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Chapter Eight


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Nina finds Julia crying when she steps back into the dorm. Knees hunched up towards her chest and the soft sobs brought her concern. She never saw Julia cry.

"What's wrong Julia?"

The brunette swipes away her tears with her fingertips. "Remember my date night at the place you work? Turns out the guy who died was called Armour King. He was a good guy. Took part in the first two Tekken tournaments. He was a legend. He went to protect me and got killed by a brute." Julia whispers and then anger flashes in her eyes. "And that fucking brute- a nobody basically got away with it!"

Nina remains silent and waits for Julia to finish. "It's sad that some nobody destroyed a legend. All that reputation Armor King built up, only to be killed at the hands of someone so….less important and not contributing any good in the world!"

She hadn't seen this side to Julia and it unsettles Nina. She wondered what Julia thought of her but then stopped herself from speculating. Nina felt useless too. She was no legend.

"Delayed trauma is it?" Nina asks, opting to keep the mood light and playful. She steps out of her heels and strolls over to Julia.

"I feel responsible for the poor guy's death."

"You're not responsible for his death." Nina counters and sits down beside her friend.

"My mother is also a legend amongst our tribe. She went up against the Mishimas to protect the world. I still worry to this day if she's going to pay the price dearly for it. I just managed to rescue her during the third Tekken Tournament."

Nina keeps silent, unsure of how to communicate with this angry and hurt Julia. Then the brunette does something which surprises Nina. She leans over and pulls her in for a warm hug. This feeling was so foreign to Nina that she doesn't know how to react so she settles for gently tapping Julia's back a couple of times. It was nice though. Being hugged as if she mattered and that Julia could derive some comfort from it.

When the woman pulls away, Nina quickly removes the stunned look on her face to a blank one.

"I'm sorry Nina, I just had to pour out this hurt today. I'm a weirdo and I take full responsibility for it."

"No worries. You have strong opinions." Nina shrugs. "And I may enjoy the company of weirdos." She adds to lighten the mood.

Jin was one too and Nina didn't mind, much to her surprise. Julia chuckles.

"Anyway, how was your date with Jin?"

"It wasn't a date." Nina replies defensively.

"Oh I mean your outing. Yes. How was your outing with Jin?" Julia asks, blushing this time.

"What are you insinuating woman?"

"Pardon me Nina, I made a wrong assumption about you two." Julia adds nervously and Nina could tell her friend wanted to swiftly change the topic. But Nina gave her a stare that demanded an explanation.

"It's just you and Jin spend quite some time together and I know you both are stingy with your time."

"Well I did invite you to join us but you declined."

As she doesn't get a reply to that, Nina folds her arms. She hated to admit it but Julia was right. Nina was spending most of her free time with Jin. Not knowing what else to say, maybe it was time to change the subject.

"I got a memory I think of my life before."

Julia sits up, eager to hear more.


The Sensei's name was Isshin Chiba and he was now also Jin's boss. The man was strict, probably a little more than Heihachi Mishima but he also had a goofy side. The man had twitter and would always repeat good morning every morning with an emoji. He'd show Jin and try to create a friendship with him who was adamant on keeping a distance.

All his students were like his children apart from Jin and it was better than way. The last time Jin had allowed a father figure in his heart had betrayed him. He'd focus on training hard until his arms hissed out. Chiba hated the way he trained and didn't forget to let the young man know.

"Form over harshness, strategy over strength!" He'd chide while teaching him the Mental Alertness stance. Sometimes he'd even force Jin's knees to be positioned correctly with his own hands, a gesture which freaked Jin out.

"I can't stand it when someone mocks the Mental Alertness Stance!" Chiba would complain, slapping his knees lightly.

"Oi! Watch it!" A female's voice sniggered, the voice of his daughter and a fellow student.

It was clear. She often thought it was funny to voice out Jin's thoughts during the whole ordeal. Her brown eyes would glint in mischief as she observed them with folded arms. No matter how hard they tried, Jin refused to communicate much with them as casually as they wanted.

After training, he would cool down before cleaning the dojo. The pay wasn't that great considering the fact that it was a small dojo run by a Japanese man so Isshin took it upon himself to find jobs for him such as translation work for various clients including international publishing houses. Those paid quite handsomely.

"Nagasawa," Isshin addresses Jin.

His true name had been concealed until now. Jin was known as Takato Nagasawa.

"How is it that your English is better than mine if you never set foot in English country all your life? I lived in Brisbane for ten years and I still struggle."

A beautiful memory runs through Jin's mind. "My mother taught me English and Japanese when I was growing up. She loved linguistics a lot."

"I should thank your mother then." Isshin replies. "Do you think she can teach my daughter English?"

Before Jin can let the man know his mother was long gone, the man's twenty year old daughter gets her word in first.

"I already know English, dad." The daughter cuts in. "And I also know how to fight your favorite student too. How to knock him flat on his ass."

"You cheeky girl, he's not my favorite student!" The father snaps, putting on a strict act.

Jin shakes his head at the pair. It was tempting to join in sometimes but they should not know Jin Kazama. That Takato Nagasawa mask could not slip.

"Please father, I know your intentions but the man isn't interested. Don't embarrass him."

"My dear daughter, you should meet his mother no?"

"My mother is dead." Jin tells them, deciding to end the matter right now.

He keeps his burning eyes on the hanging punchbag and imagines Heihachi's face before slamming a hard kick against it.

Their voices fade away until Jin can only hear the sound of his fists and feet whacking the hell out of the creaking punchbag.


The pain in his forehead spreads deeper. His fingers instantly touch the area where the bullet had hit. The smell of gunfire, his own blood and the sound of a 'hmpf' fills his senses. His heart burns with the pain of betrayal. He was meant to be dead.

Jin kicks off the sheets so his overheated body could cool down. Everytime that nightmare occurred, he felt like he just stepped out of hell.

If your precious mother hadn't sent you to him, you would have never suffered, the venomous voice goads.

Jin gasps. Few months in and he still hadn't gotten used to hearing that other voice. The voice that claimed to be his messiah.

Stop it. Jin thinks. Stop talking to me.

The more it spoke, the more it made him resent his late mother. For having him. For sending him to his doom.

The shame of having such feelings for the one person who truly loved him suffocates him. A knock on the door startles him and Jin gasps.

Who'd visit him in this hour of the night? He was sure it was 2am or something. He looks over at his alarm clock to check. It was 2.15 am. The heat leaves his body and he feels a little cooler. Once he's forced himself off the bed, he stumbles towards the front door.

Jin wasn't going to open it until he looks through the peep hole. Despite still being half asleep, if some stranger thought they'd force their way in here he'd deal with them. Slowly he lifts his heavy hand and rests it against the wall for support. Then he leans forward to glimpse at the peephole.

There was no one there.

Must have been his imagination.

Jin's foot steps forward to prevent him from falling. He feels a cool texture beneath it. Different from the carpet.

He looks down and there is an envelope.

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