Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken

A/N: Greetings, fellow readers and writers. Thank you for coming by. Well, here we are: the point of tragedy. I must tell you that there are multiple character deaths in this chapter. I'm sorry; this is a Tragedy. But, I also want you to know that this is NOT the final chapter; it's not going to end like this. I warn those with soft hearts that this is pretty sad. So, having said that, let's get to it. And here … we … go:

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

Lament of the Mishima and Jin's Requiem

Neither knew how long they'd been waiting, but Lee and Lars continued to wait pensively for the result of the epic confrontation they could hear. Suddenly, the sounds suddenly stopped… Lars, through no volition of his own, abruptly shifted his body, as if something just came over him.

"Are you alright?" Lee asked, reacting to the sudden flourish of movement.

Lars replied, uncertain of how to place it into words, "Yes. It's just… I got a strange feeling just now. Suddenly, I don't feel so … anxious or concerned …"

A smirk came to Lee's face as he said, "You too? I guess that just means one thing: Jin-san must have…"

Out of nowhere, Lee was interrupted by a very familiar buzzing sound. He slowly started looking into the ocean, searching for the noise's source.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Lars asked in response to Lee's odd behavior.

At that moment, Lee spotted what he was looking for, and pointed to it as he asked in confusion, "Is that… Is that a boat coming toward us?"

Sure enough, it was a speedboat heading right for them, where water transport landed mere yards away. Instantly, Lee and Lars moved to encounter this unexpected presence, jumping off their boat and running to the newcomer. However, they quickly stopped when they saw who one of its passengers was … Asuka!

"Asuka-chan?!" Lee exclaimed as the younger Kazama emerged from the boat onto the sand, "What are you doing here?!"

Despite the shock of those seeing her, Asuka didn't speak; she merely took a brief look back at her boat, and solemnly pointed to it, indicating her reasoning was inside. Seeing the apparent discomfort on Asuka's face and in her manner, both the Co-CEO of KGI and the Tekken Force Captain were reluctant to proceed forward, fearing what the reason for the unnerving occurrence could be. Ultimately, Lee cautiously entered, and personally saw the reason for Asuka's behavior. Inside the boat sat Xiaoyu, clearly distraught despite the fact that she was looking away, and at her side … was an open report about Jin.

Lee immediately said in a hushed tone of dread and sympathy, "Oh no…"

Her voice a gut-wrenching mixture of desperation, sadness, distress, and worry, Xiaoyu asked without turning around, "Is … Jin-kun here?"

Lee hesitantly replied, "… Yes… He is."

"Can you please take me to him?" Xiaoyu continued, her desperation coming through a bit more.

Hesitant still, Le stammered, "I … I'm not sure where he is… I don't know if I can…"

Xiaoyu interrupted, all the emotions in her voice amplified as she pleaded through tears, "Please… Please, Lee-sama… Please just let me see him."

Eventually, with some apprehension though moved by Xiaoyu's words, Lee replied, "… alright. We'll try to find him."

Meanwhile, Lars and Asuka were silently waiting outside, not sure of what to expect. Finally, Lee stuck his head out from inside the boat.

"Lars-san, is there any way the four of us can travel this place safely … and in a hurry?" Lee asked.

Lars pondered for a moment, searching his mind for an answer, before remembering and answering, "Well, there is one way…"

-----

His eyes slowly flickered open and the landscape slowly came into focus as Jin finally regained consciousness, his face half-submerged under the cold ocean water. As his head continued to clear, Jin very slowly forced himself to stand, though his body was in seeming protest and begging not to get up, and, needless to say, he was in very bad shape. Jin was battered and bruised; his insides were on fire as his chest was almost completely collapsed by now. Blood now freely flowed from his mouth onto the ground and his chest.

Through will and sheer heart alone, Jin moved forward, and started making his way up the path, one arm wrapped around his aching midsection. As he tried to distance his thoughts away from the excruciating pain felt throughout his body, Jin's mind began to wander as he pressed on. He saw all the battles he'd struggled through his life and all the fighting he's had to do… He ran back through all the pain, anger, and sorrow he had to suffer and endure… He reflected on the joy and love he finally got to experience if only for a little while… Eventually, he settled on everything and everyone he was leaving behind, the ones who he was doing this last deed to protect…

"I'm sorry, Xiao-chan… I still have to do this. But I'm doing this for our children and you," Jin thought to himself.

