***This is a Hwang/Seung Mina fic. Maybe you'll find some of the events which happen in this fic are just impossible... But fan fiction is made for that, isn't it ? That story takes place when Seung Mina is going to escape for the second time. For those who forgot or those who don't know the story (if that's possible ??): she finds her life at her father's boring, and she wanted to join the Coastal Defense Force, but she was denied because she's a woman. Seung Han Myong, her father, is very strict and wants her daughter to be a quiet girl. Moreover he has planned that Hwang marrys her, but hasn't talked about it yet. ***
"How much time will I have to bear this way of life ? I'm not made to be a quiet girl. All these people telling me what to do... I thought I could prove my independence by fighting for the Coastal Defense Force but they denied me. So I decided to escape. Then I was finally FREE ! I've experienced the freedom and independence... Kong, a man I once met after being defeated by a mysterious powerful woman, has trained me for a year. But Hwang found me before I could go anywhere... Now I'm sure I know how to fight and defeat my opponents and one day, my father and Hwang will have to admit I am independant and courageous. "
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mina just couldn't sleep. She was lying in her bed, thinking about her future. She wasn't a girl who gives up so easily. Her room was dark, and there wasn't any noise in the house. "They're all sleeping," though Mina. "If only I found a way to escape, I--" Suddenly she stood up. "Soul Edge... I can continue my quest for the sword of salvation ! And now that's the perfect moment to escape... Hwang isn't here and everyone's sleeping. That's just perfect !"
Quickly she prepared herself without making a noise. She slowly opened the window and looked the distance between her room and the ground outside. Mina's room was on the second floor so she had to use her sheets as a rope...
Silently she went down. She was agile, nimble, self-confident, and she didn't have any fear to make some noise. After all she was escaping for the second time... Finally, she landed perfectly on the ground. "Well, now I've just to get out of here, and I will try to find this sword !".
She took her Zanba-toh and silently but quickly she left the Seungs' garden.
Now alone in the dark streets she headed to an unknown destination, determined to find Soul Edge, "the sword of salvation".
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
At dawn, she was already far away from home. She had changed her clothes into a navy blue dress and wore a hood, too - she didn't want to be recognized ! One day, she met a fortune teller who, as soon as he saw her, said she was wrong doing what she was going to do, and said that he felt is was a bad omen : "Don't go there, young girl, you'll only find much trouble..." She didn't care of it and ignored the fortuneteller and his "bad omen".
And day after day, she saw many different places, many people... It was a long journey, but she had to cross all the Korea to reach the port she wanted to go to.
In fact, while crossing one of the towns she went in, she heard a rumor saying that a ship, commanded by a captain called Maxi, went all around the world, and wanted to find a sword, which could give an incredible power to the one who owned it... She guessed it was the sword of salvation.
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A few months after she left, she finally reached the harbour, called Kinkura. It was the biggest, the most beautiful town she came across. Maybe because it was a sunny and warm day. Mina decided to stop a little. "I'm hungry ! And I've been walking all this day and I need some rest." She headed to little forest and sat under a tree. "I hope that this sword is worth doing all this sacrifices... but I won't give up now," she said. "I've never been this freedom ! No punishment, no oppression, no intensive training..." lying in the grass, Seung Mina was dreaming, thinking about her father... He was probably furious and he may have ordered someone to bring her back home. Thinking about that, she ripped a part of her dress and with it covered her dear weapon... "If my father's men see this they will immediately know who I really am."
Suddenly she heard someone running in the forest, and some laughs. She stood up and looked. Someone was approaching... She saw a girl, running in her direction. Finally the girl stopped face to face with Mina."Hey, nice to meet you !" she said with a wry smile. "Hi" Mina just said. She looked at the girl : she seemed to be younger than she was herself, and she had to admit she was pretty.
Then, a young man came, from the forest too, and said to the girl, "Why didn't you wait for..." he stopped when he saw Mina, "Hey, who is this young person ?", he said with a smile. The girl answered : "She's, errr.... Sorry, what's your name ?" Mina, startled, didn't know if she had to say her real name. She decided not to do so. "My name is Tina." The young man said : "So I'm nice to meet you Tina. My name is Kilik and this is Xianghua. We're from different countries, in fact we travel a lot." Mina suddenly remembered what she was here for. "Aren't you from this ship, with people searching for a sword ?" she asked. "I wanted to join them."
Xianghua seemed a little shocked but she answered : "How did you know ? Our real mission is a secret !" she whispered. Mina answered with a smile : "Well I just heard it... Can you show me the way to go there ?" "Sure ! " Kilik said smiling.
Xianghua looked at him with an odd look on her face. She said Mina, "Here we go... don't listen to this fool." she headed back to the ship with Mina. Kilik, which was looking at them as they were leaving, suddenly understood and ran after Xianghua saying, "Hey, you called me a fool ?!"
