Disclaimer: I don't own DOA or Team Ninja.

Deep Inside

Leifang was sitting on the balcony of her apartment thinking. She was silently looking out onto the city and the sunset from the mountains. Although she seemed to be in a very calm state of mind, her thoughts were very absurd.

"I hate it when my mom always nags at me. Who cares if I am already nineteen! Lots of my friends don't have boyfriends yet. Why should she care? I could even be a lesbian if I wanted!" Leifang tried to shake the thought out of her mind. "Guys like me right?" She knew the answer to that one for sure. Whenever she walks on the beach in her bikini, there would always be stares in her direction. "I'm attractive, sure. I just haven't found anyone who isn't some brute that has a lot of money and only wants me as another one of his 'toys' at night. What's even worse is that mom always tries to hook me up with some jerk that is either really nerdy, or has a lot of money (usually a doctor). But they never think of me…" Leifang let out a deep sigh and looked down at the street below her. She glanced at the casino a little ways further on the road. There was some man in a suit throwing another guy out of the casino. "I guess that jerk was trying to take money from the casino or something." Leifang looked at the store across from it, but couldn't miss what was happening back in front of the casino.

The guy who was thrown out got back on his feet and took a swing at the man in the suit. Even though, he was already turned around, the guy in the suit was still able to catch and stop the other guy's punch. Leifang was interested in what was happening, and tried to lean closer and see. Since a crowd was growing and there was nothing for her to do, Leifang went to the crowd for a closer look. When she got closer inside the crowd, she could hear parts of what they were saying.

"I culd thake thu down like thhat... 'hiccup'" apparently, the guy who was just thrown out was drunk. Although she could see part of the drunk guy, Leifang couldn't see the guard who threw him out.

"You're drunk, just go back to your home near the sewers. Don't come back until you have actual money to gamble with at the casino. If I catch you in here again, you'd better hope that there wouldn't be a crowd of people like this, or I could bring you to 'the boss'. He would do even worse things than me!" The guard yelled at the guy.

"Weeell thry to f-fight me then…" The drunk guy put his hands up and took one swing at the guard. The guard effortlessly dodged it and the drunk guy kept swaying around until the guard stopped him. "That guy's an idiot!" Leifang thought to herself. "He could get himself killed, and right in front of everyone!" After moving in front of some people, Leifang saw the guard. He was getting ready to hit the drunk guy. Leifang was about to jump out and help him, but...

"Hold on, I haven't fought anyone for the past couple days. Let me take care of this guy." Leifang couldn't see who it was, but the second guard's voice was strangely familiar. Before she could have a peek around the people in front of her, the drunken jerk was already flying across the street.

"Waacha!" The second guard yelled out. The crowd was suddenly cheering as the casino guards began to walk back in. All the girls were running up to the second guard, but he was already walking past the door. Leifang had to run up to where the other girls were to see who it was. Jann Lee? What was he doing here? I haven't seen him since the fourth Dead or Alive tournament. She thought. Leifang tried to get into the casino, but the doormen stopped her.

"Let me in! I need to talk to someone!" Lei Feng yelled, and made an effort to make her way through the crowd of crazy girls.

"Whoa there! The casino is closed and neither you nor anyone else can go in. You know, you could talk to me…" The doorman looked her up and down.

"I'll come back tomorrow." Said a frustrated Leifang. Then, she punched the doorman in the stomach,"Why would I want to talk to you?" and stomped her way back to her apartment.

Leifang lied on her bed thinking about what happened today. She was thinking of what happened six years ago, the first time she saw him…

The thugs backed her into a corner, and were closing in on her. Right when she thought they were going to get her, a boy flew out of no where and beat up the thugs. Leifang felt so helpless there, and vowed to prove to him and herself that she could take care of herself.

Leifang opened her eyes to her moonlit room. It was one in the morning and she still wasn't asleep. "I should go back to the casino," She thought. "first thing in the morning." Leifang closed her eyes again, and tried to rest her head.

In the morning, Leifang got dressed and ate her breakfast. Then, she ran for the casino down the street. It was a little hard to run in her high heels, but she went as fast as she could. When she got there, she was very disappointed.

