Yay! A fast update! It just took me a little more than a weak this time.. uhm I think… Next update will probably take some time though.
Well I've been forgetting to say that "I don't own Tekken" in the latest chapters. But you all know that. So now and forever more I Don't Own Tekken! And that goes for future chaps to.
On with the story!
Chapter 22 Every now and then
"You get it now?" Ryuu asked interrupting his thoughts.
He only looked at her. Quietly. How could she just stand there and say something like that? Had she no sympathy for what he just saw? Or human respect?
"You still don't believe me?"
"Well…" He sighed. "It's pretty hard to just acknowledge something like that. But I guess if you say it… I have to believe it."
"Good." She said shortly. She turned around. Jin followed her quietly and eventually she spoke again. "If Devil ever gets a hold of you, I'll kill you. That's why you need to stay away from me." She didn't even look at him as she said it, even less change her face.
As scarily as it sounds Jin was getting used to her cold attitude. Her plain language and strange behavior. Although it hurt to hear it. She, a friend from old and maybe even more then that, threatened to kill him. Nice...
"Not even the desert sun measure up to the burning feeling she gives my heart. Not even the fairest butterfly can be so swift at sight. And not even the deepest sea can be as treacherous as her eyes..."
No, the voice wasn't Jin's. But Ryuu stopped as she heard it. And a small smile crept upon her dense lips.
"A rare flame among the weak sparkles she is..."
"NightAndDay" She said and turned around to meet the one who spoke those words.
"And so she calls upon me. What do you wish my dearest Lady?"
Before them stood a young boy, or so he looked to be. His hair reached to his shoulder, not a curve did the black hair carry. His skin was white, as white as milk. And in those colors he clothed himself. (This is the boy in room 368 that was spoken about earlier in Chapter 21.)
"Nothing." She answered back. "Your smooth tongue is more then enough young boy. And some day it is going to get you killed."
"My speech may one day make me trip over the edge instead of saving me from it. But until that fatal day, or night, has come, I shall remain in the lady's service."
"You're not in my service." She silently laughed. "And you will never be. Jin," She said his name hard to get a confirmation that he was still there.
"Hm?" He replied shortly.
"We're leaving."
And with those words she walked past the young kid that actually didn't look older than a 12 year old kid. But as they walked away they could still hear his voice rambling on.
"Beautiful as a rose with illusion of no thorns. But oh are they there and they do sting with the sharpness of a samurai's sword…"
"Who the hell was that guy?" Jin asked with doubt in his voice.
"No one really knows his real name I think. But he has been known as NightAndDay for a while now. His talk may be smooth but in his mind flows nothing but poison..."
"Hmm..."
At last they stepped inside the garage again and still her bike was the only vehicle there. She walked up to it and sat down rather quickly. For her this was things that happened everyday. Nothing wrong. But Jin walked in thought. This had awoken more questions then answered them. So he was quiet as he climbed the bike and took grip. And Ryuu drove off.
* * *
A bird let its song sound through the temple and Hwoarang moved so fast that Sora was most surprised. She tried to shield herself, but even if she managed to block his left leg the right was doomed to impact. They both fell… but only one victor.
"Hm" She smiled. "My father was right after all."
"Eh?" He raised an eyebrow. "What did he say?"
"After you disappeared to Japan... He said that no matter you might go. One day you just might beat the Doo San family."
Hwoarang turned his eyes away from her to look at the moon that was starting to be more and more visible as the sky turned darker. Baek... he was a part of the reason why he fought in this tournament. Not only did he want to learn that spoiled Kazama brat a lesson. But he wanted revenge for his master. Somehow he knew.. He just knew that the one responsible for his death would be there.
"Aah.. Forget about that." He said since he really didn't want to talk about it. "Buy the way.." he looked over at her again. "Why did you come to Japan in the first place?"
"Hmmm" She sighed heavily "Well... I guess I tried to break away from a place I just knew to well. I didn't want to be bound to the same place and the same humans for all of my life. I sought to experience things. After father died I really didn't have anywhere to go. I stayed with the old lady by the corner. You know.. The one with that pasta place.."
"Hehe... yeah who could ever forget.. If she didn't like you she would simply throw you out."
"Haha.. Exactly that Lady. But I couldn't stay there forever either. I had to get away from there. Away from memories and people who would just expect things from you. Ah! And all the men! Or should I say boys." She frowned. "Gah, how much don't I hate those guys." She complained and covered her face with her hands as she shook her head.
"Teh.. " He grinned.
"Anyway…" She said suddenly all serious again. Her hands fell to her knees and she smiled vaguely. "Why don't we get back into town?" She twisted her head towards him.
It wasn't hard to tell for him. She still was hiding something. Something of pain. He sighed silently that she wouldn't tell him. But he also figured that this time probably wasn't the right to squabble about it either.
"Yeah the hour is getting late." He said as he gazed up at the sky. There had been a long while since he last could se the stars of the sky so brightly. Yet the sun wasn't entirely set either. The whole horizon was filled with that beautiful twilight sky. "I wanna know the outcome of Ryuu's game too." He said as he rose and brushed some dust off him.
Sora had just got up on her feet as the name interrupted her day. Which she for once was enjoying. Her eyes narrowed but she tried to let it slip her mind. As much as she could. And her face was next to neutral as she turned her head towards him.
"Who is that woman?" She asked simply and turned her face to the ground.
"What, Ryuu? Uhm.. Good question. I found her on the street.. took care of her.. And that's that. I don't really know where she comes from. Yeah sure her family live here in Japan but she doesn't look especially Asian now does she…" He said somewhat considerate
"Mm." She reflected on his answer by seeing the vision of the woman in front of her eyes.
