All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them, the video games, or the anime.

Chapter Three

As Mai said, the elders of the Shiranui clan arrived just as the sun started to break over the mountains of the horizon, coloring the dawn sky a peaceful blue, and glinting off the dew of the autumn foliage, setting the trees ablaze with deep red and orange. Andy and Mai were both standing in the courtyard to greet the clan, as Jubei and Joe were still sleeping off the sake from last night.

Mai's great uncles, Jirou and Saburo, walked at the head of the little group that crested the stone stair and entered through the wooden archway. They were followed by their wives, then Nobutoki, then a few other members of Mai's extended family. At the rear was a stuffy-looking Japanese man in a black suit and wire-rimmed glasses with a briefcase. One of the clan's attorneys, Mai assumed.

Both Jirou and Saburo were dressed in ceremonial kimonos, and as they got nearer to Mai and Andy, they frowned when they saw that Mai was not dressed the same. Instead, she wore a pair of blue jeans so tight they looked painted on, a red tube top, and a lavender blouse with the buttons left open. Mai had already packed her kimonos, along with most of her wardrobe.

She had done this on purpose, largely because she no longer cared about showing her uncles respect, since her clan had disowned her, and also because she hoped it would make them uncomfortable. She did, however, possess enough decorum to fold her hands and bow to them.

"Uncle Jirou," she said sweetly to the chief elder. "You're looking well this morning."

"The dojo looks surprisingly clean, Mai-san," Jirou remarked dryly.

"Yes, well, we tidied it up for you, but if that's not to your liking, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to dirty it by being here," Mai told him, her voice still dripping with honey.

The chief elder of her former clan gave a small grunt and a nod, clearly missing the double meaning of Mai's words. Andy stood stock still at Mai's side, summoning all his discipline to keep a straight face.

"You couldn't have dressed more appropriately?" Saburo asked Mai, also missing the insult in Mai's last response.

Mai gave a small shrug. "Well, as you and Uncle Jirou have pointed out, I've been infected by Western culture. And a doctor told me it's contagious, so you'd better not touch me, or it will get you too!"

This time, Andy gave a small snort of laughter before he regained control of himself and put a neutral face back on. Mai turned and gestured to the front door. "Shall we? I've prepared a sitting room for us. And there's tea, juice, toast, and onsen tamago in the kitchen if anyone hasn't had breakfast yet."

For a moment, Andy almost lost his poker face again. Mai had gotten up long before him, and he had heard her puttering around in the kitchen, so he assumed she was cooking breakfast. But if he remembered correctly, Mai told him the eggs in the fridge had expired. However, he chose to keep silent.

Once they were inside, Mai escorted her uncles and their attorney to the sitting room, while the rest of the clan went to the kitchen to partake in the breakfast Mai had prepared. As Jirou and Saburo took their seats on one end of the low table, Mai asked Andy to bring them some tea. Andy was happy to, as legal proceedings made him uncomfortable.

"Now, then," Jirou said with a small nod to the black-suited attorney. "Our attorney has drawn up the affidavits for you." The lawyer, upon being nodded at, placed his briefcase flat upon the table, opened it, and withdrew several documents which he passed to Mai, who was seated opposite her uncles.

Mai picked up the affidavits and began to read them silently. She was still reading when Andy came back in with the tea, placed the tray in the center of the table, and sat down to Mai's right.

"What are you doing?" Saburo asked her.

"Reading," Mai answered. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Why?"

"Why do you care?"

Jirou leaned across the table towards her, a small vein on the right side of his temple throbbing slightly. "This is not a negotiation, Mai-san! This is the fulfillment of a pact that was sealed by an honor duel! We will not let you alter that document in any way!"

Andy started to lean forward as well, but Mai placed an arm in front of him. "I've got this, Andy." She then addressed Jirou: "You've clearly won, uncle, so again I ask: why do you care if I read it? I just want to read it. Relax. Drink some tea. It's good for you. If I remember correctly, the clan's physician has been telling you to watch your blood pressure. So don't stress out. This will all be over soon."

Andy found that he once again had to struggle to maintain a straight face, to disguise the fact that he was amused by the irony of Mai telling her uncles that it would be over soon, when they were the ones who had beaten her. Several minutes later, and Mai finally set the papers back down on the table. "Okay, I'm ready to sign. Do you have a pen?"

Jirou and Saburo both looked at each other, and then over to their attorney. "Wait... you're okay with it?" Saburo asked her. "What did you read in there?"

