Ahem, ahem... how do I put this? I wanted a little break from the romance/angst/hurt/comfort/drama genres so I... came up with this twisted lil' ficlet :). A warning first though: what I have written does not in any way fit in with the perception that most people have of this character. Call it OOC if you like but I would rather use the sadly underrated phrase of 'depiction in a negative light'. Don't expect sunshine, daisies, and childish bickering. 'Tis the product of an overly curious mind.
Disclaimer: Ahh, the sweet chaos that would reign in the Tekken universe if I were to rule over it...
Warning(s): Disturbing content, dark themes, character death, OOCness if you insist on calling it that. Sort of. Don't read if you're not sure you can handle it. Flamers will be parodied in the next fic I write. Not a masterpiece, I can assure you. I don't expect faves but constructive criticism would be highly appreciated.
Creak, creak, creak... a lonely swing sways in the wind, its ungreased hinges oddly melodic in their squeaky, cantankerous rhythm. The playground lies empty, its denizens tucked into pastel-colored beds, warm and safe. Bit by bit, the moon lights its way through the velvet sky. With cold, trembling hands, it brushes aside trees, bushes, and leaves to uncover the lifeless body laid down spread-eagle and wide-eyed on the cooling earth.
The eyes are the most striking. Dark, slanted, suddenly round as saucers at what Fate had dealt them with. The sclera is bluish-white, lined with blood-red thread-like veins. Her hair fans around her, soft and silky strands drying to a wool-like consistency, bile leaks out of the corner of her mouth, green yellow in color. There is a subtle if not unmistakable stench in the air: decomposition. A frighteningly large fly circulates the pale body for a few seconds before descending on a bile-stained cheek, flicking out the tip of its crimson proboscis into a dead piece of tissue.
It's been more than twenty-four hours since she's breathed her last. Too young and pretty to die perhaps. But undeserving? Perhaps... not so much...
The Day Before
If she did everything just right, then everything would go according to plan. And Ling Xiaoyu absolutely loved it when things just had to fall into place. Effort was a process she'd never taken much of a shine to. 'Detested' would have been the better verb but given the Chinese girl's limited scope of vocabulary, the simpler and shorter the word, the less time she would have to spend on that frightful procedure known as... what?... ah yes, 'thinking'.
A high-pitched whistle reminded her of the kettle left to boil on the stove. Really now, Miharu had better be grateful for the time and effort she'd spent selecting tea leaves and sugar cookies for their party. A proper tea-party at that, just like what those European women in movies threw for their friends. The ones where they wore those awfully pretty dresses with the tiny waists. She'd love one for herself too. It wasn't like her slender hips were the size of Texas like that Chang girl's, she snickered as she thought to herself. And you didn't need large breasts for such dresses either. She could really rub that fact in that Brazilian slut's face when she'd stroll through Tokyo's grandest shopping district in a pink dress with red ribbons and cream lace and a matching parasol...
Xiaoyu sighed. So far, her thrifty ways had left her with enough cash on hand to barely afford a silk handkerchief much less an entire wardrobe of the same material. Screw that Lili Rochefort. Stupid spoiled rich snob with all the designer outfits Xiaoyu could only dream of. Just wait until Jin would ask for her hand in marriage. She visualized the scene with glee. Jin in a dark blue suit (it so was his color) and she in a white silk evening gown with Swarovski crystal beading, her hair held up by pink diamond pins and...
The chimes of the door-bell rudely bypassed her train of thought.
"Oi! Xiao? Ya ready?"
An unruly mop of ruddy red hair popped itself into the kitchen, peering from behind the door.
"Miharu-chan!"
With a bounce, the pig-tailed girl was plopped in front of her friend, air-kissing and cooing with much theatrical ingenuity.
"I'm sooo glad you made it! Did you manage to blow off detention?"
The redhead made a show of rolling her brown eyes. "Well, duh."
"Yay!" Another bounce, a saccharine clap of hands.
"So, it's settled? Everything ready?"
"Yeah! Just give me a few minutes."
As soon as her friend's back was turned, Xiaoyu lifted the lid of the spacious picnic hamper and ran a quick inventory check.
