Twisted Affair

One would think the guilt couldn't get worse. One would be wrong. Betrayal was one thing, but when that betrayal only proved to the guilty party that they were in the wrong, and that it hadn't been enjoyable in the least, it made everything so much worse.

Kazuya Mishima - even while being gentle - was still cruel and detached. The pleasure was unmistakable, but it was nothing compared to the younger Jin Kazama. No one could compare to Jin, and only someone incredibly stupid would consider a substitute. The guilt was painful and it made him nauseous thinking about it. That was just a mistake through and through and no matter what happened, it would have to be a secret.

The wind in his hair was not proving to be of any help. Usually speeding along on his bike would help him cool down, or at least let him get his mind off stressful things for a little while, but this time it only gave him more time to fret. Regardless of what happened; as bad as he was feeling about his actions, he wanted to see Jin so bad. He'd make it up to him somehow...

~~~~~

It had been a long day searching. Jin had covered quite a bit of ground, but no trace of anything looking like what he had envisioned. Not usually the impatient type, this time the raven-haired Japanese was starting to get a bit bothered by the lack of progress. As far as he could understand, he would already have been at the right place, simply not realising that he was.

There was also a sneaking doubt entering his mind. Had he misinterpreted something? That would mean he'd have to backtrack a bit, trying to figure out where he went wrong. However, he'd give it a few more days before he went that far. After all, it was a huge area, and a lot of places left to check.

At least he had a very welcome distraction coming up. Not being able to wait any longer, he had actually set off for the duplex as the sun was about to set. There was enough light to search for a bit longer, but it didn't matter that much. The Japanese was looking forward to sharing that warm bed, and also appreciated the chance to walk back to civilization with a bit of light along the path.

When he eventually arrived, he saw lights on, and proceeded to ring the doorbell. A smile radiating anticipation crept upon his face all by itself when he heard footsteps from within, but it wasn't the redhead opening the door - it was his smaller friend, Jae Sun. Jin nodded briefly before trying to sneak a peek past the guy without that being noticed. "Is Hwoarang home?"

The guy was visibly concerned; about what was hard to say. Frowning slightly, the Korean stepped back to let him inside. "No, it's only me here. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

At first, Jin was a bit worried that 'talk' could actually mean sex, given the usual choice of topic around the apartment. However, he shrugged it off and smiled appreciatively at the short-haired man as he entered into the warmer air inside.

He was indicated towards the couch, and proceeded to sit down. It was even more comfortable than it looked, and he stretched and shifted a bit; something told him that the 'moment' mentioned was a figurative one. Gazing over at the Korean, he tilted his head slightly with an inquisitive gaze.

"Look, no offense intended, sexy, but would you please grow up?"

Jin fixed an annoyed glare on the other man, not quite sure what he referred to. It was still not a way to start a conversation that the Japanese approved of. As he started pondering what the hell that was all about, Jae Sun spoke up again.

"Yes, exactly. Dude, you need to talk about what bothers you. Don't keep it inside until you snap." The short-haired Korean had walked over to him while talking, and brought a hand down to trace Jin's biceps gently. "You're much too strong to allow yourself to snap, especially if what Hwoarang says about you is true."

Something about that calmed him down a little; the rest of that made him feel like shoving the guy away with force. However, he settled for getting to his feet, and growled angrily at Jae Sun. "Who are you to tell me -"

"Sit back down." He was rudely broken off, and an insistent stare met his. The smaller man started talking faster, as if he was trying to get his point across before the Japanese just left. "I bother with this because I care about my friend. You're really lucky, do you know that? He's a good guy. A bit rough on the surface, but sweet on the inside." With that, Jae Sun lightened up a bit, smirking as his voice softened to a suggestive tone. "Although you may know more about his inside than I do by now."

Not being able to help chuckling at that, Jin sat back down with a vague smile. That did sound more like a sales pitch than anything else. Perhaps one of his friends actually wanted this to work? It was hard to say, but faced with an attempt to be constructive, he sighed and decided to listen. "Go on."

"He'll be good for you, man. He's a good cook, even likes cleaning. Not much like the slob I've found." He chuckled lightly at that, as if to say that whereas he was trying to use the fact for all it was worth, he wasn't blaming his companion. However, the smile quickly faded as he continued. "He likes you alot, so I'm sure that he's going to be serious about it. But you really hurt him this morning, and you shouldn't do that."

The Japanese quirked his eyebrow as he felt that sting just a little. "I did?"

"Yes. Now I don't blame you for not noticing, but I blame you for doing it." While Jae Sun apparently was taking a good look at his face, Jin felt himself gradually turn skeptical. How would the Korean know? Maybe this was just another mind game...

