Kuai Liang watched silently from his bed as Tomas and Cyrax prepared their own makeshift beds. They left their belongings - two shopping bags with clothes inside - to the side as they finished up their area of the room.
He cringed a bit every time Cyrax would accidentally look his way. He could see fire in his good eye, the other eye puffy and darkened to a sickly purple and black. The boy was not at all on good terms with Kuai Liang.
But he hadn't known it would come to this. Kuai was not aware this would happen.
And this wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to fight Cyrax. The two had become friends quickly when they met, even if they had kept it secret from the Grandmaster.
Things had changed... His influence had already begun to scramble events from his original past. Kuai Liang grew worried, knowing that this could signal that he may have been ruining paths in time that held significance, while also creating ones not yet made. The thing was, these newly created paths were unknown territory. He was unsure what stood ahead in time if he continued to go on.
"Kuai Liang, go wash up before you rest." Bi-Han's voice snapped him back to attention. He simply nodded, before getting out of his bed and walking out of the room, pacing towards the restroom.
As he walked, however, he could hear almost inaudible footsteps behind him. It seemed as if the person behind him were trying to sneakily reach him. It did not work the way they had wanted. Kuai Liang had learned to be alert of his surroundings. In his old life, he had even learned the footsteps of his close companions, including those of... Hanzo's.
Dark thoughts began to cloud his mind and he could hear the footsteps in his ears beginning to quiet down. He was losing focus as he began to slow his steady pace. He needed to push away those thoughts, and he very much so wanted to, but the thought of Hanzo stuck to his mind like glue.
Kuai Liang could still hear those footsteps, light, almost like air. He could still see his stern, life-hardened face, feel his radiating fire, hear his deep, yet spine-tingling voice. He yearned for those moments.
He just wanted Hanzo back. All he wanted was-
Kuai Liang was shoved to the floor, his arms twisted behind his back by someone else's grasp. He groaned angrily as pangs of pain shocked his arms and jaw, which had been slammed against the hard cobblestone floor. He tried to wriggle out of the position, but it only resulted in his attacker applying more pressure and strength on him.
"Not so strong now, huh?" A child's voice growled angrily. Kuai's eyebrows slanted downwards once he realized who it was.
"You." He let that word spill out of his gasping lungs. "W-Why are you... doing this?"
"You humiliated me...!" The African boy hissed. "You put shame upon me, and in front of the Grandmaster too. I do not want to forgive you, even if my friend had asked me to do so."
Kuai tried to move again, but only felt pain again.
"Please, don't do this. I did not mean to humiliate you. That was not my intention at all."
"Then why did you not kill me?" The boy asked. "I am less than worthy in the eyes of the Grandmaster now. He only let me stay because my friend threatened to leave if I was not kept."
"Just let me go." Kuai Liang said softly. "We don't need to be enemies. We can be friends, close companions who can trust each other."
The weight on top of him suddenly disappeared. Immediately afterwards, he felt himself get tugged up by the collar of his shirt. He felt hot air blowing into his face as he cringed from the confusion.
"You are not my friend, Kuai Liang." Venom could only be found in the African boy's voice. "My only friend is Smoke. Even if I do not know his real name, I know I can trust him. We have had each other's backs since we first met. You have only pulled me back from my honor!"
Kuai Liang's eyebrows slanted down shamefully as he watched Cyrax walk away, back towards their sleeping quarters. He slowly pushed himself towards a wall, his back touching against the cold stone surface. He lowered his head into his knees as he covered his eyes with his hands.
He felt tears wanting to crawl out, but he didn't want to let them flow. For a large portion of his life, he had been taught to not show any emotions or express anything associated with them. He knew there was no shame in crying, but he just felt a hint of that horrid feeling in thinking about doing the action.
Once again, the sound of footsteps could be heard, but this time, they were louder and much less careful than Cyrax's. He didn't need to lift his head up to know that it was Bi-Han. He had quickly learned the way his footsteps sounded.
"Kuai Liang?" Bi-Han's voice sounded soft and concerned. "What happened? Why are you on the floor?"
Kuai lifted his head to face his brother.
"It is nothing, brother." He said. "I accidentally tripped. I simply sat down to let the pain settle down a bit."
Bi-Han opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it. Perhaps he needed to keep his nose out of whatever was happening.
His hands felt the surprising softness in his skin. He could feel his fiery passion and his honorable might emanating from his soul.
He held his embrace firmly, not wanting to part. He didn't want to let him go. He didn't want to lose him.
