**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tekken, if I had owned Tekken I wouldn’t be at home, bored, writing fan fictions, now would I?
Obsidian Solace
Chapter One - Practice…
“Those responsible for my father’s death must pay.”
Eddy’s words plagued Christie in her sleep. What did he mean by that? She knew perfectly well that his mind was tainted by thoughts of revenge, but why had he said that in place of kind parting words when he went back to his house?
The young Brazilian woman sat up in her bed, wiping sweat off her clammy forehead. Something was wrong. She felt it in her bones. Something wasn’t right. Eddy was hinting at something the previous day when he said that. He was acting quiet and detached all through their regular workout session.
A waning moon peaked in through the open window, casting a luminous glow over a prowling snake, making its way across the room, stalking it’s next meal. Christie grinned and took the snake up in her arms, “How’d you get in here, sweetie? Come, let’s see if Eddy’s doing alright.”
The snake coiled around Christie’s neck. She shuddered from the contact of the cool scales, slightly bothered by it, but not enough to give it much thought. A small cloud covered the moon, draping the girl in darkness. She hardly noticed it as she pulled on a pair of tight-fitting shorts.
Once outside, she broke into a run. The snake held on securely. Eddy’s home wasn’t far, but Christie had a certain sense of urgency that she could not explain, not that she would explain it if she could. Her bare feet dug at the cool damp grass as she ran across a few neatly kept lawns. It wasn’t often that Christie was so worried, and she didn’t like the feeling one bit!
Crickets sang in their orchestra of chirps. They seemed to get louder the closer Christie got to Eddy’s place. Perhaps it was only her imagination. The snake shifted around impatiently, watching all the different bugs fly into the air every time Christie’s feet touched the grass. It nipped at Christie’s cheek, catching a fat Mosquito between it’s jaws, even though it would much rather a nice juicy mouse.
Finally, Christie came to a stop in front of a small hut. She knocked on the door quietly at first, but when there wasn’t even a stir from inside, she banged on the door with her fists, causing lights to flicker on in neighboring homes. When there was no answer, she decided to investigate. The door swung open, being easier to open then she had expected, and she stepped inside. It was no surprise that the door was not locked. It was rare that anyone in the neighborhood locked his or her doors. It wasn’t the richest area, in fact, far from it, but it was definitely one of the most pleasant.
The snake slithered down Christie’s body to go hunt down a little snack, leaving the girl to do what she came to do. She turned on the light, not noticing the fact that she was beckoning to the bugs outside. Emptiness hung heavily in the air, almost suffocating. Christie made her way into the next room. Eddy’s bedroom. This room was in its usual freakishly clean state, but there was missing something. The bed was made, and there was no sign that Eddy had ever slept here. It even smelled empty, lacking its usual smell of its residence expensive taste in cologne. If emptiness had a scent, Christie was sure this would be it.
She took a couple awkward steps into the room. It was weird being in there alone, but she had to figure out what was going on. Where the hell was Eddy? Those words he said when he walked out of the clearing where they were training… That must be it; she thinks to herself, he went to get revenge! That question answered, only led Christie to the next question. How do I find him? There had to be a reason he said those words to her. Maybe he left another clue behind. Eddy wasn’t the type to allow anyone to go on worrying about him without giving them some answers, and the answer Christie had wasn’t about to be good enough for her. What if Eddy got himself into some kind of trouble? She was a skilled fighter. Eddy might have needed her, and even if he didn’t, he was her friend, and she needed him.
It was decided. She would look for him, but where to start? Search his room. Her common sense told her to wait until morning, but she was eager to begin and probably couldn’t sleep anyway. So the searching began. There wasn’t much to search in the tidy room, besides a couple drawers and between mattresses and such. Eventually she moved her searching out into the neat, lifeless, living room. There was a good lot more to search out there. Everything was in place as it always was. Nothing was missing besides the scent of Eddy Gordo’s cologne.
After only an hour of making Eddy’s home a complete mess, Christie allowed herself to fall back onto the couch. She glanced around the totaled room, desperately, searching with her eyes for something she may have overlooked. The snake stared down at her from atop the television set. She nodded, too upset to begin searching the small Kitchen that Eddy never even liked anyway. The remote was almost as cold as the snake’s scales, but she ignored the temperature of the device and flicked on the TV.
