I hope everyone is having a good New Year so far! I'm back once again with a new chapter! Again, I apologize for the slow updates, but writing is somehow both relaxing yet tiring at times (lol), but I'm still going. As always, thanks for the reviews since they keep me motivated!:)
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters. They are all property of Namco.
This was something that she had grown accustomed to and had been trained to do since she was very young. It definitely wasn't out of the ordinary for her to run on very little sleep yet still wake up before the crack of dawn, and she had done just that. It would be an easy ordeal to tackle, that is, with a healthy supply of caffeine and a long laundry list of tasks to complete to keep her mind busy and free of things she didn't deign recall. So, as a remedy, she allowed her mind to dwell on the few pleasant memories from her past that she had successfully thawed out post cryosleep.
Early mornings with her father were a treat, but they didn't come without physical or mental demands. He always expected so much from her, and her greatest fear was not living up to his expectations, so she pushed and endured any challenge he threw her way. At the tender age of eleven, she held a rifle in her small hands and accompanied him on her first hunting trip. On other mornings, they rose before dawn and he began training her, showing little to no mercy to her despite her smaller stature. It was then she realized how easily she bruised; her small hands and body always displayed any physical trauma she sustained during her early days of training her she always pushed through the pain. Poor Anna was always upset about their quality time together, but little did she know that some mornings she would have given anything to trade places with her.
Her sister's mornings with their mother were far more tame and less physically demanding. Anna would brag obnoxiously about how they woke up leisurely and prepared breakfast, baked and decorated cakes, and even went shopping in town. It was effective at making her slightly jealous at times, and she would long for the opportunity to oversleep in her warm bed instead of braving the frigid air of the early morning in the dead of winter, but she realized overtime that she much preferred the physical challenges she overcame to the mundane tasks of shopping and cooking. If her memory served her correctly, that was one of the many things that strained their relationship, but then again it could've been a myriad of other things that played a major role in the deterioration of their sisterly bond.
Nina sighed to herself as she took a brief trip down memory lane. At times, recalling old memories felt like digging in a deep freezer, and most of them were frostbitten but salvageable while others were destroyed beyond recognition and had to be tossed out. Those old memories felt comforting, like being enveloped in a thick, warm blanket on a cold night, but that feeling was very fleeting. She inhaled deeply and steadied her breath until she completely halted it. Her eyes narrowed as she focused them onto the flimsy sheet down the lane. Her gloved finger tightened against the trigger until a loud popping noise rang throughout the empty range. She finally exhaled as she surveyed her work. It was about time that she was able to hit the mark exactly where she wanted, her thoughts were in a frenzy and she had been firing with less accuracy than she normally would've with a clear head. Overall, she still wasn't happy with her performance, but she figured that she wouldn't be so hard on herself considering the day and night she had.
This was definitely the last stop for her today, she could finally feel herself running out of steam despite her overall determination to complete as many tasks as she possibly could to keep herself busy. After she had woken up and swiftly retreated from his quarters mere moments before dawn, she returned to her own but found it extremely difficult to fall back asleep with those licentious thoughts parading around in her mind. They only served to tease her and spark up the previous feelings of pleasure she had enjoyed while also serving as a blunt reminder of the foolish blunder she allowed to happen. The blonde shook her head slowly with yet another disappointed sigh slipping from her lips.
All day she had been putting on a calm façade and feigning her composure as she tried to subdue those memories from invading her thoughts, but her succession rate was pretty low. While overseeing drills and recording artillery inventory, she felt her mind wandering and her skin began tingling as she still felt his hungry lips lingering almost everywhere on her body, covering her with his greedy kisses. When her mask almost completely slipped, there were rare moments that curious eyes of onlookers spotted her gently caressing her neck and softly nibbling her lips with a faraway, dreamy expression. Of course, her usual cold, deadpan expression returned when she realized that she was being observed and she barked orders that forced the stray gazers to immediately scram to perform their newly assigned duties. It was an ongoing struggle, but fortunately for her the day was coming to a close.
