I do not own a darn thing, haven't since chapter 1, and I still don't now.
WARNING: This chapter is quite long, possibly the longest chapter in the history of ever, so get a warm blanket, a nice cool beverage and a sandwich and make yourself comfortable. It's long but it wraps everything up.
Chapter 17: Final Round
Phil groaned as the morning light pierced into his eyes. He lifted his head and looked down at Helena who was still sound asleep and nuzzled into his arm and chest. He looked at the clock, he had to be at the arena in an hour. He looked back at Helena and ran his hand along her cheek. He flipped a few strands of her hair away from her face and continued to glide his fingers down the side of her face. She made a sleepy mumble and dug her face deeper into his chest. He ran his thumb along her lower lips while his hand still touched her soft cheek. He sighed and finally convinced himself he had to get up. He kissed her on the top of the head and carefully maneuvered himself to get out of bed without moving her too much. He picked up his clothes and started to dress himself.
"Nice bum." he heard, going bright pink instantly.
"I thought you were asleep." he said to her with a smile. He faced her as she looked up with sleepy eyes. He zipped up his jeans and sat next to her while he fidgeted to get his shirt right-side-out again. She cuddled up behind him and ran her hands along his chest. "I have a match, otherwise you would be winning right now." She kissed his neck and snuggled more.
"I know." she said with a cocky tease.
"You know that I have a match or you know that you would win?" Phil gave her a sly look as if to imply he could resist her if he wanted.
"Both." She kissed the other side of his neck and moved herself in front of him, wrapping the silk sheet around her delicate frame. She sat on his lap and cuddled with a sigh.
I'm never going to get my damn shirt on. Phil thought.
"What are you chuckling about?" Helena asked. Phil shook his head.
"Nothing, but I do have to go, I'm sorry." Helena nodded.
"I know." She kissed him on the nose and got off his lap. "I'll be here." Phil got up and finished dressing, cursing himself for leaving for his match. They shared another long kiss at the door and Phil was off. He had a bit of a bounce to his step this morning as he walked to the arena and into the elevator that would take him to where he would fight Ryu. He closed his eyes while he leaned against the wall of the elevator until an idea hit him.
It was quiet in the manmade forest. Artificial wind gently blew some of the fine soft 'dirt' that made the path along the stream Only the pre-recorded sound of insects and birds that came from hidden speakers broke the silence. The dusty path started to swirl and gather leaves. Soon the swirl grew into a cyclone as Ryu slammed into the ground in a crouch. He stared up with his eyes, ready to meet Phil's eyes, but Phil was nowhere to be seen. Ryu stayed in his crouch, but looked around for Phil. Ryu then stood with a bit of a dumbfounded shock, what was the point of making such a flashy entrance if no one will see it? Suddenly the sounds of birds and insects stopped and the hidden speakers clicked loudly. Then a faint string section could be heard playing a simple melody over and over. Soon a few drums joined in while the strings built up in volume. Suddenly a blaring trumpet shattered the air while the theme to 'Hockey night in Canada' echoed through the arena. Ryu squinted and laughed to himself as Phil's figure grew in the distance. Phil zoomed down the path with rollerblades strapped to the bottom of his boots, hockey stick in hand and hockey gloves covering his fists. He wore a white Toronto Maple Leafs jersey with the number 16 and the name 'Tucker' proudly mounted on the back. He glided along the path until he came to Ryu and skated a close circle around him several times before skidding to a halt in front of him and putting his stick on the ground in a face-off position. Ryu chuckled.
"You look ridiculous." Ryu finally said, Phil smiled up at him.
"You do your thing, I'll do mine." he said with a smirk, kicking the rollerblades off his boots. Ryyu still shook his head, finding it hard to take his opponent seriously now.
"So... why?" the ninja asked while Phil hung his jersey on a treebranch. Phil shrugged.
