A/N: Hey, everyone! Here's chapter 2. This reminds me, when I started this story, Famitsu's sneak peek on the background stories of new characters wasn't out. When it was, I had to readjust Josie and Chloe's past. Good thing it didn't affect the story too much. Anyway, I think I set too many transitions in this chapter… One more chapter left to completion!
The next morning, we drove through the shortest, clearest, and safest path to Mishima Corporation hoping that during daylight we won't be attacked by people tracking us down, especially that some roads are very narrow in Japan. I left JJ a note to tell him where we're going and promised that we'll finish the last mission even if our contracts have expired. Josie-chan parked the stolen car (JJ's rundown van was too suspicious) in a space rental unit near the corp. building. As we walked up to the entrance and saw many people in the lobby of the building, we stopped for a moment and tried to reconsider our options.
"You ready?" Josie-chan asked me, nervous.
"Let's do this!" I answered cheerfully, letting the sunlight hit my exposed arms without my cat-themed bolero jacket. The cold air inside the building filled me with instant regret, but for Josie-chan, I'd do anything.
Guides asked us if we were here for the tournament invitation, and they ushered us to "Modern 50." They said it was part of the new zaibatsu standards. It was rows of fifty seats for the invited fighters in the lobby before they were oriented for joining. We waited there for a few more minutes before a woman in corporate attire started the orientation.
"Welcome, fighters, to Mishima Corporation. As you may all know, a new term for the King of Iron Fist Tournament will be opening soon. In the past, the heads of this company would personally check the profiles of the potential candidates to join the tournament and when invited, they can just show up. Since the last five years, there have been more people who wanted to join the fights, but a lot of contenders failed to meet the expectations of the company. That means managing their track records was a big waste of money and time. We, therefore, developed a new screening system with the planning board to tighten standards and make the recruitment system more effective." She turned the projector on and kept explaining.
"If we do not screen our contenders, the fighting reputation of Mishima Zaibatsu will turn into a joke. By the time this orientation is over, you, the Modern 50, will be transferred to Mishima Fighters' Coordinating Agency. It's somehow like training camp, but is more like hell so we can filter out unqualified fighters. You will be the first batch to be tested. There will be four phases of entering…all of which, I will not be telling you because you are expected to be best prepared for anything that may happen during screening. That would be all for now. If you are not sure about this, leave now because we won't be letting anyone out once the program starts." No one left their seat, and the woman smiled in confidence.
"Okay, then. Good luck, maggots! The bus outside will transfer you to the agency."
We joined the wave of people and flocked outside the building. We tried to look less suspicious as possible, which was very difficult for me. I wanted to strap my samurai sword with a Hello Kitty sheath on my back, but Josie didn't allow me to bring it along. It was a tedious, annoying line before we got in the bus. We were last in line. I could've started the screening then and there, beating up 'dem slow asses. It wasn't a vacation! What the hell were they so slow for, their baggage?
My bird-nest-haired baby didn't say a word the entire trip to the agency. When we got there, men wearing tekken force uniforms escorted everyone inside the big dome-shaped facility. Phase One of the program started fast.
Inside a large open court, all fighters were interviewed. They asked us about our backgrounds, experiences, accomplishments—anything that would be helpful in checking if we can qualify for the tournament. They asked really challenging questions, some of it were very insensitive, but Josie-chan and I were able to make it. I wasn't with her the whole time and she was the only one on my mind. After the first screening, only thirty fighters remained. For the next hour, we were given time to rest and prepare for Phase Two, the endurance test.
We were given a training room for us to stay and practice in. Josie-chan was in a different room and I saw her go inside with another guy.
"Look at her face getting too comfortable with that guy. She must be all over him right now," I thought to myself as I jealously stared at her from across the hall. I pouted and puffed my cheeks a little like I usually do when I'm mad at her.
"Okay ladies, this is your room," our usher gave us the code for this room. I'm staying with a woman in our training room. Her skin is almost like Josie-chan's, and she had beautiful hair that she let down. She was beautiful and looked tough with her shades and nice body curves. She was so—
"Excuse me," she ruined my thought, "is everything okay? Why are you staring at my butt?"
