"Hmmm...I see…well…OK…hmmm…"
The doctor scanned Jin's right wrist up and down. Jin observed the man push the frame of his glasses further up his nose. He noticed that the man's white lab coat matched the graying black hair on his head. The shiny metal stethoscope hung around the doctor's neck was crooked. Jin looked down at the doctor's hands. He observed a silver nondescript band on his left ring finger. He's an ordinary doctor with an ordinary life. Up to this day, I thought I had an ordinary life… Jin thought.
"All right, Jin, a minor sprain has caused the small amount of swelling in your wrist. I'm going to wrap it up in some bandages, and as soon as you get home, put it under a bag of ice; 5 minutes on, 5 minutes off. It should go away from a couple of days to a week," the doctor explained as he laid Jin's arm on the examination table. A small, remorseful smile crept up upon the corners of Jin's mouth. Home? Which home? The one an entire day's trip away? Or the one in the forest outside of the city? Jin's mind went blank. On second thought, my childhood home will always be my home… The doctor reached into a drawer in the examination table and emerged with a long, white bandage.
"Your injury isn't too bad, just don't strenuously use your wrist," he said, trying to make conversation with the silent Jin, as he wrapped the bandage around Jin's wrist. The doctor pushed his glasses up his face again. That's a little annoying Jin thought. "All right, I'll see you out. We're done here, if there isn't anything else," said the doctor as he stood up from his chair. He motioned Jin to the door which lead to the hallway.
The doctor opened the door for Jin, and he immediately saw Julia and Ling in the waiting room. Ling had fallen asleep in her chair, and Julia held one of the many magazines available to the guests in her hand. Brown mud was caked on their shiny, otherwise nice school shoes. Looking down, he noticed that parts of his dark school trousers and shoes were stained with brown smears of mud as well from the scuffle with Hwoarang. Where the hell is he?
While Jin was waiting for the doctor to examine him, he flashed back to the fight. What was wrong with him? He knew Hwoarang was defeated, but his body just kept going and going. It's nothing, he resolved, I just let him get to me. It won't ever happen again. Stupid Hwoarang. However, Jin felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Somehow, he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this promise he made to himself. Without giving the matter further thought, he pushed it into the back of his mind, thinking it was something he could control if it ever came up again.
Julia noticed Jin walk toward them, and she stood up, brushing some imaginary stray fiber from her skirt. "Looks like your fine," she smirked, pointing to the covered wrist.
"Yeah, the doctor said that everything would be back to normal in about a week," Jin explained. Really? Everything would be normal? Hardly…
"That's good, Ling was a little worried…" Julia turned around and outstretched her arm to wake her, but Jin's voice stopped her.
"Wait, I need to tell you something," Jin said quickly.
Julia snapped her arm back and faced Jin again. "Yeah?" she asked innocently.
"I want to thank you, Julia" Jin could feel the hot blood rushing to his face.
"For what?"
"For…you know, backing me up. It meant a lot to me…" he continued feebly.
"I didn't do it for you, Jin…I truly believe that we have to accomplish whatever tasks that were laid out in front of us. I'm not scared." Her tone was resolute and without a hint of sarcasm; there was no debating with her on the issue.
"Well, in any case, thanks," For several moments, they looked at each other, saying nothing.
It was Jin who broke the awkward silence by waking Ling. "Hey Ling. We can leave now," he gently said while tapping her. Ling's dark brown eyes emerged slowly from under her eyelids, and she smiled at the sight of Jin.
"So how badly did I kick your ass?" she asked playfully. Julia covered her mouth and chuckled.
Jin lightly punched her shoulder in jest with his uninjured hand. "Well, Xiao," started Jin, trying to keep a straight face, "Doctor said you shattered my wrist. It'll take a couple of months to heal, and even then, my wrist will be more susceptible to breaking. Also, there was some foul fungus on your foot that went through your sock and your shoe and infected me. Now I have three days to live. Other than that, I'm fine."
