Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY DX I'm really sorry for not updating this sooner, but you know, Uni etc. But here you guys go D: I hope its okay at best. I worked hard XD. Hopefully I can update this more often from now on T.T

"Hold me," you murmur softly.

I turn my head, looking at you quizzically. There's a forlorn, worried expression on your face, and I don't like seeing it there. Going one better, I wrap both my arms around you comfortingly and plant a kiss on your forehead. It seems to do the trick, because your shaking – that I didn't know existed until I held you – is beginning to slow. You're worried. You clearly are. And you know what? That's okay.

"Please look after yourself," you say. Your cheek's pressed against my chest, as you inhale deeply.

I don't know when I fell so far for you, but, I'm feeling it. Nodding a little and giving a small 'you too' in response, I run my fingers lightly through your hair and affectionately smile at you, before letting you go and bending down and picking up a handgun and a knife. You do the same, holding a shotgun instead, and smile at me, pressing a kiss on the tip of my nose while standing on your toes.

This is our last stand.

The glass door is kicked in viciously. The sound resonates through the corridor, like a song, even as I slip my hand in, throw the door open, and run inside with you. Soldiers heard the commotion and were already turning and getting ready to shoot us, like robots. They raise their guns and they take aim, ready to fire – but we shot them first, and they fell before they had the chance to retaliate successfully.

Our shitty little plan in this shitty little raid is to shoot everyone and everything in sight that bears Kazama's insignia, go up the stairs to the Gargoyle's Perch, and shoot him to death. It's a dumb plan, and we'll probably die, but god dammit, I want to die trying to inspire others. If we can at least get to him… then maybe the people will start to challenge him. Maybe then this'll all end.

Three guards come at me. As I shoot one, I kick the other, and as I turn to get the final one behind me, I smack the gun into his neck, kicking him into the wall thereafter, watching him slide down into a disgruntled heap on the ground. You're fending off more than I was – your gun's going off at random intervals, and I see you throw your feet up, one after the other, kicking the chins of your opponents. You're so caught up in fending off the soldiers coming from outside that you don't hear something skittering across the floor.

"Grenade!" I shout, rushing forth and grabbing your wrist. We run, and behind us, fire swallows the soldiers and the corridor.

We now stand before another group of soldiers, who are merely glaring at us and taking aim. Without a second thought, I sweep their legs out from underneath them with one kick, and as I do that, you take aim and shoot at every single head that smashed into the ground. I dare not to look behind me, because all of the blood and bone and brains will make my stomach turn. Can't have that. Need to stay focused.

They'll have died for a reason.

I hope.

They lived for a reason, however wrong it might've been. Support Kazama - …in the hopes of sparing your friends and family. Support him so that he doesn't hurt those you love, and you yourself. Even if it costs you your soul. What's a few thousand lives compared to those that you guard and cherish with your entire being?

I live for those I lost along the way, and I love for you.

We're no different… except now they are dead, and I'm alive.

It's only when I've turned the corner and began ascending the stairs did I glance over my shoulder and make sure you're alright. There's blood all over your body, your jeans are filthy, your white top is stained with red, and there's even a smidgen of it on your face; but you look up at me with fiery eyes and follow. Somewhere inside of you, you're mourning their loss. Somewhere inside of you, you've realised that this doesn't get any easier, no matter how many times you've done it – and that there'll be a lot more, no matter what happens here and now.

We climb higher and higher, and above us, men are taking shots at us, shouting commands in Japanese. We manage to dodge them and shoot back. You're such a good shot. You got a guy who'd been leaning over and taking shots at me, and when you got him, he fell off the edge of the platform, down, down to the ground of the Zaibatsu below. We're picking off so many of them that they rally and get ready to meet us head on.

Heh… It's funny. A personal army being taken down by two, lowlife losers.

They're afraid of us.

I jump over the last few steps, slice the throat of the lone soldier who remained at the top, and immediately fire, weaving past those bullets that are flying my way. I hear a louder shot behind me, and quickly look to find you shooting them anywhere and everywhere. You're careful, though, because you don't want to hit me – I don't wanna be hit either. My attention's drawn back to the front when a bullet whizzes by the front of my face, missing the tip of my nose. I hide behind a pillar and resume my attacking.