"Oh- I- well…" I looked down on the floor "Sorry. I'm not really used to being with new people in a room…"
"I'm Katarina. You?" she took a glass and a bottle of wine from the cupboard.
"Chloe. Lucky Chloe." She giggled at my name.
"Is that really your name?"
"No. I don't really tell people my real name when I don't need to."
"You Japanese or something?"
"No…"
"Okay."
She sat on the middle of the bed and enjoyed herself, while I worried about what Josie-chan was doing. So, I went to her room and knocked like an idiot since I don't really know how to call people on the other side of a future-y door. When Josie-chan's roommate opened the door, I asked for her and he let me in. I saw her warming up against a training bag, punching and kicking it hard.
"Rizal-san," I said, "would you like to go for a walk with me and 'tour around'?" I crooked my fingers.
"Nope. Can't. Must focus." She didn't even look at me! I'll try next time.
"Fine." I said, warning her and stormed off.
I went back to my room, lied down and waited until the hour was over. Then, the speaker in our room played a bell tune and a male voice spoke.
"All fighters gather in Survival Studies Lab. Phase two will begin shortly."
The lab didn't look like a lab at all. It was like a gym simulating natural obstacles. We were assigned numbers to see who goes first. Josie-chan rushed to me and gave me a pat on my shoulder.
"Hey, Chloe," she smiled, "what number did you get?"
"Thirty-four," I answered hiding my shy face a little. "How about you?"
"Forty. I guess you're going first. Well, good luck!" she went back to her line but I grabbed her hand.
"Matte kudasai! Wait! Please give me a hug before you go…"
"Oh, sure." She embraced me tight without hesitation and I savored her warmth…and her breasts against mine...before we separated again.
The second phase started. It was a lot harder and painful. Good thing that although I didn't have the strength, I was very flexible. I had to climb walls, break through stuff, got hit with volleyballs on my face and my backside and the rest is a fuzzy memory of a nightmare I don't want to recall. I can't believe Josie-chan finished earlier than me, though. She really is a tough nut to crack. The end of the day marked the end of the second screening, and twenty fighters remained. After all this, I went to the showers and went to sleep never being so tired in my life.
"…so, this means the remaining contenders will take down each other before we continue to the final phase!" a man with silvery-white hair wearing a tuxedo announced intimidating everyone. A big commotion broke out early in the morning, the next day. The third phase, he said, involves the remaining twenty to fight each other and eliminate their assigned opponent out of the tournament's entry. There were no holds barred; whether you're fat or thin, a woman or a man, had formal martial arts training or not, you're going to fight whoever the program assigns to you.
"Oh, and before I forget, only ten of you can stay after phase three," The white-haired guy stopped halfway before leaving the auditorium. "I hope you'll all be…excellent."
I held my partners arm firmly and buried my face on her shoulder. "Oh no, Josie-chan. what are we gonna do? I don't want to fight you."
"Don't worry," she smiled sadly, "I'm sure I'll get in."
"Because you know you won't be fighting me?" I assumed with sparkling eyes.
"No," she withdrew in disbelief, "because even if we did fight, I know you're gonna let me win."
"Josie-chan!" I sulked, threw her arm down to her lap and slapped her shoulder repeatedly and groaned.
"I'm kidding," she said, blocking my slaps with her hand and laughed at my internal crisis. "But seriously, though. I need that prize money." The air turned heavy and serious. "Fine," I took a little maturity inside, "whatever happens, happens." We nodded and headed to the Combat Research Lab which, again, didn't look like one. It had a circle arena with bulletproof glass for a wall. Moments later I could breathe relaxed since I won't be fighting Josie-chan after all. The next part, however, was very unsettling. Women were getting beat up bad easily by men and the other way around. Some suffered serious injury, and a guy got kicked really hard in the head the organizers fear he might die.
Some fighters were very impressive, though. Katarina was a kicking machine and took down her opponent fast. There was this "jazzy" guy who rarely closed his fist to hit his challenger, and he was a bit weird for someone so attractive. When Josie was called next, I seized her hand and signaled for a hug. Everyone was looking at us and Josie sighed.