Nothing that caught Christie’s interest was on. There usually never was. She wasn’t particularly fond of television, unless if there was some fun action/comedy film on, but that wasn’t very often. She gave up on surfing the channels and settled with the news. Real life action would have to do, even though Christie rarely believed a word uttered from these idiot’s mouths.
A soothing breeze wafted in through the open door that she had forgotten to close earlier. The young Brazilian woman stretched herself out on the couch, somewhat glad that the door was open, and welcoming the breeze with open arms. The quiet murmur of the bald anchorman about some election only relaxed the girl more to the point where she began to doze off.
No more then 10 minutes later, coolness on her forehead brought her back to consciousness. Her eyes opened slightly as she stared up into the eyes of the snake, which startled her into leaping off the couch, and tripping backward over a couple stacked shoeboxes that she had taken out in her searches. “Ouch… What the hell were you doing slithering on me while I’m sleeping, wise guy? I swear you do that on purpose.”
The snake flicked its tail proudly and then slithered off, leaving Christie alone with her sore behind. She got back to her feet and stretched. Still half asleep, she fell heavily, stomach first, onto the couch, letting her eyelids slowly close.
Before she was able to doze off a second time, the soft murmur on the TV said a familiar name that caused her eyes to open. Did that Bald buffoon just say Heihachi Mishima? Where had she heard that name before? Eddy mentioned a Heihachi Mishima once, but what were they talking about when the name came up? She fumbled for the remote and turned the volume up slightly.
“… Three of his assistants to send in the announcement. Once again, the reason for the tournament is unknown. Martial artists from all over the world are invited to sign up and fight their way to the top where they will receive the prize. This time the prize is much more then the previous tournaments. Whoever wins will become head of the Mishima Zaibatsu. In other news, a fire broke out west of…”
The screen went black and Christie placed the remote on the coffee table in front of her. That’s exactly where she’d start. Eddy had been in the third tournament. Those responsible to his father’s death were somehow connected to the tournament in ways that Christie could no longer remember. She turned over on the couch so that she was facing the ceiling and just stared, not even feeling a hint of the exhaustion she felt only moments before. It was time to put all that Eddy taught her to good use. She would make Eddy and her grandfather proud.
The plane ride was a long one. Christie slept most of the hours away, waking to eat and to watch a bit of the crappy movie they had playing. She stepped off the plane, stretching her legs, which had fallen asleep during the long flight. Worst of all, her ass lost all feeling, and she was certain that it showed in her walk. A couple adolescent guys walked by and gave her two sidelong glances, grinning and winking as they did so. Christie, not having the patience for such things, flipped them the bird, and made her way down the stairs to pick up her luggage.
People crowded the airport like a mosh pit. Christie felt slightly claustrophobic in this place, so she quickly made her way outside with her bags. It was time to grab a cab. Once outside, she felt a bit panicked. It was even worse out there. It looked like one giant tin of sardines. Cabs were getting snatched left and right. Christie didn’t even consider getting on a bus. She heard the rumors, and at the rate things were going, they had to be true.
Eventually, she found a fareless cab and claimed it before anyone else could. The driver eyed her through the rearview mirror, and since he was in his 20’s, Christie tolerated it. “Do you speak English?” She asked the man with a subtle Portuguese accent.
“Yes, Miss,” the driver smiled kindly, “Where to?”
Christie leaned back in her seat, and suddenly remembered the seatbelt. “What’s it called? The Imperial hotel?”
“Wise choice,” He said, pulling into drive, “I hear the service there is wonderful, but you have a room reserved, right? Most of the good rooms are taken up at times like this when Mishima, Heihachi hosts his tournaments. So what brings you to Japan?”
Visions of Eddy presented themselves once again to the Hopeful Brazilian’s troubled mind. She pushed them aside to answer the question asked of her, “I’m competing in the tournament.”
He glanced back at her, “Really? Wow. So where are you from?”
“Brazil,” She said, feeling a little homesick already.
The cab driver sensed her problem from the tone of her voice, and flashed her a warming smile, “There are a lot of good people in the tournaments. Once you make a friend or two you’ll be fine.”
Christie smiled back, doubting his words, but thankful that the man cared enough to say such things. To think Eddy said the people in this city weren’t as friendly as the people in Brazil! The first person Christie had actually talked to was friendly! But Christie knew that sometimes Eddy was a little hard to get along with when it came to strangers. When he had met her it was an exception, because he was meeting her on request of the man who had taught him the art of Capoeira.
