After a long wait caused by me being distracted by two games, Final Fantasy XV and the release of Tekken 7, I present to you this lovely chapter! I'm sorry for the long span of time between last chapter and this chapter but I hope this is worth the wait!

As per the usual, the chapter title comes from a song by the band D'espairsRay! The music listened to while writing the chapter believe it or not, was the HiGH & LOW Original Best Soundtrack. Music is hype af and helped me with the fight scenes.

I hope this chapter is to your liking and thanks to those who have kept up with this little pet project and have favorited, followed and reviewed – it really means a lot to me! Thank you so much!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Another thing to note this is the last chapter before rating change because the next is dealing with heavy stuff.

ALSO! There's a bit describing Kazue's stance. Imagine it as a weird combination of Kazuya's stance with his open hand in front of him and Jun's old stance from Tekken 2, which is now Asuka's stance.

DAMNED

The Kazama Siblings rode in the limo with their grandfather in silence as the Zaibatsu motorcade swiftly began to make its way through the brightly lit Seoul city Streets. Mishima Heihachi and his wards were leaving a gala arranged by the President of South Korea, the guest list featuring a who's who of political, business, criminal and entertainment figures.

Of course, the proud Mishima tiger was there to rub elbows with not only South Korea's commander-in-chef but with anyone who could potentially aid the scheming patriarch with his endeavors. During the whole gala, the Kazama Siblings sat at the Zaibatsu's assigned table silently picking at the gourmet food on their plates. Occasionally someone would approach Jin to speak with him about his plans for the upcoming yet unannounced King of Iron Fist Tournament - and how his training was going.

Every so often attractive women in tight fitting dresses, some sequenced others in solid colors, would approach the aloof younger Kazama and then quickly leave as fast as they came once he didn't respond to their flirtatious advances. Kazue sat beside him, largely ignored and for that, she was indeed grateful. She despised events like these and she was positive her brother did as well, yet he seemed to handle it with much more grace than she could.

There had been a couple of times where the older Kazama had to excuse herself and take refuge in the ladies restroom just to have a few moments on her own and gather her thoughts, keep her wits about her. When it came time to leave, both Jin and Kazue were more than eager to climb into the limo that awaited them and head back to their suite.

As the motorcade speed along, Heihachi's thunderous laughter erupted - all but shattering the quiet revelry in the vehicle.

"Driver stop here! There's something I wish to grab before we head back to the hotel," He called, tapping the darkened glass. The siblings heard their escort informing the others in their entourage over headset to pull over.

"Grandfather what's so intriguing in this area?" Jin questioned, wondering what in the world had caught the old man's attention down a dark and dingy alley, rats scurrying to and from its shadows.

Again, the Elder Mishima's boisterous laugh echoed loudly in the car as he placed his hands atop his knees, the limo door opened by one for the Tekken Force Suits.

"There's a noodle shop down the back end of this alley. Normally I don't think much of Korean food, but this particular shop has noodles that are to my liking," The Mishima Patriarch replied, seeming a bit more sinister than he meant to be, causing Kazue to shiver and Jin to frown - not fully understanding his grandfather's current mood. "Come let us have a bowl before we head back."

Nonetheless, the Kazama siblings followed their caretaker, not wanting to anger him as he exited the car. They were followed closely by a small army of Tekken Force Suits as they began their trek down the alley's grimy alcoves. The Zaibatsu entourage cautiously and steadily making their way down the dingy narrow streets, passing several small doors with various shady occupants. Some were men offering a dizzying variety of illegal drugs and others were scantily clad women promising a good time for a price.

Kazue and Jin both began to feel increasingly uncomfortable, as they had to stop in front of a couple having a domestic dispute. Right before Heihachi and his cubs, the man backhanded his girlfriend viciously, violently jerking her up from the ground so the entourage could continue onward.

The group came upon an open lot in the back that seemed to be serving as a makeshift arena for street fights – a battle already well underway. There were several men in business suits cheering on their colleague with fists full of bills he as struggled to stand against a whirling flurry of lightning fast kicks. When the business man thought he could counter his opponent he ended up creating an opening for said foe to exploit - sending a thrust kick straight to the man's gut, knocking him to the floor and taking his breath with it.

