A Time for Stepping Up

Pairing: Hitomi x Lei Fang

Genre: Romance/Drama

Disclaimer: I do not own Dead or Alive or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Yes. There WILL be yuri in it! It's going to be a little difficult, but I'll manage. So…here goes nothing…

Enjoy~!

"My fists are on fire!" Hitomi shouts triumphantly as she raises a fist in the air after defeating another one of her opponents.

Lei Fang looks at the screen with a blush on her face. Hitomi's so strong… she thinks. In fact…she's stronger than I can remember. We trained together one time and I was defeated. She truly is a Master Martial Artist. She can also feel her heart beating rapidly when she forms a fist on her chest. Hitomi…you're so strong…so cheerful, yet so serious. She continues to watch the tournament as Hitomi faces another opponent.

"I'm ready!" Hitomi says as she gets to her battle position.

"Okay! Ready anytime!" Mila says.

Come on, Hitomi! Lei Fang thinks.

The two charge at each other and dodges Mila's punch and kick. She uppercuts Mila, sending her flying about 5 feet in the air and lands on her back. The red-head back rolls to her feet and attempts to punch the brunette again. The German ducks and uppercuts her, followed by a kick to the stomach, sending her flying towards the ropes. Mila jumps to her feet and punches Hitomi in the face, but gets blocked from the second punch. The German then double punches the red-head, spin kicks her and then uppercuts her again. Mila doesn't get a chance to stand back up when Hitomi hits her with a flying kick. The two girls then do full on punches and kicks, dodging and blocking up, down, left and right for about a minute until Mila hits Hitomi on the side from a kick and then punched in the chest. The brunette staggers back for a bit, but shakes off the pain and dodges Mila's punch. She grabs her arm, flips her over and punches her in the chest as a follow up.

The red-head struggles to her feet, but Hitomi is too fast for her. The German keeps on throwing in punches and kicks in all directions. The brunette throws in the final two punches to the chest, knocking Mila out.

"WINNER!" the announcer shouts.

"Yes!" Lei Fang cheers with a fist pumped. "Way to go!"

Hitomi raises her fist triumphantly at her victory.

**20 Minutes Later**

Hitomi gets changed out of her karate uniform and is now wearing a short yellow T-shirt with a blue jacket over it and matching jeans. Mila walks toward the German with a smile.

"You were great out there," she says. "Congratulations."

"Thank you!" Hitomi replies. "You were great, too!"

The two girls shake hands and go their separate ways. Hitomi remembers that she's going to meet her best friend, Lei Fang, outside, so she hurries down the hall when someone catches her eye. Someone very familiar.

"Ein-I mean, Hayate!" she says.

"Hitomi," the ninja turns toward the German and smiles. "Congrats on winning."

"Thank you," she says, blushing. She can't help but stare into his eyes, making her heart beat rapidly.

"So, what are you up to now?"

"Oh, I'm just going to meet Lei Fang outside to hang out," Hitomi replies. "We're going to a coffee shop." She brightens at an idea. "Hey! Why don't you come with us~?"

Hayate shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but not today. Maybe next time."

Hitomi pouts, but nods. "Boooo~! Alright." She waves Hayate good-bye with the ninja waving at her, too.

Hitomi blushes and takes her leave. She hurries outside towards the entrance where she's supposed to meet Lei Fang. She looks around for her best friend for a bit when she turns around and sees the Chinese girl, dressed in her cheongsam with high heels and her hair is down. The German looks up and down at her appearance and giggles.

"Lei Fang," she says. "This isn't a date, you know~?"

Though, I want it to be, the Chinese girl thinks.

"Come on~!" Hitomi happily takes her hand. "Off to the coffee shop!"

Lei Fang follows her best friend in the busy streets. Her heart beats rapidly from her touch and looks at her brown hair swaying at each movement. Hitomi…she thinks. My dearest friend…if only you knew how I feel… Time and time again, she thought of confessing to her best friend, but her fear of being rejected still floats around in her head, plus the fact that she knows Hitomi loves Hayate. So, she kept her feelings to herself.

Upon arriving at the coffee shop, the girls order their drinks and sit down at a tall round table with two seats. While sitting down, Lei Fang speaks up.

"Congrats on winning the match," she says. "You've worked pretty hard."

Hitomi sips on her lemonade. "Ahhh~! Yep! Though, I've got more matches to go before going into the championships."

