Chapter 6:
The Devil Stirs...
Sunlight seeped through the blinds of the restaurant room. Lee sat up. He was staying at the restaurant and had been made quite welcome. Law and Lei stayed with Forrest. Lee thought about the last few days. It had been so long since he had such eventful times. For many years he had been working in the Bahamas, working on improving Combot. What a waste of time. "I could've been improving my martial skill." He punched the wall and left a dent. He stood up. "Too long have I wasted my life. Now it's time to improve myself. Fuck money... Money. What a bitch. People kill each other for money, lives are ruined because of greedy bastards who just want more. Fuck Mishima..."
He tightened his fists. He remembered his anger, he hated that God damned family. Their stupid robotic martial art, their hatred for each other, their greedy corporation... But there's still Jin. There's something about that boy that made him different from his father and his grandfather. Kazama, what was she to Kazuya? Could it be that Kazuya loved someone? No, more likely she was raped.
Lee had thought these things a thousand times, but had never bothered looking for truth. He decided he would visit Jin sometime, there's no point thinking too far ahead.
Lee started doing leg-raises. He did twelve repetitions every morning before he became a corporate scumbag. As he was on his third left-leg side leg raise, which had a slight over-split, Li walked into the room. The youth was stunned. "How can you be so flexible!?" He exclaimed.
Lee carried on until he finished twelve leg raises. "If you stretch every day, morning and night, it's easy. A good martial artist should have a flexible body and a flexible mind. If you are flexible you can hit harder and kick higher."
"Let me try!" Li dropped down into a deep stance.
"No, no, no." Lee waggled his finger at Li. "What do you call that?"
"It's the Horse-riding stance." Li said simply.
"Horse-riding stance is good to practice, but you can't fight from it." Lee explained. "Try a kick."
Li executed a clumsy front-kick.
"You see, that stance is too deep. When you kick from it, you lose your balance. The best fighting stance is a shorter one, slightly wider than shoulder width. Keep your weight on the balls of your feet and stand side- on to your opponent. This presents fewer targets to your opponent." Lee demonstrated. He stood with his knees slightly bent. "You shouldn't stay static when you fight. You have to be springy, like this." Lee started bouncing slightly.
"Wow, you know so much! Can you teach me how to fight?" Li asked.
Lee stepped out of the stance and smiled at Li. "Sure, I'll teach you. The first thing you should do in the morning is go jogging. Follow me!"
Lee put on a white tank-top and walked out of the restaurant. As he got out, he started jogging with Li following behind. They jogged through the streets of Hong Kong. After a while, Li was too tired and jogged home. Lee had lots of energy, he ran joyfully, picking up the pace. After about an hour of jogging he turned a corner and crashed into someone. They both fell over.
Lee stood up. "Oops, I'm sorry-" Lee looked at who he bumped into. It was Liu! "What are you doing here?"
Liu stood up and brushed his black jacket absent-mindedly. He smiled weakly at Lee. "I know who you are, Mr. Choalan.-" Lee looked surprised. "I don't want to fight. Look, can we speak inside?" Liu indicated to the restaurant which was just down the alley.
"What are you playing at? I know you trashed the restaurant yesterday. I know you work for the Red Triangle Triad." Lee's fists tightened. He stared hard at Liu.
Liu looked at the ground. "I didn't want to do it. I had orders, if you don't follow orders you end up dead. I never wanted to hurt anybody..."
"If that's so then why are you in a triad?" Lee was ready to kick Liu's ass. He was sick of his shit.
"It's hard trying to survive in China. Of course, you wouldn't know that. Growing up in riches and luxury."
"It wasn't like that!" Lee was getting angrier. "I hate Heihachi. He's a bastard. He threw his five-year old son in a trench, he trained us so hard our muscles ached every day and when we did something wrong he beat us." Lee looked away. Rage pulsated through his body. He gritted his teeth and grinded down. "Fuck you Liu! You're gonna die!"
