Author's Notes: Now, I'm not entirely sure whether or not I will be continuing Crossfire after chapter 16 because… well… Let's be honest, folks. This is slightly a PWP, and I'm sure its getting old. Oh! And this chapter has the disturbing part, though it may only be implied, I still think its quite disturbing… In answer to those many reviews about Hwoarang's slutty behaviour… You're right, and I don't mean for it to happen, but I just go where the fic takes me! lol
**Disclaimer**: Tekken is owned by Namco and not me. I just manipulate the characters for entertainment purposes.
Crossfire
Chapter 13 - Evil United
Going right in wouldn't help anybody. If it had been anyone other than Heihachi, Kazuya would have turned himself in for the release of the boy, but Heihachi wasn't exactly known for keeping his word. What could a person do in that situation? Even a devil would be screwed barging into that place if it had a dozed minions at its side. He knew he could take his father with not much difficulty if it were a man-to-man battle. He had done it before, but it wasn't like that. This wasn't a battle. It was a war and war called for strategy. He needed a plan that would outsmart his father. How could Heihachi be tricked?
Across the table was Lee Chaolan, smoking and eyeing ladies walking by. Could Lee be the answer? Was there anyway to incorporate the past relationships into the plan? There were some things that happened all those years ago that Lee avoided talking about, but it didn't take a genius to guess. Once Heihachi's name was mentioned, the successful middle-aged Chaolan would look more like a scared, confused youth whose scars were all too visible. Though the window to the tortured soul would only remain open for a second.
"Well," Lee looked quizzically at Kazuya. "You could always forget the child ever existed and just move on with your life."
Kazuya frowned, "Don't refer to him as a child. It makes me feel like a pedophile."
"Honestly, Kazuya!" Lee rolled his eyes and put his cigarette out. "You were nearly thirty when the boy was born! If you had started this love affair a couple years earlier, you would have legally been a pedophile!"
"Oh that's rich, Mr. I-eat-seventeen-year-old-girls-for-breakfast! Hwoarang is an adult. He is of legal age, and he's the only person so much younger than me that I've been involved with. You, on the other hand, make corporate whores out of minors on a weekly basis. Now don't you ever dream about making these hypocritical accusations ever again, because I am not, nor will I ever be in the mood for your bullshit." Kazuya paused, expecting a calm, witty comeback, when no reply came he slowly continued, "Now just think about this for a minute. He's in the estate, tied up somewhere, desperately trying to think of a way out when the door opens and in walks Heihachi. What would be going through his head?"
A strange saturnine look came over the silver-haired devil as he answered quietly, "Nothing. If he was smart, he'd know better than to think."
Kazuya studied Lee, perturbed by the younger man's secret past. He briefly licked his lips, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't anger anyone. "Chaolan… What did my father do to you?"
Without another word, Lee stood up, dropping a handful of change on the table for the waitress, and headed out the door.
It had been nearly two days since the encounter with the Greek brothers, and they hadn't returned since. During those two days there had been one visit that made him sick just thinking about it. Though he fought the whole time, eventually, with the help of a few other men, Heihachi had his way.
The first evening, Hwoarang had been transferred to a more comfortable room. The chains were removed, but the door was made like one from a institution. It wasn't barred, it was merely made of a strong metal, a doorknob that couldn't possibly be broken off, and a lock that was fool-proof. Those facts were eventually learned through experience. It was a surprisingly nice room, considering he was supposed to be a prison. A comfortable mattress, his own bathroom, there was even a stereo.
Hwoarang sat on the floor, prying a sliver of wood from the floorboards. As he heard the click of the door being unlocked, he jumped up and hid the sliver under the mattress, near the edge where he'd have easy access. It wasn't large enough to do any major damage if used in the usual way, but there were more extreme plans for it. The old bastard would regret the day he decided to fuck with the Blood Talon.
He sat down on the bed, and watched the eldest Mishima walk into the room. "To what do I owe this honour?"
