(Hello fans of Tekken! Believe it or not, quarantine has actually been a very productive time for me to write and get work done, so with a big shout out to social isolation, I present chapter 30! This chapter has been LONG overdue since I first started The Return, and frankly I'm surprised that I never realized how badly it was needed until now. If I'm being honest, I probably never did this before because I've been afraid this whole time to actually write from her perspective and get inside her head. Writing it was a journey of discovery for me, forcing me to think critically, use empathy, and uncover new feelings in the most organic way. My hope is that when you walk away from this chapter, you'll still be confusedly asking yourself the same questions that the main character is asking herself. I hope you enjoy it!)
The Return
Chapter Thirty
Jun was observing… just as she had observed countless times before… until a challenging thought swept mysteriously into her mind.
Why Kazuya?
…
Deathly still, tense bloodied arms folded loosely over a muscular chest, prevailed the demon of lighting: Kazuya Mishima.
The fox stood tensely nearby; poised to strike. Carefully her leather-clad arms rose into an ancient orthodox fighting stance, marked by the decidedly unorthodox sight of an empty white mask dangling in the air.
To her left guarded the focused young Captain, his mind silently churning through years of intense military training, searching for something, anything that could guide his hope against a foe that was death incarnate.
Well… of course Kazuya. Who else? The way he feels about me, that alone is enough to justify everything. It has to be.
Right?
The forest took one impatient breath.
Shouldn't just the fact that I amaze him and perplex him and challenge him be enough of a reason for me to love him?
…
No… well, actually… I mean…
…
No. It's not.
Then everything exploded at once.
"Yah!"
Kunimitsu leapt forward with an edged battle cry, clearing the space between herself and the despotic foe in two long bounds. Then, suddenly twisting her body mid-stride, the girl launched into the air and extended her leg to level a ferocious flying kick.
As if on principle, Kazuya refused to move.
Hm. Why must you always wait until the last second?
The deadly attack soared closer… burning like a rocket into the space nearly inches away from Kazuya's chest. Then at last, moments before impact, the man unfolded his arms with unreadable speed and flexed both palms to catch Kunimitsu's foot head on. The attack made contact, and tense fingers locked tightly around her boot. Shifting his weight to the left, Kazuya yanked viciously down at his opposite side, wrestling with inertia to divert the girl's momentum onto a new path.
Kunimitsu witnessed the redirection, and while still airborne, took precious milliseconds to quickly tuck her body backwards and narrowly avoid smashing headfirst into her uncooperative target's raised elbow. Sailing cleanly past Kazuya's counterattack, Kunimitsu twisted her foot loose of the man's grip and landed roughly on the dirt ground behind. A hazy cloud of dust kicked up into the air as her momentum settled and she regained balance.
The girl truly is as acrobatic as they say. What incredible talent.
Kazuya observed the landing and stomped forward to follow.
But before he could level a strike, the man seemed to remember something. This fight was far from the one-on-one encounter he had almost begun to treat it as.
Reike.
Spinning his full weight backwards, Kazuya threw his leg high up into the air and brought it crashing down in the direction he knew Reike would be attempting to surprise attack from.
Sure enough, the Captain was there.
Evading Kazuya's crushing blow by the skin of his teeth, Reike deftly planted his footing and threw forward a charged punch of his own.
To love someone simply because they are amazed by you. Honestly… that isn't much of a reason at all, when you really think about it. Humans fascinate other humans all the time, but that doesn't imply that the feeling is immediately mutual. Unfortunately the opposite is more often true, I suppose.
Kazuya raised one arm to absorb the impact, then quickly raised the other to block his follow up. The first attack deflected harmlessly off Kazuya's muscular left arm; no give. Though he had plenty of time to react and block the second one as well, its impact sparked noticeably more pain on his injured right arm.
Just because Kazuya is amazed by me, does that mean I owe him my life? Just because I perplex him and just because he thinks of me constantly... does that mean he's entitled to me?
Assuredly not.
Kazuya's teeth gritted into a furious grimace and his brows furrowed harshly downwards. For a split second, his blood-soaked arm buckled sternly against the pressure.
Please reign yourself in, sir.
Kazuya cursed.
Sure enough, the knife wound was beginning to rear its ugly head once again. It was only inevitable. Blocking a direct punch with a fresh, open stab wound?
Not even you, my champion, can rage your way past a pain like that.
Before Kazuya had the chance to counterattack, he was immediately swinging back around to dodge the fox girl's next move. In the interim where Reike had fired off his flurry of attacks, Kunimitsu had recovered from her dive and swiftly made her presence known with another lunging push.
No. If I'm supposed to love this man… and I've certainly already declared as much… the feeling needs to be of my own accord. For my own reasons and, most specifically, by the consequences of my own actions. Otherwise it can't be love at all.
Kazuya evaded the push and quickly fired back with a retreating palm strike. Smacking Kunimitsu on the back of her shoulder blades, the attack sent her stumbling off course and backwards towards the tree line.
It was Kazuya's first successful attack of the encounter thus far.
So that raises a difficult question…why do I love him?
The devil man scoffed.
Kazuya asks himself that question constantly. Hell, he practically tears his own head apart on a daily basis trying to figure it out. But somehow I never do. Why is that?
Reike watched out the corner of his eye as Kunimitsu recovered her balance, then stepped cautiously forward with both fists raised high above his chin. Apparently the Captain had decided to rethink his strategy, and was now approaching the fight with a much more careful, measured technique.
Although Kazuya would never admit so, it was objectively the right move to make. Reike had almost every advantage on his side; numbers, energy, and health. If he wanted to use those factors well, he would need to slow the fight down and drag it out. His foe had already lost plenty of blood, so it could really only be a matter of time until he collapsed. Just as a professional boxer would systematically break down his opponent with continuous, low-risk jabs, so too would Reike want to play it safe with every attack. This was exactly how the Mishima High Guard Academy had instructed him, and Reike had been one of the greatest students ever produced. Yet despite all this, the Captain's reliance upon High Guard training doctrine had caused him to make one VERY significant miscalculation…
…He faced the very man who had written that doctrine himself.
With no warning, Kazuya rushed forward and extended his right arm all the way out into a lightning-fast open palm pillar.
Why does he perplex me? Wait… does he even perplex me at all? I suppose not. Especially when comparing. After all, I've always played my approach with more of a knowing edge, as if I were perpetually one step ahead.
