AN: HI! first of all i just want to apologize for updating so late. I had some finals to do and graduate! So now I have all the time in the world to write and update, so i'm just letting you know that i'm back in service and i'm really sorry for not having updating while I had my finals. But i hope that you're still interested in letting me know what you think about the story so I can improve my skills.
Have fun reading!!
Chapter 11 – Spider's Web
Jun sat on a chair by the table and sipped to her morning tea. The TV was blasting in the background fighting against the racket from the streets, fighting for her attention. The only function she had deemed the TV for this morning was to drown the sounds from the busy city outside, she could hear the crowds' complaints and joys, and she could feel them push each other to make way through the big crowd. The only thing that mattered was the fact of how happy they were, it was their ultimate goal. The more happiness the better, but how could it be achieved? The more money, power and useless objects, to distract them from their pains made them happy.
The sounds of the busy city travelled through the air and entered her little sanctuary and made it her own private hell. She couldn't remember the last time she had heard her own thoughts. She hadn't known that she never would find peace in this damned city. She had moved freely and gladly, a new city new people. She could finally escape from the burdens of her home, yet they had followed her like ghosts to the city. They hovered over her and seldom left her side.
She sat with the cup in her hand, desperately trying to extract its warmth. She wanted to feel the warmth again she hadn't felt it for the longest time and she missed it. The steam graced her face with warm greetings as it made its way to the loft. She played with it with her fingers, before it would evaporate and disappear. She felt it wrap around her finger, she felt it wrap its warmth around her finger. She finally felt warmth and she formed it and curled it around her fingers, but it was only a temporary feeling and solution. It wouldn't help her nothing would help her. She could manipulate with the steam and push her agony aside for awhile but how long? For she did not possess the powers to manipulate anyone to stay with her, to put her out of her agony. Every person she had appointed to the task of driving her away from her agony and the ghosts of her past had failed. Every man had tried but some deemed her not worthy for the heavy and difficult task. So it would end in a few joyful weeks before they parted and went their separate ways, she would continue to walk in the dark world her parents had destined her to while the ones who had let go of her hand returned to their own fragrant and colourful world, and all she ever could do was to stand in the darkness and watch from the sideline. She couldn't join them, her parents had deemed another future and purpose for her, even when she had fled it followed and tormented her every time the night fell.
Her thoughts were broken by a black shadow crawling over her table. She shot her head up and looked at the creature crawl over the surface of the table. The black creature crawled over the white kitchen surface. She looked at it crawl slowly and carefully, then it would pick up its paste and yet it would return to a much slower paste. It was as if it was flaunting its confidence in defeating her, it was as if it knew. It knew she wouldn't harm it, it knew it wasn't in her hands to harm it. Jun suddenly felt disgust build up in her and then she lifted the book slowly and smashed it on its small body. She lifted the book up slowly and saw its body all over the kitchen table, it had been crushed and defeated. She looked at its contents and small legs scattered all over the table. It couldn't flaunt with its power now, it held no power over her.
Or so she convinced herself.
Jun left her home, which she had chosen to call it as she couldn't seem to find any other fitting name for it. When she got down the stairs she saw a familiar face
"Lei, what are you doing here?" she asked him surprised as she couldn't remember giving him the addresses to her apartment. There was after all a reason to why she had chosen to live in the hotel even when she could have stayed home in the comforts of her own sheets and pillows.
"I just wanted to check on you, you never returned and Michelle asked me. So here you find me at your doorstep" Lei tried to read her face for any little wrinkle that might reveal her feelings and whereabouts of yesterday. He had to admit he was defeated, her face revealed nothing yet her nervous body language revealed the fact that there was something to hide. He had her figured out as a open and cheerful girl, yet the past days had proven him wrong.
"I'm fine I just needed to be in familiar surroundings. The tournament and…" Jun thought of something that could be an easy target for her to blame. "and everything else, it's just been very hectic. I needed some peace of mind" Jun revealed only what was the most necessary as she spoke gently, she showed consideration for his hunger; therefore she spoke with carefully chosen words so his hunger would be satisfied an she could keep her secrets to herself. She started to walk and he followed in her footsteps. They spoke of everything unnecessary as they both strolled to the hotel. She watched every word she spoke not to reveal anything yet this feeling told her she had nothing to guard, nothing so dear that she should feel an urge to protect it. Yet she wanted to protect it for it awoke a feeling which she never had felt this strong, something seemed different. It gave her hope.
