"I knew they'd be this good!" Vanille hooted as Fang and Lightning stepped out onto the field. "They're owning left and right, Serah! Unstoppable!"

"I would expect no less of Claire," Serah shook her head, chewing a mouthful of popcorn. Bored silly, she wasn't even sitting in the stands the right way, but was rather lounging, chair in full recline while she stared up at the ceiling drably. "She's so manly. Fighting, cliff-jumping, athletics like its her job, interests in fellow girls- "

"Heyy," Vanille pouted.

"No offense to you," Serah added. "At least you're not all guy-ish about it. I caught Claire one time, she went totally vapid over this girl." Vanille's eyes scanned the crowd for one of those portable food stalls. They landed on something better. "She zoned out on me and everything," Serah went on. "Caught up by this skanky brunette with knockers the size of both my fists combined..."

Vanille's eyes roamed up and down the beauty hungrily, unnoticeably salivating in her mouth as she stared. Standing tall and proud in three-inch heels, her luscious blond hair flowed smoothly down her back, softly gliding on the wind. The most angelic face Vanille had ever seen was framed in small spectacles that added just the right hint of suggestivity. And traveling down from that flawless face, down that long neck to the top of her chest, barely covered in see-through green sheer, covering the biggest, most delightful, scrumptiously blessed chest that Vanille had ever laid eyes on

And those sparkling amber eyes that were suddenly looking at her. Vanille gawked, choking on a whisper of disbelief. "No way..."

"I know, right!" Serah agreed. "Like one of those perverted, studly guys who can't contain themselves to be polite! She just stared and stared, and when the skank noticed, she approached Claire and started hitting on her! With me right there! Like, could you get any cheaper?"

Green-gold Eyes was suddenly beside her and Vanille couldn't breathe. She was smiling and Vanille could feel a finger trace up along her jawline. "Darhling." The accompanying voice was like a soft angel's whisper. Vanille's lips felt dry. Her throat felt dry. Everything felt dry. "You're pretty cute."

Vanille choked, forcing herself to speak, to laugh, to do something that would keep this beautiful nymph here so she wouldn't disappear. She managed a husky, "Hiii," to which the woman smiled at seductively, crushing every hormone in little Vanille's body upon her like an overwhelming tidal wave. Her skin tingled, her belly flipped, heart squeezing painfully as her body throbbed, aching something strong and powerful.

"I mean, that's raunchy, right?" Serah shook her head, straightening her chair upright. "Two girls just out of nowhere spotting each other on the beach just snapping together like that. It almost looked like Claire was gonna kiss her, she was so hormonal about it. And- " A familiar form suddenly waltzed out from one side of the arena, announcing a name Serah must have heard a dozen times during this tournament, but hadn't paid any heed to.

It was the guy from the beach.

The man of her dreams.

Serah swooned. Jumping to her feet, she pressed against the railing, breath caught as Lightning and Fang walked in from the other side to join at the middle. With the crowd this time, Serah bellowed, howling in support of Mr. Snow Villiers, longtime champion of the tournaments, and owner of her little teenage heart.

The blonde's hooded eyes lowered to look at her, scanning. Vanille gulped as the woman's olive eyes raised back up to her face. "What's your name?" The stranger whispered, voice flowing smooth like a still lake.

Vanille was feeling all sorts of warm all over. "Vanille..." she mentally congratulated herself when she managed to get her voice to work, even if she was whispering. The woman, leaned close as she was, had no trouble hearing her.

"Yeah!" Serah cheered, fist pumping and doubly jealous of her sister as her blond beast wrestled Lightning to the ground. "Get her! Keep her down, knock her out! This tournament's yours, Snow!"

"Vanille..." The woman's finger was tracing down her cheek now, spiking shivers and tingles through Vanille's small, completely overwhelmed body. The sensations running through her were wild and pleasant and warm. Vanille never wanted her to leave. "How old are you, Vanille?" If ever one could make a question more seductive, Vanille didn't know it, but she was almost trembling with the effect of this stranger's presence. She's older. Vanille vaguely registered. She's older than me.

