.
(Tethered)
Five minutes and I'll see him.
An ill feeling had been weighing Jun down all day. Someone had made an attempt on Kazuya's life and she had not been able to speak with him. She had tried to reach him all morning but had not even been able to speak with his secretary. Later in the day, when the anxiety and frustration were almost too much to bear, she got ready to go to the Mishima Building but decided against it when saw on the news that the entire block had been put on lockdown. Kazuya must have felt furious after the explosion, maybe even afraid. That made him vulnerable, it gave Devil the perfect opportunity to regain control.
One more block and then I'll see him.
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel as she drove down the lamp-lit street in her borrowed, white sedan. When she finally saw the lights of the Mishima Hotel, she felt her chest tighten and her heart drum in her chest. She pulled into the front of the building and dropped off her car at the valet parking area then walked to the entrance with hurried steps.
The two armed Zaibatsu guards posted outside the glass, double doors asked her for identification before letting her through. After walking into the foyer she was greeted by two more Zaibatsu guards who again, asked her for identification, she presented it again and was directed to the reception desk in the lobby. Additional guards stood between golden columns or walked on the black marble floor warily watching the guests. Tension was thick inside the building, it made her want to turn around and leave but she needed to see him, needed to make sure he was unharmed.
At the reception desk, two women greeted her politely and directed her to the thirtieth floor where the banquet was being held. She entered the elevator and pressed the button.
Thirty floors and then I'll see him.
When the elevator doors opened, Jun quickly stepped into the hallway immediately noticing the stark contrast to the scene in the lobby. Hotel employees, as well as men and women dressed in eveningwear, moved swiftly toward wooden, double doors a the end of the hall. The sounds of soft music and cheerful conversation melding together.
"Jun Kazama!"
Jun turned to the unfamiliar voice and was temporarily blinded by the flash of a camera. Through the spots floating before her eyes, she saw an attractive woman in her forties looking at her. The woman took her by the arm and guided her away from the elevators as she looked at a clipboard in her hand.
"It's this way," the woman spoke in a firm, authoritative tone as she walked with Jun. "There's no assigned seating so you may sit anywhere you like." A guard opened the door and they stepped inside, the woman gave Jun a little push when she hesitated. "Don't forget to take your gift bag before you leave." She gestured to a table against the wall with various bags before beckoning a server who was holding a tray with champagne glasses, the guide took one and handed it to Jun. "Have a little something to drink, you look like you need it."
"I don't drink." Jun attempted to set the drink back on the tray but the woman put the clipboard in front of her to block it.
"Sake then?"
"I don't drink."
The woman shook her head. "Fine, suit yourself." She took Jun's glass and gestured toward an interview set up that had been partitioned off with heavy black curtains. A young woman with long, blonde hair wearing a very short, black cocktail dress stood up from her chair and unclipped the microphone from her dress.
Jun's guide waved to the interviewer. "She's ready."
"But I-"
She pushed the clipboard into Jun's hands. "Sign this."
"What is it?"
The woman spoke as she walked Jun to the chair in the interview area. "Everyone has to sign it. It just says that during this interview you will not say anything that paints Mr. Kazuya Mishima, the Mishima Zaibatsu, or the tournament in a bad light. Also, that you will not mention the incident at the stadium this morning. Any and all of those violations will immediately disqualify you from the tournament."
Jun shook her head as she signed. "...Ridiculous." She muttered.
The woman took the clipboard and pointed to the chair, then a TV camera. "Sit here, look there." She said before leaving.
Jun smiled politely at the interviewer who was sitting in a chair across from her. "Hello."
"We'll be live." The interviewer said as she looked at a notepad in her hand. "So try not to stutter and be honest, but not too honest."
A man behind the interviewer held up his hand. "We're on in five, four, three, two, one…"
The interviewer smiled brightly as she looked at a camera behind Jun. "We've managed to find none other than newcomer Jun Kazama," she began cheerfully. "I'm sure you're eager to get back to the party, so we'll make this quick. We'll begin with the question I've been asking every fighter... What made you take part in this tournament?"
"...I…" Jun cleared her throat, be honest, but not too honest. "...I have trained since I was a child and…"
"You wanted to see how well that training stacks up against the elite of the elite."
"...Umm…"
"What do you do for a living?"
"...I'm...unemployed at the moment." She felt a blush creep up her cheeks, she was sure her family was watching. They didn't even know that she had quit her job, let alone that she had entered the tournament.
