The next day, the estate received a message that Heihachi would not be back for another two days. Jin took himself to school anyway. It was a bit easier to concentrate after he'd burned off some energy the day before, and had chosen to attend himself. He tried especially hard to understand his mathematics lesson, pouring over the textbook and trying to visualise the problems. After half an hour though, he found he was drumming his leg and staring out the window again. He was restless and bored and thinking about the biology textbook in his bag. He'd been reading it constantly. He'd never voluntarily picked up a book before, but he couldn't put this one down.
Jin had his first art class after that. He was a bit apprehensive about it, and unsure what it would entail. There was a special room for art, and he had to follow Miharu and Saito to find it. Saito was telling him about arcades, and the games he played in them. He seemed keen to walk with Jin between classes, and Miharu did too. Jin didn't really understand why, since he rarely said anything to either of them, but he nodded along politely now.
"I can take you to an arcade after school clubs today if you like," Saito said.
"Huh?" Jin wasn't sure an arcade sounded all that fun anyway. "I don't think I'm allowed."
"Not allowed? But aren't you a Mishima? You can do what you like."
Jin wondered how much he wanted to tell them. Normal people didn't have a private security detail who had to be kept up-to-date about everything, and a grandfather who scheduled out their days to the last hour. There was also that tingling of pride in his chest. They were only twelve or thirteen and he was fifteen. They got to go out and do things when they pleased. He didn't really want to admit that he couldn't. He waved a hand vaguely.
"Security stuff. Things have to be cleared and scheduled correctly. Not worth explaining."
"Wow… I'd never really thought about how complicated going out must be when you're rich or famous or anything," Miharu put in. She sounded a fraction jealous. That was definitely preferable to Jin over pity.
"I guess that makes sense…" Saito said thoughtfully. He was quite a serious, and not all that fun, but it was sort of needed next to Miharu's boisterous personality.
"Do you even have an afterschool club yet," Miharu asked him.
"Huh?" Jin looked at her. "I don't know what that is, but it's probably a security complication too."
"Everyone goes to a club! It's basically part of school!"
Jin was surprised when even Saito nodded. "What kind of thing do you do in a club?" Jin asked.
"You can choose any you like! I do photography! Koji-kun, don't you do a manga drawing club?"
Saito nodded. "Mm, there's loads of cultural or sports clubs. You can do calligraphy or tea ceremony, or flower arranging, drama… kendo, judo, swimming-"
"Swimming?" Jin looked up.
"Yes, the school has a pool, you can try to get on the racing team."
Jin frowned. "Racing? Can't you just swim for fun?"
"Sure! You can do whatever you like!" Miharu put in. "Some people take stuff super seriously, like, in the photography club some guys are all into their dark rooms and that, but I just like capturing cute pics and talking colour and composition with my gals, y'know?"
Jin didn't know, but he thought he understood. A pool wouldn't be the same as the sea, but he would like to swim again…
"I don't have swimwear…" he said, thinking out loud.
"No sweat, you can bring some tomorrow and go along. Come to photography with me and then Koji and I will show you around town after. I bet you haven't explored much, right?"
"But I don't have a camera, or any money."
"Use your phone!" Miharu's enthusiasm knew no limits. "You don't have any money? A Mishima? Come on, everyone's seen that fancy car!"
Jin fell silent. He had no intention of revealing that he hadn't so much as even seen any money since he first arrived at the estate. He pushed on to focus on the more practical problem though.
"Phones have cameras? I don't have a phone…"
Jin wondered how he would ask his grandfather for any of this. The idea of asking Heihachi for anything made him feel agitated. Heihachi had given him everything he had, and asking for more felt ungrateful and intrusive.
"You don't have a phone?!" Miharu was aghast. "Everyone has a phone!"
Jin glanced around him as he walked down the school halls. Everyone? It was true that a fair few people were moving their thumbs over handheld devices. Jin wondered what else he was meant to have that everyone already had. He had that feeling he got in class again – like he was looking in from the outside desperately trying to keep up. How come he was always so far behind and everyone did things so differently to him? Why had no one told him all these things everyone else already knew?
