Author's Note: There's several things I have to address.
Firstly, please take a look at a fanfic named "Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't" by Toxic City. It's in the Tekken section, and it's Jin-centric. It also happens to be an interpretation of what could occur later on in this very fanfic (basically, a lovely person wrote a fanfic of my fanfic. HOLY SHIT!). Go take a look, its worth the read and it has Razer and Seong-Hada and just go read it!
Secondly, I've been chipping away at a little project. Seeing as I won the fanfic competition back in August, I've decided I'm going to sell fanbooks. I'll be doing three – one for Tekken, one for Final Fantasy (VII through to X), and one for Kingdom Hearts. I've only been working at the Tekken one currently but yeah. I'll be selling them around July 2011, and I will be selling the internationally. If you want more details, just ask!
Lastly, this might be the final update before Christmas, so, Merry Christmas!
Chapter Ten: Looking Glass
The first round gradually morphed into the second.
Twenty one people failed to get over the first hurdle. For some, it was expected, where as others were outraged. Paul Phoenix looked to Marshall upon finding out that they'd both been eliminated, and, miserably, began to pray that Steve would burst through the masses and win the money they so desperately needed. Sure, Forrest may have been out of hospital now, but the bills still needed paying, and Paul's bike still needed repairing.
Many people were surprised at Nina's failure to pass the first round, considering her wisdom and experience in these tournaments, as well as the special position of Jin's bodyguard. According to Steve, Anna believed that it was deliberate so that her sister could continuously be on the lookout for potential assassins. It made sense, but to those who didn't know, to the public who watched these matches, they didn't really think of such a thing. To them, it was all about blood.
Both bears had been eliminated, as well as Mokujin, Roger Jr and Jack-6. In fact, Jack-6 had broken down against Xiaoyu. Her arms were still battered and bruised from defending such powerful, steely blows, and she felt that she would've lost for sure; she counted the breakdown as a blessing, and, looking to the eliminated Miharu, smiled thankfully and embraced her in a hug.
For once, Marduk was glad that he got eliminated, for he could now focus on finding out why the hell a supposedly dead Armour King was chasing him around everywhere, threatening to beat his head in. Bob and Ganryu, two people who'd overheard that last conflict, chuckled to themselves and raised their glasses of sake from the bar. Others amongst the group of 'glad I got eliminated now so I can focus on other things' included Lei, Leo, Raven and Dragunov (or so they assumed with the latter). Other participants that were eliminated included an indifferent Bruce, an agitated Christie, an enraged Miguel, a screeching Lili and a silent Feng.
Julia looked at the match up sheet that was, as always, sitting on the reception desk. This year, they'd included a second sheet, listing the numbers of each competitor to make it easier to match up and understand who was fighting who. She noted that Asuka was up against Lars, who was from the Tekken Force. She noted that Jin was facing off against Yoshimitsu. She noticed that she herself was facing Eddy, who was now working alongside Jin. She noticed that Hwoarang was fighting King. To her surprise, she noticed that Baek and Seong-Hada were against one another, as were Xiaoyu and Razer. Friends against friends… she didn't doubt that Jin had deliberately rigged it this way.
Placing the sheets neatly on top of one another, she turned from the desk and tucked some stray hairs behind her ear. Adjusting her glasses afterwards, she exited the hotel, heading for the Plaza, having a strange desire for some coffee. She'd just run out of sugar in her room, and felt far too lazy to make some for herself anyway. The sun shone brightly, obstructed by the grey clouds but still bursting through the cracks stubbornly, like the hope of the people through Jin's reign.
The wind flowed softly through the area and wrapped around her body, like whispers from eons ago. She pulled her thin jumper closer to her body, wishing for a moment that she ran back upstairs to grab something heavier and warmer; and she soon saw the coffee shop she'd been looking for, and a familiar face sitting out the front, a white plastic cup in between his hands.
In this moment of quietness, Julia, who was still undiscovered, noticed the uncertain, fearful look in Hwoarang's eyes as he gazed into the cup. He almost looked… lost. He almost looked like he'd given up on something. Alone, he took off his mask, but in the presence of others, he held it close to his face, guarding it to prevent others from seeing it for what it was. Biting her lip, she approached cautiously, but was soon spotted – and before long, he was back to his 'normal' self, a smile and a short wave, and a simple 'hey Julia'.