"I figure, I'm done after today, may as well have some fun with it." They both chuckled and shook hands before going into their battle stances. A loud buzzer rang and immediately Phil threw the stick away and whipped the gloves off his hands. Ryu went for an elegant spinning attack right off the bat, but Phil beat him to the punch. Phil threw his martial arts to the side and just grabbed Ryu by the shirt and punched him several times with his free hand. The simple attack threw Ryu off his guard and he quickly pulled away, but Phil had a firm grasp of his top. Ryu pulled back with his legs, causing himself to lean forward which allowed Phil to grab the bottom of Ryu's top and pull it over his head. Ryu's head popped back up as Phil held his top, securing his arms. Phil took a few right jabs and let Ryu go. Ryu stumbled back and fell on his backside in the dust. He looked up in awe at Phil who now went into a kapwaeda position. Ryu threw his shirt to the side and regained his composure while he stood. Okay, now he's going to kill me, but at least I got to do that. Ryu kicked high, Phil ducked. Ryu kept spinning with a middle kick, Phil thought he was going to kick low and stood up right into Ryu's foot. The blow knocked Phil sideways and Ryu followed with a spinning knuckle that knocked Phil down. Ryu dove high into the air and plummeted down towards Phil. Phil rolled away and kicked up quickly. Ryu dove at Phil again, though this time not as high. Phil ducked Ryu and punched upwards while the ninja floated over him. His fist caught Ryu in the gut, causing Ryu to roll through his jump not as gracefully as he wanted to. Ryu ran towards Phil with a full head of steam and jumped. Phil prepared for a high or mid attack and ducked low, unfortunately for him Ryu's run converted into a slide and he took Phil down with authority. Phil scrambled away from Ryu and got to his feet. Ryu screamed loudly and thrust both his hands forward. Phil saw the attack coming and leaned back, causing the hands to miss him by only inches. Ryu immediately went into a backflip kick which caught Phil squarely on the jaw. Phil staggered but kept his footing. Ryu ran at Phil again and put out his shoulder and lowered his head. He seemed to move faster than Phil could see as he slid through as if to cut right through Phil. Phil sidestepped the attack and kicked Ryu in the back of the head, causing him to crumple to the ground on impact. Ryu quickly got up and shook the cobwebs out. Ryu spun up onto his hands and flung his feet at Phil. Phil dodged the strange attack but was not ready for Ryu to continue his spin. Ryu's kick staggered Phil yet again, and as Ryu slid onto his knees he brought up his hands and the impact launched Phil back, causing him to bounce off on of the fake trees and roll through the dirt and grass. Shoulda seen that coming, idiot! Phil was dizzy and now in quite a bit of pain. He heard the buzzer sound, signaling Ryu as the winner. He sighed and laid on the ground still, trying to get feeling back into his body. Ryu appeared over him, rubbing his jaw.
"Good match." Ryu said, extending his hand to help Phil up. Phil slowly got to his feet, aware now that he was indeed eliminated.
"Remember our agreement." Phil said, clearly still dizzy from the last blow. Ryu nodded his head.
"Master Gen Fu will see that money before midnight tonight, I promise." Ryu lifted his top from the dust and slid it back on. "That attack you got me with at the start though, it was so simple yet so effective. I have trained under many masters over the years but never seen an attack like that before, tell me please, where did you learn such an aggressive, simple and powerful attack like that one?" Phil smirked as he finally came to his senses.
"Domi." Phil smiled as he retrieved his jersey. Ryu nodded.
"Master Domi, I shall seek him out and learn his ways." Phil nodded, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah, you do that."
Chapter 17 and a half: Closing Time
Phil jogged down the hallway to Helena's room and stopped at her door, catching his breath. He looked up and saw an envelope on her door with 'Phil' written across it with a turquoise glitter ink. He pulled the tape off the envelope and opened it.
'My Sweet.' The letter began. 'Last night was incredible, I mean it. I know I said I would be here when you got back, but I've been called home. My opposite has caught a bad throat infection and I am needed back in Paris tonight, by the time you get this I will be on a plane heading to the airport. I'm sorry we had to part ways like this, I would have liked to say goodbye to you properly. I hope you do well in the remainder of the tournament, win or lose though I hope you know I treasure you and how you've made me feel. I'm sure we will have much to catch up on next year at the next tournament, if I come back. I guess now that Ayane is gone there's no reason for me to fight. Either way I'm sure we will see each other again someday, until then, thank you and stay well my dear. With much love -Helena.' Phil sighed and put his back against the wall and slowly slid down it until he was sitting on the floor, staring at the carpet.