Then again… my all-knowing power and mystical status turned out to be far less genuine than it first appeared. That omnipotent persona was the effect of Kazuya's desire to elevate me in his mind past the point of basic humanity. Unfortunately, that's just not the case; I am very human. Or so we've learned.
Reike found himself completely unprepared for such a ballsy attack, and nearly ate a rock-hard palm to the face for it. Thankfully, the man's mind had fully recovered from his earlier state of hazy confusion, and he was now operating at maximum reactivity.
Dropping low, he evaded the palm thrust and centered his balance for a rising counterattack. The demon's lunge screeched to a halt over his head, then slowly began the multi-millisecond process of pulling back.
Finally. This could be it.
No, I'm not all-knowing. I'm not omniscient about my obsession for this man. There's more humanity in it than that. There's something else, something difficult to describe. It feels like… Confidence? No. Recklessness? No. Trust? Maybe. It's more of a willingness… a willingness to dive in headfirst without a true plan, a true understanding of my ultimate goal. I don't try to figure out every possibility before I dive, I just get a feeling and I decide to follow it. I suppose there is a fair bit of recklessness in that… Yeah. In many respects… I'm like a child.
Reike braced himself to launch forward with a devastating uppercut, when he suddenly felt something crash thunderously into his lower chest. Immediately every molecule of air that had been gathering in his lungs were expelled out in a furious push as he buckled instinctively forward in terrible pain. Dizzily the uniformed man slumped forward… right onto the force that had delivered it's crushing blow; Kazuya's kneecap.
But at the same time, there's a reason I accepted the mantle of that all-knowing persona Kazuya had imagined for me. There's a reason I took it on so willingly and acted in the vividly confident way that I did. I certainly don't say this to boast… but one can't pull off a façade like that and convince the most powerful man on the earth unless they already have something inherent within that persona to build from. Yes. I suppose I might be more knowing than I give myself credit for. And I'm not scared enough of myself that I would avoid admitting so.
Kazuya looked down at his slumped foe with vague disgust. Raising a bloodied hand into the air, he readied the strike that would end it all. One chop to the back of the neck. Snap the spinal cord. Easy.
In some respects… I am a child.
Breezing in from his peripheral, Kazuya felt the wind move.
But I'm also a woman.
Kunimitsu's full force slammed violently into the demon, forcing her weight against him bluntly with all her might on his left side. The girl obviously wasn't very large, but with the extra gathered momentum from springing off a nearby tree, she was able to create more than enough impact.
The tackle caught Kazuya completely off guard. He had studied the girl's technique endlessly, and throughout all those hours of observation and critique, her style never once included such an uncharacteristically brutish attack. It was beyond reason to think that such a sneaky, lithe, cat-like ninja would resort to something like a full force tackle.
Tsk.
And yet there was the spear.
Fine. But that doesn't answer my ultimate question. Why him? Why Kazuya? Despite all our countless differences and contradictory values, why do I still desire him?
Kunimitsu's tackle sent them both tumbling into the dirt below, rolling two, three, four times through bursting clouds of dust until they finally came to a stop at the opposite edge of the clearing. Kunimitsu had deliberately contorted her rolls so that she would end up on top of Kazuya once the dust settled, and although she had succeeded… something was wrong.
Kazuya's arm was locked tightly around her throat, clamping down viciously upon her far shoulder to form a perfect headlock.
Panic flooding her mind, Kunimitsu scratched instinctively against the muscular arm that surrounded her throat and lashed out with both legs. Yet there was nothing she could do; in extreme close quarters like this, it wasn't even a competition. Familiar dizziness clouding her oxygen-depleted head, Kunimitsu trashed out once more and tried to twist her body out of the hold, but got nowhere. Helplessly, she felt Kazuya's free hand searching under her until it clamped tightly around her right wrist, and then powerfully yanked in reverse so that her entire arm was locked solidly behind her back.
Oh no… I hope I'm not attracted to Kazuya just because of one of those "bad boy" angles. I mean, we do kind of fit the stereotype… A morally righteous girl; perfect and proper, obsessed with goodness and nature, comes in contact with a destructively alluring man who appears to be opposite her in every way. It's one of the oldest love stories ever written… and yet still millions of human beings fall into it every day. Could my whole interest in Kazuya truly be rooted in the simple fact that we're so opposed?
The headlock was incredibly tight, far tighter than Kazuya's hand had been earlier. Even as the panic continued to race through her mind, Kunimitsu felt a sudden rush. Anger and defiance. At once, the dizziness vanished and replenished with raw adrenaline. Kicking out with both legs, she arched her body as high as it could go, then brought her weight crashing back down against Kazuya's chest, hoping to knock the air out.
The thud sent another cloud of dust flying into the air, and Kunimitsu felt Kazuya's unbreakable grip hint that it was about to falter. Without thinking, she quickly kicked off again and arched her back to strike him again…
But before she could move, she felt her entire body being forcefully swung upwards. The pair twisted violently on the ground, and then suddenly they were both kneeling. Confused by the sudden shift of perspective, Kunimitsu focused her eyes… and saw Captain Reike's dark black boot hovering inches away from her face.
Suddenly, the motion made sense. Kazuya had sensed Reike's impending kick, and swung the captive girl backwards just in time to hold her out as a human shield. Either the young captain would continue his strike and knock the fox girl cleanly out, or he would restrain himself.
Thankfully, Kunimitsu thought breathlessly, he had stopped just in time.
No. I know it's not that simple. I think that dynamic plays a strong role in the attraction we feel, and how could it not? But it's insane to think an entire relationship can be founded on something so volatile. People say that opposites attract, but have you ever noticed that they never mention what happens once those opposites finally reach each other? Yeah. That's a lesson that can't be told; it needs to be lived. But I'm losing track… No… Sheer differences alone aren't enough. The nature of the differences are what matters. People need to be different from each other in the RIGHT ways.
For the first split-second since their fight began, all three combatants paused perfectly still in the awkward situation. Kunimitsu with her hands around the arm that constricted her neck, Kazuya with his hostage shield raised high from the ground where he was dropped to one knee, and Reike with his powerful kick hovering carefully in front of the complicated dilemma below.
For an instant their eyes met.
Kazuya… you're getting tired.
