One Tainted Secret
Chapter Eight: Nature vs. Nurture
By: Michelle
The minor conflagration in Munro Woods was all over the news: Lightning Strikes Cabin #44. The damage left from the strike, on the roof, was no larger than a manhole. It was fortunate nobody was hurt. Everybody cleared out fast. The place was oddly deserted by the time the police and firetrucks arrived, not a single bystander nearby. Within twenty minutes they had the fire under control and, with the help of the rain, it was distinguished by dawn.
Stories circulated, of those who witnessed, recounting different scenes of what, in truth, had happened, including the activity going on in cabin #45. These were passed off as stories typical of the unexplainable things that happen in Munro Woods, though they did make for pretty far-fetched rumors that went around like fire at Mishima High, destroying a few reputations and putting the fame spotlight on some others.
Especially the news going around of Ling Xiao and Jin Kazama as a couple. It was difficult for her to accommodate to the sudden fame. More difficult was it for her to be pleasant to those who weren't so pleasant to her when she was new at the beginning of the year. Everyone surrounded her with questions on the whereabouts of Jin, where he took her that Halloween night. There were accusations of her being spotted at cabin #45.
Xiao did not remember Jin being at the party, except for when she mistook him with Audrey. The rumors did sound silly: Jin's lifelike wings and his ability to move people around by mind power. Unused to the attention, she neither objected or made response to the rumor of her and Jin being a couple. Having said that, she did not tell anybody that she had woken up in his room the following morning with large black feathers all around his bed.
On rare occasions, the Panda would accompany Xiao during her school time. Since the Halloween incident, the Panda was allowed on school campus daily, by orders of Master Heihachi Mishima, but had to remain outside the buildings.
So there it was, outside the window of whatever class Xiaoyu was in, sitting up or rolling on its back, more cuddly looking than vicious. Xiao was grateful for the Panda, she was able to avoid the scrutiny of the gossipmongers. Panda could sense if her mistress was uneasy, she stood tall and mighty, warning with her paws, those who distressed her mistress with rumors. No one came close to Panda except for a few close friends Xiaoyu was comfortable having around.
"What's his name?" Pricilla asked.
Xiao shrugged. "She responds to Panda."
"How do you know it's a girl?"
They had their lunch outside on the grass. A quiet Miharu threw her bread crusts into Panda's open mouth. Xiaoyu was lying on her stomach flipping through pages in a book while Pricilla took her pigtails out, turning them into French braids instead. Audrey excluded herself from the group, she sat on a bench shivering in her light sweater. The season began to frost, the wind and cold caught everyone off guard, the days were shorter, the brown and orange leaves swirled around in circles.
Unable to enjoy the wintry change of season, Audrey got up, scoffed and went inside. Xiao watched her leave. She caught eyes with Pricilla, who shared her same expression.
"She's pissed because it wasn't Jin who screwed her," Pricilla whispered, as if it were a secret just recently discussed.
Xiaoyu gave a quiet smile, inwardly grateful to hear that.
Miharu was cagey. Having run out of bread to toss at Panda, she now watched Xiao. Her eyes bore into her, as if she had an inkling. "Of course he didn't, he went off with Xiao."
"Are you serious, Miharu? Serious?" Pricilla exclaimed, having an attitude. Apparently there had been a spiff between the girls. "I don't care how drunk you thought you saw it, Jin didn't blast through the ceiling holding Xiao by the hair."
In spite of her better efforts, Xiao bursted out laughter.
"So hilarious," Pricilla said, not laughing, starting on Xiao's other braid, parting her hair with a pinky. "Unfortunately not hilarious enough for me to get over you guys ditching me."
"I don't remember doing that," Xiao said.
"It's those drinks," Pricilla said. "I knew what those white masks were for."
"I saw Audrey there," said Xiao, referring to cabin #45.
"Poor thing," replied Pricilla.
"I found Miharu after I left, but didn't see you."
"I called a cab, girl. I got outta there way before the lightning hit."
Miharu, who had been quietly listening and watching Xiao, debated her ignorance. Finally she asked her, "You really don't remember what Jin did to you?"
"I've been hearing different stories all day," said Xiao.
Miharu told her story over again. "He didn't look completely all there in the head. He was looking at you and your body shot over to him and you knocked out. He had big wings and wouldn't let anyone near you."
"And then he blasted through the ceiling?" asked Xiao.
Miharu stopped, realizing how crazy she sounded. "How did you get home that night?" she asked.
Without having to say anything, Xiao pointed at her Panda, an indisputable scapegoat. Miharu had no choice but to let go of what she wasn't sure of.
By the time Jin returned to school, all the rumors were gone. The student body's interest shifted over to Audrey when she began dating an older guy outside of school. All the girls talked about the guy on the motorcycle.
From behind the gated school fence they could see him standing on the other side of the street at a corner cafe, his long red hair and large puffs of cigarette smoke distinctive. He appeared sporadically, once maybe twice a week, taking Audrey away on his motorcycle during her lunch break and returning her right before the bell ended school. Indeed, this gathered attention and became the height of everyone's gossip entertainment. There were guesses on where they spent their trysts and elaborate speculation on who this red-haired foreign fellow was. No one bothered to suppose if something was going on between Jin and Xiaoyu.
