** Outside a small Bar, Southern Tokyo, Japan, Late eve **

Mai lunges and sends her foot toward Ibuki's left cheek, her momentum being set behind the blow and the move being telegraphed extremely fast. Ibuki quickly lifts her forearm and pushes slightly outward, the blow being parried soundly, her arm guard absorbing the majority of the blow.

As Mai's foot lands on the ground Ibuki quickly lashes out of her fist, twisting her hips slightly with the motion, the fist gains more force and speed and aims at Mai's cheek just as she turns around.

Mai blinks and her head snaps back at the quick and powerful punch. Ibuki doesn't stop there though and soon her other arm outstretches and she steps forward, letting her weight follow the fist and slam forcefully into Mai's barely covered abdomen.

Mai grits her teeth lightly and exhales sharply, stepping back and quickly lashing her foot upwards, Ibuki is surprised slightly by the speed and the blow sneaks past her defensive posture and hits her forehead, forcing her to step back and shake her head slightly.

"This gal is good, didn't expect someone so young to be so skilled, oh well, the battle has only just begun, and I shall win, I hope..." Mai thinks and gets a determined look in her eyes.

Meanwhile Joe and Terry are holding back Andy from barging into the battle. "Calm down bro, Mai's a big girl" Terry says as he's holding one of his arms.

"Yeah! Geez man, She's a freakin ninja for God's sake, chill" Joe says into his ear to overcome the cheers of the crowd and does the same for his other arm.

Andy growls, seeing Ibuki's blows hit and wanting to be there to defend her, but knowing he's not allowed to. "I can't watch this, Hey Terry, lets go hunt Geese in the meantime, get some clues" Andy suggests.

Terry nods "You stay here Joe, we'll be back in a few" He says and smirks, having to literally drag Andy away, where is intentions are good, his love for Mai is stronger and Terry does have to pull him away.

Joe smirks and nods, crossing his arms and having to admit, Ibuki is impressive, especially as he can sense and see she's so young, but the battle had only begun and he's analyzing had only begun.

Mai quickly grasps her ancestral Oriental fan and swipe the wooden object at Ibuki's head. The Shinobi tilts her head back and it whistles before he nose, as she does she lifts her foot and meets Mai's elbow, sending her hand upward.

Then she leaps off her other foot and aims her heel at Mai's nose in a great show of acrobatics. Mai however manages to perceive the move this time and bends her body backwards, the kick missing by an inch.

"Drat..." Ibuki mutters under her breath and approaches the ground, "She's almost as fast as I am...crap, this is going to hurt... She thinks and facefaults under her mask as she almost touches the ground.

Mai then flips back and as her feet touch the ground she launches herself forward with an elbow jab. Ibuki lands on her feet only to be greeted by Mai's elbow, sinking deep into her abdomen and sending her bending slightly as she exhales sharply at the blow.

Mai then quickly grabs onto Ibuki's ninja suit and tries to pull her forward to throw her, but Ibuki is well trained in this situation and quickly places her hands between Mai's and swat's in an outward motion, breaking the hold before straightening her arms and ramming her palms into Mai's chest.

Mai coughs once and steps back, as she does Ibuki bends back slightly and rams a powerful roundhouse into the older woman's face, sending her into a slight spiral and staggering as her head snaps sideways.

The crowd cheer for Mai, but the few who recognize Ibuki's attire and style from previous battles in Japan and around the world cheer for her, knowing she delivers the stuff and entertaining battles.

"D*mnit, she won't budge, I gotta nail this girl good..." Mai thinks as she tries to recover her footing.

Joe was getting more and worried by the second "This gal is more dangerous than I anticipated from such a squirt, she's more skilled than I'd think, I wonder...could she be...one of the...Shinobi?" He thinks and then his eyes widen.

It made sense now, the challenge, the prowess, the motive for the fight. Mai's bragging had probably triggered the rage of the enigmatic Ninja lords of Japan, and they had sent this girl, to set Mai straight.

