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roththeprimordial · 5 years

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It's Good To Be Alive Ch.6

Story Summary: After her death, Mileena was granted a second chance, as her journey to look for allies for her new rebellion lead her to Earthrealm where she was saved by the Shirai Ryu. Having no other choice, Mileena joined the clan and became somewhat of a student to Hanzo Hasashi. Meanwhile Havik has returned and is assembling an army to get revenge on Hanzo and plunge the realms into chaos.

Check it out on Fanfiction: www.fanfiction.net/s/13285792/…

Earthrealm: Japan, The Shirai Ryu Temple, The Courtyard

Spread throughout the front courtyard of the Shirai Ryu were the standard one on one combat training, weapons training, and multiple sects of combat training exercises. The training exercises were in multiple areas of the front yard with Grandmaster Hanzo Hasashi training the biggest group. Pacing around the lined up group of Shirai Ryu as they all had synchronized fighting styles.

Hanzo eyed them as he paced back and forth, observing them like a curious doctor would on an operation. Although even with the diverse amount of different races from different realms among the group, none of them seemed to exceed more then Mileena, who was noticeably far more accurate, flexible, and fast then any of the other members.

"Doing good so far... but your blows require more strength. Faster! More accurate!... Stronger blows! A child could dodge THAT slow attack with ease! Faster! Imagine striking through your opponents chest and tearing out their heart!" Instructed Hanzo as his students listened and performed their synchronized moves to the best of their abilities.

The synchronized fighters moved faster and striked harder followed by a series of complex flips, kicks, and punches. Continuing their synchronized combat training, the Grandmaster still wandered around them with his hands behind his back and a stern expression on his face. Continuing his observation, he continued his drilling.

"Too fast! You are becoming sloppy and unfocused! I want to see more power behind those strikes! More! Faster! Good... now your opponent is dizzy and disoriented from your assault... Finish him with your final assault! And I better see a perfect side kick as your finisher! Now go!" Drilled Hanzo as his students did exactly as he commanded with a synchronized combo of lightning fast and precise punches and kicks the would even leave someone as fast as Kabal in shock.

After the lightning fast assault of punches and kicks, the group finished off their finishing move with side kicks like their Grandmaster asked of them. Although, none of them were quite perfect, except for one. The one of course being Mileena who performed the perfect side kick, sticking her leg straight into the air while splitting her legs perfectly.

The group stopped as they stood there with their legs together and their arms by their sides as they bowed to the Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu, who stood in front of them with his arms crossed.

"Many of you did well, but not perfect. Here in the Shirai Ryu, we strive for absolute excellence. If you cannot perform a simple perfect side kick then you will not be allowed to have lunch. Those of you who have not succeeded, you shall stay out here and practice your side kick over and over until you get it right. Then you can eat. Although for those who have succeeded..." Hanzo glanced over to Mileena and Aynos who were standing in the group. "You may eat and rest. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Grandmaster." The students said in unison as they bowed and continued to practice their side kick.

As Hanzo still stood there and observed his students, Aynos walked into the temple for lunch as Mileena walked up to Hanzo as Hanzo turned to face her.

"As always, you did quite well." Complimented Hanzo as Mileena smirked under her mask.

"Well of course I did, I am the daughter of Shao Kahn after all. I was just born perfect." Said Mileena in a prideful tone as Hanzo tilted his head a bit.

"Even though you are still physically a great fighter, you still suffer from your hubris. Humility is a virtue after all." Said Hanzo as Mileena quickly rolled her eyes at that statement.

"I'm going to guess that whoever said that was someone who never felt an iota of pride in their life." Retorted Mileena as Hanzo looked over to see many of the students who Mileena was just training with were having a difficult time trying to perform the perfect side kick as Mileena took notice and looked over as well. Mileena gaining an expression of annoyance on her face spoke her mind.

"Pathetic, they are supposed to become trained warriors and they can't even perform one perfect side kick? They will never become true fighters..."

"Many of them have never fought before in their lives. They aren't like us where we were taught how to fight at a very young age, some of them are farmers or merchants while the rest are young adults. Very few of them actually being warriors. Give them time, they have strong hearts." Said Hanzo as Mileena still possessed a look of doubt on her face as Hanzo glanced at her.

"Go over there and help them out." Said Hanzo as Mileena looked over at Hanzo with a look of disbelief.

"What?!"

"You performed the side kick perfectly with no trouble, I'm sure the rest of them could benefit from your tutelage." Explained Hanzo as Mileena till possessed her look of disbelief.

"You cannot be serious, I'm not going to guide these weaklings if they can't even learn how to fight. Besides that, I can barely qualify as a teacher. As you said, I am not a 'peoples person'." Stated Mileena.

"... As I recalled, you wished for the rest of the clan to respect you, is that right?"

"Well... That is true, but what I really wanted was solitary and not-"

"I'm afraid solitary is not an option. Besides, I doubt solitary is what you truly desire. You want respect among the other Shirai Ryu... perhaps even gain a few companions." Declared the Grandmaster as the two remained silent for a moment with the both of them watching the students attempt and fail at performing the perfect side kick over and over.

"It is up to you. Don't forget our meditation later today in the Fire Garden." Said Hanzo as he placed his hands behind his back and walked off, leaving Mileena standing there in front of the training students. Mileena crossed her arms as she stood there for a few minutes and just watched the students try and fail to perform the side kick over and over for around five minutes.

All the while Mileena was contemplating what Hanzo told her, even if she did approach them and try to help them, how would she approach it? From plenty of times in the past, Mileena knew that she was terrible at starting casual conversation or offering her thoughts and opinions without seeming like an arrogant child. After several more seconds of watching the Shirai Ryu recruits try and fail, she finally relented and groaned.

Mileena walked over to one of the youngest recruits as he failed his kick and fell on the floor. But before he could get back up, he saw a shadow cast over him. The young man and several other students stopped training as they looked over to see Mileena standing over him with her hands on her hips.

"You keep failing at performing a simple perfect side kick. And as you witnessed yourself, I performed one perfectly. I can give you advice on how to properly perform it." Said Mileena as the young man stared at her awkwardly and picked himself back up.

"Well... I uhh..." The young man was interrupted before he could say anything.

"What he means to say is, we don't take combat advice from bipedal hyenas." Mileena snapped her head at another young man who glared at her with venom in his eyes.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that! I just offered to help him, and yet you spit in my face!?" Yelled Mileena, allowing her temper to take over.

"Look, we know Grandmaster Hanzo Hasashi letting you into the clan is his final decision. And we can't change that. But we don't have to like it, half-breed." Hissed the other young man as a third young man standing beside him spoke up.

"Yeah, that's right. We don't need instruction from some crazy ex-despot like you. Now do yourself a favor, and GET LOST!" Mileena glared at him and the rest of the recruits who stopped training just to glare at her. Her attempted sympathetic expression was instantly replaced with one of anger and hate, growling at the recruits before turning around and walking away towards the temple.

The Edenian-Tarkatan hybrid walked through the entrance and started to march through the halls angrily. She actually once in her life offered her hand out to someone to HELP them. Not to attack them, not to insult them, but to HELP them and provide them her assistance. But what did they do? They smacked her hand away and told her to 'get lost'. Mileena could not understand how Hanzo was able to deal with these spoiled brats day in and day out.

Earthrealm: Japan, Shirai Ryu Temple, The Fire Garden

Within the beautiful Fire Garden of the Shirai Ryu, Mileena and her master Hanzo Hasashi sat in a meditation hut in the heart of the Gardens. The two sat there motionless with their eyes closed. Although, both seemingly being drastically different in mannerisms and aura.

Hanzo was in a perfect and classical meditative state, being as still as a statue with calmness and peace just radiating off of him like beams of light. Clearly being someone who meditated every day of his life, even when he was the hell spawn Scorpion, he mediated whenever he could to clear his mind and soul of troubles and pain.

On the other end, Mileena was the complete opposite. Even to someone who was completely unfamiliar with meditation could tell that Mileena was not doing it right. She was very frigidity, her breathing pattern constantly changed, she kept clearing her throat and adjusting her sitting position, she was distracted by the tiniest noises like a bird chirping from the distance, and possessing an annoyed and disconcerting facial pattern.

As Mileena tried her best to better her imperfect meditation, she squinted open her eyes and peered over at Hanzo cautiously. Trying her best to not gain his attention. She stared deeply at him as she contemplated how it was possible he was so still and calm. How could he do this? Successfully letting go of all of his grief and anger at least for a moment and entering a near perfect meditative state with all of the annoying external and internal distractions going on all at once. The birds chirping, the wind blowing, the leafs falling, the wind chimes ringing, her own breathing, hell! Even her own heart pounding in her ears! Not to mention, all of those distracting and annoying thoughts entering her mind and distracting her.

But as Mileena continued to look, she heard a soft chirp of a bird as she saw a bird fly down from up above and land on Hanzo's still shoulder. The bird chirped as it observed it's surroundings from Hanzo's shoulder innocently. New thoughts began racing through Mileena's mind once more.

'Once again, I must reiterate... WAS THIS MAN REALLY SCORPION!? THE SAME MAN WHO SHE HEARD BRUTALLY BURNED THE FIRST SUB-ZERO TO DEATH!? And now he's the leader of one of the most powerful clans in Earthrealm!?' Mileena yelled in her mind as she continued to look at the tiny bird that hopped around on Hanzo's shoulder innocently and obliviously.

But Mileena regained her barrings as she turned her head back to face forward and closed her eyes again. Mileena tried her very best to clear her mind and attempted to look for even a semblance of peace. A state of mind she was supposed to be in when meditating. Focusing as hard as she could, she actually managed to clear her mind of all of those annoying thoughts that wouldn't stop popping up along with toning out all the distracting sounds of nature around her. She was surprised she was actually doing it, she was actually starting to reach the state of mind necessary for real meditation. Although it was nothing she would jump for joy over, at the very least she wasn't just sitting there with her eyes closed passing the time in boredom.

She can feel her body lifting and floating in the primordial void of space as she started to reach a new level and even feel a tinge of what some might call relaxation or even peace. She absolutely love the calming sensation as her focus increased and slowly but surely grew stronger. At last, out of all the days trapped in this temple, she would finally gain some semblance of freedom.

Her mind then drifted off and fantasized about what she would do when Raiden's princess Sonya Blade would declare Mileena "ready" to be granted freedom and freely leave the Shirai Ryu and Earthrealm. She was thinking about successfully finding Tanya and Rain as they would assemble an army and go on a crusade to take back the crown of Outworld from Kotal Kahn.

But as Mileena started to smile and her fantasy just started to get good, she lost that feeling of floating in primordial space and that feeling of ascendance. All of those distractions she originally felt before came back at full force as she could hear every single distracting sound from within the Fire Garden along with the return of those rampant thoughts. Mileena silently sighed in frustration, just like everything else in her life. She was just close enough to get what she wanted, but when she almost got it, it was snatched away from her the instant her fingers grazed it.

