Entrance Exam
By: Sailorjj07
3. The Party
A/n: I almost forgot about this story! How horrible am I? Anyways, I'm back and this'll be long! Mainly because I don't want the same day to cover three entire chapters; that'd just be crazy. So get ready to read! W00t!
Disclaimer: I do not own!
"Talking"
Thinking
Actions
(Me!)
Asuka's POV
Jin, Charles and I got home in about thirty minutes. We lived on the outskirts of Tokyo, since Jin's house was so freakin' big.
I guess mansion is a better word for it.
"Lady Asuka, I hear there is a party tonight...Are you and Master Jin attending?" Charles asked me, as he removed my raincoat for me. Jin had already taken his off and was on his way up the stairs to his room. He ignored the both of us.
"Yup, Charles! I'm really excited too, since I have a date and all."
"Oh my! Lady Asuka, congratulations. Does Master Jin approve?" Charles looked genuinely happy for me, and I smiled back, slipping out of my rain boots before I stepped on the carpet.
"Jin doesn't care, Charles, you know that. He'd never meddle in my personal affairs like that."
"Lady Asuka, you happen to be correct. Forgive my assumption."
I hugged the elderly man and kissed his cheek, "Charles, you're so sweet. Feel free to assume whenever you want. Just make sure you ask for clarity."
Charles bowed to me, with a gentle smile spreading across his face as he walked off in the direction of the living room. Sometimes I wondered what Charles did when we weren't at home or when we didn't need him. Hopefully, he was taking care of himself and resting.
I took the stairs two at a time, in a happier mood than I expected to be today. Never mind that I had been rained on and my school happened to be hell on Earth. Nope, I was in a pretty darn good mood, if I had to say so myself.
As I opened my room door, I took a running jump for my queen-sized bed and plopped down on it, heaving a loud sigh. My bed was so soft and fluffy...
RING RING!
"Huh?"
RING RING
My pocket continued to vibrate, reminding me that I had placed my cell phone there. I whipped it out of my pocket quickly, flipping it open at the same time.
"Hello?"
"Suka! I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO WEAR!!"
I moved the phone away from my ear and tried again, "Hello? Jules, is that you?"
"Who else would it be?! And Suka now is not the time to be playing deaf!"
Playing? Believe me, I'm not playing.
"Jules, calm down."
"Suka, I can't, I don't-!"
"CALM down, I said!" I repeated myself, a tad bit more forcefully.
Julia got really quiet as she took a deep, slow breath and released it just as slowly. I nodded to myself and sat up in my bed, "Better?"
"Much," Julia replied and I could feel her smile through the phone.
"Ok, now what's wrong?"
"I don't have a dress good enough to wear to this party tonight! All of my dressy dresses are nowhere near formal enough!"
"What do you mean?"
"The dressy dress I have is the one I wear to church in Arizona."
"Ok, and?"
"And it's a JEAN dress!"
Wow. She really doesn't have anything to wear...
"Well hey, at least you don't have a dress from a school festival, like me."
"Wait, you were planning on wearing a kimono or something?" I could hear the laugh in her throat.
"So?"
"HAHA! Suka, are you aware there will be grown women there? You cannot stroll in, in a kimono."
"Why not? It's my heritage."
Julia laughed again, "Your heritage is the Kazama name. And a kimono is not covering it."
She had a point. Even though I was Jin's country cousin, no one knew me for who I was. They knew me for what I was - a Kazama. And the Kazama men were beyond the boundaries of tradition. As sinister as they were, they made trends. They demanded attention. Did I have to be the same?
...Maybe...Just this once.
"Jules...do you wanna go shopping?"
"Oooooooo!! I'll call Christie right now!"
And then she hung up.
An Hour Later
"Wow, you can afford to shop here?" Christie asked, staring at the price tag on the dress through the window.
"Yes, but Jin would KILL me if I spent that much yen on a dress." I told her, before turning and walking away from the window.
"You're right..." Julia added, holding her purse closer to her body. "My pocketbook aches just looking at that price."
"Ohh, come on you two. Money can't really be that far out of reach for either of you. You fight for a living. We make money with every match we win."
"I fight AND dance for a living." Christie added smartly, before turning towards another window.
"Which is why you should have more money than me, probably." I told her, looking in the window as well.
