Title: Sleepwake
1 Author: Maomi
Email: maomi_girl@yahoo.com
Rating: PG for this chapter, but may well be R later
Summary: A piece of Jin/Xiaoyu/Hwoarang fluff that hit me over the head one night as I was sleeping and has been gnawing on my consciousness ever since.
Disclaimer: Tekken and its characters do not belong to me. I am only a lowly fanfic writer. Besides, if Jin or Hwoarang were mine, I wouldn't be spending my time writing fanfic. . . ::eyes glaze over:: ::suddenly comes to senses and clears throat:: Uh. But anyway, onto the story.
Sleepwake (Part 1/?)
7:55:01 PM.
Xiaoyu was walking through the brightly lit city streets, enjoying the coldness of the night air, the colorful glow of shop windows, the lightness of her backpack. This was freedom, and it would last for another two weeks! Winter break had arrived with the speed of a snail, but now that today was finally the first day of vacation, she wanted to burst into joyous song.
7:55:02 PM.
In the span of a second, her future changed.
Suddenly, Xiaoyu was on the ground, pain burning where her knees had scraped the sidewalk. She swiftly turned to see who had shoved her so roughly and found herself eye-to-eye with a stranger. Her assailant had pushed her into a narrow alley that she hadn't realized she'd walked past, and now the light shown from behind the stranger so that she saw him as a silhouette of darkness. His one feature visible to her was the vivid purple scarring across his neck.
"What do you think you're doing?" Xiaoyu demanded, pushing herself up off of the ground and standing with her body tensed, ready to fight.
But Scar-neck wasn't paying any attention to her. His eyes had already lighted on Xiaoyu's backpack, fallen a few feet away. It only took a second for her to realize what the purpose of this little skirmish had been.
They both dove for the bag at the same time, and each grabbed hold of one strap. The two struggled in a bizarre tug of war, which struck Xiaoyu as being kind of funny in a crazy, idiotic way. Shaking her inappropriate thoughts out of her head, she tightened her grasp on her strap.
"Look, there's nothing in there. If you just leave me alone right now, I promise not to hurt you," she said reasonably.
Scar-neck didn't let go, only snorting mockingly in response. Xiaoyu felt her anger reach its peak; she HATED it when people didn't take her seriously.
"Fine, but you're asking for it," she muttered under her breath. Without warning, Xiaoyu released her strap. Unbalanced, the man sprawled onto the ground, staring at her, dazed. Xiaoyu spread her arms back like wings, and crouched low, leaning her weight on one leg while extending the other in front of her, becoming the embodiment of a phoenix. Not giving Scar-neck the opportunity to get to his feet, she swept her leg underneath her in a circle, once, twice. What seemed like graceful gymnastics to an observer were actually several painful kicks to the man.
Frightened now, the man hastily scrambled to get away, but Xiaoyu was already attacking again. She jumped high into the air, one foot soaring and hitting Scar-neck below his chin, the power of the blow sending her opponent flying backwards. She landed lightly on her feet, but the man hit the ground with a satisfying 'thump'. Understandably, he groaned.
Xiaoyu waited, but he lay on the ground motionlessly. She felt her adrenaline high dissolve into nervous concern.
"Uh. . .are you still conscious?" she asked, approaching his body cautiously. She began to worry that she might have accidentally killed him, and nudged his side with her foot.
"Oh no," she whispered, "I didn't mean to kick you THAT hard." In despair, she turned away from the body and buried her face in her hands, the image of grim policemen and jail cell bars imprinted in her mind. "What am I gonna tell Uncle Wang?"
But it seemed her fears were unfounded, for behind Xiaoyu, the man was staggering to his feet, a trashcan cover in his hand.
She heard the 'whish' sound of an object moving through air, but she ducked too late. The lid didn't hit her head with full force, instead glancing the side of her temple. Xiaoyu swayed on her feet, the pain dull and throbbing. Not turning around, she hooked her leg up in an unusual but powerful kick, aiming for just the right spot to punish Scar-neck for playing dirty-
But the only thing her foot connected with was air.
"Huh?"
Xiaoyu looked over her shoulder. Instead of rolling on the ground in pain the way he should have been, her opponent was pressed up against the wall, lifted off his feet by another man. It seemed like he was being choked. What, had Scar-neck tried to rob him too?
Xiaoyu turned around and squinted at them. The new guy seemed kind of familiar, but she wasn't sure why. She wished they would step out of the shadowed alley so that she could get a better look.
"You bas'ard," Guy #2 said to Scar-neck, his words heavily slurred. "Pickin' on lil' girls? People li'e you make me sick!"
"Who are you calling a little girl?" Xiaoyu said, angry again. She was NOT in the mood to play damsel in distress. She was in the mood to throw someone. Hard.
"If you plan on hurting him," she said, gesturing at Scar-neck, "you'll just have to get in line!"
To her surprise, Guy #2 released Scar-neck, who slumped to the ground with a moan. Guy #2 walked towards Xiaoyu with slow, unsteady steps. He reached out, his hand brushing the bruise that was beginning to form on her temple. She was too bewildered to move.
