Disclaimer:
Content warning for depressive episodes, self harm and some gory descriptions.
It was odd.
Her last available memory had involved a lot of dark colours. Blacks, blues, a little grey and red.
A lot of red.
She remembered feeling cold and damp, like she'd been left out alone in the rain.
Yet now, after what felt like a few short moments, it all felt completely different.
A bright white was shining through her eyelids, rousing her back to consciousness despite her best attempts to return back to comfy sleep. Her arms still felt cold, but the rest of her body was wrapped up in a pleasant warmth.
At the same time, she began to feel a persistent itch in her shoulder. Annoyed, she tried to move the arm on the same side to scratch it, but found that she could not. A few more attempts to move caused a torrent of pain, streaking from her shoulder to her neck. It was strong enough that she stopped moving all together.
Though, of course, not without groaning "Owwww…"
"Oh my God! I think she's awake!" cried a voice that somehow sounded loud and far away at the same time.
"Calm down, Xiao," another voice chimed in, and she thought for a second that her head was underwater.
"Should we ask if she's awake?"
"I don't think that's a good idea…"
A dull pain began to pulsate through the waterlogged feeling. "Ugghhh…"
"I think she's in pain, Miharu. Maybe we should call a nurse?"
And before she could dwell on anything beyond the pain, the light faded and the world went silent.
"Oh shoot, she's out like a light," Xiaoyu pointed out with a frown.
"She sounded like she was in pain though," Miharu said with a finger on her chin.
"We should tell the nurse!" Xiaoyu exclaimed with a jump. Before she could leave the room however, Miharu grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Take it easy, Xiao," she said. "I'll go do it. You stay here in case she wakes up again."
Xiaoyu knew by now that Miharu could be trusted to be the reasonable one in times of crisis, and so she let her best friend do as she said. Xiaoyu decided to settle on the chair next to Asuka's bed while Miharu exited the room quietly.
Xiaoyu placed her hands in her lap, gently interlacing her fingers, and watched Asuka's breaths turn slightly ragged. The heart monitor continued to beep at a steady pace however, and it reassured Xiaoyu that all was well for now.
The doctor had mentioned she'd regain consciousness sometime after the surgery, but it totally depended on Asuka more than any medicine. All any of them could do was just wait and be there by her side.
Xiaoyu hoped she'd wake up when a friend was near her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening again, though it wasn't Miharu that came through it. Xiaoyu raised her head, meeting eyes with Hwoarang. His gaze alternated between Xiaoyu and Asuka, an unasked question lingering in his eyes.
Xiaoyu just beckoned him forward with her hand before she returned it to her lap. He slowly approached the two women, taking his place beside Xiaoyu's chair.
"How is she?" he asked in a low voice.
"She woke up for a bit I think, but it wasn't long," she answered, her voice just as quiet.
"That's good though... right?"
"I hope so."
A moment of silence passed between them. Xiaoyu then decided to broach the topic on her mind with him.
"How have you been feeling since... you know…?" she asked him tentatively. She, of course, meant the night that led them all here in the first place.
Hwoarang gave her a brief look of surprise, perhaps because he didn't expect her to talk to him. But she had moved past the anger now, after all that he had told her.
"I'm not the one who got hurt," was his eventual response. Xiaoyu pursed her lips at that.
"Maybe not physically, but I know it must have been awful for you too," she said, furrowing her eyebrows. "After everything you told me, I'm sure talking about your feelings shouldn't be the hard part."
Hwoarang let out a short, humourless laugh at that. "If only that were true."
"Hwa..." she said with a scolding tone. His lips curled into a faint smile.
The moment felt nostalgic, and she felt her heart ache at the realisation that someone was still missing.
But she didn't dare voice it now.
"I'm fine, really," he said in reassurance. "Better, honestly, than before. Being able to just... settle things once and for all, seeing everyone and getting that closure... It's good but also... sad."
"So… bittersweet," Xiaoyu remarked with a nod, looking up at Hwoarang with a proud smile. "It was hard, but you did the right thing. Sounds to me like you're growing up, Hwoarang."
He chuckled again, though it sounded happier this time. "Now I just gotta wait for you to catch up, huh?"
Xiaoyu kicked him in the shin from her seat, smiling when he yelped and grabbed at his ankle. The sight of him jumping on one leg as he massaged his shin made Xiaoyu burst into a fit of laughter.
"You're such a goblin!" he hissed at her. It only made her clutch at her sides harder for support.
"You deserved that!" Xiaoyu wheezed out through her giggles. He lowered his foot, his face quickly taking on a mischievous look.
"You do know I'm not above hitting women, right?"
"Do it and die, Hwoarang," Xiaoyu warned him, her laughter dying abruptly. Before he could make good on his threat, the door opened again and a nurse walked in, followed closely by Miharu. The two of them immediately quieted down and moved away from the bed as the nurse began to replace the contents of the drip.
Xiaoyu spared a last glance at Hwoarang, a part of her happy to have seen a lighter side to him. It was nice to have his friendship again... even if the mention of her worries about Jin would threaten to rend it apart again.
She wished she could have them all back with her again, like in their school days. Her, Miharu, Jin, Shin and later Hwoarang. Before missing friends and personal tragedies and world wars, when it was just little scraps and spending the afternoons together.
She'd give anything to have those days back.
The bright light beyond her eyelids had returned. The pain she remembered having, however, was gone.
She tried to move the arm she couldn't before, but it was still immobile. She chose not to push her luck.
Instead, she tried her other arm, flexing her fingers a little. This led to her realising that her hand had something embedded into it. There was no pain from the motion, but it was still uncomfortable.
What was happening?
After a lot of effort, she managed to open her eyes a bit. Not only did her eyelids feel stiff and sticky, the blinding white felt like it was burning her retinas.
"Aggghhhh…" she groaned, trying to blink away the stiffness.
"Asuka?" said a familiar voice. It still took her a few moments to parse who it was through her foggy brain.
"Le…oh?"
A pale, blurry blob entered her field of vision. Clearly, her eyes were still messed up.
