My Amaranth
Summary:"Nobody's safe…."
~~~~~*~~~~~
As they reached Asuka's house, Yoshimitsu stopped them. The front door had been thrown off its hinges. Lei, as a police officer, went in first, keeping his gun ready. He returned soon without a word. What the rest saw inside was shocking.
The whole room had been trashed; not a single piece of furniture was intact. Whoever had fought Asuka had been strong. They searched the whole house before they returned back outside. In the meantime, Lei had entered the small temple of ancestors behind the house. Steve, who had followed, was currently puking his guts out in the rose bushes.
"Oh no…."
Wulong limped out of the temple, letting out a sigh. Nina brushed past him, taken aback by the gruesome sight inside as soon as her eyes got used to the dim light.
Asuka Kazama had been killed. Her arms and legs had been twisted into unnatural angles, and there was a pool of blood beneath her head, like a gruesome halo. She had fled from the house, but her attempt to hide had backfired. Now, her skull had cracked from the force she had been struck with on the hard floor. Her throat was black and blue, a sign of having been strangled.
"These all seem to be connected…. Haven't you noticed?" Nina said quietly as she returned to Jin.
"Lee, Lars, Asuka…. My friends or relatives… who were on my side," Jin said with a groan as he made the connection. That could mean they could all be targets as well, all of them. He, Hwoarang, Xiaoyu, Steve, Nina, Baek…. Even Lei could be a target. He unconsciously held Hwoarang's hand tighter.
"This is Kazuya's work, but that brutal style isn't my sister's, so someone else must have killed her," the blonde assassin/ bodyguard said quietly, glancing at the sanctuary as she spoke.
"Yoshimitsu, we need to find another place, and we all need to stick together as much as we can. But first… we need to do something to Asuka's...." Jin couldn't finish. The brunette had been his last connection to his mother by blood. Blinking the tears away, he watched Xiaoyu return with a blanket from the inside. Nina and Lei went on to wrap the girl's body into it, while Hwoarang and Steve dug a grave beneath the jasmine tree. He sat on the ground, feeling the petite Chinese sit next to him.
Yoshimitsu went searching around the old house, the garage, and the shed at the back of the yard. He found enough equipment to construct the weapon, but he was hesitant. He owed to young Kazama. He found a bag for the gear and returned to the mourning group, offering to say a prayer to the gods for her.
~~~~*~*~~~~
Yakuza HQ, Downtown Tokyo
~~~~*~*~~~~
"So… Baek Doo San remains in Korea, and Asuka Kazama is dealt with? You impress me greatly, Dragunov. I'm sending you to investigate the reason behind that explosion at the old market square a mile away from her residence."
Dragunov nodded and left, leaving a very grumpy-looking Anna standing there and waiting for Kazuya's orders.
"It was a shame to lose Bruce earlier, but Alexandersson's death paid for it. He was the one who took Irvin down. You are a failure compared to your sister. I'm leaving to the G Corporation facility. You know your place," Kazuya said, slightly amused by Anna's death glare, which was no match for his or even Nina's.
"Yes, Mishima-sama."
"Don't glare. It makes you look older."
As he left, Anna cracked her knuckles.
~~~~*~*~~~~
Later That Night, 15 Miles Northwest of Tokyo
~~~~*~*~~~~
By stealing a car, they managed to get away from the city for a while. Lei let it slip when Hwoarang simply yanked out some wires and started the car, as the car's rightful owner had even taken the keys when fleeing the vehicle.
They found a proper place where Yoshimitsu could work, an old forge beside a river. The house nearby…. Those who lived in there had been killed and hung to an old oak tree. After burying the wife, the husband and the three children, one of whom a teenager who had managed to fight back for a while, they explored the house, feeling bad for using it like that.
Xiaoyu was sitting in a light pink room, looking at the amount of toys the little girl had owned. She took a hold of the stuffed panda and lay down on the bed, cuddling it. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at the pictures she had in her cell phone. One was of Panda, her pet panda. Where she was now, no one knew, not even her.
Another one was taken and sent by Steve. He, Hwoarang, Jin and Lars had been in a bar. In the picture, Hwoarang was sitting in Lars' lap, drunk like there's no tomorrow. Jin and Lars were laughing, the older man leaning against the Japanese while they sat in the booth. Xiaoyu couldn't remember what Hwoarang had said; Steve had had a few too many to remember their sayings from that night. She wished she could have revealed her feelings to Lars, but he was almost 30 and she was only 18. He would have thought of her as a child. She was too childish. In the end, confessing Lars her feelings would have been a mistake. But he was dead now, it was left undone. Wiping away the tears, she drifted off to exhausted sleep.
Jin and Hwoarang were in the room they took for a guest room. There was nothing that could be called personal belongings: only a table, a few cushions and a futon. There was a lone painting on the wall, a picture of Mt. Fuji above the futon Jin was sitting on.
Hwoarang watched the Japanese sitting there, hugging his legs and hiding his face. Feeling helpless, he just silently sat down next to his lover.
"Jin… Lars' death was an accident…. He wasn't murdered. Lee and Asuka… those were probably just a coincidence."
Knowing his attempt was in vain, the Korean let out a frustrated sigh and took off the goggles from his forehead, letting the red strands fall to his face. Jin lifted his head up, staring at the opposite wall.
"You know that those still have a connection. You should keep trying to contact Baek…."
"Jin! Could we spend one moment without thinking and talking about the war?"
"What else can we do, huh?"
"Anything! I've seen enough war for a lifetime. I want to sleep a full night without any worries. You know Yoshimitsu will be done by nightfall. And he'll keep an eye on us, as well as Nina. Please, Jin… I know you want peace, too…."
"I can't rest until I've finished this!" Jin yelled, enraged. He hadn't noticed having risen from the futon, but he realized he had when Hwoarang suddenly got up to get them face to face.
"If you are sleep-deprived, how you can defeat Kazuya?" Hwoarang was always picking a fight or nice, long and colourful arguments, but he didn't want to argue with Jin. Kazama despised arguing, and Hwoarang was content to argue with Steve or, in the past, with Lars.
The dark brown eyes of the Japanese slid close, and to the Blood Talon, he looked older than he really was. Leaning forward, Jin pressed their foreheads together.
"You are right… I'm sorry, Hwoarang. Fatigue is catching up with me," he said quietly, bringing their lips to touch. When he opened his eyes, Hwoarang's light brown orbs were staring deep into his soul. The Devil within him was quiet, as usual. Having finally mastered to suppress the evil within, he had allowed himself to feel all but absolute hatred.
Love. That's what he craved and what he received. He kissed Hwoarang, feeling the kiss ignite sparks in his blood. His hands cradled the Blood Talon's face, their hearts beating in unison.
The tender kiss ended, and Jin let out a sigh. Hwoarang didn't say anything, just pulled the other closer, wrapping his arms around his former rival. Jin's lips suddenly brushed against the vein in his neck and he let out a tiny gasp. When Jin first teased one of his weak places and then pulled away, the Korean opened his eyes to see Jin starting to reach for the zipper of his leather vest.
A smile spread on his face and he shed the vest off his shoulders once Jin was done. Warm hands slid down from his shoulders to his chest and down to his hips.
"Please… At least one night without thinking…," the Korean pleaded. Jin nodded, leaning to kiss him again, cherishing the feel. He also was also eager to have a little break before the final day. Yet, the sacrifice Yoshimitsu had mentioned nagging at his subconscious mind, making the Devil within shift in its forced slumber.