Author's Notes: NAMCO owns Tekken and I don't. No copyright infringement is intended and I have not made and will not make any profit, I'm just playing. Honest.
Thank you to Sorcha for help and encouragament :)
Mixed Doubles
Things around here had never really been 'normal'. In fact, the contestants in the King of Iron Fist tournaments could quite justifiably be described as a pretty weird bunch. But just lately, mused Julia Chang, things had gotten a whole lot more unusual. Her mom was now only two years older than she was. Odd, to say the least. The first person to make a comment about them being sisters and not mother and daughter had better be quick on their feet. Two seconds, maximum, to take it back before they hit the deck. Julia grinned. It was neither a happy nor pleasant looking expression. It wasn't just her mom's age that was screwed up though. Oh no. There was the bowling too. What on earth was that about?
She was sitting at the back of the Mishima bowling alley, watching distractedly as Nina and Kunimitsu wiped the floor with all who took them on. Given the usual competitiveness and petty rivalries that were the staple background of the Tekken tournaments, getting everyone into one room like this without any fighting was...well...strange. Nina and Kunimitsu's current opponents were Lee and Kazuya. That was way beyond strange. The usually strained relationship between the pair seemed to be forgotten as they both celebrated Lee's strike.
Julia's attention wandered again and she surveyed the rest of the room. Her mom was actually talking to Ganryu. Julia frowned, waiting for the usual dismissive wave as her mother walked off. It didn't come. Her attention was drawn by a squeal from the other side of the room. Ling Xiaoyu was giggling delightedly as she was bear-hugged by her panda. Wrapped up in the arms of the huge bear, the girl looked tiny, but Julia knew her size was deceptive. She had fought well in the last tournament and hadn't been remotely put off by not winning. Apparently she was still determined to build the perfect theme park in China. Julia snorted. What a goal. And what a way to go about achieving it. She wondered how much of Xiaoyu's interest in Jin Kazama was real, and how much was aimed at securing the Mishima Corporation's finances for her own ends. As if that would work.
Deciding to fish for gossip, Julia wandered nonchalantly over to the younger girl. She noticed that in place of the brightly coloured silk outfits she was used to seeing Ling in, the girl was wearing her school uniform. It made her look slightly less ridiculous.
"Hi."
Ling looked up at her from the floor where Panda had deposited her, her head to one side. A manipulative pose, designed to make her look girlishly appealing, Julia guessed. Cute.
"Hello." Ling replied and waited for Julia to continue.
"Having fun?"
Xiaoyu looked puzzled.
"Yes, are you?"
"Not really." Julia fidgeted with her hair and sat on the floor next to Xiaoyu. "I'm surprised you haven't asked Jin to bowl with you yet."
Ling shrugged and looked over to where Jin was sitting.
"He seems to have been cornered by Hwoarang. Again."
Julia followed the younger girl's gaze. Hwoarang was standing, leaning over Jin and gesticulating wildly as he talked. Jin sat calmly; chin resting on his hand gazing up at the redhead berating him.
"Not going to go rescue him?"
Ling frowned.
"I don't think he wants to be rescued."
"Oh. Well, do you want to play?"
"With you?"
Julia shrugged and smiled at Xiaoyu.
"Sure, why not? The men don't seem to be having much luck against those two. Maybe we..."
She trailed off as Ling sprang to her feet. Then she realised that it wasn't sudden excitement at the prospect of bowling that had made her jump up. Jin had just got abruptly to his feet and walked out, Hwoarang trailing behind him, still complaining about something.
"Well?" Julia asked, also scrambling to her feet. "Don't you want to know where they're off to?"
"I..."
"Come on!"
Julia seized her hand and pulled her after them.
Nina Williams watched the two girls chasing Jin and Hwoarang out of the bowling alley. For a change, she was having a really good time. She wasn't trying to kill anyone. This wasn't necessarily good news if you were an assassin, but it did make it easier to let your hair down and have a little fun. Strictly speaking of course, she should be attempting to kill Jin Kazama, but it looked like Hwoarang was doing a pretty good job of nagging the poor boy to death. Then there was Kazuya. She had been originally hired to kill him at the first Tekken, but she had failed. The second tournament hadn't gone terribly well for her in that respect either, but then he had been taken by Ogre and killing him hadn't seemed to be much of an issue any more. But now, he was back, and so she assumed the contract would be out on him again.