Nina tiredly walked over to one of the metal benches lining the wall and slumped down onto it. Luckily for her, the shooting range was empty and she was granted some privacy. However, from observing several drills throughout the day with the soldiers, it was more than evident that the lot of them should've been in there to improve their firing accuracy. Had she not been battling an inner turmoil within her own mind all day, she would've added that as a task to complete as well, but she was far too distracted to train anyone. A long, exhausted sigh escaped from her lips as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the solitude of the vacant room. She had been running from her thoughts all day, but now that she was alone, she finally gave in and allowed them to catch up to her.
She lifted her hand to her neck and idly caressed the areas that he had marked that were luckily covered by the mock neck of her dark purple jumpsuit. Once he had gotten comfortable, she saw that he was quite eager to please her and willing to learn about the things that brought her pleasure. Besides covering those marks, it was difficult for her to carry on her charade and pretend that everything was normal despite feeling sore in awkward places that she couldn't recall ever feeling sore in before. This was the first time she had ever indulged in such activities since awakening from cryosleep, but she wondered if she had experience beforehand. Either way, she was completely thrown off kilter by the experience.
It was unfortunate that she couldn't blame her behavior on wine and spirits or anything else that would alter her judgement and explain her lack of inhibitions; there was nothing or no one she could blame but herself, especially since she willingly partook in an encore performance. It was so unlike her to behave in such a manner, but over time she allowed herself to entertain his amateur attempts of wooing her just to keep things interesting; however, she didn't expect him to be anywhere near successful at charming her to the point where she felt the uncontrollable compulsion to act out on her innermost desires. Somehow, he had melted through her impenetrable ice shield and awakened the remnants of her human emotions and whims that she had long abandoned once she realized that she was nothing more than a flesh and blood weapon for hire. It was the first time in a long time that she actually felt like a normal human woman.
She couldn't attempt to deceive herself and deny the fact that she fully enjoyed the experience, and that in the moment it was quite liberating. At the moment, it relieved some of that strange tension building between them, but the complications and consequences that were soon to follow would be much more dire. She was mentally smacking herself all day and she blamed herself for being too relaxed and lenient about her usual set of rules and conditions when dealing with her clients, especially when it came to him. That first night, when he physically crossed that boundary with her on the helicopter, she should've rectified his behavior and made it abundantly clear that she wouldn't tolerate his actions, but she did nothing. In fact, she was even guilty of inviting and encouraging his advances, so once again, there was no scapegoat for her illogical behavior. Yet, despite her regrets, she undeniably enjoyed the evening.
Nina leaned her head back against the wall with her eyes still closed and smirked softly as she reflected on some memorable highlights from the prior evening. Jin was so bold and impetuous that she could barely predict what he would do next; he was full of surprises. Once her guard was down, and his window of opportunity was still wide open, she granted him permission to pull out all the stops to impress her. She thought that she had an untamed, voracious beast lying dormant within her, but he proved to be a force to be reckoned with. She was impressed with his eagerness in taking the lead, but she didn't allow him to get too ahead of himself. He made attempts to seize control over her and assert his power by forcefully pinning her down onto his bed after he flipped her over to force her into a more submissive position, but she was never fond of relinquishing her power over to anyone. Consequently, she won that battle and once again turned him into a vehicle for her pleasure. It felt great to let go of some of her inhibitions, but as usual, she loathed confronting the consequences for her reckless behavior.
'I really fucked up royally this time," she thought regrettably. 'This is only going to create a world of mess that neither of us need at the moment.' The blonde sighed again and attempted to banish those thoughts from her mind as she attempted to recharge a small bit of energy with a quick power nap. However, she heard the sound of the door opening, thus destroying the sweet solitude she once basked in. She breathed a sigh of annoyance as the heavy footsteps of the intruder echoed throughout the room. 'If this is who I think it is, I'm not hesitating to shoot this asshole in the face this time,' she thought angrily.
"Is this your new hideaway as well?" the voice asked. "I guess we all need one these days."
After recognizing the voice, she felt a tinge of relief, but she still preferred not to be bothered at this time. She lazily opened her eyes and glanced over to the man. "What is it this time, Eddy?" she asked in a short, unamused tone.
