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The Devil's Bodyguard- Ch.18

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Chapter Eighteen: Near Death Experience

April 23rd 2008

Location: Unknown Realm

Time: Unknown

(Eleven hours remain...)

"Nina!" Jin shouted. "Can you still hear me?"

Things were going well up until a while ago. Within moments on entering the realm again, Jin had managed to communicate with Nina and it was up to him to take out the painstaking task to get her to come to him. But he hadn't heard from her for a little while ago, when an evil laugh echoed through his ears. Devil was making things harder than what they already were, especially when he was rapidly running out of time as he started to feel his presence in this place disappearing.

But it was up to Nina to block out the evil presence and to find Jin's voice.

"Dammit, go away!" He shouted to Devil.

"There is no escape, it is pointless to try," Devil sneered. "Give up, she's stuck here for eternity."

"Jin...I don't...I...th...I don't think I'll be able to hold on much longer!" Nina's voice spoke.

"Just fight him, you're getting closer!" Jin replied. "Keep moving, we're running out of time!"

"Insolent fool, there's nothing but false hope…"

Jin wasn't prepared to give up. To him, the Devil in this case was nothing but a figment of his imagination and he intended for it to stay that way. But as for the woman that he was trying to save from this predicament, it was exactly what she needed to do and in such a short period of time. Devil was trying to take over her body completely, causing Nina to remain comatose and if he managed to achieve that, then Jin's fears would come true and Nina would be forever doomed to never waking up.

But it was a brave attempt to bring her back, and in such little time.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile back in the laboratory...

Machines beeped, monitoring the life of the two people stuck inside the two tubes immersed in water with temperatures below zero. It was a haunting sight for Steve, who sat in his wheelchair, watching with anticipation as he awaited any sign of which may indicate the moment that Jin or Nina would reach consciousness. However, there were only eleven hours left and the boxer's hopes were beginning to slowly fade as every minute passed.

As he leaned back, the pain from his injuries caused him to groan, Steve felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Snapping his head up, he saw Boskonovitch giving a small reassuring smile, as if he was silently telling him that everything was going to be alright.

"You should go and get some rest," he told the young man. "I'll send someone to get you when I find out anything."

Shaking his head, Steve looked back to the pool of water, his brows furrowed slightly. Sure he had been without sleep for the majority of the day, especially since his doctors had told him to rest. But how could he rest while his thoughts were still with the two people in cold sleep. Trapped inside like a couple of prisoners and with no escape until somebody releases them.

"I'm fine, probably wouldn't get to sleep anyway," Steve replied. "Just that…there's too much to think about."

Boskonovitch nodded and released his gentle grip.

"I understand, you want to keep a positive outlook. But you have to think about the other side of the continuum as well."

He didn't want to think about it, the possibility of never seeing his mother again. Steve had lost her once and he wasn't prepared to lose her a second time.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

After the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3...

She had no choice but to go through with this. Anna had found her in the forest nearby the temple where Ogre was, evidently bruised and beaten from her fight with Jin Kazama. Nina just sat there, her eyes wide and she had no idea where she was and how she got to that place. All she remembered was that voice filled her head with commands to kill, to stain her already cursed hands with the blood of the innocent. However, her latest target stopped her and she was knocked unconscious.

But even though Ogre's influence had released itself from Nina's mind, she was left feeling confused, scared and alone as she still had no memory of her past before waking up in that tube. As for Anna, she kept claiming to the blonde assassin that she was her sister and that she should trust her, but there was something in the back of her mind that made her feel a little bit of hostility towards this woman who she couldn't remember.

Afterwards, the two went back to the cold sleep laboratory where they were housed and Anna had pleaded with Dr. Boskonovitch to try and find a way to restore Nina's memories. He agreed and placed Nina in a medically induced coma inside a hollow tube in nothing but her grey underwear, just like the one that she was housed in months ago, and this was where she was now. Scans were taken up and down her body and two electrodes connected to her temples to measure brain activity.

In the next room, Anna watched on through the one way mirror. Despite what happened in their past, she actually felt sorry that her sister had to go through this, that it was she who had put Nina in this position in the first place. But Anna had no choice, did she? If she had allowed Nina to pull the trigger, then Kazuya would had died and she would have been left a failure.

