I don't own Tekken.
Lady-Eliwen: Thank you…You know what? I had a very good mark on the exam of the discipline to which I made that project about Bangladesh! (In a scale from 1 to 20, I had 17… :D) Thank you…again…Here is the outcome of the tournament!
MooNTeARZ: Thanks for saying that! I try to pay attention to details…and no, I never went to Japan (I wish I could go, but now it's impossible since I'm finishing the University this year). But, I do watch TV a lot and I have a book that has many information about Japan…I always consulted that book when I was writing this story! I also went to the Japanese embassy here and they gave me some stuff! Writing this story was a true challenge!
HwoarangTheChamp: Hi there…First of all thanks for reviewing. I left a review in this story telling you the list of the chapters in order. You can check that out! I'm really sorry for that! I was going to try to solve this problem but I would have to remove many chapters…so I guess I'll wait until I finish the story. Take care.
Chapter 33
Go with the Flow
TOKYO
25th MAY 2013
Miharu, Ling and Jin arrived at School at nine a.m. It was Jin's fight and they didn't want him to be late. Jin was nervous, but even so he refused to have breakfast.
He went to the men's dressing room and changed his clothes. When he was going to join Ling and Miharu, Christie called him.
'You're Jin Mishima, right?'
'Yes, why?'
'People around say you're very good…'
Jin blushed a bit.
'Fighting…I mean…'-Christie said feeling embarrassed.
'Yes…I'm not too bad! You're very good yourself! Capoeira is not very common in Japan.'
'I know.'
'I was going to join my friends; can I help you with something?'
'Yes, you can! I heard rumours saying that you entered the last Iron Fist…'
'You can't believe in all the rumours…'
'Anyway, I just need to know where the tournament is held.'
'Why?'
'Isn't it obvious? Because I want to enter this year!'
'This tournament is quite hard for non experienced fighters!'
'Are you suggesting that I'm not experienced?'
'No, not at all! But have you ever entered in an Iron Fist?'
'No…'
'That's what I'm saying.'
'I can take care of myself, thank you! I'm from far away; I can't go back without entering this tournament! With or without your help!'
'You speak Japanese very well, for someone who's here just to enter a tournament!'
'So I learnt Japanese, what's wrong with that?'
'I have to go now…'
'Wait! Is the tournament really in Fuji?'
'Maybe…But you'll see that I'm right! The Iron Fist is the hardest tournament…Be careful!'
'I will! Oh…just another question…'
'What?'
'I heard that the former Headmaster from this School was named Mishima, are you his family?'
'He was my grandfather.'
Jin left and Christie gave him a suspicious look. She knew that Eddie had gone to Japan to investigate the Mishima Empire and she had finally met the Mishima heir.
In the meanwhile, Miharu was laughing about some comments she was hearing. Ling was more interested in watching Jin speaking with Christie.
'They say he's the former Headmaster's grandson!' -said a girl from the Yamamoto School.
'Well, he has the same name as the School!' -said another girl.
'There are hundreds of Mishimas in this city!' -said a boy.
'He is very cute!' -the first girl said, ignoring the boy's comment.-'I want to see if he's like everyone says…'
'He seems strong enough. But I guess he has no chance against Ikatemura.'
'Well, he's much cuter than Ikatemura!'
'Hey, I thought you wanted Ikatemura to win!'
'I do! But this Mishima is so…handsome!'
In that moment Jin joined Miharu and Ling.
'You were having a nice talk with that girl!'-said Ling feeling a bit jealous.
'She just wanted some information…no big deal.' -Jin answered.
'Really?' -insisted Ling.
'I've got to go…'-said Jin.-'I'll meet you after the fight.'
'It's going to be a piece of cake!' -said Miharu.-'Remember that you're the best!'
'I hope so!'
Yang and Kazumi arrived precisely when the fight was starting. Everyone was yelling.
'Just in time…'-said Kazumi.
'Yeah…'-said Ling in a bad humour.
'What's wrong? Having a bad day, Ling?' -asked Miharu.
'No!'
'Are you jealous?'-insisted Miharu.
'Jealous of what?'
'Because Jin was speaking with that Christie Monteiro?'
'As if!'
'Well you sure seem jealous!'
'I'm not jealous, ok?'
'Fine!'
'What's wrong with her?' -asked Yang.
'She's upset!'
'She should be happy, because Jin is showing that guy who's the best!'
Actually, though Ito Ikatemura was almost twice of his size, Jin wasn't intimidated by his muscles and he was definitely the best. He never thought that Miharu's words could be so real.
Jin won fairly and Ling was going to congratulate him when she saw Christie joining him.
'I know now what you mean about the Iron Fist!' -Christie said to Jin.
'What?'
