Author's Note: Last chapter, guys D:!
Epilogue: Time's Scar
BRAVE NEW WORLD
It has been six months since the beastly reign of Jin Kazama came to an end. Six months since the war was over, since he gave the Mishima Financial Empire to his uncle, Lars Alexandersson. It is through his wonderful leadership and guidance that the world is being restored to its former glory. We as the world draw on his strength to hold on through the rebuilding process and the hardships. Only today, Mishima Polytechnic High School was reopened, with thousands of students flocking through the gates. A week earlier, the Kyoto International School reopened also.
There have been no answers from Jin Kazama on why he turned from a fair and just ruler into what he became – it was as though he was two entirely different people. In a strange move, Lars disbanded the trials and charges that were put against him, and instead demanded that he do a full three years worth of community service. In an even stranger move, Jin accepted and is quoted as saying, "I will gladly help undo the evil I have done. I cannot bring back lives, but I can do what I can."
On the opposite side, Kazuya Mishima has recruited his foster brother, Lee Chaolan, to assist with the war relief and rebuilding program. The pair seem to have repatched their kinship – Lee has designed robots to move heavy debris and get the buildings up faster .Kazuya has funded this, and in a surprising statement, said the following:
"I feel as though I have been reborn… and I know my son feels the same. We have broken free from our torments and can see clearly for the first time.
"The MFE and G-Corporation from here on in will work tirelessly to restore the world to its former glory. A generation of Mishima men will guide you back to the lives you deserve – do not fear us, for we are only trying to help. I know in his own way, Jin Kazama is trying to help too. You cannot wholly hate a man who is at least trying, as difficult as it may be.
"And once we are standing tall again – as Japan, as America, as China, as France, or as any other –"
"Baaaaaek!"
With his focus now shattered, the man folded up his newspaper and looked to Seong-Hada with a warm smile, "Yes?"
He nervously tugged down his shirt and asked, "DoIlookokay?Imean–" he gestured to himself and bit his lip, "Job interview…at a new restaurant. They serve Korean food here!"
"You look fine," he replied with a nod encouragement, "Just make sure you put on your brightest face and your most happy-go-lucky smile, and I'm sure you will get it."
"O-okay."
He returned to the newspaper once he heard the front door close. Students would be here soon.
It had been a gruelling thirty minutes, but he'd done it. Seong-Hada got the job, he started tomorrow, and they couldn't wait to start working with him. They called him nice things like 'charming' and 'infectious', and he couldn't help but grin through it all. A restart of his new start.
He was leaving the building when he saw Xiaoyu walking back from her university, an ice cream in hand. She seemed distracted and lost in her thoughts – she didn't even notice him until he stood in her direct path. When she saw him, her face instantly brightened, "Hey, SH!"
Seized by the high from getting the chef job, the 20-year-old inexplicably grabbed her by the back of her head and pulled her into a hurried kiss. When he let go, he spoke in his usual, quirky way, "Now you're my girlfriend. That's two great things that have happened today!"
Blushing and flabbergasted, she didn't have the heart to tell him that that wasn't how people asked someone else out. He was Seong-Hada, dammit – he always had his own, weird way of doing things. If that's what he wanted her to be, then Xiaoyu would gladly accept the 'fact' with red cheeks and a wide smile, "Sure, I'm your girlfriend."
Still a bit skittish, he took her hand and walked her the rest of the way home.
As they walked, Julia rushed past them, heading towards the airport. She gave them a quick wave as she moved, but she still remained focused on getting to the waiting area before a particular person returned to her homeland. She needed to speak to her again for some answers.
It did not take her long to locate Zafina. She smiled a little and watched as she swung her bag over her shoulder, "Where are you going to go?" she paused, "After all of that, where will you go? What will you do now without Azazel?"
"Go home," she answered, "and resume guarding whatever else I am assigned to."
Nodding a little, she spoke again, "I am going to stay here for a little while longer and keep checking out the chamber for anything else. I'll let you know if I find something new or interesting."
She growled lowly, not looking over her shoulder, "I don't want anything more to do with that monstrosity! What is done is done, I cannot change it – I still failed. The pain he has caused will never leave – so it is best to spare myself any further pain and leave. I just cannot deal with this anymore."
She was… surprised. All of those years guarding a place she couldn't even enter, and she wanted nothing more to do with it? Wasn't she curious as to where all of the tunnels had gone? Wasn't she curious as to the beast's nature, and if there were any others like it? Was the feeling of failure that strong? "So be it."
Without saying goodbye, the Middle Eastern woman boarded the plane.
She took several steps backwards before turning away, adjusting her glasses and exhaling sharply.
As she travelled out of the airport, she spotted Jin. He was in a button-up white shirt and black pants, and he had a broom with him. There were two children nearby – one who jeered at him and then was berated and dragged away by his Mother. The other stayed behind for a few moments and smiled at him, before following her family away.
