Hello, everyone! It's been a long time since my last update (I know...sorry) but I'm finally back! I got caught up in summer madness, but I've been working on updates in between. Thanks for being patient and I hope you enjoy the new chapter! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters. They are all property of Namco.
The night air was cold, but at least she was adequately dressed for the weather for her little excursion. Despite the risks of leaving the safety and security of the Central Tower, she daringly ventured out on her own to make the most of her leisure time. She gripped her gloved hands onto the gears and sped faster down the road, navigating expertly through the cars and trucks on the highway; she was finally having fun.
After a fairly uneventful day yesterday, it was finally time to do something worthwhile. She had soaked in enough baths and lounged around in her quarters listening to nostalgic old Gilbert O'Sullivan records in her pajamas long enough until she no longer gained enjoyment from it. It was a spur of the moment thing, but she needed to keep herself occupied, so she left.
Her night ride on the road had been smooth and relaxing, that is, until she ran into the one thing every motorist dreads, traffic. Returning to the city, she didn't expect for there to be so much traffic; however, in these tense times, she wouldn't be surprised if the traffic jam was caused by local protestors or some random punks trying to vent out their frustrations through vandalism. Such things have become commonplace in society due to people's fear and apprehension for the future outcome of the war.
She sighed in frustration beneath her black helmet and tried to push those thoughts aside; she hated to admit that she, too, was feeling the mental fatigue from the war as well. Growing weary with the stalled traffic, her impatience forced her to craftily maneuver through the jam to make her way through the mess more quickly until she reached another halt in the movement of traffic.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" the blonde muttered irritably. She leaned her weight to the side and perched her foot on the ground. One would think that the city's nightlife would be dull and dead given the current climate of the world, but somehow people still found ways to escape from their misery, probably with copious amounts of liquor, gambling, and other unhealthy coping mechanisms. She furtively scanned the traffic and glanced over the streets. She was in the entertainment district, so maybe there was something exciting happening this evening, not that she kept tabs on such things. Bright flashing neon signs and marquees lined the streets and it was hard to pinpoint the main attraction. She was beginning to lose her curiosity about the matter until her eyes skimmed past a bright marquee showcasing a hauntingly familiar name. Her eyes widened beneath the dark shield of her helmet visor and her heart throbbed so vigorously that she could hear the drumming in her ears. Her breath hitched in her throat as the world around her fell deafeningly silent.
'This…can't be happening…' her troubled thoughts raced frantically. A loud honking behind her abruptly resumed the current world around her. Traffic was moving again, and she quickly zipped through the vehicles to flee the vicinity. 'Why…why now? Why?' the blonde's mind whirled with unease.
It had been a long, emotionally and psychologically draining day, and no matter how much he tried to distance himself from stressors in his environment, they always honed in on him. He just couldn't find an escape. On top of everything else, he wasn't feeling well as of late. There was something else heavily weighing on his thoughts and emotions that made him feel disgust and shame to his very core. The meeting, to say the least, hadn't gone as planned.
'You did what needed to be done…' the demon consoled him. 'Keep your pawns in order, they are disposable and useless beyond this war.'
'Don't talk to me…' the brooding raven haired man thought in response. Despite his full intentions to finally be truthful, the demon had intercepted his thoughts and corrupted them to force him to lie, or least he hoped. He couldn't bear to think that he would willingly allow himself to be this cruel and deceptive.
The warped demonic voice cackled in his mind annoyingly. 'Truth and virtue will get you no where, only the weak delude themselves with such nonsense.'
Jin cringed at hearing the voice taunt him further. He thought he had become stronger to tame the beast within, but it seemed like a downhill battle for him. He was becoming desperate now. In a slow, zombie-like motion, he reached his hand towards his top desk drawer, struggling to pull open the simple sliding drawer mechanism.
'Ah, yes…the pills,' the demon's voice taunted with another laugh. 'They won't help you…it was only a delusion I allowed you to believe.'
'You bastard...I'll stop at nothing to destroy you…' he tried to think positively despite his suffering.
