"Ling, come on," Hwoarang shouted, but it sounded far away and muffled. "We have to go now!"
"Give me a second!"
"Xiaoyu?" Jin could barely get out her name. She knelt down above him and grasped his hand, her brown eyes wide with worry.
"Don't let it take over," she pleaded. "You are stronger than it is. Fight it Jin, fight it."
Pain sieged his body. It was happening, the change. Jin had just changed into the demon that morning. Why was it coming back so soon? His body fractured and shifted, and he screamed out.
"I know you can do this." Xiaoyu squeezed his hand harder. She didn't move away. "You promised me, remember?"
"Xiao, go with Hwoarang," he sputtered as his voice changed into something darker and possessed. He didn't recognize it in his own ears. The tattoos started to sear his skin and through clenched teeth, he yelled, "Xiao, go!"
"Not yet." She shook her head confidently, tears wetting her cheeks. "Not yet."
"Hwoarang!" Jin growled. For her safety she needed to go now. His vision blurred. He could barely see Xiaoyu's horrified face. A figure came into his fading view, and he knew it was Hwoarang trying to get Xiaoyu away.
"No!" she argued, pushing Hwoarang back. She fought him, kicking and nudging him away from her.
"Ling, you need to come with me now. We can't help him!"
Hwoarang was right. Jin was almost fully consumed. He couldn't see them anymore and could barely hear them over the loud internal voices and the savage flap of his wings. They had to get out now, or he would hurt them.
Kill them both, the voices whispered.
Spill their blood.
Jin growled a terrible, guttural growl, and his arms swung against his will. Back, and again. He felt his talons make contact with something soft.
"Xiaoyu, move away!" Hwoarang's voice rang shrill with terror. Something was wrong. "XIAOYU!"
Jin couldn't hear them anymore or see them. He was engulfed in darkness as his mutated body jerked and moved sporadically. He had no control and in an instant, he took flight.
Jin awakens with a jolt to Zafina kneeling before him. He gasps desperately for air, blinking to clear his vision.
"It's alright," Zafina tells him, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a rag. "It was just a dream."
He looks around. He is still in Zafina's living room, laid out on the couch with a throbbing headache. The heavy curtains are drawn to keep out the sunlight and the smell of burning incense stings his nostrils. Jin remembers, the fight.
"It wasn't a dream," he says. It was a memory. Jin shakes his head to clear his thoughts and asks, "Where is Miguel?"
"He left for a few hours. It's fine, Jin, just relax."
Broken trinkets and glassware still litter the floor, including the busted coffee table that Miguel had slammed him into earlier. Jin's entire body aches. Miguel handled him like a rag doll. Zafina's hand, which clings on to his, is bandaged. When she sees Jin notice, she pulls her hand away.
"It's fine," she insists. "You singed my hand, that's all."
"It's not fine.," Jin sighs. "I'm sorry," He recalls the events and blames himself for letting it get out of hand so quickly. "I should have used more restraint."
Zafina smiles faintly. Her face beautiful and calm, not frightened and panicked like before. "Miguel didn't give you much of an option."
"It's no excuse. I cannot continue to blame others for provoking the demon."
She reaches over Jin and grabs the one of the green vials from the end table.
Jin shifts a bit. "I shouldn't. It won't help-"
She raises an eyebrow and Jin quiets. She pours the contents in his mouth and he swallows without further protest. The coolness rushes through Jin's body like milk and he settles back against the couch. Comfortable silence falls between them as Zafina blots his forehead again.
"You're friends have come looking for you. Did you know that?" she asks with a smile.
He knew they would eventually, and he's sure Xiaoyu is leading the effort. Maybe he went about it the wrong way. He's was only trying to protect them, protect her. "I hurt her."
"I know… I've seen it."
"Then you understand I had to leave to keep them safe."
She pauses. "I don't know. It's a difficult choice… but… I think they would have understood if you had just asked for space."
There's that feeling is again. Guilt, on top of more guilt. Jin has really made a mess of things. How is he going to fix it? How can he even begin to fix it if he can't even control the demon yet?
"I should have told you about the orb," she says, and the conversation takes a subtle turn. "I thought I was doing my duty. I was trying to be cautious."
"After this morning, I'm not entirely sure you were wrong… I am unpredictable and cannot be controlled. I am danger to the world." Jin can barely look at her. He only feels his faults; what he'd done to his friends, and now Zafina. He is creating destruction wherever he goes, and nothing can stop it. Again, he thinks of the highest building in the city, and how he can end it all.
"You may be those things, Jin Kazama, but first you are human." She takes her bandaged hand and sets it atop his. "Rid yourself of those terrible thoughts."
"How do you know my thoughts?"