"Hey, no worries!" Miharu nudged him. "You can borrow one of the big old-fashioned cameras at the photography club. You'll have to listen to some guy explaining it, but it'll still be cool."
Jin wondered if staying for a school club was something he was meant to ask permission for. The car would be ready and waiting for him after lessons ended. Should he ask them to wait longer? His grandfather wouldn't be back until Saturday. Maybe Jin could go and ask the driver.
"I'll see," he settled on.
Art class was kind of fun. The teacher put some flowers in a vase in the middle of the room that the flower arranging club had put together, and asked everyone to draw them. Jin liked drawing plants. He was very fixated on getting the details accurate. His teacher came and complimented his picture, and asked him to be more expressive. Jin ignored her, since he wanted his flowers to be perfect, not expressive.
When it got to the middle of the day, Jin wolfed down his bento (still leaving aside the fish and eggs), and then snooped around the corridor with the security door. He put his ear to it and listened to the sounds beyond. He studied the locking mechanism too, wondering how long it would take to try all the different combinations on the nine-digit keypad. Miharu had told him that she'd only ever seen senior students using that corridor, and that lots of them were 'serious hotties', with well-muscled physiques. Despite Jin's vigilance, no one came in or out the door during his lunchbreak. He left before the bell went, since he wanted to get back to classes on time, so that some good news filtered back to his grandfather.
At the end of the school day, Jin left his last lesson and hurried to the armoured car waiting in the shadow of his grandfather's statue. He knocked on the blackout glass and the driver got out and bowed to him. Jin glanced back towards the school, though thankfully not many were coming out the front doors.
"I want to stay for the afterschool club hour," he said to the driver.
The driver bowed again. "I am instructed to take you straight home, Kazama-sama."
Jin's brow furrowed. "Am I not permitted to stay? Will Ojiisama be angry if I stay?"
"I do not know, Kazama-sama, I only know my instructions."
Jin glanced behind him at the school. Everyone said that the club hour counted as part of the school day…
"I want to stay," Jin said. "Please will you wait?"
The driver bowed. "As you wish, Kazama-sama."
"Do I have any money? Like… access to any? If I want to… go to the arcade with some school friends?"
"I could not say, Kazama-sama. I am just your driver. It is my job to take you home at half past three. That is all I know."
Jin fretted. He couldn't work out what he would be in trouble for doing. Maybe he should just wait until his grandfather returned and try to be a model grandson until then, in the hope that Heihachi could be won over that way. He craned his neck all the way back and looked at the stern features of that golden statue looming over him. He felt very small all of a sudden, and he was reminded that this was all Heihachi's domain and that he was a guest within it.
Jin opened the car door and got in. He did his seat belt up and hugged his satchel to him. The driver got in wordlessly and drove him back to the estate.
Jin went to school the next day too, and the day after that was Saturday, so he got up early in the morning and trained in the dojo. He was surprised at eight-thirty A.M. when Heihachi came in through the doors. Jin hadn't seen him all week. Jin stopped and bowed low to him, sweating from the workout he'd been pushing himself through.
"Good. Exactly where I expected to find you," Heihachi said by way of greeting. Jin stayed bowed. "I hear you refused to go to school for two days."
Jin felt cold. He curled his fists tighter to hide the tremble that had started in them.
"I went to train in the mountains."
"What mountains?"
"On the estate."
There was silence. Jin still didn't dare look up. He fixed his eyes on the woodwork grain of the floor. The silence drew on, overbearing and heavy, so that Jin felt like he was suffocating under it.
"You go to school on school days. If I ever hear of you playing truant again, I will be angry, do you understand?" Heihachi spoke softly, and with danger in his voice. Jin was just so glad that the silence had been broken.
He nodded quickly. "Yes, Ojii-" They were standing in the dojo. Jin wasn't sure what term of address was expected. "Yes, Ojiisama-sensei."
Heihachi turned on the spot to leave.
"I-I wanted to ask you about afterschool clubs." Heihachi stopped where he was when Jin said that. "Part of the school day is a club activity at the end. I wondered if I could go to the swimming club."