"Oh...OH! That dress says Julia like no other!" Christie pointed at the silky blue satin dress in front of us and I completely agreed with her.
"Its so pretty..." I added, nearly in awe.
"Let's go in. Like, now." Christie grabbed Julia's arm and yanked her in the store. I followed quickly after them.
It was a small boutique, sporting about fifteen racks of dress in total. There was a glass case near the front, which served as the checkout counter and a jewelry display case. A tall woman with fat pearls around her neck strolled over to us with her saleswoman smile. I couldn't tell if it was genuine or not, so I just watched her.
"Good evening ladies. How can I help you?"
"Well, we're trying to see if she could try on that dress in the window." Christie spoke up immediately, leaving me to look around the store a bit. We were in here for Julia's dress; not mine.
"Oooh, yes, yes! I'll get it for you right away." The woman scurried away to get the dress in Julia's size, and left the three of us in the store.
"Oohh, Suka this one would look so cute on you!" Christie held up a short, hot pink, strapless and satin dress. I shook my head as soon as I saw it.
"I'd never wear that in public. No wait, I'd never wear that ANYWHERE."
"Aw, but its so cute!"
"No, I have to go with Suka here, it's not." Jules told her, agreeing with me. By that time the woman came back, dress in hand.
"Here I go." Jules took the dress and stepped into the dressing room while Christie and I waited on her. It was only a moment when Jules came out, her eyes downcast to the floor and a blush on her face.
"I-I'm showing too much skin."
"Oh no! It's just the right amount for you!" The dress was long, almost touching the floor, as Julia stood in front of us bare-footed. There was a high split up the side that stopped at about mid-thigh, showcasing off Julia's slim, toned leg. In the center, the dress hugged to Julia's hips and curves, then broke off into a backless halter. There were sparkles of white jewels on the corners of the dress and at the neckline. It reminded me of Julia's Native American fighting costume, except it was all one piece and softer. The blue matched the feather earrings in Julia's ears.
"Wow."
I was speechless so Christie summed it up pretty darn well.
"Whoa Jules...That dress...it's hot." Christie said, clapping in excitement. Julia blushed a brighter shade of red and tried to ignore her. But that made her look in the mirror and soon she was a cherry.
"It really is pretty, Jules," I added, smiling warmly at my friend. The dress looked lovely on her, without a doubt.
"Annnnddd, let's buy this thing so I can find a dress for Suka. Oh and we have got to get you shoes!"
Christie ran around the store, matching blues and jewelry. Soon enough, she had an entire outfit ready for Jules and she bought it all, that cute blush still on her face.
Awwwww, Jules was embarrassed!
An Hour Later
"None of these dresses look very good on me," I sighed as we walked out of the fifth store. Jules nodded, but Christie refused to give up.
"Oh no, we're gonna find you a dress! I will NOT see you in a kimono, ma'am!"
"But Christie!"
"NO!"
Jules and I blinked...She was serious.
"Can we at least LOOK in a kimono shop? Maybe they have one that's more modern."
Christie sighed, "Fine, fine. Whatever."
I nodded and looked along the busy street for a shop. Finally, I spotted one, at the very edge of the road, tucked into a tiny corner. They had kimonos of all colors underneath their eve, trying to keep them from getting wet in the rain.
"There!" I pointed, and without another thought, took off across the street. I could hear Jules and Christie behind me as I went inside the store, so I held the door open for them.
"Wow.... It really is a kimono shop. I've never been to one before."
"Oh, they're pretty cool."
"I agree." A man said behind us, and we all turned around to see an elderly man grinning happily at us. "Good evening ladies. I presume you're in search of a kimono?"
The old man had surprised us, but I got my voice back quickly enough, "Ah no, actually we were looking from something modern...but maybe with the kimono sort of style."
The old man's bottom lip poked out in thought. After about a minute, he clapped his hands together: "Ahh, my wife! She made something like that just this week. I hadn't put it out for fear no one would like it, but perhaps you are perfect for it! Give me just a moment."
The old man took his time as he walked away from us, leaving me to wonder just exactly the outfit would look like. Would it be cute? Or really unusual?
I didn't have time to think on it, though.
"Oh my God." Christie blurted as the old man took his time getting to us. In his arms was the most perfect dress I had ever seen.
