AN: Just in case you didn't read in the last chapter, I've moved what used to be Chapter 18 to the Chapter 20 slot. I've added two new chapters, this one being the second of them. Also I tweaked Chapter 20 just a little.

Chapter 19: An Outing

The one thing that Kazuya feared the most was the future yet he found his mind wandering to that very topic with increasing regularity. It was as if the older he got and the closer the "future" became, the more he began to wonder. He knew it was no use worrying himself to death about it, but he already knew that one thing was going to happen no matter how he tried to cut it. Unless he could find a way to rid himself of Devil, then basically his future was set in a stone perfectly sculpted by his once savior. In a way, Kazuya saw that his life belonged to Devil and that there should be some kind of repayment, but what would be the use of saving someone if all one would do is take that very person's life?

There was no use in thinking. He could only let things run their course whatever that may be. The loud music that was playing in the background helped him to clear his mind. All he heard was the words and he concentrated only on them. The lead singer's voice in Nightmare was always quite intriguing to Kazuya. He could listen to it all day and never tire of it. His listening time, however, was cut short when he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Kazuya shouted over the music.

Kazuya was surprised, pleasantly surprised, when he saw that it was Jimpachi. He sat up in bed immediately and used the small remote to turn off the stereo completely.

"Grandfather, I didn't expect to see you at this hour."

"Well, even heads of corporations have their days off."

"It must be hard working all the time around the clock."

"You would know, wouldn't you? The maids tell me that when you're not working on your homework, you're in that gym. Perseverance like that is hard to come by. I'm glad that you've decided to take a little break today."

"Yeah, well, I was lazy and didn't feel like doing anything requiring energy today. Besides, Jun tells me she might come over today."

"That cellphone that I gave you—I can only guess how many numbers you have on it. Two, right?"

"Actually three. Jun, insisted on giving me Lee's number. Not that I'll ever call it."

"I'll never understand why you hate that boy so much, but so be it. I actually came here for a specific reason, Kazuya. I thought it was time you knew what happened to your mother."

"I know what happened to her."

"Oh, you do, huh."

"She died in a fire."

"You think that's all there is to it?" Jinpachi asked as he stepped in and closed the door behind him.

"Ultimately."

"Do you want to know how that fire started?"

Kazuya sighed, "Are you trying to tell me that there was some foul play at work? I don't really care…it won't bring her back anyhow."

"That's really good to hear. I'm glad that you were able to move past that, but perhaps subconsciously you still wonder. Something doesn't sit right with you with the whole thing and every time her anniversary comes, you go back to those same thoughts."

"It's not like that…"

"Well now, how do you think you got to your bed last night? The wind? Now something must have been bothering you."

Not knowing was perhaps a third of what was really bothering Kazuya last night, but he couldn't tell Jinpachi that. It would open up an entire new can of worms and he could tell that Jinpachi would be more than happy to discuss that as well. No matter how much he trusted Jinpachi, he wasn't going to saddle him with the bane of his existence known as Devil. Jinpachi wanted an answer, Kazuya knew. Jinpachi wouldn't be happy until he knew or thought he knew what had concerned Kazuya so much yesterday. Most people his age would have thought it was annoying or nosy, but Kazuya didn't feel that way. He was more glad than anything else. Even more he felt obligated. Kazuya didn't know too many people who would be willing or even care to hear his thoughts on things. He kept things to himself because he felt that no one would care to hear them, but here was a person specifically asking for them, totally interested in what he had to say. It was a nice change of pace. Was Jinpachi cutting into his most private thoughts? No, they were no longer private when there was someone willing to listen.

"You're right," Kazuya said finally, "I always wondered if there was more to that story. I don't really understand what happened that night. Just that there was a fire."

"The fire started when you were in the house. Your mother was cooking something on the stove—a task that someone in her condition should not have been doing."

"What was her condition?"

"She was paralyzed from her waist down. According to her parents, she was born that way and had adapted to it."

"Why was she cooking then?"

"Well it was midday, right around the time that lunch should be made."

"For me, right? She was cooking because she wanted to have something ready after I woke up."

"Look, if you're trying to make this your fault—

"No, I'm not," he said with a frown.

Jinpachi looked at the other closely, but then continued. "She fainted from exhaustion—at least that is the most logical explanation for why the next part happened. Her sleeves caught on fire because it was too close to the eye. She was wearing a shirt that was 100% cotton—a very flammable material. Slowly, the entire house became consumed by the flames since there was no one to stop it. Your father was nowhere to be seen until the last moment. He came in and rescued you. That was how you survived."

Kazuya didn't even want to imagine what his mother looked like moments before the fire overtook her. If she fainted and her sleeves were close enough to catch on fire, where had her head been placed? Had it melted as well? He closed his eyes and looked away from his grandfather as an image he would have rather not seen flashed through his mind.