"Not now." She brushed my hands off and went in the arena. I had no words to deal with what she just did. She went inside that glass wall without looking back, emotionless and cold. Josie-chan was up against some guy who looks like an MMA fighter, but he didn't look as determined as her. When the fight started, she took steps back little by little. I knew what she was doing. She used this against me before when we were sparring and it was killer. Her opponent was able to throw her a few hits in the face, but Josie-chan was building up to something. When her back was almost close to the wall, the MMA fighter threw more powerful hits but she arched her back so that her head evaded the attacks, and at the right timing her back sprung forward and gave the other fighter a hooking punch to the ribs.
The crowd of violent people cheered loud. Josie-chan's enemy flinched in pain but when he was about to fall down, she did a low left kick followed by a high right one to keep him standing. He took steps back this time and Josie left-elbowed him in the face and finished him off with a spinning left front kick. Her opponent hit the wall hard and was knocked out. The fight was over fast. She walked out of the lab and disappeared. I was called to fight next. I was terrified at the perverted face of the skinhead middle-aged man I was about to face.
The fright meant nothing to me when I recall how mad I am at Josie-chan. She didn't even stay to watch me fight. In a fit of rage, I attacked first. I ran to him, did a handstand to lock his head and I threw him to the other side of the arena using my legs. He tried to get up but I swung my left foot in a circle and hit his head which left my back turned. I noticed he was getting weak and let him stand up. I waited for him to attack me and when he did, I California-rolled him, scissor-kicked him in the stomach and sprung up to kick him in the face. As I was standing on my feet again, I saw my enemy bleeding and unconscious. Maybe I was angrier than I thought. When the glass wall slid down, I stepped out of the lab as well.
I was alone in our room, quietly tearing up. I decided I would give up on Josie-chan. I thought it would be selfish not to. Besides, I'm way out of her league anyway. She's too busy with her ambitions. I wiped my tears, fixed myself and went outside to meet new people…and try to forget my problem with Josie-chan.
I reached the end of the hall and took a right turn, but before I got to the lounge I saw that jazzy guy from the fight in the pantry. He was kicking the vending machine.
"Jazzy guy! Hey!" I called bubbly as he seemed my type. "Watcha doin'?"
"Who? Me?" he asked skeptically but his accent may have confused me. His eyebrows furrowed.
"Of course you! What's your name?" He ignored me and kept kicking the vending machine. I looked down to where he was kicking and asked, "Are you trying to break the glass or something?"
"No!" he lashed out and kicked harder. "I want pasta right now, but there's none in the cabinets," I turned my head to where the cupboards were and saw all of it broken, "then I saw the pasta roll in this stupid tin can. I paid for it but my snack didn't drop. NOW I CAN'T GET IT!"
I gently moved him aside, enduring the deadly glares he gave me when I did. I tapped the part of the glass where the pasta roll was stuck and it fell down. I gloated at him.
"You're welcome." I was about to walk away but stopped.
"I'm Claudio."
"Ooh, Italian?" I stared at him shyly.
"Si."
"Oh… well, see you later then." I wasn't really sure about him. Again, I was stopped from leaving.
"Wait!" he gripped my elbow hard. "I'm not hungry for pasta roll anymore," he dragged me and pressed my hands above my head against the vending machine, "now I'm hungry for you." He squeezed my breasts with one hand and bound my arms with the other.
"Hey! What the f-" I was cut off when his lips attacked mine. I struggled violently and screamed but he was too strong. I was afraid and furious at the same time. This bastard took my first kiss! I wasn't ready for a relationship with a psychotic pasta guzzler! And just when I thought the walls of my virginity were about to fall in ruins, a flying kick slammed his head into one of the broken cupboards.
"Come on!" Josie-chan carried me off bridal-style and rushed me to a safer part of the lounge. I was shaken and confused. I closed my eyes, and they weren't able to draw the line between releasing tears or holding it back. She put me down standing in a corner as we pant after the rush. Josie stared at me angrily filled with slight disgust.
