A/N: Sorry for the late update. Reeaaaally sorry. I was in Hong Kong for a month and took my time typing out the next chapter when I arrived back in the UK. But here it is! Enjoy!

And a big thanks to all those who've been keeping up with the story, and to those who've taken the time to review. You rock! Muah!

-oOo-

: XI : True Colours

As soon as Jun had escaped from Lee she had locked herself in her room and thought hard. In truth she was bewildered and confused and she had little time to think of Lee himself. Something inside her had awoken towards Kazuya, something that even now she found difficult to comprehend.

Jun groaned and went to pour herself a glass of water. She felt she'd made an utter mess of things. It had been her job to get to the bottom of Kazuya Mishima's underworld empire, and all she had succeeded in doing was getting herself caught up in his mind-games. Or were they mind-games? She couldn't be sure – what she'd felt had been so real. It was almost as if in the face of Kazuya's demands her real personality had been obliterated and replaced with another.

She decided that a walk would clear her head, so she left for the gardens. As she walked towards the elevator she spotted a dark figure watching her from the corner of her eye. She stopped, heart beating fast, but whoever it was remained shrouded in darkness.

"Who's there?" she finally spoke.

For a moment there was no answer; then the figure stepped out from the shadows and into the light. Jun stared, shocked.

"Wang Jinlei," she breathed. The wizened old man smiled at her warmly.

"It's a pleasure to see you again so soon, Miss Kazama," he greeted her softly. "I never thought I would meet you, one of my most promising pupils, ever again."

"I thought you were avoiding me," Jun replied warily.

"I was," he returned briefly. "I was simply waiting for the right moment."

"Which is now," Jun concluded softly, half to herself.

"I would like you to come with me, Miss Kazama," Wang began unblinkingly.

"Where?"

There was a glint in the old man's eyes.

"To see what you came here to see."

Jun followed him to the elevators, her mind whirling, her body tensed. Once inside the lift, Wang produced a small contraption that fitting neatly into a nearby keypanel. As Jun watched him, she finally found the courage to speak.

"Who exactly are you taking me to?"

Wang half smiled. "To a man named Dr. Bosconovitch."

"Oh," Jun replied, suddenly enlightened. She watched on as Wang's contraption granted access to floors that Jun had not even known existed – underground levels. "How clever," she murmured at the simplicity of it all. "All the while we thought your secret projects were going on on the top high-level security levels. We never guessed that underground floors existed at all."

"The Mishima have a lot to hide," Wang told her calmly.

"So why are you letting me in on all this?" she asked, puzzled.

"Because," Wang told her patiently, "Kazuya wishes you to see what you need to see."

"Kazuya…?" she repeated, but before she could ask anymore, the lift had stopped and the doors had slid open. Wang brushed past her into the corridor.

"Follow me."

The passageways were a cold, clinical white, along each wall running thick, identical metal doors. As Jun's footsteps echoed on the floor, the buzz of the electric lights hummed menacingly overhead. From the looks of things, it was easy to deduce that these were highly guarded science labs.

Eventually Wang stopped outside one door, and after using a keycard was free to step inside the room, Jun reluctantly following behind. Once inside she looked with curiosity about her. What she saw amazed her.

The room appeared to be a laboratory, filled with transparent, pressurised chambers. Inside these chambers were various animals being tested on by white-garbed scientists. Jun stepped forward to get a better look. Here was all the evidence she'd ever need for her investigation – more than she could have hoped for. Wang noticed the look of astonishment on her face and gave her a slight smile.

"If you'd like to follow me, Miss. Kazama," he spoke.

Feeling like she was in a dream, she allowed herself to be led by Wang past the chambers to the other end of the lab. There, inside one final chamber, was a huge bear, having blood samples taken from a number of scientists. Jun stopped.

"And this is…"

"Yes – Kuma," Wang supplied obligingly. "We are currently attempting to enhance his capabilities for the tournament."

