A/N: Hanzo really needs some closure, and I hope I provided that. He could also do with a good hug, though he'd like stare at me, as if I was bright green or something. Kara however, is much braver than I. Possible trigger warning for depression.
Listen
The next day, Kara traveled to the Shirai Ryu fortress, in the late afternoon. The sunset bathed the sky, in flecks of blue, swirling scarlet, and a thick line of carnelian. The letter she had received told her that the acolytes had been sent home, for a few days respite, and to see their families.
It hadn't said why, it didn't need too. Kara knew why.
Hanzo didn't want anyone, not even Takeda, to see him, in the state he was in. She knew what it was doing to him, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hide it from her.
Any little twitch, of his brows, his eyes, his mouth, a change in posture, gait. Kara couldn't help but analyze him. She knew if he knew what she was doing, he'd likely kick her ass, to the Netherrealm and back again, and then to every other realm, before shouting at her, till he was red in the face.
And so, Kara stood, clad in a thick, winter coat, with faux fur trim, under the hood. She cuddled into it, and took a few calming breaths.
The moment she saw light, peeking out, from an open door however, that breathing stopped, and she no longer felt placid. Panic swept throughout her veins, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't afraid of the man, who was rapidly approaching her. The stillness in the air, the complete silence of the place, the stone cold, emotionless look Hanzo was giving her had chills, running down her spine.
He looked poorly, out of sorts. Drawn, gaunt, like he'd pass out, at any minute. Kara felt worry in waves, coming from him. He was ashamed.
"Um", she twisted her lips, "Shall we go inside? It's chilly".
The man said nothing, and just walked back into his room.
Kara walked into the room, took off her coat, and her boots, before looking around, and rubbing her arms.
"Okay. I can't do as much as I usually do, but I will do my best". She turned to face Hanzo, and saw him, face sullen, looking at the floor, whilst sitting on his bed.
"May I? I need to touch you, if I'm to establish a connection".
The man shook his head, miserably. "You don't need to establish a connection".
Confusion flitted across the woman's face. "What do you want me to do then?"
Hanzo looked at her, and his gaze didn't frighten her. It wasn't supposed to, that wasn't his intention.
He was trying to convey something he wasn't used to conveying. Disquiet, distress.
He sighed, and whispered, making Kara crane her ear, to hear it.
"I just want to rest".
Kara walked nearer him, and knelt down. "Okay, I can do that. You want me to rid you of the nightmares?"
The man nodded. "I'll wait outside, give you some privacy, to get ready for bed. When you are ready, just let me know".
She tapped her temple, and stepped into her boots, zipping up her jacket, before stepping outside.
A shower, shave and change of clothes later, Hanzo was done, and told the woman waiting outside.
Kara walked back in, but turned back, and waved a hand behind her.
"You said you were ready. That doesn't look ready to me".
She was referring to the fact, that Hanzo was shirtless, and had only just put his arms, in the sleeves, of his nightshirt.
For all her efforts, she tried not to blush, like a hormonal teenager, but she felt her cheeks flare up, and knew she was.
She also knew how perceptive he was, and that if she said anything to herself, in her mind, he may well hear her inner thoughts. So, she hoped she could stay quiet.
In the dim lighting of the room, lit only by a gently flickering candle, unless Hanzo had night-vision, which Kara doubted highly, he would not see her blush.
"Are you actually done now?"
That came out harsher than she intended. Not that she was complaining with the view earlier.
Wait, what?
There went there staying quiet...
Fucking...argh! Lets just get this over and done with, and stop acting like some randy idiot.
Kara thought 'fuck it', and turned back around, to see a fully clothed Hanzo.
"Right", she gestured for him to sit on the bed, "Shall we begin, Master Hasashi?"
The man frowned, but sat down. "Since when were the formalities back?"
Kara half smiled, and joked. "Were they ever really there in the first place?"
Hanzo felt the urge to snort.
Kara meanwhile, felt the urge to run, and hide, and stay there, until she stopped misbehaving.
Misbehaving? Gods, I've been listening to my Mother far too much. I am starting to sound like her.
Okay Kara. You can do this. Just breathe...
Placing her hands, on either side of his head, Kara felt the pull of a memory, it tugged at her gently, almost playfully.
Was this memory of his son? It seemed so. When she heard a baby giggle, she knew she was right.
This didn't look terrible, but she knew better, than to believe such an image.
She swallowed, knowing that he was projecting what he wanted her to see, hiding what he didn't.