"You just can't hold yourself back, can you?" she spat.
"What are you talking about?! I'm the victim here!"
"I find that hard to believe." She crossed her arms. "You probably led him straight to you with your tiny, sissy brain."
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I stomped my foot. "All I did was help Claudio get pasta roll! How was I supposed to know he had a fetish for blond pasta-haired girls?"
"'Claudio'? Oh, you know each other now?" Josie sighed and shook her head. "Oh my god, Chloe. Don't think for a second I'm buying your story with your 'fetish' talk, you bimbo."
The second I heard that last word, I slapped her so strong she fell on the floor and we managed to make a scene. This time, I cried for real. The tears were pushed out by sorrow, hopelessness and pain kept inside for quite some time now.
"So it finally came out of you." I said between sobs. "I'm nothing but a stupid, brainless distraction to you."
"That's not what I—"
"No! Shut up!" I yelled. "You said our contracts are almost over. Fine by me! I don't want anything to do with you anymore! I'm gonna win that tournament just so you'll never make your dreams come true!" I ran away and turned to her one last time.
"JOSIE-CHAN NO BAKA!"
The helicopter was almost at the forest reserve. We were dressed in Tekken Force Uniform without the helmet. I was just sitting across the titmonster and I tried my best not to look at her, although I knew she looked at no one BUT me. This is the final phase of the entry program and we were about to go against the troops of the Tekken Force. In the auditorium, we were instructed that for Phase Four we have to capture four red flags in the middle of a godforsaken jungle. Only four people can officially enter the King of Iron Fist Tournament for the first batch. But before that happens, we have to trust our instincts to navigate our way to the flags. The challenge? Tekken Force members will be falling from trees and choppers to fight us and if we get knocked out, we can no longer join the tournament.
Our helicopter landed safely on open ground and the ten of us stepped out. I put on my purple kitty bolero jacket and no one seemed to mind. We had to wait for the organizers to signal us when the final phase starts. I looked around feeling uneasy and when my eyes turned to my side, the titmonster was next to me. I quickly moved away and searched for someone else to talk to. So, I spotted a guy with nice hair.
"Hello, you have really nice hair—" I ran back to where I was as fast as I can when I found out it was Claudio with a black eye. I'm never going near that freak again. I can feel my ex-partner grinning at what happened. I faced the other direction, pouted and puffed my cheeks a little yet again.
"Chloe?" Josie-chan was starting a conversation.
"Save it." I flipped her off. "I don't want to hear anything from you."
A loud siren went off and everyone ran to all parts of the forest. I panicked and didn't know what was going on when I recognized it to be the indicator for the start of the final phase. I followed the other fighters. There were like five of us brushing through branches and leaves and when we found an open path, Tekken Force soldiers were already darting towards us. I jumped in the fight first. I ran fast towards the enemies, did a side flip and slammed my left foot against one of them in the head. Things got ugly quick as it turned into a brawl. Three contenders left us in the fight to move forward. I was disappointed to find out I was left with Josie-chan.
"What are you still doing here?" my voice cracked as I palmed men against giant fallen logs.
"What do you think?" she smiled confidently at me, "I'm helping you, of course."
"You're only doing this because you feel guilty about what happened." I grabbed one of them and kicked him to Josie-chan but she kneed him in the head.
"Well, how else are you supposed to say sorry to people?" She was getting more aggressive in the fight.
"Typical adult thinking." I wept. "So pathetic."
"Oh yeah?!" she challenged, "I'm gonna make you eat your words after this!" I heard bones cracking and guys screaming and crying in pain.
We defeated this Tekken Force unit and moved forward. The situation calmed down and we got deeper in the forest. A few minutes later, more soldiers in different uniform colors fell down from trees without warning. This unit was stronger than the last one and these men and women ganged up on us. I was still with Josie-chan and it's not because I want to, she won't leave me alone. I beat the front team easily with a one-two punch followed by a two-hit spinning arms attack, but a woman kicked the back of my knee and dropped down on it. She almost back-fisted my head but Josie-chan knocked her unconscious and threw her body at the enemies. She tried helping me up, but I refused.