'Your pain brings me absolute pleasure,' the voice goaded cruelly with another maniacal laugh.
After a while, the laugh became nothing more than a distant echo. He was finally leaving the threshold between his subconscious state to reenter the real world. Like attempting to spark two stones together, it took a moment for him to regain full mental control.
A strange, sporadic buzzing noise filled his ears and opened his eyes to only be greeted by the darkness prevailing over his office save for a lit device vibrating on his desktop. He blinked lethargically for a moment before he responded to the situation, especially once a familiar face and name became recognizable on the small screen. He reached for the phone and finally answered the call. Even still, he was slow to answer as he did so.
"Hello…Jin?" the woman's voice spoke, hesitantly.
He readjusted himself in his leather chair as he sat up to shake off his grogginess. "Yes, Nina…I'm here," he responded.
"You sound tired…did I disturb you?" she asked.
Even in his post trance, hazy state, he could sense something strange about her tone. "Something's troubling you," he stated observantly. "What is it?"
She followed with a small, forced laugh. "I'm okay…I just regret leaving…" her voice trailed off, "…because traffic is so terrible." she tacked on the last part.
Her voice was breaking up slightly from the wind breezing across the receiver. "Come back…it's late anyway."
"I never realized I had a curfew, but very well," she agreed. "Are you sure you're okay?"
He paused momentarily, closing his eyes with a deep breath. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine," he falsely reassured her. "Be careful."
"I will," she assured before ending the call.
Jin placed his phone back on his desk before sinking back into his chair with a sorrowful sigh. He slowly lifted his hand and cradled his face in his palm. Destroyer, dictator, monster, warmonger, murderer, liar…all the things they said he was, he became. The devil was getting a real kick out of this, but he refused to roll over and let the demon win. 'I can't become a monster like him…I must fight this…' Despite his resistance, it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened.
Rationality was not on her side this evening. Rationale and pragmatic reasoning had ruled at least ninety percent of her life, but her current actions reflected the remaining ten percent of confusing, illogical human emotions that overtook her once in a while. With hesitant footsteps and shaky hands, she purchased a ticket. With shallow breaths and a racing heart, she entered the venue and eventually took her seat, hopefully far enough from view to remain permanently inconspicuous. She had purchased her ticket late, but she came in time to catch the end.
The anxious blonde sat stiffly in the hard seat, clutching the small ticket in her hand with her arms folded across her chest. She kept her shades on as she sat in the back, but she still felt somewhat apprehensive about being recognized. Working for the Mishima Zaibstsu had compromised her secret identity, but she would be surprised if some regular Joe actually remembered her face from an old blurb in the paper.
She observed her environment, and she was incorrect in her earlier assumption that this event was the main cause for the heavy traffic. There were barely a hundred people in the audience, and it explained the cheapened ticket prices. Times were hard after all. 'What am I doing here? I can't think straight…I shouldn't be here!' her thoughts raced frantically. 'No…I just need to see…just a glimpse…' The announcer's loud voice pierced her thoughts.
"The break is over and it's the final round!" the announcer yelled over the ring. "In the red corner, we have defending middleweight champion, Yoji Abe…and in the blue corner British native champion and golden boy, Steve Fox!"
The name blared through her ears and her breath hitched in her throat as the intense pounding beneath her ribs returned. She blinked slowly and brought a hand to her head to rub away the tension building at her temple. For some strange reason she began to feel ill, malaise was settling within her and she could barely focus on the action in the ring. The crowd, even with its sparsity, generated a decent amount of uproar as the two men went blow for blow in the ring. She was never really a fan of the sport, but she could see how it would garner the excitement from spectators. Her eyes honed in on the blond haired male, who bobbed and weaved around his opponent's punches with ease and even a playful cockiness.