Satoshi was tiny, had big, inquisitive brown eyes, and a smattering of black hair. Kara found herself smiling.
"He's gorgeous".
the man didn't reply, he merely kept his eyes closed.
She then saw a woman, walking into the room. She picked up Satoshi, and Kara looked away, as she opened her blouse.
Give her some privacy, even if this is a memory...
Harumi was elegant and tall. Her willowy arms, graceful posture when she glided across the room, and small soft features made Kara realise why Hanzo had fallen head over heels for her.
"I see why you fell in love with her. She's stunning".
This time, the man in front of her replied. "We were promised to each other from birth. Neither of us took that seriously, until we grew up, and hadn't seen each other in many years. That's when I knew I wanted to be with her, marry her".
Kara made a noise of understanding, but quickly left that memory, when Hanzo walked into the room, and when Harumi was done, feeding and burping her son, he placed him into his cot, and took her hand, leading her into their bedroom.
She didn't need to see, or hear that...
The young woman opened her eyes, and wished to berate him, for masking his true thoughts. But she understood why he did that. Why would he want to see death and destruction, when he could see and want the beautiful things, like his wife, his son, peace, and making love?
"I know you want all of that again, the happiness, adoration and light. But, unless you let me see what is troubling you, then you will succumb to the darkness".
Hanzo opened his eyes, and looked away. Kara wouldn't let him though. She moved his head back around. She squealed, flinching, as he grabbed her wrists.
She tried to pull them out of his grip, but it was like iron.
"Stop it! I don't want to have to stop you myself".
He scoffed, and Kara was getting annoyed.
"You want me to stop you? You can't keep on being a prick, and expecting me to take it",
She spat out the next word, laced with insipid venom, "Master".
Objects levitated around Hanzo, who did not care for her parlor tricks. They were nothing. He'd have broken her wrists and neck, before she could do anything else.
Pressure keeping him rooted the spot however did concern him, and with each increase of it, his heart began thundering against his rib cage painfully.
The pressure closed around his heart, and lungs, until trying to take a breath meant agony, and struggle.
"Kara", he spluttered, "stop it".
She didn't. Her telekinesis wrapped around his neck, and anxiety hit him hard.
KARA!
He coughed.
If I comply, will you stop?
Kara's bright purple eyes shifted, from that, to her usual hazel, and she shook her head. Hanzo let go of her wrists, and she cradled her head.
"I'm sorry, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I know you don't like me. I guess my powers don't like you either, they can be temperamental. I'm really sorry".
Hanzo just shifted. "I hurt you, you hurt me. Blood for blood, only, I made you bleed. You haven't".
Kara's eyebrows shot up. "WHAT?! You want me to make you bleed? Fuck, no!" She hiccoughed. "I can be a bitch sure, but I'd never do that".
The vicious torrent of memories came back, at the mention of spilling blood, and the man wasn't able, nor did he want to fight off Kara's intrusion, into his mind.
He wanted to forget all of it. Being lied to, damaged, beaten down and abused had shaped him...
Only, it had shaped him, into something he was frightened of. If he were capable of flinging Kara around, like she were a ragdoll, almost killing her in the process, or giving her cuts and bruises...
Then had Quan won? Did he get his 'puppet' after all? Would he always be this way? Forever doomed, to be a violent, borderline psychopath? Only capable of bringing chaos, ruin, and misery?
NO!
The man frantically pulled the young woman towards him, and clutched at her face, ignoring her surprised, fearful, teary eyes.
"Please", he openly cried, lower lip trembling, choking back sobs. When was the last time he had cried like this?
Ah. The first time Quan defeated me, and left me, broken on a freezing cold stone floor. I wept, for what felt like hours that night.
Kara's hands on top of his alerted him. Her soft tone was alien to him, but he wouldn't complain.
"Hey, hey now. Let it out. You need to. Keeping it on only hurts you further".
He agreed, more than she'd ever know.
"Kara, make me forget. All of it".
The woman wiped away some of his tears. "All of it?"
He nodded, not having the strength, to say that again...
Kara focused, and closed her eyes. Quan laughing menacingly was the first thing she heard. The first thing she saw was a much younger, stark naked Hanzo, on the floor of a cell, unconscious, and bleeding out. The coppery tang of it filled her nostrils, making her feel sick.
She closed her mouth tight, willing herself to keep the contents of her stomach in, and shifted her minds gaze, to the corridor, outside the cell. She heard metallic clanging, and saw thick wooden double doors, down the corridor.
