Mortal Kombat: Sub-Zero's Student

Chapter Ten: Second Shadow

-Kuai's POV- The first thing I feel is something soft below my body and head. It takes me a moment to realize I'm laying down of a thin mattress and pillow.
I groan, opening my eyes. My head pounds and I feel a new layer of gauze wrapped around my wound.

The room I'm in is small with the only light source being a candle beside me. Each wall is decorated in thin layers of paper and wood, similar to the rooms a person would see in ancient Japan in a temple.
A temple...
I'm still in the Shirai Ryu Temple.
A shadow appears over the entrance to the room.
The door slides open and I see Kana peek in.
"Kana," I smile despite my lack of energy and pain.

"Papa!" He cries, running over and getting on his knees next to me. Tears are in his grey eyes.
He hugs me, careful not to add pressure to my injured side. "Oh, my sweet boy." I ruffle his hair.
"Are you okay? Does your wrist still hurt?" I ask, recalling how he cried when I touched it.

"My wrist is better," He states, letting me go and holding his wrist out. "The fountain water healed it."
I blink, thinking I misheard Kana in my clouded fever state. "Wh..what?"
"Kana is speaking the truth," I look up and see Hanzo walk in with a tray containing a cup of tea and a bowl of fried rice.

Hanzo enters the room and sets the tray down next to me. I notice his bloody clothing had been removed and replaced with a golden kimono. Strange, I never thought I'd see Hanzo in regular clothing.
"How is your wound healing?" He asks.

I remove the thin blanket and look down at my shirtless chest. The gauze is wrapped firmly over my lower rib cage and dyed light pink from the blood. I suppose that's an improvement.
I suddenly cough again, ice fragments landing on my chest. Kana yelps in shock, jumping back.

"Kana, do not be scared. Kuai coughing up shards of ice is normal for him," Hanzo narrows his eyes in amusement. "Apparently."
I groan, burying my face into the pillow. My cheeks burn with fever and I still feel the ice coating the back of my throat.

"Kuai, you need to eat. I understand that you do not feel good, but starving to death does not seem like a heroic way to die."
I lift my head up, my black hair and beard a mess and coated in ice, showing that my Cryomancy powers are going haywire, well, besides coughing and sneezing up ice and mist.

"I'm not hungry," I rasp, feeling the ice choke me and I cough again, the fragments landing on the hardwood floor. "Then at least drink the tea," Hanzo's brown eyes show a faint glimmer of emotion, but I can't tell which one. Sadness? Worry? Fear? Caution?
I sit up and grab the mug, looking down at the warm beverage in my frost and icicle covered hands.
In my fever state, I squint at the pink cherry blossom floating in my tea.

"Why is there a flower in my drink?" I slur, nearly dropping the cup. Hanzo lets out a chuckle, finding my confused and child-like state of mind amusing.
"It's cherry blossom tea," He explains, smiling and speaking like he is talking to a small child.
"O-oh," My cheeks burn even more, despite my fever. "Do I...eat the flower as well?"

"No," Hanzo snorts. "Just drink the tea. When the flower dries up, you may keep it."
"Oh, a souvenir. Wonderful. Perhaps I'll put it in my hair and become a princess of the forest." I state flatly. Kana falls over, giggling.
I smile. Hanzo barks a laugh. "You can do whatever you like with the flower, Kuai. Good to see your sense of humor hasn't fallen ill like you have."

I wheeze out a laugh and drink the tea, blinking in surprise at the sweet taste. I set the cup down and look back at Hanzo. With my mind clear, I ask, "What was Kana saying about his wrist? Something like the water healed him?"
"Yes," Hanzo looks over at Kana, who is inspecting one of the ice fragments I coughed up.
"Kana!" I gasp. "Put that down. You could get sick."
He immediately drops it. "Sorry, Papa."

"The water indeed healed him. Trust me, I was just as surprised." Hanzo admits.
"So, that means...." I try to piece the sentence together in my tired brain.
"Kana does have powers." Hanzo finishes.
"Huh?" Kana blinks. "I have powers? Cool!"

"Let's let Kuai rest more, Kana." Hanzo gets up and Kana follows him to the sliding door.
Hanzo looks back at me. "I'll come back to check in on you in an hour. There is a bathroom down the hall if you need to go." With that said, he closes the door.
I blow the candle out and lay down again.
"Kuai." My head snaps up, heart pounding.
That voice. No, no, it can't be....
"Why? Why did you let me die, Kuai? You let Scorpion rip out my skull and spine."

Bi-Han melts out from the shadows, looking the same the day he left and never returned. His suit and mask is in tatters. His eyes aren't the normal blue like mine. They're white, like freshly fallen snow. No pupils at all. His black hair is mangled and clotted with blood and ice.

"Brother," I whimper, tears flowing.
"B-Bi-Han! I...I didn't mean it! You didn't have to die!" I cry out. He narrows his eyes and crawls over to my shaking and sickly form. I hear every muscle twist and his cracked bones snap as his mangled body painstakingly gets closer.
"Did you miss me, little brother? Because I heard you call out to me like the little boy you are." He traces the scar over my eye with a broken finger.

Ice and icicles splinter out from the hardwood floor.
I cover my ears, sobbing. "Shut up! Be quiet! Please!" I scream in fear and anger, uncovering my ears and form an ice sphere in my hands.
With a roar, I launch it at him. He vanishes before it can hit with a laugh. The ice ball explodes and covers the floor in jagged icicles along with destroying the wall entirely.

I let out gasping sobs and look down at the crushed cherry blossom. I gently scoop the flower up and freeze it solid, holding it near my chest and continuing to sob.