It wasn’t long before they were at the hotel, or maybe it was long. Christie had no idea; she knew how time could fly when she was lost in her thoughts. The cab driver helped her carry her two bags into the hotel, even though she could have easily handled them herself. She was strong, and they weren’t too heavy in the first place. After a Kind goodbye, the driver left. Christie approached the counter and smiled at the receptionist.
“You don’t look like our average tourist or business woman, so you must be here for the Tournament. I assume you speak English, please forgive me if I’m wrong, but you don’t look like you’ve been in Japan too long. What’s your name?”
The woman seemed friendly too. The Brazilian answered, “Christie Monteiro.”
“What a beautiful name,” The woman mused, typing something into a computer, and then handing Christie a key, “Poor girl, You’re on the same floor as a couple trouble makers, but don’t worry, they usually start the trouble on other floors or go out to bars and typical stuff like that. Room 36”
“Thank you very much,” Christie smiled, grabbed her bags, and got on the elevator, and cringed at the horrible musak.
Her hotel room door was a little hard to open. The electronic key thing was a little hard to figure out, especially since she had no idea it was an electronic key until she finally opened the door. Stuffy warm air hit her hard on her way in. Why didn’t they leave windows open in this place? Didn’t they know that some people liked to be able to breathe? Talk about customer service!
With a hop, skip, and a trip, Christie made her way to the window and realized much to her horror that it only opened ¼ of the way! Now this was bad news! That meant that the window would block some of the most important breezes! Christie considered breaking the window in order to get some fresh air, but decided against it. The air there wasn’t all that fresh anyway. She eventually came to terms with the window, and went around checking out her hotel room. It was amazing. Heihachi really treated his fighters well. It was surprising considering all the harsh words people use when they talk about Heihachi.
Christie laid down on the big bed, and let her heavy eyelids have their way. A small breeze washed over her, putting her farther into unconsciousness. It wasn’t long before the noise started. A minute, perhaps. An argument broke out in the hallway, bringing Christie to a rude awakening. It must be the troublemakers. She grudgingly got out of bed and stepped out in the hallway, only to realize that the noise was coming from the room across from her. They really knew how to make noise. She shook her head and went towards the elevator, checking to make sure she still had her room key. She wasn’t about to allow herself to get locked out of her room when she came back from getting something to eat. That really wouldn’t be fun.
She finished her meal in the small restaurant, paid the bill, and stepped back into the cool outdoors. It was quite a bit cooler then she was used to and she began shivering as she made her way back to the hotel. It was dark, almost midnight. People still crowded the streets, but not as badly as before. Christie went down a back street, seeing as there was nobody down that way. The breeze played a big part in helping her ignore her jet lag, and for that she was grateful. Who really wanted to fall asleep in some back street in a foreign country, anyway?
A loud animal call caused Christie to jump. It wasn’t the type of animal call she was used to from either men or animals. It sounded filled with sorrow and pain. Christie wondered to herself what kind of animals they had in Japan. Then she saw it. A huge winged figure soaring in the sky, silhouetted by the full moon. All she could really see of the figure was wings. Huge wings. It swooped down somewhere beyond the block of restaurants she had just left, and it didn’t come back up.
Christie stood there for a number of minutes watching the area where the strange bird went down. She trembled in the cold, but remained watching until she couldn’t stand it anymore, and turned back towards the hotel. Before she was halfway down the back street, she had the distinct feeling that someone was watching her. The temperature seemed to drop about 5 degrees. She hugged herself, wishing she had worn a coat, and picked up the pace. Footsteps behind her brought her to a startled halt. Someone was following her, and even though she was freezing, she wasn’t about to put up with it.
With not a single doubt that she could take whoever it was, she turned around to face her opponent. A quiet gasp of surprise and fear escaped her lips as she came face to face with refulgent red eyes. She could make out the shape of a man using the small amount of light that his eyes and the moon provided. “What do you want?”
The assumed man remained silent, just watching her. There was something in his glowing eyes. They were determined angry eyes, but they also had another element, a softer element. Sorrow…
Christie, seeing this softness, regained her confidence and attempted to move around the man to get a view of his back. She knew the thought that this man could be the strange bird was silly, but she still wanted to see his clean back to confirm that it was only a silly suspicion. Unfortunately, he turned with Christie, not giving her a chance to see his back.
