Ashes To Ashes

Chapter 4: For A Laugh

***

It had been some time since Heihachi had discovered the ghost of his dead son; the memory still haunted him more than the ghost itself, even these eight years after his passing. Four years had passed since he’d seen the ghost, and so far, he thought he was the only one that had been approached by the boy.

A few rooms down he could hear Lee’s loud music blaring away. He’d grown used to it, and somehow, more tolerant toward the boy since his freakish encounter. After being reminded of his big mistake, he’d slowly come to realise that he had always been a terrible father. Back when Kazuya was very young, he was anything but interested in children; he thought of them as more of a burden and a mistake rather than a gift…he came to realise, after getting to know his friends and colleagues more and more, that children were a blessing, a joy…and the means of making your soul immortal.

Guilt had consumed him for a short period as he quickly learned how little he knew his only son, and what a wasted opportunity had arisen from the child’s existence. He could have been more patient, more attentive…more of a father…it would have stopped Aiko from being so depressed. He knew now that it was a mistake to force Lee upon her to replace the only child that she could ever bear – a second mistake that he could never rectify. As a result, of late, he’d relaxed his strict grip upon the family…it wasn’t worth sacrificing the little respect he had left from the both of them in pointless discipline.

Heihachi rested back in his large leather armchair with a deep sigh, fingering the small box that lay in his great hands. He knew what it was…it contained a few small photo albums Aiko kept from many years ago. He would never be able to let his mind rest, never let the guilt rest, until he knew what sort of a person his son really was.

So far, his views were still prejudiced. He himself was a great warrior – the greatest on this Earth – so he expected the spawn of his own blood to follow the same trend. Kazuya, on the other hand, was never enthusiastic about training, never tried, and never succeeded. So what if he was only a child – he was supposed to be better than that. Then again, Heihachi had reasoned, of late, that small children aren’t always naturally talented fighters…possibly his fault was forcing the boy too hard.

Another thing he’d never noticed was his son’s academic process. He’d recently found some records of Kazuya’s first year in school…it turned out he was a fast learner, and almost always top in his class in whatever they studied at that level. His writing was advanced for his age, and his reading level was even more so. He was a bright boy indeed…something he should have been proud of.

Eventually he pried the lid off the small box and placed it on the expansive desk before him. Lifting the first album, he began to flick through the pages of images…his breath hitched in his throat as soon as he saw the first one.

It was a very young Kazuya…three at the most…standing next to a wall in the Mishima dojo, his tiny white gi pants stained with blood, like a decent proportion of his bared skin…still, he had a brave look on his very youthful, chubby face…a slight smile was on his puffy lips. Shouldn’t such a young boy cry with such pain? He’d never noticed what a brave, strong boy Kazuya had been…a result of being conditioned to pain from a very young age.

The next page was a little more pleasant; Aiko sitting at the beach in a one-piece, sleepily relaxing beneath an umbrella shade. Next to her, a very small chibi played with a bucket and spade, trying to pile as much sand onto a growing ‘castle’ as possible. Heihachi remembered taking that photo because Aiko looked quite delicious at the time…but now he was more interested in the child, almost cut off the side of the image. Compared to his friends’ bratty children, snot-nosed and screaming around the place like hooligans…he came to realise that Lee and Kazuya were positively angelic.

Image after image passed before his eyes, and as he got into the final album, they got more and more painful. The boy grew older and older before his eyes, to the point a week before that fateful day. The youthful happiness slowly became replaced by preternatural calm, and an emptiness in the child’s obsidian eyes. In some images, he could even see a devastating sadness buried deep within those dark eyes, in that small face.

Finally he could take no more…and placed the albums aside, lest he fall victim to the tears that threatened to break free. He’d never taken the time to acknowledge his son, his wonderful son…and now, finally, after all this time, he wanted to undo the damage he caused. He wanted to make Kazuya the most fantastic creature to grace the Earth. The smartest warrior, the strongest fighter, the most efficient and most clever businessman…but beneath that, he wanted to see Aiko smile properly once more. These last eight years, he’d never seen a happy look on her face – not a real one, that is.

Still, even through all of the anguish and self-hatred as a result of his callous ‘disposal’ of a ‘burden’, he still despised the boy. He wanted to make Kazuya make him proud…but he still wished the boy never lived in the first place. After all…Aiko wouldn’t have fallen ill since his conception…and he wouldn’t have to cope with the pain of late. Life would have been simple; business, and love for his wife. There would be no interruption from children.

