Emilie (Lili) de Rochefort paced in her room in frustration. It had been far too long since she had seen her nemesis and rival, Asuka Kazama who'd ended Lili's undefeated status some time ago. Lili desperately craved a rematch but Asuka hadn't been returning any of Lili's correspondences. Lili was growing more bored by the day and felt her competitive drive waning with which she was far from ok. While Lili was pacing and ruminating on the situation, she had an idea that made her smile for the first time in days.
Lili decided to throw a party, invite the upper echelon of society, maybe even a few foreign dignitaries, and Asuka. Asuka may have been a martial artist but there would be no way she could fit in with proper society and would surely embarrass herself. Asuka would probably twist her ankle on her own dress and flee the party crying. The thought was too tantalizing for Lili to pass up.
Lili knew full well that Asuka wouldn't normally come to a fancy party, especially if Lili was at the helm, but she quickly thought of a way around that.
A few days later, Asuka received a box in the mail. Upon seeing who it was from, she groaned and apprehensively opened it to find a beautiful, black evening gown, a sealed pair of French silk stockings, a pair of black high heels and a card. The gown was gorgeous and seemed more expensive than anything Asuka could afford if she saved her whole life for it. Confused, she opened the card which turned out to be an invitation. 'Could this spoiled brat really think I'd care about any gathering of hers,' Asuka thought, 'I don't care if she did buy me a dress.' Then she flipped the invitation open to find a plane ticket and a note written in what Asuka assumed was pretentious and spoiled handwriting: "Free food. I'll make it extra delicious, just for you. Just, please come. I miss you. -Lili"
"Damn," Asuka exclaimed, "why did she have to target my weak spot?" Her stomach growled, seemingly begging Asuka to consider this venture. The note had said "food" meaning not just appetizers. And not just any food either, but rich-people food. Lobster, Caviar, the rare stuff, probably all manner of cured meats, French pastries and deserts. Who knew cooking better than the French? And surely Lili was the type to hire professional chefs and have nothing but the very best French cuisine available. This would probably be the best food Asuka ever tasted. Her mouth watered just thinking about it. Besides, it seemed like Lili genuinely wanted her to be there. Perhaps Lili had changed with time? Maybe she wasn't the same prudish bitch she once was. Maybe, deep down, Lili did care about her. What was the worst that could happen, Asuka wondered? Asuka could go straight to the food table and, if things got stressful, she could just leave. And the plane ticket was already taken care of. Upon considering all this, Asuka decided to attend. She raised her fist and her eyes glistened with determination, intent on getting some of that sweet, sweet French cuisine.
A couple days later, Sebastian, Lili's trusted butler, presented a piece of paper upon a white, silk pillow to Lili who opened it to find it was a flight confirmation. Asuka had boarded the plane and was on her way to Paris! Her plan had been a success. Asuka had no idea what misery was in store for her. The look of embarrassment on Asuka's face would be worth every penny. Maybe it would even teach Asuka a lesson not to avoid Lili's messages. Lili was abuzz with anticipation.
Finally, the evening came. Lili stood near the back of the room facing the door so she could keep an eye on Asuka as soon as she entered. She didn't want to miss a second. Most of the guests had already arrived and, apart from polite nods and bows of thanks in Lili's direction, figured it would be best to give Lili space as she had a near murderous look on her face, like a hunter fully primed to take down a dangerous target.
Asuka stepped from the limousine that Lili sent for her. As she walked to the door of the Rochefort estate, she noticed the lot was full of luxury and sports cars, the kind one usually doesn't see in real life, let alone all in one spot. Surely this was indicative of the quality of food she was about to eat and the reality started to set in that she was in for the night of her life. Before Asuka could knock on the front door, it opened and a butler motioned her inside and gave her instructions to the Great Hall though it wasn't hard to find because she could already hear music and the chatter of other guests.
Upon entering the Great Hall, Asuka froze in the doorway as the spectacle took her breath away. There was a flashy orchestra on a raised platform, playing soothing classical music, fireplaces, leather chairs, crystal chandeliers, some of the guests were dancing in the large center area, some guests had military uniforms with lots of medals, some had bodyguards not far away, some had taken to the tables and were sipping their alcohol of choice from crystal glasses surrounded by other guests having conversation that must have been intriguing because nearly everyone was smiling and seemed to be having a good time. And yes, a few were eating as well. The aroma drew Asuka's nose to the right of the room to find an enormous table, well lit by multicolored crystal fixtures, lined with silver trays and absolutely heaped with food. An excited tingle went down Asuka's neck.
