A/N: Whoo, and let the hate mail commence! Having read back on this, I'm aware there'll probably be not a few of you are going to hate me for having written this. All I can say is - tough! I wrote this 6 years ago, I think it works,and I'm not about to change it now. Having said this though, I appreciate the opinion of others, and if you feel the need to constructively criticise I'd be interested to know your POV... Needless to say, flames put through my letterbox will be deleted...;-p

Thanks for reading!

-oOo-

: XIV : Final Betrayal

Jun raced down the corridor, her feet clapping loudly against the smooth tiled floor. Her breath sounded noisily in her throat as she moved, her face wore a troubled look. For all she knew she could have been wandering the building aimlessly. Her mind was not on her feet, nor on her surroundings. All she could think about was her match with Wang. In all honesty she could not remember the fight at all. All she could remember was awakening as though from a dream and suddenly finding that she had defeated her old mentor. There had been fear inside her then. She had wanted to win the battle, but on her own terms – with her own skill and her own mind, not this thing that was steadily growing inside of her, this other side of the evil that possessed Kazuya.

She stopped outside a familiar-looking door and leaning against it for a moment, attempting to catch her breath. It was as her heart leveled out and the panic drained from her that she realized why she had come tot his place. The door she was leaning against was Lee's, and it was him she'd come to see.

Standing up a little straighter, she knocked on the door. Lee opened the door, returning some sense of normality to Jun's frantic frame of mind. She gazed up at him thankfully, the furrow in her brow disappearing.

"Lee…thank God!"

"What's the matter?" he asked as he let her in. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I just…" Jun shook her head, a harassed look on her face. "I'm just feeling a little out of it, that's all. I feel like I'm going crazy."

"Crazy?"

She ignored him, pacing the room with agitated steps. "Did you defeat Heihachi?" she asked him instead.

There was a pained look on his face. "Yes, I did. I don't think we'll be seeing him again for some time."

Jun checked her triumph. "I'm sorry. I know it must've been hard for you to betray your father."

"It was." Lee replied off-handly. "But I had no choice. I had to save my own skin." He looked at her warily. "Is Wang all right?"

"Yes." Jun nodded. "I didn't hurt him too much. Besides, he's as tough as old boots. He'll get over it."

"I suppose he will." Lee sighed. Jun caught his melancholy look.

"Perhaps I should leave," she said a little uncertainly.

"No," Lee stopped her. "Jun, I want to know what's going on. Why didn't you want Heihachi to fight Kazuya?"

"Because the hate Kazuya has for his father would have grown into something uncontrollable," she explained, knowing it sounded wildly absurd. "Don't you see, Lee, that's what the Devil feeds off. Kazuya's hate. Already the Devil has almost stolen Kazuya's soul. It won't be long before there is no Kazuya left. But I can save him. Only me. That's why Kazuya needed me. To help him to bring out the good in him."

Lee remained silent, looking at her speculatively.

"I know this sounds crazy," she cut in, her voice a little more subdued. "Even I don't know why or how this is happening, I just know that it is."

"It doesn't sound crazy," he replied at last, moving to the nearby cabinet and pouring himself a drink. "I knew of Kazuya's 'secret advisor'. I just never did anything about it. I guess whatever corrupted Kazuya corrupted me too."

"I don't think so," Jun returned, quieter now. "I think it's just the way you are."

"Yes – just the way I am," he repeated reflectively. He lifted the glass to his lips, and then, after a moment or two, looked up at her again. "I'm sorry, Jun. Not about anything in particular, just that you had to get involved in all this."

"I'm becoming used to it," she admitted sardonically.

"That was my mistake. Look at me now." He grimaced. "I used to hate it here. It was when I developed my defense mechanisms that things began to become tolerable. Do you know what they were?"

"Wine, women, murder and money?" she recited, eyebrows raised. He laughed.

"How did you know?"

She shrugged. "And you still think Anna's the only person that understands you?"

At her words the smile left Lee's face and he placed his glass down slowly.

"What I said to you the other day," he replied presently, "was just another defense mechanism."

"It takes more than just words to pretend you don't care," she answered softly.

"Does honesty in love always mean so much to you, Jun?" he asked back, just as softly.

"Doesn't it to you?"

"Come now," he rejoined his tone cajoling. "Didn't you do it, not even once? Sleep with a man, just for the sake of your job?"

"Nearly." Her expression was inscrutable.

"When?"

"Several times. In this room." She secretly relished the look on his face, the look that told her she'd scored a checkmate. "But somehow, I never considered it was worth it."

"Why not?" he asked at last, softly.

"It wouldn't have got me very far."

"But if you thought it would have… would you have done it?"

Her expression changed as he moved closer. "No. Not for my job. I would never have done it for that."

"Then for what?" he asked her, his hand brushing her arm, his face close to hers.

"For what you said was there," she answered, her voice low, her cheeks hot. "But I never did, because… I didn't trust you."