Seemingly reacting to the facial expression, Jae Sun went on. "Ok, I see you don't believe me, but I do know how people feel. Let's play poker. We can bet matches, you being broke is not an excuse. If I win, you listen to me, if you win, I give you..." he put on a thoughtful air for a second, "50 000 yen. What do you say?"

"That's a lot of money." Jin took a deep breath to continue, but wasn't given the time to expand.

"It has to be that much. If you're not really trying, it doesn't prove anything."

"I can't take your money."

Despite the Japanese having mustered an insistent voice, all he got back was a stern look. The short-haired Korean apparently had no intention of backing down. "It's a bet. If you think my wager is worth more than yours, all the more reason to accept. Although I know you're going to lose. If you know that too -"

"Let's see about that." Jin broke him off with a smirk. He didn't doubt that the other guy would be the favourite, but he couldn't help wondering whether Jae Sun was a bit short on information about who he was up against. He had played a fair bit of poker before, and unless he got angry, he had great control over his emotions. His education was focused on math, learnt at a polytechnical school. He knew all there was to know about probability. Besides, all the meditation had honed his pattern recognition skills to the extreme - at least in his own opinion, and experience hadn't caused him to change it.

The money on the table was big to Jin. So much that he would feel bad about winning it, but if he did, he'd sort his bad conscience out by sitting down to listen to whatever the guy wanted to tell him anyway.

It didn't take many hands for Jin to realise that Jae Sun was a very aggressive player. He was practically pushed out of most pots, and whereas he did manage to get a handle on what cards the Korean had, it seemed as if the guy always knew exactly what he held. The read was so good that he ended up looking at the deck to see if it was marked, but he couldn't spot anything.

Eventually, he got so annoyed with this that he assumed there was a mirror, some marks he couldn't see, or whatever else would make this happen. Hwoarang had mentioned swindling the first day, so it was no surprise. However, he wanted to hear what the guy had to say, so he simply stopped caring. He'd gaze quickly at his cards, play it plainly and sometimes make bluffs that were easy to call.

With a jack and an eight, he watched the flop bring three nines. Jae Sun made one of his frequent big raises, and Jin thought he'd just be done with it, and pushed all his remaining matches into the pot. The Korean smirked, quickly calling his raise. "Your overcard won't help you here, buddy."

Jin would've gotten angry at that if he had waged money, but he hadn't, so the guy cheating wasn't all that important. He sighed lightly when Jae Sun showed his pair of queens - he'd win only if both the turn and the river were jacks - a negligible possibility.

With a resigned gesture, he flipped his cards over and leant back, mentally preparing for the lecture by gazing at the Korean. However, the Korean stared at his cards and blinked, before speaking with a touch of awe in his voice. "Whoa, nice bluff."

The guy looked genuinely surprised, so Jin checked his pocket cards again. Jack and nine. He had not only misread his cards, but also flopped quads. The game was upside down from what he thought - now Jae Sun needed two queens on the last two cards, and the pot was large enough to make him the chip leader. Or perhaps matches leader, given what they were waging.

A queen showed up for the turn, and Jin could feel his heart beat faster when the Korean's hand reached for the pile to flip out the river. Was it even possible to be unlucky enough that the last queen would be there? He found that if it was, he'd again strongly suspect cheating. He watched the card move towards the table with great concentration, but when it turned... it was a six.

Pushing the pot across the table, Jae Sun smirked a little. "Alright, that means we've got quite a bit more poker to play. I don't mind, I like playing, and you're still going to lose." He shuffled the cards idly for a moment, apparently content with the situation. There was something about the guy's air that made Jin feel the Korean hadn't figured out he could play before now, but thought he'd faked his resignation. Either way, he suddenly appeared to have a bit of respect.

Whereas the short man across the table was rather fond of card games, Jin wasn't in a mood to keep playing. Checking his watch, he realised to his surprise that they had played for almost two hours already. So with a sigh and a friendly grin, he leant forward and put a hand on the deck. "Yeah, I know. Tell me what you were going to say, it's getting late."

~~~~~

"Look, first of all... he wasn't just mildly put off this morning. I don't know what you've said and done, but he was beyond his usual self. Hwoarang is quite predictable when he gets angry... he always starts cleaning something or other. Except this morning. It took him about two minutes to arrange a pit fight and head off for it."

Jin put on a thoughtful expression as he considered that. Probably the guy they had talked about earlier that day. However, Hwoarang seemed uneasy about that for some reason, and the Japanese wondered why that was. Not wanting to delve into that at this point, he forced a light tone for his response. "Pit fight? Wonder if he arranged one for me as well..."

