Tekken Fan Fiction ❯ The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 ❯ Masterminds ( Chapter 22 )

 

 

Four hours after the Quarterfinals…

 

“Yes! I've finally found it,” Jean exclaimed as he bookmarked the page he was reading. The book in his hand was over 400 years old, and it had finally arrived from his parents' library in France to his house on the outskirts of Tokyo a mere week ago. The book contained numerous supernatural logs and journals that were written when his illustrious ancestor, Raphael Sorel, was affected by a case of vampirism when he was cut with the demonic sword Soul Edge.

 

After getting trounced by Jin Kazama in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 6, Jean immersed himself in the ancient book, hoping to find some way turn his hated enemy's Devil Gene against him. G-Corporation had already deciphered the Devil Gene's genetic code through science: but Jean knew that in order to unlock its true power, one would have to look at it through a supernatural standpoint, as well.

 

Sure enough, he found what he was looking for. One of the entries mentioned a trip to Japan, and the account of finding a humanoid purple oni with leathery wings that could possess seemingly normal people and use the victim's body to take physical form. Upon looking at the illustration of the creature, Jean's hopes began to soar: it was the very same creature that Kazuya transformed into during the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2. Next to the creature was an incantation spell in old Japanese: the journal entry noted that this was a way to summon the dark influence within someone affected by the purple oni in order to decide whether or not the person was possessed.

 

Not only did had he found a very early recording of the Devil Gene, Jean had even found a way to trigger that destructive power at will! If Jin Kazama got in his way again, Jean could simply recite the spell and Jin would transform into his Devil form: it would tear his sanity apart from the inside out, and he would once again become what he hated most: a whirlwind of destruction and hate.

 

But that wouldn't be very sporting at all, Jean pondered as he put the book down and went into the bathroom, I already know what Jin is capable of with his Devil Gene…but what if we saw what would happen if I used it on his precious mother?

 

Jun Kazama indeed had the Devil Gene, but he wasn't chosen to wield it like Kazuya or born with it like Jin: it was handed to her when Kazuya tried to revive her those seven years ago. From what Jean could tell when he watched her compete under the name “Unknown,” the current Jun was little more than a doll: emotionless and barely capable of independent thought. All that remained within her was the desire to fight. The end result of triggering Jun's Devil Gene certainly wouldn't be anything like Kazuya or Jin: the entity might even be able to create a manifestation of itself outside of Jun's physical self due to it not being part of Jun's original genetic structure.

 

If I can trigger the Devil Gene within her, and pit her against Kazuya…

 

Jean let loose a maniacal cackle as he took his clothes off and entered the shower. This would be the ultimate vengeance against Kazuya: his dear Jun, the same woman who he forsook in order to pursue his vengeance against his father Heihachi; the same woman who he saved from Ogre's clutches seven years ago; the same woman who he was trying to save from Jean's clutches…the same woman would tear him apart. Jean's ultimate vengeance would be realized. And once Kazuya was too tired to do anything about it, Jean would destroy the last ounce of goodness that damnable Mishima had by slitting Jun's throat and having her bleed to death in front of him. He would paint the town red…with her blood.

 

The succulent copper scent of her blood…I get goosebumps just thinking about it! I remember my first blood like it was yesterday…except it didn't come from a beautiful woman, but some boorish lout.

 

Drawing blood from his opponent had been an essential part of Jean's life since he was a small child. His first victim came on a school playground when he was 5 when he punched a school bully in the nose for attacking one of his female classmates. Although Jean was too young to realize it then, the thrill of watching someone's vital fluids drain from them became a fascinating sight to behold. A year later, his father called him into the living room one day and asked if he wanted to learn how to fight. Jean didn't know what his father was talking about, so he said yes. His father smiled and turned on the TV to show the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2.

 

The blood, the violence, and the beautiful art of how it was done: Jean knew, right then and there, that he wanted to become a martial artist.

