Fan Fiction ❯ Tag ❯ Balance ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: It's not mine.

 

 

\/\/\/\/\/`~Tag~\/\/\/\/\/\

Balance

 

In a room, in a hotel, on the DOA premises, in Japan, a riled competitor slammed his door.

Finally. Peace.

Jann Lee understood what determination meant, but he thought Lei Fang's ranting childish, her blind ambition jejune. It was not like she was getting ready for a real competition, yet there she was, off to practice like her life depended on victory.

Knock, knock, knock

His eyes darted to the door and he thought of ignoring it. It got steadily louder. Soon, the knocking became pounding.

Finally, when he'd had enough, he ripped the door open. “What?” he answered, with his traditional unwelcome greeting.

Tina barged past him, obviously angry. “Sit on a grenade, Jann Lee.” She looked around, then threw back her head. “ZACK!” she roared. “I want your BLOOD!” She picked up a pillow and ripped it apart for effect.

When the air cleared, Tina could be seen with rage etched on her face and feathers nestled in her hair. While most people would be startled by Zack's rowdy guest, Jann Lee was not impressed; especially since she broke Zack's pillow and not his. He politely said, “Get out of my room.”

Tina turned on him. As unmoved as he was about her rage, Jann Lee was troubled about her abrupt calm. Sudden mood swings…mark of a mad woman, he thought. She crossed her arms and levelly said, “So you're protecting him, huh? Where's he hiding?” Tina looked around, gesturing at the various closets and things.

He sighed. He was never going to get his reading in if people kept barging in looking for his roommate. “He's not here.”

“Oh.”

“He's out with Lei Fang,” he finished a little stiffly.

“OH?” Tina said, fired up again. “He's ditching me for another woman again?!”

Jann Lee stared at her and narrowed his eyes. “What…I didn't say he and Lei Fang were--”

At this point, Tina sensed what she perceived to be hurt. Her expression softened. “Don't worry, Jann.” She clapped him on the back. “I know exactly how you feel. Zack's been doing the same thing to me; seeing other people behind my back for a while now.”

“What?” he repeated monotonously. What the hell is she talking about? “No. Lei Fang and I aren't--” he began.

But Tina cut him off again. “I know exactly how to get back at them!”

“I--” he started. “Oof!”

Tina tackled him to the bed. She was lying on top of Jann Lee, pinning his arms back. She gave him a seductive (or reassuring, depending on how you looked at it) wink, and pressed her lips hard onto his.

“ï°ï€ª$&?!?R 21;

 

The door burst open and two heads snapped towards it.

“Aw, shit!” Zack yelled pointing at Tina, one hand keeping his towel up, “So you are playing me! And with my roommate too.” Zack shook his head. “Mm, mm, mm. That is so skanky,” he informed them.

Jann Lee stood up angrily and Tina fell unceremoniously onto the floor. “She is not cheating with me,” he said sharply.

“Mmm-hm.” Zack crossed his arms and looked mighty threatening, even in his birthday suit. “So Tina tripped over one of yo' numb-chuckers and you conveniently broke her fall with yo' body?”

He narrowed his eyes at Zack. “If she actually did trip,” he started slowly, “I would open the door and make sure she fell outside.”

“Well, I bet you're a real ladies' man, brotha! If you wasn't getting it on, then what was you doing?” Zack asked in disbelief.

Jann Lee was furious. He just wanted them to leave him alone.

Focus…get yourself out of this mess.

 

“She was showing me some wrestling moves that we'll be using to beat you in the tag championship,” Jann Lee replied smoothly. He may have been lying suavely on the outside, but on the inside, he was thinking, “What am I saying?”

“Really.” Zack was not convinced.

“Really?” Tina asked.

“Really,” Jann Lee confirmed.

“I thought you was too proud to have fun,” Zack said.

“Winning is fun,” Jann Lee said defiantly. He believed that, but he couldn't believe the mess he had gotten himself into.

“Well, you ain't ever gonna know since me and Lei are gonna whoop you two,” Zack argued.

Tina stood up. “So now you have pet names for her?” she bit.

“Stay out of this, woman!” Zack replied.

“Don't tell me what to do!”

“Shut up, you American fools…”

“Well, I ain't no fool. I got straight A's in elementary, yo.”

“In what? Reading, writing, and armed robbery?”

“Hey, just cause I'z a straight pimp don't mean I'z a felon!”

 

Many more minutes of trash talk passed before Jann Lee yelled, “Enough! I need to meditate…” He pointed at Tina, “…you need to get out of my room, and you need to put some clothes on,” he finished, obviously to Zack. Those were things he'd never imagine coming out of his mouth, but the circumstances weren't something that happened everyday either.

“Right,” Zack said, grabbing clothes that were more appropriate for fighting. “I gots to practice. Peace, son.” He shot out of the room like a bullet.

“Yeah, just run away from me when I'm talking to you!” Tina yelled at his back.

 

She looked at Jann Lee, and he turned away from her. “I thought I told you to leave.”

“Aw, what's wrong, Jann?”

Nothing, you just robbed me of my dignity…and you called me Jann.

“Listen,” Tina said lightly, when he didn't respond. “What happened in this room stays in this room. I thought that cheating back was the best way to get back at them, but your idea's way better! Beating them at the tag tourney would kill Zack's ego, and I'm sure Lei Fang wouldn't be too happy either.”

He turned towards her and firmly said, “Lei Fang was not cheating on me to begin with, because we aren't--”

“You lucky bastard!” Tina cut in cheerfully. “Not cheating on you? Hold on to that one.”

