Note: From now on, I've changed his name to have a "u" at the end, so it's
Reikou. In my Japanese Online Dictionary, it means either strict
enforcement, carry out (regulations), or cold light, luminescence. Or, Ed
Boon (and John Tobias - wherever he went - probably gave him the shortened
version of Reikonshoumetsu, which means annihilation (WOOHOO!) or Reikoku,
which means cruelty, cold-heartedness, relentless, or ruthless. You readers
decide on the meaning, but it'll always be Reikou to me, now. ^____^ Yeah,
I might be using more Japanese, so I should put it on the bottom what it
means.. For those of you who are Japanese-illiterate, Kuso means Shit.
Teehee ^^ I said Shit.
Disclaimer: You know what goes here.
The Allegiance - Chapter 3
The rest of the night didn't go as expected. Like I expected much from Earth's warriors, when I, myself, was a ruthless asshole. And I guess I still could be, after all, I was a general for both Shinnok's AND Kahn's armies. Anyways, I tried to be as friendly as I possibly could (really, what do you expect from me? To be. SWEET? Ugh, I abhor the thought.) and yet, when I volunteered to find their expected "dinner" (I just called it rations), they denied it, saying that they needed someone trustworthy. Well, I don't blame them. But it still angered me.
No swordfish for Reikou... and I even sacrificed my IMMORTALITY for them! How impertinent!
I guess it would be a while before they even thought of trusting me. Oh well, back to my seclusion.
I closed myself in the tent that I slept in, courtesy of Rayden (bless that irksome God), to collect my thoughts. It seemed to me that I'd be doing that a lot while the Earth warriors collected their own thoughts and plans to get rid of the sorcerers. Well, it did give me time to meditate and... well... meditate. If I was still immortal, I would have been able to locate the missing comrades of Sonya's and perhaps the location of Kano. But then a vision of another man came to my inner-sight. He looked a bit younger then Kano and held the look of a street thug. On the back of his trench coat was the sign of a Red Dragon. And he held the Hookswords that the ex-Black Dragon member Kabal had used before. Perhaps this man was the one who maliciously killed Kabal and has his weapons for a prize...
Another vision...
He was the one to kill Kano... for a deal with the sorcerers upon killing the blind swordsman Kenshi, this man, this... kitai... he was to also get rid of the Special Forces Lieutenant Sonya Blade. A wry smile spread across the kitai's face as he made the deal. My eyes snapped open - my meditation was complete. But was there any sense to warn her if I was to be ignored anyway? In my opinion, yes. I was trying to gain their trust, not make them hate me more.
I decided to keep my shuriken in the tent - no need to be armed, ne - and walked out. I hadn't realized that I had meditated for over an hour until I saw only the female Lin Kuei on a log away from the fire. Her attention snapped to my direction as I sat on a log near the fire.
"I'm on watch tonight." She said, staring at me with her icy-blue gaze. I said nothing.
The silence became unbearable until she spoke again. "Sifu says you were in the fourth tournament. Is that right?"
"I was. Under Shinnok's orders."
"Why'd you listen to him?"
I looked at the girl. Her eyes and hair seemed to glow in the now dim firelight. "I was his general. Now, since both he and Kahn are out of commission, I had no other choice but to join Earth's defenders and put an end to Chi and Tsung once and for all." The girl put her hand to her mask in thought.
"And you would not have made that deal with Rayden if your Sifu were alive?"
"... I'd rather not speak about this now," I replied and got up. "If you see Sonya before I do, tell her she's in danger. Komban wa." And with that, I headed back into my tent to sleep.
***
The next morning, for some reason, I woke up with a pounding headache. I wondered if it was a natural reaction for my body after I had become mortal.
Mortal. I still hated the thought of being mortal.
Once again, I had woken up before the others, even the poor girl who had fallen asleep on the log. I causally strode next to her while combing a hand through my raven hair.
"So, I see that we had no trouble, eh, watchperson?"
The girl woke with a start and looked around, finally laying her icy gaze upon my face.
"I must have... fallen asleep..."
"Uh huh. And when did you do that?" I asked teasingly, as an oniisan would do to his imoutosan. She just gave me a glare and stretched, sitting up on her log.
"Why do you get up so early?" she muttered, cutting through the silence. I shrugged and set off for my spot on the cliff.
