Disclaimer: I do not own Mortal Kombat or any of it's characters. All rights belong to Ed Boon, Nether Realm Studios, and Warner Bros.

1 week later, Dark Wu Shi Academy...

Kurai stands on the balcony of the temple just outside of his room as he watches some of the sensei's and temple masters of the academy training their students. He took Han's advice and decided to take a break from his training to gather his thoughts and put together all the details of his returned memories. To the best of his ability, at least.

Jade walks up behind him slowly with Kitana beside her before she wraps her arms around his waist and hugs him tightly. Kitana intertwines her arm with his and lays her head on his shoulder before they both sigh deeply. "How are you, Kurai? You've been awfully quiet for the past week." Jade asks him tenderly as he just continues to stare out at all the residents of the academy.

The prince lets out a frustrated sigh as the two women look at him worriedly. "I just... There's one thing I can't seem to figure out. It's been bugging me since my memories came back." He explains as Jade places her chin against his back.

"What, Kurai? What can't you figure out?" She asks him curiously as Kitana just listens. Kurai looks down at the tiny river that runs throughout the academy before he answers.

"Mother placed a spell on me before Ophelia took me out of the palace, an incantation that I don't understand. Is it... somehow related to my memories being locked? And if so, why lock them away in the first place? It doesn't make sense to me at all. It's just... It's frustrating as all hell." He explains with a shake of his head while clenching his fists tightly while replaying the memory of Sindel whispering the incantation over and over again in his head to make sense of why she did it in the first place.

"Kurai, maybe... maybe what our mother did, the spell or incantation, whatever it was, maybe it was a way for her to protect you in case things didn't go as she and father planned. And, as we all know at this point, they didn't. So, maybe, just maybe, she only did what she did to protect you. And all of us." Kitana chimes in tenderly as she hugs Kurai's arm tighter as Jade nods in agreement, but now she was beginning to have questions of her own.

If her mother made it out of the palace with Kurai, then is she still alive? If so, where has she been all this time, and why didn't she try to come rescue her, Kitana or Sindel before she killed herself?

Kurai nods at Kitana's reasoning, but then another question pops in his head. "If that is the case like you say, Kitana, I have another question for you." He tells her as his sister and Jade both look at him curiously.

"And what would that be?" The warrior princess asks curiously.

"Why did my memories suddenly return to me? Why now after all these years? They could've returned at any time. Why now? And what caused them to return so soon a month after the tournament in Outworld?" He asks her, and Jade, curiously, which causes them both to pause.

Obviously, neither Kitana or Jade had an answer to the question. "That... is actually a good question, Kurai. I really wish we had an answer for you." Jade says to him honestly as she lays her head back against his back while Kitana nods, though she remains silent.

Kurai just sighs exasperatedly. "Yeah, I wish I had an answer too, Jade." He tells her seriously as he and the two women now just stand in a comfortable silence while he and Kitana gaze at the sky. And Jade just keeps her head against Kurai's back while listening to his heartbeat.

After a few moments, Kitana untwines her arm from Kurai and pulls away from the comfortable embrace she and Jade were sharing with her little brother. "I'm going to get going now, Kurai. One of the sensei's, Senshi, I believe, asked me to help him with his students today. I agreed because I would like to see what he teaches them and how well they handle themselves. So, I best be off." She explains before placing a hand on his cheek to have him look at her. "And please, get some more rest before you resume your training, ok? For me?" She asks him kindly as they both look at each other tenderly.

He doesn't audibly answer, but he nods with a wink, which causes her to smile before kissing his cheek then leaves to help Senshi with his students. He briefly watches her leave before turning his gaze back towards the beautiful scenery of the temple.

After a few more moments of silence Jade decides to be bold and kisses Kurai's back softly, which causes him to turn his head to try and look at her. "Jade, what are you doing?" He asks her with an amused grin. She bites her lip with a smile before hugging him tighter.

