There was a chill in the air as the sun began to rise, slowly ascending behind the mountains. It should have been an awe-inspiring sight, Kazuya thought, although he personally felt numb to its majesty. Such was his nature since his resurrection' such things no longer stirred his sense of humanity. The only thing this landscape stirred was a white hot fury, and a desire for revenge.

It was here it had all began. Here was the very gorge he had plummeted down, nearly to his death, when he was a mere five years of age.

He closed his eyes and remembered; remembered struggling, pleading with his father to let him go. Despite his struggles, his father's grip was strong, unyielding. He remembered looking down, seeing the distant base of the cliff,the sharp, jagged outcrops of rock, and the giddying, terrifying sensation that sight instilled in him. The confusion, the fear - he remembered it all. But most of all, he remembered the expression on his father's face when, realising that his fate was sealed, he had asked him through choked sobs and tears,

Heihachi smiled...and then let go.

The rushing of air as he fell - the pain of his flesh being torn by the rock face - the terror, the betrayal - he wasn't just remembering it now, he was feeling it, reliving it...and as the ground came ever closer.

Kazuya stumbled. gasping after releasing a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. Calming himself, he stood straight, astonished to find the sun had now fully risen. How long had his vision' lasted?

And what was the purpose of that little display? he rumbled angrily. not really expecting an answer. Yet an answer came.

To remind you. To remind you of what your father did to you. Remember your anger...and remember our agreement.

 Kazuya snorted. I don't need any prompting from you, fiend, to remember what my father did to me. There hasn't been a single day in my life since that moment where I haven't thought about what he did to me, and how I will have my revenge.

Good. But you would do well to remember what enabled you to have the opportunity for that revenge.

Kazuya relaxed a little as he felt the other's grasp of his mind lessen slightly. Yes, he remembered that moment when, bloodied and on the brink of death, he had allowed the parasitic entity, which still inhabited him even now, to co-exist with him. Through him it could have physical form, and from it he could gain immeasurable power.

In weaker moments he had cursed that decision...how could a five year old possibly realise the consequences of that fateful action? But...

He wouldn't have it any other way, he knew that. If he hadn't seized that power, he would be dead...and Heihachi would still be alive. In those moments when he mourned his lost humanity, he concentrated on that one thought.

But is that anyway to live your life? Is that even living?

Do not question me, Jun Kazama. Hasn't the study of your precious animals taught you that the weak, the docile, are nothing but prey?

He snorted at that particular memory. Over twenty years ago, Jun Kazama had come into his life...and stayed there, albeit briefly. Poor, naive, misguided Jun. She thought she loved him.

The project of their relationship had proceeded to the next round of the tournament, he noted, with more than idle interest. Every time he thought of his son, he felt a feeling so strange, he could hardly begin to describe it. Almost like cold logic and raw emotion, all at once, coupled with an odd buzzing sensation.

He looked at his watch, then signalled to his driver. His next fight was in a few hours, and he needed to get to the city. As the car moved off, he recalled Jun's response to his question.

Nothing in nature is weak or docile. Everything has it's own strengths, Kazuya. You should remember that.

*******

Nina tightened the last buckle of her boot, and sighed heavily. The only way she had got any sleep was to take a whole load of pills, and she was still feeling the after effects. Her newfound knowledge too much to take in, and she still had a decision to make; to kill or not to kill?

No, she frowned. She could kill Steve Fox - her son -now. A vague memory stirred within her-

A grave - her father's grave - she was kneeling. There were footsteps behind...Anna. She pulled out her gun-

Then another memory-

Girls, whenareya gonna stop fighting? Family is the most important t'ing in t' world...

A tear rolled down Nina's cheek. Memories. Honest to god, genuine memories. It wasn't a lot, but it was a start.

No, the question now was...should she approach her former target? Warn him somehow? Tell him the truth?

She chuckled darkly, imagining the scene, imagining Steve's reaction as a woman who was only three years older than him claimed to be his mother. She shook her head.

Whatever decision she made, it could wait until after her fight. She was up against Jin Kazama, youngest scion of the Mishima clan...and also a former target, although she hadn't really had any say in the matter.

She exited the room briskly, and quickly made her way out of the hotel. Perhaps, if her mind hadn't of been so occupied, she would have sensed the watching eyes.