Chapter 11
"What the hell-"
"Just listen to me first-"
"Where the hell did you-"
The sound of frantic footsteps made them both bite on their tongues. Jin whipped his head in the direction of the sound and panic filled her at the thought of someone coming across her and Jin.
God, if it was a photographer then she would never hear the end of this. It'd be one thing to have to fight alongside each other. It was another completely if she was caught associating with him in her free time. Memories of her being accused of consorting with the man who destroyed so many lives flashed to the forefront of her mind.
She had to get out of here, but he was in her way.
"Move!" she hissed, gripping his jacket to push him away, but was taken aback when he pushed her into the wall. Reeling from the impact, she slid to the ground. Her throbbing skull only added to her ire.
"Son of a bi-"
A hand covered her mouth, effectively muffling the string of obscenities she was prepared to throw. Jin had knelt on the ground beside her, his hand the one that had silenced her.
"Quiet," he said under his breath and, naturally, she wasn't willing to oblige. But before she could let her displeasure be known, an unfamiliar voice said, "Seems like we lost her."
Her body went rigid and the aggressive words died a quick death in her throat.
"I think we were too obvious," said a different voice, accompanied by the sounds of a few footsteps. "Maybe that's why she was running in circles."
Despite the ardent desire to flee the scene, despite the anxiety over whether she would be spotted or not, Asuka went out of her way to make sure her breathing was slow.
Because, more than anything else, she wasn't keen on showing Jin any more weakness than she had already.
And it didn't really help that he was as aloof as always.
"Well, she can't have gone far."
"But she could've gone anywhere from here."
There was a moment of silence that in Asuka's anxious mind seemed to drag on forever. It brought to her attention that his hand was still over her mouth and that their shoulders were pressed together. Becoming increasingly uncomfortable, she desperately wanted those two strangers to leave so she could put as much distance as was possible between herself and Jin.
A hush had settled in the alleyway, but she was certain both of her pursuers were still there. She wasn't sure if it was quiet enough for them to be able to hear her breathing, but she didn't want to take any chances and held her breath anyway.
The seconds marched on, ever so slowly, and Asuka's lungs began to burn…
… when, suddenly, a crashing sound echoed from elsewhere. The sound was loud and abrupt so Asuka couldn't help but jump in surprise. She ended up releasing her breath as well but her nerves were too frayed for her to worry about blowing their cover.
Fortunately, it seemed that the attention of her pursuers was also elsewhere and her gasp went unnoticed.
"Hey! I think she went that way!" called a faint voice, followed by rapid steps.
"You sure it wasn't a cat?" said the other. But, despite his scepticism, she heard him rush off after the other man.
Oh, thank God…
Without wasting any time, she pushed off Jin's hand and shoved herself to her feet in her attempt to get away from him. Catching sight of the back door, she made a beeline for it. With a speed that she was known to possess, she pulled the door open by the handle, rushed in and shut the door behind her.
"Oh God!" she cried out, leaning against the wall of the storage and slumping her shoulders. It was miraculous, what had just happened. She was sure that she'd be caught then.
While she was considering dropping to her knees and praising the heavens, the sound of a lock clicking in place brought her back to the present. She turned her head and caught sight of Jin, his back towards her and his fingers curled around the backdoor's lock. She didn't even notice him coming in…
Stepping away from the door, he turned to face her while he reached for the cap of his hoodie.
"As I was saying," he said, tugging the cap so that it fell and fully revealed his face and hair. "I need to talk to you."
She was speechless for a few seconds, the situation feeling way too surreal for her. She never considered the possibility of him approaching her. But here he was, doing exactly that.
And instead of feeling relieved or elated...
"Tough luck. I don't want to talk to you," were the words that came out of her mouth. She then turned on her heel and made her way to the other end of the room just to reinforce that statement.
Right then she felt that she didn't care if this talk could have been beneficial to the both of them. All she cared about was that she wanted to stick it to him for how much he had pissed her off, and this was one way of doing it.
Surprisingly, she felt his hand grab her shoulder with the intent of stopping her in her tracks.
"I thought you wanted to talk this entire time," she heard him say. "Why are you backing out now?"
Incensed, she shook off his hand with as much force as she could muster. The move resulted in her turning around and now they both were staring each other down.
"Why should I tell you?" she seethed, her fists clenching unconsciously. "I'm just following your example! You made it perfectly clear that you wanted nothing to do with me!"
"Well, I changed my mind," he rebutted. "And I refuse to believe you're willing to just give up that easily."
Well, that was certainly the wrong fucking thing to say.
"First off, you're a hypocrite. Secondly, you really think I'd keep hunting you down after what you did?! After you almost strangled me?! I'm not braindead, asshole!"
While her tone was just as vicious, her volume was controlled this time. It was partially due to the possibility that someone could be listening in, but it was mostly because she felt like she was on an equal plane with him this way.
She didn't fail to notice how composed he was during that tense moment. Even now, he acted like nothing fazed him, nothing could touch him. The only time he didn't appear like that was when and after he tried to kill her. Regardless, if she couldn't elicit an emotion from him then she would no longer give him the pleasure of knowing that he frustrated her.
It also helped that she was still recovering from the almost-panic-attack and was relatively calmer than usual.
"I wasn't trying to kill you," he said, his hand massaging his forehead in his first display of frustration. "If you would just let me explain-"
"Oh yeah! So, this–" Asuka unzipped her jacket till her collarbone, exposing the bruises that stretched across her neck. "–is just because of rough play, is that it?!"
His face became slightly pale when his eyes wandered to her neck. "I… I didn't realise…"
"Just shut up," she demanded as she rezipped her jacket, her patience wearing thin. "Every word you say just makes me wanna punch you."
She could see frustration blooming across his features but his voice was colourless when he ran his fingers through his hair and said, "Of course, you have to make this difficult…"
The glare she sent him was smouldering.
"Don't you even dare!" she barked, pointing a finger at him accusingly. "Don't talk as if you know me! You don't know jack shit!"
