Greetings everyone! Happy Solar Eclipse Day! I hope you all wore your protective glasses if you joined the madness. Summer is quickly winding down, so I hope everyone is making the most of it. Thanks again for the reviews and support, it keeps me going especially when I feel too down or lazy to write lol. Finally, here's chapter 19!:)
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters. They are all property of Namco.
"You know, you haven't aged a bit. You're just as handsome as you were when I last saw you," the brunette complimented the aesthetically pleasing man with a coquettish smile.
Listening to the pair talk was unbearable. His calls had become more frequent before he decided to visit, and for unbeknownst reasons she didn't take a liking to him. An old acquaintance of theirs, she introduced him as; however, to her he was just another lost memory. They continued on in their senseless yammering about miscellaneous topics, none of which held her interest.
"Ah, you flatter me, but it's always nice to hear such kind words from you. I could say the same for you as well," he flirted casually.
The blonde sat quietly at the dining room table and slowly sipped her tea. It was always bitter, suspiciously bitter. It was as if her roommate was incapable of making a decent cup of tea. If she was going to ban her from entering the kitchen, she should at least possess some degree of culinary skills. She peered over to the pair and watched as the woman leaned closely towards the man as he continued to talk about himself. He was fascinated with strange things ranging from technology, vacationing, and his start up company. The brunette woman was most likely feigning interest in his conversation to get what she wanted out of him.
"I'm so impressed with everything you've done for yourself...you've changed. I'm glad you decided to pay us a visit, it's been so long since I've seen a friendly face." She then looked over to the anti-social blonde briefly and shook her head.
"How is she doing? It's quite tragic...I'm so sorry you're going through this and about everything that has happened," the charismatic man consoled her as he looked over to the silent woman as well.
As usual, people were talking about her as if she weren't even sitting in the same room. She felt like a spectre at times, a spectre of her former self. She took another sip of her tepid tea before completely losing interest in it. The bitterness lingered on her taste buds. She could feel their eyes on her, staring at her with pity. She hated it. She wasn't feeling well anyway, so she could use this as a valid excuse to take her leave without the brunette harping on her for being rude. The blonde stood up slowly and turned towards the pair.
"I'm going to bed. I…don't feel…" her voice trailed off weakly. She brought a hand up to her head to soothe away the oncoming migraine. The throbbing was unbearable.
The brunette stood up abruptly in alarm but remained cautious not to approach her. Her behavior was unpredictable. "What's the matter with you? Don't you dare do this now!" she snapped.
The pain was searing and it felt as if her head were going to explode. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh god…no…it hurts so bad!" she cried out in agony. The eyes, they burned a fierce red in her mind's imagery, attempting to seize control of her thoughts once again.
Seeing the brunette's hesitation made him spring into action. He rushed over to the blonde's aid and approached her with concern. He attempted to place a gentle hand on her shoulder despite the other woman telling him to stay away.
"She does this for attention…leave her be," she cautioned him. The medicine obviously wasn't helping her.
The ailing woman still cradled her head in her palms, hoping the pain would subside. A hand landed on her shoulder, causing her to flinch away from his touch. She looked up at him, and for a brief moment he seemed familiar, very familiar. "L-…" his name was on the tip of her tongue before a blinding red rage consumed her. She gritted her teeth in anger and a loud "smack" filled the atmosphere. Afterwards, silence fell over all of them.
The brunette looked stunned, staring in guffaw with widened eyes and a hand shielding her mouth.
The man was stunned and confused as he stared at her in shock. The anger in her eyes faded unlike the burning pain on his cheek.
The pain stopped and the red was gone, but her stinging palm was the only sensation she could feel. She looked between the both of them and felt completely disoriented. In that brief moment, she had forgotten what she had done or said, but she felt ashamed for some reason. The blonde hurriedly pushed past the man and fled from the room. Why did this keep happening to her? She just wanted a peace of mind, nothing more.
Her plans for a full night's rest didn't go accordingly, but at least she tried. Perhaps there was so much on her mind these days that her new added stress pushed her old repressed memories to the forefront of her mind. So, she tried to repress her already repressed memories even further by drowning herself in more work. Up early in the morning with no current tasks on her agenda, the blonde found herself patrolling around in the main building just to keep herself occupied. The halls were clear since it was only moments before the workday for the company's employees officially began.
