soothing him slowly. Despite still feeling awfully, Jin´s embrace made Kame´s headache and sickness much bearable. In addition to it, the fresh air and cold compress on his poor head helped as well.

In his mind, Kame cursed alcohol, scolding himself for not holding back a little. He also realized that his memories about the last evening were blurry and confusing. For example, he was not sure, how they managed to get into one bed together, but he remembered some emotional discussion on the stairs, despite the point of it was a mystery to him.

Speaking of one bed… Jin´s bare chest couldn´t escape Kame´s attention despite the heavy hangover and feeling the older one´s fingers running slowly over the skin on his waist, he had a hunch they cannot stay like this for long if they want to get up at all...

Despite that he almost purred like a satisfied kitten, when the other hand started to fondle his hair softly.

How could I ever think that something like this is wrong? Jin thought, as he ran through the scrubby hair of the younger one with his fingers.

The weight of Kazuya´s body resting on his, his breathing and that small smile, which finally appeared on the frowning face, brought him an urge to pull him even closer and never let him go. It was oversensitive of him, but he didn´t care.

"Is it better?" Jin asked quietly, while he kept caressing the younger one.

"Much…" Kame whispered, cuddling even closer to him.

"Good… I´m sorry, Kame. I shouldn´t have let you drink that much."

"You´re not my guard, Jin," the other one objected. "I´m responsible for myself. I should have been more careful... Are you all right?" he asked then.

"Yeah, I´m fine…" Jin confirmed, ignoring the persistent drums inside his temples. "I just need to eat something. Miss McBain invited us for the chicken broth."

Kame fidgeted in his arms a little: "I don´t know if I´m able to eat…"

"You have to," Jin persuaded him. "And it smelled really good."

"All right," Kame sighed. "Just give me a minute…"

"Gladly even two," Jin assured him, still soothing the younger´s warm skin.

*

The hot soup made by Miss McBain was truly awesome and it managed to cheer both youngsters up, as well as to get some of their strength back. Despite that annoying headache didn´t cease completely, it was easy to ignore it. Especially, when their attention had to focus on something else…

As soon as they spotted the facial expression of Mr. Harada, who came inside the kitchen shortly after they thanked the kind woman for the soup, both Kame and Jin knew something was wrong. Their suspicion grew stronger, when the saloon´s owner eyed them both with a frown between his eyebrows and then sat down on the free chair with a heavy sigh.

"It´s good you´re here," Harada said and refused an offer of Miss McBain, who wanted to serve him with lunch. "Otherwise, I´d have to wake you up..."

"What happened?" Jin asked, his stomach clutched with a very bad feeling.

Kame focused on Mr. Harada too, his whole body tense.

"I have bad news for you, I´m afraid," the man seemed uneasy about the topic.

"Is it about that fuss in the morning?" Miss McBain asked standing next to the sink, where she was washing the dishes.

"Yes, unfortunately it is," her employer confirmed with a heavy nod.

"What fuss?" impatient Jin requested an answer.

"In front of the jail," the older man replied unwillingly. "Sometimes during the night Grenet escaped."

Both young men stared at Harada with completely blank expressions for a while, unable to comprehend his words.

"Right in the morning, Captain Walker found the two of his soldiers, who were watching over the prisoner, dead," Harada continued heavily. "According to Dr. Best, they were strangled. That´s why nobody noticed something went wrong; they did it quietly."

Kame´s face turned deadly pale, but he remained motionless, while Jin jumped up from his chair, which fell down with a loud thud.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" he exclaimed. "How could that fucker get away?!" Jin´s uncontrollably loud voice was filling the whole room with such a strong fury that Miss McBain glanced at him and backed off a little.

"I talked to the captain," Mr. Harada reacted gloomily. "It´s clear that Grenet had some help from the outside. Those two guardians were good soldiers and they were observant; it was impossible for him to overpower both of them from his cell."

"More guards should have been there!" Jin burst out. "What were they thinking?!"

The young gunman was understandably furious, but he was slashing out on the wrong person. Harada understood Akanishi´s anger, but that didn´t mean he would allow him to misbehave on his property.

"Don´t yell in my house, young man," Mr. Harada warned Akanishi strictly.

Jin bit his tongue to keep silent and repaid the man´s firm stare.

"Where´s Captain Walker?" he asked then, trying to get his burning anger under some control.

"Out it the woods, searching for Grenet," Harada replied.

Jin set off toward the door immediately, but the next words of Harada stopped him.