Mai blew out a loud breath. "Nothing! Jeez, first you want me to sign, and now you're suspicious? Make up your minds! Now, come on! Who has a pen?"

"Um... perhaps we should look at it again, first," Jirou said cautiously.

"Are you trying to back out of our agreement?" Mai asked them. "Because if you are, I'm calling my attorney."

At the mention of this, the clan's lawyer leaned over and started whispering to Jirou. Mai could have overheard it, but she really didn't care what they were saying.

"I have a pen, Mai," Andy said, producing one from the pocket of his slacks and offering it to her.

"Thanks, Andy, honey," Mai said with a sweet smile as she accepted it. She then signed her name on the line and passed the affidavits back to her uncles, effectively ending any further discussion. "There. The dojo is yours, now." Mai then stood up, pulled a ring of keys from her pocket, and dropped it onto the table. "Here's the keys."

Her uncles did not move to retrieve the document, instead they continued to eye their grand-niece suspiciously. "I thought you'd be celebrating right now," Mai told them. "You won! Savor it!" She picked up one of the teacups off the tray, gulped it down, and then slid the tray across the table to the two older men. "Here, drink up before it gets cold!"

Jirou and Saburo looked at each other, and then back at Mai. Neither one of them took a cup of tea. Finally, Mai gave an exaggerated shrug. "Well, fine. Just sit there. Andy and I have to finish packing, anyway. We'll be out of your hair in no time!"

"Right," Andy said with a nod of agreement. The two lovers rose from the table, bowed to the others who were still seated, and left the room to wake up their guests.

By the time they had accomplished this, Mai's uncles were ready to inspect their boxes. Andy and Mai weren't taking a lot, just the furniture from their bedroom, their clothes, random figurines, wall hangings and other decorations that had belonged to Mai's family, her old scrapbooks and photo albums, and aso her grandfather's chair and writing desk. Mai had been correct in assuming that her clan mainly wanted Hanzo's books and scrolls on Ninjitsu, so they approved everything that had been packed, though they searched it thoroughly to make sure Mai wasn't smuggling out anything from her grandfather's collection of literature.

Mai stood there with a neutral expression the entire time, though inside she was smiling because she knew they wouldn't find anything. Hanzo's letter to Mai was secure on her person, and as for the diagram he'd included with it (which showed where the clan's secret scrolls had been buried in the courtyard), Mai had burned that a long time ago. All the copies they had made from Hanzo's books earlier that week were being held by the librarian until Mai could pick them up. I have to remember to tell Andy that she's invited to the wedding, Mai thought.

After the boxes had been inspected and approved, Jirou and his wife took their leave. Because he preferred his duties as chief elder, Jirou appointed his younger brother master of the dojo, and as Mai and Andy moved out, Saburo and his family started to move in.

After their van had been loaded, Master Jubei announced that he was taking a cab to the train station to return to his dojo. He said his goodbyes to Mai and Andy at the base of the long stone stairway.

"You take care of yourself, Mai-chan," he told Mai. "Your grandfather's last request to me was that I keep an eye on you. Even though you'll be across the ocean and most of another continent, I still feel a responsibility."

Mai leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Don't worry, Master, I plan to stay in touch. I'll be sending you details about the wedding, because you are of course invited. But I also want to hear more stories about you and Ojisama from when you were my age."

The old judo master chuckled. "Since he can't stop me from embarrassing him, it will be my honor."

Jubei then turned to face his old student. Andy folded his left hand over his right, which was curled into a fist, and bowed respectfully. "I won't let you down, Master," he said. "I'll take care of her."

Andy's sensei returned the bow. "You've never let me down, Andy. Even if it did take you forever to figure out what was sitting right in front of you. And I think you'll be needing her to take care of you more."

After Jubei's cab arrived, Mai took one last walk through the dojo to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. As she walked down the hallway which led to the foyer, Mai saw her cousin, Nobutoki Shiranui, standing in the open doorway of her old bedroom, the one she'd grown up in, leaning casually against the frame of the shoji, arms crossed in satisfaction.

"So glad I ran into you before you left, Mai-san. Just wanted to show you my new bedroom."

Mai stepped over to the open door and peeked inside. Nobu had already moved his boxes in and started to unpack. "Good choice, cuz," Mai said casually. "This used to be my bedroom. I can tell you it's real cozy."

In an instant, Nobu's smirk of triumph was gone. "This... this was your room?"

Mai nodded and rocked back and forth on her heels. "Mm hm. Real cozy," she repeated. "You'll love it."

