#lui kang fanfiction

[itjazzbicch]

Things That Never Change

Pairing: Lui Kang x Titan!Reader 

First time writing for Lui Kang, so I hope I did well! 

Summary: Falling in love long before their timeline was ripped after defeating Kronika, the reader, who became a Titan, still gets to spend time with their beloved Lui Kang but wishes things could be different so Lui Kang reassures that their love has never changed and that someday, they will have a true, happy ending...

Warnings:  N/A

Word Count: 0.6k 

Living for Eons and eons, I had seen everything there was to see, but nothing could compare to the night sky I was staring at. A Milky Way illuminated from a dark purple on one side to a bright blue, then back to purple. Stars soaring and dancing in the sky were such a beautiful sight.

What made it so unique? Lui Kangs' hand in mine, the smile I cherished on his face, his bright eyes locked into mine. We didn't need many words. Considering we were both Titans, we didn't have much time together.

This is where we would meet to have some time to ourselves and get away from our duties in our timelines for a while. Each time we came here, it seemed like our time grew shorter and shorter. I knew that soon we'd have to go.

I held his hand in my lap, catching his attention as he felt a water droplet fall and seep into his skin. It was a tear.

"Dear," Leaning to look into my eyes, he grew concerned, wiping away the tears that rolled down my cheek, "What's the matter?"

"Can we stay here forever?" I knew as a Titan that may have sounded childish and selfish even, as I had such significant duties, but my heart wanted what it wanted, and that was to be with Lui Kang. Always.

As he stayed silent for a moment, the tears wouldn't stop leaking out, squeezing his hand tight and expressing:

"I never want to leave your side. We lived for eons before we reunited. I felt so alone without you. I always feel that way when you're gone."

"I know how you feel," He cooed softly, guiding me into his arms for a warm hug that I needed, rubbing my back softly and relating to me, "Every second we're apart, I miss you."

"I just love you so much-," I professed, my voice cracking and breaking into a whisper, hugging him tighter, "I love you, Lui Kang."

"I love you too," He whispered, stroking my chin and guiding my eyes up at him. He looked like a work of art with the gorgeous stars behind him, believing his every word, "One day, we will always be together. I know that it has been so long, but be patient for just a while longer."

Nodding and taking a deep breath, I knew he was right. Patience was the only thing I had to overcome, and considering how long I've lived, that battle with patience wasn't as bad as it seemed.

"I know that I'm now a Titan," I whispered, feeling like it was the first time we met, "But I'm still the same young lady who fell for the chosen one."

"I haven't changed either," He assured, caressing my cheek, "My love for you hasn't changed, and regardless of how long we live, what we live through, that will never change."

Words weren't enough to explain how deep our love was; I perked my head up to find his lips, feeling complete as they met, magnetizing back together even if they parted for a second, wishing we could stay like this forever.

I lost track of time, solely focused on the softness of his lips kissing mine, the amount of powerful love we poured into each other. My lips broke apart with tears swelling up again as I knew it was time for us to go.

"Don't stress yourself, Y/N," He consoled, holding my face and smiling contagiously, "We'll have plenty more moments together and, eventually, everything we could ever dream of."

I smiled back, kissing him one more time, content and confident in his words, "I'll never doubt it, Lui Kang," 

2023 © itjazzbicch — do not repost or translate my work. Likes, reblogs, and comments are always welcome 

[cosmictapestries]

I'm hard at work writing an MK/CageBlade AU August fic. I went with a fusion idea for one of the prompts and it's going to be a late entry but it will get there.

I don't want to give much away yet but the photos below are a hint. Trying to line up various bits of history at the moment but it's coming along nicely.

[angelbroad]

"You're the smartest person I know."

Type: Fanfiction

Fandom: Mortal Kombat

Characters: Lui Kang, Raiden

The crackling fire felt warm on Lui Kang’s skin. He had his eyes closed, enjoying the peace of the Fire Temple. A soft smile unconsciously crossed his lips, alone in the quiet comfort of this New Era.. At least...until recently.

 He was brought out of his trance by a knock on the door. He slowly blinked his eyes open, turning his head at the door’s direction slowly.

 “You may enter.”, he spoke, giving the person behind the door permission to enter. 

 The soft smile on his face remained as the one knocking revealed himself.

 “Raiden, my friend. How have you been?”

 The younger man walked further inside. Lui Kang got up from his sitting position as Raiden finally stopped a little further away from him, giving a respectful bow.

 “Lord Lui Kang. I hope this isn’t a bad time.”

 “It is not, Raiden. Though my plate is almost always full, I can always make time for you.”

 Raiden nodded.

 “I wish to consult with you, Lord Lui Kang.”

 This brought back memories of the Raiden from the previous timeline, which made Lui Kang both fond of the memories of his old mentor, and saddened by their distance. Nevertheless, he smiled and nodded back.

 “Of course. What would you like to talk about?”

 Lui Kang knew Raiden would not ask advice about the Tournament, that already happened. It could not be about his issues with his emotions either, he usually confides to Kuai Liang for that. So that left few possibilities for what his Chosen One would want to ask him.

 “Sit with me.”, Lui Kang asked, him and Raiden sitting in front of the burning fire at the center of the room.

 Raiden’s breathing eased at the warmth of the flames, exhaling deeply as he closed his eyes.

 “You have been training excessively.”, Lui Kang commented.

 “I feel like I should be prepared, Lord Lui Kang.”

 The god nodded in understanding, “With General Shao and the sorcerers running rampant, I could not blame you, Raiden. It is perfectly normal to be stressed about this situation.”, he turned to Raiden, “But is that why you truly came here for?”

 Raiden looked to the flames, their dance reflected in his eyes. He then looked down at his amulet, his fingertips feeling the slight shock of the lighting trapped inside.

 He sighed, “It’s.....everything, I suppose.”

 Lui Kang stayed silent, letting Raiden continue.

 “It’s not just the Outworlder rogues, but the Lin Kuei as well. I grow even more worried by the day from the thought that people like Fujin, Madame Bo, Kung Lao, Ka-”, he stopped himself before he could finish the last name on the list, earning him a slight eyebrow raise from Lui Kang.

 It must have been more obvious than Lui Kang thought, because Raiden turned his head away from him, staring at either the wall or the floor.

 “The threat of the Lin Kuei should not worry you.”, Lui Kang said, “Bi-Han might be an incredibly skilled warrior, leading an equally capable clan, but I have faith in both yours and your friends’ abilities. Your sister and Madame Bo included.”

 He placed a hand on Raiden’s shoulder, prompting the mortal to look at the god once more.

 “As Fujin would say,”, Lui Kang continued, “have faith.”

 Raiden smiled at hearing his sister’s words from Lord Lui Kang. The young man felt more calm after this, openly expressing his worries and bottled up stress. Lui Kang could have sworn he had seen a bit of himself in his champion. Is this how it felt like for the previous Raiden?

 “-and it’s just...too much! I can’t understand how anyone could handle this!”

 “You are Earthrealm’s champion, Raiden. One of the reasons I had chosen you was because of your strong spirit. I know that you are a good person, and emotions like anger and stress are perfectly normal, long as you control them. After all, your range of emotions is was makes you human.”

 Raiden exhaled. Not in annoyance, Lui Kang understood, but in relief from getting his frustrations out of his chest.

 “Thank you for listening, Lord Lui Kang.”

 “Of course, I am always here if you need to consult a friend.”

 They stayed silent by the fire for a few more moments before Lui Kang spoke again.

 “Though, do allow me to ask, why come to me to talk about this? I have though you would have gone to Scorpion.”

 “Well, I know Kuai Liang is mostly busy with the Shirai Ryu, and I wouldn’t wish to disturb him and well.”, Raiden turned to him, “You’re the smartest person I know.”

 Lui Kang actually chuckled a bit at that.

 “Well. I am no person, Raiden.”

[dipendenteconad]

I will translate this one soon, but I'd also like to share it like this.

[ita] un altro headcanon con BiKang; relazione nascosta

(NSFW sottointeso. Questo testo è estratto da una conversazione che ho avuto con mia amica, ed è ciò che ha poi ispirato la mia fanfiction pubblicata su ao3, alcune cose potrebbero essere simili)

Mi immagino Bi-Han come una persona molto riservata, infatti raramente parla di qualcosa che non abbia a che fare col suo incarico da Granmaestro; perfino in quel caso lì tende ad andare sempre dritto al punto, senza perdersi in conversazioni che ritiene inutili. Forse l'unica eccezione sono stati i suoi fratelli, ma fino ad un certo punto. Tomas menziona nelle intro un Bi-Han freddo e distaccato, quindi i due, seppur cresciuti insieme, non hanno mai condiviso momenti particolarmente intimi nonostante Bi-Han comunque tenesse a lui (a modo suo, ovviamente). Kuai Liang invece, quando ancora erano ragazzi, aveva avuto modo di conoscerlo in modo più approfondito, e con non poca fatica era riuscito a scalfire in superficie per intravedere una minima parte della sua interiorità. Nonostante ciò, andando avanti con gli anni Bi-Han aveva finito per chiudersi sempre di più in sé stesso, preferendo affrontare i propri problemi da solo, anche nei momenti in cui era evidente quanto avesse bisogno di una spalla su cui piangere. Allo stesso tempo, i due fratelli minori rispettavano il suo bisogno di privatezza.

Per questo motivo, nessuno aveva mai più sentito Bi-Han parlare di qualcosa che non fosse prettamente legato al suo lavoro. Addirittura, non considerava nessuna relazione al di fuori di quelle famigliari e lavorative come valide. Mai. Solitamente, se qualcuno provava ad avvicinarsi a lui, Bi-Han si irritava dopo i primi segni d'insistenza e cambiava argomento di conversazione, o optava direttamente per gli insulti.

