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OK, less chit chat and more Angels & Devils!

Disclaimer: OK, I'm getting irritated of all this. For the 10th time, I don't own Tekken Characters. Period.


Chapter 10Friends No More

Heihachi sat down at his desk with a smug look on his face. Jin and Asuka had easily defeated their opponents that day. And he was sure that they would do the same for tommorow.

Heihachi turned to his window. His plan was working out well so far. As long as Jin and (or) Asuka was still in the competition, he had nothing to worry about.

But where was Ogre?

Hehachi had pondered on this thought for such a long time. There were many fighters here in the competition to feed off of; and yet, his Tekken Force were not able to locate him.

His smug expression turned grim. If the Tekken Force don't find him before the Kazamas made it to the last round, they're all fired. He can't continue the tournament for long without Ogre...

The phone rang.

Heihachi answrered it. "Hello?"

"Heihachi. It's Abel. We found him."

Heihachi stood up fast. "What? Where?"

"We found his temple in Nebraska. We know for a fact he's there, however, we're not letting anyone in there yet. It might be too dangerous."

Heihachi scratched his chin. "Maybe we can hold the last round there. Whoever can defeat me must defeat Ogre afterward...and that person must be Jin or Asuka..."

"Perfect. I'll have the Temple ready in no time." Click.

Heihachi looked back to the window with an evil smile on his face.

Yes...perfect...


Asuka found it hard to sleep last night. She remembers her promise to Xiaoyu; if they ever got to fight, they couldn't hold back. But she never thought that it would actually happen. And it would be hard for her to beat her friend; and even harder to lose.

Asuka yawned as she waited for Xiaoyu and Jin by the stairs. Finally she saw Jin comming down.

"Hey Oni-chan," she said, "Where's Xiao?"

"I don't know," Jin said, "But Grandpa wants us."

Asuka looked puzzled. "Why?"

Jin shrugged. "Koabara said to go to his office."

Later at his office, Heihachi faced them with a serious look on his face.

"I found out where Ogre is," he said. "My Tekken Force located him in an ancient temple in Nebraska; and I have decided to hold the final round between me and the fighter who makes it through the tournament there..."

Asuka and Jin looked up with interest.

"This is what you have been training for," Heihachi said, "If you can make it through the tournament, you get to Ogre. And that includes defeating me." Heihachi looked at them closely. "Can you handle that?"

They nodded their heads eagerly.

"We shall see." Heihachi said.


Xiaoyu's hands were shaking and sweaty. She felt that her knees were going to give in. And Asuka couldn't deny it too; she was pretty nervous. But she knew...she had to win...

It was time to fight.

But moments ago, they had met up in the locker room. Asuka smiled weakly at Xiaoyu.

"You ready?" she asked her.

Xiaoyu nodded and smiled back just as weakly. "You remember your promise, right?"

"Hai," Asuka replied.

They were silent for a while. "Why do you really want to win this tournament?" Xiaoyu blurted out.

Asuka blinked. "What?"

"Why do you really want to win this tournament?" Xiaoyu asked again. "And don't tell me because your grandfather's the sponser of the tournament. Because I know it's more than that."

Asuka looked away from her. "You have no clue..." she murmured more to herself.

Xiaoyu pressed on. "Then tell me," she said, "so I can understand."

Asuka looked at her with fire in her eyes. "You'll never understand!" she snapped. "You grew up with an actual family, a real one, one with a mother and a father. And you came here for an amusement park, not for revenge or to save someone's life. So you can't understand; no one can."

Xiaoyu blinked. Asuka was never cross with her. Never. And Asuka didn't mean to sound so angry; she wasn't really angry at her at all. But she couldn't help but feel bitter with Xiaoyu.

Suddenly Xiaoyu had fire in her eyes also. "You know, you're right," she retorted, "and you're wrong. I'll never understand you, and no one else will also, if you're so stubborn and wallowed up in your anger and self-pity. But I can admitt that I came here for some foolish reason, but I now have a real purpose; Yoshimitsu's friend is dieing, and he needs help, and I'm gonna help him any way that I can, and that means winning this tournament."

Asuka looked into her eyes and said seriously,"Xiaoyu. There are some things in this tournament that are far greater than you and me. And they are also very, very dangerous. You will never understand why, but I'm asking you this; get out while you still can."

Xiaoyu looked at Asuka, now worried. "What are you talking about Asuka? What dangers are you talking about?"

Asuka hesitated. Then she answered, "Do you know why me and Oni-chan never told exactly why we live with our grandfather?"

"We lived with our mother before," Asuka explained. If she was gonna tell her why she was at the tournament, she might as well tell her everything. "But we never knew our father. Our father was Heihachi's son. But...he died long ago. Which was why we grew up with our mother."

"But one night she told us of an evil presense out to get her. She told us about our father, and told us to go to Heihachi if anything happens to us."

"And then four days later...he came...the creature called Ogre...I know it's unbelievable, but it's true...he killed our mother...which was why we joined the tournament. We want revenge. And in order to do so...we have to win the tournament."

It seems as if hours had gone by and they hadn't spoken. Finally, Xiaoyu found her voice. "So...that's why...you live here...and...everything?"

Asuka nodded gravely. "The final fight will be held in Nebraska. In an ancient temple...where Ogre is." Asuka looked grave. "We will have revenge, Xiaoyu. We will win."

Xiaoyu gasped. "Asuka...you...are you willing to go through all this? I mean...you could get killed by Ogre...and try as you might, revenge isn't the answer...I mean, revenge won't get your mother back." Her voice got smaller with each word.

Asuka replied, "I have been training for this for FOUR years, Xiao. I haven't waited four years to stop now, when now I'm so close. Nothing you can say will stop me Xiao; and don't bother convincing Jin."

Xiaoyu remained quiet. She didn't know what to say.

Asuka said suddenly, "Look Xiaoyu. I'm telling you this one more time: get out while you still can."

Xiaoyu shook her head. "No. There's a man out there who's life is hanging out there at the edge, and I'm his only hope."

Asuka looked straight into her eyes, just like Jin did when he had something serious to tell her. "Xiaoyu," she said, "I'm now telling you this as a friend."

Xiaoyu stared back at her, no longer seeing her as another fighter but the real Asuka.

"You're my best friend, Xiao," she said, "And if something happened to you...I don't know what I'll do..."

Asuka continued, "You're like a sister to me...and I don't want to even think about what will happen to Oni-chan if something happened to you..."

Xiaoyu swallowed. "I'm going to go through this tournament," she said defiantly, "And I will win. I'm sorry Asuka."

Asuka sighed. There was no convincing her. "All right," she said, "Fine. When we fight, you are not my friend...butmy opponent. So don't hold back."

Xiaoyu replied, "I won't."

As Asuka turned to leave, Xiaoyu called out, "I'm sorry Asuka."

Asuka turned to look at her. She wasn't smileing; nor was she scowling. She woreno expression as she sighed and said, "I'm sorry too, Xiaoyu."


Nooooooo. Asuka and Xiaoyu are gonna fight...and are they still friends though? Yes of course!

Oh the suspense! Everyone's so close to the final round; Xiao and ASuka are yet to fight each other. Who will win? What will happen?

We're gonna have to see in the next chapter!

Oh we're so close to the last chapter...I can almost taste it...