Disclaimer: Tekken is created by the great company of Namco. An evidence that it is such a good game is that I feel a strong urge to write a fiction on it. And I guess I am inspired by the various stories I've added to my favorites. :)
Summary: It's the aftermath of the fifth Iron Fist Tournament and Hwoarang finds returning to his beloved homeland strangely far from appealing. Later on, a submarine trip interests him and thus he engages in a journey under the sea with some familiar companions. HX.
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Glimmer
Chapter 1: Twinkle
Stars shimmered like merry fireflies on the clear evening sky. Across the land below, a chilly breeze swirled cooling the night. Time was nearing midnight and the road leading away from the city was almost desolate. Insomnia rarely visits Hwoarang but tonight it pestered him wide awake. Now, the rumbling of his motorcycle announced his passing along the highway, disturbing the rather quiet atmosphere. After minutes of cruising aimlessly, boredom finally caught his tracks. He then resolved to drive his bike towards the open fields situated east of the road he's traveling, nestling in the middle of a relatively serene wood and far way from the evening noises of the city. He'd rather spend this night away from society. He did not often seek solitude but the aftermath of the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament left a good deal of things cramping the spaces of his mind. It is high time for a silent reflection. Still, it seems slightly out of character for him to prefer spending relaxation time with nature. It appears that an unknown something was beckoning him to his chosen destination.
A roughly made path across the wood was waiting to be traversed. From the road, Hwoarang turned his motorcycle sharply left and sped his way along this less likeable route for vehicles. The full moon was glowing brightly and cheerfully against the dark firmament but its soft light failed to illuminate this forest lane. Even with the ample light provided by his bike's headlamp, he found himself cursing the wall of darkness weaved by the very closely clumped trees and their very thickly-leafed crowns. Unnecessary cursing was one of his best channels to vent on whatever frustration, confusion, or any other strong negative emotions that was presently plaguing his system. He was not feeling very bad at the moment though, he'd just like to swear and curse. One may be right in guessing that frequent uttering of unpleasant words is an inevitable part of him. Unconsciously, he was tolerating the habit.
Soon afterwards the clearing sprang into view and in a few seconds he was parking his bike beside a stone slab. The sound of the motor died down and only the music of the night breeze disturbing leaves filled the air. He slowly hopped off his bike and settled himself comfortably on the stone slab which was naturally sculpted to be just the right size and shape for sitting. Before him stretched a wide lea bordered by woodland. Thin blades of grass spread like soft carpet under his feet. Dotting the landscape in chosen places, the white heads of dandelions swayed gently with the breeze. Other types of flora unknown to Hwoarang flourished on the fields. The silvery brilliance of moonlight intensified the soft beauty of the lea, rendering it more lively and enchanting. Contented with the relaxing ambiance, Hwoarang's thoughts drifted into important matters.
Since the tournament was over and all trouble linked to it was amazingly completely resolved, he'll soon find himself back in Korea. During the course of this martial arts contest, a fortunate turn of events granted him a good, proper match with his famous rival Jin Kazama. And with luck still in his favor, he emerged victorious. He was finally satisfied with Jin's defeat and this rather pointless rivalry was moved several notches down his priority list. Be that as it may, the thought of leaving Japan to return to his beloved homeland was strangely far from appealing. He breathed a sigh.
Before Hwoarang could plunge further into his worried thoughts, a figure moving across the middle of the field distracted him. His heart leapt as he immediately recognized the person. Who would not recognize that petite lady who frequently donned flashy pink garments? And those two ridiculous sprouts of hair forming perfect pigtails which always matched her wardrobe? He smiled in an unexplainable gladness. For a moment he gazed at the girl observing the fields, still unaware of his presence. 'Leisurely wandering at this time of night? What's with her?' he thought. Being what he was, his smile turned into an impish grin. In a lazy fashion, he rose from his comfortable position and strode stealthily towards the figure. He was cunning in covert operations so his soundless footsteps and cloaked aura failed to give him away to the oblivious girl.
Ling Xiaoyu meanwhile, with sleeplessness also nagging her, arrived at this familiar clearing as a first notion. She preferred to dwell longer in wide open spaces or a huge public place like a mall for it aptly suited her energetic spirit. With that mentioned, her decision to take a stroll across the fields was not surprising. What was queer was that she did not have any company. Her pet Panda was an almost inseparable companion. The furry creature was nowhere in sight though. This was one of the rare times Xiaoyu ventured somewhere on her own.
As she walked with her usual bouncy steps to look for any interesting phenomenon occurring at the lea at this nighttime, she spotted a little green-spotted red flutterby…'err… butterfly'… fluttering lightly in the typical butterfly manner. "Wow, a Christmas butterfly? It's pretty." Enraptured by this butterfly's ethereal beauty, she approached it slowly while stretching an arm to let the delicate insect land on a finger. Unfortunately, her purpose was not fulfilled as the unwelcome hand of a mischievous someone wound its way from behind her head to roughly pinch her nose.
