Chapter Nineteen: Parting Sweep
The moon shone overhead, spreading its bright, silvery light over the softly waving fields of grass. For a moment, a stray cloud drifted across the sky, blanketing the earth in darkness.
A pair of pounding feet came to a sudden halt, and the sound of ragged breathing filled the air. "Oh no… come on, come on!" a whispered a tiny voice quietly between gasps. As if hearing the request, the cloud slowly drifted away, nudged along its course by the gentle breeze, and the silver light returned.
Xiaoyu straightened up, pushing her hands off of her knees and wiping some sweat from her face. "I can see the road," she noted, and resumed her sprint towards it. A large stitch was blooming in her side, and she concentrated on sucking in the cool night air through her nose and expelling it out of her mouth. Breathe… breathe, and float. Don't feel the pain. Just breathe and float. She repeated the exercise over and over in her head, pumping her arms rhythmically in time to the motion of her feet. Breathe and float. Another one of Jinrei's lessons. Grandpa…
Her feet caught and she stumbled, and with a tiny grunt, Xiaoyu brought herself under control and pushed the tickling thought to the back of her head. Breathe and float. Don't think. Thinking slows you down. Thinking brings understanding. Understanding brings knowledge. Knowledge brings regret. Breathe. Just breathe. Her legs pushed her onwards, and she almost cried in relief as her feet left the soft fields and hit the unforgiving asphalt of the road. Raising her head, Xiaoyu increased her pace, no longer having to worry about watching for the tiny pitfalls and mounds that were scattered through the uneven field of grass. She wondered briefly if she was, in fact, moving faster than Jinrei. Racing to meet nothing, Xiaoyu thought to herself. Sounds familiar. Oh yeah, that's the story of my life. She would have giggled if she had any breath left to spare.
It was only a distraction, a game she knew she was playing with herself. Jinrei could move as fast as he wanted when he felt like it. She still didn't quite understand how he managed to do it. Maybe it comes naturally when you pass your hundredth birthday, she quipped to herself. Still, she ignored the burning in her calves, the fire racing up her thighs, and the searing in her lungs. Breathe and float, she told herself, sucking in another mouthful of air. Breathe and float, and it won't be too late.
The dark, smooth road reflected the silvery light of the moon like a river cutting up the mountainside. Xiaoyu felt her mind begin to wander again as she mechanically followed the curve of the pavement. She wondered how much of a head start Jinrei had actually had, and berated herself again for the precious moments she had wasted in the cathedral. The bright moon shone overhead, gilding her memories with its cold, pale light.
- x – flashback – x -
"So it's finally over," Julia said, bending down and reverently picking up the silver amulet that had fallen from her neck during the battle. "Is your friend Miharu also—" she asked hesitantly, her face melting into a smile as Xiaoyu nodded wildly at the older girl.
"I think Jin's been cured, too," Xiaoyu said, helping a very groggy Asuka sit up.
"Now that's what I wanna hear," Hwoarang said, cradling his burnt arm as he strode over to Jin's body and kneeled down.
"Don't you dare pick a fight with him when he wakes up!" Xiaoyu yelled shrilly, and Hwoarang turned around and smirked at her.
"I'll watch him," Julia said dryly after a moment, joining Hwoarang and crossing her arms as she stood over him. "I can't believe you," she said to the redhead, glaring down at him. "After everything we've seen and experienced, you still haven't grown up."
Hwoarang shrugged and snuck a glance at Xiaoyu, giving her a conspiratorial wink. "It's the small things in life, Chang. The small things." He turned and prodded Jin in the arm as the black-haired man groaned slightly. "Hey! Wake up, bastard," Hwoarang said, poking Jin again.
"Wha… what happened?" Jin said weakly, turning his head slightly. "Where am I?" His eyes cracked open, and the first thing he saw was Hwoarang's wide grin. He blinked again.
