Not the life she pictured for herself straight out of high school. But, to do the right thing and what she wanted to do, which for Ling Xiaoyu was one and the same thing, she could live with it, especially when it came to the Kazama heir. Xiaoyu and Jin were living in small peaceful town about 100 or so miles outside of Tokyo and far away from any of the more populated areas of Japan; it was the perfect hiding spot. She didn't really know the name of the town and didn't care to; she figured the least she knew the better. It would make it that much harder for anyone to find the two of them. She managed to finally convince Jin to pull all of the money he could without being noticed and they retreated from the city to small country town. They stayed in Japan, knowing it would be way too hard to get out of Japan without being noticed. They stayed in the country to, at least, lessen the stress of the likelihood of being perused for crossing international boundaries. They had the advantage of no one looking for them.

Yet.

Still, Xiaoyu did her best to make the most of it and make it pleasant for everyone. She worked at small general store in the town, not a lot of business. Not a lot of people. It was small and quiet and she was enjoying it far more than she thought she would, in that she was enjoying it at all. She imagined it came from the years of the previous tournaments and busy lifestyle. But, she couldn't complain: life was easy and no trouble had come along. At least, not anything she wasn't used to.

Jin, however, just couldn't find peace in his life. It had been six months since he decided to leave with Xiaoyu and go on the run. She mainly worked while he spent his days trying to control the Devil Gene inside himself, which was just clawing to get out most days. He couldn't understand why, at first, until he realized that it was because he tried to live his life in peace.

He actually had to laugh when he realized it. The reason his evil was trying to surface was because he was trying to escape it. God, the irony. In fact, one day, he found himself laughing so hard, he forgot his pain for the moment. If only his father and grandfather could see him, trying so hard to suppress, what he was starting to believe was, his true nature.

On the days he thought his devil side would take over and there was no stopping it, Xiaoyu would walk in. He would look at her and he knew that she must sense the evil flowing off of him.

But she never left.

Why? Why didn't she?

She knew what he could do when his Devil gene took full effect. He was a monster. A powerful monster, at that. How could she not be afraid? How could she not run away in fear? How could see so calmly approach him and not tremble in anyway when speaking to him?

Today was no different. He had another episode, a very powerful one, in fact. He took a knee, leaning against a wall, grabbing his head. He was doing his best to steady his breathing to get some sort of control over it but it wasn't working. He could feel that evil aura taking him over and it was just only a matter of time before the horns, the tattoos, and the wings would take over.

Soon, he would become the Devil and lay waste to everything in sight.

Then, the door opened and Xiaoyu walked in. He looked up at her and, somehow, it stopped the process. She could still see the aura around him but it was subsiding. For how long, neither of them knew, but it died down, for now.

She looked at him and smiled. She gave him a genuine, heartfelt smile. "I decided to try something new with the ramen today. It'll be a few minutes before it's ready. If you wanna get some rest, you can."

He looked at her completely bewildered. Did she not just see what happened? Why wasn't she afraid? Who is this woman? He found himself asking that question more often than not.

They ate dinner as they usually did: with Xiaoyu telling Jin everything that happened in her day, which wasn't much but it kept them both entertained. Jin even found himself grateful for the silence being filled.

Their nights consisted of talking, reading, or just staring at the sky. It was most peaceful thing about this area of the country: the beautiful, starry nights. They couldn't shine brighter if they were in space, the two fighters decided. It reminded Jin of the nights where his mother would take him to star gaze, teaching to appreciate the little things in life.

This night, however, was the night that would bring many new things for the two fighters.

In a separate room from Xiaoyu's, Jin lied in his bed and began tossing and turning, as he was prone to do most nights. He usually only got about 4 to 5 hours of sleep, anyway, but this night was different. He hadn't even been asleep a solid hour before the nightmares started. The nightmares typically varied for a while but always ended the same: death, destruction, and utter chaos with Jin standing on top of it all as the direct bringer of the calamity. Those dreams he could always see himself shedding tears but unable to stop the monster he had become. Those nights, he threw himself awake and had to deal with his darkness for a little before he could get some semblance of sleep.

But tonight was nothing like before. After he woke up, Jin sat up immediately and found himself breathing hard. That was usual; seeing his dark, Devil aura still around so strong wasn't. He was trying to suppress it, force it back down, but nothing working. He just couldn't do it. He started to hyperventilate. He could feel it coming.

The Devil was trying to force itself free from its confinement. And it wasn't picking the lock; it was going to destroy the cage.

He knew he had to leave, he had to get out of there before he woke…

"Jin?"

He looked up see Xiaoyu standing at his door, wearing her hair down and clothed in pink pajamas. Typical, for her, but most of what she did that others found annoying, he found to be comforting.

But not right now. "You have to leave," he ordered.

"What? Why?"

How could she ask that? Wasn't it obvious? "I can't stop it."

She walked in, despite his wishes, and knelt next to him. "Yes, you can. Just breathe. You control it every other time."

"I can't this time!"

"Jin…"

"No, Xiaoyu! It's different, now!"

"No, it's not. It was another nightmare. You've had them before and managed to get control of it."

