I don't own these characters.
3: Her Way, My Way
While Doctor Drakken was busy tinkering with his new toy and "brilliant" scheme, Shego and Yori bonded through the one thing they had in common as far as they knew: fighting. They fought each other for long hours, every day for a couple of weeks without much else in between.
From their first sparring session, they were impressed with each other. They discovered they were both serious martial artists. They were creative fighters and constantly surprised each other. They could fight for hours, pause briefly for food and water, and pick it up right where they left off. It was something rare for both of them, not knowing many who could keep pace with them. It was a good doorway for them.
Fighting led to talking, but it was a bit of a struggle at first. Yori was naturally quiet. Shego had to goad Yori into going back and forth with her, trash-talking nonsense stop. Shego always had enough lip to go around, but there were times she thought she might strain her jaw around Yori. Then, one day she got the ninja to snap back. Shego was such a bad influence and she loved it.
"That was sloppy as hell, kid," Shego said as she knocked Yori off balance and countered with a kick.
Yori scoffed. "You call that a kick? I have seen kittens with deadlier strikes," she remarked as she put her forearm up to block Shego's leg; see, the pale woman was a bad influence. The blow landed against her bare arm. She fought in a regular tank top and black sweat pants.
Yori knew she had changed and she was surprised at how quick it happened. Hardly a week ago, Yori would have never thought to make such a statement, never would have thought to talk during a fight, even a sparring match. It was just that being around Shego seemed to have infected her. She was not used to the endless chatter Shego did throughout sparring and Shego seemed to somehow urge her to say something back. She had resisted the urge for a while, but now it tugged at her, pulling words out of her mouth and just egging Shego on to talk more. Shego was happy to finally get some conversation out of the younger woman.
If Yori was honest with herself, the talking felt good. It was enjoyable, funny, and made her feel a little light inside. It forced her to think, which was good, even if it was to say something bad. She knew her insults were tame compared to Shego, but it was still delightful in a sort of naughty way.
"Funny since I've seen kittens deadlier than you point blank," Shego countered while pulling her leg back. She was dressed in a similar fashion with a green tank top and black sweat shorts.
Despite all of her talk, Shego was learning Yori could easily get the better of her in sparring. She did not use her powers much and she only did claw strikes when she was certain she would miss. She was not looking to really hurt Yori, much like Yori was not looking seriously hurt her. They had found a mutual respect for each other since their first job together and over the past few sparring sessions.
Shego found Yori was not anything like she had judged the young woman when they met. First of all, Yori was old enough to vote, not a junior high school student as she first assumed. Yori was going to be nineteen in a couple of months. Shego teased her about it.
"But, then again, what should I expect from someone going to fifth grade next yet?" Shego said as she sidestepped a punch.
"I have told you, I am an adult," Yori huffed.
"Yeah, well, until I see some photo ID, I don't believe it," Shego replied.
"Says the woman whose behavior is often like that of a child."
Shego snickered. Yeah, Yori had a lot of work to do on her smack-talking. She was quite the capable ninja, but she was a little naïve. Shego concluded that from Yori trying to dig into her while they were sparring. Beyond how basic her insults were, Shego could easily throw her off her game by throwing a little sexual innuendo at her. It had to simple sexual innuendo, but it worked every time. The ninja practically fell apart over some of the simplest remarks; well, they were simple in Shego's opinion.
"Yet I continue to best you," the younger woman commented, moving into a series of kick moves.
"You think I'm taking you seriously?" the green-skinned female countered with a laugh as she ducked and dodged each attack.
Yori was also learning Shego was not exactly like she thought. Now, she had recognized Shego was dangerous, in ways she would not have imagined. Those plasma powers of hers were incredible. The first time she saw Shego flare her hands, she was not sure what to think of it. She had seen quite a few things in her young life, yet she was still stuck in place for more time than recommended in a fight when Shego came at her with those flaming hands. For a long moment, she thought it was magic, but Shego assured her that was not the case. She had not gotten the chance to see the limit of what Shego could do with her powers and she really did not want to. She had felt the heat from the plasma once when Shego let her anger get the better of her during a match and that was enough for her.
