Disclaimer: Tekken and its characters does not belong to GrimGrave, they belong to Namco/Namco Bandai. GrimGrave doesn't make any money for writing this fiction.

Be My Tag Partner

The Iron Fist Tournament. It serves as a world-scale event for fighters that wishes to prove their mettle, to win prize-money or fame. Man and woman alike enter in hope of testing their strength against other fighters around the globe by any means necessary; many have entered and tried, a handful have succeeded. Amongst the younger popular contestants was a brown-haired Japanese girl who, through Ai-Ki-Do and Kazama-style martial arts have become quite the fighter, recognized across the world.

Asuka Kazama. As strong as she was beautiful, she knew her way around the arena through kicks and punches, throws and barrages of moves. Strong, with a heart of gold.

And yet, like so many other girls at her age, she fell hopelessly in love. Normally it would be expected that a boy had stolen her attention, but that was not the case. Just a year back had she encountered a foreigner that was an exchange student from Monaco. They had got off with a rough start, but it didn't take long for Asuka to fall head-over-heels for her rival of sorts.

A rival with long, silky blonde hair and a fancy dress that screamed of wealth and posh. But she was far from a spoiled brat; she had a wild side to her as well. She held her own against Asuka and plenty of other fighters with her street fighting techniques. It was a mixture of all of this that enthralled the Japanese girl. That and her French accent that was so sexy, Asuka could barely contain herself.

Emilie "Lili" de Rochefort. Asuka´s definition of sex-appeal, from head to toe. She found herself smitten by the Monegasque, wanting nothing more than to at least be her friend. Preferably her lover. She didn't bother questioning her sexuality; she listened to her heart, which began to beat rapidly whenever Lili was around. But even if they became friends, it would be joyous.

After all, Lili hated her guts. The Monegasque hadn't entered the same zone as Asuka; she respected her, but the blonde never spent too much time with Asuka unless it was needed to. She would rarely speak to her for long periods of time, turned down any approaches Asuka made and generally was vary of contact. It didn't hurt the young Japanese girl's spirits whatsoever, however; she kept going, with her dream, and goal, to make Lili hers, and hers alone.

The day had reached midday in Japan. In the centre of Kyoto lied an outside arena, fit for fighting; between the yearly Iron Fist Tournaments was scattered and miniature versions of the tournament held, primarily for newcomers and people who simply wished to test themselves. Asuka had, for a fact, managed to find out that Lili would be entering the one in Kyoto, much to her joy. She wasted no time to enter it herself, especially since it was a Tag-Team based mini-tournament. And for all she knew, Lili was not teamed up with anyone yet. She wouldn't back out of this one; small as these tournament were, they held a good amount of prize-money and any victory would contribute to popularity as well as reputation.

It was all a good reason to finally get close to her Monegasque blonde. Starting with placing her gloved hand on top of Lili´s shoulder in a friendly gesture.

"Lili! I thought I spotted you over here! How are you?" ´Play it cool Asuka!´ The brunette kept smiling as the blonde slowly turned around, meeting her blue eyes that radiated with sexiness. The blonde frowned at her, but she kept her cool. She wouldn't back down.

With an added scoff, the blonde proceeded to step away from Asuka´s range of touch with the same frown. "Asuka Kazama. Not too much of a surprise to see you here I suppose. Merde!"

Asuka sighed with a lighter smile on her face. She didn't know any French, but one thing she had learned about Lili was that whenever Lili spoke French, especially around her, it was some sort of cussing. She guessed merde was something along the lines of damn it.

"Its great to see you too Lili! So, you're going to enter the tournament huh?"

Another scoff.

"A regrettable decision on my part. Don't let me stop you if you wish to enter though."

"Oh come on Lili, don't be like that. You know fully well that you wont back away from fights, you love fighting!"

Her blue eyes narrowed, directing an icy glare towards Asuka. A glare she was used to by now.

"Don't speak to me like you know me. But I suppose you are right. I guess I'll end up meeting you in the finals-"

"About that," Asuka interrupted with a smile, patting Lili on the shoulder again. "This tournament is Tag-Team based. Every contestant must pair up with someone."

Asuka could almost feel the cold of ice run in Lili´s veins as she directed another cold glare towards her, and once again stepping out of the brunette's range. She crossed her arms in a posh manner as the wind lightly carried her long locks. "And I'm sure you will find someone who is willing to team up with you. Now if you excuse me, I need to look for a partner."

"She's right here!" The brunette said with a light giggle, striking a pose for added effect. As she kept it for a few seconds, Lili´s eyes looked her over with irritation before she spun around completely, just barely glancing back at Asuka. "I hate bad jokes." The sound of boots marching away on the pavement left Asuka alone amidst the small crowd of people, flustered and annoyed. But she had taken this into account. It would be a hard battle, but she would win Lili´s heart, she was sure of it. And as bandage to her wound, the wind played a neat little trick and blew a certain way that would lift Asuka´s spirits.

As well as Lili´s skirt.

´Huh… Purple panties… Nice touch~´

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Walking around aimlessly around the city of Kyoto, Asuka thought things over, regarding herself, Lili, the tournament, anything that simply came to mind. At the same time, she needed to find Lili again, to convince her to team up. That would allow her to spend some more time with her blonde love-object, as well as more time to talk to her. It would give her a chance to at least make Lili stop hating her. But naturally, she would have to be very convincing if Lili was to join her.

Which left her with few options. She could be forceful and make Lili join her through fighting. She hated her enough, so Asuka had nothing to lose.

Or she could try be less forceful about it. Simply by being on Lili´s case for extended periods of time could make the blonde give up and simply agree to get it over with.

Finally, she could also trick Lili into teaming up with her. Somehow.

