As I mentioned in the first part for convenience I thought spliting Raison D'etre into two parts would be much easier for future readers! Those of you who are new, this was once lumped into one chapter that was over 7,000 words. That's too much and requires a lot of attention to read, if you're like me you'll lose interest. This is part of my renovation of The Purity of Cursed Blood. Anyway I hope this helps and I sincerely hope whoever is reading this enjoys! Thanks!

RAISON D'ETRE

-PART 2-

The young Kazama siblings spent the next two days resting their weary bodies from air trave,l but on the third day Kazue grew restless and couldn't bare being in the hotel suite any longer. The young woman wanted to go out, be free, have fun as well as explore a bit of the country she was in. She wanted to experience South Korea to get a feel for it - and see what the people were like for herself. She didn't want to rely on her grandfather's words and unfair judgments of a country and of a people she knew nothing about.

Even though the older Kazama spoke the language quite well she had never been to Korea and was eager to learn more. In actuality Kazue wanted to learn Korean because the other language options at Mishima Polytechnic never peaked her interest other than English, so she chose both that as well as the former to study.

As she furthered her learning of the Korean language, she found it to be one of intrigue, yet it had a certain complexity to it, a beautiful yet different sort of elegance. It had its own flow of grace but could change quickly and turn into something so forceful and guttural while still holding its beauty.

The young woman rummaged through her suitcase and found a casual outfit to wear; it wasn't too fancy - more on the cute side yet still carried a bit of sophistication.

After dressing and pulling her long hair up into a messy yet fashionable ponytail, Kazue set out to gather a bag to carry her essentials things like her passport, wallet, camera, compact mirror, and of course, lightly tinted chap stick. The Kazama never thought lipstick suited her - and she didn't like the way it felt on her lips.

Once that was done she decided to head to her brother's room and invite him along, but he protested each time she tried to wake him, saying something groggily about needing more rest before Grandfather started up with his training again.

Sighing to herself yet smiling at how unruly her little brother still was even at the age of 19, Kazue tucked him back in tenderly then gathered her things for her adventure into Seoul. Before she left, she made sure to touch base with Heihachi just to let him know she was going out to avoid his wrath later if she hadn't informed him of her departure.

The Elder had already left for the day to deal with other Zaibatsu business, the young woman recalled her grandfather saying he would be gathering with the board of directors. This meeting was to discuss the conglomerates future endeavors in the hotel conference room on the ground floor, near the lobby. So, the young woman set out downstairs to tell one of the Tekken Force suits standing outside of the room to kindly send word to her grandfather that she would be out for the day and would return before dinner.

Notification of where she and her brother were – it was to be was one of the requirements that he had with the cubs. The agreement was to let him know whenever they would leave and when they would be back, but if he weren't notified of their whereabouts, swift punishments would be handed out for failure of compliance.

Kazue knew that telling one of the soldiers, of the Zaibatsu's privatized military and security force, where she was going rather than interrupting the meeting would be her safest option. Heihachi hated meetings to be interrupted with what he called 'pointlessness' and 'unnecessary' matters. Therefore, he always warned that if that were to happen the result would be a swift punishment in private afterward.

Once the oppressive matter that was a requirement of her tyrannical caretaker, Kazue stepped out into the fresh air of the Korean morning's welcoming warm winds. The young woman instantly felt relief from the constricting and near suffocating atmosphere that was the Mishima Elder. The aura he gave off always seemed to follow him wherever he went, it was the very embodiment of who he was – his true nature. It had been a long time since the older Kazama had a day just to herself and she was enjoying the walk - embarking in the direction of a nearby coffee shop down the street from her accommodation.

As she approached the brightly colored shopfront with a cutesy cat character sat outside welcoming customers, the smell of freshly baked pastries and flavored coffees, along with other sweets, filled her senses. She closed her eyes to relish the scents and bathe herself in the welcoming feeling of relief and freedom. It was almost like a heaven she knew she could only experience in that moment, a temporary fleeting yet satisfying moment of truest bliss.

