Hello all! I haven't logged in for a while! I know, I know, it's been ages since I've updated, but I took a break to focus on work/school this semester. Sorry for the wait! Anyway, here's the latest (very late lol) chapter! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters. They are all property of Namco.
Discombobulation and disarray had dominated her life the past several days, or perhaps it had been weeks. Time was naught in that small room. Day in and day out, she was numbed and dazed by the innumerable amount of drugs being forced into her veins by her "caregivers." At least she was finally no longer a burden to her sister; this is what she always wanted for her. Now, in a controlled environment, she would no longer be a danger to anyone. In a sense, she had given up on her fight to give herself a peace of mind; however, the battle was not over.
The blackouts she experienced became more severe and prolonged, which heavily impacted her understanding of time. She was becoming less and less aware of her self and her actions. The only thing she remembered were her "punishments" for her alleged misbehavior. Waking up sometimes, she found herself strapped to cold, metal tables with armed soldiers standing over her menacingly with their fingers readily gripping the trigger of their assault rifles. Other times, she was back in a hospital room being treated for injuries she couldn't recall sustaining. Things were getting far worse than they were before, yet no one would believe her or come to her aid. The only way it would end was if she finally obeyed.
Once she surrendered, her body seemed to have a mind of its own, operating against her intentions and will. Her primary consciousness dipped in and out, and she recalled strange recollections of disjointed memories; ear piercing screams; gunshots; blood; shattering glass; falling; screeching car tires. She could feel her body throbbing from exhaustion, but regardless, her body never gave away. She was a hostage in her own skin, but she refused to let 'it' completely overcome her. Suddenly, a warming sense of relief filled her briefly as she found herself in a familiar location; her feet hastily drew her closer to her destination. She felt partially in control of her body now, and she finally saw this as her chance.
To her surprise, and dismay, the front door was unlocked. It was always a bad habit her sibling had that always grated her nerves, but her concerns were always dismissed and written off as irrational paranoia. Once inside, she stood calmly in the living room, blankly glancing around as she was trying to recall how she had gotten there or why she returned. A throbbing migraine began to surface as she tried to piece her corrupted, jumbled thoughts together to make sense of everything. The entity within her must've been displeased with her attempt to regain independence from its control. She whimpered and hissed in pain whilst gripping her head; it felt like it was going to pop like a balloon. She fell to her knees in agony, praying that the pain would dissipate soon.
A door down the hall opened, and the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard. A brunette woman donned in a red robe appeared from her quarters with a pistol firmly gripped in her hand. A look of pure, unadulterated fear washed over her features as her face drained of color. An unknown intruder would've been much easier to deal with, but she was wholly unprepared for the sight before her. The blonde woman before her looked as if she had crawled and clawed her way from the deepest pits of hell. Her hair was disheveled and her body was decorated with various scrapes, cuts, and bruises; she looked completely mad.
"Y-you…h-how did you get here?!" the brunette stammered in a shaky, slightly panicked voice. "What…happened to you?" Despite alarm bells ringing in her head, warning her to keep her distance, she couldn't help but to feel pity for her. However, from what she had witnessed, there was something terribly wrong with her sister, this wasn't the same girl she had grown up with.
A conflicting voice reverberated in her head, forcing her to act against her will. She wasn't supposed to be here, the voice had other demands of her that she had to fulfill. She had come to terms to give up the fight long ago in order to ease the pain of the entity's torment, but the pain would only cease if she completely succumbed to the strange being. Her own stubbornness prevented her from doing so just yet, and perhaps she had returned back to the apartment as a final act of desperation to receive help before it was too late. Her eyes fell upon the gun within the woman's grasp, and she figured that this was probably the best solution. "Please…kill me…" she sobbed out in pain.
The brunette was startled and stricken with fear. Her own eyes wouldn't allow her to forget the truth she'd witnessed, but who would believe her if she told anyone? She'd probably be deemed just as crazy as her sister. Her mind couldn't comprehend the phenomena. On that evening, she clearly remembered the blonde firing their father's old gun at her temple, but after the loud boom, there was no effect, no blood, nothing. However, there was a peculiar flash before her eyes just before her elder sister fell unconscious. As further proof that something strange had occurred that night, she recalled finding the ballistic of the gun later; the bullet was completely flattened as if it had hit something hard and indestructible. Perhaps that evidence could've served to help her case, but she was in constant denial about the truth behind her sister's unexplainable affliction. She didn't understand anything, and she had finally given up on her.
