Chapter 4

AN: And we are back ladies and gentlemen, after a long wait finally a new chapter. From here on things will be getting more interesting. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Response to the reviews:

Nantono: Thanks man.

CykaBlyatintesifies: Thanks for pointing out the mistakes and I'm glad you liked it. Hanzo has control over hellfire so he should pretty much be immune to regular fire.

Mega Batz: I'm glad you liked it and I too was bummed out when Hanzo died at the end of MK11. He and Sub-Yero are my favorite characters.

SolSparda369: I'm happy you liked it. Thank you for reviewing.

TaitanoRules555: Perhaps in the future, right now I got four fics that I'm working on.

Guest: Thanks man.

Hanzo sat in front of a fire, his meal being slowly cooked as the light of the moon and stars shone in the sky. After all the months, almost a year to be exact, he had spent in this new realm he still failed to comprehend how the moon ended up shattered the way it was. He had seen the power of the gods firsthand and he knew that one could easily do something like this but he failed to figure out the reason for it, was there some great battle among the gods of this realm, or was it something else entirely.

He still held up hope of returning to his own realm one day, even if his own inter-realm teleportation abilities didn't work, there has to be some kind of portal that would be to one of the realms he is familiar with. He had been busy since his arrival, so far he had traveled through a good portion of the Vales frontier helping where he can, his skills as an assassin and warrior coming in handy more often than not. That is not to say that he strictly killed things, he had also helped in other areas such as when in one village the doctor was killed and no one else knew anything about medicine so he used his knowledge to aid the survivors of the Grimm attack, putting broken bones back in place and making ointments to clean the wounds or lessen the pain. On another occasion he used his more diplomatic side to settle an argument between two settlements who were coming to blows over the resources in the area, Hanzo made them see reason in the end, making them understand that what resources there were they would have to share or they could choose violence which would cause even more suffering for both parties. He had managed to garner a reputation, something he wasn't necessarily very happy about, a ninjas advantage was that their enemies would not see them coming and knew little of them, his reputation of being a skilled warrior clad in yellow and black did not really aid him in that regard. In a few places, he visited more often due to their locations he had become somewhat of a local legend. Some people feared them with a good reason with others gave him looks of respect.

Hanzo had met a number of this world's huntsmen and huntresses and his opinion of them was mixed. Some were truly the protectors they presented themselves as while other were little more than glory-seeking tugs. He was forced into a confrontation with these huntsmen several times, at first he tried to be the better person, to use reason but in the end, his fists did most of the talking, his opponents ending up with their bodies and pride being thrown into the dirt when Hanzo was done with them. He didn't want to kill them, unlike the Tarkatans or demons these people were not really much of a threat, just egotistical and stupid but broken bones and bruces would do enough to teach them a lesson. During his fights he had also noticed a common pattern among the huntsmen, their fighting styles were usually flashy, impractical and used for showing off but what they lacked in fighting style they made up in strength, speed and durability that aura offered them. Their skills might have been enough for dealing with Grimm and common thugs but Hanzo was not the grandmaster of a warrior clan for nothing.

He had remained stoic in his time traveling, always serious with maybe a few instances of amusement, mostly due to the children's antics after a successful mission or something like that, most people still thought he was a huntsman. Few things reminded him of home which made him question the reason he was brought here once more.

This world had its defenders, these huntsmen who seemed to do a decent job at defending the people of the realm even if by what Hanzo had surmised they were small in number and lacking in some areas. He had also learned more about the realm itself and its history. The most powerful kingdom, Atlas having an actuall military compared to the others and had more advanced technology, while effective at keeping their citizens safe Atlasiens were egotistical and dismissive towards others and in some cases racist from what he had gathered. From the sound of it, the Atlassian military remained Hanzo of special forces back on Earth. Vacuo was mostly like sub-Saharan Africa with lots of sand and few oases which its people called home. Vale was mostly like Europe and its people as well while Mistral remained him greatly of his own homeland.

He missed his home, he missed the Fire Gardens and his clan, the people who made it. He had spent decades restoring what was destroyed, thought lost forever but he succeeded. And yet for all his success, everything he had made in his new life since being freed from his curse he could not help but feel uncertain now. He did not know what this realm could bring, he didn't have any friends or allies here, he had been in more precarious situations before but he always had somewhere or someone to return to or a clear goal in mind which needed achieving, now he wasn't so certain. After he restored the Shirai Ryu he had sworn them to the protection of Earthrealm to both aid in its defense against the likes of Shao Kan and Shinnok and to atone for the sins he had committed as Scorpion. Here and now he didn't really have an end goal or cause to focus on, just aimlessly wandering about, fighting these demons and helping the people of this realm who needed it.

