Intro: Special thanks to DaMastah101 and FNAFFRENZYCAT for the reviews! There'll be a Lucky Chloe subplot in the next part or so where things even more ridiculous! This happens to be the longest chapter to date at nearly 3000 words, I wonder what substances I was on (watermelon and peppermint tea) when I wrote this part! We find out why Hwoarang goes nuts and how Lili's pettiness goes out of control! Did I mention this story makes no sense at all? XD Oh well, I'm having the time of my life not knowing where this story is heading! Enjoy!


The dead silence first thing was appealing, a chance for thoughts to slowly come into ebb and flow. Claudio rubs eyes wearily in the approaching dawn, leaning on the veranda railing to let the morning air waft. Through half asleep eyes, he swears blind on seeing a pair of opera glasses crane from the hotel room a few balconies across. The owner quickly darts away, flaxen hair on the wind and the sound of a door slamming shut. Claudio blinks in disbelief, on the verge of laughing so loud, he'd wake every resident, no doubt so grateful for a rude awakening.

He resists a sly smirk.

Whatever it was could wait, there were more pressing matters at hand, like the welcoming embrace of a strong coffee.


Behind the pair of opera glasses, blue eyes work overtime to find out what this man was all about. Curiosity running rings around rationality, the thirst to know rising with each calculated blink. Lili supposed sitting on a stool in the corner of the hotel cafe was hardly the most subtle hiding spot, especially not with Lucky Chloe perched on a stool next to her, swinging her stocking clad legs childishly.

"Pssst," Lucky Chloe pats Lili's bare shoulder, "Lili-chan, genki desu ka?!"

"I'm in the middle of something."

"Whatcha doing?"

"Gaining intel," Lili looks every inch the army general sat upright, never moving an inch and poised for acquiring the target. Black was the flavor of the day, a leather skirt and lace corset combination adorning the determined blonde.

"You mean that guy you were fighting with the other day?" Chloe looks between Lili and Claudio in the far corner engrossed in a well worn paperback of some kind, "Claudio-sama, nya?"

"Ah Just remembered. Who is it?" Lili inquires, opera glasses still trained on the target, "Your first opponent in the tournament?"

"Uh," Chloe plays with her pigtails idly, "The robot-baka! Jack-7! Like, what happened to the other 6?"

"No doubt scrap metal and recycled into countless goodies!"

They giggle.

"I promise to come and watch you after I'm done," Lili breaks focus a moment, sincerely smiling at her new comrade in arms, "Good luck Chloe, that hunk of metal is no match for you."

"Arigato gozaimasu Lili-chan," Chloe beams, backflipping off her stool playfully and waves a paw her way, "Good luck with your mission!"

Back to business at hand.


Life was strange.

Claudio knew this well, ending up at the tournament on a whim and a trail. Many had asked his reasons for being here, the whys and the hows, eager to know and a prelude to small talk. The approach taken was a tight-lipped smile and nothing more. Reasons were his to hold sacred and his to hold alone. It was a natural thing to be curious and wanting to know more, human nature and all.

It wasn't that Claudio was unfriendly, just private.

Peppermint tea in one hand and La Divina Comedia in the other, he ponders life and all its infinite possibilities. The organization that sent him on this wild goose chase hadn't been for naught, the haunting presence drawing him here. One of bitterness and hate surged, explosive anger and a craving for power. Evil.

Oh such cheerful feelings, he sighs nonchalantly between a sip of tea and a blink at his book. La Divina Comedia, an epic poem of a journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. The book was battered and beaten, but still it was beloved, cradled in his grasp:

"Before me things create were none, save things

Eternal, and eternal I shall endure.

All hope abandon, ye who enter here."

With the devil gene rampant in this world, Claudio draws eyes away from the page and into his teacup, pondering all the ways the world could end before lunch. But it may not be today, or even tomorrow, or even the next day.

Life was certainly strange.

But Claudio revels in it.

Such reveries are shot dead upon the altercation of shrill squeals from the other side of the room, a brunette tugging at blonde locks, a blur of blue and black tussling in sadistic tandem with insults flying as well as the fur. Claudio bears silent witness to the flurry of blonde, slender arms suddenly shoving the brunette off in a huff on the cafe floor.

