A/N: After reading everyone's wonderful Xiaoyin stories, I was inspired to finally write my own. I only hope that I have the discipline to complete what I have started. This story is AU and OOC – so please don't complain if you think "Xiaoyu would never do that!" or "Jin would never say that!"
Also, a bit of fun from me. The idea for this story came from one of my favourite songs. I'll be dropping hints (ie. clips of lyrics) throughout this fic so guess away.
Chapter 1: Some Things Never Change
Twenty-nine year old Jin Kazama, acclaimed corporate turnaround artist and CEO of Mishima Zaibatsu emitted a frustrated sigh as his right palm slammed the reports he was studying. The object of his ire was obvious – the financial statements from Mishima Zaibatsu's latest joint venture with Ito Developments were less than satisfactory. The red ink made Jin's eyes ache. Every page contained cost overruns, performance problems, and delays.
"A mistake", he thought; a mistake to go along with Chairman Ito's suggestion that his son Kitaro be put in charge of the project.
Kitaro Ito was untested and irresponsible; he was known more for being the womanizing son of the innovative founder of Ito Development than his financial expertise or experience. His legendary exploits with Tokyo debutantes and pop stars was well chronicled in the local tabloids.
Jin sighed again and cursed the day he had agreed to allow Kitaro to head the venture out of respect for the old Chairman. Now he was going to have to try to clean the mess up from the side-lines. He would have to be subtle – direct interference was not the way Japanese business worked. As if he didn't already have enough to do. Pushing himself away from his desk, Jin stood to stretch his legs and glanced out the panoramic windows of his 45th floor office. Looking down he could just detect the flow of traffic on the busy street below. The cars had a hypnotizing effect and when Jin realized he was drifting he turned around to resume his work. As he settled back into his chair, he became aware of a new message in his inbox and, noting the sender, opened it with a small smile. While anything was a welcome distraction from the Matsushita mess, he would have welcomed a distraction coming from this quarter any hour any day of the year.
Hey Big bro,
Hope you're doing well. Just wanted to let you know that as soon as I finish up on this project in Johannesburg, I'll be flying in to Tokyo for my next assignment. I'll be working on some shopping centre under construction in Tokyo's old warehouse district. Apparently I was personally requested by a Kitaro Ito who is heading up the project on behalf of Ito Development. Are you familiar with him or the company? Anyways, I'm looking forward to being back in familiar surroundings for a while – I'm dying for some good izakaya and I'm dying to see you. It's hard to believe that it's nearly been two years since Julia and Hwoarang's wedding – has it really been that long since we last met? I should be in on May 10. Everything has already been taken care of (I have a suite at the Four Seasons) so don't worry about making any further arrangements. Take care till then, and don't drown in all that money you're making.
Love always, Xiao
PS. Did you see the cover story they did on me in the March edition of "Physics Today"? The picture isn't great, but the article! The newsstand guy told me that I looked like a steamed lobster, I was blushing so much. Who would have thought that the name Ling Xiaoyu would someday be in the same sentence as "award-winning roller-coaster engineer"? Lol. Mr. Wada must have had a fit.
PPS. Congratulations are in order for you as well - Tokyo's most eligible bachelor for the fourth year running huh? I manage to snag copies of the Tokyo Star every once in a while. What did you do? Bribe the entire Star editorial staff? I'm glad to see that some things never change.
"Xiao is involved in the Mishima-Ito project? Why on earth would a roller-coaster engineer be involved with a shopping…" Jin's voice trailed off as the answer dawned on him. He deftly rifled through the sheets of paper on his desk. "Budget…entertainment expenditures…an indoor amusement park! Why that son of a…."
An indoor amusement park had certainly not come up during Mishima's negotiations with Ito. His life had just become infinitely more complicated with Xiao involved in the same project on which he intended to run onside interference. Still, it would be good to see Xiao again. Jin began to feel his anger fade and something else take its place. It would be very good.
Jin had seen the article in Physics Today – had in fact done a comical double take at the sight of the familiar face smiling from the magazine rack at the newsstand outside his office. He had surprised the magazine seller by buying every copy and, bursting with pride, had attended the rest of the day's meetings with a goofy grin on his face. That same evening he mailed his extra copies to Julia and Hwoarang, Steve, Christie, and even Mr. Wada, Xiao's high school math teacher.
