Disclaimer: This chapter contains some graphic violence and gory descriptions.
"Miss Lili," Sebastian said with his hand on the door handle. "Are you prepared?"
She couldn't say "yes", as she knew it would be a lie. She didn't know how she could have prepared for this moment.
She couldn't lie to Sebastian either, so she just raised her head high and told him "Let me see him, Sebastian."
With a nod and a wrinkled smile, he opened the door to her personal viewing booth. When she stepped foot into the room, she was met with the image of her beloved father, dressed in his finest and seated near the window overlooking the arena. His gaze was drawn to her immediately and, regretfully, she couldn't give him the loving smile she usually would.
"Hello father," she greeted him hesitantly. He said nothing in return, instead gripping at the hand-rests on his seat and pushing himself to his feet. He began to walk to her and she didn't move at all, awaiting his next action.
He halted an arm's length from his daughter, the reduced distance making the look in her father's eyes so much clearer. His robust brow was furrowed as he looked at her but the light in his eyes was shining. It was hard to tell what he felt about seeing her again.
"Emilie," he said finally. "We must talk."
Lili looked at her shoes, a sigh inadvertently leaving her lips before she raised her head again. "Yes, I was thinking much the same."
Indeed, the time for dodging this difficult talk had passed. There was no avoiding it anymore.
Her father sighed as well, his own much more breathless, and he chose to turn his back to her. He began walking away with his arms folded behind his back.
"Ma belle, you already know I detest violence. I've made it clear in all your years of living. I've already expressly forbade you from fighting in the past."
Her father stopped his pacing once he reached the window. The arena crowd was slowly clearing away, now that the night's fights had concluded.
Lili wished she was back down there, listening to the applause and moving her body to the rhythm of battle.
"Emilie, I let you do this-" he waved his hand towards the window "-only due to my respect for Monsieur Sebastian. I owe much to him, especially your wellbeing."
"Monsieur," Sebastian intoned in response, bowing respectfully from near the door. Lili bit her lip. She didn't think she'd be affecting Sebastian's relationship with her father because of this…
"I wanted to trust his judgement, but…" her father trailed off. He turned on his sleek, expensive heel, revealing his anguished face to his daughter. "But look at you mon chère!"
He walked back to Lili, this time reaching out to caress Lili's face. His thumb slid across her cheek, directly underneath the cut courtesy of Asuka Kazama.
"I don't understand how you can tolerate being abused so! As your father, I cannot stand seeing anyone lay their hands on you. Can you not understand why it wounds me to see you this mistreated?"
She averted her gaze, unable to take the open pain in her father's pale eyes. It hurt more than her injuries ever could.
"Please, stop this ma colombe," her father pleaded, pulling her into a tight hug. This was so difficult on her heart to be torn like this. How was she to express herself when her father made her feel cruel for following her desires?
In crisis, Lili always searched for Sebastian, and she did just that at that moment.
She met Sebastian's gaze over her father's shoulder, her expression imploring. And, as always, he gave her a soft smile and nodded once. His classic way of saying "You need me not."
Her eyes closed as she ruminated on this, hugging her father back.
Now was the time for honesty, cruel though it may be.
Gently, Lili broke the embrace her father had her in and looked him directly in their matching eyes as she delivered her next statement.
"Father, I… love fighting."
She reached for both of his hands and took them in hers.
"I love the thrill of it, the freedom it gives me, the life it fills my body with! I love it as much as I love you."
She studied the way the wrinkles on his face crinkled further with every sentence. She knew this next statement was going to hurt the most, but it was also the most important one to say. And so, she let go of his hands and took a few steps back, watching his entire form.
"And, more than this," she added, pointing at the cut on her cheek. "… it wounds me greatly that my two loves cannot co-exist."
Her poor father was always one to wear his heart on his sleeve, and so the desolation on his face was no surprise. The damage had been done, but she had to soldier on still.
"Please, Father. Do not force me to divorce my two loves."
She brought her hands together.
"I love you too much to put myself in needless danger, but do not ask me to give up what makes me feel alive."
Her father let out a shuddering breath, crying out "Mon dieu" and dropping his head into his own hands. Lili felt her heart tearing under her ribs but did not let herself run to his side. Sebastian stood aside from them both still, watching with a worried face.
"I have never denied you anything…" her father murmured shakily, raising his head. "…you have asked Emilie, for as long as I can remember. But this… you ask too much of me, ma belle. I cannot bring myself to say 'yes'."
Just when she thought her heart couldn't possibly break more, it proved her wrong right then and there. She turned away from her father, trying to hide how upset she was.
"Mayhap, your abduction wasn't something traumatic for you, but it forever will be for me."
Her head spun back to her father, realisation running from her blonde hair down her spine.
"To me, it was one of the biggest failures of my life. That I almost lost you, that you could have been gravely injured, it haunts me every day," he lamented, letting his hands fall and folding them behind his back again. His face, unfathomably, was no longer sad when he looked at his daughter again.
"I've kept my worries from you on purpose, for I didn't want to trouble you. But if you insist on this path Emilie, then you must understand the consequences of your actions."
Lili shrank back into herself. Her father sighed.
"This won't be resolved today evidently," he said wearily and walked towards the door. "You've had a long day, mon coeur. I insist you rest for now, and we can discuss this further in the morning."
Amidst the shame and sadness, Lili couldn't help the hope that sprouted.
He was still open to discussion?
Rest did sound very appealing, but Lili intercepted her father before he could pass her and gave him a fierce hug. She whispered "I love you" to him, burying her head in his chest, but he didn't return the embrace like he usually would.
"I love you too, Emilie."
Jin could only stare as Asuka pulled her hand back to see it stained red, realisation dawning on her face. Her lips moved but he didn't hear a word as pain overtook her features.
Unconsciously, Jin's hands rushed to grab her but he was too slow.
She fell to the ground, slipping past his fingers and landing on her shoulder.
"Hey…"
Watching her press against the stain with her hand, her face scrunched up in pain, Jin finally found his voice.
His voice was panic-stricken.
"No… no, no, no."
"Stupid bitch…"
Jin's attention snapped to grey eyes, the gun in his hand smoking and the look in his eyes cold. "Shouldn't have butted in our business."