"Well.. I suggest we drop the subject and get going away from here."
And she turned her head towards him. She almost gasped as she laid eyes on him. It wasn't his gorgeous looks. It wasn't his fabulous smirk. No… When he stood there.. with the setting sun at his back and the light surrounding him… She just smiled warmly. In her eyes he almost looked as a god. A beautiful god. One of those that you only read about in books and fairytales. And his contours were glowing in gold because of the sun.
"What?" He asked with puckered brows.
"No, nothing." She shook her head, but still smiling. 'Gah! Why am I acting like this? I'm behaving like a school girl. Pull yourself together Sora.. I command you!' She thought to herself and got a more firm look on her face. Well… to some extent anyway.
"All… right…" He said after a while.
And both off the headed into the forest again. Walking towards his bike and to ride back to the central of Tokyo.
* * *
Ryuu stopped at the Mishima empire to let Jin off (ooh playing nice is she...). When he got off she immediately intended to drive of but soon she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Come with me..." Jin asked softly
"Fool." She just said and meant to drive off.
"Come with me..." He said holding his grip harder and whispering against her ear.
Ryuu closed her eyes and sighed. Her grip around the handle hardened. And she wanted to knock herself out for saying her next words...
"Alright already..." She sighed and let the engine die out. She locked it and placed the keys in her inner pocket.
She stood before him and just looked at him and his smile for a while before he turned around to walk inside. Every step she took she thought about turning back and just walk away. But at the same time she couldn't. Something inside her just had to follow him and see if devil would come out. Something inside of her wanted to just watch and wait. And when he finally would turn she would let him now, slow and nice, what death could taste like.
She was so much inside of her thoughts that she didn't really notice that she was inside of the Mishima Empire, or inside of Jin's room again, until he already had closed the door.
"Hey..." he said softly. "Why don't you just try and relax for a change..."
'Relax he say's...' She thought and rolled her eyes.
"Why did you leave me here that day?"
"What?" She asked and turned against him. Not knowing what he meant.
She looked at him as he leaned against the door and looked down at the floor. She felt a sort of sadness coming from him. What did he mean with his question? But she was soon to be informed.
"The day we first came here... When Heihachi finally accepted me… You were gone after that."
Her eyes darkened as she turned her face away from him. Why SHE left HIM? Like she had any damn choice. She slowly clenched her fist as she remembered being outnumbered in the room and being brought to a place so far away from the sun. And being treated like a subject in a damn science project. She could kill just thinking about it. Suddenly she felt an arm on her shoulder and then a pair of fingers bringing her head up to Jin's own face.
"You... you didn't leave me... Did you?"
Despite his fingers she turned her face away from him. Jin was too emotional. His words and eyes sough too deep in her soul. She now knew it was because of Devil. At any price she must resist him. She held her race high. And to lower herself to a devil would be a disgrace to her race. But her soul would sure make it hard for her. When she felt he would move again she grabbed him by his shoulder and swung him around her body to let him fall down at the bed. Her left hand held him by his collar while she threatened to take his life with her right. [Ending movie a la Jin, Hell yeah! Karate kick his ass! Err. I'll just shut up...]
"Stop it." She demanded with a hard voice. "Just give it a rest would you!" She almost shouted. "It's hard enough without you urging me."
And Jin realized... It had been an exchange of role. Now he was the one holding the cards. In a flash he understood that he was the enemy but still she had the same feelings as she had shown the other day. She wanted him.
However... Jin couldn't imagine how both right and wrong he was. Her first thought when she looked at Jin was to feel his lips and simply make him hers. But the second... and the most burning was to destroy him. Never letting him take another breath. Ryuu in her own thoughts didn't notice when Jin took a grip around her wrist. He forced away her hand and Ryuu was surprised. She felt his other hand pushing her shoulder. She slightly closed her eyes of the speed. She was already tired of opening that portal earlier, which was probably the reason why she didn't react sooner. And suddenly they had switched places. So Ryuu noticed when she once more opened her eyes.
But to adding up her anger she saw that he had only used his situation to come closer to her. His face was barely an inch from her own. She felt a burst of anger within herself and just when she was about to express herself she was shut down. Her eyes widened and she had no thought at all at enjoying this. At first anyway. But as she saw the expression on his face her eyes grew calmer and she relaxed with her whole body. _But_ she never closed her eyes. Not even blink did she. She let her finger run along the features of his face and when Jin first released her from his kiss she ran her fingers through his soft hair to push his head down again.
Seconds after Jin felt something cold and utterly sharp rest against his throat. He raised his head and met a smiling Ryuu's eyes.
"I recall telling you to stay away from me.. You're not a fast learner are you...?" And she held the knife against his throat until she could get up and away.
"Why? Why the hell should I?"
"I already told you."
"I don't believe you."
"What?" She asked and frowned at him.
"That you'll kill me."
And Ryuu's mouth cracked to a smile and developed to a laugh.
"Aah... You're so stupid.. Why wouldn't I? You think I would care? I mean.. I would even take two birds in one hit." And a serious face replaced her smile. "Firstly I would keep Devil from gaining his whole self. Secondly.. One less human on earth."
Jin's eyes narrowed and he shook his head.
"Who are you? I don't know you anymore.. You're not the Ryuu I-"
"Damn right I'm not." She cut him off firmly. "Learn that." She said and turned around to walk out on the balcony. She opened the door quite harshly and stepped out.
"You can't have change that much." Jin persisted as he followed.
"Oh shut up, you don't even know half of me."
"Then tell me."
"Fuck off." She said as she got up on the rail. She looked out over the city, at night were always the good time.
"Ryuu... I..."
And she slowly turned her face back to look at him from the corner of her eye with a serious face.
"..love you..."
