A/N: Special, special thanks to everyone for their reviews-
Angel of The Fallen Stars- Thanks for the review and I'm glad that I could help…
Star-of-Chaos- Happy you liked the line. I figure, if it makes me laugh then hopefully someone else will think it's funny too.
Moon Comix- K.I.S.S.I.N.G.? First comes love…then comes an ambulance taking Remy away in a coma. But, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
enchantedlight- Of course you did, Romy 4-ever!
mela- Glad you liked it…
Episodic- Remy needs a good smack every now and then, just to keep things in perspective.
An old western? You may not be too far off there…
And fat? No Way!
Lucas'sgirl- I agree, sometimes I think Jean tends to get too much of the focus, which I think might actually be to her detriment. And once again, Romy 4-ever!
ishandahalf- I thought it was a good way of them getting to know each other. As far as Belladonna, hey anything's possible. She really might've been a sweet and nice girl when she was dating Remy.
But as Remy may eventually find out, it doesn't mean she's that way anymore…
Leafee LeBeau- Glad you loved the story so far. I agree, I think Rogue and Gambit should be together in the next movie too!
Pandora's Sorrow- Glad you loved it! More action and drama are on the way.
Jean1- Rogue and Logan's relationship are going through some changes, something I think they're both going to realize. I'm glad you liked the conversation. Sometimes, I think Rogue and Remy just looking at each other could be interesting, if it's done right.
As far as your last point, let's go see who they do run into…
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The morning after the chaos of the previous night ushered in a bright new day over Tokyo, Japan. At the estate of Keniuchio Harada, a meeting of the Jigoku Underworld was set to soon take place. It was a gathering of the criminal families and groups that controlled almost every illegal activity and vice within Tokyo, and in most of the surrounding region.
Harada had originally scheduled the meeting a few days beforehand, anticipating that he would make the formal announcement that he had secured his own powerbase by eliminating his sister. He would inform them that he now had full control of the Clan Yashida, meaning that he now had control of its financial assets, as well as the political connections afforded to the Daimyo of the Clan.
As Harada walked into the large room inside of his home where he usually conducted his most important meetings, he was forced to accept the fact that he would not be able to make such a declaration this day.
"Harada, what is this that we are hearing about your failure in securing complete control over the Clan Yashida?" Sadichi, a man that controlled the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) in the Ginza district asked, as he sat at a long table with half a dozen other underworld leaders.
"It is merely a temporary setback. One, which will be rectified in a swift and timely manner, I assure you." Harada answered as he walked inside, trying to reassure his peers.
"We have also heard that the Hand, whom you seem to have placed such tremendous faith in, were decimated by a thief, an animal, and a girl, all of whom were foreigners." Another man at the table named Akio sneered, "Perhaps we should reconsider whether or not to continue your tenure as head of the Jigoku dynasty, especially if you cannot even manage to deal with your own sister and these interlopers."
With that statement, Harada moved like lightning and jumped about six feet in the air, doing a front somersault as he flew across the table. Harada landed right behind Akio, and quickly made his feelings known regarding the man's assertion about his leadership ability.
"Ever question me in such a tone again, and you will not even be given the chance to apologize, as I am graciously affording you the opportunity to do now!" Harada told him, as he held a medium-sized knife to the Akio's throat.
"Let him go, Harada." Another, older man named Jakuchu, who controlled a good portion of the Shinjuku district said to him, "We do not have the luxury of time to indulge you in your desire to constantly retaliate any affronts to your honor. Every day that passes without us consolidating power leaves us susceptible to our enemies. We will deal with your sister and these Gaijin immediately."
Harada released Akio, then informed his cohorts that the building where the Yashida penthouse was located would now be impregnable, following the Hand's failed assassination attempt on his sister. But, Jakuchu told them that infiltrating the structure would not be necessary. At that point, Jakuchu began to reveal his ruthless plan on how to rid them of Mariko Yashida, and whatever rag-tag bunch that now fought in her defense.
Once and for all…
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Meanwhile on the streets of Tokyo, a young pair steadily made their way through the city, a city that was very far from home.