"Try it on. Don't even look at it. Just put the dress on. Like now, Suka." Jules said, pushing me forward. I slowly took the dress from the old man's arms and went to the dressing room.
It fit like a kimono; the top of the dress even looked like a kimono, in a sense. The sleeves were long and flared out just like a kimono did, but the dress stopped at my knees. It was a light pink color with black where the undercoats and obi would be. To replace them were two simple black ribbons that outlined the top half of the dress, and they tied in the back. There were slits on both sides of the dress, hoisting up to the middle of my thighs. I blushed at the amount of skin I was showing. At the bottom of the dress sat a pile of dark pink Sakura blossoms, with golden centers. Flecks of gold and Sakura petals flowed across the dress in all sorts of spots, almost like the wind had scattered them all over the dress.
I stepped out of the dressing room to complete silence.
"If I were a guy, I would totally want to date you." Christie said, which got her an odd look from all of us in the room. Christie shrugged, "Hey, she's hot. I don't care. Those slits are gonna drive everyone wild!"
"I don't know what's worse for me, Suka. My dress because I'm showing skin or your's because you'll definitely look better than me the entire night."
"Are you kidding? I'M gonna look better than both of you. But Suka, that dress really is something else. I love it on you." Christie told us, giving me a high five.
"Thanks."
"Its like it was made for you, Suka." Jules told me and I nodded, smiling at myself in the mirror. It really was a wonderful dress. I paid for it while I still had it on, and then finally went in the dressing room to change again.
"And now it's time for us to go home. We only have an hour and a half to get ready!" Christie cried, as I called Charles to come get us.
"But I don't have any-!"
"Oh, right, shoes! Well...Let's just say I'm a genius," Christie smirked and handed me a small bag.
"What-?" I asked, opening the bag. Inside was a pair of strappy heels, exactly my size! "Oh Christie! Thanks so much!"
"You're very welcome. Now we have to go!"
"Right, right. Here comes Charles now."
At 7:00 p.m.
"I hope...he thinks it's cute..."
"I hope he has a car."
I gasped and turned to find my cousin standing in my doorway. He lifted his eyebrow at me and then took a step closer, looking me over.
"Hm." Was all he said, which in his language meant I looked nice. To confirm it, Jin gave a single nod before strolling out of my room, as if he hadn't been there.
I ran after him, but stopped at my doorway, "Hey! Aren't you going?"
Jin waved a hand in front of his face as if he was shooing the thought away, "Later."
"Ah. Can I borrow your car then?"
His door slammed shut as an answer.
"I guess not." I couldn't help but giggle to myself. Jin and I really were getting along better.
Hwoarang's POV
I WANT TO LEAVE NOW!
I glanced at the clock again, just to make sure it really was 7:01 and not later.
"You know, if you leave now, you'll get there right on time. She said her house was nearly 30 minutes away." Jules came out of her room, clipping some earrings into her ear. I watched her sullenly, and plopped back down on the couch.
"On a motorcycle? It's 15."
Is it 7:05 yet? Is it? Is it?
I looked at the clock in the kitchen.
Damn it, it's not.
"You do have a point. It's so cute how you're all antsy though. If I didn't know you any better I'd actually think you were excited to take Asuka to this hell-hole party."
"She'll be my light in the darkness." I said, lying out on the couch fully.
"Whoa, Aang, that's a tad bit too deep, even for you." Julia laughed and leaned over the couch to tap my knee playfully. "Go. If you don't, the rain might catch you. Plus, you can't see me in my dress. I'd hate to make you drool."
I gagged, "Ok, Jules, that's just gross. I'd never look at you like that, no matter how nice you look. Yuck."
Julia laughed, then held her hand over her heart, "Ouch! You just stabbed me, right here!"
7:05! I am outta here!
I got up from the couch, and then grabbed my keys and my coat, "Can it Jules, you'll be fine. I'm off."
"Don't do anything strange!"
I slammed the door and ignored Jules. I had a princess to go pick-up.
Asuka's POV
It was 7:25 when I heard a motorcycle roaring up our driveway. With one last swipe of lip-gloss and my heart pounding into overtime, I grabbed my purse and jacket, taking the stairs three at a time.
At the door, I held the doorknob, breathing slowly and trying to gain composure. I mean, it was just going to be the worst party of my entire life - no need to be nervous.
