Holding Out For A Hero

It had been sudden, the Lin Kuei stating that their grandmaster had gone to inspect some suspicious sightings around the temple and when he had not returned in several hours they'd sent the alarm. There was no time to waste, he knew that every second counted. Inspecting the area Kuai had last been seen revealed it was an organised attack, the remains of a tranquilliser dart was evidence enough for that conclusion.

The dart provided a huge clue, the name of a laboratory plastered to the side of it. It took Hanzo very little time to track down where it was located. Within days he'd trekked across most of Russia, finding the facility carefully hidden away. Clearly whoever had taken Kuai hadn't wanted anyone to find them.

He ducked carefully along a wire fence, making a portal at a secluded location and using it to bypass the security. He kept low as he darted between cover. For a clearly secretive lab, they didn't appear to have a lot of security. Suspicious that this was all leading to a trap, he unsheathed his katana, ready to attack should he be jumped. He slipped through the shadows, finally reaching a secure door.

He hadn't wanted to use his hellfire portals too much, but there was no other way for him to slip by outside of brute force. Emerging on the other side of the door, he was met by clinical metal walls, and a still silence that left him on edge.

He went onward, hairs standing on end. The place seemed almost abandoned. Had the tranquilliser been a red herring? Could his information been wrong on the current location of these people? As he continued down the corridor, he began to realise the air around him was steadily getting colder. Maybe he was imagining it, or maybe he was actually getting closer to Kuai.

The corridor ended with a door, and hesitantly he hit the button next to it. As the door slid open he readied his katana and rushed in.

Only, he was surprised at what he saw.

The room was almost completely frozen over, many people in lab coats trapped inside the ice. He lowered his sword, looking around in shocked silence. This is no doubt Kuai's work, but where is he? Slowly a swivel chair at the other end of the room began to twist around. Sat in the chair, hand glowing blue, was Kuai.

"Oh! It's you!" The glow from Kuai's hand stopped, as he settled back down in the chair. "About time you showed up, Prince Charming."

Hanzo looked at the frozen scientists again, before looking at Kuai and saying "What happened?"

"Well," Kuai started, placing his elbow on the chair's armrest and leaning his head against his hand, "It seems these people have been keeping an eye on me for some time, and decided that I'd make a good lab rat." Kuai bit his lip and his other hand started to tap a rhythm into the other armrest. "Although for all their research they somehow completely missed that I can make ice appear out of nowhere."

"How exactly did they miss that?" Hanzo wondered aloud, slipping his katana away, now convinced they weren't in any danger.

"No idea, they seem to know every other detail of my life except that crucial detail." Kuai held up a hard drive, likely what held all the information this group had collected. "So, let's just say discovering I had an icy secret was a little of a shock to them."

"Ah." Hanzo rubbed the back of his head. He'd come here expecting to go in blazing, so with the threat already being dealt with, he wasn't sure what exactly to do. "I, uh, came to rescue you," he awkwardly offered instead.

"Yes, I can see that," Kuai replied an amused tone to his voice. "Thank you."

"Although, by the looks of it you really didn't need me to." Hanzo felt sightly childish for pouting. He was thankful Kuai was unharmed, of course he was, but there was something disappointing in this being the conclusion. It wasn't a satisfying conclusion at all.

"Aw, are you upset you didn't get to swoop in here and be my hero?" Kuai teased lightly, finally getting off his seat and walking over to Hanzo.

"A little bit, yes," Hanzo admitted as Kuai wrapped his arms around Hanzo's neck.

"Well, you'll always be my knight in shining armour," Kuai told him, lightly kissing the corner of his mouth. "Will it make you feel better if I let you bridal carry me out of here?"

He considered the suggestion for a minute. "It would help to a certain degree," Hanzo begrudgingly accepted.

Kuai giggled, while Hanzo bent to lift him by his legs. Hanzo hauled him up, his other hand holding up Kuai's back. As Hanzo turned around to leave, Kuai buried his face into the side of Hanzo's neck. Hanzo felt his pettiness fade away.

Maybe he hadn't gotten to be the hero, but he supposed that didn't matter, so long as Kuai was safe and in his arms.

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