Episode 9: The Beginning of a New Beginning – Part 1

Gon was officially at peace with every single one of the newest Tekken fighters, even after the traditional style of exhibition fights against them. Throughout the fray, he even challenged the newest member of the Tekken family: Kunimitsu's daughter, who is also named Kunimitsu. She… was the only one to win against the legendary dinosaur and it stunned him to no end! The elder Kuni applauded her only daughter's performance alone while the others were just speechless and flummoxed all at once.

"Wwwwhat the hell…?" Gon asked as he was slowly regaining his senses as well as taking his time sitting up to take a look at the unmasked young Kuni. She stood with pride with a smile that was even cuter than Lucky Chloe's, despite the purple stripe tattoos around her bright blue eyes. "…(cough, cough)…who the fuck is this?! Kunimitsu's younger doppelganger?!"

"On the contrary." The elder Kuni replied with honesty as she stopped applauding. "She's my daughter."

"Huh?! Your DAUGHTER?! Are you freakin' kidding me?! Since when?!"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out. Just have the honor of meeting her for now."

"Shit! I sure did have the honor, alright. Damn!" Gon continued to groan and complain as he finally got to his short legs and dusted himself off as best as he could with his short arms. "All the rest of you didn't stand a chance against me, especially you, Alisa. Those chainsaws did intimidate me, but not enough to make me cower. I felt like I was fighting Yoshimitsu again and, I won… again."

"No offense taken from that, thank you." Alisa admitted with her sweet smile. "You were quite the challenge for all of us combined, except little Kunimitsu here."

"I can't believe it! You were the last one to fight me and you beat me! You surpass your mother by a gazillion miles! Have you been training under her wing since you were a toddler or something?"

"Yeah." The younger Kunimitsu replied in a cute voice that matched her adorable face perfectly, making the short carnosaur jump back with astonishment. "I became a master by my 16th birthday."

"How old are you now?"

"20."

"So young! And yet, so strong and strong-willed all at once." After that last word, Gon transformed into his anthropomorphic dragon-obstatricity form and little Kuni never showed a sign of shock. She still stayed cute, calm, and collected as the conversation continued in Gon's normal male voice now. "I can already see that you're gonna be a hit once you officially get out there. You're actually really good. I felt like I fought your mother twice, except you've got the flames on your blades. What exactly are they? They surely aren't your mother's kunai."

"They aren't even called kunai at all, either. They are kodachi and wakizashi. They're very powerful when they're in the right hands."

"No kidding. For someone who's so young, you sure were extremely professional with them. I can't be mad at ya, lil' Kuni. Welcome to Tekken." The two warriors shook hands peacefully after that last word, making everyone around them lightly applaud with respect. "Here's hoping for a lasting impression that your mother will be proud of."

"Thanks. I wish you well in your relationship with Stephanie. Now that I heard it from Mother and I see you in this form, I'd say that your future is looking brighter than my blades. Hope we can meet and battle again sometime."

"Same here and thanks." After that last word was spoken from Gon, he turned towards the exit to the arena and widened his smile even more when he saw his beloved Stephanie just walking in with Jin by her side, letting the other Tekken contenders meet her for the first time as they held hands together. "Hey, Steph! Right on time, babe. Jin must've called ya during my fights."

"It was all his idea, too." Stephanie replied before she gave him a tender kiss on the cheek. "It's all set. My new job starts on Monday, my new place is paid in full and ready for living, and I get to spend the rest of this weekend with you. Are you excited?"

"Ecstatic! Can't believe we've gotten this far, even with me dealing with Tekken on the side. Speaking of which, I had to meet all these warriors before you got here." The beautiful brunette took a moment to see the numerous crowd of warriors standing in peace before her and was just astonished.

"Whoa. You missed out on a lot of these people! Did you beat 'em?"

"All except this young blood here." Gon placed a respectful right arm around the young Kunimitsu's shoulders. "This is, believe it or not, the OG Kunimitsu's daughter. Her name is Kunimitsu as well. She was the last one to fight me and she was the only one to beat me. Good reason why, though: She's got ninja skills that are unlike anything I've ever seen before. Not even her own Mother has that kind of ninja power."

"Wow! It's a pleasure to meet you. Teach Yoshimitsu some manners for us, wouldja?"

"Will do." Little Kuni replied with a single promising nod. "You two do look like the perfect couple."

