Shadows of the Zaibatsu

Finally they were seeing progress! Research was never meaningless, but sometimes when there were no improvements or discoveries for awhile, it began to get discouraging. Dr. Nigil Lucas had finally produced something of value! He had been hired to test a strange substance and find a way to turn it into a weapon. It apparently had the ability to destroy the devil gene, and after so many sleepless nights of test after test, he had found the solution!

Okay, it was still in developmental stages, and there was still work to be done, but it would be nice to actually have results when he reported to his employer for once. He had a great team, but as the youngest among them - being a mere 36 - they thought it was a funny idea to give him the responsibility of dealing with the boss. Those old, balding men were all cowards. He wasn't exactly brave either... No, he was terrified!

Nigil made his way to the dojo, trying to steady his pounding heart. It was difficult to maintain one's composure while preparing to face a Mishima. Kazuya Mishima was truly a dangerous man, and he had heard more than a fair share of rumours about what the man did to scientists who displeased him. Those were not rumours he was keen on confirming. The manilla envelope nearly fell out of his shaking hand as he stepped over the threshold, into the dojo. Another deep breath, and he nervously spoke up, "Mr. Mishima? I'm Dr. Lucas from the lab..."

The sinister Japanese turned, smirked, and approached by way of a jump kick, followed by a punch combo into Dr. Lucas' personal space. Kazuya's agitated breath was the only sound for a few moments as he considered the other man. "Yes?" He finally growled, fixing Nigil a firm glare.

Oh jeez... He was so lucky he didn't piss his pants just then. The scientist held his own breath and took a step back. When the Mishima gave a cruel smirk and stepped forward, Nigil swallowed hard and attempted to hold out the envelope to the man. It slipped out of his grip and he clumsily scrambled to catch it before it hit the ground, only to fail and wind up on his knees. Oh yes, those old men were probably laughing it up, sending him to this! He gathered the envelope back up and before he could start to rise again, he felt the man grab him by his collar and lift him up.

Freaked out, and on the verge of running away, Nigil somehow managed to keep his sanity together. "Th-this... This is regarding the substance. The d-d-devil gene."

"Oh, right..." Kazuya said calmly, then put him down by the wall. "What's new?" He asked curiously as he flexed his arms and chest.

Would he be able to turn around and leave and still keep his job? Not sure he wanted to risk it. He held out the envelope again, this time managing to not drop it. "This contains the basic data. Mapping of the substance's reactions to... uh... certain chemicals and materials." His lips suddenly felt so dry, but he avoided wetting them. He had already behaved enough like a coward for one day. Think science! It was easier to be calm when his mind was on science and not on the one he was speaking to. "I've... Well, I mean, we've developed a way to alter it in the way you, Mr. M-Mishima... had requested."

Kazuya crossed his arms as he thought about that. "That's good news." He finally answered, taking the envelope from Dr. Lucas' hand. "Have you found a workable application?"

Okay it was more bearable now when the man wasn't being too overbearing. Still, He wasn't about to breathe a sigh of relief just yet. Not until he was safely back in the lab with the normal people. He stifled a cough and nodded quickly. "We've coated a sword with it. Of course it's a very thin layer. Since this is an experiment, we did not want to waste any more than we had to. We should have the results to that test by the morning... You'll see in those notes that have been prepared for you, that the chances this won't be a success are slim."