"Does he usually live confined like this?" she asked.

"No. Kuma is one of our special subjects. He has a room of his own and is allowed to roam the building as he wishes. Within limits, of course." He smiled wryly. "Kuma is more like a human than a bear. He was trained from birth to be Heihachi's bodyguard. He has grown up with humans, in fact. In many ways, he understands us more than his own kind."

"And he's supposed to thank us for that?" Jun inquired, eyebrows raised. Wang's lips twitched, but he said nothing, turning towards a heavily guarded, high-security door.

"I have something more important to show you," he stated, ushering her past the guards and through the door. "This room," he continued in his usual understated manner, "holds our top-secret research projects." He indicated to a nearby glass chamber. "This is Roger."

To Jun's amazement a black, beady-eyed kangaroo was looking at her from behind the bulletproof glass.

"And this is Alex," he said, pointing to another chamber nearby. As Jun followed his gaze, she was shocked to see what appeared to be a real-life dinosaur – a raptor – looking at them through cold, reptilian eyes.

"How…?" Jun began to say, only to falter off.

"It's merely a simple technique of DNA extraction," Wang explained calmly. "There are plenty of dinosaur fossils that are owned by the Conglomerate, and over the years our scientists perfected the cloning technology to such a point that they were able to recreate an entire dinosaur without any genetic defects. The result was Alex."

"Like Jurassic Park," Jun added dryly.

"Yes. But we didn't just recreate a dinosaur. We mutated the DNA to create an enhanced intelligence and muscle structure. Roger and Alex here have been developed into the most powerful and efficient fighters on this planet."

"And let me guess," Jun cut in, crossing her arms, "You plan to clone them."

"Yes," Wang returned nonchalantly. "Soon we will have an army of fighters so powerful the world will fall at their feet."

Jun said nothing. All she could do was stare at the two animals, the ambivalent look in their deadpan eyes. She could see no pain, no feeling in them – only when the instinct to kill was aroused in them would any sense of emotion fill them. Her eyes almost filled at such cruelty. All she could think was, is Kazuya really as mad as all this?

Next Wang took her to see Dr. Bosconovitch. He was an old, pale man, frail and wrinkled who found difficulty in walking. It was clear, however, from his first words that he was an outstanding genius. He spoke to Jun of the various cloning processes that he was working on – of DNA structures, hormones, chemicals, and all in such a way that Jun could not possibly follow it all.

"So," Jun began to ask as soon as she could get a word in, "you created Alex and Roger, and you've worked on Kuma too?"

"Of course," Bosconovitch nodded," but these are only minor achievements. I have much greater plans for my cloning process."

"Namely world domination?" Jun asked wryly.

Bosconovitch looked stunned. "Of course not! I'm hoping to clone stem cells for my daughter. She has a rare illness for which there is no cure. Hopefully I will be able to replace her damaged cells with healthy cloned ones. When I've found a way to do this, my daughter's health will be the crowning achievement of my career."

Jun found she instantly had a liking for the old man.

"Well I hope you find your cure,"

"I will," he assured her, "one day. But at the moment I am very busy. You see, I also work in the Research and Design Division. I had just finished working on a new robot, Jack 2. He has just entered the tournament, along with his prototype model."

"Another killing machine?" Jun asked testily.

"That's such a primitive term, Miss Kazama," he replied with a grin. "Actually the Jack models were designed to replace Russian military conscripts. Unfortunately the Jack 2 model that has entered the tournament showed uncharacteristic human traits and emotions which got him decommissioned. My plan is to study his human responses throughout the tournament."

Jun was allowed to speak to the doctor a few minutes more before Wang interrupted.

"I'm afraid your little trip is over, Miss. Kazama," he told her lightly. "We should be getting back now."

Before she left she was very much surprised to be presented with a sheaf of Bosconovitch's photocopied documents on practically all his projects.

