(04/08): If anybody read this BEFORE this revision…I'm sorry. This sucked. Balls. Yet, for some reason people read it. I'm impressed.

(And I am under no circumstances responsible for the "nickname" that marked the pages in the past.)

Part Two —

Lei-Fang groaned inwardly as the morning sun shined on her closed eyes. She winced and pulled the pillow from underneath her over her face, burrowing deeper into the heavy blue comforter. Struggling to hold on to the last remnants of sleep, common sense slowly returned as her mind released its hold on the unusual dream she'd been having.

She lay there motionless for a few moments before mumbling a small curse and sitting up. Dragging herself from under the warm covers, she kicked them to the edge of her queen sized bed, tangling her feet up in the process. Irritable, she kicked hard making they cluster in a messy heap at the foot of the mattress near the exotically carved footboard.

Lei-Fang turned and glared at the clock. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she dragged her hands over her face, attempting to focus her vision. The minute hand ticked ever-so-slightly, reading 9:32 A.M. Still early; if she fell asleep now, she could gain another two or three hours before having to get ready for work. She yawned, letting her dead weight fall back into the fluffy mattress.

With only a few moments dozing, her eyes snapped open and she sat up with a start. Staring wide-eyed and frozen towards the open window at the other end of the small bedroom, she nearly forgot to breathe.

It was today.

She shuddered as her brain recalled the foreboding she's felt all last night. A year and half, already. Her uneasiness over the past few weeks had increased to a near sickness. On par with her anger, this day had been grown into a bane on her daily life as it dawned closer. Nevertheless, she couldn't exactly blame anyone but herself: she did issue the challenge.

As the memory once again played through her mind's eye, she felt her heartbeat quicken. The fight was uneven. And stupid. She was clearly the weaker opponent, what riddled with insult and rage. All he did was…what? Forget to move his foot? If she'd been paying more attention to where she was going and not rushing around like a chicken with her head cut off, she might have seen the tip of his shoe sticking out from under the table cloth. She'd gone down hard, spilling the entire tray of food and breaking a few dishes in the process.

Frazzled and embarrassed, the words left her mouth before she could stop them. Who was she to cry over spilt milk? It had happened before. And each time, it was clearly an accident. But thinking back, she'd realized that wasn't the case. When she'd looked back up at him, there was no remorse, no guilt in his eyes. And he laughed outright and openly at her, never once pausing even as he made his way out the door of the modestly spaced shop.

Disregarding any rational thought, she ran after him outside, her blood nearly boiling. Suddenly, it all became a game to him, a chase; a long, frustrating chase through narrow streets, and quiet back-alleys, into peaceful neighborhoods and up hundreds of steps. She didn't know why he'd led her to that spot, since even as she arrived, her brain was still muddled with fury. When she finally stopped, the splendor of the place was almost enough to make her forget about her quarrel with him.

Almost.

She hadn't had a good chance take in everything, but at the barest glance, the place was magical. As she quickly drew in her surroundings, a force unlike anything else she'd ever felt overcame her. Looking back at him, she struggled with the emotions raging inside her. There was nothing like the astonishment she felt in those russet-brown eyes as the unmistakable laughter still glittered pointedly at her, and she felt herself shiver under his pompous gaze.

The exchange was quick; she would definitely give it that.

So quick, in fact, she was left not only defeated, but soaking and cold.

He'd won easily. If she had been more focused, she wouldn't have gone down so easily. But like before, she let his taunting eat at her, picking at her until she was just fed up and ready to explode. And explode she did. She tossed out every rule, every mantra she'd memorized and let it fly. She was clumsy, sloppy, but most of all, completely and helplessly unfocused. With a single sweep of his leg, it was over. A gentle push to her shoulders and she was flying over the edge of the slender waterfall, into the shallow pool below. The smooth surface of the rocks below wasn't as painful as she'd expected it to be; there was enough water to cushion her fall.

When she'd stood back up in the knee-deep water, she looked up to see standing at the edge, staring down at her arrogantly. His body was stiff, fists clenched, and except for the hauteur in his eyes, his face was expressionless. She glared at him, teeth grit, ready to scream. The emotion flooding through her was unexplainable; she'd never felt so humiliated. Her chest heaved and she resisted the urge to shriek. There was no point; anything that came out would just be incoherent. She was fairly positive she had been too exhausted to come up with anything remotely intelligible.