Then everything exploded once again.
Maybe… maybe… maybe it's because certain things are different about him that I wish were true about myself.
The trio burst into a flurry of frantic kicks and punches, each desperate shuffle throwing more and more dirt flying into the air around them.
Yeah.
Finally the melee relented, and the close quarters chaos morphed hastily into open space. Kunimitsu stood hunched over at the forest's edge, hurrying to catch her breath as Captain Reike stood in front with one hand placed protectively on her shoulder. Kazuya eyed them darkly from the center of the clearing, his large chest rising and falling as it rushed to keep up with the incredible speed at which he moved.
What are those differences? Do I even know? Or are they just too far buried for me to even recognize? I guess it's crazy to say that Kazuya Mishima, of all people, has personality traits that I admire. But I do. Somewhere deep inside I know that I really do.
The red eye flashed.
Kazuya is… ambitious. He decides what he needs, and then he works tirelessly for it. He executes a vision.
No one moved.
Oh… it sounds so stupid when I put it into words.
Kunimitsu coughed out one harsh breath, then rose to her regular height and resumed her stance. Content that his ally would be alright, Reike followed suit.
Kazuya still hadn't moved.
He's ambitious? He's a hard worker? He does what he wants? Big deal, so are most people on earth. There shouldn't be anything special about that.
And yet there is.
Slowly the pair at the edge stepped carefully forward and did something almost no one on earth has ever done: willingly re-entered Kazuya Mishima's killing range.
This tormented child, condemned to death by his own family, hated by the world and possessed by an evil that he brought upon himself. Somehow this child of tragedy, who by all counts should have simply fallen over and surrendered… transformed himself into the most powerful man in history. He didn't do it because someone else forced him to. He didn't do it because he felt it was right or wrong… he did it because he wanted to. He did it for himself.
That's it. You can say a lot of things about the man that I love, but I know Kazuya believes in at least one thing.
He believes in himself.
…
And I love that about you, Kazuya. I really do.
…
Diverging slightly with each measured step, the pair continued their approach until they drew only several feet away from their target, now on opposite sides.
And I don't care how dumb that sounds. Because it's true.
From the middle, Kazuya watched their movements through narrowed eyes. Arms crossed, the man still hadn't moved an inch.
I'm sure if I said this out loud, how I admire the way that you believe in yourself, you'd probably cross your arms like you're doing right now, narrow your eyes like you're doing right now, and stare at me with this exact same harrowed suspicion. Hehe…You don't realize how good you are at giving those looks. You'd assume that it was part of some subtle hidden agenda, that I was once again hinting at my grand and devious plan lurking behind those childish words. You'd deduce that someone as "complex" as me would never honestly think such an asinine characteristic could actually be important.
The careful stepping ceased. All three were primed and ready. Everyone seemed to be waiting for someone else to make the first move.
But you'd be wrong. Just trust me on that.
…
And finally, someone did.
Instantly as she began to move, maybe even before she began to move, if it were possible, Kazuya had already started to react.
Please be careful my love.
Rushing in with a ferocious pounce, Kunimitsu fired off two quick alternating jabs, then followed up her combo with a spinning kick. Kazuya blocked each punch flawlessly, then spun to avoid the kick and readjust his positioning against Reike's impending barrage, which was overcome after blocking three steady punches against his midsection. After deflecting the last jab, Kazuya stepped aggressively into the Captain's space and leaned forward with a piercing elbow shot. The move had been telegraphed just barely enough to allow a response, and he immediately did so by hastily stepping backwards and raising his guard. Yet surprisingly enough, nothing came. Instead, Kazuya reversed the momentum generated by his elbow lunge and leaned powerfully in the opposite direction, straight towards an unsuspecting Kunimitsu, who had just crept forward to occupy the space Kazuya had abandoned. Only he hadn't abandoned it; he had teased it. Like a prize; like a snare; like a fine bait lain out to lure his target in. And lured she was. At once a huge roundhouse kick appeared in the fox girl's peripheral, forcing her to instinctively duck low in rapid evasion. The kick sailed harmlessly overhead, but Kunimitsu apprehensively noticed an unusual shift in her opponent's stance. Planting the foot firmly back on the ground, Kazuya appeared to dip low as well, then lean back and send his boot scraping along the ground towards her. It was a calculated move, considering how Kunimitsu's center of gravity had already fallen so low, restricting her now from utilizing that incredible agility to escape. Or so the devil man thought. The fox girl, however, didn't miss a beat. Throwing her arms upwards and leaning back with full force, Kunimitsu somersaulted backwards until both hands planted firmly on the ground behind her, and she was able to raise her vulnerable feet slightly off the ground. Now free from their earthly trap, Kunimitsu's boots hung loosely in mid-air as Kazuya's sliding kick moved harmlessly below. But before Kazuya could pull the kick back in and launch any kind of follow up, Kunimitsu tensed every muscle and unleashed her most acrobatic display yet. It saw her push violently against the dirty forest floor with both hands, the pent-up energy launching her entire body forward again in the opposite direction it had just come. Again she was airborne, catapulting towards Kazuya with a piercing double kick. However, far from caught off guard, her target responded with inhuman reflexes, leaning barely outside the range of her attack. Then, instead of simply dodging the kick and repositioning, the inhuman monster reached out with his left hand and grabbed her cleanly out of the air. Kunimitsu would never have believed such an impossibly fast reaction was even possible, had she not just witnessed it herself. Immediately, she felt her momentum pulled inward like a meteor caught in the gravity of a nearby star. And much like a meteor hurtling towards fiery destruction, doing nothing would absolutely lead to death. Amongst the blurs of motion zipping past, Kunimitsu caught the faintest sign of Kazuya's next move: his second hand. It was coming for her head. This time, instead of panic flooding her senses, the fox girl felt cool as ice. She contorted her body upward and wrapped her legs over the back of Kazuya's neck, swinging with all her might around his body like an acrobat on metal bars. The unorthodox maneuver worked, and Kunimitsu slipped wildly around her foe until her feet landed back on solid ground. Kazuya still knelt down with only one foot planted on the earth, and she stood towering over him. Now the advantage was finally hers. Immediately she thrust out a rising kick, which Kazuya managed to evade by leaning all the way back. The move was easy, and it probably would have allowed him to cleanly recover… if he were only fighting one person. Instead, Captain Reike stood readily nearby, and he sent a crushing low kick slamming into Kazuya's back as soon as the man had begun to lean back. The blow made direct contact, sending a shock through Kazuya's entire body as he was forcefully thrown forward back towards Kunimitsu again. It was the perfect set up, and Kunimitsu recognized that one good kick here, if she could somehow strike the man's head, might end it all. Picking her moment carefully, the fox girl thrust out a second rising kick against her foe, aiming to collide right onto his whiplashed forehead. Yet even with such a perfect setup, Kunimitsu felt that something terrible was coming… and she was right. Kazuya, who only moments before had been stunned by a pummeling blow onto his back, suddenly sprung to life and reached out with both hands to grab Kunimitsu's incoming leg. For one more time the sensation of Kazuya's iron-like grip enclosed the woman's mind. Only this time, the feeling didn't last long. Kazuya utilized the newfound anchor to pull himself up into a semi-standing position, then yanked sideways with all his might. The force pulled Kunimitsu's free foot completely off the ground until she was airborne, swinging wildly through the air as Kazuya rotated 180 degrees to his left and released. All at once the fox became less of a warrior and more a projectile. From this state she hardly had to travel far before making contact with her target: Captain Reike.
