Making Amends
By Indigo Siren

Disclaimer: Bloody Roar is copyright to Hudson Soft and my using of the characters and any game plot within this story are clearly for entertainment purposes only and are in no way being used to make money. I do however have rights to my idea of the story. All rights reserved.

Part 3

Shina brushed back strands of her blonde fringe as she came to stand from her crouched position behind the CD player. After dusting down her knees, she patted the top of the player as a signal of completion.

"I think it was just dust," she concluded to Alice. "And it didn't help that some of the wires were beginning to become exposed."

"We aren't exactly going to notice these things," Alice pointed out. "It isn't really played that much. And besides, none of us are technical whizzes." She cuddled up closer to the back of Yugo, whom didn't need to be nursed anymore, but it was obvious they just enjoyed being close and used the mishap as an excuse.

"Well, don't start celebrating your technical genius yet," Gado forewarned. "It may not work."

"Always doubting my abilities," Shina said with a sigh, leaning down to turn the power back on.

"The curse could crop up any minute," Alice quipped, a nervous laugh to follow. She gripped on tighter to Yugo's shoulders.

"I think it had its fun with electrocuting me." Yugo grinned at his girlfriend. The rabbit Zoanthrope chuckled lightly in response

Seconds later, the CD player was bursting into life, the song Alice had selected before announcing itself and filling the room with dance music. The congregation applauded Shina, whom bowed, looking rather smug.

"Well done," Alice congratulated, pleased that it hadn't exploded in their faces. But now she'd thought that, she wondered if it would actually happen.

"Ah, I never cease to amaze myself," The leopard Zoanthrope said with a happy sigh. She noticed that at this time, Long had reappeared and she went over to him, rest her arm up on his shoulder. "You missed my crowning moment." She laughed, mainly for her own sake, any cast a self-satisfied glance at Jenny, just for the hell of it before focusing back on her companion. "You alright? You're chucking the drinks back a bit."

"Sorry?" The confused man inquired.

Shina pointed to the glass in Long's hand. "You went to get another drink and you've been gone a bit. Must have been hiding somewhere with the bottle."

Long just smiled weakly to that, deciding not to inform her that it was really still his first glass. He caught Kenji giving him an odd, compelling look, but he just ignored it and let himself be dragged into conversation with the group ahead.

Kenji had known where he'd really gone, but it wasn't his business to involve himself in their tiff. But it still bothered him, and he sat there partly listening to the commencing conversation, but he let himself drift onto thoughts of his friend, Uriko. He kept looking to the door in hope that she would come in but he knew she wasn't feeling too happy at the moment, and didn't want to push anything on her. Feeling he wasn't really participating in the group conversation anyway, he decided he would go and see her. Giving a last smile to Alice, whom was trying without effort to get the others to dance with her, he headed for the door...

... That was until the light bulb exploded. Everyone jumped.

Mitsuko peered around the door. "What on Earth was that?"

"Argh! The curse!" Alice squeaked. "I told you didn't I!"

"Calm down. It's just a freak coincidence," Jenny input over the rabbit Zoanthrope's panicking.

"The light bulb ruptured," Long told Mitsuko, whom looked baffled by such an occurrence.

The door before Kenji opened, making the boy jump, but he calmed with a smile seeing that it was just Uriko.

She looked at him inquisitively. "What happened? I heard a strange noise."

"Besides your sister's choice in music, the light bulb decided to explode," he informed her.

Uriko blew out a sigh, flicking off the switch on the wall to cut the current. "I suppose I better deal with it."

"You want some help?" He asked.

"No, no... it's fine. You're a guest," she said disappearing into the hallway, heading for the closet to retrieve a box of bulbs.

"Are you sure? There is broken glass too. I could take care of that?" Kenji asked, really wanting to be of help to her. It looked like she could use some understanding company.

She sighed, composing herself to smile, looking thankful for his offering. "Seriously, I'll get to the glass afterwards. You don't have to do anything." She reached and pulled on the handle of the door. "You just enjoYAGGGHHH!"

All those stacked boxes she'd put in there before came crashing down on top of her. Kenji flinched and was quickly over to her side to rescue the poor kitten from the box pile.

Mitsuko heard her daughter's yell and the crash to follow and sighed. "I'm not even going to ask."

Uriko groaned, clambering out with Kenji taking her arm. "I'm okay. Not too badly flattened."

"Look, I'll do the-"

"No!" Uriko stopped him sharply. "I said I'd do it and I will. No amount of heavy boxes will stop me. I'm not a little kid."

She pulled away from the surprised boy and clambered the boxes to retrieve the bulbs off the shelf in the closet. Wandering back, he could distinctly hear her mutter to herself in reminder of clearing up the boxes.

"A little kid?" Kenji shook his head sadly, muttering to himself. "I never said you were."

Bulbs in hand, Uriko entered the lounge. "It's okay, I'm dealing with it."

"Careful," Alice said to her sister.

Uriko put the box onto the table and pushed out a chair directly under the light. Clambering up, ignoring the slight wobble, she carefully managed to get down the remains of the previous bulb and went and disposed of it. Now, on her go to actually put up in a new bulb, it seemed fate was planning to have more fun with the young girl, as the wobbly chair decided to resist standing still.

The young girl squeaked, hands coming out to steady herself, but in doing so, nearly throwing the box of bulbs from her hand. She was lucky that she didn't, but then very unlucky for the weak bottom to fly open and send an array of bulbs scattering across the room. She quickly managed to at least trap one from flying out.