The guns go off over and over and over again, like a symphony of deafening and monotonous clapping.

But there's one bang that rings louder than the others, and it's behind me. Everything else stops after that. They stop shooting. I stop shooting. Everything just stops.

The feeling in my stomach when I turn vaguely reminds me of eating a food that just doesn't agree with my stomach. After that, my throat and my heart and my stomach and everything tightens up as I look at your face. Your eyes are wide. Your lips are slightly parted. You're falling. Just falling.

You're staring.

The shotgun hits the ground, echoing, and then all sounds come running back.

"No no no no no no!"

The weapons are still in my hands as I run. They're then on the ground beside me as I catch you.

I look at you.

I just look at you.

Slowly, I suffocate. The pain's so familiar and close to the heart, as I look at you in my arms, dead.

I can't bear to face the truth –

I'm a shadow of a man –

I'm screaming things to you, things that I don't understand and can't decipher, an uneven sentence of things I want to say – I'm sorry and I love you and it should've been me and why you and say something and why why why why why and oh God and I'm so sorry and please, please look at me, smile again and it should've been me and I'm gonna fucking kill him –

Furious and teary-eyed, I place you back on the floor, and with the knife you made and gave to me during your first mission, I throw it at the helmet-less soldier who shot you. It gets him between the eyes, and he drops the floor. And that avenging action, it's still not enough. I want more. The thirst for blood is so strong now, it's stronger than it's ever been, and it's terrifying –

If enough blood is spilt, maybe it'll bring you back –

Another bullet whizzes by me, and I charge, slamming my shoulder into the guy. He drops his handgun, and I pick it up and fire it at him, watching as glass shatters. I turn and shoot at another guy behind me before he can get to me. I run across the glass floors and pick up his fallen handgun with my other hand, and point at the other soldiers who have their weapons raised to me.

I'm so fucking sorry –

Why did it have to be you –

Chaos runs amuck in my head, I can't even really make sense of what I'm thinking or of what I want to do anymore. All I can see are those eyes looking up at me, taking up my entire, blurry vision. All I'm doing is shooting and running and avoiding and moving and crying and screaming and hating like I have never fucking hated before. Kazama took Baek from me, and it was painful – but this is so much worse, and I don't understand why.

You were too good to die, you were too sweet and caring – it should've been me! The fucking worthless street thug, not the wandering dreamer –

I have no more ammo, in either gun. I throw them both to the ground and still choking on my tears, I stand a little taller and wave my hands, beckoning them and shutting the rest of the world away. My thoughts are only of you. The mission's not important to me anymore, I don't even seem to realise that with you gone, I'm the last man standing. I'm the last member of the Resistance, I'm the final challenger to the Empire and the people's last hope.

None of that is important, because I've lost what I was fighting for.

"Come on then, shoot me!"

But they don't.

"Shoot me!" I yell.

They still don't.

I scream, "Shoot me because I took down your friends! Shoot me because I oppose your master! Shoot me because you want to please him, like the fucking puppets you are! Shoot me because you want to! Shoot me because I'm just another stupid kid who thinks he can change the world! Shoot me because I'm fucking ordering you to!"

And I say the rest to myself, Shoot me because I'm sick of trying to make a difference. Shoot me because I'm so tired of this war – of life itself. Shoot me because I want to die. Shoot me because every breath I take now is pointless and as worthless as the rest of me. Shoot me because I failed you. Shoot me because then I can be with you again.

I have nothing left.

Every goddamn second I spend alive now is fucking torture –

I can't face the dark without you.

They raise their guns. I hear them all click, and I see them all take aim. I put my arms out and tilt my head back a little, awaiting the inevitable. The tear tracks are still warm on my cheeks, and I can still feel sweat pouring down my body. My breathing is rushed and my eyes are still blurry and wet, but even in this short period, I've bled out all of the tears in my body for you – and I still want to bleed.

