Shadows of the Zaibatsu

A stressful act, going home. Stressful and unnerving. It had been a little terrifying to walk down to the lab at gunpoint and have Jin order the scientists to put it in him and set him free. Hwoarang was okay with swallowing the tracking device even if it bothered him that someday Jin might lose the Zaibatsu to his father and then Kazuya could easily find and kill the Korean. The worst part was when he was restrained completely and those lunatic scientists were feeding him things. He didn't quite understand what they had been saying, but it seemed they fed him a lot more than a tracking device. Oh well, there were too many things to worry about now to bother with the worries he didn't even know about. Current worry: Baek Doo San.

Hwoarang made it to the apartment door and knocked. A part of him was frightened that he'd be slain by his own mentor's hands. Surely that would never happen, but it still struck a nerve to think about it. He shifted uncomfortably as he waited and leaned against the wall. His ass was hurting and the bumps and bruises from their mock fight were sore and tender. It would be really nice just to be able to lay down somewhere, but that wasn't a priority.

The door opened. Baek scowled at him, stepping aside without a word. The stress level went up a notch. Hwoarang automatically lowered his head and walked inside, trying not to limp. Maybe it would be good to allow himself to appear injured, but he was too afraid his act would be seen through. "I guess you got the news..."

Baek closed the door with a bang. His lip twisted up in an angry grimace, and then he tore his top off, tossing it aside. He slowly turned around 360 degrees, revealing an abundance of whip wounds and who knows what else. As his eyes rested on the redhead, he swallowed. "This is your doing." He said in a silent grumble.

That monster! Hwoarang felt his blood boiling at the thought of anyone laying a finger on his master. He stepped toward the other man, his hands balled into fists. "They had no right to do that!"

Sighing, the older Korean crossed his arms. "They had every right to do it." He said in a deep, unwavering voice. "I have failed them. We have failed them." Baek paused, drawing a long inhale. "You have failed them!" He said, the anger practically beaming from his face.

"That's right! I failed them, so they have no right to take it out on you! If that cunt wants to punish someone, he can punish me!" It hurt to see those injuries. They reminded him of the terrible choice he had made to betray his master. It wasn't fair of them to force that upon him. "Have you been treated? Where's the disinfectant?"

"Yes, I have been treated." The older man remarked quietly, then raised his voice again. "They will punish you." He swallowed. "In fact, they might kill us both for your complete failure."

"You are not responsible for my actions!" Hwoarang's voice was trembling, so he stopped to steady his breath for a second. Tears stung his eyes, but crying was not something he was willing to do. He had shamed his master enough for one day. "It's... It's not a complete failure. I can get back in, Master... I can finish it... As long as I'm alive, it's not a goddamn failure!"

Baek's eyes narrowed. "I raised you, boy. I am responsible for your actions." He glared firmly into Hwoarang's eyes, and the younger Korean met the glare. "Where is the sword now?"

Despite the fact that it had been his intention to give the sword to Jin, it bothered the younger Korean to have to say it. He hesitated and looked away. He couldn't bear to disappoint his Master anymore. "Kazama has it... I can get it back, I just need more time... But if that man so much as touches you again, I'm not going to do it!"

"The only way..." the older Korean started angrily, then blinked and took a few deep breaths. "The only way," he continued in a calmer, firmer voice, "to avoid that, is you getting that sword back. Do you understand?"

Somehow he already knew the answer to his question, but Hwoarang asked anyway, with his voice straining to remain calm. "And if I fail again... Is there any chance you could get away?" He hid his hands behind his back as they began to shake fearfully.

"What?" Baek's voice quivered with anger. "Get away? As in run?!" His shivery exhale was followed by the return of a vicious scowl. "I'd rather die standing than be hunted like a dog..."

"This... This is all Julia's fault. If it wasn't for her, you wouldn't be in this mess! No... No, it's Mishima's fault. That barbaric geezer is the one who should be killed! It's not fair, Master! He shouldn't be able to get away with holding your life hostage like this!" His voice cracked and he turned his back to the older man to hide his crumbling composure. Slowly, Hwoarang started for the door. "When I'm finished taking care of this mission, I'll kill him," he added quietly.

"Hwoarang..." Baek said, then paused. After a sigh, he finished. "Good luck."

