AN: NatsuXIII: I'll probably end up writing all of Kazuya's story, but this story will cover all the events leading up to the first Tekken. Then I'll simply make sequels—I can see this one being quite a bit of chapters (20ish).

/

Chapter 6: Kazuya's Misadventure

It was indeed an abandoned building; it also used to be a gym and numerous old sandbags hung from the ceiling. Kazuya would wake up at the crack of dawn each day in order to pound the living daylights out of each and every one of them. Just as his father had done for him, he practiced on various combinations—and he eventually began to branch off from what he had learned and created others that were all his own albeit heavily influenced from what he already knew. He never thought he was finished until his body stopped responding and he fell into an unconscious heap.

As for food problems, Devil thought of a simple solution—steal. Kazuya would steal food, clothes, and training equipment from the nearby town. He did this so often that he became quite an expert at it. When he wanted to clean his self, he would either fly all the way back to the river he had found before or use one of the bathrooms in town. Kazuya preferred to not make himself known in the town so he would more often than not tell Devil to take him back to the river.

There was also an orphanage that he kept getting more and more curious about each time he snuck into town at night. Each time Kazuya thought of it, Devil would dissuade him commenting that such a place would only serve as a hindrance to his true goal.

Kazuya developed a certain routine for himself—90 percent of it being training. He would wake up, wash off, eat, train until sundown, fall asleep (or unconscious), wake up hours later, eat, and fall back to sleep for the rest of the night. Sometimes he might skip the eating part in the morning and become extremely ravenous by nightfall. Sometimes he might skip the washing off part and become so disgusted with himself that he'd spend hours at the river. If there was one thing he made sure to have a supply of, it was soap and face towels.

One day, during the time he was training, he decided to try something new after his previous failure of finding any suitable weights in the local store—he was already lifting fifty pounds with ease. He found a climbable tree some distance away from the abandoned gym and made his way to the nearest thickest branch that he thought could hold his weight. From there, he began doing pull-ups—an activity that Heihachi had never once had Kazuya do, preferring instead to use weights. This way he'd be forced to lift up his entire weight, which seemed quite heavy after Kazuya tried pulling himself up a couple of times. It was also an excuse to be outside instead of being in the old, musty building. Kazuya found that he could not do many pull ups and this excited him. There lied a new challenge. So he came out every day afterwards.

This was also when his anonymity was finally breached. There in the trees, content to remain hidden, was a child from the orphanage. He wore large, dark-rimmed glasses and noticeably had no front teeth. Because he had speech problems, he would spend his days alone in the forest where others couldn't make fun of him. That was when he had come upon the strange youth who came out without fail to simply do pull ups. The child, named Benjamin, watched how the other struggled day after day on that branch even beyond the point of exhaustion. There was that intense determination in his eyes that warned Benjamin to keep his distance, but he couldn't help but watch.

It wasn't long until Benjamin discovered that he was some kind of fighter. He had followed Kazuya one day back to his abandoned building and spied through the glassless window Kazuya's obsession. Benjamin couldn't understand the other's devotion, but he found it to be intriguing. Of course, Benjamin was bound to get caught since he came out there every day and when that day came, Benjamin wished that he had simply stayed back at the orphanage with the familiar attack of insults.

Benjamin had made too much noise as he had tried to peer through the same window again to look on Kazuya's progress. When Kazuya had paused and turned towards him, he had fallen down in crippling fear. He should have run when he had the chance, but his legs would no longer work as he closed his eyes. Benjamin heard the crunch of approaching footsteps and whimpered despite himself. When it stopped, he had no idea what to do next. Kazuya said nothing for a long time which encouraged Benjamin to open his eyes—he wished he hadn't. There staring at him were deadpan eyes that hinted at the presence of something dark and sinister.

"You. Leave now," Kazuya said when he thought he had the other's attention.

"A-alright!" Benjamin squeaked as he scrambled to his feet.

"Wait," Kazuya said at once just as Benjamin was about to take off. He waited for the other to turn around, "Where do you come from?"

"Just…j-just an orphanage…it's n-near here, y-you know, and—

"Yes, I've heard of it," he interjected shutting down Benjamin's rambling. "What is it like?"

"L-like?"

"Yes."

"Well," Benjamin began with a shuffle of his feet, "I-it's, a-alright. Th-there's other kids to-to play with and there's f-food and…"

"Are there teachers?"

"Wh-what?"

"School. Is there some type of school?"