Shego was an emotional creature, Yori noted. The longer they fought and the more she tagged the pale woman, the more Shego was likely to let her anger reign over her, which made her pretty easy to defeat as long as Yori could put in the time. She supposed it would be a different story if Shego was using her plasma powers, but thankfully, Shego never let her fury control her to the point she did use her powers full force. So, as emotional as the green-skinned woman might get, she never lost sight of the fact that they were not out to truly injure or harm each other. It would seem Shego had more control than her anger would leave most to believe.
Other than that, Yori noted Shego was rude, but playful. The fact that her playfulness was starting to rub off did not go by Yori. She did not mind that. It was fun to do a little teasing and taunting, especially since Shego did not get upset with her for saying such things. After all, if she did such things at school, she would have been scolded and punished for such behavior by her teachers, regardless of who the words were directed at.
"You should take me seriously, Shego-san. You know that you cannot beat me," the ninja boasted. Part of that was a taunt, but also partially the truth. In a sparring match, Yori generally won, but she suspected it was because Shego did not take the sparring as seriously as she would a real fight.
"Kid, you don't know what I can do," the thief remarked with a confident smirk.
Yori attacked Shego, looking to pin her. They decided whoever had the most pins at the end of day would be the winner. So far, winning a match did not amount to much, mostly because Yori had won most of them and it did not occur to her to claim something as the victor. It did not go by Shego that the ninja won most of their matches. It helped add to her respect for Yori. Besides, Shego liked to think she could win a match if she was taking it totally seriously, but it was rare for her to take anything completely serious unless the situation called for it. She just did not have it in her.
"My, my, Yori, if you wanted to get me on my back, all you had to do was ask," Shego purred while resisting the pressure Yori pressed on her.
Yori understood that remark, mostly because Shego had gotten her to that point over the past few days. The purr helped her comprehend what the older woman was talking about. She wasted no time blushing, a crimson stain invading her cheeks. Her grip loosened and the tides were turned. Shego was able to push her to the mat.
"Although, I like being on top more," the thief commented with a scandalous smirk. She licked her top lip a bit, just to bother the ninja more.
Yori was not sure how to react and merely blushed more, her whole face now deep red. It was fun for Shego to make Yori blush and throw her out of her comfort zone, which was a mile wide. Shego thought it made the little ninja look rather cute, too, not that Yori needed help in that area considering the fact that she had underlying childish quality to her. She was adorable when she was not trying to kick Shego in the face. Hell, even if she was trying to kick Shego in the face if she was trying to come up with an insult at the same time.
Yori could not figure out why she blushed so much when Shego said dirty things to her. While she did not get much of it, she had heard worse things, though not typically directed right at her. She just felt flustered in a way she never did before. She did not know how she was supposed to take such words, but her body knew that it should blush whenever Shego said such things to her.
"Is your silence consent?" Shego snickered.
"Shego-san." Yori's voice sounded like a whine for reasons she would never be able to explain.
Shego chuckled and let Yori up. They went back to their battle. They were getting into a rhythm with each other already, learning to read each other after a couple of weeks. But, that was what happened when people everyday, all day together, as they had been doing. They lacked better thing to do since Drakken did not seem to need them, locked in his lab and managing to keep to himself without blowing anything up. It was fine by them. They were having a good time taking each other on.
"Why are you running?" Yori inquired, trying to get Shego to come at her. She knew Shego was an offensive fighter, which she would have guessed just from the way Shego let her anger get the better of her during combat. The super-powered woman needed more patience in her opinion.
"Just looking for room to do this," Shego replied and she surprised the ninja by leaping over her.
Yori turned around just in time to see a pale leg coming at her. She put her hands up, but was hit in the chest. She fell back from the power in the kick. She suspected if Shego was really out to hurt her, she would have just broken several ribs with that. She was already very aware Shego was much stronger than the average human being, and even more powerful than the average ninja. Yori did not have time to think about that because Shego was on her, looking to pin her again.
"Got nothing to say now, huh?" Shego laughed.
"I let me body do the talking," Yori replied.
Shego wiggled her eyebrows. "Oh, talk dirty to me."