Without warning, he leaped into the air, knocking Christie to the ground, and before she could realize what happened, he was gone.
Morning sun streaked into the room, warming Jin Kazama’s face until he finally woke up. He only faintly remembered the night before when the devil in him took over once again. It worried him greatly every time it happened. What if the devil killed some more people? He knew that it was wrong to dwell on ‘what ifs’ but he couldn’t help it.
This devil gene had come to be an almost unbearable burden. What had Kazuya done to inflict such a thing on his son? It’s caused so much trouble. Heihachi was hunting him down because of it. His life was ruined all because of something he didn’t even do. Jun had taught him to always look for the good in things, but it was just so hard. The devil gene had saved Jin’s life, but he wasn’t entirely sure whether he should be thankful for that or be even angrier. There wasn’t anything he could do, except perhaps distinguish the evil that was the Mishima bloodline. Only when that was finished and over with would Jin truly be thankful for the curse.
So what had happened the night before? He didn’t recall any screams so nobody must have died. All he remembered was a girl. She went into a cheap restaurant, and when she came out… He remembered following her. Approaching her silently and then purposely presenting himself to her. That was it. That’s all the memory he had. Who was she? If only he could remember what she looked like. Oh well, it was another day. Time to move from the past into the present.
Jin got to his feet, feeling exceptionally sore and heavy. He held his aching head and guessed that this must be what it feels like to have a hangover, not that he had ever felt the desire to know. His mouth was horribly dry, but he had to wait for the pounding headache to give some leave before he could get some water.
He stood there in silence for quite sometime before finally getting the strength to walk over to the bathroom sink. The faucet stuck a little and gave a rusty screech when he turned it, not at all helping his killer headache. Cool water splashed gently onto his face, every so often getting cupped into his hands and disembogued into his dry mouth. It was refreshing. Almost exactly what he needed, but not quite. The water wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t… thick enough. Jin splashed his face once more, and then dried his hands on the towel hanging on the wall beside him.
What was there to do today? Train… He had to make sure his technique was perfectly polished before he actually went up against his grandfather. He couldn’t go to the forest where he used to work out when he lived on Heihachi’s soil. Somewhere else would have to do, but where? A good deserted spot couldn’t be too hard to find… Could it?
Out the door, Jin walked quickly, carefully placing the hood of his jacket over his head to hide his face should he run into anyone of any importance. Downtown was a little too risky. Too many people meant too many chances for Jin to get spotted. He hailed a cab as quickly as he could and gave a vague destination, not entirely sure if he should even be going there. In order to get to the desired area, he had to pass by the Imperial hotel, and he knew that’s where the Tournament competitors were staying. All he needed was to be spotted by Hwoarang or Ling Xiaoyu who would definitely point him out.
The trip past the hotel was longer then it should have been. He had kept his head down the whole time until the cab pulled into a district near the edge of Tokyo. The least likely place to get spotted was most likely out of the city limits. That way even out in an open field would be pretty safe, not that he intended to workout out in the open like that, but it was a comfort that he could if he wanted. Perhaps it was the freedom of the situation that comforted him. He spent 19 years of his life without freedom, and was thankful for the little he had, even though he still had to stay in hiding. At least he didn’t have black suits following him everywhere, cramping the style he could have had, and scaring potential friends away. Well, all except Xiaoyu that is.
Jin paid the driver and added a generous tip before beginning his descent out of the city. This time he walked more leisurely, afraid that he’d attract more attention if he seemed like he was running away from something.
“Excuse me!” A person called. Jin assumed they were calling to someone else and continued walking. His intuition telling him to stop, but before he could decide against it, the voice called again, “Wait!”
Jin stopped walking, turned his head slightly to catch sight of a very familiar looking girl, but not entirely sure where he remembered her from. She was definitely a tourist of some sort. He waited Patiently for her to catch up, taking note of her style. Bright yellow vinyl pants with holes all the way down the sides, a skintight green halter-top, and a thin yellow jacket, which didn’t seem to be warming her any.
She came beside him and smiled, “Oh I hope you speak English.”
Jin nods silently, making hopeless attempts to remember where he had seen the woman before.
