Chapter 12: Small Discoveries (Devil's Dormancy)

Jun was the first one to awake the next morning. When she looked over at Kazuya she decided that he was too deeply asleep to risk waking. It was then that she noticed that their positions had changed at some point in the night. Kazuya was laying on his back now and she had been using his stomach as a pillow. It probably hadn't been the softest "pillow" she had felt before. In fact, it was more hard than soft and marked by the firm ridges of his abdominal muscles. She found that he breathed easily now and that his heart was no longer racing. She noticed, as she carefully got up so as not to disturb him, that her headache was gone—it was as if it had never been there before.

She looked around his room for a moment. He really didn't have any belongings. There were a few shirts and pants in the closet and other necessary undergarments in the drawer, but there was nothing special. Nothing that is until she peered under his bed and found an untouched shoebox sitting there. Curious, she crawled under the bed to get a hold of it and pulled it forth. Sensing that this was probably personal, she stood up and looked over the bed at Kazuya to make sure he was still asleep. Satisfied, she proceeded to opening the glossy blue lid that had a large check engraved on the top of it. She was impressed with what she found inside of it. The tennis shoes looked rather expensive—she wondered how Kazuya had ever gotten his hands on something like that. She thought back to the shoes he normally wore and wondered why now he would suddenly take such an interest in buying these—he just wasn't concerned with that sort of thing. Then again, maybe they were a present from Jinpachi or something. That would explain why they were virtually untouched. Or maybe…it was something else altogether. Maybe it was a keepsake. Then suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up as she sensed that there was another presence behind her. She turned her head and found that it was Kazuya who had just woken, but had done so in the same silent manner that he did most other things.

"You're always looking at things you shouldn't," Kazuya said before she could open her mouth.

"You don't mind, do you?" Jun said innocently.

"I should be angry…but I'm not."

"What does that mean? If you're not angry, then that means you shouldn't be," Jun said simply as she put the top back on. "Anyways, it's really pretty, those shoes."

"A friend gave it to me as a parting gift."

"This friend wouldn't happen to be Becky, would it?" Jun took Kazuya's silence to be a "yes". "Well don't be stupid and throw it away, okay. They're really pretty."

"I wasn't planning on doing that," he said shaking his head once.

"You gonna' wear 'em?"

"No. Why would I do that?"

"To show your appreciation."

"The only thing you can do with shoes once you put them on is make them dirty. How is that 'showing appreciation'?"

"Oh, I get it," Jun said with a smile as she pushed the shoebox back under the bed, "That's really sweet."

"Aren't you late for something?" Kazuya questioned the other.

"Late…? You trying to get rid of me?"

"Don't you go to school or something?"

"Oh crap," Jun said in a completely alarmed voice, "I completely forgot about that. How did I just do that! My mom's gonna' be so upset if I miss school!"

Jun was suddenly in such a rush that a nice wind swept past Kazuya as she sped out of the room. Kazuya himself was a little astonished by her unexpected spurt of energy. He peered out of his room and saw that she was completely gone. Then he simply closed the door so he could retain the utter quietness from before.

He sat down on the carpet beside his bed and pulled the virtually untouched shoebox out once again. Jun had posed an interesting question. Shouldn't he wear them? Wasn't that why Becky had given it to him? But even as he asked them to himself, he knew the answer. Wearing them would be like admitting that he actually had felt something towards her—at least this was how he saw it in his mind. Of course, he hadn't the slightest inclination towards her and he had shown zero interest yet he found himself sitting there thinking along those lines. No, he wouldn't wear them, ever. He slid the box back under his bed. It was the only object left that was proof of Becky's existence. As for Benjamin, there was nothing. Kazuya wasn't really troubled by this fact, however. He knew that if he were alive, he'd live a much more fulfilling (not to mention less painful) life if it had nothing to do with him.

When he climbed back on to his bed and laid back on it, he wondered what he should be doing now. Jinpachi hadn't told him anything about the tutor yet—maybe finding one was harder than he had thought. With no tutor meant that he wasn't getting any closer to training.

"Devil?" Kazuya called out, but it never answered back. "I thought you'd have something to say about all of this." But Devil remained silent. "That's weird," he said to himself.

Kazuya remembered speaking to Devil the other day. Even then, it had sounded a bit worn out and it had mentioned that it didn't feel like talking any longer. Could that then be the reason? Kazuya doubted this though. When Devil was completely silent it often meant that something wasn't right. Kazuya wasn't really all that upset—whatever was wrong, he hoped that it would continue. Maybe he'd never have to hear from Devil ever again.