Ah.
The pair had no time to react. They collided violently, sending both tumbling to the ground below with a dusty crash. Kazuya rose sluggishly to his feet as his opponents settled onto the ground in a tangled mess of bodies, his bloody arm pulsing loudly with pain at the stress and pressure it continued to endure.
Hmmmmm…
Maybe that's exactly what I've been doing wrong this whole time… I've been trying to define specific reasonings at such a complex and analytical level that I'm completely missing the point.
Kazuya opened his uninjured palm and placed it carefully over the makeshift bandage, finding as he feared that the cut had only grown worse.
A sense of anger and furious rage overtook the man's blood-smeared features. But before the rush could take hold, for only a split moment, imperceptible to the common eye… the devil man seemed… worried?
That's it. Emotions don't formulate themselves alongside our heightened intellect, they emanate outward from within our bones. From some impossible place deep within. But that doesn't make them any less important. No. The opposite, in fact. These pillars of human emotion are intrinsic to the way we think, and I'd even venture to say that they form the foundation for each and every one of those mighty elevated thoughts. It's ironic, really, that our noblest thoughts vie so desperately to distance themselves from base instinct and emotion, when in reality they could not exist without it. Which is exactly where my problem finds its cause. I seek to discover the reasons that I feel love, and yet I'm searching in completely the wrong place. If I only try to deduce those feelings from amongst my highest machinations, I'm never going to reach the real pillars. I'm only going to discover more questions... and so the search must continue. As if love were a science.
The devil man sneered; a vicious convulsion of anger that swiftly overtook his aura and then somehow faded away even faster than it came.
The anger vanished from his features, and a look of detached coldness settled comfortably in.
His red eye sparkled.
I suppose that's what love is to you, Kazuya Mishima; a science.
…
But that's not what love is to me.
…
The breeze stopped.
Six eyes met. Two gazed silently. Two more closed.
Please hear me…
"Grrr-ah!"
The fox girl erupted forward with explosive power, her companion charging wildly in unison.
Kazuya raised both arms in a fighting stance. This time; he wasn't going to wait. His narrow eyes darted right to left.
One way or another, it would all be over soon.
Kunimitsu swings a high jab. Blocked.
Reike follows up with a mid-punch. Blocked.
Their target rotates.
If you asked me why I love you, and you demanded that I provide the cold reasons, I could give you hundreds of these small scientific truths. But those answers could never give you the satisfaction you're truly looking for. No. None of the reasons I can list will ever compare to the reasons I can't explain.
Kazuya throws out an elbow to his left. Evaded.
It pivots into a high fist. Blocked.
His foot extends on the opposite side. The pressure is blocked.
After all, if you can fully understand exactly why you're drawn to someone, it loses power over you. By definition, there isn't any magic in the things that we understand. That without understanding exists on a level beyond our reach; to me, a beautiful concept.
Kunimitsu pushes the kick down. He plants it.
High jab to her face. Dodged.
High jab to her face. Dodged.
The Captain's palm interrupts. Blocked.
So yes, even though I could give you that list, and I'm honestly tempted… that wouldn't truly make it clear. I'd be giving you my weakest reasons.
Kazuya staggers from the impact as Reike follows up. Blocked.
I think the simple truth is that I don't understand why I love you.
…And I don't mind that.
Kazuya clutches his injured arm and releases a careening roundhouse kick. Dodged by the first.
I trust myself. I trust the emotions I feel. I trust my love.
Next he feels his kick freeze forcefully against devoted feminine hands. Blocked by the second.
I think the difference between you and I is that I truly enjoy those mysteries. I savor them. I feel alive when I encounter them, and I wholeheartedly surrender myself to their power.
A demonic growl; he amplifies the attacking pressure tenfold. Guard breaks.
I truly wish you could do that too, Kazuya. But I know the way your mind works… You're only comfortable when you're in control. You'd sooner die than trust yourself to the unseen whims of your own subconscious.
The kick breaks loose and crashes violently against the ground. Narrow escape.
You don't see it as trust… you see it as a surrender.
The girl stumbles back in shock as Kazuya closes in and punches for the throat. Dodged by millimeters.
Reike materializes at the side as his angled shoulder pushes forward straight into Kazuya's unguarded left. Hit.
The pair stagger aside as Reike launches a pressuring jab. Blocked.
And another. Blocked.
And another. Blocked.
And another. Hit.
This is one situation where your ambition doesn't actually help you… it will only hurt.
Reike watched the connection in amazement, almost as if in awe that he had actually landed a hit, then immediately regains focus and zeroes back in with a high jab. Sidestepped.
Kazuya growls furiously as his fist explodes with lighting. Hit.
His opponent staggers forward, directly into a piercing elbow shot. Hit.
You believe in yourself more strongly than perhaps any other person on the face of the planet, and yet you trust yourself the least. It doesn't have to be this way, my friend. My dear… dear friend.
The demonic eye gleams with awareness, spinning around to face an impending kick. Miss.
The fox girl lands swiftly and tests her target with a high jab. Miss.
She drops for a low jab. Miss.
