Shadows of the Zaibatsu

After their shower fuck, Hwoarang had been surprisingly understanding that Jin needed to go handle some business, primarily getting people transferred to new jobs. He had asked for somewhere to get a bit of sleep, and when the Japanese told him to go sleep on his bed, the redhead had given him an excited hug.

He had explained that Hwoarang should under no circumstances open the door, answer the phone or be seen by the windows, because for all intents and purposes he was 'locked in the torture chamber', in case there were moles nearby. The Korean did seem indifferent about that, but insisted that Jin woke him up when he got back, which wasn't hard to agree to.

Jin walked up to his throne, sitting down and watching Yokotami approach. It was time to start the relocations, but there was one of those he had to do in person. "Yokotami-san," he said calmly, "get Lee Chaolan in here."

The older Japanese bowed deeply, leaving the room quickly, and the raven-haired man crossed his legs as he waited.

Lee entered and his expression made his displeasure at the situation already apparent. He walked down the middle carpet and as he made it to the throne, he did the usual bow. As his gaze met Jin's once again, he spoke only a mild greeting of, "Good day, Kazama-sama," and then fell silent.

"Tell me what was said in your conversation with Hwoarang in the cell." The Japanese demanded calmly. Hwoarang had told him already, but he wanted to see Lee's reaction.

There was a moment of consideration and Lee put on a strained smile. "After he attempted to take your life, Kazama-sama, I simply warned him to stay away from you. Was it wrong of me to be concerned for your safety?"

"It is perfectly correct of you to be concerned for my safety." Jin confirmed, then added, "was there anything further said by either of you?"

A subtly sly grin pulled at the man's mouth as he nodded. "I didn't think it would be appropriate to mention this, but since you asked... The guilty party here, meaning Hwoarang, was bragging about having sex with Mishima Kazuya. My anger got the best of me then and I hit him, I apologise."

"I see." Jin nodded slowly. "No need to apologise. Whenever someone brags about that, I'd rather you hit them than you didn't." He let his gaze wander over the other's body for a moment, then settled back on the man's face. "What did he respond when you told him to stay away from me?"

"If I recall correctly, he was more concerned about his Baek-sensei than my warning to stay away from you. I attempted to get a real response, but your guards interrupted and he never did answer." Lee shrugged and tilted his head curiously. "If you're worried about me being a mole, I assure you, my ties with my brother have been severed long ago."

"If I thought you were in cahoots with Kazuya, I never would have employed you in the first place." Jin said, slightly annoyed that the man brought that up. Granted, that man's loyalties were a big question mark after that talk with Hwoarang, but he was nevertheless a bit insulted that the man thought an assurance out of the blue would mean anything. "With these moles around, though, I am worried." He paused, claiming eye contact. "I will have to move some employees around. I need people capable of holding their own in key positions, in case trouble arises. And when it comes to people capable of holding their own, among others, I thought of you."

The older man appeared troubled by that. His brow furrowed slightly and his eyes scrutinized the Japanese. "... I am capable... What would you have me do, sir?"

"I need you to cover what I can't. These headquarters will be under control, because I am here. But I can't save Tokyo if problems arise there. It is too important to lose; it is the key to having the Japanese government under my control, and it is also the main base for our offensive and defensive nuclear capabilities." He stopped speaking long enough to push to his feet. "You're a better martial artist than anyone currently employed there, Mr. Chaolan. I appoint you as head of the emergency security section of the Tokyo branch. Fastest career in the history of the Mishima Zaibatsu."