That bitch he thought. He sighed and put the letter in his pocket. He had to be honest with himself, he had developed feelings for her over the time he had spent at DOAtec, and he thought after last night that she had also. He forced himself to his feet and slumped to his own room. He lazily shoved the door behind him and crashed face-down onto his couch. Moments later a knock came from his door and two people let themselves in. Bass and Tina sat in armchairs across from him and looked at him.
"We caught your fight on the monitors." Bass said as he lit up a cigarette. "Was damn funny the way you took it to Ryu, too bad he bested ya." Phil didn't speak or move, he didn't even turn his head to face them. "Look son, it's not that bad, you made if further than the rest of us, cheer up there's always next year." Phil still said nothing. Bass got up and walked out of the room, Tina walked towards Phil and then sat on his back, starting to rub his shoulders.
"Are you okay?" she said, actually sounding sincerely sympathetic for Phil. Phil wanted to just brush her off, but he couldn't now that she seemed so concerned for him, plus Tina actually was giving him quite a good massage.
"Yeah, I'll be fine, thanks." Tina quietly continued to rub his back. Now I'm just another guy this chick has straddled, lovely. he thought to himself. Now hold on Phil, she's been nothing but nice to you since day one, for crying out loud give her some damn respect. He wasn't so much bitter towards Tina, just women in general at this point in time.
"So where are ya going from here?" Tina finally ended the silence. Phil turned his head so he was no longer speaking into the couch.
"Back home I guess, find another job until next year." Tina smiled as she continued to use Phil's back as a piece of clay.
"I'm going back home to, only my home, not your home I mean. I'm going to keep on modeling or make another movie or something. I want to try singing to, I think I'd make a good pop star." Phil kept his chuckle in, suddenly he felt like he was talking to a fifteen year old instead of a grown adult. Tina finished Phil's back then leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Well, I'll see ya around I guess?" She got off of him and gave his backside a playful slap as she walked to the door. Phil watched her.
"Tina." Tina looked back. "Thanks."
"Was no problem, I like giving massages."
"No, I mean thanks for being the first person who helped me feel welcome, being so friendly, just, thanks for being you." Yeah there were times she drove me crazy, but she is a sweet enough girl I suppose. Tina smiled, waved and walked away. On her way out she nearly got run over by an ecstatic Gen Fu.
"Phil!" Gen Fu said loudly, looking like he wanted to jump up and down. Phil slowly rose to a sitting position. Gen Fu tightly gripped a cheque in his hands and stared at it as if he wasn't sure it was real. "Hayabusa won! Then when I congratulated him he handed me this cheque! It's the winning purse! My granddaughter can have her operation!" Phil smiled at Gen Fu's excitement, the old man pocketed the cheque and secured his pocket so it would not fall out. "You knew this would happen didn't you?" Gen Fu said with a smile while he waved his finger at Phil. "That's what you meant yesterday you little schemer you!" Phil nodded.
"I knew I couldn't beat Hayabusa, so we worked something out." Gen fu pulled the cheque back out of his pocket to stare at it again. "A promise is a promise, and I couldn't deal with not keeping mine." Gen Fu sat but bounced in his seat.
"Thank you my friend." Gen Fu shook Phil's hand with a new energy. "I'm off to China tonight to pay the doctors! My little granddaughter will get to grow up because of you and Hayabusa, thank you!" Phil smiled and shook Gen Fu's hand in return.
"Be well, go to your family." Gen Fu nodded and rushed out the door to be on the first plane out of DOAtec. Phil looked out his window to see Hayabusa and Kasumi in Kasumi's room, packing her things. He went out to his balcony and looked at them until they saw him. They waved to him, both smiling, seeming to finally be able to breathe easy. Phil waved back and walked into his room again. May as well pack he thought.
