"Heyyourmailsherebye!"
The sound of papers, leaves and dust scattering cut through the air as the tiny boy tore off at inhuman speeds. He kicked up a small cyclone as he ran, leaving the flag on the mailbox up. About ten seconds later, the world seemed to catch up to Kabal's hyperactive personality and speed. About two streets over from where Shao and Raiden's usual arguments happened, there was a house known simply as the Delta Kunai Ninja House where five 'friends' (two of whom were brothers) resided together. Renting the house while two of them went to university, two of them worked, and one of them… well… we'll get to him. The middle aged of the five exited the house, looking at the dust clouds settling down to the ground as he walked towards the mailbox. He reached in and looked at the bundle of mail, seeing the usual; bills, ads, what was most likely a ransom letter from Kano, most likely a restraining order for Scorpion or Noob, and…
"Ugh…" Kuai groaned in disgust as he saw the final item in the mail. He rolled his eyes and walked back to his home. Slamming the door behind him, he tossed the mail onto a coffee table before looking for the youngest of the residents. "Tomas, here's your nudie mag."
"It's not… dude…" Tomas stammered, taking the magazine awkwardly and looking around nervously. "It's not a that kind of mag."
"Really?" Kuai asked with a raised brow, casting a brief glance down to the visible bits of the cover. "Edenian Exploits isn't that kind of magazine?"
"Why do you care?" Tomas rolled his eyes in annoyance, clearly paranoid over something.
"I don't. But I don't like the idea of that Kabal kid being the one who delivers it. He's way too young to be exposed to that garbage."
"He can't read Japanese, and the cover isn't visible, he doesn't know what it is." Tomas sighed in annoyance, then seemed to jerk to attention. "There! He did it again!"
Kuai groaned in annoyance, knowing what this was beginning to lead to. He looked over to the terrarium at Syzoth, their pet lizard, basking under the sun lamp. It was also clear that he was sleeping, ignoring the world around them.
"No."
"I swear dude! He just talked to me!"
"This is getting weird."
"I'm not kidding man! He's talking to me!"
"Smoke, you need to get on the patch, all that stuff inside you is starting to damage your mind." The middle man of the house remarked flatly, looking to Syzoth again, who had turned over, his tail twitching unconsciously. "I'm being honest right now, and I'm only telling you this because I care for you."
"Dude. He's… he's talkin' man!" Tomas insisted, while Syzoth kept sleeping. Kuai looked to his housemate, and good friend, and finally sighed in defeat.
"Get help." He insisted before walking off, leaving Smoke alone in the room with nothing but his thoughts and the terrarium with the small green-and-gray reptile. Tomas sat in silence, looking around nervously as the faint sound of scuttling could be heard. His head snapped to the lizard tank, and Syzoth wasn't sleeping any more. In fact, he wasn't in his tank. Tomas froze in fear and slowly looked around, no need to panic, Syzoth did this sometimes, he was a khameleon, so of course he'd be good at hiding. Maybe he just went under his rock… yeah, that made sense.
"AAH!" Tomas screamed, jumping slightly as when he reached for his drink, Syzoth was on the coffee table, looking up at him. "Uh… hey, little… little buddy. What are you doin outta your tank? You… you looking for some chow?"
"They sssstilll sssussspect nothing…" Syzoth hissed his beady eyes narrowing as he looked up at Tomas. While the ninja pulled his legs in trying to make himself disappear, which he did. Turing to smoke and falling through the couch. "YOU FOOL…"
Cracking open the fridge, Scorpion reached for his box of food they ordered from Hsu Hao's Sushi, and felt something off. Pulling his hand out, he groaned in disgust as he saw the shadowy, almost pudding-like… plasmic remains? Whatever it was, that wasn't the bigger problem. The bigger problem was that his food was gone, and he knew which one of his housemates had stolen his food. Again.
"NOOB!" Scorpion shouted, throwing the box into the recycling bin in disgust, where it landed amongst dozens of beer cans and bottles. "Stop stealing and leaving your black sludge on my food!"
As if on cue, the shadow food-thief appeared from the floor, appearing form one of his portals. Noob took his headphones out, where Welcome to the Black Parade could be heard playing as he stuffed them into his hoodie pocket.
