Darkness was all Asuka could see, that was, until she stood up to open the lids of her eyes. Disgusted, she immediately came to know that she was deep inside Ogre Jinpachi's stomach. The air was putrid, smelling worse than anything Asuka ever inhaled through her nostrils.
"Oh great, I'm in its stomach," she said with an uneasy whine. "I thought I was a goner. Oh well, how the hell do I get out of this place?"
Asuka took a few steps and jumped back, startled as her foot started to smoke. The ground was littered with green pools of stomach acid that would burn away just about anything it touched, and this made Asuka even more grossed out than before. She had to get out before Ogre Jinpachi's stomach would start to digest. She had very little time and immediately hurried up ahead to see if she could find a way out. It was still dark, but not so much that it hindered her from seeing what was in front of her. The vulgarity of it all made her cringe as little wet droppings suddenly fell from the top, almost falling on her head.
"Yuck!" she shouted. "I don't know what that is, but I sure aint touching it to find out!"
Suddenly, she got an idea.
"I remember when I was little that I used to complain to my father about tummy aches, which felt like someone was pounding on the insides of my stomach. Hmmm….I wonder."
Asuka went to the nearest wall, grinning evilly, and punched it with all her might. Outside, Ogre Jinpachi's stomach rattled after he had uppercutted Hwoarang into the dirt. Covering his belly, questioning the cause of its constant gurgling, he felt another sharp pain hit him below.
"Ooooo, what's going on?"
"That's it, big guy. You feel that?" Asuka said, as she continued to kick and punch from the inside.
Suddenly, the whole area around her shook tremendously and Asuka found herself stumbling over. Within an instant, Ogre Jinpachi puked out the petite girl from Japan as she fell into the dirt, covered in foul smelling vomit.
"Ha! I knew that would work. Eww, yuck. I'm covered in stinkyness."
Unexpectedly, Asuka heard a voice call to her.
"Runt….is that you? Or am I just drunk and seeing things again."
Hwoarang crawled to his feet, a warm smile coming over his bruised face.
"No, its me. In the flesh!" Asuka confirmed.
Ogre Jinpachi then appeared before her, boiled with anger. He immediately sent his fist crashing into the ground, which caused Asuka to step back and return with a swiping kick that knocked him back slightly. The creature was big, very big, but she could still damage him if she could locate the correct weak points. Brutally, she kicked his leg and cart wheeled out of the way before having to taste the end of his monstrous fist. Upon recovering, she darted behind the fiendish Ogre Jinpachi, but took a blow to the face from his retracting hand. She fell into the dirt and sat up, checking for signs of blood on her face. Then, from the sky, the devil creature appeared swooping down, and ramming himself into Ogre Jinpachi.
"There's only room enough for one monster here!" he snarled, shooting lasers from his eyes.
Ogre Jinpachi knocked the beams away with a smack and grabbed hold of the devil creature once he tried to attack him again. While the two fought, Asuka saw this as a great diversion to plan another strategy of her own. She came up behind the Ogre monster and landed a blow to his back while his attention remained focused on the devil creature. With both Asuka and the devil attacking him, Ogre Jinpachi generated electricity from his body and exploded it all around to hit anything close to him. Asuka flew backward, as did the devil, but they hung in there, and when they came back, they suddenly attacked the large beast at the same time, Asuka with a whip kick, and the devil with a hard smashing head butt. Ogre Jinpachi quickly slapped the devil creature away as he closed in on him, leaving the battle between Asuka and himself. The large creature stumbled, seeming exhausted, losing his strength rapidly from so many blows. Asuka took it upon herself to take advantage and ended the dispute with finishing combo of thrusting kicks and hard-hitting punches that left him whimpering in pain.
"I…..I……..I can't ……be defeated……not like this!"
Suddenly, the monster froze in place, transformed into a solid standing statue, and broke into several peaces, dead. Asuka looked over and saw the devil monster lying on the floor, nearly unconscious. Quickly, she ran to his side and placed her hands on him, gripping his shoulders.
"Jin! Jin! Come on! Don't die on me like this!"
The horns from the creature's head soon faded, and the grizzled marks on his chest and body disappeared as well, with the wings vanishing too. The devil was gone and Jin Kazama was now normal again. However, the fight had left Asuka dazed and tired, unable to move herself off the ground after she had noticed Jin was fine.
Sweat poured from the stems of Asuka's ruffled hair as she fell backward, tired, and nearly unable to move. The fight had taken a lot out of her and she was in dire need of rest. Standing over her, Hwoarang smiled as he lifted her up into his arms, cradling her like a small child.