She gazed out of the lobby window to surveil the grounds as if she were actually expecting something to happen. Too bad the protests had died down due to the Tekken Force being more proactive about clearing out trespassers. It was a shame because now she missed reading those hilarious protest signs; they were entertaining.
Her tired, blue eyes skimmed over the grounds as she watched as some of the early bird employees began arriving. A gleam caught her eye, and she turned her head and narrowed her eyes slightly as a chrome silver car pulled up on the sidewalk outside of the building. It was an odd, attention grabbing car that must've cost the owner a fortune. A woman in glasses with short dark hair dressed in business attire exited the vehicle on the passenger side with a beautiful bouquet of roses within her grasp. Nina squinted her eyes even further as she observed the sighting and realized that the woman was Jin's secretary.
'Arriving in fancy cars with roses? I didn't think his mousy secretary would be into high rollers,' she thought in amusement. She stretched her vision to its limits to try to get a better look at the secretary's mysterious beau, but the only thing she could make out was an older looking man with dark sunglasses and grey hair. The woman waved goodbye to him and, oddly, he gave her a thumbs up from his car before driving away.
Nina raised a curious brow. She wanted to think nothing of it, but her mind was trained to be suspicious of everything. The woman walked through the doors and began walking towards her desk, that is, until she spotted the stoic blonde standing near the large windows in the lobby.
"Oh…good morning, Miss Williams," she spoke politely, attempting to mask the usual nervousness in her tone.
The assassin slowly turned her head away from the window and regarded the woman with a single nod. Her eyes fell upon the flowers with a faint smile. "Fancy date?"
The young woman blushed and smiled sheepishly. "O-oh no! He's just a friend!" she clarified.
"I see," the blonde replied coolly before returning her attention to the window. Perhaps she was just being paranoid and was overstepping her boundaries. Besides, she felt like she was driving herself up the wall trying to observe and investigate every little peculiar occurrence happening within the company. 'I've been so wound up lately…I need to relax before I completely lose my sanity,' she thought as she finally walked out of the lobby to return to her quarters, leaving the secretary bewildered and tense. With the limited sleep she was running on, there was no way that she'd be exuberant enough to attend the opera later that night. She'd definitely have to be fully refreshed and mentally prepared to survive such an exhaustively boring event.
Somewhere in between not being able to find his cufflinks and failing miserably at tying his bowtie, he realized that he had made a grave mistake of accepting those opera tickets. He began to wonder if it was too late to have his invitation rescinded. Despite his regrets, he continued to dress himself. He had left from his quarters once he put on his tuxedo and went to his office where he'd rendezvous with his bodyguard before the limo arrived for them.
He stared at his reflection with disinterest as he made various predictions about the outcome of this night. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to stay longer than he desired. The performance would be long and grueling enough, but if he were coerced into participating in various insipid conversations afterwards, he'd lose his final nerve. With a deep inhale and exhale, he attempted to calm himself. Coping with crowds and social gatherings weren't his specialties, but for the sake of adding variety to his life and temporarily escaping his troubles, he figured it was better than spending another night alone with a whiskey glass in hand whilst sulking about his life's decisions.
'Just this one night…if nothing else is gained from this, at least it'll take our minds off the madness,' he thought as he still fumbled with his bowtie.
An informative beep sounded throughout his office to notify him that someone was attempting to gain entry. He was surprised that she was dressed already, he'd always heard that women took forever to dress themselves for formal events. As usual, he heard the soft thuds of her heels as she walked across the carpeted floor of his office.
"Well, don't you look debonair tonight," Nina complimented as she saw him standing in front of the ornate mirror mounted on the wall. He looked rather nice in a tuxedo, she could tell that she put a lot of effort into his appearance, and it seemed that he was still adding the finishing touches.
Once he was able to partially see her in his peripheral vision, he rotated his head slightly to look at her. He felt his stomach flipping and his heart rate increase dramatically as he gazed at her, dumbstruck by her appearance. His brown eyes were fixated on her as he slowly took in more details of her. She was beautifully adorned in a long, black, satin dress with a plunging neckline, and as she took a few steps forward, he noticed her long, creamy leg peeking out from the long slit in her dress. Her blonde hair was smoothed back into a low swirled bun with her bangs framing her ivory face; she was absolutely stunning. With a sharp intake of air, he quickly refocused his eyes on his reflection before they inevitably drifted onto other dangerous places on the assassin's body.