"I'll get you for interfering Asuka Kazama!"

Biker boots scuttle off in extreme displeasure and out the door, leaving said girl in a heap on the floor seething. Claudio, ever the gallant gentleman, arrives on the scene, offering a hand to the fallen, "Are you alright?"

Asuka heartily grasps his hand with a cocky nod, "Nothing I can't handle! The bitch is crazy!"

On that note, Claudio's gaze is adverted to the floor, quizzically frowning.

For it it was a pair of discarded opera glasses.


First Asuka.

Now Hwoarang!

Lili seethes much like her rival earlier, in the aftermath in Lucky Chloe's predictably successful match against Jack-7, that stupid jerk had the audacity to play such a juvenile prank on her, Emilie de Rochefort. Not to mention completely wasting creativity with the oldest trick in the book, the ol' bucket and water concoction. Lili had been the unfortunate victim, walking right into a geyser of water and the sound of Hworang descending into hysterics, arm poised in acquiring a high five from anyone present. Steve looks on sympathetically from between Paul and Law pulling faces.

The wet blonde stalks outside, the echo of inane laughter on her ears and vengeance surges.

The nerve of him.

Ah. What do we have here...?

Impulse spikes within for here stands Hwoarang's pride and joy, his precious motorbike. The imbecile, in his all his infinite wisdom, had left the key on the seat, evidently in a rush of some kind. Not wise. Perfectly sums up that redheaded ruffian! Vengeful delight explodes and the girl feels a sadistic smile tug from ear to ear. We'll see how he likes messing with me!

Circling around this hunk of junk like a cat to prey, palms clasp the handles as she mounts the bike with obstinate resolution.

"Not your finest idea."

Dismay and incredulity turns Lili's heated gaze to the source of the voice. Claudio emerges, coolly approaching the less than currently reasonable Monegasque draped on the vehicle, conversation abruptly eclipsed by a rattle of a key and the roar of ignition, "You."

"That's hardly polite," the taller male tuts, "Or safe!"

"I'm not a child."

Claudio bites his tongue, raising a brow at the hilarity of that statement and silently joins Lili on the passenger, earning a less than impressed gasp of unenthusiastic disapproval. Ignoring such things, they're almost inches apart now. "Somebody has to make sure you don't crash, let along what Hot Air will think when he finishes up his pièce de résistance. I'm sure he'll be delighted."

"Shut up!"

Claudio's arms encircle Lili's waist, "Well? Are you driving? I guess the important question is, can you even drive?" Glowering and muttering under her breath, Lili shuffles from Claudio's smug grip and switches positions, a hint of reckless abandon in her tone.

"Drive!"

The ignition roars and the twosome are soon out of sight when Hwoarang is alerted by the sound, furiously screaming in his native tongue maddeningly, furtively giving chase. The likelihood of man outrunning machine fast out of reach when Paul and Law shriek with howling laughter, doubling up on the floor as Hwoarang's explosive temper is fast seeping out, stitches apart in sheer upset about his precious as Claudio and Lili are probably breaking a lot of road laws all the while.

Lucky Chloe peeks out of her hotel room at the crazy spectacle, giggling behind a palm.

Manically giggling despite the enigmatic dislike she feels for the driver, Lili nevertheless tightens arms around the sturdy Italian as Hwoarang's motorbike cuts through the colorful city like a scythe parting neon waves.

Petty, but thrilling.


"You are truly reckless ragazza," Claudio mock scolds when they finally stop beside a lake to take in the twilight air, watching Lili flip back her windswept waist length locks flippantly, adrenaline pumping through her system.

"Nonetheless, it was fun."

Claudio folds his arms with a slight sigh, "I take it you're accustomed to being driven around Miss Lili. That and your tendency to overreact."

"What?"

"Hot Wheels is going to raise hell when you face the music eventually."

"I can deal with a halfwit like Hwoarang!" Lili crosses arms huffily, "Okay. So I overreacted to this minor detail." Upon biting her lower lip, arms uncross and clasp behind her leather clad behind, "Make that overly overreacted."