"GOT YOUR CONK!" Hwoarang announced triumphantly. Then he quickly retreated a few paces back to allow Xiaoyu to realize her lack of vigilance.
Xiaoyu reeled in absolute shock then instantaneously spun around by instinct to face the soon-to-be-kicked-out-of-the-planet attacker. She automatically dropped into her fighting stance. She relaxed a bit, however, as she saw the hysterically laughing redhead. But that did not wipe away the ominous glare he managed to paint on her face.
"Hwoarang," she growled. Quitting her dangerous pose, she straightened herself up. With lips firmly pressed, fists tightly clenched and pigtails waving wildly in vexation, she stormed towards the still sniggering youth.
SLAP!
A medium amount of force from her palm stifled Hwoarang's laugh. "Stop that silly laugh you meanie! It makes you look like a fool! Are you deliberately trying to untimely end my peaceful night! What in the world of butterflies are you doing here anyway!" Xiaoyu exploded with her shrill voice piercing the stillness of the surroundings. She was quite possessed by irascibility at the moment. Normally, she wouldn't be this rough for she is a sunny, lighthearted, even sort of magnanimous, person. But alas, Hwoarang is very capable of provoking her tetchiness. She couldn't get quite close to unearthing why he had this sort of effect with her.
Hwoarang met her eyes with an equally irritated glare. He rubbed his cheek to nurse the itch inflicted by her slap. "Dammit! No need to be harsh Xiaoyu. Ain't it past your bedtime? It isn't safe for jumpy girls like you to be out playing this time of night," he said roughly.
"I can't believe you. Now look, I lost the butterfly," complained Xiaoyu while she momentarily scanned the field for the creature. A good friendship has already been established between these two fighters. But even with that, no good reason will be able to stop Hwoarang from leveling up Xiaoyu's temper. He absolutely enjoys seeing her annoyed expression for some reason. And he likes it when she retaliates. Perhaps the proper term he could use to describe her in that state would be 'cute'. The word is not in his vocabulary though, it seems.
"Forget about freakin' butterflies. I'm here and you could lavish all your attention on me. You couldn't sleep too, I suppose, so you're here. I bet you're missing me. Damn perfect! With the two of us leaving for own countries tomorrow, we might as well spend this good time to talk. So come on, let's have li'l chitchat." Smirking, he grabbed Xiaoyu's hand and forcefully tried to drag her towards the stone slab.
"Hey! You're an ever haughty meanie! Let go, I could walk on my own," Xiaoyu complained more, trying to wrench her hand free of Hwoarang's tight grasp. "And besides, I'm not departing. I'm going under the sea with Jin and Asuka and our other friends this week. Won't that be fun?" Xiaoyu informed him, this time in a sweet, cheery tone.
"What?" Hwoarang stopped in his tracks and faced her with a raised eyebrow. "And I'm not invited?" His incredulous expression, mixed slightly with irritation, was accusing Xiaoyu. "And what the hell do you mean by under the sea?" His grasp tightened a little more.
"Let go first!" A series of hits from her free hand caused Hwoarang's grip to loosen.
"Ok fine, stop grumbling now you tetchy lass and sit there with me," he indicated the stone slab.
"We're you following me? It seems everywhere I'll go I'd find you, even in the most unexpected places," Xiaoyu asked in suspicion as she walked after him.
"Hell no," he answered. Grinning, he added teasingly "Sweet coincidence, I'd call it. Your panda's not around anyway, aren't you happy a buddy of yours is around?"
"If you could just quit being a silly imp all the time then I wouldn't be often grumpy at you," she stressed as she planted her hands on her hips.
Hwoarang considered this statement for a moment as they sauntered and then gave a short reply, "That'd be boring." Upon reaching the rock, Hwoarang slumped down normally whilst Xiaoyu sat cross-legged beside him.
"Now tell me of this under the sea business," Hwoarang urged, his full attention was now on the girl.
Xiaoyu decided to chase away her annoyance and tried to be at ease with this friendly conversation. Truly, she was glad to have his company at the moment. He pisses her off oftentimes, but he doesn't really flare her up to the extent of her turning tremendously bitter and terribly resentful at him. She already realized that it was plain bantering he's doing. Naturally, she joshes him back. The bright side of their joking and teasing was that it enabled them to be familiar with each other to the point where friendship makes one comfortable with another's company. His teases can get a bit rude sometimes though, and these ones she matches with punitive consequences. Xiaoyu abhorred unnecessary violence. Her grandfather Jinrei ingrained quite well in her mind that she make good use of her martial arts skill only in rough situations requiring self defense and in formal tournaments. Sometimes though, she finds a very bad need to execute one of her milder moves to shut up a horribly mean pesterer. Fortunately, she found his present antic kind of funny now that she played it over her mind so the mild slap is all he's getting. Mentally she chuckled and scolded herself for her lack of alertness. It was a serious matter she had let her guard down. What if it was some kind of cunning, violent beast, a nasty ogre perhaps, which assaulted her from behind? She shook away the ugly idea and focused on a pretty hydrangea nearby. Presently, she remembered Hwoarang who was waiting for an answer.
