Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.

Sore ga Ai, Deshou?

Chapter Fifteen: If Only, If Only

Andy did have an easier time with the Course this year than the last and he was glad for it. He had only been three days out on the island before the sounds of the villa reached his ears. He approached the back garden with a light heart and high spirits, confident that he had made some sort of record. The boy hopped over the short garden fence and, stepping carefully between the vegetables that Shaichi was growing there, made his way purposefully toward the house.

"Tadaima!" He called, sliding open the back door.

"Oh, we were wondering where you were." Saichi came smiling out to great him. "Mai-hime returned just yesterday. We were afraid you'd gone and starved yourself half to death again."

"But, I…" Andy sputtered. He had thought that he'd done really well this time! He thought that he had beaten his old time and maybe even set a new record, he'd thought that he'd really shown his merit, he at least thought that he had arrived back in better condition than he had last year.

He followed Saichi over to the score table mounted on the wall and watched her write his name on it along with the day and time. Mai had beaten him by eleven hours, drat! His only conciliation was, of all the names listed; Koinosuke's was not on the list. He had at least beaten the clan's "prince". Andy wasn't quite sure why this small detail gave him comfort but he figured it was probably best not to analyze it to deeply.

"Do you want anything to snack on right now?" Shaichi asked.

"No." Andy replied forlornly. "I'll wait until lunch."

…

Hanzo dragged him out to train on the beach after that. They went through the forms and routines that Andy had long since mastered as a warm-up before the old ninja and he began a spar. For an old man in the decline of his life he was wicked fast and stronger than he appeared. Andy had long since learned not to take his master lighting just because he looked weak. However, the thing that made Hanzo-sensei particularly challenging today was that he chose to use ki techniques in addition to the bone-crunching speed and acrobatic techniques Andy was used to.

"Not f-" He had been about to say 'not fair' but caught himself before he did. The boy knew by now that his master would only scold him for a complaint like that. The old ninja would probably say something like, 'In a real fight your opponent won't care about fighting fair,' or, 'Learn to out wit a more skilled opponent and you'll be better for it.' Or something like that.

The boy did his best to dodge or block the missiles of spirit energy that were aimed at him; he became quite adept at jumping over the attacks. But his timing was off, by the time he landed and attempted to lash out with a well placed punch or kick Hanzo had already anticipated his move and blocked it so that Andy's attacks did minimal damage if any at all. Needless to say it was frustrating as all heck!

Finally, Saichi announced that lunch was ready and Andy happily redirected his energy from sparring with his master to beating the mad rush that was the afternoon meal.

It was during this meal that Koinosuke returned from the Course. He swaggered in like a champion to spite the fact that he was one of the last few to return and, after taking his helping of food, sat down right next to Mai.

"Ohisachiburi desu ne, cousin." He said.

"It's been a year, that's not that long." Mai didn't bother looking at him when she answered.

Andy didn't know why, but the sight of the two of them sitting together bothered him. Perhaps he had gotten used to her eating lunch with him alone at school and that sense of routine was carrying over to his training outside of school, or perhaps it was something entirely. Whatever the cause, Andy found himself sitting on Mai's other side. "Y'all don't mind if I sit here, do ya?"

"Not at all." Mai scooted over to better accommodate him.

While at the exact same time Koinosuke said, "Yeah, we do mind."

Andy chose to ignore him. Mai had said it was okay and, out of the two of them, hers was the opinion that mattered (though he didn't know why it mattered). He ate his rice silently, his mere presence being enough to make Koinosuke bristle.

"Cousin, would you rather eat on the dock?" He asked, turning his attention from the offensive form of Andy and instead focusing his attention on Mai. "We can watch the birds dive for their pray as we dip our feet in the water." This was a thirteen-year-old boy's idea of romance.

"That sounds fun." Mai agreed, she then turned to unwanted third wheel. "Andy, you wanna come with us?"

Before the blond interloper could answer Koinosuke cut in, "No, I mean just you and me."

"Oh, well that's no fun." Mai pouted in that way that Andy was beginning to find so very attractive and judging by the expression on Koinosuke's face it had a similar effect on him and Andy, for reason's unknown, found that knowledge to be very upsetting.

This effect Mai was having on him more and more was disconcerting. She was beginning to become quite the distraction for him. If this continued he'd never reach the level of aptitude he needed to be at in order to avenge his father. He needed to remove himself from Mai and remove Mai from himself.