Finally, Jin reached the top, and approached his closest fallen opponent, Kazuya. The younger Mishima was barely breathing, and out cold, an absent look present on his face; the force of Jin's last attack was evident as Kazuya's body was still smoking and his left eye was now swollen shut. Jin slowly reached down into the crater, grabbed his father's writ, and began dragging him along. Heihachi was next and he wasn't that far away. The older Mishima was still motionless, facedown; Jin's power was evident with him as well as his body was still partially shaking from 'Salvation'. Once there, Jin reached down with his free hand, grabbed his grandfather by the arm, and proceeded to drag him as well.

Though slowed by the dragging the dead weight of two people, Jin came and stopped in front of the cliff, dropping his two relatives, and began executing his plan. The Kazama heir walked over to a designated spot near the edge, and over turned what was actually a fake stone to get at what was under it: 13'' by 11'' digital touch screen, the 'universal remote' for this complex yet necessary operation; the screen buzzed calmly and lit up with a whirl as Jin turned it on. As soon as he could, he found the icon marked 'burial', and pressed it. Immediately, two large sections of fake rock slid away, revealing two circular chasms in the ground, and finally two metal platforms rose up from out of the darkness of the man-made spaces. Atop them were two pitch-black, metallic, human-sized, 'boxes' with long, extremely-thick metal chains attached to the fronts.

The Kazama heir moved to the left one, and flipped it open; the one was for his grandfather. Jin grabbed Heihachi, and unceremoniously dropped him into the box. More out of pure instinct that out of conscious thought, Heihachi very slowly started to climb out. Jin, not in the mood, simply slammed the lid on the elder Mishima's back, sandwiching the master's body underneath its weight and Jin's force, shoved his grandfather back in, slammed the box shut, making sure to latched the door down.

Now, it was Kazuya's turn. Jin turned to the right box, and flipped over its lid, opening it. With the box ready to receive, Jin lifted his father, dropped him inside it, and slammed the door back down, sealing it shut for good measure. That task finished, The Kazama heir returned to the digital board he had placed aside, scrolled to find the icon labeled 'Ascension', and activated it.

An insanely loud chorus of metallic scraping, humming, clanging, and whirling soon rang out through the island center and the entire island as a massive happening was starting. The mist from the cliff abruptly stopped rising, as the sounds continued to get louder and louder. It gradually became clear just what was causing it, and … that the cliff … wasn't really a cliff at all. From out the chasm rose a colossal platform, and atop it was a relatively small, single-man spacecraft. Not that far away, the searching four were easily alerted by the incredibly deafening noise, and it wasn't long before they saw the ship in the distance.

As Xiaoyu was rendered speechless, Lars could only muster, "Holy…"

Asuka, shocked to say the least, wondered aloud, "What is he going to do with that?!?!"

Lee, remembering what Jin said earlier, pieced it all together, and exclaimed in horror, "That's what he meant… Keep your eyes on the sky… We have to get over there now!"

The three of them quickly turned in that direction, and sped off with great urgency. Meanwhile, Jin stared up at the rocket … then at the two boxes … and back again as the gravity of what he was about to do started to weigh on him. There was no turning back now; Death was waiting. With one more deep breath, Jin finally steeled himself, and prepared to go. Suddenly…

"Jin-kun! Jin-kun!!!" A very familiar female voice rang out.

Jin instantly knew who it was, and let out a disappointed sigh as he whispered to himself, "No…"

Jin slowly turned just as his four relatives sped up on the two ATVs, Asuka driving one with Lee on the back and Lars driving the other with Xiaoyu riding with him. As soon as they stopped, Asuka helped Xiaoyu down of the motor vehicle, and Xiaoyu very quickly walked toward her husband.

Practically reading her mind, Jin said, "Please … not the stomach …"

When she got in range, Xiaoyu punched Jin in the face, right on the bridge of the nose! Jin's head immediately snapped backward and stuck there under the suddenness and force of the attack. Lee, Asuka, and even Lars cringed at the sight and sound of it.