The desperation in the blonde's eyes frightened her, she was dead serious about her request. "You…know I can't do that," she breathed out sorrowfully in a low voice. "You need to go back to the facility…you need help." She didn't want to think about how she managed to escape or what she had to do to make it out, but she was certain that they would be looking for her, and this would be their first stop.
The pain radiating in her head and body became more severe by the second. Her mind felt more foggy as she could feel the impatience of the heinous beast manipulating her thoughts. It probably wasn't the best idea to come here, her control over her mind was slipping away rapidly. "Just…do it!" she urged in desperation. "I don't…want it…to take me!"
Once again, her cryptic babbling was concerning but made absolutely no sense to her. "Just wait here," she said as calmly as possible as she made her way to the phone on the wall, "I'm going to call the research facility." Before she could even reach the phone, the blonde dashed towards her with impressive speed and tackled her to the floor.
"You…bitch!" she cursed fiercely. "You'd rather damn me to be tortured by those…fucking creeps than to kill me here and now!" Her voice pierced the air as she nearly screamed into the woman's face as she pinned her to the floor. Her anger was out of control, and there was now no barrier preventing her from harming her sister. The beast within her had been poking at her brain to kill her since she arrived, and she was becoming less hesitant to accept the task.
After recovering from the shock of being tackled, the brunette responded defensively and slammed the butt of the gun into the crazed woman's temple. Shockingly, the blow had little to no impact on her, but it did ignite her fury even more. The crazed blonde knocked the gun from the woman's grasp before forcing her hands around her neck. The frightened brunette could feel her fingers curl and tighten around her throat as she began to squeeze the air out of her. Her dear sister's eyes were no longer the beautiful shade of cerulean she always remembered; they were now tainted with a bloody red tint staining her irises.
The blonde looked down at the bothersome woman and glared at her intensely with hatred and anger. Something inside her had snapped, and the entity used this anger to manipulate her actions. Her face became more cold and emotionless as the woman beneath her writhed and struggled to breathe for her dear life, but her hands continued to tighten around her sister's neck as she slowly crushed the wind out of her lungs. She applied crushing pressure into her trachea while her defenseless victim weakly clawed at her hands in pain and agony. Whimpering gags, cries and struggles of the woman began to decrease by the second, but she couldn't stop. Her pale cheeks streaked with warm tears slowly spilling from her eyes. The entity wouldn't let her stop despite her pleas. At this point, her desperation kicked in; she was willing to do anything to stop herself from harming her younger sibling.
'Please…I'll do whatever you want!' she begged pitifully, hoping to be heard somehow. 'Don't…make me do this…please!' She could feel the pulse beneath her thumbs slowly fading as the light in her sister's bulging eyes dimmed. She'd almost given up hope until she slowly felt her grip loosening on her sibling's neck. The woman beneath her began to cough in fits as she raggedly sucked air into her lungs. A wave of relief swept over her, but it was short-lived when that agonizing, sharp pain stabbed at her head again. She almost blacked out when she heard that otherworldly voice invading her mind, speaking that name to her again. She had no other choice but to give herself over to the beast, especially since it mercifully granted her one final request while she still maintained the last shred of her free will. The blonde slowly pushed herself up from her sister's near lifeless body before standing to her height. She retrieved the old pistol from beside her sister and glared down at the woman while she struggled to regain her breath.
Her throat was on fire and throbbing in pain. She was so lightheaded from the deprivation of oxygen into her body that she felt as if she could pass out at any given moment. She lazily opened her watery eyes with the borders of her vision blurring and weakly gazed at her sister towering over her with a gun as she stared down at her with dead, emotionless eyes. She wanted to speak to her, but her voice was too strained at the moment. The blonde said nothing before she quickly walked away from her and vanished somewhere within the apartment. She did nor said anything as she continued to lay on the floor in pain, shock, and fear from the entire ordeal. She could hear the sounds of hasty rummaging in a closet down the hall, and she wondered what she was planning.
When she gathered enough strength, she carefully craned her head to look down the hall just as she emerged from a room after quickly dressing herself in something besides the bloody and tattered hospital gown she arrived in. Her face seemed unnaturally focused as she dragged around a duffel bag sloppily packed with clothes and other essential things while she walked through the apartment robotically. She was instantly alarmed by this, fearing that if she didn't do anything now, this would be the last time she'd see her sister. The brunette shakily pushed herself up from the floor.