But I was.... A lot.
"Oh, Lady Asuka, let me get the door. You go wait in the sitting room." Charles came in from the kitchen with a wink, "You'll have more time to compose yourself that way."
I couldn't do anything but nod, and do as Charles told me. He really was a wonderful man.
Hwoarang's POV
The butler answered the door. Alfred or whatever his name was said something about how it was a good evening, but I wasn't listening.
Where's Asuka?
"Lady Asuka is waiting for you in the sitting room. Please, follow me."
Finally, we were getting somewhere. I shoved my hands in my pockets as I followed the butler down a hallway. We reached a room that had some lights on and two big white doors.
"Please go in when you're ready." And with that, Charles walked away.
For a minute, I didn't want to go through. I mean, I was real nervous with this fancy house and stuff. Not to mention I was going out on an "almost" date with Asuka, my rival's cousin.
Wouldn't that make any man nervous?
But behind those doors was my light...I took a deep breath and pushed the doors open.
Asuka's POV
As soon as I saw his face, I couldn't help but smile. Hwoarang had on a pair of black slacks and a navy blue dress shirt that looked really nice on him. His eyes looked around the room first, taking the entire scope of it, before he saw me. I stood up, to walk over to him, but stopped as I realized his eyes had fallen on me.
"Damn." The curse was soft, but I heard it anyway. What was he cursing for?
"S-Suka...wow..." His eyes raked over me from head to foot and I was getting embarrassed. Why was he looking at me like that?
"Hwoarang, cut it out!" I turned my back on him to hide my blush, and he chuckled, meeting me in the middle of the room. He tapped my shoulder and I turned around, only to find him bowing low.
"I'm honored that you choose to come with me tonight, Asuka."
I blushed; what was with this gentleman act? As he got up, Hwoarang grinned as he realized I was turning several shades of red. He held his hand out to me, deciding not to comment on it, for once.
"Really, though, thanks. I knew this night was going to be hell, but at least with you by my side, it'll be bearable."
By his side?
"You're welcome." I held his hand as I led him out of our sitting room and back to the front door. "You look nice by the way," I said, as I unbolted the door.
"Thanks. I'd say it back, but nice doesn't fit...You kicked nice's ass when you put your shoes on."
I laughed, "Whoa. I'm thinking that was a compliment?"
"Yeah. A big one."
"Well, thanks, Hwoarang. It's good to know you think I look good."
"Everyone is going to know and think you look good. I'm slightly worried." Hwoarang held the door open for me and I stared in awe at his shiny black motorcycle.
"Wooooowwww..."
"You've never ridden one, I guess."
"How'd you know?"
"The mixture of awe, utter joy and slight fear on your face. All the newbs have it." Hwoarang sat down on the motorcycle first, and then held his arms out for me. I slipped onto the back of the seat with his help, and then waited for instructions.
He was quick to give them, "Hold on to me tight. Don't let go no matter what. Oh and make sure you hold onto your bag and your shoes too."
"Should I take them off?" I asked, as he slipped his keys in and started it up.
"Nah!" He yelled over the engine. I nodded and wrapped my arms around his waist tightly. "You ready?"
I wonder if he can hear my heart beating?
"Yes!"
"Alright then! Off we go to hell!" And then we shot off into the darkness.
Julia's POV
I should have come with Asuka and Aang...
One glance at Steve, blabbering about something I wasn't even paying attention to, and I knew I was right. I really should have came with Asuka and Hwoarang. Never mind that three people can't fit on a motorcycle. We could've made it work.
I took another huge swig of wine and turned to watch the group of fighters dispersed around the room. They were all dressed up in their different international finery; it almost covered up the fact that half the people in the room were murderers and sadistic bastards.
"Jules, are you listening?"
Hell no.
"Oh yes, of course. Please continue." That was all I had to say, too. He kept going on about the topic I still didn't know a thing about, as if we were having a real conversation. That would've required me to actually speak. So I went back to watching the others. Christie and her boyfriend were making out at their table, as if no one else could see them. Sometimes I wondered about the extent of their PDAs, but hey, it wasn't my relationship.
Shaking my head, I turned to give a glance towards Nina and her sister, Anna. They were glaring at each other across the table, but every now and again, Anna would look in the direction of Jin's father...Wait. Jin's DAD was here?