"Ah don't think we're bein' followed. What do you think?" Rogue asked, as she and Gambit made their way across the city, via side-streets and alleyways.
"It don't seem like it, but it don't hurt t'play it safe for now." Gambit replied, as they continued on.
"Logan mentioned something about Mariko having a penthouse here in Tokyo." Rogue told him.
"Yeah, I know where it is. I learned about it de other day when I was askin' 'round about her. Come on, I t'ink it's dis way." Gambit responded, as they were now about two blocks from where he believed Mariko's suite was.
They walked on, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Finally, Gambit and Rogue made it to the huge twenty-story building where Mariko and Logan were, and walked inside through the huge front entrance.
"We're here to see Ms. Yashida." Rogue said, as she and Gambit stood in front of the receptionist's desk within the sprawling lobby, "We're friends of her's."
The receptionist took one look at the pair, whose clothing was slightly tattered like they had been in a fight, and made a phone call. Then she spoke to them.
"It will be just one moment." The receptionist told them.
But in less than a moment, Rogue and Gambit were quickly surrounded by about eight to ten rather large men, who appeared to be the building's security.
"My car is de red one out front. Make sure y'all are careful not t'dent it." Gambit joked, as he tried to lighten the very intense mood of the men around him.
"Gambit, Ah don't think now is a good time for that." Rogue told him, "These guys look pretty serious."
"Please, follow us. Lady Mariko has been awaiting your arrival, Rogue." One of the men said to her.
"How do you know who Ah am?" Rogue inquired.
"You fit exactly the description that she gave us. 'A young girl in a dark green leather jacket, with auburn hair and accented with a single white streak.' Not many people would miss a person like that." The bodyguard replied, "That, and she said that you might be traveling with a rather 'unsavory' character dressed in a long brown trench coat."
"Nice t'see my reputation precedes me." Gambit smiled, as he, Rogue, and a few of the bodyguard's stepped into a waiting elevator.
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While Rogue and Gambit were now on their way up to the suite at the top level of the building, Mariko and Logan were just now learning of the news that Rogue had made it back in one piece.
"Perhaps now you will go and lie back down, and get some rest." Mariko said, as she brought each of them a cup of herbal tea from the kitchen, "It felt as though you hardly got any sleep at all last night."
"Thanks," Logan said, as he took the cup from her and then responded, "My healin' factor works the same, whether I'm lyin' down, standin', or sittin'. Plus, I wanna make sure Rogue is okay when she gets here."
Almost on cue, Mariko and Logan heard a voice call out from the outside of the suite, signaling their arrival.
"No need t'worry, Gambit is back safe and sound." Gambit flamboyantly said, as the entrance opened.
"Uh-oh, better hide everything that ain't already bolted down, M'iko, else it might end up on the back of a milk carton." Logan said to her, as he instantly recognized the voice and scent of the young thief from New Orleans.
"Dis a real nice place you got here." Gambit said to Mariko.
"What, you sizin' the place up for your next heist?" Logan coldly replied from inside of the living room.
"Your words are like a dagger into my poor heart, m'sieur. I was merely tryin' t'pay de lady of de house a compliment." Gambit sarcastically replied, as he stood near the room's entrance with a huge smile, which only seemed to further antagonize Logan.
"You can compliment the lady, and her home, by not lettin' the door hit you in the…backside on your way out." Logan told him, as he raised his voice a little.
"Logan-san, that is no way to treat a guest." Mariko scolded him.
"Yeah, cut Remy some slack." Rogue added, as she walked into the living room where Logan and Mariko were seated.
"Guest? Remy? What is it about this guy that makes you ladies always feel the need to go jumpin' to his defense? In case you forgot, this guy is the thief that broke into your house the other week. He's also the same guy that was workin' for your brother, the guy that tried to have us killed last night." Logan reminded them.
With that statement, Gambit's smile disappeared and he didn't bother to respond to Logan. How could he? What Logan said was the truth, from a technical standpoint. But in Rogue's mind, technicalities didn't really hold much weight.
