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A Tekken Story: Through the Years - Volume I	By : DarkRomancer Category: +S through Z > Tekken Views: 4725 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Tekken but I do own my OCs and plot. If you steal, be prepared to suffer. I am also making no profit from this story what so ever.

Chapter List
- 24
- 25
- 26
Chapter Summary: Akira finally makes a decision about her situation,
but it doesn�t end the way she plans�
��
Disclaimer: I do not own Tekken but I do own my OCs and plot. If
you steal, be prepared to suffer.
Chapter Warnings:
A mega long chapter with a bit of
swearing and a dirty thought towards the end.
Notes: This chapter is about 20 pages long on my Word
Document which means that I�ve finally reached 100, 000 words (without these
introductory bits before the chapters). Wow!
Extra Notes: I�ve decided to break my story up into volumes
rather than keep it all as one story or continue it as a series; otherwise it�ll
just keep going on and on forever and it won�t be easy to read. I�ve calculated
that there be around eight volumes altogether, but that�s just a rough
estimate. Just thought you should know. As always, R&R! Ciao!

Chapter 26 � Wide Awake will be up soon!

A
Tekken Story: Through the Years

�I remember when you filled my heart with joy
Was I blind to the truth just there to fill the space
'Cause now you have no interest in anything I have to say
And I have allowed you to make me feel dumb
What kind of fool am I that you so easily set me aside

You made a fool of me
Tell me why
Tell me why
You made a fool of me, you made
a fool of me�
�You Made a Fool of Me� � Me�Shell
Ndegeocello

Chapter 25 � You Made a Fool of Me

This is the
absolute worst. Everything sucks.
It was about five o�clock the following morning
and my brain was fogged from three days without sleep. I was tired, physically
and mentally, and completely drained.
How the hell
am I going to face Ryo and Jin in just a few hours� time?
I prayed to Kami-sama for guidance but I don�t
think my message got through.
OK, maybe it did get through, but not in the way
I expected or hoped it would. Mom received a phone call from work just she,
Hana and I sat down for breakfast (as I mentioned before, she designs and sells
jewellery as her own business and has two other girls
other than Taya, Gemmei and
Yu who help her out at the shop) informing her that there may have been a mix
up with the stock and no-one else could handle it meaning that Mom would have
to go over there to fix it, so she asked me to take Hana to school so she could
sort out the problem as soon as possible. Of course I told Mom I had no problem
with it, that we would be fine.
How wrong I was.
To put it nicely�my imouto
was a major pain in my ass that
morning. Mom hadn�t even started breakfast before she had to leave, so I had to
do it, which in itself wasn�t too bad because I knew how to cook sometimes at
the age of sixteen. Hana wanted a fried egg on whole-wheat toast � simple enough,
right? With Hana, it really wasn�t. In no time at all, I presented her with a
fried egg lying dead in the middle on a piece of whole-wheat toast and she
cried. Once I was able to calm her down so she could speak properly instead of
through hiccups, she told me I had done it wrong.
How the hell
do make a fried egg on whole-wheat toast wrong?!
She explained to me that Mom usually put the egg
on two slices of whole-wheat toast
with a lick of butter inbetween both
slices and nowhere else.
Why hadn�t
she told me the first time?!
So, I started all over again and decided to leave
the �incorrect� breakfast for myself. As I waited for the egg to fry, I poured
a glass of orange juice for the both of us. Hana got one sip as soon as I
plonked the glass down infront of her and she immediately spat it out. Turns
out, I had it wrong again � Hana
doesn�t like cold drinks because it hurts her teeth, so Mom usually leaves the
OJ out for a few minutes before pouring her a glass. I argued with her that the
glass would eventually warm up but she insisted
on having a new glass.
Are you for
real?! How the hell does Mom deal with this�Every.
Single. Morning.
It seemed like a whole hour had whizzed past me
after Hana had finished breakfast, but in reality it had only been a little
less than an hour.
Man�
Oh, but the fun didn�t stop there.
After breakfast, we trudged upstairs to kit Hana
out first, then me. Despite the fact that Hana at this point is in elementary
school, she still has to wear a uniform (had we been living back in Chūō-ku, neither of us would have
to). Hana actually looked extremely cute in hers � a navy blue dress that
covered her knees (just as well really, she was always covered in cuts and
bruises, especially on her knees) and her arms, with a red sailor-styled tie
and white cuffs, along with white ankle socks, black sandals and when the
weather was warm, a matching sun hat. After I aided her in getting ready (�I�m
nearly in middle school, onee-chan, I can do it
myself!�) and inspected her reflection the mirror, she burst into tears once
again.
Man, give me a break! Can�t I do
anything right this morning?!
Hana
practically started spitting fire at me � apparently I had tied her tie all
crookedly and I hadn�t folded her socks properly.
How can such a small child be so
fricking fussy?!
Another hour filled with more tantrums,
screeching and tears, both of us were on our way to school. Luckily, Shinjuku
Elementary School isn�t that far from Mishima High, so it would be easy to drop
Hana off first then make my way to school.
Once again, I was mistaken.�
I walked imouto into
her classroom, explained that either me or Mom would pick her up later when
school had ended and said goodbye. Only, when I turned away to exit the school
and go to mine, Hana had her arms and legs wrapped around me like ivy,
forbidding me to leave.
If Mom
hadn�t go to work earlier this morning, this never
would have happened!
But in a way, I was glad, because Hana�s
prissiness and crabbiness made me late enough to miss registration, which meant
I didn�t have to face Ryo and Jin so early in the morning.
But when I was halfway to Mishima High, I
realised my first lesson was Chemistry.
With Jin.
Oh crap.