"Swimming? A very good form of exercise. Yes, you may swim." Heihachi started walking again.
"M-may I have a swimming costume? And please can the car pick me up an hour later on school days?"
Heihachi waved a hand dismissively. "I'll have it arranged."
"A-and-"
Jin was still bowed, but he saw a stiffness in the way Heihachi's feet stopped this time. He was asking for too much in one go.
"Nothing," he said quickly. "Thank you for your generosity, Ojiisama-sensei."
"If you have something to say, spit it out, boy!"
Jin hesitated. His skin was crawling and a heat was in his cheeks.
"There are some people at school who wish to show me around the city. I wondered if I might join them some time, a-and maybe have a little… a little spending money to go with them."
There was silence. Jin's eyes closed tightly.
"I think an afterschool club is quite enough to be getting started. Beyond the school walls you are unmonitored, and require a Tekken Force detail. Do your swimming, that will be enough for the present."
Heihachi left.
Jin straightened, his back aching a little. He took a deep breath in and a shaky breath out. He hadn't even asked about a phone.
He worked hard that day, skipping lunch so that he could stay in the dojo and try to make up for his slip-ups earlier in the week. He was never sure if or when his grandfather would join him, and was afraid of being absent when Heihachi arrived, expecting to teach him. As it was, by seven P.M, Heihachi hadn't joined him, and Jin was tired to the point of light-headed. He bathed in the decadent old bathhouse, then changed into the kimono and hakama pairing his grandfather liked the best.
He arrived in the dining room and was served alone. He didn't dare inquire after his grandfather's whereabouts, and neither did he see him for the rest of the evening. Jin read his textbook in his room until his eyes couldn't stay open, then he dropped to his futon, asleep within moments.
Jin trained all Sunday too. Heihachi arrived at two P.M, just when Jin was considering pausing for some lunch. He put him through a gruelling three more hours of training that had Jin bruised and swaying on his feet. Jin loved learning from his grandfather and watching the power in the way his karate was executed, but he was haunted by the spectre of failure, causing him to doubt himself in a way he never did when training alone.
Jin also had real trouble reading his grandfather's more subtle expressions. Heihachi was extremely sparse with praise, and Jin had to hunt his face just to try and see if he was learning techniques correctly. On the whole, if there wasn't a critical remark, he thought perhaps that meant he had done as requested, but, every now and then, Heihachi would create an elaborate set up to demonstrate the precise way that Jin's movements fell short. Jin found these demonstrations very educational, but also mortifying. He would go through the mental gymnastics of thinking he was performing something correctly, only for Heihachi to fling him to the floor some five minutes later in order to highlight the full extent of his failings. The constant rollercoaster emotionally drained Jin to the point of frustration and the risk of treacherous tears and rebellious anger.
They had a formal supper together that evening that Jin had very little presence of mind left to try and navigate well. He tried his best under his grandfather's hawkish glare, but inevitably forgot half-a-dozen important rules of etiquette that had Heihachi incensed and irritable. Jin slunk off to bed as soon as he could and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
On Monday morning, a pair of sleek black swim trunks were resting on top of his school uniform, along with a black fluffy towel with the Mishima Zaibatsu logo embroidered in white on one corner. Jin was excited by the prospect of swimming again. He was even enthusiastic as he took breakfast. His driver knew of the later pick up, and Jin's good mood stayed until he realised he had biology again for first class.
After rollcall in the homeroom, Jin found himself sitting down again at the bench in the science lab. He was stiff and aching from yesterday's training, but did his best to sit still. The teacher said nothing about him storming out of class last week, and instead just began talking and drawing on the blackboard. The sound the chalk made as it moved down the board grated in Jin's ears and made him fidgety and uncomfortable. He put his hands over his ears and stared out the window.
Jin only looked back round when he felt an elbow against his arm. Miharu had prodded him. Jin took his hands away and glanced up. The teacher was looking at him. Actually, he realised, everyone in the class was looking at him.
"I asked if you can tell the class the primary elements needed in good soil, Kazama. Founder's grandson or not, in my class, you'll still learn the same as everyone else."
