Chapter Seventeen
The café, he remembered it well enough, though it was remodeled now, and Kazuya sat alone eating a bit of breakfast and drinking coffee. He had no idea where he was supposed to go now; he had left the bus station in Dreyfus hours ago, and more or less had been wandering on his own, soaking in the scenery. So much of it was familiar, although alarming.
There was a reason why he had left, that much he knew. However, he wondered what it could had been. Nothing solid came to mind, aside from idly wondering where he was going to stay while he was there. He took a sip of his coffee and looked across at the empty seat in front of him, suddenly feeling lonely. A part of him actually wanted his female companion to appear, smirking at him. However, he quickly shook that off. Sitting in coffee houses didn't seem like something he would had done on a regular basis before the institution, and he decided that was what was causing his uncomfortableness.
Kazuya had noticed he just didn't trust people. Even when the cashiers and waitresses smiled at him, something went off inside of him. His mind constantly wondered if they wanted something else from him, if they were going to turn him back in, and so on. All of which, the answer was "no", and he knew that. Yet, it still happened, though it was lessening as the day passed. Eventually, he stood up, his coffee half finished and cold; he was ready to leave.
Surprisingly enough, he was able to give the cabby an address, something that had been whispered into his ear lovingly by the Asian lady, though she remained unseen. It was almost as if he could feel her warm breath against the back of his neck, her finger gently tracing the contour of his ear and jaw with a playful giggle that hinted of sexual desire. He managed to keep a straight face, disgusted at himself and at her. Whether or not she existed, he didn't like the thoughts he was having, wondering exactly what it would be like to make love to her or pondering if he had even done so in the past or in his dreams.
The cab driver responded, "You live a ways out."
"Yes, I know," said Kazuya. From that point on, he said nothing, unless he was asked a question. Mostly, he watched the scenery, and the cabby rambled on, discussing his day and so on. Small talk. The further out from town they went, the more ill-ease Kazuya felt. Though there was nothing but flat lands and some rolling hills, he recognized everything. His teeth ground against each other as he watched the land in the distance slowly morph from flat grasslands to steep rocky hills. His hand went to his chest, the scar burning underneath his shirt. An iron fence and gate came into view.
"Stop here?" the driver asked.
"It's a little further."
"Alright."
He didn't recognize the car in the driveway at all. However, he quickly saw from the tags that it was a rental. For some reason, that was the first thing he noticed instead of the estate home that he was now pulling up to. The cabby whistled and made a comment, but Kazuya didn't quite catch all of it as he gazed on the stony facade of the manison.
The fountain in the front was going and filled with water. He blinked, surprised by that. The image he had in his head of that fountain was dried, covered in ivy. It had always been dry, that much he remembered. Quickly, he got out of the car, paid the driver, then made his way to the garage to let himself in. Without any hesitation, he punched in the entry code, and the door rose. Again, another car he didn't recognize sat inside, but he marched past it and to the door that led into the house.
A weight was lifted off his shoulders as Kazuya wandered around the house; he remembered every room, every piece of furniture, and could tell easily what had been changed in his abscence; it was one of the few times that a feeling of security blanketed him since he had left the institution. He stopped in the living room and glanced at the piano and the suitcase that was left there, then made his way over to the fireplace mantle.
His heart sank a little as he looked at the photos lined up on top of there; he could pick himself out in the group photos. Then his face was unmarred, and he sat next to his younger brother, whose eyes he recognized immediately. Sad, dogged eyes that peered out from beneath the younger boys shaggy brown hair, though as the photos progressed in time, the boy's hair became silver. Kazuya frowned, remembering that his brother practically went grey overnight when they lost their mother.
He murmured to himself, "...It's because he worried too damned much. That's all he did." He continued to look at the photos, none of which were individual photos of himself, though there were plenty of Lee and Jin, which bothered him; it seemed like he didn't exist outside the context of his family.
Kazuya then made a face at a particularly large photo of Jin, the same one that had been with the boy's obituary. He studied the picture a bit, unnerved that he could definitely see Jun's features in Jin, almost more so than he could see his own. He bit the inside of his cheek then decided to move on and head upstairs.
First room on the right. He remembered that, as he went up the stairs. When he reached the top, he paused at his door, surprised to see that the door wasn't completely shut, and gently, he pushed on the door just enough to poke his head in.