Then there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Kazuya said with a raised voice so it could reach past the door.

"Mr. Takahashi," the man said simply.

"I don't know you."

"I wouldn't expect you would. Jinpachi thought you might be bored today and he asked if I might see to it that you're not."

"You're some kind of babysitter?"

"Not at all. May I come in, Mr. Mishima?"

"Fine," Kazuya said finally after a long pause.

He sat up in his bed as he watched the man open the door for himself. The way he was dressed, the man reminded him of Mr. Hiroshi. Perhaps they were the same person. Mr. Takahashi seemed unperturbed by Kazuya's glare and gave the other a smile—one that put off Kazuya for a split second. Kazuya had tried this same glare out on a mob of idiotic kids not too long ago and they had been too scared to respond. Whoever this Mr. Takahashi guy was, he seemed surprisingly prepared for Kazuya's callousness.

"Would you like to go shopping?"

"Shopping?"

"I'm sure you'd like to buy something for yourself for a change," Mr. Takahashi said as he walked over to Kazuya's walk-in closet, "Perhaps some clothes and shoes. Maybe you'd like some music and a stereo system to play your music on, some posters for the wall. If you like, you could even buy a device that can access the internet—you could learn a lot from there. You might be into videogames—perhaps you could buy a game system. Or maybe you have other hobbies."

Kazuya didn't know why, but shopping seemed rather intriguing even if he didn't know half the things Mr. Takahashi was talking about. What exactly were posters and stereo systems or even the internet? Music would have been a lost cause if he had not been forced to sit through the kiddy songs that Ms. Ando would sometimes have the class sing—that was as far as his knowledge of music went.

Mr. Takahashi saw the look of puzzlement on Kazuya's face and shook his head. "As they say, the best way to learn is through experience. It's time you got acquainted with the real world," he said with another brimming smile. "What do you say? Do you want to do something other than nothing today?"

Mr. Takahashi made a valid point. "Alright…but I don't know where to do this shopping."

"No worries. That's why I'm here."

/

Kazuya had never been in a store so large. Mr. Takahashi referred to it as a mall. While Kazuya had gone with Takahashi to get the most practical things, clothes, he found himself perusing in stores that had nothing to do with that. Ironically, the first store that caught his eyes was the one with brightly colored toys. First of all, Kazuya wasn't certain what toys were so Takahashi had to explain this to him as well. Kazuya ended up buying nothing at all since none of the items could hold his interest for long. There were similar occurrences in a plethora of other stores. There were more toy stores as well and all of them seemed to have action figures in them (or Barbie dolls if it was a girly store) and Kazuya never understood the point of them even after Mr. Takahashi explained its significance.

"But they're obviously not real—it's just plastic."

"It might help if you actually knew some of these characters and have some reason to admire them or to simply collect them. Children your age don't simply buy them just to look at them on a desk—you pretend that they're real."

"Well, what happens when you pretend like it's real and it's not?"

Mr. Takahashi sighed exasperatedly, "It also takes some imagination which apparently you don't have. Perhaps an example might explain it better?" he said in a questioning tone as walked over to a set of action figures which were on display.

Mr. Takahashi suspected that the owner of the store wouldn't like the action figures being messed around with since this was more of a collector's store, but he wasn't too concerned about this fact since this probably wouldn't take long.

"See this person?" Mr. Takahashi asked as Kazuya came over to him, "His name is Tygra—I'll be him. He's a member of the ThunderCats, a warrior by default, a scientist, can turn himself invisible and uses a large bolo whip."

"He's a scientist?" Kazuya questioned, "He doesn't look like one."

"Oh? And what does a scientist look like?"

Kazuya shrugged, "I don't know, but he doesn't look like one."

"How many scientists are also part tiger?" Takahashi said with a grin, "Or Thunderian for that matter."

"Point taken," Kazuya said. He assumed "Thunderian" referred to the ThunderCat theme.

"Now, this is Lion-O," Takahashi said pointing to the ThunderCat with a sword beside him. "You can be him. He's known as the Lord of the ThunderCats. He uses the Sword of Omen, a Claw Shield, and a gauntlet that launches grappling lines from its claws and deflects rays."

"Lots of extra stuff. Isn't he a lion? Can't he use his own claws and teeth?"

"That's not the point. He's not any normal lion. He's supposed to be more civil than that. Besides, he's more like you than you think."

