*Devil Released*

AN: I wanted to move the story along even more so here's an additional chapter. Don't forget to leave a review! Thank you and enjoy!

As soon as Lei-Fang walked through the door of her hotel room, Xiaoyu and Panda, whom Xiaoyu picked up after her fight, stood up to greet her.

"Hey, you're back! I saw the letter from Jin on your bed. How did your meeting with him go?" Xiaoyu asked excitedly.

At this point, Lei-Fang finally burst into the tears that she had been holding back since she left the mansion. Both Xiaoyu and Panda hurried to the older girl and led her to a seat with Xiaoyu on her right, and Panda seated on the floor beside them. She placed a paw on Lei's lap and patted it.

Xiaoyu placed an arm around her sister and offered up weakly, "Not so well, huh?"

"He's gone, Xiao," Lei-Fang said in between sobs, "The Jin that we knew might as well be dead. He did everything on purpose. All those people are dead and he doesn't feel a thing!"

The younger Chinese girl furrowed her brows as Panda let out a grunt of discontent. "Lei, what are you talking about?"

Lei-Fang shook her head fervently, "I don't know what happened to him, Xiao, but Jin has changed. He's just as cold and calculating as Kazuya and Heihachi. I don't know what he's after, but we have to do our best to stop him. We can't let him hurt other people anymore."

Xiaoyu grasped her sister's hand and squeezed it tight, "That's exactly what we're here to do, Lei-Fang, and because I won my match today, I'm one step closer to facing Jin in the finals. Don't worry. We won't leave until everything is back to normal, isn't that right, Panda?"

The bear nodded her head enthusiastically, flashing the two girls a reassuring smile.

Although, Lei-Fang was sure of her plan to stop Jin from continuing his evil ways, she couldn't hide the slight seed of doubt in her mind of her convictions to go through with her plans. She knew deep down that she could never willingly hurt Jin and at the same time, there would be no other way to stop him, other than by force. It was obvious that her confliction would inevitably affect the success of their mission, but she somehow hoped that if it came down to it, she could put her feelings aside and do what would be considered right for the greater good, otherwise, the effects could be disastrous for the world.

It was with this in mind that Lei-Fang wiped her tears and resolved herself to handling Jin one way or another. She only hoped that she would find the strength to follow through with this plan.

For the next several days, Xiaoyu and Panda have been competing in the tournament and doing well. The two of them combined were able to take down six competitors and were still high from victory.

Xiaoyu and Panda went out to celebrate along with Asuka for making it all the way to the semi-finals. The trio decided on a rousing night of karaoke with Asuka calling herself the "best of the best" at the diversion. They invited Lei-Fang to come along with them, but she politely declined. As happy as she was for her sister, she couldn't find it in her heart to celebrate when she hadn't yet achieved her goal.

Ever since her ill-fated meeting with Jin, Lei-Fang had found herself in a funk. Time was running out and it began to seem less likely that she could even get through to Jin. Besides herself and Xiaoyu, no one else seemed to care about the young leader's well-being. People were speculating more and more about that handsome bounty from G Corporation; they were willing to band together to bring down the Mishima Zaibatsu's owner. The more that she heard this kind of talk, the less Lei-Fang was willing to go out in public. So, she contented herself with her own company, drawing up fantastical plans on how to get through to Jin; at least it kept her mind going.

Lei-Fang began preparing for bed a little past midnight. Just as she was about to turn in for the night, her cell phone began to vibrate. Thinking that it was Xiaoyu, she grabbed it and was surprised to see a text from an unknown number.

"Meet me outside."

"Could it be…?" Lei-Fang thought aloud as she reviewed the phone number. She decided to risk texting the number back for confirmation purposes, but was disappointed to find that her text could not be delivered.

Curious, Lei-Fang rose out of bed and quickly dressed, throwing on a pair of shorts, a yellow tank top, and a pair of sneakers. She grabbed her phone and hotel key before heading out.

Once Lei-Fang stepped off of the elevator, she was greeted by the front desk receptionist. The young woman smiled and spoke to her brightly.

"Good evening, miss. I believe your friend is waiting for you right outside."

Lei-Fang nodded and murmured a quick thank you before heading towards the hotel entrance with a heightened awareness of her surroundings. Many thoughts were running through her head as she considered various different scenarios that could have led the unknown messenger to her. She began to imagine that someone had discovered her ties to Jin and had arranged to have her kidnapped or even worse, tortured until she would reveal some deep, dark secret of Jin's.

