It was boring to watch her father work, but Jiayi knew that it meant she could be near him. The man who had, despite her best efforts, managed to grab and hold her attention. There was something about him that made her feel giddy and she could not seem to figure out what it was. She was perched on a bench in her father's workshop, observing him go over plans for a weapon with the man. He was smiling as Renshu assured him that it could be done and even improved. The smile was sweet, settling easily on his features, and it made her blush.

"Is Jiayi going to learn how to make weapons?" he asked her father.

"Of course not! Jiayi is going to marry a young man from the village and learn to sew fine clothes like her mother. Isn't that right, Jiayi?" Renshu looked at his daughter and frowned back at her. "Are you paying attention? You can't learn weapon crafting. No daughter of mine will make weapons for a living."

"Right…I heard you." She rolled her eyes and sighed, holding up both hands so her palms faced them. "Do these look like the hands of one destined to labor on weapons?" she recited in a monotone voice. Hearing a chuckle, she turned her head and blushed pink. When did his friends get here?

The man sometimes came to the Xun property alone, but often came with his two companions. One of them was giving her an amused half-smile now that made her feel ashamed. "We were just talking about this spear that Renshu is going to make. It's going to be great." Her crush smiled again, seeming to ignore the girl's embarrassment.

She bowed her head, letting her long black hair fall to hide half of her face. The girl nervously bit at her thumbnail, watching the tallest of the trio walk over to look at the plans. Her cheeks began to burn red as the third man walked over to stand beside her. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed and observing his companions. "…don't look so amused…it's annoying."

"It was amusing."

"It was not." Jiayi slouched and watched him from the corner of her eye. He was not looking at her, which made her feel slightly better. "…if you knew the whole truth of it…you wouldn't find it funny…especially if you were in my shoes," she stated.

"What is it then?" he inquired in a low, sincere tone.

She ruffled her hair and turned to him, her sharp brown eyes meeting his dark ones. "I'm…a bargaining chip. To further his career. You do realize that, don't you? I marry someone with money, or someone that offers him something great, and that's my life! That's my purpose! Why does it need to be that way?!" she hissed, not wanting her father to hear.

He looked down at her with sympathy in his gaze. "It doesn't need to be that way." A lock of long, black hair fell from behind his ear to frame the side of his face and he went to join his companions.

Present day…

Why would he want to save me? Jiayi glared at him, her body leaning against a wall for support. She had only been to his lair once before this. Both times, she was in a battered condition. She could feel the cut across her chest very slowly healing itself. Her hand was pressed to the wound, ignoring all of her other injuries as they sealed up and healed.

Chase Young watched her intently. He knew that she would stay with him. She had no choice. He had the Reversing Mirror and she was aware of that. It was the only thing that could save Jack from a slow, agonizing end. Not that he would give it up easily. Not that he had a concrete plan now. Certain things had occurred that he had not anticipated. For instance, Kimiko's presence in the search party. He had been certain that only Raimundo would go with her, determined to be her hero. He had not expected her to fight Guan either. Worse, he had not expected Guan to fight her so fiercely. The monk was protective of her so Chase had thought that he would simply take her back to the temple. "He attacked you with such ferocity. What did you do to make him turn on you so quickly?" he taunted.

"He didn't-! I mean…he just…ugh!" The young woman ran her fingers through her hair, not sure of anything anymore. It had surprised her as much as it had surprised Chase. "He does care about me! He won't let me just disappear!" He nodded his agreement. "When he comes-!"

"When he comes, we will fight him together and defeat him."

"I'm not going to join you!" she snarled. "I would never join you, you egotistical maniac!" She blinked in alarm. He was crouching in front of her, gripping her chin firmly and smirking at the girl's look of surprise. "Wh-what? What are you staring at?!"

He closed the space between them and pressed his mouth against hers. The young woman's eyes went wide and he shifted his free hand to her shoulder. When he pulled away, he saw that her face had gone pink. "You owe me for saving you. In addition to this, you owe me something in exchange for the Reversing Mirror," Chase reminded her.

Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and she hated herself for having such a reaction. She hated that the kiss had left her feeling giddy. That it made her want more. Summoning forth her anger once more, she smirked. "Oh yeah? And just what do you expect me to do for you? I'm not evil."