"Y-yes…there's school. I-I mean i-it's a joke—

"Do you learn things? Things that are essential to live in the real world."

"I-I don't know. I-I s-supose."

"You've been spying on me and so now you know where to find me. Tell anyone of my being here and I will destroy you, understand?"

Benjamin nodded. "Is it okay…if I-I asked y-your name?"

"No, it isn't and I don't care to learn yours. Never come back here."

"O-Okay. I-I'm l-leaving r-r-r-right now."

"Weakling," Kazuya muttered as the other ran off as if his life depended on it—maybe it did.

But Benjamin came back the next day quite early in the morning—at least he had courage even if it could be mistaken as stupidity.

"Hey! I d-decided to t-tell you m-my name! I-It's Benjamin!" he shouted through the entrance.

Kazuya had just been in the process of punching his first sandbag for the day when he heard the intruding voice. His eyes flashed towards the entrance. Then he made his way to the front of the building so that he wouldn't have to shout.

"Go away."

"B-but…y-you're a-all alone and—

Benjamin was unprepared for the shove that Kazuya dished out on him in an instant. He was knocked unceremoniously to the ground

"Ow!"

"Go away. I have no need for interruption."

It was as if they were locked in a staring contest when Benjamin found that he could do nothing more but look.

"You must be hard of hearing."

"S-sorry. I-I w-won't d-disturb you. I-I j-just want to w-watch."

"What for?"

"W-well, I-I th-think th-that's it's i-incredible wh-whatever it is y-you're doing…" Benjamin trailed at the end of his sentence when he noticed that the other was no longer paying attention.

In fact he turned and began walking away from him. Benjamin could hear him muttering to himself as if he was more interested in having a conversation with himself than an actual person.

"Um…h-hey…I-I d-don't know y-you're name."

Benjamin stood up and began to follow the other, but stopped in his tracks when Kazuya turned to him again.

"Why are you still here? You must have a death wish."

"I-I p-promise n-not t-to bother y-you."

"No! I don't want to do it!" he shouted out suddenly with clenched hands.

Benjamin was caught off guard by this. Not only was he confused, he began to back up from him slowly. He watched as one of his hands reached for his forehead as if in pain. Obviously he was from the look on his face and then Benjamin was certain when the other dropped to his knees. He noticed that the other's hand scrabbled at the ground so intently that his fingertips began to bleed.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Benjamin asked with concern.

"Just…go already," the other said hoarsely, "Why are you still here?" he demanded.

"N-no! I'm—I c-can't l-leave you like th-this."

"You idiot. Do you want to die so easily?"

Benjamin could no longer see the other's face as he continued to bow down with hunched shoulders, but when he looked up again, Benjamin was presented with glowering crimson eyes.

"Wh-what is this?"

"I'll kill you, nuisance. You know too much as it is," the other said in a voice that sent shivers down his back.

This time Benjamin did take off as Kazuya scrambled to his feet and give chase. He ran for dear life through the wooded area, but after a few moments of running he realized that he had lost him. He could, however, hear the other's shouts. At first he couldn't make them out, but when he crept closer…

"I didn't agree to this! What good would it be to kill him off! It's just…it's too much attention! There's only one thing I want to do!"

Benjamin jumped back when a loud boom thundered from above. Immediately afterwards the rain flooded down from the skies. Despite wanting to stay, he had to go back to the orphanage before the weather got too bad to even move in. He could no longer hear Kazuya's voice as the rain drowned out every other sound.

Kazuya sat down on bent knees on the now muddy ground and looked towards the firmament with closed eyes. His hair which was naturally pointed hung down in the heavy downfall. Devil's ranting had become strangely quiet and all he could do was breathe a sigh of relief. In any case, he was sure that he had scared off the nosy child so there was no point in debating whether he should be killed or not.

Visibility was virtually zero as Kazuya finally looked around himself. He thought of moving about in utter blindness, but found the folly in this. He would have to wait. And he waited for hours upon hours before the weather began to calm. At some point, when there was merely strong winds and reoccurring thunder and lightning, Kazuya made his way back.

He had no large towels and the building itself was soaked and windswept. The corners were the only parts that was halfway decent so he huddled up there. He couldn't stop the involuntary shivering as the wind continued to whip through. While he dried off quick enough because of it, he was also deathly cold. It was a wonder that he ever fell asleep.