"Go ahead you two." He said waving them off as if he didn't care.

"See, cousin, the hakujin doesn't want to come." Koinosuke stood and offered Mai his hand to aid her to her feet.

Mai gave a pleading look back at Andy but he turned away from her, pretending not to care. She was left with no other option but to give in and so, waving Koinosuke's offered hand and standing on her own, followed him out to the beach and from the beach to the dock.

…

Andy chose to meditate in the room he shared with Kazutaka, out of the hot sun, unbearable humidity and most importantly away from Mai. Hanzo-sensei said that meditation was key to unlocking his ki and learning the ki techniques of the Koppoujistu and Shiranui-ryu, he intended to be a master at meditation for when Hanzo began his official ki training.

…

Mai was practicing her forms on the beach as some light after-lunch exercise, Koinosuke chose to do the same next to her and she found his presence to be an insufferable annoyance.

"You got really pretty over the last year." He said, presumably as an attempt at flirtation.

Mai ignored him.

"I, uh… I'm sorry we weren't able to go to that dance together. But its good to see that you got over your illness."

"It was just the flu." She said without looking at him.

"Ah, right." The Shiranui prince seemed to lapse into silence, not knowing what to say. He watched Mai go through the motions of the Shiranui-ryu like they were an intricate dance. She mixed grace with speed and power in such a way that made her seem almost like a goddess of battle. It was silly to think, of course, but she was just that lovely.

"I, uh…"

"Koi, are you going to pester me all day or are you actually going to train at all?" She suddenly turned to him very cross.

He unconsciously took a step away from her, the flash in her eyes was beautiful but deadly looking and he feared what she might do to him if he angered her to much. "I, I'm sorry. I'll leave you." He bowed politely but before he would leave he had to tell her, "Still I'm happy."

"Why?" Mai raised one suspicious eyebrow.

"You called me 'Koi'." He left.

"Idiot." She muttered to his retreating back. "That's your name." She didn't bother to think that while Koinosuke's name was spelled with a different kanji and had a different meaning, the word 'koi' meant love or affection.

…

Dinner was the same standard affair and followed the same standard script; neither Andy nor Mai even bothered paying attention anymore. They had long since memorized their lines and cues, the rest of the dinner conversation was irrelevant lest some decide tonight was a good night for improve.

Koinosuke, it seemed, did think it was a good night for improve. He sat next to Mai and had been making constant attempts to engage her in conversation since they had sat down. While Andy sat on the opposite side on her grandfather from them he was still able to hear Koi's pathetic attempts, as he was sure everyone else did to.

Poor Koinosuke was getting ignored or brushed off at every turn. "I noticed you're wearing the same earrings today that you were yesterday." He ventured in yet another desperate attempt to get her attention.

Andy paused in his eating just long enough to see what Mai's response would be. If she would brush him off again or else continue to ignore him. Had he been paying attention, the boy would have also noticed that his master's eyes narrowed a quantum of a measurement at their mention as well. He was also interested in his granddaughter's answer.

"A good friend of mine gave them to me." She said, reaching a hand up and rubbing her thumb over the plastic jewel. More of their red coloring flaked off as she did so. "They were a birthday present."

"They look cheap." Koinosuke commented. "When we get back to Niigata I'll buy you a better pair. Your friend will never know the difference."

'Oh, yes he would!' Andy thought vehemently. Then he paused again and wondered why he even cared. The earrings were meant to be an apology for him injuring her in a spar, what she did with them after that was her concern. Koinosuke was her fiancé and he had the right to buy her as many trinkets as he wanted. By all right's Andy shouldn't care.

…And yet he did…

'Don't get attached, don't get hurt.' The boy reminded himself. He was just setting himself up for more pain and heartache if he followed down this road.

…

The next day Hanzo and Nagare decided, in one of their rare moments of agreement, to hold tournament-style sparring matched between the Shiranui disciples. Students were paired off and the one who came out best of the spars could advance to the next level and so on and so forth until there was only one victor.

Andy assumed that Nagare had been the one to originally suggest this. He probably thought it would be a way for his grandson to showoff to the rest of the clan. As for Hanzo agreeing to it… Andy assumed that his master expected him to be the final victor and prove the superiority of his training methods over Nagare's. Sibling rivalry was a wicked thing.

