The Silent Devil Sleeps

...

7:

The sun calmly rose, its rays the golden rods of light that stung in Jouji's eyes. He woke up on something that wasn't his bed, and the weird colors in the sky told him that this was not his normal waking time. He was not in he and Jun's room. He was on a cold floor in unfamiliar clothes and his body was bruised and well-beaten, his muscles sore.

That was when yesterday hit him. He remembered the long journey to where he is now, the brutal introduction his grandfather had provided. He remembered how he lost all control and punched his grandfather dead in the face, because he'd used his father as a way to hurt his feelings.

Dad...he missed him. He wanted to be with his father so badly, he was tempted to leave now and run, run to his family and hug them and tell them he was okay.

But the room he was in had no means of escape. The narrow door was closed tightly, there were no windows. There was only a light fixture that dangled from the ceiling, a crystallized chandelier exploding from it. It would have been prettier if Jouji wasn't forced to look at it. The walls were painted a pale orange, traditional Japanese artwork flooded from the white lining below the boring citrus color.

It was then that Jouji realized he was in a storage closet at the Mishima Estate. A beautiful storage closet, too, but as Jouji's cerulean eyes traveled, he nearly yelped at the shocking red color that was splashed over the beautifully painted walls.

He recognized the stains as blood itself, and his eyes shot upward, refusing to travel any further down at the source of the blood.

A cold shock snatched his body; his eyes filled with tears as he hugged his knees to his chest. He knew what the smell that filled the room was. He knew what was there.

The only question was...who was there?

A clicking sound dashed across Jouji's range of hearing. Big, childish eyes filled with fear as the door slid open and there was his grandfather.

"Well, Jouji," the elder sighed, "I had a lot of time to think over the last few hours. And I came to a conclusion. I realized that we're just not making any progress this way. The longer you take to release the Devil in you, the more impatient I get. So, here's what's going to happen today. You're going to stay in this room with that innocent soul you murdered last night. I'm not going to let you out—you're going to let yourself out. And I'll be waiting for you to come and challenge me...and take back your power! That's all you want, Jouji! Power! Some come and retrieve it when you get your will." The door slammed and clicked shut.

Jouji would have screamed if he could have. He'd killed someone last night...he didn't even remember doing it! He must have been possessed...Kazuya was getting his wish.

He was scared—genuine fear powdered his skin pale. Someone was dead at his hand, and the monster inside of him was gaining control. He was being kept from his sanity...

And power.

Kazuya had all the power. He dangled Jouji on a string like a voodoo doll, pushed and shoved him in which direction and dragged him along like a tail.

And he was winning.

But if Jouji let him win, he would still get all his power.

It was a win/win situation. Kazuya was trying to pry out his inner demon, and he planned to keep nothing from it.

But no. Jouji didn't want power. He just wanted his family.

Family? Family kept him from the power. Sure, he loves them. But he doesn't need them in his way. Power is what he needs, and Kazuya has it.

Family gave him his power! Family was all he needed to be strong! Not some hellish counterpart!

Family kept him weak. He is weak. But he can be strong. He needs the power.

The power is dangerous!

The power is dangerous.

Jouji shivered. What was happening? His mind shouldn't be conflicted over this. He knew in his heart he wanted family. But something else inside of him felt like it was taking over, and he didn't know how to handle it!

He laid on his side, curling up his knees into his chest and burying his face in them. The inside of his head was so loud. He just wanted to be dead instead of the person next to him. He didn't want to hurt anyone else. Not even Kazuya.

A crisp number of knocks interrupted Jiyashi laying on the couch in pain. She rose to answer the door.

She was soon met with the young and excited face of Xiaoyu, her dance instructor and dear friend. "Hi Jiya!"

"Hi, Miss Xiao." Jiyashi stepped aside and extended her arm, "Pleasure to have you. Won't you please come in?" Everyone in her family answers the door that way, even Jun. Her father taught her that it was polite to do so.

Xiao nodded and entered the house. "So, you said you were feeling a little sick?"

"Kind of. My back really, really hurts, and it's making me nauseous."

"You're back? Where on your back?"

"In between my shoulder blades."

"That's weird..." Xiaoyu said, examining the problem area.

"What?"

"This birthmark you have, it's just like Jin's."

"Yeah, it always was."

"Yeah...but...didn't it have like a...circle-thingy around it?"

"The seal?"

"Yes. It's not here anymore."

"What? It's broken? How could that be...?" She stopped when she remembered earlier. She hadn't been feeling this way until after her father had said that spell! She'd heard it through the microphone and it must have broken her seal, too! "Oh fuck..."

"What's wrong, Jiya?"

"If the seal is broken, that means I could transform at any moment!"

"Transform?" She remembered Devil Jin, and there was no way she was letting that happen to Jiyashi. "If you stay calm, you won't. I'll stay with you and help you until your father comes home to manage it a better way. Don't worry Jiyashi, I'll do everything I can!"

"Thank you, very much Miss Xiao," Jiyashi nodded, "But maybe you should go...I don't want to risk hurting you—"

"Nonsense! You just march right on upstairs with me, and We'll get started on everything." Jiyashi was being led up the stairs.

And she did smile.

...

Soon, Jin and Jun were standing in front of the first level of the Mishima Estate.

"Jouji could be in there." Jun said quietly, thinking of his younger brother.

"Chances are...he is." Jin eyed the tall but wider building, knowing his baby boy was in one of those rooms, one of those floors...

"It seems like no one's here." Jun said after a while of silence and sakura petals dancing past them in the strong wind.

"It seems." Jin repeated, but cautiously. "I know they're here."

"How can you tell?"

"Whenever Father is around..." Jin's pulse sped up, but gradually, "The Devil Inside of me goes insane, beastly, and it wants more then anything to take over my body."

Jun studied his father, and then he felt something in his head go flat, it sounded like a dead person's reading on an EKG...

Was he, too, feeling the affects of Kazuya's Devil?