What It Was

A Tekken Fanfiction by spongecake2

Disclaimer - Let's face it, who needs conventional and romantic relationships with real people when you have an oven glove with a smiley face drawn onto it? They're always happy to see you, they never neglect, refuse or criticise you, they're always there for you, they always agree with you... what's not to love?

So while I've got that new Knife Shine thingy out, I'm also doing this. Why? Mostly practise, really. What is it? What's the plot? What's the style? Who knows? Who cares?

That's right, it's me improv-ing things, like my short, ill-fated 'Tramp'. Whoop-di-doo-di-dools.

I feel that with Exodus of the Mind and Soul and also with Knife Shine and my various other projects like that Metroid adaptation (stop laughing) or my sci-fi crime detective psychological thriller comedy muscial (again, stop laughing), I've lost touch with short stuff, so this is my attempt to make something with shorter chapters released more than once a year.

I'm messing about, essentially. Practising fight scenes and descriptions and what not. Ratings and genres may change. May not. Anyway, I'm rambling now, so relax and enjoy!

Let's see how many yuri fans are disappointed that this is a Lili and Asuka fic that ISN'T a romance (again no guarantees; you never know, I'm young, straight, dumb and desperate)

Chapter 1 - White Osaka

"… just… I mean… argh, that bitch!"

"Miss Rochefort!" Sebastian's gaze snapped to the young blonde in the back of the car. "Your father did not teach you such vocabulary! The fighting was, and is, bad enough, madam, so I would suggest that you refrain from using such words."

"But for lack of a better word, Sebastian." Came the seething reply.

Osaka didn't seem real in the white light that basked it. The pavements became white, endless winding snakes that coiled easily across a sea of comfortable buildings that too looked dreamlike. It was only on the outskirts of the city and yet it seemed so much less than the overwhelming behemoth of the city centre. Near enough no noise, with a constant presence of trees and animals and plant life; very different from the land of stone and glass and iron that was Osaka's Midosuji districts.

It was a place of Sebastian's choosing. A respectable district in town, with a school not far from where he had arranged for Lili to live for the duration of the tournament. No surprises, little noise, and he guessed that the people were the respectable cream of Osaka's crop. It was difficult for Lili to convince him to lie to her father, and tell him that she was volunteered for a exchange programme. He thought he might as well make good sure that it wasn't a lie that would fall apart. He explained the situation to both Lili's actual school and this new one in Osaka. A bit of bribing was necessary, but money was no object for the Rocheforts, even with the closing of the oil fields. Yes, Sebastian mused. He liked this place.

"Is something bothering you, madam?" Came his slow, calm voice, directed at Lili again. His brow rutted as he controlled the limo through the streets. A nice district, yes, but navigating in such a large vehicle was near enough impossible.

"Yes!" Lili nearly barked, lost in her thoughts and suddenly being pulled out. "It's that Kazama! She's just… so… argh!"

"Just so what, Miss Rochefort?" Sebastian asked. He had heard many times, and he was amazed that Lili was still going on about this, but it was his job to listen. Lili's teeth ground.

"…" She looked out of the window, observing the unreal dream from behind glass window. "It doesn't matter." She finally said. "I'll find her, sooner or later."

Sebastian sighed. Lili didn't take losing to Asuka particularly well, and he could not decide or say whether the frustration she felt was unwarranted or not. It was a rare day when Lili lost, though lost she did and she was more than happy to admit it. So why was it this loss that boiled her blood so?

Was it how close Lili was to winning? Lili's progress was far beyond even Lili's confident, even arrogant expectations, and had she not lost when she had, she would've broken a record for newcomers to the King of Iron Fist. It was a disappointment, yes.

Was it the extent to which she was beaten? More than likely. Even when Lili had been beaten, she had managed to give a good account to her opponents, and often had a rematch in which she crushed her opponents, but this 'Asuka Kazama' Lili had told him about? She apparently beat Lili in under a minute, and without so much a scratch. And of course, when Lili was grounded, there was certainly to be no rematch. An unanimous defeat.

Was it Asuka herself? Not as likely. Lili had contacted Sebastian during the tournament, and she had never mentioned her in a negative light. Not much of a light, to be fair, an occasional mention of maybe a polite pre-battle exchange, or a minor appraisal for a well deserved victory against somebody Lili didn't like, but no more. No, Sebastian was sure that there was something else to it, but what? What could've possibly…

"SEBASTIAN!"