Nobutoki was standing up straight now. "What did you do to it?"

"Nnnnnnnooooothiiiiing," Mai answered in a singsong voice as she continued rocking on her heels.

"You're lying," Nobu spoke more frantically, his eyes narrowed. "You booby-trapped it, didn't you? What did you do?"

Mai stopped rocking, and pulled a fan out from under her top. "Nobu-San, I didn't do anything to it." She opened the fan and began to flap it daintily in front of her face. "I'll have you know that I'm a proper Japanese ninja maiden. Petty vengeance is beneath me."

Nobutoki snorted. "Please. We both know you are not a maiden. Or proper."

"But you left out ninja," said Mai. "So you admit I am one. Hah!" She cackled with delight.

Her cousin's face flushed slightly. "Um, no, I..."

Mai snapped her fan shut and poked him lightly in the ribs with it. "Yes you did!" Mai laughed and turned her head back up the hallway. "Nobutoki-San just admitted I'm a ninja!" She called as loudly as she could.

"Will you keep your voice down?" He asked almost pleadingly, his hands raised.

"Sure, cuz," Mai said cheerfully as she tucked her fan away. "It doesn't matter anyway. I got it on tape."

Nobutoki frowned at what Mai was wearing, and then scratched his head. "Where are you hiding a recorder? How?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Mai said sweetly, once more rocking on her heels.

A few seconds later, Andy came walking up the hall towards them. It was the first time in his life that Nobutoki was happy to see the American.

Andy, of course, was not happy to see him. The only reason he didn't deck Nobutoki for the way the cocky ninja had humiliated Mai was because he knew it wouldn't undo the outcome of the duel. So he ignored Nobu completely and spoke to Mai. "I thought I heard your voice just now, Mai. Are you ready to go?"

"Sure, Andy, honey," Mai said. "I was just saying goodbye to my dear cousin." She stepped over to Andy's side and offered him her arm. Andy hooked his own arm into it and the two started back up the hallway. As they walked away, Mai glanced over her shoulder. "Enjoy your new room, Nobu-san," she called. "Like I said, real cozy."

Nobu shook his head in frustration. "That's it. I know you booby-trapped it. I'm taking the hakujin's old room instead." With that, he disappeared inside the bedroom to repack his boxes.

Andy looked at Mai, but the ninja girl continued to look ahead, smiling and humming to herself. Finally he asked: "Mai... did you do anything to that room?"

"No, Andy," said Mai. "I don't bear my cousin any ill will. He beat me in a fair fight. So I didn't booby-trap my room. But he seems convinced I did. Which is too bad. Because I did booby-trap your old room, which he's now moving into."

"What did you do?" Andy asked, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"Not here, Andy. Wait until we're outside."

Mai was hoping to avoid her uncle Saburo, but he was waiting for them in the foyer, standing next to Mai and Andy's travel bags. "I trust you haven't forgotten anything?" He asked them.

"Nothing, uncle," Mai said sweetly. "I'm just sorry that while I was here, I never found anything that might help you locate the Shiranui clan scrolls."

"No matter," Saburo said. "We'll find them. They're somewhere in this dojo. They have to be."

For a moment, Andy had a look of confusion in his eyes. They had been so busy the last several days, that he'd completely forgotten about the scrolls Hanzo had entrusted to Mai. Mai had never mentioned what would happen to them, and she didn't look terribly concerned now, so Andy forced his gaze back into neutral. Saburo, thankfully, had been looking at Mai and didn't notice Andy's confusion.

"I'm sure they are," said Mai. "Well, Sayonara, uncle." She bowed to Saburo, and then she and Andy shouldered their travel bags and stepped past him to go outside.

Joe Higashi was waiting out in the courtyard. Andy and Mai would be staying at his place in Tokyo for a week while they made arrangements to have their things moved overseas, then they would be flying to South Town from Haneda. Blue Mary was going to meet them after their flight landed to have lunch with them, and to give them her key to Terry's apartment. She had told them that Terry probably wouldn't mind if Andy and Mai squatted there while they looked for their own place.

Andy couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Terry coming home after being away for a few months, only to find his brother and his brother's fiancé staying in his apartment.

"What's so funny?" Mai asked him.

So Andy told her. "I just realized that Terry's been off on a training journey since August, so we've had no way of telling him everything that's happened. He's gonna be in for a surprise when he gets back to find us living in his place."

