"Whoa, I didn't know Takeshi was this rich… "
The five friends arrived at a huge manor. A lot of people were already inside; most of them were from school. Asuka and Xiao were both very excited.
"Wow!" Asuka exclaimed, running in first. "This place is huge!" she stared around the room with awe.
It was very big. There were long tables with food along one side of each wall. There was a dance floor, big enough for everyone. Music was being played, coming out of speakers from the corners of the ceiling. Everyone was enjoying quietly, no commotion. It was the perfect party.
"This is awesome!" Xiao said happily. She took Jin's hands and beamed at him. "Aren't you glad you came?" Jin rolled his eyes and said nothing. Xiao merely shrugged and they headed over to talk to the other guests.
Julia looked around.
"Hey," she said. "Where's the host?" Hwoarang just shrugged.
"Beats me," he muttered. A' man suddenly bumped past him along with a few others following him outside. "Hey! Watch it!" Hwoarang grabbed the man by the shoulder and swung him around. The man didn't look like he cared.
"What d'ya bump me for?" Hwoarang demanded. Julia walked up behind him. The man and his friends laughed.
"Sorry," he said. "Guess I just didn't see you. Heh, no one can, when you're a loser." At that, they walked off. Hwoarang's anger rose and he tried to follow them, only to be held back by Julia.
"Hey, stop it," she said firmly. Hwoarang stopped and turned to her. She looked serious.
"What did you promise me?" Hwoarang sighed and dropped his gaze.
"I promised I'd get along with Jin-hyung for Asuka's sake and yours," he said almost lazily. Julia raised an eyebrow.
"Well… yes… but you promised me something else."
"That I would stop making fun of the cops?" Julia sighed irritably and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"No… " she muttered. "You promised you'd only fight in the tournaments from now on." Hwoarang rolled his eyes. "Hwoarang… "
"Alright, alright," he mumbled. "I'll leave those bastards alone." Julia beamed and planted a kiss on his cheek. "But it's only because of you." Julia nodded, happy with the reason.
Suddenly, a catchy dance song started to play. Xiao beamed at Jin.
"Come on," she said. "Let's dance!" She dragged him out and she made him dance. He didn't seem too confident about it, though, constantly tripping over, and only saved because Xiao was there. Asuka watched them for a moment, and then ran over to Hwoarang. She took his hands and smiled sweetly at him.
"Wanna dance?" she asked. Hwoarang looked uneasy.
"Um… I can't dance… " he muttered. Julia pushed him from behind.
"Of course you can!" she said, laughing. "Go and have some fun! But you have to give him back at the end of the dance." Asuka beamed at her, while Hwoarang looked utterly confused and horrified.
"What… ?" he blurted. Asuka started to drag him away. "Hey! Julia… !" He unsuccessfully tried to resist her, looking at Julia for help. She just shrugged and moved over to the drinks.
Xiao looked around the room. Up against the walls were extremely large pillars, holding them up.
"How much do you think one of those weigh?" she asked. Jin turned his head to them.
"Hmmm, I'd say about three tonnes," he muttered. Xiao stared at them, wide-eyed.
"Oh my gosh, how did they get them in here?" Jin just shrugged. "What would happen if it fell on someone?"
"I don't think they will," he remarked. "It isn't easy to knock one of those things down. But if it does come down…" He shook his head grimly. "Each of them weigh at least three to five tonnes… it'll be bad." The song finally ended, both Hwoarang and Jin were grateful. Asuka walked Hwoarang off the dance floor, but was still extremely excited. Julia walked up to them.
"Man, that was awesome!" Asuka exclaimed to Hwoarang. "I'm thirsty now, I'm gonna go get some drinks, okay?" Hwoarang nodded slightly. She grinned and kissed him on the cheek, then ran off. Hwoarang wiped his cheek with his sleeve, a little annoyed. Julia just laughed.
"I still don't get why you're okay with this," he said to her. Julia shrugged.
"Because I know you love me," she said simply. Hwoarang couldn't help but smile. A ballad began to play.