"Asuka, you okay?!" the voice from before asked anxiously. It definitely sounded much closer than before. She moved her lips with the intent to ask the millions of questions that were going through her mind.
"I… dun… no…" was all that she managed to get out.
The blob moved a little. "Any pain?"
"Whyyy… can't… I moooove?"
It was only four words and yet voicing them made her realise her throat felt like sandpaper and her mouth tasted like slime.
"Well, you got one arm in a sling and the other has a needle in it," the voice that sounded a lot like Leo's explained, and the blob in her blurry vision moved out of sight. "So that might explain it."
Too many words…
"Wateeeer…" she whined. Leo's voice was quick to respond "I'm not sure if that's allowed… I'm gonna have to go ask someone."
She almost wanted to complain again, but the taste of the air, combined with that of her mouth, made her decide against it.
This was so annoying.
"Hang on, I'll be right back."
The sounds of shoes scraping against the floor drifted over to her, sounding surprisingly soothing amidst all the unpleasant sensations.
Her vision faded back to black as she heard a door shut somewhere in the distance.
Nina stared at the piece of plywood separating her from Jin. She was supposed to give him the day's report but Nina found herself doing the one thing that she was taught to never do.
Hesitate.
In her line of work, to hesitate on any decision was gambling on your life. For anyone lesser than her, it would mean certain death.
She had hesitated once on a job, and she had sworn to never do so again.
And yet here she was, uncertain about entering her employer's room.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time this week she felt that way.
It had only begun when she entered his room after other night's match, coming to report her findings about the old Mishima. But instead of an empty room, she found her employer sitting on the floor. He was clad only in a filthy pair of pants and blood covered every inch of his visible skin, and even stained his bed sheets and carpet.
Her experienced eye noticed that while most of it was old, some of the stains were fresh, particularly on his hands and arms.
His eyes were hollow and devoid of light when he noticed her, and his voice was hoarse when he said her name. Her usually calm heart stuttered briefly in its beating.
Perhaps someone else in her position would have panicked, or asked questions immediately.
But this wasn't the first time this had happened, and Nina knew what to do.
Without delay, she dragged Jin up by his arm and shoved him into the bathroom.
"Clean yourself up," she ordered.
When Jin was like this, she learned she had to take control and use whatever force needed to get him to do anything.
Eat, bathe, walk around, stop working, whatever she felt he needed to do. It had proven to be effective when she worked under him at the Zaibatsu.
When Jin walked out of the shower, dripping wet and skin red from having been scrubbed clean, his bed sheets were gone and a rug covered the stained carpet. Nina sat in a chair and gestured at the bed.
"Talk."
And talk he did. He told her everything that had happened in her absence in a hoarse, monotone voice and she felt herself getting angrier with every word.
Figures that one night she wasn't there to protect him, this would happen.
But her anger was useless now. So, instead of expressing any of it, she forced a listless Jin to drink some water and try to sleep.
He, of course, didn't sleep until a few hours into his pseudo-catatonia, but she expected as much from him.
And while he would rest, she'd get work done.
It had been the former Resistance who'd tried to assassinate Jin. If it weren't for the police arriving later that night to their hideout to arrest them, she'd have most certainly made sure none of them would never breathe ever again.
Really, they should thank their lucky stars.
The media exploded the next day over the incident, though it wasn't because of any mention of Jin. Instead, it was over Asuka Kazama, who Jin had told her got shot during the incident. No one aside from those at the scene seemed to have a clue what transpired, though. And Jin himself didn't know what happened to Asuka after he fled.
But finding that out was child's play for her.
She was sure to tell him the next day that she'd been taken to the hospital for emergency surgery, and it had elicited an actual movement from him. At the mention of Asuka, his eyes seemed to lighten up for the briefest second, until Nina mentioned she had yet to wake up after the procedure.
The rest of the day, Jin was essentially like a mannequin, staring into the wall for hours on end and not uttering a single word. Nina would practically have to force him to do anything else.
Their time in the Mishima Zaibatsu wasn't nearly long enough ago for her to call this nostalgic, but it was a familiar task. He used to get like this on particular days during the war, and had only allowed for her to be near him when that happened.
She knew better than to assign any significance to that. She was his confidant and he wanted her to be his successor, so she was privy to more information than most.
It didn't mean anything beyond that.
Just like her making all this effort to keep him fed, alive and clean meant nothing beyond duty.
And with that reminder, that this was duty, she finally squashed her hesitation and pushed the handle.
Unsurprisingly, he was lying in bed with his back to her when she walked in. He didn't move or make a sound at her arrival.
"Jin," he called to him.
No response.
She couldn't help but sigh at that. The only indication of her emotions she'd allow then.
She walked up to him, bending down to turn on the lamp sitting on the end table. The water bottle she left there for him was still full.
Another sigh.
The dim light illuminated Jin's face, yet none of it seemed to reach his open eyes. She took a moment to touch his forehead, unsurprised when he felt cold to the touch.
"Jin," she said again after retracting her hand, her tone much sterner this time. His eyes flicked from the wall behind her to her face. Times like this, she really wanted to voice her frustrations.
Yet, since she knew it would get her nowhere, she just bit her tongue and grabbed the water bottle.
"Drink," she ordered after unscrewing the cap for him, knowing it would take him much longer than her just to do that. At her demand, he slowly began to move his upper body and arms, moving himself in a sitting position. She took the time to walk over to the chair in front of his bed and settle in comfortably.
She waited on him as he drank water at a painstakingly slow pace, only opening her mouth when he managed to down half of the bottle.
"Your partner woke up today."
Annoyingly, but expectedly, his eyes flicked to her and a little emotion graced his face. Granted, it was an unknown emotion, but it still was a change from his usual stupor.
She tried not to let her irritation show.
"She wasn't up for long," she continued, now that she knew she had his attention. "But it's certainly something. The doctors think she'll only get better from here."
Jin moved his head slightly, in a way that it could be perceived as a nod, and then lowered it to stare at the bottle in his hands.