Sandwiches, fruit salad, mini-quiches, strawberries, cream, melon, dumplings, marshmallows, muffins, chocolate-chip cookies, double-chocolate-chip cookies, sugar cookies, oatmeal-and-raisin cookies, lemonade, orange juice, tea, potassium cyanide powder...
"XIAO!!" Miharu whined from the foyer. "What's taking you so long?"
"Coming!"
The fresh morning sunshine splashed them with light as they headed out the door. Xiaoyu noted the other girl's slight gain in weight with cleverly-hidden delight. Thank the deities for good genetics. She never had a problem with dropping pounds like anchors. All the best outfits were the below-size-six's anyway. She usually cut the 'Size 2' labels of her purchases, choosing to pass as an enviable double zero. Never did Ling Xiaoyu have to worry about the size of her waist in proportion to the amount of blueberry muffins on her plate. Calories, schmalories, she'd burn them off during lazy training sessions and energetic romps with Panda. Plus, basic arithmetic wasn't really her strong point.
"So did you hear about that new rule?"
She snapped out of her vanity-induced trance. "The one about the 'no kissing and canoodling in corridors' thingy?"
"Yeah. It's like they think we're kinda these, like, animals or something. So not cute."
"Yeah and what's 'canoodling'?"
"Dunno, sounds like some new weird Chinese noodle... stuff."
"Hey!" Xiaoyu fired a playful punch at Miharu's arm, earning a squeak from the girl."What've you got against us Chinese?"
"Not you, dummy!... I was just saying..."
"Ohhh..." The pig-tailed girl left the hint of joy out of her voice on purpose. "No more sneaking a kissy with Jinniekins."
Miharu's blush deepened. "It's not like we're totally making out in public."
"Oh yeah? Total PDA alerts ring out when you two go at it."
"They do not!"
"Do too!"
"Okay, if Jin and I send off PDA alerts then what about 'those two' behind those bushes yesterday?"
"Oh, ewww, groosss!"
"I know! How come they didn't get expelled?! Or even suspended?"
"Unfair."
"Seriously. But Hippie Girl Chang's face was fun to watch when she heard them behind her."
Xiaoyu giggled. "She looked like she wanted to throw up."
Both of them erupted into hysterics at the image of Julia Chang paling and convulsing in shock and disgust when she'd heard the sounds of a very passionate and obviously enjoyable 'session' taking place between her two friends from behind her reading corner under the bay window of their high-school. When the moans, groans, and whimpers had heightened to a certain pitch, the principal was duly summoned and the not-yet-guilty-looking culprits were thrown into detention for the remainder of the day.
"Served her right."
Miharu nodded in agreement. "Bitch. She always thought she was better than us."
"Yeah just 'cause she always finishes first in class for her grades and extra-curriculars."
"Ugh. I mean, have you checked out her outfits?"
"Ew, feathers and headbands? Yuck!"
"And those thighs?" The redhead rolled her eyes. "Girl, lay off the doughnuts and nachos."
"Mm-hm."
"I hate her. She always gets what she wants in the end."
"I don't know how she does it. She's not even that fun or cute. She's so dull and boring and she still gets one freakin' hot boyfriend?! Like, what the hell?!"
"She got lucky."
"Lucky? Two years of luck. Yetch, I hate that bitch."
Of course, 'bitches' like Julia Chang still served some purpose to Xiaoyu. For one, sneaking a peak at the former's Advanced Chemistry notes. In spite of all the equations, formulae, and chemical names longer than two syllables, one word had stood out to her. Wikipedia being one of the latter's numerous best friends did all the rest. Now, all Xiaoyu had to do was put on the same show she'd put on when Jin and Miharu had first started dating. Innocent sweetness et all.
"Ah, we're here."
The spot she'd chosen was dark, green, and leafy. Under pretense of offering shade, it also was the perfect cover for a crime. Not that Miharu knew or cared, Xiaoyu hoped. But that part came later, the climax. Until then, the suspense had to be built up in a carefree atmosphere of fun and games. Little by little, step by step, in time for the grand conclusion. The red and white checkered cloth was spread out on the grass.