"Mornin'! Remember a little something about a promise you made me a couple of tournaments ago?" Hwoarang said cheerfully, waving at Jin.
"I must still be in hell," Jin mumbled, letting his head drop back to the ground and shutting his eyes wearily.
Xiaoyu watched Hwoarang begin to yell at Jin, and Julia in turn deliver a swift kick to the Korean's shin. A smile crept over her face. "Yep, back to normal," she observed, covering her mouth and giggling. A small motion caught her attention, and she turned back to Asuka, who was rubbing her eyes blearily. "Are you alright?" she asked to the young girl quietly. "What you did back there was really amazing! A lot of people owe you their thanks. Me included," she added shyly.
Asuka shook her head and looked up at Xiaoyu. "What for? I still don't get what just happened." She glanced around the ruined cathedral and spotted Jin, and her eyes narrowed. "So he's still here, huh? Well let me at him, I'll—"
"Hey!" Xiaoyu said, holding the other girl back as she struggled to rise to her feet. "It's okay now. Jin's been cured. See? No wings?" She had to wonder a bit as the suspicious expression remained on Asuka's face despite the obvious change in Jin. She's as slow as Hwoarang, Xiaoyu thought uncharitably, and stifled a tiny giggle at the thought.
"Well, if you say so," Asuka said after a moment. "But if he tries any funny business when he wakes up, that's it!" she added. Then after taking in their surroundings, "I really did all this?" Her voice was much smaller.
Xiaoyu grinned and sat by the younger girl, crossing her hands over her knees. She felt Julia's eyes on her and repressed another urge to giggle. Me, giving advice to someone else? Swallowing her urge to laugh outright at the image, she smiled at Asuka. "Well not really all of it. Jin messed up this place before you even got here," Xiaoyu answered. "But you did save him. He was possessed, and you managed to break the hold the evil had on his soul."
Asuka leaned forward and chewed on her lower lip. "Purified him, huh?" she said after a moment. "Wow. I always thought those stories my dad told me were a bunch of baloney!" she added. "Maybe I should tell him about this when he wakes up."
Xiaoyu's mouth dropped open. "Your dad doesn't know you're here?" she asked incredulously.
"Of course not!" Asuka said, shrugging. "He'd ground me for life if he knew. The Iron Fist Tournament brought nothing but trouble to Auntie Jun, after all."
Xiaoyu giggled. "Considering how well you did, he's still going to blow his top when he sees the news."
Asuka's face fell and her mouth dropped open. "No kidding! I hadn't thought of that," she replied mournfully. "I didn't even find the guy I came looking for!"
"Lucky for us that you came at all," Xiaoyu answered. Then she paused, her eyebrows drawing together quizzically. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought my grandfather had big plans for you," she continued.
Asuka snapped her fingers, sitting up suddenly. "That's right! I almost forgot to tell you. You granddad did try to stop me at first."
Xiaoyu felt her mouth drop open in shock. "You didn't beat my grandfather up, did you? He's a hundred and five years old!" she gasped, her eyes watering. "How could you do that to a helpless little old man?" She snickered inwardly as Asuka's eyes bulged in shock.
"Helpless little… what? And no! And I didn't beat him up!" she hastily explained. "He sent me here, actually."
This caught Xiaoyu's attention, and she dropped her grieved grandchild act. "What? But why?"
"Well, after your tall friend left us," Asuka said, gesturing at Julia, "he said something about the Tao. Then I asked him why I couldn't go help you guys out, and he looked kind of funny."
"Kind of funny? What kind of funny? Angry? Surprised? Constipated?" Xiaoyu asked nervously.
Asuka shook her head. "No, I mean, he looked sad. Then he said some more weird stuff. I didn't really get what he was talking about," she admitted.
Xiaoyu tried to resist the urge to grab Asuka by the collar of her jumpsuit and shake her back and forth. It probably wouldn't have helped, considering that the other girl would have been more than capable of physically incapacitating her if she did so. "Try to remember," she pleaded, squeezing her hands together.
