Chapter 1
Anna Williams looked around her new apartment from her cross-legged position on the bed. The walls were a dull yellow, white net curtains covered the windows and soft, creamy carpet on the floors. A chest of drawers rested against one wall beside a doorway to the bathroom and another to a tiny kitchen, there was also a wardrobe near the head of the double bed. She got up and hauled her suitcase over to the large bed and unzipped it hastily. Searching through the clothes she found what she was looking for, a framed photo of herself with her parents and older sister, Nina.
Anna gazed at the picture with a touch of sadness in her eyes and placed it on the bedside table. Their mother had died when Anna was barely 3 years old, and their father didn't really have that much time for them, besides the martial arts training, because he was always busy with work. Anna and Nina had to become quite independent, cooking and keeping the house tidy but thanks to their dad, they were never short of money.
Anna went back to her suitcase, taking out her clothes and putting them into drawers, and when she'd finished that she put her make-up bag in the bathroom with a few other things. Lastly she pulled out a wire-toothed brush and a small bowl from a large pocket on the side of the case and placed them in a cupboard under the kitchen sink.
A young black and white cat lifted her head when she heard her food bowl being put down and made a beeline toward the kitchen, weaving around Anna's legs purring expectantly.
"Sorry Kazumi," Anna laughed, "It's not tea time yet."
The girl reached down to scratch behind Kazumi's charcoal coloured ears and smiled.
Kazumi was like one of Anna's best friends, she comforted her when she was feeling down and made her laugh all the time with her kitten-like antics.
Anna straightened up and walked back to the main room with Kazumi at her heels and dropped down on the bed again. She picked up the letter she had received about a week ago from the Mishima Conglomerate and read it once more. It had the list of fights already sorted out on it and the list of contenders. There were a lot of the same fighters from the last tournament and a few new ones. Anna didn't care too much about winning the money and all that, she only wanted to stop Nina from assassinating her boss, Kazuya Mishima, and maybe, just maybe she could try to patch things up with her. Anna herself wasn't exactly sure why Nina hated her so deeply because they got along well when they were children. Nina had always been the popular one and Anna was usually in her shadow but she didn't really mind, Anna looked up to her big sister who was so outgoing and "cool". Anna on the other hand was shy and reserved, she went pink-cheeked whenever someone (besides her friends) spoke to her and was nowhere as near as popular and Nina. Since then Anna had come out of her shell a bit, having been around a lot of people while she was studying. There were heaps of people to talk to and she didn't have time to be shy.
The tournament was starting in 2 days and Anna realised she didn't know what she was going wear for a fighting outfit. She started going through her drawers and she tried on many different outfits but nothing really felt right. Then she remembered the dress, a beautiful off the shoulder satin dress, scarlet with gold lining and matching gloves. She also remembered when she first tried it on, it was a perfect fit and when she looked at her reflection she couldn't help smiling, it looked great and it made her feel so…powerful, like she could do anything. She wasn't too fond of the massive silt up the side but it made it easier to move around in.
Anna skipped over to the big cupboard near her bed and pulled open the door, Kazumi's golden eyes following her from the windowsill. The dress hung there on a simple coat hanger. She carefully lifted it off the hanger and slowly held it up to herself, the sunlight caught the gown and it gleamed with a fiery ferocity. Anna admired the dress in the mirror.
"It'll be perfect" She murmured with a satisfied smile.
Anna Williams looked around her new apartment from her cross-legged position on the bed. The walls were a dull yellow, white net curtains covered the windows and soft, creamy carpet on the floors. A chest of drawers rested against one wall beside a doorway to the bathroom and another to a tiny kitchen, there was also a wardrobe near the head of the double bed. She got up and hauled her suitcase over to the large bed and unzipped it hastily. Searching through the clothes she found what she was looking for, a framed photo of herself with her parents and older sister, Nina.
Anna gazed at the picture with a touch of sadness in her eyes and placed it on the bedside table. Their mother had died when Anna was barely 3 years old, and their father didn't really have that much time for them, besides the martial arts training, because he was always busy with work. Anna and Nina had to become quite independent, cooking and keeping the house tidy but thanks to their dad, they were never short of money.
Anna went back to her suitcase, taking out her clothes and putting them into drawers, and when she'd finished that she put her make-up bag in the bathroom with a few other things. Lastly she pulled out a wire-toothed brush and a small bowl from a large pocket on the side of the case and placed them in a cupboard under the kitchen sink.
A young black and white cat lifted her head when she heard her food bowl being put down and made a beeline toward the kitchen, weaving around Anna's legs purring expectantly.
"Sorry Kazumi," Anna laughed, "It's not tea time yet."
The girl reached down to scratch behind Kazumi's charcoal coloured ears and smiled.
Kazumi was like one of Anna's best friends, she comforted her when she was feeling down and made her laugh all the time with her kitten-like antics.
Anna straightened up and walked back to the main room with Kazumi at her heels and dropped down on the bed again. She picked up the letter she had received about a week ago from the Mishima Conglomerate and read it once more. It had the list of fights already sorted out on it and the list of contenders. There were a lot of the same fighters from the last tournament and a few new ones. Anna didn't care too much about winning the money and all that, she only wanted to stop Nina from assassinating her boss, Kazuya Mishima, and maybe, just maybe she could try to patch things up with her. Anna herself wasn't exactly sure why Nina hated her so deeply because they got along well when they were children. Nina had always been the popular one and Anna was usually in her shadow but she didn't really mind, Anna looked up to her big sister who was so outgoing and "cool". Anna on the other hand was shy and reserved, she went pink-cheeked whenever someone (besides her friends) spoke to her and was nowhere as near as popular and Nina. Since then Anna had come out of her shell a bit, having been around a lot of people while she was studying. There were heaps of people to talk to and she didn't have time to be shy.
The tournament was starting in 2 days and Anna realised she didn't know what she was going wear for a fighting outfit. She started going through her drawers and she tried on many different outfits but nothing really felt right. Then she remembered the dress, a beautiful off the shoulder satin dress, scarlet with gold lining and matching gloves. She also remembered when she first tried it on, it was a perfect fit and when she looked at her reflection she couldn't help smiling, it looked great and it made her feel so…powerful, like she could do anything. She wasn't too fond of the massive silt up the side but it made it easier to move around in.
Anna skipped over to the big cupboard near her bed and pulled open the door, Kazumi's golden eyes following her from the windowsill. The dress hung there on a simple coat hanger. She carefully lifted it off the hanger and slowly held it up to herself, the sunlight caught the gown and it gleamed with a fiery ferocity. Anna admired the dress in the mirror.
"It'll be perfect" She murmured with a satisfied smile.