The villain stood and began to walk away, pausing once to give her a summoning look over his shoulder. "Evil is in your blood. It was in your blood from the moment you drank the Lao Mang Lone Soup. You've just been suppressing it all these years." He waited until she was standing near him, giving him a skeptical look, before he smirked. "Did you really think that you could change sides and it would change you completely?"

"Guan made me believe it would work." She bit her lower lip and walked with him, albeit reluctantly. I thought that he had my best interest in mind all these years. I thought he was on my side. It was a lie though, wasn't it? This whole time it's been a lie. What can I really believe anymore? I don't know. I don't know what to do anymore. I know that I need to save Jack. I love him too much to let him die in that sphere.

"He certainly says a lot of things, doesn't he? How do you really feel about him?"

Her hands curled into fists, remembering the way Guan had attacked her. How he had cut her across the chest and left her battered. How he could have done much worse. Then she remembered the despair in his features when he came close. There was a reluctance there that said he did not want to harm her. Jiayi crossed her arms and frowned. "I…don't know. He didn't want to hurt me…"

"But he did." They had come to a door now and he held it open for her. She entered, though she was wary of his movements. He followed her inside and closed the door behind him. Standing with his back against the door, Chase gave her a look of satisfaction. "You want the Reversing Mirror." She nodded. "I can give it to you for a price."

"And your price is?" Her hips began to sway subconsciously and she watched him raise an eyebrow. "What? It's…just a nervous reaction. Now tell me what you want so I can get this over with and leave." Jiayi jolted backwards when he was suddenly right in front of her.

His smirk returned and he braced a hand against the wall beside her head. "I want you to love me." Shock filled her bright amber eyes and then, to his pleasant surprise, she grabbed a handful of his long black hair. "Can I take that as a 'yes'?"

"You want me to say that I love you?" Her eyes narrowed and she licked her sharp canine teeth. "Such a simple, foolish request when Wuya clearly loves you." She pulled sharply at his hair and received a groan of pleasure from the man. His hips pressed against hers, pushing her body back against the wall. Inadvertent seduction…

Chase leaned down to the side of her neck, his lips lightly brushing over her pale skin. "Did I say that I wanted you to say that you love me? I said that I want you to love me." This was spoken in a low growl. "I want you to swear your loyalty to me. I want you to stay by my side for eternity. That is what I want."

She smirked and pulled at his hair again. When he pressed harder against her, she knew that she had some control. "Well…I can't do that. I've already promised that to Jack."

"You were meant to be mine. We both know this to be true. We were meant to be together." His mouth latched onto the side of her neck now and he felt her body go rigid with fear. Her skin felt soft beneath his touch, her body squirming against his own.

Jiayi's mind was thrown into a panic at the feeling of his mouth against her skin. It sent waves of pleasure through her and she felt her hips subconsciously buck against his. Her face was turning bright red and she closed her eyes. "This…is evil," she murmured.

"But it feels right." The man pulled away to look at her and his smirk grew. There was a small bruise on her neck from where his mouth had been. She was blushing madly and it made him want more. "Admit that you enjoyed it."

She lifted a hand, biting nervously at her thumbnail. "Even if I did…that doesn't mean…" Her gaze was averted, trying to ignore the lust in his eyes. It's unavoidable. Why did he make me feel that way? Before she could stop herself, she found herself pulling off her torn and bloody shirt. It's like an instinct, she realized with anger. Is it because we're both immortal? Why does he have this effect on me suddenly? She saw him removing his armor and blushed as she slipped out of her tattered clothes.

Her skin was paler beneath her outfit and riddled with battle scars. The girl's markings stood out even more and it pleased him immensely. He felt drawn to her for some inexplicable reason. She was fierce. Even now, standing with all of her skin bared to him, she looked vicious. When he drew her close to his bare flesh, she felt warm against him. A low growl emanated from him as he pushed her against the wall and latched his mouth onto hers.