"You got some nerve pullin' that 'mightier-than-thou' crap! You're the last person that should be trying to put down someone else for making a mistake." Rogue yelled at Logan, as she let her disapproval of his attitude towards Gambit be known, "Gambit may not be perfect, but at least he doesn't ditch his friends at the drop of a hat, unlike some other people Ah know!"
"Rogue…I…" Logan started, but didn't get the chance to finish.
Rogue left the living room in a huff, and headed outside to the balcony of the penthouse to get some fresh air.
"Logan, perhaps you should go and talk to her?" Mariko suggested.
Logan agreed and left to follow Rogue outside, leaving only Mariko and Gambit together in the living room. There was a moment of silence, and then Mariko spoke to him.
"Would you like me to get you anything?" Mariko asked him, as she stood up from the sofa where she had been sitting.
"You sure you wanna be leavin' a t'ief like me in here alone? What if you come back and de T.V.'s missin', or somethin'?" Gambit sarcastically remarked, still stinging from Logan's comments.
"I am not concerned about that, and I would like to think that I am a fairly good judge of a person's character." Mariko replied, as she walked over and stood only a few feet from Gambit, "In spite of your previous association with my brother, I watched last night as you fought to save my life from the Hand, when you could have just as easily have left. In addition, you also kept Rogue under your protection when you did not have to, for which I am very grateful. I believe your actions are those of a man of honor."
"It's like I said before, de Samurai put a bounty out on me. I just figured I stood a better chance in a fight bein' outnumbered four-to-a hundred than one-to-a hundred, that's all." Gambit said, as he tried to downplay what Mariko seemed to believe about him.
"As you wish." Mariko smiled at him, and then left the room.
Gambit then sat down and started watching the large television inside of the penthouse, while Mariko went and had her servants prepare something for her guests to eat.
"Honor? Me? Better get dat kinda crazy talk outta my head. I ain't got no use for nothin' like that." Gambit thought as he sat there, trying hard to convince himself that he really believed that...
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"Marie." Logan said, as he stepped out onto the balcony high above the city, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Yeah." Rogue said simply, as she leaned forward against the railing and looked ahead at the Tokyo skyline.
"Look, I just wanted to apologize for yellin' at you last night." Logan started, as he came over and stood next to her in front of the railing, "Sometimes when the 'Wolverine' comes out, I can't help but revert back to that mindset from my Weapon X days and all I can think about is the fight. But when I'm wrong, I admit it darlin'."
"Ah understand. And Ah do have a real vague feeling of what it's like in that head of yours." Rogue replied, referring to the few days that she spent with Logan's memories and personality inside of her, following the X-Men's return from Liberty Island.
Rogue then turned away from the city's skyline, and finally looked directly at Logan.
"But, that's not what really hurt. What keeps botherin' me is the fact that you always say that Ah'm this great student of yours, but sometimes you act like you don't really believe it." Rogue confessed.
"I ain't ever lied to you about how much you've learned, or about how good I think you are." Logan replied, "And I never want you to feel like that."
"Maybe not intentionally." Rogue told him, "But sometimes, when you and Peter are running simulations in the Danger Room together, Ah slip into the control booth and watch you two. Ah never saw you makin' a fuss over whether or not he's safe in there, like you do with me."
"Darlin' you gotta understand, Colossus is an entirely different case. Hell, sometimes I'm more scared about me gettin' hurt in those sessions, than I am about him. The kid's literally a man of steel." Logan pointed out.
"Ah understand that too. It's just that you treat him like…" Rogue continued, but was interrupted.
"…That I treat him like an X-Man." Logan said, as he finished her sentence, and finally got the point that she had been trying to make.
"Ah guess that's it." Rogue answered, as she looked back down to the street below.
"I didn't realize I was makin' such a difference between you, and the rest of the kids." Logan admitted, "I care about you awful deep, and I just wanna keep you safe. But you did volunteer to join the X-Men, and I suppose it ain't fair of me to hold you back from that, unintentional or otherwise. From now on, I'm gonna do my best to treat you as an equal partner, an equal teammate, and as an equal X-Man."