He…
He shot her.
"Rusty, what the FUCK did you do?!" one of the gang members yelled, running up and shoving grey eyes' trigger finger down. "We weren't supposed to hurt civs!"
"It's her own damn fault! What did she expect, poking her nose where it don't belong?!" was his response, shoving the man away.
"You shouldn't have taken the shot!" another chimed in, gesturing at the gun.
"I wouldn't have HAD to if you all weren't useless. You couldn't detain one girl?!"
The bickering continued, more voices adding to the din, and Jin continued to sit in complete shock.
Through the sounds of scuffles and angry yells, it was one word that broke him from his stupor.
"Run."
He snapped his attention to the woman on the ground next to him. She had managed to open one eye to look up at him.
Did she just…?
When he didn't respond, she spoke again with greater urgency "Run you idiot!"
… Was she telling him… to save himself?
When she was injured and in need of help?
"Why…?" he finally spoke. Her face creased up again, but whether it was from pain or anger was uncertain.
"It's you– tch– they want…" she managed to choke out, though the sound of liquid dripping proved louder than her voice. Jin watched in a horrified daze as crimson rained onto the cobblestone floor.
She couldn't be serious.
"I can't…" he whispered, but the rest of the sentence stayed in his throat.
This was all too much. He couldn't abandon her here, injured and bleeding out. And yet he couldn't even move to defend either of them.
His stupid body was just stuck in place, the sights and sounds taking him back to a memory he wanted to never remember again.
A memory where he stood over the corpse of the God of fighting, only for the man he trusted most in the world to press cold steel to his head.
"Idiot… they'll kill you if- ah!- if you don't move!"
Why was it resurfacing now? Why did it paralyse him now?!
Your mind and body, held back by petty emotion? How pathetically comical.
"No!" Jin yelled out, clutching at his head with enough force to hurt himself. "Not now!"
"SHUT UP!" grey eyes roared, cutting through the din of voices. His eyes were practically blazing from anger and his peers were quick to give him a wide berth when he raised his gun.
"No more interferences!" he cried out furiously, taking aim at a panicking Jin. "You die by my hand, Jin Kazama!"
The last thing Jin heard was Asuka screaming "NO!" before the gunshot pierced through the night like thunder in a rainstorm.
The ground became speckled with blood again. Jin crumpled, face down, to the ground.
Asuka had only just managed to prop herself on one elbow but she reached frantically towards Jin, hoping for him to respond to her touch. Her fingers flinched back, however, when the next bullet barely missed her hand.
"Nah, nah, nah," grey eyes warned her, taking a few steps towards them. Despite the surprise from almost losing her fingers, she gave him the fiercest glare she could manage in that moment. He, however, had his eyes entirely on Jin.
He kicked Jin's head but it earned no response from her partner. Instead, a pool of blood began to bloom from where his forehead touched the floor. Asuka let out an involuntary gasp and grey eyes finally looked her way.
"No…" she let out, trying even harder to get up and move to Jin. Grey eyes, noticing this, stepped between them.
"He's a dead man," he said, his lips curling in a wicked smile. "I'd start crawling elsewhere if I were you."
She wanted to yell at him then, to curse him out, to beat the shit out of him, but her energy was slowly whittling away through her bleeding wound.
Still, she wasn't about to let him have this without a fight.
"Agh!" he yelled out when Asuka threw a fistful of her own blood at his eyes, prompting some of his fellow gang members to move.
"R!" one of them exclaimed as they approached. Grey eyes wiped furiously at his face, smearing her blood across his face further. Asuka felt herself smirking before she fell from exhaustion, the edges of her mind blurring.
Not an effective action, but damn did it feel good.
"Motherfu- aghhhh I HATE this bitch!"
He stalked over to her, his eyes flashing again. "Bad move, kid. Just 'cause we can't kill you, doesn't mean you're safe."
He wound his leg back.
"RUSTY, DON'T!"
Exhausted, sore and bleeding, she couldn't even brace herself for the impact.
However, the impact never came. A hand had shot up and grabbed grey eyes' ankle before he could land his kick.
The last thing Asuka noticed was that the hand belonged to Jin, before she finally passed out.
"What the-"
Rusty's exclamation was cut short when Jin pulled him by his leg and hurled him back into his group. Those that didn't manage to dodge all fell into a heap of limbs, many yells and grunts of pain ringing out from the pile.
"He's alive?!" Arty exclaimed, turning his head around to catch a glimpse of Jin.
He bled freely from his forehead, a waterfall of scarlet flowing from the circle-shaped wound. Yet instead of falling to the ground, he proceeded to rise to his feet, the red on his face shining in the moonlight.
It was a silvery sheen similar to the one that had encircled his eyes.
A sickening churning sound drifted through the air as a bloodied bullet pushed itself out of the forehead wound, plummeting to the ground with a tiny clink.
Those who caught the sight of it felt terror pierce their hearts. Jin shook his head and angled it up, looking down on them all.
"My turn, insects," he said, the voice somehow not the same as the one he spoke with before.
Before they could react further, Jin appeared in front of them in the blink of an eye. He grabbed Jubei and punched him in the chest, a strangled scream escaping from his mouth. Yong tried to rush forward to help, but ended up on his back when Jin flung Jubei back towards him.
By the time Rusty stood back up, shaking off the pain and confusion, Jin was melting through his comrades. They fell, one by one, to his fists and kicks. Between the screams and yells, Jin was laughing maniacally over their fallen forms.
He knew Jin was evil but… between the disturbing laughter and the still fresh blood on his face, he was practically hellish looking.
How incredible it felt.
After enduring pain after pain, holding himself back and suppressing all his rage and despair, it felt so good to finally return the favour.
It felt good to hurt in kind.
With his hands, he broke mighty oaks and rigid stone. What good was mere flesh and bone against him?
The rabble eventually understood that to challenge him was certain doom, and attempted to flee. How audacious they were to assume that they had a choice now, it would have been pitiful if it wasn't so laughable.
He was upon them before they could draw another breath and proceeded to rain judgement upon them.
It was too easy! Why had he resisted so much?
Amidst the group, his cold, argent gaze landed on the one who had attempted to slay him. Once his prey noticed this, he raised his weapon with no hesitation.
