Author's Note: I KNOW, "wtf Razer?!". I've taken over the section it seems DDDD: Sorry XD But I just can't stop writing, seriously. I wrote this directly after the next chapter, and its just been itching to come out :\ So here it is. I'm gonna try and abstain from posting ANYTHING for a week. Note that I said "try", I can't make promises D:
VI.
Hwoarang pokes some meat into the fire, "Cook, damn you…"
A long month passed. The days had just flown through the wind aimlessly. Changwon's preparations were a huge success, and already, information had been passed onto other towns nearby – Jinju, Gwangyang, Miryang, Ulsan, Gyeongju, Daegu, Namwon and Pohang. It is amazing how fast words spread through travellers.
Currently, though, Hwoarang and Jin are at Gumi. They already had taught their small forces how to fight, and planned to leave well before dawn for Cheongju, providing that some of Gumi's forces would spread the information to the neighbouring Gimcheon, Sangju and Daejeon villages. Sadly, it is here that they've learnt of the Japanese's southern coastal advancements. Aside from Busan, Tongyeong, Yeosu and Haenam had been taken. Apparently, they planned to go north from here.
It is a race to Seoul and beyond.
"Hey, Kazama?" Hwoarang calls, "How's your vegetables and rice?"
"They are very nice thank you," he replies, picking up more of his food from the small wooden bowl in his large hand. A woman had made this for him, and he was quite appreciative of such wonderful cooking. She had just… come up to him, cloaked and all, and handed him some food, stating that 'growing boys need something healthy to eat'.
Hwoarang had noticed, and just narrowed his eyes. It was the same woman he had seen staring at Jin in Gimhae.
I've seen her too many times now for it to be just a coincidence, he says to himself, poking the meat some more with his stick, I swear she's following us… But why? What the hell do we have that she wants? I dunno about Kazama, but I certainly haven't stolen her baby or anything!
Deciding that the meat is now well cooked, he draws it out of the fire and blows on it, watching smoke rise. Waiting for a few moments, he gets a little closer and takes a small bite, instantly regretting it. It burns his mouth, but he forces himself to swallow that piece immediately, and wait for the rest of the food to cool down. He doesn't fancy a dead tongue.
Jin notices his silence and uses it as an opportunity to speak, "Too hot?"
"Yeah."
He chuckles slightly and looks back down to his own meal, "So, what is your story?"
This catches Hwoarang off guard. He looks to the Prince, "What?"
"What is your story?" he asks, looking back at him, "I am the Prince of Japan rebelling against my Grandfather. You are a pirate, yet there is clearly much, much more to you. What is your story?"
"I don't have one," he snits.
"Every man has their own story to share. Their actions write out the words on the pages, and by the end of their life, they have written a book full of compelling and heart wrenching tales. Come Hwoarang, tell me of your life so far."
"I don't have a page to start on. And I can't write or read."
He hesitates for a moment before popping a piece of carrot into his mouth. Chewing it, he speaks, despite the bad etiquette, "Then I shall ask questions, and you can answer them. Tell me of your family. Do you have a younger sibling?"
He says nothing and merely glares at his fellow twenty-two-year-old through narrowed eyes. That is a question he doesn't want to answer. His hand coyly moves back and forth over his golden dao, not in a threat, but in silent remembrance.
However, from Jin's eyes, it is a threat. He asks a different question, "Where in Korea did you originate from?"
He looks away and stares at his meat, his eyebrows furrowing, "Seongnam."
"That is near Seoul."
"It's on the way, but I'd prefer to go around it."
"Why?"
"Bad memories."
"Share them."
"No."
Jin watches as the Korean leads the meat to his mouth once more. He takes another bite, and this time, he chews it slowly, for it is not too hot. He shakes his head and picks up more food with his chopsticks, swiftly guiding the pieces into his mouth. He flicks a stubborn rice grain off of his chin, and readjusts his sitting position. His legs are getting numb.
"Why are you so interested?" Hwoarang finally asks, swallowing a piece of his food.
"I would like to know more about my companion, that's all. Oh! Why did you name your horse Baek?"
He freezes entirely, and Jin notices this. The chestnut horse that had been given to him at Gimhae had been dubbed Baek after about two or so days. The Japanese man is interested as to why he managed to pick a name so easily. The way that the pirate said his name was unusual, too. Affectionate and longing. Jin himself didn't garner such care for Flare for years.
"Just… someone I knew…" he replies. Though his voice is strong, there is still weakness.
"Like somebody you played with in Seongnam when you were a child?"
"Yeah… Someone I played with as a child…"
His voice continues to break. Jin realises he is getting somewhere, "Tell me about him."
"No."
"Hwoarang –"
"Shut up."
