Author's Notes: The reason for the title of this fic is because that was the title for the original chapter ten that I decided to change... I was too lazy to come up with a better name for this new version of Chaper ten.
**Disclaimer**: Tekken is owned by Namco and not me. I just manipulate the characters for entertainment purposes.
Crossfire
Chapter 10 - Colorblind
The troops surrounded them, armed with nothing but metal fists. Jin mumbled something about the house before springing into action, knocking three down within seconds. Hwoarang ran at a group and hit them, full force, with his shoulder, knocking most of them down. They got back up. Lee and Kazuya ran toward another few troops together, Kazuya leaping into a triple spin kick, and Lee leaping, and landing his foot against an armored head. A crack was heard.
Hwoarang, who was already snapping the neck of one troop, was unaware of the men sneaking up on him from behind a torn wall. Everyone else was busy with their own battles - Kazuya and Lee almost competing – to see the potential danger creeping up on the Korean.
Finally someone noticed. Lee's eyes widened as he shouted, "Behind you!"
Just as Hwoarang turned around, the men leaped on him, all at the same time, not even giving him the chance to retaliate. Kazuya finished off the men around him just as his eyes began to glow. His skin gained an almost reddish-purple tinge, though not quite as distinct as before he lost part of the demon to his son, and wings sprouted from his back. Devil was angry. It hopped up into flight as volts sprang from its eyes in long strings, clinging onto everyone it set its deadly glare on.
Silence fell. Lee and Jin got up to their feet, having dived for cover the second devil's feet left the ground. Hwoarang, unfortunately, was lying unconscious under a pile of corpses. Devil returned to the ground, and cautiously dug the redhead out, checking for a pulse. There was one, still pounding from the rush of adrenaline. Perhaps his mind was still swimming with the short lived battle.
Devil picked the limp body up, and turned to head out the door, not speaking a word. Lee and Jin followed suit, not knowing what else to do. It was obvious the silence was intentional, but it was nerve-wracking. The air was heavy with tension and electricity, not entirely from the demon's eyes. It was intensely uncomfortable.
As the men made it outside, a cab pulled up and out came Julia. She took one look at Hwoarang and gasped, horrified of what could have happened. But devil wasn't in the mood to answer to a Chang, so he continued walking toward the Honda.
"What did you do to him, you monster?" Julia demanded, blocking its path.
Devil glared at the woman, its eyes blazing with anger. "So you've come to save him from me, have you? How much help do you imagine you'll be, If I'm forced to paralyze you by unmentionable means? I suggest you move out of my way, for I will not tolerate you long."
"It was Heihachi's men," Jin told her quietly, "They attacked us."
"Right after Devil tried to kill Jin again," Lee pitched in.
Devil shot Lee a nasty look, "Perhaps you should leave with Miss Chang." It moved past Julia, hoisted Hwoarang over a shoulder to free a hand, and opened the back door of the Honda. "Are we finished here, or is there still subjects on the agenda to cover?"
Julia got into her fighting stance, her jaw set. "I will not allow you to continue with this… This despicable life you have dragged my boyfriend into. Now give him back to me, and never go near him again you jackass!"
"I think," Devil turned to look at Jin, "You'd better control your friend before she makes a mistake she won't live to regret."
"Control me?" Julia scoffed in disbelief, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
Devil shrugged, and gently placed the Korean in the back seat, "I don't mind. Now, go away."
The woman shook her head, stubbornly and took a step forward. Of course, she was acting much more brave then she was feeling. Standing up to devil was not exactly the most relaxing experience she could have, in fact, she was struggling not to scream and run away. "I don't know why you want to drag him along any longer for your twisted little games, but I won't have it! He's sick. He needs help. He doesn't need a disgusting creature ruining his life anymore then it already is!"
