*
airon kobushi/chimeiteki raiden
Heihachi sat along the upraised battle ground, leading to the lip of the volcano in the Japanese countryside several miles from Tokyo. His eyes scanned along the upraised dust cloud coming from the road below. Kazuya had arrived. The King of Iron Fist had come to defend his life and title.
The old man took notice as the limousine sped away, the figure of his son walking alone up the incline, his face stone set as it drew closer, ready to meet his destiny. Kazuya was glinting like a polished bronze warrior in the light of morning, though his eyes held a beacon of hatred by which Heihachi Mishima could set a compass and draw port in the heavy storm of his boys’ gaining presence.
The time had come. Years of culmination had led to this moment. Father facing Son in deadly combat. Kazuya was no more a child, he bore no taint of early innocence. His small hands that once reached for Heihachi, before the nearly fatal fall from the cliff....came before him, balled into fists of contempt. As they had once before when Kazuya returned from the streets of Tokyo to claim the victory of the First King of Iron Fist.
Heihachi had known what it was to suffer then. A pain that tempered his wrath with vengeance. There was no shared blood, no surname or trivial loyalties between them. They were as warriors, preparing for the most important battle of their lives. And the challenge would lie within the strategic beauty of each man knowing the others’ moves. Endless days and nights Father and Son had spent in the brilliant anguish of combinations and throw executions, honing them to cruel perfection. It had come down to this. Speed versus Experience. Youth versus Resourcefulness. Heihachi had not taught his son everything he knew, somehow even then, the old man realized a future such as this might occur. Heihachi had to keep a few extra tricks up his sleeve.
Each accepted silently the absence of a Judge for the battle. There would be no need for errant calls from an official, no threat of disqualification. Only the victor would walk away from this hallowed ground....alive.
Kazuya stood before Heihachi, looking down onto the old man with a chilling detachment and intense malevolence ripping through his Ki, tainting the aire around him. Heihachi rose to his feet, crossing his massive arms before his chest, dressed in his ceremonial Geta and gi. There was pride in his eyes as he beheld his son, this killer he had created through years of unabashed cruelty and violence. He had built the perfect machine.
“Are you ready, boy?” Heihachi grinned, showcasing the dark, greedy glint for the taking of Kazuya’s life in his eyes. He was going to enjoy this.
Kazuya did not bother exchanging pre match pleasentries with the old man. His acknowledgement to the start of the battle came as he rushed forward, ducking low to a Rising uppercut, his right hand gleaming with spirals of lightening charged anger as it connected beneath Heihachis’ chin.
With a startle, the old man fell back, unable to counter the speed of the attack as his drew into stance, met by the punch and stumbled back.
Kazuya followed through with the Spinning Demon, his leg arched perfect circles as he crouched low, connecting to the old mans’ leg as the second full turn brought Heihachi to the ground, on his back.
With a dark smile, Heihachi kicked up the force of his leg into Kazuya’s mid section, causing his boy to expel a hard pressed breath. With a dash of strength, Heihachi rushed to his feet, sending his arm outward to catch Kazuya with the Power Punch.
The feeble attack was effectively blocked by Kazuya’s muscular forearms as he side stepped, sinking low to put the pressure of his body into the Twin Pistons...a vicious left, right upward punch...ripe with electrified Tekken, causing his opponent..his father...to grimace as the force impacted, nearly doubling him over.
Kazuya lifted his powerful leg for the Tsunami Kick, the edge of his foot grazing Heihachi as the old man barely ducked slightly to the side of the impact. Using the advantage of his balance, Heihachi grasped Kazuya behind the neck, connecting the Stone Head as his own fatal lightening encircled his aging form.
The king of Iron Fist rolled with the blow, falling back, allowing both of his legs to connect to Heihachis’ abdomen, flipping his attacker over with the force of momentum. Kazuya rose like a demon as Heihachi hit the ground, moving in for a Left Splits Kick, targeting the old mans head.
Foreseeing the attack, Heihachi rolled in toward his son, catching Kazuya with the Left-Right-Left behind the back punch combinations of the Demon Slayer. Now it was Kazuya who felt the weight of his body crash into the ground. As the King of Iron Fist rolled to a stand, Heihachi had already begun the execution of his own Dragon Upper Cut, the sizzle of electric current forked outward, hungry for impact.
Kazuya was ready. Lunging viciously, the young Mishima speared Heihachi out of the very air itself, ducking low to grab Heihachi by the midsection, straddling above him for the Ultimate Tackle. Flying fists of vengeance connected one after another into the sides of the elder Mishima’s head.
With a rage trembling hand, Heihachi caught Kazuya’s final punch, pushing his son off of his chest as Kazuya staggered back, his own body convulsing in its’ rage.
Heihachi came to a quick crouch, spinning his leg out to the Rising Sun.
As the old man set into the first circular spin of the move, Kazuya caught his leg, grasping it tightly as he held fast to one of Heihachi’s arms...throwing the old man over his shoulder, executing the steel pedal drop.
