(a/n): Well, here I am again with another chapter from me to you. Hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the whole story, or even more. ^_~ Well onto the story, most importantly, ENJOY! =)

Chapter12: Healing Rose

            The halls were very quiet this morning, when Xiaoyu woke up. It was Sunday and the tournament starts very soon. She didn't really think about the tournament, right now she is worrying about Jin. She didn't know what happened in there, but Heihachi canceled the ambulance and Jin was in his room ever since.

            She checked up on him, a few times, knocking onto his door, but he politely asked if he could be alone a little longer. Xiaoyu fears for Jin, someone tried to kill him that day and it could have not been an accident. Whoever that person was, she was a professional hired by someone who takes business very seriously. What if that person will strike again and Jin won't be so lucky? She didn't know but she knew Jin would be waiting for it.

            Xiaoyu got out of bed and noticed how quiet it was. She didn't hear the wind through her opened window, and she didn't hear anyone talking or practicing. The birds were not singing and the trees weren't rustling through wind like each morning. It was so quiet that she could hear her own heartbeat. It gave Xiaoyu the creeps but she was not a little kid anymore, it was just her imagination.

            She put on her robe, slipped into her slippers, and brushed her hair into two pigtails. She'd go check up how's everything going just in case; she was sick and worried about Jin. She at least hopes everything is fine now. She didn't want him to go into his silent state today.  

            Xiaoyu went downstairs and walked into the kitchen through the hallway below them. She walked up to the long table, watching Heihachi reading a newspaper but Jin was nowhere in sight. "Good morning." Xiaoyu said in a friendly manner and Heihachi's cold eyes dropped on her. He put down the newspaper and smiled, his eyes warning a little, and nodded. "Why, good morning Xiaoyu. Did you sleep well?" He asked her and Xiaoyu sat down.

            "Yes, I slept well but I was a little worried." Xiaoyu said as she fiddled with the spoon on the table. "Yes, we were all disturbed with yesterday's event, I do not know what to say, for words don't even come to mind." Heihachi said as he turned in his seat to face her. "I know what you mean, is he alright?" She looked worried and she knew that Heihachi noticed it. Maybe she should stop showing him that she cares.

            "Yes, he is recovering at a fast pace but I don't know how will it affect his mind. It's like living everyday, thinking someone is trying to kill you. It's terrible, if you live like that, thinking that way." Xiaoyu nodded and suddenly lost her appetite. She should see Jin; she would want to see him anyway.

            "Well, I better be off. Time is money and money is serious business, my dear. Have a great day." Heihachi stood up from the table and took his leave. Xiaoyu dropped her spoon and put her chin in her palms as her elbows were supported by the table. "What should I do?" She asked practically no one. She sighed as she looked down the hallway, leading to the exit. Where is he anyway? She thought quietly and a worried expression was written on her innocent face.

            The low, calm flow of water kept riding the big cliff into the sea below. The large cascade illuminated the rays of the morning sun, fresh air blowing into Jin's expressionless face. Thought came over him, as guilt and confusion made their way into his mind.

            He had no idea of what happened. He was attacked by someone who he doesn't know and probably would never know. It never occurred to him that he was in danger, living in such a rich Manor with plenty of guards who are paid well and the large, gloomy hallways, rooting through the house like a maze.

            What confused him even more was why would someone won't him dead? He hasn't done anything and has no enemies. Hwoarang couldn't have done this, either. Why would Hwoarang do this in the first place?

            That fight that they had earlier wasn't as serious as the one in the dojo. He doesn't think Hwoarang was that angry with him for drawing the fight. Plus, it was Hwoarang who pronounced the fight as a draw when both of them couldn't get up, what's the deal? He couldn't have hired someone to kill him. 

            The deal was something else, and Jin knew it. It could not have been Hwoarang. It must have been someone else, a rich businessman who paid enough money to a professional to risk as something as this.

            Jin sighed and lied down on the grass, listening to the endless tune of the waterfall, trying to calm himself. Jin wasn't just wondering who was the attacker; he was more freaked out about what happened to him. This morning Jin awoke with no scratches or scars on his chest and he can't even start explaining what could it be.