"Thanks for everything Lei," was all she said before she left a kiss on his cheek, she knew she had found a true friend in him. He had listened carefully to every word she had spoken, and she had enjoyed the compassionate look in his eyes. It all was for her, she too needed somebody she couldn't be alone and on her own forever. More importantly she didn't want to be on her own for the rest of her life, she feared the black shadow which had seemed to hover over her life since her very first memory. She left him standing on the street; he carried the clear expression of surprise. He hadn't known that he had become a part of her life and had had an impact on it.
Kazuya sat by his desk in his office his head felt heavy as it never had done before, the curtains were drawn not letting a single ray of sunshine into the pit dark office. Kazuya swallowed a couple of aspirins and leaned his head back to let it rest. He didn't need the sun in his life, he could do without, he was more confident than so he knew he could better without it. He hadn't felt his hearts desires in a long time, the only desire he was capable to feel now was vengeance and that feeling also seemed to have left him now. He felt nothing, could it be true had he become an empty shell? The TV cried in the background as the woman told about the economic world. When Mishima Zaibatsu was mentioned Kazuya lifted his head, a smile crept on his lips as it showed that Mishima Zaibatsu dictated the economic world with its stocks and ground breaking researches. He continued to read his own papers as the news continued to another part of its segment, which he wouldn't define as news. He signed the papers and continued to read. The darkness soothed him, he could do his business in peace with no one to interrupt him. He didn't feel any discomfort in the darkness he lived in; at times he thought he could see its eyes lurking in the corners. He could hear its laughter creep through the air until it finally reached his ear, it mocked him called him weak, told him that it, the creature it self, was the only reason for his survival. He knew it was true, he wouldn't have made it without it and therefore he prepared his body. He was determined to become stronger and take control, but it knew of his foul plans, for it was it who had planted such wretched hatred in his heart. He had taken care of the little fire in his heart, he had added fuel to the fire and he would continue to do so.
For he was nothing without him, he was a pathetic creature the day he found him and now he was among its belongings.
Kazuya's attention started to drift away as another voice rung in his head. It sounded familiar, on of the gentlest voices he had ever heard; of course the voice belonged to her. He looked up and saw her trying to push her way through a crowd of photographers. His eyes lingered a moment longer on her figure than he had counted on. The footage was from the day someone had tried to assassinate him, yesterday he thought. Dark rings had been formed under his eyes and they were heavy. They had been heavy the most of his life. His eyes drifted away from her face but were drawn back as they showed new footage of her. He turned the volume up as he listened eagerly.
"It seems like the brief relationship between Kazuya Mishima and Jun Kazama has taken a bad turn, more correctly it seems like it is over" the young woman said as her eyebrows seemed to have risen to unnatural heights " A Young woman was seen leaving Mishima's mansion late at night. Jun Kazama doesn't seem to linger in the pain and doesn't seem bothered by Mishima's late night visitor, she herself has found a new flame. She was seen this very morning in the company of another tournament competitor. They seemed to enjoy themselves as they walked to the hotel, their walk ended with a kiss on the cheek. It seems like a new romance is brewing…" Kazuya turned the TV off and picked up the phone as he spoke he took a file off from the desk and put it into one of the drawers and then he locked the drawer. Soon after a man stepped in, he stood in the darkness and was not visible to his employer.
"There's something I need you to take care of in an official and clean matter" Kazuya spoke quietly as he stretched a file out to him. His hand moved through the darkness and was illuminated by the scarce light as he received the file. He opened the file and looked at the information that was to be found inside. He nodded quietly and left him, soon after Lee entered the room.
"Call her I want to settle the matter before it spins out of control" he spoke and looked at the TV that was turned off. Lee wrote it on the paper he had brought with him and when the sound of the pen on the paper, scratching the words down, reached his ears he looked up.
"It is to be dealt with now" he spoke loud enough for him to hear it, he looked up although he only could see him vaguely he knew he was looking at him, straight at him. Kazuya was once again left in the darkness, it whispered to him again. It told him that he was inadequate to even take care of his own business and that little girl, he couldn't even take care of a little girl instead she caused him so much trouble. She would get to him, it mocked him.
