Tekken Fan Fiction ❯ Canto ❯ Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The funeral was small, as expected, as only Nina, Anna, and Emil attended. It was nothing like the funeral that the girls' father had had. So many people had attended then: friends, family, and enemies all wept for Richard Williams. But no one would remember Dorothy Williams aside from her two daughters. And right after the services, the two girls watched alone and in silence as their mother was cremated. They were going to send the ashes back to Ireland to be spread, and that was the end of it. Everything was out of their hands now.

Nina had been the one to drive, and as she drove back to their little home in silence, she would glance over occasionally at her younger sister, whose face was blank the entire trip.

Finally, as the pulled up into the driveway, Nina said softly, "I told Emil yes." She looked over at Anna again. The younger girl's expression hadn't changed any at all. However, as soon as the car stopped, she hastily got out of the car and slammed her door. She then marched up to the house and inside it, again slamming the door behind her. Nina let out a heavy sigh, turned off the car, and followed her sister inside.

"What did you expect?" the blonde asked when she finally caught up to Anna in the kitchen. Anna refused to make eye contact and angrily opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a pitcher of iced tea, then went over to the cabinet and pulled out a drinking glass. Nina watched hopelessly as her sister poured her drink, then went about slamming the cabinet and fridge doors again. The then redhead stormed out of the kitchen with her glass. Nina scurried after her, "Anya?"

Anna spun around, "You could had waited!" She then turned away and headed to her room furiously. Nina didn't hear from her sister for the rest of the day.

She left Anna to herself that evening. Very rarely did Nina ever feel terrible about the things she said or did to her sister, but this time, she was quite distressed when she left the house, not wanting to leave the younger girl alone; she had heard Anna weeping to herself in her room behind that closed door but didn't know how to respond. Then she left and sped down the streets in her grey Volkswagen until she reached a small bar. She parked there and jumped out, still clad in her black dress from that afternoon. She walked into the smoke infested place, music blaring at her as soon as she opened the door. She coughed a bit, then squinted, and smiled weakly as she saw who she had came to see, a well dressed middle-aged Japanese man, sitting in the back corner and made her way through the maze of tables and drinkers.

"You're awfully dressed up," then man smirked as Nina say down opposite of him. He took a drink of his whiskey then gestured at a waitress to come serve him. "Bring a bottle of scotch here for my lady friend!" he ordered at the server, who nodded and scurried the best she could to the bar.

"I had a funeral to attend earlier," the blonde replied flatly. "Now, where's my money, Takahashi?" The waitress returned and set a bottle of scotch and a glass in front of Nina then walked away. The older Williams girl then helped herself and poured a glass. She took a long sip, keeping her eyes on her client, then set her glass down, waiting.

"Oh, yes. That," Takahashi smiled. He leaned over to the side of his seat, pulled up a briefcase, and placed it flat on the table in front of the blonde. He then popped it to reveal that it was packed full of stacks of hundred dollar bills. "This is half of what I promised."

"Half?" Nina's eyes narrowed. "I don't work unless I get the entire thing--"

"--Ah, ah, ah!" the older man warned as he wagged a finger at the young woman. "This is too important. If you fuck up, we're all fucked. You, me, and about fifty other people that want Heihachi Mishima dead. This has to be done right." He smiled and closed the briefcase. "Or would you rather I find someone else?"

Nina frowned, "It's not that...."

"Ah, then we do have an understanding." Takahashi grinned. "You did such a good job for me last time," he slid out of his seat and stood next to Nina, and began stroking her hair affectionately. "That shot at Carson was just beautiful and too clean."

He smiled fondly down at the blonde and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "You're a much better shot than your father...and a lot prettier."

Nina shoved him away, "Hands off, you pervert. I'm not a prostitute."

"Of course," the older man chuckled as he straightened up and dusted off the black oxford shirt he was wearing then sat back down. "So, this payment now. The rest after Mishima is out of the picture."

"I should kill you for doing this to me," she growled.

"But...don't you want revenge on Mishima, too?" Takahashi sighed in a mocking manner. "Afterall, you have to do what Richard couldn't--"

"--How dare you!" Nina stood up and grabbed her money, "My father was a wonderful man! And...and..." she felt tears forming in her eyes, "You've no right to speak of him that way! After everything my family's done for your bloody cause!" She then marched off.

