When Kazuya Mishima impregnated Jun Kazama during the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2, he also left behind a fragment of his power in the WWWC officer's body, so the child that she would bear would possess what would later be dubbed his "Devil Gene." After Kazuya's supposed demise at the hands of his father Heihachi at the conclusion of that tournament, the Devil spirit left Kazuya's body and approached Jun in an attempt to seize control over the unborn child.
Jun succeeded in driving it away, but the Devil Gene remained in her child, who a few months later she would give birth to and name "Jin."
Nineteen years later, Jin would realize the power of his Devil Gene when Heihachi would shoot him into the head, knowing the wrath of the Devil personally and wishing to prevent his grandson from experiencing it. The blast would have killed an ordinary human, but Jin transformed for the first time, crashing Heihachi through the wall of the temple they were located at and flying away on black feathery wings. In the three years that followed, Jin had numerous struggles with his dark power that would occasionally take control of him from time to time.
However, Jin had believed that he had conquered his inner demon with the return of his missing mother. What he did not count on was someone drawing it out from the outside…
…which was exactly what his hated enemy, the maniacal Jean Sorel, had done only a few seconds ago, after Jin, Kenichi, and Feng had gone to the city dump to rescue their two captured comrades Asuka and Xiaoyu from Jean's employee Bryan Fury. After Jean made his presence known, he used the morpher that Bryan had utilized to subdue the Shinkengers hours before to morph into ShinkenSlayer to combat Jin. However, Kenichi managed to evade Jean long enough to rescue Asuka and Xiaoyu and deal Bryan a humiliating defeat.
Wishing to continue their feud privately, Jean and Jin told their respective allies to leave the scrapyard. Once everyone had left the area, Jean told his adversary that Bryan had poisoned Xiaoyu and Asuka, and he was the only one with the antidote. Enraged, Jin lashed out at Jean, but the maniac used an unknown technique to warp Jin's mind and draw out his Devilish powers.
To defeat him in all of his demonic glory, Jean thought with excitement as he watched Jin roar in agony and writhe in pain as his body was engulfed in a dark aura, this is the moment I've dreamed about for the past month. Jin Kazama…I shall deliver the coup de grace this time around!
Jin's platinum vest was now dark gray, hissing as black markings appeared on it as if an invisible cattle prod was branding it. The jewel on his chest bubbled out a dark red ooze like an hemorrhaging wound, while his white gloves became black as the night sky with his fingers transforming into full-fledged claws. The Japanese youth screamed while black wings erupted from his back, the feathers of which were razor-sharp and leaving a spray of sparks and blood in their wake. His horns sprouted out from his temples and out of the sides of his helmet, and then grew parallel to Jin's eyesight. As a crimson ruby adorned itself just above Jin's black visor, the karateka let out a primal roar as he bore his claws and made his anguish known to the world.
After he finished screaming, Jin slowly turned his head towards Jean and shot him a look of raw hatred, his glowing red eyes shining through his black visor so that his opponent could see his resentment. With his hands outstretched, Jin leapt towards Jean with inhuman speed and strength, his claws bared and his eyes continuing to shine. Pouncing on his foe, Jin began to slash wildly at the prone Jean's abdomen and drawing forth sparks with every swipe. After the forth scratch, Jean wedged his leg between him and Jin and kicked the berserker off of him.
Flipping back onto his feet, Jean quickly lashed out at the reeling Jin with rapier, clipping the crazed warrior in the collarbone. The fencing kickboxer rolled his neck around and cracked his neck while Jin gripped his collarbone in pain, and then resumed his assault by using his free hand to latch onto Jin's neck. With the power of his ShinkenSlayer suit supporting him, Jean lifted the Japanese fighter off the ground as easily as a child would lift a toy, and slammed him into a nearby heap of metal. Jean had no intention of letting Jin get a chance to breathe, and proceeded to ram his knee into the man's torso numerous times with his hand still strangling the Japanese man.
To Jean's surprise, Jin caught the knee and dug his claws into it, ripping through Jean's deceptively durable spandex with another spray of sparks, revealing the pale flesh it concealed. Moving with lightning speed so that he could avoid getting the lower part of his leg torn off, Jean lifted his other leg off the ground and kicked Jin in the head with an impressive counter-attack, breaking Jin's hold and landing on his back. When he tried to get back up, Jean was blown away with a powerful gust of wind that sent him at least ten meters away from his foe. Remarkable, he thought to himself as he lifted his head to see what had just sent him careening like a thistle in a hurricane and saw that it was the simple flapping of Jin's wings, I didn't think those wings of his could generate such power.