/

The only thing Benjamin heard as he stood in front of the entrance the next day was sneezing and sniffling. The morning was bright and sunny in complete contrast to last night.

"Umm, h-hello! I-I'm here a-again!"

When Benjamin received no response even after a couple of minutes, he decided to step in. He went towards where he heard the sounds emitting which was in the nearest corner to the right. The other had taken off his shirt because it was soaking wet, but he had not been willing to part with his pants or shoes. He sat in a position that suggested exhaustion and boredom all at the same time.

"You again," Kazuya stated, but he didn't bother lifting his head to look towards him at the moment.

"A-are y-you alright?"

"After seeing what you saw yesterday, you want to ask me that? You still haven't told me—why are you here?"

"B-because, I-I thought y-you wanted s-some company."

"Let me make this clear: I do not need company."

"Y-yes y-you do. E-everyone does."

"I'm not everyone."

"Y-you're the o-only person wh-who will t-talk to me."

"That's kinda pathetic considering."

He sneezed then which was followed with the inevitable sniffling.

"I-I could b-bring you m-medicine."

Kazuya was quiet for a while before he answered. "From where?"

"F-from the n-nurse."

"I find it hard to believe that you can simply walk in and take medicine."

"O-of course n-not, I'd h-have to steal it."

"Forget it."

"B-but I-I'm willing."

"Fine, if you really can't resist."

"I-I'll get it t-tonight."

Kazuya stretched out with a yawn. "You're not going to simply leave, are you?" he asked lazily.

Benjamin shook his head no.

Now Kazuya was looking directly at the other, but Benjamin had to look away when he did this.

"Y-you s-still haven't t-told me your n-name."

"It's Kazuya," he said without hesitation. "I'm going to sleep now so even if you do decide to lounge around here, you won't be talking to anyone."

Kazuya sneezed once again and sniffled before dropping off in a rather short amount of time.

"Um…Ka-Kazuya? W-well, alright."

Benjamin stood up when he knew he would get nothing else out of him. Having nothing better to do, he walked around to check things out. This was the first time since he had first discovered this building two days ago that he could look around without feeling like he was intruding. Kazuya had, more or less, invited him in. He noticed that some of the punching bags were in bad condition. One of them seemed so demolished that Benjamin couldn't take his eyes off of it for a while—he wondered if this was the work of Kazuya; he hoped it wasn't. Then he noticed a cabinet that seemed in use because its door was actually closed. When he opened it, he took note of the food supply which was in it along with soap, clean rags, two folded shirts and an extra pair of sneakers and pants. There was two loaves of bread, can food, bottles of water, bananas, peaches, and plums—not exactly the kind of food one would eat if they were sick.

An idea came to his mind; maybe he could bring soup with him as well. From the looks of things, there weren't any dishes or silverware so he'd have to bring some. It would be a task and a half though, to not only find a plastic container to put soup into, but also steal a spoon along with it. He also had to find the medicine. He was in no way a good thief, but he had quite a bit of luck on his side and he had pity from the adults since they knew of Benjamin's mistreatment from other kids. Even if he got caught, he probably wouldn't get into much trouble.

Near the time when dinner was served in the evening, Benjamin decided it was time he left. He looked back on Kazuya who had put back on his shirt and curled into a ball while Benjamin had not been looking. It seemed that he would sleep the whole day away, but Benjamin supposed that that was a good thing. At least he wasn't one of those people who became so obsessive about something that they would slip into the realm of stupidity by ignoring the obstacles in their way.

Kazuya was left to himself for the time being and it was as if Benjamin's presence had been like a dream catcher. Not long after his departure, he began to dream of things that was of someone else's mind; Devil's mind. This was one of those times when Devil's experiences would spill over into Kazuya's knowledge—one of the many effects of "assimilation" so Devil called it. Of course there was nothing good to see there in his visions; Kazuya was forced to relive them. It was like watching an especially violent horror movie without the ability to hide under covers or close one's eyes. He couldn't open his eyes to break free of them for some reason they would not open. In the end, he simply stopped resisting and allowed the images to flash through his mind.

Such was happening when Benjamin finally returned with the medicine, plastic container filled with semi-hot soup, a spoon, and also the added benefit of a blanket. He was glad that he had thought of it at the last minute when he noticed the other shivering involuntarily. He was lying on his back by this time.

"H-Hey, Kazuya, I b-brought the m-medicine," Benjamin said while shaking the other to wakefulness.

