Chapter 16: Lethargic

Kazuya was tired out of his mind. It had been another long weekend of training. This time Jun had not come so he had no excuse to slack off and he didn't. After so much work, trudging all the way up multiple flights of stairs just to get to his bedroom didn't seem at all appealing. On days like this instead of doing the usual, he would make use of the pool that Jinpachi had mentioned at dinner one night. Jinpachi never had any time for such recreational activities so Kazuya had the pool all to himself. Swimming came natural to him much to Kazuya's convenience. He had only used the pool once, but had always wanted to go back to it again. Now was a good excuse for it.

The pool was adjacent to the gym so he didn't have very far to travel before he got there. There must have been some one assigned with the task of maintaining the pool as it seemed quite pristine in the outside lights. Even when no one was watching, Kazuya was not willing to strip completely naked. He took off his sticky t-shirt and pants and slipped into the cool water with just his boxers. Lazily, he glided across the surface and completely submerged himself a few times. It was a nice change of pace from his rough, grueling training. In fact, it was rather refreshing. Kazuya submerged himself one last time before noticing that there was someone else standing on the edge of the pool near him. The water's surface broke as Kazuya came back up again. He pushed his hair back with his hands to get a better look at the intruder.

"You," Kazuya said darkly, "How long have you been standing there?"

To his surprise, it was Lee who stood there with his arms crossed. His expression was unreadable, but Kazuya was unconcerned about this.

"Not long."

"What do you want?"

"Well, aren't you a strange one. I'd think someone in your position would be a bit more surprised seeing as I had to break in to the backyard."

"I don't care. But now that you mention it, I'd like to know how you knew I would be here."

"Jun told me more or less. You're routine is far too predictable as far as I'm concerned. The way Jun is such an open person, anybody with half a brain could have figured it out. I heard some noise in the pool and went there instead of the gym. I hadn't counted on her not being around, but that can't be helped."

"Pretty resourceful. You must have something important to say."

"Nothing really. Like I said, I thought Jun would be here."

"Then you can just leave now."

"But, I don't want this entire trip to be for nothing. I came here to see if we can't be friends. We started off on the wrong foot. I didn't want to understand your point of view and you…probably don't like the fact that I'm just adopted."

"Aren't we enemies?"

"We don't have to be, you know. Whatever it is you have to do, I won't stand in your way. Last time…I was too emotional."

Kazuya looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What…brought all this on?"

"Does it really matter?" Lee said with a sigh, "I don't know about you, but I hate being alone. I thought that maybe I'd get used to it, but no, it sucks. Haven't you noticed that Jun spends all her time with you? I never see her anymore and she was basically the only one who would talk to me."

"Oh, I get it now," Kazuya said with a rather smug look on her face, "You didn't come here because you wanted to, but because you had no other choice. Pitiful."

"Sure, yes, make fun of my situation. That's all you're good for anyways. But I don't care anymore what you think of me. Just…let's pretend that we're friends, alright?"

"I'm no good at pretending and why would I suddenly want to help you of all people?"

"Well, wouldn't Jun like it if we made some type of effort in that department? I'm sure even you wouldn't be against making her happy."

"What are you trying to say?—that I actually care how she feels?"

Lee grimaced at the other as if the smell of rotten eggs had just wafted by. He hadn't counted on Kazuya actually admitting to such a thing—it certainly put a large gap in the logic he was going to use to convince Kazuya to at least tolerate him. Could someone be that cold? Could Jun be so wrong about him? Or maybe…

"Yes, I am," Lee said confidently. It was a complete and utter bluff, but Lee was running out of options.

To his surprise, Kazuya didn't answer back curtly. For a moment there, he was clearly lost in his own thoughts.

"Did you hear me?" Lee said trying to get the other's attention once again.

"No…that can't be true. I don't care about her at all."

Even Lee could hear the hesitation in his voice. It was then that Lee began to second guess all that he had believed Kazuya to be. Perhaps Jun knew more about the world than he did.