            Heihachi left Jin alone and didn't talk to him this morning. He was rather quiet, and Heihachi is not a quiet man. Heihachi was a man of steel and he never let anything slip by. But this morning, Heihachi pardoned Jin and allowed him to go anywhere he wanted. It surprised Jin more than anything and he knows something is wrong. Something is really, really wrong.

            Jin sat up and watched the waterfall fall towards the bottom and he knew he wouldn't be calming down in a while. Jin's mind was rolling pictures of how his wounds knit back together. Pictures of that female who stabbed him, hard, was reappearing in his mind. He remembers the pain, and he was sure he was dieing.

            Blaming himself didn't make things better. Jin thought it was his fault that he couldn't beat her. He should have beaten her without receiving a scratch. He has been trained to defeat Toshin, for crying out loud, and he can't beat a human being? Maybe his grandfather was right, maybe not. But Jin wasn't about to accept the theory, Heihachi has been arguing, that it's his mother's fault. He is pretty sure that his mother has nothing to do with it.

            Jin closed his eyes as he mind rolled the fight with that woman. She stabbed him fatally and he's still alive. Jin should have been dead or in an ambulance bed. What if yesterday was his last day alive, what would people say? Would his grandfather care that he has lost a grandson? Would he even think about it for a second? Jin didn't want to think about it he refused to think about. He is still standing, that the thing that matters.

            The waterfall's beatings on the rocks were interfered as Jin heard someone, walking very slowly. He felt worse as he felt Xiaoyu's presence very near. She would want to talk about this whole thing and Jin doesn't want her to. He'd prefer her to mind her business at times because it just hurts more when you talk about things such as these.

            Xiaoyu stopped a few feet away from him and he knew she was watching him. "Well, are you going to stand there, or are you going to say good morning?" Jin asked without looking back, feeling her coming over to him. "Good morning." Her voice calmly said as she sat down next to him. She didn't sound enthusiastic as always and it did bite Jin in a way.

            They were silent as both of them watched the waterfall, near their school. The wind was calm but it didn't calm Jin, he felt terrified. He wasn't about to show his emotions, especially near Xiao, he knows he couldn't because Xiaoyu doesn't expect him to.

            "I heard what happened." Xiaoyu began, starting a conversation between them but Jin didn't like the subject at all. "You did, didn't you?" He asked and stood up. "Well, I guess then, you know." He walked through the planes, slowly taking his time. "At least your still alive, right?" Xiaoyu stayed were she was, fiddling with the grass. Wrong… "Yeah, that's right." Jin lied and didn't feel bad for doing so, he didn't want Xiaoyu getting further into this but he didn't doubt she will.

            "Well, I'm glad your still here." She said softly, looking into his brown eyes. He broke the eye contact fast, feeling a little uneasy. "Yeah, I'm glad I'm still standing here today, as well." He walked further away from her but Xiaoyu stayed where she was.

            "You are running, Jin." She softly admitted to him and that shocked him, paralyzed him. "What?" He turned to her, looking straight into her eyes. "I said, 'you are running, Jin'. You are. I can see how you refuse everything you don't like. You even refuse to think about it to yourself. How can you trust anyone if you don't trust yourself?"

            Jin lowered his gaze to the ground. She was right, he didn't trust anyone, even himself. But he wasn't going to trust anyone, not yet. He couldn't, it was too dangerous for the both; the person he would trust and himself.

            "What I don't understand—" She continued on. "—is what are you running from?" What was he running from? Was her really running, running away from the truth? Yes, he was running from the truth. He fears the truth, truth is painful but he doesn't accept lies, either. "I—I'm not sure." He admitted as he breathed out, thinking about it.

            He never did think about it before. He accepted the present for what it is, afraid to look back into the past and dreaming to accomplish goals in the future. Maybe he should think about it, for the better.

            "Jin, I just want you to know something." Xiaoyu stood up, holding up that same rose she picked out yesterday. "You cannot be alone, one day you would be hurting for someone. No one can survive in this world by themselves. It is nearly impossible. You start getting confused and hurt. You grow frustrated because you can't figure something out, than you get mad and angry." She came towards him and he noticed that she wasn't happy herself.

