Welp, I never thought I would do this, but here I am. To all you Xiao x Hwo shippers, this is the fic for you! I dedicate this to a certain someone who asked me to do it and I was too nice to say no. Enjoy!

Xiaoyu had seen him many times, but never worked up the courage to say anything to him. So many times she would watch him in the cafeteria, eating by himself without a care in the world. She would watch him at PE, his red hair flowing through the wind as his muscular body glistened with sweat. So many times she watched him take off on his motorcycle, wishing she could be on it with him. It was a well known fact that Hwoarang was every girl's dream and Xiaoyu was no exception, but he had never given her a moment of time in all the years they had spent at Mishima High. But that would soon change.

You see, what sets Xiaoyu apart from all the other lovestruck girls is that she and Hwoarang actually had something in common: a passion for martial arts. Hwoarang didn't know this about Xiaoyu, but he soon would. It was too perfect for Xiaoyu to plan; tomorrow would be the opportunity she had been waiting for since the day she laid eyes on him.

"Tomorrow's the big day..." Xiaoyu said to herself with a giggle as she laid awake in bed. She was so excited, there was no way she would be getting any sleep tonight. Tomorrow was the biggest day of her life: The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3. Not only was she competing for a vast fortune, Hwoarang would be there as well and this was the best opportunity for her to finally get acquainted with him. There was a principle that all fighters followed: they conveyed emotions through their fists. When Hwoarang saw her passionate fighting spirit, he would fall for her just like she has for him.

Morning came quickly for Xiaoyu, and before she even ate breakfast she was already in her fighter's garb: a red outfit with poofy shoulders and a huge yellow ribbon in the back that was tied up into a bow. After putting her hair up in her signature pigtails, Xiaoyu stared at herself in the mirror for a second.

"This is it, Xiao... this is what you've trained for for so long. Today, you'll achieve two goals: winning the tournament and winning Hwoarang's heart!"

Her insides tingled with anticipation... she couldn't wait anymore! Deciding to get an early start, she waled over to her sleeping Panda and gave her a forceful shake.

"PANDA! PAAAAANDAAAA!"

Panda awoke with a loud yawn and stretched. She looked up at Xiaoyu, who was wearing a face of enthusiasm like never before.

"Let's go Panda! We don't wanna be late!" Xiaoyu said with a smile. Not wasting another second, she hopped onto Panda's back and the two of them were out the door; their destination: The Mishima Zaibatsu main building, where the tournament fighters were scheduled to meet.

MISHIMA ZAIBATSU HQ

"Whew, we made it." Xiaoyu exclaimed, getting off of Panda and running inside as quick as possible. She was desperate to meet the other fighters, but there was one in particular she wanted to see.

"Do you see him, Panda?" Xiaoyu asked, looking around thoroughly. She saw many fighters: a mean looking blonde woman, a man with a pillar of blonde hair, a young Chinese looking man, but... where was he?!

Panda was looking around frantically too: there was a weird looking alien guy, a muscular man with a jaguar mask, a dark skinned man with dreadlocks, but no sign of... wait, was that him?

"Rrr. Rrr!" Panda growled as she nudged Xiaoyu.

"What, what is it?" Xiaoyu asked. "Do you see..."

Suddenly Xiaoyu let out a tiny squeal, not very loud but loud enough to startle Panda. There he was in the corner: his beautiful crimson hair was in a white hairband and he was dressed in his traditional Tae Kwon Do gi, but his top was wide open, revealing his muscular bare torso. He had his hands in his pockets and a nasty scowl on his face, and he seemed to be fixated on someone in particular.

Xiaoyu could feel the same warm tingle inside her chest that she always felt when she looked at Hwoarang; God, he was perfection. Every fiber of her being wanted to talk to him now, but she couldn't even find words to say. Besides, he seemed to be in a bad mood right now anyway.

"I can't wait to finally talk to him, Panda... quick, how do I look?" Xiaoyu asked Panda, to which the bear just shrugged.

"Do you think... do you think he would ever be with a girl like me?"

Panda shrugged again.

"Ah well, I can't wait to step into the ring. When Hwo sees my moves, he'll fall head over heels in love with me!"

"Rrr?"

"You see Panda, Hwoarang is a fighter like me. The only way to get a fighter's respect and admiration is to show them a fierce fighting spirit. I've been training my whole life for a chance to show what I'm made of. When I do good in this tournament, he'll HAVE to notice me finally!"

"SILEEEENCE!" a voice bellowed. All of the contestants, including Xiaoyu and Panda, all turned and faced the source of the voice. Everyone except Hwoarang, that is; he continued to stare intensely at the same black haired young man with long bangs.

Finally, the source of the voice entered the room: it was Heihachi Mishima himself. He was wearing a chestnut brown trenchcoat and an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Now, I'm sure you're all here for your moment of glory and whatnot, but make no mistake! This is MY moment of glory!" he bellowed. "I'm not gonna go into detail because your feeble little minds couldn't possibly comprehend my grand scheme, but I do want to remind you what you're all competing for. Fame! Fortune! The honor of being called the number 1 fighter in the world! Keep all that in mind while you fight with every breath in your body! Now, you're all gonna get schedules that will notify you when and where your Stage 1 fight will take place. Your opponent's name will be hidden from you. Okay, we're done here. Get out of my sight and go kick some ass! Winners report back here tomorrow for Stage 2!"