"You have an affinity to that."

"From the five minutes we've spoken you dare judge me?!" Lili watches Claudio's hand plunge into his pocket, rummaging casually as he dispenses an item familiar to her wide eyes. Glimmering gold under the glare of the sun in twilight, Lili registers the opera glasses with a deadpan blink.

"My powers are observation are with me Emilie," he relishes using her name with raised brows, "So it was you. Quite the nuisance aren't you?" Eyes outlined with purple eyeshadow narrow clearly rattled at being caught out, soon Claudio dangles the object in a gloved hand prompting her to cock her head aside, nose in the air with haughty aplomb. "So signorina, were you spying on me?"

Beyond rattled, the blonde scoffs, "You think you're something special, don't you Claudio? You really are arrogant if you don't think twice about your accusations."

"You've been very testy," Claudio observes her obvious discomfort, "I don't believe you're a spy, no that would be too transparent seeing as you tend to stare at me in plain sight. You would make a terrible spy for the record."

Lili glowers in immense silence.

"Though you have calculating machinations," he resumes, eyes on his unwilling listener, "Playing Gang Mediator in order to get a rise from your fellow competitor with a grand, elaborate scheme is quite a long-winded manner to get your own way. So says Asuka Kazama anyway..."

Lili pulls a displeased face, "That meddling little rat talks too much!"

"Now," Claudio advances on Lili calmly, "Why were you spying on me?" Now he had her. Perhaps an answer at last or vague evasion, sidestepping away from the query, a dance of duck and dodge. Lili, for all her talk, was at a loss for words, a rare feat for the blonde.

"I can't explain it."

"No?" he raises a brow cynically, gauging her sincerity, "Not even in so many words?"

"I could ask you the same," she stubbornly parries with a hand on her hip, "Why were you staring too?"

"Ah, that game. Va bene," he circles Lili with a nod, "I wonder what your issue is."

"Issue?" Lili echoes, brow knitted.

"With me. You seem to have sparked a one-woman vendetta against me. I wonder why, it's kind of funny really."

"Hilarious I'm sure."

"Seriously cara," he says airily, "Is spilt tea the straw that breaks your back? You're pretty petty to hold such a grudge, and yet, people hold them for much less. From the beginning of mankind to the bitter kind, man will clutch at reasons to fight."

"I don't have to answer to you Claudio."

He chuckles dryly, clapping slowly as eyes alight with amusement. "You're right. You don't have to do anything." Lili turns in his direction, features illuminated by the setting sun as his attention turns elsewhere, deep in thought. "You know the world could end anytime." Sidetracked by his change of topic, the blonde squints skeptically. "Incredible that each moment could be our last." Quizzically watching Claudio sit on the motorbike seat slide into a more pensive skin, he relaxes into his own thoughts as a dumbfounded Lili bears silent witness.

"It's a strange world we live in, but that's how I like it."

What is he babbling about?

"This tournament could be the last thing we ever do," Claudio blinks at his bandages, "So let's make the most of it, si?"

"What do you mean?" Lili's eyes fall on his arm, "You're not making sense."

"All in good time, you'll see."

She joins him on the motorbike, legs dangling at she glances her shoelaces. "What's your story then?"Her gaze trails up this enigmatic man's face, sunset rays making Lili take closer notice of his features for perhaps the first time without binoculars. When devoid of a cocky one liner or two (one of the few times he would shutup, she snarks) , he was actually...

Lili shuts away such unwanted thoughts, embarrassment obscured by light bangs as she patiently awaits an answer. Ruffling back dark hair in prolonged silence, Claudio sighs deeply, clicking his tongue idly, "It's a long one, longer than the average bedtime story."

"Most life stories are."

"Don't I know it."

Lili senses Claudio won't elaborate further, privately curious why he entered the tournament to begin with let alone how not a soul knew of his intentions. He didn't appear to be a Mishima lapdog nor a G-Corporation whelp, no he's someone else entirely. Yet incredibly, she restrains raging curiosity and banks on discovering all in good time.

Face the music indeed.

