Once Upon a Time
By: Mako-chan
Teehee, I'm back again with new stuff. This particular chapter will be on the dramatic side but don't worry, we've only just begun. There's a whole lot more in store, so just hang in there. This is so long...why? I don't know.
I would also like to give special thanks to Melancholy Doll (without pun intended, who I consider the Empress of Xiaoyin Fiction) for giving me what also happens to be the first review for this piece. I am very flattered, I have always been a fan of your works, and believe it or not, I follow your stories more than the beeping of my alarm clock...Makes me so happy and enthusiastic about writing.
I knew something was MISSING in the first chapter. It seemed so dull, so bland. Here it is: All Tekken characters you will come across this story are owned by Namco. Others, a figment of my imagination...there, on with the story.
Chapter Two - He lived in a faraway kingdom
All of the children sprang from their seats and hurried towards their big sister. "Grandpa is here now. We've been waiting for you," they said.
Xiaoyu put on her best smile. "I know. How is he doing?"
"He looks fine now," Ruiyang replied but wrinkled his nose. "But when he came back he smelled yucky and stuff." He pinched his nose for emphasis.
She managed to stifle a laugh then sobered. "I'll be right back, okay? I just need to talk to Uncle about something. I'll be quick."
"Gwampa looks sad. I think he lost the sawlt," Zhesheng called out.
Xiaoyu stopped and took a good look at her youngest sibling. Tears started to well up in her eyes but she fought it. "Yes, I think he did," she told him, unable to think of anything else to say. (Well, it was actually Mako-chan who was unable to think of any line for our dear Xiao to say f;)
Wang Jinrey quietly sat in the middle of the room, his back hunched and his head drooping. His forehead was creased, making him look older than he already is. The look of worry, regret, sadness and failure were etched on his usually jolly face. He was so deep in contemplation that he did not sense Xiaoyu at his door.
She gave a knock once, twice, but there was no response. Carefully, she pushed the sliding door and entered, only to find her uncle wiping the tears that kept falling with his sleeve. Xiaoyu quickly sat beside him and gave him a daughterly hug. "Uncle Jinrey..." she tried to speak, but words failed her.
"What have I done? I threw away the only thing you children have."
"No you didn't."
Suddenly, the old man shot up and turned to his niece. "What do you mean?"
"Mas-I mean, Mister Kazama decided not to take the house," she began. "We don't have to worry about losing our house anymore."
Upon hearing this, Wang bursted into a fit of laughter, the worry giving way to happiness and relief. "My child! I can't believe my ears. Surely something was done to have caused him to do otherwise."
"You are right," she quietly said, then turned to her uncle, beckoning him to listen with her serious eyes. "When you were sent back here, I had a little talk with the man himself...Uncle, he offered me something that I couldn't refuse."
His uncle paled, afraid of what she was going to say next.
"He said that we will not be forced out of our house if...if I agree to go with him to Japan and serve him."
"What? Why do such a foolish thing! This is preposterous! I'd rather that we be robbed out of house and home than one of my dearest children come in contact with that man!"
"Uncle, thank you, but I thought about that too. Pride won't bring food on the table, neither will it put a roof over our heads. I'm doing this for you, I'm doing this for my brothers and sisters. I know I didn't study hard just to end up being a slave to someone like him, but...I promise I'll get myself out of this. We'll all live together again someday. Please trust me. And take care of them while I'm gone."
Wang expelled the breath that seemed to have been held inside him for so long. He had no choice but to concede. After receiving a mouthful of lecture from Kazama's bodyguards, he learned that the young man of 21 wasn't the type of person people wanted to mess with. Why he was willing to not get their house in exchange for her niece, he didn't truly understand. Doesn't he have enough people in his so-called Mishima Manor to do his every bidding?
"He told me I was to be picked up tomorrow morning. There's nothing much to bring with me so..." Xiaoyu trailed off.
Xiaoyu tossed and turned in her sleep. In fact, she was having a hard time sleeping. Annoyed and antsy, she bolted right up.
"Nightmares, Sister?" Zhesheng asked as he sat up too.
"Go back to sleep, you might wake up your brothers and sisters," she silently told him, but to no avail.
"Sister seems sad and fwightened. If Sister is sad and fwightened, then I am too."
"Perhaps I am, Zhesheng. Tomorrow is a big day for me."
"But Sister's birthday is months away. And, and, you should be happy too."
"It's not that. Big Sister is frightened because...she...she has to take a shot," Xiaoyu lied.
"Is that so? Owwie!"
"Yes, it will hurt. And...Sister has to be away for quite a while."
"Why? Aren't shots supposed to be quick?"
"Yes, but...this is different."
"Then pwomise me you will come back."
"I will."
"Pwomise?"
"Promise."
Zhesheng held up his pinky finger, and Xiaoyu sealed their promise with hers. "Now, go back to sleep."