The sight caused another laugh to rip through his throat. Words soon followed that, said by a voice that wasn't entirely his.
"Go ahead, gnat! Seal your fate tonight!"
The gnat grimaced and pulled the trigger. Jin felt the bullet pierce his stomach and heard his blood splatter on the floor again, but he just laughed and continued his advance.
As if bullets could stop him!
That bullet was followed by more to his arms, to his legs and to his chest. Yet despite the accumulating wounds, he didn't slow in his advance. He left giant, red footprints as he trudged forward, each step accompanied by a loud squelch.
"That's the best you got?!" Jin taunted, smiling wide and licking at the blood on his lips. The fear in his prey's eyes and the stuttering of his heart proved to be even more delicious.
"What the fuck is he?!"
"How is he still moving?!"
"Retreat! Fall back!"
"NO!" the grey-eyed gnat finally spoke, his grip tightening around the gun. "I'M NOT LEAVING UNTIL HE'S DEAD!"
Jin couldn't help but laugh again at that declaration, and the response to this was a bullet ripping straight through his vocal cords. His laughter wasn't deterred, accompanied instead with an unsettling gurgle.
The gnat's hands began to shake then and he took a step back, only to stumble and fall over a raised cobblestone. His gun slipped from his grip and skittered across the floor.
He swore loudly and tried to get back on his feet. Jin then raised his arm towards him. "Still."
Invisible bonds held his prey in place, yet he struggled to move all the same, not realising what was happening.
"Where's your bravado now, insignificant one?" Jin sneered as he loomed over him, willing his third eye open. "Has it fled now that your life is forfeit?"
The one on the floor looked up at him with confusion and apprehension. "What… ARE you?!"
Jin's third eye began to glow as he replied "Your demise."
Before he could deliver on his promise however, a pair of strong arms wound themselves around Jin's shoulders and jerked him backwards. His laser thus shot through the night sky instead of his target.
Jin, not appreciating this interruption, bellowed out "What insolence is this?!"
He twisted violently to free himself of this hold. The person however held on firmly through this, long enough for the rabble to apparently recognise them.
"Boss?!" one cried out.
"You came!" exclaimed another. The person yelled back at everyone else, and Jin instantly recognised their voice.
"Don't just stand there! Get out of here!"
The sound of him caused chaos to wreak through his mind.
"Boss, what are you-"
"You idiots want to die?!" Hwoarang shouted, wrestling Jin's body further away from the group. "I'm holding him here, now fucking RUN!"
What was he doing here?!
"Why are you here, Hwoarang?! This isn't your business anymore!" grey eyes yelled, having finally found his voice again.
What's he doing here? What am I doing?!
"Shut the fuck up Rus!" Hwoarang snapped. "Arty! Help his stupid ass out of here!"
I was going to kill him! He would have been dead…
As was his fate! He was tempting it so!
"Come on R," said a blonde-haired man, wrapping one of grey eyes' arms around his head.
The barrier in Jin's mind was being rebuilt, but he wasn't about to yield quietly.
An eerie scream erupted from Jin as he once again tried to wrench himself free of Hwoarang's hold. He watched the group of his attackers begin to flee, watched grey eyes being pulled away by another, and it made his blood boil.
NO! They won't escape me!
This body is MINE! We aren't touching ANYONE!
"Kazama, stop!"
I will be held back no longer! I will rid myself of all these interferences!
"I know you're in there somewhere you spiky-haired smartass!"
THIS. BODY. IS. MINE!
"Let me go!" Jin said aloud.
"Not until you calm down!" Hwoarang yelled in his ear.
"Hwa...rang?"
That tiny, breathless voice somehow got the attention of both men. Both their heads whipped back to the fountain, to the girl who lay in front of it.
She was on her hands and knees in a puddle of blood and one side of her torso was drenched crimson.
"Asuka?! What're you doing here?!" Hwoarang said with a gasp. His head kept switching between her and Jin before he ultimately yelled "Agh! Hang on!"
He let go of Jin and rushed towards Asuka.
Jin abruptly fell to his knees, the fatigue and ache hitting him all at once and making his vision swim. He was still screaming in his mind, but Jin was certain his control had returned.
But that was too close. This was getting out of hand.
"Jin! Get over here!" Hwoarang yelled at him. "She's bleeding out!"
His words reminded him of the urgency of the situation and so Jin forced himself to his feet, despite his head spinning and his stomach flipping from the effort.
"Aghhh, you weren't supposed to be here," Hwoarang muttered to a once again prone Asuka as Jin trudged over to him. "What happened?!"
"She was shot," Jin said, his throat sore and his voice ragged. Hwoarang's eyes shot wide open. "What?!"
"The man with grey eyes did it."
"Rusty?!"
Hwoarang's eyes tightly shut and he growled out "Son of a bitch!"
With no hesitation, he pulled at his shirt and tore a large strip from it. "Kazama, get her on her side!"
Though his wrecked body prevented him from being swift about it, Jin obeyed without complaint. Getting on his knees beside Asuka, he pulled her onto her uninjured side as gently as he could.
Hwoarang immediately got to work wrapping the cloth around her wound, and it was then that Jin noticed the bullet holes in the sleeves of his own jacket.
Blood painted his arm from his knuckles till his bicep, but Jin was unsure how much of it was his own.
He dreaded the moment he'd have to assess the damage fully.
"I never wanted to have to do this again," Hwoarang said, more to himself than anyone. However, Asuka took Jin by surprise and replied to him.
"Gotta say… I'm glad you're… a military brat," she whispered, her lips twitching into a brief smile.
"Stop talking, dumbass," Hwoarang reprimanded, tying the ends of the cloth together and pulling at them tightly, causing Asuka to wince. She subsequently said in a breathless voice "Don't tell me… what to do."
Hwoarang let out a short breath that could pass as a laugh. "Oh my God, are you arguing with me right now? You're unbelievable."
Asuka's eyes were drooping, but she turned her head to look at Jin, and he was dumbfounded when she asked him "You okay?"
Jin almost didn't respond in surprise, but managed to at least say a simple "Yes."
He noticed Hwoarang staring him down then, and he felt an uneasiness from his scrutiny. Jin chose to continue on "We'll get you help. Hold on."
