Scenario:Jin - Unwavering Righteousness
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Unwavering Righteousness
Seeing that Jin could use a change of pace, Sara and Volenna invite him to assist with dinner preparations. Jin accepts and later divulges to Volenna the moral dilemma that plagues him, but she decides not to pry too deeply into it.
Jin: Haah! Eeyaah! Hi-yah!
Days after the encounter with Eahta, Jin continues to wrestle with the moral dilemma that concerns his very being.
He swings his blade without surcease to clear his mind of any distractions, unaware of the eyes watching him.
Sara: ...
Sara: Jin hasn't taken a break for so long now. I wonder if he'll be okay...
Graphos: ...
Sara: You're worried too, huh?
No version of Sara in crew
Sara was a young priestess tasked with saving a desert town from calamity.
A chance encounter with (Captain) and company saved her from this burden, allowing her to join the crew and go on numerous adventures.
Volenna: Sara, there you are.
No version of Volenna in crew
Volenna has served as Sara's personal bodyguard ever since their time together in a certain desert town.
With Sara liberated from her impending fate, Volenna has been keen on showing her the outside world.
Volenna: You're looking somewhat listless, Sara... Is everything all right?
Sara: Oh, it's not me. I'm worried about Jin...
Volenna: Jin? Come to think of it, he has been brooding over something these past few days.
Sara: (Captain) said Jin finally got to meet the person he's looked up to all this time, so I don't understand why he's so gloomy.
Volenna: It does seem strange...
Sara: Jin's always been good to me and helped me out so much over the years...
Sara: That's why I wanted to help out with whatever he might be struggling with, but I couldn't even call out to him...
Sara: Just the thought that saying the wrong thing might cause him more distress makes me stop in my tracks...
Volenna: You're such a kind girl, Sara.
Sara: Volenna...
Volenna: The way I see it, Jin's so absorbed in thought that he can't see the forest for the trees.
Volenna: If it's just breaking him out of the vicious cycle of negative thought he's trapped in, there might be something we can do.
Sara: That makes sense! It's hard to see the good in a situation if your mind is filled with gloomy thoughts.
Sara: Hm, how do we get him to change course...
Sara: Ah! Volenna, what do you think of this idea?
Volenna readily agrees to her suggestion.
Volenna: Sounds like it could work.
Sara: Great! Let's go invite Jin then.
Jin: ...
Jin: (As much as I swing my blade, no answer comes to me...)
Jin: (Nay... Does an answer even exist? Could I have been wrong all this time?)
Sara: Jin!
Jin: ...!
Sara... and Volenna. Is something the matter?
Sara... and Volenna. Is something the matter?
Sara: It's Volenna's turn to put dinner on the table tonight, and we could really use some help...
Volenna: Sara's already offered her aid, but we could use someone strong for the more physical tasks. Can we count on your help?
Jin: A meal for the crew?
Sara: Um... It's okay if you're busy...
Jin: Not at all! I, too, shall take part in today's dinner preparations. Please, allow me to be of assistance.
Sara: Thank you, Jin! Graphos, we'll need your help too bringing out the large pots!
Graphos: ...!
Jin begins to follow Sara and Graphos as they dash off to the Grandcypher's kitchen. Volenna calls him back.
Volenna: With how much food there is to make, your help's appreciated, Jin.
Jin: Why, it's nothing at all. I would hardly even call this "help"...
Volenna: Eahta, was it? You met your savior, yet you put on a dour face.
Jin: Er, well...
Volenna: If you have any complaints, I'd be more than glad to hear you out. Especially with how much you've helped Sara and I.
Jin: I can't help but wonder if I've been more of a bother than anything else.
Volenna: Huh?
Jin: I've lived my life helping others, believing it to be the path of righteousness.
Jin: But the ideal I saw in Eahta was but an illusion of my own creation.
Jin: Perhaps my accomplishments, too, are mere phantoms born of my own self-importance.
Volenna: I see...
Volenna: Well, you're free to continue pondering the matter, just as long as you don't fillet your fingers.
Volenna: Surely you've learned more than fishing from Kaz. Now's your chance to show us your culinary skills.
Jin: Very well. Sara is waiting; let us hurry.
Unwavering Righteousness: Scene 2
Volenna tries to cook a braised meat dish she tasted during their travels. When she talks about how it's okay to stray from the original recipe as long as the resulting dish is just as delicious, Jin comes to an epiphany, realizing that he can apply his own reasoning for wanting to save people.
Jin enters the kitchen to assist Volenna and Sara with dinner preparation.
Sara: Hm, these veggies taste less bitter if you cut them with the grain...