Jin held his nose as he pulled it back down, saying, "… Thanks."

Xiaoyu exclaimed with a combination of anger, distress, and sadness, "Why, Jin-kun?! Are you really doing this? Is killing your father and grandfather that important to you?!?!"

Jin solemnly replied, "Xiao-chan, please… Try to understand…"

Distraught, Xiaoyu fired back as tears started flowing from her eyes, "No! I can't understand… I don't want to understand! Why?! Why are you leaving me…" Her hands fell on her midsection, the twins inside kicking wildly, as she continued, "Why are leaving us?!"

Still upset, Xiaoyu turned and started to walk away.

Desperate to explain, Jin started, "Xiao-chan, it's not like…"

Before he could even get the rest out, the stress caused his condition to flare up, and attack him as if on cue. Suddenly, the pressure on Jin's chest spiked, and gave him no time to even attempt to hold it back, not that he had the strength to. Jin paused as he felt it coming, and heaved once, a profuse amount of blood blasting out of his mouth as he lurched forward. Asuka, Lee, and Lars let out a collective gasp and cringed at the sickening sight; unfortunately, Xiaoyu managed to turn around just in time to see it as well. Jin then broke into a torturous coughing fit that brought him to his knees. Each cough brought up more, and almost every one caused more of the crimson liquid to spill in to the puddle on the ground.

Worried over everything else, Xiaoyu called as she rushed back to him just as the fit was tapering off, "Jin-kun!!"

Jin, very hearse at first and on his hands and knees, replied facing down ward as he caught his breath, "Please … don't be angry… I didn't … want you to see me like this…"

Xiaoyu started to lower herself, trying to get to Jin's level, but he quickly stopped her. Thinking of his wife, Jin took off his gi shirt, folded it, and rolled it up tightly. He then laid it on the ground underneath her, and over the pool of his blood still sitting on the hard rock. Jin helped his wife slowly lower herself, with her knees on his shirt, using it as a makeshift mat.

Tears forming in her eyes again, Xiaoyu said, "So, it is true… You are dying…"

Jin sadly replied, explaining, "Yes… I am. I wish there was something I could do; I would have done it already… I'm not leaving because I want to… I really wanted to stay … to be with the kids … to be with you…"

Experiencing a pain worse than from any fight, Xiaoyu began sobbing sorrowfully as she threw her arms around Jin's neck. It was a heartbreaking thing to think about, let alone go through, and the three witnesses to it weren't exempt. Even though she tried her hardest not to, Asuka couldn't help shedding a few tears as well. Lee, caught in a rare situation of not knowing what to do, dropped his head out of sadness. Even the battle-hardened Lars, who seen his fair share of death, couldn't stand to take in the sight, and looked away.

Despite being the strongest fighter in the world, Jin was rendered powerless to change this situation or end his wife's suffering. Jin just embraced her in return, gently wrapping his arms around her; unconsciously, his wings slowly emerged and slightly enclosed around her in a loose secondary embrace. All Jin could was hold Xiaoyu as she wept, her tears flowing down her eyes and onto his back.

Inconsolable, Xiaoyu said through tears, "Why … didn't you … tell me?"

Jin, heartbroken as he feared and expected, said, "Because I wasn't strong enough… wasn't strong enough to stop it… to get the words out… I'm definitely not strong enough … to see you like this…"

Xiaoyu expressed forlornly, "This isn't fair. Why is this happening to you … to me … to us? We just get started; why is it ending this way?"

Jin replied with a hint of resolution, "I don't know… I wish there was something I could say… But I still have to do one last thing… I can't let them do to Jun, Haku, and you … what they did to my mother and me…"

With a hint of desperation in her voice, Xiaoyu offered, " I know… Take me with you… If you have to die, I can die with you…"

His heart ripped by the very thought, Jin tried harder to reassure his wife, "You know I can't let you do that… Xiao-chan, listen to me… I know this is bad, and I know it hurts … but please don't give up… I may be leaving, but I'm not leaving you alone. Lee-sama, Asuka-chan, Miharu-chan… they'll all be right beside you. I took care of everything else, so you don't have to worry about anything… so, please don't lose hope … for our children's sake. They may not have their father, but they need their mother…"

Xiaoyu, tears still streaming down her face, backed away slightly to look her husband in the eyes. Deep down, she knew he was right. It killed her that this was happening, but this unfortunate series of events was taking place. Unable to do much else, Xiaoyu kissed Jin on the cheek, eventually resting her forehead on his.