He hoped she would, yet he knew he didn't need it, he would survive without it. He thrived in darkness, he depended on it.
"Could you tell Lei I'm not going to make it" Jun said to Michelle as she bound her hair in a tight knot "They rescheduled my meeting for today" she told her and left her before she could give her any response. She had changed under the tournament, but who was to judge? She hadn't known her before the tournament, but she knew her enough to sense that there was something wrong.
Jun found herself in his office only moments after she had stepped out of the elevator. His office was empty so she sat silently, waiting in the cold chair. She no longer found the view from his office interesting. It didn't tempt her to get up and see the city.
'He must be filled with such satisfaction everyday meeting up and having such a view greet you every morning, he must think greatly of himself' she thought to herself. The most powerful man in Japan, maybe even the whole of Asia, with the world at his feet. The office was cold even when the sunlight shined in and was a great source of warmth. She looked around as she previously never had had a chance to even turn her head. It was like the rest of the place sterile and cold, leather sofas stood in the corner. They were probably reserved for his great business partners, they probably sat their when ever a deal was closed and drank on it and cheered, maybe even smoke cigars. She despised men like him; everything was worthless as long as it stood in their way to success. They would use anything and anyone to get to their goals. She quickly searched the table with her eyes but found the surface blank. She suppressed her urge to get up and search for papers in his desk, anything she could use against him; she was no different than him and his associates. She too would do anything to reach her goals. Her goals were different; they were for a greater good.
Jun's thoughts were disturbed by the sound of the door as it was pushed open. She didn't care to turn her head and greet him, she heard his pace slow down and then he picked up his normal pace. He walked past her and while he looked in the file he was holding. He sat down in his chair and noted something down, the sunlight illuminated half of his figure and the rest of it was left in darkness. His shadow fell heavy on the desk it reached out to her feet and as it touched her feet it felt cold. He turned a page and then another he ran his hand over the paper and signed something.
"It's good to see you could make it" were the only words he said as he laid the paper aside.
"I didn't have any choice" was her short reply, she didn't make eye contact with him but stared at the table "Why am I here?" she finally asked him "we don't seem to be able to reach any agreement" she questioned his reason for having the meeting rescheduled and after last nights events she wanted to be in as little contact with him as possible.
"That is were you are wrong. I have an offer that I think you might find very agreeable" he told her as he was looking at her, she raised her head when the words reached her ears. She saw him holding out the very file he had been looking at, she took it and looked over the papers. She was surprised by his sudden cooperation.
"As you seen I will grant the WWWC permission to control every facility that I am in the possession of, the WWWC will have the option to do this twice a year or every quarter. The WWWC can also control my facilities if your organization should find any suspicious reason without the Mishima Zaibatsu's knowledge. The Mishima Zaibatsu of course agrees on by no means involving animal testing in our testing facilities." he spoke as her eyes ran over the papers she looked at the last page and found his signature, the black ink contrasted with the white paper. The only thing missing was her signature, her name had already been written under the line. She wondered what had made him change his mind, why would he suddenly guarantee what he only days before rejected the knowledge of? Why was she even questioning his reasons, there wasn't any need for it, he had granted them free access. But she doubted that his actions were genuine, they had access he would look clean now then he could continue his work elsewhere…
"and this agreement won't disappear the moment I have signed it and I leave the room?" she asked him, she wanted to see his reaction and she was surprised his face revealed disgust and insult.
"Do you not trust me?" he asked her he was looking her straight in her eyes he wanted to know now.
"I'd like a copy" she said while he looked her straight into her eyes, she saw Kazuya move back in his chair his lip curled up in a smile.
"I take that as a no" he said and reached for a file in his desk "Here you go, the only thing missing is your signature" he told her as he handed her the copy "I thought you might like a copy".
He saw her look the copy through, she finally looked up and he handed her a pen. Their hands touched and Kazuya held on to the pen, when Jun looked up and established eye contact he let go of the pen. She signed the papers and handed him the copy and kept the original.