"Kazuya, now is your chance to do something right for a change. We could just pretend to be friends…not actual ones. It'll be easy."

"Tch, I can't. It's just not going to happen."

Lee blinked back twice when he said this. Did he care or did he not care? At that moment, it was no longer clear to him. "Why do you have to be so damn stubborn? I guess this trip really was a waste."

"I guess so," Kazuya retorted.

"I don't know what your problem is—but I'm already getting tired of it. You just have to be so unreasonable. Jun tells me you're a good person, but I don't see it at all."

"Jun needs to learn to shut her mouth about other people. She did this all on purpose," Kazuya said as he swam to the edge of the pool a few inches from Lee and climbed out. Now he stood in front of Lee dripping with water, "Listen, let me just clear this up. I don't want any friends. You can beg or try to reason with me all you like, but that will never change. I suggest that you drop this entire subject and, unless you have something else to talk about, leave."

"What is Jun to you anyway?" Lee asked.

"I don't know anymore and I'm tired of thinking about it. Seriously, you—

"Yes, I know. I should leave. You should get back to whatever it is you do at night. We should just forget about this entire conversation. Is that really how you plan on solving all problems in your life?" Lee said turning to leave, "Putting things on the backburner will only end up making you even more confused and frustrated."

Kazuya could only frown at the other as Lee made his way out of the backyard. Thinking about such complicated things like Jun and why she is the way she is or why he could never muster up the nerve to say that he did not want to see her anymore or what her true intentions are was exhausting and fruitless. He found himself yawning as he made his way in the mansion and to the nearest bathroom. He dried himself off and quickly slipped into his nightclothes upstairs. As soon as he leaped onto his bed, he was fast asleep.

/

"Oh, sleepyhead, time to wake up," came a calling voice from the housemaid that was fairly familiar with Kazuya's habits. This wasn't the first time that he had overslept.

"Leave me alone," he growled as he turned his head away from the bright, cheery voice of the maid.

He always seemed so peaceful when he was asleep—the maid was always hard-pressed to interrupt it, especially when she learned of how grouchy he could get. Then she realized that he was always grouchy…For that one moment of time, the maid could imagine that he was a perfect little angel worthy of her motherly affection. But only for that one small window of time. Other than that, she hated to even be around him.

"You've slept long enough, breakfast is already here and getting cold."

"What?"

The word 'breakfast' was the best way to get his attention. It was the maid's top secret weapon against him.

"The breakfast is here," the maid repeated.

She took off the top to the silver plate and revealed hot eggs, ham, bacon, grits, toast, and fruit. There was also a glass of cranberry juice. That was all the motivation he needed as the savory smell passed under his nose.

"By the way, Mr. Fushi will be here in about thirty minutes so you don't have very long to get ready."

The maid took her exit after saying all that was required of her. Kazuya practically inhaled all the food and then took a quick ten minute wash in the bathroom before making his way downstairs to meet up with his tutor with homework in hand. Mr. Fushi was already waiting in the usual room by the time Kazuya got there.

"Ah, Kazuya, you've come," Mr. Fushi said upon seeing him, "and not a moment too late. How has your morning been so far?"

Kazuya sat down at the table opposite of Mr. Fushi. "Fine," he said simply.

He brought his homework folder and classwork folder. Now, without Mr. Fushi having to request it, he took out the homework from last time and set it in front of the other.

"Well, I do hope you have a good rest of the day. I assume yesterday you were training in the gym all day."

Kazuya only looked at the other steadily.

"I can tell. You seem rather tired. Mondays have never been anyone's strong point I suppose and yours is no different. You did manage to do all the homework, but it's not a good idea to continue in this way. Part of growing stronger mentally and physically is making sure you get enough rest. Running on E all the time will only hinder you in the end."

"Didn't we come here to talk about multiplication and parts of a sentence?" Kazuya asked growing weary of Mr. Fushi's speeches.

"That is only part of the equation," Mr. Fushi said with a smile, "I'm here to make sure you do well in all parts of your life."