The crowd was eating it up and cheered loudly at the demonstration of the fighter's skill in the ring. After all, from what she analyzed, it was nothing more than a friendly exhibition match between the two boxers. The blond boxer found an opening in his opponent's defense and delivered a sturdy jab to his gut and followed up with a quick uppercut to his chin that sent the man falling backwards from the blow. Again, the cheers and whistles reached an all time high at the climatic moment of the match. The referee quickly came in and did a three count as the fallen man struggled to peel himself up from the ring, but it was evident that it was over and the golden boy had won.
The spectators whistled, shouted praises, and jumped from their seats with cheerful excitement. Nina remained seated and poised amidst the havoc and only observed. Amid all the despair engulfing the world, she was surprised that people still had the ability and energy to feel happiness and positivity. It was only a small handful of people, but somehow seeing people pushing through their pain was oddly inspiring. She was pulled from her daze when the noise simmered down a little when the announcer appeared on the large screen as he shoved the microphone into the winner's face.
Her face went pale and she felt as if the walls around her were closing in on her when his face…her face appeared on the screen. Everything fell silent around her again as she sat still like a stone statue and was forced to look into those eyes that mirrored her own. His lips were moving as he spoke confidently about his win, but she couldn't hear a single word. A strange flashback flew across her damaged memory; she saw hazy images of shadowy men standing over her as she was bound by restraints on a cold slab. Suddenly, she felt so cold from the random fragmented memory.
A sharp pain began throbbing in her head, causing her hand to fly up to her face to shake away the pain and the horrific memory. For a reason she currently couldn't comprehend, she became inexplicably enraged. She couldn't bear to be there anymore, so she quickly rose from her seat hastily and walked into the aisle. She carelessly collided into a random stranger, knocking him down in the process, but she continued her ascent up the stairs towards the exit in a hurried fashion. She just needed to leave, to get as far away from him as possible.
Once she was outside, the fresh, crisp air was a blessing to her lungs. Even in a slightly panicked state, she still forced herself to maintain her cool composure. Nina took in a few deep breaths and unzipped her black leather jacket a little to cool off since her skin was now slightly damp from the sudden cold sweat she'd broken out into earlier. She began walking down the sidewalk and away from the venue in a daze as her mind recovered from the small trauma she just experienced. It was her fault for going on this night ride, for not listening to Jin, and for being weak. The blonde assassin sighed heavily and tried to shake the strange, indescribable emotions from her thoughts. 'What the hell was I thinking? Why did I trick myself into thinking that I needed to see him again? I'm losing my damn mind…' she mentally chastised herself.
"Hey!" a voice shouted out. "Hey you! Wait!"
Nina whipped around sharply and her eyes widened when she caught a glimpse of the blond boxer trailing after her down the slightly crowded sidewalk. Without a moment's thought, she bolted away from the young man and silently prayed he would lose interest in following her. To her dismay, he was indeed quickly tailing her while yelling for her to stop. Certain pedestrians were once again casualties that were either shoved out of her pathway or completely knocked down as she ran down the street.
The blond boxer wasn't sure why he was so adamant about following the mysterious woman, but a strange feeling of déjà vu engrossed him when he caught a glimpse of her hurriedly leaving the arena. The sight of her blonde ponytail whipping behind her and her slender build instantly took him back to that day outside the hotel. He wasn't entirely certain if it was the same woman, but she seemed hauntingly similar. He pursued the woman down the sidewalk until she sharply turned around the corner of the alley and disappeared from his sight. Desperate to keep up with her, he quickly ran to the mouth of the alley and attempted to enter until the roaring engine of a motorcycle burst in his ears. Very narrowly, he dodged being run over by reflexively jumping backwards to hug the wall as the black leather clad woman zipped past him.
After recovering from the mild shock of thinly escaping being trampled over, he stood alone in the alley with his mouth agape. He was confused by the entire ordeal, but he didn't know how to process everything. The young man sighed heavily and hunched over to place his hands over his knees to catch his breath. He still didn't understand what provoked him to chase her, he never really got a clear look at her face. He shook his head and figured he'd return since his manager was alarmed at him suddenly fleeing the ring. Looking downwards, he noticed a shiny, black device on the ground almost blending in seamlessly with the dark concrete. He reached down and picked it up and observed it.