Jin whispered to her with remorse as she closed her eyes, "I wish you could've found out better than this. I wish if we had to say goodbye, it would be better than this… I'm so sorry, Xiao-chan."

Xiaoyu replied, "It's not your fault… Everything that's happened to you… None of it was your fault… You are a very good person, Jin-kun, and I love you."

"I love you too…" Jin said before facing the reality upon him, "It's time; I have to go."

With that, Jin helped Xiaoyu to her feet, his wings slowly retracting away, and rose himself. Finally, Jin turned to his other relatives.

Jin asked, "Lars-san, Lee-sama, could you give me a hand?"

As they were asked, Lars and Lee aided their departing family member. Lars took the chain of the left box, and attached it to the rocket, making sure to bolt it down. Jin and Lee meanwhile did the same thing with the chain of the right box, attaching and bolting it down. Xiaoyu then turned to Asuka…

"Asuka-chan…" Xiaoyu entreated her friend for help, "Could you get me Jin-kun's shirt please?"

Xiaoyu understandably couldn't bend and pick it up herself; Asuka as she was obliged picked up the gi shirt and handed it to her friend. Xiaoyu continued to watch the arrangements, and proceeded hold her husband's shirt very closely, almost hugging it as if she were hugging Jin himself. Finally, with all the preparations done, Jin walked back to Xiaoyu for his final goodbyes to her. He lowered himself, and kissed her midsection one last time as a way of saying farewell to his children. The two embraced one more time, and Jin kissed her on the cheek. Reluctantly, after a few more moments, they separated from their final show of tenderness toward each other.

Jin addressed all of them saying, "You all should go… It'll get pretty hot when I take off."

Lee nodded in agreement as he replied, "Right…"

With the moment impending and inevitable, the four turned away, and got back on the ATVs (Xiaoyu with help). Meanwhile, Jin approached the rocket, and picked up the digital screen again. At the same time, Jin and Xiaoyu looked back at each other; Xiaoyu blew Jin one last kiss, and he smiled back at her in response. Jin watched on with a heavy heart as the four sped away.

As they drifted out of sight, Jin finally climbed into the rocket, connected the digital screen to the control system, and initiated the launch sequence, finding and pressing the 'Take-off' icon. The engines fired with the sound of a small explosion. Flames blasted out of the end, and the whole island shook under the power of the spacecraft. The rocket quaked as it steadily lifted off the ground before propelling into the sky. Lee, Lars, Asuka, and Xiaoyu, now at a safe distance, watched it all unfold as the rocket and the two boxes attached to it blasted upward.

As the craft and its cargo entered space, the darkest of night grew deeper and deeper as it went up and up… The stars the dot the sky grew brighter and brighter… Soon, the ground shifted from brown to blue as the planet loomed underneath… After a moment, into view came a small KGI space station, the one Jin raised two years earlier. In truth, it wasn't very large … because it was made specifically for this purpose, just for this moment.

Jin activated the 'Incoming' icon on his remote's screen. As commanded, the station's landing hatch opened, awaiting his arrival. Things however are never that easy… the rocket's brake and landing systems both jammed just as Jin was planning his course to the ship. Now, if Jin couldn't stop the rocket, it would crash into and possibly through the station!!! With little time to think of something else, Jin quickly came up with a desperate plan with the split second afforded him… Just as the rocket and both boxes got into the port, Jin ripped the digital remote out the control panel! The spacecraft landed flat and hard as it slammed straight down on the floor of the station. Jin, of course, didn't escape unscathed, quite the opposite…

The impact of the abrupt loss in power catapulted Jin forward, and through the glass door of the rocket. His body skidded to a stop across the floor in the shower of glass that followed. Despite this, he was careful to keep the remote safe. As he lay on the cold station floor, Jin slowly observed his situation to find … everything was, more or less, in place: Both boxes were inside the station… Both of his enemies were safely locked inside… everything was ready… The Kazama heir looked to the screen once more, and scrolled to the coup-de-grace, the 'Final Countdown' sequence icon. Then, just as he was about to start it … he stopped.

