Chapter 15: Kazuya's Trust

Jun never saw Lee or Kazuya in the same vicinity ever again. In fact, the more that she tried to get them to hang out together, the more effort and excuses they put into not doing it. At some point, Jun finally got the message. It just wasn't going to happen.

Lee knew the consequences of his actions. Since he could not stand to be around Kazuya, he was inevitably forcing Jun to choose who she wanted to spend her time with. It was no surprise at all when he found that his social life was virtually nothing. He hadn't realized that he had depended on her so much until she was absent from his life. He could go through an entire school day and not have spoken a single word to anybody. Jun would be surrounded by her friends and Lee would be sitting somewhere in the back either observing the classroom or pretending to be occupied. His eyes would pass over everyone in the class and he could see plainly that he did not belong. Jun had been his link to all the other students and now that link was severed. It hadn't been intentional, he supposed, but the consequences remained. He would come home to an empty house and begin his studying never to be disturbed by another living soul. He wanted to get interrupted. He wanted a too-cheery girl to come and ask him to play. But she hardly ever came over anymore. It was all because of Kazuya.

Kazuya's relatively uneventful life as of late had soon become busy. Now that he had a tutor, he would have homework to attend to and he worked diligently. The tutor, Mr. Fushi, was very impressed with him. Because of the pace that Kazuya was willing to learn at and all the time that he seemed to have, Mr. Fushi often gave Kazuya challenging homework that required a considerable amount of time to accomplish. Kazuya could spend hours on it only to be distracted by Jun. Almost every day she would come and visit him and Kazuya would never turn her down no matter what. Despite the difficulty of his work, he always enjoyed her company and because of her, he'd be up all night trying to finish everything. But this wasn't where it ended.

After a month of tutoring, Jinpachi deemed Kazuya fit for training. That meant that along with education, Jun, and too-hard homework, he would also have to find time for Jinpachi's training. Kazuya could only ever find time to do serious training on the weekends—that was when Kazuya even told Jun that he wouldn't be available. He would always plan to train the entire day until he dropped from exhaustion, but at night time Jun would be there and suddenly he'd tap into an energy store he didn't know he had and still want her company. Training had been the only thing Kazuya thought was worth his time and attention, but now it seemed that Jun shared the same position.

At first, Kazuya had been frightened of this fact not because he was against liking someone too much, but of what Devil might do about this. Devil wanted him to train without holding back—it would have a fit if it found that Kazuya's mind was elsewhere besides. What was scarier than what Kazuya thought Devil's reaction would be was that Devil had done nothing since the affair began. Devil was…nonexistent. While he was glad to wake up every day without sensing Devil's uncomfortable presence, it was nerve-wracking to continually be in the dark about its plans. Devil had made it clear to him on the day he first spoke to it consciously, that there was indeed a well thought out plan that he was not entirely privy to. Kazuya desperately wanted to know what would happen next. Before, he had not been quite so concerned, but there was Jun. If there was ever anyone who he wanted to protect, Jun would have been the most likely candidate.

Jun had managed to infiltrate even Kazuya's wall of solitude. No other child besides her would have the audacity (or courage) to do such a thing. Jun had had the benefit of meeting him when his true personality was more apparent. Jun knew despite his tendency to seem aloof and unreachable, he didn't really want to be alone. She knew that he wanted to interact with other people, but for some reason he staunchly would choose to do otherwise. She knew that he was prone to boredom and inactivity if he wasn't training or doing homework. All these things gave her the courage needed to overlook the not-so-friendly parts of him.

And Kazuya did not mind this at all. He never tried all that hard to dissuade her. In fact, he would make accommodations for her. It came to a point that Jun was hardly ever seen without Kazuya. Whether they were dating or not was hard to discern. Jun spent her time exclusively with Kazuya, but she would not say that they were together if asked and Lee had done so at some point only to receive an inconclusive answer. Kazuya only knew that on the days which Jun could not come, it would feel as if the entire day was a waste. Sometimes, though he would never admit it, she was the sole reason he would want to get out of bed and put any effort into living. His drive for training was still there just less intense. Some part of him wanted to destroy Heihachi, but another part of him had already grown bored with the idea of it. Jinpachi's upbringing was already beginning to take effect.

Jinpachi was probably around less than his father had been, but Kazuya had never experienced an adult who actually wanted to spend time with him. They'd have to plan whenever something like that could happen, but the fact that he was willing to put forth so much effort for such a small thing as spending time resonated with Kazuya. Kazuya, though he respected adults especially those that were far stronger than him, had been far too mentally exhausted to want to relearn the benefits of trusting another person. In truth, he didn't even trust Jun—he only enjoyed her presence. Despite this and despite the fact that Jinpachi knew that he had a long road ahead of him if he wanted to gain Kazuya's trust if only a little, Jinpachi tried anyway. At first, Kazuya had been completely oblivious to anything Jinpachi was trying to convey, but dinner was a meal that came every day. Even someone as disregarding as Kazuya couldn't completely ignore his grandfather's efforts. Kazuya hadn't considered this fact, being so young and not old enough to think along those lines consciously, but the truth was the person who he had trusted without question had betrayed him in the worst way possible and now it seemed too tiring and risky to want to do that all over again. In Kazuya's mind, whether he knew it or not, not trusting anyone would remove him from having to worry about betrayal.