He whispered something in her ear then, in his own language, something she knew he would never have said to her in her own. Then his lips were on her hair-line, soft. "Do you trust me now?" he asked, once again in Japanese. She could not think if she answered him back with words, but her arms moved slowly upwards and wrapped round his shoulders, holding him close.

-oOo-

Kazuya sat brooding at his desk, hate and anger etched upon his face. His plans had not been going according to plan. Heihachi had been defeated, and there was no longer any reason to rid himself of Lee, who'd since become a considerable thorn in the side. He'd wanted to deal with Heihachi himself. Now Fate had dealt him a card he'd not been expecting. Only Jun Kazama had defeated her designated opponent – none of the others had got through. In that case, Kazuya was to be her last and final opponent.

Kazuya did not want to fight her. He wanted to fight Heihachi. He hated him enough to do it. Jun he did not hate. She was meant to help him, not oppose him. Help him do what? Kazuya could not remember anymore. He was losing, slowly but surely, he could feel himself steadily slipping away. He was beginning to forget, and that was dangerous. If he forgot, then he would no longer be himself.

The shadows in the corner of the room had begun to grow, and as Kazuya looked up he saw a familiar shape begin to form.

"Why are you here?" Kazuya asked, the rage flooding into his voice. "I told you not to come!"

I have no choice now, came the soft, sly reply. My plans have changed.

Kazuya buried his head between his hands. "What do you want me to do?"

It doesn't matter. Whether you lose or win the battle with Jun Kazama, the outcome will be favorable to me.

"But I thought… if I lose…" Kazuya trailed off, his voice suddenly weak, small.

You have forgotten your promise, the voice spoke, chuckling maliciously. But that is just as well. You need not remember. For now, you must rest. Sleep, Kazuya.

The shadows emerged from the corner, and Kazuya felt them play across the line of his forehead, cool and soothing. He would rest. For now, he would sleep, while the shadows went out to play.

-oOo-

It had begun to rain again, this time more violently – a signal that at last autumn was there to stay. Jun listened to the smatter of raindrops on the windowpane and remembered her old house back in Kamakura. She had often laid there in bed at night, listening to the rain play against the folding windows, watched the shadows of the banyan trees dance against them like butterflies. The sound had sent her to sleep, had sung to her in a way no other lullaby could. She remembered her father, sitting next to her when she was frightened, telling her – let the rain sing you to sleep.

She had only been eleven years old when he had gone.

"What are you thinking about?" Lee's voice asked from beside her. Jun shifted onto her side to face him.

"I was remembering a night like this, eleven years ago," she replied quietly. "A rainy, autumn night. It was the last time I saw my father alive."

There was no guilt, no surprise on Lee's face as he spoke.

"What happened to him?"

"He was called out on a job. He was an undercover agent, like me. He was killed in a stake-out. He never came back." Lee stared at her, silent. In a way, there was nothing to be said. It was as though he already knew what she was going to say. "I never knew my mother," she continued. "She died when I was small. My father was my whole world. I promised I'd never let his memory die. So I tried to be like him." She paused, a small, sardonic smile on her face. "It all seems so stupid now. All the time I did my job, I thought I was carrying out a sort of vengeance for his death. I began to forget that all I should have done was just love him. All that anger inside of me… it was for nothing."

Lee gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face, his eyes never once leaving hers.

"Are you thinking about Kazuya?"

"In a way," she admitted. "His anger is so like mine was."

"Everyone's anger is the same," he replied thoughtfully. "Mine was…is. I'm not sure how I feel about it now."

"What made you so angry?" she questioned.

"I don't know. Lots of things." He ran a finger pensively down the line of her throat, as if thinking what he should say. "I suppose it was because I hated it here so much."

"I thought things were worse for you in China."

"Yes – but they weren't always." He sighed, and for the first time there was real sorrow on his face. "There was a time when I had love, when I was very small. My mother…she meant everything to me too. She taught me how to fight. We were poor, she was a single parent. I had to learn how to survive.

"Then my mother committed a crime against the Party and so they incarcerated her for life. I stayed in various orphanages for several years, until Wang came along looking for an heir for Heihachi Mishima. We were all herded up, like cows in a cattle-market. Once I'd bared my fists they knew I was the one." There was a half-smile on his face. "They brought me here, yet all I wanted was my mother. Heihachi was a doting if emotionally cold father, and Kazuya evidently hated me. I just wanted to escape. But then I became spoilt… I got everything I wanted. And I just couldn't beat them… It was easier just to join them after that," he finished with a shrug.

"I understand you now," Jun tried to comfort him.

"Is that all you ever wanted from me?" he asked.

"Is this all you ever wanted from me?" she countered pointedly. He stopped, assessing her words.

"No," he answered at last. "I would have said yes before. But not now."

"Has tonight changed everything for you? Was this more than just sex?"

"Do you really believe I'm that shallow?" he asked in mock offence.

She shook her head. "You pretend to be. But somehow you've forgotten to keep it up for the past hour or so."

"You're too distracting," he accused her jokingly.

"Good," she returned sarcastically, "then maybe I can keep you here till morning."

He smiled charmingly, pulled her to him and kissed her.

