:: VI :: Emotional Involvement

It was late Thursday evening when Nina got the phone call. She'd been fighting in the tournament all day; she was tired and should have been sleeping. Somehow, Akio always seemed to find a way to keep her awake. It wasn't fair, she thought. It really wasn't.

She picked up the phone anyway. As usual, Akio made no greetings; he simply told her all the details in that soft, flat voice of his.

"Tomorrow at eight O'clock, Nina. Kazuya will be having dinner on the east side of the building. He should be alone, apart from his mysterious guest. It should be easy work."

Nina looked at the blueprints laid out on her table. She'd stolen them earlier on, and it was easy to pinpoint Kazuya's private dining room.

"Right," she confirmed briskly.

"Good luck, Nina," he wished her, and his voice was faintly softer.

"Thanks, Akio."

He said no more, but immediately went off-line. Nina sighed and switched off her own phone. She had forgotten to ask him about dinner. She felt defenceless, and it was not a feeling she enjoyed. What made it worse was that she wanted to go out to dinner with him. Go to dinner. It sounded so fucking clichéd. To hell with dinner. She wanted him.

Nina slumped back onto the sofa.

Oh well, she'd admitted it now.

She'd wondered how long she'd hold out against him.

Lei spent the whole of Friday lecturing Jun on what and what not to do in Kazuya's company. Jun had been busy trying to get her evening dress just right for the grand occasion, and the more she looked at the dress the more it offended her. It was a long time since she'd worn anything so remotely revealing, and the thought of Kazuya staring at her made her feel embarrassed.

"This isn't going to work!" Jun moaned, clapping a hand to her forehead. "Everything's going to go wrong!"

"Not if you don't lose your nerve it won't," Lei told her with a comical look. "And if you act just the way you usually do, everything will go fine."

"But I've never dealt with a man like Kazuya before, someone who's so…unpredictable. I just don't understand him."

"Look, just keep your head on and smile sweetly like you don't have a clue. Isn't that what being a woman's all about?" He smirked at her, but she only groaned in reply.

"Lei, give it a rest. I thought we promised…"

"Don't worry, Jun. It's just my sense of humour."

"I'm laughing hard," Jun muttered ironically, staring at the dress once more. "And something tells me I won't be laughing so hard tonight either," she murmured.

At nineteen hundred hours exactly Akio wondered casually outside the Mishima Headquarters and climbed – unseen – over the high fence. As he'd been guaranteed, no one was about. That gave him the chance to tamper with the system wires that ran outside the outer wall of the west side of the building. He was an expert at this sort of thing, and it was not long before a radar signal from the Mishima security system was being sent directly to his laptop computer.

Not a sound could be heard while he did the job, and when he was finished he climbed silently back over the fence and to his car hiding just two blocks away. Lighting a cigarette, he sat for a moment and wound down the window. The sound of the city filtered through. He thought of Nina; his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. She'd be safe now. Whatever Mishima security knew, he'd be one step ahead.

Jun shivered a little in anticipation. There was something about Kazuya Mishima that unnerved her, something that she had detected the very first moment she had seen him, the time when she had observed that cold glint in his dark, brown eyes. She did not know why he wanted to see her, especially since he had hardly taken the trouble to speak to her beforehand. Nevertheless, she had decided that if he was going to give her special treatment, she might as well go ahead and take advantage of it.

Sighing, she did up the last toggle of her red silk cheong sam. It was one of only two evening dresses she had brought with her, and at the back of her mind she sincerely hoped that her benevolent host wasn't going to make a habit of this sort of thing.

With this half-sardonic thought in mind, she was interrupted by an abrupt and rather harsh knock at her door. A little perplexed, she crossed the polished wooden floor to answer the call. Unlocking the latch, she cautiously pulled back the door. On the other side was a tall, blond-haired man, dressed from top to toe in a black suit and a pair of shades that seemed to overshadow most of his face. Jun seemed to recognise him from the video that the Director had shown her back at Headquarters. He was evidently one of Kazuya's bodyguards.

"Yes?" she began a little tentatively, not quite knowing what to say. The man's thin, straight lips began to move, oddly reminding her of the ominous opening of some dark tomb.

"I'm to escort you to Mr. Mishima's private dining room. Will you kindly follow me?"

Jun was half surprised and half afraid, much to her disgust. She had not been expecting anything like this at all, and it had completely thrown her off track. Just how much security did Mr. Mishima have? Would he always make a point of escorting her around the building with his own personal guards? Whatever the outcome, Jun knew that she had to cooperate. If she could possibly gain Kazuya's trust, then she would be able to conduct her investigation in a safer, much more reassuring manner. There was nothing for it but to consent.