"I can see your aura. It's tragically bleak, like tainted water. I question whether you even believe you will make it through this alive."
He is certain he won't make it out alive. "You said it yourself, Zafina. The two evil stars must not align."
Her laugh is low, sultry. "I thought you didn't believe in - what did you call it? - my astrological bullshit?"
The corner of his mouth turns a up a little and then stiffens at the thought of his father. "I know it will eventually come down to him or me."
Zafina rises from the floor and sits on the edge of the couch. She engulfs his hand and Jin wonders if she is looking into his future. He watches her. Her eyes are set on his and she opens her mouth to say something, but never does. She seems conflicted. Jin can read it on her face. Maybe Zafina will try to take his life and end this now, drain the energy from his palm until he is dead. Jin wouldn't fight her if she did. He would accept it. After a few moments, she opens her mouth again, and the words are slow to come out.
"I am going to be honest with you." She takes a deep breath and slightly repositions herself. "I believe… one of the stars must die, yes. I have been given the heavy burden of deciding who. And that choice is a lot closer than I ever could have imagined." She pulls away from him abruptly though her voice remains calm. "I saw Kazuya."
Jin shudders at the sound of his name. "What? Where?"
"First, I had a vision," she explains. "It was so quick that I wasn't sure what I was seeing, so I dismissed it. But then," she stands up to retrieve a deck of tarot cards from the shelf and quickly sits back down. She pulls the top card, turning it over. The card is of a woman pouring water from a jug into a puddle below and above her head is a yellow star. Printed on top of the card, it says THE STAR.
Jin looks at Zafina and then the card again. "You say we are both the stars. This could be me or Kazuya."
"This," she pulls the second card from the deck, completely identical to the first, "is you. You can't see it. But that bleak aura you're giving off emits from the card as well. This second card matches your aura. But this one… the first card… is much darker. Black, like death."
"What does that mean? And why are you telling me this?"
Suddenly, Zafina inhales sharply and sits upright as if a jolt of electricity has surged through her body. She looks over her right shoulder, and then the other.
He too sits up and glances around the room. "What is it?"
"Did you feel that?"
He shakes his head. "Feel what?"
She turns back to face him, her eyebrows tightened in confusion. There's something wrong, but she won't say it. Instead, she puts the two star cards back in the deck and sets them back on the shelf. "I think you should go home now."
"Did you see something?" Jin asks, rising from the couch from the first time. He feels weak, but he can make it back to the apartment.
"No, I- I must have imagined something," she mutters.
Jin can tell she is lying. "If something is wrong, Zafina, you should tell me now!"
She walks to the windows and peeks through the curtain. The sunlight shines on her face in sharp, bright angles. The bird cage beside her houses two birds but they fly around restlessly.
"Zafina?" Jin says.
"I think Kazuya is much closer than we thought." She nods her head to herself as if now that she's said it aloud, it's a reality. "Jin, go home."
Jin head's for the front door, feeling pangs of guilt for each busted trinket he has to step over, but it is nothing compared to the threat of Kazuya. He has come toe to toe with his father several times before, but now, just the thought of it sends a chill down his spine. Jin is not ready, mentally at least. He knows it takes more than sheer power and strength if he is going to stand against Kazuya, maybe even a little magic.
He stops just in front of the door. "Contact me if you feel something else. We've had our differences, and I know we have different agendas, one that may result in my death, but I consider you an ally. Will you be alright?"
"I'll be fine, just go." Zafina walks him out to the porch. The air is chill. Color changed leaves skitter across the sidewalks in droves, some cluttering the gutter. Jin folds his arms across his chest. He still wears the same tshirt from the day before, torn slightly around the neck and sleeves. Zafina glances up and down the street several times, long strands of her hair whipping around her face as Jin descends the two concrete steps onto the sidewalk. There is no sign of a threat, as of now.
"Jin," she calls after him.
Jin turns back to face her. In the light, she sees the real toll the almost-change has taken on him. His eyes are like pits of dark sunken circles, his normal brown eyes almost black, void of any life. All that is staring back at her is guilt, despair, maybe even a little bottled anger. Grey, clammy skin gives his skin the appearance of wet stone. He doesn't even look alive.
"I'll reach you if I need you." She offers a smile but his solemn look remains. "And, just so you know, I consider you my ally as well. I've made my choice... and I chose for Kazuya to die."
Xiaoyu, Hwoarang, Ellie, and Asuka stand in front of Mr. Neighbor's door. None of them make a move, afraid of what will happen when they go inside. The game of hide and seek is over. They found Jin, atleast where he lives, but what happens now? Each of them carry their own bit of anger, hurt, disagreements for Jin leaving the way he did, Xiaoyu feeling it the most. She hadn't said anything on the way across town, not even when she had a chance to speak with Kiku, who showed them to the door. She had been right all along. She had been so close to Jin and had no idea. She just wants this to be over, whatever that meant.
