Chapter Text
Xiaoyu couldn’t believe her good fortune: her first match up in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5 was against Jin Kazama, himself. She was a jumble of emotions as she entered the underground arena. Excitement and relief were all mixed in one. She was thankful that she didn’t have to wait another two years before seeing Jin again. Fortunately, this separation was much shorter, but Xiaoyu couldn’t deny the distance between them.
Even as he stood only a few feet away, Xiaoyu felt as if there were miles separating them. Compared to the last time she saw him, Jin appeared colder and more detached. She wondered if he, too, was conflicted about Heihachi’s death. Maybe he was in mourning?
Jin stood still at the center of the makeshift ring, his hoodie drawn over his head. The shouts and taunts from the crowd as Xiaoyu entered the ring was distracting, but she was determined to have a conversation with Jin first.
“Jin!” she happily called out, running towards him.
“Xiao,” his terse reply caused her to skid to a stop. She had planned to fold him into her arms in a hug, but it seemed that would have to wait.
“You shouldn’t be here. This tournament is dangerous,” Jin spoke to her evenly, turning to meet her eye, trying hard to convey the seriousness of his words.
This was not the reunion she had hoped for and her face dropped. Why wasn’t he happy to see her? Xiaoyu angled herself so she could look at Jin fully.
“Well… it’s nice to see you, too!” she said with an annoyed harrumph, “But, Jin, I have a plan. If I win the tournament, I can make everything right for you and the rest of your family.”
“No!” Jin’s voice came out harsh, causing Xiaoyu to jump, “Heihachi is dead. Whoever or whatever is running this tournament is far more sinister, I can feel it. You need to leave now before it is too late.”
Xiaoyu shook her head stubbornly, “I’m here to help you, Jin. Whether you like it or not, I’m staying. I’ll make it to the top.”
Jin paused, taking in her words. Although the words themselves sounded familiar, they also sounded foreign coming from Xiaoyu. She wasn’t the person he wanted to hear that from. Leifang, he hoped, had finally heeded his repeated warnings, but deep down, he knew that her convictions were strong and she wouldn’t be deterred so easily.
Jin stared at Xiaoyu quietly before lifting his arms up into his fighting stance. It seemed that the two would have to settle this score through combat.
“I don’t want to fight you, but you leave me no choice,” Jin said, “I must get to the end of this tournament, no matter the cost.”
Xiaoyu smirked and also adopted her stance, “I’m no pushover, Jin. I can hold my own just fine.”
“I’ll put an end to everything,” Jin muttered.
Xiaoyu had sorely underestimated Jin. Knowing that he had switched fighting styles to Kyokushin style karate and had only been using the style for the past two years, she was not expecting such fluidity and power in his strikes. However, Xiaoyu was not so easily defeated. She had spent a considerable amount of time honing her kung fu, but it would all be in vain. Jin easily and quickly dispatched her, putting an end to her ambitions of a tournament win.
Xiaoyu sat on the ground, tears in her eyes, as she realized that she would no longer have a chance to properly enact her time travel plan without the financial backing of the Mishima Zaibatsu. She folded her hands into fists and pounded the ground in frustration. She was left with no other choice.
She swiped at her tears with the back of her hand and pushed herself to her feet. Jin stood a few feet away, watching her carefully, his expression unreadable.
Xiaoyu approached him, standing just close enough that she could clearly see the beads of sweat along his brow and the sheen along his neck. It was clear that this wasn’t an easy battle for Jin either.
“You win, fair and square,” Xiaoyu conceded, “I guess I’ll have to leave everything to you then, Jin. I trust that you’ll put things back to the way that they used to be.”
Jin eyed her, unsure how to respond to that statement, knowing that her ask came from a place of naivety. In his mind, she was better off now that she was no longer part of the tournament. She could get far away from it all.
“You know… Leifang has been waiting for you,” Xiaoyu said, completely changing the subject, catching Jin off guard.
Hearing this had an unexpected effect on Jin; he felt flustered and, for a moment, his expression softened. He and Leifang shared an emotional goodbye at the conclusion of the previous tournament, but that seemed like ages ago comparatively speaking. So much had changed in his life and, with his Devil Gene in berserker mode, he had mixed feelings about rekindling their relationship. Yet he couldn’t deny that Leifang affected him in ways that he didn’t quite understand.
“Can you tell her to keep waiting for me?” Jin asked, shifting uncomfortably, feeling unnerved at this show of vulnerability.
Xiaoyu frowned and clasped her hands in front of her, idly fiddling with her fingers, her discomfort at Jin’s request evident to everyone except him. Her crush on him had progressed despite his absence. But Xiaoyu had her suspicions about Jin and Leifang since the third tournament. Little did he know that she had said this to him as a test to gauge his reaction.
“I can’t do that, Jin. You should know why. You have to tell her that yourself,” Xiaoyu replied dejectedly.
“Yeah… I will…” he returned and trailed off, completely missing the crestfallen look that appeared on Xiaoyu’s face.
He turned to leave, but Xiaoyu called out to him, wanting desperately to confess her feelings to him. But the more she thought about the unspoken intrigue between Jin and Leifang, the more self-conscious she became.
“Just be careful out there, Jin,” she said instead, a forced smile plastered on her face. She felt incredibly stupid. That wistful look in Jin’s eye at the mention of Leifang was like a stab in the heart.
He nodded his assent and turned to leave, not realizing that Xiaoyu had turned her face in time to hide the tears that freely fell from her face.