Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken…

A/N: Hello, fellow readers and writers. Well, we're back to the main story, the chapter before the actual fighting begins. This is also a rather short chapter, so you won't have to read very long. So, let's get to it. And here … we … go:

The King of Iron Fist Tournament 9: Break the Cycle

Drawback

One day, a very familiar letter was sent out around the word…

"Dear treasured combatant, Kazama G Incorporated is proud to inform you that you have been personally invited to compete in the King of Iron Fist tournament 9. The premiere fighting competition in the world is coming off its record-setting eighth tournament, and we wish to make it even better this year. However, we would gratefully appreciate your involvement, as you are the most important part in making this competition a success. We eagerly anticipate your reply. Thank you and good luck!"

It had been a long day at Tekken Force Headquarters. Sven Alexandersson and Agent Tealfire were finally leaving after preparing security detail for the upcoming tournament, handing out individual assignments, and many other aspects of their Tekken Tournament-increased workload…

Agent Tealfire asked out of concern, "Sir, are you sure this plan of action will work?"

Sven took a long sigh and replied, "I hope so; it's our only real opportunity for attack."

His concern not waning, agent Tealfire persisted, "But, sir; for Jun-sama and Haku-sama to use themselves as bait, even after everything this madman has done? It just feels too dangerous."

Sven said in a contemplative tone, "I'm afraid it'd be more dangerous to let him go. This guy… He assaulted our friend, drew both twins to him, almost a building to the ground, and we still have no trace of him or idea of where he is now. This needs to end now."

"And…" Tealfire asked anxiously, "If he doesn't come?"

Sven answered as he wondered, "Then, we'll count it a win, and assume he perished. But it's never that easy. I highly doubt he'll miss this."

Tealfire stopped for a long pause before asked worriedly, "Sir … he's eluded us for so long. What do we do this time?"

Sven paused for a long moment as well before solemnly replying, "Do everything we can … and pray for some help."

Once they finally got outside into the night, Tealfire offered, "Major, have a good evening."

Sven replied as they exchanged salutes, "You do the same, Lieutenant."

With that, Agent Tealfire walked off, leaving Sven alone … or so he thought.

"Excuse me?" a voice came through the darkness, "Are you Sven Alexandersson, the Tekken Force Leader?"

Sven replied with understandable caution, "That's correct. Any reason why you're looking for me?"

"Yes… It seems that you've been looking for my brother, and now…" the person stepped out of the shadow as they finished, "I am too."

"Ryunosuke Nodachi?" Sven exclaimed in surprise, "Wha… Why are you here?"

His carefree attitude gone, Ryunosuke asked with concern heavy in his voice, "I want to help you find my brother … because he needs to be found."

Sven replied with skepticism, "Why should I trust you? How do I know you didn't help plan this whole gambit?"

Ryunosuke explained, "Well, I'm not really good at master plans, but I'm probably the person closest to my brother."

Sven said unfazed, "That sure sounds like a good reason to think you had something to do with all this."

Ryunosuke quickly said, "I promised I didn't. He didn't let me in on any of his plans … probably because he knew I would try to stop him if he did. I didn't know anything about what he was doing until after."

"You didn't know…" Sven said unwaveringly, "Or you didn't want to know?"

"Maybe a little of both…" Ryunosuke answered with remorse, "Listen… I'm not proud … of how all this turned out. I'm supposed to be his brother; I'm supposed to help him. Meanwhile, he's only gotten worse and worse right under my nose."

Sven finally relented ever so slightly, asking further, "Alright, but why seek me out now? What dawned on you?"

Ryunosuke despondently explained, "Well, after the tournament last year, he disappeared for months, and I didn't see him. I only spoke a couple of times and even then, it wasn't very long … but you could tell over the phone, that he was really bad. Then, he called me out of nowhere two weeks ago, said he wanted to see me, and I still didn't see him for long … he just looks horrible. He was a mess, and you could tell he'd almost completely lost it. Then, he almost blew himself up, and now he's gone again…"

Sven gave a nervous sigh and reacted, "Okay, so say I believe you… How can you actually help me?"

Ryunosuke earnestly answered, "Anyway, I can… Please, I'll do anything you need me to do. My brother needs to be found, and he needs help. I've failed him so far, and I'll do anything to not let him down again. Please, before he destroys himself…"

Finally, Sven said after another long pause, "Fine; it's not our policy to enlist outside help, but I'll make an exception for you. You could probably help fill in all the holes we've got… starting with your brother's support group."

Machination Set-Up

"Isn't she beautiful?" Kamikage asked with entranced indulgence.

The crazed Nodachi was hard at work on his latest device … a mechanized statue of the angel who saved him, made into an eerily exact likeness. It was extremely detailed from her hair to her shape to her eyes, including wings and all. Kamikage had obsessively and faithfully sculpted the entire thing, and showed it unwavering reverence. In fact, he barely left it the entire time. His confusion was so advanced that he eventually started speaking to 'her' as if she were alive…

"Y-Yes…" Mitsuko replied, very unsettled by the setting, "They're very … unique."

All the while, Mitsuko took in the disturbing sight. Even more troubling than one statue, there were actually a total of five eight-foot-tall bright white statues, all of them personally crafted and sculpted! The idols rested all along the wall in the circular room, their hands crossed over their chests in seeming prayer…

Completely distracted by his recreations, Kamikage elatedly asked, "She is a sight to behold. Now, what did you come for me? You're not trying to talk me out of this plan too, are you?"

Mitsuko asked with apprehension, "No, no. This plan is fine, especially compared with this last one. No, I came here … to talk about you."

Kamikage turned around in surprise, "Me? Why are you worried about me?"