The tall Brazilian man blinked as he was a bit taken aback by her brusque response. She wasn't well known for being affable and approachable, but she usually wasn't so icy towards him. He chalked it up to the stress she must've been enduring working under Jin. He was cautious about proceeding forth with the conversation, so he remained silent and just quietly observed her.
She supposed that she was a bit too callous towards the one comrade she felt no ill will towards and decided to lighten up despite her moody disposition. She looked up at him and said, "Don't mind me, I just haven't been getting enough sleep with these crazy new hours I've been putting in to please 'your highness'." Taking a slight jab at their boss usually helped lighten the mood.
Eddy smirked at her remark and decided to dismiss her previous behavior, not that he would attempt to probe her any further and risk pushing her already shifty mood into the danger zone. From what he observed, she and Jin had a very peculiar dynamic. One minute they seemed to get along quite well like two kindred spirits, and other times it appeared as though they experienced a lot of friction and were purposely avoiding each other like complete strangers. Again, he'd have a instant death wish if he dared to question her about it; however, it was his duty to pass on the information he was receiving regarding the matter. "A few soldiers from the other bases have been ordered to report your whereabouts to Jin," Eddy informed.
Hearing his name uttered caused a nervous stir within her. 'Damn it…he couldn't leave me alone for just one day?' she thought, trying not to allow her stress levels soar again. Was Eddy here to narc on her? Against the stipulations cited in her contract, she once again failed to keep her line of communication open by intentionally keeping her cell off all day, and she was sure to suffer his wrath in some form or another. "Is that so?" she started with a smug look. "I'll get back with him when I have time…or when I feel like it." She kept up her cool front despite her heart racing abnormally at the thought of being confronted by Jin.
Eddy shook his head as he crossed his arms. She seemed to be quite cocky about dodging the repercussions for her actions, yet others would be shivering in their armor at the thought of the boss hunting them down. He had trouble getting in contact with his superior at times himself, so it was slightly frustrating to know that Jin actively pursued communication with her while ignoring and dismissing his inquiries about his ailing master. He was plagued with guilt over his involvement in Jin's destructive world domination plans and the deaths of thousands of innocent people indirectly caused by his actions, but his only motivation to endure this horror was the expectation that his master would be treated as per his agreement with Jin. The thought made him clench his fist by his side as he averted his dark, solemn eyes to the floor.
The blonde woman noticed the grave expression consuming her comrade's features and cast her eyes downwards briefly before looking up at him once again. She hated that she actually felt sorry for the man, and even more sorry that she could do absolutely nothing to remedy his predicament. She knew that he wanted to ask her to talk to Jin about it, but it wasn't her duty to play telephone between the two men. "Look, Eddy, if you want to talk to Jin about something, just do it. Make him listen and be direct," she advised. "I refuse to get involved in whatever business deal you have with him."
He seemed surprised at her mentioning this since he hadn't discussed any information regarding this matter with her. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and took a step forward. "You know something, don't you?" he asked accusingly. "What has he told you? Tell me!"
Nina said nothing and raised her palm to cease his badgering, interrogative questions. "Enough," she asserted calmly yet with a stern iciness in her tone to quickly silence his accusatory statements. "Again, take your concerns up with him, not me."
The Brazilian man inhaled and exhaled deeply in an attempt to quell his rising anger. She was right. There was no use in projecting his anger unto her, but somehow he was still beginning to feel distrustful of her and felt that she definitely knew more than she let on. After all, she was Jin's faithful right hand, and he felt that he was nothing more than an unqualified lackey foisted into a high ranking position he didn't earn. Once he calmed down, he glared at the smaller blonde woman with a bit of skepticism in his eyes. "I don't know who I can trust anymore," he confessed to her in a low voice.
Nina shook her head slowly. "If I were you, I'd trust no one," she warned him cryptically. She watched as he turned away from her and silently walked towards the door. She exhaled softly as the door closed, feeling strangely discontent by her unpleasant exchange with her colleague. 'Sometimes, I wish I didn't know half of the things about this madness we're engulfed in…it's definitely not helping me rest any easier,' she brooded. Her eyes were stinging from drowsiness at this point and the prolonged silence of the deserted gun range finally lulled her into a quiet slumber that her fatigued mind and body couldn't resist.
