Authors Notes: I have returned with another chapter! I think that this is my longest chapter so far. Heehee… I am extremely happy about this chapter because in this chappie Jin… haha! Nope! I wont spoil it so just read on. :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken or any of the characters in here… I do have a bit of Xiaoyu in myself. :)
It's about time I dedicated a chapter to dear Jeanie also one of my most loyal reviewer who has supported this fic since it was born. Arigato gozaimasu. :)
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The boy just smiled, but wait. Was that a flicker at the edge of his smile?! Nah… couldn't happen. She must have just imagined it.
"We should get going again Xiao." Jin said breaking the silence.
"We're not quite far enough from the restaurant yet. I just wanted you to have a break and rest for a bit."
The young Chinese lady barely had time to register what he had just said when, once again, she was swept of her feet.
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Finding My Way To YouChapter seven: Conversations
By: Hermionini/Misao Seta
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"Argh!"
"What's the matter now Xiao?" Jin abruptly stopped at Xiaoyus growl of frustration.
"Do you always travel like that?! Couldn't you travel like normal people do?" Xiaoyu asked, both slightly impressed and slightly out of breath. Her companion furrowed his brows. What exactly is she saying? She asked as if she's angry but then she sounded impressed at the same time. The poor confused guy just shook his head.
Women, who gets them?
"Well do you?! I mean, normal people tend to use machines for traveling. And normal people don't drag their companions around like a rag doll." Her companion shook his head once again and sat down on the log that served as their seat by the fire that he had started.
"I never knew you took it as 'dragging you like a rag doll'. You should have told me so, I wouldn't have done it." Xiaoyu looked at Jin and smiled.
"Aw! Now now Jinny-chan! I was just curious! I mean, sure I feel like you're just dragging me but still, it's very impressive."
"It takes a lot out of me. I just use it whenever I'm fighting, in trouble, or in need of decent exercise." The Chinese snickered.
"HmM! All three tonight huh?" He looked back at her for a moment, almost confused, then started to laugh.
"I suppose so. If you must know, I actually haven't fought for quite a while now. Five years to be exact." Xiaoyu looked at her friend proudly.
"Well that's good Jinny-chan! Fighting is a very wrong thing to do. You shouldn't get into it often and avoid it as much as possible. Only fight when it's necessary." This time, it was Jin's turn to smile.
"Yeah like when you're in desperate need for food and you ambush travelers along the road. Yup, that is what fighting when necessary is." Without thinking, Xiaoyu kept nodding her head. It took awhile before what he said had registered in her head.
"Oi! What's that supposed to mean?! That is necessary fighting! I had to do that to live. If fighting for survival isn't necessary then I don't know what is." Veins were starting to pop up the Chinese' head once again.
"Hai, Hai, Xiaoyu-san." Xiaoyu was about to whack him in the head once again but thought otherwise. Jin seemed to be in a good mood and she'd rather not destroy it.
"You know, it was really refreshing to beat something up, if you know what I mean." His eyes twinkled in the firelight and the Chinese found that she couldn't refuse him. There was something special about Jin tonight but she couldn't quite figure it out yet.
"I do know what you mean. However, I only feel like that whenever I get angry. Of course, if I give into every time, everyone would be extremely scared of me and I would have to live my life in isolation. And, living in isolation is definitely one way I wouldn't want to live my life. I'm a social butterfly, fluttering around making people happy with my vibrant and beautiful colors." Jin chuckled at her definition of herself.
"Those thugs didn't look too scared of you... Perhaps you should have let loose on them." She returned him a dirty look.
"And who was it that stopped me? Hmm?" He put his hands behind his head guiltily slightly smiling.
"Gomen ne. I've been trying to resolve things without fighting. It's harder than you'd think it is." The girl shook her head.
"I understand. After… after everything else." Neither of them wanted to mention what 'everything else' was specifically. Both were afraid that it might spoil their tentative friendship and their good conversation.
"Yes. After everything else…"
"Hai…"
They were both silent for quite some time then, surprisingly, Jin decided to continue the path that their conversation was heading to.
