The title came from Phenomenon by Thousand Foot Krutch. Enjoy peeps!
"Uh…"
Lars looked up at Xiaoyu with a nervous laugh. He didn't know what else to say but that he was caught red-handed. And saying sorry definitely won't fix this one.
"So…what terms would you apply to what I said?" He said nervously.
"There's many actually," Xiaoyu said, smiling now. "And I know which terms you meant."
Hwoarang let out another outburst of laughter as Lars grabbed a pillow and screamed into it as loud as he could. No other explanation came to mind except that he could actually have feelings for her; he refused to admit it, though.
"Hwoarang," He said. "Can you give us a few minutes to talk?"
"Sure; I can give you a few hours if ya want."
With another laugh, he exited the room, leaving Lars and Xiaoyu as the only two in the room. The silence between them became palpable as neither of them spoke.
"I just need to know one thing," Xiaoyu began, breaking the silence. "And I need a straight answer: Could you…actually have feelings for me?"
"Uh…I don't know…and I really don't think it's a good idea for me to get in a relationship since I can go back into insanity at any time."
Xiaoyu leaned against the wall and slid down with her knees up to her chest. She didn't forget that part, but she really wanted to know where he stood on the whole relationship matter, even if he was afraid to be in one right now.
"I understand why you feel that way," She said. "But I just wanted to know…if you wanted to be in one, would you choose me?"
The silence came again; Xiaoyu picked up her head to look at him, but he was no longer on the opposite side of the room. She looked to the side of her and saw him sitting next to her. She smiled to herself as she began asking the question once more.
"So…?"
He nodded slightly. "If I were able to have my way right now, we wouldn't be sitting here in our clothes. But…I just can't put you at risk anymore. Jin would never forgive me."
"Jin's like…an overprotective brother to me; we've been friends ever since we were kids. And yes, I know he's a vampire, but…that doesn't affect our friendship at all. As long as I know he's trustworthy, it's fine. Same goes for you, Lars."
She had a point. Jin, Kazuya, Heihachi, and himself are all related; different mindsets and personalities…but still family nonetheless. Although to Lars, Heihachi's a different story. He thought he could trust him.
"I know you're comparing all four of us," He said. "We're all trustworthy; but I thought I could trust my own father…"
"What do you mean?"
Lars opened the collar of shirt and showed a scar that looked like an injection site. She ran her fingers against the scar a little before he dropped his hand from his collar.
"Heihachi was the one that injected you with that vial?" She asked. "I don't believe this…"
"Believe it," He said. "Because it happened; and I don't know how long it'll take for the stupid contents to leave my damn body."
He stood up and walked over to a vase filled with ripe roses; he took one out and handed it to Xiaoyu.
"Here, take it."
She took it and looked at him. "What's this for?"
"Just something to remember me by…I'm going to go look for Heihachi and rip his head clean off his shoulders."
"Wait!"
She grabbed his arm before he turned around. "He probably already knows you're coming after him. Don't go without backup!"
He turned around and held her in a tight embrace for a while. He didn't wanna leave her, especially his friends behind. But it's for the better. He let her go with a brush of his hand, but entangled his own with hers.
"I know how you are, and I want you to stop it. Don't follow me, okay?"
She sighed. "I know, but…you said all this stuff to me and you're still unstable. In the number of pros and cons I see, the cons are winning. Please, don't go."
"So much for 'One Step at a Time', huh…?" He sighed. "That's out the window…"
"No, it's not. You didn't kiss me or take me out on a date yet. But…I don't wanna go that far yet."
Lars dropped his hand from hers as he started to walk out on the balcony. "I don't plan on going that far just yet, either. There's too much to do…but if what you said was true, then I'll wait a little longer."
Xiaoyu grabbed a towel again, hoping that she could get enough time to take a full bath this time. She slowly walked towards the door of the bathroom, but stopped turning the knob.
"My mother wouldn't lie about something like Heihachi," She said. "Besides…she used to be a vampire hunter."
She walked inside of the bathroom and shut the door. She sighed as she put the rose on the bathroom counter as she drew her bath again.
(Downstairs-Hwoarang and Lili)
"Why did you say that?"
"Why didn't I say that? He's practically playing protector unknowingly. You saw it when he stopped himself, didn't you?"