"Wait…"she finally croaked in a weak, raspy voice. "W-where are you going?"
The blonde zipped the bag close and flung it over her shoulder before heading towards the door without a word. She wanted to hurry up and complete her mission; her life and freedom was on the line. She was on the verge of leaving until the woman cried out weakly again.
"Please…just tell me what's going on," she pled with glassy, red eyes. "Let me help." The truth was, she didn't know how to help, but it was better for her to be under the care of the research facility instead of out in the world alone, putting herself and others at risk. There was an eerie silence between them before she finally spoke.
"I must kill him," she whispered cryptically.
"W-what? Kill who?"
"I must kill…Jin Kazama."
"Who?!" she exclaimed in confusion with furrowed brows as she slowly rose to her feet. "Listen, just stay…and let's figure things out, okay?" Her sister's ramblings were confusing, but she was extremely worried about her mental state and her inability to control her temper.
In the distance, she could hear the sounds of vehicles rapidly approaching with the sounds of sirens blaring. It was foolish for her to come here since it was the first place they'd attempt to track her. She quickly stepped towards the living room windows and saw several vehicles screeching to a stop just outside the apartment entrance. She quickly rerouted her escape to the back exit near the kitchen. As she rushed past her younger sibling, she felt her grab onto her arm to try to stop her. In an instantaneous reflex that she couldn't control, she shoved her away from her with such force that she flew back several feet before she collided into the floor. "Stay away from me!"
She was shocked by the abnormal level of strength her elder sister possessed. She decided to heed her words, which strangely felt more like a desperate warning rather than a threat. She watched as the blonde swiftly escaped through the back window and leapt out onto the fire escape. By the time she was able to make it back onto her feet and make her way to the window, she just barely caught a final glimpse of her dashing down the dark alleyway before she disappeared from her sight. It wasn't humanly possible for her to make it down there from their floor that fast. Her mind was reeling and couldn't make sense of anything at the moment, yet somehow she had to convince herself to stop being in denial.
The frenzied blonde's mind and body operated against her will once again as it was imperative for her to avoid capture. The entity within her ensured her safety and success by giving her the stamina and endurance to survive. Now that she was in compliance with its demands, she felt invigorated by its immense power along with an insatiable desire to kill. She wondered, did this strange feeling emerge because of the beast, or was this who she truly was from the start, a cold killer? It didn't matter now, she only focused on her mission and the target that she needed to eliminate in hopes of freeing herself from this possession.
The dampness of her skin and rapid pace of her heart roused her from her slumber with an intense unsettling feeling. Through the slits of her tired, unfocused eyes she allowed her hand to fumble above her clumsily before she hit a small switch that allowed a cool breeze to sweep over her face and neck. She sighed softly with relief as her fingers picked open a few buttons on her blouse to expose more of her moist skin to the cooling air. The cabin was very dim, only allowing for just enough lighting to make out her nearby surroundings.
She leaned her weary head back against her seat as her eyes idly peered out the oval window beside her. A sea of clouds floated beneath them as the jet sailed steadily through the air. The full moon nearly looked ominous to her in a way, which only further added to her unease. She closed her eyes again and slowly fidgeted in her chair to fall swiftly back asleep. She would need all the rest she could get before they faced the ordeal waiting for them at their destination.
"Another bad dream?" his smooth, deep voice disrupted the silence.
She opened her eyes and turned her head towards the voice, mildly surprised that he was quietly observing her all along. She met with his eyes across from her. His brown gaze always seemed commanding and piercing no matter the situation. Gazing into his eyes only forced her to recall that grim nightmare. Everything felt strange, everything in her life was horribly strange.
She just stared at him in deep thought, as if she were mentally solving a logic problem. He took her silence and the look of mild horror on her pale face as confirmation that something was haunting her dreams. He could deeply empathize with her experience; they were kindred souls after all. From her body language, he could read that she didn't seem to want to discuss it, so he didn't pursue the conversation. "You should get more rest," he suggested. "We'll be arriving in a few hours."
Nina crossed her legs as she forced herself to sit up to keep herself awake a while longer. She reached over and took a quick sip from a bottle of water before setting it back in the cup holder. "Have you slept at all, or have you been watching me all this time?" she asked, genuinely curious as to why he wasn't resting.
