Author's Note: I already know what I'm going to make happen, more or less, but I just want to know if you think I should have Jin and Calleigh win or lose the tournament? I mean, losing would be an interesting twist, yes, but winning would fit into the plot. Conformity…yes, no…maybe?

Chapter One: Getting To Know You (CALLEIGH'S POV)

Now, I'd been known to jump the gun at times… Calleigh Phoenix, the 'leap before you look' girl…but never anything like this. Before I even knew this guy's name…or even what he looked like, he'd already entranced me. I merely knew him as 'jnkzma,' since that's what he mumbled to me. But, he just had this allure about him; maybe it was the mystery of not knowing who he was? I couldn't have told you at that very second, but after spending some time with him, I quickly got the gist of what it was. "So…Mr. K…" I grinned a little, continuing to call him that, rather than the confusing pronunciation of jnkzma. "What's with the mysterious grim reaper hood?"

He shrugged, and in an adorable Japanese accent, said, "It's to make girls like you ask why. That's the only way I ever get any conversation with women, so…it works…" I saw the shadow of a wink, as he walked back around the corner.

I laughed a little. "No, come on…seriously…" I followed him. "I think the whole air of mystery thing is cool…maybe I should go around town in a trench coat and shades…" I watched him pull his hood back over his eyes as we approached the busy road. At that second, I got the point...he didn't want to be recognized. "Hey…where are you headed, anyway?"

"Are all you American women this nosey?" he asked, turning around and looking at me. I could hear it in his voice that he was smiling. "I mean, really…first you want my name, then you want to know about my coat…now you want to know where I'm going?" he laughed a little. "You think I want you to stalk me?"

I shrugged, and smiled a little. "I was just wondering…because if it was toward Hill-Crest Pass…I know a shortcut, and it's through the woods, where no one else goes," I explained. "And you seem like a very private guy, so I figured…"

He took a few steps toward me, then loosened his hood from around his face a little, so I could see the shadow of a smile across his face. "I'm staying at the beginning of Hill-Crest Pass…" he told me, then tapped his foot, waiting for me to lead the way.

"Before I take you, you have to tell me at least your first name…" I bribed him, knowing that if he was as personal a guy as he was making it seem, he'd tell me, to get onto the shortcut.

He laughed a little. "Ok, Miss Persistent…my first name is Jin…" he told me, waiting for me to show him the way to my shortcut.

I smiled wide, and started to walk. "You coming?" I asked, watching him stand there. "It's almost dark, and that's when all the creeps and psychos come out…" I smiled a little. "And look! Here are two now…their names are Calleigh Phoenix and Jin…Jin something…!" I pointed at the two of us.

Jin grinned. I could see his smile clearly, because the light was hitting his face just right. There are no words to describe a smile like that, at least none in my vocabulary. "Sorry to keep you waiting, oh Princess of the Shortcut…" he walked up to me. "Shall we go?"

"Lets…" I smiled, leading Jin to the path that curved toward Hill-Crest Pass. "You get to see the scenic route!"

He slowly took his hood down, but kept just enough hair in his face, to keep his eyes secretive. "So, tell me…have you ever thought of entering any fighting tournaments?" he asked. "You have some pretty good moves…you practice Hakke-Sho, right?" he asked me, seeming interested in my answer. "I recognize that from some of the tournaments I've been to…"

"Add a little Hakkyoku-Ken and tae kwon do…and you have my entire fighting style…" I explained to him. "But, what about fighting tournaments?" I was truly interested. My father, Paul Phoenix (who was a judo fighter of sorts) had kept me away from the fighting scene. He'd dismissed tournaments that he'd gone to as 'business trips,' even though I knew what they really were. In a way, though, they were sort of business trips. That was really the only way we got money into the house. "What kind of fighting styles are allowed?" If he'd let me enter any of the tournaments, I'd have loved to…but he apparently didn't think I was a skilled enough fighter.

"All…my family has their own kind of fighting style, but I dropped that recently, and took up traditional karate…" I could tell that he was thinking he'd told me too much. "But in each tournament, there are so many different fighting styles…Aikido, kick boxing, Capoeira…you name it…"

"Even vale tudo?" I asked, curiously. I knew so much about martial arts and self-defense, I bet I could have listed him every self-defense tactic there was. "One of my cousins wanted to be the ultimate vale tudo fighter…"

"Yeah, there was a vale tudo fighter in the last tournament I went to…" he told me, smiling wide, knowing that he'd gotten me interested. "His name was Craig M-something…" he thought, trying to remember the name. "Craig M…Marduk?"

"What tournaments do you go to?" I asked, wanting to get into the freestyle tournament-fighting scene. "Like, what are the names?"

"Ever heard of The King of Iron Fist Tournaments?" he asked me, looking like he knew my answer.

"No," I replied. "My father keeps me out of that scene…I'm not allowed to ask him anything about his tournaments, or else I'm in huge trouble…"

Apparently, this wasn't the answer he was expecting. He immediately stopped in his tracks, and gave me the most shocked look I'd ever seen. "Whoa…we need to get you trained. If you're half as good of a fighter as you were back there, you'd be awesome as my tag-team partner for King of Iron Fist Five…"

I gave Jin a blank look. "Ok, first of all, I don't want to die at the age of nineteen, and second of all, what's King of Iron Fist?" I asked, leaning against a tree, expecting a long explanation.

"It's just a tournament…people from all over the world come to try to be the ultimate fighting champion, or the King of Iron Fist…" he explained to me, sitting on a rock on the opposite side of the path.

I crossed my arms and thought for a minute. "And there's such a thing as a tag-team battle? Maybe I'll think about that, Jin…" I smiled across the path at him.

*

After a little while of silent walking, Jin stopped and I could have sworn I heard him sigh. "This is where I get off, Calleigh…"

"You live at Jun Kazama's old place?" I asked, suddenly getting the hint. "Oh, you're Jun's son?" I looked away from him for a second, processing the name in my head. "Jin Kazama? That sounds so familiar from somewhere…" I looked back at where Jin was standing before, but he wasn't there. "Jin?" I called, then looked toward the house, to see Jin in a steady run, away from me. "Ok…see ya around, then…" I sighed, turned and walked home. Again, I lose a friend because my brain works too quickly. I stared at the house, hoping Jin would come back out, and follow me home, but it wasn't happening.