"Thank you so much!" Gon and Stephanie exclaimed in unison by accident, having Gon being slightly louder as he jumped back with absolute shock before he continued by himself: "You sure do have manners, unlike your cold hearted Mother. Keep that up along with your skills."

BEEP, BEEP!

"We better get going, Gon-sweetie." Steph kindly warned after that distant car horn was heard. "Our taxi's waiting."

"Gotcha. Well, it's been nice meeting all of ya and, OG Kuni…"

"Yes?" The elder Kunimitsu replied.

"It's safe to say that you've now joined the Tekken Mothers Club alongside Nina, Jun, and Michelle. Congratulations!" That proclamation sent the rest of the fighters, except little Kuni, into a cheering frenzy. The two kunoichis shared a warm embrace together instead. "Heh, heh… awww. Now, that warms my heart every time."

A few hours later, at the Norfolk Airport…

Stephanie and Gon just packed their four piece luggage into the roomy trunk of a custom made, but extremely expensive sedan called the X-Horizon Dragon Blade. Gon alone was astonished by the purple vehicle being paid in full, thanks to Stephanie and her parents, but what shocked him even more was the fact that there was another one waiting at their new mansion. He just heard that factor from his girlfriend as she drove it to that said location.

After the silent hour long ride, Stephanie impressed her anthropomorphic lover even more by simply commanding a mysterious force to 'open the garage' and the two doors opened up simultaneously to reveal a yellow colored version of the same exact vehicle they were sitting in right now and this made Gon rush out with extreme excitement, even as she was slowly continuing to pull into her empty space with an sweet smile of admiration on her face.

After about three minutes, she finally came to complete stop, placed the car in park via a dial, turned the car off, and got out with one hand on her hip and the other resting on the roof as she watched Gon act like he's gawking a celebrity.

"Steph! I… I'm speechless, baby!" He exclaimed at the very top of his lungs. "You didn't have to get me one!"

"I know, but I love you too much to NOT get one for you. I have plenty of money now, so it didn't hurt me to get two of these cars. Even my Dad didn't mind pitching in a little bit for extra measures." Stephanie replied as she casually walked around the front of her car and stopped at the driver's side window for a moment. "Take a look at what I mean." Her mutated lover calmed down almost instantly after that last word and did as he was told, approaching the same side and gasped with wide eyes. "Ta-da! A perfectly rounded hole in the back for your sexy tail. I'd hate for you to struggle with discomfort, Gon-baby."

"Whhhhoah… this is definitely my car and mine alone." The two shared a heartwarming embrace after that was said. "Thank you so much, Stephanie! I truly appreciate all of this. And all because I was the only creature to respect you by who you are on the inside."

"Heh! Good way to put it, Gon-sweetie. You deserve it. You been keeping all of your promises, taught me what love actually is, and even showed me the difference between someone truly respecting me as a person and a seemingly possessed pervert. That last lesson… save my life."

"All in a day's work for me, Steph. Now, uh… how about giving me a tour of the rest of the house?"

Throughout the rest of the day, the grand tour of Stephanie's mansion was truly breathtaking. It seemed like too much for only a couple to live in, but it was actually suffice. Along with the master bedroom on the second floor, it had a game room full of about ten arcades, a billiard table, a bar, and even a dart board. It also had an Olympic sized pool, an indoor onsen right next to it, a professional kitchen, a massive living room with a 90 inch TV with several game systems and the biggest collection of movies and games the anthropomorphic creature has ever seen, and deep underground was the best part for last…

"A full-fledged aquarium?!" Gon asked as he saw a huge tank full of exotic sea creatures, including two whale sharks! "Whoa… your love for animals is king sized here! I love it!"

"Thanks." Stephanie replied as she and her lover were standing right in front of the active tank. "This was my Mother's idea. She wanted me to have a better place to relieve stress than just in that onsen or in the backyard for once. Believe it or not, I meditate down here. You should join me sometime."

"Now, that I would never pass up." It was silent for the next fifteen minutes, then Gon felt a sudden chill within the base of his wings and shivered. Stephanie saw this from the very corner of her right eye and looked at him with concern.

"What's wrong?"

"I have no idea, but it's a negative aura that I'm feeling in my wings right now. Don't worry. It's not about us, though."

"Or my parents?"