Lee moved his left-leg forward into his fighting stance. Liu looked displeased. "So be it. I didn't want it this way, Lee. I learn fast, I've improved since our last fight."
Liu brought his palms up into a Northern Triad guarding stance. Lee leapt forward with a jumping spinning whip-kick which Liu ducked. As Lee landed Liu executed a left-leg roundhouse to Lee's ribs. It connected with a loud THWACK!
Lee staggered backward. He looked up, smiled, and stretched his neck from side to side. "Come on." He taunted.
Liu jumped forward with a front-kick, Lee hopped backward to evade it and jumped forward to counter-attack with his own front-kick. It slammed into Liu's chest which sent him sprawling on the ground. "Damn you!" Liu shouted. Liu sprung to his feet and tried whip-kick Lee's head. Instead of ducking, Lee spun around with his own whip-kick which whacked Liu on the chest sending Liu into the wall with a sickening crack. Liu felt his bones break. He felt his impending death.
Liu lay on his side, holding his chest in pain. Liu coughed, blood trickled from his mouth. "Lee..." He coughed. "I was never a match for you... But your time will end now you've beaten me up."
Lee raised an eyebrow. "Like you're going to defeat me, Liu."
Liu coughed some blood on to the ground. "This is it... I didn't want it to end like this." He coughed more blood. "But I can feel it... That was some kick, Lee. You probably don't realize how much your anger has affected you... You don't understand, your father..." Liu coughed more blood.
Lee's anger returned. He grabbed Liu by the shirt. "What are you talking about? Heihachi? He's no father of mine."
Liu shook his head. "No, I mean your real father: Choalan Yee-tai, the Dragon Head of the Red Triangle." Liu spat red saliva onto the ground.
"What? You're lying!" Lee raised his fist.
"No, Lee. I may be a bad man, but I'm no liar. Your father will want you dead now. You must understand, I never wanted it this way... I didn't want it to end like this..." Liu spluttered then went limp.
Lee lowered his fist and loosened his grip. He sat back onto the ground, his brow furrowed. It seemed surreal to Lee. "Is it true?" He asked the ground. "Can this be true?"
His question rode the wind to nothingness.
On a mountain in Korea stood a once majestic temple. Surrounded by the sea and the stars, it crouched as a menacing shadow beneath the moon. Inside the dojang knelt a man who seemed oblivious to the dark.
The interior of the dojang held no light not even the moon penetrated the tattered roof. The man sat in deep thought, he wore the traditional clothes of a Korean samurang. His black hakama and black gi were a direct contrast to his long white hair. Colour did not matter to him for vision had left him a long time ago.
He gripped his Korean sword which hung sheathed by his side. The feel of the handle became more familiar to him than the touch of his own mother. He drew the blade and held it above his head. Around him crawled numerous geckos.
He leapt in the air and struck near the wall. A single gecko fell to the floor. He listened intently then back-flipped whilst cutting at the floor. Blood sprayed from another lizard. He then threw the blade at the wall near the entrance of the dojang to hear the minute squeal of another lizard.
"I know you're there." The blind man said. "If you want to sneak up on me, you have to make no sound."
At the entrance of the dojang stood a man in a suit. He smiled. "Wan Yan- jik, I have a contract for you."
The samurang smiled back. "I hope this isn't as easy as the last."
The suited man laughed and stepped into the dojang. He picked the sword off the wall and threw it at Won Yan-jik. The blind samurang caught the sword by it's handle and re-sheathed it.
"You are to go to Hong Kong where you'll help the Red Triangle Triad to fend off the Tekken Force of Mishima Zaibatsu." The suited man held up a rolled piece of paper. "Read it yourself." He threw it to Wan Yan-jik who caught it perfectly.
Laughing off the man's joke, he tucked it into his gi top. "I want to see if you've improved your sword skill, brother." He said.
"Very well."
The suited man drew his katana and readied his stance.
