Chapter 1: A Skirmish in the Highlands

The next morning at the hotel near in the Taal Lake, Rhima finally wakes up as she stretches both of her arms and wanted to continue sleeping. As she is about to sleep into the other side, she accidentally hugs at her partner Jin who is asleep and he slowly wakes up to see her.

"Uh... Morning, Rhima..."

"Jin, you're awake. Did you sleep well?" Rhima asked calmly.

"Of course, I sleep so well..." Jin answered and noticing her for sleeping very early. "You actually slept so early in the night after I keep on chasing you."

"Good question, I ever seen your reflexes are getting faster when you chase me and I ended up getting tired so easily." Rhima wondered about last night which makes Jin gets up and sadly lowers his head knowing of his current condition.

"It's because of my Devil's blood that was running on my veins. I guess that would be the reason why you ended up getting tired."

"Despite your abnormal condition, you almost got me back there." Rhima admitted as she gets up while looking at him. "You even tried to tickle me on purpose."

Jin finally faces her happily as he pinches her stomach making Rhima laugh while she pushes his face away.

"Hey knock it off? You're tickling me when you were pinching me."

"Just like the last time, your ribs have so many funny bones." Jin smiled happily as she stands up to look at the window to see the view of the Taal Volcano beneath the lakes.

"Guess that I would be half-day this morning. So that, I could take classes in the afternoon. I guess going back to the Metro would be harder." Rhima ponders about her schedules as Jin stands up and he softly massages her shoulders.

"You will be fine, Rhima. It's all on me... I also wanted to avoid the traffic jams too."

"I ever seen you massaged me like that before." Rhima remarked as she faces him while telling him. "Oh yeah, I brought a spare boxers in case if you forgot to bring your clothes when we go for an overnight."

"Thanks a lot, Rhima. I won't ever forget of my stupid mistake last night." Jin said thankfully to her.

"It's okay..." Rhima said blushing.

"You should go on a shower, Rhima. I have to get my clothes at the closet." Jin smiled calmly and he frowned about his mistake. "Frankly, I was frustrated last night after you told me about it."

When Rhima prepares her clothes from yesterday, Jin goes to the closet to get his clothes which is the black rider jacket, his dark gray leather pants and his red and black rider gloves. Rhima also gave him the spare boxers that she brought. He put two of his clothes at the bed so that he could get dressed once he's done taking the shower. However, he noticed Rhima didn't close the bathroom door and he saw her finally removes her white short sleeved short dress which reveals her pink short shorts. As she continues undressing, Jin finally gives an idea after she tells him that he almost touched her butt last night when he playfully chases her for pranking him as he thought.

Dang, I almost got her when I keep on chasing her for touching my butt last night. Now is my chance.

As his clothes are ready, he finally took off his black boxers as he follows her to the shower. Rhima tries to open the shower door until Jin calls her and she noticed that he was behind her as he embraces her at the back.

"You'd like to come along with me in the shower, do you?"

"We're couples, aren't we?" Jin smirked happily as he shifts his hands from hugging her and smoothly touches her butt making Rhima was surprised and her cheeks became rosier for what he did.

"You're getting touchy, Jin."

"I'm just returning the favor for touching my butt last night. Now, I do the same to you." Jin smiled as he jokily tells her. "Your butt is pretty smooth not like the last time you pranked me very often."

"You cheater..." Rhima jokily retorts while she faces him as Jin kisses her to the lips as he softly tells her.

"I'd just love to get with you, Rhima."

Both smiled to see each other while they giggled and Jin happily brings her to the shower.

After they bathed and dressed, they eat breakfast at the Bag of Beans and they talk privately about what they did in the shower.

"That's the first time you scrubbed into my back. It's not like the last time you asked me to come along with you when we were showering."

"I was quite a bit embarassed at first when I asked you once." Jin said remembering the times he made a special surprise for her before the Valentine's Day. "Guess that I became so wild when we made love with each other."

"Yeah... I guess..." Rhima said and became blushed to see him.

"Uhm, Rhima... I've ever seen you scrubbed into my stomach while we were in the shower too and it was my first time." Jin said and became blushed to see her while gently taking her hand. "I wanted to make things normal for us. If only if Xiao and I were like this in peaceful times, It was better. But because of the conflicts I had been through, we never do that and were always distant."

"Here's your breakfast for the two of you..."

"Jin, I think this waiter keeps staring at you?" Rhima said noticing the waiter's actions.

"That guy is normal, Rhima... How would someone like him would looking at me like that?" Jin remarked until she commented.

"You may say it's a normal guy, Jin. But he's really a gay..."

"Pardon?"

"He had a cute looks like you. But his heart is longing for a cute guy. Guess it was a closet gay for me." Rhima said making Jin became horrified and blushes in embarassment.

"Gah!"

On the way leads to the Sta. Rosa Exit, Jin rode his black motorcycle while Rhima is with him. He stopped when he saw a demolished car on the road which causes traffic jams. Rhima was later contacted by Rei and informs her about the new enemy they were facing.

"What's up, Rei?" Rhima asked which Rei explains about their new enemy.

"Apparently, this new enemy comes from an organization called the Arias Verde. Their plans is to seek out strong fighters with potential. I believe they were trying to hunt Mr. Panganiban because of his fighting prowess."