Joe blinks "I better keep my eye peeled, don't want Mai to get whacked or something, if that girl goes too far I'll tiger kick her to oblivion" Joe mutters to himself in Japanese and approaches pass the crowed, getting a more close position to be able to intervene more easily if needed.

Ibuki then leaps forward and swings her foot in an axe kick motion, Mai quickly scurries to bring her hands up, crossing her wrists and parrying the kick, sending Ibuki back, as she lands on her feet lightly and turns back toward Mai, ready for anything.

"Good offensive, speed and moves, but she's not reading my moves enough, she's counting on surprising me with her repeater, a mistake she'll learn to regret soon enough..." Ibuki thinks and grins under her face mask.

Mai hmphs slightly "Dodge this!" she mutters angrily and then quickly spins around while swerving her hips slightly toward Ibuki in her turning motion, swinging her fan and channeling her Life force through her. The decorative ornament which covers the majority of her behind erupts in scarlet flames and comes swinging toward Ibuki.

Ibuki's eyes widen and she quickly hops back while lifting her hands back, the flames missing her by narrow inches as she steps back and resumes her stance as Mai pressures her offensive more.

Mai growls and presses forward "Stand still D*mn you!" She thinks and feels a tad frustrated at Ibuki's prowess and anticipation of her attacks.

Ibuki then is forced into a defensive as Mai sends a kick at her abdomen, Ibuki accommodates her foot with her hands and quickly throws her off balance while hitting the ground and spinning against it while extending her leg.

Mai's feet are swept as Ibuki's leg hits her ankles and she's forced down to the ground heavily by the natural forces of gravity, as she is Ibuki rolls back to her feet and resumes her stance.

Mai growls lightly under her breath and climbs to her feet, She then narrows her eyes and thinks of a strategy and formulates one, but before she can execute it Ibuki comes dashing at her, her body melting through the shadows slightly as she does.

Mai blocks a punch by swatting it off course and quickly sends a palm strike in an attempt to surprise retaliate, but Ibuki is too quick and accommodates her punch with her hand and quickly pulls her toward her body.

She twists her arm while lifting it over her own head and flips her over after sweeping her feet with a quick sweep kick. Mai crashes onto the ground hard and Ibuki quickly steps back while crossing her arms, blocking a kick but being forced heavily into the wall, exhaling sharply at the impact.

Mai then leaps forward, Ibuki rolls under her thrusting jump kick and rises to her feet, but Mai surprises her by kicking off the wall and diving toward her, ramming both fists against her body, sending her flying backward from the awesome collision.

Ibuki lands heavily on her back and quickly rolls to her feet, but as she stands a kick hits the back of her head and sends her staggering back into the opposite wall, her head colliding against it lightly as she growls lowly

The crowd erupts with cheers and claps and Mai smiles at it, getting more pumped up an confident despite her exhaustion and pain and pressing her attacks more.

"That hurt...Her approach to this battle, is getting dangerous...time to...retaliate, hard" Ibuki thinks and then blinks and ducks under a kick which hits the wall and gains a foot's distance as Mai turns to her to resume her offensive.

Mai doesn't relent and quickly rushes to aim a punch at her gut, Ibuki quickly spins her body sideways, the blow missing narrowly, as she does she brings her hands grabbing onto Mai's skimpy clothing.

Ibuki then quickly knees the Shiranui Ninja and forces her to bend slightly downwards. Mai grits her teeth, exhaling sharply through grit teeth. Ibuki then removes one of the holding hands and summons forth her chi and lets it envelop her fist with a bright blue hue as she quickly lets it fly forward and collide into Mai's lower abdomen.

The chi augmented blow causes Mai to reel and bend forward slightly before the second wave of the attack erupts and a impact of Ki thrusts at Mai and causes the older Ninja to be catapulted back from the immense recoil of the Chi explosion.