The Devil Stirs...
Sunlight seeped through the blinds of the restaurant room. Lee sat up. He was staying at the restaurant and had been made quite welcome. Law and Lei stayed with Forrest. Lee thought about the last few days. It had been so long since he had such eventful times. For many years he had been working in the Bahamas, working on improving Combot. What a waste of time. "I could've been improving my martial skill." He punched the wall and left a dent. He stood up. "Too long have I wasted my life. Now it's time to improve myself. Fuck money... Money. What a bitch. People kill each other for money, lives are ruined because of greedy bastards who just want more. Fuck Mishima..."
He tightened his fists. He remembered his anger, he hated that God damned family. Their stupid robotic martial art, their hatred for each other, their greedy corporation... But there's still Jin. There's something about that boy that made him different from his father and his grandfather. Kazama, what was she to Kazuya? Could it be that Kazuya loved someone? No, more likely she was raped.
Lee had thought these things a thousand times, but had never bothered looking for truth. He decided he would visit Jin sometime, there's no point thinking too far ahead.
Lee started doing leg-raises. He did twelve repetitions every morning before he became a corporate scumbag. As he was on his third left-leg side leg raise, which had a slight over-split, Li walked into the room. The youth was stunned. "How can you be so flexible!?" He exclaimed.
Lee carried on until he finished twelve leg raises. "If you stretch every day, morning and night, it's easy. A good martial artist should have a flexible body and a flexible mind. If you are flexible you can hit harder and kick higher."
"Let me try!" Li dropped down into a deep stance.
"No, no, no." Lee waggled his finger at Li. "What do you call that?"
"It's the Horse-riding stance." Li said simply.
"Horse-riding stance is good to practice, but you can't fight from it." Lee explained. "Try a kick."
Li executed a clumsy front-kick.
"You see, that stance is too deep. When you kick from it, you lose your balance. The best fighting stance is a shorter one, slightly wider than shoulder width. Keep your weight on the balls of your feet and stand side- on to your opponent. This presents fewer targets to your opponent." Lee demonstrated. He stood with his knees slightly bent. "You shouldn't stay static when you fight. You have to be springy, like this." Lee started bouncing slightly.
"Wow, you know so much! Can you teach me how to fight?" Li asked.
Lee stepped out of the stance and smiled at Li. "Sure, I'll teach you. The first thing you should do in the morning is go jogging. Follow me!"
Lee put on a white tank-top and walked out of the restaurant. As he got out, he started jogging with Li following behind. They jogged through the streets of Hong Kong. After a while, Li was too tired and jogged home. Lee had lots of energy, he ran joyfully, picking up the pace. After about an hour of jogging he turned a corner and crashed into someone. They both fell over.
Lee stood up. "Oops, I'm sorry-" Lee looked at who he bumped into. It was Liu! "What are you doing here?"
Liu stood up and brushed his black jacket absent-mindedly. He smiled weakly at Lee. "I know who you are, Mr. Choalan.-" Lee looked surprised. "I don't want to fight. Look, can we speak inside?" Liu indicated to the restaurant which was just down the alley.
"What are you playing at? I know you trashed the restaurant yesterday. I know you work for the Red Triangle Triad." Lee's fists tightened. He stared hard at Liu.
Liu looked at the ground. "I didn't want to do it. I had orders, if you don't follow orders you end up dead. I never wanted to hurt anybody..."
"If that's so then why are you in a triad?" Lee was ready to kick Liu's ass. He was sick of his shit.
"It's hard trying to survive in China. Of course, you wouldn't know that. Growing up in riches and luxury."
"It wasn't like that!" Lee was getting angrier. "I hate Heihachi. He's a bastard. He threw his five-year old son in a trench, he trained us so hard our muscles ached every day and when we did something wrong he beat us." Lee looked away. Rage pulsated through his body. He gritted his teeth and grinded down. "Fuck you Liu! You're gonna die!"