It was mid afternoon when Phil stepped out of the residence elevator for the last time until next year. He held his backpack over his shoulder and checked his mailbox before he left. A letter from Leon sat inside. He opened it and read it.
'To my friend Phil. It was a great honour meeting you this year, but it was an even greater honour to be able to call you my friend. It astounds me that one so young can be as wise as you, thank you for sharing that wisdom with me. I'm off to head back to Italy, I am going to use my purse to open a small restaurant, just like Rolande and I always used to talk about. No more fighting, no more military, I'm going to live. Thank you my friend, and if you are ever in Venice, look for 'Rolande's' and be sure to stop in to say hello. -Leon' Phil smiled while he slid the letter into the front compartment of his backpack. He looked a little deeper into his mailbox to see some folded paper. He pulled the origami flower from his mailbox and stared at the beautiful pink and orange paper creation.
"Kasumi." he said with a smile. As he found a place to put the flower so nothing else in his backpack would crumple it, a boy walked to the mailboxes, putting letters in them.
"Oh, this one's open. Are you Phil?" Phil nodded and the boy handed Phil an envelope then continued his duties. Phil looked at the envelope, there was the same glittery turquoise ink on it that Helena's other letter had. Phil sighed and dropped the envelope in his backpack and zipped it up.
He had sat in the airport for almost two hours. Since the large number of competitors had already left in the eliminations, DOAtec now only used small sesna's to take the fighters to another airport that would take them home instead of the large airliners they arrived in. Phil's curiosity got the best of him and he fished out Helena's second letter, giving him something to read to pass the time. He took a deep breath then opened the envelope, expecting more bad news. A key fell out of the envelope and onto his lap.
The hell? He opened the letter and read it.
'I'm sorry, you must think I'm such a whore after that first letter. I've been feeling nothing but guilt since I wrote it. I'm in the airport waiting to go back to France, so I hope they can deliver this to you while you're still at DOAtec. I can't just leave like this after last night. I know I was a little mean to you when we first met, but you've shown me there is more to life than me and my vendettas. I know I'll probably always be a snobby bitch, but I want to change that if I can, and I guess this is my way of asking if you can deal with being with a snobby bitch. I'm fighting with myself right now but I have to do this. My address is on a separate paper folded up with some francs that will give you cab-fare from the airport in Paris to my house, and there's a key to my house. I can't believe I'm doing this but I want you to come with me. I can't just be that close to someone after all this time then go back to no one. If you have something else to go back to at home or if you just don't want to come, then I understand, but either way I hope you know that I'm thinking about you endlessly. You've made me happy, you let me know that someone cares about me, I hope that wasn't just a temporary thing. I want to take care of you the way I know you would take care of me. I hope I see you again my Sweet. With very much love -Helena'
Holy crap! Phil thought to himself. He touched a mark of Helena's lips, left on the paper with a light pink lip gloss. He thought hard, nodding to himself with all his points and counter-points. Should I go? I just met this girl. A week ago I didn't even know she existed and now I'm debating on leaving my life behind to go to her? Would it be wise to? But what about life back home? I guess the choice is obvious, I hope. Finally a man came to him.
"You're Phil Conners from DOAtec correct?" Phil snapped into reality again and unfolded the paper with Helena's address and the francs. "I'll be your pilot to take you home, as you know DOAtec offers only the best in personal flights to their attachments. Come, let's get you on your plane and take you home." Phil stood and walked with the man towards his private jet that would take him away. "Sorry to keep you waiting, we had only three available planes for all of you." Phil nodded as they boarded the small plane, he was greeted by a steward who showed him a food and drink menu. "So where are we taking you?" The pilot said as he removed his hat and walked towards the cockpit. Phil held the key in his hand and tightened his grip on it.
"France, Paris, please."
Aww the cheesy happy ending, pass the tissues around folks. Well that's it, it's all done, I hope the ending was what you readers wanted. Thank you all reviewers, I hope this story was worth your time, I feel it was worth mine.