I could have faked illness, pretended there was a
family emergency or simply just head back home, but I couldn�t � I had been
absent enough this year and if I skipped out again, I would be kicked out for
sure.
Damn you
Past Me for being so ignorant!
No, no, no, I mustn�t be stupid. Sure, I�m
currently in love with two people, torn between them, worried that someone will
most definitely get hurt and I�m about to face one of those people by myself
with none of my other friends for the first time since I discovered this
revelation, so I would stop this.
I should
curse the person who made the timetable and class groups.
Time to face the music.

I spotted Jin before he spotted me and, of
course, in the total clich� way, my heart started thundering in my torso, my
knees started quivering and my mind became as jumbled as random scribbles on a
blank page. On shaky legs and my head bent to divert gazes, I wandered over to
mine and Jin�s table towards the back of the classroom.
Damn Jin for
being a rich bastard and the grandson of the Principle and damn these people
for being so narrow-minded!
�Good morning,� I heard Jin greet me as I sat
down opposite him.
�Good morning,� I responded flatly, keeping my
head down as I slid my bad under the desk.
This is bad,
this is bad! I�m surprised Jin hasn�t already found out by the way my heart is
beating so fast and loudly!
Calm down,
calm down! I pressed my hand to my
heart, willing the ground to form a hole and swallow me up.
�You weren�t at kumi
this morning. Where were you?� Jin asked, and without looking I knew he was
completely focused on me.
It�s no use.
I have to look at him or he�ll know something is wrong. Just please don�t be
smiling the way you do at me�
Deliberately, I started to raise my head up to
look at him. Is a neck and chin supposed to be that attractive?
Stop it,
stop it!
With my hands balled into fists on my lap, my
eyes veered to the side, I leveled my head and fixed my eyes on Jin Kazama, the
boy who I discovered I really was in love with yesterday.
Damn it, he
was smiling at me with that cute, sexy half-smile!
Jin had his chin perched on his (sharp, unmarred)
cheekbone, his other hand laying on the desk casually, the strands of his bangs
covering his eyes, his bow-shaped lips contorted into the curved-corner
half-smile. The smile that made my cheeks heat up in red, my mind race with a
million things and my insides turn to soft mush.
Damn him and
the affect he has on me!
�T-There was nothing to worry about, Hana was
just acting up this morning, that�s all,� I said in a falsely cheery tone and I
almost slapped myself for stuttering.
This is so
totally clich� and it�s annoying!
�Oh, did something happen?� he acted genuinely
concerned which made my insides even more mushy.
How can you
act so calmly and casually while I�m feeling this way! Damn it!
�Well, um-,�
�Good morning class!� Mr. Chikamatsu
entered the room, creating a hush to fall on everyone,� Sorry I�m late!�
Thank-you for saving my
life!
�Now�,� Sensei set his briefcase down on his desk,� I�m fully
aware that a lot of you are stressed from your up-coming finals, so I thought
we could all do something fun this lesson!�
Please be individual work.
Please be individual work. Please be individual work.
�Today, I want us to do the Density Column experiment. It�s a
simple experiment that illustrates the concept of density. All you have to do
is pour different liquids into a beaker to form different layers. I don�t want
to give too much away as I want you to figure this out together. I have a lot
of different liquids up here so pair or group up and collect the materials from
the front,�
Damn it. I�m screwed now.
�I�ll go down to the front and you can get the container,
alright?� Without confirmation, Jin slipped away.
Gentleman as always, I sighed, going to the front so I don�t have to move
that far. The seats we had chosen were practically next to the cupboards
where test tubes, containers and the like are stored.
What should I do? How can
I act normal and pretend everything is fine when he has the affect he has on
me? He�s bound to notice something�then he�ll probably know�it�s no use�
I should just tell him instead
of dragging this out�
�Should I?�
�Did you say something?� Jin popped up from nowhere, making
me jump out of my skin.
�Ah! Oh�nothing. Absolutely nothing at
all!� I denied, waving my hands around in protest.
�Are you sure? You�re acting strangely�,�
Trust him to notice. He�ll
probably see right through me, despite my best efforts. I should tell him�get
it over and done with�
�Am I?� I played dumb as Jin set bottles on the desk.
Honey, corn syrup, milk, water�
�Yes, you are,� Without viewing me, he placed more bottles
inbetween us, �It�s worrying me,�
I couldn�t deny that I was little surprised, but it thrilled
me too, in a weird way.
Jin is concerned about
me�does he care about me?
Of course he does�just not
in the way I do. He cares about me in the way I did before�before�I fell for
him�
�Don�t worry about me,� I deceitfully plastered a smile on my
face so I wouldn�t have to look at him straight in the eye, �Everything is
fine,�
Lie. Lies,
lies, lies. I can only speak lies to you.
Jin seemed to take my word for it and we carried on with the
experiment, but while he was pouring in liquid to create a colourful layered
column, my mind just kept wondering�thinking�going around and around in
circles.
It�s so unfair. Why did I
have to fall in love with someone while I�m in a good, honest relationship? And
why did it have to be my best friend? Someone who means so
much to me�and other people. Why can�t there be another way around it?
Like a switch I can turn on and off? One snap of the fingers and my feelings are
gone?
Oh, if only it were that
easy.
�Akira, would you like to carry on?� Jin pushed a few bottles
my way.
Dazed, I nodded and took over. Had my mind been in the right
place, I would have picked up the black-dyed water rather than the vegetable
oil.
I completely ruined the experiment. But Jin, being Jin, was
very kind about it. We started over and Jin said nothing else about my
behaviour or being worried about me.
This is getting the better
of me.
If things keep going like
this, what will happen?
I was at home, exhausted from the day I had � pretending
everything was alright to my friends, thinking of nothing but my dilemma and
keeping Hana happy until Mom came home. I hadn�t seen much of Ryo today as he
studying in the library and revision lessons and for that I was mildly
grateful. Having to deal with Jin alone was more than enough.
�What should I do?� I clamped my pillow tightly to my body
and flopped onto my side into my unmade bed.

