(Finally got this chapter up after a hectic week! I've gotta be honest, my early hopes that I could do this story and my uni work are fading by the day. Most of the time I've been writing this chapter and a few before it up while I was on the bus. So there were plenty of times where I would redo certain parts that I was unsatisfied with. I think for a week I'm gonna focus on my uni work, the worst part about that is that it's a mid-term break for a week. But assignments call and I have to answer if I want a job, responsibilities, fuck me right? Regardless I'm pleased to say that I am officially "officially" OFFICIALLY now at the third tournament with this story. Got a lot of storylines to blend into one another, it's gonna be good, trust me. Please continue with your reviews, it's always a pleasure to read and learn from them. And don't forget to favourite and follow if you're a member, it'll help immensely if you're interested in this story and don't want to miss out on the next chapter. Enjoy!)
Chapter 25 – The Week Begins
The air in Tokyo was abuzz with excitement as the final day of entry into the Tekken Tournament rolled through. Many tourists had flocked to the capital of Japan to witness the impending tournament, having left a lasting impression on the world nearly 20 years ago. From an economic standpoint; the tournament was doing wanders for spending in the country, merchandise was being sold out everywhere and people were paying money for any chance of watching the tournament, be it at the stadium or worldwide through their TV screens. What some people might find as a barbaric style of sport was really something to behold. It wasn't just the thrill of the fight, there was the showmanship of the fighters that was greatly respected. The meeting of various forms of martial arts and fighting styles from around the world brought in a huge fan base as favoured fighters and their fighting styles were rooted for from back home, in the hopes that they can bring glory to their country and their art form. Of course, fighters were also favoured for their personality and their appeal, the previous Tekken tournaments having plenty of that. The Tekken tournaments were as real as they could come; the blood, sweat and passion on show was something to glue your eyes to, the world loved it.
Himitsu had made it to Tokyo in the early morning, getting a train from Kagoshima, all the way up to the capital city. The ride was long enough for Himitsu to get a little shut-eye while in transit and awoke to find himself only several miles away from Tokyo. The memories of last night were playing at Himitsu the whole time he was on the train and especially in his dreams. The bloodlust he had felt at the time had settled down and he was left with the profound remorse over the things he had done that night. It wasn't like him to do something like that, while he could be passionate, he was at heart a man of sensibility now that he had matured and no matter how swayed and aggressive his emotions could make him at times; he was able to keep that stuff inside him and not lose his cool. What was worse was that a strange part of him was asphyxiated by the violence that he ensued; grotesque thoughts circled around his mind as he fought the gangsters, wanting them to suffer beyond belief and it was only through the need to continue fighting for his life that he was able to suppress these thoughts and stick to his prime objective, that being to have the hangout burn to the ground. Now that he was in Tokyo once again, this time for the tournament, he at least had something to occupy his focus. The tournament awaited him, Jin awaited him, Ogre awaited him and most importantly, his mother.
The city was definitely a lot busier from the last time he was here, no doubt because of the tournament. He walked through various marketplaces, sold off any of the remaining trinkets he had in his bag and carried on in search of the official administration building owned by the Mishima Zaibatsu. There was definitely a feeling of anticipation in the air as Himitsu got closer, and it wasn't just himself. People all around him only had one topic of discussion to pay any mind to; people rambled on about the tournament and the hypothesised fighters that would be participating. There was plenty of talk about the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu and the thoughts about whether he would be competing or not. Topics also ranged to other former fighters, multiple names being thrown around that the Lionheart had no interest in remembering, that was until the name 'Jun' picked at his ears. He glanced over to the direction of his mother's name and listened in to two males as he walked by.
"…and no one's seen her for like 20 years, she was a pretty good fighter from the old footage I saw recently."
"She lost to Heihachi Mishima didn't she?"
"Yeah, apart from everyone that she crushed in the earlier matches, Heihachi absolutely schooled her, she ended up in intensive care because of it. After that, she just disappeared."
"You don't think she…you know, died?"
"What, Jun? Nah, there would've been an official report about it or something. Besides, no one's ever died in these tournaments, the medical staff they have on hand are apparently the best in the northern hemisphere."
"Well, what about Heihachi's son, Kazuya?"
"What about him?"
"Well everyone's pretty well aware that he died after the tournament, have anything to say about that?"
"Never really looked into it. I'm sure that's all hush-hush though."
"Well, whatever it is, I'm almost certain that Heihachi had something to do with it, they had a huge rivalry after-all, and on top of that…"
The two men went out of earshot as Himitsu continued on walking, now coming upon the administration building for the Tekken Tournament. Like any building owned by the Zaibatsu, it was an elegant, modern design and stretched high into the air. The exterior was a sleek black and upon entering, Himitsu was greeted by a clean white with coloured designs throughout the interior, paintings and murals of expensive art decorations adorned every wall where space was available. Himitsu walked over to the building's registration desk and greeted the lady behind the counter.
"Good morning, I'd like to sign up for the tournament."
The lady looked by from her desktop at Himitsu, at first seemingly taken back by the size of him but quickly resuming her formalities.
"Do you have an official invitation to the tournament?" she asked him.
"I…do not." He cautiously answered, he never knew there were actual invitations in the first place.
"In that case you'll have to pass a medical and physical aptitude test to gain entry into the prelims starting tomorrow. You've cut it kinda late for entering, we're not really accepting anymore fighters at this point."
"Well, I can assure you that I'll be worth the time if you give me a chance."