What the heck?!
I totally hadn't expected to see Kazuya here. He was sitting alone, although there was another glass of wine at his table. It sat directly at his right hand, as if he had placed it there for someone important. But I knew Jin wasn't going to sit there — not without killing the man first.
"Do you think Jin knows his father is here?"
Steve stopped blabbering to look at me for a moment, "I'm sorry?"
Sighing, I shook my head and motioned for him to continue with his story full of cow dung. I still didn't care.
I tried to watch the others, but my eyes kept straying over to Kazuya. He was amazingly handsome for the huge scar on his face. Just like Jin...
But this man was sinister, way beyond evil, although my mother hadn't thought so. She said he was mourning a loss and taking it out on the entire world. She had told me to be as kind to the scary man as possible but my mother was nice to everyone. Plus, I bet if you were too nice to him, he'd kill you. On the spot.
"Hey Jules! Hey...Brit." Hwoarang placed his hand on my shoulder, glaring faintly at the blonde across from me. Aang had told me how much he hated the man, and I whole-heartedly agreed. Maybe he could give me a reason to leave the table!
"The name is Steve."
"Whoa-ho! I'm so sorry." Hwoarang was making fun of him. Asuka punched his shoulder, covering her mouth with her hand. She was laughing, I knew it.
"Hwoarang, stop that. It's rude." She looked so cute in the dress we picked out for her. I couldn't help but smile.
"Jules, stand up. Let me see how bad you look." I stood up, glaring at Hwoarang as I did a slow turn for him to see my entire dress. When he gave a nod, I sat back down, smiling.
Hwoarang thought I looked nice.
"I told Jules she was a killer in that dress." Steve interjected, and I wanted to hit him. His compliments didn't mean jack squat to me. He wasn't even important to me.
"I'm sure she was happy to hear that." Asuka said, and I could feel how hard it was for her to keep herself in check. Asuka was always blunt and honest with everyone, but she did try to be polite on certain occasions. Today was one of them, I guess.
"I think she was!" Steve agreed, totally smiling from ear to ear.
Gods, please kill me now.
Hwoarang snickered and Asuka waved good-bye to us, pulling him away from our table quickly. He froze up as her arm looped in his arm, but immediately did as he was told. Poor Hwoarang...Being lead around by Asuka already.
"Attention ladies and gentlemen of the King of Iron Fist Tournament! The party shall begin momentarily! And here's our sponsor for the evening and the tournament, Heihachi-san!"
Of course, we had to clap, if for nothing else, than because the big sign the announcer was holding said to do so.
Heihachi strolled down a flight of stairs lowering into the middle of the dance floor, cloaked in a deep red velvet robe and a matching gold crown atop his head. He laughed manically as he made his descent, and I could feel my lips curling up in disgust. This man was the devil himself.
He gave some speech about owning us all and world domination and crap, but I wasn't listening. I had watched Asuka and Hwoarang walk over to their table, near Christie and Eddy. But they were in Kazuya Mishima's direct line of vision. I saw his eyes widen considerably as he watched Asuka and then without warning, his wine glass shattered. His pure white gloves were stained with the dark burgundy color of the wine, but there was another color spreading...red.
He mouthed a word...no, a name, and dropped the broken glass on the table. He vanished from the room in an instant, leaving nothing at his table but the shattered wine glass and the perfect one beside it.
What was that all about?
I didn't have much time to think about it, though. Heihachi finished up his malicious speech and swept back up the stairs, leaving us to our food, drink and music. I was about to sit down, when a hand touched my shoulder from behind.
"Chang," said the voice behind me. I looked at Steve's face and he looked absolutely mortified. Who was behind me?
None other than Jin Kazama. My entire body froze up as I realized it.
Jin? Where did he come from?
"Y-Yes?"
Jin looked towards the dance floor, where several people were already coupling up and swirling around the room. I knew some of the people on the floor weren't real people; the Mishima Corp. had too many robots for them to be real.
"Y-You want to dance?" I assumed. I should totally get a degree in Jinese. This was a hard language to learn.
He held his hand out, and nodded once, his eyes looking away from mine.
I glanced at Steve, who's mouth was gaping open at this point. I wanted to do the same though; Jin was asking me to dance!