The crowd booes at Ibuki, Ibuki's eyes reveal nothing, nor does she inwardly care for the crowd, this was a matter of clan honor, this was a personal mission by Geki himself, this wasn't being done for fame, but rather to prove a point.

Mai is thrown and left lying on her front side, panting and groaning in pain as she lifts a hand to comfort her pained abdomen, blinking and shaking her head once as she attempts to get up.

Ibuki then summons her Ki and prepares her finishing blow, taking a quick sprint and summoning her Ki. Mai meanwhile senses her and quickly pulls herself to her feet and quickly moves to dodge an axe kick by rolling aside.

Ibuki curses and wills to knock her out quickly before she can retaliate, hoping she isn't making a mistake, gambling on Mai's weakness and hoping it is indeed enough to prevent any serious moves.

She then summons her ki and flips backwards, Ibuki eats the bait and follows her before sensing her Chi being summoned forth and seeing Mai's eyes glow in scarlet. Ibuki eeps lightly under her breath as suddenly Mai catapults herself forward, engulfed in a hell fire of flames.

Ibuki gasps and whimpers under her breath at the immense pain as it washed over her, as Mai's elbow rams into her body and the flames which once surrounded her leave her limbs and slither and curl around Ibuki, the heat unbearable and agonizing.

The crowd cheers wildly and Joe smiles "That a gal Mai! show'em who's the best Female Ninja in Japan!" Joe shouts. The crowd chants her name and she smiles tiredly.

Ibuki grits her teeth as she's thrown against the ground, hard, the collision rigged and painful, she quickly rolls on the ground and puts out the flames. Mai meanwhile, resumes her stance, dizzy from the chi usage and the battle, her stance a little shaky.

Ibuki was in pain, her skin was burned slightly and pain coursed through her body, from both the battle and the heat of the flames. She was now sweating from the flames, and portions of her ninja uniform were burned, revealing her skin.

Some parts of her leg, thigh, and sides and back revealed, her creamy skin revealed to the cool night air. Ibuki then rises to her feet, a grimace being worn on her masked face as she resumes her stance.

"The Shinobi wish to pass you a message Shiranui" Ibuki states to Mai as she seems to recover more quickly than Mai had hoped.

Ibukie had suffered much worse last year, and this wasn't going to stop her, oh no, this was nothing, and now it was her turn, her turn to let Mai feel her power, yes indeed. Mai looks tired, yet satisfied at Ibuki's show of weakness, hence her recovered exterior and posture.

Mai's smile is quickly wiped off at Ibuki's word and tone as she blinks as Ibuki leaps into the air and reaches for her belt and pelts Mai with 2 Kunai daggers, the spinning blades, hitting her hilt first, in the upper and lower abdomen.

Mai grunts in pain and the metallic objects, leave bruises under her clothing and send her to the ground heavily, lying on her back as Ibuki lands on her feet and approaches her quickly, still in pain, but sucking it in, her training teaching her to be able to do so to a high degree.

As Mai shuts her eyes and grits her teeth she rises to her feet, as her eyes open she gasps in pain as Ibuki's heel rams into her cheek and sends her back to the floor in a spiral, the collision of her body against the pavement quite painful in the angle she lands on, her ribcage brushing hard against the texture of the cement and rattling her ribcage.

Mai pants and spits a surge of blood and saliva as she gulps and feels every cell in her body ache and scream for rest and release from the physical hardship. Ibuki however looks as fresh as a daisy, beside her slightly flushed skin and sweating, a byproduct to the previous heating which has left her body in a slightly thermal trauma.

"Never boast your status again as strongest, for next time, I may not hold back and your wounds will be far more serious, arrogance is not the way of the ninja, remember this," Ibuki says coldly in Japanese, disliking the need for the harsh words, but orders were orders as her brown eyes are cold and menacing,

Mai looks up in fear and nods slowly, gulping and understanding her fault, and knowing the truth in Ibuki's words and feels the venom and menace which knowing the Shinobi are no bluff.