"I could say the same to you," he replied, a scarce amount of venom present in his words.
"Oh yeah? Well, the time to play nice ended a long time ago," she scoffed, making to turn around. "You can't expect any sane person to tolerate your bi-polar-"
"Please!"
Her legs stopped. She was stuck halfway through her turn, unsure of why she wasn't leaving.
Why did she stop?
Was it because of that word? Or was it his tone?
"Please… what do you want me to do?" he asked (or maybe beseeched) her. "Tell me what I could do to get you to listen to me and I'll do it."
If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that he sounded like he actually cared. She kept her gaze off of him, but she was considering his question.
What did she want him to do?
Maybe it was because she wasn't as angry as before, maybe it was because of the imploring persona he had adopted, but the usual replies of 'Eat shit' and 'Kill yourself' didn't pop into her head at all.
What could he do? Now that he was showing that things did affect him, what did she want from him now?
"… You could apologise."
Really?
"… You could apologise for making me waste so much of my time… and for ignoring me and dismissing me," she elaborated, before pointing at her covered neck. "And for this."
There was a moment of stillness wherein she still refused to look at him. Normally, she wouldn't expect any sort of remorse or swallowing of pride from the asshole, but today she didn't know what to expect.
She heard him shift, heard the scrapping of cloth against asphalt, and she could not help but look at him.
He was on his knees, his hands on his thighs and his eyes shielded from view by his dark locks. She was paralysed as he sighed, prostrated and placed his hands on the floor in front of his head.
Absolutely unbelievable…
"I apologise," he said, unmoving "You are right. I have no right to demand anything from you. I disrespected you by disregarding you... and I caused you serious harm as well. And for all of that, I sincerely apologise."
He resorted to effing… What the actual hell…?
What was she supposed to say to that? She had no idea what to do… What the hell was he playing at?! Why wasn't she saying anything?! Do something!
Unbelievable… damn it all… what even… how could he…
"Shit," she swore, too overwhelmed to form any other word. She stomped her foot, ruffled her hair, mumbled a million curses, and he still stayed in the same damn position that had essentially killed her brain.
Eventually, she decided enough was enough and slapped herself hard. Her cheek was stinging but she was brought out of the frenzy that she was in. She took in the sight of him and said "Get up. Just… get up!"
He got to his feet and Asuka huffed. So much for not showing emotion… but to be fair, who would have seen that coming?!
She expected him to speak, but his mouth didn't even twitch. Was he waiting for her to talk? What the hell was wrong with him today? It was as if he became a totally different person…
"Just…" she began, annoyed by his stare, "Just… Fine."
The brown of his eyes seemed to brighten at that and she couldn't comprehend it.
"You're not excused for all the shit that you did but…" she groaned in frustration before finishing "I'll listen to what you have to say."
If he was happy about it, he certainly didn't show it. But she did notice that his posture had, for the first time, eased slightly.
"Thank you," he said, his voice lighter than before.
"But you better listen to what I have to say too or I'm just walking out on you!" she added, folding her arms.
He nodded in response and pulled on his hood. "But we can't do so here…"
He walked past her, indicating with his hand that she follow him. Asuka hesitated briefly, asking herself how she had gotten to this point.
The image of Jin kneeling before her flashed briefly in her mind, as if in answer, and she shook her head fiercely, making to follow him.
"Welcome, Sir," said the waitress with a smile.
"Thanks," Leo replied, her gaze sweeping through whatever tables she could see from her position. "Um… table for one?"
"Ah, right away," she said, smiling as she gestured at Leo to follow her. She stayed a few steps behind from the waitress, subtly adjusting the brown locks of her wig to better disguise her face.
As much as her androgynous features caused confusion, they were equally useful for when she needed to disguise herself. But even if she made sure she looked completely different from her usual getup, there was a thought in the back of her mind that was sure she'd be spotted and exposed.
Reminding herself to relax and be casual, she eventually caught sight of her target. Sitting alone at a table for two near a Greek-inspired statue of a woman, her chestnut hair was peeking out from a large, droopy hat. It did little to disguise her bored expression.
Leo was quick in finding a table an appropriate distance from her mark, which conveniently was free. As she sat down in her chair and received the menu from the waitress, Leo pretended to peruse through it while keeping her attention on the woman a few tables away.
It was almost miraculous that she had even caught a whiff of this meeting, but Leo was pretty good at taking advantage of opportunities, even if she wasn't quite as good at leaving with the spoils unscathed.
However, this mission was low-risk compared to what she had been doing as of late. All she had to do was act inconspicuous and blend into the crowd.
She considered herself an expert in that regard, yet she felt a bead of sweat swell on her forehead. And she couldn't blame it on the restaurant's air conditioning.
The target's posture straightened suddenly, and Leo had to stop herself from doing the same. Instead, she swept her gaze around the area again to catch sight of a familiar face. She didn't have to search for long.
Sure enough, the man was just as imposing in semi-formal attire as he was in fighting gear. His expression was not entirely clear due to the sunglasses he wore. The woman Leo had her eye on raised her hand slightly to grab his attention and, sure enough, he made a beeline for her table.
Leo patted her fake bangs unconsciously.
"Bruce," said the woman as her partner sat across her.
"Anna," said the man as he took off his glasses. Leo found herself leaning towards their table slightly, wanting to hear every word they spoke.
"You know I hate that damn hat," Irvin scoffed, picking up the menu. Because the brunette sat with her back to Leo, it was impossible to tell what sort of face Williams made.
"And you know I hate that awful cologne," Williams said in rebuttal, the edges of her hat flapping as she shook her head. "Nice to know nothing's changed."
Irvin gave her a sneer before reading the menu. "Clearly. I wouldn't have wasted my hard-earned money on a showy place like this."
"Yes, if it was up to you we'd be having Subway all the damn time," Williams retorted, her head tilting so that she was staring at the menu on the table. "God knows how you don't have any flab with your diet."
"Jealousy doesn't look good on you, Williams."
"Sleep with one eye open tonight, Irvin."