Jin only replied with a single nod. He slept, not much, but he didn't feel as drained as he did before. But, he, too, had his rest disturbed by unnerving dreams and visions. Traveling on very little sleep was never a pleasant experience, but unfortunately they had no choice in the matter considering the urgency to arrive at their destination. There was a feeling of malaise that he couldn't shake as they sped through the air en route to the base in Middle East, likely to uncover some unpleasant horrors. There was a pressure on his chest that kept him from relaxing. He was convinced that something terrible was on the horizon, and he couldn't shake the feeling no matter what he did to distract himself. The end was near, yet he was surprised at his rising fears surrounding his mortality. He maintained silence as he continued to casually observe her as she mirrored his actions. "You needn't worry," he said coolly despite his worries. "We'll deal with whatever happens once we arrive."
Despite the dim cabin, she could read him like an open book, yet she was too rattled from her own unease to focus. The mood between them felt eerie and foreboding. She could almost feel his nervousness radiating from him to the point where she could feel a chill creeping up her spine. "Jin…" she quietly spoke his name. He blinked slowly as he continued to gaze at her with weary eyes. "I'll do my best to protect you," she announced suddenly. Her words raised goosebumps on her skin as they slipped from her tongue; they were polarizing to the ones she uttered in her nightmare.
Jin snorted softly as a small, unexpected laugh erupted from him. He couldn't explain his reaction, perhaps it was his nerves or the cold, hard truth that if things truly got out of hand, there would be absolutely nothing she could do within her power to protect him. He quickly noticed how baffled and offended she appeared from his reaction; he quickly needed to clarify things. "I don't want you to protect me," he said bluntly. He could see that she still appeared to be peeved by his response. He leaned forward in his seat slightly as he kept his gaze fixated on her eyes. "If anything, I want you to keep your distance from me."
She blinked her eyes in confusion at his strange request that seemed to undo the very nature of her assigned duties and job title. Her thoughts were racing with a plethora of things she wanted to say ranging from questions to obscene curses, but she quelled her anger by breaking eye contact from him to the sight outside the small window. Her pride stung a little, but she withheld her words and kept her composure.
Jin was oddly amused by her reaction. She appeared to be withdrawn, but he knew her well enough to know that there was much more happening beneath her surface. "Nina, you have to promise me," he spoke as he never let his eyes up from her. Once she was bold enough to glare back into his piercing gaze, he continued, "If I lose control again…if you feel that you even slightly sense something wrong with me…stay away."
His warning further put her ill at ease. Not feeling argumentative at the moment, she acquiesced to his strange demands. "If you say so," she said dismissively with a small sigh.
He knew that his words sounded cold and repelling, but he was terrified of not being able to control himself around her. His strange premonitions and nightmares only solidified his feeling that something wicked was coming, and he was worried about her safety. He already had a momentary slip in the past, which still haunted him, and he refused to put her at risk again. Hearing her speak those words only intensified his fears rather than put him at ease. "I'm sorry…there's a lot on my mind," he sincerely apologized. "You've done so much for me so far, I wouldn't want things to end…tragically."
There was no discernable way that she could interject into the conversation to help console him, so since he was in one of his honest, openhearted moods, she let him fire away. She had never felt this nervous about a mission before. The only things normally on the line was her paycheck and her life, obviously, before preparing for missions. She hated that her role as a bodyguard and her genuine concern for the well being of her employer completely changed her normal game plan. 'I don't know what he senses on the way, but he's nearly unhinged with worry…perhaps there's nothing I can do…' she thought sullenly. Her thoughts were interrupted when he continued.
He sighed deeply. "The only thing you can do to protect yourself from me…him, if it ever comes to that, is a bullet to the brain," he revealed to her morbidly. He knew from previous experience, unfortunately, that a bullet to the brain would be effective. "It won't kill me, but it'll incapacitate me long enough for you to escape."
His serious tone and the nature of his disturbing conversation was greatly upsetting to her. Essentially, he was requesting for her to kill him, which was completely shocking to her. "For fucks sake, Jin, will you stop thinking like that!" she expressed in annoyance. She didn't particularly see herself as a shining beacon of optimism and hope, but compared to him at the moment, she felt far less despondent and defeated. "As you said, we'll handle things accordingly when we arrive…so please stop!" Her heart was bouncing frantically as he made her unbelievably tense.
'Please…kill me…'
Her head began throbbing in pain slightly, and she winced as she quickly pressed her hand to her temple as the disturbing memory danced across her thoughts. Everything felt like it was colliding in, her world was collapsing in on her. Normally, she could pull off a good balancing act, but the added weight of her emotions in the mix made everything feel unbearable. She flinched lightly when she felt a warm, comforting hand land on her knee.
