Twisted Affair

'There was the rock again. Just like in the previous visions. Only this time, there was a cute little animal next to it. What could it be?' Slowly, the consciousness returned to Jin, and it took him about one second to realise what he couldn't in his sleep. That animal was a bear! He wasn't looking for a rock... he was looking for a boulder.

Thinking about it, he was pretty sure he had seen it the day before too. That was great! Finally he knew where to go, and he could move on. Excitement in the Japanese was rare, but a fair bit crept into his mind now. He squeezed his eyes firmly shut, before struggling to open them through a deep yawn.

There was the noise of someone entering the room. Through the sleep-induced haze, he caught sight of the redhead carrying a tray of food into the room. He stretched and smiled as Hwoarang placed the tray on the bedside table. The aroma of the breakfast wasted no time in filling the room, and that smell was definitely pleasant.

"Hungry?" Hwoarang responded to the smile with a curious quirk of the brow. "You know, Kazama, you're kinda cute when you're sleepy."

Jin let his eyes wander momentarily over his companion's jeans and leather vest, chuckling lightly at the view. Just looking at the man triggered unmistakable signals from downstairs. "I'm not the cutest one around. Come here." He quickly snatched Hwoarang's arm, pulling the redhead down to sit next to him on the bed. Wrapping his arm around the Korean's waist, he sighed contently. "Now what is it you have made?"

Hwoarang grinned and kissed Jin on the cheek. "Well, There's rolled omelet, steamed fish, and some fruit." He paused and averted his eyes for a moment. "Of course, if you'd prefer to eat me instead, that's always on the menu."

Grazing the redhead's cheek with the back of his hand, the Japanese treated him to a vague smirk. "As it should be. I could tell you liked it." Being reminded of that wonderful time out in the forest didn't really help in clearing the licentious thoughts from his mind, but he figured there was not as much of a rush as earlier, now that he knew where to go. Thus he leaned in, nuzzling Hwoarang's neck, calmly enjoying the scent of his lover.

The redhead chuckled and ran his hand down Jin's arm. He seemed to be thinking about something and then pulled away to try and get back up. "Eat your breakfast before it gets cold, Casanova. Are you going to go to your hippie camp again today?"

With a bright smile, Jin released the Korean, and sat himself up straight. He gazed over the delicate food before shifting his attention back to his companion. "I'm going back to the mountain, yes. Almost certain I know where the amulet is now." While the excitement about that filled his mind, he picked up the chopsticks and leaned forward.

Dark Korean eyes considered him for a good long moment. After turning away, Hwoarang moved across the room toward the closet as he spoke casually over his shoulder, "You're not doing anything too private, are you? Because I think maybe I'd like to come and help you this time." He turned to glance at the Japanese again. "And this way I can be there to make sure you actually remember to eat lunch."

"Well..." Jin pondered that for a moment. He hadn't exactly considered having anyone around him while searching a good idea, and the initial sentiment was not wanting anyone to know anything about it. However, that was blown already, and gazing over at the other man - with his eyes nicely lined up to watch the backside - it was hard to resist. Chewing on a bit of fruit, he decided that he'd risk it. Sex with Hwoarang was just too good to pass up. "Alright, if you're sure you want to."

"The trees and I may not see eye to eye, but I'd rather risk their wrath than not go at all..." He stopped talking for a moment to pull out a denim jacket from the closet. "I don't understand how you can do that for so long every day without any company. It'd drive me nuts."

Swallowing a chunk of fish, Jin smirked lightly. How could anyone feel like that about being alone surrounded by beautiful nature? "With me, it's the opposite. When you set your mind to it, you drive me nuts. But I like it that way." Yawning lightly, he blinked a few times, then resumed the meal.

That earned a snicker and a playful wink as Hwoarang made his way back toward the bed with his denim jacket slung over his shoulder. The deviously flirtatious grin on his face displayed a hint of something else that couldn't quite be placed before it vanished completely. "Don't worry, this time I'll let you meditate in peace. I'll wrestle with a bush or something when I have to wait."

"Hopefully I won't need any further meditation to find the amulet... but I may need some for narrowing down the next location." He ate a bit more while trying to figure out what it was he just saw. Did something make the Korean uncomfortable? It was hard to say, but perhaps there was something he could try - a bit of fun which could give answers as a bonus.

