The ladder

Heihachi carefully studied the list of Tournament competitors. Kazuya withheld the information until the day before the official opening of Tekken. Not really the smartest move marketing-wise. People had their favorite fighters all over the world and using popular faces to advertise the tournament would have definitely brought Kazuya more money than this atmosphere of unknown his offspring had opted for instead. Or did the foolish boy expect Heihachi to be taken by surprise and not ready for, what, Bruce Irvin? Heihachi snorted. Roster known or not he had already suspected Kazuya would put him against his favorite young bodyguard. Admittedly Bruce was not a man to be underestimated – Muay Thai in general, and Irvin's in particular was rapid, aggressive and unrelenting. And the boy, of course, was much younger than Heihachi. But there were two crucial differences. Primo, Heihachi was gifted and the boy was not. He wondered briefly if Kazuya ever bothered to inform his ambitious champion that he was going to fight an uneven fight against a gifted, and with no less than a power of electricity. Heihachi himself was always smart enough not to disclose the fact to many and used this advantage discreetly during first Tekken and other competitions before. And, knowing Kazuya, he probably thought this entertaining to see how the boy's going to handle the surprise. Secundo, Irvin was fighting to become a champion. Noble cause, ambitious and propelling. But Heihachi's drives were unrelenting passionate hate and the stake that was his whole zaibatsu and the future of this world that under Kazuya's power was too grim even for Heihachi's taste. He'd lose the battle only if they had to scrape his remains off the floor, he's sworn this to his father's memory. He'd win even if he had to tear the boy apart with his very teeth. He doubted Irvin had the same steel, dark resolution backing him up in this fight.

The rest of the roster was, of course, completely unpredictable. Instead of a normal winning ladder, the fights were supposed to be randomized which obviously meant that Kazuya was going to personally decide who is going to fight against whom. Heihachi knew the younger Mishima's best fighters included also Ganryu, the surprisingly proficient in general fighting skills ouzeki and Anna Williams, Irish assassin taught by the best in CIA as his sources provided. He would not be surprised to be put against them in later matches. Ganryu, he wasn't worried about. Admittedly the man was known to have great resilience to pain and to be capable of smartly using his weight advantage, but he was still slower than Heihachi and his stamina left much to be improved. Anna however would not be an assassin, at least not alive one, if she was stupid. Against Heihachi she definitely would not stand a chance in mere fighting. She would have to handicap him one way or another – poison in her perfume to which she would be immune, or on her hands or sharp heels. Or maybe a deftly concealed needle. Or something simpler – a knife? Fight with Anna would not be a fighter's struggle, it would be putting down a snake – an animal seemingly at disadvantage, small and weak compared to a human, but deadly if you weren't vigilant.

Still these were fights yet to come in a little bit more distant future. What was near – tomorrow to be precise – was a fight against Irvin. He had to admit training with Kazama was good preparation for this. Of course she was no Muay Thai fighter, but she still was young, very fast and, above all, simply very capable, much better than his day to day sparring partners. After some months of meeting in Kyoto woods she started to really force Heihachi to be quicker, more evasive and more creative in counters and reversals than he used to be. Tomorrow would show Kazuya how much he improved.

Xxxx

There couldn't be a better season to host any sport tournament in Japan than autumn with its sunny days, brisk air and pleasant temperature devoid of biting cold or damp heatwaves. In view of this there was little surprise Kazuya has chosen an open stadium for holding Tekken. The weather however, even though quite predictable in his homeland, this time decided to match Heihachi's grim mood and on the day of his match the drizzling rain seemed to sneak its tiny droplets into every possible space. Still the stands were packed – rows and rows full of people in raincoats and kasas with binoculars and small flags of various countries. Heihachi stepped up onto the designated area and faced young, slightly higher than himself American. Bruce, to Heihachi's respect, did not do any Kazuya-like taunting; there wasn't even a hint of smirk on his face one could expect from a much younger but very succesful fighter. Even if he didn't know beforehand Heihachi would be able to tell the other man was raised on the streets and survived not by underestimating his opponents. Bruce was watching him sharply, with brows furrowed with concentration on whatever plan he had against Heihachi. Heihachi, on his part, planned to finish the fight as quickly as it was possible, not letting the American get used to Mishima style and revealing as little as possible about his capabilities to his future opponents. Even with his stamina and pain resilience he knew prolonging the match against younger by two decades and seasoned on the streets Muay Thai champion could have only downsides.

