Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.





Chapter Two: Personal Invitations

Mishima Mansion; Tokyo, Japan

The limousine pulled up to the driveway and the massive gates opened. The single passenger looked out the window up to the mansion that was her home. Actually, it belonged to Heihachi Mishima, but she had been allowed to stay and work. The limo parked. A man in a suit opened the door and the young woman stepped out, moving away the hair that had blown into her face due to the wind. She walked inside the mansion, where everybody was too busy to say hello, much less talk to you. She made her way through the mansion, going through the millions of hall and up several flights of stairs. The mansion used to confuse her and she would often get lost. Nowadays, she was used to the giant home. After an approximately ten-minute walk, she arrived at her room. She entered and closed the door behind her. A panda bear saw her come in and nuzzled up against her. The girl scratched the panda's head.

"Hi, Panda. Once again, you're the first person to say 'hello'."

The panda licked her hand.

"C'mon, let's see what's new on the inbox."

Ling Xaioyu (shou-yu) wasn't Japanese, though she may have looked it. She was actually from China. Two years ago, she'd attacked all of the guards on Heihachi's ship and threatened to do the same to him if he didn't let her enter the tournament. She was 18 now and a junior at Mishima High. Every day was the same to her. She'd get up, eat breakfast, go to school, try to stay awake through school, come back in the limo, do her homework, play around online if she had time, eat, train with Panda, go to bed, and wake up the next morning to do it all again. As you can see, it got boring, especially with Ling's short attention span. She yearned for something more. Today, she would get her wish.

Ling scanned through the new e-mails, deleting the common junk mail. At first, it seemed that none of the new messages would interest her. Then she saw it. The last new message. She didn't recognize the address. It was titled "For Ling." Whoever it was must know her enough to call her by her first name. She opened the message.

Ling, Beware of Heihachi. He's evil. He's planning something. Odds are, he'll eliminate you to keep your mouth shut. By staying in his home, you're putting yourself at grave risk. Get out! -one who knows

Very odd indeed. She instantly responded.

Who is this? How do you know about all this? Please reply. -Ling Xaioyu

Now she would have to wait for a response. In danger? Of what? She knew Heihachi wasn't the nicest man on Earth, but evil? What could he be planning that was so extreme that it would involve eliminating her? What should she do? What could she do? If she just left, she'd have no place to go. How could someone possibly know this? Whoever it was would have to be very close to him, or the world's best stalker. All of the employees were extremely loyal to him. Besides, she hardly knew any of them. Why would one of them send an e-mail to her? How could they have gotten the address. So, this person had to have been close to Heihachi, close to her, and know her e-mail address. Ling's eyes widened. Only one person came to her mind. Jin. Jin was Heihachi's grandson. He used to live here before he disappeared after the last tournament. He never had been fond of his grandfather. Jin and Ling had been pretty close. She was the only one who tried to be his friend.

Jin had been one antisocial guy. Ling finally talked to him. Their first conversation hadn't gone that well. She kept on trying, though, and eventually, she got him to open up. They were friends throughout the tournament. But after the tournament, Jin disappeared without a trace.

Ling's intuition told her it had to be Jin. It just had to. But . . .if it really was him, she really was in danger! Why would he lie? What was going on? What if . . .

A knock at the door nearly scared the skirt off of Xaioyu and brought her back to reality. She quickly changed the image on her computer and said, "Come in." One of the many, many men in uniforms opened the door.

"Pardon me, Miss Xaioyu. Mr. Mishima would like to see you-"

Why doesn't he just come here himself, then? She wondered.

"-in his office."

Oh.

"Okay, thank you. I'll be there in a minute." The man nodded and left the room.

Ling took a few deep breaths to prepare herself, then strolled towards Heihachi's office.

The many hallways had never seemed so long. Perhaps she was being paranoid. Heihachi wouldn't . . .kill her . . .would he? The more she thought about that, the dizzier she got, and she nearly fainted.