His thoughts returned to his current task, he had heard a rumor from some travelers that people, mostly young individuals and children had been disappearing in and around a town near the southeast mountains. The town was in the middle of the valley which had more settlements scattered about with it being the center so to speak. The first few disappearances were chocked off to deaths caused by grimm but as more and more people went missing it became obvious that something more was going on there. The disappearances could be caused by a number of reason but Hanzos instincts were telling him that this was more than coincidence, there was a pattern there and someone was behind the abductions. The question was who and why?

The next day he arrived at the town and immediately went to the notice board, countless missing person posters adorning it. Some people were missing for months while others barely a few days. The first thing he needed right now was information so he took the most recent posters and went around asking. One of the townsfolk pointed him in the direction of the family whose son had gone missing. He politely knocked on the door of the small house until a middle-aged woman opened the doors.

"Yes?" she asked, there a surprised undertone in her voice.

"Excuse my interruption but I was told that your son is among the missing persons and I'm here to ask of you if you could tell me anything you know about it," Hanzo said and the woman's eyes lit up.

"You are here to find my baby boy?" she asked, hope crossing her features.

Hanzo nodded. "Indeed."

"I-I will tell you what I can but please come in first," the woman offered and he entered the house, she offered him some tea and he accepted. She started telling him everything she knew about the day of her son's disappearance as they sat at the kitchen table, the trembling of her voice showed just how much the disappearance had affected her. "E-Everything started as normal, we both woke up, ate and prepared for the rest of the day, my son going to school while I had first shift at the store. It all passed as usual and later after noon we both came back home. Later he asked if he could go play with his friend and I agreed. When he didn't return later at nightfall I started to become worried so I called the parents of other children to ask if he was still with them only to get a no for an answer from everyone. I eventually found out that a few boys decided to go check out the old dust mines near the cliffs and that none of them returned. I started panicking but hoped that the boys only lost track of time and would return soon. When they didn't in the morning I knew that he had gone missing like the others. I had told him not to stray away from the town ever since this all started. Something is very wrong out there, this was a peaceful place, we never had any problems apart from Grimm from time to time and that bastard Dorian but he is just a greedy businessman," Hanzo raised an eyebrow at that and the woman proceeded to elaborate. "He wants to buy the town and the land around it due to it still having some dust deposits but people won't budge, we like it here and he would force us away if he bought it all."

"And where are these mines located?"

"Just outside the town, look at the cliffs, you cant miss them," the woman said and Hanzo nodded. He then got up and proceeded to walk towards the door. "Please bring my son back to me safely," the woman pleaded. He knew the pain, the agony of not seeing your child ever again, of them being lost to you forever, he went through that, this woman even if Hanzo did not know her, he knew that she didn't deserve that kind of suffering. It is every parent's worse nightmare to outlive their child, a nightmare Hanzo had lived and still lives in, he would not let that happen to her.

"I will do what I can," Hanzo said and left.

From the friends and families of the people, he had gathered what he needed. People had dissipated at random times and locations but a common thing is that it always happened far enough away from the town walls.

Hanzo quickly made his way towards the cliffs where the boy and his friends were last seen. While looking at the ground he noticed small dust crystals that were once mined here. There were small footprints in the dirt and dust that lead into the cavern and Hanzo proceeded to follow them. When the cavern turned dark he used his powers to summon a flame in his hand, just enough for illumination. Going through the tunnels he found something interesting, one of the doors that belonged to storage had a new lock, indicating that it was recently used and once Hanzo took a look inside he found evidence of the room being occupied for a short while at least but not willingly, a chain on the ground proving that. He followed the footprints until something caught his attention, it was the second set of footprints, these ones much larger more of them, indicating a group of adults. It seems that there was a small struggle evident by a small bloodstain on the rocky wall of the tunnel. It was not enough to indicate a serious injury but whoever was on the receiving end would be in pain right now. He moved carefully through the tunnel while following the steps until he reached an exit. It was another entrance to the mines but this one was on the other side of the cliffs. Looking around he saw clear evidence of a truck being parked there, there were tire tracks in the grass and dirt and more footprints coming from other directions, most were just like the big ones in the tunnel while others were different, meaning more people had been taken.