Jin stared at the teacher, then looked at the faces looking at him. There was complete silence in the laboratory. If they didn't know before, everyone knew who he was now…
Jin's expression set hard.
"Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen," he said.
"Not the obvious ones," the teacher said quickly, "the five macronutrients needed beyond the obvious."
Jin locked eyes with the teacher. His eyebrows came down and his eyes grew stubborn. He knew this. He'd read it last week. He'd not thought about soil in terms of nutrient amounts before and had buried himself in an impromptu study of them. He never read books, but he'd read his textbook. Having this knowledge felt empowering. He could finally hold his own intellectually in a class.
"Phosphorus, sulphur, calcium, potassium, and magnesium."
"Someone thinks he knows it all. Come up here and show the class what you know then, Kazama. I want you to label the cross-section of this plant on the board."
Miharu was glancing at him with some expression Jin couldn't see because his glare was fixed firmly forward. Jin pushed his stool out loudly as he got up. He snatched the chalk from the teacher's hand, glowering as he did. The moment the chalk touched the blackboard, he could feel that resistance under his fingertips. He hated the dusty chalk texture and the smooth slate beneath it, waiting for that white mark. He dragged the chalk a millimetre and it screeched in his ears. It shuddered through him like his bones were all jarring together. He flinched and clenched his teeth tight. He stopped.
"Well," the teacher said, "We're all waiting."
Jin's breath came faster. He looked at the dark chalkboard, like a black night sky, waiting for him. Everyone was watching him. Everyone was watching this. They weren't all shuddering at the sound. He just needed to be like them. Jin pulled the chalk down to make the first line of the katakana radical. The sound ground against something inside him and brought an unbearable fuzziness to his thoughts, ringing his senses like a bell had gone off next to him. He had to stop again.
"Go and sit down and pay attention next time, Kazama."
Jin glared at the teacher. He turned back to the board and pointed to every line in the diagram, naming each out loud. He slammed the chalk down on the table so hard that it cracked, then he went and sat back down.
There was silence after that. The teacher set the class some questions from the textbooks, but Jin didn't bother opening his. He was looking out the window. Miharu was trying to elbow him again, but Jin ignored her. The teacher came and stood before his bench. Jin ignored him too. The teacher opened his textbook to a page and tapped it.
"Stop trying to be contrary and pay attention, Kazama. You're to read this page and answer the questions."
"I've already read it," Jin snapped.
"Have you now." The teacher turned the page. "Then you can do next week's harder page."
"I read that too. I read the whole book."
"You read the entire textbook… I somehow find that hard to believe, Kazama Jin, when you can barely concentrate in a class."
Jin's eyes flashed and turned on the teacher. "Are you calling me a liar?"
They locked eyes. Jin was furious. Some of the confrontation died away in the teacher's gaze.
"Just do the exercises that have been set. I didn't tell you to read the book, I told you to read the page and answer the questions." The biology teacher stalked off after that.
Jin didn't do the exercises he'd been set. He copied a bird he could see out the window, and then practised calligraphy, and then got his calculator out and tried to work out what the remaining functions did that he couldn't understand. The teacher asked for their sheets at the end of the class and Jin didn't bother handing anything in.
As they were walking back to their homeroom Miharu and Saito walked beside him in silence.
"That teacher proper had it in for you," Miharu gave eventually. She had a rare scowl on her face. Jin shrugged.
"If you knew all that stuff, why didn't you just write it on your paper? You'd get top marks," Saito put in. Jin shrugged to this too. He didn't really know why, it just didn't really matter to him. He didn't see the point in writing things down just to prove that he'd learned something he already knew.
The maths teacher in their next class asked for homework to be handed in. Jin didn't even know they'd been set homework. Luckily it was a student who was collecting the work in, so the teacher didn't seem to notice that Jin had nothing to show. Anyway, he was interested in his calculator and had already spotted a page number written on the board along with the day's exercises. He had a ten minute head start on the class by the time they were actually asked to answer the problems. Jin felt proud when he had a sheet to hand in at the end of that class, and his irritation at biology was all but forgotten. He and Saito cleaned windows in the homeroom after that, and Jin felt calmer than he had in a long time at school.