Time stilled as he stared down at her, a strange expression flashing through his eyes. Strange enough, in fact, to shake her of her vehemence and make her heart skip a beat. What the hell was that?

He blinked a couple of times and shook his head, ending the moment in an attempt to regain his composure it looked like. Staring down at her obstinately, his lips curled into a nasty smirk.

Angry once again, she clenched her fists so tight they would have bled had her nails been any longer. Finally finding the words, she heaved in a breath, "So help me… I'll beat you! I'll find a way and I'll beat you, you jackass!"

His smirk morphed into an outright grin and for moment, she thought he might actually laugh.

"Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart," he called back. His voice was composed, as was he,  but to Lei-Fang's ears, the amusement was obvious. It burned her. Sweetheart?!

"One year! You meet me here in one year—no—a year and half, and we'll settle this, once and for all!" Like she said, the words left her mouth before she could stop them.

Chuckling, he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Sure, just don't forget." And with a wink, turned and left.

The emotions that shot through her body were impossible to forget.  She shivered. Had he always done that? Winked before? And what was that look he had for a split second?

She thought about even as she's climbed up the slippery rocks and then shuffled her way home, wet and miserable.  He'd stared into her eyes the entire fight, but she had been too caught up in trying to beat him to notice anything. When she'd finally reached home, she felt like she'd been sucked dry of all energy. Well, that's what she got for acting out the way she did.

Lei-Fang shuddered as the memory ebbed from her mind.

She could still feel his fingers lightly brushing against her sensitive skin as he'd pushed her. The brief contact revealed too much, too much of something she wasn't at all sure about. She could feel the electric pulse of the warmth that sprang from his touch.

There was something amusing and incredulous about think that someone like him could ever have an inch of warmth on him. He was so cold, and callous. Fighting was his goal; winning was what he lived for. The only person he even had any remote contact with was Hayate…and even that was few and far apart.

Sighing, she pulled on the thin silk robe that lay tangled on the floor beside her bed. Slipping her feet into a pair of slippers, she shuffled out of her room and down the stairs, mumbling a good morning to the housekeeper. Turning into the kitchen, she languidly reached into a nearby cabinet and pulled out a box cat food, only to realize the bowl was completely full and being currently devoured by a very fat, very big orange cat.

"Morning, Kittie." Replacing the cat food, she instead pulled at a box of cereal and proceeded to eat from the box.

A glass of milk, an apple, a minute of the morning news before flipping through channels—twice—she finally turned off the television and decided to drag herself back upstairs.

Same old news, same old day, same old fight, she thought, heartlessly. Why should today be any different than yesterday? Or the day before; or for that matter, her whole damn life?

Is it really the same? Asked a tiny voice in her head, a faint piece of her brain that perked up every now and then when she began to think too hard about anything. Why would she be asking her herself a question like that now? What was so hard about this?

She shook the thought from her head as she reached the top of the stair and turned back into her bedroom. Shaking off her robe, she dropped it haphazardly over the bedraggled covers and moved to her dresser. pulling out the necessary objects. Moving to the bathroom just outside her bedroom, she set everything down and turned on the shower, reaching in to test the water before discarding her nightshirt and undies.

The warmth of the water brought her sense up a little. She'd been sleeping so erratically these past few nights, she was surprised she could sleep at all. An early night one evening, a late night the other. She wasn't sure why, but she could think of a few stressful incidents causing it; namely one. As each second ticked by, the imposing feeling in the pit of her stomach increased. She'd shouted the challenge so easily, yet she knew backing it up was the hard part. And what had she down this past year and half to really justify her winning? She trained, sure, but she'd been training for years and that never made a difference. Winning was always just out of her reach. He always—always—pulled something out at the last minute that just crushed her.

She was sure he'd learned some new tricks over the lapse of time. He was strong, there was no doubt about that, and he knew it; still, he wasn't one to just sit back and welcome the new day. Every minute counted with him. There was no time to waste on a breather. It was all crucial.

So just how did she plan to win this time?

Are you positive that you want to win?

Snapped out of her thoughts she stared at the water running down her skin. "What..?"

She stood there under the water and moment before dismissing the voice as a stray thought in her mind. There was a soft padding at the door and she smiled faintly to her self. She felt flushed under the heat of the water, and despite the temperature, her muscles were still tight.

You know you don't want to do this.

Lei-Fang shivered. Now she was positive there was a voice…though she wasn't sure if it was in her head or not. "Who's there?"