"Nothing, I'm just... taking advantage of the moment." She answers honestly with a chuckle before he turns around with a smile before hugging her tightly. "Kurai? Could you come take a walk with me?" She asks him politely as he looks at her suspiciously.

"Of course I will, but... where do you want to go?" He asks her curiously with a grin. He had a sneaking suspicion that she wanted to talk to him about his memories or something more, but he wasn't quite sure. He knew, however, that she had no ulterior motive, so he decided that he would go along with it for now.

"During our stay here, Kitana and I found a nice field outside the academy. She and I agreed that we would bring you there together, because the view is nice. But, I... I want to be selfish and share this with you myself before all three of us do. It actually reminds us a little of Edenia, but with... tall metal buildings in the distance instead of waterfalls and stone mountains. I'm sure you understand." She explains as realization flashes across Kurai's face.

He smiles and begins to laugh, which causes Jade to smile and wonder what he was laughing about. "What? What's so funny?" She asks him curiously, but he shakes his head while still laughing.

"No, nothing. Nothing. I just had a thought that makes sense, now that I think about it." He tells her while smiling, which only makes her curious.

She looks at him slyly before wrapping her arms around his neck. "Well? Don't keep me in the dark here. What was your thought?" She asks him curiously before he shakes his head.

"Take me to this spot of yours first, and I'll explain there." He explains, which makes Jade look at him suspiciously with a smile before nodding after a moment.

"Alright, then. Let's get out of our robes and get dressed more appropriately. It's a bit of a long walk. We have to walk out through the town to get there." She tells him before walking away with a subtle sway in her hips as Kurai watches briefly. She stops and turns her head back to look at Kurai with a sly grin as he grins back.

"Tease." He says with a chuckle. Jade just continues grinning with a shrug before turning her head back while continuing to walk. Kurai shakes his head with a laugh before he follows her.

1 hour later...

After getting dressed appropriately for a public outing, Kurai and Jade both walk through Okinawa's small town and out into a large field. Jade leads Kurai to the spot that she and Kitana had found. As they walk up to a large tree sitting on top of a hill, Kurai understood now what she meant. The view, besides the tall metal buildings off in the distance, resembles their favorite view in Edenia in many ways.

"See what I mean now? This view is very similar to our favorite spot in Edenia. You, me, Kitana, and... ahem." Jade explains before pausing and clears her throat just as she was about to mention Tanya. Kurai, noticing that she froze at almost mentioning Tanya, nods his head with understanding while deciding to leave the subject of Tanya alone for now.

"Yeah, I see exactly what you mean now. The resemblance is almost uncanny. The view would be better with a lake, a waterfall, and mountains, but, you take what you can get." He says smiling with a shrug before walking over to the large tree and sits down beside it. He leans his back against the tree and sighs as he begins to reminisce about a similar spot he used to share with Sadira back in India.

"It's funny, you know, that you and Kitana found a spot like this that resembles our favorite view in Edenia. And honestly, you can find a spot like this anywhere in the world, but now that I think about it, the one place that was the closest to Edenia was India. God did that country have beautiful views. I miss it." He says with a contented sigh as he leans his head against the tree with his eyes closed, and a smile on his face.

Jade smiles as she continues to look at the view before her smile drops then looks back at Kurai, who looked happy. "This is probably going to hurt both of us, but it's now or never, Jade." She says to herself in her mind before turning to face him. "Is that where you would be with Sadira when you two were alone?" She asks him curiously.

Kurai's eyes snapped open and his smile dropped before he looks at Jade sternly. He hadn't even had the heart to tell Jade OR Kitana about Sadira yet. He trusted them with his life, but that was something he didn't want to trust with them just yet. So how did Jade even learn Sadira's name?

As they both stare at each other intensely for a few minutes, Kurai finally breaks the silence. "Is that why you brought me out here with you, and you alone? You wanted to ask me about Sadira. How did you even learn that name?" He asks suspiciously in firm tone as he keeps his back against the tree.