'A phone? Did that woman drop this?' he thought. Whoever that woman was, she would probably be interested in having this phone returned to her if it was indeed hers.
The burning taste of scotch slipping down her throat did nothing to soothe her screaming nerves. In fact, after the first sip, she knew it wouldn't remedy her agitation, so she sat the glass down on her nightstand. She'd showered and prepared herself for bed as she normally would, but the disquiet of her mind kept her from sleeping.
She had paced around her room, laid down, and repeated the process a few times over like she was stuck in a never ending loop. His face, his name, her face, his voice was all that occupied her thoughts and the only thing her thoughts did in return was continuously berate her for her foolishness. Now, she felt angry at absolutely everything. Nothing positive came from the venture, and she couldn't help to feel the irony of her intended relaxing getaway ride resulting in adding more fuel to her flame of unrest.
The rattled blonde rested on top of her bed once again and blew a heavy sigh as her blue eyes parked themselves onto the stark white ceiling. She loathed being reminded about the many unpleasant, horrific experiences of her past, which is why she smartly avoided them to protect her mental health. Seeing him tonight only opened a floodgate of negative emotions that she was once able to contain. His face forced buried feelings of resentment and anger to resurface, reminding her of the pain, betrayal, and worst of all, the shame and embarrassment of her own weaknesses.
Being captured and being stripped of her dignity in front of that bastard Kazuya was an all time low for her, but discovering the truth about what they did to her nearly destroyed her psyche. She would have rather died fighting and gone out with a grand bang than to be captured at the mercy of her enemy's hands. The shame of being so vulnerable hung over her like a dark cloud, and the way they used her body made her sick to her core until this very day. She always had pride in her ability to endure and persevere, but that awful experience reminded her that she wasn't completely unbreakable. It wasn't fair to the boy, but his existence was the harbinger of her mental torment and shame.
Nina closed her eyes with another long, miserable sigh. She was distraught and upset, and she craved a quick remedy to ease her troubled mind. It was late, but there was no rest for the wicked, and she was sure to find company from her employer even in this late hour. With a new goal set in her mind, the assassin slowly peeled herself up from her bed to seek out solace.
Her short journey to her employer's office came to a close, and she entered after providing the necessary biometric code to gain access. Normally, she would reprimand herself for being so shameless with her need for gratification, but she had a rough night and desperately needed to take the edge away. 'Why do I suddenly feel like I've been possessed by my sister?' the blonde thought with a small cringe.
The office was completely dark, not a single light or desk lamp was on. She paused in the doorway, thinking that she was once again incorrect in her assumption that her employer was still present. However, she still took a few cautious steps in and squinted her eyes to see that he was indeed there, sitting in his chair with the natural lighting from the backdrop of the city shining through the large windows outlining his silhouette.
She was relieved that he was there. She casually sauntered over to his desk dressed in nothing but a short black silk night slip with a matching robe. She wondered if he ever returned to his own quarters to sleep, most times it seemed that he only crashed in his office. From what she could remember, it was quite spacious for one person, so maybe he didn't like occupying such a large space alone. She padded barefoot across the carpet softly as she approached his desk. She reached for the small desk lamp to switch it on, but the moment she did she heard the lightbulb spark and fizzle out with a brief flicker. She sighed and just decided to wake her sleeping employer to prompt him to get a better night's rest in his bed.
Nina quietly approached Jin as he sat perfectly still in his chair with his eyes closed. He appeared to be sleeping soundly and she almost felt guilty for disturbing him for such selfish reasons. She slowly reached out her hand to brush his dark hair aside and smoothed her palm across his cheek, a gesture she'd grown comfortable with since their familiarity with each other grew. He was a little cold to her touch, and she nearly panicked until she thought back to the first time she found him like this. "Jin," she whispered softly. "Jin, wake up." He wasn't responsive and she began to worry. Just as she was beginning to retract her hand from his face, she was startled when he slowly grasped her hand in his own. She sighed in relief. "Damn it, you scared me for a moment," she said quietly. "Are you feeling okay?"