"Of course," she smiled back, "I won't be a second."

She hastily grabbed her room keys from the bedside table, and after having made sure the door was securely locked, followed the man out into the corridor. He led her straight to the lifts and she noticed with interest that he chose one of the high-level security floors as their destination. Much to her dismay a keycard was required to get to these floors. Investigating the Mishima Conglomerate's underworld was not going to be as easy as she'd first imagined.

The lift halted to a stop after what seemed a very long silence. The bodyguard was obviously not the type for talking, and this heightened Jun's uneasiness. Still retaining his cool exterior, he led her down a corridor or two until they arrived outside a pair of polished oak double doors. With a light rap, the man slowly opened the doors and indicated for her to enter. With a dubious last look up into the shades, Jun swallowed hard and walked into the room.

It was the sort of room that reminded you of a relatively warm and inviting palace. The first thing Jun noticed was the extensively long and shiny oak table, and then the surprisingly soft glow of the walls as they reflected the haze of the artificial light. There was almost a pinky hue to it, and there was a sort of softness about the atmosphere that slowly began to relax her. The only daunting thing about the room was the row of enormous windows on the wall furthest from her. Beyond the light-reflecting panes rested almost complete darkness, a darkness that detracted from that soft pink that so mesmerised her.

"Ah, Miss. Kazama, good evening. Would you please take a seat?"

With an effort, Jun forced herself to look toward the head of the table. Kazuya Mishima was there and was standing, waiting for her. He looked very much different from the way she'd seen him before. He was wearing a purple dinner suit with a gold cravat about his neck. It made him look less harsh somehow, more human.

Willing her legs forward, Jun moved to the table and sat down in the seat her host had been holding out for her.

"Thank you, Mr. Mishima," she murmured, as soon as he had helped her to the table. He sat down, smiled at her with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

"Please," he began in that soft, strong voice of his, "I think we can drop the formalities. Just call me Kazuya."

She smiled, and did not find it too hard. When she looked at him carefully, she saw that his eyes were actually rather nice. How had she detected that glint in them before?

"Thank you, Kazuya."

He nodded at her, then continued.

"Forgive me for the presence of my brother, but recently I have been obliged to endorse in extra security, and Lee has been taking the trouble to take care of that business for me."

For the first time Jun noticed that Lee had been sitting all the while at the opposite end of the table. That did not immediately concern her – it was the icy look that passed between the two brothers that half startled her. She suddenly had the feeling that she was involving herself in something she would be safer well steering clear of. Nevertheless, she was able to give Kazuya's silver-haired brother a pretty genuine smile. Lee smiled back, his violet eyes assessing her in that thinly disguised manner so peculiar to him. She quickly averted her own eyes for fear that Kazuya might detect that secret stare. She felt sure that anything Lee did would annoy the other considerably. She firmly made up her mind that she would be in control of this situation.

"It's so nice of you to ask me to come," she enthused as genuinely as she could, looking back to Kazuya. "I didn't expect this kind of treatment at all."

She laughed a little, a stupid little airhead giggle that she hoped would take in the older man. Kazuya, however simply stared at her with a complacent yet probing look, one that told her that he was not for one moment fooled by her feigned innocence at all.

"Of course, not all the contestants are treated in the way you are being treated tonight," he informed her, an ironic tone to his voice. She got the impression that he knew what it was she wanted, and that he was beginning to play games with her. Well, two can play at that, she thought wryly.

"Oh really?" she replied, still smiling.

He passed her a short, ruminating glance, one that she returned fully. She had to let him know that she was not afraid.

"Actually," he began in a voice that reeked with dangerous softness, "there was something I was wishing to discuss with you, Miss. Kazama."

Jun leant forward a little, burning with the need to hear what he had to say. He smiled faintly at her, knowing her intentions.

"But I'm sure you'd rather eat your dinner first before I bore you."

After scaling the walls of the Mishima Building, Nina Williams finally came to a stop outside the room she had been told Kazuya would be in. She was beginning to be glad of Akio's presence after all. He seemed to have a considerable knowledge of everything Kazuya Mishima was up to, and she was not in the least surprised to see that through the window was Kazuya, completely unaware of her presence.

