Violet Tempers Crimson Hearts

By Indigo Siren

Disclaimer: Bloody Roar is © to Hudson Soft. I do not own any of characters or mentioned situations from the games. I do however have rights to my own original characters (Kei, Koneko… etc) and the idea for the story. I'm making no money from this story, it is purely for entertainment purposes only. All rights reserved.

A/N: FINAL PART!

'Epilogue' … Of Many Things

The sterile white-wash walls of the local hospital had become ShenLong's new most hated place in the world. Ever.

Everything around him felt like it was made of plastic and Styrofoam, tainted with a strong perfume of bleach. It unsettled his stomach. His cup of coffee, which just tasted like water with a hint of 'brown', did nothing to help. Instead, he just stared at it between his hands, wishing it to be the sweet nectar of alcohol so that it would ease his aching heart.

The coffee was a mere distraction to what lay before him. A bed, sheets crisp white and pulled up around a slender form, obscured from head to toe. The body was inanimate.

ShenLong set the cup down on the bedside counter, sighing as he leant onto the edge of the bed. It creaked with his own movement, though still she didn't move.

'Nagi… Why did you have to be a fucking hero?'

Maybe because that was what she was. A hero. She'd always wanted to do the right thing, even if she went against her own principles. He blamed himself for how it all turned out. It was because of him that they'd ended up there, facing Kunimoto, all because he decided to push Nagi the way he was going. Though, she was a woman of her own desires. He could never have made her do what she didn't want to. Now he wished he'd stopped her.

He remembered those first days when she first crossed his path. At first, he'd wanted nothing to do with her, but now, he just couldn't imagine living without her. He cursed himself silently for letting his emotions get the better of him.

From the moment she entered his life, he knew she'd be trouble, one way or another. Hell, he liked a bit of trouble coming his way; it kept life exciting. A part of him wished for ignorance, wished the whole episode hadn't gone down, but another part was glad he'd got to meet her, glad he'd got to kick Kunimoto's ass and bring some order and vengeance to those in and around the 'Midnight Star'.

Carefully, he lifted his hand to take the top of the crisp white sheet, and with a silent sigh, began to draw it down. It peeled gently away from Nagi's pale, placid features. He looked down at that face solemnly, wishing it had been him to have taken the bullets.

That once placid face suddenly scrunched up with distaste, groaning loudly. She moved her head to the side, drawing her hand up and placing it over her parting eyes.

"Too bright…" She muttered, grasping for the cover that ShenLong had lowered. "Leave me alone."

"People are going to start thinking you're dead if you keep doing that…" He obstructed her from pulling the sheet back over her face.

She blinked with annoyance up toward the bright lights. A dark scowl formed, to which she lay on her significant other.

He dared to ask... "How are you feeling anyway?"

"I feel like shit. Like someone shot me… Oh wait, THEY DID!"

He snorted. "You'd better get better soon. It's getting boring just watching you sleep."

"Nobody said you had to hang around," she grumpily mumbled between her hands, slowly trying to wipe the sleepiness from her eyes.

"Don't get pissy or I will just go home and spend quality time with me and my porn collection."

"Dirty bastard…"

He laughed, rocking back in his seat. "I'm just kidding."

"Whatever…" She would have complained further, but she found herself at his mercy when he moved in the blink of an eye to press his lips to hers. Not at all the sexiest moment shared between them. He tasted like bad coffee, and she tasted like stale ham. But the kiss was a welcoming comfort between doses of boredom and painkillers alike.

When they parted did she actually smile somewhat, even if it was a lazy one. Special thanks to the morphine for that one.

"I am glad you're here," she honestly said.

"Finally, I'm appreciated!" He proclaimed with mock surprise. "Makes me wonder if you're the real Nagi or some kind of sexy impostor!"

"Sit down and stop your yapping…" He just grinned at her in that annoying way he did when he'd successfully irritated her, and did as he was told.

