Disclaimer: I don't own Fatal Fury, King of Fighters or related characters. I'm just borrowing them for some non-profit entertainment.
Sore ga Ai, Deshou?
Chapter Twenty-Three:
Koinosuke had intended to propose to Mai on the morning of her birthday. On the first morning of the new year. He had thought that she'd think it very romantic and all that fluffy-happy stuff girls were supposed to like. It would have been just a formality really, they were already engaged and so an actual proposal from him was not necessary. But he had wanted to ask anyway, because... because he actually liked her and while he was not comfortable with using the word 'love' (as most men his age were not) he was rather confident that he felt an emotion very similar to it. Their arranged marriage was for the clan and when, no now it was if, if Mai married him it would be for the clan and not for him. He had wanted to ask her to marry him for himself.
Their little disagreement had changed that, however.
Koinosuke didn't have to propose to her now, didn't have to ask her to mary him for him. Now he knew that if she married him it would be because it's what's best for the clan and not because it was anything close to what she wanted, or rather who she wanted. The ninja prince gritted his teeth as he remembered how she had gasped the other man's name in the throws of passion. Less of a name and more of a high raptured exclamation of pleasure. "Andy..."
Andy Bogard... that damnable hakujin had managed to seduce his fiance from him. Oh, how he wanted to see the man dead!
He could probably do it too. Pampered and spoiled as he was, Koinosuke was still a Shiranui ninja, trained in every art of ninjitsu. It wouldn't be all that difficult to sneak into the Yamada dojo, find the place where Bogard slept and slit his throat in the night. No, a kill like that would be to obvious. It would raise suspicion within the clan. Bogard may not be well liked within the clan but he was favored by Hanzo-dono. If he were to be murdered so openly and obviously people would interpret it as a challenge to their leader and Hanzo would respond accordingly.
Poison, perhaps? There were some toxins that converted into naturally occurring substances in the body after being metabolized so that they left no trace, thus murder could not be proven. He could poison Bogard to get him out of the way. But then that would rob him of the satisfaction of actually killing his rival himself. But what as a bit of personal gratification to the big picture? Once Bogard was out of the way Mai would be his once again.
She would grieve the loss of her little golden-haired lover and who would swoop in to comfort her in her time of emotional need but her fiancé. The man whom she was already going to marry. The man who would always be there for her when she needed him. A man whom the family approved of with the right pedigree, assets and social connections. The plan seemed so perfect that Koinosuke couldn't help but smile.
And then reality would set in.
Mai was so hot tempered and strong willed that any attempt to comfort her would only back fire. She'd see his condolences as an insult or at the very least patronizing. He had never liked the blond American and she knew it. And then there was the matter of actually killing Bogard. How was he to sneak in a poison the man? The two of them, Yamada-san and Bogard were almost always there, one of them would likely notice him before he'd have the chance to complete his mission and that would raise the question of why he was there in the first place. Everyone knew he had no great love for Andy Bogard, there was no reason for him, the 'Prince' of the clan to pay a visit to Hanzo's pet hakujin, the lowest of the low.
No, visions and schemes of murder and revenge were fun to indulge in every now and again, but when he really got down to it, they just weren't feasible. No, what he had to do right now was apologize to Mai for his reaction and explain his feelings on the matter. Communication was the best way of forming a healthy relationship after all. He did really like her and wasn't about to louse to a low-born foreigner, least not before he had a real chance to win his fair lady's affections. Once Mai saw how much he truly cared for her she would give up on that wretched hakujin and return to his open arms where she belonged. Confident that this was how things would go, Koinosuke knocked on the Shiranui main house's front door. "Ojama shimasu!"
...
Andy sat in the kitchen of the Shiranui main house staring at the ceiling light reflected in his tea cup. Behind him Kazutaka was busy packing a dozen chocolaty brownies for Doc to take back to his home with him. The two men seemed to be arguing about some inside joke that Andy was not privy too and so he did his best to ignore them. He had far more important things to consider anyway. Did he really want to become a member of the Shiranui clan officially? He needed the experience, of that much he was sure. But to commit his whole life to the service of the clan was another matter. How would his commitment to the clan effect his plans of revenge on Geese Howard? Hanzo-sensei knew that it was his whole purpose in learning kappojutsu and the Shiranui-ryu or ninjutsu, his master would surely grant him leave to preform the task.
