Part 4
Haunted
One night, Akira woke abruptly in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. She buried her face in her hands, trying to calm herself. Even now that she was trying to start a new life, the nightmares still plagued her. They were only nightmares in the sense that they occurred at night. Really, they were memories that played over and over as she slept, most of the time waking her from sleep. She suddenly heard footsteps approaching her room, and she looked up to see Hanzo standing in the doorway.
"Hanzo. What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"I heard a scream and thought you might be in danger." he answered. She hadn't realized that she had screamed, though she wasn't surprised to hear that she had. She felt a somewhat pathetic, like a small child that needed comforting.
"No, I'm fine. It's fine." she said, turning away in hopes that Hanzo would believe her and just leave. A few moments passed, and she could sense that there was still someone in the doorway. She looked over to see that he was indeed still standing there. He was shirtless, and his long, black hair was not in it's usual ponytail, but hanging freely down.
"Are you certain? You sounded unnerved." he said. He didn't want to pry too much into her personal business. But, clearly, there was something wrong. He hoped that, whatever it was, maybe he could provide some sort of comfort, if, of course, she would let him. He wasn't sure why, but it seemed that he was always compelled to help her. She had been with the Shirai Ryu for a few days now, and he had found that she was on his mind quite a bit. Akira was unsure of what she should do. She didn't want to bare her soul to someone that she didn't know very well. But, then, she felt like she could trust Hanzo, and she always felt comfortable around him. Maybe Hanzo was the one person who could understand.
"Well..." she said, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. Her black hair was hanging down rather than in it's usual style, a high ponytail with bangs. Hanzo slowly approached her, and she gestured for him to sit down. Once he was sitting beside her on the bed, she began to speak.
"Well, you know I was an assassin for Shao Kahn. Do you know how I ended up with him?" Akira said.
"No." Hanzo answered.
"I mentioned that I was born in Earthrealm, that my father was human, and my mother was Edenian. My father died when I was eight years old. My mother used to be part of the Edenian Imperial Guard. She went back to Edenia and took me with her. But, Edenia was part of Outworld by then. Shao Kahn was it's ruler. He came after my mother because, when he took over as ruler, she fled to Earthrealm. I watched him murder my mother. I was just a kid, eight years old. I just stood there, terrified he'd kill me next. But, he didn't. I don't know why. But he didn't." Akira said. She paused, looking down for a moment before looking again at Hanzo and continuing to speak.
"He took me, made me into just what he wanted me to be, a killer. He controlled me through fear." she said, "I got to be so afraid I just did whatever I was told. I tried to run away once. This is what he did to me." She lifted up the back of her shirt revealing a large scar on her lower back, and in the same spot on the front. Hanzo's eyes widened as he looked at the scar.
"He beat me within an inch of my life. Then, he stabbed me and left me lay there and bleed until I begged for my life and promised I would never disobey him and never try and run away. I was ten years old." she said. She turned to look at him, and in the dim light of the lamp, he could see tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"At that point, I resigned myself to my fate. I knew that was all my life would ever be, all it was worth." she said. Hanzo stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to do. Consoling someone wasn't exactly his strong suit. He wasn't sure that he even remembered how, it had been so long. He did the only thing he could think of. He hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly as a reaction to his touch. He figured that, for a long time, the only time she was touched was when she was being beaten. She was bound to be nervous from human contact. She stared at him, blinking her brown eyes in surprise. Hanzo's hand was so warm. Though, he was no longer Scorpion, the power of fire remained with him, so his body likely ran hotter than most. It didn't bother her any. Strangely, for whatever reason, Hanzo's touch made her feel safe and calm. After a moment, she smiled slightly.
"Thank you, Hanzo." she said, " I really mean it."
"You are welcome, Akira." Hanzo said. She put a hand on his thigh. They stared at each other for a moment, then began to lean in closer to each other. Just as their faces were almost touching, they heard footsteps coming down the hallway. They quickly moved away from each other and looked to the doorway to see Takeda appear in the hallway. He looked at them for a moment, blinking his dark eyes.
"Master Hanzo, is Akira alright? I heard her scream." Takeda said. Hanzo cleared his throat.
"Yes, she's... she's fine, Takeda." he said.
"Yeah. I'm alright, now, Takeda. I was having some trouble sleeping. Hanzo came to check on me." Akira said.
"Oh, alright." Takeda said. Hanzo and Akira both stood and walked over to Takeda.
"You'd better get back to bed, Takeda." Hanzo said.
"Alright, Master Hanzo." Takeda said before turning around and walking off down the hall. Akira smiled, although she was fairly disappointed at the interruption. Hanzo began to walk away, but, he then suddenly turned around and kissed her forcefully on the lips. She was shocked. She had expected him to just return to his room. But, she knew that this was what she had wanted, so she kissed him back. When they broke the kiss, they smiled at each other before Hanzo returned to his room and Akira returned to bed.