The movement in the VIP box caught his eyes and he saw Kazuya sitting down in the central seat with Lee on his right and Williams on his left. Bruce bowed to his boss. Heihachi did not let a single muscle twitch in his body as father and son viewed each other, seemingly completely impassively. Lee seemed grim. Williams was piercing him with her stare as if trying to read the secret to his defeat in Heihachi's eyes. Kazuya with a neutral, almost bored face shifted his look unto the judge and gave a small nod. The judge declared the beginning of the match.

Heihachi shifted into his usual karate stance while Bruce immediately put his fists up, ready to protect his head, and let his legs go to work. They were like that for a couple of seconds and then Bruce sprang in a show of impressive speed towards Heihachi. His fists aimed for Heihachi's face, but Heihachi knew better what was coming. Indeed the upper attack was merely a feint for the well aimed, powerful knee kick. Unluckily for Irvin it was exactly what Heihachi was expecting – attacking a man using karate with kicks not used in karate techniques. Pathetically predictable. Heihachi easily dodged that and showed Irvin that it is unpredictability that wins you a fight when he grabbed a younger man by the knee while dodging and let his opponent thud to the ground. Another important thing to know about winning real fights was that if you were down, you were gone. But this, the boy who lived on the US streets knew very well, he saw that on his face.

Heihachi mercilessly stomped with all his power on other man's genitals. The stadium went completely soundless. The American howled. Heihachi showed him mercy by landing two punches straight to the man's head into which he poured all his strength. Irvin stopped moving. There was a deafening silence. Heihachi knew this fight, broadcast all over the world, would not help his popularity. But people did not know it wasn't a mere sporting event. What was on the stake was the future of this world and there wasn't a place here to be sporting. All that mattered was who was left standing. And the match was over and Heihachi came out of it unscathed.

He looked at Kazuya. There was fury in those dark eyes and the wretched brat could barely conceal the ugly snarl that was trying to surface on his face. He knew that snarl very well. Then Kazuya suddenly stood up. Heihachi tensed. He doubted the arrogant boy would send his killers after him here and now, but you could have never been sure with Kazuya. He showed many people many times he considered any law to be below him. But Kazuya simply left with no words spoken to anyone. Williams sent him a grim look and left after Kazuya.'Yes, girl, you'd better do realise who you'll be dealing with,' thought Heihachi and then his eyes met Lee's. He looked even grimmer than Williams and there was obvious hate on the young face. Not for the first time Heihachi had a feeling bordering on certainty that the moment Kazuya falls Lee shall stab him in the back. Well, not that he wasn't prepared for that. He went back to his car accompanied by loud booing coming from the stands.

Xxx

The fights continued for a few more days. Ganryu had been defeated in a long and rather spectacular fight with a young American girl who could deliver not only kicks but very powerful, almost unfemale punches Heihachi really enjoyed watching. Admittedly he had the feeling the ouzuka wasn't fighting with all his might for some reason; still the girl was an amazing fighter and that was something to be said if Heihachi Mishima himself said that. Williams got badly beaten by her sister, Nina, who was using the same aikido style, but was even more ruthless in it than Anna. Kazama fought a long difficult fight with Wang Jinrey which Heihachi watched with intense preoccupation. Wang was his father's dear friend and Heihachi deep inside felt a pang of pain and anger that he had turned against Heihachi, claiming his ways were 'corrupt and immoral'. Heihachi could never understand how you could live that long on this corrupt and immoral world and not see that there was no other way to get to the top to have any chance of changing anything if you weren't being corrupt and immoral yourself. And he knew he was right – he created worldwide zaibatsu and gained power many could dream of and Wang? Nothing more than a dojo owner with ideals that changed exactly nothing in this world. Still, the old man was an amazing fighter and he couldn't help but feel it wasn't exactly fair that the girl he had trained, even if only shortly, had to clash with such an opponent in the very first match. But then again nothing in life was ever fair and it would be a good lesson for the girl. But Kazama surprised him. She had put absolutely everything she's ever learned from him and her other teachers into this match – she dodged, she countered, she reversed, she kicked, she even managed to pull some throws and after a truly long and engaging fight in which both sides proved to the whole world they had incredible fighting skills she has won. Heihachi knew the fact Wang was very old did help her, but still she proved to be an incredible fighter, for a woman. He felt proud of her even if he trained with her for barely some months. In the meantime the reporters informed viewers that Bruce Irvin's going to make full recovery and Heihachi drank to that. If he permanently crippled the fighter people would paint him as a monster. But now in their short and fallible memory the fight soon will just become a mere curiosity. 'Hey, remember that fight in Tekken when Heihachi crushed Irvin's balls?' 'DUUDE, who would forget, I thought the guy's a goner for sure, haha!' Couldn't be better.