Asuka glanced at Xiaoyu, seeing the seriousness on her face, and sighed. She squinted and thought. "I think he said… something about a sparrow. Yeah, he said he loved it, I think. Something about not being able to lose his sparrow and him being an old man whose time was up. Then he told me to get to this place as quick as I could. Like I said, it didn't make any sense."
Xiaoyu felt her elation draining away as a nagging fear gnawed at her mind, like a persistent itch she couldn't scratch. "He said he loved his little sparrow?" she asked quietly. "And that his time was up?" Seeing Asuka's nod, she closed her eyes. Another puzzle, and another piece, she thought to herself, this time examining Jinrei's clues.
"Sometimes the greater good must come before our own selfish desires. The fate of the entire world is at stake. What good is it to save only one, if many will die as the consequence?"
"Our own selfish desires," she repeated quietly, a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Oh grandpa, you didn't," she murmured.
"He didn't what?" Asuka asked curiously.
Xiaoyu ignored her, instead keeping her eyes closed and focusing on feeling the sensations all around her. The dark, oppressive evil in the cathedral had been completely banished, and the warm and gentle presence of her friends surrounded her. She pushed harder, and then, she felt it. The slight, ever present drain, the unravelling of the fabric; it was still there, an almost unnoticeable blight on the land. "…if we rid this world of the evil that was awakened on the summit…" she said, her eyes popping open. "He's gone to the summit!" she gasped, scrambling to her feet. "Grandpa's gone to the summit by himself!"
"Is there a problem, Xiaoyu?" Julia asked curiously.
Xiaoyu's head shot up, and she regarded her friends. Julia was smiling at her, standing there with one hand on her hip. Hwoarang was kneeling at her feet, still riling Jin with a smirk. Jin had yet to rise, his eyes remaining shut as he breathed slowly and tried to ignore Hwoarang. And to her side, Asuka was watching them avidly. If it hadn't been for their injuries, they might have looked like a normal collection of friends. But, Xiaoyu thought, studying her friends closer. Things aren't always the way they seem. Julia's face was paler than normal, the beginnings of dark rings circling under her eyes. Hwoarang teasing was interrupted by his occasional hiss of pain, and his arm was curled protectively into his stomach. Jin's ignorance of Hwoarang seemed to stem more from a deep weariness than an actual desire to avoid the Korean. And Asuka swayed next to her, trying to stifle another yawn.
"Xiaoyu?" Julia asked again with a note of concern, and this time Hwoarang looked up. Xiaoyu knew they'd join her if she asked without a second thought. They were friends, after all.
Sometimes the greater good must come before our own selfish desires.
Xiaoyu plastered a smile on her face and squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm just really happy," she said cheerfully. "I can't believe it's all over." Then giving Asuka a pat on the back, she stood up and brushed herself off. "I'm going to go get my grandpa," she told them. "He really needs to see this!"
Julia raised an eyebrow speculatively. "Okay… just be careful out there. I'm not sure what it is, but something still doesn't feel right."
Xiaoyu stuck out her tongue. "You worry too much!" she called out, and skipped towards the cathedral doors. I'm sorry, she thought quietly as she turned her back to the others, the smile dropping from her face. Thank you for everything, but this is my problem now, and mine alone. And as soon as she was standing in the silvery moonlight, she set off at a run.
- x – x – x -
Xiaoyu coughed and jogged to a stop, her feet finding their own way up the now-familiar path. "This used to be home," she whispered, shivering as the wind blew a cloud of dust and silt her way. Heihachi's old mansion was long gone, blown into smithereens by the attack of the Jack androids. Their bomb had been more than effective; not only the house was gone, but also all vegetation in the area. Even the irregular landscape had been flattened out by the force of the blast. Strangely enough, though, nature had yet to reclaim the barren wasteland. The wind howled around her, and Xiaoyu knew why.