Slowly, he turned away with a smile of his own. Nobody outside of his circle of friends and family understood why he was so happy six months on. And he was okay with that. Yes, he owed them answers, but they wouldn't understand anyway. Maybe one day, he could tell them and let the demons and ghosts of the past rest; until then, he was happy to revel in the silence. The oncoming storm came and went – and now it was over.
"My team back home has been researching genes," someone suddenly stated.
Jin looked up from his work and saw Julia standing beside him. He stood up a little taller and switched the broom into his other hand so it did not bump her, "Really?"
"Yes," she replied, smiling thereafter, "Mainly Genocell… Do you remember?"
She looked away, closing her green eyes, "Genocell is a failed hope."
When he nodded, she continued, "It was still being constructed back then. Your team continued it under your rule, and Lars gave us the data to try and work it out," she curled her hair at the end of her fingers, "It was not a cure like I first thought, and it did not offer control like you'd hoped, Jin. It was like a virus to activate or give the Devil Gene to everyone, namely Heihachi back in the Third Tournament… and who knows? Maybe then the world."
Jin stared in disbelief for a few moments before inquiring, "What are you going to do with it? Devil's earthly existence is gone, it shouldn't activate or be of any use anymore."
She pushed her glasses higher up the bridge of her nose, "Correct, but it still has one use – an explanation," she placed a hand gingerly on his shoulder, "In a few months, I can do what you cannot – clear your name and bring you back into a partially accepting society."
He clenched the broom tighter with one hand, and with the other, he placed it over hers appreciatively, "Thank you so much, Julia."
She smiled and took her hand away, grabbing a plastic bag that loosely hung from his side pocket, "Let's clean this place up together."
Neither saw two friends walk by behind them, checking over the public. Detectives Wulong and Burton continued to munch on noodles that they had recently purchased. They remained had remained in Japan to conduct further police investigations into the MFE and G-Corporation's actions over the past year. They were currently unneeded in Hong Kong and Korea, and instead had been assigned here.
"It's been a hell of a journey, hmm?" Lei remarked, watching out for crooks and thoroughly enjoying his noodles, "I think I'm getting too old for this!"
Burton hummed in agreement, licking his lips to savour more of the flavouring, "Indeed. There's still much to be done though, and many more years to go through before life is as it was for everyone. It's up to people like us to keep the balance on a small scale, so let's do our best."
"Have you heard from Steve or Christie since they went back to England?" Burton shook his head, causing Lei to frown, "A pity. It'd be nice to hear from them a little more often."
Suddenly, Lei was bowled over. Crying out in shock and mourning the loss of his delicious noodles, he stood to his feet and turned, hearing Miharu shout out an apology and then declare that she was extremely late and had such little time.
Burton continued to eat, annoyingly slurping his noodles to tease his friend, "I wonder where she's off to in a hurry."
She knocked on the door, passing the small box between her hands anxiously. Soon enough, a familiar face popped out from the crack, making Miharu jump due to its suddenness before settling.
And then, she spoke, "You look like shit, Hwo."
"I feel like shit," he replied, opening the door a little wider. He rubbed his face and leant against the frame, "Please tell me you brought 'em."
She stuck her arm out and grinned, waving the box from side to side before handing it over, "You're lucky I work at a chemist. Take two milligrams immediately before bedtime. Don't take it with or after food. You could get dizziness and common cold symptoms as side effects. Try it for about a week or two," hurriedly checking her purple watch, she exhaled and ran her fingers through her hair, "I gotta get back to work now, my lunch break's almost over. You're also lucky that I don't charge you for this!"
"Yeah, yeah. I know," he smiled a little, the box now in his hands, "Get out of here and go back to work."
After bidding each other goodbye, Hwoarang closed the door and rested his back against it, slouching forward with his index finger and thumb pressing against his temples. In the six months that had passed, he had developed insomnia. He had difficulty falling asleep and could not stay asleep for very long. He could get maybe two, three hours of sleep per night. It was getting to the stage where Razer insisted that he try sleeping tablets to try and help – it took her a while to convince him, but here he was.
He still worked at the supermarket, but he participated in clean ups and trained Baek's kids where he could or where necessary. If he couldn't go to work, though, it was okay – they still had some of his money from the Fifth Tournament. The events of the past year and a half exhausted him and really got him thinking about his life and everyone in it, so much so that that was how he kept himself occupied during the night when he wasn't trying to sleep.
Despite his incessant thinking, sheer exhaustion and inability to sleep, though, the Korean knew he was happy – so he held onto it through the countless days and nights.
"Did Miharu come by?" Razer asked, leading him from the door to the nearby seat.
"Yeah, got 'em in my hand."