Heihachi hit the ground, grasping his hand at his back as he grimaced, panting. Kazuya charged the anger of his Ki, falling into the Left Splits kick, connecting with the old mans’ knee.
Heihachi screamed, grasping at his tortured knee, forcing himself to roll upward to a stand, placing his weight on the tender joint. Limping to gain his balance, Kazuya hissed. “That was for my brother, old man.”
Licking his lips, Kazuya leaned into his limping opponent with the left, left right flash punch combo. The impact smashed Heihachi along the face, busting his nose open as the old man managed to block only the last in the series of vicious punches.
With Kazuya’s right punch smacked away, Heihachi grasped the King of Iron Fist into a neck breaker throw. Lightening sparks encircled both men as they grappled, Kazuya hitting hard to the floor.
With maniacal laughter from his blood strewn face, Heihachi drew up his electrified leg for the infamous Geta stomp. The very move that disabled Lee Chaolan in yesterdays match. Kazuya saw it coming, rolling back way from the stomp, landing with perfect balance to a low drawn crouch.
Heihachi seized his chance, rushing in. Kazuya lifted his muscular frame, flying into the elder Mishima with the twin pistons. Once executed, the King of Iron Fist pressed a frenzied flash punch combo, playing on Heihachi’s lack of perfect balance.
Heihachi pressed back on his weak leg, his hand rushing up to his split open lip and pulsing broken nose. A look of awe mixed with strains of anger as Heihachi looked to his son with hatred in his eyes.
Lightening licked along the old mans sweating upper body as Heihachi threw a vicious hammer punch, easily deflected by Kazuya. The second punch of the combination was not as readily intercepted by Kazuya’s defense.
The right power punch connected painfully. Kazuya shook off the shock, grabbing tight to Heihachi’s extended hand, pulling the elder Mishima into the double kick throw.
Heihachi felt the force of Kazuya’s power tossing him forward. Finding his center of gravity, the old man ducked low as the double kick tried to force him backward. With the force of momentum in his favor, Heihachi thrust Kazuyas’ leg forward, spinning him around to face his back toward his attacker.
With all his strength, Heihachi grabbed Kazuya, pulling him up for the Atomic Drop. Kazuya broke free, flipping over Heihachi’s back to land like a cat on his feet. With a menacing growl of impatience, Kazuya took Heihachi by the hair, throwing him down onto his knees as his right arm hoisted high...crackling with his own fatal lightening as his hyper extended power hand crashed down for the Skull Smash.
Heihachi fell to all fours, blood rushing down his forehead, staining his flesh with almost tribal flair. Kazuya threw his body over to connect with the demon scissors.
With a horrified glance, seeing the younger Mishima in mid execution of the Demon Scissors, Heihachi spun to his feet, plucking Kazuya from mid air into the Jumping Power bomb.
As Kazuya connected to the floor, wincing as pain rushed along his spine, he desperately pressed both feet into Heihachi’s face, using the momentum of his thrust to roll to his feet. Defiance and arrogance dripped from the King of Iron Fists form as Kazuya flawlessly fell into stance, blood trickling from his mouth.
Heihachi too found his stance, staring at his boy amidst the dark stains of fresh and drying blood. With spirit shouts from either side, both men jumped up and into the Rising Sun at the same time...colliding on the first full turn. Coming to their respective feet, Kazuya and Heihachi charged full force at one another.
Kazuya attacked with the dragon upper cut, his electrified fist, missing as Heihachi drew into his own Twin Pistons and heavy power punch.
Falling back, Kazuya could hear his ribs crack beneath the force of the elder Mishima’s perfectly timed blow. The long healed scar on his chest slowly began to pulse a sickly deep purple, tricking with fresh blood. Time itself seemed to slow down as the familiar voice rang through his thoughts.
Either way you win...you lose, little Mishima. I will remove the soul of your unborn son and send it screaming in hell for Daddy...for all of eternity. And when I am done, I will shred the divine essence of my dear Miss Kazama...once she has birthed my new form, that is. So don’t you see Kazuya, my promise is fulfilled. I gave you the strength to defeat your father the first time..I made no guarantee I would lend you my power for the second battle of the war. Thus...I take my leave of you.
A convulsion ripped through Kazuya’s body as the soul of the Demon slid from between the freshly shredded flesh of his previous scar. The wound reopened, Kazuya lifted his bare hands. They instantly drenched in fresh red blood. With disbelief in his eyes, he looked to Heihachi who moved in slow motion. The devil was gone, the weight in his soul was removed and for the first moment in his memories, Kazuya was free. My son, he realized. The Demon is going after...my son.
Kazuya stumbled to his legs, forcing his Ki into the Ultimate Tackle, colliding with Heihachi as the old man rushed in for his next attack. Heihachi easily spun around the clumsy, poorly timed attack, smashing Kazuya to the ground face first. Heihachi pressed the force of his knees into Kazuya’s back, throwing errant, lightening charged, powerful punches at the back of the younger Mishima’s head.