Volenna: Sara, can you keep an eye on this grill?
Sara: Sure! I just have to make sure the meat doesn't get burnt and dried out, right?
Volenna: Mm-hm, that's right.
Jin watches in deep admiration.
Jin: My, Sara's culinary skills have improved by a considerable margin.
Sara: Teehee, you think so? I'm sure it's because Volenna's such a great teacher!
Volenna: There's no need to be so humble, Sara. You're simply reaping the benefits of all your hard work and natural smarts.
Sara: Ehehe...
Jin: ...
Sara: But it's thanks to everyone that I've been able to learn how to cook, and apply my skills to make dinner like this.
Sara: (Captain), Jin, Volenna, you've all shown me a whole new world...
Sara: I'm sooo grateful for that. I can't thank you enough...
Jin: ...
Jin: But I've hardly lifted a finger.
Jin: I don't mean to repeat what Volenna said, but you are simply harvesting the fruits of your labor, Sara.
Volenna: ...
Though Volenna realizes that Jin is still very much absorbed in thought, she decides not to broach the subject as she continues to give culinary orders.
Volenna: Hm, this should be enough. Now to adjust the temperature...
After pouring oil into the pot, Volenna slowly adds heat.
Jin: Isn't that fire a bit weak for fried food?
Volenna: We'll be boiling the food actually.
Jin: Boiling? With oil? That's new to me. Is it a common cooking method on Sable Island?
Volenna: Truth be told, I first learned of the method at a restaurant after leaving the island. The food they served there was incredible.
Volenna: It's been an ongoing process of trial and error as I try to recreate that flavor...
They proceed with the other dishes while paying careful attention to the pot of meat.
Volenna: There, the braised meat is also done. Sara, Jin, won't you give it a try?
Jin: Let's see here... Nom...
Sara: Aah...
Sara: Wow, it's delicious!
Jin: How splendid! The spices you used are most flavorful, Volenna!
Volenna: Yeah? I guess I got the recipe correct this time.
Jin: "Correct," you say...
Volenna: Skyfarers tend to work up a sweat with all the moving around they do. So I tried using more salt and stronger spices than they did at that restaurant.
Volenna: In other words, the recipe I have here isn't an exact imitation.
Sara: You know, I think this'd taste even better with some bread, Volenna!
Sara: If it's already this good, there's no need for it to be exactly like that restaurant's cooking. Don't you agree, Jin!
Jin: Indeed. I do not know of the restaurant in question, but it would not surprise me if Volenna's cooking proves better than theirs.
Volenna: Ahem, you might be talking me up too much...
Volenna: Though I suppose you could say that food is "proper" as long as it's delicious.
Volenna: And that's regardless of whatever ingredients or culinary method you decide to use.
Jin: As you put it, Volenna, any food can be considered proper as long as it is delicious.
Jin: The cactus dishes I had on Sable Island were quite the delight as well.
Sara: Haha, did you know we make syrup from cacti back home, Jin?
Jin: Truly? That is news to me. I always did find the sweetness of Volenna's tea to be different from that of honey.
Volenna: So you took a liking to cactus pads, I see. Most people from outside of Sable actually dislike the stuff.
Volenna: I guess you could say food that you find to be proper could be deemed improper, or even detestable, by someone else.
Jin: Indeed, there is boundless subjectivity when it comes to taste.
Volenna: The bonito fillet you once served me was so good...
Volenna: But I wouldn't be surprised if there were people who find it distasteful.
Sara: Haha. We were really surprised that fish could be eaten half raw.
Jin: Outside of Auguste, people are generally told from a young age to make sure to cook fish before eating it.
Sara: But bonito fillet is so yummy!
Sara: Jin... Um, thank you for that time too!
Jin: I'm glad it was to your liking! I suppose everything I've learned about fishing from Kaz has paid off.
Jin: After all, pleasing you two brings me much joy as well.
Volenna: What a strange fellow you are. It's not often you find someone who takes so much delight in exerting themselves for others.
Jin: Nothing brings me more bliss than to see my efforts bringing smiles to people. Indeed, that is—
Jin: ...!
Jin: (Indeed... How did I overlook such a simple fact.)
Jin: (Righteousness is only half of the reason for my helping people...)
Jin: (The other half is my desire to see their smiles.)
Jin: (The profound experience I had as a child may have served as the driving force for my path in life...)
Jin: (But it no longer matters whether Eahta's goal was truly ever to help others!)
Jin: (The joy I derive is my own, as is my choice to serve others!)
Jin: Volenna.
Volenna: Yes?
