Good day, all! I hope all is well with everyone! Here's chapter 14! I was going to post more with this chapter, but I didn't want it to exceed over 5000 words. The next chapter will follow soon after. Thanks so much for your reviews and continued interest in this story! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters. They are all property of Namco.
This day wasn't going according to her plans at all. There's nothing worse than waking up and checking the daily news only to find out that she and her affiliates were the trending news story everyone was obsessing over currently. The words themselves were meaningless, but the power they held to persuade and delude is what was truly annoying. She didn't have time to deal with this nonsense, besides, being bothered by this pettiness would only give her moronic sister the satisfaction of getting under her skin. She wasn't so easily swayed by gossip, rumors, and tabloid articles, and she ignored the countless stares from the associates within the company and the whispers accompanied with them. Were they foolish enough to believe that trite, unamusing nonsense?
Her heels clicked rhythmically against the marble tiles as she, reluctantly, found herself en route to her boss' office. She wondered what his response to this would be. Even if he remained unaffected, she wanted to calmly vent to someone who could possibly understand her slight frustration. Surprisingly, she and Jin had not spoken for the last couple of days, however, it was she that somewhat initiated their break.
After that night when things seemed to heat up between them, it was her logical response to put things on ice. She requested a "sick day" and busied herself doing other things, such as some light training, target practice, and web surfing to pass the time. It wasn't that she felt nervous about the situation, she just wanted to wait until the tension dissipated so that they could resume their normal routine. Her nights became sleepless, filled with restless dreams of warm lips and confusing emotions. The cherry on top of everything, of course, was that lying bitch sister of hers running her mouth to the media.
The sound of footsteps belonging to someone other than herself caught her attention. She looked up and saw Eddy walking down the hall, returning from their employer's office. She stopped in her tracks as he approached her with a confused expression on his face.
"Hey, I've been looking for you," he said as he approached her. "What the hell is going on? I've been trying to find Jin all day. Any ideas about where he is?" he asked heatedly.
Jin wasn't in his office? That was a first, but it was nothing to panic over. Perhaps he was in the dojo, in his quarters, or somewhere else on the grounds. "I'm sure he'll turn up," she shrugged dismissively. "Why are you so worked up? Is there something wrong?"
"Besides sleazy reporters on the outskirts of headquarters trying to get a scoop and the activity of those pesky protesters picking up, nothing too major," Eddy relayed sarcastically. "Jin told the bases in Moscow, Madrid, and Munich to await his orders a few days ago, but then they heard nothing from him since."
This was all new to her. She had no idea that he had given these orders. Was he advancing his plans, finally? Why? She was completely out of the loop, and she wondered if he was motivated by his father's words after all. 'Jin...I hope he isn't doing this prematurely out of anger,' she thought, completely oblivious about his true intentions. Why didn't he tell her anything? Was he upset about the other night?
The perplexed look on her face revealed to him that she didn't know anything as well. Now what? "So, what are your orders? What should I tell them?" he asked.
Because of Jin's absence, was he expecting her to make the call? She was a bodyguard and a covert operative, so she had no desire to handle his affairs concerning this war. He led, and she followed. She shook her head at his expectation. "It's not within my jurisdiction to give commands to them concerning this matter." She copped out of that responsibility swiftly.
Eddy let out a long, heavy sigh and shook his head. "I've been calling him and asking around about his whereabouts, but no one seems to know anything about his disappearance," he exasperated as he looked to her for answers. He was definitely surprised that he hadn't told Nina anything. Did something happen to him? "I'm going to check into it further just in case something happened. I'll let you know if I find anything," he said as he gave her a quick nod before continuing his trek down the long corridor.
The blonde sighed, annoyed that she had more added stress to contend with. She'd figure that she'd go to his office anyway to figure out how she could crack this mystery. She continued on to the large double doors and gained entry into his office. As she glanced around and saw no one, it reminded of the day of their first meeting. Only a couple of months had passed since then, but it seemed so long ago. Where the heck could he be? Hopefully, he wasn't reckless enough to place himself in danger, but leaving without alerting her was alarming, and it was most certainly stupid. She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed his number. It went straight to voice mail. She wasn't one to leave an angry voice mail, but she did opt for sending him a text.
She strode towards his desk and took a seat in his large leather chair. The same books cluttered his desktop, and the room hadn't changed much since the night they'd watched the interview. Perhaps he did run off and do something irrational. Did he try to pursue Kazuya and get himself captured in the process? The thought made her feel anxious. If that was the case, then she felt like she had failed at her job, the only one she actually had to do which was to keep him safe. Nina leaned forward and pressed a button on his intercom. "Hey, did Jin have anything on his itinerary for the day?" she inquired to his secretary.
"M-miss Williams, ma'am, I don't have any updates regarding Mr. Kazama's schedule, um well he did have one meeting," she answered nervously. "I thought he provided you with that information firsthand."
"Tch, well if I had it I wouldn't be asking you. Clear his schedule...he's indisposed at the moment," she replied hotly. She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Look, if you see or hear anything from him, let me know."
"Yes, ma'am! Should I bring you any refreshments?" she asked.