He only responded by slowly rotating his face towards her hand and gently planting a kiss in her palm. He caressed his hand over hers before clasping it in his own.
She was slightly taken aback by his actions, yet found it strangely endearing in its own way. She smiled faintly as he now caressed his tongue across the palm of her hand in a peculiar manner until the shock and pain of sharp incisors bit down into her flesh. Nina winced and gasped loudly in pain as she quickly withdrew her hand away from his mouth. "Jin…what the fuck?!" she hissed in pain. She didn't know whether to be angry or frightened by the situation. She cradled her hand and tried to inspect the damage despite the poor lighting; there were small puncture wounds beneath the flesh of her thumb with blood slowly pooling to the surface.
A chilling, frighteningly inhuman laugh reverberated across the dark office, forcing her to snap her gaze up to him. Nina looked up and noticed Jin slowly rising from his chair. Now seeing him in motion, she could definitely see that something was terribly wrong with him. He stood in an unusual hunched position, unlike his normal posture, and slowly walked around his desk.
She stared at him in stupor, having a delayed fright or flight response to the threat before her. 'This is the devil gene? No…he still looks like himself…but he's different...' she thought fearfully as she slowly backed away from him. She couldn't really see his face, but in his eyes there was a strange silvery gleam accompanied with a sadistic grin where his normal human teeth were now slightly fanged. He stalked towards her like a predatory animal anticipating to sink its ravenous teeth into her flesh. "Jin, please stop!" she tried to reason with him in a slightly shaky voice. "You don't want to hurt me or anyone for that matter, so please wake up." His menacing laugh filled the room again.
"There is no 'Jin', only me," he spoke in a slightly warped, dual voice.
Nina tried to mask her fear, she wasn't scared for her life, but for Jin's. Was he really completely overcome by this beast or was there still a chance to reach him? Despite her brave front, she continued to keep her distance from him. They were almost in the middle of the office now. She briefly looked behind her and thought about making a break for the door to get assistance, but she didn't want to make any sudden moves and risk angering him further, thus opening the possibility for him to slip further from himself. "I want you to return to yourself, Jin…let me help you," Nina spoke in a soothing tone. Her words weren't getting through to him. As he approached closer, she could somehow feel a strange, ominous aura around his being. He outstretched his hand towards her and her blue eyes widened as her neck felt like it were suddenly placed in a vise grip. She couldn't move her body anymore.
He could sense that she was planning to escape, but there was no way he'd let her slip through his fingers. He could see traces of fear reflecting in her eyes, but it wasn't enough for him, he craved to see true terror on her face. Once he was close enough to the blonde, he slowly swept his eyes over her as he reveled in having her trapped in his clutches, completely vulnerable to his every whim. "What a pretty little prey you are," he spoke again in that strange dual tone. "I can't decide in which order I'd prefer to kill, eat, or fuck you." A sickening grin spread over his lips as he licked his tongue over his fangs.
Nina widened her eyes at his disgusting words, things that Jin would never say to her. In futility, she grasped at her neck as if she were trying to claw the invisible hand from her throat. The more she struggled to breathe, the more wide his grin became.
"You…bastard…bring Jin back…" she choked out in a weak hoarse voice.
The demon was surprised that the woman still had the gall to speak out against him. He cockily smirked as his silver eyes shone with intrigue. "I am the true Jin…I am everything he was meant to be, and more." he told her as he stepped close enough to clench her jaw between his hands. He pierced his inhuman eyes into hers and was still sorely disappointed. Her fear wasn't quite at the level he needed it to be yet.
"Y-you're nothing…like Jin," she still opposed despite the labor it took for her to speak. "I'm not afraid…of you." She had faced several foes, and she always had deep disdain for the self assured, sadistic maniac type. She'd been at the mercy of many a creep who preferred to torture and toy with their captives, yet she survived and prevailed.
His grip tightened on her chin until she winced. "You will show me fear no matter how much pain I have to cause you," he threatened as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. Surprisingly, he could see a thin smirk slowly forming on her lips.