A beep from the computer made the brunette turn around, the process was done.

An hour later, Nina was brought out of the coma and woke up. Boskonovitch stood by her side and gave her a grim look.

"What is it?" she asked. "Are my memories back?"

He shook his head, he was unable to restore the lost memories.

"I'm sorry, but your memories died with Ogre."
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Present Day...

Why was Devil doing this to her? Going through her mind and making her have flashbacks, she should be focusing on the voice that was her only guide out of that god-forsaken place. No, she can't give up and not when his voice seemed so much closer than what it did a while ago.

"Nina! We don't have much time left, talk to me!" Jin called out.

She can't let Devil get the better of her, she just couldn't. Nina knew that she had to fight and to keep him at bay until she was out.

"No! There's no escape!"

Clenching her teeth, Nina broke into a sprint in the direction in which she heard Jin's voice. She too felt that time was running out, even though she had no idea of what time or day it was, or how long she had been in that place.

'It's useless to resist...'

'Fuck off, get out of my head!' Nina screamed in her mind.

'Haha...Fool, your life won't be worth living out there.'

Nina didn't believe it as there was life for her outside of this world. She wanted to see her son, to see if he managed to pull through and is alright. But most of all, she wanted to see Jin, to have him wrap his strong arms around her and never letting go until he goes to face Azazel.

'It's better than being stuck here with you.'
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Jin's P.O.V

(Two minutes left...)

"Jin! Where are you?"

I can hear you, but I still can't see you. Your voice had given me the direction, but you still feel so distant and I feel myself struggling to hold on, meaning that there's not much time left. Damn you Devil, why didn't you spare her? Why couldn't you just stay in my father's body until I came for it? But now because of you, Nina is trying to find her way back. Her voice had become so much clearer to me, his had become weaker meaning that Nina's fighting him away and following my voice. However, despite this I don't think she'll make it on her own.

I guess I'll have to meet her halfway.

"Nina! I know where you are, I'm coming towards you!"

After saying that, my legs started to move themselves as I broke out into a sprint. The blood pumped, pulsing throughout my body carrying the vital oxygen that my muscles needed as they strain and contract with every movement, with every step that my legs made. By doing this, I would risk distancing myself away even further but what other choice was there? I had to do something, anything to gain some ground and meet her halfway.

It was harder to run in that place than what it was in reality, mostly because in reality it was easier to judge distance while in this place it was a lot harder as there was nothing to look at except for eternity. Soon, I felt my breath grow heavy and found myself trying to suck as much air in as my body allowed me to. My legs felt heavy and I felt light-headed as my entire being began to feel itself prying away from this world. Soon I began to lose hope, that my attempt had failed.

I'm sorry Nina, but I couldn't hold out long enough and I just wanted you to know that...Huh? Where's that noise coming from?

'Footsteps...' I thought and then my eyes widened. 'Nina!"

"Nina! I think I can hear your footsteps!"

With that, I began to sprint even harder as my hope was renewed.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Nina's P.O.V.

(One minute remaining...)

"I think I can hear you coming!" I yelled out to him.

There was a white light at the end of the tunnel and that's where I was headed. Literally, there was a white light and there was a shadow that grew closer and closer with every painstaking step that my feet made with the ground, my heart pounded against my chest as if it was searching for a way out like I was then. My legs ached as I had been running for quite sometime and the muscles felt like that they were trying to tear away from the confines that my skin made. Hmph, it's hard to tell how long for since this damned place had no day or night so you couldn't tell what time or day it was, this place was nothing but a fucking death-trap with some Devil telling you that it was pointless to try to leave.

Well I've proved that bastard wrong, there was an escape and it was growing closer and closer. Jin had told me that there was very little time left and he was coming to meet me, I've been running non-stop and my legs felt heavy with build up of lactic acid in my straining muscles. My breathing started to feel desperate for air and I had to force as much of it in as I could before I could take off for one last sprint.

'I'm coming Jin, just keep running towards me.'