WARNING: This chapter is quite long, possibly the longest chapter in the history of ever, so get a warm blanket, a nice cool beverage and a sandwich and make yourself comfortable. It's long but it wraps everything up.
Chapter 17: Final Round
Phil groaned as the morning light pierced into his eyes. He lifted his head and looked down at Helena who was still sound asleep and nuzzled into his arm and chest. He looked at the clock, he had to be at the arena in an hour. He looked back at Helena and ran his hand along her cheek. He flipped a few strands of her hair away from her face and continued to glide his fingers down the side of her face. She made a sleepy mumble and dug her face deeper into his chest. He ran his thumb along her lower lips while his hand still touched her soft cheek. He sighed and finally convinced himself he had to get up. He kissed her on the top of the head and carefully maneuvered himself to get out of bed without moving her too much. He picked up his clothes and started to dress himself.
"Nice bum." he heard, going bright pink instantly.
"I thought you were asleep." he said to her with a smile. He faced her as she looked up with sleepy eyes. He zipped up his jeans and sat next to her while he fidgeted to get his shirt right-side-out again. She cuddled up behind him and ran her hands along his chest. "I have a match, otherwise you would be winning right now." She kissed his neck and snuggled more.
"I know." she said with a cocky tease.
"You know that I have a match or you know that you would win?" Phil gave her a sly look as if to imply he could resist her if he wanted.
"Both." She kissed the other side of his neck and moved herself in front of him, wrapping the silk sheet around her delicate frame. She sat on his lap and cuddled with a sigh.
I'm never going to get my damn shirt on. Phil thought.
"What are you chuckling about?" Helena asked. Phil shook his head.
"Nothing, but I do have to go, I'm sorry." Helena nodded.
"I know." She kissed him on the nose and got off his lap. "I'll be here." Phil got up and finished dressing, cursing himself for leaving for his match. They shared another long kiss at the door and Phil was off. He had a bit of a bounce to his step this morning as he walked to the arena and into the elevator that would take him to where he would fight Ryu. He closed his eyes while he leaned against the wall of the elevator until an idea hit him.
It was quiet in the manmade forest. Artificial wind gently blew some of the fine soft 'dirt' that made the path along the stream Only the pre-recorded sound of insects and birds that came from hidden speakers broke the silence. The dusty path started to swirl and gather leaves. Soon the swirl grew into a cyclone as Ryu slammed into the ground in a crouch. He stared up with his eyes, ready to meet Phil's eyes, but Phil was nowhere to be seen. Ryu stayed in his crouch, but looked around for Phil. Ryu then stood with a bit of a dumbfounded shock, what was the point of making such a flashy entrance if no one will see it? Suddenly the sounds of birds and insects stopped and the hidden speakers clicked loudly. Then a faint string section could be heard playing a simple melody over and over. Soon a few drums joined in while the strings built up in volume. Suddenly a blaring trumpet shattered the air while the theme to 'Hockey night in Canada' echoed through the arena. Ryu squinted and laughed to himself as Phil's figure grew in the distance. Phil zoomed down the path with rollerblades strapped to the bottom of his boots, hockey stick in hand and hockey gloves covering his fists. He wore a white Toronto Maple Leafs jersey with the number 16 and the name 'Tucker' proudly mounted on the back. He glided along the path until he came to Ryu and skated a close circle around him several times before skidding to a halt in front of him and putting his stick on the ground in a face-off position. Ryu chuckled.
"You look ridiculous." Ryu finally said, Phil smiled up at him.
"You do your thing, I'll do mine." he said with a smirk, kicking the rollerblades off his boots. Ryyu still shook his head, finding it hard to take his opponent seriously now.
"So... why?" the ninja asked while Phil hung his jersey on a treebranch. Phil shrugged.
