A/N: Just a quick thanks to Salysha for pointing out the corrections needed to be made in the previous chapters and the reviews of course! Don't really know how long it will be until I come up with the next chapter but here's the 3rd one for now. Hope you like it...
The tournament was only two days away and Zero had spent the previous few days training for the event. Of course, he had to keep it all a secret from the rest of the police force. If anybody else found out about this, he knew there would be a lot of complaints, as well as a large group of angry officers. Zero's day was going to consist of loads of practice. After all, he needed to be really good if he wanted any chance of finding out anything. When Zero came into work, he headed straight to a special room hidden away from the rest of the station, which had been prepared by the Chief.
Zero had changed into his black clothing and had barely started practicing when Lei, who had come here specifically to check up on him, visited him.
"How are things going, Zero? Ready?"
"Um, I think so… just a bit more practice and I'll be fine."
With this, Lei took a fighting stance. Aware of what was about to happen, Zero had no choice but to do the same. Before he even had time to think about his actions, Lei rushed towards him and tried to kick him in the stomach. Zero narrowly avoided the kick as he jumped out of the way. Noticing that Lei had left himself open to attack, Zero seized the opportunity and went to kick the back of his leg, but Lei was a lot faster than he had anticipated. As Zero has raised his leg, Lei had already moved and was now lying on the ground.
What the-? Zero thought quickly before falling back to avoid Lei's feet as he began attacking again. The two exchanged punches and kicks for about five minutes, both men avoiding or blocking every attack. Eventually, the two men had stopped and were sat on the ground. The room became silent at last.
"No officers ever come into this room. It's safe here," Zero told Lei after he had questioned whether somebody would find them in the room.
"Impressive fighting. We should head back for a while," Lei said.
"Yeah, you go ahead. I need to change out of these first," Zero replied.
"Ah yes, that would be a good idea… but, why are you wearing it to practice?" Lei asked.
"I need to practice moving around in this stuff. These belts can get very heavy you know," Zero said with a small laugh.
"I'll just agree with you on that I think." Lei replied as he gave a small wave and then left the room. Zero took off his mask and threw it onto a table in the corner of the room. He sighed and started thinking for a little while.
Am I really ready for this? I didn't know Lei was so quick. If the other fighters at this tournament are anywhere near as good as he is, I won't stand a chance… I don't think I can win this, or last long enough to find out any information for the Chief. I can't just give up though. I'm Zero… and the success of this investigation depends on how I fight at the tournament. I need to practice more but for now, I'll rest a bit.
Zero changed into his police uniform and left the room to look for Lei. After 10 minutes of searching almost everywhere, he caught Lei walking down a corridor towards the Chief's office. Lei must have been going to the Chief to discuss more of the mission ahead. Figuring they would rather have a private conversation, Zero turned away and headed to the elevators at the other end of the corridor. As he waited for the elevator to arrive, a few officers walked along the corridor towards him.
They were wearing the same standard uniform as the other officers, but they were wearing a small badge on their uniforms with the letter 'E' carved into them. Zero made the assumption that these were elite officers like him, and judging by the look they gave him, he guessed that they knew about the 'secret' investigation. He guessed right.
"Hey, look! It's Zero!" yelled one of the three officers.
"Keep quiet, Rob!" whispered another of the three loudly.
"Crap… sorry," the officer said holding his arms up in the air as if he was a criminal caught by the police.
"How did he become an elite?" Zero asked the two officers, glancing over at the foolish officer called Rob. At this point, Rob was standing behind the officers and was hitting a wall with his hand while muttering something that nobody could understand. The two officers looked at each other in confusion before turning to Zero and answering his question.
"Uh, well… I don't have a clue actually," one of the officers said.
"Neither do I… Maybe he just turned up one day," the other responded.
"Um… Hi, Zero," Rob said quietly, looking embarrassed.
"Hey there… um, Rob," Zero said, holding out his hand.
Rob rushed over and the two shook hands. Hearing a noise, Zero noticed that the elevator had arrived. Waving the three officers goodbye, Zero stepped into the elevator. The elevator doors closed shut as he pressed the button that led to the floor, where his office was. Zero was glad to be alone for the time being. It gave him time to think more about the recent events. A few days ago, he was just an ordinary elite officer, with the job of completing various types of missions and then suddenly, he's the mysterious fighter named Zero, entering the King of Iron Fist Tournament.
The elevator started to move. Zero thought back to the mission briefing he and Lei had been given a few days ago. It was definitely a different mission to any he had ever completed before. It's not every day you have to become a fighter to enter a tournament. However, Zero knew the seriousness of this mission. After all, reports suggested that important information had been stolen from the remains of the laboratory explosion. Somebody at the tournament must know something about it.
Zero knew that anybody that would steal the research from the laboratory would not have done it for a good reason. Just as Zero returned to reality, the elevator arrived. Zero headed straight for his office area. When he got there, he noticed the mountains of paperwork left all over his desk… or at least, he thought it was paperwork. Zero picked up some of the sheets of paper and began looking for something to read. The pages he had picked up were blank. Scrambling around the rest of his desk, he realised that most of the papers were blank.
Wondering what was going on, Zero started putting the paper into a neat pile on the side of the desk. As he put the last sheet of paper on the pile, he noticed it had something scribbled on it. He couldn't make any sense of the scribble since it had been so badly hand-written. Deciding it would be better to give up trying to read what it said, he just placed the paper on top of the pile and sat down at his desk. Logging onto the computer, Zero began researching into these tournaments that had apparently been taking place for a long time.
Clicking onto one website, he read that there had been a number of tournaments, with the prize being control over something called the 'Mishima Zaibatsu.' Not knowing exactly what it was, Zero began searching for more information on the subject and eventually he came across a site that explained it all to him. While he was reading the mass of information he had found on the Mishima Zaibatsu, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around, Zero saw Lei.
"Researching are we?" Lei asked moving closer to look at the screen.
"Mishima Zaibatsu… Oh Lei?" Zero said.
"What is it?"
"I found this on my desk. Can you make out what it says?" Zero asked, handing Lei the sheet of paper from the top of the pile.
Lei looked at the piece of paper for a few seconds and then placed it down in front of Zero. Shrugging his shoulders was a clear sign that he had no idea what the thing said either. Zero folded up the piece of paper and placed it in the bag, which contained his fighting clothes that he had been hiding under his desk. Closing the website, Zero stood up but the computer made a noise. Zero and Lei looked at the computer and noticed that someone had sent a message. Opening the message, Zero and Lei both received a shock.
How the hell did they get my e-mail address? Zero thought, as he began reading the message that had been sent by an anonymous sender.
I've heard that a fighter called Zero will be entering the King of Iron Fist Tournament coming up soon and I know that it is you. You must meet up with me at the tournament… but you need to be ALONE, not with Lei. It's important. I've been watching you for a while and know you are suitable for the task ahead.
Meet me at the Tekken Island Airport as soon as you arrive. Don't worry about looking for me… I'll know who you are.
Don't forget it.
Zero and Lei stood puzzled by the e-mail. Somebody had been watching them? The two left the small office and headed out for more practice. The question repeated over and over in Zero's mind as he walked… Who sent it?