A/n: Well, I haven't updated for a couple of weeks, as I've been on holiday (lazy), and I got Primal for my birthday, so I've been playing that constantly. But I'm back in action now, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Tekken ain't mine!
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The electric green from the alarm clock dimly illuminated the now warm bottle of beer that stood on the bedside table. The faint glow spread over the crumpled heap of clothing on the floor and a stray pillow, slumped against the side of the bed. The green light glistened in the eyes of the young man as he sat and watched his sleeping companion, gazing fondly at her as she slumbered. Her breathing was deep and even. She let out a soft sigh, and rolled over, flopping an arm loosely round his waist, and resting her head on his stomach. With a wistful smile, he smoothed her hair back with the lightest of touches, tracing the curve of her neck with his fingertips. She shivered at his touch, snuggling closer to him, sharing his warmth.
Julia smiled contentedly, happy to be in his warm embrace as they swayed together, alone on the dance floor. "This is nice…" she breathed softly, looking up into his eyes. Hwoarang merely smiled back at her, running his fingers up and down her spine gently. Sinking more deeply into his arms, she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and tracing the seams of his tuxedo lightly. A cool breeze whipped softly across the room, ruffling her dress and sending chills up her legs. "Where did that come from?" she whispered, peering over his shoulder into the shadows. She hadn't noticed how dark the room was before. She was unable to see the walls, the floor just sank into the shadows, and she trembled, as she sensed movement in the darkness. "There's something out there!" she gasped.
"Shhh…" He soothed, holding her close to him, stroking the back of her head with his strong hand.
Julia twisted her head from side to side, as she kept seeing movements out of the corner of her eye. Her breathing quickened, as the panic began to rise inside her. "Hwoarang!" she cried, her voice now shaking in fear. The room was now considerably colder, and the soft lighting and smooth shadows had now taken on a harsher, more menacing appearance. She gripped his arms tightly, clinging to him, and trying desperately to see what phantoms were lurking in the dark. "There is definitely something out there!"
His breath was hot and fierce against her neck, and his grip on her was frighteningly powerful. "It's not what's out there that you should fear," he told her, his voice no longer calm and soothing, but cruel and guttural, almost growling the words. She stiffened instantly, her eyes wide with terror. It took all her strength to turn her head to face the man who held her. The eyes that stared back at her burned like blazing coals, ripping straight into her soul, tearing her insides apart. Backing away, she tried to scream, but the sound caught in her throat, and her fear was so great that it was a struggle just to draw breath. Her eyes were fixed on the beast as she fought to move away, watching a nasty smirk spread over its face. Her legs felt like lead and it was a chore to lift her feet. The ground felt unstable beneath her, and looking down she saw that the polished tiles of the dance floor were crumbling away into sand. Losing her footing, she toppled to the ground, a frightened shriek escaping her lips as she crashed down, her fingers clawing into the burning sand.
The sudden blaring sunlight burned into her eyes, sending shooting pains through her head. She scrabbled desperately for footing in the soft sand, dragging herself awkwardly to her feet and squinting through narrowed eyes at the harsh whiteness of the desert. "Hwoarang!" she choked, her throat suddenly dry and sore. "Help me!" She twisted and turned, looking in all directions, but saw nothing but barren desert. A straggled gasping from behind her caused her to spin round, every part of her shaking with fear.
She gasped in relief at what she saw, but the relief soon vanished as she saw him properly. Hwoarang was stood a short distance away, now dressed in his regular street clothes, but although he was facing Julia, his eyes weren't focused on her. He stood listlessly, a blank expression on his face as he stared dumbly ahead, not seeing anything. Horror rose in Julia's throat like bile as she saw the pool of red seeping into the sand around him, spreading outwards, reaching towards her.
"It's just you and me now, child!" the demon's cruel and twisted voice snarled at her from behind, and she spun to face him, but there was nothing there.
Turning back to Hwoarang, she was just in time to see him kick-starting his bike, whirling it round in the sand, splattering her with a shower of grit, as he turned and rode away from her. "No, Hwoarang, wait! Don't leave me!" she cried desperately, reaching hopelessly for him. Almost immediately, she cowered back in the opposite direction, as the track left by his tires began to writhe and contort, a long, wicked tongue flicking out at her, as a terrible rattling shook through the atmosphere, deafening her. Falling backwards, she tried to crawl away from the monster, as the gigantic snake coiled its head back, preparing to strike. The rattling grew even louder, and through it she could hear the horrible cackling laughter of the demon. Julia let out the most terrible of screams as the snake's head shot forwards, its fangs plunging into her chest, lifting her off the ground. Everything went black.
Julia sat up in bed, shivering and pulling the sheets round her more tightly. She turned to look for Hwoarang, but she was alone in the bed. Leaning forwards and drawing her knees up to her chest, she rubbed her temples wearily. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she peered through the early morning greyness to find that his belongings were also missing. Squeezing her eyes shut, she fought back the urge to burst into tears. She knew this would happen, so there was no point getting upset about it. But it still hurt. Taking a few deep breaths, she was just about to head for the bathroom when the alarm clock went off. Thumping the off switch a little more vigorously than was necessary, she turned it to face her: 7:00. Right on time for breakfast, before she'd have to pack her bags and head for the airport. She'd forgotten it was today that she was leaving.