"Oh my god, you're right, I hadn't thought of that!" Mai laughed with him as they walked through the courtyard to the archway where Joe was standing.

"You guys ready?" Joe asked when they got near.

"One moment," Mai said. She turned and her gaze swept slowly over the courtyard, and the building behind it, committing to her memory the last images of the only home she'd known for her entire life.

Except now it wasn't. And looking over it now, Mai found she was at peace with that. She'd always have fond memories of her life here, but she and Andy would make plenty of new memories together, regardless of where they lived. Home was wherever she and Andy could be safe and happy together.

Mai nodded to herself, then turned to face her lover and his friend. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."

The three of them started down the long stone steps towards the van, and when they were halfway down, Mai said to Andy: "Sashimi."

"Um, what?" Andy asked her.

"That's how I booby-trapped your old room," Mai explained. "I stuffed raw sashimi inside the window curtain rods. The last place he'd ever think to look. I'm tempted to call him in a month and see if the stench has driven him mad yet."

Joe laughed aloud. Andy just stared at Mai with that uncomprehending look that Mai sometimes found adorable.

"That's pretty clever," said Joe. "More clever than what I did."

"What did you do?" Mai asked him.

"I put plastic wrap over the toilet bowl in your uncle's bathroom," the kickboxer answered her.

Mai laughed and held her hand out to Joe for a high-five. "Nice!" Joe reached over and slapped his palm against hers.

Andy sputtered, unable to form words. He did not know which was more shocking: Mai's unladylike behavior, or the fact that she and Joe were actually getting along.

"You know, the curtain rod thing was actually Master Jubei's idea," Mai said. "He also suggested sawing halfway through one leg on each of the footstools in the reading room. Which I did. I never realized just how wise he is."

"Really?" Joe said. "He told me that I should crazy glue the kitchen windows shut, and also stick some silverware in the garbage disposal."

"I stuck something in the disposal, too," said Mai. "A few of the teacups. Well, I guess they'll have fun with that, won't they?"

Andy had heard enough. "Mai!" he blurted out. "I expect this sort of thing from Joe, but you... this behavior is unbecoming the master of this dojo."

"But I'm not the master, Andy," Mai said sweetly. "Not anymore. So I can do whatever I want. I guess next you'll be laying a guilt trip on me for peeing in all the sake bottles..."

Behind them, Joe laughed so hard he nearly lost his balance. "Damn, Andy, I never realized how awesome your fiancée is!"

"Mai, that's disgusting!" Andy snapped at her.

"Please, Andy," Mai said as she tossed her ponytail. "I'm a lady, not an animal. I was sure to use a funnel so I didn't spill any."

"You didn't... in all of them?" Andy asked her.

Mai shook her head. "Well, actually, I only peed in one or two. The rest of them I spiked with laxative."

Andy smacked his forehead. "I wish I'd known that. Before Master Jubei left, I let him take a bottle with him to thank him for his help."

"Oh," said Mai. "Whoops." Then she shrugged. "Well, serves him right for grabbing my ass when I was cleaning the TV room the other day. And then yesterday morning, when he opened the bedroom door while I was standing stark naked in front of my dresser. And then he actually tried to tell me he didn't know the room was occupied!"

"Hm," Andy thought for a minute. "Well, maybe Master Jubei did deserve that, then. But still... all that stuff you did to your clan?"

"Parting gifts, Andy!" Mai said, slipping an arm around his waist. "I couldn't just leave without thanking them for everything they've done over the years. And now, I've burned all my bridges here! In a few hours we'll be sipping warm sake in Tokyo, and I won't be wasting any more time thinking about my clan. That chapter of my life is done."

In the end, Andy couldn't help but smile at her. Of course Mai would use childish pranks as a way of putting the past behind her. It was unorthodox and it was unique, the two words that best described her, and one of the reasons Andy considered himself lucky that she was his woman. Even when her behavior was juvenile. "You really are one of a kind, Mai," he said with a laugh.

"So are you, Andy, honey," Mai said, and rested her cheek against his shoulder.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, Joe climbed into the driver's seat of the van. "So, next stop: Tokyo?" He asked them.

Andy and Mai climbed in on the other side and fastened their seatbelts. "Not yet," said Mai. "We need to make a few stops. First, let's go see my family!"

"Right," Joe said, and started up the van. As it slowly took off down the road, Mai watched the venerable structure of her clan's dojo through the window, growing smaller as they drove away, until it was lost from sight.