With an annoyed sigh, the Korean raised his voice. "Will you take this seriously? You can't just take advantage of him! We won't let you do that. Besides, he may have a lot of patience for you, but eventually that will run out. When he loses interest in you, it will be too late."

'So that's what I have to do? Work through his patience, and he'll leave me alone?' Jin thought back to when he resigned himself to the idea that the redhead was going to stalk him if dumped; with what Jae Sun had just said, hopes of being left alone returned. However, it only took about a second and a half before he knew that he no longer wanted that. The realisation that he wanted Hwoarang surprised him, but there was no doubt in his mind at this point. "I'm not taking advantage of him, but I'll keep what you just said in mind."

Jae Sun let out a frustrated groan, before claiming eye contact. "I don't care what you call it. I don't want you to make him unhappy."

Hearing the entrance door open, Jin could smell who had just arrived. Whereas it would possibly be better to just let things be, he had never appreciated being pushed around like this. What did they know about it, anyway? Being blamed for the redhead's bad mood was completely unfair as well, as far as the Japanese was concerned. He nodded over at the large guy entering the living room before returning his eyes to the short-haired man. "When it comes to Hwoarang being angry, I think you've got the reason right there."

Ha Neul, having apparently come from working out judging by the excess of sweat covering him, stalked his way to the centre of the room. After briefly glancing over the cards and his smaller friend, he fixed Jin with an annoyed glare. "What the hell am I being blamed for this time? If Hwoarang's angry it's only because he knows what I said is true."

That sounded like something he'd want expanded to get a better idea of what was the problem. Leaning back and stretching, Jin rested his neck in his folded hands. With a raised eyebrow, he gazed over at the blue-tipped Korean before casually resting his right foot on his left ankle. "I see... what did you tell him last night, anyway?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" The larger man laughed and went over to stand behind Jae Sun, giving his lover's shoulders a gentle squeeze. "I told him he's not going to get what he wants out of you if he keeps going after it the way he does. You're not interested in an actual relationship, and he already knows it. He's just pissed that he's going to have to face that."

A vague smirk crept upon Jin's face while he shook his head slowly at that. Well, that explained quite a bit. He would have chuckled at how ridiculous the statement was, if not for two reasons - one, he was starting to dislike the guy, and second... did he want what that guy would consider an actual relationship? Being well aware that this was one of the Koreans' - or both's - place, he decided to phrase his response carefully. "What is it that you think I'm not interested in?"

"Well, to be fair, I really don't know anything but what we've been told about you." Ha Neul took a deep thoughtful breath as he idly played with Jae Sun's hair. "Frankly, you just don't strike me as a man who would want anything to do with settling down with someone. Whereas our friend Cheonyeo has no interest in being with anyone who's not you, I don't approve of him sinking so low just to get you, that's all."

Pondering what had been said, the Japanese wondered what was happening. Since when would Hwoarang - or he, for that matter - need someone else's approval for a relationship? Still, arguing that would be meaningless. If something would arise, he'd just leave and invite Hwoarang to come along. There was an amusing side to the argument, though. "So, in other words, what you're saying is that you want him to be alone?"

Ha Neul grinned slightly and his eyes were glimmering deviously. "I had been thinking he'd eventually come around and start hooking up with someone, but then you showed up. Tell me, Kazama Jin, what do you think the difference is between him being alone now, or him being alone later after you get tired of him? Like I said to him; a relationship based on lust alone isn't meant to last."

A blink later, the raven-haired man sat himself upright. Perhaps reminding the Korean about them being adults was needed after all. "What, is that a 'no sex before marriage' speech? He's old enough to make his own decisions, and so am I." Not seeing much of an immediate reaction, he decided to open up a bit. It was greatly preferrable if some sort of consensus could be reached; building a relationship with Hwoarang would be hard enough as it was without these friends butting in at every turn. "Alright, I was somewhat reluctant to expose him to the danger being with me implies. He knows full well the risks involved and doesn't seem to mind, but it's good to give him a few days to think about it."

"If you knew anything about Hwoarang, you'd know he's hardly the patient type when it comes to making up his mind. He'll make a decision in a second that should take him a few days, and it's usually the wrong decision." The man walked over to sit on the other end of the couch and smiled at Jin. "You're a very attractive guy, but from what I can tell, you're selfish and a Mishima. The whole continent knows that the Mishima family is bad news. I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, and I definitely don't think you're man enough to recognize what your #1 fan wants from you."

