His Theme

Shards of ice fired at him from all angles. He tried his best to keep dodging the onslaught of attacks but even with his reflexes he still endured a few hits. This time, a shard fired right at his chest, sending him stumbling backwards, collapsing onto his knees.

He was going to loose this fight.

He looked up to where Kuai Liang was stood, shaking arm outstretched as tears streamed down his face. He was over exerting himself, using every once of his power to keep the surrounding temple frozen and to continue to fight Hanzo. And somehow, even with this immense amount of strain to himself, he was still far too powerful for Hanzo to even hope to win against. Hanzo braced himself for a finishing blow, but it never came.

“Get up!” Kuai ordered from afar. “Get up and fight me!”

Hanzo stumbled attempting to get up, but couldn't. He grit his teeth and glared up again. “Just finish this already! Finish what your brother started!”

“Fight me!” Kuai cried out in response, sending a blast of ice that hit Hanzo square on and sending him flying back once more. “Fight!”

“Why? So you can avenge your brother?” He spat out a mouthful of blood, wishing the cryomancer would stop prolonging this. “So you can reclaim the honour he never even had?”

“You know nothing of my brother!” Kuai screamed in pure rage, once more struck at Hanzo. He just about managed to cover his face with his arms. “God, you are the most selfish person I have ever fucking met! What? Do you really believe your pain is the only one that matters?”

“Like you could ever understand the pain I have experienced!” Hanzo snarled. He regretted it the second he looked back at Kuai's face. It had just dropped, still angry, but now with a hint of despair.

“You really believe that?” He questioned with a sob. “You really think I don't know how it feels to loose everything you care about?” He shook his head. “I lost my brother to you! I lost my friends and everyone I ever knew to the Cyber Initiative! And you dare tell me I don't know that pain!”

Hanzo gulped as he watched as Kuai now paced across the room, pulling on his hair.

“Why are you the only person who's allowed to be angry?” Kuai started again, and Hanzo couldn't help but wince. Because when he thought about it, yes, Kuai had every right to be angry. “Why can't I be angry? Not just at that, but at every shitty thing life had thrown at me! Why can't I be angry that I was killed and brainwashed? Why can't I be angry that I was never enough for the Lin Kuei? Never strong enough, never fast enough, never cut-throat enough, just never enough.” He gestured to the frozen room around me. “But fucking look at me now!”

“What is your point?” Hanzo asked, a strange feeling settling in his stomach. He had a feeling whatever Kuai was about to say would change everything in how he viewed the younger Sub Zero. He was not looking forward to it.

“If you do not get back on your feet and fight me, I am going to freeze and destroy this entire fucking realm.” Hanzo couldn't help but be taken aback, because that was not something he would have ever expected from the former Lin Kuei. Searching Kuai's face for any sign he was bluffing, he found nothing but cold resolve. “The only way this is going to end, is with you killing me! So I suggest you pick up your fucking katana and send me back to hell where I belong!”

Those statements completely stole the air from Hanzo's lungs.

Kuai wasn't doing any of this because he wanted to. He wasn't even doing it to avenge his brother or gain approval from his former Lin Kuei masters. He wanted to die. He wanted to die and he knew Hanzo would be the one person too wrapped up in his own misery to see the red flags. That was why he was so desperate for Hanzo to fight him, because his entire plan hinged on Hanzo's hatred for him.

In that moment, Hanzo finally felt like his eyes had been opened and he could see Kuai Liang for what he really was. A scared, angry, hurting man, lashing out in a last bid attempt to find a way to end his pain. A mirror image of Hanzo own hurt, with the added trauma of a lifetime of abuse and suffering. Of course Kuai Liang understood his pain, he understood better than anyone else could.

What was that saying? Hurt people hurt people.

And how badly must Kuai Liang be hurting to feel it all came down to this?

He could not win this fight, but it seemed for once in his life, fighting would not solve this.

Pushing himself up on his shaking legs, he watched as Kuai prepared himself to fight. Hanzo took his katana from it's sheath, and while maintaining eye contact, threw it on the floor. Kuai took a step backwards, for the first time since this started looking afraid of what Hanzo was about to do.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, as Hanzo took a deep breath and took an unstable step towards the former Lin Kuei.

“I'm not going to fight you, Kuai Liang,” Hanzo stated calmly, taking another step forward. At that, Kuai shook his head, backing away.

“Did you not hear me? I said I'll destroy everything if you don't!” He hissed, a pang of panic in his voice. Hanzo had definitely come to the right conclusion, this was all an elaborate attempt at suicide by proxy.

“You won't. That isn't who you are,” he said, as if he in any right knew who Kuai Liang was. He did know however, that Kuai had far too much compassion to let the entire world suffer by his hand. Despite his words, he'd come to an abandoned temple in the middle of nowhere to enact this plan. If he really intended for others to get hurt, would he not have chosen a more populated area?

“You don't know me,” he snarled, flinging his hand and making a barrier of ice between them. Hanzo summoned his hellfire, easily melting the ice in front of him and continuing to walk forwards.

“I know you care far too much about others to let yourself go through with this,” Hanzo claimed, watching Kuai finally backed himself into the wall. “Your plan banked on my selfishness, and I admit that it almost succeeded, but I see now that I was wrong. You have the right to be angry Kuai, you have the right to hate me for what I've done to you.”

“Shut up!”

“I know you feel like death is the only way for all the pain you feel to stop, but I swear to you it isn't.” Hanzo reached a hand forward, he was almost right in front of the other man now, and he could see Kuai's fear really starting to sink in.

“Shut up!” Kuai cried again, shaking his head. “Stop! Don't come any closer! I'll do it, I swear I will!”

Hanzo's hand touched Kuai's shoulder, the younger man going stiff despite how much he trembled.

“I am sorry, Kuai Liang,” he said softly, noticing the way Kuai's breath hitched. “I am sorry for the pain I caused you, I am sorry for how unkind the world has been to you, I am sorry that I was too blind to see it sooner. You do not deserve what has been afflicted on you.”

“Stop!” Kuai sobbed, bringing his fists up to grip Hanzo's shirt, yet he did nothing to attack. “Stop it!”

“You do not have to forgive me, not now, and not ever,” he said, gently tilting Kuai's face up to his. “But please... Please let me help you.”

“You can't,” Kuai managed to get out through choked breaths. “Please! Just kill me!”

“The world gave me a second chance.” Hanzo slowly wrapped his arms around the smaller man's shoulders, feeling every sharp intake of breathe he took. “It's time that it gave you yours.”

There was a loud cracking all around them, Hanzo looking up to see the ice surrounding them start to break and disappear. As Kuai finally let go of the power he had used, he practically collapsed in Hanzo's embrace. Kuai buried his face in the fabric of Hanzo's shirt, his tears soaking through as he wailed.

“I'm sorry,” he whimpered, “I'm so sorry.”

Hanzo simply held him, letting him get out all the years of emotions he'd bottled away. Raiden was awaiting for his return to the sky temple, most likely eager to know what had happened, but the Thunder God could wait just a little longer.

He would stay like this for as long as Kuai needed, until it was safe for them to go.

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