Let Go
By Sachi Gosetsuke
Summary: Sequel to Bring Me To Life…all grown up and in college, Asuka's ready to start anew. Yet the past catches up with her and she's back where she started: the Iron Fists Tournament.
Sachi: has pushed my buttons one, TOO MANY TIMES. First they mess up the first chapter, and then they delete the story, and finally, THEY MESS UP THE 1st CHAPTER. Eff you FanFiction.
DISCLAIMER: don't own Tekken, don't own the characters, DO own the story, do not sue me, kill me, copy my story, inflict upon me unimaginable torture OR imaginable torture…the works :)
They say that when you die, your whole life flashes right before your eyes…
I wouldn't know for sure. No one does.
But now we know, don't we?
But everything you have seen. Everything I've been through. My life, its memories, the dreaming, the fighting, searching, finding, disappointment, songs and tuneless winds…it doesn't end there.
There's so much more to see.
Doors to be opened. Questions to ask. Truth needed to be heard. Looking, reaching, calling…the song's not over yet. The bird is still flying. I'm still alive.
A week had passed since that scary phone call. A week since I found my song. A week since I received the invite for the Iron Fists. I'm here, sitting up on my dorm bed, drowsy and confused, the reminiscent of the dream placed in my mind.
I looked over at my alarm clock. It was only 3:00 in the morning. Only six more hours till I'll be on a train to Tokyo, and three more hours till my alarm sets off.
My head was pounding.
I remember my old nightmares, of distorted memories twisted into some cynical dark tale before my very eyes. They never were that scary. Even as a kid, I never woke up from them, scared in the middle of the night, calling for my father like some strange cliché where the parent comes to convince their child that whatever monsters they had would never hurt them. I was a tough kid even then. Or perhaps I never did dream anything that bad enough to remember, let alone wake up from.
I do remember a one of them, not too long ago, that seem to always come back over and over again until it carved its memories into my head. But I never was good at details. And even if I could remember, I wouldn't want to. With it's blood-red sun setting over the horizon, and the purple-winged monster haunting me…
The first time I ever had that nightmare I woke up shaking like I was now. For a split second I had forgotten where I was, what was happening, with only the lingering presence of my nightmare with me.
A nightmare bad enough to wake me from my slumber should be pretty scary. And it always was, every time it came back.
And now this one…
I shouldn't be worrying. There was no need. Nope, not me. I'm Asuka Kazama, and I don't worry. Especially about a creepy dream that included a certain blue-eyed boy…who disappeared almost more than two months ago…and was beating the crap out of me.
And especially if it was the same exact dream I had dreamt last night…and the night after that…
Yeah…
Automatically, without even noticing, I drew my hand to the base of my neck – and panicked. It was bare, and it shouldn't have been bare, should never be completely bare, for I always, always wore—
I looked down on my pillow and sighed with relief at the sight of the gold chain. I picked up my necklace and latched it back on. The very necklace with the rectangular locket with a picture of two unfamiliar people…
But the pictures never mattered anyway. This necklace still brought me a sense of comfort and security, even though it had been over ten years ago when I found it in my father's office, and learned that it had belonged to my mother…
I laid down and shut my eyes tight, desperate to catch some Z's that I knew would never come until a minute before I had to wake up again. I also hoped that the nightmare would not come back, and I almost believed in my naivety that it didn't mean a thing.
Almost.
"Where did I put my…" I murmured to myself, looking underneath my bed.
"Oh no, I just keep on falling – BACK TO THE SAME OLD! Where's hope, when misery comes crawling'!"
God, Hazuki has a terrible and LOUD voice.
I think I'm going crazy. All week, I've had the strangest of strange moods, filled with absent-minded phases and daydreaming -- and whenever I wasn't busy trying to get my millions of junk together for this very day, I was doing hardcore training, or as Hazuki puts it, "beating myself to death."
"I need to get ready for the tournament Hazuki! I've slacked off for far too long and I've only got a week!" I remember telling her after she tried to get me to rest.
"Oh come on, you weren't slacking off! You practically live in this gym, it's all good!" she retorted, while dragging me away from the fitness center.
And now, today's the day I haul my ass off to the Mishima Grand Hotel to do the whole shebang with the other fighters.
The grand opening of the tournament -- it's where all the fighters come to listen to some old geezer explaining for about an hour the rules and such. But afterwards we also get a chance to "get to know our fellow competitors."
Nostalgically, I vaguely remembered that part of the opening, looking around and seeing all sorts of fighters…older than me…a hell of a lot taller than me…and definitely more experienced.
But I'm ready now.
Yet needless to say, I was pulling my hairs out for the littlest things. And believe me, this in fact annoyed me a lot more than it annoyed my room mate. It was just, so unlike me. Me, Asuka Kazama, paranoid? Yeah, right.
Still…I'll admit that I'm a tad bit nervous for the tournament. And I really did not need to deal with college duties or drama from my friends, and to top it off, I supposedly had upcoming danger heading my way. Yay.
And then of course that damned dream…
Nope. Already forgotten.
But other than that…I was pretty damned excited.
So basically with these ten different mood swings of mine changing by the hour, Hazuki might just be a bit more freaked out by me than usual.
I still don't know what had gotten into me when I got the invite a week ago, sitting temptingly on the floor of the dorm. First the confusion, then the dreaded horror…and then the excitement.