"E-eighteeen." Vanille lied. "I- I'm eighteen."

"No!" Serah protested, seeing Fang ready to spring on Snow. "Behind you, Snow! Don't let him take- Fang! No, dammit! Get off of him, Claire! This fight's not yours and you know it!"

The seductive woman's perfect eyebrow lifted, mouth quirking at the answer. "Minus three puts you at fifteen." The woman licked her bottom lip. "Shame."

Vanille panicked, not wanting her to leave. "Almost sixteen!" She breathed, desperate. "I'm sixteen just this next month!" The woman smiled amusedly, about to depart. "N-no!" Vanille stuttered. "Don't go, please! I- I... "

"Nooooooooooooooo!" Serah shouted in agony, watching as Fang jabbed his spear at Snow's unprotected middle. When the weapon merely only glanced him, Serah howled. "That's right! 'Cuz he's got abs of pure steel! You can't beat him!"

The woman's olive-amber eyes sparkled. She leaned in and Vanille inhaled sharply as their lips touched. The woman's luscious lips brushed against hers gently, leaving barely a taste that had Vanille molten to her core. She kissed back, one slight massage of her own against those tempters before the woman pulled away. Vanille reached up to her, heart thudding heavily, aching in her chest as the nymph smiled at her and pulled away.

Vanille watched her pull away, wanting to cry at her loss. "Wait!" Vanille stood, but taking her eyes off the beauty for even a moment proved fatal, as she was gone that quick. Vanille sat back in her seat slowly, upset beyond measure at her loss. She kept the beauty imprinted to her mind, but was saddened by the picture, too. I don't even know your name...Vanille mourned.

Serah slumped as Lightning pinned Snow, falling back to the ground with him in a chokehold. She glared at her sister, incredibly jealous of their positioning, then looked over to Vanille moodily. "This sucks."

Vanille sighed. "I know."

XXX

"One more fight to go, Claire this is amazing! We've gone so far already!"

Lightning smiled at him, enjoying Fang's enthusiasm. "I never expected anything less with you on my side."

Fang grinned at her, facing the entryway as an overhead announcer riled up the crowd. At their names, the doors opened before them and Fang and Lightning stepped out, cocksure grins gracing their features as both hurried forward to meet their last competitors, returning champions, the Shiva Sisters.

As Fang and Lightning drew nearer, Lightning was able to make out a better picture of their competition, which came strikingly into focus more as the two approached. Both tall broads, one black, one white, the sisters shared matching eye tattoos and approached with vigor. Each step was precise and quick, bringing the sisters that much closer into view. And what a view it was! Lightning blinked, taking in the sight of those two amazonal beauties that only grew more attractive the closer they drew near.

"Whoa," Fang breathed from beside her. "They're... really pretty." Lightning glanced over in surprise. "Don't you think they're pretty, Claire?" Fang whispered.

Lightning smiled, nudging Fang's arm discreetly. "Sure are."

The two teams met in the middle, but when they extended hands to shake with the Shiva Sisters, the girls simply curled into each other instead. Stiria held Nix, wrapping her body around her younger and stroked her cheek, purring and shying away from them both. Lightning and Fang made their way back to the starting position without shaking their hands. Lightning glanced over her shoulder at their retreating backs, where Stiria was still holding Nix protectively. She shook her head. "Sisters, huh?"

"I'll take Stiria, you take Nix?"

Fang nodded. "Sounds good. Be ready, Claire. From what I've heard of the Shiva Sisters, they're unpredictable and- ahh!" Fang leapt out of the way as a gigantic wheel crashed through the space he'd just occupied and reeled, turning of its own volition to shoot back at him. Fang rolled to narrowly avoid being run over and sprang back to his feet, catching the momentary sight of Lightning darting away from her own homicidal wheel.

