Just Make it Better

By Indigo Siren

Disclaimer: Bloody Roar is © to Hudson Soft and all characters and situations within the game/s are only being used in this story for entertainment purposes only. I do however own the idea for this story. All rights reserved.

A/N: A Kenji/Uriko story! Am I mad? Have a finally fell into a cold day in hell? I guess Tiger5913 has had the cattle prod out on me, hoping that I will conform to doing more 'Keniko' scenes for her. Now, I decided just to distract her and other fans of this pairing with this story while I'm working away on other stuff. Hope this keeps you all entertained.

Uriko Nonomura sobbed into her pillow, which took the brunt of her upset with tears and distasteful words. Why was the usually bubbly cat-girl so upset? Two words…

Bad day.

It had started straight off from the get go when her alarm clock didn't go off. The batteries had died on her overnight and she was left scrambling with bare minutes to wash and change and run off to school. And when she had got there she'd almost tore her skirt on a rusty nail on the school gate. She'd been lucky, but she had to hide the little tear on her hip with a hand or her book bag.

She'd also failed a pop quiz and got kept behind for it to write a small essay on the importance of history, and she even had to write that twice because her teacher had said her first reasoning was 'without feeling'. Then she'd lost her homework for another class and had a detention on Monday for it. Then lunch had come and someone's left over burger had pelted her when a small food fight had broken out. She'd taken that with a pinch of salt, brushed it off, hoping her own chips and burger array would make her feel better. Nope, not in the least. Too much grease - it made her feel sick.

Her irritability level had reached an all time high and she'd accidentally snapped at her friend, Maeko, with some harsh words when she'd been asked if she'd been okay. And now, Maeko wasn't talking to her, and she spent the rest of her afternoon lessons miserable and bored senseless, fidgeting to get home and escape for the weekend. She got lagged behind after time as the teacher rambled on, wanting to finish a chapter in the English textbook. She'd expected to get home and feel better, but she was rushed off her feet to help her mother clean up in time for everyone coming over. It was for a gathering in celebration of W.O.C managing to get a lot of local support in a recent campaign they'd released in steps to winning over the human's trust of the Zoanthropes. It was going to be a great little party, as Uriko and Alice had been the ones in charge of the whole idea, and Mitsuko offering to house it.

Now, Uriko loved parties and the whole idea had started to calm her down, but when everyone had arrived, she was edgy. She felt she couldn't get into the conversation. And then, there was Yugo. Now, it was common knowledge Yugo Ohgami was a joker, and he loved to rib his friends. And usually Uriko would take it, as he usually picked jokes at her and she would easily throw back with her own barrage of friendly insults, but today had not been the day for it, and she'd tried to brush him off. But of course, with her not fighting back, he'd just taken the further opportunity to dig on her more.

Everyone seemed to join in, probably not really realising her mood, though she knew they were only kidding, no offence meant, but her brain had been throbbing, hating this sudden gang up, well, what felt like a gang up. It had been one last comment from Yugo that had one suddenly infuriated scream and her fist making a nice crunching sound against his nose.

And now there she was, face down on her bed sobbing, letting out all her frustration as her fist pounded the bed. She ignored everything around her, besides the constant throbbing in her head, the anguish that had turned into a headache. She was as miserable as hell.

Outside her door, her sister Alice knocked continuously, trying to get the cat-girl to communicate to her, but to no avail.

"Uriko, come on, open up," she said softly. "Tell me what's wrong? Everyone's worried." She could hear Uriko sobbing, the fist banging against the mattress and her heart ached. "Uriko?"

"Any luck?" Came a half-muffled voice.

Alice turned, placing her back to the wall with a sigh. Her boyfriend, the walking wounded, came to stand next to her, clutching a big wad of tissues to his injured nose, which was nice and bloody - Uriko's handy work with her great Zoanthrope strength.

"She won't come out, she won't tell me what's wrong," Alice said, her voice worried. "I just don't understand."

Yugo shrugged his shoulders. "I've got no clue what's up with the kid. I kinda thought she was acting weird, but you know, you just don't ask about these things, in case well…"

Alice narrowed an eye at him. "Don't tell me you think all stressed out situations are to do with 'woman problems'."

