TEKKEN 8

Chapter IX: Objective--Abort the Mission!

Rochefort Mansion, 12:08AM

More unconcious bodies layed in the red blood, accompanying the fresh corpses next to them. In practically no time, the trio defeated the soldiers from G Corp, knocking them out as if the three were swatting away pesky flies. Asuka panted in mild fatigue from battle, putting her hands on her hips. "Man, they were weak." Hearing this, Hwoarang let out an exhausted chuckle at her comment. "Tell me about it. They were barely enough for a warm-up."

That nuisance Kazuya finally made his move, huh? I guess I'm not as invisible as I thought, even in this disguise.

Jin, without a sweat broken, eyed the raining fragments of porcelain, falling in larger chunks than earlier. The smoke became thicker, which signaled their small window of opportunity to escape before they could inhale anymore of the dangerous fumes.

The most grand chandelier in the room dropped from above, almost squashing the Osakan if she didn't jump out of the way in time. "We need to leave!" She exclaimed, waving some smoke out of her face.

The woman gasped, looking around the flames and destroyed particles around her and the two men. "Oh shit! Where's Lili?!" She cried in panic, making the red head's heart skip a beat, and not in the good way.

"Lili!" Hwoarang and Asuka yelled over the sound of the collapsing interior.

Tears began to gather in her eyes as she called the Monegasque's name at the top of her lungs. The three desperately searched for her, but did not find the blonde. It was too dangerous for them to cover anymore ground.

She felt like the worst best friend in the world for losing sight of her rival, especially when people were killed at her birthday party, and when her summer home was burning to ashes.

Is she...dead? The most terrifying of thoughts surfaced in her mind, causing her to bawl on the spot, not caring if they saw her. Amidst her crying, she heard a shout. Asuka didn't hear the words due to her pain in her heart, but as soon as the voice faded in volume, Hwoarang grabbed her and ran.

The brunette, as expected, objected by using her foot to skid them to a halt. "Hwoarang, no! We have to keep looking for her!"

"We can't! We have to go or we'll get crushed!" He tried to pull her along, but she didn't budge.

"I'm not leaving her behind!"

"She's not going to be left behind, so let's go!"

"I'm gonna look for Lili!"

"Asuka, come on!"

"No!"

"We're gonna die here!"

"No, we won't! I'll find Lili, and we'll get out of here!"

"Asuka! Jin's gonna find her, so we have to trust him to bring her back to us!"

The woman's eyes widened at the man's words, doing a double take. "Wait, who?"

.

.

.

Jin departed from Asuka and Hwoarang after shouting at him to take his cousin and make a run for it while he hunts down the missing blonde.

Fire consumed nearly everything surrounding him, the ceiling close to caving in completely. The cursed being bobbed and weaved, avoiding the incoming wreckage that prevented him from grasping a better view of the burning mansion. He lifted rubble and searched in areas that were more hazardous for Hwoarang and Asuka to look in than him.

Jin knew that Lili was not dead, he sensed it. He allowed his instincts to guide him to her, and within moments, he heard crying, which would be deemed hapless in any other given situation except this one.

The blonde woman was kneeling next to a man, whom the Zaibatsu leader recognized as her father. Red stained the chest area on the man's white shirt, giving the notion that he was shot by the gunman earlier.

He approached her carefully to get a closer look. Her cries were loud to the ears as she held her father's limp hand. The woman's dress was tattered at the ends and covered with her father's blood. Her face teary and red, mourning at her loss.

Feeling someone's presence behind her, she turned the upper half of her body to the side. Although she wiped away some of her tears with the back of her hand, the stream continued to flow. The distraught princess sniffled, trying to gain control of her breathing.

"Is Asuka okay?" Her voice cracked miserably. The man nodded his head as an answer, to which the woman smiled faintly at the reassurance of her favorite Osakan's safety. "And Hwoarang, too?" Another nod of the head was provided.

As if on cue, the tall pillar in front of them cracked, capturing their attention. It fell forward, potentially threatening the life of the eighteen-year-old underneath.

In the blink of an eye, he tugged her away from her father's carcass, the edge of the pillar landing on her father's head as an alternative. Upon impact, Mr. Rochefort's head crushed below the heavy object, his blood and flesh splattering on the skirts of Lili's dress and Jin's pants.

All that could be heard were screams from the blonde. Ear-splitting wails of horror, but the masked man was deaf to them. The man stood still, numbed, his eyes glued to the red liquid seeping from the fallen pillar. For a short period of time, they were both oblivious to the fire and destruction.

That lasted until the Monegasque fell limp in Jin's arms from a heavy heart.

How many times do I have to save this girl in one night?

End of Chapter IX

A/N: Hello, everyone! This is a very short chapter indeed, but it's the last chapter in this location, and I'm very excited to bring the Zaibatsu team together! I wanted to include a flashback in this chapter, but it'll fit better in the next one.

Besides, why wait an extra three days (I updated this on Saturday for those who are reading this later) to upload such a short chapter?

Thank you so much for reading! :-)

-LOVE to ALL~!

-CAT, what's wrong with you?