A loud crack broke the air and Fang felt a pinching sting as the slender biting end of a whip coiled around his wrist. Well that's not good. Fang had half a second to register the weapon before Stiria yanked back forcefully with alarming strength that yanked Fang off balance and dragged him right to Stiria's feet. A mechanically cleated high heel shoe lifted over his head.

Lightning flipped, evading the evil wheel as it rolled and tumbled harmlessly beneath her. Reaching back to pull her gunblade, Lightning landed smoothly in a crouch and spun to block Nix's raised arm with her extended blade, which echoed an ear-piercing ring as Lightning's blade struck her arm brace. Lightning kept moving and shoved bodily against Nix, who stumbled back a few steps before reaching inside the lip of her coat. Lightning squeaked and dropped instantly as three ninja stars flew dangerously threw the air she'd just been occupying.

Nix performed an impressive backflip as a vengeful wheel took her place, barreling down at her. Lightning barely had time to even register it before it was upon her, running cleanly over her sword arm. Lightning yelped as her fingers released, dropping the gunblade as a fiery pain ripped up her arm. She lifted herself and cradeled the limb, which felt loose and fractured, spiraling pain up her good fighting arm. Lightning dodged the return of the evil wheel piece and looked up, glaring at the younger Shiva. This bitch needs to go.

Fang rolled away from the stomp, grunting as he kicked up to his feet, hand reaching back for his spear. This time, when the wheel came at him, Fang stabbed his weapon into the inner gears of the machinery and fork-lifted it off the ground on his weapon. He spun it once for good measure, making sure to chop into important cords and bearings in his lifted spin, and his eyes caught on Lightning, who was cradling her arm with a relentless Nix pressing upon her still. Fang spun it one last time and released the tire aimed in her direction. He grinned, satisfied when the projectile crashed into the mechanically-enhanced girl and threw her back.

A hard kick from a metal stiletto to the stomach had him doubling over moments after.

Lightning raced over to her gunblade and lifted it with her off-hand as the deadly wheel sped after her again. Lightning spun to the side, holding the gunblade out which rightly sliced into the tire. The tire deflated with a pathetic squeal and Lightning pushed harder, breaking the rim and ramming the insides to assure herself of the screeching metal's defeat.

An arrow whizzed through the air right past her ear, cutting through her hair and nuzzling headfirst into a pillar twenty feet behind her. Lightning turned, catching sight of Nix pulled almost entirely free from Fang's hard tire toss, stringing another arrow by the second. Lightning lifted her blade to block the second, growling as she triggered her weapon to flip into gun-mode.

Stiria leveled her arm, which had turned into some kind of shooting weapon. Clutching his sore ribs, caught in her sights, Fang groaned, about to be-

PWCHRW, PWCHRW, PWCHRRW, PKEWRW! Stiria's head shot up at the sound of gunshots and the resulting scream before her sister managed to deflect some with her brace.

Fang somersaulted and kicked Stiria's gun arm, which went off thankfully in the place he wasn't. Stiria kicked back at him again and Fang choked, flung back as Stiria's heel came into contact with his chest this time. Fang moaned, chest aching, expecting the finishing blow at any moment-

Instead, Lightning screamed.

Forgetting his pain, Fang lifted himself with some difficulty to find Stiria grabbing Lightning's injured arm from behind and twisting back. Her other loped around Lightning's neck and lifted his shorter girlfriend from the ground, flexing against her trachea. Lightning choked, teeth gritted in pain as Stiria continued to bend her fractured arm back. Lightning's fingers on her gunblade loosened and fell away, dropping the weapon in the tournament's universal sign of surrender.

Stiria didn't Shiva Sister ignored the boos and protests from the crowd, determined to get revenge for her sister's sustained injuries, two shoulder wounds from the bullets that Rkrose had stopped from penetrating deep.

And she was torturing Lightning for it.

Fang saw red. Letting out a growling howl that didn't sound remotely human, Fang sprinted at Stiria and leapt into the air, spear raised with deadly precision.