"Closed! What kind of casino is closed at this hour?" (it was 10 am) Leifang looked at the hours of the casino and found out that it was opened at night. Well I could've guessed that based on the name of the casino, "Big Boy's Paradise." Great, I have to come back again. Leifang walked away and got angry at the thought of having to walk back to this disgusting casino once more.

Night came quickly, seeing as the only thing to keep her occupied was going to the mall. Finally, it was 9 pm and the casino was opened. Leifang hesitantly walked into the enormous main room of the casino. There were slot machines, card tables, and a lot of girls dancing and prancing around. No wonder why this is only opened at night. Leifang looked all around the casino and unfortunately noticed that there were more than two floors in the entire casino. Great, I would have to search everywhere for this guy! Where to start… Where's the head of security? Leifang finally found a man with a suit and ID tag.

"Um, excuse me but where is the..." The man who turned around was the doorman from yesterday.

"You again! Back eh!" The man crossed his arms and looked at her.

"Listen up! I just want to know where the head of security is and I'll be going! So where is it!" Leifang tried her best not to yell and get noticed. However, she was getting really frustrated.

"I ain't telling you anything until you tell me why you're here."

"Uhhh! Just tell me where it is." Leifang was getting angry.

"It's right over there." He pointed to a room off to the side of the casino. Leifang started to walk over to the room, but noticed that the guy she was following her. He wasn't right behind her, but he was close enough for her to detect. Every once and a while, she would glance back at him, and the man would turn around trying to act casual. When Leifang finally got to the door, she took a second to think. This room is pretty secluded for it to be head of security. And wouldn't it have the sign 'Head of Security' on it? Well, it's worth giving it a try. Leifang hesitantly turned the doorknob and opened the door. She stood in the doorway, taking in the fact that it was a room full of pool tables and security guards playing poker.

"Umm… is… this… the h-head of-f security?" Leifang whispered. All the men looked at her with a strange glare.

"Get her Stu!" Suddenly, the guard who was following her from behind, Stu, grabbed her arms and held them down. Leifang struggled a little but decided to talk first.

"What's going on? Where am I?" Leifang said, as calmly as possible.

"What is this little lady doing here?" One of the guards mockingly said.

"I am here to find someone. And can't your stupid heads figure out that I might be here to gamble?" Leifang spat. She didn't care that most of them had knives in their hands by now.

"Well haven't you noticed? The only girls here are the strippers and waitresses. We don' allow any actual women to actually gamble! Since nobody is watching, it looks like we've got a new worker eh?" The guy talking to her put the flat side of his knife blade on her cheek. Leifang turned away.

Then, she high kicked the guy in front of her in the face. Next, Leifang back kicked Stu in the crotch and knocked him out of the room. After doing a jump spinning kick and taking down everyone within five feet of her, Leifang lifted up one of the men from the floor. Holding him by the collar of his jacket, she shouted in his face,

"Fine then, I'll just ask you. WHERE IS JANN LEE!" The guy suddenly went

limp, seeing as he was the only half conscious person left. At that time, one of the guards, who still had some strength left, used his walky-talky and contacted all of casino security. He said that there was a security breach and that a girl running out of the Rec room stole some money. Whoever catches her has to finally take her to head of security.

The alarm went off, but the person on the casino-wide speaker said to keep gambling and that it was only a technical difficulty. Technical difficulty my butt! Just great! Now a whole bunch of guys are coming after me. What the…! She ran for the exit but noticed that the doors out of the casino were closed shut. Leifang jiggled the handles, but they wouldn't budge. Out of the corner of her eye, Leifang saw a mob of security men coming at her from the side. Starting to panic, she ran for the other end of the casino. Holy crap! How am I supposed to get out of here! There were more guards at the other end. They began to surround her from all directions. The groups closest to her ran at her. Leifang flipped one guy onto another and another, and another. But they eventually overwhelmed her. One guy behind her hit her in the head with the handle part of his gun. Everything went dark for Leifang as she fell to the floor.

"Hey hit me up with another one George!" George the bartender slid another drink down the table.