"I hope you don't mind if I keep the original?" she asked with a smile on her lips, she was obviously teasing him. He knew she would want to keep the original, anyone who made a contract with him always wanted the original and it was the wisest. He couldn't guarantee the safety of the agreement and he didn't know when or if the original ever could disappear, so his associates had learned and they had learned to take precautions.
"No of course not, keep it if it makes you confident in your case" he told her and got up from his chair, Jun rose from her chair when she saw him getting up.
"So this concludes our business" Kazuya said holding out his hand to her, Jun looked at him before she reached her hand out "I hope not to meet your organization in unpleasant business again" he said when he saw her hesitate.
"So it does" she replied coldly and shook his hand, he seemed different. There was much power in his handshake not enough to crush her hand but enough to let her know. He seemed calculating; there was something wrong something he was hiding and he was proud of the fact of being capable to hide it from her. He was too confident.
"And this agreement will of course be celebrated" he told her as he walked her to the door "The Mishima Zaibatsu will be arranging an official event tomorrow to make the goodwill between my zaibatsu and your organization public, I hope you will join us" he told her when they had reached the door.
"Us? Does that mean that my superior already knows of this agreement?" she asked him, for it was highly doubtable to arrange such an event without consent from the other party. He looked at her with an entirely different look, he wasn't being funny or charming as he had been the first they met he was professional.
"Of course he knows, it just needed your consent and signature" he told her "But even if you hadn't given it, it would have gone through" he told her, he was letting her know that she wasn't indispensable "the agreement had their consent and if you didn't sign" he held his breath "Well that is an entirely different story" he told her as he opened the door. Jun kept staring at the floor, she couldn't believe what he had just had told her. She believed that she was a valuable key person in her organisation and that her presence made a difference. Jun looked at her watch and saw that she just might catch the last of Lei's match. She left him by the door without saying goodbye or anything at all.
Jun came running into the arena where people were standing up and roaring, some of them stood on their seats. It seemed like it was a match which had gotten a bit too exciting. She walked down to the seats in front of the scene; they were right you could smell the sweat and taste the blood in the air. She was overwhelmed by Lei's opponent, he was much bigger and faster than Lei. Jun recognised the man, it was the very man Kazuya had been talking to in the garden, he was one of his trusted bodyguards and worked directly under him. Kazuya must have felt threaten for some reason since he was in the ring, he only sent his bodyguards in when something had to be dealt with she believed. But Lei was victorious, it had seemed that Kazuya's guard wasn't undefeatable.
When Jun walked up to him he was out of his breath and sitting on the ground.
"Need a hand?" she asked him holding out her hand to him. Lei looked up in surprise.
"I thought you couldn't make it" he asked her as he took her hand and got back up on his feet.
"Well that match went well, do you think you could help me to my room I need to take a hot shower after this" he told her jokingly.
"Come on," she told him in reply and walked ahead of him "I'll give dinner so we can celebrate".
"What do you got to celebrate about, I'm the one who survived a deadly match" he stated as she continued to walk up the stairs. She suddenly stopped and looked back at him and waited till he had reached the same step.
"I just closed a deal" she told him and he looked at her weirdly as if he had forgotten, suddenly he hugged her.
"Congratulation, you know you might be the first woman to get him where you want him" he said and let out a big laughter that rang through the big arena. She felt awkward about their new found intimacy, which had been found this very morning.
"Do you know what, I think I just might" she told him and smiled, she was confident now and yet something bothered her. There was something wrong, she didn't know what the agreement or him?
Jun stood in front her building taking out mail; she had walked with Lei to the hotel but continued until she had reached her building. She had told him that she needed to check her mail and he had offered to walk with her, but she had denied. She had claimed that he needed his rest after the match and now that she stood in front of her mailbox taking the mail out. She agreed with herself it wasn't a bad lie, after all she was checking it luckily she had something to check. The night was clear she could see the stars, they broke through the pollution and shone for once, one of the many rare times since she had moved to Tokyo. The night air was crisp and refreshing every breath seemed cooling and clean for once. It soothed her tonight, it didn't strangle her like any other night. She took her mail out and browsed through it quickly, bills after bills. Nothing new yet the last letter she felt in her hands was different, it was from Yakushima. She turned it over to see who had addressed it to her when she heard a voice call and some footsteps.