"In coming!" Yugo pulled Alice down, ducking a bulb flying overhead.

Jenny barely tilted her head aside as a bulb flying past and smashing against the wall. She carried on sipping her drink unfazed.

Kenji used the door as a barrier as one nearly hit him. He let out a sigh of relief.

Long stepped backwards as one crashed at his feet, though poor Shina had one hit her shoulder.

"Ow! Damn it," Shina cursed. "I'm glad I wore a jacket now!"

Uriko blanched. "I'm so sorry!" She stared at the last bulb at hand. At least she'd saved that one... and nearly knocked out everyone else.

Long stepped in towards the young girl, who was stabling the chair from rocking. "I could do that if you like? Save you the trouble."

Uriko scowled at him. "What? Think I'm incapable of changing a bulb now?"

The dripping sarcasm in her voice had taken the Kenpo master of guard, but he didn't let it show. "No, I never--"

"Oh, just... shut up," she said, partially quiet so that nobody else would hear and turned back to her duty.

Long would never admit he was in shock, but her tone was nothing he'd ever heard before. She was usually so respective and kind – this side to her was much different. Never in the time he'd know her had she been so purposely rude. For one, he was an intimidating person (Though he couldn't see it himself), and it wasn't a usual thing for people to actually snap back at him – besides that of people who were very close and who shared equal power to him. He decided not to say anything else, in case he started an uproar. Instead, he went over to Shina, to see how she was fairing.

"I'm fine, no injury," the young woman said, carefully brushing off her shoulder. "This jacket's got a lot of padding in it."

"If not for the jacket, she might have lost her arm," Jenny badgered.

Shina snapped a sharp glare her way. "It was too bad it missed your face, might done a hell of a lot of good!"

"Okay, ladies, calm down," Gado interrupted abruptly. "We've all got to admit it was a bit of fun."

"What, having to survive being killed by falling light bulbs?" Shina spat pungently. "Yeah, REAL fun!"

"Come on, 'Miss-Former-Mercenary', I thought you'd love the excitement of fighting for survival. Not had that much fun in a while, have you?" Jenny goaded on, going to stand by Gado.

"I'm going to punch you out in a minute!" Shina snapped, cracking her fist in warning.

"Oh, please, don't! No fighting!" Alice said desperately. "This is a party, not a boxing ring!"

"What's a party without a good fight?" Yugo joked. Alice just slapped him around the head.

Uriko climbed down from the chair, bulb changed, ignoring what was going on. Instead, she went to flick the light on, and low and behold, it clicked on without a glitch. She disappeared quickly to go find the dustpan and brush.

"Ah, we have light," Gado commented, though he couldn't seem to pull everyone away from Shina burning holes through the British woman, whom was obviously enjoying getting on the other's nerves.

Alice came between the two. "Instead of fighting, how about we, uh... dance... in competition." Everything went dead quiet and the birthday girl felt like shrinking back.

Jenny's smile widened. "I would love to, but I bet Miss. Gado wouldn't be interested. She hasn't got the grace for dancing."

"I may have the grace of a tank, but that doesn't mean I can't dance!" Shina defended, fists clenching at her sides. She knew she wasn't exactly the best dancer to grace a dance floor, but having Jenny thinking she had one over her made her blood boil. "I won't back down for a challenge." Her eyes narrowed. "You're going down."

Jenny laughed. "Oh good! Come on, let's see what you can do."

Alice smiled, inwardly cheering that she somehow got some of them to dance.

Gado came to Long's side, patting his shoulder. "I think we should move out the way – this is something the ladies need to do."

Long didn't protest as he followed Gado to the window seat, where Kenji had gone to occupy when things were getting tense. Yugo stayed sat beside the dinning table.

In front of them, Jenny and Shina stood opposite each other, looking like they were going to square off – though, it kind of was the situation, but not as it would be expected.

"Okay then, lets shake things up." Alice chuckled and put another piece of music on.

***

"Always something... never get a break," muttered Uriko as she gathered the dustpan and brush and headed back to the lounge.

Upon entering, she almost did a double take. Trying not to look shocked, she edged around the room quietly, blinking as if she had suddenly walked into a dream.

Jenny and Shina... DANCING!

'Alice must have pulled a fast one to get them dancing,' Uriko thought, shaking her head slightly in disbelief. It was kind of funny to watch, as never in a million years did she think that she'd see this kind of action... well, maybe with Jenny. But Shina!

Gado, Kenji, Long and Yugo were sat out of the way as Alice grooved in between the rival women. Jenny was her usual sexy self, reflected in how she moved, and for once, Shina was a little more graceful, but not too forward.

Uriko had the strangest thought that Shina could one of those girls who could actually suddenly start break dancing. Shaking such an idea, she went to clean the glass up, bobbing around to the areas where the flying bulbs had struck.

Alice went and sat tiredly on Yugo's lap, wrapping an arm around his neck.

"Phew, tiring," she said. "But look at those two go."

Yugo nodded, admiring the other two women. "I see something new everyday!"

The music came to an abrupt stop, leaving Jenny and Shina frozen from their routines, staring at each other. The small audience of men clapped.

"You're most talented, Jane," Long complimented the young woman.

Gado laughed to this. "I didn't know my daughter could dance!"

Shina rolled her eyes at him at looked back towards Jenny. "No contest really."