"That's… good…" he murmured in a barely audible voice.
It was so infuriating. His previous episodes had never lasted this long. She was hoping this news would have switched him back to normal.
The brat was fine. She wasn't going to die.
But she realised there was only one way he would see that.
"Jin, just go see her for shit's sake."
Jin's head whipped up at her statement, giving Nina an incredulous look.
The most he had managed since tournament night.
She felt a migraine coming on.
"You're acting like you killed the girl yourself," she snapped at him, folding her arms and tapping her foot on the floor. "Just go see her so you can stop guilt tripping yourself."
"I can't," he quickly rebutted, his voice much louder than it was before. "I shouldn't, I-"
"Bullshit, you can't. It would be easy."
"But Hwoarang…"
"Go when he's not there."
"But I can't avoid him-"
"Then don't!" she exclaimed, her anger leaking into her voice. "You think you owe him a conversation, then either go have it or avoid him like you've done all these years prior!"
The last sentence made Jin wince slightly, but it was enough for her to realise she was getting emotional. Nina took a deep breath to compose herself again.
"All I'm saying is…" she said after a particularly heavy exhale. "You moping around in your bed is getting you nowhere. You are here for a reason, so do whatever it takes to get you back on track. See the brat. Don't see her. Talk to the idiot. Don't talk to him."
She rose to her feet, pushing the chair behind her in the process. Jin's focus was entirely on her, and so she made sure to deliver the final words of this conversation clearly.
"Just do whatever it takes you to move from that bed."
And without sparing him another thought or glance, she stomped out of the room.
The bright light from before was gone when she came to this time, but this time her legs and ass felt incredibly stiff.
"Oh, come oooon…"
The words came instinctively, reminding her that her mouth tasted vile right now. She opened her eyes, relieved to find the area dimly lit.
A few blinks and, fortunately, everything came into sharp focus. The first thing she saw was the ceiling, clean and bare, before she finally got to look at her own body after what felt like ages.
A white blanket covered her body from the chest down. Her left arm was bare, with an IV drip attached to her hand. Her right arm however was propped in a sling, firmly held in place against her chest.
Well, that certainly explained some things.
A few more seconds spent sweeping the room with her sore eyes let her piece the situation together.
"A hospital…" she concluded.
"Well, where else would you be, dumbass?"
Oh, she definitely knew that voice.
"Hwa!" she cried out, though it came out more as a hoarse whisper. Hwoarang stepped out of the darkness and approached her bedside. His hair hung loosely around his face, as opposed to how he usually slicked it back, and he had a genuine smile on his face.
"Is that my new nickname now?" he asked in a teasing tone. Asuka gave him the biggest smile she could manage in her groggy state.
"Depends… do you hate it?"
He let out a chuckle at that. "Honestly, you could call me shit-for-brains and I'd be cool with it at this moment."
"Understood, shit-for-brains," Asuka joked, flashing her trademark toothy grin. Hwoarang let out a huff, and she exclaimed "Hey, you walked into that one!"
"You're lucky I'm too worried about you to smack you," he said. His eyes looked bright still, but his smile faded. "How're you feeling?"
She pursed her lips. "I'm… not sure?"
He raised an eyebrow, only to shake his head. "Alright, let me put it differently. Are you in pain?"
She slowly shook her head. Hwoarang let his head fall back and sighed with his eyes closed. "You gave us such a scare, you know. You had to go for surgery."
The word "surgery" made her heart beat louder under her bruised ribs. "How long ago was this?"
"Yesterday," he said, and it made her head spin. "You were out for most of the day after. Doctors said that was 'cause of the anaesthesia, and that you were fine so far, but man you had us all worried…"
Asuka wasn't sure how to answer that but, as luck would have it, she broke into a coughing fit when she opened her mouth.
"Ouch," Hwoarang remarked. Asuka blinked away the tears and looked up at her friend, asking in a rough voice "Water?"
"I gotta get more for you, yeah," he admitted, his eyes going to the table beside the door that had a bunch of empty bottles standing together. "Looks like we all drank through the supply."
Asuka perked up from that. "All?"
"Me, Leo, Miharu and Xiao," he elaborated. Asuka noted he had hesitated briefly before saying Xiaoyu's name, and that one name was suspiciously absent. "Anyway, lemme get you some real quick. Take it easy, please."
Hwoarang made good on his statement and went straight for the door. When he left the room, Asuka was reminded again of how stiff her lower body was. She attempted to adjust her position, hoping to maybe stretch her legs and get some life back in them, but that proved to be hard when one arm was out of commission.
She huffed in irritation. She should've asked for Hwoarang's help before he dipped.
But the promise of water sounded irresistible to her as well, what with her scratchy throat and gross mouth.
What a weird situation.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd been in a hospital for this long. All her recent hospital memories involved her being more of an attendant than a patient.
Her attention went to her bound arm, and that was also when she realised she was wearing a hospital gown.
Gross.
Her free hand reached up to cautiously touch her shoulder under the sling. Her fingers felt bandages under the gown, starting from the top of her shoulder and spreading around her chest.
It was odd, being the patient for once.
She'd had her fair share of broken limbs and playtime injuries growing up, but she never had to go to a hospital for them. Her parents were the ones who treated her, her mother in specific, and she was right as rain within a month at most.
She'd never questioned it before… but then again, she'd never managed to get shot before either.
It was not like the movies at all. There wasn't shrugging it off like a punch or a blunt weapon blow, which she had plenty of experience with.
Oh God, I hope I don't have to quit the tournament because of this…
The door opened again, disrupting Asuka from her thoughts. Relieved, she pre-emptively called out "Finally! How long does it take get some wa-"
Her voice died in her throat when she realised who had just barged in.
"Oh God."
Hwoarang closed the door behind him, his heart feeling lighter than it had in weeks. Seeing Asuka awake and cracking jokes had done wonders for his mood.
Seemed to him that things were finally looking up.
With a natural smile on his face, he started walking to the nearest vending machine to get some water for his friend. Before he could take more than a few steps, however, a gruff but familiar voice called out to him.
