Jealousy.
Now that was a feeling, Juri hadn't felt in ages. It wasn't one she liked either. It brought the worst out of her, only tempered by Ken's pleas for her to have good manners in the face of his ex-wife. Juri didn't like the sound, the feel of it.
She didn't like how it left a foul taste in her mouth or how heavy it made her body feel while she collapsed onto the edge of the bed to sit, focusing on evening out her breathing. Even now, when she wanted to stick around, she let Ken have his moments to plan, to ruminate with Eliza in private.
Breathing deeply, she hugged her knees tight, then let go to press her hands over her face, press the bottoms of her palms against her eyes until she saw stars, trying to come up with an answer to the lingering question of what now. It was afternoon but she wanted to just sleep the discomfort away with her feet dangling off the edge of the bed.
The door moved open and Mel entered, looking at Juri like she was a wild animal at a zoo outside its cage. She saw the fear, the apprehension, the curiosity in his eyes. The conflict. A potent side of him that couldn't really fathom the sheer magnitude of his father's changes and adventures. Where the suffering ended and Juri as a stabilizer began. How much could be connected to the life he had built without them?
Juri sat up and helped herself to a scrutinizing look at the kid, noting how much he resembled Ken. He got the blonde locks from his mother, but he had his father's bright blue eyes. So transparent and vibrant, lying didn't come naturally to either of them. He was the same age as Juri when her parents died. What a strange thought to think.
"Hey, what's up?" she waved and the kid jittered, then closed the door behind him. Outside the room, there were voices talking, exasperated, situated between frustrated and optimistic.
Mel swallowed and padded across the floor to the bedside, staring at the crumpled sheets. Signs of use and put two and two together – much like his mother. He was less furious about it. That was something at least.
"Is it really true? All the shit my dad's been through?" he asked with a tremble. Cursing didn't come naturally to him either.
Juri nodded and stood up to stretch her limbs, watching the horror fill Mel's eyes. Such innocence, she thought to herself. Even less prepared to see what vileness in the world had to offer. Much in the same position she once was in. Juri couldn't blame him for being such a naïve deerling. She couldn't mock him either as she normally would. She just kept thinking about the photograph in one of Ken's binders.
"Fighting criminals, fighting gangsters…wow," Mel breathed out, slightly disturbed. "And Hong Kong?"
"Human trafficking ring. Some kid reminded him of you and it nearly crushed him."
"I'm glad that he got you then. If you helped him so much," he trailed off, turning a shade paler with discomfort. "If Mom isn't taking him back…"
"It's neither of their fault if it happens. It's not yours either. Your parents got dealt a shit hand but if I know your dad, he'll be more than happy to make sure that it doesn't hurt you more than necessary. Divorced or not," Juri said and wondered if she had stumbled into some territory, she was not equipped to navigate through.
Mel looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Because of…this?"
"…Which never would have happened if someone didn't try to screw your family over. Hell, I didn't intend to be so involved in the long run. Just sort of stuck around after the divorce. Your dad still cares about you. The scars on his body make that clear," Juri shrugged, uncommonly thoughtful.
"Thanks…" said Mel, his lips pulling into a smile, so shockingly identical to that of his father's.
It was hard to get put off by the kid when he appeared so receptive and understanding. At the same time, it was hard to let her guard down when she felt scrutiny and mistrust under his gaze. A natural reaction for a kid who wanted his parents to be together. No, Juri didn't blame him.
Nor did she try to act like a new mommy to him. She wasn't domestic; she was just an outlier.
"You know how to fight?" Juri asked, voice a little tight though she wasn't sure if it was due to the looming tension or the emotional minefield she found herself in.
Mel shook his head, then flushed. "Sort of – no. I mean, my dad taught me a few moves like the Shoryuken…"
Juri padded to the bags and pulled out the pocketknife. She tossed it to Mel, making little of the shocked gasp that came from him. "You can have it. Use it when you need to defend yourself. Just don't show your mom. She might take it away."