Kazuya blinked back the sudden wave of unconsciousness threatening to overtake him as the continuous punches leveled along the back of his head. For an instant his senses came to life, all five recalling a different memory from somewhere deep within. He saw the jagged cliff of his youth...he could smell the old stale sweat within the dojo on the Estate...Kazuya could suddenly feel the touch of a young Lee Chaolans’ hand on his shoulder, offering Kazuya the first drag from a cigarette, behind their school before heading home on a late fall afternoon...he could taste the kiss of Jun Kazama, sweeter than life itself...and then came the sound of a new born baby, crying as it drew the first breaths of life. It was in that instant Kazuya sensed the arms of his mother, gently cradling him.
Hard, strong hands heaved him up by his throat, propping him to stand on his own two feet. The very same hands that first held Kazuya as he took the first steps of life. His fathers’ hands. Kazuya thought he grasped hold of a fleeting memory...from a time before cruelty twisted Heihachi Mishima into the unfeeling monster he had become.
“Is this all you have, boy?” Heihachi watched as Kazuya fought to stay standing and for a moment their eyes met. Kazuya could see his bloodied form reflected in the hard eyes of his father. The reopened scar threatened to trickle all the remaining blood from the King of Iron Fists body. He had already lost so much of his vital essence.
Kazuya leaned in, shoving at Heihachi. The elder Mishima let his fists fly, pounding into Kazuya with a flurry of arrogant punches, charging his fists with lightening to increase the damage.
Kazuya tried to block as many as he could, in desperation. But Heihachi was throwing them to quickly, too furiously and the majority of the hits impacted...cracking bone.
Bloodied and overpowered, Kazuya felt the his thoughts coming clearer than they ever had. He did not have to fight anymore. His death would prevent Devil the strength needed to sustain his energy force...it would Keep Devil from taking the soul of his unborn child. The entity would have no recourse than to return to hell, too weak to take the prize of the Unborns’ life.
Heihachi drew his leg, shaking, upward into a super charged Left splits kick...a death blow, uttered to end the match and Kazuya’s life for good. In a last moment of effort, Kazuya caught hold of his foot, cradling it in mid air as he committed to the dragon upper cut, showing ultimate control as Heihachi flinched back....Kazuya stopped a breath from Heihachi’s face, looking into the old mans’ eyes.
“There will be no rest for you, old man. When your end comes, I am sorry for you. You will never know the love I have known or the honor and pride I feel at this moment to think another of my blood will continue on, in my name. I will watch him...as Mother has watched me. Though you may decimate my body, old man, Love is stronger than death. And so is vengeance.”
Kazuya released the bleeding, limping elder Mishima as Heihachi looked onto his broken son with a darkness of eminent victory in his eyes. Heihachi connected his fist, twice over with the power punch, sending Kazuya back with a sharp breath of pain. The elder Mishima seized the King of Iron Fist, throwing him into a Hell Axle...his leg coming left, then with a right kick rotating from behind the back for added power.
Kazuya fell to the floor, dazed as Heihachi drew up behind him, charging his left fist for the lightening hammer.
Kazuya looked to the sky as intense growls of thunder echoed above him. A tear rushed past his eye, staining down his bloodied cheek as he imagined the soft scent of a newborn, cradled in a soft blanket, held by the arms of his love.... The sweet laughter of his brother, Lee Chaolan...somewhere in the background.
The blow from Heihachi’s lightening Hammer crashed hard to the back of Kazuya Mishima’s neck. His eyes fixed, skyward...he saw the white wings of salvation and the blackness of complete unconsciousness.
Leaning over Kazuya, Heihachi wiped the blood and sweat from his brow. Hoisting him up into cradling arms as though he were no more than a boy again, the old man walked with him to the overlook of the Volcano. The scent of sulfur was strong as steam rose from the intense depths below.
Looking to Kazuya’s battered, bloody face, Heihachi offered his boy like a sacrifice, over the lip of the volcano.
“May you rest in hell amongst the wings of your own kind. Your only comfort to be your screams to guide you through a soul less eternity.”
Heihachi Mishima withdrew his arms, the weight of Kazuya’s body plummeting against the jagged rocks that lined the inner mouth of the volcano. He heard Kazuya scream as his hands flailed outward toward the figure of his Father, the distance increasing as he dropped with intense velocity.
Kazuya....
The old man heard an odd, distant female voice ringing through the wind, carried like a prayer on the currents. Only when Heihachi saw the splash of Lava encircle the form of his son, did he turn to walk away.
With a rumble from beneath his feet, Heihachi dropped onto his haunches, his fingertips anchoring to the shivering ground as he looked around, too dazed to register what was about to happen. Forcing himself to run, Heihachi descended the incline, rolling to the ground as the volcano erupted suddenly behind him. Debris from within scattered all along the incline.
Perhaps it was fitting Tribute, Heihachi nodded to himself, shaking the cloudiness from his thoughts. Kazuya Mishima was dead.