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When she went on Maxi's ship, she was first introduced to Maxi, with her fake name - Tina. Someone had just left the ship, and there was just one place left. Soon she was introduced to all the girls with who she shared her room. Some almost didn't talked to her, but she befriended Sophitia and Taki. The ship was large and all seemed her familiar. When the night came, it leaved the port.
She didn't know everyone on this ship yet, but she thought she had the time.
After the dinner, Seung Mina needed some fresh air. She went on the deck and rested her elbows on the edge. She had been forced to lie during all this day, people were asking her about her life, her name... "Finally, I'm on the road again... I don't know where this ship is going to drive me, but I keep hoping finging Soul Edge, no matter what it will take... I'll do it." She kept on dreaming, like she did in the forest where she met Xianghua and Kilik. "Besides I don't have the choice ; I don't want to be forced to marry anyone. No way."
She still wore her navy blue dress, her hair was waving in the breeze of this summer night. She decided to stop wearing her hood, which prevented her from being recognized. Well, no one could find her this time.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps on the ship's wooden deck. She wasn't alone on the deck. A man was there, too, staring at her. She saw him, approaching her... She sensed something was wrong. She decided to go quicky back to her room... but the mysterious man grabbed her arm. She turned around and she saw the man's face :
"Hwang !" she screamed in shock.
"Mina ?!?" Hwang seemed very surprised. "I thought you were some stowaway !"
Mina didn't answer. She was very pale. She tried to get out of his grasp but he was clearly stronger than her. Her reaction verged from fear to anger and she screamed : "What are you doing here ?! I thought you were fighting for the Coastal Defense Force !!! **Ow !**" Hwang eased his grap, knowing he was hurting her.
"Well my duty is to bring you back to Seung Han Myong. The Admiral personnally told me to search for you and to bring you back home as soon as possible. He also wanted me to protect you until you're back home," he said very seriously. Mina rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous Hwang !" she answered then. "I can survive by myself, I just want my father to see I'm a worthy fighter and accept my independence... and you too !," she added, seeing Hwang didn't agree.
Hwang finally let her go, seeing she'd probably slap him if he didn't stop holding her arm ! "Besides I think you a little too thoughtless and careless..." he said.
"Oh yeah ?!?!" she answered with anger while leaving him. "If you think you'll manage to marry me, you're just dreaming !!" Hwang didn't say anything, staring at her while she left the deck.
A few minutes later, Hwang was still on the deck, thinking about Mina an her future, and staying silent. Mina was a sharp contradiction to his dark personality ; she was ambitious, always roaming and moving from one place to another, and she didn't like having to obey to someone else. She wanted to be totally free. But she was a little thoughtless, and often said or did things before thinking about the consequences... While on the contrary, Hwang just wanted to serve his country and never forgot his duty. He had been at the Coastal Defense Force for a long time and didn't mind being commanded ; he was a very skilful man who knew exactly what he did. He didn't think he was betraying Mina, because he was just doing, one more time, his duty. He had to protect Mina from herself ; too many lives were lost by his fault, and he didn't want to make the same mistake, as he did for all his men, when he was Chief Commander in the Coastal Defense Force.
Finally, forcing himself stop thinking about Mina, he decided to go back inside. "Time for a rest..." he thought.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mina was really disappointed by the fact Hwang was on the ship too. She sighed, and headed to the kitchen. "I'm gonna eat somethin'..." she finally said. "I'm gonna close the door, because I don't want them to know I'm eating *again* !"
The "kitchen" was a very small place with enough things to make a little fire. There was some coal left. But Mina approached her hand a little too close of the hot coal and her thin glove catched fire. "My God !" she said in panic. She shook her hand, tried to stop the fire by blowing it out : it was even worse ! "My hand hurts !!!" She managed to throw the glove on the wooden floor :-o and the floor immediately catched the fire too ! Unfortunately for Mina, it finally reached the wall, then the door. She stared, petrified. She had no way to escape. "HELP ! HELP !!!" she screamed as loud as she could. Most of the crew was sleeping and didn't hear her desperate shouts.
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Hwang was about to go to sleep when he heard someone screaming . He didn't know if he had to go there, maybe someone else could. But he decided to go there. He ran out of his room and tried to know where the shouts were coming from. He was approaching the kitchen, when the noise suddenly stopped. Finally, he noticed, when he approached the kitchen, it was really hot. "It's not normal, he thought. He opened brutally the door of the kitchen when he understoood... "MINA !" he shouted in shock. The door itself was burning. Mina was there in front of him, on her knees, coughing again and again, suffocating because of the smoke ; she was crying too. And between them, the kitchen was almost entirely burning. Mina saw him but couldn't say anything.
