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(From the Inside)


Lee watched from the stands as the announcer proclaimed Paul Phoenix victorious. The first day of The King of Iron Fist Tournament was over, and Lee had not even had a chance to fight. It was Kazuya's way of trying to humiliate him, he knew that there was absolutely nothing random about the way the fighters had been chosen. And no one was going to complain or even notice, Heihachi being the notable exception. The old man has to be seething. Lee was sure that Heihachi was not taking it well. He had been the host and the ruler of an empire during the first tournament, being reduced to a mere participant was undoubtedly a tremendous blow to his ego.

Sayuri stood up from her seat. "I can't believe Nina Williams lost," she said for what he swore was the tenth time since that morning.

"That was hours ago."

Sayuri shrugged and stepped out of the way to let a group of spectators pass. "Maybe I'm still surprised."

He stood up and began to walk with her. "Did you want her to win?"

"No, I didn't want her to win, I just…" She shook her head. "I'm tired, I want to go home."

They entered the concourse and walked in silence toward the parking garage. Lee watched her with a mix of irritation and concern at her recent change in behavior. He knew that he had to be patient with her, it was her association with him, and his family was to blame for all her problems.

As they reached the door to the garage, he heard someone calling for Sayuri.

"Miss Yoshida," A woman wearing a Zaibatsu uniform hurried toward them. "We need your help with a small problem."

Sayuri sighed. "Now?"

The woman bowed. "I'm very sorry, it won't take long, one of the investors wants to schedule a meeting with Mr. Mishima."

"Did you tell him to call after the tournament?"

"Yes, but he insists."

Sayuri shook her head. "I'll be right back."

"I'll go with you." Lee offered.

"Could you go find the car and bring it around instead? I want to leave as soon as possible."

"I will."

Lee watched as she left with the Zaibatsu employee, then turned and opened the door. As he stepped inside and headed toward his vehicle, his hand automatically went into his pocket, looking for his lighter and pack of cigarettes.

"I need to talk to you."

He stopped in his tracks when he heard a female voice speaking in English. He turned and saw Michelle Chang, fists clenched at her sides, a hard expression on her face.

He put the cigarettes back in his pocket. "Can I do something for you?"

She nodded stiffly. "I heard you were the least evil in your family."

She was undeniably angry and trying to maintain a passive demeanor, but the fire behind her eyes said that she wanted to burn him to cinders. He regarded her carefully and took note of what she did with her hands, how she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. It looked like she was restraining herself, and he wondered if she could have a weapon concealed in her short leather jacket.

He chuckled. "Least evil. I suppose there's a compliment somewhere."

"Don't patronize me," she took a step toward him. "You think I would be talking to you if I had another choice?"

He nodded. "It won't happen again. What do you need to talk to me about?"

She seemed taken aback, as if she had been expecting a confrontation. "...My mother. Just let her go. Or at least ask him to let her go."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Your father already murdered mine. Isn't that enough?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She took another step forward. "I told you not to patronize me, don't act all innocent like you don't know anything."

He put up his hands. "Miss Chang...I'm sorry, I honestly don't know what you are talking about."

She observed him for a moment, her brow furrowed. "Your brother took my mother and is holding her prisoner."

"I don't know anything about that. I swear."

She shook her head. "How can that be true?"

He stood looking at her, not knowing what to do or say, not because he didn't believe her, but because he didn't know. He didn't doubt that it was true. He'd had an inkling that something was wrong since he saw Michelle's name on the roster, but some suspicions are better left unexplored, lest they become true.

Michelle's shoulders fell, it was as if all the energy had been sapped out of her. "Do you really not know?" His silence said it all. "What am I supposed to do?"

Lee was at a loss for words feeling both infuriated and humiliated. Kazuya was to blame for everything, every misfortune that had befallen him could be traced back to him. Now he was looking like an idiot in front of a girl that he couldn't help. Even worse, now he had to lie to Kazuya, to pretend that he had no idea that an innocent woman was imprisoned somewhere in the Mishima Building.

He sighed before he began to speak and stared a car behind Michelle so he wouldn't have to look her in the eye. "...Maybe if you give him what he wants, whatever it is… Your mother has got to be worth more than that."

Michelle closed the distance between them, all fire and fury once more. When he didn't move, she took a step back, her fists clenched, mouth tight. "Fine, don't help me. I will get her back even if I have to-" She stopped abruptly as she seemed to notice something behind Lee. She turned her back to him and walked away.

Lee turned and saw Sayuri standing a few feet behind him her brow furrowed, hands clasped tightly on her purse. "Will you please help her?" She half-whispered.