"I –"
"Just shut up, will you?!"
The Prince silences immediately, as amber eyes harshly glare at him. He leans back a little and looks back to his hands, seeing his fingers curl around the bowl. Whoever this person was, it is clear that Hwoarang is still running away from him. He has been running for so long that he doesn't want to turn back and see exactly how far away he is.
So he keeps running, jumping from one place to another, sailing this way and that. Never ending, eternally a wanderer, until his memories have been cleansed. Whatever memories they are, they must be haunting to have an adult man continuously sprint away and drown them in intoxicating liquid fire, silk hands and bloody battles. He surrounds himself with people, be they drinking buddies, women or fellow fighters, hoping that they provide enough distraction. And although there are people around him, he is not a part of the crowd.
Such a lonely life, he muses.
He watches as the Korean's hand slides away from the golden dao, and now moves to a silver necklace around his neck. It is a silver star, with a silver skull in the centre. He glides his fingers around its design, simply staring into the fire, as though he is trying to fight the memory away, and keep with him whatever good ones remain.
Eventually, Jin lifts the bowl once more and starts to eat. However, before he manages to drop some of the food into his eagerly awaiting mouth, his companion speaks in a murmur, looking at him from the corner of his eyes.
"Baek was my Dad."
And silence holds them tightly.
"He was murdered when I was fifteen."
"I'm so sorry."
He shrugs, "Life goes on."
"What about your Mother?"
"She died giving birth to me. Baek was all I had."
Jin winces. After a few moments, he speaks again, "Who murdered Baek?"
"You filthy dogs."
He pauses. That would be about right… That was Heihachi's original attempt to take over Korea. The Japanese fleet had sailed all the way around to Incheon, taken that, and went to Seongnam to make a second base. From there, they would have gone directly to Seoul, but Seongnam's forces, coupled with neighbouring Ansan and what was left of Incheon, threw them out of the country entirely.
Seongnam had been razed to the ground regardless.
"He fought fending you out," he growls, clenching his fist, "And you still fucking came back in."
Jin says nothing.
"You took away my father, my home, everything I ever knew. And for what? For some twisted, sick game of enslaving another country!"
The food and stick are dropped back into the fire. Hwoarang hunches over and holds his head in his hands, no longer hungry. He stares at the fire once more, and the memories come alight. Burning homes, screaming people, chaos, disorder and blood.
And he can even see himself, hiding near Seongnam's back exit, holding a few things of his and Baek's. And then Baek fell on the other side, keeping the Japanese away. He started to cry, and then he ran to the coast, to Ansan, where the entire pirate ordeal started. He can see himself stumble about port, dry tears on his cheeks, a complete mess. He still had the two bags on his form, and his Dad's dao by his side, something he refused to let go entirely.
Hwoarang tries to pull himself from the memory by himself. A hand on his shoulder stirs him, and he sees Jin next to him.
"My parents are dead too," he begins, sitting next to him, "Or they may as well be. They've just… vanished. My father was Kazuya Mishima, son of Emperor Heihachi Mishima and Empress Kazume Mishima. He was ordered to Okinawa, where a rebellion was taking place, along with a small army, and was ordered to crush it. Sure, he fought, but… he ran away. The rebellion was stopped, and my father remained hidden in Okinawa. They searched for him, but he was never found. He threw away his title to become a peasant man. He was sick of the high life.
"And he met my mother, Jun Kazama. She was tending for her dying father, and had dropped her supplies when accidentally bumping into him. My mother was very naïve; she had no idea who this man actually was. But he helped her gather her things once more. She invited Kazuya over for dinner… and things just went on from there. They got married and they had me. They still lived with my mother's father, and around the time he died, I had a little cousin called Asuka. Her mother passed on giving birth, so she was pretty much adopted into our family. She may as well be my little sister, and I love her dearly.
"But many years later, Okinawa started to rebel again. I was… eleven at the time. The Emperor sent down a force to crush it, under the lead of the Emperor himself. Asuka and I woke up one day and searched for Mum and Dad, but… they were gone. They had just completely vanished, but they left a note on the kitchen table…" he pauses for a moment, trying to remember what it said, and then continues on, "It said something like… 'We're sorry. Jin, take Asuka and go to Heihachi. Tell Heihachi that you are the son of Kazuya Mishima. Things should be okay then.'
"We went outside to see the armies in the distance. We just… ran as fast as we could, and the closer we got, the more I could see the Emperor. And before everything started, we were standing between the armies, and I just screamed that I was Kazuya's son, just as mother instructed… I will never forget the look on his face. He just… shook his head repeatedly, muttering 'it cannot be'. Then he took us to Kyoto, where we live now in the palace, and raised me as though I am his own son. But... if this is how Kazuya was raised, then I see why he stayed in Okinawa with my mother. He is brutal and relentless, and I wish I never met him."