Yori grunted. She fell into the verbal traps much too easy. She would work on that. For now, she grabbed Shego's leg, planning to take her feet out from under her. Shego leaped up, aiming to kick Yori in the face. Yori released the limb just in time to avoid its twin.
By the end of the day, they were both covered in sweat and breathing quite hard. They sat on the mats and looking at each other. They both mentally went over the number of pins they had.
"You won," Yori realized, pointing to Shego. It was not something the ninja was used to at all, not just against the older woman. Yori's mind spun. She was not accustomed to losing, even a little friendly match. She hid it well, though.
"I know I did. Well, since I won, I think I should get something," the pale woman declared with an arrogant grin.
"Um… okay," Yori conceded, not that she ever got anything for winning. "What do you want?" she asked as her stomach dropped a little. She had a feeling Shego was going to request something crazy.
Shego chuckled a bit, shaking her head as she laughed. Yori was quite the gracious and polite loser, which was expected. She was going to have to teach the kid to stand up for herself… to other people, not to her of course. Well, before that, she figured she would have some fun with the teen.
The thief looked up at Yori and smiled. It was an expression Yori was used to seeing and it made her gulp. It was a devilish expression. Shego's eyes sparkled with mischief, like when she humiliated their employer. Yori's stomach felt like it was in her feet now.
Shego got on all fours and crawled over to the ninja, making Yori very uneasy. The ninja backed up, which only tickled Shego on the inside. Yori's anxiety grew when she felt the ropes at her back, cutting of her escape. She held her breath as Shego continued forward, stopping only when they were face to face, nearly nose to nose.
Yori was not too sure why she was holding her breath, but she supposed it was to prevent any accidents from happening. Although, she doubted it would be an accident as far as Shego was concerned. This did not seem playful like the other things and now she thought some of the other things might not be as playful as she took them. Yori was not too sure if Shego was always kidding around when she made come-on comments to her. Some part of her believed Shego was joking while another part of her thought Shego was serious. She was not sure what she thought about any of Shego's behavior, even though her conscious mind insisted she did not like it at all.
"She-she-she-Shego-san," Yori muttered through chattering teeth, for some reason hoping that would back the older woman up.
"Yes, little cherry blossom," Shego hummed, getting a real kick out of how nervous she was making the ninja. The nickname had come to mind a couple of days ago when a pink blush covered Yori's face and Shego thought it would help keep Yori distracted. She was right about that.
"Um…" A lone bead of sweat rolled down the ninja's cheek and it had nothing to do with the fact they had just sparred for several hours. She looked down at Shego, going almost cross-eyed since they were so close.
"You know, you should wear lip gloss," Shego remarked with a laugh and she pulled away.
Yori breathed a sigh of relief while some part of her brain was trying to insist that it knew Shego was not going to kiss her. That would just be weird, she thought. Well, maybe it would be weird, maybe not, some other part of her mind muttered. After all, girls kissed in some manga and it did not seem too weird there. Yori decided to stop thinking at that point because it seemed she losing her mind. If she was going crazy, she was going to blame all of the manga she read and spending time with Shego.
"Come on, you're taking me shopping," Shego said out of the blue.
"I'm what?" Yori asked as if she did not understand. Her mind was still fogged over from the teasing moments ago.
"Shopping. Get up, let's go." She tapped Yori on her thigh.
The ninja blinked and shook her head. "Wait… like, regular shopping?"
"Yeah."
"No stealing or anything?"
"Nope. You buy me something for winning with money, cash or credit," Shego remarked.
Yori was so stunned by the idea that it slipped her mind she did not have much money. The money that came from her contact went back to Yamanouchi and she was given an allowance to live on. She was just overwhelmed by the thought of going shopping, like a regular girl. She was actually eager to do such a thing.
As a girl who practically grew up in a secret ninja school, she never really got to do regular girl things. She never really got to do regular things at all. The only reason she even knew about manga came from the fact that she got into it when she was very young thanks to her father. Her life had been mostly training and, lately it had been missions, sneaking around and doing things in the shadows, but nothing that most would consider normal for a teenager.
She spent her life trying not to think about normal things. She liked her life. She was very aware it could have been worse. But, the idea of going shopping, she had to swallow down giddiness. She did not want to do anything odd and have Shego change her mind.