Ellie kneels down in front of Kiku, pinching her chin. "Thanks, Kiku. You helped us find our friend."
"You're welcome." Kiku smiles a toothy grin. "You'll help him get better right? Keep the monster away?"
Ellie shifts uneasily, glances up at Hwoarang, then back down. "Have you seen the monster, Kiku?"
"No." Her face turns down. "But I hear it sometimes. I sit with him and listen through the vents until he goes to sleep. It hurts him."
Xiaoyu flinches at each of Kiku's words, but in the same sentence it enrages her. How could he not come home? How could he have trusted Nina and not them? How could he have tried to do it alone?
"I know," Ellie goes on with Kiku. "We're going to help." Ellie stands and looks at her three friends. "Who's going to knock?"
Hwoarang sighs, already knowing he's been silently given the task. "Let's get this over with."
He raps on the door twice, and all of them seem to hold their breath at once. They listen for a noise inside, footsteps, a door open, and jiggle of the lock but nothing comes. Xiaoyu looks at Hwoarang.
"Knock again," she says. She's shaking, nerves and anticipation shooting through her body. She can't keep it away, so she holds herself so it's not as visible.
Hwoarang knocks with the side of his fist, rattling the entire frame. They wait.
Nothing.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Asuka snaps. "What the hell?"
Ellie kneels down by Kiku again. "When's the last time you saw Mr. Neighbor here?"
"Last night. I sat with him last night." She looks frightened. "Is he okay?"
"It's going to be okay, Kiku," Ellie says, grabbing Kiku's hand. "Hwoarang?"
"We wait. Simple solution," he replies.
Asuka steps forward so she's right in front of the door. "I've got a better one."
She pulls a hair pin from Ellie's hair.
"Ow!" Ellie touches her head. "There was hair pinned in that!"
"Just give me sec." Asuka kneels in front of the door and splits the hair pin with her teeth. She jabs the sharp end into the lock and maneuvers it around.
Shocked, Ellie lets out a puff and punches Hwoarang in the shoulder.
"What?" He says. "She didn't learn that from me."
While all this is happening, tears bite at Xiaoyu's eyes. Jin's not in there, she knows it, and what if he never comes back? What if he heard they were looking for him and he fled to a different part of the city, or another city altogether? What if Kazuya…
"There," Asuka gloats as the door swings open. "Problem solved."
The four of them and little Kiku peer into the dark apartment. Small bits of sunlight bleed into the room from the closed blinds, exposing the mess of various strewn and damaged items. It's like a tornado had gone through the place.
"Kiku," Ellie says, "Go ahead and wait for us next door, okay?"
"Is he in there?" Kiku asks, more worried and curious.
"I don't think so," Hwoarang tells her, his voice distracted. "Go ahead and wait we'll come get you if we find him."
"Okay," she slips her small fingers away from Ellie's. "My mom gets home soon, so you have to get there before she does or I won't be able to come out."
Ellie looks back as the other three go inside. "I will, I promise."
With that, Kiku leaves them and goes back to her apartment, and Ellie steps into where Jin has been living while he was away. The place is mess, but there is no sign of Jin. Books and clothes sit on the counters and floors and, from what she can see, in the bedroom too. She picks up one of the books from the kitchen counter just as Hwoarang turns the ceiling light on. Xiaoyu and Asuka go toward the bedroom.
DARK DEMONS IN A MODERN WORLD
Ellie doesn't have to open the book to know what it's about. She's seen books like this in the office before. She picks up another one.
POSSESSION: HOW TO RID SPIRITS FROM A HUMAN BEING VOL.1
"This is bull-... crap." Ellie tosses the book down on the counter. "What the heck was he trying to do?"
"I don't know." Hwoarang, who's been looking around but not touching anything, comes to look over Ellie's shoulder. He pulls his fingers through his hair, which falls right back in his face, and shakes his head. "Seems he abandoned the scientific approach." Ellie picks up another book and he reads it aloud." HOW TO SPOT AN EVIL IN SOMEONE ELSE. This is some heavy stuff."
"Yeah, I don't like it."
"This place is a dump," Asuka says, following Xiaoyu to the bedroom and flicking on the light.
Immediately, Xiaoyu feels something unfamiliar. The room doesn't feel like Jin lives here at all, and she thinks, it's more like she's stepped into the bedroom of a stranger. Mounds of torn clothes lay in piles next to overturned books and notepads, their pages harshly bent against the dull wood. A cross is mounted to the otherwise bare walls above his bed, where a deep crack is split into the headboard, and his sheets are unruly scraps of torn cotton. This is isn't right. Jin has always been a tidy person. Even after a change, Xiaoyu would find him in the morning picking up his ruined clothes or anything else he might have destroyed and dumping them in the trash. She runs her hand along the pillow, but it is cold.