"I'm sorry if I—

Kazuya shook his head, "There's no need for apologies. I understand now. My father had something to do with her death. Why would a caring husband leave his invalid wife with his son all alone? Why had there been no one else in the house? Where were the maids? Heihachi's timing was a little too convenient. Am I right?"

"Yes," Jinpachi said with a nod, "That's it exactly. Your father had given the maids a day off that day; it was a holiday for them. Of course, conveniently, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary since he had a tradition of doing such things once a month and your mother knew about it. She had cooked before on her own and nothing bad had happened…"

"It was all…a happy coincidence for my father. I wonder if he even planned on that happening."

"Probably not, but he was not so much upset about her death than about how the relations with her family would be strained. Even you knew that your father wasn't the least bit affected by her death without really knowing it."

"I didn't know anything," Kazuya said in retrospect, "I trusted him the entire time. I knew him to be my father so I respected him. I did exactly as he told me to the best of my ability. But all of that is past tense. Is that all you came to talk to me about?"

"Yes, that was all. Since it's still early, why don't we go grab some breakfast?"

"Grab some breakfast? Shouldn't you be at work already?"

"Remember, today I'm off."

"Right. It still hasn't fully sunken in."

"So do you have any place in particular in mind?"

"No, not really."

"I know I haven't taken you out a lot, but surely you've seen some commercials about food places and wondered how it would be like to eat there, right?"

"Not at all. It's not as if I watch a whole lot of TV."

"Well, it looks like I'll have to choose."

/

Kazuya sat in the front seat with Jinpachi since there was no one else in the car. It was the first time, Kazuya realized, that he had done as much. He could clearly see the windshield now and how other cars interacted with each other. Green light, yellow light, red light, green light, yellow light, red light. The traffic lights would change slowly and the cars would obey its commands. The green light meant go and the red light meant stop as far as Kazuya knew, but the yellow light was hard to understand. Some cars would slow down and some would speed up perhaps it depended on the situation. Whenever their car was about to turn, a ticking sound would go on. Glancing over to the gauges that were behind the steering wheel, he noticed a green arrow light blinking. Then the ticking noise would stop when they made the turn. The road was a strange place.

The car ride itself was largely silent with the exception of the radio that Jinpachi had turned on. They travelled quite a bit from the house before they stopped at place called Tabibitojaya. It was a very small, quaint café; a place that one might miss if they didn't know that it was there. Fortunately, it guaranteed that there wouldn't be a huge crowd of people waiting for their food. They sat down near the window and a waitress gave them a menu to order from. Kazuya wasn't sure what to order as he looked down the list of breakfast items. In the end, he wound up getting the same thing as Jinpachi who seemed to know the menu intimately. Whenever Kazuya asked about something on the menu, Jinpachi would describe it with great detail indicating that he must have frequented this café.

While they waited for their food, Kazuya scanned the entire place with moderate interest. There were five other tables and two of them were being occupied by couples. The couples talked in low voices, but the quietness of the room even despite the jazz music that played allowed their voices to carry a little.

"So, you come here often?" Kazuya questioned to the other.

"Only with my most trusted employees," Jinpachi responded. "It's good to spend time with your employees outside of work. It builds a stronger relationship."

"It keeps them from stabbing you in the back, huh," Kazuya said with a brief grin.

"I suppose that's one way to think of it, that is, if you prefer to look at everything in a negative light. You might think me naïve for saying this, but I believe everyone, in their own way is trustworthy and good. Those who seem like they aren't are either trying to protect themselves or just don't know any better."

"How can you even begin to believe any of that?" Kazuya said as he looked away to the streets through the window. "How can you predetermine a person's personality before you ever meet them?"

"Isn't it less to think about? If that person does turn out to be someone who means me harm, then I deal with them accordingly."

"By then, it'd be too late, wouldn't it?"

"Things tend to work themselves out in the end. Like the day I began my company. I had no idea if it would take off or if it was even worth my time. The only thing I could do was what I was able to and with time things really did work themselves out."

"So you just knew that your plans were going to go smoothly. I'd say you were more lucky than anything else."

"I hardly believe in luck, Kazuya. Even when the situation seems impossible, even when every logical reasoning points to utter failure, there's always that chance that with patience everything that you wanted will come to you."

"Well, if that works for you."

"It could work for you as well." Kazuya turned to him when he said this, "A career like the one I have can easily take out a lesser man, one who stresses out about every little thing that goes wrong. But a better man knows where to put his energy, improving the environment around him."

