p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"Heihachi was intercepting the punches that were aimed straight at his jaw and emfinally/emspan style="font-style: normal;" the awaited moment /spancamespan style="font-style: normal;"–Kazuya was close enough, his head not protected for a split of a second./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"And a split of a second would do./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He head-butted his /spanoffspring, lettingspan style="font-style: normal;" all the electric shock he could create hit Kazuya's head. Normal man would end up in a hospital. Gifted man would collapse if only briefly. Kazuya however barely paused, his eyes going blank for mere seconds. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"But it was enough. Heihachi knew what he was dealing with, after all. He launched a punch, charged with yet another share of electricity. And another one. And another. And another. Hit after hit, he delivered the amount of voltage that would /spanfry a normalspan style="font-style: normal;" man's brain in no time. Even a gifted would have to spend upcoming months in recovery after this. Normal person would be /spanemdead./emspan style="font-style: normal;" But in Kazuya's case all Heihachi could hope for was to keep him unconscious for long enough. To not give him any time for his monstrous recovery factor to bring him back too soon. Not give him time to awake and /spanemturn/emspan style="font-style: normal;"./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"In the corner of his eyes he could see the judge running towards him, heard him shouting, but there was a gunshot and the man collapsed clutching his bleeding leg. Heihachi did not stop punching the lying figure, charging every single hit. He noticed the commotion in the crowds as Kazuya's men tried to get to the fighting arena, but Lee's men did not fail to stop them. More gunshots could be heard as the fight between two forces ignited. He did not stop punching. The spectators /spanrealizedspan style="font-style: normal;" what was happening and the stands explo/spandspan style="font-style: normal;"ed with panic. Chaos arose. And it was good. Nobody was paying any more attention to the fighting arena where Heihachi was mutilating his unconscious son's bloodied face./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"emFinally/emspan style="font-style: normal;" he heard the chopper. It seemed like an eternity though it probably was only ten or so minutes. His knuckles /spanemhurt/emspan style="font-style: normal;". He stopped and gave Kazuya a thorough look. His face was barely recognizable now. It did not seem like he would regain consciousness within the nearest hours. Still, Heihachi removed the syringe hidden in his clothes and drove it into Kazuya's neck. It was full of cyanide. He took the man's pulse. It was extremely weak and irregular. But it was there./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Heihachi stood and looked up at the chopper. His eyes narrowed as he /spanrealizedspan style="font-style: normal;" there weren't any of /spanemhis/emspan style="font-style: normal;" men inside. Instead his eyes met Lee's and that of Lee's men. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"'/spanemSmart/emspan style="font-style: normal;",' he thought. '/spanemKilling two birds with one stone./emspan style="font-style: normal;"' /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"The chopper landed. Lee's men ran for Kazuya's body and immediately took him with them. The chopper did not take off though as Lee watched his former guardian carefully./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""You're going with us or not?", he asked, his tone brusque and unfriendly./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi regarded the helicopter. Going with them would be going for your own death. In a chopper full of Lee's men, far away from any witnesses, nobody could testify what actually had happened at the volcano's site. If Heihachi fell down along with his son's body? Well, accidents do happen, right? Maybe it was even karma for killing his own son, they'd say./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"He locked his eyes with Lee's. Lee snorted grimly. Smart boy, he knew very well what was going on in Heihachi's mind./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I'm not like you, Mishima murderers," the words sounded familiar./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Is that so? Then where is my helicopter?", he spat back./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I'd rather be sure you're really going to do this."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi barked rather than laughed./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""He is /spanemmy/emspan style="font-style: normal;" responsibility. I should have killed /spanhim a longspan style="font-style: normal;" time ago. All this is /spanemmy/emspan style="font-style: normal;" responsibility." /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee went quiet, his face unreadable for a moment./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Yeah, maybe you should have," he /spanreplied, turningspan style="font-style: normal;" away from Heihachi and disappearing in the chopper./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Heihachi followed him. A logical part of him was staring now in disbelief. He was going right into what probably was a trap. But, as he just said, it indeed was /spanemhis/emspan style="font-style: normal;" responsibility. His and no one else's. He had no doubt Lee would kill Kazuya, but it was Heihachi who gave him his life, it was Heihachi who was blamed for what he had raised and it would be Heihachi to atone for his son's sins by ending his existence. And if he died along? He certainly did not want it, but a dark part of him, the one that watched his father slowly dying, that has remembered how his hands felt against Kazumi's neck, that has driven innumerous punches into Kazuya over the years whispered that maybe it was /spanemright/emspan style="font-style: normal;"./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"He shook himself from the grim thoughts. He won't die here. He did what was right and he won't let anyone kill him. Kazuya wasn't able to do the deed and he won't let Lee finish the job. He stepped inside the chopper./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"The trip would be long. It was around 1000 /spankilometersspan style="font-style: normal;" from Tokyo to Sakurajima, the currently most active volcano in Japan. Out of all possible ways of completely destroying Kazuya's body this seemed most certain. No Devil Gene could overcome being drowned in lava. Kazumi certainly never came back to life. All men inside the chopper were heavily armed and they were watching warily both Kazuya /spanemand/emspan style="font-style: normal;" Heihachi. Lee was urgently typing on a large and expensive looking cellphone. Kazuya's body, still in his high-class suit and /spanshoes, simplyspan style="font-style: normal;" l/spanaispan style="font-style: normal;"d on the floor. No wonder, nobody here felt any respect for the man. Heihachi heavily sat down and felt the chopper soar./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Xxx/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"It was /spanalready the nextspan style="font-style: normal;" day, though there wasn't yet a whisper of dawn visible on the sky when /spanthey finallyspan style="font-style: normal;" saw Sakurajima. No one said a single word during the whole flight. Lee's men watched Heihachi and Kazuya with unwavering vigilance, hands on their guns all the time. Lee seemed completely engulfed in whatever information he has been receiving and commands he's been issuing on his cellphone, which he abandoned only briefly to stick yet another dose of cyanide into Kazuya's motionless body once in a while. Heihachi was more than certain the young Chinese was right now working diligently to be sure Heihachi would be out of the image Lee had for this world's future. The thought did not occupy his mind for long, though. He had his own arrangements in motion for this likely scenario, so his head was mostly filled with grim thoughts of how his failed family life was now coming to a definite end. Short, happy life with his wife that had soon become a constant fight with what he at first thought to be her mental illness; death he had given her in self-/spandefensespan style="font-style: normal;"; long