"Have I changed your mind about sleeping with men you don't trust," he murmured when he'd let her go.

"No," she replied humorously, "Only with men who whisper sweet-nothings in my ear." She stopped suddenly. From the corner of the room she could hear something, faint, sinister. No, it wasn't a sound – she could feel it.

"What's wrong?" Lee asked, seeing the intent look on her face.

"It's here," she murmured, shivering. "Can you feel it? From the corner?"

Lee looked up into the shadows, but could see nothing. After a moment he turned back to her. "Yes – it's here. I can feel it. It never shows its face to me."

"You don't know what it looks like?" Jun whispered, quivering at the memory of that old, evil face.

"No." There was a pause. "It's okay – it's gone."

"It was looking for me," Jun stated, raising her voice a little. "I can sense it. I shouldn't have been here."

Lee saw the troubled look on her face. "Tomorrow, Kazuya will know we've betrayed him."

They both said nothing to that. In their minds, they both knew that Kazuya knowing would bring them into terrible danger. His wrath, his jealousy would be enough to kill either. And Lee knew it would have to be him.

"I'm confused," Jun told him, her voice small. He held her close.

"So am I," he replied.

She awoke the next morning to a shaft of hazy sunlight emanating from the window, alone in bed. Her clothes and a towel had been folded neatly on a chair nearby, and the door to the bathroom had been left invitingly open. Jun took a shower before venturing into the adjacent room. Lee was in there, pouring cups of coffee. He looked up as she entered.

"Morning," he greeted her.

"Good morning." She sat down, feeling peculiar and awkward. No doubt from his silent actions, he was feeling the same. There was a thick air of anticipation in the room – whatever had happened last night had been a rogue event, and though they had acted on impulse and with true affection in their hearts, they both knew deep down that it had been a mistake. Neither wanted to admit it, nor did they need to. They were no occasion for idle talk, nothing more to be said on the matter. Whatever may possibly have been between them had ended before it had even began.

It was as they were clearing the cups that Lee finally spoke.

"What are you going to do? About Kazuya I mean?"

Jun was surprised at the quiet seriousness of his tone.

"What I always intended to do, I guess," she faltered.

"You still want to help him?" he continued, not looking at her.

"I must," she answered quietly. He nodded, his mouth tight shut. She gazed at his profile a moment, knowing what he was thinking.

"Lee, last night…" she began, but he cut her off.

"Jun," he began firmly, "after last night, I wondered if you would stay or whether you would continue to stand beside Kazuya. I thought that maybe the decision would be hard for you." He half laughed, both at the situation and at himself. He knew who she'd already chosen. Jun said nothing, feeling a pang of guilt. "I won't ask you to make that decision," he continued decidedly. "I don't want to make you feel as if you owe me something."

"I didn't know you cared so much," she spoke softly.

"Neither did I," he returned candidly, "not until last night." He stopped and turned to her. "Jun, don't let me stand in the way. You've got to help Kazuya, no matter what. He needs you, Jun." He took in a breath. "And so do you."

"And what about you?"

"Me? I'll just be me again."

"No." She shook her head. "You won't."

He smiled faintly at her.

"Perhaps."

He leaned forwards to kiss her, one last time before she left forever. But she had already anticipated him and her face twisted away, so that his breath fell on her ear. He stopped, grinned regretfully before stepping away from her.

"I'll be here, if you need me," he told her. She nodded half-heartedly in return. She knew she would not come back to him. She had made her choice. It was Kazuya she must turn to now, and she would not leave him.

-oOo-

For the first time in his life Lee entered the uppermost floor, and this time he knew it wold be his last. He halted once there, looked, waited. It was too dark to see anything, and yet he knew… he knew Kazuya was there.

"Kazuya!" he called into the blackness. "Kazuya, show yourself!"

He stood still and waited, eyes straining. Presently he heard footsteps, and then the figure of Kazuya emerged from the shadows and into the dim light, his face twisted in evil contempt.

"So, the cowardly dog has finally shown its face," he mocked, his laugh echoing about the room. "I've been waiting for you, Lee."

"So this is where you spend all your time. Up here in the dark, by yourself." He turned his back to his foster-brother. "How long has it been like this, Kazuya? Years, perhaps? Since you were a child?"

"What does it matter?" he sneered. "All I know is that she was meant to take me away from this, and that you stole her."

"I didn't know how deep this was, Kazuya," Lee replied softly, firmly.

"And what's that supposed to mean? That if you'd known you wouldn't have attempted to take her away from me?" He snorted. "The truth is you'd never have been able to keep your dirty hands off her, Lee!"

"I care about Jun," he replied through gritted teeth.

"Really? If that's true, then come, defend your affections for her with your fists! We shall see who is the more deserving!"

There was no more to be said. Lee swung round, fists bared. He knew he would not defeat Kazuya. Only Jun could do that. What he did now was not for Kazuya, nor for himself.

It was for her.

-oOo-

Next: The final battle between Jun and Kazuya, and Lei finally faces Bruce...