Andy first faced off against a Shiranui disciple tat was one year his junior. The kid was good but it became easily apparent that Andy was the superior fighter, but then again, that's what happens when you spend almost every waking hour training and have no social life to speak of.

He next faced off against Koinosuke.

The smug little prat smirked at him from across the ring, it was probably because he thought that he was superior to an orphaned hakujin with no standing or connections. Because everyone knows how important lineage, standing and connections are to fighting prowess (/sarcasm).

Andy didn't know why but when he saw that smug little smirk on his obnoxious and aristocratic face all he could think of was Mai. That Mai was doomed to live with this prideful princely prat as a partner made him angry and he couldn't figure out why. All he did know was that he wanted to pound that smug smirk right off the princely prat's face.

Nagare called the start of the match with an abrupt "Begin!"

"Zan-ei Ken!" Andy rushed forward with his elbow aimed at his foe. Koinosuke tried to dodge but was to slow and the attack caught him in the shoulder sending him staggering backwards off balance.

"K-kuso." The princely prat muttered.

Andy didn't give him time to recover. While he was still off balance the blond ninja grabbed him and threw him in the style of a Kakaekomi Nage. Koinosuke bounced a couple of times before regaining his footing.

The clan's prince knew he was falling behind in the fight, Bogard was too good when it came to close quarters combat, he needed to keep him away at a distance if he was going to come back victorious. Koi silently kicked himself for underestimation him just because he was a foreigner. He withdrew two concealed kunai and threw than at his foe in quick secession.

Andy saw the projectiles coming and managed to jump over one but was hit by the second on his way back down. The leaf shaped blade catching him in the thigh. He crumples to the ground in a heap. Koinosuke took the opportunity to launch an aerial attack on the fell foe. Andy pulled the kunai from his leg and rolled out of the impact zone just before the princely prat slammed the full weight of his body into him.

Andy crouched on the edge of the ring, one hand pressed against the dark red stain that was spreading over his white pants, the other balled into a fist. If only he'd started training on ki techniques he could attack Koinosuke from far away without having to worry about himself. Andy didn't have much time to lament his lack of training; Koinosuke recovered quickly and rushed the blond fighter.

Andy grabbed his attacker's arm and, using Koinosuke's own momentum to propel him, swung the princely prat over himself and to the ground behind him. Andy then regained his footing and winced at the stab of pain that lanced through his leg when he weight on it. He was off balance because of his injury, he knew it and he was sure Koinosuke would know it too. If only the bastard had had to courtesy to fall out of the ring when Andy flung him. He lay so close to the edge, almost mockingly so.

Koinosuke climbed to his feet and glared at Andy, the blond glared back at him. They stood there motionless for a few moments. Koinosuke probably seething over the fact that Hanzo's hakujin pet-project was giving him a challenge, Andy seeing the form of Mai's unhappiness. He had no idea why or how the idea of Mai's sadness and melancholy made him feel thus but it did and Koinosuke was the cause of that.

He tried jumping, taking to the air in an attempt to launch an attack that would not require firm footing on his part. Andy snarled when the action elicited a fresh wave of pain from his injury but tried to ignore it. He aimed a kick at the princely prat. "Uwa Agito!"

The kick caught Koi in the chest and he went flying backwards the rest of the way out of the ring. The clan members that had gathered to watch their prince fight inhaled a collective gasp of shock and dismay. All was silent aside from the snarl of pain that escaped Andy's lips as he came back down to land after his final kick. The hakujin had won, their prince had lost to Hanzo's pet project.

"Well…" Nagare said softly, glaring with all the venom and loathing in the world at Andy. "That was unexpected."

"Ugh…" Koinosuke rolled over onto his hands and knees in a slow and labored attempt to get to his feet.

"Get up." Nagare snapped at him. "Show some dignity, boy."

"Hai, Ojisama." The boy stood while clutching a hand to is chest where Andy had kicked him.

Hanzo came up to Andy in the ring and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well done, puppy. Go have Doc take a look at that leg before Naga and Koinosuke grab him and monopolize his time."

"Hai, sensei." Andy hobbled off the field to find Doc or else find fine someone who knew where he was.

…

"I told you, Ani-ue, I told the when you first brought that monster to the island!" Nagare was saying later. Hanzo sat impassively while his younger brother roared and raved. "You've let a wolf into your house, Ani-ue. A monstrous little wolf."