"Come on. Who knows when the mall closes. We need to get presentable," Shego said and Yori nodded.
The duo went to go get cleaned up and dressed for their latest adventure. Shego was a little surprised to find she was ready first. She doubted Yori had tons of outfits to choose from for an outing. She had expected Yori to be waiting at her door like a little puppy, but that was not the case. She went to pick Yori up at her room. She went in with the lights on that time and it was her first time seeing Yori's room situation.
Yori did not have anything at all in her room. It looked exactly the same from the day that the ninja showed up. It did not seem like a person even occupied the room.
"I've heard of Spartan, but this is ridiculous," the pale woman muttered to herself. There was not even something that resembled a bed. What the hell does this kid sleep on? There was no a pallet or sleeping bag or anything.
She looked around for Yori, but found the little ninja was not in there. It was then she remembered the room did not have a bathroom in it like her room did. Yori had to use one down the hall. Shego waited in the room for Yori, who showed up a few minutes later, completely dressed in street clothes, again looking much like a schoolgirl.
"We need to be careful of you in the mall," Shego said.
Yori's face scrunched up. "Why?"
"Uh… the whole Japanese schoolgirl thing is totally a fetish. Someone doesn't make you dress like that, right?" Shego asked, quite serious.
Yori's face turned bright red. "No! No one makes me dress this way. It is my choice."
Shego laughed. "Oh, so it's your weird fetish."
"It is not a weird fetish. These are perfectly acceptable clothes," Yori huffed.
Shego laughed even more. "If you say so."
Yori glared at Shego, who only thought it made Yori more adorable. They left the lair, not telling Drakken about it. Yori was going to say something, but she noticed Shego did whatever she wanted without telling Drakken. The ninja guessed he did not mind because he did not say anything about it. It was something else she was not accustomed to, being able to come and go as she pleased. It was a delightful bit of freedom and she enjoyed it.
-8-8-8-8-
The mall was a little overwhelming for Yori. There were so many people and there was so much going on. It was like being on a street in a busy city, but different as well. She was not sure why. Sights, smells, and sounds. It was like being inside of living thing. Yori did not know what to do or where to go. Shego kept sight of her and directed her to some stores.
It was not until Yori's mind adjusted to the mall that she learned about Shego's expensive taste in everything and the fact she could not afford anything the plasma-wielder wanted. That did not bother Shego. She was in a pretty good mood from winning the sparring match and watching Yori be cute. Yori was a bit disappointed in herself for not being able to keep her word. Shego noticed the defeated expression and the drop of the ninja's shoulders.
"Hey, cheer up," Shego said to the younger woman while throwing her arm around Yori's shoulders.
The ninja's heart sped up and a familiar blush rose to her cheeks as the limb settled around her. She still was not used to someone being so close to her without hitting her. Nor was she accustomed to the almost intimate maneuver, not many people were prone to touch her point blank for fear of losing their arms. Shego never seemed to think twice about being close to her whether they were fighting or not, though. It was not wholly unpleasant, she thought, even when Shego did it to tease her. Right now, she knew Shego was trying to comfort her, which was better.
"You could always steal me something nice," Shego remarked, which did not help Yori's demeanor at all. Shego felt the shoulders in her grip fall more. "You don't like stealing, do you?" she inquired, even though that was kind of obvious.
Yori shook her head as an answer. She had no plans to talk about it, but her mouth started moving without her permission. She had never spoke on it to anyone aside from Master Sensei and she only talked about it once with him. He tried to ease her discomfort, but it persisted.
"I do not see the honor in taking something that is not yours just because someone has paid you to do it. It is not theirs either. It seems like all around wrong behavior," Yori explained in a low tone, as if she was speaking a secret. Her eyes focused on the floor, never looking up to even see where she was going.
"Then why do you do it?" Shego asked.
"Well, my master tells me it is for the school's survival and honor. I owe my existence to the school and it is my honor to see to it that the school continues on. It is the way of the ninja to do as the client asks without questioning, more than necessary anyway. We are here to serve and to get the job done… or so my master tells me," Yori answered. The reality of a ninja was rather different from the many stories she had heard and read as a child. Still, she carried on and did not complain, even though her heart clenched and twisted in her chest every time she did something she knew was wrong.
