Crimson
Chapter 16: Decadence
***
The hotel function room was ablaze with golden decorations and chandeliers; the
air was filled with pleasant, mildly cheerful orchestral music from the
five-piece string band playing in the corner – and of course, the
light-hearted, merry chuckles and conversation of the well-dressed people
standing around, sipping their champagne and nibbling their appetisers.
It
had been a fight well fought and well won – this event was the scheduled
celebration of the end of the finals. Many of the former fighters had opted to
join the celebration, and were dressed accordingly. Even the red-headed Korean
boy had managed to rent out a tidy-looking suit to match the mood.
Jin
too, had managed to get his hands on a very smart-looking suit; black, except
for a deep maroon shirt, and a chrome-shaded tie. A half-full crystal glass of
champagne rested in his hand, and he swirled it about with close to no
interest. He should have fought in the tournament…but for some reason, he felt
honour in backing down, allowing the better fighter to proceed to the finals.
Something in his heart told him to make way for his father – after all, he knew
that his father would always treat him with love and respect. He was all he had
left in this world. The relationship was the same in both directions.
A
young girl passed him by, bumping into his arm on the way past. The solid
muscular mass was knocked forward, and Jin almost spilled his glass…but caught
himself just in time. She squeaked in surprise, and fell to the ground.
He
glanced down, slightly startled, and saw a young Japanese girl in a short,
spaghetti-sleeved evening-gown, with her copper-toned hair styled in a series
of ruffled spikes. He was immediately entranced.
She
looked up at him, and immediately started spouting apologies, and begging
forgiveness. A shy smile crept across his face, followed by a mild blush, and
he reached down to offer a slender hand for assistance.
“Hirano
Mirahu, right?”
She
took his hand, and turned red. “Yes…how…how did you know?”
As
he pulled her to her feet gently, he placed his drink down on a tray a waiter
was carrying as he hurried past with empty glasses. “I remember you from
earlier in the tournament. May I say you look absolutely stunning tonight?”
Little did he know what an effective flirt he was, especially when he didn’t
realise he was doing it.
She
blushed even more, and covered her lips with one small hand. “Wow…you really
think so?”
The
handsome young man nodded. “Yeah…you’re like…wow.”
Elsewhere
in the room, standing by the drinks table, was Nina Williams. A few camera
crews had passed by her every now and again, but they were a little weary of
her. Perhaps it was the emerald blue satin gown she wore, hanging just above
the knees. Or perhaps it was the dark gloves of the same colour that sat above
her elbows – but more likely, it was the spiked choker she had around her neck.
In all her elegance, she still looked dangerous.
“Ms
Williams…would you know by chance where the guest of honour is?” It was yet
another dashing young reporter, armed with a microphone.
She
shrugged unenthusiastically, and folded her arms over her exposed cleavage. “I
have no idea where the man is. He’s a lone wolf, remember?” She only wished
that wouldn’t stay the same for long.
He
smiled at her, and nodded. “Thank you anyway, Ms Williams.” He dared not call
her by name.
It
was another quarter of an hour before anything interesting happened. But when
the action started, everyone knew about it – mainly because everyone was the
cause of the commotion. A masculine figure entered through the mahogany double
doors of the function room, dressed in a dark blue suit, a shirt of a similar
colour, and a deep indigo-shaded silk tie. The thick raven hair, slicked back as
it had been, was immediately recognised by everyone who saw him; he’d arrived.
Kazuya’s
face was emotionless as he entered the room – in fact,
he looked bored more than anything. That is, until the entire crowd of people
piped up, with cheers, whistles and screams, amongst a foray of enthusiastic
applause. When he saw so many people smiling at him, clapping, calling his
name, he couldn’t help but smile back; a slight, very shy smile. It was one of
his first, very rare, public smiles – since, many years ago, he’d been known
for being so stoic.
After
a moment he glanced about to see if he could find Nina amongst the
smartly-dressed crowd…no luck, however. He did find, to his dismay, a group of
screaming teenage girls rushing up to him at great pace. He stopped dead when
he spotted them.
