[A/N] Hey guys! I know it's been a long time, and I'm sorry! I've been playing my ps3 like crazy, and right now I'm trying to collect all the trophies for the game Infamous (the first one). It was free, so why the hell not lol Also, I want to say thank you to those who gave my story a chance, and R&R! I like it when you guys give me feedback on what you think of my story. Although I've been playing games, I still worked really hard on this chapter. I re-read it a lot of times for any errors but if I still have any misspellings, let me know! I will fix them!

(I own nothing of Mortal Kombat or its character!)

[UPDATE 02/21/13] I FINALLY got around to correctly formatting this chapter lol

With such a stupid question asked, for sure she was going to die. Lily had no doubts in her mind. He would slit her throat, and burn her remains with his ferocious flames. She pitifully wrapped her arms around herself and shut her eyes tight.

This can't be real! I must still be dreaming!

The ninja knew he was on fire due to his anger, but he didn't care if it was scaring the girl. In fact, he was enjoying her fright so much he almost grinned.

"I am from the Shirai Ryu ninja clan—reborn as a wraith from the Netherrealm."

She cautiously glanced up at him. The flames that surrounded him were slowly dying. "You're not going to kill me?" Lily immediately regretted asking the question. What if she reminded him?

"Get up," He ordered.

She winced in pain as Scorpion reached out to yank her up from the ground. Lily still felt sore from her hospital wounds, and could feel new bruises forming on her thighs thanks to the ninja's careless "handling."

"Don't sit like that," He darkly warned.

She became puzzled, but got the hint once she was aware that she was only wearing a towel. He began to casually walk away.

"Don't leave me here!" Lily clumsily ran to his side.

As they walked, she desperately tried to keep up while also trying to ignore the sharp twigs and rocks constantly nicking the bottom of her feet. Every step hurt as much as the last. She bit her lip.

Fight the pain Lily! If you stop now, he will leave you here. Just keep going...

She took another step until she felt a huge sting shoot up her leg. Lily cursed as loud as she could. Her scream echoed through woods, scaring off all the birds nestled within the trees. Scorpion spun around in alarm to see the girl on the ground clutching her foot as she shamelessly continued to curse. He groaned in aggravation as he went to kneel beside her. A sharp twig had lodged itself beneath her foot. The ninja rolled his eyes.

That's it? This girl was such a pain in the ass. He wondered where her shoes were, or any of her clothes, for that matter. Then he remembered they were left on the ground where the girl had first appeared on Raiden.

"Damn!" His angry voice startled Lily.

Oh great! She thought. He must be so pissed at me right now!

She was in no condition to be troubling this terrifying ninja in the middle of nowhere. "I'm sorry I"—

"Why didn't you say anything before!" he snapped.

This girl was getting on his nerves.

"I can still walk. Just please," she pleaded as she stared at her trembling fingers slightly tainted with her own blood, "don't leave me here by myself."

Lily's words were halfheartedly said. Although she said it, in the back of her mind she was fully prepared if the ninja was going to abandon her. It wouldn't surprise her one bit. If he had done it, she assumed everyone else would too. Lily expected it.

"Never mind," She stressed, dreadfully fighting the urge to cry at the thought of his face.

Lily tried to forget by attempting to pull out the sharp twig.

"Stop." Scorpion swatted her hand away.

Lily was surprised to see the ninja carefully grip the twig with one hand, while gently resting the other one on her injured foot. Without any warning, he pulled it out in one swift motion. Lily hardly had any time to react.

The ninja stood up, chucking the twig behind him. "Let's go. We're wasting daylight because of you."

Lily instantly rose up. "OUCH!" She yelped, as the gash under her foot made itself known.

Scorpion glared at her.

Did he have to do everything himself? She was becoming more and more of a nuisance to him. He would hate himself later for doing this, but Scorpion figured he had no choice but to pick up the girl, and carry her in his arms.

Lily froze in shock, afraid that if she moved, she might be dropped again. Who was this man…or demon? Where was he taking her? All these questions raced through her mind as he silently made his way through the woods.