"My son and grandson haven't come for you yet." Heihachi said, smiling, "Some of my men claim you're quite friendly with a number of people. A Chang, Chaolan, and a devil. Funny how out of all those people, there hasn't been one attempt to come get you. Perhaps they've abandoned you. Left you for me to do whatever I please, and believe me, I will. If you ever do come out of this alive, I should hope lessons have been learned… It's amazing how many morons my offspring attract, but I would have expected better from Lee."
Hwoarang scowled, "I'm not friendly with that prick! That suggestion is almost as disgusting as you are!"
"I see the lessons haven't quite registered yet. Allow me to enforce them."
"Stay the fuck away from me, or I'll lobotomize your pansy ass!"
Heihachi smirked, walking over and touching the silky red hair, not phased by his prey's typical attitude. "I can hardly blame my son. After over two decades of studying his own blood with only the companionship of researchers and scientists, who wouldn't be tempted to find a inappropriately young paramour? At his age I had a few… Now, shall I call my guards in to help me, or will you cooperate?"
"Well I don't know for sure. Why don't you come a little closer and we'll see what happens?" Hwoarang replied with a threatening undertone in his voice.
"Sir." Heihachi spun around and Hwoarang tilted his head to see around the old man. In the doorway stood Eryx, holding a loaded gun over his shoulder. "I know you didn't want to be disturbed, but this concerns the prisoner. A friend of his was caught trying to sneak in. I assumed you would like a word with the person."
Heihachi sighed, irritated, "Have they been searched completely and questioned?" Upon Eryx nod, the old man groaned and walked out the door, shoving Eryx out of his way.
Once the old man was completely out of sight, Eryx rushed into the room, and looked Hwoarang over, noticing the lack of any emotion or expression when the dark Korean eyes landed on him. "I, uh, was punished. Heihachi got suspicious and decided to go through the tapes in the control room for the first time since I started working in this hellhole. Now I'm watch on the graveyard shift. I'm sorry. I can't help you now."
"Punished you?"
"You know exactly what I mean. Everyone who has been in a high rank, working personally with the creep knows what I mean. I just… I had no idea it would happen to a prisoner. He's never done that before."
Hwoarang shrugged, "Forget about it. Soon enough he'll get what he deserves."
"You got a plan?"
"Always… But this new guest probably just fucked it all up." He paused, contemplating the scene, "There should always be a plan C… Could I borrow your knife for a second? Please?"
Eryx hesitated for a moment before pulling a large knife out of his belt, and handing it over to the Korean, who was already rushing across the room as he took it. He slid under a small table, and pried a piece of metal off the bottom. Just in case he couldn't trust the other man, he hid the piece under the cushion of a chair. He'd use it later to get more wood off the floor, and attempt to sharpen whatever he could get. A quick smile crossed his face, but disappeared as he handed the knife back and tried on his angry face for Heihachi to come back to.
The two young men looked at each other, amicably, one understanding, the other fascinated. They waited in silence, Eryx changing his stance so that it appeared that he was unimpressed with the other man, in case Heihachi walked in without warning. He didn't have the keys to lock the door so he had a perfect excuse why he stayed there. Someone had to keep an eye on the captive.
Soon the waiting came to an end as Heihachi walked in, tossing the new prisoner to the floor roughly. Julia Chang. "Looks like you have a new roommate, boy. Come Danas. We have much to discuss. Perhaps soon, you'll be joining these two in this beautiful room."
"What?" Eryx followed his boss out the door, and spoke, startled, as he watched the old man lock the prisoners in, "But sir, I didn't do anything… Did I?"
"Silence. Come."
Hwoarang listened to the fading footsteps before turning to his girlfriend, not entirely sure of how to react. He helped her up and watched as she looked him over.
"What have they done to you? You're in horrible shape!" She touched his face, tears in her eyes, "Kazuya wanted Lee to come here and get caught so he could talk to you, but Lee refused, so I came. They tried to stop me, but I couldn't stand the thought of you all alone in here. Kazuya wants you to know that he's working on getting you out of here. And… Zekkai sends its… his… love."