“Oh
my GAWD it’s Kazuya Mishima!”
“Oh
my GAWD he’s so hot!”
“Oh
my GOD can you sign my bra?”
“Oh
my…” Before they could continue, he raised a hand to silence them. Like magic,
they paused in their ranting.
“Please,
girls…if you want to harass someone, try harassing my son…he’s of a more
appropriate age.” They started cooing over him again a moment, before he
spotted Jin and pointed towards him…most of them squealed with delight and
rushed at the younger man…who looked up in horror.
When
they were gone, he breathed a sigh of relief…only to find something curl around
his arm. Startled, he whipped around to see who it was…only to find himself
staring at Nina.
“Don’t
worry, I’m not a fangirl…”
She grinned.
He
scowled for a moment, but then couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t scare me like
that. I hate boppers…”
A
thin brow perked. “You’ve had boppers after you before?”
He
simply shook his head and smiled. “Now why would a group of
girls in trainer bras be interested in a fifty-year-old undead fighter?”
She
shrugged, and pulled him toward the crowd by the wrist. “Maybe it’s because
you’re the sexiest male in the room.”
***
It
had been another two hours before the damned event had ended; there had been a formal
dinner, speeches, live bands…in fact, Kazuya was dragged up on stage to make an
impromptu speech of his own. Hearing his own strong, deep voice over the
loudspeakers was something he didn’t particularly like, but he saw out of the
corner of his eye a few of the fangirls making a
fuss.
Presently,
most of the guests had left, and there was little else of interest going on.
Nina approached him again, and ran her cool fingers through his hair, scraping
a few disobedient strands of raven hanging over his youthful face.
“Let’s
get out of here, shall we?”
He
glanced over at her, and nodded. He looked flustered, to say the least. “Yes,
lets.” As they headed off toward the entrance to the hotel, he felt compelled
to add a jab or two. “Never liked formal occasions like that. Too much fuss
over nothing.”
Nina
was glad she’d driven, since Kazuya didn’t have a car of his own. After all,
since he had wanted to lay low for the last two decades, he’d relied on public
transport and his legs. It was a two-door Honda, silver in colour, equipped
with a sunroof and a V6 engine…she’d become, over the last year of working in
It
was a quick drive back to their hotel, and in less than a quarter of an hour,
the two were standing together in the lift once more, heading back to their
rooms. As usual, it was a slow journey, and Nina very quickly found herself
nuzzling her nose against his tie.
He
snickered when he realised just how close she was – that is, when she actually
made contact with him – and found himself smiling bashfully when she let out a
soft moan against him.
The
amazing scent of him was wafting up through her nostrils, and she could feel
herself growing more and more desperate for him. Over the last week, she’d been
teased by him so damn much that she didn’t know how she could stay sane…she
knew that she’d have to drag him to bed soon, or she’d die of curiosity. Or tonight, of desire. There was the definite masculine
scent of a reasonably expensive cologne on his shirt
which was driving her balmy. Along with that was his own scent – equally as
masculine – and somehow, not nearly as sweaty as most men. Well, after all, he
was dead theoretically…that was a good reason for the lack of sweat. Without
that added stink, he just smelled…divine.
She
moaned again, and her hand was, against her knowledge, feeling about madly
against his chest in an effort to find something. Again he chuckled, then
gently drew her closer by the waist, and kissed the top of her head lightly.
Finally,
the lift doors opened on their floor. Kazuya was the first to notice, and
almost had to literally drag Nina away from him and the lift. She clung to his
arm possessively as they made their way to their rooms, not allowing him to
move out of her sight.
Before
he could escape her grasp again, she grabbed both his arms and pressed her lips
against his. She didn’t give him any room to react,
either…she pressed him against the wall next to his room.
The
two stood there for a few minutes, kissing tenderly. Nina’s hands were roaming
already, trying to feel that impressive muscle beneath his shirt and coat. His,
on the other hand, stayed holding onto her upper arms gently, almost afraid to
go further. This deliberate…teasing…of his, his damn innocence, was beginning
to drive her crazy.