Xiao had come a long way from her days of bouncy pig-tails and loud dresses. His little Xiao was all grown up. She had matured and had found her calling. Jin still remembered the day Xiao had told him of her plans…..
At the sound of his name and the sight of a small figure bursting through his door and doing a magnificent belly flop on his bed, Jin abandoned his calculator and his accounting homework with equanimity. Homework would have to wait; from experience, he knew that no more work could be done once Xiao pranced into his room and proceeded to jump up and down on his bed chanting his name.
"What is it Xiao?" After a year of living with his grandfather's ward, he was used to Xiao's sudden demands on his attention.
"Jin, I've come to a decision," Xiao's eyes were solemn as she settled on her knees and hugged a pillow to her chest.
"And?" Jin looked at Xiao expectantly. "What have you decided this time?"
"I spoke with the school's career counselor today and I've decided what I want to do with my life. Remember that talk we had about how if I wanted my dreams to come true I would have to make them happen on my own? My dream for as long as I can remember was to build an amusement park. I realize now that Xiaoyu Land was just the silly dream of a silly little girl. I know there's never going to be a Xiaoyuland, so I'm going to try and do the next best thing to running my own amusement park. I'm going to design roller-coasters!" Xiaoyu glowed at this pronouncement.
Jin leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He chose his next words carefully. "Xiao, you know that designing roller-coasters requires a good grasp of math right? And we all know how much you hate math." Jin uncrossed his arms and moved to the bed. He sat down beside the person he considered his little sister; he hated to be the one to burst her bubble.
"Of course I know that! But applied math is different. Math makes more sense when it's not just numbers floating around in the air but is actually applied to something. Besides, I really want to do this. I'm taking physics next term."
He remained silent beside her, but slung his arm companionably around her shoulders and rested his chin on her head. He didn't know what to say. "Xiao…"
Xiao's excitement visibly dulled at the doubt imbued in that one syllable. It was at that moment she realized how important his opinion, his approval, his support was to her. How much she looked up to him. She knew what he was going to say and spoke before he could.
"Jin, you always said that I could do anything if I put my mind to it. If you don't think I can do this, what do you think other people will be saying? Miharu laughed when I told her. The career counselor told me I should consider beauty school. Beauty school!" Xiao blinked back tears.
She felt another wave of disappointment sweep over her. If Jin didn't have faith in her, then there was nobody else. They all thought of her as a frivolous child with dreams far beyond her reach. Xiao shifted away and tried to slide towards the edge of the bed as she felt Jin gently drop a kiss into her hair. His next words made her pause.
"No more tears. First things first Xiao, engineers don't cry. Nor do they give up when faced with what seems to be an insurmountable obstacle; they only work harder to find a solution."
Jin tilted Xiao's face until he could see her eyes. "I believe in you – never ever forget that. I meant what I said before. You of all people could do anything if you'd only put your mind to it. Math? You can do math Xiao, just try doing your math homework once in while," Jin grinned. "If you need help, you know I'm always here."
Xiaoyu was radiant as she threw her arms around him. Pressing her pale cheek against his tanned one, she whispered, "Thanks Jin. I knew I could count on you."
Jin's faith in Xiao had been well founded. Her unshakable resolve in achieving her dream of becoming a roller coaster engineer represented a sort of turning of tides. The skepticism she inevitably encountered only fueled her determination and for the first time, her math homework was handed in on time. Xiao changed. She no longer headed straight to the arcades after school but went home to study in Heihachi's massive library. Gone also were her days of shopping sprees with Miharu armed and very dangerous…with Heihachi's credit card. There were many nights when Jin, passing her room to use the bathroom at 2 a.m., could still see her desklamp shining through the crack under her door. Jin's concern began to mount – Was she working too hard? Was she eating enough? But her smile when she won the physics prize at the end of the year! To Xiao, it had all been worth it.
As Jin typed a response to Xiaoyu's email, he realized how much he had missed his "little sister". Like her and her dream of becoming a rollercoaster designer, he had become consumed with his own work at the Mishima Zaibatsu. The only reason he was still Tokyo's most eligible bachelor was because he hardly had time to date! Jin finished the email with a short description of the Mishima-Ito project. He closed with "Love, Jin" and clicked the send button.
"Yoko, can you please put Chairman Ito on the line," Jin spoke into the intercom. "Tell him it's about the Mishima-Ito shopping centre and his son."
He could hardly wait for May 10 to arrive.