'If all the fighters are like you, it will be hard! Congratulations, it was a great fight!'
'Thanks…'
Christie left to join Paul and Jin faced Ling, who was now, really upset. The truth was that she wasn't just with jealous; she was simply dying with jealous.
'Are you alright?' -Jin asked.
'Leave me alone!'-she said turning her back on him.
Before Jin could do or say anything, he was completely surrounded by Miharu, Yang and Kazumi who wanted to congratulate him.
An hour later, Jin was going home with Miharu.
'What's wrong with Ling?' -Jin asked.
'She's a bit upset.'
'Why? What have I done?'
Miharu looked at him amazed. How couldn't he understand what was going on? Was he blind?
Miharu was thinking that in a time like that she could take a chance and try to make Jin notice her, but then she thought about Ling.
Ling was her best friend, and she couldn't betray her. She knew that Ling liked Jin more than she wanted to admit, and it was obvious that Jin liked her too. They were both being stupid not admitting that.
'Look, Jin…I think you better talk with Ling!' -Miharu said finally.-'She is upset because she thinks that you are interested in Christie Monteiro!'
'She said that?'
'Not directly…but…today you seemed a bit distant from us…'
'I'm not interested in Christie!'
'You have to say that to Ling, not me…'
TOKYO
28th MAY 2013
The Yamamoto and Meiji School students had been eliminated from the tournament. Yang had defeated Akira Iwago in a very balanced fight two days ago, and Paul had won his fight against Akagi Shinigani.
Many students from those schools had accused the tournament organisation from being fixed because the only two fighters were Jin and Yang, both from the same school.
The draw decided that Christie was going to face Yang, and Paul was going to face Jin.
Christie's fight lasted almost an hour. She wasn't expecting Yang to be such a good fighter.
Actually no one was expecting that, not even Jin.
In the end of the fight, Yang managed to grab Christie's arm and threw her off the limits.
Jin, Ling, Miharu and Kazumi went to congratulate Yang for his victory while Paul was helping Christie to get up.
'Good fight!' -Paul said.
'Thanks…but I lost!'
'In a few years, you'll be one of the most talented fighters ever!'
'Do you think so?'
'I recognise a talent when I see it!'
'Thanks…I won't forget your words!'
'Don't forget this too: if you're going to the Iron Fist, be aware…sometimes we allow ourselves to be fooled by appearances!'
In the meanwhile, when everyone was leaving the School, Yuu showed up.
'Hey…we thought you had deserted us!'-said Yang.
'I just left the country for a while!' -said Yuu. -'By the way, congratulations!'
'Thanks. Do you want to join us? We are going to celebrate!'
'I can't…I need to speak with the Headmaster!'
'Ok…see you later…'-said Kazumi waving.
'Can I stay with you? '-asked Miharu.
'Yeah…sure.'
When the others left, Miharu started her questions.
'So…where were you? You didn't answer our calls, and e-mails…'
'I was in Thailand!'
'Thailand? Why?'
'It's a long story…basically, my father asked my grandparents, who are in Thailand to ask if I could go there, because it was an emergency. They agreed, I went, and then I realised it was all a trap. My father wanted me to get away from this School so he could speak to the Headmaster…'
'Well, he did…'
'I know. I'm here because I want to ask the Headmaster if I can make the exams in June.'
'I made things worse for you, didn't I?'
'Yes…you did! But it's ok.'
'I'm sorry…I thought your father was a reasonable man…'
'He isn't!'
Yuu spoke with the Headmaster, who accepted to let him make the exams in June, only because he was one of the best students.
Back home, Yuu said Miharu he had a plan to get rid of his father.
'I'm almost twenty now and I decided that I want to finish school and go to the University! I want to study Economics!'
'So? What's your idea?'
'I want to leave home!'
'What? To where?'
'I don't know yet. He said that I'm going to the Military Academy in July and I don't want to go! I heard you tell Ling that you want to go with her and Jin to the Iron Fist…is it true?'
'Yes…'
'In that case, I'm going too! And then, when we come back, I'll be twenty and there's nothing he can't do to stop me!'
'And your mother?'
'She doesn't care! Can you ask Ling and Jin if I can go too?'
'Sure. It's going to be hard though…they don't speak to each other!'
TOKYO
29th MAY 2013
Paul and Jin were ready to fight. Paul was the favourite, after all he was older and had more experience, but Paul knew exactly who he was fighting with.
After the first five minutes, Paul realised that Jin had made many progresses.
'You're not using the Mishima Style…'-Paul said.
'Nope…now I have my own style.'
'In a few years you can become a martial arts master! A very good one!'
'I would like to become a master…but I still need practice!'
Paul attacked with a high kick but Jin ducked under his leg and threw him a double punch. Paul felt a bit dizzy but he managed not to fall.
