Chapter 9: Bad News

-Xiaoyu's POV-

Unbelievable. After all that time, nothing feels...different.

Nope.

Nothing. Of course, nothing too thrilling happened at the tournament; sure I broke my arm, acquired hundreds of bruises and scratches, and am still in pain, but still- nothing. School had been unchanged too. Same teachers, same classmates, same work and...same guy who's been flirting/being a jerk with me. As surprising as it is, sarcastically- of course, I haven't figured out much about his attitude.

One moment he's focused on trying to kill me, then he makes a heartfelt apology. Okay, no. I still don't get it. But the worse thing is that I just...I just can't seem to stay away. No matter what I try to do, I always end up depending on him somehow. Ugh, it's all my stupid hormones! Funny thing is, I remember Miharu- my older sister- telling me that before. I'm pretty sure it was when she was crushing on her best friend's boyfriend...ouch...

"Xiaoyu," the teacher snaps. Oh crap. I bet I was dozing off again. That always seems to happen…

"Er...yes?" I ask.

"What is the answer?" she pushes. I stare at her blankly for a good five seconds. "To the problem?" she points to the math equation on the board. I carefully examine it and attempt to solve it mentally when the bell rings.

Phew...

Slowly, I make my way out of the classroom, barely noticed by anyone-as usual. But I look over to my right to see a group of men dressed in black, more formal attire. Most of them are the same height, and the fact that they're all dressed the same makes it look like they're all the same person from way over here. But surrounding them was a group of...girls.

Oh gosh, lemme guess- it's Jin?

Of course, the new leader of the Mishima Zaibatsu-to-be should be protected. I couldn't help but smile to myself as the taller men try to push those crazy girls away. I mean seriously, what is up with them?! Maybe they're also under the spell I'm in...

The longer I stay there, the more people approach the cluster over there. Now there are bodyguards, crazy, obsessed girls, and now a bunch of men and women with cameras; photography and video cameras. That's just sad now, how he can't seem to get any privacy. Definitely not wanting to get involved, I turn around and head to my next class; reading.

No matter how suck-y that class is, I'd rather not get caught up in that mess.

--

-Jin's POV-

Like any normal day, I guess you could say, I isolate myself, training vigorously in the gym. I've been pounding on a punching bag as if it was the one responsible of my mother's "disappearance" for quite a while now, but I really have no intention of stopping now. I have on my usual black pants, bordered with red and yellow flames along the side, and held it with my black belt-not that I show that thing off or anything.

But as I step back, now facing the west wall, I see someone coming from the corner of my eye. The door barely makes any noise when opened, so wouldn't know someone came in unless I saw it…we should get that fixed…

Anyway, I thought it would have been a maid or something, but I guess I was wrong. It was Xiaoyu, in her usual training outfit; It consisted of long gray sweat pants that almost completely covered her feet, and a black cami that exposed her slim stomach, topped with an open red/white sweater. She also had a carton of ice cream in her hand, happily eating away. She just has to look so damn attractive…

I can tell because I just distracted myself and almost completely lost balance.

"Smooth," I hear her say. "You get easily distracted." she concludes.

"And you eat so much sugar," I replied. "No wonder you have so much energy."

"No I don't," she argued as I approach her.

"Yeah you do; and you're getting fat." I teased, now referring to her flat mid-section.

"I am not!" she defiantly replied before taking in another spoonful of sugary goodness. "You're getting fat!" she added.

"Really?" I asked in a tone that was dripping with sarcasm. She playfully narrowed her eyes before sticking her, now brownish-pink, tongue out. "Trying to be suggestive?"

"Yes, yes I am." she answered with the same amount of sarcasm me moments ago. Finally setting down the food she'd been snacking on for a while, she kicked her shoes off and stepped onto the mat.

"Do we have to spar? I've been practicing for an hour already." I whine, pretty sure that was enough to convince her so.

"Then what do you want to do?" she asked, probably partially annoyed.

"Maybe, a little less time talking," I say, my voice barely louder than a whisper as I step closer. I can see from here she tenses up- but she doesn't move away; okay, good sign. "And a little more time…" I continue to get closer. "Doing this…" I whisper, my mouth now probably only millimeters from hers- seemingly making her want me to get closer. And I was going to, when-

The door flies open.

"See, you're slow," she tells me. "I bet you would have gotten that if you were just a little quicker." she laughs as she walks away. True; very true, so why didn't I?

"I'm slow?" I, noticeably, sneak behind her and wrap my arms around her small waist. Even from behind I can tell she's blushing; it's kinda funny how easily I can manipulate her. Not that I take advantage over that…

"Let go!" she half- yelled, half- laughed, trying to squirm free when the maid approaches us. Respectfully, we calm down and turn to her. She doesn't look to happy though, maybe she found her paycheck.

"Miss Xiaoyu, there is news for you," she starts. Could it be bad news?

"What is it?" she asks eagerly.

"Your grandfather is…g-gone." she spit out. I watched as she processed those words, her cheeks growing paler with every second we all stood in the silence. She tried opening her mouth, only for a small shriek to come out. "Please, miss Xiaoyu, I mean not to hurt you. I am merely the messenger."

"So where is she going to live then?" I ask for her.

"Heihachi has given her options: she may stay here if she wants. Or since she is 18, she may take her grandfather's house back in China or purchase one here in Japan." she explains. "It will be difficult, of course. Unless…she gets married." I'm sure my heart skipped a few beats at that…

"Isn't she a little young?"

"No," Eh, then again- it is her choice.

Now it's quiet.

"I am deeply sorry, Miss Xiaoyu." she lowers her head for a light bow. "For further information, you may consult Mr. Mishima…he is in his office." she nodded slightly, heavy tears falling noticeably down her pale cheeks. With one last bow, she exited through the main door, leaving us here in another silent moment. For the first few seconds, I debate against myself on whether I should say something or not.

Maybe not…

She sniffed once more, clearly meaning she was crying pretty hard…then ran out the same door. She must have been pretty close to her grandfather- much like I was close to my mom. Honestly, I do see how she feels. It hurts. Bad. But it's not like there's anything I can do…she probably won't talk to me anyway.

-Xiao's POV-

NO! No, no, no, no, no, NO! How could that happen?! He was perfectly fine when I left for Japan! He was healthy, he ate perfectly fine, and we even had a long sparring match before I left. But of course, there's nothing I can do now except what I'm doing now.

Yeah, I'm doing the most predictable thing; laying on my bed, crying my eyes out. At least I left the gym before anyone-especially Jin- saw me bawling my eyes out. Speaking of them, they're probably really red and swollen now. Much like when I lost my goldfish back when I was 7... I sit up, feeling a thousand more tears go down my face. My stomach feels like it just got off a roller coaster, my heart as if it sank lower than an endless abyss, and most of all, a heavy weight just fell onto my shoulders. I hate this.

Hate it.


I know, I'm terrible for having a character die :(. I needed it to make the story better :P. Anyway...yeah, I finally updated after a while. Psh, and you thought I stopped writting it...you...you thought, huh? XD Anyways, HAPPY THANKSGIVING PEOPLE!! (It's almost christmas!) Don't forget to review!

Thanks!!
FilipinaChick29
-"Proud to be Pinoy" XD