"No, they're as healthy as purebred Clydesdales. I get these feelings all the time. Whatever the mysterious event is… it always seems to happen approximately two days after the moment I feel it."

"Huh! Now, that's new. I hope it's nothing too serious."

"Well, the chill is a kinda piercing my back like icicles right now. So, it's something tragic, but not enough to tell me someone died."

"Well, I'm already praying for it to cease early for you, baby."

"Thanks. Same here."

And just as he said, two days later in the master bedroom at 10 AM…

"WHAT?!" Gon screamed within his cell phone as he just got dressed in a casual light brown suit, ready to go to work with Stephanie within an hour. She was currently in the shower as he was talking to Alisa. "I just fought her and her daughter a couple of days ago! She seemed fine!"

"It appears that it's been a hidden disease that she developed from her yesteryears as a Manji Ninja trying too hard for the theft of the Yoshimitsu sword. It also rendered her completely blind in the process!" Alisa replied on the other line. "Young Kunimitsu is so worried about her debilitating condition at this rate. We had to transfer her sickly mother to the hospital immediately. I managed to contact her shinobi ninja father, but he said he didn't want to be involved. Poor little Kuni is on her own now."

"My God…" Gon massaged his closed eyes with both sadness and aggravation. He couldn't believe it. That chill he felt two days prior wasn't an illusion. "…I just feel awful about this. I knew my wings weren't lying to me. Alisa, can you get her on the phone?"

"I'll try. She refused to speak to anyone since the eldest Kunimitsu was sent to hospital." It became silent on the other line after that. Stephanie had just come out of the bathroom, fully dressed in a professional black suit fit for a boss, even with sneakers on her feet instead of high heels and her silky brown hair carved into a topknot ponytail. Her face showed just as much grief as her lover.

"Heard the whole thing from the bathroom." She started sadly as she sat down on the foot of the bed next to him on his left. "OG Kunimitsu took a turn for the worst, huh?"

"Those old wounds plus the endless humiliation and stress finally took a toll on her after all these years, even after the healthy birth of her badass daughter." Gon replied as he was still on hold. "Not even little Kuni's father wants in on this. No surprise, though. He's a shinobi ninja."

"Oh, wow. She was practically raised by ninjas her whole life. No wonder her skills are well beyond her years like you said."

"(sigh) I don't want her to suffer. She's the newest addition to Tekken and I'm not gonna let this tie her down with those unbreakable chains that I like to refer to as 'depression'. Steph, I was gonna go to work with ya today on your first day, but I've gotta head back to Japan for this. I promise I'll be back in time for dinner."

"I'll make your favorite, too: My Chicken-Shrimp-Lobster Surprise."

"With fried rice, soy sauce, carrots, and broccoli?"

"All of it." Stephanie gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek after that. "In fact, after I cook it, I won't eat it until you get back."

"Aww, thanks, baby. You're the best." The two then shared a passionate lip lock that sent them moaning with lust for the next two minutes. As soon as the kiss ended, he heard some activity on the phone and his lover continued to watch the conversation with hope in her brown eyes. "Alisa?!"

"It's Kunimitsu." The young kunoichi replied in the lowest tone of her cute voice he's heard from her so far. "Alisa told me you wanted to speak to me and thought it would be difficult to even get a hold of me."

"Was it? Because it sure did take a while to get on the line."

"Ever since my Mother became ill, I just couldn't look at her. They offered to let me come along, but I refused. After that, I didn't speak to anyone and locked myself in my room. Alisa was hesitant, but tried anyway and told me you wanted to speak to me. After meeting you that day, I already mentally vowed to only allow those who made me feel like a true warrior to speak to me from now on."

"…" Gon was speechless after hearing such a young woman make a declaration that sounded so professional, especially after he heard her say that nobody but those who made her feel like a true warrior would be allowed to speak to her. Stephanie somehow managed to hear that entire statement as well and she was teary-eyed with pride, clasping her praying hands together as well. After a full minute of silence, Gon shook out the shock and continued the phone call. "…wow. Kunimitsu, I… I had no idea I made you feel that way after that match we shared. I mean, you whooped my ass back there. I practically let you win on purpose. It was that intense!"

"I know and thank you for that, but I need you for comfort right now. I can't continue this tournament without your guidance. Not even Jin can help me."

"Mm. I hear ya. Are you depressed at all before I get there?"