A short time later, Andy and Mai were in the nearby cemetery, kneeling in front of Mai's family haka. The large stone monument sat on a small, grassy hilltop that overlooked the rest of the cemetery. In the ground underneath were buried four urns, which housed the ashes of Mai's immediate family, her parents and grandparents.

As they knelt there, Mai reached into her purse, pulled out four long-stemmed white carnations, and laid them side by side at the granite base of the haka. Mai had been about four years old when her grandmother was buried here, so she didn't remember all of the details about that service. She only remembered that night, when her mother tucked her into bed, how she had placed Obasama's ornamental hairpin on Mai's nightstand, and told her that even though tradition stated that Mai's mother should be wearing it, Obasama would have preferred for Mai to have it.

She loved you very much, her mother had said. She never got tired of telling you the story of this hairpin, no matter how many times you asked to hear it, even though you could recite it by heart. It was after that night that Mai started growing her hair longer.

She was a few years older when her parents were involved in their car accident, while they had been driving home from a dinner date. Mai remembered waking up the morning after it happened and entering the kitchen, expecting to see her mother by the stove, cooking tamagoyaki and rice. Instead, Hanzo had been standing there, his countenance surprisingly soft. He had gotten down on one knee, placed his hands on the little ninja girl's shoulders, and told Mai very solemnly that the spirits of her parents had been called home to the "other world" to live with her grandmother. Mai had thrown herself at Hanzo, buried her face in his kimono, and wept for Gods knew how long. Hanzo had simply knelt there with his arms around her, not shedding any tears of his own.

Now, as she looked back at that morning, Mai recalled how Hanzo's own eyelids had looked a little red and puffy when she had first come into the kitchen, and as she got older, she realized that her grandfather had cried in private, before Mai woke up, so that he could be strong for his granddaughter while Mai poured out her own grief.

Mai smiled sadly at that memory as she pulled a stick of incense from her purse, along with a book of matches. She slid the narrow end of the stick into the grass in an upright position, and then lit the incense. She then bowed her head and whispered a sutra for the spirits of her family. I'll be leaving soon, but you probably already knew that, Mai said silently to them in her mind. I don't like that I'm going to be so far away from you, but my heart is telling me that we should go to Andy's old home city, and I know you would want me to listen to my heart's calling. I promise that I will find a temple in South Town where I can leave offerings and pray for you. I know you would understand my going away. I just... I wish I could hear you say it.

Mai finished her prayers and started to open her eyes, slowly at first, then they shot open in surprise as she saw what was nestled in the grass at her knees: a single cherry blossom (her favorite flower) which had been blown there while she was praying. Mai gently picked it up in her hand. Surprisingly, it was still fresh. It was long past the season for cherry blossoms, so this flower should be wilted beyond recognition.

The logical center of Mai's brain told her that this had been blown here from a flower arrangement left at someone else's grave. But Mai liked to think it was a sign. A sign that the spirits of her family understood why she had to go, and that no matter how far away she traveled, they'd always be with her.

She smiled, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Next to her, Andy placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?" He asked her.

"I'm fine, Andy," Mai said as she threaded the stem of the blossom into her hair. "Really, I am. I'm ready to go now."

Andy rose to his feet and offered Mai his hand. After Mai was standing, as well, she planted a kiss on the top of the gravestone. "I love you all very much," she whispered. "Someday, I'll be back to see you again. And maybe by then... we might have a new member of the family for you to meet." She smiled at that thought, then she took Andy's hand and the two of them started towards the cemetery gates.

"That reminds me, Mai," Andy said when they were halfway there. "Do you... have enough pills?"

"Oh, yeah," Mai said. "My doctor gave me an extra month's worth. That should be enough until I can find an OB-GYN in America."

"Good," Andy said.

After another moment of silence, Mai said: "Andy... I wanted to let you know that... even though I will take your last name after we're married, I plan on keeping my own name, too. Mai Shiranui-Bogard. I may be an exile, but I still have the blood of great ninja warriors in me. And I can never forget that."

Andy smiled and put an arm around her. "Of course you can't. I wouldn't ask you to give that name up. Shiranui is a strong name that commands respect in the fighting circles of Ninjitsu."

Mai stopped walking for a moment, then turned Andy to face her, and stood up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his lips. "Thank you, Andy," she said. "I love you so much."

"I love you," Andy whispered to her, and kissed her back.

Joe was standing out by the van when they exited the cemetery. "Thanks for waiting," Mai told him. "We have just two more stops to make."

