Jin Kazama, was in the middle of store, still didn't know what kind of a gift he should get for his right hand and loyal confidant. He didn't even know why he was doing this in the first place but he definitely felt like he had to. He owed her. He sighed and continued to look around. It was almost closing time, so he had been around for almost 6 hours. It was stupid. Why was it really hard? On the other hand, he was getting a present for Nina, Nina Williams. It was known that she was a pain in the ass: A talented fighter, an excellent assassin who of course was the perfect description of a hardass. Nevertheless, he couldn't deny the fact that it had been easier to share all that baggage with someone as strong as she is. Now he was able to focus on the devil gene instead of fighting his enemies as well as all those people he called friends who think they know what's best for Jin.
At that point he realized he had been standing on the same spot for about half an hour, just thinking. He decided to walk the stores one more time. His mind was busy again. "Nina…" he said in a soft voice, almost humming. "Present." He said again. He wasn't proud of himself. He wasn't focused. But he just couldn't, it was such a hard task. Nina was, interesting… Definitely interesting… He gulped. All those rumours about her came into his mind. Like she was the very result of an experiment and that she was a machine which lacked any kind of common sense or humane feelings… Or that she was just a plain cold blooded psychopath who could not emphatize with anyone. Jin honestly thought the first one was stupid. Nina was not a machine. She was flesh and bones, like everyone else. He saw her bleed. He saw her suffer. He saw her mourning about his dead father. This also meant that she couldn't be a psychopath, at least Jin thought so. Nina lacked common sense alright, but it didn't mean that she didn't understand it. She had her ways out of it. She did not feel guilty, she did not regret. She was definitely smart. She was a sole survivor. Jin didn't know if there were any good inside her, but he did not believe that there were any bad. She had been the most understanding person to Jin. She understood how he needed to be the villain if he could save the world. She still agreed to stand beside him and respect his decisions while everyone else tried to save Jin from himself. That girl Xiaoyu too… One of his best friends. No one believed he was evil. Even Hwoarang was ready to assist him. His biggest rival, an excellent fighter… But they did not understand. Even if he wasn't evil now, he could sense the devil talking to him. He knew if he wasn't strong enough, even for an hour, the devil would take over his body and his mind. He needed to be cold blooded. He needed to be calm. He needed to get the control of all the labs in the world. He needed to get rid of the devil gene or die trying. He did not want to be saved. He was cursed. He hated life. He hated his heritage. He hated himself. He was a sacrifice. And he was ready. His friends did not understand that. They loved him. And he loved them. The love bound between them resulted in conflict. His friends were letting their feelings get in the way of their thinking. Jin was perfectly reasonable to begin with. Unfortunately, they did not hear the reason, they were blinded by love and affection. Maybe this was the reason, they never understood his family issues anyway. At last, a fight broke over. It was the last time he couldn't control himself and turned into the devil. He hurt his friends. He beat them and he lost them.
Nina was on his side from the beginning and she promised to be on his side in the end too. It was a great sacrifice for her too. She was against her sister. The worlds end was near enough. She devoted her life to him. For all that sacrifice, she deserved a present for a simple birthday. Tomorrow was her birthday and it was Jin's last chance to buy her a present. Nevertheless, he still hadn't found something and he was about to give up.
