Behind the Arcade: The MK Gang on the Sight (Only MK interviews/fanfiction).
By Kitana Skywalker.

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. All belongs to Midway.
Author's Note: I would like to thank publicly to Snafu the Great to lend me the plot of his own interviews. Second and lastly, if I have spelling mistakes, please let me know because I am trying to learn this language. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this story.
Summary: Some fics and my favorite magazine inspired me to do this type of interview and sure I will make some features like those of the magazines. But the idea is interview the MK characters like the celebrities in the real life. Bold text is me speaking.
Timeline: No timeline.

Chapter 1: Scorpion: The Point of View from a Guy of Okinawa...

It's a rainy midday in Tokyo, or more exactly, in the district of Chiyoda. This interview is taking place in the famous Peacock's Eye, a place where Hanzo –the real name of our interviewee- is more well-known than he would like to admit. He arrives with some minutes of delay, but he is a guy so charming that you can forgive him anything. He enters the bar with confidence, the same who radiate when he talks with you. The person present greet and cheers him as a demonstration of popularity, given the fact he is one of the main characters of one of the most successful fighting videogames franchises, Mortal Kombat. He is polemic, frank and funny. The life, career and the points of view of Hanzo Hasashi will be in this interview.

-I'm so sorry for the delay; I'm not used to arrive late.

Don't worry. It seems you were born for this...
-(Smiles) Yes, and I think this is fantastic. Since I had awareness, I always wanted to be famous and respected inside the world of the martial arts.

Changing of subject, ¿How you deal with your big success without fall in the excesses?
-Trying to the most well-balanced guy that I can everyday. Getting the place I have now took many years of effort and sacrifice. I love my job in Midway, I have a lovely and beautiful wife and my little girls adore me. I'm not prepared to throw all for stupid things.
Coming from a poor family from Okinawa, in which your mother died young by cancer, your father exploited you in martial arts tournaments since you were a child and a little sister who born with a cerebral palsy made me being more independent and solitary than I wanted to be. To root of my past, I really appreciate my present.

So, your childhood wasn't happy.
-Not of all. I always remember my mother Rei, and my sister Maki, with much affection and love but my father, a corrupted police from my native city, is another thing. Mishima Heihachi from Tekken is nothing next to my father. He always obliged me to participate in tournaments to snatch me the money I won in order to go to drink alcohol with his friends as my mother and my sister were sick in home. I get mad everytime I remember that.

¿He taught you in martial arts, right?
- It's true up to a point. Aside of all, he was a master in Hapkido style and he was a competent fighter. He started my training when I was five. I don't know how he did to go to work, drink with his friends and training me. I didn't learn Pi Gua until I arrived to the States.

¿And what did you with your father?
-After the decease of my sister, my mother was gone too and I had everything carefully worked out. In her deathbed, I promised her not to be like my father so I thought the best way to fulfill my promise was leaving Okinawa. Knowing that I had nothing to stay here, I rebelled against my father and he got mad because the money supply for more drink ended. I was eighteen when all of this happened.

And you swelled the list of famous ronins. There are many famous cases in which many ronins got the stardom following a long and hard way to reach it for their condition. We have Iori Yagami, Jin Kazama, Ryu Houshi and the list goes on and on. The question is, ¿Do you feel part of this group?
-To answer your question, I think I was predisposed to be a ronin. For some logical reason I knew from the beginning, since I was a mere boy that my bad relationship with my father was going to end with he declaring me a ronin. Anyway, I don't consider part of any group of nothing.
In spite of being declared a ronin, with all that means, I felt free for first time in my life. In that way I could make the things I wanted without the permission of nobody. So, then to left Okinawa I arrived to Tokyo and started to compete in clandestine tournaments to earn my own money to leave Japan so soon as I could in order to travel to the States looking for my opportunity.

Like you said, you reached your objective pretty fast. And you met Sub-Zero in the States, ¿right?
-Yes. I met him in the final of a illegal tournament in California. He was a scrawny guy coming from some rural region of China. As I much hate to say this, I underestimate and even I made fun of him. He only limited to stay calm and he ended beating my ass. I could lost the match, but reckless I won a friend. Many tournaments passed when I found a advert in the newspaper of a casting organized by Midway for their fighting videogame "Mortal Kombat". I put my name, passed all the tests and they called me.

And here starts your way to the glory... meeting him again.
-At the beginning, I couldn't believe he was here. When I discovered he was in the game, I asked him if he wanted the rematch. And Sub-Zero agreed. This time I won the fight and he admitted he wasn't ready. I improved my skills he made me know that. My relationship with Sub-Zero is like Victor Sagat and Ryu Houshi friendship: we are rivals inside the arena but outside of it we're friends. The part of the archenemies and enmity is only part of the plot, nothing real.