Lee moved his left-leg forward into his fighting stance. Liu looked displeased. "So be it. I didn't want it this way, Lee. I learn fast, I've improved since our last fight."
Liu brought his palms up into a Northern Triad guarding stance. Lee leapt forward with a jumping spinning whip-kick which Liu ducked. As Lee landed Liu executed a left-leg roundhouse to Lee's ribs. It connected with a loud THWACK!
Lee staggered backward. He looked up, smiled, and stretched his neck from side to side. "Come on." He taunted.
Liu jumped forward with a front-kick, Lee hopped backward to evade it and jumped forward to counter-attack with his own front-kick. It slammed into Liu's chest which sent him sprawling on the ground. "Damn you!" Liu shouted. Liu sprung to his feet and tried whip-kick Lee's head. Instead of ducking, Lee spun around with his own whip-kick which whacked Liu on the chest sending Liu into the wall with a sickening crack. Liu felt his bones break. He felt his impending death.
Liu lay on his side, holding his chest in pain. Liu coughed, blood trickled from his mouth. "Lee..." He coughed. "I was never a match for you... But your time will end now you've beaten me up."
Lee raised an eyebrow. "Like you're going to defeat me, Liu."
Liu coughed some blood on to the ground. "This is it... I didn't want it to end like this." He coughed more blood. "But I can feel it... That was some kick, Lee. You probably don't realize how much your anger has affected you... You don't understand, your father..." Liu coughed more blood.
Lee's anger returned. He grabbed Liu by the shirt. "What are you talking about? Heihachi? He's no father of mine."
Liu shook his head. "No, I mean your real father: Choalan Yee-tai, the Dragon Head of the Red Triangle." Liu spat red saliva onto the ground.
"What? You're lying!" Lee raised his fist.
"No, Lee. I may be a bad man, but I'm no liar. Your father will want you dead now. You must understand, I never wanted it this way... I didn't want it to end like this..." Liu spluttered then went limp.
Lee lowered his fist and loosened his grip. He sat back onto the ground, his brow furrowed. It seemed surreal to Lee. "Is it true?" He asked the ground. "Can this be true?"
His question rode the wind to nothingness.
On a mountain in Korea stood a once majestic temple. Surrounded by the sea and the stars, it crouched as a menacing shadow beneath the moon. Inside the dojang knelt a man who seemed oblivious to the dark.
The interior of the dojang held no light not even the moon penetrated the tattered roof. The man sat in deep thought, he wore the traditional clothes of a Korean samurang. His black hakama and black gi were a direct contrast to his long white hair. Colour did not matter to him for vision had left him a long time ago.
He gripped his Korean sword which hung sheathed by his side. The feel of the handle became more familiar to him than the touch of his own mother. He drew the blade and held it above his head. Around him crawled numerous geckos.
He leapt in the air and struck near the wall. A single gecko fell to the floor. He listened intently then back-flipped whilst cutting at the floor. Blood sprayed from another lizard. He then threw the blade at the wall near the entrance of the dojang to hear the minute squeal of another lizard.
"I know you're there." The blind man said. "If you want to sneak up on me, you have to make no sound."
At the entrance of the dojang stood a man in a suit. He smiled. "Wan Yan- jik, I have a contract for you."
The samurang smiled back. "I hope this isn't as easy as the last."
The suited man laughed and stepped into the dojang. He picked the sword off the wall and threw it at Won Yan-jik. The blind samurang caught the sword by it's handle and re-sheathed it.
"You are to go to Hong Kong where you'll help the Red Triangle Triad to fend off the Tekken Force of Mishima Zaibatsu." The suited man held up a rolled piece of paper. "Read it yourself." He threw it to Wan Yan-jik who caught it perfectly.
Laughing off the man's joke, he tucked it into his gi top. "I want to see if you've improved your sword skill, brother." He said.
"Very well."
The suited man drew his katana and readied his stance.