"Whoa did ya' hear that?" George was listening to the mini speaker he had under the bar. The second floor of the casino was a lot louder because of the music and dancing. Only someone who was standing right in front of the speaker could barely hear it.

"Hear what? I'm on break, remember? I don't have my mic on."

"They said that there was a girl who was causing trouble for the guards on the first floor."

"Some girl eh? Maybe it's a lost hooker looking for a job…" He took another sip of his drink.

"Just wait a second, she took down seventeen men before being caught."

"Seventeen?"

"Yeah! Some girl with a white dress that has really high cut sides, and braided hair. Wait, this is great… they say she was looking for you!"

"Pffft!" He spit out what he was drinking. choke cough "What!"

"Well she did ask for a certain Jann Lee."

Who do I know... "Leifang!" He whispered. "Where did they take her?"

"How would I know? I'm just th-" Jann Lee grabbed the scruff of George's shirt and yelled, "Where is she!"

"I don't know, at the 'boss' I guess!"

Jann Lee threw George to the side and started to run for the door.

"So this is the girl that has been giving my staff a hard time."

"Uhh… wha'?" Leifang barely opened her eyes and found out that she was tied to a chair. The room was dark and she was surrounded by people. It wasn't the Rec room anymore. "H-hey. Wh-what happened?"

"Aren't you the cutest thing. Well, we have room for you in our casino as a stripper. What d'you say?"

Leifang tried to speak. "G-get… the h-hell away from me…" Why am I so tired?

"This one still has some spunk left in her. Oh yeah, we drugged ya' while you were resting in your chair, so you'll be out for the next couple of hours."

Leifang lifted her head and tried to open her eyes. Then, she hacked a big one at his face. The guards took a step toward Leifang, but the 'boss' stopped them.

"Take her to the back," One of the guards roughly untied Leifang and started to push her into the room in the back. The 'boss' turned around and said," and make sure no one can come in at this time unless I say so." The guard nodded as he pushed Leifang through the doorway.

Leifang fell on a bed and drowsily tried to sit up but failed. She looked at the door. She saw someone coming in and closing it. The man got on the bed and pressed her down. Leifang tried to move, but the drugs made her weak and sleepy.

"Get… off… me…" Leifang could barely speak. The 'boss' started to rip her dress apart. Leifang tried to struggle, but he still kept her arms and legs down. Leifang groaned as she was being crushed by the big guy on top of her.

Jann Lee ran for the 'boss's door. When he got there, he kicked the door down, and got ready for anything that came at him.

Leifang's rip in her dress got a little bigger…

Another guard flew over a table…

Another kick sent a guy soaring…

A punch-kick combo knocks someone unconscious…

"Chaa!" Bam! The door exploded in front of them.

"Hey! Guards!" Jann threw one of the unconscious bodies of the guys he just beat up at the boss. The half-naked man clumsily pushed the body to the side.

"You better get-" Jann threw a punch, and it landed square on the guy's face. The boss hit the concrete wall on the other end and made a big crack in it. Blood started to gush out of the back of his head and his nose. Red was splattered all over the wall.

Jann Lee walked over to the limp Leifang. She was really messed up. Her dress was ripped and torn, and she was bruised everywhere. What did he do to you? Jann took off his jacket and put it around Leifang. Ironically, Leifang's signature braids were still intact. Then, he picked her up and carried her out the door (bride/groom style: left hand around her shoulders, right hand by her legs). Jann used the extra exit door on the side of the casino that led into an ally. When they find the bloody body of their boss, I don't want to be there for the interrogation. Jann Lee ran pretty quickly for someone who was carrying a 110 pound girl. People walking by couldn't help but notice a man running through the streets holding a lifeless girl. Minutes passed as Jann finally got to his destination. It didn't take him a while to run up the stairs to his floor. Although no one lived, or used, the building anymore, the only suitable area was the top level.

Jann Lee gently lowered Leifang onto his mat of a bed; the single place on the entire floor that was nice to lie on. He sat on the floor next to her for a while, intently looking at her and making sure she was okay.