"Right, let's just get this over with," Kazuya said with no pretenses.

"As you wish. For today, however, I won't give you homework, but you must promise me that you will give yourself time to actually rest. I realize that I do give you a lot to do in a short amount of time. That coupled with your training must make things difficult. In the future, I will give you less homework."

"Fine."

"Do you promise me?"

"Yes."

"Let me hear the words."

Kazuya frowned at the other, "I promise."

"That's good. Now let us begin."

Mr. Fushi went on and on about multiplication and the order of operations. They didn't even get to English. Kazuya only half listened to Mr. Fushi. His voice eventually became terribly drab and boring. The struggle of keeping his eyes open seemed almost insurmountable today. Mondays were always like this—foggy and mostly forgettable. Doing homework from that day would always be a pain. Kazuya was glad when Mr. Fushi finally got to the part where he assigned homework and went on his way—this time there was no homework though.

"Now remember, Kazuya. You must get some rest. Do you have anything planned after this?"

"No, not really."

"Good. And we may have to review this tomorrow when you're actually listening. You're dismissed."

Kazuya gathered his two folders and left soundlessly. Usually, he would do his homework immediately and then head off to the gym. Despite actually feeling tired while in the presence of Mr. Fushi—he was wide awake at the mention of getting a chance to train. Kazuya looked back at the closed door to the room where Mr. Fushi was probably still gathering his things and sighed. Maybe he would follow his advice. It would be nice to have more energy to work with—he'd be able to get things done with less effort.

There was never anyone in the living room so he took the large couch that sat in front of the big flat screen TV. It took no time at all to drop off. He wondered, while he was still conscious enough to do so, how he could ever muster up enough strength to do an entire training session every day without falling apart from exhaustion.

/

He wasn't sure when he began hearing Jun's voice. It was little more than static in the background at first but soon he began to pay closer attention to it. Still it was far away and it could have been a dream, but he continued to hear it. He tried turning away from all the racket, but it did little to rectify the situation. There was no pillow to hide under so he found that he was out of options.

"Hey! I know you can hear me, mister!" Jun's voice said in her rare shrilly tone.

She had been trying to get him up for the past five minutes and he seemed especially stubborn today. Usually, he would have said something snarky, try to ignore her, and growing tired of the game would have simply gotten up. They hadn't even gotten past the first stage yet. The most she got out of him was an exasperated groan and a yawn. He actually just fell back to sleep again much to her dismay.

"I didn't realize you were this lazy! Don't you want to do anything today? I came home from school totally pumped to come hang out with you and this is what I get."

"Could you just go away?" Kazuya said finally while still turned from her on the couch, "Don't you have other friends?"

"Sure I do but—hey, you know I always hang out with you. This isn't anything new. Besides, without me where would you be?"

"Completely content."

"Right. You always say things like that. Are we gonna play or what?"

"I'm too tired for all that. It's like you run on an Energizer battery."

"You train everyday—you'd think you'd have more energy," Jun said in a pouty voice.

"Yeah, whatever," Kazuya said with a yawn.

"Hey, you're not going to sleep anymore. We have to do something—at least one thing today. Do that and I'll leave you alone."

Jun waited for him to respond, but he already sounded like he was asleep again.

"Are you even listening? Urg, fine. Guess I'll have to come back later."

Jun sat down in front of the couch with a sigh. Maybe it was for the best. She would often stay late at the mansion and keep him up all night. What exactly would he be doing before she came? There was the tutor and homework and that training he was always so insistent on doing. Jun listened, with a smile, to his soft snores. She thought of her parents. It sounded similar to this whenever she would sneak into their room and snuggle up between them. Then she found herself blushing when she thought of her first night with Kazuya after not seeing him for about a year. She wondered what had possessed her to do such a thing. Despite that, it was a pleasant experience and oddly comforting even with the lack of a pillow. Too bad he was hogging the couch all to himself.

She stood up after a few more minutes of idleness. There was always Lee, of course. When was the last time she had even so much as spoken to him?