Hwoarang continues staring into the fire. He murmurs, "Do you miss them?"
Jin looks to the ground, "Everyday."
He nods slightly, silence holding them both. Eventually, he looks to his stomach as it growls, and chuckles under his breath, saying, "Shouldn't have thrown away my food."
"I have some rice and vegetables left. Would you like them?"
The Blood Talon nods a little, "Alright… Then I'm going to sleep, out here. Screw going inside."
Jin stands and moves over towards where he had been sitting previously. He picks up the bowl and the chopsticks, and makes his way back over to his fellow traveller. Handing them to him, he turns away and heads for the inn that is a few metres behind them. Stopping between the two distances, he turns and looks over his shoulder to Hwoarang, who is gratefully eating. He speaks, "You will have to face Seongnam one day. Why not face it with a friend?"
The Korean snorts, amused, as Jin goes inside.
The ride to Cheongju, although only a few hours old, is unquestioningly difficult. Both Hwoarang and Jin feel as though they are being followed, and, although they look over their shoulder continuously, they see nothing but a shrinking Gumi. They try to shake the feeling, but it just keeps coming back with force. Regardless, they continue to ride in silence, with nothing but the wind and the clash of hooves breaking it up.
Flare and Baek are also disturbed, though they hide it easier than their masters.
The rising sun is climbing its way into the cloudless sky from their side. It illuminates the lighting sky in an eerie orange hue. It spreads some of its rays in a single line, outlining the horizon for the travellers. And the pair race towards it, using it as a guide. Their destination is right there, on the horizon. The more they move, the closer they will get, and another village will be ready for the Japanese.
Hwoarang unexpectedly pulls Baek to an immediate stop. He looks over his shoulder again, scanning for any signs of life. He is getting continuously frustrated by the feeling that swarms him wholly. Jin eventually pulls Flare to a stop, and also looks over his shoulder, "What is it?"
"I swear someone's following us."
"Yeah… But it is best not to think on it," he turns away and orders Flare to move again to Cheongju, however he stops when he sees someone standing hundreds of metres away. That person was not there before… "Hwoarang, look! Up ahead!"
He veers around and sees what Jin sees. Confused, he quirks an eyebrow and looks to his accomplice, before spurring Baek onward. The Japanese man has the same idea, and soon enough, Flare is riding along side him. They move together, getting closer to the individual standing in the middle of the field, the metres melting away.
Eventually, the person becomes clearer to see. Hwoarang stops merely metres away, eyes narrowed, and growls, "You again!"
The woman lifts her head slightly and smiles, though neither man can see it due to the hood. The arms of her clothing fall down to the middle of her hands, exposing black fingers. She opens her mouth and speaks, her voice carrying across the distance, ringing clearly, her yellow eyes shining through the darkness, "Hello, fighters."
"What do you want?" Jin remarks calmly.
Hwoarang hisses, "Why are you following us?! You've been following us since Gimhae! That's a month!"
She says nothing and merely fiddles with her fingers.
"Answer me!"
"Silence, pirate!" she hisses. Her hand shoots up and twists, and her fingers curl.
The air is rushing out of him. The Blood Talon doesn't know what's going on. All he knows is he can't breathe, and because of that, he's starting to panic. Whatever witchcraft this woman is doing, it is directly affecting him. He drops Baek's reigns and puts his hands to his throat, coughing, clawing at his skin. It feels like a hand is choking him. Maybe it is her hand.
"What are you doing?!" Jin shouts, "Let him go!"
She does so immediately, and Hwoarang inhales as much air as possible. He leans forward on Baek for support, still taking in all the air. With a shaky hand, he goes to grab his golden dao, grasping the hilt firmly. With a swift motion, he takes it from his sheath, and twirls it around in his right hand, trying to get the shakes out of it.
She looks amongst the two of them, seeing Jin do the same as his companion. The smile seemingly grows, and her hands move away from her sides, palms facing them. She rises off of the ground, no longer standing, and both men freeze as they see this act. The bottom of her cloak ruffles, as does the green grass that is below her.
Both men's eyes widen as a phantom wolf appears behind her. It is three times their horse's size. She speaks, "Your quest will lead you to a greater evil than you anticipate. You think that the end of the line is Emperor Heihachi, but no, there are more beyond him, and they are far more sinister. Emperor Heihachi would appear kind compared to those following him.
"He seeks something. I am sure you know this, Prince Jin, for you and Asuka do far too much snooping for your own good," the woman chuckles slightly as the mentioned man blinks rapidly, "But what does he seek? Indeed, it is an alluring thought. You cannot be allowed to find out, and with every bone in my cursed body, I will see to it that you do not get past me or his other servants… That you will not reach the end of the line to meet death."
