A/N: Special thanks to Star-of-Chaos, SperryDee, ishandahalf, enchantedlight, Lucas'sgirl, Moon Comix, Du Soleil Oriental, Jean1, & mela for your reviews of the last chapter.

P.S. Du Soleil Oriental-As far as there being a connection between Mariko and Lady Deathstrike, sorry but there's nothing there, at least not that I'm aware of. But Mariko does have some pretty powerful relatives, and I'm sure they'll all get together by the end of this story. It might be a family reunion that none of them will forget any time soon…

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When the next morning arrived, it did so with a peacefulness that was in stark contrast to the chaos of the previous night. Birds were busily chirping and the grass was covered in the freshly formed morning dew, as nature slowly prepared itself for a new day.

Out of nowhere, nature and every thing else within earshot of the Yashida ancestral estate, received an abrupt and earsplitting wake-up call.

"What the…" Rogue said to herself as she sat in her guest quarters. The thunderous reverberations from outside interrupted her, as she was strapping on her black hiking boots. She recognized the sound of a motorcycle being revved-up, and she also knew that there could only be one individual responsible for it. Rogue grabbed her green jacket and proceeded outside into the cool morning air for a further investigation. She followed the sounds to the garage area of the estate where she spotted her number one suspect, Logan.

"Ah think you succeeded." Rogue said. She was leaning against the railing at the top of a very small staircase, one that lead from a doorway into the estate down to the ground.

"In doin' what, darlin'?" Logan replied, as he sat smoking a cigar on a medium-sized cruiser bike. He then turned off the motorcycle's engine, as he waited for Rogue's response.

"Scarin' away every livin' creature within a mile of here, is what." Rogue stated.

"That wasn't my intention, I just wanted to see what kind of power this baby has." Logan replied, "This is one nice piece of work."

"I am glad that you are so impressed, Logan." Mariko said, as she came outside to join Rogue and Logan.

"Your bike seems to be in perfect condition. Someone around here must be takin' real good care of it." Logan said as he sat on the motorbike.

"You have my cousins Shiro and Leyu to thank for that. When they come to visit, they are always telling me that one day they will get me to ride it, along with theirs." Mariko replied.

"Well, I'd say today's as good a day as any to get started and put this thing through it's paces?" Logan suggested.

"I don't know." Mariko replied hesitantly.

"It'll be alright. I even promise that I won't go very fast, until you feel more comfortable on it." Logan offered.

Mariko stood there, thinking about Logan's proposal before making her decision.

"Okay, just give me a moment to change into something more suitable." Mariko said, as she turned and went inside.

When Mariko came back outside a short time later, she was wearing a very casual ensemble consisting of a pink windbreaker with red stripes and a pair of denim blue jeans.

"Man, she looks incredible, and she's not even tryin' to." Logan thought to himself, as Mariko emerged from the house. Logan grabbed his leather jacket and got back onto the bike, giving it a kick-start in the process.

"Here you go." Logan said, as he handed a helmet to Mariko for her to put on.

"Where is yours?" Mariko asked him.

"Yeah, Logan. Remember, safety first." Rogue giggled, as Logan gave Rogue a look that conveyed his feelings on the subject. He put on the other helmet, but only to avoid having to explain to Mariko the real reason why he didn't really need one.

Logan knew that eventually he would have to tell Mariko the truth about his powers. But things were going so well between the two of them right then, and as selfish as it may have been on his part, he didn't want to ruin that.

The bike slowly pulled away from the house, as Mariko sat with her arms wrapped tightly around Logan's waist. They traveled along a small two-lane roadway that ran through the local area, and Logan had to adjust himself to driving on the left side of the road. As they rode along, they soon intersected onto a major highway. Logan noticed that Mariko's grip around his waist had slowly begun to loosen. He took that as a sign that she was becoming more comfortable with being on the motorcycle with him.

Logan and Mariko journeyed the area around the port city of Agarashima for a few hours, and the couple enjoyed every single minute of it. Later, they stopped at a full-service gas station to refill the bike, and while waiting, they decided to visit a nearby diner. After going inside and ordering, Logan made a comment about their surroundings.

"It's almost like bein' back at home." Logan said to Mariko, as they sat down in one of the booths.

"What makes you say that?" Mariko asked.

"I just didn't expect to see so many convenience stores along the highway out here, back home they're everywhere." Logan continued.

"Well, Japan is a modern nation, much like the United States. I suppose that it is something to be expected." Mariko told him.

"I know. I guess I just expected it to be alot more rural this far from the city. I suppose I'm just remembering Japan the way it was the last time I was here." Logan revealed.

"You've been here before? I did not know." Mariko stated.

"It was a long time ago, and I was a lot younger then." Logan told her.

"I imagine that things look differently when we are children, compared to seeing them as adults." Mariko said.

"Yeah." Logan replied simply.

Logan sat and realized that from the few fractured memories he had of being in Japan all of those years ago, that he was far from being a child back then. He figured that at that time, Mariko probably hadn't even been born yet. For the first time, it made Logan think about the prospect of his prolonged mortality, due to his mutant healing factor. It had gifted him with the ability to deal with and recover from almost every sickness or injury known to man. But, Logan was confronted with something that he had never considered before.