Sebastian's foot immediately shot onto the brake. The limousine pulled back desperately, forcing Lili and Sebastian forward with dizzying strength. He had been lost in his thoughts, and he had neither noticed the school or the cyclist. He looked up immediately. He didn't hear a bump, so he didn't hit anything, but he still wanted to see that the girl was alright. He reached for his belt buckle.

"No, Sebastian, I'll go; you park the car." Lili said. Sebastian, for the first time, turned his head to face her. Her face looked concerned, yes, but her eyes gave it away. She knew the cyclist. The emotion was shock, but it had a hint of something else, something more twisted.

"… madam?" He began, but she was already out of the car, the expression plastered onto her face as she looked blankly to the girl on the floor. He sighed nervously, but drove away.

The world was a little blurred. She certainly hadn't expected the limousine to roar out of nowhere. Either the driver's eyes weren't on the road or they had lost their mind. The pain wasn't great, though. She hadn't managed to keep the bike upright, but she had at least slowed it slightly and made the fall a bit more gradual than it could've been. She scanned her legs, the main source of pain. Nothing massive, a small bruise here or there but nothing to worry about. She turned to see where her bag had landed so she could…

"It's you."

Asuka's head slowly turned. Her eyes darted across the girl's face and body like a machine. She was sure that she recognised her. Tall, ridiculously long hair and Asuka supposed that she was pretty, at least from an objective point of view. It did click, but she wasn't sure where from. The blonde wore the same school uniform as Asuka, a yellowish sweater over a white shirt and blue skirt, but Asuka knew that she wasn't from the school.

However, the look on her face was what really drew Asuka's attention, because it was so bizarre. It was astounded, clearly, but it seemed that she couldn't decide whether to be horrified or overjoyed. Asuka immediately became suspicious.

"I'm not particularly good with faces, I'm afraid." She explained. "Do I know you?" Suddenly, the blonde girl's mouth began to twitch, before curling, and then becoming a truly nasty grin.

"Asuka Kazama; you, my friend…" Came a slow drawl as she suddenly punched her own open palm. The speed astounded Asuka, then the knuckles cracked. "- have chosen a brilliant place to fight!"

Lili brought the fist to the floor, but Asuka had already rolled out of the way. The paving slab shattered dramatically, shards flying upward. Lili's arm rattled with pain, and she wasn't ready for a heel cracking into her temple. She slammed onto her back, but determinedly strove to stay conscious. She glared at Asuka, who began to stand up.

"What the fuck's your problem?" She asked, and Lili scowled.

"Don't you dare say you don't remember me, you…" She remembered back to Sebastian's words on profanity, but couldn't think of anything else. "… ARGH!" She threw herself at the brunette, blindingly fast, and smashed Asuka back. Asuka barely retained her footing, and she only just dodged the spinning low kick. She stumbled back, and again when faced with an approaching knee. She then flipped into a handstand and then back onto her feet. Lili scowled. "Coward! Quit running and…"

KA-POW!

The bright world, the blue sky and the white pavement, shuddered together, becoming just a blur. Lili could feel blood running down from her jaw, and tears were in her eyes. That kick! It was like a lightning bolt, and it came seemingly out of nowhere. She couldn't see, and she certainly didn't see Asuka until it was too late. A knee to the stomach made her keel over, and then came an elbow to her back. She dropped to her hands and knees, and she watched as circles of scarlet splashed onto the pavement.

"Not so talkative now, eh?" Came a voice that sounded distant yet close. Lili began to look up, and saw Asuka standing before her, looking down, once again not a scratch on her.

Just like last time.

"C'mon." Asuka extended a hand. "Let's get you up and see the damage." Lili shook slightly, before looking up to Asuka, eye to eye.

"… you bitch…" Asuka frowned.

"Not a good idea, insulting the person who just handed your ass right back to you." She said, before simply forcing Lili to her feet by the forearm. Lili huffed, but fell back into a fighting stance. She expected Asuka to get back to fighting. Instead, she just sighed.

"As much as I love a good fight, now's neither time or place, and I don't pick fights."