"O-Ok." I mean, I wasn't about to say no. I placed my hand in his and let him lead me away from Steve who was slowly going from shocked to pissed. It felt good to piss him off, but I was too pre-occupied with Jin to think on it.
Jin was wearing a pure black tux, with dark red gloves and a blood red bow tie. He looked absolutely gorgeous, but I'd never tell him that out loud. He spun me once as soon as we stepped on the floor, and with a flourish, had me waltzing on the floor like I was born to dance.
And the truth is, I've never waltzed with anyone other than my mother before.
But Jin was good at this. He had perfect steps, perfect spins, perfect everything. I wanted to watch him dance with another woman just to see how well he looked, but knew I'd long for it to be me. So this was the best of both worlds...But that wasn't what I was here for.
Jin drew me closer to him, tightening his grip on my body. Heat rushed to my face, and I tried to look away, but Jin's gaze was fixed on me, so I knew he would start talking soon.
"Tell no one what you just saw." His grip on my waist tightened a little more to remind me that he could break it, if he wanted.
"What?"
"I'm not repeating myself." He said, spinning me again. He looked away, his eyes turning towards his cousin and Hwoarang before they came back to me.
"Why not?"
"That's none of your concern." His gaze was stern and unwavering as he moved us around the dance floor. I could feel my heart stop and everything around us began to fade away. Was he going to hurt me?
Only one way to find out.
"And it won't be once I tell everyone what I saw." I told him, smirking but making sure he knew. That was a threat, Jin Kazama.
"Kazuya will kill you first, I'm sure of it." The smirk that crossed Jin's face couldn't be missed. It was right there in front of my face, mocking me.
For what?!
"Why?"
Jin glared at me, as if to tell me to stop asking. But I wasn't going to stop. Why had Kazuya looked at Asuka like that? What name had he said?
"Jin, if your father hurts Asuka, don't you think I have a right as her friend to-!"
"Kazuya wouldn't hurt her. Not after today." Jin looked away from me again, and he almost looked...worried? I was shocked to see the expression in his hard eyes, but it was there.
What would Kazuya do to Asuka?
"Now you have to tell me what's going on." I said, with so much determination, Jin knew I wouldn't budge.
Jin gave a frustrated sigh (as much as you could get from Jin) and without warning whisked us off of the floor and out of the room. It took me a moment to realize we were now in some barely lit hallway, near the main room. He pushed me against the wall, and leaned in very close to me. My breath hitched in my throat, but my heart was going a thousand miles a minute. What was he going to do?!
Jin's voice was even deeper when he whispered, "Asuka looks just like...my...mother. Kazuya will never harm her...ever."
"So he'll throw you off a cliff, but he won't touch a hair on your cousin's head. How wonderful." I whispered back, leaning against the wall. Jin lifted an eyebrow at my response, before he asked a question of his own.
"You know?"
"My mother told me...How wouldn't I know? Your dad tried to kill you often; that asshole. What kind of father tries to kill his own son?"
"Heihachi tried to do it with Kazuya...Its all he knows..." Jin whispered back, and the tone of his voice made me look up. His dark eyes were even darker now, cloudy and lonely. The loneliness sang out from him like trees in the wind and I could feel my heart aching.
To be this lonely, to have no family and no one who loves you. To have a father who hates your every breath and a mother who died to keep you alive...To have a cousin who looks so much like that mother and to live with her everyday!
There was so much pain wrapped around Jin; choking him and holding him down. He probably felt chained to his painful, dark life. He probably felt like he had no one to turn to.
Without thinking, I raised my hand to his cheek, further entangling our bodies. Jin looked down at me, nearly startled, but I wasn't paying attention. All I could think about was his pain...
Jin's POV
Chang was trying to make me feel better.
I don't know why she was, or what she was thinking. I could snap her beautiful neck right now, for trying to care about me.
Didn't she know that she would hurt just by knowing me? Didn't this stupid woman know that everyone around me was dysfunctional and dark?
My cousin and my mother have always been the only exceptions. They were the only ones kind enough — gentle enough, to handle the horrible men of my family. We were all killers and devils, literally.
So why was Chang caressing my cheek and looking up at me as if she is in pain? Why was she being sympathetic towards me?
Those brown eyes of her's looked so pitiful, like she was going to start crying. But she didn't cry. No, she did something even more stupid.