"Just leave me alone awhile longer. I just want to sleep forever…"

Benjamin was alarmed at how weak his voice sounded, "I b-brought s-some soup. E-Eat some."

Kazuya hadn't so much as opened his eyes the entire time. Benjamin thought he might entice the other with the smell of food so he opened the top to the container and placed it near the other. Kazuya allowed one eye to open when his senses was flooded with the scent of food. It was then that he realized that he hadn't eaten anything all day—then again, he had not wanted to. But dying was not an option…

"Why are you being so nice?"

"L-Like I s-aid, it's n-not good to b-be alone. I c-could f-feed it—

"No way," Kazuya interrupted.

This time he really did make an effort to sit up if only to consume the soup. He had no taste buds at the moment so he was spared the horrid taste of it. There was something oddly familiar about the act of eating something when he wasn't remotely hungry, but he did not complain at all. When he was finished, he tossed the emptied container back to Benjamin who had not been prepared for it and he promptly went back to his previous position.

"H-Hey! Th-That wasn't v-very nice," Benjamin exclaimed, but his words fell on deaf ears. "W-Wait a m-minute, y-you still haven't t-taken your m-medicine. H-Hey!" Benjamin said shaking the other again to wakefulness.

"Leave me alone."

"B-But…th-the m-medicine."

Bemjamin suddenly felt Kazuya's eyes on him.

"Where?" Kazuya demanded.

Benjamin was already pouring it into a small cup. He then handed it to the other with the correct dosage. Soon Benjamin was being tossed the empty cup much to his annoyance, but he decided not to make a fuss about it this time. He stayed for a while longer until he was sure the other wouldn't wake up too easily. There was still that blanket and Benjamin sensed that Kazuya would protest to any further assistance. Luckily, Kazuya hadn't noticed anything or else he would have questioned what Benjamin had planned to do. He packed everything up into a plastic bag and then proceeded to unfolding the large, dry blanket. He held his breath as he then placed it over him. As soon as he could, he put a good distance between them just in case, but nothing drastic happened. He only did as he usually did when there were covers—he yawned and pulled them closer. Whether this was by pure instinct or some acceptance towards Benjamin was hard to tell, but he didn't want to press his luck. Benjamin left soon after back to the orphanage leaving also the medicine.

At least for the next few days, Benjamin continued to visit with soup until Kazuya began to regain his energy.

"I don't understand why someone who can fit into the normal world, want to waste so much of his time here with someone who is clearly disturbed and unappreciative."

"I-In case y-you h-haven't noticed, I-I have a sp-speech problem—the w-world doesn't a-accept that."

"Why you want to spend so much time on every other word is beyond me."

"I-It's c-called stuttering."

"It makes no difference to me," Kazuya replied nonchalantly, "I don't see the point in putting so much effort into saying stuff. Think of how much time you're wasting," he said with a grin.

"I-I can't h-help i-it!" Benjamin exclaimed.

"Right."

"I-It's true."

"I bet if someone put a gun to your head and told you the next time you stuttered, you'd be shot, you'd stop then."

"I g-guess I'd h-have to d-die."

Kazuya sneezed again when he said this, "You'd be surprised. With the right kind of motivation, you could find yourself doing things you never dreamed you could."

Benjamin wondered if the other was being overly optimistic, but that didn't seem to fit.

"Even things you shouldn't be doing or things you promised to never do," Kazuya continued with a darker tone.

"Kazuya…?"

"You sitting there saying 'you can't help it' or 'there's just no way you can change' is ridiculous."

Benjamin didn't like the agitated look on the other's face. "I-I was b-born like th-this."

"So? You think that means anything?" Kazuya said standing up after this

Benjamin looked up with a puzzled expression wondering what the other would do next.

"Let's try something new," Kazuya said advancing upon the other.

"Wh-What…? W-Wait!"

In a moment, Kazuya had lifted the other slightly in the air from his front collar with surprising ease. "The next time you even try to stutter, you'll get one punch each time—and by the way it looks, you'll be my punching bag."

Benjamin was too afraid to even talk and he feared what might happen if he did so.

"That's cheating, you know. You have to say something."

He shook his head no.

"Well then, it looks like you're not even going to give yourself a chance."

Before he knew it, he felt his stomach cave in under incredible pressure and he was released to fall on the floor in pain.

"K-Kazu—

Another strike went for his face before he could even finish the sentence. Then tears were pooling from his eyes.