"SHI-NE!!!"
That single word rang throughout the junkyard as Jin used his already-beating wings to launch himself at his opponent at a speed so intense that not even the seasoned Jean could react to it. Once he was right in front of the madman, Jin shot his foe into the air with a standing uppercut that left red ki in its wake: the signature of an Electric Wind Godfist, a technique that Jin had supposedly forsaken a long time ago. As Jean plummeted helplessly in the air, he was kept afloat by air a right hook, a left straight and another uppercut before being sent spiraling to the ground with a standing roundhouse kick.
Undaunted by such power and speed, Jean landed on his hands and righted himself gracefully. Ready to get back on the offensive, Jean narrowly dodged a straight kick and thrust his rapier into Jin's torso. This time, he hit his mark, piercing Jin's suit and flesh. "I know enough about the human body to know that I didn't hit anything vital," Jean whispered while he let Jin fall to his knees. "I want you to enjoy every single bit of pain and misery I have planned for you!"
Ignoring the pain, Jin pushed Jean away from him, and thus removing the blade from his body while miraculously not cutting anything serious on its way out. The Japanese man did not bother with something as common as standing, but rather with a monstrous leaping uppercut, grabbing Jean by the throat the very instant his blow made contact. With Jean in his grasp, Jin used his wings to take flight, and then pummel back down to grind his opponent's head in the dirt ground. Growling while standing back up, Jin took the air once again and stomped on his prone adversary's chest, eliciting a cry of agony.
However, Jean's pain certainly wasn't great enough to prevent him from sweeping Jin off of his feet with a low kick as he stood back up, taking the offensive once again by grinding his heel into Jin's left wing. "Those wings of yours are getting on my nerves," he said coldly as he lifted Jin back up while his rapier glowed with power. "Fortunately, I have a remedy for such a dilemma."
Putting his rapier back in its sheath, Jean latched onto Jin's right wing. Jin struggled violent, but Jean's kick to his throat quickly put a stop to that. The Japanese man couldn't even scream as he struggled to breathe. Of all of the opponents Jin had ever faced, Jean was one of the deadliest simply because of his intense knowledge of the human body: he would always know exactly where to hit or cut. "If you thought that hurt, my friend," the French maniac taunted as his grip on Jin's wing tightened, " just wait until you feel…THIS!"
CRACK!
With a sickening snap, Jean broke the razor-feathered wing that he was holding as easily as someone would break a piece of candy. A sadistic smile crept onto his lips as he watched Jin try and yell out in pain, but the blow to his throat had silenced him momentarily. However, Jean knew full well that Jin was crying on the inside. "Oh don't worry," Jean said as he pulled out his rapier while stepping away slightly to avoid Jin's claws while still maintaining his grip on the broken wing. "It gets better."
The Frenchman continued mangling the wing by applying his blade to the part of the wing that he broke and cutting at it in a saw-like motion like he was cutting through wood, punching Jin in the throat to once again keep him from screaming. After he had cut through the main tendon, Jean let his hands do the rest and tear the wing off like as easily as a person would tear through paper.
Jean couldn't help but admire his "souvenir" that he had cut out while Jin crumpled to the ground kicking his legs wildly in the air. It was clear that Jin's agony was unprecedented as the Frenchman did the unthinkable by tearing off the wing of one of the most fearsome living things known to man. After tossing the wing away, Jean walked over to Jin's fallen body and lifted his rapier. "I think you've suffered enough…time for you to die-AIIII!!"
Jean was sent flying back by a surprise blast of ki from Jin and as the Japanese man desperately tried to turn the tables. When the maniacal fencer got back onto his feet. He saw that Jin was no longer lying on the ground. "Running away to catch your breath, I see," he taunted as he quietly scanned the area surrounded him before venturing through the forest of garbage heaps where he believed Jin to be hiding. "Could it be that I've finally struck fear into the heart of the demon?"
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He's but scum, Jin thought through an ocean of pain and hate as he looked at his amputated stump that was once his wing. In long career of fighting, there was nothing that had ever caused him so much anguish and physical pain that Jean had been inflicting upon him the past few minutes. Why can't I defeat him!?