With his companion back within reach, Jin tugged him roughly onto the bed, pushing the redhead over on his back. A chuckle escaped his lips when he brought his hands to the leather-covered chest, gazing down into the dark brown eyes. "Few things make me impatient, but right now..." He broke himself off with a silent growl-like purr as he blinked lustfully.

Hwoarang shifted to get comfortable, showing very little surprise at being pushed down like that. He lifted his leg somewhat to brush suggestively against Jin's side. "You can be as impatient as you want, but my ass needs a rest... Kazama... After you find what you're looking for today, where are you going next?"

Rather tempted to just give the full answer, the Japanese nevertheless knew that doing so would be a bad idea. So instead, he tried to figure out something informative to say that couldn't put either of them at risk. "Quite far, actually. I'm leaving Honshu to go into the middle of nowhere." It was starting to dawn on him how much he'd miss this company, and he decided it really shouldn't end like this. He lifted the closest of the redhead's hands, giving it a gentle kiss. With a deep breath, he spoke sincerely, attention firmly focused on Hwoarang's face. "If you want, I'll come back here afterwards..."

That seemed to make the Korean happy as a broad smile grew on his face. "You really would, or are you just saying that to humour me?" His smile faded suddenly and he shook his head adamantly. "No, you shouldn't come back here. It's not safe here for you... But maybe we could work something else out? Maybe I could, you know, come with you? After all, two heads are better than one, and I realise you probably have good reasons for not being specific with your answers, but you can blindfold me on the way there if you really want."

Now that was encouraging. However, he still remembered what the redhead's friends had said the day before. Did his companion even realise what he meant with nowhere? "You know, that would make the trip a lot better, but Hwoarang..." Jin paused and frowned, imagining the Korean in the middle of the thickest Shikoku jungle. He drew a deep breath before he continued. "You'd be bored out of your mind. It's going to be hours to walk to get to people at all. Nightclubs and other entertainment will be at least a day trip. Besides, you have a life here. Friends, work, a place to live... they'd miss you." He forced his frown into something resembling a smirk, bringing his hand to gently stroke the wild red hair.

"You know, I may look like a club-hopping, wild-and-crazy Korean rocker type, but my life isn't supposed to be here." He reached up to touch Jin's face. "I'm only here until I think of my next move, and well, that was probably going to be in regards to hunting you down, so either way... I can think of other ways to keep myself entertained."

Leaning down, the raven-haired man seized the soft lips of his rival, letting their tongues get their say on the matter. They spoke loud and clear; even though logic told Jin that the guy was only saying whatever he could to come, the kiss told him it'd be great anyway. As he retracted, he looked down at the Korean's beautiful face, unable to resist sliding all ten of his fingers into the long mane.

Jin sighed warmly at how the Korean kept saying that his life revolved around him, and was more than willing to back it up. It hadn't been easy, but something within him was finally getting through to his brain: That this was all real and true. Although having a slight disturbing expectation of disappointment, Jin no longer had a mind to refuse. He brought himself closer until their noses touched before he responded. "Keep yourself entertained? I guess that means you have some advanced packing to do. We might be out there for weeks."

The Korean's eyes widened with childish excitement and he wrapped his arms loosely around Jin's neck. "You'll really let me come?! Man, I was so worried if you left, I wouldn't get to see you again until the next tournament, but this way..." Seemingly having decided not to continue that train of thought, Hwoarang started on another. "I can't wait! I'll buy some things tomorrow that we can bring along. A bottle of lube, maybe? Or two."

