I don't own Tekken.

Thanks to all the readers.

Krappkarmin: As I promised here is Steve! I hope you like it, but this is only the beginning of Steve's path…Thanks for your review.

MooNTeARZ: Hi! Thanks for your review. I enjoyed Crimson Destiny very much and I'm sure that your next story will be a great success too! I hope to "hear" from you soon.

Asuka-kazama-mishima: You don't need to thank me! I really appreciate your support. About Asuka and Roomax, yes there will be a certain relationship between them, but in the next chapters I will mention it. Asuka will also have to change her attitudes towards Satome, because he will be a good friend of hers…

Flaming Fenix: Thanks for reviewing. I'll keep that thing about Kaoru in mind. Maybe I'll make a character with his personality…but I still have to think where to put it. Thanks for the tip.

Animagus10: Thank you so much for your review. Yes, at first Asuka will have a crush on Hwoarang, but that doesn't mean that they will end up together. As you probably noticed, I'm a Julia/Hwoa fan, so in the end Hwoarang and Julia will be together. I hope you're not disappointed…take care.

Chapter 9

Hurting you, hurting me

EAST-OSAKA

20th MAY 2014

Asuka had thought about it and she had decided to go and thank Hwoarang about the other day. He was an outlaw but she sure owed him at least a thank you.

She was near the door when she heard some noises inside.

-'Have you seen my green shirt?'-Hwoarang asked Julia.

-'No…'

-'Can you please bring me my white shirt then?'

-'Wait a second, will you? I'm busy…'-Julia said from their room.-'And answer the door…someone is knocking…'

-'Must be Roomax…'

Hwoarang opened the door and saw Asuka, who immediately blushed seeing him shirtless.

-'Yes?'-Hwoarang asked.

-'You're Hwoarang, right?'

-'Yes.'

-'Well…I…'

-'Julia…where's my shirt?'

-'Here!'-Julia gave him the shirt and smiled at Asuka.-'Hi there…why don't you come in?'

Asuka entered the house and closed the door behind her. She watched the hall and then the living room. There was a kid watching TV.

Hwoarang came back from the kitchen and looked at her again, and then he recognised her.

-'You're that girl…'-he started.

-'Well…yes…I'm here because I was extremely rude in the other day and we didn't even thank you…'

-'It's alright…but you could've told me what was that all about. I mean a girl like you shouldn't be fighting…'

-'What the hell? You're not my father!'

-'Sorry…but you're too young!'

-'I'm almost eighteen…'

-'Give her a break…I was eighteen when I met you.'-Julia said.-'And I fought with you, remember?'

-'Yeah, but I always won…'

Julia shrugged and when she was going to the bathroom, Masami entered her room in a hurry, with tears in her eyes.

Julia looked to Hwoarang and they both shrugged.

-'Well…anyway…'-Asuka continued.-'That guy attacked my father so I had to do something…'

-'It was for a good cause…but you have to be careful, alright?'-said Julia.

-'What the hell is happening in this house?'-Hwoarang asked when Eijiro passed him by to the bathroom.

-'I don't know…'-Julia answered.

Hwoarang started knocking on the bathroom door.

-'Well…thanks for your help and I'm going now…'

-'Alright…anytime…a…what's your name?'

-'Asuka.'

-'Anytime Asuka.'

-'I think your son shouldn't be watching that.'-Asuka said when she was leaving.

-'Daisuke is not our son!'-Julia said blushing.-'But you're right he shouldn't be watching that!'

When Asuka left she was disappointed but at the same time she was relieved. How stupid was she? She thought to herself. Was she really thinking that a guy like that didn't have a girlfriend?

Asuka took a deep breath and she was going to leave but didn't notice someone was at the stairs and she fell on him.

Roomax hit his head on the floor but as soon as he opened his eyes and saw an unknown person he moved to the top of her.

-'Who are you?'-he asked.

-'Get off me!'-Asuka ordered.

-'What's your gang? Why were you spying my house?'

-'Spying?'

-'Answer me!'

-'I'm not in a gang!'

-'Then what are you doing here?'

-'Get off me or I'll…'

-'What will you do?'

-'This!'