"So… you still wanna dance?" He extended his hand to Julia. She smirked and they walked back onto the dance floor. They were the only couple, but they didn't care. Julia wrapped her arms around his neck as he placed his around her waist. The lights dimmed and they stared into each other's eyes.
"That's funny," Julia said, smiling. "I thought you'd be happy that two girls are head-over-heels in love with you." Hwoarang just scoffed, blushing a little.
Other couples joined in the dance, following suit. Xiao and Jin did too. It was clear to see that Jin was still a little uneasy about it, but he didn't resist when she dragged him back in. It became quite a peaceful moment.
Asuka looked around at the drink table. She grabbed a plastic cup.
"Hey, there's no ice left." She scratched her head. "Hey, you!" The girl next to her looked up. "Where's all the ice?" The girl looked around at the table.
"I guess you've got to get some more outside," she suggested. Asuka sighed. She grabbed another cup for Hwoarang. She headed out the backyard.
"Okay, where would Takeshi put the ice?" She walked near the shed and looked around at the ground.
"No… " a weak voice from behind the shed begged. "… please… don't… " Asuka frowned a little and peeped from behind the edges. Her eyes widened in horror.
Two men in black clothing were standing in front of another young man. It was Takeshi. One of the men was holding him by the shirt collar, and his feet were daggling. He seemed to be choking.
"Mind telling us why there are so many people inside?" one of them asked. Takeshi swallowed hard.
"Look," he muttered breathlessly. "I did everything you told me to… I invited Ling Xiaoyu and Kazama Jin to the party… " Asuka covered her mouth tightly.
"That still doesn't explain why this place is packed," the other man said.
"I couldn't just invite the two of them!" Takeshi cried, struggling to breathe. "There had to be more people so it wouldn't look fishy!" The man dropped Takeshi hard on the ground, where he panted for breath. He turned to the other man.
"Ryu," he said quietly. "What do we do now?" Ryu bent down to Takeshi.
"We got orders from Miss Caroline to kill the both of them," he said, his tone dangerous. Asuka felt a chill run down her spine. "But I guess now, everyone will have to go."
"What?" Takeshi was horrified. "You can't kill all of them!"
"Too late thinking about that now," Ryu laughed. "We've already set a bomb inside; it'll blow up any minute now." But then he stopped and began to think. "Wait." He turned to the other man. "These two aren't ordinary people, Tane. I have a hunch they'll survive it. Maybe we'll raid them out after the bomb goes off." Tane grinned horribly. He took out a black face mask and put it on.
"Yeah," he laughed. "We'll do it ourselves." He looked back down at Takeshi. "Looks like you've done your job properly after all." Takeshi looked grateful.
"Am I free to go now?" he asked hopefully. The two men laughed. Ryu put on his own mask.
"Nah," he said carelessly. He took out a gun with a silencer and pointed it at the young man. "No one else can know about this. Too risky." Takeshi's eyes widened with terror and he tried to back away into the wall.
"No… please… " Takeshi begged. Ryu just shrugged.
"Goodbye," he smirked. Asuka couldn't bring herself to watch. She turned away from the scene as a muffled shot was heard. She was shaking.
Someone wanted to kill Jin and Xiao.
She dropped her cups and ran as fast as she could back inside. She rushed over to Hwoarang and Julia, pulling them apart.
"Hey," Hwoarang exclaimed. "You had your turn!" He suddenly realized how pale Asuka was.
"What's wrong?" Julia asked.
"We have to get everyone out of here," Asuka said shakily. "Someone's trying to kill Jin and Xiao!"
"What?" Hwoarang and Julia both looked shocked and horrified.
"THERE'S A BOMB IN HERE!" Asuka said frantically. "It's going to go off any second!"
Suddenly, a loud beeping noise was heard coming from the floor in the centre of the room. Everyone stopped to look at it, confused, but Asuka knew exactly what it was.
"Too late!"
Hwoarang threw his arms around the girls and pulled them down, protecting them just in time as the blast erupted, sending them flying into the wall. The ceiling came down onto them, and everything went silent.