The first round of matches ended and all there was left was to wait for Kazuya to decide who to throw against Heihachi this time. Finally the roster for the next round has been announced. It wasn't exactly surprising for him to see Kunimitsu's name against his. The mysterious girl reminded him of Williams sisters, with her dark past, love for money and penchant for underhanded methods. Maybe he had not guessed right that he would have to fight against Anna, but he felt his predictions had been still close enough. He bet Kazuya promised the girl a lot of money for killing or crippling Heihachi on stage. He smirked. Like a normal human could easily do that to him.

"Still, never underestimate, Heihachi, don't make the same mistake", he murmured to himself while studying Kunimitsu's previous fight against Yoshimitsu.

The girl got on his left side in one swift move. He responded with an automatic block, but she merely feinted the hit and made an illogical move with her hand that should barely touch him. He felt very faint pain of broken skin and immediately grabbed her arm as if his life depended on it. She kicked him hard with her knee right between his legs attempting to free herself, but he just made the pain lessen and grabbed her hand and twisted it. A small knife fell to the ground. Kunimistu rushed to attack him and he simply ignored it. The power of electricity might seem cool for many, because you could shock others by merely touching them. But the true value was that everything you did and felt in your body was at mercy of small electric impulses. The pain was nothing more than that. That was the secret of Heihachi's unbelievable hurt resistance. And the most important thing now was to show the whole stadium that a weapon was used. Everything was permitted in Tekken as long as you used only your body. Heihachi intentionally squashing Irvin's genitals might be considered horrible, but it was allowed. Finishing him off when he was lying defenseless on the ground might seem cruel, but it wasn't against the rules as long as the end of the fight had not been declared. But weapons? Using any sort of weaponry was an immediate loss for the cheating party.

He gathered the knife from the ground, shook off Kunimitsu with well placed kick and showed both the blade and the wound to the judge. The man glanced discreetly in the direction of VIP box. Of course. Kazuya's nod was almost imperceptible. The judge declared Kunimitsu to be disqualified, which perturbed her much less than could be expected. Kazuya also did not seem bothered. 'Poisoned,' realized Heihachi. And indeed he barely got out of the stadium when he started to feel dizzy. He again let his power flow through his body dispelling the feeling. Of course it was not going to remove the toxic substance, but enabled him to ignore its physical effects until he'd get to his trusted doctor. Still he decided to check whether his suspicions were right and bent down pretending to lose his balance. He immediately noticed men in civilian clothes approaching him with fake smiles. "You okay, Mr Mishima?" started one in a sugary tone. "We should take you the hospital, you're not feeling well," said someone who approached him from the behind. Heihachi straightened. "I feel perfect," he said calmly gaving them all challenging look. They hesitated and exchanged glances. Their confusion assured him this probably was the moment when he was supposed to lose his consciousness, not stand up inviting them to be heavily beaten up. "Well, if everything's okay...", shrugged one of them finally and they all dissipated. Heihachi thanked his past self for never revealing to Kazuya what exactly his electricity powers provided him.

He recovered from the effects of whatever was kindly introduced into his body by the next day. His organism fought off any damages or infections with almost inhuman efficiency as his doctors always said. It was in Mishima blood. His father was exactly the same and so was Kazuya. He'd thank God for small mercies, if he believed in one. The second round finished a few days later revealing the four fighters that managed to get this far. His competitors were Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law from the US, and Lee Chaolan. It was nothing surprising. Lee grew up on streets, then in Mishima household to finally train under Wang Jinrei; it would rather be a surprise if he did not manage to advance here. Law and Phoenix both had already proven in previous Tekken to be extraordinary opponents and in this competition they were even better. Kazama did not appear at all for her match which filled Heihachi with some disappointment and bad presentiment. If Kazama had the same wonderful idea as years ago, that is to barge into Kazuya's office or residence to spill her criticism on Mishima Zaibatsu's CEO then most likely they would never even find her body. Kazuya was very meticulous when it came to these matters. And very generous in handing capital punishments to people who displeased him. Heihachi hoped it didn't come to that in Kazama's case, since he's rather got fond of seeing her fighting style and training with her, but if he was right it was already too late to do anything to help her.

