Twelve White Butterflies
Yugao
Author's Note: Ha ha ha… number eleven's here at last! Since number ten centered on Julia, I decided that this one should center on Jin. He seeks shelter with Xiao and Wang, but the latter decides that he must move on. It has Xiaoyin implications, so other people might not enjoy it that much.
Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken, and unless I become a multi-billionaire I never will.
"They say that if you've begun to memorize the songs of the birds, you've tarried too long."
Eleven… Medley for a Demon
There he sat, on the porch, as he had done for several weeks. The smooth, almost fragile balsa wood floor was cold but welcoming under his touch. The angle that the sunbeams took made it so that the light fell onto his face. But he no longer minded the blinding noonday sun. For him, it was welcome.
She sat there, beside him, as she had done for several weeks. The bright pink of her dress and the gaiety in her eyes contrasted his dark mood. She said nothing, scared, perhaps, that he might leave if she broke the silence. She was right, because he probably would have, and they both knew it.
Often she'd taken to leaning her head on his shoulder in an almost loving way. He let her. He was lonely, and she loved him. She was there for him.
He imagined that she felt happy and lighthearted. Happy that he was here, that she was sharing a part of herself with him, and that he seemed to accept it.
He felt selfish.
She was always there, giving to him, baring her soul before him. He had given nothing in return. He had always told himself he had no need to.
Months ago, he had sought help from the old man that was her grandfather. He was a strong man, if a bit addled, and was incredibly wise. He had agreed to shelter Jin, perhaps because he felt sorry for the demon child, or perhaps because his granddaughter prodded him into it. Either way, he had stayed for quite a while, and Xiaoyu was happy because of it.
Was he?
He looked out into the rolling hills, the lush green pastures, and could only bring one face to mind. Even though he had not seen her for the longest time, and even though he had no picture to remember her by, the image of her was clear in his mind, as if he had seen her every single day of his life. As if he knew, somehow, that she was always going to be there and that he would always be around her.
With all his heart, he wished he could have been.
But he was here, now, with Xiaoyu. She was happy, so by all rights he should be. Isn't that right?
He furrowed his brow, not quite sure what to understand.
One day, Xiaoyu had gone back to the city to buy something, and Wang walked up to him. Often the old man pretended he wasn't there, and it was all right by Jin. He had long taught himself that he never needed anyone.
If he knew that, then why did he feel this for her now? The gentle, subtle smile, the sympathetic hazel eyes, lips that mouthed those three little words that he had never had any courage to reply to…
"Is something wrong, young one? You seem distressed," the old man began, taking his seat beside Jin on the porch.
He didn't move. "Master Wang, I do not understand what is wrong myself."
The old man chuckled. "I think you do, young one."
He didn't reply.
"You know," said Wang as he cleared his throat, "There is an old Chinese proverb that says, 'If you begin to memorize the song of the birds, you've tarried too long.' Quite a wise man who thought it up, do you think so?"
Jin looked at him. "Who was it?"
"Wang Jinrey," laughed the old man.
The younger man nodded, deciding that the man was being addled as usual. But Wang didn't let him go that easily. "You're hurting them, do you know that, son?"
"Hurting… who?" he asked sharply.
"Them," he continued, "You're hurting my granddaughter because she knows it's not her you want. She cries herself to sleep each night because she knows she can't have you. And you're hurting that other girl, whoever she is, by making her wait so long for you."
Jin's eyes remained on the ground. "I can't go back."
"Can you not, son?" Wang asked, "Can you not? Which is the wiser decision, to stay until four hearts are completely broken, or to leave and fulfill your wishes?"
"Four? Xiaoyu, me…" he faltered at the name, and settled instead for, "Her…"
"And me," the older man said through crinkled eyes. "Xiaoyu is all I have, and it hurts me so to see her so unhappy."
Jin nodded. "I'm very sorry."
"I never blamed you, son. I only mean to say that by staying away, you might cause more hurt than that which you wanted to avoid…"
He stood, nodded to the old man, and left his place on the porch. Wang, too, upped and left.
A few moments later, Jin laid a letter on the porch where he and Xiaoyu had sat so often, took one last glance at the little house, and turned his back.
Author's Note: It's probably the least JinJulia-ish of all the oneshots (notice that Julia is never mentioned in the whole thing, only implied), but I've got absolutely nothing at the moment. Please review!