Did I misremember?
She looked at Hanzo, then at Mai, and thought over what Ryuji had said. The more she thought about it, the more she felt there were things Ryuji hadn't explained earlier.
Just then, Mai's mother walked over and took hold of Mai's arm.
She had heard what Mai said too. As a mother, although she hadn't been able to accompany Mai while growing up and knew she didn't really have the right to make choices on Mai's behalf, she still wanted to see what kind of man Ryuji truly was. And more than that, she wanted to hold her daughter at night, listen to her talk about her life, and hear her grievances.
"Mom wants to talk with you tonight, Mai. Is that okay?"
Hearing her mother's words, Mai became a little uneasy. She subconsciously looked toward Ryuji, because ever since the Demon Slayer world, she had already regarded herself as his woman.
Seeing this scene, whether it was Hanzo or her parents, they couldn't help but sigh.
They truly couldn't stop Mai anymore. Even if they opposed it, Mai would still resolutely choose to be with Ryuji.
"We've still got plenty of time ahead of us."
Ryuji smiled and rubbed Mai's head, letting this voluptuous beauty be pulled away by her mother. Hanzo also stepped aside at the right moment, leading Ryuji and the others toward the living room.
However, when the group reached the living room and opened the door, they were greeted by utter chaos. Tables, bottles, and jars were scattered all over the floor, and even the calligraphy and paintings on the walls were in disarray, many of them shattered.
Mai instantly covered her face, let out a shriek, and rushed inside, beginning to clean up at an unbelievable speed.
This was her masterpiece, the result of her venting her frustration back then!
"Ahhh! This is so embarrassing! Waaah… what will Ryuji think of me…"
She practically didn't dare look at Ryuji or her family, only wanting to tidy up the room as quickly as possible.
Looking at several familiar bottles rolling around on the floor, Hanzo's blood pressure shot up, but after glancing at the panicked Mai, he could only sigh.
"Mai is still as rash as ever…"
He awkwardly helped tidy things up, while Ryuji didn't stand idle either. He shifted a few bottles and items aside, then gestured for Tifa and Chun-Li to sit down.
Chun-Li, watching everyone bustle about cleaning the room, was completely dumbfounded. She had expected to uncover some kind of secret base, a mysterious organization, she had even assumed that Hanzo must be some deeply scheming figure.
But what did she witness?
It already felt like both sides were meeting for the first time, yet the atmosphere was strangely like a son-in-law visiting his in-laws for the first time: the father-in-law wanting to test the son-in-law, while the daughter's heart was entirely set on him, leaving the elders helpless.
So what the hell is this?
She couldn't help complaining inwardly, yet she didn't let her guard down. Her eyes kept scanning everyone in the room, checking for traps.
Even her brick phone already had a number dialed in, one press and the call would go through.
The living room was cleaned up fairly quickly and before long everyone was seated around the table. Hanzo intended to give up his seat so Ryuji could handle matters with Chun-Li and Tifa, but once things were tidied up, Ryuji directly asked him to stay.
Mai and her parents stayed as well.
"Now that we're here, we're all our own people. There's no need to hide anything."
Ryuji cleared his throat. Chun-Li clearly took issue with the words "our own people," but she only rolled her eyes and said nothing.
"The place where Mai and I met wasn't this world, but a world on the brink of collapse. We got to know each other there and some small accidents happened, which led Andy to misunderstand our relationship at the time, and the two of them broke up."[1]
Ryuji directly addressed the doubts in Hanzo's mind.
"After that, Mai and I went through some adventures together and decided to be together. As for my ability to revive you, it's a kind of blessing from a world, one that lets me share part of my lifespan, allowing the dead to revive and live on with the lifespan I give them."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chun-Li and Tifa immediately lifted their heads, staring at Ryuji in disbelief. Hanzo and Mai's parents, however, weren't all that shocked, because Mai had already told them and they themselves were living proof.
"How is that possible?!"
Chun-Li jumped to her feet in shock, staring at Ryuji.
"You're saying they were resurrected by you?"
Her emotions surged, but after speaking she quickly calmed herself.
"You're not joking, are you?"
"If you don't believe me, that's fine."
Ryuji chuckled lightly. He had no intention of reviving Chun-Li's father on the spot to prove anything and Hanzo couldn't quite read Ryuji's intentions either, so he didn't say anything.
"And Miss Tifa's experience is the same as Mai's. She came from her own world to ours for the same reason, which is why I brought her back when I found her. As for Miss Chun-Li, she followed after discovering that Miss Tifa doesn't belong to this world."
Hanzo nodded. He fully believed Ryuji's explanation, but what puzzled him was how Ryuji had found Tifa in such a short time.
Was it some kind of special fate, like people with similar experiences being drawn to one another?
Was that how Mai had fallen for him?
"Oh… could it be that people like you, who've experienced such things, resonate with one another somehow?"
Ryuji smiled and shook his head.
"No. I just overheard their conversation. I'm personally quite good at perception."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chun-Li raised both hands, making a stopping gesture.
"So, what exactly did you all experience?"
Chun-Li's head was full of question marks. The more she listened, the more she felt that Ryuji was was trying to fool her. Yet at the same time, what he said sounded strangely real.
She couldn't make sense of it.
"Some very strange things. Ah, speaking of which, Mai, did you gain anything when you completed the mission?"
Only then did Ryuji remember this. Logically speaking, Mai had gone through the mission just like he had, so she should have gained something as well.
Mai paused for a moment, then touched her lips thoughtfully.
"Mm, I did gain something, but maybe because I didn't contribute that much, the reward wasn't very big. It just told me that my potential and bloodline power had increased or something like that."
She remembered that when she left that world, there had been a vague voice speaking beside her ear, telling her these things. But right after that Ryuji showed up, so she hadn't really paid much attention.
"Potential and bloodline, huh? Mine was a piece of equipment, a pretty interesting one. I'll let you play with it later."
Ryuji nodded. He didn't feel that Mai's reward was better or worse than his own. Even if he didn't use that pocket watch very often, that didn't mean it wasn't powerful.
"Mmm."
Mai nodded, then curiously looked at Chun-Li, wondering why Ryuji was telling her all this. But as her gaze lingered on Chun-Li's full breasts, pretty face and those long legs that were even more beautiful than her own, her eyes instantly sharpened.
Ryuji!!
She couldn't help but scream inwardly, yet oddly enough, she couldn't muster any real anger, because...
…Ryuji is the still same as always.
Mai sighed helplessly in her heart. She had no intention of exposing anything. She just planned to make Ryuji properly coax her later, firmly secure her position as the legal wife and make sure she had children first.
After all, this was the kind of bastard she'd fallen for.
"Hey! Are you going to answer my question or not?!"
Seeing that Ryuji had no intention of answering her questions directly, Chun-Li felt her temper about to explode.
"Mm-hmm, but for now…"
Ryuji turned to look at Tifa.
"For the time being, I can't send you back yet, because the condition involved is a bit hard to accept. You can stay at this place for now. Once I'm done handling the Shiranui-ryu matters, I'll send you back."
Tifa nodded in understanding. Ever since Ryuji had mentioned Sephiroth's name, she knew she had encountered someone who understood her world.
And Ryuji's earlier words also explained how he knew about it.
Maybe he had even been to my world before.
Although she still had many doubts, Tifa, who had an instinctive distrust of official organizations, ultimately nodded and chose to trust Ryuji.
"Mm, thank you very much, Mr. Ryuji."
~~~~~~~~~~
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[1] They were not together to being with, anyways...