Disclaimer: I don't own King of Fighters, Fatal Fury or related characters. Such is the property of SNK Playmore. I'm just borrowing them for some non-profit entertainment.

Sore ga Ai, Deshou?

Chapter Twenty-One: Fight Night

Andy wanted power. That was an overly simplified summary of his wants and desires. 'Power' was an ambiguous term. He wanted the strength and the skills to avenge his father's murder. He wanted the power body, power of mind, power of will. He wanted the type of power that would give him the strength of character to kill.

That was the power Andy Bogard desired.

And to attain that power he trained. He trained his body with an intense physical regime, he trained his mind with deep meditation, and he trained his will with both. Andy put all of his time and effort, ney, all of his being into his single goal: to attain the power he desired, the power to avenge his father's murder.

And not once did any thought of Mai enter his mind. Not once, but…

Not once but many, many times had thoughts of Mai invaded his mind and interrupted his training. At random moments the image of Mai's bare breasts would rise to the surface of his thoughts unbidden. The sound of her soft voice would ring in his ears as if she had just whispered to him… 'Make love to me…'

It was maddening!

Some times, late in the evenings when all the lights had been put out and he lay on his futon surrounded by darkness and silence he would ask himself why he had rejected her offer. She was very attractive and the idea of enjoying the delights of her most exquisite body was very appealing to him. He mentally kicked himself for not jumping on her when he'd had the chance.

But then that annoying little voice in his head reminded him that that wasn't morally right and that Jeff would have been disappointed in him. It reminded him that you should only make love to the person you were in love with and he, as someone whom had sworn never to fall in love, had no right.

'Don't get attached, don't get hurt.'

And besides, given their situations, it was just a plain bad idea. Mai was going to become the next head of the Shiranui clan, well… co-head of the Shiranui clan, and he was just a lowly foundling with no real standing or connecting, no real worth in the eyes of the clan. They would never condone a relationship between the two of them and Andy didn't think his conscience would let him have sex without a relationship.

And then there was the business of her fiancé to consider. Mai was engaged to Koinosuke and while she didn't like him in any romantic sense, he certainly liked her. Andy seriously doubted the other future co-Leader of the Shiranui clan would take kindly to an affair between his soon to be wife and a lowly hakujin, Hanzo's "pet project".

Andy rolled over onto his side and glared through the darkness at the shoji screens. Outside a fierce winter wind blew and rattled the shingles of the roof. It was cold and he once again remembered the image of Mai's alluring body in the warm and steaming bathhouse. He imagined the alluring curve of her hips as they had seemed to sway beneath the clean and clear bath water, the way her dark reddish-brown hair had floated about her shoulders, she had looked like a bewitching siren. He thought how warm it would be if she were with him now, beneath the blankets, sharing body heat... In that moment he wanted her.

'Don't get attached, don't get hurt…'

But then that little annoying voice reared up again and reminded him that she was already promised to another man and it just wasn't right. Damn, he hated his morals at that moment.

Andy rolled back over and peered at the ceiling. He needed a change of scenery. Maybe after New Years Jubei-sensei would let him go back to Tokyo and participate in another one of the underground fighting rings.

…

Tokyo in winter reminded him a bit more of South Town than Andy was comfortable with. The streets were plowed clear of snow, but where it collected in the gutters was slushy and dirty and reflect more of a ruddy brownish-yellow than the pure white he'd gotten used to in the mountains.

The blond hitched up his jacket's collar to better ward off the evening chill and turned down a dark ally way. He had been pleased when Jubei-sensei had said that he was old enough and responsible enough to go to Tokyo alone this time. The teen had swelled with pride and thanked his master earnestly for the complement and the vote of confidence. Now, however, Andy realized that he hadn't actually been on his own in a big city since before he and Terry had been adopted and he wondered if he still had the "street smarts" he'd learned back then or if he'd been softened by his time living in the Shiranui and Yamada dojos.

The ally he now walked down was not unlike the one that had lead to the back entrance of the abandoned warehouse he and Terry had squatted in back then. The pavement was cracked and broken; the air was still and stank of garbage and human waste. It was almost like returning home and Andy was revolted by the idea of a place like this being any sort of "home". He wondered how he and Terry had ever managed to live like this back then. He had gotten used to life style he'd been living in recently. Perhaps he had gotten soft, but he never wanted to go back to the streets again.