"What the fuck?!"

Upon their return, they're unlucky enough to bump into a sleepless Hwoarang with Steve, raging and losing sleep over his true love in machine form. Claudio descends from the motorbike with Lili in tow, face to face with the raging Korean.

"I should have known," Hwoarang stomps towards Lili, "You took it!"

Lili's words are cut off by Claudio who stands in her path, "It was me."

"You?!"

"Yes, I saw your keys were in the ignition. Well," he shrugs nonchalantly, "you see Lili was trying to stop me..."

"You..." Hwoarang looks towards Steve mouthing who is this guy, "You took my beloved?!"

"How could I resist a beautiful creature like that?"

Claudio witnesses the rage surge in Hwoarang who promptly retorts to the defilement of his sacred motor with a savage punch to the Italian's nose, Steve jumping into action to restrain the heated bundle of moron, screaming and hollering. "Alright mate!" Steve coos, "Save it for the tourney! Look! She's back safe an' sound!" Descending into less than stellar insults in his native tongue, Hwoarang is dragged by Steve towards his vehicle, which was happily intact - luckily for Claudio that is, who would be exposed to further, more dire consequences had damage been done.


"I'm so sorry," Lili sincerely shakes her head, dabbing at Claudio's bloody nose with a handkerchief, "I didn't mean to cause you trouble."

"It's just a scratch," he flippantly shrugs, "I suppose I should be more cautious of the company I keep in the future. But the company could be much worse."

"Hwoarang is a tad overzealous, not quite accustomed to manners."

"I can see that, aside from my life flashing before my eyes that is," Claudio remarks with a smirk, gingerly dismissing further assistance, "I'll be fine. Grazie." Satisfied with stopping the bleeding, Lili nods and withdraws her bloodstained cloth with a whistle. "He got me good, didn't he?"

"He may be well versed in babble, but he hits hard."

"He really lives up to his name, Hot Air."

"Hot Air with his Hot Wheels."

They smile in unison for perhaps the first time ever, mutual kinship in this moment.

"Why did you lie Claudio? I can fight my own battles."

"Oh I'm aware of that," he remarks, "You can take care of yourself."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know. But I did, didn't I? For whatever reason, I took a hit for you."

"Thank you. I suppose I owe you."

"There is something you can do for me," Claudio rubs at the soreness of his nose, "Let me keep the opera glasses in hope you keep your eyes to yourself in future. In a strange way, had you not been staring then none of this would have happened." Lili is at once puzzled. "In other words, stay out of trouble, va bene?"

Lili mischievously smiles, "I can't promise that. I overreact, remember?"

"Don't worry. I've seen worse. You're a passionate young lady at best and a drama queen pest at worst. From what I already know that is," Claudio's eyes flash with humor, leaning back on the seat comfortably.

"I was feeling my ego inflate at "passionate" and deflate at "drama queen"," she elbows the Italian playfully, the uptightness evidently sliding away little by little.

"So your ego has reset. Nothing gained and nothing lost."

"Are you always this...?"

"Interfering?"

"Well yes, but I mean, do you always have the last word?"

Claudio ponders with a finger tapping his chin, "I have the first, the second, the third..."

Lili rolls her eyes, "That's a yes then. Just be careful with your words, you may make some more enemies."

"I'll keep that in mind," Claudio stands upright stooping to Lili's level and takes her slender hand, raising it to his lips for a light peck, "Buona notte Lili."

The blonde bats lashes in stunned amazement, echoing, "Buona notte."

As he leaves to ascend the stairs, Claudio takes one last look at Lili lost in her own thoughts for the night, amazed at the last few bewildering hours they had spent together, bickering and otherwise. Granted Hwoarang would replace Lili's glances of disdain tomorrow morning.

That didn't change the fact things were certainly getting interesting around here.


Outro: Oh Claudio! You like her, don't you?! You charming exorcist you! But will Claudio ever confide in Lili about his reasons at being at the tournament? Will Hwoarang get over it and move on with his motorbike back in one piece! Where's Jin?! Will Lucky Chloe be back with a ridiculous subplot to annoy the masses?! Thanks for reading xox