Before Jann Lee could clarify or get angry again, Tina had disappeared.

 

 

 

 

Lei Fang looked at her watch. She was pacing the wooden floors of the gym, in a huge sparring room. It was walled with floor to ceiling mirrors, much like a ballet studio; the sun lit up the room through skylights in the high ceilings. She heard stomping and turned around.

“What took you so long? I've only been waiting for 30 minutes!” she said exasperatedly.

Zack bounded into the room. “Yeah, sorry. There was a little…business back at the room, but it's all good now.”

He looked around the room and whistled. “Nice room, big mirrors…maybe I can take Tina here sometime--”

“Zack, let's stop right there,” Lei Fang said laughing.

“Okay. What do you wanna do first?” Zack asked, wrapping his fists with boxing gauze.

“Um, how about we warm up with a little sparring?” Lei Fang suggested.

“Sho' enough,” Zack said, getting in his fighting stance.

Lei Fang stood across from him, ready and waiting.

He was the first to throw an attack. He aimed a roundhouse kick at her chest, but she blocked it to the side. She answered with a series of graceful punches, but Zack ducked down, and in a smooth motion, sideswept her legs with one kick. She was knocked to the ground.

Lei Fang looked up and saw him smiling down at her. He squatted next to her and gave her a hand. She winced at him, and grabbed it. “How did you ground me so fast?”

“Easy, girl,” he said, pulling her up, “You was just standing still! Well, except for that thing you do with yo' arms…what's with that, anyway? It's all about your fighting groove. If you keeps moving, you'll always be ready for the next attack.”

Lei Fang was slightly embarrassed that he had to correct her like that. “Is that why you're always dancing whenever you're in the arena?” she asked, trying to get the attention off of her.

“Hey, if it works, you just bounce with it, my moms always says,” Zack answered. “You wanna try again?”

“Alright.”

Lei Fang stood in her normal stance, and then she remembered his advice. She awkwardly stepped around a little, trying to get into her `fighting groove.'

“It's a start,” Zack laughed, and he went in for the first blow once again.

Lei Fang jumped to the side, while Zack turned around.

“Yeah, girl, you getting it!”

Lei Fang was pumped to beat him now. She strung together two sharp punches followed by a low split-like kick, all of which hit Zack and knocked him to the floor.

Zack laughed. “Go ahead, baby, put your back into it!” He rolled over before Lei Fang could stomp on him with her mean high heels, then he jumped up off his back. They were both facing each other again.

Lei Fang was pacing a lot more naturally now; it didn't feel as weird to keep moving. Zack came after her with an aerial double kick, which she cart-wheeled away from. He spun around to see her spring into the air. In matrix-like slow motion, she looked at both of them in the mirrors, smiled, completed a half-turn, and floored Zack once more as her pumps hit him square in the chest.

 

Lei Fang smirked down at him and said, “How did I do?”

“Oh, now you just showboating!” Zack said, shaking his head from his spot on the ground. Lei Fang offered her hand, and Zack took it.

“Now it's time for me to teach you a few things,” Lei Fang said smiling.

 

 

 

 

Zack and Lei Fang spent the rest of the day training. Lei Fang taught him about `full body harmony' (“It's all about balance!”), and the importance of taking advantage of all your body's weapons. He got it down after the first correction, repaying Lei Fang with her fair share of bruises. Pretty soon, they were looking like a team, and even started developing a few tag combos.

At the end of the day, they were wiped. Zack walked out to the gym lounge with a towel around his neck, and collapsed on a couch. Lei Fang stretched a little more and, taking sips from an Evian bottle, shuffled after him.

“That was a good practice,” Lei Fang said, crashing next to Zack and leaning on him.

He gave her a one-armed hug and tiredly mumbled, “Word.”

Lei Fang blinked away some sleep tears and asked, “When should we practice again?”

Zack stopped, mid-yawn, and answered, “As soon as possible! We gots Tina…uh, people to thrash!” In his excitement, he was wide awake again, but Lei Fang had fallen asleep. He sighed. Getting up, he grabbed her arms. “Yo, Lei, I'ma go now…I have an official match with Christie tomorrow, and sister's pretty fast. I gots to sleep, you know…” he trailed off.

Lei Fang showed no signs of having heard him, or signs of life, for that matter. Though you couldn't see it behind those shades he's always wearing, Zack rolled his eyes. He threw Lei Fang over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and strode back to the hotel building.

 

It was quiet by that time of night; there was no one in the posh lobby. Zack looked at the doors leading to the stairwells, and remembered what floor he had to go to. “Psh. Yeah right.” He headed for one of the golden-doored elevators. He punched the button for floor 11 and shifted Lei Fang a little. Some old show tune was playing softly from the speakers, and he whistled to it, rocking back and forth on his heels. This is gonna take a while.

The doors slid open, and Zack got out feeling exhausted. The warm glow of chandeliers above and the soft red carpet below didn't help at all, making him drowsier. It was a long walk down a short hall.

He knocked on 1148, Hitomi's door, and she opened it rubbing her eyes. Her tank top and oversized sweats were all rumpled. She stepped aside to let him in, like nothing was abnormal about a guy showing up with your roommate on his shoulder and dropping her off like a FedEx package.

“What's good, Tomi,” Zack yawned to his normal tag partner on his way out.

“Night, Z,” she replied, waving absently. Room 1148 clicked closed and echoed in the Argent et Renommee Hotel.