The interviewer looked down at her notepad. "I was told that you work for the WWWC, a wildlife protection agency..." She laughed lightly. "Someone in our studio called you an ecological fighter. What do you think about that?"
"...Ecological…" Jun shook her head, the overly-bright lights were making her hot and uncomfortable. "...I don't work there anymore."
The interviewer nodded. "I see, you wanted to concentrate on preparing for the tournament."
"Yes."
The woman looked expectantly at her then smiled and gave someone a sidelong glance. "What will you do if you win the tournament?"
"...I don't know, it depends on what happens between now and then."
The interviewer nodded and gave her a forced smile. "It seems that Miss Kazama is eager to rejoin the party so we'll let her go, but we'll be back after a short break." She stood up and shook her head then turned to the man standing to her left. "That was not nearly long enough, we need to interview one more. Bring me someone pretty."
The man looked at his clipboard. "She was the last woman."
Someone unlipped the microphone from Jun's dress, she took it as a cue to stand up and leave.
"I see the Korean fighter."
"Does he speak Japanese?"
Jun didn't wait to hear more and stepped away from the cameras. Without the bright lights shining in her eyes, she took notice of the room. Everything from the chandeliers to the over polished, wood floors screamed opulence. The many tables were draped in black and red satin, their centerpieces exotic, expensive-looking flowers that Jun didn't recognize. A large screen behind a podium caught her eye before she saw her own portrait on the wall, a photograph that had been taken on the day that she qualified for the tournament. She looked at the portrait of each fighter and wondered if any of them felt as out of place as she did.
Jun's personal space was suddenly invaded by a young, Japanese woman in a sparkly, silver dress. "We have the perfect dress for you!"
Jun took a small step back. "You must have me confused with someone else."
"No," A man with long, black hair standing next to the woman in the sparkly dress spoke as he bowed politely. "We know who you are, Miss Kazama." His navy-blue, pinstripe suit had a gold sheen that made it stand out among the more demure suits in the room.
Jun sighed softly. "May I help you with something?"
The man spoke with an air of arrogance. "Actually, we want to help you. I am Aki Okamoto and this is my sister Akiko." He looked at Jun expectantly but she had never heard their names before and shrugged uncomfortably sensing his annoyance. "Okamoto." He repeated. It was a fairly common name that meant nothing to her.
"We're clothing designers." Akiko smiled sweetly, though Jun could sense that she was annoyed as well. "The rich and famous wear our designs to all their special events, we'd like you to do the same during the tournament."
Jun looked across the room and sighed. "I'm not interested."
Aki Okamoto spoke condescendingly as she eyed Jun's outfit. "Don't tell me you're going to wear that to the club."
Jun looked down at her white, satin dress, it was the second time she had worn it but she didn't care, especially not now when all she wanted was to see Kazuya. "I don't go to clubs."
"You should start," Akiko Okamoto looked at her almost admonishingly. "You would make good money, we pay very well and I have a couple of sassy little numbers that you could wear during your fights."
"I'm not interested," Jun repeated as she looked around the room hoping to see Kazuya.
Aki shook his head. "Bartolo Alberici got to you first, didn't he?"
Jun sensed Devil's presence before she saw Kazuya.
Her stomach churned and a chill passed through her as she saw him at the far end of the banquet hall; the darkness surrounded him like a thick, impenetrable fog. She had been right to worry, the torrent of emotions that must have followed after surviving a murder attempt had made Kazuya vulnerable and allowed the demon to regain control.
She tried to walk past the brother and sister to make her way toward Kazuya but stopped when a voice spoke over a microphone.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, if you would please take your seats." The message was repeated in English.
"Sit with us." Akiko Okamoto pulled Jun toward the nearest table. Jun sat with the brother and sister and turned her chair to face the podium at the far end of the room. Two servers set plates of appetizers in front of them.
A handsome, Japanese man stood behind the podium waiting for everyone to take their seats. Behind the speaker was the large screen, and on the right, a long rectangular table. She watched as Kazuya took a seat behind the table accompanied by Anna Williams. To most, they must have looked like a couple, both beautiful and exquisitely dressed, Anna in a long, blue strapless gown and Kazuya in a purple suit that would not have worked on anyone else but made him look almost regal. They were no couple. Anna took the utmost care to not even let her elbow brush up against Kazuya, let alone touch him. Her pretty, blue eyes darted around the room, her head turned this way and that as she feigned alluring smiles.