A low growl came from the demon as it slowly turned back around to face her. No move was made for seconds, as the three martial artists, waited in terrified apprehension for Devil to lash out. Even Julia stood their, rigid with fear. She clasped her hands together behind her back, hoping that nobody seen them shake. Her trembling hands were the least of her worries. Devil narrowed its glowing eyes, and lunged at her, wrapping its hands around her throat, and lifting her into the air.
"Listen to me, you little bitch," It whispered venomously, "You see him doing things that you don't like, that isn't normal, and you call it sick? He's struggling to figure out who the fuck he is, trying to juggle his life around without letting you know what was happening, and trying to meet your own twisted demands, and you call him sick. I agree that he needs help. If I snapped your neck right now, I would be doing just that."
Jin stepped forward, "Put her down."
"Ah, my dear boy," Devil smiled, clearly amused, "How noble. Why, if Kazuya was any normal man, he'd be proud, but he's not. As a matter of fact, he wants my other half as much as I do, so if you want me to put her down, would you care to make a trade?"
Lee rolled his eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny thing of cologne. "This shit stinks to high heaven, and I'm not afraid to use it. Do I have to wake your beautiful human up? The girl irritates me to, but you don't see me seconds away from murder."
Devil sneered, "You want her alive," It tossed her aside, ignoring her yelp of pain upon contact with the cement sidewalk, "Then keep her the fuck away from me."
A figure crossed by the window too quick for him to make out the build. Someone was there? Who else had a key? It couldn't be Julia, could it? No, she had to be furious about what happened. So who else could it possibly be? Would anyone be dumb enough to break into his apartment? No. Nobody was that dumb. Maybe a new guy in the neighborhood? Didn't really matter, because they'd have figured out there was nothing worth stealing.
Classical music drifted softly through the door. Maybe it was Julia after all. Just great, Another chance for her to make him feel like a fool. One last guilt trip. One last chance to watch him tear himself to shreds.
Hwoarang took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob. Big surprise, it wasn't locked. The door opened with ease, and waiting on the other side was the young American woman, sitting within view in a broken armchair. It was strange that she didn't look angry, in fact she looked rather determined. A smile, of all things, crossed her face, as she got to her feet. This was hardly a likely scenario; therefore, the Korean was ready to run, figuring it had to be a trap. Any other explanation would be far too strange.
The woman could obviously tell that the man was troubled, but she appeared to find it amusing, judging by her smile's transformation into a smirk. Her tongue grazed her lips as she eyed her counterpart suggestively. "Welcome home."
"Uh huh," Hwoarang shifted his weight uneasily, looking around expecting to see a bunch of tree-huggers come at him, armed with bows and arrows. At least he'd know how to handle that. She had to be pissed after what he did, right?
Julia walked forward, edging the Korean backward into the corner beside the door, and pushing it shut as she closed in on him. It was dim, only candles were lit up, but they were everywhere. A romantic trap? Somewhere in the shadows, no doubt. But what could it be? Murder? No. Who ever heard of a psychotic homicidal hippie? A homicidal hippie! The thought almost caused Hwoarang to laugh, until he recalled what brought on the humorous thoughts. Damn reality!
Julia gently put her arms around his neck, and pulled him down to her and into a deep kiss, confusing him even further. She started unbuckling his jeans, working slowly in hopes that he'd find the subtle teasing enchanting, and possibly use the time to get over his confusion and paranoia. It didn't work, however. He was far too suspicious to allow the enchantment of his girlfriend win him over.
"What are you doing, Julia?" Hwoarang caught her hand, putting a hold on her process with his pants. "Are you drunk?"
"As far as I know," Julia started, still clearly amused, "We haven't broken up. You're still my boyfriend, and I don't want a demon to ruin that for me. Now enough talk… I've got some convincing to do."
Hwoarang shoved her away, smiling bitterly. "So that's the trick, huh? All I had to do was get friendly with a few men, and suddenly I'm everything that you want." He sneered and turned on the light. Something was in his eyes when he glanced at his girlfriend. Though, she expected loathing and anger, all she got was disbelief, insult, and hurt. He went into his room and closed the door behind him.