Hwang saw her. "Don't panic !" was the only thing he could say. Suddenly he had an idea which could save her. He ran back to his room - he quickly pulled his blanket and ran back to the kitchen. Then, he covered himself with it and entered the kitchen. It was hot but the blanket protected him from the flames. Mina was staring at him, impressed but still petrified ! Finally he grabbed her left hand, helping her to lift herself from the floor. She came under the blanket which now covered both of them, and gripped him in fear. Finally, they leaved this confounded kitchen and some crew members, who finally awoke because of the noise, cheered Hwang's courage.
They were all in the deck. The blanket was burning, but the rain which was falling quickly stopped the fire. Maxi and Taki managed to stop the fire and all the crew finally went back to sleep.
Hwang removed the blanket which protected them. Mina looked around her to see where she was, still frightened, and was surprised it was raining. Hwang looked at her with a worried look on his face : "Are you okay ?" he asked her. She didn't answer, but put her arms around his neck and kissed him directly on the lips. "Humpf !" he said on the shock of this.
Went she finally broke the kiss, Hwang looked at her, stunned. Mina said with a smile : "Well that's my way to say I'm grateful," then she saw Hwang smiling a little, "because you've just saved my life ...". Hwang just answered, very seriously : "Everytime you'll need me, I'll be there... that's my duty to protect you from yourself." For the first time Mina didn't say anything, because she knew he was right somehow.
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The day after, Maxi's ship stopped on the Japanese coast. "We haven't got much food," Maxi said, "and I have someone to see in here." They were in a great harbour... Everyone planned to visit the town, which was full of people. "Sophitia !" Taki shouted, still in the ship with her, "Kilik, Xianghua and I are going to visit the Great Temple. Are you coming with us ?" she said while Sophitia approached. "Of course ! I'm ready !" Kilik and Xianghua, were already on the ground and were waiting for them. Taki and Sophitia finally joined them and the four warriors began their "expedition". Because although the Great Temple wasn't far, it was high in the mountain, near to the town.
Mitsurugi who had just left the ship, decided to spend some good time in his homeland, and nobody saw him the rest of the day. Some others, like Siegfried or Rock, were fighting in a small area, and some people were looking at them in awe.
Finally only Hwang and Mina were left in the ship. Mina was on the deck, resting her elbows on the edge. She looked pretty ; her hair was floating in the wind, and she enjoyed this pleasant moment. The weather was sunny, beautiful. She looked at the blue sky, smiling. "Freedom" she thought. Nothing was better than that.
Suddenly the noise of heavy footsteps took Mina out of her dreams. She turned around, looking annoyed. "Hwang," she sighed. "What are you still doing here ? Why aren't you fighting, roaming or doing some other stuff like others do ?" Hwang answered : "Why couldn't I stay here, like YOU do. Besides, I didn't ask you anything when you, well thanked me last night !" then he leaned with his back against the wall, behind her.
She didn't like the remark but didn't answer. Several seconds passed without any of the two said anything. Mina was looking at the sky again, and he was looking at her. She wasn't going to give up searching, and he knew it. But his duty was to drive her back to her father. He absolutely wanted to do it. But above all, he was going to find Soul Edge. And be able to defend his homeland. When he entered at the Seungs in order to learn some fighting techniques, he had known an obedient, sage Mina, whom he greeted respectfully from time to time, and who was going to be married. He was considering her like all the other women in the dojo, wearing long flowery dresses and all And now, finally she was in front of him, determinated and strong, and she even stood up to him And she never wore these long flowery dresses, probably because she couldn't fight with these. But the way she was dressed was revealing much of her legs, and it would have been scandalous at the Seungs.
"Ready to fight ?" Mina hopped in front of him, with her Zamba-toh pointed to him. He immediately took the challenge. He immediately began, wanting to know more about Mina's fighting aptitudes. Every move he made, she avoided it, and he did the same or used his Blue Thunder to guard himself. She was agile and he immediately noticed it, but it's normal for a young woman like her, he thought.
Any of the weapons could touch his opponent. The fight was going on, and Mina was getting exhausted but Hwang didn't notice. Unfortunately she made a bad movement - he had made a last quick move. Mina felt something cold and sharp hitting her right arm. Then an horrible pain.
Hwang didn't notice he had injured Mina immediately, but when he saw the thin line of blood on his sword he understood. Mina was holding her arm, grinding her teeth. She had lost, but not really by her fault. Hwang stayed calm and carefully put his sword away. Mina's wound was painful, so painful that tears went down her cheeks but she shook her head to make them go she didn't want Hwang to think she was a fragile girl. Hwang approached her but she refused : "I can take care of myself, Hwang. " Hwang shrugged and went inside the ship. Mina thought : "He's so strange. He didn't even apologize !"