He tried to think about what Nina loved but she never showed any passion about anything except for making her sister miserable. He saw her the happiest when she fought. When they would team up together, she would oftenly try to get Jin's attention in an odd way Jin could never understand. She would sometimes send him kisses and she would often be flity. But he would focus on not to be the Devil again, so her efforts were meaningless. Jin sighed again. He walked passed a store for lingerie. He couldn't help but smile. It would be hilarious if he got Nina lingerie. He just couldn't contain himself. It probably wouldn't matter to Nina that he was her boss if she got that as a present and she would knock Jin out. Jin gulped. He didn't want to insult her. She was a beautiful and a sexy woman but Jin saw more than that. She didn't deserved to be mocked. Jin's usual sarcasm needed to stop for a second. His anger got to his brain again. "Bet, she doesn't even know what those are for…" he thought regarding the lingerie. Nina showed no interest in any man. She had no attempt to be sexy, apparently it just came naturally at her. She wasn't even aware that she was sexy. Sadly, Jin's thoughts might have been even true this time. Did she even wear underwear? Jin gulped again. That purple bodysuit she always wore… It definitely showed a lot of her body. Jin felt that his bosom started to become too happy with those thoughts. He hated himself. He didn't know how he got into these thoughts. He hadn't been with someone for a while. He didn't want to take any risk in passing on the devil gene. Now, even Nina Williams was attractive. His right hand…
He couldn't think anymore. That was it. His problem was that he was trying to think of a normal gift for a normal girl. Nina was no ordinary. He figured that she was at her happiest when she was fighting a while ago. Then she should have gotten a present about fighting. He held his breath. "WEAPONS?!" he thought in an excitement. It would be perfect. She was always cool around weapons. She would clean that pistol of hers about 3 times a day. She had a fascination about knives too. "KNIVES!" he said this time rather loudly. A few heads were turned. He started walking more quickly to get rid of the embarrassment. Jin saw what she could do with butterfly knives while laughing maniacally. That was it! The Kazama knife! The knife his mother inherited from his father and passed it on to him… That would be the ultimate present for her, and it would definitely show how much Jin trusted Nina. Jin smiled wearily. He got out of the store and walked to his car. He didn't even need to buy a present. He had a special one all along!
His happy state didn't last long however. His black Lamborghini was blocked by Anna. "Here we go…" he thought. Anna was no good news. She was rasping her nails looking bored. "Kazama…" she said acknowledging him. "Miss Williams." Said Jin kindly. She turned her head and sat on his car. Jin knew she wouldn't go away. "What do I owe your lovely visit?" he asked. She smiled. "My sister, Nina. It's her birthday tomorrow." Jin was surprised. He raised one of his eyebrows. "So?" Anna was sarcastic. "Are you going to throw her a big party and have cake with everyone?" Jin rolled his eyes at her. "I don't plan to." He couldn't even if he wanted to. Her lips were curled. "Good."
Jin didn't know what to do. It seemed like Anna was trying to say something to her but didn't have the courage. He just stood there giving Anna sometime. It worked too. "Wish her a happy birthday for me." She said. It seemed like it was really hard for her to say that. "Why don't you tell her yourself?" he asked naively. She shook her head. "Don't you know anything Kazama?" she was getting angry. Jin didn't want to upset her anymore. He didn't want to be involved with their sister drama. She gulped and stopped for a minute. Jin could swear that her eyes were tearing up. "This war we're fighting… It's real this time… Isn't it Jin?" she asked. Jin was surprised. Anna would hate his guts and never once she pronounced his name. He knew something was up. He did not trust Anna. But he knew she was for real. He sat on his Lamborghini, right beside her. He saw her jerk involuntarily. They never got this close before without hitting each other. To Jin, even though there were rumours about Nina, Anna was the psycho. But now he saw with his own eyes that she wasn't. She was too, humane enough. Jin felt like he was a misfit. Even the freak sisters were more humane than him. They didn't talk for a while. It was weird but comforting. "I don't know what to say Anna." He said. It was true. That was what's kept him from talking. Anna looked deeply into his eyes. "Tell me…" she said. "What do you think is going to happen?" Jin honestly did not know. He closed his eyes. "I don't know. I just hope to finish the devil gene. Either I'll find a laboratory that will do it for me or I'll sacrifice myself for the sake of the world. You should know that. My dear father has been trying to stop me from finding a cure. You're my biggest rival." Anna sighed. "I'm tired Jin." She said. She laid her head on his shoulder. This time it was Jin who jerked involuntarily. Anna never touched him like that before. "Yeah, this isn't like you at all." He said. " I still expect you to attack me." And raised his fists sarcastically. Anna smiled. "Not today Kazama." She said. She lowered his fists while she was still resting on his shoulder. Jin was intrigued. "What do you think is going to happen Anna?" he asked. Anna's eyes bulged out of her head when he caught her off guard. Jin was always too polite to call her by her first name. She never said anything against it and instead she answered to Jin. " I think… I think it's the end…" it was very hard for her to speak for a second. "It's going to destroy us. At least one of us. At the end of this year, you're going to fight with Kazuya which will bring the end of the world. It was all fun and games till now. One of us might actually die this time. We could all die." She made sense to Jin. "Then why don't you kill me right here, right now?" he asked. This was one of the things that intrigued him. After everything that happened, no one ever tried to kill him like he feared them to.