The setting was perfect. From the angle she was hoisted at, Nina could easily aim her silenced PPK downwards at the head of the Mishima Conglomerate and finish him off with one single push of the trigger. No one would notice her – the windows were too dark for anyone to see through them. The only problem was the other two people in the room. Lee Chaolan, Kazuya's half brother, was facing away from her. He could pose a potential problem. Nina also considered getting rid of him, but she'd never have time to pull the trigger on him as well. Besides, assassinating Lee wasn't part of her assignment.

It was the presence of Jun that surprised Nina the most. She wondered whether Jun was working with Kazuya on the inside, but quickly ruled that possibility out. This was obviously a formal dinner party. Maybe Jun had wheedled her way into Kazuya's affections and was taking advantage of it. Nina smiled wryly to herself. She'd have to talk to Jun about it later.

Pulling out her gun, Nina cocked it and aimed it at her target. Any second now this would all be over and she could look forward to promotion at last.

It was at the point that she would have pulled the trigger that the door of the room below unexpectedly opened. It was a bodyguard that entered. Drawing back her gun, Nina looked on in perplexity as the man addressed Kazuya in quiet tones. After a moment Kazuya stood up, excused himself from his guest, and simply walked out of the room, his bodyguard in tow. Nina gaped. This opportunity had been completely lost, and for what? With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she tried to assess the situation. What was she supposed to do now? The problem was conveniently solved for her by the sound of her intercom kicking in.

"Nina!" It was Akio's voice that was talking fuzzily in her left ear. "Nina, they're onto you! Get the hell out of there!"

Before she had any time to let this sink in, Nina heard the sound of quickening footsteps beneath her. Presently, the self-same bodyguard she had witnessed in the room below entered her range of vision. He noticed her almost immediately as she dangled precariously from the building wall.

"There she is!" he called over his shoulder to an associate trailing behind him. "Get her!"

By now Nina's mind was in full gear. She had to think quickly, and just standing there weighing up the odds would simply make matters worse. Without even really thinking about it, she levered herself from the wall with both feet and whipped out her knife, expertly severing the cord that was holding her up with one long sweep. She was in free-fall now, and with all the elegance of a cat she landed in perfect position, her thighs clamped about the neck of one astounded and uncomprehending bodyguard.

"From heaven to hell," she thought wryly, and tensed the muscles in her well-toned legs. With a sickening crack, she broke the victim's neck clean in two. The man slumped forward, leaving Nina to scramble to her feet. In the heat of the moment she had almost forgotten the second bodyguard.

"Bitch!" he screamed at her. Well, she thought, his companion had just died, but there was no need to be rude about it. If there was anything Nina hated most, it was being insulted. Did they really think she was in this business for fun?

The enemy was rushing at her and she could see he was coming in with a punch. Sighing with the tediousness of it all, she dodged the attack by ducking down, letting her assailant's hand whiz over the top of her head. She decided it was time for her trusty PPK. Pressing the barrel against his stomach with lightning speed, he hardly had the time to react before she had pulled the trigger. Nina shielded her face. If there was one thing that couldn't be washed out, it was blood.

Having executed (so to speak) her escape plan flawlessly, Nina decided it was time to meet her getaway car at the appointed place as soon as possible. No doubt Kazuya Mishima's men would be out by the dozen soon, and she definitely didn't want to be there when it all happened. With a fluid pace she sprinted over to the fountain in the front courtyard. Sure enough, Akio's black armoured car pulled in just as she arrived.

"Tough?" Akio asked when Nina reclined into the back seats as they finally sped away from the crime scene. She decided not to answer readily. She was too busy contemplating the back of her partner's head.

"Akio?" she finally began, stretching her arms back behind her head.

"What?" His eyes were intent on the road.

She paused a moment. Why did he always make her lose the cool detachment she put on for her work? It was not a feeling she enjoyed. "I need a break," she finished in a breath.

He turned, grinned at her.

"Your place or mine?"

The long and intense period of silence had been too much for Jun. Sitting in this big room, wearing a revealing dress, and being in the company of a man who so casually seemed to assess her made her want to get up and do something. It was those windows that annoyed her the most. Large and daunting, she could not see behind them into the blackness, and yet they encompassed such a large area of the walls in the room. After a while, this curious frustration got the better of her. Standing up abruptly, she travelled over to the nearest encasement. She was almost relieved to see that the layer of darkness beyond the panes was only a trick of the light inside the room. Down below all sorts of things were happening. It was bright; there heat-sensor lamps on, and men in black suits were running about in a crazed fashion.

"Are Kazuya's men still out?"

Jun almost jumped. She had not heard Lee leave his seat, and he appeared to be quite close behind her. She did not know why that bothered her. She hardly knew Kazuya's half brother, and yet she felt as though she understood him perfectly enough already. She didn't know whether this was just her brain at work, or something else. Nevertheless, she decided it would be safer not to look at him.