"You know… I still can't regret those things. It's not that I wouldn't regret them if I did them now, but the rest… I just have no concept of them. It's just like… looking back on a dream. It's like looking back on dream where you knew the consequences are never going to happen. I feel as if nothing has happened." Xiaoyu was looking at Jin, listening intently. She was actually surprised at how close he was skirting at the forbidden topic. Normally he would've changed the topic by now… perhaps there really is something special about Jin tonight but what exactly is it?
"It's hard to compare it to how I am now. But I know, somewhere in me, that all I did back then was wrong. So right now, I'm going to make up for it any way I can." The girl next to him smiled her irrepressible, optimistic smile.
"As long as you know it was wrong and you make up for it, it's okay right?" He looked back up at her, surprised at the happiness present in her voice.
"Iie. It isn't It will never be okay. To take a life, destroy others' lives as well. If you take into account all the family, wives, men, children that I had… I had destroyed back then. I destroyed too many people's lives. I can't make up for all that. I can never shake the feeling that when I die, all of this will weigh heavy on my scale of dishonors." His hand clenched and his face turned into the closest thing to a frown she had ever seen him wear. The impact of his words soon hit her right after she recognized the expression for it was.
Sadness.
"Cheer up Jinny-chan! I'm not used to seeing you like this." She was right. It was actually the first time she has seen him look sad after they had met on that fateful day in the clearing. He forced a smile. For his friend. Why shouldn't he? He shouldn't even have burdened her with all his foolishness.
"Hai, hai. You're right Xiao. It's all in the past ne?" The Chinese girl smiled brilliantly and nodded vigorously.
"Yeah! That's all in the past now. Don't dwell on things you can never change. You're just a traveler now, stuck with me. Let's make the best out of this journey. Pretty soon you'll find yourself a girlfriend, marry her, live in your small house, start a dojo, be rich, meet Xiao and lend her some money, have 79 children, build your own basketball, baseball, football, soccer and volley ball team all the while have weird guys chasing after you! Wouldn't that be a pleasant experience? Isn't that something you'd want to get into right now?" Jin sweatdropped.
"Actually not really." She giggled.
"But you have to agree that it would be funny. Have your own little home with your friends that come to mooch off you everyday." She then started to laugh hysterically.
"You doing the laundry." She suddenly collapsed into hysterical laughter. Jin raised his eyebrows.
"But Xiao, what exactly is so wrong with doing the laundry?!? She stared at him, her laughter forgotten.
"You should come over to my place one time. Trust me, Mi and Jules would give you all the laundry you could handle and more."
"I didn't say I liked doing it, I was just asking what's wrong with doing it?" She looked at him for a moment as if to ask, 'you don't know?' but couldn't hold her laughter in check for too long. He poked her with his foot, wondering what was so funny and she started laughing harder.
"Xia-Xiao. Are you okay? I'm getting worried here." She clamped her hand over her mouth in an effort to stop laughing and succeeded. The girl had successfully gotten to short, deep breaths when she dared to speak again.
"You're really something else. I can't believe you would dare to even hurt a fly just looking at you here right now!" The corners of his mouth were twitching once again. Yes she was certain that it had not been a mistake. Had she not just seen it very clearly, she would have just let it pass as one of the tricks her mind plays on her.
Amusement had then turned into confusion.
"Oi! What's wrong Jinny-chan?" Jin blinked.
"Nothing." He sighed. She emulated his sigh then glared.
"Don't go trying to fool me Jinny-chan. I know you better than you think I do. That is not a 'nothing' nothing. That was an 'it's something you wouldn't understand' nothing. Or it could also be an 'I shouldn't burden you with it' nothing. Trust me, I'm not the type of person you should be fooling with these things. I get those all the time from Mi and Jules. And look at them! They're single! The only male specie they attract are gay!" Jin gulped.
"uhmm… I'd really not like to think about those things just yet. But erm... thanks for the offer." Xiaoyu suddenly bolted her head up at what he just said, a look of surprise was present on her face.
"Ji-Jinny-chan… are you telling me that you have never had romantic interests before?! Not even a single one?! Nadda?" He shook his head his smile had firmly returned on his face gracing his features once again.
"I wasn't exactly in the best line of work for that…" The boy then blushed to the tips of his toenails.