Would his healing-factor turn out to be a double-edged sword? He wondered if he would live out the rest of his days as a modern day Rip Van Winkle, forced to watch friends and loved-ones grow old and die, while he merely continued on? Since he had never really been close to anyone, at least that he could remember, it wasn't a subject that he had given much thought. But now, with Rogue and Mariko becoming so dear to him, it appeared that things in his life had changed.

"Logan? Is everything okay?" Mariko asked, as she brought Logan back to the present.

"Everything's fine." Logan replied with a grin, "I just let my mind wander for a second too long, is all."

"I was only saying that the attendants should be finished with the motorcycle." Mariko informed him, as she pointed towards the filling station through the window in the diner.

"Then let's hit the road, I guess it's about time to be gettin' back to your home anyways." Logan said, as they got up and left the diner.

"Before that, there is one place that I would like us to stop." Mariko requested.

Logan paid the attendant at the filling station, and then he and Mariko climbed back aboard the cycle. They headed down the highway and eventually made it to an interchange that put them back on the roadway that would take them to the Yashida estate. As they neared her home, Mariko pointed to a small side road a few miles from the compound. She had Logan make a detour down a narrow dirt trail that ended in a beautiful clearing, surrounded by numerous tall pine trees and with a small pond in the center. Logan and Mariko then got off of the motorcycle, with Logan wondering why they were there in the first place?

"It's real peaceful and all out here, but what gives?" Logan inquired, as they walked together and stopped by the edge of the pond.

"I just wanted you to see this area of my family's estate." Mariko started to explain, "I haven't been out here for quite some time, but when I was a little girl, I would spend most of my free time here. I enjoyed the solitude that I found in this location and it became a special place for me, somewhere where I could escape the world for a brief time. My mother died when I was still very young, and then after my father's death, I would often come here to think about all of the things I wished that I could say to them both in person. It wasn't the same as having a real conversation with them, but it did help a little."

"Well, I can see why this place means so much to you." Logan replied, as they walked together along a small trail around the pond.

"That is only part of the reason that I hold this place so dear. Do you remember the conversation that we had about the woman that you loved back home?" Mariko asked Logan.

"Sure." Logan answered, as he recalled talking about Jean Grey when he and Mariko were on their first date.

"You said that you could love another woman only if you felt a deep connection with her. I have never shown this area to anybody else before. Nor have I told anyone how important it is to me, not even my cousins'. When I was a teenager, I told myself that the only person that I would ever tell would have to be someone that I cared for very deeply. I knew then that it would have to be a man that I truly loved, and that I knew felt the same way about me." Mariko said to Logan, as she laid her heart out on the line and revealed how deeply she had fallen in love with him.

"Then it looks like you know everything, darlin'." Logan replied as they stopped walking.

Logan then looked into Mariko's eyes and saw a truth in them that meant more to him than any words either of them could say to each other. He gently placed his index finger under her chin and leaned down, kissing her. As they continued kissing for several minutes, Logan felt something beyond just a kiss between two people. Being with Mariko made a new, special part of him come to life, and it felt almost surreal. But Logan was sure that this was no dream.

"Oh, and just for the record, M'iko." Logan said, as they had stopped for a moment, "I love you too."

Mariko responded with a smile, as she rested her head against Logan's chest and they embraced one another.

As they remained for some time in their very intimate moment, Mariko soon noticed that the sun was slowly heading towards its twilight.

"Perhaps we should return before night falls." Mariko suggested.

"Yeah, Rogue's probably wonderin' where we are." Logan added, as they hiked back up the trail holding hands, and went to where they had parked the motorcycle. Logan and Mariko then boarded the motorbike and departed for her home on the outskirts of Agarashima.

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On one of many rooftops in downtown Tokyo, a visitor to Japan was standing there looking out onto the city, just as evening was turning to night. He had been jumping from rooftop to rooftop, making his way across the city in a most unusual fashion. But, he was not the only person traveling in such a manner that night.

"You know, y'all really need to work on yo' skills at tailin' someone." Gambit said, as he turned around from the edge of the rooftop to see three individuals standing behind him. They were all wearing red ninja outfits, and their ninja hoods made their eyes barely visible.

"We have been sent to silence your prattling, once and for all Gaijin." One of the ninja's, whose uniform identified him as a member of the Hand, replied.

"And here I was thinkin' y'all was havin' a pajama party, and had forgot to invite me." Gambit replied sarcastically, as he reached into his coat pocket to pull out a freshly bought deck of cards.

As Gambit was reaching into his pocket, one of the Hand foot soldiers quickly swung his sword at Gambit.

"Looks like Gambit's gonna have to teach you boys how to play nice." Gambit said, as he blocked the sword with his metal fighting staff.

"You have been one step ahead of us, but tonight your luck has run out." The ninja said, as a furious fight broke out between Gambit and the assassins of the Hand.

