-Altercation-

Xiaoyu could see the mansion up ahead. The gates were open, which told her that Jin was most likely being held captive at this point. Feeling around the truck for anything she could use as a weight, Xiaoyu finally rested her hand on a heavy instruction manual from the glove compartment.

Steering the truck in the direction of the balcony on the second floor, she placed the book on the gas pedal, which kept the truck at a steady 70 miles per hour without her foot on the pedal.

Rolling down her window, Xiaoyu took a deep breath and maneuvered her way out of the window and onto the top of the truck. Nearly slipping twice along the way.

I must be crazy, Xiaoyu thought to herself as the truck sped through the gates towards the balcony.

At the last instant, she jumped up and grabbed the edge of the balcony. The truck continued on, crashing through the large pane windows on the first floor. Xiaoyu pulled herself up onto the balcony, sitting down to take a few deep breaths and calm her nerves.

A loud scream from downstairs set her nerves on edge again. She recognized it immediately.

Jin.

Racing down the stairs, Xiaoyu darted around a corner to avoid some of Kazuya's henchmen. Luckily, most of them were heading over to investigate the crash.

"Let me out of here!" a shrill voice screamed from inside a nearby closet.

Xiaoyu rushed to the closet door. "Asuka?"

"Yeah. Do you have a hair pin?" Asuka demanded.

Xiaoyu removed a white pin from her hair. "Yeah, I have one. What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Slip it under the door," Asuka whispered. Xiaoyu obediently slipped the pin under the door.

A minute and a few faint clicks later, the door swung open, nearly hitting Xiaoyu.

"Convict," Xiaoyu said as Asuka handed her the pin.

"Whatever,"Asuka retorted, running in the direction of the henchmen. "You'd better catch up."

Closing in behind her, Xiaoyu continued to run as Asuka began to battle the henchmen.

"You take care of them, I've got to help Jin," she yelled back.

Positive that she heard Jin from the next room, Xiaoyu burst through the doors without a second thought.

"Jin?" she called, searching the dimly lit room. Out of the corner of her eye she sensed movement. Across the room, Jin rocked back and forth slowly on his knees. His breaths came out in short gasps. Rushing to his side, Xiaoyu took him into her arms. He didn't seem even slightly aware of her presence.

"Jin! Jin say something to me!" she practically yelled at him.

A violent convulsion shook his body. After a moment, he pulled out of her arms and began to retch in the corner. Lifting his head, Xiaoyu could see blood running from the corner of his mouth.

"Jin.." I'm losing him..

Kazuya stepped out of the shadows. "It's pointless you know. It's his fate. The devil had to eventually gain control."

Xiaoyu stood and turned to face him.

"It isn't his fate. And it wasn't yours. YOU chose to give in. You had a chance, and you threw it away. Power meant more to you than the people that cared about you."

A vision of Jun entered Kazuya's thoughts. He quickly dismissed it.

"I have accepted my destiny, as Jin should accept his own. This is family business. You have no place in it."

Xiaoyu raised her left hand to Kazuya, showing him the ring. "Oh don't I?" she retorted.

Kazuya seemed a bit taken aback by Xiaoyu's engagement to Jin. His expression quickly returned to an strange calmness. Xiaoyu eyed him warily.

"Well tell me, how were you intending on helping him as a corpse?" he asked, looking over her shoulder with a smile.

Xiaoyu found herself paralyzed. She hadn't heard Jin make a single noise for some time now.

The room was much too quiet now.

A deep growling sound cut through the silence like a knife.