So, the "ego's war" between you and Sub-Zero inside in the set, don't exist, ¿right?
-You have said that. Don't exist. That is a invention of pointless gossip magazines. I simply limited to laugh of those stupidities.

Speaking of other terms, ¿Who inspired you to build your character?
-No one in special because I build Scorpion in basis to my personal experiences. But I'm a big fan of Star Wars and I can say Darth Vader influenced me a lot.

Then, the 'Get over here!' boosted more your popularity, becoming your trademark move ¿Who invented the 'Come here!' or 'Get over here!'?
-Like the Toasty, that was a bright idea from the Ed Boon and John Tobias. All the credits to them.

The success of the first "Mortal Kombat" insured you in the next hit of Midway "Mortal Kombat II". But the success arrived with controversy given the levels of violence and blood. ¿Do you think that is an a exaggeration?
-Sincerely, yes. If I don't take a conscientious care of my children and I buy them all the videogames ranked with a M knowing those games are for a adult audience, then I should stay with my mouth very closed and taking my responsibilities if my child attack others trying to imitate the game. I insist, for example, is not my fault if some idiot has the bright idea of make a Toasty to their friends trying to imitate me.

And in this game you meet your present wife being married with another woman. ¿What happened with your first wife?
-Being really honest, my first wife was real mythomaniac bitch. I had the disgrace of met her when I arrived here. I was no one in this circle, so she offered her help to me being my manager in my tournament fights. But in some moment we "fell in love" and we get married in 1991. That was the biggest mistake in all my life.
The worst was still to come; she started to show her huge levels of narcissism and materialism. With her, -Cho was her name- all was money, money, money and more money and she never took the nuisance of take care of me and I was the sufficiently naive to stay thinking in a possible solution to my problems with her and try to save my marriage.
But one day, I decided to start to look for outside the things I hadn't in my house. My work and my success leaded me to meet many people, and earlier than latter I met Megan during the shooting of 'Mortal Kombat II'. When I met Megan the only thing I wanted to do was spend time with her because she was a beautiful person, not only for her physical appearance and I ended understanding that my marriage was a complete farce.

And obviously, you got divorced of your first wife in order to stay with Megan.
-Exactly. I had a nasty divorce but at least I was going to assure myself stay away from that stark raving mad for my own calmness and mental health. The last thing I knew about her after the divorce she was deported from USA and returned to Japan completely ruined.
Aside of how Midway portraits Megan's character, (he grins) she is the most lovely, caring, fun and selfless person I ever met in my life. I know I'm sounding cheesy, but when I met her, I understood that she was the right person for me. She is the love of my life, I swear.

Speaking of your family, ¿how old are your girls?
-Kira is eleven years old and Miki is seven.

Picking up the conversation about the videogames, you were present in the roster of another hits of Midway, as "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3" and "Mortal Kombat Trilogy" those titles sent directly to the stardom. And for that time, you proposed marriage to Megan. ¿Do you felt that the life was reconciling with you?
-Yes. Separating the success of my job, for the first time in my life I felt what was the true happiness and therefore, I owe much to Megan. She taught me to be happy with the simple things of the life and I learned from her the true meaning of the word 'family'. That gave me the strength to fulfill the promise I made to my sister before she died.

You were known to admit you like to fight in street fights to keep fit. The question is, ¿Have you had fights with other fighters known from other fighting games?
-Setting aside my colleagues from Midway as Sub-Zero, Rayden or Kung Lao, I have had several fights with several wrestlers, but be careful, I have not only fought against people from 'King of Fighters', 'Killer Instinct' or 'Street Fighter'. A considerable number of people who moves into the world of anime have tried to attack me without getting good results. But answering your question, I have faced against Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, the Bogards, Kim Kaphwan, Joe Higashi, Ash Crimson and Geese Howard from 'King of Fighters', against Ryu Houshi, Ken Masters, Vega de la Cerna, Victor Sagat, Bison and Akuma from 'Street Fighter', also against Fulgore and Jago of 'Killer Instinct', these guys of Namco, I mean, from Tekken like Jin Kazama or Paul Phoenix, and Soul Calibur as Siegfried Schtauffen, Cervantes de León and Voldo and the list goes on and on.

Wow! Pretty long the list. ¿Do you remember some matches in special?
-Yes. For example, I remember the match against Iori Yagami. Unlike Kusanagi, Yagami is really skilled in the art of the street fight. And taking on count both were ronins we gave the 100% in the match. The same applies to Akuma, Ryu Houshi and Jin Kazama.
Anyway, I made a good impression of the guys of Capcom. Always is funny pick a fight against Sagat or Vega because you know they will give the 100% of their potentials in a fight. But unfortunately, I can't say the same from some guys from another companies, some not all, I want to clarify. For example, is very pleasant fight against Terry Bogard or Jago, but I can't say the same with cheaters like Ash Crimson or Voldo.