"Looks like I won boys! Cough up the cash." When Kazue heard the man speak her eyes went wide with uncontrollable fear. She knew exactly whom the voice belonged to, Hwoarang.

"So who's the man who runs the show? The Blood Talon is it?" The Mishima Elder spoke up - eyeing the red haired rogue as he and his gang gathered the cash from the losers.

Hwoarang spat on the ground, then with the back of his hand, wiped blood that was trickling down his chin. Smirking, he sauntered over to stand just a few feet away from Heihachi.

"That would be me old man. Think you can go toe to toe with someone much younger and more flexible? Wouldn't want you to shatter and turn to dust on me." The Blood Talon scoffed as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

Heihachi's laughter filled the damp dirty street, reverberating off the brick walls before he turned his narrowed eyes upon the Korean upstart, smirking mercilessly.

"I won't be going toe to toe with you… but I've got two who will. I'll even put a nice hefty sum on both, of course that is if you defeat them," The arrogant old man replied, issuing the throw-down which Hwoarang was all too eager to accept.

"Alright old man, show me who you got that you think can best the Blood Talon." The Korean thug smirked once more, tilting his head to the side as he stared down the Zaibatsu entourage.

Heihachi's grin turned into a malevolent smile as he stepped aside to reveal Kazue and Jin to their new opponent. Hwoarang's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Kazue standing beside who he assumed was her brother. He only caught a glimpse of him from behind that day in the park, but now, seeing him in person up-close, the Korean could tell she and him were family.

The Blood Talon couldn't help but notice Kazue's head was downcast staring at the filthy, stained ground below. Her posture was one of fear and hurt, while her brother was the opposite, his posture stiff and confident, all while his eyes carried a hint of confusion and bewilderment.

"Kazue, I think it's high time you show me how much of a Mishima you truly are." Heihachi's gaze turned onto his granddaughter, the glare showing just how contempt held for her.

"Grandfather… I don't think that's fai..." Jin began but was silenced by a single wave of the Mishima Patriarch's hand.

His eyes still bore into Kazue, smiling when she finally lifted her head to look at her opponent. Her eyes held a million emotions that spiraled and swirled within. A silent plea of forgiveness sparkling as she took her stance, hoping the fiery Korean would see and understand.

Hwoarang stared back, a slight twist of pity showing in his amber orbs. He could see how torn she was, how much she didn't want to do what her grandfather was making her do – and her silent plea asking him to forgive her.

He took up his stance with his gaze focused upon Kazue, beaming with reassurance - a quick nod to let her know it was okay. He wouldn't hold onto any hard feelings – not now and not in the future.

"Well well now! It's not every day I get to fight a drop dead gorgeous babe. I think I'll enjoy this." The Korean Rogue called out, playing up the crowd with his cocky swagger. He still held Kazue's eyes, the stare reflecting from them differing greatly from the words that spewed from his mouth.

Even though Kazue could see in the red head's eyes, that he did not mean what he had said – the blunt implied vulgarities made her wince a bit as they fell from his dry, cracked lips. Not sure what to do, the young lady made the first attempt at a strike, which the Blood Talon swiftly avoided by stepping to his side.

She was completely unprepared for this - knowing that if she didn't focus the aftermath of her failure would not be pretty. Thinking quick and hearing the fiery youth's feet shuffle towards her, Kazue decided to go low with a sweeping kick hoping to knock the Korean off his dangerous and deadly legs. It was unconventional and completely improvised, a move from neither Mishima Ryu nor Kazama Style. The older sibling's back faced the red-haired rogue as she crouched down and swung her right leg behind, praying to the gods it would connect.

Hearing the Korean's back hit the concrete with a thick thud and a pain-filled grunt, the Kazama stood and turned to face her friend turned opponent.

Hwoarang chuckled, admiring her impromptu and off the cuff offensive counter sweep. Not many would act purely based on instinct - especially if they were in a panic with their back facing their foe. It also made The Blood Talon painfully aware of just how nervous and fearful she truly was. He slowly got to his feet, keeping his eyes on the Japanese beauty before him, amber orbs still conveying a hidden message of 'fight me it's okay'.

Jin stood in pure silence as Heihachi roared loudly with laughter, the younger Kazama crossing his arms over his chest with narrowed eyes as his grandfather sang false praise for his sister.