Xiaoyu eagerly grabbed her schedule and looked for her name; she was the first one on the list!

"EEE! Panda, I have a fight in 30 minutes!" Xiao exclaimed in an excited tone. "I hope Hwoarang is there to watch me!"

Xiaoyu looked over at Hwoarang to see if he was looking at her by some chance. To her disappointment, he was off by himself with that same nasty look.

"God, his eyes... ahh, snap out of it Xiao!" Xiaoyu yelled, slapping herself a few times. "Cmon Panda, let's go get ready!"

30 MINUTES LATER

Xiaoyu arrived at the destination of her first fight. She could feel a tingle in the pit of her stomach; since this was only the first match, there's a good chance Hwoarang would be among the spectators on the sidelines. She had to fight AND look her best to make a good first impression.

"Okay, Xiao... you got this." Xiaoyu muttered. She got into stance and prepared to face her first opponent. She looked around: the area was surrounded by camera crews, spectators, security and fellow contestants. But... where was Hwo?

Finally her opponent stepped forth, and Xiaoyu's mouth nearly dropped to the ground. Of all the crazy odds...

"H...h...HWO IS MY OPPONENT!" Xiaoyu bellowed. She could feel her whole body getting weak; she wasn't prepared for this!

Hwoarang stepped forward and locked eyes with Xiaoyu, still wearing the same mean expression he always wore. Xiaoyu was at a loss for words. Her face felt like it was on fire, and suddenly her body felt heavier than ever before. She wasn't sure she could go through with this.

What are you doing, Xiao?! The object of your affection is right in front of you! Quit being such a baby and do what you came here to do!

After a few seconds of mental preparation, Xiaoyu mustered up every ounce of her courage and began to speak.

"U...um... I-I'm Xiaoyu... f-from school. I don't think... you know me, but I've always...thought you were a very..."

But her confidence was broken in an instant as soon as Hwoarang opened his mouth.

"What the hell is this?!" he yelled. "My first opponent is some brat with pigtails? I wanted Kazama, dammit!"

Xiaoyu could feel her courage fading away almost immediately. She expected Hwo to be brash, but not to such a powerful extent.

No! Stay strong, Xiao! You've come too far to quit now!

"I...I'm your opponent, Hwoarang." Xiaoyu said meekly.

"What the hell are you doing here, little girl? This is a fighting tournament, not a slumber party! Why don't you go home and play with your dolls while the grownups get down to business?" Hwoarang spat.

Xiaoyu felt tears welling up in her eyes. Why was Hwo being so mean to her? All this time, she had been waiting for the chance to finally confront him, and THIS is how he treats her?

"H-hwo..." Xiaoyu said, her voice breaking.

"Well?! Are you gonna stand there, or are we gonna do this thing? I got better people to fight, so hurry up and come get your ass kicked!"

"I...I... I can't do this!" Xiaoyu yelled, tears pouring down her face. To everyone's surprise she ran away from the ring, leaving Hwoarang standing there with a confused expression.

"Panda!" Xiaoyu wailed as she ran into Panda's arms and started crying uncontrollably. In front of Hwoarang, in front of the fighters, in front of the entire viewing world... she cried as her heart broke in two.

Panda looked at Hwoarang with a growl as she scooped up Xiaoyu and carried her away. She disappeared from the action as quickly as she could in order to get Xiaoyu home fast with some dignity intact.

"HWOARANG WINS!" the announcer yelled as the crowd started cheering. Hwoarang rolled his eyes and walked off, his hands in his pockets.

"Tch... waste of my time. Come back when you're out of diapers."

Xiaoyu cried for at least an hour, her head buried in her pillow. Panda couldn't do anything to console her except gently caress her back. She had never seen Xiaoyu so broken before; this was the first time she had ever experienced heartbreak. Panda wanted so badly now to go and beat that red haired jerk to a pulp, but she knew that Xiaoyu didn't want that deep down. Xiaoyu still loved him, no matter how mean he was.

"I... failed, Panda."

Xiaoyu finally rolled over and looked at Panda, tears still in her eyes.

"This was supposed to be different! I wasn't a lovestruck schoolgirl trying to talk to the bad boy anymore. We were two fighters, on equal terms. It was so simple, so why... why did I hesitate?"

Xiaoyu leaned over and buried her face in Panda's chest as Panda put her arms around her.

"I'm too weak, Panda. Weak and naive. I wasn't ready for the tournament... and I'm not ready for Hwoarang."

Suddenly, Xiaoyu got up and walked over to her mirror. She took a good look at herself as the tears suddenly stopped flowing. Her sadness was replaced by a look of determination.

"...I've got some growing up to do, Panda." she said as she untied her huge yellow ribbon and threw it on the ground. She turned back around and faced Panda.

"I'm done being a little girl... this is the last time you or anyone else will see me like this. Hwoarang doesn't respect me, but that's gonna change. I'M gonna change. I'll prepare for the next tournament; and I don't just mean physically. When I confront him again... he's gonna give me the respect I deserve."

Xiaoyu turned back around and faced the mirror again, staring at her own determined reflection. No longer was she feeling sorry for herself; Hwoarang's cruelty was only motivating her to try harder. Right then and there, she swore an oath to herself that she was going to change; she was going to prove to Hwoarang that she was more than just a naive little girl.

To be concluded in part 2! Just a heads up, part 2 is a two year skip ahead to King of Iron Fist Tournament 4. Stay tuned!