Shego nodded. "Sounds like you're being asked to compromise your own beliefs for the sake of a dollar, which isn't any way to live." She did not believe anyone should compromise their beliefs for someone else.
"What do you mean?" Yori asked, having never heard such talk before.
"You can't live your life for others, especially if they're making you do things you don't even like or they're making you uncomfortable. It's your life and you should live it how you wanna. You should live it the way you feel is right and a way that makes you proud and able to look at yourself in the mirror. You should never had to stop being you for anyone. That's giving them more than they ever deserve. No one should get your soul."
"But, I owe the school for giving me this life."
"And if the school was worth anything, they wouldn't ask you to live this life in a way you hate. If they cared about you at all, they wouldn't ask you to compromise who you are."
Yori did not understand, which Shego noted, so she kept trying to explain. Yori continued to counter her argument. Despite the fact that Yori said what she believed, that it was her honor to keep the school going for giving her the life that she had, she seemed to get more and more depressed as she spoke. Shego began to get depressed just from Yori's dejected expression, manner, and tone.
"I got an idea, kid. We'll pick this conversation up later," Shego said. She would rather hold on to her good mood for the moment. But, she definitely wanted to delve into Yori's mind a little more. She seemed brainwashed a little bit and Shego was firmly against brainwashing in any form.
"But—" Yori tried to protest, feeling like she needed to get Shego to understand her. She never got a chance to say any of these things and it felt good to get them out in the air. But, the more she said the words, the more deflated she felt. Saying her reasons aloud helped her realized just how little she actually believed in her own argument because she could feel her words weighing on her like an adult African elephant, pressing her into insignificance. Maybe if she could just get Shego to see it from her end, then things would be better.
"It's cool, calm down, cherry blossom. We'll pick this up later. Right now, we're going to do something fun," Shego said with a devilish smile.
"Fun?" Yori echoed, her nervousness returning to her, not that it was ever far away thanks to Shego.
"Yeah, some fun."
The older woman tugged Yori off, going into a nearby, trendy store. Yori found out that by "fun" Shego meant shopping, but not in the way they intended. They went to several clothing racks.
"This'd look good on you. Go try it on." Shego put items in Yori's hands and then led her to the dressing room.
Yori managed to look at the price tags before Shego shut the fitting room door on her. "Shego-san, I cannot afford these."
"Don't worry about that. Just try them on and come out here for me to see when you're done," Shego said.
Yori sighed, but did as ordered. When she came out of the room, Shego nodded and went to get more clothes. In the end, Shego paid for a few outfits and then led Yori to another store. Shego treated the Japanese woman to things, clothes and mostly things to decorate her barren room. Yori had never been on what could be considered a shopping spree and Shego could easily tell.
"Look, do you like this?" Shego inquired for what felt like the hundredth time and that was just for the one store that they were in. After barely a half-hour of shopping, she was pretty sure she had asked that question at least a trillion times.
"Well… it is pretty," Yori commented, speaking about a shirt. It was just it was expensive and she could not afford it. She did not want Shego to buy anything for her and tried to protest each and every time.
"Fine, we're getting it," Shego said, yanking the shirt off the rack. She held it up to Yori and shook her head. They needed a smaller size, which she wasted no time in locating and grabbing. She wished brands all followed a uniform size. An "extra small" should be the same for everyone.
"Wait, Shego-san…" Yori tried to object, but Shego was not listening. Even though Yori put up quite the fuss over things, she was having a good time underneath the slight uneasy she felt from someone treating her to things. It was just all so new to the ninja and she was not sure what she was supposed to do.
Yori followed behind Shego as she started looking at other outfits. After buying some more clothing, they went looking for another store. They passed by a store that caught Yori by surprise and she stopped without thinking. Shego was running her mouth, but noticed she was talking to air almost immediately. She halted to see what happened to her companion and saw Yori standing in awe in front of a store. She backed up to see what had Yori's attention.
"Oh, god, don't tell me you like—" Shego did not even get a chance to finish.