The similar ones in the mine and out here must belong to some kind of security force seeing that they are all so identical. That means whoever is behind the abductions is doing this for a reason and has a group of possibly well-trained personnel guarding them. Hanzo could not help but frown in disgust, people in his own realm were kidnapped for various reasons daily, everything from money to being used as slaves. Considering that none of the families got a ransom note thus far it seemed that this was the case of the latter or something similar. He had done many things he was not proud of in his life, horrible things but he had tried to atone for his actions. But even as Scorpion, as much as his mind was misguided by rage and Quan Chi's magic he would never bring himself to harm a child, the memory of Satoshis face as he died forever etched in Hanzos mind and every time he saw a child in pain or in need of help he could only see his son. Hanzo clenched his fists. whoever was behind this deserved to have their soul burn in the deepest pits of the Neatherrealm for even thinking about harming a child. He took a moment to compose himself, doing anything with his mind clouded by anger would result in less than desirable circumstances.

The grandmaster decided to follow the tracks belonging to the vehicle, taking to the trees to avoid any stragglers who still might be roaming the area. He had tracked through the woodland for almost an hour, not encountering any humans but he did dispatch several smaller grimm, mostly beowolves. The tire tracks lead from the woods to a dirt road that passed over the hills above the settlement. He encountered no one while following the road and by the tracks on the road, it was rarely used, so whoever was behind the kidnappings was at least doing a decent job of covering their tracks, well maybe not so decent after all.

After an hour of following the tracks he ended up at the edge of the woods, in front of him was a clearing that led to a small hill which had an old manor house built on top of it. The manor house was surrounded by a wall of bright red brick and he could see several armed guards patroling the perimeter around the estate. He watched the manor from behind the trees for a while trying to find any weakness he could, maneuvering around the estate to get a better look at all sides. The place was well guarded but the wall was not too high and was easily scalable by Hanzo, reaching the walls would be a little issue as well. What was the issue on the other hand was that he didn't know the full number of men guarding the place.

The grandmaster decided that the best option, for now, was to wait for the sun to go down and once night and darkness took over, it will be his time to strike. Hanzo took the time to prepare and meditate while the sun made its way across the sky, finally falling to the west and allowing the moon and stars to take their place. He waited for the opportune moment which showed itself when a patrol disappeared behind the back wall of the estate and no others showed on the east side from where Hanzo had decided to make his move. Throwing himself into a sprint he ran fast enough to reach the wall in seconds, climb over it using his momentum and land safely on the other side without anyone even noticing him. Crouching down he carefully moved towards the manor house which had tall windows through which light shone through. Spying through the window he saw that the first room was a hallway that had a staircase leading to the floor above. He needed to find a way to enter without setting off an alarm or getting seen.

Hanzo moved along the walls of the manner, passing a dining room which was occupied with several guards having their evening meal and the kitchen which had another two guards chatting as they cooked. As he was about to turn around the corner of the house two voices were heard and Hanzo quickly moved to hide behind a set of fir trees that were planted close to the manner.

"…. just its a bit on the bad side, it's all. I don't have an issue with taking Faunus but taking normal people, that's overdoing it. I'm starting to feel bad for them," one guard said.

"Do you feel bad when you get your paycheck?" another guard said in an annoyed tone. The two guards stopped right in front of where Hanzo was hiding.

"Well, no but what I'm saying..." the first one started but the second one cut him off.

"Oh for god's sake Nick, this place is a bloody backwater, no one is going to miss them, everyone thinks it's grimm who are making them disappear. We get a percentage for every person we bring in and the boss gets to sow panic among the people, in time they will have enough and will finally decide to sell and move on. We could have done this the hard way but this way we get to make more money and the higherups are happy, everyone wins."

The first guard sighed. "I guess you are right," he said as he started to walk forward.

"Arent I al..." the guard started but was cut off when Hanzo put one hand over his mouth while the other plunged the tanto into his neck. A mumbled cry of pain was heard for a second before the body went limp and dropped to the ground. This caught the other ones attention who turned around to see what was going on only to receive the tanto which was still covered in his comrades blood straight into his left eye. The blade went through the eye, through the bone of his skull, and into the brain ending the unfortunate man right there. Hanzo simpy pulled the short blade out and let the body fall to the ground. He used the guard's clothes to clean the tanto before moving the bodies to his former hiding place. After making sure that there were no more unwanted visitors he continued to look for an entrance which he found in the form of a small balcony above the back door to the manner. After he climbed up he took a peek through a small window to the side for potential threats only to find the coast to be clear. Opening the door he left himself inside, all the while making sure to keep as silent as possible so as not to attract unwanted attention. With the doors closed behind him, he stealthily moved through the hall, listening for any sound. A sound of water flowing from the tap and stopping caught his attention so he moved next to the door from which the sound originated. From inside the bathroom came out a guard who was wiping off his hands against a towel but before he knew it he was pushed back inside and before he could scream for help had his neck snapped with ruthless efficiency. Hanzo left the body on the floor, its lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling as its killer left the room, shutting the door behind him. After making sure that no one else was left on the floor, finding a few more guards either sleeping or resting and dispatching them easily. After trying to find anything that could give him more information and failing Hanzo proceeded to move downstairs.