Yet Kazuya found himself doing the very thing that by all accounts he should be incapable of doing.

"So, Kazuya, how was your day?" Jinpachi asked Kazuya at dinner one day.

It was a question that Jinpachi would never fail to ask. While in the past, Kazuya might have given him a thoughtless response, things were different now.

"It's not as if it was different from yesterday. The same old, same old. Homework, training, Jun."

"Ah, I see. Well, is it too boring for you? Maybe you could change things up a little."

"No…I like it the way it is."

Jinpachi suspected that Kazuya didn't mind monotony. In fact, it was something that he needed. It required less thinking and less risk. Monotony was synonymous with structure as far as Kazuya was concerned. There were already too many things that he was uncertain about and questions that had no answers to want anything besides structure. It might have been boring if the activities that he had dedicated himself to weren't absolutely necessary.

"If that's how you want it, then I'll try my best to make it so it can stay like that for as long as I can. Well, I assume your training is going well then?"

"Why don't you fight me some time and find out?" Kazuya said with a brief grin before he returned to his plate with a fork and knife.

"I guess I haven't done that in a while. I hope that Jun isn't too much of a distraction."

"Like I said, it's fine the way it is."

Jinpachi allowed Kazuya far more leeway than he did anyone else. Kazuya could be quite rude even if he wasn't trying, but Jinpachi pretended not to hear it. The last thing Jinpachi ever wanted to do to Kazuya was needlessly remind him about manners—at least for the time being while he was still trying to gain Kazuya's acceptance. Jinpachi was acutely aware that Kazuya tended to hate someone instead of giving a person the benefit of the doubt. It was as if Kazuya would try to pinpoint some flaw in a person and use it as an excuse to dislike that person. Jinpachi could sense Kazuya trying to find that flaw now, but Jinpachi would never give Kazuya any real reason to disregard him. Jinpachi was certain that once he could prove that there was no reason to dislike him that Kazuya could finally move to that next step of trusting him—it was a long shot.

"I think I'll be free this weekend. You say you've improved so much—I'll just have to see."

"Don't worry, you won't be disappointed."

"Kazuya, I think it's impossible for you to disappoint me."

"Tch, you always say things like that."

"Like what?" Jinpachi asked casually.

"Never mind," Kazuya said with a frown.

Yes, it was a long shot, but it was doable.

/

Jinpachi was there at the gym bright and early, but Kazuya had been there sooner already beating the tar out of an unfortunate punching bag. Kazuya had been so intent at this that Jinpachi had a bit of trouble drawing his attention. It was strange to see such an intense look on someone so young. He knew that Kazuya was quite serious about training. To think that initially Jinpachi had thought it possible to pull Kazuya away from training because of the memories it must have conjured with his father; it seemed ridiculous now. Training and Kazuya went hand in hand.

"You're late," Kazuya said when he first noticed Jinpachi's presence.

Jinpachi suspected that the other must have gotten pleasure from saying such a thing, but he didn't mind.

"I didn't realize you were such a stickler for punctuality. In any case, I'd say I've made good time. You have all day to convince me that you've improved. Don't worry you can take your time if you're not ready at this point."

"There's no need to wait," Kazuya said simply.

It was always like this. Whenever Jinpachi dropped by, Kazuya would want to fight him immediately. Jinpachi had never watched the other train before, but he could only imagine the intenseness of it.

There was a large empty space in the middle of the gym and that was where they would face off against each other. Kazuya stepped into this area at this very point and Jinpachi did the same. The only thing Jinpachi would be looking for was if Kazuya's skill had improved—his technique was already there. The best way to improve skill really was to gain experience. What they were doing now was extremely vital to Kazuya's training.

And so the spar began. It began with Jinpachi blocking all of Kazuya's advances at him and then Jinpachi began to evade as he caught on to Kazuya's apparent rhythm. This wasn't so different from what had occurred previously. Kazuya had never once gotten a good hit at Jinpachi. However, that wasn't the point at the moment. Yet Kazuya was consciously trying to break the other's guard. Jinpachi could practically sense the frustration reverberating from him as the spar continued. His attacks became far more fervent even desperate, but then midway into the spar Jinpachi was introduced to something that he wasn't used to seeing in Kazuya—a barrage of combinations that continued on for almost a minute. His attacks were constant and instantaneous to the point that Jinpachi had to rely more on blocking than evasion and even blocking was becoming more and more impossible. Jinpachi could sense the other's excitement growing as if he could tell that somehow he was drawing closer and closer to that point of breaking the other's guard.