"There´s nothing you can do right now, Akanishi. If anyone has a chance to find that fugitive, it´s Walker. He has a huge lead in front of you."

Jin was standing in the doorway, his shoulders shaking, as he was clenching his fists, while Kame kept staring into nothing.

"Just wait for Walker, Akanishi, that´s the wisest you can do," the saloon´s owner recommended him.

*

For Harada, it could have been the wisest thing to do, and somewhere inside Jin admitted that the man was right, but that long waiting definitely felt like the hardest task he had ever faced.

Was there really nothing he could do? What was the chance that Walker could track Grenet down and capture him again, if the prisoner really escaped in the evening already? Pretty fucking small...

Would it make any difference, if he wandered through the woods aimlessly himself? He might have been able to find some tracks, but would he be able to catch up with that bastard? And with anyone else who was with the fugitive? Because it was damn sure that Karnaka´s men set Grenet free.

Damn... Damn it all!

Jin just couldn´t stay still. He kept pacing across the saloon´s veranda with the loud thuds of his heavy boots, waiting for the soldiers´ return. Kame was sitting on the railing, lost deep in his thoughts, his handsome features troubled, as Jin kept passing by him.

"I can´t stand this," Jin snapped, when he noticed that the sun on the unusually clear sky was already inclining to the west and the freezing was getting stronger with the late afternoon.

Kame glanced at him without any reaction.

"After everything what he did, he will just get away so easily?! What the fuck?!" the older one couldn´t hold that hopeless anger inside anymore and swore loudly.

"Captain might find him…" Kame suggested quietly.

"Heh, sure," Jin snorted sarcastically. "Bastards like Grenet are always the lucky ones! Instead of paying for his crimes, he will just keep making Hell of people´s lives!"

"Jin... Try to stay calm. We should wait for Captain´s return and…"

"And what?!" Jin interrupted Kame´s attempt to reach out to him. "He will tell us that the track after that bastard is long gone. I´m sick of the idea that Grenet is free to do whatever he likes!"

Suddenly, Kame stiffened in his position and his eyes went wide. Jin just took a breath for another line of swearing, when the younger one jumped down from the railing.

"We must go. Now," he said and dashed inside the saloon, before Jin could have even opened his mouth.

"What?" he called after the younger one. "Haven´t you just said that…"

But Kame didn´t hear him anymore, already running up the stairs. Jin caught up with him only in his room.

"Kame, what has come into you so suddenly?" Jin asked surprised, catching his breath, which he lost on the stairs. The younger one was packing up his stuff hastily.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Kame said, stuffing his clothes inside the leather bag.

"Well, who would feel well in this situation," Jin assumed sarcastically. "What exactly do you mean?"

Kame tied the strings on the bag and turned to face him.

"I should have thought about it before…" he reacted with a painfully serious expression. "Yesterday, that servant of Karnaka was at the trial."

Jin frowned, remembering the previous day: "Cameron?" he asked.

"Yes," Kame nodded. "And even he didn´t do anything to help Grenet back then. They were planning to get him out of jail from the very beginning, that´s why he didn´t care about the death sentence at all."

"I agree…" Jin reacted. "He behaved damn too cocky for a man, who had been sent to the gallows. But what makes you jump up because of this now?"

Kame took a deep breath: "If they just wanted Grenet to escape and run away, where are all Karnaka´s men then? Where are all former Grenet´s gunmen?"

Jin wondered about it for a while, before he nodded slowly: "It´s true that the saloon is suspiciously quiet today…"

"They got him out and they left the city with him," Kame continued. "But from the moment Harada told us about it, I wondered why? Where would they go?" he raised up an urgent question.

And Jin had realized what Kame was trying to say.

"You think that they might go after the Blackfeet Tribe again…?"

"Yes," Kame confirmed, his face shadowed by worries. "That was Karnaka´s plan, wasn´t it? To get rid of the tribe once for all. That was why he incited Major General Ord against them. But we solved it and Karnaka was definitely informed about that. And now, he doesn´t have to care about the soldiers anymore; there´s just Walker and his men. There is nobody to stop him. So what if Karnaka sent his men to resolve his issues with the tribe finally?"

"You cannot know that for sure, Kame…" Jin tried to object the younger´s conclusion.

"But you think the same now, right?" the younger one insisted, remembering that damn evil smile of Grenet. It brought him creeps back then. "It would have been strange if he would let us and the tribe go just like that."