The rest of the day passed with varying degrees of success, boredom, and annoyance, until the real highlight of Jin's day came around. The bell rang for the end of classes, and Jin got out his map to find the school gym housing a swimming pool.
Jin didn't recognise anyone in the pool changing rooms. He was so apprehensive, he thought of leaving immediately. The driver wouldn't come until half four though, and he really wanted to be underwater again. As soon as he took his shirt off, however, he noticed the mark on his arm. He flung his towel over his shoulders and glanced around. No one seemed to have seen it. Maybe he should leave. He'd completely forgotten that mark existed. Even the thought of someone seeing it made him queasy.
"Hey!" A tall, broad-shouldered boy was walking towards him. Jin looked behind him, in case he was talking to someone else. There was only a wall behind him. "Hey!" the guy said again. He bowed a little in greeting. "Ishida Masaru, captain of the swim team. I take these sessions. I've not seen you before, you joining us?"
Jin wondered what to do. He was half-dressed in the changing room, so could hardly say no. Maybe he should just tell the truth. He hadn't gotten around to telling his grandfather about the mark on his arm though, and was afraid of him finding out.
"I…" Ishida was just standing there, looking at him encouragingly. Jin felt a little more at ease. "I have a mark on my arm. It's not a tattoo, but it looks a lot like one."
There was a pause. Jin held his breath. Ishida chewed his lip.
"Okay, I'm guessing you probably want that kept a little quiet, so, why don't we get a waterproof bandage and wrap it up?"
Jin's heart leapt and a well of emotion swept through him. He nodded gratefully.
"Be with you in just a moment, guys," Ishida called to the rest of the club. He motioned for Jin to come to a locker at the back of the room.
Ishida said nothing when Jin slipped the towel off his shoulder and revealed the double black mark criss-crossing his bicep. He just starting winding a bandage around it. His fingers felt like the opposite of chalk on a black board. Very calming and sort of tingly. Jin decided he liked swim club.
When the bandage was done, Jin saw Ishida looking at the floor. Jin's towel lay there with the Mishima logo in view. Jin stepped on the logo and gave an anxious laugh. Ishida said nothing though. Jin went back and quickly changed into his trunks. He folded up his school uniform neatly, then headed to the pool.
It was so large and… rectangular. Jin had never seen such an angular body of water before. The sun glanced in through window panels on the roof and set the water gleaming and glimmering. Dancing ripples reflected back onto the walls and glowed warm blue there. Jin was very glad to see there were no teachers, only Ishida and a handful of other students. Ishida was coming over to him again. Jin stood a little straighter.
"Hey- didn't catch your name before," he said.
"Kazama Jin," Jin replied quickly. Ishida's eyes were kind and a soft brown.
"We're going to train for a race we've got coming up, Kazama-kun. But, first time in the club, people usually just want to swim. So, how about you do what you want, swim, use the diving boards as much as you want for ten minutes whilst I pep talk the team, and then we'll catch up after, 'cause the guys are going to need lots of the pool for race training after that."
"Okay!"
"You can swim right? No, worries if not, sorry, I just assumed."
"Yes! I can swim. I… I'm good at swimming."
"Nice. Well, you do you until… shall we say twenty to four?"
Jin nodded again.
The pool was a turquoise expanse before him, inviting as it glittered in the afternoon sun. Jin leaned over, mentally checking the depth. Then he leapt and dived, arcing through the air and entering with barely a splash.
The world went silent. Jin was home. He opened his eyes and the water stung. He was used to saltwater though and this wasn't as bad, so he narrowed his eyes and persevered. Light was everywhere – bouncing down into the warm depths of the pool. He was perfectly alone. Jin swam down to the bottom, brushing against the floor as he swam. Then he twisted and turned and imagined seaweed reaching out to curl about his ankles, and dolphins creaking their calls to one another as they danced about him. He imagined the shoals of tropical fish flitting like winking daggers along the ocean floor, and the hidden faces of shy lone fish peering out from coral reefs. The pool was so bare by comparison. So empty. So sanitary. He missed home so very much.