Suddenly she's standing, and the high kick flies forth. Blocked.
Kazuya pushes the kick down, only to find a second one following close behind. Blocked.
He deflects the second hit and thrusts his own foot violently outward. Blocked.
Please, Kazuya… If I tried to show you, would you listen? Would you believe me? I want nothing more in this world than for you to realize that your own subconscious is not the enemy; it's an old friend whom you have neglected for far too long.
Kunimitsu's boots grind roughly across the forest floor as the force from Kazuya's distancing thrust pushes her back. Before the kick can even be withdrawn, she is already lunging. The woman daringly re-enters close quarters and challenges her foe's balance with a rapid barrage.
Mid jab. Blocked.
High jab. Blocked.
Mid kick. Miss.
Mid kick. Miss.
Low kick. Blocked.
Mid jab. Blocked.
If I tried to show you, would you let me?
Kazuya's unblinking gaze follows flawlessly as each attack registers one after another. Finally, an opening presents itself, and he charges forward.
High jab. Blocked.
High jab. Blocked.
High kick. Blocked.
Mid swing. Miss.
High elbow strike- Feint. It's a rising knee. Hit.
This doesn't mean surrender. It's trust. Can't you see? I want to show you so badly! But I'm afraid, Kazuya... I'm afraid that you'll think I'm only trying to manipulate you.
Kunimitsu recovers from the stunning strike and swerves away from a following swipe. Miss.
Her swerve extends two steps right, and a defensive jab opens up her counter-attack. Block.
Quick jab. Blocked.
Quick jab. Miss.
Staggered jab, it delays into a high elbow strike. Blocked.
You say you love me… yet you trust me less than anyone. Even less than yourself.
Kazuya deflects the elbow and swiftly falls back, his leg rising high into the air for a crushing downward swing. Blocked.
How can I love you when you refuse to love yourself? And how can you grow as a person if you judge everything I say like it's an attack? How can I get through to you?
He observes the staggering block and raises his opposite foot for an identical follow up. Blocked.
I don't know how to show you that I care, Kazuya. You make it so hard…
Again, the girl is forced to stagger under the powerful crushing blow, and she isn't able to move in time to evade when Kazuya sends out the next one. Blocked.
I don't want to control you… I want to be your friend. I'm not trying to manipulate you. I'm not trying to change you. I'm only trying to help you recognize that the things you've always wanted have been inside you all along.
Despite repeatedly successful blocks, the sheer weight of each strike powerfully enforces its will, and the girl is caught reorienting when Kazuya unleashes a new barrage.
You only need to learn to trust yourself.
Mid punch. Blocked.
High jab. Blocked.
Mid jab. Blocked.
Low kick. Blocked.
High jab. Hit.
High jab. Hit.
Mid thrust. Hit.
The blow sends Kunimitsu flying backwards… straight into the cushion of Reike's raised arm. He catches the girl, and at once she is steadied. The two pause, then realign. With less than a moment's thought, their gazes refocus to the target at hand.
Blood dripping lazily to the dusty forest floor, Kazuya takes in a deep breath, then exhales. He steps forward.
Please.
The demon of lightning raises both fists to strike. His challengers respond in kind.
The girl jabs high. Kazuya blocks.
The Captain jabs low. Kazuya blocks.
High again. Blocked.
A kick to the side. Blocked.
Kazuya punches back at the fox. Miss.
Reike closes in with two jabs. Both blocked.
Kazuya retaliates behind a crushing high kick. Blocked.
Reike staggers as Kunimitsu swings high. Ducked.
Kazuya jabs low against the young ninja. Dodged.
Stepping back, she winds up a powerful high swinging kick. Blocked.
Kazuya catches the kick and yanks the girl closer, punching fiercely with his free hand. Hit.
Direct contact sends Kunimitsu crashing to the ground.
Kazuya rotates in defensive anticipation, bracing his bloodied arm to block Reike's follow up… and finds nothing.
Spinning back, he finally finds it; crushing straight into his chest. Hit.
Kazuya staggers back as the follow ups pour in.
Quick jab. Blocked.
Mid swing. Hit.
Rising knee. Hit.
Charged high punch. Blocked.
The Devil roars with rage-fueled defiance.
Kazuya swats the fist aside and swings violently forward. Miss.
High jab. Blocked.
Repeated jab. Blocked.
Suddenly, Kazuya senses movement in his peripheral. Instinctively he raises his forearm against a kick he should never have even seen coming. Blocked.
Kunimitsu pulls back in surprise at the inhuman reaction, and jabs furiously; vying to keep her pressure fresh. Blocked.
Jab. Blocked.
Jab. Blocked.
High kick. Miss.
Reike fills the space with a lunging strike. Blocked.
Now joined by her ally, Kunimitsu forces herself defiantly into Kazuya's immediate space with a wild and unpredictable volley of strikes.
Mid chop. Blocked.
Swinging elbow. Blocked.
The fox girl kicks low. Miss.
Reike pummels from above. Blocked.
He throws out a second jab, interrupting the man's movement. Blocked.
Kunimitsu leaps abruptly from the ground with a swirling flurry of kicks. Hit.
Kazuya's balance wavers against the barrage, and Reike takes advantage with a rotating blow. Hit.
Kunimitsu lands and immediately fires a rising kick. Blocked.
Then a high kick to the head. Hit.
Kazuya stumbles in retreat as whiplash echoes through his body…
The pair follow closely, refusing to allow even a split second to recover.
Reike jabs high. Blocked.
Then jabs again. Blocked.
And again. Blocked.
Kunimitsu thrusts her leg forward in a piercing kick. Hit.
Kazuya staggers backwards and raises his arm to impede Reike's approaching fist. Blocked.
The hit bashes squarely on top of Kazuya's stabbed bicep, and immediately a pain greater than any successful hit thus far erupts throughout his body.
Kazuya thrusts his free arm outward in a wide defensive sweep to clear space. Dodged.
Kunimitsu flickers back, then lunges with both hands. Blocked.
The thrusting force finds Kazuya reeling in retreat. Another three steps, and he faces a blunt forward kick from Reike. Hit.
Again, the man is forced back. Driving forward in desperate pursuit, his adversaries refuse to let up.
Kunimitsu steps to the side and jabs quickly. Blocked.
