Like Twins

Relaxing with a cup of coffee was fair enough, but the Blood Talon quickly grew bored. He should be out there working on becoming the leader, exercising or trying to figure out how to win Kazama over... or at the very least figure out how Hwoarang was faring. At least, not seeing the other redhead show up at the cafe was a decent sign, but it didn't have to mean anything.

After ten minutes, the Korean couldn't wait any longer. He crossed the street and went down the narrow back alley behind the hotel. He had to try and listen in... maybe he could figure out whether his efforts had succeeded this time.

Feet shuffled behind him, and the Blood Talon instinctively backed into a nearby shadow. From that vantage point there was no sign of life to be seen. No one was coming; the alley looked pretty much deserted. Then the sound of rustling came and a black feathered object stretched out from behind a dumpster and shuddered.

Was that a bird? Well, it was probably nothing all too interesting. While keeping an ounce of attention on the spot, Blood Talon moved forward, trying to figure out which would be the right window to listen under.

There was a loud crash as the dumpster suddenly flew over onto its side. The Blood Talon looked just in time to see someone disappear into the shadows only a few yards away from him. And then he heard a very low and deep laugh as a pair of glowing orbs lit up in the darkness.

That didn't sound good. The redhead took two quick steps away, then turned to face the orbs, slowly backing away further. His eyes scoured the darkness, trying to make out a shape.

Finally the figure stepped out into view. The hair, the markings, the talons, the horns; it was one of the Jins wearing nothing but leather pants, a belt of chains, and studded gloves. It took a few slow steps toward him, its claws twitching curiously. The demonic face was expressionless, but those glowing eyes showed more than a little bit of interest, staring intensely at the redhead.

Well, that was not his favourite form of Jin to be around. The Japanese was always dangerous, but in his human form, at least he tended to show a fair bit of restraint. Couldn't rely on that from the demon form, so he continued stepping away slowly, while trying to figure out which of the Jins it was. Obviously not Doormat Yankee, but who else?

Its head lowered as it continued forward and there might have been the first hints of a smirk beginning to appear. The demon sidestepped a couple times, but didn't close much more of the distance as it had been at a normal walk. Its attention only left the Blood Talon for a second when it looked past him before returning to lock eyes.

The attention he didn't want had been gained. Fair enough. Continuing his pace backwards to maintain the distance, he frowned. "Stop following me," the words came out more as a suggestion than an order, "go back to whatever you were doing."

Then it stopped. The demon lowered itself into a crouch and spread its wings, looking as though it was preparing to launch into flight. It waited a few moments before opening its mouth to speak. "I was waiting for you." Its voice came out strangely hollow, or maybe it was just an echo. It ordered loudly, "Come."

It was almost tempting to do as he was told. After all it was a Jin. However, survival instincts kicked in in time. Besides, he wanted to know which one it was! Considering it had stopped, he stopped too. "It's hard to recognize you in that form... which of my new friends would you be?"

"My name is legion, for we are many." The smirk became more apparent for a second only to vanish completely after. A gloved hand lifted into the air, palm up, beckoning to the Blood Talon. In a dead serious growl, it repeated itself. "Come."

That wasn't funny, even if it thought so itself. The Korean crossed his arms, trying his best to glare at those redglowing eyes. "Oh yeah? Why do you want me to come?"

Apparently it wasn't happy with that response. The demon straightened up and once again, moved forward, no longer bothering to move slowly. "Are you not worthy?" The question came out like an accusation and the demon's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Ouch. Seemed he had some decisions to make. His eyes remained on the form as he stepped backwards as quickly as he thought he could without tripping. As he threw a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't backing off into anything, he heard a flap of wings, and there the Jin was, before he could turn back around. How was that even possible? With a sigh, he stopped. Backing off didn't seem to help. "Worthy of what?"

It didn't seem all too intent on answering. Its eyes drifted down, studying every inch of the Korean in front of it. The interest and amusement was as obvious as ever when it lifted a hand and gently scraped a talon along the side of Blood Talon's face. For a moment only, it paused when the redhead said in a friendly tone, "don't scratch me."

The smirk returned and in a whispered hiss, it asked, "Are you worthy of your name? Are you worthy of my time, Blood Talon?"

Now that was a low blow. "Of course I'm worthy of my name," the Blood Talon spat back, "and as for your time, it was you who wanted this conversation." He was almost tempted to kick the guy in the nuts, but that seemed a rather suicidal plan.

Leaning in closer, invading any personal space borders, the demon sighed against his ear. "I dwell within Hiro. Are you not worthy of me?"