Anna shrugged him off. She looked him in the eye again. She put her hair behind her ears. He never saw her do that before. "I couldn't even if I wanted to. You underestimate yourself Jin. You'd put me to sleep in seconds. This isn't about trust. This is about destiny. I am not destined to fight you." She looked beautiful. She was real. She was open and she wasn't aggressive. Jin couldn't believe she was so wise. " I'm clueless Anna…" he said taking a pause. "I just hope I'm doing the right thing." He was giving in. Anna noticed that and smiled. "You don't want to share your plans with me Jin." She said with a sorrowful grin. "Trust me." Jin shook his head. He knew that. He just liked her company. "If you're so worried Anna…" he stopped for a second. He put her fallen hair behind her ear again. "If you're so worried, why are you helping him, istead of stopping him? Stopping me? Stopping us?" Anna smiled again. She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious?" Jin rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me it's because of Nina and where she stands." She couldn't help but laugh. "Partially." Jin raised his eyebrows. He looked like his father doing that. He looked more like his mother than her father. Except his eyebrows. He got his eyebrows from his father. She smiled and she straightened his eyebrows with her own hands. "I'm in love with him Jin." She said. Jin couldn't process what she said in a moment. He was shocked. He only thought Anna was merely a toy, an escort… He could never imagine she could have developed feelings for him. She continued. "Therefore, I have to stand besides him. I need to be there as long as possible. Hope for the best, expect the worst." He wanted to be honest with her. She had been honest as long as he could tell. He tried his best with her. "Anna, I want to tell you something." He said. "This is going to be tough, because I never admitted it to someone." He stopped. He couldn't talk anymore. It was painful.
Anna looked at him rather curiously. She was surprised as well. Jin still hadn't dismissed her. Apparently he had enough too. Jin closed his eyes. "Anna, I don't think he even understands that you love him. I don't believe he returns your interest. You'll be a mere pond to him that he can sacrifice. The devil completely possessed him. He's the devil now. And he needs me to be complete. That's why I'll most likely die if we don't find a cure. That's why I need to stop him from doing that. The smallest part of the devil gene he needs, it gives me nightmares everyday. Everyday I need to fight it to not to let it possess me too. There are times even I feel like I don't care about anything else, but power. If I'm like this, just imagine how he is… I'm sorry." This was the most humane he felt for a long time. It was a relief, getting this out of his chest. He wasn't a talker. He never said anything about it.. Anne sighed. She took a deep breath. "Maybe…" She paused. However she quickly looked determined. "So be it. At the end, I'll lose someone anyway. Him, you, my sister… I don't know who it'll be. I intend to make the best out of it. I need to make sure I'm against my sister and no one else. I want her safe. And I need to be with him until the end too." Jin couldn't help but smirk. "You really think, you make sure she's safe? She only almost died like a couple thousands of times." She laughed out loud. "Yeah, emphasizing almost." She said with a wink. She took a pin out of her pretty dress.
"Just give her this pin… Okay?" she said stretching her hand out. Jin took the pin. "I will." She got up and kissed him on the cheek. "Take good care of yourself." She was about to leave. Jin didn't want her to. Jin didn't know she could be so polite, so nice. "Anna?" he took a risk. Anna stopped and looked at him. "Do you want to get something to eat? It's almost dinner time." Anna was looking distressed. She was perplexed. Jin kept catching her off guard. "Together?" she asked, pointing out how weird that would be. Jin was persistent. "You said, you're tired. So am I. Just one night out." he said. When Anna still looked like she was in doubt he continued. "I'm not suggesting we become friends." She shrugged. "Why not?" Jin grinned and opened the door to his Lamborghini.