First stop was to the library, to get their box of copies they'd made of Hanzo's books. When that was loaded in the van, Mai told Joe to head in the direction of Mino, Mai started to give Joe directions on where to head next. Eventually, they found themselves outside of a public storage facility. Mai pulled a locker key out of her purse, told Andy and Joe to wait for her, and then she got out of the van and entered the facility.

"Any idea what we're doing here?" Joe asked Andy.

"No," Andy said. "I know that Mai ran an errand earlier this week, but she didn't give me any details. I didn't think to ask for them, since I had been cleaning for five straight hours and was happy to get a break."

A short time later, Mai came back out of the facility, but she did not seem to have anything with her except her purse, which she had entered with. She climbed into the cab of the van and took her seat between Andy and Joe.

"Okay, Joe," she told the kickboxer. "We can go now."

As Joe pulled back out onto the road, Andy asked his fiance: "Okay, Mai, so... why did we stop here?"

"Oh, no big reason," Mai said with a shrug. "Just picking up my birthright, that's all." She un-shouldered her purse, and opened it, showing both men its contents: several ancient-looking scrolls of parchment.

Andy's eyes went wide with shock. "Mai, are those..."

"My family scrolls?" Mai said. "Of course they are. You didn't think I'd leave them with my uncles, did you?"

"Well," Andy answered her. "You never mentioned them. And I knew that your clan didn't know you had found them, that's why I didn't say anything."

"I appreciate that, Andy," Mai said. "Because it helped my plan. You're right about the clan not knowing I'd found them. They think that the scrolls are still hidden somewhere in the dojo. Which is why I ran that errand earlier this week, to rent a storage locker to put them in, so my uncles could keep thinking I never found them."

"Mai..." Andy's voice dropped to a whisper. "Are you... stealing them?"

"Not really," Mai explained. "Remember what Ojisama said in his letter. These are my birthright. And I'm keeping it that way. Why do you think I wanted to read my clan's affidavit? According to its language, the moment I signed it, they assumed ownership of the dojo and all possessions contained therein. These scrolls were not in the dojo when I signed. So technically, they still belong to me. My uncles might say otherwise, if they knew I'd done this, but soon we'll be over seven-thousand miles away from them, so as far as I'm concerned, what they don't know won't hurt them."

Mai gave a small giggle. "It's funny. Ojisama's brothers never thought much of me. I'm guessing that's why they let us stay an extra week in the dojo. They probably didn't think I'd plan something like this. They've always seen me as a ditzy, big-breasted bimbo who's been poisoned by Western culture. And I was always happy to do whatever I could to foster that belief in them. Because I paid attention to my kunoichi lessons, and my aunts always told me that kunoichi have to be clever to get what they want. If my uncles hadn't underestimated me, then maybe these scrolls would be in their hands right now. But, that's what they get for being so pig-headed."

Andy and Joe exchanged a glance with each other. Then, all three of them started to laugh hysterically. After they were done, Andy gave a Mai a hug, while Joe told her: "Mai... you won't hear me say this often, but... damn, I'm impressed!"

"Thank you, Joe," Mai said, and gave him a peck on the cheek. Then she snuggled up against Andy. "Now let's get out of here. It's time to celebrate. I've been itching for a cup of hot sake ever since I signed that affidavit."

"Sounds good to me," Joe said as he turned onto the ramp for the highway. "Next stop: Tokyo!"

Andy laughed and put an arm around his fiancee. "I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but... I could go for some sake, too."

Mai then moved up onto Andy's lap. "Well, Andy, baby, until we get there, how about a drink of something else to tide you over?" She then pressed her lips firmly against his. Andy wrapped his arms around Mai's lower back and eagerly returned the kiss.

Joe saw the shameless public display of affection out of the corner of his eye, and scowled as he focused on the open road. "Okay, you two: can you at least promise me you won't make out for this entire trip? How about just the first fifty miles? That's fair, right?"

Andy and Mai's tongues were too preoccupied for them to answer, so Joe nodded to himself. "I'll take that as a yes," he said, and continued trying to ignore them as he drove.

The week they spent at Joe's penthouse apartment went by too quickly. Largely because there was still a lot of work to do, what with unloading the van, returning it, and making arrangements to have the boxes shipped overseas.

Mai also placed calls to the electric, water, phone, and heating companies to let them know she was no longer living in the dojo, and asking them to cancel her accounts. When asked if someone else would be living there, Mai told them "no," and was advised all services would be shut off at her old address in approximately one week. "Great!" Mai told the service person on the other end of the phone. "Thanks so much for your help! Onegai shimasu!" Then she hung up.