That was my last thought before I took off in one last final push.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

(Thirty Seconds Remain...)

He really was pushing it now, a flash of purple came from the darkness on the other side and the footsteps grew louder. It was just like a scene out of a typical love story, with the two main protagonists running towards each other in a field of flowers. But it wasn't exactly the case, the love was there but there was no flower field or a moment of happiness. Instead, there was a world of nothingness and one person was running toward the other to save her.

Supposedly, an individual could call it a tragic love story if they could call it that. But at this point in time, it was a struggle to overcome the Devil and to save a soul from an eternity of being stuck in that hell.

"Fools! You'll never make it!" Devil shouted. But Jin and Nina ignored it and kept their focus on each other, now only a few hundred metres apart.

'Come on, you can make it,' Jin thought. 'Don't stop on me now.'

On the other side, Nina watched as Jin grew closer to her. Now she was really struggling to keep moving, but seeing him just gave her that much more reason to keep going.

'I'm almost there...don't give up!' Nina screamed in her mind, feeling the muscles in her legs starting to tear.

10...

Ten seconds to cover approximately just under one hundred metres and both Jin and Nina felt themselves pick up speed.

9...

Nine seconds and both were beginning to strain with every heavy step, no longer able to feel the bottoms of their feet as they became numb.

8...

Eight seconds and Devil's taunts grew weaker.

7...

Jin's Devil side kicked in and gave him extra energy, increasing his speed and gave him the last bit of endurance that he needed.

6...

The mark on Nina's forearm glowed and then felt herself moving faster. She knew that Jin would have had something to do with this.

5...

Less than thirty metres to go and the two of them were nearing each other at increasing speed despite their fatigued bodies.

4...

Jin felt himself prying away from this world. Meaning that on the other side he was waking up.

3...

Nina felt Jin starting to leave, but they were so close.

2...

Less than ten metres left and everything felt itself slowing down as the point that light and dark, white and black met was extremely close.

1...

Their hands were outstretched and made contact. Jin gripped onto Nina's right forearm and pulled her in, holding her close as a white light engulfed the two of them...
__________________________________________________________________________________________

April 24th 2008

Location: Cold Sleep Research Facility #2

Time: 0011hrs

Steve sat forward in his chair as he watched the tube containing Jin emerge from the cold depths. Boskonovitch operated the controls and soon enough the monitors showed stronger readings as Jin began to stir as the elevation soon came to rest. As quickly as he could, the doctor raced up to the platform over the pool edge and looked down at the young man, who slowly opened his eyes and took his first inhale of breath, as if he was reborn.

Looking around, Jin saw that he was back in the laboratory and then turned his attention to the elderly doctor.

"I got her," Jin spoke as Boskonovitch started to undo the restraints on Jin's wrist. "Where is she?"

"Doctor! Her readings are growing stronger!" Steve yelled out. "I think she's trying to wake up!"

Boskonovitch rushed back down, leaving Jin to undo the restraints on his ankles, struggling as his hands shook since his body was still frozen. It was a horrible place, that realm of the unknown and he never wanted to go back there again. But, he had been successful and found her and it was only a matter of seconds to see whether or not that Nina wakes up to be herself or the thing that she had been trying to fight.

Getting out, he stood on the platform and watched as the metal that covered Nina's tube disappear, revealing her bare form inside the glass and ascending out of the water. Her hair was loose and waved gracefully inside the water, her face looked as if she was at peace. Soon, the entire pod emerge from the freezing water and opened, causing Jin to move automatically down to where the pod rested. Sapphire blue eyes snapped open and a heavy inhale of breath as easy heard.

"What the...Jin, where are you?!" Nina called out for him in a panic.

She had been stuck in that place for weeks and returning to the real world was nothing but a shock to her. It wasn't like the last time that she woke up from cold sleep, no memories and acting robotically under Ogre's control. No, Nina still had her memories and was in control of herself with the exception of the Devil in her.

Jin quickly knelt down undid her restraints as fast as he could since his body was still wet and cold and the cool air made the two of them shiver. He gazed back down at her face, her eyes held fear and shock which was expected of anyone that woke up from cold sleep after being it there for so long. She sat up slowly and looked down at her bare body, only faint lines remained from her injuries and then down at her forearm, to the mark of the Devil that she was now cursed with.