As she exited the building, she noticed a man who was leaning against a motorcycle with his head down and arms folded. The first attribute of his that caught her eye was his hair; there was no mistaking those bangs or that widow's peak.

"Jin…"

Although she had only whispered his name, he looked up and immediately locked eyes with her.

Despite her previous interaction with him, which had quickly devolved into a disaster, Lei-Fang still felt her heart flutter. A small part of her still maintained some semblance of hope.

"Here," he said, handing her a helmet.

She took it from him hesitantly and watched as he situated himself on the motorcycle. He looked up expectantly, waiting for her to join him.

Curiosity got the better of her and soon Lei-Fang found herself with her arms wrapped around his waist, as they weaved in and out of traffic along the freeway. She soon recognized the path he was taking and realized that they were going back to the Mishima mansion. She wanted to ask him the reason why, but between the revving of the motorcycle's engine and the sound of traffic, she would easily become drowned out. Instead, she was forced to wait for them to pull into the expansive property.

Upon reaching the Mishima residence, Jin drove up the narrow, gravel pathway towards the dojo, Hon Maru, which had been rebuilt following the explosion where Jack robots were sent to eliminate Heihachi. Once they arrived, Jin turned off the bike and the two hopped off. Lei-Fang pulled off her helmet, resting it on the bike's seat before turning to Jin questioningly.

Already several steps ahead of her, Jin simply said, "Spar with me."

The look in his eyes confused her, yet intrigued her. For the first time since this whole ordeal had started, Jin looked genuine, seemingly like his old self. The coldness in his eyes was replaced with a budding warmth burning within the brown orbs.

Lei-Fang nodded dumbly and her body seemed to switch to autopilot as she followed him into the dojo. As they reached the wooden doors to enter the dojo, Jin suddenly stopped and turned to face her.

"For a moment, I was afraid that you wouldn't come. Thank you for taking a risk with me tonight," he said, a small smile dancing across his lips.

With those words, he reached out for her hand while using the other to push open the heavy wooden doors for the dojo. They opened with a start to reveal a sprawling arena outfitted with several large torches for lighting. The fact that they were lit led Lei-Fang to believe that Jin had intentionally planned for this sparring session.

Their footsteps seemed much heavier due to the acoustics of the room as the pair made their way to the center of the dojo. Throughout this whole situation, Lei-Fang still had yet to even question him or say anything to him period. Part of her was so taken aback by this sudden change in attitude, while another part of her felt as if she would wake up from a dream if she were to speak; however, she knew that something needed to be said.

"Jin, why did you bring me here?" Her voice did not sound as nonchalant as she had hoped; then again, she was not as good as Jin when it came to hiding one's emotions.

Instead of responding right away, he let go of her hand and took several steps back from her. He adjusted his biking gloves before answering, "I needed the challenge."

He inclined his head, waiting for her to adopt her T'ai Chi Quan fighting stance while he raised his fists to his karate stance. They waited about a minute, sizing each other up before Jin went on the offensive, performing his signature Kazama Style 5 Hit Combo. Fortunately, Lei-Fang saw it coming and was easily able to block his moves, even managing to side step the last kick. She reached out to grab him, but he slipped away from her, instead opting to perform a Feint Kick Combo which caught her off guard.

"How soon we forget…" Jin said playfully, a trace of a smile on his lips.

Lei-Fang arched an eyebrow at him before retorting, "I've learned a few new moves myself."

With that, she launched into a combo, ending in a powerful blow in which she thrusts her fists into her opponent's chest, in effect, sending Jin rolling backwards.

Jin sat up, catching his breath before muttering, "You've gotten stronger. I guess I shouldn't have underestimated you."

"Too easy!" Lei-Fang beamed, giving him a false salute and giggling. She had to admit that sparring with Jin had always been fun. She never would have guessed that she would have found herself back here with him in a million years, but for the time being, she planned on taking advantage of the here and now.

Jin kicked up to his feet, not wasting anytime. He regained his stance and nodded at his wife.

"Alright, no more playing around. Let's do this."

The T'ai Chi Quan genius smiled and adopted her fighting stance. She waited for Jin to launch his next attack, circling her arms in a defensive stance. Testing her, he threw a couple jabs her way which she blocked effortlessly. He then poked her with a low kick, unexpectedly throwing her off balance. He followed up with a roundhouse kick which knocked her in the temple, causing her to fall hard on her hands.