She misses him, she just wants him to come back so they can face this together. It's the way it should be, it's how they've always done it. Her scars are almost completely healed now. Maybe if Jin stuck around to find out he had only scratched the surface skin, he would have stayed.
"I can't believe he's living like this," Xiaoyu whispers more to herself than Asuka. She pulls her hand from the pillow and hugs herself.
"Looks like he's not living at all. Some of these books have dust on them." Asuka goes into the bathroom and flicks the light on, which hums overhead. "Woah. Well, his toothbrush is wet. That's a good sign."
Xiaoyu steps into the bathroom. The mirror is nearly shattered and a piece of the sink is broken off, laying on the tile floor. She sees his toothbrush next to a nearly empty tube of toothpaste and a new razor. He's still here, she thinks. She pulls the shower curtain back and she feels the dampness on her fingers. The smell of his cedar bodywash catches her nose and she almost bursts into tears.
"Come on," Asuka says, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Try not to think about. Let's go back with Ellie and Hwoarang."
"I just-," She chokes on the words and tears stream down her cheeks. Asuka waits, her eyes kind, as Xiaoyu finds her voice again. "I just wish he trusted me enough to tell me."
"He does. He trusts you Xiaoyu."
"Then why did he run?" Her voice comes out as a harsh sob.
"Well," Asuka closes the toilet lid and sits down on it. "He did scratch you."
"It was only the surface! It's fine now."
"I know," Asuka says gently. "I know, but you know how Jin is. He beats himself up seven times over when it comes to the demon, and on top of that it was you he hurt. If it were anyone else, he would have stayed and he would have dealt, but he can't deal when it comes to you."
"He's knows I'd never blame him. I just want to help." Xiaoyu turns her head to wipe her cheek with her shoulder.
"He knows. But," Asuka goes on, "this is Jin's demon. We can all try to help him as much as we want, but in the end, Jin has to conquer this. No one else can do it for him. Maybe this is his way of facing it, getting a place alone, not worrying about hurting anyone or anyone interfering, where he and the demon can duke it out. You can't truly believe he left you without good reason."
"Fine. He had good reason, but why contact Nina then? Does she know something we don't?"
"She's in Egypt, so we have to assume it means Jin is still looking for a solution." Asuka grabs Xiaoyu by the shoulders and looks her square in the eye. "A solution, so he can come back home."
Xiaoyu nods, slowly pulling herself together. "I guess, maybe."
"And it's okay to be angry. I'm angry, too. We all are, even Hwoarang no matter how cool he tries to be. You can be furious, enraged with Jin if you feel like it, as long as you understand he did what he thought was best."
"To do it alone? How could that be best?"
"You have to trust that Jin had good reason."
It's a lot harder to do than it sounds, especially after the last text she received from him two months ago.
It's better if I'm gone. That way I can't hurt anyone else.
I will never hurt you like that again, Xi.
It sounded so final, and that's what worries her the most. She doesn't want him to do anything out of guilt. And what about Kazuya? What if he tries to kill Jin? This isn't just about Jin and his choices. He is being hunted now, by Kazuya.
"Ling. Asuka," Hwoarang calls from the kitchen. Asuka gets up to leave but Xiaoyu stops her by the shoulder.
"Thanks, Suka."
Asuka smiles and shrugs a little bit. "I'm not all sass and action." They both giggle. "Plus, when Jin finally gets back, I don't want you to rip his head off. Would kind of make all this pointless, no?"
Xiaoyu rolls her eyes, and wipes the last bit of tears from her face. They meet Ellie and Hwoarang again in the main area.
"We found this wedged between one of the books." Hwoarang holds up a purple colored business card and reads it aloud. "'I have something for you to try-'"
"You'll never guess who," Ellie says with irritation.
Xiaoyu asks, "Who?"
Hwoarang hands it to Xiaoyu and says, "Zafina."
Asuka grunts. "That lying bitch."
"All she told us was that we were looking in the right place, when she knew exactly where Jin was this whole time." Ellie rants. "Unbelievable."
"She did say she couldn't tell us," Hwoarang offers. "She gave Jin her word, remember?"
Asuka scoffs, "So what? I knew she'd be no help."
"I wonder what it was she wanted him to try," Xiaoyu whispers.
Hwoarang shrugs, "Who knows. She's surely not going to tell us."
"A potion, to help me with the change."
The three of them quickly turn to face the doorway and freeze.
They can't believe it.
It's Jin.