"Although… I did have a thorough grounding in certain things by my nurse when I was young." The Chinese nodded knowingly.
"Yes yes… my grandfather looked like he was about to die when everyone made him give me the talk. Normally he's the most perverted old man on the planet, but stick him in front of cute and angelic little Xiaoyu-chan with that mission and he gets all speechless and twitchy." Jin laughed at what she had just said. True, when they were still in high school, he had seen her grandfather Wang a couple of times and if his memory wasn't deceiving him, she was right. He was probably one of the most perverted old man he has ever seen.
"He sounds very interesting. I've seen him a couple of times in school before but it would certainly be a pleasure to actually be able to meet the man. I'd like to meet all of them someday." Xiaoyu looked at Jin curiously.
"All who?"
"Why your friends of course! You did invite me a minute ago. You know, to do the laundry." Xiaoyu suddenly grinned remembering their conversation earlier.
"I don't think you'll have time for laundry when you get there." She told him impishly. He stared at her.
"And why is that?"
"You'll be way too busy with Miharu and Julia. Those two are crazy. Any handsome face they see and they're all over you." Jin smiled wider.
"In case you can't tell, this is the expression that means
I'm going to run like a frightened idiot if ever I'm confronted with something
like that. And trust me, I can run even faster when people like that are behind
me." Xiaoyu snorted at his comment.
"By golly, you can run pretty fast already. I shudder to think what you'd do to
the countryside if you really got some motivation Jinny-chan." Jin just
shrugged.
"I'd be pretty easy to track in that case." Putting on a pout, she patted him comfortingly on the shoulder.
"Aww! Don't worry Jinny-chan! This is all hypothetical anyway. Before they even get a glimpse of you, I'd hide you. You're my friend Jiny-chan. They can get their sacrifices elsewhere but nobody messes with my Jinny-chan!" Jin smiled again but this time, it was genuine.
"I'm really glad to know that Xiao." The Chinese blushed a little and turned away to look at the stars so he wouldn't notice the tint on her cheeks. Maybe it was only the heat. Yeah… it was most probably the heat.
Jin turned to the sky seeming interested in something.
"Those stars… when you put them together, they look like a person. I know I've heard something about that before. This is seriously going to bother me."
"You've heard of star legends Jinny-chan?" The questioned blinked.
"No, I don't think I have. What do you mean?" The Chinese looked around at the trees whose leaves were turning red, the color barely visible in the firelight.
"It's turning autumn pretty soon." Although she said it softly, one wouldn't fail to notice the slight hint of excitement in her voice.
"July 7th is coming up. Do you know?" He nodded.
"Tanabata, is it? It's a festival right?" She sighed out loud.
"It's much more than just a festival baka… It's much much more special than that." She suddenly fiddled with her hair pretending to be suddenly interested in its color and length… in everything hair.
"The shepherd and the weaver meet across the bridge that comes together over the river only on that day. See it?" The Chinese pointed out the Milky Way, which was the river, and the two shining figured separated by it. Her voice grew softer and more wistful as she continued her tale.
"And people say they grant wishes if you pray really really hard and if you really want what you pray for. I go every year with him…"
"What do you wish for Xiao?" He asked gently, although he was almost certain he already knew the answer.
"I wish… I wish I was more ladylike. I wish I could dance better. I wish I had a better figure than this… straightness. Maybe then…" Jin suddenly shook his head.
"You know Xiao, you shouldn't change who you are. I happen to like you quite well the way you are and I'm pretty sure the rest of your friends agree with me." Xiaoyu averted her eyes once again to the figure sitting beside her.
"Really?"
"Of course. Everyone's got their faults, such as being an overly energetic, violent tomboy who likes to beat me over the head for no good or valid reason." Her face turned sour and she raised her fist, which was slightly shaking.
"Baka! You are such a BAKA! I thought you were complimenting me!" He shrugged as he easily caught her wrist that was meant for his face.
"We're all human. If you didn't have faults, no one would like you." Her face screwed up for a moment in an attempt to figure out what she had missed.