"Very well, I'll start by inputting your details." The lady started to open up a file on her desktop and proceeded to type away. "For now, I'll just need some basic information off of you so we can have you in the system. You wouldn't happen to have any form of identification? Driver's license? Birth certificate?"
"Uhh… Not on me, no."
"That's…okay. Umm, alright then, what's your name?"
"Himitsu."
"Himitsu...?"
Himitsu eyed the woman suspiciously at first but then understood what she meant when repeating his name.
"Oh, um, I don't have a last name, that least one that I'm aware of. It's just Himitsu, honestly."
"Am I to assume that you don't know much about your childhood? No family to speak of?"
"I can't be the only person here with that sop story, right?"
"Very well." The lady started typing into her computer, "Date of birth?"
"I…really don't know that either. But as far as I'm aware, I'm 20 this year."
"I'll still need a day and a month if I'm going to be able to send you on through, I can't just have 1993."
"Okay, just…put down the 1st of January then. I don't mind."
The lady added the date and continued onwards, "Ok, you have brown eyes? Black hair predominantly. Are you born here?"
"Pretty sure I am, don't recall ever coming here on a plane in my youth."
"Ok, and finally, are you a specialist in any form of martial arts?"
"Yes, I've studied Isshin-ryu karate in Okinawa for several months now."
"Months?"
"Hey, I've already become a Dan in the time I was there, I'm good, trust me."
"Very well Mr. Himitsu." The lady finished writing up Himitsu's file on her computer and then printed out a sheet and scanned a bracelet with a barcode reader on it, "Take these with you, this band will send you alerts on where you are to report to. Once the internal files have been processed you'll receive information on where to go for your aptitude tests."
"Ok, thanks."
Himitsu walked away from the desk and took a seat nearby and attached the band to his right wrist. He sat and placed his hands under his chin and waited. The staff of the Zaibatsu moved around him like robots, heads buried in the tablets they held. The conversations brief with their colleagues and their interests in the world around them seemingly non-existent. It was definitely a new thing for the Lionheart to witness, he'd been so used to the primitive nature of the world around him that was still found in some places. He'd lived in poverty, seclusion and in strict standards for most of his life and the concept of technology was something that he barely understood. He didn't understand how it could replace the more traditional method of communication that he was accustomed to; talking through phones and cameras to people in another room to the other side of the world was as fascinating as it was morbid. The people around him didn't even look at each other's faces as they spoke, and there was Himitsu in the thick of it all, observing this unnatural form of human behaviour.
A beeping signal came from the band that Himitsu wore and on the small screen it had, was a floor number and directions. Himitsu stood up and proceeded to the mentioned elevator instructed in the message on the band. Once inside, he placed the band over a scanner and went up several levels to his destination. Once out of the elevator he walked over to a reception desk and talked to the staff member behind it.
"Hi, I'm here for the aptitude test?"
"Sure thing, I'll need to see your papers for identification."
Himitsu handed over the paper he still held, the receptionist had the details on the sheet scanned and then directed Himitsu over to a nearby room. Stepping inside, Himitsu was greeted to a large room that had the looks of a gym on one side and a lab on the other. Standing before him was a Tekken Force soldier, although this one was not wearing a helmet and had what appeared to be an officer's uniform on. The soldier huffed in his direction as Himitsu approached.
"Greetings." Stated the soldier, "My name is Sergeant Teeko and I'll be in charge of this test. Proceed to the gentlemen on my right for your medical analysis."
Not bothering to introduce himself, Himitsu walked over to the lab part of the large room and was instructed to strip to his underwear by the staff waiting there. Himitsu did as he was told and got onto a moving platform that he was told to wait upon. A clamp was put onto his finger and then the platform started to move like a conveyor belt and Himitsu was carried inwards; the room he was in got dark and green lasers traced all over his body. On a screen in front of him that was mirroring the same details that the scientists were getting; his height was displayed as 6'1", or 186cm, and his weight then followed as 89kg. What then followed was a visual blueprint of Himitsu's body-type which was labelled as Ectomorph and while Himitsu was looking at the screen, he felt a sharp pinch on the finger the clamp was on. Moments later the screen displayed his blood type as B- with an asterisk. A couple more bits of information was displayed on the screen before the room lit up again and the door on the other side of the room opened. Himitsu stepped out and was handed his clothes, with the Sergeant speaking up again.
"Well, you check out for now. Do you have any proper training clothes to perform the physical test in?"
"Got a change room?" Himitsu replied.
Himitsu remerged into the room wearing his training Gi. The Gi consisted of a short-sleeved white kimono shirt with the crest of the Isshin Ryu training dojo on the right side of the shirt, outlined in a sharp orange. The short-sleeves were cut to allow his powerful arms to pass through unrestricted and showed off his huge biceps. His pants were an equal white as the shirt but on the left leg was covered in a large graffiti style pattern with colours of pale orange, light blue, dull red, bright green and black. The colours ran obscurely in multiple lines all the way up and down the pant leg with no distinct form of symmetry. Himitsu finished off the look with his newly acquired black belt and tape wrapped around his hands and wrists and finally his iron Tetsuwa bracelets. The Sergeant in charge gulped at the sight of the Lionheart, he hadn't seen anyone in a while that gave off such an intimidating look, he gave off the look of a fighting legend and showed no sense of doubt in himself.