Nina smiled smugly to herself upon noting his behavior. She supposed that he was pleased with her appearance although he didn't verbalize it. Since he was still getting ready, she crossed over to the sofa and sat down to get comfortable while she waited. She still quietly observed him and wondered why he seemed a bit jittery. Was there a big business deal he was anticipating tonight, or was he paranoid about making a public appearance with such a tempting bounty price on his head? The blonde calmly crossed her legs and titled her head slightly in curiosity. "So, who is it that you're trying to impress tonight?" she inquired with interest. "I was always under the impression that your business associates tap danced on command for you."
Jin scoffed lightly at the thought. "No matter what buffoonery they resort to in order to get in my good graces, I don't reverse my decisions," he reminded.
He was quite the ball buster in the board room, so she knew first hand how unrelenting he could be. "Then who would give you box seat tickets knowing your business reputation? Are they just gifts or tools used to kiss ass in order to appeal to your sentimental side?"
"I'm sure this night will result in the old Rochefort fool trying to pull at my heartstrings to release the seizure of his oil fields, but it will be futile since I've told him countless times that I will remain firm in my decision," the raven haired man recounted coldly.
She remembered that poor old man from one of the meetings they had a while back. She was almost certain that he was on the brink of tears as he repeatedly pled for Jin's mercy, but to no avail. Nina shrugged. "Well, I'm sure you'll let him down easy."
"Hmph," he grunted to himself. In truth, he did regret his cruelty, but he needed every resource that he could seize in order to fund this war. "There's no way around it…you understand that, right?" He glanced over to her for a quick second before returning his eyes to his sloppily tied bowtie.
"Of course, I hardly question your motives," she reassured. So far, she abided by his demands and carried out her orders with hardly any hesitation, that is, unless he ordered her to do something that threatened either her well being or his. Nina sighed softly and stared at Jin from her position on the sofa and smirked at him as he struggled with his tie. A cruel jab towards his inability to tie it properly nearly slipped from her lips until she felt a shred of sympathy for him. Not that he probably wished for it now knowing the type of man his father is, but surely as a child he must've felt a gaping hole within him due to his absence throughout his childhood. This fact clearly presented itself before her as she watched him grow increasingly frustrated with the simple task. She quietly stood up and slowly walked towards him.
This was far more challenging than he thought it would be and he nearly gave up until he felt a presence standing beside him. The blonde slowly held out her palm with a straight face. She must've sensed his irritation and decided to lend him a hand. He was slightly embarrassed, but he pulled the tie from around his neck and gently placed it in her palm, reluctantly. He grew a little nervous as she stepped closely towards him to reach up to slip the silk black bowtie around his neck.
Jin swallowed nervously as he stared down at her, focusing his eyes on her as she focused her eyes onto his tie as she looped the material with ease between her slender fingers. When she briefly shifted her blue eyes up towards his, she smirked a little as he quickly tried to avert his eyes elsewhere. The soft floral scent of her perfume teased his senses, and he unintentionally inhaled slowly, feeling strangely at ease for the moment. He snapped out of his short-lived reverie as he felt her tugging at his tie a few times to make sure it was perfect.
"There, you're all set," Nina informed as she admired her work. Most little girls hovered over their mothers while they dressed for fancy events, playing in their heels and spraying expensive perfume on themselves for fun, but she had always found it more entertaining to watch her father polish his shoes to perfection and twist his ties into various knots. She never thought having such useless knowledge about men's fashion would come in handy, until now. Since she was already at it, she slid her hands over the lapels of his tux and smoothed it out.
He silently gazed down at her with tranquility in his eyes as he secretly took pleasure in their close proximity and the feel of her hands gliding gently down his chest as she continued to groom him. "Thank you," he said in a low voice with a faint, appreciative smile.
The blonde raised her crystalline blue eyes to meet his, and once again they found themselves locked into one of their usual silent staring matches. His rum colored eyes looked very gentle for the first time in a long while, and this, surprisingly, made her smile softly. She took another step forward, closing any space between them, and slowly slid her hands upwards from his chest until they rested on his shoulders. She could feel his throbbing heart beating wildly between them as they never broke eye contact. Like magnet to steel, she slowly gravitated towards him until her lips met with his.
