~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lily stood about 6 feet from Jason.
"I said 'What are you doing here?'" Her eyes narrowed.
"And I said 'Nice to see you too, Lily.'" Jason backed up to avoid her sidekick.
"What's with you? I don't get it." Lily swung at him.
"Nothin' really. Just lookin' for my favorite cousin. Is that illegal or somethin'?" He spun around and aimed a kick at her chest.
"Technically no, just illogical." She grabbed his foot and knocked him over.
He rolled backwards to get up just as Lily's foot came down near where his stomach had been. "You want me to leave then?"
"No, I just want to know what could bring you over here to find me after I've been gone for over two years. I didn't think anyone could find me." She avoided a flurry of punches aimed for her head.
"Neither did I. It was an accident really." He stumbled backwards when her foot connected with his shoulder.
"Just 'cause you found out where I am doesn't mean you have to come and get cozy with one of my friends." Lily was knocked backwards by a punch she didn't see coming.
Jason felt his face heat up. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"What do you think it means? Nuriko likes you and you like her too, don't you?"
"What difference does it make?" They began to circle each other.
"Didn't Aunt Jane tell you never to answer ma question with a question?"
Jason smirked. "Couldn't I ask you the same thing?"
"Are we getting anywhere?" Lily grabbed him by the arm and flipped him onto his back. "You never did tell me why you're here."
"It's a very long story." Jason sighed quickly then went back to attacking.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Taki looked up at a large TV screen above the ring. She poked Kei. "I was right. It is him."
Kei sat back in her seat. "Am I supposed to care?"
"Don't tell me you're still mad at him…"
"Mad at who?" Nuriko poked her head in between the two.
"The guy fighting with Lily." Taki glanced down at the ring.
"Jason? Where do you know him from?"
"He's Lily's cousin." Kei slouched deeper into her chair.
Nuriko wondered why Kei seemed to dislike him so much. "Is he a bad person?"
"Jason? No. I just don't particularly like him."
Tasuki looked over at her. "Why not? He didn't seem so bad when he saved Miaka."
Kei sighed. "He's not a bad person at all. He's really great actually. It's just that growing up, after we met Lily we met him, and he was always like 2 feet taller than me so he teased me about my height and my fear of heights. Otherwise he's not that bad. He was pretty nice when he wasn't getting on my nerves. If you asked him though, he'd make himself sound like the worst person you could ever meet. He blows things out of proportion. I don't why, he just does."
Nuriko felt a little relieved. 'Jason isn't as bad as he made himself out to be…' "What do you think he's here for?"
Taki stood up. "Probably somethin' to do with Lily." She moved out of their section of the seating. "I'm going down to look."
Hotohori watched as Taki hurried down the stairs to ringside. Kei noticed him watching intently.
"Daijobu, Hotohori?"
"Hai."
Kei raised an eyebrow. "I know a jealous look when I see one. You shouldn't worry. Jason was like an older brother to all of us. Besides she loves you, no one else. Take it from me, I know." She smiled.
"I guess you're right."
Kei looked back down at the ring and frowned slightly. 'What's going on? Why is Jason here? Something's up…and I don't think it's gonna be good.'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Taki watched the fight from closer now. Jason and Lily were talking while fighting, but she couldn't make out anything. She sighed. 'Lily's fighting so hard. I guess she really wants to win. Jason always did beat her back in California…' Taki walked around the ring to where many of the other fighters were watching the final fight. She saw Taka slumped in his seat. She smirked and walked behind him.
"So much for the rematch, ne?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" He glared at her.
"All you're big talk went out the window when you lost to Jason. I find it funny."
"You wouldn't be laughing if you were on my end."
"If I were on your end, I'd have given up a long time ago. You need to learn to give up."
"I'm not giving up till I get what I want." He muttered.
"That'll take an eternity and a half." Taki rolled her eyes and went back to a seat on the other side of the ring.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The fight between Lily and Jason was lasting surprisingly long and the announcers were having trouble keeping up with the fast paced action. Fists and feet were flying everywhere. The crowd was in complete silence. The tension felt like it could break at any moment.
Jason and Lily began to circle again. They were breathing hard.
"You've gotten better."
"Should I take that as a compliment or not?" Lily arched an eyebrow.
"Take it how you want." They stopped and took defensive stances. "How much longer ya think you can last?"
"Not long. You?"
"Same. I'm really tired. I think I got the energy for one more attempt." He wiped his forehead on his sleeve.
"Same here. Wanna just make one final attack and see who's standing when we're done?"
"Sounds good." Jason and Lily backed up to opposite sides of the ring again.
The announcers caught on to the fight. "Well Hiro, looks like this match will come down to one final attack from each."
"Indeed it does. This has been an amazing match. I don't think anyone expected this long or exciting of a fight. Both fighters are very experienced and seem to be able to read each other perfectly. There's no way to tell who is going to win!"
An eerie silence fell over the crowd. Kei and the others had slipped down to ringside with Taki. All eyes were glued to the ring.
Without warning, Jason and Lily began the final attack. They began running at each other and when they were about 8 feet from each other, they jumped. Both connected with flying jump kicks. Lily's to Jason's chest and Jason's to her stomach.