Ibuki then quickly rams her foot into Mai's cheek, the blow causes her to hit the pavement with her other cheek, the blow is so hard, the latter is knocked unconscious from the pain and exhaustion.

The crowd boos and is disappointed at Mai's lost, but some chant the word "Shinobi" knowing who or what Ibuki is and satisfied as their gambles come in, in great quantities of profit.

When the crowd hears Shinobi, they immediately silence their booing and look slightly wary and respectfully at Ibuki, understanding her status and kinship and quickly changing their opinion on Ibuki's performance, some from honor, other fear.

Ibuki inhales deeply and looks at the crowd from the corner of her eye as she walks up and picks up her Kunai, then holding them and looming over Mai. "You were good, but I guess you have much to learn of the way of the ninja with such an attitude..." Ibuki mutters and sighs tiredly, now feeling the exhaustion ail her lightly.

Meanwhile Joe looks frantic and rushes toward Ibuki and leaps into the air, standing over Mai in an offensive stance and looks at Ibuki angrily, worried for Mai, he then growls at Ibuki, ready to lash out at her if she continues her attack .

Ibuki's brown eyes lock with his as she then turns from him and tosses a smoke bomb, it explodes with a small flash and quickly, thick gray smoke fills the area. Joe coughs and waves his hand to clear the air, when the wind clears the shroud completely, Ibuki is gone, leaving no traces of her position or route of leave.

** Meanwhile, streets of Japan **

Terry and Andy Bogard, part of the notorious Lone Wolves are walking through the streets. Andy looks concerned, the thought of Mai in battle against that girl, that ninja garbed girl is boggling him in the back of his mind.

The soft evening breeze strokes his muscular frame, ruffling his blond hair and grabbing the folds of his clothes lightly. His handsome face cold as stone and his eyes dark as the streets around him.

Terry puts a hand on his shoulder and smirks lightly at his brother's worrying "Geez, stop being such a worry wart, she'll be fine, not like she hasn't mopped the floor with other Ninja wannabes before, remember?" Terry says, trying to cheer up his little brother.

Andy smiles lightly "I know, but I can't help but worry, ya know me," Andy says as they keep on walking. "Say brother, I know Geese's up to something, and I know you and Mary have been talking and more than that..." Andy teases and grins as Terry blushes lightly and growls, his teeth gritting, turning slightly and sending a punch at his brother.

Andy ducks under a punch, it whistling over his head "Hey Chill," he says as Terry grumbles in a dissatisfied manner and hmphs. Andy chuckles "I just wanna know, why we're after Geezer Howard again, didn't we humiliate him before?" Andy asks.

Terry sighs "Well, I've heard he's been snooping around our residences, been tracking us and Mai and Joe, rumors say he's up to something big, regarding some microchip which might help him augment his power through technology" Terry says quietly so people around them don't hear.

"You're kidding, since when's Geese into tech?" Andy asks in a urgent whisper, his eyes twisting in concern at the prospect of an even more dreadful Geese Howard.

Terry shrugs "Mary said it's got something to do with some info he stole from the Ex Lord of Shadowlaw M.Bison a few years ago during one of the Street fighting tournaments he ran for him." Terry explains as they traverse through the maze of streets in the city.

"I remember him, wasn't he the crazy Thai megalomaniac with a real bad taste in clothes and a huge Chin?" Andy asks casually while brushing a hand through his hair to divert the locks from his eyes.

Terry nods and takes off his hat for a second and scratches his head before putting it back on and adjusting it "Yeah, well, he'd dead now, and we gotta figure out what Geese is up to" Terry says and grins lightly.

Andy nods, then suddenly stops Terry and points a T.V shop, the T.V's in the window showing the Howard INC main tower in a small picture. They both look at image and blink

"Huh?! Murder in the Geese tower..." Andy mutters, confused.