Quindi nel mio stato delulu mi sogno la sorpresa di Kuai nel notare un comportamento insolito in suo fratello, da quando Liu Kang aveva chiesto loro aiuto. Bi-Han era sempre stato una testa calda e più di tutto non sopportava che gli venissero dati degli ordini; allo stesso tempo però, se Liu chiedeva loro un favore, Bi-Han lo eseguiva senza se e senza ma. Ancor meno Bihan amava i colloqui, ma se era Liu Kang a necessitarne uno si presentava anche agli orari più insoliti. Per non parlare del fatto che trascorreva una quantità di tempo immane lontano dai Lin Kuei per stare con i monaci che allenava Liu Kang. Inizialmente nessuno ci faceva nemmeno troppo caso, perché Bi-Han era solito sfiancarsi dal lavoro e tale dedizione era ormai normale da parte sua.

Kuai non è uno che ama particolarmente farsi gli affari degli altri, ma si fidava abbastanza di Bi-Han per sapere che quest'ultimo non gli avrebbe mai nascosto dettagli riguardanti il loro lavoro o le loro successive missioni. Ad esclusione, se Bihan non aveva nulla da nascondere, significava che la maggior parte degli incontri che teneva con Liu Kang non riguardavano il loro lavoro. Altrimenti, avrebbe sicuramente detto qualcosa anche a Kuai e Tomas.

Quindi beh, Kuai non si fa gli affari degli altri, no, ma se c'è da scartare un po' di drama non si tira certamente indietro, a maggior ragione se la persona coinvolta è suo fratello. Per settimane non aveva mai esternato i suoi dubbi, finché non fu Tomas, una mattina, a tirare fuori l'argomento, facendo notare a Kuai come Bi-Han avesse lasciato il tempio la sera ma non fosse più rientrato.

Da quel momento entrambi iniziarono a osservare Bi-Han con un occhio di riguardo, stando particolarmente attenti a dove diceva di andare e cosa faceva quando loro tre erano da soli; entrambi riuscirono a notare come Bi-Han cambiasse completamente approccio ogni qualvolta che Liu Kang era insieme a loro: diventava più tranquillo, meno sfacciato, e la sua espressione quasi si rilassava. Erano anni che Kuai non vedeva il volto di Bi-Han contorto in un'espressione che non fosse di concentrazine o rabbia. Tomas giurò perfino che una volta aveva visto Bihan sorridere sotto la maschera mentre parlava con Liu Kang, e ne aveva parlato come se avesse visto gli Dèi.

Kuai aveva racimolato abbastanza coraggio per affrontare Bi-Han a riguardo, spinto più da interesse che altro: certamente, non denunciava il fratello per essersi fatto un eventuale amico, ma era ben curioso di sapere come Liu Kang fosse riuscito nell'impresa. Dovette però parlare senza fare nessun tipo di accusa che potesse obbligare Bi-Han a mettersi subito sulla difensiva: quando gli chiese perché si lasciava sottomettere senza obiezioni da Liu, Bi-Han aveva semplicemente detto qualcosa simile a "perché ci stiamo guadagnando anche noi".

Eppure loro non ci guadagnavano un bel niente, ad aiutare Liu Kang; se non altro, ci perdevano su molto del loro tempo: c'erano giorni in cui il loro clan non aveva nessuno che potesse seguire i loro allenamenti, considerando che Bi-Han era sempre lontano dal tempio. Tempio che, tra l'altro, erano giorni che non veniva più seguito come prima, perchè il Granmaestro non aveva più tempo per dedicarsi alla cura della struttura. A quel punto era palese che, se Bi-Han ci stava effettivamente "guadagnando" qualcosa, era parallelo al loro lavoro, e che non ne aveva ancora fatto parola con nessuno.

Kuai aveva iniziato a sospettare che Bi-Han e Liu Kang fossero diventati amici stretti, anche se l'idea che Bi-Han potesse anche solo concepire una relazione di questo genere era già surreale. Eppure non c'erano altre spiegazioni, ed era evidente che Bi-Han stesse bene quando Liu Kang era al suo fianco. Forse, pensava che coltivando un'amicizia con Liu sarebbe riuscito in qualche modo a elevare lo status del loro clan, o ad accontentare le sue aspirazioni di potere.

Il dubbio fu presto smentito quando un giorno Kuai e Bi-Han si cambiarono insieme dopo un allenamento: era da un po' di tempo che i due non combattevano l'uno contro l'altro, e la loro seduta era durata ore. Erano entrambi talmente stanchi che Bi-Han non aveva neanche avuto la forza di lamentarsi quando aveva visto Kuai Liang entrare nello spogliatoio insieme a lui. Mentre si cambiavano, l'occhio di Kuai cadde involontariamente sul fisico del fratello: la sua pelle chiara era imperlata di sudore e coperta di lividi, alcuni che riconosceva essere opera sua, come quelli sul bacino e sulle spalle, ma altri erano in posti alquanto ambigui: sul suo petto, appena sotto le clavicole, sulle sue cosce, e alcuni più piccoli perfino sul collo, che fino a quel momento Kuai non aveva nemmeno notato. Ma più di tutto lo colpì una scottatura, che si trovava sull'interno coscia di Bi-Han, e che Kuai poté vedere solo quando il fratello gli stava dando le spalle. Non era grave, ma era stata comunque abbastanza potente da lasciare un'impronta scura sulla sua pelle; era stranamente grande, e Kuai quasi spalancò gli occhi quando vide che aveva la forma di una mano. Qualcuno aveva premuto con forza fino a lasciare un alone sulla sua gamba; e non era neppure l'unico segno, perché se ne potevano intravedere anche di più leggeri sui suoi fianchi.

Preso dalla curiosità, ma anche dalla preoccupazione, gli aveva chiesto cosa fosse successo. Appena finirono di cambiarsi, Kuai afferrò Bi-Han per un braccio chiedendogli se stesse bene; quando quest'ultimo gli chiese il perché della domanda, lui menzionò i segni che aveva sul corpo.

Suo fratello aveva aggrottato le sopracciglia, scazzato, incitandolo a farsi gli affari propri senza interessarsi tanto a quello che faceva lui nella sua vita privata. Già il fatto che Bi-Han avesse usato il termine "privata" era come ammettere che Kuai aveva ragione a pensare quello che pensava.

L'ultima, definitiva prova che Bi-Han stava apprezzando fin troppo la compagnia di Liu Kang arrivò quando i tre fratelli furono invitati da quest'ultimo a passare dei giorni al suo tempio per seguire gli allenamenti dei due campioni presi da Madam Bo.

Le notti erano particolarmente tranquille, ma Kuai aveva ugualmente fatto fatica ad addormentarsi in un letto che non era il suo. Così, aveva più volte passato le notti in piedi passeggiando per i giardini del tempio, osservando la loro struttura e godendosi la tranquillità che trasmettevano. Per arrivare ai giardini era obbligatorio passare davanti alle stanze dei monaci e conseguentemente davanti a quella di Liu.

Passando davanti alle varie porte, dei suoni catturarono l'attenzione del ninja. Kuai constatò di non essere l'unico sveglio, e preso dall'interesse aveva appoggiato l'orecchio sulla porta da cui provenivano per distinguere la voce che li emetteva. Si staccò immediatamente quando li identificò come gemiti di piacere. A maggior ragione, appena riconobbe la voce roca di suo fratello mescolarsi insieme a quella Liu Kang, si allontanò preferendo uscire dal corridoio senza intromettersi più di quanto non avesse già fatto...

Appena raggiunse i giardini il peso della scoperta gli gravava così tanto sulle spalle che non potè fare a meno di immaginarsi la faccia di Tomas appena gli avrebbe confidato il segreto.

Penso che Bi-Han sarebbe quindi uno riservato anche nelle sue relazioni, preferendo tenerle nascoste il più possibile. Di certo sarebbe l'ultima persona a mostrarsi romantico in pubblico. Inoltre, non vorrebbe di certo passare come "smielato" davanti al suo clan o ai suoi fratelli, in quanto Granmaestro ha pur sempre un'immagine da mantenere.

[ghostie-ghoulie]

Hey there! I'm Ghostie-Ghoulie. I have had this app for years and always wanted to post, so here I am!

Currently, I'm obsessed with anything Until Dawn or Resident Evil related. I can't ever shut my mouth about them.

My content will either consist of possible art or my fanfiction about certain fandoms I enjoy.

This is an 18+ blog! So, if you are a minor, please, in the most polite way possible, leave my page.

These Fandoms that I am a part of happen to be:

Until Dawn

Resident Evil (a personal favorite)

Horror movies (Ghostface, Hellrasier, Chucky, IT, Etc)

The Wolf Among Us

Mortal Kombat

Cyberpunk

Arcane

Team Fortress 2

Star Wars

Star Wars: The Bad batch

Ghost (band)

Sallyface

Bendy And The Ink Machine

Spiderman (mostly the spiderverse movies)

Dark Deception

Devil May Cry

More fandoms can be added later!

I will write Smut, oneshots, small imagines, and multichapter stories. I'm a sucker for smut, so you're gonna get that out of me once I finally get the hang of it.

Important note: I only write XReaders for now. I know that might suck for a lot of people, but it is something I heavily enjoy. I know people don't like it (Y/n, I'm looking at you), but the stereotypical cringe XReader stories that drive me up a wall will not be here. I will try my hardest to make the apperence vague, but personality might be a challenge. Though, hey! Everyone needs their practice. I can't go writing an emotionless reader, eh?

