Mariko Part 3

"You have not given me a chance to tell you anything." Mariko snaps defensively. I'm still stumped my mind reeling as Logan comes closer to me scowling at me. What is he doing here? Why isn't he with Yukio on his mission? Mariko is supposed to be dead! I saw her grave…

"Alright bub, you got till the count of three to tell me what the hell you're doing in my house." Logan snarls. I stand up suddenly angry at him. It must have been all a hoax.

"Me? You're the one who needs to do the explaining!" I snap back at him. Logan frowns though he raises his claws higher as if he means to stab me. Before we can start fighting Mariko comes between us putting a hand on my chest as she turns to Logan.

"Stop, Logan. This man just saved my life. And that's no way to treat our guest." Mariko scolds him. By now my face is flushed. I'm ready to kick Logan's ass at this point. Logan glares up at me, nods grudgingly, and his claws slide back into his wrist. He retrieves his bag and pulls out two dead rabbits. I stare at him wondering why he says nothing to me. Mariko begins to try and soothe me but I only stare back down at her. Yes, I can see it now. It's the same woman whose picture I saw on the gravestone. Only now she's alive.

"Mon glutton?" I say. Logan doesn't even look up at me. I continued to stare at him until he mutters to himself looking back up at me.

"What? I don't speak French." He snaps at me. I blink still continuing to stare at him. Beginning to notice small things about him.

Logan has always been a bit rugged, but right now it looks as if he's been rolling around in the dirt. He has on his old hat with the crocodile teeth around the top. I remember it so well because I've taken it from him so many times when I would walk into a bar to join him for a drink. His body language is tense as he glares at me. Defensive but holding back because of Mariko. Logan isn't stupid. If he had been cheating on me he would never keep up the act should I catch him in the act. Unless of course he means to kill me…

But no. That can't be right, can it? Those tears of his were too real when we stood in front of the gravestone. Yes, I know nothing about him but no one could act like that. Again, though, I don't know how truly old this man is. He could be forty for all I know or a hundred. No one knows. As I continued to stare at him I glance back at the woman who is gazing at me worriedly. I go back to the table and sit back down to quietly sip my tea.

For now I'll just wait and watch. If this is an act I'm killing the man. Yet somehow…somehow it doesn't seem that way.

"Mariko, why is this man here?" Logan grunts when I don't say anything else. Mariko sighs as if he's being the most troublesome man in the world. I try not to smile at that despite the situation.

"Like I said, he saved my life. Those men from the village tried to rape me. Remy was driving by and thankfully heard me. He stopped, beat them up, and they ran away. I brought him back here to thank him." Mariko answers calmly. Logan's head jerks up his eyes wide with panic as he drops the rabbit he's skinning and comes over to her.

"Hon, are you alright? Why the hell didn't you say anything?! Where all those bastards?! I'm gonna-"

"Enough, Logan-san. I'm sure they're scared enough as it is. They were just a few local troublemakers, is all." Mariko says calmly. For a woman who had been lying in the dirt crying she is surprisingly cool now. She even wiped her face off from all the dirt. Seeing me stare she gives me a kindly smile.

"Thank you again, Remy-san. I do appreciate your timely arrival."

"I'd do it for anyone, Cherie." I answer her. Logan is still giving me an evil eye. I can't help it. I start to smile.

"Since Mariko played the damsel in distress, does that make Remy the prince?" I ask him. At this Logan snorts shaking a fist at me in warning.

"Try anything when I'm not around, bub, I'll rip ya a new one."

"I'm shaking in my boots cher. So terrified."

"You'd better be." Logan grunts. He ignores me and gives Mariko a deep kiss. I stare at him feeling hurt for the blatant disregard for me. Mariko breaks it by shoving him away and smacks him on the face. I blink surprised as Logan grunts again but starts grinning like an idiot.

"What? I just wanna show ya I love ya."

"Not in front of our guest, Logan."

"Not even a little?"

"No."

"You're no fun." Logan says. He glowers at her as he goes back to his rabbits and picks them up again to continue his skinning. I quirk a brow at Mariko who begins to blush as she looks down into her tea.

"My apologies for my husband's actions, Remy-san. He had a temporary leave of his senses in your presence since he is so concerned for my health."

"Keep telling him that, hon. I'm sure at some point he'll believe ya." Logan said from his corner. With his back turned as he hunched over his work he looked like a child brooding. I was really trying to fight back a smile at this point. I had never seen Logan act so carefree. This was a side of him I never, if rarely, saw.

"Don't apologize on my behalf, Mariko. I have someone back at home who acts exactly like that." I said deciding to see how he would react. Logan frowned and raised his head turning to study me. Mariko seemed relieved to change the subject.

"Oh? I'm sure she doesn't give you quite so much trouble as Logan-san does me."