Lily wondered if her mother was looking for her, or if he was even bothering to look too. She frowned at the thought as she leaned on the ninja's chest. His whole body was oddly hot, which she recognized was the reason why she was sweating earlier. It bothered her before, but now she appreciated the heat when the gusts of wind blew in their direction.

At first, Lily contemplated whether she should ask if he was going to take her back home, but quickly rejected the idea. Only her heart aching memories waited for her return to drown her in misery. Why go back now? Lily was leaning towards looking at the situation negatively, but decided to look at it in a positive light. She did want to get away from everything, and it so happened that she did. Lily made up her mind to enjoy the ride until she had to go back. This was the perfect opportunity to keep her distracted from him—even if for a moment.

Content, Lily drifted into a light sleep.

"Wake up," The angry voice commanded.

The rough shake to her body instantly jerked her awake. Lily rubbed her eyes as she looked around. It was dark. No, that was an understatement. It was pitch black. How long had he been walking in the dark like this?

"Can you see?" She asked, looking up at where she assumed his face was.

No answer. Instead, Lily felt the ninja set her down on the unpleasant cold ground. She opened her mouth to object, but the spectre spoke first.

"Stay here. I'm going to get firewood."

His stern voice made Lily shut her mouth. Any little word she said might piss him off. And she definitely didn't want to get on his nerves at night where it was the most dangerous.

Once he left, Lily felt the nerves kick in again. What if he didn't come back?

I can't keep acting like this.

Her paranoia of being left alone was what probably made him leave in the first place. She had to stand her ground.

I must be strong.

Lily gazed up at the only source of light in the woods: the stars. It was comforting to see the beautiful sight as the millions of shiny specks scattered across the sky.

"Wow," She whispered. She had never seen so many in her life.

Scorpion gathered as much firewood as he could possibly carry after cutting down every tree he saw. Thanks to his frustration, he collected more than needed. He would of never complied with Raiden if he knew he was going to be stuck with some meager mortal girl. The spectre was better off finding Quan Chi on his own without having anything to slow him down. There was only one thing on his mind: leave the girl at the village, and be on his way.

Even though it was night, Scorpion was well adapted to seeing in the dark. It was easy to spot the girl's figure. She was looking up at the sky in a hypnotized trance. He noticed the girl was annoyingly sitting in the same impolite manner as last time, oblivious to note that she was still wearing a towel. Scorpion silently crept up behind the girl and tossed the wood to the ground in irritation. She jumped back in alarm.

"What did I say about sitting like that!"

The girl gave him a confused look, but then understood when she blushed and sat in a way that correctly covered her certain areas.

The spectre felt a tiny bit stunned that she—a woman—was not fretting over the matter as much as he expected her to.

"Were not gunna have to worry about the fire cause you can create it yourself," She happily stated.

Scorpion ignored her comment as he touched the wood on the ground. It instantly lit up in flames.

"Amazing!" the girl exclaimed.

Hidden beneath his mask, a small prideful smirk formed across his lips.

Why the hell am I smiling?

He quickly frowned as he grumpily leaned against a tree across from her. The girl imitated him by doing the same. Scorpion stared deep into the crackling fire, reminiscing the burning houses and haunting screams of his fellow clan members being mercilessly slain. Their cries fueled his never-ending thirst for vengeance.

"Are you alright?" The girl earnestly asked.

Her voice snapped him out of his reverie.

She gave him a weary smile. "You look kinda sad."

Not wanting to give eye contact, he looked away. "Mind your own business," He retorted.

What a nosey brat.

"Oh…I'm sorry." The girl continued to admire the stars.

Scorpion glanced at her, strangely unable to ignore her depressing apology. For the first time he actually paid attention to the girl's features illuminated by the fire's flames. The ninja didn't bother to study her before, but when she said those words—'Are you alright?'—he had to see what kind of woman would be asking such a ridiculous question to a terrifying hell-spawned warrior.

She had a dull peach skin color, and annoyingly bright golden curls that hung just below her shoulders in a messy manner. The girl's face was prominent with her high cheekbones and thin lips pursed in confusion. Her body frame resembled that of a porcelain doll: thin and fragile that could easily break by the slightest touch.