"Finally." The Japanese said with satisfaction. "The Zaibatsu will be mine again. Just you wait, Jin. Just you wait..." He snickered, then broke into a sinister laughter, turning his back on Dr. Lucas and walking away.

~~~~

It was chilly in there. Being stuck in a cell for a few hours gave him time to reassess his strategy. Hwoarang sighed and leaned against the concrete wall near the bars looking out at the rest of the room. It had been stupid to be sneaking around the Zaibatsu in the middle of the day like that, but it bothered him that he had been caught so easily. Getting tossed into that hell hole of a prison wasn't the way to get any attention. Not the right kind, anyway.

He couldn't help it. Not after sleeping with Paul. For some crazy reason, it always made him think of Jin when he was bucking and moaning with someone else. After all those lilbidous thoughts, he had to see the object of his desire. What happened instead? He saw Lee Chaolan go inside, and then not long after, saw the inside of that damn prison! Sadly, he knew his little trips to the Zaibatsu were rarely any better under the cover of darkness.

"Hey, princess," A man called to him from the next cell. The Korean lazily gazed over to see the bloodied and bruised face, obviously just fresh out of a torture session. "Who'd you fuck to get the special treatment?"

Special treatment? Hwoarang rolled his eyes. "What the fuck are you talking about? I've only been here for a couple hours, and you're already calling me princess again? Look, Shigemi-san, I'm busy. Now fuck off."

"Ass kisser. You're blowing one of the guards, aren't you? That's why they don't want to mess up that big mouth of yours, right?"

Yeah right. There was only one person he'd get on his knees for, and it definitely was not the guards. "Nope. They blow me." With an annoyed sigh, Hwoarang turned his focus to the man entering the prison.

He knew that guy. One of Jin's right-hand men as far as he had been able to tell. It was hard not to be resentful and jealous when some geezer could be closer to the man he wanted than he ever could. That guy got to speak with Jin every day while Hwoarang was lucky if he got more than one word in two years. It was so damn frustrating!

"Looks like your carriage has come, princess. Try not to get caught tomorrow!" Shigemi coughed and spit up. It sounded painful, but it was hard to be sympathetic towards that asshole.

Hwoarang got to his feet as he watched the men coming. Were they there to let him out again? So soon? Everyone else there had been there a long time, beaten and tortured, and he rarely spent more than a few hours. Even as a repeat offender, it was obvious he wasn't taken seriously at all. He forced an arrogant smirk and leaned against the bars. "Well, well, well. Yokotami! I guess this means your throwing me out again, huh? And after I tried so hard to get in!"

"You know the rules," the middle-aged man said with a friendly smile. "Although it'd be simpler for everyone just to keep you here, I have to follow my orders..." He pulled out a key chain, searching through the keys as he added, "you know the routine. Step away from the door."

Could refuse, but it was hard to see how that would be anything but idiotic. The Korean sighed and stepped back. "Think you could get a message to Kazama for me?"

"Maybe." Yokotami said calmly, unlocking the door and stepping through. "Turn around." As Hwoarang turned his back on the guy, Yokotami took both his arms down behind his back. "What message were you thinking about?" He asked as he slipped a pair of handcuffs around Hwoarang's wrists.

"You can tell him that if he's not going to treat me like a normal prisoner, he could at least provide some dirty magazines. It's boring down here and I'm getting tired of being called 'princess'. At least hentai would help me get my mind off it." Hwoarang laughed lightly to himself. Being bound like that didn't bother him at all; he had gotten used to it by a long time ago. "You'll tell him, right?"

Yokotami left the cell, giving him room to pass. "Let's go." He said lightly, and Hwoarang started walking. The door was quickly locked after him, and the middle-aged man followed together with the two guards. "Maybe I could just put a magazine in there, but are you sure you want to go back there again?"

"I don't want anything in this rotten place if it's not from him. You know, next time you could always save us both the trouble and just not catch me." Hwoarang glanced over his shoulder. It was a relief to get out, but still he was just as disappointed as he always was when he was being kicked out of the Zaibatsu. So much effort without even the smallest glimpse of the one he came for.

"If you don't want to get caught, you can just show up for his regular receptions. Who knows, maybe you can get an audience?" Yokotami smiled at him, moving forward to hold a door open for him.

Hwoarang shrugged and walked through. He couldn't help but look around with the lingering hope that maybe Jin would be there, waiting for them. "I don't come here to chat with him. Even if I did have something to say, he's never listened to a word I've said before. Now won't be any different."