"Hey, is she okay?"
Hwoarang turned to consider the newcomer. "How'd you find the right room?"
"Her friend told me when I ran into them downstairs," he explained before gesturing at his hair. "Blonde hair, red jacket."
"Ah," Hwoarang let out in understanding. "Makes sense I guess... Well, yeah. She just woke up properly. Had a few words with her."
The newcomer visibly relaxed at that information, his shoulders drooping and his hands unclenching. His expression was still guarded however.
"That's good... but you have more to tell me than just that, don't you?"
Before Hwoarang could respond, both men were taken by surprise when Lili appeared out of the blue, shoved past both of them and rushed into Asuka's room. A muffled yet frantic exclamation of "Asuka Kazama!" was heard from behind the door.
Both men stared after her for a brief moment, before facing each other again.
"Er... walk with me," Hwoarang said, beckoning the other man with his hand. He did just that, and they both began walking away from the room.
"I do have a lot to tell you, and it regards Rus' failed plan," Hwoarang explained as they walked.
"I already heard enough about that from Arty..." was the response he got. "Jin Kazama is still alive, huh?"
Hwoarang took note of how neutral of a tone that statement was delivered with. It was uncharacteristic, and that unsettled him.
"And I have to tell you what I told everyone else. Give up on Kazama. It won't end well for any of you," Hwoarang advised his former subordinate, who fixed him with a glare in response.
"Sorry, but that's just not happening."
He should have known this wouldn't be easy, but Hwoarang wasn't going to let this slide either.
"Look, I don't know what happened to you," Hwoarang added, his tone urgent as he pulled his companion aside. "But going after Jin is suicide. I'm not exaggerating in the slightest, he's-"
"I already heard the fairytale you told the others, Hwoarang," he interjected, his anger rising with every word. "And you should know, I genuinely don't give a fuck. I don't care if it'll kill me, I'm going to end him myself."
Hwoarang's mind ran wild, desperately searching for something to say to deter the man in front of him.
And, like light at the end of a tunnel, he latched onto a memory from a few nights ago.
"And what about Asuka?" Hwoarang asked him. The mention of Asuka caused the man's expression to falter momentarily, and Hwoarang took that as a cue that he had a stepping stone to leap off of.
"She already got hurt because of all this, and I know you care about her to some extent. I saw the both of you together in the park."
He looked at Hwoarang again, surprise mixing in with his anger. "When did you-"
"The point is, if you go down that path, you're going to hurt Asuka," Hwoarang warned him, raising a hand in the direction of Asuka's room. "You don't care what happens to you, but what about her?"
Silence followed that question, the man evidently pondering his former boss' words.
"Go see her, Miguel," Hwoarang told him, hoping that his suggestion would have the effect he was aiming for. "And then think if hurting her further is worth it."
"Asuka Kazama!" Lili shrieked, rushing forward on her expensive stilettos to wrap Asuka in an unwanted hug. Asuka, not wanting the contact at all, tried to fend her off but it was impossible to do so with only one working arm.
"Oh, to imagine you'd be injured so, and after our fight! And I'd have never discovered if not for the-"
"Rochefort!" Asuka managed to choke out after yanking one of Lili's arms away. "Off!"
Surprisingly, Lili actually honoured her demand and let Asuka go.
"Oh, forgive me! It slipped my mind that you're still injured!" Lili exclaimed as she took a few steps back. "I was just so caught up in my worry for you!"
The part of Asuka that would have appreciated those words was drowned out by the part that wanted to rip the heiress' hair out for smothering her when she was already stuck with a cast and a needle in her hand.
She decided to just massage her neck and mutter "Gee, thanks…"
Lili suddenly leaned towards her again and Asuka jumped from the movement. "Are you well?! In pain?! Oh, when I find out who did this-"
Asuka, in a move of desperation, covered Lili's mouth with her free hand to shut the rich blonde up.
"I'm fine," she said slowly and clearly.
Well, I was fine anyway.
Asuka was about to ask her how Lili found her in the first place, but then she remembered that this was Lili.
Really it would have been more surprising if she hadn't found her hospital room after she somehow managed to find her school AND home address.
So instead, she asked "Why are you here?"
She dropped her hand so Lili could respond (even if she low-key wanted to keep her quiet indefinitely) and was responded with "What do you mean 'why'? I was worried about you, Asuka!"
Asuka could believe that from a normal person, but Lili? Not so much.
"Oh, I loathe that expression! You don't believe me, don't you?!"
Can you blame me?
"Asuka Kazama, of course I'd be worried!" Lili insisted, evidently very appalled. "We may be rivals, but I care about your well-being and safety!"
Asuka blinked in surprise. If what she said is true, then that was an actual nice thing that Lili said to her without some sort of weird addendum or back-handed remark.
"And NO ONE is allowed to beat you in combat aside from me!"
Aaaaaaaaaaaand there it is…
"Alas, I must depart!" Lili declared abruptly while flipping a long lock of hair behind her. "Father and I have an afternoon tea planned together, and I must look my absolute best!"
She fixed Asuka with a beatific smile and curtsied. "I'll be sure to visit you tomorrow, as well as bring you some favours worthy of a rival of Emilie de Rochefort. Farewell, Asuka Kazama!"
And with that she strutted out of the door as quickly as she had barged in earlier, leaving behind a dumbstruck and irritated Asuka.
She eventually remembered to sigh, relieving some of the pressure built up in her head.
Well, at least she was gone now.
But then the door opened again, and Asuka jumped again.
"Oh God!" she yelled. "Can I just get some peace and quiet?!"
Asuka regretted the words the second she met the eyes of her new guest, her throat closing in on her windpipe.
"Busy day?" Miguel asked from the partially open doorway, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Well, I can always stop by later..."
He made to retreat into the hallway but Asuka frantically yelled after him "Nononono! Ignore what I said! You can come-!"
Her free hand rushed to her mouth, silencing herself before she uttered something embarrassing. Miguel didn't even try to hide his smile anymore.