Then it happened. Jinpachi was pushed back a few inches, but it was enough for Kazuya. You give an inch and he'll take a mile. Kazuya saw an opening and took it. Jinpachi knew he was in trouble once his guard was infiltrated. He remembered that punching bag that Kazuya had been trashing that morning—he was that punching bag now. There was that continuous string of attacks once again and Jinpachi found it impossible to bring his guard back up again. While Jinpachi had told himself that he would abstain from actually attacking Kazuya because he felt that it might be too much for Kazuya to handle, it was the only option left. Kazuya was not letting up at all. Kazuya's attacks weren't so strong as to render the other incapable of counterattacking which Jinpachi did at that moment. He compromised Kazuya's footing by utilizing a slide kick on the floor and then punching him square in the stomach. This one maneuver sent Kazuya flying further than Jinpachi had anticipated. He was only stopped by the wall itself as his entire backside collided with it. Jinpachi was already rushing over in amazement—it really had been a long time since he formerly fought someone and he certainly had no experience with fighting with small boys; not since Heihachi decades ago.

"Kazuya! I'm sorry, are you alright?"

But Kazuya was already climbing back to his feet. In fact, there was a bit of a smile on his face as he used the side of his hand to wipe away the blood from his mouth.

"That was perfect. You had no choice, didn't you? That's all I wanted from you today. It means that I'm that much closer to fighting on equal terms with you. To receive even a measly punch from you…is an honor."

"You really have improved, baiting me like you did. I'm sorry, this time I put a little too much force behind that attack—a person your size would probably not bounce back so quickly from that. Since you really want me to fight back, I won't be so rough next time. How does that sound?"

"No. I don't want you to hold back. I need to see where I stand. And so…"

"And so?" Jinpachi asked since the other had awkwardly paused on an unfinished thought.

"And so—well, now I'm dizzy…"

Jinpachi was caught off guard when Kazuya crumbled to the ground in a sudden bout of unconsciousness. When he saw no further movement from Kazuya, Jinpachi lifted him up into his arms.

"I'll have to hold back—at least for now. I know that you must be used to pain, but children aren't meant to go through that."

Jinpachi was in the process of carrying Kazuya back to his room when he was stopped by a small voice. Jun had let herself in at that moment—it was about the time she normally interrupted Kazuya's training. This time, however, was a different story. Jinpachi turned to her.

"Ah, Jun, did you come to see Kazuya? You should come back tomorrow."

Jun only saw a motionless Kazuya in his arms and that was all she was concentrated on, "What happened?" Jun asked frantically, "Is he okay?"

"No, no he's fine—

"Can I come with you? I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I stayed."

"I'm sure he wouldn't," Jinpachi said thinking better of dismissing Jun altogether, "Come with me."

And so Jun followed Jinpachi up multiple sets of stairs to Kazuya's room. After Jinpachi placed the child into the bed, he soon took his exit. With Jun there to watch him, Jinpachi didn't actually need to be there. He told Jun that if his condition changed, that he'd be in the living room waiting for him. He was more than certain that Kazuya would snap out of it eventually.

Jun waited for what felt like hours before Kazuya so much as moved and she had almost fallen asleep along with him. By that time, she had already bitten off all of her fingernails as she had grown more and more anxious.

"Kazuya!" Jun cried out excitedly much to Kazuya's utter surprise.

"Jun? You're here? What happened? Where's Grandfather?"

He had already sat up in his bed and now he was looking towards the source of Jun's voice.

"Oh, sorry. I guess you're a little confused. I don't know what happened, but you were sparring with Jinpachi I think and he brought you here and I kept a look out. He said he'd be in the living room."

"Alright," Kazuya said promptly climbing off the rather large bed.

"Hey, you're not gonna' go now, are you? You just recovered. Shouldn't you wait?"

"Jun, it's not everyday Grandfather comes to train me personally—I don't plan on wasting a minute of it."

"Well, I'll come with you."

"If you insist. But it's not like you'll be able to do anything—it'll be boring. Maybe you should just—"

"No," Jun said defiantly.

"Fine. Suit yourself."

"Kazuya…" Jun began when he reached the entrance to the room, "Why do you have to do this?"

"What are you going on about now?" Kazuya asked almost exasperatedly. His back was still turned to her.

"Do you have to train so much?"

"I thought I went over this with you. I have to do this no matter what."

"But why?"

"You know why."

"But it doesn't make sense. Heihachi isn't going to hurt you anymore. Isn't it enough? How it is now?"