Jin could hear the audience yell his name. He was trying not to pay much attention, because he needed to focus or he could lose.
Jin grabbed Paul's hand and tried to send him to the ground, but Paul was too heavy and when he felt Jin's grip get weaker, he saw his chance to set himself free. With a powerful kick he made Jin take a few steps back, letting him go. He didn't wait to attack again. He came at Jin again but Jin blocked his uppercut. Then Paul felt Jin's knee on his stomach. Jin was fighting hard and it wasn't just to win that tournament. Jin wanted to test his abilities with someone as experienced as Paul, who was considered a legend all over the world.
In that moment Paul hit Jin on the chest and Jin felt his ribs breaking. When Paul hit him with an uppercut Jin felt blood on his mouth. He spit the blood and he looked at it.
The red colour made him react violently. He came at Paul with all his strength, Paul was trying to block his attacks, but Jin was quite fast. Finally Jin managed to send Paul to the ground with a perfect kick. Paul blacked out for a couple of minutes and Jin was declared the winner. As soon as Myazaki said he was the winner, Jin laid down on the floor next to Paul who was recovering his senses.
Ling run to the arena to see what was wrong with him.
'Are you alright?' -she asked unable to hide her worries.
'I broke some ribs!' -Jin said.
The medical team was ready to enter the arena when Paul offered Jin his hand.
'You're a great fighter!'-Paul said.
'I never thought I could win…'-Jin confessed.
'Well, you did…you won against me twice! It was fair!'
'Maybe…but you're a rough opponent!'
'I guess I am…but this is becoming a habit…'
Everyone was applauding when Paul and Jin left the arena.
'Are you alright?' -asked the Headmaster to Jin when he was being assisted.
'Yes…thanks…'
'He needs to go to the Hospital…'-said the nurse.
'Are you able to fight the final, tomorrow?' -Yang asked worried.
'Sure…this is nothing!' -said Jin.
Jin went to the Hospital and he only returned home one hour later. Minutes later Ling knocked on his door.
'Hey…can I come in?' -she asked.
'I thought you didn't want to speak to me again…'-Jin said.
'Actually, I came to ask you where's your new girlfriend…is she coming later?'
'What girlfriend?'
'Miss Monteiro…'
'Come on…Ling you know I don't like her!'
'Really?'
'She just wanted to know some stuff about the Iron Fist!'
Ling didn't know what to answer. She wanted to believe him but when she was thinking about Christie, she couldn't stop feeling jealous of her beauty. She seemed to have a golden aura around her, and she knew that all the men in the world wouldn't be indifferent to her.
'She's pretty…you have to admit that!' -Ling said.
'So what? I think you're prettier!'
Ling blushed and she decided not to keep that conversation. After all, those words seemed to be honest.
'Are you sure you're alright?' -she asked.
'Yes. I'm fine…
'What did the doctor say about your fight tomorrow?'
'He said I can fight!'
'Are you sure?'
'Yes…'
'I was…worried.'
'I'm fine…'
Jin sat on the couch and he looked at Ling. Now she seemed friendlier. He never thought she could be jealous of him just because he had been talking with Christie.
'We're friends again, right?' -he asked. -'I mean…Now that you know that I'm not interested in Christie…'
'You were never interested in her?'
'No! Never!'
'Prove it!'-Ling said in a challenging voice.
Jin thought about a way to prove that. The only way was a mistake, because the only way he could prove that was to tell her that he liked her, not Christie. But he couldn't do that. They had agreed to be only friends.
Jin got up and held her in his arms. Then he whispered slowly.
'If only things were different…'
'What? '-she asked, not sure about what he said.
Jin kissed her forehead and let her go.
'Go home, Ling…and don't worry about me! I see you tomorrow morning…'
'I'm proud of you!'-Ling said when she was leaving.
'Thanks!'
'I'm sure your mother and father are too!'
TOKYO
30th MAY 2013
That was the big day, the big final. Paul and Christie were there to watch. Ling was still worried about Jin.
'If he says he's fine, then he is!' -Miharu said.
'But…'
'Look, everyone is expecting to watch a fabulous fight!' -added Kazumi.-'Just believe in Jin…'
'I do!'
Jin and Yang were already on the arena when suddenly the fire alarm went off.
Minutes later, when everyone was leaving calmly, an explosion caused the panic.
There was smoke everywhere.
Yang and Jin left the arena and helped the firemen to evacuate the place.
When the place was empty the firemen started to do their job. It took about thirty minutes to put the fire out.
Jin was looking for Ling among the crowd near the ambulances.
'Don't panic.'-said Yang.-'I'm sure they all got out! She must be around!'
'Maybe I should go inside! Maybe she's there!'