"So you say," the bat said smoothly, unmoved.

Mitsuko disturbed the congregation, carrying in trays of food. She smiled warmly. "Dinner is ready."

"Nothing beats food!" Yugo grinned, helping up Alice and escorting her to a seat all gentlemen like. She chuckled, flattered.

Mitsuko came back and forth with trays and trays of food, while everyone else settled to sit down. Kenji sat right on the end opposite Alice and Yugo, with Shina shoving up next to him so to avoid having to sit opposite her father and Jenny. This left Long to do so with a spare seat left for Uriko, whom had just come back from tipping the glass remains into the outside bin.

She was hesitant; none too pleased with the seating arrangement. Of course, she couldn't argue and through a tantrum about having to sit next to him – that would have been just silly. Her mother had already come back to pass around hot plates; she couldn't just stand there.

Long turned to her, offering a warm, friendly smile. "You coming to sit down?"

She looked around the table, feeling a little out of place, avoided looking back to Long as she looked up towards the clock.

'EKK! Just under forty minutes!' Her mind reeled. 'No time to eat!'

She looked down. "I'm not hungry..."

Mitsuko turned to her furiously. "What! Oh don't be stupid, Uriko. This is not the time to start acting up!"

"Please, come sit down," Long asked. It was the look in his eyes that made Uriko look away from him. That look that wanted her to actually be in a celebrating mood...

Feeling slightly embarrassed; Uriko began inching towards the door. "I'm sorry..."

"Uriko!" Mitsuko hollered as he youngest quickly left the room. In a huff, she sat down on her chair, turning to Alice. "That girl! She's being so selfish."

"I dunno," Alice said softly, not really wanting to comment.

Mitsuko took in a deep breath. "No, I won't let this bother me. I won't get worked up. We're suppose to be celebrating."

Long shook his head shamefully. "I can't help but feel this is my fault."

"Oh, don't be silly," Mitsuko assured the man. "Uriko is acting irresponsibly and you shouldn't let her make you feel bad."

"I wish we could just not fight... any of us." Alice said, looking towards Shina as well as Jenny, whom just used the moment to glare at each other. "I just wish she'd eat with us and not think anymore about aggravating the situation."

"If I wasn't so harsh..." Long muttered.

"Hey, come on! Cheer up!" Shina said patting his shoulder.

"Well anyway, let's start dishing food out," Mitsuko suggested, bypassing the situation.

"You can start without me," Long said, standing. "I'll see if I can't talk to her."

"Well... okay," Mitsuko said, letting the man follow the way out that Uriko had beforehand.

***

The cat Zoanthrope had quickly undressed upon arriving at her room, hunting around for a fighting outfit that she could wear for her bout against Yoshi. She threw open the doors of her walk in wardrobe and skimmed the line of outfits, hesitantly coming to a stop on one of her favourites.

It was a red Chinese-style outfit, styled with two flaps that had fiery golden phoenix on the front. The arms were long and wide, just how she liked them, and detachable if needed be. It was a cosy, convenient outfit and she loved it greatly... but Long had been the one who'd given it to her.

She brushed that aside, desperately needing something to wear and pulled it out with a pair of black cycling shorts. A pair of matched red pumps snugly fit her feet to complete the outfit.

All decked out in her fighting gear, Uriko was ready to go. Sighing, she looked towards her door.

'I'm sorry, Alice... everyone, but I've got to do this.' She turned and opened her large window, climbing onto the ledge. There was a nice big apple tree just outside her window that could support her weight. One nice leap and she'd be on a sturdy branch.

There was a knock on her door and she froze.

"Uriko?"

'Oh no! Master Long!' She shook her head and wasted no time to leap from her perch into the tree. Bounding down to land on her feet, she quickly scrambled off as fast as she could.

Meanwhile, outside her room, the Chinese man waited patiently for an answer and was a little deterred that he didn't received one, putting it down to her not being all too happy with him at the moment.

"Uriko, I would just like to talk to you," he said softly, uneasy by the silence. Though, coming to think of it, the silence was a little too thick for his liking. No sound at all from inside the room – his sensitive hearing would have definitely picked something up. He'd been sure he'd heard something before...

Somehow, he couldn't feel her close by anymore...

"Uriko?" He tried the door handle and it opened. He let it push back, revealing an empty room...

... And an open window.

***

The back alley behind the antiques shop was a fair size, lined with empty crates, large dumpsters and a few wooden stools that the assembled group there had brought along, besides using the crates (Which sometimes collapsed when sat on).

The sun was fading rapidly and whatever light was shining down was a dull orange glow reflecting off the light brickwork of the walls, keeping the alley lit just enough for suitable fighting conditions.

Yoshi and his friends sat waiting for Uriko to show, laughing and enjoying a feast a food and drink they always brought along to these events. Though Yoshi didn't touch anything because of the challenge.

"So, what's this girl like?" asked the chunky member of the group, half stuffing his face with a long baguette.

"A cute little thing. Got reasonably light hair, big eyes... you know, the usual little girl types... and no, Ryo, she's not something you can sleep with," he said, smirking.

The chunky Ryo blanched. "Hey! I'm not a pervert!"

"So you say," Yoshi muttered under his breath.

Ryo rolled his eyes and finished off the baguette to make him feel better.

It was then Uriko appeared, looking tentative at first, but soon realising she was in the right place, stood towards them with a bit more confidence.