“I’m a little lost. Well not entirely lost, because I know the way back to the hotel, but I’m… unsure of where I’m going. Do you know any good places to work out around here? You know, like a place away from all this hustle and bustle.”
He considers her question, confused about the hustle and bustle part. They were currently standing in a quiet neighborhood with few people. Perhaps she wasn’t a city girl. Should he invite her to join him in his practice session? It would probably be a more effective workout if he had a real opponent. Wait… Did she say work out? She must be in the tournament. “I was just on my way to train.”
Her eyes lit up considerably, “Are you serious? I should have known you’d be a fighter with that body! Well this is a bit of a coincidence. So do you mind if I join you, or what? I promise I’ll be gentle.”
“If you wish, but there’s still about a half a mile to walk,” Jin said quietly, a little embarrassed that she noticed his body even with his jacket on.
The girl nods with a smirk, and the two set off, walking side-by-side in silence. Not an awkward silence, but more a casual relaxed silence, even though Jin was feeling a little awkward. Living in Australia for the past two years, he had become accustom to laid back people like the woman walking alongside him, but something about her made him a little nervous. After a brief glance in the girl’s direction, Jin concluded that she wasn’t at all bothered by the silence; in fact, she appeared to be reveling in it.
Clouds blocked the sun so that everything looked a little gray and dull, everything except the brightly colored girl. Jin noticed the girl was shivering a bit. He didn’t find it all that cool, but he didn’t know what she was used to. Perhaps she was from the Bahamas or a warm place like that. That would explain the clothes.
Eventually they came to a spot outside the city protected by a thin scattering of trees and bushes. The grass was tall and untouched, but still short enough to have a good workout without worrying about tripping over a small animal. It may have been lacking the small stream Jin was used to, but it was fine for now. He’d have to find a separate area to meditate in. The Brightly colored girl took a good look around the area. Jin watched her for a moment before he realized she looked really cold. She was trembling slightly but seemed to be good at hiding it. He decided to do what any descent man would do, and he slowly unzipped his jacket, hesitating only because he was bare underneath it. He had counted on working out alone, and felt a little self conscious about exposing himself to a young woman without warning. Once unzipped, he tugged his arms out of the sleeves, and politely placed the jacket about the girl’s shoulders.
She looked at him in wonder, “Aren’t you cold?”
“No.”
“Suit yourself… Shall we begin?” She asked playfully.
Jin almost nodded, but stopped himself, realizing he was missing something, “What’s your name?”
She grinned and began stretching her limbs, mostly her legs, “The name is Christie Monteiro. Now, what’s yours, stranger?”
“Jin Kazama,” He replied, not bothering to stretch, and hoping he wouldn’t regret it in the morning. His eyes met hers as she ditched the stretching and got into a more then familiar fighting stance. Jin recognized it as the stance Eddy Gordo used, but didn’t mention it.
He put his arms up in position, completing his uncomplicated stance. Christie nodded, giving the universal signal of readiness. Jin nodded back, returning the signal, and barely blinking before he was swept off his feet by surprisingly powerful legs. He looked up from his vulnerable position on his back to see her also on her back. Yes. That was the style Eddy had used in the third tournament, and Jin kicked himself for not expecting such a move, even though it was common in the Capoeira technique. He got up, dusting himself, and looked down at the woman in the suspiciously submissive position. This was something Jin did not remember from his match with Eddy.
Wind rustled through the leaves, making it sound stronger then it was. Christie stayed put, coaxing Jin forward with her eyes, silently daring him to come closer. He remained a safe distance away, and watched her carefully, waiting for a weak spot. Waiting for her guard to fall for one second. Their eyes locked for minutes until finally Jin noticed the girl’s eyes drifting down his body. Despite being a little embarrassed by the girl’s gaze, he took that opportunity by leaping into the air, and coming down at her, his fist landing in the grass beside her head, and his knees pinning her arms to the ground.
“You dropped your guard,” Jin said smugly.
Christie nodded, trying to catch her breath. Had she really thought he’d bash in her face in during a practice? What kind of person did she think he was? “Wow,” She said, “You are really hot.”
Jin pulled his fist back and shook his head in confusion. Christie’s mouth opened to say something, and in a split second, Jin was once again on his back, only this time a man’s foot was pressed dangerously to his neck.