years of lonely struggling with raising Kazuya, watching his own son being hateful and completely alien and then, after many years, when the boy had taken away his zaibatsu and had attempted to take away his life too, the final /spanrealizationspan style="font-style: normal;", that there not even was a shred of hope that one day the boy would grow up and at least in little part appreciate what Heihachi's been giving him. And not only that. The /spanrealizationspan style="font-style: normal;" that the boy has to /spanemgo. /emspan style="font-style: normal;"That the same monstrous genes that took away his Kazumi live on in Kazuya. The only living family Heihachi still had, the only one who could carry Mishima's name and Heihachi's genes into the future./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""We're here," he heard Lee's voice./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Couple of his men rushed for Kazuya's body, but Heihachi barked at them. They immediately reached for their guns, but Lee shook his head./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Let him," he simply said./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"The pilot was /spanmaneuveringspan style="font-style: normal;" carefully over the top of the volcano, very aware that flying over the active one is not the most desirable situation. Heihachi for a second had ridiculous hope that the man would land and Heihachi could walk with Kazuya's body to the very edge, but of course there was no safe place to touch down nearby and climbing up with the body would be an unnecessary waste of time. He still gathered him himself as Lee's men /spanopened the sidespan style="font-style: normal;" door. The heat and smoke filled the helicopter. He reached the door and stared into the bright, suffocant mouth of one of the few mountains that were still alive./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"'This is where it all finally ends,' he thought. 'This is the end of the Devil Gene. The end of my family. The end to all the dark years when I've tried to live for someone else.' He closed his eyes for a moment. He almost wished to feel grief over Kazuya, but he couldn't. All he felt was grief for himself. And relief that his own son would be /spanemgone/emspan style="font-style: normal;"./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He's thrown Kazuya's body and watched it disappear completely in scorching lava. He knew his father would be disappointed he did not shed a single tear. But he couldn't. Instead he felt a deranged laughter trying to escape some dark part of his mind, a cackle that wasn't /spanthe tiniestspan style="font-style: normal;" bit happy that was twisting his lips up. Cause, honestly, what a joke all this was! He had power, money, health, sexual pro/spanwspan style="font-style: normal;"ess, but this one thing, having a normal family, was so completely denied to him. He shook his head and tried to /spanstiflespan style="font-style: normal;" the maniacal chuckle and wipe out the crooked grin out of his face./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He turned away and saw everyone watching him warily. They have probably noticed him behaving like a lunatic. Also he /spanrealizedspan style="font-style: normal;" the perfect opportunity to send his odious guardian down with Kazuya was not used by Lee./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Their eyes met./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"'Stupid boy,' he thought. 'You could have everything now if you weren't weak. If you weren't as weak as me, letting Kazuya live for so long.'/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"They were staring at each other for a while. Then he sat back and the chopper turned in the direction of Tokyo./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""This was a perfect opportunity to get rid of me, Lee," he stated calmly./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee looked at him with obvious disdain. "I've told you. I'm not like you, rich people, who take law into their hands. There still is justice out there, waiting to be served."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi gave him a very long look. To finally say "I did not hear you stopping me from killing Kazuya."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Lee's /spanhandsspan style="font-style: normal;" clenched on his cellphone and he turned his look away./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I've been giving you many pieces of advice since you came to my home, boy, and I'll give you one more. Hypocrisy will get you nowhere. Understand who you truly are and act upon it."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Just like Kazuya did?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"They were quiet for the rest of the flight./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"XXX/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"When the chopper landed /spanat Tokyo'sspan style="font-style: normal;" airport it was /spanalready a briskspan style="font-style: normal;" morning. The weather was at its peak autumn condition – cerulean sky, bright sun painting the golden ginkos and ruby maples vividly, air unusually warm for November. He jumped out of the chopper and spotted his driver standing by the limousine. Finally! During these few years when he had to commute by normal anonymous cars he had started to miss the comfort it provided. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee appeared by his side, brows frowned and scanning the mostly empty apron with clear irritation./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Have been expecting the police?"/spanHeihachispan style="font-style: normal;" smiled in an almost friendly manner. "I assure you, you should be grateful they haven't come, since it would not be me who would have been taken."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee paled and his face turned furious./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Child, you have been the right hand of Kazuya all this time. Did you seriously expect people of justice you seem to believe in would stand on your side rather than mine? That they would believe /spanemyour/emspan style="font-style: normal;" words that Kazuya forced you into cooperation? That they would let you roam free and imprison me, who just freed this world of the monster who was blackmailing and /spanthreatening them in the pastspan style="font-style: normal;" years?"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee did not reply a word. He looked hateful. And somewhat helpless in Heihachi's eyes./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I don't know what kind of files you sent them, but I assure you, I've got the best lawyers in this country. And many people knew my father to be a good Japanese citizen and they know me as the same."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee snorted./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""And you? You're nothing but a Chinese dog charitably taken in from the streets by a kindhearted rich Japanese, a dog that had bitten the hand that had been feeding it. That is how they see you, Lee," he hissed as he closed the distance and leaned /spaninto the boy'sspan style="font-style: normal;" personal space./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Fuck you," growled Lee./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi's hand moved involuntarily to slap the boy, but he stopped himself, though it had not gone unnoticed by Lee who just snorted again./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""These are rich words coming from someone whose ass I'm currently keeping from getting arrested," Heihachi growled./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Beg your pardon? /spanemYou/emspan style="font-style: normal;"'re keeping me from prison?" Lee barked back./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Of course. Kazuya's dead from /spanemthe wounds inflicted during the tournament, /emspan style="font-style: normal;"but the public will still want someone to get properly punished. Someone to serve the sentence. Who else other than you?"