Author's Note: Here's one for the New Year, guys? Did you have a nice Christmas/New Year? :3

Chapter Eleven: Tourniquet

His eyes were red when Yoshimitsu carved his sword up his side. The dealer of the blow did not care for the blood spilt or for the frustrated expression on his face. He swung his sword low, cutting at the man's legs, before raising it up in a circular motion, throwing him off balance. Purple haze emitted from his cursed sword, and as he span forward with a punch and then yet again with another sword swipe, he hummed in approval, aware that he wasn't going to win this match.

But the least he could do was damage the man who'd damaged the world.

He span again, sword at the ready, but it was blocked with ease; and it was when he was face to face with Jin did he notice the strength of the eyes. They were a rich red, almost like blood – and he stared for too long, for they vanished and reappeared with brown as he was thrown away. He landed on his back, and quickly rolled out of the way of a fierce punch to the ground. Now standing again, he span in more circles, kicking low three times before kicking mid again. This kick was parried on instinct, and he was suddenly grabbed by the throat and raised in the air, looking down at a pleased, cruel smirk.

Yoshimitsu clawed at his hands, before using the weapon he had in his hand, stabbing Jin in the wrist. The Japanese tyrant dropped him instantly and retreated, feeling the sword be pulled out slowly. He fell to one knee and looked at the wound, observing how blood drooled out of it and how the wound was just gaping at him, taunting him even. He looked up slightly when the sword was brought into his field of vision, pointing at him, speaking in that creepy, mechanical, aged way, "Power corrupts the purest of souls."

Within a few seconds, the roles had been reversed. It was Yoshimitsu who was on his back, Jin who was standing over him with his opponent's own sword pressed hard against his throat. He grinned, slight fangs bared aggressively, a warning to the Manji Clan Leader who'd been trying to do good over his entire lifetime. Tilting his head back a little, he growled, "Power uplifts the most tainted of men."

He did not stab, and merely allowed the katana to drop, falling sideways due to gravity, now lying across his chest. The 22-year-old stood taller and turned his head to the referee, who immediately began to declare the victor, "Jin Kazama, number seventeen, proceeds to the third round!"

Jin withdrew his ringing, undamaged cellphone from his pocket, noting how it was Lars, and placed it to his ear, also watching the wound on his hand slowly stitch itself up with thanks to the Devil's powers. With a gruff 'yes', he left the arena, heading to the mansion with Nina and Eddy guarding him, keeping a sharp lookout for any potential protestors, attackers or killers.

When he returned to the mansion, Nina and Eddy left him in the care of the Tekken Force patrolling the area. When he returned to the mansion, he was virtually alone. When he returned to the mansion, Razer was in the guest bedroom (that had been designated as Hwoarang's), and she was on the phone talking to him. This irked him more than he let on.

His bedroom was next to the guest one in question, and so, Jin walked in, got changed, and cleaned a few of his scratches whilst listening to the conversation she was having. She'd put her phone on speaker, so he could hear Hwoarang's obnoxious voice also. As they spoke, he observed the wound that Yoshimitsu's sword created, pleased that it had mostly healed up. The scar would be gone by the morning, hopefully.

She was laughing. His eyebrows furrowed immediately – she shouldn't be laughing in there, she should be in here, being sympathetic over his wounds and placing a hand over his to try and make it feel better. In fact, she shouldn't be feeling happy at all – she should be dragged down and upset, like the real Jin was; and there were so many thoughts going through his head now that he didn't quite know what to do, or why he was so annoyed by this.

For a eighteen months I have tried to force you into my image, like you should've been, he seethed, sliding his trench coat off of his shoulders, and yet you continue to rebel against the mould I put in place, he kicked off his shoes and socks and stared at himself angrily in the dresser's mirror, You should fear me. You should obey me. You should hate me, and him. What do I have to do to get you to hate me?

She was suddenly in the reflection, looking at him strangely, a hand on the door frame.

He'd suddenly moved from his position before the mirror and dragged her inside, slamming the door shut and locking it; and he held her against it, holding her jaw, forcing her head to the side, and inquired softly, "Tell me Razer, are you afraid of me?"

You know where this is going to lead, Angel sighed, already curling into herself.

"No."

She was suddenly made to look at him, "Do you always do as I ask? Do you obey me?"

"I'm not a puppet to be lead around on a string," she remarked blankly, "I have my own will. I follow it."

He cocked his head to the side, grinning snidely, "Do you hate me?"

She said nothing. Her mouth was a firm line – part of her screamed yes, part of her screamed no.

"I said," Jin hissed, digging his fingers into her cheeks, "Do you hate me?"

Frustrated and certainly in no mood to take his bullshit, Razer pushed Jin away with as much strength as she could muster. Her eyes were narrowed and her fists were already clenched. She moved into a defensive position, her mind clouded with too many thoughts, just like her partner, "I hate what you do and why you do it, and I hate what you have become! I hate what you have made of him!"

Jin immediately catapulted himself forward with a ready fist, and threw it into her stomach. She managed to block it, but that initial punch was to serve as a distraction. A second one soared into her jaw, and she took several steps back, recoiling. The force of the attack already made her dizzy. She placed a hand to the wound and dodged underneath another, only to trip over the footstool in the room, landing face first on the timber floor.