"Are you afraid?" he heard Jean shout out while he looked around the scrap heaps to try and locate which one Jin was hiding behind. Even though insanity and rage was still abundant in Jin's mind, there was still enough logic left in his head to realize that he was indeed afraid. He had never faced anyone like Jean before their match in the previous King of Iron Fist tournament. "Come out and face me like the man I know you are!"
Steeling his nerves, Jin left the concealment of the scrap heap he was hiding behind and shot a thin beam of power from the jewel on his forehead. Jean turned around just in time to swat it away with a flick of his rapier, and counter the blast with one of his own: a thin ray that emitted from his blade that cut one of the scrap heaps in half horizontally and depriving Jin of a potential sanctuary. Rolling away from a secondary blast, Jin hid behind another mountain of garbage as Jean ran in hot pursuit.
"The fearless Jin Kazama running for cover like man under fire," Jean taunted while he resumed his search for his foe. "I'm sure there's a joke somewhere in that, but what's really funny is that while you're off licking your wounds hoping that I'll be blindsided when I finally find you, your precious girls are quickly running out of time!"
At that very instant, Jin stopped thinking about his wounds and more about the stipulations of their fight. If he didn't defeat Jean soon, Asuka and Xiaoyu would soon die. He imagined Kenichi holding Asuka's lifeless body, desperately trying to awaken her even though she had fallen into an eternal sleep. Even though Kenichi was remarkably mature for someone of his youthful age, Jin was quite aware of his rather fragile psyche, and Asuka's death would probably be the breaking point for his already troubled soul.
And then there would be Xiaoyu's death. It was a little over a week ago when she and Jin would share their first kiss if not for the sumo whale Shamutori arriving on the scene and devouring her. Jin came remarkably close to losing her that day, and he would soon lose her again if things kept going the way they were. He dreaded the thought of explaining to her parents in China that their daughter died slowly by poisoning while the Jin that she had told them so much about could do nothing to prevent it.
If I don't do something soon, Xiao is going to die, Jin thought as he let an adrenaline rush wash away the excruciating pain of his amputated wing. I refuse to let that happen…not while I still love her! Clenching his claws hands into a fist, Jin once again began to burn with dark red ki that dripped off of him like liquid fire. The Japanese man knew that Jean would spot him shortly, and he would have to be ready to pounce on him when he did.
"Ready or not, Jin," Jean said in a sing-song voice as he approached the garbage heap that Jin was hiding behind, "here I-"
What came next was not Jean skewering his foe, but Jin's glowing fist smashing into Jean's face, shattering the crimson visor of his helmet to reveal a pair of surprised red eyes. Before Jean knew what was going on, his head was grabbed by Jin and smashed into the garbage heap that had acted as Jin's shield. Like a man possessed, Jin repeated the maneuver again and again, drowning out the pain that he was feeling by relishing in the pain he was inflicting.
After the eighth crash an unknown metal object that resided in the heap, the back of Jean's helmet received the same treatment as the front, cracking open to reveal Jean's long golden hair. The Frenchman, now mad as a hornet, brought down his rapier on Jin's chest, going back up with a vertical cut, and concluding with a forward kick that sent Jin flying backwards.
"I'm tired of playing your sick game, Sorel," Jin screamed as his hands once again dripped with evil ki, his throat finally recovering from the effects of Jean's kicks. "I'm going to end it now!" With the jewel on his head following suit with his hands, Jin watched Jean get his rapier sparkling again and duck down like a sniper preparing to shoot a rifle. The rapier dripped with dark purple ki in the same liquid fashion of Jin's hands.
After what seemed like an eternity of gathering what was left of their energy, Jin and Jean shouted out simultaneously, "SHINKEN FORBIDDEN TECHNIQUE…" and fired off the amassed power that flowed from their bodies to the outside world…
"TEKKENSHU INFERNO!"
"SLAUGHTER RAY!"
The two waves of power clashed against each other violently as Jin and Jean struggled to get the upper hand over the other. The winner of this "ki war" would claim certain victory over the other, who not only would be seriously wounded, but completely drained of his stamina. Jean stood back up and slowly began walking towards Jin, pushing against the surge of red power. Jin roared and gnashed his teeth, trying to keep Jean from getting any closer, as the strain on his body became worse as Jean's beam inched towards him.
Suddenly, Jin's remaining wing shot out a knife-like feather that traveled through the beams and ricocheted off Jean's blade, causing him to drop his rapier, and thus take the full brunt of Jin's three rays of power. The blast propelled him into one of the nearby metal scrap heaps, pushing him deeper into the pile as Jean's ShinkenSlayer suit began to burn, propped up off the ground by Jin's technique.