"Are you busy?" she recognized the voice immediately, it was dark and heavy. She quickly shoved the letter from home in between her other mail before she turned around.
"What do you want?" she asked him coldly, she couldn't understand why he had come to her, especially after he had made it clear that she was replaceable.
"I just wanted to apologize" he told her in voice loud enough for her to hear. People looked by and looked oddly at them he stood by the roadside and she stood by the door to her building. They stood with this great distance between them and talked to each other like strangers but for strangers they seemed like lovers that had quarrelled and ultimately he had returned to her apologizing for his behaviour, so they believed but it was much more different. She felt nothing but hatred and that was the answer she would give that very moment if anyone was to ask her how she felt about him. Even when they stood with the greatest distant between them, the agreement had showed the length both of them would go. She looked at him; he was much different than the man she had met in his office. The man stranding before her displayed emotions and didn't seem very controlled or calculating. He was very different, he even seemed lonely maybe he was just as lonely as she was; maybe he too was in search of somebody. Jun pushed her thoughts aside, a man like him couldn't he like her they were worlds apart. He was the ocean and she was the sky, moon and sun.
"Come with me, the street isn't a proper place to stand and talk when it's this cold and late" she told him and turned her back to him, he followed her silently. She hadn't even questioned him how he had found her apartment, that question had to wait till they got inside. She walked up the stairs, it wasn't the most impressive place she living in, not impressive after his standards. It was fine for her the neighbours were friendly and the space was big and the neighbourhood wasn't bad at all. It all was peaceful and quiet at times. She could feel his eyes on her back as she walked in front of him, guiding him through the building. When she reached the door she struggled to find the right key in the darkness, the bulb wasn't working. He stood in the darkness silently; he looked at amused by how nervously she was looking for her keys but there something completely differently calm about her spirit. Finally she found her keys and entered her so-called home she closed the door after him, a scent of incense and flowers greeted them followed by the heat in the house, almost make the smell nauseating.
"Make yourself comfortable" she told him as she turned on the light "Do you want something to drink?" she asked when he was seated. He simply nodded no. She took her jacket off and placed the letters on the table in the living room, she pulled her cardigan over her head, when she finally got out of it she saw his eyes was plastered to her body and the little part of her body she had revealed. He looked away when she looked in his direction. She disappeared out into the kitchen for awhile as she was setting water to boil for a cup of tea. After awhile Kazuya came to her, he had become impatient he had only come to say a few words ad leave again but she made it much harder than it was. He stood in the kitchen looking at her manoeuvring around in the kitchen as she had started to make tea for herself he pulled a chair out. He sat down and saw her move around slowly since he had taken a seat in the kitchen.
"What did you want to talk about?" she asked him, she remembered him saying that he wanted to apologize she just wanted to hear those words again, it was no crime.
"I want to apologize for last night" he told her with a low and thick voice, Jun took her cup and sat down around the corner of the table from him. She sat close to him, closer than she might have wanted herself but her body had made the decision for her.
"It was rude of me, the way I behaved. I was drunk" he told her, he sounded ashamed and she wondered if he was drunk this very moment as he was apologizing to her. What puzzled her more was; was he even able to feel an emotion like embarrassment. He finally looked up and she knew it was sincere, he meant every word he had said.
"I'm sorry, I intruded. I demanded answers I had no right to demand" she confessed, he wasn't the only one who had behaved improperly. Even if she loved that he was the one to apologize to her, she knew she had acted just as wrong as him and therefore just as guilty.
"I never asked you, were you alright?" he finally asked her the question that had bothered him the most, since he had been attacked and she had been the wrong place the wrong time. She rubbed her arms and he noticed the small scratches on her arms which had started to heal.
"I made it, I wasn't hurt so…" Jun said taking a sip of the hot tea; it felt good after all the cold air she had swallowed like a child eating ice cream.
"It's good to know" he told her but as a contrary to what he just had said to her he took a hold on her arms when they came down to place the tea cup on the table. She sat silently observing him he turned her arms in her hands and looked closely at the scratches. He caressed her arms carefully and looked up at her, she looked at him and smiled. She had accepted his apology and reassured him that she was fine.
"I also apologize for this afternoon, I wasn't being very professional" he confessed for the knowledge of knowing that she was alright.