Fighting in these tournaments was where I belonged. If people say they have their own kind of oxygen, well, I suppose fighting was the air I breathed.
But don't get me wrong – it's not like I picked fights at random just so I could get someone to bleed or anything. In fact, I fought not only for the thrill of it, or the honor, no, I fought for TRUTH, I fought for JUSTICE, I fought for the innocents who can't fight for themselves—
…And you already know about this.
So here I was, we are, I am, looking in my drawers for about the hundredth time for my last and fourth CD case. Which is just so damned annoying that I can't find a worn-out, hot red CD case with graphity and stickers and other nonsense inscribed just about everywhere on it.
It really shouldn't be too hard to miss, since it's so freaking huge. I stuffed it with billions of CDs that I no longer really needed thanks to my trusty iPod. But I'm a music freak remember? I can't go anywhere without my iPod, and just in case, my CD player and CDs. All 325 CDs. Individually placed into the CD pockets.
And keeping all those CDs in tip-top shape definitely proves exactly how crazy I am. Both mentally and…musically?
"Hazuki, have you seen my…? Oh, what the hell?!"
"EVERYBODY LIVE—! Hmm?" Hazuki asked, mid-singing.
"I was looking everywhere for that!" I glared at her. I wouldn't be surprised if smoke was bellowing from my ears right then.
I glanced at my watch. "Dammit, Hazuki, it's t-minus thirty minutes till my train comes! Did you take any of my other stuff?"
She just glared back at me, lowering the volume on her stereo. "No, I didn't, your case was the only thing unpacked. Now chil-lax, Asuka!"
"I have to get going in fifteen minutes to a life-risking tournament, and you're telling me to chil-lax?!"
"Well you don't have to go to the tournament!"
I just rolled my eyes in frustration. "Whatever, I really do not have time for this."
I picked up my case and stuffed it in my backpack, while she retorted, "I still don't get why you're going."
I sighed, exasperated. "It's complicated. I don't have time to explain."
She blocked my way to the bathroom. "Well you had all week to explain loud and clear, but you were too busy being a total jerk."
I hesitated, not meeting her penetrating eyes. I felt guilty, not explaining to my friend about the mess I was in. God knows I've wanted to tell someone about it, be comforted, get some help. But what can they do about it? It's my burden to bear, not theirs, and who knows, it may even put them in danger. This was my problem, and mine alone, and I'm the only one who can fix it.
"Look, I'm sorry if I've been a total…bitch lately," I said slowly. "I've just been really stressful, ok? I'm not even used to acting up like this."
Her expression softened, but she continued, "Well I could help you, you know…" she stopped when I started shaking my head.
"There's nothing you can do," I said, "And even if there was, I'd rather you still not try to. Nothing good comes out of these tournaments. Trust me. I've only been to one and already I'm dealing with shit."
"But what are you gonna do, 'Zuka?" Hazuki asked, her eyes filled with anxiety. My insides felt heavy with guilt.
"…Just some unfinished business." Understanding that I wasn't gonna spill, Hazuki just nodded and let me through.
I shut the door and opened the medicine cabinet for the thousandth time. Nope. The only things there were Hazuki's stuff. I closed it with only my reflection looking back at me. I stared right back and took a deep breath.
"Asuka, girl, only we can do this. No one else. We'll get through this…"
"Hazuki, let go."
With one last squeeze, Hazuki finally let me out of her death-grip hug. I returned her grin excitedly.
"I'm gonna miss you!" Hazuki said again with her fake sob.
"Hazuki, quit acting like I'm never coming back," I joked. Then her expression turned grim.
"You better be careful, Kazama," she said sternly, "And if you don't make it to the first round, I'm gonna beat the shit out of you."
I just laughed and raised an eyebrow. "You really think you can do that?"
She just grinned and replied, "I'll just steal your Paramore CD then."
We laughed, but our laughter got lost in the incoming train's noise. I took a deep breath and turned back to Collin.
"See ya, dude," I said, playfully punching him on the shoulder.
He grinned weakly, rubbing the spot where I hit him. Oops. I don't even know my own strength.
"Yeah, I think you'll do good in the tournament," he chuckled. "Well, good-luck Zuki."
I reached over to hug him, but I think he was attempting to kiss me on the cheek or something, because somehow we were nearly knocked off balance. So we just…kind of shook each other. Awkwardly, I pulled away, running my hand through my hair.
"Well get going, Asuka!" Hazuki said, saving the strained moment and pointing to the train.
Gathering up my bags, I waved back to them all.
"Good riddance!" I shouted back at them. I took my seat and looked out the window, still waving back at them even after the train went off. When they were finally out of sight, I leaned back in my seat and plugged in my headphones.
I stared out the window once more, watching the blurred scenery pass me by. I wondered vaguely if that creepy caller knew where I was headed, or knew where I was, at this very moment. I also wondered if there would be knew competitors, and if Julia and Xiao were gonna be there. But most importantly, I wondered if I would be able to catch some sleep in the train, and hopefully if I had finally left behind that dream…
But not me. I'm not one to worry.
Another chapter out and done! Hopefully fanfiction will let me upload the whole chapter instead of part of it. But with my luck… You guys caught the references to the prequel, right? Or am I just giving you guys too much credit? C'mon…don't disappoint me… Anyone who can name each reference to it's chapter from Bring Me To Life gets an e-cookie!
And the song that our beloved Hazuki was singing: "Born For This" by Paramore. Don't own this song or the band that created it.