It had been three days since Xiaoyu had crept on board the Mishima Zaibatsu vessel, and even though they had not stopped sailing for three days straight Xiaoyu never tired of the ship. Heihachi was surprisingly nice to her even though she had been rather rude at their introduction. He had provided her with her own room in the ship and spare clothes. Essentials and even luxuries had been provided for her with a simple request.

On the third night she lay on her bed, looking up at the dimly lit ceiling. Her mind was rushing, less than a week ago her ambitions had been no more than dreams, nothing substantial. But now they were solid and she had only but to reach to grasp them; and she swore she would with a firm grip and with both hands. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She got up and answered the door. Heihachi stood at the door; his huge masculine body almost filled the frame of the door.

"I trust you found everything to your comfort?" he mused. She turned back to her bed and nodded politely. "Good, you will need to gather your things together; we leave for Japan in the morning."

"Hai Mishima-Sama." She said and bowed.

"You should have an average of three months of preparation before the tournament begins and plenty of time to settle into school there.

"School?" Xiaoyu asked with disappointment.

"Your parents have requested that you continue your schooling here for the duration of your stay here. It is for your best interest of course." He continued. School was a definite dampener on her hopes. Xiaoyu resisted the urge to yell and pound the floor in childish instinct and nodded reluctantly.

"One thing though, is it really for the best? I mean my Nihongo isn't very good and I, well I won't fit in so well."

"You'll fit in fine and I will have my grandson tutor you personally in language skills, he is more than adept." Great, judging by Heihachi's age and attitude, his grandson was probably ten years her senior and a boring old fool too. Well she had no say in the matter; if she was going to school she was going no matter what. After bidding her goodnight he left to make preparations and left her to pack her things for the journey. 

*

They left early the next morning and Xiaoyu was incredibly excited. Not even the dullest parts of the journey could weaken her spirits. She was hyperactive all the way there. The flight was comfortable and the in flight entertainment was more than enough to keep her occupied. They landed shortly after the third hour on the flight had passed and they drove straight to the Mishima residence. But not even her lack of sleep could have held her back from the excitement of staying at the mansion. As soon as the limousine passed through the grand gates she was bouncing in her seat anxiously. It was magnificent! The grounds were so vast and so beautiful under the moonlight. She couldn't wait to see the inside of the elaborate mansion. When she entered it was even better, each and every luxurious room was better than the last.

"I think it's time you got some rest." Heihachi announced after showing her the remainder of the ground floor which in itself had taken two hours to appreciate fully. Xiaoyu was lead to a room, which had been prepared prior to her arrival at the mansion, and she was not disappointed at what she found. When she pushed aside the sliding door she found that the room was incredibly spacious, more than three times the largest room at her own home. Even the futon placed along the back wall looked beautifully inviting. She went straight to it and changed into her nightwear speedily before collapsing onto it. It was no wonder, that after the whole day's events, she fell asleep as soon her head touched the pillow. 

***

Xiao woke up late the next morning feeling revived and refreshed after a good nights sleep. She showered and dressed promptly as her stomach grumbled relentlessly. She made her way down to the dining room and opened the door to find Heihachi sat at a table, his head buried in a large broadsheet newspaper. He lowered it slightly as she entered the room and nodded to a place opposite him at the table. She mumbled a greeting and took a look at the table; there was a large buffet breakfast spread across the table. Xiao sat down and helped herself to the food; as Heihachi had indicated that she do so. She ate a little and her thoughts wondered to home. It was weird eating breakfast here. There was much more food and of much more variety. But breakfast had always been a lively event where she'd chat constantly with her parents. Sometimes if her mother had made something she hadn't liked she'd pass it down to Panda. Oh Panda! How she missed her. There wasn't any food Panda didn't like. She sighed and leaned her cheek in her palm. Heihachi peered over his paper at Xiao and raised a brow.