She tried not to think of what Ken would say to this. Suppose it was a little easier to do something traditionally questionable when you unconditionally loved the person not standing here in front of you. So she used her time wisely, showing Mel a few tricks with the knife and teaching him, hopefully, how to defend himself should he find himself in a pinch. Probably because it was cool and all, he nodded and took the lessons to heart. And in the middle of it, there was the tension.
It came to the surface again when Mel gave in to a question, he was too scared to ask anyone, let alone his own father. Let alone Juri but; "So, I don't know if-if you imposed on my dad by accident but it…"
Juri sighed. Of course. "No. Sometimes adults just find someone else if the circumstances allow for it. It's not a betrayal. It's just a law of the universe. You, me, your parents; we're all at its mercy. It can't be stopped."
She didn't like being so introspective and certainly not to the face of a kid who finally got the gist of what she was saying. Understanding, trying to accept that his father had moved on from his mother. Sleeping with someone else. Loving someone else. With Juri who had an air of danger around her. With her, many didn't think would know how to treat others well.
Shaken, Mel looked long and ponderously at her, conflicted between emotions; wanting to be sick, wanting to be understanding, terrified, angry. Maybe at his mother for setting this whole thing into motion by breaking the vows she made on her wedding day. Or his father for accepting it and moving on.
In the end, he settled for hurt.
It wasn't a good feeling, watching the kid fall into despaired acceptance that the world was just too great for him to influence. That somehow, through whatever perceived guilt, he deserved this pain. He deserved his parents to no longer coexist. That nothing would go back to the way it used to be. Juri didn't love kids – as much as she didn't love watching them hurt.
Watching Mel's face twist and struggle for composure was like watching a vase tip over in slow motion; the tilt, the wobble, and when he cried, the unstoppable fall. He shut his eyes like the irrevocable damage of clay shattering everywhere, clutching the knife, shrinking where he stood, trembling with heartache.
Kids really just had that transparently helpless way of crying, didn't they?
So Juri did what her humanity compelled her to do; she lifted her hand and pressed it gently against the top of his head, stroking his naturally blonde hair. Mel broke under her comfort, but he accepted it as he accepted the irrevocable changes, wiping his eyes with no end in sight from the tears.
Juri remained quiet; she recalled the anger, the confusion, the desolation of her classmates from her formative years. How they reacted when their parents' unions fell apart and someone new came into the picture. An interloper, an intruder. Someone ruining what could have been.
He'd understand when he got older.
The door to the room went open and Ken, thankfully, stood in the doorway and observed the scene. His eyes were red from exhaustion, from old tears. He didn't cry as often, Juri reckoned but today had been nothing short of overwhelmingly sentimental. Exceedingly exhausting. Horribly ugly. Probably needed. Nevertheless, he looked at her with his bright blue eyes and his sweet smile.
Twitching with hiccups, Mel pulled back and stuffed the knife in his pocket, nearly jumping in place when he saw his father.
"It's okay, buddy. Big boys cry too," Ken assured him, rubbing the back of his neck, rubbing the back of his son when the kid came closer with a look of shame on his face. Eliza was less understanding but kept her mouth shut thankfully.
Ken stared long after his family as they left for the day, deflating in their absence. Bolstered by the promise of a quick end. Probably terrified by the tangle of domestic drama waiting to be sorted out.
For now, there were other, more pressing issues at hand – thankfully.
The morning after, Juri woke up to the familiar sight of Ken lying next to her and for a few moments she wondered if she was dreaming. Yesterday had been such a surreal experience that it made today seem like a mirage. So wrought with emotions and out-of-body-experiences, Juri reached out and palmed the broadness of Ken's chest, against the hairs, sliding upwards to the top of his head and the black locks that almost looked brown in the sunlight. He stayed real, smelling like him, smelling like home.
He was real. So was yesterday. So was the fading welt on his cheek. The thought terrified Juri but Ken rolled around by the touch, eyes squinting into the sunlight past the drifting curtains, then opened to look at her and smiled. It was worth a lot more than she could ever articulate.
"Good morning," he greeted, gentle as ever. He sat up, running a hand through his hair, then leaned over to do the same to her, fingers carding through long black strands and neon pinks. All the swings and turns of yesterday's emotional rollercoaster lay distant, forgotten.
