Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken (but I guess you knew that already)

A/N: Greetings; Thanks for stopping by. Well, there are only three spotlights left, but all three of them are 'kings', every tournament having been won by one of them. But, we're going to start by looking at the oldest one of them, the one who started all of this. This chapter is partially dedicated to Psychoblue, who's been here from the beginning. I hope you enjoy it, friend, and everyone else enjoys too. So, without any further ado, let's get started. And here … we … go:

The King of Iron Fist Tournament 7: A Final Tragedy for the Finest Future

Heihachi Mishima: Indomitable Master

25 years… That's how long it's been. It has been two and a half decades since the first tournament, and it's been almost as long … since Heihachi Mishima won the second one. For a long time, Heihachi has not been seen as the strongest fighter in the world, and, for a long time, that fact has eaten away at him as he's watched his spot atop the fighting world being held by his bitter rivals, his son and grandson. But now, Heihachi was in the best shape of his life, and the most powerful he's ever been, having grown his already incredible strength to almost ungodly levels. More than anything else, Heihachi was more ready than ever to reclaim his throne atop the world.

Unconquerable Spirit

Yoshimitsu silently sat cross-legged, displaying a Zen-like peace in aversion to his tumultuous surroundings. He was meditating in his 'Indian Stance' in the midst of 'Anger of the Earth'. The stage itself seemed to be a castle under siege in an all concrete room with an unsteady floor. Only a hole in the upper corner gave vision to the battle sounds, truly revealing the pandemonium outside. Suddenly, his sword gave tipped him off to an incoming presence. The blade began to glow and pulse, and the entire sword began to lightly tremble within Yoshimitsu's hand, marking evil approaching. Quickly, the Manji leader turned to see an old acquaintance and his next opponent.

"Heihachi Mishima," Yoshimitsu exclaimed with slight surprise.

Suddenly, the announcer's voice blasted over the sounds of fighting outside, "Yoshimitsu, Heihachi Mishima, get ready for the next battle!"

Agreeably surprised to see who his opponent was, Heihachi crossed his arms as he said, "You're that ninja from the fourth tournament… the leader of the wretched Manji Clan."

'Vacuum Dancing' to his feet, Yoshimitsu stated aloud, "It seems your soul is as dark as ever before… My sword grows restless."

"Did you think I would forget…" Heihachi emphatically stated, "Did you think you could get away with stealing from me?! No, I'll make sure you regret every last cent you took from me!"

Gradually, the activity of Yoshimitsu's blade had gotten more and more frantic as the encounter went on, and, after Heihachi's proclamation, it became too strong to ignore. The sword was practically quaking in the Manji clan leader's hand.

Thinking to himself, Yoshimitsu contemplated, "That power… With the evil in his soul, my sword will surely return to full strength."

This was an unexpected but very welcome turn of events. Heihachi's main focus was Jin and Kazuya, and it remained that, but this was an opportunity for revenge too good to miss. Sure enough, he would crush his son and grandson in due time, but, for the time being … he would punish this Robin Hood first.

Threateningly pointing a finger at Heihachi, Yoshimitsu proclaimed, "Fight with everything you got. There's no escape!"

Heihachi laughed mockingly before replying, "What are you saying?"

Yoshimitsu assumed his fighting stance and explained rather ominously, "Thou shalt be slain. Prepare yourself!"

Lightning began to crackle and roll off Heihachi's body as he got into fighting stance and declared, "Obviously, you don't know my true power. I'll show you some of it … by snapping that sword and crushing that hideous mask!"

The announcer's voice erupted through the area, "Round 1! Fight!"

At first, it seemed like Heihachi wasn't really trying at all. Yoshimitsu immediately began going into his numerous stance, setting up his attacks. Heihachi however wasn't attacking at all; he was just moving around, and letting Yoshimitsu run free. This, of course, sent up a bright red flag for the Manji ninja. Why would the Mishima-ryu master be so static? What was he waiting for, if anything? Despite himself, Yoshimitsu began attacking anyway. Again, Heihachi didn't react accordingly; he just blocked and sparingly threw out a few quick jabs in return. Unbeknownst to Yoshimitsu, Heihachi was actually setting him up, lulling him into a false sense of calm… and that's when Heihachi unleashed and let Yoshimitsu feel it.

Taking Yoshimitsu off-center, Heihachi parried one of the ninja's attacks with 'Heaven's Wrath'. As Yoshimitsu rolled through, Heihachi took a strong step forward and exploded forward into his opponent's chest with a brutal, unbridled open-hand strike, an 'Iron Hand'. The force of the attack propelled Yoshimitsu backwards like he was shot out of a cannon, the impact being so strong that it made his armor rattle. Needless to say, he was very slow to get up afterwards, and amazed by the force exerted upon him. How could he hit so hard?