The Sergeant cleared his throat before beginning, "Alright, the first stage of the physical portion of the test will focus on your strength. Based on the reports from your medical, you're required to lift a weight that's above your own over your head. Take that 100kg barbell there and perform a military press."
Looking in the direction of the Sergeant's pointed finger, Himitsu eyed a large weight before him. Shrugging at the trivial challenge, Himitsu walked over to the barbell and positioned himself over it. Taking a deadlifting stance by bending his knees and placing both hands equal apart on the bar, Himitsu straightened him legs as he lifted the barbell up and under his chin. He groaned at the heavy weight and wobbled at the knees slightly but held his form. Taking a moment to compose himself, Himitsu then let out a roar as he lifted the barbell over his head and straightened his arms. He held his position for about 3 seconds before he dropped the weight back onto the sturdy floor before him, the barbell bouncing a few times after impacting with the ground. The Sergeant looked on with a bemused expression, not highly impressed.
"That looked like it was almost too much for you, our reports suggested that you'd be able to handle this fairly easily. Can't help but say I'm a little disappointed."
Himitsu sucked in a few breaths and then straightened up and responded, "Is it alright if I try again?"
"Ha! Why? You look like you wouldn't manage lifting a fly after that."
"Just you wait…"
Himitsu started to pull the bracelets off his hands and chucked them into a pile, each Tetsuwa making a loud sound as they hit the floor. Himitsu then faced the barbell once again and cracked his fingers in anticipation. He re-positioned himself in the same stance he had taken before and placed his hands equally apart on the bar. This time, without so much as a groan, Himitsu hoisted the barbell up and rested it under his chin, and just as soon as he had done so, Himitsu lifted the barbell up over his head and straightened his arms. He then started to do the last action again multiple times, lowering the barbell below his chin and then lifting it back up again, almost like he was mocking the Sergeant as he did so who looked on with astonishment. Once satisfied with his efforts, Himitsu gently placed the barbell as his feet and looked at the Sergeant with a smirk on his face.
"How was that?" he jested.
"D-it…it was good. Good. Alright, next test is your speed. Proceed to the uh, umm, t-there. Go over to the track."
Himitsu held back a chuckle as he approached the starting line of an indoor athletics track, it seemed to over for about 100 metres and it started in a curl and ended in a straight line.
"The premise of this test is simple; you are virtually competing with the other entrants who have placed in this test before you. As long as your time is within the appropriate bracket, you'll pass. If it isn't, well…"
The Sergeant went over to the other side of the track and pulled out a stopwatch. He then yelled from his end to Himitsu who was taking his starting position.
"When the buzzer sounds, you run! I don't think I'll need to tell you twice!"
"You won't!" replied Himitsu, legs placed in the starting blocks and his hands touching the floor before him.
After a moment's pause, the sound of a loud buzzer rang through the room and Himitsu shot off in a sprint. His legs moved at lightning pace as he bolted around the curve of the track and blitzed it down the straight. The Sergeant at the end of the track came closer and closer into reach as he stood at the finish line with his stopwatch in hand. In a matter of 12 seconds, Himitsu ran past him and crossed the finish, hearing the click of the stopwatch as he went by the Sergeant. The upcoming wall at the end of the track came quickly into view as Himitsu decelerated and ended with his hands planted on the wall to fully stop himself. He looked back to the Sergeant who simply nodded in his general direction and then beckoned Himitsu to follow him over to a large training mat in the middle of the room.
"Well done," he began, "You just made the cut there, now for the final part, your endurance. We'll start it off simple; you're to do 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups and then 50 calf raises off that step over there. You are not to take any breaks and after that must immediately proceed to the centre of this mat."
"What am I doing on the mat?" Himitsu asked.
"You'll find out shortly, now, begin!"
Himitsu did as instructed and dropped to the floor to begin his push-ups. In no time at all he reached 50 and turned over to his back and started with his sit-ups, everytime he came up he saw the Sergeant staring at him with a grouchy look on his face. Although it took longer and his abs started to hurt, Himitsu reached the 50 sit-ups as well. He got up with a slight wobble and went over to the step to perform his calf raises. While it didn't take as long as the sit-ups, the Lionheart's calves started to burn with fatigue and he winced silently at the pain. Still, he soldiered on and before long reached 50 once more. He got off the step and slowly walked back into the centre of the training mat, the space around him definitely looked like the mat was used for sparring and Himitsu's premonitions before what he'd be doing now were shortly answered.
"Now, I'm sure in your karate style that you're familiar with Kumite? Try to perform a single takedown on me, if you cannot and I instead am able to take you down, you must perform the previous exercise once again. You get only three attempts."
A bamboozled expression appeared on Himitsu's face upon hearing this, "Well that seems rather unfair."
"Those are the rules of entry." Answered the Sergeant, "This is a test of your endurance after all, and by exercises I mean the 50 push-ups and so forth, in case you were confused. Now, enough stalling, you are to try and perform a takedown in any way you can. Come at me!"
The Sergeant raised his hands and got into his fighting stance as Himitsu did the same. This seemed less a test of endurance for him but more like a handicap. Still, it wasn't like he'd have a choice, and perhaps he'd enjoy tossing this soldier around for a bit.
"Take you down in any way I can, that's what you said right?" he asked.
"Exactly." Came the Sergeant's reply.