Lili gleefully watched as Asuka stood in the doorway of the Great Hall like a doofus. Asuka finally made eye contact with the food table and her eyes widened. This small detail spiked Lili's bloodlust. 'You're going to go right to that food table, aren't you, you tragic idiot,' Lili thought, smirking to herself. Sure enough, Asuka did just that. This was getting good already.
Asuka walked slowly along the table. 'A chocolate fountain!,' Asuka thought excitedly, 'Pastry mountains... Steak cooked to order. Strange to find steak imported from Japan where I just came from but look at the marbling! It's clearly the expensive kind. And... oh my god. It's food paradise!'
Asuka, not one to let indecision get the better of her, started plating some food, whatever looked good. She got a big forkful of crispy duck with a dark, sweet sauce drizzled on the top. She put it in her mouth. The outside was crispy but the inside was perfectly tender and, as the flavor flooded down Asuka's tongue like butter, she felt herself blush. It was so good! A pastry chef was bringing even more desserts to the table. 'All this is freshly baked?!,' Asuka squealed inside. Lili had outdone herself. She'd said she'd make the food extra delicious and she had not disappointed. Everything was simply exquisite. Asuka ventured to the seafood section and loaded her plate even higher, making sure to leave a small spot near the edge for the little silver bowl of butter.
Lili looked on in amused awe. Was Asuka really going to eat all that? Then something finally occurred to Lili. How was Asuka going to embarrass herself completely if she didn't know she was being embarrassing? Asuka couldn't trip over herself while dancing because absolutely no one was going to ask her to dance. 'What was I thinking trying to put a fancy dress on her? It's a bit like polishing a turd,' Lili concluded, 'She's over there stuffing her face like a backwoods moron. No one would be caught dead dancing with that.' This was a problem. Just then, a young gentleman approached Lili.
"Would you care to dance," he asked.
Lili quickly snapped the man's neck and slid the body across the floor like a hockey puck so that it landed under the food table, hidden by the cloth that draped over it. Lili did not have time for distractions. She had to figure out a solution to get some poor fool to dance with Asuka. No one had seen Lili's party foul and Sebastian knew better than to ask questions while cleaning.
Finally, Lili decided there was only one way for this to work. She absolutely would not let the evening go by without shaming Asuka. Lili saw an opportunity in a guest named George, who was the son of a friend of her father. Lili had caught George looking at her a few times in the past but he'd always pretended that he hadn't been. Some company had just left George to freshen up their drinks and George was momentarily alone. Lili approached him and tugged gently on the cuff of his sleeve. George was surprised to see her, almost confused. Lili smiled and pulled George's sleeve leading him closer to the wall away from the other guests. Lili spoke first.
"Do you see that girl over there?" She gestured with her head toward the food table. George looked over and made a disgusted face.
"You mean that girl with all the food," he said worriedly, "I'm surprised she hasn't been thrown out yet."
"Yes," Lili said, "Well, I need you to dance with her."
George's eyes shot back at Lili.
"Me? Dance with her? Whatever for?" he choked, looking again at the trashy girl going nuts at the food table.
Lili took hold of George's face, tilted his head back toward herself and looked deep into his eyes.
"It doesn't matter why. But if you do this for me..." Lili's voice and demeanor softened. She smoothly came in close toward George, her chest pressed against his and her face within two inches of his own, she continued slowly and earnestly, "I'll owe you a favor." She followed this statement with a flawless, discrete wink which caused George's voice to catch in his throat. Lili's gaze was simultaneously questioning and inviting. George could hardly contain himself but regained his composure as their bodies slowly parted.
"As you wish," said George knowing that whatever was about to happen, it would be well worth it. He made his way over to the table and approached the brown-haired girl.
"Pardon me, miss. Would you care to dance?" he asked politely.
Asuka turned toward him, a bit startled as she had just put some food into her mouth. She quickly chewed and swallowed what she could.
"I'm sorry, " Asuka mumbled through the remaining food, "I don't really know how."
George knew he couldn't take no for an answer or all bets would be off with Lili. That, and Lili would probably be quite angry with him and he was genuinely frightened by that idea.
