Disclaimer: All characters used here are the property of namco, except for maybe a few minor supporting characters.



There was no one else on that end of the playground, save for the young boy who sat quietly on the swing – unmoving. With each hand holding tightly on the thick metal chains on both sides, he stared down blankly on the pavement. He could hear the other kids yelling and playing in the distance. He could even hear some of them laughing and making fun of him. It didn't interest him the slightest bit though; he just wanted to be left alone.

His mind was occupied by thoughts about the recent events in his life. His mother had just passed away, leaving him and his adopted brother with a bitter father. He could still feel the pain in the center of his chest after his father had thrown him off a cliff. It had now been days since the incident, but the scar had still not completely healed.

A strange feeling snapped him out of his thoughts though and drew his eyes to look forward. At first he could not see anything, but then a figure appeared slowly behind one of the trees. A statuesque woman with blonde hair was smiling in front of him. She was clad in white garment, with a crown of leaves on her golden locks that was tied up in a bun. She also had on a tiara that had a strange jewel in the center. What caught his attention though was not even the pair of white feathered wings behind her, but the strange translucence that surrounded her figure. The boy instantly recognized what she was. He had seen pictures of angels on books and this was what she looked like. Turning around, he looked to see if the other children were seeing what he saw, but they did not even seem to notice the woman before him.

Both of them did not speak to each other for the longest time. They just stared at one another, acknowledging the other's presence. Finally the woman made a slight move towards the boy. He, in turn, stood up and unconsciously made a step back.

The angel stopped her movement and smiled again at the boy. "Don't be frightened Kazuya; I'm not here to hurt you."

"…h-how do you know my name?"

Her smile grew even wider. "I know everything there is to know about you."

Kazuya narrowed his eyes. "I've seen you before: at the house, in mother's grave, and now here."

"…As I have seen you, even before those recent moments, Kazuya."

After some thinking from him, a thought entered his mind. "Are you supposed to be my guardian angel?"

She stared silently for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, if you were to call what I did something – that would be it."

"Why are you here?" He asked shyly.

"…To meet you. I'd like us to be good friends."

The boy dropped his gaze to the ground. He was thinking again. "Did my mother send you?"

The angel, too, was caught up in her thoughts, but then she smiled and answered. "Yes, your mother sent me. She wanted me to protect you, and to keep you company when you needed someone."

Another minute of silence passed with Kazuya no longer showing any trace of astonishment.

"May I?" The angel broke the silence quite suddenly. Kazuya, not knowing exactly what she meant, only nodded.

The woman then continued her walk towards him. He no longer made a move to run away; instead, Kazuya just remained still, and watched with a strange curiosity as the angel extended its hand to touch him. With an almost supernatural lightness, she traced the long scar trailing across his chest – through the thin fabric of his school uniform.

He got lost in the unearthly sensation for a moment before she suddenly withdrew her hand. "It's time for you to go back to class now."

"Huh…?"

He turned to the other side of the playground to see the teachers calling for the students. Gazing back right away in front of him, Kazuya became confused when the strange woman was no longer there. He turned around everywhere to look for her, but could see no trace of her. Finally, he gave up his quick search and began to head towards the other children walking inside the school.

"Hey Kazuya, why were you talking to yourself weirdo? Aren't you too old to have little imaginary friends?" he turned and saw a group of kids laughing at him. He glared at them menacingly, and then looked straight at the boy who had made fun of him. Kazuya knew him to be a bully. He had stayed back a couple of grades and was much bigger than Kazuya. The young Mishima did not like being insulted the slightest bit. But what inflamed Kazuya even more was that this was the same bully that had been picking on his younger brother, Lee. Even though they were not what anyone would consider close, he still felt in instinctual need to protect the younger boy.

"Ooh, the Mishima brat thinks he's tough." The bully came up to him with clench first on his sides, the rest of his friends walked from behind him. "You spoiled little rich kids make me sic…"

Before he could finish, Kazuya threw a punch that seemed to come out of nowhere. The boy was knocked to the ground with his broken nose bloodied. The other boys charged up towards him, but Kazuya quickly dispatched of them too. He had hardly fought outside his training sessions, but fighting those kids was a second-instinct to him. He dodged and struck with an almost natural grace.

Finally turning his attention back to their leader, he talked in a low but clear voice that was frighteningly calm. "Get up. Get up so I can beat you some more."

The older boy was struggling to do so, but was barely aware of what was happening. As his head was raised inches from the ground, Kazuya struck with a hard kick that sent a couple of the boy's teeth flying across the air. By now, a spectator of children had completely gathered around them. The teachers went past the throng of kids and rushed to where the bloodied boy was lying. One of them glared angrily at Kazuya and took hold of him in his shoulders. Then without a word, the teacher pushed him quickly inside the school. Kazuya did not resist though, he just let the teacher guide him to where the principal's office was.

For the remainder of the school he was stuck in the office. Throughout the whole scolding and lectures, he didn't say a word. They, of course, took this as a sign of an attitude problem and finally suspended him. Kazuya's nerves froze, not because of the punishment, but because he knew they would tell Heihachi.

After school, he found a limo parked in the front, waiting for him. When he got in, he was greeted by the silver hair of his brother Lee who stared at him wide-eyed. "I heard you got into a fight today."

Kazuya looked away annoyed. "What about it."

"It was with Honda wasn't it?"

"So?"

"Nothing…he's always picking on me, that's all."

He shot a hateful glance towards Lee. "I didn't do it for you."

"Yeah, I know." The silver haired boy lowered his eyes. "You know dad's gonna get angry at you, right?"

Kazuya returned his gaze to the passing scenes outside and said nothing.