Gently, he got inside the pod too and held a hand out to the mark, grazing the area of skin that was marked like a tattoo, the kind of tattoo that he had hoped to never see on someone else. Nina looked at him while he did this, her lips were slightly parted and he met her eyes with a gentle gaze, noticing that hers had watered over a little and quickly he pulled her freezing form into his arms, being careful as not to break her as if she was fragile and made out of glass. She buried her face into his shoulder and held onto the solid muscles of his shoulders, gripping onto him tightly and she didn't want to let go.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Location: Gargoyle Tower- Jin's Quarters

Time: 1854hrs

Nina smiled weakly at her son, who sat in his wheelchair at her bedside and looked as if somebody died. She couldn't understand why though, she was still alive and was making a full recovery. The three of them arrived at headquarters a few hours ago and Jin escorted both Steve and Nina to his quarters, ordering Nina to shower and to get into bed to rest. The assassin laughed at this, she had slept enough over the past few weeks to last her for a year at least, but Steve insisted that she should follow Jin's advice and at least put her feet up.

"You know, my idea of relaxing is to have a nice drink of scotch at a quiet bar," Nina told her son.

"But the last time you were in a bar a riot broke out just because Paul couldn't handle losing to a woman," Steve replied evenly. "I don't think you or Jin for that matter would be welcome in any bar in Japan at the moment since they blamed him for what happened."

The blonde woman chuckled a little.

"Well let me tell you this, Paul Phoenix is the kind of guy that will never accept defeat regardless of who it is," she explained. "I mean like, he had a grudge against some bear that defeated him, and why did he lose? Because he gets too cocky and loses focus."

"Well...that's true and he actually admitted that he acted cocky in the bar that night after he lost against Kazuya with a bullet wound in his thigh and foot, which was quite strange."

Nina smirked, not only she was able to sink a couple of bullets into that cocky son of a bitch, but she was also able to get him to admit that it was attitude that made him lose their fight in the bar. It wasn't the victory that Nina had envisioned, but it was good enough. Steve saw her smirk and felt his jaw drop.

"It was you? You're the one that shot him?" Steve asked, confused as to why she did it. "But why would you allow that bastard Kazuya to win?"

Laughing lightly, Nina couldn't understand why she did it either but it was her job after all. It was a direct order from her boss and she had no choice but to carry it out.

"I was ordered by Jin throughout the tournament to make sure that his father would make it to the final match," she explained. "And during that match, Paul was about to win so I had no choice but to shoot him and give Kazuya the advantage."

"So the tournament was announced so that Jin could face his father?"

Nina nodded.

"Yes, but that's all you need to know," she answered, and then told him with a tone with absolute caution. "I've already told you enough, so don't go around and tell everyone. Because if G-Corporation find out anything then they'll use it against us."

Steve nodded, he understood that it was a dangerous time and the war could flare up at anytime. So the last thing that everyone needed was more lives being placed at risk when so many have been lost already. The way that Steve saw everything, everyone that he knew that had been involved had almost been killed. Jin had been shot but this Devil side took over and saved him, Nina would have died if Jin didn't bring her back, him and his friends would have died that day in the Millennium Tower at the hands of Anna.

"I'm glad that you didn't kill your sister," Steve said after a moment of silence and then smirked. "Or otherwise she wouldn't be suffering in the hospital room opposite to where I was."

Nina smiled. After the battle, Anna was brought to the same hospital that Steve was in with a broken leg, arm and concussion with some mild bruising. At least Anna didn't walk out of there while Nina had no idea of how she left that place.

"Well then, I guess we won't be seeing her for a while," she told him and looked over to the doorway.

Jin had been standing at the doorway, watching on as mother and son conversed. He only just arrived there and Nina smiled at him weakly, motioning him in. It was good to see her there again, but not in the way that he thought. But still, it was a second chance and they were going to use it to their advantage. To rid themselves of the Devil Gene and to carry out the final part of Jin's plan.

