Tekken Fan Fiction ❯ Canto ❯ Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The room smelt of freshly sprayed perfume, despite how late it was that night, and the lights were off. Michelle Chang dressed as quickly and quietly as she could in the dark, trying her best not to wake up her younger sister, who was snoring lightly. The older girl glanced over at the window and noticed headlights, and in response, she scurried over to check. As expected, it was her ride. She pulled away from the window, grabbed her bag, and then went back. Slowly, she lifted the window open, then dropped her bag out, then carefully climbed out herself, hitting the granite gravel below. She let out a little yelp as she realized that her shirt had got caught, and then sighed with relief when she managed to untangle it from the stray nail that it was hooked on without ripping anything. Then she cautiously reclosed the window, slung her bag over her shoulder, and trotted off toward the motorcycle that stood puttering by her mailbox.

Her date was a rugged looking fellow with long blonde hair and was covered in head to toe in black leather biker getup, right down to his black leather steel toed boots. His jaw was stippled with golden stubble, and his blue eyes gleamed at the young girl, who smiled as she finally reached the young man, and she fiddled innocently with her hair, which was twisted into two long dark brown braids.

"Nice outfit," her ride, Paul Phoenix, smirked as he looked the young girl up and down. She was wearing a pair of dukes and a red plaid workman's shirt, knotted right below her breasts. Her white sports bra was visible, and so was her cleavage. And then there were the brown leather cowboy boots she was wearing. She glanced down at herself then back at Paul.

"You don't like it?" she teased as she swung her leg over the back of the motorcycle to sit down.

"Didn't say that," he replied. His grin grew as he felt her arms wrap around his waist then her head resting on the back of his shoulder. When her body pressed up entirely against his back, Paul revved up his bike and took off.

It wasn't long before the lights of the several small bars and convenience stores came into view and whizzed by as the two rode down the lit up main street. Outside, there were people standing drinking and smoking, sounds of heavy jazz and rock blared out the open doors of the taverns. Paul sharply turned a corner and sped down an alleyway. Michelle's grip around the blonde biker tightened as he turned again and zipped down a darkened street to the only lit place in view. As with the other bars, there was music blasting from the open doors, some blues this time. The bike stopped, and Paul balanced the machine between his legs to let Michelle off, then hopped off himself and kicked out the stand.

He offered his arm to the young girl, "Shall we?" She laughed and took his arm, and two headed into the bar. The room got louder with greetings at the couple and such.

"Hey, it's Phoenix," an older man cackled and waved.

"Hey, Lords!" Paul exclaimed, "Long time no see!" He turned to Michelle, "Hey, I'll be right back. I've got to talk to this guy." She nodded and pecked him on the cheek, then let go of his arm. The older man that had greeted the blonde meet Paul halfway, and the two men went towards the back of the bar, laughing and chatting the entire time as they disappeared into the cigarette smoke haze that hung in the air. Michelle sighed lightly then headed over to the bar to sit and wait.

For several minutes, she sat in a barstool, resting her chin in her palm. Then she swung the seat around towards where her boyfriend had went, leaned back against the bar counter, and crossed her arms, pouting slightly at being left by herself. She didn't notice that Kazuya was sitting next to her, leaned over on the counter and occasionally glancing over at her then back at his beer bottle.

"Hey," he began. Michelle didn't hear him at all over the music that was playing and sighed again. So, he repeated himself, louder, "Hey, excuse me, miss."

The girl turned her head, "Huh? Oh, uh, hi?" She gave the young man an embarrassed grin then turned in her seat to better look at him. In the back of her mind, she could hear herself screaming not pay any attention to Kazuya, but then there was another part of her that found him incredibly attractive right off. The tight, white tank top he was wearing showed off how muscular he was, and the faded blue jeans fit him just right. And it didn't help much that he had incredible smile as well. Michelle averted her eyes from the man for a moment, again embarrassed that she was practically gawking at another man while out on a date, but looked back up. He smiled lightly at her and straightened up a bit.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he chuckled, "You looked kinda bored, so I thought I'd say something." He scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh, um, thanks," she replied, glancing again at the back of the bar; it was too dim to see well who was who back there. She sighed and looked back at Kazuya, then managed a smile.

"Waiting for someone?"

"Yeah, I guess," she shrugged. He smiled again at her, causing the girl to blush slightly. "He'll be back soon."