Gambit faced odds that were stacked against him on that rooftop, but to him that's what made the game of life interesting. Those standing on the ground below could hear the sound of metal hitting metal from the rooftop above. They could also hear what sounded like small explosions from up above, and could see brief flashes of light from the rooftop as well.

In less than ten minutes, however, the noises and light show had completely stopped.

"Looks like my luck done still held out, and de house loses dis time." Gambit said, breathing heavily from the exhausting fight. He stood on the rooftop and looked down at the three ninjas that he had just befallen.

As Gambit prepared to depart from the top of the building, he was suddenly struck in the chest by an arrow. It had been shot at him from a nearby rooftop.

As Gambit lay on the ground of the rooftop, his luck still seemed to be holding out, though. The arrow had been stopped by a light suit of armor that was woven into the attire that he wore underneath his trench coat. Gambit pulled out the arrow, then picked himself and his staff up from the ground. As he did, he came to see more than a dozen new Hand ninjas standing right in front of him.

"Y'all got here a little too late, de party's already over." Gambit smiled, as the group surrounded him in a semi-circle. His back was facing the edge of the roof and the street below them.

"We have come to avenge our fallen brothers, and to mete out the punishment demanded by our current employer, for your betrayal in siding with Lady Mariko." One of the ninja's in the current group said to him.

"Before we start Round 2, you got any more friends dat's gonna be joinin' us?" Gambit asked, as he tried to determine how many more members of the Hand he would need to worry about.

"There will be as many of us as it takes to bring about your death. We are the Hand, if you chop off one finger, another will grow to take it's place." The ninja replied.

"Dat's a sight I can go without seein'." Gambit replied sarcastically.

Just then, one of the ninja's lunged at Gambit with a long wooden spear that had a very sharp metal point. Gambit blocked the spear with his staff. Realizing that even his formidable skills were not enough to contend with the sheer numbers stacked against him, Gambit turned and jumped off of the ledge behind him. He used his staff to catch onto a long cable that stretched between the two buildings below, breaking his fall. He then fell onto the roof of a passing semi-truck on the street below, and successfully made his get-away.

"Brothers', after him! We must not let him escape!" One of the ninja's shouted, as the entire group split up and headed in various directions across the nearby rooftops, in an attempt to catch up to Gambit.

As Gambit rode on the top of the semi-truck, he knew that he was about to be in for a very long night…

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Logan and Mariko made it back to her home in far less time than it had taken to leave that morning. Mariko had become more comfortable riding on her bike, and this meant that Logan could travel at a higher rate of speed. As they pulled back into the garage with the headlights on, Logan and Mariko felt a sense of electricity between them.

"What will we tell Rogue, if she asks what we did today?" Mariko asked Logan, as they walked from the garage to the house.

"Tell her the truth, that it's none of--" Logan smiled, as he started to say something sarcastic. But he suddenly stopped, as his instincts took over. He stood and looked around, while Mariko tried to figure out what was going on.

"Logan, what is the matter?" Mariko asked him, as she saw that Logan had the same look on his face as the night before, when he took off after the thief that had tried to steal the Honor Blade that belonged to her family.

"Somethin' ain't right here. This place is quiet, but it's way too quiet." Logan said, as he took his right arm and motioned Mariko from his side and moved her directly behind him.

Logan entered the house first, but didn't see anyone. Now he knew that something was wrong. With a staff the size that Mariko employed, his enhanced hearing should detect their movements around this main part of the estate. But, he was getting nothing. As they moved further into the house, Logan noticed a dim light emanating from inside of the ceremonial hall, which was a large gathering room that was used on special occasions.

Logan entered the room, and saw a sight that sent a chill straight down his spine.

"Rogue!" Logan yelled out, as he saw her lying on the floor in the room, with a sword laying right next to her.

Logan started towards her to see if she was alright, when he heard a voice from the other side of the room.

"Do not worry, she is merely unconscious."

"Who said that?" Logan asked, as he saw a large figure standing on the other side of the room.

The figure was wearing a silver-colored outfit that had chrome-hued plating on it, and he proceeded to move towards Logan and Mariko from the dark corner in the room. Logan saw that he was wearing a silver colored bandana around his forehead, but Logan didn't recognize his face at all.

"Mariko, perhaps you should make our introduction." The figure said.

"Logan this is my half-brother, Keniuchio Harada, the self-proclaimed Silver Samurai." Mariko said in a very mocking tone, as she immediately recognized her own brother, "Tell me Harada-san, what is the meaning of your intrusion and this disgraceful action?"

"It is meant to show you that you are not capable of leading the Clan Yashida. The American girl fought well, especially for a Gaijin, but her skills were no match for mine. But, at least she fought better than the pathetic excuses that you have for a security force to protect our ancestral home. Were I in charge, such an intrusion would never happen." The Silver Samurai told her, as he leaned against a large wooden support beam in the room. Then he spoke again.

"Sister, I have come because I think it is time that we discussed the future of our family, and more importantly, the future of the Clan Yashida…"

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Next Chapter: Wolverine vs. The Silver Samurai (And it ain't gonna be pretty…)