Then Reike jabs down the center as Kazuya's foot struggles to find space at his rear. Blocked.
As the never-ending barrage continues to rage on, their positions begin to shift. Shuffling further and further away now from the center of the clearing, their carnage approached the tree line growing dangerously closer with each pressured step.
The siege continued with more swift jabs. Blocked.
Kazuya raised his leg to kick down a low swipe. Blocked.
Kunimitsu feigns a spinning roundhouse kick, then morphs deceptively into a rising punch. Hit.
Reike waited for the feint to connect, then burst forward with a challenging mid blow. Hit.
Kazuya's body rocked with the force of two consecutive stuns, tumbling back in disarray. One after another his feet stomped haphazardly down, rushing to keep up with the man's desperate escape.
Then all at once, there was nowhere to go.
Kazuya felt his back collide with something large, rigid, and dead. Its ancient flesh, half eroded from years of exposure and disintegration, echoed darkly against the force of the bloody combatant below.
He had found a tree.
A dead tree.
Oh no… Kazuya…
Kunimitsu and Reike watched their foe crash discordantly against the wooden trunk, and immediately a reassuring rush of fresh adrenaline surged through their veins. There he was; the deadliest man on the face of the earth, cornered. To beat this man, to destroy this monster, by all rights it shouldn't be possible… and yet there he was.
Each took a deep breath. The exhaustion still hadn't sunk in. Fueled onwards by the pure thrill of battle, neither dared to pause for even a minute; lest their bodies got the chance to realize just how drained they had truly become.
Please…
The pair stepped cautiously forward. Guards high, their tired eyes surveyed the scene. No more space to escape. No more room to run. No more time to waste.
The end had come.
Kazuya…
Reike raised each fist with a precise, measured posture. Every fiber of his body screamed at him to lunge forward. To unleash instant destruction. To finish everything. At the same time his opposing side, the cool, calm, militaristic mindset that had protected him throughout life, could hardly keep it in check.
Kunimitsu tightened the bruised muscles in her leg and wrestled within as fresh, unexpected emotions of relief overtook her mind in anticipation. It was over. She had won. She didn't need to die. She didn't need to sacrifice everything. She would be free.
The pair stepped purposefully forward. Their intention was exact.
Please.
The man of lightning watched silently behind drooping, bloodied eyelids. Nothing.
The fox and the solider leveled their attacks…
…and lunged.
Have mercy on them!
Blinding crimson EXPLODED from the demon's eye. A deafening crash. The sky broke open.
"YYYAAAH!"
All at once, Kazuya moved like lightning.
His bloody forearm pitched forward to collide side-on with Reike's approaching fist, forcing the attack to deflect harmlessly out of range as Kazuya's second arm rocketed beneath it to dislodge Kunimitsu's impending kick. Faster than the blink of an eye, both attacks fell pitifully into open air.
Another burst of catastrophic red swelled, then erupted radiantly from the man's core. Still in motion, Kazuya ignited the pistons that were his arms yet again, and zeroed in with an inhumanly precise barrage.
Jab to Reike's temple. Hit.
Jab to Kunimitsu's hip. Hit.
Jab to Reike's shoulder. Hit.
Jab to Kunimitsu's neck. Hit.
Impossibly fast. The hits landed in rapid succession, but before anyone could even register what had happened, an enormous thrusting uppercut blasted directly into Reike's exposed stomach.
Hit.
The devil growled. His face curled up into a destructive scowl.
Pounded dead-on, Captain Reike had no control over his body as it keeled over to absorb the pressure.
The air grew cold as an otherworldly wind revealed.
Kazuya wasted no time. Instantly his muscular hand clasped tightly onto the back of Reike's neck. At once, he stepped purposefully to the side and turned to lay his blood-red eyes condemningly upon the bulking wooden trunk behind him.
It was dead, decaying wood.
It would do.
"Hmmph."
Kazuya tightened his fingers ominously into the Captain's neck. Then, calling up every ounce of willful force his inhuman body could muster, thrust the man's entire body directly forward.
Straight into the bulk of the tree…
… TWACK! CRACK!
Straight THROUGH the tree.
BOOM!
The entire structure of the dying pillar exploded brilliantly into millions of splinters as Kazuya propelled the human battering ram forcefully into the rotting interior, bursting wood with every motion, until it exploded violently out the far side.
CRASH!
The whole forest shook.
The young Captain, immediately knocked unconscious as his head crashed through the rotting wood, burst wildly out from the pummeling medium and crashed violently onto the forest floor below.
His body settled roughly into a slumping pile and remained deathly still.
It did not move.
Reeling in awe at what had just take place, either did anying else.
Kunimitsu felt her blood freeze to ice. Still stunned from Kazuya's earlier strike to her neck, the fox girl couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. Gazing on in horrified shock amongst the hundreds of miniscule wood chips that continued to fall all around, she stared from the unmoving body of her friend slowly up to the inhuman monster standing above.
And found that his attention was focused far from the thunderous display he had just caused.
It was focused on her.
"…"
Kazuya stop this. Now.
The man didn't even pause.
His firm bloodied hand, freshly sliced from countless wooden splinters, reached forward and locked inflexibly around Kunimitsu's neck. The fox girl, paralyzed by surprise, was helpless to resist as her legs gave out and felt herself being dragged across the ground.
Kazuya marched calmly into the center of the clearing, his frozen prize trailing silently behind.
This is enough.
Finally, the man stopped moving as his march came to a still.
From her distorted vantage on the ground, Kunimitsu could see him staring at something near the opposite edge of the forest. It was no mystery what.
Kazuya… I had almost forgotten.
At last, the man glanced back over his bloody shoulder towards the woman below.
I had almost forgotten how terrible of a human being you can be.
Covered in dust, the fox girl gazed stoically back.
Forgetting is my own fault. It's always my own mistake.
Sometimes I just get lost in my thoughts about you, Kazuya... And I forget the kind of person you can be. I forget all the horrible things you've done. And I forget how you are always capable of doing worse...
The pair locked eyes. His burned with a calm, godly detachment. The blinding red iris had cooled now to a dark, dense burgundy, dulling further and further with every second. There was a stillness in those eyes, a sort of calm, tired necessity.
Somehow, for reasons she couldn't understand, it surprised her. She had expected something darker… something evil. But there was none. At the very least, Kunimitsu had expected to catch hints of pleasure slipping away as the monster's violent lust subsided, but there was nothing.
