Sorry I took so long posting this second chapter – been stuck in a cottage with no hot water, let alone an Internet connection. . . Just for your information, I'll try to update about once a week. Thanks for the reviews, they were all very encouraging!

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The Shopping Trip

Julia was not an experienced shopper, and did not look forward to the outing with the same enthusiasm as Xiaoyu, but within minutes Xiaoyu had shown her what shops to go to, how to choose what colour is right for you, what top goes with what shoes, and after an hour Julia was totally absorbed in the experience and both of them had almost forgotten the original purpose of their expedition until, while they were browsing expertly through a sales rack, a voice behind them said,

'Trying to find a dress for the reception?' The two girls turned in surprise to find that the owner of the voice was an attractive Oriental girl about their own age, if not a little younger. She was accompanied by a lively looking girl with fierce eyes and tanned skin who had one, or rather two, very prominent features which she displayed with relish, drawing glances from men in all directions.

'Christie!' said Xiaoyu to the Brazilian girl, hugging her like an old friend. 'We fought at the last tournament, remember?'

'Yeah, how could I forget?' she laughed, 'That nutcracker of yours left me aching for weeks!'

'I don't think we've met.' said Julia to the other young woman.

'No.' she replied, 'This is my first tournament. My name's Asuka Kazama.' She had a slight accent, but her English was almost perfect.

'Any relation of Jun Kazama?'

'Yes. She is my aunt.'

'Really? My mother was a great friend of hers.'

'Of course! How foolish of me – I knew I recognised you from past tournaments but couldn't figure out who you were – you're Julia Chang.' And they were off. The four of them spent the rest of the day picking out this, complimenting that, and left with perfect dresses and a firm friendship.

Julia awoke groggily at 3am the next day to the sound of her alarm. Having missed training the day before, she had decided to get up extra early and work twice as hard today. Now faced with the actual prospect, however, it seemed a lot less appealing. Nonetheless, she dragged herself out of bed and donned her usual training clothes – a net T-shirt over a black crop top and some trousers. As she was tightening her head band, she cursed herself for putting her own enjoyment in front of her cause and vowed silently to train as hard as she possibly could without distraction.

Instead of heading for the training room, Julia decided to start her regime in the outdoor sparring area, thinking that perhaps the morning air would wake her up a little. She stepped out into the dewy courtyard; it was empty and her footsteps rang like a bell through the pillars and elaborate stone carvings. Dragons leered out of the mist, their tails coiled around marble spheres, their tongues lolling out of their mouths as their shining stone orbs of eyes observed her, the only ones there to watch. Walking further out, she was startled by the view, which seemed too perfect to be real – mountains tumbled into the distance with cloud-like trees twisting their silhouettes across the white sky. The green faded to blue and then purple, then disappeared into the mist, like a Japanese woodblock print. Julia breathed in the cold, fresh air and felt instantly invigorated.

She began with some basic moves – gentle punches and kicks, to get her warmed up, soon moving on to more elaborate swipes and uppercuts. Eventually she was carrying out some very difficult moves indeed – twisting into a tequila sunrise middle smash, then feeding all her energy into a dramatic foot stomp and enjoying every moment of it. By the time she had finished, the mist had cleared and the sun had risen, casting long bleak shadows across the stones. The echo of the patio made her aware of her own panting, and she felt a thrill as she recognised her own heartbeat, and felt that profound understanding of her body for a brief moment, which only the greatest warriors possess. It was like the sun bursting through the clouds, illuminating her for a second, and then it was gone.

By now a few other fighters were drifting across the courtyard, preparing themselves for the day's training, Julia wiped the sweat from her body and walked back toward the entrance, recognising as she did so a couple of competitors. She said nervous 'Hello' to Anna Williams, hoping that Nina wasn't anywhere around and passed silently by Lei Wulong so as not to interrupt his meditation. Walking along one of the grand, decorated corridors she heard from behind her,

'Juria!' she turned to see Xiaoyu sprinting lightly towards her and recognised Asuka and Christie. 'Juria! Are you going to the gym? That's where we're going; we knocked on your door but you weren't in your room.'

'Um, yeah, I mean yeah I am going to the gym.' Xiaoyu beamed and linking arms with Julia on one side, Asuka on the other and physically putting Christie's arm through Julia's, led the bewildered girls to the gym.

As they approached the East Wing, in which the training facilities were located, their cheerful chattering ceased as one by one they noticed the figure approaching. Without being prompted, they dropped their arms and made way for the fighter. The girls kept their gaze low, some out of fear, some out of embarrassment, some out of respect, but as the figure passed, Julia allowed her eyes to flick up, connecting for the briefest of moments with the cold intense stare of Jin. Once he had passed, instead of exchanging glances and giggling muffledly as they would have with any other good-looking boy, they let out the collective breath they had been holding in. They did not continue talking until they were well out of the corridor, and none of them mentioned the incident.