"There's still one thing I don't understand," Jun said after they had left the laboratory. "And that's why exactly Kazuya wanted to let me see all this in the first place. Surely the last thing he'd want is for someone who is investigating him to witness all the evidence she needs."

"Perhaps Kazuya feels you are to be trusted in some way," Wang suggested.

"Trusted for what? My job is to investigate him, I'll have no choice but to report him." She paused, suddenly finding a more foreboding reason for Kazuya's unexpected cooperation. "Unless, of course, he thinks I'm never going to get the chance to report him. Perhaps his plan is to stop me from leaving the Mishima altogether."

Wang said nothing, and Jun was left to her thoughts as they returned to her room. Try as she might, she could not believe Kazuya's purpose was world-domination, sinister as he seemed.

"Would you like to come in?" Jun offered him once she was in her room. "I think there's still a lot we have to talk about."

Wang smiled a little and obligingly entered the room, sitting in the chair she offered him.

"What is it you need to ask me about?"

"Many things," she answered candidly. "I wouldn't know where to start."

"I know what you've been planning to ask me from the beginning."

"You do?"

"You want to know why I'm here, don't you."

"Yes," Jun admitted after a pause. "I had no idea you were a member of the Mishima Conglomerate. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It hardly seemed important. I had no idea our paths would cross again. You were still a child when I first met you."

"But then… how long have you been working here?"

"A very long time," Wang replied with a smile. "I have been a close personal friend of the Mishima family nearly all my life. Heihachi's father, Jinpachi, was my best friend. But it was Heihachi who asked me to become head of the Hong Kong branch when the company first began to take off. I've been here ever since. Long before we first met, in fact."

"I see," Jun mused. "Then… you've seen Kazuya grow up?"

"Yes."

"Has he always been so…cold?"

"More or less. His mother died when he was still a very small child. And then Heihachi adopted Lee. Heihachi took no further interest in his son's affairs. Perhaps that was his most fatal mistake."

Jun nodded thoughtfully. "Yes. He left the way open for Kazuya to be manipulated by the God of Fighting."

Wang sat up. "God of Fighting?"

"Yes. I think Kazuya's secret advisor is the God of Fighting."

Wang suddenly broke into a wide smile. "I see you've been doing your homework well, Jun. However, you are not entirely correct. We have no idea how to release the God of Fighting. That is why we are still currently holding Michelle Chang's mother with the hope of gaining more information from her."

"So you did kidnap Mrs. Chang," Jun exclaimed, half to herself.

"I hear the contempt in your voice," Wang observed gently.

"Are you surprised?" Jun asked hotly.

"No." Wang shook his head somewhat regretfully. "Although the Mishima are my dearest friends, they have no yet learnt that power corrupts and this is a fault that has hounded them from the very outset. It has led them to commit desperate acts in the past, and will in the future." He stood up and made for the door. "You do understand, Jun, that should you progress far enough into the tournament, I will be the one you'll be faced with. And I won't go easy on you."

"I know you won't," she sighed. "I don't expect you to."

Wang smiled down on her benevolently.

"Try not to worry about it. Just remember all I taught you and you should be fine."

"Thank you," she said, standing up. "Thank you, Wang sensei."

"No. Thank you, Miss Kazama. It has been…a pleasure to speak to you again." He turned to the door, looked back at her once and sent her an inscrutable smile. "And now that you have learnt all that I have told you tonight, only one question remains to be asked.

"If Kazuya's secret advisor is not the God of Fighting, then who is it?"

-oOo-

Kazuya had been amazed and not particularly pleased to hear the sound of a ruckus outside in the gardens below. He had gone to the window attempting to find out what was going on, but the rain and the darkness had obscured the figures below. He was just about to find out personally what the cause of all the commotion was when a security guard quickly knocked at the door and stepped inside.

"I'm sorry, sir," he began breathlessly, "but there is an intruder outside. He claims to be your father."