She looked up at him again with an expression of anger and worry, and he felt extremely guilty at the moment for letting his apprehensions about everything spill over before her. His word choice was terrible, and he needed to remind himself that silence was his strong suit. "Forgive me…but I can't shake this bad feeling," he confessed. "I guess what I'm saying is…I want to protect you…from myself…" Despite lacking clarity in his speech, he hoped he was able to convey his main point to her. In turn, he felt her place her hand over his as it rested upon her knee.
She had given herself a moment to calm her ringing nerves. "Whatever the future brings, let's both promise to be cautious and rational about the decisions we make and the actions we take." She reasoned with a level head. "Agreed?"
Jin inhaled and exhaled deeply before he gave a single nod in compliance to her request. They both had experienced moments of irrational behavior, but her maturity and pragmatism somewhat reined in his erratic thoughts. He clasped her hand in his with a gentle squeeze. "Thank you," he said sincerely, saying what he should have said before he went off on a paranoid tangent. Still, he could sense something she couldn't the closer they arrived to their destination, but he would try his best to remain calm to accurately assess everything.
Once Jin finally sat back into his seat and rested his head back, she felt slightly relieved. She just wanted him to rest before he drove himself mad; they hadn't even seen the damage of the situation and he was already ripe with worry. Nina also reclaimed her comfortable position in her seat and closed her eyes to attempt to fall asleep once more; however, she was now far too disturbed to fully put herself at ease. Her eyes opened after a few moments and fixated themselves on the cloudy skies beyond the window once more. She was wide awake with worry now.
He naturally allowed his restless eyes to discreetly observe her as she clearly appeared unnerved with sullen eyes and furrowed brows. He only had himself to blame for bursting open a storm cloud on the once relaxing mood, and guilt settled within him to constantly remind him of his error. He sighed silently and stared blankly up at the ceiling of the jet cabin with nothing but chaos clouding his thoughts.
After finally arriving to their destination after a long, restless flight, Nina figured that it'd be best to report directly to Eddy at the military base under his command to understand the full scope of what they'd be dealing with for the days ahead. They were both tired and weary, and it was quite late, but it was best to get over this hurdle to relieve some of their apprehensions before turning in for the night. Just as they figured, the results were grim. Usually, Nina would compile a report from the commanding officers and deliver them to Jin by casually sliding them across his desk. Then, he'd barely skim over them with disinterest before distracting himself with her company to discuss anything to avoid confronting the issues of death and the total number of lives lost under his influence. It was just a number, he reminded himself constantly, just a number.
It was unfortunate that their rendezvous with Eddy had to take place in the infirmary tent, it was the last place he wanted to be at the moment. Jin usually distanced himself from the affairs of the Tekken Force since he was at the top of the chain of command in which they received their orders, so being there amongst his pawns made him feel vulnerable to their justified scrutiny of him. He remained silent as they walked through the tent in search of Eddy. There were rows of ailing soldiers laid out on small cots with varying injuries ranging from severe to critical; there were barely enough medics available to keep up with the high volume of wounded soldiers that were in dire need of medical treatment. The scent of blood was thick in the air, nearly suffocating, but he was very familiar with the smell at this point in his life, his other half would probably revel in it. However, he did his absolute best to mask the feeling of queasiness as his senses were assaulted with evidence of the gory aftermath from the gruesome battle.
"There he is," Nina pointed out as she picked up her pace a little to make her way over to him.
For the most part, she seemed quite unbothered by the sight, but this was normal to her in her given occupation. He wondered, how long did it take for her to become immune to such horrors? He silently followed her over to the cot where their comrade was sitting. He appeared to have received some quick patch treatment for his wounds, which, thankfully, weren't as severe as the other soldiers.
Nina calmly traced her eyes over him to get a quick read of his condition. His bandaged arm already needed to be changed due to the fresh blood seeping its way through the material already. "Gunshot?" was all she said before he nodded slowly in response. "Well, the good thing is that appears to be a surface wound and didn't hit the bone." As a medic quickly passed by, she stopped him and ordered him to return with fresh bandages to redress Eddy's wound.
The Brazilian man did his best to keep a straight face despite the pain he was experiencing, especially since their superior was in their presence. In fact, he felt slightly ashamed that they both had to see him in this condition. Somehow, he felt that this loss was his fault, even if felt that he had done everything in his power to prevent their defeat from happening. It wasn't enough. "I'm surprised you both came all this way, I didn't think you'd want to see the aftermath of all this," he spoke in a low, dejected voice.