The sounds of guards relaxing were heard from the lower floor, there was talking, a bit of arguing, and music being played, most of it coming from the dining room. Just as he got to the bottom of the stair the sound of footsteps was heard and he quickly hid behind the stairway allowing a female guard to pass him without a problem. So a large number of them were in the dining room, he had dispatched the ones on the upper floor but he needed to know where the prisoners were being kept so he silently followed his new target. Once she rounded behind the corner he pinned her to the wall, his left hand covering her mouth while his right held the short blade at her throat. She could do nothing but look at him with shocked eyes. She tried to reach for her gun but stopped when Hanzo put more pressure on her neck, the blade cut just enough for a drop of blood to flow down her neck.

"I need information, scream and I will kill you, understand?" Hanzo said in a commanding tone and the guard nodded. Hanzo slowly lowered his left hand. "Where are the prisoners kept?"

"In the basement, go back to the hallway, second door to the right," the guard said in a terrified tone.

"How many more of you are on this floor and how many people are below?"

"Just the guys in the dining room and the kitchen, eight of them, and the ones outside… and there are few on the floor above," the guard said. He had already taken care of the ones above so that leaves the eight that are here and others that are outside. "There should be two dozen people being kept bellow, faunus mostly, they are scheduled to be sent further in three days."

"Where?" Hanzo asked while glaring at the guard.

"I don't know, the boss is the only person who knows, he deals with the buyers the rest of us only provide the merchandise," the guard said and immediately regretted when she realized how she referred to the people they kidnapped. Hanzos glare only intensified, his eyes now looked more like raging fires. "The only way to access the basement is with a key card, Sarge has it. I-I told you everything I know, p-please don't kill me," she pleaded.

"The one who hired you, where are they?"

"Down in the basement, he has an office down there."

Hanzo looked her in the eyes and if she didn't have her back up against the wall she would have flinched back. "You kidnapped innocent people for something as minuscule as money, you ruined their lives for something that can be gained through thousands more honest ways. You don't deserve mercy," he said and not a second later proceeded to cut her throat, her eyes going wide in shock for a moment before life slowly drained from them.

"So, I'm going to need to do this the messy way after all," Hanzo thought as he left the corps and started walking back to the hallway he came from and to the dining room.

In the dining room, the mercenaries were having their evening meal after a day's shift, most would be going to bed with a few unlucky souls who got the short end of the stick tonight will be left on the night shift. One of them was switching through the channels on the TV while eating some chicken pie.

"Hey, leave the Vale finals on, the fight should be good," one merc complained.

"I have the remote, if you want to watch something wait until I'm done," the second one said while glaring at the other.

"Asshole," the first one grumbled and got back to his meal.

"Hey Sarge how long are we going to be stuck here?" another voice was heard.

"As long as we are paid to, it's good money and we get extra for anything additional, as far as I'm concerned, we could be here for a while."

"The pay is good but it's getting boring, all we do is sit here or take people and most don't even put on a fight," the merc complained again.

"That kid in the mine did," another one, this one being a blue-haired woman said in a joking manner.

"And he hit his head for it. I'm talking about some real action not pushing a kid around," he continued to complain.

"I know it's not exactly exciting but..." the officer started but was cut off when one of his men who was sitting to his right received a knife to the eye and his head fell into the meal he was having. For a moment all looked at the body in shock until they moved their gazes to the direction from which the blade came from and saw their assailant, a yellow and black-clad warrior. The stranger reached them with the speed that only a huntsman could possess and immediately started taring through them. The first merc got punched in the chest, shattering his ribs and sending him flying into another, the merc with the blue hair pulled out her gun only for Hanzo to grab the weapon and used it as a club shattering his opponent's skull with it. As two more guards came running from the kitchen Hanzo picked up the one that was complaining earlier and tossed him at them, knocking out all three of them. Now the only ones left were Hanzo and the merc Sargent.