Asuka punched Roomax in the face and his nose started bleeding. He let her go and she got up.

-'I was here to speak with Hwoarang…and I'm going home, you idiot!'

Roomax saw Asuka leaving and he entered home holding his bleeding nose.

-'What the hell…'-he said when he saw what was going on.

Julia was knocking on Masami's door and Hwoarang was knocking on Eijiro's. Daisuke was watching TV and Roomax sat down next to him.

-'What's happening?'-he asked.

-'I don't know…'

-'Did you sleep here on the couch?'

-'No.'

-'You got up early…'

-'I like to watch the cartoons…'

-'Why is everyone yelling?'

-'Maybe they are angry.'

-'Why?'

-'I don't know…everyone got home very late last night…what happened to your nose?'

-'A crazy girl hit me…'

-'Sometimes girls are brutal.'

Roomax shrugged and left to wash his nose from the blood.

-'What a crazy day!'-he whispered.

But for Asuka that day would get even worse. When she got home Satome was there waiting for her.

-'Say "Hello" to your new guest!'-he said with a smile.

-'What?'

-'Your father wants me to stay with you in the Dojo. He said you wouldn't manage on your own.'

-'You're joking, right?'

-'Nope!'

-'My father knows very well that I can do everything alone!'

-'Really? Will you be able to give lessons to the 8 year-old and 12 year-old kids at the same time? Besides, will you manage to clean all the Dojo rooms every day?'

-'I got the point and I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine!'

-'Your father doesn't think that way, and since I'm one of his best students, and I live right next door, he asked me to come. He said I can stay in the guest room.'

-Can you wait here just for two minutes?'

-'Sure, no problem!'

Asuka got inside her house and dialled the Hospital phone number. She asked to speak with her father with urgency and a few minutes later she hung up completely defeated once again.

-'Fine. You can take the guest room!'-she said opening the door and allowing Satome to get in with his bags.'

-'Thanks! Your father is a very persuasive man.'

-'You are not allowed to go into my room! Besides I will never cook for you, is that clear?'

-'Sure…don't worry; my mum said she's going to cook us the meals, so…'

-'Really?'-Asuka asked with enthusiasm, because she had always loved Satome's mother's food.-'Great!'

-'So, I think we should go and clean the rooms, for the lessons. I'll clean this room and you'll clean the one on the back…'-Satome said.

-'Great! Now he thinks he's my father!'-Asuka said turning her back on him.-'How worse can my life get?'

EAST-OSAKA

21st MAY 2014

Julia was watching Masami packing her things. She didn't understand what the hell was going on with her friend.

-'What happened yesterday?'-she asked for the third time that morning.

-'I'm leaving.'

-'I can see that, but why?'

-'I shouldn't have come…I knew this would happen!'

-'I'm not following. You seemed alright and happy two days ago.'

-'Everything was different then.'

-'What changed? Did we do anything to upset you?'

-'No…you didn't!'

-'What about Daisuke?'-Julia asked.

-'He doesn't want to leave with me…he wants to stay with his brother.'

-'You finished High School with a good mark; you said you wanted to find a job, and now all of a sudden you are packing!'

-'You wouldn't understand!'

-'I'll never understand if you don't tell me!'

-'It's complicated.'

-'We can fix things.'

-'No, we can't!'

-'Masami…please tell me!'

Julia forced Masami to sit down on the bed and she started crying.

-'What is it?'

-'Eijiro…'-she whispered.

-'What did he do?'

-'Well…he didn't do anything.'

-'Did he hurt you?'

-'No…but…'

Julia looked at her and immediately understood.

-'You slept together that night…didn't you?'

She nodded.

-'We were drunk! The problem is…I like him…more than I should!'

-'So? What's the problem?'

-'Come on, Julia…'

-'You're both single, you're almost the same age…I don't see a problem here!'

-'He's Daisuke's brother!'

-'But he's not your family!'

-'Besides I don't know how he feels!'

-'Of course you don't…you didn't want to speak to him last night when he knocked on your door!'

-'Probably he wanted to say that it was a mistake…'

-'Or he wanted to say he likes you too…why won't you talk to him?'

-'It will make things worse.'