Mileena focused once again on reaching that same state of mind, she wasn't even close to regaining what she lost. In fact, instead of becoming calmer and more at peace, she visibly became angrier and angrier.

Hanzo stopped his meditation already feeling the frustration seeping out of Mileena from her difficult time trying to mediate. Hanzo opened his eyes and looked to his left at an angry Mileena, causing the bird sitting on his shoulder to fly away as Mileena's eyes shot open.

"Ugh! I have no idea what I'm doing wrong! I actually had it for a moment, but I lost it!" Hissed Mileena as she looked over at Hanzo with a frustrated look. "How can you do it with all these distractions?"

"I have been practicing meditation ever since I could walk, Mileena. It's not very hard at all, in fact a child could do it. These distractions keep occurring because your allowing them to." Stated Hanzo as Mileena narrowed her eyes.

"Oh yes, of course the blame is all on me." Stated Mileena snarkily.

"These things take time, Mileena. You will get it eventually." Stated Hanzo as he stood back up. "Enough for now, please Mileena. Join me for a nice hot cup of tea."

Hanzo turned around and walked off to a nearby tea table as Mileena picked herself up and followed the ex-specter. The two sat down on either side of the table as Hanzo started to make the tea as Mileena stared at Hanzo's hands as they worked on carefully making the tea.

"It seems you have much turmoil and anger clouding your mind and distorting your chi flow. That is most likely the reason why you find it very difficult to meditate and find your center." Said Hanzo as he finished making one cup of tea, holding it out for Mileena as she slowly took it.

"How about you tell me something I already don't know?" Snapped Mileena as she pulled down her veil and looked into the steaming pot of tea.

"You've already spoke to me about several of your sources of discord. Your fear, your guilt... We are already working on overcoming those obstacles with talking, training, and meditation. You attempted to help one of your fellow Shirai Ryu today, that's a good start." Stated Hanzo optimistically as he started carefully brewing his own tea.

"First of all, you told me to help him. Second of all, he rejected my helping hand anyway. That dosen't seem like an accomplishment to me." Said Mileena as she started to drink her tea.

"You underestimate yourself, Mileena. Your social skills as well as your meditation skills shall improve over time with an open mind and much practice. Although, one think I see a lack of in your combat arsenal when you fight is chi control." Stated Hanzo finishing up his own cup of tea and drinking it.

"I never needed it, you can probably tell I never trained or meditated in my life. Fighting and battle just came... so naturally to me, I didn't see the need for learning to control my chi. It was never necessary for me to learn." Remarked Mileena staring down at her tea.

"Then, might I ask. When you fight, I see you have the ability to teleport short distances and use a pink aura to enhance your attacks. For a while I believed it to be a different form of chi, but if I'm not mistaken... It is due to your Edenian blood, correct?" Asked Hanzo as Mileena stared at her tea silently for a moment.

"Yes, that is correct. Just like my si-... Kitana, my Edenian traits grant me several extra abilities besides just longevity and strength. It's... some kind of Ethereal energy I am able to tap into and use to assist me in battle." Mileena continued to drink her tea after the statement as Hanzo scratched his bearded chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm, interesting. Perhaps, it could be why you returned back to the land of the living." Suggested Hanzo as Mileena immediately started choking on her tea. Placing her tea cup down she coughed for a while before getting ahold of herself.

"What? You mean you think my ability somehow grants me the ability to return from the dead?" Asked Mileena as she rubbed her neck and Hanzo nodded.

"Do you have another explanation?"

"... Perhaps, I don't know." Said Mileena in doubt as Hanzo finished drinking his tea.

"Either way, you must learn to harness and masterfully control this power of yours. Physically, you've always relied on your feral instincts to get you though a battle, but you have now started to learn more styles of combat beside your ravenous style. Your potential when using chi control and you ethereal energy can be limitless. For example, whenever I face an opponent in battle, I not only use my hellfire as a weapon in combat. But also my chi as well to boost my strength and durability to unprecedented levels." Hanzo's lecture began to intrigue Mileena as she listened to Hanzo go on. Of course she heard of chi before, it was not that Mileena was never taught how to fight at all. A combination of an instinctual and ravenous style combined with learning how to fight through copying the moves of other fighters, that made her a deadly opponent.

But, with her solely focusing on keeping her iron grip on the throne of Outworld, meditation and training was a waste of time. And as much as Mileena hated to admit it, had taken a toll on her fighting prowess. Yet with her position now, she needed to adapt her fighting style if she would be able to survive. And who knows? Once she finishes her training and finally leave to get her revenge in Outworld, new styles of combat could be very helpful to reaching her goals.

As Hanzo continued his lecturing, he stopped as he looked over Mileena's shoulder and at an old dead Ironwood tree that stood out amongst the other much more bright and colorful trees in the Fire Garden. Hanzo has been meaning to get that tree taken out of the Garden and discarding it, but he either kept forgetting or he was too busy with other manners.

"Hmm, in fact, I shall give you a demonstration of my hellfire chi combination. And how powerful it is." Said Hanzo as Hanzo stood up from where he was kneeling at the table and silently walking twenty feet behind Mileena as the half-tarkatan turned around and observed Hanzo. As Hanzo finally made his way over to the dead tree, he stopped and looked over to see if Mileena was watching him, which she was.

"Watch this." Said Hanzo as he started methodically moving his arms and body around in a smooth flowing way that balanced out his chi and started gathering in specific parts of Hanzo's body. Meanwhile, Hanzo started to slowly light on fire with the small candle-sized flames on Hanzo started to grow and grow until it gathered around his fists and eyes that glow bright like a lantern.

Hanzo pulled back his burning fist and built up a monstrous amount of power in it, only a second passed before Hanzo swung his fist and shattered the dead Ironwood tree.

(CRACK!)

Thousands of splinters rained as the rest of the tree hit the ground with a resounding 'thud' that managed to shake the ground. Mileena could see that much of the tree that was shattered to pieces also had scorch marks all over it along with the splinters. Hanzo silently looked back at Mileena as the two stared at each other for a few seconds before Hanzo walked back over to the tea table.

"Now, simply imagine what you would be capable of if you mastered that." Said Hanzo as he kneeled back down at his end of the table.

"That is pretty... impressive." Stated Mileena as she finished off her tea. "And, useful."

"Yes, but to gain the full access of your chi is to remove any blockage in your chi paths. Paths in your body which chi travels through. Many of yours are still blocked off." Remarked Hanzo.

"Yes, yes, I know. Negative emotions and feeling blocking the paths..." Trailed off Mileena.

"Your right, and there is only one way to unblock them." Stated Hanzo.

"Really? There are no other ways?" Asked Mileena with a hint of sarcasm.

"Of course there is tea, meditation, and physical training... But with your difficulty learning meditation and the sheer amount of time it would take to unblock your chi paths solely with physical training, it would take weeks to months to do. And of course you can't just sit here drinking tea all day, and I doubt you'd want to do that either." Commented Hanzo as Mileena looked down at her empty tea cup with an uncertain expression on her face for quite some time.

Several moments of silence passed before Mileena was snapped out of her trance with Hanzo filling Mileena's cup back up with tea. Mileena let out a sigh as she looked back up at Hanzo with an uncomfortable expression.

"Very well, what would you like to talk about?" Asked Mileena as Hanzo silently laughed to himself and let out a tiny smirk.

"... I... I never really had many allies... You remember, that night I talked to you about Baraka? How he was one of the only people who I ever really trusted?" Asked Mileena as Hanzo nodded his head.

"*Sigh*... There were more, such as... General Reiko. Have you heard of him?"

"Yes, he... tricked me into believing he was trying to help me regain the throne to Outworld. As much as it disgusts me to admit it, even shared a bed with him. He then stabbed me in the back and teamed up with that cleric of Chaos, Havik and tried to kill me. Yet, the Elder Gods seemed to be looking out for me that day when that worthless scum melted and died... I would give anything just to see that bastard melt." Growled Mileena spitefully as Hanzo just watched her and listened.

"There were others, my fathers lieutenants. Ermac, Reptile, D'vorah, and Kotal Kahn... all of them believing me to be unfit to rule Outworld. Stabbing me in the back. But, luckily at the very least I had two remaining loyal allies. Two Edenians named Tanya and Rain. Surprisingly, being half-Tarkatan and half-Edenian has it's pros with the Tarkatans remaining loyal to me." Mileena paused as she looked down into her empty tea cup.

"Rain was also originated from a royal bloodline, much like myself. He was a bodyguard and a trusted alley who I... rewarded several times for his loyalty. And finally, there was dearest Tanya, possibly the closest to a 'normal' relationship I've had. Much like Baraka and Rain, she stuck by my side and only rivaled Baraka in terms of her loyalty, I promised to create a new and free Edenia for her and Rain once I've regained the throne to Outworld from that Osh-Tekk fool." Said Mileena as Hanzo finished brewing a new batch of tea and pouring Mileena a new cup.

"Oh, so this 'Tanya' was a good friend to you?" Hanzo asked as Mileena blew on her steaming cup of tea.

"Like, sisters?" Mileena looked back up at Hanzo from her tea before she started to sip.

"... Oh." Mileena finished her sip a she placed the cup back on the table.

"... I'm sure they're still around, if they've managed to survive for this long, I'm sure their still around." Said Hanzo as Mileena finally finished her tea and placed it down.

"Of course they are. My followers won't fall easily." Commented Mileena in a prideful tone as Hanzo finished his cup of tea as he stood up.

"Today was very productive, Mileena. Head to the mess hall and get something to eat before you start training again. I will continue my meditation." Said Hanzo as Mileena stood up and bowed her head to Hanzo who bowed back.

Mileena turned around and started to walk back to the temple. But as she was half way there, she halted and looked back over her shoulder to see Hanzo already back in his meditation hut in a peaceful meditative state. Mileena stood there and stared for several more seconds as she squinted her eyes, still perplexed that a man who could be so fierce and powerful could also be so sweet and gentle that he wouldn't even hurt a fly.

Mileena broke her gaze as she turned her heel and walked back to the temple.

Later...

Hopefully when she gets to the mess hall, she'll be able to take her mind off the incident by having something to eat. But as Mileena got to the mess hall and was about to open the door to let herself in, she stopped when she heard someone speak to her.

"Still not playing well with the other kids?" Mileena looked over to see that Takeda was there, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as Mileena rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"What is it this time, boy? Have you come to criticize my poor peoples skills yet again?" Asked Mileena as she crossed her arms impatiently.

"Well, kind of. But, I'm really just here to help you through everything. It was rough for me my first time here, but I still had the advantage of being a kid and a total stranger to everyone else. And not an ex-empress that caused the exudes of many of her people." Said Takeda starring off as he looked back over at Mileena who was visibly getting angrier by the second.