Kazuya blinked once and opened the door enough just to slip in and stood just inside the door, crossing his arms as he stared over at the sleeping man in his bed. Quietly, he made his way over to the bed, arms still crossed, then gazed down at Lee, who was still gripping his pillow with one hand. The younger man shifted from his side to his back, covering his eyes with the back of his hand, though still in a deep sleep. A light smile crept on Kazuya's face and he squatted to better eye his brother.
There were a lot of questions he had for Lee, as he studied his face, nothing he really had formed in his head, though. Yet, the weathered, tired look his brother had now, how much time had passed between the photos downstairs and memories, it spoke to Kazuya. He wanted to hear his brother's voice now, to hear if it had changed as much as well. Slowly, the older man stood up, however he kept his eyes on the sleeping man.
"Don't get too sentimental," the Asian woman said quietly as she stepped next to Kazuya. Her hands were folded neatly on her stomach, and she looked quite proper again. He, however, didn't answer nor looked at her, keeping his gaze forward. "Kazuya, he's one of the people who left you."
Again, no answer. However, he did turn towards the closet and strolled to it. Carefully, he pulled opened the doors, taking care not to wake Lee, and pulled out a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. He then closed the closet and quickly left the room, paying no mind to the Asian woman as she shook her head in pity at him.
o.o.o.o.o
". . .Forest, if it was honestly up to me, I'd let you stay over here. But, I'm already in deep enough shit with your dad as it is," Paul sighed into the phone as he paced back and forth. "Well, of course I'm worried about your well-being." He looked up as the front door opened; Lei stepped in and gave a little wave to the biker who raised his eyebrows at him as a greeting.
He went back to his conversation, "I think he's over that. He's had a couple years for it to sink in--Forest, don't say that. That makes me feel really uncomfortable. Okay, how's this? I'll call up Michelle and see if you can stay there. Your dad doesn't have to know you talked to me first, alright? Yeah, yeah, I know it's only for a few days, but still you know, it hurts him when you don't call. I know it's been hard for you to talk to him, but you're his only kid. He loves you." He was silent as he listened, and he smiled wearily at Lei, who by then had entered the kitchen and was leaning over the counter waiting. "Yeah, I'm sorry I couldn't be more help, kiddo. Take care." With a heavy sigh, Paul hung up the phone.
"Who was that?" Lei asked, lifting a brow.
Paul chuckled weakly, "Oh, you remember Marshall, right?" The other man nodded. "That was his kid. He's down in Australia, and I guess he got into some trouble and wanted to stay here. I'd let him, but..."
"Why can't he call his father?"
"They haven't talked in over two years, and thing is, Marshall's already pissed at me that his kid keeps in better contact with me than with his own dad." The biker stretched and headed towards the living room to sit. "It's fucked up." He turned around and beckoned for Lei to join him; the detective promptly obeyed and strolled out of the kitchen to Paul's side. Together, they entered the little living room and sat down next to each other on the couch.
"So," Paul began again, "how was your day?"
Lei slumped back in the seat cushions and let out a heavy sigh, "I'm already regretting not taking my full vacation."
The biker frowned, "I know, it must be hard, especially since it has to do with Jun..."
"It's not so much Jun. It's Jin and Kazuya," the detective let out an angry huff and closed his eyes. "You know, I admit that I hated Kazuya, but I have enough respect for the dead to know what we're doing is wrong."
"Is it so much respect or is it more that you thought he got what he deserved?"
Lei opened his eyes and chuckled, "That too." He looked up at Paul, ashamed that he had admitted that. However, the blond smiled down at him, seemingly understanding the other man's frustration.
The detective looked forward and continued, "I guess...part of it is that I felt sorry for Kazuya, too. I just wish we could had done the same thing for Jin."
o.o.o.o.o
Lee stirred alittle, still half asleep as he heard what sounded like the shower going across the hallway. However, he decided that it couldn't had been the shower, since he was the only person in the house, and he drifted back to sleep. His mind was screaming at him to wake up, but his body for once, actually stayed put.
o.o.o.o.o
It was twilight when he did finally managed to wake up, and he sat up slowly, painfully rubbing his eyes. The room was dim, with only the last lavender light of the day coming into the room through the blinds. The first thing that came mind was to call Anna, which he then buried his face after he looked at the window finally, realizing that it would be late where she was. However, he quickly jumped out of bed and went to the closet to grab some of Kazuya's clothes to change.