Before Julia could even begin to decide what to do next, there was a knock on the door. She opened it to see Jin standing there, covered in sweat and blood. He staggered in, collapsing to the floor. One of his eyes was swollen and bloody, and his clothes were stained by a mixture of grass, mud, and blood. Something terribly bad had happened.
"Hwoarang! It's Jin!" Julia called out desperately.
The door to the bedroom opened and the Korean stepped out, taking in the sight of his rival, "I can't keep my eyes off him for even an hour without some asshole attacking him. Fucking Kazama." Hwoarang looked over at Julia, "Well, what you just standing there for? He's your dream boy, you help him. I got to go out and find whoever did this and kick their asses."
"I'm sure that's exactly what you plan on doing to them," Julia mumbled sarcastically.
Ignoring her, Hwoarang made his way back out the door. He was still exhausted from such a confusing day, but it was a relief to get away from his girlfriend. So who could've done that to Jin? Zekkai wasn't the type to make such a mess, but it was possible. So that would be the first route.
"I promise you. My beautiful human. It was not me. I was far too busy plotting that woman's death to bother myself with that boy." Zekkai showed no hint that the preceding was a joke. It walked past the Korean into the bathroom, glancing, irritated, at the blacked out mirrors. There was no vanilla soap left, and it cursed quietly as it washed it's hands with the cheap hotel brand.
Hwoarang followed his lover, watching black gunk drain down the sink. Possibly the same stuff that covered the mirrors. The devil looked slightly upset about something. Though, questioning a demon when it appeared to be in a bad mood was not a path the Korean was all that willing to take. Instead he remained silent, watching curiously.
Zekkai eventually noticed the look it was getting, and decided to explain, "I got into a bit of a disagreement with Kazuya."
"What is that stuff?"
As if the thought was painful, Zekkai grimaced and responded by looking back up at the mirror, its eyes flaring angrily, and it quietly said, "Shoe polish." Grudgingly, it went back to scrubbing its hands and arms clean with the despised hotel soap.
"Then who?" Hwoarang was truly stumped, not knowing where to go next. Who would hurt the ever so beloved Jin Kazama, if not the demonic Mishima. "Heihachi? Would he have attacked so soon after his last failed maneuver? How the fuck could I deal with that? I can't just barge into the Mishima estate, and kick his ass. I'd be shot down before I reached the fucking gate."
Zekkai shrugged, "If it were Heihachi, your Kazama would most likely be in a lab somewhere, or even dead. I highly doubt he would make it all the way to your apartment without troops following him, unless, of course, he flew, but I don't suppose he had his wings out, did he?"
"What do I do?"
"You wait until he wakes up, and then you ask him who did it." Zekkai splashed a handful of soapy water on the mirror."
Hwoarang seemed to jump, startled by the suggestion. "I can't go back there. I can't even call there. Julia is there. I came home and she was there, candles lit, place clean… She tried to seduce me in order to win me back. I can't believe I was strong enough to resist in the first place, but if I go back, I don't know what will happen."
"You worry too much." Zekkai dismissed the worries with a wave of its hand. "Do you honestly think she would try it again while Kazama, Jin lays there, bleeding, unconscious, and whatnot? You're reasonably safe for now. Of course, if you would prefer that I went to check on him, that would be just as well."
"Shut the fuck up," Hwoarang grinned, knowing exactly what the demon meant by that. He sighed and sat on the edge of the tub, "I just… Don't want to face her. Jin didn't come to my door to be kept company by Julia, but what can I do?"
The devil groaned in annoyance, and turned to the redhead, "Alright. I'm going to do something for you that you'd better be thankful for, because it will never happen again. Never. I will go fetch your darling Jin, and I'll bring him here. But the moment he's recovered, and you're not around. I will not hesitate to take what's mine from him."
Before Hwoarang could respond, the demon was gone, slamming the door as it went.