Chapter 3 – Heihachi Mishima

The primary Mishima Zaibatsu Estate was a massive compound with its own set of various buildings and a its own share of lush mountains encompassing over several miles.
In one of the compound’s buildings held within its lush mountains on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, Heihachi Mishima sat with his legs crossed and merrily clapped his hands as he watched his pet bear, Kuma, dance. Kuma would take a step forward with his right foot and then swing his arms to his right, followed by another step with his left foot and swinging his arms to his left, all in rhythm with Heihachi’s clapping though he’d toss in an occasional extra bounce to his steps.

The room they were in was up several floors and had a balcony overlooking the mountains that were now covered in trees with leaves of varying colors and a beautiful mist. The room was lit by a few torches, had wooden floorboards, and one primary set of doors that were to the left of master and pet.

Their enjoyment was soon interrupted as they heard shouting and scuffling outside the primary set of doors to the room. Kuma stopped his dance, and Heihachi turned his head toward the doors as he pricked his ears up to listen to the commotion with a calm curiosity, sensing he was about to meet with an unexpected guest. Kuma let out a low growl of annoyance. “Shh…” said Heihachi as he placed his index finger against his lips. He brought his hand down and whispered, “Go watch TV.” Kuma obeyed and left the room through another secondary door opposite to the main ones of the room.

“I…must…see him!” Heihachi heard a struggling voice loudly declare. The attendants to the compound were not saying anything in response but instead focusing all their energy on trying to hold back the source of the voice, whoever he was. Heihachi heard more scuffling and then a fleeting moment of silence before the doors to the room were forcefully shoved open by the intruder.

In the doorway, a teenage boy stood hunched over and looked at Heihachi with intent, determined eyes as he breathed heavily from exhaustion. For a brief moment, Heihachi’s mouth gaped open in surprise as he blinked. The boy’s resemblance to his deceased son, Kazuya, was uncanny, and the boy was even wearing Kazuya’s gloves. He was not wearing much else, just a pair of pants and footpads. He also had a black tattoo on his left arm. Heihachi then quickly recovered from his shock and stood up from where he was. He watched the boy closely and silently to see his next move and if the boy had any ill intent that he brought with him.

The boy slowly took a few steps into the room towards Heihachi and then collapsed to his knees from his exhaustion but also as a sign of deep respect. He rested the knuckles of his fists against the wooden floor boards of the room and bowed his head to face the floor. “Heihachi Mishima…” he spoke between his tired breaths. “I…apologize…for my intrusion, but…I…needed to…speak with you directly…I am Jin Kazama…son of Jun Kazama…and Kazuya Mishima…your grandson.”

“Grandson?” Heihachi repeated the word back to the boy. So, Kazuya had a son….that certainly explained the boy’s physical appearance and the gloves too for that matter.  

Jin nodded briefly without meeting Heihachi’s eyes, still facing the floor. “Yes…A being known as ‘Ogre’ killed my mother….It was her wish that I come to you if something happened to her, and so I have honored her instructions and done just that….I beg of you Grandfather, please…train me to be stronger so that I can have my revenge on Ogre.”

“Ogre?” said Heihachi with a tone of intrigue that caught Jin’s attention.

“You know of it?” Jin asked, now looking up in his grandfather’s direction.

“Yes, he killed some of my Tekken Force members several weeks ago during an excavation in Mexico,” Heihachi explained.

“That’s terrible,” Jin said with sympathy in his voice.

Heihachi nodded in agreement, “Mmm,” and then silently contemplated the matter, taking a few paces around the room, while Jin patiently waited for his grandfather’s answer. In fact, though Heihachi mourned the deaths of his Tekken Force, he had wanted to capture Ogre himself. Ogre was the legendary God of Fighting, and if Heihachi could tap into that being’s power…he believed he could use it to bring his dream of ruling the world come true. As Heihachi considered other similar incidents he knew of that had happened across the world and Jin’s own case, he reasoned that Ogre must have sought Jun Kazama because he was after the souls of strong fighters. Perhaps another King of Iron Fist tournament was in order in the next few years. Jin had potential with some training to refine his skills to lure out Ogre once again, acting as a decoy, and the tournament would attract even more strong fighters.

Finally, Heihachi looked to Jin and said. “Very well, I will train you, boy…prepare you for a day when you will be ready to face Ogre…and then you can have your revenge. I’ll even help you find him when that day comes.”

“You are too kind. Thank you Grandfather,” Jin said gratefully, bowing his head to face the floor once again.

“Now stand up, boy! Kneeling like that is not fit for a member of the Mishima clan.”

Jin blinked momentarily, a little fazed, and then said, “Yes, sir,” as he obeyed and stood.

“Good. We’ll begin your training tomorrow. For today, rest up. Your journey must have been hard, and you are tired. The Mishima Zaibatsu Estate will be your new home. What level of school are you at, hmm? You’d better be enrolled in a new one right away. Don’t think you can skip out on that just ‘cause of who your grandfather is,” Heihachi said sternly.

“I would never-” Jin started to protest.

“What level school?” Heihachi, again with sternness in his voice, reminded Jin of the original question.

“I’m in my final year of middle school,” Jin said.

“Middle school, huh? You’ll be done in a couple of months then, won’t you?” Heihachi asked.

Jin nodded.

“Well, still, you should certainly finish that. I’ll have you enrolled as soon as possible. Be ready to start that tomorrow too! Then come this spring, you’ll be enrolled in my prestigious Mishima High School,” Heihachi said with a proud smile.

Relieved at the sudden warmness in his grandfather’s voice, Jin smiled back and said, “Yes, sir, thank you!”

Heihachi immediately set to work so that the attendants to the estate would know that Jin was his grandson, a new resident to his home, and not an unwelcome guest.

Jin quickly settled into his new room, one that was quite lavish and large compared to the modest one he used to have, with the few belongings he’d mustered up on his journey from Yakushima and rested as Heihachi advised. He laid in his new bed with his hands clasped behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. Everything since that fateful night had felt as if he were stuck in some twisted endless dream during his journey to find Heihachi Mishima…but now, here at the Mishima Zaibatsu Estate, Yakushima was the life that felt like a lost, distant dream.

He envisioned his mother standing with her back to him in her favorite white sundress as she stood in shallow water, her shoes dangling from the fingers of her right hand. There were a few clouds in the sky, and the sun was setting. She turned and smiled kindly. Jin reached out his right hand toward her. The image faded. He slowly blinked, brought his hand back down to the bed, and sighed.

He turned over to lay on his stomach and folded his arms to rest his chin on them. His thoughts shifted over to Heihachi Mishima, his new family. Heihachi seemed strict but was being very kind in taking Jin in so suddenly and agreeing to train him. He was quite fortunate to have found such a nice new home. He was eager to start training too. He had learned that Heihachi Mishima was knowledgeable about various forms of combat the world over and largely considered one of, if not, the strongest martial artist in the world, the King of Iron Fist, just like the name of the tournament the Mishima Zaibatsu used to host. Jin would be learning from the best.

His eyes grew heavy, and he fell asleep amidst his wandering thoughts.

The next day, as Jin and Heihachi prepared for their first training session together, Heihachi explained to Jin, “I will train you in Mishima-style karate, which has been passed down in this family for generations. You are going to learn things like our specialized wind god fist, thunder god fist, and hellsweep. These techniques are not easy to master at first, but in due time they will become a natural extension of you. Mishimas are among the strongest fighters in the world and so you must become strong, Jin. I will see to that!”