Nagi pushed a button on the side of the bed to lift the top part upward so she could be in more of an upright position without having to move an inch. She secretly wished that she could steal the bed once she was released from the hospital. It would be a luxury to have one at home.

"So, how long have I been in here now?" She wondered aloud. The time was half past two by the wall clock, though she couldn't tell if that was the morning or the afternoon, nor whether if it was the morning of the day after she was shot or maybe days and days ahead.

"About two days," ShenLong confirmed the latter.

She groaned into her arms as they flopped across her despondent expression. "Urgh. Where does the time go… ?" Stretching slightly to remove the kinks from her back, she noticed that even with a nice dose of painkillers, she didn't feel too stiff or in bad shape, aside the fact she felt a bit dopey from the substantial dosage.

"At least you're healing up well," he remarked, poking her in the arm. "Good thing you're a Zoanthrope, eh?"

"Sometimes it does have its perks…" A nice little popping sound emanated from the middle of her back and she relaxed back sighing with great satisfaction.

ShenLong shuffled the chair further forward to the edge of the bed, resting his arms there. His attention seemed to be on them intently, though his words were definitely for his companion.

"You know, I was worried I was going to lose you back there..." Crimson eyes met chestnut ones seriously. "You'd lost a lot of blood. In those few seconds that you closed your eyes and collapsed in my arms, I thought that was it. I thought you'd just died right there and then."

"Did you cry?" She asked, remembering suddenly what she'd asked him when she'd been lying in a pool of her own blood.

'Will you cry for me?'

He looked away, momentarily caught between emotions that she couldn't read before looking back to her with a less then serious smirk. "I bet you were wishing for something dramatic. Like me screaming to the heavens in homage to some cheesy tragedy."

"With the rain pouring around us and some violins striking up…" She couldn't help but giggle. "I know the whole situation is suppose to be serious, but that would just have cut the cheese for me. Death in the most melodramatic way."

"Well… Sorry to disappoint you, I was busy thinking, 'Shit, I'm covered in blood' rather then thinking, 'No, she's dead!'. Tough luck on you," he said before swiftly laughing pompously.

It was all an act, she could tell. His laughter was covering up for something else that he wasn't ready to admit, though she could only wonder what had been going through his mind during the whole situation.

'Were you hurting?' She thought rather then said aloud. She wanted to ask, but considered he'd just bypass the question with some less then serious answer. Instead, she found herself resting her hand on top of his, cutting off his laughter as her soft orbs bore lovingly into his. It was plainly obvious to see in those eyes that there was pain there - raw emotional anguish. For those seconds he'd thought she was gone, something inside him had fallen to pieces. He was a strong guy though, he'd pulled himself back together the best way he could. It made her smile more to think that he was deeply broken by the thought of her dying in his arms.

"What?" He questioned as he saw her expression go all gooey.

"Nothing…" She looked away. 'He wouldn't admit it to me…' It felt quite sad, but then again, she felt it might upset her if he started to get all emotional on her…

"I love you."

She jolted, looking up on him. All her original thoughts seemed to smack her hard in the face. Like a big ice block engraved with the words 'D'UH!'. Her ears rung with the blunt though passionate expression of those seemingly simple three words. Seeing the honesty in his face just made it all feel so real for her, and she could plainly see there was more behind those words that he wanted to admit. Was he really going to get emotional with her after all? He never seemed quite the person to ever really dig deep down and unearth his true feelings before people.

"I…" That simple word alone had her nearly jumping out of bed and into his lap, wanting to hear more from him, but he cut off so quickly and let the silence envelope him.

And that's how they stayed. Nagi came to realise pretty quickly that what she expected what not what she was going to get. 'So much for that…' Aside, she felt dreamy. He'd said 'I love you' and meant it, and she didn't have to even prompt him to say it either.

"Will you say it again? It was nice."

"Nope, once is all you're getting." He turned away to pick up his 'fake-coffee', and took a long drink from it.

"Figures you couldn't be romantic for too long…" She huffed, crossing her arms tendering over her chest.

