Tekken Short Stories

Birthday

Adam was out with his friends, playing at the arcade.
"Are you sure they have Street Fighter?" Adam asked as they all walked in. "I think it's pretty rare."
"Oh sure there is!" Daniel said. "There!"
He pointed to a set of arcade machines where a few editions of Street Fighter games were at. Adam's eyes lit up. He rushed over to them like a little boy.
"Looks like he's not gonna play racing with us," Matthew said with a shrug. "Come on guys, lets go play over there..."
"Guys play with me!" Adam called from the arcade machine. "Guys!"
Oliver grinned and went to him. He sat down next to him and started to play. Adam chose Guile while Oliver chose Ken. They both started playing. It was a heated battle. Oliver was having a hard time winning against Adam since he was a good player.
He frowned each time he lost and inserted another coin into the coin slot. He didn't give up and was determined to win against Adam at some point.
They kept playing when Adam's Ericsson EH237 beeped. He didn't realise it and continued to play.
He got really annoyed when it was constantly playing that annoying tune and eventually answered it with one hand.
"Hello?" Adam answered, trying to stay focused on the game.
"Adam?" He heard a familiar voice say.
"Shoot!" Adam said in surprise. "Nina!"
"Did you forget something?" Nina asked.
"Um... no?"
"Are you sure?"
"Uh... yes?"
"Really?"
"Yeah?"
"Seriously?"
"What's going on?"
"What day is it?"
"Sunday?"
"Date?"
"Umm... the 23rd?"
"Of what?"
"Darn it!"
"What?"
"Oh it's nothing."
"Alright, the 23rd of what?"
"January?"
"Does it ring a bell?"
"Ken Wins!" Another voice suddenly said.
"Huh?" Nina said, confused.
"Aaaargh!" Nina heard.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Someone laughed hysterically.
Adam was furious for finally losing against Oliver. Oliver was really excited to finally win and was laughing at Adam's frustrated face.
"What are you doing?" Nina asked, confused. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah I am," Adam said, trying to sound cool. "I'm at the dentist and the doctor accidentally hit my gums with the... mirror thingy..."
"Dentist, huh?" Nina said, seeing through his obvious lie. "Well, good luck."
And with that, Nina hung up, angry at Adam. She was getting ready for her birthday party. She had invited Adam but was kinda sad that he didn't remember. She tossed her phone aside and continued to get ready.
Anna and her mother were doing some last minute preparations while she decided to call Adam to see if he was coming. But to her dismay, he acted like he didn't have a clue. Anna came in to help her with the makeup.
"Don't go overboard," Nina warned. "If you do, I'll fill your bazooka with clown face paint and shoot your face with it."
"Well, I would appreciate it if you hold still!" Anna said, trying to apply foundation on Nina's face. "Stay still!"
Nina sighed and held back a grunt. She stayed still for Anna to do her makeup.
Adam on the other hand was kinda confused at why Nina just hung up. He cracked his head as he thought of the reason. His eyes grew wide as he realised why.
It was Nina's birthday! No wonder she was upset that he didn't know.
Oliver was still laughing at him and was kinda confused. Adam looked kinda panicked.
"What's up?" Oliver asked, smirking. "Panicking at the fact that you've degraded in Street Fighter?"
"It's Nina's birthday!" Adam blurted out. "She called me and I completely forgot about it!"
"Congratulations!" Oliver said with a grin. "She's gonna kill you!"
Adam ignored him and ran out of the arcade. He took his bike and rode back to his home as fast as he could. He threw the bike aside (poor bike) and ran to his room.
He changed into a fancy outfit as fast as he can, fixed his hair and sprayed some cologne before running back to his bike. He rode to the store and ran in, forgetting to even take off his helmet.
Adam stormed in, causing the cashier to recoil in fear. She thought he was a robber.
"What perfume do you recommend for her?" Adam demanded. "Quick! I don't have all day!"
The cashier took out a few bottles of perfume with shaking hands and showed it to him.