His hand landed on her shoulder, and she purred at his touch, promising herself to never lay a hand on him in the name of harm. She tried not to look at the mark, aware that it did fuck all to endear Eliza to her. Still, she spoke softly like it didn't bother her.
"Hey."
Ken lay down again so he could press their bodies together, entangling them essentially with nothing but ardor in his eyes. "You did good with Mel. Thank you."
"…I'm not some heartless harpy. I don't get off to kids being hurt," she admitted with a yawn and a relentless blush, then lifted her leg to rest a knee on top of his hip. He laughed at this, not mocking, never did. Just relieved that at least one bond in this mess worked.
They had things to do but that didn't stop Ken from cradling the back of her neck and kissing the top of her head. It hit something deeply possessive in Juri, fiercely grateful for him yet selfishly craving his gentleness, his protectiveness, his acceptance of his marriage being over, of not even considering abandoning her.
Despite the desire to laze about under the sheets, they made it out of bed, got dressed, and prepared to meet the day. Ken had missed a kitchen so he wasted no time making breakfast for the two of them. Juri simply sat back and watched him work, watching him serve eggs and toast with pride.
He took the seat directly across from her, indifferent to the feeling of her feet brushing up against his shins. Midway through her eggs, she asked; "So?"
"The plan? Eliza is going to meet with JP today and scour the royal venue for entranceways. Evidently, it's been merged with office space and a ballroom for when the tournament is over."
"The royal what?"
"The palace that overlooks the arena. You can see a waterfall behind it," Ken answered, partly muffled by his mug of coffee. "It should be done now, Eliza said."
"Does she know about us?" Juri prompted, blunt yet anxious. Not sure what to make of him flinching. Pleased by his eventual nod.
"I'm assuming Mel does too," he sighed, concerned yet a little upset. No, it wasn't easy for either party.
Juri nodded and felt the sudden, instant need to apologize. She took a deep breath, let it go, and settled into the reality of the other Masterses being here. So she just sat there and kept her mouth shut, giving herself some space. So did Ken after a long time until he finally said something that almost made her fall out of the chair with relief.
"It makes the aftermath of everything a little easier. It's out there and we can get used to it while we focus on JP."
Nodding in agreement, Juri quietly sipped on her coffee, blushing at how viscerally afraid of losing she'd been. So ferociously silly of her.
Breakfast continued in relative peace until a call to Ken's phone rang out through the peace and quiet of washing dishes. Without a moment's hesitation, Ken answered partway through putting his jacket on and Juri followed him out of the apartment with the lenses.
Before long, they drove off into the city, avoiding the fervent traffic that had not been there days past except for rush hour. Soon the motorcycle made it to the mountain and the arena's parking lot where a good amount of cars were already present.
Juri couldn't help but groan as she hopped off her bike and shut off the engine. Now, this was a good way to get her machine scratched up again. She hoped some asshole wouldn't ruin her bike as she followed Ken past rows and rows of cars, up the winding walkway to the arena where spectators had already filled out the stands.
Therefore, it was a wonder Juri even managed to spot a seat in the back row and secure it before some kumite enthusiasts could. The second between being seated and the unfortunate pair glaring at Ken and Juri barely passed before an orchestra stepped up to play some folk music while dancers performed.
"Oh geez, what is this?" Juri groaned and remembered singing with other children in a choir for class in primary school.
"Rehearsals for the opening ceremony. I think," Ken answered with his face buried in his phone. Momentarily, Juri wondered why they had come out here then. Suppose it was just as a failsafe.
She peered over the screen, spotting him texting with Eliza. Discussing the layout, mentioning how part of the arena's prohibited areas were built under the water surface. There was an emergency escape route that led to a cave in the mountains. Guards now patrolling the hallways due to violent protests. A loyal female assistant of JP's called Kalima.
Juri's curiosity homed in on the detail of the prohibited areas being the source of electricity for the entire venue – including that ballroom where the tournament's conclusion would be held. It seemed like a lot, but Ken absorbed all of it, shutting out the world until the rehearsal ended. He looked at the building and the throne that overlooked the arena.
Somehow connected to all of this. Like a spiderweb.
