This story is set during Tekken 5. Enjoy!

This instalment: Julia Chang arrives at the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament hoping to emerge victorious, but as the weeks unfold she will be drawn into a plot far darker and more challenging than any she could have anticipated.

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PART I

The Start

Julia surveyed the arena. The smells, sights and sounds which had faded into memories now came back to her with all the meaning and clarity with which she had first encountered them. The arena was scattered with people – fighters, guards, organisers, spectators; it being a few days before the start of the tournament, their numbers were small, but a buzz of anticipation was in the air, and Julia breathed this in, sending a thrill through her body. Her mother Michelle had taught her to fight not to destroy, but to protect; Julia shared in this sentiment, at least on the surface. Despite the hypocrisy of it, she loved fighting – she loved the rush of adrenaline, she loved the taste in her mouth before the call for the fight to commence echoed across the arena, she loved the force which drove her strikes into the bodies of her opponents, she loved the sweat which drenched her clothes and sent rushes of hot and cold across her skin, she loved the glow of victory and she even loved wiping the blood from her wounds and the scars they left. Yes, Julia had been born to fight, and luckily, she had been given a cause, or rather an excuse, to fight. It was not that Julia did not care about the deforestation of her home, she cared passionately about it, and when she was not training or fighting, she was researching the subject. For Julia, the environment was a part of her, and she saw the deforestation as an attack on her personally. With her warrior spirit, her natural reaction was to defend herself against this onslaught, and so she fought furiously both physically and mentally to save the forests which had been so much of her life and her mother.

'Ms Chang, would you like to be shown to your room now?' the porter asked, evidently growing exasperated with this detour.

'Oh, yes, of course.' They proceeded through the Mishima mansion, down the long elaborate hallways, across leafy courtyards, through dark conference rooms, past dojos and sparkling bathrooms. Only those entrants who had proven their worth in previous tournaments had the honour of staying in the mansion and Julia recalled how, in the first tournament she had entered, Michelle had argued furiously with the staff on being told that Julia was not entitled to a room in the mansion. On such short notice, she ended up staying in a rundown hotel three blocks away. Michelle had forfeited without complaint her own luxurious accommodation to stay with her in that cold dingy little room. Julia smiled at her mother's sweetness and devotion, which she herself so emulated. Now it was Julia who was the seasoned fighter, entitled to a room in the mansion without question, and Michelle, older and less practised, who stayed at home.

When they arrived at her room, the porter placed her suitcase by the door and handed her an embossed card from his pocket, Julia took it and read the message; it was an invitation:

Julia Chang

Mishima Zaibatsu

would appreciate your company

at a champagne reception

this Wednesday at 7.30pm

in the central ballroom.

Dress is black tie.

And in smaller letters at the bottom:

Attendance is compulsory.

'But that's the day before the tournament starts.' Said Julia, the porter paused as he was closing the door,

'I know. I don't think it'll last long though.'

'They never had a reception at any of the other tournaments.'

'Haven't you heard? New management. They don't tell us anything, all I know is since that explosion, things have been changing around here.' She had heard about the explosion, everyone had; and despite the desperate effort the papers made to stretch the story, there was really very little information other than that it had taken place at the Mishima Zaibatsu headquarters and that some kind of large bird or small aircraft had been spotted leaving the scene. Julia cast him a questioning glance; he hesitated and then, maybe because she was pretty, or maybe because he enjoyed the feeling of having information, he leaned his head in confidentially and said in a low voice, 'What I heard is that that explosion involved Kazuya and Heihachi Mishima and that they were killed in the blast. Then there was a rumour going round that the corporation was closing down. We were all worried about our jobs so when the new management swept in and announced this tournament we didn't ask any questions.'

'And what now?' asked Julia in the same hushed tone,

'Now? Well all I know, Ms Chang, is that things have been changing so suddenly round here we don't have time to stop and think. I'm not sure if anyone really knows what's going to happen next. I suppose we'll know soon enough though, I don't know about you, but there's something weird about this tournament. Maybe I'm just imagining it 'cause of all the changes, but I think Jin –' There was a noise out in the corridor and the porter started suddenly. Julia searched his face for an answer but was greeted with an expressionless,

'Well, there's your key, we hope you enjoy the tournament.' He then abruptly turned, closing the door behind him.

Jin. Julia repeated his name out loud as she dropped on to her bed. A sickening feeling crept into her stomach at the thought of him combined with all the information with which she had just been bombarded. The porter was right; there was something different about this tournament. She had been so occupied with the excitement that she hadn't noticed the disconcerted feeling of Wrong, which had crept silently like an icy hand under her clothes. Suddenly she began to regret entering the tournament, especially if it meant having to confront Jin. There were few things that scared Julia – fists, swords, guns, any physical threats Julia could deal with easily enough. It was the intangible which frightened Julia, the things which could not be beaten into submission, and Evil could not be beaten into submission. While these thoughts were circling in her head, the phone rang. She picked it up,

'Hello.'

'Herro!' Julia recognised the childish voice of Xiaoyu immediately. 'How are you? I was so happy to see you from my window, I go to supervisor to ask your room number. I was worried that you not come; then I have no one to play with.'

'You can see the arena from your window?' asked Julia.

'Oh yes! The view in my room is super beautiful. You come over and see!'

And so it was that Julia found herself crossed-legged on the bed, looking out of the window over the arena with Xiaoyu perched behind her plaiting and unplaiting her hair. Julia and Xiaoyu's relationship was an interesting one; on one level they got on very well – gossiping about other competitors, discussing interests and people and their lives, even going out together to clubs, cinemas and restaurants. Despite being quite different people, they shared a love of life and each admired certain qualities in the other – for Julia it was Xiaoyu's optimism, innocence and determination, for Xiaoyu it was Julia's fearlessness, intelligence and power. Being around the same age, it was only natural that they should become friends, however, they did not share an easy laughing balanced friendship – it was formed more out of necessity rather than choice and though Xiaoyu's English was very good, there were certain language barriers. They were nearly inseparable during the tournament, but they barely communicated outside of it, except for the occasional Christmas card or E-mail. Generally, their time together was pleasant but they did not particularly miss each other in the intervals between the tournaments.

'How long have you been here?' asked Julia.

'I arrived two days back, on Saturday. I organised arrangements for Panda to be rooked after while I'm here so I arrived a rittle early.'

'Who else is here?'

'Not many people yet – most will arrive today or tomorrow. Paul's here, also King. I can't remember who else.'

'Well, we'll see everyone at the reception I suppose.' Xiaoyu swung nimbly round to face Julia, giving a little squeal of delight.

'Are you super excited?! I can't wait! We'll have super fun – drinking champagne, dancing, wearing beautiful dresses –' Julia hadn't even thought about what she would wear. She was not a very dressy girl and hadn't packed anything suitable for a black tie event.

'Xiaoyu, I don't have anything to wear, have you got a dress?' Xiaoyu's eyes lit up and she clapped her hand in delight. She was so excited she started to babble in Mandarin and it took her a few seconds to sort her thoughts into coherent English,

'You. . . me . . . shopping!'

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Next instalment, The Shopping Trip: Julia encounters some more of her competitors and Xioayu reveals a startling secret.