Chapter Three
"I've been here for three minutes and I already hate you."
Sayaka glared at Hwoarang with her arms crossed. In the time span of three minutes, he had already propped his feet on her chair, put his finger in her water, and took away her food menu. "Remind me why I'm not throwing you into traffic now? Need I remind you that it's rush hour and there's tons of cars out there. If we're lucky, I can throw your body into the river over there."
Hwoarang merely smiled.
"Traffic jam. All these cars aren't going anywhere, which means I'm not going anywhere, which means more time to piss you off."
Steve could only watch, looking back at forth at the two, bracing himself for whatever the Swede's retaliation would be.
Sayaka groaned, grabbing Hwoarang by the collar and shouted in his face. "I will break your legs and bring you back to Baek in a body bag!"
"I love you, too, baby." Hwoarang simply said, trying to kiss her. "Don't you dare." she snapped.
"Will you two get married already?" Steve asked with a smile. "Ewww. Noooo way." she exclaimed,"besides, he's your boyfriend. I don't know how you put up with his shit everyday."
"I guess I'm a fool in love." Steve said, giving Hwoarang a goofy smile. "And I love my darling Stevie.." Hwoarang said, making kissy faces at Steve. Sayaka rolled her eyes and said,"Ugh. I think I'm going to be sick."
The two men were quiet, until Steve spoke up,"So you're still single, eh?" He braced himself when Sayaka glared at him, but she only replied with,"Yes. Is that a problem?" "No, no, of course not!" Steve said, stammering as sweat began to form in his brow.
No, he did not want to be on her warpath...not when he was already dealing with a depressed Lei Wulong, and a very flirtatious Hwoarang.
"I told you, after jerkimus maximus, I'm never dating again." she said, looking at her menu again. "But what are you going to do about sex?" Hwoarang asked. "Who needs it? If it's that bad, I'll just read yaoi porn and-"
Before she could speak more, their waiter arrived and took their orders. Hwoarang thought about tricking Steve and ordering him pizza, but he declined, and instead, he ordered a burger and fries. Steve ordered a salad and soup, while Sayaka ordered a ham and cheese sandwich.
"Anyway. Speaking of sex, when's the last time you've been laid? You two look miserable as all hell." she began.
Both Steve and Hwoarang looked at each other, then back at her, in surprise.
"You can tell?" Steve asked. "Yeah. You don't have that kind of...glow, I guess that's how you describe it..like..there's something that's bothering you." she said.
Once again, the two looked at each other.
"Uh...yeah, there is." Hwoarang said, scratching the back of his head,"Steve, if you will."
Sayaka looked at the two with trepidation, ready to dart out of her chair in dramatic fashion at what Steve was about to say. Even though she didn't believe in love for herself anymore, she wanted her friends to be happy. And Steve and Hwoarang was her favorite couple, she wanted them to be together forever.
"We haven't been able to be intimate for almost two months. I mean..we cuddle and snog, but it's only enough to keep us quiet. You see...Lei Wulong has been living with me for two months-"
"Lei Wulong?!" Sayaka shouted. Both men cringed at her loud voice. "Yeah...Lei Wulong. That cop you have a thing for." Hwoarang said, causing Sayaka to throw her knife at him. He shouted and ducked underneath it, causing the knife to go flying into the nearby street and nearly hit a car.
"I don't have a thing for anyone." she snapped.
"Anyway...Lei's been depressed for a while. It's like...everything is crashing down on him. It's the two year anniversary of his partner's death, his girlfriend left him and kicked him out of the apartment, he's suspended from his job..
"Oh my god..." she said.
"I...found him in his partner's office, he tried to kill himself, so I told him he couldn't be left alone. And that he needed to come live with me. That was a struggle..."
"Ok...repeat all this? His partner...who is his partner? Or was..?" she asked.
"I think he said his name was Ryan. American guy." Hwoarang said,"from the way Lei described him, it seemed they were really close." "It's been two years, and he's still not over it. Every night, he screams for him. Lei just stares at the ceiling, he sleeps on the couch, it's like he's staring right through you. It's scary. He doesn't smile...he's so morbid...I mean, this isn't the Lei Wulong we all know...and it's tearing me in two. I just...don't know what to do with him. I feel nothing I do is enough." Steve said.
Sayaka looked away.
"Losing someone you care for is never easy. Especially if it's still fresh like this...two years means nothing in the grand scale of things. I suppose to Lei, it still feels like it was yesterday. He must have truly loved this guy..." she said,"I know this pain, and I'm never going to recover from it...the most we can do is try to live with it."
"Although, I have to admit, our situations are different. He and Ryan were close. My dead lover beat me, and so our relationship fell apart. He still cries...while...I wish things ended differently. But..I refuse to shed another tear over him."
She sighed. Going back to that relationship wasn't something she wished to do, and so she tried to change the subject. Besides, everyone heard the story already, it wasn't anything new-her boyfriend was captured and turned into a monster by the forces of Shadaloo, and as he became abusive...
She shook her head.
"So...what do we do about Lei?" she asked.
"I'm so fucking frustrated, I don't know what to do anymore...I want to be with Hwoarang, I want Lei to be ok, I'm afraid that every time I turn my back, he'll end up dead on my living room floor...I want to scream, I want to tear my hair out, I just...I don't know what to do.." Steve sighed,"I just...don't want him to be sad anymore."