A shady looking man sat on a stool in front of a shady looking door smoking a cigarette that smelled like there was more in it than just tobacco and nicotine.

"Whad'ya want?" He asked upon Andy's approach.

The blond ninja muttered a password to him and grumbling the man got up off his seat and allowed Andy to pass through the door. Inside was much nicer than its exterior surrounding would have made you think. The floor and walls were clean, though they did still show signs of disrepair and neglect, but the hallway he found himself in was well lit.

Andy followed the hall until it opened up into a large converted warehouse. Where once there had been industrial shelves to stack and store consumer goods there was now only a cage, a cage big enough to hold two people with enough room to maneuver. It stood in the center of the room, empty. A wide circle had been painted around it in red that Andy hadn't seen on his first visit. He assumed it was supposed to show the crowds how far from the cage they were supposed to stand. But at the moment there was no crowd. The warehouse was empty except for Andy himself and Mr. Six whom sat at a desk in the far corner flanked by Kitten and Kitty.

It was to this desk that Andy now walked.

Mr. Six looked up from his books and ledgers when he heard the boy's approach, he leaned back in his chair as if trying to remember where he'd seen him before.

"Ah, Demon's boy… White Wolf." He said when comprehension dawned on him. "What brings you here?"

"When are you hosting the next fight?" Andy asked eagerly without pause. It was the whole reason he'd come to Tokyo after all.

"Well, you're an eager little pup, ain't ya." He smiled sardonically. "Next fight's midnight, entry fee is ninety thousand. Same as last time."

Andy smiled craftily. Jubei-sensei had sent him with well over ninety thousand yen for his entry fee and expenses. (Once again the teen did not ask from where it had come.) But he figured he might as well try and wring a discount of some sort out of the guy. Jubei-sensei wasn't made of money after all.

"Don't I get a discount for being a returning fighter?" He asked. "I'm sure you don't get many regulars."

"Kid, you'd be surprised." Mr. Six returned his smile with a toothy grin of his own. "And ninety thousand is your discount, for being recommended by Demon a seasoned and respected regular. The normal entry fee is one hundred thousand."

Andy would have haggled a bit longer but didn't know with what to argue further. So, he grumbled softly and withdrew a roll of cash from his pocket. He counted out ninety thousand and handed the stack of bills to the shady bookkeeper. When Mr. Six took the wad of cash Andy couldn't help but notice that the man's hand was bandaged.

"What happened?" He asked before thinking.

Mr. Six handed the money to Kitten before answering. "I fell off a ladder."

It was only then that the boy remembered that it had been hinted at that Six worked for some yakuza faction or another. It had been stupid of him to ask in the first place.

…

Kazutaka rapped lightly on the Yamada dojo's front door. He stood back patiently and smiled warmly when Jubei answered it.

"Ah, Kazu-kun, what brings you here?" The old master asked.

"My father wanted me to tell you that you need to get a phone." The paradoxical pacifist answered apologetically.

The aged judo master raised one quizzical eyebrow. "He made you come all that way up here to tell me that?"

"No." Kazutaka sighed. "That was just an additional message. He's feeling under the weather at the moment and can't come to see you, so he would like you to come over to the Shiranui house some time. Now is best since Andy's gone."

Jubei was about to ask 'Wait, how'd you know Andy wasn't here?' but had long since given up on asking things like that of Hanzo and the extended Shiranui clan. The closest thing to an answer that he ever got was 'Psh, ninja' spoken as if it should have been obvious and that the question was an idiotic one. Jubei decided that the Shiranui just had a super-secret-spy-network, like in the movies.

…

Andy had also hopped to be able to change his name this time; he had been getting very tired of 'White Wolf'. Wolves were Terry's thing, not his and he felt weird carrying the name of 'Wolf' when he felt that it not only didn't fit him but also belonged to another. However, after stupidly prying into what had happened to Six's finger he had pretty much destroyed his chance of asking the favor of a name change this time around.

Andy sighed as his eyes shifted from starring at his codename on the lists to take in the whole board, looking for familiar aliases. He noticed that Hurricane Upper, Joe, had been placed on the opposite side of the lists as he had. Andy allowed himself a gratifying smile; the best opponent was being saved for last. With Joe starting on the opposite side as he was they weren't going to meet and battle each other until the final round. The young ninja was looking forward to it.

