Tekken Fan Fiction ❯ Jakunen Mirai ❯ Revelations ( Chapter 10 )

The words meant nothing to him so far. Just mindless yammering about tournaments and fighting and family disputes.

None of it was familiar.

Could it be possible that Greg was somehow right? Did that asshole really know that nothing could be done for him? Until now, he'd refused to accept it. But there seemed now to be a strong possibility that it was all a waste of time. Maybe his mind was so fried that there was no hope of retrieving the information buried deep within it. The information that would tell him who the hell he was. Then, he saw it.

An image of a lovely young woman, standing humbly before a massive crowd, with a large blonde-haired man in a red Gi at her feet, clearly unconscious. Her raven shoulder-length hair was slightly ruffled, but held back by a white headband; the same white as her shorts and socks. She looked like an angel. At the time it must have been nothing but a happy-snap…but it was invaluable in the sense that it triggered something…something so deep K-chan didn't even know it was there.

It caused an incredible spike of pain in the centre of his brain, like someone had stabbed him from the inside. A muffled gasp escaped his lips, followed by a deep moan of agony…and he grasped his head between his hands, unable to move from that position. Unable to think.

Then everything went black.

***

The ride up in the elevator triggered something in his mind that was painfully familiar…literally. He found his still slightly foggy memory being jabbed into action once again, this time of recent events that seemed to have happened so long ago. He was told that if he left this place, then he would quickly forget it as he moved on to his old…or new…life. Unfortunately, they had only been partially correct. He remembered this place fairly well, only it felt like he'd lived here twenty years ago, rather than half a year ago. He found many faces vaguely familiar, though so far he could place few names to them. It seemed that everyone else remembered him however; so many people had smiled and greeted him by name…all he could do was nod in reply so as not to seem rude.

Damn, the elevator certainly was slow today. At least it gave him time to think. The familiar smell was almost unbearable; his mind faded in and out of familiarity at a frightening rate. One moment, he felt like a complete stranger, the next he felt like he was visiting a childhood home; the smells evoking a sense of homeliness in his heart. One moment, he felt like he belonged; the next, he remembered that he was no longer a part of the G-Corporation.

And the next…it reminded him of that fateful week when everything shattered like the delicate glass of a church window.

***

When he awoke, he wasn't in his room.

Actually, the place was somewhere he had been before…six years ago. Only this time he wasn't being used as a test subject to see if he was capable of higher cognitive functions. In fact, he knew exactly who he was…or did he?

He was still K-chan…only with a massive headache. It hit him again, and, wincingly, he raised a large, slender hand to try and quell the raging ache. Not that it did much for it at all. To his relief, a moment later, a pleasant chill hit the top of his aching head, and when he glanced upward, he noticed a young nurse holding an ice pack to his head.

"How are you feeling?"

How did he feel? "…Like shit…"

The young woman chuckled, and ran the back of her hand across his cheek. That was pleasantly cool too. "You collapsed yesterday, by one of the computer terminals. We've been doing scans all night; they figured you had some sort of information overload or something."

He dropped his hand away after using it to rub his sleepy eyes. He still felt groggy, despite the rude awakening of the pounding in his head. "How long have I been out for?"

"About eighteen hours." Her answer was matter-of-fact and business-like in an effort to avoid the outburst she could foresee, but it didn't work.

"What?! Eighteen hours!" He realised how loud that came out, and slapped a hand over his mouth for a second to calm himself down. After a moment, he lowered it to his side on the laboratory bed again, and took a deep breath. "I was out cold for eighteen hours? …What a waste of a good day…"

She smiled and shook her head. "It was raining anyway. It's about nine in the morning, you didn't miss much." She paused a moment, adjusting the ice pack, then continued thoughtfully. "What exactly were you looking at on that computer? I mean, they didn't tell me, only that you collapsed and that I'd need to keep an eye on you until you woke up…"

He thought a moment, willing the pain away so he could talk without having to think over it. "Greg gave me some references. He was sick of me demanding to know who I am I suppose, so he threw me in the deep end."

For a moment, she certainly looked nervous. "What did you find out?"

He thought about it again, and ignored the pain in his fried brain. Damnit, was it going to ever go away? The ice pack wasn't doing much to comfort him. "Not too much. Just useless information about some tournament, fighting, and other shit. I think it was a picture that killed me. It was of this young woman. I think I know her…when I saw her, my brain just exploded into pieces for some reason. Ugh, there it goes again…" His last comment was strained, and forced through a wince of agony. His hand found its way to his head again as another spell overcame him. Thank god it wasn't as bad as yesterday's.

While holding down the ice pack, the nurse dug around in a table drawer for some painkillers of some sort to help the poor man out. She realised, with relief, that he still couldn't remember. It was better that way, she was told. No one would want to remember a life entailing a long history of abuse and rejection, and no one would want to withhold such a reputation as K once had. She'd heard about him, and could only feel compassion for him. The poor guy…no one loved him, and for no reason. "Hey, just don't worry about it. You'll probably be better off just starting fresh. After all, you're a completely different person after living here with us…"

His ebony eyes snapped open, glaring intensely at the nurse. What nerve she had, denying him the right to know who he is! His response, no matter how fiery the rage within him burned, was icy cold. "You don't know what it's like, do you? To live in darkness, the unknown. Without an identity. Everyone else around here knows exactly who they are; who their family is…they have people who care about them. Everyone except me. I'm just the test subject…the nameless guy in the background." He paused, looking from one eye to the other, judging her reaction. The rage, somehow, ended the pain in his head. As he sat up, he pulled the ice pack off his head and placed it aside. He continued, still as cool as before, only with a little more control inside.

"You were there when they did the preliminary tests. I'm just as intelligent as all of you; I'm made of the same stuff. I think the same way all of you do. I'm just as human as you are, Yuni. Humans need identity. They need to know what they are, where they come from. They need a future. Right now, I have nothing. No past. No future. And so far, I've not even had a present. My existence is meaningless." He didn't realise how pained his eyes looked to the young woman, but he did notice the tears springing up in her eyes. She was doing her darnedest to hold them back, too.

Since she still said nothing, only listened, he felt compelled to continue. He needed to tell someone how he felt, because if he didn't, he felt his body would simply burn up in these terrible emotions that consumed him. Ever since he regained consciousness for the first time six years ago, he'd realised he was one of those people who bottled up their emotions, letting them eat him inside out. But no longer. No longer would this self-inflicted torture ruin what life he had…if it could be called a life. "Yuni, I need to know. It's killing me." He was going to say more…but he couldn't find the words to say. And he had them all thought out, too. Instead, he just sat in silence, waiting for her to respond.

By now, her eyes were filled with hot tears, which had overflowed and began pouring down her cheeks. Despite herself, she emitted a sob and grasped his hand, closing her eyes, letting more tears spill down her pretty face. "I…I'm so sorry…I was told to stay quiet…for your own…own good, they said…" She choked on her sobs for a moment, but forced herself onward. "They're so cruel to you…I…I think you should know…but you won't like it…"

Long, slender fingers curled around the young woman's delicate hand, gently, but firmly. "Tell me, Yuni." It was not a request, it was an order, and a definite one at that.

She sobbed again, biting her lower lip. For a few seconds she breathed deeply, regaining her composure, and forced herself to calm down. "Kazuya Mishima."