"Heh, no offense of course. But my point is, it's gonna be harder for you then it was for me making friends. Or, at least allies." Remarked Takeda as Mileena scoffed.

"Hehe, friends? What in the name of the Elder Gods make you think I need friends? I don't need friends to tear my enemies apart and achieve my goals." Replied Mileena.

"Uhh, no offense, Mileena. But, we kinda both know that's not true. But no worries, I'm here to help you." Said Takeda with a honest smile as Mileena looked at him with suspicion.

"And why would you want to do that?"

"Because, I consider you to be a friend. Of course not besties, but... just a friend. Plus, I feel sympathy for you. I was in the same spot you were when I first joined the Shirai Ryu." Remarked Takeda as Mileena groaned in annoyance yet again before turning around and entering the mess hall as Takeda followed along.

The female ninja made her way to the big boiling pot of curry as she grabbed a plate and the latte as she poured herself a dish as Takeda did the same thing and followed her to where they both sat down.

"Fine. Since I have nothing better to do, I shall indulge your generous offer. But if I might ask, how exactly will you make me... 'accepted?'" Asked Mileena with obvious quotation marks around the word "accepted".

"Honestly, with most of the Shirai Ryu recruits being Outworld refugees who mostly blame you for their current condition, there's not really much you can do. You could probably just keep offering your help over and over until they start to warm up to you. But that can take weeks, months, and even possibly years for them to warm up to you completely." Said Takeda as Mileena started eating her curry.

"Wow, what the little helper you are." Said Mileena sarcastically.

"*Sigh*... Look, I get it. You feel alone, suspicious of everyone around you, and even scared. I was right there with you when I was 10 years old when my mother died, and my dad dropped me off here in the Shirai Ryu..." Mileena slowed down her eating as she put her spoon down and looked at Takeda with surprised eyes. Surprised that he was sharing such a personal secret like that with her.

"In the Shirai Ryu, I basically had zero friends... and I was basically what you might call... a coward. I was terrified of the concept of fighting and all I could think about was my mom. Who, isn't really with us anymore. But, just hoping for my dad to come back one day and rescue me from this harsh clan... wasn't helping me at all. In fact, it was hurting me. I was alone and didn't have any friends, which made the experience FAR worse..." Takeda trailed off as he paused for a bit.

"... Except, there was this one guy. His name was Forest Fox, and... he was my best friend. I would usually spar with him and he would whoop my ass the majority of the time hehehe... I was scared and alone, but he reached out to me and tried to make a home out of the Shirai Ryu for me. Of course I also had Master Hasashi, but... it was nice to have one good friend looking out for me in the clan..." Takeda trailed off yet again as Mileena slowly began to eat again. Hesitantly asking Takeda, still wanting to know what happened to his friend.

"... What happened to him?"

"He died." Takeda blatantly said with a sad expression on his face as he sat there silently for a few moments. "It was... around a year ago. Havik used the Kamidogu to possess Forest and make him kill all the Shirai Ryu, except for me and Master Hasashi. We were forced to kill him... We couldn't save him." Mileena's eyes widened out of shock as she heard this. She knew that Hanzo and Havik were enemies, but she had no idea that Havik was the one responsible for the second Shirai Ryu massacre. Almost taking her aback. Hanzo really did have more of a right to kill him then her.

"He was one of the best friends I've ever had. He helped me when I was scared and alone, and I can tell that's where you are, Mileena. I know you really don't have anyone else except Master Hasashi, I was just hoping to welcome you in and carry on the lessons my friend taught me. But, if you honestly want to be alone, then I won't be an annoyance to you. I just wanted to be helpful." Said Takeda as he finished his bowl of curry, unknown to Mileena, he was still eating during the pauses of his story. Takeda then picked up the bowl and stood up and he started to walk way.

But before Takeda could even take his third step, something grabbed his pant leg and held him back. Looking back, he saw that Mileena grabbed a hold of the back of his pantleg and stopped him from walking away. Blushing under her mask with a clear expression of embarrassment on her face, Mileena began to speak.

"I would not be... unappreciative of your assistance, Takeda. I will, try to work on my 'people's skills' and seem less..."

"Bitchy?"Asked Takeda as Mileena's expression of embarrassment also had anger threw into the mix as she glared at Takeda a bit, before taking a deep breath and speaking.

"Not the word I would use, but yes. And it would not be the worst thing in the world if you... kept me company..." Admitted Mileena as she let go of Takeda's pant leg. Takeda smiled as he sat down next to a still embarrassed looking Mileena again.

"So, as I was going to say, there is another, faster way to gain the respect of the rest of the Shirai Ryu members... if you want to know." After hearing this, Mileena halted her eating as she turned her head to face Takeda.

"Really now? What is it?"

"Well... It's still pretty risky, personally I would just be patient and get warmed up with the other recruits instead of-"

"What is it?" Repeated Mileena as Takeda sighed, cursing himself that he had to bring up THAT option.

"Alright. There is one tradition in the Shirai Ryu that when performed successfully by a member will instantly gain the respect of everyone in the clan. But it's still pretty risky." Warned Takeda as Mileena smirked.

"Please, I'm still the daughter of Shao Kahn. Whatever this little 'risky tradition' you have is, I can do it." Said Mileena self-assured with a light aura of arrogance around her statement.

"The challenge is called 'Test Your Might', it goes by another name in the clan, but that's what everyone calls it anyway. There is a challenge where there's a series of objects you must break with one chop. Being a series of increasingly stronger objects that you have to cleanly chop through. The challenger will only get three tries in total, but if they fail all three, they'll be banished from the clan. Although, if you win, you will prove to everyone in the clan that you are a true Shirai Ryu and that you belong here. Legend says, that only someone who has enough will power and passion in their heart to become a true warrior can break the statue in half and prove to the rest of the clan that you belong here... Although, it's still made of titanium... so, yeah, pretty risky."

Mileena remained silent as she continued to eat her curry, all the while Takeda waited for Mileena's response. "Has anyone else tried this 'tradition' before?"

"As far as this life time, yes. There was one. And that one was Grandmastee Hanzo Hasashi himself. When he rebuild the Shirai Ryu after Havik's attack, he felt unworthy after feeling like he failed them. So he took the challenge, and if he failed he would abandon the clan forever and leave. But, he proved himself to everyone and broke that statue in his first try. Amazing how he didn't break his hand or anything after doing it. But, besides him, there were other members of the Shirai Ryu who accepted the challenge. Most of them failed because... well, most people don't have super human strength." Stated Takeda bluntly as Mileena was nearly finished with her meal.

"... So, let's get started."

Earthrealm: Japan, Shirai Ryu Temple, An unspecified amount of days later

Later in the day when most of the Shirai Ryu training were reduced down to the minority, but instead of going inside, all of them were recruited to the main courtyard where all of the Shirai Ryu members kneeled down in front of a stage that usually sat on the side of the courtyard.

Everyone was kneeling in front of the stage as they all started to whisper to one another about why they were all summoned and what was going on.

"Hey, man. Do you know why we were summoned here?"

"Yeah, I actually heard someone wanted to perform the 'Test Your Might' challenge."

"The Test Your What? What's that?"

"Don't you know anything about Shirai Ryu costums? It's a tradition where any member of the Shirai Ryu can prove themselves as strong and that they belong in the Shirai Ryu by breaking through progressively stronger and stronger objects. They get three chances in total, if they fail they will be disgraced and be banished from the clan."

"Who'd want to do that?"

"I heard it was Mileena who wanted to do the challenge."

"What!? Seriously? That freak? You gotta be kidding me."

"Hoping to the Elder Gods she fails immediately and gets booted out of here."

"Seriously, what was Grandmaster thinking allowing that Thing into the Shirai Ryu?"

"I mean... to give her credit, in the woods when Grandmaster was attacked by the Black Dragon, Mileena helped out and put up a good fight."

"Haha, yeah right. I bet it was Komodai and Grandmaster who did all the work. That crazy woman doesn't care about anyone but herself."

Meanwhile, Hanzo and Takeda walked along the side of the Shirai Ryu temple and passing several dozen ironwood trees along the way. All the while, Hanzo had his head down with his hands behind his back and a stern expression. All the while, Takeda had a nervous expression as he glanced at Hanzo. A few more moments of awkward silence passed during the walk. Until Hanzo spoke up.

"Why did you tell Mileena about that challenge?" Asked Hanzo in a dead serious tone.

"I'm sorry Master Hasashi, but she was just dying for a way to prove to everyone else to give her the light of day." Said Takeda bluntly yet with still hints of nervousness in his tone of voice.

"And possibly getting her kicked out of the clan? You know the fail to success ratio in the 'Test Your Might' challenge, she is NOT ready." Declared Hanzo.

"I know how risky it is, and I don't want her to get kicked out of the clan. But I've been where she is now, when I joined the Shirai Ryu I was only 10 years old. My mom and dad were gone and I was all alone in a strange place. I know what she's feeling, and it's loneliness. If she does succeed, the clan will start to see how hard she's willing to work and actually start to respect her. Of course, something like true respect won't just happen over night. But if she influences even ONE member from her actions, I say that that would be a success." Stated Takeda as Hanzo grumbled again.

"We both know how she's feeling Takeda. I know loneliness as well, but she is not ready for this. After the second massacre and the assembly of the new recruits, I put myself though extreme mental and physical training in order to even have a change with succeeding. But Mileena... she is not ready for this. I brought her in to redeem her, not to take her in for a few weeks then send her off back to Outworld to die just because she was too headstrong." Said Hanzo as the pair eventually started to walk up to a woman standing in front off an ironwood tree, that woman being Mileena. Pummeling the tree and trying to ready herself for the challenge ahead.

"You can tell me I got Mileena into this all you want, but at the end of the day it's still her decision." Hanzo gave Takeda a quick disapproving look before turning back to Mileena who was still hard at work punching the ironwood tree in front of her.

"Mileena, it's time." Mileena stopped her pummeling as she turned to Hanzo and Takeda.

"Finally, let's get this started." Said Mileena as she cracked her fist.

"Mileena, you have to understand the seriousness of this challenge. Most of the Shirai Ryu who took the challenge failed and were banished from the clan, and they even decided to take time before hand to train and ready themselves. If you fail, you are banished from the clan. You are not ready." Warned Hanzo as Mileena just stared back at Hanzo with a determined look.

"I promise, I WILL NOT fail... I have been training harder then I ever had before, I have even been practicing my chi training like you told me. I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Said Mileena as Hanzo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"*Sigh*... There is no way of talking you out of this, is there?" Asked Hanzo.

"No, there isn't." Replied Mileena as Hanzo lowered his hand from his face and stared at Mileena for a moment.

Hanzo then placed his hand on Mileena's shoulder and gave her a stern look. "Then I wish you luck."