The American-born ninja entered the cage with an air of self-assuredness and optimism. The last time he attended these fights his first opponent had been child's play to beat. His only real challenge came when he had gone up against Higashi Joe, whom went by the name of Hurricane Upper here. And Joe had even said that there wasn't much of a challenge in these underground-fighting rings for him, not until he'd gone up against Andy. These next few fights before the two warriors collided would be child's play.

The announcer introduced them to the crowd. As before, the spectators shouted and cheered for his opponent and booed and jeered for Andy. Whatever. He didn't care whether or not the booed him, he knew what he could do. Besides, they could boo 'White Wolf' all they wanted. As soon as Six would let him he intended to change his alias to 'Human Weapon' or something of the sort. It was just more him.

Andy won his first fight easily enough. He grinned wickedly up at the crowd when they booed his victory, as if daring them to continue. A few of the specters closest to the ring paused in their jeers at his gaze. He projected an air of deliberate purpose and intent. Those with the best views of the ring became unable to pass off his victories as mere flukes, luck or chance. He won because he had the skill to win. And soon those closest to the ring that had booed him at first began chanting his name upon the victory of his third fight that evening.

"White Wolf! White Wolf! White Wolf!"

After a few moments of it, however, he wished they'd go back to booing. The name of 'White Wolf' felt uncomfortable in his ears. It didn't feel like a name of his and he felt almost like he were accepting praise meant for another fighter.

And then it was time for the final match, his fight with Hurricane Upper.

…

"Oh, hey, you're back!" Hurricane Upper, Higashi Joe smiled as he and Andy took up positions on opposite sides of the cage. "I'm glad. I wanted a rematch to see which was us was really the stronger."

The Muay Thai fighter assumed his stance, an eager but playful smile on his face. He truly enjoyed fighting for fighting's own sake; Andy understood that feeling all to well. He gave a slight bow of respect to his opponent before sliding into his own stance.

"Kill!" The announcer shouted.

Andy jumped into the air the moment the word was out of the man's mouth. He came down with a kick to the Thai boxer's shoulder and then flipped backwards away from his opponent to avoid any instant retaliation.

Joe fell backwards against the cage wall and bounced off of it face first on to the floor. The Muay Thai boxer climbed back to his feet, a wicked grin of masochistic pleasure on his lips. Now it was his turn to rush forward with a faint. Joe rushed forward as if to land a kick to Andy's stomach but changed at the last minuet to land a punch on the side of the ninja's face.

"Hope your girlfriend doesn't get to mad at me, damaging your pretty face like that."

Now it was Andy's turn to grin masochistically. He spat a mouthful of blood and saliva out and answered, "I don't have a girlfriend."

"Really?" Hurricane Upper raised one skeptical eyebrow. "You're not gay, are you?"

Andy chose not to dignify that with a response. This was a fighting ring, there were supposed to be fighting, not gabbing over their love lives (or lack there of). The blond ninja dropped to a crouch and swung out with another kick to nock Joe's legs out from under him.

Joe stumbled backwards but didn't fall. He regained his balance and hopped over his crouching blond opponent, bracing himself against the cage wall the Muay Thai boxer landed one hard kick to Andy's back sending him face first to kiss the floor.

As Andy tasted rust he was once again glad that his tetanus shot was up-to-date but now he wondered if there was a vaccine for hepatitis and whether or not he should get one if he was going to continue coming to these fights. The blond ninja spat once again as he rose to his feet.

He slammed his elbow into Joe's chest, cracking a rib and pinning the Thai boxer to the cage wall. Joe gasped in mingled shock and pain. Andy released him and stepped back, playing the part of the sportsman, and let his opponent catch his breath.

Joe gasped a few times before glaring back at Andy and rushing him with one of his pyrkinetic attacks. The Muay Thai master's attack caught the ninja in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and singeing the front of his tunic. The white clad ninja coughed at bit and took a single deep breath to clear the smoke of his own burned shirt from his lungs.

He sprang backwards into a handstand intending to launch himself into a Ku Ha Dan but before he could the room exploded.

Not literally, of course. The huge double doors of the warehouse's loading dock burst open to reveal a line of Japan's finest law enforcement, each clad in kevlar and carrying riot shields. They were backlit by huge bright floodlights that were blinding to look at.

"Shit!" Joe swore and made a dash for the cage door, but the announcer had locked it when their fight had begun and they were veritably trapped. "Welp… looks like we'll be spending the night in the slammer. Hope you brought your toothbrush."