Lee gawked and for a moment he even looked insulted. "You're sending me away? ... Very well. I'll do my best in my new position, Kazama-sama." He bowed.

~~~~~

All this mistrust and disappointment was driving Jun crazy! She walked briskly down the sidewalk toward the local dojo where she knew her current target was training. That ghastly man was crossing the line with what he had done. After the suspicions that arose from seeing the two Koreans arrive together by place, Jun had put a bug in their apartment. After the conversation she overheard that day, Baek Doo San was no longer in her good graces.

At the door, she took her shoes off and then marched in, quickly locating the man in question. In a firm, commanding voice, she spoke his name, "Doo San. You lied to me."

The Korean stopped his motions, turning to face her. "That is a grave accusation." He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "I did no such thing."

"You told me I'd be able to count on you if I came up with something to end this silly war. That was a lie." She took another step toward him, her hands calmly at her sides.

Brows furrowing in offense, Baek crossed his arms. "I didn't say that. Besides, you never told me about a way to end the war. You can hardly expect me to help out with a plan I don't even know exists."

She smiled bitterly and shook her head. "I'd be stupid to trust you with any plan. You claimed you were so concerned about Hwoarang's safety when I suggested sending him there on good terms, and then days later, you send him to his death, twice! And then you actually lecture him for getting out of there alive?! You, sir, are a hypocrite and a liar."

With a loud sigh, Baek met her gaze. "You really don't understand anything, do you?" His lips curled angrily, but he took a few breaths to calm down. "Can you point a finger to anything at all, even with the knowledge of hindsight, that I could have done that would have been safer for Hwoarang?" His voice quivered when he added, "I have done wrong things in my life. But if you're telling me I'm not concerned about Hwoarang's safety, you're wrong."

"Don't talk to me about understanding, Doo San. Are you truly trying to tell me you don't know what's between my son and yours?" She took a deep breath and attempted to continue in a more patient tone, "Oh, I believe you are concerned about him, but I think this willing ignorance of yours is making you blind to the fact that you put your employer above family, and then you forced him to choose between two things he had dedicated his life to!"

The Korean's eyes narrowed again. "Nobody escapes from the Zaibatsu, Jun. Nobody!" He took a step closer, raising his voice. "I don't know why they let him go, but going back there was not dangerous if they let him go in the first place! But staying with me now is dangerous." He gritted his teeth. "If your husband kills me because of this silly father-son rivalry, then so be it, but Hwoarang..."

It was hard to stay angry at that man when he talked like that, but she managed. Jun cleared her throat and fixed the man with an insistent glare. "You sent him there in the first place, Doo San. You can act all high and mighty, claiming you did it this time for his own good, but that doesn't excuse you from the first time. You sent him in there with a motive to kill, and armed with numerous lethal weapons. It's a miracle he hadn't been killed for that."

Baek frowned. "You're saying that as if it was my idea. You're saying that as if Hwoarang would be alive now if he hadn't gone. I didn't create this situation, Jun. If it was up to me, he wouldn't have met either of them. Being involved with your boys is dangerous, and I want my boy to stay out of it! Is that really so hard to understand?"

"Frankly, you are closer to Kazuya than I am. I haven't spoken to him in over twenty years." She crossed her arms and took another step. "If you had listened to me in the first place, this wouldn't be a problem. If Hwoarang could be in the Zaibatsu now on good terms, instead of there with the weight of thinking he'll lose his sensei if he doesn't fight Jin to the death! I don't care whose doing this is. You encouraged it. You are responsible for this mess that I now have to figure out a way to clean up."

"I didn't make him meet any of them. You encouraged that. I didn't tell him to fight Jin, and I never saw any lethal weapons. This is all you and your family's doing." Baek sneered, then lunged at her, fists first. "I won't let you take him from me!"

Jun stumbled out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting hit. That was not something she had been expecting. She fell into a fighting stance, but it was difficult to put attention into it with her rising anger blinding her. "Fighting me isn't going to get him back, Doo San! You allowed your employer to use him as a sacrifice, so you have no one but yourself and Kazuya to blame!"

"Allowed!" Baek spat. "You made it happen!" He launched a rapid kick combo, but Jun blocked the kicks as they came.

"I did not! I didn't send him on that plane! I haven't even begun to follow through with my plan! How could I when I'm so busy trying to figure out who has sabotaged my efforts?" She threw a counter blow, but its only purpose was to distract the man as she flipped to the side and swept her foot down to knock her opponent to the ground. Once he was down, she leapt on him and twisted his arm behind his back to hold him there.

"Lies," he grumbled. "Someone made him go to the US, and that wasn't me. If it wasn't you personally, I'm sure your family is responsible. Now let me go!"

She sighed and leaned down to speak softly to the man. "If what you say is true, that you are not the one who made him go to Kazuya in the first place, then I suspect the trip to the states was his own decision. My Jin would never suggest he go there. I'm not suggesting Jin's perfect, but having someone go to the states like that is in no way beneficial to him." As she looked up, she spotted a familiar face walk past the door she had left open. That was odd. What was Lee Chaolan doing in that neighbourhood? Letting go of Baek, she rushed to the door, grabbing her shoes along the way. "I'm sorry, Doo San. We'll have to continue this conversation another time."

~~~~

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