Scrambling to her feet, Lei-Fang shook her head of her dizziness and eyed her husband. She took a step back before unleashing her own flurry of punches, ending with an elbow to the sternum. It was at this point that she tried grabbing him, but to no avail. Jin slipped from her grasp, sidestepping her attempted throw, and instead launched her into the air with his Double Lift Kicks. She quickly rolled away upon landing, just narrowly avoiding his heel drop. Lei-Fang stuck her leg out, trying to get him with a sweep kick which he easily jumped over. Anticipating that move, she quickly got up, knowing that he would be defenseless for a split second, and performed a front jump kick, pushing his head back.

Now it was Jin's turn to snap himself out of his disorientation, but before he could do so, he was once again greeted with his wife's fists. He managed to recover and he parried one of her blows before following up with a quick punch-kick combo. Not one to be outdone, Lei-Fang countered his attacks with a hold; she held his wrist as she kicked him in the gut before shoving him with an open palm. Jin was pushed back against the wall at this point, but he didn't let his disadvantage deter him. When Lei-Fang went to strike, he dodged it and went behind her, catching her in one of the worst ways that a fighter could. She struggled uselessly against him, knowing that his strength would easily overpower her.

He lifted her off her feet, turning his hip, as he slammed her into the hardwood floor. Lei-Fang attempted to get up from the fall, but she only sat there dizzily, continuously rubbing her head. She did not want to admit defeat, but it had become pretty obvious by this point that she would be unable to continue. Still, she pushed to her feet, wobbling, yet determined, and took her fighting stance. Jin stared at her, assessing the situation and realizing that she shouldn't continue at this point, but understanding her pride, he didn't tell her so. Instead he showed her by quickly performing a sweep kick that she should have seen coming, but of course connected because she was still slightly off balance.

"That's enough," Jin spoke softly, offering his hand to Lei-Fang who had fallen to the dojo floor. She hadn't fallen very hard from his final sweep kick, but she still graciously accepted his hand. He easily pulled her to her feet and led her over to a corner of the dojo where he had some towels and water bottles for them. He threw off his t-shirt which was drenched with sweat at this point and used the towel to wipe himself down. He gestured to Lei-Fang and she picked up her own water bottle and towel to dry off.

Exhausted from the heated matchup, Jin and Lei-Fang were resting against the dojo wall, breathing heavily. Neither of them had said a word although there was a hanging tension in the air. She glanced at Jin, hoping that he would be the first to address the odd situation before them. She watched the rise and the fall of his chest as he calmly breathed in and out, his eyes closed, shutting out the surrounding world. It was clear to her that his mind was elsewhere at the moment, possibly even forgetting that she was even there. The only sound between them was the crackling of the fire, emitting a light glow all around them.

Shuffling towards him, Lei-Fang was the first to break the silence.

"Jin, is everything ok? I know that I asked already, but I don't understand why you would randomly show up and bring me all the way here."

In reply, he slowly opened his eyes and turned to face her. There was something there that she couldn't quite read. Sadness? Regret? Remorse? Either way, it seemed uncharacteristic of him.

"Can I not want to spend time with my wife?" he answered quietly, "Do you really believe everything that the media has said about me? Do you think that I am that cold hearted?"

Lei-Fang struggled to answer his questions, but to no avail. The Jin before her was a complete 180 degree turn from the Jin she met during her previous visit to the Mishima mansion.

The young leader gulped down some more water before continuing, "Lei-Fang, things are not as they seem. Look for the big picture. Do you really think that I gain pleasure from killing innocent people?"

Now she was confused. This line of questioning seemed to go against everything that he had said to her during their conversation in his office.

"But, Jin, isn't that what you said?" she questioned hesitantly.

He hung his head low and shook his head slightly, letting out his breath that he had been holding in. He seemed disappointed in her answer.

Jin waited a moment before lifting his head up and facing her, "You only heard what you wanted to hear, Lei-Fang. I don't gain any sense of pleasure from doing what I have been doing."

"Then why continue? You can put an end to this anytime that you want to," she replied, leaning even more towards him until only a few inches separated their faces.

She waited for him to respond, in the meantime, desperately searching his eyes for any type of understanding. Lei-Fang knew that it was there, it was just a matter of reaching it.

"I know that, but I can't right now," he whispered, "I have my reasons."

"Jin, please, just let me in. If there is anything I can help you with, I will do it," Lei-Fang pleaded with him, her voice wavering.

It was at this point that he reached out to touch her, pushing a loose strand of her hair away from her face and cupping her chin to look up at him.