"Yes," she replied in answer to his question.

A tentative sort of silence followed. She realised achingly that she was no longer interested in what was outside, but in the degree of closeness between her and Lee. She forced herself to concentrate on the tiny bodies moving down below, and tried to see if Kazuya was among them. What was going on, why was everyone looking about, behind bushes and the like? Why had Kazuya gone down with them in the first place?

It was then that she felt just the faintest touch against the strands of her hair, and if she had been really absorbed in what was going on down below she would probably not have noticed it. She followed the almost undetectable movement for an incredibly short, hazy second. And then, it was over, and the fingers were against her neck, surprisingly soft and smooth, travelling down the length of her cool white skin.

Jun froze, her eyes widened. She was not ready…had not expected…and yet she had, she knew she had… Unable to co-ordinate any sort of self defence, she stood stock still, her warm fingers still against the icy window pane. Every second seemed to be become a minute; everything seemed to pass slowly. When she finally felt the touch of his lips against her neck, she closed her eyes and managed to take in a breath. She could hardly comprehend the situation here. Lee? Lee Chaolan? The brother of Kazuya Mishima? She did not understand. She only knew, somewhere at the back of her mind, that this was completely going to ruin the plans she had so carefully made for investigating the Mishima. But that thought was only at the back of her mind. Other possibilities were working faster now, and despite the shield she had so conscientiously built up for herself, she found that she suddenly wanted to take it down.

"Lee…" The name came on a short breath, and signalled her consent to whatever it was that he wanted. As though in answer he pulled her round to face him, away from the window, away from reality. In that soft moment, soft lips touched her throat again, and she found herself aching to reciprocate in some way. Stop, stop, stop, Jun tried to will herself, and though she pressed the palms of her hands firmly against his shoulders, in her heart she was eager to stay.

"Lee, please stop," she pleaded, but strangely the words seemed to be divorced from her mind, from her emotions. "Please stop."

She repeated the phrase, but it didn't have any effect. His lips continued upwards, towards its inevitable conclusion. He needed no words – he held her completely in this moment without using them. He left her neck and Jun could feel him painfully close to her. She closed her eyes tighter, feeling angry with herself. She had promised herself there would be no romantic involvement in her work, particularly not the reciprocated kind. She needed some sort of last defence, something that would end this madness completely.

"Lee, what if Kazuya comes…"

The mentioning of his hated brother's name provoked none of the reactions she had been expecting. Her fingers were pressed against her cheek, and she could almost feel the touch of his lips against hers, the warmth of his breath. She paused a moment, and tried to push her way through the haze in her usually fiercely analytical mind. She could not find it. She would give in. She'd let him do it, and let herself do it. And worse of all, she knew she would enjoy it too.

Somewhere in that never-ending point in time Jun faintly heard the door at the opposite end of the room open. It was a shock to her senses. Her eyes flew open, and she saw that it was Kazuya who had entered. Kazuya! Jun felt a peculiar kind of wrench inside her; it was a feeling that seemed to take her away from her position against the window to stand before the man who was glaring at them in such surprise from the doorway. For a second she saw something in that man that she'd never seen before. She was frightened, yes, actually frightened. She pushed the startled Lee away from her in a futile attempt to deny what they had intended to share. She realised that Lee did not even know of Kazuya's presence in the room. She looked up at him fearfully, and there was sudden understanding in his violet eyes as he saw the room's reflection in the window behind her.

"Lee."

Kazuya's single word broke the silence, and in it there was a sort of authoritative anger, the sort you would use on a small child. Lee glowered, realising his fatal mistake. He remembered shortly what his orders had been, and what he should not have done.

He turned slowly away from Jun to face Kazuya. The man's eyes were cold and sharp despite the dark warmth beneath. Jun held back against the windowpane. As the two men gazed at each other, she could almost feel the glacial stare between them, their unspoken loathing for each other. She was mildly astonished. She had not anticipated the violence of the hatred they shared. The whole room was awash with an almost inhuman silence, which was only broken with Lee's slow yet sudden movement. With deft fingers he pulled out a cigarette and flicked open his antique gold lighter. In a moment he had lit the cigarette and, pressing it to his lips in an unconcerned manner, he pulled a long, slow drag and exhaled the smoke with casual elegance.