The girls pounded away side-by-side on the treadmills. Their workout would have tired most men, but despite the astonishing pace at which they were running, they still managed to keep up a lively conversation.

'So Christie.' Said Xiaoyu, 'You have a boyfriend?'

'Not at the moment.' She replied. Xiaoyu stared pointedly at her breasts which she barely seemed able to contain in her sports top, which was less of a top and more of a couple of strips of lycra slung across her chest. The girls laughed and she replied,

'Believe me, Sweetie, you would not want to date any of the men that these attract.'

'Why Xiaoyu, have you?' asked Julia.

'No, not really, but. . .' The girls craned their heads forward to listen, but Xiaoyu was pushing buttons aimlessly on the running machine.

'Come on, Xiaoyu, since when do you keep secrets?' pried Julia. Xiaoyu looked down at her pounding feet, embarrassed by this turn in the conversation which she herself had accidentally orchestrated.

'Well, there is one guy. . .' After a pause, she mumbled something, but the others couldn't hear it over the running machine, they slowed to listen,

'What?' said Asuka, 'We can't hear you.' She said it more loudly but it was still inaudible.

'What?' shouted Julia, and all three turned their running machines off, afraid that Xiaoyu wouldn't repeat it again and they would never find out.

'It's Jin!' shouted Xiaoyu. She immediately slapped her hands over her mouth, realising that she had said this much too loudly; other fighters in the gym turned to look. Instead of giggling or teasing Xiaoyu, Julia, Christie and Asuka stood silent for a few seconds, stunned. It was as if Xiaoyu had voiced something which should not have been, as if just by saying his name, they would incur his terrible wrath. Xiaoyu felt it too as she started to mumble an apology.

'But why?' whispered Julia.

'Well for one thing he's fucking gorgeous.' said Christie. Xiaoyu started to perk up, relieved that the others were starting to talk about him in a more human light.

'Come on, let's go over to the weight section, we can talk more easily there.' The weight room was filled with hulking, heaving, sweating men who relished the opportunity to impress a few attractive girls. The room was quickly evacuated, however, when they realised that a girl half their size could lift twice their weight.

'Tell us everything.' said Asuka.

'Well,' said Xiaoyu, beginning to enjoy the attention, 'I first noticed him when I started his school on the fourth tournament.'

'Oh yeah!' interjected Julia, 'I completely forgot that you two went to the same school.'

'I knew who he was, of course, so first I was scared, but one day we were on a school trip and I forgot my runch so he give me his. I was super happy. I know he's not a bad person. Sometimes he rooks bad, but he's not. I know. I think it's sad, because his life is super sad.' Xiaoyu looked genuinely upset, and even started to get a little tearful.

'Hey, cheer up, Xiaoyu, he's only a boy.'

'No!' said Xiaoyu, 'He's not only a boy, I love him!' She dropped the weights she was holding and began to sob. Julia exchanged a frantic glance with Asuka and they put down their own weights, as did Christie, kneeling to comfort Xiaoyu who had slid to the floor in despair.

'There's plenty of other guys, Xiaoyu, what about Steve Fox, he's pretty cute.'

'I'm sure if you just train hard you'll forget all about him.'

'You wouldn't want a guy like that anyway.'

No matter what they said, Xiaoyu continued to wail; eventually she managed to hiccup,

'B-b-but, I don't want other boys.' She let out another sob, 'I want Ji-in!' Julia looked around frantically – other fighters were beginning to notice the commotion, and the last thing any of them wanted was to get caught up in a big mess the day before the tournament. Xiaoyu could even get disqualified if she was deemed too emotionally unstable to fight.

'Asuka,' she said, an idea flashing into her mind, 'you know Jin pretty well don't you?'

'Well, he's my cousin. I see him quite a lot. Yeah, I know him pretty well.'

'You'll arrange something for Xiaoyu, won't you?' Asuka began to open her mouth in protest by Julia cast her a pleading glance,

'Er. . . a. . . yeah, of course, Xiaoyu, I can talk to him for you.'

'Leally?' she sniffed.

'Of course.' She replied uncertainly. Xiaoyu choked back a few more sobs, but the worst was over, and the other girls were able to pick her up and mop her tear-streaked face with sweat towels. Julia had hoped to use this merely as a pacification tool until she could get Xiaoyu back to her room to dispel any feelings she had for Jin, but Xiaoyu became very keen on the idea and clung to it like a terrier, shunning any notion of going up to her room; they spent the rest of the day in training, Xiaoyu growing ever more persistent in her fantasy,

'When will you talk to him, Asuka?', 'What will you say to him, Asuka?', 'Do you think he'll like me Asuka?' and eventually, 'Will you be my maid of honour Asuka?' as they were leaving the gym, Asuka hissed in Julia's ear,

'You owe me big time.'

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Next instalment, The Champagne Reception: The Mishima Zaibatsu's new owner is revealed and mysteries build when the girls attend a champagne reception to launch the tournament.