�Give Shinjuku a chance. You�re bound to
feel a little homesick and like you don�t belong, but it�s a great place.
You�ll love it, just as I do,�
�There�s a lot of things I desire� but I can only think of one right
now, right here,�
�Still
alive and kicking a year later,�
�Akira, listen to me. I need you to run,
get far away from here, go back home,�
�Destiny has a funny way of bringing people
back together. I mean, look at us,�
�I understand what you�re going through right now�what
you�re thinking�what you�re feeling�I experienced it too�,�
�When someone dies, we can no longer see them, or
hear them, or touch them�that�s why it�s so important to keep hold of the
memories you have,�
��beep�Akira-chan?
Are you there? Please�pick up. Pick up�pick up�pick up, dammit! Please, I�m
worried about you! I need to know�that you�re OK�when you�re millions of miles
away from me. Please, Akira-chan�I don�t care that I wasn�t the first to
know�about Naoya-san�or that I may not have left you the first message�I don�t
care. The only thing I care about is you�so please, I beg of you, please call
me back as soon as you�ve heard this message. I love you,�
�You�re right; you don�t deserve my
forgiveness�but I love you too damn much not to forgive you,�
�Jin�s a very
private person � he likes to keep himself to himself. That�s why I was hoping you
could find out something about him. He thinks very highly of you, so I thought
you would be the one he would talk to,�

�Akira, I know you would never do that to me � you love me too much to hurt
me. I understand that Jin gets on better with you; after all you met him before
any of us did. You two are just good friends, that�s all,�
�Jin is my friend, and that�s the way it�s
going to stay! I mean, I have a boyfriend who I love and care for very deeply.
No-one can compare to him�not even Jin,�
I�m in love with Jin Kazama. I�m in love
with someone in a way I�ve never felt before.

�Jin is in love with you�and you love him
too,�
I�m in love with Kikukawa Ryo. Yet, I�m in
love with Kazama Jin too.
�Look into your heart because that is where
the true answer lies. The true answer will lead you down the right path,�
�If you love two people at the same time, choose
the second; because if you really loved the first, you wouldn't have fallen for
the second.�
On one
hand there was Ryo: gentle, caring and funny. On the other hand, there was Jin:
mysterious, protective and passionate.
�If you love two people at the same time, choose
the second; because if you really loved the first, you wouldn't have fallen for
the second.�
Wait�
That�s right.
What Mom
told me was right. If I truly loved with Ryo�then I wouldn�t have fallen in
love with Jin.
That�s right.
So�should I choose Jin?
Jin was
not like anyone I knew before: although I knew Jin better than anyone, I still
didn�t know everything about him, even though I wanted to. He had saved me in two separate situations and was the
first one to comfort after Tou-chan�s death and at
his funeral. He was the one who was determined to achieve his dream, which was
admirable and stirred something within me.
Why does he do this to me?
Should
I choose him?
If I
do, will it lead me down the right path?
After everything Ryo and I have dealt with, have
gone through�but I knew what I had to do.
I
decided to choose Jin.
I
have to tell him right now.
OK, so I was dressed in my knitted sea-green
cardigan, white vest top and faded ripped jeans, my make-up was messy and my
hair unbrushed for a few hours but I didn�t care.
If
Jin feels the same way, surely he wouldn�t care either.
If
he feels the same way�will he feel the same way?
Jin has never really hinted that he feels the same
way as I do�but anyone can hide their feelings well enough if they want to.
But what if Jin doesn�t feel the same way as I do?
What would I do then?