"Usually is," he muttered, only to receive a punch in the shoulder for his answer. He flinched. "Ow! Careful! I'm injured."

Alice huffed, folding her arms, facing the opposite wall.

Yugo sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I'm a pig."

"Too right you are," she said snappily.

"I dunno, I just thought she'd cheer up was all. And this is what I get for trying," he said, indicating his bloody nose.

"You DID go a bit far," Alice pointed out, though she did look sympathetic for his injured nose. Uriko didn't need to lash out like that.

"Well… I guess so," he admitted.

"None of helped, but how are we suppose to know what she's feeling when she stays quiet." Alice placed a hand on Uriko's door, wishing that she could just phase through the wooden barrier.

"I think we should know by now that when Uriko's quiet, it means trouble," Yugo said.

"Well, Kenji's not here, and sometimes she sits away from the conversation when it's me, you, Gado and the others. I guess this is not one of those times." She knocked again on her sister's door. "Please, Uriko, tell me what's wrong."

"Just leave me alone," came a muffled answer.

"It's a start," Yugo said to his partner.

"Please, Uriko," Alice tried again. "We're worried about you. We want to help."

"I WANT TO BE ALONE!" Uriko shouted out at them.

Alice backed off a step, deciding to relent, turning to Yugo, arms flailing from a shrug, slapping at her sides in exasperation. The wolf Zoanthrope decided not to say anything, instead, turning his attention towards Uriko's mother, Mitsuko who appeared on the landing.

The elder woman was worried. She'd been a bit angry at first with Uriko striking Yugo, but she'd been worried about her daughter since she'd come home, not acting herself. She wanted to know what was bothering her.

"Anything?" Mitsuko asked.

"She wants to be left alone," Alice said. "And, I guess it's before the best."

Mitsuko sighed. "Yes, I guess. Give her time to be alone and sort herself out. Shall we go back downstairs."

"I'll go get some more tissues," Yugo said, wandering off towards the bathroom. "I mean, these used to be white…"

Alice and her mother nodded and they went off downstairs to rejoin the group, consisting of Alan Gado, Jenny Burtory, Long Shin and Shina. They were talking amongst themselves, a few chuckles here and there. They turned to the two as they returned.

"How's the kid doing?" Shina asked.

"She wants to be alone," Alice said, slumping onto an empty chair.

"I am concerned for her. I've never witnessed such a display from her before," Long said. "There must be something on her mind."

"I don't want her to just hide up there all night," Mitsuko said. "It doesn't make things better. She needs to talk about her problems."

"Yeah, but she's refusing to see anyone." Alice rubbed her tired face.

Jenny tapped the edge of her class of champagne with her nail. "I'm sure there is someone out there she'll see…"

Alice looked up towards the blonde woman, about to ask who when the front door opened.

"Hello?" The soft, masculine voice that followed made Jenny smile deep set and all in the room understood who she meant.

"In here Kenji!" Alice called, turning towards the door as the aforementioned pushed it open.

Kenji Ohgami was trusted with a lot of odds and ends jobs to help out Yugo in the W.O.C, and he didn't running around doing things he knew his brother wouldn't really be able to do. He'd been out of town for two days, going to a meeting with a few other representatives of similar organisations to W.O.C wanting to bring peace between humans and Zoanthropes. He'd promised to get back in time for the social gathering because of recent events.

"Hi guys," he greeted. "So, what's happening."

"Nothing much, Oh, Kenji, we need you to do us a favour," Alice stood, hooking the young man's arm.

"Um, sure, I guess, what is it?" He asked, uncertain to what he was getting himself into.

"Follow me," she said, guiding him out the door and towards the stairs.

"Good luck to the boy," Shina said. "Hope she doesn't kill him."

"Uriko and Kenji are… close," Gado pointed out. They all knew there was something secretly going on between them. "I think she'll be willing to open up to him."

"Hey, Yugo is a friend too and look what happened to him!" Shina said, smirking. She had to admit it had looked pretty funny that the young girl had socked a professional boxer with a world class punch.