Hanzo pulled his hand away from Mileena's shoulder as the woman began her walk to the courtyard. "Good, I will need all the luck I can get."

Hanzo and Takeda followed Mileena to the courtyard where the members of the Shirai Ryu were kneeling in front of the mobile stage. Soon they all looked to the left and saw the trio of Hanzo, Mileena, and Takeda heading to the stage and walking up the steps and to two concrete blocks that were in the front of the stage. Mileena stood in front of them as Takeda silently stood in the background as Hanzo walked up to the front of the stage and spoke.

"Since the rebuilding of the new Shirai Ryu, Mileena is the first member to take the challenge of the traditional 'Test your Might' challenge of the Shirai Ryu. For those of you who haven't been doing your studies, it is a challenge that involves using ones combat prowess to break through a series of objects consistently increasing in durability. If the challenger fails three times then they are banished from the clan, according to traditional rules." Announced Hanzo looking at the crowd of young Shirai Ryu before turning back to Mileena.

"Are you ready?" Mileena simply nodded as Hanzo turned back. "Then let's begin..."

Hanzo walked to the back of the stage and stood next to Takeda with his arms crossed as Mileena stood there readying herself as a ninja came from the left with a pile of wood in his hands. Walking up to the two concrete blocks the ninja placed the piled planks of wood on each block, bridging the two as the ninja backed off. Mileena didn't even show a hint of concern as she brought her hand up in a chopping motion, and brought it down. Breaking through the 2x4's with ease.

(Crack!)

And just like clockwork, the ninja came back carrying in a chopped Oak log and quickly placed it where the pile of wooden boards used to be. Mileena just like before took deep breaths as he pulled her hand back slowly and carefully as she gathered her strength. And only a second later she brought her hand down and chopped right through the log.

(Crack!)

The crowd watched on, still unimpressed at Mileena's progress. Only if she lasts to the later stages the Shirai Ryu will even consider being impressed. The same ninja returned and this time brought along with him a pile of carefully stacked bricks. Placing it down in front of Mileena, Mileena looked down at the bricks as she moved her fingers around. Already feeling the slight twinge of pain from the last two objects she broke.

It was of no concern as Mileena lifted her hand up yet again and held it above her a few seconds gathering strength. After that, she brought her hand crashing down in a chopping motion.

(Crack!)

A bundle of bamboo was then placed on the chopping blocks for Mileena, she pulled her hands together and started to focus intensely. All the while Takeda and Hanzo were still standing behind her and observing her. The ex-empress pulled her hand back once more and brought it down, breaking right through the bamboo.

(Crack!)

Mileena pulled her hand back yet again and subtlety started to rub it to sooth her pain. She looked back up at the crowd who still remained unimpressed. The half-Tarkatan narrowed her eyes with determination gleaming in them. She was not a fool, this was the easiest part of the challenge and she was already getting tired. But she would not prosiest, she won't stop because of a few bruises.

The ninja returned with a large lump of coal in his hands as he placed it down in front of Mileena and backed off. Mileena braced herself as she built up her strength, bringing her hand down she managed to chop through the coal.

(Crack!)

But this time, she felt a sharp sting of pain run through her hand after breaking the lump of coal. She once again, subtlety shook her hand to get rid of the pain, but this time it didn't fade or go away. It stayed there. A marble statue of a dragon was then placed in front of Mileena as the warrioress looked down at it. The fallen empress took a deep breath and braced herself as she raised her hand over the statue, building up energy, as she then brought it down and shattered the sculpture.

(Crack!)

"Ow!" Mileena tried to hold back her vocal expression of pain to hide any doubt viewed by the audience, but it was too late as some of the Shirai Ryu audience started to quietly laugh to themselves. Mostly the ones who hated Mileena. Takeda showed an expression of concern as Hanzo kept his stern demeanor. A block of silver was then placed on the stand as Mileena looked down at it, then back at her hand which started to worsen. But she disregarded it as she held back her hand and built up power once more. Only a few seconds later bringing her fist down and breaking right through the block of stone.

Her hand started to bleed as Mileena, Takeda, Hanzo, and even the rest of the audience could see the block. The blood started to run down her fingers and drop on the floor as a new item was placed in front of Mileena. Two bars of silver placed on top of one another. Even though Mileena's hand bled, she continued on as the challenge went along. Mileena would continuously be brought stronger, tougher, and more durable materials that Mileena would chop through. The materials consisting of gold, iron, sapphire, obsidian, ruby, amber, and more consistently stronger materials.

Everyone could see at this point that Mileena's hand got worse and worse, the bruises became so dark that her entire hand looked black and blue, except for the deep cuts and gashes that just got worse and worse after every chop. At this point, everyone in the crowd started to develop worried looks on their faces with several others showing facial expressions of being awed and impressed by Mileena's fortitude.

A block of diamond was placed in front of Mileena as she looked down at it with a hint of worry in her eyes. But she braced herself as she curled her hands into fist and raised her hand like before and held it in the air, building up power. As she then brought it down.

(Crack!)

"Ugh!" Mileena pulled back her hand that was in extreme pain with her only efforts in the hunk of diamond being a hairline-sized crack that ran down the middle. Mileena held her hand as everyone stared at her with shock along with Takeda from the back. All the while Hanzo still stared on with an unchanged stern look on his face. That was strike one, and she wasn't even near the end yet. She had to be more careful.

Mileena looked back up at the crowd and looked back down at her hand and without a doubt could tell that she broke several bones in her hand. It stung just to move her wrist around. But even through the pain was rocketing through her body, she did her best to ignore it as she looked down at the diamond and gave it one hard glare. She held her damaged hand above her and built up power once more before bringing it down.

(CRACK!)

Successfully shattering the diamond, but as a consequence, received more damage to her hand. The crowd of Shirai Ryu had their expressions shift and flux between concern and bewilderment. She has been in the Shirai Ryu for only a few weeks and was able to break through a chunk of diamond, something that members of the Shirai Ryu who've been members for years couldn't do. Even the ones who were rooting against Mileena started to visibly become impressed.

Takeda still kept the worried look on his face, staring at Mileena's damaged hand. Even though Hanzo didn't visibly show it, he was terrified at the prospect of Mileena losing and being exiled.

"Master Hanzo, can't we stop this before it goes too far? I mean, Mileena already broke her hand. I doubt she'll be able to break what comes later on with a broken hand!" Whispered Takeda as Hanzo looked back at his student.

"Takeda, do you not believe in Mileena?" Asked Hanzo in a monitone voice as Takeda developed an expression of shock on his face.

"What? No. This is going to far, I mean, do you really have to banish her if she-..." Takeda trailed off as he looked back at his master who was angrily eyeing him.

"Traditions are traditions, Takeda. I am the Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu first and a friend second. If I disregard my clans sacred traditions I might as well disband the Shirai Ryu at this moment." Stated Hanzo as Takeda looked back at Mileena, who was about to break the piece of titanium that was placed in front of her.

"Takeda, you kept talking about how much you believed Mileena can do this. Do you not believe that anymore?" Asked Hanzo as Takeda looked down ashamed.

"No. I believe she can. I'm just... *Sigh* I believe she can do it." Said Takeda as he pulled himself together and looked back at Mileena who had her hand over the piece of titanium.

Only a second passed before Mileena brought her hand down in a chopping motion and broke right through the object.

(Crack!)

"Wait a second... do... do you think she's actually going to do it?" Whispered one Shirai Ryu member to another who laughed under his breath.

"Hehe... If she does, I'll french kiss you." Replied the other member.

The same ninja returned, this time with a board of black tungsten. Placing it down in front of Mileena as Mileena hovered over the tungsten and readied herself, she raised her hand over her head and gathered power in it yet again. As she brought her hand crashing down.

(CRACK!)

"UGHH!" Mileena pulled her hand back to see that many of the major bones in her hand were clearly shattered. Everyone flinched as they heard the spine chilling crack that rang through the air. Like before, everyone could see that Mileena's hand was broken and clearly useless. That was her second strike, one more and she would be done.

Takeda began to walk forward to try and help Mileena, only for a hand to be placed on his shoulder that stopped him. He looked back to see his master holding him back from helping Mileena. "Master, what are you doing? She needs help."

"Shirai Ryu traditions state that no help of any kind should be given to the challenger. If she gets help, she will forfeit and be exiled." Stated Hanzo as Takeda looked back at Mileena holding her bloody hand, before looking back at Hanzo.

"What can she possibly do with a broken hand?" Asked Takeda as Hanzo gained a small smirk on his face as he looked back at Mileena.

"She only needs one arm to finish this." Mileena held her hand in pain as she groaned, all her attention was set on her hand and thus did not notice the new material that was placed in front of her. The final and strongest object of the 'Test Your Might' challenge that only a few Shirai Ryu were able to pass throughout the clans history. It appeared to be a mix between amber, coal, and diamond, yet Mileena didn't even know what this substance was.

"That substance is known as lonsdaleite, one of the strongest materials on Earth. And the final stage of the challenge. Be precise." Stated Hanzo in a commanding voice that everyone heard, especially Mileena as she glanced back at Hanzo who nodded at her. Mileena turned back as she looked back down at the lonsdateite, if it was stronger then all of the previous substances she broke, she will need to pour every ounce of power into her final strike.

She looked down at her broken and bleeding hand before turning her attention to her remaining working hand as she curled her fingers and moved her hand around. She took a deep breath as she focused all the power that she had in her body to her hand, Mileena only learned chi control a few days ago, so she wasn't exactly an expert yet or even a base user. But she didn't give up, remembering what Hanzo taught her as she started to surge her magenta ethereal energy through her hand along with her chi. Her hand noticeably surging with ethereal energy as everyone stared at her in wonder.

"Wait, what is that stuff around her hand?" Asked one Shirai Ryu.

"Does she really think she's able to break through an item stronger then steel in just one blow?" Asked another.

"Woah... I think she's really going to do it." Said another one.

As the crowd whispered among one another, they all quieted down as they saw Mileena raise her hand over the lonsdaleite. Building up the energy in her hand until it reached critical mass, everyone stared on in suspense as Mileena was readying herself. After three more seconds that felt like an eternity to everyone who watched, Mileena finally swung her hand down.

(CRACK!)

Everyone stared on in shock.

Mileena actually broke through the piece of lonsdaleite, and even more astonishing, she received absolutely no damage to her remaining hand. Mileena looked down at the broken object in surprise and shock as she looked at her hand which was still bathed in magenta ethereal energy. After a second of staring at her own hand in wonder, it disappeared as soon as it came. Mileena turned her head back up as she looked a the audience of Shirai Ryu who were starring at her in awe, Mileena stared on at the audience in shock for a moment before breaking out of it and bowed to the audience.