Without a second to waste, the Sergeant closed in on Himitsu and attempted to grapple him by the shoulders. Himitsu responded by pushing the Sergeant off and creating some space. The two then circled each other for a brief moment, eyeing out any sign of weakness that could be seen. Himitsu's entire body was feeling the effects of the three 50 rep exercises he had done before, his calves still hurt and his chest felt slightly fatigued now. Both then dashed into one another as Himitsu made a grab for the Sergeant's arm, but was pushed off just as easily as he had done before. The Sergeant then made a grab for Himitsu's head and got him into a headlock and tried to bring him to the ground. Luckily Himitsu was able to stability his centre of gravity and keep himself upright. Grabbing at the arm that was around his head, Himitsu started to straighten back up and uncurl the arm around his neck. As he did so, he saw an opening and went for it. A swift left knee to the Sergeant's stomach caused the man to clutch at his gut in pain.
"AHH! You're not meant to-"
With him distracted from the pain, Himitsu pulled at the arm of the Sergeant and flipped him over his shoulder and onto the mat. He stood over the Sergeant with hand on hips and a cheeky grin on his face.
"Takedown, I win."
Still holding his stomach, the Sergeant rose to his feet and blasted a tirade at the Lionheart.
"This was strictly a single takedown contest! That means takedown, and nothing else! By striking me you've disqualified yourself!"
"But you sad in any way I-"
"Did I say you could strike?"
"You didn't say I couldn't."
The two men looked at one another with a nerve-racking look on both their faces. The Sergeant didn't like the brazen attitude of the Lionheart and Himitsu just didn't like the guy.
"You are disqualified." The Sergeant sneered.
"Hang on." Himitsu interjected, "How about I let you get a punch in yourself, wherever you want. I won't flinch or anything, that way we can restart and be even. I'll even do the exercises again to make you happy. It's a fair deal wouldn't you say?"
The Sergeant stroked the stubble on his chin, looking taken to the proposition, "Why should I?"
"Because, I'm certain that you want to, and also I'm sure your superiors would be upset that such a talent as myself would be wasted from not being in the tournament."
"Ha! You're not in the tournament yet sonny, that's up to me to decide."
"Well then, I don't know what your problem is."
The Sergeant cracked his knuckles as he accepted the proposal, "Fine! But it goes in your face!" he shouted as he turned side on and brought his right fist back.
Himitsu obliged and lowered his head so that the Sergeant had full view of it. A cool, emotionless smirk came onto his face as he watched the man before him wind back his fist and take aim. Once ready, the Sergeant launched his fist forward and flew it right into Himitsu's face, until it was caught. In an unseeable motion, Himitsu's right hand had come up out of nowhere and took the Sergeant's fist in his palm. The Sergeant gasped at the sight on his closed hand easily held at bay by Himitsu and tried to pull it back.
"What-…w-w-what the fuck are you doing?"
With his emotionless smirk turning sinister, Himitsu pulled the Sergeant violently towards him and delivered another brutal knee strike straight at his gut. The Sergeant buckled onto his knees as all the air in his lungs rushed out of his body but quickly felt himself being lifted up by Himitsu, still holding onto the Sergeant's fist. Himitsu executed his Broken Wheel throw and planted the man face first into the mat and twisted his arm just before the point of dislocation. The Sergeant yelled in pain and tried to get free, but Himitsu simply torqued his arm and made the man hold his position on the ground beneath him.
"Now, you listen well." Began Himitsu," I might not know you, but I've ran into a couple soldiers such as yourself a while ago and my experiences with them haven't been all too great. Trust me, if there was any way for me to know if you were present when I was Tasered or when I was being made fun of while I was shoved out of a Mishima building, I'd break your arm here and now. Actually, I might break it anyway for the fun of it, unless, you end this bullshit and simply pass me from this test. Whattaya say?"
The Sergeant could only groan in his humiliating position, the scientists in the lab part of the room looked on absolutely speechless. They were unsure of where Sergeant Teeko was going with this part of the test but seeing him on the floor made them feel nothing but pity for the soldier being made a mockery of. The Sergeant's refrainment from answering the Lionheart implored Himitsu to press him further.
"I'd better hear a yes soon, or I'll just have to take your non-compliance as a no, sonny."
"Hmpf!" came a low, gruff sound from the room's entrance.
Himitsu looked up and was greeted by the unpleasant sight of the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu, Heihachi, standing tall and proud. As Mr. Mishima strode over towards him, Himitsu reluctantly let go of the Sergeant and straightened up as Heihachi stopped right in front of him and starred up at him with the utmost confidence. The two hulking men didn't utter a word as they continued to glare at one another, while the Sergeant slowly made his way to his feet and started to march towards Himitsu in a rage.
"FUCKING BASTARD-!...ahh…M-m-mr. Mishima?"
Heihachi had turned towards Sergeant Teeko as he closed in and seized him by the throat and hoisted him into the air. Electricity surged through Mr. Mishima was he held the Sergeant off the ground and looked into the soldier's terrified eyes.
"What an embarrassment! Fool!"
Like he was holding a tennis ball, Heihachi threw the Sergeant across the room with terrible velocity. Sergeant Teeko sailed through the air, screaming, til he collided with the wall behind him. Both Heihachi and Himitsu watched the man fly through the end and upon the impact, looked back at one another.
"As for you," said Mr. Mishima, "I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't impressed. Who's your teacher?"
"None of your business." Replied Himitsu flatly, his eyes not wavering to look away from Heihachi's.
"Fine, be that way. I guess you pass the test then. I still had to see it for myself, however. When your name popped up, I felt obliged to see what you showed up as after these months. After the money I spent on you while you were a potato I expected a little return of investment, and needless to say, you didn't disappoint."