"I'd rather be eliminated than take help from you." I pushed her away. We got surrounded and ended up pressing our backs against each other. We unleashed hell upon them and Josie-chan took the chance.
"Chloe, I'm sorry for what I said yesterday." She apologized between punches and kicks. "I was only worried because you do the flirting all the time, acting cute. I got mad that you were putting yourself in danger without me knowing about it."
"Don't flatter yourself," my Japanese accent warned. "Stop using that excuse to act like the cliché jealous boyfriend."
"Uh! Maybe I wouldn't worry so much if you'd think about things more before you do them."
"You know what I think?" I picked up a long thick branch and hit three guys on their sides, "You call me an idiot but in fact, you're the one who's actually stupid between us."
She stopped and scoffed, confused. "How come?"
"Because I'm in love with you and you probably don't know anything about it!"
"What?" she said, surprised but still continued to fight. "What the hell? Really?"
"See?" I took a short rest on a log and watched her take down the remaining soldiers. "For most of the time we've been together I was doing things to let you know how I….felt for you." Oddly, I was brave saying this.
"…That? Women do that all the time!" she threw the last punch and we started running.
We didn't speak about anything for half an hour and just kept running to find the flags. We were out of trouble's sight for long before we saw a red flag up ahead. As an ultimate sight to be a fighter in the King of Iron Fist we tried to outrun each other to catch it. I was about to grab it with my paw but Josie-chan tackled me aside and fell down.
"That hurt, you bitch!" I barked at her after snatching my chance to enter the tournament. Then, for the first time I saw her crying. She dropped on her knees embracing the flag, and celebrated the future that awaits her through this small piece of cloth stuck on a stick. She smiled brightly and looked at me with her eyes filled with tears along with a mix of victory, happiness, longing, and hope.
"Sorry, Chloe. I really am," she chuckled, "but I really did it. I'm a step closer to my dreams!"
My face turned hot and I mean H-O-T, "hot!" I just made Josie cry…and I liked it! I can't explain this feeling. I wanted to see more of this.
"Oh no you don't!" I got up and ran even deeper in the forest. Ten minutes later I came back to Josie-chan and rubbed another red flag on her face. She was stunned and I'm guessing also threatened.
"How the heck did—"
"Closer-to-my-dreams my boobs!" I waved the flag annoyingly to her face, "Ha-ha! I can still destroy your dreams!" I turned my back on her and faked evil laughs just to see her cry again…but she didn't. Instead, she just leaned forward and gave me a hug from behind. The walls I built to keep her outside were destroyed.
A second siren went off and a male voice announced that the entry program was now completed and he congratulated all four fighters that will be joining the tournament. String ladders from choppers above rolled down to us to pick everyone up. We were brought back to the Mishima Fighters' Coordinating Agency for a rest and to leave the training grounds on our own as legitimate fighters of the seventh King of Iron Fist Tournament. People packed their stuff and cleaned themselves. On my way out of our room, I congratulated Katarina for being able to join us and walked down the hall. I stopped when I remembered I haven't explored the building yet, so I went to the balcony of the top floor. I put my bag down and looked at the stars as they became more visible during sunset. A voice called me from behind.
"Hey, Chloe. Congratulations." It was Josie-chan. She joined me in the balcony and put her gym bag down.
"Thanks." I answered thriftily.
"So," she propped her elbows on the edge of the balcony, "why did you really want to join the tournament?"
"I told you already," I replied half-irritated and turned my head away, "I'm gonna crush your dreams to dust."
"Pssh!" she jeered. "You just want to stalk me because you like me."
I twisted my neck to her direction and shot her daggers with my eyes. She hopped backwards to fighting stance.
"Wanna fight?" she dared me.
I wiped the horrible look on my face and sighed. "Well, maybe I did just want to be with you."
She lowered her defenses and went closer to me.
"LC, remember when you said I was stupider than you?"
"Oh my god, please don't do this!" I thought to myself. It was so embarrassing. "Y-Yeah?" I stuttered.