His mind shut off, and the only thing that mattered to him at the moment was the silken feel of her lips caressing against his own. Her soft body pushing up against his, clad in that curve hugging dress did nothing to stop his carnal desires from reaching its peak. It was a sensational experience that sent shivers throughout his body as he began to crave more of her. With a little hesitation, he slowly allowed his hands to slip around her the curve of her waist, hoping that she wouldn't reprove him for the action. Much to his satisfaction, his advance caused her to embrace her arms around his neck, making the kiss far more intimate. Their lips continued to entwine in a seductive dance as they completely abandoned all rationality and escaped reality together.
Unfortunately, the moment was short lived when a sudden vibration from his slacks jolted the two back into reality, completely shattering their delusions of bliss. Their moist lips slowly peeled apart, and afterwards they remained silent for a moment as they stared at each other with lust and a myriad of other confusing emotions coursing through them. The vibration continued to demand his attention and further evacuated their jumbled minds from their previous activity. Jin mentally cursed as he quickly reached into his pocket to check the message on the disruptive device. He was highly annoyed by the interruption, but he supposed that it was important to know that the limo driver was waiting for them downstairs. He steadied his quickened breath as he returned his attention to the alluring blonde. He was now faced with a nice view of her backless dress as she took a few steps away from him and appeared as if she were quietly trying to regain her composure. An uncomfortable silence lingered between them since neither of them knew what to say at the moment.
Nina cradled her head in her palm very briefly as she drew in a deep breath. It felt as if her mind had shifted into autopilot, forcing her to cave in and act impulsively instead of logically. Once she felt that she finally descended from her erotic haze, she finally turned around to face her employer, who was staring at her expectantly. She placed a single hand on her hip and causally said, "We better get going, or we'll be late."
Not this time, he refused to let this issue go. He had grown increasingly frustrated with whatever game they were engaged in lately and even more frustrated with her refusal to discuss their situation. This hot and cold, cat and mouse game was killing him, and it added another level of stress in his life that he never had to deal with in the past. On certain nights, he lay awake in the darkness of his room relaying every interaction with the assassin and overanalyzing the significance of them until his tired mind finally succumbed to sleep. However, it seemed that she had mastered the art of putting on a facade and pretending that neither one of them, at one point or another, had crossed their line of professionalism. He was confused, and he wanted answers. "I think it's time that we talk about this," he demanded calmly as he looked down at her. "What are we doing?"
"Let's not," she quickly replied, dismissively. "It'll only make this more complicated."
He raised a brow slightly in confusion at her logic. "How so?" he asked as he leaned back against his desk with crossed arms.
Nina stared directly into his eyes and took a few steps towards him again with her hand still perched on the curve of her hip. "If we try to understand…whatever this is, it'll become something, but if we don't discuss it and let it simply exist, it'll remain nothing," she explained obliquely.
The raven haired man's usual mask of indifference dissolved and was replaced by a look of bafflement. Even with all the philosophy texts he had been reading lately, he still couldn't understand her logic. Her explanation only further perplexed him. Why was she so hesitant to talk about this matter directly? "So, this is nothing?" he tried to deduce her reasoning. "Then why do any of this at all?" He felt himself growing frustrated with her convoluted and evasive answers.
"It's fun and thrilling…just the way I like it. If whatever this is continues, I prefer to keep it that way," she stated bluntly.
Her strange theory was hard for him to follow. He simply wanted to understand her motives and self interests better, he wanted to understand her. However, just as she wanted, they'd have to postpone this discussion for another time since they were running late. Jin stared at her wistfully for a little while before he wrangled in his thoughts in order to prepare himself for the evening ahead.
A wry smile graced her lips as she watched the moody man walk past her silently. "Don't overthink it, that'll definitely drain the fun from everything, " she advised carefully in a low voice. She knew her words had thrown him for a loop, but she refused to let this little thing they had become unnecessarily complicated for several valid reasons, the most important being her focus on her duties. Hopefully, he would understand. It was for the best…for the both of them.
End of chapter 19...chapter 20 coming soon!
Cold as ice Nina strikes again! Don't worry...things may warm up by the next 2 chapters *hint* ;)