Twelve White Butterflies
Yugao
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who supports this ship, and especially this collection of Jin/Julia one-shots. Here's the third story: New Beginnings.
Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken, and unless I become a multi-billionaire I never will.
"Maybe, just maybe… I can make her smile, for the first time in two years."
Three… New Beginnings
The young man closed the hotel room door, a small smile on his face. The colorful hood he hid behind did not cover his face enough, revealing to whoever looked the almost indiscernible display of happiness. His pace was quick and measured – the surprise would never work if he would be caught this early.
Luckily he reached the elevator and found it empty, descending the eleven floors to reach the lobby. He then walked to the receptionist, who took the key he held out, and he went out through the back door.
That day in the hotel had certainly drawn much notice to him, and attention was not something he enjoyed that much. But the glances, the curious stares – they were worth it, if all he'd planned would go well.
Maybe, just maybe, he thought to himself, I can make her smile, for the first time in two years.
The thought was consolation enough.
Julia Chang set down her bags of groceries on the floor as she fumbled around in her bag for her hotel room key. She hadn't bought much – a few cans of soda and some snacks. She'd stayed in the hotel for the whole of the Iron Fist Tournament, and found it easier to eat out than to live off what she bought.
But she wasn't supposed to think of the Iron Fist Tournament. It was the day before New Year's, and her next match wouldn't be until the next week.
She pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose as she picked up her bags again and unlocked the door. The homey cream color of the walls and the memory of the soft, queen-sized bed was welcoming, especially after a long day of groceries and bumper-to-bumper traffic. Hastily, almost carelessly, she put the cans of soda and her snacks in the small refrigerator in the room, and walked over to where the bed was.
She would have lay down to relieve her feet, but atop the white sheets was a bouquet of pastel colored flowers wrapped in a chiffon-like material, with an amethyst-tinsel ribbon.
Curiously she picked it up and propped it up on her arm, not as Miss Universe but as a young woman with a secret admirer. She recognized some of the flowers: roses, lilies, carnations… they were all beautifully arranged in a swath of lavender-pink chiffon.
She noticed a small yellow card peeping out from between the flowers, and gingerly she picked it up to read it.
At eleven p.m., visit me at…
32nd street…
She peeked out from behind the taxi's tinted window and watched the Street 32 sign disappear as they sped through the Tokyo streets. Abruptly the car came to a halt, and the driver watched her expectantly. She paid him for the ride, and got out of the taxi.
It was dark, as one would expect at eleven-forty in the evening, especially on the last night of the year. She checked the card again, and looked at the townhouses in front of her. Unit 3, it read, and so she walked to the third door and knocked.
No one answered.
She opened the door, though, and found it unlocked. She entered cautiously, reminding herself that should something go wrong, she could always fight back. She was a warrior, not a damsel in distress. She could protect herself should things go awry. With this reassurance she closed the door behind her and started walking up the stairs.
"Hello?" she called out.
Of course there was no answer. Meet me on the roof, the note had said.
She reached the last step, only to find another flight of stairs. Patiently she walked back up the next three flights of stairs, until they led up to a closed door.
"Okay. This is it," she whispered to herself. She reached for the doorknob and opened the door.
She was greeted by soft candlelight and the smell of flowers. Potted shrubs lined up made a little pathway, until it led to a round table covered with white cloth. A candle was lit atop it, set with two chairs. A pair of crystal wine glasses filled with sparkling white wine were also set there, adding to its elegance.
Still, she was wary as she walked over to the table.
"It's all right, there's nothing to be afraid of. Sit down."
She wheeled around, ready to go into her fighting stance. She let out a confused laugh when she saw who it was. "Jin? What's all this about?"
He was handsome, as he always was – but the color of the moon and candlelight combined flattered his features more than anything. He looked more relaxed than usual, in a white button-down shirt and a pair of black pants. He smiled a little as he led her to the table, so close to the edge of the roof that they overlooked all of Tokyo.
"It's beautiful," she said sincerely, "But why?"
He smiled at her. "Neither of us has any family to go home to for the New Year, Julia. We're on our own. That's why I had you come here – so that both of us could have a special New Year."
"How'd you know I was going to come, then? I would've passed you off as Ganryu trying to hit on me again, and I wouldn't have come," she lied.
He managed a little laugh. "That's not how you think, Julia. A secret excites you, and you would have done almost anything to figure out who I was."
She thought for a while, and then asked, "How did you get into my hotel room?"
He shrugged. "The hotel is owned by the Mishima Zaibatsu. It's been two years, and the poor receptionist has no idea I don't consider myself a Mishima anymore."
Julia sat back against her seat, and she laughed liltingly. "I must look ridiculously overdressed to you." She'd worn a white blouse with a tan skirt, not really her usual choice of clothes.
"I think you look beautiful," he said quietly.
She gave him a skeptical look.
"And ridiculously overdressed," he added resignedly.
She grinned.
They looked up to the sky. The Tokyo fireworks display had just begun, and the sparks flew brightly out over the sky in beautiful colors. Each fanned out brilliantly, colorful against a dark blue sky devoid of stars.
Julia checked her watch, and it was just a half a minute away from twelve.
She looked at him with a smile on her face, and she was thankful she'd decided to come.
"Happy New Year, Jin," she whispered.
"Happy New Year."
Author's Note: Yeah… that was the longest. It's a bit OOC (or maybe a lot OOC), but please review. Thanks!