With a sigh, Jin locked gazes with the larger man. He slowly got to his feet while retaining eye-contact throughout. Resting a hand on the top of the couch, he spoke through an angry hiss. "If I was selfish, I wouldn't be here now. If I wasn't man enough, Hwoarang wouldn't want me. And if I was a Mishima, you couldn't have spoken what you just said and lived."

The man didn't flinch. Instead he calmly tilted his head and frowned as he spoke. "Well in that case, thank god I'm still alive. I don't mean to be rude, but Hwoarang would want you even if you were a sniveling coward. You say you're a man, you say you're not selfish but words mean nothing if no one has ever seen any proof of that."

Jae Sun grimaced momentarily, making exaggerated waves in the air with his hand. "Eww, so much testosterone. I think I need a gas mask." He started moving over towards the kitchen, before looking over his shoulder with a sheepish grin. "If you two are going to compare dicks, don't put your pants back on until I've had a good look, ok?"

Taking a deep breath, the Japanese smirked. "If you're not trying to be rude, you're not doing a very good job at it. As you correctly said earlier, though, you don't really know anything. I'm fully capable of throwing you the same kind of remarks, but I think we're better off dropping the subject." He pushed himself away from the couch, taking a few steps towards the stairs.

"I'm only looking out for my friend, but I suppose you wouldn't understand that. Before you go, let me ask you something." Ha Neul leaned back in the seat as his eyes casually followed the Japanese. "If he hadn't become your bitch and demanded to be seen as an equal, would you even bother with him?"

Jin chuckled lightly as he stopped, folding his arms over his chest. "And when did you stop beating your wife?" As he watched Ha Neul's defensive expression, he frowned a bit at the thought. Even if the guy didn't have all that much figured out, the black-haired man knew well that if Hwoarang had insisted on topping, they wouldn't have become lovers. Obviously, that would apply to Ha Neul and Jae Sun as well, and the hypocrisy was starting to get a bit old. "I don't see what you're getting jealous over; your lover seems like a nice guy who deserves your appreciation. Try to get over it."

The man got up and scowled, finally getting angry. "For your information, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jae Sun. I can't imagine my life without him. Just because I don't want to find my friend shattered into a million pieces in a week, doesn't mean I'm jealous. It just means I don't think you've done anything to deserve the sacrifices he has foolishly made to get this far with you."

"Struck a nerve, didn't I? Sacrifices..." He repeated sarcastically, before letting his eyes drift momentarily to the smaller man in the kitchen doorway who was apparently eating something. Jin thought back to what he had told Hwoarang himself earlier about not being deserving, wondering if Ha Neul had been listening in on the conversation. "You speak of respect, yet you don't respect what Hwoarang wants. If you honestly care about him, you should support him, not make him unhappy."

"Oh I know what he wants very well. Who do you think he'd come talk to whenever he was drunk and sulking about his aspirations? He's told us what he wants numerous times, and I know that you're it." Ha Neul stopped as if struggling to word what he was trying to say. "But he's selling himself short for you. If you can make him happy, I won't interfere at all. You have my word. I just don't think you can."

"I didn't say you didn't know. I said you don't respect it." Jin frowned for a bit. Make Hwoarang happy? For what it was worth, he'd seen more happiness from the Korean the last few days than he had before. Was that enough if this guy set his mind to separate them? That he didn't know. Maybe that was the point Ha Neul wanted conceded? "He was happy, until you started interfering. Perhaps I can't make him happy if you try to make him miserable, but I really hope what happened was a mistake on your part. If you're ruining his mood on purpose, you shouldn't call yourself his friend."

"Come on! I don't mean that kinda happy! What man wouldn't be happy getting laid? I don't doubt you can satisfy his sex drive - assuming he has one..." Ha Neul threw his hands in the air and turned toward the kitchen. Instead of leaving, he simply pouted at the smaller Korean. "You know what I mean, don't you? That pesky time in between fucks. If there isn't any understanding or respect there, then there isn't anything. If he doesn't think he means anything to you, then he won't be really happy. There. That's what I've been trying to tell you. Now I give up on trying to make sense, and I'm hungry... What are you eating, bunny?"

Shrugging at being off the hook, yet still not getting the last word, Jin made his way upstairs. He'd wait in Hwoarang's room, and could use some peace and quiet for meditation. Not only to narrow his search further, but also because he needed a good look at their relationship. Whereas he didn't like Ha Neul, there probably was a point or three in there somewhere. Judging by the tone of voices he heard in the kitchen, he wasn't the only one who could use a timeout, either.

~~~~~


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