"It's here," she said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself and moving forward. "The source of the drain is here." The moonlight illuminated the unnaturally smooth plateau, and standing in the middle, she saw a small, bent figure studying the sky. "Grandpa!" she called out, breaking into a trot to meet him.
He turned slowly, his black eyes squinting and a small smile spreading across his face. "Little sparrow," he greeted her. "How happy I am to see you here. And how sad I am to see you here."
"It's the will of the Tao," Xiaoyu joked. "Yin and Yang. You can never be just happy to see me, can you, grandpa."
"How you've grown," Jinrei chuckled softly, cupping Xiaoyu's cheeks in his hands and bringing her head down to his. They touched foreheads in the moonlight, and Xiaoyu closed her eyes, feeling a sense of peace settle inside of her. "My little sparrow. Thank you for seeing an old man one last time. But now you must leave, and quickly, before you are discovered."
Xiaoyu kept her eyes shut and reached out, wrapping her hands tightly around Jinrei's own. "I won't leave you, grandfather."
"Child, you do not know what I must face."
"What we have to face," Xiaoyu said stubbornly. "We're family. It took me two years away from home to realize how important that is to me now. You can't throw your life away now just when I've finally understood! I'm not going to let you do this alone."
Silence settled around them. Finally, Jinrei let out a heavy sigh. "If you keep this up, Xiaoyu, you will not live to learn respect for your elders."
"Good, respect is overrated," Xiaoyu answered, raising her head and smiling at Jinrei.
He slapped her on the cheek gently, a small, crooked smile gracing his features. "Prepare yourself then, little sparrow. He comes."
Xiaoyu nodded with a small hum, and turned around. She jumped as she saw another, stouter figure approaching them; the plateau was still barren all around them, and as far as she could tell, he must have materialized out of thin air. "How do you old guys do that?" she whispered to Jinrei loudly, watching the other man approach.
"Mind your manners!" Jinrei said strictly, folding his hands behind his back and walking out to meet the larger man. "So, old friend," he called out. "We meet again."
"Jinrei," he replied. "I'm so glad you came."
The first thing Xiaoyu noticed about the man was the curved upsweep of his beard. The long white hair spiked up above his ears in a way that defied gravity and clearly identified him as a Mishima. He was, in fact, the largest Mishima she had ever laid eyes on, a hulking brute of a man that would have towered over even Heihachi. His pock-marked skin was also an unnaturally dark; Xiaoyu thought he looked like a piece of leather that had been left for too long in the sun to rot, turning brown and scarred with decay. Though he was mostly bald, the remainder of his stringy white hair was so long it swept the ground. Other than these things, however, he appeared for all intents and purposes to be a normal human being. "You know this guy, grandpa?" Xiaoyu asked quietly, stepping closer to them.
"I do," Jinrei answered. "He is an old friend from my childhood, we were once very close," he said carefully. "Why did you summon me to this tournament, Jinpachi?" he asked the large man.
Jinpachi smiled, and his teeth were as yellow and rotted as his brown skin. Xiaoyu tried not to wince at the sight. "You know the answer to that question already, old man. I need your help."
"You cannot ask me to do this," Jinrei replied his hands unfolding from his back and falling limply to his sides. He sounded old and very tired in that moment.
Jinpachi looked at Xiaoyu, and his smile faded. "Do you remember what it was like to be young, my friend? To be full of life and vitality and beauty, when the future was still a great mystery waiting to be explored with eager hands?"
Xiaoyu blinked under his scrutiny, fidgeting uncomfortably. "Grandpa…" she said uncertainly; the huge man was beginning to creep her out.
"Your granddaughter is lovely," Jinpachi told Jinrei, who gave him a silent nod of assent. "Do you wish to give her the same chance we have had, to stumble and fall into the same traps as we did in our youth? Do you ever wish to see that light extinguished with age and knowledge, that beauty fade with the passing of time?" He came closer, his hand reaching out as if to touch Xiaoyu's face, and Jinrei's arm shot out, blocking the path of the strange man's fingers before they could make contact.