"Aren't you hungry? Or does the food not suit your liking." He chided. Xiao shook her head and continued to eat. As she ate she felt something brush against her leg. She sat frozen in shock. She looked under the table to see a large brown bear by her feet. For a moment she thought she was going mad. All the thinking of Panda was making her see bears!!! But when Heihachi spoke out she just stared at the bear in shock.

"Oh I'm sorry I forgot to mention my pet bear there. That's Kuma." Heihachi said almost absently. Xiao smiled and scratched Kuma's ears lightly. He growled appreciatively.

She finished her meal and looked down at her plate and then back up at Heihachi, who was engrossed in his paper. He looked up from his paper once again and sighed before putting it down.

"You look rather disturbed Ling-chan, is anything the matter?"

"Hmm? No, I was just thinking. I miss my pet. Your own bear reminded me of her" she smiled.

"Kuma? How does my bear remind you of your pet?" Heihachi asked, failing to see the relevance of a household pet and a bear of Kuma's size.

"My pet is a Panda. I take care of her for my school, she really is amazing." Xiao said happily.

"Really?" he asked. "Interesting." He mused and looked at her thoughtfully. "If you like Ling-chan we can have her brought over. Kuma here is trained as a bodyguard. I can offer the same training for your Panda." The offer was generous, and Xiao really couldn't think of a better way to brighten things up around here. The training didn't seem like a bad idea for Panda. She gave Heihachi an appreciative smile and nodded enthusiastically.

"That would be wonderful Mishima-Sama. I'd like that very much!" she said. Genuinely thankful Xiao got up and bowed politely.

"Very well, I will make the arrangements. Now, since you don't have anything planned, why don't you go make yourself more familiar with grounds?" He suggested. Xiao bowed again and left to explore the grounds.

*

Xiao made her way around the mansion winding in and out of the corridors. When finally she found herself outside the mansion she looked around at the smaller buildings beside the larger one. There was one fair sized building right beside the mansion and she could hear some noise coming from it. She recognised the writing above the doorway of the building and identified it as the Mishima Dojo. Without thinking she started towards it, pulled open the door and wandered in.

The noise was coming from further in and when Xiao reached the heart of the Dojo she peeked into the room to see many young men carrying out a series of moves consecutively. They all looked very good moving in perfect synchronisation. However, one of them stood out from the rest. He seemed rather preoccupied in his training, unlike the others who seemed to be doing the moves out of necessity. Xiao stared at him in awe. His techniques, flexibility and strength, they were just amazing. He looked only a few years older than Xiao, maybe three or four. Xiao had seen many good fighters back in her own martial arts school, and anyone with a build like his was usually quite slow. He on the other hand was incredibly speedy in his movements. He executed them with precision and speed. He was incredibly good looking too. His ebony hair was spiky and his bangs fell messily into his eyes. He had a beautifully muscular body, lithe and agile. Xiao blushed inwardly as she realised she was staring open mouthed and quickly clamped her jaws together. As the class completed their katas, most of the group dispersed to linger near the sides of the dojo, some chatted with others, some grabbed water bottles and drank thirstily. But the boy, unlike the rest stayed where he was and straightened up slowly. Cocking his head he glanced over to where Xiao was standing and raised a brow inquisitively.

Xiao suppressed a yelp of surprise and darted behind the door. Deciding it was best not to disturb the class she retreated back to the mansion to wander some more. It was but an hour later when she was intercepted by one of the house staff and informed that she was to have her first language tuition. She grumbled to herself annoyed and went up to her room to get ready. When she was done she went downstairs to the ground floor study and waited until her tutor arrived. It was a nice room, but something about it reminded Xiao of psychiatrist's studies that they showed in movies. She shrugged the thought off and settled in a leather armchair comfortably.

She waited for twenty minutes and still no sign of her tutor.

Another ten-minute wait…

Finally the door opened to reveal her tutor,

none other than the spiky haired boy from the Dojo.