"This is Noyuki Kazami, I'm reporting from Channel 43 news, earlier this evening an odd explosion had torn the office of one Geese howard apart, When Firefighters arrived at the scene minutes later they found the office in ruin" The Japanese News reader says.

The picture changes to a picture of Police investigators in Geese's torn office. "Geese Howard was found murdered in his office. Police pathologists claim the death to be a snap of the spinal cord by a immense blow, though clues to the killer are impossible to find in the burned office, Police coroners believe there is still hope by Analyzing the body itself..." She continues.

Andy and Terry look shocked and look at eachother "Geese...dead? Murdered?" Andy says slowly, making sure he's hearing right.

Terry looks shocked but nods slowly. "Makes ya think...but who'd be strong or bold enough to kill Geese?" Terry wonders.

Andy sighs and shrugs "Doesn't really matter, let's leave the Police to figure that out, if another menace arises, we'll deal with it, right?" He muses with a small smirk.

Terry nods and grins "Yeah! Oh crap, look at the time, Mai's battle prolly ended a few minutes ago, Let's get back and congratulate her" Terry says and smiles.

Andy nods and they take off in a sprint, racing back, their shoes tapping on the pavement as they laugh lightly at the brotherly contest, not knowing the depths of disappointment they would receive upon seeing Mai.

** A few minutes later **

Andy and Terry reach the bar and enter, panting lightly. They see it's mostly empty at the late hour, but Joe is sitting beside Mai and looking concerned. She is holding ice to her face, a huge gash and bruise on her left cheek.

"I wi..." Andy begins before seeing Mai.

She moans weakly and looks beat. Andy rushes toward her and looks frantic. "MAI! Holy god above?! Are you ok? what happened?!" he asks and quickly kneels beside her.

She looks at him and sighs, moaning in pain lightly as she does. "I lost Andy, that girl was stronger, ouch, but I got her good, I think..." she says and holds her pained abdomen.

Andy blinks "Oh honey! I'm so sorry, I...I didn't know! I went to look for Geese, I thought...I would've protected..." he tries before she silences him with her finger gently, smiling lightly.

"It's ok, Ya win some, ya lose some" she says in her high pitched tone, and inhales a painful breath.

Andy is about to argue when Joe kicks him under the table and shakes his head. Mai then pulls him into a gentle hug, her hugs back, baffled by her behavior.

"Well we better pack up and leave, Geese is dead" Terry says, changing the subject.

Joe and Mai look at him, shocked "Geese? Dead?" Joe asks, not being able to perceive the thought. "Heh, ding dong the geezer's dead" he then says and shrugs.

"Dibs on the window seat!" He says and gets up.

"No way! It's mine this time!" Mai says.

"Don't you remember our deal? You don't sit near window since you'll tilt the plane with those extra bags of yours, we dun wanna crash land" Joe says and smirks.

Mai growls "Baka! Hentai!" she shouts and slaps him while turning red.

Terry and Andy roll their eyes as the two begin to argue and Mai argues and bonks him on the head and they continue arguing.

** Cockpit, Xavier's fighter Jet, over the Pacific **

Xavier is sitting against his lavish chair. He seems calm and calculating as he ticks rapidly across the control panels and navigates the jet toward its destination while keeping over Radar range and using the stealth shields to conceal his presence from any intelligence operatives down below.

His body aches from the battle, though during his duel he hid his pain or even exhaustion, now that he was alone he allowed himself to reveal his own weaknesses, as nobody is there to be informed of these ailments.

His hard posture is broken, now he allows his skin to be flushed and his sweat to drop from his body. His body seems to sink into the chair as pounding and throbbing stinging sensations fill him all over.

He had pushed on his powers far above normal, he had used his new invention to augment himself, the test was a success, but the aftershocks were quite unpleasant. He had built the Neo Psycho drive, the successor to his father's old masterpiece.