"You will not harm my granddaughter," he said simply.
Jinpachi laughed. "I am not the one who will harm her!" he said, backing away slowly. "Age, the passage of time, the loss of innocence, these things will harm her! I am the only one who can protect her. I can preserve that fleeting youth and beauty for all time," he said lowly. "If we end things now, that beauty will never fade, never decay into the corruption of adulthood."
Jinrei sunk into his guard, and Xiaoyu swallowed nervously. "Grandpa, who is he?" she asked quietly even as she prepared herself to fight.
"He is Jinpachi Mishima, the father of Heihachi Mishima and the sponsor of this farce of a tournament," Jinrei answered. "And he should not be here."
Xiaoyu let the words sink in, and her eyes widened. "You mean he's dead?" she screeched after a moment, scooting back. "Oh my God, grandpa, don't let him bite you or you'll turn into a zombie too!" she yelled.
Jinpachi and Jinrei both turned to look at her in annoyance. Jinpachi was the first to recover, his eyes rolling upwards. "I see your granddaughter has inherited your more endearing qualities," he noted dryly. "Are you sure I wouldn't be doing you a favour?"
"How I chose to discipline my family is a matter for me to decide alone," Jinrei answered him. "She must be allowed to make the same mistakes we did. We must allow the world to have its future."
"She will come to know suffering, and regret," Jinpachi answered. "Isn't it a greater crime to allow that perfect moment of innocence to be spoiled?"
Xiaoyu balled her fists together. "Hey! Stop talking about me like I'm not even standing here!" she yelled out. "I have news for you, old man!" she continued, her voice growing angry. "All that perfect innocence and beauty you're going on about is a big fat lie! Just because I'm young doesn't mean I don't feel regret, or pain, or sadness!" she cried out.
"Xiaoyu—" Jinrei began to warn her, but she cut him off.
"No, grandpa. I have to say this." It was true; she felt as though she would burst if she didn't speak. Something told her that she and Jinrei were in great danger, that they might not make it off of the summit ever again. And the part of her that had mourned for Heihachi, that had lost Jin, that watched her friends almost die before her eyes beat against her chest, demanding to be released and known before it could be snuffed out. "You people always do this! You look at the past through your rose-coloured glasses and pretend that everything was better back then. Well guess what! Part of being human means suffering no matter how old you are! Maybe we children aren't as innocent as you think," Xiaoyu told him. "The only difference between us is that we haven't given up yet. We make our mistakes, we stumble and we fall, but we get back up and try all over again because we refuse to give up. We don't have a past to look back to yet. All we have is our future, and I won't let you take that away from us!" She slowed down, her breathing coming in large gasps, and glared at Jinpachi furiously. "I don't know what you're planning, but I bet it's bad! So don't use me as your excuse to justify doing it!"
Jinpachi stepped back, his face pulling into a long scowl. "You need to teach that headstrong girl to obey her elders," he growled at Jinrei.
Jinrei raised his arms again in a guard, his face drawn and his eyes hard. "I believe she has learned very well on her own." He spared Xiaoyu a glance, and gave her a silent nod of approval. "I could not be more proud of her than I am now," he added quietly.
Jinpachi watched them and another, almost foreign emotion chased across his face. "How fortunate you are, Jinrei," he said, his voice deepening. "To share the love of your family is a blessing the Mishima clan will never know." He dropped his head into his hand and a strong wind stirred across the plateau. "You must stop me, Jinrei. I cannot stop myself…" he said, his voice growing lower and beginning to echo across the fields.
"Grandpa, what's happening?" Xiaoyu choked out as a wave of nausea overtook her. Jinrei's lips tightened and he said nothing, staring at Jinpachi, who was surrounded by the circling winds.