No longer under suspicion, Xiao didn't have to pretend ignorance when she was told Jin was watching her. Though she played it off pretty well, showing no interest, it was something she had to get used to. His presence caused a fluttery feeling in her stomach. Before he was never there, always missing from school and from home. Now he was everywhere, at every corner she turned in the school hallways and him sitting in his usual spot across from her every night at the dinner table. It made every day more exciting. Girly from contained excitement, she hugged her Panda a lot, giggled and blushed, wishing to be freely able to hug him.
At school, Jin also did not have to secret his glances over at Xiao. He watched her whenever he wanted, followed her but never approached her. The only time they interacted at school was in their Intro to Psychology class, where they were randomly partnered up to research and present a project on Nature vs. Nurture.
The idea of Nature vs. Nurture was simple: it argued whether a child's psychology is most affected by the nature of their environment during childhood or by the nurture of the child's parents. Jin and Xiaoyu argued different sides. Jin was for nurture; he affirmed that the untroubled positivity of his upbringing helped shaped the way he dealt with the world. Xiaoyu, on the other hand, opted for nature; her parents had abandoned her willingly, therefore she had to rely on learning from her surroundings to develop survival skills.
To research this, they spent long hours in the school library sitting across from each other, staying late until they were the only ones left with the light on in a secluded corner, whispering everything to each other, topics that lead to other topics, their heads close as they leaned across the table to listen heedfully, their feet interlocked under the desk.
With Xiaoyu, everything felt fresh and new, uncorrupted. She didn't speak much about her history, only that she was abandoned at a young age and taken in by her grandfather, Wang Jinrei, blood relation unknown. She had a bright mind and understood the importance of learning, and so he taught her all that he knew: to be independent and to fight for what she believed in. Wang Jinrei spent much of his time in a meditative state, enjoying the air in the early morning was his favorite. This allowed Xiaoyu to work on self-sufficiency through her adolescence, having no friends except for a strict survival ethic and a zeal to succeed.
Inspired by her honesty, Jin found himself opening up willingly, speaking of things of his past he has never before revealed to anyone. He spoke highly of his mother, Jun Kazama. He told her about the peaceful solitary forest in Yakushima where he lived until his mother disappeared. He recalled some of her teachings, how it reminded him, now without her, to remain honest and good, simply by trying to do three things: to think good thoughts, speak good things, do good actions. Though he admitted, quietly, how he started to change without the influence of his mother's goodness. The change became apparent when his grandfather took him in.
"Change?" Xiao asked about the affect of Heihachi Mishima.
Jin couldn't describe it. It was something inside him that responded to people's bad thoughts and corrupt nature, such things that became difficult to block out. He couldn't be around his grandfather's presence for long, sensing some ulterior motive in the old man's head.
He didn't want to tell Xiao this, sensing her affinity with Heihachi, whose hospitality seemed to remind her of Wang Jinrei. He had had many perplexing visions concerning his family's bloodline, but he did not want to confuse her with what she was adopted into.
They were not in their world yet. Only pass the school gates, back at the manor, behind its forest and walls, hidden from the world, would they be faraway in theirs.
It was cloud nine. Jin had never felt better, curled next to her on the bare mattress, talking, touching each other's faces, tickling, which lead to playful biting and kissing.
There was no temptation for anything more, contentment was enough, and he was beyond satisfied by the uninhibited nature of Xiao. Her mind was always active with topics and what-if questions, always with something new to bring to discussion. She had opinions and plans and wild goals of building amusement parks, of making the world happy. Jin was enchanted by her and, like a spell, he felt it necessary to protect her, to help make her dreams come true.
It was a genuine friendship. Nothing like what she had with the girls at school. Xiaoyu found Jin's personality to be humble and gentle and his affection for her was sincere. He connected to her orphan state and did not judge her lack of family history. He listened to her and responded with only the best intentions. The attention he gave her was mesmerizing, touching her face affectionately and leaning over to kiss her forehead when she said something he found dear. She felt herself blossom in ways she never imagined.
Xiao loved the naps they took. Almost every day after school, it was a secret excitement between the two. A familiarity was growing, how he molded his long body along hers in his sleep. Then, when he woke, she would feel him pressing up against her, felt his breath and lips on the back of her neck, and she turned to face him, giving him her mouth.
Jin didn't dare break the magic by going too far. His hands never ventured but stayed wrapped around her small waist, squeezing her so tight that she squirmed to breathe. Several times, Xiao noticed, in the middle of their hot kisses he would stop and roll off her, putting himself in the bathroom for a few, long minutes.
Left alone during these moments, Xiao gathered her breath. She smoothed out her hair and looked around, dizzy and a little confused, but content.
When he came back, he didn't kiss her again. He went to the closet. She watched him change out of his school uniform and into his workout trousers. Ready for the dojo, a towel around his shoulders, he bent over Xiao and kissed her lightly on the neck, said he'd see her at dinner before he left.