The readers I write for will mostly, if not entirely, be gender neutral or feminine. I'm sorry if this is a major letdown, but I do not trust my abilities to delve into a male reader just yet. I most write for male characters in general, and as love interests, but I can write for women when it comes to romance. I am both for ladies and gents.

Another very important note: I have a major history regarding mental health. Stress comes to me easy, and with stress comes heavy burnout. My brain gets fried, and my creativity goes down 6 feet under. All I ask is that you be very patient with me until I recover. This might mean small breaks or long breaks. Requests may be hard to handle, but if I'm ready, I'll think about doing them. You are able to send in asks! I may not be able to do full requests, but maybe some thoughts for a writing I could possibly start off with.

I am very understanding when it comes to emotional and mental related things because I have experienced my fair share of dealing with it. These topics will show up sometimes in various writings. If these bother you, worry not! Warnings will be placed.

This is a page friendly one towards everyone. I do not stand for hate of any kind. Sure, we're through a damn screen, but I still won't tolerate it. So please, no hate or arguments. If opinions differ, it doesn't mean we need to clash.

Characters that I could possibly write for consist of:

Until Dawn

Chris Hartley

Mike Monroe

Josh Washington

Matt Taylor

Resident Evil

Leon Kennedy

Karl Heisenburg

Luis Sera

Jack Krauser

Albert Wesker

Devil May Cry

Johnny Cage

Vergil Sparda

Dante Sparda

Nero sparda

Mortal Kombat

Syzoth (Reptile)

Tomas (Smoke)

Bi-han (Sub-Zero)

Kuai liang (Scorpian)

Liu Kang

Cyberpunk

Johnny Silverhand

Viktor Vektor (he needs more love and attention. I love him sm)

Team Fortress 2

Spy

Sniper

Medic

(Possibly the rest)

Star Wars

Captain Rex

(Probably will write for a bunch of clones, tbh)

Hondo Ohnaka

Darth Maul

Darth Vader

Boba Fett

Din Djarin

Hunter

Crosshair

Tech

Wrecker

Echo

The Wolf Among Us

Bigby Wolf

I think that's all I've really got for now. More of course can be added later to masterlists. I'm just giving you good ideas on who I would love to write for.

(I will probably reform this because damn it looks jumbled, but hey, I'm inexperienced with actually posting on Tumblr.)

[cienie-isengardu]

With the announcement of the end of MK11, (I don't even own it btw, and that news makes me sad), I'm curious what you think about the future of MK  or MK12 is going to be.  Essentially they set up fanfiction co-authors, usernames "Fire-God Lui Kang", "Human-God Raiden" and "Kitana-Khan". They are all "fans" of their universe, and know the canon. So how do you think they are going to recreate their universe? We know they recreated Earthrealm and the mortal kombat tournament  from the cutscene with the Shoalin monks and Kung Lao, which suggests they cleared the idea of giving everyone what they wanted,  making everyone happy,  and universal peace. The existence of the tournament also let's us know the other realms were recreated.  

So just for fun speculation,  might not even happen in MK12, what do you think or hope will happen next?

Considering how many MK11 endings for various characters are about other Titans, I suspect these ancient, all-powerful beings will be the reason for whatever is going to happen in the next game. Also, Kronika’s death proves that even god controlling time is not indestructible and well, creating a perfect world / timeline is not an easy task. Liu Kang may be driven into madness like Kronika was, according to Geras’ ending (“I would create one final, perfect timeline. Then, I would rest. But the task was more difficult than I imagined. Mortals refused to follow the paths I set for them. Timeline after timeline, my frustration grew. I began to understand why Kronika had been driven to madness.” ) or into bitterness for being stuck as Kronika’s replacement to the point of becoming the future enemy. Even with his closer friends / family acting as the new Elder Gods, his new role requires many sacrifices and Liu Kang’s ending literally says that his heart longs for a simpler life. This desire and burdens of new life may lead him to make some serious bad choices. Because no matter how good and noble Liu Kang is, the grant power sooner or later will corrupt everyone. Also, as much as it is a normal desire to give happiness to loved ones, without pain and sadness as opposed to, happiness is a hollow thing. Without conflicts, without the possibility of losing something important, how can someone appreciate happiness or really grow up?

With Titans lurking somewhere in forgotten realms / space outside time or Liu Kang getting corrupted like Kronika, there are a lot of possibilities to start another conflict for the next game. Especially since Mortal Kombat is too profitable a franchise to just end it just like that.

So who knows, maybe we will one day see other realms or totally forgotten ancient places or another confusion between timelines? Or how the life of the main characters look like in the newest timeline? For one it would be fun to see Kuai Liang and Bi-Han being good brothers and interacting with each other at last, even if Lin Kuei could be something totally different or non-existing. As for what I would like, dunno, I’m trying to stay with open mind and not feed on hope too much to avoid disappointment (like I sadly felt with MK11 for not using Noob Saibot in any real meaningful way and not bringing Bi-Han or younger Kuai Liang into future) but… I’m curious how modern religion is going to look now. Does humanity now worship only Liu Kang (and rest of new Elder Gods?) or do people keep their different faiths? I’m curious about that because such worship could mess with anyone’s head.

[matt-eldritch]

Mortal Kombat Akademy

In between my work on the 31 Days of Original Characters challenge, I've begun to revisit my plans for the big Mortal Kombat story I'd wanted to do for awhile; Mortal Kombat Akademy. I've done a lot of character busts with backstory info and I did a sort of "season one" plots but this is something I'm not really satisfied with anymore. I'm gonna spend the new year trying to readjust and rework the overall story and characters to something more workable. Here's a few odds and ends of what I've planned so far;

Story Outline

Shaolin Monks, Lui Kang and Kung Lao, are recruited into the Mortal Kombat Akademy, the secret fighting school located on the island paradise of international crimelord, Shang Tsung. But those who step foot on the island are subjected to terrors beyond comprehension once they learn the true purpose of the school; a training ground for the soldiers of an interdimensional tyrant who conquers by use of a fighting tournaments ordained by the gods themselves. But one of the gods, Raiden, is willing to give Earth a fighting chance by training as many chosen Earthlings as he can so they may finally defeat the forces of evil in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Kinda bare bones but for plot synopsis go, it helps me sort of make a launching pad for the ideas. Like my original idea, the story is still primarily about Lui Kang and Kung Lao going to the school and meeting/befriending the typical heroes of the Mortal Kombat world, Raiden being their mentor and Shang Tsung being the big bad to overcome.

But the story ideas I had just don’t really cut it for me now. I feel as though I was sort of putting the cart before the horse by putting so much time making elaborate details instead of snowballing one idea to make a big bright idea. I’ve made some titles for them;

Start the Semester!

Tour the Akademy!

Prepare for the First Exams!

Bond Like Your Lives Depend On It!

Learn the Fatalities!

Wills and Testaments!

Survive the Detetionrealm!

Survive the First Round of Exams!

Survive the Second Round of Exams!

Survive the Last Round of Exams!

Party Your Asses Off!

Mortal Kombat Akademy V. The DC Universe: Dawn of Pain!

To give some context to them, I had a storyarc planned; Early on, Raiden would want the Earthrealm class (the class would have Kang, Lao, Johnny, Sonya, Jax, Stryker and Nightwolf) to be friends and allies in order to survive the matches and save the world. Easier said than done when so many personalities were clashing together. And once they learn about fatalities, the class goes through some mental anguish over having to kill or be killed, Kang being the only one vowing to never kill anyone, to the disbelief of everyone else. Things start looking up once the class starts to trust and respect one another and become stronger fighters.

But Kano, on the behalf of Goro’s Class (Mileena, Kitana, Jade, Baraka, Sheeva, Skarlet, Reptile, Tanya and Kano himself) frames Sonya and Johnny for a crime, leading to Professor Quan Chi to exile them to the “Detention Realm” where his goons, Drahmin and Moloch, deal out the punishments. My idea for them that they’d be bumbling and dim so Johnny and Sonya could escape them, bonding while trying to make it to the final exams. Everyone but Kang and Lao have been defeated and since Sonya and Johnny were late, it’d all be up to them to beat Goro. Once Goro beast Lao half to death, Kang faces his fears and manages to defeat Goro without killing him, but not without making him suffer for all the pain he’s caused.

The class’ reward for passing the exams is an-all expense paid vacation to Edenia, which is basically a hellhole built to Shao Kahn’s pleasure. Here, Kang and Kitana get some alone time to romantically connect to one another during the celebratory feast hosted by Kitana and Mileena’s parents, Shao Kahn and Sindel. But really, the feast is for the Kahns to asses the threat that Raiden’s students hold to their long term plans. And finally, the DCU story is just a fun breather where I have the mid-1990s versions of their heroes (Superman with a mullet, Batman Forever styled Batman and the two Wonder Women, Artemis and Diana, for example).

And after rereading what I had for plots, I noticed how little the Lin Keui featured into the stories since I designed a lot of them for the series. Should try to fix that somehow.

Overall Art Style

As I stated in previous MKA concept art, I based the art style on the look of Steven Universe. I still intend for the project to be written fanfiction, but I do wish to have some elements of it to be drawn by myself. Not a full adaptation but maybe a full page illustration of each chapter, along with the general character/environment sketches, or like the ending credits of The Mandalorian series.

But back to the art style, I wish to change it. I can’t really go further on the style of Steven Universe if this story is going to be about such heavy violence and gore. It wouldn’t really look right, might cross over into unintentional hilarity or into the uncanny valley. I’m looking at something like the artist One, the man behind One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100 whose style is really unique, fast, sketchy and frenetic, all attributes I think will work well. I also love the anime aesthetic of the 1990s so that’s definitely a goal to achieve since I’m setting the story in 1995.

