War of the Roses
By: Mako-chan
(Yes, yes, yes. I own Jin and Xiaoyu… yeah right. In my wildest imaginations.)
Chapter 6: A Tactical Mistake
It was a beautiful day outside, the sun was bright and the skies were crystal clear. For her, it was the perfect day to sleep in late. Xiaoyu stirred languidly, giving a sated moan as she willed herself back to sleep. Her body felt strangely deliciously exhausted.
The cold of the A/C brushed against her bare shoulder, making Xiaoyu snuggle closer to her source of warmth. As if in a dream, two powerful arms came to gather and warm her. It felt too real and impossibly enticing that she had to force herself into wakefulness. Xiaoyu's eyes fluttered open, and the sight that welcomed her made reality come crashing in.
There she was, in a sea of golden skin, in a valley of hard planes and strong muscles, bathed in spice and musk. There she was, head resting on the space between arm and shoulder… and completely naked for the second time.
Xiaoyu's scream was enough to shatter the windows.
Jin bolted right up to a sitting position, the blanket slipping to expose his bare torso.
"You!" she exclaimed pointing an accusing finger at him, "You! You ruined me! You-you despoiler!"
He brought a hand to his forehead, trying to ease hammering on his head. "What are you talking about?"
"This!" Xiaoyu yelled, turning her head and looking at the tangle of sheets. She snatched the coverlet and got off the bed.
Jin leaned back, bracing his hands behind, the rest of his body covered by a thin blanket.
"Hey, I didn't do anything you didn't want me to. And don't tell me that you didn't want this to happen as much as I did. I would never ever forcefully take a woman to bed. Look, I didn't go as far as you think I did."
"That doesn't change anything at all!" she cried, tears threatening to spill on her cheeks. "How could have I committed such a big mistake?" Unable to stand the thought of talking to Jin, Xiaoyu ran to the other side, not even bothering to pick up her clothing.
He chased after her, but before he could catch up, Xiaoyu slammed the door to Jin's face. "Xiao, Open the door! Let's talk! C'mon, open up or the hinges are coming off!" he called out, pounding on the door.
"Even if you smash that door to pieces, what makes you think I'd talk to you again?" she cried yet again. Making sure she secured all the locks, Xiaoyu quickly tossed all her belongings in her suitcase. I can't stay here, not anymore.
Jin pleaded the umpteenth time. "Please talk to me, will you? Spare me just a second and we'll settle this once and for all! Xiaoyu! Damn. Xiao, answer me!"
Sensing that she was nowhere near being reasonable, he gave up… in the meantime. "I need to attend to something for a while. Please be here when I come back."
"Like hell I would," she muttered, getting all her belongings organized. Xiaoyu grabbed the phone and punched a couple of buttons.
"Good morning, this is the front desk. How may I help you?"
Later that afternoon…
"Is there anything you would like to buy, Sir?"
Jin stared at the slice of cake a second longer before standing up. "Yes, I do. Can you give me a box of this and this," he paused, pointing at the mouth-watering blueberry cheesecake and tiramisu, and then continued, "Three large-sized muffins and a dozen bagels… and coffee. Make that two. Everything's to go."
The young shopkeeper nodded and repeated his order. "That would be 7,000yen, Sir."
He got his wallet and pulled out a couple of bills. As Jin waited for the food and coffee, he let his mind recall the events of the night before.
Sordid as it may seem, he felt less guilty than he should be, and wasn't placating himself by buying a ton of food. Jin hoped that it could, at the very least, get Xiaoyu to talk to him. Sure his head began to spin after successive shots, but in the end, it just gave him permission to lose control. It was undeniable that he was attracted to Xiaoyu. Very attracted. Jin kept thinking about her and couldn't help himself from doing so. Heavens help him; he might very well be crazy about her.
Above all, he hadn't experienced such biological gratification until last night, without even taking his pants off. Now if Xiaoyu would quit accusing me of stealing her innocence... Well, not yet.
"Sir. Sir. Sir? Sir?"
Jin was jolted out of his musings with a big white paper bag in his face. He casually unfolded his arms and got the food and coffee, and headed straight to the suites. Jin knocked at the adjoining door and called out her name, but there was no response. Hoping it was left open somehow, he turned the knob and the door opened with a slight creak.
