Author's notes: This story is mostly based on the Tekken Anime movie and is set right after Heihachi flew off on a jet plane and the Tekken fighters escaped the island via a submarine. It is also based on Tekken 2 endings of specific characters, as well as a few opening sequences from Tekken Tag Tournament. This fanfic is in Jun Kazama's point of view. Rated NC-17
Disclaimer: Jun Kazama, Kazuya Mishima and all Tekken characters are the property of NAMCO. This is only a fan fiction from the imagination of an obsessed fan. No copyright infringement intended.
Chapter I: Saved
My raven hair blew with the wind as my bus wound its way to the mountains of Yakushima: the place of my birth. I breathed in the scent of fresh mountain pine, a wave of nostalgia filling up my lungs. Though I still have not forgotten Kazuya's disappearance, the familiar sights washed all my worries away.
It has been well over a week since my horrible ordeal in the Iron Fist Tournament. Memories were still as fresh as the wounds I carry but I know that eventually, time will heal them. All the participants have gone on with their separate lives. Michelle has gone back to America. Lei, to China...though he wouldn't have left earlier if I had relented to his insistent offer to drive me home. And now, I too will be back in the sanctity of my solitary life.
When I saw that all too, familiar path, I called for the driver to stop. After paying, I stepped out and greeted the morning sunlight that peeked through the tall trees. I took a deep breath. Fresh air at last! It's been so long since I left for the city. Everything seemed brand new to me.
I began my trek towards home. Birds fleeted from branch to branch just to follow me. One even lighted to my shoulder, making me smile. Ever since I could remember, the animals had never feared me. Maybe it's because they could feel no malice in my soul. Or maybe it's because I was, as my relatives had told me so many times, the chosen child. Other than my ability to sense things, I consider myself more lucky than special. Lucky, because I can communicate with animals and nature in ways that other people can only dream about.
I arrived at a small clearing. My cottage wouldn't be too far away now. Then, I saw a sight that made me happier than I already was. All my animal friends seemed to have sensed my arrival and came to greet me. Even my horse had somehow leapt from her enclosure and came. I reached out and stroked her long mane. She whinnied. I felt a light nudge on my hand. I turned to see a doe which I remembered to be the foal I had taken under my wing. She now had two foals of her own. I knelt down to let one of the squirrels climb up to my shoulder.
"Thank you. It's great to see you all again," I told them. Then, I turned to my horse. "Come now, girl. I want to rediscover this place."
I don't know how long I was in the forest, but by the time I was ready to go home, the sun had begun to set. I was about to turn my horse around when I remembered something.
"This way," I told my mare. "I want to make one last stop." She whinnied and strode towards a clearing up north. We broke away from the acres and acres of trees and into a grassy plain. I dismounted and took a shaky breath. This was the place. This was where Kazuya had been mercilessly thrown by Heihachi. For sixteen years after I gave up my search, I had avoided this place. The memories hurt and still hurt. I had blamed myself for what happened then. But now that I know Kazuya was alive, I built up the courage to face my childhood fears.
I walked up to the cliff. A slow breeze was moving around me as I watched the setting sun. I didn't realize how beautiful this place could be. It's just terrible it had to be tainted with that horrific incident. I backed away. I couldn't...I couldn't do it. I can't stay here long. That terrible event just wouldn't stop replaying in my mind. I ran to my mare and rode her away from the cliff, feeling the tears stinging my eyes as we galloped towards home.
Sleep was a hard won prize that night. This solitude was new to me after spending years in the city cramped with so many people. The rain that pounded on my rooftop wasn't helping either. The roof leaked and I had to put up several pails to catch the water. I'll have to have those leaks covered soon.
After an hour of simply staring out into space, my eyelids began to close. I was in the place between sleep and awake: a moment wherein you're still partially conscious but quite unsure if you had just begun dreaming. In that moment, I saw Kazuya, standing on the cliff. The rain had pasted his spiky hair to the base of his neck. Torrents and torrents of rain fell upon him. Suddenly, to my shock and horror, he raised his arms and allowed himself to slowly fall off the steep ravine.
"Kazuya!!!" I quickly sat up, my blanket riding up to my hips. My heart pounded hard against my chest. That was not a dream. This realization caused me to rise up, put on my robe and slippers, and run out of the house. It was still raining hard, but I didn't care. I had to get to Kazuya before it was too late!
Running through the forest in this storm, in nothing but my sleeping garments, proved harder than I thought. By the time I got to the cliff, my kimono was torn in several places and I lost one of my slippers. No body was there but my instincts told me to look beyond. I stepped closer to the edge and stared down below. It was hard to see in the darkness. A lightning bolt illuminated the sky for a brief moment but that was enough for me to see Kazuya's limp form, sagged on one of the river's large rocks.
With more luck than skill, I managed to get down the cliff without hurting myself. A sense of deja vu filled me. It had been just like this, sixteen years ago, when I went down this same cliff to look for Kazuya's body. But this time, I would find him.
The river that was usually up to my thigh now rose towards my chest. The current was quite strong and I had to hold on to rocks just so I wouldn't be swept away. I reached the rock were Kazuya lay motionless. Blood was oozing from a gash on his head. I groped on his neck to make sure he was still alive. There was a pulse. It was weak, but it was definitely there. Relief such as I've never felt before passed through me, making me light-headed for a moment. I didn't think he had broken any bones. He had probably fallen down on the water and washed up to this rock. Slowly but surely, I began the arduous task of taking Kazuya back to the safety of my cottage.
Chapter II