Acceptance
Chapter 14
"Hwoarang?" A deep voice called from outside the curtain as the young man in question wriggled into snug fitting, black jeans. He recognised the voice immediately of course, and still only half dressed, his fly unzipped, he snaked one arm out to pull Jin into the enclosed space with him. "Hwoarang!"
Jin looked decidedly uncomfortable, though Hwoarang couldn't figure out why for the life of him. Jin had seen him with less in the way of clothing than this.
"Hey what's wrong? Do I look that bad?"
The reason for Jin's alarm was soon made obvious as the curtain was hauled back and three of Jin's Minders stood glaring at him, expensive suits and shades, the typical men in black style bodyguards. The Korean suddenly felt rather exposed, but didn't bother letting his embarrassment show, only going so far as to fasten his jeans for decency's sake. He was rather glad he hadn't tumbled Jin onto the bed as he'd originally planned. That would have been one hell of a mess to sort out.
"Heihachi's doing?" He asked flatly, folding his arms across his bare chest, pleased with the annoyed look on the Minder's faces, though one of them seemed to be looking at him in a rather different way.
"Mhmm. There's even one accompanying me to classes now." Jin muttered, glaring at them until they backed off, pulling the curtain back into place. He sighed heavily, head bowed and slumped onto the bed. "They won't explain why it's all necessary of course. I guess Heihachi's just determined to keep me out of trouble until the tournament."
"Doesn't make sense." Hwoarang growled, tugging on his clingy, navy blue T- shirt on over his head. "Why's he so determined for you to do well? He's out to win too isn't he?"
"Oh he'll win somehow, no matter what the outcome. You can always be sure he's got some other motive, but it wouldn't do me any good to ask. He'd have some sharp answer worked out before hand."
"That sounds about right." Hwoarang replied grudgingly. He sat down beside Jin, tugging his boots on. A few minutes ago he'd been dying to get out of the hospital, but now he was reluctant to leave. He knew as soon as they got outside, Jin would be escorted elsewhere. "How in the hell are we gonna see each other if you're under constant supervision?" He whispered, turning to look at Jin and finding his lips captured suddenly in a soft kiss that ended too quickly for his liking.
"I could try and sneak out over the wall again." Jin murmured softly, leaning his brow against the Korean's. It seemed like a ridiculous thing to say. They both knew the security would be tighter after he'd been caught outside last time, but he was willing to try anything. Hwoarang laughed quietly, trying not to sound too bitter. To think that he had to deal with this after they'd just moved things to a more physical level.
"We could try and lose the nannies here in the hospital and make a break for my place."
"Wouldn't work. I'd like to bet they know where you live now, it'd be one of the first places they check." Jin muttered. He was just as frustrated as Hwoarang was, perhaps more so since it was his privacy being disturbed 24 hours a day.
"So basically we're screwed unless your grandfather decides to loosen your leash a little." Hwoarang stated flatly, flopping down on his back, arms folded behind his head. He realised a moment later that it would be quite easy for Jin to take offence due to his choice of words, but luckily he seemed unbothered.
"I could try and talk to him. It's about the only thing we haven't thought of yet." Hwoarang snorted at that, and Jin peered back at him, looking somewhat wounded. "What? You don't think I'd dare?"
"No. I just think if you told him about us he'd probably have a heart attack and then all our troubles would be over." Hwoarang grinned up at him, then hid his face with both hands, speaking in muffled tones through his fingers. "Face it Jin, nothing's going to work. It probably took you long enough persuading them to let you visit me here." Judging by the silence from his lover, he guessed he was right.
"Hwoarang, I'm not going three weeks without seeing you."
The Korean felt his hands being drawn away from his face, and found Jin leaning over him, a look of resolve set in his finely boned features.
"And I'm not going to let you get in trouble with Heihachi over this." Hwoarang replied, sitting up again and letting his fingers ghost along Jin's jaw, leaning in for a kiss, which was rudely disturbed by the cheerful nurse that had rudely awoken him earlier. She backed out again, murmuring embarrassed apologies when she realised what she'd disturbed, but by then the moment was gone.