 

In the years that followed, Jean worked meticulously to sharpen his mind and body. His mother asked a professional kickboxer named Jacque to teach him the art of Savate, and his father personally taught him the specialized art of fencing unique to the Sorel clan: La Rapiere des Sorel. Once he had mastered both arts, he began mixing and matching them to create his own style of combat. At age 10, he entered his first tournament, the Junior Kickboxing Championships, and won…but it was a pyrrhic victory.

 

When Jean fought, a kickboxing match was no longer a mere sport: it was a survival test. The young boy fought like a demon, crushing and pummeling all oncomers and sending many of his opponents to the hospital. The parents of his opponents were in an uproar, demanding that Jean be placed in a mental institution. The Sorels were able to save Jean from that fate, but he would be banned from the Junior Championships for life.

 

But that wasn't what drove him over the edge.

 

When he got home that day from the tournament, there lay a sight that he would never, ever forget: his dear elder sister Claudia, lying dead on the floor bleeding her life away, and her fiancée Jacque writhing on the floor in pain a few feet away. Jean ran over to his fallen sister, shaking her and telling her to wake up.  Upon realizing that she was truly gone, something dark awakened in his heart as he sobbed bitterly.

 

As it turned out, an ex-boyfriend of Claudia's had managed to get into their mansion, and when he got in, he broke Jacque's legs and then raped Claudia in front of him. Once he did that, he took one of the many rapiers in the living room and stabbed her to death with it before leaving. When he overheard the police telling his father about it and heard Jacque give the description of the killer, Jean devoted himself to madness.

 

Claudia was like an angel to him, and Jacque a surrogate brother: he would avenge their honor, but if he wanted to do it…he would have to become cruel.

 

Just as Kazuya devoted himself to evil to take revenge on his father, so I devoted myself to darkness to avenge my sister, Jean reminisced as he turned off the shower and put a towel around his body, in the end, I guess I'm no different from him…

 

Sure enough, Jean found the man six years later, sitting in a front row seat during his Gold medal Olympic Fencing match. Once he had noticed the man, he leapt down from the winner's podium and broke his back, then dragged him outside and began draining him of his blood with his rapier. Jean had studied the human body and knew of every vital spot, so it was an easy matter of figuring out where his sister's murderer would hemorrhage the most. When Jean was done, the man was now a dried corpse, completely devoid of his vital fluids.

 

When he told his father and mother that he had finally avenged Claudia's death, they weren't as thrilled as he would have hoped they would be. They told him that the bloodlust that had been a part of him was not due to the need to fight or the need to take vengeance: it was from a madness that was common in his family tree. His own father had experienced it shortly before Jean was born, and it almost drove him into suicide. If Jean didn't focus his madness into more positive outlets outside of fighting, he would eventually destroy himself. Fortunately, Mr. Sorel knew just the thing to do.

 

And so dear old Dad had me take his place at G-Corporation as the vice president once I reached 18 and graduated from high school just so I could learn how to be a “productive member of society”, Jean muttered to no one in particular as he put on a black kimono and tied his hair back, “Hey son, I've got just the thing to fix you up good: I'm going to send you away to a far-off land away from your friends and family!” Sometimes I wonder who's really the crazy one in the family.

 

Upon entering G-Corporation, he met Kazuya Mishima, a man who he instantly admired and looked up to. Kazuya was much like him: tempered by combat, and devoted to darkness. Jean tried to get close to him, and hoped to become his friend, but Kazuya always kept his distance. Over time, Jean's admiration became resentment, and the two became enemies.

 

Although Jean was a productive leader, his short temper and sadistic tendencies made many of the board members feel uncomfortable. For six years, Jean became ever more cruel, letting his hatred for Kazuya fester and slowly eat away at his psyche.

 

And then he met Jane.