Earlier you subtly panned Kyo Kusanagi. ¿Why do you said your that sentence?
-Because never lack the guys with bad manners like him. Up to a point, in basis to my years of fighting the confidence in your skills is good, but when you cross the line of the overconfidence and the bad manners, too bad. And it is better worse when you find out they had been crying and speaking of you behind the back. I can understand guys like Crimson or Voldo, because they aren't won to no one and I seriously doubt someday get something, but guys with a great potential like Kyo Kusanagi, is a shame.

Some time ago, Ryu Houshi said that the novices picked fights against him in order to boost their careers. ¿What is your impression about that? ¿Do you feel identified?
-No. I don't feel identified in that group. Speaking only for myself, I can say I didn't need kick important asses to boost my career. All the things I've done, I did knowing my abilities. If another guys like Liu Kang decided pick a fight against Houshi in a festival to be more popular taking the easy way, that will be Kang's problem, not mine.

Speaking about controversies, ¿Is that true that you pulled the condition that Liu Kang must stay out of the shooting of Deadly Alliance?
-No. Eventhough I'm not a friend of Kang, I didn't put that condition. If he missed the shooting of Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance, he must have his reasons. I have more important things to take care than his oneself airs.

Changing the subject, in 'Deadly Alliance' you showed a bit of your humor sense in the video 'Cooking with Scorpion'. ¿Care to comment?
-(He laughs) Sure. I'm a guy who always laughs of himself. And taking on count I'm pretty bad cooking, I decided join both things and there we have 'Cooking with Scorpion'. Ed Boon and the MKTeam loved it and they included that in the bonus track of 'Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance'.

The new MK era, I mean, 'Deadly Alliance' and 'Deception' marked your entrance to the recognition. The question is ¿How a guy with more of ten years in this industry could maintain current himself?
-Trying to reinvest my character and myself too. And keeping my fans OK because I'm very conscious that a very good part of my success is thanks to them. In this industry you had to reinvest constantly because the competition is very hard.

In the promotion of 'Deception', your wife, Megan, made a hot photographic session with the sais to promote the videogame ¿What is your opinion about that?
-My opinion is that I'm proud of her. She is more attractive than a ordinary woman of more thirty-five years old and she has a body that she could show it in that session.

So, ¿You are not angry with her for the photographic session?
-No. That part were only rumors, like always.

In the release of 'Mortal Kombat Armageddon' you declared that you have very much of 'Scorpion' in your life. ¿Why did you said that?
-I said that because I have many years coexisting with my character. And I think that if someone tries to do something to my family, like Scorpion, I will react more dangerously than him. I put so much of myself into the character that is already part of my life.

In the party of the release of 'Mortal Kombat vs DC' you showed with her and both seemed be like newlyweds. The question is ¿How you keep your marriage in a good condition supporting the pressure of the media?
-One day, a certain kunoichi from SNK (he smiles) said a very wisely rule if you want to survive in this industry: if you can't with the paparazzi, just join them. I followed that and they leave me quiet. And I think is pretty good because they do their work and them don't publish or sell bullshit photos of me or Megan. And about the rumors, they always are lies, so we don't give credits to them.
Answering your question, I keep my marriage in a good condition because both effort to make our coexistence more pleasant. Obviously we have our verbal quarrels in the points we disagree like the entire world, but nothing serious. We always are chatting about all the themes because is very important for me know the points of view of Megan.

Checking the last seventeen years, ¿what would have happened if there were no Mortal Kombat in your life?
-Sincerely, I don't know. I had the luck of find a job, friends and family I love and that makes me happy. I can't imagine my life without Mortal Kombat.

Good to see you, Hanzo.
-Me too.

The Contestant File:
Real Name: Hanzo Hasashi Takeda (Some years ago, he changed his last name in honor to his mother, Hasashi Rei.)
Birth Date: November 10th, in 1965.
Homeland: Okinawa, Japan. Now, he resides in California, USA.
Marital status: Married for second time in 1996 with the American/Spanish martial artist Megan Becky England, more known as "Mileena" in Mortal Kombat.
Likes: Eat, sports, spending time with his family.
Dislikes: Get up early, lazy people and lies.
Hobbies: Watch Japanese horror movies and read.

(Author's Note: Good. This is the end of the first interview but do not worry that we will have more interviews. Now you can choose the next interviewee: sending me a review, you can choose between Sub-Zero, Mileena or Rayden for the next. Bye.)