After a five-minute walk, which seemed like 5 hours, she arrived at the door leading to the owner of the home and the richest man in Japan. Again, she felt dizzy. Ling slapped herself, which drew an odd look from the secretary.

"Heh. Just trying to stay awake. Long day at school, you know." She kept the nervous smile plastered to her face as she opened the door and stepped in.

Heihachi's chair was turned away from her. As soon as the door was opened, he turned around. The man was 75 and was really beginning to show it. He had huge bags under his narrow eyes and wrinkles all over his face. He was bald, except for the hair on the sides of his head, which shot back at a 45-degree angle. Seriously, the guy looked like he'd grabbed an electric fence. Even though he was old, he was an extreme fighter. Very few had ever beaten him.

"Ling, my girl!" He said cheerfully. She smiled and said hello. "Come, sit!" She did so.

"You asked to see me, sir?"

"Yes I did. But first, let me ask you, how have you been doing in school?"

"Oh, uh, good, thanks. Well, to be honest, my math grades still aren't so hot. Never did like the subject, really."

"But mathematics is one of the most important subjects there is! Stick with it and it will take you places."

"Yes sir."

"How's you're Japanese coming along?"

She answered him in the language.

"Very good. Very good. You're tri-lingual now, you know that? Chinese, English, and Japanese."

"It still seems funny to me."

"Ling, you are becoming a beautiful woman. You are very intelligent and every day you show your wisdom, wit, and charm."

"Thank you, sir."

Just then, the intercom buzzed.

"Sir, it's Kimo with the first entrees."

"Ah! Send him in!" Heihachi replied. The door opened again and Kimo walked in.

"Entrees?" Ling asked.

"Oh, yes, this is why I called you in here. Do you remember why you came to Japan in the first place?"

"Yes. I wanted to compete in the tournament."

"You defeated my guards and said you would do the same to me if I didn't let you enter." He chuckled. "How long ago was that tournament?"

"About two years, sir."

"Then I'd say we're about due."

"What?"

"You heard me right. I'm holding the fourth King of Iron Fist Tournament."

"R-really? Wow!"

"Would you like to join?"

"Me?"

"Yes you! I am personally inviting you. Do you accept?"

Ling went over it. Should she join the tournament? She was still a good fighter. But on the other hand, Jin had warned her to stay away from Heihachi. Wait! Jin! Surely he would come to the tournament! Then she could talk to him and get some answers. It was a little risky, but it was a chance she was willing to take.

"Yes sir. I accept."

"Excellent!"

"Panda can join too, can't she?"

"Oh, of course!"

"Thank you, sir."

"My pleasure" He flipped through the files Kimo had given him.

Including you and Panda, we now have six fighters. Let's see. Ah, King will be coming. You remember him, don't you?"

"Yeah. He always had that leopard mask on. Kinda freaky."

"Who else do we have? Well, he's a name I know you'll recognize. Miss Julia Chang."

"Julia? Oh, wow! Yeah, she and I were good pals! I can't wait to see her again."

"Neither can I." He went to the next entry. "Now he's a name I don't recognize. Christie Monterio. She's from Brazil. Hmm. Well, these are just the first of many entrees, I assume. I anxiously await the others. Now, go on, Xaioyu. I have much work to attend to."

"Yes sir." She stood up, bowed, and left.

"Oh, Ling! One more thing!"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to take a visit back to China?"

Ling's eyes glowed. "Really?!"

"Yes. I am going to Hong Kong to personally invite Lei Wulong to the tournament. You remember him, don't you?"

"Of course. He was like an uncle to me."

"Alright then. We leave tomorrow."

"Okay." Then she left.

As soon as the door closed, Kimo looked at Heihachi.

"Are you sure it's necessary to eliminate her? She seems harmless enough."