"What is your problem with me today, Hanzo?" Noob asked in his asthmatic voice. Out of the five, Scorpion and Noob got along the least. Granted, they were both kind of hard to like on their best days, but their personalities and tastes did NOT mix. This became especially prevalent when Scorpion's room was being renovated and he had to bunk with Noob. Needless to say, no one got much sleep that month due to the constant fighting… Except Ermac, nothing seemed to bother him.
"THIS." Scorpion said annoyed, spearing the empty box and pulling it back before holding the empty and smudge-covered box up. Noob leaned forward to examine it, as if he had never seen it before. Finally, Noob looked up and shrugged.
"That is an empty box." He remarked.
"Yes. It was MY food." Scorpion scowled. "Now, it's GONE."
"Was it good?"
"I don't know. Why don't YOU tell me!?" Scorpion demanded. "You took my food, AGAIN! The box is covered in your sludge!"
"You believe I am responsible for this?" Noob asked skeptically.
"Yes! This is like the third or fourth time you've done this! It is literally covered in your marks!"
"Hm… you blame me for what any of us could've done." Noob continued, seeming absolutely baffled by what he was looking at. "Kuai, Tomas, Ermac, you, any of them could've eaten your food."
"We did not take your food Hanzo." A new voice spoke as the oldest of the members of Delta Kunai Ninja House floated in. Draped in his usual red shirt and black overcoat, Ermac seemed to be getting ready to leave for his weekend classes. It was also very clear he was not amused with what he was being accused of. "We do not eat the same as you, for we are-"
"We know! You're vegan!" Scorpion shouted in anger. "You literally bring this up ANY TIME food gets mentioned! I know you didn't eat my General Hotaru chicken, and Kuai doesn't leave black sludge over everything he touches, Tomas won't eat the stuff because it's too spicy, and I didn't eat it… but it's gone!" He concluded glaring at Noob.
"This seems like a you problem. We are out." Ermac remarked, slinging his bag over his back and leaving, the older ninja headed towards the campus grounds for his Egyptology classes. Noob and Scorpion watched him leave, then looked back to one another.
"Noob, I swear I will start putting mousetraps in the fridge if you keep taking my food."
"Your paranoia will be the death of you Scorpion." Noob shrugged, walking off and listening to his music.
"And you stealing my food will be the death of you…" Scorpion growled. He looked around for a second, then found another box of General Hotaru chicken, marked with 'S.Z.'. Scorpion looked around to make sure no one was watching him, then opened the box… only to find the chicken was gone, leaving only the pad Thai noodles.
"AAAGGHHH…"
Across the town, Kano had opened a lawn chair and was sitting in the front lawn with his cooler to his left. The entire reason he was doing this was to watch the fight between Raiden and Shao Kahn, as usual. He had assumed that after four or five years, he'd've gotten bored of their almost daily fights, but honestly, he hadn't.
"Hey Dundee." Came a voice.
"Yo, Cheech! Ain't seen ya in a minute. Where ya been ya drongo?" Kano laughed as he and Quan Chi partook in their traditional 'Arm Wrestle Greeting'. The Australian cyborg reached over and grabbed another beer, smashing the lid off and passing it to Quan Chi who seated himself in the air, watching the fight continue.
"Eh, working mainly." Quan Chi shrugged. "Had to deal with a lot of issues recently, big shake up in management, left a lot of people confused and disoriented. I swear, if I wasn't there, Onaga would've burned the company to the ground by now. And he still might."
"Y'know… I've been here fer' far less time than those blokes… but it feels like I've been stuck here for centuries!" Kano remarked as he watched Shao Kahn and Raiden keep arguing.
"I know the feeling." Quan Chi nodded, taking a drink, and noticing that two of the kids seemed to be talking to each other without hostility. "It's like… why? At first, I think it was a race thing? Like, Raiden doesn't like Outworlders or something like that was their first problem…?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back the bloody hell up." Kano remarked, bolting upright in surprise. "Raiden's a racist?"
"No… not… no." Quan Chi shook his head. "I misspoke there. He and Shao Kahn hate each other for reasons I don't know, and at one point, Raiden and Kahn got really drunk, and Raiden said something along the lines of 'Earthrealmers are superior' and then Kahn… well…"
"Went full Shao Kahn." Kano concluded.