She's looking for threats.
The thought put Jun on high alert, someone had already tried to kill him that day, could danger really be lurking in that very room? She began to feel people's attention on Kazuya as they noticed that he was in attendance. Almost simultaneously thoughts began to darken, hate began to form and spread. Tiny granules and fragments of the attendees' dark energy began to gravitate and attach to Kazuya's dark aura augmenting it, feeding Devil the negative energy that Jun knew he desired.
How can so many people hate one man? She shook her head sadly, feeling uncomfortable at her own realization. How can one man have hurt so many people?
She noticed that the man behind the podium was already speaking and decided to focus on him for the time being.
"...You should feel honored to be part of the greatest sporting event the world has ever seen…" She tuned him out again, the dark energy was too distracting. She wondered how she should approach Kazuya or if he would let her, would Devil let it happen? Would he take control of Kazuya? "Each fighter's opponent will be chosen using a state of the art computer program, a sophisticated algorithm to ensure that every opponent is random..." What if merely seeing her triggered Devil? "...Jun Kazama…" The sound of her name jolted her out of her thoughts, she looked at the speaker and saw her image on the screen behind him. "From Hong Kong, Lei Wulong," the image of the Interpol agent replaced hers. "From South Korea, Baek Doo San…" Jun decided to approach Kazuya as soon as the opportunity presented itself, Devil surely wouldn't make himself known in a room full of armed guards and world's most skilled fighters.
The speaker continued. "Of course those are the human participants…" Scattered whispers erupted then died down quickly. Jun's stomach felt heavy, her lungs tight, though she didn't know why. "From Russia, the android Jack-2…" Jun had hoped that the androids were left out of the tournament, she remembered seeing them fight in the first one, it seemed wrong to pit them against humans. "Representing the Mishima Zaibatsu, Prototype Jack." People started whispering once more. "The Mishima Zaibatsu has made magnificent advances in science and genetic engineering since the change in leadership. These advances have enabled them to create their own tournament participants, two fighters, unlike anything that has been seen before... Alex, a vicious deinonychus with a killer instinct, and Roger, a master of commando wrestling and obviously not your average marsupial."
Jun felt her hands shake and her blood pound in her ears as she sat unable to tear her gaze away from the image on the screen. Her temperature rose with every excited whisper, every gasp, from the audience, the sounds began to morph into a distorted buzzing until they disappeared altogether and all that was left in the room was the image of the kangaroo. Never in her life had she been lied to so blatantly. That was not supposed to happen to her, she was not supposed to let it happen. She was supposed to see right through everyone. It was her first time experiencing true anger and humiliation and she didn't know how to react, didn't know what to do other than stare at the image and sit until her hands stopped shaking.
"Miss Kazama? Jun?" She shrugged off a hand on her shoulder and saw Akiko Okamoto smile nervously at her. "Have you considered our offer?" Jun stared blankly at her, she couldn't even remember what offer she was referring to.
Aki Okamoto sighed impatiently. "I told you that we should have asked the American girl instead, she looks so exotic." He finished as he stood from his chair.
Clothing, Jun remembered as she watched the siblings leave the table. They wanted me to model overpriced clothing. Her hands had stopped shaking but her heart was still racing. She looked up at the screen and saw that it had gone black, Kazuya's table was empty and the speaker was gone. She looked over her shoulder and saw the Okamoto siblings accosting a young, foreign woman. Kazuya was across the room speaking to a group of men in suits, he looked bored and menacing at the same time while Anna Williams stood alert as ever by his side.
Jun didn't want to approach him, didn't even want to look at him. He had unwittingly cut the tether that tied her to him, surely she wasn't the only person in the world willing to stand up to Devil, Angel could find someone else. She took a good look around and took note of the decadence, the wastefulness that surrounded her. Half-empty glasses and bottles on the tables among barely touched plates of food were being removed by the serving staff, everyone was too busy mingling or showing off to notice or even care. Shaking her head, Jun stood up and headed for the door.
"Miss Kazama." Jun sighed and stopped abruptly at the sound of her name. A small, older man dressed in a colorful Xing Yi Quan uniform stood smiling in front of her. "I was coming to join you, will you be returning to your table?"
"No, I'm leaving."
"Already? It would be a shame to let your lovely dinner go to waste."
