Disclaimer: Don't own a thing. Just borrowing for some non-profit entertainment.
Sore ga Ai, Deshou?
Chapter Nineteen: Know You
Andy blew air through a bamboo pipe to feed the fire underneath the Yamada dojo's outdoor bathhouse. Today had been a particularly rigorous day and he was looking forward to the hot bath. It had been the sole thought in his mind as he had filled bucket after bucket with water from the pump, it had filled his mind with images of reclining in the wood lined tub letting the hot steamy water work out the kinks in his tired muscles as he carried the water to fill the tub. He had dreamed of cleansing himself of the sweat and dirt of the day's activities as he chopped wood for the fire to heat his water. And now, finally, with one final puff of air into said fire he could finally take his long awaited bath.
The blond ninja popped into his bedroom in the dojo's main house to quickly strip off his dirty white pants and tunic and don a bathrobe. Andy padded across the courtyard that had been shoveled clean of snow and slid open the bathhouse door in high spirits.
"Shut the door! You're letting all the warm air out!"
"M-Mai!"
Andy stood fixed and frozen in the doorway. Mai sat stark naked in the warm bath that was supposed to be his! The water came up to just above her nipples but was still clear enough so as not to obscure the intimate parts of her body from his view. The blond ninja awkwardly tuned his back to the buxom beauty.
"This is my bath!" He snarled out the still open door. "What are you doing in it?"
To spite the frigid air that was blowing on his face, Andy could feel his cheeks warming and he knew that a bright blush was painting itself across his face, but then again, a blush was the least of the physical effects finding Mai naked and in his bath had on him.
"You guys don't have hot and cold running water here so I thought you were just being accommodating and drawing a bath for me." She explained. Andy didn't turn to see, but he head the water shift in the tub and thought she might have reclined back in the warm water. "But I don't see a problem with us sharing the bath. After all, the tub is big enough for the both of us. Now, will you please shut the door?"
For get the blush to his cheeks, Andy went positively rigid at the idea of being naked and wet with Mai. "Please, just leave."
"No." Was her flat reply. "I'm the one who's already wet and naked. I'm not getting out of this tub until I'm finished. You're still dressed; you can go back out and wait for me. If you're not gonna share then you have to leave."
At this Andy wheeled around in anger. "Now look, you!" He stalked toward her, ignoring the way the water's refraction only seemed to complement her delicious curves. He stopped right at the edge of the tub, had he curled his tow over the brim he could have broken the surface. "I made this bath for me! I pumped and carried the water, I chopped the wood, I stoked the fire… this is my bath, now get the f- out!"
The irate ninja bent down and hoisted Mai up out of the water by he under arms. He carried her bridal style to the open door all the wile ignoring her shouts of "Andy! What are you doing! Put me down!"
He did put he down, in a manner of speaking. Andy chucked her out the open bathhouse door and let her plop down naked in the snow. He threw her own bathrobe, towel and slippers out after her and slammed the door.
…
Andy entered the house after his bath to find Mai and Jubei-sensei in the kitchen.
Mai sat on a cushion close to the wood-burning stove with a heavy haori draped over her shoulders. She shivered slightly and glared daggers at him when she saw him standing in the doorway. Jubei handed a mug of some steaming liquid to her along with the order, "Drink this."
"What's goin' on?" Andy asked like a clueless moron.
Mai opened her mouth to speak but was cutoff by the old judo master. "You and I need to have a talk, boy."
Jubei crossed the distance between them and, grabbing Andy by the arm, dragged him from the kitchen. The paused in the hall and Andy once again asked what was the matter.
"You're an idiot, Andy. Ya know that? I like, but you're a real idiot." Jubei crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his pupil. "You do NOT throw a woman out into the snow in the dead of winter completely naked! If Hanzo where here, he'd deck you."
The blond winced. Throwing Mai out of the bathhouse in his frustration hadn't been the best idea he'd ever had. In retrospect it was probably up there with one of the worst ideas he'd ever had. At best she could have caught a cold and at worst she could have caught hypothermiate and die. Jeff would never forgive him that, neither would Hanzo-sensei or Jubei-sensei for that matter. He should apologize to her at the very least.
Jubei watched the boy's expression change and knew that he understood his wrong. "Now then, for your punishment." He said. "You are to take care of Mai for the remainder of her visit. She won't be with us much longer since she was only staying for a week anyway. Make sure she stays warm. If she gets sick make her some broth. Whatever. And when she's gone we'll have a different talk."
"Hai, Sensei." Andy nodded and then turned back to the kitchen to take over where his master had left off.
"Oh, and Andy…" Before the boy had the chance to register what was happening Jubei swung upwards with his fist, punching the blond ninja squarely in the jaw. "… That's for almost giving Hanzo's little girl hypothermia."
Andy reentered the kitchen massaging his sore jaw. Mai glanced up at him once before turning her attention back to the mug of hot tea Jubei had given her. Andy sighed, so she was giving him the cold shoulder, fine; let her be angry, he deserved it.