"I don't doubt it," he grinned, taking a swig from his bottle. "If I had came with a girl like you, I wouldn't leave you for very long." Michelle's smile broadened a little, despite her nervousness growing. The little nagging voice in the back of her head was now blaring and drowning out all the noise around her. And from the corner of her eye, she saw Paul pushing his way to through the crowd towards her, then pausing as he saw the other man. Michelle turned her head completely and smiled to greet her boyfriend, but then quickly became worried as he frowned, looking past her at Kazuya. The Mishima lifted a brow as he noticed the change on the girl's face and looked over his shoulder, only to see Paul marching towards him. Kazuya rolled his eyes and downed the rest of his beer, then like Michelle, turned fully to face the biker. The smile he had worn earlier was gone, and was replaced with a cynical calm, his mouth turned down into a half sneer.

"Well, well, well!" Kazuya sang, his sneer turning into a sardonic grin almost immediately. "Long time, Phoenix." He pulled away from the bar and hopped down from the barstool he had been seated on and leaned back onto the bar counter, crossing his arms slowly.

Paul's frown tightened and his flexed his fingers twice before balling them into loose fists. "I was about to say the same," he muttered coolly. The blonde threw a glare over at Michelle, who promptly bit her bottom lip and looked away when his eyes met hers. "I see you haven't changed, rich boy."

Kazuya snorted at the name he was called and straightened up, pulling completely away from the bar. "I don't get what your problem is with me at all," the dark-haired man chuckled, "I thought we settled that score ages ago, so what's the deal now?" He lifted a brow then glanced over at the girl sitting next to him. His face then brightened with enlightenment, and he gave a sideways grin over at the blonde. "I see...should had known." He chuckled again and uncrossed his arms. "Next time, I'll pay better attention to the 'Property of Paul Phoenix' tattoo on your girl's forehead."

"You just don't know when to stop do you?" Paul growled as he stomped over to Michelle and grabbed her arm.

"Let's go," he said icily to her.

Michelle pulled away and frowned, "Wait a minute, don't I get say in this at all?" She crossed her arms, "First off, I don't even know this guy's name. Second, he hasn't done anything harmful to you or to me. And finally--" She shifted her weight to one leg and placed her hand on her hips, "--You were the one that left me waiting here by myself! He was only trying to be friendly."

"You know," Paul mumbled, "you always choose the shittiest times to start getting mouthy with me."

"You're a fine one to talk," she retorted coolly. By now the bar had quieted down at Michelle's sudden outburst, and all eyes were on the trio. The air was still thick with cigarette smoke. However, the hint at a possible brawl was lingering with the smells of smoke and booze as well.

Paul rolled his eyes, "Do you even know who this brat is?" He gestured at the other man, who by now had crossed his arms again and stood waiting.

"Does it matter?" Kazuya sighed.

"Hell yeah, it does," Paul growled. "You think just because your daddy owns everything in this goddamned town that you can just parade around like some little prince. Sorry, pal, the world doesn't work that way."

"I'm not the one making presumptions here," Kazuya laughed. "And...I think you'd best be listening to your lady friend. She has good common sense."

"And what is that supposed to mean, Mishima?"

Kazuya frowned, "It means 'fuck off, asshole.'" And that did it.

Paul threw the first punch, full swing with his right fist at the younger man's face. Kazuya blocked it easily with his right arm, and with his left, he decked the biker in the stomach and hopped back, taking stance. He lifted his right fist close to his face to guard it, and his left stayed near his torso. His breathing slowed as his concentration grew; however, he could feel his heart beating faster and faster as he anticipated another attack from his foe.

The blonde quickly straightened up and, like Kazuya, took a similar stance. Carefully, he side stepped and circled around the other man's, eyeing him with and taking small jabs at the darker man, all of which were blocked and dodged with ease. The crowd became excited at the outbreak of the fight and was cheering and hollering at the two men as they began fighting, both like experts.

The next strike came from Kazuya, as he came at Paul with a barrage of punches, ending solidly with a roundhouse to the head. Paul stumbled back as he attempted to block each hit, taking the kick the hardest, but still not falling down. He then squatted and with a swift kick swept Kazuya's feet out from under him, then backhanded him hard with his left fist. The other man grunted and fell into a table, knocking it over, then onto his back, but promptly kepped back up to his feet, kicking the blonde as he fully regained balance.

