Chapter 6 – Murderous Intent

After Jin and Heihachi had returned from Korea, during one of their training sessions, a purple aura momentarily appeared around Jin yet again. It had not appeared since that day in February, and Heihachi had hoped that it had been the first and last time he’d see it.

But now…a second time…

Jin paused afterwards to look at his hands. He had just felt a strange surge of power in his body. He shook his head and dismissed it. He didn’t want to go to that thought he’d pushed as far back as possible in his mind four years ago. He reasoned to himself that he was just excited. After all, the fight with Hwoarang had not only been challenging but shown Jin that he still had much to work for if he was to hope to defeat Ogre in a few months.

Meanwhile, at a research lab of the Mishima Zaibatsu, a light began to blink. An elderly gentlemen with glasses and balding white hair, Dr. Boskonovitch, quietly turned a switch so that the blinking would stop. He took off his glasses for a moment and wiped them, thinking to himself, “So, it is time.” Dr. Boskonovitch knew about Ogre and Heihachi’s plan of luring him out. He also knew the plan was going to work and had his own reasons for going along with the scheme.

This particular facility contained the bodies of two women, Nina and Anna Williams, in cryogenic sleep, a project Dr. Boskonovitch had attended to ever since the end of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2.  Nina and Anna were Irish sisters and had both been in their early 20’s when the project began.

During the time before their sleep, the elder blonde-haired one with icy blue eyes, Nina, had worked as an assassin. She had been captured by the Mishima Zaibatsu before the organization had switched hands from Kazuya back to Heihachi once again.

The younger one, Anna, had reddish brown hair and blue eyes that did not emit the same coldness as Nina’s. Anna had actually been working under Kazuya Mishima and had done her job in keeping Nina from reaching her target. However, with Nina’s capture and news that Nina would enter an ageless sleep, Anna offered herself up to take part in the same project.

The two sisters had a terrible, bitter rivalry with each other that, prior to their sleep, to the point of them wanting to kill each other though neither ever succeeded, obviously.

Now their time within the project was at its end. Dr. Boskonovitch was certain they were responding to a call from Ogre to awaken. They were both notably strong fighters after all. He instructed the technicians to release the women from their hold.

The sisters were contained in separate rooms and in each room, a large cylindrical glass container was drained of water as it was rotated downward and opened. As the water drained, the woman within opened her eyes.

In Nina’s case, she had a fierce, cold stare upon her face. A voice had echoed in her mind that had told her to awaken. She had obeyed it without question. Now it spoke again. Kill Jin Kazama.

As she stepped forward from her container, she lifted her hand to her face as if her head hurt. Kill Jin Kazama. The order came again. Her eyes stared intently down and shifted slightly to the right. She was under Ogre’s control now, but still…

A technician approached Nina.

“Ms. Nina, how are you feeling?” he offered.

Her eyes quietly darted to him for a moment, but she said nothing, her mind weighing on the command she’d heard. She didn’t know where she was…or… who Jin Kazama even was…or…

“You and your sister have been in a cold sleep for 19 years-” the technician began to explain.

Nina’s eyes narrowed. “Sister?” she said it with a hint of suspicion.

“Yes, Ms. Anna Williams,” the technician explained.

“I don’t remember having a sister,” Nina said quietly. She blinked as it then occurred to her. “I don’t remember…anything,” she admitted.

Amnesia.

She was offered treatment and accepted, deciding she would find Jin Kazama during her time under the treatment…and kill him as ordered.

Things were different for Anna. She’d heard the call to awaken, but nothing about killing Jin was demanded of her. Instead, she was mostly worried when she learned about Nina’s amnesia. Despite their difficult history and a bitter rivalry with each other… being forgotten…saddened Anna. She took it upon herself to stand by her sister and help Nina in trying to regain her lost memories.

It was not long before Nina and Anna were informed of the upcoming tournament in honor of Jin Kazama’s 19th birthday, and that the boy was the grandson of none other than Heihachi Mishima.

Upon receiving this news of when and where to find her target, Nina determined she would go after him then.

…

With each passing day, Jin’s anticipation of the challenge ahead was growing and with it, his determination and his strength.

The mark on his arm served as a constant reminder of that vision of Devil from that fateful night, but he still continued to push the whole thing to the back of his mind. He did not sense any evil or danger from it. He had something far more important to him at the forefront of his thoughts:  his revenge. He had worked so hard for the past four years in preparation of it. He’d grown strong, so much stronger than he’d ever been…Heihachi had been an excellent teacher. Jin had been right in thinking of what an advantage it would be to learn directly from the best.

Eventually, the tournament was only two weeks away. The excitement was everywhere, not just with Jin. Xiaoyu was cheerful and hopeful. She’d taken to training on her own more vigorously, doing so with Panda.

And Kuma…Kuma was training hard too. For what, Jin didn’t know, and he didn’t ask. He’d overheard the name “Paul Phoenix” mentioned once concerning Kuma. He felt as if he should know the name and later found that Paul Phoenix was an American man that had fought Kazuya to a draw. The story immediately reminded Jin of his own bout with Hwoarang. So, he thought to himself, he and Kazuya had yet something else in common.

The Mishima Zaibatsu was bustling with activity in preparation of the tournament.

Heihachi Mishima sat quietly meditating alone in the room where he and Jin usually trained. Their session was over for the day. He was proud of himself for molding that determined boy from their first meeting into such a fine martial artist. That determination was still there…in fact, it was stronger now that Jin was coming so close to his goal. But the purple aura Heihachi had glimpsed weighed on his mind. He hadn’t seen it since the summer, but at this session, it had appeared for its third time. It was too reminiscent of a dark, dangerous power that Kazuya had wielded all those years ago.

Power that belonged to Devil.

Jin and Heihachi never spoke of Kazuya with each other despite the man being their common link. They were both trying to avoid the subject of Devil altogether, neither knowing what, if anything, the other knew. Jin didn’t ask how Kazuya died, and Heihachi certainly wasn’t going to tell him. Jin respected Heihachi a great deal and trusted his grandfather completely.

Still, Heihachi could not ignore what he’d sensed happening in Jin even though Jin himself did not seem to sense it. The boy could spell doom for the Mishima Zaibatsu’s destiny. Power like that had overthrown Heihachi long ago, and he wasn’t going to let it happen again. Heihachi determined that he would have Jin killed after he had Ogre in his grasp.