The blond ninja turned his attention to the stove. The kettle sat on a back burner half empty. One of the front burners was occupied by a simmering pot of what appeared to be broth, he gave this a stir with the ladle and then stood in awkward silence, not knowing what else to say or do.
"Uh, look I'm sorry." He ventured after a pregnant pause.
"Humph." Mai turned her head to the side to avoid meeting his eyes. She sipped daintily at her tea and pointedly ignored him.
Andy ladled out a portion of the simmering broth into a bowl and offered it Mai.
"I said I'm sorry." The blond ninja attempted a second time. "Will you forgive me?"
Mai accepted the offered broth and sipped it slowly before asking. "Why should I?"
Andy sighed and sat down on the hard kitchen across from her. In all honesty, he had to admit to himself that she didn't have to forgive him and really didn't have any good reason to forgive him. Her forgiveness shouldn't even have mattered to him all that much anyway. Whether or not Shiranui Mai liked him or not was not pertinent to his training or his ultimate goal of avenging his father. But still…
"I'd like it if you forgave me." He said.
"Oh?" She lifted one skeptical eyebrow.
"I mean, its not necessary or anything." He continued awkwardly. "Whether or not you stay mad at me won't really effect my training or my goal but…" Andy paused for a moment, unsure of how to word this next bit so that she didn't get the wrong idea. Finally, he decided that no matter how he phrased it, she would read too much into it so it didn't matter. "You're good opinion is important to me for some reason."
"Oh?" She asked again but in a very different tone.
He felt she was fishing for some further explanation, but he didn't feel like saying any more on the subject. Andy averted his gaze and said, "Do as you please."
"I will." Mai hmphed in return.
…
Mai warmed up over the course of dinner to Andy's great relief (he didn't want to have to keep waiting on her after all), but the vexing kunoichi still made him bring her an extra blanket when she retired for that evening. The blond ninja knocked on the wood frame of her door before interring.
"Come in." She called.
Andy stepped inside; Mai had already tucked herself under the covers and peered over them at him as he entered. Her intense gaze made him feel awkward and exposed, almost like she were stalking him with her eyes or something.
"Uh, here." He held out the blanket to her hoping she would just take it and let him leave. She was sufficiently warm again and far from any possible danger of hypothermia, there was no reason for him to keep waiting on her like an invalid.
"Will you spread it over me?" Mai asked in a voice that was just a bit to coy for Andy's liking. But he complied with her request all the same. Walking to her bedside, he spread the blanket out on top of her and knelt down to tuck the edges in under the futon.
The moment he was on his knees beside her, Mai's hand snaked out from beneath her cocoon of blankets and closed around Andy's wrist. The blond fighter looked at her in momentary surprise before he became wary of the sultry look in her eyes.
"You didn't react the way I expected you to." She said softly.
"Huh?" Andy blinked in confusion.
"In the bathhouse…" She rolled onto her side so as to better speak with him, her motion causing the blankets to shift off of her delicate shoulders. Andy saw no sign of a nightgown or other such bedclothes and swallowed. "… Any other guy I know –and even some women- would have jumped in with me. They would have loved the chance to rub up against me all soapy and wet."
Andy swallowed a lump in his throat.
"But you," she continued, "you just got angry. You actually threw me out! I've never been rejected before." Mai shook her head. "And I had actually wanted you, too. The truth is, Andy…" She lowered her head but continued to look up at him through her long eyelashes, "… I was kinda trying to seduce you."
This actually did not surprise him one bit. There was, however, one question as to, "Why?"
"Because… because I'm engaged." She growled out word as if it were a condemnation. "Because I'm gonna turn sixteen in a little less than a week and when that happens the family is gonna force me to marry Koinosuke. I just… I don't want Koi-tan to be the only man I've ever known!"
Andy leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest in disapproval. He, personally, didn't like the idea of Mai's marriage to Koinosuke either, but that was no reason to go sleeping around and especially not with him.
"But I went about it the wrong way." She continued, sitting up. "You're a very practical and straightforward person and I should have been trait with you from the start. Andy…" She let the blankets covering her ample bosoms to fall, revealing the smooth lightly tanned flesh of her breasts. "… Will you make love to me?" She finished.
He was silent a moment, his eyes studying her full round breasts and the peaks of her nipples.
'Don't get attached, don't get hurt…'
He went rigid with excitement at the idea of reveling in so exquisite a body.
'Don't get attached, don't get hurt…'
He opened his mouth to give his answer…
"No." Firm, definite. He wanted her, but had enough brains and enough self-control to say no. If the family found out they'd kill him, or at the very least find a way to get him deported and he still wasn't ready to face Geese and avenge his father just yet. And so, his answer was, "No."
"What!" Mai gathered up her blankets to cover herself in embarrassment and hurt pride. She glared daggers at him. "Why not? I'm attractive. I've seen the way you look and me and your… hmph those nice loose fitting pants you like to wear might be perfect for martial arts, but they do nothing to conceal just how much you admire me." She indulged in a mordant smirk at his bright blush of embarrassment. "So what's the problem?"