She could sense the defeat in his tone, but at this rate he was lucky to be alive. She stepped away from him to give him some space when the medic returned to tend to him. She covertly peered over her shoulder to glance back at Jin, who was abnormally quiet, more than usual. He seemed to be distant and lost in thought. There was no doubt in her mind that his behavior was attributed to him being disturbed by the ghastly sight of soldiers bleeding out on what would soon be their death beds if they didn't receive adequate treatment soon. "If you're too ill to give us your report-" she was cut off.
"No, I'm okay…it's the others I'm worried about," he cut in before sighing deeply. "It happened so suddenly…in the dead of night when our defenses were relaxed."
Nina listened and peered over to Jin to observe him discreetly. He still had that deadpan stare on his face, but he seemed to be fully engaged in Eddy's report. 'I wonder what's wrong with him…I can't fully decipher what's on his mind,' she thought before shifting her full focus back to Eddy.
"Our forces were prepared for an expected assault all day…and nothing happened, but long after dusk, we knew they were watching us like sitting ducks," he paused for a moment and shook his head slowly. "Before we knew it, there was a full on onslaught of attacks from every angle. An airstrike took out most of the base, bullets and bazooka blasts began raining down on us from helicopters. It was an attack planned just to senselessly kill as many of our men as possible."
Her eyes wavered a bit after hearing the grisly details from his mouth. His voice was strained and weighed with sorrow and disgust from the things he witnessed. He was out of place in the world of carnage and destruction, but he was in far too deep to simply turn away and forget all the violence and atrocities he's seen and caused so far. 'Kazuya means business now…so much unnecessary bloodshed,' she pondered sadly. 'So much for G Corp's squeaky clean image…'
Jin silently absorbed the information and receded into his thoughts as he tried to process everything. This is exactly what he tried to prevent from happening, but it seemed that his father had set out on this massacre mission just to demonstrate how ruthless and violent he was willing to get in order to advance ahead in this war. A ball of stress clenched in his gut as he surmised what Kazuya's intentions were. 'He knows that this is what Azazel wants, and he's willing to fulfill his wishes to awaken him,' he thought deeply. 'This is it…this is the end…'
By this time, Jin's silence had become slightly unnerving. Nina turned around to face him and noticed how pale he looked. His eyes were trained on nothing in particular as it seemed that his mind was whirring with several thoughts at once. "Jin? Are you feeling okay?" she finally asked out of concern at his jarring reaction to the news.
Jin pulled himself from his stupor discreetly and simply brought his eyes to meet the blue gaze of his bodyguard. He could see her worry but quickly shifted his eyes to Eddy. "After the attack, what happened? Did they try to seize the base or anything in particular?"
Eddy seemed confused at his query but answered anyway. "No…before they almost completely overran us, reinforcements finally showed up," he explained. "I think…if it hadn't been for Lars' division arriving, they would've completely annihilated us." He then grew quiet as he seemed to deeply reflect on the horrific events that transpired.
She was somewhat surprised by that information. That last time she had seen or heard from Lars was from their last run in during her mission at the base in Russia. He had been out of sight and out of mind for so long that she just assumed that Jin had banished him to permanent guard duty at the base. 'Well, at least Prince Valiant is good for something besides being a self righteous, judgmental prick,' she thought with a tinge of annoyance.
"I didn't think they'd arrive in time due to giving them last minute notice about the mission," Jin stated evenly. He had wanted all hands on deck for this operation, but even so, the aftermath was still much more devastating than he anticipated.
Nina glared over to Jin after he finished speaking. "When did you make those preparations?" she asked curiously with a hint of suspicion. If he planned ahead for something like this, it only solidified her suspicions that he must've predicted that something big was going to occur.
Jin could feel her icy glare burning into the side of his head. "It's just a safety measure," he answered calmly. "I wanted to be sure we had all available forces participating to strengthen our defenses." He knew that she was suspicious, but after seeing her reaction on the jet earlier, he didn't want to say anything else to alarm her. 'Telling her my gut feelings about what's to come may only upset her even more…I need her to be focused…focused on her own survival without worrying about me,' he thought as he finally met with her slightly worried eyes.
Before she could further badger him with prying questions, a man approached them. She turned her head towards him and her breath hitched in her throat before her lips pulled into a small frown. She held her tongue and decided to be on her best behavior, especially in the presence of Jin.