Small talk… uggggghhhhhh…
"As funny as this is, I don't think you invited me here just to talk shit to my face," Irvin said, peering at Williams from behind the menu. "You got something to discuss?"
"You've always had a knack for stating the obvious," Williams gibed in a neutral tone. "But yes, I do."
Leo perked up at the sound of that. Irvin stared at Williams expectantly, to which she eventually replied with "After I've had a drink."
"Don't let me get in the way," Irvin said, searching through his menu again. Leo's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
Asuka ended up following Jin in silence, though she wasn't entirely sure of the tone. It was somehow awkward, comfortable, and tense at the same time. Or maybe at separate times?
Either way, it was pretty silent.
The both of them had reached the hotel near the arena when Asuka voiced a question that had popped into her head. "Don't tell me… You've been in here the entire time?"
The idea that she and Xiaoyu essentially combed the entire city to find him, only for him to be hiding out exactly where she had been sleeping made her want to tear her hair out.
Jin wasn't quick to reply but, to Asuka's surprise, he did eventually reply with a "Not exactly."
She raised an eyebrow at that. Before she could open her mouth to inquire more, Jin murmured "I'll answer your questions soon."
"Well you haven't got the greatest track record so far," she countered, rolling her eyes. He didn't say anything and instead gestured to a door with the words 'EMERGENCY EXIT' on it. She took a few steps to it before Jin blocked her path with his arm.
"1507," he said under his breath when she raised a furrowed eyebrow at him. "Take the elevator."
"What?" she exclaimed. A few people in the area looked at her and she saw Jin close his eyes as if praying for patience. Ugh…
"Keep your voice down. And it's for the sake of anonymity."
"You're just going to walk off? How do I know you're not just going to ditch me?" she hissed. "You can't expect me to trust you aft-"
"I gave you my room number."
"It could be a fake!"
"Oh my G- Why are you suddenly so paranoid?!"
"It's your own fault, acting like a shady thug!"
"I cannot believe-"
"Let me handle this."
A new voice spoke up and a hand gripped her shoulder forcefully, making her jump in her place. Jin and Asuka both looked at the newcomer.
"You!" Asuka exclaimed impulsively, recognising the woman almost instantly.
"Me," she replied tonelessly, rolling her eyes. "Seems like I'll have to associate with you some more. Joy…"
"First off, don't touch me," the brunette said, trying to pry the woman's hand off her shoulder. "And second, what are you even doing here?"
"I would love to say 'None of your business' but I can't. I'm just here to help Jin."
"Why would you want to help hi-"
As she turned to gesture to the man in question, it occurred to her finally that he had disappeared.
"Wha- what the hell? He just ditched me! The son of a bi-"
"Come on," the woman ordered, walking leisurely to the elevator on the other side.
"Screw that! He'll just disappear again! I'm not about to let him get away from me this time…!"
Her tirade and march toward the stairs were both interrupted when the blonde grabbed her arm again, applying an obscene amount of force.
"Ow!" Asuka exclaimed in pain.
"Come with me right now," the woman ordered, her grip only tightening by the minute. She then proceeded to drag Asuka by her arm to the elevator, ignoring the brunette's cries of "Alright! Alright! Ease up!"
Once they made it in, the woman let go of Asuka's arm and pressed the button for the fifteenth floor. Asuka wasted no time in massaging her arm. She winced from the pain and glared at the blonde. When the elevator started moving the woman leaned against one of the walls and folded her arms and Asuka made sure to put as much distance between them as she could in such a tiny space.
"Oh, grow up," she said without looking at the brunette. "You should have listened to me if you didn't want to get hurt."
"Why do you have to be such a bitch about it?" Asuka swore. "I don't even know you!"
"I'm just doing my job," she replied. "Don't take it personally."
Asuka decided to stop talking to her then, caring for her arm and trying to subtly wipe her eyes. It wasn't even evening yet and she was already tired.
God damn blondes…
The elevator doors eventually opened and Asuka let the woman leave first, making sure there were about two meters of distance between them before she stepped out too. It didn't take long at all to find room 1507 and Asuka didn't waste any time barging into said room, disregarding all wariness in favour of ire and exhaustion.
The room was not that different from Asuka's own, perhaps the only difference being a different arrangement of furniture and no windows. Jin was in the room, leaning against the wall, and Asuka was both relieved that he hadn't ditched her like she thought and irritated just because it was him.
She was then shoved into the room further, no doubt by the bitch from before. While Asuka was stumbling, the blonde had shut the door without entering the room herself. Asuka turned toward the door and sent her a glare through the wood, hoping it would somehow reach her and burn her face off.
"I would have preferred she not be so rough," came Jin's voice from behind her. Asuka growled to herself, clutching her forehead with one hand.
"I'd really like to know what crawled up her ass and died."
"Nina's methods are not ideal but she gets the job done. And she's the reason we can meet comfortably right now without anyone pursuing us," Jin replied, stepping away from the wall. She wondered if this was true, and she was reminded of how they were only able to get away because of a loud crashing. Maybe that's what he was referencing.
But it didn't matter to her at the moment.
"Yeah, and I dunno if I'd call this comfortable," she snapped, automatically. Jin closed his eyes and sighed.
"Have a seat, please. I won't keep you long, I promise."
Of course, the fact that he said the word 'promise' didn't mean anything to her. But she wouldn't pass up a chance to relax after the afternoon she just had. She decided to plop herself on a plush chair in the corner.
"So, what is it that you wanna talk about?" she asked, crossing her arms and legs while Jin placed a chair opposite to, and a few feet away from, her.
"Quite a lot of things," he replied, slouching in his chair with his hands interlaced under his nose, his arms propped on his knees. "I guess we'll mostly just answer each other's questions for now. Within a certain limit of course…"
"Limit?"
"If one of us is not comfortable with answering a question, then they don't have to. Personally speaking, I'd prefer no answer over a false answer. Agreed?"
"Fine," Asuka agreed, thoughtlessly. "Do I get to go first?"
"I suppose it's only fair," Jin nodded.