When Asuka's eyes drooped closed, distant sirens sounded through the air then. Jin jumped in place while Hwoarang began to look around.
"Police?" Hwoarang mused aloud, "An ambulance?"
Thinking it over, they'd all made a lot of noise during the conflict. A gun had been fired multiple times and a laser streaked through the sky. Someone must have called the police, if they hadn't noticed the trouble themselves.
Regardless, Jin couldn't be here when they arrived. It just wouldn't look good, no matter what he did or said, especially when he was covered in blood from head to toe.
"Hwoarang, stay with her," he said frantically, quickly standing up from the floor.
Yet another mistake on his part.
He should have expected Hwoarang wouldn't just listen without resistance. The man instead grabbed Jin's wrist to prevent his quick escape.
"Woah, woah, hold the fuck on! Are you seriously leaving Asuka like this?!" he said incredulously.
Of course, he wasn't going to make this easy. Honestly, it would have made more sense if he and Asuka had been related.
"I can't stay here. I'm entrusting her safety to you," he said, an attempt at persuasion, while pulling at his seized hand. "Let go."
"No!" Hwoarang rebutted, tugging Jin down so that he was forced to look him in the eye. "I don't care if you hate each other! I don't care about whatever is happening in your head right now, she's your PARTNER!"
The sirens sounded much closer now, and Jin's anxiety skyrocketed.
"You can't just ditch her in her time of need, you-"
"Please!" Jin beseeched, which made Hwoarang pause his tirade. When Hwoarang gave him a gobsmacked look, Jin said "I can't be here when the police are. You know how this will look. I'm not abandoning her, believe me…"
Hwoarang stared Jin down, his eyes trailing to his bloodied clothes and then to Asuka, lying unconscious on the floor. He shut his eyes tightly and let out an aggravated grunt but let go of Jin's hand.
"God damn it, Kazama," he swore. Jin rubbed at his wrist but gave Hwoarang a grateful nod.
"Thank you."
Hwoarang didn't respond, instead picking Asuka up in his arms. When he managed to stand up while having a steady hold on his friend, he gave Jin a hard stare.
"Don't you dare run away," he said sternly. "… from either of us. I swear I will hunt you down if you do."
"Don't turn back."
Jin blinked the memory away and, instead of responding to Hwoarang or providing any reassurance, he ran away into the darkness.
This is all my fault.
That sentence bounced around in his head on loop.
As he held Asuka in his arms, as the police arrived, as the paramedics shortly followed, and as Asuka was being loaded into the ambulance, that was all that he could think.
This was all his fault. How could it be anything else?
This happened because he hadn't taken control of the situation. He chose to ignore the plan, hoped nothing would come of it, hoped they'd never find Jin, and that resulted in this all happening.
To think, he almost thought he'd arrived in time to stop Jin's rampage, and prevent anyone getting mortally wounded. Arty, Yong and everyone else had managed to leave with their lives and Jin hadn't sprouted wings or horns. He almost could've said he had succeeded in not adding to his list of regrets.
But then, inexplicably, Asuka had been there. And worse, she was injured.
His inaction led to Asuka getting injured.
He recognised he was spiralling, recognised that the list of "could've" and "should've" scenarios would go on for hours if he let it.
It all hurt, the guilt was back breaking, but this was no longer the time for emotions. He'd already wasted so many days wallowing in guilt, and it had only brought more misery.
"Hwa…" Asuka slurred during a moment of consciousness, snapping him back to the present. "Where…?"
"An ambulance," he said slowly, giving her his undivided attention. "You're gonna be okay, homie."
Yet instead of showing relief, her bleary eyes swept through the rest of the vehicle. He knew immediately she was looking for Jin.
That asshole ran away from her, and she was worried about him.
"He's fine," he reassured her, placing a hand on her forehead. "You need to rest."
Her eyes closed shortly after that, though whether it was voluntary or not was hard to say. Hwoarang swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat.
"I'm sorry, Asuka," he muttered, not knowing if she could hear him.
I hurt you… but I'm gonna make up for it.
Enough was enough. It was about time he faced the consequences of his actions.
Jin barged into his room, the crashing of the door deafened by the pounding in his ears. He fell onto his bed, focusing on the sensation of the cold linen and slowing his breathing.
Breathe in, breathe out, is all that he told himself.
He would think later, but right now he needed to calm down.
Breathe in, breathe out.
The rhythm of his breathing brought some calm, allowing him to appreciate the comfort of his bed after a day full of pain and hardship. He moved his hand to pull his hair back, but it left behind a red stain on the sheets.
His stomach churned from shock and unease, and he pushed himself off the bed, noticing the other stains he'd left on it.
He immediately moved to remove his jacket, his eyes going straight to his arms. He was horrified to find that his otherwise saturated arms were unharmed.
No bruises, no bullet holes, no signs of injuries, serious or benign.
Just scarlet.
He rushed to the bathroom, pulling his shirt over his head and stumbling over to the sink. His shirt fell to the floor, immediately forgotten when Jin got to look at his torso through the bathroom mirror.
Exactly like his arms, streaks and spots of red stained his skin from his collar to his navel.
Yet there were no injuries.
And for that matter, his face was no different. His eyes stood out nauseatingly on his blood-soaked face but the initial wound on his forehead had closed up, like it had never existed.
How could Asuka ever believe he was okay when he looked like this?
He could only stare at this body, his body, with horror and revulsion.
People could have died tonight, Asuka could die tonight, and he was without a single mark.
He was an abomination.
An abomination that couldn't be killed.
And you always will be.
Without caring who heard, he screamed.
Xiaoyu rushed wordlessly through the emergency ward, her eyes searching for anyone even remotely familiar. The receptionist said that Asuka was somewhere this way, but there was still no sign of her.
Miharu was following a few steps behind, already a little breathless from having to run after Xiaoyu but not uttering a single word of complaint. Instead, she was also searching amongst the rows of curtains and empty beds, making sure not to bump into any medical staff in their search.
Eventually, Xiaoyu came across a curtained off section that was a bit different from the rest. At the foot of the curtain were tattered strips of cloth, stained dark red and very reminiscent of Asuka's blue shirt.
This has to be it, she thought with some certainty. Yet, her stomach churned nervously from the sight.
