Chapter 190 – Mai Shiranui Emerges, and the KOF Tournament Is About to Begin!
"Calm down, calm down! You keep telling me to calm down every day! Hurry up and come out with me!"
Inside the training hall, Mai Shiranui grabbed Renji by the ear and dragged him out.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Renji spent all his time "cultivating himself," but what exactly was he cultivating?
"Mai, take it easy!"
Renji quickly caught her hand and glanced at the clock on the wall. He had only been gone for two hours, yet Mai's temper seemed to have exploded again.
"You tell me! The KOF '96 Invitational! Are you going to join me or not?!"
At the mention of this, Mai became even more upset. Her original plan had been for Renji to lead, with her and Andy joining to form the "Shiranui Team."
All three of them trained at the Shiranui Dojo. Although she was the senior disciple, Shiranui Hanzo had long intended for Renji to inherit his teachings, for Renji's talent in martial arts far surpassed her own.
Besides, their relationship had developed quickly — not long after Renji joined the dojo, they had already confirmed their romantic bond.
As Hanzo's only remaining relative and heir to the Shiranui style, it no longer mattered to him who inherited the mantle.
Thus, though Mai held the title of senior sister, she always placed Renji's opinion first. She was, after all, a traditional woman.
Her dream wasn't grand — just to participate in a fighting tournament, spread the name of the Shiranui style, then return to marry Renji and raise a family.
But that dream had shattered. She didn't know whether Renji simply didn't want to enter the KOF tournament or just didn't want to team up with her.
Andy, on the other hand, had received a message from his brother overseas and planned to team up with Terry instead. Though he had joined other teams in previous years, this time he was determined.
Since Renji hadn't shown interest before, Mai had let it go. But recently, she could feel his fighting spirit rising again, so she had hoped to form a team with him.
Yet before her plan even took shape, it already seemed doomed — and that infuriated her.
"If you team up with me, what happens to your Women's Fighter Team then?"
In KOF '94, the Women's Team had been Mai, King, and Yuri Sakazaki. The same lineup continued in KOF '95.
"It's not happening this time. Yuri's teaming up with her brother, and King… her younger brother had a car accident, so she's staying by his side."
Mai's tone dimmed slightly as she spoke.
Her Women's Team had already disbanded, leaving her alone.
If Renji didn't take her, she wouldn't even have a chance to participate.
"How about this," Renji said. "If you can't find teammates in the end, I'll join you. I haven't decided on my own partners yet."
In the original story, Mai had eventually joined King and the newcomer Kasumi Todoh to form the Women's Team.
But Renji wasn't Andy — Andy had flatly rejected Mai, leaving her feeling abandoned.
"Hmph, that's better!"
Mai's pout disappeared instantly. Her eyes shimmered like water as she stared at Renji.
Then she leapt into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck, and asked a question that made Renji break into a sweat. "Should we get married?"
To Renji, women were complicated creatures.
When you wanted to marry them, they wondered why you were rushing. When you didn't, they wondered why you weren't.
It was a constant contradiction. Back when Renji thought he'd only ever be an average fighter, he had planned to marry Mai early, have a few children, and live quietly.
After all, saving the world was something for the main heroes — not him.
But at that time, Mai had hesitated. And when Renji later felt he wasn't ready to settle down, she became anxious.
"Mai… marriage is just a piece of paper," Renji said.
"You idiot! Are you really going to play hard to get now?"
Mai admitted she had been a little reserved back then.
She'd wanted to agree when Renji first brought it up, but pride had held her back. She had decided to wait — if he asked her again a few more times, she would say yes.
But Renji never mentioned it again, which drove her crazy.
"I'm not playing coy, Mai. I just think it's still a bit early. Let's talk about it after the tournament. Right now, we should be focusing on the fight."
Marriage wasn't something Renji opposed — after all, it was with Mai Shiranui.
But for now, he wanted to test himself against other powerful fighters, so he put the thought aside.
"After the tournament, then?"
In Mai's mind, that meant Renji had agreed to marry her afterward.
If that was the case, it wasn't too long to wait.
"It's settled then!"
Before Renji could respond, Mai continued, switching topics on her own. "So with me and you, we still need one more teammate!"
Damn it!
If Andy hadn't run off, they wouldn't even have this problem.
"Maybe you'll still end up joining the Women's Team," Renji suggested.
It should be about time for King to contact Mai, shouldn't it?
Originally, King had found Mai while she was staying at a hotel, but since the timeline had shifted, Mai hadn't even left the dojo — she'd been communicating by phone instead.
Perhaps because worlds had begun to merge, events were now merely "similar" to the original story.
"You wouldn't—"
Before Mai could finish, the phone rang.
After a brief conversation, her expression turned speechless.
Renji had been right again.
After King turned Mai down to care for her brother, her brother noticed her disappointment and encouraged her to pursue her passion.
So, King reached out to Kasumi Todoh, then called Mai to share the good news.
But to Mai, it didn't sound like good news at all.
Her Women's Team was back together — but she'd just promised to team up with Renji.
When Renji mentioned earlier that she might still end up with the Women's Team, she thought he was just avoiding her.
But now, it had come true, leaving Mai torn between both choices.
She really wanted to fight alongside Renji.
"Go ahead and accept," Renji said calmly. "I'll find my own teammates."
From the very beginning, Renji had never planned to team up with Mai Shiranui.
What, were they supposed to form a "husband-and-wife" duo? The entire arena would reek of awkward sweetness.
