Two souls come together, one soul full and alive, another almost lost completely, struggling to hold on to something.
If he's given the chance, will he reach for salvation?
And can she accept who he doesn't want to be?
ChristieXJin
((this is my first fic, really, so hope you like it timid smile so... read it and give me your thoughts. Don't worry, if you say something negative, I won't pout and cry in the corner... I hope to use all comments to better myself. Okay, on with the story!))
It was supposed to be easy.
Christie's skills in Capoeira were superior after studying meticulously nearly all her life. Not to mention her grandfather was a master, so she had learned from the best. And her dear friend Eddy, who had been so great in helping her as well.
Every enemy she had met thus far was easy. But now...
Before she could comprehend what was happening, Marduk was on top of her, slamming his fists into her face. He was too heavy and she was in pain, though she kept trying to hit him back. Everything went black. But before she lost consciousness, she felt Marduk's weight being lifted off of her. Maybe she was just losing it... So much blood... so much pain...
She awoke with the sun shining in her eyes. Lazily, she reached up to rub her eyes but winced as her arm screamed in pain at her. It hurt so bad. But she was shocked by her weakness of the pain more than the pain itself. She had definitely dealt with her share of pain before now. Nothing had stopped her before, except... Christie tried to sit up to examine her surroundings.
"You're awake," said a soft voice in the corner of a small room. The owner of the voice stood, a figure in dark clothing, and walked over to her, holding a bowl. "Here."
Christie looked up at him, pushing her brown bangs out of her eyes. "Wha..." she feebly said.
"Be still," he whispered and pushed her onto her back on the mat. "You're safe for now." He began to unwrap some bandages, cleaning the wounds as she watched him. The young man's face was hidden by his hood, but his hands, especially his fingers, seemed to be scarred.
Finally, he helped her to sit up a little as he fed her some soup. He spoke to himself in Japanese, just soft enough for her not to understand. If she'd learned anything from the King of Iron Fist Tournaments, it was the many languages. When he turned away from her to walk out of the small room they were in, she spoke up.
"How long have I been here?" she asked, her throat replenished by the moisture of the soup.
He stopped in the doorway. "Four days," he told her, then left. She pushed herself up off the floor and chased after him. She could ignore the screaming in her legs. After all, hadn't she learned to do that since she could walk, what with the tedious and exhausting practices over and over.
Her mind was jumping to the worst possible case, that maybe he was some pervert that was going to try to take advantage of her, or have some fun once she wasn't too weak to fight back. No way was she going to take that.
"Who are you?" she demanded, her fist clenched at her side as she glared at the back of his head.
"Are you going to fight me?" he asked, his back still to her.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" the young man replied. "I saved your life."
Christie frowned. "Why?"
"You should rest."
"I'm not going to re..." Before she could finish, he had grabbed her arm and twisted her around completely, able to manipulate her just by forcing her arm up the slightest. Pain shot through her shoulder. She suppressed a whimper.
"If you were in better health, you would have been able to stop me," he whispered and turned her toward the small room, walking her back to her mat. "Now, stay."
He left her there, lying on her mat. She hugged her knees to her chest. Sure, she'd stay, but the moment he came back, she was going to show him a thing or two. He wouldn't know what hit him.
If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was macho men trying to show off. But maybe, she thought, this was just how she wanted to get back at herself for failing to fend off Marduk. It was silly, really, but it was like a prideful fire she had to feed, and since it had been put out from her last encounter, she needed something to bring it back to its flaming glory, if only to make herself feel better.
Her savior didn't return until the next afternoon. Christie's sleep had been very light, ready to jump when he walked in, so she wasn't at all as rested as she should have been. Still, when he did come back in, she was well enough to attack. He walked right up to her mat and bent down, but was interrupted with she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down and whipping him around against the wall. Shocked, he was unable to stop her attack as fast as he should have.
As Christie rounded to lay a final blow into his face, she couldn't help but notice his hood off, and his face looking right at her. No, not right at her, but into her. When their eyes met, they locked and she faltered. It was like fighting Eddy, so difficult when it's someone you care about. But she knew nothing about this man. He reached up and took her hand, pulling her down to him, gentler than she had been.
"Who are you?" she whispered, searching his face. Christie saw in his eyes his mind working for the answer. She could see he wondered how to answer her, but not out of deceit, but rather true uncertainty.
Finally, he found the words. "Jin," he answered with a nod. "Jin."
A small smile formed on her lips. He looked so familiar... Where had she seen him before? "I'm Christie," she whispered. She thought about extending her hand, but looked down at her hand in his as they sat against the wall. They stayed like that for who knew how long.
After a while, she placed her head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. "So... where are we?"
"An ancient temple in the mountains," he answered, starting to stand.
With a frown, Christie asked, "How did we get up here?"
He looked down at her with a warning in his eyes. "Don't ask me that."
Jin walked out of the room, leaving Christie on the floor by herself. She got up and ran after him, following him out into a yard overgrown with mountain grass. She could see there was a drop off a little ways away where a cliff ended. Jin sat on a boulder overlooking the edge.
"Where did you find me?" she asked him.
After a few moments, Jin looked away from the mountain range and at Christie who stood beside him. "In a dark part of the city," he told her, then pointed out toward the where the sun would set. "That way."
Christie followed his finger, then wondered all the more how they got up there.
"What were you doing down there?" he asked, looking at her again.
She chewed her lip then shrugged. "I was stood up at a restaurant downtown. Well, I was stupid... It's not like I knew Japan very well, anyway. So I had a lot on my mind anyway and... All it took was one moment of not paying attention for me to wind up in a dirt alley with a truck dangling from chains and screaming macho-men behind logs and pipes. Behind me Marduk and a bunch of punks snuck up behind me. I tried to step away but I was already against a brick wall."
Christie took a deep breath, looking out at the sun, reliving the night for herself. She glanced at Jin and saw he was actually interested. "Marduk started banging his face with his fists and stood in a ready attack stance. He looked big and stupid so how hard could it be? I immediately flipped into a handstand and began to swing around my legs, tripping him and sending him flying... until he caught on and grabbed my leg, throwing me against the wall. Then I blacked out as he pounded me to a pulp." She looked down as she thought, and then finished, "It was supposed to be easy."
"A lot of things are supposed to be easy," he said softly, his eyes closed as if there was really something he was thinking about that he could relate her comment to. "But things don't really turn out the way you want them to all the time. Sometime you just have to give up..."
Christie's jaw dropped slightly. "I can't accept that."
"What if it's the truth?"
"I won't accept that," she stated with such belief she almost surprised herself. "Jin, you can't just give up because something becomes difficult."
"You did," he said accusingly, his head swinging to glower at her. She defensively returned the look. When their silent war proved futile, he looked away again and said, "I saw them attack you."
Crossing her arms, she switched her weight from one leg to the other. "What were you doing down there? You don't seem like the thug type." Not completely, anyway.
"I'm not usually there," he told her, staring at the horizon. "I try to stay away from the city... when I lose control."
"Lose control?"
"Lose control," he repeated. She could tell he didn't want to go any further than that.