"Lemonade, Miharu?"
"Sure."
Xiaoyu had never much cared for sour things. For the sake of posterity, she'd foregone the strawberry shakes she preferred in favor of Miharu's favorite iced drink. After all, the Chinese girl had always been a good friend. She'd lent Miharu her best dresses, let her share her make-up and crème rolls, snubbed boys which she didn't deem 'good enough' for her, and a whole lot of other things she could list on a sheet of paper as long as her arm.
"So, what's up with Jin?"
"Oh, nothing. He decided to enroll in that college you know."
"The local one?"
"Uh-huh. So, we still get to see each other after classes everyday. Great, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Xiaoyu gulped down another bitter mouthful of lemonade. "Great."
"Something wrong?" Miharu genuinely seemed concerned.
"It's just that... you guys already spend so much time together. Somehow..."
The lemons weren't the only bitterness in her system. But she'd have to hide that for the moment. Now was the time for sad, resentful, slightly piqued Xiaoyu to emerge. Let a few mournful notes creep into her voice and she'd have the remorse flowing out of Miharu in no time.
"Somehow, I'm the one who gets left out."
"...Oh..."
"I'm sorry." She dabbed at the illusionary tears in her eyes. "I know it's selfish and all but..."
"T-that's okay. I should be the one apologizing."
In an unexpected turn of events, the red-haired girl leaned over and hugged a taken aback Xiaoyu. "I'm sorry, Xiao. I should never have let anything get in the way of our friendship."
"Um... okay." She had no option but to hug back.
Stupid Miharu. Getting all soft and sentimental so that she felt guilty now. No, no, that wouldn't do at all. She dug up another memory from her mind to bury the trembling guilty conscious in her heart. Yes, remember that day. She replayed the shot in her head over and over again until she was cold and hard as she was before.
"... I'm starving. Let's eat." Xiaoyu opened the hamper. "Not let's see... what to start with..."
"Dessert first!"
"Nuh-uh. I don't wanna look like a Sumo wrestler even if you wanna."
Miharu grinned. "No, I won't. I'll work it off."
"Last time I checked, text-messaging is not an exercise."
"It is." The other girl pouted. "It helps your fingers stay slim. I don't want mine to look like... cocktail sausages or something."
A shriek of laughter was promptly produced, excusing the flimsiness of the joke. In any case, Xiaoyu had to keep the mood light. Anything heavier would give the show away and in no event was that to happen. Two weeks of planning and preparation would not go to waste. She'd almost been caught red-handed stealing that powder from the store-room in the Chemistry lab. Were it not for her martial arts training, that nosy sophomore would have run off with the incriminating evidence.
"Did you make these yourself, Xiao?" Miharu asked as she munched on a mini-sandwich. "They're really good."
"...Yeah."
Well, she had bought the bread, lettuce, and the chicken spread. And Forrest Law was so easy to manipulate into carrying out her orders. A shy, girlish giggle and a simpering bat of her long eye-lashes was all it took to make his knees quake and his cheeks redden. Simple as pie. She had baked the cookies and applied the frosting though. Preparing the tea had also been a job she'd furiously kept to herself for this particular day. No one but no one was to touch the tea she was going to brew.
Miharu was wearing a pretty bracelet. It was made of sky blue beads with smaller ones of bright pink in between. Sure, it looked great around her wrist but it would probably look just as good around Xiaoyu's. Perhaps even better.
"Hey, where'd you get that from?" She pointed to the ornament.
"This?" Miharu lifted her wrist and gave the beads on display a careless jangle. "Jin gave it to me."
That was it. She absolutely, positively needed that bracelet now.
"Aw, how cute of him."
"I know..."
Xiaoyu hated the look that appeared on Miharu's face when she thought of her absent boyfriend. Too dreamy and content for her liking. She also hated it when her friends kept secrets from her. Especially her best friend. Here she was, dying for a chance to slip into the world of the aloof, mysterious Jin Kazama (via Miharu of course) and what did she receive? Nothing. Jin's secrets were Miharu's secrets, not even for Xiaoyu's willing ears. No matter what the extent of her pleading, whining, begging, complaining, pouting, and wheedling, Jin Kazama's heart remained locked and Miharu wasn't about to relinquish her key.
