Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.
Thanks for all the reviews. I'll try to update soon from now on…I just had a stressing month, but I'm glad it's over.
Chapter 26 – Next Round
23rd APRIL
Jin was the first one to arrive to the arena. He wasn't nervous but he was a bit tense. In less than ten minutes had arrived more than thirty people to watch the fight. Hwoarang was among them and Jin could also recognise Anna Williams and other fighters who had already lost.
Ling joined Hwoarang in that moment and Julia was right behind her.
-'Pigtails…did you come to see your boyfriend?'-Hwoarang teased her.
-'You're nicer when your mouth is shut.'-Ling retaliated.
Julia laughed, supporting Ling, but soon she regretted it.
-'I had a dream about you last night…'-Hwoarang started.
-'Shut up…'-Julia warned.
-'But you had these cool and sexy clothes and we were…Ouch! That's my foot!'
-'I know…now shut up or you're going to feel more pain!'-Julia threatened.
-'Why are you acting like this? You shouldn't feel ashamed…So what if you went to my room last night? Don't blame yourself, you just couldn't resist me!'
Julia was going to answer that provocation when Ling interrupted her.
-'Wouldn't you be happy if your grandfather went to see your fight?'-Ling asked.
This question caught Hwoarang and Julia's attention. They both looked at her with questioning faces, but finally Julia understood what she was talking about. Heihachi Mishima was a couple of yards ahead of them, right in front of the arena. He had never showed up to watch a fight so far, and now there he was, right in front of Jin.
Jin was absolutely enraged when he saw that his grandfather was there to watch him. He knew that Heihachi was only there to learn his weak points and to evaluate his skills.
Ling had noticed that Jin wasn't happy to see Heihachi standing there and she couldn't understand why. In her opinion, Heihachi was only showing that he cared about his grandson. Julia, on the other hand, didn't agree with her.
-'You know…I think that Jin, somehow, doesn't want Heihachi to be here.'-Julia said.
-'I would be so proud if my grandfather was here to watch my match.'
-'The Mishima guy is his grandfather?'-Hwoarang asked surprised.
-'They have issues…'-Julia insisted.
-'I know…and that's so childish. I don't care what everyone says…they should try to sort things out.'-Ling announced in a firm voice.
-'The Mishima guy is Kazama's grandfather?'-Hwoarang asked again raising his voice.
-'I think you should let Jin handle the situation.'-Julia said.
-'Do I have another choice?'-Ling questioned.-'He clearly pushed me away…'
-'Don't make me ask again!'-Hwoarang warned. He was tired of being ignored by the two girls.
-'Yes! Heihachi is Jin's grandfather! Why do you care anyway?'-Julia asked.
-'That explains a lot of things!'-Hwoarang declared.-'Now I know why Kazama acts like he's the best. He's a damn snob! He thinks he can have everything because he's a Mishima!'
-'Jin's not like that. He's…different.'-Ling said watching Jin who had just started his fight.
Hwoarang shrugged. As the minutes went by, the fight became more intense. King was a fair opponent but Jin knew he had to win so he could face Heihachi in the finals.
In that moment, King met the ground after receiving a powerful high kick. Some blood went to the floor and Jin cursed himself for hitting that man so hard. It wasn't his intention but it seemed that he couldn't control his strength anymore.
King got up and tried to hit Jin with a Head Spinner but Jin ducked and managed to escape. King tried again and this time he grabbed Jin's right arm and twisted it behind Jin's back. Jin hit his head against King's and he released him. After this, Jin used a rising uppercut to finish his opponent. The match lasted only thirteen minutes and to Jin's luck, Heihachi hadn't seen much.
Ling was going to congratulate Jin but she stopped herself from going. Julia watched as Jin disappeared in the middle of the trees.
-'Stupid bastard.'-Hwoarang said.
After lunch, everyone was feeling nervous and excited. It was time to see Heihachi Mishima in action; the Boss and winner of the previous tournament.
There were more people to see that fight than in any other previous match. While everyone was gathering around the arena to wait for Heihachi and Forest Law, Jin was secretly entering in Heihachi's room. He had to find the codes to open the doors in the Tekken Forces Headquarters; otherwise, Julia would never be able to rescue her mother. Jin knew he had to hurry up, because Heihachi would probably notice his absence.
He searched Heihachi's room for ten minutes and then he heard the screaming coming from the arena. The fight was probably over and Jin had a pretty strong feeling about who had won.