He put the cup down again. "Yeah, well…"

"I love you too, ShenLong. I'm glad you feel the same way." She smiled at him warmly. He turned away so she couldn't see him blushing.

At that time, an unexpected figure appeared smiling in the doorway.

"Why hello, lovebirds…"

Nagi's face brightened, wholly surprised. "Selia!"

"That would be me." She slipped inside the room, walking around to stop aside ShenLong's chair.

"How are you feeling?" Nagi asked first and foremost. She hadn't seen her since she was initially stabbed.

"I'm good. Still sore but healing well." She patted Nagi's legs. "I should be asking the same of you. You got shot up pretty bad from what I heard."

"Well, I would have been screwed if I was still human." She leaned up to accept a hug from her companion, both careful with each other with concern to their tender wounds. "I'll be fine within a few days."

"You've just got to be thankful he didn't have more bullets," ShenLong impractically put into the conversation. While Selia scowled at the oblivious man, Nagi just rolled her eyes with little concern. They were just words after all, and frankly, he was right. More bullets and she might not have lived to see another day. Not that she needed it stating…

"Thanks for that," Nagi said, and swiftly dismissed him as her attention fell firmly on Selia. "So, have you been discharged then, or are they planning on trapping you here a bit longer?"

"I'm free to go as of today!" She beamed, turning as Kei and Koneko came into the room. "Better late then never, hey?" This was directed more to her boyfriend then anyone else.

"They'd have to brick up the front doors to keep me from taking you home." His arms curled around her waist and he pressed a kiss into the crook of her neck.

Koneko's arms found themselves entangled around ShenLong in a vice-like grip. Her smile was drawn from ear to ear and she giddily shook the older man with an affectionate hug. ShenLong didn't look too pleased with her childish embrace.

"Kami-sama! It's not been the same without you drunk around the bar!" Her cheerful eyes bounced with sparkling delight over to Nagi, as did the rest of her as she flopped her arms around the shoulders of the young woman, who emitted I high pitched yell of pain.

"GARGH! KONEKO! YOU'RE HURTING ME!"

Koneko swiftly hopped away, bowing apologetically over and over again. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" ShenLong tugged the young girl back into his arm embrace. Her squeak was muffled by his hand as he leant in close to her, giving her one of his 'creepy' gazes that he reserved only for her.

"Bobo-hime… My delicious little apple blossom…" The level of sleaziness seemed to sky rocket with the rolling growl that dripped off of his tongue. Her eyes bulged in response. "… Don't hurt my precious little Nagi. If you want some attention, I shall make sure I put some time aside to visit your room tonight." He purposely breathed into her ear, nearly making her jump out of her skin. She bounded from his grasp, leaping over the end of the bed and hid behind Kei and Selia.

"KAMI-SAMA! CREEPY! CREEPY!" She squawked at a pitch thought to be unreachable. Selia shushed her with a finger to her lips.

"You'll have us thrown out if you keep being loud," she warned.

Koneko flushed, bowing her head ashamed. "Sorry."

"It doesn't matter," Nagi defended for her. "This room needs some life in it anyway. As long as she doesn't tear me to shreds."

Koneko brightened and gave a proud salute. "I promise." She bounced up to sit on the very end of the bed, legs crossed beneath her. "So, when are you and Kami-sama going to get married?"

Both people in question were bowled over. Kei clocked Koneko upside the head.

"Ouch!"

"Don't ask stupid questions." Kei made the girl budge up, even though she defiantly tried to push him off, but to no avail.

Nagi glanced away from the group, feeling flushed. She was glad there wasn't a mirror around, otherwise she'd have been further embarrassed to see herself blushing madly. Instead, her reddened face suddenly came to a stop staring across from a the very blanked expression of Yugo, whom was flanked in the doorway by Alice and Uriko. Her awkwardness suddenly became uncertainty to how serious he looked, though his other companions eased her slightly with their smiling, comforting faces.

"Nagi, it's good to see you're okay," Alice said, walking to the free side of the bed. She took her hand. "You had us all so worried."