"This entire event is a waste."Jun looked over her shoulder and saw the server setting more food on the table. "I didn't even order that." The heat rose in her face, it was not like her to share such thoughts, but there was something about the man that put her at ease.
He nodded slowly. "Yes, the Mishimas aren't ones for subtlety. Believe it or not, they were not all like this."
"You know the Mishimas?"
"Knew them...I hardly recognize what they've become." He smiled and shook his head. "Where are my manners, my name is Wang Jinrei." He bowed deeply to Jun.
Jun bowed then smiled as she rose. "Would you still like to join me?" She should be leaving, she knew that she should, but Jinrei's kindly demeanor and more importantly, the fact that he knew the Mishimas compelled her to stay.
Jinrei smiled. "I would be honored." When they took their seats he reached into his shirt and pulled out a small, silver flask. "Would you like to indulge, my dear?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye. "I know they're serving the finest liquors from around the world but I've always preferred my own brew."
Jun smiled. "No, thank you." There was something about him that reminded her of her own grandfather, though he was nothing but a blurry memory.
"I was very surprised to see that a Kazama had joined the tournament, you are one of the Kazamas from Yakushima, correct?"
"...Yes, how did you know?"
He took a swig from his flask. "Many years ago, when I was a young man, and by young, I mean twice your age," he laughed lightly. "I went to Yakushima for some business matters, traveling to and from the island wasn't as easy as it is now. There was a problem with the ferry and I was forced to stay overnight so I decided to enjoy the scenery. I went for a walk, a very long walk, looking like a fool in my business suit, in the humid heat. After walking for hours, I spotted an older man, and by older I mean about as old as I am now, I didn't want to disturb him, so I hid quickly and I watched him. He was practicing a fighting art that I had never seen before. It was beautiful and fluid, like water birds dancing...I finally stepped out of my hiding place, I had to give him my compliments and ask him if he could teach me. He refused, said that Kazama Style Martial Arts were not meant for display or exhibition or for anyone outside of the Kazama family."
"That must have been my great-grandfather…" She knew that he would not have approved of what she was doing, that no one in her family approved because they all shared the same sentiment regarding the Kazama fighting style. If her grandmother were still alive she would have understood. "...I don't know what he would say if he saw me now."
Jinrei's eyes crinkled into a smile that lit up his entire face. "There's no need for self-admonishment, young lady."
"That's not how my father is going to see it."
He shrugged. "Times change, traditions change, I'm sure you have a good reason for entering this tournament. If it's something that is important to you, it is a good reason."
He was right, what she was doing was important, vital. She couldn't leave. "You say you knew the Mishimas?"
"I helped run the Mishima Zaibatsu along with my friend Jinpachi Mishima. He was a good and honorable man and he would be heartbroken if he saw what has become of his company and his name."
"Do you know the current Mishimas?"
Jinrei smiled as he looked at Jun but there was such a sadness enveloping him that Jun herself felt a knot in her throat. "I knew them before my friend died...when Heihachi was a young man and Kazuya only a little boy, but I've not spoken with them since."
"What was Kazuya like?" It was difficult to imagine that Kazuya had ever been a little boy, he was so rigid, so angry and bitter. How much of that was Devil and how much was the real Kazuya?
"He was gentle and kind, rambunctious at times… Just a typical little boy."
If Kazuya had been a normal child, what had happened to turn him into the man that he had become? What made him invite Devil into his life? There was hope, if she could help him rid himself of Devil there was hope that he could right the wrongs he had committed. There was hope that without Devil he would see the error of his ways.
Jinrei pulled his chair closer to the table. "Shall we eat?"
Jun nodded and smiled. "Yes, we should."
There was hope. She couldn't leave.
A/N: Yes, it has been a while. One of the reasons why it took me so long to write this (other than personal stuff) was that I just couldn't figure out how to get it right. I have this banquet that all the POV characters are attending, some of them will interact with each other and about 2k words into this chapter I realized how obscenely long it would have been if I put everything in one chapter. What I decided to do, was to make each character's scene a different chapter, so the next few chapters will be much shorter than the ones I usually write. I felt that it was important to check in with each character before the tournament, but don't worry, I have a lot written already, it just needs to be edited. I'm not going to promise anything anymore because things can change from one second to the next, but as I said a few chapters ago, as long as I'm able I'll finish this story. And by the way, I switched the rating to M, I haven't changed anything, it's just more compliant with the site's rules.