 

When Jane first arrived at G-Corporation 3 years ago, Jean took an immediate liking to her. She was beautiful, kind-hearted, and trustworthy: much like his late elder sister, Claudia. Jane had showed Jean of a life outside of the endless pit of darkness that was his heart, and he slowly began opening up to her. His devotion to madness ended the very day he met her: now his devotions were strictly for her.

 

And THAT is why I shall break Kazuya, Jean mused as he went into the kitchen and poured himself some tea, I must make this world safe for my precious Jane!

 

At the end of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, Jane's Jack-4 models attempted to assassinate Kazuya Mishima and failed. Jean took the blame but reassured the President that Jane's Jack-5 model would not fail…and it did. The ridicule Jean received was enormous, but that wasn't what bothered him the most. Kazuya knew who created the Jacks, and he would one day find Jane and exact his revenge on her…just as Claudia's ex exacted his revenge on her.

 

Jane, wait just a little longer, Jean thought to himself as he picked up a picture of the woman he loved that was hanging from the cupboard, very soon now you shall be safe again…and Kazuya will wish he never crossed paths with Jean Sorel!

 

 

-----------------

Meanwhile at the Tokyo Airport…

 

“What powerful young fighters,” Dragunov said to himself as he watched the replay of Kenichi and Asuka's fight on the TV at the gate. The Russian government was sending him a small group of soldiers to help apprehend Asuka Kazama in the event that she makes a fuss. Dragunov hoped that it wouldn't come to that and that she would come with them without a struggle, but he knew in his heart that it wouldn't be so easy.

 

“I love the King of Iron Fist,” his corporal said as he came back from the bathroom and sat down next to his commanding officer, “the greatest martial artists on the planet, going toe-to-toe to decide who is the strongest: it is truly a sight to behold.”

 

“Indeed it is, corporal. When I first entered the tournament, I thought it was a trifle waste of time. I'm glad to see how wrong I was, because it is a thrill like no other. If you worked hard enough on your ROSS style, you might be able to compete someday.”

 

“Thank you sir,” the corporal nodded as he continued watching the fight video.

 

“Corporal,” Dragunov said as he turned to his aide, “we had front row seats, did you manage to catch the girl's conversation with that boy?”

 

“Hm? Yes, sir, I managed to catch most of it,” the corporal said as he looked to his comrade, “Truly heart-warming stuff. Why do you ask…if I'm not overstepping my boundaries?”

 

“…what sort of a heartless monster am I?” Dragunov said in a very quiet tone.

 

“Sir?”

 

“The thought crossed my mind that if we used the boy, we could persuade the girl to come with us without a fuss,” Dragunov bowed his head slightly in shame. “To stoop so low as to use a young woman's affections against her…”

 

“Sir, permission to speak freely?”

 

“Granted, corporal.”

 

“We aren't doing this because we are heartless monsters: we are doing this because we are under orders to bring her in. Was it not you who taught me that I cannot put personal feelings ahead of direct orders from a commanding officer?” the corporal's voice had a serious tone that surprised even Dragunov.

 

“…you are absolutely right, Corporal. This was part of the deal when I accepted this mission. If I have to drive a wedge between a young couple in order to attain it…then so be it. Sergei Dragunov has never backed down before, and I have no intention of starting now!”

 

“Sir, normally stuff like this wouldn't bother you,” the corporal leaned down so that he could see Dragunov's face, “is something on your mind?”

 

“…I was thinking about Lt. Sharon, and what he said about mercy and how through seeing death on the battlefield, he learned the meaning of life,” Dragunov lifted his head back up and looked at the Corporal, “it seems strange to me how someone who was born in one of the most unstable regions in the world could have such a profound understanding of such things.”

 

“It almost sounds as if you see him as a rival of sorts.”

 

“Hmph…I suppose...”

 

Now arriving, Gate 17, non-stop from Moscow. Welcome to Tokyo.

 

“Ah, it appears that our reinforcements have arrived,” Dragunov said as he and his aide stood up from their spots and headed to the gate, “Come, corporal. Let us greet our comrades who will aid us in our mission…”