Blood and Thorns ch. 4

Blood and Thorns

Chapter 4: Hope

"For without hope, without will, there is no chance of success"

Just as Doctor Bosconovitch said, the flyers were already out for the next, and presumed final Tekken Tournament out there. Xiaoyu had seen it many times while passing on her way home from her job. She took her finger to the poster and started to read out loud what it had said.

"Power is everything, the winner of this final King of Iron Fist will not only receive the grand prize money but a seat at the most powerful conglomerate known to man. Along with achieving god-like strength through a new process not yet tested..." Xiaoyu paused, it was sure that Heihachi was hatching a plan that would destroy this entire world and bestow upon him, these god-like powers. She grit her teeth, her plan was to get Jin out of the hands of evil before it was too late.

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Three months passed and all the contestants were lining up to return back to the King of Iron Fist Tournament. However, not one really wished for this 'god-like' power, but more so to put an end to Heihachi, it seemed he had done so much to scar people. Xiaoyu felt a pain in her heart, she really wanted to believe that Heihachi could be cured of his thirst for power, but her main goal at this very moment was Jin and getting him to safety.

The area of the G-Corporation lab was surrounded by guards, there would be no easy way to run in and save Jin. Xiaoyu contemplated to herself, in many cases, she'd just whine and give up, but she couldn't give up so easily, not this time. Xiaoyu continued to pace around, almost frantically while conceiving up some half baked idea.

"Screw it, I'll just walk in there and bust the place down!" She said with anger, taking a good five strong steps before feeling her body getting snatched from behind her. There was no chance to scream or react before she felt herself pushed onto the ground while a figure stood above her covering her mouth and put a finger to it's own. It was definitely male, that much she could define.

" Are you trying to get yourself killed or are you really that unintelligent?" The voice stated harshly, though within a whisper. Xiaoyu still could not identify the man, it was as if she was being held down by a looming shadow. "This facility is surrounded by G-Corps finest, who will not hesitate to gun you down. If you want to get in, you'll have to do it far more sneaky." Once the man let up, Xiaoyu sat on her knees and took a good look at the figure who was seemingly helping her. He was dressed in all black, resembling an assassin with dark skin to match his clothes. He paused after taking a good look at her and ran his fingers against his chin. "Oh, I recognize you, you're Kazama's girl aren't you? If you're looking to save him, you're going to need a more clever disguise."

"Who the hell are you and how do you know about me?" She finally asked, rubbing her sides, though staring at the large facility.

"The name is not important, I can create a distraction, all you have to do is grab one person and take their uniform, that should be enough to fool anyone else." Xiaoyu puffed her cheeks and shook her head from side to side, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Why should I trust you? I don't even know who you are. For all I know, you could be here to take Jin for yourself!" Xiaoyu stood up tall, her fists tightly clenched in her hands, for the past few years, her trust in people had grown thin.

"I have no use for Jin Kazama, I'm just carrying out orders to get him out of G-Corps hands and make sure no more harm comes to this world due to Mishima conflict." The man seemed rather calm and didn't show any interest in hurting Jin. Xiaoyu bit her bottom lip, wondering how she was going to do such a task and free Jin." I'll take care of the guards, you just worry about the rest."  He seemed to take off, with swiftness that was true to his occupation and gathered enough attention so that Xiaoyu would have her perfect opening. With a deep breath and an exhaled sigh, she mustered up all the courage she could gather and ran straight for the unguarded  entryway.

It seemed almost a too perfect plan, but there was no time to think about that. The tournament was underway and knowing that Kazuya was planning to face off Heihachi in this last attempt, she knew he was going to use Jin to do so. She looked back and forth, finding a supply closet nearby which she snuck into, grabbing hold of any sort of uniform to cleverly sneak into. Xiaoyu pulled herself out of the closet, looking back and forth to make sure the coast was clear and would walk around the large building, looking for any signs of where Jin might be hidden. The place was large and each corridor was like a labyrinth of hell. Finally, she came to the door which was locked and sealed with the most tightened security labeled "Authorized Personnel Only"

"Well, this must be it," she said  under her breath, "Jin, I'm not that far away from you."

"Hey!" called a voice from the other side of the tangled hall as he approached, "This sector is off limits, what do you think you're doing here?!" The man was dressed fully in a white lab coat and had 'director' written on his ID.  "I didn't assign anyone here, so I'm going to ask once more what are you doing here?!"