I�ll cross that bridge when I get to it � right now, I just want him to know my
feelings and if he does feel the same way�
Wait,
don�t get ahead of yourself.
Xiaoyu was confident that Jin is in love with me,
so wouldn�t he be?
I
have to tell him�I need to tell him�
I called him on his cell so I could meet him and
tell him face-to-face, but his voicemail rolled on. I came to the decision of
going over to the Mansion because there was the possibility Jin was home or if
he wasn�t, I could let Xiao/Lee/Heihachi/Tetsuzan
(the family butler) know that I wanted to talk to Jin as soon as possible.
After rectifying my make-up, running (more like tugging) a brush through my
hair, spraying a subtle amount of Wonderstruck Enchanted (what can I
say, I�m a romantic) and heaving on my laced-up knee-high boots, I breathed in
as hard and as much as I could and set off to make one of the biggest decisions
of my life. The whole way there, apprehension stomped around my stomach like an
elephant stampede rather than flapping butterflies, my mind jumbled up enough
for me to nearly forget my own name and sweat soaked my skin in a thick layer
that made my clothes stick to my body.
Will
he feel the same way? was all that ran through
my head.
I prayed with all my might, with every fibre of
my being, that he did.
I upstretched my hand in greeting at Kenshin and Tenshin (yes,
really), the bodyguards in charge of the Mishima Mansion, who bowed at my
presence. I was now �regular� enough for them not to bother
checking my ID anymore.
Right,
this is it.
Get
a hold of yourself! I slapped my cheeks, took another deep breath in
and marched up to the Mansion, grim and determined but inside I was shaking
like a leaf caught up in a tornado. A couple of wrong-footings on the gravel
made my stride more carefully and slowly and the closer I got, the more my
nerves became shot.
I
can�t do this. I really can�t do this!
�Of course you can,� I muttered to myself
furiously, �Pull yourself together,�
I hindered beside the cars parked outside to check
my reflection (trust me, they were that polished and shiny). I shook my hair to
ruffle it up, wiped my face and pinched my cheeks in hope that the scarlet
blush would fade.
Fat
chance.
Then the front door opened.
Here
we go. Please don�t screw this up!
�Hey Jin, I�,� I stretched my mouth into a sturdy
smile and lifted my hand in acknowledgement but I tailed off.
Because Jin was standing on the porch�with
Sakura.
So
what? My mind immediately snapped back as I stood, hidden but unmoving to
the spot, Sakura and Jin are friends. They�re allowed to meet eachother
outside of school and at eachothers� houses.
Even
if it does make me unreasonably and insanely jealous.
None the less, I carried on walked towards the
front door, hoping Sakura would stop talking and leave quickly so I could talk
to Jin alone.
But that didn�t happen.
I only took a few more paces forward before I
stopped.
Sakura laughed at something Jin said, smiled up at
him and advanced to his lips.
It took a second or two to fully sink in before I
circled around and hurried far away from them, drops of my tears trailing after
me.
Why?
Why of all people her?! Why?!