"It's easy," said George, "I'll lead. I'll make sure you look beautiful while dancing. That's what a gentleman does. It shouldn't be difficult, you're quite stunning already."
Asuka blushed. She couldn't really argue against that and George was quite handsome. Asuka nodded and looked for a place to set down her plate. A food server behind the table graciously offered to take it from her and she nervously went with George to the dance floor.
George tried to hide his discontent as they danced. Sure, this girl was cute enough when she wasn't stuffing her face. But had she never danced once in her life? Her movements were jerky and unnatural and he thought perhaps she'd misunderstood when he'd said he would lead because she seemed to be awkwardly doing her own thing. George winced as Asuka stepped on his foot.
"Oops. Sorry," she said worriedly.
"Quite alright," George replied, "just relax."
'She's heavier than she looks for some reason,' George couldn't help but realize, 'I just want this to end.'
Some of the other guests were, in fact, beginning to take notice. But George attempted to keep his gaze on Asuka hoping that she wouldn't notice.
Asuka was trying to keep up but this dance didn't seem to have a pattern and she constantly felt as though she was slowing George down. She noticed a few faces looking in her direction from the corner of her eye when George made a sudden turn. Asuka tried to follow by spinning on the ball of her foot as she would for a kick, but her high heel was too long and also seemed to be caught on her dress. She had to plant her foot to avoid falling over but this caused her ankle to twist at a painful angle and she ended up falling down anyway.
"Shit." Asuka exclaimed as she landed hard on her rear.
The orchestra stopped.
'Why the hell would they stop like that?' Asuka thought.
It only drew more attention to the center of the room. It seemed like everyone at the party was now staring at her. Asuka's face turned beet red and she was almost too embarrassed to make eye contact with George but she needed help. Asuka reluctantly looked up at him, hoping he would help her up very soon.
"You don't dance much, do you," George said earnestly. This got a chuckle from several of the guests.
Asuka was so ashamed, she started to get tunnel vision and she could feel her face was hot. What was with all these people laughing? Who did they think they were? Suddenly, Asuka felt something very different, something unrelated to her embarrassing situation. She sensed evil in the room quite distinctly. She didn't know where it was coming from but she knew it was there. A heart like dark fire somewhere in the room. Pure, demonic evil that needed to be destroyed.
A steady, white beam shot from Asuka's eyes, the force of which tilted Asuka's head back. The beam shot straight up George's middle, splitting him in two. A pair of white, luminous feathery wings shot out and expanded from Asuka's back and their lightness lifted her up from the floor where she'd still been sitting. They slowly began to flap and Asuka's feet left the ground. Asuka heard screaming. She looked around trying to find the source of the horror but whomever she looked at became singed and mutilated. Was she doing this? Were they screaming at her? She felt the evil once again, somewhere in this very room. She knew it was here and looked around franticly for it. Perhaps if she could destroy it this nightmare would end. The entire room was in a state of panic. Guests trampled one another, breaking bones in a failed attempt to escape. A bodyguard tried to shield his employer from the searing beam of light but it easily tore through both of them. Some guests tried to use others as shields but the beam tore through anything it touched. Asuka looked at all the commotion, systematically and violently obliterating everyone with the pulsing white light flowing from her eyes. Eventually, there was no one left standing. The beams stopped and Asuka floated down to the ground. The screaming had stopped. Asuka couldn't believe that there was no one left alive. The wings on Asuka's back disappeared.
Lili emerged from behind a pillar. She'd decided to play it safe after George got split in half and waited low behind a pillar for the screams to stop. And there was Asuka. The look on Asuka's face was that of pure mortification. Lili had an open-mouthed maniacal smile and her eyes seemed as they might bug out of her head in order to fully take in this moment. She wanted to burn this image of Asuka into her mind forever. This was too perfect!
Asuka glanced over at the movement and saw Lili with a look of unparalleled amusement on her face. A horrible chill ran down Asuka's spine. Asuka realized in a horrifying way that her shoes must fallen off while she was floating above the ground because she felt that pools of blood had made their way to her stockinged feet. Asuka looked down in disbelief, then slowly looked around the room. All the guests were in pieces, blood was everywhere, and a few of the bodies were still smoking from the heat. Asuka again looked at Lili who somehow looked excited about all this and she felt tears start to well over her eyelids.