"You're not going to grovel at MY feet now are ya? Don't play me for a fool, I see perfectly through your bullshit."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, for someone who didn't go to school, you're quite sharp! Good, good, well; I guess all that needs to be said is, welcome to the King of Iron Fist Tournament."
"That's wonderful, I'm looking forward to the day I put you in intensive care then."
"Hate to crush you dreams potato, but I'm not participating in this tournament. I've got the boy to compete for me anyway, so don't get over yourself. You'll need all the luck you can get…"
Heihachi turned and walked away, but Himitsu wasn't done slinging a verbal assault at Mr. Mishima.
"Not surprised, always knew you were gonna treat Jin like a pawn while you cower in the background, like a bitch!"
Heihachi stopped in his tracks and lowered his head slightly at the snide comment. Tinges of electricity started to flash around his body as he tensed up. Himitsu watched the man before him and steadied himself for any form of retaliation, be it verbal or physical. The electricity suddenly vanished as Heihachi turned his head a little so that a smirk could be seen on his face.
"Hmpf! I would have thought that Shimabuku taught you to never underestimate your opponent."
Himitsu's mouth gaped at the mention of his karate teacher, but Heihachi wasn't done there.
"Not only that, but your time with that old Sensei should have also taught you a little bit of respect for those much more wiser than yourself."
"Ah-ah…y-you…you've been-"
"Spying on you? I'd rather coin it as, keeping tabs on my investments." Heihachi turned fully to face an irritably distraught Himitsu whose face was a crimson red with rage, "Very move you've made since you left Tokyo has been well documented, and I have to say, that little renovation you pulled in Kagoshima was a sight to behold. I would've let you into the tournament just on that account HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Himitsu could even utter a word at this point, he felt so many ranges of emotions at this point but thankfully had the composure to not express them. Nonetheless, he felt so undeniably played at.
"Now understand this," Heihachi continued, "you are no threat to me in any way, shape or form. No one is even second to me as your very existence, ESPECIALLY yours, is to but further amuse me. Don't think for a moment that you're game to me, because you've already lost before the game's even begun. Learn your place, and remember what you are; a potato."
With a deep chuckle, Heihachi turned once more and left the room, leaving Himitsu on the spot and balling his fists in furious anger. It felt like all the months he'd spent preparing for this moment had amounted to nothing, being watched over like a lab rat and ridiculed. Heihachi, for a moment, had just about crushed whatever sense of pride and determination he had in himself, his tenacity for being the best and winning above anything else made him undeniably ruthless in his efforts. Himitsu could only sigh and grimace at his inner humiliation. What was he really doing? Did he even have a chance against such a juggernaut of power and wealth? For now, he would have to bide his time and let this so-called game be played out in Heihachi's favour, he'd have to play along.
Picking up his Tetsuwa bracelets, Himitsu was escorted out of the room by one of the scientists who at the reception desk, finished processing his entry registration and gave him instruction on where he would be staying for the week of the preliminaries and how the early matches would play out. Himitsu could compete in between 4 or 5 different specified areas around Tokyo where the winner could continue on until they secured a place in the final 16. The finalists would then compete at the new stadium built for the Tournament. All Himitsu had to do was keep on winning, a task easier said than done.
As Himitsu was leaving the administration building, he caught sight of a young woman storming up to a black limousine with the Zaibatsu insignia. Several Tekken Force soldiers blocked her path and held her back while the limo drove away.
"HEY! Get your hands off me!" the woman yelled, shoving the soldiers holding her back away from her.
"Listen girlie, Mr. Mishima does not take kindly to interruptions in his day. We just did you a service by keeping you away from him." One of the soldiers responded.
"You listen to me! That man has my mother and I know it, I need to talk to him this instant! As a fighter in the tournament, I have a right!"
"Doesn't matter miss. Either way, you're better off waiting for the tournament anyway, get to your hotel."
"Bullshit! Take me to Heihachi now!"
"Is there a problem here?" interrupted Himitsu, making his presence known.
The soldier turned to face the Lionheart, as well as the woman. She was quite a looker and stood at around 5'4 and wore what resembled a Native American outfit. She had a brown, leather, three-quarter length bra with a green shirt underneath, a denim mini-skirt, brown cowboy boots and white socks stretching over her knees. On her head she wore a Native American head dress with feathers, around her neck a beaded necklace and also wore brown, fingerless gloves. What parts of her skin that were exposed had a slight tan to it and shined in the sunlight. Her two ponytails bobbed as she answered Himitsu.
"There definitely IS a problem, I need to see Heihachi this instant and all you men are getting in my way! And that includes you!"
She pointed a finger at Himitsu who threw his hand up in innocence.
"Woah, hang on! I'm not a fan of the old man either, so no need to have a go at me."
Seeing that she was in the wrong, the woman put her arm down and sighed tragically. The soldiers started to walk back to the administration building, leaving Himitsu with the other Tekken fighter. Undoing the hairband he still had on, holding his hair in a spiked ponytail; his black strands sprang out and drooped into their preferred places like a mane. The woman stood in a slanted posture with one of her hands on her hip and other by her side.
"Look, I'm sorry I came off as rude. I'm genuinely not like that, but it's just that I was so close to talking to that bastard, and they all messed it up for me." Said the woman apologetically.