And just like that, the audience started to cheer and clap for the Half-Tarkatan. Even when she was back in Outworld and she still possessed her empress status, the only people who would cheer for her were the Tarkatans who were her loyal followers. But now... she was receiving praise from other races. Human, Outworlder, Tarkatan, Saurian, and more were cheering and clapping for her. Amazed that she had the strength and the willpower to pull of a feat like that.

"Oh man, she was more skilled then I thought..."

"That was amazing! Guess she wasn't just some crazy woman after all..."

"She really did it!? She has some incredible potential! Wow!"

"I guess... I guess we misjudged her..."

"Yeah! Go Mileena!"

Everyone continued to cheer for Mileena with Takeda clapping and cheering along with the crowd as Hanzo subtly smirked and walked over to Mileena and stood by her side. The cheering and clapping died down as Hanzo scanned the crowd and glanced over at Mileena who looked over the crowd. Even with her veil on, Hanzo could spot Mileena's mouth that was pressed against the veil started to curl into the shape of an honest smile. Not a malevolent smile or some kind of smile with the hint of selfish intent behind it, but a genuine smile.

"Mileena has won 'Test Your Might'. In the new generation of the Shirai Ryu, she is the first of the new generation to prove her strength, willpower, and passion that I know the rest of you will share. Showing both our allies and enemies the true unbreakable spirit of the Shirai Ryu. I can say with pride that I award Mileena with a Shirai Ryu ceremonial kunai." Hanzo pulled out a small object that fit in his hands that was covered in cloth. Hanzo turned to Mileena who turned back to the Grandmaster and looked down at the object in his hands.

Hanzo held it out for Mileena to take as she stood there in surprise, she didn't even know that there were any prizes if she won. She reached out and took the wrapped up kunai, unwrapping it from the cloth it was in, she saw that it wasn't any regular kunai. But it appeared to be designed for Mileena. Obviously, Mileena never used a kunai in battle. The only weapons she ever used in battle were her own nails, her sai, and Shao Kahn's Wrath Hammer. Although, she had to admit that the craftsmanship was impressive.

The kunai heavily resembled Mileena's sai with having three razor sharp blades on it with serrated edges and metallic magenta markings on the sides. Mileena couldn't believe it as she stared at it in shock for a moment before being snapped out of her trance.

"Mileena?"

Mileena looked back up to see Hanzo standing there, waiting for Mileena's response. Mileena bowed to Hanzo and tried to hide her happiness at the thought of receiving a gift from someone. Even though it was for winning the 'Test Your Might' challenge, she couldn't help but feel happy at the thought of someone actually gifting her something. She even felt a sense of belonging.

"T-Thank you, Master Hanzo..." Said Mileena still bowing as Hanzo smiled down at her.

"You did good Mileena. Now, how about you head to the infirmary to bandage that hand of yours." Just with one mention of her hand, the pain rocketed back up Mileena's arm as she flinched and nearly dropped the kunai. But luckily caught it as she looked at her damaged hand again, amazed that she was able to ignored the pain for that long.

"Yes... I... I suppose that would be wise. I will return when I'm finished..." Hanzo stood aside as Mileena stared to walk off the stage, but not before passing Takeda who she looked back at. Takeda simply smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Mileena nodded her head as she continued her track down the stage.

As the ceremony was ending with Hanzo saying his last words, the audience started to get up and dissipate. "Alright everyone, head back to your studying, training, and other duties."

Mileena walked towards the temple as she held her injured hand. She looked down at her damaged hand as she started to think about what she just did, she kept telling herself she did what she did in order to get all those Shirai Ryu brats off her back and allow her to train in peace. Or at the very least treat her like an equal and not an animal. But a she was thinking this, she saw that a small flicker of the magenta ethereal flame returned on her hand, she didn't even activate her ethereal power. But to her shock and surprise, she noticed that the part of her hand that the tiny magenta flame was surging from was slowly healing.

'What... what is this? It's starting to feel... better? But how? How is-' But Mileena's train of thought was interrupted as a finger tapped her on the shoulder. It must either be Hanzo or Takeda, probably to tell her or ask her something. Mileena lowered her hand and turned around, only to see that very same young man who she offered her assistance to several days ago.

The young man looked down and appeared to be shy and hesitant as Mileena stood there, perplexed as she stared down at him.

"Yes? What is it?" Asked Mileena impatiently as the young man spoke.

"Uhh... I was hoping when your done getting bandaged up, you could teach me how to do the perfect side ki-" But the kid wasn't even able to finish his sentence as four other Shirai Ryu, the very same ones from a few days ago as well who mocked her and told her to go away, looked at her with smiles on their faces.

"Yeah, that really wasn't bad work fre- I mean, Mileena. We'll really like to learn how you did that perfect side kick, if ya can." Said one of the Shirai Ryu who mocked her as Mileena stood there shocked. She glanced between she shy kid who first asked her for help and several of the other young Shirai Ryu recruits for several seconds. Still digesting this 190 degree turn and attitude towards her.

Another moment passed before Mileena snapped out of it and looked down at the shy young man who first asked her. Most likely he was one of the very few Shirai Ryu who actually accepted her as another member, but was just to afraid to ask for help.

"Hmm... Okay. You, head to the courtyard. Practice your perfect side kick until I arrive, then we can get started." Said Mileena as the young man smiled and nodded as he walked off and Mileena watched him. Mileena then turned her attention back to the four other Shirai Ryu recruits in front of her.

"The rest of you keep practicing. You have a much longer way to go. When I see your ready, only then I will teach you." Said Mileena smirking under her veil and turning to walk away, leaving the recruits with their mouths hanging open.

The whole way while walking, Mileena finally felt an emotion she hasn't felt in a while since her "death". Pride. And it felt good, still smiling as she walked into the temple.

Earthrealm: Japan, The Shirai Ryu Temple, Several Days Later

"Come on! Work you blasted contraption!" Growled Mileena as she struggled with the rabbit ears on the old television in her room. She didn't even have any idea what was on the TV due to the massive amount of static that was disrupting the picture and sound of the channel.

"Why does Earthrealm technology always have to be so complicated?! Just work already!" Yelled Mileena fustrated as she kept bending and twisting the rabbit ears on top of the TV to try and fix the picture. After a few more seconds of tinkering, the picture and sound started to finally become clear as Mileena started to smile.

"At last!" Exclaimed Mileena as she looked at the TV, she believed it was one of those shows the Earthrealmers called a 'Game Show'. The woman didn't care what it was, all she wanted was for the TV to work.

But as she slowly started to let go of the ears, hoping to not mess up her hard work at getting signal, the TV immeditally went back to static as Mileena growled.

"No! Give me a break!" Mileena slammed her hand against the side of the television, only for it to have no effect.

"Ugh! Forget it!" Hissed Mileena as she turned a knob on the TV and shut it off. "Earthrealm TV's, what a waste of time anyway."

Mileena turned around and paced to the other side of her room, thinking of something she could do in the meantime while waiting. She reached down and picked up the remote control to the TV, and tossed it out of frustration at another side of the room. As she did, she heard the falling and scattering of several objects that sounded like books hitting the ground.

Mileena looked over with her arms crossed as she saw that below the TV were several fallen books. They must have been by the TV the entire time and Mileena just didn't notice.

"How could I have missed that?" Asked Mileena to herself as she walked over and picked up the books. They must have belonged to the last person who stayed in this room, its kind of ashamed just to leave several books behind to rot and collect dust. All of them were covered in dust as Mileena blew on them and dusted them off. Perhaps one of these Earthrealm books can sustain her entertainment and end her wretched boredom.

The first book she looked at was a worn book called Moby Dick or the Whale. She raised an eyebrow as she looked down at it. Nothing about the book caught her attention as she simply tossed it aside. "I never liked the ocean anyway..."

She looked at the second book that was called Sense and Sensibility. The cover of two plain looking women on the cover bored her out of her mind. Along with the title...

'Ugh... No thank you.' Thought Mileena tossing the book away. What was wrong with Earthrealm books? They were nothing like the books she read in Outworld. With all of them being about war and bloodshed, that would keep Mileena entertained for hours.

But when she looked at the final book, she saw that it was called "Frankenstein?... What is this?"

Finally, something caught the ex-empress' eye as she brought the book closer to her face to examine it. Mileena couldn't put her finger on it, but there was just something about this book that just drew her in. She scanned the book with her eyes as she slowly walked over to her small bed in the middle of the room and sat down in it.

Mileena flips the book around and reads the summary on the back. "Frankenstein tells the story of gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein who succeeds in giving life to a being of his own creation. However, this is not the perfect specimen he imagines that it will be, but rather a hideous creature who is rejected by Victor and mankind in general. The Monster seeks its revenge through murder and terror."

Mileena's interest in the book only vastly increased, raising one of her hands and lightly brushing her tarkatan teeth. Before flipping the book open and reading the first chapter.

One hour later...

'You doubtless recollect these papers. Here they are. Everything is related in them which bears reference to my accursed origin; the whole detail of that series of disgusting circumstances which produced it is set in view; the minutest description of my odious and loathsome person is given, in language which painted your own horrors and rendered mine indelible. I sickened as I read. `Hateful day when I received life!' I exclaimed in agony. `Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even YOU turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred.' Mileena read Frankenstein's monsters speech in depth, realizing how the monster saw that his own creator was terrified by his existence. A hybrid, a monster created in a lab by a man who payed God and created an abomination.

A monster who was just introduced into the world only to be abandoned, hated, and mistreated for no other reason then for his odd appearance. Mileena grazed her thumb over the page as she took another moment to absorb the words that the 'monster' of the story was speaking. A monster with no allies to speak of, being forced to hide himself from others in fear of retribution, and being born as a child in an adults body and being thrown into a cold and unforgiving world.

Mileena thinks back to the day she first woke up in the flesh pits, the first person she has seen was her 'sister'... Princess Kitana. She saw her sister as being sad and alone, all she wanted to do was be a loving sister and join her, becoming a family. But instead of receiving love and admiration, she received fear and disgust as her sister backed away in fear. Calling her an abomination as she attacked her...

She was never taught how to control her anger or even act more civilized, her father wanted her to serve him and be his assassin. The only man she ever respected in her life, she obeyed Shao Kahn. And would die for him in a heartbeat. Which he did, all she had left of him was his throne which she would rule and honor his legacy.

... The next 25 years were horrible, she had to learn everything else on her own. When she was first born she was not stupid, but still extremely juvenile and extremely unstable. She was never taught any social skills to get her way, she was only taught violence which she used a lot... She was abandoned, manipulated, and mistreated countless times. Falling from glory do to her origin. A lab experiment.

Mileena would rarely ever sympathize with anyone in general, even in her rebel army whenever her allies would be in emotional pain or face some kind of disheartening truth... Mileena was unable to sympathize with them. But here, in this book, one of the only individuals she has ever felt sympathy for was an undead monstrosity in an Earthrealm book.