All three of them laughed. Ling rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stood up. After some chatter, they finally decided that they had spent enough time in this foreign hospital; the amount of white covering the floors, walls, and ceiling was unsettling for the three of them.
"Umm…so what do we do now?" asked Ling as she scratched the top of her head. They had just emerged from the hospital and took in the morning sun. She looked up to Jin. In response, he rubbed his chin in deep thought. Hmmm…what now?
Julia piped in, "How much money do all of you have on you right now?"
Jin and Ling looked at her in confusion. "That's a pretty bold question to ask," Ling said with a hint of annoyance.
"If we are going to the Zaibatsu, we'll need some supplies, right?" explained Julia, "the more we have, the better prepared we'll be." She rolled down her sock and took out some money from her shoe. "I know it's a little juvenile, but I always lose wallets whenever I get them…" Julia blushed. "I have about 1000 yen."
"Well…my bag is back in the forest, so I don't have anything on me right now," Ling said embarrassingly. Crap…I lost all my paintball stuff too…I had to work for three months with Grandpa at the fishery for that equipment Ling sobbed.
Jin took out his wallet and fingered through the various pieces of paper. "I have a little more than five million yen in my bank account," Jin replied.
Ling and Julia gaped at him in shock. "Erm…Jin…if you don't mind…of the years I've known you, you never have had a job," Ling stammered.
Jin's face flushed with embarrassment. What was I thinking…I shouldn't have just flashed my money in front of them. "Umm…well...since my mother died," Jin gulped at the mention of her mother, "my grandfather has been giving me an allowance to support myself. I've never met him, but he has some high-end job at—" Finally, his mind made the connection. Suddenly, his mind raced a mile a minute. I can't believe this! This is too good to be true! I've already got a connection to…
"My grandfather works at the Zaibatsu! We've already got an in! Damn…I can't believe I didn't think of this before, but we have a way to get into the Zaibatsu! All I have to do is just give him a call, and hopefully he'll help us." Jin rapidly said.
"Wait…what!" shrieked an excited Julia. "This is awesome! This made our goal about five times easier than I originally thought it would be!"
"Let's think about this, though," Ling interrupted the combined excitement of her friends, "isn't it going to be a little weird when you appear out of nowhere and ask him to tell you about the Zaibatsu's dirty secrets? Even though he is your blood relative, I'm not sure he would comply…" Ling's statement brought the mood of the crowd down a couple of notches. Jin nodded in acknowledgement.
Ling flashed a devious smile, "We need to think of a plan…" Jin and Julia looked at her with eagerness…
30 minutes later…
The phone on the other side of the line started ringing. Jin was a little nervous; butterflies were definitely roaming free in his stomach. He looked out of the glass box and saw Julia and Ling urging him on in confidence. This is going to work…I know it is. Ling is a great strategist…I think. Doubt entered Jin's mind, but he didn't have enough time to respond as somebody picked up the phone.
Here it goes…
"Hello? Who is this? I don't recognize your number on my caller I.D. Who are you? How did you get my private line?" interrogated an authoritative, aged voice on the other end.
"Erm…hi…umm…is this Heihachi Mishima?" Jin began feebly.
"Of course it is! You've reached my personal line! What do you want? Who is this?" continued the man. His voice was authoritative and deep. Jin was losing confidence in this plan.
"Umm…hello sir. I'm Jin Kazama, your grandson? Do you remember m—" started Jin
"Jin? Jin, is this really you?" Heihachi's voice conveyed true surprise. The tone of surprise quickly turned into joy as the old man began a flurry of questions, "Hello there, son! What have you been up to? Why are you calling? Is everything all right? Do you need more money? Is something the matter? I told you to only use my personal line in emergences…wow…I haven't seen you in so long! How are you? What are you doing? Is everything all right?"
Jin became a little overwhelmed, and his face reached a light red. "Oh no…everything is fine…grandpa…" Jin felt a little awkward using that word…he probably only talked to the man four times in his entire life, "well…I was wondering if you could do me a favor…it isn't anything major or anything…"
"A favor? Is my only grandson asking me for a favor? Do you even need to ask, my son? Of course I'll do it! I don't even know what it is!" A hearty, loud laugh blasted into Jin's ear. He had to hold the phone receiver several inches away because of the volume.