Xiaoyu chose to ignore this, tentatively reaching toward the curtain and pulling it to the side. Her thoughts proved to be true.
Asuka lay in the hospital gurney, silent and unmoving. Bed sheets covered her form up to her midriff, exposing the fresh bandages wrapped around her otherwise bare chest. A dark red stain stood out conspicuously against the white, and Xiaoyu involuntarily swallowed the lump forming in her throat.
Beside her was the blonde-haired person she'd seen at the tournament a handful of times, sitting on one of the spare stools and only having looked up at their arrival. They looked surprised to see them, but didn't say anything.
Miharu gasped behind Xiaoyu, no doubt from the sight before them.
"Oh, Asuka-chan…" Miharu whispered, obviously distraught. Xiaoyu reached behind her to grab her friend's hand.
"Is she…?" Xiaoyu finally asked, meeting the eyes of the blonde.
"She's still alive," was their response, turning their gaze back to Asuka. "Though they're going to take her away soon. She needs surgery for her injury."
Xiaoyu stepped up beside Asuka. It was so odd, so unnatural, seeing her lying unconscious and helpless in a hospital bed. Miharu reached forward and hugged Xiaoyu, who returned the embrace absent-mindedly. She reached out tentatively to touch Asuka's still hand, only to immediately retract her hand when she felt how cold her skin was.
A chill ran down Xiaoyu's spine. This was terrible.
"How did this happen?" Miharu asked. "All Hwoarang told me was that she got shot…"
"That's all he told me too," the blonde admitted to them. "No idea beyond that."
They lowered their head, blonde strands of hair hiding their eyes from view.
Miharu stepped away from Xiaoyu, discreetly wiping at her eyes. Xiaoyu didn't say a word still, despite her mind buzzing with a hundred different questions.
Hwoarang was the one who supposedly found her, was the one who made sure she got to the hospital, and yet was nowhere to be found when she was being prepped for surgery.
And of course, she couldn't help but notice that Jin was both unseen and unmentioned. Weren't he and Asuka partners? They'd fought together just fine tonight…
Xiaoyu recognised the direction her thoughts were going and shook her head. Now was not the time to harbour suspicions towards Asuka. Even if it was suspicious how she'd said she wasn't going to look for Jin anymore, yet seemed to show up with him together when the time came-
The curtains were pulled to the side entirely, jarring Xiaoyu out of her musings.
"Pardon, we have to take her now," said the nurse. The three visitors all gave the bed a wide berth to allow the staff to start wheeling their friend away, though they all followed closely behind.
The blonde walked briskly alongside the bed, while Miharu and Xiaoyu trailed behind. Lost in her thoughts again, Xiaoyu was a bit disappointed to find herself wondering once again where Hwoarang and Jin were.
Some things, it seemed, weren't going to change.
"Everyone accounted for?" Yong called out in the abandoned warehouse as he shut the door behind him. A chorus of mismatched voices responded.
"Not includin' e'ryone in the infirmary," Arty said from his corner, having just helped Rusty onto a spare chair. "Kinda miraculous honestly, no one lost."
There was a series of murmured agreements following that. It was promptly cut short by Rusty, who irritably remarked "Oh yeah, real miraculous…"
Yong was prepared to just ignore it, hoping maybe to check on the injured members, but Arty seemed to have reached his wits end. He whirled on Rusty with an incredulous expression. "Rus, ya wanna say somethin'?"
"Yes I wanna say something," Rusty replied immediately with a grimace, adjusting his position in the chair. "We ran away with our tails between our legs and you consider that a good thing?"
"Ah God," Saki groaned from the other side of the room, tightly wrapping a bandage around her arm. "You're both starting this now? Wasn't this day bad enough without your bitching?"
"Shut up!" Rusty yelled at her, pointing a finger her way. Jubei stood up from the floor to say "Don't talk to her like that!"
Yong let out a "Yeeesh" that no one else heard. This was not good.
He stepped forward to de-escalate the situation, raising his hands. "Look guys, it was a rough night for everyone. Let's all just take it down a notch."
"Oh, come off it Yong! This shouldn't have been a rough night in the first place!"
Yong closed his eyes in agitation. So much for de-escalating.
"It was supposed to be an easy job, in and out, but you guys couldn't handle one girl!" Rusty accused the room at large.
"We're not the ones who got a foot in the face," Martin remarked with a roll of his eyes. Rusty's sharp eyes snapped to him and he rose to his feet, knocking his chair over in the process.
"You wanna say that again?" he asked menacingly and stomped towards Martin. Yong was quick to step between them with a hand on both of Rusty's shoulders.
"R, calm down," Yong advised. "We all botched it. Best let it go."
Rusty switched his furious gaze from Martin to Yong. "'Let it go'?"
It occurred to Yong then that perhaps he should have chosen his words better. "Rusty–"
Rusty pushed Yong away with enough force that he fell onto his back. Arty immediately yelled out "Hey!" and tackled Rusty. Rusty responded with a right hook to Arty's face.
Jubei and Martin immediately moved to split them up, with Saki offering Yong her hand to help him up. She gave him a concerned look when he got up, and Yong could tell it wasn't just over his wellbeing. This was going from bad to worse really fast.
Martin eventually managed to wrest an obscenity-spewing Arty away from Rusty, holding him back by his arms. "Break it up, lads!"
"Pathetic!" Rusty yelled over every other voice. "You're all pathetic! I should have just gone after Jin myself!"
"Good luck doin' that all by ya'self, ya fuckin' asshole!" Arty retorted and, in response, Rusty spat at his feet. "Oh, ya just ASKIN'-"
Rusty wrung himself free of Jubei's hold, pointing a finger in Arty's general direction.
"This won't be the end of it!" he declared. "I'll hunt him down myself if I have to! I'll kill him with my bare hands if I have to! I-"
"Rusty, shut the FUCK up."
Everyone in the room turned to the source of the new voice, though Yong was sure they all recognised him immediately like he had.
It was none other than their former boss, striding into the room after slamming the door shut behind him. His shirt and arms were splattered thoroughly with what looked to be dried blood.
"Boss! It's you!" Arty exclaimed.
He always had a knack for stating the obvious, but today Yong took comfort in that familiar trait.