"No sweat." Replied Himitsu, flicking his white strands out of his face, "But they were right in a way, the old man won't ever talk to you unless he wants to. I would know after having to see his bald head before."
"Before? Y-you talked to him?"
"Yeah, but don't get all upset. The guy kinda saved my life, not that I'm grateful or-… why am I even telling you this?"
The two stared at each other, both very confused with one confused with himself and the other confused with the other just as much. Himitsu decided to change the subject entirely.
"Fuck, whatever. You got a name?" he asked, scratching his head.
The woman raised an eyebrow at the query and folded her arms across her chest in defence, still she felt it was okay to answer, the man in front of her was merely trying to be civil.
"Julia."
"Julia… Um, my name's Himitsu, JUST Himitsu."
A light chuckle escaped Julia, "Okay 'Just' Himitsu."
The two cracked an awkward smile at one another, not sure how to continue. Julia's eyes trailed down Himitsu from his head to his body. He towered over her and looked immensely toned. His olive shirt was ripped in a few distinct areas as well as his jeans, but he didn't seem bothered by it to her. In his left arm, he held to neck of a guitar that played at Julia's intrigue.
"Is that a guitar?" she asked.
Himitsu raised the guitar to his face like he had just discovered he was holding it in the first place, "Yeah, yeah it is."
"I'm surprised to see one here, else one held by a supposed fighter in this tournament."
"Really? Why's that?"
"Well, unless you've got something important to do with your life, being someone in a fighting tournament to hold and play a musical instrument is a rare sight for sure. You're not gonna see anyone here pulling around a piano, that's for sure. You play it right?"
"Yeah, well, I used to…a while ago. I used to play for…f-for my mother, when she was around."
"Oh… What happened to her?"
"She…disappeared about 4 years ago…" a sigh came from the Lionheart as he said this.
"I'm sorry. It's the same with my mother too, she went missing several months ago. But I know she's still alive though, and better yet, she's here. And I'm gonna find her."
"Same, my mother's still out there as well. I know that this tournament's gonna bring me closer to her, I can feel it."
Himitsu looked away briefly, he'd never really conversed this subject to anyone before. Only Sensei Nikibo had such knowledge about Himitsu's past and he only knew because Himitsu let him look into his memories. It seemed only right now that Himitsu wanted to get this off his chest, to this girl. For some strange reason, Himitsu could feel a slight connection to her, but whatever it was that caused it, he couldn't put his finger on. Her whole presence seemed reassuring to him and it brought a more prominent smile to his face, a smile he had never knew shown for a long time.
"Hey, I think it's better we head to our hotels. Which one are you at?"
"Mine's in the Shibuya district." Julia replied.
"Rats, I'm up at Kita. Ain't that a shame."
"I guess it is."
"Yeah…"
"…"
"…"
"So…I guess…"
"We'll see each other around?"
"Yeah."
Himitsu held his hand out to Julia, which she took and the two shook hands.
"Good luck in finding your mother." Himitsu said to her.
"Thanks, and the same to you with your mother." Julia responded back.
With a nod to one another, the two fighters let go and made their way to their hotels, not knowing if they'd ever cross paths again. Julia was intrigued by the soft nature of Himitsu, he had such a hint of mystery about him, like he was someone off the grid that didn't seem to lose his cool. Himitsu simply couldn't get Julia out of his head as he walked away, she was so exotic to him and her fearless attitude towards the Tekken Force that held her back a while ago was something that he admired. What he liked the most about Julia though, was that at no point in their conversation did she ask about his scar, let alone look like she noticed it. The other person would be a subject of thought for the other as they made their away to their respective hotels.
…
Heihachi lounged in the back of his limousine as he sipped on a cold glass of scotch. At his feet was a prostitute he had picked up on the way towards the Mishima Financial Building in Tokyo, traffic was a little slow and it gave just enough time for the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu to get a quickie in before he arrived. As enticing as watching the work the woman was putting on his erect penis was, Heihachi's thoughts were actually turned to the verbal beat-down he had given to Himitsu. From the moment Himitsu had left Tokyo, Mr. Mishima had been getting a constant update on his where-a-bouts from his network of field agents. From every Buddhist temple he visited, to him leaving the 20 Buster hangout in flames, Heihachi had watched ever move he made. And after his recent conversation with a woman by the name of Michelle, Heihachi was going to make sure that Himitsu couldn't pick his nose without Heihachi being notified of his intention to do so. The way he had dismantled the young man made his member incredibly stiff at the satisfaction and along with the prostitute, he could feel himself about to climax. He put a hand down to the woman's head and forced her around his penis as he ejaculated into her mouth.
"You'd better not stain my pants." He warned her as he let go and threw her a box of tissues.
Arriving at the Financial Building, the prostitute was paid for her services and let on her way as Heihachi entered the building feeling quite refreshed. He wasted no time in making his way to the elevator and went up to the top executive floor, where his personal office was. He knew his guest would already be waiting for him and sure enough, there was Lei Wulong waiting in the floor's foyer.
"Detective." Said Heihachi, extending his hand.
"Mr. Mishima." Replied Lei, who reached for the hand and shook it.
"Let's talk in my office." Offered Heihachi as he opened the door.
The two men walked into the lavish office as two Tekken Force soldiers flanked them from behind and took their place on either side of the inside of the door. The office was incredibly spacious and had a wall-to-wall window behind the large desk which overlooked Tokyo. Heihachi went behind the desk and took his seat as Lei took a seat near the desk himself.