"Bah!" She laughed. "How stupid can you be...? I don't even have feelings. Even less love. And more then less I would love a human... with a devil inside of him." She said cold as she turned her head straight again.
A stunned Jin just watched her as she took off her jacket. She held it in her right hand as she held together the bands of the top. Even more surprised Jin became as she spread a pair of white wings.
"Well.. Hope to never see you again.." She said as she left the ground for the sky.
* * *
In a steady and rapid speed Sora and Hwoarang was closing in on the Mishima hotel. Well on the parking lot Hwoarang glanced back at Sora to find out that she had fallen asleep.
"How the hell does she do that?" He asked confused that she had managed to stay on the bike.
He thought of bringing her up to his room… But he realized soon that he couldn't do that. His so called conscious wouldn't let him. As he had pointed out to himself before this wasn't just any girl. But it sure was tempting. As tempting as it could be. You didn't see too much of these kind of girls in Tokyo. And definitely not so many that looked like that and could fight.. And even less.. being his master's daughter. He closed his eyes and shook his head to himself.
He couldn't do that.
"Hey.. Sora…" He said shrugging his shoulders so she would wake up.
"Hnngh…" You could hear her mumbling. And as the cool breeze of the aging night reached her she lifted her head. "Just five more minutes…" She complained.
"Hey…" He said lifting her head with his finger as well as he could without getting of the bike or twisting his torso.
"Hmm." And she finally opened her eyes. She yawned slightly. "Mm…yeah yeah.. I know." She said and tangled herself down to the ground again.
Without any greater problems Hwoarang slid off. He saw to it that his vehicle was locked and then he turned to the woman again.
"Well.. Good night." He said and was about to turn around.
"That's it?" She knitted her eyebrows and looked a little disappointed.
"Eh?" He turned around again. "What's what?"
"You're not going to sweet talk me to try and get me up to your room or something?"
He smiled a little surprised by her words. He walked up to her and kissed her gently on her left cheek.
"I'll save that to a better time." He whispered smoothly and turned around to walk away. Only this time he didn't stop.
She watched him until he disappeared into the front door and sighed heavily. Frankly she wanted more to happen than that. After a while she just shrugged and turned around to walk across the street and inside the Mishima Empire.
Neither Sora nor Hwoarang had noticed the scene that had taken place at Jin's balcony just before they had arrived. But now as Sora raised her head just in time to see Jin turn to walk inside to his room. She stopped for a while. What.. was it with him? She could tell just by standing on the other side of the street and looking up at him that something was wrong. Her eyes narrowed and she started to hurry inside. Quickly she moved through the very long corridors. Constantly cursing them. The whole building was like a giant maze for her and she couldn't walk from one place to another without getting lost at least once or twice. This time it actually took four dead ends before she stood before Jin's door.
She raised her hand to knock at the door but hesitated just before her knuckles was about to hit the wooden door. She took her fist to herself again and started to think. Why… would she need to do this? She had already noticed that Hwoarang was casting an eye on her that that other woman never would get. She had got what she wanted. She didn't have to suck up to Jin to be seen in his presence while that woman was watching. She didn't need to.
She bit her lower lip. She didn't need to do this.. but she could also do it just to be.. nice. Like to a friend. Yeah that's right. She looked at the name plate once more 'Kazama, Jin' she smiled. She had friends now. People who looked at her for who she was, not how she behaved as her father's daughter. And she felt good about it. So she decided to knock at the door.
And so she did. First she knocked a little careful.. It was night and she wasn't sure if there were any others around that she could wake up. When there was no answer she knocked a little louder. She waited a little and when there was no answer she knocked a little more firmly. This time she didn't receive any response either. So she put her ear to the door and tried to listen after sounds from inside the door.
"Jin?" She whispered since she didn't hear anything. "Jin are you in there?" She added more voice to her tone. But still nothing.
She let her fingers seek to the handle and she slowly pushed it down. As if she really wasn't allowed to go in there. She peeked inside to get a glimpse of what was happening in there.
"Jin!" She almost shouted as she saw him lying, unconscious it seemed, at the floor. "What's the matter, Jin?!"
She knelt by his side and turned his face towards her own. His face wasn't that of a fainted one. It was that of a tortured one. His teeth were clenched and his eyes shut hard. She could almost hear him snarling once in a while. She had absolutely no idea of what to do. His body was too heavy for her to try to drag it up on the bed. She tried to wake him up. With her voice and by force. But with no success.
But what was going on in Jin's head? What had happened to him once he went inside the room again?
~Within Jin's head~
His eyelids shoot up with the speed of a jet plane. He was standing. Standing in some sort of darkness. A thick darkness. When he turned his head he could feel it like black smoke caressing his skin. Not a single sound was heard.
"What the hell is this?" He whispered in question.
Not even a slightest echo was heard. It was as if he had put a cushion over his mouth and talked. Also when he breathed his throat wanted to protest in dragging this air down to his lungs. He tried to move. But the smoke felt as water around his body. Breaking his movements. He tried to blink several of times but the darkness still held him firmly in its grip.
"Infinite darkness. Like the endless universe. A never-ending battle between good.. and evil…"
"Who's there?" Jin demanded as he heard the voice echo in this secluded void.
"Oh? I thought that little dragon bitch already had told you of my existence."
And an image projected before Jin. A man. No, not a man, a devil. Purple skin, yellow horns. Jin especially noticed his eyes. Red, a radiant red. Such as the world of animals would use to tell they were 'dangerous' or 'deadly'. He didn't like the color. He didn't like this creature at all. But it just smiled mockingly at him.
"Or maybe you didn't get it?" It folded its arms as it looked, no stared at Jin.
"What?"