But before the Half-Tarkatan could read any further, she stopped in her tracks as she just got the feeling she forgot something. She lowered the book and looked to the side of the bed at the clock. Only to see she was ten minutes late for practice.

Mileena then closed the book and placed it on the bed as she got up and rushed out of the room as fast as she possibly could.

Minutes later in the Courtyard...

Mileena walked out into the courtyard where she looked around and saw only a few hand fulls of Shirai Ryu training. Mileena rose a brow at this in confusion, usually almost every member of the clan would be in the courtyard this time of the day sparring and training with one another. But that didn't stop Mileena as she slowly walked forward past the few members of the clan who were training.

The woman walked until she stood in the middle of the courtyard, only to look around yet again and see that her environment was still the same. Hasashi was supposed to have a class today, Mileena honestly thought she would be yelled at again for being late. But as she saw for herself, there was no class. Did Hasashi cancel class? No. With all of the time she spent around Hanzo, he wouldn't cancel class even if it was raining fire.

Mileena turned her heel and walked back to the temple. Still confused, she just exited the courtyard thinking, until she stopped and looked up noticing a group of young male Shirai Ryu who were talking amongst themselves.

'Hmm, maybe they know what's going on.' Thought Mileena as she then walked up behind the boys and spoke.

"Hey."

The young men stopped in their tracks and looked back at Mileena, all of them having small smiles on their faces. Even though Mileena was still much more excepted now then she was previously, it was still odd for her to see people smiling at her.

"Hey there, Mileena. What's up?" Asked one of the young men.

"Hasashi was supposed to teach a class now, but nobody's there. Did he cancel class?" Asked Mileena as the smiles on the young mens faces faded away as they all got uncomfortable looks. Looking at each other in worried expressions.

"What? What's going on?" Asked Mileena impatiently as one of the young men spoke up.

"Oh, you don't know. Do you?"

"Know what? Can you just tell me?" Asked Mileena who was getting more and more annoyed by the minute.

"This is the weeks anniversary of the first Shirai Ryu massacre. Master Hanzo... Is allowing everyone to take some time off. Probably to morn and pay respects." Said the young men as Mileena's budding anger and annoyance started to fade away at the realization.

"Oh... Well, I did not know that." Said Mileena as she firmly placed her hands on her hips, trying her best to hide her sympathetic side. "Although, I still wish to see him. Do you know where I can find him?"

The young men's uncomfortable looks worsened as they spoke. "Look, you new here so we'll give you some advice. During this time, we don't really bother Hanzo. He specifically asked everyone in the clan to leave him alone during the week. Even Takeda keeps his distance away from him at this time. Take our advice, you DON'T wanna bother Master Hanzo during this time."

But Mileena stood her ground, unafraid and unphased as she continued to look at the young man straight in his eye. "Thank you for the warning, but that still won't change my mind. So I'll ask again, where can I find him?"

"*Sigh*... Okay, we warned you. He usually spends his time in the Fire Garden meditating or stays in his room. Good luck." Said one of the young men as Mileena nodded her head at the boys and walked off.

Mileena walked through the halls of the Shirai Ryu temple, passing room after room as she was getting closer to Hanzo's room. Mileena was told about the death of the Shirai Ryu by Hanzo himself, how he saw his family be murdered right in front of him. Mileena isn't really someone who sympathizes with others, but here it was different. Mileena herself was no stranger to losing those she... cared about.

First there was Kit-... Her 'sister'... Kitana, who she hated. But... There was also Shao Kahn, the only father figure in her life. Only knowing him a few days at most before he was murdered. And of course there was Baraka. The only person she could ever truly call a... friend. No. Mileena didn't sympathize with Hanzo, she just wanted to talk to him to get him back in working order. So he could teach again. There is no other reason for her... None at all...

As Mileena was thinking this, she snapped out of her train of thought as she looked up and saw the large room with the paper doors next to her. Mileena straightened her back as she knocked on the wooden doors of the large room.

"Hello? Hanzo? Are you in there? Let me in, I want to have a word." But there was no response. So Mileena continued to knock several more times, only to get no reply. Mileena groaned in annoyance as she knocked on the wooden frame several more times. Only to of course get no answer.

"Hasashi? Hello? Are you in there? Hello? Open the door!" But just like before, no response. Mileena growled in annoyance under her breath again as she looked down the hall.

"He must be in the Fire Garden." Mileena spoke to herself as she walked down the hallway in the direction of the Fire Garden. But as Mileena looked back, she saw that one of the twin doors to the room was cracked open. The woman stopped and turned back around, walking up to the door to close it, so the 'Grandmaster' wouldn't get upset about someone possibly entering his quarters.

But as Mileena was about to close the paper doors, she took a peek inside. It looked exactly the same as it did that night. Mileena's eye dashed around the room in curiosity, but as it did, Mileena got an idea.

'Perhaps if I snoop around a bit in here, I will get a better idea of what he's going through.' Throwing all caution to the wind she slid the doors open and walked into the room. Looking around she walked deeper into the Grandmasters quarters. As Mileena looked around the clean room, the only thoughts that dashed through her head was 'For a male, he keeps his quarters remarkably clean...'

Mileena continued her sneaking around as she started looking through drawers and sheets, looking for something to give her a better sense of Hanzo's turmoil and a better understanding of him. But as she was looking through the drawers on Hanzo's nightstand, she opened the bottom drawer and saw a black box sitting in the open bottom drawer. Mileena looked at the box in confusion as she reached down and picked up the box and placed it on top of the nightstand.

'Perhaps whatever is in this box will give me a peek into his mindset.' Thought Mileena as she grabbed the lid with both hands and started to life it. As she lifted it up, she saw two items of interest sitting in the box that grabbed her attention. As the box was fully opened and the light peered down into the box illuminating it, Mileena fully saw the items.

The first item was a picture with burnt edges that appeared to be a family of three. But she noticed that Hanzo was one of the people in the picture, smiling like a fool. The other was a dark haired beautiful woman who was holding a baby in her arms. Mileena stared at the woman for a moment as she looked back up at the mirror sitting on Hanzo's nightstand. Despite the teeth and the messy hair, Mileena DID heavily resemble Hanzo's deceased wife.

'This... This must be his wife and kid. They look happy...' Thought Mileena as she continued to stare at the picture. But then looked over at the other item which appeared to be a burnt up toy that the Earthrealmers called 'Stuffed animals'. As Mileena stared at it for a few more seconds she saw that it heavily resembled an Earthrealm animal known as a bear, but... Much less threatening.

Mileena reached down and gently picked up the bear as she examined it. She believed this particular 'stuffed animal' was called... a Teddy Bear. As she stared at it, she just realized that the burnt toy was nearly completely destroyed. Half of it's face including it's eye was burnt off, it was also missing it's right arm and both legs. Mileena was amazed at the fact that the bear didn't immediately disintegrate in her hand.

But Mileena knew that if she held the bear any longer, it most likely will. The half-Tarkatan placed it gently back in the black box as she noticed a white slightly burnt tag on it's back, in Japanese characters it said 'Satoshi Hasashi'. Mileena's eyes widened in realization as she discovered who the bear originally belonged to.

'It was his sons bear... These two items must've been the only two items to survive the massacre. And he keeps them safe in this little box... The... the only items he had back when he was alive...'

Mileena looked down for a moment as she was pondering what she was going to do with this new found information. Perhaps she could give him something to ease his pain and get him back into working order. In Tarkatan culture, Tarkatans would bring the severed head or still beating heart of their opponent to a friend or mate to show loyalty, kinship, and affection. But, Mileena knew that human customs are much different then that.

But what else could she give him? Mileena scratched her chin as she thought to herself for a moment. That was until she looked back at the burnt teddy bear and the slightly burned picture.

And then, that's when it hit Mileena. 'That's it.'

Later...

Mileena walked down and reached the end of the hall and stood in front of a door. She opened up the door slowly and peered into the room. Last that she heard this room was a storage room where the Shirai Ryu would store several valued items and objects among the clans members. And with the amount of boxes and random objects scattered about with layers of dust on top of everything, Mileena knew that some of this stuff must have been here for years.

Mileena looked around as she coughed a bit and waved her hand to shoo away the dust particles in the air. She walked around the storage room as she looked at box after box. The woman managed to open up several boxes and dig through them for a while. With all the random materials and items in these boxes, she was confident in finding what she was looking for.

She dug through several more of the boxes to find several random objects, treasured objects stored by new and old members and just forgotten. Mileena found many different items, but still nothing she was looking for. She found a baseball, several dusty articles of clothing, glasses, a GameBoy, a fan, a lamp, several dusty books, and more.

But as Mileena stood back up and was about to give up on her search. Something caught her attention as she looked over to see exactly what she was looking for, she saw a dusty old teddy bear hanging off of a box. Mileena walked over to the bear as she spoke aloud.

"Finally, just what I was looking fo-..." But Mileena stopped mid-sentence as she got a closer look at the bear. The bear was only half completed with only a the right limb and leg complete with several patches of fur missing as stuffing would stick out of it. Mileena growled in annoyance and frustration.

"Is it too much to ask for a simple idiotic stuffed animal?" Asked Mileena out loud to nobody in particular. But before she could ponder what to do next, she saw that there was a sowing kit next to the bear.

Mileena grabbed the sowing kit and opened it up to see there was everything she needed inside of it. Light brown fabric, stuffing, a needle and all the string she needed, and a piece of paper that had quick instructions and pictures written on it. Mileena looked down at the kit then looked back at the half-completed bear. Then Mileena started to realize what she was doing, was she ACTUALLY considering using her own free time to complete some foolish Earthrealm children's toy to give to a ruthless assassin of the Shirai Ryu who also happens to be her ward?

'... I must be insane...' Thought Mileena. But as she tried to put the kit down and just leave, a part of her brain was nagging at her to complete the bear. Mileena fought against those thoughts for a while, only to become overwhelmed and break.

'Fine! I will complete the bear!' Mileena still held the kit in one hand as she reached down with the other to pick up the half-completed children's toy and brought it to her face.

"Hmm, I was the Empress of Outworld. I am a skilled and deadly assassin. How hard can making a simple childrens toy be?"

Earthrealm: Japan, The Shirai Ryu Temple, Several Days Later

"Dammit!" Yelled Mileena in frustration as she pricked her blood stained bandage finger once more with a needle. She was finally making the finishing touches on the teddy bear.

"Finally, I'm starting to finish this up. Now, only a few more stitches. Now, just carefully..." Mileena said aloud to herself as she carefully and successfully applied the last few stitches the bear needed to finally reach completion. But as Mileena was about to apply the final stitch, she slipped as the needle jabbed her deep in the finger as she quickly pulled her finger away.

"Son of a bitch! That hurt!" Yelled Mileena as she held her hand and started to rub her finger.

"Can't a guy meditate in peace?" Mileena heard a young male voice spoke through the thin paper walls as she looked over at her paper door and silently cursed herself for being so loud.