Isn�t kind of ironic? The fact that I was about to
confess my love and be with Jin and I find out he�s been in a relationship
without me knowing�or the fact that Sakura hated Jin when they first met�
Does
he love her? Does she love him? How long have they been together? Were they
going to say anything to me? Have they told anyone? Have they told everyone
apart from me?
I was locked away on my bedroom without the lights
on, my back against the cold wall, my knees bent into my chest, my forehead
bent on them so I was surrounded by nothing but blackness, blocking everything
out.
Jin and Sakura, huh? Who would have thought it?
I can understand it though � they�re both from
similar backgrounds, both smart, both motivated�
But
why Sakura, Jin? Why
her? She doesn�t deserve you�
�I
don�t deserve you either.
Of course, Sakura is my friend, but she�s one of
those people who show their bad side more than their good side.
Jin,
you deserve so much better. A nice, smart girl�not someone
who�s spoilt and bratty�not someone who can hurt other people in such horrible
ways.
Of course I didn�t deserve Jin � I had hastily
chosen to confess my love to someone who isn�t my boyfriend, my other half�my
supposed soul mate.
What
kind of person does that?
I didn�t cry � I didn�t deserve to. I didn�t
endlessly listen to Ayumi Hamasaki,
or Utada Hikaru, or Angela
Aki or even Adele or Taylor Swift to comfort my breaking heart.
Of course it hurt. It hurt like hell. I felt a ball
of devastation, loneliness, depression and rejection all rolled into one was
weighting down my chest, making my body heavier and heavier with each passing
second. But what scared me the most was that I didn�t care about anything else.
If the world had burst into flames and the apocalypse began, I wouldn�t have
minded. In fact, I would have welcomed it.
This
feeling�I haven�t felt like this since Dad died�
It scared me.
Embarrassment smarted my
eyes, but I refused to let it get to me. I couldn�t. I wouldn�t.
I don�t know how long I sat in my room for � seconds, minutes, hours � but
my cell brought me back from mulling over Jin and Sakura ceaselessly. It seemed
unending.
�Hello?� I answered, turning a blind eye at my monotonous tenor.
�Akira?� Shit, it was Jin. The
last person I wanted to talk to right now.
I didn�t hang up. I didn�t speak.
�Akira? Hello, are you there?�
As if Jin was there, standing infront me, attentive to only me, I stooped
my head forward so my bangs covered my eyes�covered my emotions, �Yes,� I
almost sounded like a robot.
�Akira�are
you OK?�
Crap! Initially I
assumed that Jin had seen me come to the Mansion and witness their�well, you
know�but I guess he caught on to my tone and with the behaviour I displayed in
class, it all added up to something very wrong.
I didn�t wane, �Yes,�
�But
earlier�,�
I clutched the phone firmer, but said
nothing. Jin endured the speechless peace between us too.
What are you thinking? Are
you thinking about her? Are you thinking about me?
At that point, I both loved and hated him.
�Anyway,
I wanted to ask you a favour,� Jin spoke up when I didn�t.
I kept my tone the same, �A favour? What
kind of favour?� My pulse escalated just a tinny-tiny bit, but I did not allow
it to be expressed through my voice.
�Well�er�you
see�my grandfather is having a ball tonight at the mansion�it�s a work thing�,�
Does he need a date? Does he
want me as his date? My pulse soared through the roof.
�But,
the piano player of the orchestra he hired has had to pull out due to an
injury�and seeing as I know you can play piano�and you play it extremely well�I
was wondering if you would take her place?�
I bit back a bitter laugh. Once again, I�ve set my sights too high, and
he just knocks them back down as if they were nothing.
Can I really face Jin now? Play-acting as if I didn�t know about him and her�that I�m not in
love with him and about to confess to him. No doubt she�ll be there too�no, I can�t do this. I�m not ready.
�Do you realise what you�re asking me?� I
almost yelled in fury supplied from embarrassed
annoyance, �There�s no way I�ll meet a professional�s level, let alone Mishima
Heihachi�s expectations!�
�I
know I�m asking a lot from you, but I�m begging you Akira!� he did sound
frantic and I knew my heart was telling me to stop being mean and selfish, to
help out a friend, �I don�t know what
else to do,�
This isn�t about my talent;
this is about my feelings towards you, �Are you
kidding me? Do you realise how you sound right now?�
Stop it. Stop it right now. �Akira, please�,�
�Do you really think I�m going to give up
an entire evening just to entertain a bunch of high rollers when I should be
studying for my very important finals?!� Stop
it.
�Akira�,�
�And what makes you think I�m even confident enough to play infront of
complete strangers?!� Stop it.
�Akira�,�
�And suppose you think I can pluck a dress
suitable for a ball out of thin air, do you? Don�t be so fucking stupid!� Please stop it.
�Please
Akira�I believe in you,�
What? Unresponsive
or not, I could help letting a shocked gasp escape.
�Akira,
I�ve watched you play the piano and I�ve never known someone else to play it as
beautifully as you�,�
I can�t believe how nice he�s
being to me, after everything I�ve said�
�As
for the other things, please let me handle them. I promise I�ll make it up you,�
Can I really hate him? He�s
always so good to me, even if I treat him unfairly.
�Please
Akira, do this one favour for me,�
With tears clinging to my eyelashes and my
eyes and emotions hidden, I answered him, �OK, I�ll do it,�
�Akira�I believe in you,�
Within five minutes of terminating the call
with Jin, I arrived at the Mishima Mansion and he answered the door. He
answered the door in a royal blue collared shirt, a white vest underneath,
white trousers and smelling incredible.
No fair! How the how am I
supposed to cope with Jin inadvertently seducing me?!
He smiled warmly at and allowed me to step
inside, �I�m glad you could make it,�
�You thought I wasn�t gonna turn up, did
you?� I glided my feet out of my shoes, fixated on the floor.
�I had a little bit of doubt, after the way
you were acting today�,�
Great.
�Thank-you for doing this for me � for us. It means a
lot,� Jin quickly changed the subject when I lingered soundlessly.
I shrugged, still declining to look at him.
�Come, please,� he gently placed his hand
on the small of my back, sparkling a thunderbolt of sizzling electricity
throughout my whole body, �We have a lot to do,�
When I managed to recover myself I said as
we were arising upstairs, �You know�um�I still don�t have anything to wear,�
�I told you before; I took care of it,�
�Wait, are you telling me you bought me a
dress?!� Unbelievable!
�I found you something suitable to wear,�
�You�re not answering my question!� Man!
�Don�t worry about it,�
God, he can be infuriating
sometimes. �But what about the
music? I may not know how to play the music the orchestra can play,�
�I remembered some of the songs you told me
you knew how to play and similar things. Don�t worry; the orchestra will follow
your lead,�
You�re just putting more
pressure on me! �But, what about-,�
�Akira, you really don�t have to worry
about anything. We�ve taken care of it. All you have to do is play the piano to
entertain my grandfather�s guests,�
�Alright. But if I make
any mistakes tonight, I�ll be blaming it on you!�
I can�t believe it.
In two hours, I have been completely
transformed and staring back at my reflection in the full length three screen mirror. I barely recognised the girl who was staring
straight back at me. She
looked jaw-dropping beautiful, so beautiful in fact I was convinced that it wasn�t me.
The hair
stylist who had hired had pulled all my hair right back into a high bun apart
from a few strands which they parted and curled to hang on either side of my
face. The make-up artist settled on light make-up, so she daubed a thin layer
of foundation and dusted my cheekbones in a pink powder. She applied a golden
eye shadow over my eyelids and coated my eyelashes in the darkest mascara I
have ever used. Finally, she soothed a medium-shade pink lipgloss so my lips
were slightly darker but not too much.
But then
there was the dress � whoever had
picked out the dress for me deserved a prize. It was a white, pleaded dip him
dress that plunged slightly at the front and gathered in at the waist with a
halter neck and criss-cross back, decorated with rows of see-through sequins
and silver beads.
It was to die for.
And the
measurements were spot on, which was weird. But I thought nothing of it. The
dress was stunning!
The look
was finished off with a silver and crystal angel wing necklace; a silver cuff
bracelet that had wavy threads of metal with diamonds set intermittently
throughout the bracelet; a silver diamond tear-drop ring that I wore on my
right middle finger and a pair of diamond set stud earrings. The stylists even
had the time to paint my finger and toe nails white and aid me into my matching
white ankle strap heel sandals.
�Ah,
Akira-san! You look
gorgeous!� The stylist cried, hugging her hands together in glee.
�You do!
You�ll be the most beautiful girl there!� The hair stylist agreed, nodding.
Funny that I wasn�t even invited.
Then
there was a knock at the door. I started to feel nervous.
�Oh
Lee-san, Jin-san!
Akira-san is finished! Come in, come in, take a look!�
Uh-oh.
I
revolved away from the mirror just in time for Lee and Jin to walk up and
inspect my appearance.
�Oh
Akira, you look excellent!� Lee exclaimed, winking at me and giving me a
thumbs-up. He was dressed in a smooth cream suit with a lilac handkerchief
neatly folded in his left breast pocket; a matching ruffled shirt and white
shoes.
�T-Thank-you,
Lee-san,� I was sure my radioactive red blush was even more noticeable in my
white dress.
Jin
side-stepped behind Lee so he could get a better aspect from me, and I too from
him. Had no-one else
been in the room, I would have let my mouth pop open in pleasant amazement.
He
donned a black suit jacket that was a fitted a little bit below his hips with
darker lining; a white button shirt; a black suit trousers and a black bow tie.
He looks incredible.
�Akira,
you�,� he blinked and smiled, �You look stunning,�
Stunning? Oh boy, he�s done it now.
I was
incapable to meet his eyes, but I timidly grinned and felt the shame glow on
both my cheeks, �T-Thanks,�
�Here,�
Jin stepped forward and pulled out a blue leather book, �It�s filled with
classic music that you can follow in case you get stuck. Although I�m sure you
won�t,�
�Thank-you,�
�No, thank-you Akira,� Jin lightly touched my
arm in a friendly manner, �I owe you big time for this,�
�I�m
only doing what a friend would do,� And
what a person who is in love with you would do.
Jin
increased his smile, �You really do look beautiful, Akira. I�m sure Aphrodite
will be watching you with envy tonight,�
Is he�flirting with me? My heart did a somersault at the
possibility. �You look a little bit like Pierce Brosnan
as James Bond,�
Jin
frowned at me, �Not Daniel Craig?�
I shook
my head, �Pierce Brosnan was always my favourite
007,�
Maybe this ball won�t be so bad after all. It didn�t realise that we were both
grinning at eachother, our gazes locked as if we were in our own little world.
That
was, until Lee (so rudely) intersected us.
�Shall
we go down?�
Jin
nodded,� Yes.
Grandfather is probably already down there,� He sent me one last small smile
before he left the room.
I
tweaked my skirt and ran both my hands over my hair to make sure everything was
still in place.
�Akira,
it would be an honour to accompany you to the ball,� Lee bowed and extended his
hand out to me.
�The
honour would be all mine,� I guided my hand into his.
�Excellent,�
he brought my hand up to rest in the crook of his bent elbow, �Shall we go?�
Lee led
me out of the room, past the West wing rooms and down the stairs. I could feel
my heart thumping in my chest like a banging drum, I could feel my breath
struggle in my body, I could feel my stomach lurch nonstop, I could feel my
palms become sweaty and clamp, I could feel quivers of delight and uptightness zigzag along my spine as we took each step.
�Don�t
worry,� Lee assured me and patted my hand as my eyes carefully watched how I
placed my feet on each step until we reached the bottom.
Alright, I can do this. Even though that�s
the second time I�ve told myself that today.
Lee
directed us into the Ball Room (at first, I didn�t truly believe that a room
could be solely preserved for gala balls and such, then again what do I know
about how the other half live?) and those little niggling fears diminished. The
room was capacious (I�m not joking, it was probably the complete size of our
house), adorned with golden crystal chandeliers; red, white and gold pillars,
carpets and balconies; least fifteen white lace-clothed tables with ten
matching seats to each and a red velvet stage at the other end of the room (is
it even called that?). It was extremely glamorous and for a second I imagined
what it would be like to be rich � wonderful.
�Ah,
Sakura!� Lee greeted
about five minutes later.
My heart
dropped. I knew it. I knew she was going
to be here. But why the hell is she here?�
I guess my plans for having a great evening are ruined now.
�Lee,
how nice to see you!� she beamed and glided over to us, air-kissing Lee on both
cheeks.
Sakura
donned a cerise-pink full length dress with an asymmetrical drape front, a cut
out side and a criss-cross strap back like mine, along with sling-back peep-toe
heels. Her hair was swept to the side and tied in a side ponytail, while
her
nails were shaded in the colour pink also match her dress and her auburn-filled
eyes had been outlined in coal-black and pink eyeliner and her eyelids were
spread with pink eye shadow along and she had soothed a thin layer of pink
lipgloss across her lips. Her jewellery was a bit more OTT � a gemstone-petal
flower hairband was placed neatly in her hair; a ring that resembled the UK�s
Queen�s royal crown laid on her right fourth finger and a long, heavy heart
necklace that could have been mistaken for the �Heart of the Ocean� from Titanic (apart from the fact that it was
also pink instead of blue) hung around her neck.
It suits her perfectly.
She
turned to me, smiled and (loosely) embraced me, �Hello, Akira,�
�I�ll
leave you ladies to it. I�ll see you around,� He threw a small wave over his
shoulder and disappeared into the packs of other guests.
I
watched him leave while Sakura spun to me again, �You look nice,�
Nice? That�s all you can you say, �nice�?
Ha, typical. Still doesn�t want to be outshone by anyone, even her theoretical
best friend.
I smiled
instead of thanking her. I really didn�t want to talk to her.
�I bet
you�re wondering why I was invited,�
Ha, she
must really think I�m stupid. I
didn�t fall for her hook.
I shook
my head, �I figured your father and Mr. Mishima must have worked together.
After all, your father is the owner of the best ship building business in
Shinjuku,� And I know about you and Jin.
Disappointment
graced her qualities, �Oh, good guess,�
�Not
really � I spotted your parents,� I nodded to Tokimune
and Shizuka� engaged in a conversation
with someone I didn�t recognise.
Sakura
snubbed my last comment, �I was quite surprised Jin you asked to fill in for
the injured piano player,�
Bitch. I contracted my eyes at her, �I�ve been playing piano since I
was young and so has Jin. I told him once and he remembered,�
�Does
Ryo know that you play piano?�
What kind of game does she think she�s
playing? �Of course he
does,� That wasn�t a lie. After we made up, I came clean about the many things
I had told Jin and only Jin, including my grandparent�s death and the shadow
boy.
�Oh, I
see,�
�Akira!�
a shrill voiced yelled and when I twisted around, Xiaoyu was bounding up to
meet me.
Regardless
of her just entering her teenage years, Xiaoyu had made an effort too. She was
sporting a traditional one shoulder emerald green Chinese fishtail dress
garlanded with flower patterns with matching green slippers. Although Xiaoyu�s hair was shorter than it is now (it just reached
her shoulders when it was down), it had been scraped together into a ponytail
on the top of her head and held together with lime beaded hair sticks. A jade
charm bracelet was slinked on her right wrist. She kept her all natural, baby
face free of any cosmetics.
�Akira,
I�m so glad to see you!� Xiao compacted me into a
death-grip hug.
�I-I�m
very glad to see you too, Xiao,� I patted her on the shoulder because I only
had one arm free.
She
freed me from the hug, jumped back and studied me at arm�s length, �You look
beautiful Akira, just like an angel!�
See, see! True friends can be nice! �Thank-you Xiao.
You look beautiful as well,�
Sakura�s
face pinched. Hey now, no need to be
jealous!
�Excuse
me,� she practically whipped her nose into the air and stormed off in the
direction of her parents without a justification.
�Thank-you
for doing this, Akira,� Xiaoyu squeezed my hand, �Jin was so happy we could
find a replacement,�
�You
think I would say no and pass up the chance to see how the rich people?� I
joked and we both joined in with laughter.
�Ah,
it�s a shame we couldn�t invite Ryo-kun. He would have fainted as soon as he
saw you walk down the stairs!�
I tried
to participate in the amusement and act like the blushing girlfriend, but
somehow I couldn�t find the energy to muster it up. It must be my nerves.
The
evening was a complete success. I spent the first half-an-hour with Xiao,
speaking with wealthy businessmen (not many businesswomen to my disappointment)
until Jin took me aside and told me it was time for me to start. I briefly met
the orchestra members, who were all extremely nice and thankful, and started to
play; filling the immense Ball Room with exquisite flowing music (I wouldn�t
expect more from Jin�s tastes). One of the benefits of being at the front of a
levelled stage (and being a talented pianist, if I do say so myself) was that I
could witness Jin and Sakura interact with eachother without them knowing. Not
that there was much to watch � they were barely together. Even when they were,
they didn�t act all lovey-dovey like most new couples do � they didn�t stand
too close together, hold hands, have their arms wrapped around their waists,
laugh and joke together. It was strange. Maybe
they�re not a couple after all?
I got a
break from playing for about two hours straight so without delay, I snaked up to the food table and sprinkled my plate with
food (I hadn�t eaten since this morning because I had been too nervous to eat
lunch at school) which was when Jin suddenly appeared beside me.
�Are you
enjoying yourself?� he asked, handing me a folded (and quilted) napkin.
I nodded
and threw a sushi roll into my mouth.
�Good.
You�re playing brilliantly, by the way,�
I
swallowed my food, �Are you sure?�
He
nodded, �A few guests have even come up to me and said so,�
Really? �You better not be yanking my chain!�
Jin erupted
into a full belly-aching laugh, which struck me as odd, �Of course not. I would
never do that to you,�
I
narrowed my eyes at him, but my smiled betrayed me.
�Um, do
you mind if we step outside for a minute?�
Thump thump�thump thump�thump thump�thump thump.
�No, of course not,�
As we
gyrated around to go, Jin hooked his arm around my waist to steer me towards
the gardens.
Thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump�
Welcomingly
cool air slammed my cheeks once we reached outside and I lent my elbows on the
stone ledge. This feels so nice�
�Thanks again for doing this,� Jin stood
beside me, his arm almost touching mine.
Thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump. �Not a problem,� I struggled to keep my
voice steady.
�Akira,
you�ve been acting strange lately�,�
Please don�t speak to me in that voice.
�But, it
seems you�re back on track now�,�
Please, don�t.
�And you
seem a lot happier�,�
I beg you.
�So that
doesn�t explain why you acted the way you did today,�
Because if you do�
�Is it
something at school? At home? Our
finals?�
�I don�t know if I�ll be able to hold back.
�Please
answer me, Akira. I feel like you�re drifting away from me,�
Thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump� �I-I told you before, it�s nothing to
worry about,�
�Are you
and Ryo happy?�
What? �Why are you asking me that? It�s none of your business!�
��Right.
Sorry,�
My eyes
were secured firmly on my plate, nothing else, my cheeks alit. Why does mine and Ryo�s relationship concern
him? He has his own relationship to worry about, doesn�t he?
Jin
sighed and stretched out his neck to look up at the starry night sky, �There�s
something I have to tell you,�
Crap! My cheeks grew more hot, �W-What is it?�
�Have
you seen Sakura this evening?�
Thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump. �Yes, we spoke earlier,�
�You�re
probably wondering why she�s here,�
Thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump. �No. I guessed that her father and your
grandfather have done business together, and I was right,�
�Yes.
But�there is another reason,�
No! I don�t want to hear this!