He felt a finger lift his chin up. Those chocolate-like eyes gazed at him softly. He could see the creases in his eye bags, making his eyes smile in delight. He did not want to break the invisible line between them.
He began to leave his embrace, leaving an empty spot in return. The fire, the warmth... it began to fade. It grew cold now. Colder and colder was all he began to feel as he saw him depart. He felt his hands chill with ice as he tried to reach for the dying light ahead.
But his Hanzo was too far gone already.
Kuai Liang shot up, tears running down his cheek as he gasped. He touched the streams of liquid gingerly, his breathing heavy. He felt the bite of ice on his fingers and arms, but he held no care for that. All he could think of was Him. All he could care about right now was Hanzo.
He collapsed onto his bed again, looking over at the others sleeping in their respective beds. He gave a sigh of distress before looking out his window with widened, watery eyes.
He just wanted Hanzo...
Kuai Liang awoke, his cheeks coated with dried up tears. Hastily, he brushed the mess away before Bi-Han could see.
Once he finished, he arose, finding his brother gone from his bed. He also found that Cyrax was missing. He didn't think much of it. Perhaps the two had gone to do something.
However, he thought Tomas was going to be with them too, so it came as a surprise when he saw the boy's bed shuffle a bit, before he, too, woke up from his slumber. The other boy lifted his head up, his eyes connecting with Kuai Liang's. In response, Kuai waved lightly at him.
"Good morning." Kuai's voice sounded small and mouse-like.
"Good morning." The other boy said with a nod and a small smile. He slowly propped himself up to properly be seen.
The two stayed silent for a bit, before the Cryomancer decided to speak.
"I... never got to introduce myself properly." Kuai said as he got up from his resting spot, striding towards Tomas. "My name is Kuai Liang."
He stuck his hand out for Tomas, who looked at it briefly, before grabbing his hand and shaking it.
"Smoke." He said. "That is the name the Grandmaster assigned to me."
Kuai only nodded in response. He knew that it was due to happen. Smoke was his code name, not his real name. It would be years until he'd learn his real name, but for now, all Kuai could do was prevent any complications and simply refer to his old friend by his pseudonym.
"And... what about your friend?" He asked Smoke. "What is his name?"
"The Grandmaster assigned him the name Cyrax. I do not know the reason or purpose behind the name, but I could not complain about it. After all, we were spared and given the chance to reside here."
The Cryomancer only nodded.
"I apologize for asking so many questions..." Kuai started. "But do you know why your friend, Cyrax, has negative feelings towards me?"
"He-" Smoke stopped his sentence, thinking to himself a bit, before he opened his mouth again. "He is jealous of you. He did not like that you won the match yesterday. He also despises the fact that you spared him afterwards."
"But I did not want to kill him." Kuai blurted out. "Fighting him was not my intention, and neither was killing him. I spared him because I felt that he had potential to be a prominent member of our clan."
"Well..." Smoke sighed out, his mouth straightening as his eyebrows furrowed a bit. "I believe what you did was right... In all honesty, I was ready to risk it all and stop you if you tried to kill him. I wanted a place to stay with him, but I would have risked being thrown back onto the streets had I needed to save Cyrax."
Kuai Liang smiled at the boy.
"I understand that. I know my brother would have done the same."
"I mean..." Smoke grinned at him. "He did fight back against the Grandmaster. I think that, alone, shows he would do the same. Not many would stand up to an elder, let alone the Grandmaster."
Kuai Liang chuckled to himself, as did Smoke. The two let a few laughs out, before they both sighed softly. Smoke sat quietly for a bit, as Kuai stood silently. The two boys just kept silence as they stared at the floor.
"I am scared, Kuai Liang..." Smoke mumbled, his voice breaking the thin silence. "I have no memory of who I was. I don't know my family. I don't know my birth region. I don't even know why I became this way - cursed with these powers!"
Kuai Liang frowned at the boy.
"That doesn't matter, Smoke." He murmured, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Perhaps you'll get an answer in the future, but there is nothing wrong with focusing on the present. When we become of age, I promise you, Bi-Han, Cyrax, and I will try our best to help you discover yourself, even if Cyrax may still hate me."
Smoke smiled lightly when he heard those words. He quickly got to his feet and began to walk out. However, as he was about to leave, he looked back at Kuai.
"Aren't you coming?"
Kuai Liang gave a big smile as he began follow his new friend, the one that he had once known.