The girl caught his gaze. She tilted her head in puzzlement. "Is there something wrong?"

Scorpion's muscles tightened. As uncomfortable as he was locking eyes with her, it would be awkward just to break it. Through the flickering flames her eyes revealed themselves to be two different colors. Her left eye was a striking blue, while the right one was a vibrant green. How did this strange feature go unnoticed?

The girl patted her cheeks. "Is there something on my face?"

Scorpion had finally freed himself from her gaze and shook his head. "Go to sleep."

"But what about you? Aren't you tired?" The girl sounded genuinely concerned.

"I don't sleep," He answered dryly.

She only nodded in reply and leaned back against the tree, shutting her eyes. Why was this girl so worried about him? Scorpion couldn't think of any logical explanation except that the girl was probably mad.

The next two days were the same as the first. The spectre dreaded the chattering and million questions that he was expecting to hear, but the girl ended up not asking any questions about where they were going, or even bothering to ask where they were exactly. She never spoke, (even though he preferred it that way) and when she did speak, it was always about his well-being. Phrases such as: 'If I'm too heavy to carry, you can put me down', 'we don't have to make camp if you don't want to', 'you sure you don't want to rest?' And the one for reasons unknown that made him cringe: 'are you alright?' were terribly annoying. He's heard those exact words long ago…but he dared not to remember his past life. It was useless attempting to recall what was already taken from him.

Lily could only nap as she wondered where he was going with her. She felt the ninja's body stop moving, and opened her eyes. He had been carrying her for three days, and was amazed to see he wasn't tired one bit. She followed his gaze to the village that was up ahead. People live here!?

He set her down and sauntered to the opposite direction. Where was he going? She nervously tried to deliberate whether she should ask if he was coming back or not.

"Um…wait," She impulsively uttered.

The ninja abruptly stopped.

"Are you…um…leaving me here?"

It looked like he was about to turn his head, but at the last moment he looked straight ahead. "Wait there until Raiden arrives," The ninja replied.

"Raiden?" The confusion in her voice made him glare back at her.

Lily instantly tensed up.

Uh-oh!

"The thunder god you were trying to seduce," He retorted as he continued onward.

Lily recalled the man with the straw hat whom she fell on when first arriving in these strange woods. She glanced at the village, then back at the ninja.

Crap! I don't want to go there by myself! But he's clearly leaving for a reason.

There was no way around it. She had to go to the village without him.

Quan Chi stepped out of the portal from Outworld into Earthrealm's woodland. He had been secretly following Scorpion without being noticed, thanks to a spell he had conjured up on himself. He took a look at his surroundings and immediately noticed clothing scattered on the ground.

"What's this?" Quan Chi bent down to pick up a sugar pink sweater as he instantly caught the sense of electrical power. The sweater gave a slight spark of electricity. But it wasn't just any power. "Raiden?" Quan Chi inquired. He knew Raiden was with Scorpion, but now there was a woman with them. "Interesting," he grinned.

Lily tried ignoring all of the stares from the villagers as she asked people for a place to rest. They would either quickly walk away, or shake their heads as they bowed down apologetically. When one kind old lady finally spoke back to her, it was in Japanese. She had taken a class before, so she was familiar with the language. But it wasn't enough to be fluent. "I'm sorry, you're talking too fast."

"Watashi no namae wa desuka?"

Is she asking for my name?

"Lily…desu?" She guessed.

The old lady's face lit up as she bowed. "Hajimemashite!"

Oh I know that one! It means nice to meet you!

Relieved, Lily smiled as she bowed back. The old lady waved for Lily to follow her through a curtain that had a kanji symbol Lily couldn't read. Inside she was ushered into a room that the old lady had led her to. She closed the sliding door behind her.

The room was very simple with only a futon on the floor, coffee table, and a lantern for the night. The small window spared the only sunlight it had to offer.

These villagers are really simple, aren't they?

The old woman came back with neatly folded clothes.

"Dozo." She handed it to Lily and left again.

