TEKKEN 8

Chapter XXI: Propitious Shine [Part II]

Jin Kazama scoured the hazy battlefield with his eyes for Yoshimitsu, who disappeared from sight--most likely to remove himself from the receiving end of the blows. The full moon shining over his duck tail-styled hair, the tanned man treaded with caution, watchful in case an ambush were to happen. He soon realized the more he analyzed every pebble in his line of vision, the more he ached to see the ninja suffer...to see the pest writhe in agony until life drain from his eyes. To see those damned twitching tentacles lay beside his mangled corpse. To see--

Stop.

The man shook the idea from his brain. No, he will win their drawn-out match, and be on his way back to the hospital afterwards. As simple as that. Nonetheless, nothing in Jin's life (excluding his time with his mother) was a breeze. The devil never failed to have plans of his own.

A familiar urge bubbled in his insides as a golden hue swirled in his orbs. It was here once again. Muscles taut, he acknowledged its presence, but did everything in his power to keep it at bay.

'Breathe...think...appealing thoughts.' Jin concentrated, but his thoughts strayed into a sinister direction.

'Kill him, kill Kazuya, annihilate everything in your path.'

'Eradicate your allies, slaughter the innocents, not a single soul will be spared from the inevitable blood bath.'

Laughter rang off like a bell in his ears.

Dark phrases replayed in his head, ranging from whispers and murmurs to horrifying howls. Sweat leaking out of his pores at an alarming rate, the cursed being drew a shuddering breath. "Dammit!" His hands clawed at his hair, growling out the word. The voices refused to quiet themselves, which almost drove the man insane.

'How long are you going to torture yourself trying to rebel against me?'

An opaque fog crept around the perimeter, almost forming into a funnel, but the Zaibatsu owner did not bat an eye to it. Subduing the Devil Gene never eased for him despite his counterpart attempting to dominate the young CEO routinely.

'You are more akin to me than you would like to admit.'

'I am not. I'll keep fending you off until I find eternal peace.'

'You have been trying for years with no hope. Your miserable attempts to rid of me are pitiful.'

'Call it what you will. I will rid of you, even at the cost of my life.'

'Your empty vows are nothing to me, Jin Kazama.'

'You will be nothing to me once my vows are fulfilled, Devil.'

'Fear the wrath of God.'

His head pounded, a side effect from his brief interaction with the satanic entity in the depths of his soul. The erratic beat of his heart was the only thing he could have registered until it slowly calmed into a steady pace. Still in the same environment, he balanced on his footpads as he looked around. The fog did not leave or fade into the crisp air; in fact, it moved clockwise in a way that could be described as surreal. Untouched, as if fluffy clouds were pulled from the sky and compressed together to form this moonlit cylinder.

"Are you done, demon? I would like to continue this battle." The Yoshimitsu on standby cut Jin from his train of thought, making him glare upwards at the sword wielder suspended in the air. He was upside down, using both his prosthetic arm and his sword as a propeller to keep himself levitated.

Before Jin could provide a response, the ninjutsu practitioner blew purple dust into his face. This blocked the cursed individual's airway and his sight, knocking him down to his knees. Soaring up in the space of the cloudy tube as the man on the ground began to retch on the poisonous gas, the tentacle head let out a bizarre laugh. "Choke until you breathe no more!" Yoshimitsu ordered the gagging man, who held his throat while spit dribbled out of his mouth.

The Manji leader dropped from a great height, feet readied for impact on Jin's head. And once impact was made, Yoshimitsu could not decide whether it was the cement floor or the raven head's skull that produced that sickening crunch.

"This is the end for you, Jin Kazama. May you find peace in hell." With that, he flipped the CEO's body over with his foot (keeping another pressed on his head for precision purposes), and plunged the sword into Kazama's stomach.

...

Not a word was uttered between them. Silence enveloped the two, their blank stares as the only form of communication.

"I shoved it in too deep." Jin spat blood out of his mouth as an agreement to the ninja's abrupt statement. "No shit." The punctured man seethed, holding the cursed sword steadily in his abdomen. Acute pain mixed with abnormal tingling emitting from the weapon did not sit well with him. That having been said, when the sword owner commenced withdrawal, the son of Jun Kazama was hasty to object.

"Leave it in, you fool. I'll bleed out faster." He forced his voice to speak.

"I see no qualms with that."

"You--"

Whoosh!

The thick fog that functioned as an aesthetic barrier from the outside world wafted away in a sudden gust of wind. A face that Yoshimitsu was initially quite enthusiastic to see again smirked evily at him and his opponent.

"Attack Jin Kazama, and that squidish....alien...tentacle thing, too!" Lucky Chloe barked over her shoulder at the dozens of G Corporation soldiers behind her, unsure of tentacle man's species.

"That is no way to thank your savior, young lady!" The betrayed tournament veteran cried, but the woman dismissed him.

"Sic 'em!" She sent the soldiers after the two men.

End of Chapter XXI [Part II]

A/N: Hello everyone! Here's part two! Honestly...I think this might be a three-part chapter. >:-D

Yup, I'm late again. School is right around the corner, so 'back-to-school' shopping and the alike is a hassle. Uggggh. But, I at least wanted to get this part out before hell--I mean--school started again. I'm sorry!!

Another thing, I want to apologize for the pacing of this story. I know I'm taking hella long to get to the main action, but I can't help but add more to the story as we go! Forgive me, we are getting there! I promise!

Last thing, way back when in chapter four (I think), Lili's age was set to be 18, to which Lee rejoiced that she was 'finally legal'...in Monaco. In Japan, the legal drinking age is 20. So yeah, underaged drinking, as she mentioned. Just wanted to clear that up for you all.

Thank you so much for reading~!!

-LOVE to ALL!

-Cat, you're tired! Go to bed!