"So I see…" The slight dryness to the remark was aimed at Yugo, who didn't seem to show any sort of concern for her right then. He looked like he was fit to explode with rage.

"Nagi!" Uriko hugged her carefully. She was being uncharacteristically restrained, but this was a thankful time for her not being over zealous.

"Good to see you guys are alright too," she said, parting from the Zoanthrope cat-girl. "Is everyone else alright too?"

"Yes, everyone is alright. You were the only real drastic casualty." Alice sat down next to her, lowering her tone to a more concerned one. "What were you thinking of? You could have died!"

"It was either me or Cronos and I'm not exactly royalty material, so it was me. Honestly, I wasn't really thinking, I just did what needed to be done. And buggering up Kunimoto's plans further was worth it, even if he did pump me full of lead."

"If that Cronos were a man, he'd take his own damn bullets," ShenLong muttered. The room was quiet there after, except Yugo emitting what sounded like a groan into his hands.

A nurse at that moment popped her head around the door, scowling.

"Three visitors only, please. The rest of you will have to leave."

"Well I'm not going anywhere," ShenLong stated firmly. Yugo glared at him, walking further into the room. He wasn't going anywhere either. Nagi noticed he was itching to get something off his chest, something that most definitely pointed in a confrontation between herself and the leader of the W.O.C.

"Well, I guess we should be going then," Kei said, latching himself onto his lady love. "Me and her have a bed to warm."

"Kei…" She poked him in the ribs.

"I'll be gentle with you," he teased, dragging her carefully towards the door, ignoring her swats in his direction.

Glancing over her shoulder, Selia winked at Nagi. "See you around sometime. Don't be a stranger."

"See you soon."

Koneko glanced between the two males in the room and cringed at the tension. But she barely let her attention linger between them, instead, turning to Uriko. Bouncing off the bed, she hooked the girl's arm, giving her a surprise.

"I saw you at the dinner! Didn't get to introduce myself! I was too busy beating up that pink haired witch! I'm Koneko! Want to raid the vending machine with me?"

Uriko grinned. "Okay. Sure."

"Two peas in a pod," Nagi whispered to Alice. There was so many similarities between the two girls, it was uncanny.

"I'll come after you soon, Uriko," her sister told her. "I'll stick around a bit longer."

"Okay," the girl nodded, heading out with Koneko.

"Bye, Nagi," they both called back in tuneful unison. It was like hearing two of the same voice echoing one of the other.

"Later, girls!" She responded, sitting back in her bed. Now they were down to three, it was time to face up to what was coming…

Yugo's eyes were burning into ShenLong with severe contempt. The latter barely gave him much consideration. He was ignoring him on purpose just to irk him more. Alice glanced quietly between the two and turned to Nagi, clearly anxious. The other girl focused calm eyes on her superior, who finally after some time, noticed her staring at him.

"Good to see you, Yugo," she said.

And that's where it started…

"What the fuck were you thinking?" He said, barely able to restrain himself from shouting. "You put so many people at risk just to get the one up over Kunimoto! And you purposely put yourself in harms way during a dangerous situation. There was no need for you to confront him like that!"

"You should be thanking her for what she did," ShenLong butt in; his fiery eyes regarded the wolf Zoanthrope with heavy disdain. "If it wasn't for her acting when she did, I think you'd have had a massacre on your hands."

"I wasn't talking to you, ShenLong," he snapped. "This is none of your business."

"I just made it MY business…" He sat forward, leering at the Japanese man. "I don't see what your fucking problem is. You got your result. Kunimoto and his bitch, Kirakira, are as good as prison fuck-fodder. What more do you want from her?"

Yugo folded his arms, his chest heaving out as he took in a deep breath, letting it all out in a sharp snort of disgust. His chestnut eyes narrowed suddenly reproachfully. "It's because of you that she's done something as stupid as this. What kind of crap have you been mind-fucking her with?"

"Back off, Yugo," Nagi quickly interrupted. Her turned sharply to her again. "Everything I've done is what I chose to do myself. ShenLong didn't influence me at all. He just helped is all."

