That mysterious woman he had labeled as a "lecherous female ghost" also appeared on time every night.
Probably certain that Aiden wouldn't bother to catch her, this mysterious woman's courage grew bigger and bigger.
One night, on Aiden's way to take a bath, she actually sat openly on the courtyard wall watching him.
Although she was quickly scared off by Aiden, according to his estimation, maybe in a few more days, she would even dare to break directly into his bedroom.
This inevitably made Aiden a little worried. The legendary female ghosts were all said to suck away men's essence.
And just as Aiden was worrying about his own precious essence, another day passed. When he went again to the Shiranui Dojo, there was unexpectedly one more person inside.
Only, this person wasn't the man Aiden had expected, but instead a cute young girl with braided pigtails.
When Aiden walked in, he just happened to see this cute girl holding Mai's hand, shaking it nonstop, as if begging her to agree to something.
And when he got closer, he clearly heard the young girl's voice, "Big Sis Mai, please agree. I know you received an invitation letter some time ago. Let's form a team together."
And when he got closer, he clearly heard the young girl's voice, "Big Sis Mai, please agree. I know you received an invitation letter some time ago. Let's form a team together."
Hearing this, Aiden of course understood why the braided girl had come. At the same time, he recognized her identity.
The daughter of Takuma Sakazaki, founder of Kyokugenryu Karate, Yuri Sakazaki.
And this young girl was also one of the members of the 1994 Women Fighters Team in the original story.
'But wait, Teacher Mai already received Rugal's invitation letter this early? Or was this invitation originally meant for her grandfather, Hanzo Shiranui?'
Aiden thought this in his heart, but his steps didn't stop. He kept walking toward the inside of the dojo, soon arriving before Mai and Yuri Sakazaki.
At this moment, Mai, who had been troubled since early morning by a strange young girl, looked rather helpless.
She didn't even know this girl in front of her, yet the girl knew her name. And upon arrival, she clung to her arm so intimately, hoping to form a team together for the KOF tournament.
Mai instinctively wanted to refuse. After all, she already had her chosen teammate.
Even though the other party would surely not agree, even though this thought had faded quite a bit these past days, even though she had gradually lost that kind of feeling for that person, it still wasn't enough for her to team up with a stranger she had just met.
While she was still thinking of how to send this little girl away, her eyes happened to catch sight of Aiden walking over.
Ignoring the girl, she waved her free hand at him with delight and exclaimed, "Aiden, good morning!"
"Good morning, Teacher Mai."
Aiden responded, then walked up to the two. His gaze paused briefly on Yuri Sakazaki, then he asked Mai, "Teacher Mai, this is…?"
He still could only pretend not to recognize her.
And judging by Mai's expression, she seemed to not recognize Yuri either.
But this was normal. Not to mention that this was now a big merged world where the storyline wasn't the same as the original, even in the original story, their paths almost never crossed. Even in KOF's background story, the two only ended up teaming up by accident.
So right now, the two were complete strangers.
Only, hearing Yuri call Mai so warmly as "Big Sis Mai" made Aiden feel a little strange.
After thinking a bit, he could only chalk it up to their fathers or grandfathers being old acquaintances, something Yuri had learned unintentionally. That was the only possibility.
As for Aiden's question, Mai looked even more helpless. She tried pulling her arm back, but Yuri clung tightly and wouldn't let go.
With a bitter face, she said, "I don't know her."
"But I know you, Big Sis Mai!" Yuri said loudly. Then she suddenly remembered, when she came early this morning, she hadn't introduced herself yet.
So she added quickly, "My name is Yuri Sakazaki, heir of the Sakazaki family of Kyokugenryu Karate. As for how I know your name, Big Sis Mai, that's because I heard it from my brother."
"Oh right, my brother's name is Ryo Sakazaki."
"Kyokugenryu Karate, Ryo Sakazaki…" Hearing this, Mai finally showed a look of realization.
Though Kyokugenryu didn't have as long a lineage as the Shiranui style, in recent years its reputation in the fighting world was far stronger than her declining clan's.
She had even met Ryo once back in South Town, and her old friend Terry had mentioned him too.
And the Shiranui and Sakazaki families' previous generations seemed to have ties as well. After all, both were martial arts households. Even if not very close, they must have at least heard of each other.
Then she pursed her lips, "Then why didn't you say that earlier?"
"I just forgot. Because finding Big Sis Mai made me so happy." Yuri scratched her head shyly and stuck out her tongue cutely.
Seeing this, Aiden couldn't help finding it funny. Even though Yuri was a year younger than Mai, her height was a little taller. A tall girl acting cutesy toward a shorter girl, it looked rather unbalanced.
However…
Aiden gave Yuri a once-over, then nodded thoughtfully. Aside from height, Yuri lost to Mai in every other area, her size wasn't as big, her waist not as slim, and especially her hips, far less full than Mai's.
With such a comparison, Aiden's earlier sense of imbalance vanished instantly.