"Great," she remarked.
Where to even begin?
And ultimately, the first thing that popped up in her mind was also the first thing that left her mouth.
"Why did you start a war?"
Jin blinked, appearing stunned by the question. "I'm sorry… how is that relevant to–"
"Oh, it's hella relevant," she affirmed, squaring her shoulders. "Now answer me."
Instead of answering, he began massaging his forehead with both hands. Asuka raised an eyebrow.
"Let's just say I had my reasons," he told her, dropping his hands.
"That isn't an answer."
"Well, it's the only answer you'll be getting. Take it or leave it."
She huffed exaggeratedly. "Fine, then I guess I'll just continue thinking you're a douchebag who wants to see the world burn."
"Fine by me," Jin replied coolly, entirely unfazed by her attempt to get more out of him. She felt her eyebrow twitch.
"Alright then, why'd you try to kill me?"
"I wasn't trying to kill you," he repeated.
"And I already said that was bullshit," she snapped at him. It got no reaction from him.
"I'm standing by my statement."
Asuka groaned in annoyance. She regretted agreeing to his rules now…
"Anything else?" he asked.
"Yeah!" she exclaimed, leaning forward in her seat. "Where were you this entire time I was looking for you?"
"… I wasn't really in one place," Jin revealed after a small pause. "I kept moving from here to there. You both were close to finding me on a few occasions… but I took steps to make sure you didn't."
Alright, so he wasn't going to dodge every question. Perhaps this won't be as annoying as she thought.
"So, you weren't in this room the entire time?" she said, gesturing around said room.
"This is the first time I'm making use of this room," he said. "I've been avoiding this place, but today I figured it was the best place to have this conversation."
His statement reminded her of what Leo said yesterday about the rooms having cameras and, in Leo's case, bugs. She believed Leo, so there was a possibility that this room wasn't really safe. But then she reminded herself that she didn't give a shit if his privacy was threatened.
"Alright, fine. Can I ask why you felt the need to avoid me in the first place?" she asked, her posture relaxing. Jin avoided her gaze then.
"The answer isn't really straightforward," he said. "There were multiple reasons I was avoiding you, though I suppose the main two reasons were that I barely knew you… and the company you were keeping."
"Company?" she repeated, confused. "What does company have to do with this?"
"… I can't really say…" he said with a little uncertainty.
"What even–" she stopped herself then, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Never mind. I don't care."
"Is that it then?"
Asuka thought about it for a few seconds before shaking her head. "One last question."
Of course, she had a million other things to ask, but she figured it was best to keep to the point. After all, she didn't want to spend more time with him than necessary.
He gave her an expectant stare in reply.
"… Why did you decide to approach me all of a sudden?"
The one thing that had been weighing on her head since they had met today. She believed in beating sense into people, but this change of heart seemed a bit too… bullshitty.
"Ah," Jin let out, appearing at a loss for words.
"I'm not letting you evade this one," Asuka added. "And I don't want some bullshit answer either. You said you'd tell the truth."
"That I did…" he sighed, running his hand over his face. He looked straight at her, meeting her stern gaze with his own stoic one. "… I decided to approach you because I'm curious about you now."
Asuka was taken aback by that statement, her face going slack.
That… sounded really creepy, especially coming from him…
"And, I suppose, I realised that I won't be able to stay in the tournament unless I co-operated with you," Jin continued, moving past Asuka's surprise. "And, more so than any other tournament, I wish to stay in the running. Does this answer suffice?"
"Uh… yeah sure," she said, recovering from her surprise now and making a mental note to never let her guard down around him.
"Great. Then you wouldn't mind if I asked a few things?"
She nodded absentmindedly, sincerely hoping he didn't say or do anything else that could potentially give her a heart attack. Two surprises were good enough for one day.
"How do you know Xiaoyu?"
She blinked. His tone sounded serious… well, more so than usual. "Um, I don't… really know her… to be honest."
His gaze narrowed ever so slightly. What the hell was he implying there?
"Listen, we go to the same school. We're just acquaintances. That's what I was trying to say," she defended, sitting up straight. "She came to me herself and insisted that she'd help me look for you… or maybe it was the other way around…"
Jin's face was in his hand halfway through her words, saying something to himself. His voice was muffled so it came out incomprehensible, but the exasperation was evident.
"Hm?" Asuka hummed, hoping for clarification.
"Never mind that," he dismissed, straightening his posture. "It's not important… How did you end up coming across me yesterday? Did someone tip you off?"
God, now it really felt like she was being interrogated. This whole situation was starting to rub her the wrong way.
"I just… happened across you," Asuka shrugged, pressing her back against the chair. "No one really told me you were there, and I wasn't even expecting to find you."
Jin looked unconvinced. "You and Nina must have met before, right?"
She scoffed at the memory of Nina insulting her after Hwoarang and Xiaoyu's fight.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'," he said.
"Please tell me that's all you wanted to know," she said, resisting the urge to tug at her hair.
"Just a few more," he said in response before settling into brief silence. "… How exactly are we related?"
"Eh?" she let out, tilting her head.
"Do you know what our exact relation is if we're even related at all?" he elaborated. She pursed her lips in thought.
"… Well, now that I think about it, I don't really know. I know we're related because my Dad told me, but I just assumed we were cousins or something…"
"Your father?" he asked. "What's his name?"
"What's your Dad's name?" she shot back.
That shut him up.
"… Forgive me."
Damn it! She hoped he never found out how much that word got to her.
As casually as she could, she replied with "Don't worry about it."
She didn't really think he was capable of worrying about others, so her statement kind of felt useless.
"Last question for me…" said Jin, looking like he was in heavy thought. And it ended up unnerving her just a bit.
"Take your time," she responded with a slight strain in her voice. What kind of question was he going spring on her now?
Soon enough, he met eyes with her again and she forced her muscles to relax. He then asked in a clear voice "Do you… believe in the supernatural?"
Her eyebrows raised themselves of their own accord. She honestly could not say she expected that. It made… no sense coming from him.