"Ah, my opponent arrives," Yoshi said, then looked at his watch. "And right on time."

"As I promised," Uriko answered, stopping before him.

A lean, longhaired member of the group snorted. "She's a bit short, ain't she?"

"Size doesn't matter, Kakou. It's whether you can back it up is what matters," Yoshi informed, smiling at Uriko, whom nodded to this.

"She's the winner of that martial arts competition at Yoshi's cousin's school," Ryo informed Kakou, who just shrugged, uninterested.

"Let me introduce you to my friends," Yoshi said, seeing as they seemed more knowing of her then she was of them. "The fat one's Ryo..."

"Hey!"

Yoshi ignored his Ryo and went on. "The unimpressionable one is Kakou." The lean man nodded. "The quiet duo are Mashiro and Kazuo." Two boys, with similar looking shaven heads, though the one named Kazuo wore glasses, nodded at Uriko. "And last but not least..." He went over to the only female of the small group – a blonde girl, American, whom was sat next to Kakou. Yoshi went and placed a hand on her shoulder smiling. "This is Noël."

"Your girlfriend?" Uriko said, half teasing.

Yoshi just went bright red, gabbling an answer while Noël spoke up. "Just a friend I assure you."

Uriko was impressed by her fluent and clear Japanese and nodded.

"Come on!" Kakou shouted impatiently. "Instead of getting all cosy and personal, can we get a fight going here?"

Yoshi rolled his eyes and smiled to Uriko, over his bashful display. "Do excuse the rudeness of my friend. He's all been impatient and one day it'll kill him, i.e. him, a road and a school bus." There was a mixture of chuckling and disputing between the group, which Yoshi stayed out of, still addressing Uriko. "I'll let you warm up first. Only the proper thing to do."

"Alright," Uriko said, stepping away from the group. She felt a little self conscious in front of them, but with her back turned, she felt a little more at ease to perform a few simple routines, not giving away anything.

Yoshi stood just away from his group and leaned against the wall, doing a manor of stretches.

Uriko cast brief glances to her opponent and his friends. She was still a tad nervous, despite how good-natured (Or close enough) the group was to her. That Kakou wasn't all to taken by her and she knew it, but somehow, he didn't look the type to go butting into a fight, unless he was the one starting it. Everyone else looked reasonable and fair, even the chunky Ryo.

'Lets just see if this is an even match...' She thought, hoping it was since her loss would mean big debt.

Yoshi had finished warming up just before Uriko. He cracked his knuckles, also indulging to pop the knots from his neck. Uriko cringed, thinking it to be completely unnecessary.

"Ready then?" He asked her smoothly, eyes preparing to slip into an unreadable battle face.

"No tricks?" She asked for sure.

"None, I promise. There will be no outside interference or intended traps. Just a clean fight," he answered.

She just nodded, falling into her loose battle stance. Keeping her weight balanced quite incisively on each foot, she could be sure to easily shift into her combo ring. She had to watch carefully for a rough pattern in his arsenal. She hated being on the defensive, as she was better at countering and out right attacking. Maybe she could actually do herself proud...

... And maybe even for her Master Long.

Yoshi was the one to attack first. She couldn't exactly tell what style he was using – a combination of martial arts with a brawler style. He'd stepped in close to her, using his left hand to hook a punch at her face, while snapping his other stiff fist at her gut. Uriko dodged, the first shot went straight past her face, while the other caught her side as she tried to move away.

She grimaced, hopping back. He wasn't a weak human for sure.

She squeaked, barely the time to react as he didn't hold back on his attacks. His tactics were more on the offensive. Uriko had to keep back up from his shots – the elbows shots and fists aiming for the upper body. Surprisingly, he went low and tripped her with a toe kick.

She turned over quickly so she wouldn't land on her back, though her knee took a good bump for her efforts.

'Damn... I was hoping he'd be more on the defence,' she thought. 'Looks like I'll just have to keep countering...'

She rose as he attempted an overhead punch, side stepping in and smacking him with a jab of her own, right on his chin. He snapped back and kept a short distance between them – he gave quite a surprised yet approving smile.

"Well, I see you've got some strength behind you..." He commented.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," she said proudly.

"Oh, we'll see," he said, snapping up a quick kick towards her mid section. The guard she put up was broken and she stumbled back a few steps, barely able to push aside the roundhouse kick he'd spun into. The poor Zoanthrope tripped over her own two feet and fell over, groaning slightly at her own stupid mistake.

"This is stupid," she heard Kakou mumble.

"Give her a chance," Noël said in Uriko's defence.

'Yeah, a chance is all I need,' she thought firmly, grabbing his in coming foot, pushing him back from her as she hopped back up to her feet.

Yoshi didn't even have the seconds to recover into a new attack as the lithe girl leapt up at him with one foot bashing into his chest. The wind left his lungs as she deflected herself away in a somersault. Like a rock, he fell straight on his rear, while Uriko daintily came to land metres away.

There were a few chuckles between his friends, besides Noël who curiously sat watching and Ryo who was clapping at Uriko's move until Yoshi gave him a sharp look and he stopped, cringing.

"Nice acrobatics," Yoshi commented, and climbed back to his feet. "But this is a fight, not a Chinese circus."

Uriko just stuck her tongue out at that, slipping back into stance with a look of determination.

"I don't think she's playing around," Kazuo spoke up, earning him a dirty look like Ryo had received.