No, he couldn't leave it like this. To end it on such a bad note when he may never see the man again was unforgivable. Hwoarang started in his Master's direction, and carefully wrapped his arms around the man, trying his best to avoid irritating the wounds. It took a few seconds to find his voice again, and when he did, he whispered into the older man's ear. "Forgive me... Please don't hate me."

~~~~~

The whole way back to the Zaibatsu had been agonizing. Hwoarang was worn out from the emotional overdrive and he didn't get a chance to get in contact with Paul. He didn't even think about it until he was in front of his destination. It was better that way; breaking up with someone when he was in that crazy state of mind would be foolish.

He walked toward the front doors slowly and with his hands in plain sight. The guards were quick to stop him and question him about why he came back. What more could he say? He wanted to see Jin... All he wanted was to see the face of the man that he betrayed his Master for. He couldn't stop thinking about walking away from that apartment without an answer. Maybe Baek knew on some level that Hwoarang was about to do something that could not be forgiven. Or maybe Baek was just as torn between two people as Hwoarang was. Maybe he understood and couldn't say it?

Hwoarang hoped he understood. As he collapsed to his knees and watched the guards hurry off to deliver the message to their boss, he rubbed his eyes. They were dry, but they were heavy and sore. He waited on his knees, partly hoping Yokotami would come to get him. Someone familiar. Someone...

"You little rat!" Lee Chaolan's voice boomed out, scaring a squirrel nearby into a bush. As he stormed toward the Korean, he was rolling up his sleeves. "You have a lot of nerve coming back here after what you did! You're coming with me!"

That sounded like a bad idea. Was Jin aware of what his employee was doing? Hwoarang simply did not have the energy to argue, and when the fingers latched onto his hair and yanked him to his feet, all he could manage to do was yelp and follow obediently for fear of his hair being pulled out completely.

They went inside and through the corridors. The path was too familiar. As they went through the second door, Hwoarang knew he was being taken to the prison. It had been a while since he saw his buddies in there; being called princess again might provide the bit of relief that comes with normalcy. After a few minutes of being directed by the rough hand in his hair, he was tossed into the familiar cell and the older man came in with him, closing the door loudly behind.

Lee glared and watched as the Korean stumbled into the metal cot. "I'm surprised and highly disappointed. I was sure Kazuya would have murdered you the second you were free. That's why you're back here now, isn't it? To hide from him?"

"Are you," Hwoarang asked in a dry whisper, "a mole?"

"If I were a mole, Kazuya would have known better than to trust you for the job. If you knew anything about the history of the tournaments, you ignorant fool, you'd know how much that man loathes me." Lee moved forward, looming over the exhausted young man.

Any other day, that response would be highly amusing, but at that moment, Hwoarang could only manage a brief chuckle. "So you like him? If you didn't, you'd have said 'we hate each other', or 'I hate him'. Have you slept with him yet?"

"That's absolutely ridiculous and insulting! Have you no manners at all, punk? Unlike you, not hating someone entirely doesn't mean I'd sleep with them!" It was obvious by his grimace meant he had, at the least, thought about it.

"Why not?" Hwoarang mused tiredly, "He's gay. You should have seen the massive hard-on he got when I rubbed against him. Hell, maybe he was thinking of you when we-"

"Silence! You filthy ingrate! It's bad enough you tainted Kazama-sama with your deceitful body, but to taint his father too is disgusting! You're no better than a prostitute, and you deserve much less."

Considering the source, those words should have meant nothing, but Hwoarang wasn't proud of what he had done. He lowered his head and sighed. It was too much work to continue arguing about it. "I'm tired, Chaolan... Leave me alone."

For a moment, Lee just stood there, studying him. The screws turning in his head were practically audible as he sat down on the edge of the cot and leaned over the younger body, rudely invading his personal space. "Does your beloved Baek-sensei know about you? No, of course not. You wouldn't have the guts to tell him what kind of slut he raised. How do you think he would react if he knew how dirty inside you really are? I'd love to see the look on your face when he abandons you."

Low blow. Hwoarang gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to punch that pansy's lights out. "Stay the fuck away from my Master."

"Then you stay away from my family. Kazuya is mine and Jin is mine." Lee's voice had lowered to a venomous hiss. "When you get out of here, you had better crawl back under whatever rock you came from and stay there! If I hear about you so much as stepping foot back in Japan again, I will personally destroy everything you live for. I will make you shame yourself in front of Baek, and then I will slaughter him right before your eyes so that you will be soiled by your own mistakes and his death."

It was too much. He was too tired to fight the visual and when Hwoarang thought about that happening to his Master, the tears returned. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away. "Fuck you..."

"What did you say?!"

Before he could respond, a fist lashed out, nailing him in his stomach. Hwoarang doubled over, clutching where he had been hit and falling halfway off the cot. Lee had caught him and was holding him partly on it. His skin itched with repulsion where those hands were touching him.

Lee leaned over, moving against him so that he could feel the older man's breath on the back of his neck. When he shuddered, the bastard laughed. "Do we have a deal?"

Loud footsteps. Two guards appeared outside the bars, guns ready and a determined air to their faces. "Hwoarang!" One of them ordered, "you're coming with us!"

Hwoarang bit his lip and held his breath to steady his chaotic thoughts for fear of them breaking him down. He yanked away from the man, and stumbled to the floor. Once he was able to climb to his feet despite the oncoming nausea, he walked out the door, still trying to hide his limp, and nodded at them. In a quietly submissive tone, he said, "Sorry for the trouble... Are you taking me to Jin?"

"Yes," the guard growled, "now put your hands up and walk!" Clearly had to be insecure to have that much of an attitude, but Hwoarang didn't want the guard to be mad at him, so he obeyed, and they walked the hallways in silence.

When they got to Jin's quarters, they knocked, and soon after, the door opened, revealing Jin.

~~~~

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