"Oh no. You aren't running." Lili spat. "We're ending this right now!"

"Yes, we are." Asuka said, turning on her heel. "See ya round." She began to walk away, but heard some following footsteps. She looked behind her, and had to stop and stare in awe. Lili was actually ripping up her shirt sleeves and tying bands around her palms like gloves. "You just don't know when to quit, do you!" Lili ignored the comment, instead snapping into a fighting stance. "I mean, look at your face! Your nose might be broken and you still want to…"

"SHUT IT!" Came a roar unlike anything the Monegasque had ever conjured. It sounded so irregular coming from her sophisticated tongue, but right now she didn't care, choosing instead to charge forward in a flying rage. Asuka immediately pushed her hand forward, hoping to hit Lili when she wasn't paying attention. However, Lili saw this and suddenly pushed hard onto the open palmed strike. Asuka saw her wince, and then suddenly pain shot up her arm. Lili wasn't stopped by the attack. She kept going, and suddenly grabbed Asuka by the offending arm, one hand at the elbow, one at the wrist, and pushed even closer to Asuka, until their noses were almost touching. Asuka wailed in pain, feeling her fingers bending far too much against Lili's stomach, almost bending backwards.

"Get off!" She swung her whole body around, trying to throw Lili off balance enough to free her arm. Lili spun too; she spun in midair, pushing Asuka off her feet and onto the floor, with her arm firmly in Lili's grasp and her spine being crushed by Lili's white boot. She smiled slightly, sadistically. The blood still ran from her nose, but she didn't care. She had Asuka under her boot, and now she was going to win outright.

"Remember this, Asuka?" She seethed, shaking as her foot began to twist. Asuka moaned. "Do you remember this attack? Do you remember me?" Then Asuka's head wheeled, and her eyes began to squint.

"… that chick from the tournament…" She murmured. Lili's smile suddenly disappeared.

"… what?"

"Yeah…" Asuka moaned. "Lil' something, wasn't it?" Lili's face turned to shock.

"… you don't even…" The shock became a scowl. "… you don't even remember my name?" The scowl became a growl. "You beat me to a pulp, and you don't even know who I am?" The growl became a howl through gritted teeth. "You'll learn! You'll remember! I'll teach you to remember, or my name isn't…"

"Miss Rochefort!"

Lili's eyes closed. A controlled sigh escaped her as her head turned very slowly to face Sebastian, whose face of horror was a complete opposite to her anger.

"Sebastian, I'm busy." She gave this as a command rather than an explanation, but Sebastian didn't move.

"I can see." He said. "However, I feel that, while I am your butler, your father's wishes must come before yours. You told me you'd enter the tournament to get at Jin Kazama. A justifiable reason to force me to lie to him. I was not told that it was simply just to chase some petty grudge match." Lili kept her eyes fixed on Asuka, whose own eyes simply darted simply, as if she were somewhere else.

"Sebastian, please…" Lili said, breaking her stare on Asuka. "- this is different. This is…"

"Excuse me, but I'm late." Came a small gesture. "I've had enough!"

"What?" Lili began to turn back to Asuka, but it was far too late.

Even looking back, Lili didn't quite realise what had happened. One second ago, Asuka was at her mercy, under her boot and in pain, and now? She had somehow rolled up Lili's arm, throwing Lili's boot to the side and causing her to lose balance. She only realised that Asuka was on her feet again when she was suddenly snapped forward into her arms, before being rolled over in midair. Then Asuka elbowed the airborne Monegasque to the ground, face first, and finally kicked her sharply in the stomach, flipping her back onto the lower of her spine and sending a shudder of pain up and through her. Lili gasped for air. She couldn't even scream. It seemed that every hit Asuka threw out, occasional and slow they were, were like shotgun shells, completely stopping Lili in her tracks. Asuka stood up fully now, taking a moment to back away and catch her breath. She looked tired but, much to Lili's chagrin, unhurt. She may as well having been jogging for all the effort she had exerted, and here Lili was, on the floor, bleeding at the nose and dizzied.

"As I said…" Asuka huffed. "– I don't pick fights. I end them." With that, for a second time that day, for the third time ever, she turned around, leaving Lili to the mercy of the white Osaka sun.

Chapter 1 – White Osaka