Dawn finally broke, something that Xiaoyu, for the first time, had dreaded. She didn't want to go, but she had to. What was she going to tell Zhesheng, Weiling, Ruiyang, Wensha and Feiling when they woke up? How was she going to tell them once they find her measley belongings packed? How was she going to explain everything once HE beckons for her to go? Xiaoyu suddenly felt the urge to dry her eyes. She had been crying all along and she hadn't noticed. She stood up and made her bed, took one last look at the room the six of them shared and prepared for the day ahead.
After taking her morning bath and fixing her hair into two high buns, she went to the kitchen to cook breakfast. This will be the last time...for now, she thought. When she stepped inside, she saw her uncle, sittingly solemnly facing the horizon. Streaks of yellow and gold had begun to appear, but he seemed unfazed by it. Xiaoyu watch him sip his morning tea for a while; she knew that it was something she would terribly miss when she leaves.
"Come, sit with me," Wang beckoned without so much as a glance. He then patted the stool beside him. "I still have plenty of tea. I sure could need some help, my dear."
Slightly surprised, she did what she was told. She sat quietly and helped herself to a cup of jasmine tea.
"Don't bother making breakfast for us, my child. I haven't been cooking, it's about time that I've returned to my true love," he said with a chuckle, then took his niece's hand. "I am so very sorry. You shouldn't be the one to pay for my sins..."
Xiaoyu placed a reassuring hand on her uncle's. Tears began to form in her eyes, her throat began to constrict. "Say no more, Uncle Jinrey. You gave us a home when we had no one to turn to. You raised me like your own. Look at me, aren't you proud? I am doing this to save you, for once, Uncle. Don't you believe that we will see each other again soon? You will always be here, in this house of ours, waiting for me, won't you? No matter what happens, I will find my way to you." With that, she broke into uncontrollable sobs.
"What happened?" asked Weiling as she appeared all of a sudden. "Why is Sister crying?"
Xiaoyu quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "Nothing, Sister just took a bad fall and it hurt so much I can't help but cry."
"You should go to the doctor. He will make the owwie go away," Weiling offered.
"Yes, I will."
"Uncle Jinrey! Somebody is at the gates! He says he is looking for Sister," Wensha called.
"Where are you going? Why are you bringing your things?" Feilang asked as she watched her elder sister warily, all of them on tow.
It broke Xiaoyu's heart to tell them the truth. She knew that they wouldn't be fully capable of understanding, but she just had to, it was for the best. She put her things down and turned around. She spread her arms and gathered all of them into a big, tight hug. Then she turned to Feilang, holding her at arms length. "Feilang," she began, poising herself, "there is something I need to tell you. But there is something else you have to promise me first."
"Anything, Sister."
"Take good care of your brothers and sister. Take good care and help Uncle Jinrey...alright?"
"Yes, I will...but why?" She tipped her head to the side and her brows creased.
"I'm leaving."
"I'll call when the young master asks for you. In the meanwhile, you can sit your ass here." Xiaoyu studied the rude man from his newly polished leather shoes to his sunglasses and easily figured out that his cockiness emanated from being one of Jin Kazama's personal bodyguards. Perhaps he was even the tycoon's right hand man.
Moments flew by and Xiaoyu could do nothing but sit and stare out the window. The bright of day almost blinded her from such altitude, but she didn't care. When the plane took off, her heart began to ache as she watched China, an enormous land, shrink and disappear. Now all she saw was the vast ocean below and a mass of clouds. Her thoughts repeatedly drifted to what happened in the morning...
"Leaving for where?" asked Feilang, her voice filled with anxiety.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
"You're leaving for good, aren't you?"
"I'm not."
"Yes you are! Soon is not good enough!" With that, Feilang burst into tears. It had created some kind of chain reaction, they began to cry as soon as they saw the other one crying. It was as if they felt more than they knew, either way, they perfectly understood.
"Take us with you!" Ruiyang pleaded. "I'll be good, I promise!"
"I'll never quarrel with Ruiyang again!"
"I promise I'll be good. I'll help Brother Wensha sweep they yard. I'll never play in the dirt again!"
"Please. I'm going to be fine. If you leave, Uncle will be lonely, and I will be very unhappy. Do this for me. Be good, alright?"
She turned her attention back to Feilang, "Zhesheng musn't know about this. In time you will learn, when Uncle Jinrey is doing better, he will tell you what you need to know. Be strong for me, okay?" She gave them one last hug and waved goodbye...
"Sister! Wait!" Zhesheng called out and tried to run after Xiaoyu, but he went unnoticed. He tried to reach the hem of her clothing, to cling to her leg but the unknown men blocked his way and he fell miserably to the dusty ground. Zhesheng watched as the car sped away and disappeared. All he could do was cry...
The memory seemed to play over and over again in her head, and not being able to take it any longer, Xiaoyu curled and cried herself to sleep.
Xiaoyu woke up to the pilot's broadcast. Soon, she thought to herself. The jet dropped in altitude and slowly, the islands of Japan came into view. For just one second, she forgot about the graveness of her situation. The next thing she knew, a cool breeze was blowing her loose tendrils as she tried to board a Lexus (one of the many that consist Jin Kazama's convoy)...that is, not until a hand grasped and dragged her towards a stretch limousine.