Realizing that she came on a bit too strong with her question, Jade quickly rushes over to Kurai and sits in his lap before hugging him tightly. "Wait, wait, wait. Please, don't misunderstand, Kurai. I'm not trying to interrogate you or anything, I'm merely just curious. I know my tone came out wrong, but I'm just curious. Who is Sadira? And who was she to you?" She asks tenderly after explaining that she wishes to know who Sadira was, and understand what her relationship was with Kurai.

Wrapping his arms slowly around her waist, Kurai gently places his head on Jade's chest and sighs deeply. "I'd have to tell them all at some point. Might as well start with Jade." He thoughtfully says to himself before looking at Jade and inhales before sighing. "Before she died, Sadira and I were going to get married. She and her family took me in when I needed time away from the temple. She and I became fast friends. Over time, she and I grew close to the point that we became... lovers." He begins to explain as Jade nods and listens closely.

"We also broke some... heh... traditional laws about marriage. No sex until marriage and such. But we were so... in love that we just couldn't wait for such a thing to happen. Because, what if we just weren't right for each other? You know? What if things didn't work out?" He continues before pausing for a laugh, which causes Jade to smile.

"But... we made it work. Me, a nobody. Her, a royal Indian princess next in line for the throne since the king and queen didn't have a son. We made it work. So, I asked for her hand in marriage. With her father's permission, of course, which both he and her mother happily accepted. We were to be married a month after I proposed. Everything was going perfectly." Kurai continues with a wide smile until it drops and he looks off to the side with a saddened expression.

Jade gently caresses his cheeks and kisses his forehead. "Take your time, Kurai. There's no rush." She tells him tenderly, making him nod as he takes a moment to gather himself before he continues.

After taking a deep breath and a few minutes of keeping himself from getting too emotional, Kurai continues with an angry scowl on his face. An expression that Jade never thought she'd see on Kurai of all people. "A few days before we were to be married, Sadira's childhood friend protested our relationship. Kept saying that he should be the one to marry her instead of me. Both the king and queen, AND Sadira, all refused. Her friend, a prince, was once good friends with her, but in recent years he had become different. Spoiled, entitled, egotistical, selfish, and harsh to people. Things that she didn't like or value. So, she distanced herself as far away from him as possible, though she was still friends with him. And then I came along." He explains while Jade slowly begins to figure out where this story was heading.

"He had stormed the palace one day and confronted the king just as Sadira and I had come back from a day out together. He saw me walking in with her mother and turned his sights on me. He kept saying that I, a commoner, didn't deserve her and that he should be the one marrying her. The king, and Sadira, continued to refuse him intil he challenged me to a duel. I accepted then he stormed out of the palace after begged him to change his mind. Because she knew that if I wanted to, I would kill him with ease, but he wouldn't listen. His bruised and broken pride wouldn't allow him to back down from a commoner." Kurai continues with his story while Jade nods.

"The very next day is when the duel happens. Naturally, I take down the spoiled prince with ease, but I didn't kill him, I promised Sadira that I wouldn't. Well, he couldn't accept the fact that I had defeated him, so, he tried to attack me from behind, but..." He trails off and pauses. After not speaking for a moment, Jade gently caresses his cheek.

"But what, Kurai? Tell me what happened. Please." She tells him softly. Kurai inhales deeply before letting out a shuddering sigh.

"Sadira stepped in and stopped him, but not without him fatally stabbing her with his sword." He tearfully tells her as Jade covers her mouth in shock. Kurai's lips tremble as he looks down for a moment before he continues with his story. "He killed her, Jade. And she died in my arms. I haven't been back to India since then. After that, the king locked up the prince for killing his daughter and as far as I had heard, he remained there until he died." He says without looking at Jade while tears flow down his cheeks at the memory.