"Heh…thanks…ummm…I was wondering if a couple of friends and I could tour the Zaibatsu? My friends and I were assigned a project where we have to study a major corporation and write about it's rise to success. Well…I think we'd like to write about your company…" Jin's voice trailed off.
"A report on the Zaibatsu? Why of course! I'll buy you and your friends tickets on the next flight over here. When is the tour convenient for you?" asked an excited Heihachi.
"Well…actually…grandpa…" There's that word again… "we're already here. So I guess the question is when it is convenient for us to visit you?"
Heihachi let out another ear-splitting bellow, "You have initiative, my boy, I like that. You have good business sense. You'll do good when you inherit this multi-billion dollar corporation!" laughed Heihachi. "How about Saturday, around 2:00 pm? I'll use my lunch break to show you kids around."
"Oh wow…so soon? Yeah…Saturday would be great." I can't believe this is actually working, Jin thought, I'll never doubt Ling or any of her plans ever again. "We're staying at a hotel outside of the hospital, so we'll just stay there until then."
"Oh no no no no no, my boy!" interrupted Heihachi. "You'll stay at the Mishima Hotel! It's very classy, six stars, I hear! I know that hotels are rated on a five star scale, but the raters loved it so much that they invented the sixth star specially for my hotel!" laughed the old man.
"I don't know…you've done too much already…" Jin's voice started wavering as he felt embarrassed by his grandfather's overt display of affection.
"Now, we'll have none of that now. The hotel is about 20 blocks south from the hospital. You can't miss it, it's the largest building around, other than the Zaibatsu headquarters itself. Tell the front-desk clerk who you are, and she'll bring you to the penthouse suite. I'll arrange everything right now, so I have to hang up. I can't wait until Saturday, it truly has been too long, grandson!" Heihachi's excited voice was abruptly replaced with the dial tone.
A shocked Jin slowly hung the phone on the receiver and stepped out of the glass booth. "Soooo?" inquired the curious girls.
"Well…we got it. Saturday, at 2:00. That gives us a couple of days to prepare. And it turns out he's letting us stay at the Mishima Hotel. In the penthouse."
Ling and Julia lept up in joy. "See see see! I told you it would work. I may not know my chemistry…or my biology…or my history…or my calculus, for that matter, but I definitely know how to manipulate those I want to!" shrieked Ling. An equally excited Julia added, "I can't believe it…this is so awesome! This is going to work out perfectly. Now all we have to do is do some detective work while we're there, and we'll go from there!"
Jin grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for? I know of a penthouse suite at a six star hotel that has our name on it!" He started walking south as his two friends followed excitingly. "Wow! Six stars! I didn't even know there was such a thing!" Ling said in amazement…
At the same time...
Heihachi Mishima hung up the phone. An evil smile crept up on his face. He scratched his balding head, and pressed the intercom button on his intricate and expensive-looking business phone on his desk. "Tomoko, call Lee and send him in."
"Yes sir," a flirty young voice replied.
Five minutes later, a tall, lean man in a business suit entered. His most striking feature was his silver hair that was mopped on the crown of his head. His youthful face betrayed his true age, but what does age matter in this world that we live in?
"You called, father?" asked the man.
"Lee, my son. The time has come," Heihachi said nonchalantly.
Lee, however, was more excited than his father, "Is it truly time? Don't play jokes with me, father, we've been working on this project for quite some time. It would be cruel to dangle this in front of my and then snatch it away," replied the apprehensive Lee.
"Dear son, I don't joke. Especially not about this matter, about our master plan." Heihachi replied coolly. "Send the Force to the penthouse of the Mishima Hotel, and…erm…persuade your nephew to come visit me, won't you?"
