Afterwards: The Fourth Tekken Novel

The Start of the Trip

Shasha stared at Jun in surprise when she came in with Heihachi. Lee and Anna had frowns on their faces too, the former holding Tori.
"If you guys don't mind, can this guy tag along?" Jun asked, sweetly too.
"Why not tag in his own car?" Lee asked, patting his daughter's head. "I mean... it would be easier for all of us, right?"
"Yeah, but... the resort only offers one parking spot per chalet," Jun sheepishly said. "And since Nina and gang are coming in one car..."
Shasha groaned and turned to Anna, who looked at her instead. It was evident that Lee and Anna would escape since they would be seated at the front. That left her to sit with Heihachi at the back.
"You okay with this?" Anna asked Shasha.
"I'm not," Lee frowned. He sighed and turned to Jun. "Can I speak to you to you for a moment?"
Jun frowned, nodded to Heihachi, and followed him and Anna to a corner, leaving Shasha to stare after them in surprise. Without much of a choice, she turned to Heihachi, who patiently stood with his arms crossed across his chest, Mishima-styled, and wearing a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt with a monochrome tiger head on it.
"You... brought any snacks?" Shasha asked. "Because we're gonna be in the backseat..."
Heihachi rolled his eyes. "At this point, I just wanna leave."
"Come on, don't say that," Shasha sighed. "We're gonna have lots of fun in Chigasaki!"
She was doubting this statement herself, especially when she spotted the heated argument that was going on. Shasha glanced at the car that Heihachi and Jun came in, a Mercedes-Benz GLS. It wasn't Jun's, so it definitely belonged to the former.
"What's the name of the resort again?" Shasha asked, taking her phone out.
"Chigasaki Palms Resort," Heihachi said.
Shasha nodded, pushing her glasses up her nose as she poked at her phone. "They said that we can bring as many cars as we want, so long as there's enough parking spots."
Heihachi sighed in relief. "Alright, then this discussion is over." He went over to where the rest discussed. "Hey, you guys! We don't need this, I can bring my car."
The three of them turned to look at them in surprise. "Wait, what? Really?" Jun said.
"Well, yeah, none of you guys saw the resort's website?" Shasha sighed. "They allow you to bring an extra car, no charges."
"And I don't mind driving," Heihachi added. "Let's just get going."
Anna smiled. "Oh. So that was easy."
"Sure, then," Lee said, hoisting his child up his arm as he walked towards his car. "So, I guess... I'll see you at Chigasaki."
"Can you drop me off at the Zaibatsu?" Jun asked Lee. She chuckled as she turned to Heihachi. "I need to go with Lee so that... you know, to not arouse any suspicions. Doesn't help that Kazuya had a really elaborate nightmare this morning. But it was a funny one?" She laughed as she said the last bit.
That got Lee's attention. "Wait, Kazuya is getting nightmares again?"
"He gets nightmares?" Heihachi said, also interested.
Lee rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't act like you didn't cause them."
"It wasn't me," Heihachi rolled his eyes. "It was the original."
"Yeah, sure, and Brussels aren't just tiny cabbages," Lee shook his head. "I hope he's doing okay." He turned to Jun. "You better see that he's doing okay."
Jun smiled. "I will." She then turned to Heihachi. "Is it okay if you pick Steve up? He wants to come with you, to keep you company or something."
"I will too," Shasha added.
She wanted to see what would unfold with Steve and Heihachi in one car.
Jun nodded. "Sure, sure." She hugged the younger woman. "You're gonna be fine."
"How did you know I was wondering about that?" Shasha groaned, pulling away from the hug.
"I just know," Jun shrugged, a slight smile on her face. "Have fun now!"
She waved at Shasha and followed Anna and Lee, who both waved at her as well. Shasha sighed and turned to Heihachi. "Alright, let's go get the blondie."