"Well, if you insist," he said after an exaggerated sigh, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. Asuka felt her face burning but still hoped it wasn't obvious.
He pulled up a chair to her bedside and sat down in it, leaning towards her close enough that she could see his stubble. Wait, he was looking at her like she has to do something, what-
"Here," he said, shaking an open bottle of water in her view. "I heard you needed this."
Oh.
She hadn't even noticed.
"Th-thank you…" she whispered, quickly taking the bottle and taking a big gulp, reminded again that her breath must be awful.
Satisfied, Miguel leaned back into the chair, patiently waiting for her to finish. Asuka wasn't sure where was appropriate to look, and so after alternating between his hands, his neck and his face, she just chose to avert her gaze all together.
"You seem surprised to see me," he pointed out when she drained the entire bottle. She gulped, cursing the heart on her sleeve.
"It's 'cause I am," she admitted, brushing her wayward locks behind her ear. "I didn't think you'd even find out."
"Chica-" (her heart thudded in her chest) "-it would have been impossible to miss. You're all that anyone is talking about out there. Your little skirmish made the mornin' news…"
Oh.
If that was true, that could maybe explain how Lili found out.
And it was also really annoying. She'd have preferred if only her friends knew, but since when did the universe let things go her way?
"Well, that sucks..." she mumbled, relieved that her annoyance had overcome her embarrassment as the primary emotion.
"And aside from that, I was worried about you..."
And at that moment she understood the concept of a heart skipping a beat. She looked at him, taken aback to find him staring intently at her.
"After the time we've spent together, of course I'd be worried," he professed, his eyes shining in a way she'd never seen before. "I'm glad you're okay, Asuka."
Her face was burning, her palm was sweaty, her heart threatened to escape her ribcage and she must have looked a mess.
She hated it all.
And yet she felt so happy.
"Thank you," she murmured, surprised by how steady her voice was. "But yeah, I'll be fine. Dunno when they'll let me out of here though..."
"Bullet wounds are nothing you can brush off, Chica," he said with a sudden seriousness, reaching forward to tap her lightly on her sling. Asuka was certain she could have touched the ceiling if she wasn't restrained by wires and blankets. "You'll live, but you'll have to take care of those muscles if you want to keep fighting."
She nodded, reaching for her shoulder and squeezing it lightly. "You sound like you know a lot about this..."
Miguel's expression became severe, and he leaned back into his chair, away from her.
"What?" she asked, slightly worried she'd put him off somehow. He sighed and brushed his unruly hair back with his hand.
"Let's just say… I've tangled with some people in the past," he muttered. Asuka instinctively asked him "You mean the Resistance?"
He flicked his gaze back to her, eyebrows raised in surprise. Asuka, embarrassed under the scrutiny, looked away. Miguel leaned forward in his chair.
"I'm guessing he told you about it?"
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak anymore.
"Figures... well yeah, that's right," he regaled while he closed his eyes. "Had to learn how to deal with bullet wounds pretty quickly when you're fighting against the Tekken Force. Those bastards don't hesitate for a second."
She noticed his body stiffening, noticed the hard lines being carved into his face, and she couldn't stop herself from speaking.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know it was such a sore subject!"
He opened his eyes to look at her again.
" I just... just wanted to learn more about you..." she said, her voice lowering with every word. She'd moved to speak before she could think, and now she just let him know how interested in him she was.
Real smooth, Asuka.
"Asuka..." he spoke up, his voice softer than before. Their eyes met for a few seconds. He leaned forward.
"Listen-"
"Hey Hwa!" came the enthusiastic voice of Xiaoyu as she barged into the room, arms laden with snacks and bottles of drinks. "Has she woken up ye- ASUKA-CHAN!"
Asuka jumped with a yelp, hitting her head on the bedpost in the process.
"Asuka-chan! You're finally awake! Are you okaaaaaaaaa…"
Xiaoyu finally took in the scene before her, of Miguel tensing up again and Asuka shrinking into herself and massaging her head, and uttered a hesitant "Um, was I interrupting-"
"NO!" Asuka said, a bit too loudly in her haste. "I mean… we were just talking..."
"You need some rest," Miguel said, his voice atypically smooth. He stood up from the chair as well, and Asuka followed his motions with her eyes. "I didn't mean to get you so worked up."
Asuka felt like she would melt then and there. She raised her free hand in an unconscious attempt to reach for him. "No, I'm fine, really-"
Miguel silenced Asuka properly when he met her hand with his own, gently curling her hand around his fingers. Asuka could only stare at him with wide eyes before he added "I'll be sure to visit some other time. You just focus on getting better, Asuka."
Asuka's arm flopped uselessly to the bed when he let go. She cleared her throat and averted her gaze again, muttering "You better."
He let out a short chuckle and ruffled her hair. "See you, Chica."
And after nodding once at Xiaoyu, he left the room. Xiaoyu turned her gaze from the departing Miguel to the bed-ridden Asuka, her face crimson as she made to fix her hair with her free hand.
"So…" Xiaoyu intoned, stretching out the "o" as she put all the food on a table. She then turned to face Asuka, a cheeky grin on her face. "You and him..?"
Asuka didn't like the implication in her tone, but couldn't stop her face from giving everything away.
"Shaddap!" she cried in a futile attempt to wipe the smile off Xiaoyu's face. "It's nothing like that!"
A glowing wristband covered Xiaoyu's mouth, hiding her mirth from the distressed Asuka.
After much deliberation and multiple moments of hesitation and anxiety, Jin found himself finally walking through the hallways to where he was told Asuka's room was. It had been easy enough avoiding people, he was an expert at not drawing attention to himself by this point.
Eventually, he reached his destination and it was then that he felt the muscles in his legs freeze in place.
Knowing that only a wooden door separated him from Asuka...
He was afraid to face her when he wasn't entirely sure of what he'd say yet. It was easier to admit it now, ever since that night. But fear had no place in his heart or his head.
He shook his head and pressed on, finally turning the doorknob.
