Tekken Fan Fiction ❯ Canto ❯ Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Lei shoved his hands in his pockets and watched Bryan drive off that night, then entered his apartment building and went up the stairs numbly to his floor. Even after going out for drinks with Bryan, the detective still felt horrible, and like Bryan, he was even beginning to feel ill, if only because he didn't know what or even how he was going to tell Jun in the morning.

They had had to wait with the body for several hours until the coroner showed up, a mousy indifferent man that smugly took his time inspecting the body as the two men waited to be dismissed. And that entire time, Bryan was silent and sat on the edge of the couch, his hands folded over his knees as he leaned forward, not once looking over at hallway that led to the room that Emil was in. Lei really couldn't blame him for reacting like that.

As he trudged up the stairs, he took off his coat and loosened the tie he was wearing and pulled it off, and slung both over his arm before opening the door to his floor and heading down the hallway. When he reached his door, he dung in his pocket until he found his keys and fumbled around with them until he got the right one.

He stuck the key into the hole, but with the force of his pushing, Lei's apartment door creaked opened slowly. The detective groaned softly to himself when he realized that the door hadn't been latched at all and grabbed the doorknob to pull his keys out. He then entered his apartment, his head down as his sight was still focused on the knob. He looked up into his darkened apartment then, blinked, then quickly reached over to the wall to turn on the lights.

"Hi," Jun said quietly when the light clicked on. She was wearing tight black tank top and a pair of cut-off white dukes; the younger woman was stretched out on her stomach on the couch, her legs up and crossed gracefully. Lei lifted a brow and sighed heavily.

"How'd you get in?" he asked as he hung his coat up on the hat stand by the light switch. As he waited for a reply, he turned his attention back to his partner. He noticed quickly that Jun looked upset.

"I picked the lock." She shifted and sat up slowly. "Where were you all day?"

"Running errands," Lei reached behind him and closed the door. "Why do you ask?"

Jun shrugged, "I was trying to get in touch with you and Bryan all day. Neither one of you were taking calls." She crossed her legs and folded her hands neatly on her knees. "I take it he was helping you run your errands?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Heh," the younger woman chuckled coolly. "So, what was so important that you could call Bryan and not me?"

Lei scratched the back of his head, "It was nothing, really. The two of us decided to go out. I mean, since you're not exactly excited to be here."

"Bullshit, Wulong." Her eyes narrowed, "You've been acting weird since we went to see Nina the other day."

"Well, how am I supposed to act around you?" Lei shook his head and sighed heavily. "You've been so emotional and practically useless--"

"--Useless?"

"Yes, useless! I won't lie." Jun shot up from her seat as Lei said this, her hands balled up into fists. He blinked at the angry woman before him and stepped back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't said it like that..." Jun crossed her arms.

"Since we're on the subject of not lying, do me a favor and just come out with it. Everything," she said harshly.

"He's dead."

Jun's face softened into confusion and she slowly dropped her arms, "Who?"

"That Emil guy," Lei hung head and rubbed the back of his neck. "He's dead, Jun." He looked up to see Jun's face; her lips were parted slightly and her eyes were wide in shock and fright. "You were right about Williams. Bryan and I were looking into it, and... I'm sorry, I should had just told you from the start."

"Wait, you're saying that Nina's...?" Lei nodded once stiffly in response. She numbly sat back down on the couch and looked down, her eyes still wide as she stared blankly at her bare feet.

Lei approached her cautiously and sat down next to her, facing her fully. His face was tired and sad.

"Maybe you should had stayed in New York, like you wanted," he began softly as he placed an arm around Jun's shoulders.

She didn't answer.

He was still awake when Kazuya returned from taking Anna home, and Lee sat in his room on his bed, door cracked and listened to his brother trot up the stairs and into his room, then to silence. Lee glanced over at his clock; it was three after two in the morning. The younger Mishima brother began to wonder if Kazuya had even noticed that Lee had never left the house, or even cared for that matter. He stood up and stretched, then strained his ears again. He heard the bathroom door open and close and then the sounds of the shower. Lee grunted, rolled his eyes, and then exited his room.

The only light in the hall came from the crack between the bathroom door and the floor, and it weakly lit up the hall. Lee paused at the door, nearly barging in and demanding an explanation from Kazuya about what exactly he and Anna were planning, but stopped himself. The silver haired youth sighed heavily and continued down the hall, his arms crossed. He stomped down the stairs, through the kitchen, and finally out the backdoor to the garden.

It was relatively cool that night, though Lee didn't notice the change in weather at all. He hadn't bothered to change into night clothes and was still clad in his jeans and white hooded shirt from earlier, and he was barefoot. He went halfway up the pathway to the dojo then stopped. He was troubled by the rock garden.

Of course, it hadn't been raked in nearly a week, and the neat little tracks and patterns that Heihachi had so carefully made had been eroded way from the storm the other day. Leaves from the cherry blossom trees and withered poppy petals were scattered all over the sandy plot. The young man shook his head at the mess, though part of him did find it beautiful in a natural, chaotic way.