She walked down it, and opened the door.
Inside was Quan, sitting on a throne, which made Kara growl. He thought he was a king.
King, hah, of what? A broken man, and a crumbling kingdom, swimming in blood.
Sicko.
Kara sat down, and watched the man, for a while, as his servants mopped scarlet liquid, off the floor. They cleaned rusty metal contractions, as Quan held in his palm, a small green orb. He twisted it around, and threw it up a few times, before placing it, carefully. onto a pedestal, next to his seat.
Shit!
That orb was Hanzo's soul. It was too late to save it. She gasped, and moved back to Hanzo. When she looked again, she noticed the tibia, on his right leg was protruding from it, and was jagged edged. The woman flinched, and felt pain shoot through her leg.
She pulled herself out of the memory, and gasped again, when she felt warm fluid hit her hands.
Hanzo was crying. Kara's eyes widened, and she wiped the tears away again.
"I don't want to see this again. End this, I wish to sleep".
Kara nodded, and began purging his mind, of the hatred, the agonizing torture in the cell, the abuse, feeling like a failure, all of the time. She purged the murders he had committed, both as himself, and Scorpion, the hall-spawn specter, seeing his family and clan, being butchered, again and again.
And, she finally rid Quan Chi from his mind. The sorcerer no longer had any need, to seek to damage him further.
The constant self-demoralizing he has for himself. The disdain he harbored caused him nothing but grief, more than he could process.
He'd been forced to be something he wasn't, a monster, for many years, without thought, feeling. When his soul was returned, and he could see the world, with the eyes he used too, as a decent, moral person, it was then, that his emotions smacked him, harder than he'd ever been hit before. It sent the wall, he had spent so long crafting in his mind tumbling down, the crumbling frame, that was himself had been weakened too.
If he could just have one day, a single day, with no struggle, to want to live, want to get up, and be productive in life, and society, he would do anything to get it.
And now, he had that chance, and he was going to grab it, with both hands, and keep a tight hold of it.
Freedom was precious to him, more precious than gold to a thief, more precious, than food, to a starving person.
He wanted to make a new life for himself, have a fresh start, with a new outlook.
The ninja managed to stem the flow of tears, and sucked in a shaky breath.
He wasn't bitter, or indignant anymore. His body did not hurt, and when he closed his eyes, he did not see anything horrific, or negative. He saw nothing. Nothing had never felt so good before...
He smiled, then grinned, and took one of Kara's hands. She opened her eyes, and smiled back.
"You should be able to rest easier now. You don't need to say anything". She moved her other hand from his face, and looked at her watch. "It's really late, I ought to be leaving".
She went to move, but the man wouldn't let her.
"You can stop grinning now. Really, it's piercing my soul".
Hanzo did something she would never have thought he would ever try.
He threw his arms around her, prompting a squeak from her.
"Woah there", she didn't return the gesture, "From what I have heard about you, you would not do this".
Hanzo squeezed her, a surprised yelp made him laugh. "For a long time, I would not have done. I did have a life, before Scorpion, you know".
Kara shook her head. "Well yes, but, I wasn't alive then".
She returned the hug, and giggled, when she heard him groan.
"Ah"...
Kara knew what he was about to say, and so, finished the sentence for him.
"I am still fairly young, right? Eh, doesn't bother me".
The man pulled back, and frowned. "What doesn't bother you?"
Kara snickered. "Gods, you are dense, aren't you", she leaned in, "Old man".
She thought he would growl, or at least retort.
But he agreed with her.
"I am getting older. This clan needs new blood, a new leader. However, I will not step down, just yet. I will train and supervise the acolytes, for some time to come".
Kara shrugged. "You know better than I do. I'll leave you to sleep".
She walked to his door, and heard him get up.
"Thank you. Not many people stand up to me", he looked away, feeling bitterness lance through him, "or say they will help, and actually do so. Goodnight, Kara".
Kara smiled, put on her boots and jacket, and left the room. The indigo sky, with it's billions of twinkling stars greeted her, and the air lacked the chill, it had before.
She stopped, and wondered. Of course she respected him, and rightly so.
But, could she use his name, without him wanting to ground her into cynical woman paste?
Probably not...
A voice in her mind made her jump, and end up, back against a pillar, with laughter behind her.
You can use my name. Around my men however, I would appreciate the term Master.
Kara took a few breaths, and sauntered off, towards the portal room.
"There's only one man I call master, and it certainly isn't you".
She turned and pointed.
Goodnight, Hanzo...