Chapter 26: Train. Fight.

The medical bills alone had taken almost half of what Jinpachi had given him. How long could he live like this? He had to figure out something quickly. He had continued to live at the hotel because there was a gym within walking distance to him. He tried to train as hard as he had in the past, but he still found that he lacked adequate stamina. After going so long without exercise and for being sick for an extended period of time, Kazuya knew that at the moment, Heihachi could easily wipe the floor with him. Steadily, as the weeks passed he regained his former strength, but what good would that do him now?

"You really are hopeless, aren't you?"

At the time, he had been lying in his bed after a particularly long session at the gym. It startled him to hear Devil's voice once again. "Nice of you to grace me with your presence."

"I was simply being a spectator. There are some things which I do not wish to involve myself in. Besides, watching you struggle after your encounter with Heihachi was pure entertainment for me."

"If this is all you came to inform me of—

"Oh, no. I'm always here to help," Devil cackled. "You continued your training without me having to egg you on. I guess I owe you some kind of reward."

"Save it. I don't want anything you could possibly give me."

"Even a way to make a decent income?"

"I don't have any skills!"

"You can fight, can't you?"

"I'm not going to rob people."

"No, no, not that. You could compete in tournaments all over the world."

"I'm just not as strong as before. Besides, the money that I got from winning those tournaments are meager considering that I now I have more to pay for."

"Well, this time, don't waste them on pointless items like tennis shoes." Kazuya grimaced at this point, but Devil continued, "Didn't I say tournaments all over the world? Japan is just one country. There are plenty of others. If you really want to make a lot of money in a short time, try America."

"You act like you've been there before."

"I've been everywhere, kid. You just follow my lead. I won't lead you astray."

"Don't make me laugh," Kazuya said immediately. "But it doesn't seem like I have a lot of other options," he said after a second thought.

"Then what are we waiting for?"
"Are you trying to get me killed? I'm certainly not ready yet."

Devil cackled at this, "Time is of the essence. Prepare yourself quickly."

"You have a lot of nerves…"

"Are you just going to keep blaming me or are you going to do something about it?"

Doing something about it was the only thing he could do. So Kazuya began again. He hadn't remembered training this much since his father had decided to become his drill sergeant all those years ago. The pain was familiar even comforting. While he was in an entirely new place, the training itself made him, for a short while, forget about all the changes that had already occurred in his life. For the most part, he simply did not want to dwell on Jinpachi's death. He knew that it was just a can of worms he'd rather keep sealed so he never did.

When he wasn't training, he was either resting or eating. Any side activities that he had taken to while he lived with Jinpachi were nonexistent. His world became a steady routine. There was no longer any need to make any conscious decisions as he became akin to a mere drone. While at first he was weak, as the weeks and then months passed, he became stronger and stronger. It took him almost a year to decide that he was ready for a tournament wherever one might be.

He began anew with the tournaments in Japan for two more years under a new name, his own. He began to make quite a name for himself. After learning something once, relearning it made him twice as skillful. Everything was coming back to him plus more. He fought and won against so many opponents that he could practically size up an opponent just by looking at them. The entire span of time he spent in Japan going to tournament after tournament, he never ran into Kunimitsu or Yoshimitsu. It was a fight that he had been looking forward to in order to gauge his strength and how much he had improved, but it never came. Perhaps they had moved on to bigger better things. Maybe they just had other things to do.

But there was one name that kept bothering him: Uramesh Taisuke. The doctor that had fooled him so easily back then at Jinpachi's Mansion. He had asked for his real name and he had given it. As Kazuya imagined, it would probably be no easy task to get near him, but if Uramesh was near anyone, it would be Heihachi. Although at first Kazuya had decided that he would not get anywhere close to Heihachi until he was ready to, he would always think back on the fact that somewhere Uramesh was out there alive laughing at his folly. He tried to ignore the thoughts, but it would not go away until Kazuya finally swallowed his fears and set out to "make things right".

Kazuya no longer cared that the "right" he was thinking of probably included a great deal of pain. He couldn't get his father back just yet, but he could take care of the lesser evil. He still had his car for now. Even as he climbed down the steps of the hotel he had been living at for a while, he could hear Devil's admonishments about the entire affair. He had better things to do, this was pointless and it would not serve him in anyway, he was wasting what precious time he had left before his money ran out, he was being an idiot. However, there was no reason that could have stopped Kazuya from going. His resolve was so robust that at some point Devil turned completely silent.

He hadn't driven anywhere in a while. It was almost a completely new feeling when he turned on the engine and the car hummed in anticipation. Kazuya was not really concerned with the speed. He was only thinking about what he would do once he got there. No one could tell him that he'd probably have to wait around for hours perhaps days before he got what he wanted—not even a flustered Devil.

