Disclaimer: If I owned Tekken, I would have had the money to visit Japan myself by now. It's still on my bucket list.
Also, I am not a single mother - lucky for me, I have the very best husband anyone could hope for, and he is a wonderful father to our daughter as well - but my own mother was single for the first couple of years of my older sister's life, that same sister was single a mother for a while between her divorce and engagement, another older sister has been rocking a single mother's life for several years now, my dear husband was raised almost singlehandedly by his astounding mother even though she was technically married, and I have known many other single parents. This one's for all of them. Kudos and respect to you. There is much good in creating female characters in video games who are physically strong, but I think that mental and emotional strength often get overlooked in the hype over adventure. Women who can love someone else enough to make difficult sacrifices for their sake are some of the strongest people out there. Strength isn't always about being able to control your situation; it's also about how you deal with situations over which you have little control.
Lastly, I'm really having fun with thinking of the little things that different Tekken characters have in common or don't get to talk about much and writing about them. I know Tekken is a fighting franchise, but it just seems to me like they're missing so much great story potential with interesting and diverse characters. I guess that's what fan fiction is for, though. Among other things. You will see more from me simply because I enjoy exploring so much.
It would have been nice to have someone who would help parent an abandoned child, Michelle often thought. But, of course, it's not like she'd been planning to find Julia when she did. She hadn't been in a serious relationship at the time, and despite winning the admiration of a few men - especially that one persistent sumo wrestler who inspired a shudder to creep down Michelle's spine when she remembered the way he grinned at her - there was no one in particular who really caught her interest. Taking Julia to an adoption agency was out of the question after the first time the baby smiled at her, so Michelle figured she would just have to make do on her own. She was not the type of person to turn down a blessing simply because she hadn't been expecting it. But on the days when she had trouble juggling her duties as a mother and employee, and on the days when she was exhausted or ill but knew that she had to feed Julia and get her ready for bed, and on the days when it felt like she hadn't spoken with an adult in ages - on those days, she couldn't help thinking that it really would be nice to have someone else around.
She had found Julia a little over a year after the conclusion of the second King of Iron Fist tournament. Another eight years had passed since then. Naturally, between lessons of Xin Yi Liu He Quan, Michelle had regaled Julia with tales of her adventures in the tournaments and the beautiful landscapes and intriguing culture of Japan. It wasn't long before Julia was begging to see Japan herself. After listening to her pleas a few million times, Michelle finally gave in and started setting aside some money every month - sometimes even working a few extra hours - to take the two of them to the Land of the Rising Sun. By the time Julia had turned nine - or rather once the ninth anniversary of the day Michelle had found her had rolled around, since that was the day they celebrated as her birthday - Michelle surprised her daughter with the airplane tickets. She thought Julia might never stop squealing.
The day they landed in Tokyo, Julia insisted that they immediately begin sightseeing, rather than drop off their things at a hotel. Once Michelle had convinced her that it would be much easier to get around without having to lug around their suitcases, they hurried to check into their room and then leave to explore. Over the course of two weeks, they wandered all over the city and other regions of the country, bought a variety of souvenirs, enjoyed the local shows and music scene, and took pictures of everything they could. Michelle showed Julia the places where she fought in the King of Iron Fist Tournaments, and they stood in awe of the splendor of the Mishima Zaibatsu headquarters. It had been very easy to forget that they would soon have to return to the difficult (but happy) life they shared in Arizona, where they would scrape by each month without any help from anyone.
On the day before they were supposed to return to the United States, they decided they wanted to go somewhere quiet where they could reflect on their experience together in Japan. They found themselves in a beautiful and secluded forested area several miles away from the hustle and bustle of the capital. It was a popular area for tourists and residents alike to go hiking and watch wildlife, but Michelle only had to wink once at Julia before she nodded knowingly, and they moved deeper into the woods, away from everyone else.
They walked in silence for a mile or two, relishing the serenity and beauty of their surroundings too much to converse with each other. Then they noticed smoke. After exchanging concerned glances, they changed direction in order to investigate.