Steve perked up upon seeing Shasha in the backseat of Heihachi's SUV. What made it even funnier was the fact that Hwoarang was also there with his luggage. Now that made Shasha anticipate the journey even further.
"Wait, I thought you'd have a driver or something?" Hwoarang said as soon as Heihachi pulled up in the driveway.
"Apparently, not now," Steve smirked. He turned to his family and waved at them. "Meet you at Chigasaki."
Steve and Hwoarang started loading the boot just as Heihachi pressed a button to open it. Nina nodded to Heihachi as she got into her car, Adam waved, and the older Wilsons glared at him and made threatening gestures.
"Your grandparents have something against me?" Heihachi asked as soon as Steve got into the backseat.
Steve snorted, closing the door. "They do. They're team Kazuya, and it seems like they have taken a liking to him."
"I find that very cute, really," Hwoarang chuckled, stretching back on the front passenger seat. "Anyway, do we have any road trip music? I brought some snacks. There's Yakgwa, ice cream sandwiches, Konjac jelly cups, and some... dalgona cookies."
Shasha gasped. "The kind from Squid Game?!"
"Yep," Hwoarang smirked. "Also, now for the music. Do we even have any? Because all is silent here..."
Heihachi turned the radio on and the deafening noise of static filled the car.
"Oi!" Hwoarang groaned, jabbing at the radio till the noise stopped. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. "Mind if I connect my phone? Kazama sent me a City Pop playlist."
"Ooo! City Pop?" Steve grinned. "Sounds fun!"
"I like City Pop too," Shasha nodded.
Hwoarang smirked. "You okay with this, Heihachi?"
Heihachi shrugged. "Who doesn't like City Pop?"
Steve and Shasha exchanged surprised looks.
"City Pop!" The two exclaimed together.
A remix of Plastic Love filled the car, one that started with the violins.
"Send me this remix," Steve said, tapping Hwoarang on the shoulder.
"Send to me too," Shasha added.
Heihachi sighed. "Send it to me as well."
"Done, done, and..." Hwoarang glanced at Heihachi. "What's your number? I don't have it."
Shasha took her phone out. "I have it, for some reason. Just send it to me first, I'll send it to him."
"Alright," Hwoarang tossed his phone onto the space between the gear stick and dashboard, then proceeded to lean forward to dig in the plastic bag he brought. "Now for the snacks! Wanna have the ice cream sandwiches first?"
"How do we eat an ice cream sandwich in the middle of a moving car, Hwo?" Steve sighed. "Besides, Heihachi's driving."
"It's shaped like taiyaki," Hwoarang added. "And it's been out for quite some time. So we can eat!"
"Well, I'd like to try," Shasha said. "It's not strawberry flavour, is it?"
"No, I got chocolate, red bean, and..." Hwoarang stared at the last packet that he pulled out. "This one's... chocolate as well. But I got strawberry for myself."
"Give me the chocolate," Shasha said.
"Red bean," Heihachi quickly said, almost as if he was competing with them.
Steve shrugged. "That leaves me with chocolate too, I guess."
Hwoarang passed them around, even helping Heihachi tear his packet open before handing it to him.
"Good thing we brought the snack distributor," Steve smirked. "Thanks, dude."
"Come on, who's gonna bring snacks if I don't?" Hwoarang said, munching his ice cream sandwich.
That reminded Shasha. She opened her backpack and pulled out a crumpled and folded plastic bag. "I brought some drinks. Milk, anyone?"
"What did you buy?" Steve asked, rummaging in the plastic bag as well. "Wait... banana milk?"
Hwoarang snorted, almost spitting out his mouthful. "Banana? Why?"
"It looked interesting," Shasha said, handing two small cartons to the front. "I brought some water too."
"And we have a drink distributor too," Steve sighed. "Hwo brought the snacks, Shasha brought the drinks, Heihachi brought the accommodation, and I brought nothing."
"Come on, you being here is more than enough," Shasha said, discreetly pointing at Heihachi who sat at the front. "It's nice that you're here as well."
Steve smiled at that, making a mental note to do something later.