"Not the kind of friend that Kenji is," Gado said.

"I highly doubt Uriko will do a repeat performance," Long interjected.

"Nope, they are definitely special friends," Jenny said. "If anyone can get her talking, Kenji can."

"Uriko's been acting weird. We can't get her to open up at all," Alice explained to him. Yugo reappeared from the bathroom, greeting the pair and half smirking in greeting of his little brother through a fresh wad of tissue.

"Hey little bro, welcome back," he said.

Kenji blinked. "Yugo, what happened to your nose?"

"As I said, Uriko's been acting weird," Alice said.

Kenji was gob-smacked. "She punched him?"

"And damn, what a punch," Yugo groaned. "Never would've expected it from her."

"Well, I'll see what I can do," Kenji said, wary now as they came to her door.

"We'll leave him to it," Alice whispered to Yugo, tugging his arm. "We'll go properly see to your nose."

"Okay, nurse, you want to me to take me close off for this examination?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes. "Men." And they disappeared into the bathroom.

Kenji knocked on Uriko's door. "Riko?"

The half-beast stopped sobbing and looked up from her pillow. She was surprised to hear that voice, but she still felt terrible. "Not now, Kenji, I just want to be alone."

"Come on, Riko, lets talk," he offered. "There's something bothering you and everyone is worried. Come on, open the door, you can tell just me for now if it suits you."

She hesitated then shoved her face back into her pillow. "No… just… go away…"

"Please?"

There came no response, only quiet. Kenji sighed, not wanting to give up. He wasn't going to let a door stop him. He needed to get through the door without kicking it in…

… And suddenly, he had an idea, hoping she wouldn't be too mad.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Uriko sat up, leaning back against the wall, knees up to her chest. She was trying to clear her head, but she just felt so angry with herself.

'Why can't anything go right for me?' She asked herself.

There was a sudden flash before her bed, and she jumped. A small log bobbed there for a second and was suddenly replaced by a figure. Kenji to be exact.

He stepped back. "Please, don't hit me. I'm sorry for invading your room like this but… well, I just want to find out what's wrong."

"They sent you up here to find out," she said, folding her arms stubbornly.

He ran a hand over his dark tresses, his face softening. "I'm not doing this just because your sister asked me too. I care about you Riko, and if something's upsetting you, I'd like to know."

"It's… nothing," she said, cheek resting to her knees.

He blanched at that. "Nothing? How can it be nothing when you punch my brother."

She flinched at the rather snappy tone. She couldn't bear to look at him. "I'm sorry," she said weakly.

He sighed and went to sit on the bed next to her. "It's okay, he'd not mad, and neither am I. We just want to know why?"

She sat back properly, legs straightening out, and she met his wondering gaze, feeling a little uncomfortable. "This will sound pathetic, but… I had a bad day…"

"A bad day? How so?" He pushed on.

"Just things happening," she said, looking down at her hands in her lap. "The alarm clock didn't go off, I was late for school, failed a pop quiz, got a detention for losing my homework, getting splattered by food, having a fight with my best friend…" She took a deep breath. "… And then to end the day, just when I'm feeling really crabby, Yugo is taking the rip out of me and nobody is stopping him, in fact, they all had at least one poke… okay, maybe not Master Long, but you know, he didn't tell them to leave me alone. I just felt I was being singled out. And I felt weak and then…" Her fists tightened as she fought to keep her voice composed. "… I just… burst."

"And you hit Yugo," Kenji finished.

"It was one last comment and everything, all the pain and misery of the day just fell on me and I had to lash out! I'm just so fed up!" She let out a short scream. "I hate my life."

"You just feel like that now," Kenji assured her. "One bad day is nothing."

"I know, I know and hitting Yugo wasn't right, and I'm sorry for it, but, I just couldn't help it, I'm just burning up inside! I just want to lash out, get all this frustration out of me before I just explode!" She said, the aggravation making her face bright red.

"Then… hit me, if it makes you feel better," Kenji said, watching her look at him confused. "I know you want to let this anger out on someone. I'll take it and I'll understand."