"Well then we'll just have to think of a damn good idea." Jin pressed a kiss to Hwoarang's smooth cheek and got up. They exchanged tense smiles before he left, back under the watchful eyes of Heihachi's men.
A week had passed. An entire week of being pinned so firmly under Heihachi's thumb that Jin had barely had chance to speak to Hwoarang on the phone, let alone meet up with him anywhere. The Minders did their jobs perfectly, even going so far as to keep watch outside his room while he slept. They lurked nearby during breaks between classes, scaring off any of the other kids that might have otherwise kept him company. They stood on either side of the school gates when he'd finished his classes, as if they expected him to try and escape and were covering all possible routes he might take. He was getting to the state where he was so angry at the situation that he thought he might "change" at any given moment. The only place he could let off steam was in the dojo.
In the locker room, allowed a few moments of privacy while he changed after a none-too strenuous gym class, he sat despondently in one corner, waiting for the other students to clear out. He didn't like showering when there were other people around. As much as he was proud of his physical condition, it could be embarrassing as hell to find classmates glaring when they thought his back was turned, or staring with thinly veiled interest.
Once he was satisfied that they'd all departed, he tugged off his T-shirt, smirking as he noted that the class hadn't even been sufficient to make him sweat, and began to stow his kit in his locker, kicking off his shoes without bothering to unlace them. As soon as he straightened up, a hand clamped firmly over his mouth, and he froze on the spot.
"Surprise." A distinctly amused voice whispered, lips brushing against his ear. Jin grinned beneath the hand, spinning around to face the sly Korean and automatically locking him in a bone-crushing hug. Hwoarang just laughed quietly, returning it with equal vigour. "I tell you, it was a pain in the ass sneaking in here."
"I won't bother wasting time asking how you did, I'm just glad you're here." Jin smirked, then leaned in to smother Hwoarang's lips with his own. He couldn't remember having been as hungry for anything in his life as he was for the redhead at that moment. "I missed you." He mumbled, unwilling to break their kiss to speak properly.
Hwoarang pressed him up with a resounding metal clank against the lockers, using his weight to pin him there; fingers greedy to feel the expanse of powerful legs shown off by the gym shorts Jin wore.
"You look good in these." He purred quietly, noticing his lover blush furiously in response before reversing their positions. Hwoarang yelped softly, faintly surprised but certainly not complaining. If Jin wanted to fight for dominance he was quite happy to participate. For a moment he let the Japanese youth overpower him, large hands clasping his ass through his jeans, squeezing relentlessly, heated lips sucking at his throat. Idly he wondered how long they had until the Minders got suspicious and came to investigate, but he was enjoying himself too thoroughly to give it much thought.
Grabbing Jin's wrists firmly, he broke his lover's hold on him, forcing his hands behind his back, teasing him by holding him at bay and playfully kissing his chin, his cheeks, avoiding his mouth until Jin gave a frustrated little growl and decided to retaliate. Hwoarang's grip was broken, and the next thing he knew, his feet were off the floor, hands tugging his thighs apart so that they locked around slip hips, and he was being forced up against the locker where he'd originally caught Jin.
Jin smirked as he saw the surprise on the Korean's face, snatching up his wrists and holding them up above his head.
"Surrender?" Kazama arched a brow, licking his lips as he felt the sinewy body he held captive give an experimental squirm, testing to see whether it could free itself. Hwoarang growled softly, provoking Jin to laugh quietly before leaning in, intent on claiming those soft lips again.
"Kazama-san!" A shocked and angry voice called from the doorway. Both teenagers turned to stare at the Minder, who abruptly pulled out his radio, barking orders for his colleagues to assist him. Within moments the locker room would be flooded with them.
"Ah shit, that was quicker than I expected." Hwoarang muttered as Jin set him back on his feet. The latter didn't answer, only glaring at the Minder, who in turn was giving the Korean positively murderous looks.