"Good. I wish you called me out from the other room so I could've said hello."
Lowering himself into the chair, he pressed his digits harder into his skull, "I would've, but it's an effort to yell. Gives me a headache."
She took the pills from his hand and heard him mumble a vague 'thanks', moving into the kitchen to place them on the counter. The apartment was rather small and on the outskirts of inner Tokyo, but a twenty minute bus ride could get them into the familiar area. She had sold all of her shares with the MFE and had even been accused of losing her mind by some journalists, but they were just making up their own stories, and she knew it.
Being… without Angel was still hard. In the moments that she was alone, she wanted advice from her, but it never came. She'd gotten used to it, but that didn't mean that it was easy. She thought she would've liked being alone, but there were both ups and downs to it, and she should've realised that long ago.
And Hwoarang, he'd changed. Matured, even. He still tried to help her, but the rift Ji – Devil had forced between them made it difficult to get back into an old routine. It was clear to her that he was still thinking about the past and wondering where he went wrong, wondering where maybe he could've fixed it; she knew it was clear to him that without Angel, she was struggling to wholly adjust. Despite the knowledge, neither knew how to approach one another.
He was calmer, less active, always tired because of the insomnia. She was more withdrawn, talked little, hid away in the apartment because she found it hard to deal with the memories that she could see. He always seemed distant – she needed to be close. It was as though they were living in the same home, and if one was upset or struggling, the other would just be sitting beside them, unmoving and listening to their uneven breath. This life was not like their old one, and it'd take a while before it was – it was awkward and borderline uncomfortable, but they knew it'd be alright. It didn't matter that they weren't together at this point – they weren't as ready as they'd once been.
They had to fix themselves first. Time had scarred them harder now than before.
Shifting her gaze from the billowing curtains, Razer returned to Hwoarang, standing behind him and lightly massaging his shoulders in light circles. She stared at their reflection in the mirror above the television, and she knew that he was looking back just as intently, "You should take a few days off. It will help."
"Mmm, soon…"
There were a few more moments of silence before she stopped. She leant forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, sighing silently when he raised a hand to hold onto her forearm and lightly pressed his lips against her jaw line. She pulled away a little, fighting hard to hide a grin that she was sure was showing anyway, "Stop that."
He was grinning too, smug and confident in his words, "You know you like it."
And then there was that – small signs that the normal Hwoarang was still buried in there somewhere, and her real self was buried somewhere too. It made her smile, because she looked forward to the days where their older lifestyle could overlap with the current one. Time scarred them, but time would also heal them and make sense of the scrabbled mess that was their relationship. It needed defining – or maybe it didn't. Maybe it was perfectly fine the way it was – untamed, unnamed and free.
Razer's lips curved into a full smile at last. Yes, it didn't matter. At least, not now. What mattered was she was happy, she realised as he tightened his grip on her forearm – and that was the most important thing.
Author's Note: Well, here we are. The last one. The last "Me" fic I will ever post on this site. I bet you're all "wooooo" by now, lol, because come on... Five fics? I'm being generous lololol :P Just kidding - YOU GUYS have been SO. AMAZING.To me. Seriously the fact that I'm still getting over one hundred reviews per "Me" fic in a relatively small section stuns me, because I know how "blehhh" this section is towards OCs - its been a fear of mine since I started this saga. "What will people think? I won't get flamed simply because an OC is a lead char, will I? How many people will think that the character and the author are the same because I couldn't find a better penname? Should I really bother doing this?" It really frightened me, writing the stories I wanted to tell in this... 'universe'. But you guys have been so fucking amazing and I honestly cannot thank you enough.
But now its time to stop.
This entire saga has been seriously hard work, and its actually the first thing I've ever finished wholly. Many times I've tried to write novels and the like, but this is the first time where I not only finished one story, but every story to tell in its corresponding universe. There's been times where I've wanted to just completely stop ,but you guys really drove me to finish each and every story in this four-and-a-half year period because you were all enjoying it so much. You guys - through this saga - gave me my 'fame'. You guys - through this saga - helped me improve my writing and taught me what it meant to be determined and what the rewards will be. You guys - through this saga - inspired me to publish my own goddamn fanbook, "Tekken: Mono". You guys - through this saga - changed me as a person. For the better. And I can't thank you enough for the support you've given me, the help and friendship you've given me and so on.
This is so hard to write right now... because I don't want it to end. But it has got to. I don't want to be a fanfic author who continuously publishes Canon/OC stories.