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""And do enlighten me why the fuck would you keep me away from that?", Lee snarled./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi rolled his eyes./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Just because /spanemyour/emspan style="font-style: normal;" definition of honor or justice differs from mine it does not mean the terms are /spanemalien/emspan style="font-style: normal;" to me, despite what you clearly believe. You could have killed me, but you haven't. You've been helping me to overthrow Kazuya, even if it wasn't out of sympathy, love or kinship, even if you wanted to throw me in prison after all this, blaming Kazuya's death on me." Heihachi paused. Lee did not seem to be buying any of his words. So he shrugged. "You can believe me or not. But if I wanted to get rid of you, you'd be taken care of, boy, right /spanemnow/emspan style="font-style: normal;". But you're young and smart and I would prefer you to be designing the machinery my zaibatsu could have use of rather than have you rotting in prison."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""I believe not a single word you utter, Heihachi Mishima," growled Lee. But Heihachi lived long and could see the fear slipping through the cracks of Chaolan's /spanaggressivespan style="font-style: normal;" facade. The boy, obviously, did not want to end up in prison. He had his hopes and dreams, like any youngling like him had; had his vision for his future. And he truly was the most talented inventor. Heihachi did not see a reason to squash all this. The boy did not snuff out his life when he could, and indeed Heihachi could foresee his usefulness if this genius spread its wings freely./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""You will go far, Lee, if you stop being a /spanemchild/emspan style="font-style: normal;". It is your choice whether to follow your emotions and obstinately choose to be my enemy, or to grow up and listen to what the logical part of your brain /spansuggests to youspan style="font-style: normal;"."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Lee snorted. "Ah, am I /spansupposedspan style="font-style: normal;" to exchange one servitude for another?", he laughed bitterly./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Heihachi meant to continue this exchange, but it suddenly hit him with full force that he has just killed his own son, he soon would have to face the court and the journalists, step up to take the steer of the enormous zaibatsu with many ties to be reconnected and many others to be severed, and finally that he was simply /spanemexhausted/emspan style="font-style: normal;". And what was he doing? Begging the stupid boy to kindly accept his protection?/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He turned and simply walked away. He was done with this. His knuckles were still stained with Kazuya's blood mixed with his own. All he wanted now was to sleep a dreamless sleep, even if only /spanfor a fewspan style="font-style: normal;" hours. He did not look back at Lee. All he wanted now was to never look back at anything again./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Xxx/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""About Lee Chaolan, Mishima-sama..." The voice /spanof the Commissionerspan style="font-style: normal;" General was hesitant. Morita was roughly his age, but he had deep respect for Heihachi. After /spanall, it wasspan style="font-style: normal;" Heihachi who helped him get to the top of the NPA. It only strengthened now when he took care of Kazuya, the man who had made Morita's daughter disappear the moment the Commissioner tried to work against Kazuya's trampling the law. Fortunately in /spanthis, very rare, casespan style="font-style: normal;" the daughter had been recovered alive and unharmed, Kazuya treating her as an important bargaining chip. That was the key difference between Heihachi's and Kazuya's methods – Heihachi made sure he was friends with the right people; Kazuya made sure the people were terrified to work against him. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""What about him?", he asked brusquely./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"There was a pause./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Um, I am making every effort to comply /spanwith yourspan style="font-style: normal;" wish, Mishima-sama, but..."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Sometimes he hated fellow Japanese. At least an American would spit it out already./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Tell me."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I don't think it will be possible, nor wise, to avoid his arrest."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"There fell a longer silence. A part of Heihachi, the colder, uncaring, bitter one, that his father always criticized, reminded him of the conversation he had with the boy after Kazuya's death. It reminded him that if it hadn't been for his own people that had shot down the cameras during the last match all the world would see Heihachi purposefully beating his son to death, since Lee, against his promise, did not cut the broadcast down. It whispered to let the boy bear the consequences of his actions, of not having bowed to the one who had his life in his hands now. Besides, why would he even care for this ungrateful Chinese dog? He should /spanemrot/emspan style="font-style: normal;"./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Fine."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"There was a surprised pause. Morita probably /spanexpected a differentspan style="font-style: normal;" reaction. Heihachi Mishima was not known for lightly taking other people's failure in /spanfulfilling span style="font-style: normal;"his wishes./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""/spanemHowever/emspan style="font-style: normal;", you can /spanemforget/emspan style="font-style: normal;" about convicting him. If the public wants him so badly to be arrested, be it, but you shall /spanemnot/emspan style="font-style: normal;" sentence the boy who was equally blackmailed by Kazuya as /spanemyou/emspan style="font-style: normal;"."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"That definitely sent a clear message to the Commissioner./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Oh, of course, Mishima-sama, we all know how difficult times...! We all were making harsh decisions!" There was an audible note of panic in Morita's voice. Good./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I am certain there are many other people to convict from Kazuya's close circle."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Of course, Mishima-sama!"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Conversation over, Heihachi looked out of the window of his newly reclaimed penthouse in Mishima Tower, Tokyo, at the beautifully setting sun painting the clouds in /spanmyriadsspan style="font-style: normal;" of colors. Let the boy know he is a better man than Kazuya. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Father would approve./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"He would approve less of the fact that deep down Heihachi would simply not forget the pure hatred towards Kazuya he saw in Lee's eyes, the reflection of his own feelings. Lee, just as Heihachi, spent years with Kazuya close and apparently came to loathe him as much as Heihachi did. He couldn't let the boy rot. The common hatred truly created strong ties./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Father would frown on this kind of reasoning, he was sure of that./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Xxx/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"His own trial went as smoothly as Heihachi could wish. There were enough witnesses to claim Heihachi did not purposefully cause Kazuya's death. His doctor, along with several more witnesses, provided the documents stating Kazuya died of ruptured aneurysm in his brain and testified that Heihachi took every step to resuscitate his son on the way to the hospital and that every rescue measure was taken in Mishima's private medical facility. The documentation furtherly emphasized it was an accident that could not be foreseen and that nothing Heihachi did during the tournament could be considered intentionally leading to Kazuya's death. The judge was an old friend of Jinpachi, one of the very few who knew about Jinpachi's condition before his death, therefore one of the few who did not lend an ear to the stories Kazuya spread about Heihachi killing his own father, which definitely helped. Of course there were some spectators and journalists who did remember well what they saw during the chaos in the stadium. Most of them decided against speaking out, some probably out of fear of Heihachi's influence, others out of hatred towards Kazuya. Heihachi bet there were many who with jealousy watched him /spanmutilatespan style="font-style: normal;" his son. And those few who tried to testify against Heihachi were hushed one way or another. In the end he did not spend a single day in arrest and had to admit all people involved in his trial had played their roles excellently. All of them were rewarded accordingly, too./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Lee's trial, however, was a /spanemmess/emspan style="font-style: normal;". As Heihachi expected, the public wanted someone's head /spanembadly/emspan style="font-style: normal;", and Lee has /spanalways beenspan style="font-style: normal;" seen as Kazuya's right hand. Heihachi got everyone rid of Kazuya, so it wasn't so weird people would turn their heads away from the fact he had actually killed his tyrannical son and easily bought Heihachi's innocence because they simply wanted to buy it. Lee was an entirely different matter. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Heihachi himself presented lengthy testimony in court painstakingly emphasizing Lee's covert cooperation with the police in order to put Kazuya in prison and further help of his people in bringing Kazuya's men before the face of justice. He lost count on how many of his men served as witnesses of Kazuya's threats towards Lee to convince the judge the boy's cooperation was forced. Still, his lawyers advised him to prolong the trial as much as possible, to let everyone's attention turn away from the boy, so it wouldn't be such a scandal, when the boy's going to be acquitted of the charges. /spanemIf/emspan style="font-style: normal;" he's going to be, that is. In the end it took more than a year, which Lee had spent arrested, and pulling practically all strings Heihachi had to finally release the boy, though not without a suspended sentence and an enormous compensation Lee was supposed to pay to Kazuya's victims and their families./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Heihachi had been visiting Lee during the trial to inform him about the measures he's taking in his case, but the boy, as Heihachi expected, was as stubbornly grim and ungrateful as ever, barely talking to the older man. Even during Heihachi's testimony he pigheadedly looked /spandown, refusingspan style="font-style: normal;" to send a single look towards his former guardian. It almost made Heihachi want to back out of all this, but since he's already put everything into motion and involved so many people it would just mean losing a face for him. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He breathed in relief when finally Lee was released from the arrest. It was the last thing to be finished, /spanthe lastspan style="font-style: normal;" remnant tying Heihachi with Kazuya's times on the top. He dealt with countless press conferences during which he had to /spanapologizespan style="font-style: normal;" profoundly over and over again for how he brought up his son and express his sorrow towards Kazuya's many victims, he smoothly went through his own trial, he cleaned his zaibatsu of Kazuya's people, reconnected business and political ties that the idiot severed and carefully examined ones Kazuya created, before cutting most of them. Now only Lee's case was left to finally close the hateful chapter./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He was leaning against his limousine parked outside the detention /spancenterspan style="font-style: normal;" when the boy finally left the place. As soon as he noticed Heihachi his lips /spandrewspan style="font-style: normal;" a thin line and eyes filled with anger./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"'Idiot child. No gratitude at all,' he thought with contempt. Lee approached him./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""What do you want?" he asked, no preamble whatsoever./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"'To slap that attitude out of you, you pathetic hound! You'd be /spanemnowhere /emspan style="font-style: normal;"without me!' he thought angrily./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""I just came here to make sure that I have paid whatever debts I /spanowedspan style="font-style: normal;" you."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Ah, so /spanemJapanese,"/emspan style="font-style: normal;" murmured Lee in reply, but the spite in his tone was much weaker than Heihachi expected./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""I'd offer you /spanto workspan style="font-style: normal;" for me, but I can see that is not going to happen. But for the last time I'll give you /spana piece of span style="font-style: normal;"advice. Stop /spanemfeeling/emspan style="font-style: normal;" and start /spanemthinking/emspan style="font-style: normal;"."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Lee said nothing. Not a single 'thank you' or the tiniest bow. Such a /spanemwaste of time/emspan style="font-style: normal;". He turned to his car without a goodbye and was already inside when Lee finally answered./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Why did you do all this, /spanemreally/emspan style="font-style: normal;"?" His voice was as distrustful and antagonistic as always./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi gave him a level look./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Because in prison you'd be a wasted resource, that's why," he replied coldly./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Notes:/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Okay, I know Tekken 4 says that Lee sided with Kazuya and therefore was kicked out of the zaibatsu. Like I've said at the beginning of this story, the very first outline o this fic was created long time ago, when Tekken 4 wasn't even out. And I remember CLEARLY two things about Lee: 1. he was Kazuya's secretary 2. his ending clearly showed he wanted both men in prison (not dead! He was still more lawful than in next tekkens! Also you got to remember no one ever mentions Lee tryin to kill Heihachi between 2 and 3, I think it was even stated he simply waited for Heihachi to die naturally). So this is how I saw he would play his cards. I know his cooperation with Heihachi seems most non canon compliant, but I think it would be logical from every possible perspective seeing he could put both men against each other and also it would be useful to use Heihachi, considering the guy definitely still was inluential and had A LOT OF ties, coming from rich old Japanese family. And probably there was a lot of people, in business, politics, etc who, after seeing Kazuya's grim rule, would gladly have Heihachi back (and Heihachi did come back to the top in canon, right? He HAD to have support of many people). But Lee was Kazuya's right hand, who would cooperate with him, who would believe teh conspiration isn't just Kazuya's ruse to see who are his enemies? With Heihachi he would get trust, ok, it's too big of a word, but you get it, he'd be believable. You can of course argue about Heihachi being helpful towards Lee, but let's face it – guy works with hateful Kazuya, is his right hand, and what? All Heihachi does is kicking him out of his corporation? He should be dead or serving sentence. Hence the rest of the story – that is, Heihachi actually does not hate the boy and does not wish him worst./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"And yeah, I know the reasons why Heihachi helps him seem so mixed here. Well, my Heihachi isn't himself 100% aware and is a bit confused why he wants to help, so he comes up with all sorta excuses not to admit Lee is the closest sorta thing to a heir and family he has now but of course never in seven heavens and hells he's gonna admit it even before himself. He's not gonna need this ungrateful Chinese dog for a family, not him, not our proud Heihachi who is done with being a family man, once and for all, yeah. And if he just went all out to help the boy out of the prison and offered him a job, well, there are GOOD REASONS for that. That is other reasons than being family starved, cause Mishimas are NEVER family starved, nope./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Also, I've dodged such a BULLET here, cause I was like one million percent sure Lee is Korean XD and discovered otherwise just recently, after already writing this chapter, and by accident XD/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Also, yeah, I know Heihachi in canon brought Kazuya in his own arms to the edge of volcano's mouth, but oh come on, it's ridiculous. But I paid tribute to that by making him consider that./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"And a split of a second would do./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He head-butted his /spanoffspring, lettingspan style="font-style: normal;" all the electric shock he could create hit Kazuya's head. Normal man would end up in a hospital. Gifted man would collapse if only briefly. Kazuya however barely paused, his eyes going blank for mere seconds. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"But it was enough. Heihachi knew what he was dealing with, after all. He launched a punch, charged with yet another share of electricity. And another one. And another. And another. Hit after hit, he delivered the amount of voltage that would /spanfry a normalspan style="font-style: normal;" man's brain in no time. Even a gifted would have to spend upcoming months in recovery after this. Normal person would be /spanemdead./emspan style="font-style: normal;" But in Kazuya's case all Heihachi could hope for was to keep him unconscious for long enough. To not give him any time for his monstrous recovery factor to bring him back too soon. Not give him time to awake and /spanemturn/emspan style="font-style: normal;"./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"In the corner of his eyes he could see the judge running towards him, heard him shouting, but there was a gunshot and the man collapsed clutching his bleeding leg. Heihachi did not stop punching the lying figure, charging every single hit. He noticed the commotion in the crowds as Kazuya's men tried to get to the fighting arena, but Lee's men did not fail to stop them. More gunshots could be heard as the fight between two forces ignited. He did not stop punching. The spectators /spanrealizedspan style="font-style: normal;" what was happening and the stands explo/spandspan style="font-style: normal;"ed with panic. Chaos arose. And it was good. Nobody was paying any more attention to the fighting arena where Heihachi was mutilating his unconscious son's bloodied face./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"emFinally/emspan style="font-style: normal;" he heard the chopper. It seemed like an eternity though it probably was only ten or so minutes. His knuckles /spanemhurt/emspan style="font-style: normal;". He stopped and gave Kazuya a thorough look. His face was barely recognizable now. It did not seem like he would regain consciousness within the nearest hours. Still, Heihachi removed the syringe hidden in his clothes and drove it into Kazuya's neck. It was full of cyanide. He took the man's pulse. It was extremely weak and irregular. But it was there./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Heihachi stood and looked up at the chopper. His eyes narrowed as he /spanrealizedspan style="font-style: normal;" there weren't any of /spanemhis/emspan style="font-style: normal;" men inside. Instead his eyes met Lee's and that of Lee's men. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"'/spanemSmart/emspan style="font-style: normal;",' he thought. '/spanemKilling two birds with one stone./emspan style="font-style: normal;"' /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"The chopper landed. Lee's men ran for Kazuya's body and immediately took him with them. The chopper did not take off though as Lee watched his former guardian carefully./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""You're going with us or not?", he asked, his tone brusque and unfriendly./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi regarded the helicopter. Going with them would be going for your own death. In a chopper full of Lee's men, far away from any witnesses, nobody could testify what actually had happened at the volcano's site. If Heihachi fell down along with his son's body? Well, accidents do happen, right? Maybe it was even karma for killing his own son, they'd say./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"He locked his eyes with Lee's. Lee snorted grimly. Smart boy, he knew very well what was going on in Heihachi's mind./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I'm not like you, Mishima murderers," the words sounded familiar./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Is that so? Then where is my helicopter?", he spat back./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I'd rather be sure you're really going to do this."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi barked rather than laughed./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""He is /spanemmy/emspan style="font-style: normal;" responsibility. I should have killed /spanhim a longspan style="font-style: normal;" time ago. All this is /spanemmy/emspan style="font-style: normal;" responsibility." /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee went quiet, his face unreadable for a moment./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Yeah, maybe you should have," he /spanreplied, turningspan style="font-style: normal;" away from Heihachi and disappearing in the chopper./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Heihachi followed him. A logical part of him was staring now in disbelief. He was going right into what probably was a trap. But, as he just said, it indeed was /spanemhis/emspan style="font-style: normal;" responsibility. His and no one else's. He had no doubt Lee would kill Kazuya, but it was Heihachi who gave him his life, it was Heihachi who was blamed for what he had raised and it would be Heihachi to atone for his son's sins by ending his existence. And if he died along? He certainly did not want it, but a dark part of him, the one that watched his father slowly dying, that has remembered how his hands felt against Kazumi's neck, that has driven innumerous punches into Kazuya over the years whispered that maybe it was /spanemright/emspan style="font-style: normal;"./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"He shook himself from the grim thoughts. He won't die here. He did what was right and he won't let anyone kill him. Kazuya wasn't able to do the deed and he won't let Lee finish the job. He stepped inside the chopper./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"The trip would be long. It was around 1000 /spankilometersspan style="font-style: normal;" from Tokyo to Sakurajima, the currently most active volcano in Japan. Out of all possible ways of completely destroying Kazuya's body this seemed most certain. No Devil Gene could overcome being drowned in lava. Kazumi certainly never came back to life. All men inside the chopper were heavily armed and they were watching warily both Kazuya /spanemand/emspan style="font-style: normal;" Heihachi. Lee was urgently typing on a large and expensive looking cellphone. Kazuya's body, still in his high-class suit and /spanshoes, simplyspan style="font-style: normal;" l/spanaispan style="font-style: normal;"d on the floor. No wonder, nobody here felt any respect for the man. Heihachi heavily sat down and felt the chopper soar./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Xxx/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"It was /spanalready the nextspan style="font-style: normal;" day, though there wasn't yet a whisper of dawn visible on the sky when /spanthey finallyspan style="font-style: normal;" saw Sakurajima. No one said a single word during the whole flight. Lee's men watched Heihachi and Kazuya with unwavering vigilance, hands on their guns all the time. Lee seemed completely engulfed in whatever information he has been receiving and commands he's been issuing on his cellphone, which he abandoned only briefly to stick yet another dose of cyanide into Kazuya's motionless body once in a while. Heihachi was more than certain the young Chinese was right now working diligently to be sure Heihachi would be out of the image Lee had for this world's future. The thought did not occupy his mind for long, though. He had his own arrangements in motion for this likely scenario, so his head was mostly filled with grim thoughts of how his failed family life was now coming to a definite end. Short, happy life with his wife that had soon become a constant fight with what he at first thought to be her mental illness; death he had given her in self-/spandefensespan style="font-style: normal;"; long years of lonely struggling with raising Kazuya, watching his own son being hateful and completely alien and then, after many years, when the boy had taken away his zaibatsu and had attempted