Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.
Thanks for all the reviews.
Chapter 32 – Xiaoyu's final match
After a hard training day, Hwoarang was more than pleased when he went to bed after a shower. The day was finally over and in less than twenty four hours he would have to prove his value in the arena once again. This time he would fight against an old man, Heihachi Mishima. Hwoarang knew that Heihachi was no ordinary old man. He was the boss, the man who was holding the title of the "strongest man on earth", but that didn't intimidate him. If he wanted to get his revenge against Jin Kazama, he would have to win the next match.
Hwoarang was almost falling asleep, dreaming about his victorious arrival to Korea after winning the tournament, when he heard someone knocking on his door.
Lazily, he got up and opened the door. His face suddenly changed when he saw Julia standing outside.
-'I wasn't expecting you…but…'
-'Can I come in?'-she asked a bit unsure.
-'Absolutely.'
He let her in and closed the door. The silence that invaded the bedroom was now very unusual. Since Julia didn't speak, Hwoarang decided to joke with the situation.
-'I know you must be really inpatient to be with me, but I have a very important match tomorrow and I need my energy…'
-'I knew you were going to say something like that…'-Julia sighed.
-'You can show up tomorrow night…It will be a night you won't forget...'
-'How bad do you want to win this tournament?'-Julia interrupted.
Julia's question caught Hwoarang off guard, so he didn't answer immediately.
-'So?'-Julia insisted.
-'I need to win…that's all you need to know.'
-'Ling told me you're obsessed with a fight with Jin.'
-'Miss Pigtails should learn how to keep her mouth shut.'
-'You can fight with Jin any other time…'
-'I want to show everyone that I'm better than him, ok?'
-'You may have a chance against Jin, but you'll never win against Heihachi Mishima. So I think you should forget about this tournament and quit.'
-'You're asking me to quit?'-Hwoarang was shocked with the suggestion.
-'Why not? You asked me too!'
-'Because you would never win our match!'
-'And I know you will lose tomorrow, so you have to listen to me!'
-'I get it…this is your payback, isn't it?'
-'What?'
-'You want me to believe that I'm going to lose just because I kicked your ass.'
-'That's not true! I only want you to see what will happen if you face Heihachi…'
-'You're a bad loser, Chang…'
-'I'm not. Girls aren't like boys…when we lose a fight, we usually end up admitting that we didn't do our best, or that our opponent was too strong, but you…you take everything personal. When you lose it's the end of the world. I'm only giving you a way out.'
-'My pride doesn't allow me to quit. Not now, not ever!'
-'Your ego will be your downfall.'
-'Then let it be. At least it will be my way…'
-'Heihachi Mishima is very tricky and he's just too strong even for you. He's not an ordinary man.'
-'Ok…I'll propose something…'
-'Like what?'
-'Do you really want me to quit?'-Hwoarang asked approaching Julia, who was now cornered against the wall.
-'It would be good for you…'
-'In that case…I'll quit, but I need something in return…'
Hwoarang grabbed her shoulders and he was now whispering at her ear.
-'I'm not going to sleep with you.'-Julia said, but her voice didn't sound very convincing.-'Is that the only thing you think off?'
Mentally, Julia was slapping herself because she should've never entered his room in the first place.
-'Most of the times…but believe me, if I wanted you to sleep with me, you wouldn't be able to escape.'
-'What do you want then?'
-'I want the truth…I want to know what a Toshin is.'
Julia pushed him off and faced him angrily.
-'You heard us? Ling and I?'
-'Duh…'
-'You shouldn't have done that.'
-'Why not? It was fun!'
-'Look, you have nothing to do with this, so just forget about it, ok?'
-'No way…I'm curious. Plus now I know you're searching for your mother and Heihachi has her.'
-'Don't get involved, I'm warning you.'
-'Or what? You're going to slap me? Or yell at me?'
-'No, but you might get hurt. And this is my problem, not yours.'
-'All I want is to know what a Toshin is.'
-'You wouldn't understand.'
-'Try me.'
-'Do you believe in God? Spirits? Or maybe just a mystic entity?'
-'Not really, I believe in me…my strengths and it's enough.'
-'Then you would never believe me.'
-'Is this about religion? Miracles and stuff?'
-'No. It's about good and evil.'
-'I believe in that. Now tell me…come on.'
-'If I tell you…you promise to quit the match against Heihachi?'
-'Sure.'
-'Ok…the Toshin is the God of Fighting, he's a powerful entity…sacred to many cultures and people, but he's an evil spirit who feeds on the souls of powerful fighters.'
-'Is that some sort of a fairytale?'
-'It's real…he's here and if I don't do anything, people can die.'
-'What about Kazama? What's his role? Is he your prince charming or something?'
-'No. He's just a victim in this story. I can't tell you anything else. But I'm glad you're not going to face Heihachi. He would probably humiliate you…'
-'We'll see about that…'
-'What? You promised!'
-'I did? I can't remember…I'm glad you're worried about me and I would really appreciate your company tomorrow night to celebrate my victory. I'll think about all the things we'll do in our private party…oh, and if you have black underwear or red…please use it. I love red…'
Hwoarang pushed her towards the door while he was talking.
-'You're a liar.'-Julia accused.