"As a matter of fact, he's almost exactly like Logan. More of a, ah, lumberjack type. Never listens to a word I say. Then when he gets mad or hurt he expects you to suddenly drop everything you're doing and come comfort him."

"He sounds very selfish."

"Does, doesn't he? He's spoiled rotten too." I answered her. By now I have Logan's attention. He's staring at me like he's never seen me before. Or I've come from another planet.

"Just like me, huh?" Logan says. He's frowning down at me but I can tell I've thrown him for a loop. He studies me his head tilted to the side. Mariko as well has an odd look on her face as well as she gazes at me curiously.

"Least I know you won't be hitting on Mariko." Logan says after a minute. However he's still staring directly at me with those bright blue eyes of his.

"Oh, your wife is a beauty, cher. I have a half mind to sweep her off her feet and take her out dancing in the moonlight." I replied. When he scowls Mariko laughs as she reaches over and puts her hand over mine. That gets Logan's blood boiling as he glares down at me.

"Well, regardless Remy-san, I would gladly accept your offer if my husband did not grow so jealous. You will stay the night of course, yes?" Mariko asked me sweetly. I raised a brow and glanced at Logan who had begun to frown.

"Look, hon, we can't keep the man here. Besides, where is he gonna sleep?"

"With me of course. You can sleep outside since you're having an attitude problem." Mariko said crisply. Logan balked glaring at me and then back at her. I shrugged my shoulders when he looked at me not knowing what to say. Rolling his eyes he began to mutter to himself as he began to spit the rabbits to cook.

"I'll keep my comment to myself, darlin'. But the Cajun tries anything I'm throwing him out on his ass." Logan growled. I continued to sip my tea as Mariko began to lecture her husband about being kind to guests.

It was then my phone began to ring. Without looking at it I took it out and flipped it open. Logan and Mariko both went silent and stared at me with wide eyes when I took it out. I didn't even think about it.

"Remy speaking."

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"

"What?" I answered shocked. Over the phone was….Logan. Yelling at me. But how could he be when I was staring directly at him while he was preparing rabbits for dinner?

"You heard me you ass! Why the hell aren't you answering your phone when I call?! I've been hitting redial for the last three hours searching for your ass! You either be in a ditch dying somewhere if you aren't able to answer!"

"Mon glutton I…I never heard you call." I answered staring at the two figures in front of me. I began to get a feeling of dread.

"Where the hell ARE you?!"

"In Japan."

"Bullshit! I got in yesterday night and Harada said you never came back!"

"Harada?" The name seemed to trigger something in Mariko and the….well, other Logan. Getting up he began to come towards me his face a grim mask.

"Hey bub, why don't you gimme the phone?" He said. I only stared at him and then Mariko my heart beginning to pound. Something was very, very wrong here. If Logan, my Logan was back and he said I had been missing for nearly a day…

Shaking my head I abruptly got up upsetting the table. The teacup went flying staining the wooden floor boards. In the candlelight it looked like dark blood. Reaching down I drew my Bo staff letting it slide out to its full length as I backed away from them. The other Logan came after me raising his hands to calm me down. I only shook my head as I spun around and ran back into the night.

My boots squelched in the mud as I ran, the dirt soaked from the rain. I didn't stop to think as I fled heading in what I thought was the highway. Behind me I heard a yell as the other man came in pursuit of me. In the distance I saw the headlights of my motorcycle though dim. Behind me I heard a snarl and then suddenly I was falling as a hard mass pinned me down.

I struggled trying to get my feet back under me but I was driven back down. I had not hung up on Logan. Over the phone I could hear him yelling at me demanding to know what was going on. And then just like that whatever had driven me to my knees was lifted off. Staggering back up I looked around in mild shock. The entire front of my shirt and pants dripping with mud.

Come with me.

I blinked staring stunned as Mariko came before me. The rain did not seem to touch her, nor the darkness. Her kimono glowed an with an eerie light. It was pure white with silver cherry blossoms embroidered on it. Swaying I stared at her suddenly light headed. When I looked behind me I saw the hut, but it was ruined. From where I stood it could not have been a livable place. The roof was caved in, half the flooring long since rotted away. Blackened beams reached out to the crying sky as if in supplication. Standing in front of the hut stood two foxes ears pricked as they watched me. One was bigger than the other, the male I presumed who began to bark at me. The smaller one began to yip her tail flicking worriedly as she moved as if to come after me but didn't.

Come with me. Mariko insisted. Even though her lips didn't move I could hear her clearly.

Quickly, Remy. Before you are lost to them. Come with me. Logan is waiting for you.

I suddenly felt exhausted. So tired I could barely move my feet. Yet I made myself move. Putting one foot in front of the other as I followed the ghost of Logan's wife through the rain into the dark.