"He hur' you," the stranger said, his voice soft and intense with worry. Xiaoyu looked up into his face, trying to make out his features. . .
"Jin!" she gasped, unable to control a wide smile from spreading on her face. She leapt onto him and threw her arms around his neck in undisguised happiness.
"JinJinJin! It's really you! Well, of course it's you, how could I have not recognized that hair, stupid me! Where have you been? I was so worried about you! Why didn't you answer my calls, or my emails, or-" Words tumbled out of her mouth, stumbling over each other in the hurry to be said. She could barely believe her eyes, but his warmth, his muscled back against her hands told her that he was truly here, not a figment of wistful imagination.
Jin said nothing in reaction to Xiaoyu's outpour of questions. He only looked into her eyes, smiling gently.
"I missed your voice," he said, so quietly that Xiaoyu barely heard, but she fell silent with that one sentence, still happy yet suddenly confused.
And that was the end of their conversation, because Jin's eyes closed at that moment, and he toppled, falling as heavily as an ancient tree. Xiaoyu made a valiant attempt to support his weight, but finally had to lay him onto the ground, as gingerly as she could.
"I don't know what you've been through, Jin," she whispered, seeing the scars on his hands and face, the blood stains on his hooded jacket, "but you're here now, and it's going to be okay."
Xiaoyu stood and called a cab. As she watched the car slow to stop in front of her, she thought she felt an indescribable change in the night air, a sort of cold breeze that chilled her beyond her skin, and she shivered. Ignoring her sense of unease, she hefted her unconscious friend into the cab, and slid into the seat beside him.
As the cab drove away, the man whom Xiaoyu had whimsically dubbed "Scar- neck" pulled himself off of the ground with a string of curses. He too felt a sense of unease, but then the scum of city gutters usually do. "The Talon will want to know about this," he said to no one in particular, and headed for a place neither Xiaoyu nor Jin nor any other good boys and girls ever went to.
The backpack lay forgotten.
Author's notes:
I've been wrestling with myself over whether or not to post this for the past few, oh, weeks now. I started Sleepwake a long time ago (may change title), but wanted to post when it was done. Now, I'm not sure if I'll ever finish it, but what the heck. What's there to lose by posting (besides maybe my pride, that is ^_^ ). Also, an itty-bitty warning to Xiaoyin fans: this will at some point involve Hwoarang, so Jin is gonna have some competition ^_^.
Anyway, pleeeeeeease tell me what you think of this beginning. Some authors are very dignified and look down on those who beg for feedback, so let me make it clear: I'm not one of those authors! I love feedback, please don't make me grovel!
1 Author: Maomi
Email: maomi_girl@yahoo.com
Rating: PG for this chapter, but may well be R later
Summary: A piece of Jin/Xiaoyu/Hwoarang fluff that hit me over the head one night as I was sleeping and has been gnawing on my consciousness ever since.
Disclaimer: Tekken and its characters do not belong to me. I am only a lowly fanfic writer. Besides, if Jin or Hwoarang were mine, I wouldn't be spending my time writing fanfic. . . ::eyes glaze over:: ::suddenly comes to senses and clears throat:: Uh. But anyway, onto the story.
Sleepwake (Part 1/?)
7:55:01 PM.
Xiaoyu was walking through the brightly lit city streets, enjoying the coldness of the night air, the colorful glow of shop windows, the lightness of her backpack. This was freedom, and it would last for another two weeks! Winter break had arrived with the speed of a snail, but now that today was finally the first day of vacation, she wanted to burst into joyous song.
7:55:02 PM.
In the span of a second, her future changed.
Suddenly, Xiaoyu was on the ground, pain burning where her knees had scraped the sidewalk. She swiftly turned to see who had shoved her so roughly and found herself eye-to-eye with a stranger. Her assailant had pushed her into a narrow alley that she hadn't realized she'd walked past, and now the light shown from behind the stranger so that she saw him as a silhouette of darkness. His one feature visible to her was the vivid purple scarring across his neck.
"What do you think you're doing?" Xiaoyu demanded, pushing herself up off of the ground and standing with her body tensed, ready to fight.
But Scar-neck wasn't paying any attention to her. His eyes had already lighted on Xiaoyu's backpack, fallen a few feet away. It only took a second for her to realize what the purpose of this little skirmish had been.
They both dove for the bag at the same time, and each grabbed hold of one strap. The two struggled in a bizarre tug of war, which struck Xiaoyu as being kind of funny in a crazy, idiotic way. Shaking her inappropriate thoughts out of her head, she tightened her grasp on her strap.
"Look, there's nothing in there. If you just leave me alone right now, I promise not to hurt you," she said reasonably.
Scar-neck didn't let go, only snorting mockingly in response. Xiaoyu felt her anger reach its peak; she HATED it when people didn't take her seriously.
"Fine, but you're asking for it," she muttered under her breath. Without warning, Xiaoyu released her strap. Unbalanced, the man sprawled onto the ground, staring at her, dazed. Xiaoyu spread her arms back like wings, and crouched low, leaning her weight on one leg while extending the other in front of her, becoming the embodiment of a phoenix. Not giving Scar-neck the opportunity to get to his feet, she swept her leg underneath her in a circle, once, twice. What seemed like graceful gymnastics to an observer were actually several painful kicks to the man.