She stood frozen under the water for a while before thinking that it didn't seem as warm as it used to. Quickly washing her hair and body, she stepped out and toweled herself dry, moving to put on her undergarments. When she was done, she walked out of the steamy bathroom and back into her bedroom. For some reason, standing before the open closet, she felt tense as she pushed aside her everyday clothes and reached for the silken dresses carefully tucked to the side.

She fingered the ornate features of the one she was going to wear. Its pearly white color with golden-threaded trim, caressing the golden dragon clad with purple that swept up from the bottom of the dress and wrapped the neckline, its head peeking over the shoulder.

She smiled hesitantly and pulled it off its hanger. After fitting it to her, she closed her closet door and stood before the full length mirror. A quick brush through her hair before braiding and wrapping just as she always did—a signature she now wondered why she'd kept so long.

Smoothing the folds if to nor more than occupy her hands, she noticed the tiny pink scar on the back of her heel as she turned around. She frowned; a little reminder of her utter foolishness a year and a half ago. It was her only battle-would, other that her wounded pride.

You only tell yourself you hate it.

Lei-Fang jumped and stared at herself in the mirror. It was back; that eerie voice that sound uncannily like her own. Still, staring into the mirror, she was the only one there. "Who are you?" she asked, afraid to turn away.

Oh, nobody special—I guess you could just call me your conscience. In all honesty, I'm you.

Lei-Fang blinked a couple of times, warily. She turned to look around her room, but was still the only one there. Her voice was slightly unsteady when she spoke again, "What do you mean 'you're me'?"

Don't feel so frightened. You're not going to see me unless you take a good long look at yourself.  I'm just that little piece of you that you apparently forgot about a long time ago.

"Forgot about..? Wait, what? "

Not a very bright person, am I? Oh, but that's not the point, is it?

"So then what is the point, if it's not to find out who you are?"

The point? Well, the point is more like a question and answer. The question being 'do you really want to go through this again? And the answer being…well, that's what you don't exactly realize. It's just a tiny mark, but it sure does remind you of him, more often than not.

"Don't you think I realize that—" she'd heaved in another breath to say more, but snapped her jaw shut when she realized the meaning of her words.

Ahh…so if it matters so much to you, tell me why exactly you continue to fight him?

"It's not my fault! He treats me like a child…how can anyone forget the way that man treats them? He looks at me like I'm…like I'm weak…"

You are not entirely innocent, either. You've done your fair share of mockery as well.

Lei-Fang was quiet, nibbling slightly on the side of her lip. "He doesn't think I'm a worthy enough opponent. I'm just…an inconvenience."

If  you were such a bother, do you think he would spare you the time to fight?

"Of course! His arrogance speaks for itself!" she cried. She could feel the anger churn inside her, making her cheeks flame.

I don't think that's the case, and I think you might agree, despite what you think. Arrogance in battle is usually just a façade, an attempt to overpower the truth.

Lei-Fang crossed her arms, leaning back to balance her weight on the mirror behind her and shook her head, "What truth? I think he makes a pretty clear point."

The kind of truth that maybe you can relate to…

A tremble of laughter bubbled up from inside and Lei-Fang couldn't hold it back. "Relate to? You think we have anything in common?"

I think you both have more in common than your pride allows you. After all, it was your pride that started all of this in the first place, didn't it, Lei-Fang.

Lei-Fang narrowed her eyes at nothing, in particular, he arms slackening. "…What?"

The voice seemed to sigh in annoyance. Oh, will you just admit it already?

"Admit what?"

That you're in-love with Him.

"That I'm what?" Lei-Fang almost choked, an unfamiliar feeling tingling at the bottom of her spine.

Oh, stop it! This is getting to be ridiculous. You have the physical strength and ability to defeat him, yet regardless of your martial knowledge you still lose every fight. You think he'd come after you in a fit of vengeance if you actually won? He's not like that, and you know it. So you lose. Losing is just your excuse to see him again. And again. And again.

"Love has nothing do with why I fight him…he embarrassed me and dishonored me."

How? By rescuing you?

"By—!" She stood open-mouthed for a while, searching for something to say, before letting her body slide down to the floor. "By…"

You see? You said you were grateful to him before…so where did all this anger come from? This desire to be so much better than him?

Lei-Fang was quiet. She stared down at the floor beneath her and pulled her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "I…I don't know…"

Well, then…are you finally going to realize and acknowledge it?