The sky past the Cliffside held an overcast look. I narrowed my eyes, watching as the bolts of energy struck below. The storm seemed natural, but with the impending danger of two unmatched sorcerers (they were before, until Kang was killed), it didn't hold a good feeling for me. I decided to head back to my tent and retrieve my shuriken, but not before stopping to watch the girl again.
"You'd best prepare yourself, young one," I began, "We're in for a long day."
"But - wait, what do you mean?" I heard her ask as I closed the tent's door. I said nothing until I exited the tent with my shuriken in tow.
"The sky is ominous. Kitai."
The female Lin Kuei held a look of slight confusion. Perhaps I shouldn't speak in Japanese to a China woman, ne? I sighed.
"Danger lurks in the sky above. If I were you, young one, I'd be prepared for the worst of events. Wake the others; I have a feeling we'll be met with a trial of blood. I'll keep watch of the skies." The Lin Kuei nodded and did as she was told whilst I stood upon the Cliffside, waiting...
A slight breeze entangled itself in my hair, further exhilarating me. It had been so long since I had been in a battle (I'd lose face if I died not in a battle, but portrayed as a weak individual) that I was near shaking with anticipation.
"What is it?" I heard behind me. Kung Lao followed my gaze to the omnipotent clouds, which lay only a few miles away.
"Kitai," was once again the only thing I could think of to say. Kung Lao seemed to have understood me, for he headed back to the others and informed them of my prediction. An idea suddenly hit me. I turned and made my way to Earth's defenders.
"We head to Outworld with those clouds."
"Say what?!" Jax cried, "We can't ride on no clouds to take us to Outworld!"
"Bakayarou - if you have another way to get to Outworld, I'd like to hear it. Other than that, don't complain, since I'm your guide." I replied bluntly, staring the other man in the eyes. My unsettling nature made him back off and mumble something unintelligible.
"Fine."
"It's settled then?" I tilted my head and glanced at the small group. Rayden cleared his throat.
"Pick up camp before the storm arrives." He turned to me as the warriors obeyed. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"Frankly," I began, " the way you would have picked would have weakened your defenders. I'm simply...keeping their strength."
"I have doubts of where you lie in all of this, Reikou."
"You shouldn't doubt me, kamisama." I replied whilst shifting the weight of my shuriken. "I speak the truth and do wish to assist the Earth's warriors. Of course, there are a couple of people from Outworld and Netherealm who wish to destroy the sorcerers as much as your people. Including Scorpion, who has his own mission to kill Quan Chi, and Li Mei, whose people were enslaved when Tsung decided to build a temple."
"And of course, we'll find the Princess?"
"Kitana? Hai."
Rayden nodded. After a moments unnerving silence, I spoke again. "Does she know of Kang's death?" I asked. Rayden shook his head. "How sad to have your lover die and you don't know about it. Well," I continued on a lighter note, "Might as well head straight down the mountain towards that storm."
Rayden again nodded, with a bit of hesitation.
***
I lead the way to the dimensional rift of storm, choosing to ignore the comments behind me - mostly complaints still on Jax's part. I sighed, clutching my shuriken tightly in my hand.
"If you want it done the hard way, we could have gone the way Rayden would have suggested," I called back. "This way is easier on the soul and mind... and it doesn't weaken the warrior." I started to say something else, but the ominous wind caught the words in my mouth. We were near the storm. And if we weren't careful when we got near the eye of the storm, we would be whisked away and perhaps never heard from again. 'Only the chosen were to succeed in surviving the way,' I thought as I placed an arm over my head to block the forceful winds. I glanced back to observe the warriors in a state of resisting the zephyrs.
"We must head to the center of the storm!" I shouted over the winds. "If the portal lay there, the living storm will stop at nothing to make sure we don't survive!"
"Oh, THAT'S enlightening!" Sonya screamed. I said nothing and continued on, avoiding the debris, hoping the others would follow my lead and do the same. 'When we get out of this... the road will be tougher... but nothing we as a whole cannot take.'
My thoughts were correct as I neared the eye with the Earth's defenders. The portal lay only a few meters away, but the wind surged forth as if it were luring us away. I saw as the zephyrs formed visible hands and lashed out at us, but with me in the lead, I was able to withstand the blows by blocking them with my shuriken and hitting them away. 'Almost there...' I thought before a wind-hand grabbed me and squeezed. I was doing all I could to struggle away and keep conscious. "Go!" I cried out. "Get to the eye! The eye is the portal!"