With a fist tightened, he swayed low stepping forward and shot a punch at the girl, whom managed to dodge. She expected to be open for a shot on him, but he reversed the missed shot into a quick back elbow which caught to side of her face, sending her tripping and falling against the wall.

She yelped, hand up to her now bruised cheek, rubbing it with the back of her hand. She felt two warm drips on her fingers and she looked down surprised at the red liquid accumulated there. She tender rubbed her sore nose, fully discovering the source of the dripping blood.

She turned around in a huff, to face him.

"If you bleed, you bleed," he stated simply.

Rubbing away the evidence of hurt she attacked him with a low to mid kick, flipping herself over into a cartwheel kick. He was caught of guard by the first part of this chained manoeuvre and took a good pounding from her kicks. Her technique shifted to a low stance and after taking that first kick, he knelt blocked, hopping backwards as she came up with a high back kick, the move whiffing in front of him.

With her gut exposed, he took the instant decision to kick her square in her mid drift and she was sent crashing face first onto the ground. Ignoring the stinging in her head, she rolled away to keep distance between them.

"Getting interesting," Kakou said between the group, actually for once giving an approving smile.

Wasting no time, Uriko was bounding at Yoshi, leaping into the surprised boys wake with a twisting double kick, the first lifting him while the second sent him sailing down the long length of the back alley. She came to land, feeling slightly dizzy.

'Just have to ignore the throbbing,' she told herself.

Behind her, the group were actually getting into the fight, revving up with cheering, commending such a move.

Quite pushed by this and seeing Yoshi was now rising, Uriko confidently ran at him again, her step bouncing as she dove at him with the intent of a devastating shoulder ram. But to her horror, he dodged aside at the last second and she was sent head over heels on the concrete, taking a knock to the back of her head. She half sat up; eyes squeezed shut in pain as she rubbed the injured spot. Half the group hissed, cringing at how painful it must have been.

'Ow! Just had to land on my head again!'

"Stupid move," Yoshi polished on her mistake and turned around to kick her in the back.

Uriko involuntarily cried out loud and leant over, one hand nursing her sore back. She wavered disorientated, turning to quickly catch him trying to affect another kick to her back. She managed to parry and her stumbled, and she weakly shot an elbow into his side, just enough to get him away from her. A weak shot from a Zoanthrope still had some impact behind it, and he had to catch his breath.

'If I can pull my strength, one good shot would do it...' She leant over again, hand cupping her forehead. 'Ow...'

She heard Yoshi shout something at her as he came in for a charge of his own. Blinking a little confused, her features shifted to a hardened gaze.

'I've faced worse before. This is nothing. I can do it!' She assured, positioning herself shakily into a half crouch, hand positioned to keep her held firm up.

One step, two step, three step – so close to her now as he was gonna careen into her with a heavy barge. Gathering strength, inwardly feeling the electricity stir, she let out a cry, all muscles tensing, flowing with strength pulled from deep down.

She shot up unexpectedly, springing into her powerful jumping lance heel. Yoshi couldn't even comprehend what happened next, only see her fly at him with a stuff kick and the smacked him right in the head. Time blinked like a black screen – as if his vision had bee shattered. One minute, he was intercepting the kick, the next minute he was lying some yards away with his friends looking down over him.

In reality, the shot had been so strong it had sent him sailing towards his friends, whom had to dodge as he crashed into the crates like a dead weight.

Yoshi looked up at his friends, obviously in shock.

"I think you lost," Mashiro commented.

"I think so too," Kazuo backed up.

"Did I just miss the end of the bout?" He moaned, head like a heavy brick.

"Uh huh, but not by much," Kakou said, a grin engraved into his face.

Yoshi sighed and looked to the boys. "Well, don't just stand there, help me up you morons!"

The three sniggered but obliged, helping up to rest him against a stool. He saw Uriko knelt, cupping her head and talking to Noël and Ryo who'd gone to check on her own condition.

"So... you won..." He said infirm, catching her attention through half cracked eyelids. "I suppose you want your prize?"

"That's what I was fighting for," she answered, being helped up by Noël.

"Right," he affirmed and nodded and Ryo, who went through the back door to the antiques shop. Moments later, he stepped back out with a long, material package, which he unravelled to reveal the staff, the exact same one in the shop – she could tell distinctly it wasn't a replica.

"He was so sure he was going to win," Ryo said to her, ignoring the glare from his friend, wishing to burn a hole in his back.

Uriko sighed, helping wrap it back up. "Yeah, well..."

Noël frowned. "You don't seem all to joyous for actually winning."

The young girl looked sadly at her. "Have had a terrible day. I've done a lot of stupid things that made me lead up to this fight..."

"So, tell us," Kakou asked. "Why did this mean so much to you?"

"My master had a staff like this... but I broke it because I got myself goaded into taking it from its case. And the worst thing I tried to do was hide it... glue it together and not admit my fault straight out, hoping it would never be noticed. And then I upset other people around me too, thinking that I'm acting all stupid and idiotically... and they've made me feel real bad about it, even when I try to make things up. Everything has just kept going wrong..."

"Hey, we all make mistakes," Noël soothed, rubbing her shoulder.

"I wish they'd understand that..." Uriko took a big sigh. "It's my sister's birthday today and I accidentally wreaked her cake. When I get home, I know I'm going to have everything crash down on me, and especially for me running off and not telling anyone where I was going." She held back the tears, not wanting to embarrass herself. "I feel so worthless..."