As the performers basked in the ensuing applause, a shift came about that was brought on by pops in the air. It sounded like firecrackers to the untrained ear but for Juri and subsequently Ken, the reality was much worse. They duck under the seats as gunfire, screams and outright chaos rang out.
Juri stole a glance at the discord and watched as guards fought masked protestors with guns and batons. Guests flocked to the walkway, haphazardly guided by officers and guards with medical professionals scurrying to take care of the injured. Ken took Juri by the arm and they maneuvered through the row of seats, thankfully forgotten by the disorder.
They made it to the parking lot where there was absolute anarchy, partly caused by congestion of vehicles and people. It said quite a bit when Nayshall was far better at cracking down on protesters than helping the people caught in the middle. In the pool of chaos, Eliza stood by the edge of the parking lot, clutching a set of folders in her arms, accompanied by a man in a suit.
When the crush of people cleared, they tentatively skipped toward a black car by the winding walkway. It was the same vehicle that Mel had been waiting by during the reunion.
Mel who, probably for the best, had been left at the hotel.
Under the rush of people fleeing through the grassy hedges and climbing down to the road, Juri noted a figure move about. Dressed in black, they snuck to the car faster than Eliza and her chaperone, stealthy like a slithering snake. For a moment, something dark filled Juri's mind. Selfish, destructive, horrible.
Remain silent and watch the ataxia play out like a movie. Almost, she could let it happen. But…
Her growing humanity grabbed Ken by the shoulder and pointed at the figure now reaching under the chassis.
"Eliza!" he bellowed over the chaos with such ferocity that Juri hadn't quite heard from him, pushing, and shoving his way through the crowd.
She turned around, caught on to the panic, and ran towards him, ignoring the calls of her chaperone, just barely putting enough distance between herself and the blast from the car bomb as he ignited the engine. The shockwave sent her flying forward, away from the burning wreckage.
The folders ended up scattered across the ground, trampled by a horde of people while Ken reached Eliza and lifted her off the ground. In his arm, she squirmed and reached for the papers in a daze from the shock, blinking the reality in when he shook her gently and hugged her, whispering something or another in her ear.
He looked at the burning wreckage, at the charred corpse already slumped over the wheel, and carried Eliza away.
The hotel suite which Eliza and Mel had settled in brought some strange memories for Juri; of kicking people's faces in and stomping on a man's testicles. It helped that it distracted her enough to not look at the woman sitting on the bed. Beautiful in that luxurious way. High ceilings, clean floors, soft sheets, fluffy rugs, rich colors, and pleasant to the touch.
It was the complete opposite of the modest apartment, Juri rented with Ken. Or his abode in Metro City. Or the cramped cargo ship cabin. Or the cramped hostel room. Or the awful motel in that awful fishing town. Here, proper people stayed and it made her feel out of place. Someone like Eliza was fated to be here.
Someone like Juri was not.
Stupid, silly thoughts, Juri concluded. She pulled her knees up to her chest, and wrapped an arm around them, leaning back in the armchair, trying to get comfortable and look at Eliza. Noting how she soundly rested on the mattress, completely unharmed sans a few scrapes and bruises. Ken had been adamant about getting her somewhere safe and unbothered – so not a hospital.
Her eyes shifted under their lids, and she remained undoubtedly aesthetically pleasing. It was hard to comprehend that she was the woman Ken loved so much that he married and procreated with her. Now, ending and beginning relationships were just life things.
It happened to most people.
Things were always complicated when kids were involved. Juri just didn't imagine she'd be involved in such commonality herself. It never occurred to her, just like it didn't occur to her that Eliza was awake now, watching her, light blue eyes wide open.
Fear crystalized the woman momentarily and Juri found some minor level of amusement in it – same with her attempts to hide how it morphed into anger. Eliza sat up, her red lips pressed into a thin line, and fixed her hair alongside her dirt-stained crop top. Juri just dropped her legs to the carpet, holding the lady's gaze, and watched it waver.
"Ken is with the kid," she said. "Someone had to explain things to him."
"Good," Eliza answered in a tone too shrill to be entirely natural. "Don't bother them."