"How MUCH has he been helping you?" The question rang with innuendo. Nagi scowled at him darkly, feeling disgusted by him for asking something that implied such lewd conduct. Anything of that matter to do with ShenLong was definitely forbidden territory to tread.

"Are you asking if my services were brought with a fuck?" ShenLong burst out laughing.

"Maybe I am." Yugo swivelled, stalking over to the man's chair. "You're a sick man, ShenLong. I wouldn't expect you to do the decent thing without heavy persuasion."

The laughter faded, and the tiger Zoanthrope raised himself so that the two were nose to nose.

"And I wouldn't expect you to be clever enough to pull your mind out of the gutter. You should be asking yourself if it's really me whose the sick one here…"

"Both of you shut the hell up!" Nagi shouted, infuriated by the clash of testosterone. Her outburst caused stress on her wounds and she found herself suddenly gasping for breath, chest searing with burning pain. ShenLong had pushed away from Yugo to attend to her side. He offered her up his coffee. She begrudgingly accepted it, even if it tasted foul. It gave her some relief.

"Do you want me to call the nurse?" Alice worriedly asked.

"No… No, I'll be alright," she assured when she regained her breath. "The pain is easing."

Yugo had finally let his concern slip through his angry mask. "Are you sure?"

She waved her hands around her to move people back. "Yes, yes! Just say what you've got to say and leave it at that. I'm getting rather tired."

"Fine." The W.O.C. leader sat the edge of the bed, speaking now with a much softer tone. "I just wanted to know why you didn't talk to me before? You left me in the dark until your work came through the mail yesterday."

"Ah, it got to you then," Nagi said smirking. He didn't smile back. Sobering up, she leant forward, prodding a finger at him, "I had good reason to keep you well clear of the situation. Given the chance you'd have pulled me out and tried to settle things with more direct force." He scoffed at that. "I bet you're thinking my way was full on, but I can only imagine a worse situation if you'd been leading it. The problem is with you, Yugo, you're too easily riled. You and Kunimoto clashing would have brought a more catastrophic outcome."

"I'm just…" he rolled over the words in his head, looking rather awkward at the same time, "… concerned for you, Nagi. I read the stuff you dug up. Kunimoto was a serious nutcase. A vicious criminal…" He learned closer to her. "A murderer…"

She stared at him hard. "I know that. I didn't walk into that hall that night not knowing what he was capable of."

He leant back. "You still should have kept me informed with your plans."

"I'm sorry that I didn't do things the way you wanted, but I don't regret any of it." She saw ShenLong smile out of the corner of her eye and felt like following his example, but didn't think Yugo would appreciate her looking all smug. "The situation is all wrapped up. There was one gang around the 'Midnight Star', and that was the A1-Sabres. The locals were NOT a part of any unsavoury activities. In fact, they were only dragged into it when I went to confront Kunimoto himself. So, we have no worries further there. And if the authorities will deal with the asshole and his cronies, I think our case is well and truly closed."

Yugo stood abruptly. "Whatever the case, you did some stupid things to get a result. Was it worth putting your life in danger to do it?"

"I saved lives, didn't I?"

Yugo slammed his fist on the end of the bed. "THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

"Calm down, Yugo" Alice soothed, inserting herself into the volatile situation. "Look, Nagi, I think he wants you to understand how unethically you handled the situation. Not only did you risk members of the public, but you compromised your own life at the same time. If you had informed us of your plans beforehand, we might have been prepared to handle the situation without you getting shot."

"No offence," Nagi said. "But this battle wasn't the W.O.C.'s to fight."

"This WASN'T some backstreet brawl! Kunimoto needed handling by the system!" Yugo snapped. "Just remember whose side you're on here! You only got involved because the W.O.C. asked you too."

Nagi groaned. "Look. We're all on the same side. And however it ended up was because of an inevitable decline to that point. However things worked out, I'm sorry that it ended up the way it did. And, okay, I'm REALLY sorry that I didn't play by the rules. I'll try not to take such chances next time."

