Disclaimer: Despite the many rumours circulating in the masses that I own Tekken, I'd just like to state that this is not true…so don't sue! Ok, now that that's out of the way, I'd like to confirm that the title of this fic is taken from the song 'An Echo A Stain' (for all you Bjork fans out there). I must confess that the idea of this fic came to me as I thought about 'The Bourne Identity' while listening to Mad World from the Donnie Darko soundtrack. Ok…enough of my rambling – I hope you enjoy!
It was midnight, it was cold, and the night sky was devoid of any visible stars. The moon however shone brightly against the unsettling blackness, creating an almost gothic atmosphere. Xiaoyu, unable to sleep, lay silently on her bed staring into darkness. She curiously lifted her hand above her head and moved it back and forth. She found it to be relaxing, though she mainly did this to waste time until she was asleep again. She sighed - each night she was finding it more difficult to keep her eyes closed. She'd constantly tell herself that sleep was important and that overtiredness leads to fatigue and eventual illness. Of course this would make her paranoid and the worry would keep her awake. Xiaoyu shut her eyes tightly. It was all so pointless!
Xiaoyu's train of thought came to an end as soon as she heard something from outside. Her heart froze. Clutching onto the doona cover she turned her head towards the large windows. Someone was standing on the balcony. Xiaoyu widened her eyes – this couldn't be happening! She tried to see who it was, but due to the fact that the windows were tinted (Heihachi insisted on this for her protection) the stranger's identity was merely a shadow. Xiaoyu scrambled out of her bed as soon as the stranger started to push against the glass.
'No way' Xiaoyu thought to herself. Lying in bed was the last place she wanted to be if an intruder ever entered her room! She closed her eyes and quickly tried to suppress all fear now that she could hear that the glass was about to give way.
"You're not entering my room without a fight" Xiaoyu said quietly as she lunged back into her phoenix stance. She bent down low to the ground so that she could propel herself at them – whoever they may be. As soon as she heard the latch come undone she charged towards the stranger. She gasped as he/she/it grabbed both of her wrists, immediately blocking her attack.
"Argh! Let go of me you…Jin?" her eyes widened at the intense, yet undeniably handsome face looking down at her. Jin immediately let go of her wrists and stepped away from her. Almost speechless, she watched him as he turned on her bedroom light.
"Jin? What are you…why? Why are you…oh my god" she stuttered, the light temporarily blinding her vision.
"Pack your bags. We're leaving" he said firmly. Xiaoyu blinked a few times.
"Leaving? Where? Why? What are you doing?" this was all she could manage to say. She watched him as he quickly rummaged through her room – lifting things, shifting items to the side. Xiaoyu stood still, her head practically spinning from confusion.
"Jin, stop. Please. Tell me why you're here…and where you've been"
Jin, holding an empty rucksack in his hand, turned to her. He cleared his throat.
"I've been…away…overseas. I came back because your life is…in danger" Jin grimaced at how stupid the sentence sounded, but there was no other way to tell her. Xioayu wasn't very impressed.
"You're not a man of great words now are you?" she said, putting her hands on her hips. Jin suddenly grew impatient.
"There really is no time for this. You just have to trust me" and with that he threw the empty rucksack at her feet.
"Pack this. It's all you can take. Hurry"
Xiaoyu, with a look of annoyance on her face, only now noticed that Jin had a bag of his own on his back. Not being the type of girl to take orders lightly, she angrily snatched up the bag and did what he said. She packed several items of clothing, some vital accessories and the occasional hair ribbon. She began to push down on the bag in an attempt to make more space when she suddenly stopped.
"You wrote that email, didn't you?"
Jin, who was standing by her bedroom door, looked at her as if some weighty secret had been revealed. He opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped and looked away from her. Xiaoyu widened her eyes.
"It was you! I knew it…" she said, as if she were congratulating herself for knowing. However, her enthusiasm quickly vanished.
"Why didn't you reply to my email?" she frowned slightly – there was a trace of hurt in her voice. Jin didn't respond. Xiaoyu took a step toward him.
