Chapter 26: Raindrops

It's the second day of the tournament, and I'm up and dressed by nine. This time, I'm gonna get some training in before my fight. Yesterday was too close. I feel quite proud of myself, though, as I stride through the hotel grounds. All things considered, I kicked so much ass. There's an overcast sky ahead, and it looks like it's threatening rain, but I don't much care. My next battle is indoors. Unlike Hwoarang, I think with a sly grin. He's outside in the forest for today's fight. I consider hunting him down to gloat about that, but I have to stay focused, don't I?

Throwing open the door to the gym, I glance around the room. There's the blonde haired woman attacking a wooden training dummy. An imposing looking-guy with a tight black t-shirt and snakeskin trousers is throwing rapid punches. In the corner, the girl with the headdress is meditating. I pick a mat and claim it, sinking low into my Phoenix Stance and closing my eyes to shut the others out. It's time to take Grandfather's advice. I need to train my mind, as well as my body. I almost lost yesterday because I wasn't prepared. It won't happen again.

By eleven, the rain's coming down hard. The guy with dreadlocks who I saw on the boat is standing opposite Hwoarang as a Mishima aide explains the rules for the bout. I don't know why they insist on doing this for every fight, it's not as if we've all got short-term memory problems. Though that might explain why Jin never bothered to turn up to my first battle, something I'm still pissed off about. What's up with him? Would it have killed him to take twenty minutes out of his precious time to watch my fight? I'll repay the favour, see how he likes it. Bastard.

Hwoarang's voice snaps me out of my reverie.

"Yeah yeah. Shut up already." He's grouchy, I think with a smile. He hates rain. It's not good biking weather.

And the fight starts. Eddy's fashion sense may leave a lot to be desired (Hot pink panels on his vest and trainers? Eighties much?) but boy, can the man move. He's incredibly graceful, with a natural rhythm, and I watch with awe as he goes on the offensive, leaving Hwo no other choice but to think on his feet, no pun intended. But if I know Hwoarang, he's enjoying every minute. Even if Eddy does seem to the casual observer to be dancing rings around him, I'm sure Hwo's in complete control. Well, I really hope so, anyway.

Eddy flips forward into a handstand, and then advances on Hwo, who's staring down at him, bewildered. I can understand him being puzzled. It looks… sorta ridiculous, but it certainly does the trick, as a spin of Eddy's body sends his foot lashing out at Hwoarang, catching him in the ribs. Hwo stumbles, but even with the slippery ground, manages to quickly recover, avoiding his opponent's follow-up attack and then landing a few short kicks to Eddy's side, overbalancing him. But instead of hitting while he has the chance, like I would have, Hwo stays in a defensive stance, a smile playing on his lips, waiting for him to recover. Oh. Damn. Hwo looks so… dare I say it – sexy with that expression, his shirt clinging to him in the rain. Okay, rewind. I so didn't even think that. Maybe that blow to the head I got in my first fight had an effect after all.

Back to the fight. Eddy's up and on the offensive once more, in a low stance and attempting to sweep Hwo's legs out from under him. He deftly avoids the majority of the attacks, backing away but somehow not moving quite fast enough to avoid them all. It's not like him. Hwo's usually as quick as lightning, but today he seems almost lazy…

Wait.

I get it now.

It's a hustle.

I see the battle through different eyes now. Eddy's doing all the chasing, and Hwoarang's making him think he's doing enough. Any minute now, he's gonna counter. Hard. I don't have to wait long for that counter move, as Eddy winds up for a finish to his combo, jumping into the air for one last kick. It never connects. Hwoarang's boot slams into his stomach, propelling the poor guy up and away from his opponent. He falls to the ground face first, and shakily gets onto his hands and knees, breathless and heaving. Hwo takes the opportunity to wind up to a particularly powerful, particularly nasty kick that I recognise from when I watched him and Baek sparring one time. He brings his heel, spur and all, down viciously onto the top of Eddy's head, and I wince for him as he cries out in agony and crumples to the ground. Hwo stands over him, that sexy smirk still on his face. It's quite a shock to see him being so harsh though. He was completely merciless there, something I didn't expect at all. Maybe I don't know Hwo as well as I think I do.

There's a fire in him that I wasn't aware of until now.