Story Ideas To Keep

* Koins: My idea for an in-canon reason for the koins you win in matches (at least in Mks 9-11, IDK how far back they go) to unlock Krypt stuff will be used as a way for the students to buy things like food, clothing and resurrections due to being killed by another student’s fatalities since its primarily a learning facility instead of a battlefield. Though if you’re broke, you’re not gonna be saved. Koins, like in the games, will be given for performing a fatality and a moral choice comes up when you think “do I do good and be paid less, or do something terrible but get more chances of being resurrected if I die?”

*Profiles: I’ve got to do some rewrites for the characters. Nothing too too major since I do like a lot of what I wrote, but its more to streamline it to fit in the new direction I’m doing. Like, having Sonya, Jax and Stryker being Hall Monitors, I don’t think something like that is gonna be part of my story since I’m trying to take it a tad more seriously. The idea of Detention Realm and having Dharmin and Moloch as lovable henchmen is still canon, as far as I’m concerned. Think the two mice henchmen from the film “Flushed Away”. And on a final note, the newly retconned origin for Sindel...that shit isn’t gonna be part of my story.

Overall, whatever backstories that’ll be changed will likely be on a case by case basis. No telling who or what will be changed right now, but I’ve now thought of some parts to start with.

Diversity and Inclusion

This one is probably gonna be one of the hardest to accomplish since I really want to make the series really diverse with body types, genders and sexuality, race, neurodiversity, that type of subject matter. Inclusion is really important to me, and I’m scared how I might screw it up like how Disney, JK Rowling, SNL, Simpsons, Big Mouth, Voltron so many more screw it all up since they all serve the needs of the capitalist, neoliberal status quo over the voices of the marginalised.

And with that, brings up some more challenges. Will I make so many diverse original characters that they take time away from the canon characters? Should I make more canon MK characters differently diverse?

I'm also planning on having the characters display prejudices and bigotries but I'm scared I'll go in too much of "Bright" territory, if you know what I mean.

Tackling Mature Content

I mean, it goes without saying that the series is going to be full of violence and gore since that’s basically in the DNA of Mortal Kombat in the first place. But there’s much more serious topics I want to try to write. Like the effects of abuse, queer rights, the above themes about diversity and inclusion, the seemingly never ending war and the ideas of the long defeat. Of course, my chapters will be marked with as clear as possible content warnings, those are important.

A Shared Universe

A month ago, I watched a video about Midway trying to recreate the success of Mortal Kombat into other fighting games. The video, “Remember when Midway tried to copy Mortal Kombat?” talked about three would-be franchises of Midway fighting games; Mace: The Dark Age, War Gods and Bio FREAKS. After watching the video and reading about the games, I think it’d be good for lore if they were integrated into my story. Mace and War Gods could be used as part of the backstory of the series. Like the idea of the Earthrealm Kombatants being the descendants of the characters of Mace and War Gods, maybe Raiden was involved with the later, I’m not sure. Bio FREAKS could be latter used if I go into a time travel story. Maybe a mix of the game and the story/characters of Mortal Kombat X. As for Midway’s other successful but overlooked franchise, Killer Instinct, that is probably going to be the most recurring element in the shared universe. UltraTech, the main villains of the series would be the people behind such things as Kano’s cyborg eye, the Lin Keui’s Cyber Initiative and being the rulers of Neo-Amerika in the Bio FREAKS timeline. I also wrote in the profiles of Nightwolf and Sub-Zero that the Killer Instinct universe is linked to my story (one of his divorced parents is dating one of the parents of KI’s Black Eagle and Thunder while Glacius was an alien that helped give Cryomancers their powers).

And on a side note, there is another Midway MK clone called Primal Rage, which I swear I had one of the toys based on it and saw a parody of it on an episode of Dexter’s Laboratory. Its pretty gruesome, its a bunch of savage Kaiju in a post-apocalyptic earth that resembles the stone age. Probably an alternate timeline/dimension if I use it in my series. Who knows, maybe elements of the worlds of Street Fighter and or God of War could make an appearance...

Writing the Damned Thing

Probably the absolute hardest part of this entire thing. I struggle with actually keeping attention to writing since I’m primarily a visual artist and it feels terrible to not even follow through on any idea I have and it just kinda sits and collects dust in my brain. If its sketching and rendering, I can do it. If its writing shit down, I just have executive dysfunction when it comes to it. I never know where to start writing it, how to continue writing it, how to finish it or how to put it all together cohesively.

I can’t do this without at least writing the complete first season, if I do it on a semi-regular basis, nothing is going to be done. Even like, less than a week of non-recurring writing is like a poison to me. I don’t know how, but if I make room for an hour or two of writing a day every day might help me get more prepared for longer writing.

In Conclusion

When will the first chapter be done? I don’t know. When will I start writing? Hopefully as soon as I can. I can try to post updates or work in progresses, but that’s still a pipe dream, in my honest opinion. But I want to make progress in 2020, I need to make a difference and to actually make this coming year worthwhile.

[smooooothjazz]

Mortal Kombat Character Survey

Okay, I made a survey and I want to know about y’all more. Please fill this out, I wanna see some Mortal Kombat love. I want to know everything from the jerks you hate to the homies you miss. I will answer this myself!!! I want to see people’s opinions. AHEM * please ?

Don’t be scared I’m judgment free. This is a judgment free zone. If you’re here to judge you can’t play in the ball pit with the big kids!

Tell me about the character you would marry- Raiden, he’s sweet and caring, and just wants to keep Earthrealm safe. He’s immortal and I’m sure it’s been a while since he’s bumped uglies. He deserves some cooch and I like to be one to to give it to him. Also, I’d love him and take care him. I’d put him first since he’s he’s always putting everyone else first.

Tell me about your favorite male character (other than who you picked to marry)- Johnny Cage. I feel like I grew up with him. He was an asshole back in the day and I was young and dumb, so I love that shit. But now that he’s older, he’s more mature and and he’s jokes are more mature. I guess we also have Cassie to thank for that. AND Johnny is a great dad. All around great character development.

I’d like to give an Honorable mention to Meat. The one year he was a playable character, he stole my heart. If he kept being in games, he would definitely be my favorite character today . Shout out to Meat, wherever you are my skinless friend.

Tell me about your favorite female character (other than who you picked to marry)- Mileena. She just misunderstood. I wish Kitana would have nice to her. She would have joined the good guys. She just needed a friend, a sister. FeelsBadMan

Tell me about your your least favorite female character- Sonya Blade, her boring military character type, is so… Boring. Also She’s a bad mom and doesn’t deserve Johnny.

Tell me about your least favorite male character- Reptile. Everytime he’s on the screen, I fall asleep.

Tell me about a character that you haven’t seen in a few games and you wish they would come back- Well, Sheeva was in that most recent game but, as non playable side character. So I wish she would be playable in this game or the next.

Tell me about someone who was in the last game who isn’t/ might not be in the new one and it bums you out- MILEENA. They did a bunch of time stuff and they couldn’t bring my misunderstood Queen back? People just hate her because she has the face of a Tarkatan. FEELSBADMAN

Tell me about your favorite Kombat kid- Jackie, even tho she was so stupid in 11. She was much better in 10, character wise. She looks better in 11 tho.

Tell me about your least favorite Kombat kid- I don’t think I have one.

Tell me about a character you feel a personal connection with- Mileena, for all the reasons I listed above.

Tell me about your favorite boss- Shao Khan. Because he the OG boss

What about your least favorite boss- Blaze. Honestly, he’s like a fever dream.

Who’s the best villain- Shao Kahn. He’s just a classic evil boss. And I was so happy to see him in the new game.

If you could have a love triangle, who would fight over you- Hmmm.. I really don’t like love triangles because I’m always clear on who I want. I may like a different person but I always know who I’m going to choose to be in a relationship with.

Who has the best fashion- Mileena. I’d like to say she was Fresh to Death. 🥴

Who would you want to teach you offensive Kombat- Hanzo. He’s such a badass. He’s the best fighter, in my mind. Teach me all your knowledge Fire Senpai.

Who would you want to teach you defensive Kombat- Sub-zero, I guess. He’s been dodging Scorpion for half of his life, so his defense seems to be really good.

Who would teach you swordsmanship- I don’t want to fight with a sword. But if I have to choose, Evil Raiden™ can teach me how to wield his lighting sword… 🤓

And who would you have teach you specialty weapons- I don’t need weapons because if I were a fighter for Earthrealm I’d have some cool powers. But if I really needed a weapon, I’d ask Lui Kang to teach me the ways of the Nunchucks.

Would you join the White Lotus Society, Lin Kuei, special forces, Shirai Ryu, red dragon, black dragon, brotherhood of Shadow, Kotal Kahns team or Mileena’s- The White Lotus Society of course. 😎

Which realm would you prefer to live in- Earthrealm all day baby!

Any ships you like- RAIDEN AND I!… But seriously, I love Liu Kangs and Kitana. They belong together.

Any ships you don’t like- Reptile and anyone.

Get creative, if you were a ninja what would your code name be and what color- Fam. There’s too many ninjas.. The took all the good ideas and colors.

Would you have besties and allies- Yes. Jackie would be my bestie. And I’d long for Mileena to be my bestie and ally. So I’d try to ally with her.

What about your enemies- Even tho Noob Saibot has such a cool name he’d be my enemy because he’s a dick. I’d find a way to un-exist Reptile. Ermac gotta go for ripping off Jax’ arms. Of course, Shao Kahn. I’ll have fun killing him.

Good, evil, neutral, chaotic neutral- Good

Anyone you would date but it wouldn’t work out- Hanzo. Because my heart belongs to the one true Senpai, Raiden

Who would you want as a parental figure- Johnny Cage. He’s a good dad. 10/10 recommend as a parent.