After
a moment, he broke the kiss.
“Why’d
you do that?” She purred against his neck.
He
petted her backside lightly, almost cautiously. “Because we’ve gotta come up
for air sometime. Besides, isn’t it time to pack up for the night?”
She
smirked. “Says who?” Uh oh, she knew where this was heading.
“Says me.” He smiled at her, and pressed her back gently. After a moment, he
found his key card, and opened his door.
As
he headed inside, this time, she decided to take control. Before he could shut
the door, she slipped through it after him, and slammed it behind her,
smirking.
He
perked a brow at her, not quite sure what to make of the situation. She, on the
other hand, placed both hands on his chest and pressed him backward until he
ended up sitting on the end of the bed. Again, her lips met his…he tried to
resist for a moment, but failed miserably after a few short seconds. Slender hands
wandered down toward his stomach, and slowly undid the buttons of his coat,
pulling it off as soon as it was undone. No sooner had that been done, her
hands had immediately found his nipples through his dark shirt.
The
result sent shivers through her entire body…a soft, deep moan escaped into her
mouth from his. She smirked, and kissed him deeper as her hands explored the
body she’d wanted to touch for ages now. Eventually, she felt his hands against
her waist again…one of hers reached down and grabbed his wrist, dragging it up,
until it rested against her breast. It took him seemingly forever to get the
initiative to actually grab at it a little…even then he was annoyingly timid.
Obviously, to he3r dismay, he still wasn’t ready to make the next step.
She
wasn’t ready to relent, however. After having several relationships in the
past, she clearly didn’t consider the Act to be such a big thing as he did, and
she was happy, if the man was ‘right’, to dive in head-first, even before the
starting gun was fired. Her hands wandered lower and lower, until eventually,
she petted one of his thighs…only to find her hand grasping something else.
He
moaned sharply, his hands suddenly grabbing a little more firmly – one was still
on her backside, the other was against her chest at the time – but it took him
almost no time at all to grab a hold of her wrist, and remove it from the
offended organ.
“No,
not yet…” He was a little breathless.
She
scowled at him. “Why the hell not?”
His
lips gently touched her naked shoulder, and his head nestled itself in the
curve of her neck. “I dunno Nina, I’m just not ready
to go that far yet.”
A
sigh escaped her lips, and she hugged his head. The more she got to know him,
the more she realised she needed to learn of him. “Do you think you’ll lose
respect for me? Or are you just scared? Nervous?”
He
thought about it for a few moments. “A bit of them all, really.”
Poor innocent soul. Unlike everyone else she’d had a relationship
with in the past, he had to be the only man that had respect for sex – and
somehow, she found it admirable, and hauntingly sexy. Suddenly, she wanted him
to be ready…her desire to force him into it dwindled.
She
slipped away and stood before him. “Well, I suppose I can wait, if I must.” She
leaned down and kissed him again. He only responded slightly. Before she headed
out the door, she turned back. “You know, Kazuya…whenever you’re ready, I’ll be
waiting…” Smiling, she left the room and headed towards hers. After that, she
knew she would have to entertain herself tonight.
After
she’d left, Kazuya gave himself a few minutes to regain his composure. It was
nearly eleven, and Jin wasn’t back yet. He must’ve found someone to hang around
with, or perhaps he’d gone to another venue for more partying. Though, he’d
come to realise, Jin wasn’t one for partying. The poor boy had inherited his
father’s preference to be alone and independent.
As
he began to get undressed, he noticed a little yellow post-it sitting on Jin’s
bedcovers. He reached down and picked it up, reading the quickly scrawled
Katakana on it.
Staying over at a friend’s
house tonight. See you tomorrow sometime,
Otousan.
Yes,
he should have known. Of course he was going to enjoy himself for one rare
moment – after all, all young people needed a little action every now and
again. Ah well, it wasn’t any of his business anyway. Jin was his son, but he
was a grown man now. He’d missed they boy’s childhood,
and there was nothing he could do about it. It seemed, though, that neither of
them minded – at least they had each other.