Jakunen Mirai

Chapter 17: Like Old Times

***

The glint of the gold watch on his wrist, refracting the obnoxious fluorescent lights above him into his eyes, was almost distracting him, but Kazuya Mishima had enough self-control to avoid such an incident. The watch, of course, had been a gift two years ago for his fiftieth birthday, and from that day onward, he never went anywhere without it – except of course, the dojo.

A lot had changed in the past two years, particularly within the Zaibatsu. A more positive atmosphere was apparent, even when Kazuya himself stepped into it. He’d learned, from Jin of all people, that making frequent appearances, and ensuring everyone realised each appearance was benevolent, would increase efficiency and raise morale – since people would realise that their CEO was not a harsh, cold man like his predecessor.

Today, however, the morale was worn thin in his office. He’d discovered something he didn’t particularly want to, courtesy of the WWWF organisation. Apparently, one of his old employees, Dr Abel, had scored a job at an underground scientific organisation’s headquarters. Apparently, according to 3WF, this was not a good thing; they suspected they were using animals for illegal testing of biocides and genetically modified paraphernalia.

Normally he would have deleted the email. However, as much as he hated to admit it, he was a changed man. He was not the ruthless creature he used to be, thanks to a particular former agent to this bothersome company. Jun Kazama came to mind as soon as he’d read the email, asking for his assistance and cooperation in ‘apprehending a former employee of the Mishima Conglomerate, in the instance of breech of the Darwin Treaty’. Of course, he was more than tempted to reply with two simple words, one starting with f, and the other being ‘you’. Why should he?

Then again, he knew Abel well. He was not a man to be trusted, since he gave no regard for anything besides making himself famous for engineering something incredible, whether it be for good or evil. Jun’s voice scolded him for even thinking of denying them help – they were under funded, and didn’t have the power to undergo proper investigation. So now, as the CEO of the world’s largest company, he was being enlisted as a major part of the secret investigation.

The Japanese government had also given him a request to aid in the investigation, for the better of the worldwide community, so they said. Unlike his father, he didn’t refuse...he’d decided to put major funding into the investigation. After all, Abel was dangerous.

Ignoring the glinting of the watch on his left wrist, he finished the final email he had to send to organise the Mishima Zaibatsu aid; the most important not being the several million dollars in funding – in fact, it was the cooperation of the Tekkenshu Alpha and Beta squadrons enlisted in case of emergency within the examination into Abel’s activities.

***

That afternoon, it was time for some much-needed training. Dressed in a full Gi – white long-sleeved top, pattern-less white trousers, black belt – he jogged down to the dojo. After all, it was best to be warmed up before starting exercise, and stretching cold muscles only does them damage. As he got there, he wandered in silently...only to see Jin already training. The younger man noticed his father standing in the doorway, quietly watching, and paused in his voracious attack upon the innocent punching bag in front of him.

Smiling slightly, Kazuya walked over to him. “Working hard as usual, ne?”

Jin smiled back, stepping away from the punching bag for the time being. “Naturally.” He dusted his hands on the sides of his black and white Gi pants, then folded them over his chest. “Here to join me, huh?”

“Eh, why not...” he moved from the softly swaying bag, stretching his arms out over his head, and headed for an empty space. “Anything in particular you want to do?”

“Well, we haven’t sparred in a while.” Jin followed him, dropping back into a fighting stance after a moment. “I haven’t had any contact training since you beat the heck out of me a few months ago.”

“Suits me. What style?” Lately, the two Mishima men had been learning new martial arts styles, rather than progressing their already impressive techniques in their own styles. After all, what use is one single very sharp sword, when you can sharpen new swords too? They’d learned Tae Kwon Do from Jin’s young Korean friend – a former archenemy – and each other’s styles. The young Chinese girl, Ling Xiaoyu, who passed by every now and again, had also been sharing her fighting style, in return for education on the Mishima and Traditional Karate styles.

Jin shrugged, pulling up his Gi pants absent-mindedly. They had a funny habit of wandering down his body from time to time. “Let’s go with our old styles for now. I don’t really feel like pulling out anything new today.”

“Fair enough, old styles it is.” With that, Kazuya stood back another half shoulder width, bringing both hands, open-fisted, up to his chest level, ready to defend whatever may be thrown his way.

Nodding, Jin dropped back into a wide stance, both closed fists raised in front of him. Seeing Kazuya’s distinct lack of an urge to begin the bout, Jin leapt forward, kicking up with his right leg; following immediately with his left in a much higher kick, he caught his father somewhat off-guard, sending him flying into the air, and crashing back down to the ground with a muffled thud. Rather than going in for the kill, however, he stood back to watch.

With a grunt, Kazuya somersaulted backwards and back onto his feet, wiping his mouth on the back of his arm. “Always words, doesn’t it?” The number of times Jin has caught him out with that one, and still...he never could see it coming. He, however, wasn’t by far even slightly put off by the sudden attack, and launched into one of his own. Hopping off the ground, he launched himself at the younger man, left foot extending only as he neared Jin’s surprised face. The force of the attack was enough to send him flying, then sprawling, across the hard wooden floor of the arena.