This whole fight wasn't sitting well with Kazama Jin - and he did not like the look she was giving the red haired youth because he knew that look all too well. She would give that look whenever Heihachi forced them into brutal sparring sessions, her gaze often conveying her feelings of remorse. As quickly as Jin recognized what Kazue was trying to communicate with her opponent, it dawned on him that the man she was fighting was the very same person she spoke about at the park.

The youngest Kazama found himself questioning their grandfather's reasoning for initiating the street brawl with hefty wager attached, it reeked of premeditated motives - as if he had planned this whole thing before they even arrived at the gala.

~But why? Why do this?~ Jin quietly wondered to himself, keeping eagle eyes on his sister, praying for her victory.

Hwoarang found his foot crashing into Kazue's stomach and immediately winced when he heard her groans of pain. He caught a quick glimmer of her falling to her knees, gasping for breath, making sure to turn his back as fast as he could to shield himself from the sight. This was proving more painful than he thought and Kazue was clearly distracted and not fighting at her best. The Blood Talon could have a mean streak but tonight wasn't a night where that side of him was on full display.

Kazue held onto her stomach with one hand coughing, gasping for breath while the other braced against the concrete. The older Kazama found herself cursing the world and her existence – this wasn't what she wanted at all. She was beginning to become angry as her fingers began clawing at the dirty ground, and behind her all she heard ringing in her ears was Mishima Heihachi's roaring laughter.

"Come now Kazue! You can do better against this street trash!" Heihachi taunted loudly, earning a glare from the younger Kazama standing at his side.

Hwoarang turned around to face the Japanese woman; poker face fully restored staring down at her. He placed a hand on his hip, cracking his neck to the left side then to the right, his gaze as cold as steal in an attempt to hide his own conflicting feelings.

"Get up. Fight. It's do or die," Hwoarang spoke in a low, deep tone – one that was serious yet almost emotionless.

Kazue looked up at the Korean rogue, seeing the darkened facial expression he wore, his amber orbs shimmering slightly, trying to conceal emotions that were at odds with the position he was in.

The Japanese beauty didn't want to stand up and fight, the urge to roll over and give up was strong and the Blood Talon picked up on this as his face twisted into a disapproving sneer.

"GET UP AND FIGHT!" He called out with all of his fire. However, hidden behind that roar was a wounded lion. His battle cry sounded more like a plea than a demand to Kazue.

She slowly began to rise to her feet as tears threatened to spill forth and blur her vision. The fiery Korean took his stance again, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet while Kazue took hers, placing a hand directly in front of her, open in a relaxed fashion while the other was down slightly in front of her hip, fingers fanned out ready to grab if need be.

Without further thought, Kazue charged forward with a shout, hoping to hit with a brutal uppercut, but Hwoarang side stepped and countered with a grab. He held her arm with his foot placed dangerously at the crook of her neck ready to snap it but instead he released her and fell back into stance.

The Blood Talon's thoughts began to come to the conclusion that a swift knockout would be the best option - he wanted to put the Kazama out of her misery. He had a nagging feeling twisting in the pit of his stomach that they were both in turmoil over this – the fight needed to end.

Making his decision quietly to himself, the Korean rogue prepared himself for the take down as Kazue came in for another attack. In a flash Hwoarang's upturned palm lashed out, hitting the Japanese woman in the neck, causing her to stagger back while crouching slightly, bringing his leg up in line with his torso and swiftly commanding it to crash down against the back of her head.

The Blood Talon stepped back, his normally prideful and cocky demeanor gone - a grim forlorn expression taking its place instead. His posture felt different too, far more careful.

He stared at Kazue's unconscious body laying face down on the concrete and the youth felt disgusted at what he had to do. His molten amber orbs met the mercilessly cold iron-fisted eyes of Mishima Heihachi as the man signaled for his suits to grab Kazue.

They were rough with her and Hwoarang found himself wanting to beat every single one of them into a bloody pulp for their manhandling of the Kazama beauty.

"Well looks like you've won this match but will you win the second?" The Elder Mishima challenged the Korean rogue, placing a heavy hand on Kazama Jin.

Jin stood stone still, eyes downcast, wearing a rather intense frown, accompanied by tightly clamped fists shaking at his sides. He was convinced now more than ever, that Heihachi had planned this whole thing out - but the question that remained was why. Or maybe Jin knew exactly why but did his best to keep that thought from his mind.