She looked up dazedly, her eyes unfocused on the room. "Realize…what?"

Lei-Fang, you're not a child anymore; you're a grown young woman now. Prove to the world that you've grown up and let yourself love. Accepting what you feel can make you a much more powerful person.

Lei-Fang began to shiver, her brows creased. "W-why?"

Why what?

"Fighting him is so much easier. I don't have to think about anything…I just do it. If I…if I admit it, then the fight won't be the same." Tears began to pool the corner of her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but they were just replaced with more.   

You may have been satisfied with simply fighting him, but you can't deny that you weren't happy. Unrequited love is never a good thing. Will you be satisfied with it when your aged and lonely?

Lei-Fang thought for a moment, rubbing her eyes. "N-no."

The voice was quiet for a while, before whispering, Then do it.

Lei-Fang let her head fall back, thumping against the mirror. She gave up rubbing her eyes as the tears she'd tried to hold in traced paths down her cheeks.

It was true; she was in-love with him. She didn't know when it happened…but it did.  In the beginning, it was all about strength, about trying to prove her worth up against a stronger opponent. She'd thought that the little tingles she felt in the back of her neck where nothing more than the flutters of infatuation. How was she to know they would turn into the beginnings of actual love? He was an aspiration, a ring in a ladder to her primary objective. It wasn't until now that she realized she wasn't exactly sure of what that objective was anymore. Fighting him had somehow replaced whatever it originally was.

Now, even fighting was a useless objective. It was losing that she aspired to.

And still, he agreed every time. Never once thinking twice about it.

Sure, he'd told her it was impossible to win, but he never actually denied her. Whether arranged or accidental, he fought back.  

In a twisted, narcissistic sense, it made him perfect gentleman.

It all caused a single question come to mind. Why?

She was just an opponent to him, an easy win. There was no way any of it could have actually mattered to him. It was all almost like a game to him.

She felt the tears begin to fall harder at the thought and slouched forward. How could she have let this happen? Feeling stupid and foolish, she groaned.

"This is impossible…" she mumbled.

Not so. He could feel the same.

Lei-Fang blinked. "What?"

If you've realized your feelings, what's to say that He hasn't?

"That's impossible. He's not…like me. He has no ambition to fight and win besides being the best. He has no compassion, no empathy, no…no…heart. He could never be in-love. I'm just a toy; a practice tool."

Don't be so hard on yourself. You know what kind of life he's had…different people open up in different ways. He just needs little 'push', is all.

Lei-Fang sniffled. "A push…"

She suddenly felt amused and giddy. You're a big girl now. Get out there and show him a style of fighting.

Lei-Fang smiled, sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Sitting for a moment, she thought of what she was going to do before standing up and moving out of her room towards the bathroom. Splashing her face, she attempted to wipe the redness from her eyes.

She quickly finished dressing and rushed downstairs, saying a quick goodbye to the housekeeper. As she rushed out the door, she breathed in the fresh air, thinking to herself what she told him a year and a half ago.

Standing at the edge of the overhang, she stared at the scenery before her. The soothing sounds of nature wafted by her and she closed her eyes.

Since she hadn't had a chance to take everything in last time, so she'd headed her a bit before schedule. Now standing here alone, she could understand the beauty and tranquility of this place. There was something…ethereal about it that caused a quivering in her belly.

The sun had passed over head, causing Lei-Fang to look at her watch. Just a quarter after 2:00 p.m. She blinked against the sun and looked down at the shallow pool she'd fallen into a year and a half ago. The light breeze had caused ripples in the water, and the reflections glittered against the rocks and foliage.

She'd become a little more in touch with her thoughts in the time that she'd stood there, reliving her past battles. This time she'd win. She wasn't quite sure how, but defeat was not an option this time.

The chill of another presence crawled up her spine and she moved her head to look through her peripherals. She could see the lazy smirk that his lips seemed indefinitely curled into. There was a quick thrill of anticipation before she saw something flash through his eyes and his form stiffen, then relax. Turning she moved into the ankle deep water, terrified inside as she held his gaze.

"You're late," was all she said. Anymore and she would have cracked, then and there.

"I'm still here," He said blatantly

Oh, this will be fun, Lei-Fang thought, amused. This will be very fun.

A/N #2:  I'm amused right now because according to my original 'author's note', I was up past bedtime.

And that, my friends, was a very, very long time ago…