He looked around before responding. "We shouldn't be talking about that here."

They walked to the car, their footsteps the only sound breaking the heavy silence. He didn't know how much she had heard, but apparently, it had been enough, and now she expected him to help with an impossible problem. He spotted the car and quickly made his way to it, unlocked the door, and helped Sayuri in.

"Will you please help her?" Sayuri asked again once he was in his seat.

He leaned back and sighed. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"How much did you hear?"

"It doesn't matter, I know that she wants: her mother. And we both know that Kazuya has her."

"I don't know that."

She sighed and shook her head. "I tried to tell you last night, but your idiot friend interrupted and I-"

"How do you know that he has her?"

"I saw her yesterday when I was interrogated. And yes, I'm sure it was her. I don't think he has too many forty-something, American women imprisoned. She even mentioned Michelle."

He felt a weight on his chest. There was absolutely no denying it now, and he still could do nothing to help. "...Even if it's true, I can't help her."

"Why?"

"Do you really think I can just walk in there and set her free?"

"I don't know, but you have to at least try to do something."

He didn't know how to appease her. He couldn't even think of something to help himself feel better. Now that the truth couldn't be denied, he felt both powerless and miserable. "...Look, after I win the tournament, the first thing I will do is let her go."

"What?" She crossed her arms. "Is that what you would do if he had my father locked up? If I had never come home last night? Would you really just say, I'll get to it if I win?"

"If I win? So now you don't think I can do it?"

"It is astounding how you manage to turn every conversation about you and your feelings and your problems. But don't you think that right now, the teenager losing her mother has bigger problems than you?"

He slammed his hand on the steering wheel. "I've been where she is. I know what she's going through. Don't you think that I would help her if I could?"

She didn't respond. They sat in silence with tension and guilt weighing him down, feeling her more and more distant by the second. He didn't know what else to do other than pull the car out of the parking spot and begin the drive home.

They traveled in the crushing quiet, his head a flurry of thoughts and ideas that he struck down one after the other for fear they would all fail. Kazuya and Heihachi never feared failure, they just did things. Fear that was keeping him in a frozen state, waiting. How could he expect to lead the Zaibatsu if he couldn't even solve one problem? He couldn't wait until the supposed assassin took care of Kazuya; he couldn't stand by and just hope that the odds would turn in his favor. He needed to do something, and he had to begin with what he was best at. His heart began to drum in his chest, and he quickly swerved into the turn lane cutting off the vehicle behind him?

Sayuri gasped and grabbed the armrest. "What the hell?"

"I need to go to the Zaibatsu?" He said as they waited at the red light.

"Why?"

"I need to take a look at that computer program."

She sighed deeply, then nodded.

It was a long shot, and he knew it, but if he could get his hands on that program, there was a chance that he could help Michelle and turn the odds on his favor along the way.


"I cannot believe I'm sitting here waiting to hear who I have to fight tomorrow like some...pleb," Heihachi grumbled to himself as he watched clips of the day's fights. He sipped the brandy in his hand and turned to Rei. "This is mindless entertainment, absolutely no substance."

"Yes," Rei said under her breath then continued poring over the documents in front of her.

He still could not believe that the first fight, the grand opening attraction for the tournament, had been given to the Williams sisters. He shouldn't have been surprised, and he knew it, but he still could not believe it. His brain was running in a loop going from anger to disbelief and back again.

"And the people just eat it up. This country can't even tell the difference between an honorable display of skill and an artless spectacle anymore. It's sickening."

Rei tapped her pen on the table. "I think we finally have it." She stood up and handed him the document on the top. "What do you think?"

He read it, then his lip twitched into a tight smile. "Subtle and direct at the same time. The real plebs won't read between the lines." He handed it back to her. "Fax it to every major newspaper."

"Consider it done."

"Make sure we have all the phone numbers and documents we need for tomorrow. I want to start calling board members right after my fight."

"Would it be better to start early?"

He downed the remainder of his drink then shook his head. "No, I want them to see me fight. I want them to be fully confident that I will win the tournament, and that they don't want me as an enemy."

"Very well."

There was a time for brute force and a time for cunning. The world didn't have to know that he was using either, and he could still have them on his side, rooting for him, sympathizing with him. He needed to change the Zaibatsu's image, and it had to start now, not after he won the tournament.

With one open letter, he could stand back and watch Kazuya's empire crumble from within.