"A submarine trip. I'm not sure of the details but it'd be just some sort of a luxurious journey a great deal of fathoms deep below the sea. I reckon Asuka encouraged Jin to make good use of his grandfather's private submarine. After all, she is family. She had been quite interested in the thing for some time now. You know Asuka – always ready for any kind of adventure. Perhaps she wants to live out those things in her fiction books, as she had told me once. Of course, Julia's coming too, Christie as well. Officer Lei seems to be interested in the matter for some reason. Paul Law and King has signed up for the trip as well. I don't know who else would. Oh, of course, Panda couldn't be left behind," Xiaoyu fired away.
"Love a duck! Now what's up with you guys? These people…on a submarine trip! Shit, I must be missing a lot of things," Hwoarang exclaimed in disbelief. Xiaoyu giggled at his face which was contorted in a mixture of surprise, more confusion, and amusement.
"I do find it a bit of exciting. It's like a birthday treat for me," she chirped happily. This remark sent a gale in Hwoarang's mind which cleared away mists and revealed vividly an important picture. 'Tomorrow she turns nineteen. I can't believe I forgot. That's a shame like hell!' he berated himself inwardly. Granted that he so often catches himself musing about his present companion these recent days, him forgetting her birthday is rather odd. It was a bit of a mystery enough that she bothered him a lot. Fangs and talons! I don't understand.
A momentary silence allowed him to regard Xiaoyu as she gazed dreamily at the peaceful meadows before them with a smile glowing on her face like sunshine. A gentle wind was blowing through her pigtails. He grinned as he slowly directed his hands to reach for her shiny dark hair.
"You know, wouldn't that mean you have to trash this hair-do since you're getting older? You don't plan to wear this until you're an old granny right?" the mischievous red-head teased as he repeatedly tugged on Xiaoyu's double ponytails gleefully.
The shrill, scandalized yell of "What the – arrr! Now you're getting it you rascal!" almost shattered Hwoarang's eardrums. Xiaoyu sent another flurry of palm strikes onto his face to fend him off. Her palms never made contact though as Hwoarang removed his grip on her hair and caught her arms with his hands at a good speed. He smiled lightly while she scowled again in sheer irritation. Gently, he pulled her closer to him. Xiaoyu ceased her struggle as she found herself in a warm embrace.
"Happy birthday Xiaoyu. Stop being so tetchy now as it is quarter past midnight already," he greeted then slowly pulled away to face her. "Cheer up, it's your day," he went on, still smiling.
Xiaoyu's surprise subsided and she beamed at him. It was one of his unexpected acts; she knew it was a hug given to affirm their familiarity with one another. Still, it didn't suit someone like him to be giving out birthday cuddles. Her upset mood was replaced by glee and she uttered a gratitude for the warm greeting. "Thank you. You're a bit weird today you know," then she turned to look at the horizon in the hope he wouldn't notice her slight blush. "Anyway, have you wrapped up my present?" she continued jokingly.
"Yep of course. It's tiny but I hope you'll like it," he held out a closed fist with a calm smile on his face.
"Whoa, really?" she eyed his fist and hesitatingly opened a palm to receive whatever thing he's concealing. Hwoarang unfurled his fist and let his so-called present drop onto her palm.
"Eeeekkk!" A grasshopper Hwoarang captured while she wasn't looking settled on her hand and immediately made a great hop towards her shoulder, then another towards safety. Xiaoyu watched it hop away. After which she faked a smile at her snickering friend. "Aw that's nice of you. It's a cute little grasshopper. It's a shame it got away. Well I think I must go now and have a nice nap. And Panda's waiting for me. I wish you have a safe trip back to Korea tomorrow," she told him in the sweetest voice as she stood up.
"Naw, I'm throwing away my ticket. There's no way I'm gonna let you shoo me away and then enjoy a submarine ride by yourselves," he retorted. "Damn, I think I'm gonna have to talk to Jin," he grumbled.
Xiaoyu settled back at the stone slab. She picked a lonely flower growing at the foot of the rock and studied it as she reminded him, "Isn't it that you two have already reconciled?"