When the triplet rays finally subsided, Jean fell flat on his face onto the ground, his ShinkenSlayer suit fading away in a haze of dark purple energy. "Drat…it shorted out," he groaned while he trying to get back up, unable to right himself and settling for just rolling onto his back. Willing his left hand into motion, Jean put his morpher to his mouth. Before he could say anything however, Jin grabbed his wrist and unhooked the morpher, tossing it far across the scrapyard and out of sight.
"I'll rip your face off, you monster," Jin hissed as he bared his claws in preparation for a killing blow, picking up Jean by his collar with one hand while his red eyes shone through his visor and burning into Jean's soul. Rearing his claws back, Jin watched Jean open his eyes and see what would be his end.
However, before Jin could begin disemboweling his hated foe, a vision flashed into his mind. The vision soothed him, and eased the violent tension that had gripped his body and soul. Jin instantly recognized the emotion for what it was: a vision of his mother, the very embodiment of tranquility. Jin took comfort in his inner light, and dropped Jean back on the ground while his wings (or rather, his remaining wing and the stump of his amputated one) and horns shrunk back into his body. "Consider yourself lucky that I regained control," the Japanese man said to the prone Jean while his ShinkenRed suit returned to its original state and color before fading in a flash of red light. "Now give me the antidote."
"There is no antidote," Jean replied quietly as he caught his breath while lying down staring into the starry sky, "because there is no poison. I just made that up to get you angry." Turning to Jin and looking at him with his crimson-colored eyes, Jean continued. "Did you really think me so low that I would do something like that? I may be a little bit loopy, but I am still a gentleman, and poisoning a maiden is taboo even for me."
"…I never considered you a man of honor," Jin gripped his back in pain as he tried to lean down. "How is it that you know Kenichi and Asuka? They have nothing to do with the Zaibatsu or Kazuya."
Jean chuckled slightly before wincing in pain and answered Jin's question. "You honestly do not know? I would have figured that your parents would have trusted you farther than that."
"What do they have to do with anything?"
Jean became uncomfortably silent for a few moments before answering, "pardon the cliché but…go ask your father: he will have all the answers." As Jean said that, Jin felt the wind pick up around him. Initially confused at first, Jin followed Jean's gaze and looked up into the air to see a large helicopter hovering above them. "That would be my ride," Jean mumbled as he stood up and limped towards his rapier. "Aren't you going to stop me?"
"…no." Jin put his hands in his pockets as he quietly observed Jean pick up his rapier and grab onto the ladder that descended from the helicopter. "I probably should, but I won't."
"Then until next time, good messier," Jean weakly waved goodbye as he was lifted off the ground while the helicopter ascended back into the sky and fly away, "I shall see you at the next tournament!"
'Ask my father', he says, Jin mused while he began limping out of the scrapyard. I wonder what he meant by that…is it possible that there's more to Asuka than meets the eye? Come to think of it, I haven't seen my father in almost a month: does it coincide with Asuka coming to Tokyo?
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Despite Jin's suspicions, my seclusion prior to Astaroth's revival had nothing to do with young Asuka: to be honest, I had no idea she was coming to Tokyo when she did. However, that is a tale for another time.
Shortly after I heard about the incident at Tokyo Tower, I dispatched one of my Lizard-men to hide in the shadows and observe the battle with a small camera hooked onto its face. The resulting bout gave me more detailed information about the Shinkenger's power than any previous outing. Judging from Jin's transformation, the power and appearance of a Shinkenger varied upon its user. When my son's Devil Gene took hold, the suit morphed along with it and further amplified his abilities.
A hour later, my scout had returned, and it was carrying an item. Upon handing it to me, my spirits rose even further. The item was about the size of a computer mouse, and dark gray in color. Engraved upon the device were the two kanji "Tekken" etched in violet. It was none other the morpher of ShinkenSlayer.
The Lizard-man had far exceeded my expectations: now I, too, possessed the power of the Shinkenger. Equipped with such a device, my power would far exceed Sorel, my son, and even Heihachi. Before I could personally reek terror upon my foes, I had something far more interesting in mind.
For if I could generate enough power to resurrect a creature as powerful as Astaroth, what would I be able to do with the might of ShinkenSlayer coursing through my veins?