She saw a shadow of a man walk up to the door and slide it open as Mileena got off of her bed and stood there, but then realized the teddy was still sitting on the bed in plain view. She snatched up the bear just in time as the paper door opened to reveal an annoyed Takeda.

"Okay, what's going on? You've been yelling and curing so loud that the entire temple can hear you! What's going on?" Asked Takeda as he took several steps into the room as Mileena tightened her grip around the teddy that she hid behind her back.

"It was nothing. I just... Stubbed my foot and it hurts. Now please, if you will kindly-"

"Wait... what's all that stuff on your bed?" Asked Takeda as he pointed over to Mileena's bed as Mileena looked down to see all the supplies she was using to complete the bear as Mileena searched her brain for an excuse.

"What are you doing with that stuff?"

"Oh, I was umm... I was just sowing up tears and holes in my sheets and pillow. Now please-"

"How did you get holes and tears in your sheets?"

"If you don't leave in the next minute you will be leaving with tears and holes." Growled Mileena, getting tired of Takeda's constant questioning, as the young man looked back up from the bed and looked at Mileena's left hand, which appeared to be hiding something behind her back.

"What's that?" Asked Takeda.

"What's what?" Asked Mileena, playing dumb.

"What are you hiding behind your back?"

"Nothing! Now go away!" Yelled Mileena frustrated. But Takeda wouldn't let up. He walked closer as Mileena backed up, if she wasn't hiding this teddy bear behind her back, she would literally grab Takeda and throw him out of her quarters. But she was currently unable to do that for obvious reasons. Mileena kept slowly backing away as Takeda kept his same slow pace.

But just when Mileena least suspected it, Takeda dashed forward and made his way next to Mileena. Looking down and seeing the teddy bear she was hiding behind her back. Mileena blushed and turned back to him with a venomous look as Takeda looked down at her with a confused expression.

"Wait... why do you have a teddy bear?"

"It is none of your business! Now get out or else I will throw you out the window!" Threatened Mileena with a harsh glare and blushing cheeks. Takeda and Mileena stared at each other a little longer, until Takeda got a smirk on his face.

"Oh... I see now. You LIKE someone. So tell me... Who is it?" Asked Takeda with a smirk on her face as Mileena glared at him even harder silently.

"This is my final warning, Boy... Leave, or else you will become my next meal!" Growled Mileena as she pointed to the door with her free hand. Takeda simply put up his hand defensively and waved them, still smirking down at Mileena as he inched his way towards the door.

"Alright, I'll leave you to your work, lovebird. Just... try to keep the volume down, alright?" Said Takeda as he walked out of the room and pulled the doors shut.

Mileena growled in annoyance one more as her face flustered. She pulled the teddy bear back from behind her and looked down on it. Cursing the bear and whoever invented it in her mind. She was a vicious warrior, she would literally tear men limb from limb and eat their flesh. But here she was, making and Earthrealm children's toy and being incredibly embarrassed because of it.

"Now this... this is what the Earthrealmers call 'Rock Bottom'." Mileena said to herself as she examined the teddy with her eyes. Seeing that it was indeed complete. Of course very flawed and hastily made, but... It was still better then when it was incomplete. Mileena saw several threads hanging from the sides of the bear as she reached over to her bed and picked up a pair of scissors which she used to snip the hanging pieces of thread off. After cutting off the last piece of thread, Mileena tossed the pair of scissors back on the bed and held her creation up in the light to fully inspect it.

"Finally. It is done." She brought the bear back down to chest level as her eyes followed it.

"Now, I just need to find him. Last I recalled I heard he would visit the original home of the Shirai Ryu at the end of the week... Hopefully this will help him out of his state and have him focusing on his teachings once more..."

Earthrealm: Japan, One Mile off of The Shirai Ryu Temple, Later That Night

Mileena walked nearly a mile away from the temple and through the woods, only after around five to eight minutes of walking Mileena finally approached a clearing. She approached a clearing with swaying long grass and a hill. Mileena stopped to look around and take in the nightly scenery, looking up to see the bright stars in the night sky and feel the cool nightly summer breeze.

When she felt like she took in enough of the scenery, she walked up the hill, all the while carrying a black sack around her waste that dangled off of her. As Mileena finally made her way up the hill, she got a clear view of what was on the other side of the hill. She saw a large black spot in the ground that was several hundred feet wide. Mileena could see several mostly burnt and destroyed structures still standing.

"That must be it..." Said Mileena as she slowly made her way down the hill as she made her way closer to the massive black spot. As she made her way closer, she could see more and more clearly that it wasn't just some black spot in the Earth, there was a whole village where that black spot used to be. Mileena saw several dozen mostly destroyed structures scattered around with piles of burnt wood and burnt trees everywhere. She looked over and saw a path that lead to the destroyed village, the woman made her way to the path as she slowly walked down it.

Passing several cherry blossom trees along the way before finally making her way to the destroyed village. But before she entered, she saw a stone mantle standing right in front of where the path ended. Mileena looked down at the mantle as she silently read it.

'In Remembrance of the Village of the Shirai Ryu. Never forget.' She broke her eyes from the mantle as she looked back up at the destroyed village in front of her. She slowly walked into the destroyed village and looked around. Mileena didn't know exactly when the first Shirai Ryu massacre happened, Mileena believed that it was somewhere over 25 years ago. Several years before the final Mortal Kombat tournament.

Even though the massacre happened nearly 30 years ago, the destruction still looks recent and fresh. It was obvious that the sight was barely touched and well preserved, even with the rain and snow throughout the seasons, it was remarkably well preserved.

With being the leader of the rebel army in the Outworld civil war, Mileena was no stranger to this scale of destruction. Both sides, hers and Kotal Kahns would raid enemy camps and villages, either for food, supplies, or useful information. Mileena herself would lead the pillaging in several Outworld villages that supported the reign of Kotal Kahn. Burning down buildings and houses, even killing civilians... An unpleasant feeling ran through Mileena as she looked at all the destruction around her. Remembering back to all of her own raids... she remembers during the raiding of one village that supported Kotal's reign, Mileena burned down to the ground and ordered the execution of everyone.

But as the village burnt to the ground with Mileena and her fellow rebels leaving, she looked back and saw a little girl walking through the burning village, scared and confused. Probably looking for her parents. Who most likely were dead. Mileena remembers staring at the girl with no emotion as the girl stared back at Mileena. But Mileena simply turned around and left. Leaving the girl and her destroyed village behind...

This unpleasant feeling zipped through Mileena yet again, this feeling was very alien to her. She only felt this feeling a few times, it was... something like... shame? Regret? Being literally born to kill, Mileena rarely ever felt this feeling. But just gazing upon this destroyed village, caused that feeling inside of her to go haywire.

But as Mileena was in her own mind, she felt her foot catch on something. Some kind of cloth? It stopped Mileena in her tracks as she looked back down to see what caught her foot. She bent down and picked it up, it was a yellow gold-like cloth that was burnt and worn, but still amazingly possessed several of its shining features. Mileena saw that the cloth had the Shirai Ryu symbol on it as she tried to decipher what it was. It looked much like that cloth that's wrapped around infants that mothers use.

Mileena... could instantly guess who the cloth originally belonged to, looking back up, she looked around and saw that she was in the heart of the original Shirai Ryu village. As she continued to stand there and survey the area for several more minutes, she spotted the location she was seeking. Or more precisely, WHO she was seeking.

Several hundred feet away from the destroyed village, she saw that there was a mass burial sight with nearly a hundred graves with some of them being traditional tombs and most of them being crudely made wooden sight indicators. As Mileena squinted a bit, she saw that there were small lights illuminating from each grave, each plot had a candle light sitting in front of them. And as she continued to scan the area, she finally found a figure who was kneeling in front of one of the stone graves.

"There you are..." Said Mileena silently as she placed the yellow cloth where she found it as she walked over to where the man was.

Hanzo was kneeling down in front of two grave stones. Both with Japanese lettering on them, the first reading 'Harumi Hasashi' and the second one reading 'Satoshi Hasashi'. Both being clean and polished tomb stones with flower peddles and traditional candles covering the both of them. The entire time Hanzo held his head down in absolute sadness and respect, before looking back up with a sad smile.

"Hello, Kana my wife. Hello, Satoshi my son. My apologies for being late." Hanzo reached behind him and pulled out two pieces of paper and gently placed each piece of paper on the face of each stonehead. Both being a traditional sketch of Hanzo's wife and son. Hanzo then pulling out a small sack of peaches that he pulled out and put several peaches in front of each stonehead. Finally, Hanzo held out his finger and ignited a flicker of fire, slowly bringing his finger closer to the unlit candles as he lit them both up. Before extinguishing the flame on his finger.

Hanzo continued to stare at the tombstones wordlessly as he started to sadly smile. "I... I also got something else for you..."

The ex-Specter of the Shirai Ryu then reached behind himself and pulled out what seemed to be a beautiful bouquet of flowers and held it in front of him. "I'm sorry, I forgot which flowers were your favorite. So I got the most beautiful ones. I hope you like them..."

Hanzo placed the bouquet of flowers on Kana's grave, as the then glanced over at Satoshi's grave. "We... we never really got to know what Satoshi liked... But, I got him something as well..."

Hanzo pulled out a small bag from behind him as he held it up. "Remember when we talked about getting him a omamari when he got older? Something to protect him and bring him luck? I got him one..." Hanzo placed the omamari in front of Satoshi's grave as Hanzo lost his grim smile and frowned once more.

"If only I could've protected you..." Stated Hanzo as tears began to flow down his face, all the while staring at the gravestones of his family.

Mileena walked closer as she hid behind a tree that was only a few feet away from Hanzo. Mileena saw the whole thing, peaking out behind the tree and still holding the teddy bear behind her back. Being incredibly grateful that he hadn't noticed her yet. 'So... Those were their names. He really loved them, didn't he?'

Mileena continued hiding behind a tree as she peaked once more to see Hanzo in the same kneeling position before looking back a the teddy bear. '*Sigh*... Well, here it goes.'

Mileena stepped out from behind the tree and slowly began to walk forward. Hanzo heard the footsteps behind him as he pulled his head back up and turned his head around to see Mileena slowly walking up to him. The two stared at each other silently for a few moments before Hanzo, who was staring at her with a confused expression spoke.

"Mileena? Why are you out of the temple? Why are you here?" Mileena looked down, and while trying to hide her embarrassment as well as she could, she pulled the teddy bear back out from behind her and held it in front of her. Hanzo looked on in shock and confusion as she looked straight at the crudely constructed bear with surprise. After a few more seconds of silence past, Hanzo broke the silence.

"Is that a... a teddy bear?" Asked Hanzo confused as Mileena turned her gaze to meet his eyes once more and spoke.