But unlike his father's machine, his works via the Venomblade technology, thus making him more powerful despite his natural superiority to his father's power. Yet, the usage of the boosting chips was a strain on his psyche and body, and it seems the price for power was high.

Xavier pants and can barely breath, his eyes half shut and his skin burning hot, obviously feverish. His heart pounds a mile a minute and he requires rest, and alot of it, if he wills to recover quickly enough to go and deal with Joseph in Israel as soon as possible.

He would need rest, to let his natural Chi balance and bodily functions to stabilize, he rearranges the course to enable him some hours of rest and yawns tiredly, lying back, his chair turning to a bed like shape, lying into it, as his body begin to go numb from exhaustion.

Xavier then coughs violently and shuts his eyes, feeling exhausted. He strains and ticks on the autopilot button, also activating the auto landing sequence for later before letting his body sink into a much needed sleep.

**5 hours later **

Rose is sitting in the room Xavier had arranged for her. She was smiling, she was happy and content at finding her long lost child. He was compassionate and gentle toward her and he made her find a new goal to keep her existence going.

But Rose was not naive, she knew he was treading down his father's disastrous path. It made Rose sorry for she knew the fruits of such labor, pain, and lost. She sighs, her purple eyes turning sad and torn for a second.

Her life, her love, her family was torn apart by such ambitions, but as before she knew she had no power or ability to enforce her will on Xavier, as she had no power over his father before him.

Yet, this time things would be different, the psychic council, the circle of "guardians" had betrayed her, she had chosen the side of those who don't love her, for the sake of ideals, in hope for atleast finding inner peace and redemption.

but those too were denied from her, and she was immobilized, captured and tossed into the hell hole prison, tortured, hated, mocked, beaten, raped. when the memories flashed by her it made her heart burn with a stinging and painful sense of betrayal and rage.

She had been shunned by her peers, friends, she was toyed and used like a pawn and then tossed like a rag doll. This would not come to be again, she would not assist them this time, the Psychic council of hypocrites and liars could burn in hell for all she cared.

She would cling to her last ray of joy, she would work on stabilizing her own life for a change, the world could survive without her protection, it did before, it will again. Its not like anyone looked for her, not that they had any need to, with her being an enigmatic and powerful psychic they probably thought she enter seclusion after her job was done and Bison was vanquished.

She senses Xavier walking nearby and decides to put the depressing thoughts aside and she wears a smile as she walks over to her door and opens it. Xavier walks by and she follows him, he seems different, weaker, tired.

She puts a hand on his shoulder and he turns to her, his eyes slightly wide and unrecognizing before he calms down and smiles gently. "Hey mom" he says softly, brushing his limp and moist bangs aside.

His clothes are slightly burned and cling to him tightly as sweat drenches his body. She eyes him while lifting a curious brow, a small smirk on her lips "And where did you go young man?" she asks in a curious tone.

He coughs lightly "Street fight," he says and stretches, his aching and tense muscles popping and being stretched at the motion. She smiles lightly and nods "I see...did you have fun?" she asks and smiles some more, brushing a hand in his hair in an affectionate motherly way, despite the perspiration.

He blinks and then nods, not accustomed to have anyone truly worry for him in this manner, smiling and chuckling lightly "Yeah, calm down mom, just need a good nap" he says and massages one of his shoulders.

She nods "Understandable" she says evenly with an edge of warmth, her eyes still unconvinced and slightly concerned, her powers reading the surface of his mind subtly and telling her he's withholding from her.

"By the way Mom, I know you're not comfortable here, so I purchased your old manor back, and rehired your old maid, it's cleaned up and waiting for you in Venice" he says with a smile.

"Xavier, you didn't...I mean, must've cost you a fortune" She says, surprised and shocked slightly at the enormity of the gift, in cost and meaning.

He makes an off hand motion "Nothing's too expensive for you mom, I'll take you there tomorrow, on a way to a business meeting, it's all ready, read it out of your mind a week ago, and it's like it was before your capture" he says.

"Don