"Of course you don't understand," Kazuya said finally just as he marched off down the hall.

Jun ran after him. "Well I would if you would actually explain yourself. I mean, what did he do so bad that you have to get payback? Can't you just forgive him? I know it's hard, but—

"No. That's not going to happen. Let's just drop it already."

"Fine," Jun said with a sigh. She didn't want to risk Kazuya receding back into his protective shell once again. She'd just have to make do.

The two of them walked side by side down the hall and a number of steps before they made it to the living room where Jinpachi sat watching television. When he sensed the two children coming in, he switched it off.

"That was quite a quick recovery," Jinpachi commented upon seeing him.

"You said you wanted to hold back next time. I don't want you to do that."

"Do you have a death wish, kid? You saw what happened this time and I was trying to ease the force of impact."

"You're saying…you weren't at full strength?"

Jinpachi could clearly see the shock on his face. "No, I wasn't. There was something I wanted to tell you, Kazuya. You have improved volumes as a fighter and so has your strength. I can tell you work very hard at this. I talked to your tutor and he tells me that every day you come in; he knows that you put in genuine effort. Teaching someone who wants to learn has been far more rewarding to Mr. Fushi than anything else. And, Kazuya, I'm glad that you've managed to make a friend. I'm not sure if anyone has ever told you this before, but you are someone to be proud of." Then he placed a large hand on the crown of his head, "And I am very proud of you."

Kazuya didn't know what to think as he looked up at the other. What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to do? He had never seen such a look in Jinpachi's eyes—in fact, he had never seen such a look in any adult's eyes before. Before he knew what was happening, Kazuya found himself blushing and looked towards the floor.

"Um…I don't…know what to say…"

"Thanks would suffice."

"…Thanks," Kazuya said in a quieter voice than usual. He found that his ears were burning completely red.

There was something that Kazuya had wanted to ask Jinpachi, but it had completely slipped his mind. In fact, now he was at a total loss of words.

"Let's celebrate," Jinpachi said, "I know of a restaurant that I always wanted to take you to. And Jun," he said looking towards her, "You can come too if it's alright with your parents."

"I'm sure my mom'll let me," Jun said with a smile.

"Kazuya? What do you say?"

"Okay," he responded at a near whisper.

Jun couldn't believe it; she had never seen Kazuya in such a state. Blushing just wasn't one of his pastimes, neither was shyness. His eyes seemed trained on the floor. It was as if the more, they congratulated him, the more reserved he became. By the time they actually made it to the before mentioned restaurant, Kazuya was quite demure. They had all changed into more casual clothes before they set out. It was the first time Jun had seen Kazuya in anything besides his usual training outfits. Now he wore jeans and a striped purple collared shirt.

"So, Kazuya, what would you like to order?" Jinpachi asked.

Kazuya had been staring at the menu for the longest time flipping through everything at least twice. "I can get anything?" Kazuya asked quietly.

"Anything you want. You are the entire reason we came here in the first place," Jinpachi reminded him with a smile.

"Okay…well, I want…"

Kazuya wounded up ordering something quite inexpensive. It was only when both Jun and Jinpachi prodded him that he also ordered something far more expensive. Kazuya was not afraid to eat, however. He had a pretty healthy appetite perhaps even as robust as Jinpachi's, but not quite.

"Wow, this food is great!" Jun said cheerfully, "I don't think I'd ever come to this place otherwise."

"I come here often with my coworkers," Jinpachi replied, "I knew that at some point I had to take Kazuya. It's a pleasure to have you here as well."

"Um, sorry, but I have to use the bathroom."

Kazuya quickly got up from the table and nearly ran for the restrooms. Jinpachi and Jun were left looking at each other with raised eyebrow.

"Gee, I would hate to celebrate his birthday if it's gonna' be like this," Jun said shaking her head.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Maybe by then, he'll be used to this sort of thing."

"It's sad really…" Jun began as she cut another piece of her pork chop, "It was like…no one had ever done that before to him."

"Well, there's a first time for everything. But it's just as I suspected. Jun, the one thing I plan to do even if it'll take a long time is gain his trust."

"Good luck with that. I can't ever tell what he's thinking—I wouldn't know where to start."

"I don't either, but I'm willing to try."

"Mr. Mishima…I'm really glad, you're his guardian."

"I'm glad as well. My only regret is not doing something sooner after his mother died."

/

AN: I know you guys are used to faster updates, but that won't be happening as often. Especially since my Fall classes has started up. Hope to see you soon. Oh, yeah, reviews. Thanks wind scarlett for your constructive reviews, Natsu & Alexetjun for your enthusiasm, CCM, AniDenDav, & KazuyaLoverProduction for finding my ideas interesting/cute, Sara Jones and many others for reminding me to put some more Jun/Kazuya in the story. All of you motivate me to keep writing.