"I heard of how much this annual period of time pains you, so... I went through the liberty of constructing what you Earthrealmers called, a teddy bear. I discovered that... your son, enjoyed it." Said Mileena with a bit of a fearful and embarrassed tone as Hanzo simply stared at the bear in shock. As far as Hanzo knew, Mileena has NEVER, not even ONCE in her life has ever given a gift to anyone in her life. But here she was, giving Hanzo not JUST a teddy bear, but a teddy bear that she herself constructed. Hanzo was stricken speechless.

"Well? Are you going to take it or not?" Asked Mileena impatiently, growing more annoyed and embarrassed every passing moment.

Hanzo snapped out of his trance as he reached out and slowly took the bear from Mileena's hand. Hanzo started looking down at the bear as he started inspecting it and looking at it in a much closer light. The bear wasn't nearly as perfect and well-made as a professional store brought bear, but even a blind man could tell that a lot of heart and hard work was put into making it. Mileena watched Hanzo look at the bear as Mileena started to speak.

"Look... I understand that my craft isn't perfect, there is much wrong with-" But Mileena was silenced when Hanzo looked back up at her and spoke.

"Mileena, what are you talking about? This is prefect. It isn't made with business in mind, but kindness... Jubei will love this..." Said Hanzo as he looked at the bear with a small smile on his face, as Mileena for a moment gained a shocked look before turning away and crossing her arms. Trying to hide her embarrassment as best as she could and keep her hard and tough front standing. Mileena couldn't be more grateful for wearing that veil on her face, for hiding her blushing face.

"Don't overthink it. Think of it as repayment for helping me. It was nothing more then a debt payment. Nothing more." Said Mileena who held her arms crossed and looked away from Hanzo.

Hanzo simply gave her a small smile before turning back to look at his sons grave. He looked at the bear once more before placing it on Satoshi's grave. The bear sat there, with bits of white fluff sticking out, patches of hair missing, several points where you could see poorly executed stitches, a missing ear, and more. All of that was invisible to Hanzo as he stared at Satoshi's tombstone where the bear sat. His original bear was nearly completely destroyed... THAT night. But, now he has a new one.

Hanzo continued to keel in front of Harumi and Satoshi's graves as Mileena stood there staring down at Hanzo. Several more moments of silence passed before a gust of wing broke a the silence, Hanzo was still focused on the graves as Mileena looked up and saw a gust of wind carrying several peddles and leaves, it appeared like they were dancing around as the gust of wind dashed and spun all around before blowing across the two graves.

For some reason, it reminded Mileena of a young child who was happily dancing around with a new toy. The woman had no idea how that image entered her mind, but... Maybe, what if it was one of the spirits of the deceased Shirai Ryu? No, that was just plain out crazy talk.

"Mileena..." Mileena snapped out of her own trance as she looked back down at Hanzo, who was still kneeling in front of the graves. Hanzo remained speechless as he gestured his hand to his right to an open space right next to him. Mileena glanced back at forth at Hanzo and the empty space for a few seconds before walking over and kneeling down herself. Mileena keeled down next to Hanzo as she stared at the graves silently.

A few more minutes of silence passed as Mileena tried to think of something to end it. "... What were they like?"

"... Kana, was one of the loveliest and kindest people you would ever meet. She was always kind and considerate, always offering help and assistance whenever she could. Not to mention, she was... one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life..." Hanzo remained silent for a moment as he quickly glanced at Mileena, seeing that she was indeed was listening. Hanzo continued.

"Jubei, was only several months old. And with how much I went out and worked, I barely got to know him. He always smiled when he saw me... He was so happy." Said Hanzo as he laughed a bit with a grim tone.

"They... They sound lovely." Remarked Mileena in a bit of a nervous yet honest tone.

"Mileena."

"Yes?"

"Thank you for your gift and your presence." Stated Hanzo as a few more seconds of silence passed.

"...Your welcome, Hanzo." The two continued to keel down in front of the graves, paying their respects.

Later...

Several hours later, Hanzo and Mileena were walking through the forest that bordered the Shirai Ryu temple. The two remaining silent most of the way. Mileena held her hands behind her back as she kept her eyes pointed down at the ground while Hanzo had his hands to his side as he walked and looked straight forward.

Hanzo glanced over at Mileena who was still staring down at the ground wordlessly, as Hanzo decided to break the silence. "I've been hearing that you've started making friends within the clan, since taking on that bold challenge."

"Your words, not mine." Said Mileena, still not entirely comfortable using the word 'friend'.

"Okay then, associates. I've also been hearing about how you've become quite the teacher yourself. You've only been here for a few weeks and you already have students yearning to learn from you. Impressive." Complimented Hanzo as Mileena cleared her throat a bit.

"It's nothing. Really. Those clueless children need someone as skilled and professional as me to guide them anyway, or what use would they provide?" Asked Mileena, at this point, Hanzo easily seeing through Mileena's bluff.

"Hmm, of course. I've also see that you spend much of your free time in your room. What have you been doing to pass the time in there?"

"Oh, umm... Nothing. Just, meditating." Said Mileena in a dismissive tone as Hanzo looked over at her and looked over at the bag she had strapped to her waste. At this point, Hanzo just realized that the two were already half-way up the long stair case that led to the Shirai Ryu temple. He stared at the bag on her waste, as he stared he saw what appeared to be the shape of a book.

As the two started to reach the final steps, Hanzo reached into the bag and pulled out what was in Mileena's bag and looked at it. Mileena was in shock as she turned around and snatched at the air to try and take the book back

"Wait! No-" But Mileena was too late as she saw Hanzo examine the cover of the book.

"Mary Shelley's Frankenstein?" Said Hanzo as the two reached the top of the stair case and stood there.

"What did I do wrong this time?" Asked Mileena as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Nothing. It's just that I didn't take you as a fan of science fiction." Said Hanzo as he handed the book back to Mileena.

"I originally thought it was in the genre of horror." Said Mileena looking at the book.

"Well, you could technically count it as both. Hey, have you ever seen the 1931 film directed by James Whale and starring Boris Karloff as the monster?" Asked Hanzo as Mileena looked back up at him.

"Shao Kahn nor I were much into Earthrealm movies." Said Mileena flatly as Hanzo walked forward towards the Shirai Ryu's main doors. Hanzo stopped and looked up as he saw one of the night guards patroling the top of the wall.

"Shiro!" The night guard stopped his walk and looked down to see his Grandmaster calling for him. The night guard quickly jumped down and stood before Hanzo.

"Yes, Grandmaster? How can I help you?"

"Get the old projector out and prep some popcorn. Drenched in butter." Said Hanzo as he smirked and glanced back at Mileena, who seemed to be smiling under her veil.

"I'd personally reconsider the butter, Master Hasashi. You know, fattening and bad for the cholesterol." Said the ninja as Hanzo's smirk got a bit bigger.

"I feel like being daring tonight." Said Hanzo as the ninja bowed his head.

"Of course, Master." Confirmed the ninja before leaping away. The two massive double doors to the temple's courtyard opened up as Hanzo turned back to Mileena and gestured through the doors.

Mileena smirked as she made her way through the doors. "Very well, but we better not see any movies starring Johnny Cage."

As Mileena walked through, Hanzo subtlety laughed under his voice before following Mileena. "I wouldn't dream of it."

The two walked in as the two massive gate doors closed.

Netherrealm: Quan Chi's Old Lair

"Show me your POWER!" Roared Skarlet who was in her traditional tournament outfit as she punched Johnny with a vicious right hook, as the actor fell to the ground. The ex-hotshot actor had cuts and bruises all over him as he slowly picked himself back up and coughed up a bit of blood.

"Ahh... How nostalgic, this reminds me of when Skarlet nearly beat your worthless seed and Jaqcui Briggs to death. Ahh, good times." Said Havik, reminiscing as Johnny glared over at him.

"Go fuck yourself, you Skeletor wannabe piece of shi- UGH!" Johnny couldn't finish his sentence as Skarlet dashed in and kicked Johnny in the face, sending him to the ground once more.

Johnny pushed himself back up once more as he spat out a bit of blood and looked at Havik once more. "Have Lady Leech beat me up as much as you want Havik, your never going to get my green energy... The only way your gonna get my green energy is when I shove my fist up you ass."

"Get up!" Growled Skarlet as she grabbed Johnny by the collar of his shirt and lifted him back on his feet.

"We WILL get your power, Cage. If necessary, we shall destroy your body, mind, and spirit to get your green energy. Just like your daughter... In fact, perhaps we will take your daughter and torture her in front of you to force out that green mystical energy of yours..." Remarked Skarlet as Johnny simply glared back at the woman.

"I'm taking this from a chick who's wearing a few pieces of string as underwear?" Quipped Johnny as Skarlet's glare at Johnny intensified.

"I will have you know they are an ASSASSINS attire!" Snapped Skarlet.

"You wearing barely anything, and you have red hair. When I was younger and went to a strip club, the main attraction looked exactly like you. The only difference was her name Cherri, that ended in an I by the way. It won't matter anyway, once my girls find me, you'll be so sorry..." Remarked Johnny with a smirk as Skarlet lept into the air and kneed the actor in the face, fracturing his chin and sending him flying back.

"Snark won't save you, Cage. All you can do is prey for death... or, simply give up the energy. Either way, we will get what we want..." Said Havik standing on the side with his arms folded behind his back as Skarlet marched forward towards the injured Johnny as she cracked her knuckles. Readying herself for another beating session.

Note: What? You think this would be a Scorpion/Mileena fanfiction without the involvement of Teddies? Guess again! Geez, with all the people Mileena has hooked up with you'd think this fanfiction would be named Scorpion vs the World. Where Scorpion has to defeat Mileena's evil ex's in order to be her boyfriend... Wait, that sounds interesting. Quick! Someone write a fanfiction about that! Also, with the whole Frankenstein thing, doesn't Mileena remind you guys of Frankenstein at all? A new creation made from the parts of other beings? Brought into the world and abandoned by their creators? I mean, if Skarlet could have an interest in Dracula why can't Mileena have an interest in Frankenstein? Also, I wanna say something else. Just because I haven't uploaded a new chapter for an extended amount of time doesn't mean I'm quitting the story. I hate it when Fanfiction authors stop without any conformation that they are done writing. If I do quit this fanfiction for any reason, I will be sure to inform you and not leave you hanging in the air. Also, I changed the first chapter a bit. After rereading it, yeah the... the uhh, attempted rape scene doesn't fit into the story and is just uncomfortable. So, yeah. Changed that. Anyway, don't hesitate to comment guys. I love getting feedback and responses to what I write, and honestly it also motivates me to make more chapters faster. I hope you enjoyed.

#Mortal Kombat #Scorpion #Mileena #Fanfiction #ScorpionxMileena #Hanzo Hasashi #johnny cage #takeda takahashi #skarlet #Teddy Bear #Kana Hasashi #Jubei Hasashi #Shirai Ryu

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