Just then, the waitress came back with their breakfast sandwiches and hot tea. Kazuya began on his food without further conversation. He still had a healthy appetite and breakfast today came at a time later than he was used to. The two of them spent another thirty minutes at the café before leaving.

"While we're out here, did you have someplace you wanted to go?" Jinpachi asked Kazuya.

"No, not really."

"Why don't I show you around the city for a bit? You haven't officially been introduced to the city, have you? One day, when you really start experiencing life, you'll at least want to know how to get around. Down this road here is the nearest grocery store and…"

Jinpachi went on in this way for a few hours with Kazuya peppering him with a few questions so it at least seemed like he was interested. Kazuya wasn't in the least, but he did understand the fact that such information would be useful later on. When Jinpachi came to the end of the tour, he took them to a park that was far off from their location. Kazuya wasn't entirely sure where he was being taken since Jinpachi decided that the whole thing would be a secret; a "you'll see when you get there" affair.

The park was huge, but largely empty so early in the afternoon and on the last day of the week. After parallel parking next to the sidewalk in front of the park, the two of them stepped out of the car. Kazuya looked up at the series of large golden arches. The first one read "Tensuki Ocean Park".

"Some more sightseeing?" Kazuya asked as they walked through the entrance.

"We can do that first. It is quite a beautiful park. When I was a little younger than you, my father took me here as well."

There was a lot of foliage and flora there. Winding paths led them deeper into a world that was vastly different from the urban setting. It certainly wasn't a place that Kazuya would trek through on his own. Instead of the sound of rushing cars, there was only nature. It reminded Kazuya of the time when he had lived solely on his own. While he had been concentrated on his training, he could not ignore the certain quietness that was characteristic of a wooded area. He rather enjoyed it. During those days, Devil's presence had been quite palpable, constantly whispering in his mind. The serenity of his surroundings was definitely something he cherished.

Kazuya wasn't sure how long they walked before they came to a beach at the other end of the park. It was breathtaking.

"Have you ever been to a beach before, Kazuya?"

"No. This would be my first time."

The question needed almost not to be asked as Jinpachi watched Kazuya take in the scenery. There was something there in his eyes that Jinpachi rarely saw: curiosity and wonderment.

"So, what do you say, Kazuya, would you honor me with a spar?"

"Right now?" Kazuya asked unable to hide the surprise from his voice.

"What's the matter?—cold feet?"

"No," said Kazuya as he finally turned to the other, "I would be honored."

"The best way to test your skills is to be caught unawares. In real life, you never know when you'll need to defend yourself. You must always be ready."

"For someone who 'believes' in other people, you take a lot of precautions."

"Well no one said an optimist also had to be an idiot. Now, Kazuya, get into your stance."

"Right."

Their stances were inevitably similar. The spar began immediately afterwards. If anyone were to look from a distance, they'd describe it as a fest of flying fists and kicks and random sparks of electricity. A trained eye would describe it as a majestic lightshow. Two skilled fighters launched attacks at one another and evaded hits with almost impossible precision and intense fervor. The evasions were the most interesting to watch. In order to evade the kind of attacks they were dealing to each other, one must have a robust ability of reading body language.

Kazuya was given a chance to exhaust his long list of moves that he had developed over the years including his most fierce ones. He didn't pull out the latter until he sensed that they were nearing the end of their spar. Kazuya could tell that Jinpachi was getting winded. It was a first. Jinpachi wound up getting the last hit as he gave Kazuya one final thrust to the ground.

Kazuya was laid out on the ground when it was all said and done. His chest heaved up and down quicker than normal as he took in small, short breaths. He might have lost, but he hardly felt gipped. He had given it his all and he was shown all the places he had to work on. It was a good lesson. He turned his head to the gently rolling waves of the ocean just as he heard the approaching feet of his grandfather.

"You've improved quite a bit, haven't you?" Jinpachi said as he stood over his grandson.

"I've been training here and there," Kazuya said as a large understatement.

"I can tell," Jinpachi replied with a smile. "Did you want to stay here a while longer?"

"The thought of walking all the way back to the car doesn't sound very appealing at the moment."

"Alright then," Jinpachi said as he sat down next to the other. "Your technique has grown, but you still have a long ways to go. I felt real passion behind those attacks of yours and that's always a good thing, but that coupled with inexperience will usually spell failure against someone with any sort of skill. And…Kazuya, are you listening to me?"

Jinpachi smiled to himself when he saw that the other had dozed off. He always seemed so peaceful when he was asleep. Jinpachi envied those who were able to do such things. All the stress of the day, everything that ever bothered them always became non-existent in an instant. Someone capable of that feat was well equipped to take on the task of leading an entire financial empire. Jinpachi found himself thinking along those lines more and more. Hopefully, as his philosophy went, things would work themselves out.