I still have many stories to tell. Just because this is over doesn't mean I'm going. The first thing on my 'list' is to finish "No Tomorrow"- THAT I can promise you. I'm still going to publish oneshots, and I'm still going to be around. If there's one thing that I ask of you wonderful people though, its this - please don't ask me to write and post a Tekken 7 "Me" fic. I won't do it, no matter how interesting the plot is or how many of you ask. I posted "Take Me Back" for you guys because you all wanted to see it, and I posted "Whisper For Me"for you guys because I wanted to thank you so much for your support. But I don't think I can do another "Me" fic, sorry to say D:
Also, please don't forget to check out TooManyScars' "Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't". Its a fanfic of... well, this fic. Its incomplete at the moment but it seems to go through what the author interprets of "Whisper For Me", and then through into the early stages of Tekken 7 (so far). Its riddled with WIN and fangirling-keyboard-smashing and just... Yeah. I hope you guys like it as much as I do! Despite the infrequency of updating, that's probably where you'll see the last of Razer and Seong-Hada (being the focus of the fic etc) on this site. I really appreciate it, TooManyScars - whether you've lost motivation for it or not, it doesn't dampen how much that story means to me and how happy it makes me. Thank you.
If you have any questions about this saga or the characters involved, be they my OCs or my portrayal of a canon character - no matter how many years later you end up reading this or whatever - or you want to see some art (I have art! Lots of art) or something - don't hesitate to contact me. I'm happy to answer!
And now, for the giant thank you notes:
TeaC0sy:
YOU, little lady, have been the most amazing of all - why? Because you've been there since the very beginning, like dead set since the very beginning; and you've been there for me through all the ups, the downs, the "I am so awesome"s, the "I can't keep doing this"-es, and just... Thanks so much for everything. I never dreamed of finding a friend like you on this site. Thank you so much for your support since JLM Chapter One the moment it was published. Thanks for reading and reviewing every single chapter as they came out - your comments always bring a smile to my face, your compliments warm my heart and just THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
AmberAnodyne:
Yooou! Congratulations on graduating from nursing school and on your marriage - they took you away from here for a while but YOU'RE BACK BB OH YA. Thanks for helping me get through those tough times - without your words of wisdom, I dunno where I'd be. Like TeaC0sy, I'm so thankful to have met you here. Thanks so much for everything - you came in a little late but your unwavering support is just as appreciated. Thanks for letting me use your OCs temporarily also, it was an honour. THANK YOU!
Spongecake 2:
Hey ho. Sup? I know there's a lot of times where I seem off or aloof to you when I reply to your reviews or chat but I truly appreciate your support through this whole saga. Your reviews always make me giggle (like that recent one for chapter 34. That last paragraph. YOU KNOW THE ONE) and I really appreciate the constructive feedback that you give, particularly because I get so little of it outside of "this line rocks" or "THIS IS AN AWESOME CHAPTER". Thanks so much for everything, I really appreciate it and I hope that you can stick around. And yes, I stole your greeting - get over it :3 Thanks!
And for the final time, my Beta:
This is the last fic you beta'd for meeee D: I still really appreciate it though, you helped me get on my feet and work out some inconsistencies for every story. You were there while I was writing JLM, let alone before I even posted it here - you're a very valuable person to me and I'm glad that you said "yes" in March 2007 to helping me beta this saga. If it weren't for you, I don't think I would've even had the courage to post any of the stories on the site, so thanks for your support and thanks for telling me to "go for it!" :D
And to the rest of you guys, THANK YOU and I hope to see you around again: AngelEyes87 (cheers!), Dynasty021 (you planted this story in my head many years ago. You gave me the idea to do it. Thanks!), Danko Kaji (where are you hiding? Miss you and thanks!), Fraulein Leni, risefromgrace16 (thanks!), storytime (thanks for sticking around!), Hidden Fan, HOIME G (thank you so much for being so awesome!), Too Many Scars (thank you so much - for everything), Esther-Diana, winnie (I made more chapters lol :3),hmm (I love your username. XD), EnigmaticMemory (many thanks!), Erinnyes (I know you hate OCs and are very judgemental of work - the fact that you've enjoyed this makes me so happy, thank you!), stallion-ponyta, razerang xo, SoulCaliburess (you flatter me - thanks for being so kind), Ghostkerchief, Blunt Razer (yes, I meant it when I said I appreciated your seemingly negative feedback - let's hope I improve eh? Lol), and lastly, to you, for reading.
With that said and done... I have one last surprise. Go back to where it began.
It took me a long time... but I entirely rewrote "Just Like Me". It was hard and it took nearly three years (writing the original only took seven months AHAHAHAHA I'm slow now), but I feel much better for it. I'm not sure if I will rewrite any of the others, but that was the one I was unhappiest with when I looked back on it in regards to the writing. Now its fixed, now its improved, and if you decide to go reread it, I hope you enjoy it just as much as you did the first time (or to those who are new, I hope you like it XD).
Thank you for everything, guys. I owe a lot to you and I hope I can keep entertaining you outside of this universe.
And with that... Its really over.