Hwoarang was in the room when he decided to come in. He was slouched over in a chair beside the hospital bed. He didn't even look up at his arrival, instead giving him a side glance.
"Finally showed up?"
Jin lowered his hood, his eyes going straight to Asuka.
She lay in the hospital bed, eyes closed and form unmoving aside from the slight rise and fall of her chest. The beeps of the heart monitor stood out in the silence, and every beep filled Jin's chest with another ounce of anxiety.
It seems he didn't have to worry about talking to Asuka anymore, but that didn't mean he was out of problems.
"You're lucky Xiao isn't here," said problem murmured, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms behind him.
"I knew she wouldn't be here, actually," he confessed.
Courtesy of Nina scouting things out for him in advance.
And by extension, he knew Hwoarang would usually stay by Asuka the entire night unless he was forced out by either Master Baek or another of Asuka's friends.
Hwoarang locked eyes with him then. "So did you mean to talk to me too or is this a happy accident?"
"I do owe you a talk."
Jin had wanted to avoid everyone until the finals, but he understood now that he should have known better. Life never went according to plan, and he was done with trying to ignore that fact and hoping for the best.
He didn't want anyone else getting hurt because of him anymore.
The red-haired man contemplated Jin's statement in silence while he watched Asuka breathe in a steady rhythm.
"…Pull up a chair, Kazama."
Jin did exactly that.
"How is she?" Jin asked once he settled down next to Hwoarang.
"Fine, according to the docs," he responded, running a hand through his loose hair. Jin noticed that, and it occurred to him that the Taekwondo practitioner hadn't worn his hair that way in years. "She woke up earlier, long enough to have conversations with a lot of us."
Jin nodded. That was good. "And the wound?"
"Seems to be fine, as far as I know. They're unsure if she'll be able to fight any time soon, though," Hwoarang said, before a slight smile graced his lips. "But they don't know Asuka. I'd be surprised if she let this stop her."
"She shouldn't be pushing through an injury," Jin said, impulsively.
"She doesn't really have a choice," Hwoarang countered, sparing a glance at Jin through his long hair. "Like I assume you don't."
Jin stilled at that, resisting the urge to avert his eyes. He had anticipated this, had decided Hwoarang deserved a talk, but the years he spent conditioning himself to keep his emotions and thoughts inside was still difficult to fight.
It had been different with Nina. Nina proved to be a kindred spirit to him, someone who he didn't have to explain himself to. He could tell her anything and not fear her judging him or prying further. It also helped that he was certain he would die after defeating Azazel, so talking to Nina felt like writing a letter he would forget to throw away after.
Hwoarang was decidedly not the same.
"I'll tell you anything you want to know," Jin muttered, hoping that saying it aloud would make it easier to do. "But there are some things I just can't."
Hwoarang gave him an annoyed look and opened his mouth, as if ready to spout some harsh words, but was interrupted by the sound of shifting blankets. Both men snapped their attention to Asuka.
She had tried to move onto her injured side in her sleep, but let out a low whine and shifted the other way. Presumably, the injury still hurt her.
Guilt trickled down his spine from the sight.
Hwoarang leaned forward to get a better look at the contents of the drip bag. "Christ…"
He leaned back again, his shoulders rising and falling as he let out a great sigh. His eyes switched from Asuka back to Jin.
"Before you say anything," he began, brushing his hair out of his face. "I know about… him."
Almost instantaneously, Jin's heart began to pound in his ears.
In the hope that his suspicions were wrong, Jin asked "What do you mean?"
"Kazama, don't play dumb with me," Hwoarang hissed at him, thumping his closed fist on his own thigh. "I stopped you from killing someone with a laser from your forehead!"
Oh God.
"And that's not the first time I've seen that side of you either," Hwoarang continued, his unwavering eyes burning into Jin's dark ones. "The first time was in the fifth tournament, when we fought each other-"
His mind spun, the memory coming forth but the details muddled and vague.
Let me help you remember…
Before he could protest, he was bombarded by sights, sounds and sensations of that day.
The sound of his fists pounding relentlessly into human flesh, echoing through the empty, ashy surroundings.
His hands were drenched in blood and unnaturally sharp, continuing to rain violence on his opponent.
The taste of smoke, ash and blood on his long tongue and sharp teeth.
The sight of his crumpled, bludgeoned opponent, who had insisted on standing in his way despite ample warning.
He who had bested his weaker self.
The feeling of his skull cracking under his fingers as he lifted him off the ground by his head.
Blood was gushing from open wounds, mingling with the ash on Hwoarang's clothes.
He couldn't even utter a protest, as he'd lost consciousness already.
"It shouldn't make any fucking sense, but you got a demon in you…"
No, he didn't want to remember this...
He couldn't stand this memory, had blocked it out in the first place because he had been so close…
If he hadn't regained control before the killing blow…
If you hadn't robbed me of my kill-
"-or you've been a demon in disguise."
"NO!" Jin shouted, the pounding in his ears worse than before. Hwoarang jumped in surprise from his outburst, and Jin was reminded of where he was.
Ever emotional…
"… Kazama?"
All his sensations melted into each other.
His vision became blurry, his limbs disappeared, the air buzzed like a hive of bees.
He needed stability. He should-
He should be dead.
"Kazama?"
No.
No.
Nonononononononono.
He couldn't breathe. His lungs were on fire.
Just kill him.
"Kazama, stop!"
No, he didn't want this.
He didn't want any of this.
He deserves to be dead.
He deserved to die.
He should have died in the park.
I would never let you.
"JIN!"
Lightning struck through the confusion. Pain shot from his cheek and radiated across his face and neck. His eyes shot to Hwoarang, who was kneeling in front of him on the floor.
Wait, when had he fallen to the floor?
"Does it sting?" Hwoarang asked in a quiet, serious tone. The hand that had struck Jin grabbed his shoulder next.
Jin stared at Hwoarang's arm, before forcing himself to answer his question with a slight nod.
"Good," Hwoarang said. He grabbed Jin's other shoulder as well, his fingers pressing hard enough to bruise. "Focus on it. And breathe."