"Manga," Yori whispered with awe. She was waiting for the clouds in the sky to part, shine a heavenly light on the store, and for the angels to start singing. She probably would have been drooling a puddle if she had just an ounce less of self-control.
"Fine. Come on," Shego said with a sigh, leading Yori into the store since she seemed to be stuck in place.
Yori stepped out of her shell a bit when they got into the store, which was covered in manga, anime videos, wall scrolls, posters, games, cards, figurines, and all other sorts of things. Yori started asking for things, even though Shego already made it clear that Yori could have whatever she wanted. The store proved to be the cure for whatever ailed Yori as she left the store with two bags full of junk in Shego's opinion. The pale woman could not come right out and say that because Yori had the most adorable little smile on her face. She looked just like a happy kitten. Shego found herself enjoying the sight and having to actively hold back from caressing Yori.
When the pair returned to the lair, they went to Yori's room. Shego looked around while Yori started taking out the things that they purchased. Shego then had a thought.
"Hey, small fry, don't unpack just yet," the plasma-wielder said.
Yori forehead wrinkled. "Huh?"
"Let's get you a better room first," Shego proposed. This room was for someone who was unwanted or unhelpful. Someone who needed to be out of the way and that was not Yori anymore.
"Better?"
Shego motioned for Yori to follow her and they walked down the hall to the elevator. They went upstairs and Shego presented Yori with a larger room with a better view of the ocean and her own bathroom. Yori looked in awe of the room, never having such a large space all to herself.
"Shego-san…" Yori was speechless.
The green-skinned thief put her hand up to stop whatever the teen might even try to say. "Don't get all mushy on me, kid. We'll get you a bed and everything tomorrow."
Yori was still dumbstruck. Never had one person do so much for her, aside from Master Sensei. She really did not know how to react outwardly. Her mind and body had their own opinions on how to respond to the kindness being thrown her way. Her mind decided it liked the treatment being shown to her and her body just felt like liquid delight was flowing through it. This might very well be the best day of her life, after Master Sensei rescuing her anyway.
When Yori finally remembered how to talk, all she could say was, "Shego-san, you are doing way too much for me. I am not worthy."
Shego waved it off, as if her actions were nothing. "First off, never say you're not worthy of something nice. Just take the thing. As for this, don't think anything of it. It's nothing," she said with a snort. She was just in a good mood, she told herself. Although, she was never in such a good mood that it made her spend her money like water on someone else. Even with Drakken, whom she had known way longer than Yori, he only got loans and those came with interest. But, he was not nearly as cute as Yori was when she was in awe of little things like comic books.
"Um… Shego-san… will we continue our conversation from earlier like you said?" Yori asked coyly, glancing away as she spoke because she felt a bit of guilt. Shego had already done so much for her that day and yet she felt like she was asking for more, even though she did not deserve what she got in her opinion.
Shego sighed and scratched the top of her head a bit. She had been hoping Yori forgot all about that little promise. The look in Yori's onyx eyes told her that the younger woman honestly and truly wanted to talk. Hell, she probably needed to talk. Shego found herself in a position that would have been close to alien to her before today; she found she could not turn the ninja down.
"Yeah, sure. We'll talk. Just not right now. Get comfortable in your new room, put up your posters—" Shego was cut off.
Yori corrected the older woman. "They are not posters. They are wall scrolls."
"Whatever. Just do all that little stuff. If you're serious about your comics or whatever, we'll get you some shelves and things tomorrow with the bed. If you need anything, I'm right across the hall," Shego informed her. She wanted to give Yori a moment to just chill out before diving into the deep end again.
"Okay, but they are manga, not comics," Yori said. Comics were the little pictures in newspapers. Manga were diverse stories with amazing artwork.
Shego held in a chuckle, not wanting to give away that Yori was too cute, and rolled her eyes. "Whatever, nerd. Just put your stuff away and get to know your space."
Yori nodded and thanked Shego for everything. Shego waved it off as if the whole thing was nothing and then exited the room, leaving most of the bags she carried on the floor. The ninja looked at the bags in her hands and smiled brightly, leaving the bare walls to witness her genuine happiness. What a great day, she thought as she started pulling out her wall scrolls and comic books.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Drakken finds that he doesn't like how close Shego is with Yori.