"Heihachi," Kazuya half whispered. He looked up. "How did he get past our security?"

"I'm not sure," the man replied, somewhat nervously. "He might have had an accomplice who has access to our security database. Perhaps the same person who attempted to take your life earlier in the tournament."

"Is he still out there?"

"Yes, sir."

Kazuya thought a moment. "I shall go down and see him myself."

The storm had intensified as Kazuya swept into the garden, his long black coat flapping behind him. Heihachi was being held back by four bodyguards, soaked to the bone, a menacing look on his face.

"Ah, Kazuya," he greeted his son mockingly. "I've waited a long time for this moment. Thought I was dead, did you?" He began to laugh, his voice echoing raspingly.

"You are mistaken, father," Kazuya replied, soft and dangerous. "I have been preparing for your return for some time now. I knew you couldn't resist the urge to wreak your revenge on me."

Heihachi scowled fiercely at him. "You have no idea, Kazuya, of how hard my vengeance will come down on you."

"Only time shall tell," Kazuya returned coldly. "Perhaps you may find that I am not so weak as you thought I was. And that Lee is not so strong as you suspected." He sneered. "Your 'favourite' son is like a leaf in the wind, first tossed one way and then another. He follows any course of action that benefits him the most, like the greedy pig he is. And, fortunately for me, my terms stand out to benefit him the most. Unlike yours." His face contorted in disdain as he looked upon his father. "Look at you, you look like you've just crawled out of your own grave. You have no idea how much it pleases me to see you where I once stood, a beggar, a nobody."

"Do not speak too soon, son," Heihachi spat through gritted teeth. "You may find yourself eating your own words."

"Unfortunately, I have every confidence that you will be long dead before that happens," Kazuya retorted, looking bored. "Lee shall see to that."

"Then you are turning my own son against me!" Heihachi raged.

"Adopted son, father," Kazuya corrected him cuttingly. "He is none of your flesh and blood. I'm afraid that it is I who carries that burden, and as long as you live that fact will be left to fester in your mind like an old wound."

"Not for long, Kazuya, not for long," Heihachi hissed with venom. "Soon I shall be rid of you and I shall reclaim all that I have invested in my whole life."

"We shall see," Kazuya finished with an air of having concluded the matter. "In the meantime, please feel free to stay in the building as you wish."

"What, stay like a guest under the roof of the very building I built myself!" Heihachi threw aside the hands of the bodyguards that were holding him back. "I'm going to sleep out on the streets. It's the only place I feel welcome nowadays."

"If that's the way you feel," Kazuya shrugged. "As long as it prevents my carpets from being soiled."

Heihachi threw his son a look of disgust, turned without a word, and disappeared into the night. Kazuya smiled a smirk of satisfaction, nodded to his bodyguards and began to walk back towards the building; and still the smile did not leave his face.

-oOo-

Since Wang had given Jun her convenient little tour of the Mishima underworld – at least only a small and relatively less sinister slice of it – she had plenty of time to ruminate over her troubles. She began to regret what she'd said to Lee. Despite the short time she had known him she still found that she felt something for him. And yet, even though she'd had time to get over her strange encounter with Kazuya, she found herself still accountably drawn to the enigmatic young man.

Still, she had been ready to make up with Lee when a surprised run-in with Anna suddenly changed her mind.

"So how are you enjoying your stay here?" Anna had asked with an obviously feigned look of concern. Jun glanced at her suspiciously. She hadn't spoken to Anna at all during her time in the tournament, and her sudden interest in Jun's welfare was peculiar to say the least.

"I'm enjoying it just fine," Jun replied coolly.

"I'm sure you are," Anna answered with equal coolness. "I see you've been spending a lot of time with Lee Chaolan recently," she added flippantly. Jun blinked at her. Anna continued with a small smile on her face. "Oh yes. Lee makes things infinitely more exciting around here."