"Kazama-san, you are to leave with us now." The Minder beckoned for him to approach, but Jin remained perfectly still, undaunted by the dozen men that had appeared behind the first, some of them pushing past him to surround the two disgruntled young men. "You, leave." The same man spoke again, this time barking his orders to Hwoarang, who having determined that resistance would be entirely futile, began to move towards the doorway. There wasn't enough space to fight in the locker room, and he'd rather leave before the school staff called the police to arrest him.
A large hand clamped painfully on his shoulder, and he gave a soft grunt of surprise to find that it was Jin who held him there, oblivious to the fact that he was causing the Korean any pain.
The Minders closed in on them both, and within moments Hwoarang was being jerked roughly away, Jin being pushed in the opposite direction. When one pair of hands jerked a little too roughly, Hwoarang finally lost his temper, and lashed out at the careless Minder, pushing him against a wall with a loud smack. Dark shades fractured, the Minder swung about to face him angrily, and the Korean found himself flat on his back with no less than three pairs of hands alternately pummelling and holding him still.
"All right you bastards! I'll go, get the hell off me!" He yelled, staying still and hoping that they'd notice he wasn't struggling anymore. To his surprise, he was suddenly freed, the Minders gone. The screams began a second later, and Hwoarang felt something wet and warm splash down on his face as he tried to sit up. Blood.
"What in the-!" He glanced up, finding bodies scattered in a twisted mess around him, two remaining men dashing for the door only to be caught by large, powerful hands that jerked them back and crushed their heads together with a sickening crack. Not one of the Minders moved. Everyone was dead except for him.
And the looming form he immediately recognised as Jin.
Jin changed and unnatural, Jin stained with tattoos on his brow and torso, black and bold and distinctly unholy. His eyes flashed with preternatural light, gaze set on him in a twisted expression of the desire that had been on his face before the Minders interrupted them.
Hwoarang rose slowly to his feet, limbs trembling, his mind slowly going numb with fear and confusion. He vaguely realised that the demon lunged at him, sending him flying through the two doors of the locker room and out into the corridor beyond, students screaming and scattering as he collided with the far wall. Through misted vision he found himself first pinned by the monster, and then dragged up off his feet. Was he fighting it off? He wasn't sure, he didn't have control of his body anymore. Then they were both crashing through the window, and everything was cold save for the painful grip of arms around him.
He was in the air. That thought alone shocked him back into proper consciousness, and he clung to the monster for dear life, watching as enormous, ebony wings propelled them effortlessly above the tall buildings below.
"Jin! Jin!" He was practically roaring in his ear, voice breaking as he desperately tried to get some response. "Jin stop it!"
They descended suddenly, sharply enough to silence Hwoarang's pleas, and bring them on a level with a small window, which Jin broke with a sweep of one arm, sending a shower of glass inside the bare room. Hwoarang didn't realise at first that it was his apartment, not until he saw the familiar punching bag and the mattress, upon which he was flung carelessly, bouncing a little as he landed.
He tried to scramble away, kicking out at the hands which tried to seize his ankles - and succeeded in capturing them. He was dragged back towards the demon, which instantly crawled on top of him, pinning his legs with its weight, and then tearing at his clothes with one hand, stripping him of his black wife-beater as if it were no more than flimsy web.
"Jin! Stop it please!" He heard his own voice emerge choked, as if he were about to sob at any moment.
The demon growled at him, the brilliant light in its eyes flaring angrily, and then backhanded him across the face. Hwoarang had hardly recovered from the blow before he felt sharp teeth sinking into the flesh of his left shoulder. With a howl of pain he tried to buck the monster off, clasping his hands together to form one fist and swinging it at the tattooed brow.
The roar the demon gave was hideous, but rather than back away, it grabbed Hwoarang around the hips, forcing him over onto his stomach and settling one knee in the small of his back. No matter how much the Korean thrashed to try and free himself, it seemed the weight was too immense. Hwoarang was instantly reminded of the night his apartment had been broken into. Things were starting to add up.
There came a loud tearing sound, and Hwoarang felt powerful hands trying to tear off his pants.
"No!" He snarled, trying to roll over, but his face was abruptly pushed into the mattress, smothering him so that he couldn't breathe. His terrified yells were too muffled for anyone to hear.