Andy imagined the disappointed expressions of his masters, Hanzo and Jubei, would have when they learned he'd been arrested. He did not much like the idea. The Shiranui clan would most likely use it as more fodder against him and this time around he would be kicked out of the clan for real. No doubt about that. And then, for some unknown reason, Mai's face popped into his head. If he were kicked out of the clan and possibly out of Japan he might never see her again. And that thought scared him for some reason.

He glanced at Joe fiddling this the door lock and decided that it was a wasted effort. He looked at the police apprehending the spectators as they intended to run. All the building's exits seemed to be block by cops. He looked up and saw a roof access panel; the police wouldn't have placed a team on the roof, would they?

It was worth taking a chance.

Andy drew out his ki and aimed a Hishouken at the bars and chain links of the cage. The metal groaned under the heat and pressure of the ninja's fighting spirit and after kick or two gave completely. Andy managed to bend a hole wide enough for himself and possibly his opponent to fit through.

"Joe!" Andy shouted, forgetting for the moment their aliases.

The kick boxer looked up from the lock on the cage door and saw the hole his opponent had created. Andy dashed out ahead of him and climbed to the top of the cage. Joe wriggled out of the hole after him and was about the make a break for the nearest door when Andy shouted at him.

"No! Up here." He offered his hand to help the Muay Thai master up and then pointed to the roof access panel above them. "There."

"Got it." Joe nodded. He gathered his ki and sent one of his mini-tornado like attacks at the panel. It didn't give. "Damn, must be locked."

Andy's eyes narrowed, scanning the edges of the panel for a lock or hinges.

"Hey, Wolf, they're almost done with the crowd." Joe said at his side. "Did you have a plan B?"

Andy sent two other small Hishouken at one side of the panel to blow out the hinges. "Now! Blow it open now!"

Joe threw another Screw Upper at the panel and this time it blew open.

"Here." Andy cupped his hands and knelt on one knee to give Joe a boost up. The Muay Thai boxer pulled himself up through the square shaped roof access and peered back down at his accomplice. "Back up." Andy shouted.

The blond ninja put all his strength into one jump and just barely managed to reach the roof access. He hung onto to access ledge and tried to pull himself out. Joe grabbed Andy by the wrist and helped pull him the rest of the way out. The two stood on the roof and glanced around them.

"What now?" The Muay Thai master asked. "I know they saw us climb up here. They're gonna be searching the roof once they finish with everyone down there."

"Then we get off the roof." Andy answered as if this were obvious. He glanced around them; examining the rest of the buildings that surrounded the one they were currently one. The building that formed the other side of the ally he had come threw was closest to the one they now stood on and it was to this building that Andy now jumped to. He turned back to Joe after he landed. "This way."

The two of them made their get away like that. Keeping to the rooftops and slinking into shadows whenever they saw someone below or a helicopter passed over. It wasn't until they were several blocks away that they finally descended from the buildings, dropping as stealthily as they could into yet another dark alley between a porn store and a liquor store in one of Tokyo's red-light districts.

The two men leaned back against the liquor store's brick to catch their breath.

"Damn it!" Joe gasped. "That's ninety thou I'm never gonna get back."

"You're worried about money at a time like this?" Andy panted. "Shouldn't you be asking whether or not we lost them?"

"Did we?"

"I think so."

"Okay then. That's ninety thousand I'm never getting back." Joe sank to sit on dirty ground.

"Oh, for the love of…" Andy likewise sat.

They were silent for a long while, their heavy breathing the only sound in the dark and filthy ally while the lights and sounds of the red-light district twinkled and played just beyond the corridor.

"I'm thirsty." Andy announced.

"I got some whiskey back at my place." His companion offered.

"I don't drink alcohol."

"That's because you're lame." Joe stood and offered Andy a hand up. "C'mon, I got water at my place too."

Andy accepted the offered hand and stood.

…

The term 'flat' invoked the image of a spacious ground-floor apartment in Soho, England. It did not invoke the image of a small one-room apartment with a matchbox size bathroom and itsy-bitsy kitchenette, however, that was exactly what Joe's flat turned out to be.