The creature laughed, almost chuckled, at his stupidity.
"You really are a slow learner aren't you…?"
And in that instant Jin remembered. Ryuu… was that who he meant with… dragon bitch? Dragon? What did he mean by that? But those questions only pasted his mind briefly.
"You're this… devil. Are you?" He asked slowly. Not knowing if he really wanted to hear the answer.
"Oh… he did understand at last."
"What do you want from me?" His eyes narrowed. But he shook off the slight feeling of anxiety that sneaked up on him.
"What I want? Oh there's no need for you to have such knowledge. Your body will subdue to me eventually anyhow."
"Then what is this all about?" He asked, trying not to show him any great reaction. Like hell he would let this creature take over his body.
"That woman. That bitch. Stay away from her."
What was this? The whole world was against his feelings for Ryuu? Like he would care if a purple bastard would tell him to stay away from her. But he stayed calm. And didn't let any emotion show.
"Why?" He composedly asked instead.
"Why? Isn't it obvious? She's an enemy."
"How could she be…? She's just a normal-"
"Human?" The devil laughed sarcastically. "I thought that was pretty evident that human was one of the things she least of all was. She's a dragon. One of the most lethal of all. You should be happy that you're even alive. Guess she's still young."
Jin stayed silent and just watched the creature. He wouldn't believe it. Someone he had known for so long couldn't have changed that much and now wanted to kill him. It was just impossible. It couldn't happen.
"Oh but she will." The purple devil said as if he read his thoughts.
'What? He can read my mind?' He silently wondered within his thoughts.
"More then so." He answered. "When time will come I will imprison your thoughts and mind to myself control your body. Until I find my other half and by then your mind will be dead."
Jin's eyes narrowed as he spoke those words. But soon he was caught of by a faint voice.
"Jin? Wake up Jin!"
"Sora?" he asked out aloud and tried to turn his head to see her.
"Oh? So you finally heard that woman's call. You're quite slow. Hm.. I'll let you go for this time. But remember. Stay away from the bitch."
And the image faded into the thick darkness again. And suddenly it felt as if a giant had let go of his head and mind.
~The 'real' world~
"Jin… Jin?" She asked as she thought herself se his eyelids move.
Jin's face slowly relaxed to turn to normal. His eyes slid opened and he saw Sora's face above him.
"Are you alright?" She asked concerned.
"I'm fine." He said with a dried throat and took a quick glance around the room to make sure that he was back in the real world again, and not stuck within his mind. "Just a little headache." He said as he sat up.
"What happened?" She asked as she tilted her head.
"I… I'm not sure." He said swift and tried not to talk about it.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked trying to confirm that he really was. "You were gone for… I don't know how long."
"I'm fine." He said firmly as he met her eyes. Only to avoid them just as quick.
"All… right…" She said as she got up from the floor.
"Sora… I didn't mean it like that." He looked up at her and tried to get up by himself.
But he lost his balance and before he fell Sora was there to support him. She wrapped his arm around her shoulder to help him stand up.
"I know you didn't.. Now just get some rest." She said as she helped him over to the bed.
"Thanks…" He said when he sat down at the bed. He looked up at her and saw her smiling he couldn't help but smiling a little himself.
"I don't know what happened… But make sure it doesn't happen anymore. The tournament is going on like crazy. The contestants are good. You should keep in shape."
"Got it." He nodded and watched her as she walked out the door
* * *
Ryuu crossed the meadow slowly. To gather energy from nature was something she had learned even in her more 'human' days. Now, in the night, it was nicer. You weren't disturbed or stared at. She had landed for about five minutes ago and looked at the ground as she was walking. You could think that she was puzzled and was thinking about what had happened. Fact was that she wasn't. Everything was clear to her. There wasn't much to argue about.
She just had to kill him.
And after she decided that for herself, there wasn't any more thinking really. She glanced up at the moon. Only a few days left until the day of the new moon. A day she never liked. Not because of what happened to her during that night... but why it happened.
"Hel-"
"-lo" She finished the sentence and turned her head back. "It's hard to surprise someone who can see seconds into the future... Isn't it."
"If you try to surprise anyone then yes. If you're not it doesn't really matter." The man said without changing the looks of his face.
"Hm" She sighed. "What are you doing here anyway? You weren't here earlier this day."
"You were looking for me?" He asked looking at her somewhat puzzled.
"No." She shook her head. Lying but not letting it show. "I was at The Core and someone told me you weren't there.. That's all."
"What were you doing there at this time?" He asked calmly.
"None of your business." She said turning around and looked into his red eyes.
"Whatever." He sighed and shrugged. "Well.. I'm only here briefly anyway. Here." He said holding out a folder with black covers. The front held a silver mark of a dragon head.
"What is it?" She asked as she grabbed it.
"It might interest you…"
"Hmm…" She thought as she looked down at the picture. Then she looked up at the man again with strange eyes.
"What?" He asked noticing her look.
"You came here to give me this?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
"So?"
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. She never figured him out. Never. How hard she ever tried. She never understood his nature.
"I thought you were fighting a war. But on second thought.. You don't have the slightest fragrance of death on you."
"Hmp… You shouldn't believe everything you hear. But this is true. I am fighting a war. You could say." He turned around to walk away.
"Err… When.." She cleared her throat hoping her question wouldn't sound too stupid. "When'll you be back again?"
He stopped and looked up at the sky with a considerate face. And after a while it dropped again.
"In about a year or so." He muffled and kept pacing away.
Ryuu slowly blinked. And when her eye was open again he was gone out of her sight. She sighed lightly. A year? What the hell would take a year..? Ah well… She had better things to do than to think about that anyway. She looked down at the folder and studied the dragonhead for a while. What would the papers inside say?