"Who the hell are you?" the officer shouted as he pointed his rifle at the yellow-clad warrior.

"Your death," Hanzo said in a tone that was at the same time cold and yet filled with fiery fury. As the guard was about to shoot, Hanzo appeared in front of him in a blink of an eye with his tanto lodged into his chest. The merc blinked a few times before he slowly looked down to see the blade protruding from his chest. Looking at it in disbelief. Hanzo pulled the blade and let the body fall to the white tile floor, the last thing the Sargent saw was Hanzos boots.

With the fight done, Hanzo picked up the green key card from the Sargent and moved towards the basement. Using the card to unlock the door, he follows the old wooded staircase down into a dark room, the only source of light coming from the door twenty meters in front of him. He used his powers to summon a flame in his hand, as he did so the room he was in became illuminated and he could see the cages in which about twenty or so people were being kept. Their eyes strained as they looked to the source of light, only to see a man standing there. They looked at him with fear, some did with confusion while others looked away.

"Y-You are not a guard," a child's voice was heard from one of the cages. It was a boy, no older than seven, he had a pair of fox ears on his head and looked as if he had been here for some time.

"No, I'm not," Hanzo replied.

"Who are you?" an older voice female asked.

"Someone who was sent to look for you," Hanzo said and he could hear some of them sigh in relief.

"A huntsman, thank god for that," the same woman said.

Hanzo looked around, seeing the prisoners now standing at the doors of the cages. His gaze then turned to where the door was, a small bit of light coming from below it. "Be patient, I will release you as soon as I'm done with whoever is behind that door," Hanzo walked over to the door, listening closely for anything that might tell him if there were more people than just the one who was behind this all on the other side. Hearing nothing that would cause alarm he opened the door and walked inside. At the other side of the door, he found a decent-sized office with a large desk in the middle behind which sat an older, slightly obese man dressed in fine clothes who had a surprised look on his face.

"You are not one of my mercenaries. Who are you?" the man demanded. Hanzo did not say a word as he stepped closer to the desk. The old man started to feel nervous, a drop of sweat running down his forehead. He took a com device and called the commander of his guard. "Vito, we have a breach, get your ass in my office," he barked only to be met with silence. "Vito!"

"No ones coming," Hanzo finally said. "This is over, the people you have taken will go free and you..." Hanzo gave the man in front of him a look that could kill a person.

"What is it that you want? Money? I will give it to you. Women? Taken one of the girls which fancy your eye," the fat man said and this only served to infuriate Hanzo even more. He grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him up.

"It is the scum like you who ruin the lives of innocents," Hanzo said, his voice filled with fury. "You kidnapped children only to sell them, you would destroy their lives forever for something as feeble as monetary gain, you many lived did you ruin already? You are a being not worthy of breathing the same air as your victims, your soul deserves to rot in the deepest pits of the Neatherrealm."

The fury which the yellow-clad warrior showed made the old mat shake in fear. "I-I will give you what ever you want, I know some very powerful people, they could provide you with what ever you need," the fat man pleaded.

"The only thing I need of you is to die," Hanzo said as he used his power to burn the man alive. The fat man screamed for a moment until his screams died with him. Hellfire made quick work, leaving only ashes. As the man turned into ashes, Hanzo took a moment to compose himself, he had let his anger get the better of him. After he composed himself he looked around the office, trying to find as much information as he could. It turned out that this man was the man the people in the town spoke of, the one of wanted to buy their land due to the dust that still lay beneath. It turned out that he was sacked from the SDC a while ago and he was trying to get back in their good graces, the plan being taking over the mines here and offering them to head of SDC. Somehow he had a connection to a human trafficking ring and used that connection to sell the kidnapped people, earning more money that way. It seemed that the trafficking ring had its center somewhere in Mistral. After gathering all the intel he could find Hanzo left the office once more using his powers to burn it down before releasing the people who were trapped in the cages, mostly children and faunus. They thanked him a thousand times as they made their way back to the town. The reunion between the kidnapped people and their families warmed Hanzos heart, especially the one between the mother who he first talked to and her son. The boy had a small gash on his head due to hitting his head in the mines but it will heal quickly. Now he had a new mission, to track down and find the people who had already been sold and to get rid of this trafficking ring.

"Looks like I'm going to Mistral," Hanzo thought as he walked away from the town.

AN: I thought that giving Hanzo a good reason to go straight to Mistral instead of any other kingdom could be good and for him to have a goal in mind, even if it's only temporary. A lot of interesting stuff will be happening in Mistral.