Joe's flat was a one room apartment, not one bedroom, one room. It was a glorified closet with attached bathroom and kitchen. A wide window that offered a stunning view of the city lights, the flat's one redeeming feature, took up one whole wall. The room was furnished with a couch that took up a great deal of space, a small coffee table and a television. In the corner, off to one side was a raised platform with a narrow ladder leading up to it. This, Andy assumed, was the bed as there was a blanket hanging half off it. The entire place was scattered with discarded clothing, newspapers, magazines, beer cans and food garbage. It made Andy's stomach churn.

"Ah, home sweet home." Joe breathed in deeply. He walked over to his kitchen sink and rinsed out two glasses. "Sure all you want is water?"

"Yes." Andy replied as he began rearranging debris on the couch to clear a space for himself. He stacked the discarded papers and magazines neatly on the coffee table in front of him (or rather, as neatly as he could) and sat down, once again wondering about a hepatitis vaccine.

Joe came over carrying a tray laden with to glasses, a bottle of whisky and a bowl of chips. Andy was a bit surprised to see the chips in an actual bowl, after seeing the disarray of the apartment he would have expected to be eating them strait out of the bag.

Joe knocked the neatly stacked papers that Andy had just arranged off the coffee table to make room for the tray and sat down on the other side of the couch right on a pile of his dirty laundry.

"So," he offered Andy his glass of water, "that was a neat trick with the roof back there. I wouldn't have thought of it."

"It seemed like the best option." The blond replied and sniffed his glass covertly to see if the water was really drinkable. He decided that if he could drink the wild spring water on Hagi he could handle Tokyo city's tap water from a questionably clean glass. "A ninja is supposed to be able to think creatively."

"Aw crap, I was rescued by an animeshon-otaku." The Muay Thai boxer groaned.

"What?" Andy sputtered. He'd never watched a single episode of a single anime in his life. Some of the other guys back in school would bring a manga or two to class with them but he never read any. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on! 'A ninja is supposed to think creatively'. Which Saturday morning anime did you get that from? Was it Samurai Troopers? It was Samurai Troopers, wasn't it."

"What's a 'samurai trooper'?"

"Whatever." Joe shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. "You're a good fighter so I guess I'll let you call yourself a ninja if you want. But just so you know, ninja clans are pretty closed off to outsides, especially foreigners. Pretty much the only way to become a ninja is to be born into a ninja clan. I suppose they might try and train you a little bit if you marry into one, but really you gotta train from like the age of two to be a ninja."

"Nine." The blond pseudo-ninja muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Andy took another sip of water. "What about you? You're Japanese but practice a martial art from Thailand. What's your story?"

"Oh, well I spent allot of time in Thailand as a kid. My dad was a big Muay Thai champion back in his day, so I guess I'm kinda following in his footsteps."

"Hm." Andy felt a light pang of jealousy at Joe's short narrative. He wasn't sure if he would have followed him Jeff's footsteps of not but unlike the Muay Thai boxer, he didn't have the option to.

"So, anyway, where're you staying tonight?"

"Well, I hadn't really thought about that." Andy admitted. "I got a little money left on me. Maybe I'll find a hotel somewhere, or something…"

"You could stay here, if you want." Joe offered.

Andy looked around and wondered how he could politely refuse. "You sure you wouldn't mind. This is a pretty small place ya got here."

"Nah, its fine. The couch unfolds into a bed. Besides, it's the least I can do for you after you got me out of there."

Damn. If Andy refused his offer now it wouldn't be just rood but insulting to boot. Andy supposed he could spend one night in this sty, if for no other reason that so that the kick-boxer didn't feel indebted to him. "In that case, thank you for your hospitality."

"Damn, you're a polite little bastard."

Andy just shrugged. "It how I was taught. By the way, what do you think that was about back there? The raid, I mean."

Now it was Joe's turn to shrug. "It happens from time to time. Might be there was a fed. mole in the tournament, or a rival gang turned them in for profit, Hell, might even have been one of their own guys lookin' to cash in. S'not really worth lousin' sleep over."

"I… see…" Andy stood to refill his water glass. "So then there'll still be underground fights."

"Oh, yeah, they'll be in a different place, maybe hosted by a different group, but there'll always be fights." Joe nodded. "Which is good for us, we still need to finish our rematch." He smiled broadly.

…

(A/N: Okay, so the last two chapters have gone without reviews and I have no idea if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I need you guys to shoot some feedback my way otherwise I'm just written' blind.)

(A/N 2: And it would be awful nice if someone else dinged to write an Andy/Mai fic. It get's kinda lonely bein' the only writer for a specific pair in a fandom.)