The past few weeks were really rocky for them, and it only resulted in creating an even wider chasm in their already strained relationship. After her last episode, she was unwillingly sent back to the lab where they performed more useless, invasive tests on her that revealed nothing new about treating her condition. Despite her giving vivid descriptions about her experiences, the nightmares, strange whispering voices, and those terrible visions, the uncaring imbeciles clad in white coats did nothing to alleviate her suffering besides upping the dosage on her meds and even prescribing new pills to her already extensive regimen.
She was at a complete loss on how to move forward especially with such horrific, seemingly supernatural, things plaguing her life. That woman, her supposed sister, continuously brushed off her concerns dismissively, thus sparking several disagreements and arguments between them. Ever since her return from her last visit to the lab, she was more distant and distrustful of everyone; she usually locked herself in her room and slept an odd number of hours to abandon her reality. In those times of solitude, she allowed her tears to soak her pillow while quietly lamenting about the current disarray of her life. She could tell that she was never used to crying because she felt so ashamed and weak afterwards, but sobbing privately at least provided a well needed outlet for her bottled emotions. She just wanted her life to return to normal, even if her version of normality was radically different from the average person's, she still wanted it.
Even though they weren't currently speaking, the two women occupied the same space in the living room, but they were trapped in their own little worlds. The blonde woman sat Indian style in the recliner with her face buried in an old photo album while the younger brunette was splayed across the sofa watching some badly scripted, insipid soap drama on TV. They were just waiting until the minutes ticked away until it was late enough for them to retreat to bed. As directed by the dear old doctor, her sister had unpacked a lot of old family memorabilia from boxes she had shipped to them from their old family home overseas after it went on the market. They were filled with countless old trinkets from their past ranging from old photos, home movies, and records to expensive jewelry and various other valued, sentimental belongings from their past life.
After being revived from cryosleep, they were informed of the unsettling news of their mother's passing a few years prior. Her younger sibling was very distraught and heartbroken by the news while she, on the other hand, struggled to remember her mother's face. The brunette was infuriated by her lack of emotional response to the devastating news, calling her a mouthful of harsh names, but she honestly couldn't recall much about her mother, which was tragic in its own right. So now, whenever she had free time, she perused through their old family albums to help jog her memory, and so far, doing so did help her recall a bit more about their father and helped her paint a clearer picture of her mother's face over time. It was the first suggestion from the weird old doctor that was actually beneficial.
Recently, sleeping, listening to those old records, and looking through those old photos were the only things that brought some joy into her dark life. From Sunday church photos to birthdays to holiday pictures, she enjoyed looking through them even if some of them didn't help her recall much from the past. All the people looked happy and loving, even the young blonde girl that was presumably her from decades ago. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the older blonde woman, presumably her mother, looked a lot like her, and for some reason she felt a bit more connected to her than she did before. Her smile was warm and she always looked so radiant and beautiful. The man in the photo always stood out the most and her heart ached and her chest felt constricted at times, but most times he brought a sad smile to her face. The younger brunette in the photos always seemed oddly placed in most of the photos; she never stood in the center next to the blonde girl. The man stood proud and tall with his arm around his wife's shoulders and a gentle hand placed on the younger blonde girl's shoulders; the mother also had one hand placed on the blonde girl's shoulders while her other free hand lightly grasped the little brunette girl's hand, who stood off to the side with an awkward air about her.
Her estranged sibling shut off the television with the remote and glanced at the clock on the wall before she glared over at her with a serious expression. "Don't forget to take your medicine before bed," she reminded her in a dour tone. It was imperative that she took her meds and retired to bed before she did; she didn't like her roaming around the apartment while unsupervised at night.
The blonde tensed at her words and her eyes narrowed at the mention of those damned pills. She supposed it was better to take them voluntarily rather than wait for her to find strange ways to slip them into her food and beverages without her consent. She didn't like that the woman often infantilized her and bossed her around, but it was getting late and she did feel tired, so she acquiesced. After closing the album and setting it on the coffee table, she stood up and silently traversed to the bathroom while ignoring the intense watchful gaze of the brunette.