"Why are you here Kazuya? Is this some kind of new customer service?" she questioned his reasons for approaching her by her apartment. It all could have waited till tomorrow, it wasn't necessary now and not in her apartment. Kazuya moved forward and she felt his hand on her knee it moved up to her thigh, she didn't know what to do. He ran his hand through her hair and pulled the hair behind her ear, she stopped his hand when she realized who it was, she remembered. She placed his hand on the table and looked at him.
"Why are you here?" she asked him again she rose from her chair and pushed the chair back into spot. She drank the tea as she felt the frustration build up in her, she moved out of the kitchen and into the living room. She opened the two doors to the balcony to let the cool wind in, for it only seemed to get warmer in her little apartment. The drapes were blown into the room and Kazuya saw her figure get engulfed by the colourful drapes. Her pale and slim figure stood in the midst of a red and green fire and was illuminated by the moonlight; he saw her fight against them gently until she finally had pulled them aside. She could see the whole street from her balcony and the traffic in the mornings but it was at nights as these she truly enjoyed having a balcony.
"I came to apologize," he told her when he had reached her on the balcony "It was all I came to say" she looked at him and he could see the fear of having misjudging him in her eyes. She was actually afraid of having sentenced him unfairly.
"Your apology is accepted," she replied to his honest answer, her eyes told him that she truly had accepted an apology from a man that everyone had deemed cold hearted and cruel. He stood beside her on the balcony; she looked at the street beneath and the road that had been deserted by the inhabitants of the city. She turned her eyes toward the skies he seemed to recognize the same longing in her eyes; he had never seen it in the many eyes he had met in Tokyo. But her eyes weren't clear they were misty, even if the atmosphere around her was serene he could feel the burden and despair. The moon did wonders for her she didn't seem burdened in the moonlight, the small wrinkles disappeared and it seemed like she achieved true tranquillity even if it only was momentarily, he could she the gratitude in her eyes. He reached out to her and touched her cheek gently, she turned her head to him and his hand moved her hair behind her ear. He was surprised for he had not counted on her skin being warm in the cool wind. He hadn't felt the warmth of another being for a long time and her warmth mesmerized him. He leaned in and kissed her, she didn't move away but she responded his kisses. Jun suddenly felt a harsh wind blow, but she didn't mind for kiss gave her much greater warmth than the cold feeling from the wind. The drapes blew towards them and Jun broke fro his kisses, she rested her head on his shoulder and felt him wrap his arms around her and warm her. She felt safe in his embrace and he loved the feeling of holding her, though he didn't know what feeling it was. He didn't know how to define something he hadn't felt before, tranquillity seemed to be the only word he could remember that moment that seemed to fit.
"You should leave, it's getting late" was all she could say; Kazuya looked up and saw doubt in her eyes. She didn't believe in his sincerity. There was no reason for her to repeat what she had uttered, he had heard her thoughts. He left her apartment without looking back at her, Jun stood on the balcony with the cup the tea was getting cold fast and when it was cold it couldn't grant her much comfort. The silence was greater than ever before and every breath seemed too loud. The cold air was much cooler than before and the warmth of her home scorched her. The loneliness buried her soul a deeper grave. There was no peace to be found.
She saw him exit the building and walk across the street; the streetlights illuminated his figure as he walked confidently. He seemed very confident for a man who just had been rejected. He walked to a car and looked back up at the building he spotted her still standing there she was looking at him. She smiled to him it was nothing but a friendly gesture and he had returned her very little gesture, for which she could not expect much if not nothing at all, he made a little movement which seemed to be a smile to her. He was too confident, but she had no time to think about that smile, she couldn't rejoice in the little smile he had revealed and the many what if scenarios plagued her mind. She saw the car drive off into the night and she turned her back to the street and looked at the table. The letter was visible from where she was standing; the wind had moved the other letters and the moon illuminated the letter. Even nature was against her.
The letter she had received from home and her father's words weighed much greater in her mind, the smile and the scenarios all disappeared for the letter was from her deceased father…
PS. I usually don't write anything at the bottom, but I've worked a bit on this chapter to get the right emotions through and I would REALLY like to know if YOU think it works, i'd like you to tell me if they are to stiff in character or to stereotypical, I would really appreciate it! Thanks for reading!