Kazuya Mishima....was dead.
ten’mou
Jun Kazama tossed and turned amidst the cool silk of the sheets. The scent of Kazuya permeated the lavish linens as her hand brushed outward toward his pillow. Feeling that he was not laying beside her, Jun awoke with a startle, bolting upright and rubbing her eyes as she came too.
“Kazuya?” she called out, draping the sheet around her form as she gathered her clothing from the floor, dressing quickly. Instantly, Jun noticed the time...9:30am. The finals match for the King of Iron Fist tournament was scheduled for this morning, at what exact time and location she was not sure. Such things were kept secret to prevent outside interference.
Bolting for the door, Jun scattered out into the hall, rushing down the stairs, hoping against fate that Kazuya might still be in the house. She did not get a chance to wish him luck.
There were no servants to call upon. Jun remembered how quiet and desolate the house had been when she came to call on Kazuya last night. Standing amidst the main fore, she called out his name one last time, feeling as though she was the only person left alive in the world when only her echo answered her.
Rushing to the phone, Jun called a taxi. As she waited, she looked around nervously, a wealth of feelings rushing through her. Jun felt as if suddenly, a presence had entered the room...a cool wind rushing along her skin.
“Who is there?” Jun closed her eyes, knowing that the gift of sight sometimes led her to see what was not there, else it prevented her from finding the origin of the empathic call that slacked her soul.
There was nothing to heed her call. Opening her eyes, Jun stood instantly transfixed at her reflection in the polished gloss of the huge windows lining the fore. The reflection moved while she stayed completely still, the rustle of white feathered wings seemed to brush along the panes surrounding the glass.
The angels hands pressed into the window, as if trapped, lips moving with no herald of words. Jun drew forward, carefully, her eyes never leaving the figure as her own hands placed themselves against the reflection of the angel. “What is it, Angel...how can I free you...” Jun asked as the angels face slowly flickered like a dying light.
In the blink of an eye, the vision was gone.
With a loud honk of an impatient horn, Jun ran toward the door. Looking back as she prepared to leave..the window reflection was empty. Biting her lip with a rising fear, Jun ran to the taxi, encouraging the driver to “step on it.”
Jun fidgeted as the taxi swerved in and out of mid morning Tokyo traffic. 10:00am the digital clock on the taxis’ dash board flashed. Tossing the contents of her small wallet to the driver, Jun rushed from the taxi and into the Zaibatsu building.
Pressing the elevator button, Jun tapped her foot impatiently. “Damn”, she cursed, opting instead to use the stairwell beside the lift, taking two steps at a time to reach the top floor.
Gasping for her breath, Jun tore through the hallway, past the receptionists desk and Lee Chaolans office to the left....opening the double ornate doors to the CEO’s office.
Resting her hands on her upper thighs, Jun fought the wave of morning sickness dangling just behind her. She did not have time for this now. The office was empty of life with the exception of resonance that flowed within it. Lei Wulong had been here...as had Kazuya Mishima....and recently...perhaps early morning. Jun could feel the dark cloud of worry like a fog hanging cloy in the aire.
Rushing to his desk, Jun scanned along the top pile of papers for information as to the time and location of the finals match. Nothing but financial reports and host of documents she had no time to read.
And then suddenly, frustrated, Jun looked to the city of Tokyo sprawling behind the glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the CEO office. The blue eyes of the angel looked back at her. Something was wrong.
Jun watched the divine being. The angels hands rested, crossed at the wrists, down along her thighs. Her head was hung low as the gossamer, glistening white feather wings draped like a protective shroud, coming over the beings’ shoulders.
With a slow nod of benevolence and intense sadness, the Angel raised her hand, making a fluid motion to a door along the wall to the right. Jun felt her breath catch in her lungs as she slowly moved to the sweet smelling room at the Angels behest.
With a slow turn, Jun entered. Instantly her eyes were drawn to a small dais holding 3 burned down candles and one, more than halfway lost of it’s length, still burning. A heavy smoke cloud of incense hugged the room. Pressing back as she released her hold on the door, a sudden vision of Kazuya kneeling in the center of this room overwhelmed her senses. She felt as if she could almost touch him, such was the power of his Ki. This was his private mediation room, his own personal sanctuary.
Upon the dais, Jun noticed a glint of metal, reflecting the flame before it. Approaching slowly, with reverence, Jun bit her lip. Kazuya’s gloves. His red leather, riveted fighting gloves were laying upon the dais.
Lifting them into her hands, a wave of fear rode through her soul. Flashes of visions, too many to see clearly rang into her mind. The memory of the leather was a strong silent witness to the life of the man she loved.
With a startling cry, Jun jumped back, dropping Kazuya’s gloves as a sharp anguished mental pain writhed through her. She could feel Kazuya, his red leathered hands clenched in rage, fighting the Demon within himself...with all his Will and Strength. Taking a deep breath to calm her sudden fear, her eyes were drawn to the burning candle.
“Jun...” Kazuya’s voice called, whispering softly on the wind.
