After an hour of speculations of what Kazuya is planning to do, Hwoarang, Asuka, Ellie, Xiaoyu and Jin pile into Ellie's car and head back to the estate. Sitting in the back squished between Hwoarang and Asuka, Xiaoyu watches Jin in the passenger seat the entire way. He hasn't said a word. He seems withdrawn, in deep thought. Everyone else has notices to, and Ellie turns on the radio to interrupt the silence. Xiaoyu wants to know what he's thinking, and she wonders if it was even a good idea to bring him back so soon.
Ellie pulls up to the gates of the estate and flashes her badge.
The guards, recognizing her, only take a brief look in the car then wave her in, complete oblivious to Jin in the front seat. She pulls through the gate and winds the car up the graveled path.
"Ellie," Jin starts quietly, "I want the guards on the front lawn to be put on high alert, and I want the detail doubled. I could have easily been Kazuya. I want to know the moment he tries to come here."
Ellie nods, "Of course. I'll do it soon as I get inside."
She parks the car out front entrance and cuts the engine. Jin steps out of the car first and looks around. Home, he thinks. Everything looks exactly the way he left it. Even the lawns have been regularly mowed and the bushes trimmed. He makes a mental note to thank Ellie later for keeping the place running in his absence. He glances at the tucked away dojo. It will be awhile until he's ready to use it again.
"You going to come inside or just stare at the place," Hwoarang calls as the others go through the front door.
Jin takes a breath and starts up the front steps. Hwoarang pats his back as he enters and follows behind. Jin immediately feels the comfort of home as he steps inside. He doesn't know if it's his demon senses, but he can smell the hardwood floors, the cedar scented polish used to clean the floor each week. He can smell the fresh linen curtains the flank the tall windows, and even the earthly soil from the plants that decorate the hallway.
Ellie and Hwoarang head for the office while Asuka heads for the kitchen, complaining about how hungry she is. Xiaoyu lingers in the doorway with Jin, her small body leaning against the railings on the stairs. They all have become familiar with the place, which reminds Jin of how long they must have been looking for him.
"Welcome back," Xiaoyu squeaks. He can feel her eyes on him, but he stares at the floor. He has to be careful with what he says.
"I forgot how attentive Ellie is. I can't see a spec of dust." Jin keeps the conversation easy. "I think she has OCD."
"She does have OCD. Every time we got a lead, she'd have the place cleaned… for when you got back."
"Oh." A moment passes.
"Are you hungry? Should I order food?"
He hesitates. "Xiaoyu."
"We've kinda of been on a pizza diet lately. Maybe we can order Thai?" she asks nervously.
"Xiao," he presses his fingers to his forehead. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything."
Xiaoyu shakes her head, and he knows what she's about to say. She's about to tell it was no problem, or not to worry about it, but he can't let her, not after all she's done for him.
"Xiao, just listen," he says and she stops moving, her cheeks a bright pink.
"Hwoarang told me what happened after I left, how you felt about it. It's not your fault that I left, okay? I was the one that hurt you. You're my friend, and I'm supposed to protect you, and instead I almost kill you." He takes a breath. "If you ever died and it was because of me, I could not live with that, not ever. So, I thought: how can I protect her? How? And I knew the answer."
She opens her mouth to speak but Jin raises his hand, coming closer. He can see the tears start to fill in her eyes, but he continues anyway. "I knew I had to leave, Xiao. There was no other option."
"Jin."
"This demon," he goes on, "I can barely control it. Sometimes, I feel like it's going to extinguish my soul and take over my body for good. And I've got to be ready for that. I've got to make sure none of you are around when that happens, to protect you."
Xiaoyu nods and drops her head to silently cry in her hands. Jin wraps his arms around her and rests his chin on top of her head.
"I don't want you to die," she sobs into his chest. "Not by your father, or the demon."
"That's why I had Nina look for the orb in Egypt. I had to send her because she could fight off Kazuya if he happened to be there."
"But if Kazuya has the orb and absorbs your power…"
"I know, which means the orb… is no longer an option. I'm trying to find other ways. Zafina has these potions that have been helping me-,"
She looks up at him, hopeful.