"I figure, I'm done after today, may as well have some fun with it." They both chuckled and shook hands before going into their battle stances. A loud buzzer rang and immediately Phil threw the stick away and whipped the gloves off his hands. Ryu went for an elegant spinning attack right off the bat, but Phil beat him to the punch. Phil threw his martial arts to the side and just grabbed Ryu by the shirt and punched him several times with his free hand. The simple attack threw Ryu off his guard and he quickly pulled away, but Phil had a firm grasp of his top. Ryu pulled back with his legs, causing himself to lean forward which allowed Phil to grab the bottom of Ryu's top and pull it over his head. Ryu's head popped back up as Phil held his top, securing his arms. Phil took a few right jabs and let Ryu go. Ryu stumbled back and fell on his backside in the dust. He looked up in awe at Phil who now went into a kapwaeda position. Ryu threw his shirt to the side and regained his composure while he stood. Okay, now he's going to kill me, but at least I got to do that. Ryu kicked high, Phil ducked. Ryu kept spinning with a middle kick, Phil thought he was going to kick low and stood up right into Ryu's foot. The blow knocked Phil sideways and Ryu followed with a spinning knuckle that knocked Phil down. Ryu dove high into the air and plummeted down towards Phil. Phil rolled away and kicked up quickly. Ryu dove at Phil again, though this time not as high. Phil ducked Ryu and punched upwards while the ninja floated over him. His fist caught Ryu in the gut, causing Ryu to roll through his jump not as gracefully as he wanted to. Ryu ran towards Phil with a full head of steam and jumped. Phil prepared for a high or mid attack and ducked low, unfortunately for him Ryu's run converted into a slide and he took Phil down with authority. Phil scrambled away from Ryu and got to his feet. Ryu screamed loudly and thrust both his hands forward. Phil saw the attack coming and leaned back, causing the hands to miss him by only inches. Ryu immediately went into a backflip kick which caught Phil squarely on the jaw. Phil staggered but kept his footing. Ryu ran at Phil again and put out his shoulder and lowered his head. He seemed to move faster than Phil could see as he slid through as if to cut right through Phil. Phil sidestepped the attack and kicked Ryu in the back of the head, causing him to crumple to the ground on impact. Ryu quickly got up and shook the cobwebs out. Ryu spun up onto his hands and flung his feet at Phil. Phil dodged the strange attack but was not ready for Ryu to continue his spin. Ryu's kick staggered Phil yet again, and as Ryu slid onto his knees he brought up his hands and the impact launched Phil back, causing him to bounce off on of the fake trees and roll through the dirt and grass. Shoulda seen that coming, idiot! Phil was dizzy and now in quite a bit of pain. He heard the buzzer sound, signaling Ryu as the winner. He sighed and laid on the ground still, trying to get feeling back into his body. Ryu appeared over him, rubbing his jaw.
"Good match." Ryu said, extending his hand to help Phil up. Phil slowly got to his feet, aware now that he was indeed eliminated.
"Remember our agreement." Phil said, clearly still dizzy from the last blow. Ryu nodded his head.
"Master Gen Fu will see that money before midnight tonight, I promise." Ryu lifted his top from the dust and slid it back on. "That attack you got me with at the start though, it was so simple yet so effective. I have trained under many masters over the years but never seen an attack like that before, tell me please, where did you learn such an aggressive, simple and powerful attack like that one?" Phil smirked as he finally came to his senses.
"Domi." Phil smiled as he retrieved his jersey. Ryu nodded.
"Master Domi, I shall seek him out and learn his ways." Phil nodded, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah, you do that."
Chapter 17 and a half: Closing Time
Phil jogged down the hallway to Helena's room and stopped at her door, catching his breath. He looked up and saw an envelope on her door with 'Phil' written across it with a turquoise glitter ink. He pulled the tape off the envelope and opened it.
'My Sweet.' The letter began. 'Last night was incredible, I mean it. I know I said I would be here when you got back, but I've been called home. My opposite has caught a bad throat infection and I am needed back in Paris tonight, by the time you get this I will be on a plane heading to the airport. I'm sorry we had to part ways like this, I would have liked to say goodbye to you properly. I hope you do well in the remainder of the tournament, win or lose though I hope you know I treasure you and how you've made me feel. I'm sure we will have much to catch up on next year at the next tournament, if I come back. I guess now that Ayane is gone there's no reason for me to fight. Either way I'm sure we will see each other again someday, until then, thank you and stay well my dear. With much love -Helena.' Phil sighed and put his back against the wall and slowly slid down it until he was sitting on the floor, staring at the carpet.