Asuka ran from the room crying and Lili burst into laughter. Asuka had been so embarrassed! This was beyond what Lili could have imagined. Sure all the guests were dead but they were mostly her father's friends anyway. Lili laughed so hard, it made her face hurt. She didn't know what had just happened but the look on Asuka's face had been priceless! She'd never forget it.
This was the start of something good. Perhaps Asuka would return Lili's messages from now on. Lili went up to her room to make plans for the rest of the week while Sebastian and the rest cleaned up from the party. Asuka had to be upset. Lili was guaranteed a rematch, she was sure of it. The future looked bright.
The next day, Lili hadn't heard back from Asuka but she wasn't surprised. Clearly Asuka was furious with her. But the look on Asuka's face had been so worth it!
'Get over yourself already,' Lili thought. No matter. Asuka would have to contact her, likely in her usual loud, vulgar style, then they'd set up a fight. Maybe even charge admission. It was only a matter of time and Lili couldn't wait!
The next day, while Lili was enthusiastically humming and brushing her hair, Sebastian entered and handed Lili the daily newspaper. Was this a challenge? Did Asuka wish to fight so soon?
Lili's smile quickly faded and she dropped the newspaper not wishing to believe what she'd read. Asuka had gone back to her hotel that evening and hung herself. Her body had been discovered the next morning. Lili's eyes overflowed with tears. This wasn't possible. This had to be some kind of sick joke. Clearly Asuka was just getting back at her.
The next day, Asuka was in the paper once more. Her body was being flown back to Japan and the funeral was scheduled for that weekend. It finally set in with Lili that this wasn't a joke. She'd gone too far. Her rival, her friend, was dead. And she'd put the wheels in motion which caused this. The real tragedy was that Asuka probably thought that Lili must have hated her. That couldn't have been farther from the truth. Lili wasn't the greatest at knowing how to show it.
"Dammit! Were you really so thick you didn't realize how much I…" Lili stopped herself. She fought back tears once more. "Did you really not know?"
Lili did not attend the funeral in Japan. Physically, she easily could have. But, emotionally, she just couldn't do it. She didn't think she'd have been able to hold herself together. And while she probably deserved to cry her eyes out like a mother who'd lost a child far too soon in a horrible accident, Lili just wasn't ready to say goodbye.
Lili began to feel her drive wane once more. Without Asuka, what did she have? What did anything else matter? She became determined to not let Asuka go.
'We're not done here, Asuka. You're not done with this world yet' Lili affirmed to herself.
Sebastian and Asuka took a private jet to Japan, went directly to the cemetery where Asuka was buried, and Sebastian started digging. Sebastian had done illegal things for Lili before but this was at the top of the list. However, he knew how Lili was when she was determined and he didn't want to end up six feet under himself.
Over the next several weeks, Lili invested everything she could in attempts to bring Asuka back to life. There were many that she consulted with who assured her that such a thing couldn't be done. But failure was not an option for Lili. She spent restless nights researching and found several scientists willing to assist her since she paid well. Lili did her best to preserve the body in the meantime. It wasn't till she looked upon Asuka's rotting, stinking corpse several weeks later that she finally had to accept that Asuka was never coming back. The corrosion was too severe. Asuka's body was just a mushy former vessel.
Lili had Asuka buried behind the estate in an elaborate but unmarked mausoleum with marble statues of weeping angels. Only she and Sebastian knew who exactly was buried there. For a time, it was a small comfort that Lili could walk to the mausoleum and visit Asuka whenever she wished. Sometimes, she visited Asuka so long that she fell asleep there. Eventually, she took to bringing pillows and blankets with her so she could go inside the mausoleum when it got dark or cold. Then during such a night, Lili woke. She felt the cold, hard cement with her hands. That was all that was left of Asuka. Hardness and coldness, separation. Lili knew she didn't care for a life without Asuka. And there was only one way to see her again.
During the next few days, Lili took to walking distractedly between the mausoleum and the Great Hall. It was perhaps the Great Hall where Asuka really died. The part of her that was willing to live anyway. And Lili decided she would take her own life there.
It tore Sebastian apart to see Lili in such a state. He was very worried about her and tried to cheer her up several times but she was rather unresponsive anymore. He remembered digging up Asuka's body from the cemetery in Japan. If Lili had been willing to go through all that trouble, she must have really cared about this girl, Asuka. Sebastian figured Lili's heart must be broken. It would take time to heal. Although, perhaps with the mausoleum just behind the estate, it would take even longer to heal than normal. Lili was still spending a lot of time there.