"First off Mr. Mishima," began Lei, "I'd like to thank you for the personal invitation to the tournament you have bestowed upon me. You're doing a great service for me with your generosity and I'm sure that there are only a few people on this planet to get such treatment."
"Hmpf!" came the gruff reply from Heihachi.
"I'm not going to take up too much of your time in this matter as I'm sure you have a lot to do for the tournament. You're right to say that it wouldn't take long for me to realise why you were inviting me here to apprehend this…cyborg. Putting your vague information together, it's obvious to me that you were talking about an old partner of mine by the name of Bryan Fury. Is my assumption correct?"
Heihachi nodded his head in agreement, feigning from giving a verbal response for the time being, Lei continued.
"The thing is; Bryan died in a shootout in Hong Kong well over a year ago, so the mere talk that he's alive is rather preposterous to me and I feel you're trying to send me on a wild goose chase."
"This is no fool's errand," affirmed Heihachi, "The cyborg is your dead partner. A scientist that we recently hired due to his expertise in DNA and cybernetics reanimated the corpse as to settle a vendetta against a rival of his. Need further proof? Here."
Heihachi pulled out a dossier from one of the drawers of his desk and plopped it onto the table for Lei to look at. The detective skimmed through the papers with alarm in his eyes. There were several pictures of a large man on an operating table, his body pulled open and machinery seen inside. Other pictures showed even his skull being opened and several organic components being replaced by artificial pieces. The man's face was easily recognisable to Lei as he looked on in disbelief. The last photo showed the man fully patched up and standing on his own two feet, his eyes were open and even for a photograph, he looked very much alive. Whatever doubt he had in this assignment were laid to rest at the sight of the documents.
"My god… But why Bryan?" he asked, his face pale from the pictures below him.
"The scientist in charge of this, Doctor Abel, believed your deceased partner to be the perfect specimen. He was a former US soldier, a proficient fighter, a terrifying man to be blunt. I'm sure you're well versed in his discretion to his duties."
Lei lowered his head in acknowledgement; Bryan had a cruel approach to his job as a detective for the International Interpol. Despite his sometimes barbaric methods, he got the job done just as well as Lei did himself. It was the reason why they were assigned to be partners, Lei's diligence to his job and Bryan's harsh manner went together surprisingly well. They were the epitome of the 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' of the police force and they were unstoppable.
"How do you suppose he'll infiltrate the tournament? And what's his target for that matter?"
Heihachi stroked his moustache as he answered, "The cyborg's prime objective is to collect data through physical confrontations. This purpose when put in other terms is to hunt down sources of information, namely humans. His target is a former employee of the Zaibatsu from 20 years ago by the name of Doctor Bosconovitch, Doctor Abel's rival if you're keeping up. His location is unknown but a certain Manji clan ninja would most definitely have that information and it just so happens that he's competing in the tournament himself."
Lei gasped at the realisation of who Heihachi was referring to, "Yoshimitsu?"
All of the sudden, the door to Heihachi's office burst open and a women strutted through. The Tekken Force soldiers at the door turned to face her and blocked her path, their firearms aimed directly at the woman. At the sight of the weapons, she looked almost terrified, placing her hand over her head in a mocking expression of shock as Heihachi and Lei watched on.
"Oh my! I don't want to cause any trouble, boys. I just need to see your boss is all. Wouldn't you strapping fellas be so kind as to let a pretty woman through? Pretty please?" the last sentence of the woman had a stroke of seduction to it.
The soldiers looked at each other for a brief moment, not sure what to do in this situation. They looked behind them at their boss who gave them a stale look of anger at their foolishness. Seeing it as a sign to have the woman leave, they turned back to her direction to find her not there anymore. A high-heel to the face of one of the soldiers re-affirmed her position as she attacked. The soldier was knocked right into the other and before the two could respond. The woman delivered a spinning cross chop that floored the two men in pain. The woman stepped on the two men with her high heel and ground them into the marble beneath them. She lifted her head towards the desk where the remaining two men were, Heihachi had stayed in his seat the whole time while Lei had risen from his chair and clenched his fists, ready for a fight. What the woman did next was peculiar to say the least. She winked at the two men a blew a kiss in their direction, laughing as little as well.
"Hope I didn't scare you gentlemen, but they were just ASKING for it, weren't they?" she said with a chuckle.
"Who are you?" demanded Lei, holding his position but remaining on-guard.
"Why officer, I'm surprised you don't recognise a pretty face when you see it. I certainly remember yours, hmm, yes I do."
Lei blinked repeatedly at the comment; part of him felt like he had seen his lady before but he couldn't for the life of him remember. Heihachi however was already a step ahead of the detective and broke the ice.
"Hmpf! When'd you get out of your popsicle Anna?"
Anna smiled at Mr. Mishima as he spoke her name. She took this as her cue to advance towards them. She graceful walked up to the detective and flashed a smile at him, which somehow put Lei right back in his seat like a shotgun had hit him. She took the next available seat by the desk and crossed one of her feet over the other as she sat. Anna wore a high backed, red satin dress that had an oriental design of an exotic bird on the skirt portion of the dress. The dress itself was slitted and allowed her left leg to be almost fully seen so it was no wonder she could land that original kick to the head of the soldier in the first place. She wore matching red high heel stilettos with brown-lace tights which covered both legs perfectly. She finished her elegant look with red satin opera gloves which reached past her elbows and a red ribbon choker around her neck with an emerald broach.
