4/19/01

Disclaimer: the characters such as Uriko, Kenji, etc. all belong to Hudson Soft; the song "Love Will Find A Way" belongs to Christina Aguilera.

Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-III, and my readers, especially Xion, PokeDigi, LazzyQ, Alica, Deoku, VGuyver, Flyby, Niteflite, Xavier, and all other Bloody Roar fans out there.

Bloody Roar II: Triumphant Love

By Tiger5913

"Tap, tap."

Slender fingers lightly tapped the small black speakers of the boom box, a frown creasing over pleasant facial features.

Is this working?

When the music began coming out, a smile of satisfaction made its way over the expression.

The face grew serious and the slim figure took a stiff posture, extending a hand to beckon at empty air, and then twirling around in a full circle as a pre-battle pose.

Can't forget my moves… was the thought as the young female threw a punch into the air, followed by a high kick which was presumed where one's chin would be located.

Only Mother knows that I'm here… Gritting her teeth, her eyes scanned the large silent gym room and settled upon a red punching bag across the area. Scuffing, she ran toward it with her quick agile speed.

A few feet away, she leapt into the air with her legs extended, knocking the bag with both of her feet and landing a bit shakily.

Need to work on that… the fifteen-year-old grimaced as she resumed her fighting stance and quickly glanced around before bowing to the bag, feeling albeit foolish yet found it necessary at the same time.

Is this really crucial…? She wondered silently as she delivered a punch to the body, frowning a little at the rough course skin. The ZLF's been gone for months after all… There aren't anymore threats around.

Suddenly stopping, a smile formed over the martial arts student's lips as she listened to the lyrics intently, taking note of the words.

Hey, this song sounds perfect to describe how I felt about the 'love project' last year… she grinned, tilting her head to one side slightly. He was just so stubborn, teehee…

"I changed your mind, right…?" were the serene words that escaped from her mouth as wide light brown eyes fluttered at the mention.

A lot of girls at school like him… But he says they were all shallow… she giggled, but then immediately sobered. He's right - they only liked him for his looks.

Yeah, what the song said… she nodded subconsciously. I didn't believe that he was really 'incapable' of love; he just didn't want to discover any new emotions… wanted to stay inside his protective shell…

She blushed. …Love… A stray strand of her waist-length brown hair fell before her eyes and she paid no heed to it, merely letting out a sigh.

I'm definitely not gonna give him up without a fight! The female teenager thought firmly with a half-smirk.

A small smile quirked at the corners of her mouth. "The lyrics are all so fitting… I gotta get Kenji to listen to this song…"

"…He's listening right now," a low voice murmured from behind.

She instantly turned around and her smile widened at the sight of another youth, his dark blue bangs hiding his set of brown eyes. Hey, speaking of which… "Kenji! Hi! How'd you find me here?"

"Um, I went to your house this morning, and your mom told me that you'd be here…" Kenji Ohgami told her albeit timidly. "…Why, did you not want to be bothered?"

"Oh, nah," she disregarded her reason quickly. "I enjoy your company anyway, heehee."

"That's good…" he smiled at her. "So what're you doing here? You're all decked out in one of your favorite battle outfits…"

His companion glanced at the white long-sleeved blue top that served as her upper attire, then the matching royal blue shorts that hugged her slender legs. A small pink bow bound her hair together and the tight braid hung down her back, bouncing lightly against her spine as she twirled around in a full circle, allowing her boyfriend to see her full outfit.

"You look really cute, Riko…" the dark-haired ninja commented softly, flushing a little as he told her.

"Thanks…" Pink dotted her cheeks as well.

"Hey Uriko, I was wondering…" he began albeit hesitantly. "…Do you want to train with me? I mean, we both have time to kill. Well, at least I do anyway."

"Hmm, I'm not doing anything either," Uriko Nonomura answered with a shrug. "Let's do it."

The two fighters took their positions, standing a few feet away, eyeing each other graciously, while the song continued playing from the boom box.

"Do you think there's really a purpose for us to keep our techs embroided in our minds?" Kenji inquired after his feet touched the ground again from his back flip.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully as she performed her pre-battle pose also. "But I don't think that we should forget them either. After all, what if some day something does happen… We ought to be prepared you know."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," the male zoanthrope agreed as he started it off by throwing down a smoke bomb and emerging behind her.

"Nu uh," his opponent said with a cute smile and quickly bent down as he was reaching to grab her around the waist. "Not falling for that again…" she twisted one leg out to strike at his ankles while turning around to face him.

He grinned and strove to regain his balance. "So you're getting used to that elusive tech of mine now, huh?"

"Yup," the Kenpo student replied gaily. "You ninjas after all…"

"Oh? What about 'us ninjas'?"

"Well, I don't know if I can speak for the others, but you cheat, hehe…" she told him with a soft giggle.

"I cheat?" He growled teasingly. "Really? That's what you think, huh?"

"Without a doubt," the brown-haired teenager managed to answer with a completely straight face. Right afterwards, while he was searching for a comeback, she closed her eyes, raising her hand toward him. As she concentrated, a hazy mist swirled around her palm and slowly began to format into a thin beam-like shape.

Spying the technique that she was going to use, the fifteen-year-old male lurched to the side, just dodging as the beam formatted and shot past the spot where he had been previously.

"Teehee, I love this new tech!" Uriko exclaimed joyously as she winked at her compatriot.

"…Hmm, even more than me?" He kidded lightly, giving his girlfriend a slow smile.

She blushed and replied shyly, "…Nah…"

Glancing away slightly, Kenji flushed as he said, "That's good… 'Cause what I said that night of your party… I-I meant it you know…"

Her eyes softened. "Y-yeah, I know… So did I…"

She straightened up and he stepped up to her, gently slipping his arms around her waist. Looking into the eyes of her companion, they exchanged a quick smile before their lips found each other's.

The End

Author's Note: Teehee, more Keniko cute-ness! ) I just can't get enough of those two, seriously! Well, I wrote this also as a celebration of my reaching over 800 something reviews at Oo All I have to say is, thank you my readers! You're my number one inspiration!

With love for my fans,

Tiger5913