Not quite affronted by that comment, Juri rolled her head back to a mocking chuckle. "Oh, simmer down. I wasn't offering to. Just thought you'd like to know."
This made the blonde's eyes glint and her cheeks flush a flustered red.
"You don't have to look at me like I'm your enemy, by the way. We both want the same things. An end to all this," Juri threw her a bone but without patience for the pretense that either woman actually liked the other.
With something akin to fairness, Eliza settled down just a notch and responded judiciously with; "Ken says you're reliable."
She didn't quite say it, but she didn't need to. Her entire body screamed with the singular word of but in silent protest. She knew Juri had noticed, and so tossed it out there. One of many buts, trying but failing to not come out as a hostile accusation made from fear – and jealousy.
"I can smell the blood off you. I get the feeling that Ken charmed some of it away. But you're still like an untamed animal. You could hurt him, like you've hurt others I'm sure."
To this, Juri laughed. "He's done a lot more for me than you think he has. It's true that I've been bathed in blood and that I got a kill count. I killed for his sake though. In that world, it's kill or be killed. But me hurting him? Never was much of an issue. He's fascinatingly easy to get along with."
She wasn't quite able to hide her ardor, but she didn't try to either, waiting to see the flicker in Eliza's expression. Another but and yet, not quite. "So you love him."
"…Yeah, I guess I do," Juri answered honestly and ignored the dour look she received for her efforts.
But?
In the silence, uncertainty reigned while Eliza stared daggers with her arms crossed over her generous bosom. They stood around the same height, built differently though. Eliza was a sylphid, skinny yet curved in that familiar way most women were. Not a lot of meat on her, which made her chest look bigger. Suppose Ken had an eye for beauty. Juri had more muscle and was fairly certain she could bench-press Eliza. Thus it was bit of a shock to know that her rage could produce welts across a man's face.
No, Juri would not let that go. But for now, she largely ignored Eliza and stared down her phone, lapsing into a silence that was anything but companionable or soothing. A far cry from the comfortable moments of quiet with Ken. Although maybe a little amusing in the sense that there was mischief in the mutual, open hostility.
"Homewrecker or not, you're very rude. Not even asking me if I need anything," Eliza said with a quiet huff.
Juri answered her with a cold stare. "You got a mouth. You can use it like you do now."
Ken had told her that he had warned about her barbed tongue but Eliza didn't heed it for her brows lifted in abject shock. Ah, this was going absolutely nowhere. But at least she knew what she'd be dealing with.
"Look, for now. Let's just ignore the marital melodrama until we get this over with, yeah? I made a promise that I'd be nice to you because I can be nice. But I won't take your shit if you're going to act like a cunt," Juri said and planted her feet firmly on the floor.
"Would you mind your language?"
"When you stop being catty. I can handle it though, but Ken can't handle the bad vibes. If you care about him, you use your head to wrap around that."
Behind them, right on cue, came a creak from the floorboards. Juri looked over her shoulder at the door. When she turned her head, Eliza was watching the door too, almost hypnotized. Like she had forgotten the presence of the other woman, focused on the man she once married. In her heart of hearts, Eliza was a woman capable of love; that deep, passionate kind with vines all over the place that struggled to let go.
"So, what's the plan? What's your plan?" Juri asked and broke Eliza's trance, causing her to shift her focus.
Her blue eyes rested on Juri, bright and vibrant like all transparently feeling creatures. She pulled her knees to her chest and winced when she ran a hand over a scrape across her shin. "JP plans to hold a press conference about the tournament, followed by a charity event to raise funds for the victims of today. What's your plan when all of this is over? If Ken got hurt or died?"
Juri hated those questions, but she answered them with callous honesty, pinning Eliza with a stare. "Kill the ones responsible. Eye for eye."
That wasn't what Ken would want but Juri was not in a mood for failure to avenge. Her resolution sent a shudder over Eliza's whole body. Therefore it was no surprise when she asked; "Are you gonna kill me if I hurt him?"
"That'd just be a paradox."
Eliza mulled on the answer, but it must have occurred to her that if she tried to debate this, she too would find herself in a lose-lose situation. Self-satisfaction rolled off Juri in waves in lieu of fearful hypotheticals.