"I don't think I'd feel like lugging around a sword and two shields all the time."

"Not those things—his position. His father Claudus was the previous Lord of ThunderCats; Lion-O was destined to take his place by pure heredity. He also had to prove himself worthy through the Anointment Trials."

"I still don't see where you're going with this."

"What do you think Jinpachi is so busy with? Before you, there was no heir to the ownership of the Tekken Zaibatsu because he had wanted to keep ownership within his family. Just like Lion-O, you are destined to take his place through heredity. And similar to the Anointment Trials, your grandfather will probably want to see if you are worthy before ever asking you to take his place."

"Wait a minute, what about my father?"

"He knew instinctively that his own son was a poor choice. Anyone could plainly see that his son was spoiled and selfish and he has grown into a person who quite frankly has no one but his own interest at heart—that is not how any corporation can be run."

Kazuya thought about what Jun had said about his father on the first day they met:

"Can I come in?"

"No, I can't just let you in. I don't think…I'm allowed to."

"Really? Your dad says?"

"No, but, I mean, I'm sure he'd say no…"

"Alright, well, I don't want you to be in trouble."

"I'm sorry, but it would be dangerous. Don't come and visit. This time I answered the door—next time could be my father."

"Oh, I get it. Your father is evil."

She had said it so easily then as if people being evil was a common part of life—perhaps she knew more about the world than he did. At first, Kazuya might have defended his father, but now…

"Do you think…my father is evil and that's why Grandfather didn't see him as an heir?"

"Well, your father…"

"I don't really care what you say about him—you don't have to walk on eggshells."

Kazuya wondered where he had learned the phrase "walking on eggshells" and realized that his father had accused him of doing that on a few occasions. Back then, he hadn't known entirely what it meant, but now it made perfect sense and he supposed that that had been the case when he was in his father's presence.

"Are you sure?" Takahashi asked genuinely concerned about Kazuya's feelings

"Go for it."

"Your father wasn't even supposed to come up today—at least that is what your grandfather asked of me and yet I find myself on that very subject. I've worked with your father on many occasions…and yes, I can say that there is something truly evil about him if one is allowed to use that word to describe a person. He excels at making others feel like nothing and he punishes those who do not give him results."

"And what do you think of me?" Kazuya asked since they were on the subject. Ever since Devil had first introduced itself to him, Kazuya decided right then and there that he was evil and that he needed to isolate himself.

"What do you mean?"

"As in, do you think the same of me?"

Takahashi smiled at the other, "Of course not. Don't worry; you're not anything like your father. I would say a little rough around the edges, but that's to be expected."

"…Really?"

"Trust me, Kazuya, you're not 'evil' as you say. Now, I was in the middle of explaining something."

"Oh, right, Lion-O and Tygra. Are they enemies? Can we have them fight each other?"

"That's more like it—some imagination. Unfortunately, they're not enemies."

"Can they still fight anyways?"

"Alright fine, but first we must say a few words before jumping into a fight. I'll start," Takahashi said as he cleared his throat. "I've been your loyal follower for all these years and this is how it ends up?"

Kazuya was slightly confused about all of this, but he thought of something to say anyways—this subject was certainly down his alley. "Why'd you change your voice up like that?"

"I'm trying to be in character."

"Right," Kazuya said, but he knew he wasn't going to bother with that. "Here goes: "There's no need to be surprised—you should've seen this coming. Didn't you see the signs?"

"I never question your methods even if they might have seemed suspicious—I knew without a doubt that I could trust you."

"How wrong you were. I'd rather this be a quick affair—if that makes you feel any better."

"I see you really mean to do this. Is there no convincing you otherwise? Isn't there something I could do?"

"Begging makes you weak. There is nothing you can do."

"If that really is the case, then you leave me no choice."

Takahashi took the bolo whip that had been placed on the table beside the Tygra he was holding and placed it in one of the figure's rather small clutched hands. Kazuya couldn't help but snort at the ridiculousness of the whole thing especially when he had to do the same thing except that he had to put on a sword and a shield. It was easy to see what would happen next. It wasn't as if Takahashi could have made Tygra use the whip properly and Kazuya was stuck with a figure with immobile arms so their "battle" looked more like they were just trying to tackle each other.

"Obviously Lion-O is gonna' win because he's cheating."

"Cheating?"

"A sword against a whip…seriously? Why couldn't we use characters that just use their hands? Wouldn't that be fairer?"

