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Dragons Fangs and Tiger Claws {1x1 with DarkMudkip}

Tears rolled down Jin's cheeks, laying on her side in front of Tenkai. Kojurou had always braided her hair in the mornings once they had become lovers, and even more so once they were wed. Gently petting the golden ring that hung on a cord around her neck, she stared ahead blankly.
 
Jin closed her eyes, moving her hand over her ear to drown out his voice. She curled into an even tighter ball, turning her face against the ground.
 
Jin trembled hard, squeezing her eyes shut tightly, willing her mind somewhere else, anywhere else but there.
Eight more years passed, Jin remaining locked inside the cave, but now lacking any will to live or care for herself. Tenkai would have to spoon feed her and even help her swallow, sitting slumped against the wall with a blank face. Through the grime on her face, sunken eyes and cheeks could be seen, her skin having paled considerably over the years of almost complete darkness. The skin and bones woman sat unmoving, eyes glued to the cave entrance, waiting on her husband to come rushing in to free her.

"Shigenaga, hurry up, if you slow down too much you'll catch your death!" Minehime called over her shoulder to the blonde following behind her. Date Masamune's daughter, aged fourteen, was out adventuring like usual, when they spotting an unexplored cave, barely noticable in the mountains. Trekking through the snow, white puffs of breath came from the maiden, bundled in a heavy cloak and wielding a large broadsword.
 
The tall blond followed after her as best as he could, keeping his Akaviri blade close to him as he trekked through the snow. "I'm trying, I'm not used to so much snow...! It's difficult...!" He called back. When he caught up to her at the mouth of the cave, he looked around curiously. "This feels...wrong..." He muttered, before pulling out the handmade map he and Minehime had made from their explorations, "Maybe we should go elsewhere?"
 
Minehime drew the large blade from its sheath, grinning widely. "You can wait outside if you're scared, but I'm going inside. Plus, we've never been here before." And with that, Minehime entered the cave without Shigenaga.
 
Minehime was stopped just inside the cave, staring at the fork that lead off in two directions. "Wanna take the left, and I'll take the right?" Minehime asked, looking up at Shigenaga, who although was only a year older, was already so much taller.
 
"Oh come on, the worst thing we encounter out here is a snow bear, it'll be good practice for me." She grinned brightly. "If I need help, I promise to call for you." She promised.
 
Shigenaga frowned a bit more but nodded, "All right...I'll go left, then." He told her, "Make a sincere effort to not get hurt. Masamune-sama would have my head..."
 
Minehime's grin softened into a smile. "I promise." She said, then headed off down the tunnel to the right.
Soft echoes of voices reached Jin's ears, but she remained curled up on the floor, unmoving. The skin around her neck was rubbed raw and scabbed over numerous times, leaving heavy scaring. Closing her eyes, she let out a weak breath, her stomach growling.
 
Shigenaga's hand ran over smooth stone for a while before it bumped into the worn wood of a torch, and then the rough bars of a cage - no a cell. Why was a cell so deep inside of a mountian?
 
Shigenaga furrowed his brows and used some flint and tinder to light the torch, taking it off the wall and moving to the cell, "Hello? Is anyone in here? Do you need help?"
 
The faint sound of a chain rattling could be heard from inside the dark cell, the outline of a small person shifting inside the shadowy prison, but no other respond could be heard.
 
The bright flame hurt Jin's eyes as usual, so when the young man came closer, she scrambled to move back into the darkness. Able to see the woman now, Shigenaga could clearly see the poor woman was alive, but just barely.
 
Shigenaga apologized and moved the flame back a bit, "Do you need help, miss?" His voice was similar to Kojurou's, but only a small octave higher.
 
It was Kojurou, he had finally come; how many weeks had she been locked away? Time had stretched, each day seeming like an eternity. Fresh tears dripped down her cheeks, reaching out a bony arm. "...husband.." Was all she was able to croak out, shuffling closer to the cage door, in doing so showing she only had one arm. Who ever had been keeping her here was probably the cause of the woman's missing limb, after all, only a monster would lock someone away in a cave.
 
Jin sat hunched over, waiting for Kojurou to open the cell door, anxiously tugging on the chain around her neck.
 
Using a lockpick he had on hand, he picked the lock on the door and pulled it open, moving inside and examining the shackle around her neck, "Hold very still.." He told her gently before beginning to pick the lock on the shackle as well.
 
The woman seemed to understand his command, or at least partially, sitting still as he worked on the heavy iron shackle.
Minehime, having only found a dead end, had gone after Shigenaga, trotting down the pathway of the second branch-off. When she saw the torchlight, she picked up her pace, stopping just outside the cell door. "Shige, what the hell..?!"
 
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