Not wanting to be hit that again, Yoshimitsu went forward by using his speed and unorthodox techniques to attack, but to no avail. No matter what he did, Heihachi seemed to be ahead of him to counter with his powerful attacks… and it didn't take many of them. It only took two 'Dragon Uppercuts' and one flying double-kick, a 'Hell Axle', to bring Yoshimitsu to the brink. Ultimately, Heihachi jumped over Yoshimitsu's 'Samurai Cutter', and connected with an intense jumping roundhouse kick, a 'Wind Slicer'. The kick sent spiraling backward uncontrollably until he slammed in a wall.

The announcer's voice boomed into the area, "Heihachi wins!"

Yoshimitsu reflected mentally, "He was … fooling me the whole time. What power!"

Heihachi crossed his arms once again, and confidently asked, "Do you feel that?! Are you regretting your choice yet?!"

Yoshimitsu slowly rose to his feet, and frantically searched for an answer. How could he fight him? What could he do? These questions prevalent in his mind, Yoshimitsu reassumed his fighting stance.

Heihachi got back into his fighting stance as he said, "I do agree with one thing you said. There is no escape!"

The announcer's voice then blasted over the mayhem outside, "Round 2! Fight!"

No matter what Yoshimitsu did next, Heihachi was there to blast him. It made no difference what stance he went in, what direction he went in, or what approach he took. Heihachi had an instant, decisive, and wicked answer. If Yoshimitsu went into 'Indian Stance', Heihachi used 'Spinning Demon' to pick him up off the ground. When he went into 'Meditation Stance', Heihachi would use 'Demon Breath' to slam him down. Yoshimitsu's 'Bad Stomach' was met with Heihachi's 'Chrome Dome'. When he went up into 'Dragonfly', Heihachi brought him back down with a 'Hammer Punch'. If Yoshimitsu rose up into 'Flea', Heihachi sent him further up with a 'Demon Uppercut'.

Heihachi was just too strong. Eventually, the Mishima-ryu master caught the Manji Clan leader, lifted him up high, and slammed him to the ground in a 'Free Fall'. Little did either of them know how true that name would be. As soon as Yoshimitsu impacted the ground, the floor crumbled around them, and they plummeted the base level. Heihachi utilized his agility to land on his feet, but the compromised Yoshimitsu crashed face first into the water-submerged ground. This match was mercifully done.

The announcer's voice echoed through the area, "Perfect! Heihachi Mishima wins! Please proceed to the next round!"

Heihachi lifted the unconscious Yoshimitsu's head and exclaimed, "You won't survive the next time you cross me!"

He then bounced the ninja's head off the ground, and let out an unruly laugh of satisfaction as he turned and walked away.

Finally, as his laughter tapered off, Heihachi confidently proclaimed, "That's one nuisance destroyed. Next!"

---

Bird Hunting

The venue almost made Heihachi forget just how long he'd been walking. He was in a very large, seemingly endless corridor filled with rows upon rows of pristine-white columns and pristine white panels lining the ceiling and the walls, the 'High-Tech Facility'. Breaking the sameness of it all stood his opponent, and it was actually hard to miss him, his dark form vastly contrasting the white setting. It was a man with silver-dyed hair, a sleeveless battle suit, a tattoo of a Kanji symbol on his left arm, two kunai knives on his back, sunglasses obscuring his eyes, and an X-shaped scar on his face. Again, it was a ninja, and, again, it was someone Heihachi recognized.

Also like the last time, the man turned around when he saw who he was, and said with great surprise, "Heihachi Mishima?!"

Heihachi replied with a smile, "Well… It seems my fortune keeps getting better and better…"

The announcer's voice suddenly echoed through the hollow space, "Raven, Heihachi Mishima, get ready for the next battle!"

Heihachi continued with a hint of excitement, "You're that ninja who ran away from our last fight. I wasn't expecting to fight you … but since we're here, I'll enjoy finishing you off. You can't run this time!"

Raising his finger to his earpiece, Raven made an anxious call to his headquarters, "This is Raven. Dispatch, are you seeing this?!"

Raven's superior quickly responded, "Yes. We confirmed that it is in fact Heihachi Mishima."

Raven's eyes grew wide behind his glasses as he stated with surprise, "But … all intel listed him as dead."

The superior calmly replied, "It seems all reports were false."

Raven continued, "Well, what are my orders? What am I supposed to do?"