The bell sounds signalling the end of the fight, and Eddy groans in despair, struggling to get up. He turns his face up to look at Hwoarang, who grins at him, that same easy smile I've seen so many times before. But somehow it doesn't look the same any more.

"Not too fast, are you?"

I hug my knees to my chest and look up into the starry sky. It's a beautifully clear night with a warm breeze, and said breeze carries the scent of jasmine flowers to me. There's a neatly kept flowerbed at the other side of the courtyard. I wish I could just sit and appreciate this, but with all the thoughts that are racing through my head, it's nigh on impossible. I followed Hwoarang's example and won my second battle today, but I can't bring myself to celebrate about it. Jin didn't even bother to turn up. Again. The mere thought is enough to bring a dark scowl to my face, but before I can sink further into rage and resentment, I hear soft footsteps heading towards me. And damn my heart to hell, it still leaps at the thought that those footsteps could be Jin's.

I turn my head slightly to show that I'm aware of the approach, and the footsteps slow to a stop.

"Xiaoyu, isn't it?" A male voice asks. I turn around properly, and it's the man with the ponytail who was at my fight earlier. I nod, and he smiles at me.

"Can I sit here?"

"I'm not stopping you." I mumble, turning away from him. He sits down at my side, looks up at the night sky.

"You did a great job with your fight this afternoon."

"Thanks." I turn to him. "I watched your fight, Mr. Wulong."

"Lei." He corrects. "What did you think?"

"Awesome." I give him a small smile. "I think you could win this thing."

"Win?" He laughs, but not in a mocking way. "I just hope I can do better than I did last time."

"You were in the second tournament? Do you know my grandfather Jinrei?

"I thought some of your moves were familiar."

We fall silent for a while, and then Lei turns back to me.

"So, what are you doing out here?"

I was waiting for him to ask that. 'Cause my sort-of boyfriend's a moron. 'Cause he doesn't even care enough to watch my matches. 'Cause I'm kinda sorta not sure of my feelings for a certain smartass anymore.

"No reason." I say.

"No reason? You sure about that? You really do seem down."

I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. His smile is so kind. I think I can trust this guy.

"Well, I guess there are a couple of reasons." I look at him hesitantly, expecting him to chuckle and say something along the lines of 'can't decide what colour nail polish you want?' like most adults do when they're trying to be witty. But he just nods his head for me to carry on.

"There's this guy…" I trail off.

"A friend?"

"Sort of. But I'm mad at him." I pull my knees closer to me. "He's so stupid."

"Why?"

"Because…!"

Lei smiles, tilting his head to the side. "Care to elaborate?"

"He's at the tournament too." I mumble. "But the moron didn't even turn up to my fight!" I slam my fist on the grass, anger bubbling inside me.

We're quiet for a while, and then I sigh.

"I really thought he cared about me. But I guess I just saw what I wanted to."

"How do you know he wasn't there? He could have been hidden in the crowd, couldn't he?"

"If he was, wouldn't he have come up to congratulate me on my win? I guess I sort of knew he wouldn't turn up, but I'm still disappointed…"

"This guy." Lei starts, "Maybe he just wants you to think he doesn't care."

"What? Why?"

"Well, I've been looking into this tournament. And let's just say, the more I find out, the more worried I am."

"Looking into…?" I echo.

"I'm a cop."

"You're investigating Heihachi Mishima?"

"No. But my assignment does require me to do a bit of digging."

"What's that got to do with Jin?" I ask defensively, then I realise I've given his name away and mentally smack myself in the head. But deep down, I'm glad Lei knows who I'm talking about now. Maybe he's found out something about Toshin…

"I don't think he wants you in any danger, is all." Lei tells me.

"And exactly how does avoiding me keep me out of danger?"

"I wouldn't know." He says breezily. "But if I were you, I'd wouldn't hang around after the end of the tournament."

"What will you be doing?"

"I'll be on my way back to Hong Kong."

Back in my room, I sit in one of the plush chairs next to the window as the rain patters down. Everything seems to be warning me away from this tournament.

But there's so much I could find out by staying. Not only about Toshin, and this whole Jin thing, but also about Hwoarang. After his fight, he was back to his normal self, but for that brief battle, I caught a glimpse of something… darker in him.

Watching him today made me see him in a whole new light.

And now I'm confused.