"Yeah... You´re right…" Jin admitted. "It feels strange that they just attacked us before the trial once and there has been quiet since then."

"And that other man – Brad – he might have seemed lost, when we came to meet with General Ord before, but he knew where the Blackfeet´s new sanctuary was," Kame continued. "What if they´re going there at this very moment, under Grenet´s lead?"

Jin frowned: "I hate to say that, but that would fit for that fucker…"

"We must get there first," Kame stated firmly. "We must warn them, make them escape, anything," the younger one kept talking, while he was gathering the rest of his things. "And we must leave right now."

Jin had a full understanding of Kame´s attitude, but he also realized that it could be a very bad idea.

"But… Kame, it´s going to be dark soon..."

"I don´t care!" Kazuya lashed out, suddenly furious, his face red and eyes burning. "I will ride during the night if necessary!"

Jin repaid the younger´s look for a while. He saw that behind that anger there was a deep fear, which he started to feel as well. If Karnaka´s men really headed to the village, then Beara, the other kids, Liwan and everybody else were in danger. They were Kazuya´s family and the younger one was overwhelmed with worries for them, but despite it might have seemed hasty, he was right that they should set off right away. Even though they might be late already…

"All right," Jin said then. "Just let me pack my stuff."

Kame nodded: "I will prepare the horses meanwhile," he said, already heading to the door.

"Hey…" Jin grabbed Kame´s wrist before he could run off. "They will be fine…"

"I wish you were right, Jin," Kame almost whispered, slipped out of Jin´s grip and disappeared in the corridor.

***

The bright bluish moonlight was flooding each forest glade across which they passed with its cold attention, creating the tiny sparkles in the frozen snow. The power of the full moon was also coming through the treetops above them, sending the narrow beams of light down to the ground, which made the whole forest look like a magical place from some winter fairy tale.

The utter silence was lying on the mountains that clear night, except the crunching of snow under the hooves of two tireless animals – of a white mare, which legs were almost invisible on the background of the silver surface, and of a black stallion, which figure seemed to be even darker than in daylight. But the riders in their saddles had absolutely no interest in the breathtaking scenery and they were focused only at the fastest possible progress through the night woods.

Jin kept observing the slim figure riding the mare just one meter in front of his own horse full of worries. He had already seen Kazuya troubled a few times, but no matter how hard the situation had been, the younger one almost always hold on his composure, dealing with any difficult happenings with a cool head. Not counting the period after the death of his mother, of course.

But now, Kame was so overfilled with fear for the Blackfeet Tribe, that he became reckless. Jin understood that; his reaction was not surprising at all, considering that the Indians were the last close-to-a-family people left to him. However, rushing to the pueblo without clear thinking could have been dangerous, in case they were right about Karnaka´s gunmen attacking it. Therefore, Jin was following the younger´s lead determined to keep a watchful eye over him all the time…

The dark alarming clouds gathering on Kame´s mind were urging him to rush forward.

There had been so many signs that Raynold Karnaka had been planning to do some calculating cruelty again, from Brad leading Major General Ord to the tribe, to Cameron´s presence at the trial, but he ignored them all. Also Grenet´s attitude during the judicial process was a clear proof of his certainty that he would be free soon, but Kame was too consumed with own emotions to realize that. He should have paid more attention to it; he should have reacted sooner...

Kame wished so much to be wrong in his assumptions. Maybe that Grenet´s gunmen simply fled the city along with their boss and at this moment, they were rushing as fast from their chasers as it was only possible, heading in a completely different direction. Neither Kame nor Jin spotted any footprints along the way, anyway. Maybe the tribe was safe from them. But Kame couldn´t remain calm, unless he made sure about it.

*

Two young riders made a pause during their hasty journey for just a few hours, when Jin insisted on it, warning Kame, that if they kept going on like that, their poor animals would collapse from exhaustion soon.

They allowed Kuro, Ukushi and themselves to have some rest in the lee of two huge rocks, where they warmed up a little at the small fire, before they proceeded deeper into the winter landscape. Unfortunately, during that short break, none of them turned a blind eye for more than a few minutes, but at least their faithful animals continued their difficult trip with new strength.

*

The journey to the place took them a half of the usual time. Just when they reached the dark crevasse leading to the Indian village, the first beams of weak sunshine touched the top of the cliff, where Jin had spotted the guarding Indian before, when he came to the winter sanctuary of the tribe for the first time.