He looked at her, surprised. "You… you know…"

"Of course. I stay close by until you fall asleep, just in case you need anything."

That usually would've calmed him down but he just reminded himself how much he put on this woman. Another wave of energy hit, causing him enormous amounts of pain. The former Mishima head doubled over in pain, growling as he did so.

"Jin!" Xiaoyu shouted, wrapping her arms around him. "It's okay! It's okay!"

"NO!" He flung himself up, knocking her back. He looked at her in shock, as she looked at him with the same expression. "Xiaoyu, I… I'm so sorry… I…" Another wave caused him to grunt again. He slammed one hand to the ground to keep himself from falling over. He didn't know how much longer he could hold on to it. The Devil gene was starting to win out. "Xiaoyu… Run…"

Out of more surprise than fear, Xiaoyu was starting to back up. But stopped. She promised him that she would stay with him and she meant it. He had these spells before and, even now, he didn't hurt her but he apologized all the same. That told more all that she needed to know. He is not the monster he thinks he is. She had to get through to him that that was true and knew there was only one possible to save Jin. "No."

He could see it in her eyes. She was going to try and help him. He couldn't let her do that. "Xiaoyu, don't!"

"I won't run, Jin. I already promised you."

He growled, "Screw your promise! You have to get out of here! Just leave me! I can't control it!"

"You can't because all you know is anger. All you know is hate. You need to let go of it. Remember all of the other feelings that you, maybe, forgot along the way." She scooted toward him. "What it's like to have a friend. Someone who just wants to help you. Someone who doesn't want anything from you or to harm you in anyway."

She placed her hand on his cheek. He couldn't believe how gentle and comforting her touch was.

She gave a shrug, "Maybe you forgot… what love is like."

Jin stopped. His eyes grew wide.

"Like… if a girl loves you."

He understood what she meant but he couldn't believe it. "Xiaoyu… you don't…"

"Yeah. I really do."

No dream was as shocking as what he just heard. He didn't even realize that his Devil Gene had begun to subside or that he wasn't feeling any pain anymore. "You can't…"

"Yeah, I can. Why do you think I followed you six months ago? Why do you think I'm still with you?"

He shook his head. He was so lost. "I… I don't…"

"You don't have to get it. Not right now." She got even closer to him, "Just… let me do this… please…" She didn't wait for him to comply; she just had to do this. Maybe it was the only thing she could do help him, maybe it meant nothing. She wouldn't know until she tried.

She slowly pressed her lips to his. He tried to speak but he couldn't move his lips from hers. He wanted to move her away but his hands lightly gripped her arms to hold her closer. He needed to think clearly, he had to figure out a way out of this, he knew this shouldn't be happening. So, why was he thinking about kissing her more? He eventually gave in to that sensation and began kissing her back. They kissed for a few minutes before stopping to stare into each other's eyes.

Xiaoyu smiled. "If only all the girls in our high school what a good kisser Jin Kazama is. I think I just won, like, 18 bets."

He just stared at her, completely dumbfounded. He almost couldn't comprehend what just happened. "What… what is…"

"You're being human. It happens."

"But not for me."

"Then why'd it happen?"

He shook his head, "Because it was a moment of weakness."

"Or… it was you allowing yourself to be human."

A moment silence passed. "What does it mean, Xiaoyu?"

"That you can start living your life… without the Gene."

"I don't know if I can do it."

"I know you can. You're stronger than any curse."

"I haven't beat it yet."

"Maybe you just needed time. And the proper incentive." She smiled. "Besides… isn't worth it… to keep kissing me?"

He stared at her. The answer that was coming to his lips was a resounding "yes." But he paused. "I… I can't be that way…"

"Not now. I get that. But you can get there."

He looked away from her. "What if I can't?"

"What if you can?"

"I'll ruin you."

"You don't know that."

"You can't love a devil."

"You're right. I can't. Devils are a bit out of my league. But I love a man. Big difference."

"Please… I don't want to hurt…"

"And, that… already makes this worth it."

He stared at her, grateful… and exhausted. He leaned his head on her shoulder and she just held him close. He didn't know how to react to this but the one thing he absolutely knew he couldn't do right now… was let her go. He wrapped his arms around her and prayed someday she would forgive him for when he, inevitably, hurt her.

"Xiaoyu…" he whispered.

She looked down at him.

"I hope… one day… you will forgive me for all the pain I cause you… but… please… don't leave."

"I won't. And, I already told you: I can take pain. What you don't get… is that sometimes… pain is worth it."

He looked at her.

She kissed him again. "I'm not going anywhere, Jin. Ever."

His reasonable mind wanted to protest but he was overruled by his heart that caused him to kiss her this time. They embraced and just let go of their own worry for now. They had no need for it.

Jin didn't know how Xiaoyu could be this person but he wasn't complaining anymore. She could see something in him that even he couldn't see. He understood that now. She saw past his vicious heart and to the soul he desperately had been trying to reclaim. If she believed he could get it back, then that was more than enough to tell him that had to do everything he could to claim it again.

A/N: I hope you guys liked it! Reviews, please!

Might be last story for about a month or so. I'm still trying to finish my book. Wish me luck!