Chapter 2 – That Fateful Night

Over the next few days, Jin thought heavily on his mother’s words. His main concern was this mysterious new threat encroaching on his mother’s life. He took to practicing the Kazama-style self-defense moves she had taught him with a greater fervor than he ever had before, wearing the gloves of Kazuya’s that she had given him in addition to his usual training attire of a pair of black pants with a red flame on the right pant leg and red foot pads. He knew it was not much too go on, to simply train harder, if they had as little time as his mother seemed to fear, but at this point, it was all he could do.

“Can’t we run away somewhere?” he’d asked her the day after their discussion.

“No, Jin…this thing…it’s coming after me specifically. It will not matter where we go. It will find me. We should stay here so no one else is caught in the crossfire,” Jun had determined.

Jin could not stand feeling so helpless…he held onto a tiny thread of hope that somehow…she’d be wrong…somehow, they would be able to beat this thing…somehow it was not truly her destiny to die at this unknown monster’s hands. Not all premonitions and fears came true, did they? They should be ready and heed this warning…yes, but they should not give up hope entirely. They should do everything they could to fight this thing. That was what he had resolved in his heart.

Jin became so caught up in his training, he’d even stay outside after dark. Jun would watch him from the window with great concern. She did not want Jin to fight this thing. She did not want him to be a victim of her circumstance. He was still a growing boy, and she’d tried so hard to keep him well-protected all these years. But even so, her son training harder could not be a bad thing. That determined drive that was such a part of him, she could not deny him of that.

On one such evening when Jin was still fervently training after dark, the wind suddenly picked up heavily and chilled the night air, swirling ferociously across the landscape. Jin froze in his stance. The time had come. This was it. Lightning flashed across the sky followed by a menacing thunder and a heavy rain.

Jin’s head swiftly looked up to an approaching presence. He saw a tall humanoid being with green skin and glowing red eyes. It wore a tall helmet over its head and a large shield over its right arm. It said nothing to Jin directly, but Jin sensed its name. Ogre. It stared at him blankly for a moment. No, not this one.

Jun opened the door and ran out, “Jin, run! Run away!” she cried.

Ogre turned his attention to her. That was the one. That was the strong soul he wanted.

Jin rushed to place himself between Jun and Ogre, staring back at Ogre with fierce, defiant eyes. He did not like to go against his mother’s wishes, but running now, when she needed any help she could get…when she was about to face the terrible something she said might kill her…he could not leave her to do that. He simply couldn’t.

“Jin, please…run…” she begged as tears streamed down her eyes.

“Mother…I’m sorry…” he apologized from the depths of his heart. “I won’t leave you here to die without a fight! To ask that of me is too much…”

They were given no more time to talk. Ogre attacked Jin, the obstacle blocking him from his true target. The two fought briefly, but it was not long before Ogre had knocked Jin unconscious.

Another time…another place…dark gray clouds spanned across the sky…in the center was a silhouette of Ogre standing firmly as he blocked most of the light behind him. He was surrounded by small stone pillars and in his right hand, he clasped a decapitated head by its disheveled hair. The head had no face that could be seen…no voice that could be heard…Ogre turned his head, his glowing red eyes peering back at the one who watched him…

Jin sat up with a start, breathing heavily. The storm had stopped, but the darkness of night still surrounded him. He stood up right away and shouted, “Mother!” To his horror, where his home once stood was nothing but debris and scorched earth. Everything had been burned to the ground. There was no trace of his mother or of Ogre.

He was all alone.

“Mother!” he called out again frantically.

Nothing.

No…no…it couldn’t be true…he frantically searched throughout the forested area surrounding his former home. He searched and searched and searched. He called for his mother time and time again. No answer.

Quite suddenly, he sensed he was being watched. A light shot toward him, and burned a mark into his arm. He stared at the mark and looked up at the full moon in shock. A purple wispy spirit took form before his eyes…Devil?

It dissipated into the night sky.

It had not spoken to him. Eventually, the burning stopped and the mark had turned to a solid black. Jin studied it. There were two primary components interlocking with each other that reminded Jin of streaks of lightning. The mark itself was not ugly and could easily pass for a tattoo that Jin had picked out for himself. But the mark was from the Devil, wasn’t it?

How did that thing find him? His mother had not sensed it for all of his life, and now, suddenly, the moment she was gone, it appeared before Jin. Did it sense her death?! And if it did, was that why it came to him now-had it been waiting all this time for when she could no longer protect Jin from it? The thought horrified him. She might really and truly be…dead…

Did what he think just happened…really happen? After all, he was tired and stressed…maybe it was a hallucination…no, it couldn’t be…the mark was proof in and of itself. He could not deny that he’d never had it in his life until now, and it wasn’t going away. Something had obviously happened. If his vision and intuition were right, the Devil had come after him. Was it inside him now as it had once been inside Kazuya?

Deafening silence followed by a cool, gentle night breeze answered him and such replies left him with no solace, no true answer to what he needed to know. He clenched his fists in frustration. If the Devil was inside him now, it remained silent and dormant.

He returned to his search and continued until daybreak. Finally, he returned to the remains of their burned house. He walked slowly with resignation in his steps and his head hung low. She was gone. Ogre had killed her, just as she had feared he would. It was her destiny after all. Fate was too cruel.

He knelt down to face the ground, clutching the dirt in his hands in his grief. His anguish tightened into anger at the one who took her from him. That monster…his enemy…Ogre. He gritted his teeth fiercely. Somehow…someday…he would find Ogre and avenge his mother.  

But for now, he would honor her instructions and seek out Heihachi Mishima.