Jun stepped out of the room. “Kazuya?” she sang out, looking around the office. In the reflection of the windows, she could see his figure just outside of the ornate doors of the Zaibatsu.
Turning with a soft smile, he was gone. “Kazuya...this isn’t funny...come on...”
“Come to the dojo, upstairs, Jun...I am waiting for you...” his voice grew faint as if he was moving further away.
Rushing down the hall to the stairs, Jun came to the landing just outside the dojo entrance. Removing her shoes and falling to a bow as she entered, Jun glanced around the large, darkened room.
“Kazuya, is it finally over?” Jun stepped into the darkness. Suddenly, old decorative torches that lined the wall, dusty and unlit...sprang to life with crackling flame. Kazuya was standing in the center of the dojo, his arms folded before his chest. Behind him, the windows reflected the flickering torches....the angel was bound in the reflection...on her knees with her hands before her face....her shoulders heaving. The angel was crying.
Blinking her eyes rapidly as Jun drew closer to Kazuya, she looked to him. Kazuya averted his eyes, the torch light glimmering along his purple silk suit.
“Kazuya?” she whispered, stopping a slight distance away from him.
“Forgive me Jun...I have done as I have done...for the welfare of our son.” He whispered, the shadows playing along his hidden eyes. Jun could see behind the figure of Kazuya...the angel looked up....
“Come to me, my love..” Kazuya held his hand outward to her as his head turned toward the window reflection. His body tensed, seeing the angel as his hand whipped around, placing his back to Jun...and holding his fingers outward toward the entity trapped within the glass.
“You will not stop me. I have come for what is mine.” Kazuya hissed. The angel rose, screaming soundlessly behind the glass, her fair fists pounding the barrier as a sudden pulse of force encircled Kazuya’s form. The Angel arched her wings as if preparing to strike at the form in the center of the room.
The glass burst inward with intense force, though neither Jun nor Kazuya made the attempt to break the window pane. Kazuya fell back, shielding his eyes as Jun shook a daze from her clouded mind. The Ki she sensed was ripe with malevolence...evil...vengeful...otherworldly.
“You are not Kazuya.” Jun barked, her eyes going wide as Kazuya turned, looking over his shoulder. For the first time since she entered the dojo, her eyes connected to glowing red orbs.
“How perceptive of you, my dear one.” The demon smiled with Kazuya’s face as flash of purple flame encircled him. Once the hellfire died down, the Devils true form was standing majestically where the body of Kazuya Mishima had been.
Jun gasped, stepping backward. The Devil advanced, it’s clawed feet tapping along the wood of the dojo floor. “What have you done with him..” Jun asked, breathlessly.
“What have I done with him. How rich. It is not what I have done, but rather what you have done, Jun Kazama. I warned you as you writhed in the grip of sleep what the outcome would be, should you did not give me the soul of your unborn. You dared to fight me, to deny me. And so, you will be the one to kill Kazuya Mishima, though it may look like his own fathers hand had completed the act.”
Jun gasped, taking steps back to continue spacing herself away from the advancing demon. “That is not true...it is not...true. Trixter!”
“Oh, but isn’t it? Kazuya battles at this moment, very close to losing his life. It is his force that I drink to sustain every moment we stand here chatting so pleasantly. If you give me what I seek, I will return to him and give him the power to be triumphant. Then, you will play host to my new form...birthing me into the flesh, at last. Do you know what it is to be bound in the depths of hell, sharing a body with a host...unable to sustain yourself on the material plane for more than a short time? When you birth me from your body, I shall be a creature of flesh with the powers of my own divinity ripe to destroy the heavens. But Kazuya will be at your side, left to play Daddy to our dark little secret. So the question remains....Will you sacrifice the soul of your fetus...yet unformed, still unliving...to spend eternity with your lover, spared from my wrath as I honor you both as would any child to it’s parents.” The Devil hissed, crossing it’s arms before its’ chest. “Or, will you fight me and Kill Kazuya Mishima..yourself and your fetus in the process. You can not hope to win, Jun. Thus, I give you the choice. Will you chose life?”
Jun shook her head, her thoughts whirling into storms through her senses. Was what the demon said, truth, or was it a lie conceived to take the soul from the forming life within her body. Did she dare to risk defeating the Devil...and find his words as accurate as they were prophetic. Could she imagine spending the rest of her life without her love...without Kazuya Mishima?
A soft hand brushed her shoulder, as Jun whirled around to face...the angel. With eyes of ocean blue, the benevolent spirit filled Jun with a sense of calm. “You can not stop the flow of destiny. Each man..and woman must walk a path of their own truths. The road stands before you, child but you must see the dangers ahead. My son has known his destiny all along...he understands the road that must be walked, alone. You fear the passing of my beloved boy to fall upon your hands. With the eyes of right action you will see the emptiness resting within the words of the Demon. Either way you chose, Jun Kazama, Kazuya walks his path.”
The Devil hissed, sending a beam of pure malicious energy between the figure of Jun..and the angel. Jun turned sideways, watching the demon with horrified eyes. Though the angel filled her with courage, the decision had to be hers, alone.