He had a feeling that the situation was going to be soured further.
"Yes, it's me," Hwoarang said, his expression softening. "Gotta thank you for the locations you sent me, Arty. Don't know what I'd have done without 'em."
Rusty's scowl became more pronounced, and he turned back to Arty. "YOU'RE the reason he's here?!"
"I wasn't going to leave the actual Boss out of this," Arty snapped. "He's the reason we all got together in the first place!"
"He's also the one who abandoned us, you dumb fuck," Rusty retorted. He didn't wait for Arty's response however, his eyes going straight back to Hwoarang. "And what's with the paint job huh? Decided to steal the kill from us?"
Hwoarang fixed a hard glare on Rusty that had Yong taking a step back. "He's still alive. Though you won't be doing anything to change that now."
Rusty didn't back down one bit. "What's this now? You having sympathy for the devil?"
"I don't know about sympathy, but you're right about the devil," Hwoarang said, his lips curling into a sardonic smile. That expression had Yong worried.
"Boss, what are you talking about?" Yong asked with a frown. "You don't sound like you're joking."
Hwoarang regarded him, sighing deeply before he shook his head.
"You were always one of the smarter ones, Yong. Makes it even more disappointing that you got caught up in this."
Yong shrunk back from that.
Rusty however let out a harsh, short laugh and gestured at Hwoarang. "Lookie here! Mister Boss-man acting like he's in charge again! As if you hadn't decided to chuck everything we worked towards in the trash!"
He stomped towards Hwoarang, his eyes sharp and focused. "You don't get to be the stern boss when you ran away from this. Ran away from us!"
"And you chose this as an opportunity to take control, huh?" Hwoarang replied, his tone even but his expression anything but. "Finally saw a chance to assert dominance and move everyone to your beck and call?"
"What, jealous I was a better leader than you ever were?" Rusty asked, stopping only inches away from Hwoarang. "I've been in charge for two months, and I've gotten us closer to Jin Kazama than you ever did! You gonna pretend you're better, that you're relevant again 'cause you showed up now?!"
Hwoarang shoved Rusty, forcing him back a few paces.
"I'm here cause you crossed a fucking line Rusty. All this?" Hwoarang gestured at his blemished clothes. "From the civ that you shot!"
Rusty's expression wavered for a second, but the fire returned soon and he responded with "I wasn't aiming for her in the first place! She jumped in front of the shot! It's her own damn fault!"
The group began to murmur among themselves at that. Yong was certain they all felt similar to him on the matter. If the shot wasn't certain to land, it shouldn't have been taken.
"Doesn't change the fact that you shot her!" Hwoarang exclaimed, pointing at Rusty as he spoke. "And not only that, she was a Tekken competitor! No doubt this will bring attention to your dumb as nails failed assassination attempt!"
"We were going to get attention eventually!" Rusty countered, practically seething as he slapped Hwoarang's hand away. "But if Jin had bit the dust like he was supposed to-"
"But he DIDN'T, Rus!" Hwoarang shouted, shoving Rusty back. "You shot a civ, shot a friend of mine, and Jin is still alive! Accept that shit failed and-"
"IT SHOULDN'T HAVE FAILED!" Rusty bellowed, pulling his fist back. "HE SHOULD BE DEAD!"
His fist hurtled forward, but Hwoarang easily side stepped it. Rusty quickly recovered from the stumble and tried to land another hit on his former leader.
"YOU JUST DISAPPEARED! AFTER YOU GOT ALL OF OUR HOPES UP! WE GAVE OUR BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS FOR THIS! AND YOU JUST GAVE UP!"
Hwoarang kept evading all the attacks with relative ease, though his frown only became more pronounced.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN COME BACK AND SHIT ON ME JUST CAUSE I'M STILL TRYING FOR JUSTICE?!" Rusty roared. "HE DESERVES TO BE SIX FEET UNDER!"
Eventually, Hwoarang ducked under his attempts to hit him and threw a kick at Rusty's head. A few gasps rang out in the room as Rusty tumbled to the ground, but Yong just sighed.
They all had combat training at this point, but none of them compared to their former bosses still. Rusty was putting anger before reason.
Rusty coughed harshly from the floor, but then got onto one knee and tried to get up again. Hwoarang didn't give him the chance, instead kicking him while he was down.
"Stand down," he said when Rusty fell to the floor again, his tone so reminiscent of when he used to give them orders on missions. Saki's hand flew to her mouth when Rusty spat out some blood.
"I refuse," Rusty choked out, turning his burning gaze on Hwoarang. "You won't ever stop me! Kick me all you want! I won't rest until Jin Kazama is dead!"
"Jin Kazama is a demon."
The room went silent at this admission, said so nonchalantly as if they were discussing the weather.
Their boss wasn't one to make ridiculous statements like that with such a serious face and casual tone, and so Yong found himself both confused and anxious.
Rusty didn't have an immediate retort either, Yong noticed. In fact, something in Rusty's eyes had changed from hearing that, and Yong wondered if he was reaching the same conclusions he had.
Ultimately, Arty was the one to break the tense silence. He asked tentatively "Boss, what're ya sayin'?"
"Exactly what I said," Hwoarang reiterated. "He's a literal demon. Superhuman strength, superhuman speed, basically unkillable."
More ridiculous claims said with a dead seriousness. This was… really concerning.
"But… but that can't be!" Saki cried in disbelief, giving a voice to Yong's thoughts. "Demons don't exist!"
"But Jin is one," Hwoarang stated. "I know it sounds fucking ridiculous, but you all saw him today. I know you did. How can you believe anything else after what you saw?"
Yong wished he could provide some sort of counter. Logically, it couldn't be true, but he had been there.
He'd witnessed Jin's eyes going from dark to a luminescent silver, and had witnessed him moving distances in a blink of an eye.
And, most alarmingly, he'd also witnessed Rusty peppering him with bullets, only for them all to slowly be pushed back out of the wounds they'd created.
What logical explanation was there for all that?
"And I knew all of this."
Everyone's eyes latched onto Hwoarang again at this admission.
"I knew he was a demon," he said, his voice grave. "I knew he was capable of all this. In the King of Tekken tournament before the war, I fought him. And I almost died."