As confused and disoriented as he was, some part of Jin thought to listen to that order.
And so, he just closed his eyes and breathed.
He breathed deep and slow, the sting from his cheek gradually fading with every rise and fall of his chest. Hwoarang's grip reduced in strength as well until it was essentially weightless, his hands now just resting on his shoulders instead of digging into them.
"Does this…" Hwoarang whispered, tapping his fingers along Jin's back when he struggled to find the words. "… happen a lot?"
Jin opened his eyes, but avoided Hwoarang's. And when he couldn't think of how to reply, he avoided the question as well.
"Is it 'cause of the demon?"
Of course, Hwoarang was as stubborn and blunt as always.
"Why did you do that?" Jin murmured. Hwoarang tilted his head.
"Well, you were freaking out and that was the only way I learned to deal with that shit, 'cause of the military-"
"Wait- no! Not that!" Jin spoke up, derailing Hwoarang's explanation. "I mean, why did you still try to reach me? Why are you okay, having me here? I could have killed you…"
"Yeah," Hwoarang said without missing a beat. "I know."
"This isn't a joke!" Jin snapped at him, not liking Hwoarang's nonchalance at all.
"I never said it was."
"Then WHY-"
"Newsflash, Kazama," Hwoarang said, interrupting Jin's tirade. "I've known that for a year now, and I've accepted that you can snap me like a twig when you want. You're the one who hasn't adjusted to it yet, but I know what I'm dealing with."
"Adjusted?!" Jin repeated angrily, feeling insulted. "You can't even BEGIN to imagine how much I've-"
"Then TELL ME, dumbass!" Hwoarang yelled, shaking Jin by his shoulders. "I've been asking you to tell me for years now!"
"It's not that easy Hwoarang," Jin said through gritted teeth.
"Bull-shit it's not that easy! Last time you said it was family problems, but clearly it's way more than that!"
Jin's anger bubbled to the surface and he couldn't hold back the explosion.
"It IS all family problems!"
Hwoarang paused mid-rant and Jin barrelled on through his hesitation. "It ALWAYS has been! Everything wrong-"
His breath hitched, hesitating to speak aloud the sentences that were already finished in his mind.
Everything wrong in my life… Everything wrong with me…
"... is because of… family," he finished quietly, spitting the last word out like it tasted as awful as it sounded.
To have to claim Kazuya and Heihachi Mishima as family aloud, explicitly, felt incredibly bitter.
Hwoarang and Jin sat together quietly after the outburst, processing all that was revealed to the other. Eventually, Hwoarang let out a chuckle.
Jin spared him a look that was somewhere between shock and irritation.
"It's just… it's funny," Hwoarang began speaking when he noticed Jin's reaction. "When we fought for the first time, all those years ago…"
"Kazama-San! You must return to the Mishima Estate immediately!"
The memory was faded, but some details still managed to play back in his head.
"I remember the name 'Mishima' being tossed out when you were leaving."
Everyone's eyes were on Jin, staring him down as one, and the desperate feeling to flee was returning.
Jin raised an eyebrow unenthusiastically, unsure where the redhead was going with this.
"And I remember being so pissed at you."
"Oy! Wait! Who the fuck are you?! This isn't over!"
"Where's the new part?" Jin remarked sarcastically, and Hwoarang pushed him away in response.
"Shaddup, don't interrupt me. Anyway, I was pissed 'cause… not only were you some prissy school boy who I couldn't beat, you also were related to Mishima somehow? Here I thought you got to go back to your mansion and live a good life after humiliating me…"
Frustrated, Jin opened his mouth in rebuttal to say there was more to it, but he held his tongue when Hwoarang added "But nah, here you are saying Mishima is the reason everything sucks. Back then, I'd have never figured…"
He laughed again, the quality of it light and airy.
"It's just… it's funny to me…"
"Glad you're amused at my expense," Jin said with a roll of his eyes. Hwoarang gave him a big smirk and replied "Any time."
It was such an infuriating response, Jin couldn't help but punch him in the face.
"SONNUVA-"
And he subsequently couldn't help but smile when the redhead recoiled from the impact.
"You deserved it."
He expected the man to swear at him, or throw a punch back, but he just rubbed at his nose and chuckled again.
"I might have…" he conceded, leaning forward. "But I can handle you, Kazama. I can handle anything you throw at me."
Jin was startled by the resolute look in Hwoarang's eyes, and instinctively looked away.
"You really believe that… don't you?" he asked, despite knowing the answer.
"A hundred percent."
Unexpectedly, Jin felt some of the heaviness in his chest disappear at his words. Yet he couldn't leave well enough alone, he couldn't believe he was serious.
"Why aren't you afraid of me?"
"It's not me I'm afraid for," Hwoarang confessed with a grave tone. Jin looked back at him in confusion.
Hwoarang looked uncharacteristically solemn. "You know Xiao is looking for you, right?"
Jin took a moment before replying "Yes."
"You know she's in love with you, right?"
Jin's eyes shot wide open.
"Well?" Hwoarang asked impatiently. Jin blinked a few times, trying to get his thoughts together.
"I… I knew she was interested in me in school but…"
Love? In love? With him?
How could she be, when he'd avoided her at every opportunity? How could someone like her waste her… feelings on someone like him?
"I don't think she knows about the demon, and I want to keep it that way," Hwoarang said, a hard edge in the words that followed. "If you care about her even remotely, you'll stay away from her."
Ah, so he is afraid, but for Xiao…
So Hwoarang evidently thought Jin to be dangerous after all.
As that realisation settled in his mind, the heaviness in his chest returned. Some of it even travelled to his throat, and Jin wondered if he'd even be able to speak.
"I…" he choked out, trying his best to speak through his restricted throat. "…already was…"
It shouldn't hurt him. Hwoarang was right to be worried for Xiaoyu.
He was a monster, after all.
"…and I'll continue to do so…"
Hwoarang's expression relaxed, and he nodded. "Good."
The redhead then pushed himself off the floor and rose to a standing position. "Well, now that that's said…"
He leaned down and offered Jin his hand. Jin hesitated for longer than a second at the sight of it.