Jun held her breath. It was not hard to recognise Lee's understated insolence, and she did not have any idea of how Kazuya would react. She felt relatively sure there would be no outburst, not yet anyway – it was a secret game they were playing, a battle that would not be won with words until the time was right. Yes, she was right: she was way out of her depth in this. She was anxious that she should not play any part in it, but the fear that had already begun to was forming in her mind.

For a long while the two brothers seemed to exchange their silent insults, and then, finally, Lee began to walk towards the door, his stride well formed, confident. His eyes remained on Kazuya, ever defiant, until eventually he brushed past him and opened the door, letting himself out as though nothing had happened.

Jun stared uncomfortably at the closed door, her mind slowly beginning to recollect itself. But she could still not get any of her mind around it. A slight movement from Kazuya caused her to start breathlessly. For all his mysterious and hostile ways, she still felt drawn to those incredibly soft, dark eyes.

-

Lee shut the door behind him, and for the first time he felt the aching of his mind. He did not stop walking, for if he did, he felt it would betray him. Lee had been walking away from things all his life and was determined not to stop now. He simply chewed on his cigarette and thought hard about it all, his feet moving down the carpeted corridor with the rhythm of his thoughts.

Yes, that Jun, with her gentle voice and soft looks. He wanted her, with a passion unfamiliar to him. She was different to the others, and that made him guilty because he didn't particularly feel anything for her that he had not felt for the others.

He was mildly startled at that point by Anna popping out from a strategically placed corner. Her look of feigned surprise almost made him smile.

"Lee!" she exclaimed, still wearing her cleverly disguised amazement. "Why are you all dressed up with nowhere to go? Why not join me for a drink?"

Lee pretended to consider it. In all honesty, he didn't really have an excuse to object. He did not mind Anna as a person, but after the latest happenings he didn't particularly feel like socialising with her. It had been nearly two years since they had agreed that they should break things off. Though they were no longer together, Lee got the distinct impression that Anna still wanted to get into bed with him, and at the moment he was simply not interested. Still, he needed some balm for his wounded pride.

"Why not?" he replied with a shrug.

"Wonderful!" Anna cried in something close to ecstasy, but he caught her by the shoulders before she could try anything funny.

"But not just yet. I've got a little bit of eavesdropping to do."

Anna stared up at him, a knowing look on her face.

"Oh? You mean on Kazuya and that girl?"

Lee raised an eyebrow, slightly put out. Anna had already touched a sensitive point, and he wasn't in the mood to discuss it. She seemed to realise this. They hadn't been lovers without learning some things about one another.

"I was only kidding," she replied in her normal voice, a slight smile playing across her face as she eyed him suggestively. Pivoting herself on her black high heels, she swivelled away from him and placed a hand on a well-rounded hip. "I'll be waiting for you in the bar. Make sure you're not late."

She walked back down the corridor, her body swaying effortlessly inside the black, skin-tight dress. Lee grimaced slightly and turned back to face the door he had just come from. Although the eavesdropping scam had just been an excuse to temporarily get rid of Anna, the advantages of such an exercise were slowly forming in his mind. Just as he had secreted himself behind a corner, the door to the dining room opened, and both Kazuya and then Jun entered the corridor. Lee held his breath in anticipation. Why weren't they staying in to eat their dinner? He did not understand.

He watched them exchange a few words and then turn round to walk down the corridor away from him. Once they had turned the corner, he moved away from his hiding place and trailed them, always keeping them just in sight. He was very much amazed to see them stop outside Jun's room. Lee hid behind a nearby corner. From where he was standing, he could just make out their words.

"Here's your room," Kazuya was saying softly. Then there was Jun's voice, lighter, sweeter.

"Thank you."

Lee listened carefully. Was Kazuya going to give away any clues?

"Jun?" That was Kazuya's voice – Lee pricked up his ears, waiting to hear his name. "Tonight…Lee…he didn't harm you in any way, did he?"

"No," Jun sounded quite relaxed about it, "I'm fine, thank you."

Fine? Lee listened no more. Had he done the right thing? Lee wasn't about to pretend to himself that his intentions had been wrong – and it had been obvious to him that though Jun had objected, she hadn't exactly been slapping him in the face for it either. It was Kazuya he was worrying about. Was Kazuya jealous? Was he really so interested in gaining Jun's friendship?

Friendship? Lee snorted. Kazuya could not make friends. But there was something strange going on. Because Jun Kazama seemed to want Kazuya's friendship too. Or maybe more. Well, Lee thought, he'd take away anything that belonged to Kazuya, just as he always had. That would not change.

With a soft, smooth smile Lee turned and walked towards the bar.

Next: Jun finally comes face to face with Kazuya's secret advisor...