"Things can be fixed, I'm sure about it," Noël said softly.

"You wreaked a cake you say?" Everyone looked at Kakou with strange looks. "Hey! I'm not stirring the pot, I'm just asking!" He stepped towards Uriko. "And I'm just wanting to help her fix her problem."

"..." Uriko was confused, uneasy when he put his arm around her shoulders.

"I think this, little champ, is your lucky day. You're never going to believe what my dad works as..." He looked to the others who were actually understanding what he was on about – all besides Uriko, who looked ever more baffled. He chuckled at this and led her down the alley. "Just follow me, and I'll solve one of the notches on your list of problems..."

***

Dinner had been over for sometime, but the tension that had carried over had not settled in the least.

When Long had announced that Uriko had left the house, Mitsuko was furious. With her usual hot-headed temperament, she would have gone and grabbed her coat and gone after her daughter, but Alice told her not to, and the same to them all.

"She'll come back when she's good and ready," she's said, and led them into tucking into dinner.

Though, good and ready was starting to space out in to hours and the group, now converged in the lounge, were whiling over drinks, conversing, trying to continue on the party despite, but Mitsuko was on the edge of her seat, and Alice didn't feel any better. Long had stayed quiet, more then usual, still feeling to blame for Uriko running off.

Yugo offered the bottle of champagne to Mitsuko after having it passed to him by Jenny. "More drink, Mrs Nonomura?"

Mitsuko cradled her half-full glass, shaking her head. "I still can't believe her..."

"I take that as a no then," he said and refilled his own glass.

"Mother, please..." Alice sighed, covering her face with a hand tiredly.

"Going against my word, running out on a birthday celebration." The elder woman seethed, hands nearly crushing the glass. "It's just so selfish of her! She doesn't realise how much anguish she's caused! Making people feel miserable, especially Long."

The man in question looked up, wanting to say something, but sunk back slightly, for once hardly able to come up with something wishful to say.

Shina patted his shoulder in a friendly gesture. "Don't do your nut. It's just a big misunderstanding."

"She's ruined the whole party," Mitsuko growled.

"Mother, really!" Alice snapped. "We've only ruined it for ourselves for being so bothered! Uriko needed space and in the end, we're just going to end up making it all worse... we've only ourselves to blame for making her act the way she is."

Mitsuko looked to her daughter, but didn't open up to disagree; she just shook her head and took a sip of her drink.

"Aren't you going to open your presents?" Kenji asked. She was going to straight after dinner, but things had seemed a little unsettled and presents weren't the first thing on her mind.

She sighed. "Maybe in a while... not now..."

"Waiting for Uriko?" He asked.

Alice gave a slight nod. "Maybe. It would be better if she were here."

Mitsuko sighed, keeping her voice composed. "That girl should be grateful to you. Besides all the anger we've had, you still want her to be apart of the celebration."

"She's family, and we can't be angry forever," Alice said softly.

Mitsuko gave a nod. "But still, I don't know what else to feel right now."

"Maybe a little sorry?" Alice asked hopefully.

The boar Zoanthrope was about to answer when she heard the front door open. She was up like a shot to confront her daughter with authority, but when he mouth opened, it just stayed that way, no words coming out as she stared at the battered and bruised form that was supposed to be her daughter. Outfit dirty, skin marred and blood dried on her nose, Uriko stood there wavering, with a package under each arm.

"I'm home," Uriko said weakly, giving a small smile.

"My lord... Uriko! What happened to you!" Everyone came to inspect the girl with Mitsuko's shouting, looking just as surprised by her rough appearance.

"Long story..." She said and stepped back wobbling. "I don't feel too good."

Alice was rushing to her sister, playing her nurse role once more, taking hold of her sister with a great deal of support. Yugo had come to take Uriko's other side, both leading her into the entourage of the lounge, moving aside as they let her commandeer the couch. Alice tried to take the packages from her sister, but Uriko refused to let them go, mumbling something incoherently.

"I'm going to get a first aid kit." Alice shot off to the bathroom, while everyone else seemed to crowd around over the girl, especially her mother, whom was more concerned than angry now.

"Are you going to explain to me why you've come back like this?" Mitsuko asked, trying not to sound too stern.

Uriko took in a deep breath, wincing slightly as her back protested against little movements. "I got into a fight... on purpose. But it's not what you think... I was doing it for Master Long."

The tiger Zoanthrope was bewildered by this sudden revelation to her condition and he came to kneel before the girl. "Why, Uriko? Why were you fighting for me? What has happened?"

She finally relinquished the long package under her right arm to her master, whom took it with intrigue and she nodded at him to open it. Carefully, he untied the string and unravelled the thick material, revealing the beautiful crafted staff. Long was stunned.

"Uriko... Where on Earth did you get this?" He inquired.

"From the antiques shop up town, I saw it and I thought of you... I just wanted to do the right thing and replace what I broke," she answered.

He was completely touched by such a gesture, but still, there were things he needed to know about how she actually got hold of this expensive item. "How could you afford this? It must have been costly."

"It was costly... but I didn't have to pay..."

Long could easily piece together what had come about for her to actually claim the staff. "And your condition is your payment, I see?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry. I know that I shouldn't just go around picking fights, using the style so recklessly... but I was desperate." The long red sleeve of her outfit came to wipe tearful eyes. "All I had to do was fight the shop owner's son and I could get the staff for free."