"Don't forget to take them all," she warned. "They said it was important to complete the full regimen." Once she put her elder sister down to bed, she would be free from babysitting and could do whatever she wanted without the blonde's contemptuous eyes weighing her down. Although she really didn't have the energy to get dolled up and slip out for a few hours of fun, at least she could breathe a little without the thick tension in the air.
The blonde woman wearily glared at her reflection in the mirror and slowly shook her head. She appeared so tired and listless, and the medicine would only serve to wear her down even further, yet she fought through the nausea, fatigue, and other adverse side effects in hopes of achieving wellness one day. In the cabinet, she was faced with a full lineup of pills; sleeping pills to cure her insomnia; antidepressants to keep her balanced; pain pills for the migraines; and her newest friends, antipsychotics for those pesky voices and visions. She filled the glass with water and mentally prepared herself to down the pills after closing the medicine cabinet.
Her blue eyes widened with absolute horror, and her heart began pounding in fear as she was now faced with the king of all terrors. A hideous, hairy, horned creature with large gnashing fangs and red glowing eyes had completely possessed her image in the mirror and glared back at her with a malicious intent brewing in its ominous orbs. Instantly, she froze in place against her will and was forced to look at it, and when she attempted to resist, her head began throbbing and radiating with pain that eventually shot throughout her entire body as if her entire being was ready to combust into flames and explode. Her attempts to cry out for help were silenced and strangled in her throat, and a lone tear slid down her now ghostly pale cheek. Her defiance was futile, it would kill her if she dared. It was then that the visions replaced her thoughts, those same seemingly irrelevant visions that kept flashing through her mind in her nightmares showing the same three strangers; a gentle woman, a fierce man, and a young boy being shown growing from infancy to young adulthood. A guttural, demonic voice reverberated throughout her head, repeating a foreign name she had never heard before.
Her pale hand tightened its grip around the glass of water, it was the only mobility she was granted as the monstrous beast slowly attempted to seize complete control of her. The glass shattered, and the shock and pain of the jagged shards slicing into the flesh of her palm jolted her free from the mental grip of the creature just long enough to allow her to release an ear piercing, blood curdling scream. Suddenly, as if something released her from its grip, the blonde collapsed onto the floor with a thud, like a doll carelessly falling from a child's hand.
Mere moments later, her very startled younger sibling burst through the door with her eyes widened in shock and horror at the ghastly sight she beheld. She cried out her name with worry when she saw the blood splattered on the white floor tiles and the terror stricken face of the blonde. As concerned as she was, she was hesitant to approach her, fearing that she'd be on the receiving end of her violent outbursts. "What the hell's the matter with you?!" she lashed out in a panicked voice. "You...you haven't been taking your meds, have you?!" After a few moments of receiving no response from the blonde laying on the bathroom floor, she finally rushed in to aid her.
Dazed and frightened, she stared lifelessly at nothing as the brunette tried to slowly help her up from the cold bathroom floor. She was trembling with fear, and despite the woman next to her repeatedly calling her name, all she could hear was that garbled, demonic voice speaking that name to her over and over.
"Jin…Kazama…," she breathed out softly as she slowly regained consciousness from her far too brief nap. Those damned chilling memories haunted her more frequently as the days passed, but the reasons behind them were confusing to discern. She groaned tiredly, and as she became more cognizant of her surroundings, she opened her eyes to glance around the gun range. Her sapphire eyes froze in place when they fell upon a lone figure of a man in a long black overcoat with his arms folded across his chest staring at the target sheet down the lane.
Nina drew in a sharp breath in surprise at the sight. When did he get here? How long had he been standing there? Why did he come all this way to find her? In spite of her efforts to push all thoughts of him into the background, there he was, invading her dreams and now breaching her solitude in the real world. She would have to gear up and face the music, despite the fact that she hated dancing to someone else's tune, especially when she wasn't in the mood. 'Jin Kazama…' his name echoed in her groggy thoughts again as she was now faced with the devil himself.
Nina had an interesting trip down memory lane, but she can't escape reality for too long. Sorry to leave off on a cliffhanger...XD. Next chapter will be a direct continuation!