She took a breath and I watched as her lips parted to let the air out...
She never breathed back in.
Julia's POV
He was kissing me! Jin Kazama was kissing me.
And Gods, I was on fire. His kiss was just like the rest of him: strong, powerful, seductive and totally controlled. But I could feel the control slipping slowly. With every second that passed, Jin pressed further into me, and I lost my fingers in his hair.
I pulled away for breath, but Jin wouldn't let me. He captured my lips again as soon as he could, catching my bottom lip between his teeth and nibbling away. I could feel my knees shaking and knew this was bad.
This was really bad.
But I couldn't stop. I kissed him desperately, running my fingers through the hair I've always wanted to touch.
How had it gotten to this? How was I ever going to stop?
Jin's POV
Stupid, stupid Chang.
This was all her fault. If she hadn't have tried to be kind to me, I'd never be in this place. I wouldn't be kissing this stupid woman like my life depended on it.
And I definitely wouldn't like it.
The girl was innocent; I could tell by the way her mouth moved against mine. But that didn't stop it from being intoxicating; that didn't stop me from wanting to push her against the wall and take her where we stood.
I released her waist and let my hand slide to her exposed leg, knowing exactly where that annoying split was. I had stared at her leg for a full minute when I walked in the door, shocked to see such flawless skin on a fighter.
This innocent, but dangerous woman - Julia Chang - was exactly what a fighter was not. Fighters weren't soft. Fighters didn't care.
And fighters didn't slip their tongues into a stranger's mouth.
Damn you, Julia...
Julia's POV
I couldn't stop myself. I tried to. I should have. But I didn't want to. I just couldn't stop.
Jin was delicious, like I always knew he would be. I never imagined I would be the one to taste-test Jin Kazama, but I wanted more than a test, now.
I wanted all of him, right now.
Jin's tongue played with mine inside his mouth, while his right hand slid higher and higher up my split. His other hand moved to the bare skin on my back and I swore he was going to slide his right hand inside of my dress, but he didn't. He just taunted me, by leaving a path of fire up my leg.
I gasped, breaking away from his mouth for air and the need to calm my foggy brain. I couldn't think, I couldn't see (my eyes were closed) and all I could smell or taste was Jin Kazama. All I felt was his body on mine, my heart pounding nearly out of my chest, and the fire burning on and between my legs and lips, from him.
...Gods...
Hwoarang's POV
That Brit looked completely destroyed as Kazama whisked Jules around the dance floor. Asuka was watching them too, smiling from ear to ear.
I think she was happy to see her cousin actually dancing.
And he had looked like he was having fun too, with the small smirk that had spread across his face as he and Jules spoke to one another. In the middle of their dance though, they got all blended in with the group and I couldn't see them anymore.
"Awwww." Asuka said, looking down at her glass of grape juice. It was hilarious that even here, they didn't consider her an adult. Asuka still wasn't allowed to drink.
"What's wrong, Suka?"
"I can't see Julia and Jin anymore. They looked like they were having so much fun!"
I lifted an eyebrow, "Are you watching other couples on your date with me, Asuka? That hurts."
Asuka punched my shoulder (ow) again, and glared at me, "You were watching them too! Don't act like you weren't."
"Doesn't matter, I'm watching you now."
A beautiful blush spread across Asuka's face as she looked back down at her glass, "Whatever!" And then she huffed so cutely, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Lil Asuka, you're so cute when you're mad."
She huffed again, blushing brighter: "I'm not little!"
I nodded and reached forward, running my thumb across the red staining her cheeks: "You're even cuter when you're embarrassed." To make it even worse for her, I kissed her cheek briefly, chuckling to myself as her eyes grew wide and she held her hand to her cheek.
The blush had spread all over her cheeks and I smirked to myself. Asuka was so easily embarrassed. Her innocence shined through her personality like a lantern; I knew she was totally inexperienced by today alone.
And that only made me more interested in her.
Asuka was everything I never expected a Kazama woman to be - brave, bold, innocent and kind.
"H-Hwoarang!"
"Hmmm?"
"Cut it out." Asuka said, diverting her eyes from mine. I laughed again, and she turned to look at me, glaring with the blush still on her face.
"Of course, Suka."
"You aren't going to stop, are you?"
"Nope!" I grinned and took another sip of my wine before standing up, "Come on, Suka. Let's go dance."
