Part 16: "Peace"
Much to Jack's relief, after making his deal with Zinnia, the young woman began to eat more. She still remained rather silent, however, rarely speaking very often--even when Jack would initiate conversation with her. While he was certain this was just a phase she was going through as she recovered from her traumatic experience, a little part of the samurai couldn't help but fear she would never be the same again. Had the experience really been so traumatic for Zinnia that she would never be able to entirely get over it?
These thoughts wracked the man with guilt. It had been something from his world that had caused this to happen to her. Maybe if she had never agreed to walk Jack's path with him, the lorekeeper would never have gone through such pain. She had almost died and was still suffering from her experience. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, once Zinnia had healed from this he should continue his mission alone. He could have the young woman wait somewhere safe until he had finished his path, and once Aku was vanquished once and for all he could return to her.
While not the most appealing idea, it was likely to be the safest for her. Jack knew if he left her behind he would terribly miss her company, but in the long run her safety was more important. They would have their entire lives to spend together after Aku had been stopped. But if she continued to travel with him there was a great chance they would again run into a challenge that would threaten her life. More than anything, he wanted to keep her safe.
So, grudgingly, Jack made an effort to present his idea to Zinnia the following afternoon. She was resting, quietly holding Aster, when the samurai began to speak with her. "This town is quiet nice, don't you think?" he began. He had a feeling her reaction to the idea wouldn't exactly be a good one, but he had to go through with making his suggestion.
"..."
As usual, Zinnia wouldn't say anything in response, so Jack would continue speaking to her.
"The nicest thing about it is that it is safe. That's why I wanted to make a suggestion," he continued, still gaining no response from his companion. "Once you are feeling better, maybe we should part ways for a time. You can stay here and I'll continue on my journey alone. I'll go vanquish Aku and then return for yo--"
"No way."
Speaking her first words she had uttered all day, Zinnia was now glaring at Jack. He had managed to rope her entire attention now.
"Bad idea. We're not splitting up," she added, running her hand gently down Aster's back.
Jack sighed. "Just here me out on this, love. You went through a lot because of that snake bite. I don't want to see you suffer like that again. We both know how dangerous my world is and I'd hate to see you further traumatized by anything. I mean, look at you Zinnia. You've barely said a word over the past few days."
Zinnia frowned. "Look, I'm sorry about that. Things were just really confusing to me after I woke up from the illusion. Its been hard for me to think things through and feel like my old self. But I'm sure I'll be feeling better soon. You just have to give me some time."
"I'm certain you will get better, however--"
"This isn't open for discussion," Zinnia grumbled, slumping down onto her bed. "We'll stick together and we'll be fine. Don't bring this up again," she told him, turning on her side so she could face away from him.
As Zinnia wished, Jack didn't bring up the idea anymore. The next day, Zinnia seemed much better. She spoke quite a bit more and seemed rather active. It was almost as if she was trying harder on purpose after her companion expressed his worries over her silence. Zinnia wanted to eradicate any remaining thoughts he may have had for them to separate.
Despite her efforts, however, Jack still continued to think about his idea. Zinnia couldn't fool him. He could see her toss and turn in her sleep and knew she still wasn't entirely well. So that's why he decided to look past Zinnia's stubborn disposition and do what he thought was best for her.
The next evening, after Zinnia was soundly asleep, Jack packed his things, wrote her a letter explaining again why he thought it was best he should leave without her, and reluctantly left. Parting from her was a far tougher challenge than any enemy he had faced, yet the man was determined. There was nothing he wouldn't do to keep her safe.
By the time he was on the outskirts of town the moon was high in the sky. With every step he took, Jack's body felt heavier under the guilt of leaving Zinnia behind without telling her. He felt so terrible, in fact, he could almost hear her voice ringing in his head—shooting him down with insults. In fact, the sound of her voice was so prominent, it was almost as if she were really there, standing right in front of—
"Jerk!"
Whap!