Ready –

"Stop."

Chills crawl all over my body, and that bloodthirsty feeling that was paralysing me only moments before dulls to a steady beating. All of their guns lower at once, and they sit up taller and straighter in their ranks, despite whatever corpse may or may not be lying nearby. Through the gap in the ranks, I see him approaching me. His weapon is that sinister smirk that's plastered on every billboard in the world and is on every screen in every home. I can see his laughter, his pleasure in seeing me suffer like this.

Jin Kazama.

The smirk only widens and morphs into a sneer when he's directly before me. He reaches out and grabs my hair, and I can feel some of the hairs give way under his grip, "Who are you to order my men around, Hwoarang?" With a mighty heave, he throws me into the wall on his right. The collision is painful, and I cough. I can hear him approaching me again, "Last I checked, you were nothing but a member of the Resistance, whilst I hold the world in the palm of my hand…"

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

He chuckles again and slams his shoe into my side, watching me with glee as I curl up and hold my ribs, "Besides, I want to kill you myself… But not yet. No, not yet," he lifts me up by my shirt again and pins me against the wall. Evil radiates from every pore, "I want to see you suffer still. I want to hear you scream and sob."

With his other hand, he grips a fleshy spot right above my right elbow, digging his fingers and thumb in way too deeply, carving through muscle, and it fucking hurts. I bite my lip, and he notices. My eyes scrunch up as he presses tighter, and I swear I can feel him pinching a nerve, and I swear he can feel his finger at his thumb, and visa versa. But I still say nothing, because I'm not weak and I will shut everything I feel away if it'll hurt my chances of killing him.

"Scream, Hwoarang!" he presses tighter still and knees me in the stomach, "Cry for mercy, beg for my forgiveness!"

I give in, the pain is too much. I scream.

I don't have to beg, though, because he stops and hurls his fist across my face, thereafter throwing me to the other side of the room again. The tears have started again, and I don't think I've ever been in this much pain. I sit up, the injured arm limply dangling over my stomach, and the other one is cupping the spot just above my elbow. His voice is loud and powerful, and it echoes throughout the Gargoyle's Perch, as do his footsteps, and I'm shaking from the pain and the anger – and the thirst for blood returns as he shouts, "Hate me!"

I'm shaking so much with rage. He doesn't have to tell me to hate him, because I already fucking do.

Jin falls silent. He looks to where you lie, still staring up at the ceiling with the same expression you gave me before you died. I hear a firm 'hmm' and watch as he bends over, inspecting your blood-streaked face. He furrows his eyebrows and smirks once again. He reaches out and strokes the side of your face, cupping your cheek in his large hand, "A pity that this had to happen to you, my dear. Then again you always blindly followed your stupid, dreaming heart, and this is where our paths divided…" he stands to his full height again and is still looking at you. With his foot, he turns your head all the way to the right side, "No matter. You're just as worthless now as when I first met you."

Worthless? Worthless!

"Take that back," I growl lowly.

He's pushed your head all the way to the side, and even after he moves his foot away and looks at me, your head won't flop back into place. His expression is blank, his face void of everything, and I can't decipher his thoughts and I'm not sure if I want to. He eventually opens his mouth, and then closes it again – and there it is, that fucking arrogant, narcissistic sneer –

I stand and point at him, my other fist clenched and trembling violently, "Take that back!"

He turns away from you wholly and approaches me again, standing just as tall and straight as before. His hands clench into fists and the sneer remains, enforced like steel yet hidden behind a mask of concentration.

It's coming down. This is how it's gonna end. Life is sink or swim, fight or flight…

I will fight. I will fight to kill.

I let everything take over me again. The hate, the anger, the sorrow. It washes over me and swallows me whole, as I launch the first kick, hoping that it smashes across his face. He anticipates this and parries it, slamming one fist into my thigh and the other into my jaw. I counter with a punch to the head and a roundhouse kick to the face. He goes down, and unhesitant, I tackle him and deliver punch after punch after punch.