Frightened now, the man hastily scrambled to get away, but Xiaoyu was already attacking again. She jumped high into the air, one foot soaring and hitting Scar-neck below his chin, the power of the blow sending her opponent flying backwards. She landed lightly on her feet, but the man hit the ground with a satisfying 'thump'. Understandably, he groaned.
Xiaoyu waited, but he lay on the ground motionlessly. She felt her adrenaline high dissolve into nervous concern.
"Uh. . .are you still conscious?" she asked, approaching his body cautiously. She began to worry that she might have accidentally killed him, and nudged his side with her foot.
"Oh no," she whispered, "I didn't mean to kick you THAT hard." In despair, she turned away from the body and buried her face in her hands, the image of grim policemen and jail cell bars imprinted in her mind. "What am I gonna tell Uncle Wang?"
But it seemed her fears were unfounded, for behind Xiaoyu, the man was staggering to his feet, a trashcan cover in his hand.
She heard the 'whish' sound of an object moving through air, but she ducked too late. The lid didn't hit her head with full force, instead glancing the side of her temple. Xiaoyu swayed on her feet, the pain dull and throbbing. Not turning around, she hooked her leg up in an unusual but powerful kick, aiming for just the right spot to punish Scar-neck for playing dirty-
But the only thing her foot connected with was air.
"Huh?"
Xiaoyu looked over her shoulder. Instead of rolling on the ground in pain the way he should have been, her opponent was pressed up against the wall, lifted off his feet by another man. It seemed like he was being choked. What, had Scar-neck tried to rob him too?
Xiaoyu turned around and squinted at them. The new guy seemed kind of familiar, but she wasn't sure why. She wished they would step out of the shadowed alley so that she could get a better look.
"You bas'ard," Guy #2 said to Scar-neck, his words heavily slurred. "Pickin' on lil' girls? People li'e you make me sick!"
"Who are you calling a little girl?" Xiaoyu said, angry again. She was NOT in the mood to play damsel in distress. She was in the mood to throw someone. Hard.
"If you plan on hurting him," she said, gesturing at Scar-neck, "you'll just have to get in line!"
To her surprise, Guy #2 released Scar-neck, who slumped to the ground with a moan. Guy #2 walked towards Xiaoyu with slow, unsteady steps. He reached out, his hand brushing the bruise that was beginning to form on her temple. She was too bewildered to move.
"He hur' you," the stranger said, his voice soft and intense with worry. Xiaoyu looked up into his face, trying to make out his features. . .
"Jin!" she gasped, unable to control a wide smile from spreading on her face. She leapt onto him and threw her arms around his neck in undisguised happiness.
"JinJinJin! It's really you! Well, of course it's you, how could I have not recognized that hair, stupid me! Where have you been? I was so worried about you! Why didn't you answer my calls, or my emails, or-" Words tumbled out of her mouth, stumbling over each other in the hurry to be said. She could barely believe her eyes, but his warmth, his muscled back against her hands told her that he was truly here, not a figment of wistful imagination.
Jin said nothing in reaction to Xiaoyu's outpour of questions. He only looked into her eyes, smiling gently.
"I missed your voice," he said, so quietly that Xiaoyu barely heard, but she fell silent with that one sentence, still happy yet suddenly confused.
And that was the end of their conversation, because Jin's eyes closed at that moment, and he toppled, falling as heavily as an ancient tree. Xiaoyu made a valiant attempt to support his weight, but finally had to lay him onto the ground, as gingerly as she could.
"I don't know what you've been through, Jin," she whispered, seeing the scars on his hands and face, the blood stains on his hooded jacket, "but you're here now, and it's going to be okay."
Xiaoyu stood and called a cab. As she watched the car slow to stop in front of her, she thought she felt an indescribable change in the night air, a sort of cold breeze that chilled her beyond her skin, and she shivered. Ignoring her sense of unease, she hefted her unconscious friend into the cab, and slid into the seat beside him.
As the cab drove away, the man whom Xiaoyu had whimsically dubbed "Scar- neck" pulled himself off of the ground with a string of curses. He too felt a sense of unease, but then the scum of city gutters usually do. "The Talon will want to know about this," he said to no one in particular, and headed for a place neither Xiaoyu nor Jin nor any other good boys and girls ever went to.
The backpack lay forgotten.
Author's notes:
I've been wrestling with myself over whether or not to post this for the past few, oh, weeks now. I started Sleepwake a long time ago (may change title), but wanted to post when it was done. Now, I'm not sure if I'll ever finish it, but what the heck. What's there to lose by posting (besides maybe my pride, that is ^_^ ). Also, an itty-bitty warning to Xiaoyin fans: this will at some point involve Hwoarang, so Jin is gonna have some competition ^_^.
Anyway, pleeeeeeease tell me what you think of this beginning. Some authors are very dignified and look down on those who beg for feedback, so let me make it clear: I'm not one of those authors! I love feedback, please don't make me grovel!