Jin: I've already said this, but it bears repeating—the braised meat is delicious.
Jin: Irrespective of the original recipe, your recipe is surely just as delicious and proper.
Jin: That is the conclusion I've arrived at.
Volenna: I can agree with that.
Jin: ...
Jin: Haha. You were right all along, Volenna.
Volenna: Heh...
Graphos: ...!
Sara: Ah! Thanks, Graphos! Volenna, the dishes in the oven are ready!
Volenna: Okay, let's get it all onto the tables now. After all, food is better served hot. Give me a hand here, Sara, Jin.
Sara: Okay! Jin, I'll take these dishes.
Jin: Hm? What's the matter, Sara? Is there something on my face?
Sara: Oh, it's nothing! Nothing at all...
Sara: (Jin's finally feeling better... It worked!)
Jin enjoys a pleasant time with the crew at the dinner table.
After completing his meal, he disembarks from the Grandcypher and makes his way to a certain place.
Unwavering Righteousness: Scene 3
Jin visits Eahta for a duel when the latter is training on a hilltop. After the match, Eahta acknowledges the righteous path that Jin treads, giving Jin the resolve to continue on the course he's always believed in.
Having heard that Eahta is training on a hilltop outside of town, Jin pays him a visit.
Jin watches the broad back of the man he once idealized.
Jin: If I may intrude!
Eahta: What brings you here?
Jin: I wish for a duel!
Eahta: A duel, you say?
Jin: ...
Eahta: ...
Eahta: The look in your eyes suggests you've found your path in life.
Eahta: Fascinating!
Without another word, Eahta readies his katanas, looking squarely at Jin.
Eahta: Show me swordsmanship as unclouded as your gaze!
Jin: ...!
Your praise is most humbling!
Your praise is most humbling!
Following Eahta's example, Jin tightens his grip on his katana.
Jin: En...
Eahta: Garde...
Jin & Eahta: To battle!
Jin: Hraah!
Eahta: Mrgh!
Jin: Hi-yaaah!
Eahta: Ngh!
A fierce dance of blades ensues between the two samurai, with neither one granting the other any quarter.
They appear to be at a stalemate at first, but the difference in power slowly becomes evident.
Jin: Huff... Huff...
Eahta: ...
Jin: (He's not even the slightest bit out of breath... He's more formidable than I imagined...)
Jin: (But I won't let it end here!)
As if ready to unleash one final, devastating attack, Jin steadies his breathing.
Sensing his intentions, Eahta quietly resumes a defensive stance.
Eahta: ...
Jin: (Eahta... Thank you!)
Jin: Hraaaagh!
A searing clash of blades is followed by a resounding silence.
Jin: ...
Eahta: ...
Eahta: I see much potential in you, Jin.
Eahta: I cede this match to you.
Jin: Eahta, I am most grateful...
Jin: The righteousness I once saw in you was but a phantom of my own making.
Jin: I even suspected that the path I tread as a result of your influence was also a phantom...
Jin: But there is no doubt that I am who I am today because of the choices I've made in my life.
Jin: Meeting Sara, Volenna, and the crew, and all my experiences with them couldn't be more real.
Jin: It is with my own two feet that I've reached the ideal I sought for so long.
Jin: Although it may differ from your ideal, what matters is what I consider to be righteous.
Eahta: Verily. Our world being the kaleidoscope it is, there is no one definition of justice.
Eahta: Time flows. Events transpire. There is no way to control all of it.
Eahta: That is why we must all follow our hearts and walk our own paths. It is all too easy to forget that we, alone, are responsible for our own fates.
Jin: It took me far too long to realize that... But now that I've seen the light, I vow to no longer stray from my own brand of righteousness.
Jin: Perhaps I may be able to resume my duel with you one day, Eahta—on equal footing next time.
Eahta: Hehe...
Eahta: Bwahahaha! Lovely!
Eahta, his stern expression all but gone, breaks into peals of laughter at Jin's words.
Jin: Eahta...
Jin: Heh... Haha...
Jin: Hahahahaha!
Eahta's laughter proves contagious, as Jin, too, loosens up and joins in on the merriment.
Jin: (Eahta, (Captain), Volenna, Sara...)
Jin: (I wouldn't amount to much today if any of them were missing from my life...)
Jin: (Though I've pledged to save people, I was the one being saved all this time...)
Jin: (I shall forever be grateful!)
Finally having the gentleman he had idolized for so long acknowledge his ideals, Jin sees his future in a new, brighter light.
With so many fateful encounters and experiences to draw from, he is now more determined than ever to continue treading his very own path of righteousness.