What are we? (3)

Jin walked out of the doctor's office, still in relative pain, but Doctor Parker had given him another dose of painkillers.

Glancing around, he noticed that it was nighttime again.

'I slept all day… Thirteen probably tried to call me,' Jin thought, reaching for his right ear and picking out the earpiece he always used to communicate with Thirteen.

It appeared to be intact, but Jin knew it was no longer functioning.

'Damn it… buying another one is going to be expensive,' Jin cursed inwardly. This wasn't the first time his electric Cypher ability had destroyed an earpiece; he always forgot to remove it from his ear, resulting in countless broken earpieces.

'Thirteen is going to be whiny again for sure,' Jin sighed as he navigated through the trash-littered streets of the Tenth District.

The sudden stench assaulted his senses, nearly causing him to retch.

"I hate this place so god damn much," Jin muttered, pinching his nose shut with his fingers.

For once, he didn't check his watch for directions. Despite his notoriously poor sense of direction, he knew the general vicinity of his and Thirteen's home well enough to navigate without assistance.

Walking through the streets, he continued to hold his nose until he felt that the smell had finally gone away.

While walking through the streets, Jin held his nose until the terrible smell faded.

Taking a deep breath, he couldn't help but grimace.

"Even in the better parts, this place still smells like shit." With that thought, he resumed his journey. The streets were mostly deserted; few dared to linger outside in the dark of the Tenth District.

Nearly 20 minutes later, he arrived at the building he shared with Thirteen.

He opened the door and stepped inside, only to be confronted by the staircase looming before him.

"I just got stitched up… I don't want to reopen my wounds, god damn it," Jin cursed under his breath, dreading the climb. Nevertheless, he forced himself to ascend the stairs. Thanks to the painkillers, he could barely feel his wounds protesting with each step

.

Finally reaching his floor, he made his way to their apartment.

"Thirteen is probably sleeping again… well, I hope he is, because I'm going to get scolded for sure," Jin mused as he approached the door, tapping his watch to the terminal to unlock it.

Opening the door, Jin stepped into the apartment, only to find Thirteen seated on the couch, his gaze fixed directly on him.

"Good evening," Jin greeted with an awkward wave.

Thirteen remained silent, his eyes piercing into Jin's, their ocean-blue depths seemingly probing his soul.

"Good evening to you too, Jin," Thirteen finally replied, though his expression belied any warmth. Despite the weak half-smile on his lips, his eyes remained cold and distant.

Thirteen, with his ashen-pale complexion and small stature, was a stark contrast to Jin's towering figure. Yet, it was still Thirteen who made Jin quiver under his gaze. 

"What were you doing?" Asked Thirteen his question was nothing more than an obvious trap. Jin knew that Thirteen likely already had the answer, having accessed the camera feeds and tracked Jin's movements throughout the day. 

"Well... okay. I completed two jobs and managed to collect some money. We still have enough to get by for a while," Jin confessed, raising his hands in a gesture of resignation. 

"Yeah, I'm aware," Thirteen responded, his features obscured behind a black mask, leaving only his nose and piercing ocean-blue eyes visible. A scar was present on his face, resembling a burn mark, similar to the one on Jin's back. 

"And you had to go and play the big, strong guy, picking out the hardest missions right after you were injured," Thirteen said. His voice lacked anger, only terrifying Jin even more. 

"Okay, but we needed the money, and you know it. Me getting injured is nothing," Jin countered, his hands interlocked as he turned serious.

"That is true, but you overly endangering yourself won't get us any closer to the bastards," Thirteen retorted, smacking the table in frustration while fixing a sharp gaze on Jin.

"Who the heck cares? It's not like we have that much time left. We need to act now, staying at the same place and waiting for me to heal won't get us anywhere, and I think I've found a lead!" Jin shouted in frustration. Both of them stared at each other with a mix of anger and resignation before letting out heavy sighs.

"We'll come back to this," Thirteen insisted, but Jin cut him off.

"No, we're not. There isn't enough time left for this, Thirteen. We need to focus on getting you something, I can still push on, you can't." Jin said, his livid expression softening into one of concern.

With a click of his tongue, Thirteen rose from the couch and walked to his computer, taking a seat without turning his back to Jin.

"What did you find out?" Thirteen's voice pierced the dimly lit room, illuminated only by the glow of the monitors.

"I picked up a bounty to hunt down a Cypher... the bastard was only C-ranked but almost killed me... he was, for lack of a better words, strange," Jin explained, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Interesting... let me look it up," Thirteen responded, his fingers flying over the keyboard at a remarkable speed. Before Jin could fully comprehend what was happening, the monitors before Thirteen flickered to life, displaying camera feeds of the fight between Jin and the Cypher.

"His face…" Muttered Thirteen while grasping his own.

"Yes… he's incomplete," said Jin darkly, his expression hidden behind his black mask.

"What do you think? Is this Ark?" Jin's fist clenched involuntarily at the mention of Ark.

"It feels good to blame them, but this is not them," said Thirteen, his voice increasingly strained.

"Did you take the meds that I put down here?" Jin asked, concern evident in his voice as he stared at Thirteen.

"Not yet. I will when I need to," Thirteen dismissed Jin's concern.

"But then, who do you think is behind that failed Cypher?" Jin redirected the conversation back to the topic at hand.

"Genesis," Thirteen said with a grave tone, his fingers dancing on the keyboard.

"Go and sleep for a bit. Even if you are better now, you overused your ability once again and ruined another earpiece. Just rest a bit, and let's get to work tomorrow. I set up a meeting with an informant," instructed Thirteen, barely looking back at Jin, but his tone was filled with worry.

"Don't worry. I just slept for a whole day, but I'm dead tired at the same time… Good night, Thirteen," said Jin, walking to his room. He opened the door to see the almost empty room.

Approaching his nightstand, he placed down the hunting rifle, leaning it against the wall. Then, he walked to his night shelf, stowing his electric gun on the shelf next to his

painkillers.

His white coat was completely clean now, cleaned by Doctor Parker. He hung it on the door before retrieving the picture he kept there.

"Oh no, it's still somewhat bloody," Jin panicked, brushing off the blood from the picture tenderly. He walked back toward his bed and placed the picture on the shelf, storing it away.

Taking off his black boots, Jin held onto his knife as he slid it under his pillow.

Ignoring Thirteen, who was focused on his computer, Jin walked into the washroom and turned on the shower. 

As the ice-cold water cascaded over his body, Jin gritted his teeth, feeling an involuntary shudder run through him. "What I would give for some warm water," he thought to himself, enduring the chilly water pouring down on his bare, muscular body.

After almost 2 minutes underneath the shower and scrubbing himself thoroughly, trying his best to rid himself of the filth of the outside, Jin got out of the shower with a satisfied expression.

"Even if it's cold, at least I'm not filthy," Jin thought with a contented smile as he hummed his way back to his room, eventually succumbing to a heavy yawn.

"I'm exhausted," Jin thought as he practically collapsed onto his bed, his consciousness instantly drifting into a peaceful sleep.