The familiar skyscraper came into view and he parked in a parking lot that was just far enough so that he could remain in secrecy, but close enough so that he could see who was coming in. In reality, Kazuya didn't have to see Taisuke at all that day. He could have spent weeks sitting there in that one spot and see no sign of him. But everything seemed to fall into place. Kazuya didn't know what kind of car Taisuke drove, but he could tell it was him when he drove through the only entrance to the large parking lot. He followed it with his eyes at first, but soon he revved up his engines and tracked him down…all the way to the far back of the parking lot. Of course a double-timing individual like him would opt for such a location. If he had done it to him, perhaps Taisuke had had similar jobs and wanted to stay as close to secrecy as he could. Kazuya couldn't find a park right next to Taisuke's car, but it didn't matter. There was no need to continue his tiptoeing. He cut the engine and simply stepped out of the car while it still remained in the middle of the road inside the lot. Patience wasn't exactly one of his virtues, but for some reason at that moment, instead of simply walking up to the car and snatching the man out of the car, he decided that he would wait for the other to walk out further.

In fact, it seemed like Taisuke might not have noticed Kazuya at all had Kazuya not called out of his name. Imagine the look of surprise on his face as he turned to a man he'd never even began to dream of seeing again.

"Uramesh Taisuke," Kazuya said steadily. "That is your name, correct?" The man stared at him for so long that he felt that he had to be reassured.

"No…no, you can't be him," Taisuke replied with wide eyes, "No one could have survived that. You must be…someone else."

"You don't seem like the kind of person to give out their name so freely. What are the odds that some random stranger would guess it on the first try?"

"It's impossible," Taisuke said shaking his head slowly, "You died."

"I didn't die. Even when you left I was still alive. Seems you're not too good on finishing what you started."

"So you're here for revenge. I don't know how you survived, but you should have counted yourself lucky and skipped town."

"What do you think I've been doing for this last year? As far as you knew, I was dead, until now."

Kazuya watched the other size him up and the man nodded back at him with a smile.

"You would risk blowing your cover for a simple vengeance call? You just don't get it do you? 'Death' was the best thing that happened to you. When Heihachi wants someone killed, he will do it one way or another."

"I guess that sucks for you, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were supposed to have killed me. What do you think he will do once he finds out that you failed?"

"He won't."

"Oh, is that so."

"And if you cared even a little about your own wellbeing, you'd be relieved. Once he knows you're alive, he'll hunt you down until you're dead."

"You're right, I don't care. I only came here for one thing."

What more evidence did Taisuke need as Kazuya slipped into his fighting stance preparing himself for combat? Taisuke simply bowed and followed in suit. By now he had figured out that there was no way to talk his way out of this to someone as hardheaded as Kazuya.

Kazuya wasted no time throwing the first punch. It came so fast that it actually connected with the other square in the face. Taisuke recovered quickly and decided right then and there that he would end this fight immediately. His hand sliced through the air towards Kazuya's exposed neck. Taisuke never imagined that Kazuya would catch his hand before it hit its target. At that same moment, instead of thrusting his hand away, Kazuya pulled the other closer. This action gave Kazuya prime opportunity to slam one of his fists into the other's guts. Taisuke received two more of these bone shattering punches before he finally pulled back from Kazuya. Taisuke tried for another approach sensing that the other was quite proficient at throwing painful punches. Slickly, Taisuke began a sudden barrage of high kicks and then low kicks. Many of them hit their marks, but one sidestep on Kazuya's part immediately threw the other off balance. Taisuke suddenly found himself in a neck hold that was wholly inescapable. Then he felt a crushing pain in his back. Though he tried to shout out, all that came out was a gurgle. Kazuya simply let go of the other and Taisuke fell limply to the ground. When Taisuke tried to move, the excruciating pain stopped him.

"What did you do?" Taisuke asked through gritted teeth

"You may want to think about switching careers," Kazuya said looking down at the other.

His knee had been enough to fracture Taisuke's back. Whether he was paralyzed or not was up in the air. Kazuya supposed that if the other could still feel pain, there may still be hope.

"You bastard! Is this what you came here to do? Did you wake up in the morning and say to yourself 'today is the day that I paralyze Uramesh Taisuke'? What kind of sick person does that?"

"You think you can get away with what you did to me? When Heihachi chose you to kill me, you signed your death warrant."

"It was all just business. You and I both know that what Heihachi wants, he gets. I couldn't deny him even if I tried."

"This is far from business. I'm debating now if I should leave you where you are or simply put you out of your misery. How about it? How long do you think it'll take for someone to come peel you off the ground?"

"You're not going to leave me here like this!"

"You're right, perhaps that's a little too cruel. I have a better idea."

"Please…if I could just have my cellphone…I'll forget I ever saw you and come up with some other excuse as to why I'm in this position."

"It's almost too good to be true," Kazuya replied with obvious sarcasm.

"Didn't you just come here for revenge? Well, you got what you were looking for. This could all end well in both of our favor if you just get my cellphone," Taisuke said with a touch of desperation.