He rushed towards her and flipped her over. Grabbing her by the front of her shirt, he grinned, enjoying the display, and he murmured, "Good."

A slap across the face, a kick to the side. She didn't fight back.

"You obviously know then that it has been me for this last year and a half," he chuckled, lifting her until she was able to stand on her own two feet. Afterwards, he released the grip on her shirt, "That your dear Jin has finally succumbed to the poison… as he liked to call me," he tilted his head back and looked far off into the distance for a moment, before refocusing on her, "I think this is better, don't you? The devil has come out to play… permanently.

"You should hear him in my head," he laughed, "My head, now, it is my head… Would you like to listen?" Refusing to take 'no' for an answer, he seized her right hand and placed it against his face, making her stroke his cheek for a moment, before forcing her fingers to press against his temple, as they had done to each other numerous times before, so they could hear and see and feel. He shut his eyes, "Listen to him. Listen."

Angel was quickly building a fort around Razer's mind, forcing both Devil and Jin out, No poison will seep into my master. I won't allow it.

The wall that she'd built so far was cleaved in two by Devil's own voice, as it echoed through all of their minds, You won't allow poison to seep through? You won't allow it? You amuse me, Angel. You amuse me so much. I am not poison – I am salvation.

Angel exhaled and looked around Razer's mind, looking for her consciousness. When she realised that her eyes were closed and that she was standing entirely still, she realised she'd been sucked into Jin's mind and was seeing into him just as he'd seen into her during her own nightmares.

She was standing in an entirely black room, not seeing a floor but still standing. There was a single, white light casting down on Jin's form, the one she knew and remembered, with the gentle, chocolate brown eyes and darker coloured skin. It was still pale, though, but not as pale as it was in the real world. His eyes were barely open, he was suspended in mid air, and chains were holding him both up and down from all sides.

The chains were like the ones she used to have around her arms, but had since broken free from. The chains were like the ones she saw on Jin's arms when he was physically in Devil's form, with the red eyes, the fangs and the markings. The fact that Devil could exist in the outside world and not hold all of these characteristics made her realise that where as she succeeded in holding her off, and where as Kazuya succeeded in gaining control, Jin had lost his defences, and with it, the internal war.

She strained to hear him sobbing softly. She strained further to hear that the weak sobbing, the sobbing that had so much vulnerability in it, was in fact words, two words that were whispered over and over again, even as he looked around; seeing her but not quite seeing her, staring at her but staring through her, knowing she was there but not knowing, "Help me."

Get out of there, Angel commanded.

She took several steps forward, eventually breaking into a run. There had to be some way to make him see that she was seriously here, that he could still get out, even though it looked completely helpless, even though it felt as though the poison that was the devil within had seeped into every corner of his mind, body and soul, "Jin, I'm here… Please, fight back."

The link was severed by both Angel and Devil. Angel had dragged Razer away, Devil had pulled her hand from his head and began to squeeze it tightly, until it hurt. She was then thrown to his right, into various furniture and then, she eventually fell to the ground, rubbing her thigh. He took several steps towards her and hissed, "Go on then, stand up. Fight back for him."

She swept her leg across the ground, knocking him over, and jumped to her feet again, dizzily holding her head and slipping into stance simultaneously. Her movements were sluggish when he stood and threw punch after punch and kick after kick. Some attacks were blocked, others weren't, and there was blood coming out of her nose at an annoying rate after a fierce punch to it.

Razer managed to strike him in the chest with her knee at one point, before grabbing the footstool she'd tripped over earlier and slamming it into Jin's side. He stumbled back several feet, a hand pressed against the wounded area; and, angry and annoyed, he came forward, grabbed her face, and slammed the back of her head into the wall opposite. He was infuriated. Absolutely infuriated.

"What are you trying to be?" he asked curiously, stroking hair away from her face, glaring into her green eyes, "His tourniquet? Are you trying to stop me from spreading further? Well let me tell you this, dear, you are far too late for that…" A hand was at her side, and his nails were digging into her flesh, "Are you trying to be the person who sets him free? Because you will not be that, either… His soul cries for deliverance, because he's forced to watch me live through his body… and that is not a life," he threw her to the ground and shook his head angrily, "That is not a life. I know the woman inside of you feels the same."

The statement did not escape her, but she still immediately countered, "At least I treat her with dignity and respect, just as she does to me. Perhaps you should do the same to your host, because it certainly won't hurt to at least try it."

There was a knee on her chest, and his hand was at her throat, gripping it tightly, digging his nails in. She was already beginning to become dizzy, even as she tried to get more air into her body and trying to break his grip. She heard him speak, "You are lucky that you do not have a family I can kill…"

She said nothing, but she was lifted by the throat and tossed numerous feet away and onto the bed. His blood was boiling, and Razer inhaled as much air in as possible once her body did leave his hand. She placed a hand to her head, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on, and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get a hold of herself.

Jin approached her, arms folded across his chest, and looked down on her. He sneered, before turning away and leaving to go and have some dinner, "Oh… My mistake. You do."