"Yeah pretty much." Quan Chi conceded. "But that was after they had been here for a while. I think right around when the kids happened. But I really don't know why they started fighting in the first place. I know you fight with Kahn over the way he barbeques, and I fully agree with your complaints on that topic."
"Ya think it has anythin' ta do with Kahn's ex?" Kano remarked with a smirk.
"Oh Kano, whatever do you mean by that?" Quan Chi smirked in response.
"You know what I'm talkin' 'bout." Kano laughed.
"If that was the case, then they'd be fighting with half the town…"
"Aye, true that." Kano rolled his eyes, he took a sip then seemed to consider something. "Hey, Chi. You got any family?"
"No, not particularity. Why?"
"I uh, I've been havin' some issues with Black, and I'm not totally sure what ta do 'bout it." Kano admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "He's at that age where things… change. I've seen him try his best not to show it, but it's happening..."
"Seriously? You don't know how to talk to him about-" Quan Chi began flatly.
"No! Not that!" Kano cut him off, annoyed. "It's… he's growin' up, and I want him t'have the best chance he can. But it feels like whenever I try to talk to him, he gets more and more distant, and hey, good on him for independence and all. Whatever. But when it comes down to it, I quite honestly have no idea what t'do to help him."
"Kids grow and get weird." Quan Chi shrugged. "It's part of life. To be totally honest, you're not really the guy I'd ever imagine taking care of a kid, let alone two… and yeah, I still see why you aren't the first thing that comes to mind."
"The hell you mean by that?!" Kano asked, offended.
"Well, the alcoholism isn't exactly a great start. Not to mention all the heart breaks you've suffered recently leaving you in a place where relationships aren't a great topic for you to guide him on, the ransom notes and restraining orders aren't exactly great social lessons…"
"Hey, the reason I'm not allowed near the Khuck Kheese's isn't because of what people think it was!" Kano snapped, annoyed at the unspoken accusation.
"You got drunk and stabbed one of the workers, there is literally no way around this!" Quan Chi countered.
"..why am I friends with you?" Kano remarked aloud, genuinely mystified by the reasoning behind this.
"I'm pretty sure everyone in this town asks the same thing." Quan Chi shrugged. "Look, the thing is, you've given him the tools to build his life, maybe the best thing to do is just… let him live it. Let him get into some trouble, let him try stuff, it's his life, and he needs to live it."
"…" Kano didn't reply, looking away awkwardly. Quan Chi raised a brow then groaned.
"Hang on, were you asking me to help you get him off of alcohol or something? Or to try and talk him out of robbing a bank? Did you really let him do all that?"
"No… not all of that…" Kano muttered. The silence that followed was punctuated by Quan Chi's laugh.
"Aye… that's what I like about you Kano." He chuckled. "Nothing is ever straight forward…or boring."
"And at least I'm not a racist like thunderpants over there." Kano added with a nod. "I hate everyone equally."
"Same here." Quan Chi nodded, and they toasted their beers before deciding to watch the last bit of today's argument.
"I still can't believe Tsung just… watches." Kano remarked, noticing the sorcerer standing in the doorway seeming unamused. "Is that like, a thing for him?"
"No, he just knows the truth everyone else hasn't figured out yet. They're idiots, and nothing is gonna stop them."
About twenty minutes later, the fight (mercifully) ended and the two Chad's went back to their homes, believing them to be the victor. The kids had no idea what was going on and simply went inside to relax or play. Liu Kang timidly waved to Kitana as he left, who shyly returned the wave. Inside, Raiden stopped when he looked at the calendar, and remembered something, or someone who was going to be stopping by today. Without warning, the blinds rattled somewhat, and the back door opened.
"Hey Sparky! Where are ya!?" An energetic voice called suddenly.
"Uncle Fujin!" Liu Kang and Kung Lao exclaimed in excitement, running up to their uncle.
"Heeeyyy kids!" He laughed, picking them up. "Agh! Man, you guys are really growing fast! Soon you can pick me up!"
"Good to see you brother." Raiden smirked, nodding to his brother.
"Same to you." Fujin replied, his attention quickly turning back to the kids. "Hey, guys, you think we can fly in here?"
"Yeah!" The brothers exclaimed excitedly.
"Fujin no." Raiden said sternly.
