Afterward

Rendezvous

Jun watched Kazuya excuse himself to go to the toilet and turned to the rest.
"Guys, there's something I didn't tell you," Jun began. "Heihachi was here earlier."
Jin and Lars nodded.
"We know," Jin said. "I saw him looking at us, but he made no move. And then he left."
"I saw him too, but I didn't wanna say anything since Kazuya seemed really upset earlier," Lars added. "That's why I kept quiet about it."
Amber frowned. "Is that why you stopped me earlier, Jin?"
Jin nodded. "Yes. I figured you sensed him since your face changed. That's why I quickly changed the subject."
"Yeah, and I played along," Amber sighed. "I know that I really wanted to give him a piece of my mind, but we don't need that sort of drama right now."
Jun smiled. "Thanks, guys. I was afraid that any of you might see him, especially Kazuya."
Jin smirked. "Well, from where he sat, Dad couldn't see Heihachi."
"Yeah, and that's a good thing too," Lars agreed. "But I'm actually surprised that Heihachi didn't try to approach us."
Amber shrugged. "Maybe he knew that we only want peace now."
"Lee actually spotted us through his spy satellite since he and Anna were spying on Heihachi," Jun added, smirking. "Anna asked me if he did anything."
"I appreciate them keeping an eye on him," Lars said, nodding. "Who knows what he's planning next?"
Jun shrugged. "Well, seeing how he's just lounging about, I'd say nothing. But it's still a good idea to keep a close eye on him."
Jin nodded in agreement. "You're right. He's always got something up his sleeve."
"Like cloning," Amber added.
"Yeah, stuff like that," Jin sighed.

Kazuya finished his meal first and decided to go to the toilet. He had to walk past the bar, where Ichiya stood making drinks, and couldn't help but notice the bartender staring at him. Kazuya just shrugged and entered the men's room before coming out a moment later.
That was when Ichiya decided to stop him.
"Are you by any chance related to another gentleman that looks a lot like you in the face?" Ichiya asked, referring to Heihachi. "You two have the same sort of build too, the way you carry yourselves, and your thick eyebrows."
Kazuya instantly got an image of Jin in his head and nodded, a slight smile on his face. "Yeah, we are. That's my son you're referring to."
"Your son?" Ichiya repeated in surprise. "Wow, sir. You look so young, you could be brothers! If anything, he seemed older than you."
"Hey, that's my son," Kazuya frowned. He noticed how Ichiya's name tag bore the same characters as in his name. "Wait, we have the same name?"
"My name is Ichiya," Ichiya smiled excitedly.
Kazuya smiled back, nodding slightly. "I'm Kazuya."
With that, he walked away, leaving Ichiya to stare after him in surprise. Didn't the guy say that his son's name was Kazuya? But now this guy's saying that the other guy was his son and that his name was Kazuya too...? So which was what? What was which? Did the guy in the tiger-print suit name his son after his father? But why was his father not with him? Was he sneaking behind his father? Why would he do that? It was not like he was even underaged. The guy was a father too, he was old enough to have a son named Kazuya, right? Why name your son after your father if you don't even like your father?
Ichiya had so many questions now...

Kazuya made his way back to the table and shook his head.
"The bartender stopped me just now to ask if Jin and I are related," Kazuya complained. "Isn't it obvious enough for him?"
"What did he say?" Lars asked, finishing the last of his fruit juice, amused.
Kazuya shrugged. "Well, he stopped me and asked if I was related to this 'gentleman' who looks a lot like me in the face and had a similar build and bushy brows. I told him yes, that's my son, and he had the nerve to tell me that Jin looked older than me."
The others pursed their lips. It was clear that the bartender didn't have Jin in mind when he said that.
"I scolded him, but then I realised that his name tag had the same characters as my name," Kazuya said. "He calls himself Ichiya, by the way. I just told him that I was Kazuya and left."
"Then?" Jun asked.
"He didn't say more since I left him," Kazuya shrugged, pulling the shochu bottle towards him to see how much of it was left. "Anyway, I think there's enough of this for each of us to have another shot. Wanna have another round?"
"Sure," Jin simply said, shaking his head.
It was a good thing that Kazuya thought Ichiya was referring to Jin instead of Heihachi when he approached him. What if Kazuya saw through his statement and found that Heihachi had been in the same room as him without his knowledge? Jin didn't want to think about it. He turned to his father, who reached for Jin's shot glass to give him a refill, and sighed. At least they still had a good time without Heihachi's interference.

Heihachi requested his driver, Tadashi, to just drive around Tokyo in the night. He didn't feel like going home yet, yet he didn't feel like doing anything else in the city. Heihachi didn't even eat much, just some trail mix and nachos with a few rounds of sake. That hardly qualifies as dinner.
Yet he didn't in the least feel hungry...
In the end, he had Tadashi make a stop at the Aoyama Park. Heihachi asked his driver to go have a meal while he was away, even gave him some extra money for it. Tadashi looked at him in surprise, but didn't say anything since he could tell that Heihachi was upset, but didn't wish to pry on anything else.
So he got out of the car and watched as Heihachi entered the park, taking a walk. Tadashi shrugged and decided to go over to a restaurant in Aoyama Street.
Heihachi eventually sat down on a bench and stared at the beautiful view of the park, the cherry blossoms raining down like gentle snow. It was a beautiful sight, one that was exclusive to the annual spring season. It came every year, but no one can resist the beauty of it each time.
One of the Sakura flowers landed on Heihachi's lap. He picked up the flower and looked up to realise that more and more of the petals were falling in his direction. There was no wind, yet they strangely fell in a single direction. That was when he noticed a strange presence approaching him, which made him stand up in surprise.
"You aren't supposed to be here..." Heihachi said, his fingers still gripping the delicate Sakura.
The older version of himself appeared amidst the petals and regarded him, dressed in the same tiger-print jacket that the younger man was wearing. "You aren't either, yet here we are."
The cloned Heihachi scowled as he regarded him. "Why did you think that things would only worsen after you're gone? Look at me now, I have no purpose being here."
"Who says you have no purpose?" The older Heihachi smirked. "You're here now to do what I didn't get to."
"And wasn't that scraped? You really want me to ruin the happiness of your sons?"
The older man shook his head. "They aren't just my sons, they are yours too. And no, I don't want you to ruin their happiness."
"Isn't that the sole purpose you had in mind when you created me?"
"At that time, maybe. But that's not what I want now. They have come so far, I don't want to destroy everything they have worked for."
"What do you want me to do, then? There is no point in me being here."
"There still is. Remember, you were created to do what I didn't get to. Keep that in mind."
The younger Heihachi stared in surprise as his older self vanished into thin air. A gust of wind hit him, sending more of the falling Sakuras his way. Heihachi sighed and sat down, even more confused now than he had ever been.