Who do you get advice from- Raiden. So wise and so hot.

Who would you want to see more fanfiction on- Senpai Raiden. We need more Smut about him. No one mentions how ridiculously tall he is. He’s SEVEN Feet Tall. I have a thing for height, so finding that out about him has done things to me. He’s sweet and very Smart. And just wants to do right by Earthrealm. He deserves to get get his dick wet. #GiveRaidenSomeCoochie

@imakuaibaby

[podficsgalore]

The Rescue Party - Chapter 13: The Fated

https://archiveofourown.org/works/36157360/chapters/90130969

Chapter 1: Chapter 2: Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 5: Chapter 6: Chapter 7: Chapter 8: Chapter 9: Chapter 10: Chapter 11: Chapter 12:

Pictures by Jonathan Meyer, Skylar Kang, Luis del Río, Ialesh Aldarwish, Anthony, from Pexels.

No copyright infringement meant, purely nonprofit, only for fun, shits and giggles.

Recorded with the permission of the fanfiction author.

[cosmictapestries]

Another AU August tease.... I can't wait to share this with y'all.

[cosmictapestries]

The first chapter of my new CageBlade fic is up!

Title: Who Wants to Live Forever?

Author: CosmicTapestries

Rating: Explicit due to violence

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Fandoms: Mortal Kombat/ Highlander the Series

Characters: Sonya Blade/ Johnny Cage. Sonya Blade/ Kenshi Takahashi.

Summery:

From the dawn of time they came; moving silently down through the centuries, living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering; when the few who remain will battle to the last.

Immortals have always been told "There can be only one" but what if the rules were to change?

Tossed into a ragtag team of other immortals, Sonya Blade will have to learn to set aside everything she has known, everything she has been taught, to help decide the fate of millions. They will fight, struggle and die together in an ancient tournament known as Mortal Kombat. Everything they've ever known about The Gathering is about to change....

Based on the Day 2 prompt for AU-gust 2023 "Immortals.

[cosmictapestries]

The final tease for my upcoming AU August CageBlade fic! Hoping to have it ready and up by tomorrow or the day after. I'm both terrified and excited to post this one because I've wanted to write it for a long time.

This is my first forte into writing a fusion fic and it's combing two of my favorite fandoms. I hope folks enjoy it!

[angelbroad]

"If you don't stop now-"

Type: Fanfiction

Fandom: Mortal Kombat

Characters: Fujin, Raiden, Madam Bo, Tomas Vrbada, Kakkō, Kuai Liang, Lui Kang

Fujin wiped her brow as she stood up to stretch her legs a little bit, the sun shining down upon her. She smiled at the sky before turning to Raiden.

 “Thanks for the extra hands, Raiden.”

 “Don’t mention it. I admit I, kind off missed the work we did here.”

 “It feels like forever, eh?”

 “You have no idea.”

 Raiden had stopped by Fengjian again, strangely by himself, and had agreed to help Fujin with the harvest while he was here. Him and Kung Lao were two of the most capable farmers they had, so when they left, Fujin took up their chores. She was not complaining though, she was more than happy to help her village thrive.

 She cracked her back, “Oooo! I am starving!”

 Raiden chuckled, “Well, we still have work to do. So try not to eat the harvest.”

 “Fine, I’ll try. But I’m not making any promises.”

 The two continued to work for some time, but Raiden could notice Fujin’s movements were becoming slower. So he decided to act.

 “How about a deal?”

 “Huh?”

 “If you can fill and deliver your cart first, I’m paying for a meal at Madam Bo’s.”

 Fujin’s eyes lit up as she got up and pointed at her brother in challenge.

 “Oh, you’re on!”

 Both worked vigilantly to fill up their cart, and Fujin pushed her cart as soon as it was filled, running towards it so she could catch up with it, pushing it herself. She laughed as she looked behind her. Raiden was catching up with her, their carts now next to each other. They smiled at each other. Fujin then turned her gaze forward in determination, and her cart started picking up the pace. Raiden smiled, proud of his sister’s improvement in speed. He did put up a fight, but he just barely missed the mark, and Fujin won.

 “Ha! Looks like it’s your treat, Raiden.”

 Raiden rolled his eyes and held his hands up in defeat, “Oh come on, I let you win.”

 “Of course you did.”, she sarcastically said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry, I won’t brag about it too much.”

 “I know you won’t, that’s Kung Lao’s thing.”

 They both chuckled, heading off to Madam Bo’s. Raiden smelled the pleasant air in the restaurant, clearly nostalgic. Fujin was more used to the environment, but more as a helper here rather than a customer.

 “I will never not miss this place.”, Raiden admitted.

 “Welcome back you two.”, Madame Bo warmly said as she walked up to the siblings to guide them to a table.

 “Nice to see you too, Madam Bo.”, Raiden said, to which Fujin nodded.

 They both sat on a table, Madam Bo turning to Fujin.

 “You haven’t been here for some time, Fujin.”

 “Ah, sorry Madam Bo.”, she said, scratching the back of her head, “The harvest has left me little time for anything else.”

 She received a smack on the head from the older woman, “Just like Kung Lao, you’ve been full of nothing but excuses. I want to be sure my lessons won’t go to waste in your hands.”

 Fujin rubbed her head where it was lightly smacked, “I know, Madam Bo. I know.”

 Raiden had an odd sense of Deja Vu.

---------

 Fujin wiped her mouth, suppressing a burp. Raiden gave her a look, to which Fujin shrugged. Raiden stared at all the empty bowls and plates on the table.

 “You were starving.”, he said.

 Madam Bo walked over to them, Raiden thanking her for the food before going to hand over the money for the bill. Fujin looked away from the table to look towards the restaurant’s entrance, raising an eyebrow as she watched a group of men in odd uniforms walking in, led by another man with an odd mask and grey clothes. She nudged Raiden’s bicep and gestured towards the odd group. She looked back at Madam Bo and Raiden, who both looked worried. And Madam Bo worrying was never a good sign. Madam Bo looked at Raiden, seemingly asking Raiden what to do with her eyes. Raiden shook his head wearily at her, and she hesitantly left.

 Raiden got up, placing a hand in front of Fujin as if telling her to stay put. Fujin did not like her brother’s sudden change of demeanor one bit, but decided to stay put, since Raiden clearly knew more than her.

 The man with the odd mask turned to their direction, Raiden clearly nervous as he walked around the table, obscuring Fujin’s view slightly.

 “The Shirai Ryu demand reparations, Raiden.”, the man said, his voice clearly modified through the mask.

 Raiden walked closer to the man, meeting him halfway through, “There is nothing for you here, Smoke.”

 Smoke? Who was he, and what did he want from Raiden?, Fujin thought, sparing a glance at the rest of the costumed group that came in who were standing by, waiting for something.

 “It is very simple, Raiden.”, Smoke said, clearly loosing his patience, “You took something from us, and now we want it back.”

 Raiden stole something?!, Fujin thought, now starting to become more alarmed.

 “The amulet never belonged to your clan. Neither of us had the right to have it in the first place, so it is in safe hands now.”

 Smoke furrowed his brows, turning his head at the group in waiting. He nodded at them, and the group begun to go rampant inside the restaurant. Fujin started to get up just as Raiden and Smoke started fighting. Fujin trusted her brother, so she ran to help the people being attacked by the group. She managed to knock down at least two of them, but one of them got up to fight more. Those guys were clearly fighters, but Fujin was just as capable. So thank the heavens for Madam Bo’s lessons. No wonder why the older woman was so insistent on training her.

 After she knocked down that fighter, she heard the sounds of fighting grow louder. She looked over at her brother’s fight with Smoke, and realised the man had a knife. He stabbed Raiden in the gut, hearing her brother screaming in pain before having his head smashed on the railing and knocking him off the balcony.

 “Raiden!”, she screamed, running towards the man in fury.

 The man threw a smoke bomb at her just as she was running towards him. She coughed as she ran through the smoke, her view obscured. She was knocked back against the railing by a kick in her head. She held her head, trying to stop the ringing. She stared down the figure standing in the slowly dissipating dark cloud.

 “This fight is none of your business, kid, stay out of this and you won’t get hurt.”, he said.

 Fujin wiped her mouth, her brows furrowed in anger as she started to take a battle stance.

 “You made it my business the moment you decided to mess with Raiden.”

 She kicked Smoke in the leg, followed by an upercut. She jumped over him after that move so she could punch him in the head from behind, and proceeded to give him two more punches in the chest when he turned around.

 Fujin landed another kick, but this time Smoke retaliated. He landed a punch on her collarbone, Fujin barely dodging the knife coming for her before the man disappeared in a puff of smoke. Before she could realise what was going on, she was kicked in the air from behind. 

 That bastard could teleport??

 She repeated her previous attack, knocking Smoke back. This time, she wouldn’t let him retaliate. Fujin ran towards the man, flying up to kick him in the chest, followed by multiple other kicks while she was still in the air. She failed to land the next kick while she was on the ground, and she couldn’t avoid the knife this time. She flinched back, taking note of a big chunk of her braid on the ground.

 Okay, now she was livid. She kicked and punched relentlesly until the man laid unconscious on the ground. Fujin breathing heavily. She turned her attention to the rest of the warriors, taking them down with ease. After the last one fell, she took a short pause to catch her breath before running for the stairs. Just as she reached the top of the staircase however, she felt a chain wrap around her ankle. She looked down to see what looked like a kunai spear, attached to three other spear heads and connected by a chain. Fujin looked back to see Kakkō on the other end, wearing a strange outfit. They tugged on the chain with both hands, Fujin holding herself on the ground on the first pull, but she couldn’t keep herself balanced on the second tug, getting dragged across the floor and towards the shapeshifter. She finally managed to lift herself up by grabbing the other two kunai spears and stabbing them on the hardwood floor, the chain around her leg loosening enough for her to escape and kick Kakkō upside the head.