Kazuya's eyes hid no hint of pleasure…
But they also held no hint of regret.
The forgetting never lasts long. Every time. Every single time. You always remind me.
Kunimitsu stared back up at her captor. Without the mask obstructing her face, every expression the woman made carried layers it never could before. Her green eyes flickered hazily, telling of shock, confusion, pain, acceptance, and somewhere barely still burning… of defiance.
Even in petrified defeat, the woman's fire lived on.
You do terrible things, Kazuya. I wish I never had to admit so, but this isn't a new discovery. You've never tried to hide it, after all.
Still staring straight into her eyes, Kazuya began to grip tighter.
I can't ignore it. I can't pretend like it doesn't matter.
Bloodied fingers locking around her windpipe, Kunimitsu didn't struggle at all. She knew it was over.
You've ended countless lives. You've destroyed countries. You've silenced dissenters. You've treated your closest friends like dirt. Your list goes on and on and on. And if it's up to you, it will go on forever.
Yet even as the life slipped from her body, the fox woman didn't feel distraught. She had done everything she could. She had taken off the mask, and she had walked the warrior's path.
Her mind hummed with noble acceptance.
And Kazuya's watched with empty detachment.
How can I love you? How can I love you despite the things you do?
Kunimitsu's vision began to fade. Her hearing grew numb.
Tell me Kazuya, what do you expect me to do? Huh? How do you expect me to love you when you act this way?
His grip tightened.
How?
Her mouth opened instinctively to draw air, but found nothing
How?!
Kazuya was a statue.
What am I supposed to do?! Tell me!
Her green eyes sparkled in faint forest moonlight, then drifted closed.
KAZUYA! STOP THIS!
The grip released.
Her body fell limply onto the dusty floor below. Kunimitsu's arms splayed randomly across roots and fallen vines, then became still. Her maskless face echoed hints of a peaceful mind that had ventured elsewhere.
Kazuya watched the body fall and rubbed his sore hand sternly, pushing and massaging against the pain that had overtaken it.
He narrowed his eyes at the girl's chest… and counted.
Silence passed as the forest held its breath.
Still Kazuya did not move. His eyes focused on the unmoving body below.
At last, the man stirred. He turned away from Kunimitsu and faced the forest's edge. There, waiting patiently behind the allure of a swirling vortex, stood his true prize.
Kazuya's expression soured, and he opened his mouth.
"She's breathing." He spoke. His tone was strained, almost tired.
No response.
Then it turned harsh. "I want it now." He demanded.
Covered head to toe in dark, marbled slime, the mysterious woman smiled.
"I only wish that it could be so simple." Came the sweet, distorted voice he had grown to hate.
Kazuya didn't react. Dust-blown, beaten down, covered in blood, the titan appeared like a specter. He took a deep breath, then released it.
"Give her to me." He demanded again.
"I know you heard me the first time." The voice shot back in warning.
"Give her to me."
"You don't get it, do you."
"Give her to me."
The voice paused.
"Poor boy. You just don't want to acknowledge the problem you face..."
It's churning yellow eyes opened wide.
"She must agree."
Silence.
You need me to allow it…
Kazuya closed his eyes. The man seemed tired.
But I won't.
His head sank. Tense, exhausted muscles relaxed.
Sometimes you can be a monster, Kazuya. But I am not.
A new wind blew through, and leaves rattled under the foreign influence. The entire forest shifted, as if preparing for something that came next. As if anticipating a horrible truth.
Perhaps YOU can forsake idealism if it means reuniting with the person you love… but I will not. Kazuya, I will not. I've already done that once. I did it to my own son. And I'd sooner burn in Hell before I even think about doing it again.
The slime-covered woman stepped deviously out from the safety of her dark wooden guardian. Its movements were lithe and seductive, yet staggered and inhuman. Somehow her swirling evil eyes weren't even necessary; just from that walk alone it was clear… there could be no humanity inside.
Perhaps that's all that this will come down to. Perhaps it was always destined to end this way.
Kazuya turned away, eyes still closed.
I said I'd rather disappear forever than allow you to condemn an innocent soul for my sake. And I meant it. So if you truly want to bring me back… I hope you're ready to kill me first.
The alien body slinked closer, then stopped. Its unblinking gaze fixated fanatically upon the man before it.
I want to live, Kazuya. And you want it too. Yet somehow even now, when it feels like we're finally so close to reaching that goal… I don't think it's ever been farther away.
If we're ever going to be together… one of us is going to need to lose.
And for the first time…
It. Will. Not. Be. Me.
Kazuya's brow furrowed. His teeth gritted and electricity rumbled through his veins.
The man finally broke. His tear-filled eyes shot up to the canopy hanging before him.
And he called a name.
"Jun!"
I'm coming.
End Chapter Thirty
(It's kinda crazy to think about how up until now, 300,000 words in, The Return has never had a full chapter dedicated to being from the perspective of Jun Kazama. I mean, she's literally one of the two main characters in the entire story, how on earth could I have gone so long without doing this? Well, like I said in the opening AN, I have my suspicions that it was done out of fear. Just like how Kazuya unhealthily views Jun as an impossible, omnipotent being who is beyond understanding, the same could actually be said for me as a writer and me as a person. The type of person that Jun represents to me has always been an enigma, so trying to write something from her perspective not only seemed impossible, it also terrified me. It was always so much easier and safer for me to write from Kazuya's perspective, because his mind mirrors mine in this relationship and on a rational/emotional level. But now, 6 years after I began this story, I believe I've matured enough to attempt it. And honestly, I'm SO glad that I did. Jun to me represents an amazing, intricate, and utterly real human being. She has faults, fears, and confusion. She deserves to be fleshed out and explored like a real person, not held up on an impossible pedestal while Kazuya becomes the only real human being in the story. When I set out to write from her perspective, I basically asked myself… "If I were Jun Kazama, what's the most terrifying and challenging question that I could ask myself?" and immediately, the Why Kazuya? Question came to mind. What do you think about that? If you were Jun, what would keep you up at night? I'm genuinely curious because I feel like some of you readers probably feel closer to Jun and identify with her pain far more than I have ever been capable of. So what kind of question would you ask her? And more importantly, how would you try to answer it? I'm also very intrigued by the way this chapter ended, and the question that was posed to end it. How can Jun reconcile all the terrible things that Kazuya does? Doesn't it seem crazy that someone like her would actually have feelings for such a monstrous man? I know this is a good question to ask, because I honestly can't answer it, hahahaha. But that's the thing about life, and that's the thing about REAL people like you and me. We ask ourselves questions all the time, and those questions don't always have answers. Sometimes they just represent hard ends that we desperately don't want to see. Over time, answers might make themselves known, but other times they don't, right? I don't want to scare you, fine readers, but I can honestly say that I don't know whether Jun will be able to find an answer to these questions. If I can't think of one… then perhaps there just won't be one. Perhaps Jun shouldn't love Kazuya after all? Ooooh now I'm even scaring myself lol. Anyway, please let me know what you thought about this chapter, and I'll respond back next time. Thank you as always for reading my ridiculous, rambling ANs, and I can't wait to continue exploring this story with you soon!)