So he shook away grim thoughts and concentrated on things that really mattered now and that he actually could do something about. He had to be certain that on the day of the final match and Kazuya's fall, all his and Lee's people will be ready to deal with Kazuya's forces and agents; he had to be sure he'd have all the files against Lee in the highly probable case of him trying to subsequently throw Heihachi into prison; he had to be sure his case of 'involuntary manslaughter of Kazuya Mishima during the fighting tournament' would go to right judges and that at least some of the important newspapers would be willing to describe the version of events preferable by him. And, of course, he had to prepare for the next fight. The situation with Kunimitsu revealed that Kazuya chose the same strategy to get rid of his father as his father chose for him. Get him beaten unconscious during the Tournament, finish him off somewhere discreet and announce with regret (or not) his death due to the injuries received during harsh Tekken match. He obviously wasn't as eager as Heihachi previously hoped to meet his father in the final fight. This showed the brat did have some brains after all – he knew Heihachi would not enter the Tournament unprepared for putting him down, Devil Gene or not. It left them with a definite conflict of interests – Heihachi had to get to the final round for his plan to succeed; all Kazuya needed to achieve was arrange a fight that would incapacitate Heihachi, preferably before it comes to the final match.

Xxx

In view of all this it really was no surprise Heihachi was facing Lee now. The boy definitely had his clear instructions on this fight from his older 'brother'. Kazuya was seated between Williams and Ganryu, frowning angrily and piercing Lee with a stare that made Heihachi wonder if his wayward son did not suspect forthcoming betrayal. It was doubtful, since if he did, he wouldn't put Lee against Heihachi. If he did suspect anything, Lee would now be one of those people who's become overcome with sudden urge to leave the country and never resurface anywhere again. Or, if Kazuya's people weren't thorough, resurface on the shores of Shinano. Yet, Kazuya obviously seemed to have a bad feeling about this, Heihachi could tell. He hoped Lee's going to be able to continue this charade long enough for Heihachi's plan to succeed. The boy was always smarter than Kazuya, so the hope wasn't idle.

He again looked into Lee's eyes. The boy was unalterably grim and angry. He'd bet Lee was considering taking down Heihachi here and now, and then facing Kazuya himself. Two birds with one stone, like the Americans say. There was just this minor flaw, that he had to be sure he was able to take down the birds. Or he could let Heihachi win the match, not risking his own hide and see one of the two hated men inevitably die in the outcome of this Tournament. In Heihachi's mind the choice should be obvious.

And it was. Lee glared back at him for a short while to turn his eyes away with barely noticeable distaste and defeat. He knew he had to lose this match. The judge called the beginning of the fight and Lee attacked him immediately. He was quick and strong, his fighting style effectively combining everything he's ever learned on the streets and from his senseis. Heihachi had no doubt the fight's going to be long and draining and preferred it that way – it would not seem suspicious to Kazuya and also, honestly, deep inside he missed the proper beating and being beaten up. Other matches had to be finished quickly, but this one he could properly enjoy, even if the outcome was known.

Xxx

He sighed with relief when his trusted (at least as trusted as Heihachi trusted anyone) man, Kurio, brought him inside information on Lee's status. It seemed Kazuya was furious with Chaolan, but apparently did not suspect the loss was planned. Lee would be dead by now, if he did. Heihachi made sure to have thrashed him up to a point it was hard to suspect any sort of cooperation between the two. He had to give it to the boy that he did not forfeit the match in any easy way and Heihachi did come back nicely beaten and invigorated by all the pain he let himself feel from all the precise punches and kicks he's gotten. The boy was good. It also served as a nice reminder that Kazuya was even better and he certainly was not going to forfeit his fight to kindly give up zaibatsu and his life to Heihachi.