Kazue stood in the middle of the sidewalk smiling like a silly fool just enjoying the calm vibes she was feeling - when her moment abruptly came to an end. Thump - someone crashed right into her shoulder, causing her to drop the camera that was held in her hand.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Kazue shouted out in frustration as she bent down to pick up her fallen item, checking to see if it was okay. The Kazama was never one to get angry… It wasn't in her nature – but she was enjoying the beauty of freedom with the scents of the coffee shop.

"Me? Watch where I'm going? You shouldn't be standing in the way!" Came a rather smug yet sarcastic reply. It was forceful, guttural, oozing with snark and laced with such venom it could have poisoned a passerby.

Kazue's gaze quickly snapped up from checking her camera to see a rather arrogant yet attractive looking red haired man staring at her with fire in his eyes. His facial features twisted in such a smug fashion that it nearly knocked the wind out of her. She stared back at him slack jawed and dumbfounded.

Not because of him or his attractive face but because she didn't want her grandfather's words to come true. Yet here was a rather cocky young Korean man staring her down with such an entitlement - it made her slightly annoyed, if she hadn't been already for his intrusion into her heaven. No, she was livid at the fact the man himself was proving the Elder Mishima right.

"So? What do you have to say for yourself eh?" The redhead asked in a sneering way - waiting for Kazue's reply rather impatiently while tapping one booted foot on the concrete below.

His brashness and arrogance was astonishing to the young woman, yet here she stood before him with her agitation growing – because grandfather was been proved right. The Kazama strongly disliked when Heihachi's words held truth in them. After all, he was such a cruel man in the young woman's eyes - she hated that.

Kazue stared at the Korean youth with her eyes silently pleading with him to stop this charade of a persona she assumed he was portraying – and sadly proving her unwanted doubts of the Korean people right, since she was a visitor to his country.

"Do you think that this arrogance you're showing is a redeeming quality?" The Kazama finally managed to say to the young man before her. She was asking him what he thought - and she wanted a genuine answer to the honest question she posed.

"Tch! What? Who are you to judge me? I don't know who you are and you don't know me… So why does the way I act mean anything to you?" The red haired man replied in a sneering tone, his eyes narrowed at Kazue as he spoke. His body language began to tense like he was preparing himself for a fight.

The young Kazama picked up on this as it was something she and Jin did to prepare themselves for a training session. Tensing or rather bracing for a hit, stretching then relaxing their muscles before a fight and after. At this point Kazue decided to back down a bit to try to ease the tension by asking a more polite question - yet it was one out of genuine curiosity.

It wasn't that she couldn't defend herself against this man if they were to fight… No, Kazue just didn't want to have it turn into one. She chose the more peaceful option because there was no need to fight.

"You must practice martial arts. Tae Kwon Do? Hapkido? What's your art?" Kazue asked calmly yet coolly. Hoping that the intense young man before her would relax and ease into a general conversation.

This made him place his hands on his narrow hips and shake his head - sending fiery tendrils flowing from side to side as he clicked his tongue against his teeth. After his initial annoyance, the young man turned his intense gaze back to the woman before him, the corners of his mouth tugging into a confident smirk.

"First you insult me… Not knowing a damn thing about me… or my name for that matter. Now you've got the nerve to ask me a personal question. You're something else lady, you know that? A true piece of work." The Korean man scoffed then placed his fingers to his lips, kissing them then moving his hand away like he was some French or Italian chef on TV. This gesture was so sarcastic that it could have offended the chefs - or anyone in general.

The young Japanese beauty let out a soft yet seemingly friendly giggle. It was warm enough to mask the fact that his sarcasm and arrogance really were getting to her, but only because of Heihachi's racism. The redhead's words did amuse her slightly, and she quickly stopped herself from breaking into full-blown laughter at how ridiculous they sounded. Yet after catching a glance of the young man's facial expression, she found herself sent over the edge and she finally cracked. Her body doubling over with a hearty ringing bell-like laugh.

Kazue couldn't help but let it out. She found the look on his face to be utterly hilarious because it was so dynamic in nature.

The Kazama had never seen anyone in her life with such an expressive face - therefore she found it to be funny after spending so much time with Jin who only ever wore a stoic expression, one that was borderline emotionless - and Heihachi, who only ever looked angry, disgruntled, and slightly constipated.

