Chapter 2: Secrets of Deception (2/2)

Two hours has passed and Jaden was still falling on performing the Bicycle kick. So much after he fell on the ground for the eleventh time, he didn't bother standing up again. He was just too tired and honestly, the snoring from Bo'Rai Cho and Kung Jin weren't exactly helping. Even after so many failures, Jaden Kang refuses to quit. But his concentration wasn't exactly on top, especially after the visit he received from Damashi. He's still trying to understand a few things.

Why was a emissary of the Elder Gods want something from him? He was already the God of Thunder's pupil, like his father before him. Jaden was having some doubts about this whole thing. His desire to speak with Raiden just increased with all this doubts and questions on his head. Another thing that he couldn't understand was, what exactly is this gift that Damashi gave him. "The ability to absorb the fighting skills of any fighter you encounter." was what he said to him. Jaden needed to test that out.

He could wake up Kung Jin to a fight but Jaden knew it would be a waste of time, Kung Jin's fighting ability was mediocre at best. He relied too much on his bow. One of the first lessons he ever got when he started his training was, never rely too much on a weapon. Weapons can be broken or taken away from you, which was exactly what Jaden did on his fight with Kung Jin. He took the bow away and he was pretty much useless without it. But even so, Jaden had to admit that Kung Jin was a pretty good archer. The shot he used to make him fall down the stairs was pretty accurate and the ones he shot at those man back in his house.

Master Bo'Rai Cho was also not an option, because when he starts to snore so loud, it means he won't wake up, no matter what Jaden does.

Jaden decided that thinking about it too much would only give him a headache. He stood up from the ground in order to try again.

But when he was about to attempt the technique one more time. A flash of thunder appeared right in front of the house. Jaden knew exactly what that meant.

He quickly made his way to the house, walk past his drunken master and the thief and walk straight towards the front entrance. The moment he opened it reveled just the person that he wanted to see.

"Hello, Jaden." Raiden greeted him.

"Lord Raiden." Jaden bowed a bit.

"Where is Bo'Rai Cho?"

"Pass out drunk." Jaden quickly responded. "Kung Jin also decided to take a nap."

"I need to speak with him, so this nap will be cut short."

"Lord Raiden, I need to tell you something." Jaden decided to be direct.

"What is it?"

"Did you kill my father?"

Raiden was surprised by that question. "Jaden, why are you asking me this?"

"I had a dream, of you and my father fighting in a rooftop, I saw Shao Kahn entering through a portal while you two fought." Jaden reconized that it was Shao Kahn in his dream because he recognized the helmet. It fit the description that the monks told him, so it had to be Shao Kahn. "The fight ended with my father being burned."

Raiden stayed quiet for a bit. "You need to understand." Raiden told him. "Your father has lost his faith in me due to several mistakes that I made during our battle against Outworld." Raiden explained to him. "I received some visions from the future-"

"Vision from the future?" Jaden interrupted him to ask.

"Yes, my amulet started to show me images, images of possible outcomes in the battle." Raiden told him.

"What kind of outcomes." Jaden was curious.

"Your father beating Shang Tsung." Raiden quickly told him. "But it also showed me, the death of allies, deaths that I attempted to prevent." Raiden said with a saddened look. "But I failed."

Jaden needed to know. "And my father?"

"Liu Kang had become enraged with me, the death of Kung Lao and your mother's near demise at the hand of queen Sindel, made him lose his trust in me." Raiden continued to explain to Jaden. "So he decided to confront Shao Kahn himself. But the amulet then showed me, what would happen if your father faced him. It would have stopped Shao Kahn, but only temporarily." Raiden had finished his explanation. "When I tried to reason with him, he attacked me and we fought, and the result was his death." There was a certain amount of pain in his expression that Jaden couldn't help but notice. "It was one of my biggest regrets but you need to understand that I didn't mean it to end it like that."

Jaden could tell that Raiden was being sincere and didn't really want to judge him for what happened. "I... I believe you." It was all that Jaden said.

"Jaden, was there anything else? Besides this dream I mean." Raiden asked him.

"Well, I received a visit from someone or something, claiming to be a emissary of the Elder gods." Jaden decided to come clean about that.