"… You mean, like spirits?" she queried, uncertainly.
"I mean anything supernatural," he elaborated. "Anything and everything that can't be explained through conventional means. Spirits, magic, monsters–" his lips twitched "–or… people having special powers."
He stared at her searchingly on the last one. "So, yes or no?"
A weird ass question, for sure, and she couldn't really tell how any sort of answer would be to his advantage. And, they had agreed to this question-answer session so she might as well answer honestly.
"I do," she nodded. "I mean, I don't believe in superpowers or magic but I believe in spirits."
He only hummed in thought, averting his gaze again. "Well, you haven't alleviated my suspicions entirely but I suppose this is a decent start."
"Well, I'm still suspicious of you," she told him, narrowing her gaze slightly. "But, I guess this is better than nothing."
"Regardless of pre-existing opinions, let's try to keep this partnership civil," he said with a sigh. "For the sake of our goals if nothing else."
Thinking of her dad, she straightened her posture and responded with a simple, toneless "Sure" before following up with "Knowing you though, there'll be 'ifs' and 'buts' all over our agreement though."
He grimaced at that and she felt a brief spike of elation.
"Well… because of my earlier actions, I'm willing to compromise on a few things," he said, his expression firm. "And of course, I'll be expecting the same from you."
"Not like I did anything wrong though," Asuka said, rolling her eyes.
"No… you did assault me out of nowhere," Jin rebutted calmly, eliciting shock from her.
"What?! Hey, listen, you had it coming for the way you were acting!"
"Well, technically, what you did isn't exactly right either, but–" he interrupted her when she opened her mouth to retaliate "–I know better than to ask for an apology. I'll just be satisfied if we can come to agreeable terms regarding our partnership."
Asshole tried to strangle her and now he wanted an apology. Unbelievable…
"You know what, I'm tired already so let's just get these terms over and done with," she said wearily, running her hand down her face. He nodded.
"I will agree to train with you as often in the week as you'd like, provided I get to choose the place… and that you tell no one about this."
"Fine."
"And I mean, no one," he stressed. "Especially Xiaoyu."
She brought herself out of her exhaustion-driven stupor, giving him a puzzled look. "But why? She's been looking for you too, and she told me you were school friends. Don't you at least want to–"
"No," he declared, his tone conveying finality. "You will not tell her you met me and that we now train together, nor will you give her any hint as to how to find me. I refuse to negotiate on this."
She swallowed the irritated groan that was rising in her throat. "Fine, I promise I won't tell anyone."
He eyed her sceptically. She returned his look with a glare of her own. He sighed and muttered something to himself that she didn't quite catch.
"Alright, then I guess we have ourselves a deal," he said, nodding once.
"Great," she said, joylessly. A thought then occurred to her and she quickly spoke up again. "Hey! How am I supposed to contact you? A number would be nice if you have one."
He regarded her for a few seconds before his eyes lit up and he rummaged in the pockets of his pants, procuring a small yet sleek black phone.
Oh, thank God…
"Perfect!" she exclaimed, relieved. She then pulled out her own phone from the pocket of her jacket. "Give me your number."
"Um…" Jin let out uncertainly as he tapped on his phone's screen. "I think it's better if I ask for yours."
"Nope, tell me yours," she refused. He didn't say a word, let alone a number, and she got impatient. "What, don't know your own number?"
The silence after that question was self-explanatory.
"Uh, okay then… I'll just give you mine," she trailed off awkwardly, choosing not to harp on this.
After giving him her number and making him call her without delay just so she could save his number too, she felt somewhat satisfied. Sure, the day had its setbacks and annoyances (seriously, she seemed to attract all sorts of jerk-asses) but this conversation really helped her feel better about a lot of things.
Hell, winning certainly didn't feel like a stretch at this point.
Jin seemed more relaxed too, though God knows how she got that feeling with the way he closed himself off from the rest of the world.
Eventually, Nina arrived through the door sporting her usual resting bitch face. Jin looked up immediately, his posture visibly relaxing at the sight of her.
"Report," Nina said, curtly. She inclined her head toward Asuka and Jin nodded. Asuka wasn't really sure what that meant.
Jin then turned to the brunette and said, "You're free to go now."
A nice way of saying GTFO.
Of course, a part of her wanted to know what they were going to talk about, but the dominant part of her that didn't want to spend too much time in a room with Jin and Nina was the one that she listened to in the end.
"'kay," she drawled, standing up and stretching before locking eyes with Jin one last time. "Ditch me and I swear I'll hunt you down, partner."
"It won't have to come to that," Jin reassured her, though she wasn't reassured in the slightest.
"I'll believe it when I see it," she declared, deciding she'd dragged this on long enough before heading for the door. She made sure to push past Nina with her shoulder as she did. Now, it was time to go back to her room for a really early nap.
But once she got into the hallway and turned around to close the door, she caught a glimpse of something she had missed.
A purple, flame-accented hoodie.
A forgotten memory rushed back into her mind and she put two and two together.
"Wait–!"
The door slammed itself shut, Asuka's nose avoiding the collision by inches. Her cry was paid no heed.
By the time Williams had gotten her drink, Leo had ordered herself some food too. It was a plain salad with no dressings whatsoever, chosen simply because it was the cheapest thing on the menu. She didn't mind the bland taste too much, seeing as she didn't come here for the food in the first place.
She munched on her salad as quietly as possible, to both stimulate her bored mind and to make sure she didn't miss any important information. So far, Williams and Irvin were just exchanging casual insults and engaging in useless, boring small talk.
Really, it was taking actual willpower to stay in her seat instead of ambushing them and demanding information upfront. That's how grating their conversation was.
Soon enough, however, her patience was rewarded as she caught the word "Kazuya" from the air, carried over from her targets' table. She curbed the instinct to sit up attentively, instead choosing to mentally focus solely on Williams and Irvin's voices.
"–been bored as hell up in his Fortress of Solitude. Nothing really gets him going anymore apart from following up on the old bastard," Irvin informed, leaning back in his chair.