Finally, Lili couldn't take the loss or the guilt anymore. She needed to see Asuka again and say she was sorry. She needed to tell Asuka how she really felt and how stupid she'd been. She couldn't apologize enough. But she'd have eternity to do it.
Lili opted to commit Seppuku in the Great Hall in honor of Asuka, using an ancient tanto from her father's collection. She'd considered a wakizashi because there was more blade to work with but she didn't think she'd have the strength to get enough momentum to finish the job and opted for the smaller option. Lili went into the Great Hall and knelt where Asuka had once stood.
"I'm sorry," Lili said aloud. She felt like those were the only words necessary for now.
Lili plunged the blade deep into her gut and was shocked by the pain but thought only of Asuka and was not about to back down now. She slid the blade across her belly. Normally, the pain would be too agonizing and someone would use a katana to finish the job. But Lili knew Sebastian would never have agreed to help with this. She was on her own. She fought against the unconsciousness that beckoned and removed the blade from her gut, took great care to aim properly, and plunged it into her heart. Lili was dead before her head hit the floor.
Lili felt free. As if she were floating. Her pain was gone and she felt safe. All around her was empty space except for a stone archway with an open door just ahead. Excited at the idea that Asuka could be near, she ventured forth through the door.
"Awww, did you think you were going to see your friend?" said a deep, distorted, sinister voice.
Lili was jarred at this. She looked back at the door to find that it had been replaced by a stone wall.
"No! Where am I?" Lili cried.
"You went the wrong way," said the voice, "You're even further from her now. And you always will be."
Lili looked around. She realized she was standing on a concrete floor. It felt like there was gravity, wherever she was, and she could feel the cold of the walls emanating through her thin dress. Worst of all, it did indeed look like the inside of Asuka's mausoleum. As this set in, the booming voice laughed, seemingly from within Lili's own head.
"You'll be here for a looong time," said the voice, which seemed to echo in a jumbled, backwards way that sounded unnatural, "But we wouldn't want you to get too lonely," the voice trailed off like a record slowing to a stop.
Lili heard strange crackling noises nearby. Suddenly, Lili saw something in the corner of her eye. Asuka's rotting corpse was slumped over in the corner. Lili could also hear the sounds of her party guests screaming as they were getting mutilated. She could also hear Asuka crying. Lili backed away in horror to find a mirror next to her. The face looking back was her own, but it's expression was stuck in wide-eyed, excited amusement. Lili looked back at Asuka's corpse which smelled as bad as she remembered. Her senses overwhelmed, Lili snapped and released a tortured scream.
Lili's father didn't know who exactly was buried in the mausoleum behind the estate other than that it had been a friend of Lili. Lili had been an eccentric girl. Mr. Rochefort was deep in mourning but remaining in the estate where his daughter had killed herself was proving unbearable. Whenever he entered the Great Hall, his body felt heavy, like something horrible was making it hard for him to move. Every time he tried to sleep, he'd dream that he could hear Lili screaming and he'd awaken, usually too disturbed to return to sleep, both out of fright as well as sadness and pain.
The staff of the Rochefort estate tried not to let their Lord overhear, but there were constantly hushed voices talking about objects moving about on their own, or disappearing and turning up elsewhere.
One night, there was quite a stir in the maid's quarters when someone claimed to have seen a dark haired girl in a black dress hanging from the ceiling, but upon turning the light on there'd been no one there. Even those who hadn't believed in ghosts before eventually heard or saw strange things that they couldn't explain. Temperatures would drastically drop then return to normal. Sometimes one could hear an orchestra playing music, or footsteps, or crying, and occasionally screaming.
When an emissary from the Mishima Financial Group showed up with an offer to purchase the estate, Mr. Rochefort didn't ask questions regarding their interest or intent. He simply signed the papers and handed it over. No one wanted to stay there anyway. There was too much pain in the place.
The Mishimia Corporation left the estate in tact but modified it into a new Mishima research facility which was heavily guarded. They did, however, demolish the mausoleum behind the estate. It's unclear what they did with the body it once contained. Though it is said that their interest in the area stemmed from the detection of an unusual energy pattern. What they are researching, no one can say but it's possible we'll see the results of their research when they announce the next Iron Fist Tournament.
Thank you for reading!