"Fujin YES!" Fujin replied energetically, summoning some of his wind power and lifting both Liu Kang and Kung Lao into the air with his wind powers. They both laughed as the floated a few feet in the air, while Raiden gave his brother 'the look'. "Aw, c'mon Raijin! They ain't getting hurt!"
"Yet."
"C'mon, you really think I can't- OH GEEZ!" Fujin began smugly, looking to his brother, and accidentally stopped using his wind powers. Fujin caught Liu Kang while Raiden caught Kung Lao. Needless to say, Raiden wasn't impressed.
"That was fun!" Kung Lao laughed.
"Hey, we'll have some fun later, all right guys?" Fujin smirked, setting Liu Kang down on the floor. "I need to talk to your dad for a sec."
The two boys nodded and headed off to their room, leaving Raiden and Fujin alone. A few moments later, Fujin sighed.
"Me and Ashara broke up." Fujin stated, rubbing his arm.
"Oh…" Raiden blinked, not having expected this.
"Yeah, it was kind of mutual. I guess." Fujin shrugged.
"I'm sorry to hear that, she seemed nice." Raiden frowned.
"Yeah, no, it's good… it's good… and hey, it wasn't nasty or anything! We just figured that, y'know, it wasn't workin' out. It hurts, but hey. It could've been much, much worse."
"Like you and Delilah?"
"DO NOT mention her!" Fujin ordered, his eyes narrowing somewhat. "I don't know what happened with her… but… geez."
"Regardless, what else has been happening to you?" Raiden asked, sensing there was something else his brother didn't want to mention.
"Oh, well, I'm looking for the true meaning of my existence as usual. I got tired of the pseudo-intellectuals, and the elitist social life of those I surrounded myself with, determining my destiny and what not?" Raiden stared at his brother and just laughed, it made Fujin understand and give the honest answer: "My old lady kicked me out."
Raiden gave his brother a flat look, unsure of what to say or how to react.
"If you want to stay here for a bit, that's fine." Raiden offered.
"Wait, no. I..I can't." Fujin muttered awkwardly. "This is your place, and I just need to find some more work, then I'll be good to go and-"
"Fujin, you're my brother." Raiden said matter-of-factly. "Years ago, you helped me, Now I want to help you." The Thunder God knew his brother was a lot of things, and one of them was prideful in a good way. He had a hard time accepting others' help, not because he thought it was beneath him, but because he didn't want to make others uncomfortable. It honestly surprised him how many women Fujin had dated… and how none of them seemed to click.
"Raiden… I… I gotta ask, who is that?" Fujin began awkwardly but snapped to attention when he looked out the window. Raiden looked too and saw a man with a yellow dog running back and forth, a large stick in his mouth.
"Grey Cloud?" Raiden asked, a bit surprised by his brother's sudden shift in focus. "Wait, no, he prefers to be called Nightwolf. He's one of the Matoka people, he works as a forest ranger."
"…Huh." Fujin blinked. "So… who else is new around here?"
Kabal skidded to a stop at a long pathway, overgrown plants and flower adoring each side in a vibrant explosion of colour and smell. Normally, Kabal would run up, drop the mail off, and keep going, but he knew that the resident here didn't like that. Apparently, it upset the plants… whatever that meant.
"Miss Cetrion?" He called, as he walked towards the small cottage. Out front, a woman in tye-dye and a large sun hat was tending to a garden, and turned when her name was called.
"Hello, Kabal." The gardener greeted him with a nod, her eys partially covered by the small purple glasses she wore.
"Here, these came for you." He said, taking a small box out, Cetrion's eyes lit up an she smiled as she accepted the box. "Uh, hang on… No, that's all…"
"Well, thank you." Cetrion nodded. "The plants are feeling strong today, I hear their voices as they speak to me."
"…I don't hear anything." Kabal remarked after a few moments in silence.
"It takes some time to understand the way they speak to us. Sometimes you just need to sit and listen, let them speak to you…" Cetrion explained. "In time, they reveal themselves to us, let us know what they think and what they want from us, the balance of life and peace… it's all there."
"Uh…okay…?" Kabal said awkwardly.
"You really should slow down kid." Cetrion continued. "Your body is only so strong, if you continue to race through life, you'll burn through the energy the earth gives you. I can help you grow stronger through the earth and- oh, you're gone."
True to her observation, Kabal had disappeared.
"Rude." She stated, before returning to her garden.
Another chapter down. See you all later!