"Guess there's only one way to find out."
A/N: Review!
Well I've been forgetting to say that "I don't own Tekken" in the latest chapters. But you all know that. So now and forever more I Don't Own Tekken! And that goes for future chaps to.
On with the story!
Chapter 22 Every now and then
"You get it now?" Ryuu asked interrupting his thoughts.
He only looked at her. Quietly. How could she just stand there and say something like that? Had she no sympathy for what he just saw? Or human respect?
"You still don't believe me?"
"Well…" He sighed. "It's pretty hard to just acknowledge something like that. But I guess if you say it… I have to believe it."
"Good." She said shortly. She turned around. Jin followed her quietly and eventually she spoke again. "If Devil ever gets a hold of you, I'll kill you. That's why you need to stay away from me." She didn't even look at him as she said it, even less change her face.
As scarily as it sounds Jin was getting used to her cold attitude. Her plain language and strange behavior. Although it hurt to hear it. She, a friend from old and maybe even more then that, threatened to kill him. Nice...
"Not even the desert sun measure up to the burning feeling she gives my heart. Not even the fairest butterfly can be so swift at sight. And not even the deepest sea can be as treacherous as her eyes..."
No, the voice wasn't Jin's. But Ryuu stopped as she heard it. And a small smile crept upon her dense lips.
"A rare flame among the weak sparkles she is..."
"NightAndDay" She said and turned around to meet the one who spoke those words.
"And so she calls upon me. What do you wish my dearest Lady?"
Before them stood a young boy, or so he looked to be. His hair reached to his shoulder, not a curve did the black hair carry. His skin was white, as white as milk. And in those colors he clothed himself. (This is the boy in room 368 that was spoken about earlier in Chapter 21.)
"Nothing." She answered back. "Your smooth tongue is more then enough young boy. And some day it is going to get you killed."
"My speech may one day make me trip over the edge instead of saving me from it. But until that fatal day, or night, has come, I shall remain in the lady's service."
"You're not in my service." She silently laughed. "And you will never be. Jin," She said his name hard to get a confirmation that he was still there.
"Hm?" He replied shortly.
"We're leaving."
And with those words she walked past the young kid that actually didn't look older than a 12 year old kid. But as they walked away they could still hear his voice rambling on.
"Beautiful as a rose with illusion of no thorns. But oh are they there and they do sting with the sharpness of a samurai's sword…"
"Who the hell was that guy?" Jin asked with doubt in his voice.
"No one really knows his real name I think. But he has been known as NightAndDay for a while now. His talk may be smooth but in his mind flows nothing but poison..."
"Hmm..."
At last they stepped inside the garage again and still her bike was the only vehicle there. She walked up to it and sat down rather quickly. For her this was things that happened everyday. Nothing wrong. But Jin walked in thought. This had awoken more questions then answered them. So he was quiet as he climbed the bike and took grip. And Ryuu drove off.
* * *
A bird let its song sound through the temple and Hwoarang moved so fast that Sora was most surprised. She tried to shield herself, but even if she managed to block his left leg the right was doomed to impact. They both fell… but only one victor.
"Hm" She smiled. "My father was right after all."
"Eh?" He raised an eyebrow. "What did he say?"
"After you disappeared to Japan... He said that no matter you might go. One day you just might beat the Doo San family."
Hwoarang turned his eyes away from her to look at the moon that was starting to be more and more visible as the sky turned darker. Baek... he was a part of the reason why he fought in this tournament. Not only did he want to learn that spoiled Kazama brat a lesson. But he wanted revenge for his master. Somehow he knew.. He just knew that the one responsible for his death would be there.
"Aah.. Forget about that." He said since he really didn't want to talk about it. "Buy the way.." he looked over at her again. "Why did you come to Japan in the first place?"
"Hmmm" She sighed heavily "Well... I guess I tried to break away from a place I just knew to well. I didn't want to be bound to the same place and the same humans for all of my life. I sought to experience things. After father died I really didn't have anywhere to go. I stayed with the old lady by the corner. You know.. The one with that pasta place.."
"Hehe... yeah who could ever forget.. If she didn't like you she would simply throw you out."
"Haha.. Exactly that Lady. But I couldn't stay there forever either. I had to get away from there. Away from memories and people who would just expect things from you. Ah! And all the men! Or should I say boys." She frowned. "Gah, how much don't I hate those guys." She complained and covered her face with her hands as she shook her head.
"Teh.. " He grinned.
"Anyway…" She said suddenly all serious again. Her hands fell to her knees and she smiled vaguely. "Why don't we get back into town?" She twisted her head towards him.
It wasn't hard to tell for him. She still was hiding something. Something of pain. He sighed silently that she wouldn't tell him. But he also figured that this time probably wasn't the right to squabble about it either.
"Yeah the hour is getting late." He said as he gazed up at the sky. There had been a long while since he last could se the stars of the sky so brightly. Yet the sun wasn't entirely set either. The whole horizon was filled with that beautiful twilight sky. "I wanna know the outcome of Ryuu's game too." He said as he rose and brushed some dust off him.
Sora had just got up on her feet as the name interrupted her day. Which she for once was enjoying. Her eyes narrowed but she tried to let it slip her mind. As much as she could. And her face was next to neutral as she turned her head towards him.
"Who is that woman?" She asked simply and turned her face to the ground.
"What, Ryuu? Uhm.. Good question. I found her on the street.. took care of her.. And that's that. I don't really know where she comes from. Yeah sure her family live here in Japan but she doesn't look especially Asian now does she…" He said somewhat considerate
"Mm." She reflected on his answer by seeing the vision of the woman in front of her eyes.
"Well.. I suggest we drop the subject and get going away from here."