 The shapeshifter put some distance between the two as they got up, cracking their neck with an unreadable expression on their face.

 “I knew something was wrong with you.”, Fujin said, “You are part of this as well?!”

 Kakkō pulled back the chains, readying the weapon in their hands, “My loyalty lies with the Shirai Ryu, not with a couple of farm boys.”, they bluntly said.

 That only infuriated Fujin even more, and she prepared for battle.

 “I would be so damn embarrassed to associate myself with the ninja mafia over here!”, she said before punching the shapeshifter in the chest.

 Kakkō knocked her back only to throw and wrap one of the three chains around her bicep, pulling Fujin back to them and elbowing her in the face. While Fujin was stunned, Kakkō shifted into a crow for a moment to move behind her before taking on their human shape to throw the chain around her waist to pull her back and kick her in the back, sending her across the room.

 The shapeshifter was sprinting towards her, and Fujin’s gaze landed on a short katana on the wall. She ripped it from its display and threw it towards the shapeshifter, who dodged. The distraction worked, and Fujin moved to kick them on the chin from the ground, earning a pained noise from the shapeshifter. She did not let up, kicking the shapeshifter in the chest.

 “If you don’t stop now-”, Fujin threatened before moving back to dodge a kick from the shapeshifter.

 Fujin followed it up with a slice of her newly aquired weapon across the shapeshifter’s chest, followed by a punch that knocked them back. Kakkō clenched their cut up clothing, Fujin noticing their black blood, and that their clothes appeared to be breathing. Fujin didn’t let that sight distract her for long, continuing the assault on the shapeshifter.

 She eventually managed to throw the shapeshifter on the wall, piercing the katana on their shoulder to pin them against the wall. Kakkō let out a scream, their hands reaching the weapon in panic, their eyes darting around the room. Black blood flowed down their clothes, staining the yellow fabrics. Fujin left them there while she ran to jump down on the second floor to finally help her brother. When she hopped up the railing, she saw another man standing over Raiden. He was a muscular man, with his black hair tied to a bun. He had a golden ask on, and the tattoo of a scorpion. Before she knew it, she fell for the kunai drag again.

 “Get over here!”, the man shouted as he pulled on the rope, making Fujin fall down from the balcony.

 She quickly got up, shaking her head. She noticed her brother on the ground, clinging onto something. She could see she would have no actual chance of getting near him unless she defeated the remaining man.

 “Leave him alone, he has nothing you need.”

 “You clearly aren’t comprehending the situation that you are in, girl.”, the man said, “You are in over your head if you think you stand a chance against me.”

 “I will defeat you. Just like your shapeshifter and your Smoke.”

 “You stand no chance against the Shirai Ryu’s Grandmaster.”, the man proclaimed as he moved and kicked her stomach, followed by an upercut that sent her flying.

 Fujin tried to kick him repeatedly, only succeeding on landing one kick before the kunai spear came back. The blows she had taken from Kakkō’s fight were nothing compared to what she was dealing with now, the strength of the blows making her drop to her knees. She landed a kick on the man’s gut, which he followed with three strong kicks on her head.

 She was disoriented for a few moments, but she managed to snap out of it quick enough to avoid a punch from the man. She punched him for a change, knocking him back, but she didn’t expect what happened next. The man went for an upercut, which Fujin avoided, but his hand was covered in flames. She jumped back, narrowly avoiding another fire pillar that burst from the ground.

 Pyromancy?

 She was grabbed by the spear again and pulled towards the man, but this time, she used her free hand to punch him in the head, following it with a kick when the spear let her go. She continued the assault with punches, and she finally ended it with an uppercut and an air kick to the head, the man falling on his back unconscious.

 Fujin nearly fell on the ground as she caught her breath, making sure she was not seriously injured. She then ran to Raiden, who was laying on the ground.

 “R-Raiden?! Are you okay?! Raiden-!”

 “Oh I am.”, he said nonchalantly, catching Fujin by surprise.

 Raiden got up and Fujin followed. She then looked down and noticed Raiden was never injured by the blade. Fujin gave her brother a dumbfounded look.

 “Raiden, what was this about? Why did you make me worry like that? And who are these guys?”, she asked, gesturing at everyone around them.

 She then heard footsteps, readying herself to fight again. Another man entered the room, one wearing very odd clothes, and part of his long hair was held up by a small bun and a bandana. But by far his most distinguished features, were his glowing eyes and tattoos.

 “Fujin. It is great to finally meet you in person.”

 The girl looked at him in confusion, her body becoming more tense, “How do you know my name?”

 “Raiden has told me, and so has Madam Bo.”

 Fujin whipped her head around to look at Raiden, an interrogating look on her face. Admittedly, he did look guilty about this.

 “There is no need to be abrasive, Fujin. I am here to answer the questions that you no doubt have asked yourself and Raiden for the past two years.”

 At the sound of these words, Fujin started lowering her fists, but she did not drop her battle readiness.

 The man continued, putting his hands together and bowing in greeting.

 “I am Lord Lui Kang, God of Fire, and Protector of Earthrrealm. Today, you have been chosen to join your brother and your friend Kung Lao alongside my champions.”

 Fujin looked stunned, “Chosen..? God....? What do you mean-what is all this?”

 “A test, of your character and ability.”, he then turned to look at the man on the ground, “Kuai Liang.”, and then he turned his gaze upwards, “Tomas, Kakkō.”

 And then, everyone that Fujin had knocked out were getting up. The group of the masked warriors stood on top of the balcony while Tomas and Kakkō descended the stairs, the katana still on the shapeshifter’s shoulder. Fujin winced at the sight of Kakkō reaching for the weapon and pulling it out of their flesh with a wet sound, black blood gushing from their wound. Tomas gave them a concerned look.

 “A-Are you okay?”, he asked.

 “’Tis but a scratch.”, Kakkō responded, throwing the weapon on the ground.

 Fujin pointed a finger at Kakkō, “You are not off the hook yet!”

 “This is the Shirai Ryu.”, Lui Kang explained, “A clan formed by Kuai Liang, in order to protect Earthrealm.”

 Kuai Liang nodded slowly from his place a few feet away from Fujin.

 “Everything will be answered, Fujin. In time. For now, we must be going. The monks at the Wu Shi Academy await to continue your tutelage.”

 Fujin was ready to protest futher, but was stopped as Raiden placed a hand on her shoulder.

 “Fujin, you are one of the strongest and most capable people I know. And I trust you enough now to let you join us in protecting our home, together.”

 “Did you not trust me before this elaborate test?”

 “I did.”, Raiden said, “I just wished the testing process wasn’t so....”, he looked at his sister’s chopped up braid, “..off the rails.”

 “I-I’m sorry about that.”, Tomas sheepishly said from a little further away.

 “It’s fine, it’s just hair.”, Fujin said before turning back to Raiden.

 “Raiden, I told you to have more faith in me! I thought we were past keeping secrets.”

 “Your brother could not risk lowering your guard.”, Lui Kang said, “You were chosen because of your extraordinary skills. And I know you have a good heart. You can refuse my offer if you wish to do so.”

 Fujin looked away from the god and back at Raiden, and after a sigh, she confirmed her stay.

 “Only on one condition. No more secrets, Raiden.”

 Raiden nodded, “Yes, no more secrets, Fujin. I have faith in you.”

 Fujin allowed a small smile to cross her lips.

 This....was going to be weird.

[angelbroad]

"Who takes care of you?"

Type: Fanfiction

Fandom: Mortal Kombat

Characters: Bi-Han, Kakkō, Kuai Liang, Lui Kang

The first time Bi-Han had encountered Kakkō was in the Fire Temple. Him and Lui Kang had some important things to discuss, and he noticed that one of his brothers, the actual one, was absent. Even if he had been there with them a few moments ago. He hummed, and squinted his eyes at the door.

 “Where did Kuai Liang go?”, he asked, Tomas turned his head to him, and so did Lui Kang.

 “Huh.”, the god said, “I did not notice he was gone. Outside, perhaps?”

 Before Lui Kang finished the second half of his statement, Bi-Han was already out the door. Bi-Han could hear the faint voice of his brother, his tone sounding like an instructor.

 “-and throw.”

 He heard a weird splatting sound, and he rounded the corner to see a kunai spear on the ground that had caught an apple. But it was not his brother’s. The spear pulled back, Bi-Han seeing it retreat in the hands of a teenager. The kid presented the pierced apple to Kuai Liang.

 “Hey, I did that without the shackle!”, they said, Kuai Liang placed a hand on their head.

 “Good progress, kid-”

 “Kuai Liang.”

 The two turned to see Bi-Han at the entrance, the kid practically freezing in silent terror at the sight of him. Bi-Han could tell they tried not to show their fear, doing their best to present themselves properly. He sighed.

 “Kuai Liang, what are you doing back here?”

 “Apologies, brother. I had gotten distracted.”

 “Now you are mentoring shaolin?”

 “I am not a shaolin!”

 The two looked at the kid, causing it to retreat into itself metaphorically.

 “S-Sorry.”

 Bi-Han looked at their kunai spear. It was indeed entirely different from Kuai Liang’s. 

 “When did you even have time to find them one?”, he asked, refering to the weapon.

 “Kakkō already had it.”, Kuai Liang explained, “It was given to them by a previous, older Scorpion, I was helping them refresh their memory.”

 A previous Scorpion? Were they acquianted with the Lin Kuei?

 “We have actual work to do, Kuai Liang. We did not come here to train novices.”

 “I am more than capable, I will let you know that.”