"I'm saddened with grief, but I'm not depressed. If I was, I would've said so by now. I can tell you one other thing my parents have taught me throughout my entire life besides their ninja skills: Depression is a demon and it shall never be a part of me. I've blocked it completely from my soul. I don't even know the meaning of the word 'suicide'."

"Have you ever seen it before?"

"I've never seen it nor have I learned of the word's existence until now."

"This girl…"

"…I know, right?" Stephanie gasped with him.

"Okay. I get it. Hang in there, Kunimitsu. I'm on my way."

"I'll be in my room." Kunimitsu replied. "I shall leave it unlocked for you. Thank you so much for caring. It means a lot to me."

"Anything for the daughter of a legend." The two hung up afterwards and Stephanie gave him one more hug that was warm to his scales and fur combination.

"This is exactly why I fell in love with you, Gon." She said with honesty. "Despite your appearance, you're so sweet, kind, and compassionate towards us humans."

"How can I not be all those things and then some? You all brought me back to life from potential extinction. All of this positivity my payback for it."

"That's my Gon-baby."

Later, at the Tekken Mansion at 1:15 PM…

"I couldn't make heads or tails of this mysterious disease the elder Kunimitsu came down with all of a sudden." Dr. Bosconovitch admitted as he just allowed Gon inside and walked alongside him at a slow pace towards the stairs. "She started out with severe shortness of breath, her skin became cold and pale, and then she passed out right before her daughter's eyes. It's unlike any illness I've ever seen. For now, she'll have to be bedridden as a safety measure. Thankfully, I do know one thing: It's not contagious."

"Whew! Thank God. Little Kuni's been avoiding you all after that trip her Mother took to the hospital." Gon replied.

"Is that what happened? Marduk was so offended by that because of how rude she sounded towards him."

"Huh! There it is. That harsh behavior that the OG Kuni is so famous for. I knew lil' Kuni would inherit that from her somewhere. He obviously had no idea what was going on, either."

"Not a clue. Luckily, King did know and calmed him down just as quickly as the anger came."

"Love that masked jaguar. Anyway, she only wants to speak to me. That's why I'm here. I made her feel like a true warrior. That's the only way she'll speak to ya."

"Such a professional statement from someone who's not even old enough to drink alcohol yet."

"Eh, she's got a year to wait on that, but that doesn't matter. This young woman's been raised by a pair of extremely dangerous ninjas, for God's sake! It's no wonder she's so good at what she does. I admire her already."

"What? Her father is a ninja as well?!"

"Yep! Anyway, I better get up there and soothe her young spirit. She's not depressed, though. She's been taught by her awesome parents that depression is a demon and she's completely blocked it from her soul. Honestly, that's what I feared she had, but after she said those exact words to me, I mentally breathed a sigh of relief so loud, the inside of my head felt that brain freeze chill for just a few seconds… literally."

"Incredible! Well, I shouldn't hold you back any longer. Go upstairs and tend to her."

"Thanks, Dr. B." Gon took a casual stroll up those said stairs afterwards, already hoping for a smile on the cute young kunoichi's face.

Five minutes of that peaceful walk later…

Gon didn't even hesitate as he opened the door to Kunimitsu's room and he saw her sitting at the foot of her bed with the adorable smile he hoped for. Her blue eyes lit up with joy as she stood up while Gon closed the door, locked it, and slowly approached her for an embrace that immediately made her leak out tears of overwhelming happiness. The mutated anthro didn't even care about his fur and scales getting stained by the warm tears. He began to silently cry along with her instead.

Another thirty seconds later…

"…after that, those first responders kindly asked me to come along with my Mother to the hospital." Kunimitsu concluded after telling the entire ordeal in much better detail than how she explained it over the phone. "As much as I wanted to, I didn't want to see her in such a state any longer. I told them to go ahead without me while I stay here and grieve alone. The others tried to soothe me as well, including this man named Leroy Smith offering to let me pet his pit bull, Sugar. Again, I didn't want anyone else to talk to me and I just confined myself in here until Alisa told me you were on the phone."

"And it's all because you and I connected already after our little exhibition match a few days back." Gon concluded with both sarcasm and pride in his handsome male voice. "Personally, I can understand why this emotional roller coaster is taking you through those unpredictable loops already. Dr. B told me that it all happened right before your eyes."

