A/N: Special thanks to enchantedlight, Star-of-Chaos, ishandahalf, Moon Comix, mela, SperryDee, EvilWhiteRaven & Broadwaypoetess for taking the time to review the last chapter of this story.

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--Broadwaypoetess –Mariko Yashida was an actual character created in the X-Men comics, and first showed up not too long after Wolverine joined the team. She first met the X-Men when they rescued Japan from a villain named Moses Magnum. From there, she and Logan struck up a romance that lasted for years, but was always riddled with obstacles and tragedy.

I'm not really sure about the Gambit/ Hand connection you're referring to, since I missed most of the X-treme X-Men run until the very end. The Hand were originally villains created in the Daredevil comic series, and were most notable for resurrecting Elektra to be their top assassin (I think, I've only read sparse issues of Daredevil). Anyways, years later the Hand, under the direction of Iron Man's arch-enemy the Mandarin, sought out a new female assassin. They found an unconscious and injured Elizabeth Braddock, whom they brainwashed and remade into their own image (This is the very simplified explanation). Wolverine and Jubilee eventually rescued Psylocke, and Wolverine feuded with the Hand off and on for years afterwards, with Gambit sometimes along for the ride.

Anyways, back to the story…

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A few uneventful days had passed since the disturbance at the Yashida estate in Agarashima, Japan. Currently, Rogue was busy inside of her room at the Royal Prince Hotel, preparing to go out for a little while.

Meanwhile, a slightly older woman pulled up to that very same hotel, inside of a late-model black limousine. She was wearing a medium blue business suit and wore her shoulder-length, black hair in a single ponytail. Looking at her, she appeared to be a woman on a mission.

"…and that was Allison Blaire with her latest single, the silky ballad Miss You Forever."

A voice on the television in Rogue's room said this, as the set was tuned to a music video countdown that had been taped in the States and was now being broadcast on a station in Japan with text translation at the bottom of the screen.

"But the real question is, is anybody going to miss her? Despite debuting at number one on this countdown less than a month ago, this video has fallen all the way down to number seventeen, and appears to be on it's way out the door. After what happened at her last concert in New York, maybe someone should do her and her career a favor and put them both out of their misery before it gets any worse..."

"Somebody should put you outta your misery; no talent, hack VJ," Rogue said softly to herself, as she got dressed. She was more than a little upset at the hidden prejudice in the television personality's comment.

Ever since it had become public knowledge that Allison Blaire was in fact a mutant, her life and her career had been completely torn apart as a result.

Rogue was planning on going to a local Internet café close to the hotel, so that she could do some research for a paper. It was one of a number of projects that had been assigned to her by the school's interim headmaster, Dr. Henry McCoy, and she had to turn them in once she got back home. Rogue shut off the TV and grabbed her green leather jacket and book-bag, as she prepared to make her exit from the room. But when she opened the door, Rogue was surprised to be met by someone else there.

"Lady Mariko. I didn't expect to see you here." Rogue told her.

"Hello, Rogue." Mariko replied as she stood in the doorway, "I came here looking for Logan, but he is not in his room. I have left numerous phone messages for him over the past few days, but he has yet to call me back. Do you know where I may find him?"

"Ah'm not really sure myself." Rogue replied, as the two of them stepped back into her hotel room and closed the door, "Logan checks in with me every so often when he comes in, from Lord knows where. When he does, he usually looks like he's been out all night, and has had a rough night of it at that. When Ah tried to talk to him, he just grumbled a few incomplete sentences to me and then went to his room. He looked really depressed, but Ah guess Ah can't really blame him after the way you treated him. Ah thought you really cared about him?"

"With all of my heart." Mariko replied to Rogue's inquiry, in an unwavering tone.

"Then the fact he's a mutant shouldn't change that." Rogue said to her.

"Logan being a mutant has done nothing to change my feelings towards him." Mariko responded, as she looked directly at Rogue.

"Then why'd you run off like you did?" Rogue asked.

"Everything that happened with Logan and with my brother simply overwhelmed me. I know that I reacted badly, but I did not mean to hurt Logan. That is why it is imperative that I speak to him, so that I may apologize." Mariko told her, "You do not have any idea where he may have gone?"

"Probably a bar somewhere, but in a city this size Ah guess that leaves a lot of possibilities. You know, Ah'll help you look for him if you want?" Rogue offered, as they started back towards the door together. As they did, Mariko noticed that Rogue still had a visible bruise, from where her brother had hit her.

"Does it still hurt?" Mariko asked sympathetically, as she went to touch the side of Rogue's head. But Rogue quickly jumped back, almost as if it were second nature to her by now.