to take away his life too, the final /spanrealizationspan style="font-style: normal;", that there not even was a shred of hope that one day the boy would grow up and at least in little part appreciate what Heihachi's been giving him. And not only that. The /spanrealizationspan style="font-style: normal;" that the boy has to /spanemgo. /emspan style="font-style: normal;"That the same monstrous genes that took away his Kazumi live on in Kazuya. The only living family Heihachi still had, the only one who could carry Mishima's name and Heihachi's genes into the future./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""We're here," he heard Lee's voice./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Couple of his men rushed for Kazuya's body, but Heihachi barked at them. They immediately reached for their guns, but Lee shook his head./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Let him," he simply said./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"The pilot was /spanmaneuveringspan style="font-style: normal;" carefully over the top of the volcano, very aware that flying over the active one is not the most desirable situation. Heihachi for a second had ridiculous hope that the man would land and Heihachi could walk with Kazuya's body to the very edge, but of course there was no safe place to touch down nearby and climbing up with the body would be an unnecessary waste of time. He still gathered him himself as Lee's men /spanopened the sidespan style="font-style: normal;" door. The heat and smoke filled the helicopter. He reached the door and stared into the bright, suffocant mouth of one of the few mountains that were still alive./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"'This is where it all finally ends,' he thought. 'This is the end of the Devil Gene. The end of my family. The end to all the dark years when I've tried to live for someone else.' He closed his eyes for a moment. He almost wished to feel grief over Kazuya, but he couldn't. All he felt was grief for himself. And relief that his own son would be /spanemgone/emspan style="font-style: normal;"./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He's thrown Kazuya's body and watched it disappear completely in scorching lava. He knew his father would be disappointed he did not shed a single tear. But he couldn't. Instead he felt a deranged laughter trying to escape some dark part of his mind, a cackle that wasn't /spanthe tiniestspan style="font-style: normal;" bit happy that was twisting his lips up. Cause, honestly, what a joke all this was! He had power, money, health, sexual pro/spanwspan style="font-style: normal;"ess, but this one thing, having a normal family, was so completely denied to him. He shook his head and tried to /spanstiflespan style="font-style: normal;" the maniacal chuckle and wipe out the crooked grin out of his face./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He turned away and saw everyone watching him warily. They have probably noticed him behaving like a lunatic. Also he /spanrealizedspan style="font-style: normal;" the perfect opportunity to send his odious guardian down with Kazuya was not used by Lee./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Their eyes met./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"'Stupid boy,' he thought. 'You could have everything now if you weren't weak. If you weren't as weak as me, letting Kazuya live for so long.'/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"They were staring at each other for a while. Then he sat back and the chopper turned in the direction of Tokyo./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""This was a perfect opportunity to get rid of me, Lee," he stated calmly./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee looked at him with obvious disdain. "I've told you. I'm not like you, rich people, who take law into their hands. There still is justice out there, waiting to be served."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi gave him a very long look. To finally say "I did not hear you stopping me from killing Kazuya."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Lee's /spanhandsspan style="font-style: normal;" clenched on his cellphone and he turned his look away./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I've been giving you many pieces of advice since you came to my home, boy, and I'll give you one more. Hypocrisy will get you nowhere. Understand who you truly are and act upon it."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Just like Kazuya did?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"They were quiet for the rest of the flight./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"XXX/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"When the chopper landed /spanat Tokyo'sspan style="font-style: normal;" airport it was /spanalready a briskspan style="font-style: normal;" morning. The weather was at its peak autumn condition – cerulean sky, bright sun painting the golden ginkos and ruby maples vividly, air unusually warm for November. He jumped out of the chopper and spotted his driver standing by the limousine. Finally! During these few years when he had to commute by normal anonymous cars he had started to miss the comfort it provided. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee appeared by his side, brows frowned and scanning the mostly empty apron with clear irritation./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Have been expecting the police?"/spanHeihachispan style="font-style: normal;" smiled in an almost friendly manner. "I assure you, you should be grateful they haven't come, since it would not be me who would have been taken."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee paled and his face turned furious./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Child, you have been the right hand of Kazuya all this time. Did you seriously expect people of justice you seem to believe in would stand on your side rather than mine? That they would believe /spanemyour/emspan style="font-style: normal;" words that Kazuya forced you into cooperation? That they would let you roam free and imprison me, who just freed this world of the monster who was blackmailing and /spanthreatening them in the pastspan style="font-style: normal;" years?"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee did not reply a word. He looked hateful. And somewhat helpless in Heihachi's eyes./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I don't know what kind of files you sent them, but I assure you, I've got the best lawyers in this country. And many people knew my father to be a good Japanese citizen and they know me as the same."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Lee snorted./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""And you? You're nothing but a Chinese dog charitably taken in from the streets by a kindhearted rich Japanese, a dog that had bitten the hand that had been feeding it. That is how they see you, Lee," he hissed as he closed the distance and leaned /spaninto the boy'sspan style="font-style: normal;" personal space./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Fuck you," growled Lee./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi's hand moved involuntarily to slap the boy, but he stopped himself, though it had not gone unnoticed by Lee who just snorted again./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""These are rich words coming from someone whose ass I'm currently keeping from getting arrested," Heihachi growled./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Beg your pardon? /spanemYou/emspan style="font-style: normal;"'re keeping me from prison?" Lee barked back./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Of course. Kazuya's dead from /spanemthe wounds inflicted during the tournament, /emspan style="font-style: normal;"but the public will still want someone to get properly punished. Someone to serve the sentence. Who else other than you?"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""And do enlighten me why the fuck would you keep me away from that?", Lee snarled./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi rolled his eyes./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Just because /spanemyour/emspan style="font-style: normal;" definition of honor or justice differs from mine it does not mean the terms are /spanemalien/emspan style="font-style: normal;" to me, despite what you clearly believe. You could have killed me, but you haven't. You've been helping me to overthrow Kazuya, even if it wasn't out of sympathy, love or kinship, even if you wanted to throw me in prison after all this, blaming Kazuya's death on me." Heihachi paused. Lee did not seem to be buying any of his words. So he shrugged. "You can believe me or not. But if I wanted to get rid of you, you'd be taken care of, boy, right /spanemnow/emspan style="font-style: normal;". But you're young and smart and I would prefer you to be designing the machinery my zaibatsu could have use of rather than have you rotting in prison."