But before Kazuya he still had Paul Phoenix to defeat. Heihachi watched his match against Law – both opponents were long time friends and training partners, so the fight was incredibly lengthy, full of dodging and effective blocking. Thanks to this it was also incredibly informative – Paul had a style that basically favored the same advantages Mishima karate did – brute strength and resistance to pain. Heihachi respected that. And, just like Heihachi, he evidently worked on his speed and agility since the last Tekken. The man was not an easy opponent, but Heihachi has been fighting with karate for half a century now and he wasn't going to let the American win. Especially not with the stake that was his life, his zaibatsu and the future of this world. Besides, if he was to defeat Kazuya with his Devil Gene, he had to have it in himself to defeat even the most powerful human opponent.

Xxx

It was when he got out of the car he felt a sting on his arm. He immediately grabbed the dart containing unknown poison. Again, and this time before his match. 'Kazuya really doesn't want to meet me personally', thought Heihachi disdainfully. Hopefully his powers would be able to get him through the fight, though he had no doubts this time the toxicant would be much stronger than before. Kazuya has already learned about Heihachi's immunity the last time he tried this after all. Nevertheless, Heihachi would have to grit his teeth and force his body to cooperate no matter how debilitating the substance his system was going to have to fight. There wasn't any other choice, so it had to be done and it would be done.

But the moment he had stepped onto the stage he realized that he had underestimated whatever venom he's been injected with as he started to feel nauseous, his vision became unclear and his pulse decided to take part in a merry marathon. No matter, he would have to fight. He let his powers flow through his body and forced it to ignore everything. He needed to win this.

Paul frowned.

"You sick, old man?", he asked displeasedly in thickly accented Japanese. Made sense, the young fighter would hate it if people would have been saying he had defeated Heihachi only because the other man was unwell.

"I'm fine," he snapped back in perfect English. Paul did not seem convinced. To Heihachi's anger he felt the sweat gathering on his body. A droplet rolled down his face. He felt the fever incoming. Whatever that cursed brat used, it had to be incredibly strong if he wasn't able to completely shut it down at least for a short time.

The judge announced the beginning. Paul took on his usual stance, but instead of attacking, watched Heihachi scrutinizingly. He obviously did not like what he's been seeing. Heihachi snorted.

"Even sick I can beat you to a bloody pulp, American pup," he snarled.

"Right," answered Paul unconvinced. There wasn't any of the usual fighting zeal he showed during his matches in his behavior.

Heihachi snorted again and attacked him with a powerful middle punch that was just a feint for an upper kick. Paul dodged this easily and replied with a destructive middle punch himself. Heihachi realized how slow the poison made him when he barely avoided it. 'Fuck all the cocksucking devils in hell,' he thought infuriated pushing his powers to their limits in order to get a proper control of his body. Another of Paul's punches barely missed his head and a hit that followed connected with Heihachi's block. Again barely in time.

'I need to end this quickly' was the obvious realization. He loathed to, even partly, reveal the technique he intended for finishing off Kazuya, but in these circumstances there wasn't going to be any finishing off Kazuya, if he did not rush to win this fight. Still, his body wasn't as responsive as it should be and to his ire he was not able to switch to offensive. Even his defense was mostly blocking, not dodging.

'Fucking, reeking demonshit!', he snarled in his thoughts as he realised all he had left was hoping for an opening, since his body felt more and more weakened with every passing minute. Finally, thanks be to Heihachi's ancestors, hot young American blood took over in Paul as he decided to finish this pathetic one-sided with one powerful middle punch that revealed his chest for a couple of seconds. Heihachi mustered all his falling concentration and pushed his speed to its currently disappointing limits and finally punched Paul to the right of his sternum. The moment the fist connected he released all the electricity his body could produce. That should stop the other man's heart and end this pathetic spectacle.

Paul fell down on his back.

Notes:

Yeah, I know Wang is supposed to be rich, but it was in later installments, so I let myself make him not rich yet ;).

And yeah I know they use weapons in Tekken, but aw come on, that doesn't make actual sense during the fighting tournament, I always viewed as purely gameplay trick to add something uncanny.

Also, yeah, I suck at present/past perfect. Also I wanted this narration to be Heihachi-like, but I've got the feeling it doesn't read well, or like a child would be writing it. Sigh. Struggles of not native. Maybe I'm gonna rewrite it one day, but whenever I try to think like Heihachi this is how it's writing itself.

Also, that part about thickly accented Japanese and perfect English, this Heihachi's POV, lol, remember that.

Also, I doddged a bullet here, since I forgot to check Jin's birth date and I've written teh tournament as during the rainy season in Japan, and damn, that was no right, cause it had to be during autumn apparently.