Lili sat down on the only piece of solid furniture that was on the downstairs level; her couch. She saw Lars' ability to stop his instincts when he tried to kill Xiaoyu and herself earlier; that's a rare ability for vampires, including her.
"Yes, I did," She said. "But he's already said that he doesn't love her. He cares for her, but he doesn't really carry any real feelings for her."
"Well, he lied to you," Hwoarang said. "Because he told me…"
He whispered into her ear all the things Lars said, including about what happened to him in the G-Corporation. Lili couldn't believe it, but the facts didn't lie.
"Oh my…are you serious he said that?"
"Why would I lie? Of course he said that about Xiao; and about the vial. Heihachi definitely made him like this."
"After all this time, I thought that Heihachi could be trusted…my father trusted him…I guess that explains it."
"What do you mean? Your father's gone?"
Lili nodded slightly. "Yes; he went with Heihachi to work on a special project of some sorts. I don't wanna believe that they used Lars as a test subject…"
"Maybe…come on, we're going to give this info to Jin and Kazuya. This could help us in getting enough clues as to where Heihachi might be."
Hwoarang held out his hand and Lili took it; they both were out of the house in a matter of seconds. But they didn't wanna leave Lars and Xiaoyu alone.
"We can't leave Lars and Xiao alone," Hwoarang said. "What if he starts to suffer from the symptoms again?"
"It's highly unlikely," Lili said. "He just had an episode not too long ago. As long as he doesn't let himself be taken over, he won't go berserk. Let's hurry so we can get back before something does happen."
Both of them continued their journey down the street and towards the Mishima Ziabatsu.
(Ling Xiaoyu)
Xiaoyu got into the tub and relaxed herself almost immediately as the hot water soothed her body. Her eyes closed for a brief moment, as she became drowsy. When she opened her eyes, the water was murky. She wondered how long she was in the bathroom, as the water shouldn't be murky as it is.
"How did the water get like this?" She asked herself. "I've only been in here for about ten minutes…"
When she looked forward towards the drainer, she saw something bubbling in front of her. She reached forward and held her hand underneath the water to feel if something was there.
"That's funny…there's nothing-AHHHH!"
Something wrapped around her arm and tried to drown her; she tried to scream, but the mysterious figure was too strong for her to fight against it. Water was quickly filling up her lungs and it was becoming hard to breathe…
"What's wrong?"
Lars burst in the door and saw Xiaoyu screaming and continuously being pulled into the water. He pulled her body out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel before he could start glancing at her.
"What the hell was that?" He yelled.
Xiaoyu couldn't talk; her lungs were still full of water and she was still coughing it up. Once her lungs were clear, she took in a deep breath before she spoke.
"I-I don't know," She stammered. "Something wrapped around my arm and tried to drown me; I have no fucking idea what it was!"
"Calm down your heartbeat…"
"What?"
"C-C-calm down…"
Xiaoyu took deep breaths as she held her chest; her face was pale still. After she calmed down her heartbeat, she held onto Lars as tight as she could.
"What could've done that…?" She asked no one in particular. "It just wrapped around my arm and pulled me in. Who could've wanted me dead…?"
Lars growled internally; he knew only one person who could've been after her. But there was another person who could help them with stuff like this; someone he's related to.
"Come on," He said, helping Xiaoyu to her feet. "We're gonna go see someone…"
"I can't go anywhere like this," Xiaoyu said, running into the bedroom and grabbing a change of clothes that consists of some black jeans, a red and black striped tank-top, and some shoes. "I need to change! Stay in the bathroom until I finish, okay?"
Lars scoffed to himself as he folded his arms and turned away. He glanced over to the counter and saw the rose he'd given to Xiaoyu sitting on it. He picked it up and took a deep sniff; it still had its rich, sweet smell.
I think I should pay Shen a visit, He thought to himself. But first, I have to see my brother…he's the only one that can give us clues as to where Heihachi might be…
A tear rolled down his face as he thought of how all of this could end for him. The tear fell off his face and onto the rose, then onto the bathroom floor.
How am I going to live normally again…? Am I forever trapped in insanity? Or will I be free from this mental hell?
Ah, dammit…I'm beginning to lose interest… FUUUUUU…
Later peeps.