Not watching where she was going, Julia tripped over a pile of suitcases on her way across the hotel lobby and went flying into the arms of the owner of the baggage. "You should watch where you're going, Julia," Steve chided, steadying her.
"Oh, Steve. Sorry," she smiled weakly at him, straightening her clothes and peering at her own reflection in his sunglasses.
Steve grunted in response, taking a look over her shoulder at the lobby. "No lover boy then?" he sneered, clearly still angry about the night before.
"Oh," Julia mumbled. "No, I haven't seen him." She stared unhappily at her feet.
"You're better off without him," Steve stated firmly. "Well, I have a plane to catch," he announced, turning on his heel and heading for the exit, one of the hotel bell boys pushing his luggage ahead of him.
Shaking her head morosely, Julia turned and walked over to the reception desk. "Excuse me?" she waved to get the receptionist's attention. "I wanted to know if there were… any messages for me?" she asked, though she knew the answer would be no.
"One moment, please," the receptionist said, ruffling through some papers under the desk. "Ah, yes. There is one," she said, an insincere smile plastered across her face.
Julia blinked at her in surprise, before taking the letter she held out, and turning to leave. "Oh, thank you!" she called over her shoulder as she hurried back to the elevator, tearing open the letter hopefully. Once inside the lift, she unfolded the piece of paper and started to read.
'Hey Jules!
I'm sorry I won't be able to come to the airport to say goodbye, and I hope you're feeling better after last night. Panda and I have decided to go and look for Jin, so I don't know where I'll be. We were planning to go to Hong Kong first, since I have a friend there who might be able to help me.
Have a good flight home, and don't keep upsetting yourself about Hwoarang. I bet you meet a great guy when you get home, who'll be great in bed ^_~
I'll write to you soon!
Xiao xxx'
Julia groaned quietly, slumping back against the wall. She could feel the tears welling up behind her eyes and a lump tightening her throat. She straightened up, blinking furiously as a loud 'bing' told her the elevator had reached a floor. Looking at the display, she saw that she was at her floor and she stumbled out of the lift and down the corridor to her room, collapsing in a miserable heap on her bed. She growled angrily at herself. She wasn't going to get upset about this. Hwoarang was a total jerk for leaving her without saying goodbye, and he was definitely not worth her tears. 'But maybe he'll come to the airport?' a small voice inside her whispered hopefully. 'What if something's happened to him, though?' she thought, remembering the horror of her dream. But that was just silly. It was only a dream.
The taxi ride was disturbingly bumpy, and Julia clung to the bottom of her seat to keep form hitting her head on the roof. She could hear her bags rattling around in the back, and prayed to the spirits that nothing be damaged. The taxi driver was prattling on to her, either not knowing or not caring that she couldn't understand a word. Every now and then he'd pause and look at her in the rear-view mirror, to which she'd respond with a nervous chuckle. This seemed to satisfy him, as he'd flash her a toothy grin or a cheeky wink, before continuing his chatter.
Stepping out of the taxi, Julia squinted up at the entrance to Narita airport. 'Well, this is it!' she thought. Picking up her bags, she wobbled her way into the entrance, her senses a little muddled by the journey. Even though the taxi had been rather terrible, she missed it. It had given her something to distract her from her worries and emotional turmoil. Even though the airport was huge, and full of people, no one paid her any attention, and she was left to her own devices. As usual with airports, she'd been required to turn up an hour before her flight, and so had nothing to do but sit around in the waiting room. Julia slid down in one of the hideously uncomfortable waiting room chairs next to a big, fat guy who was barking loudly at his kid about how great it'll be to get back to America where they have proper food, instead of all this "fishy crap". On the other side of her sat a couple of twenty-something backpackers, talking excitedly about how soon they'd be able to go to Europe.
The plane was rather typically delayed, so after more than an hour of flicking aimlessly through boring magazines and eavesdropping on other people's lives, Julia was relieved that boarding had finally been called. But at the same time, she felt a stab of pain in her heart. Hwoarang had not come to see her off. As she pushed her hand luggage into the overhead rack and settled uncomfortably into her undersized seat, she gazed sadly out of the window. He really didn't care about her after all.
She sighed, a fat tear rolling down her cheek as the plane rose up off the runway. She watched, as the airport grew smaller, ignoring the airhostess' safety talk, and the inane chatter of the other passengers. Her gaze was nonchalant as she stared at the shrinking trees, the roofs of the buildings, and the tiny figures in the streets. She could just make out the row of taxis outside the airport, a queue of businessmen lining up to pay the extortionate fares. There was a mother dragging a screaming child out of a shop, and a couple of guys in Hawaiian shirts coming out of the airport. And she wasn't absolutely sure, but she thought she saw a lone figure, stood watching the plane from behind a fence near the runway, a motorbike propped up next to him.
