Chapter Ten: Coming Clean

"Have you tried calling him yet?" Steve asked, running a hand through his blond hair anxiously. "'Cause otherwise, I don't know what else we can do."

"Well, obviously." Hwoarang snapped. "His phone's in his room."

"Alright," Steve said, stung. "You think of a better idea then."

"Me?" Hwoarang exploded. "I've been trying to think of a fucking idea, but I can't! Why don't you—"

"Oh, shut up, both of you!" Xiaoyu cried angrily, glaring at them both. "You've been arguing for ages – Jin is missing and that's all you can do? What is wrong with you?"

Steve and Hwoarang looked guiltily at each other and then at Xiaoyu. "Sorry," they mumbled at the same time.

Xiaoyu's glare softened. "Don't worry, I get it. We're all worried about him…but we can't start turning on each other. We have to find him, even if it means going looking for him."

"Find who?" called a voice from the doorway. The three of them turned to find a brown haired Japanese girl standing outside Jin's room. Her eyes widened as she took in the broken glass on the floor, and the three people sitting or standing in the empty room. "What the…what happened?"

"Who are you?" Xiaoyu asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

"I am Asuka Kazama, Jin's cousin," the girl explained, moving into the room slowly. "I came to see him…what the hell happened to him?"

"That's what we've been trying to figure out," Hwoarang said heavily, head in his hands. "We…well, we saw him – leave – but it wasn't…it wasn't him."

"Huh?" Asuka looked confused. "What do you mean it wasn't him? You saw him leave? What did he do, jump out of the window?" she shook her head. "What the fuck is going on here?"

Steve put a hand on Asuka's shoulder. "Look, love, we don't know. We've been trying to find out, but we've got nowhere." He paused, frowning. "But…well, he had been acting really strangely…"

"Strangely?" Asuka asked, just as Hwoarang's phone started ringing. He jumped violently, nearly dropping it, before answering quickly.

"Hello?" he said cautiously. Then, "Jin Kazama where the fuck are you?"

"It's—!" Xiaoyu cried as Asuka screeched at the same time, "Put it on speaker phone!"

Hwoarang motioned for them to be quiet and listened for a moment more. "You're where? What the hell? Hang on a sec…" Then he removed the phone from his ear and switched it to speaker so that they could all hear.

"— don't know what happened, if I'm honest," Jin was saying quietly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Scare us?" Xiaoyu shrieked. "Tell us how exactly you think we'd react to seeing you with wings and—"

"WHAT?" Asuka yelled, staring at Xiaoyu.

"Oh, shit…" Jin sounded stricken and horrified. "Please tell me you didn't…"

"Jin, mate, we all saw." Steve glanced at Asuka. "Well, except you're cousin here."

"Asuka?" Jin paused. "I – I don't know how to explain this…"

"Start talking, Kazama," Hwoarang growled at the phone. There was silence for several moments.

"I…there's…I really don't know how to explain." Jin sighed. "Do…do any of you believe in the Devil?"

"…the Devil?" Asuka said eventually, when no one else answered. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well — "

"Jin, is this anything to do with Kazuya Mishima?" Steve interrupted suddenly, frowning deeply. There was a very loud silence following his words.

"H...how did you come to that conclusion?" Jin asked hoarsely.

"Never mind that," Steve said, shaking his head at the questioning looks he was getting from the others. "Just explain."

"Uh...well, yes, it is connected to Kazuya..." Jin seemed to deliberate for a moment. "Basically, there's something called the Devil Gene...and it runs through the Mishima bloodline. But only through the male side. And...it seems that I have...inherited it...from my father." He took a deep breath and continued. "He's been there for my entire life, but he hasn't made himself known until he felt it was the right time to...to possess my body as his own. He's strong...but I can keep him restrained. Sometimes. As you saw, it doesn't always work." Jin paused. "All I have to do now is try and figure out how the fuck to get rid of him, before he takes over completely."

The silence that followed Jin's words was thick with tension. Finally, Hwoarang swallowed.

"So, uh, that was..."

"My Devil form, yes." Jin sighed heavily. "Look, I can't stay on the phone for long...it's not mine. I need to go. I have to try and find a way back."

"Jin..." Asuka started, but she stopped, biting her lip anxiously.

"What?"

"Just...just be careful, okay?"

There was tenderness in Jin's tone as he said "I promise" and hung up. The four of them stared at the phone for a few minutes, no one knowing what to say or do. There were tears in the girls' eyes, and the guys were exchanging worried looks. Suddenly, Xiaoyu started to cry loudly, collapsing in a small pink heap on the floor. Steve went to her and picked her up, holding her gently and murmuring comfortingly in her ear. Hwoarang and Asuka stood side by side awkwardly, not knowing how to react.

"Err..." Hwoarang cleared his throat. "So...you're Jin's cousin?"

Asuka nodded and offered a tiny smile. "Yes. Apparently the only family he now has left, apart from my father."

Hwoarang looked at her curiously. The Japanese girl was keeping up a good front and not crying, like Xiaoyu was, but Hwoarang could still see the pain in her eyes. And not just for her cousin.

"Asuka...is your father okay?"

If Asuka was surprised by Hwoarang's question, she didn't show it. Instead she just shook her head slightly. "No. He was...attacked. That is why I am here, to find the one who injured him and get avenge him. My father..." she stopped, taking a breath to calm herself. "My father will not last long if he does not get proper help. And I cannot lose him."

Hwoarang placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled sympathetically at her. "I understand how you feel. I lost a good friend...some one I used to think of as a brother. I was unable to save him, but I lived with the knowledge that I had at least tried."

Asuka nodded and smiled. "Now we just have to wait for my cousin to arrive back."

Author's Note: Hello, I'm a douche! - I actually wrote that myself…. Yeah… So hello- READ THIS DAMNED STORY IT IS AMAZING AND IF YOU DO NOT I WILL FIND YOU AND CHASE YOU DOWN WITH A British ARMY BROWNING L9A1 AND I WILL KILL YOU. (:

Thanks very much…this is what happens when you write this stuff in your history lesson whilst sitting next to a psychopath.

I take that as a compliment :D

You would! Dear readers, I do apologise most profusely for my friend's uncouth behaviour…but it is rather amusing xD REVIEW PLEASE! ^^