Backstage Pass to Mortal Kombat

Chapter 18 - Yet Another Trainer

[[Heyo, let me know what you guys are thinking. Do you like where this is going? Any suggestions? Any Mortal Kombat players have requests on characters or fighting moves? I'm honeslty not good at describing fighting moves on my own, so if you have a suggestion, please message me about one! Thanks!]]

Chapter 18 - Yet Another Trainer

My sleeve couldn’t fully conceal my clumsily casted hand, and so I had to hide it a lot of times. As of right now, I was hiding it under the table as I ate breakfast, gently poking at my cold pancakes. They were hot when I got them, but I didn’t really feel like eating. I don’t know why I came here anyway; most of the fighters don’t come here in the mornings. Several other people, along with me, were scattered around the room, eating in silence, whereas everyone else was already starting their day with training or warming up. As I entered the tent this morning I had caught Raiden as he walked out. With just one look down at my hand, he smirked at me, as if to say ‘are you sure this is the right choice?’ I wanted to prove him wrong, and say something good about Hanzo’s training, but I wasn’t sure if anything good came from yesterday. Sure, I learned a new move, but I also gave myself a 2nd degree burn, which ached and itched like horrible sunburn – and so I kept silent as he breezed past me, carrying on with his day.

Hanzo felt terrible for what happened yesterday, apologizing a dozen times before he finally let me rest in my hut. Maybe I’m just not ready for training – maybe I should wait till I’m eighteen…if I’m fit to fight at all. So far, all they’ve seen is me defending myself. The guy in the woods, the air kicks; it was all instinct, not skill. Instinct takes over the body and brain when you’re in a tight spot, and most of the time it makes you stronger, faster, and smarter. I wasn’t anything special; I just had killer instincts…literally.

Looking around the room, I realized everyone was gone now and it was just me here. Hanzo would be expecting me to come to his hut soon, where he would be coming back from practice. Then we would begin to train and I would probably burn my foot or cut a finger off…maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe I can fake being sick? Hanging my head seemed like the best solution right now, though, and so I did.

“Well that’s very proactive of you,” Someone said above me, a slight smirk in their voice. I knew who it was and so I didn’t look up, hoping they’d go away if I pretended to be asleep…or dead. “Raiden honors you with the gift of advanced training, and you trade him in for a rookie; now you’re not even training with him. I’m beginning to think you’re just lazy, Brook.” Liu plopped down on the cushion next to me, taking away every hope I had of him leaving.

“Yeah, well, if you nearly burned your hand off, you’d be a bit lazy too.” I grumbled, going back to my ice cold breakfast. It wasn’t tasty anymore, in fact it made my stomach flip every time I took a bite of egg, but I had to fill myself with something.

A snort came from Liu’s direction, “You’re whining about that pyrotechnic move, still? That was nothing.” He rolled his eyes and reached over, stealing a piece of toast from my plate. Glaring at him as he ate it did nothing to stop him either.

“Did you do those moves when you were sixteen?” I shot back at him, ready to say ‘I think not’, but was shot down when I heard his reply.

“No – I was doing more. I had already done that particular move when I was eleven.” He then leaned in, “And I remembered to claw my hand, not close it.”

“He never told me how to stop it!” I snapped.

“Wow, he seems like a fantastic trainer; you sure know how to make a deal.” He teased, stealing yet another piece of toast off my plate. To stop him from taking the third, and final, one, I grabbed it and shoved the whole thing into my mouth, probably looking like a child. He smirked at me, reaching over and taking a grape instead, making my scowl more severe. “When I was sixteen, I was already creating my own signature move, which soon became the strongest in my village.”