Chapter One: The Announcement

"I don't believe it."

18-year-old Ling Xiaoyu tossed the announcement on her bed with a birdlike flick of her wrist. The pages fluttered and settled onto the thick tan comforter covering her bed, and she promptly sat down on her small mahogany chair.

The King of the Iron Fist 4 Tournament was coming up. It had been 20 years since the last official tournament, but Xiaoyu had participated in an unofficial team tournament only two years before. It had been an exhilarating experience. Some of the greatest fighters in the world gathered at Mishima Headquarters, and fought to be named "King of the Iron Fist." There were dozens of fighters, fighting styles, and battle arenas, and it had been incredible to be a part of it. Sitting on her bed was a new opportunity for an adventure; however, this announcement was rather like a lit stick of dynamite being tossed onto her bed. Xiaoyu sighed, and settled deeper in her chair across the room. Her pet panda bear, appropriately named "Panda," crawled out from beneath her window and nudged Xiaoyu's knee with her white cheek.

"Mishima Zaibatsu is having another official King of the Iron Fist tournament," Xiaoyu said to Panda, scratching the coarse hair behind Panda's black ears. "The reward for this one is the Mishima Zaibatsu- that means an entire BUSINESS CORPERATION is on the line! Just think of all I could win, all I could do!"

Xiaoyu was Chinese. However, she had spent the last six or so years of her life living in Japan, attending Mishima High School, and gaining the opportunity to fulfill her dreams. She only did what she enjoyed, and she was very good at the things she did: Chinese martial arts. She was also very gifted at being nice to people, even the ones that she had to fight. Though she was hardly ambitious in any way, shape, or form, owning a business corporation sounded pretty cool to Xiaoyu, despite her minimal experience and knowledge.
Panda looked up at Xiaoyu with her large dark eyes, the black tear-shaped pattern of fur around her eyes accenting her imploring look. Xiaoyu caught the look almost instantly, and quickly got up, dropping her hip onto the bed next to the piece of paper. No words were needed to explain what Xiaoyu was feeling- she was thinking about the email, not the tournament's reward.

An anonymous email had been sent to her a while ago. The email spoke of threats concerning the Mishima Zaibatsu's owner, Heihachi Mishima. Heihachi is the only man involved with the tournament that everyone knew, because he was the man behind the King of the Iron Fist tournaments ever since they had began. He was getting very old, but his age was not at all debilitating to his reputation for being the most evil and powerful man in Japan. Heihachi always had an evil plan, but according to the email sent to Xiaoyu only weeks before, his plan was going to affect her. Unfortunately, the email didn't give a name, or description of the plan. She had replied to the email, trying hard to get more details, but he or she didn't write back. Still Xiaoyu had a hunch about the identity of the sender.

"I haven't heard from him since that last tournament, the… the tag team one," Xiaoyu noted. "Jin, I mean. Jin Kazama. He's always been nice to me. Well, kind of nice to me." Xiaoyu smiled at Panda, and rolled onto her stomach. Panda growled soothingly, and sat so her nose was near Xiaoyu's nose. Jin was a long time friend of Xiaoyu's. He was one of the first people she met in Japan, and he helped her while she was a freshman at Mishima High School. He had graduated by now, being three years older than her, but they had kept in touch since then. "Do you think I could see him if I went? Jin would be there, he would HAVE to be there somewhere. And what about my dream?" With a wistful smile, Xiaoyu propped her chin on her hand. Panda responded by nudging her forearm affectionately. "Yes… I could make my dream come alive! It would be so incredible, oh; it's too big an opportunity to pass up!"

But what about the danger? The plot? The tiny voice inside Xiaoyu's head piped up cautiously. The danger that always surrounds Heihachi. Jin COULD be there but Heihachi definitely would. Xiaoyu looked at Panda. Panda looked at Xiaoyu. "I'll try to win the tournament this time," Xiaoyu said resolutely. "There is absolutely nothing that can stop me from my dream, ESPECIALLY not some ugly evil old guy who wears a judo diaper and yells at people all the time!"

"RAWRGH!" Panda roared in agreement.

"King of the Iron Fist, here I come!"