'The firemen said the place was empty…besides you can't see a damn thing inside! Lets just keep on searching.'
In that moment, Kazumi saw Jin and Yang and called them.
Jin ran over to Ling and held her, leaving everyone surprised.
'Are you alright?' -Jin asked her.
'Yes…'
'Wow…that's was crazy back there!'-Kazumi said.
I'm wondering what happened…'-said Miharu watching the firemen.
Two hours passed and everyone was getting bored, but finally, the Headmaster came to explain what had happened.
'Someone planned this…'-he said calling everyone's attention.-'Someone wanted this to happen. Someone wanted to end this tournament! Unfortunately they succeeded!'
The students started to complain.
'Please…listen to me…'-the Headmaster continued.-'The firemen found a toxic product used to set the fire…no one can go inside for three days, because it's dangerous. And we all need to go to the Hospital to do a check up…the tournament is over!'
'But what about the final?' -asked Kazumi.
'There's no final…Miss Aikawa! We chose the winner just a minute ago! Mrs. Takeguchi, Mr. Mako, Mr. Myazaki and I decided to give the victory to Jin Mishima, though Yang Cheng is quite a good fighter as well! Now lets go to the Hospital.'
Jin and Yang changed a disappointed look.
After leaving the Hospital, Jin decided to have a word with Yang.
'Yang! Wait!' -he asked.
'How can they do this? I know you're a good fighter…but they never gave me a chance…'
'I know…I didn't like their decision either!'
'But you are the winner!'
'Something like this happened to me before and I hated it! I really wanted to fight you!'
'Well…I know it's not your fault!'
'I want to ask you a favour…'
'What? Do you want to have a fight?'
'No! I can't, I'm going to travel soon…I want you to have the prize!'
'The prize?'
'Yes. I can't take it and I don't want it!'
'I don't want it either! It's yours…'
'But you don't know what it is!'
'It won't make a difference!'
'It's a trip to Beijing…to go training with the Japanese martial arts Olympic team! I never wanted to be part of the team…so even if a get the prize, I won't go!'
'Wow…but I can't take it.'
'Do you want me to beg?'
'I'll think about it, ok?'
'Fine…just call me tomorrow!'
EAST-OSAKA
7th JUNE 2013
Eijiro was now living with Mouse and his father. He didn't speak with Hwoarang ever since the incident.
Julia tried to mediate but she had failed, she started to think that they were both acting like a pair of children.
Finally, it was Baek who decided to act.
'Where is he going?' -Julia asked when she saw Baek leave the house.
'To my house…talk to Eijiro…'-Mouse said.
'It was about time! I hope it works!'
Eijiro wasn't expecting Baek, but he decided to hear him.
'Hwoarang is sorry for what he did to you…please come back!'-Baek said.
'Really…then why isn't he here?'
'Well…as you know he has some troubles in showing his true feelings!'
'Look, I don't know why you're here, but I thought that you two should be happy! So leave me alone!'
'The truth is…he misses you! I noticed that you are close friends!'
'Yes, we were! But now he has you! After all you are his brother!'
'We are not real brothers…as you probably know! We did have a family in common, but you are his family now!'
'This was his fault!'
'But why? He didn't want to hit you!'
'But he doesn't admit he is wrong!'
'About what?'
'Nothing…'
'If he said sorry personally…would you come back?'
'Maybe.'
Baek left and he went to talk to Hwoarang to solve that problem once and for all.
He wanted Eijiro to come back, because Hwoarang was always in a bad humour those days. It was impossible to be with him.
'Get your lazy ass out of that couch and go talk with Eijiro, now!' -Baek ordered.
'Fuck off! Who do you think you are?'
'Go and say you're sorry!'
'I'm not sorry!'
'Yes, you are! I can see it in your eyes!'
'Leave me alone!'
'Eijiro is right you are a selfish bastard! You are always hiding your feelings! Look…if you don't go speak with Eijiro, I'm going to tell Julia that you're in love with her!'
'Hey! That's not true!'
'Yes, it is! You know that I'll do it…and I'm going to tell her some interesting things about your love life!'
'What love life?'
'Exactly! I'm going to tell her that you never slept with a girl before!
'I did!'
'You didn't!'
'I did!'
'Liar! If you did, why haven't you slept with her too?'
'Because…I…'
'Don't say you don't want her…because I know you're lying!'
'You're a bastard, Baek! I hate you!'
'The feeling is mutual!'
'This is blackmail!'
'Old sweet blackmail! I love it!'
'I'm not going to talk to Eijiro…alright?'
'Fine! Julia!'-called Baek.
'Shut the fuck up!'-ordered Hwoarang trying to hit Baek.-'Ok…I'll talk to him…tonight!'
'That's better. Good boy. It was a good choice!'
