*Disclaimer: I do not own Tekken nor do I own the characters mentioned below. :")
Chapter 1 : Changes
It is the start of a new era; all Iron Fist Tournaments have ended. The Mishima Zaibatsu collapsed and faded in everyone's memories, just like how Heihachi Mishima accepted defeat as Kazuya Kazama almost got him killed with his own Devil Gene in the latest tournament. Heihachi then settled at Kyoto along with his servants, far from the city with his bear, Kuma. The G Corporation now belongs to the tournament's winner, the King of Iron Fist, Hwoarang. He finally got what he persevered for through all this years. Asuka Kazama returned to her normal life as a peacemaker at her village, studying at Tokyo University with Lili de Rochefort as her new 'love-hate' best friend. Julia Chang learned of her mother's death and finally coped up with the fact. She decided to leave Japan and start a new life with her family. Lars Alexandersson took Alisa Bosconovitch for reformatting to let Alisa have her new life rather than to have her follow whatever Jin Kazama tells her to do. Nina Williams became the top paid assassin counterpart to Raven, Anna Williams continued her fashion design career in New York, Lee Chaolan happily ran his own business using some of Heihachi's left fortune. Christie Monteiro, together with Eddy Gordo, travelled back to Central America to teach Capoeira in the area. Lei Wulong got the top rank as a police in one district in Hong Kong which made him popular and well respected. King, Craig Marduk and Bruce Irvin came back to wrestling and fought for another title in the sport. Ganryu scared all other possible opponents in Sumo Wrestling so he was declared the champion in all of Japan. As for the oldies; Wang Jinrei retired due to old age, and sadly, Doctor Gepetto Bosconovitch died in a heart seizure. Steve fox fought in his own sport, Boxing. Paul Phoenix and Bryan Fury came back to their old hobby of disturbing the peace in the city with their bossy and aggressive attitude. Marshall Law got his own restaurant with the help of his son, Forest Law. Yoshimitsu went to explore the world. Jin Kazama left to search for a cure to his Devil Gene, as always, without any goodbyes. And lastly, Ling Xiaoyu continued her college degree in Japan alongside Miharu Hirano and her beloved pet, Panda.
As they go on separate ways, only a few kept their connections. Some became rivals in another sport, some made friends, and two got closer than expected. Hwoarang was already 22, the lucky guy who got the G Corporation to himself. Getting over the idea to avenge his diseased master, Hwoarang got himself new goals which led him to victory. He got the mansion he had no interest in, servants he never really asked for, and a whole new loyal army which he, in a way, desired to obtain. For him, wealth was not the goal. He wanted an army, people to dispatch the foul people of the city; in short, he wanted to change Japan just as he wished for his own country, Korea. He became one of the busiest men in the planet; paperwork seems to never end. But despite the hectic schedules, Hwoarang knew how to value his personal life. He still went out to rent movies on free nights, rode his big bike on a few occasions, and visited the person he took care of during the Iron Fist Tournaments, Ling xiaoyu.
For the past few years, on and off he had been there for her whenever Jin Kazama left without a goodbye. Hwoarang supported Xiaoyu whenever she was down and had always regarded her as his little sister from another set of parents. Same goes to Xiaoyu, she had always treated the older male as her older brother. Even though they had been after the same title, Hwoarang never thought of her as an enemy. Thus, after the tournament, they kept in touch and continued what they had in the past. Hwoarang sent her limousines to pick her up from the university just so he could see her despite his busy façade. Miharu always teased the two, knowing it was Jin who owns Xiaoyu's heart. For Hwoarang, Xiaoyu's fondness of Jin was unreasonable. 'Who would even be attracted to a person whose social skills are at zero percent, nonetheless having a devil gene in his blood?' he would always say. Xiaoyu would just smile at him in response and say 'I will'.
Xiaoyu and Miharu lived in an apartment five blocks away from Baek Doo San University; Hwoarang's newly built University named after his former master. Having most classes together, it felt as if nothing had changed since High School for the two of them. Miharu got herself a part time job at a nearby café, while Xiaoyu helps out at Marshall Law's noodle shop. Mrs. Law grew fond of the girl so she always requested for Xiaoyu to take regular shifts as she was willing to pay for her work. But Xiaoyu refused all her offers of money. She told the old lady that she would love to spend most of her time at their family restaurant but is also needed by Hwoarang to help out at the Dojo he had just set up. This led to Marshall Law being hired to teach martial arts at the Baek Doo San Dojo. Forest Law helped out at the family shop more often to assist his mother. Xiaoyu went to the shop three days a week to take a shift, and the other four to teach kids at the dojo. Other hired teachers were Wang Jinrei and Julia Chang.