During that time, some of the people of the ship had returned, the sun was fading. When Maxi returned, the ship leaved the harbour, and the crew could continue their long journey.
Mina didn't manage to make a suitable bandage so she just held a piece of tissue found near her, on her arm. But the wound was more painful than ever. She stayed on the deck, the cool wind was refreshing and she needed to be alone.
But again, someone went and broke her quietness. The door opened, and she could see Hwang, who didn't saw her because of the dark, pulling some rope, probably obeying to Maxi's orders. He was about to leave, when he saw Mina sitting here alone.
"Mina ?" he asked. "What are you still doing here ? Is something wrong ?" he asked seriously. "No-" she said, lying again. She saw Hwang was looking at her arm and followed his gaze. "Well, uh" she whispered, "I'm not good at this, but it's alright. Why are you always looking after me ? It's disturbing," she complained. Then he looked at her, and said "You should have understood I was right. I thought you were thoughtless, and I see you are. I am the only one who protects you from yourself, because your father ordered me to do so. You don't stop having problems since you are on this ship ! I'm going to get you back to Korea as soon as I can." Mina was surprised. It was the first time he did reproach something to her. "Okay" she said. "I admit I've not been right. You're satisfied now ?" He stared at her a moment. "It's a lot better."
Then Hwang squatted and took her arm. Mina let reluctantly him do. He removed the piece of tissue, now stained with blood, the shook the head. "Mmh, it's rather deep. You shouldn't have put something dirty on your wound. It has become infected. That may hurt, isn't it ?" Mina nodded. Then Hwang stood up ; he took a basin full of water which was near him and put it near to Mina, which was staring at him in embarassement - she feeled ashamed having to trust him, who couldn't even trust her.
"Now," he finally said, "you just have to wash it" Mina took the piece of tissue, washed it and then, washed her wound, "after that I will put a proper bandage on it and it will heal." After Mina did what he said (still reluctantly she doesn't like to be commanded !), Hwang approched, looking around himself to find a bandage. Then he had an idea ; Mina looked at him, stunned, as he removed his own headband and used it as a bandage on Mina's arm : "You really are someone very strange Ow ! It's too tight ! " she said when he tied it around her injured arm. He sighed, then did it again. Looking after Mina needed much patience.
"Now, it's better." Mina smiled wryly."You know, Hwang" she started. "I'm sure if you weren't here to bring me back home, I guess I would well it doesn't matter." She stood up and so did Hwang. Mina noticed Hwang was never smiling, never laughing, never "He's so stern" she thought. Suddenly she realised she was standing up, face to face with him, since several seconds. He, was just waiting for her to do something, telling him something ! "Uh Hwang," she stammered, her heart beating. She removed her own headband. "I want to give you this, as you gave me yours." She handed him her red headband. He hesitated first, not knowing if he had to take it or not. Finally, he took it. Mina smiled again to him. She had such a beautiful smile, when she wanted to
Suddenly, Hwang took Mina's hands in his. "Mina," he said, "Please, go back to your father's home. Searching for Soul Edge is very dangerous, nobody knows how many troubles you'll have, or how many ill-intentioned people you'll meet. You know, you're father worries so much about you" Mina was surprised, hearing that from Hwang.
She just answered : "I don't know.. if my father worries as much as you, Hwang. I've never told that to you, but you know, I've never met a so thoughtful, a so kind man like you. It's so good to see that someone cares for me" Hwang had removed his hands. He turned around. "I know. A long time ago, I've been feeling that too. I mean, when my parents were alive. I'll never forget them. They learned me that justice must prevail, and that everyone must protect others." "Oh I'm so sorry Hwang." Mina looked at him as he was staring at the stars. "But you know I care for you Hwang." He didn't move. She really feeled sorry for him. "I'm feeling something for him I suppose." She thought. "In fact I think I'm as strange as him to like a man like Hwang."She had to do something. She ran towards him, and finally faced him. He looked at her ; she grinned at him, knowing it was her best weapon. He stayed silent and serious. "Hwang" she said him, but wasn't able to say something else. There wasn't anything else to say.
Hwang was the first to react ; Mina was thinking about it when she felt his lips on hers For the first time. How long had she been waiting for it ? She didn't asked herself more questions, and kissed him back, her hands aound his neck, his hands around her waist Suddenly they both stopped this passionnate kiss, thinking about why they were here that night, what they were supposed to do.
Hwang was not here for that, no. He had to protect her, not to kiss her ! He didn't dare thinking about what his master would think about that. As for Mina, she thought that a man which doesn't agree with her, who injured her, and had to bring her back home didn't have to be with her. Men betrayed her ; that's why she was denied at the Coastal Defense Force.
Each of them went back to their rooms. And after Soul Edge is found, after Korea is saved, after a heart a soul girl finds independence, after maybe.
THE END