Xiaoyu covered her mouth and gagged as the ground began to erupt violently around them with tunnels of howling, violent wind. The miniature tornados tore across the field, sending rocks and dust flying everywhere and making it hard to see. Squinting, she looked up and found the source of her illness; Jinpachi had doubled over, seeming to become impossibly larger than he already was. His eyes were on fire and a sickening black aura crawled across his flesh; it was so powerful she could see it with her naked eye. I bet even Hwoarang could see this, Xiaoyu thought, trying to regain her equilibrium.
"Do not succumb to the evil!" Jinrei yelled at her above the dull roar of the wind. "We must fight him!" He looked tinier than ever compared to his huge opponent, but Jinrei sprung forward boldly, ignoring the wind that tore through his silken robes. Crouching down, he struck out with his left leg, kicking out Jinpachi's foot from under him. Lightning-fast, Jinrei was already rising, spinning around and slamming his right foot upwards in a high kick which connected against the huge man's head.
Jinpachi grunted and stumbled backwards, but he didn't fall. Instead, he laughed gutturally. It was an unpleasant, grating sound, like record being scratched by a needle. He brought his hands forward and struck Jinrei across the chest, lighting crackling around his arms.
"Grandpa!" Xiaoyu yelled as the lightning raced away from Jinpachi and sparked around Jinrei's body, paralysing him.
Jinpachi only laughed and struck his fist low, knocking a helpless Jinrei to the ground. "Now, you will die," he said, crouching down and raising his hand above the old man's face. He paused and grunted, looking up.
"Haah!" Xiaoyu yelled, twisting out of her hasty layout and landing on Jinpachi's shoulders. She tried to ignore the revolting feel that his black aura spread across her knees. Instead, she squeezed them around his neck tightly and brought her hands down soundly over his head. "Leave my grandpa alone!" she screamed, boxing his ears.
"Arrrg!" Jinpachi yelled, standing up and twisting around, trying to throw Xiaoyu off. "Insolent child! Get off of me!" he roared, finally reaching up and plucking her off of his back, throwing her to the ground at his feet.
Xiaoyu was on her feet instantly, adrenaline and fear fuelling her already-quick reflexes. She extended her leg out in a snap kick as she sprung up, hoping to catch Jinpachi in the face by surprise. Her foot connected successfully, but as she tried to pull her leg down, the huge man wrapped his meaty arms around it and held on tightly, raising his own leg. "Oh no!" she yelled as his massive foot flew into her stomach. "Ahh!" she screamed as she sailed through the air, landing heavily on the ground some distance away. At least I got him, she thought muzzily as she tried to focus on her enemy. The howling wind and sandstorm didn't make it any easier. Still, with a touch of relief she heard Jinrei's shout rising over the wind.
"You will not harm my granddaughter!" his voice boomed. Xiaoyu sat up quickly, gasping in surprise as she saw sparks of purplish-white light circling around Jinrei's clenched palm. He drew his arm back slowly and then let it spring forward, like a snapped coil. The sparks trailed off of his hand in a bright comet, lighting their way through Jinpachi's dark, oppressive aura. "Yoooh!" Jinrei yelled as the blow connected. It was an impressive sight, the tiny man's punch packing enough force to physically lift Jinpachi's huge body off of the ground and go flying back several feet.
"The dragon power punch!" Xiaoyu said, scrambling to her feet. "You need to teach me how to do that, grandpa!" she cried happily as she raced to Jinrei's side.
"Maybe when you're older, my child," Jinrei said, shaking out his hand and giving her a wane smile.
"Did we get him?" Xiaoyu asked, squinting at the swirling sands. As if in answer, a loud grunt echoed across the plateau, and Jinpachi slowly rose out of the clouds. "Something's wrong," Xiaoyu said nervously as the air fluctuated around them.
Jinrei's eyes widened as he watched Jinpachi crouch down and clench his fists to his stomach, lighting crackling over his entire body. "This energy…" he mumbled. "Duck!" he yelled out as Jinpachi rose, his arms extending outward.