“You have no bounds here, Angel. You are interfering. It is forbidden for you to sway the course of mortal action.” The demon growled, licking his lips with the forked edge of his tongue. His wings arched outward with the sound of rustling leather.
The angel looked deep into Jun Kazama’s eyes, stepping back slowly. “Love is stronger than death...” she whispered.
Jun turned, falling into her fighting stance. “I chose to walk the path that has been destined for me and for my son. As my love walks his own. We will find each other when this is over. Kazuya will defeat Heihachi and then he will defeat you.”
“Foolish child! Insolent bitch!” The Demon hissed, letting a killer beam emit from his glowing red eyes, instantly knocking Jun to the ground. With a mocking laughter, the beast rolled itself over and into the demon scissors, connecting the weight of it’s malevolent soul onto his shivering opponent.
Jun rolled herself up, as did the Demon. Forcing her Ki to ripple through her form, combining with the strength of her Tekken, Jun flew into a blizzard combo. Her right leg kicked out, as her left arm came from around her back, following through with two additional punches.
The demons’ wings encircled his form, pushing away the ending of the combination, grasping her fist to draw Jun in for a double high leg sweep, the force of it’s thighs rolling back and then forward before flipping her onto the ground. Jun desperately tried to block the attack, rolling with the momentum to draw onto her feet.
Pressing into the Whiplash to Toe Kick, Jun flew with the twin left punches before her left leg kicked upward, connecting the bridge of her toes beneath the Demons jaw.
The Devil hissed, grasping Jun behind the neck for a Stone head throw. Sending his opponent stammering in a circle for her balance, its’ massive talon hands balled into the fists of the Twin Pistons.
Jun countered, with a double left kick and left fist punch, easily transitioning into the 3 Ring Circus. Her two left punches brought her into a crouch, as her left leg spun with a kick connecting to the Demons shins, throwing him off balance. Using the advantage, Jun fell into a Scissor spin kick, drawing down onto her knees, her leg circling once before bolting upright with the kick, connecting with the Devils Chest.
The demon surged upright, his wings carrying him toward the high ceiling of the dojo as a Flying Eye beam of pure energy fell diagonal along the ground. Jun could not draw away from it fast enough and landed, stunned and trembling on the ground.
The Demon landed before her, the dark flames of it’s Ki shifting against his forearms as he pressed into Jun with the Rising uppercut...immediately followed by the left splits kick, sending her once more tumbling along the floor.
Jun cried out as her leg twisted on the wooden floor. Drawing her hand to the side, to push her upward...a sticky dark red coating pressed into her hands. Blood, she knew the sight and smell of it. Blood had been spilled on this ground. There was no honor or sanctity in this dojo.....
Bolting up on a sprained leg, Jun grasped the advancing demon by the wrist, dropping her center of gravity low and using the Devils own weight against him in a wrist chuck slam. The Demon landed along the ground as Jun dropped to her knee, executing the three complete spins of the Leg Cutter.
The Devil rose up to his feet, dripping with malevolence. With a sudden glance downward, the demon realized, his Ki...his essence was flickering like a dying light. His hands came up before his horrified eyes. “...no...” Devil whispered, shaking his head.
Jun stood, her eyes holding the fading form of the demon in shock. A panic fed through her mind and suddenly she bolted from the dojo, down the stairs and into the CEO office, from whence she had come.
Shoulder blocking the door to the sanctuary, she tumbled to the center of the floor, laying on her side. The flame of the candle leaned...horizontally. Fear rose in her eyes as she reached her fingers to the flickering soul of wax.
“Kazuya.....” she called out, tears rushing to her eyes. In the instant after she had called his name...the candle...was extinguished. A warm feeling pressed past her skin, brushing her hair from her shoulders. It was as if his soul passed through her, caressing her....one last time.
“No....” Jun screamed in a violent fit of tears, slamming her fists against the ground repeatedly, as her body gave to wracking, heaving sobs. The anguish was heavy. His pain was over. Hers was only beginning. Kazuya Mishima was dead. Her love...was dead.
Jun laid along the floor, selfishly clinging to her pain, afraid to let it free. She wanted to remember this moment, this heart break....this love...for all the days of her life.
yuushoku
Jun laid her clothing neatly in her suitcase. She had taken to folding and refolding the same article in her hand, as her mind traveled, lost amidst the pain of her broken heart. Lei, Michelle, Baek and even Yoshimitsu had knocked at the door to her hotel room but she could not bring herself to answer. Jun did not need to see their tearful eyes, sorry for her loss. She could not attempt to act strong for them, assuring each with a false tongue that she would be alright, without falling to her knees.
Jun did not see the angel again, as she hoped she would have. The nightmares of the Demon had grown eerily quiet. That was how she knew it was truly over. How would she manage to walk away, when for all her strength she was reduced to a crawl? How could she live now that Kazuya was dead.
Another knock to her door came intrusively between Jun and her pain.
“Go away, I said.” she barked with only half her strength.