Hwoarang turned his serious gaze to Rusty, causing him to flinch. "Just like you almost died."
Yong saw beads of sweat form on Rusty's forehead.
"But wait, you knew he was a demon before the war? Then…"
"I created the resistance," Hwoarang finished when Jubei trailed off. "To try to stop him from destroying the world further… but actually, that was a farce. I created the resistance so I could get even with Jin, so I could get closer somehow and stick it to him. To settle our old scores."
Hwoarang then lowered his head, closed his eyes and sighed. "And because I was selfish, was caught up in my own petty grievances, I let you all down in the moments where it mattered. We lost comrades, you lost your lives, your livelihoods, over a false promise."
Their former boss looked at Rusty again, eyes going straight to his torn ear. Yong could guess why.
Rusty got that torn ear, and the matching scar on his cheek, because he had shoved Hwoarang out of the fire of a Tekken force soldier months ago.
Everyone in the room had scars at this point, most of them knew this path was dangerous, but you could forget your own scars just fine.
Scars someone else got because of you? Different story…
"You're right about one thing, Rus," Hwoarang said calmly. "I did run away from this… from you all… I failed as a leader…"
"Boss-" Arty let out, but stopped talking when Hwoarang raised a hand.
"But I'm here now to own up to that. And owning up to that means telling you all," Hwoarang spoke louder, looking up from Rusty and sweeping his gaze across the room. "-that this is a suicide mission. Give up on Jin Kazama."
The response to that was mixed. Many in the room whispered to each other.
Saki and Jubei kept switching between staring at their former boss and each other. Martin had a frown on his face now too. Arty had taken to avoiding everyone's eyes, instead staring at his shoes with a sad face.
"Please, everyone," Hwoarang pleaded, finally allowing sadness to enter his voice. "I know I haven't given you all good reasons to listen to me lately, but listen to me this time. Jin Kazama is a monster. I only barely managed to survive our last fight. I don't want any of you guys having to face that. I don't-"
His voice seized up then. He took a breath and swallowed, earning a concerned look from Yong, before he continued "I don't want anyone else dying on my watch."
He looked back at Rusty and took a few steps, offering him his hand in assistance. "Anyone."
Rusty stared at Hwoarang's outstretched, bloodstained hand. His eyes then went to the redhead's face. For a while, everyone was uncertain how he'd respond.
Ultimately, Rusty turned his head away from Hwoarang, gazing into the distance with a resentful expression. Hwoarang also looked away and retracted his hand, his disappointment apparent.
"I get it," he said, taking a few steps back. Another sigh passed his lips, and he looked around the room. "I'm not saying you should give up on justice. Just that you all shouldn't throw away your lives in the name of it."
Many in the room became lost in thought at that.
"Maybe it's time we all move on," said Hwoarang. "Myself, especially…"
Hwoarang looked at Yong and gave him a nod. "Gotta pick our lives back up now."
Yong, having witnessed all of this play out, felt his heart growing heavy. Hwoarang turned to Arty then, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I won't run away from any of you again. Next time you call, I will respond."
Arty's eyebrows scrunched up and his eyes looked watery, but he nodded and patted Hwoarang's shoulder in response.
"I won't ever stop," Rusty finally declared, not having moved from his spot. Hwoarang turned away from Arty to spare Rusty one final glance.
"If any of you go after Jin again, I'll stop you myself."
Yong was grateful for the outside air at that moment, and for the ambience of ship horns, bells and nightlife. It was a welcome distraction.
He lit a cigarette and popped it in his mouth before taking a slow and deep drag.
"Got an extra?" Arty queried as he sidled up to him. Yong wordlessly offered him his box.
A brief thanks and a few puffs between the two of them later, Yong said "Today was wild."
Arty snorted, only to cough out the cigarette in his mouth. "Ouch… bruh, that's like… somethin' I'd say…"
"That's how wild today was. It got me speaking like you," Yong joked, making a point to pluck the cig from his mouth before chuckling. Arty gave him a bright, but brief smile.
"Today was wild, though, yeah…" he said, turning away to watch a ship in the distance.
"Yup…" Yong said absent-mindedly.
"Uh huh…"
"You said it…"
A foghorn sounded in the distance.
"Yong, I reckon Boss is right," Arty said with a hoarse voice.
"I think so too," Yong murmured, his eyes stinging a bit from the smoke.
"I reckon we're the only ones," Arty mused, looking up from the horizon to the night sky.
"Hard to say," was Yong's frank response. He hadn't talked to anyone since Hwoarang left, so he had no clue how everyone else was processing what they had all heard.
Especially Rusty, who no one had approached at all since then.
"Guess it can't be as easy for the others. Some of 'em have lost more than us…" Arty said, unusually solemn. "Though Rus… I was pretty mad at him, for real. Still am, if I'm honest."
"Understandable," Yong said, exhaling heavily. "I was too busy being worried to be mad."
"But now I wonder… What happened to him?"
"No clue," Yong said, putting his cig out on the wall behind him. "He never told me. Never told anyone I think."
Safe to say, that was probably not going to change anytime soon.
Arty stretched his arms behind him, letting out a raspy breath. "I hope that girl's okay…"
"I hope so too…"
The sound of some sirens rang through the air, though still sounding extremely far from them at that moment.
"I reckon… I'm gonna go check on the others."
The way Arty said that left Yong thinking there was an invitation in that statement. The two friends met eyes, and Yong's suspicions were confirmed by the expectant look in Arty's eyes.
"Sounds good," Yong said, gently refusing the offer to join him.
It was a long, heavy day, but he couldn't be with the others for this.
Arty nodded a few times, sighing again, and then retreated back into the building. Yong took a deep breath as well, steeling himself for what he was about to do.
With shaking hands, he pulled out his phone and dialled a number. He raised his phone to his ear, tuning out his surroundings and his intrusive thoughts.
When someone picked up the call, he spoke with a clear voice "Hello… I'd like to report an incident to the police."
Since Asuka was admitted into the surgical ward, the three of them had decided to sit on the sofas close to the ward doors to wait on her appearance.