That enthusiasm was priceless. Jin felt a smug grin creep onto his face, greatly amused by how eager the redhead was. It was strange to feel wanted... it was several years since the last time that happened to him. "With luck, we can do that shopping today. It would probably be smart to leave tonight when it's dark. And... we'll need at least two." He gazed intently at his rival, chuckling a little at the prospect of going out to buy lubricant together.

~~~~~

'He was wrong! The bastard Ha Neul was wrong!'

It was something Hwoarang had been celebrating all morning. And in his current circumstances, anything was welcome to distract him from the uneven forest path and the trees that kept snagging his denim jacket. Nature... Something he'd have to get used to where they'd be going, but it would be worth it. That solved the issue of where he'd be going next, since he didn't want to be the third wheel with Ha Neul and Jae-chan forever.

He stumbled along behind the godly Jin Kazama. Of course he suspected he wouldn't get very much attention throughout the day's searching, but he wanted to begin his own process of coming to some sort of truce with the trees. An understanding of sorts... Kind of like a 'You stop scratching me, and I won't burn you the fuck down!'

"How come you never get snagged by these ba--" Hwoarang was abruptly cut off as he tripped over a tree root and landed in the mud on his hands and knees. For a moment he stayed down there, trying to calm his rising anger. His knees stung a little so he figured they were scraped. "... Baka!"

His companion stopped, casually turning to face him. As soon as the guy saw his current position, an amused grin crept upon the Japanese face. Blinking slowly, Jin appeared rather patient, but didn't seem inclined to lend a hand. "You'll get used to it... I hope." As he stood there with a content expression, the rays of the sun played beautifully in the man's ebony hair, as if to underline that nature could be benevolent if it wanted to.

Scowling intently at the root, the redhead forced himself back up to his feet. His dark eyes returned to Jin for a moment before he lowered his gaze stubbornly and resumed his trek forward. Mud was such a bitch to get out of denim. Of course he couldn't blame the guy for being amused, but his dignity was still somewhat injured. "Remind me to pack a fucking machete before we go."

Still with a smile on his face, Jin waited for a few moments to let him catch up. He wrapped an arm around to the opposite shoulder as he leaned in to give Hwoarang a gentle kiss on the cheek. A few steps later, the trail narrowed again, and the raven-haired man retracted his arm to lead the way once again. Obviously, the Korean would have to watch his back; nature wasn't going to stop interfering anytime soon.

It only took a minute before the Japanese stopped dead, pointing ahead at a clearing with a huge boulder, at least three meters tall. "There it is," he declared with a determined voice, seeming proud that he was able to spot it.

The boulder certainly was big. As the redhead laid eyes on it, he wondered what about that boulder they were looking for. Maybe it was a landmark or maybe it was like a tootsie pop and they'd have to get to the center of it to find what they're looking for. He approached it and then looked around as if expecting to see a hint as to what was going on. "Well, what do we do now, Mr. Oracle?"

Jin lowered his eyebrows as he looked it over. It was fairly amusing that he didn't have an answer to that ready, but it was funnier when the Japanese pushed at it a little, as if he could shove an enormous rock just like that. "We need to remove it, there's something underneath."

"Move it? You're kidding me." Hwoarang gave the thing an experimental kick and then looked around for something they could use for leverage. "Alright, we'll push it, but if I pull a muscle, it'll be on your conscience."

With a deep breath, the Japanese kept surveying it with a thoughtful expression. "I wonder if we could." He proceeded to walk around it, carefully examining how it rested against the ground. "It's rather heavy." Jin concluded absently, as he brought his hand down as far under the stone as it could go.

'And here I thought it'd be light as a feather.' Hwoarang shook his head at his companion's obvious statement. Things could be worse, but that was still quite an annoying obstacle. He moved over to a tree nearby and leaned against it. "If I'd have known this would happen, I'd have brought my friends. We could have used Ha Neul's big head as a battering ram."

A dry smirk accompanied the response. "One'd think that would send this rock flying, if not from force, then from the smell..." Taking a few steps back from the boulder, Jin dug into his pocket and pulled out a glove. While he kept tilting his head to look at it from various angles, he slipped it onto his hand. Eventually, the Japanese seemed to single out a spot on the grey surface, and started moving his arm back and forth as if he planned to jab it for being in the way.

What the hell did he think that would accomplish? Unsure of whether he should offer a helping hand, the redhead crossed his arms and watched curiously. What would he do if Jin broke his hand; laugh, or crush that gigantic pebble? Both, maybe. "Are you going to let me in on your genius plan or am I just supposed to sit back and enjoy the show?"