She looked at him, surprised and locked in silence, fists clenching and unclenching. Her cheeks burned, her heart raced, all her pent up anger just streaming through her. She was bursting at the seams. And there he was, sat there, offering to be a punching bag.

She gritted her teeth, eyes narrowed, body tense and he waited, expecting her to take him up on his offer.

And then she leapt at him, and he waited to be punched, waited in that split second for pain… but instead…

… She pinned him to the bed and pressed her lips firmly to his. This was a big surprise indeed.

Her legs locked his down, keeping him set there as her mouth was bruising his, ravishing with some great need. Kenji just couldn't believe it, but to be honest, he'd not wanted her to punch him, but this… it was speechless, beside the fact his mouth was being occupied by Uriko, her own working feverishly.

And then, she suddenly stopped, sitting back and taking a deep breath, blowing it out slow. He sat up carefully, searching her flushed face for an explanation.

She smirked slightly. "I decided to let out my frustration in another way. Hope you didn't mind?"

Kenji was silent for a minute, staring at her and Uriko was worried, fidgeting uneasily under his gaze. She wanted to know what he was thinking, if he'd liked that she'd been so forceful.

He burst out laughing, just out of nowhere. Uriko tilted her head inquisitively.

"It's okay, Riko," he said, still chuckling. "I definitely preferred the kissing then the idea of being punched in the mouth."

Uriko sighed relieved. "Well, that's okay then." And she chuckled too. 'Wow, I feel better already,' she thought. 'Kisses do wonders!'

"So…" He began. "You still feeling a little agitated?"

"Well, maybe a little bit," she admitted. She suddenly realised what he was leading to, seeing something in his eyes. "Oh, you want another kiss?"

"Well, if you think you need to…"

She was suddenly there in front of him. "I guess, another kiss would help…"

Uriko carefully wrapped her arms around his neck, her body shuffling up to cuddle closely to his trim frame. His own arms encircled her waist instinctively. He let her make the first move, not to push anything on her if she didn't really want to.

Her nose carefully nudged to his, and she tilted her head a touch so she could reach his lips, the contact electrical now that it wasn't so forced as before. The surface was soft and moist, making her own fever-swollen lips tingle in anticipation and she didn't hesitate to press them against the welcoming softness.

She took the lead, her mouth working against his, finding he'd easily could her rhythm and embrace tantalised lips made everything inside her head go fuzzy. It was much an equal reaction with Kenji, not caring why he was in such a position, only that he would keep her there, so he could taste her on the edge of his mouth. No, he wanted more, he wanted to taste more, and his tongue greedily took a golden opportunity to flicker past the open entrance into the sweet core before him.

He'd expected her to stop, maybe even slap him. He waited for it, but instead, he jumped a little as her hand came to grip the back of his hair and her own tongue met his in a positive response. He couldn't help but moan, hands toying over her back, fingers rubbing over each defined line and contour that shaped her wonderfully thin frame.

But then…

"Kenji, Uriko?" A knock came at the door, Alice voice following tentatively.

Both froze, lips locked, tongues static from their dance. Kenji quickly parted the kiss. Uriko was rather disappointed, but understood.

"We're okay," she shouted out at the door. "Everything's fine! We'll be down in a bit."

"Well, okay," Alice said, and they could hear her retreat towards the stairs, apparently talking to Yugo on the way.

Uriko looked back at Kenji, blushing. "Got a bit carried away there…"

"But you feel better right?" He asked. She nodded, face bright red. "Good."

The cat-girl rubbed the back of her arm almost shyly. "I guess I should go face the others."

"Right now?" He asked.

"Why not?"

"I was hoping we could just… well, spend a little more time alone," he said, taking her hand carefully. "I've missed you, you know?"

"And sometimes I thought you never cared," she said softly, pressing up against him in a loving hug. She sighed happily. "Okay, a little while longer to ourselves."

"Thank you," he whispered.

"So, what do you want to do?" She asked.

His hand came to gently stroke her cheek. "We want to clear your mind, don't we? Make you feel better?" He brushed a soft kiss over her quivering lips. "We'll think of something, I'm sure…"