Tekken Fan Fiction ❯ The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 ❯ Awakening ( Chapter 28 )

King of Iron Fist 6

Day 5

5:24 PM

 

The Zozoji Temple, located in the Tokyo garden district, is one of the oldest known temples in Japan, built in the year 1393 and moved to its current location in 1590 by the Tokugawa Ieyasu. It is now the main temple of the Jodo Buddhist sect in the Kanto region of Japan. Being that it was once the main Buddhist temple of the Tokugawa Shogunate, a mausoleum of the Tokugawa family can still be found on the grounds of the temple, and the crest of the Tokugawa family still decorates the family temple.

 

However, even today, someone with the blood of a Tokugawa soldier walks these grounds.

 

Kenichi Masamune, the modern-day descendant of a former Tokugawa general, who was under the family name of “Date” at that time, got off of the bus just outside the main gate carrying a notebook along with his classmate and rival, Asuka Kazama. The two teenagers were wearing their school uniforms: yellow sweater vests and a white undershirt. Asuka was wearing a blue plaid skirt, while Kenichi was wearing long pants of the same color. They were here not for sight-seeing, but for business.

 

“I can't believe that Shitow-sensei gave us homework on our tournament trip,” Asuka moaned.

 

“It's a pretty simple assignment, Asuka,” Kenichi turned to his female counterpart, “and given that 78 you have in national history, you could use the boost. At any rate, your father called me last night and asked me to make sure you got this assignment done. He figures that since this is part of my family's history, that I might be able to give you a few pointers…”

 

“Are you telling me that you're my dad's errand boy now?” Asuka put her hands on her hips and smiled, “Trying to earn his approval? Aren't you the snake charmer…?”

 

“N..na-ne!?” Kenichi's face turned a bright red, “I-it's not like that at all, I swear!”

 

Who am I kidding, Kenichi asked himself rhetotically, that is what I'm trying to do…trying to gain her father's approval…

 

…there he goes with the blushing again, Asuka thought to herself as she and Kenichi began walking through the main gate. I always like it when he does that…it shows that he's human. “Well let me tell you this, pal,” Asuka said out loud as she walked next to her friend, “When you asked if I wanted to do something together…this is NOT what I had in mind!”

 

As the two young martial artists stepped through the gate, they were completely oblivious to the terrors that awaited them…

 

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6:09 PM

 

Within the grounds of Zozoji temple was not only the graveyard of former Tokugawa family, but a beautiful flower garden and shrine as well as the great cedar tree planted in 1869 when President Ulysses S. Grant visited Japan. With numerous Buddha statues dotting the area, there was truly something spiritual about the garden. The setting sun only further augmented the serene setting. Given how there was very few people in the temple grounds that day to distract, Asuka and Kenichi had plenty of time to get an outline for their report written up while still having time to admire the scenery.

 

After climbing up the flight of stairs that led them to where they were now, Asuka certainly had to admit that the setting the beautiful as she stood just outside the entrance to the inner sanctum, the last place left before they had visited all of the parts of the temple that their school teacher instructed them to go to, she still didn't feel that this was where she belonged on that evening. She looked up and saw the gigantic Tokyo Tower in the distance. It was less than a mile away, and Asuka definitely felt like walking there before it got too dark.

 

But then she brought her head back down and saw Kenichi writing in his notebook and smiled, I owe it to Kenichi to stay on task. Ever since the end of the last tournament last year, he has done nothing but help me get back on my feet and remember what it means to be a fighter…

 

Kenichi looked up from his notebook and saw Asuka looking at him, and she quickly turned her head in embarrassment. …I admire how she still keeps that tomboyism in check…while I simply stutter like some lovesick little boy, he thought to himself as he continued to watch Asuka, that's why I can't help but wonder if I'm truly worthy of her…she has always remained constant in her resolve, while mine habitually stray from trying to find out the truth behind my fahter's death to impure thoughts involving the two of us together. He knew one thing for certain: ever since Asuka gave him that kiss on the cheek after their battle, he would forever see Asuka as his “angel of the fight.”

 

“Hey Asuka,” Kenichi finally managed to say, “let's finish this up so we can head back. Maybe later tonight we can go to the basketball courts and play some one-on-one.”

 

“Heh,” Asuka rubbed her nose as she smirked, “sounds good to me. Just remember that I won't be taking it easy on you!”

 

“I couldn't have put it better myself…”

 

Kenichi and Asuka turned around in surprise at the unknown voice, and saw the origin: a European man with long blonde hair tied back in a red bow and eyes that shone a dull blue, wearing a blue leather jacket with the letter “G” above his heart and navy-colored pants connected with a loose bondage strap. At his hip was a sheath that contained a rapier. It was the very same man from the tournament: Jean Sorel.

 

“YOU!” Asuka blurted out as she and Kenichi got into a fighting stance, “what the hell are you doing here!?”

 

“Why, I'm here for you, madam,” Jean gave an exaggerated bow as he drew his sword, “and if your young admirer, the…what is the word you use…”bishonen,” would like to play along…well then…the more the merrier…”

 

“I'd hardly consider myself a bishonen, but if you threaten one of us, you threaten the other, scum.” Kenichi's eyes narrowed as he began to advance, “I accept your challenge!”