"What?" Raiden asked in confusion.

"He said that his name was Damashi."

Raiden eyes widen when Jaden said that name.

"Jaden, listen to me." Raiden knelled down to look at his eyes, which surprised Jaden because Raiden never did that. "This Damashi is not a Emissary of anything, he's Onaga the deceiver."

"What? Onaga, The Dragon King?" Jaden asked in deep confusion. "I knew, there was something off about that thing."

"Jaden, what did he want with you?" Raiden asked in worry.

"He gave me a gift or at least I think it was supposed to be a gift.

"What kind of gift?"

"The ability to absorb the fighting skills from any fighter I encounter." Jaden explained to him.

"So he gave it to you as well." Raiden spoke.

"What?"

"Do you remember master Shujinko?"

Raiden once took Jaden to visit a master called Shujinko. The two didn't really spoke but Jaden could tell that he was a skilled warrior.

"Yes."

"You see, when Shujinko was a young man, he was also visited by Damashi and was given the same ability." Raiden explained to him. "This ability is quite unique, you don't only absorb a technique or a fighting style, Jaden." He spoke to Jaden. "You can also absorb special abilities with it."

"What do you mean?" Jaden asked Raiden, now in full curiosity.

"When Shujinko received this ability, he went on a Journey and meet up with several skilled warriors." Raiden started to tell Shujinko story to Jaden. "He was able to do abilities that only a few possess, like the ability to control, shape and manipulate ice."

"Wait, are you telling me that master Shujinko got the ability to do Cryomancy just by fighting a Cryomancer?" Jaden couldn't believe it. Though he spent most of his time training, Jaden was a well educated boy, he knew a lot about the other realms. He knows about Cryomancers because they were a race native of Edenia.

"Yes, It's quite of a unique ability." Raiden himself was thinking about the possibilities that this could open for Jaden. He doesn't like the fact that it was a gift from Onaga, but he can make sure that Jaden will not be manipulated like Shujinko was. Jaden was already on his way to become like his father, and things can only get better with this kinda of ability on his hands. Shujinko became a exceptional warrior because of it and Bo'Rai Cho told Raiden that Shujinko was just average before he received that ability. "We better inform this to Bo'Rai Cho and I still have to speak with Kung Jin."

Jaden just nodded.

"Onaga!?" Bo'Rai Cho spoke after spitting out his drink.

Jaden and Raiden entered the house and the first thing that Jaden did was kick his master's large belly to wake him up. Raiden then informed of him about Jaden's encounter with Damashi, who was in fact Onaga. Then Raiden informed him about the ability to copy that he gave Jaden.

"My boy, you should have told me about this visit you received." Bo'Rai Cho started to lecture Jaden.

"Sorry Master." Jaden gave it a little bow alongside the apology.

"You're forgiven, but we need to test the extent of this ability." Bo'Rai Cho told Jaden. "Let's go outside while Raiden speaks to him." Bo'Rai Cho stands up from where he was sitting down and walks towards the back entrance and signals Jaden to follow.

Jaden does what he's told, he bows to Raiden before following Bo'Rai Cho. Leaving Raiden and Kung Jin alone.

"Whatever are you going to say or offer, I'm not interested." Kung jin said as soon as the two were alone.

"One of the descendants of the great Kung Lao, reduced to a common thief." Raiden spoke in a very serious tone. "And easily beaten by a younger boy." Jaden was ten years old while Jin was eleven.

Raiden himself couldn't help but take a good look at Kung Jin. He resembled his uncle, Kung Lao a bit, he has a few of his features. Then he started to make comparisons between Him and Jaden. Liu Kang and Kung Lao were distant cousins, making Jaden Kang and Kung Jin the same. Though Raiden had to admit that the two didn't have any similarity in appearance. Jaden has inherited much of his mother's beauty. He's almost inhumanly handsome, even by Edenian standards. Kung Jin on the other hand had a more common appearance. Jaden had short and shaggy hair, while Kung Jin had long hair that he tied in a pony-tail.

"Screw you." Kung Jin angrily rebuffed. "It's your fault my family got ruined."