Takahashi leaned back in his seat and grinned thoughtfully at the blonde as she exited the bar.

The phone woke Anna up that evening from when she had cried to sleep after locking herself in her room. She was lying curled up on her bed, still wearing her black dress from earlier, and as she slowly stretched out and sat up, the girl rubbed her eyes painfully. Then she reached over to her nightstand to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" she asked quietly then cleared her throat as she waited for a response. Her forehead wrinkled as she heard none.

After a few moments of silence, a voice replied softly, "Anna?" She frowned as she heard that and shifted in her seat.

"This is certainly a surprise," she mused weakly. "I didn't think I'd ever hear from you again."

"I'm sorry," Kazuya apologized in a low voice. He was silent again for a few seconds.

Anna's frown deepened and she sighed, "Is this about the other night?"

"It's business. I need to see you about a job."

"Is that a 'yes' or a 'no'?"

Again, there was an awkward pause, then Kazuya responded, "Just...when can you come over to the house to talk?"

The girl glanced toward her window. Through the open blinds, she could see that her sister's car was gone. She sighed to herself, knowing she wouldn't see Nina again until morning.

"I suppose in about an hour or so. I need to shower," she finally answered.

"Okay, then I'll see you in an hour," the man replied flatly before hanging up. Anna blinked and pulled the phone away from her ear. She then placed the receiver back, stood up, and stretched. She glanced over at the change of clothes she had put out before the funeral and grabbed those plus a pair of sneakers and headed to the bathroom.

Nina headed hastily to her car in the parking lot, then stopped as she heard Takahashi running after her.

"Nina!" he yelled, "Wait just a second!" The blonde sighed angrily and spun around to face the older man. Takahashi stopped to catch his breathing, leaning over and heaving heavily, then straightened up and frowned as he saw Nina's face, "Oh, don't tell me you were really pissed off?"

The blonde snorted, "And why wouldn't I be? You insulted me and my family." She turned back around and proceeded dig in her purse until she found her keys and tried to unlock her door. However, the key wouldn't turn.

"Shit!" she cursed to herself as she continued to try different keys. "Why isn't that working?" The older man frowned and walked up to the car and stood next to the blonde.

"You know...I can try to unlock it," he offered with actual sincerity in his voice. Nina turned to him and lifted a brow. "Go back in and call a locksmith...it looks like someone tried to break into your car and failed." She glanced back at the Volkswagen then at Takahashi.

Nina sighed heavily, "And if you do get it opened?"

He smiled wearily, "You won't have to pay for a locksmith." He nodded at her again to go and started digging in his pockets. "Go ahead." The blonde sighed, turned, and trotted off across the lot back towards the bar.

Takahashi pulled out his own keys that had a pocket knife attached to them and then flipped up the tiny blade then stuck it on and rattled it around until the lock popped. In triumph, he grinned and straightened up. By this time, Nina had nearly made it back to the bar.

"Hey, Nina!" he called over his shoulder, "I got it unlocked!" Nina turned around to see Takahashi smiling at her in the distance and turning to open her door to show that he was telling the truth and pulled on the handle. "See?--"

The car exploded, showering burning glass and metal everywhere. Nina screamed as she covered her head and dropped flat to the ground, and the sounds of the crowd in the bar was silent and replaced with the stampeding of feet as everyone in there ran over to the door to see what made that loud boom, then gasps. The blonde sat up slowly; there were pieces of glass embedded in the flesh of her bare legs, yet she didn't notice as she stood up painfully and looked over towards the burning inferno. Her car was completely destroyed, and several others near it were on fire.

There was no sign of Takahashi.

"Takahashi?!" she called desperately. "TAKAHASHI!" She tried to limp towards the fire before she was pulled back by Paul.

"Are you crazy?" he said as he turned her around carefully. "Another explosion might happen with all those cars!"

"But...but..." The girl began crying and buried her face in her palms, which were covered in cuts and bled. "That was my car! He...wasn't supposed to..." The biker put an arm around her and led her inside the bar; sirens could be heard as the police and fire trucks raced over to the parking lot.