Besides, Renji wanted to look for his own teammates and see who might be worth recruiting.
Hearing his words, Mai's face showed a trace of guilt. Soon after, she accepted King's invitation and rejoined the Women's Fighter Team for the upcoming KOF tournament.
After hanging up, she didn't dare look Renji in the eyes.
"I told you so, didn't I?"
"I… well…"
Mai wanted to throw a small tantrum, but that wasn't her nature. She wasn't unreasonable — when she was wrong, she admitted it. There was no way she could blame Renji for this.
"Fine! Then I'll just agree to what I refused before!"
A faint blush colored her cheeks.
Although she and Renji had already crossed that final line long ago, there were still things she couldn't bring herself to accept — and she had been refusing him for that reason.
But now, feeling she owed him something, she decided to grant one of his earlier "requests" as compensation.
"You said it yourself!"
Renji's mood lifted instantly.
Perfect! Who would have thought the Women's Team would end up helping him this much?
"By the way, Andy ran off, didn't he?"
"Mm. Grandfather said he already left."
"And where's the old man?"
Renji asked curiously. He hadn't seen Shiranui Hanzo around.
"Grandfather went out."
As soon as she said that, Mai suddenly realized what Renji might be implying. She glared at him — though a moment later, her gaze softened into something entirely different.
"Andy!"
At the port, Joe and Terry waved excitedly when they saw Andy.
Since their last parting, Terry and Joe had been apart from him, and now the three of them were reuniting once more as the Fatal Fury Team for the KOF tournament. All of them were thrilled.
"Terry, Joe — you guys got here early!"
Andy had been training at the Shiranui Dojo, refining his skills through countless sparring sessions with Renji.
He hadn't expected Terry and Joe to arrive ahead of schedule, so he ended his training early to meet them.
"Of course! We came to see you! We wrapped up our business and thought we'd hang out for a bit," Joe grinned.
They knew Andy didn't have much else going on, so they'd come early.
Besides, the Shiranui Dojo didn't really need his help.
"But the tournament's still a month away. Isn't it too early to relax?"
They hadn't won first place last time, and Andy had silently vowed that this year would be different.
Though every fighter in KOF was strong, losing still stung his pride.
"Relax. We haven't been slacking this year," Terry replied.
"But this time, my senior will be competing. He's strong — stronger than me. I'm not confident I can beat him."
Andy's tone grew serious.
He had spent days sparring with Renji, and he was grateful — every match had pushed him to his limits.
Renji always told him to go all out, but no matter how much Andy tried, he always fell short — just a little bit short, every time.
Eventually, Andy realized that Renji had been deliberately holding back to help him improve. If Renji had gone all-out, Andy would have had no chance to grow.
It showed just how vast the gap between them truly was.
"Your senior? So you were supposed to be teammates?"
Terry suddenly realized something. Hadn't he just pulled Andy away from the original Shiranui Team?
Andy had told him before that there were three people at the Shiranui Dojo — Mai, whom he'd met, and another fighter named Renji, whom he hadn't.
Without Terry and Joe, Andy likely would have joined them instead.
"Yeah, they invited me before, but I turned them down."
Andy answered coolly.
"Then get ready to be beaten senseless by your senior, hahaha!"
Joe burst out laughing, and Andy's face immediately darkened.
If they were matched up against Renji's team… he might really be in trouble.
"Anyway, Andy, we're not just here to catch up," Terry continued seriously. "My investigation suggests that Geese Howard might still be alive."
"What? Didn't he commit suicide?"
Andy frowned, confused.
Geese Howard — the Bogard brothers' longtime nemesis. Andy had seen him fall with his own eyes. So why was Terry saying he was alive?
"I don't know the details yet, but the signs are there. We came here to confirm it."
Terry's voice was steady — this was no mere reunion trip.
"Then let's investigate together," Andy said, fully understanding now why his brother had come early.
With a full month before the tournament, they had time to act.
"Mai, looks like you still have a lot to work on!"
Renji's mood was excellent.
For once, things were going exactly his way.
"Renji, you just wait!"
Mai glared fiercely at him, though her expression — a mix of anger and embarrassment — only made her look adorably flustered.
The first time Renji had seen this side of her, he'd been completely thrown off.
Whenever she wasn't actually angry or under threat, she would talk big, spouting fierce words without hesitation.
"I'll wait, then. By the way, are you staying at the dojo for now?"
Renji was preparing to head down the mountain soon.
He still needed two teammates for the KOF tournament and was thinking about who to recruit.
"I'm meeting King and that new member in two days. You're not leaving until then, got it!"
Mai said with authority. She was determined — Renji was not going anywhere today.
"And your confidence comes from… what exactly?"
"From me!"
Mai declared proudly.
She truly believed she was ready.
She refused to believe she would keep losing forever — she'd make Renji acknowledge her strength as Mai Shiranui!
"Begone, foul demon! Down the mountain with you!"
Leaning against the wall, Mai watched Renji's departing figure, her eyelids heavy from exhaustion.
She'd made a terrible mistake.
Completely wrong!
Everything King had told her was wrong!
King had said she lost because she acted too timid — that if she showed more dominance, Renji wouldn't take advantage of her.
That if she stood firm, he'd see her limits as his, not the other way around.
But what was the result?
Instead of proving her strength, she had ended up utterly defeated — in every sense.
Gathering up her torn ninja outfit, she sighed.
There was still laundry to do — so much laundry.
And so, Mai Shiranui cried.
(End of Chapter)
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