Luckily, she had a window of time; the tournament wouldn't begin until the day after tomorrow. Until then, she had to make Lili hers. In one sense of the word or another.

But first thing first; she had to find Lili again.

Scouring the streets, Asuka walked around aimlessly; no particular destination in mind. Her eyes glanced at every shop narrowly, scanning each crowd of people and blondes as she walked with a firm, rushed steps. No doubt would her favourite blonde be around here; she had shown interest in the tournament after all.

´So how should I approach her this time? In the end, she probably will start a fight with me, so maybe I should be forceful… But surely there must be a way to convince her without resorting to violence right?´

Her rushed movement came to a sudden halt. From the corner of her eye was a blonde, wearing a wealthy dress, pure white that stood out from the rest of the people. Her lips tugged upward in a grin, her feet now taking her step by step closer to her bodacious blonde. Soon, Asuka´s gloved hand tapped Lili´s shoulder in a friendly manner, and for the second time of the day, hazel eyes met blue.

"Hi! Its me again." Asuka said with a giggle, ignoring the cold glare. "So, have you thought about joining me yet? The offer still stands~" She fired away a playful wink. Lili, completely silent, grabbed the brunette's wrist and shoved it off her shoulder, finishing her pose by crossing her arms.

"Fille insolente! Why must you insist on pestering me? I will not team up with you! I much rather skip this tournament. Maintenant, va-t'en!"

"I don't see what the big deal is…" Asuka replied, pouting as she mimicked Lili´s pose of crossed arms. "If we team up, this tournament will be a walk in the park. Why are you so against-"

"I respect you, Asuka Kazama. And I do enjoy our occasional spars," Lili paused, her stare intensified. "but I don't like you! You are a thorn in my side and flat-out annoying! Ennuyeux. Not to mention that you are the cousin of Jin Kazama, who single-handedly nearly dragged my father to ruin! You want the truth? Just pronouncing the Kazama-name leaves me with a horrible aftertaste." Almost for added effect, Lili turned her head and spat on the ground, gracefully pulling back a few locks of her golden hair behind her ear. "Dégoûtant!"

Asuka´s hazel eyes stared in mild anger back at Lili; she knew of what her cousin had done and how it had affected Lili. She couldn't blame her for thinking ill of the Kazama-family, but there was limits.

"Hey, don't blame the entire family for what Jin did. I barely even know him! If anything, direct all your hatred onto him, not me! Lili, please…" She extended her hand out to her. "Come on… I know we started off bitterly, but it doesn't have to remain that way. Its not too late to change that."

The blonde shifted her gaze to the gloved hand. For a few seconds that almost felt like hours, she kept staring at it until she reached out with her own hand, barely gracing it before she withdrew, and slapped the hand away.

"I told you, I hate bad jokes. Just as much as I hate you, Asuka Kazama. Now leave me alone."

The words, sharp as glass shards, cut through the Japanese girl painfully. She felt her knees shake, in fear and in animosity. Why was Lili that much stubborn? It didn't make much sense to Asuka.

No.

That was hardly an answer. She demanded a real answer.

So she grabbed the blonde by the wrist, forcing Lili to not only stay, but to turn back around. Her glare was still present, but Asuka met it head-on with an equal narrow stare.

"You hate me? For what?! I know what Jin did is inexcusable, but don't think that my whole family supports him! If anything, he's a black sheep." Her grip tightened around the pale-skinned wrist. "I, however, have never wronged you. Not like that. And I don't think I deserve that cold, harsh treatment of yours. Please…" Asuka let her eyes softened up, her lips retaining her usual smile. "wont you reconsider my offers? Or does your hatred for me really run that deep, for something so little?"

Silence between them,

The people walked by them, the cars drove past them, and the general chatter of a busy city filled in the empty spot of their conversation, as Lili shifted her gaze back and forth her wrist and Asuka´s eyes, as her deep scowl lightened up much to the brunette's joy. She sighed.

"Which offer are you talking about?"

"The one about teaming up with me… and…" She gave Lili a gentle squeeze as her grip softened. "the one about a possible friendship." ´If not more so…´

Another sigh.

"Very well, Asuka Kazama. Dieu, quel ennui ... I will accept the offer."

"Oh?! Uhm… Which one..?" Asuka replied, bashfully scratching her cheek with a playful smile. Lili simply sighed yet again, but with a hint of a smile of her own.

"Both of them, I suppose."

The Japanese felt her heart soar with joy, the pain of Lili´s earlier words disappearing without a trace. In her delight, she wrapped her arms around Lili, pulling her into a tight hug as she nearly shrieked out her happiness. "Oh thank you, thank you Lili! I knew we could set aside out differences! Oh, I'm so happy!"

Lili joined in on the shrieking, if only because of her dislike at being hugged so familiarly by her rival. "Fille insolente! What are you d-doing?! Cease this immediately, its embarrassing! P-Personal space, personal space! Quelle humiliation! Sebastian, aidez-moi!"

Lili struggled and squirmed, desperate to escape the tender hug Asuka was giving her. People gave them odd looks as they walked by, while most laughed it off including a certain butler. In her own little trance, the Japanese enjoyed the moment to the fullest; the scent of fresh roses lingered on the stylish dress, mixed with the fruity smell of her golden hair. The touch, through the clothing, was still electrifying in a sensual way; for too long had Asuka wanted to embrace her object of affection, and while it still was one-sided, she had at least achieved a minor goal; Lili had accepted her as a friend. She was closer to her original goal.

What could possibly sidetrack her now, when she was so close to Lili now in both senses of the word.

´Her chest is pressing against mine..! The softness… Oh god…!´

Yes, that would probably do the trick.

To be continued...

Another oneshot that I ended up splitting into two chapters. Hopefully, the next one will be longer though.

Thank you for reading this, and hopefully you leave a nice little review for me~

Until next time!