She kissed back, amazed at how much better it felt now. Electricity seemed to spread from the kiss and ran through her veins. Her heart raced and she tentatively wrapped a leg around his waist. He smirked against her mouth and lifted her legs around him. She felt his member rub against her opening. Why is it so warm? Was Jack's that warm? Guilt settled in the pit of her stomach as he pulled his hips back and thrust into her. "Ngh! C-careful!"

"I am in control," he growled. His hands went to her hips, holding her in place as he slid out slightly and then pushed back in even harder. The way her face contorted, with such reluctant pleasure, only urged him on. He began to speed up, listening to the sound of her cries and watching her bite her lip in an attempt to smother moans. Leaning down to her ear, he nipped at her flesh. "By the end of this, you will be screaming my name."

"Ah! Y-you think so?" Smirking, she grabbed his hair in both hands and pulled. A groan left him, a mingling of agony and pleasure. When their eyes met, she felt her smirk evolve into a cruel grin. "You think…that I can't control you, Chase?" She lowered her legs to the back of his knees and forced him to the floor.

"This is not a game," the man snarled. She was sitting on his waist now, still wearing that wicked grin. He moved his hands to her hips once more, thrusting his hips up and pushing into her with force. "You think I can't dominate you from beneath you?" he taunted.

"There's that word again. You certainly love it, don't you?" Jiayi let her hips move slightly side to side and watched him throw his head back, eyes clenching shut. "Hm~? Is it that good?" Her grin spread to its limit now and she leaned down to his ear. "Chase…I have a question. Is the great Chase Young a virgin?" She was not surprised when her body flew across the room and she smashed into a wall. A cackle escaped her and she ran fingers through her long, dark blue hair. "Sorry…did I bruise your fragile ego?"

"I grew tired of that position," he answered from behind her. Before she could move, he lifted her onto his lap and pushed into her again. Both of them released a sound of pleasure and he wrapped his arms around her, smirking in satisfaction. "I think I prefer having all of the control. Now, I believe it would be wise if you move onto your knees."

Jiayi growled angrily and obeyed, only to feel him thrust into her hard. "Ngh! Don't-!"

"Your hands should be on the floor." He glared until she obeyed again, her body trembling in anxiety. Satisfied, he kept an arm wrapped around her waist to keep her in place and began to thrust into her once more. "Did you think that you could get away with insulting me like that?"

"Aaah! You don't have to be so rough!" She hated how he made her feel. Each thrust hit a spot within her that pushed her closer to the edge. The feeling of his member pushing in and out of her was nearly enough to make her scream. She hated how wet she had become and she knew that he had noticed. His hand moved from her stomach down to the bundle of nerves between her legs. A finger pressed against it and a loud cry escaped her. Release came, her muscles clenching tightly around his member, and he continued to pound his hips into the back of hers. Panting, she angrily pushed herself onto her knees. Every part of her was beginning to shake, but she ignored it. Her arms moved back, reaching to his hair, and she pulled hard.

Chase felt his heart beat even faster and he growled at the rush of pleasure that ran through his body. His hands found her chest, cupping her breasts as he thrust faster into her. The feeling of her pull at his hair and the wetness of her warm opening were quickly pushing him toward the edge. He was able to see her eyes now and stared into them as his release came. Her body shuddered against his, only her grip on his hair keeping her upright. He smirked down at the girl and ran a hand along her stomach, down to the wetness between her legs. "Don't think that we're done here, Jiayi Xun. I intend to claim every part of you."

She bared a fang and there was a flicker of malevolence in her eyes. "You…think you can claim every part of me?" she teased. Her nails sank into his scalp, but it only seemed to cause him pleasure. He was growing stiff within her once more. "I think…you're naïve. If you think that this will make me love you. This is not love. This is not even lovemaking."

"What is this if it isn't love?" he challenged. Pressing against her bundle of nerves again, he saw her eyelids flutter half-closed. "What would you call this?"

"…sex…" He was rubbing the pleasurable spot in small circles now. Her hips rocked against his hand, soft moans leaving her. Like in those erotica that Jack has. Not like the romance novels. Chase slowly pulled out of her and then pushed back in, watching her face contort in pleasure. "…I won't love you…I'll never love you so just…give up…"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" He changed their position so she was on her back on the floor, staring up at him in alarm. "We were meant to be together. How can you continue to deny that you were made to be mine?"