"Well," Josie-chan rubbed the back of her neck with her hand, "that may not be entirely true."
I furrowed my eyebrows on her. What was she up to? Was she looking for a fight again? She was smirking awkwardly.
"You better not be taunting me again," I told her, "I swear I'm gonna push you off the building right here, right now."
"Uh…" she was quiet for seconds when we heard a faint voice.
We stared at each other. We heard it again. I was shifting my head around to find where it was coming from. When it happened again, I was able to make out the voice was saying "hey!" I looked down the building, only to be surprised.
"Sourberry-san?!" I tugged at Josie-chan's baggy sleeves, "Look!"
"Shoot!" she palmed her face. "I forgot about that research we stole from our last heist."
We carried our bags and dashed into an elevator. Once we were out of the building, we met Sourberry-san already inside his new escape van.
"You better have an excuse for this," he scolded us. "Where have you both been? I've been looking for you for three days!"
"Sorry, JJ." Josie-chan searched her bag and handed him the only copy of the research. "Here. I found a better offer in this corporation so I took off as soon as I was invited."
Sourberry-san kept the copy inside his case. "Why is Chloe with you, then?"
"Oh, I didn't drag her with me. She wanted to follow me because she likes—OW!" I slapped her stomach.
Before Sourberry-san could react, we heard gunshots coming from a black car. It was the guys from the company we stole the research from. Bullets hit the van and sparks triggered our adrenaline.
"Get in!" JJ opened the sliding door. And just like that, we were back to right where we started: being chased be company dogs for stealing information. We ducked inside his new van.
"What the hell, JJ!" Josie-chan complained. "I thought our contracts were over?"
"No, it's gonna be over tomorrow." He struggled with the steering wheel as guys in the black car shot down the side mirror. "Have you really been reading the terms and conditions?"
"Well, maybe we would have if it wasn't fifty pages long." I protested.
"No kidding, right?" he agreed. He took a sharp right turn and I fell on top of Josie-chan. I hugged her firmly. She tried to push me off but I only embraced her tighter.
"Get off me, Chloe!"
"Just a little longer." I begged.
"CHLOE!"
"Right! Yes." I got off her. We opened the gun box and found new sets of fully loaded arsenal. We opened the backdoor of the van and fired away. Those company dogs were persistent, even after we shattered their windshield. JJ drove faster to stall us time to reload, which I was having a hard time again because of my kitty paws. Josie-chan took the long-range continuous-firing gun but it didn't stop them.
"Damn it, Josie!" JJ slammed his hand on the steering wheel. "I thought you were a better shot than Chloe, you titmonster."
Josie-chan did a big, long gasp and slowly turned her head to Sourberry-san. Uh-oh.
"Where did you learn that word?" my partner asked in clenched jaws.
"From Chloe. We use it all the time to talk about you behind your back." Josie-chan aimed her gun at the windshield of JJ's van and shattered it. The van swerved violently but was controlled.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Sourberry-san yelled.
"Shut up!" she snapped. "And you!" she glared at me and I smirked guiltily. I tried to find something to distract her then I picked up something that looks like a toy gun. I asked Sourberry-san what it was. He said it was an experimental plasma shooter the organization developed. He warned me not to use it but I still did anyway. A blue beam came out of the plasma shooter and the black car chasing us blew up to…well, almost nothing! It was like the black car just evaporated to thin air. We were left wondering what was going on.
"The fuck just happened?" I asked, confused. Sourberry-san stopped the van and we got out to check. He took the shooter from me and slapped my hands. He inspected the shooter.
"Good. The shooter works. I better get back to the organization and report this." He went back to the van to fix his stuff. Josie-chan faced me with her left hand on her waist.
"'Titmonster'?" she asked sarcastically.
I looked away and played with my fingers. After that, the last thing I remember was a fist coming towards my face. Everything went black.
A/N: Chapter 3 is sexy time! (although I'm not sure whether everyone would be pleased because of some dark themes…or maybe most? Gaah! What the hell, LET'S JUST GO FOR IT!). Please be wary of warnings in the next part. SEE YA'!