Official Namco art of Lili.

Asuka began preparing for her battle with Lili, this was one fight she wanted to settle for good; they were always at each others throats—starting with a word battle and then fisticuffs.

Asuka stood in front of the mirror in the dressing room that was in a trailer parked on a beach on the shores of Japan, she wore a sleeveless, black halter top with a V-neck; and cuffed shorts with the rest of the zippered bodysuit hanging around her hips. The bodysuit was glossy pink vinyl with black faux leather to form it to her body. Asuka would only zip it so much and she had a black, nylon web belt with six green stars on it at her waist. Her feet were covered with heavy boots that matched her bodysuit which also had green stars, but on the front. Her hands were encased in padded gauntlets that covered her forearms, and over her elbows she had hard plastic, pink and black rounded pads.
Asuka pulled up the rest of the sleeveless bodysuit; it had a high collar and she checked the height of the zipper to being below her belly button and below the belt. On the back of her costume was a large black and white freeform bird—she was the flying bird—a name given to her because of her fighting style and her personality.

For her final preparations, Asuka flipped her shoulder length colored, yellow hair and checked the tightness of the wrist wrap’s Velcro on her gauntlets—she was ready, ready to once and for all end this feud with Lili even if it meant bloodying her rival’s perfect white, cutesy outfit

Miss Monaco had no idea what it was like to live in Osaka, it wasn’t a dirt-hole or anything, but it wasn’t a tax free paradise like where Lili lived. Asuka wondered how she could be so different from her peace-loving father who knew he had all he would ever need. Lili did however do everything she could for him, so Asuka could relate that they both loved their fathers.

There was a knock at the metal door to the small trailer and Asuka opened it to see a member of the event staff who told her it was time.

Asuka nodded her understanding and began to focus; she had fought Lili more than once and defeated her, but this time would be the last—however, Lili had claimed that she had trained hard…doing what?

The King of Iron Fist Tournament was broadcast on a global scale due to the prize being of such great value. For years the Mishima Zaibatsu had only changed hands between the family; and technically, Asuka was family, she would just have to defeat Heihachi, Kazuya and Jin in order to take control, she had great plans for the corporation and in her hands, she would easily outweigh what Jinpachi; Heihachi’s father had ever tried to do.

The day was nice and perfect for a battle on the beach; the only flaw was the footing on the soft sand—something that she would have to watch out for. Lili was already in position and posing for the cameras, but that wasn’t Asuka’s concern. Once in her position Asuka waited for the cameras to come her way, she would have to put on some kind of act, her mentality had changed for this competition, she was in it to win, not just to have a good time beating on people; everyone involved was a pro, this wasn’t her high school.

A crew made their way to Asuka and she looked right into the lens as she listened to a barrage of questions from the reporters as Lili, whom lost her moment in the sun, looked on. As she tried to pull something out of the jumble of questions Asuka began to yell, “I’m going to bury her in the sand and the only way to get her out will be with a shovel—that or an Earth mover!”

Asuka felt her words were lame and cried, “Let’s get this over with!”

Once the event staff had called off the reporters, Asuka and Lili met on the battleground, they both were visibly testing the sand against the soles of their boots as they got in place and an announcer called out, “Asuka Kazama versus Lili De Rochefort…FIGHT!!!”

“Darling Asuka, I’m going to bury you and make a fool out of you, and it’ll be fun!” Lili said as she neared Asuka in a battle-stance.

“What the hell! I already told the reporters that I was going to bury YOU…you’re lucky, the sand is soft, I wish we were in a worse location—like the top of a building,” Asuka replied.

“Pish-tosh…like you have a chance against me, I’m going to be the princess of this bal…” Lili started to say and Asuka went in with a few quick straight punches which Lili was able to block all but the third which made contact with her shoulder.

“How rude!” Lili cried as she began her own attack against Asuka by using her legs in high and swift kicks, and the battle began under the sun with soft sand making their footing difficult and the waves crashing against the beach.

