The Edge Of Darkness

Bloodline

Suggested listening: Samael - In The Deep

Jin headed home, still feeling his veins pumping new energy into his body; the sensation of power was thrilling and like nothing else he had felt in the last months. But he knew better than to tell Hwoarang this once he was home. He wouldn't understand, he couldn't. How could he, when he had lived a normal mortal life? The only persons who could understand him would have been his father, Kazuya, and his grandmother, Kazumi. But they were both dead. There was only him to live with the Devil Gene, the last of a dynasty of monsters. Powerful ones. Not even Heihachi, the strongest man on Earth, could do anything against Kazuya in the end. He had to succumb. And so would any of Jin's enemies: succumb to his power. He was a superior being, although he shouldn't even exist in this world. These thoughts were going as fast as his bike in his head, making him speed like Hwoarang usually liked to do.

He arrived home, everything still spinning in his head and his heart beating faster than it should. He tried to calm down before opening the front door, but he still felt like he was high on the Devil Gene itself. And he never wanted to come down. He crossed the threshold and found Hwoarang cooking dinner while holding Eun-Jung and talking to her in Korean. The baby shrieked in happiness at the sound of his voice and moved her little arms up and down.

-Love, I'm home.

-Jin! How did it... what the Hell? Are you okay?

-Feeling good, actually, why so?

-Your veins are showing more than usual, and your pupils are the size of Mars. You don't look good to me. You look strange. Tell me what happened.

-He injected me, I screamed, Devil Jin came out, Devil Jin went away, the treatment was done. The end. Nothing out of the ordinary, considering it's Bosconovitch.

-I'll say it again, you don't look good to me. I think you have to rest.

-But I feel full of energy, Hwoarang, the adrenaline...

-You see I'm right? It's like you're high on it. Must be a side effect of the session. I wouldn't act on it, take it from a recovering alcoholic. You may feel on top of the world right now, but you always end up in the mud. Please, for once, Jin, listen to me. Don't be stubborn.

-Can I at least train before bed?

-So you can fall asleep the day after tomorrow and pump your adrenaline even higher? Sure, great idea, Mr. Kazama.

Jin sighed. -You're right. We'll train tomorrow.

-Attaboy. Now go and sit, dinner is ready. And it's your turn to give Eun-Jung the bottle.

The Japanese sat down and took the baby in his arms. Hwoarang handed him the bottle as well, and he began to feed her. "What a little being she is. I never noticed how little. And how defenseless. She totally depends on us. Just like once I totally depended on my mother. Was I a normal baby? I know I got the Gene as a teenager, but something dormant had to be there already. Should I really end the Devil line with me? Is it a curse, or a blessing? I've passed all my life fighting it, but now that I got it back after losing it, I feel whole again. It's who I am. And I didn't even get it all back. Should I? Kazuya was eaten alive by its power, but he had control. Control of the power, but it cost him his mind. Maybe he was a good man, once. Maybe I was too. Maybe it's already too late for me as well. But I have to defend Eun-Jung. She is precious, to Hwoarang, to me. If I had more power, I could do that even better..."

-Earth calls Jin. You're staring into the void again. Pay attention to what you're doing, you don't want to drown our daughter with milk, I suppose.

-Sorry, you're right. I was thinking, when she's a bit older she will need her own room. We have to think where to build it, there isn't a spare one right now.

-Sweet thought, but it's a bit early to think about that. She's only four months old, Jin. She's going to stay with us in our bedroom for a while. If you don't mind, that is.

-No, no, it's not that. Although, a little bit of intimacy here and there wouldn't hurt.

Hwoarang smirked. -Missing me already? Yeah, I'm missing you too. We can just put the cradle in another room for one night, when we have... other plans. 

-Sounds about right.- Jin paused a little. -She is... so little. So defenseless. I feel like I'm not enough to shield her from the world. I want to be enough.

-Hey. You are enough. Where is this coming from? Think about it. She has two of the strongest fighters as dads, and one of them is possibly the most important and wealthiest man of Japan. She's protected in every single meaning of the world. We are going to teach her martial arts to defend herself when he's out in the world and we're not with her, she's going to be a pain to restrain, not the opposite!- Hwoarang laughed. -But seriously, never think you're not enough. You're the best dad she could ask for. After me, of course.- he smiled, then gave Jin a kiss.

-I hope you're right. I can't shake this feeling today, especially holding her and looking at her.

-Must be one of those moments when you don't feel enough as a dad. I've had them all the time. Hell, I still have them. They come with the package, I fear. Now, your favourite: make her burp, afterwards I'll change her and put her to bed. It's late already.

Eun-Jung burped, and yes, Jin laughed this time too. Hwoarang shook his head, smiling. Then, he took her upstairs for the rest of the evening routine.

The Japanese was, once again, left alone with his thoughts about Devils, absent and resentful fathers, murderous grandmothers. But he had that bug in his ear now, what if I got the rest of it, what if I restored what I once was before. "Would I be dangerous to others? Would I turn anytime I had a strong feeling, like before? Would I definitively turn into Devil Jin within the years? I don't have any of the answers. But I know someone who might". He pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number; after a couple of rings, they answered.

-Doctor Bosconovitch? Yes, it's Mr. Kazama. I have a couple of questions I need answered.