 

“Hmph, don't be so modest, boy,” Jean smirked as he watched both fighters toss their notebooks aside and come at him at once, “two fine-looking children such as yourselves need to...LOOSEN UP!!”

 

But before either Asuka or Kenichi could take another step, Jean lashed out at them with his rapier and gave Asuka a clean scratch to her midsection, ripping open her sweater vest and drawing blood from just above her naval to just below her cleavage. As Kenichi was about to run to his friend's aid, Jean kicked him in the stomach then scratched the boy across his leg with a swipe from his claw-like gauntlets before sending him to the ground with an axe kick. The boy gritted his teeth as Jean began to grind his heel into his back.

 

Asuka quickly got back into a fighting stance and prepared to rush to Kenichi's aid. Both of them had clearly underestimated this man, as he was apparently much stronger than his arrogant manner led to them to believe. Asuka took off what was left of her sweater vest and looked at the cut in her white undershirt. But as she assessed the damage, she felt her head spin and her limbs go numb.

 

“You're probably wondering why you're already losing focus,” Jean said as he kicked Kenichi's body towards Asuka and watched as the boy stuggled to get back up while he put his rapier back in its sheath. “This is because I have tipped both Flambert and my hands with a powerful drug. It should only last for around 10 minutes, which is coincidentally about how long we have until sunset, but that gives me more than enough time for what I came here for…”

 

As he spoke, he walked over to Asuka and punched her in her in the solar plexus so hard that he knocked the wind out of the girl. Then he walked over to Kenichi, who couldn't even get off of his knees due to the anesthetic now flowing in his veins. Jean kneeled down to Kenichi's level and looked into his eyes.

 

“…those eyes, boy…” Jean said, “those eyes are of a man who has fallen in love and whose devotion are solely to the one they love. You're probably thinking of a way to bash my head in despite the drugs, so you can save your precious Asuka…that is a trait I admire, my boy. Love is perhaps one of the most unrelenting and unpredictable of all emotions. It can make or break a man, drive him to the ground or propel him to because the best in the world.”

 

…damn him, Kenichi cursed to himself as he attempted to will his body into motion, he knows exactly how I feel, and he's mocking me for it… Turning his head, he saw the fallen Asuka. …I can't let him win…I promised both her father and myself that I would look after her!

 

“Well I'm going to grant you a chance to save her, young man,” Jean said with a smirk as he grabbed both Asuka and Kenichi by their necks and kicked the door in front of them open. He dragged the two teenagers inside of the inner sanctum, and placed Kenichi right next to a large golden Buddha statue. The room was dark and fairly large, lit only by a large quantity of candles and what little sunlight was left in the day. “And I'm even going to let you do it front of your god.”

 

Continuing to hold Asuka by the neck, Jean took off the gauntlet of his free hand with his teeth. He was smart enough to make sure that he was immune to the effects of the drug on his gauntlets; he would certainly look very foolish if he had done what he just did and got poisoned by his own medicine.

 

Jean smirked as Asuka's eyes slowly opened, then widened in surprise that she was right now in a vice grip. Her limbs were still numb, so there was little she could do to stop her attacker. “Don't worry your pretty little head, my tomboyish friend,” Jean said as he grabbed onto her forehead and began to crackle with his green ki, “you've been chosen for…DEVILISH PSYCHOSIS!!!”

The teenage girl screamed in pain as Jean began to mutter something in Japanese, while Kenichi watched helplessly as he body continued to lay immobile. He desperately wanted to help her, and he tried his best to overcome the numbing agent. At last, he began to finally feel something in his limbs, and began to desperately try to once again move his body.

 

Due to her having the gift of neutralizing the Devil spirit that Jin lacked, Jean thought as dropped the now-unconscious Asuka, she can easily mask her appearance as one of Kazuya's children and even resist the call of the Devil…all I had to do was uncover what was there, and now all we have to do is wait for the trick to take full effect…at any rate, this will certainly be fun to watch the end result of both the Kazama healing power and the Devil Gene fuse into one...this should be more than enough bait for the REAL target!

 

Turning around, he saw Kenichi getting back onto his feet, a quiet fury burning in his eyes as he gave himself entirely to the adrenaline rush that overcame him and helped wash away the drug-induced paralysis. The drug had not completely worn off and Kenichi still didn't have what it took to fight, but he could now move around and he knew that very soon the drug will have worn off completely and he would avenge the honor of his angel of the fight.

 

“Listen up, boy,” Jean said as he began heading to the door, “I have just awakened a power that lies within your friend more terrible than your wildest dreams. In a few minutes, the sun will have set, and the effects of the…boost I gave her…will go into full swing…and then it's MORPHIN' TIME, BABY!! If you manage to defeat her…then you will have almost certainly won her heart with your brave heroics…if not,” Jean smiled as Kenichi came at him and he kicked the boy back with a powerful roundhouse kick, “then enjoy your slow, agonizing, and quite possibly VERY erotic death!”

 

Kenichi quickly got back up and ran after Jean just as the Frenchman closed to door. The boy struggled to go after him, but the door was locked, and he certainly wasn't going to stoop to the Frenchman's level by destroying sacred property. Looking at Asuka, he watched as she began to crackle with dark energy.

 

What…did mean by…morphing time?

 

Kenichi would not have to wait more than five minutes to figure it out…