"O-ok."
Two Hours Later, Julia's POV
Jin and I had kissed for fifteen minutes straight. By the time we forced ourselves to stop my dress had been hoisted up higher and Jin had a grip on my bare thigh, squeezing it each time he dug into my mouth with his tongue.
It had been a glorious feeling, his mouth on mine and the heat that was spreading between us. But it had ended all too quickly.
Jin had pulled away from me and slowly untangled himself from me, kissing me slowly, teasing me even more than before. Then he stepped away and everything came crashing back to me at once: the dark hallway, the faint music from the party and the fact that I'm supposed to hate Jin Kazama.
I stood there in silence with my hand to my lips, while Jin's breathing slowed to a normal pace. He looked into my eyes one last time before he turned and strode away in the opposite direction of the party, not looking back once.
I felt so cold and alone all of a sudden, in that dark hallway. I had no idea how I was supposed to get myself back to everyone else after that had just happened, but I knew I had to go back. I couldn't just vanish; Hwoarang and everyone else would come looking for me.
"G-Gods," I whispered as I plopped down on my bed. I could still feel his lips against mine; I could hear his barely audible groans in my ear.
I had to stop my thoughts from going any further...My room was getting hotter with each thought.
"Jules? You back yet?" Hwoarang's voice came floating through my doorway and into my room.
"Y-Yeah! I'm in my room."
My door burst open and Hwoarang plopped down on my bed beside me, unbuttoning the top two buttons on his shirt. He grinned at me, then sat upright, undoing two more buttons, "Hey, you left early."
"We are allowed to do that, you know."
"Well, yeah, but that annoying British guy wouldn't stop asking me where you were. He even tried to get our address!"
Stalker much?
"Wow, that's a bit on the extreme side."
"I know! I told him to go find another girl to stalk, and then sent him in Lili's direction. They're hitting it off fairly well, though."
"Well that's good."
"There was another guy that asked for you too.... Hmmm, who was it again? Shit, I can't remember." Hwoarang sighed as he got the final button undone and then laid out on my bed.
But I was too busy being hopeful, "How do you not remember? What does he look like?"
"Oh it was that new guy! The one that Christie and the others were drooling over earlier? Him."
The Man-God? He asked about me? How does he even know my name? OHMYGOSH!
"Well! What'd he say?"
Hwoarang looked up at me weirdly and then shrugged, "Not much. Just asked if I knew where the 'amazing botanist with the beautiful brown hair and eyes' went."
"He called me amazing? And beautiful?"
"Jules, its not like you didn't know you were already those things." Hwoarang huffed, crossing his arms and rolling onto his stomach, "Why are you so excited anyways? Its not like you even know the guy."
"Yeah, but I can wave this in Christie's face whenever I want something done!" I cried, although that wasn't completely a lie. I WILL wave this in Christie's face.
Aang laughed at me, "Oooh, you're evil." He sat up, and then finally got off of my bed, "Well, I'm tired. Night Jules."
"Oh no sir! You have to tell me why you're so happy. You kissed her, didn't you?" I sat up, watching Hwoarang's expression.
"No..." and then a joyous laugh, "She kissed me!"
"Wha-? You're lying, Suka would never-!" I was shocked! She was that bold?
Hwoarang winked at me, "Ah, but she did. She kissed me and told me to stop playing around with her. She told me to take her seriously."
"What did you do to make her say that?"
"I just made her blush, nothing serious."
"Just? HWOARANG, WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BEST FRIEND?!"
Hwoarang looked offended, "I thought I was your best friend?"
I threw my slipper at him, "Get out! Get out of my room right now! You used my best friend for your sick and twisted games!"
"I did not! The games haven't even started yet!" Hwoarang cried, as he dodged my slipper. He stuck his tongue out at me, then turned his back to me, flipping my light switch and heading for the door, "Night sis."
"Night Aang. Love you!"
"Love you too. Now go to sleep. We've got school tomorrow!" And then he shut my door.
"You're only happy cause Asuka'll be there!" I called. I heard him open his room door and then there was silence.
Then he chuckled and I could feel his smile from my room, "You're right!" Hwoarang's door slammed shut and I didn't hear anything else from him.
But I didn't need to...
I was already had someone else on my mind.
End Chapter 3