And she turned her head towards him. She almost gasped as she laid eyes on him. It wasn't his gorgeous looks. It wasn't his fabulous smirk. No… When he stood there.. with the setting sun at his back and the light surrounding him… She just smiled warmly. In her eyes he almost looked as a god. A beautiful god. One of those that you only read about in books and fairytales. And his contours were glowing in gold because of the sun.
"What?" He asked with puckered brows.
"No, nothing." She shook her head, but still smiling. 'Gah! Why am I acting like this? I'm behaving like a school girl. Pull yourself together Sora.. I command you!' She thought to herself and got a more firm look on her face. Well… to some extent anyway.
"All… right…" He said after a while.
And both off the headed into the forest again. Walking towards his bike and to ride back to the central of Tokyo.
* * *
Ryuu stopped at the Mishima empire to let Jin off (ooh playing nice is she...). When he got off she immediately intended to drive of but soon she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Come with me..." Jin asked softly
"Fool." She just said and meant to drive off.
"Come with me..." He said holding his grip harder and whispering against her ear.
Ryuu closed her eyes and sighed. Her grip around the handle hardened. And she wanted to knock herself out for saying her next words...
"Alright already..." She sighed and let the engine die out. She locked it and placed the keys in her inner pocket.
She stood before him and just looked at him and his smile for a while before he turned around to walk inside. Every step she took she thought about turning back and just walk away. But at the same time she couldn't. Something inside her just had to follow him and see if devil would come out. Something inside of her wanted to just watch and wait. And when he finally would turn she would let him now, slow and nice, what death could taste like.
She was so much inside of her thoughts that she didn't really notice that she was inside of the Mishima Empire, or inside of Jin's room again, until he already had closed the door.
"Hey..." he said softly. "Why don't you just try and relax for a change..."
'Relax he say's...' She thought and rolled her eyes.
"Why did you leave me here that day?"
"What?" She asked and turned against him. Not knowing what he meant.
She looked at him as he leaned against the door and looked down at the floor. She felt a sort of sadness coming from him. What did he mean with his question? But she was soon to be informed.
"The day we first came here... When Heihachi finally accepted me… You were gone after that."
Her eyes darkened as she turned her face away from him. Why SHE left HIM? Like she had any damn choice. She slowly clenched her fist as she remembered being outnumbered in the room and being brought to a place so far away from the sun. And being treated like a subject in a damn science project. She could kill just thinking about it. Suddenly she felt an arm on her shoulder and then a pair of fingers bringing her head up to Jin's own face.
"You... you didn't leave me... Did you?"
Despite his fingers she turned her face away from him. Jin was too emotional. His words and eyes sough too deep in her soul. She now knew it was because of Devil. At any price she must resist him. She held her race high. And to lower herself to a devil would be a disgrace to her race. But her soul would sure make it hard for her. When she felt he would move again she grabbed him by his shoulder and swung him around her body to let him fall down at the bed. Her left hand held him by his collar while she threatened to take his life with her right. [Ending movie a la Jin, Hell yeah! Karate kick his ass! Err. I'll just shut up...]
"Stop it." She demanded with a hard voice. "Just give it a rest would you!" She almost shouted. "It's hard enough without you urging me."
And Jin realized... It had been an exchange of role. Now he was the one holding the cards. In a flash he understood that he was the enemy but still she had the same feelings as she had shown the other day. She wanted him.
However... Jin couldn't imagine how both right and wrong he was. Her first thought when she looked at Jin was to feel his lips and simply make him hers. But the second... and the most burning was to destroy him. Never letting him take another breath. Ryuu in her own thoughts didn't notice when Jin took a grip around her wrist. He forced away her hand and Ryuu was surprised. She felt his other hand pushing her shoulder. She slightly closed her eyes of the speed. She was already tired of opening that portal earlier, which was probably the reason why she didn't react sooner. And suddenly they had switched places. So Ryuu noticed when she once more opened her eyes.
But to adding up her anger she saw that he had only used his situation to come closer to her. His face was barely an inch from her own. She felt a burst of anger within herself and just when she was about to express herself she was shut down. Her eyes widened and she had no thought at all at enjoying this. At first anyway. But as she saw the expression on his face her eyes grew calmer and she relaxed with her whole body. _But_ she never closed her eyes. Not even blink did she. She let her finger run along the features of his face and when Jin first released her from his kiss she ran her fingers through his soft hair to push his head down again.
Seconds after Jin felt something cold and utterly sharp rest against his throat. He raised his head and met a smiling Ryuu's eyes.
"I recall telling you to stay away from me.. You're not a fast learner are you...?" And she held the knife against his throat until she could get up and away.
"Why? Why the hell should I?"
"I already told you."
"I don't believe you."
"What?" She asked and frowned at him.
"That you'll kill me."
And Ryuu's mouth cracked to a smile and developed to a laugh.
"Aah... You're so stupid.. Why wouldn't I? You think I would care? I mean.. I would even take two birds in one hit." And a serious face replaced her smile. "Firstly I would keep Devil from gaining his whole self. Secondly.. One less human on earth."
Jin's eyes narrowed and he shook his head.
"Who are you? I don't know you anymore.. You're not the Ryuu I-"
"Damn right I'm not." She cut him off firmly. "Learn that." She said and turned around to walk out on the balcony. She opened the door quite harshly and stepped out.
"You can't have change that much." Jin persisted as he followed.
"Oh shut up, you don't even know half of me."
"Then tell me."
"Fuck off." She said as she got up on the rail. She looked out over the city, at night were always the good time.
"Ryuu... I..."
And she slowly turned her face back to look at him from the corner of her eye with a serious face.
"..love you..."