"Wait, wait, wait. I'm lost here Jinny-chan. Isn't it the other way around? Wouldn't society accept a person with less faults more than a person who has a lot of faults?" She asked, confused. He shook his head with a slight smile lingering on his face,
"No. People don't like being overshadowed. I learned that the hard way a long while ago. Besides, we already have too many lady-like ladies. You don't need to join their ranks." Xiaoyu grumbled something under her breath but smiled soon after. All of her down-in-the-dumps ideas had finally disappeared.
They sat there for a while by the fire looking at the stars and commenting on what they looked like. After a while, there was suddenly a long stretch of silence and Jin looked over in his surprise to see his friend soundly asleep beside him.
"Dave…" He sweat dropped. Or maybe not. He did wonder what she was dreaming about him though.
It was then that he remembered that memory that had wiggled in the back of his mind annoyingly. Tanabata was even more than just wishing. It was a night many people proposed on because of the romantic atmosphere. So that's why she went there. She'd gone every year with Dave hoping he'd do just that.
Jin suddenly snorted. That block of ice was more likely to calmly and clearly announce that he was going to take up dancing lessons. However, he did pity Xiaoyu for still hoping. Finally, he secretly decided where they were headed. With a last glance at the happily dreaming Chinese, he picked her up, as gently as possible, and put her in her bedroll. Rocks gave his neck cramps. He assumed the same with her.
As he turned to leave, Xiaoyu muttered something about flying pigs.
It was odd how Dave proposing and pigs that flew almost went perfectly together.
Tsuzukeru…
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Authors Notes: Wee!!! How was that? I loved this chapter for some reason… I just found that conversation sweet and funny-ish… lovely! Yeah, it was lovely too. I actually found the beginning of this chapter quite serious… well I made up for it with the lovely conversation ne? Anyway, individual notes:
skittle-xtreme: Thanks! :D The title was actually inspired by Michelle Branch hahah! :D Although basically, the story isn't based on that, just the title haha! But now I realize the story is more like her song Where are you now… hahaha! Hope you enjoyed the chapter too! Thank you for your kind words.
Baccus Cremaeus: I'm glad you enjoyed your chapter! Heehee! :D Well, I felt bad for misspelling your name heehee… and if you loved the Xiaoyu kicking other people's butts then you'd love the chapter coming heehee. wink wink
Jeanie: Heehee! Did you like your chapter? And see! I hurried and updated a week earlier! Heehee! ;D I hope you enjoyed this as well and thank you very much for your kind words. :)
muonline fan: Thanks for reading my fanfic! Stick with me to the end! Heehee! Hope you had fun reading this.
TokyoPrincess: .::dodges tackles::. heehee. :D Yeah, that's basically her personality here. She's small but extremely scary hahaha. It's actually very amusing to imagine her beating Jin up. It's like watching a mouse bully an elephant. :P Never take her lightly! Heehee! :D And here's more for your pleasure. Hope you liked this one too! :D
mi-chan: Aww! Wasn't this chapter sweet? I really like this chapter! I should have made my earlier chapters fluffy too! Heehee! Thanks for review mi, I appreciate your tolerance hahaha! And of course your kindness. Thanks a bunchees fwend! :D
Lyzz2nwn: Heya! :D Well, that is true but I decided to give the poor frowny face a make-over for this fic. I think it suits him too… that way we get to see him flash that gorgeous smile a lot more too… hahaha! :) Ooh yes, drunk men ARE scary! But nothing can scare Xiao! Hahaha! And I updated earlier just so you won't die of something… bad. Heehee. Hope you liked this chapter! :D
Jujubie: Hey! Welcome back! It's alright if you weren't able to review, I am happy to know you enjoyed the story. :) Summer school must be tough for you… I'm have school right now, so it's loads of homework and sleepless nights for me. But, don't worry! I'll still update this fic regularly. Probably I'd go back to my every Friday update schedule, I still have to think about that though. Thanks for your kind words.
.::eyes fill with tears::. Arigato minna! This is the most number of reviews I got so far for this fic! Thank you thank you for all your support! :) You have my never ending gratitude and an early update! :D
Alrighty, I don't think I missed people. There were a few typos in the previous chapters that I haven't fixed yet. I will fix them soon. And let's see if I can make my update day for this fic every Friday… it all depends on my other fic heehee.
See you when I post again.
.::signs off::.
.::Hermionini/misao seta::.