-'My pride and my honour are on the line…I never quit. Sorry Chang, but I have to fight. See you…and thanks for the information.'
Julia returned to her bedroom, she didn't know if Hwoarang had believed her or not, but she knew that no matter what, he would lose his fight which would definitely destroy his self-esteem and his pride. But she couldn't do anything about it because he had made up his mind.
27th APRIL
Ling was watching carefully the crowd in front of her. She was waiting for Jin to start their match. She could see Julia and a couple of yards away, Hwoarang was speaking to Paul Phoenix.
If I lose he's going to mock me, but I'll have my revenge too. Ling thought watching the redhead Korean.
In that moment, Jin arrived and some girls started to laugh hysterically.
-'Don't hold anything back.'-Jin said with a genuine smile.
-'I won't.'-Ling smiled too and the fight begun.
To fight against a friend was harder than Ling thought. She was constantly remembering the time she had spent with Jin in the Mishima mansion and in school. She wasn't focused enough, so she ended up on the floor. Jin's kick was so fast that she didn't have time to block it.
Seeing her on the floor made Jin almost lose his composure and go help her to get up, but he managed to focus. He was fighting, and even if he had feelings towards Ling, he had to forget about that during the fight.
-'I didn't mean to hit that hard…'-he apologised.
-'Never mind…I wasn't paying attention.'
Now, Ling was watching all Jin's movements. She didn't want to meet the floor again. Her advantage over him was her weight. Jin was heavier and taller than her, which meant he was also slower. On the other hand, his kicks and punches were more powerful than hers.
"Use your opponents' skills in your benefit, that way you'll surely win." Ling had listened to this advice many times, her grandfather was a wise man and he had never let her down. In other circumstances, she would have thought in some sort of tactic to distract her opponent and knock him out, but in this situation, she couldn't forget that her opponent was Jin Kazama.
I don't want to lose, but I also know I can't win. He's stronger than me and he sure deserves a chance to fight against his grandfather in the final. I can't attack because I don't want to injure him…but if I don't do anything everyone will think that I'm weak.
Once again, Ling was losing her concentration. Jin attacked once more, but this time he didn't use all of his strengths and allowed Ling to escape harmless.
The fight went on and Ling manage to hit Jin three times, though her strikes weren't powerful enough to make him fall down.
-'You improved a lot…you should be proud.'-Jin said.
-'It's not enough to beat you, is it?'
-'It doesn't matter…the important thing is that you're doing your best.'
Ling knew that soon Jin would give her the final blow and it would be over for her, but when she was ready to lose, she saw Jin kneeling down on the floor with his hands on his head. He was talking to himself and he didn't seem to be ok.
-'Are you alright, Jin?'-she asked keeping her distance.
-'This voice doesn't stop calling me…'-he said in agony.
Ling ran to him and kneeled besides Jin.
-'What voice? I'm the only one here.'
-'It's him…he wants me to turn into that beast!'
-'Hang on Jin…you must fight it. Don't let him win.'
The crowd was confused, only Julia had an idea of what had suddenly happened to Jin. She wanted to go and try to help him but if she stepped on the arena, Jin and Ling would be disqualified and she would lose her chance to save Michelle.
-'What's wrong with him?'-Hwoarang asked approaching Julia.
-'I don't know…'
-'Right…I can see you're lying.'
-'Jin has certain…problems with his family and the last thing he needs is a jerk like you obsessed with a fight.'
-'It looks to me that he's mentally unstable…'
In that moment, Jin recovered. He looked as pale as a ghost, but he was ready to continue the fight.
-'Are you sure you want to continue this?'-Ling asked feeling worried. He had been on the floor for only ten seconds, but all that talk about a voice was really creepy. Whose voice was Jin referring to? Could it be the devil's voice?
-'I'm fine now.'
-'Ok…'
Slowly, Ling and Jin took their positions on the arena and started the fight. Ling knew that he was holding back, because he didn't want to hurt her. Jin didn't want to feel that way, but he couldn't help it. She wasn't his true enemy and in the past he had hit her pretty bad.
-'I'm sorry but I really need to end this now!'-Jin said all of the sudden.
He grabbed Ling's arm and he put all of his strengths in that last punch. His fist collided with Ling's stomach and since he was holding one of her arms, she wasn't able to get away on time. The last thing she could remember was the lack of air in her lungs and after that all went black.
Jin caught her small body, avoiding the contact with the floor. He knew that she would sleep for a few hours, but it was better that way.
Heihachi watched his grandson going to the medical facilities and smiled. Dr. Abel was at his side.
-'Jin didn't show much…'
-'I saw all I needed.'
-'What do you mean?'
-'Jin cares for that girl, that's why he didn't use his powers…and the devil gene is now active.'
-'That's because Jin is too close to Ogre. Their evil spirits are calling each other for a duel…'
-'I need Jin's blood…while Ogre is still restrained. After that I'll take his powers and I'll become the most powerful man on earth.'
-'Michelle Chang said that once you take all of Ogre's powers, the Devil will rise again and he'll come to look for his half…Jin Kazama…'
-'I killed Devil years ago. He's dead…'
-'You never saw his body, remember?'
-'It doesn't matter…Kazuya and the Devil are dead. And things will remain that way.'