"There isn't going to be a next time, that's for sure." Yugo stood. "I'm definitely not leaving you in charge of a high risk case again."

"I'm glad you have so much faith in me," she spat spitefully.

The wolf Zoanthrope sighed. "I do have faith in you… It's just… You proved that you rush head on into things without letting people know…"

"Like someone I know…" Alice muttered into her hand. Yugo glared at her. She simply smiled back innocently.

Nagi fiddled idly with the sleeve of her blue-chequered hospital gown. "It was my first case. I wanted to do it my way and bring back the best results. I got carried away, I admit, but I showed the bad guys that we aren't to be messed with." ShenLong took a hold of her fiddling fingers and pressed them to his lips. She giggled.

"So… Are you two serious?" Yugo asked stiffly. The pair looked between each other, then to him.

"I hope so," she said optimistically.

ShenLong tightened his hold on her. "If you think you're going to run off now, you've got another thing coming."

"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into." Yugo turned his back on ShenLong, who gave him an odious look.

"I think I do…" Nagi trailed off, turning ShenLong's face to look back at her. It was a silent exchange of understanding on both their parts - that their emotions were true enough to make a solid relationship.

Yugo headed to the door, casting a glance back to Alice and making a motion with his head to the exit. Rather annoyed at being led about, she moved swiftly with obvious annoyance twitching in her shoulders. She paused mid-step between him and the pair and smiled considerately to them.

"Get well soon, Nagi, and…" She swallowed back her own personal dislike for ShenLong, nodding acceptingly in his direction. "… Good luck to you both."

"Thanks," he was the first to answer. She echoed him seconds after, gratefully.

Alice exited the door, though not without punching Yugo in the arm. He quietly protested, rubbing the sore spot and turned to look back at Nagi, giving her a much more friendly glance then he had before.

"Anyway… Thanks… And take care of yourself." And he was gone from the room.

ShenLong snorted. "Talk about King of the mood swings."

"Yeah, he can be unpredictable at times, though I always thought that was a good quality in a man. Makes them more exciting." ShenLong scowled at her to which she laughed in response. "What? You think I fancy Yugo now? I leave that job to Alice."

Unexpectedly, he climbed up onto the bed, pushing her carefully back by the shoulder. She blinked up at him with intrigue as he straddled her lap, pressing in closely so their faces were only inches part.

"You know…" He whispered softly against her lips. "… You're all mine. I'll make it so you won't ever look at any other man ever again…"

"You'll blind me?" Her teasing question was cut off as he covered her lips with his own. She pushed herself up slightly on her elbows to intensify the experience…

… Which was abruptly cut off by giggling in the doorway. They broke the kiss to catch a glimpse of Koneko and Uriko running off, tittering with fresh gossip.

"Kids…" ShenLong grumbled.

"Forget them…" She tugged him closer. "… Kiss me again."

"Is that an order?"

This time it was she that pressed the action, locking lips in a feverish embrace that left both partners flushed with desire.

"I can't wait to get you home," he huskily whispered against her lips, trailing his kisses to her ear, teasing the lobe with his tongue as he drew the soft skin into his mouth.

She purred. "You've got me all excited now, you tease. So unfair I'm stuck in here."

He ran his tongue up around the contour of her lear. "I could always sneak you out… Mmm, so tasty…"

"Stop it. This is not the appropriate place for me to get horny…"

"Why not? Haven't you ever fantasised about doing it in a hospital?"

"Uh, no…" She pushed him off, unable to keep the grin off her face when she saw his lusty expression. "Oh boy, I hope you haven't, you sicko!"

"I'm willing to try anything once!" He wiggled his eyebrows.

This was just the start of an interesting relationship…

A/N: Took me a while, but I finally got there! I hope that you enjoyed this story! Was an interesting experience to write. I may do another ShenLong x Nagi story in the future - keep a look out for it. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and review my story. I apprechiate it very much!