"We gotta talk about a lot more, Kazama," Hwoarang reminded him, not moving his hand an inch. Jin didn't feel any urge to resist him.
"Right…" he mumbled, taking Hwoarang's hand and standing up with his help.
Hwoarang curled his lips in a motion that resembled a smile, but not entirely. He then turned around to glance at a still sleeping Asuka.
"I'm surprised we didn't wake her up…" Hwoarang mused. Jin followed his gaze, the familiar feeling of guilt returning.
"Let's talk somewhere else then."
Hwoarang nodded. "I know somewhere that should be safe for you. Besides, I should save Master the trip to get my sorry ass."
Jin didn't comment, quietly following Hwoarang out of the room.
Neither man noticed Asuka stirring in her bed during their departure.
When Asuka awoke from her sleep again, she was surprised to see a bright white flooding her vision instead of the blues and creams of her arena room. Before she could question what light had woken her up, it faded away.
It took her a few seconds to realise that she was still in the hospital, which was further proven when she tried to rub her eyes with her bound arm.
Annoying.
She blinked to rid herself of the blurry vision that usually came with waking up and wondered what time it was. When she painstakingly turned on her side to reach for her phone to check, she jumped from surprise instead at seeing someone in her room.
It was a woman she didn't know, her dark eyes also wide with surprise.
"Who...?" Asuka started, only for a yawn to interrupt her question.
"I'd recommend getting some more sleep, dear," said the woman, lightly tapping on the dressed wound. "The more you rest, the faster you heal."
Asuka found herself relaxing again, a bit annoyed as she complained "Well I was... but I got woken up..."
The lady smiled, a slight and gentle movement on her face. "I'm sorry. I was just checking on your injury."
Her mind began to make sense of the moment. It was just a nurse checking on her.
"How is it then?" she asked after stifling another yawn. The nurse's smile was unmoving when she replied "Oh I think it's well on its way to full recovery. I just helped push it along just now, but since you're already a fast healer I didn't have to do much."
Well, that was good at least. "Thanks..."
Sleep was already beckoning her to return, and she didn't see any reason to fight the urge. She was settling back into a comfortable position and her eyes were closing again when the nurse remarked "You've grown up to be such a strong woman, but please don't hurt yourself like this again. I don't want you getting hurt over all of this…"
She was too tired to give a proper rebuttal (it wasn't like she wanted to be hurt this badly) so the best she could manage as she went back to sleep was "Uh huh..."
The corners of Asuka's mind began to blur and she heard a faraway voice echoing through it.
"Junichiro raised a fine lady."
She didn't even think to ask how the nurse knew that name.
Bonus Scene
A few days ago…
The summer was truly unforgiving this year, in far too many ways.
The weather was the worst it had ever been on the ground, the heat practically glued onto his skin.
But that was of no concern now, when he stood upon the precipice of the highest building in the ward. This high from the ground, the clouds shifted around him as they made their way across the night sky. The same winds that guided the clouds along savagely beat against his body, his long coat fluttering madly around him.
The other issue was not so easily remedied. Ever since the defeat of Azazel, he felt something within his very being.
A sense of hollowness.
He loathed to ever admit this aloud, or to another, but he'd felt this void growing within him day by day. The reason behind it escaped him, despite the hours he spent at G Corp HQ just pondering what led to this.
It was only when he arrived in the district where the arena was, that he felt a change. The Devil became restless and urged him to investigate the area, which only meant one thing.
His fool son was alive and, more importantly, close.
Heihachi had said he was alive and in the tournament, but he knew better than to believe anything the old bastard said without solid proof.
But lo and behold, the disappointment was at the tournament.
Ever since he'd learned of the boy's existence, the Devil had assured him that taking the powers within him, that belonged to him, would make him stronger, and he began to think that the hollowness he felt was because he hadn't acquired his other half yet.
There was only one way to find out, he thought.
The hard part would be getting him alone and beating him within an inch of his life. The boy was strong, due to his lineage and being trained in Mishima style.
Despite that, he also knew that the boy hadn't accepted the Devil like he had. That would no doubt be tearing him apart, a flaw he could use to his advantage.
As if to reinforce this conclusion, the Devil began to clamour within him again. His other half was restless as well, something he could feel from metres away and this high in the sky.
Yes, what he had to do was becoming clearer and clearer to him.
I'll team up with the old bastard, but once I get my hands on Jin and become whole, he'll be dead before he can even think of double-crossing me.
A laser streaked through the air a few metres in front of him, slicing the clouds that came in its way before dissipating into a bunch of red sparks and grey smoke.
Kazuya couldn't help but smirk at the sight. The boy was losing control so blatantly now. What better time was there to strike?
It was soon time to take back what belonged to him, from both his son and his father.
3 chapters in one year, am I on a roll or what?
Trust this proved extra difficult when my keyboard decides it wants to spam 1's and a's if it feels like it. Gotta get that fixed at some point.
This chapter marks the conclusion of the first major arc of the fanfic (yes, first, kill me). Most of the set up is finally done, now I can just focus on character interactions and "plot" (there's a plot, just not old Game of Throne level complex).
This was a heavy chapter but definitely a necessary one, my beta reader reckons as well that a breather chapter would do good after the last one. For those disappointed that there was no Jin x Asuka, worry not. Next chapter I promise will make you very happy in that regard.
This is a great pace I've gotten so far but now I seriously do wanna give my other fics some love first before I continue this.
Once again, thank you everyone who stuck around and is still reading and supporting the fic. Seeing people still liking and following the fic is great, but getting to hear from you through the comments and reviews really is one of the few highlights in my week. So I'm gonna be a bit shameless and say "Pls comment". Even a small one like "I like this" really does make my day and do wonders for my motivation.
And one more thing. Gonna once again urge y'all to follow my Twitter OrangeStrands if you're interested in some sneak peaks of coming works, as well as art done by a good friend of mine for the fic!
That's all from me for now.
May Peace Be Upon You.