I quickly move to his arm and pull on it, feeling something kick. The tyrant's eyes widen and he grits out some profanity that I'm not listening to nor care about. I stand to my feet again and kick him in the side, and am then am swept off of my feet by his leg. I hit the floor, and he's on top of me, doing exactly the same thing I was. Before he gets to my arm though, I knee him in the stomach and push him off.

Grabbing his head, I slam it into the ground, digging my nails into his skin as I do so. I then skitter away, watching him stand and dash towards me. He sends his right fist into my face, red electricity sparkling around the hand. It burns my cheek, just as much as the actual strike does, and I take more steps back, reeling in pain… but my spirit is not dampened.

You think you've won this fight. You've only lost your mind…

In retaliation, I leap into the air, spin seven-hundred and twenty degrees in the air, and deliver the strongest kick I can into his neck. I feel the muscle give way a little, and Jin goes down, shouting out and shouting an order to keep back and let him finish me off. I run over and do an axe kick to his standing form, followed by numerous other kicks to his body.

"And where did you find this resolve?" he sneers, parrying another blow.

I say nothing and deliver a snap kick into his stomach.

He parries and starts his own onslaught, though any attack from that arm is not as strong or fast as it was, "Hm. You're just like me, Hwoarang. Cruel and relentless…"

The words chill and anger me, because I know that while I can be those things, I'm really not those things. In response to the coming sweeping kick and the statement that's supposed to break me, I parry it too, both physically and verbally, "I'm not like you!"

"Oh yes you are, Hwoarang! Yes you are!"

Three shorter punches greet my chest, and whilst they sting, it's probably the least amount of pain he's delivered so far. He then pulls back and slams his right fist into my side, then his left, then his right again. I stagger back and side step a coming front thrust kick, and then go into a small onslaught of my own kicks. Low mid, low low high, low mid mid, mid mid mid low, mid mid high… And he dodges some, but not all. It's like dancing. Dancing with the devil.

I pull back my leg and go to release another strong kick to his side. The kick is grabbed and my ankle is painfully twisted, squeezed and then thrown back. I quickly hop onto the other leg and go to do the same attack, but I'm met with the same result. I try to punch him a few times, but the same result ensues. He's gripping both of my fists so tightly now.

The electricity crackles to life again and sweeps up my arms, burning. I let go quickly and shake my head, avoiding the coming attacks that are of lightning speed. I'm lucky to dodge them at all, and I'm getting very tired very quickly due to the pace that Jin's keeping. I take a breath and hold it in, realising that I started a fight that I won't win.

Then it comes – a fist to the stomach.

"I'm in control, Hwoarang!" he spits.

I'm launched into the wall on the opposite side of the Gargoyle's Perch, and holding back the vomit in my throat, I cough and try to breathe in air. I can feel the tears start to fall again, because I see you, and I'm reminded of everything I've lost and everything I've fucked up. The realisation zaps my enthusiasm and my will to continue. I thought I could fight him forever. I thought I'd forever have this youthful exuberance to destroy him. It seems said youthful exuberance has met its end.

I… remember hearing once, this pretty cool line – 'show me where forever dies'. I think it was from a song I heard when I was little. I adopted it to become my catchphrase, as I've said earlier. But I had no idea what it meant, didn't forever go on… well… forever? I think… I've finally found the answer to that. This is where forever dies. Everything that I've associated with 'forever' in my life anyway, it dies here. For my enthusiasm to kill him, for hoping to change the world, for my own personal hopes and dreams and wants… For my soul.

"Take him away!" Jin yells from his side of the room, squeezing his sore shoulder.

I'm grabbed by numerous Tekken Force soldiers, sobbing uncontrollably, because everything I'd worked for and fought to protect has been destroyed from underneath me. The pieces slipped through my hands, and in return for all of my efforts, I have nothing. I'd make it through… but… not this time. Your hope – you yourself, you're gone… and so is my hope. And I know that I will suffer in the end. They start to take me down the path that leads to nowhere.

I crawl back inside myself and close my eyes, and shut out the colder, blacker world I failed to change.

I am lost forever.