"Oh gosh," Jun said to herself in realization.

Had she really just forgotten about him like that? He had told her that he didn't mind her visiting at all and she hadn't even done that in a long while. Now was a good chance. With no Kazuya to fool around with, he was a secondary option. She left Kazuya to his much needed rest and went in search of Lee. He wasn't too hard to find. He was in the same spot as usual after he came home from school.

There he was reading his textbook as if it was entertaining. He looked up towards her as soon as he felt her presence.

"Surprise, surprise," Lee said upon seeing her, "I was just about to go in," he continued with a yawn.

Jun watched as he slapped the book shut. "Not you too!" Jun said with frustration.

Lee looked at her with a confused expression, "Did I miss something?"

"You planning on sleeping the whole day away? That's boring."

"Of course not. Especially since you've decided to grace me with your presence. I would hate to leave you hanging."

"Oh," Jun said simply, "Good."

"What brings you here? I thought you'd forgotten about me."

"Um…no, I've just been busy," Jun said with a twinge of guilt.

"It's alright. Sometimes, things just happen. I'm surprised Kazuya isn't with you."

"Oh, well, he's a little busy too."

Lee laughed when she said this. "Busy, you say? Right. What does he do besides training?"

"Lots of stuff. But….I can't think of anything right now."

"Uh-huh," Lee said in an unbelieving voice, "Well, come with me, I have to put my book up."

Jun was given a tour of the massive property. The whole time she had visited Kazuya here, he hadn't done as much. It was an adventure. There was more than one gym much to Jun's surprise. There were recreational buildings where one could watch movies on a projector as if one was in the theater, videogame rooms that seemed wholly untouched, and board game rooms that were loaded with almost all the board games one could think of. The one place that Jun was really excited about was the inside pool. Upon asking Lee if he had ever used it, Lee answered that he didn't see the point of it if there was no one else to swim with. It certainly gave Jun more reason to visit.

"This place is amazing," Jun said when they were outside again in the main field.

"I guess it can be, but I find myself bored over half the time. I'm not really in to videogames and most board games require at least two people to play. Movies, well, I think I'm pretty much out of touch with entertainment."

"Well, maybe I can help you change that. I know what I'll do, I'll introduce you to my friends and maybe you could have a lot of people come over and play with you. How does that sound?"

"You would do that? Wouldn't that be a bit…intruding?"

"It's no problem. What are friends for?"

"It would be nice to have company every once in a while."

"Sure would. I can't wait for tomorrow. I'm sure my friends would be really excited about being able to visit a mansion like this.

And Lee was stoked as well. With Jun's assistance, Lee had finally made his first step towards becoming accepted by his peers. It would have a lasting effect.

/

Kazuya was wide awake in the late evening. He regretted not being able to entertain Jun, but he really hadn't felt like being interrupted at a time like that. As he stretched out and yawned, he realized that this was what he needed. All the energy that he thought he didn't have any more was back. It was too bad that Jun wasn't around to use his newfound burst of energy. He'd have to think of something to do on his own.

The television was quite inactive at the moment and Kazuya had no intentions of changing this fact. An idea came to his mind and he rushed up the three flights of stairs to his rooms. For once, Kazuya would use the stereo system that had been given to him. There was still the stack of CD's that Takahashi had picked out for him. He picked up the first one. On the cover was a picture of an elaborate jade brooch and a plain black background. The CD was called Jaguar Hard Pain and the name The Yellow Monkey was written across the top and bottom of the cover. Takahashi had taught Kazuya how to use the stereo system, so after ripping off the plastic from the case, he slipped in the CD and pressed play.

Kazuya found a comfortable position on his bed and let the music wash over him.

/

AN: You know, I'm glad I still have those who are following this story. It is because of this that I try my hardest to come out with another chapter as soon as I can. I have a general direction of where I would like this story to go, but I would really like your input. Maybe there's a Tekken character you would like to be incorporated into the plot somehow. Since this is supposed to be full of twists, anything goes—so long as it's a little plausible.