"How're you?" she pressed.
He paused for half a second too long, replying, "Feelin' fine."
She bowed her head slightly before entering the coffee shop, going to grab some caffeine for herself. After ordering, she turned away from the register and leant against the counter, watching the man once again through the window – but it was the woman beyond him, in the distance with tied up, black hair, a skirt, a sleeveless shirt and a generally unpleasing disposition that caught her attention because of the incessant amount of staring that she was doing, both at Hwoarang and she herself. It was as though her eyes were haunting them, if only for these moments.
It seemed Hwoarang noticed her also, and, lifting his head and giving a chilling glare at her, she slithered away through the sea of Japanese people; and when she was gone, it was like she was never there – a mirage amongst their numb minds.
Her coffee now in her hand, she moved to the table that the Korean was at, staring at the spot where the woman had been, "Do you know who she is?"
"No idea. I know she's a tournament participant, because I've seen her a few times, but I dunno her name," he replied truthfully, taking a large gulp of his coffee, "But it's not the first time she's been spying on me…" He looked from the cup and up at the Native American, "It's not the first time she's been spying on you, either Jules. You need to pay more attention to what's around you nowadays."
He drank some more, and Julia simply stared straight ahead of herself, his words clinging to every corner of her mind.
Kazuya found it most interesting the way that Jin had scheduled the fights this round.
There would be three fights a day from Monday to Thursday, which would leave Friday and the weekend free for all competitors. It was a chilly Tuesday morning, and so far, Steve and Raven, Wang and Zafina and Asuka and Lars had had their matches. Steve, Wang and Asuka failed to ascend to the next round, but Raven, Zafina and Lars would continue onwards.
There was something about the Swede that irked him, but he wasn't entirely sure what. There was a certain look in his eyes that had him pause and wonder who he really was and where he came from, and why such a look was so familiar. It took him some time, but he concluded that it was because that glare was so like Heihachi's. Any relation to his own Father, though, would be impossible – and if it was, he wouldn't really know what to think.
Shaking his head for a moment, for his initial trail of thought had been dislodged, he continued to walk, with Anna and Bruce by his sides, to the nearest arena, which was an urban war zone. It'd been specifically blocked off for the event, and although he knew it was incredibly risky showing up at the bombed area, he still felt obliged to watch at least one match from this split up family.
That's what made this round so intriguing – his son had deliberately made sure that all of Razer's 'family'-like connections, including herself, fought on the same day in different areas, so they could not be there to support one another. In all his tournament years, he couldn't recall an instant where Heihachi, Jinpachi, or he himself had done such an act. He didn't quite understand why, but he realised that it was probably unimportant and should be treated as one of those 'oh, how interesting' moments.
When he saw a shorter girl hugging a taller one with brown hair, he knew he'd shown up to Razer and Xiaoyu's match. The only two supporters there were Asuka and Panda. He assumed that Steve, Christie and Julia had dispersed themselves amongst the other two matches that were occurring simultaneously. He stopped walking, indirectly ordering Anna and Bruce to stop also, and folded his arms across his chest.
He remembered the last time he came to watch one of Razer's matches, noting at how it was against Xiaoyu's grandfather, and how he was also watching from a distance. But there were differences between these matches – for one, he was not guarded back then like he was now, and two, he would not be helping her mentally like he did last time. He simply planned to watch, not to stare into a mirror and recreate the old details.
"Good luck, okay?" Xiaoyu smiled, taking several steps away from the Greek and slipping into stance.
Razer said nothing, a grim look on her face, and got into stance. She didn't know how Xiaoyu was viewing this fight, but she already knew that it wasn't going to end well, in either person's complete favour. Something would break, and as the referee counted down from three and eventually spat out 'fight', she exhaled and threw the first punch, trying to remember the 16-year-old, bubbly youth who irritated her so much three years ago to make the match easier on her mentally.
The feel of her gloved knuckles digging into the opponent's cheek felt familiar, but the guilt that swarmed in straight afterwards did not. Not even when she fought Hwoarang for their belts, or in anger, or for money, or at all, did the remorse feel so… heavy. It seemed the feeling was mirrored when she too copped an attack to the face – she could see it in the Chinese youth's eyes, that little twinge, that little flicker hidden deep in the background.