"Really now?" Williams asked, propping her head on her hand. "You know, I was just joking when I said not to have fun when I'm gone."
"Please," Irvin jeered. "Things were on the down roll way before you resigned. You're nothing special, Anna."
Wait… Wasn't Anna Williams at G-Corp?
"So, is he alright?" asked the brunette, completely brushing off his insult. Irvin dropped the sneer he had on his face, instead sporting a more sombre look.
"I'm going to be honest… this is the worst I've ever seen him. He's just restless as hell. Ever since the old bastard popped back, he's just been on edge 24/7."
Williams lowered her head. "Huh."
"Although," Irvin continued. "He's changed just a bit when he got that call."
Williams looked at Irvin, her expression still a mystery.
"Don't get me wrong, he's still lost in thought most of the time. It's just that, it feels different. It's like he was brooding before, but he's… thinking now."
Williams groaned at that, massaging her forehead with one hand. "God, I hope not. For everyone's sakes. He has to be the worst planner I know."
"Yeah, but then we'd have to deal with him being spontaneous," Irvin said, making a weary face. "I honestly don't know which is worse."
"Well when you put it like that, I suppose it's good that he's thinking. It's the lesser of two evils."
"And that has to be the most ironic thing I've heard all day."
"Or potentially the most fitting."
"Damn, you've got me there Anna."
Leo drummed her fingers on the table out of impatience and tried to keep a frown off her face. Hearing these two talk about Kazuya like they were friends left a really sour taste in her mouth.
Kazuya Mishima wasn't deserving of any sympathy when he was a murderer. It was the very definition of wrong.
Give me something to work with, damn it!
Irvin and Williams settled into silence, Irvin's smile slowly fading away. Williams inclined her head to her left before she spoke up. "Bruce, what do you suppose he's going to do now?"
Irvin shrugged his shoulders as he sipped his drink.
"I mean, I know he's not really the most predictable person, but he must have told you something," she implored, shifting her gaze toward him again.
"He's not gonna kill himself, Anna," Irvin joked. Or maybe he was serious. Leo couldn't really tell with him.
"He couldn't ever, I know. He already died a long time ago."
"You know what I think?" Irvin said, putting his drink down and leaning toward Williams. His expression was incredibly serious. "I think you made a smart choice by leaving. There's nothing of value from staying with him, Anna. You should take care of yourself and just forget him."
Williams bristled at this.
"You're coming off as a massive hypocrite, you know that Bruce? Why do you stay with him then?" she asked, angrily.
"Because I have nothing else apart from this," he professed. "Not to mention, I'm not expecting anything from Kazuya. You're different from me."
"I wasn't expecting anything from him."
"You're not her, Anna. And I don't know why you'd want to be anyway. Her story didn't well."
Were they speaking in codes now? This all seemed so cryptic.
"Bruce, just shut up," she finally snapped. "You don't know what you're talking about. I'm allowed to care about him just as much as you."
Neither of them spoke after that. Their silence was so tense Leo could feel the heavy air all the way over from where she sat. Irvin shifted in his seat, adopting a casual sitting stance.
"I just meant that you can do better than us old men," he said, resting one arm on the table. "But, I suppose I shouldn't have assumed anything."
"Damn right you shouldn't have," Williams retorted, her tone still annoyed. Irvin ran a hand over his face.
"Jesus, Anna," he exclaimed with a sigh. "Fine, just so you don't go walking out before we've even had food, I'll let you in on something."
Williams' hat almost fell off her head from how quickly she turned her head. Leo also had to curb her excitement at the prospect of useful information.
"The old bastard wants Kazuya to be his partner in the tournament," Irvin disclosed to her. "And I think there's a good chance Kazuya's gonna take up his offer."
"He can't be serious," Williams growled. "Shouldn't he know by now? Whenever they're even in the same room, it never ends well!"
"He's not that stupid, Anna. He's gotta know what he's getting into," Irvin said sternly. "Besides, I still think Kazuya can handle himself just fine. The old bastard's only getting older by the day."
"As if that'll be a setback," she scoffed. "But… God knows stubbornness runs in the family."
Irvin let out a short but harsh laugh. "True that. Guess all we can do now is wait and see. So, can we go back to unimportant topics like your stupid hat?"
"After I order some food," Williams said, raising her hand to flag down a passing waiter. Irvin rolled his eyes, a slight smile on his face.
Well, I suppose I learned something…
Kazuya Mishima in the tournament, huh? That may just be to her advantage. She considered whether to stick around here further, considering what Irvin said, but Leo was nothing if not thorough. Even if she had to sit through more small-talk, she didn't want to run the risk of missing something important.
Bored of the bland taste of her salad, Leo picked the menu to see what else she could enjoy in the meantime.
Waking up from her nap a few hours later, it took a while for everything to fall into place in Asuka's mind. She was rubbing her eyes when she recalled her meeting with Jin and she wondered briefly if it was all just some crazy dream she had from exhaustion.
Of course, that stupid thought was proven wrong when she got a message from a person she named 'SOB', confirming that they would meet up for a training session tomorrow morning. She supposed it was a good thing she slept for a while then.
A part of her couldn't really believe that all of that had happened within a day. Hopefully, that feeling would disappear once they met up again. There was, however, one thought that was scraping at the back of her skull incessantly.
Jin was adamant that she not tell Xiaoyu a thing, but after all the time they spent together she couldn't help but feel bad for her. Asuka couldn't imagine how Xiaoyu would feel if she found out Jin was avoiding her on purpose. Asuka wasn't going to go back on her word (it was one of the many things her dad had taught her that she held close to her heart), but she figured she was allowed to talk to the poor girl at least. She hadn't heard from her at all over the past few days and Asuka figured now was as good as any a time to check up on her.
So, she slipped on a pair of jeans and a jacket (zipped up all the way to her neck) and left her room in search of Xiaoyu's room. She remembered the number so, hopefully, it wouldn't take too long.