"You think crying is going to change anything!" Kazuya said growing frustrated with the other's antics, "You coward. You want to go the rest of your life embarrassing yourself over and over again?"

Benjamin only began to cry louder.

"If you don't quit making all that noise," he began darkly, "I'll shut you up forever."

Then suddenly the only thing that could be heard was silence.

"That's better," Kazuya said with a half-smile on his face.

Benjamin failed to find anything amusing about the situation.

"Well, aren't you going to talk? You seemed to have so much to say to me before."

"I…" Benjamin gulped when he saw one of Kazuya's fists tighten, "don't…have…much to say."

"Now, how hard was that to do?"

"B-Bu—

This time Benjamin was struck on the other side of his face.

Benjamin held the side of face in pain as he looked back at Kazuya with watery eyes, "But…this…doesn't…prove anything."

"Oh? It doesn't? That was two sentences just now. Want to try for another?"

Benjamin shook his head no.

"Pansy. It's not as if I plan on killing you…yet."

"Yet?"

"Don't ask me that," Kazuya said in an accusing tone, "I gave you so many chances to leave and stay away that if I decided to get rid of you, your stupidity would be the one at fault."

"You talk as if…it's okay for you to…want to kill me, but…whenever I try to be nice…it's not alright."

"If you don't like it, you can just leave. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into."

"Just stop it…you can't…scare me off."

"I guess that sucks for you."

"Don't you know…we're both…in the same boat. We're both…outcasts. Nobody…would want to…talk to us."

"No we're different. You willingly make yourself awkward. All you would have to do is think before you say something like you're doing now and beat down the fools who think they can get away with making fun of you."

"I-I—

Benjamin felt a smashing impact onto the other side of his face once again and this time a tooth in the back was loosened.

"You just can't get enough, can you?" Kazuya said.

"Damn it, stop hitting me so hard! What's wrong with you?"

"Are you going to do something about it or is complaining the best you can do?"

Benjamin stood up then unsure of what he would do next. He had seen Kazuya beating the tar out of those punching bags and he could already lift up his own body weight. But wait, maybe he had a chance. It wasn't as if he was at a hundred percent right now. In fact even now he was still sneezing. He hadn't even moved into his usual fighting stance, a clue that he was not taking this seriously and that he certainly had his guard down. All Benjamin could think to do was run at him as fast as he could, but he ended up on the floor rather quickly with an aching back. Somehow he had completely missed his target and Kazuya had simply elbowed him in the back. He even scraped his knees on the hard wooden floor.

"Maybe you should learn how to pick your fights."

But Benjamin stood up again defiantly much to Kazuya's annoyance. He ran at him again, but Kazuya was already tiring of the whole thing so he simply struck hard on the pressure point on the back of his neck and sent Benjamin into an instant unconscious state.

"You brave fool," Kazuya said with a grin.

With this done, he returned to his spot in the corner as a heavy silence fell upon the building.

"You've been slacking," came the accusing voice of Devil in Kazuya's mind.

"No, I haven't. What good is training if you can't put your full effort into it?"

"You're making excuses. It's because of that boy. He's a nuisance."

"Devil, don't you realize…I owe him my life."

"You wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for him."

"Why don't you come out and say it?—you don't like it at all if I don't follow your rules."

"I don't have to admit anything if it's so obvious. You know what my goal is, boy. You think you have control now, but make no mistake this is not a mutual partnership. I rule supreme."

"You want him dead and he's still alive. Some ruling."

"It won't be this way forever. Even your thoughts will succumb to mine and slowly the goal that you strive so hard for will turn into something else."

"You're just an annoying little voice."

"I'm the one who's going to make you stronger. I'm the one who has given you the chance to destroy your father."

Kazuya was silent for a while. "That seems to be the only thing we agree on."

"Don't worry, you'll be agreeing on more things than just this."

"When it suits me, I suppose so."

"And what is all this about school? That's all you've been thinking about lately."

"You have no idea what it is to be human. I'm not going to go around being unable to read or write. I need to at least know that much."

"What for?"

"The fact that I need to explain it…" Kazuya said with gritted teeth.

"All you're going to do is continue to slack off."

"I'm not slacking. I'm not going to say it again. It doesn't matter if you agree or not—I know what I have to do."

/

AN: So why have I added this new character? Actually, I don't know, just thought it would be interesting. If anything I'll just use him to reveal more of Kazuya's personality at this point. Next chapter coming pretty soon.