Turning around for a moment, the Japanese raised his eyebrows. "If you think of something, please share." When the man once again faced the rock, he raised his gloved hand with spread fingers, and it didn't take long till white chi sparkled around it. His head lowered, and loud breath filled the air for a moment. Then Jin's arm shot back, then lunged forward into the hard surface. The next second, Hwoarang could see the raven-haired man stroke his knuckles with a vague grimace on his face - unsurprisingly, the rock hadn't bulged a millimeter.

Immediately concerned about his companion, Hwoarang pushed away from the tree and came up beside Jin to make sure he was alright. That looked painful and surely could use some attention. He touched it as gently as he could, ignoring the resulting hiss, and took a small water bottle from out of his pocket to pour over it. It surprised him a little that there was no resistance, since he didn't think Mishimas were the type to accept help too easily. "Keep it clean. It's kinda hard to fight with an infected fist, don't you think?"

Hwoarang let go and walked backwards a short distance, deciding to give the boulder a try of his own, but he wouldn't be quite so blindly arrogant as to use his fist. Instead, once at a good distance, he ran at it and leaped into the air, treating it to a chain of powerful kicks. Soon gravity got the best of him and he landed hard on his back, the air rushing out of him on impact. For the most part he knew how to fall without injury, but in the middle of a forest with such uneven ground, he had very little control, and was just lucky he didn't bump his head.

It took a few moments for his breath to return to him, allowing him to curse in his mother tongue. As he sat up, he saw the raven-haired man watch him closely. "I don't know, Kazama... I think you're going to have to surrender to your family curse for a little while if you want to get past this."

Wandering over towards him, Jin soon sat beside him with a light smile. Sliding his good hand through the red strands, he leant in for a determined kiss. With a quirk of his brow, a smug grin gradually appeared on the Japanese's face. "Surrender to it?" He blinked slowly, tracing Hwoarang's cheek with his fingertips. "When you saw it back then, two years ago, I had no experience with it." Then his face lit up with amused surprise, before he added, chuckling lightly between the words, "You didn't think it could overcome me, did you?"

"Mmh..." There was nothing better than getting attention like that in the midst of the hippie stuff. It took a moment for Hwoarang to process that idea before he flashed a sarcastic smile and nodded. "You didn't exactly give me many opportunities to learn about you. How was I supposed to know you were perfect? ... So are you going to use it here? I mean, do you think it would work?"

Jin squinted his eyes, shaking his head slowly. "I've been called a number of things in my time, but I don't think I'll hold my breath waiting for someone to consider me perfect..." Wrapping his arm around the redhead to pull them closer together, he sighed lightly before speaking in a more serious voice. "Can't say I like using it, but you're probably right. There may not be a whole lot of other options."

It was comfortable like that, but the best way of making that comfort continue was to get the task done as quickly and efficiently as possible. The Korean pressed his lips lightly against Jin's neck and idly ran his hand up the man's chest. "I don't really understand what's so important about this rock, but if you'd go that far for it, I guess I'll just have to trust that you haven't completely lost your mind. Your curse isn't going to... eat me, is it?"

"I don't doubt that it'd want to, but don't worry, I won't let it." That wasn't completely reassuring given the confidence with which the man had just bruised his fingers on the boulder, but he'd just have to live with his suggestion being carried through at this point. Jin got to his feet, seemingly scouting around for a bit and then starting to walk away.

Finding a clear spot, he carefully sat down in something that resembled a yoga stance. Eyes drifting closed, the raven-haired man's breath slowed down, and he sat motionless in silence for a while. Eventually, black marks started to appear across his forehead, and the skin of his hands seemed to mutate to a rougher surface, talons standing out at the fingertips where the nails used to be. When his eyelids slid up, they revealed a dim, yellow glow. A quite unsettling sight, even being prepared for something out of the ordinary.

The Japanese gazed over at him for a moment; a cold, empty stare that didn't seem to focus properly. Soon, the attention drifted on towards the large rock, and he walked determinedly over towards it. Stopping a good meter away, he raised his head, fists clenched by his sides.

More or less jumping into the rock, Jin brought his taloned hands to meet the target close together. A rumble quickly turned into a shattering sound, and cracks appeared across the surface, separating the boulder into smaller fragments. Afterwards, the raven-haired man seemed to assess its state, then dropped to his knees with his head bowed. Hands shaking slightly, he brought the talons to rest against his forehead, then froze in that position.