Jade says nothing and just hugs Kurai close to her as they sit with each other in a loving embrace. After sitting with each other for a few minutes Jade kisses his forehead softly before making him look at her. "Do you still think about her?" She asks.

"Every day."

"Do you still love her?"

"Always."

"Even after all these years?"

"Always. I've never stopped loving her, Jade. Just because she's not here anymore, doesn't mean I should stop loving her. She's the one reason why I continue fighting for the people I care about. Because the day I stop fighting for her, or them, or even stop loving her, is most likely the day I give up all hope in everything."

She nods and gently places her hand on his chest. "Then... do you think that, if you want, we can... give THIS a shot? Because... Kurai, I don't know how else to say this, so, I'm just going to say it. I want to be with you. I love..." She begins to say then pauses when she says the one word she wasn't expecting herself to say.

Kurai looks at her with a shocked expression while she takes a moment to process what she just said. Then she finally begins to speak again as she leans her face close to his. "I... I love you, Kurai. I've... I've always loved you. Even when we were little. My feelings were beginning to develop before the invasion, I just never said anything because you were too little to understand." She tells him with a blush on her face.

Then she bites her lip before continuing. "But then... after I had forgotten you, I guess... my feelings were just locked away. And I'll be honest with you, Kurai. I've... I've had many... lovers during my time in Outworld. Many of them I'm not proud of." She admits hesitantly with a laugh, which causes him to smile. "But I never managed to find a real connection. Not like I had with you when we were children. And then, after you came back, my memories began to return, as well as my feelings. And they returned with a vengeance. And one of the hardest things I had to do was when Kitana and I had to leave with Shang Tsung back to Outworld. It hurt, Kurai. My heart ached. I wanted nothing more than to leave with you and stay in Earth Realm, but that would've only made matters worse." She explains as Kurai nods in understanding, but is still dumbfounded by Jade's confession.

But Jade wasn't finished. "This entire time, while I was in Outworld, I spent countless years trying to find something that I lost. Something that I longed for. And the moment I began to remember who you were, my feelings came rushing back in full force." She admits tearfully with a smile, before looking away from Kurai for a moment. "But I... I just want to be crystal clear first, Kurai. I'm not saying all of this with hopes of replacing Sadira. I would never want to do that. The only thing I really want, is for you to one day, hopefully, love me the same way you loved her. But if... if you still need some time to-" She tries to continue, but Kurai leans in quickly and kisses her cheek softly, causing her to look at him in shock.

"Kurai, what-" She says, but is cut off again by Kurai when he kisses her. She moans softly into the kiss as she unconsciously wraps her arms around his neck while he gently lowers her to the ground. They spend the next few minutes letting their emotions run wild before stopping for air. They breathe heavily as they look at each other closely before Jade looks down and notices that she has her legs locked around his waist.

"Oh... Oh, my..." She says with a blush before looking back up at Kurai, who had both his hands on her rear, which causes him to blush as well. After a moment, they both laugh at the sudden moment before Kurai lies down beside her. She gazes into his eyes contentedly, and he hers, as they hold hands with each other tightly. "Kurai, as much as I loved what just happened, I don't want you rushing into this only to regret it if I'm not what you want." Jade says to him with hesitation as he puts a hand on her waist and pulls her closer to him.

She bites her lip and smiles before he kisses her again. "You are what I want, Jade. What I feel now, I have not felt in years. I had come to terms years ago that what I had with Sadira, I never thought I'd feel again. I was honestly fine with it. It's been, difficult, I'll admit. But if I went the rest of my life without ever feeling this way again, I would have been ok with it." He explains as Jade listens with a smile. "But, Jade. I believe you've breathed new life into me and given me more purpose. And for that I'm eternally grateful to you for it." He tells her as they both lean in again to kiss each other, but Jade pulls away before covering her mouth with a frightened expression.