"I was so worried. I didn't know what to think! You left without telling me, or anyone for that matter. Two whole years of wondering what had happened to you. Suddenly I get this anonymous email. And it's not just some stupid forward! It's an email telling me that my life is in danger…Jin, what did you want me to do?"
After what seemed like an eternal silence, he looked down at her.
"This isn't safe. We have to go now"
Xiaoyu growled with frustration and walked over to the rucksack. She roughly zipped it up and threw it over her shoulder. Jin turned off the light and put his hand on the door handle. Ever so gently he pressed on it and opened the door as quietly as possible. The two of them silently walked down the Mishima Mansion corridors and crept down the stairs, careful not to wake anyone. The Mansion was dimly lit so they were able to see the walls, the floor and the ceiling. Jin looked around sullenly – it was hard to believe that he once referred to this place as his home. He was more than relieved once they reached one of the back doors. As soon as both of them were outside Xiaoyu suddenly stopped.
"Panda" she said with wide eyes. Jin turned to her.
"What?"
"Panda! I have to see her!" she said with a look of anxiousness on her face.
"We don't have-"
"Now you listen! Without warning you have come into my room and insisted I leave with you for the most stupid of reasons. If Panda wakes up to find me gone then she will be devastated. Now I am not taking another step unless I get to say goodbye to her"
Even though he knew their time was running out, he decided not to argue. He reluctantly followed her through the gardens to where Panda was lying fast asleep. Xiaoyu bent down and gently put her hands around Panda's neck. She awoke immediately.
"Panda…" she said softly. Panda looked up at her lovingly. She then did a double take at the sight of Jin. Xiaoyu sighed unhappily.
"Jin is taking me away from here for…I don't know how long. You don't have to worry though…'cause I'll be safe"
Suddenly there came a loud noise from within the mansion. Jin looked around in alarm and then turned to Xiaoyu.
"We have to go now" he said strictly. Xiaoyu gently kissed the top of Panda's head and sadly stepped away from her. Jin hastily took Xiaoyu's wrist and led her off the Mishima grounds, away from the danger. Panda watched them leave and growled sadly.
Once they were a fair distance away from the mansion he let go of her. Xiaoyu sulkily looked at her wrist.
"You've left a red mark" she said angrily.
"I'm sorry" Jin replied, looking ahead.
"You've taken me away from my best friend!"
"I'm sorry" he said in the same tone. Xiaoyu grumbled angrily. The two of them walked in silence until the Mishima Mansion was but a tiny dot. Jin abruptly stopped and turned around to look at it. Xiaoyu did the same.
"Mishima Mansion…it's ridiculous" Jin said mockingly. Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow.
"It's not that bad" she said, looking up at him. Jin shook his head.
"It is a cold, cruel and dark place – it epitomises everything Heihachi is"
"Hey! In case you haven't noticed, Heihachi has been extra kind to me…" Xiaoyu felt the need to defend him. Jin then turned to her.
"Yes, but at what cost?" he asked.
"Jin, he's a good man…well, perhaps not a good man…but he's…decent"
"No he's not" Jin said, with a dark look on his face.
"Yes he is…"
"No he is not!" Jin said angrily, his voice echoing slightly. Xioayu lowered her eyes down to the ground. She had never seen Jin lose his temper before. It was almost…almost frightening. She decided not to push the matter any further, so the two of them walked on without saying a word. Every now and then Xiaoyu would look over at him to see if he still had that angry expression on his face. He was such…an enigma. Xiaoyu suddenly remembered something.
"Why were you on my balcony? I mean…how did you get on there? I know for a fact that the only way to get there is through my bedroom…yet you came in from the outside…"
Jin walked a few steps before answering.
"I found a way" he said simply.
Author's Note: My god! This chapter turned out to be waaay longer than I anticipated…oh well; I guess you just can't stop the creative flow of writing a Tekken-related story. Feel free to review; I'd appreciate any advice/random thoughts, etc. Thanks for reading!