"Bah!" She laughed. "How stupid can you be...? I don't even have feelings. Even less love. And more then less I would love a human... with a devil inside of him." She said cold as she turned her head straight again.
A stunned Jin just watched her as she took off her jacket. She held it in her right hand as she held together the bands of the top. Even more surprised Jin became as she spread a pair of white wings.
"Well.. Hope to never see you again.." She said as she left the ground for the sky.
* * *
In a steady and rapid speed Sora and Hwoarang was closing in on the Mishima hotel. Well on the parking lot Hwoarang glanced back at Sora to find out that she had fallen asleep.
"How the hell does she do that?" He asked confused that she had managed to stay on the bike.
He thought of bringing her up to his room… But he realized soon that he couldn't do that. His so called conscious wouldn't let him. As he had pointed out to himself before this wasn't just any girl. But it sure was tempting. As tempting as it could be. You didn't see too much of these kind of girls in Tokyo. And definitely not so many that looked like that and could fight.. And even less.. being his master's daughter. He closed his eyes and shook his head to himself.
He couldn't do that.
"Hey.. Sora…" He said shrugging his shoulders so she would wake up.
"Hnngh…" You could hear her mumbling. And as the cool breeze of the aging night reached her she lifted her head. "Just five more minutes…" She complained.
"Hey…" He said lifting her head with his finger as well as he could without getting of the bike or twisting his torso.
"Hmm." And she finally opened her eyes. She yawned slightly. "Mm…yeah yeah.. I know." She said and tangled herself down to the ground again.
Without any greater problems Hwoarang slid off. He saw to it that his vehicle was locked and then he turned to the woman again.
"Well.. Good night." He said and was about to turn around.
"That's it?" She knitted her eyebrows and looked a little disappointed.
"Eh?" He turned around again. "What's what?"
"You're not going to sweet talk me to try and get me up to your room or something?"
He smiled a little surprised by her words. He walked up to her and kissed her gently on her left cheek.
"I'll save that to a better time." He whispered smoothly and turned around to walk away. Only this time he didn't stop.
She watched him until he disappeared into the front door and sighed heavily. Frankly she wanted more to happen than that. After a while she just shrugged and turned around to walk across the street and inside the Mishima Empire.
Neither Sora nor Hwoarang had noticed the scene that had taken place at Jin's balcony just before they had arrived. But now as Sora raised her head just in time to see Jin turn to walk inside to his room. She stopped for a while. What.. was it with him? She could tell just by standing on the other side of the street and looking up at him that something was wrong. Her eyes narrowed and she started to hurry inside. Quickly she moved through the very long corridors. Constantly cursing them. The whole building was like a giant maze for her and she couldn't walk from one place to another without getting lost at least once or twice. This time it actually took four dead ends before she stood before Jin's door.
She raised her hand to knock at the door but hesitated just before her knuckles was about to hit the wooden door. She took her fist to herself again and started to think. Why… would she need to do this? She had already noticed that Hwoarang was casting an eye on her that that other woman never would get. She had got what she wanted. She didn't have to suck up to Jin to be seen in his presence while that woman was watching. She didn't need to.
She bit her lower lip. She didn't need to do this.. but she could also do it just to be.. nice. Like to a friend. Yeah that's right. She looked at the name plate once more 'Kazama, Jin' she smiled. She had friends now. People who looked at her for who she was, not how she behaved as her father's daughter. And she felt good about it. So she decided to knock at the door.
And so she did. First she knocked a little careful.. It was night and she wasn't sure if there were any others around that she could wake up. When there was no answer she knocked a little louder. She waited a little and when there was no answer she knocked a little more firmly. This time she didn't receive any response either. So she put her ear to the door and tried to listen after sounds from inside the door.
"Jin?" She whispered since she didn't hear anything. "Jin are you in there?" She added more voice to her tone. But still nothing.
She let her fingers seek to the handle and she slowly pushed it down. As if she really wasn't allowed to go in there. She peeked inside to get a glimpse of what was happening in there.
"Jin!" She almost shouted as she saw him lying, unconscious it seemed, at the floor. "What's the matter, Jin?!"
She knelt by his side and turned his face towards her own. His face wasn't that of a fainted one. It was that of a tortured one. His teeth were clenched and his eyes shut hard. She could almost hear him snarling once in a while. She had absolutely no idea of what to do. His body was too heavy for her to try to drag it up on the bed. She tried to wake him up. With her voice and by force. But with no success.
But what was going on in Jin's head? What had happened to him once he went inside the room again?
~Within Jin's head~
His eyelids shoot up with the speed of a jet plane. He was standing. Standing in some sort of darkness. A thick darkness. When he turned his head he could feel it like black smoke caressing his skin. Not a single sound was heard.
"What the hell is this?" He whispered in question.
Not even a slightest echo was heard. It was as if he had put a cushion over his mouth and talked. Also when he breathed his throat wanted to protest in dragging this air down to his lungs. He tried to move. But the smoke felt as water around his body. Breaking his movements. He tried to blink several of times but the darkness still held him firmly in its grip.
"Infinite darkness. Like the endless universe. A never-ending battle between good.. and evil…"
"Who's there?" Jin demanded as he heard the voice echo in this secluded void.
"Oh? I thought that little dragon bitch already had told you of my existence."
And an image projected before Jin. A man. No, not a man, a devil. Purple skin, yellow horns. Jin especially noticed his eyes. Red, a radiant red. Such as the world of animals would use to tell they were 'dangerous' or 'deadly'. He didn't like the color. He didn't like this creature at all. But it just smiled mockingly at him.
"Or maybe you didn't get it?" It folded its arms as it looked, no stared at Jin.
"What?"
The creature laughed, almost chuckled, at his stupidity.
"You really are a slow learner aren't you…?"