"I see that you're still awake," Jin observed and looked at Steve. "There's food outside, go and help yourself while I speak to your mother alone. We'll be out in a moment."

The British man looked at Nina and gave a small nod before he wheeled himself out and the door closed with a soft click as Jin locked it and then turned his gaze back to the woman, down to her arm. He never meant for any of this to happen, to have Nina cursed and fused with his father's Devil. He wondered what she was feeling right now, scared and confused was his first thought but then just seeing her with Steve, smiling and laughing just made him think that everything was going to be fine.

"How are you doing?" He asked her.

"I guess I've seen better days," she replied with a small sigh. "But I'm alright, I just have to learn to control this thing that's inside of me."

He walked over and sat down beside her, staring across to the wall on the other side. It was awkward, neither of them not knowing what to say to one another. They didn't want to talk about that world that they were just in, it was too terrifying to speak of in their opinion as they nearly lost each other. But the silence after a few minutes was broken, to a topic that Jin had to set his sights on.

"I heard him," Nina told him and he looked over with a raised eyebrow. "Azazel spoke to me."

Now that Devil was within her, Nina could hear the very thing that had been speaking to Jin all this time. Azazel was the first voice that she had heard and told her everything, and now that Jin and Kazuya had clashed, his powers have become strong and he awaits Jin's arrival.

"His voice was first one that I heard after I went unconscious when Devil entered me," she continued. "And now that you and your father have now clashed, Azazel is near full strength. It's almost time."

There was something in Nina's voice at that time that Jin could easily pick up on. It was regret, Nina was showing regret for something and he didn't know what it was. Did she regret becoming his bodyguard? Or was she regretting ever sleeping with him? Whatever it was, this was the time to find out or risk losing that chance again.

He was about to say something, but she bet him to it.

"What were you going to say to me in the Honmaru?" she asked him slowly.

He swallowed nervously, trying to find his words as he only had one chance to get this right. Getting up onto his knees, Jin gazed deeply into her eyes and sighed.

"I've…I mean we both said something a while ago that I'm not sure that we meant it, but now…" he swallowed again and went on. "I never thought that I could love someone else since my mother's death but over the past few months you've proven me wrong."

"Jin, I…"

"When I saw you walk down those stairs on the first day, in that tiny bathroom on the plane," Jin continued. "I was instantly captivated by you and I wasn't sure up until now, until I almost lost you. Nina, I love you...I'm in love with you."

And there it was, Jin didn't admit that he had fallen for her or that he said the words after a session of love-making but he admitted that he was actually in love with her. Nina, who had clung onto every single word that came out of his mouth then, felt an overwhelming sense of relief as she too had a confession to make.

"Jin, I've never known how to feel love for men other than my father," Nina remarked. "But since that day in the plane, since you first held me I knew that I could trust you."

She gasped his hand and held it lightly.

"I don't know why I said it either, I thought it was out of lust after that first time and it was a customary thing to say," she continued. "But as time went on, that trust turned itself into love, something that I haven't felt for a really long time. Jin, I love you and this time I mean it for real."

Jin felt his stomach churn. Nina wasn't sure on her feelings either until now and all it took was a near-death experience to get everything out into the open. But with that said and done, what was there left to say?

Cupping her cheek with one hand, Jin leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers gently, moving slowly as she began to respond back and wrapped her arms around his neck while he moved his down to her waist. Her lips felt soft, and cold but it was better than not to have them there at all. Shortly, they stopped and gave a small smile before Nina spoke.

"We better and go out and make sure there's some food left, I haven't eaten for three weeks."

Jin got off the bed and grabbed her black silk robe, helping her to slip it on and she tied it up. He offered out his arm like a gentleman, in which she accepted and the two of them shared a smile before heading out of the room.
Based one year after Tekken 5 and a side story to Tekken 6. Jin hired Nina as his personal bodyguard after bounties were placed on him, but soon they will realise they have a lot in common. Jin/Nina. Warnings: Violence, swearing and some adult situations

Disclaimer: I do not own Tekken or anything related to it, they are the property of Namco.
© 2011 - 2024 Wellsy71
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