Chapter 5

Be Human

As the week goes by, Leona and Athena spend time together as much as they can. Just so that they can assure each other that they will always be there for each other. They went out to eat at a buffet. Athena picked the best food for Leona to try out and ended up eating it. Then the next day, they went bowling. They ended up going to a tie since both of them have strong arms. Then, a couple days later, they went to karaoke. Though Athena sang a couple songs, Leona sang three, even though the soldier girl really didn't want to.

By the time the week ends, Leona has been informed that Athena will be working on her next concert. That's a reality of being an idol. But she IS free to spend time with her for just one day before she gets busy. She tells Leona to meet her at a local park this afternoon. The soldier girl accepts.

A couple hours later, Leona arrives at the park, wearing her usual green shirt and shorts and lace up boots and sees Athena sitting on a bench, wearing her dark blue school uniform. The idol sees the soldier girl and waves to her. Leona gives a nod and sits down. Athena offers her a treat.

"Chocolate bar?" She asks.

"Sure…" Leona takes it and unwraps it to take a bite out of it.

Athena giggles and looks over at the people around them. They are talking amongst themselves, chatting with friends or family, birds are flying around, chirping and kids are running around with their dogs. Athena looks down at her feet while kicking them lightly.

Leona breaks the silence. "I take that your next concert will be a big hit, right?"

"It depends~" Athena says. "I cannot guarantee it, but there will be familiar fans. Including Kula-san." She turns to Leona. "Hey…do YOU want to watch the concert? I already have a ticket to the front row. I saved it just for you."

"A person like me shouldn't go," Leona says softly, looking down at the ground. "Besides, I don't really fit in with big crowds."

"Are you trying to excuse yourself from opening up again~?" Athena teases. "How about this: drop that habit and come to the concert. You don't have to scream and cheer. I will just know that your presence alone is enough to make me happy."

Leona looks up at the idol, who is smiling a soft smile. She isn't asking much, so it should be fine.

"I'm here for you so that you can learn to open up to other people," Athena continues. "Hanging out with Ralf-san and Clark-san is fine. But there are other people that might want to get to know you, instead of seeing you as a scary person. Besides, you are the member of the Ikari Warriors. I'm sure you have some fans."

Leona just nods.

"I hope you get along with Yuri, too," Athena says softly. "She can be a handful, but I can see she may want to be your friend as well."

The two of them sit in silence for a couple of minutes. Athena scoots closer and gently puts her hand on top of her beloved's.

"I have a request…" she says softly.

"Yeah?" Leona looks at her, giving her full attention.

"I want to ask you something really important," Athena scoots closer. "Something that you should keep in mind for the rest of your life."

Leona nods, telling her girlfriend to keep going.

"Be human…" Athena requests.

Leona gives a soft gasp. "H-huh?"

The beautiful and badass soldier can't help but break her stoic facade for half-a-second, her eyes widening and her mouth opening and closing, unable to fully process this sudden shift in the gentle, serene atmosphere just now.

"Athena, is something wrong?" Leona asks once she gets her bearings back and she takes Athena's hands in both of her own, holding them in her lap.

"Leona-san...I'm sorry if this comes out of nowhere...but I just need to ask you this." Athena shifts slightly, turning to face Leona properly. There's a firm look on her face, her lips in a thin line, her beautiful eyes gazing steady and strong into Leona's own eyes.

"Be human. For me, for Mai-san, for Yuri-san, for your Ralf-san, Clark-san, the Colonel." Athena says softly yet firmly, earning another uncharacteristic, confused and concerned look from her warfighting girlfriend.

"I understand, Leona-san. I truly understand. You're scared of emotion because you're afraid that your emotions, your humanity, will be used against you by forces beyond your control. I..." Athena says, then she chews softly on her bottom lip. "I...I get flashes of your thoughts, Leona-san. At times, my Psycho Soldier powers...they give me flashes of your greatest fears, when your thoughts betray you...it's like I feel the emotions you are afraid to feel. It's something I can't help because of my own powers...and in that regard, I completely understand you feel, Leona-san." Athena reveals and she looks away momentarily in shame, looking away from Leona's shocked eyes, yet she fights back the shame and she looks back at her beloved with a smile.

"Leona-san. You are strong, but your humanity, your emotions? They make you stronger. You're afraid of the Orochi blood within you driving you to do unthinkable things. I understand that, I really do. I understand that, I see and feel that when my powers unintentionally tap into your thoughts." Athena gently urges Leona to let go of her hands so that she can move them up and tenderly cradle Leona's cheeks with them. She leans in close till her breath tickles Leona's lips.

"Don't be afraid to be human, Leona-san. You are strong and so am I. As long as I'm with you, I will never let your emotions be used against you, and neither should you. Seeing you embrace your emotions like you embrace me in our closest moments...that's all I want, Leona-san. That's all I ask. You will never hurt me because I won't let you get hurt enough to lose the battle of wills against the Orochi. I won't let you get hurt at all." Athena says passionately, vows, before she lands a tender, soft kiss on Leona's open mouth as the bluenette gasps at the sheer will, devotion and love in Athena's emotion-filled vow.

Leona can't help it. She borderline melts into Athena's kiss and her arms wrap tightly around Athena's tiny, perfect waist. She's not afraid Athena will disappear if she holds her any less tightly. She hugs Athena so tightly...because she wants to hold her forever and a day if she's able.