Jin speaks, agitated, worried and confused, "How do you know of Asuka? How do you know that I am a prince?"
"I know you much more than you think, and it is for that reason that I cannot allow you nor your friend to go further."
Her rigid arms rise, horizontally parallel to one another. Her palms are outstretched, her fingers pointing to the sky, and immediately, the abnormally large wolf behind her bounds forward, going through her as a spirit, and then becomes real, charging towards Jin and Hwoarang, and their two steeds. From the ground below her hovering point, scarabs stream out from the ground, and in their masses, they crawl towards them.
Flare and Baek whinny unhappily, not liking what they see. Baek bucks, almost throwing Hwoarang off in the process, but eventually, the Korean guides his horse sideways, out of the way of the lunging wolf. Jin mirrors his move, only going in the opposite direction. Such actions doesn't deter the wolf from chasing after the chestnut horse, and it doesn't deter the scarabs from splitting up, half going one way, the other half going the other.
The wolf snaps at Baek's tail. Awkwardly, the Blood Talon turns in his saddle, riding backwards, facing the monster. It too has glowing yellow eyes, and its white fangs are coated with saliva. With one hand on his horse's shoulder, he slashes at the monster with his dao, trying to keep it away from him. The blade draws blood on the creature's snout, though that does not deter him for long, even as his nostrils flare.
One of his strikes misses entirely, and the wolf's mighty jaw clamps onto his horse's rear. Baek fights back though, kicking his hind legs into the throat of the beast, throwing him off entirely. Hwoarang uses this opportunity, and jumps off, tackling the beast to the ground, desperately trying to get his dao to the wolf's throat to kill him. However, the beast's front legs are flailing wildly, preventing him from getting any closer.
The wolf's claws tear across Hwoarang's cheek, and he growls in frustration. The strike itself causes him to look to his right, where he sees the scarabs coming closer and closer, and it is then that he bites his lip and is at a loss for what to do. What are they, and how do you kill them? Why do they look so menacing? And since when did the cobras come out of that little place in the ground, following the scarab army?!
His eyes widen as one comes slithering towards him. He jumps up and off the wolf, moving away from the coming cobra. It snaps at his foot, but he jumps up again, and hurriedly grabs its tail. Before it has a chance to turn around and bite him, he throws it towards the woman, hoping to strike her in the face with its fangs or something just as foolhardy.
It misses the woman, and Jin, who is behind her. Jin extends a hand out, hoping to reach the woman's hood and pull it off. He misses, however, when she moves out of the way and strikes him in his left arm with a mighty punch. The attack itself burns, as though the liquid blackness on her hands is poison, or acid. He veers Flare away and cradles the wound, looking at it. Although she had punched him on clothing, it still hurt and burned.
"Sorry," she says sincerely, her silky tone making him shiver.
It is scarily familiar.
Baek rides by Hwoarang again, and he jumps onto the beast, moving towards the woman. The wolf tries to follow, albeit slowly, and the cobras attempt to bite him at his feet and at Baek's legs, though they all miss. The hooves of the horse crush the menacing beetles, though the fact that some are crawling up the animal's legs still frighten both rider and steed.
Dao at the ready, he spurs Baek on, and he gets closer and closer and closer to the woman. Edge out first, he moves to slice the woman – and he does, only at her left shoulder, not her head like he had originally hoped. He looks behind him as the sleeve falls off to the ground, revealing milky white skin and some blood trickling from his slice. The blackness of her hands only travels up to her forearms, and there is a peculiar tattoo on her upper arm.
Jin just stares. He has that mark too, though no one knows this aside from himself and Asuka. Kazuya and Jun once knew, though with them no longer in his life, well…
"You're not bad, pirate," she says, turning in mid air. She folds her arms across her stomach, and the scarabs and cobras disappear. The wolf runs through her again, and is transparent behind her once more. It is an unusual thing to see. It is almost as though the wolf can only live truly by passing through the body of a living person, "You definitely have skills to be proud of. But both you and Jin, as skilled as each of you are… you will not be able to take him down, no matter how hard you try, and no matter how hard I hope."
"How hard you hope?" Hwoarang inquires, quirking an eyebrow.
She covers her mouth briefly before dropping her hand again, raising the other above her head, "I have said too much."
With a snap of her fingers, she begins to fade away.
In an act of desperation, Jin yells, "Wait! Tell us, who is beyond Heihachi!"
She says nothing and merely smiles.
"Who are you?!"
She hesitated in her answer, not even sure herself, "I am… unknown."
No name, no life, no purpose. She embodies the name of 'unknown' wholly, as she vanishes.