"I meant no harm, I was merely concerned." Mariko said, as she slowly pulled her hand back, thinking that perhaps Rogue was still upset with her for what had happened with Logan.

"It's not you, it's me," Rogue said as she took a deep breath. She decided it was time to tell Mariko the truth about herself as well.

"Ah'm a mutant like Logan, except that my powers work differently. Whenever Ah make skin-to-skin contact with another person, it's like Ah suck the life right out of them. Ah absorb their life energy, their memories, everything about them. Ah'm not able to control it, which means Ah can't touch another person without putting their life at risk…ever."

Mariko finally realized why Rogue acted the way that she did. Mariko had noticed that Rogue sometimes exhibited, what some would consider, rather bizarre behavior. Now, it was understandable as to why the teenaged girl always wore long sleeves and gloves, and why she seemed to keep just a little extra space between herself and others around her. Rogue was forced to spend everyday in virtual isolation, unable to have any meaningful physical contact with another person, and Mariko felt really bad for her.

"Why did you not tell me about this before?" Mariko asked.

"Because, being a mutant isn't something you really go around broadcasting to the world, especially with the way things have been for us lately." Rogue answered.

"I see." She replied, as unknown to Rogue, Mariko had a very good understanding of what a young person learning he or she was a mutant went through. Mariko then took hold of one of Rogue's gloved hands, and held it firmly.

"Come, let us find Logan, so that I can hopefully straighten everything out."

Mariko and Rogue walked out of the hotel together to begin their search for Logan. Mariko thought it would be best if they started their search right there in the Ginza district of Tokyo. As these two ladies stepped into the waiting limousine, they were unaware that a very interested party was observing them from a rooftop high above.

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A few hours, and many stops later, Mariko and Rogue got out of the limo in front of a small bar in the northern part of the district.

"The Lucky Pearl?" Rogue remarked, as she looked at the sign above the less than pristine building, "This place doesn't look so lucky to me."

"Hopefully, we will be the lucky ones, and this will be the place that we have been seeking out." Mariko said, as the two of them walked down an alleyway on the side of the building and entered the establishment.

As the two women entered the dimly-lit bar, they could tell that whatever was going on inside had the patrons very excited, because almost everyone inside was standing in a large circle and cheering. Some of them were even holding and waving money in their hands. Mariko wasn't really sure what was going on, but Rogue knew instantly. It looked similar to a scene in her life more than a year before, the night when she first met Logan. As they got closer, what she believed was confirmed as Rogue heard people making bets with one another on who would win the next match.

The pair made their way through the throng of people watching the fight and spotted Logan, just as he knocked out a local man with a single punch. They weren't fighting in a cage, but in an open space in the bar where a bunch of tables and chairs had been pushed out of the way. As a few of the men watching the spectacle dragged the unconscious individual away from the fighting circle, Logan went and sat down in a chair at a nearby table. As he sat, a waitress brought two shot-glasses containing alcohol and put them down on the table that he was seated at.

"You can just leave the bottle next time. Ain't none of these jokers even makin' me break a sweat tonight." Logan told her, as he quickly downed the two drinks. Then, he got back up from the table.

"Alright, intermission's over. Who's next?"

As soon as Logan said that, a voice from the crowd loudly responded.

"I am next!"

Rogue quickly recognized the individual as the man named Sadao. He was the guy that she had fought and beaten at a local gym, a couple of days after she and Logan had arrived in Japan.

"You know the rules. You can hit me first, anywhere you want. But if I were you, I'd avoid punchin' me directly in the jaw or face." Logan said to Sadao, as he re-entered the circle.

"No, I am through playing games with you, and this time there will be no rules. I am going to win back the money that spoiled brat of yours took from me, and I intend to show you little mercy as I do it." Sadao said, as the large man grabbed an empty beer bottle and ran at Logan with it.

"Have it your way." Logan said, as he grabbed Sadao and used the larger man's momentum to pick him up and body-slam him into a table close by.

"Looks like you just rolled Snake-Eyes, bub." Logan said, as he stood over Sadao and then fell to one knee. He popped three adamantium claws out of his right hand, and then held it less than one inch from Sadao's face.

"Logan, don't!" Rogue shouted, finally making Logan aware that she was there.

Logan could usually tell when Rogue was nearby, just by her scent. But with the combination of the hard liquor that he was drinking and the cigarette smoke inside of the bar, her presence had gone surprisingly unnoticed.

"You shouldn't be in a place like this." Logan replied to Rogue, as he remained in the same position over Sadao without moving a muscle.

Sadao laid there motionless, as his life flashed before his eyes in the form of three razor sharp blades right in front of him.

"Um, excuse me. Ah have been in a bar before, or had you forgotten?" Rogue reminded Logan, "Besides, what exactly do you think you're doin?"