Sidestepping a coming low hand attack, Razer slammed her right foot across her face, and followed the attack with Misdemeanour, watching the youth fall into the ground. Not allowing her any chance to rise out of the desire to end the battle quickly, she slammed her heel into the youth's side, feeling muscles part and give way, before flicking her left leg up in the attempt to get her airborne. It missed, for she had rolled out of the way; and as punishment, she received a kick to her back, followed by a few quick jabs and another kick that sent her face first into the neighbouring wall.
A shout came from behind her, and she groaned in pain when another hard palm came slamming down near her neck. A rising hand strike, a falling hand strike, and then a flicked kick came afterwards, and once that was all done, she bounded back onto her feet quickly and kicked low, then high, then mid, then high, then low; then a trick low kick that had Xiaoyu guard low in anticipation, only to be kicked in the head and then punched with both hands in the stomach.
Kazuya watched the battle toss and turn several times. Both were about the same in terms of speed, but Razer was stronger, and Xiaoyu was nimbler. It was interesting to watch his son's childhood friend fall into Phoenix Stance and then propel her body into sideways cartwheels, only to be blocked; and for his son's girlfriend to parry the second hit and slam her fist into the girl's stomach; and then for a palm to the face, and a kick to the shin, and so on and so forth in a swapping fashion.
He didn't know how long had passed nor why the younger girl was getting angrier and angrier, but he figured it was safe to assume that it was because she was not gaining the upper hand at any point. His eyebrows rose in surprise when she slammed her shoulder into Razer, who recovered quickly and tripped her over, her face landing on a large rock. She sat up and rubbed the blood away from her face, trembling violently, uncharacteristically angry; and with a strong, sad voice, shouted, "Why aren't you letting me win?"
Silence fell through the war zone.
She stood up, a hand at her chest, the other clawed and half by her side, "I want to save him, don't you understand?"
So that's why she is mad, Angel remarked, She thinks she can save him. I'm sorry Xiaoyu, but, he is far too deep down to be pulled back to the surface… and that statement goes for you too, Razer. It is borderline impossible now, and as much as I'd hate to say it, neither you nor her would be the ones to bring him back to the light. Not anymore.
She paused and exhaled, dropping her stance and looking at her friend straight in the eye, "You can't save him, Xiao."
A slap rang through the area.
Razer did not retort in kind or flinch, though she did feel the sting across her face. The 19-year-old narrowed her eyes angrily and sucked in a large breath before speaking, "You're giving up already. You wait a mere year and a half, and then just lie down and give up… Can't you… Can't we… Can't we at least try? He shouldn't do this, he can't do this, it's not right! Even if he is ruling the world, this just cannot happen! Why are you lying back and doing nothing?"
She'd been asking herself those same questions for eighteen months. Unknowingly feeling a few tears fall, she looked up for a few moments, trying to find strength in herself to speak, before looking back at the defiant, angry, annoyed and confused youth, "You don't know how hard I've tried… And one day, you will be where I am. You are looking into a mirror, Xiaoyu. One day… you will be unable to do anything, just like me. Try all you like, but in the end, he will kill you. And you don't want that."
Xiaoyu exhaled sharply. She'd had dreams of Jin murdering him before. They absolutely terrified her.
"You see it, don't you?" Razer questioned knowingly, "You see him murdering you in your dreams. You are forced to stand there, and through the looking glass, you watch him break your neck over and over and over again. Please, don't subject yourself to that. Just forfeit. It's best for you."
"But what about you?"
"I'll be okay," she tapped her heart, "I have someone watching over me."
She knew she was right. After all, she did have that… Angel thing, the thing she barely knew about, but still had knowledge of. And she was stronger. And she knew Jin's fighting style better. And she might've even known Jin's intentions with taking over the world and so on. She had a far better chance than she the dreamer, she who always watched through the looking glass ever had.
Xiaoyu choked on a sob and raised one hand, looking to the ground, feeling weakened by her words, "I forfeit…"
The referee's voice faded away as she fell to the ground, slamming her fist onto the concrete. Razer wished to move forward and hug her, but her uncertainty in doing so prevented her from moving from the spot. She remained motionless, watching her scream and shout until she had no voice left. Pity brewed deep within her belly, and she hoped that elsewhere, her family's fights went better than hers did.