"I see. I guess ThunderCats isn't for you. What about Dragon Ball Z? They always use their fists and they actually look human."

Takahashi had noticed that DBZ figures were next to ThunderCats and had pointed them out if for nothing more, but convenience.

"You're talking about those spikey hair people over there?" Kazuya said pointing. "I guess."

"So, now you see why people would buy them. Are you interested?"

"It's amusing, but it's not something I would want to do all that often."

"Alright, well, take as long as you like here."

Kazuya and Takahashi soon left the toy stores and went for something a little more practical like the electronic stores. They actually did buy a few things from there especially since kkTakahashi would go on and on about how "snazzy" it was or how "everyone else" had this or that. One of the main things that Takahashi convinced Kazuya to get was a stereo system after telling him what it was for. Of course, that meant that he would also have to buy some music—and Kazuya had no idea what he was getting himself into. If someone were to ask him what kind of music he liked, he mostly likely would have responded with a shrug. But not to worry, Takahashi to the rescue—he easily matched Kazuya's personality with music that he might actually enjoy. Kazuya ended up with at least two stacks of CDs all of which he had to listen to according to Takahashi.

Kazuya was only glad when they got to the part about clothes. The only things that Kazuya understood buying were clothes and food—anything else was considered extra. He did not, however, completely miss the fact that he was supposed to be splurging on shopping at the moment. Takahashi seemed far too ready to suggest something he should get. There were many clothing stores and they managed to go to all of them while getting at least ten outfits from each one of them.

But there was one particular kind of store that actually caught Kazuya's attention. When he saw it, it was Takahashi who had to follow behind Kazuya—it was, of course, the athletic footwear store. And he spent hours on end in that store making even the patient Takahashi a little irritated. Takahashi watched in interest as Kazuya studied every single shoe on the shelf before finally saying at the end, that he wanted all of them.

"Wait a minute, Kazuya, you're not serious, are you?"

"You'll probably never see me crack a joke. I want all of them."

"But some of them are not in your size."

"They're all in men's 8, aren't they? That's the size that I want."

"Those are way too big for—

"I'm not trying to wear them, Takahashi. I just want them."

"Oh, I get it now," Takahashi said with a knowing smile on his face. "So you do like collecting things…just not action figures."

Needless to say, this was perhaps the highlight of this entire affair. In fact, one might even go as far as to say that Kazuya was in a good mood. Imagine. The whole time, however, Kazuya was wary. His mind kept going back to the orphanage and what had occurred there. He didn't know much, but he knew that he was at fault for its destruction. There was a span of time which was completely unknown to him—he was missing the most pivotal events. He was almost certain that at that very time, Devil had taken full control. It was a chilling thought—one that he found himself dwelling on. If Devil could gain access so easily, how exactly was he ever going to stop its progress? What if the last time he had apparently suppressed Devil's control, was a fluke? What if he couldn't repeat the same phenomenon? Even as he traversed the length of the mall, these things were still on his mind.

He was only half-amused at Takahashi's attempt at humor or how he tried to explain to him things that the "world" already knew about. Kazuya took it for what it was—informative. He'd acknowledge that these things existed just so he wouldn't be completely ignorant in the same way he had taken the time to learn how to read and write. There were certain things that Kazuya knew that he could not simply avoid—not if he was ever going to get to where he was going without a lot of unnecessary headaches. Simple things like the internet, posters, and technology should be the least of his worries.

Kazuya didn't like thinking about the future, but sometimes when he least expected it he would ask himself what exactly was he planning to do after he killed his father? Would his journey be over and he would then simply perish? What would his life become after what had driven him for so long is no longer there?

The fact is Kazuya feared the unknown and he had reason to. He knew his future included Devil especially since he had made up his mind a while ago that there probably wasn't any way to get rid of it. Lately, though, things had been quiet. It had been awhile since he heard Devil's ramblings and it hadn't even so much as laughed. Things were a little bit too quiet. He had called its name out several times before, but there had been no response. In fact, Kazuya could hardly even feel its presence. As the day grew to a close after a lot of unpacking, hanging up clothes, arranging shoes, and hanging up posters (surprising…)—Devil's presence became less and less obvious.

"Devil?" Kazuya whispered to the darkness that now surrounded him—it was bedtime. He lay on his back flatly. "You're up to something, aren't you?"

Kazuya waited and waited and still there was no response. It was then that he began to doubt that Devil even existed within him.