Tonight though, it didn't seem to matter. Everyone was here, bowling. Everyone was relaxed and no-one was fighting. Even Ogre and True Ogre were here, despite their recent defeat. They were standing watching the games with interest, and talking to Devil, Angel and the weird girl with the wolf-thing.
Her turn again. Last chance. She checked the scoreboard as she strutted over to collect her ball. It was close, but they could do it. Smirking at Kazuya and Lee, she made sure she posed provocatively as she prepared to bowl, displaying even more of her cleavage than was already being shown off by her tight, half open top. Strike! Yes! She laughed and waited for the ball to be returned. This time she didn't do quite so well. Seven. Disappointing, but it was enough to make sure that Lee and Kazuya would lose.
Grinning, she settled back into her seat and watched Kunimitsu take her final shot. She wasn't sure how much of it was the mask and the 'inscrutable Ninja' act, but something about Kunimitsu radiated power. When she fought it was like a deadly ballet; she seemed to spin an inescapable web around her opponent, the threads traced in the flashes of light on the blade of her dagger. Kunimitsu's great shot, clearing the last three pins drew Nina's attention away from studying the woman's muscular physique. They had now won the last five games in a row. It was probably time to retire gracefully.
"Time to let someone else win?" she suggested.
Kunimitsu nodded. Together they headed for the bar.
By the time Julia and Xiaoyu followed them out of the bowling alley, Jin and Hwoarang were disappearing around the corner at the end of the hall. The two girls followed quietly.
As they reached the corner they heard a thud.
"Admit it." They heard Jin growl, "No matter how much you complain, you like it when I win."
Julia took a last pace forward and stopped, just able to see Jin's back. He had Hwoarang pressed against the wall opposite her. Jin lifted a hand to his rival's face and kissed him roughly, pressing him back against the wall with his body. Hwoarang moaned into the kiss and grasped Jin's leather-clad backside with both hands.
Julia heard a gasp behind her and turned to see Xiaoyu running off back down the hall, heading out into the darkness and the rain. Sighing, she followed. Once outside, she found Ling sitting huddled against the wall. She slid down next to her.
"Ling, come back inside, you'll freeze out here. Look, you're soaked already!" Julia tentatively brushed a lock of wet hair off of Xiaoyu's cheek.
"I don't want to. I don't want...to see...them."
"I know. It sucks." Julia didn't know what to say, but she couldn't just leave Ling here, no matter how tempting it was.
"He wouldn't have been interested in me anyway." Ling stated quietly, "I'm just too young to even notice."
"There's not that much of a difference in your ages, only one year more than between us, and I..." Julia hesitated. Where had that come from? More importantly, where was that going? She frowned. "Well, the little girl act probably doesn't help."
"Thanks."
"Sorry."
They sat in silence for a moment.
"We're not getting any drier out here you know."
"I'm not making you stay."
"I know. We could go back in and beat them to a pulp." Julia paused and turned to Xiaoyu. "Aha! You smiled. Just come in out of the rain, we don't have to go back and see everyone else."
Resignedly, Xiaoyu agreed. Julia helped her to her feet and they headed back indoors. Once they were back in the hallway, Julia could see how much Ling was shivering. Her white school blouse was practically see-through from the rain. Julia shivered too as she felt a cold dribble of rain run down her neck, inside her suede jacket. She could feel her jeans sticking to her legs.
"I'll drive you home. Come on, we'll borrow my mom's coat, it'll warm you up a bit."
"I can't go in there, can you tell Panda to go home?"
"Uh, ok, wait here."
"Do you want a drink?" Nina looked at Kunimitsu speculatively. That mask had to be difficult to drink around. She found herself wondering what the other woman looked like.
"No. Thank you."
"We could go elsewhere if you don't want to drink here." Nina was suddenly determined to find out more about her mysterious partner.