Running out of time, Jin left through the window, but as soon as he entered the forest, he had the feeling that he wasn't alone. And once again, he was right. This time, Jin saw a woman dressed in purple coming in his direction with a gun aimed at his chest. Her hair and her face were hidden.
-'You again? Who wants to see me dead so badly?'-Jin asked. Mentally he thought "Besides my own grandfather".
The woman approached him and watched him closely.
-'You're not him…'-she muttered.
-'Who?'
-'Kazuya…'
Jin was surprised to hear his father's name. It was obvious that whoever that woman was, she was Kazuya's enemy. And it was clear that she was confused because she had been trying to kill him thinking that he was his father, who happened to be dead.
-'Why are you after me?'-Jin tried again.
-'You look like him…your hair, your eyes…'
-'I'm not him.'
-'I was ordered to kill the Mishima heir.'
-'I'm a Kazama.'
-'You're Heihachi Mishima's grandson…'
-'I'm not your enemy…Miss Williams.'
-'How do you know my name?'
-'Who's your boss? Why does he want me dead?'
-'I don't know. But don't worry; it will be fast and painless. I'm a professional.'
-'I don't doubt that…but I'm not going to die…I mean not today.'
Jin surprised her with his immense strength, making her fall after a high kick. The gun was now a few yards away from them and while she tried to get it back, Jin ran away.
Alone is the forest, Nina took out her mask and picked the gun up. She touched her stomach where Jin had hit her and cursed him.
When Julia, Ling and the others returned after seeing Heihachi's fight, everyone was surprised to know that there was going to be a special dinner to celebrate the next round of the tournament and to say goodbye to those who had been eliminated. No one was forced to leave but some of the fighters had already packed.
At dinner, Bryan, Dr. B. and Gun Jack didn't show up. King, Law, Paul, Anna and Eddie were among the others but they were not on the tournament anymore. Like Heihachi had said, it was time to celebrate, especially those who had won their matches, but the "ice" was hard to break. Except maybe for Eddie, all the fighters who had lost were not pleased, so the environment was quite frustrating.
When Jin arrived, there were four tables prepared, but only three were taken, he found a card with his name on it and sat down. In his table were Ling, Julia, Eddie and King.
In front of his table Hwoarang, Law, Paul and Anna were sharing another table, and in the end of the room, Heihachi, Nina, Yoshimitsu and Lei were sitting down.
The dinner proceeded normally. Anna was having a nice chat with Law and Paul, while Hwoarang was watching Jin. His blood was boiling for revenge. Eddie was explaining Ling some capoeira attacks. She had found capoeira quite interesting, besides talking with Eddie was distracting her from Jin.
-'A few years ago I taught some of these attacks to my student.'-Eddie said in a very complicated English. Sometimes it was almost impossible to understand what he was saying.
-'I didn't know you had a student.'
-'She's still young…but Christie is a lot like you.'
-'Is she Chinese?'
-'No, she's Brazilian, but she's always excited about life.'
-'How old is she?'
-'Seventeen…'
The conversation was interrupted by Heihachi. The dinner was over and it was time to talk about the tournament.
-'I really appreciate your company. You are all good fighters. Unfortunately some of you lost and can no longer fight with the rest of us. I want to thank you for coming and I want to say that you are welcome to stay and see the rest of the tournament if you like. In the meantime we have already the schedule for the next round.'
A screen behind Heihachi was now showing the fights.
-'Tomorrow…'-Heihachi continued.-'At eleven a.m., Ling Xiaoyu against Lei Wulong and at three p.m. Hwoarang against Julia Chang.'
Everyone remained in silence so Heihachi could say the two remaining matches. Jin was going to fight against Nina Williams and Heihachi would face Yoshimitsu.
-'Crap…I don't want to fight with her…'-Hwoarang complained.
-'Are you scared?'-Anna teased him.
-'Totally…'-he answered ironically.-'I have unfinished businesses with Kazama…I want to fight him, not girls or machines.'
Hwoarang got up and approached Jin's table. Julia and Ling, who were talking, shut up and watched him.
-'What do you want?'-Jin asked without even look at him.
-'Our fight was delayed but I will defeat you.'
Jin didn't answer; there was no point in doing it. Hwoarang's eyes met Julia's when he was leaving, and she had the impression that when he passed her he had said "sorry", but maybe it was only her imagination.