"I need you to stay alive and to be there for Toshiro," Jin spoke softly, "I will do everything in my power to protect the both of you, but I need you to stay out of the way. I need you to trust me unconditionally. Everything that I'm doing, I am doing for a reason. I can't tell you right now, but there will be a time and place for you to know the truth."

Jin stared intently at her, hoping that she would at least understand this simple request that he made.

When she didn't respond immediately, Jin was about to reiterate his point again when she calmly interrupted him.

"Jin, I love you."

It was the first time that either of them had even expressed that type of feeling to each other since they last saw one another in Yakushima.

He looked away from her, swallowing thickly as he ran a hand through his hair.

Seeing his odd reaction, Lei-Fang moved closer to him, placing a hand right on his lap.

"Jin?" she questioned.

Without even waiting for his response, she leaned in and brushed her lips lightly across his cheek. She lingered there for a moment, taking in the feeling of his warmth radiating from his body, the salty taste of his sweat from their vigorous sparring. She felt him react strongly with a sharp intake of breath and his body stiffening.

He had closed his eyes, trying his best to ignore the feelings that were rising up inside of him. How long has it been since he has felt Lei-Fang's gentle touch? He was convinced that after leaving Yakushima that he had locked away that part of himself; he thought that those feelings would become inaccessible because of the Devil Gene. The fact that he could even still recognize these tender feelings spoke volumes about his remaining humanity, but at this point, Jin saw love as a weakness, a hindrance to his ultimate plan. Yet, he couldn't deny that the feelings that she evoked inside of him weren't pleasant.

She inhaled, taking in his scent and feeling herself begin to crave more of him. She was sure that he felt it too as she noticed the hairs behind his neck standing up and his breathing seemed just a bit more labored as he struggled to maintain control of himself.

"Jin…" Lei-Fang whispered, her breath just tickling his ear.

Without really trying to, she had caused him to reach his breaking point.

He immediately turned towards her, crushing his lips against hers and cradling her head in his hands, holding her as closely to him as possible.

Lei-Fang returned the sentiment in kind, wrapping her arms around his neck and whimpering her pleasure.

The two became completely engrossed in one another, forgetting for a moment all of the problems and complications that they were facing. At least for this moment, the world was not falling into disarray, there wasn't a group of powerful fighters that wanted Jin's head on a stake, and Kazuya Mishima wasn't out there plotting his attack against the Mishima Zaibatsu. At this very moment, it was just Jin and Lei-Fang, just like how it use to be.

Now, it was with these pent up feelings for each other that Jin and Lei-Fang found themselves succumbing to their passions. The two consummated their love for each other under the flickering glow of the torches in Hon Maru and the near constant whistle of the wind and scratching of the trees outside the dojo.

Once their passions cooled, Lei-Fang snuggled closer to Jin, adjusting the blankets that he had brought out to make their activities more comfortable. She looked up at him with a smile on her face and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He turned to look at her, but for whatever reason, he didn't seem as pleased as she did. In fact, his eyes looked vacant.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, sitting up so she could more easily see him.

"Everything comes full circle," Jin whispered, looking Lei-Fang in the eyes. He had this look of dread that really confused her.

As she was about to question his words, the two suddenly heard a loud commotion outside of the dojo.

Jin was the first to react, throwing the sheets off of him and gruffly ordering Lei-Fang to get dressed. Startled, she quickly put her clothes back on and watched as he did so as well. He walked to the entrance of the dojo and pushed open the doors to see a group of security officers hurriedly giving commands to one another. Lei-Fang hung back a few steps behind him, unsure if she should allow herself to be seen.

"What's the meaning of this?" Jin asked, at once resuming his role as the leader and CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu conglomerate.

One of the guards approached Jin, bowing lowly before answering, "Sir, there seems to be a disturbance over on the northeast quadrant of the manor."

Jin sighed, "And what is the nature of this disturbance?"

The guard listened briefly into his headset before announcing, "It seems to be Lars Alexandersson and an unidentified pink haired girl. Shall we mobilize the Tekken Force to dispose of them?"

Jin smirked. He hadn't expected Lars to arrive until at least the next morning, but this would work out fine too.

"Yes, you may mobilize epsilon and gamma teams," Jin spoke evenly, "I believe that Lars may be trying to make his way to the main throne room so inform the team leaders of that."

"Yes, sir," the guard bowed lowly again before turning to leave and giving the order.

As the guard left, Lei-Fang approached Jin cautiously, "What's going on?"

He turned abruptly, for a moment forgetting that she was even present. "You can't be here anymore," he murmured, looking around for something. Before Lei-Fang could even question it, Jin had called over another guard.