"And what did he want if you had lost?" Long queried.

"I would have had to pay the full price... and get nothing... and I'm not joking when I was I would have taken years for me alone to raise that kind of money."

"How could you risk it... just for a staff..." He looked from the item to her, a little hesitant with his words. "... For me?"

"I didn't want you to hate me, to always think you couldn't trust me..." Uriko was choking on her words, sobs wanting to take her. "... To see me as more then a stupid child."

"I never thought that," Long defended, hand on her shoulder soothingly.

"But I did wonder, because one minute you're telling me how grown up and smart I am, and the next you're telling me that you've always seen me as a child, nothing more..." It was at that point she sobbed, trying to hide her face.

Long was broken by her tears. She cared so much about her friends and family and what they thought, and especially valued his opinion as her teacher, yet he barely set a good example for speaking so wrongly of her. The Chinese man had to comfort the weeping girl and let her know it was all right.

"I humbly apologise to you, Uriko. Seeing how much I hurt you made me realise that I was too harsh on you for your actions. But you must understand why I was truly angry with you, for what you'd done. But it gave me no reason to punish you so wrongly, when I could have been more understanding. And I could have been more trusting with you as well."

Uriko managed a small smile. "I don't blame you, maybe I did deserve some of the harshness, because all I ended up doing was acting foolish with it all. I just wished that people weren't so hard on me. I can't help changing, but I want to change in all the right ways." She looked down from everyone at that point. "And I don't want any of you to feel disappointed with me anymore..."

"You'll never disappoint us with the good-hearted nature you show," her master assured. "And besides, I won't let you disappoint, because I'll be there to watch over and you, and help you continue your training."

Her face lit up, looking at him surprised. "You mean..."

"Yes, I won't stop teaching you because of this. It was foolish to say so."

Uriko sniffled and set the other package down, carefully hugging her Kenpo teacher, wincing as her bruised body ached from battle. Long, mildly surprised, responded to the hug with light rubbing her back.

Mitsuko came to sit by her daughter, the girl pulling back to finally acknowledge her mother, unsure to what she was going to say.

The boar Zoanthrope smiled gently. "Uriko, you know, after everything I said and the way I acted, I'm still so proud of you. You do truly do understand responsibility, and you always seem to do the right thing in the end. Even though I don't like you fighting, it took great courage and love to do what you did, a selfless act that really shows that you will do anything for your friends and family. I'm sorry it took some outside good deeds to actually make me forgiving, I should have done so before."

"It's okay, mother, I forgive you," Uriko said and let her mother hug her carefully, not to aggravate her injuries more.

Alice came back with the first aid kit and knelt down before her sister, but Uriko stopped her from applying treatment, instead, turning her sister's attention to the second package.

"That's for you," she said. "Open it."

Alice frowned and leaned over Uriko to bring the square package in front of her. She removed the lid and gasped, eyes glittering with tears. A beautiful pink icing cake sat before her.

"Oh, Uriko," the rabbit Zoanthrope choked with happiness. "Where did you get this from?"

"A friend gave it to me free of charge for my victory," she said with a smile. "It was a very lucky coincidence that his father was a baker. And now, you've got a birthday cake again."

Alice was sobbing herself now. "You're the best little sister anyone could ask for..."

Uriko blushed and jumped as her sister hugged her, though, she starting yelping in pain from the bruises and Alice pulled back, blushing in embarrassment as she'd briefly forgot the injuries.

"Sorry," she whispered and squeezed her sister's hand instead. "Now, let me tend to those injuries and then we'll deal with the cake."

"You're a brave girl, Mademoiselle Uriko," Gado insisted proudly.

"I agree, you did a good thing," Kenji inputted too.

Uriko blushed, sitting quite proudly there as Alice attended to her somewhat honourable battle wounds. With there not being any serious injury, and nothing time wouldn't cure, Uriko didn't much attention and instead settled quite comfy on the couch as Mitsuko set the cake ahead of the group.

Alice had disappeared from the room for a moment, but when she came back, Uriko chuckled when she saw the freaky sheep candle with her.

"The sheep survived," Alice said with a grin.

"Aren't freaky sheep affected by birthday curses?" Yugo playfully asked.

"Nope, just freaky rabbits," Alice said with a wink and set the sheep on top of the cake. Mitsuko lit the candle, stepping back so Alice could take her head position at the front of the cake. She paused for a minute, looking about.

"What's the matter?" Shina asked. "Waiting for a bomb to go off or something?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if one did," she answered, waited a few more seconds then smiled assured that nothing else would ruin the moment. She turned to her sister with a big smile. "Thanks, Uriko. You've really come through for me. And I told you that it would all be alright in the end."

Uriko just nodded, hoping she wasn't blushing too badly.

"I don't sing happy birthday if you must know," Jenny said.

"That's because you're a miserable old bat, and I can say that with a literal meaning," Shina said with a smirk.

"Oh, what does it matter!" Alice said; stopping the argument before it started. One good blow assured the candle went out and the audience clapped for her accomplishment.

"Did you make a wish?" Mitsuko asked.

"I'm done with wishing, I've got everything I want," Alice said, motioning to everything and everyone around her. "Now, if nobody minds, let's get down to presents!"

***

The rest of the party went along smoothly, no more arguments ensued and the tension in the air was gone. Uriko, with the help of her sister, changed from her fighting outfit back into her party clothes and settled nicely on the couch next to her Kenpo master as she recovered, though still joining in on the lighter activities of the evening.