Only to get stifled by the shaky scoff from Eliza. "You don't strike me as a person willing to compromise or share."
"Not the parts of him I want."
Which just happened to be all of him.
Eliza felt mercifully quiet with enough to think about and Juri stood up to leave the bedroom, closing the door after her. She emerged in the grand common room with the afternoon light spilling orange paint all over the gray walls and Ken aimlessly pacing back and forth, only to stop when he saw her.
"She okay?"
Ah. Now, that was a harder question to answer. Juri couldn't do much more than to shrug her shoulders and say; "Avoidant."
Of course, Ken looked like he had no idea what to make of this. He then looked at the door like a dog staring after its owner and Juri, because she loved him, pitied him.
"Go talk to her," she sighed. "It's cool."
Ken reached for her hand, giving it a tight squeeze before he pushed the door open and entered, closing it after him.
And then silence. Silence undermined by the lull of low talking. Standing out here, listening to the two of them just talk was something surprisingly hard to swallow. A lot more when Juri could hear them. Eliza said something or another that didn't quite carry through the walls but her voice was lighthearted and silvery, quippy in a way that made Ken chuckle. They talked; Eliza with lively energy, Ken with general warmth.
It was the same way he talked to most people. To Chun-Li, to Cammy, to Captain William Guile of the Cucks, to Mel, to Eliza. To Juri. Really talked to you in a way that made you lower your guard and see him as someone easy to get along with. Friendly and approachable. Juri was so used to it, that she never stopped to scrutinize it with a lens of suspicion. She heaved out a sigh and headed for the marble bathroom, letting the door stay open because all she wanted was to skim her surroundings.
Skincare products, makeup bags, jewelry, soap. Fruity and fragrant, even with their lids on. By accident or lack of care, Juri bumped her elbow against a bottle of body lotion and it fell to the floor with an impact that cracked its lid. It was already half empty so nothing spilled out. From the doorway, one could see the opening to the bedroom and it was here where Ken stuck his head out, seeing her with the bottle in her hands. She shrugged and watched the flinch fade from his body. Ken being so skittish sure as hell didn't feel nice but it soothed Juri's selfishness that he hadn't forgotten about her.
It was just about enough to make her stay. If she was going to see this through, she ought not feel neglected.
Moments later, the door to the bedroom opened and Ken stepped out, closing it behind him. He saw Juri still in the bathroom and headed towards her, moving slowly like a drone. Exhausted, worn out.
"Who was the guy by the way?" Juri asked and immediately regretted it for the defeated look in his eyes.
He rubbed his face, headed to the lavatory, pulled its lid down, and sat on it with his head in his hands. "Corporate lawyer. His predecessor was a friend of my dad so Eliza fired him and hired a new one. Also, the guy she tried to date until that didn't work out."
Sounded infinitely and mutually destructive. Juri was always thankful that her parents weren't also coworkers or business associates. It was just a recipe for disaster. The result was, in this case, a Ken who looked like he could feel the weight on his shoulders grind his bones to dust. Like pieces of shrapnel embedded in his flesh slowly resurfacing.
Yeah. He probably would have shattered if Juri had let Eliza perish. So yes, it was exactly guilt that caused her to near him, reaching out for him and pulling him towards her body. It was bit of an awkward position to stand in so she had to straddle him. His hands instantly ran up and down her back, denting her skin through the fabric while his head rested against her chest and she stroked his head. A sound from the common room caused Juri to open her eyes and stare toward the slight gap in the doorway.
Where Eliza now stood and watched.
Wide-eyed, frozen, face locked in place. Shock? Anger? Sorrow? It was hard to tell so it must have been all three. She couldn't hide it, God knew she tried.
Juri could have really dug in the knife with a malignant smile. Treat the blondie like a dog that needed to know boundaries existed, then smack some lessons into the skull of that bitch until she learned her place. But for the sake of the man (and maybe even the kid) between them, Juri chose to show mercy, simply holding Eliza's gaze. A potential "he's mine now, you spoiled bimbo," changed ever gracefully into "I can be good for him too."
And surely enough, Eliza understood, leaving in silence.