After a not so calm trip in the elevator (she kept thinking of Nina and her iron grip) she walked onto Xiaoyu's floor, only to find that the hallway wasn't empty. Standing in front of one of the doors was Hwoarang, looking agitated but otherwise standing idly. He had spared a glance at the elevator when Asuka walked out.
"Uh, hey," he let out in greeting, raising his hand momentarily.
"Oh, so now we're in the mood to talk?" Asuka retorted casually, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she walked up to Hwoarang. "How ya doing, asshole?"
Hwoarang looked taken aback for a bit before his expression changed to that of weariness. He closed his eyes and replied, "Could be doing better."
"Good," she remarked bluntly. They stood together in silence for a brief moment.
"I'm sorry Asuka," he said, his eyes on the floor. "… about being a dick earlier. I… you didn't really deserve that display earlier. I should have saved it for when you weren't there."
Damn, today was just full of surprise apologies.
"Where is this coming from?" Asuka asked, giving him a sceptical look. "I didn't take you as the type to apologise."
Hwoarang let out a short laugh. "Apologies come easily to me when I know I'm wrong. It's just I'm never wrong on most days."
Asuka laughed properly at that, the unexpectedness and delivery of his words breaking down the imaginary wall between them. Hwoarang smirked to himself.
"Oh my God, man," Asuka breathed when she recovered from her fit. "That ego of yours! We gotta do something about it."
"It ain't ego, woman. It's the truth!" he jested, putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest. Asuka kicked the back of his knee then and he stumbled forward.
"Sure, sure," she said sarcastically. Hwoarang gave her an irritated glance that quickly dissipated at the sight of her toothy grin. At that moment, she was very grateful that she knew people vastly different from Jin and Nina.
"You're lucky you're amusing. I was totally prepared to hold a grudge for a month," she joshed, punching him lightly on his forearm. He smiled slightly before letting out a breath.
"Glad to hear I'm off your hit list," he said, running his hand down his scalp. "I was actually feeling bad about all this."
"You're just lucky I had to deal with jerk-asses more annoying than you."
Now it was Hwoarang's turn to laugh fully.
"Noted," she said, smirking.
"So, have you talked to Xiaoyu by any chance?" Asuka asked unconcernedly, failing to notice Hwoarang's expression drop. "I actually came here to talk to her, but I'm glad I ran into you too."
"Yeah, I haven't seen her in a while," he disclosed, shuffling in place.
"So, why were you two fighting anyway?" she asked. "Seeing as you're in a better mood…"
"Uh…"
Asuka gave him a look. Hwoarang folded his arms and huffed. "It's… not that easy to explain."
"Lemme guess, it's a 'long story'?" she asked, unamused.
"And too much of a hassle," he added. This just irked her more.
"What, to explain? Or just in general?"
"Both."
She scoffed loudly, folding her arms and cocking her hip. "Leave me out the loop why don't you? It's my favourite feeling in the world."
"Asuka, it's not that I don't wanna tell you," he told her, running his hand over his forehead in frustration. "It's just that I can't even bring words to my mouth, it's such a fucking mess. Stop thinking that everyone's just out to get you."
She fell silent at that. That statement hit some sort of nerve but, instead of becoming incensed, she felt deflated.
"… Shit, I'm sorry."
Hwoarang must have been expecting her anger as opposed to this.
"Don't," she shook her head, avoiding his gaze. "I've just been on edge lately."
There was an apology bubbling in her throat, but she just cleared her throat and swallowed it. "I've just had to deal with a lot of bullshit lately. I really can't help but feel like it's just me versus the world."
They stood together for a while in silence. Asuka eventually felt a pat on her back.
"I'll try to be a better friend," came Hwoarang's words, his voice uncharacteristically soft. He removed his hand and glanced in his direction as he took a few steps back. "I'll catch you later then."
"Where are you going to now?"
"Fresh air," he said, walking past her. "I'll text you."
"But, didn't you have something to do here?" she asked, her eyes following him to the elevator.
"Eh," he let out as he pressed some buttons on the elevator. "I don't really feel up to it now."
He waved at her. Her expression remained that of confusion, even after the elevator doors approached each other and hid Hwoarang from view. Soon enough, she remembered what she came here for and moved into action. She took a few steps forward with Xiaoyu's room number in mind…
… only to stop in her tracks when said room was the first one she checked. They had been chatting outside Xiaoyu's room the entire time without her realising. Of course, that only begged the question of what Hwoarang was-
The door smacked her in the face as it opened, disrupting her thoughts. She reeled back from the pain and her hands flew to her scrunched up face, muffling the curses that were erupting from her mouth.
"Oh my God!" said a high-pitched voice, accompanied by the feel of someone's hands on her forearms. "Are you okay?"
"What do you think?!" was Asuka's vicious reply that was ultimately unintelligible due to her mouth being covered.
"I am so sorry! I didn't realise someone was out… Asuka-chan, it's you!"
Once the pain had reduced itself to rhythmic throbbing, she opened her eyes. Chestnut orbs stared at her with concern framed by auburn locks.
It was Xiaoyu's friend from Mishima Polytechnic who had injured her face. Her name had completely escaped Asuka's mind.
"Yes, it's me," she let out after she loosened her hold on her nose.
"Asuka-chan?" rang out Xiaoyu's voice from behind the door, her head peeking out soon after. "What're you doing here?"
"Looking for you," Asuka declared, lowering her hands from her no-doubt red face.
"For me?"
Xiaoyu looked confused and Asuka chose to elaborate. "Well, you didn't call or text and… I guess I just wanted to make sure you were okay is all."
Xiaoyu's expression softened greatly at that, her expression conveying surprise and elation at the same time. Asuka's nose throbbed in pain. "Though I'm starting to think this a bad time."
"No, it's not!" she exclaimed, bounding to her side in a flash. "Come on in! We can talk all you want! You, me and Miharu!"
"You two go on ahead," said Xiaoyu's friend, rubbing one arm with a sheepish smile. "I'll come back once I get some snacks like I meant to. I'm so sorry again, Asuka-chan!"