"I know it will end well for me. Why don't you stop your groveling, it doesn't look right on you."

"What are you going to do?"

"Just stay still. You won't get anywhere on your own."

"Wait, what are you—

A piercing cry shot through the sky as a fractured spine snapped completely in two. The cry only lasted for a moment before it was muted by utter shock. Kazuya squatted down to the wide-eyed man and turned Taisuke's face towards his.

"For your sake, I hope my old man has mercy on you, but I doubt it. He's not the kind of man to take kindly to such weakness especially to someone who clearly lost a fight."

Taisuke only whimpered a little. It was the only thing he could manage. The numbness was too much to swallow. Even the sound of Kazuya's retreating footsteps prompted no response from Taisuke. Kazuya took one long look at the man, climbed back into his car and then drove off back to his room.

There was no remorse, no regret that took root in Kazuya's mind as he went about his day as if nothing had happened. In fact the best word to describe what Kazuya was feeling as he trekked to the gym on foot as he usually did was satisfaction—complete, blissful satisfaction. Devil was completely silent for the rest of the day. Kazuya wondered if that was a good thing or horribly bad thing. Just that morning, Devil couldn't shut-up about how this was such a bad idea, now there was nothing. If it was a bad thing, then Kazuya didn't want it to end.

The most annoying thing in the world to Kazuya was the sound of Devil's voice, but for some reason it was no longer there. Of course, Devil was still there and active, but that was all. It was…strange, to say the least. At the same time, it was comforting. He could think on his own, he could do things on his own without the sound of that voice. This uncanny change didn't simply end on that day, it continued. Kazuya trained for a few weeks longer before finally setting off for more tournaments.

In this way, Kazuya's prowess became so well-known, that he began to receive invitations to bigger and better tournaments—ones that had quite a bit of prize money. Kazuya went wherever the tournament was and after a couple of years amassed a substantial amount of wealth. To say that he had been everywhere was a tall claim considering that he only knew one language; Japanese. It wasn't that he actively refused to learn other languages; it was that he couldn't care less. Sure, it could be a hassle at times—a real hassle at times—and he'd have to deal with people shouting at him like he was mentally compromised and with being made fun of on multiple basis, but he always got what he wanted: fight in a tournament, win the first place prize, add money to bank accounts.

He continued in this way for longer than he could remember. It all became a blur. Had he not been going to other countries for these tournaments, he might not have been able to separate one from the other. Every waking minute became fighting time, even his dreams couldn't escape the monotony. But to Kazuya, monotony was a good thing. Monotony meant normalcy for Kazuya. Finding himself in such a situation brought him some comfort, however it was overshadowed by something that Kazuya could no longer escape from: isolation.

He felt isolated from everyone. Constant language barriers aside, he was isolated from real people. The only thing that would ever talk to him was his own thoughts—Devil for some reason was nowhere to be heard. Kazuya didn't miss it all, but he felt as if its voice should have been there always in his ears whispering for him to do some horrible thing. The only true contact he had with people was when he was beating the living daylights out of them. He lived in isolation, he walked in isolation, and he slept in complete utter isolation. It became the norm.

During the "off" seasons, mainly during fall and winter, Kazuya would return to the same room he still owned in Japan. He could afford a better place, but he never felt like looking for anything else and he had gotten used to its cheapness. Once Kazuya got used to something, his mind would never think to change it no matter what unless someone were to point it out to him. No one would, of course. So, every fall and winter, the room would be occupied by a very solemn and spent Kazuya. There were never any complaints from the owner. No disputes ever occurred. For the time being, that was his home—a place that he would strangely think about while he was off in some other country. He thought of it fondly as if someone would be waiting there for him, as if he was missing so much by not being there.

It would be the same every time. He'd come back to an empty and dusty room. But it bought some small joy to him. No one was waiting there for him, but surely the room itself must've gotten bored without any occupants. He'd clean it from top to bottom as if to assert his presence there, as if to say "hello" to a dreary, sad room. The room could never gleam, but at least it would smell nice where it used to smell musty. The room could then say back to him "long time no see" as all the dust was taken from it.

"Hello, room," Kazuya said quietly one night as he stepped back into the room after a long, extended absence.

He carried little with him, just a bag with clothes and toiletries in it. Without further ado, he began to systematically clean the room and then after a few hours, climbed into a familiar hard bed.

/

AN: Sorry guys for the wait. Break is coming soon for me, but it's not quite here yet. That just means I still have a lot of projects to attend to. That being said, I had to write something or else my brain would have exploded with anticipation. At first glance, it may not seem as if this chapter has taken the plot any further, but don't worry it has. If anything, it's giving a nice setting to the next chapter I'm planning on getting to during the break. Hope you've enjoyed reading thus far. Oh, and thank you, thank you, thank you, for the reviews. I swear I do backflips every time I get one. If you're counting, I guess that's 44 backflips by .