Quirking a confused brow, Yokotami continued to the next door. "So you come to be locked up in his dungeon? I doubt that is it..." He sighed, opening the door. "What are you trying to accomplish?"

Why did everything always have to have a reason? Why couldn't people just be irrational once in awhile without people acting like they're weird? The Korean sighed. "I'm not trying to accomplish anything. I'd tell you exactly why I come. It's no big deal, but I don't trust you to not tell him. Last thing I want is Jin thinking I've gone soft. Hey, do you have any change? I need to call someone to pick me up."

Yokotami stopped, then tried for eye contact. As Hwoarang met the gaze, he started talking slowly. "I thought maybe we could work something out. The current rule is that as long as you give yourself up immediately when spotted and do as you're told, nobody is allowed to hurt you." He paused, blinking, then continued in an almost sad tone. "It's still just a question of time before you get shot. These things happen."

"Are you starting to like me, old man?" Hwoarang winked teasingly. The threat of being shot wasn't exactly something he was excited about, but it was a bit of a surprise he hadn't already been seriously injured earlier. "I doubt we can work anything out. Your audiences with his majesty aren't good enough for me. I know my luck is going to run out eventually, and every time I come back here, I do it prepared to suffer the consequences of my actions."

"Young man..." The Zaibatsu employee said with a sigh, "I don't see anything these imprisonments can accomplish, that I can't provide for you in a safer way."

Well, what could it hurt to tell the truth? Not like it could do any harm - wasn't getting what he wanted anyway. "Sometimes I just want to see his face. In person."

Frowning, Yokotami furrowed his brows. "An audience provides that, young man."

"Oh yeah? So Jin would let me walk into that flashy audience room of his with no reason and nothing to talk about and just let me stare at him?" Funny guy. Hwoarang rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Even if he allowed that, I don't want it. It's too damn formal, and I don't want him to get the stupid idea that I like him or anything."

"So you want to see him, but not in a formal context, and you don't want him to think you like him..." The man grinned lightly. "Alright. Maybe I cannot help you." He started walking again, ascending the stairs back to surface level. "If he thinks you like him, I'd think it's easier to make him let you see him..." He mumbled to himself.

Really, why was Jin's right-hand man trying to help him like that? Pity maybe. The Korean followed up the stairs, his eyes still peeled for any sign of his favourite Japanese. "You know what would help? A detailed blueprint of the property, including the locations of guards and shift changes. If I had that, you wouldn't have to catch me like this all the time. Wouldn't that be great?"

"Yeah, that would be perfect." The man answered with light sarcasm, then continued walking outside and to the gates. Jin wasn't to be seen anywhere. At the main gate, Yokotami uncuffed him. "I hope you won't try to sneak in again... your luck is closer to running out than you think."

As Hwoarang rubbed his wrists, he looked over the building. "You said the 'rule' is not to hurt me as long as I do as I'm told, right? Is it the same rule for anyone else you find trespassing?"

"No." The man answered simply. "And believe me, that special rule really rubs some people the wrong way. Some people think you need a brutal lesson... one you might not survive."

Sounded like he had enemies he didn't even know for something he had no control over. Oh well, if they wanted to hate him for their boss' decisions, that was their problem. It was confusing, though. Why would he get that special rule? Hell, he hadn't even known Jin remembered his name. Hwoarang reached out to put a hand on the man's arm, ignoring a guard that was aiming a gun at him. "Thank you, Yokotami-san..." Okay that gun wasn't so easy to ignore. He let go of the man and turned to the guard. "Relax, fella, or I might hug him too."

"Go ahead." The guard said with a cocky smirk, "I won't shoot you for hugging him."

How nice of that guy to make the exception. Hwoarang watched curiously as Yokotami shivered slightly and quirked a brow. What was going on in that head, the Korean wondered? Hwoarang grinned and wrapped his arms around the older man, in a firm hug. Since he was given permission, why not? He whispered into Yokotami's ear, "Kiss Jin goodnight for me." When he pulled away, he licked his lips and winked playfully at the guard.

To the sound of the guard chuckling, Yokotami started moving back towards the building. "Goodbye." He said with a sigh.

What, was something wrong with the hug? No fun. Hwoarang waved at the man's back and then turned back to the guard. "Hey, sexy. Do you have a cell phone I could borrow?"

~~~~

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