Chapter III

A/N: I don't think I'll ever own Tekken.

Thanks for the support so far, guys!

Kazuya took a deep steadying breath, then turned to the next diary entry, made three days after the first.

Dear Diary

He's here! Yes, diary, him! My very own darling brother Kazuki, six years older than me and a lifetime wiser than I'll ever be. Finally! Only the Kami know how much I've missed him since he'd taken off to pursue his education some six months ago, without so much as a goodbye to me. And he hadn't even bothered to write decent letters while he was away; just sent me his trademark Origami cranes; you know, diary, the curious little paper birds he used to make for me after Mother left us, when I'd still been very young. Only, these recent ones have curious little poems in their folds, and I can't even begin to understand them. But Nee-nee's here now, and I suppose that's what matters most.

As you would expect, dear diary, I was my brother's welcoming committee when he came back at last. I perched on top of the sturdiest branch I could find and watched as he walked up the cobbled path leading to our house. I took note of his tall, compact frame, his healthy tan and his strong features. His jet-black hair was slightly longer than before, but it still stuck out at the back in an odd way resembling a duck's tail, and it reminded me of his Origami birds. And that curious V-shaped point of hair crowning his forehead(I believe it's called a 'widow's peak'), was still there, giving his face its distinct, heart-shaped appearance.

He soon felt my eyes on him and looked up with a broad grin that countered my heavy scowl."Ohayo, Kazumi-chan!" he called out in his deep, reassuring voice.

I pulled a face." Ohayo yourself, sneaking off like a common thief, Nee-nee!"

A sly smile crept up his face." The way I remember it, you were too busy wallowing in the mud with boys twice your size to say goodbye to me, you little imp!"

Oh, can you believe that he actually said that, diary?

"For your information," I retorted," Those boys were insulting our family name, but by the time I was done with them, they couldn't take two steps in any direction!" A mild exaggeration, diary, but not far from the truth. To add emphasis to my words, I punched the air menacingly, but this move cost me my balance, and I fell and landed on my behind.

As much as I hate to admit it, diary, it really wasn't the first time I've managed to embarrass myself in front of my older brother, who let out a short, barklike laugh, then dropped his knapsack and rushed to help me recover my lost dignity, easing me to my feet and frowning as he looked me up and down.

I know what he was thinking then, diary. To him, I looked just like any one of those grimy-faced boys you see running around Kyoto, with my soiled vest, tattered pants and worn slippers, as well as my hair that hung stiffly down the nape of my neck.

"Why, you've grown just a little notch taller," Smart-mouthed Kazuki remarked." And you've cut your hair, I see. And you sneaked into the dojo again, didn't you?"

Tell me one thing, diary, how is it that he always seems to be so well-informed?!

"You wouldn't tell Father, would you, Nee-nee?" I pouted." And can we go swimming later today, please?" I ventured hopefully.

Now, I wasn't just trying to change the subject, diary. I really do miss the times when Kazuki and his friends would go swimming, taking me along, despite the fact that they were mostly idiots who teased me, calling me things like "hiyoko", and forcing me to chase after them.

Kazuki just shook his head." I need to train with Father; I've been away too long."

What a spoilsport, dear diary! As if he needs more training! He's quite skilled in KarateJudoKendo and practically every disciplinary art I can think of, which is really quite odd, now that I come to think about it, seeing as he's artistic and as far removed from violence as possible. I've seen his art sketches and calligraphy. They make mine look like poor scribbles done by a monkey with a brush. Yes, diary, he is that talented. If it's not Kazuki's ambition to become a world-renowned artist, then I don't know what is.

But I digress. Soon after he made that disappointing statement, he added as an afterthought," and speaking of Father, I shan't let him see you in this dirty-faced state." And without further ado, he seized me beneath the armpits, half-lifted and half-dragged me over to our Koi fish pond, and forcefully submerged my head in the cool water.

"Nee-nee, you jerk, that's so cold!" I gasped when he allowed me to resurface.

"And clean too," he said." You remember what clean's like, don't you, Kazumi-chan?"

Now that was totally uncalled for, wouldn't you say, diary?

After that, I was really determined to ruin the rest of his day, so when evening came, I went uninvited into his room and began to demonstrate my gymnastic abilities, starting off with a few cartwheels. He didn't pay me any attention; just lay there on his stomach, on the futon, staring off into space. I then did a handstand and had a great upside-down view of his dreamy expression. It really was queer, the way he was looking. And then I fell into a heap on the floor, as it all clicked into place in my mind.

"Oooooh!" I suddenly squealed.Really, diary, how could I've been so stupid, when it was clear as daylight? I then stood up and began doing a sort of rain-dance around my brother, chanting," Nee-nee's in love,Nee-nee's in luuuuuve!"

He soon snapped out of his daze." I'm not!"

"Of course!" I giggled."Who's the lucky girl?" At which point he lost all patience and shooed me out of his room.

Now I'm back in my own room, diary, telling you all about my day, and frankly, I couldn't wait to get to this part. Poor Nee-Nee! Always so sombre and grim! Whoever she is, I hope she can make him happy, otherwise she'll have to answer to me! As for me, diary, well I've yet to meet someone who can earn even half my respect.

XXXXXXX

Kazuya's mind was in a state of turmoil; he might as well have been reading the diary of a total stranger. BROTHER?! He stared, shell-shocked, at the characters for the word "Nee-nee", that mocked him from the yellowing pages. He felt faint, nauseated, horrified even,but most of all he felt maddened at his own stupidity. He had swallowed all those lies his father had thrown at him regarding his mother and her family, and he had not bothered to ask questions, only to discover, after wallowing in ignorance for the past fifteen years, that he had in fact had an uncle. Just like that...

And what did this mysterious uncle look like? Why, a carbon-capy of his nephew, it would seem, what with the reference to the widow's peak and the 'hair that stuck out at the back in an odd way', though he resented the duck's tail reference.

What became of Kazuki Shirakawa?Did Heihachi obliterate all evidence to his existence?

Kazuya ransacked the iron chest for answers. He turned its contents upside down, until, in the bottom-most layer, he found a single photo and a wrinkled Origami bird. The photograph showed his mother with another person, but it was impossible to tell who that was, because the left side of the photo was completely ripped off. The paper bird told him enough, though. He unfolded it with trembling fingers and read the poem within:

" Like dew I was born

Like dew I vanish

Everything I have ever done

Is but a dream

Within a dream..."

And then he realised with an awful certainty, that this man, his uncle, had been doomed to an untimely end, doomed just like his mother, doomed just like anyone and everyone associated with the Mishima scourge.

And so he read on, his heart heavy...

XXXXXXX

A/N:That's it for now. I hope you liked it. Up next, Heihachi rears his ugly head... not looking forward to the prospect...