Even after twenty years, Lee still couldn't quite fit his brother's clothes, and he tightened the belt around the jeans he was wearing. This amused Lee; his waist was still quite a bit more slender than Kazuya's had ever been, and as always the pants legs were too long. The black t-shirt Lee had grabbed was baggy and hung loosely, despite how muscular Lee was; Kazuya had always had broader shoulders and a longer torso. He looked up and made a face at himself in the mirror before trotting off towards the door.
Lee blinked and slowly pulled the bedroom door shut behind him. The door to the bathroom was open, and the light from the room spilt out onto the floor and onto him. He then looked over at the stairs and cautiously made his way downstairs.
o.o.o.o.o
Anna scurried out of the kitchen as the phone rang, hoping that it was Lee calling; she had been worried since he hadn't call yet that night, since she had no idea when he was supposed to be arriving in Chicago. A few times, she had called his apartment but kept getting his voice mail. That bothered her, though brushed it off, telling herself that he hadn't left Kansas yet.
"Hello?" she asked sitting down behind the desk.
Nina chuckled, "Anya, deary, it's me." Anna frowned and rolled her eyes.
"You do know it's almost midnight here, I hope" the redhead mumbled.
"Oh, my apologies. Sometimes I do forget about the huge time differences. Feeling better at all?"
"...I guess." Anna sighed heavily and glanced over at the front door; for a moment, her throat tightened but it passed quickly.
From the other end, Nina sighed as well, though it was condescending. She replied, "I think part of it is where you're living now. Just in the middle of nowhere--"
"--It's quiet, the winters remind me of Ireland, and the springs are perfect," Anna snapped back. "And it's not the middle of nowhere."
"I'm not saying move. How would you like to take a trip to cheer you up?"
The younger sister blinked and was silent. Slowly, she stood up, "...Nina, what are you planning?"
"That transparent, am I?" the blonde laughed. "Oh, Anna, the people I'm working with are so incompentant. I send them out and they can't even find one little boy. You, however..."
"What are you talking about?"
"I need a good partner for this job." There was a pause before the older woman continued, "If I pull this off, I can retire for good."
"...Nina, you know how I feel about your work--"
"--Anna, you're no doubt one of the best. Some of my regular clients still talk about how fantastic your work was. It's a shame that you've pulled out of the business, all that talent going to waste..." The blonde sighed lightly again. "And to think, if this goes right, we'll have $30 million of Heihachi Mishima's money live off of, along with the money he's paying for what that little shit Kazuya did to us."
Anna's mouth dropped a little and she stammered, "D-did you just say Heihachi Mishima?" She could almost see the grin on Nina's face growing.
"And thirty million in cash. Just to split between you and me," Nina sang sweetly. Anna was silent and stared over at the door again. She then sat down again, still not sure to respond.
"Anya?" the older sister asked.
"...I can leave in the morning."
o.o.o.o.o
"Perfect, I'll see you in a day. Love you, darling," Nina Williams smiled. She then hung up the phone and looked over at the three men that sat with her in the conference room they were in. The blonde then frowned at her subordinates and stood up, brushing off the white linen pants suit she was wearing.
"Well, gentlemen," she began. "Now that you've royally fucked up this hit, I'm going to have to let you all go. We still don't know where Steve Fox is, plus we have the police looking for you two--" She threw a glare at the tall bald man and his friend, who rubbed his aching jaw, "--Quite a mess. Mr. Freedman was not pleased at all." She then mumbled under her breath, "This is why I hate working with other people...especially men."
"Nina," the bald man protested as he stood up, "it's not like we expected them to have someone that well-trained working for them! And then Fox just disappeared entirely!--"
"--No excuses," she said as she crossed her arms. "All I can tell you know is you had better pray that the mess your friend made at the Hilton fleshes our little world champ out." The men all hung their heads, embarassed. The blonde assassin, however, didn't take notice and marched towards the exit. She thenpaused at the door.
Her back still to them, she added coolly, "However, I don't believe in miracles. Good day, gentlemen."
With that, she exited, slamming the door.