Finally, it was the night before Andy and Mai's flight to America. Their bags were packed, Mai was out on the deck having a relaxing soak in the hot tub, while Andy and Joe were having a sparring match in Joe's exercise room.

This one did not end with any broken ribs, but it did end in a draw. Perhaps it was because the two friends knew it would be a while before they sparred again, but each of them brought their A-Game. Fighting was what they both knew best, had always been their common language, so this long, dragged-out match was their way of saying goodbye. At least until the next time they sparred.

For over an hour they exchanged blows with each other. Then Andy launched a Zan-Ei-Ken at the same time Joe did a Taiga Kikku. The blond ninja's elbow and the kickboxer's knee collided in a burst of chi that knocked them both flat on their backs.

When Andy's world stopped spinning, he became aware that Joe was standing over him. Andy accepted his friend's outstretched hand and was pulled to his feet.

"That was definitely one for the books," Joe said, still trying to catch his breath. "Maybe next year, I'll finally beat you."

Andy nodded, and after a few moments of silence, he said. "Joe... I've never been good at this sort of thing. Goodbyes... make me uncomfortable, because of my childhood..."

Joe clapped his hand over Andy's shoulder. "I know what you wanna say, even if you can't say it. I'll miss you too, man. Doesn't matter how far apart we are, we'll always be best buds."

Andy reached out and clapped his own hand over Joe's shoulder. "No," he said. "We're brothers."

The two of them hugged each other, then, and after separating, Joe told him: "Andy, after seeing all the shit you and Mai have had to go through recently... I see now just how much you two mean to each other. So even if I don't always get along with her, I'm happy that you found someone who completes you the way that Mai does. So keep me posted about the wedding. Anything I can do to help make that day special for you two, just let me know."

Andy smiled at him. Joe would probably never get along with her, but it was nice that he at least understood how special Mai was to Andy. "We will, Joe," Andy said. "Thanks."

Joe retired to the master bedroom shortly after that, preferring to use the shower in his own bathroom. Andy grabbed a shower in the locker room connected to the exercise room, and after drying himself off, donned a black tanktop and sweatpants, and then made his way to the guest bedroom, hoping to catch some much-needed sleep. But when Andy opened the door, he saw Mai Shiranui kneeling in the center of the futon, dressed in her favorite pink cotton bathrobe.

"Come to bed, Andy..." she whispered, her brown eyes fixing him with a come-hither stare. "Make love to me."

For a split-second, Andy stood there, uncertain of what to say. On the one hand, he felt he should remind Mai that they had to be up before sunrise to catch their flight, but on the other hand, it had been almost three weeks since he and Mai had been intimate together. Mai obviously missed it, and as Andy gazed into those dark brown eyes, saw the lustful smile on Mai's face, he realized that he missed it, too.

Then Mai opened her bathrobe and let it slip from her shoulders, revealing her naked glory. The sight of Mai in her birthday suit was always enough to get Andy instantly aroused, and after that, there was no way in hell he was going to deny her request. So, Andy undressed quickly without saying a word, got onto the bed with Mai, and made love to her.

An hour later, their mutual hunger was finally sated. Andy rolled off of her onto his back, and Mai immediately moved into her favorite sleeping position, curling up alongside her fiancé and resting her head against his chest, while also draping her right thigh across his legs. Andy held her close under the covers, and breathed in her scent: an enticing bouquet of sandalwood soap and herbal shampoo, mixing with the smell of sex that still hung over the bed.

After a few minutes, Andy opened his eyes, gazed down at Mai and lovingly brushed a few stray locks of her silky auburn hair away from her face. She looked completely happy and at peace, the opposite of how she'd looked the night after her honor duel.

Andy leaned down and tenderly kissed her eyes. "I love you, Mai," he whispered to her.

"I love you, Andy," Mai whispered, her eyes still closed. "Thank you... for being so wonderful these last few weeks."

"You don't ever have to thank me for that," Andy told her. "I know how it feels to lose your home."

For a while, Andy just lay there, enjoying the feel of Mai's warm, soft body snuggled against him, as he always did in the afterglow. Then he felt Mai stir slightly. He gazed down again and saw that her luminous brown eyes were open, and looking up at him.

"Andy," she said. "I've been thinking. What are we gonna do after we get to South Town?"