"That won't happen." Sayaka said sternly, causing both men to look at her.
"Depression just doesn't come and go. Sadness sticks with you through everything. The truth is, he might not ever get over this."
As she stole the last fry from Hwoarang's plate. Retaliation for putting mayonnaise on the last piece of her sandwich, of which the thrown piece ended up on Steve's plate.
"I feel bad for Lei. I didn't know this was happening to him...I've only met him once, but he was so nice.."
"Was that when he cited you for underage drinking by the penitentiary?" Hwoarang asked. She nodded. "It was Halloween! That's like...the place to go..then you go to the cemetery nearby for the after-party. Apparently Lei caught wind of the party because that bimbo Laura Matsuda couldn't keep her mouth shut and he followed us into the cemetery. I got a ticket, and she got a ticket for serving a minor..I was sixteen at the time. We really should have just gone to Ken Masters' party. I mean, she wanted to fuck him and...he was just going through a divorce..."
"Lei let me off easy. He ticketed me, but pulled me aside a few minutes later and ripped it up, so long that I didn't do it again."
"So...did you do it again?" Steve asked. Sayaka nodded. "But this time, in Cody Travers' apartment in Metro City. We were dating..or well, we never made it official, like two years after that, my eighteenth birthday, we went out drinking. It wasn't like Lei was going to catch us there."
"Cody Travers...you dated him?" Hwoarang asked. "You idiots know I did." she snapped. "That low-life piece of trash...and he's the one you're still not over?" he asked. "Watch it, Hwoarang. I don't talk about your relationships, don't talk about mine." she snapped,"and maybe I'm not. Maybe I'll never be over him. No matter how much he disappoints me, maybe I still miss all the fun we had. Maybe I miss...everything."
Steve sighed.
"Steve. You have anything smart to say?" she growled.
"No." the blonde replied.
Angrily, she grasped her glass and nearly broke it, until Hwoarang took her hand, stopping her. "Hey. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit a sensitive note there." "Some wounds are still fresh no matter how much time goes by. Lei will never see his partner again, Cody will never love me, but life goes on, right? It's not fair. Why do people who do things right suffer the most in the end? What did Lei do to deserve burying his friend? What did I do to deserve getting punched by my ex...strangled...thrown against the wall...laying on the floor until I nearly bled to death.."
She shook her head. "I don't want to talk anymore. I'm leaving."
"Sayaka, you don't have to go. Please. Stay with us." Hwoarang said, reaching out for her hand. "No." she said, pulling her hand back from his. "I'm sorry. It's been a lovely lunch...but I have to leave."
When she left, both men stared at each other sadly.
"I fucked up." Hwoarang said. "No you didn't.." Steve said, wrapping an arm around him as they walked back to Steve's car. "I always do things to fuck everything up.." Hwoarang said,"why couldn't I keep my mouth shut?" "It's alright, you were fine to speak up. I'm not the biggest fan of that bloke either...it's not healthy for her to be so hung up over him."
"You're right, it's not..." he agreed.
Steve nodded and said,"Alright. Let's get back to Lei." Hwoarang nodded, and took Steve's hand.
Back at the parking lot, Sayaka gripped the steering wheel in her car and tried not to cry. Beside her was a ripped up photo of her and her ex, one she ripped into pieces. "There you go ruining my life again...it's bad enough I can't forget you..not when I find old pictures of us in my glove compartment as I'm reaching for my flask...no...I promised I wouldn't-"
"Hey, hey, miss!"
Sayaka jumped when she saw someone approach her car, and she quickly reached for the knife she held beside her.
The figure, a man, jumped away, holding up his hands to show that he was harmless.
"It's you...that weird guy I almost hit.." she said, looking closely at him.
"Bryan. My name is Bryan." the man said.
He wore a black tank top and green pants, missing the jacket and bullet belt from before, but still looking nonetheless intimidating what with his ice blue eyes, pale skin and scars on his face. Those eyes, however, as intimidating as they were, also wore a degree of concern.
"Bryan." she said.
"What do you want?" she asked. "I don't know...I saw you stomping angrily to your car and I thought I'd come over and ask why you're so upset..." he replied timidly. "What's it to you...you don't even know me." she snapped. As she got back into her car, he leaned on the door, closing it for her.
"You're right. But you're the only familiar face I know in this city. I guess it's just a coincidence that I saw you here. Well...I suppose I should let you go do whatever it is you do and...maybe I'll see you around." he said with a sigh.
"I don't think that's going to happen, Mr. Bryan." she said. "Fury." he said. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry?" she asked. "Fury. My last name is Fury." he said.
"Ok...Bryan Fury...well...that's not a name you hear often. I suppose a scary looking fellow like you would have a scary sounding name, too."
She started the car.
"You said you'd see me around. I'm holding you to that." he said.
"Yeah, I don't think so, Mr. Fury." she said.
"Why not? Am I too scary? Or what is it?" he asked. "I'm not afraid of you, if that's what you mean. I mean it as, nice people don't come into my life often, and when they do, they leave right away. Me nearly hitting you, you coming here to check on me, it's real nice and all, but I'm not going to see you again. Goodbye."
And with that, she drove away, leaving Bryan behind to wave at the disappearing car.
"And little does that lovely girl know...I read all her data. Doctor Swano.."
To his surprise, however, and near shock, he read the name Lei Wulong in her database...