Asuka performed a forward flip kick which made contact with Lili’s head causing her to yelp in pain as the world around her became blurry and she started to feel dizzy. She shook it off and laid a few kicks with her high-heeled boots into Asuka’s chest causing Kazama to cry out herself, she should have been able to block those assaults but failed. Suddenly, Asuka grabbed hold of Lili and threw her to her stomach and grasped her leg and cracked it causing Lili to scream out in pain—it wasn’t broken, but her knee hurt immensely!

Asuka stood and went for a low attack on her fallen opponent, but the announcer called the round at the end of the 99 seconds countdown. The round was given to Asuka based on her points—now it was on to the second round, if Asuka won, it would have to be by knockout, she couldn’t let Lili take the win or a round, so she backed up as Lili got to her feet limping on her pained leg that Asuka made some terrible work on. She readied herself and the announcer called for the beginning of round two.

Asuka went in quickly dealing as many combinations of punches and kicks to Lili as she could, she was going to knock some sense into this spoiled rich girl who got her kicks out of street fighting and put an end to their differences forever.

Lili was able to get in a few combinations of her own, but it didn’t last long, Asuka was just too fast and too skilled where Lili fought gracefully, Asuka was quick and precise and used as much power as she could to dismantle her opponent. Asuka’s boots caused physical damage to Lili’s skin and muscles and her gauntlets—even padded in the knuckles—bit into the girl from Monaco.

Lili put up a good fight, but Asuka performed a double front flip kick and that put Lili’s lights out, she fell to the sandy beach and her eyes closed as she groaned in pain.

“The winner! Asuka Kazama!” The announcer called and when the cameras got close enough, Asuka squatted down in front of Lili and poked her in the head and said, “You did pretty good…but not good enough.”

With the fight over and Asuka moving up in the rankings to face whoever wins the match between Lei and Law, she went to Lili and helped her up and said, “Is this it now, will you just give up already?

“Lili looked weakly at Asuka and said, “Yes, it’s over…friends?”

“Only if we are the best of,” Asuka replied and Lili smiled and said, “I like what you did to your hair—last night?”

“Oh, the color, I thought it would make for a different look, I probably won’t keep it, school forbids us from lightening our hair; it comes out easily, so I can wash it out anytime,” Asuka replied.

The girls looked up at a slow moving blimp that had large monitors on the sides, it showed the tournament rankings…it appears that Marshall Law had defeated Lei Wulong, so he was Asuka’s next opponent; it would be ok, he was far older and much more experienced, but she was younger and had a great teacher, so Asuka wasn’t worried, right now she figured that she would get some ice on Lili to bring down the swelling and get her some clean clothes.

*****

Asuka and Lili had decided to go out into the city this night and see the sights and get something to eat. Lili wore a black with white suit of lace and silk and Asuka wore her school uniform, it was all she had with her besides a few of her fight costumes.

“So, is there any place around here to get Escargot?” Lili asked as the two made their way down the street that was bustling with the night crowd.

“Es-car-what?” Asuka asked with a questioning look on her face.

“Snails of course, you never had?” Lili replied.

“Snails? Who would want to eat snails?” Asuka said disgusted.

“Oh please, you Japanese eat raw fish and white blocks of tasteless bean curd; at least Escargot has a taste to it,” Lili said with her nose in the air.

“Yeah, a slimy taste…I got a better idea, follow me–just watch that your knee doesn’t give out—I have something I know you’ll like!” Asuka said leading Lili to a Japanese stand where a cook was preparing balls of batter in a special cooker; spinning them with a toothpick as he did so.

“Ah! I know you two; you are part of the tournament right? What would you two like; I’ll make something special if you wish!” The cook said looking up from his special cooker.

“It won’t be necessary, we want two Takoyaki sets,” Asuka said and the cook replied, “Coming right up!”

The cook quickly filled take-away pans that were red and white paper with the balls of batter and he sprinkled a green laver on top called Aonori; he spiked a few toothpicks into them and handed each a set.

“How much?” Asuka asked.

