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Chapter 28 – The Curse
When Julia and Hwoarang started the fight, Ling thought she was going to watch one of the most intense matches ever. Hwoarang was so sure that he was going to win, that Ling was absolutely sure that Julia would manage to win. But she was wrong. Julia lost after ten minutes. It was weird, especially after seeing her previous fight with Anna Williams. Everyone knew that Julia was a good fighter, but for some reason she was powerless against the redhead Korean. She managed to kick him once, but Hwoarang recovered very fast and saw that her defences had so many holes as fishing nets. It was quite easy to knock her out.
-'What happened in there?'-Ling asked Julia.
-'I have no idea.'-she whispered, rubbing her stomach where Hwoarang had hit her.
-'No idea? You lost!'
-'Really?'-Julia asked with sarcasm.-'I didn't notice…'
-'At least give me a reason…are you sick? Maybe you have a fever or something…'
-'I'm fine…but my ribs hurt…'
-'He just sent you flying over the arena…it's was brutal. I thought you would be unconscious for hours.'
-'Well, I guess he didn't use all of his mighty powers against me.'
-'You want to go to the medical facilities?'
-'Yeah…but I'm going alone…you can head back to the hotel.'
Ling knew that Julia wanted to spend sometime alone. Probably she was feeling down for having lost against Hwoarang. Ling knew that Julia, maybe more than everyone one else in that tournament, wanted to kick his ass and prove that he wasn't that strong.
On her way to the medical facilities, Julia tried to understand what had happened. Why the hell did she freeze like that? Why couldn't she face Hwoarang as if he was an enemy? She hated guys like him, and to be honest she wanted to teach him a lesson, but she had failed. Now, she was eliminated from the tournament and she would have to hear Hwoarang bragging about one more of his victories.
In the meanwhile, Hwoarang was indeed bragging about his fast kicks and strong punches in the bar.
-'You are really something, you know?'-Paul said putting another beer in front of Hwoarang.-'Your ego is bigger than the ocean!'
-'Really?'-Hwoarang asked.-'That's a good thing…I think.'
-'You won without hurting her too much…are you becoming a soft sissy?'-Paul provoked.
-'Look, you looser…I don't need to give you any explanations…but if you want to know, I couldn't care less about that snob and idiot nerd.'
-'Whatever…I guess you're better than I thought…actually I had bet on her…so the least I can do is getting you really drunk! It's payback time!'
-'You bet against me? Then get me another beer…right now.'
-'Sure, you're the one who going to pay it anyway.'
-'Hey, that's not fair…besides I'm broke.'
-'Did anyone see Julia Chang?'- Hwoarang turned around and saw Jin Kazama standing there. His face was pale and it seemed that he wasn't having any sleep at all.
-'You look like a zombie…what have you been smoking?'-Hwoarang joked.
-'Did you see her or not?'
-'What do you want from Chang?'
-'It's none of your business…'
-'Pfff…I wouldn't tell you even if I knew.'
Jin left because he didn't have time to argue with guys like Hwoarang. He sure wanted to hurt him a lot, but he was having his own problems at the moment so he couldn't be distracted.
A few hours ago, Jin started having a lot of pain caused by the curse running in his blood. He could feel his brain failing sometimes, his will was completely replaced by a killer instinct and he didn't know what to do anymore to make it go away. Julia was probably the only person who could help him but she wasn't around. In the end Jin turned to the only person he could think about in a time like that.
-'Jin?'-Ling was surprised to see Jin standing right outside her room.-'What are you doing here?'
-'I…I…don't know…'-this time Jin was being honest.
A closer look allowed Ling to see that he wasn't alright.
-'What's wrong with you? Are you sick?'
-'This was a bad idea…I have to go.'
-'No, you're not going anywhere.'
Ling pulled him inside and closed the door. Jin followed her to the room and he felt sick again. Fearing that he could hurt her, he went to the bathroom and locked the door.
-'Are you ok? Jin? Open the door, please!'-Ling asked.
-'Just leave me alone.'
Ling waited a few minutes, she was sure that he would calm down and then they could talk about what was happening. She was a bit scared but she was also glad that finally he had come to her. The question now was why had he come to her? It was obvious that he needed someone to rely on, someone he could trust, but Ling wasn't so sure, because so far he had never told her about his secrets and his problems. Ling waited and waited and finally she decided to knock on the door again. When she raised her arm she heard a noise inside the bathroom. Something had fallen on the floor, something heavy.
-'Jin? Are you ok?'-she tried again. No one answered.
Seconds later she was knocking frenetically on the door, and then she realised that probably Jin was unconscious.
-'Ready or not, I'm going to knock the door down!'-she warned. The door wasn't very resistant, so with just one kick, Ling managed to open it. She entered the bathroom only to see that she was right, Jin was lying on the floor.
Now all she could feel was worries. She was worried for him, because she didn't know what was happening or if she could help him at all.
First she decided to take him to the bed. He was sweating and she noticed that his temperature was a little high.
It was only when she started to move him towards the bed that she realised how heavy he was. Jin wasn't skinny but he wasn't fat either. He was well built and much taller than her. Compared to him, Ling was now feeling really small and fragile. She spent almost ten minutes dragging him through the floor. When she put him in her bed she was so tired that she stood by his side, lying down.
Lying there, Ling thought that maybe she should go and call a doctor or a nurse, but then again, she didn't want to leave him alone.