"But... But I... I don't want you to think that I'm trying to replace Sadira, Kurai. Which is what I am NOT trying to do." She frighteningly tells him before he pulls her close for a hug.

"Jade, believe me when I tell you this. There is no replacing Sadira. Even if it was what you were trying to do, you couldn't replace her no matter how hard you tried. There is only one Sadira, and only one Jade. I love them both. And just as I'll always love Sadira, I'll always equally love you, Jade." He tells her honestly with a smile.

Jade lowers her hands as a shocked expression comes across her face. "Say that... Say that one more time." She tells him politely while in shock.

Kurai smiles and kisses her softly before looking at her lovingly. "I love you, Jade. I've always loved you, and I'll always love you." He says again as she smiles brightly and hugs him tightly.

They both lie underneath the large tree for a few hours while continuing to hold each other in their new loving embrace. They would each sneak some kisses on each other and whisper loving, caring words to each other as they let the air breeze pass over them.

Dark Wu Shi Academy, Hours later...

Just as the sun began to set in Okinawa, Kurai and Jade returned to the temple hand in hand, and both with wide smiles on their faces. As they walked through the temple, Jade leans up and whispers into his ear. "Now that we're... ahem... together, would you like me to stay with you in your permanently from now on? Or should we play it safe for the sake of the temple?" She says playfully while biting her lip.

Kurai laughs and shakes his head. "Uh, no, I think we should play it safe for now. Plus, I think now would be a good reason for you, and Kitana too, to finally put your rooms to use." He tells her honestly, which causes her to nod before kissing his cheek then begins walking away with a more noticeable sway in her hips. She stops to look back at him with a wink before walking again.

He chuckles before his smile drops when his thoughts suddenly went from Jade to Tanya. "Damn... I'll have to tell her about that at some point, but on a later date. Tanya is innocent, but I still have to find some way to prove that. Plus... Tanya's fallen in love with me and keeps making a mover every chance she gets. How am I supposed to work around that? Kurai, you've gotten yourself into a deep hole, buddy." He says to himself in his head while rubbing his face in frustration.

He drops his arms with a sigh before deciding to walk towards the main temple with a newfound determined expression. He walks up the steps of the temple and walks in to see Han sitting in his usual spot, quietly meditating. He opens his eyes when he senses Kurai's presence to see him walking towards him.

"Kurai? What brings you here? Is everything alright?" He asks with concern as Kurai reaches Han's spot and bows respectfully to the grandmaster.

"Everything's fine, Han. I just wanted to ask you how soon you and I could start training on perfecting the Phoenix Cleanse technique?" He asks curiously.

Han looks at Kurai with uncertainty. "Are you sure, Kurai? Have you rested ip enough? I mean, it's only been one week. I'm sure that you still must have many questions on your mind about what your mother did to block your memories." Han tells him worriedly as Kurai smiles before nodding.

"Yes, I have plenty of questions about that. But they won't get answered anytime soon. Which is why I need to pass the time by training until I can get the answers to those questions. I won't get them by sitting around and wondering about it. Plus, I now feel... rejuvenated, if that makes any sense to you." Kurai explains with a bright smile, which makes Han paise for a moment before nodding.

"You want to resume your training?" He asks.

"Yes. As quick as possible." Kurai answers.

Han nods with a smile. "Then you and I will resume your training on the Phoenix Cleanse in a few days. I want you to get as much rest as possible because I wasn't joking when I said that perfecting the Phoenix Cleanse would be a challenge. You'll need to rest your body as well as your mind before this can be done. Return to me in 5 days and we will resume our training together then." He tells Kurai seriously, making Kurai nod then bow respectfully to the grandmaster before walking out of the main temple.

Meanwhile, Kurai's room...

After spending the day with Sensei Senshi and helping him teach his students, Kitana was now in Kurai's room picking up the few stuff she had in her little brother's room to move to hers. She felt confident enough, after helping Senshi and speaking with the other sensei's and temple masters, to finally move into the room that the temple generously provided for her. And she was going to advise Jade to do the same.