She bowed quickly in apology and Asuka was forced to give a hasty reply of "Don't worry about it!" as Xiaoyu started dragging her into her room with a surprising amount of strength.
The first thing she noticed about the room was the giant Panda asleep on one of the two beds, which honestly was pretty hard to miss. It was a wonder how the frame hadn't collapsed under its weight. Everything else was pretty similar to her own, except for a difference in furniture arrangement and a TV.
And while Asuka had been looking around the room, Xiaoyu had been talking.
"Oh my God, you have no idea how happy I am that you came to check up on me! You know, I thought I was annoying you this entire time!"
"Yeah," she dragged out nervously before choosing to change the subject. "Well, how are you feeling now?"
Xiaoyu's shoulders slumped. "Well, I could be doing better, but you and Miharu-chan have done a great job cheering me up!"
She smiled. It wasn't as bright as her usual smiles but it was still radiant. And Asuka felt a bit better about coming over.
Of course, she still wasn't sure if this was worth a potentially broken nose.
"I'm glad to hear," was Asuka's lame but genuine response. Xiaoyu fell onto the free bed, sitting up after lounging for a few seconds.
"Make yourself at home!" she said jovially as she gestured around the room. Asuka chose to sit in a chair against the wall.
"So… Miharu-san is here too?" Asuka pointed out in an attempt to make small talk.
"Oh yeah! I kind of badgered into coming," Xiaoyu explained, twisting in place on the bed to face Asuka. "But we spend most of our time together so I don't think she's that bored. I've been teaching her how to fight too so I figured this could be a good learning experience too!"
Asuka nodded, her gaze falling on the slumbering Panda more often than she would have liked. But to be fair, it was a weird-ass sight.
"But anyway, how have you been Asuka-chan?"
"Doing alright," she lied. "Pretty, uh… uneventful times."
"Well, uneventful is better than unpleasant surprises, in my opinion," Xiaoyu said, her tone a bit chagrined near the end of her statement.
"Yup," Asuka said, downplaying just how fiercely she agreed with her statement. The shift in Xiaoyu's tone reminded Asuka of something and she wasted no time putting it forward. "So, what was that whole thing between you and Hwoarang about?"
Xiaoyu furrowed her eyebrows. "What made you bring that up?"
Her disposition managed to change from pleasant to annoyed in record time. Honestly, Xiaoyu was kind of intimidating when she was angry.
"Well, I ran into Hwoarang outside your room in the hall," she told her, the words coming out faster than intended. She pondered on this with a sour expression.
She felt a twinge of guilt at selling out Hwoarang but it didn't last too long.
"It's an old argument that won't die," huffed Xiaoyu. "He's convinced that I'm wrong and he's right and I just can't deal with him because of that."
Well, that barely told her anything, but she didn't want to push her luck for more.
"But forget about him. He's not important," Xiaoyu said dismissively, swatting at the air with her hand. "What our plan for tomorrow? We've covered all of the major areas and Jin was nowhere to be found so I'm thinking we should ask around for some obscure places–"
As she rambled on, Asuka was reminded of the what she came to do in the first place and gulped.
How should she let her down gently?
"Uh, Xiaoyu-san?" she interrupted hesitantly.
"Call me Xiao," was her reply. "And yeah?"
Asuka stumbled over the words in her head. "Yeah… I decided that I should just… give up."
Xiaoyu's eyes widened, blinking a few times as she processed what Asuka said.
"It's just that…" Asuka trailed off, fumbling in her speech. "I figured that it'd be better if I, uh, focused on the coming matches instead. I just feel this… this is just a wild goose chase."
Asuka lightly touched her own forehead and Xiaoyu stared at her cryptically.
"But, didn't you want to find him badly?" Xiaoyu asked, her uncertainty clear.
"Well, I changed my mind," Asuka replied, uncertainty leaking into her words.
Please, let me be good at lying for once.
Xiaoyu stared her down for a while and Asuka feigned nonchalance as best as she could. She could feel the appearance of sweat on her forehead.
"Is there a reason you guys don't turn on the AC?" Asuka complained, wiping at her forehead with the sleeve of her jacket. This seemed to distract Xiaoyu thankfully as she got off the bed to walk to the thermostat.
"Because we weren't feeling hot," Xiaoyu clarified, as she pressed a few buttons on the thermostat. "Though I guess it makes sense that you'd feel hot wearing a jacket like that."
"Yeah, but then I feel super cold without it," the brunette lied. "The struggle is real."
Xiaoyu chuckled a little at that and the door opened shortly after. Miharu walked in, her arms laden with a few bags of crisps and a few bars of chocolate as she exclaimed, "I bring food!"
"Dump it all somewhere," Xiaoyu grinned and her Panda groaned (or growled, but Asuka would rather not think about it like that) as it awoke from its slumber.
After Miharu closed the door behind her with her foot and the food had been distributed between the three girls and the Panda, Asuka listened to the other two's conversation while chewing on a chocolate bar. The two of them contrasted quite a lot when separated, but when they were together they both were equally animated. It was a nice change for sure, and she was grateful that they didn't expect too much talking out of her.
She could only hope that her lies were deterrent enough for Xiaoyu.
I'm still alive guys, honest.
Here we are, chapter 11 and the beginning of a new arc you could say! ^^
Also major news (within this fic anyway) I have gone through this entire story and basically just edited the shit out of it. Chapter 1 has been rewritten to my liking, seeing as I wrote that when my writing was not as good as it is today. A lot of different scenes have been altered though there haven't been any major changes story-wise except for one detail. I would recommend you guys to at least reread the first chapter but you're welcome to go through the story again if you want ^^;;
Chapter title is a song lyric from 'Both Sides Of The Story' by We Are The In Crowd.
Massive thanks to everyone who favourited, followed and reviewed! You guys motivate me like crazy!
Now that I have updated this story I think it's acceptable if I disappear for a year :-)
JKs JKs any disappearances are completely unintentional ^^;;
Anyway be sure to report any errors to me and I'll try to be quick with the response.
May Peace Be Upon You.