-'Alright, then where will you go?'

-'To Otsu…I'll look for old friends of mine.'

-'Tell him what you feel first.'

When Julia left Masami, she knew that her friend would never tell Eijiro what she felt about him, so she decided to act. Eijiro was her friend too, and she was curious to know what the boy was feeling.

She found him outside the house, alone.

-'Hey!'-she greeted.

-'Hi…what's up?'

-'You tell me, because Masami is acting pretty weird and I know it has something to do with you.'

Eijiro was embarrassed and he looked down.

-'She doesn't speak to me…I did a stupid thing…'

-'Whatever it was, it can't be that bad…but the fact is she's leaving in an hour to the station!'

-'Leaving?'

-'Yes…if you don't do anything she'll be gone…is that what you want?'

-'No…'

-'If you like her…don't let her go!'

TOKYO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Steve Fox was in Japanese soil once again and as soon as he got on land he remembered everything that had happened to him a few months ago. He watched the Airport. He had met Christie Monteiro in that Airport. She was now one of his friends, along with many other good fighters he had met on the last Iron Fist Tournament.

It was also on that tournament that he had learned about his past and about his real mother. At first he was confused, it would be a shock for anyone to know that his real mother had been an experimental subject in some kind of labs. But now he knew that he wanted to know more. That was why he was in Japan without anyone's knowledge, except for Marianne Johnson, his manager.

Marianne had been instructed to say to the media that Steve was on holidays and that not even she knew his whereabouts. It was a lie, but as Steve had said, it was for a good cause.

If the media knew, he would never have some time to investigate things properly. Besides he wanted to meet Miharu again and he didn't want people to know about his private life.

-'I really need to buy a house in Japan!'-Steve announced on the phone while speaking to Marianne.

-'I guess it would be better than go to the hotels.'-she said laughing.-'What will you do now?'

-'I'll look around for Miharu.'

-'I'm so worried…'

-'Why?'

-'Why didn't you take two bodyguards with you? It would be safer!'

-'I told you that the Syndicate is not interested in me anymore!'

-'What if they are just waiting for you to think that?'

-'If they wanted to kill me, they could've killed me last month in that tournament in Tunisia…I was alone too!'

-'Ok, Ok…I got the point…but if you suspect of something just go to the police and call the FBI or the CIA…'

-'I'm not in the USA!'

-'Call the Japanese Intelligence Agency…I think they are pretty efficient too.'

-'Don't worry I'll be fine!'

-'Call me soon, ok?'

-'Ok.'

As soon as he hung up the phone, Steve lay on the bed and started thinking about a way to contact Lei Wulong. In that moment he needed his assistance.

A few hours later he found out that Lei was in Osaka and he decided to pay him a visit.

EAST-OSAKA

Lei was back after his lunch break and he was surprised to know that someone was waiting for him in his office.

-'Steve Fox…'-he said when he got in.

-'Your officers let me wait in here…how are you detective Wulong?'

-'Fine…and you?'

-'Alive…thanks to you. Congratulations, you caught some important members from the Syndicate and since then they don't show interest in me anymore…I guess I'm off the hook!'

-'That's a good new! What brings you to Osaka?'

-'Well, I need help…I want to find my real parents, especially my mother.'

-'I thought you said that wasn't important…'

-'I know…and it wasn't…by that was last year. I need to know!'

-'Why?'

-'Last year I was caught by Heihachi Mishima because he thought I had a stupid gene…then I found out that my real mother was there…she was alive…so I want to know her. I have the right to know.'

-'I don't know much about it…all I know is that she was an experimental subject at the IQ laboratories.'

-'I know that too…but I need more than that, detective!'

-'In the list I took from Heihachi's computer, there are a huge number of names…more than a thousand. We can't search all those women!'

-'Give me the list…'

-'I can't! It's confidential…'

-'Please!'

-'Even if I gave you the list, you have nothing to start the investigation…'

Steve knew Lei was right.

-'Can't you just give me a clue…?'

-'The only thing I got from the files is the name Dr. Boskonovitch…the man in charge of the experiments. But you probably heard his name already.'

-'Yes, I did. What did you find about him?'