"Oh, no it was Mr. Kazuya Mishima who directed me here, but I can't find my badge." She threw her hands up and gave a semi-cute smile, "I tend to be a little clumsy sometimes, do you think I could use yours?" The man stayed at his side and narrowed his eyes at her, looking her up and down.

"Just what kind of fool do you take me for? Who are you anyway?!"

"I'm telling you the truth, please hurry, I don't want to be fired, this is my first month and I really need the money!" Not buying into her act, the man grabbed onto his stereo trying to call back for reinforcements.  Xiaoyu sighed and grit her teeth. "I guess I shouldn't have thought it would be this easy... but, I'm doing this for JIN!!" She ran to the man, kicked the communication device from his hand and proceeded to sweep under his legs to bring him to the ground. Once he fell back, she flipped him onto his stomach, pulling his hands behind his back and would keep them there till he surrendered. "I don't have time for games!"

"You'll never get away with this! I have patrol coming as we speak!" Xiaoyu knew it wasn't a bluff, and she had even shorter time to deal with him and get to Jin. She raised her hand, chopping him on the back of his neck, an easy and efficient way of getting him to cooperate though he was unconscious. She took his badge from him and smiled while getting up onto her feet.

"Thanks for your cooperation, now if you'll excuse me, I must be going." She rushed back to the door, sliding the ID card into the receiver  and once the light turned green and she heard a 'click' her hands impatiently pushed the door open and shut it behind her. The room was dark, all except for a  light emitting from a large tank and a machine that generated it. Her eyes steady on the figure within the Tank. It was Jin Kazama, being nursed back to health, and seemingly tested for the devil gene within him. Xiaoyu rushed to the machine, placing her hand on the glass to see that Jin was indeed inside the tank, monitors showing that his heart beat and condemning the idea that he was finished for good.

"Oh...Jin," she whispered, pressing her face to the glass and smiled softly, almost nestling herself against it. "I'm going to get you out of here, I don't know how but I'll figure it out." She played with the buttons, not sure what they did, but had noticed something odd. The devil gene's code was...incomplete. It was as if it was missing more to the DNA structure and instead, was intertwined with another code that was not deciphered. "Could that be...the...Kazama's gene that's preventing this?" Xiaoyu remembered from her talk with Dr. Bosconovitch about the powers of the Kazama blood line, and how things worked. "So that means... it's because of his mother's blood that he isn't able to fully rid himself..." She continued to look at the structure, "wait, but...it looks like it's mending over the devil gene... so that means..."

Xiaoyu felt a tight grip around her neck that pulled her back to the floor, she could not see who the attacker was, but this was not friendly. She felt it harder and harder to breathe, gasping for air and tried wiggling out of the situation.

"That means little girls shouldn't be so nosey, curiosity killed the little chinese girl after all." The voice was so familiar, it was Anna Williams, sister  to Nina Williams, Jin's right hand. "Now, how should I kill you?" Xiaoyu continued to struggle more beneath Anna, though the more she struggled, the tighter the grip was around her neck.

"Jin..." Xiaoyu called his name one last time, kicking her legs out about her hitting the machine once before she stopped. Anna laughed tossing the girl off to the side who was trying to catch her breath, but not before she stepped on her neck. The vibrations of the kick to the machine sent waves that moved through the tank where Jin stayed, feeling small shocks over his body, causing him to wake up to the pain. He opened his eyes for the first time in months. He could only hear the soft hum of electricity that flowed through the currents and the oxygen tube connected to his nose and mouth. His body felt lifeless for a moment, then it slowly came back to him, movement. He was not dead after all, which only meant that his hopes had failed him. The blurred vision of his eyes strained to clear up, catch focus of his awareness, though he struggled.

"It's a shame really, to die in front of your 'lover boy' if only he were awake to see this!" Anna said with joy and excitement. "If only he were awake to see me kill you."Xiaoyu grabbed hold of Anna's ankle with a tight grip, though it was hard with her constantly choking. Once Jin's eyes finally opened up, he caught glimpse of Anna, and what looked like to be Xiaoyu. He was just angry over everything, his body reacting, a dark energy all around him, pushing and forcing the pressure against the tank till it burst open and glass shattered everywhere. Anna blocked her face but was pushed back by the force along with Xiaoyu who was knocked into the wall with her attacker. There Jin stood, glaring out to the two girls. Nothing good would come of this.