 “Kakkō, don’t bother. Bi-Han is just tired.”, Kuai Liang explained, the smaller warrior obeying and stepping back.

 Bi-Han raised an eyebrow, but did not let it linger long before asking Kuai Liang to come back inside. He saw the kid again before they left, talking to Tomas. He couldn’t catch what they were talking about, but Tomas had shown his ability to turn into puffs of smoke a few times, the teen looking very amused. He had asked Lui Kang about this, already knowing their name, Kakkō. Apparently, they were orphaned three years back, and he took them in to be raised by the monks to stop taking out their anger at everyone within close proximity.

 He never payed much attention to them after this, or at least he tried to. The kid had the habit of hanging upside down from the raftors like a bat, making it their life’s mission to give him a heart attack. But Bi-Han was not the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei for nothing. He would deter the attempts at scares every time, the closest he had gotten to an actual heart attack being the one and only time when Kakkō had stolen the pendant with his mother’s picture in it. They only apologised because Kuai Liang told them to.

 After this incident, he decided to watch Kakkō more closely. He saw just how much they devoted themselves to kombat. Most of the time, he’d find them in the training grounds, bashing everything around them. Kuai Liang still offered them his tutelage, Kakkō visibly learning from his lessons. So they were a fast learner. He had stayed a few times to watch their daily rampage through the training grounds. They would not stop until every dummy was broken into multiple pieces.

 Bi-Han would not lie, he was becoming more interested in this kid. In Lui Kang’s words, they just reached sixteen, so still a child, but a very damn capable one.

 The second most significant time he had encountered Kakkō was during one of the very rare missions they were handling. The underground operations of the Black Dragon required their attention, and Bi-Han was eager for kombat, even if his thrill had died down slightly at the sight of guns. Cowards’ weapons.

 They were no match for Bi-Han and his Lin Kuei, but they had an advantage of firepower. They had taken down a significant amount of this ‘Kano’’s goons, and Bi-Han was able to retrieve the artifact they had stolen from the Fire Temple. Holding it, however, became painful. The artifact was imbued with magic, and it quickly became too much for Bi-Han to even touch. He considered encasing it in ice, and he failed to notice a lackey ready to shoot him. 

 Just as he heard the shot ring out, another object flew right in front of him, landing on the ground right in front of his feet. Bi-Han saw it was a kunai spear held by a chain. It managed to pierce the bullet that would have no doubt hit him. The kunai spear jolted itself off the ground, and pierced the other man’s skull instead.

 Kakkō hopped down from the raftors, “You okay?”

 “Why are you here?”, Bi-Han interrogated, trying to stop Kakkō from taking the artifact in their hands, “Stop that! It’s-”

 Kakkō took it in their hands and sprinted down the halls, motioning for him to follow along.

 “Come on! The others are waiting for you!”

 Bi-Han temporarily shook away his confusion, sprinting after them with his Lin Kuei following the duo’s lead. Bi-han and Kakkō fought side by side that day, the man finally seeing the kid in an actual battle. He had to help out once or twice, but they held their own like a fine warrior. Bi-Han also noticed that Kakkō was not affected by the artifact’s overwhelming magic. He would ask later, for now, they focused on clearing out the base and getting out.

 They successfully returned the artifact, Lui Kang chiding Kakkō for leaving and bothering Subzero without permission. The child shrugged it off and simply left with a remark about Lui Kang’s vision. Bi-han would seek them out later, finding them sitting on the roof overlooking the training arena of the Wu Shi.

 “Who takes care of you?”, he asked.

 “Excuse me?”

 “I haven’t seen that much self-destructing behaviour ever in my life. Not even with Kuai Liang.”

 Kakkō scoffed, “If Lui Kang wants my respect, he’s gotta earn it. And he has done jack shit about it yet.”

 “To me, you just sound ungrateful.”

 The look he received might as well have been poison to the eyes, but the kid remained silent. Bi-Han continued.

 “The artifact, that thunder amulet, how were you able to hold it?”

 “Couldn’t you?”

 “No.”, he bluntly said, “Its magic was too much to bear.”

 Kakkō looked away, “My family had a resistance to strong magics. Weird genetic stuff.”, they said, and Bi-Han nodded.

 “Do you not have any distant relatives-?”

 “Lui Kang made sure my clan was wiped from history.”

 Bi-Han stopped talking, looking up at the child wordless. Lui Kang, advocating for genocide? He found that very hard to believe, but it would explain Kakkō’s distain for him. They clearly were here because they had nowhere else to go.

 He stepped forward and into the arena.

 “Get down from here.”, he said.

 Kakkō looked at him, hesitant. The silver accents of his armor glimmered under the moonlight and the few lanterns that were present in the pit. They hopped down, the two of them now standing on opposite ends of the arena.

 “What is this about-?”, Kakkō had to dodge an ice beam that went right for them, but it ended up hitting the entrance patio behind them instead. They breathed heavily, looking at Bi-Han with worry in their eyes.

 Bi-Han begun forming another ice attack in his hands, “Fight.”

 Kakkō clearly did not want to fight. They were dodging Bi-Han's attacks every time they could, rarely even swinging back. Bi-Han needed to test this one, and if he were to do that, he’d need the kid to fight.

 “I know you can hit me.”, he commented, strengthening the blow of his attacks. He could see the kid was struggling, but they still would not retaliate. He needed something to push them to fight.

 “Look at you, struggling against someone in a training exercise.”

 “Shut up-”

 “Your family would be ashamed of you.”

 Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. He had to avoid a swing of the kunai spear that came for his face. Kakkō was moving faster towards him, blocking the ice attacks with both the kunai and sometimes their bare hands, not caring about the ice sticking to their body. They managed to make contact with Bi-Han, snarling like a wild animal as they kicked and punched with the strength and technique of a seasoned warrior. They were fast, and Bi-Han was knocked to the ground, the chain of Kakkō’s kunai spear wrapping around his neck as the child was gripping the chain tightly on top of him, teeth gritting and tears in their eyes.

 “Keep...my family...out of your fucking mouth.”

 Bi-Han moved to stop the chain from choking him, Kakkō following his lead and loosening their hold on the chain. They both got up, Bi-Han helping Kakkō with some leftover ice that got stuck on their clothes and skin. He took notice of how the kid shivered.

 “Not a fan of the cold?”

 Kakkō shook their head as they both sat on the patio, Bi-Han removing thick shards from their freezing hands, checking them for frostbite.

 “Well, you look okay so far.”

 Kakkō pulled back their arm as soon as he confirmed their well being, the two sitting in awkward silence. Bi-Han sighed.

 “I will not be bringing up your family again.”

 “Good.”

 Eventually, Kakkō spoke again.

 “Why did you even want to fight me?”

 “Personal matters.”, Bi-Han replied before getting up to walk off, “Get some rest. You will need it.”

 Kakkō scoffed with a slight smile, “What? Are you my Grandmaster?”

 Bi-Han did not answer their question, instead leaving to go seek out Lui Kang. The god’s plate was almost always full, and currently he was making prepartions to find Earthrealm its champions, dulling the artifact’s magic in the process to make it more bearable to hold.

 Eventually, Lui Kang could afford to give Subzero some time.

 “Do you not have Kakkō?”, he asked when the Tournament was brought up, “Both them and the higher ranks of the Lin Kuei would make excellent champions.”

 “The process of choosing a champion is no easy task, my friend.”, Lui Kang explained, in that condescending tone Bi-Han hated so much, “I must consider their ability and character. Strength and spirit.”

 Bi-Han knew they would just go in circles if this topic continued, exhaling in response.

 “You wish to speak to me about Kakkō?”, the god asked, gently blowing at his cup of tea to cool it enough to drink.

 “I do.”, Bi-Han said as he took a quick glance at his own cup before averting his gaze. “You said yourself they were no shaolin, and their fighting style only confirms it. They fight more like Kuai Liang every day, along with some other, distant technique.”

 Lui Kang nodded as he took a sip of his tea, allowing Bi-Han to continue talking.

 “They clearly have talent, but refuse to utilise it. Because you have them cooped up in here instead of using them.”

 Lui Kang gave Bi-Han a look, “What do you mean?”

 “Tell me, is there any other reason as to why they almost never leave the grounds of the Fire Temple and the Wu Shi?”

 “Kakkō had a hard life, Bi-Han. After the loss of their family, and later on their mentor, they refused to associate themselves with any group, the fear of them being taken away being too much for a child to bear.”

 “That clearly hasn’t stopped them from glueing themselves to my brother’s hip.”

 “Is this what you wanted to talk to me about? Kakkō’s attachment to your brother?”

 “No. Though, it still has to do with the kid.”

 “.....Go on.”

 “As I said, Kakkō clearly has talent they refuse to utilise, but a few weeks ago, back in the Wu Shi training grounds, I got a glimpse of what Kakkō could accomplish in kombat. Kuai Liang tells me of their progress each day, like they are one of his students.”

 “What are you trying to say, Bi-Han?”

 “I wish for Kakkō to join the Lin Kuei.”

 Lui Kang nearly choked on his tea, hacking and coughing to stabilise his throat again. Bi-Han gave him an offended look from across the table, which Lui Kang picked up on.

 “I-It is not that I do not consider you and your clan capable, Bi-han. I would not have appointed you to such position otherwise!”

 “Then what is the problem?”, Bi-Han asked, clearly not happy.

 Lui Kang could not tell him anything, and he clearly did not know about Kakkō’s true nature, their history with the Lin Kuei and himself. He knew very well he could not continue to force them into anything. He didn’t want to end up bringing the Kakkō from the previous timelines out of the younger version.

 He closed his eyes and silently swallowed, “I do not want to force them into anything, Bi-Han.”, he said, “You will have to ask them yourself.”