Lee paced the length of his office in the Mishima Building. "That is my area of expertise, that should be my department. Now I'm not even allowed in? I can force my way in, but then, what's the point? I'll end up getting fired and disqualified from the tournament." He shook his head as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

"He'll know if you smoked," Sayuri warned as she leaned back in her chair.

Lee sighed and put the cigarettes back in his pocket. "What's next? Is he going to change the passcodes without telling me?"

"Probably. Why are you surprised? He doesn't trust you at all, especially after your absence."

She was right; Kazuya didn't trust him, he only trusted three people, but there had to be a weak link. Bruce was out of the question, and Anna had clearly chosen sides. Ganryu was fiercely loyal to Kazuya, perhaps even more so than Bruce or Anna, it was difficult to tell, but he was not nearly as smart. If he could get to him somehow...

He stopped his pacing and looked at Sayuri. "Who would you call if you discovered a large security breach?"

Sayuri gave him a fearful look. "Why?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything, it's hypothetical, just tell me the first name that comes to mind."

"Bruce."

"Let's say you can't reach him."

"Miss Williams."

"You can't reach her either."

Sayuri sighed as she slouched in her chair. "Really?"

"Who do you call next?"

"Ganryu. No, wait...um," she snapped her fingers, "Yamada."

Lee nodded. "He used to work for Heihachi."

"I thought Kazuya got rid of everyone when he took over."

"No, most employees, but he kept some." He pulled his keys out of his pocket and handed them to Sayuri. "You should go home, I don't know how long I'll be. I'll take the train."

She stood up and took the keys. "I know that I wanted you to help Michelle Chang, I know I'm pushing you into this, but-"

"It has to be done."

She nodded and looked soberly at him. "You can't get caught. As bad as things seem right now...he can make it worse."

"I know."

After she left, he made a few phone calls, read through Yamada's file, then went up to the rooftop. He leaned on the railing as he smoked and thought about Michelle, she looked so young. She was alone in a foreign country, a teenage girl up against one of the most powerful companies in the world. She didn't stand a chance, but she was willing to face Kazuya himself to save her mother.

He turned when he heard the door to the stairway open. Asuto Yamada emerged and scanned the area before nodding to Lee in acknowledgment. He was in his late thirties, tall, well-muscled, and walked with confidence.

Lee bowed. "Good evening."

"The boys downstairs already told me you wanted access to the IT department." He chuckled. "It's not going to happen."

Lee shrugged. "And yet, you're here."

Yamada scoffed. "Strange place for a meeting."

"It's the only place where I can smoke," he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and offered it to Yamada. "I thought a fellow smoker would appreciate it."

Yamada held up his hand. "I prefer my own." He extracted a cigarette out of his own pack and lit it."You're not going in that room. You can threaten me, you can-"

"I don't make threats, I make offers. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

"Maybe Mr. Mishima sent me. Maybe he wants to know what you're up to."

"He didn't, he probably doesn't even remember your name." Lee dropped his cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it with his heel. "I asked Mr. Mishima's secretary, who she would call if there was a security breach. Your name came up fourth, behind Ganryu."

Yamada shook his head slowly as he continued to smoke."...Ganryu."

"Kazuya might not remember you, but I do. You were an overachiever from the beginning, in a couple of years, you went from a guard to second in command to the head of security. Then Heihachi lost the company, Kazuya made a clean sweep...but you remained. Not only that, but you were very briefly, Kazuya's head of security. What did you do? Give him names? Do a few unpleasant jobs for him?"

Yamada shrugged. "So you think because I used to work for the old man, I'm going to betray my boss?"

"You can only betray someone you're loyal to; you weren't loyal to Heihachi, and you're here talking to me, which means you're not loyal to Kazuya either."

"Fine, you got me. But we both know who's going to win, I'm sticking by the winner's side."

"Kazuya is not going to win the tournament."

Yamada turned to face Lee. "He's going to win."

"Kazuya is taking bigger and bigger risks, making more and more enemies. He will run the Zaibatsu into the ground, you know it, and I know it. But Let's say he wins, where does that leave you? Ranked number four, behind two foreigners and a moron. And if Heihachi wins...we both know that he will kill you."

He laughed. "And if you win, you will make me your head of security."

"Of course."

"I see, if you win, I win. And if you lose, I'm screwed."

"If I don't win, I will write you a very large check and give you an employment opportunity outside the country."

Yamada smoked in silence for a few moments. "If I let you in that room, you're going to do what? Are you trying to cheat somehow?"

"I won't be able to skip the fights, and I'll still have to face Kazuya in the end, so no, it's not cheating."

"Is anyone going to end up getting hurt? Is the boss going to end up getting hurt? Because I can't have something like that traced back to me."