Leifang woke up to the cold air flowing in the room, and the sound of someone hitting something. She opened her eyes and realized that she was in a dark and enormous room. The only light coming in was from the streets and the moon. It was filled with training equipment. Jann Lee was using the punching bag in the corner.

"Hey-" groan Leifang tried to sit up, but realized that she was still hurt. There was a strong stinging feeling in her ribs. She gripped her stomach, "Uhhh…"

Jann Lee finally stopped punching the bag and looked at Leifang.

"Awake eh? Those drugs really took it out of you."

"Yeah. Jeez, why is it so cold in here?" Her whole body was shaking. Leifang pulled the jacket that was around her closer to herself. She just realized that it wasn't hers. She searched for the source of the cold wind, and saw a wide window without any glass in it. Jann knew what she was looking at.

"Oh that? A part of it broke a while ago so I decided to take all of it down. What's the use of having a broken window?" He unmindfully stated.

"Where am I, an abandoned gym?" Leifang at last stood up and held the jacket close to her while the wind blew in her face. Jann Lee had a sweatshirt on, so he definitely wasn't as cold as she was.

"This is where I've been staying when I am not on the road. Nice isn't it?" He said sarcastically.

"Aren't you lonely up here?" Leifang asked. Jann looked away from her and walked to the breezy window. Leifang sensed that that question hurt. She hastily changed the subject. "Umm… how did you find me?"

"They said some girl with braids was looking for me. At first I thought that it was just some drunken waitress, but no drunken waitress could take down almost twenty guards. I could only assume that it was you." Leifang blushed at her success.

"And I assume that you didn't have trouble getting through the room of guards leading to where I was?" Leifang noticed that Jann Lee himself almost smiled.

"Why do you always help me? It's not like you have to." She said as she walked over to him. "You defeated Alpha-152 at the end of the fourth DOA tournament, just barely got me away from that perverted jerk, what happened to him anyway? And also the time when you…" At that point, Leifang stopped joking around. She always wondered what was going through this destructive man's mind when he fought. Jann still wouldn't look directly at her. "Is it to show that you are better than people? To show that you're better than me? To make you think that you have power? You don't have power from strength! You know th-!"

"That first time was just a practice. I needed to know if I was good enough. The tournament was just a coincidence, and what I just did for you today was because I was bored." He was lying. Leifang knew that he only said that because he didn't want her to know the real answer.

"All this time and you still lie to yourself. I wonder what your mother would think of you." She had crossed the line. Jann Lee roughly held her shoulders and got close to her face.

"My whole family is dead. I don't care what they or you think." He let go of her and went back to staring out the window.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"I helped you that time years ago because you looked so helpless. It felt like a test that if I didn't defeat those thugs, I would never be able to fight anyone else." Leifang felt like she was talking to a different Jann Lee.

"And then… I met you again in the tournament. And we fought. I kind of knew one day you would win, but it really hit hard. Someone I helped out years ago, now has the power to beat me at what I do best." He had a hard time admitting it.

"Then why do you still try? Why do something you don't believe in?"

"It's difficult… to accept the fact that I lost. All that I worked for and spent time on, crushed right in front of me. Leifang… you showed me that I could get back on my feet. After all those years, you still tried. Personally, I find that amazing. That's why I didn't just slit your throat while you were sleeping."

Wow. There is still the lonely little boy under all the muscle and aggression. All he wanted was someone to replace the void of his missing family. That's why he never let anyone get close. He didn't want anyone to know that he was filled with hurt. Leifang hesitantly reached for his hand and held it. Surprisingly, he didn't pull away from her. That whole time, Jann wouldn't stop staring out at the city. Leifang put her hand on his cheek, and turned his head to make him look at her directly in the eyes. Leifang closed her eyes and leaned toward him. Her arms slowly reached around his neck and… Jann Lee finally gave in. Their lips touched as he pulled her as close as possible. He had never talked about his past before. And only a few minutes ago, he spilled everything to the one person he least expected.

Then, they just stood there with their heads together; eyes looking downward.

"I save you because I don't want to lose you." Leifang closed her eyes again and smiled.