". . .Oh, good," Heihachi smiled slightly as he spoke on the phone. Though it was nearly eleven at night, he was still at the office and sat behind his desk in his spacious office. "Then you took care of that hitman." He glanced over at his clock. "That will be all." He pressed a finger on the receiver button and dialed out. As he waited for the other side to pick up, he tapped a pen on the top of his desk with his freehand.

"Hello?" Kazuya asked.

"Kazuya, it's your father."

"Good evening, sir. Still at the office?" Kazuya's voice had become dull after hearing Heihachi's voice.

"Yes," Heihachi replied flatly. "I'm just calling to inform you that I have to leave for Boston immediately. I will not being coming back to the house at all tonight and won't be home until the end of the week. Possibly even through next Monday."

"And what would you like me to do?"

"The usual. You usually handle my affairs quite well. I trust you. My notes and the week's itinerary are in the den, as always. And note there's a business meeting with the heads of G-Technologies on Thursday."

"I was aware of that, sir, and I'll do my best to take your place for the time. Anything else?" The older man grinned slightly at how formal and mechanical his son was being at the moment. Unlike Lee, Kazuya was very careful about what he said or did in front of Heihachi.

"Yes, about your younger brother... I want him to take an internship here this summer. Have him start this week if at all possible."

"Yessir." In the background, Heihachi could hear the doorbell.

"Are you expecting guests?" he asked quietly.

"Yes."

The older man let out a chuckle, "Then I won't keep you any longer. I'll call you again Thursday to check up on everything."

"Enjoy your trip," Kazuya replied then hung up.

The older Mishima hung up his phone as well, then leaned back in his leather chair. He could hear sirens speeding by his office building, and he smiled to himself.

Kazuya hung up the phone and strolled quickly over to the door; he was still dressed for work, wearing a navy oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and black slacks; his shoes and socks were off though. The black tie that he was wear was loosened quite a bit, however, and his hair was still neatly in place. He opened the door and nodded at Anna.

The girl had showered and dressed quickly before leaving, since it took nearly an hour from her house to get to the Mishimas'. As a result, she had thrown on a grey hooded sweatshirt that was almost too big for her without bothering to put on another shirt underneath and a pair of flared light colored jeans. Her hair was pulled back loosely with her black banana clip, and she wasn't wearing any makeup, which Kazuya thought she better without it as he noticed that. The older man smiled slightly at her and moved to the side to let Anna in.

"I'm sorry about calling so late," Kazuya apologized again.

"No worries," the girl smiled weakly as she entered the house. "Where's Lee?" She turned and sat down on the couch, then gazed intently Kazuya.

"He'll be home soon," the young man replied as he closed the door and headed into the room. He walked past Anna, however and into the kitchen. Kazuya then stopped at the counter and picked up a white envelope. The girl turned to better look at him, and her eyes followed the young man as he reentered the living room and stood in front of the girl. She stood up as well and looked down at what Kazuya was carrying.

"This," Kazuya began quietly as he handed her the envelope, "is your payment for your first job." She tugged at it gently to find that he was gripping the other end quite tightly.

"What?" she smirked up at him, still holding her end. Kazuya wasn't smiling back at all, however, and Anna frowned back.

He replied, "I'll call you again in about a week to tell you exactly what's going on, but I wanted to pay you up front." She nodded once quietly. "But, promise me one thing, will you?"

"Yes?" She tugged at the envelope again; it still didn't pull out from the older man's grip.

"Don't ever pull a stunt like you did Saturday again."

"You didn't like it?" Anna looked up innocently at Kazuya. Keeping her eyes on him, she tugged again. The envelope didn't budge.

"I didn't say that," he said. "It's just, this is strictly business and..."

"And what?" Her hand moved from the envelope and up to his wrist, but her eyes were still looking up at Kazuya's. He then leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. In response, the younger girl smiled and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself closer to him, and his arms snaked around her waist, and they embraced passionately until the front door opened.

Immediately, the two of them pulled away, and Kazuya turned his head to see his brother blinking at him in shock. Anna bit her bottom lip then glanced back at Kazuya nervously.

All Lee responded was, "Oh...I get it," then hastily bowed at the door and latched it shut. Kazuya let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his temples painfully as he felt a headache coming on.