"It was so sudden, like I said before. Could it really be from her past wounds finally coming back to haunt her?"

"Most likely. Your Mother failed twice throughout her lifetime. The first time was for Michelle's family heirloom. The second time was obviously Yoshimitsu's sword. That second time did the humiliating charm and she retired from her ninja ways entirely, got married, and probably had the hottest round of ninja sex in history in order to create you."

"…" Little Kunimitsu looked at her lap in deep thought as Gon continued. He knew she was listening the entire time.

"She felt completely fine after that, especially during Tekken Tag and Tekken Tag 2. She hid you very well throughout those years. Now that you're all grown up and practically living just like her, her own body was like 'That's it! You're done!'. That's how science and nature can be so cruel sometimes and there's just no way to avoid it, lil' Kuni. That's just how the ball bounces and, regardless of the outcome in the future, we all have to live with it." Hearing those last two statements made Kunimitsu look at her mutated mentor with a heavenly glow of hope as she pulled off a small smile. He returned it with a gentle claw upon her left shoulder. "Don't let all of this negativity block you from fulfilling your Mother's wish. You just wanna make her happy. Is that it?"

"More than anything. I love my Mother with all of my heart, despite our dangerous backgrounds as thieves and assassins with a never-ending intent to kill. Same could be said for my Father. I love them both."

"That may be, but after hearing that your Father wants nothing more to do with you and your Mom, well…"

"Hm. You may be right. I guess I do only have to focus on my Mother and, since that's the case, I know the one thing she wishes for me to do: Steal what she failed to take back in her day."

"The Yoshimitsu sword?"

"Yes. Just performing the theft would probably make her the happiest I've ever seen her in my entire life."

"Which is so strange, so to speak. You do remember how it has to be done, right?"

"I've studied the ways of the ninja and how one's own sword that shares his name can be successfully transferred to a new host. I basically have to fight him to the death as usual. The only difference is the execution at the climax of the battle. The death of the owner must be done back to back. That way, the potential curse of the sword will not become one with the new host, even though the name of the blade will still be of the previous master."

"…whhhoa…" Once again, Gon was utterly speechless by 20-year-old Kunimitsu's wise tone in her adorable voice. Seeing this reaction made her giggle softly while keeping her fierce game face.

"Something tells me that I've impressed you."

"…pfft! Tell me something else I don't know, why don'tcha?! My God… that sounded like your Mother talking there. That is exactly what has to happen word for word. You know challenging Yoshimitsu and killing him that way won't be easy, right? He was difficult for me."

"So, I've heard from Mother. You shouldn't worry about me. I've surpassed both of my parents in terms of skill by the million fold. I've made them the amateurs and they call me their master."

"No kiddin'! So, you're saying that it'll be easy for you, right?"

"Yes. And it's no exaggeration, either. Killing Yoshimitsu and obtaining his sword will make Mother so happy, she'll probably be healed from her illness. Don't know if that'll actually happen, but it's wishful thinking."

"Amen to that, Kunimitsu. That's all that matters: Joy all around for both of you. Do you feel like you could take him on right now?"

"Absolutely! I swear it on my Mother's name that Yoshimitsu will die for what he put her through and the aftermath of it all."

"There ya go! Make sure you tell me how it all works out later on, okay? I'm gonna be rootin' for ya." Hearing that made the young kunoichi slightly frown. He followed suit with a hint of concern as he continued. "I know you didn't wanna hear that, but I promised my girlfriend I'd make it back in time for dinner. I'm still supportin' ya from a distance, Kuni."

"I understand. I appreciate you coming back all this way to see me, though. You have a warm kindred spirit for someone like you. Please do promise me that you'll come back after my update. You're my new father figure, Gon."

"Aww, shucks. That's very sweet of you to say. I'm honored." The two shared a heartwarming embrace for ten seconds after that was said. When the two parted, Gon continued: "I can't replace your actual Father, though."

"I know, but it feels like you did." The conversation ended with the two just staring at each other with regal smiles that were full of hope for Kunimitsu and tranquility for Gon.

To be continued…

(Since I already love this new Kunimitsu in Tekken 7, I decided to put her in here along with the gut-wrenching backstory she has, spiced up with my own twist in terms of details, of course. Hope I did the new Kuni justice here. Please do let me know what you think. Absolutely no flames, though. Y'all should know why by now.)