“Miss Jun Kazama?” an unknown voice rang out. “I have a delivery for Miss Jun Kazama.”
Jun scrunched her brow slightly, wondering what in the name of the heavens this was all about. Had the motley crew of fighters, in the midst of preparing for their own journeys, done something as insane as getting her a fruit basket?
With a huff, Jun swung the door open. A delivery man was standing before her, startled by her sudden motion. In his hand he clutched a long white box with a red ribbon tied around it.
“Miss Kazama, please sign here...” The delivery man offered her a clipboard and pen as Jun scratched her name on the paper, without taking her eyes from the box.
The delivery man held his hand out for his clipboard. “Oh..” she snapped back to reality, giving it over as he handed her the long white box. The delivery man tipped his hat, turning and walking down the hallway.
Turning around and stepping back into her room, Jun slowly untied the ribbon binding the white box closed. The red sash fell like liquid from her hands as she fumbled to open the package.
A dozen long stem roses, white as snow greeted her eyes. Setting the box onto the edge of the bed, the rustling motion releasing a glimmer of color beneath the white petals. A single red rose peeked out amidst the others. Shaking fingertips drew the red rose upward, a note was wrapped around the thorny stem. With tears in her eyes...she slowly unrolled the paper. It was written in the hand of someone from the flower shop, though to her it was in the pen of her love.
The Future begins with a promise.
~Kazuya Jun sank to her knees, clutching the rose gently against her. Tears streamed in never ending lamentation. Her eyes drew skyward. “I love you...” she whispered, her shoulders wracking in the painful sobs, coming from within her very heart and soul.
It took her more than an hour to rise from her place on the floor. Only after it felt her eyes had no more tears left to cry, that she finally continued her packing. Every few moments, Jun Kazama stopped to stare at the roses, the scent filling her with the security and comfort of his presence.
Lei Wulong tapped his knuckle against the opened door, stepping in with a leather briefcase in hand. “Jun...I know you do not want to see any of us. I could tell you that I understand your pain, but you don’t need to hear that. This is your pain, your shattered heart and nothing I can do will help you. But I do have something I was asked to give you.”
Jun turned, her eyes swollen from crying. She was pale and drawn...yet Lei Wulong had never seen her so beautiful.
“I met with Kazuya before his match...” Lei lowered his own gaze. Jun flinched as Lei said his name, her knees feeling a weakness that threatened to collapse on her. Lei Wulong continued. “He asked me to do some things for him, which I never would have agreed to, but I was the last person he could trust. I had Lee Chaolan airlifted as soon as I found out....” Wulong cleared his throat. “He is resting safely and comfortably, though still pretty numbingly sedated. I am not sure if you wish to see him before you go, but he is under an assumed name only I know. I can take you there myself, if you wish.”
Jun nodded, sadly. She had no words to say.
“Kaz...He also asked me to take care of this for him, in the event, well. You know. He left me a dossier of financial information to be given for you and your son. He knew you would not want to take it, but he insisted to care for the both of you. So...” Lei felt his own sadness overwhelming him. Could one persons life, no matter how vile....truly turn itself around at the end? It had to be possible, else why would Lei himself be feeling this pain. “I took the liberty of cashing it out for you, you will find all of it is in here, including the original dossier. It should be more than enough to start your new life.” Lei placed the briefcase on the bed as Jun drew closer to him.
With glossy, red swollen eyes, Jun placed her arms around Lei Wulong. Tears she thought she could no longer muster, easily spilled out against his shirt. Wulong held her closely, resting his cheek atop her head, rocking her gently. “How am I going to survive...without him?”
“One day at a time, Jun. That is all you can do, just take it one day at a time. Your son will be here before you know it, you won’t be alone then. And I think You Know Who is looking in on you. He told me how much he loved you...”
Jun nearly collapsed, she cried so hard. For long moments Lei held her, until it finally seemed the jag had passed. “I am almost finished in here...do you think you could bring me over to see Lee...before I have to be at the airport?” She asked, wiping her eyes.
Lei nodded. “Of Course, Jun. Whenever you are ready.”
Jun gathered her things. Lei brought her bags and the briefcase to the car as Jun held the roses. Walking through the lobby, Jun stopped for familiar voices. Michelle, Baek and Yoshimitsu called out to her in unison.
Resting her flowers on the floor beside her, Jun embraced Michelle tightly. “I’m so sorry Jun.” she whispered into her hair.
“So am I, Michelle.” They clung to one another for a long moment before Michelle stepped back.
“You listen to me, you take good care of yourself and that beautiful little life you are carrying. I can’t wait to finally meet the little squaw when I come visit you...” Michelle smiled, brushing tears from her eyes.
Baek Do San was next in line to give the fragile Jun his hug. It was crushingly warm against her. “Now, you listen to Michelle, alright Jun? Make sure to keep in touch...and if you ever happen to come around Korea, look me up at my dojang, alright? Hey, maybe I will see you at the next one, if the old man ever hosts an event like this again....” Baek was interrupted by Lei Wulong, shaking his head.