It was a sudden pause, an inexplicable hesitation. Jin had played out this whole scenario and all its possibilities in his mind countless times. He prepared for this moment for months, maybe even years, and yet… Here he was, and he stalled. Only one subject came to mind: Xiaoyu… The plan was originally for Jin to die in the station, but when the time came, he couldn't die here. It had happened again just like times before; he was not surprised the fact he was reconsidering his plans after her involvement. As such, there was no use fighting it; that was just her special hold on him.

Despite barely being able to hold himself up, Jin lifted himself up enough to advance, and, with his remote firmly in hand, began moving for his last resort reserve, but he didn't see anything that happened next. Suddenly, the right box began to rumble. Its lid began to lurch upward as if being pounded from the inside. Finally, the lid few open…

Jin, with a struggle, made it around the corner to the escape ship room, and as he got in the door, at last pressed the 'Final Countdown' icon.

A computerized female voice at once proclaimed through the station, "1 minute to self-destruct…"

As fast as he could muster, the Kazama heir fought to get across the room to the only escape ship, only for his legs to give out halfway through. Faced with only thing he could do, Jin started to crawl with his one free hand … but it didn't look at all like he would make it in time. Lifting himself up slightly, Jin suddenly felt a hard shove from behind, thrusting him forward into the capsule, and the next moment was met with a slam of the door behind him! Completely confused by the series of events, Jin shuffled around to see what caused them. Across the room stood a figure, and, even though he faced away, it was undeniable who it was … Kazuya!!! Did Kazuya actually just…?

No time to even agonize over the mind-boggling notion, Jin quickly connected the digital board to control panel, strapped himself in, and pressed the 'Abort' icon. Air rushed past with the change in air pressure. The rocket capsule roared to life. The small ship quickly jetted down an escape tunnel and out of the station, before speeding back toward Earth.

Back at the station, just like the other, the left box began to rattle. The lid began bending outward, pressured by the inside captive. Finally, the top blasts open. Heihachi slowly lifted himself up and out of the box. Somewhat conscious now, both Heihachi and Kazuya began stumbling and looking around, neither sure of where they were and just looking around in a daze. That's when they backed into each other… Immediately responded, both Mishimas spun around, and upon seeing each other, began swinging. A brief exchange ensued, and they eventually stalemated by grabbing each other by the throats, neither letting go or getting the other to release.

"15 seconds to self-destruct…" the computerized female voice rang out.

The lights began to flicker, and the sirens starting to blare. Despite these stimuli, Kazuya and Heihachi continued to clutch and try to strangle each other. Truth be told, however, they weren't ignoring their surroundings. They continued fighting because they knew there was nothing that could be done.

"So this is how ends…" Heihachi commented, "Just like it began … with us at each other's throats?"

"I guess so," Kazuya added, "Just like it was always supposed to…"

At this time, Kazuya's left eye had shrunken enough, and slowly flickered open… Incredibly, his red eye, the symbol of his use of the Devil … was gone; it was no longer red!!! Heihachi quickly took notice just as …

…

…

A massive supernova-like explosion followed, tremendously bursting with multi-colored light. Kazuya and Heihachi Mishima were two of the strongest men in the world. Both men had survived several near-death experiences, and outlasted and outlived countless life threats. In the face of everything, they had always made it through and eluded Death for so long … but not this time. Jin had succeeded where many had failed; both Kazuya and Heihachi Mishima were gone in an instant…

Even still, the blast was so unbelievable that it even affected Jin even though he was miles away. The impact rocked the escape capsule, and effectively threw off its coordinates and flight patterns. It was a partial malfunction where Jin couldn't correct. It actually speeded his descent.