"Kung Lao's death is one of my biggest regrets." Raiden calmly talked back to him. "But how could it possibly be my fault that your mother felt ill or that your father has lost your family's fortune in gambling?"

"You could have stopped him."

"Believe me, I tried. But your father was a exceptionally stubborn man." Raiden did tried but it was in vain. "Kung Jin, I know you were doing what you were doing to get by, but your better than this." Raiden approached him and put his hands on his shoulders. "Join the Shaolin. Like Kung Lao before you."

"I'm not a warrior, not like him." Kung Jin spoke while looking down.

"Your fighting skills could definitely use some work, that's why you're here." Raiden signaled him to follow him. Both of them went to the back yard of the house where Jaden Kang and Bo'Rai Cho were fighting. Both of them were using short staffs. Raiden was sure that Bo'Rai Cho was testing the ability that Onaga has given to Jaden by teaching the style of Jojutsu which Bo'Rai Cho is pretty skilled at. Jaden was struggling, since it was the first time that he picked up that weapon. "That's why a brouth you here, you see Bo'Rai Cho was the one that trained you uncle."

"That lazy drunk trained him?"

"Drunk, absolutely. Lazy, no" Raiden quickly responded as the two observe.

"What about him?" He asked while pointing at Jaden.

"That boy, is the son of Liu Kang."

"What?" Kung Jin was surprised. He heard stories about Liu Kang, how he was the one who finally defeated Goro and avenged his ancestor.

"Yes, after Liu Kang's death and his mother dying soon after, I took care of him and made sure that he was trained just like his father."

The two observing the fight and watched Jaden getting the hang of the style. But unfortunately he was defeat it by Bo'Rai Cho. After dropping the staffs, they make their way back to Raiden and Kung Jin.

"So?" Raiden asked.

"Yes, no one normal could have got the hang of it so quickly." Bo'Rai Cho explained. "After a few more fight, I think he could master it." He was sure of it.

"And you Jaden?"

"I was clueless at the start, but then it just felt natural." Jaden spoke to them. "Like the first time, I learned how to kick and now I throw them like it's nothing." He was having a hard time describing. "It's so strange."

"No doubt, but it will definitely prove useful to your training." Bo'Rai Cho spoke up. "And what about you Kung Jin? Did you make up your mind about Raiden's offer?" Bo'Rai Cho asked him.

"I... I don't know." Kung Jin was considering but he wasn't sure yet.

"Listen boy, Your uncle was just like that when he came here for the first time." Bo'Rai Cho started to speak. "The same thing I told him, I will tell you now. If you want to be something more than the ancestor of a great warrior, you gotta work hard and earn it." Bo'Rai Cho told him. "And in my personal opinion, this is much better then being a common thief who gets beaten by a boy younger then him."

Jaden chucked a bit at that. Kung Jin looks at him with a angry face.

"Sorry, but he's right." Jaden apologized. "Won't you rather train and be a great warrior like your uncle than being a scum who steals from people."

"He got you there boy." Bo'Rai Cho spoke afterwords.

Kung Jin pauses a bit.

"Ok." He said after a short pause.

"Great, you're training will start after supper." Bo'Rai Cho said before entering the house.

"I must go now." Raiden spoke. "Be well Kung Jin." He said to him.

"Thanks."

"You too my boy, and if you get another one of those visits, tell Bo'Rai Cho." Raiden said to Jaden.

Jaden nodded. "Until next time, Lord Raiden."

Raiden nodded as well before teleporting like he always does.

Jaden then approches Kung Jin and extends his hand. "Jaden Kang." He introduces himself.

"Kung Jin." He shakes his hand.

"Sorry about your face." Jaden was apologizing for the bruise that was on Kung Jin's cheek.

"Sorry for making you fall down those stairs too." Kung Jin also apologizes.

"We better go inside, I think Master Bo'Rai Cho passed out from drinking." Jaden said as he sees Bo'Rai Cho on the ground snoring again.

"Is that fat guy really a master?" Kung jin asked in frustration as he follows Jaden inside the house.

A/N: About the whole Kung Jin being Kung Lao's nephew rather than his cousin is because on one of Kung Lao's intros in Mk11, Kung Lao said that he was his nephew. I honestly prefer him being his nephew than cousin.