"Not really, we just quit being too angry and too hostile at each other. He's not my pal Xiao," he answered tonelessly. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
"Why not? Jin is a really, really nice person if you get to know him. Because he's decent he might even consider you something sort of a friend. So quit your ridiculousness, this stupid male thing, and be a better fellow. Please, stop being grumpy at him. And besides, you've already made it even with him. The rivalry does get pretty pointless. Quit resembling cats and dogs. Even cats and dogs can get along you know. Asuka's pet cat, Phoebe, is in good terms with Jin's labrador, Shadow. You can spend your best-est energies on other worthwhile matters. Oh, that reminds me of grandpa Jinrei. Oh well. Also, I'm sure you know there are more good and fun things out there," Xiaoyu explained seriously, and a little harshly, and slightly a step away from her usual self.
Hwoarang snorted. "Yeah, like making you mad. Honestly Xiao, when did you learn to lecture someone like that? Why do you care anyway?"
Xiaoyu rose again, gracefully this time, and positioned herself in front of him with arms crossed in a show of firmness. "Stubborn, that's what you are. Well for one, Jin's been a really good friend to me even if he's busy dealing with those horrid matters. And he's sort of a brother to me now and he's dear to me so I think it's an important thing that I make sure he's not clashing with someone, especially if the reason's a nonsensical one like this. Also, I believe you're not a really bad person just an offending little imp. You've been nice to me even, or else you would be getting a pretty beastly time with me. "
"Whatever," he twisted his head away. He couldn't remember someone bothering to be resolute on him, save his master Baek. Maybe that's why he has grown so fond of her.
"You're hopeless," Xiaoyu sighed then plopped down again beside him.
"I do not like to think so," Hwoarang replied, crossing his arms. He breathed heavily and looked at the sky full of twinkling gems of light. "Why are you here anyway, you like to watch the stars?"
"Not really. But hey that's not bad at all." Xiaoyu stood up and strode a little further from the sitting stone. Once she found the best spot, she sat on the grass then tested it with her palm. After which she lay down on her back to get a better view of the night sky. The grass was soft under her back and the roof of sky wasvery vast above her.She heard Hwoarang rose too and made his way beside her again.
"Well this is nice, I haven't stargazed for ages," he commented as he tried to lie down on the grass.
"Pretty," Xiaoyu breathed in awe. Within her eyesight were wonders and wonders, bright and innumerable. She rested her hands on her stomach then added, "I wonder how they shine so clearly above these fields." She paused as she thought then finally wished "I like something sparkly for my birthday."
"What, fish scales?"
"Talk to yourself."
Hwoarang just chuckled. "I guess I'll take a li'l nap. Just wake me up if something's happening. I think I'm finally getting the drowsiness I want." He crossed his arms behind his head then closed his eyelids.
Xiaoyu thought of silently creeping away and leaving him there in company of night insects. But then, looking back at the sky again, she realized it made her really sleepy. She tried to busy herself spotting some constellations she knows. There's the big dipper and the little one, Panda's favorites. That's… However, she felt like the stars were lulling her to sleep. The stars seemed to dance across the skies, or form more intricate images in her mind. It was also like they were swirling and it made her lightheaded. Then she remembered her grandfather Jinrei telling her when she was a kid that stars often tell great stories whenever you take time to appreciate them and to listen. Another memory flashed across her mind, this time Jin telling her that stars are one of the most wonderful things he knows of. Those tiny pinpricks of light against the black sky tell him of hope; that beyond the black canopy of nighttime there are those glorious celestial bodies. They're beautiful, he said, and it reminded him of his mother who is now probably living among those stars, he hoped. Xiaoyu smiled and wondered what she would see under the aquatic realm.
Hwoarang stirred beside her and she glanced at him. He was still awake and was looking at her. "Feeling sleepy too?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think." As Xiaoyu replied her eyes felt heavy until they completely closed. Soon she was breathing lightly and peacefully under the spell of the stars.
Hwoarang tried clapping in front of her face to wake her up but she seems to be deeply caught up in the obliviousness of sleep. He ceased his attempts and decided to just watch over her. Sitting up, he contentedly took in again the scenery of the silent lea. Looking at her once more, he found himself smiling. He was glad she was with him; it appears he worries less when she's around. An important question would be why he was hanging up in a place like this. And try as he might to repress being sentimental, he couldn't accomplish it for long. Oh heck, I hope that submarine trip would keep me busy. But she'll be there still…That's what you like right? Heaving a sigh, he regarded the star-filled firmament. Lying down, the spell took hold of him quite quickly too and as his lids drooped the last thing he saw was a glimmer of light.
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A/N: Yay, you read up to this part. Thank you. I suppose this story will be a bit of a Xiaorang attempt. I'll appreciate it if you let me know what you think of it. Constructive criticisms are welcome. :)