Mai was incredibly excited.
At first, she had only wanted to see her grandfather again. She never expected that Ryuji would revive not only her grandfather, but also her parents—for three whole months![1]
Although her memories of her parents were already very vague, seeing them again still made her feel genuinely happy.
So much so that she felt that even if she gave Ryuji a few children right now, it wouldn't be a big problem at all.
However, at that moment, Hanzo Shiranui, dressed in black, walked out.
When he saw Tifa and Chun-Li standing behind Ryuji, he paused for a moment. Then he looked at Mai, who looked ready to bite Ryuji's face at any moment. The old man instantly imagined a whole chain of possibilities.
For example, using resurrection abilities to turn Mai into part of a harem, and so on.
Moreover, he didn't actually know Ryuji at all. He had no idea what kind of person Ryuji really was. So when he heard the granddaughter he had raised since childhood say something so shameless, he instinctively coughed lightly.
"Ahem."
Mai froze instantly.
Only then did she remember that her grandfather had been resurrected and even her mother and father were alive as well, even if only for three months. She subconsciously looked toward her grandfather.
Seeing the helpless look in his eyes, she stubbornly hugged Ryuji even tighter.
But Ryuji loosened his hold on her, forcing her to put her legs down from around his waist. She lowered her head, not daring to look at her grandfather.
Ryuji looked at Hanzo, curious about what Mai's grandfather wanted to say. He patted Mai's head gently and spoke in a calming tone.
"There's no need to rush something like that."
Although he had already decided to take Mai that very night, Ryuji felt it would be disrespectful to do anything like that in front of her grandfather and parents.
Otherwise, it would basically be like revving a motorcycle and yelling "old man" right to his face.
With Erina, things had been different, there was already a marital relationship between them, and it had also been necessary to avoid her grandfather looking down on his background and causing unnecessary trouble.
But with martial artists, it was different.
Among fighters, fists did the talking.
So Ryuji slightly lowered his head and gave a respectful bow as a junior.
"Hello. I'm Mai's boyfriend, Ryuji. This is our first meeting, please take care of me."
Hanzo nodded.
Ryuji's abilities were unfathomable, almost godlike, and he was clearly a powerful expert. Yet he was still willing to lower his head for Mai's sake. Such a person probably wasn't cruel or rude. But whether he was a hypocrite was something that still needed to be seen.
Hanzo also felt a bit helpless. Judging by Mai's attitude, she could hardly even be considered a member of the Shiranui family anymore. Her attitude made it clear she'd even change her surname if asked.
His old hope of finding a man willing to marry into the family was likely impossible now.
"I am Hanzo Shiranui, Mai's grandfather. Young man, thank you for taking care of Mai."
Hanzo also kept his posture low. Though he showed Ryuji respect, as Mai's elder, he still wanted to see Ryuji's character clearly and whether Ryuji truly loved Mai.
This wasn't because he looked down on Ryuji, but because it was the most basic responsibility of an elder.
Wondering if Ryuji might abandon Mai in the future.
So, seeing Tifa and Chun-Li behind Ryuji, Hanzo asked directly:
"Then these two ladies are…?"
Ryuji immediately understood what Hanzo was thinking, and he didn't mind.
Mai might look flirtatious, but in reality she was quite conservative. hough this characterization seemed contradictory, it was simply the truth.
And from Mai alone, Ryuji could already guess what kind of family she came from, one that placed great importance on familial bonds.
Because of that, approaching Mai directly was actually very slow and difficult. But if one approached through family stability and warmth, it became much easier.
For anyone else, though, it would have been an unsolvable problem.
After all, Mai's parents and relatives had long since passed away. Her only remaining family member was Andy, whom Hanzo Shiranui had approved of.
In this situation, it was basically a dead end. Aside from someone like him, who had already slept with her, been seen by Andy, and was even capable of reviving her family, then rebuilding their bond again within a family atmosphere, this was essentially something no one else could possibly achieve.
Looks like I won't be able to have Mai tonight after all…
Looking at the couple standing behind Hanzo, Ryuji sighed inwardly.
No matter how lustful he was, there was no way he would deprive Mai of the chance to reunite with her mother. He wasn't the kind of scumbag who would trample on family bonds just to satisfy desire.
Although he could handle a mother–daughter situation too, the mother-in-law in front of him was clearly not the type who would play that kind of game…
Looks like Jesus wins this round, damn it. I should've resurrected them tomorrow… but Mai probably wants to be acknowledged by her family before sleeping with me anyway. Let's treat it as strengthening our bond.
Ryuji mocked himself inwardly, then turned slightly and introduced Chun-Li and Tifa.
"These two are Miss Tifa and Officer Chun-Li. Miss Tifa's situation is rather complicated, similar to how Mai and I met. At the moment, I'm the only one who can help her return home. As for Officer Chun-Li, she's here to investigate the situation. I hope you won't mind, Mr. Hanzo. I'll need to host these two for a bit."
Hanzo was stunned for a moment, subconsciously glancing at Mai, but still nodded in agreement.
"Of course. Your guests are our guests."
Mai, meanwhile, looked in surprise at Tifa, who was wearing tattered clothes and a look of sympathy appeared on her face. Being suddenly torn away from one's homeland was clearly not a good thing.
As for Chun-Li, she looked at Hanzo with confusion. Because in her memory, Hanzo should have been dead long ago.
Did I misremember?
~~~~~~~~~~
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[1] Well technically a little more than 3 months.