As Kazuya landed back on his feet, he resumed his stance as Jin slowly got back off the ground. “Wasn’t that a big extreme?” The younger of the two grumbled as he clicked his jaw back into place.

“Depends on what you consider extreme. Besides, if you catch me off-guard, I’m likely to do the same in return.”

Rolling his eyes, Jin smiled somewhat as he regained his composure. After a moment of circling, Jin stepped forward again with a wide swing from his right arm; as he made solid contact with Kazuya’s chest, he swung again with the left...that too, made contact, and Kazuya stumbled backward. Once more, Jin brought his right arm forward...a faint crackling of lightning could be seen emanating around the limb...however, this time he wasn’t so lucky.

Kazuya caught Jin’s hand in his own, then grasped further up the arm with his free hand. His right leg swung high over the boy’s head, then whipped back down with unnatural strength, sending Jin with it – painfully, no doubt. As he hit the floor again, Jin grunted softly, catching himself neatly on both hands. If anything, his reactions were improving. Before he could be attacked while lying on the ground, vulnerable, Jin swiftly rolled over onto his back, and stood up. “Nice save, by the way.”

“Arigatou.” Kazuya didn’t seem too interested in the pleasantries, as usual, and was back into the fight before any more words could be spoken. This time, since they were both in close proximity of each other, Kazuya launched into a Demon’s Wrath; four quick, alternating strikes – one from each limb – the final one being a jab, which was unblocked by Jin, into the abdomen – hence the name Entrails Smash.

Jin clutched his stomach with a low growl, and stumbled backward.  Damnit that hurt! He quickly recovered nevertheless, ignoring the hastily fading dull ache in his midriff. As Kazuya closed in on him again, he swiftly struck out with his right fist, striking high at the older man’s head, followed immediately by a similar but much more powerful punch by his right. The effect was obvious...Kazuya was sent sprawling backward across the dojo once again, but quickly flipped back up onto his feet. Before he could react, however, Jin threw himself at him again...this time, with both heels used as swinging weights – a la Spinning Flare Kick. Just as he’d gotten up, Kazuya was sent crashing to the ground again.

With a grunt, the older of the two scrambled to his feet, and crouched back down again, spinning about his left foot, extending his right leg. Jin, who was only just getting back up off the ground, was struck by both revolutions of Kazuya’s leg, and slid further away on his back under the impact.

For the moment, Kazuya relented long enough for his son to get back onto his feet. He was not unfair, after all, and the only opponent he would purposely beat into a bloody pulp whilst vulnerable would be his father. Again, Jin got to his feet, and brushed his Gi free of dust he’d collected whilst lying on the floor. He could feel himself wavering from the many blows to the head he’d received, but soldiered on, taking a swing from low with his right fist, upper-cutting high. Of course, Kazuya had been expecting such a tactic, and sidestepped the attack, grabbing Jin from his right. While the youth was caught off-guard, he grasped both his hands, forcing him down to his knees from behind.

Jin knew what this meant. He would get knocked clean out if he let it happen...though, as much as he tried to pull his arms free, the grasp they were held in was just too firm. No, he didn’t want to get knocked out...this was just a sparring match!

“Hey whoa, hold it!” he struggled more.

However, the attack never came.

After a few more seconds, Jin turned in the firm hold to try looking over his shoulder. When he did, he saw Kazuya with his right hand on his hip, smirking. “I was wondering when you’d ask.”

Finally the grasp relented and Jin snatched his wrists away, rubbing them with his hands one after another. When Kazuya folded his arms over his chest and got ready to walk off toward the punching bag, Jin snarled half-heartedly. “Bastard...”

Rolling his eyes, Kazuya put a foot against Jin’s back and shoved playfully, pushing the younger man forward toward the floor...with only enough force to give him a bit of a jolt. “What sort of a bloodthirsty creep do you take me for? That was a sparring match...but a kill ‘em all. I wouldn’t have used that attack on you...” His smirk softened to a smile.

Jin rolled his eyes too, and got to his feet. Actually, he was glad Kazuya had stopped there. He’d almost had enough with as short a fight as it was; each had fought full force, and neither wanted to get knocked unconscious, so the bout had been short. “If you weren’t going to attack, what were you gonna do?”

As he headed over to the punching bag for a little practise, he shrugged. “I was going to hold you down until you either broke free or did what you did and beg for mercy...”

“What?! I did not...” The heightened pitch of the young man’s deep voice was enough of a cue as to his embarrassment; Kazuya didn’t need to turn from the bag as he began to assault it, to see the blush.

“Technically you did...but let’s not dwell on it.”

Jin reached down to grab a towel, shaking his head and smiling. “Whatever you say. I’ve been training for hours anyhow, I’m going to get some lunch then go out for a while.”

Kazuya didn’t pause in his swift, powerful attacks on the wavering punching bag hanging from the ceiling. “Fine with me.”

With the dojo now empty and silent, aside from the sound of his fists connecting with the punching bag, Kazuya was now free to train with as much brutality and passion as he wished – his only release of the frustration the day had dealt him.