"Hey Xiao, your phone is ringing. Should I answer it and tell him to leave a message?" Miharu called out behind the bathroom door.
"Who is it?" Xiaoyu asked as she turned the shower shut so she can hear the other perfectly.
"It's Hwoarang!" Miharu yelled.
"Ah, then please do answer. Tell him I'll call him back in a while. Thanks Miharu!" Xiaoyu replied as she turned the shower to rinse herself.
Miharu did as she was told and waited for Xiaoyu at the living room to deliver his message. Their apartment was pretty spacious. It had a small kitchen, a living room, two bedrooms and small balcony. It was enough for two people. Not long after, Xiaoyu got out of the bathroom and made her way to the living room.
"So what does he want?" She asked as she dried her hair with smaller towel.
"Oh, he just asked if you are free tonight. He said he had some free time so he was thinking of taking you out." Miharu replied in a teasing tone.
"Oh please, it's just another family bonding, Miharu. You know that of all people." Xiaoyu mumbled.
"Whatever it is, just go so I won't have to worry about your dinner tonight since you're going to be alone." Miharu said under a deep sigh.
Xiaoyu can't cook; no matter how hard she tried to learn from Miharu, she fails and could even burn water. Whenever Miharu had night shifts at the café, she would make sure she had something prepared for Xiaoyu or at least remind her to buy something. This night was a relief to Miharu. She knew Hwoarang won't let her best friend starve, or burn the house down.
Miharu quickly changed to her work clothes and examined Xiaoyu's clothes as if she was part of the fashion police. She never liked too much to be revealed or to be hidden so she had always designed Xiaoyu's clothes for the past tournaments. Xiaoyu, on the other hand, was wearing a pale blue Chinese collar sleeveless shirt and white cardigan shorts which was three inches above the knee. She made the pigtail haired girl twirl slowly so she could have a better look.
"Well, I guess that's fine enough. But it is quite cold at night so at least bring your trench coat and wear your white boots." Miharu commented as she headed to the main door. Xiaoyu simply nodded and flashed a smile.
"Take care, Miharu!" Xiaoyu waved to her as she left the loft.
Minutes after Miharu left, the doorbell rang two times. 'Must be Hwoarang' she thought to herself. The girl opened the door and found a tall red haired man standing, smiling at her. He was wearing his muscle sleeved orange shirt and black pants; the signature Hwoarang look.
"Heya, Xiao!" he greeted, raising both his brows.
"Hey, come in. I just need some things to get done before we leave."
"Hmm.. Things of what sort?"
"University stuff; quite fiercer and tiring than Iron Fist."
Hwoarang let out a small chuckle as he watched her typing on her laptop. She was finishing an essay, he presumed.
"Well, if you're busy with that, we could just stay here so you could finish that." He suggested.
"No way, you just flew all the way here so we can have a good time. I'm not going to let you down just because my teacher is an ogre!"
"Haha! Just stick your head on what you're doing and let me watch TV for now."
"Yeah, yeah…"
Time passed till she was ready to go. She bent her neck from one side to the other and stood up. Xiaoyu turned the computer off, stretched her arms, and turned to the sleeping Hwoarang on the couch. 'Well, now someone's busy' she murmured to herself. Xiaoyu gave a quick glance to the window and sat on the couch's arm rest. She couldn't bring herself to wake him up, knowing he had been pretty busy with work and whatnot. Hours passed and the night darkened even more. It was already 11:30pm, time for Miharu to come home. Hwoarang finally opened his eyes, shifted his gaze from the TV to the laptop and saw it was already off. He looked around and saw Xiaoyu watching TV by his side.
"Ahh, you're awake." She said.
"Hmm…" he stretched as he sat up properly. When he turned to face the clock, his eyes widened. "Man, I slept well!"
Xiaoyu raised a brow at him as she smiled. "Yeah, you certainly did."
"So much for taking you out, huh?" he smiled.
"Well, it's not exactly your fault it ended up like this…" Xiaoyu muttered, guilty for taking her time to finish her essay which made him sleep so long.
Before the other could speak another word, the doorbell rang thrice.
"Must be Miharu" Hwoarang commented.
"Or Chinese food" she suggested.
Xiaoyu rushed to the door and opened it with a smile, dropping her jaw upon seeing who was standing behind her best friend.
"Surprise!" Miharu yelped as she extended her arms.
Upon seeing Xiaoyu's expression, Hwoarang stood up to see who was outside with Miharu. His brows crossed and teeth gritted.
"Kazama" he muttered.
"Well…" Miharu started, feeling the tension between the three. "I happened to bump into Jin on my way home. I thought it would be a good time for a reunion…?"