Both landed with a dull thud on their backs. The whole crowd gasped and stood up, trying to get a better view. Kei and Taki stood right at the edge of the ring. Neither Jason nor Lily was getting up.
"This is amazing, Sota! I can't believe this! Neither one seems to have won!"
"Actually in this situation, the first one to be able to stand up will be the winner. All one of them has to do is stand and the match will be over. Now after all that, who has the energy to do so?"
"Lily! Get up!" Kei began screaming at her. "You can do it!"
Lily's hand slowly moved from her side to her head. "I don't think I can…I'm too tired."
They heard Jason laugh. "I wouldn't bet on that. You have more energy than I do."
"Do not."
"Do too. Now get up." Lily heard Jason groan and saw him clutch at his stomach.
"I'll try."
"Don't make me quote Star Wars movies…"
She laughed as hard as she could, which wasn't much. "Fine…" She pushed on her right side and rolled over. 'This is going to be easier said than done.' She saw everyone on the side. 'Guess I gotta though…' Her fingers curled into a fist as she pushed herself onto her knees. She watched the sweat drip off her face. Her glance drifted to Jason, he was still on his back, one knee bent and his arms off to the side. "Jason?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you promise to tell me what's going on if I stand up?"
"You won't like what I have to say…"
"I don't care. You can't come all the way over here with something this important and not tell me."
He sighed. "You're right. I'll tell you."
Lily smiled and painfully pushed herself to her feet. A happy feeling washed over her. She'd won. It was the first time she'd ever beaten Jason. The crowd began to cheer and shout. She looked down at her friends. Chichiri was smiling widely and the others were clapping. She slowly turned back to Jason.
He had pushed himself to a sitting position and was smiling. "Congratulations."
"Thanks." She stepped over and held out her hand to him. He took it and pulled himself up.
The announcers were as excited as the crowd was. The aftermath of the match was so hectic, no one really knew what had happened until it calmed down about half an hour later.
Jason changed in the locker room and was washing up when Taka came in. Jason saw him in the mirror.
"You…what do you want?" He grabbed his towel from the bench and dried his face.
"Are you going to take it like that?"
"Take what?"
"Your loss. I saw your records, you've never lost to anyone. Are you just gonna let her beat you?
"Yep." He slowly walked past Taka. "I don't mind losing to her."
"Why not?"
"That's none of your business." He pushed open the door open and left Taka to be confused.
Lily impatiently tapped he foot while waiting for Jason. "What is taking him so long?"
"You should calm down, no da. He'll probably be out soon."
"I don't like to wait."
The door of the locker room suddenly opened and Jason came out into the artificial light of the gym. He had on black cargo pants and a white tank top. His sunglasses were on the collar of the top and his bag was carelessly slung across his chest.
"Jason…are you gonna tell me what's going on now?" She stopped tapping.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah…yeah…you'd better sit down first though."
"I think I'll be alright if I stand." 'What could he possibly have to say that I, of all people, would need to sit down?'
"You asked for it then…" Jason took a deep breath and rubbed his neck again. It was a nervous habit.
They all waited intently for Jason to speak. Kei was getting slightly annoyed. "Are you gonna spit it out or not?"
After another deep breath, he closed his eyes and sighed. "Lily, now that you're 21, your old friends and family are looking for you 'cause you're the only heir to everything your parents owned and you're the only one who can do anything with the money, the estate and everything else." He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.
Lily felt like she'd just gotten hit by a truck. "What?" She squeaked.
Kei stared at him. "You can't be serious…"
"There's no way…" Taki covered her mouth with her hand.
"Unfortunately there is. They kinda followed Kei actually and figured if they found her, they'd find you. The whole town is crawling with people you used to know. They're all looking for you." He lowered his head.
"But I don't…why didn't they just figure I was dead or something? I mean I've been gone for so long…" Lily felt her legs buckle underneath her. She would have fallen to the floor had Chichiri not caught her.
"They had to try to find you. Since you aren't confirmed dead, they had to assume you're around somewhere."
Lily began to cry. "No…this isn't happening…I can't…I can't go back…"
Jason sighed. "Do you want me to go? I will if you want me to."
She only managed to nod and turn away from him. She buried her face in Chichiri's shoulder and continued to cry. It was too much to bear right now. She never imagined something like this would happen.
"I'm sorry, Lily." He walked past them. "That's probably the worst thing I can say right now but I think it's all I can say." He continued walking and left the building.
Chichiri led Lily to a nearby chair. He would have asked how she felt, but he already knew the answer. She buried her face in her hands. "Why does this have to happen now?"
Taki bit her lip. "Lily, I really don't want to be mean but I think this has been coming for a while. I don't think you can just walk away from an old life and not expect it to come back at some point."
Lily pushed back her hair. "You're probably right…I should have seen it coming…" She looked up at everyone. "Hey, where'd Nuriko go?" She wasn't in their group.
They all looked around. Kei saw Nuriko running after Jason. 'Man…she's got it bad…' "I don't see her anywhere…"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jason was standing in the parking lot, getting ready to leave. As soon as he opened his door, someone pushed it shut. He looked up. "Nuriko…"
"You act like I'm gonna let you walk away after that."