"Drinkin' and fightin'. 'Bout the only things I'm good at." Logan replied. Then, he looked down at Sadao.

 "I suggest you get out of here, and make sure there isn't a 'next time' between us." Logan said to Sadao, as he finally retracted his claws and got up to let Sadao off of the floor.

Sadao took Logan's advice, and quickly departed the Lucky Pearl bar. Logan then went to grab his jacket and make his exit as well. As he walked through the crowd he had no problem leaving, since the patrons hurriedly moved out of his way.

"Logan, where are you goin'?" Rogue asked him.

"Well, first I'm takin' you back to the hotel." Logan answered, as he stopped and turned to face Rogue, "Then I'm gonna find another joint, so I can pick up where I just left off."

"You're better than this, and you know it." Rogue said, as she looked him in the eye.

"I'm glad you think so highly of me darlin', but let's face facts. I'm not the knight in shining armor that you seem to think I am, and it's high-time I quit pretendin'." Logan told her.

 But then, another voice called out to Logan as she emerged from the crowd of patrons that were behind him and Rogue.

"Logan, you are a better man than you give yourself credit for." Mariko said, as she also surprised Logan with her presence there.

"Coulda fooled me, especially by the way you were actin' the other night." Logan said to her.

"I am sorry if I hurt you. But after everything that happened at my home, it was just too much for me to handle at one time." Mariko responded.

"What you mean," Logan quickly replied, "is that you couldn't handle what your new boyfriend really is."

"It is true that I was surprised when I learned about your powers. But, that does not change how I feel about you." Mariko started, "Please, sit down and allow me the chance to explain."

Logan reluctantly agreed. He and Mariko went over to quiet corner and sat down at one of the tables inside. Meanwhile, Rogue went over and took a seat on a stool at the bar. Rogue was surprised when the bartender came up and asked her what kind of drink she wanted. She toyed with the idea for just one moment, but decided to order a soda instead.

"All right, you wanna tell me why you were cryin' in the garden the other night, if it wasn't because I'm a mutant?" Logan asked Mariko, as they sat at the table facing each other. The waitress brought Logan another drink, as his healing factor had already burnt off his two previous shots, leaving him almost completely sober. Mariko, on the other hand, didn't order anything.

"Logan, I want to apologize for any pain that I have caused you. I want you to know that I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally." Mariko started, "After I saw my brother mortally wound you right before my eyes, I thought the man that I loved was surely going to leave me that night. When you recovered almost instantly, it seemed to be a miracle."

"But it wasn't a miracle." Logan replied, "The fact that I got better was because of what I am, and that's what this is really all about. Why don't you just admit you can't handle it, and that you've got doubts about a future with some science experiment gone wrong?"

"Do not seek to presume my feelings." Mariko quickly told him, "When I said that I loved you, it was not some fleeting notion. It was something that I felt and believed with all of my being. Believe it or not, I do know first-hand the difficulties that a person born with abilities such as yours goes through."

"Really? And how would you know that?" Logan asked her, as he cocked his head a little to the side and leaned back in his chair.

"In my family, I am somewhat of an anomaly." Mariko began, "I was the only one in my generation that was not born with some sort of additional genetic ability. My cousins Shiro and Leyu Yoshida are mutants, each gifted with extraordinary abilities that make them extremely powerful."

Logan then moved back closer to the table, as Mariko began to talk about her younger years.

"I can remember consoling Shiro when his power first manifested itself." Mariko continued, "He was so afraid that our uncle, who had cared for him and his sister since the day that their mother died, would find out. I was there with him every step of the way when he struggled to learn to control his abilities. I also witnessed people that he had considered friends for most of his life; turn their backs on him when they learned the truth. I was also there when his sister Leyu began to exhibit similar abilities as well."

Mariko then smiled a little, as she paused for a moment.

"Even my criminal of a brother has been given such a gift as well."

"What do you mean?" Logan asked her.

"You saw a demonstration of his power, the other night with his sword. His body produces a form of energy that he is able to channel into inanimate objects. He uses this energy to create a tachyon field around that object, let us say a sword for example, to make it virtually indestructible."

Logan sat there in silence, as he took in everything that Mariko had said to him.

"As you can see, growing up in a family such as mine has given me a hint at what you may have been through, and of what Rogue may be currently going through. And I am disappointed in myself most of all, because it should have made me more aware as to how my actions the other night would make you feel." Mariko said, as she concluded her revelation.

"So, the claws don't bother you?" Logan asked her.

"No, now that I know about them." Mariko answered, "But I do have one question?"

"What's that?" Logan responded.