"Lars…it's good to see you," Eddy greeted the man with a thankful nod. His squad arrived in the nick of time to save their necks. "How's your unit holding up?"
The Swedish man regarded him with a perfunctory smile of pleasantry at his concerns. Upon landing at the base, he and his team were immediately interjected into the full swing of the battle and did what they could to fight back the attempted invasion of G Corp's forces. When he has received his orders from Jin just a day or so prior, he figured that they'd just be called in to monitor the base for extra precautions. He almost wasn't mentally prepared to witness the horrific things he'd seen in the last twenty four hours. "A few of my men sustained some minor injuries, but I'm more concerned about everyone else," he mentioned quietly as his eyes briefly scanned over the infirmary tent filled with wounded soldiers. "It's good to see that you pulled through." The Captain's blue eyes then fell upon the duo in front of him. There was a small pause before he greeted them both with an obligatory salute.
Jin simply acknowledged him with a tilt of his head. "Your report?" was all he said as he awaited more information from the man.
Lars quickly glanced over to the blonde woman beside him before solely looking at Jin before speaking. "My men arrived on the scene as soon as humanly possible, sir, but the damage had been done," he started with a heavy sigh. "I received some unconfirmed reports that Kazuya Mishima was spotted before his helicopter retreated."
"Kazuya..." Jin spoke that cursed name under his breath to no one in particular after hearing that information. 'He's bold enough to be spotted on the battlefield? He's looking for me…' he concluded in his thoughts. 'If he wants a final showdown…then so be it.'
Despite his superior's failure to give an appropriate reaction to the news, he continued. "Sources say the assault was just an unmitigated act of senseless violence," his words had a slice of anger in them with an intended message, to both of them. "Several men lost their lives for no discernable reason…it must've been a pitiful way for them to die, but I'm sure it was worth it."
Her eyes narrowed at his overt, demeaning sarcasm. "Every man lost in a war is mourned," Nina chimed in. "Their lives won't be lost in vain." She could sense him, once again, attempting to shame and condemn Jin's actions, and he was quite bold with his tongue to speak that way in front of him.
Lars' eyes immediately shot at her the moment she said this to him. Her response sounded so disingenuous and generic to him, but he expected nothing less from a hired assassin with no regard for human life. "And their families? What do they receive besides a letter and a benefits package?" he questioned her angrily. "I know a person like you doesn't bother to keep yourself up at night with minor details like this, but I do!" His temper was now rising. After his failed attempts to sway the woman's heart in the past, he completely regarded her as Jin's mindless wind up doll of death and destruction; she was a lost cause.
Without further words or a proper warning, the blonde assassin took a quick step forward and delivered a hard slap to the man's face. Her patience level with him had depleted to zero, and his aggravating, cutting words pushed her to the edge. Just as she parted her lips to verbally reprimand him, she felt an outstretched arm in front of her to cease her actions. She turned her head to the man beside her, who only glared at her with disapproval of her behavior. She could even see Eddy in the background observing the scene in shock without a clue on how to intervene. She took a deep breath to calm herself before meeting the angry blue eyes of the man before her. She could already see a red tinge appearing on the side of his face where she'd struck him. She remained silent as she waited for her anger to dissipate.
Jin wasn't necessarily surprised at her anger but her willingness to act on it left him mildly shocked. She was usually cool, calm, and collected, but it seemed her patience was wire thin as of late. He looked at the Swedish captain with a blank stare, not particularly feeling empathy for him. Lars was a loose cannon, just as Nina had warned him, but he was interested to see how he would handle himself in the future. "Let's call it a night, we should adjourn this meeting and figure things out in the morning with clearer heads," he spoke commandingly to everyone listening to him. "The last thing we need to be doing is turning on each other when there's a greater force threatening us."
"You mean Kazuya Mishima?" Lars pointed out. "He's the 'greater force' we should be concerned with?" There was disbelief in his tone as he questioned him.
Jin simply glared blankly at the man before his eyes narrowed very dangerously at his bold inquiry. He was testy and impetuous with his word choice, and perhaps it was unwise of him to be lenient on him. However, this wasn't the time or place to let his anger get the best of him. "Follow the orders you're given, and you won't have to find out," he warned him cryptically with an intimidating gaze that seemed to finally silence him. He turned to leave and began walking away. Nina nodded to Eddy and cast Lars one last contemptuous look before following her employer.