-'Almost nothing! He's from East Europe, he was born during the World War II and his parents ran away to the States during the cold war. He returned to Europe to study and he's a genius on sciences and biology.'

-'A man of Science, huh?'

-'Yes…'

-'I'll see what more can I find.'

-'Just stay out of troubles, alright?'

-'I'm a big boy now, Wulong!'

-'I know…but the problem is that big boys always think they know best!'

-'I'll keep in touch.'

When Steve left, Lei sighed. He knew more than he had told Steve. He knew that Nina Williams was his mother, but he couldn't tell him for too reasons. First, if Nina wanted Steve to know she was his mother, she would've told him herself, and second he couldn't tell Steve that his mother was the woman who was hired in the last tournament to kill him.

Lei was hoping that without help and clues, Steve would have to stop searching.

In the meanwhile Hwoarang was in the fields with his students. They were going to be evaluated.

-'You'll fight me one at a time and then I'll decide who's going to pass to an advanced level and who's not.'

Everyone was excited to start. They were wondering if Hwoarang was going to be easy on them, but as soon as the first fight started they understood he wasn't. The poor boy ended up with a lot of bruises.

-'You need more practice, Nog! Next!'

After almost an hour it was Mouse turn to fight against Hwoarang. He was nervous but he also wanted to know if he would do better than his friends. Until then only five were going to pass to an advanced level, the others were defeated with three strikes.

-'I'm not going to be soft on you, Mouse!'

-'I know.'

-'Ready!'

-'Yes!'

Hwoarang was going to attack when Eijiro arrived and interrupted the fight.

-'I need the car keys!'-he said.

-'I'm busy!'

-'I need the keys now!'

-'Did someone die?'

-'I need to go to the station…'

-'Fine. Just bring the jeep in one piece, alright?'

-'Thanks!'

Eijiro left in a hurry and Mouse and Hwoarang shrugged.

-'What is wrong with him?'-Mouse asked.

-'He's acting strangely since yesterday! But lets start this.'

-'I bet four hundred yens that Hwoarang wins with two strikes!'-One said.

-'No…I was Mouse's teacher…I bet Hwoarang wins in six strikes!'-Ryo announced with confidence.

Mouse looked at his friends and sighed.

-'Nice friends…'-he said.

Hwoarang used a spinning trip kick and Mouse went to the ground. He stood there a few seconds, thinking about a way to attack.

-'Is this all you can take?'-Hwoarang asked with disappointment.

-'No.'

Mouse got up and he took his fighting stance. He tried a sweep kick but failed. Hwoarang was a Tae Kwon Do master, he knew all the strikes. He didn't have a chance.

Mouse tried a left punch and then a low kick that hit Hwoarang on the knee.

-'Not bad.'-Hwoarang said.

With a lot more confidence, Mouse did a Tsunami kick that surprised Hwoarang making him stop the fight.

-'You passed.'

-'But…'

-'A Tsunami kick is hard to perform…you did it perfectly. You deserve to pass.'

-'What about the bet?'-One asked.

-'You can make one more bet.'-a voice said in Japanese, a bit hard to understand.

-'Fox? What the hell!'-Hwoarang said surprised to see Steve.

-'Hey, Hwoarang!'

-'How did you find me?'

-'I could see your red hair miles away!'

-'Ha ha ha…'

-'I'm glad you and Jin are alright…'

-'Me too.'

-'I was a bit shocked when Miharu wrote me…I wanted to come here but my manager had plans already and I had to enter some tournaments!'

-'It's ok. What brought you to the East side of Osaka?'

-'A challenge…I need to see if I can kick your ass.'

-'Want to fight?'

-'Sure.'

-'Ok…prepare yourself. Boys…make the bets!'

-'By the way…are you going to the Iron Fist?'

-'Are you going?'

-'Yes.'

-'Then count me in!'

-'Great! Jin will be there too.'

-'I'll kick his ass this time…and yours too.'

The fight started. Hwoarang was a bit tired but he didn't want Steve to think he couldn't handle one more fight.

Steve was pretty fast with his fists but that was his weak point as well, since his attacks were all based in punches and he didn't use his legs much. That was what Hwoarang was thinking, but when Steve surprised him with a high kick that almost hit him in the face, he saw he was wrong.