Xiaoyu wasn't sure if she was truly sorry that it had come down to this but the what really was important was that she needed that key to his heart. Ever since she'd first laid eyes on him, brooding at his desk, his head in his hands...
"Xiao?"
"Huh?"
"You zoned out."
"Ahem, so did you."
"I had good reason. What do you expect when you have such an adorable boy-toy by your side..."
Xiaoyu had forgotten how much she hated it when Miharu clasped her hands together and started sighing in delight over her love-life. It reminded her so achingly of herself. Not too long ago, she'd been the one swooning over the very mention of her crush's name. Her notebooks were still filled with pages upon pages of asymmetrical hearts in which her name and his intertwined in cursive handwriting. She'd practiced her future signature on her bathroom mirror in sparkling pink lipstick: Mrs. Xiaoyu Kazama. She knew his birthday was on the twenty ninth of August, he stood at an impressive 180cm, he was quiet in class, he had few friends, he practiced Karate in his free time, she knew everything about him... but she still didn't know him.
"Okay, let's attack these cookies!"
"Woah." Miharu's eyes widened at the lot. "Someone went hyper in the kitchen..."
"You could say that."
She would have done anything to solve his puzzles and keep the whole picture to herself. She still would. Except that the puzzles had been snatched from her outstretched hands and placed high above her where she couldn't reach.
"Tea goes well with cookies." she said, matter-of-factly.
Miharu arched a tweezed, red eyebrow. "I thought it was 'milk and cookies'?"
"Tea's more lady-like, silly."
As she poured the tea into one of the cherry-blossom patterned china tea-cups, a flicker of a memory dawned on her. That day, when she'd seen them together. Locked in an embrace, blissfully unaware of her quivering figure peering at them from behind the corner of the gym. One by one, the threads holding her hopes together broke. She could even hear them now, pop, pop, popping like party balloons. No, no, no. This was wrong, a mistake, a bad dream, maybe a nightmare. Something had to be wrong somewhere in the universe for it to end like this. The dark, tragic hero was always saved by the bright, cheerful, pure girl who was pretty and cute and delicate and adorable and...
And Miharu had never told her. Not until the next day.
The next day, she'd practically forced herself to scream with delight at her friend's new-found love. She'd laughed off the cuts hidden beneath the bandages wrapped around her hands. Truth be told, they weren't from a hungry Panda at lunchtime. More like a rage-filled attempt to destroy a certain photograph in a rainbow-hued frame proclaiming 'Best Friends Forevah!!' encircled by fuchsia hearts.
Xiaoyu still remembered the blood from her cuts. They'd stung badly and were as red as the tea she was serving.
Miharu nodded approvingly. "Looks good."
Red wasn't a great color for hair, Xiaoyu noted silently. Especially Miharu's, ugh. Her own jet-black locks were much glossier and silkier in contrast. And she had better skin too. Heh, acne what? You'd never catch a zit desecrating Ling Xiaoyu's porcelain white complexion. She was the better martial artist, more popular, much thinner, had better fashion sense, better athletic skills and... and... she had a friggin' panda for a pet for crying out loud.
So why did this have to happen?
She set the cups down, one each in front of them.
"Hey, check it out!"
She followed Miharu's gaze. An unremarkable greyish-brown pigeon pecked at a discarded piece of bread. Quite a sight to an intrepid bird-watcher, wasted on a self-professed mall hawk like Xiaoyu. She took a sip out of her cup and eyed Miharu as she did the same. The powder had dissolved well in the liquid. It was just a matter of time...
"So, Xiao. What's the occasion?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, what's with all - " She swept her hand over the plates of food. " - this? Is there anything we should be celebrating?"
"Well... I..."
"Oooh, lemme guess! You passed a test."
"No."
"An anniversary?"
"No."
"You've met someone?"
"No."
"I give up."
"It's nothing."