Kunimitsu was silent, just staring at Nina. If she was trying to make Nina uncomfortable, it wasn't going to work. She'd faced far more intimidating opponents with no qualms. If anything, her stare just hardened Nina's resolve to unmask her. Slowly, Kunimitsu nodded.
She led Nina out through the corridors, not towards the exit, but back to the now deserted changing rooms. Nina followed her inside without questioning her, despite her curiosity. Kunimitsu took Nina's arm and guided her onto one of the benches, standing over her where she sat. Slowly, she lifted her mask. She was pretty. No, she was beautiful, but her face was marked by a deep, puckered scar that ran from just below her left eye across her cheek and lips, ending just below her chin. Nina lifted her hand and gently caressed her cheek.
"Yoshimitsu?" Nina asked.
Kunimitsu nodded.
Nina slid her arms around Kunimitsu's neck and pulled her closer. The tenderness between the couple vanished as their lips touched for the first time. Their aggressive natures were no longer channelled into competing against others. Each kiss was an attempt at taking control of the encounter. Their hands pulled at each other's clothes roughly. Kunimitsu's position standing over Nina gave her an advantage and she pushed Nina down onto the bench as she pulled open her top. Her mouth followed her hands, alternately biting and licking the blonde's breasts. Nina pushed upwards and rolled herself over. The pair fell to the floor with a thud. Both were panting heavily and Nina was now on top. Nina kissed Kunimitsu roughly as she slid her hand inside the waistband of her trousers. Kunimitsu shifted underneath her, pressing herself up to meet Nina's fingers as she fumbled to push her trousers down. Triumphant, Nina took her quickly, moving down over her to lick at her clit while she fucked her with her fingers, exalting in the feeling of Kunimitsu's muscles clenching helplessly around her fingers. The competition continued long after their first orgasms, each taking and relinquishing control, the fight heightening the release when they came.
Having grabbed a coat for Ling and instructed Panda to make his own way home (although she wasn't entirely sure what good that would do), Julia had taken the soaked and shivering girl to the car and, heater blasting warm air at the pair of them, she drove quickly out of the secure Mishima compound. The gun toting Tekken Force were as imposing when leaving as they were on the way in and she wasn't sad to see the back of them.
"I'm staying at the hotel by the airport." muttered Ling.
"Ok."
Julia wanted to say more, but wasn't quite sure how to get a conversation started. What do you say when you've just seen the object of your companion's crush shoving his tongue down the throat of his rival?
"Um, so, you ok?"
"No." Ling sighed. "Yes. I don't know. I will be. It's not like I really thought he liked me."
"Disappointing though."
"Mmmm."
They drove on in silence, Ling lost in her own thoughts and Julia desperately trying to think of something to say to distract her. It only took about ten minutes more to reach the hotel and Julia had entirely failed to come up with anything scintillating to say. She drew up to the kerb.
"Thanks."
Julia turned in her seat. Ling was undoing her seatbelt and staring down at her lap. Gently Julia lifted Ling's chin and caught her eye. She smiled encouragingly at the younger girl.
"Look, come out with me tomorrow. Take your mind off them."
"Maybe."
"Not maybe, definitely. I'll pick you up. See you tomorrow."
"Bye."
Before Ling could leave, Julia kissed her, just brushing their lips together. Ling looked surprised for a moment. So surprised that she almost forgot to look glum. She sighed and Julia could feel her breath on her lips. Tentatively Ling returned her kiss and it seemed to Julia as though the moment stretched into infinity, although it was only a tiny peck.
"See you tomorrow." Ling muttered and left Julia alone in the car.
Julia watched Ling slouch off across the sidewalk. Then she sighed and drove off. Why had she insisted on taking the girl out tomorrow? She would probably spend the whole day sulking. But then she didn't like seeing Ling so miserable. She was normally so excitable and bouncy, even when she was facing an opponent three times her size she always seemed to exude bubbly enjoyment. A mental image of Xiaoyu slamming Jack to the ground with a giggle brought a contemplative smile to Julia's face.
Maybe tomorrow wouldn't be all bad.