Xiaoyu screamed as she saw the fireball roar into life and hurtle towards them. Jinrei was already in moving out of the way, and Xiaoyu threw herself upwards in a desperate attempt to get out of searing path of flames. She felt a rush of heat at her back as she twisted around in the air, coming to land on the scorched, warm earth a moment later. "I made it!" she breathed in relief. The smell of something burned reached her nose, and she craned her neck over her shoulder in confusion. Nothing hurts, so why... Her eyes widened as she found the source of the problem.
The furry little pouf hanging off of her costume gave a last gasp and burst apart, burned into cinders. The mangled remains of the cord that had been holding it to her belt flapped mournfully in the wind. Xiaoyu stared for a moment, then turned around, her face flushed red. "YOU BURNED OFF MY TAIL!" she screamed, pointing an accusing finger at Jinpachi. The huge man hesitated, having the decency to look mildly confused at her outraged declaration.
"This is no time to be thinking about your clothing!" Jinrei shouted at Xiaoyu as he rushed past her. He launched himself at the huge man, kicking Jinpachi into the air as he spun to the ground. Landing, he continued the turn smoothly and lunged forward, batting downward with a curled hand and then spreading his arms wide, the rapid blows keeping the huge man off balance before he could strike back. Then, with surprising agility, he fell onto his right hand and swept the ground out from under Jinpachi's feet with a sweeping kick, followed directly by a quick cartwheel that would have put Christie to shame.
"Wow," Xiaoyu mouthed in awe as she watched her old grandfather execute his attack more quickly than even she could. Jinpachi roared in pain and confusion, unable to muster the speed to recover and defend himself from the old man's lighting-fast stings. Finally, Jinrei spun to the side, his left arm jabbing into Jinpachi's face as he brought himself around to the back of the huge man.
"Xiaoyu! Finish him!" she heard her grandfather cry to her as he drove his elbow into Jinpachi's back, sending the huge man tripping towards her clumsily. She ducked low into her phoenix crouch, stabbing out with her leg to push the huge man backwards before he could fall and crush her under his massive weight. Then, she pushed herself further down, so low that she was sure she felt the ground scraping her chin and her ribs cracking open. I won't miss this time, she swore silently, pushing herself off of the ground with her legs, sending her palms upwards in the most powerful wave crest she could muster. It sent Jinpachi flying backwards, and he landed with an earth-shaking thud, rolling onto his back and groaning.
The sound of the howling wind rose to an almost unbearable level, and Xiaoyu ducked over, covering her mouth with her hand and squeezing her eyes shut against the grit and dirt that flew through the air. Slowly, the tumult began to die down. The whistling of the spinning tornados dissolved into quiet, gentle gusts of wind, and the nauseating aura crept backwards. She could feel the remnants of the evil plaguing the summit washing away with each breath of air she sucked in, and after a while, Xiaoyu cautiously opened her eyes. "Grandpa!" she cried out worriedly, rising to her feet quickly as she saw him bent over Jinpachi's prone body. Her feet slowed down as she approached them, seeing that the huge man was no longer a threat. And to her surprise, she saw Jinrei's face twisted with sorrow. Are those… tears? she wondered, stopping to watch and feeling slightly guilty for being an unexpected voyeur on what was obviously a private moment for her grandfather.
"Jinpachi!" Jinrei called out loudly, hefting the huge man's body into his arms with surprising strength.
The huge man coughed, looking frail and hollow despite his massive size. His eyes cracked open, and he smiled wanly. "I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble…" he mumbled, struggling to catch his breath.
"Don't say such things!" Jinrei said. "We've been through so much and have always been like brothers," he scolded Jinpachi roughly, his eyes growing moist.