"You don't know her well enough then." Heihachi said, his smile now gone. "I said myself that she is getting wiser and more intelligent everyday. If we keep her here, she'll suspect something. After all, she was his friend." Heihachi dismissed Kimo, and once he was gone, he looked at the fourth entry. "So, you've taken the bait." He let out a low chuckle. "Fool. You don't know what you're getting yourself into." Heihachi stood up looked out the window behind him, which was the entire back wall. "Soon . . .soon everything will be in place. Soon I will have everything. Then there will be no one to stop me. No one." His laughter started out quiet, then slowly increased in volume, until he was letting out a loud, evil cackle.

* * * *

Hong Kong, China

The trip had been a fairly long one. Nothing of much interest happened aboard Heihachi's luxurious ship. It was the same one where Ling had beaten up the guards two years ago. Throughout the trip, all Ling could think about was Jin's letter. Was she being led into a trap? The fear led to dizziness, which didn't go well with riding out on the sea and Ling became seasick.

At long last, they reached the shores of Hong Kong, China. Now, they just needed to find Lei Wulong, the number one cop in China.

Finding the place was easy enough. A decent sized home in the city. Heihachi wore his best tuxedo to meet his old friend. Ling wore a pink dress.

Heihachi rang the doorbell. He, Ling, and the bodyguards waited for a minute, but nothing happened. Heihachi knocked this time. Again they waited. Heihachi began to knock again, but then the knob twisted and the door opened, revealing the most deranged, dragged-down cop in China.

His long black hair was a total mess. His shirt was open, revealing his slightly depleting muscles. His eyes were barely open, as if just awakened from sleeping. He held a beer bottle in his hand.

"Lei?" Heihachi said, stunned at the changes in the man.

"Mr. Mishima? Oh, uh, come in. Come in."

Everyone walked inside. This place wasn't much less disoriented than he was.

"Sorry about the mess. I've been, uh, kinda busy." Heihachi and Ling sat on a couch while Lei sat on a chair facing them.

"Lei Wulong." Heihachi shook his hand. "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise."

"You remember Ling Xaioyu, do you not?"

"Yes! I remember." He shook her hand. "Is it just me, or have you gotten more beautiful since the last time I saw you."

Ling chuckled. "If that was flirting, you're too old and that was pathetic."

Lei laughed. "I can see you haven't changed much, but it's good to see you, Ling."

"So, Lei." Heihachi began, "I've noticed that there have been quite a few.changes since we last met. What happened?"

Lei's smile disappeared and he slouched in his chair. "My life's a wreck." He began to take another sip of his beer, but Ling took the bottle from him.

"Whatever happened, this ain't the answer."

He shrugged.

"So what happened?" Heihachi asked again.

"You know how I was supposed to arrest Brian Fury in the last tournament? Well, I didn't. The police have been going through two years of undercover treatment and they're blaming it on me! Just last week, there was some scandal going on. Someone framed me, saying that I was involved. I got a two-month suspension. I couldn't believe it! How could the chief believe that lying, pathetic creep over me? I've been working my butt off on this case! My girlfriend even left me, saying I care more about my work than her. So, as you see, the past two years haven't been so great."

"It must be hard going from top cop to down in the dumps."

"I am dishonored."

"Then you'll just have to regain it! Prove to them that you're just as good as you always were!"

"I'm trying. In fact, I've already got a lead. You remember Nina Williams, right?"

"Yes."

"I believe she's an assassin."

"An assassin?!"

"Yes! But the problem is I don't have any idea of where to find her, so my lead is just going to waste."

"Well then, you'll be happy to hear what I have to say. I'm holing the fourth King of Iron Fist Tournament."

"What?!"

"I came here to personally invite you."

Lei's mouth hung open and he was speechless for a moment. "This tournament will draw out both Brian and Nina!"

"You can kill two birds with one stone. Even if you just catch one of them, you'll still be able to regain your honor. What do you say?"

Lei grinned in excitement. "I'll go!"

"Wonderful! Now, pack up! My ship awaits us!"





Author's note: Okay, so you all know, Ling Xaioyu is my favorite female character to use. She's so HOT!! I'm also a Xaioyu/Jin fan. If ya don't like it, bummer. There will be more characters. I want to involve all of them, but some will be very minor. Please review!