Neither of them know how long their hug lasted, nor they want to break away. Leona cherishes Athena, as she has vowed to herself to always protect her. She feels so safe around her, so at peace.

When they pull away from the kiss, they are still embracing each other, but are gazing into each other's eyes. Athena blushes from seeing Leona's stoic, but beautiful face and giggles softly. The soldier girl gives a soft, small smile, a smile that Athena had been longing to see.

"I promise…Athena," she says softly. "To be human…for you…for the people closest to me…"

Athena nods with another giggle. She then hands the soldier girl the ticket to the concert, to let her know she will have it when she gets there. Just then, a cheery voice calls out to them from a distance.

"Athenaaaa! Leo-nyaaaaaa!" Mai Shiranui waves and skips toward the couple.

The couple pull away to see the kunoichi happily greet the two of them.

"Oh! So sorry for interrupting your kissing session~" Mai giggles.

"It's alright," Athena replies, blushing and looking over at Leona. "We were…finished anyways."

Leona gives a nod and turns to leave. Mai ends up hugging Athena and laughing and giggling while the idol looks over at the soldier girl. Leona stops to look back at her beautiful girlfriend, who is waving at her while Mai is busy hugging her. Leona nods and waves back, then turns to leave.

Days go by, with Leona continuing her military training and Athena working on her idol work. They never contacted each other until the day of the concert.

Leona goes to the front row after handing her ticket. Surprisingly, she is standing next to Kula, who is holding two glowsticks in her hands.

"Oh, hey, Leona!" Kula says. "Fancy seeing you here! Are you going to cheer for Athena-onee-chan~?"

Leona shakes her head, giving a small smile. "I'm just being there for her. That's all she wants."

Kula giggles and nods in understanding. "Alright! No worries! You're here for her just like she is there for all of us!"

Leona nods and looks at the huge stage before her. The lights go out, the stage lights turn on and Athena enters the stage, wearing a red tank top that exposes her flat tummy, short red frilly skirt and on her legs are fishnet thigh high stockings with white high heeled lace up boots. She is also wearing white gloves as well. She waves to her fans and holds up the mic.

"Hello! Hello to you all~!" Athena cheers loud and clear. "My name is Athena Asamiya and let's all have a good time tonight!"

The audience applauds and cheers loudly. Athena gives her best smile and looks down to see her beloved at the front row….smiling. She is happy that Leona showed up and is motivated to give it her all tonight.

After the Concert*

Athena changes into her school uniform, bids her manager farewell and leaves the building. Once she is outside, she sees some people have left as well. She then sees Leona walking off and trots toward her.

"Leona-san!" She calls, making the soldier girl stop and turn.

"Athena," Leona says. "You were…wonderful."

"Ehehe! Thank you so much!" Athena replies. "And thank you for coming! I had a blast the whole night~"

"That's good," Leona says.

There is a minute of silence before Athena speaks up again.

"Say…since you're still here, do you think we can….watch the stars for a while?" Athena shyly asks.

Leona hesitates for a moment before nodding. She has nothing else to do tonight anyways. "Sure."

The couple hold hands and walk to a nearby park with a small hill. They head toward the top of the hill and just stand there, looking up at the stars. Leona looks over at her girlfriend, who is gazing up with a smile on her face. Athena is just so beautiful, even under the moonlight where it has her features stand out. Her long, violet hair swaying gracefully from the light wind blowing. Her beautiful violet eyes staring at the sky. Leona knows she belongs to team Psycho Soldier originally, but ever since Athena herself decided to form her own Women's Team, Leona feels as though Athena is surrounded by two protectors. Two powerful protectors. Not that Leona thinks badly of Kensou or her Master. But even so….

"Athena…" Leona says softly, gently but firmly squeezing her girlfriend's hand.

"You'll be by my side…right?" The soldier girl asks.

Athena turns to her beloved and giggles. "Of course, silly! Why wouldn't I be~? I'm a Psycho Soldier, so I should be perfectly fine~"

"No…that's not what I meant," Leona turns Athena to face her, earning a small gasp from the idol. The bluenette bites her lip and then looks at her beloved in the eye. "Remember what you told me about how you worry about me and my power? I…I worry about you a lot more!" Her stoic voice goes a octave higher. She is actually showing more emotion than she realizes.

"You want…to stay by my side…forever and ever…?" Athena asks softly.

"Yes….!" Leona inches closer. "I do!"

Athena blinks twice and then giggles. "You worry so much about me. It makes me happy to see you are expressing yourself more and more. You try so hard to protect me."

"I will continue to carry out my private mission," Leona says. "That is my…priority."

Athena wraps her arms around Leona's neck, inching closer. "I know you are. You're a wonderful protector. Just keep doing what you're doing and I will be alive not only for you…but for the rest of the world."

"Yes…" Leona says. "Everyone…needs their idol."

They lean in and share a passionate kiss.

A/N: I would like to thank my good friend, Mike Powell for helping me out a little with the reference from "Halo Legends". Ummm…it sorta came to me and i thought i would apply it to Leona and her situation. Mikey did really well for this, so thank you.

Also, this is for my other good friend, Jojo-san, who loves Leona as well. This story is focused on Leona, so this is dedicated to him.

Story's not over yet though. A few more chapters to go. All the action comes in the next chapter. It wouldn't be KOF without action scenes. Stay tuned!

Have a nice day!