His thoughts were interupted, however, by a nock at the door.
"Andy-kun, do you think you could get that?" Koinosuke asked from over his shoulder as he swatted one of Doc's creeping hands away from stealing a brownie.
The blond ninja-in-training obediently rose and walked the few steps from the kitchen to the entrance hall to see who would be calling on the Shiranui house unexpectedly.
"YOU!" The vehement snarl caught him off guard and Andy blinked in confusion before realizing that he stood face-to-face with a very pissed-off looking Koinosuke. "What are you doing here!"
"Hanzo-sensei wanted-" But the blond fighter never got to finish his explanation as the ninja prince suddenly launched himself at Andy with all the force and grace of an oncoming freight train.
"I kill you!"
Andy toppled backwards as an inexplicably enraged Koinosuke barreled into him. The blond fighter, acting on instinct, placed his knee in his attacker's stomach and used his own momentum to propel the furious ninja off of himself and over his head. Koinosuke somersaulted over the floor until he had spent enough momentum to reclaim a standing position. Andy likewise climbed back to his feet from where Koi had attempted to pin him to the floor.
"What are-" But once again Andy was cut off by a second attack from his opponent.
He turned a quarter turn to the side and threw up his fore arm to deflect a punch Koinosuke had aimed at his jaw. The ninja prince, behind Andy now grabbed him in a headlock hoping to strangle the air out of him. But the blond fighter kicked out the instep of his adversary's footing causing him to louse balance. He then propelled Koinosuke over his shoulder in a perfect strait line judo toss. Had Jubei-sensei been watching he would have been very proud. Still not daunted, Koinosuke rushed his rival again, this time going low, attacking the knees and shins -the foundations of his opponent's stance.
"What the hack is going on out here?"
Koi froze in mid-attack. Kazutaka and Doc had appeared in the entrance way being drawn by the sounds of a fight. They stood with their arms crossed over their chests appraising the scene before them.
"What's he doing here?" The ninja-prince snarled with all the self-rightious impudence he had in him. He thrust a finger at Andy and made a disgusted face as if the American-born ninja were something vile that shouldn't been seen in a respectable household.
"He was invited." Kazu clipped. "What are you doing here, Koinosuke-kun?"
Koi rose to his feet attempting to reclaim some of his lost dignity by being on eye level with Kazutaka when he said, "I was unaware that I needed a reason to visit my fiancee."
"Mai's not here right now." Kazu replied smoothly. "But I'll be sure to tell her that you stopped by when she gets back."
"Are you dismissing me?" Koinosuke sounded incensed. "You'll dismiss me, yet let him stay."
"Um..." Andy began, raising his hand slightly as if in a classroom. "May I ask why you're so mad at me? What have I done to you recently that makes you so angry that you'll attack on sight?"
"You!" Koinosuke whirled around and snarled at the blond ninja but paused when he saw the man's face. He was honestly and truly confused, Bogard didn't have the slightest inkling as to why Mai's fiancé would want to kill him. So then... so then he and Mai weren't lovers? "You..." He gritted his teeth and turned back to Kazutaka and tried best to moderate his tone into something resembling polite when he said. "I'd like to stay here and wait for Mai to get back, please."
"Fine." Kazu shrugged. "But take your shoes off. And while you wait, you can be the one to clean the mess you made of the entrance way."
...
Mai was surprised when she came home to find Koinosuke scrubbing dirty footprints off the polished wood of the entrance way. He looked up at her when she entered and smiled warmly, his face alight with affection.
"Hi, Mai."
"Uh... hello." She replied awkwardly and then focussed on taking off her shoes as an excuse to avoid looking at him. They hadn't exactly parted on the kindest of circumstances and she had no idea why he was here now beaming at her with warmth and admiration.
"I was hoping if we could talk." He blurted out in answer to her unasked question.
