Part III: The Fourth Season
Chapter 20
"Drinker by night, why are you difficult?
Go in what covers you;
Apparel yourself in garments of gold.
This means you, Night Drinker, our Flayed Lord ...
Let me go, let me perish.
I am the green stalk of maize;
My heart is a precious green stone.
I shall look at the gold: ...
everyone gives to you first; and when everything has now come up, once again everyone gives you your sustenance."
-fragment of Hymn to Xipe Totec, "Song of Our Flayed Lord The Night Drinker"
The calls were done in the dead of night. Like pebbles tumbling down a deep well, the knocks faded down the hallways, ricocheting from room to room. Pants were grabbed, shirts were pulled on, and heads poked out of doorways. Whispers from lips, shivers of excitement, torches led them into the forest. Up ahead, the leaves parted and cave yawned before them. A humming filled the entrance as two tripods set on each wall of the tunnel powered up. Sparks arced between the two heads before the white and blue light expanded and took shape. It was as if a pool of water had been tipped up on its side without the water pouring out. The portal rippled and pulsed throwing light across the dazzled faces of the fighters. Through it they could see a stone wall that had been blown apart. It looked like a disturbed grave site. The fighters entered.
* * *
Jin stood behind Heihachi as he usually did. It had become a position more and more familiar as the years went on. Heihachi hadn't taken his eyes off the monitor trained on the entrance where the contestants were filing in.
"It seems like a lot of trouble to go through all this for the tournament finale."
"Jin," Heihachi said, "it's important to make this dramatic for this will be the last Iron Fist tournament. After this, all debts shall be paid, all rivalries will be settled."
"And the guns?" Jin asked, nodding his head towards the armed guards.
"Insurance. Either one of us are a match for any one of them, but all together we would be overwhelmed. No martial artist, though, can stop a bullet. Ah, it looks like they're all here. Are you ready?"
"Yes, Sufu."
"Then go. It is time to make your entrance."
Jin bowed and left.
* * *
The temple courtyard was just ahead. Jin could see the light reflecting off the stone ramp that led from the underground chamber that Heihachi had converted into a command center to the arena where the fighters waited. Heihachi had somehow gained access to the temple more than three years ago, although the how or why had never been information Jin was privy to. Whenever Jin had asked about it, Heihachi would only respond with "to catch a beast, the trap must be built to it." Perhaps his grandfather thought something about the temple would hold Ogre when it came. Whatever the reason, it had taken a small fortune to modify it and keep it hidden from the prying eyes of the locals and United States government and it would only be fitting that the last matches of the tournament would be held there.
Jin double-checked the straps on the gauntlets. The blood red gloves covered the knuckles and backs of his hands. Dark metal, like ball bearings, were embedded in the padding in the shape of a triangle. Most people would say that's unfair, but then they weren't fighting a tae kwon do expert who wore spurs on his boots.
He could hear the crowd before he saw them. Their feet stomping the floor, shaking the dust from catacombs. There were shouts and chanting, and above all of them the harsh voice of Hwoarang. "Come on, Kazama! Come out and fight me!"
Sighing, Jin began his ascent. There was hardly time for such simplistic rivalry and he could not afford to be seriously injured - not when Ogre could arrive at any minute. Still though, if everything went according to plan, perhaps he could get through this.
"About time you showed up," Hwoarang spat. He looked over his shoulder in a show of disrespect. "You ready?"
"Of course. I'll have to make this quick though. I have family business I have to attend to."
"Yeah, yeah, shut up already." Hwoarang brought his fists up and narrowed his eyes.
Hwoarang attacked first, just as Jin expected - a front kick, a roundhouse, and a side kick in rapid succession. Jin blocked the first two and dodged the third, but instead of pressing the attack, Hwoarang stepped back. If Hwoarang had learned from their first fight and no longer rushed headlong into battle, he was a lot more dangerous than before. Jin stepped forward and confirmed his theory. Hwoarang rotated his body around his back leg and stood in a south-paw position which gave him access to different attack angles.
'Damn it,' thought Jin. 'He obviously came up with this strategy to throw me off - if I stay defensive he's got me, but if I rush in then I'm fighting at his old level.'
It was a question of how many times he wanted to second guess Hwoarang, and the more he questioned it the more advantage Hwoarang had. There was only one thing to do: simply act. He rushed forward throwing two quick jabs and ducking low to deliver a blow to Hwoarang's stomach. Hwoarang sidestepped and used a front kick to push Jin back before leaping towards Jin. By ducking forward, Jin was able to dodge the front kick but had to take two steps back and lean away to avoid the follow-up spinning back kick.
Both fighters paused to asset the situation. Neither one had scored any meaningful hit yet and while that might have been just fine for Hwoarang, Jin was feeling the frustration rising. If there was one thing he couldn't do, it was to get drawn into a protracted battle with Hwoarang that left him either too wounded or too exhausted to face his true enemy. Maybe that was the whole key to this - maybe he should tell Hwoarang the truth.
A side kick jarred his body. Hwoarang had taken advantage of his distraction and began pressing his attacks. Jin was able to deflect most of the kicks so that he took little damage but the constant defense was slowly chipping away at his energy. Knowing he couldn't hold off the attacks forever, he searched for an opening and found it. Jin scored a strong punch to Hwoarang's chest, knocking him backwards, but as Hwoarang fell he was able to twist his body and swipe the spur on his left boot across Jin's thigh. It was a superficial cut, but the sight of blood seemed to embolden Hwoarang who leapt back into his fighting stance with a renewed purpose.
Before the fight could continue, an alarm sounded from the compound. For a moment, the whole arena full of people looked about themselves puzzled. Jin turned away from Hwoarang towards the entrance of the temple.
'It's here.' Jin could feel the malevolence seeping from the ground beneath his feet, could smell its hatred replacing the air in the room.
"Don't turn your back on me, Kazama!"
Jin didn't pay any attention to Hwoarang. Soldiers began filing into the temple arena covering the area with their guns.
"What the hell is this? You call in your bodyguards when you start losing?"
"The fight is over. You can say I forfeited if it makes you feel better." Two guards stepped aside and allowed Jin through. There were things to attend to. He had to find Heihachi and, most importantly, he had to find Ogre. The game was just beginning.