The superior coolly relayed, "Heihachi's involvement could prove very detrimental to our operation… Eliminate him."

Thunderstruck by the order, Raven shot back, "What?! If an explosion couldn't take him out … how am I supposed to?!"

His patience wearing thin, Heihachi exerted, "Enough of your girl talk! We have a fight to get on with."

"Very well. I understand," Raven finally said before lowering his hand and getting into fighting position, "Alright, Heihachi, it looks like we will finish this."

Electricity surged around Heihachi's upper body, causing the lights in the entire corridor to flicker, as he said, "I'll warn you… I've change since the last time. I hope you'll be able to keep up!"

Finally, as Heihachi got into fighting posture, the announcer's voice again echoed through the hollow space, "Round 1! Fight!"

Unlike with his previous fight, Heihachi showed off his power from the outset. Three punches… All it took was three punches to get Raven's attention ... and to show him what he was truly up against. Heihachi sidestepped Raven's attempted 'Crusader', and pelted him with a 3-punch flurry, a 'Flash Punch Combo', right in his chest, knocking him to the ground. The ninja was stunned to the point that it took him a moment to react to the impact. It was just three punches, and yet … Raven felt like he got hit by a car.

Amazed and off-guard by Heihachi's strength, Raven couldn't focus or find his rhythm, offensive or defensive. Heihachi, with his opponent staggered, simply deflected the attempted offense, and used his powerful combos like 'Demon Executioner' and 'Seiryu Mon'. Just like a three-hit combo started it, another three-hit combination, Heihachi's 'Demon's Lair', ended it, sending Raven spiraling backward uncontrollably.

"Heihachi wins!" The announcer's voice resonated against the bare walls.

Raven sat up, holding his chest, and said to himself, "What power! How did he get so strong?!"

"As you can see, you were wrong. I'm far from dead…" Heihachi proclaimed as he reassumed fighting stance, "Now, get up! I'm just getting started!"

Raven thought to himself as he slowly rose up and got back into his fighting stance, "Incredible! How am I going to defeat this guy?"

Again, the announcer's voice rang out, "Round 2! Fight!"

Knowing running head-first into a brick wall wouldn't go anywhere, Raven tried using a trickier, more indirect style. He went for easy damage sticking to his faster attacks like 'Sudden Strike' and 'Shadow Spear', and his ground attacks like 'Shinobi Cyclone' and 'Quicksand'. Needless to say, this irritated Heihachi as he was hounded by Raven's pestering pressure; he needed to get back in control. From there, he waited for his openings, waiting for his chances to unload with added force. To further his attempts, Heihachi veered away from his powerful punches and instead employed his-equally strong kicks including 'Tsunami Kick', 'Right Splits Kick', and 'Hooking Crescent Kick'. With this strategy, it only took a few of Heihachi's more aggressive, super-powered strikes to carve Raven's health down.

Raven came under a brain-rattling 'Twin Pistons', and, shaken by it, grew slightly hesitant, letting up on his aggression. Seeing opportunity, Heihachi pulled his stance back and began charged electricity around his body, focusing in on his hands, switching into his 'Raijin' stance. Knowing nothing good could come of letting this go free, Raven quickly closed the distance … and walked right into Heihachi's plan. Immediately, the Mishima-ryu master let loose with a 'Pulverizer', a straight punch right to the chest.

Raven was propelled backward into one of the pillars, but that stop didn't his momentum. Upon impact, the stone shattered, blasted literally to pieces and leaving only the top connected to ceiling and the bottom connected to floor.

The announcer's voice once again reverberated through the void passage, "Heihachi Mishima wins! Please proceed to the next stage!"

Drifting in and out of consciousness, Raven barely noticed and reached for his earpiece, which had fallen out of his ear during the attack, but he didn't get to it before Heihachi did. He picked the earpiece, and then picked Raven… by the throat and held Raven above his head against a pillar.

"Tell your agency to say out of my way!" Heihachi proclaimed.

Almost as if to driving the point home, Heihachi effortlessly crushed the earpiece in his hand, and let the bits of it fall to the floor.

Heihachi continued, "No one can stop me … from getting what is mine!"

With that, Heihachi dropped Raven to the floor with a THUD! Again, the Mishima-ryu let out a loud laugh of satisfaction as he departed.

End Chapter

Next Time: "You should have quit while you were ahead… because your tenseconds… are just about up."

A/N: There you go. I hope you liked it, and that you come back. Naturally, we'll go from father to son, so you can guess who that is. Thanks again. Please R&R, and, as always, Rant, Rave, and Review.