"Are you trying to tell me something?" Jun retorted in irritation. "Because if you are will you just come out and say it?"

"Are you sure you want to know the truth?"

"About Lee? I think I know enough, thanks."

"I'm not sure you do," Anna replied calmly. "Lee is a player. Always has been, always will be." She paused. "You should've been kinder to him when you blew him off the other day. As soon as he's finished with one woman, he jumps straight into the bed of another. As luck would have it, I was the first person he bumped into after you left him."

"Is that so?" Jun replied, suddenly brimming with anger. "Well, as you're going to such great lengths to keep me away from him, you're welcome to him. Since you both seem to be as bad as each other, I suppose you deserve to be together."

Anna watched Jun storm off with a smug, satisfied smile on her face. That was, of course, exactly what she'd wanted to hear.

The sound of Lee's door being thrown open had mildly surprised him, especially when he'd seen an irate Jun standing in the frame.

"I'm not impressed, Lee," she seethed as he stared at her, eyebrows raised, "I am not impressed."

"Excuse me, did I miss something?" he asked.

"Oh no, you didn't miss anything – you never do, do you?" she answered acidly, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Meaning?" he shrugged, a questioning look on his face.

"Meaning you don't have to pretend to me Lee Chaolan, because we both know just how close you are to Miss Anna Williams!"

Lee stared at her a moment, then began to laugh. "Jun, does this little show of jealousy actually mean that you like me a lot?"

"No, it means I hate you a lot, are you deaf or something?"

"My, who would've thought there could be such fire in such a small girl?" he remarked lazily.

"What did you think I was, some simpering, pretty little girl with sugar on top!" she exploded. "God, Lee, I thought you'd met women like me before!"

"And I thought you said you'd met men like me before," he returned, a trace of bitterness in his voice. "You know, the cheating, lying scum who take advantage of you. What did you expect?"

"I don't know!" she finally broke out in frustration. "I don't know! I thought… you told me… there was something there…"

He looked at her crestfallen face, and for the first time in his life a hint of regret touched him. "I'm sorry," he finally managed.

"Me too," she replied quietly.

"The truth is," he continued awkwardly, "I've known Anna a long time and… we were once together two years ago. I thought… that perhaps she was the only one who could understand me."

"I understand," Jun said, a little begrudgingly, for she still felt betrayed by him. He saw her look, sighed, and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You're too good to be mixed up in this, Jun. Once you get involved in this world there's no way to get out. All of us who work here – me, Anna, Wang, Kazuya himself – we've all dedicated ourselves to this life, we know the risks. This is dangerous, Jun. The Mishima have ties with every underworld business you can think of. It's one thing to investigate it. It's another thing all together to be part of it."

"That may be so," Jun replied slowly, "but I'm not the type to fear your kind, Lee. I've seen too many of you to fear you."

"But the Mishima are different."

"So? Are you telling me I should run away from this?"
"No." Lee shook his head. "I'm just telling you that I don't deserve you. I've lived my life here, without morals or values. Jun, I've killed. I don't live under the same code as you, and neither does Kazuya."

"There's good in everyone," Jun informed him softly. He smiled.

"I'm not all bad. Perhaps if things had been different for me in the past I would've been a good person. But…" he paused, thought, then began again. "…The conflicts inside me have taught me to switch off from both my responsibilities and emotions. I'm a waster, too idle to feel the world as it really is, too rich to care. And I suspect Anna feels the same way I do."

Jun stared at him, wordless.

"I know you're angry with me," Lee continued, his voice low. "But perhaps if I say I don't care, it will make this easier for you."

He watched her watch him, watched her face full of anguished thought. After a moment she turned again and pulled open the door. Before she left she stopped and looked over at him.

"I'll try to believe you don't care, Lee."

He looked on silently as she turned and shut the door softly behind her.

-oOo-

Next: Lei reveals his secret past, and Kazuya and Lee have words over Jun!