"How could my dad got involved in this?" Rhima said trying to questioning him.

"I'm not so sure, Rhima. Your father just informed me by text message. There was a dangerous fighter just passed by in their university and he was seeking to see him. I think he was connected with the criminal organization." Rei said telling her and Rhima became worried about her father.

"Okay, Rei... I got it..."

As she finally hung her cellphone and Jin notices some hostiles are coming this way as he sensed this.

"Rhima, you have to be careful. Looks like we got company..." Jin warns Rhima to be careful as some soldiers came to attack them both causing other drivers to make their run for their lives.

Both of them brought scores against them as they swiftly defeats them one by one. Jin manages to counter one of them with a single Tidal Wave while Rhima beats them quickly. Afterwards, other soldiers eventually retreated. Jin realizes that his return to the real world wasn't very lucky for him to have another crisis.

"I guess seeing each other again causing your place to get another new threat. Despite my current condition, things are getting worse."

"Don't feel bad about your condition, Jin. I think those guys are mistaken of you as my father. They came here to find him." Rhima said knowing that her father was targeted as the waiter saw the commotion.

"What's happening in this place?"

"Hey, you're that waiter from the Bag of Beans? Why are you here?" Rhima said pointing out on his appearance.

"Uhh... actually you forgot your receipt after both of you paid for your breakfast."

"This is odd... is he trying to follow us?" Jin wondered and Rhima became annoyed to see him.

"I get it, you followed us just because of Jin, right. I can see on your gestures while looking at him."

"Well... your Japanese friend is kinda hunk... I've ever seen him before."

"Rhima, is this waiter a homo?" Jin said getting annoyed on the man's actions.

"I already told you, Jin. This guy is a closet gay. You may looked at him as a guy but he's a gay." Rhima answered as the guy finally introduced to the both of them.

"My name is Kendrick Ramirez just called me Ken. I ever seen you two can take these guys down."

When Jin looked at their uniforms and they reveal themselves are from Arias Verde and he remembers when Lee, Lars and Alisa are protected him from being captured by the Tekken Forces led by Nina.

"Seems like those men are trying to capture your father, Rhima. I think we'll go to Silveria Corporation first. It just reminds me when Lee, Lars and Alisa are protected me from being captured while I was still in a comatose. Now I had to do the same as to protect him."

"You better get back where you worked, Ken. You shouldn't be involved on this skirmish." Rhima tells Ken to go back which he agrees.


At Silveria Corporation, Rei and Lee are trying to find out the location of the enemy's main base as it reveals it was in Bangkok, Thailand.

"So their main base was in the land of smiles. Sounds like the locals would never understand foreign language."

"But I don't understand, I just don't even know who's responsible for releasing the head of the Howard Corporation and why are they trying to hunt Mr. Panganiban?" Rei tried to think who is behind the release of Geese and Lee sensed both him and his adoptive brother's presence.

"I guess Hunyo must be hunted by those two. Kazuya would definitely wants to have a revenge match after he defeats him at the recreation center while this Geese fellow must be working with this organization to capture him so that he could test his fighting prowess."

"It looks that way..."

Lars arrives alongside Rick, Alisa and Reggie and Rei noticed it was an alliance for everyone to fight against their new enemy.

"Well now... it was a happy reunion." Lee said in excitement.

"Panganiban would catch up... sounds like a skirmish happened to the both of them." Rick said smirking.

"I guess Arias Verde are now starting to take a cat and mouse chase." Rei said knowing of their actions. "It appears this criminal organization is trying to make a new branch in our place."


Outside, Jin finally parked his black motorcycle and both noticed Hunyo's black SUV was also parked as the latter finally came to see them.

"It's about time that you managed to arrive..."

"Dad... glad that you're okay."

"What's with the facial hair?" Jin ponders about Hunyo's facial disguise as he removes it.

"I used this facial disguise so that no one would see me looking like that." Hunyo said as he asks them. "How's the fun doing with the both of you?"

"It was fun yesterday... Jin takes me to the Cliffhouse and also asked me to spend the night along the way." Rhima smiled as Jin blushes to see them.

"It was a fun overnight with the two of us. But I made a stupid mistake that I forgot to bring my clothes when we arrived there."

"..."

"Anyway, I just saw some soldiers are trying to block the way to think it was a car accident. But they came here looking for you and you better be careful about them." Jin warned Hunyo about the soldiers they had faced.

"So it is true... that moron actually sends them to go after me. That's why I wait to see you two because of Rei. Let's go both of you..." Hunyo said as both Jin and Rhima go with him as they go inside Silveria Corporation.


Trivia:

*Rhima finally noted about Jin's physical prowess which he was far more stronger than an average human because of his Devil Gene as Jin sadly noticed to himself due to the devil's blood was running on his veins like his father.

*Kendrick Ramirez makes his first appearance in this chapter and he resembles the Kapuso actor, Ken Chan who is known for portraying the protagonist, Destiny Rose, the titular character of the same name.

*Arias Verde's main base is revealed in Bangkok, Thailand.

*Jin noticed about Hunyo's facial disguise which happens to be the facial hair customization in the game.

*In this chapter, Lee, Lars, Jin and Alisa are making their alliance much like in the ending of the Story Mode of Tekken 7.