"About what?" She asked, placing her shoes in a cubby and gathering up her shopping bags. She brushed past him on her way down the hall.
"About us." Koinosuke abandoned his half-finished cleaning job and followed after her.
Mai wasn't really in the mood to talk to Koinosuke about anything, let alone their relationship but she let him follow her to her room where she set her shopping down anyway. She planted her feet and crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin slightly she indicated for him to speak.
"Will you marry me?" He blurted out.
Her expression clearly said, 'No.' But the words she spoke were, "Well, I kinda have to."
"I meant, would you marry me for me and not just the family?"
"No."
"Because of Bogard."
"Because you're an ass."
The ninja prince looked affronted. "I'm not!"
The kunoichi just shrugged. "You can't tell a drunk he's a drunk."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. I'm gonna go tell 'Touchan I'm home and see how Ojisama is doing." She brushed past him on her way out of the room.
"Are you going to see him too?"
"Who?" She paused and turned.
"Bogard."
"He's here?" Mai raised one skeptical eyebrow.
Koinosuke sputtered before composing himself and crossing his arms over his chest asked, "And if he is?"
"Then I suppose I'll have to say 'hi'."
Anger once again rose within the ninja-prince. "Ya know, it amazes me how a woman of your status and intelligence could fall for such a... for someone so utterly below yourself!"
"Then I guess you just don't know me that well." She left him.
...
The evening sun dipped low over the Higashiyama mountains, giving the snow covered peaks a vibrant gold halo and setting the clouds aflame. It was a breathtakingly beautiful sight to behold, the type of sunset poets loved to sing about, or artists loved to dream about, or lovers loved to have as a backdrop for their rendezvous. It was a shame then, that this spectacular and majestic act of nature went completely unnoticed and unappreciated by the only occupant of the Shiranui house that was actually in a position to view it.
Andy Bogard, outside on the training field, stood with his hand's dangling at his sides and his feet parted slightly. To the untrained on-looker it wouldn't look much like anything, but to one trained in martial arts (such as anyone from the house that might look on him from a window) it was clear that he assumed the shizen no kamae, or the 'neutral posture'. It was the 'default' posture of ninjutsu from which a ninja could segue into any move or sequence of moves he so desired. Andy, however, remained motionless.
His mind swirled within a sea of thoughts, swept away by the roiling surf of the day's events and his master's generous but heavy offer. Intellectually he realized that accepting the offer was the best way to achieve his goal, his one purpose. However, something held him back. It was not Hanzo's warning that he would never be able to leave the clan again, no, that was something that he would have assumed and needn't have been said. Nor was it an issue of being asked to put aside his own views and opinions for the tasks he would be asked to perform. He held very few personal allegiances and really only one (possibly two) were strong enough for him to die for: his loyalty to his brother and maybe his affection for Jubei-sensei (though he was not as sure about the latter).
No, what made him take a step back and examine this offer… what made him hesitate on the decision was not the tasks he would perform or the threat of repercussions for defecting, no. What made him pause was the question of 'what next?' What would he do after his life mission of revenge was complete?
Before now he had always assumed one of two things would happen: he and Terry would go back to living together somewhere in South Town, if Master Tung were still alive maybe he would live with them as well, and the three of them might start a gym (though he would never teach the Shiranui-ryu there); the other option was seppuku, ritual suicide. His whole life's mission was to defeat and kill Geese, once that was achieved he wouldn't have any purpose to live for anymore; it only made sense to end his life then. But Hanzo's offer had put a new option on the table: return to Japan as a Shiranui ninja. Have a guaranteed job; a place to live and people whom would look out for him (if for no other reason than to cover their own asses).
This third option did sound very appealing. However, it did knock living with Terry off the table. Then again, after ten years of living apart would his brother still be the same person he remembered? Would he want to live with Andy? Not likely. And possibly. Giving over his life to the Shiranui clan did seem the more practical option, but there was another problem with it: Mai.