That harping about worthiness was starting to hit a nerve. Whatever being worthy of that creature meant, the redhead certainly didn't want to be considered unworthy, even if it didn't really matter. He crossed his arms, feeling a shudder crawl up his spine and suppressed it as best he could. "Are you worthy of me?"

It unleashed a loud growling laugh, throwing its head back with great amusement. Moments later, when it was able to calm itself, it stepped back and extended its wings. "Yes," It answered slowly, "I am. You may run away."

Run away? Was the thing out of its mind? Now, if it was Kazama, perhaps he wouldn't do what he was about to do, but it wasn't. This was just an almost irresistible copy in leather pants and chains... "No," he said with weight, "you're not worthy of me. You haven't done what you need to do to be worthy of me."

The wings folded once again at its back and it quirked its brow. The talons at the demons side twitched quickly back and forth as it appeared to be considering that. "You intrigue me. What is it that you think I must do?"

The Korean smirked. No matter how simple or idiotic the word game was, it was extremely exciting. Arguing had always been a passion of his, and with someone that deadly that close, it was almost unbearable. "If you need to ask that question," he said slowly, "you cannot become completely worthy."

Devil Hiro narrowed its eyes and in a deep whisper, it responded, "Is that so? All of you Hwoarangs are so consumed by your lust for the Jins, that it begs the question: is your concept of worth corrupted by the one you desire? Maybe you just wish I would hurt you?"

"I do not lust for you, and I do not want for you to hurt me. I do not want anyone to hurt me, and you are not worthy." He paused, then decided it was worth a shot. "Leave."

Its chest rose in a deep breath and it remained silent for awhile. Without warning it suddenly lashed out, slamming a fist full-force into the nearest wall. With a snarl, it stalked back toward the Blood Talon. "You are not the one I seek," its voice was vicious and had a subtle touch of prurience. It pointed a taloned finger at the nearest exit to the alley. "You have his face, but you are not him! I'm finished with this game. Run away."

"You're finished? Good!" The Blood Talon spoke loudly, not caring if anyone heard his childish, meaningless rant. "Now, if I remember correctly, you were only waiting for me, while I have business here. You found me, we talked, you are not worthy. You leave."

The demon grabbed BT by the arm, with the talons digging into the flesh, and violently yanked him around and shoved him toward the exit. It leapt up into the air and came down on top of him with its legs on either side of his waist. Straddling the redhead, Devil Hiro placed its knees on the Blood Talon's arms, pinning them to his sides. "I'm hungry, Blood Talon."

Just great. "We ate dinner together a few hours ago, but if you want more food, I'm sure the restaurant is still open..." He sighed, trying to yank an arm free and failing.

A talon returned to run along his face, and it dug in the cheek just deep enough to draw blood. The devil laughed at the resulting kicking and the scowl. It leant down, drawing its tongue along the new wound, collecting the blood with a lustful pant. "I should kill you."

Normally, that would've been taken as a joke, but with a demon on top of you, it was hard to see the humour. "No, you shouldn't. There's no reason for you to kill me. Now get off me! Please!"

"Why?" Devil Hiro lapped again at the wound. Its voice was softer than it had ever been, and its other hand ran down the Korean's leather-clad chest. "Why should I let you go when you call me unworthy and order me to leave? You do not have delusions of superiority and yet you say such foolish things. Tell me your reasoning in why I should spare your life."

"You are right that I do not have delusions." Alright, pleading didn't work, making sense didn't work, nonsense didn't work... what remained was of course to try to prove the guy wrong. "You and I both know I am by far the best of the Hwoarangs. At fighting, at scouting, at thinking, at loving, you name it. If you're looking for the right guy, you've found me. Too bad for you that you just made a really bad first impression."

A hand slipped up under his shirt, curiously exploring the muscles. The demon appeared somewhat fazed by the statement when its brows furrowed and it looked the Blood Talon in the eyes. "Have I? I apologise for my ill manners." It dipped its head to nip playfully at the Korean's ear. "I will let you go this time. You interrupted my hunting, and now I must feed." It dug into his chest as it pushed itself up and moved quickly towards the shadows.

That hurt. Listening for Hwoarang and Jin was no longer on the agenda; being rendered powerless like that made the Blood Talon determined. He was going to get back at Hiro for that, and since he couldn't do it alone, he had to get back to work. Hopefully it was possible to become the leader of the group; at least he wouldn't give that up without trying. Hard.

~~~

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