"So what are you gonna do?"
Nuriko smiled and kissed him quickly. "First, congratulations. 2nd place isn't bad." She sighed. "Second, I want to know what's going on. Did you tell me you liked me because you really do or because I'm Lily's friend?"
"Nuriko…" He sighed. 'Shit…what do I tell her? I started talking to her because of Lily, but now I really do like her…' "I told you I liked you because I do. When I met you, I didn't totally recognize Lily. It had nothing to do with her… What I want to know is, why do you want anything to do with me after what I just did?"
"You did what you had to do. If it hadn't been you, it would have been one of her friends or family members. I don't think that would have been pretty. It takes a brave man to do that."
"Maybe, but it doesn't make me feel any better about what I just did…"
"You know, you're not as bad a person as you said you were."
"What makes you say that?"
"The fact that you're so upset over this and that Kei said you always put yourself down. You have no self confidence."
"So what if I don't?" He opened his door again.
"It isn't healthy." Nuriko shut it again. "You shouldn't look down on yourself."
"Still, this thing isn't going to end very well, I know it."
"It probably won't. I don't think this kind of thing can." She rested her hand on his arm. "But unless you stop acting all mysterious about what you know, it's gonna be worse that it has to be."
"Why do you have to make so mush sense?" He smiled at her.
"'Cause that's the way I am." Nuriko giggled.
"Nuriko?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks. I…uh…needed this." He sheepishly smiled.
"Any time." She kissed him again. He kissed back. "Is there somewhere we can reach you?"
"Are you asking me for Lily or for yourself?" He wrote down a phone number.
"Both." She giggled and took the paper from him. "I'll see you soon." She began to walk back to the building.
"Soon?"
"Well, it's never long till we see each other. I get the feeling with all that's going on now, time between our meeting will be even shorter."
Jason felt himself blush. He wanted to see Nuriko again. "Ah…um…okay then…"
Nuriko reentered the building. Lily has calmed down a little, but she was still shaky. Kei looked up at her.
"Did you see him?"
"He was just leaving."
Kei pulled her off to the side. "Your lipstick is smudged. He wasn't 'just leaving' was he?"
"Not technically." She smiled and looked in a compact mirror to fix her makeup.
"You got it so bad, hon."
"I know. I don't find it so bad though."
Kei smiled and shook her head. "I'm not saying anything. Did you get anyway to reach him though?"
"I have a phone number." She handed Kei the paper.
"We're just about ready to leave." She put it in her purse. "Ikuzo." She led everyone out side to the lot.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A few minutes later, everyone was back at the house. Lily locked herself up in her room. Kei tried to get in but couldn't, so she sent up Chichiri.
He carefully knocked on her door. "Lily? Can I come in, no da?"
"I guess…" He heard her mutter.
He slowly opened the door. The curtains were closed and the light off. She was lying face down on her bed. He closed the door behind him. When she looked up at him, he saw she'd been crying. He sat near her on the bed.
"Lily…"
"Why does this kind of stuff happen to me? Is it because I ran away and now it's just all coming back?"
"I don't know, no da…"
She shifted on the bed and curled herself into his arms. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"
He held her closer. "I can't answer that either, no da."
"I know…but Chichiri?" She looked up at him with a tear-streaked face.
"Yes?"
"Whatever I end up doing, you'll be there, right? I don't think I can do anything unless you're with me…"
"I'll always be with you." He ran a hand through her hair, in the comforting way he usually did. "I'm never going to leave you…"
He felt her smile against his shoulder. "Thank Suzaku…" She murmured and looked up at him. "You know what's funny?"
"Hmm?"
"When I first came to Konan, I was set on finding Kei but I never thought I'd find a guy like you. You're the only one who really understands me."
He smiled. "I do my best, no da…"
Lily sighed and wiped away her last few tears away. "Chichiri?"
"Yes?"
"Hypothetically, if I said that I loved you, what would you said?"
"Hypothetically, no da?" He smiled brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. "I'd have to tell you that I love you too."
"Well then, pushing aside everything that has happened recently, I guess I have one thing to say right now."
"And that would be?"
"I love you, Chichiri."
"I love you too, Lily."
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss, more passionate than he had ever dared before. Lily draped her arms around his neck and kissed back for all she was worth. She had finally said it. She told the one man she cared about more than anything how she felt. Now all she had to worry about was her old friends and family's attempt to find her and possibly take her back. But it didn't matter. She had all her new friends and the man she loved with her. The situation would be hard no matter what, but the people she was with made it feel a little easier.
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Hmm…cliffhanger-ish…not really though…not in my opinion anyway.
So what did you all think? Not really very action-y, huh? I'm not too good at action. I think cheesy romance is my best. ^_^
On a random side note, occasionally I'm going to start recommending authors/stories that I think other people should read. At the moment one of my favorite FY stories is from Fiery Ice, Where Do I Belong? Read it and review it. I love this story.
Ah well, until I write again!
~*~Shadow Hawk~*~