That was certainly a nerve-wracking performance. The Korean got up to his feet and took a step toward his comrade, only to think better of it a second later and retreated a few paces. Even though it was attractive in some morbid way, he really didn't want to be eaten or torn apart or whatever demons tended to do. But still, he couldn't help but be concerned about Jin. Would it be as easy to get the control back as it was to give it up? Doubtful. "You know, if you had been possessed by incubi, this would be a lot easier to deal with..."

There were no signs that he was heard. At least the talons seemed to gradually be retracting. Hwoarang would have used the eyes as a gauge of progress; however, they were firmly closed under the pattern-covered forehead. It was a bit unsettling that the man didn't seem to breathe, but he had to have done something similar before to be that arrogant about it all, right? Then again, this was Jin Kazama, so that might not be a given...

"Kazama...?" Becoming rather impressed that the guy seemed to actually be following through with his narcissistic claims, Hwoarang slowly started toward him once again. Having decided he was relatively safe, the excitement was over-shadowing any previous fear. He muttered quietly under his breath, "That was fucking kickass. You are so gonna get laid today."

Jin's brows started contracting frequently, as if he was blinking like a madman - however, the eyes didn't open. At last, breath returned with a loud, strained groan, and the man started blindly stumbling to his feet. His talonless fingers ran through his hair, his mouth twitching momentarily as the fingers of his bad hand met the skull. At last, eyes opened to let an exhausted gaze meet Hwoarang's, then they drifted back closed.

The Korean took that as a good sign, though the concern was beginning to creep up on him again. He closed the distance between him and his rival to give the battered hand a quick inspection. "Man, you're going to be in agony tomorrow, that's for sure." He put a supportive hand on Jin's back and glanced back almost mockingly at the boulder his 'master' had totally owned. Served that thing right! "Not perfect, my ass! Is there anything you can't do?"

Groaning again, the Japanese mumbled almost inaudibly. "Think clearly?" He rolled his shoulders and reopened his eyes, then wrapped his arms around the redhead. As he pulled his companion closer, he apparently attempted to chuckle before he brought his head to rest heavily on Hwoarang's shoulder. "That, and understand why you're my bitch. Not important, though... right now I'm just happy that you are."

"What do you mean you don't understand? You're the one that wanted a bitch." Hwoarang's eyes drifted up to the treetops for a moment as he took a deep breath. His hand absently stroked his rival's head and he shrugged slightly. "I can probably blame Sensei for it, because I like bowing down to you, but don't let it get to your head, prick... What do we do now that the rock is out of the way? Something's supposed to be under it?"

With a little moan, Jin brought his head up to line his mouth up with the Korean's ear. "Not let it get to my head? Way too late for that... and I don't want a bitch, I want you to be my bitch." He gave his companion a firm hug before he let go, smiling as their eyes met. Turning around with a content sigh, he looked at the fragmented boulder. "I guess there's some work to get all those pieces away, but hopefully they're small enough that we can push them."

The work just kept on coming. Not all too fond of heavy lifting, Hwoarang sneered as he walked over and gave one of the pieces a defiant kick. Hearing his beloved rival claim that not just anyone would do was bound to keep him going for awhile, but he found it hard to believe anything of value could possibly be underneath that thing. "What exactly are we looking for here? An albino slug?"

Starting to push at the fragments, Jin seemed to consider that for a bit. "I don't really know how it'll look. If someone lost it here some time ago, I guess the amulet could theoretically simply be lying under it. Given the size of the boulder, though, my money's currently on someone putting both of them here on purpose."

"So... You don't know how it got here or what it looks like? Are you really sure it's even still here?" Hwoarang sighed and started pushing at one of the pieces. It was no secret that the Mishimas weren't exactly the most mentally stable family - or genetically stable for that matter - but it was sounding more like a wild goose chase than a real search. "What if it's broken? As you so perceptively put it before, this thing was heavy."

"It wasn't broken this morning. I'll take my chances." The confidence had returned to his companion, as strange as it all sounded. What did Jin know of its state some hours ago? Maybe it had something to do with that meditation stuff. After all, everyone at the tournaments had heard the stories of the late Jun Kazama's spiritual mysteries.

Regardless of what that man was going on about, it was probably best to just not question it. So once he got that piece out of the way, he moved onto a second piece. He grunted as he put his weight into pushing it, and shot a flushed smile in Jin's direction in an attempt to be somewhat light-hearted about the issue. "That's strange, I never took you for a jewelry kinda guy."

~~~~~

This is a collab, written together with Chlover. You can find her author profile here: http://games.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=26260