AN. And now the next chapter. It's quite a bit shorter than the last one, but the one after this will be long again. It's gonna be like...yeah...a break between each fight scene. Enjoy!

Chapter Six – Time For A Break

Jin was very tired, and he didn't know why. It was the afternoon of the next day. The sun was warm, the breeze slight and cool. The one solitary cloud of the day was drifting over the horizon. Jin sat in the courtyard, on the rim of the fountain. It was a day off, a break between rounds, and he had been bored all day. The only thing he could think of was fighting Kazuya, but he had a feeling he'd be doing that in a later match anyway.

"I don't care what you say," Christie said angrily, storming into the courtyard from the lounge-room. "It looked like flirting to me."

Steve followed her, his young face creased with worry. "It wasn't. I'm really, really sorry, Christie."

Jin watched with interest, wondering what this was all about.

"I know you think I'm flirting with her, but that would be just...wrong," Steve said, distress now in his voice.

"I don't think you are; I know you are!" Christie yelled. She turned away from Steve and Jin saw with some shock that she was crying.

"Why would I flirt with Nina?" Steve asked, and suddenly Jin understood. He should have seen this coming.

"I don't know," Christie said. "Maybe because she's beautiful. And she's older." She looked down, putting her hands over her face.

"She's not as beautiful as you," Steve said softly. Christie looked up from her hands, and turned slightly towards Steve. In the act of doing so she saw Jin, and her tears dried up as her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Jin," she said. "I...um...Steve and I..."

Steve took this shock as a chance. He leapt forward, grabbed her arms, and kissed her. It was a short kiss, with closed lips, but when Steve broke away, Christie had the look of a woman who had been kissed in the most intimate fashion for the first time. Jin looked away, embarrassed.

"Oh, Steve," he heard Christie whisper. Then another silence. When he looked back, Christie was hugging Steve tight, her head planted firmly on his shoulder. She was smiling a brilliant smile that could only be matched by the smile on Steve's face.

"Congratulations," he said quietly, standing up and patting Steve on the shoulder. He liked Steve, he was a good guy. "You guys deserve each other."

He left the courtyard, thinking the new couple would enjoy a bit of privacy.

Now what? he asked himself. There was nothing to do.

He went into the lounge room, where several competitors were chatting. Julia, Asuka, Hwoarang and Xiao were among them. Despite the fact that Julia had lost to Kazuya yesterday, she was allowed to remain in the mansion. Sae had made the announcement at dinner, which saved Hwoarang a lot of shouting.

"Hi, Jin," Xiao said, smiling. Her lower lip was swollen and a purple bruise spread across her upper arm. Sae had given everyone a special cream that healed all minor injuries in record time. Already, Xiao's bruise was turning yellow around the edges.

"Hey, Xiao." He smiled back. "What are you doing?"

"Talking," Asuka said, her gaze matching Hwoarang's stony glare. Jin wondered briefly why she was regarding him with such anger. "I thought this mansion was supposed to be fun."

"Yeah," Hwoarang said. He slumped back on the couch and put his feet on the coffee table. His right arm draped over the back of the couch, which just happened to be just behind Julia's head.

"Do you know anything fun to do?" Julia asked. She leant back and discreetly moved closer to Hwoarang. Jin sat down on the couch opposite them, right next to Xiao.

"Nope. What were you talking about?"

"Just stuff," Xiao said. She sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "This place is so boring! I can't wait for tomorrow. I get to fight Asuka." She smiled at the Japanese girl sitting next to her.

"You can just wait for it," Asuka said, smiling back. "I'll kick her Chinese butt from here to Brisbane."

"You can try," Xiao said, but she was laughing. Jin knew there would be no love lost between them.

"That was tough luck about yesterday, Julia," Jin said, trying to change the subject. She smiled at him, and Hwoarang scowled.

"Thanks. I knew I didn't stand a chance though, Kazuya's way too strong."

Jin nodded, but he frowned internally. Kazuya may be strong, but if Jin got the chance to fight him, then he would show Kazuya who was stronger. He swore it on his mother.

"He's also mucho creepy," Xiao said, rubbing her arms. "He gives me the shivers."

"I know," Asuka said. "He's always so silent and angry. I feel like he'd kill me as soon as look at me."

"Maybe he would," Jin said darkly. "Kazuya is a loose cannon."

"With a lit fuse," Julia added. Xiao laughed.

"That's a good one," she said.

Christie and Steve entered from the courtyard, their arms around each other's waists.

"Hey, guys," Steve said. He looked down at Christie, then back at his friends, a look of slight disbelief mixed with utter joy on his face.

"Go, Steve!" Hwoarang replied. "You finally did it, man. Congrats."

"Thanks, Hwoarang," Steve said, turning a shade of red Jin had never seen before.

"How d'ya do it?" Hwoarang asked. Suddenly it seemed as though Jin and the girls weren't there. It was just two friends discussing women.

"I thought he was flirting with Nina," Christie said.

"But I wasn't," Steve added quickly.

"Good," Asuka said good-naturedly. "Because if you were, she'd be about ready to kick your butt."

"Huh?" Steve looked very confused.

"She's right behind you," Julia said gently.

Steve turned, and there was Nina, fighting with Anna. She shot a look at him, and he waved. She waved back, then returned her attention to Anna, turning her wave into a slap. Steve winced, then turned back to the group of young adults. He and Christie sat down on the third couch.

"So you two are officially a couple, then?" Xiao asked.

"I think so," Christie said slowly. She looked at Steve. "Are we?"

"Hell yeah," he responded. The girls giggled and Hwoarang rolled his eyes. Jin stifled a laugh and stood up.

"I'm going to my room," he said, as explanation to Xiao's curious look. "I'm really tired. I'll see you at dinner."

"See you then," Julia said, ignoring Hwoarang's angry look.

"Yeah. See you, Jin," Asuka said sarcastically. Jin shot her a confused look, then waved to the others and left, walking to his room. He was, after all, very, very tired.

AN. Yeah, I am going to incorporate my other shippyness-ness pairings into this somehow. I swear, I totally will. But they're not as important as the whole Mishima/Kazama thing, so if you don't like them then just ignore them. Please review XD