Through the darkness, Jack could feel a foot planted into his back. He groaned and stumbled forward, hunching over to grab the offended area. Turning around like a crippled, old man, the samurai would sheepishly face the person who kicked him, feeling even worse than before. How did she find out I had gone so quickly? I should've known she would find out quickly. She's a sharp woman. "Z-Zinnia, I—"
"Don't even say anything," she told him, frustration clear in her voice. "It's not like you wanted to say anything anyhow. Clearly you didn't, otherwise you never would've written this crap." Zinnia crumbled up the letter Jack had written to her and threw it at his face, hitting him on the forehead with it. As she continued to speak, her voice cracked, showing she was not only angry, but also hurt.
"I'm an adult. I-I can take care of myself. Do you think I don't know how dangerous your world is? I don't care, dammit! I have my wit and my pokémon to help me out. It isn't as if I'm entirely helpless so don't treat me like I am!"
"Z-Zinnia, I know, but—"
"I almost died from that poison, and in my dreams, you did die. And those weren't just dreams to me, Jack. They felt real. They were real to me. Do you have any idea how I might've felt then? I touched your cold, lifeless body. I saw your grave. It broke my heart. To me, it felt like loosing Aster all over again. So, when I awoke from the illusion and found out that you weren't dead, after accepting reality I felt like the luckiest woman alive. I love you more than anything. I had a second chance to see you again, to be with you. I did a lot of thinking while I was healing, and I found myself appreciating the value of life even a bit more. It's a short, precious gift that can be taken away at any moment. I want to… enjoy every moment of my time being around you. If we part ways, we're only wasting time that we could be using to be together. What if we part and you die on your journey? Or something happens to me while you're away? I don't want that, but it could happen. If it did happen, wouldn't it be a shame that we wasted so much time?"
Zinnia scowled under her breath, watching as Jack straightened his back and took a step toward her. "So you can either forget this bullshit of leaving me behind and let me come with you or you can leave. But if you do, leave don't even bother to…"
The young woman trailed off, feeling Jack slowly wrap his arms around her. Frustrated, she began to pound her fists again his chest, however, that didn't deter the samurai from pulling his love close.
"…don't even bother to…"
Grunting, Zinnia hit her fists against his chest a few more times.
"Ugh, let me go, Jack! I'm not finished with what I have to—"
Ignoring her efforts, Jack cupped Zinnia's face, gently kissing her. Her resolve to fight slowly faded afterwards and she simply stood there, kissing him back.
"Let you go? Never again," he said after pulling back from the kiss. He still kept her close, however, tracing her cheek softly with the back of a hand. "I whole-heartedly apologize for leaving you. But you must understand, I too felt the weight of seeing you slowly die. I was only reacting it by leaving because I felt it would it would protect you. I also love you more than anything. I only wish to keep you safe."
Zinnia sighed. "You don't always have to be a hero, you know? I promise you I can pull my own weight." She gently leaned in and kissed his lips again, nuzzling his cheek afterwards. "You don't always have to worry about protecting me."
"As long as you're alive I'll worry about protecting you. You mean the world to me, my love. But… I can try to… focus more on our time together, rather than the danger we might face," he said, stroking the back of her head tenderly. Instinctively, he actually found himself leaning in to kiss her again. Why had he fought so hard to leave her behind? There was no way he could've kept away from her for so long…
After pulling back from her, Zinnia would stare blankly at him, frozen and lovestruck for a moment. "So, um," she began after a moment. "I am going with you, right?" she asked.
Jack nodded. "Yes, you've most definitely convinced me not to let you go," he said with a smile. "It's late though. Would you rather go back to town and stay there until morning?"
Zinnia shook her head. "I'm full of engird after having rested so much. Let's just… walk for a while," she suggested.
"Very well," Jack replied, gesturing to their path.
As they walked together in silence, Jack still wondered to himself if Zinnia was feeling better or not, only to be shaken from such thoughts by her words.
"Say, remember what I said about life being short?" Zinnia grabbed onto Jack's arm, smirking mischievously. "We should enjoy it to the fullest with the time we have left so… what do you say we set up camp and share a tent? But not for sleeping if you know what I—"
"Nice try," Jack interrupted, stifling a laugh. It looked as if she really was feeling better.
"Ugh, you're no fun! Someday I will break you of those morals!" Zinnia cried, swinging the arm of his which she clung too while pouting.
At last, a peaceful vibe had returned between the two and they could finally move on from the trials they had faced.
~The End~