"What's this?" She grabbed it as it unraveled. "No way." It was a yukata: a casual summer kimono made of cotton. It was a pure white one at that. "Great. It had to be white."

She tossed her dirty towel, and draped herself with the soft cotton. It was better than being naked the whole time, though something felt odd. Why was the woman helping her if she couldn't understand a word Lily said?

Do I look like I have money?

She bit her lip. She didn't want to get in trouble if the woman wanted to be paid for the services. From the looks of it, Lily assumed the place was an inn.

"I have to get out of here." She ran to the window, bracing herself to jump out.

"Leaving already?" A voice calmly said.

Lily froze.

Oh no!

She spun around and bowed repeatedly. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't going to leave! I just forgot my—my uh—wallet!"

What am I saying?!

The voice chuckled. "You don't have to apologize. I was only teasing."

Lily glanced up. "What?"

The man casually leaned against the corner wall with his arms crossed, and face blocked by the straw hat he was wearing. He slowly looked up to reveal his eyes sparking with electricity. Lily gasped as she jumped back.

"It's you," She whispered.

He slowly approached her. "I don't mean to be rude, but I need you to go back to where you came from. This is no place for a young woman such as yourself."

'Go back.'

She expected those words to fill her with bliss after three days of being stranded in the woods with a demon ninja, and sleeping uncomfortably on a tree trunk. But they weren't.

"I see..." Lily couldn't argue. She could get hurt, and no one was going to be looking out for her.

"You are from Earthrealm, are you not?" He asked.

"Earthrealm?" She repeated the strange word.

"I am the thunder god Raiden. I'm the one who asked the innkeeper to bring you in until I got here. But I didn't expect to be on time. Was there any trouble with Scorpion?"

"Scorpion?" Lily asked.

Raiden arched a brow. "He never told you his name?"

Lily tried to recall any introduction of the ninja's name, but was surprised that asking him completely slipped her mind..

Raiden looked around. "Where is Scorpion?"

Lily shrugged. "He left, but told me to wait here for you."

"He left?" He sounded alarmed, but his voice stayed calm.

"Yeah, not too long ago."

Raiden sighed. "I told him to stay with you."

Lily let a small smile form across her lips, as she felt grateful for his genuine concern of her. "It's alright," She assured. "He did more than enough by bringing me here." Lily nervously fiddled with her knotted hair when he did not reply. The thunder god rested a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up as his towering figure stood over her. He was unbelievably tall.

"Forgive me for leaving you with that hell-spawn. Do not worry. I will not ignore this matter, and see to it that you return home safely. But at the moment I am not strong enough to take you back. Please be patient."

Lily stared at him in awe. His presence was truly amazing. A god in the flesh! She then flashed back to when she was hitting on him, and bashfully rubbed her cheeks.

I can't believe I did that!

Did he remember? She prayed he wouldn't bring it up.

"Are you alright?" Raiden asked.

Lily quickly put her hands downs, and forced out a nervous a chuckle. "Yup! I'm fine!" He nodded as he slid the Japanese door open. "For the time being, I will escort you to a place where you will be safe and protected until I can generate enough power."

They stopped in front of another traditional Japanese home like the ones in the village, but this one was larger and much nicer. Lily cheered inside, finally not having to be carried along the way anymore. She thought she was going to die of embarrassment when Raiden carried her all the way up hill since she had been lagging behind. Lily tried not to be tired, but submitted when she couldn't catch up to the thunder god. He gently set her down.

"Am I going to stay here?" She asked.

He nodded. "I asked him to come here for some assistance."

Damn! Now I will have to be bothering others?

Lily ran a hand through her hair—now dry—until it inconveniently got stuck in a knot. She groaned in frustration. Her action seemed to compel Raiden to assure her the man he asked to help was a strong warrior.

Lily felt bothered as she stared back at the house. She felt there was more to it than just sending her back home. Why did she need protection? What was the big deal?

[A/N] What do you think? Hope it's not too slow. I'm trying to pick it up without rushing into everything too fast. Thanks for reading though! ^-^

-Symbio

(Who do you think Raiden asked for help? :p)