“On the house tonight Kazama-san, enjoy!” The cook said and Asuka smiled and led Lili off towards the park in the center of the shopping district.

The girls sat and Asuka dug in without saying a word to Lili who asked, “So, what is this Takoyaki?”

“Try it—no questions…eating…” Asuka replied with her mouth full.

Lili looked at the balls and poked one with a toothpick and tried it. She ate it and said, “Not bad, I was expecting something gross; but its cooked really well…so, what’s inside, it was meaty?”

“Octopus tentacle…” Asuka replied taking another bite.

“Ah, octopus…well, gross, but good…kind of…” Lili replied continuing on her Takoyaki set.

When the girls were done, they tossed the trays and picks into a near-by can and continued around the city. It had become late and the part of town they were in seemed to be controlled by the Mishima Zaibatsu; there was something going on…it seemed that this part was a crime area; but no matter.

“Ugh, so why are we here when we have a huge part of the city that’s clean and full of shopping?” Lili said suddenly.

“Even with your knee hurting and the bruises, don’t you feel like fighting, but outside of the tournament?” Asuka said.

Lili didn’t reply, but grinned, even hurt; she could still take out a thug or six.

“Just listen for screams, then we become heroes of justice,” Asuka said.

“You really like to seek out trouble don’t you…well, I have your back darling Asuka, you can count on me,” Lili said.

The girls walked around with burly guys and prostitutes staring at them, but so far, there wasn’t a fight to be had, it seemed that Asuka was living in her fantasy world of being a hero of justice—as though she were in junior high still. The night was probably dead, so Asuka decided that it was time to make something happen, she needed to work off dinner.

Asuka led Lili into a bar and looked around, as luck would have it, Paul Phoenix was there probably getting drunk, he looked a bit different than usual though; he had his hair down instead of up with a pound and a half of gel and looking like an eraser-head; he looked to the girls and said, “I don’t think you chicks want to be in here.”

“Hmmm, you’re right, it seems that everyone is a pansy, man what a waste of time!” Asuka said a bit angered.

“Oh, I see, you babes are looking for a fight, I know where you can get one, come on, let’s go, I’ll take you there myself,” Phoenix said getting up from the bar and tossing a few Yen bills on the counter.

“What is it, a cage fight or something?” Asuka asked arrogantly.

“Nah…even better, les go,” Phoenix said.

The girls and Paul made their way through a few alleys and stopped at a noisy brick building with a steel door, he said, “You want something illegal right?”

“Sure..is this a setup, do you think we are just a pair of dumb kids?” Asuka said.

Phoenix didn’t reply, he just opened the door and the three looked in at a gambling ring of people in a dark and muddy dive, it seemed that the doorman had been dispatched by the one person who looked familiar…Craig Marduk was present and he was currently pounding a guys head in; there was blood all over the floor.

“Is this what you were looking for Kazama? Marduk is taking out his anger on a bunch of pussies for his loss to King, so I’d be careful if I were you,” Paul said.

“No, this is perfect,” Asuka said as she reached into the pockets of her short pleated, plaid skirt and took out her blue and white fingerless motorcycle gloves and pulled them on her hands, she secured them with the Velcro at her wrists and waited for Marduk to kill the guy he was knocking around. Lili was out on this and waited with Phoenix, however she mumbled, “Aren’t you supposed to save this guy getting pounded—a hero of justice huh…”

Paul Phoenix was a bit nuts, but he wasn’t an asshole, he was a very highly skilled fighter and came close to winning the King of Iron Fist Tournament many times, but there was always something that got in his way.

“So…Phoenix was it? Does Asuka have to kill that giant or something to win?” Lili asked.

“Huh? Maybe, or if she can knock him out then she can walk out of here; she just come from school or someth’in?” Paul replied.

“Darling Asuka doesn’t have much fashion sense, so it was either her uniform or her bodysuit and she didn’t want to go around in her fight costume, so there you have it,” Lili replied.