He finally began to walk again and reached the dojo, and like he did most nights, the young man sat down in the middle of the large room and faced the large windows and watched. There was nothing to see, and there wouldn't be for hours. He knew that, and usually he just practiced his katas until he was bored or needed to go outside to smoke. But tonight, he sat cross-legged and jaded. He let out a frustrated huff when he noticed the backdoor to the house opening and then Kazuya stepping out and heading towards the dojo and pulling a long sleeved grey t-shirt over his head. The younger man stood up and dusted himself off, then looked over his shoulder towards the door when he heard it open and nodded once at his brother.

"You can have it," Lee said as he walked towards his brother to leave.

Kazuya shook his head, "No, I came out here to talk to you, Chaolan. Not to practice." The older Mishima brother crossed his arms, "I wanted to ask you something."

"Can we go back to the house, then?" Lee asked, also crossing his arms. "I'd like to light up."

"Fine."

They were both silent as the went back to the manor, and Kazuya opened the door for his brother then slipped inside himself. Lee sat down at the table, and as usual pulled his zippo and his smokes from his pocket. He popped a cigarette in his mouth and lit up.

Kazuya sat down in front of his brother and frowned, "You know, that's gonna kill you one day."

"Heh," Lee chuckled, "Let's not have that conversation again, Kazuya."

"Alright." Kazuya looked down at his hands, then back up at Lee, "You're mad at me, I take it?"

"You know, I haven't really decided if I am or not." The younger Mishima pulled his cigarette from him mouth; smoke blew from his nostrils. The older man nodded once and leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixated on his brother as his listened. "It's just awkward now, with Anna hanging around again."

"You said weren't angry about that."

"And you said that there wasn't anything going on between the two of you," Lee retorted coolly. "How the fuck am I'm supposed to respond to that?"

Kazuya blinked and was silent.

Lee continued, "And then I get the feeling that you're telling her more than you're telling me."

"It's not like that," Kazuya finally replied. "It's hard to explain, but come on. You know I wouldn't keep anything from you."

"You sure in the hell didn't tell me you were fucking her," the silver haired boy growled almost under his breath.

Kazuya stood up and crossed his arms, "You said didn't matter, that it wasn't your right to get upset."

Lee put out his cigarette and stood up as well, "That was before I knew you were sleeping with her." He chuckled harshly and crossed his arms, "Not that I blame you. She's a good fuck--"

"--What is wrong with you?!" the older boy cried. "This has nothing to do with Anna. Just say it!" He turned away and threw his arms up in the air before angrily exiting the kitchen. Kazuya paused at the door, however, and looked over his shoulder, "You were like this long before I even touched her. Now you just have an excuse." He then left Lee to himself and hastily went up the stairs.

Lee slowly sat back down in his chair, his head still turned to the doorway that his brother had stormed out of. His hands were trembling, though at the moment, he couldn't tell if it was from anger or from nervousness. He sat there for almost half an hour before he stood up and headed upstairs himself.

As he walked to his room, the younger Mishima was glad to see that Kazuya's light was off, and quietly he opened his bedroom door and went inside. After he latched the door behind him, Lee pulled off all his clothes and threw himself on his bed, though he knew he wasn't going to get any sleep that night. After only a few minutes, he sat back up, stood up, and cautiously crept out of his room again. He tiptoed down to Kazuya's room and tried the door quietly and found that it wasn't locked.

Of course, he never locks his door, the younger man mused to himself before slowly pushing the door open and slipping inside of the room. He then strolled over to the foot of his brother's bed and stood silently.

Much to Lee's surprise, Kazuya was actually asleep, though he was tossing and turning as Lee watched. The younger smiled and shook his head once, again amused by watching his brother dream. He finally stepped around to the side of the bed and sat down next to the older boy.

He looked out at into the room then. It was the total opposite of his, with everything neatly in place, reflecting the way Kazuya presented himself to the world everyday.

"You know, Kaz," Lee began quietly, his eyes still forward. "I sometimes wonder if you ever get tired of trying so hard. You're so damned perfect, it makes me sick. It has to make you sick, too." He glanced over at Kazuya, who was still now, the only movement coming from the slow rising falling of his chest. "You can't keep it up. You'll crack." He looked out forward again and let out a heavy sigh.

"At least I'm trying." Lee whipped his head back to see Kazuya peering up at him. The older boy shifted a bit and sat up slowly. "One of us has to."

"Maybe," the younger boy replied as he looked forward again. He felt the mattress move again as Kazuya sat next to him. He then turned to fully face his brother, "But is it really worth it?"

"I don't know," Kazuya said slowly as he hung his head. "I guess...I just keep hoping things'll change, even though I know they won't. But you're right. I am tired." Lee smiled fondly at that response, startled but pleasantly surprised at Kazuya's honesty, since the younger man had fully expected some kind of falsely optimistic reply from his brother.

Lee wrapped his arms around his brother's neck, "I like you better this way." With his head still down, Kazuya let out a soft laugh and shook his head until he felt Lee nuzzling against his neck. He then stiffened up and pulled away. However, the younger boy responded by hugging him again and then pulling away slightly only to slide his hands from Kazuya's neck up to gently cup his face.

Kazuya pulled completely away, "Good night, Chaolan."

"Good night," Lee sighed as he withdrew his hands and stood up.