"You sound…just like your father," she uttered to him calmly despite the pain he was attempting to inflict on her. Those silver eyes stretched open in shock at her words. Something wavered in his eyes, like a light flickering on and off. His grip on her chin gradually loosened as well as the pressure on her neck.
He closed his eyes and shook his head to fight back some strange emotion stirring within him. "Y-you!? I'm not done yet…" he muttered angrily to himself. 'Stay away...from her!' a conflicting voice echoed in his head.
Nina used a bit of her remaining strength to wriggle her face from his grasp while desperately sucking air into her burning lungs. She felt a little drained as well, perhaps the energy omitting from his oppressive aura was the culprit for that. She watched as the man before her was struggling internally with his two halves. He grasped his head in pain while clenching his teeth together. She wanted to help him, but she wasn't sure if he had completely returned to himself. In a sudden move, he reached out and grasped her by the shoulders as if he were trying to brace himself up. She was initially petrified and didn't want to risk being attacked again, but she brushed her hesitation aside and instinctively grabbed onto his shoulders to help him.
"Jin…" she whispered cautiously. "Is it really you?" His grip tightened on her.
"Nina..." he gasped out in his natural voice. He slowly looked up into her face with that demonic gleam still flickering on and off in his eyes. "Show me…your fear…" his voice shifted again to the demon's.
He was now grabbing onto her tightly to keep her in place. "Jin... I'm sorry," she whispered softly to him before doing something she would regret. She swiftly launched her knee into his groin and winced as she heard him groan loudly in pain. Instantly, he let go of her and fell down onto his hands and knees as he nearly curled up to recover from the immense pain she inflicted upon him.
Still reeling from the shocking turn of events, she just stood there silently and attempted to control her breathing. Pain still radiated from her wounded hand, but other important matters on her mind made her a little numb. This was the furthest thing she imagined happening tonight when she decided to pay him a visit, and she wondered what would have happened to him if she didn't. Most likely, he would've been able to complete a full transformation without her interference, and she definitely wouldn't have been able to help him if he had gone too far beyond the point of return. 'This is what he's been fighting all along…his cursed blood,' she mused, trying to center her thoughts to calm her nerves. 'This was only a glimpse into the suffering he's battling everyday…' She lowered her remorseful eyes down to him as he was still recovering from her attack. She slowly knelt down before him with concern while being mindful to keep her distance.
Jin stopped writhing after a while as the pain began to subside. He took a few slow, deep breaths before lifting his head upwards to observe his surroundings. He had nearly thought the entire ordeal was just one horrific nightmare until he adjusted his blurred vision and saw his bodyguard before him with a look of worry, sorrow, and shock displayed on her pale face. It wasn't a dream. He felt completely swarmed with deep guilt and shame as he looked into her face. He hung his head low again and shook his head pitifully. "Please...don't look at me…" he muttered weakly in a low voice. He hated himself, he hated his very existence more than ever now. He felt very weak and fatigued from his ordeal and he didn't mind letting himself slip from consciousness to escape from the horrible reality of his life.
Nina immediately moved closer to him once she saw him slumping over on the brink of passing out. She encircled her arms around the much larger man and attempted to help him to his feet. She wanted to take him back to his quarters; it didn't feel right to leave him when he was at risk and in such a vulnerable state. "Jin, stay with me, I'm taking you to your room," she told him calmly as she held on to him. "Don't give up." Their lives were full of chaos and turmoil; they were constantly being bombarded with troubles nonstop, but somehow they had to find a way persevere and survive.
End of chapter 28! Next chapter coming soon!
This chapter was draining to write...so many different emotions. Everyone's secrets are coming back to haunt them. They can't seem to catch a break!
Fun facts: 1. Gilbert O'Sullivan is an Irish singer from the 70s (I tried to find an artist from that era that Nina might've been familiar with). 2. In scenario campaign, if you play Devil Jin, it alludes to him possibly enjoying eating people...so yeah lol. Weird, right? Thanks for reading!