"No, I'm fine," Nina replied before letting go of the button. She leaned back into his chair and turned towards the large windows. The serene view over the city in the late afternoon was very misleading, for chaos and uproar reigned over the streets. Due to a few factual leaks and several fabricated lies, the sheep of the city were now rattled up after they completely fell for G Corp's tricks.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she quickly reached for it, hoping that it was Jin finally responding to her. She looked at her phone and bit her bottom lip slightly in frustration. Her once trusty news app had betrayed her and alerted her with another "breaking news story" concerning libelous rumors about her and the Mishima Zaibatsu. Great, yet another article referring to her as a professional "escort" hired by Jin. The only bright side was that they never used her name or had a clear shot of her face, she was always referred to by her race or hair color.
'Anna, you little cow, you think this is real funny, don't you? This is far from over,' she thought with a scowl. A more pressing matter had to be addressed, so dealing with her sister would have to wait. She would look for more leads about his whereabouts, and hopefully they'd lead her somewhere. 'I hope he isn't in any danger. Hmph, who's the reckless one now?' she thought bitterly as she sat quietly and looked out of the window.
Things were finally turning around in their favor. The power of the media was stronger than they had originally anticipated it to be. It was a circus and they not only had a front row seat, they were the ring leaders. It wasn't their normal tactic, but once again, it was surprisingly effective. The public eye was always something he tried to avoid, but they embraced him, and admittedly, the attention did wonders for his already big ego. He wondered if his spineless son was enjoying this as much as he was. The people rallied and protested, calling for the tyrant, Jin Kazama, to be brought to justice and for the company to be shut down. The public labeled him as a heartless coward, the scrooge of the business world, a demon in disguise, and a destroyer of the world. It was only a matter of time before the whelp came knocking down his door to vent out his frustrations.
'I know you can sense it too...echoing in that little mind of yours. Awaken it, and I will destroy it and absorb its power and take back what's mine from you,' he plotted insidiously in his thoughts. Was that what Jin was after as well? Becoming stronger was the only way for that pathetic boy to defeat him. He was tired of waiting.
Kazuya downed the rest of his cocktail and continued clicking through the top articles covering his interview. The public puppets amused him at how easily swayed they could be, it was pitiful actually, but due to their naivety good things were on the way for G Corp. The door to his office opened and in stepped his associate, dressed lavishly in a short gold dress with a black fur coat draped over her shoulders. It seemed she had found a way to selfishly reap benefits from this as well. He smirked before returning his attention to the monitors before him.
Aiding Kazuya successfully was one benefit, defaming her sister was another, but the greatest benefit of all was all of the attention she received. Talking to one publicist gained the attention of others until she was the most sought out woman for interviews. She had even scored a spread in a magazine. She was on a high right now. Anna floated into the room elatedly with a grin. "I'm back! Did I miss anything?" She sat down on the edge of his desk and crossed her legs, exposing her smooth legs to him.
He temporarily tore his attention away from the screen to run his eyes over her. Her little outfits were always eye-catching, even though they were definitely inappropriate for the setting. He wondered what other mischief she had brewing up in her head. "What can we anticipate next?" he asked.
Anna turned to him and shrugged with a small smile. "It's depends. It's a crap shoot, really," she surmised. "Maybe the boy will respond by doing something irrational, or maybe he'll continue hiding away with my dear sister. Either way, whatever move he makes will severely damage the Mishima Zaibatsu's reputation in this little pre-war of ours."
"If he starts this war, we have to continue to be allies to the public while working in secrecy to achieve our own goals," he explained.
Now that she thought about it, she truly didn't know what his goals were. Wasn't this all for his seizure of the Mishima Zaibatsu? However, she had heard reports of him positioning units in the middle east for some strange reason. What was that about? Also, if he truly wanted Jin dead, he could easily have him killed, but it seemed like he was more interested in monitoring his moves. She had thrown herself in the midst of their conflict without truly knowing any of their true intentions. Did Nina know anything, or was she going along with this and playing things by ear just as she was? "So tell me , Kazuya, is power all you want out of this, or is there something more you desire?" she asked smoothly with a smirk.
Kazuya's usual devious smirk returned to his face. "Why does this interest you all of the sudden?" They had their own goals and reasons for teaming up. He didn't care what she gained from it as long as she proved herself to be competent and beneficial to his team.
"I just thought it'd be interesting to know...it seems I never know what you're thinking at times," the brunette responded. He was ever so secretive, and she respected his privacy, but she was simply curious about his motives and her true role in his game.
"You needn't concern yourself with my personal stakes in this, Anna. Just do as you're told and you'll reap the many benefits of being on my good side," Kazuya reminded her. He saw absolutely no purpose in revealing more than he wanted to the woman before him. This was a temporary situation after all.
What a stubborn man, but he was right. She was only curious, but in the end she didn't care what his ultimate goal was. She would just enjoy the ride along as they wreaked havoc on their enemies together. "Mmm, your good side is the only side I want to see, Kazuya," she said flirtatiously. She stood up from his desk and smoothed out her dress. She reached into the pocket of her fur coat and procured a rolled up magazine before tossing it onto his desk. Anna flashed him a sexy smile before saying, "Page fifty five, just a little treat before the main course later." She left his office. She'd find out what she was looking for sooner or later.
Kazuya picked up the magazine once she left and only turned to the instructed page out of sheer curiosity. His brow raised in mild amusement as he lifted the magazine up, turning it sideways to let the page unfurl to get a full view. "Hmph," he simply remarked as he gazed at the risqué photo of the brunette vixen. It was nothing he hadn't seen before, but it was a rather enticing photo. He wondered how this would aid her in their plans but paid it no heed. They had wildly different goals in this, after all.
I like how Anna is silently sabotaging her enemies without chipping a nail, she's a sly one lol.