Back on Earth, the four were watching from the ground; Lee and Lars were situated on one boat, and Xiaoyu and Asuka on the other. They sat on the water a ways from Ground Zero, having stopped to watch, and that's when they saw it. The explosion was as bright as daylight, and the bright red and orange outburst looked about the size of a baseball from Earth. Xiaoyu, as soon as the explosion was seen, hugged Asuka, and buried her head in her friend's shoulder. Asuka however kept her eyes up, and saw a bright red orb that looked like a fireball falling right toward them.

Asuka exclaimed as she pointed to the sky, "Guys! Guys!! Look over there!!"

Lee, Xiaoyu, and Lars looked up just in time to watch it land in the water not far from them. Without even needing to ask, Lee and Lars jumped onto Asuka and Xiaoyu's boat, Lars took the wheel, and they jetted off to see what the mystery object was. When they got close, they saw it was a high-tech, sphere shaped rocket, and stopped next to it. They pried open the door only to find … Jin, much worse than he left but still alive. Without haste, they helped Jin out of his transport, and onto the boat…

Surprised and slightly ecstatic, Xiaoyu expressed, "Jin-kun… You're … You're alive!"

Jin smiled back at her … but that was all he could do. He immediately collapsed onto the deck, causing his four relatives to instantly crowd around him. All in all, everything he'd been through had taken a whole two months from his life, and it was all bearing down on him now. The tournament, the fight, the crash, the aftershock of the explosion… It was all taking its toll; Jin's time was almost up, and he knew it. Xiaoyu knelt beside him as he shifted onto his back, and intently took his hand in hers…

Xiaoyu whispered to him as her tears began flowing again, "Jin-kun… don't go. Please … don't go…"

Jin slowly tried to comfort her, struggling to even do so. He touched Haku and Jun more time, both twins still kicking wildly from their mother's racing heart. Fighting to do so, he managed to gently lay his hand on her cheek, and with a calm swipe of his thumb, wiped away her tears.

Jin, with a soft whisper the best he could muster, said as he achieved a smile, "Xiao-chan.."

Xiaoyu, somehow knowing that's what he wanted, gave a small smile back to him. Content, Jin stared up at his four family members when his vision became blurry again. Soon, his eyes got heavy… They closed once for a brief moment… They closed a second time for a slightly longer period… Finally, they flickered closed for good. From there, instead of darkness, everything went white, a pristine bright white.

In a life full of tragedies and hardship, Jin Kazama still did great good in his lifetime and triumphed. So, despite everything, Jin Kazama died … with a smile…

------

The news report the next day:

Jin Kazama, Co-CEO of Kazama G Incorporated, dead at 25… Jin Kazama, Co-CEO of the highly influential group Kazama G Incorporated, has died at the age of 26. Reports state that he dies from multiple injuries though it was later discovered that he had been suffering from a potent terminal illness for some time. Shortly after the wars four years ago, Jin Kazama ceased and backtracked on his efforts, eventually founding what is known today as KGI alongside Lee Chaolan, who will take on duties as full CEO in light of this tragic occurrence. KGI, with Jin Kazama spearheading the charge, then set many resources and effort into countless rescue and relief missions around the world, turning them into a highly-successful world rehabilitation program. With the world in prosperity again, it seemed the image and perception of KGI and even Jin Kazama himself had dramatically softened at the time of his death. He would have celebrated his first children soon; his wife, Xiaoyu, is set to give birth to twins in two months. No member of KGI could be reached for comment. Jin Kazama is set to be buried in a very private ceremony; he is survived by his loving wife, Xiaoyu; and his children: son, Haku Kazuki, and daughter, Jun Kokoro, both yet-to-be-born…

(Editor's note: Jin was buried in his CLAMP outfit, his new red and white one.)

End Chapter

Next Time: "Excellent! … You shall be tested!"

A/N: Alright; that's the chapter. I know that might have been painful, but there's something I'd like to say. Again, this is NOT the final chapter. I'm not going to end the story like that; I'm not going to do that to you. Anyway, we're going to check out the tournament outcome for several other fighters. Please don't skip over them; there's a lot of set-up for the future in them. Nevertheless, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed, I hope I didn't upset you, and I hope you come back. Please R&R, and, as always, Rant, Rave, and Review.