After they left the infirmary tent, they walked side by side across the large lot. The area was littered with wrecked vehicles ranging from tanks to a few armored jeeps, which were either charred from fire damage or riddled with bullet holes. Sections of the concrete walls and blockades surrounding the base were destroyed, yet they had no time to worry about fortifying the base; preparing for offense was paramount now.
"What were you thinking back there?" he asked as they traversed across the field. His partner was now quiet, when an explanation for her actions would have been interesting to hear.
The assassin sighed. "I wasn't thinking, I acted," she answered casually. "It won't happen again." She rarely allowed people to get under her skin, but due to the extenuating circumstances, she acted on a quick violent impulse. Strangely, it felt eerily familiar to a time when she had no control over her actions. She was more upset about an old memory coming to light rather than feeling guilty about striking her hand across a comrade's face.
Jin wasn't reprimanding her for her actions, not at all, he just wondered if she was feeling well. "So, you're fine then?" She paused in step and he stopped as well and turned to face her. He searched her eyes for answers, but she concealed her emotions frighteningly well.
"I should be asking you the same," she said pointedly as she folded her arms across her chest and pierced her cerulean eyes into his. "You're hiding something."
Jin drew in a long breath and averted his eyes from her intense, scrutinizing gaze. It was difficult to get things past her keen eye, and hiding secrets from her for too long would surely have cataclysmic consequences. "It's nothing…just a dream, but I don't want to ignore it just in case," he revealed to her, cautiously. "Sometimes my dreams feel more real than reality itself." He reestablished eye contact with her and noticed that she appeared to be impacted by his words.
She really resonated with that statement and stared back into his eyes. Lately, she'd been afflicted by the convergence of her past and present lives via old memories/visions from her past. They all felt so real that she nearly had trouble distinguishing dreams from her current reality. Before she could say anything else, he continued.
"The end might be near…" he spoke to her without breaking eye contact. "My survival isn't guaranteed." He had been covertly hinting the finale of his plans to her, but he still couldn't tell her outright that this is what he intended all along. She drew in a deep breath and turned away from him, unsettled by his words once again.
"So, what must be done to ensure that you do survive?" Nina questioned in a tone of seriousness. She was deeply concerned about the outcome of his plans. If he died, everything he sacrificed would have been for naught, and she definitely didn't want that to happen.
He was touched by her concern for him, but it made everything even more difficult for him. "Don't concern yourself with that at the moment," he told her as he approached her closely from behind. "That's my burden to bear."
"That still isn't a definitive solution to anything, Jin," she reminded him in a blunt tone. "We need to take this seriously." Despite his insistence on reassuring her that everything would be handled accordingly, she refused to sit on the sidelines and allow everything to take its course without any type of intervention.
"I know," he said in a lower voice, taking note of her concern. "But right now, I can only focus on sleep." He announced tiredly as he walked past her and towards the car waiting for them by the base's gates. He felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, and his mind was foggy with fatigue and worry. This could very well be the eve of his fated, decisive battle, and he, at the very least, wanted to be able to clear his head before facing this event. Even with his level of stress he probably wouldn't sleep well, but he at least wanted to lay in silence in a dark room to organize his next course of action.
"Perhaps I should stay here in case something else happens," she suggested. With their enemies' intentions unknown, maybe it would've been best to help rally the troops still in fighting condition to prepare for the next assault.
Jin halted in step and looked back at her over his shoulder. He was slightly surprised that she would even care about the Tekken Force, or maybe it was that she wasn't as unsympathetic as he originally thought and it was he who had become more cruel and callous over time. However, he didn't see the purpose in her doing that, she was his bodyguard, after all. "There's no need for that," he replied flatly. "Let's go." No further words were spoken as he opened the door to the awaiting vehicle and entered. He had already made accommodations at a hotel in a nearby town, and he'd feel much better having her there rather than at the base dealing with this unholy mess. It was probably selfish, but he didn't care.
His behavior was becoming more suspicious by the minute, and it only served to further tingle her nerves. Judging from the weariness of his voice and curt responses, she sensed that he was upset and tired, so she didn't protest his order to avoid aggravating him. She was at a loss on how to help him because he wouldn't let her in; however, this was the worst time for him to shut her out of his plans after they'd come so far. She cast one final look at the bleak scene of the half ravaged base before she sighed and climbed into the vehicle.
End of chapter 32!
I'm still drafting out future chapters, but I'm aiming to not go over 40 chapters since this story has been going on for so long now lol. Thanks again for your patience everyone! :)