Then again, he would die with time.

A horrendous spiel of guitars screaming interrupted his thoughts, and, after replacing the albums in their box, and putting the lid back on, he decided it was time to put a peaceful end to all that…noise.

After putting the box back in a lower drawer, Heihachi stalked out of his office, down the hall, and to Lee’s bedroom. Several firm knocks from a large knuckle caused a temporary break in the obnoxious squeals, and slowly, cautiously, the door opened, and a twelve-year-old Lee peeked out from behind the door.

“Sorry Otousan…” He whispered timidly. Though he was quite young, Lee was an early developer…his voice had already broken, and his was beginning to take on a less boyish shape…and he was nearly 5’6”.

Heihachi frowned. “How can you be anything of worth if you can’t hear, boy? Keep that music down, or you’ll go deaf!”

Lee nodded quickly in acknowledgement and disappeared back into the room, this time with the volume lower than before.

Satisfied that he could now work in relative peace, Heihachi returned to his office. The distraction was what he needed to take his mind of that boy of the past. Back to work for now…no need for any more unnecessary angst from years gone.

***

Long after Aiko and Heihachi had gone to sleep for the night, Lee was still up doing homework. It was nearly midnight…thank god it was a weekend.

Frustrated with the workload and its impossibility, he threw his pen across the room, sighed deeply, and let his head hit the table. The assignment was due next Monday, and there was no way in HELL he was going to be able to finish it. Stupid maths, stupid social studies, stupid English, stupid school. He hated it all with a vengeance.

After turning on some quiet music, Lee returned to sitting staring at the junk on the table in front of him, wondering pointlessly whether it would randomly do itself for some bizarre reason, or if he’d have to get back down there again and finish it himself. Reluctantly, he reached for another pen, and began scribbling down a few notes as they came to him…he hated reading texts, he preferred to have a teacher tell him what to write. No, wait, he’d prefer not to do the work at all.

“Damnit, I don’t know this stuff…who cares about Maths anyhow?”

Suddenly, he felt a presence. He was sure of it. Was it Kazuya again? He hadn’t seen the boy in over two years…he almost missed his company. He was the only other person his age that knew what suffering was. That, and he was damn smart for a five-year-old.

But no, when he looked around, his little friend wasn’t there.

‘Just subtract the second power on the denominator from the fifth power in the numerator…’

Lee jumped when he heard that little voice in his head…he sure as hell didn’t think those words. Or maybe he did…after all, that’s what his teacher in class would have said. X to the power of five…minus the two…that left him with x cubed. After checking the answers…indeed, that was the right answer! Whoever that voice belonged to, he thanked them in his head. He doubted it was Kazuya…the kid usually appeared before him, and his voice wasn’t as deep…though the enigmatic voice was still boyish. It must have been his conscience or something.

At any rate, now that he understood how those stupid powers worked, he was able to put his head down and keep working…maybe he’d get the stupid project done by Monday after all.

***

As he woke up the next day, Lee was startled to hear someone in his room. Usually Heihachi or Aiko knocked before they went in…but this time, there was no such privilege. He sat up with a start, only to see the culprit sitting in the chair at his desk, reading over his work!

Though he couldn’t see the face of whoever it was, he could tell he was around the same age. After all, they were a similar size, and the white gi pants of the stranger were all he was wearing – he had a well toned chest and arms, and perfect olive skin – that of a fighter.

Then it occurred to him…Kazuya? No, ghosts don’t age, do they? Or maybe this one does. He coughed lightly to get this stranger’s attention.

Calmly, whoever it was turned to lee, one dark brow raised. “Finally decided to wake up, eh sleepy-head?” That same voice from last night…that of a preteen boy, so it seemed.

Though the answer was logical, Lee was still stunned. “Ka…Kazuya?”

The boy smiled slightly, and nodded. “Weren’t expecting me like this, were ya?”