And in that instant Jin remembered. Ryuu… was that who he meant with… dragon bitch? Dragon? What did he mean by that? But those questions only pasted his mind briefly.
"You're this… devil. Are you?" He asked slowly. Not knowing if he really wanted to hear the answer.
"Oh… he did understand at last."
"What do you want from me?" His eyes narrowed. But he shook off the slight feeling of anxiety that sneaked up on him.
"What I want? Oh there's no need for you to have such knowledge. Your body will subdue to me eventually anyhow."
"Then what is this all about?" He asked, trying not to show him any great reaction. Like hell he would let this creature take over his body.
"That woman. That bitch. Stay away from her."
What was this? The whole world was against his feelings for Ryuu? Like he would care if a purple bastard would tell him to stay away from her. But he stayed calm. And didn't let any emotion show.
"Why?" He composedly asked instead.
"Why? Isn't it obvious? She's an enemy."
"How could she be…? She's just a normal-"
"Human?" The devil laughed sarcastically. "I thought that was pretty evident that human was one of the things she least of all was. She's a dragon. One of the most lethal of all. You should be happy that you're even alive. Guess she's still young."
Jin stayed silent and just watched the creature. He wouldn't believe it. Someone he had known for so long couldn't have changed that much and now wanted to kill him. It was just impossible. It couldn't happen.
"Oh but she will." The purple devil said as if he read his thoughts.
'What? He can read my mind?' He silently wondered within his thoughts.
"More then so." He answered. "When time will come I will imprison your thoughts and mind to myself control your body. Until I find my other half and by then your mind will be dead."
Jin's eyes narrowed as he spoke those words. But soon he was caught of by a faint voice.
"Jin? Wake up Jin!"
"Sora?" he asked out aloud and tried to turn his head to see her.
"Oh? So you finally heard that woman's call. You're quite slow. Hm.. I'll let you go for this time. But remember. Stay away from the bitch."
And the image faded into the thick darkness again. And suddenly it felt as if a giant had let go of his head and mind.
~The 'real' world~
"Jin… Jin?" She asked as she thought herself se his eyelids move.
Jin's face slowly relaxed to turn to normal. His eyes slid opened and he saw Sora's face above him.
"Are you alright?" She asked concerned.
"I'm fine." He said with a dried throat and took a quick glance around the room to make sure that he was back in the real world again, and not stuck within his mind. "Just a little headache." He said as he sat up.
"What happened?" She asked as she tilted her head.
"I… I'm not sure." He said swift and tried not to talk about it.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked trying to confirm that he really was. "You were gone for… I don't know how long."
"I'm fine." He said firmly as he met her eyes. Only to avoid them just as quick.
"All… right…" She said as she got up from the floor.
"Sora… I didn't mean it like that." He looked up at her and tried to get up by himself.
But he lost his balance and before he fell Sora was there to support him. She wrapped his arm around her shoulder to help him stand up.
"I know you didn't.. Now just get some rest." She said as she helped him over to the bed.
"Thanks…" He said when he sat down at the bed. He looked up at her and saw her smiling he couldn't help but smiling a little himself.
"I don't know what happened… But make sure it doesn't happen anymore. The tournament is going on like crazy. The contestants are good. You should keep in shape."
"Got it." He nodded and watched her as she walked out the door
* * *
Ryuu crossed the meadow slowly. To gather energy from nature was something she had learned even in her more 'human' days. Now, in the night, it was nicer. You weren't disturbed or stared at. She had landed for about five minutes ago and looked at the ground as she was walking. You could think that she was puzzled and was thinking about what had happened. Fact was that she wasn't. Everything was clear to her. There wasn't much to argue about.
She just had to kill him.
And after she decided that for herself, there wasn't any more thinking really. She glanced up at the moon. Only a few days left until the day of the new moon. A day she never liked. Not because of what happened to her during that night... but why it happened.
"Hel-"
"-lo" She finished the sentence and turned her head back. "It's hard to surprise someone who can see seconds into the future... Isn't it."
"If you try to surprise anyone then yes. If you're not it doesn't really matter." The man said without changing the looks of his face.
"Hm" She sighed. "What are you doing here anyway? You weren't here earlier this day."
"You were looking for me?" He asked looking at her somewhat puzzled.
"No." She shook her head. Lying but not letting it show. "I was at The Core and someone told me you weren't there.. That's all."
"What were you doing there at this time?" He asked calmly.
"None of your business." She said turning around and looked into his red eyes.
"Whatever." He sighed and shrugged. "Well.. I'm only here briefly anyway. Here." He said holding out a folder with black covers. The front held a silver mark of a dragon head.
"What is it?" She asked as she grabbed it.
"It might interest you…"
"Hmm…" She thought as she looked down at the picture. Then she looked up at the man again with strange eyes.
"What?" He asked noticing her look.
"You came here to give me this?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
"So?"
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. She never figured him out. Never. How hard she ever tried. She never understood his nature.
"I thought you were fighting a war. But on second thought.. You don't have the slightest fragrance of death on you."
"Hmp… You shouldn't believe everything you hear. But this is true. I am fighting a war. You could say." He turned around to walk away.
"Err… When.." She cleared her throat hoping her question wouldn't sound too stupid. "When'll you be back again?"
He stopped and looked up at the sky with a considerate face. And after a while it dropped again.
"In about a year or so." He muffled and kept pacing away.
Ryuu slowly blinked. And when her eye was open again he was gone out of her sight. She sighed lightly. A year? What the hell would take a year..? Ah well… She had better things to do than to think about that anyway. She looked down at the folder and studied the dragonhead for a while. What would the papers inside say?
"Guess there's only one way to find out."
A/N: Review!