Shadows of the Zaibatsu

It was a cool evening. Not much humidity. A perfect night for a combot operation. No, every night was a perfect night for that, but this one was different. This one was special because this night he was able to test his new addition to his beloved creation. Lee Chaolan was lurking outside the window of his boss's chamber. The beauty of being an employee was that the guards knew not to bother him.

If those fools were going to accuse him of being on Kazuya's side, then he'd do Kazuya a favour! He'd gas the sons of bitches! He stroked his remote lovingly and gazed at the window. Couldn't see the occupants from there, but he could hear them breathing through the built-in microphone on the selected combot. He could hear as the combot moved closer to the couple and his hand hovered over the grey button. He could barely wait for it to get into position!

"Lee Chaolan." A woman's voice startled him. He jumped up and spun around, his breath being caught in his throat when he laid eyes on Jun Kazama. So the rumours were true? She really was alive? Impossible!

It was no mystery why that woman was there. She wanted to save her son, right? Lee laughed lightly and gazed behind her. "You're a sneaky woman, aren't you? You've gotten further past the guards than the street rat has on his own. Or did you charm them with that mesmerising voice of yours?"

"A magician never reveals her secrets." Jun held out her hand. "Give me the remote, Chaolan."

She was insane! How could she honestly believe he'd give in, just like that? It was insulting and highly entertaining at the same time. Lee quirked an amused brow and shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You wouldn't know how to control my combot and you might end up blowing us all to smithereens. You see, Jun-chan, this model is equipped with numerous weapons designed to take out individuals, groups, and even a small village if need be."

"Is that so?" Jun dared to smile sarcastically. "Tell me about these weapons, Chaolan-chan."

That request, regardless of how false, was hard to refuse. She would not be laughing once she knew just how serious the topic was! "It will be my honour..."

~~~~~

That voice... Just as Hwoarang had been beginning to doze off, he heard that voice. It was quiet and muffled as if it were far away, but it was just barely clear enough for him to know who it belonged to. Jun Kazama? Had she come to see Jin? He gazed at the sleeping body beside him, becoming greatly happy for him if he was indeed able to face his mother soon. Before his hopes got too far up, though, he noticed movement within the room and upon closer inspection, he spotted the big hunk of metal hiding in the shadows.

That was when he heard the quiet voices - there was a male one too - mention gas. His eyes widened in shock, and suddenly he wasn't so sleepy anymore. He sniffed the air, wondering if the gas had already been released. It was hard to tell, because depending on the type, it could have no odour at all. Sliding a hand up onto Jin's shoulder, Hwoarang gently kissed the man's beautiful lips. "Jin, wake up."

After a loud inhale, the Japanese knit his brows and grimaced. Then the eyes shot open, fixing Hwoarang a sleepy gaze. "... what?"

"Look." He motioned at the combot. It was difficult to stay calm, but he didn't want to alert Lee to them having caught on. He whispered to Jin, "Lee's going to gas us, and I don't know what else that thing could do... I think your mother is distracting him, so we gotta get out of here." That said, he climbed off the bed and inched toward the window. The combot was following his movements, so he was careful not to make any sudden movements.

That seemed to wake Jin up. He pushed to his feet, looking over at the redhead as he slowly made his way in the other direction. "Are we moving slowly for a reason?" He whispered, then started twisting the code wheel of a wall safe.

"It has motion sensors. It could be programmed to react if we move too fast. Better safe than sorry, right?" Hwoarang pressed his back against the wall and peeked outside, catching sight of Lee Chaolan and Jun Kazama. Lee's back was to him, but Jun appeared to notice and in the next moment, she was fleeing. Could only hope she'd get out safely.

"Hwoarang!" Jin whispered pointedly, then seemed about to throw something over to him, but rethought it and put it on the bed. "Throwing is fast movement too, huh..." He whispered, then added, "I've pushed the silent alarm. Now put your gas mask on. I assume shooting it is no good, but who knows who else could be around..."

Hwoarang made his way back to the bed and slipped the mask on over his head. As weird as it was to be nude and wearing a gas mask... On that thought, he went to carefully put on his jeans. "Pulling shit like this... I'll kill the fucker myself," he grumbled angrily. Nobody got away with threatening Jin's life.

"So now what do we do, beat it up?" Jin's muffled voice asked with a quirked brow, having put on pants as well. He raised a gun at it, but stopped. "What do you think will happen if we shoot at it?"

That wasn't a good plan. Hwoarang got up and made his way over to Jin to put a hand on the arm holding the gun. "Maybe nothing. Maybe it will explode and kill us all. Come on, Jin, let's go before we find out what psycho things Chaolan put on his mechanical blow-up doll."

Jin didn't seem to like that idea, but with an exaggerated sigh, he eventually tucked the gun in his pants, heading slowly for the door. "Since this thing got in here, I have a feeling the entrance room is a bloody mess by now..."

"I was awake." Hwoarang followed close behind, but kept his eye on the machine. "I didn't hear any struggles going on. Maybe he just gased the ones that got in its way."

The next room was, indeed, a mess. It was surprising that amount of devastation was possible without more sound, but given the large hole in the wall, at least it wasn't hard to figure out where the machine had come in. But through the hole, feet were visible.

"Why are you just standing there?" Jin asked in an annoyed voice.

"We were ordered to do so, Kazama-sama!" Came the immediate response.

"By who?" Jin asked skeptically, but the obvious answer indeed returned - it was Lee. "I have a new order for you," the Japanese hissed angrily, "Lee Chaolan is to be shot on sight. He is no longer an employee, and killing him is a priority assignment for everyone. Now go! Catch him!"

Now would probably not be a good time to latch onto Jin, so Hwoarang resisted the urge. Was he still supposed to be acting the role of the prisoner? He shifted uncertainly and glanced over his shoulder. At least the combot wasn't following them. Lee probably ran off by then without giving it anymore commands. "Where are we going to go?"

Most of the guards had left them at that point, but one was still standing there. "Give me your radio." Jin said calmly, and the guard quickly pulled it out and handed it over. "This is Jin Kazama," he said into it, "tell the lab that there's a combot in my personal quarters. When they've arranged it's removal, tell maintenance to fix the place up."

Without waiting for an answer, Jin handed the radio back to the guard. "Come in here and keep an eye on it. If it does anything - anything at all - report it immediately. And call for a gas mask for yourself." The Japanese looked over at Hwoarang. "And you are coming with me." He said calmly, pulling the gun out, but not bothering to point it anywhere.

Couldn't argue with that - nor would he ever want to. "Whatever you say, your highness." Hwoarang nodded and started out of the room. He kept his head up high in subtle defiance, though he wasn't entirely sure what to be defiant about. It just felt like the right thing to do.

They walked down the corridor, and when they got to a quiet place with a good view, Jin took off his mask and whispered quietly. "So which suite do you want to go to? We can't sleep in my quarters tonight..."

"The bed in the starlight was comfortable. Let's go there." Hwoarang pulled the mask up off his face but kept it on his head as he looked Jin over. In a quiet mutter, he added, "You're not going to leave me tonight, right?"

Jin leant in, placing a quick kiss on the Korean's cheek. "Hwoarang... if we mess up our roles so that I have to make a stand to save our cover, I'm going to have to throw you in a cell, because I couldn't bear losing you. Apart from that, I'm with you all night..." He sighed and smirked, then kissed Hwoarang on the lips. "Starlight suite it is..."

He had been afraid of that. Hwoarang sighed and nodded. "Alright, fine. I'll deal with that cell if I have to."

"I'll try my best to stay at safe distance from you until we get there." Jin smirked, then nodded down a hall. "It's down that way."

~~~~

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