"Please lock her up in one of the cells," Jin ordered, flicking his wrist in her direction.

Sensing that something was very wrong, Lei-Fang began to protest his decision. "Wait, Jin…. No! What are you doing?" she pleaded with him, struggling in the guard's grip, "You can't just lock me away!"

He turned to face her, his face once again devoid of all emotions and his eyes cold and calculating, "Don't make this any harder than it already is. If you cooperate, I promise that you will be safe."

She struggled some more, using extra force to overpower the guard and run into Jin, her hands grasping onto his chest and pulling on his t-shirt.

"Jin, let me help you, please! You don't have to go down this path. You've shown me that you're still capable of love. The last few hours that we spent together has proven that," she begged him.

When she felt his hand gently touch her back, she began to relax, thinking that she had finally convinced him of the error in his ways, but she made the mistake of letting her guard down and before she knew it, Jin had successfully karate chopped her in the back of the neck, rendering her unconscious. Her body slumped forward and Jin caught her easily. He signaled to the guard and handed her limp body to him wanting him to continue with his given task. The guard carefully took hold of her and left, leaving Jin in Hon Maru alone.

He walked over to the spread of blankets that were haphazardly strewn on the ground and shook his head. He allowed a moment of weakness to sneak up on him and he had inadvertently showed Lei-Fang a tender side that he had long forgotten. Now, more than ever, Jin would have to harden himself because the time was almost near and he couldn't afford any slip ups in his plan.

When he initially invited Lei-Fang to the dojo, he had actually done it under guile. Locking Lei-Fang away would help him with the objective since she won't be in danger and she won't tempt him from straying from his chosen path. He intended to keep her safely isolated in one of the cells beneath the dojo as his plans enter their final stage, but deep down, guilt got the better of him. Jin had always been a gentle soul and, despite repeated betrayals and the darkness of the Devil Gene tainting his being, he could never forget his mother's teachings. In some ways, he believed that Jun Kazama still guided his steps, and that possibly, she had a hand in his drive of ridding himself of the accursed gene.

He sighed in defeat, kicking the sheets away, "I said that I wouldn't allow you to take control of me. I promised myself that I would remain in control of my own destiny, but you knew. You knew the entire time and that's why you had this happen. I did not intend to fall prey to the same forces as mother and Kazuya, but you blindsided me. This unholy union should never have happened."

As tormented as he felt about succumbing to Lei-Fang, Jin held no ill will towards her. In fact, it was because he cared for her that he sent her away. He only hoped that in the end, this would prove to be the right thing to do.

After taking a moment of quiet reflection, Jin left the dojo in order to prepare for his inevitable meeting with the rebel leader, Lars. Once he finished dressing in his suit, he entered the throne room at the top of the compound to see that it was still relatively undisturbed; it appeared as if Lars had yet to make it to the elevator. As a precaution, Jin deployed the Mishima Zaibatsu's prototype robot, Nancy MI847J to stall Lars once he reached the elevator. Although the robot had yet to be involved in actual combat, it performed very well in the rigorous trials that the lead scientists put it through. Deep down, he knew that Lars would be able to defeat the robot, since he was more than familiar with the rebel leader's fighting prowess. At the end of it all, Nancy would only prove to be a nuisance, but would provide enough time for Jin to regain his composure and face Lars properly.

Jin sighed as he paced the floor, deep in thought. He didn't anticipate his feelings for Lei-Fang to bother him so much at such a critical point in time.

"If only I hadn't gone to her," he mumbled to himself, running his hands through his hair.

No matter how much he mulled it over, he couldn't even find a plausible excuse as to why he even went to her hotel that evening. He could have easily sent one of his men to ambush her; there was no reason for him to go there himself. Why had he given into a moment of weakness? Jin groaned in frustration.

"It was fated to be," he concluded softly.

As the words left his lips, he felt a slight flare of power rise inside of him; the Devil Gene made its presence known, confirming what he had said aloud. There was nothing else that could be done.

He soon received a notification that Lars and Alisa had defeated Nancy and were now on route to the throne room. Unconcerned, Jin took his seat and closed his eyes in quiet contemplation. Unbeknownst to everyone, he had a trump card which was now ready to be put in play. It turns out that Lars had walked directly into a trap, one that would cost him dearly. It was with this overwhelming sense of self-confidence that Jin faced the rebel leader reclaiming Alisa, Lars' trusted travel companion, as his personal bodyguard thereby reinstating her intended programming.