Tekken: Devil's Defeat

7. Unexpected Connections

Nina carefully landed onto the hotel's roof, just above the suite where Alisa and Xiaoyu were currently stationed. Grabbing a speaker from her utility belt, Nina stuck it close to the open window and turned it on, putting the connecting ear-piece in, listening to the conversation.

"Alisa, I think you're just being a little agitated. There's no one out there."

"But I got an alert. Father's technology is nearly devoid of human error. I think we might be under attack."

"If we were under attack, don't you think something would have happened by now. Bullets blazing? An army smashing down the windows?  Nothing's happening. We're fine. You're probably still getting used to the new installed techno-stuff your dad put in you."

Nina's fears were correct: Alisa did detect her threat, but apparently didn't see her. At times like this, the assassin took pride in her reflexes and speed. It was also a good choice to wear one of her thermal-resistant suits. 

"I don't know, Xiao. The detection seemed pretty strong."

"Well, whoever wanted to hurt us is not there anymore. You probably scared them."

"...I suppose you're right."

There was a long pause before the two girls continued talking. Nina took the time to brainstorm some ideas as to why Alisa was there. She was clearly protecting Xiaoyu, but why? It couldn't be just because she was her friend. Judging by their little bicker, she knew of Alisa being a robot, and of Dr. Bosconovitch. Did she have some sort of connection to the doctor? That was the only explanation Nina could think of.

"Well, then. Back to what you were saying: You're having consistent nightmares?" Alisa asked. There was a heavy sigh from Xiaoyu, followed by a small rustling sound which Nina assumed was from her sitting back on the chair. 

"Every single night I have the same dream. It's been happening for about a month now."

"The exact same dream?"

"The exact same dream. It happens even when I take naps during the day."

"So... that is what is making you ill and irritable."

"Yeah."

"Oh, Xiao. I'm so sorry. You should have told me sooner. We should research for remedies right away."

"I don't think any man-made remedies are going to be helping me. I already tried meditation and sleeping pills, but they don't do squat."

"What do you dream about?"

Another sigh. "I'm in this dojo that's surrounded by a forest, and its always night. The dojo is filled with dead bodies and I'm the only one that's standing. Then, I hear my name. When I turn around, there's this big dark shadow that... that..."

"That what?"

"That... It morphs into Jin."

Nina froze again in her already still position. Jin? Jin Kazama? No, it couldn't be. She must be talking about another person named Jin. After all, he never mentioned knowing a girl named Xiaoyu, she thought. Then, Nina remembered the profile, mentioning that she had participated in all but a few of the tournaments. Had they met there?

"What? Jin appears in your dreams?"

"Yeah and when he does, he's transformed into his devil form."

Nina's eyes went wide. Not only did she know Jin Kazama, but she also knew about the Devil Gene. Only a handful of people knew about that: Nina, Lars, Dr. Bosconovitch, and a select number of trusted scientists. How could she know? She's just a normal girl.  

"Really? What happens then?"

"We fight. Although, this is the only part of the dream that I can never remember. I'm not sure who wins or if either of us do, but I always wake up scared and sad, like I did something wrong."

There was another long pause before Alisa spoke up. "Perhaps your mind was heavily affected by the events at Kyoto Castle. I really don't mean to scare you, but you may be suffering the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder."

"But how come it took so long for me to get these nightmares? It's been two whole years and they just started a few weeks ago. If I did have some sort of trauma stuff going on, don't you think I would have developed symptoms sonner?"

"Well... I suppose. Or maybe you're extremely stressed about a certain problem. Stress can produce frequent and reoccurring nightmares."

"That doesn't make any sense either. I don't think any scientific explanation can make sense of this."

"Then... What do you think could?"

"I don't know, Alisa. I just don't know. The only thing I'm getting from this is that it could be a vision."

"A vision? Like, a vision of the future?"

"No... I mean, maybe--or... Ugh! I don't know! All that I do know is that I just want it to stop!"

The girls paused their chat for a long period of time, but Nina kept listening. The more time she had to think about it, the more suspicious this scenario all seemed. It was far too much of a coincidence that the man whom Nina worked for had a tie to this girl. And from the conversation, it appeared that she had a very close tie to him. Not only that, but she was also connected to the android that was solely created to serve him.

"Well, It kind of does make sense now that I ponder on it," Alisa said. "Remember what Jin said before he left? He wants you to be the one to defeat him."

"But how, Alisa? And why? Out of all the people in the world, why me? Plus, he didn't even say that he wants me to, he said that he knows that I'll bring him down."

"Xiaoyu, listen to me. I've only ever seen you two together once, but it was clear from that one time that Jin cares deeply for you. He also made it apparent that he has very high expectations of you and knows you are strong and capable. All his life, Jin's only ever fought and defeated people he despises. I theorize he wants his final fight to be against someone who is the opposite of that, someone who is important to him."

"But I don't want to kill him!" Muffled sobbing filled Nina's earpiece. "I don't want to be the one to do it! ...I love him!"

At that point, Nina had heard enough. She was careful not to make too much noise as she leaped off the buildings and into the alleyway that contained her motorcycle. She wasn't going to go through with the hit. She couldn't hurt that girl, not after hearing what she did. If that girl was as special to Jin as the girls, notably Alisa, claimed, then she couldn't. The rising suspicion in her mind became even stronger. Whoever wanted that girl dead most likely knew of her relationship with Jin, and who better to kill her than his very own right hand--former right hand. Nina went zooming into the streets at top speed, with a new objective to investigate this sick little scheme.