-'I guess I'll have to take care of you…for tonight…'-Ling said watching Jin.
It was almost two a.m. when Jin woke up. At first he didn't recognise where he was, but when he saw Ling sleeping by his side, he remembered. He had been trying to find Julia Chang because he was giving in to his dark side, and he needed some advices, but she was nowhere to be found. Confused and in pain, he had turn to someone who was important to him, but by doing it, he had also put her life in danger. It wasn't safe to be with him in those conditions, but now it was too late.
-'Hi…are you feeling better?'-Ling asked as soon as she woke up.
-'Yes…thank you…'
-'So…what happened?'
-'Well…I don't know…I just felt sick and…'
Ling put one hand on his forehead to check his temperature and she smiled realising that it was back to normal.
-'I was worried about you…why didn't you go see a doctor if you've been feeling sick?'
-'A doctor?'-he almost laughed with the idea. Suddenly he saw himself explaining to a doctor his situation:
"-Doctor you need to help me, see I have this devil gene that makes me want to kill all the humans I see and I feel kind of psychotic because my whole body starts trembling and I become very violent. I got this gene from my dad; he's not human anymore because he hated his father so much that he sold his soul to the devil. My innocent mother tried to help him and she got pregnant instead…it was kind of dumb, because I can't imagine a worse father to child than the devil himself. Anyway, now I'm in real troubles because I'm not only loosing control over my actions but I'm also being chased by my grandfather who wants to rule the world using the powers from some evil spirit…".
-'Yeah…you know, someone who can cure people and help the sick? They even wear a white…'
-'I know what a doctor is…and I know they can't help me.'
-'You fainted with no reason…your temperature was so high that I could boil an egg on your chest a few hours ago…and now you're back to normal as if nothing happened. It's not normal, you need help.'
-'I'm ok now, so I'll just return to my room and let you rest.'
-'Why did you come to me, Jin?'
-'I don't know…I guess I shouldn't have come…'
-'I thought you wanted us to be friends again.'-Ling lowered her eyes when she pronounced those words. Jin felt bad too.
-'I never stopped being your friend. I just think that you shouldn't be here…and that you shouldn't trust Heihachi.'
-'I know that your intentions are good but how can have an opinion if you don't tell me the truth?'
Jin left the bed and walked towards the door. Part of him wanted to tell Ling everything, the other part was afraid of what she might think of him after that.
-'Just talk to me! Tell me why should I leave Heihachi…why do you think he's this monster?'
Jin turned back and faced her. His face was now changed and Ling didn't know if he was angry, sad or both.
-'Heihachi is not a monster…I am.'
Those words hit Ling like a knife piercing her soul. What did he mean? Was he really serious?
-'Since you really want to know…I'll tell you…I'll tell you everything.'-Jin knew that the truth was probably the only thing that would make Ling understand the danger she was facing.
Jin told her about everything that Julia had told him. He told her that he was half-devil because his father had joined the dark forces when he gave in to the hate he was feeling for Heihachi.
Ling was astonished with that story and when Jin stopped talking she even thought that maybe he was just making that up. But that was such a weird story.
-'Is this true?'-she asked sitting down on the bed.
-'Yes…I wouldn't make up a thing like this. Besides, Julia was the one who told me almost everything. Before that I only knew that my mother was murdered and my father had died in the previous tournament.'
-'But are there monsters? I mean is the devil for real?'
-'I never saw the devil, or even my father…but I have his blood in my veins and I'm turning into a monster day by day…'
-'Don't say that…you're not a monster! Even if this whole story is true, you're still Jin…you're still my friend!'
-'Tonight I felt like I was going to lose my sanity…I know that it's just a matter of time before the darkness gets me…'
-'Isn't there a way to cure the devil gene?'
-'I don't know…Julia said that her mother would help me, but I'm not sure that she can help me at all. I hate my father…and Heihachi…and sometimes I wish I could drain away all the life in their bodies.'
These words made Ling face Jin with a different look. She had never seen him talk so aggressively. It was a bit scary.
-'Now that you know how dysfunctional my family really is, I guess you should pack right now and leave to China. At least there you're safe.'-Jin continued.-'You don't need to worry anymore. I'll be fine.'
-'I don't care what you say Jin Kazama…I want to stay and help you. This is more important than to build an amusement park. I mean, it's still my greatest dream, but I can't turn my back on a friend!'
-'After this, we won't be friends…'
-'Of course we will.'
-'Once you see my true nature, you won't be able to see me as a friend. I'm a half devil. My family is cursed and to complicate things more there's an evil spirit on the loose, feeding himself with powerful souls. You'll be a target…'
-'I'm sure we'll find a way to win this battle. As for Heihachi, we just need to make him see that the Toshin is actually dangerous and the world is better off without him. Have faith Jin…'
-'That's hard for me…all I can see is the darkness coming. Please, Xiaoyu…reconsider and go away…go home and stay there. I don't want anything bad happen to you.'
With this, Jin left and Ling didn't even try to stop him. She was confused and in that moment she needed to think about what to do. It was hard to see Jin as some killer monster; he wasn't the friendliest person on earth and in the beginning he was a bit rude but he wasn't a monster. Besides, Ling didn't believe in demons or angels. Was it really possible that Kazuya Mishima was now the devil himself? What about the Toshin? Was he real? An evil spirit with an insatiable appetite for human and powerful souls? There was only one way to know if Jin was speaking the truth…she would have to hear Julia's version too. For now, that was her priority.