Both he and Kame were breathing heavily, and Ukushi with Kuro barely kept standing, their skin shining with sweat. Both young men felt hot and damn cold at the same time. The early morning was freezing everything around them with such a power, that Jin thought he wouldn´t be able to move with his fingers so far holding Kuro´s reins.

Kame stopped and Jin sided with him. They stared at the unguarded entrance in anxious expectation. But there was only silence. Deep, dead silence. No guards, no early Indian heading for a hunt, no kids coming to meet them.

Kame was standing there, with his eyes red from tiredness and with dark circles under them, as if the frost finally got to him and connected his feet with the snow. Jin realized that there was some curious smell in the air… It was a faint smoke, which did not feel right.

The younger one didn´t seem to move any time soon, so Jin was the one to break their numbness. He tied Kuro´s bridle around the small tree, took off the gloves from his hands and tried to warm his fingers by breathing on them. Then he grabbed his revolvers and stepped right between the two rock walls, aiming with his guns straight forward. Almost right after that, he heard Kazuya´s quick steps, when the younger one woke up from his anxious stiffness and followed him.

The path through the dark gap felt to take longer than Jin had remembered, and with each step, he could smell the smoke stronger. His senses got sharper, focused at any unusual sound or movement, all his muscles tense from what they might find at the end of their way.

Then the rock walls opened up and Jin looked out carefully, letting his eyes check the close surroundings. Nothing moved there, nothing made a slightest noise.

He felt Kame´s shaky hot breath on his cheek; the younger one was so close behind him, trying to see the most he could. But they couldn´t figure out if anything happened from that place.

They left the protection of the walls together and took a few cautious steps forward, to have a clear view on the Indian village. Or more precisely, on what was left of it…

Instead of the wigwams, which used to stand there proudly in the circle, there were only the piles of smoking black mess. Only now they could see the source of that strange smell, which would have been much stronger, if the freezing didn´t lead the smoke up and away from them – the pueblo was burnt down to the ground.

"No…" Kazuya breathed out weakly, before he dashed off toward that horrible picture, forgetting about any caution.

Jin knew it would be useless to ask the younger one for some prudence, so he just rushed after him with both revolvers ready, trying to check all sides at once. He was worried that the attackers might still be somewhere close. Just shortly Jin wondered, how the hell anyone got to the pueblo, when they didn´t see any tracks except their own. But as soon as he caught up with Kame and they entered the center of the village, all speculations flew off of his mind, which went completely blank. Suddenly, he couldn´t think at all.

Everywhere they looked there were dead bodies.

The young warriors were piled up in the front, close to the forest, in which Jin and Kame had played the snow battle with Indian kids not so long ago. The older men were scattered behind them, and their frozen forms were followed by the women and the elders. As both young men staggered further inside the former village in shock, the scenario of what had happened there was picturing up in front of them.

The whole tribe obviously fought against the attackers, they didn´t give in easily. Many various weapons were spread all around the motionless Indians. But they were all dead. There were wounds after the gunshots clearly visible on the bodies, on some even more than one.

Jin´s eyes couldn´t stop moving, as he kept observing the frozen ground, which was revealing more and more white faces with widely open eyes. The blank eyes, which stared into the black nothing...

Some tribe members were lying on the surface, which seemed strange for Jin, until he realized what had caused it. The heat from the flames, which had consumed the Indians homes, melted the snow around and it froze up during the night, creating that dark mess of frozen water, mud and blood.

It was so horrible and cruel that it was hard to believe own eyes, but there was no escape from the truth. The Blackfeet Tribe was mercilessly wiped out and the Indian bodies were left on the exact places, where they had fallen.

Jin kept staggering across the icy surface, somehow clinging to a faint hope he would find any sign of life, until the moment he recognized one white face. It was that small boy, whom he was talking about Kuro with. The one, who was so brave to greet him first, when Jin arrived to the pueblo. The boy had fallen nearby his family´s wigwam, and he was almost completely covered by the body of an Indian woman, probably his mother. She tried to protect him and failed miserably. Jin didn´t even know the boy´s name...

The young gunman couldn´t move anymore, he froze on the spot and stared into the eyes, which kept looking into nowhere in the same numb way as the others. Those eyes were almost blue instead of brown, as the boy´s eyelashes were covered by the tiny crystals of ice...

Jin gulped down heavily, realizing that both his hands, in which he was still holding the revolvers, were shaking. He felt the rising pity and horror in his chest, trying to overwhelm him.