"Come on, runt. Let's go. I'd offer you a drink, but I don't think your quite old enough for that yet, heh heh."
Asuka snickered with one eye closed. She wanted to give one of her smart comments toward him, but just left it alone.
"Eww, your also in need of a bath too! Let's get you in the shower first."
Xiaoyu then appeared helping Jin to his feet, pulling him toward Hwoarang.
"What happened to the other fighters?" Hwoarang questioned.
"They all left."
"What? You mean, this whole time they were gone?"
"I guess they were just in it for the tournament, selfish pigs."
"What a bunch of cowards," Hwoarang thought.
"Come on, Jin, lets get you back in bed," Xiaoyu said to the clam, silent fighter.
Several hours passed with Asuka making a steady recovery. Normally, it would have taken someone a much longer time to heal, but not Asuka. She could take just as much punishment as anybody, possibly even more and still manage to walk, depending on the damage, however. When she had finally awoken on the bed of her hotel room, Hwoarang sat at her side, holding back a chuckle.
"What are you laughing at?" Asuka said, with a little bass in her voice.
"You look like shit, runt."
"Yeah? Well, I don't look half as bad as your face.
She then sat up and moved out from underneath the blankets.
"So, did you miss me?"
"A little."
"Ha! That's what I thought you'd say. I bet you were crying your whole heart out after I got swallowed by that thing."
"Heh, don't quit your day job. That never happened. I knew you were still alive."
"No, no you did not. I can tell your lying to me right now."
"Oh really? And how's that?"
"Because, mother always told me that boys grip their collars when they lie."
Hwoarang looked down at his shirt and immediately took his hand away from the collar of his shirt.
"Ok, maybe I lied a little bit," he admitted, defensively.
"More so then that," Asuka countered.
She stood up on her feet and walked over to him.
"I know I don't say this often, but thanks for hanging out with me."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Normally, boys are intimidated by me. So far, you're the only guy I know that can actually tolerate me."
Hwoarang rubbed his foot against the wall, slightly blushing.
"Well, your welcome, I guess."
"Now tell me really, weren't you really just messing with me from the beginning to get in my pants?"
"Was I that obvious?"
"In short, yes. You boys aren't very good at hiding that sort of thing, you know?"
"Guess not. So, everyone's getting ready to check out. Where are you going?"
"Home. Where else? I'm going back to school and then back to training again. Where will you be?"
"Um, I'll be around. I have to meet up with the old gang and get my money from some chump that owes me, big time! Then I'm going to have to take the rap for putting that stuff in my master's tea. Most likely, it will be a while before I do anything after that. I know he'll kick my ass once he finds out."
Asuka then grabbed her luggage, with Hwoarang aiding her, and proceeded downstairs into the lobby. Outside, there was a taxi waiting for her. But before she stepped in, after tossing her bags in the car, she walked toward the Korean one final time and hugged him. Hwoarang was speechless, but as he maintained his cool, he took a quick glance at Asuka's rump and squeezed it with all his might, receiving a hard slap in the process.
"Don't you dare tell anybody I did that," Asuka said, pulling herself away with a serious gaze.
"I won't."
"I'll see you around sometime?"
"No doubt you will. As long that old fart keeps having tournaments and Kazama is in them, you can bet your sweet ass you'll see me again. But hey, even if that big chicken does not enter, I'll still enter if your around."
"Good to know."
Asuka waved to the Korean as she stepped into the taxi, seating herself comfortably. Suddenly, Hworang's master ran out of the hotel, screaming angrily at his pupil.
"Hwoarang! You had better have a good explanation about that tea I had. I couldn't leave the bathroom for hours and I….."
"Oh shit! Sorry old man, don't have time to hear you nag."
Hwoarang dashed to the seat of his motorcycle parked out front and started the engine as he gripped the handlebars. As he sped by the taxi, while being chased by his master, he waved to Asuka as he disappeared in a quick blur.
"Ha, some people never learn," Asuka smirked. "I cannot wait to get back home and tell father what happened to me. Boy is he going to be surprised."
Slowly but surely, Asuka began to close her eyes and wander off to sleep. She had been through one heck of a ride, meeting new friends, old enemies, and a crazy array of people all-together. Now she could rest. It was all over, but somehow she knew that the fun would not end, knowing there were more hurdles for her to climb and conquer. All she can think about was that invitation she was sent to join the tournament. Whatever the case was, for her and the others, taking part in the tournament was indeed one enchanting opportunity.
A/N: Well, that's it. Thanks for reading. I have another Asuka story coming up soon sometime next year, so don't think I'm done with her yet. Peace!