It wasn't long before they found a small house. Smoke was rising from a fire pit, in front of which sat a Japanese woman with shoulder-length black hair and a white dress. Her back was facing them, but Michelle had the feeling that she was familiar.
Before she could figure out where she had seen the woman, a young boy who looked to be around Julia's age crashed into the clearing from behind some trees and ran toward the fire pit, shouting something in Japanese. Maybe it was his black hair that was slicked to the back of his head, sticking out like a duck tail, but there was something familiar about him, too - something that put her nerves on edge for a moment. But the moment passed when she saw his distressed expression. He held out his scraped up arm toward the woman, blood seeping through the cracked skin. Michelle had forgotten what little Japanese she had picked up during the tournaments ten years earlier, but she gathered that the boy had been playing out in the woods and hurt himself while climbing a tree. The woman - his mother, Michelle presumed - smiled warmly at him, ripped off a piece of her dress, dunked it in a nearby bucket of water, and dabbed gently at the scrape. The boy was careful to not cry. Then she simply wrapped the wound in the piece of cloth and sealed it with a kiss, tenderly passing her thumb along the boy's cheek. As the boy met her eyes to smile back at her, he noticed Michelle and Julia watching from a short distance. The look of alarm that crossed his face caused the woman to turn around, and then Michelle recognized her immediately. Her name had been short and simple, easy to remember - Jun. Jun Kazama.
Judging by her grin, it seemed that Jun recognized Michelle as well. A little sheepish now that they had been caught, Michelle waved and said, "Konnichiwa!" - which was all the Japanese that she could remember now. Jun stood and faced them, motioning for them to come forward. After a moment of hesitation to feel sure that they were interpreting Jun's gestures correctly, Michelle and Julia accepted her invitation and made their way to the fire pit. There, Michelle saw that Jun had been making some kind of soup. Whatever it was, it smelled marvelous.
"Who is that lady, Mom?" Julia whispered to her as they sat down and Jun was preoccupied with giving her son some instructions.
"Her name is Jun Kazama. She fought in the second King of Iron Fist tournament," Michelle answered as the boy ran into the house. "We talked for a while the last time I was in Japan. She worked for an organization that protects wildlife, so we talked mostly about how much we both love animals and being outside. She's a very kind person, and a really skilled fighter, too."
"Is that her son?" Julia asked, pointing toward the boy as he rushed back out balancing four bowls and four cups in his hands.
Michelle hesitated. Then she suddenly realized who the boy reminded her of - Kazuya Mishima. The memory of that man still filled her with anger, although she had also grown to pity him since she found out about his demise. Come to think of it, she remembered seeing Jun with Kazuya during the tournament. They seemed strangely... close. And when she looked closer at this boy, she saw features from both Jun and Kazuya in his face. Yes, she had noticed that they spent a lot of that tournament together, but she had never imagined that they would... Her mind reeled with the idea that those two - such completely different people - must have actually -
Michelle made herself stop thinking about it.
Before she could answer her daughter, though, Jun beckoned for the boy to come near her. She held his shoulders in her hands, looked at Michelle and Julia, and said, "Jin." Then she placed a hand over her heart, smiling proudly, as though saying, "He is mine." Jin shyly gazed around at the trees, his cheeks tinged pink.
Regardless of her confusion over how Jun could have willingly had a child with a man such as Kazuya, Michelle couldn't help but smile back. She swung one arm around her daughter, squeezed her shoulder, and held her close, saying, "Julia." She was fully aware that she could not keep her pride from manifesting itself in her own face.
Jun nodded politely at them both, then gave Jin some more directions in Japanese. He quickly scooped some soup out of the pot in the fire pit and carefully poured it into two bowls, which he then presented to Michelle and Julia with a bow. Jun ladled some water from the bucket by her side into two of the cups and handed them to her guests.