How could anyone do such a horrible and heartless act?

Jin just couldn´t comprehend it, even though he knew the answer. There was only one man, with such a power to command the gang of cold-blooded killers, willing to use all means to achieve his goals. Kame was right from the very beginning.

Kazuya...

The thought of the younger one made Jin tear his eyes off the poor dead boy and he searched for Kazuya hastily. He was standing in the middle of that nightmarish scene, motionless, his face stiff and his eyes wide as lakes.

Something clutched in Jin seeing that desperately numb expression on the younger´s face. It was as if Kame was trying incredibly hard to deny, what he saw around him. Even though he must have known, it was useless…

Kame wished so much for a nightmare – terrible, fearsome and bloody, but nothing more than a stupid dream. But all his senses were telling him that it was the cruel reality. He heard that dead silence ruling over the once lively village; he smelt the odor of recently burnt wigwams and furs, and most of all, he saw.

Kazuya saw the Indian woman, who was always the first one praising him, when he accomplished to do something just like a real Indian boy. He saw two young men, who were of the same age as himself and remembered how they chased each other in the woods, happy from their first free hunting together without a supervision of the adults. And he saw the Chief, the man who gained Kame´s honest admiration, who apparently had fallen among the last ones, with many heavy injuries all over his body.

They were the people, whom he had known since he was just a kid, whom he respected and treasured. And they were all dead.

Kame was not able to think properly. The only thing, which he could figure out at that moment, was that all of it was his fault. He was the one bringing up the lethal danger on the villagers, by the continuous opposing to Karnaka. He was not able to help them and the blame for the death of his second family fell onto his head. It was unbearable. He started to shake; his knees got weak and they gave in under him.

Kame didn´t care if he would fell down among the dead, he would have deserved it. But suddenly, a strong hand caught him under his arm and supported him firmly, until he found his lost balance. Kame knew it was Jin, but he didn´t look at him, he couldn´t. He was too consumed by pain, which awoke in him without any warning and by guilt, which started to grin at him in the form of a certain smile...

It was his fault. All of what happened to the Blackfeet Tribe was his fault... Only his...

Jin had a hunch, which made him approach Kame just in time to catch him before the younger one could have collapsed. Holding him up, Jin felt how much the other was shaking and it terrified him almost more than the bodies all around them. He tried to catch Kazuya´s look, but the younger one kept staring into the ground blindly, making short faint exhales.

Jin hid the second revolver back into its sheath, just as the other one a moment ago, and reached his hand out to place it at Kame´s face.

"Kazuya..." he said softly, pushing the younger´s face to turn slowly. "Look at me..."

When the unnaturally wide eyes finally focused on Jin, it hurt him almost physically. He had never seen that kind of expression on Kame. But his eyes were the worst. There was a swirl of pain, tears, shock and guilt in them, which made Jin strengthen his grip.

"Hey... It´s not your fault."

The younger one said nothing at all; he just stared at Jin, his body shaking even more than before.

"Kazu..." something literally broke in Jin´s chest seeing Kame like that. He leant closer, attaching his forehead with the younger´s, repeating his name. "Kazuya... Please, stop this," he whispered heavily. "You´re scaring me off..."

Kame´s lips opened and a hoarse voice came out of them: "It´s my... It´s my f..."

"No!" Jin interrupted him harshly, taking Kame´s face between his palms. "Forget it right now! You know it´s not true!"

Kazuya took a heavy breath and then the pain ruled over the guilt in his eyes.

"You know it, Kazuya," Jin repeated stubbornly. "Don´t blame yourself..."

"Jin..." Kame whispered just his name and wasn´t able to continue.

"I know, I know... It hurts too much. But it is not your fault. It´s not," he kept persuading the younger one desperately.

To Jin´s relief, Kazuya nodded slightly, still not being able to speak. Jin intended to lead him away from that scene of death, but some noise behind his back prevented him from doing that.

A sound of the ice cracking made Jin let Kame go, and turn around quickly, while raising his revolver in the direction. And he found himself aiming at the Indian with the bow in his hands, ready to shoot off, too.

Kame stiffened and took a shaky inhale. Both Jin and the red man slowly lowered their weapons at the same moment.

"Akanishi… Kame…" the Indian standing between two burnt wigwams recognized them.

"Liwan…" Kame breathed out in a painful relief.

At least his friend was apparently alive, although Liwan´s face didn´t seem any livelier than of those, who were resting on the frozen ground.