-'Wow…you've been learning new things, huh?'-Hwoarang asked.

-'Sure. I like to learn…'

-'I thought you couldn't use your legs in Boxing.'

-'Usually you can't…but I'm not fighting in a Boxing competition, am I?'

Steve tried to hit Hwoarang with a powerful right uppercut but Hwoarang grabbed his hand and with his left arm hit Steve with his elbow in the nose.

Steve cleaned the blood with his sleeve and looked at Hwoarang with a grin on his face. He charged with a low kick and a punch on the stomach. Hwoarang grabbed his stomach and fell on one knee. He was going to take his fighting stance again but it was too late, Steve was already attacking and hit him with a sky high. Hwoarang fell on the ground.

-'Bastard!'-Hwoarang cursed him.-'It's my turn now!'

He attacked with lifting uppercut and a leaping slash kick.

The fight went on for almost an hour. They were both sweating and tired but none of them wanted to quit, though it wasn't a real fight.

Hwoarang wanted to finish that fight so he attacked, Steve did the same. Steve hit Hwoarang on the chin but Hwoarang also hit him on the face. The impact made them fall at the same time.

Julia was arriving in that moment and she ran towards Hwoarang to see if he was alright.

-'Are you ok, babe?'-she asked seeing that his nose was bleeding.

-'Yeah…Steve wanted a fight…so I gave him a fight!'

-'Steve?'

Julia went to check on Steve who was still lying on the floor.

-'Hi Julia…'

-'Why were you fighting?'

-'Just to see if we are still up to go to the Iron Fist…'

-'Typical of men.'

-'Who was the winner?'-asked One.

-'I was!'-Steve and Hwoarang said at the same time.

-'You hit the ground first!'-Steve said.

-'No I didn't!'-Hwoarang replied.

-'Yes you did!'-the other insisted.

-'Fuck off, Fox…'

-'Shut up, you idiots!'-Julia said.-'No one wins! You'll have to fight again in the tournament!'

-'Lets go, Fox, I'll pay you a drink.'-Hwoarang said.

-'Sure.'

-'I'm going too.'-Julia said.-'To make sure you don't get into troubles.'

-'Sure babe…'-Hwoarang put his arm around her shoulders.

-'How can you stand up with him?'-Steve asked.

-'She has her reasons, and it's not of your business!'-Hwoarang said with a grin.-'By the way…where the hell is Eijiro?'

-'Taking care of his problems.'

Eijiro had prevented Masami to enter in the train to Otsu and he had managed to convince her to go with him to eat something and to talk.

They had eaten an ice-cream in the park but they haven't spoken to each other yet. None of them knew what to say, but Eijiro had decided to give the first step.

-'I didn't want this to happen, but I don't want you to go either.'-he said finally watching the floor.

-'I think I better go.'

-'Why?'

-'What do you mean, "Why"? Because I have to!'

-'I know this shouldn't have happened, I mean not like that…but…'

-'Not like that? What do you mean?'

-'I mean…I wanted it to happen…but the right way…because I think I love you…'

Masami wasn't expecting those words and her eyes filled up with tears.

-'You don't hate me?'-she asked.

-'Of course not. I hate myself for hurting you. I don't know what you feel…so I hope you can forgive me.'

-'I feel the same as you…but it's wrong!'

Eijiro took her hands in his and looked at her in the eyes.

-'Why?'-he asked.

-'We have a brother, remember?'

-'Daisuke is my brother, but you are not my sister…there is no blood connection between us! My father was your stepfather and that's all!'

-'Imagine what Daisuke will feel if we stay together…his brother and sister dating…it's confusing especially for a child!'

-'We can explain him the situation…'

-'He will not understand.'

-'We have to try. At first I thought you didn't like me, and that was why you were going away. Now that I know that you feel the same I can't quit on us! Please give us a chance!'

Masami tried not to cry but she failed. Eijiro hugged her.

-'Please…'-he repeated.

Masami nodded in silence.

A/note: I simply hated this chapter...i don't know why...soI won't be disappointed if you don't like it either! Take care...