Stiria released Lightning, dropping her to the ground, and scrambled back as Fang rocketed towards Pulse, pulling back to halt the assault as he hit the ground like a cat, pounced and crouched before Lightning, who was coughing with returned breath, arm moving to cradle her injured one. She scooted back more behind Fang.

Fang snarled at the Sisters, livid, eyes burning pure rage beyond madness.

As one, the Shiva's rushed him.

Lightning watched in amazement as Fang fended the Sisters off with a strength so powerful, ease so quick, rage so fluid, she could hardly follow his moves at all. The Shiva's came slashing, one with a raised knife, the other with spiked arm cuffs and metal knuckles, but they might as well have been using pillows, for all Fang made of them. Every slash was blocked and rebounded, every cut delivered twice in turn. Fang was in such a sync with his body and movement, Lightning hardly recognized him.

When Stiria tried to latch Fang with her whip again, Fang yanked her over instead and uppercut her chin with the sharp point of his spear. When Nix shot arrows at him, Fang threw his spear, gutting a hard cut that Lightning had no doubt would have sliced right through her if it weren't for the Rkrose. Nix fumbled, and Fang went after Stiria, bashing her down and pinning her beneath him, hands rising to her neck. Stiria surrendered. Fang was up and at Nix before she could even fully raise the call, only to find Nix dropping the rest of her weapons as well, bowing to Fang respectfully.

Fang didn't even bother picking up his weapon. Returning to Lightning's side in a heartbeat, Fang's face softened out with concern and love at the sight of her. Fang made an effort to curb his panting. "Claire!" Fang breathed, lifting his arms under her. "Claire, are you-"

Lightning kissed him. The crowd went wild with the display as Fang lifted her into his arms, but she didn't pull away. Rather, she curled closer, dragging Fang down to her with one good arm where her fingers lifted and tangled into his hair, massaging through to his scalp as her lips made love to Fang's mouth, impassioned beyond belief. Fang held her, and squeezed her, and kissed the living dickens out of her right back, deeply stricken.

Fang lifted her off the ground, cradling her in his arms, not moving back for a second. "Come on, Claire." Fang whispered. "Let's get you healed."

Their mouths re-glued, and Lightning had every intention of keeping it that way.

XXX

"Claire!" Serah rushed forward and flung herself into the arms of her sister. "You're alright! It made us so worried! It looked like she was trying to snap your neck! And then you fell, and..." Serah sniffled, face buried in Lightning's shoulder. "She was so evil to you!"

Lightning patted Serah's back as her younger sibling squeezed her. "I'm okay, Serah. They patched me up pretty good. Practically new condition again."

"What'd she do to your arm?" Vanille asked, coming up behind Serah, who refused to pull away her sister.

"I'm okay now." Lightning held out her arm to prove it. "She just fractured it at first, until her little...uhh, bit at the end there."

"I thought she was going to kill you!" Serah squeezed her. "Vanille and I tried hopping the guardrail into the arena, but it's got like this protective shield barrier, it just threw us right back. We couldn't do anything..."

Lightning rubbed Serah's back soothingly, idly fingering her hair. "Shh, Serah, it's alright. I had Fang with me." Lightning glanced over Fang's way, who was grinning and sidled close to her. Lightning lifted a questioning eyebrow and Fang nodded once. "You know, Serah..." Lightning began, returning attention back to her little sister. "Fang and I met some pretty interesting guys in this tournament, and they invited us to come eat after... I'm pretty sure the Behemoth Brothers are going to pull an appearance there too."

Serah snapped back in attention. "Snow?"

"If you promise to behave and keep from throwing yourself at the older men, Fang and I just might take you out with us."

Serah's hold around Lightning intensified. "Claire! I'll love you forever, please! Please let me come!"

Lightning separated her at the shoulder, eyes stern. "Promise to behave yourself?"

Serah squealed.