"I thought we had discussed that: we make apartment hunting our priority, then once we find a place to live we resume planning the wedding, you'll apply for citizenship, I help you study for that test, I also go to drivers ed so I can eventually get a license..."

Mai placed a well-manicured finger gently over his lips, cutting him off. "No, I mean: what do we do with our lives?"

"We get married?" Andy asked her. "And then a few years after that, once things have settled a bit, you go off the pill and we start trying for a baby."

Mai giggled, amazed that her fiancé could still be this dense sometimes. "Of course, Andy. But we'll still have to support ourselves, and someday we'll have to support our kids. I'm talking about jobs."

"Oh," Andy nodded slowly as realization dawned on him. "I guess I hadn't thought about that. I'm sure I can find a job similar to the odd work I did around Mino, when I saved up for your ring."

"Well, answer me this, Andy: that was pretty menial work. You had a good reason for doing it, but could you see yourself doing any of those jobs for a living?"

Andy thought about that. Those jobs had been easy, because he kept telling himself he was doing them for Mai's engagement ring. But he didn't know if he could do that sort of thing in a regular 9 to 5 capacity. His passion had always been studying the fighting arts. It was one of the only things he really liked doing.

Mai took the look in his eyes as a no, so she went on. "Exactly. The both of us only know one thing: fighting. I really don't have any other job experience, since I was groomed for most of my life to be master of my family's dojo. But now I can't do that anymore. And I wouldn't want you to be unhappy supporting us in a job that isn't what you truly love to do. So I don't see why we can't be masters of our own dojo in South Town."

Andy's brow creased in thought. "But would you be allowed to do that?"

"Sure," said Mai. "My clan were so anxious to get my dojo that they should have written their affidavit more carefully. I read over every inch of it, and there was nothing in there that said that I couldn't continue to practice my family's fighting style. Or to teach it to others. And since I doubt they'll be keeping tabs on me, then what's to stop us from opening our own school of Shiranui-Ryu Ninjitsu?"

Andy was more awake now, his blue eyes gazing at Mai intently. "Tell me more."

"Well, I still have the trust fund Ojisama willed to me," Mai went on. "My clan has plenty of money, which is probably why they weren't interested in it. And you have your savings, which has multiplied thanks to Cheng's help. So why don't we find some old dance studio in South Town, and convert it into a dojo? We could look for one that has an apartment on the second floor, so we could also live above it. And we'll fix it up, go into business together, and both do what we know and love: teaching and practicing Ninjitsu. And you won't have to fall behind in your own training by working a job we both know you'll hate."

Andy stared at her for a moment, his eyes shining with adoration. Then he leaned down and kissed her passionately on the lips. "Mai... you are beautiful!"

She giggled with delight. "I thought you'd like that idea, Andy. And you know what? We'll be more successful than my clan. They're stuck in their ways, and will only teach the arts to Japanese people. We'll teach anyone who wants to learn them, no matter what country they were born in, just like my grandfather would have wanted us to."

Andy gazed lovingly down at his fiancé, glad to see that she was truly back to her old self again. She could be annoying when she ran her mouth, but at the end of the day, what endeared Andy to her was her spirit, and her unwavering optimism. Mai had the uncanny ability to find the silver lining in everything, no matter how dark it might appear. "Ai shiteru, Mai," Andy whispered to her as he stroked her hair.

"Ai shiteru, Andy," Mai whispered back, and kissed one of his pecs. As she lay there in the dark next to Andy, Mai couldn't help but think how ironic this turn of events was: fourteen years ago, Andy had experienced a tragedy that forced him to abandon everything he found familiar to go to a new country, which had brought him into Mai's life. Today, they were engaged to be married, and Mai had experienced a similar tragedy that was forcing her to leave the only home she'd ever known, and live in another country. But also, Mai's experience wasn't the same, because she had Andy's love to fortify her as they entered this new phase of their life together.

She looked up at him again and saw Andy was asleep now. She could tell by his expression that he slept peacefully, because he knew Mai was happy. And that fact made Mai feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

She placed a soft kiss on his lips, and though Andy didn't wake up, a smile spread across his face. "That's one thing we'll always have, Andy," she whispered. "As long as we're together, it doesn't matter what happens to us. Our love will see us through." Content in this knowledge, Mai Shiranui let herself drift off to sleep in her lover's warm embrace, ready to face the future.

The End?

ADDITIONAL NOTES

See? All's well that ends well. Please let me know what you think of this alternate timeline, because I already have another story idea for it which I'm really excited about.

As always, thanks for reading!