“No, we won’t meet up here, not if I can help it. These damn things should be banned...forever.”
Baek smiled, rubbing Juns shoulders. “Well then, we will just have to get together before then, now won’t we?”
Jun nodded softly as Yoshimitsu stepped up. “I know we have not had a chance to really spend time in one anothers company. Though I sense the life within you will bring great joy to your soul and to the memory of your beloved. I am sure the child would make him...proud.” Yoshimitsu nodded in his own silent remembrance of the Kazuya Mishima. He recalled the first time the roguish youth stepped up from the streets of Tokyo to fight in the First King of Iron Fist tournament, defying his father...to claim the title. Stepping back, Yoshimitsu bid the fighter his own personal farewell.
Lei embraced Michelle and then offered a hand to the enigmatic Yoshimitsu. Stopping before Baek Do San, Lei pulled him in for a hug. “I am coming out to Korea to visit, so keep a poker game open for me, eh?”
Baek smiled, patting Wulong on the back. “You know it.”
Jun leaned down, lifting her white box of roses as Lei gently placed a hand along her upper arm. She bid them a fond farewell, thankful that their paths had crossed with hers and left a little something of themselves, inside her heart.
Lei and Jun rode in silence to a hospital a long away from Tokyo Proper. As they passed the Zaibatsu building, Jun looked up, half expecting to see a glimmer of Kazuya’s face on the highest level of windows overlooking the city. Instead, there was only the glimmer of something silver...perhaps Heihachi’s hair, looking down on the world below.
Jun had lost track of where they were as the scenery changed, becoming more rural...closer to nature. A small two level white building emerged ahead of them.
Lei brought Jun inside. Her hands still clutched around the box of roses. Giving the nurse the appropriate clearance, Lei let Jun enter the hospital room alone. Closing the door behind her.
The air was cool and sterile as she looked over the sleeping form of the Silver Devil. Resting her box on the chair beside the bed, Jun slowly brushed a hand through Chaolans mane of hair. “Lee...can you hear me?” she asked, trailing her knuckles against the softness of his skin. Though his eyes rolled beneath the closed lids, he did not answer.
“The doctor said you will be coming off the medication slowly if your recovery keeps up. I am guessing you will follow up with physical therapy once you are better. “ Jun sat along the edge of the bed, taking his hand into hers. She cleared her voice softly. “When you are well again, I would like you to come visit. My son and I will be waiting for you.”
Jun felt Lee’s hand move beneath hers. “Yes, Lee, I am pregnant. It will be a son. So you must join us, Uncle. As soon as you are better.”
Jun rose slowly, putting Lee’s hand back down on the bed. “I have to catch a plane to the mountains.” She smiled, leaning down to remove a white rose from the others laying within the box. Tracing its’ petals along the edge of his face, giving him the chance to scent its aroma beneath his nose as she watched the muscles twitch, slightly. “Kazuya sent roses to me before he went to face Heihachi. A perfect dozen. But since he is no longer with us, the word perfect...just does not...fit. So, I am going to break the even number Lee and give this one to you.” Jun placed the rose within his hand. “Now you have a part of his love as well. As it should be, between brothers. Goodbye, Chaolan. Sweet Dreams.”
Jun kissed the top of his forehead, scooping up the box of roses once more. Closing the door behind her, Jun was met by Lei Wulong, ready to head to the airport.
Lee Chaolan squeezed his hand around the stem of the rose, feeling his flesh pierced by the thorns. Blood rushed down the petals of the white rose as tears fell from Chaolans eyes. It took him a great amount of strength, but his lips formed into the whisper. “I’m...sorry....Kazuya.”
shan
Lei Wulong watched as the baggage handlers took Juns belongings, placing them on the small conveyer belt leading to the commuter plane. Jun placed the briefcase and white box she carried, on the concrete runway beside her.
“So I guess this is goodbye.” Wulong scratched his head, looking around.
“I guess so, Lei.” Jun nodded. “I want to thank you for being there for me...and Kazuya. Though our paths are walking through different destinies, I hope we will meet again....”
Lei smiled softly, drawing Jun to him as he embraced her...closing his eyes. “I will be around to check on you. I have a promise I have to keep. I never go back on my word. So until then, you just take care of yourself and that little guy your breathing life to in there. Understand?”
Jun hugged Lei harder, smiling. “Yes, Detective Wulong.” she giggled. “And don’t forget, you owe me some siren time on that car of yours.”
Lei released her as the engines of the plane roared to life. “Alright, get going...”
Jun grasped her briefcase and the white box, her hair whipping around her as she ran toward the roll up staircase. Ascending the metal steps, one by one, Jun stood on the platform beside the door, turning to see Wulong.
Lei waved, his ponytail swaying behind him. Jun lifted her arm as her hair fell before her face. Ushered in by the flight attendant, Jun took her seat....her eyes never leaving the figure of Lei Wulong as the plane took off.
So, this is what it is like...When Worlds Collide.