"No. You have my word."

He nodded. "I think I'll take that very large check now?"

"You'll have it first thing tomorrow."

"I'd better; otherwise, this conversation definitely happened." Yamada flicked his cigarette butt onto the ground. "Give me about twenty minutes, and the room is all yours."

Lee watched him as he walked back into the building, then turned his attention to the darkening skyline. A man on the inside. How many more could he bring over to his side? Even if Kazuya died before the tournament ended, there was still Heihachi to contend with. One man was not enough, but it was a start.


Sayuri's heart was drumming in her chest as the park came into view. She felt like she should be running away from it instead of toward it. But this was her last chance to see Nina Williams and give her the information that she had asked for. If Nina hadn't understood her message, if she wasn't there, the opportunity would be gone, and Kazuya would live.

She was relieved and terrified when she saw Nina and her Japanese translator sitting on a bench. She slowed to a walk and looked around before approaching them.

The man stood up. "For your sake, I hope you have something."

Sayuri inhaled deeply and pulled a business card out of her sweatshirt pocket. "This company will send a team to repair a window in Mr. Mishima's office." She handed him the card. "It will be today at noon. Mr. Mishima will be in his office for an appointment tonight at eight p.m."

The man took the card and nodded as he looked it over then relayed the information to Nina in English.

Sayuri watched them as they spoke. She didn't know why, but Nina looked younger than she had before, or maybe she was finally seeing her for what she really was; a young girl in over her head. She had failed to kill Kazuya and then failed to win the fight against her sister. What if she couldn't do it? What if all she did was get herself killed? Or worse, kill more innocent people?

"This should suffice." The man spoke with confidence, there was almost a cheerfulness to his voice.

"Is this all you need from me then?"

He nodded. "Seems so."

She looked at Nina again. "I thought she would win."

Nina raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

He chuckled. "I don't think you want me to translate that. Have a nice life, Miss Yoshida."

"So we're done."

"Done."

Sayuri nodded curtly before turning around and jogging back home. It was out of her hands. Nothing to do now but wait for the next morning. If Nina was successful the tournament would be canceled and Lee would only have his father to worry about.

Once in her building, she took the elevator. She couldn't stop thinking about Michelle Chang, about her mother locked up somewhere in the Mishima Building. The distraught look on the woman's face as she asked about her daughter. With Kazuya gone, at least one problem would be solved.

The elevator stopped at her floor and she stepped out. Seeing the newspaper in front of her apartment door, she picked it up and unrolled it when the headline caught her attention.

Legacy

Men worry about how they will be remembered, about the legacy that they will leave behind. For many years, it weighed heavily on my mind. But as I look at my sons, I take note of their accomplishments along with the world.

Kazuya, my oldest, my biological son, has led the Mishima Zaibatsu in new and unprecedented directions. He is currently working with the foremost Russian scientist, developing technologies that until recently were seen as mere science fiction.

Lee, my adopted son, chosen by my own hand, is an entrepreneur in his own right. An international businessman with ambitious plans for the future.

My sons have proven themselves to me. I now see them for who they truly are, and for that, I am grateful.

The time has come for me to prove myself to the world, and to my sons.

Heihachi Mishima

Her mouth went dry when she finished reading it. How could he know? She leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths. Maybe it didn't mean what she thought, maybe he wasn't referring to Dr. Bosconovitch, maybe he wasn't talking about Lee's new company.

How can he know everything?

Feeling somewhat unsteady she opened the door and stepped inside then walked into the kitchen.

Lee was pouring a cup of coffee. He smiled when he saw her. "Did you see what's on the news? It worked," he set the cup on the table. "I'm fighting against Baek Doo Son at nine o'clock and I think I figured out a way to help Michelle." His smile waned when she said nothing. "What's wrong."

Sayuri handed him the newspaper and watched as he read then seemed to start over and read it again.

He was silent for a moment then gave a short dry laugh before running a hand over his hair and closing his eyes. "...Shit."

If Nina was successful Kazuya would be out of the picture, but that would also mean that Heihachi's full wrath would fall on Lee and her by association. Kazuya was a direct threat, the one that you could see coming, but Heihachi was unpredictable, a snake in the grass waiting for an opportunity. He'd had two years to plan his attack, two years in which neither Lee nor Kazuya had thought of him as a threat. She had a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was no such thing as lesser of two evils when it came to the Mishimas.


A/N: I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I'm feeling pretty good about this. I think this might be the year I actually finish this thing. XD Wish me luck!

Also, if there are more errors than usual, let me know.