"Only helping. They can't extract the gene. Only suppress it for a time."
She pulls away from him, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "Do you really think Zafina is on your side?"
Jin sighs inwardly, and nods. "She has to be. I need her."
"Would you like a bottle of water, Miss Zafina?" Kazuya asks as his black sedan pulls away from Zafina's townhouse.
From the car window, Zafina sees Miguel inside, surrounded by five of Kazuya's men to prevent him from running after the car. She sits back comfortably as the car speeds off with her and Kazuya in the back seat. She knows Miguel can take them. He'll be fine. After a moment she says, "No, thank you."
"I'm glad you came without a fight." Kazuya speaks nonchalantly, as if they are talking about the Iron fist Tournament on Pay-per-View. "My men can get a little rowdy and I didn't want someone of your beauty to get caught in the crossfire."
"Such a gentleman," Zafina snips, staring at the back of the headrest. She would love to lunge forward and take out the driver and then the creep in the passenger seat who has been staring hungrily at her since she entered the vehicle. With the two of them down, she could save Kazuya for last, but instead she practices restraint. A lot of restraint. She can't afford to have Kazuya turn into the demon, not without her prepared magic, not without help. She focuses instead on the turns the car has made, internally mapping across the city from her house to where ever they are going.
"I'm curious," Kazuya begins. He turns toward her slightly, propping his ankle on his knee. "What made you interested in that savage of a man Miguel?"
Kazuya's face is surprisingly pleasant and genuinely curious as he meets her stare with his pair of mis-colored eyes. A blood eye, her ancestors called it. A window of evil. She examines the old scars that arch over each of his cheeks and his spiked black hair. Jin resembles Kazuya the way she'd expect a son to resemble their father, but though their blood runs the same, they are entirely different beings.
"Now, you're interested in my love life?" Zafina asks calmly.
"I just didn't take you for a woman who preferred untamed animals."
She leans in, smiling curtly. "I seem to be surrounded by a lot of those lately."
His stare doesn't waiver. "Hmm. Are you referring to me or Jin?"
She ignores him, holding his eye contact a few moments longer until Kazuya pulls away, adjusting the collar of his coat. "Alright, fine. Just know that we don't have to be enemies. We can work together."
"I find that highly unlikely." She feels the passenger seat guy's eyes on her again. She cocks an eyebrow at him. "Do you mind?"
Kazuya looks between her and his guy, then snaps his fingers in front of the guy's face. The guy straightens up immediately, facing forward. Kazuya turns his attention back to Zafina.
"I've done a little research of your family line. I was curious what the mysterious Miss Zafina might have planned for me. I know about the evil stars and-," he whips his hand around as if he is swatting a fly, "all that non-sense."
"Beyond your comprehension," she says simply.
Kazuya chuckles. "Well, I find that highly unlikely."
She studies Kazuya again, finding his focus on her a bit suffocating. She's not what he wants, she knows that, but his eyes are locked on hers like a target. She needs something to break his attention.
She leans over and reaches for his gloved hand. "I want to show you something. Have you seen your future?"
Kazuya lets her take his hand but the moment she starts to tug at the fingers of the leather, he pulls it back. His voice is low. "I'd rather not."
"I know you're aware of my abilities. I can show you what you want to see, how you get rid of Jin." She gives him a quick, guarded smile. "That is your goal, isn't it?"
"All you will do is tell me what I want to hear. Like I said, I've done my research on you. I know the reach of your abilities and where you fail, like protecting the orb." Kazuya pulls the glove back into place. "Besides, I am a man who makes his own future."
"The orb, I figured as much. What I haven't figured is if you are after Jin himself... or his power?" Zafina speculates. Taking a quick glance out the window, she sees they are well into the busier part of the city. The car is shaded by the tall buildings and people who aimlessly walk the street. She stares without, feeling as if she's trapped inside a snow globe.
Kazuya sits back, glancing out of his own window, his eyes locking on a high point outside. "That is the million dollar question. My son and I have been fighting for nearly a decade, haven't we? I'm sure you've seen it with your readings. To simply put an end to it, an end to him, would put me in a position of power. Maybe I'll claim the Mishima Zaibatsu for myself. Hire that girl Ellie he has running the offices. She's very good - hired her to hack into the company before-. Absorbing his gene is simply a bonus, icing on a very promising cake. It will do us both a favor."
