#i'm not sure what is her offical name the mk said harumi with kana as pet name or something

[cienie-isengardu]

sleep, romantic and friendship headcanons for hanzo and kuai pls!

Dear Anon, I’m so, so sorry it took me that long to answer and even more that I’m posting only the first part for now! My hand just slipped and the text kinda grew longer that it should be but I feel bad for keeping You wait another day(s). I’m gonna post the rest of your lovely ask as soon as possible. Hope You will forgive me for that :)

Here we go:

SLEEP - KUAI LIANG:

Before Lin Kuei adepts proved they are worth to be part of the assassin clan, they were forced to endure years of harsh training, including living in spartan conditions. During that time, all children were forced to live together in small space and thus formed groups and alliances in a natural way; the weak sought protection alongside the stronger, the strongest fought for dominance over other groups. In one or another way, all the students learned their place very quickly and those who didn’t fit or were too weak to survive on their own died sooner than later. Back in that days, good sleep was a luxury that not everyone could afford. Sleeping was dangerous, because anyone could be attacked at any time, by masters or other kids, even from their own group. 

Kuai did not have to worry about that though; everyone learnt quickly that attacking - or really, just bothering Bi-Han was a suicide deed. During night, Kuai Liang fell asleep tired of hard training without care about anything because between him and the rest of cruel world there was always a brother to protect him. Bi-Han was like a wall, behind which he could hid if the day passed badly or if he was all sore and beaten down. A wall emanating an unnatural chill that scared off other adepts but rocked him to sleep, numbed the pain and healed. Even if just for a few hours, Kuai Liang slept then very well and free of fear.

But Bi-Han didn’t stay with him for too long. Soon he made a name for himself, proved to Lin Kuei masters how good and skilled he was and then took the mantle of Tundra. Which a proper name like that, his brother was one step closer to being Sub-Zero and because of that he wasn’t forced to sleep in the cramped room with the untested kids like Kuai Liang. But then Kuai Liang already had Smoke - a friend against the clan rules - and though without Bi-Han around, the sleep did not come so easily anymore, it was still relative safe moments of peace. 

(And sometime, when Bi-Han trained on the training ground through the night, the familiar cold crept over the common place, making sleeping for Kuai Liang much easier. Smoke hated that moments, but Kuai always had the best dreams on nights like that).

When Kuai Liang took mantle of Tundra, his brother was already renowned Lin Kuei warrior and on his own missions with Hydro for most of the year. That was fine for Kuai, because he had his own partner, Smoke. Together on various tasks, Tundra never have to worry about being helpless while sleeping. They both were trained well and could go without sleep for days, but they liked to spend a night or two under the open sky with no cramped rooms and no master to rebuke them for wasting time. Kuai and Smoke never allowed themselves to fully enjoy such occasions, they were first and foremost assassins and only fool would lower their guard on enemy’s land but sleeping in the woods, with the smell of burning wood around and little fire crackling to lull Tundra was so weird, out of his comfort zone and yet so magical, it was hard to not be fond of it as long as it lasted. Beside, Smoke always loved fire and during such night, his powers were naturally enhanced by bonfire smoke, so Kuai Liang had little to fear. His friend was right beside him, so fire and enemy was not a threat. At least for a few short hours.

When Kuai Liang become Grandmaster of Lin Kuei, there was no brother nor friend to keep him safe while sleeping. Even if they were not dead for years, they couldn't help him anyway. It wasn’t the surroundings to be afraid of, but the inside of his own head. The sleep only brought back things he tried so desperately forget. A taste of blood and smell of burned flesh, a sight of frozen bodies shattered to pieces. A cruel voice taunting and promising no more pain to bear, if only Kuai Liang bow to Netherrealm power once again.

Kuai Liang does not sleep anymore.

Instead, he is freezing himself; his own ice breaks through the flesh and bones, deep into soul and for so long, until the cold will numb him completely.

SLEEPING - HANZO

If there was a thing about himself that Scorpion hated to admit, it would be this: he used to love sleeping.

Since Hanzo was just a little kid, he had this one favorite spot in Shirai Ryu Fire Garden. There, he trained and meditated to prepare well for ninja life. There was enough trees to climb and shadows to hide from summer sun and enough hiding places to disappear from the eyes of annoying older cousins. No matter the season, the garden always looked beautiful, its sounds and smells soothing nerves like nothing else could.

For years, Hanzo liked to lay on the grass after long training and listen to flying insects and the wind rustling between the branches. Laying there, it was easy to close eyes and let the noises to lull him into deep trance.

(The older cousins made fun of his sleeping habits, that he would be never a good ninja if can be rocked to sleep so easily by bugs. Of course, he wasn’t sleeping, it was meditation session, his cousins knew nothing)

The memories of Fire Garden and the carefree childhood stayed with him on every mission. As a Shirai Ryu ninja, Hanzo couldn’t allow himself to be careless. The sleep was necessary, he knew, but no place could be so safe as the precious garden, so Hanzo slept long enough to renew strength, but not long enough to lost control over situation. Always alert, with sharp senses and even sharper kunai at hand.

After all, there was always time to rest once the mission was over. Hanzo liked the lazy days after task was done, when he could sleep a bit longer than necessary... yet not long enough to be seen as sluggard by other ninjas. Warrior can’t show weakness, even to his own blood and flesh.

(Most of his older cousins still annoyed him about his sleeping habits and so what if he liked lay on grass and let the Garden to lull him into sleep with dreams of beautiful fire instead of blood? Sleep was double-sided blade after all)

At the end, Fire Garden lost its significance when he married Harumi. Since then sleeping next to wife always made him feel so happy and warm, as if he carried a flame inside him. Just hearing her steady heartbeat brought a sense of calmness he never knew before. Sometime Hanzo would soundlessly wake up in the middle of night - not by nightmare of course, more like some distant memory -  feeling Harumi’s warm breath on his own skin somehow always would take him back to childhood memories of summer sun spent in Fire Garden; gave the most instinctive sense of security he has ever known. And just like that, few minutes later, Hanzo was once again lulled to sleep full of dreams and hopes for the future.

Hanzo used to love sleeping; used to let himself be vulnerable because Shirai Ryu was ninja clan and his home and nothing should happen to such powerful family. He was a fool and his loved ones paid the price for that. Now, the fire inside him was not warm as summer sun or Harumi’s breath, but burned him with rage and regrets. Now, sleep was full of horror and mockery so he cauterizes himself with that damn hellfire every night; pain was better than dreams of past, of loved ones massacred over and over again. Dreams of people pierced by his blade, of their broken and ripped flesh, of burned alive that he promised to spare in exchange for bringing the Shirai Ryu back to life.

Sleep brings only pain and false hopes. Scorpion may rebuild the clan, the garden may bloom again, but it will never be the same as it used to be. 

He is too tired to dream about the impossible.