He had an ill feeling of foreboding that her clumsy attempt to seduce him at the Yamada dojo would not be her last. She was a very stubborn and headstrong woman whom was used to getting her way. If she wanted something she would not relent until she either got it or lost interest in it. If he gave over his life to the Shiranui clan, how long would he endure her advances before he gave in? He was, after all, only human and she was a very attractive woman. Mai was a dangerous problem for him.
Andy let out a heavy sigh, his breath transforming into a thick cloud of mist by winter's evening chill and he became aware of how cold he was. He turned back towards the house, intent on a warm mug of hot chocolate. It was late and evening was quickly turning to night, the young ninja-in-training supposed that he and Jubei would be spending the night and he looked forward to the prospect of sleeping in a house with central heating again.
He paused in mid-step.
Mai stood on the porch, leaning against one of the thick wood beams that supported the canopy. Her arms were crossed over her chest, pushing her breasts higher up on her chest. The last rays of the setting sun illuminated her hair making the red highlights of it look like polished copper.
"Hi." She said.
"Hi." He answered back feeling awkward. They had not spoken since her failed attempt to seduce him back at the Yamada dojo.
"Okay then." She turned to go back inside.
"Wait, what?" He followed after her. She had always been hard to understand; even when they were children he could never quite figure her out, but sometimes it felt like she was just plain trying to confuse him.
"I just wanted to tell you 'hi'." She explained in a bit of an irritated huff, as if he should have already known that, as if he should be able to read her mind and understand every thought as she had it. "So I've said 'hi' and now I'm done."
"You're so weird." Andy shook his head.
"And like you're not?" Mai shot back, a slight smile on her full red lips. "I'm sorry, did I just hear the kettle calling the pot?"
He gave a slight chuckle at her little joke.
"Face it, Andy, we're two of a kind, you and I."
"I suppose…" He wasn't really sure if he agreed or not, but it seemed better to concede the point rather than argue it. He was learning to pick his battles. Besides, there was another matter that was in greater need of discussion then what traits they might share in common. "Hey, Mai…" he began tentatively, "…back at the Yamada dojo, um, about…?"
"Oh that." She turned a bright shade of red that Andy found quite flattering on her and he once again silently asked himself why he had refused her offer. "Ojisama and 'Touchan are not to know about that, ever! Do you understand me?"
"Ah, I understand." His cheeks colored slightly. "But, uh, I actually wanted to talk about the little conversation we had after your, um… enticement. Have you thought about what I said?"
"Yes. I've already spoken to Ojisama about it."
"That's good." He nodded. "Uh, listen, about what else we talked about… when you, um, when you asked if I would marry you, how serious were you being?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, how, um, committed to that were you? Would you ask me again once you've disentangled yourself from Koinosuke?"
"Why, Andy…" she batted her eyelashes playfully, "… are you asking me to marry you?"
"Not in the least." He replied with all the grave seriousness of an undertaker.
She looked disappointed but answered truthfully. "I might."
"And when I say 'no' again, would you continue to press the issue? Or would you let the matter drop and move on?"
She was silent a moment, contemplating her answer. This was the most important matter to Andy, whether or not she would accept his rejection and let him be or not. Her answer would determine for him what he would plan on doing with his life after Jeff was avenged.
"That would depend." She said at length.
"Depend on what?"
"On whether of not I believed you don't want to marry me at all or just need some time." She elaborated, her tone equally as serious as his own. "You've never liked it when people got to close to you. You pushed me away the first time I ever hugged you. You don't really consider yourself part of the family to spite the fact that you've lived with us since you were nine. You never made friends back in school. You just… its like you're scared of closeness or something."
'Don't get attached, don't get hurt.' If only she knew how close to the mark she was hitting.
"So," Mai continued. "If I were to ask you to marry me and you said 'no', I might be lead to believe that it wasn't because you didn't actually want me, but rather because you're scared. But, if you said 'no' and I could be sure that it was a true no because it honestly would not be something you wished to do… then I would let you go."
"I see." That was all he needed to know.
"But," she added and he paused to hear whatever last bit she wanted to say. "It would be really nice if you did want to marry me. I plan to be the number one in Japan and it would be great if we could stand at the top together."
…
(A/N: I'm alive! Well… sort of.)