Lee shook his head, and pulled his covers up over his bared stomach. “I thought you were meant to look like a five-year-old…”

He shrugged his lightly muscled shoulders, and pulled a knee up onto the chair. “I discovered something over the last few years…I age subconsciously – I usually appear as a five-year-old, but I can change into my ‘current’ age…I’m a year older than you, technically…”

Lee blinked. No wonder he helped him with his maths. “Do you age mentally as well? I mean…since you don’t go to school or anything…”

“That’s a mystery to me as well. I just seem to accumulate knowledge somehow…I don’t even understand it myself. It’s as if I grow almost as if I were still alive, but at the same time, in some ways, I don’t change much from when I was five.” He closed the book on the table, and shoved it aside gently. “I can change back and forth between ages easily…but when I do, my mind frame changes too. I think like a five-year-old sometimes…but at the moment, I think like a thirteen-year-old…”

Thirteen…dang. Lee smirked, and jumped out from under the covers. “Eh…so if you’re thirteen…why have you still got a kid’s voice?”

Kazuya blushed slightly, and scowled. “Shut up…I don’t have answers to everything, you know…”

“You seem to most of the time…” Lee couldn’t help but grin.

One of Kazuya’s lower eyelids twitched slightly, and he leapt at Lee with a snarl.

Slightly panicked, Lee jumped aside, only to get tackled to the ground by the older ghostly boy. The two rolled about for a few moments, and Lee realised, since he wasn’t being pummelled – just held down by arms much stronger than his own – that it was only a play fight…he couldn’t help but laugh, and fight back playfully.

It was soon painfully obvious that though Kazuya was shorter and not as developed as Lee, he was much stronger…to the point that he kept Lee pretty well pinned to the floor with his hands alone for almost the entire wrestling match. And sadly enough, the most Kazuya ever did was smile slightly, even though Lee was hysterical with laughter…mostly from being tickled. Kazuya had caught Lee’s wrists in one hand, and was tickling him freely with the other…no matter how much the silver-haired boy struggled, he couldn’t free himself from the powerful grasp of the older boy.

After reducing Lee to a state of tearful hysteria, Kazuya paused to look down at his foster brother. He still had him pinned, and he was sitting on his stomach, straddling him with both white-clad legs. Once Lee recovered from his fit of laughter, he looked up into the dark eyes staring down at him, captivated…it seemed neither of them could tear their eyes away for what seemed like forever.

Finally, Lee felt the grip on his wrists relent, and he immediately drew his arms down from above his head as Kazuya grinned at him and rolled off. When the silver-haired boy looked down, he realised with dismay that the whole ordeal had excited him…as everything seemed to do these days. Blushing, he quickly scampered away to cover himself…since he was wearing nothing but short boxer shorts.

After running a hand through his thick black hair, Kazuya sat down on the ground, cross-legged, and watched Lee with ebbing curiosity. “You’re not really that ticklish, are you?”

Lee laughed. “What do you think? I almost pissed my pants!” The only reason he didn’t was for the fact that he wasn’t able to at that point…what with that excitement and all. Damn adolescence to hell.

Kazuya rolled his eyes, and smiled again. Lee couldn’t help but notice how nice he looked…silently he cursed himself. He was beginning to realise that he found the boys in his class as attractive as the girls…and it was scaring him.

Kazuya was about to speak again, but he was interrupted by a loud yell from downstairs.

“Lee, it’s breakfast time, get your lazy rear downstairs this instant!”

Yes, Heihachi had bellowed. Lee sighed, and looked over at his adoptive brother. “You know as well as I do that I have to go now…”

Kazuya nodded, and prepared to leave. That is, until he saw the smirk on Lee’s face. “Have you revealed yourself to Otousan and Okaasan yet?” He reached over to grab a pair of pants sitting over the back of his chair, and began to pull them on.

“Yes, I have…once or twice…” He paused to watch Lee, then arched a thick brow. “…are you suggesting…”

Lee grinned. “That you pay a visit to breakfast today? Yeh…”

“I shouldn’t do that, you know…”

“Why not?” Lee’s grin was growing more and more mischievous by the second.

“I’m dead, remember? I’m not really meant to be here at all…let alone goofing around…” Part of him was already screaming in objection already.

Lee rolled his dark hazel eyes. “Who gives a shit? Besides, you know how much your Mom loves you…and how much it’d scare your Dad to see you…”

He couldn’t help but grin back. “Okay, you talked me into it…”

Lee nodded, buttoned his pants, and headed downstairs, with Kazuya following him…not in a ghostly, translucent haze, but as real as he could possibly look…