Hanzo waited to be sure his brother had finished before saying. "It seems to me, Naga, the only reason you're so upset is because my 'monstrous wolf' as you call him, bested your grandson in combat. You're just pissy because you were embarrassed in front of the rest of the clan. "

Nagare scoffed and averted his eyes.

"Ah, Naga, you never did take disappointment well." Hanzo placed a comforting hand on his younger brother's shoulder. Though they almost never agreed on anything anymore and Nagare could be a real pain in Hanzo's side, they were still brothers and he was not so unkind as to not offer comfort when it was needed. "But look at it this way. Your grandson my have lost the match but he's managed to injure Andy in such a way as to keep him off his feet for the rest of the summer."

The information was of little comfort to Nagare but it did comfort him none the less. "And what will you do now, Ani-ue? Since your disciple is laid-up with a lame leg?"

"Oh, this and that." Hanzo answered evasively.

"T'ch, you'll still be training him in some way even as he lay in bed ill." Nagare scoffed. "What are you trying to accomplish with this boy, Ani-ue? Why do you train him so hard? It can't really just be because an old friend asked you to."

"My reason's are my own, little brother. Leave it at that. But I can assure you, its nothing so devious as what you might be imagining."

…

Andy and Kazutaka were playing a game of Hazard when Hanzo reentered.

"Oh, hello Chichi-ue." Kazu piped when the old ninja entered. "Andy-chan and I have been bonding over our gimpieness."

"Kazutaka-sama." Andy said dejectedly.

Hanzo ignored their comments. He focused his attention on Andy. "How's the leg, puppy?"

"It hurts but I'll be fine." He answered dutifully. "Doc sewed it up and told me to stay off it for a few days but I'll still be able to fight. I'll still be able to avenge my father. He also made a few jokes about Hamlet that I didn't quite get and then argued with Kazutaka-sama for another half hour before Saichi made him leave."

"I can't help it if the ass has no good taste in literature." Kazu shrugged.

Hanzo continued to ignore his prattle. "Tomorrow we'll begin your ki training." He said to Andy. "In the mean time get some rest. I'll have Saichi send up something for you to eat."

"Thank you, sensei." The boy nodded. "But… but how can you train me when I cannot stand?"

"Tomarrow, puppy." Hanzo assured him. "Kazu, come with me."

Kazutaka obediently stood and followed his father out. The descended the stairs and crossed the nightingale floor eliciting a choir of chirps and squeaks. Hanzo lead them out into the garden where dusk was slowly falling over the landscape.

"What's up, Chichi-ue?" Kazu asked once they were outside.

"Answer me honestly, Kazu, did you think Andy would beat Koinosuke?"

"Did I think he would, or did I know he could?" The younger man clarified. The subtleties of word choice were not lost on him. "We've both always known he could beat Koinosuke-chan. What you want to know is what I think of him not showing any mercy to the second in line to be head of the family."

Hanzo crossed his arms over his chest as if to say "Well?"

"I think he likes to win and he'll do what he has to do in order to come out on top." Kazu answered slowly. "He's a nice kid out of the ring but once the fight starts he's cold as ice, its only him, his goal and the opponent that's keeping him from it."

Hanzo nodded as if Kazutaka had just confirmed his own opinions.

"It's a shame really." Kazu continued unbidden.

"What is?"

"He fits in perfectly with this family, or rather he would fit in perfectly with this family if only he had been born into it." Kazutaka held his father's gaze when he said, "If Andy had been born a Shiranui ninja it would be he that everyone would support as the next heir and not Koinosuke."

"And this is your opinion?"

"Our family values three things above all else, Chichi-ue." Kazu replied in all seriousness. "Strength, ability and lineage. And has the strength and ability, it's only the lineage he lacks."

Hanzo listened to all his son had to say in quiet contemplation. For the most part he was right. Andy had both the strength of body and of character to be not just a great ninja but also a capable leader, he had the ability to learn what skills he needed or might need, if only he'd been bore a ninja, either a Shiranui or one of the other well respected clans. Hell, if only he'd been born Japanese at the least!

"But the lineage is the thing our clan cares about most." Hanzo muttered sadly. "It why they don't want Mai to inherit by herself, its why she must marry Koinosuke."

Kazutaka bit the inside of his cheek but said nothing.

"If only Andy were Japanese…" Hanzo muttered.

…