Age 514, Month 3, Planet Sadala, Universe 7

It was time to end the rivalry, once and for all. It was time for them to fight.

This had been building for years. So many small moments that just enraged both girls. So many moments they didn't understand why they felt that way. So many near fights that resulted in nothing. All for this moment.

Peparia had dressed in her family's colors; black, red and green. Her gear was custom made for her; a black body suit with a chest piece over it, with hip guards hanging off just below where she wrapped her tail around her waist. On her arms were red armored cloth, meant to absorb ki blasts, and her feet, she wore boots with the same armored cloth protecting her shins. She was ready for war.

The battle was to take place in the Dakkon family arena. It was built for battles like this; it was large, sound and shock proofed, so no matter what these two girls would do would do barely more than scratch the paint or scuff the floors.

The battle was also taking place after hours; no one would be there to referee their fight, nor would there be anyone to get in their way. There would only be two ways to end the fight; giving up or being knocked out.

Peparia watched Lottus enter the room, her heart skipping a beat and her cheeks flushing with blood. As always, she was excited to see Lottus, but she didn't know why, and it angered her. Why did Lottus make her feel this way? What the hell was going on?

Lottus was wearing an outfit similar to Peparia's, though instead of the body suit stopping at the shoulders, it went all the way down to her wrists, with white gloves covering her hands instead the gauntlets Peparia wore. And instead of shin guards, she wore simple white boots. Other than that, the chest piece and hip guards were exactly the same as Peparia's, though they were blue, white and gold instead of the black, red and green of House Dakkon's colors. It was the armor of a noble family without a lot of money, and for good reason; the house Lottus belonged to was new and came about due to an advance in technology; because of them, they had made advances toward space travel. In fact, Lottus was first generation noble from her house. So while her family had enough money to get armor tailored to the individual, they didn't have the funds to truly customize the way House Dakkon could.

But none of that mattered to Peparia or Lottus. What only mattered was the fight.

Peparia slid into her battle stance; her left foot forward, her left arm lifted in a guard position. Her right foot was slid back, her right arm positioned parallel to the ground, held out and away from her body. She was ready to dash forward.

Peparia stared down Lottus' stance. Like Peparia, she had her left arm in a guard position, though it was perpendicular to the ground instead of it being parallel to it. Lottus' right hand was held back at her waist, fist clenched and ready to punch, with her left leg forward and her right back.

But what Peparia also noticed was the same flushed cheeks on Lottus that Peparia also had. And this infuriated her. She dashed forward, swinging her fist at Lottus, only for it to be blocked. She tried punching again, and again, and again, and each punch was blocked by Lottus.

It was at this point when both girls backed off, and Peparia tried a new tactic; she started firing ki blasts at Lottus. But Lottus began dodging and deflecting, advancing as she did this. And once she was through the barrage of ki blasts, Lottus nailed Peparia in the jaw. This sent her upward, which gave Lottus time to rapidly punch Peparia in the stomach multiple times before a roundhouse kick knocked her diagonally into the air.

Peparia managed to recover midair and turned around to face Lottus. She then cupped her hands next to her ear and began charging ki, a ball of purple energy began to form. Once she had enough, she shot her hands forward, shouting "Gallick Gun!" as she glared at Lottus.

Lottus didn't do as Peparia expected, though. She didn't dodge or block. She thrust her arms forward and charged up a ki blast of her own, one powerful enough meet and struggle with Peparia's Gallick Gun. This infuriated Peparia, and her aura began to flare from her rage. Peparia used that rage to charge more ki into her Gallick Gun, overwhelming Lottus' blast and encompassing her in short order.

Peparia looked down at her opponent as the smoke cleared, and saw that Lottus was damaged, but mostly unharmed. Her armor scuffed and broken in pieces, her jump suit burned away in places. Pressing her advantage, Peparia flew down toward Lottus, landing a hard right on her cheek. This was followed by a left hook, then a right, then a left again before nailing her right in the stomach with her knee. She then thrust her hands forward and launched a ki right into Lottus' stomach, blasting her across the room.

But Lottus managed to recover in midair, and bounced herself off the wall, firing a ki blast that connected with Peparia, one she was forced to block. And despite having taken the proper stance to block it, with her arms crossed and her feet in a wide shoulder width stance, the ki blast pushed her back.

This continued for several more minutes; they'd clash, one girl would get the advantage and launch a barrage of attacks, only for the other to come back and retaliate. And by this point, their armors were completely destroyed; only their jumpsuits, gloves and boots remained, though they were heavily tattered.

And when Peparia realized this as they once again faced off, she managed to catch something she hadn't before; she could see Lottus' panties through one of the holes. They were a very cute pair, pink with butterflies on them. Seeing this embarrassed Peparia, her cheeks again flushing red; this wasn't the time or place to notice something like this!

Recovering her composure, Peparia noticed that Lottus was also dealing with a similar feeling; her cheeks being flushed, and her body language indicated that Lottus was embarrassed as well. And it was then that Peparia realized that during the battle, her own bra had been exposed. And she realized that she wasn't wearing a sports bra or something like that, but her favorite purple one that made her feel confident.

Peparia once again pushed these thoughts out of her mind, and rushed forward, grabbing ahold of Lottus' hands, and slammed her against the wall. But what happened next was unexpected; she suddenly felt her lips pressed against Lottus'. She was shocked, of course, unsure who actually made that move, but also…she couldn't explain what she was feeling at that moment, but it was different. She closed her eyes instinctively, relishing in the kiss.

And when the girls broke the kiss, both once again having their cheeks flushed with embarrassment. But this time, Peparia was certain that it was Lottus who made the first move, once again kissing Peparia. Peparia then released her hold on Lottus' wrists, letting them slide down her arms and onto her waist.

The next few minutes of were a blur of furiously removing the other's clothes and exploring their bodies. And when all things were done, they laid on the floor in the middle of the room, clothes tossed across the room in random locations, panting heavily.

"So…" Peparia said, basking in the afterglow as she chose her words carefully. "That happened."

"Yeah," Lottus said, doing her best to figure things out. "So, what do you think it meant?"

"I don't know," Peparia said, sitting up. She then realized that she was sitting in her underwear, but strangely, not ashamed. "But I'm not angry with you anymore."

"Neither am I," Lottus said, also sitting up. She slid over and placed her hand softly on Peparia's. "Was this some unresolved sexual tension, or something more?"

"If I'm being honest with myself, I think it was more," Peparia said, grinning slightly. "I mean, you've made me feel weird ever since you stepped on my tail when we were 6."

"And I've been drawn to you as well," Lottus said, smiling softly. "The way you look, the way you smell, that cute way you play with your hair when you're embarrassed…"

"So…" Peparia said, finally standing to collect her clothes. This had been one hell of a night, and they both needed to get home sooner or late. "Where do we go from here?"

"Can…we try to be…" Lottus said, putting her tattered jump suit back on, "friends? More than friends? I mean, I wouldn't object if we did that again."

Peparia smiled, knowing that Lottus didn't mean the fight. "I think we should try to be friends first, then see where that goes. But yes, I'd like to do that again."

Lottus smiled as they finished getting dressed and followed Peparia as she was led to the exit. But on her way out, Peparia took her hand and pulled her close, quickly kissing her again.

"I'm glad we did this," Peparia said. "All of it."

Peparia watched as Lottus' cheeks once again flushed with blood, but she also did that cute tail curling thing that Lottus did when she was embarrassed. And as Lottus took off into the cool night air, Peparia knew she had a lot to think about. She'd learned something new about herself tonight, and she'd need time to process it.