"Nice to see your memory still serves you well after all these years, Heihachi. I got out only a few days ago ad it didn't take me long to get situated in the 'now' as it were. I thought we'd all be flying around in cars but. Poop."
Anna pouted at Mr. Mishima, who could taste the sarcasm from the brunette. Meanwhile, Lei was rubbing his eyes in pure disorientation.
"Hang on a minute, you're Anna Williams?!" he blurted out.
"The one and only, hon." She replied, perking her lips at Lei.
"But, you…y-you don't look a day old! What the hell gives!?"
Anna lightly chuckled at the bumbling detective to her right, holding her hand to her mouth to cover her smile.
"I always knew I was blessed with the looks of Aphrodite, hahahaha! No seriously, if you want the real story, you're better off asking him." She pointed at Heihachi, "or actually, it would be better to ask his son. Oh, wait, we can't do that, now can we? What a loss, oh well."
"What is she talking about?" Lei asked Mr. Mishima.
"Hmpf, I guess there's no harm in letting you know. Anna was put in cryogenic sleep just before the conclusion of the 2nd tournament. She volunteered after her sister was put in the same predicament. How about you take a wild guess as to which former employee was in charge of this procedure."
"Doctor Bosc… Jesus…"
Lei buried his head in his hands, his brain was hurting too much for one day. Former partners turned zombie, frozen women; it was giving him a headache. Anna laughed at the detective once more, not covering her mouth this time. Heihachi turned his attention back to her.
"I'm surprised to see you here; being a part of Kazuya's security I thought you'd bare some sort of resentment towards me."
"I was EMPLOYED as Kazuya's security." Corrected Anna, "I don't work for free, just so you know. You could say that at this point, I'm like a free agent if you will."
"Then what are you doing in my office?! Let's not forget the fact you are weren't invited here, let alone how you got through my entire security!"
"Men are so easily persuaded Mr. Mishima, it's one of my many talents."
"Yeah, I'm sure it is. Shouldn't you be off somewhere else, fighting with your sister or something?"
"Well, that's what I'm here to talk about actually. I'm not sure whether or not you're aware, but my sister and I were meant to stay in cryogenic sleep for 20 years. Obviously, if I'm here right now, that means that we didn't stay under for, you know, the full duration. While I came out of the sleep all fine and dandy, my sister had amnesia. She couldn't remember who she was, who I was, or what she was doing there in the first place. Then for some reason, she went all GI Joe and said, get this; I must kill Jin Kazama. So I was like, who? And then she threw me into the pool and vanished. Now-"
"Hang on," Heihachi interrupted, "none of that makes sense. How would she know who the boy is…"
Heihachi trailed off mid-sentence and stared blankly forward, Anna looked at him with an annoyed expression from being cut off while Lei looked up to see the man also. Heihachi seemed out of contact for a moment with his eyes unfocused and his mouth slightly open, a rare sight to witness from the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu. Quickly he snapped back into reality and looked back at the brunette.
"So you're saying she's possessed I gather?" he asked, like nothing had happened prior.
"I don't know; all I did was come here after finding out who this Jin guy is. Seeing as he's your grandson I thought I'd at least warn you. Better yet, I hoped to find her as well."
The head of the Zaibatsu leaned back in his chair and mulled over this. It was rather coincidental to have both Ms. Williams and the detective in front of him at this very moment. Both had similar cases, and their targets were most likely to infiltrate the tournament to get their targets of their own. This could definitely work to his advantage
"Well, it seemed you two have a lot in common then. Detective, you already know your assignment so I won't have to give you too much of an overview on your objective here. As for you, Assassin, I'll keep this brief. You're to find your sister and stop her from carrying out her attempt on my grandson. I'll have you entered into the tournament and like Mr. Lei, you won't need to go through the preliminaries. You two of you are to work together on this, so your targets are one and the same, got it?""
"I don't need to enter some stupid tournament!" Anna yelled, "What point do I have to join?"
"And hold on a moment Mr. Mishima," chimed in Lei, "Why do you care about what happens to Yoshimitsu? From what I can recall, didn't he steal the prize money from the first tournament?"
"Silence!" roared Mr. Mishima, the two before him holding their tongues at the order, "You are going to enter because not only will you then have the perfect way of looking after the boy, but you'll generate massive views on your return. This business needs money to continue after-all. And as for the ninja, while he did steal the prize money from the first tournament, my son was head of the company at the conclusion so it didn't do me any personal harm. In a way, it helped me retake my position. Also, the doctor is an important asset and I'd rather have the information of his where-a-bouts obtained myself. He's much too valuable to me alive than dead. Now, do I have to repeat myself to the both of you?"
Both Anna and Lei shook their heads, Heihachi pulled a snide grin at the obedience he had over them.
"Good, now get out."
The two fighters stood up and made their way out of the office, not speaking a word to each other as they left. With the door shut, Heihachi crossed his hand and rest them under his nose. He turned his chair around and faced the large window behind, looking over the vast city before him and mulled over the recent day of information to himself.
So, he knows of the boy's strength then. This will complicate things if they're unable to meet in the tournament. And I know that the potato fits into this somehow, he's definitely a part of his plan, that scar shows it. For now, I'll have to wait for him to make a move. He'll come, I know it, and when he does…
Heihachi got up off his chair and took a step towards the window before him. A cruel smile came across his face as he clenched his fist in front of his face.
"I will take your power, and make it my own."