 “So be it.” 

[angelbroad]

"Is it over? Is it really over?"

Type: Fanfiction

Fandom: Mortal Kombat

Characters: Kakkō, Lui Kang, Kuai Liang

Kakkō looked down at Shang Tsung, the Titan version of him, that is. They looked down at his bloody and battered body, and they could not help but think.

 “Is it over? Is it really over?”

 Lui Kang ran next to where Kakkō was standing.

 “And they called me the chosen one.”

 “Did you expect me to fail? I can end him right here and now.”

 “You have done more than enough. Please permit me to end this.”, Lui Kang said before turning the Titan to specs of sand.

 Kakkō believed it was over the moment Shang Tsung was gone, but then the ground begun to rumble, the rock of the pyramid cracking underneath their feet.

 “W-What’s happening??”, the panicked shapeshifter asked.

 “Without Shang Tsung and the hourglass to stabilise the timeline, it’s crumbling apart!”, Lui Kang announced, already working on making a portal with his magic for Kakkō, “You must return to our timeline, before it’s too late. Farewell, Kakkō. May we one day meet again.”

 Flames surrounded Kakkō, but they did not burn, and soon enough, all they could see was white.

-----------------

 They awoke inside a futon, their bones aching as they sat up. Well, they had no bones, but Kakkō assumed that’s what it would feel like. The door of the small room creaked open, Kakkō spotting Kuai Liang’s sillouette. They turned to look at him.

 “Where are we?”, Kakkō asked.

 Kuai Liang lowered himself to sit on their level, giving them some fresh rice cake soup. The shapeshifter gobbled it up, happy to finally have food inside them. Kuai Liang patted their back.

 “You will need it.”, he said, “We will be leaving for Japan soon.”

 Kakkō got up, and so did Kuai Liang.

 “Why are we leaving?”, they asked.

 “Bi-Han has betrayed us, that you know.”, Kuai Liang responded, “But Earthrealm still needs its defenders. Tomas and I have been planning to leave, start anew.”

 “A new clan.”, Kakkō guessed, to which Kuai Liang nodded.

 He placed a hand on their shoulder, “You have proven yourself time and time again, that you are capable, compassionate, and resourceful. You, of all people, deserve a chance at a family again.”

 Kakkō’s eyes widened, releasing themselves from Kuai Liang’s hold and stepping back. They pinched themselves, attempting to make sure they were not dreaming. They were not, they were very much awake. Kakkō looked at the man in disbelief.

 “...Are you....pulling my leg..?”, they asked.

 “I am not, why would you think I am?”

 Kakkō almost laughed, “I-last time someone wanted to recruit me was your brother in the Lin Kuei. How do I know I’m not getting into something I’ll regret?”

 Kuai Liang sighed.

 “Kakkō. I know about what happened in the past.”

 The shapeshifter had their gaze fixed at him, silent fear in their eyes as he continued.

 “I know who you are, what you are. And I know that all of this, it was not your fault.”

 “....W-What..?”

 “You never deserved any of this, all this loss in the hands of my former clan. I know you are hurt, and I know that some things will never be forgiven. But I can understand you, I can understand your anger, your saddness-I have been there.”

 “No you haven’t.”, Kakkō bluntly stated, “I know damn well you never experienced what I have.”

 “Maybe not to such extent.”, Kuai Liang agreed, “But I know loss. I lost both my mother and unborn sister when I was still a child, and then my father just when I started entering adulthood. Many students of mine, ones I had cared about to a great extent, I lost to varying reasons. And I don’t want to loose you too, Kakkō.”

 Kakkō looked down and to the side, they did not know what to say. So, they looked back at Kuai Liang.

 “Why Japan?”, they asked.

 “Lui Kang had told me the original Scorpion had been from here. The true Scorpion, and not a stolen title from the Lin Kuei.”

 “So..he finally came clean.”

 Kakkō was not sure how to feel. Kuai Liang continued.

 “He, Lui Kang, told me that the man was still alive, ruling over the Netherrealm.”

 Kakkō’s head shot up to look at Kuai Liang.

 “He....is still here?”

 “Yes. You two knew each other, right?”

 “Are you trying to get me to recruit my old Master?”

 “I....I am not saying that.”

 “But you thought about it.”

 After a very long silence, Kakkō sighed, and walked closer to Kuai Liang, gently placing the empty bowl in his hands.

 “I...don’t know where this road will take me, Kuai Liang. And I’m....scared.”, they admitted, “But..I have seen that you and Tomas are good people. I want to believe you are.”

 Kuai Liang nodded, “Trust takes time, I can understand.”

 They quietly moved to the small kitchen to wash the plates. Kakkō leaned on Kuai Liang’s side, the man wrapping an arm around the smaller shapeshifter.

 Kakkō was wrong, this was not over. It was only beginning.

[angelbroad]

"It's not too late, lets go."

Type: Fanfiction

Fandom: Mortal Kombat

Characters: Raiden, Kung Lao, Kakkō, Lui Kang

 “I’m sorry Raiden, I don’t get it. It’s the twenty-second of February, how does it make sense to be celebrating a New Year?”

 Raiden chuckled before explaining, “Because here we celebrate with the lunisolar calendar, and it marks the year of the rabbit today, so New Years.”

 “Oooohhh. I didn’t know that.”

 “I know, you just told me.”

 “Well, still, what does it have?”

 “Have you never been to a festival before?”, Kung Lao commented from across the table.

 Kakkō rolled their eyes at him, “Oh shut up, I didn’t have time for festivals.”

 “Right right, you had shaolin work to do.”, Kung Lao sarcastically responded as he toyed with his new hat.

 “Well, I think that just opens up an opportunity!”, Raiden said.

 Kakkō looked at Raiden, “What do you mean?”

 “Since you’ve never been to a festival before, we can take you with us today! Is there something you particularly want to see?”

 The shapeshifter looked at the table, holding their chin in thought. They soon raised their head slightly as they answered Raiden’s question.

“I guess..I would like to see the fireworks.”

 “Just how sheltered are you?”, Kung Lao questioned, “Have you seriously never seen fireworks before?”

 “I don’t know, have you ever fought a pyromancer and cryomancer at the same day before?”

 “Well, yes but only once-”

 “Then there is a first time for anything!”

 “Those are two completely different things!”

 “Guys! No need to get heated up over something so trivial.”, Raiden reasoned, both his friends turning away from each other with a pout, which was a bit hilarious to see. He laughed a little, “Well, what do you say Kakkō? You, me, and Kung Lao going to the festival. I’m sure we’ll have a great time.”

 Kakkō looked at him with a mixture of excitement and softness, “Absolutely! Let’s do it!”

 “Do what, Kakkō?”

 The three turned to see Lui Kang just entering the room, Raiden and Kung Lao greeting him with respect.

 “Lord Lui Kang.”, Raiden stated, “We were thinking about attending this New Year’s festival.”

 “I see.”, Lui Kang responded, “But I must remind you, you have work to do in the Wu Shi as well. We do not have much time before the tournament takes place.”

 “Of course, Lord Lui Kang.”

 Lui Kang nodded, and left the three to their devices. Kung Lao picked up his half-finished hat and placed it on his head.

 “Well, you heard Lord Lui Kang. We have training to do.”

 “If Raiden beats you, I get to eat your dumplings.”

 “Oh, you’re on!”

 “K-Kakkō! Don’t drag me into this!”

 The shapeshifter shrugged, “Sorry.”

 Their day at the Wu Shi felt more dragged on than usual, Kakkō constantly looking at the sky to make sure they wouldn’t miss the festival. Elder Gods be damned if they missed the fireworks again. They had been around festivals before, they certainly knew what they were, but they would never stick around for long, always forced to admire the colorful lights from afar. But this time, they would make sure to enjoy it up close. With people they loved this time.

 This was easier said than done. Because no matter how fast Kakkō finished their chores, the monks always seemed to have more work coming their way. It was like they had a vedetta against them having fun. Hope was slowly being lost as Kakkō watched the sky darken above them, and as the faint sounds of the festival reached their enhanced ears, they silently mourned the loss of their chance.

 “Are you okay?”, Raiden asked as the two sweeped the floors of the dining area.

 Kakkō sighed, “I missed my chance again.”, they said as they slumped against their broom, “Now I’ll miss the fireworks again.....”

 Raiden gave them an understanding look, “Well, we were needed here, and you know well that our realm needs us.”

 Kakkō let out a groaning noise from their throat.

 “Maybe next year we’ll catch it.”, Raiden said.

 Just as Raiden went back to sweeping, however, Kung Lao burst into the room, running up towards them.

 “You two!”

 ”Kung Lao. Is everything alright-?”

 “The festival.”, Kung Lao stated as he halted to a stop in front of them.

 “It’s too far. We won’t make it in time...”, Kakkō sulked.

 “Nuh-uh. It’s not too late, let’s go.”

 “I think I have to agree with Kakkō on this one, Kung Lao. The festival is too far  for us, we won’t make it in time.”

 “You are right. We won’t make it in time, as humans.”

 The two raised their heads to look at him, then each other, and the next thing they knew they were flying through the skies and towards the festival. The two boys held onto their hats for dear life as Kakkō carried both of them in each hand.

 “Do we weight anything to you??”

 “Nah, it’s like holding a couple of grapes.”

 They finally arrived at the festival. Kakkō landed on a rooftop, placing their friends down carefully. Just as they retracted their black wings back into their being, the sky lit up. The three turned their gazes to the sky, admiring the colorful fireworks erupting above. Kakkō’s white pupils dilated at the sight, feeling the warmth of the fireworks on their skin. 

 Kung Lao turned to them.

 “Told you it wasn’t too late.”