Deadpanned- Thank you so much for reading! I hope I don't cause too much surprise when I update lol. Although this one might catch you off guard cause it's only been 3ish months since my last posting. WAY ahead of schedule for me hahaha. But anyway thank you so much for what you said about my character development and dialogue writing. Those two factors are probably the most important things to me when it comes to any story, so it makes me tremendously happy to hear that people are enjoying them. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well(even though it wasn't a great turn of events for Kunimitsu and Reike lol)
Jeanosauryehet27- I can see you care for Reike and Kunimitsu, so I hope this chapter didn't upset you too much! I cant say anything for certain, but I would wager that this probably isn't the last time they get mentioned ;) Anyway thank you so much for reading and reviewing!
Michi-mercer- Cheers to you too on falling for Kazuya in the same way that the rest of us did! :) He really is a fascinating character that hides incredible depth behind his stoic personality, and I'm honestly happy that there are other people out there who feel that way too. I'm curious what your opinion of him in this chapter might be though, because so far in my story Kazuya has hardly ever even taken a hit from an opponent, let alone nearly been defeated. Of course, it ended up working out for him in the long run, but Kazuya was definitely on the ropes for a hot second there, and I tried to be very careful as I was writing those sections because I knew it was an unusual situation for him to be in. I'm curious what you thought of it and whether it seemed true to how his character would actually act! Anyway thank you for reading and reviewing!
M.g- And thank YOU for reading it. Your review sounded so somber haha I'm sorry that last chapter made you feel worried, because I bet this chapter only made it worse. Turns out everybody was very serious about this fight, and if it didn't have real consequences then, well, it just wouldn't truly be real. You know, I worry about those exact same things that you said you worry about, because oftentimes to me I have no idea where this story is gonna end up. Will Jun be able to make a difference? Will Kazuya ever come to feel the beauty of the world that is waiting for him? I guess we'll both find out when I start writing next chapter…
Aevora Myonsarys- Hahaha he came pretty close to it, didn't he? I tried t write this fight to be WAY less one-sided than most of the other fights have been, and hopefully it showed. The stakes have never been higher, and the story would be crap if the stakes weren't real. So believe me, the stakes are real. Considering his overall situation Kazuya definitely hasn't "won" anything yet…
Loreadana- Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm curious what your other 2 top favorite fanfics are? I'm always looking for new inspiration and good stories to read.
Kathrianna- Hello Maiko! Thank you as always for leaving such a long and thoughtful review. As I get older too, further and further away from the person that I used to be when I was first writing, there are certain parts of this story that stick out as weird or foreign or ridiculous. BUT. There are also so so so many parts that when I read them I feel like I'm instantly transported back to that world I was in, only with the new set of eyes and experiences I've gathered. It's a beautiful experience, and I'm so glad that other people get to join me in doing that because it truly makes me feel a connection to my past self that I otherwise have frequent trouble establishing. Your review made me look back and try to figure out what my favorite part of the story was, and honestly it's a hard call for me to make. Something about the trio of chapters 20, 21, and 22 always stick out to me as writing that I'm particularly proud of and which I regularly go back to reread when I need inspiration. Of course it's fitting that those 3 chapters are basically nothing but straight Jun-Kazuya dialogue lol. Anyway I'm glad to see you enjoyed last chapter, and I'm also glad to see you drawing a connection with Kazuya seeing part of himself in Reike. They definitely have mirrored traits, and in a lot of ways, they sort of represent different paths from the same starting location. Sort of. So what did you think of this chapter? Kazuya is certainly in a lot of pain, and judging from the way it ended, that's only going to be amplified tenfold when Jun, the ultimate catalyst arrives. It's always great to hear from you, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! Thanks!
Tifanny91- I'm glad to hear you're alright. No one should have to go through a serious sickness, but especially not people at this age. Your analysis of the last chapter is totally spot on. A lot of the themes involved revealing hidden desires, hidden fears, and hidden drives. Up until this point, a ton of The Return has been driven by people who aren't willing, or sometimes aren't able, to recognize truths about themselves. But now, almost all of those facades have been torn down one by one, and I've tried to force the characters into addressing their most base identities, good and bad. That isn't to say that ALL of the facades have been torn down, however, because there are still two very important people (K and J) that are, well, lets just say they have a long way to go on that lol. Writing the character of Wolf has also been tremendous fun for me, because I haven't had the chance to write anything quite like it so far. I love the way you put it, how there are certain otherworldly and alien features about the way it thinks and talks, but at the same time there are a few strange human-like qualities too. It really is meant to be a mysterious amalgamation of humanity and absolute spiritualism, so I tried to write it in a way that would reflect that odd feeling as well. You're also spot on about the way that it watches the characters interact with great interest, but it doesn't intervene. Wolf lives to sow corruption and confusion, and honestly it hardly even had to work hard at all to make that happen in the blink of an eye hahaha. Either way, it lives for this kind of broken, dysfunctional drama, and it's definitely more than content to sit back and watch. Although… now that the threat between Kunimitsu and Reike has been taken care of… Kazuya only has one goal in mind. I can assure you that Wolf will not be sitting on the sidelines watching quietly when chapter 31 comes out. Also, thank you so much for writing such detailed and intriguing reviews. I genuinely feel like I get something extra out of the story when I read reviews like this, so I'm incredibly thankful that you and the people like you actually take the time to read and review my story.