"I see." Lei Fang just stirs her straw in her drink.

"I'm glad everyone supports me," Hitomi continues. "Including you and Hayate. Hayate is…so charming, though~!"

Lei Fang can see a blush on her best friend's face. There she goes again…she thinks.

"Um, Hitomi," the Chinese girl says.

"Yes?" The karate girl looks up at her with a smile on her face, making Lei Fang blush.

Gosh, her smile is so pretty… she thinks. Butterflies fly in her stomach as her palms sweat and her heart beats faster than ever. How can she tell her that she loves her more than her best friend? She finds it more difficult than she thought.

"Is something the matter, Lei Fang?"

"I…um…" She can't find the right words to say it.

"You know, I've been noticing that you've been acting kinda weird for the past week," Hitomi says. "And I've never seen you so…lost and confused…"

Lei Fang clenches her fists and bites her lip. How can she explain to her that she loves her as her own girlfriend? When Hitomi already has feelings for Hayate? She stirs her drink at a faster pace while looking away. The German girl frowns as she leans closer a bit.

"Are you really alright?" she asks. "Are you not feeling well?"

"N-no…" That answer is partially honest.

Hitomi sits back on her chair as she finishes her drink and walks over to the trash can to throw it away. When she comes back to sit down, she can see the same look on her best friend's face.

"Something's wrong," she says. "And I'm not giving up until you tell me what's going on."

That serious look on Hitomi's face. Lei Fang can tell that she needed answers. It's been a week since Lei Fang has been like this and she knows that there's no turning back.

"C-can you come with me for a second?" the Chinese girl says.

Hitomi nods and Lei Fang takes her hand. Both of them head outside of the shop and turn a corner where nobody is present. The Chinese girl is shaking in fear of what's going to happen next, making Hitomi even more worried.

"Lei Fang," she says. "Please tell me what's going on! You're scaring me!"

The Chinese girl bites her lip to keep herself from crying, but tears are already stinging her eyes nevertheless.

"H-Hitomi…" she whimpers. "I-I don't know if you'll understand when I tell you, but-"

"What!? Of course I'll understand!" Hitomi insists. "I'm your best friend!"

"No!" Lei Fang shouts with tears finally falling. "I-I…I don't know how to tell you this, but…you know about me and Jann Lee?"

"Yes? Aren't you and him going out?"

"No, we are not," Lei Fang answers truthfully. She sniffles as she wipes her endless tears. "Th-the thing is: my heart belonged to someone else. He confessed his feelings to me, even though he rarely shows how he truly feels and I…" She lets out a sob. "I rejected him!"

Hitomi gasps in shock. "You what!?"

"I told him I had feelings for someone else," Lei Fang explains. "And he understood. He had no regrets for confessing to me."

"He understood?"

Lei Fang sniffles again as she looks directly in Hitomi's eyes. "Hitomi…I have something to tell you…" She swallows hard and takes her best friend's hands. "Those feelings I have for someone else. Well…that someone else…is you."

Hitomi gasps again while cupping her hand to her mouth. "Wh-what did you just say!?"

Lei Fang swallows hard again. "I…I love you, Hitomi. Not as a friend, but as my own lover…"

The German girl's eyes widen. "Y-you…love…me?"

Lei Fang just nods, turning away while tears still stream down her face. She finally confessed her feelings, but from her reaction, Hitomi might reject her next. Because she still has feelings for Hayate.

"Lei Fang…oh, my God…h-how long has this been going on?"

"From the first time I met you," the Chinese girl replies. "We were rivals at first, but we still became good friends later on. And my feelings for you never changed."

"Lei Fang…"

"I-I know it was really selfish of me, but I…I just wanted to show you how I felt about you."

Hitomi stands frozen for what it seems like minutes. She is also blushing from Lei Fang's confession, but doesn't know what to say next. Lei Fang clenches her fists as a thought comes to mind. She didn't want to do this, but she wants to prove that she truly loves her. So, she cups her hands on Hitomi's cheeks and plants her lips against hers. The brunette's eyes widen in shock, unable to move.

A/N: Whew! Out of all the stories I've written, I'm running out of confession scenarios! So, I apologize if this is not the best scenario, but I tried my hardest on this one! This isn't over, everyone! There's more to come!

Feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review~!