Hwoarang hugged her lightly, and kissed the top of her head, "You couldn't have had better timing. Don't get me wrong. I'm pissed you'd do something so stupid like purposely get caught by the big man, but thanks." He sighed, the disturbing thoughts of what could have happened swimming through his head. Why were they so hard to block out? "I'm sorry, Julia. I shouldn't have done this to you."
"I should be the one who's sorry. I drove you to them…"
"Julia…" He paused, deciding against a confession, not wanting to add tension to the room. "You wouldn't happen to have a pack of smokes with you, right?"
She smiled and shook her head, "No. I've been wanting you to quit for a long time anyway. This should be good for you."
The sky was exceptionally bright for such an hour, lit up by the moon. Not a cloud could be seen. So much beauty that was being wasted, for there was a certain splash of colour it was missing. The colour red. Without it, it was nothing. It was nugatory. Everything was nothing. Beauty was merely average without those dark Korean eyes gazing without so much as a hint of interest. That human was incomparably beautiful, and that was a depressing fact when the boy was hidden away by an old creep, being subjected to who-knows-what.
Zekkai gazed up at the moon, hoping the site would stimulate a plan. From its spot perched on top a tree, it had a perfect view of the infamous Mishima Estate. It watched the windows carefully, hoping for a glimpse of the Korean, just one sign that the boy was alright.
As it stretched it's wings, it noticed what it thought was a dark cloud out of the corner of its eye. Upon further inspection, the cloud became a bird, and began growing larger as it soared toward Zekkai. Once hearing the call of the mysterious bird, a smile crossed the creatures face. Its other half had decided to pay him a visit. So it waited for the demonic youth to arrive at the destination, and soon it did.
The brooding man, normally known as Jin Kazama, landed on a tree top across from the other demon. But something was missing. The eyes were human. Strange. The marks were there. The fierce black wings were there, but there was no demon in those chasten eyes. Could it be possible that Kazuya's son was able to unite with the demon in merely a few years when Kazuya's been trying for over two decades? No, it was just a small bit of control the child must have acquired. Zekkai remained still, expectantly.
"Heihachi would never expect for the both of us to come in together."
Zekkai smirked at the younger demonic version of its host. "Are you proposing we work together?"
"I'm sorry. Was I wrong to think you'd do anything in your power to help Hwoarang? Because if you'd rather allow Heihachi to continue feeding off him until you think up a better plan, I could just go." The young eyes glimmered a mild colour of red for a moment, "Of course, I don't think he would mind all that much. The longer he's in there, the closer he's getting to that girl you despise so much."
"No need to get nasty. I didn't say I wouldn't do it. Now tell me how you suppose we get in. Of course their bullets are mere annoyances, but I'm sure Heihachi's expecting us to think that way. I'd bet he's got his pet scientists to cook up some tacky gadget that would paralyse us, sedate us, etc."
Jin looked over the building, carefully, "First we coax him out, and while he's out here looking for us, we break in. I've been watching the place for awhile. Security is heaviest in the back, but most of the guards there are hidden. Maybe one of us should distract most of them while the other goes in… But that's way too risky considering the way grandfather works. He's probably more then prepared to be faced with on of us in there."
"Wait," Zekkai turned his head, listening intently to the surroundings, "Footsteps… It's Chaolan. What the hell does he think he's doing here? Come on." Zekkai growled, diving into the forest with the younger man following. They landed in a tree above Lee's head.
The silver-haired devil casually glanced up at them, taking a long drag of his cigarette. "If your putting Kazuya's body into this dangerous situation, I think I should see if I could do anything to help add to your chances of success. Besides, even though I hate the kid, I still can't stand the thought of him being at Heihachi's disposal. If memory serves correctly, you can find the brat in the basement." He paused and looked at Jin, "Wow. This is really going to be one disturbing family reunion."