Jin surfaced and burst onto the side in the same motion. Sitting lightly on the pool edge as he pushed hair out of his face.
Ishida was hurrying towards him, concern in his face.
"Kazama! You scared me! Damn, you were under for like three minutes!"
Jin looked up at him, panting lightly. He didn't have anything to say.
"You usually hold your breath for that long?" Ishida asked.
"If I need to…" Jin said, a little shyly.
"Damn! Well, you ever thought about racing?"
Jin shook his head.
"You should! Breath control like that, you could be pulling some amazing feats!"
Jin glowed under the praise.
"Think about it, okay?" Ishida gave him a thumbs up and returned to his team.
Jin sat for a moment, just basking in that acknowledgement and moving his feet in the water. The pool had a very high diving board that intrigued Jin. He'd always been told to be careful of cliff jumping, but he knew where all the deepest lagoons off the coast were, so was never too worried. He wandered over to the steps at the foot of the diving board.
"Aim along with that – not straight down, okay?" Ishida called. His group were a few feet from the diving board. Some had turned to watch as Jin approached the board.
Jin began climbing the metal steps. It was a very long way up. When he got to the top, he stood and looked down. A thrill went through him. The water was far below, gleaming and beckoning. He jumped. His stomach twisted as he fell, and the pure rush of adrenaline he got flooded his limbs. He plunged into the water, arcing his path along and up from the pool floor. He arose a length later, bobbing to the surface. The swim team were looking at him, but Jin was more interested in swimming now. He ducked down below the surface and swum lengths. He stopped when he popped up and realised the clock was nearing twenty to four.
He pulled himself up onto the side and pushed wet hair out of his face. The swim team were lining up with ropes now. Jin watched as they each dived in, swum a length, then attached the ropes to make guiding lanes in the pool. Ishida was coming over to him. Jin stood.
"We're going to be timing each other doing lengths, would you like to join us? If you want, you can take one of the lanes and just keep swimming."
Jin hesitated. He was always one to take solitude and activity over socialising, but he was intrigued by this Ishida. He never told Jin he had to do anything, he just made an offer and said it was okay not to accept. That made it easier for Jin, and he felt tempted to spend a little more time in his company.
Half past four came very quickly. Jin had spent his time swimming, diving, and sometimes listening to what Ishida was saying to the swim team. In the changing rooms afterwards, the swimmers were amiable to him – complimenting his swimming. They mostly seemed older than Jin and were calmer than lots of the people Jin had met in school so far. Jin felt almost comfortable, answering questions, if a little quietly, and was pleased to have garnered some positive attention.
All the same, he was careful to hide in the bathroom as he unwound the waterproof bandage from his arm. He looked accusingly at the jagged mark on his bicep, then quickly put his shirt on. He was refluffing his hair in the mirror when the door opened.
"Oh, you're in here, good. Was worried I'd lock you in somewhere." Ishida held the door open as Jin returned to the changing rooms. "How did you find today?"
Jin nodded by way of response.
"Think about whether you want to try out for the team," Ishida suggested, "Otherwise you're welcome to just join us to swim whenever you like. Keep the bandage, you can wash and reuse it – I have a feeling you might need it in future too."
Jin was very grateful. He held the damp material reverently in his hands.
"See you around, Kazama-kun, good to meet you."
Jin mumbled a goodbye that wasn't all that respectful since he was feeling very shy. Ishida didn't seem to mind though, and only laughed.
Jin was happy as he walked across the school grounds towards the entrance. He felt like he'd found something that could be his, and people who were kind and patient with him. He stopped suddenly.
He was on the edge of one of the playing fields. A slight mist was moving over the mowed lawn. Jin glanced about him. He had a distinct feeling of being watched. There was a soft crunch behind him. He whirled round, but it was only a crinkled dry leaf falling to rest on the ground. Jin turned back round more slowly. Maybe he was just on edge. He rarely slept well these days so perhaps he was just tired.
He saw movement from beyond the school fence – a shadow breaking away and blurring between the fence posts. It was gone as quickly as it had come. Something had been there though. Someone had been watching him, he was sure of it.