"You're riding with me," Jin spoke to her with a decisive tone.
Xiaoyu gave him a murderous glare. "I'm not some rag doll!" she snapped, trying to slap his hand away from her.
"And I should have you know that you are my maid, and no maid talks to me with such disrespect...now get in!" he commanded, shoving her inside the vehicle.
Xiaoyu almost fell flat on her face but managed to settle herself in the farthest corner of the lush interior of the limousine. She was thoroughly impressed, she never imagined this man to be that immensely rich at such a young age. While aboard the plane she had been too sad and too busy moping that she had failed to notice the comforts made available to her (albeit being deposited somewhere in the back of the aircraft). In fact, it had been the first time she was away from home, the first time she had boarded such a vehicle. The last time she went on a trip was with her parents, but back then even, they had ridden one of those cheap ferries that had so many people that if one more added, it would surely sink...had she not been put in a quarrelsome mood by her "employer", she would have been so impressed and awestruck, so awestruck that it would make Jin Kazama feel quite embarrassed of his very own acquistions.
"Stop looking like a shriveled up prune and sit here," Jin ordered, pointing to the spot opposite him while shuffling through his briefcase for some papers. A minute or so passed, he had already organized his documents and started up his laptop, still Xiaoyu didn't move a muscle. "Come," he commanded again, his voice now clipped. Suddenly, he stopped typing and looked at her with a blasting gaze. "Sit!" he boomed.
He was so frightening that she jumped and quickly scooted to the spot across him.
"Would you like me to tie a leash around you?" Jin mocked, not looking at her. "I'm nice you know." Noticing the biggest frown he has ever seen in his whole life, Jin went onto say, "That is, if you don't manage to exhaust my patience. I hate repeating myself, so for both our sakes, be a reasonable human being."
Xiaoyu folded her arms and harumphed. Yes, she was tied to a miserable agreement with him, but she refused to go down without a fight. By the end of the day, he will be so annoyed by and with her that he'll end up sending her back to China and would not want to have anything to do with her. That was the plan. Ling Xiaoyu wasn't going to take orders until HE came begging for it. But wait a minute, didn't she just almost give a yelp when he sternly told her to have a sit? Xiaoyu inwardly grunted, mentally slapping herself for her stupidity.
"Something on your mind?" Jin asked sociably.
Xiaoyu shook her head. Yeah, I want to punch the lights out of you, that's what, she thought.
"You look like you want to punch the lights out of me."
"..." Are you some kind of psychic?! the young woman wanted to blurt out.
"Don't want to talk? Fine by me. I'm trying to be nice here." He rolled his eyes. "If you were any other worker of mine, I would have you thrown out in the middle of nowhere."
"Then why don't you?" she ruefully asked.
Why should I? he almost replied. He was shocked by his very own thoughts. But instead of saying something, Jin just brought his attention again to his papers.
Xiaoyu sighed and scooted closer to the window. What she saw took her by surprise. Busy streets filled with busy people. Bright lights and a lively atmosphere. Everybody was dressed up, boys sporting fashionable clothes and the girls were dolled up. She gave dreamy sigh. As the limo passed by, Xiaoyu watched them going to game centers, go in and out of shops with a bag or two or more in hand, she watched them as they sat by the coffee shop window having some cake or ice cream. How she envied their affluent and carefree life. She and her siblings have not had anything new to wear in ages, she doesn't even know how that mountain of frozen milk topped with bananas and brown syrup (sundae...drools) would taste like.
Jin watched Xiaoyu secretly. First he saw the sparkle of excitement in her eyes, only to turn into a look of longing and envy. Had life been that cruel to her? he asked himself. Jin didn't know exactly for what reason he had made such a scheme that night in the gambling house. After concluding that she did not only hate him but in fact abhorred him, he could not help but feel guilty for taking her away from her family. He didn't really need their rundown house nor her, everything just came as a whim. In all the years he has spent, everything he wanted was given to him. They say it was because of the absence of his mother. For the first time in his life he had to admit that he was selfish. That night he didn't want some thing, he wanted to try if he could get someone...and that he did.
After an hour or so of driving and sitting in deafening silence, the limousine finally took a turn and entered the massive iron gates that had opened ever so readily. A lush and sprawling loan welcomed Xiaoyu's eyes.
"Wow," she breathed. The size of his mansion would have to be 30 of their house, and another 60 for his lawn alone. If he were to sell all of this, he could have enough money to feed a family of our size for a millenium, Xiaoyu mused. She continued to dwell in her thoughts until she felt a light tap on her shoulder.
"We're here...and oh, carry my things."
She watched Jin leave without so much as a fuss, and looked at the mess before her. His suitcase half-open, papers and all sorts of documents were scattered all over his side and they continued to spill to the floor. Xiaoyu started to organize when she heard him nagging from outside.
"Hurry!"
"Wretch," she grumbled.
"I heard that!"
And all Xiaoyu could do was wince and do as she was told.