Sometimes she would laugh with Jin behind their grandfather's back, joking about him needing laxatives or that he should eat more vegetables. It was a rare silly side of the older sibling that never really got a chance to come out nowadays.

The Korean wore a look of confusion as Kazue watched how every movement of the muscles in his face changed with the expression that formed. His brows would shift from being raised right to left then meeting in a furrowing crease together in the center. Then his mouth would twitch in a manner that was trying to smile yet still not fully understanding what was going on. His lips were seemingly pursed in a tight line, and then his eyes would switch between wide shock and narrowed puzzlement.

In that moment while she was laughing, she watched him through dark raven strands of silk and found herself transfixed, amazed, as well as fascinated with his features.

Her mind was made up right then - the man before her was indeed attractive, yet somewhat charming as well - although he was a bit brash and abrasive. He also seemed so overly confident that one would call it 'cocky' or even 'arrogant', but somehow Kazue figured if she knew him personally - that all those otherwise negative traits would only add to his charm.

"I'm sorry… Really… I'm sorry. Forgive me!" Kazue apologized between little giggles. -

The fiery youth stared at her with a look that was even more puzzled than the last. He thought he had ran into a crazy woman and for some unknown reason he stayed to see what else she had to say - for his own amusement if anything else. It wasn't every day that a man came across a woman laughing for seemingly no reason on the streets of Korea or anywhere else for that matter, not unless said woman was indeed a little wacky.

"Do you think what I said was funny?" The redhead asked, trying his best not to laugh at the possible dangerous situation he could be in. Looney people were everywhere these days and you had to be careful. The young Korean did find the situation weird yet slightly unusual but he tried to be as serious as possible while posing his question. In reality, he was finding all this to be interesting as well as entertaining - and he figured it would be a good story to retell later to his team back at the den.

"No! Not at all!" The Japanese beauty replied, ceasing her laughter as she returned back to her usually reserved nature. Kazue was used to regaining her composure in a quick fashion mainly because the Elder Mishima preferred having everything in the house regimented and ruled with an 'iron fist'. It was almost as if he hated the sound of laughter coming from her or Jin, and he constantly ordered them to stop with his intimidating aura alone. Thus, regaining one's seriousness and discipline was necessary at the Mishima Estate.

The Korean youth before her was wondering exactly what just happened. Alarm bells were sounding in his mind when she went from laughing her head off back to calm again.

He found her laughter to be infectious, yet it confused him even more so, knocking him off his game and throwing all his alertness out of whack. He was also halfway expecting a jealous boyfriend to be right around the corner to deck him good and hard. Putting his disbelief to the side it was time for him to get his thought back on track.

"My turn to ask questions… Who are you? Where are you from?" His questions were straight yet to the point - and carried a heavy amount of suspicion in them. Mostly because he could tell, by the way she was speaking Korean that she wasn't from Seoul or anywhere in Korea.

Kazue turned her calm yet serene gaze to the young man and smiled gently. She didn't want to rattle him anymore than what he already was. She clearly heard the suspicion in his voice. It was a tone and inflection she could very easily notice thanks to her 'dear' grandfather.

"My name is Kazue. I'm from Japan. I work at a corporate conglomerate there." The beauty answered the redhead honestly yet calmly - without giving away too many details. If someone were to hear that the conglomerate she worked for was the Zaibatsu, people would run away, and it would ruin her only chance at meeting people and making friends.

The Korean youth's brows furrowed as he tested her to see if she was being honest. If she was, something would give her away, a slight nervous laugh, a twitch of the brow, a cough... Something! For all he knew she could be an undercover police officer trying to catch him and his fraud team up to no good.

"And you? What is your name?" The Kazama asked after a long pause. She could see him thinking, the wheels turning in his mind; she could see him trying to figure out something.

The Korean man met her gaze with amber eyes full of curious fire and caution. He knew all too well to be very weary of people… Some were not to be trusted and some were crazy even.

"I'm Hwoarang." He finally said after a long pause of contemplation deeming it safe to reveal his name to her. A slight amused smirk graced his features as he thought about introducing himself by his street alias. He nearly laughed thinking about it - knowing well enough that no one in their right mind would believe that his alias was his actual name!