A smile crept upon Lee's face. "Oh father, I am a slave to your genius. Whatever you wish, you shall receive." Both father and son began to laugh manically in Heihachi's private office.
An hour later…
"Wow…that might have been the best ramen ever," gushed Ling, "the barbeque pork was just the way I liked it!" She set aside her bowl and placed in neatly on the room service cart. She looked around the room in amazement once again. Everything seemed so shiny. Ling was afraid to touch anything, in fear of ruining its value. I can't believe how lucky Jin is. He's pretty much set for life, judging by his grandpa's successes, Ling thought. Still, not everything had sunk into Ling's mind, but it was beginning to. Come Saturday, our true purpose in life will be revealed.
"Hey guys..." Jin interrupted Ling's thought process, "do you really want to go through with this? Maybe the Zaibatsu isn't that bad…" Jin began.
Julia and Ling stared at him, "Ummm…why are you thinking these things, Jin? Your mother sent out a clear message…" Julia asked.
"Well…Heiha—my grandfather—" Jin tried to get accustomed with the word, "doesn't seem like such a bad guy. Look what he has done for us," Jin motioned around the grandiose penthouse they were given for the next two days."
"Of course he's going to spoil you, you're his grandson," began Julia, "but remember what your mother showed us. The Zaibatsu may not be what your grandfather cracks it up to be. Just be wary."
"I guess you're right…I just kind of feel guilty deceiving my grandfather after all of this…" replied Jin as his voice trailed off.
A sudden knock on the door interrupted their conversation. "Hmm…did any of you order any more food?" asked Jin. Both girls shook their head. Jin sat up and walked towards the door.
He looked through the peephole, and saw several hotel staff with three more carts of food. Curious, Jin opened the door slightly and took in their visitors.
"Compliments of Mr. Heihachi Mishima," one of the staff mechanically said, as he stood outside of the doorway. A card reading "Jin, enjoy your meal!" was on the cart in the front.
Jin eyed all of the carts of food. "Oh no…we possibly couldn't. We already had our meal," Jin said as he motioned towards the three carts of empty dishes already inside.
"But sir, Mr. Mishima wills it—" began the man just as Jin motioned for the card addressed to him. As Jin reached for the card, he accidentally knocked it off the card and it fell to the floor. "Oops," Jin said feebly, "I know I'm so clumsy sometimes…"
"Allow me, sir," said the man, and as he bent down to pick up the card, Jin noticed something peculiar inside the man's formal suit jacket along his shoulder. Jin squinted to see what it was. It looked like a belt strap.
As the man emerged with the card in hand, offering it to Jin, he noticed Jin's odd expression. "Is something wrong, sir?" the man asked.
"Hey…what do you have in your jacket?" asked Jin. "It looks like a—" Jin began, but he was interrupted as an unexpected right-hand hook connected squarely in his jaw. Jin reeled back, and was promply struck in the stomach with a quick kick from another of the hotel staff.
Jin pedaled back several steps before falling to the ground, clutching his stomach in pain and shock. "JIN!" Ling yelled, as she and Julia rushed up on either side of him, eying both Jin and the hotel staff with intense eyes.
The man who Jin was talking to, the leader of the group, pulled out a gun from his leather holster with his right hand. "It looks like we've been discovered, boys," he smiled.
The other men with him lifted the shiny silver platter covers to reveal various weapons. Each of the supposed hotel staff now wielded a weapon in their hand. They all made their way into the room with the carts and closed the door behind them, locking all of the locks in place.
"We could have done it with no violence whatsoever, but it turns out that we were too careless. Oh well…whatever gets the job done I suppose." said the man. A creepy smile emerged on his face. He pointed the gun directly at Jin's chest.
Note: I know this chapter was a long time coming, but school has really been keeping me busy. Readers, please tell me what I have been doing right and what I have been doing wrong. I think I really need help in my writing. And I finally have gotten to the "Action" part of the genre description…I plan to have an extensive fight scene in the next chapter! Hopefully you guys have enjoyed so far. I look forward to any input/improvement/advice you guys can offer.