That bitch he thought. He sighed and put the letter in his pocket. He had to be honest with himself, he had developed feelings for her over the time he had spent at DOAtec, and he thought after last night that she had also. He forced himself to his feet and slumped to his own room. He lazily shoved the door behind him and crashed face-down onto his couch. Moments later a knock came from his door and two people let themselves in. Bass and Tina sat in armchairs across from him and looked at him.
"We caught your fight on the monitors." Bass said as he lit up a cigarette. "Was damn funny the way you took it to Ryu, too bad he bested ya." Phil didn't speak or move, he didn't even turn his head to face them. "Look son, it's not that bad, you made if further than the rest of us, cheer up there's always next year." Phil still said nothing. Bass got up and walked out of the room, Tina walked towards Phil and then sat on his back, starting to rub his shoulders.
"Are you okay?" she said, actually sounding sincerely sympathetic for Phil. Phil wanted to just brush her off, but he couldn't now that she seemed so concerned for him, plus Tina actually was giving him quite a good massage.
"Yeah, I'll be fine, thanks." Tina quietly continued to rub his back. Now I'm just another guy this chick has straddled, lovely. he thought to himself. Now hold on Phil, she's been nothing but nice to you since day one, for crying out loud give her some damn respect. He wasn't so much bitter towards Tina, just women in general at this point in time.
"So where are ya going from here?" Tina finally ended the silence. Phil turned his head so he was no longer speaking into the couch.
"Back home I guess, find another job until next year." Tina smiled as she continued to use Phil's back as a piece of clay.
"I'm going back home to, only my home, not your home I mean. I'm going to keep on modeling or make another movie or something. I want to try singing to, I think I'd make a good pop star." Phil kept his chuckle in, suddenly he felt like he was talking to a fifteen year old instead of a grown adult. Tina finished Phil's back then leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Well, I'll see ya around I guess?" She got off of him and gave his backside a playful slap as she walked to the door. Phil watched her.
"Tina." Tina looked back. "Thanks."
"Was no problem, I like giving massages."
"No, I mean thanks for being the first person who helped me feel welcome, being so friendly, just, thanks for being you." Yeah there were times she drove me crazy, but she is a sweet enough girl I suppose. Tina smiled, waved and walked away. On her way out she nearly got run over by an ecstatic Gen Fu.
"Phil!" Gen Fu said loudly, looking like he wanted to jump up and down. Phil slowly rose to a sitting position. Gen Fu tightly gripped a cheque in his hands and stared at it as if he wasn't sure it was real. "Hayabusa won! Then when I congratulated him he handed me this cheque! It's the winning purse! My granddaughter can have her operation!" Phil smiled at Gen Fu's excitement, the old man pocketed the cheque and secured his pocket so it would not fall out. "You knew this would happen didn't you?" Gen Fu said with a smile while he waved his finger at Phil. "That's what you meant yesterday you little schemer you!" Phil nodded.
"I knew I couldn't beat Hayabusa, so we worked something out." Gen fu pulled the cheque back out of his pocket to stare at it again. "A promise is a promise, and I couldn't deal with not keeping mine." Gen Fu sat but bounced in his seat.
"Thank you my friend." Gen Fu shook Phil's hand with a new energy. "I'm off to China tonight to pay the doctors! My little granddaughter will get to grow up because of you and Hayabusa, thank you!" Phil smiled and shook Gen Fu's hand in return.
"Be well, go to your family." Gen Fu nodded and rushed out the door to be on the first plane out of DOAtec. Phil looked out his window to see Hayabusa and Kasumi in Kasumi's room, packing her things. He went out to his balcony and looked at them until they saw him. They waved to him, both smiling, seeming to finally be able to breathe easy. Phil waved back and walked into his room again. May as well pack he thought.