Tiredness eventually did take its toll on the poor girl and leaning back against Long, she began to drift off to sleep. The Chinese man looked down at the peaceful girl and smiled.

She was the most intriguing young woman he'd ever met. So playful and always caring, out to make things right when wronged and had a strong will that could lead her to do anything. He saw such potential is his student.

Watching her, he began to realise how much of an influence she'd had on his life. Saved him from the cold, darkness that had taken his heart. Her loving nature had brought him back to civilisation – he'd always be grateful to her for doing that.

Sometimes, he really saw Uriko as a daughter, looking up to him, always caring and not letting other people tell her different about him. They cared for each other dearly, like a family would. Ever since he lost his sister, he'd truly needed someone like Uriko to really fill the void that was created by Lin Li's death.

'You'll always be something special my innocent friend.' Long petted her hair lightly, so not to disturb her slumber.

"Hey, Long," a quiet voice met his ear and he turned to see Shina leaning on the arm of the couch.

"We best be off, it's getting pretty late," she said, indicating to the clock. It was going on for one o'clock and they had quite a way back home.

Long agreed. "Yes, I think it's best we leave now." He barely nudged the slumbering Uriko as he got up, but still she awoke when she realised her living pillow was leaving and she sat up. "No, don't get up," he said, squeezing her shoulder gently. "You rest. I shall see you on Sunday then as usual."

"Yes, master," she answered, stretching out with yawn, really ready to drift back off to sleep.

Long joined Shina as they joined Jenny and Gado at the door, whom were also heading off.

"Thank you for coming," Alice said, giving Long a hug, in which he returned. He'd never really been into touching people a lot with hugs and such a like, but being around people like Alice and Uriko had adapted him into the way of things.

"It was a pleasure," he appreciated.

"Come on, taxi's waiting," Jenny said impatiently.

"We'll walk," Shina insisted, pulling on Long's arm as she exited. He wasn't going to resist her tugging when she was in one of her moods.

Gado sighed, ignoring his daughter and Jenny and turn to kiss Alice's hand. "A most interesting birthday. Thank you for inviting us."

"You're welcome, and have a safe journey home." She escorted them out, waving as they finally departed her company and shut out the cold night air with a satisfied sigh.

Mitsuko was clearing away pots, turning to Yugo and Kenji, whom were looking a bit miffed about something. "Is there a problem?" She asked.

"Of all the time for the car battery to die," Yugo said angrily.

"Oh well, stay over the night, I don't mind," the elder Nonomura offered.

"If you're sure?" Kenji asked.

"Of course! You're always welcome!" She insisted and sighed. "Well, I suppose I've done as much as I can do for tonight. I'm too tired now. I'll finish the rest in the morning."

"Alright, mother, you go to bed, we'll see if we can't help out a bit," Alice said.

"You're a star, my girl," Mitsuko praised and headed for the stairs. "I shall see you all in the morning. A big breakfast is in store."

"Looking forward to it," Alice called after her and turned to Yugo. "Be a dear and give me a hand with the washing up."

"Well, if you insist," he said in a joking manor, letting himself be dragged into the kitchen. Kenji smirked and turned to head back into the lounge where Uriko was sat in the same seat Long had occupied before.

"Tired?" He asked.

"Oh for sure!" She said and was suddenly grabbing him, putting her cheek against his chest. "And now I have a nice pillow to rest on. Good night!"

The girl settled, leaving Kenji a little shocked at first, but he didn't complain. Instead, he decided to join her in the sleeping notion and settled himself into a comfortable position and closed his eyes, placing an arm around Uriko comfortingly.

'A brave warrior deserves her rest,' Kenji thought proudly of his friend and drifted to sleep, glad to actually be in her happy company once more.

It was sometime later that Yugo and Alice peeked in on the sleeping couple, the latter going to retrieve a blanket to settle over the two. She slid the door to the lounge shut and turned to her beau.

"Aren't they cute?" She muttered softly.

He grinned. "I didn't know my brother could be so cuddly."

"He does care about my sister a lot," Alice admitted. "And I'm glad. She needs a friend like him to stand by her." Yugo simply nodded in agreement. The rabbit Zoanthrope stretched her arms up behind her. "Well, mother will surprised with what little work she'll have to contend with in the morning. I think we deserve a good nights sleep for our efforts... and the fact to be cuddled up to my favourite wolf will be oh so rewarding as well."

He grinned. "Yeah, I'd like to cuddle up to me too!"

She whacked his shoulder. "Yugo..."

"Maybe you could even wear one the sexy nighties Jenny got you..." Yugo said drove at.

Alice gave him a kinky gaze. "And I suppose you'd want me to wear the edible underwear too?"

"Only if you're up for it?" Yugo said, bringing his lover to him. "Birthday's over, curse gone, but our party will still continue."

"I'll be in bed till midday at this rate!" She said, hands locking behind his back, pressed right up to him lovingly.

"Oh, I'm sure nobody will mind," he whispered and gave her a soft peck on the lips, which followed up with a passionate embrace.

"I love you, my big softy..." She whispered, only stepping apart to lead him up the stairs towards her bedroom.

End of Part 3

A/N: And I hope you all enjoyed the final part of my story! I want to thank all those who took the time to read it, especially Tiger5913 – thank you for your lovely long reviews!