"Actually, Ah would be an equal X-Woman." Rogue said, as the smile that Logan loved so much returned to her face, "Or as Kitty would say, 'The non-gender specific term would be X-Person'."
"Lord, then I'd better update my vocabulary before I have to hear another lecture from 'short-stuff' on my chauvinist attitudes." Logan said to Rogue, referencing a previous conversation that he and Kitty Pryde had on the subject, "I had to hear it from her going to, and from, Nova Roma."
"You deserved it too. You shouldn't refer to women as 'broads'." Rogue told Logan, as she reminded him of his comment. It happened on a trip that he, and all of the junior X-Men, took to South America right before Rogue and Logan came to Japan. They went there to locate a young girl named Amara Aquilla, whose mutant powers had just emerged in a very dramatic and destructive fashion.
"Hey, I only meant it in a good way." Logan smiled, as he and Rogue had finally straightened things out between them.
They talked for a little while longer on the balcony, before heading back inside. Rogue was feeling extremely tired from a very hectic night, and now just wanted to lie down for a while.
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Later that evening, everyone had finally settled in at the penthouse, as they actually got a chance to relax. Logan and Mariko were snuggling up on the sofa together in front of the TV, while Rogue was sitting in a chair in the living room painting her nails. Remy was fast asleep in one of the numerous guest-rooms in the penthouse, dead-tired from having to constantly fight and avoid the assassins of the Hand over the past few nights. As they sat there, the peaceful setting in the suite was rudely interrupted, when Logan's super-keen sense of hearing detected a small explosion off in the distance.
"Rogue, Mariko, get ready. Somethin's goin' on outside." Logan said, as he jumped to his feet and ran over to one of the numerous windows in the suite.
"Logan, what do you see?" Rogue asked him.
"Some guy flyin' around in the air, and it looks like he set himself on fire on top of that." Logan said, as he looked out of the window.
"On fire?" Mariko said, as she and Rogue got up to join Logan at the window.
As the trio stood there, they saw exactly what Logan had described to them. Then suddenly, they saw a very large explosion in mid-air, and realized that this man was not just putting on an exhibition for show. Someone had fired what appeared to be a rocket or a similar projectile from the top of a nearby building, and this man had just destroyed it with an energy blast. Then they watched as the flying man went over to the rooftop where the shot had originated, and proceeded to blast the shooter.
Upon hearing the explosion outside, Remy had instinctively jumped up and grabbed the two metal components that made up his staff, assembling them before stepping out of the room. As he appeared in the main room he didn't think to grab a shirt, but he still had on the tights that he wore with his outfit. It was a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Rogue, who tried not to be too obvious as she looked at his rippling physique.
"What de hell's goin' on?" Remy asked, as he now made his way over to where the others in the room were.
"There's a guy out here doin' a damn good impersonation of the 'Human Torch'." Logan said, as he watched the mystery man fight with numerous individuals, who were all on nearby rooftops.
"Ah wonder why he's blastin' those guys like that?" Rogue asked.
"I don't know, but I intend to go find the answer from whoever that joker is." Logan said, as he turned in the direction where the door was, but stopped when Mariko spoke to him.
"He is called Sunfire." Mariko stated, as she turned away from the window towards Logan, "But his name is Shiro Yoshida."
"You mean that cousin you were tellin' me about?" Logan replied.
"Indeed, the very same." Mariko confirmed, "If there is a threat great enough to provoke him into actually using his mutant powers, then our situation has gotten even worse, as impossible as that might sound."
As Rogue, Logan, and Remy continued to watch Sunfire obliterate targets outside, Mariko's words hung heavily over her. She now thought about what had to be done in order to put a stop to the hostility that seemed to be spiraling out control, a hostility that had been created by the feud that she and her brother were now embroiled in…
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Next Chapter: What happens when you throw a Canadian bruiser, a Cajun thief, and one of the most powerful mutants in Japan, all together in one room? Plus, Mariko makes the most difficult decision of her life, and there's nothing Logan can do to change her mind…