It was mid afternoon when Phil stepped out of the residence elevator for the last time until next year. He held his backpack over his shoulder and checked his mailbox before he left. A letter from Leon sat inside. He opened it and read it.
'To my friend Phil. It was a great honour meeting you this year, but it was an even greater honour to be able to call you my friend. It astounds me that one so young can be as wise as you, thank you for sharing that wisdom with me. I'm off to head back to Italy, I am going to use my purse to open a small restaurant, just like Rolande and I always used to talk about. No more fighting, no more military, I'm going to live. Thank you my friend, and if you are ever in Venice, look for 'Rolande's' and be sure to stop in to say hello. -Leon' Phil smiled while he slid the letter into the front compartment of his backpack. He looked a little deeper into his mailbox to see some folded paper. He pulled the origami flower from his mailbox and stared at the beautiful pink and orange paper creation.
"Kasumi." he said with a smile. As he found a place to put the flower so nothing else in his backpack would crumple it, a boy walked to the mailboxes, putting letters in them.
"Oh, this one's open. Are you Phil?" Phil nodded and the boy handed Phil an envelope then continued his duties. Phil looked at the envelope, there was the same glittery turquoise ink on it that Helena's other letter had. Phil sighed and dropped the envelope in his backpack and zipped it up.
He had sat in the airport for almost two hours. Since the large number of competitors had already left in the eliminations, DOAtec now only used small sesna's to take the fighters to another airport that would take them home instead of the large airliners they arrived in. Phil's curiosity got the best of him and he fished out Helena's second letter, giving him something to read to pass the time. He took a deep breath then opened the envelope, expecting more bad news. A key fell out of the envelope and onto his lap.
The hell? He opened the letter and read it.
'I'm sorry, you must think I'm such a whore after that first letter. I've been feeling nothing but guilt since I wrote it. I'm in the airport waiting to go back to France, so I hope they can deliver this to you while you're still at DOAtec. I can't just leave like this after last night. I know I was a little mean to you when we first met, but you've shown me there is more to life than me and my vendettas. I know I'll probably always be a snobby bitch, but I want to change that if I can, and I guess this is my way of asking if you can deal with being with a snobby bitch. I'm fighting with myself right now but I have to do this. My address is on a separate paper folded up with some francs that will give you cab-fare from the airport in Paris to my house, and there's a key to my house. I can't believe I'm doing this but I want you to come with me. I can't just be that close to someone after all this time then go back to no one. If you have something else to go back to at home or if you just don't want to come, then I understand, but either way I hope you know that I'm thinking about you endlessly. You've made me happy, you let me know that someone cares about me, I hope that wasn't just a temporary thing. I want to take care of you the way I know you would take care of me. I hope I see you again my Sweet. With very much love -Helena'
Holy crap! Phil thought to himself. He touched a mark of Helena's lips, left on the paper with a light pink lip gloss. He thought hard, nodding to himself with all his points and counter-points. Should I go? I just met this girl. A week ago I didn't even know she existed and now I'm debating on leaving my life behind to go to her? Would it be wise to? But what about life back home? I guess the choice is obvious, I hope. Finally a man came to him.
"You're Phil Conners from DOAtec correct?" Phil snapped into reality again and unfolded the paper with Helena's address and the francs. "I'll be your pilot to take you home, as you know DOAtec offers only the best in personal flights to their attachments. Come, let's get you on your plane and take you home." Phil stood and walked with the man towards his private jet that would take him away. "Sorry to keep you waiting, we had only three available planes for all of you." Phil nodded as they boarded the small plane, he was greeted by a steward who showed him a food and drink menu. "So where are we taking you?" The pilot said as he removed his hat and walked towards the cockpit. Phil held the key in his hand and tightened his grip on it.
"France, Paris, please."
Aww the cheesy happy ending, pass the tissues around folks. Well that's it, it's all done, I hope the ending was what you readers wanted. Thank you all reviewers, I hope this story was worth your time, I feel it was worth mine.