Xiaoyu, Miharu and Leo (who had introduced herself during the wait) had initially spent the time whispering to each other but, as the minutes marched on, an uneasy silence had settled among the three of them. Xiaoyu had one hand intertwined with Miharu's and the other tucked in her lap. Leo sat across them, checking her phone at regular intervals and otherwise just slouching over with her eyes closed.
Xiaoyu herself was fighting to keep her thoughts off of the same two people, but was gradually losing the willpower to keep it up. She let out a sigh and leaned back into her sofa, savouring the comfort it provided.
Eventually, Leo spoke up and broke the silence. "I'll go get us some water or something…"
She rose to her feet and started to walk away, only to stop in her tracks. The movement caught Xiaoyu's eye so she looked up.
Leo's face held some surprise but she raised her hand in greeting. Xiaoyu followed her gaze and caught sight of one of the men on her mind, walking towards them.
He was wearing something completely different from earlier than day, a leather jacket fully zipped up and some loose jeans. His hair was loose and soaking wet, framing his sombre face somewhat tightly.
Xiaoyu felt some relief blossom in her at the sight of him, but the look she sent to him was still sour and scrutinising. He pointedly avoided meeting Xiaoyu's eyes, instead giving Leo a fist bump.
"Where is she?" Hwoarang asked. Leo cocked her head towards the surgery ward.
"Shit..." he muttered. "How long has she been in there?"
"Hour and a half," Miharu responded without delay. She'd been watching the time more than any of them.
Hwoarang turned his head to the closed doors, his eyes betraying his worry. Xiaoyu felt irritation begin to swallow the relief. It must have been obvious, because Miharu gave her hand a tight, reassuring squeeze.
"You gonna explain what happened though?" Leo asked, raising her hand to her shoulder. "Your text was kind of lacking detail."
Hwoarang let out an exhausted, sad sigh and ran his fingers through his wet locks. "It's kinda a long story…"
"I think we deserve to know."
She hadn't meant for it to sound so vindictive, but ultimately that's how it came out. Leo raised her eyebrows at Xiaoyu and Miharu let go of her hand to give her an incredulous stare, but Hwoarang just looked up and closed his eyes.
"I was getting to that…" Hwoarang said, exasperation evident in his tone. A biting comment was on the tip of her tongue, but Xiaoyu held it.
"Asuka got caught up in a gang fight, and got shot in the process," he explained. "I was in the area anyway and followed the gun shots to her."
Miharu let out a tiny gasp at the story. "How did they even get their hands on a gun in the first place?!"
"Beats me," Hwoarang said with a shrug.
"And Jin wasn't there?" Xiaoyu asked. That question got Hwoarang to give Xiaoyu a sharp look. "Xiaoyu-"
"They're partners aren't they?"
"As if that's why you wanna-"
Miharu abruptly got to her feet, clapping her hands together.
"You know what, I'm pretty thirsty now," she declared. "Leo, I'll go get drinks with you!"
Before Leo could say anything beyond a "Wha-", Miharu had grabbed her by the arm and began marching away, pulling Leo along.
Miharu's display did make Xiaoyu feel a bit embarrassed, but her suspicion triumphed as the dominant feeling. And so, she also stood up and approached Hwoarang with her arms folded across her chest.
"Your story doesn't add up to me," she said to him.
"What, 'cause it's coming from me?" he retorted. "Or cause you just desperately wanna believe-"
"Might be because you've been avoiding me for WEEKS now, and the first thing you've said to me since the argument is a text saying Asuka-chan got shot!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Sorry if I question your words because of that!"
His eyes narrowed. "Oh, so you wanted me to come running after you like a dog? You're an adult, Xiaoyu! If you wanted something from me, you could just ASK-"
"What," she interjected, leaning forward. "Actually. Happened. Hwoarang?"
The two of them exchanged a glare that lasted for a few, tense seconds.
But in a move that surprised Xiaoyu, Hwoarang averted his gaze and ran a hand down his face.
"Xiaoyu," he said with an aggravated sigh. "I'm tired…"
She had been ready to respond with some retort, but was too taken aback to follow through. Hwoarang took some deep breaths, and what he said next ensured her speechlessness.
"I'm sorry."
She just blinked at him, completely stupefied hearing that from him. He rubbed the back of his neck before he added "I'm sorry, honestly… for everything until now. I was lashing out 'cause of my own issues, and you were one of the people hurt 'cause of it. I realised that today."
She could hardly believe this. She'd never heard him apologise to anyone, at least not this seriously. "I…"
"I was telling the truth, but it was a half-truth," he admitted. "I'm tired of fighting and making excuses to you, so I'll tell you what happened. But not here."
His eyes briefly roamed their surroundings and Xiaoyu noticed, for the first time that day, that there were other people hanging around the surgical ward too. No doubt waiting on their own people.
Clearly, this was sensitive information he was going to share with her.
"Okay," she agreed, nodding her head. "We can talk about this somewhere else."
A thought occurred to her and she quickly added "But once we're sure Asuka-chan's okay."
He gave her a nod in return. "Fair enough."
"But," she hastily said, meeting his dark eyes with her own. "You have to tell me one thing right now."
He stared at her, his gaze heavy with consideration. She squared her shoulders. "Was Jin involved? Was he there?"
If that question made him feel some type of way, he didn't let it show at all. An unsettling move from him.
"No."
Been a while since I updated a story in less than 6 months LMFAO.
Also I said I wanted to update my other fics yet I'm updating this one, IDK I just follow my muse teehee...
Honestly, I'm pretty grateful that I'm motivated to update this quick, but I owe a big thank you to every one of you who are enjoying, following and commenting on the story, old and new. Your enthusiasm definitely is a huge factor in my motivation levels, and like I said I'm so blessed and grateful people are still following the story despite the hiatus.
A huge huge HUGE shoutout and thank you to Smashvillain, who honestly is the one you guys have to thank for me getting back into fic writing. If it weren't for them, I would have taken MUCH longer to get back into this. So, much love to them.
Also, once again plugging my Twitter, OrangeStrands, as I have fic related content up on my page now. A friend of mine was kind enough to do some illustrations for my fic, particularly of Jin and Asuka AND the resistance members Arty, Yong and Rusty. So if you're interested be sure to check those out and support her art, please and thank you :D
That's all for today, I'll see y'all next time.
May Peace Be Upon You.