Mitsuko explained her anxiety, "Why wouldn't I be? You've barely left this room. You've been working nonstop for days on these things. And now you're talking to it?"

"She's not an 'it'!" Kamikage snapped at her, "This celestial being saved my life; she's the reason I'm standing here. Show some respect."

Trying not to offend, Mitsuko persisted, "Sorry… but I'm still worried about you. You took a serious beating from that Kazama kid, and went right into building these without any rest time… Are you… Are you alright?"

Kamikage let out an ecstatic, almost goofy but still thoroughly troubling smile and answered, "Of course, I'm alright. In fact, I've never felt better; why shouldn't I? Everything I believed everything I fought for, everything I continued living for… It was all true; I was right all along. Now, I'm more determined than ever, and with my angel behind me, I know I'll succeed."

Unrelieved, Mitsuko suggested, "Great… but in the meantime, I think you should take a break. The tournament is not for a couple weeks, and you really need a rest. This whole thing can wait, for one night at least."

"NO!" Kamikage replied, his voice going from really loud and irate to calm eerily fast, "No, it has to be perfect… This is my last chance; it's the reason she saved me. I have to destroy them this time. Everything must be flawless… She trusted in me; she deserves for me to repay her."

Seeing he was dead-set, Mitsuko realized there was nothing she could do or say. Kamikage was mentally locked in, his reverence and adoration clearly too strong to break. Defeated, Mitsuko left as Kamikage went back to work.

Nakama

Just as he'd done on many cool afternoons, Haku was sitting on the swinging bench in the backyard of the Kazama house. Eventually, he sensed someone approaching, got a brief hint of the person's scent … and immediately feigned sleep. Akane, looking to join Haku in his regular resting place, approached the bench and giggled slightly when she came to it. By this time, she could tell when Haku was faking sleep. However, she took this comfortable ploy as an invitation and went to 'wake' him.

Akane sat close to him, lifted his arm over her shoulders, and rested her head on him. There was no response at first, so Akane went further; she came even closer to him and hovered inches away from his face, their lips tantalizingly close. His senses seized by her scent and the feeling of her body against his, Haku couldn't keep the charade up for much longer, and Akane got the response she wanted. Haku rose up slightly, meeting her and completing the kiss. Akane pulled back after a few moments with a laugh…

Akane happily said, "I got you."

Haku replied with a smile, "You sure did."

Taken by the moment, Haku had a brief lapse of judgment. He gently pulled her closer, but Akane let out an immediate whimper of discomfort, causing Haku to immediately let go; Akane had been released from the hospital the week before, so she was still recuperating…

Haku quickly apologized, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Akane reassured him, "I'm doing really well. I am still pretty sore, but the doctor says I'm healing nicely."

Haku cautiously suggested, "And what about … the bruises? Maybe I should…"

Knowing what he was asking, Akane said with hesitation, "Ha-kun, are you sure you… I don't think it's a good idea. I'm getting better but … it doesn't look very good."

Haku hesitated, but pushed through his apprehension, "No, no; I, uh… I think I should. I can't be afraid of it right?"

Akane, still anxious about the situation, relented, and shyly released the three bottom buttons of her blouse, and opened it reveal it what was underneath. Her abdomen was wrapped in a sarashi-style bandage, but just above it was a yellow discoloration that blends into a purple one; even though her wounds were healing, the trauma was still evident. After a moment, Haku simply had to turn away…

"It's alright." Akane reassured him as she re-buttoned her blouse, "It really doesn't hurt as badly as it looks."

Haku let out a resolute sigh as he calmly replied, "No, I'm fine… That's why the tournament is set up, right?"

Akane, her mood changing to concern, brought up, "Actually… that's something I wanted to talk to you about… Ha-kun, are you sure you should go through with this? It's so dangerous for you and Jun-chan…"

Haku simply replied with somber definition, "We know … but we have to do it. He's not gonna stop attacking you, and it's just gonna get worse from here. We can't let that happen, even if … even if we have to give him what he wants."

Akane placed her hands on his cheeks and asked sincerely, "But, what about us? What are we, the people who love both of you, supposed to do with ourselves if … you don't survive?"

Haku paused for a moment as he thought, and finally said, "There really is no good way out of this, but in the end… What he wants is us … and we just couldn't live with ourselves if anything else happens to you all because of us. It shouldn't have happened to you in the first place… We can't ignore this anymore; we have to face him…"

"Then…" Akane solemnly asked, "There's nothing I can say?"

Haku sighed and said, "Our hands are tied; this has to stop."

Akane paused as she made a decision and finally proclaimed, "Then … I'll fight too."

Haku reacted with concern, "You … what? Akane-chan, you're already hurt, and you know how brutal this fight is; they won't go easy on you. It's so dangerous…"

Akane expressed in contrary, "The doctor says I'll be fully healed in time for the fight, and if I still wasn't… I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to my best friends either, especially you."

Unable to argue, Haku could only let out, "Akane-chan…"

Akane added, "I'm sorry, Ha-kun, but my mind is made up as well."

"Is that so?" Haku said as a small smile crept onto his face, "Then, I guess there's no stopping you then."

Akane kissed him lightly, and said as she hugged him, "Hurt or not… I'll always be on your side… You don't have to fight alone with us here."

Haku very gingerly hugged her back and replied, "Jun-can and I are happy to know that. Hopefully though, we can do our part … and you won't need to fight at all."

End Chapter

A/N: There you have it. As stated above, the actual fighting will begin next chapter. However, with semester coming, the releases for this story will be admittedly inconsistent. Nevertheless, I'm not abandoning this story, and I will finish it when I can. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you come back to read more. Please R&R, and as always, Rant, Rave, and Review.