The bedroom door behind her opens to reveal the temple master, Akuma, with a letter in his hand. He bows respectfully to the princess before handing her the letter. "I'm glad I caught you, Princess Kitana. A letter came in for you from the Wu Shi Academy. It says it's from the Shaolin monk, Liu Kang." He explains as she gently takes the letter from him with a smile.

"Thank you, Akuma. And please, there's no need for you to bow to me. And again, please call me Kitana." She tells him politely as the temple master smiles and nods.

"Of course. Please forgive me, I can't help but be respectful to those that are born of royalty." He explains while Kitana tilts her head to the side as she looks at Akuma curiously.

"My little brother was born from royalty, and yet, I see you treat him as you would the other temple masters or sensei's. Forgive me, but could you please explain why that is?" She asks him politely.

Understanding what she means, Akuma nods with understanding. "That's simple, Kitana. Kurai has been one of us for many years now. He's been here since the academy was founded and he'll more than likely be here long after my fellow temple masters and sensei's will be gone. The reason why I don't treat you the same way I do him is because he has shown true courage and loyalty to the academy and to Earth Realm. And respectfully, both you and Jade have only been here a short time, and you've shown that you are only loyal to Kurai. Not to the academy, or to Earth Realm. If you would like for me to treat you the same way as I do your brother, show me how far you're courage and loyalty goes. Not just to Kurai." He explains his reasoning as Kitana, now understanding that she still has a long ways to go before she fully earns the trust of the academy and the people in it.

She nods with a smile before Akuma leans in with a humorous grin. "And it has nothing to do with you, or Jade, being women. Just so you know." He finishes with a laugh, which causes Kitana laugh heartily with Akuma before nodding again.

"I understand, Akuma. Thank you for your honesty." She says gratefully before continuing. "And I sincerely hope that one day you will see Jade and I the same way you do Kurai."

Akuma smiles and bows politely. "I'm pretty sure that day will come sooner than you believe, Kitana. Good day to you. I'll take my leave now." He says before leaving the room as Kitana nods.

She then finally turns her attention to Liu Kang's letter before opening it to begin reading.

"Hello, Kitana.

It's been a while. I just wanted to send this letter and say that while our time together was short, I sincerely hope that you and I can continue our previous conversation again sometime soon. I understand that you want to spend as much time as you can with Kurai, he is one of the best men I've ever met. You should be proud to have him as your brother.

If you still need time with him and want to catch up on things with him, while also adjusting to the ways of Earth Realm, then do so by all means. But, if you ever want to catch up or, I don't know, just talk, then please reach out to me. I'm sure Kurai has taught you and Jade about certain Earth Realm ways that makes some sense to you.

In the meantime, I await your response, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely, Liu Kang."

Beneath the word "Sincerely", it looks as though Liu Kang had frantically gone back and forth on what to write to finish the letter before finally settling on "Sincerely". But from what Kitana could make out, it looked as though Liu Kang had written "Sincerely yours" or "Respectfully yours" before finally settling on something more respectable before sending the letter.

Kitana just smiles and shakes her head while pressing the letter against her chest before biting her lip. She then looks up to see Jade walk into the room with an extra spring to her step before she purposely falls on the bed with a contented sigh.

Looking at her suspiciously, Kitana smirks before putting the letter away and looks at her longtime friend. "What's gotten you in a good mood?" She asks Jade, who looks up at her with a smile before sitting up and shrugs.

"Oh, no reason." She says sweetly before getting up off the bed and begins packing away the few things she also brought into Kurai's room. Kitana, obviously not believing her, decides to leave the matter alone and puts it in the back of her mind before resuming her packing. She then looks at Liu Kang's letter and smiles.

"I'll have to send him a response soon. I wouldn't want to keep a gentleman waiting for too long." She says to herself with a chuckle.