"You must feel a tremendous amount of pain when they emerge from your hands." Mariko surmised.

"Every time." Logan replied simply. Mariko didn't say anything, but instead, reached across the table and rubbed his hand in the area where his claws tore through his skin to reveal themselves.

The entire time, Rogue had been watching Logan and Mariko from the bar, and she noticed them acting affectionate towards one another again.

"Ah guess you two worked everything out?" Rogue asked the couple, as she walked up to their table.

"Pretty much, darlin'." Logan replied as he stood up, "Why don't the three of us get out of here, and go somewhere with a nicer atmosphere?"

Mariko and Rogue agreed with Logan's suggestion, and the trio prepared to leave. Logan put on his jacket and then they walked out through the bar's entrance. As the group turned to head to Mariko's limo waiting at the end of the alley, they stopped as they heard a voice from the roof of the adjacent building.

"Dis seems like a real strange place for y'all t'have a family outing."

Logan, Mariko, and Rogue looked up to see Gambit, the young thief that had broken into Mariko's residence previously.

"What the hell do you want?" Logan shouted at him.

"I just came t'talk, maybe give you some valuable information." Gambit replied.

He then jumped down from the roof of the one story building, and landed in the alley below, with his fighting staff in hand. When the trio looked at Gambit, they saw that his brown trench coat was slightly tattered in a few areas, as though it had been cut by a knife or by some other sharp object.

"And what makes you think that you have anything to say that we'd want to hear?" Logan asked, as Gambit stood across the alley from him. Gambit leaned back against the wall of the building and lit a cigarette before answering.

"I'm a man dat keeps my ear to de ground, and I been hearin' somethin' big is about to go down between Miss Yashida here and her brother. Word on de street is Sammie's gatherin' some major muscle behind him, so he can get complete control of de Japanese underworld. Dat means gettin' rid of all of his rival criminals, and apparently gettin' rid of his sister too, so he can take over de family empire. I followed Mariko from her office over to de hotel, and then around town as she and de beautiful fille here went to just about every bar and low-spot in de area. I wanted to talk to her, figurin' she could probably use a man wit' my particular talents workin' for her in a situation like this." Gambit told them.

"Talents? She doesn't need you to steal anything for her." Logan quickly responded, "You've been drinkin' too much of that swamp water if you think for one second that we're gonna trust you."

"Logan does have a point, why should we believe any of this?" Rogue asked.

"Your lack of faith wounds me, Chere." Gambit smiled, as he put his right hand over his heart in a mocking posture, "After I left the other night, I went back to Sammie's place and told him where he could stick dat sword, if he ever did manage to get his hands on it. So, I've been tanglin' off and on with those Hand ninjas he sent after me, as a result."

"You mean to tell us that one lone man, even with your skill and enhanced powers, has managed to survive against one of the oldest orders of assassins known to still be in existence?" Mariko asked him, surprised by his assertion.

"Dat's pretty much de story." Gambit replied.

"I can't believe you two are actually listenin' to this punk!" Logan said to Mariko and Rogue, "The only thing this joker is interested in is savin' his own skin. You can stand here and listen to this crap if you want, but I ain't got time to waste on him."

Logan then stopped cold in his tracks, as his enhanced senses told him that their small party of four was about to get much larger.

"Cajun, it looks like those friends of yours are right on time for their scheduled appointment." Logan said, as he looked up to the rooftops of the buildings on each side of the alley.

He saw mysterious figures at the edges, appearing one after another from the shadows. A rough count told him that there were probably about fifteen to twenty individuals up above.

"The traitor is merely a secondary prize of ours. Our main concern right now is to hear Lady Mariko's answer to the Silver Samurai's demand." The lead ninja, who wore a special sash on his hip, said.

"Answer to what?" Mariko responded.

"As to whether or not you will turn over the leadership of the Clan Yashida. We are well past the forty-eight hour window that you were afforded by your brother to make your decision." The ninja stated.

"My answer now is the same, as it was when I spoke face to face with my brother. Under no circumstances will I give him the opportunity to continue the dishonorable activities that he, and apparently my father, had my family involved in." Mariko answered.

"Then, prepare to pay for that decision with your life." The ninja replied, as the Hand began to fall down from the sky like rain.

"Rogue, darlin', get ready. Because it looks like you and me both are about to find out how good of a teacher I really am." Logan said to his teenaged protégé, as he popped his adamantium claws out of his hands.

Rogue got into a defensive fighting stance, while Gambit quickly moved over to join the group as he pulled out a few cards from his coat and charged them up. Despite being out-numbered, Logan couldn't help but grin a little as he figured that the Hand didn't know what kind of trouble they had just bitten off…

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Next Chapter: Rumble in Big Tokyo…