I could have sworn Sonya glanced at me fearfully before I blacked out.
Translations:
Kitai-Danger
Oniisan-Older Brother
Imoutosan-Younger Sister
Bakayarou-(my favorite phrase to say) Idiot!
Kamisama-God
Hai-Yes
Disclaimer: You know what goes here.
The Allegiance - Chapter 3
The rest of the night didn't go as expected. Like I expected much from Earth's warriors, when I, myself, was a ruthless asshole. And I guess I still could be, after all, I was a general for both Shinnok's AND Kahn's armies. Anyways, I tried to be as friendly as I possibly could (really, what do you expect from me? To be. SWEET? Ugh, I abhor the thought.) and yet, when I volunteered to find their expected "dinner" (I just called it rations), they denied it, saying that they needed someone trustworthy. Well, I don't blame them. But it still angered me.
No swordfish for Reikou... and I even sacrificed my IMMORTALITY for them! How impertinent!
I guess it would be a while before they even thought of trusting me. Oh well, back to my seclusion.
I closed myself in the tent that I slept in, courtesy of Rayden (bless that irksome God), to collect my thoughts. It seemed to me that I'd be doing that a lot while the Earth warriors collected their own thoughts and plans to get rid of the sorcerers. Well, it did give me time to meditate and... well... meditate. If I was still immortal, I would have been able to locate the missing comrades of Sonya's and perhaps the location of Kano. But then a vision of another man came to my inner-sight. He looked a bit younger then Kano and held the look of a street thug. On the back of his trench coat was the sign of a Red Dragon. And he held the Hookswords that the ex-Black Dragon member Kabal had used before. Perhaps this man was the one who maliciously killed Kabal and has his weapons for a prize...
Another vision...
He was the one to kill Kano... for a deal with the sorcerers upon killing the blind swordsman Kenshi, this man, this... kitai... he was to also get rid of the Special Forces Lieutenant Sonya Blade. A wry smile spread across the kitai's face as he made the deal. My eyes snapped open - my meditation was complete. But was there any sense to warn her if I was to be ignored anyway? In my opinion, yes. I was trying to gain their trust, not make them hate me more.
I decided to keep my shuriken in the tent - no need to be armed, ne - and walked out. I hadn't realized that I had meditated for over an hour until I saw only the female Lin Kuei on a log away from the fire. Her attention snapped to my direction as I sat on a log near the fire.
"I'm on watch tonight." She said, staring at me with her icy-blue gaze. I said nothing.
The silence became unbearable until she spoke again. "Sifu says you were in the fourth tournament. Is that right?"
"I was. Under Shinnok's orders."
"Why'd you listen to him?"
I looked at the girl. Her eyes and hair seemed to glow in the now dim firelight. "I was his general. Now, since both he and Kahn are out of commission, I had no other choice but to join Earth's defenders and put an end to Chi and Tsung once and for all." The girl put her hand to her mask in thought.
"And you would not have made that deal with Rayden if your Sifu were alive?"
"... I'd rather not speak about this now," I replied and got up. "If you see Sonya before I do, tell her she's in danger. Komban wa." And with that, I headed back into my tent to sleep.
***
The next morning, for some reason, I woke up with a pounding headache. I wondered if it was a natural reaction for my body after I had become mortal.
Mortal. I still hated the thought of being mortal.
Once again, I had woken up before the others, even the poor girl who had fallen asleep on the log. I causally strode next to her while combing a hand through my raven hair.
"So, I see that we had no trouble, eh, watchperson?"
The girl woke with a start and looked around, finally laying her icy gaze upon my face.
"I must have... fallen asleep..."
"Uh huh. And when did you do that?" I asked teasingly, as an oniisan would do to his imoutosan. She just gave me a glare and stretched, sitting up on her log.
"Why do you get up so early?" she muttered, cutting through the silence. I shrugged and set off for my spot on the cliff.
The sky past the Cliffside held an overcast look. I narrowed my eyes, watching as the bolts of energy struck below. The storm seemed natural, but with the impending danger of two unmatched sorcerers (they were before, until Kang was killed), it didn't hold a good feeling for me. I decided to head back to my tent and retrieve my shuriken, but not before stopping to watch the girl again.
"You'd best prepare yourself, young one," I began, "We're in for a long day."