Adam didn't even choose much. He knew which perfume Nina wanted since she kept hinting to him that she wanted to try out that particular flavour.
"Pack this," Adam said pointing to the perfume. "How much?"
She told him the price and he started taking out his wallet to pay. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"So you're not gonna rob me?" She asked, surprised.
"Now why would I rob you?" Adam asked, annoyed. "Quick, wrap it! Or else I'm really gonna rob you."
"Do you want anything to be written on the tag?" The cashier asked, relaxing a little.
"Happy birthday, Nina," Adam said. "Wrap it in purple paper."
She did and Adam left after paying.
He jumped back onto his bike and rode off to Nina's home. The place was quite full and grandly decorated. He walked in and started to look for Nina.
She was talking to her friends near the buffet table.
"Nina!" Adam called, going to her. "Happy birthday!"
Nina frowned but ended up smiling. She didn't wanna spoil the mood, especially not in front of her friends.
"Here, I got you something," Adam said, giving her the perfume he bought. "I'm sure you'll like it."
"Thank you," Nina said. "Come, I wanna introduce you to my parents."
Adam gulped and followed her as she led him to her parents. They were talking to some relatives in the living room.
"Mom, dad, this is Adam," Nina introduced. "He's my boyfriend."
"Hi," Adam said, his voice cracking a little. "It's nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Williams."
"Nice to meet you too, Adam," Richard said, shaking his hand. "Where are you from? You don't sound like you're from around here."
"I'm English," Adam said. "From London."
"Wow, really?" Mrs Williams said. "That's where I'm from too. Which part of London?"
"Westminster," Adam said. "You know, near Oxford Street?"
"Well of course," Mrs Williams said. "I'm from Wandsworth. Oxford Street and Bond Street are one of my favourite hangout spots. Hey, I might even know your parents!"
Adam was kinda startled when he heard that. He smiled and grabbed a drink from the nearby drink bowl to mask his panic.
Though easily panicky, Adam had the skill to mask it. Maybe it was his face? Or maybe he has mastered the art of panic-hiding?
The party went on and it was good. Anna even managed to sneak a few songs inside the playlist that Nina specifically prepared for the party.
Soon, the cake arrived and Richard brought it in. They all surrounded a large table where Richard carefully laid the cake on.
They all sang Nina happy birthday and she cut the cake. She took a piece and fed it to her father first, then to Adam.
"Hey no cake for mom?" Mrs Williams said jokingly. "Guess she loves her bo more."
Nina grinned and fed her a piece too. Anna didn't get one though.
Or so she thought. Nina didn't just feed her a piece, she shoved it into her mouth.
They laughed and the party went crazy after that. Richard and his wife made sure that nothing was broken.
Soon, the party ended and everyone started leaving. Adam stayed behind.
"So what did you get me?" Nina asked, unwrapping his gift first. "It better be good, especially since you forgot about my birthday."
"Open it," Adam said. "I'm sure you'll like it."
Nina opened it and turns out, it was the perfume she always wanted.
"Thank you!" Nina said, hugging Adam. "I like it!"
"You've got to be kidding me," Anna said under her breath.
She was annoyed because she got her the exact same thing. She took it away when no one were watching and hid it behind the television. She was glad she actually prepared two gifts for Nina.
The Williamses invited Adam to stay over.
"But I haven't got anything else besides this," Adam said, pointing to his person. "Wait, I'll go get a few things. I won't be long, don't worry."
The Williamses agreed.
"Open my gift," Richard insisted. "Go on, open it before Adam comes back."
Nina did and gasped in awe.
It was the gun set that she always wanted. Richard didn't let her to use advanced riffles and only allowed her to use the normal ones, or none at all. She would usually only assassinate her targets with her martial arts abilities. He didn't allow her to carry a gun around either.
But now, he got her her very own gun set. It came with bullets, two pistols, a rifle and a machine gun.
"Thanks, dad!" Nina said, hugging her father tightly. "You're the best."
They hid the guns quickly before Adam returned with his stuff. He had no idea that his girlfriend came from a family of assassins.