Of course, compared to Mai, Yuri fell short, but she was still well-built. By his eye's measure, only slightly weaker than the Kagura sisters.
Compared with ordinary women, Yuri definitely qualified as voluptuous.
By now Aiden's eyesight was sharp. Maybe not quite at the level of using a ruler, but close enough.
While he was making these mental comparisons among the girls he knew in this world, Mai had already invited both of them into the dojo.
After all, guests were guests, and the Shiranui family's hospitality could not be lacking.
After seating them, Mai went to boil water for tea, leaving only Aiden and Yuri together. This was their first time meeting. Once Mai stepped away, they were left staring straight at each other.
After a while of this, the lively Yuri couldn't bear it anymore. At only nineteen, her self-control was clearly lacking. She shuffled a bit on her seat, trying to sit more comfortably.
Then, noticing Aiden sitting cross-legged, she curiously asked, "You shouldn't be Japanese, right?"
"Nope." Aiden wasn't surprised at all by her question. Since coming to Tokyo, he hadn't seen anyone else sitting cross-legged like him.
"Wow! A foreigner!" Yuri widened her eyes, looking him up and down with great interest.
"I'm Yuri Sakazaki. What about you?" she asked again.
"Aiden." He replied calmly.
Yuri was definitely the type to get familiar fast, just like how, in the original story, she called Mai "Big Sis Mai" right upon first meeting.
So after learning his name, she immediately said, "Then I'll call you Big Brother Aiden from now on!"
'You might as well just call me Onii-chan. Adding "Aiden" makes it feel awkward…' Aiden thought to himself.
Just as he was about to correct her way of addressing him, he heard Yuri curiously ask, "I heard from my brother that Big Sis Mai has a boyfriend. Is that you?"
Yuri's words made Aiden freeze for a moment. Then he smiled and asked, "What do you think?"
"I think it should be." Yuri crossed her arms and said seriously.
Aiden shrugged, "Then your guess is wrong. We're teacher and student. Didn't you hear me call her Teacher Mai?"
"Oh, I see!" Yuri furrowed her brow.
"But when Big Sis Mai saw you just now, the surprise on her face wasn't like seeing a student. And when you called her Teacher Mai, I noticed her eyes looked a little unnatural."
"Also, hey, what kind of student calls their teacher with a nickname attached? 'Teacher Mai' sounds so awkward. I bet if you just called her Big Sis Mai directly, she'd be really happy."
"You're that sure?" Aiden asked, though he felt her words were reasonable. "You two just met, and you can already tell what's in her heart?"
"So what if we just met? My insight is top-notch. Even my brother says I'm a genius." Yuri proudly lifted her chin.
Aiden had to agree. After all, in the official settings, Yuri really was a genius among geniuses. Not only could she instantly see the essence of others' moves, but she also had shocking mimicry skills, able to learn any move after watching just a few times.
If not for her young age and being restrained by her father and brother, if she had gone out into the world on her own, she'd surely have become a fighter no weaker than Ryo Sakazaki.
Only thing was, such a naive girl going out alone, she'd probably get tricked and even help count the scammer's money.
Aiden gave a small shake of his head, feeling his thoughts drifting. After reorganizing his mind, he smiled and asked, "Then can you tell what I'm thinking right now?"
"Of course." Yuri glanced at him, pouted, and said, "Just now when I called you Big Brother Aiden, you showed a look of dissatisfaction."
"I guess you're probably thinking you want me to drop the 'Aiden' and just call you Onii-chan."
'Whoa!'
'Impressive!'
Aiden's eyes widened. This girl learning martial arts was a waste, being a psychologist was clearly her true calling.
Seeing Aiden's shocked look, Yuri proudly asked, "Well? Am I amazing or what?"
"You are amazing," Aiden nodded firmly.
"Then you should believe what I just told you, right?"
"I believe it," Aiden kept nodding.
Just then, Mai came back carrying tea. Hearing their conversation, she asked curiously, "Believe what?"
Yuri didn't answer. She only winked at Aiden.
Noticing her expression, Mai turned to Aiden.
"Aiden, what's going on?"
"Nothing, Mai. Just some casual talk."
Aiden deliberately dropped the "teacher" and called her simply "Mai."
"Then why was she winking at you…" Mai began, but then she suddenly realized Aiden had changed how he addressed her.
Her tone faltered, she blinked, then carried on casually, "Let's drink tea first."
"See? I told you I was right!"
While Mai poured tea for them, across the table Yuri mouthed silently to Aiden.
"Amazing!" Aiden mouthed back, giving her a big thumbs-up.
Truthfully, he had always been thinking of finding a good chance to change how he addressed Mai, to drop the "teacher" suffix. But he hadn't expected that, in the end, it would be thanks to Yuri, whom he had just met, that he managed it.
According to his own calculations, this should have taken more time, only possible once he had fully opened Mai's heart.
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