Miharu looked at her straight in the eyes. "Seriously?"
She leaned in closer, ignoring the growing pains in her abdomen, listening in for a change in the Japanese girl's breathing. "Seriously. The only thing I want to celebrate is our friendship. You're special to me and I wanted to show you just how much."
Special indeed. Special enough to hold the key to the heart of the man she loved. A true friend would understand the importance of sacrifice. After this was over, everything would be alright again. Xiaoyu could take her rightful place next to Jin. The memory of Miharu would fade away... she'd purge her universe of this poison with poison itself. Fight fire with fire, an eye for an eye...
Everything will be alright, she convinced herself as she waited with baited breath for the guillotine to drop.
Miharu stared right back at her, unblinking.
Xiaoyu hoped that the sound of her pounding heart wouldn't be heard. That would be a terrible giveaway. Not that Miharu was that observant but she couldn't take any chances. She'd planned it so well, what could possibly go wrong? She didn't allow herself to think of that. Things would fall into place, surely nothing would thwart her best efforts.
Miharu kept her gaze fixed and unwavering.
Jin could learn to forget her, Xiaoyu assured herself. After all, Miharu was the one who was supposed to be in the shadows. She, on the other hand, deserved to shine and sparkle like the star she knew she was. Nobody would miss Miharu. Jin would learn to love her in her late friend's absence. This was how it was supposed to be in the romantic movies and teledramas she adored. The quiet, troubled hero would soon let his guard down around the pretty, fun, cheerful girl because she made life so much more bearable for him. Yes, Xiaoyu could be Jin's shining star, his little ray of sunshine, his delicate red rose, his soul-mate, his everything...
Not that the safe would be broken, she could finally have the key.
The stabbing pains jolting her abdomen were making the wait harder. A trickle of sweat ran down her forehead and the side of her face. Honestly, the nerves would make her throw up if nothing else...
Xiaoyu gasped as the white-hot heat seared through her like a knife. Almost blinded by the sheer ache inside her, she rolled off the blanket and onto the grass, trying to suck precious oxygen into her lungs. A surge of panic rushed into her brain as she felt her throat tightening. Allergic reactions? Appendicitis? An asthma attack? The possibilities of endless types of diseases with similar symptoms played out in front of her in a macabre premonition of sorts...
Miharu sighed and shook her head.
The pigeon. She remembered the pigeon...
Xiaoyu felt the bile bubble and boil in the pit of her stomach at the sick realization. "You... you... s-s-switched..."
"Yes, I did."
The sun, clouds, and trees began to swarm above her in a riveting display of psychedelic patterns. Tears further blinded her eyes, further choking down her desperate screams for help. Miharu watched the girl she'd once called her 'best of friends' flail hopelessly out of control on the soft patch of grass. The very sight of her pale, skinny limbs twitching in agony disturbed her to no end. Definitely a nightmare that would haunt for a while...
Xiaoyu's eyes rolled backwords, exposing the reddening veins lining the white sclera.
"I'm sorry, Xiao - "
The rapidly thinning stream of air entering her collapsing lungs disappeared within the minute.
" - but you really brought this upon yourself."
Her mind cried out for a miraculous act of mercy. A mop of unruly red hair shook itself and tittered quietly.
"You underestimated me, Xiao. And don't forget that you tried to stab my back first."
Xiaoyu had never liked the color black. Too dark, too scary. Like haunted houses... evil spirits... funeral mourners...
"Ever heard of karma? What goes around comes around. You reap what you sow, Xiao. You should have realized that before calling me stupid or inferior to you. Because you did think that, did you? Well, guess what? You were right. I should have trusted my instincts about you long ago. I saw it behind your eyes, through that stupid act you expected me and everyone else to fall for. If I had just... said this to you back then, you wouldn't have gotten this far."
A piercing whistle drowned out the next words.
"It's too late to save you, I'm afraid. I'm sorry. But that's the way the world really works. You should've drilled that into your head by now."
She sighed and left Xiaoyu to gaze at the dying sky in shock, her eyes wide open, a trail of bile spilling down her cheek onto the side of her cold, pallid face...