"You're engaged to another man!" He thought that would have been obvious, but there were other reasons as well. "And I'm not some 'boy-toy' that you can just pick up, use and then cast aside. Go buy a dildo if all you want is sex! I know we haven't really seen each other in a while, but do you really under-value me so much at to use me as your little man-whore? They have red-light districts for a reason, Mai!"
Her mouth fell open, aghast. "Oh, Andy, no. I didn't mean to make you think… I mean I thought you would've been happy to… Well no I just feel terrible." Mai lowered her eyes and hugged her knees to her chest. "I just wish I didn't have to marry Koi-tan."
"Then don't." Andy snapped.
"I have to." She muttered into her knees.
"No, you don't." He insisted. "Look, what's the reason you have to marry him in the first place? Because the rest of the family is unsure whether or not you can lead the clan on your own, right?"
She nodded.
"Then just prove to them that you don't need Koinosuke to be a strong and capable leader and you shouldn't have to marry him." He made it sound so simple.
"And how am I supposed to do that, exactly?"
"Well, you could start by acting like a real ninja and no some sniveling brat." Andy stood and began passing the room. "You're the granddaughter of the Head of the Clan, a princess, act like one! So you're trapped in an engagement that you don't want, bear it with pride while still seeking alternatives. There's more to being a good ninja than bloodlines and heredity."
"Andy…" She muttered. "You would make an excellent clan leader."
The blond ninja sighed and crouched back down next to her. He took her face in his hand and made her look at him. "I wouldn't marry you."
"What?" She blinked. "Why not!"
'Don't get attached, don't get hurt…' He didn't intend to marry anyone. Ever.
"Because I would want a wife that could stand on her own two feet." He said. "Because marriage is a partnership and I don't want a partner I have to drag to the top with me. I plan to he the best I possibly can be and if my wife wants to be there with me she's got to climb up on her own."
He glanced down at Mai to see if his words were having any impact before continuing. "If you don't wanna marry Koinosuke then don't. It's your own damn life and you should live it your own damn way. And if you still wanna lead the clan after your grandfather you can do that too."
"But-"
"Don't let them tell you 'no', don't listen to them, don't let them hold you down. If you're strong then you'll dominate them, you'll show them that you're a great ninja and a capable leader, that you're the best in Japan for all they know. And you'll do it because you are, because you're Shiranui Mai."
"Andy…" Mai's cheeks colored daintily. "You really think so…?"
He blinked and realized that he'd let his mouth run away with him. "Anyway, its late. I should go."
The blond ninja turned to leave, but Mai once again grabbed his wrist.
"If I can do it…" She said. "If I can break-off the engagement, if I can prove that I'm strong and capable, if I can become the number one in Japan… would you marry me if I did that? If I could stand with you at the top?"
"I…" 'Don't get attached, don't get hurt…' "Its late, Mai. I should be getting to be."
"Of course." She let him go.
…
The end of Mai's week at the Yamada dojo came all to quickly, or perhaps not quick enough.
Andy entered the kitchen after his morning workout to find Mai dressed in city clothes washing dishes in the kitchen basin.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready to go?" He asked awkwardly, not wanting to sound rude, like he was kicking her out.
"I just wanted to make sure I left the place as clean as I found it." She replied without turning to face him. She had been avoiding him as best she could since her failed attempt to seduce him and the subsequent lecture that had ensued. "You know what a germ-phobe Jubei-sensei is."
"Yeah." He nodded. "Do you want some help?"
"I'm pretty much done." She said, rinsing off one final plate and placing it in the drying rack. "But if you want you can dump out the water."
"Sure."
Mai stepped aside to let him lift the heavy basin of dirty water out of the "sink" and carry it outside. Andy out to one of the trees that leaned over the dojo's property line, carful not to spill any of the water as he went. He didn't much feel like scraping ice off the courtyard after this. He dumped the water over the roots of a tree and hurried back inside, out of the cold.
Mai was gone when he returned to the kitchen.
He didn't know why, but Andy suddenly found himself dashing through the house and out the front door. He paused at the top of the stairs.
Mai was already at the bottom, a bright red, sporty looking two-door had pulled up to the curb and the driver got out to open the passenger side door for her. The man leaned in for a kiss and after a moment's hesitation she brushed her lips against his. So that was Koinosuke then.
He looked good, Andy supposed. It was difficult to guess his build underneath his winter jacket but he looked to be about the same height and approximate weight as Andy. His hair was about the same length as well, only in ebony rather than gold.
Feeling someone watching him, Koinosuke looked up to see Andy Bogard glaring back at him from atop the stairs to the Yamada dojo. He waved up at the hakujin to acknowledge his presence. But was glad when Andy made no move to come down and talk. He really had nothing to say to Hanzo-sama's pet project.
Andy did not return the wave Koinosuke sent him. Instead, the blond ninja just turned and walked back into the house.
"You okay?" Jubei was waiting for him in the entrance hall.
"Fine." Andy clipped. "Why?"
"No reason."
…