"But - wait, what do you mean?" I heard her ask as I closed the tent's door. I said nothing until I exited the tent with my shuriken in tow.
"The sky is ominous. Kitai."
The female Lin Kuei held a look of slight confusion. Perhaps I shouldn't speak in Japanese to a China woman, ne? I sighed.
"Danger lurks in the sky above. If I were you, young one, I'd be prepared for the worst of events. Wake the others; I have a feeling we'll be met with a trial of blood. I'll keep watch of the skies." The Lin Kuei nodded and did as she was told whilst I stood upon the Cliffside, waiting...
A slight breeze entangled itself in my hair, further exhilarating me. It had been so long since I had been in a battle (I'd lose face if I died not in a battle, but portrayed as a weak individual) that I was near shaking with anticipation.
"What is it?" I heard behind me. Kung Lao followed my gaze to the omnipotent clouds, which lay only a few miles away.
"Kitai," was once again the only thing I could think of to say. Kung Lao seemed to have understood me, for he headed back to the others and informed them of my prediction. An idea suddenly hit me. I turned and made my way to Earth's defenders.
"We head to Outworld with those clouds."
"Say what?!" Jax cried, "We can't ride on no clouds to take us to Outworld!"
"Bakayarou - if you have another way to get to Outworld, I'd like to hear it. Other than that, don't complain, since I'm your guide." I replied bluntly, staring the other man in the eyes. My unsettling nature made him back off and mumble something unintelligible.
"Fine."
"It's settled then?" I tilted my head and glanced at the small group. Rayden cleared his throat.
"Pick up camp before the storm arrives." He turned to me as the warriors obeyed. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"Frankly," I began, " the way you would have picked would have weakened your defenders. I'm simply...keeping their strength."
"I have doubts of where you lie in all of this, Reikou."
"You shouldn't doubt me, kamisama." I replied whilst shifting the weight of my shuriken. "I speak the truth and do wish to assist the Earth's warriors. Of course, there are a couple of people from Outworld and Netherealm who wish to destroy the sorcerers as much as your people. Including Scorpion, who has his own mission to kill Quan Chi, and Li Mei, whose people were enslaved when Tsung decided to build a temple."
"And of course, we'll find the Princess?"
"Kitana? Hai."
Rayden nodded. After a moments unnerving silence, I spoke again. "Does she know of Kang's death?" I asked. Rayden shook his head. "How sad to have your lover die and you don't know about it. Well," I continued on a lighter note, "Might as well head straight down the mountain towards that storm."
Rayden again nodded, with a bit of hesitation.
***
I lead the way to the dimensional rift of storm, choosing to ignore the comments behind me - mostly complaints still on Jax's part. I sighed, clutching my shuriken tightly in my hand.
"If you want it done the hard way, we could have gone the way Rayden would have suggested," I called back. "This way is easier on the soul and mind... and it doesn't weaken the warrior." I started to say something else, but the ominous wind caught the words in my mouth. We were near the storm. And if we weren't careful when we got near the eye of the storm, we would be whisked away and perhaps never heard from again. 'Only the chosen were to succeed in surviving the way,' I thought as I placed an arm over my head to block the forceful winds. I glanced back to observe the warriors in a state of resisting the zephyrs.
"We must head to the center of the storm!" I shouted over the winds. "If the portal lay there, the living storm will stop at nothing to make sure we don't survive!"
"Oh, THAT'S enlightening!" Sonya screamed. I said nothing and continued on, avoiding the debris, hoping the others would follow my lead and do the same. 'When we get out of this... the road will be tougher... but nothing we as a whole cannot take.'
My thoughts were correct as I neared the eye with the Earth's defenders. The portal lay only a few meters away, but the wind surged forth as if it were luring us away. I saw as the zephyrs formed visible hands and lashed out at us, but with me in the lead, I was able to withstand the blows by blocking them with my shuriken and hitting them away. 'Almost there...' I thought before a wind-hand grabbed me and squeezed. I was doing all I could to struggle away and keep conscious. "Go!" I cried out. "Get to the eye! The eye is the portal!"
I could have sworn Sonya glanced at me fearfully before I blacked out.
Translations:
Kitai-Danger
Oniisan-Older Brother
Imoutosan-Younger Sister
Bakayarou-(my favorite phrase to say) Idiot!
Kamisama-God
Hai-Yes