�You see�well, um�what I�m trying to say is�,�
Please, don�t tell me! I don�t want to
know!
�With
Grandfather and Tokimune-san doing business together,
Sakura and I grew closer together. The more time we spent together, the better
we got to know eachother�,�
Thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump�thumpthump�
�And
before we knew it�,�
Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump�
�And before we knew it, we
developed feelings for one another,�
I
knew it. I knew that he�and she�
�So you�ve decided to date one
another, right?� I bent my head down but my adapted hair didn�t make a very
good job of hiding my eyes.
�Yes,�
I
knew it. My hands screwed up into the material of my dress.
�We were going to tell everyone
after our finals are over, but after this evening�I thought it was best I tell
you now,�
�Why did you tell me first? It�s
none of my business,� Crap, I sound
pissed.
�I just thought you should know,�
I wanted to laugh at the irony of
it. How typical. Instead, I decided
to portray the best friend I should be � pleased for my friends that they found
the happiness that I had found too. I lifted my head, drove myself to look at
him properly, pry a smile on my face and say, �I�m happy for you,�
Jin blinked at me a few times,
�Really? You don�t look happy for me,�
Crap,
make up an excuse! �Er, well�I always thought that you and Tae made
a good couple, so�I�m a little bit�disappointed�,�
Crap,
crap, crap! �But as long as you�re happy, then I�m happy! And if it�s Sakura,
then I�m definitely happy!� I added
an uncertain laugh just to make sure.
Jin
smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkled in delight, �Thank-you. That means a
lot,�
�Geez,
you sound like a broken record! You need to stop thanking me so much today!�
�Sorry,�
�That�s
right! And don�t think I�ve forgotten that now you owe me!�
�Yes,
yes, I hear you,�
�Hey,
don�t be mean to me!�
Jin patted the top of my head, stirring something inside of me
that shouldn�t have done, �I would never be mean to
you,�

Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump�
His fingers stroked my curled
tendrils as he returned his hand to his side, �Excuse me, but I have to get
back. Grandfather will be looking for me,� he bowed and left me to process my
thoughts.
�So you�ve
decided to date one another, right?�
�Yes,�
Why
can�t I just be happy for my friends?
The ball
wrapped up around one o�clock in the morning.
�Argh, I�m
exhausted,� I sighed, flopping down next to Xiao on the stage, dressed back in
my normal clothes.
�It was
a good night, though,� Xiaoyu kicked off her slippers and stretched her legs
out horizontally.
�Did you
enjoy yourself?� Jin asked, whipping off his bowtie.
I
stifled a yawn and nodded.
�Good, I�m
glad. Would you like to stay here tonight? You can come to school with us in
the morning,�
God, the
offer was tempting but I don�t know if I could stand being in another minute of
Jin�s company. After this evening, I wanted to be as far away from as possible
for a little while�or maybe a bit longer. And Sakura, who fortunately left a
few hours ago.
I
ignored Xiaoyu�s enthusiastic glances and shook my
head, �No thanks,�
�Aw,
c�mon Akira!�
�I don�t
have my uniform!�
�Tetsuzan-san can pick it up for you,�
�I can�t ask him to do that!�
�Of course you can � it�s his job!�
�Xiao!�
�My grandfather can always lend you one tomorrow,�
�Don�t be silly! I just want to go home,�
�You�ve spent the night here before�,�
�I know, but I just want to go home,� It�s been
a very weird day. Or at least it was.
�Alright. I�ll walk you home then,� Jin
affirmed.
�Thanks. What should I do with the dress?�
�Keep it,�
Whoa. �What?!
You can�t expect a girl like me to keep a dress like this!� I was lured to hurl
the box I had folded the dress, shoes and jewellery in at him, �It must have
cost at least �45, 000!�
�What do you mean?�
Jin knew exactly what I meant but I didn�t want to spell it out for him.
�It�s fine. We won�t have use for a specially altered dress here,�
Bastard!
�That�s a good idea, Akira. You can show Ryo what it looks like on you!�
Xiaoyu squealed.
�Come on, it�s getting late,� Jin held his hand out for me but I detected
something wrong. What�s with the sudden
change in attitude? I didn�t like it.
I took
my leave after I said goodbye with Jin, despite the fact that it was only a two
minute walk, if that.
The
whole way there, Jin didn�t speak neither did he attempt to converse me. At
least until we got to my house.
�So,
have you thought of I way I can repay my debt to you?�
I
nodded, �I have,�
�May I
ask how?�
�Well,
since Dad died my training has been a little�disorganised. Would you mind
perhaps being my sparring partner for a while?�
I know that
before I wanted to keep Jin at a distance, but because I hadn�t trained in so
long, I would have taken anyone to help me. I would just have to get on and
deal with it.
�Sure, I
wouldn�t mind,�
I
smiled, �Thank-you,�
�I�m
glad it was something as simple as that,� I swore let out a sigh of relief.
I was
curious, �Why do you say that?�
�I got
the idea that perhaps you would have asked me to be your slave or something for
the week,�
That�s not a bad idea. Why hadn�t I thought
of that? He could follow me everywhere, do my homework, help me study, dress in
a bowtie and tight pants�
I
dismissed the thought. I can�t go there!� �Don�t be stupid! I would never think of
that!� I chuckled and punched him on the arm. Never have I been more grateful
that mind-reading was not an ability the human race had enabled.
- 24
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A Tekken Story: Through the Years - Volume I