After the cracking of bones, Marduk’s opponent was finished—for good, he yelled in a roar and cried for another to face him as a few guys pulled the body from the floor. At this point Asuka took her place in front of him and said, “You and me slugger.”

Marduk looked down at the small Japanese girl, she was not even measurable to him in size or mass…but it wasn’t that, he would take on all challengers; it was the fact that she was Jin Kazama’s cousin…that was kind of serious. Those Mishima’s were not a group to mess with.

“I’ll pass kid, if it were Kazuya or Jin okay, but not you,” Marduk said calmly.

“What the hell? You’ll pass? What kind of pussy are you Craig, you can’t fight little ole me? Are you afraid of losing to someone a small fraction of your size? Come on Marduk, clean the blood off your gloves and fight me…or are you giving up?” Asuka said.

“You have to be crazy Kazama, I’ll kill you, you know that…then I’ll have Heihachi on my ass, you think I want that? You have a real mouth on you kid, you should shut it; I was under the impression that you Japanese were more well-mannered than that,” Marduk said.

“I’m from Osaka, we sound a bit different, people just assume we are really gruff–it isn’t Tokyo man, now let’s do this, you have my word that none who share my name or lineage will come after you…how about this, I’ll attack first and you defend yourself…you know you want to Craig, come get me, kill me, I’m just a little girl to you, a kid…” Asuka said and Lili finally stepped forward and said, “That’s enough Asuka, let’s go! I won’t stand here and watch Mr. Marduk pound you into the ground! What has gotten into you?”

“You should listen to your pretty friend over there…Hey Phoenix, you bring her here?” Marduk said.

“Yeah, what of it, she wanted a fight, so why don’t you give her one,” Paul replied.

Asuka looked at Lili, the expression on her face changed from being brash and arrogant to understanding, she then looked back to Marduk and saw a huge fist coming at her; she couldn’t block his tree trunk size arm and fist so she dodged as Lili called out for Asuka to watch herself too late.

“Let’s do this kid, I won’t kill you, but you’ll wish you were dead when I’m finished…I’m gonna break your face!” Marduk said as he started towards Asuka who dodged him easily, she then attacked with a few kicks and felt like she was hitting bridge pylons. Marduk laughed and began his assault causing Asuka to dodge or block depending on the attack.

The only way to defeat a human this huge was to go for pressure points and weak areas of the body. Asuka figured that even with the extreme use of steroids, that Marduk had a cup blocking his true weak point so that was out, it would be the ears, neck and joints in order to make any of her attacks affect him. If Marduk made contact with her body, she would be in huge trouble, so Asuka took her stance in the Kazama style and waited for her opponent to attack. With every attempted strike, Asuka hit back careful to protect herself AND to hurt him, the fight was lasting a long time and at Marduk’s size, he was starting to lose stamina. Asuka was wise in her attacks which were harming her opponent, however, every time she used her hardest strikes, she would lose her own stamina, but if Mard…Craig grabbed Asuka and pummeled her into the floor, all she could feel was pain in the nerves of every inch of her body, she screamed and Lily looked on with Phoenix next to her…Asuka forced herself to look to Marduk to see he was coming in for a final attack and she gathered up all of her remaining strength and upon Craig Marduk’s attack, she pushed up on her hands and flipped forward twice from her laying position on the floor and a glowing, golden arc of energy lit up the dark room. There were two very hard strikes on Marduk and he fell to the floor unconscious.

It was over, but Asuka paid dearly; her body began to tense up and she could hear a heartbeat in her mind as the room became quiet—judge and punish–she went to stand up from her kneeling position with one thought in mind and that was to kill Marduk, but she was stopped and her mind cleared instantly as she felt Lili take hold of her as she fell to the floor with no more energy to keep her afoot.

The last thing she heard was Paul Phoenix telling her she did a good job and Lili asking if she was okay; then Asuka passed out.

Next time on Tekken MZ, the tournament continues as Asuka takes on Marshall Law. Will she defeat him after her physical condition was weakened in her fight with Craig Marduk? Be here in 2 weeks on Tuesday for Tekken MZ!

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