The room was clean… and deserted. Just when he was about to walk deeper inside the expansive suite, his cell phone rang.
"Good news," Tak said over the other line.
"What is?" he asked, wishing that there was still some trace of Xiaoyu.
"The suite. You can have it for the rest of your stay. The one previously staying checked out suddenly, so—"
"Say what!" Jin yelled, unmindful of the pain it would bring to Tak's ear.
"I said—"
Disbelief getting the best of him, Jin cut his trusted officer off. "She left! Damn, she left!"
Guangzhou
"Back so soon, my dear?" Jinrey asked, sipping his oolong tea as if a 10-year-old Xiaoyu just came from the backyard.
Before Li could give her a proper welcoming, Xiaoyu hauled her suitcase to her room herself and shut the door fast. "I take it the trip didn't go well."
"Maybe she met someone," the elderly man hollered from where he comfortably sat.
The next day, Xiaoyu resumed working, reading numerous reports and assessing endless project proposals. The moment she sat in her plush swivel chair, it seemed time didn't exist as she feverishly went about everything.
"Please! Spare me from the bickering, I beg of you!" Mei wailed as she entered her superior's office.
Xiaoyu looked up and gave a small shriek. Her assistant looked awfully harassed, her hair showing signs of occasional pulling and tugging.
"At least for my sake, talk to him! The phone's been ringing non-stop since this morning. I don't know if I can handle much more. You're taking things too far. Can't you be civil? You went there to negotiate, right? Unless something else happened I can't think of anything else! I can't think properly anymore!" she cried.
When Xiaoyu was about to respond, the phone rang again. "Alright already! Now go back to your desk and I'll straighten this out." After a few more rings, she picked up the receiver.
"Your obnoxiousness is spanning seas and provinces, Kazama. You must be very proud of yourself."
"Xiao, stop being so angry and hear me out."
Her nostrils flared at his bravado. "Oh don't you 'Xiao' me! You think you can talk your way just like that! I'm not a cheap strumpet!"
Jin massaged his temples and slouched on his chair. "I didn't say anything like that. You misunderstood things."
"Now you take me for stupid?" Xiaoyu was definitely seething with anger. "I just decided to talk to you because I wanted to tell you that you can shove your proposal down your ass!"
His jaw tightened, disapproving her tone and use of words. "Listen, you little brat! Don't bring business into our problem! Wait, if that's what you want, fine! Ever since you left I've been trying to reach you, to get you to understand, and you hurl bad language at me? You're so full of it!"
"What! You caused all of my problems in the first place! Ever since I met you, nothing went right anymore! Suit yourself! This is the last conversation we'll ever have. Goodbye!" Xiaoyu slammed the receiver down and grabbed her stress ball.
"Who does he think he is, calling me a 'brat'?"
With all the screaming and the slamming, Mei need not ask that the dialogue between Ling Xiaoyu and Jin Kazama did not go well.
Tokyo
Jin took deep and measured breaths before responding to Tak's inquiries. No woman ever dared to go against him, let alone threaten him. Nobody sane would ever attempt to get in the nerves of Jin Kazama.
"So," his officer began casually, as if he didn't witness how his boss generated bolts and bolts of electricity; and his eyes turn scarlet and ready to shoot lasers from his forehead, "I take it the whole proposition is a no-go?"
"She cursed at me. Cursing women don't concede to proposals. I guess you called it wrong this time, Tak." Jin got up from his seat and stood in front of his sandbag. "Let's just leave things as they are. We've got stocks… Hell, we've wasted too much time on Ling Enterprises."
"Alright," he said, hiding his disappointment.
Jin watched his right-hand man exit his office. Inhaling deeply again, he assumed a stance, and with perfect leverage, gave a powerful punch that grains of sand spilled from the bag.
… Later that afternoon, Xiaoyu proposed breaking off their alliance with the Mishima Zaibatsu, however, the signed contracts would not expire for another ten years and there was no way to circumvent them….
Ever since that day, Jin and Xiaoyu neither saw nor contacted each other again… And they made sure it would stay that way.
The issue still stands: What happened? What really happened? Did something actually happen in the first place? Well, I have an answer for you – READ AND FIND OUT! And sorry for a super late update ;P