The soup was thick and rich with flavor. Michelle couldn't quite figure out what was in it, but it was even better than much of the food that they had tried at the restaurants in Tokyo, most of which she and Julia had really liked. The language barrier combined with the distraction of their breathtaking surroundings inspired them to eat their meal in silence, although Michelle was amused by how curiously Jin and Julia eyed each other and their mothers.
As they finished, the sun was beginning to set, and the air was cooling down. When Julia shivered, Jun motioned toward the house and raised her eyebrows. Michelle shook her head vigorously, but Jun stood and walked behind them to usher them toward the door.
Once inside the house, Michelle took in a sight to which she was quite accustomed - chaos. Washed but unfolded clothes were piled up in a corner, books were lying around, there was a small mountain of dirty dishes in the sink, the floor looked like it hadn't been swept in days - it reminded Michelle very much of her own home, where it was almost impossible to keep a clean house between work, spending time with Julia, and getting enough sleep. Jun cast her an apologetic look, but Michelle simply shrugged and smirked in understanding.
In a gentle tone, Jun gave Jin some more instructions, and he was soon leading Julia down a little hall. Michelle watched them go before turning to Jun and spreading her hands in a gesture toward the entire room. Jun looked confused, so Michelle simply started picking up some books, which urged her host to hurriedly shake her head and attempt to direct her toward a nearby couch. However, Michelle simply touched her arm and went back to gathering the books and setting them on the only bookshelf she could see, hoping that the Kazamas didn't care how their books were arranged because she had no idea how the Japanese alphabet worked. Jun sighed and joined her. By the time their children returned - Julia wearing boyish pajamas that Michelle assumed Jin had let her borrow for the evening - the two women were at working at the dishes in the sink, having managed to wordlessly decide which of them was washing and which of them was drying. Later, while Jun scrubbed down the table, Michelle swept the floor and watched as Jin and Julia excitedly looked through some pictures in one of the books, somehow able to share their sense of wonder despite not being able to express it in the same language. Once the kitchen was clean, they each tucked their respective children into bed - Michelle and Julia would be sharing the only spare bedroom, as Michelle judged by the second mat that had been laid in there next to Julia's - and then it was time for the clothes.
The two women sat across from each other, each of them taking articles of clothing and folding them before placing them in neat stacks. At length, Michelle heard Jun sigh. She glanced over at the other woman and did a double take when she noticed tears glistening in her eyes. Jun tried to smile them away, but they started to roll down her cheeks, and her shoulders slumped. Dropping the shirt she'd had in her hands, Michelle reached over to hug her friend and felt her embrace returned. They sat there for a few minutes as Jun sniffled and sighed. Then she finally backed away and swiped the last tear off her cheek, taking a deep breath and exhaling as she squared her shoulders. Michelle raised her eyebrows questioningly, and Jun shrugged. After glancing around the room, she stood and retrieved a framed photo from a little table by the couch. It showed Jin, teeth bared in a wide grin as he looked down from a tree branch. Michelle guessed it had been taken recently. Jun fondly fingered his face in the photo and held it to her heart, smiling softly at Michelle.
Michelle laid a hand over her own heart and nodded, hoping that it conveyed how she understood Jun's feelings. From the way Jun's smile widened, it seemed like they had managed to communicate quite effectively without words.
The clothes were soon finished. Jun carried them away, and then they each retired to bed.
Somehow, Jun and Jin were awake before dawn, even though Michelle and Julia had thought that they would be gone before their hosts could say goodbye to them. Jun provided each of them with a few rice cakes to eat on their way back to the hotel, and she and Jin waved goodbye from the doorway of their house until they could no longer see each other.
By the time they were about halfway to the path that would lead them out of the woods, the sun had risen high enough that the leaves and flowers were glinting brightly. Julia was so delighted by the scenery that she ran ahead of Michelle, spinning around in the sunlight with her arms sticking out. As Michelle watched her, she thought again of how nice it would be to have someone else around - not just to help, but to share in her appreciation of this wonderful child. She thought of Jun, who undoubtedly felt the same way.
But she also knew that she and Jun agreed about the most important thing -
Alone or not, motherhood is worth every moment.