Kazue smiled kindly then bowed respectfully to him in a show of good will and politeness - which earned her a confused brow knit from the fiery youth who stiffly returned her gesture.

"Nice to meet you Hwoarang!" Kazue replied cheerfully with a smile and gentle wave of her hand.

Hwoarang seemed to be disinterested in the Japanese beauty's cheerful display. In fact, he hated overly cutesy and cheerful woman. He was expecting the full routine with annoying high-pitched voice added, but when he heard her speak cheerfully, there was no such thing - just a respectful yet very womanly tone that added to his intrigue and peaked interest further.

No matter how interested he was… Hwoarang decided to play it cool and act unimpressed.

"Yeah yeah… Okay… Whatever." He replied. while waving his hand back and forth dismissively - thinking that after this she would turn to goo over him like all the other girls did. It was always the case - he'd play cool and uninterested and the girls loved – always following up with how cool he was. It only served to agitate him.

Kazue smiled softly sensing that their encounter was ending. A feeling of slight disappointment at the fact that she'd most likely never see him ever again – he sure was an interesting stranger. Truth was that Kazue longed to have friends outside of the Zaibatsu, outside Mishima Polytechnic and those only meeting Heihachi's approval after his quality control standards were met. It was like having 'hired friends' instead of having actual friends that you met naturally and interacted with every day.

The Kazama decided it would be best to save herself the longing she was feeling and end their conversation. She knew that Heihachi would never approve of her having even one single Korean friend no matter what gender they were or how affluent they were. Brutal truth was... The Mishima Patriarch was a hardline racist. From what the house keeping staff said around the estate, it got a lot worse after he adopted a son supposedly from Korea or China and said son largely fell out of favor with the Elder over matters that no one would elaborate on.

"Anyway, I should get going. Sorry for being in your way. See ya around sometime." Kazue said quietly with a slight yet polite bow before stepping to the side and entering the coffee shop.

Hwoarang looked at Kazue, paying close attention to her body language. To him she seemed happy enough before, yet there was a slight change… She seemed to be withdrawing, but from what was anyone's guess. The redhead never was one to play the so-called 'knight in shining armor', but he wasn't denying he was curious about her, especially after she didn't fawn over him and his cool act.

"I assume it's your first time in Seoul no? I could show you around, maybe? If you like I mean, if not… that's cool too." Hwoarang asked while coolly - stuffing his hands into the pockets of his denim jeans. He then began shifting his weight from one leg to the other before finally deciding to keep most of his weight on his left side, leaning back slightly to make sure he seemed as aloof as possible.

Kazue watched as the red haired Korean played himself out as if he was the coolest person she'd ever meet in her life - a slightly amused smile graced her features.

Hwoarang glanced at her through fire-like hair trying, to gauge what her response would be, but quickly saw the expression she held – her lips curved happily.

"Alright. You can show me around! I'm staying at the hotel up the street. However, it'd be wise for us to meet here instead. Is that okay?" Kazue finally replied - with a gentle laugh, trying not to give away her nervousness. It wasn't because of the red haired youth, no…. It was more out of anxiety. If Heihachi found out she was planning to meet with someone he hadn't approved of ahead of time there would be major issue.

The fiery Korean quickly snapped his gaze straight to the Japanese woman - raising a brow in question, his suspicious nature slightly going on alert.

"Sure thing!" Despite his usual quick judgements, he agreed to meet her at the coffee shop for the next day around noon.

The two bowed to one another then exchanged 'goodbyes' and 'see ya tomorrows' before going their separate ways.

After that Kazue finally got her coffee and sweets - then spent the rest of the day pursuing book stores and fashionable boutiques, before finally relaxing at a park.

"It's been a great day…." With that in mind, she decided to head back to the hotel. It was almost time to eat dinner with her brother and grandfather.

For the first time in a while, she felt like she had made a true friend in a very organic fashion - and the long forgotten feeling of hope was slowly glimmering back to life. The young woman had no idea of the events to come - and exactly how life changing they would be for her, and the brother she held so dear. The siblings' lives would once again be torn apart - and shattered into fragments…

Yet that future remained shrowded in shadow. At least for the moment the feeling of hope wasn't so fleeting.

"I wonder what tomorrow will bring…."

~X~