"Jin! My boy! Show this filth the true power of the Mishima Bloodline!" Heihachi bellowed, easing the Japanese youth forward as if he were leading him to his destiny.

Hwoarang's face once again twisted into a sneer, one filled of contempt and disgust. Rage filled within the Korean as Kazue's brother was beckoned forth to fight him. Even though he had no clue what Jin was about, he wanted to lash out at him for not stepping in and helping his sister. The Korean rogue kept his mouth shut as he took up stance after spitting at the ground.

"So you're here to do grandpa's bidding, pretty boy? Why didn't you help your sister eh? She could have used your help… or were you too afraid of granddad's punishment?" Hwoarang barked, his voice dripping in poisonous venom, showing he was ready to cause the younger Kazama a world full of pain.

Jin looked up at the Korean with narrowed eyes as he fell into stance himself. Kazue said he was rather abrasive and rude, but for the rogue to accuse him of something without knowing one thing about him really was taking it too far.

"You have no clue do you?" He mumbled in a low voice before charging at the red-haired Korean.

Hwoarang cackled as he dashed backward to dodge the incoming punches from Jin, swiftly countering with a low sweep, hoping to knock him flat on his back. Knowing exactly what the Korean Rogue would do, Jin jumped to avoid the sweeping kick, sending a downward strike aimed right for the head.

Hwoarang found himself temporally blinded from the punch, quickly rolling to the side in an attempt to escape whatever attack the younger Kazama decided to follow up with.

"You son of a bitch!" the fiery Korean growled, trying to right his vision as he heard heavy footfalls coming in his direction.

Jin scoffed as he approached The Blood Talon, reaching down to grab his open dobok and pulling him to his feet, fist primed ready for attack.

The Japanese youth stared at Hwoarang intently and in turn so did the redhead, his vision now returning, amber eyes filled with blooming hatred and anger of which Jin understood.

Maybe he should have intervened before Heihachi made Kazue fight the Korean knowing, especially seeing how much it hurt his sister to do it. Judging by the Korean's contempt, Jin reasoned he must have felt the same way, but tried to hide it to protect Kazue.

"You care don't you?" Kazama Jin mumbled, closely and quietly enough for only Hwoarang to hear.

The red haired rogue's brow rose in curiosity at Jin's choice of words before he gripped his the man's wrist, yanking it away from his dobok.

"She told you about me eh? Tch. You knew and you still did nothing!" The Korean growled back at him before sucker punching Jin out of pure rage and disgust. The younger Kazama stumbled back, hand firmly holding his temple as The Blood Talon stalked him like a hawk on the hunt.

He grabbed Jin by the shoulders and proceeded to viciously knee the youth in the stomach until he was satisfied he had caused enough pain to the pompous rich boy, dropping him like he was garbage to the ground below.

Gasping for breath, anger building at a rapid pace, Jin got to his feet to see Hwoarang's back turned as he walked away from him. Steadying himself, Kazama Jin placed a well-timed punch to the small of the rogue's back then another one to the back of the head causing the Korean to fall forward. Once the Blood Talon was on the ground, Jin sent a calculating flurry of kicks to the red head's ribs – not stopping until he heard them crack and the Korean howl in pain.

Thinking as quick as he could through the blows and heavy fog of pain, Hwoarang rolled away from Jin and his blind fury-filled strikes. Climbing to his knees, the Blood Talon sent a thrusting punch directed at the Kazama's gut hoping to knock the wind out of him.

Heihachi stood quietly watching the two youths battle it out in such a savage fashion that he actually thought about ending the match before they killed each other. He looked over at the gang, making eye contacted with Jung-Chul who immediately knew what the old man was thinking. Neither one wanted to lose their best men and both began to make moves to separate the two.

"Jung-Chul! What the hell!" Hwoarang shouted as he was pulled away trying to break the hold his soldier had on him, but was too exhausted, the last of his strength leaving him after trading blows with Jin.

Heihachi sent two of the Tekken Force suits to escort Jin back to the limo while a third kept a still unconscious Kazue slung over his shoulder.

"Let's call this a draw Blood Talon. I can't have you beating my heir to death can I?" Mishima Heihachi chuckled menacingly before turning on his heel, leaving the dirty alley and cursing Hwoarang behind.

~XxX~