Chapter 6: Finished
"Damn it!" I yelled as I hit the floor. I had just been punched in the face by Jin Kazama. The pain sent me reeling from the blow. I stood back up, dodging a roundhouse kick as I ran forward to attack. Thrusting my palm into his chest, Jin flew back, coughing harshly as I prepared for the next attack.
Spinning in full circles, I leaped into the air sideways and aimed my right leg for Jin's temple. Surprisingly, he threw his hand up and blocked the kick, causing me to fall to the floor. Thinking quickly, I rolled out of the way of a stomp aimed for my face. Once I stood up, my face was greeted with a violent uppercut on the part of Jin. The punch was so forceful, that it knocked me off my feet and into the telephone booth nearby.
The sound of shattering glass was heard and I knew that I was finished. I lay on the floor, looking up at Jin. My back hurt so bad from where I had been hit and I knew it was keeping me from continuing.
"Get up!" I heard King yell from the crowd. He knew how badly I wanted to win, but Jin was just too strong. I slowly started to stand up again, taking up every ounce of my remaining energy. I stood with one hand on my knee and the other in a fist. Jin dropped back into his stance and waited for me to attack.
Suddenly, darkness began to overtake me and I could feel myself slipping. I looked up at the sky as I started falling backwards. In an instant, Jin caught me, saving me from being cut by the various shards of glass.
"You have a true warrior's spirit." Jin told me.
"But it's…not enough.." I muttered. That was the last thing I saw before I passed out.
--
This is how it always was. Nothing I ever did was enough. I always came close to my goals, but never had what it took to succeed all the way. Jin's words echoed throughout my head. If I had a true warrior's spirit, then wouldn't I have been able to overcome this inner struggle long ago?
--
Later…
"Pete?" I heard a voice say. My eyes slowly began to slide open and I awoke to see King. At first, the sight of his jaguar mask scared me, but I quickly adjusted. After catching my breath, I smiled at him slowly. I felt so weak and it hurt to smile.
"You really put up a good fight out there." He said, trying to make me feel better about my defeat. I swallowed deeply before I decided to reply.
Looking around the bedroom, I replied, "I'm sorry if I disappointed you…" I said, looking away towards the window.
"Hey." I heard him say. Suddenly, I felt his hand gripping mine. I nearly jumped, but I managed to control it. However, I noticed that my hand was beginning to tremble slightly.
"You never disappointed me." He said. I looked over at his masked face, then slowly to where our hands were joined. King looked down as well and then he slowly removed his hand from mine. I looked back up to him, forcing myself to smile. Feeling his warm hand on top of my cold one made me wish that he knew about my secret, but that would never happen.
"Thank you." I said with a smile. Behind that smile was so many mixed emotions. Feelings of confusion, lust, anger, and depression filled my mind. I felt like an emotional train wreck, or like I was riding a roller coaster that was doomed to malfunction.
"Are you…okay?" King asked. I knew that he knew that I wasn't, he just wanted to hear it from me.
"I'm…just weak from the battle, that's all…" I said. King nodded almost as if saying, 'okay I won't push you'. A few moments of silence went by, and I thought King was going to tell me to rest up. To my surprise, he decided to speak different words.
"Are you…ready to tell me?" he asked. I looked up to the ceiling and sighed. I was contemplating whether or not to tell him. I felt ready, but I was still scared of the consequences. King sat closer in his seat and spoke again.
"Confessing is better than holding it inside of you." He said. I nearly choked on my own saliva as I gulped nervously. I felt like he was attacking me and he was beginning to break down my defenses.
"King…" I managed to say.
"If you keep holding it in, you'll just hurt yourself. And I know that you're hurting inside." He interrupted. I sat up on my elbows and looked up at him, wincing a bit from my bruises.
"Sometimes, the truth can hurt even more. It can ruin relationships, like Julia and I." I said, fighting back tears.
"Why did you break up with her? You two seemed so close." He asked. I looked at him, giving him direct eye contact as I sarcastically said, "Just a result of 'the truth'."
King lowered his head. I felt bad, so I said, "I'm sorry…I wasn't implying that you were wrong, it's just that…your friendship means more to me than anything else…and I don't want to ruin it."
"Didn't I tell you that you can't hurt me no matter what you tell me? I'm here for you no matter what." He replied.
"King, I wish it was that simple." I said to him in a pleading like manner.
"It's okay." He said as he patted my spiky brown hair, "I'll be waiting until you are ready."