"I've heard enough about you to know you don't deal in favors."
Kazuya snaps his fingers again, barking at the driver, "Turn here."
They pull into a parking garage that blots out the rest of the daylight. She knows the way in her mind, though she doesn't know how much it will help her, if at all. Next to her, Kazuya is still and his red eye is glowing.
"Think about it, Miss Zafina," he goes on, "my son is desperate to rid the gene for good. I can provide that for him. Plus, your prophecy says that the stars must not align. It doesn't say which of us has to be rid of. We can take out Jin together. I get my power, you fulfill your ancestors wishes."
"And what then? You start with the Mishima Zaibatsu, and then all the major corporations in the area. Then you'll want to go for the government. I'm thinking you see yourself as dictator. How could that possible benefit me or anyone at all?"
Kazuya laughs, a little too heartily. "You, Miss Zafina, you are a visionary! Once Jin's gene binds with mine, I will have the world at my fingertips, and I promise to offer you the same."
The car circles down two sets of ramps. She would never be able to trust Kazuya. She's seen his dark card, his blood eye, she knows his agenda and she knows her own. The stars must not meet, but then her mind latches on to what he said moments ago. My son and I have been fighting for decades, haven't we? - Once Jin's gene binds with mine.
"The genes meet," she whispers as her ancestor's prophecy fully reveals itself.
"Come again?" Kazuya narrows his eyes.
"The two evil stars must not meet. The stars are not you and Jin. The stars are the devil genes within you both. I- It makes sense. My ancestors were talking about what's inside of you." She blinks from her own thoughts and snaps her eyes to Kazuya. "The bonding of the two genes in you blood will do a great deal of harm. You will endanger the world! People will get hurt!."
"I assure you, you are interpreting it wrong," he says, and for the first time his voice wavers.
Zafina sits back, awed by her revelation. "No, I've got it right. Neither of one you can absorb the gene. I will not allow it to happen."
"Don't pretend as if you are some saint," he fires back, more venom in his voice than she has heard. "Don't pretend that less than a week ago you weren't willing to kill the same person you sit here defending simply because your ancestors said so."
Zafina focuses out the window again, silent.
"No words from the enchantress?" Kazuya teases. "Or do you realize what a flip flop you are?"
"Killing Jin was my plan before I met him and before I understood the prophecy," she hisses. "Anyone can see he's more a victim than anything else."
Kazuya laughs, loud and heartily. "My son does have that effect, doesn't he? Playing the victim? No… Jin is no victim. Jin is a monster, just like me. We were bred that way. It is his nature."
"I find his nature to be far more redeemable than yours."
"What about yours?" Kazuya challenges. "I know you about the darker sides of your magic, no matter how you try to cover them up. You want power just like I do. The truth is Zafina, you are no better than us." Kazuya knocked his fist against the car ceiling and it slows in front of a single elevator flanked with more of Kazuya's men, armed, to greet them. They must be at least 8 floors underground. "Listen. As I said before, I don't need Jin's gene to get what I want. With Jin simply dead, I can acquire what rightfully belongs to me. Not entirely sure my body can handle the devil gene anyway, but I am sure that I want him gone. And you? You can redeem yourself and satisfy your ancestors all the same."
"How would I do that?" Zafina says flatly.
"Save the victim."
She turns to look at him, raising an eyebrow curiously. He seems unguarded, honest which unsettles Zafina the most. The men outside come to open Kazuya's door, but he stays seated, watching her, waiting for her to respond.
When she doesn't, he carefully asks, "What role will you play, Miss Zafina?"
"The role that saves humanity," Zafina declares. "I don't know what game you are up to, but I will not let you to absorb that gene. I will kill Jin just to keep the gene from your grasp if I have to."
"Exactly," Kazuya steps out of the car, turns, and offers his hand. Something is brewing behind his eyes, as if considering the possibilities, and then his mouth turns into a curt smile. "I may have some options for you, Miss Zafina."