As the fight began to move the spectators watching parted and cheered louder as the two men slugged it out, knocking down tables with each attack. Another table was flung out of the way as Kazuya managed to grab Paul and crescent kicked him, knocking the biker into the tables. A pitcher of beer splashed onto the blonde, and he groaned in disappointment as he was soaked. He quickly got back on his feet, however, and charged at Kazuya, who smiled and waited for Paul as he rushed towards the younger man. At the contact point, Kazuya uppercutted the other man cleanly, having taken advantage of Paul's rage.

All the meanwhile, Michelle stood at the bar with her hands still on her hips, disgusted. She then threw up her arms and shoved her way through the circle of onlookers. When she finally reached the two men, she frowned at Paul, who was struggling to get up, holding his jaw; he could already taste blood from a tear on the inside of his cheek. Kazuya was still in stance, again waiting for the other man to retaliate.

"Paul!" Michelle yelled. The crowd again became silent, parted for the girl completely, and let her through to her boyfriend, who was still wasn't standing straight up. Kazuya dropped his fists and went at ease. He nodded apologetically at the girl, who was kneeling next to Paul, one arm draped around his shoulder.

"Just take me home, alright?" she said softly as she helped him up. The blonde nodded once stiffly, still rubbing his aching jaw. And the couple staggered off, Michelle clutching onto Paul as he stumbled and limped.

As she passed Kazuya, she turned her head towards him and whispered, "I'm really sorry about all this," then continued to make her way towards the door with her injured boyfriend.

When finally out the door, the biker lifted his head at his girlfriend, "Why'd you do that?" He dropped his head again as they slowly headed towards his motorcycle.

"Simple, you were getting your butt kicked," she smirked. Paul let out a small moan and pulled away from the girl.

"Jesus, you don't get it, do you?" he frowned and limped furiously to his bike. Michelle rolled her eyes and jogged to catch up with him.

"You're right, I don't," she replied calmly. "I don't get why you'd want to get your brains beat out by a guy that's obviously a better fighter than you--"

"--That little shit isn't any better than me." Paul stopped as he finally reached his bike and leaned forward over it, planting his hands on the leather seat.

"Okay, he's not," she shrugged, "But as long as you have that temper..." She wrapped her arms the blonde's waist and hugged him from behind. She rested her chin on his shoulder.

There was no reply, aside from Paul's breathing, still heavy from exhaustion and anger, but Michelle continued to hug him. She sighed softly and nuzzled his neck.

She then smiled lightly to herself, "You know...it was kinda romantic, actually."

"What?" Paul rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder at the girl. Michelle pulled away and smiled at the young biker.

"You, being the knight in shining armor," she giggled and hugged him again. "I've never had a guy defend my honor before. It was sweet of you." Paul let out a laugh and stood up.

He turned around and grabbed the girl by the waist, "You have the most twisted idea of romance, Shelly." He then grinned slightly and leaned in, kissing her softly. She brought a hand up to his cheek and pulled away and smiled fondly at the blonde.

"I'm glad you think so," she teased. "Now, take me home?" Paul nodded at her then kissed her again before quickly pulling away to mound his motorcycle. After he was seated, Michelle hopped on and grasped tightly to Paul's waist before he took off again, leaving a small trail of white dust in the air from the gravel parking lot.

When they finally reached Michelle's home again, she sat awhile on Paul's bike, still hugging him tightly. She then let out a deep sigh, not wanting to let go of him.

Paul turned off the motor, in fear that Michelle's family might wake up. He then glanced over his shoulder at the silken brown hair and smiled.

"That guy at the bar... What was his name again?" she asked, not lifting her head.

"Oh. Yeah," Paul frowned, "Kazuya Mishima."

Michelle lifted her head and pulled away, "Mishima?..." she repeated, her voice trailing. Alarmed, Paul turned fully around only to see that the girl's face had stormed over, her eyes distant and dark. "He's...not related to Heihachi Mishima, is he?"

Paul nodded once and placed his hands on Michelle's shoulders, "Yeah, he's one of Heihachi's asshole kids." He frowned as he couldn't read Michelle's face. "Something wrong, Shelly?"

"No..." She forced a smile and pecked Paul on the cheek. "Everything's fine." And again she hugged him, "Look...I'm sorry, I shouldn't had yelled at you."

"It's alright," Paul shrugged, "Sometimes, yelling is the only way to get into that thick skull of mine." He smiled wearily at her and rubbed his jaw once; it was still hurting a bit, however the taste of copper was now gone.

"Night," another peck on the cheek, and Michelle scurried off toward her bedroom window. Paul watched pensively as his girlfriend opened her window to climb back into her room. He then sighed heavily and restarted his bike.