            "I want you to be happy, Jin. I don't want you to live your days like they mean nothing to you. You should live your days to the fullest, you know. Don't think that this is the end. You never know. It might be as well as a beginning." Xiaoyu stopped in her tracks, right in front of Jin and showed him the rose.

            "Take this rose for example. Think back when it was still in the ground, still ALIVE." She twirled the rose in her fingers. "You never know when someone would come up to it and pull it out of the whole bunch." She said. "What if a storm comes by and tears this rose apart. It never saw it coming. It just lived its days like any ordinary day. One day, it's not in the ground anymore, but in the hands of some stranger." She dropped the rose to the ground. "You never know, what will happen next." She looked up at him as he stared at the rose.

            "But a rose is fragile." He stated and looked up at her. "It is vulnerable and it cannot prevent anything from happening." He watched Xiaoyu smile. "That's right, Jin. It cannot prevent anything and yet it still lives. Why?" She asked and took his hands.

            "Because it is strong. And you Jin, you can protect yourself, you are strong, and not vulnerable. So if something happens, and you couldn't prevent it, you shouldn't be surrendering, because you are stronger." She put his hands together. "And if you are stronger, you will be prepared and you will not be afraid, you will never be afraid because you know that you can make a choice."

            Xiaoyu let go of his hands and looked deep into his eyes. Jin looked up at her and he had no words. Maybe she was right. It is his choice, and he could do anything he wants, like she has mentioned before. He has to believe it.

            A smile traced his face and he nodded. "You're right, Xiao." He dazed into her eyes. "You are absolutely right." Xiaoyu smiled and hugged him. "That's right, I am right." She pulled back. "I want the old Jin back, you know. The Jin that's popular in school and not afraid to stand up for himself."

            Jin took her chin. "You know what?"

            "What?" She asked looking into his eyes.

            "You've just gotten him back." Jin leaned in to kiss her.

            Just before he touched her lips, Xiaoyu pulled back and smiled. Jin didn't take it as an offense, he understood. She's right. Not yet. He must win the tournament. "I apologize." His gaze dropped to the ground, feeling a little embarrassed. "It's alright." Xiaoyu said with a big smile. She nudged him on his shoulder. "Now, why don't we practice?" She asked sweetly. "I didn't come to live in the Mansion for fun! I challenge you Kazama Jin!" Jin smiled and felt better. "If you are serious and your words are truly meant, than I accept your challenge, Ling Xiaoyu."

(a/n): So, how was this? Good? Sweet? I hoped you all loved it and enjoyed it. I try my best to entertain, you guys, because it is my job. Well this is it for now.

I would like to thank my reviewers.

Forevermore: Thank you for your compliments and I'm glad you think I'm doing a job well done. I will keep trying doing my best!

MissDbzMedabots: Thank you so much. I'm so happy you think it's a great story but I don't want you saying it's better than yours. Each fic has its own wonders. Remember that because you story is great too.

GoodGurl: Yeah, poor Jin, and he doesn't even know what to think or say about what was happening to him. About Xiaoyu kicking butt, she'll be kicking it hard just wait and see! ^_~

Catgirl Nekoneko: I am thrilled you think this fic is that good. Thank you so much. Sorry for the cliffhanger but I love cliffhangers. I will continue, no matter what.

Beautiful Moon Princess: Wow, you left me speechless. All I can say is thank you. I'm so happy you think I'm doing a good job and yes, I was thinking of becoming a writer because I enjoy writing. I'm, also, completely paralyzed that you think I'm the creator of Tekken. That's a very good compliment. Thank you, Thank you so much!

Miss Da Qiao: Thank you for reviewing and of course I will continue. That is a good theory you have. It might happen who knows; after all she didn't finish the job…

BeBeBlu009: I am happy that you like my fic, thanks. I am working hard on it and I try my best to please everyone. Well I hope you keep reading, 'cause I will keep writing.

That is all everyone, thank you for your time.