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""I believe not a single word you utter, Heihachi Mishima," growled Lee. But Heihachi lived long and could see the fear slipping through the cracks of Chaolan's /spanaggressivespan style="font-style: normal;" facade. The boy, obviously, did not want to end up in prison. He had his hopes and dreams, like any youngling like him had; had his vision for his future. And he truly was the most talented inventor. Heihachi did not see a reason to squash all this. The boy did not snuff out his life when he could, and indeed Heihachi could foresee his usefulness if this genius spread its wings freely./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""You will go far, Lee, if you stop being a /spanemchild/emspan style="font-style: normal;". It is your choice whether to follow your emotions and obstinately choose to be my enemy, or to grow up and listen to what the logical part of your brain /spansuggests to youspan style="font-style: normal;"."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Lee snorted. "Ah, am I /spansupposedspan style="font-style: normal;" to exchange one servitude for another?", he laughed bitterly./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Heihachi meant to continue this exchange, but it suddenly hit him with full force that he has just killed his own son, he soon would have to face the court and the journalists, step up to take the steer of the enormous zaibatsu with many ties to be reconnected and many others to be severed, and finally that he was simply /spanemexhausted/emspan style="font-style: normal;". And what was he doing? Begging the stupid boy to kindly accept his protection?/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He turned and simply walked away. He was done with this. His knuckles were still stained with Kazuya's blood mixed with his own. All he wanted now was to sleep a dreamless sleep, even if only /spanfor a fewspan style="font-style: normal;" hours. He did not look back at Lee. All he wanted now was to never look back at anything again./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Xxx/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""About Lee Chaolan, Mishima-sama..." The voice /spanof the Commissionerspan style="font-style: normal;" General was hesitant. Morita was roughly his age, but he had deep respect for Heihachi. After /spanall, it wasspan style="font-style: normal;" Heihachi who helped him get to the top of the NPA. It only strengthened now when he took care of Kazuya, the man who had made Morita's daughter disappear the moment the Commissioner tried to work against Kazuya's trampling the law. Fortunately in /spanthis, very rare, casespan style="font-style: normal;" the daughter had been recovered alive and unharmed, Kazuya treating her as an important bargaining chip. That was the key difference between Heihachi's and Kazuya's methods – Heihachi made sure he was friends with the right people; Kazuya made sure the people were terrified to work against him. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""What about him?", he asked brusquely./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"There was a pause./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Um, I am making every effort to comply /spanwith yourspan style="font-style: normal;" wish, Mishima-sama, but..."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Sometimes he hated fellow Japanese. At least an American would spit it out already./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Tell me."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I don't think it will be possible, nor wise, to avoid his arrest."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"There fell a longer silence. A part of Heihachi, the colder, uncaring, bitter one, that his father always criticized, reminded him of the conversation he had with the boy after Kazuya's death. It reminded him that if it hadn't been for his own people that had shot down the cameras during the last match all the world would see Heihachi purposefully beating his son to death, since Lee, against his promise, did not cut the broadcast down. It whispered to let the boy bear the consequences of his actions, of not having bowed to the one who had his life in his hands now. Besides, why would he even care for this ungrateful Chinese dog? He should /spanemrot/emspan style="font-style: normal;"./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Fine."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"There was a surprised pause. Morita probably /spanexpected a differentspan style="font-style: normal;" reaction. Heihachi Mishima was not known for lightly taking other people's failure in /spanfulfilling span style="font-style: normal;"his wishes./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""/spanemHowever/emspan style="font-style: normal;", you can /spanemforget/emspan style="font-style: normal;" about convicting him. If the public wants him so badly to be arrested, be it, but you shall /spanemnot/emspan style="font-style: normal;" sentence the boy who was equally blackmailed by Kazuya as /spanemyou/emspan style="font-style: normal;"."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"That definitely sent a clear message to the Commissioner./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Oh, of course, Mishima-sama, we all know how difficult times...! We all were making harsh decisions!" There was an audible note of panic in Morita's voice. Good./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""I am certain there are many other people to convict from Kazuya's close circle."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Of course, Mishima-sama!"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Conversation over, Heihachi looked out of the window of his newly reclaimed penthouse in Mishima Tower, Tokyo, at the beautifully setting sun painting the clouds in /spanmyriadsspan style="font-style: normal;" of colors. Let the boy know he is a better man than Kazuya. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Father would approve./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"He would approve less of the fact that deep down Heihachi would simply not forget the pure hatred towards Kazuya he saw in Lee's eyes, the reflection of his own feelings. Lee, just as Heihachi, spent years with Kazuya close and apparently came to loathe him as much as Heihachi did. He couldn't let the boy rot. The common hatred truly created strong ties./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Father would frown on this kind of reasoning, he was sure of that./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Xxx/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"His own trial went as smoothly as Heihachi could wish. There were enough witnesses to claim Heihachi did not purposefully cause Kazuya's death. His doctor, along with several more witnesses, provided the documents stating Kazuya died of ruptured aneurysm in his brain and testified that Heihachi took every step to resuscitate his son on the way to the hospital and that every rescue measure was taken in Mishima's private medical facility. The documentation furtherly emphasized it was an accident that could not be foreseen and that nothing Heihachi did during the tournament could be considered intentionally leading to Kazuya's death. The judge was an old friend of Jinpachi, one of the very few who knew about Jinpachi's condition before his death, therefore one of the few who did not lend an ear to the stories Kazuya spread about Heihachi killing his own father, which definitely helped. Of course there were some spectators and journalists who did remember well what they saw during the chaos in the stadium. Most of them decided against speaking out, some probably out of fear of Heihachi's influence, others out of hatred towards Kazuya. Heihachi bet there were many who with jealousy watched him /spanmutilatespan style="font-style: normal;" his son. And those few who tried to testify against Heihachi were hushed one way or another. In the end he did not spend a single day in arrest and had to admit all people involved in his trial had played their roles excellently. All of them were rewarded accordingly, too./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Lee's trial, however, was a /spanemmess/emspan style="font-style: normal;". As Heihachi expected, the public wanted someone's head /spanembadly/emspan style="font-style: normal;", and Lee has /spanalways beenspan style="font-style: normal;" seen as Kazuya's right hand. Heihachi got everyone rid of Kazuya, so it wasn't so weird people would turn their heads away from the fact he had actually killed his tyrannical son and easily bought Heihachi's innocence because they simply wanted to buy it. Lee was an entirely different matter. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Heihachi himself presented lengthy testimony in court painstakingly emphasizing Lee's covert cooperation with the police in order to put Kazuya in prison and further help of his people in bringing Kazuya's men before the face of justice. He lost count on how many of his men served as witnesses of Kazuya's threats towards Lee to convince the judge the boy's cooperation was forced. Still, his lawyers advised him to prolong the trial as much as possible, to let everyone's attention turn away from the boy, so it wouldn't be such a scandal, when the boy's going to be acquitted of the charges. /spanemIf/emspan style="font-style: normal;" he's going to be, that is. In the end it took more than a year, which Lee had spent arrested, and pulling practically all strings Heihachi had to finally release the boy, though not without a suspended sentence and an enormous compensation Lee was supposed to pay to Kazuya's victims and their families./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Heihachi had been visiting Lee during the trial to inform him about the measures he's taking in his case, but the boy, as Heihachi expected, was as stubbornly grim and ungrateful as ever, barely talking to the older man. Even during Heihachi's testimony he pigheadedly looked /spandown, refusingspan style="font-style: normal;" to send a single look towards his former guardian. It almost made Heihachi want to back out of all this, but since he's already put everything into motion and involved so many people it would just mean losing a face for him. /span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He breathed in relief when finally Lee was released from the arrest. It was the last thing to be finished, /spanthe lastspan style="font-style: normal;" remnant tying Heihachi with Kazuya's times on the top. He dealt with countless press conferences during which he had to /spanapologizespan style="font-style: normal;" profoundly over and over again for how he brought up his son and express his sorrow towards Kazuya's many victims, he smoothly went through his own trial, he cleaned his zaibatsu of Kazuya's people, reconnected business and political ties that the idiot severed and carefully examined ones Kazuya created, before cutting most of them. Now only Lee's case was left to finally close the hateful chapter./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"He was leaning against his limousine parked outside the detention /spancenterspan style="font-style: normal;" when the boy finally left the place. As soon as he noticed Heihachi his lips /spandrewspan style="font-style: normal;" a thin line and eyes filled with anger./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"'Idiot child. No gratitude at all,' he thought with contempt. Lee approached him./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""What do you want?" he asked, no preamble whatsoever./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"'To slap that attitude out of you, you pathetic hound! You'd be /spanemnowhere /emspan style="font-style: normal;"without me!' he thought angrily./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""I just came here to make sure that I have paid whatever debts I /spanowedspan style="font-style: normal;" you."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Ah, so /spanemJapanese,"/emspan style="font-style: normal;" murmured Lee in reply, but the spite in his tone was much weaker than Heihachi expected./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""I'd offer you /spanto workspan style="font-style: normal;" for me, but I can see that is not going to happen. But for the last time I'll give you /spana piece of span style="font-style: normal;"advice. Stop /spanemfeeling/emspan style="font-style: normal;" and start /spanemthinking/emspan style="font-style: normal;"."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"Lee said nothing. Not a single 'thank you' or the tiniest bow. Such a /spanemwaste of time/emspan style="font-style: normal;". He turned to his car without a goodbye and was already inside when Lee finally answered./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;""Why did you do all this, /spanemreally/emspan style="font-style: normal;"?" His voice was as distrustful and antagonistic as always./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Heihachi gave him a level look./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;""Because in prison you'd be a wasted resource, that's why," he replied coldly./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Notes:/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Okay, I know Tekken 4 says that Lee sided with Kazuya and therefore was kicked out of the zaibatsu. Like I've said at the beginning of this story, the very first outline o this fic was created long time ago, when Tekken 4 wasn't even out. And I remember CLEARLY two things about Lee: 1. he was Kazuya's secretary 2. his ending clearly showed he wanted both men in prison (not dead! He was still more lawful than in next tekkens! Also you got to remember no one ever mentions Lee tryin to kill Heihachi between 2 and 3, I think it was even stated he simply waited for Heihachi to die naturally). So this is how I saw he would play his cards. I know his cooperation with Heihachi seems most non canon compliant, but I think it would be logical from every possible perspective seeing he could put both men against each other and also it would be useful to use Heihachi, considering the guy definitely still was inluential and had A LOT OF ties, coming from rich old Japanese family. And probably there was a lot of people, in business, politics, etc who, after seeing Kazuya's grim rule, would gladly have Heihachi back (and Heihachi did come back to the top in canon, right? He HAD to have support of many people). But Lee was Kazuya's right hand, who would cooperate with him, who would believe teh conspiration isn't just Kazuya's ruse to see who are his enemies? With Heihachi he would get trust, ok, it's too big of a word, but you get it, he'd be believable. You can of course argue about Heihachi being helpful towards Lee, but let's face it – guy works with hateful Kazuya, is his right hand, and what? All Heihachi does is kicking him out of his corporation? He should be dead or serving sentence. Hence the rest of the story – that is, Heihachi actually does not hate the boy and does not wish him worst./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"And yeah, I know the reasons why Heihachi helps him seem so mixed here. Well, my Heihachi isn't himself 100% aware and is a bit confused why he wants to help, so he comes up with all sorta excuses not to admit Lee is the closest sorta thing to a heir and family he has now but of course never in seven heavens and hells he's gonna admit it even before himself. He's not gonna need this ungrateful Chinese dog for a family, not him, not our proud Heihachi who is done with being a family man, once and for all, yeah. And if he just went all out to help the boy out of the prison and offered him a job, well, there are GOOD REASONS for that. That is other reasons than being family starved, cause Mishimas are NEVER family starved, nope./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Also, I've dodged such a BULLET here, cause I was like one million percent sure Lee is Korean XD and discovered otherwise just recently, after already writing this chapter, and by accident XD/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"Also, yeah, I know Heihachi in canon brought Kazuya in his own arms to the edge of volcano's mouth, but oh come on, it's ridiculous. But I paid tribute to that by making him consider that./p
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