"Jinrei…" he mumbled, closing his eyes with a soft sigh. "I wish we could have had one last drink together… but I'm afraid my time has come." He coughed again and opened his eyes, turning his head towards Xiaoyu. "The future belongs to you now," he said. "Care for it, and this world, little one. Care for your family, and your friends…" His eyes trailed back to Jinrei, and reaching out with a quaking hand, he grabbed onto Jinrei's palm, who quickly drew it up to his chest. "… they are more precious than you know."
Xiaoyu held her breath, feeling a wave of sadness curl in her as she watched the old man dying. "I know," she whispered to herself quietly, watching her grandfather's pain as he held his best friend in his arms. That could have been me… and Jin. I was so foolish before. She blinked, surprised to find a few tears in her own eyes. I won't take them for granted, not ever again.
"Goodbye, my dear friend. It was fun…" Jinpachi said. His head rolled back, and he slumped to the ground, and Jinrei let out a strangled cry as the large man's body burst into sand, running through his fingers.
"Jinpachi…" he murmured, grasping the sand in his palm and letting it run through his fingers. "May you finally have peace, my old friend." He lowered his head for a moment, his pain almost palatable, and when he looked up, he gave Xiaoyu a crooked, sad smile.
"Do you see now? This is the curse of the Mishima bloodline," he said to her. "Destined for evil and unhappiness, a curse that can never be broken. Truly, no one deserves this," he said tiredly, rising to his feet.
Xiaoyu thought of Jin, his dark, brooding and beautiful face, and wondered if one day, he, too, would turn into sand. She reached for the feather at her neck; it brought her a strange sense of comfort. "Kazama blood is blessed," she answered quietly. "Maybe the curse can be broken."
Jinrei looked at the feather, his eyebrow rising slightly. "Perhaps you are right. All things have their balance; it is the way of the Tao."
Xiaoyu closed her eyes, letting her fingers drop away from her pendant. "I'm not Jin's yang," she whispered quietly. She felt rather than heard Jinrei as he came to her side; his presence was warm and comforting. They stood together for what seemed like an eternity, looking upwards. The sun was rising, sending blooms of soft pink and purple spreading across the early morning sky.
"A new day is dawning," he observed quietly.
"And the long night is finally over," Xiaoyu returned, this time stepping into his game willingly. She took comfort in his riddles, his understated phrases. They blunted the elation of her successes, but also helped dull the sharp edges of truth that came with those hard-earned victories. She felt another twinge of sadness, no longer sharp and all-consuming, but still enough to break her peaceful reverie. "Grandfather. What should I do now?" she asked in a small voice, feeling like a child again.
Jinrei chuckled softly, and she felt his hand loop around her shoulder and squeeze her gently. "You will always be my little sparrow," he said to her. "Perhaps it is time you return to the nest. Little Hong misses you very much, my dear child. You never did pay enough attention to your younger brothers. And I could always use help carrying my fish to the market. I am an old man, after all."
Xiaoyu blinked, squinting into the first rays of light as the sun rose over the horizon. "China…" she said quietly. "It seems so far away now. Is it really my home anymore?"
Jinrei released her and clasped his arms behind his back. "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it."
Xiaoyu planted her hands on her hips. "Did you just call me a man?" she asked indignantly.
Jinrei snorted and turned away, beginning the long stroll towards the edge of the plateau and the winding road that would return them to civilization. "No respect for their elders at all," he mumbled loudly to himself.
Xiaoyu looked after him and suddenly, she felt an overwhelming sense of affection for her absent-minded, wise old grandfather. "I love you too," she said softly, a tiny smile playing across her lips. Then with a grin, she hurried to join him.
AN: I hope this final showdown satisfied everyone. I personally think Wang had the best non-comedy ending of the game, which is why I chose his version for this story. His last quote about home, by the way, is from George Moore. There is a short epilogue coming up, since there are still some questions: What happens to Xiaoyu now? Who does she choose to love in the end? Well… it's a surprise. You'll see! Thank you to all the reviewers, your comments have helped inspire and keep this fiction going so quickly. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say this fiction could not have been without your help.