Hold Me Like You Held Onto Life
Chapter 2 - Wandering Through Broken Shadows

The full moon came in a matter of weeks, he needed to get his plans in order by then. The worrying thing was that The Lin Kuei had been eerily quiet. It had been easy to expand their territory, and for some reason, The Lin Kuei had barely reacted. It was alarming to say the least. Like they were planning something, willingly sacrificing turf for some reason.

Hanzo needed to figure out what the fuck was going on.

“Katashi?” He questioned, looking over to the man who straightened upon being addressed. “What activity have you noticed so far?”

“Not a lot,” Katashi shrugged, glancing across the map on Hanzo’s table. “There have been Lin Kuei patrols but they’ve been few and far between.” He pointed towards the building they knew The Lin Kuei used as a headquarters. “From what we can tell, they’ve put most of their efforts into protecting their base.”

“But why?” Hanzo pondered aloud, leaning over the table and staring at the representation of the building in question. “What are they doing?”

“I assume this is not normal for a leadership switch?” Katashi questioned. This was his first time experiencing a change like this, so Hanzo supposed it was natural he wouldn’t know the details.

“No. Definitely not.” Usually a switch in leadership came with a push for new territory, as a warning to other gangs that the new boss was serious. But Bi-Han hadn’t done that. The one person Hanzo would have definitely thought would be eager to show off his superiority. “Has there been no whispers? No rumours of what is going on?”

“A couple of men relayed overhearing some patrol claiming Bi-Han was too distracted lately, but they apparently did not elaborate on just what was distracting him.” Katashi rubbed the back of his head. “They seemed pretty annoyed by it, so I don’t think the clan are that impressed by him right now.”

Hanzo huffed, eyes still sweeping the map. What on earth could be so important to him that he’s willing to forfeit some of his turf for it? It just did not make sense. Especially on something that could risk the loyalty of his men. Maybe he was trying to make a deal with someone? But who? And how could he have kept it so quiet?

Then… If it wasn’t someone from the outside, maybe it was an internal issue instead?

There was no way in hell Sektor would be happy that his place as Grandmaster, once a sure bet, was ripped from him upon his father’s death. Maybe Bi-Han was facing a mutiny and infighting. If he was, that would actually work out well for Hanzo. The Lin Kuei destroying itself from the inside? He couldn’t ask for anything better.

He still suspected it was not that easy, however.

“Gather our spies, have them keep a close eye on the Lin Kuei’s headquarters,” he ordered, pointing at the map to emphasise the point. “I want them to watch out for anything that could potentially explain the strange happenings right now. No matter how small, if something seems unusual, I want to know about it.”

“Right.” Katashi placed his fist on his heart before bowing. “I will instruct them to report everything they see.”

Hanzo watched Katashi turn and leave the room. Now alone, Hanzo could sit and consider this more. It was driving him up the wall. Bi-Han’s actions didn’t make sense unless he was planning something big. At times like this, Hanzo wished to the God’s that Harumi was still with him. She would no doubt take one look at the situation and get the answer straight away.

She always was able to read people and situations with ease.

A knock on the door disrupted his longing, and he looked up in time for Junpei to walk into the room.

“Please tell me you have good news.” Hanzo pushed himself away from the table, feeling a little more relaxed when he saw Junpei smile. So, it likely was good news then.

“Kano has agreed to a meeting,” Junpei announced, handing Hanzo an envelope. Hanzo eagerly took it to read. “He actually seems most interested in it, despite how long it’s taken for him to reply.”

Hanzo glanced over the letter. It wasn’t too detailed, just a simple request for Hanzo to stop by the club at his earliest convenience. Hanzo couldn’t help but smile though. This was good news. Regardless of whatever was going on with The Lin Kuei, whatever Bi-Han was currently busy doing, Hanzo had the chance to create an alliance in the fight to come.

“This is excellent news, Junpei.” He folded up the letter, placing it in his pocket. He figured he may as well head over there right away. After all, the letter asked him to come as soon as possible, and Hanzo didn’t really see what more he could accomplish sitting obsessing over the map in his office. “I might head over there now. The sooner we can get things in place, the better.”

“Indeed.” Junpei bowed to him, watching as Hanzo walked over to grab his jacket. “Do you require an escort?”

“No, I think I’ll be fine,” he assured, slipping his jacket on. He reached into his pocket, making sure his phone and his bike keys were in there. “I will send you a text message once I’m there, and another once I’m done.” He approached Junpei and put a hand on his shoulder. “If I do not report back to you in… Hm. Let’s say 5 hours, assume control of the Shirai Ryu and seek me out.”

“Will do, boss.”

Hanzo nodded, patting Junpei’s shoulder a couple of times, before he turned away to head towards the door. Maybe he was being a bit optimistic going in without protection, but there was method in his madness. He’d found in the past that going alone added a strange air of trust into the situation. Hanzo showing he trusted the other group to make the right choice, that he did not see them as a threat. Strangely, it tended to work. It only failed once, with the Red Dragon, but he’d been a little too optimistic on that one given the group's history.

But that shared tension with the Red Dragon could be what Hanzo would need to bridge the gap with Kano.

He had a feeling things were going to finally go his way.

He supposed the good thing about being constantly cold was that being out in bad weather didn’t really affect him anymore.

Kuai sighed, noting that the action no longer came with a misty cloud. His breath was as cold as the rest of him. Vampirism was a lot to get used to. There were so many rules he had to be mindful of now, things his body used to be able to do but now couldn’t. And then the reverse, strange new powers he would have never had when he was still human.

He had slowly come to terms with his new condition over the month. He’d been through just about every emotion he could. Sadness, anger, gratefulness, resentful, scared, happy. It had been an endless cycle for a while. Some days he’d be so happy, he got a second chance of life and he was going to make the most of it. Other days he just felt so angry, unable to comprehend why his brother would curse him to such a miserable existence.

Time healed all wounds he supposed, and while he definitely still needed time to really settle, he had at least gotten over most of the bitterness and grief.

The fear still lingered however.

Granted, most of that looming feeling was squarely the result of Quan Chi. Kuai’s sire had not backed down from trying to get him alone. So far, he’d managed to avoid it, but he was running out of excuses, and it was only a matter of time until Quan Chi got what he wanted.

He needed to get some insight on the man and what his plans could be, and he could only hope some old friends he knew would be able to help him with that.

He reached the old apartment building, hand going to ring that familiar number before he paused. It had been 5 years since he was last here, it hadn’t even occurred to him that the people who lived here might have moved on. He swallowed, before hitting the button. Even if it was someone else, it wouldn’t hurt to check.

Seconds later, a very familiar voice came through the speaker and stated “look if this is a sales pitch, I ain’t interested.”

“Johnny, it’s me.” The statement was met with silence, and then a rustling and what sounded like a door opening. “Hello?” Kuai asked, receiving no reply.

He was about to ring again when the apartment’s door forcefully swung open. Johnny appeared from behind it, staring at Kuai with wide eyes and mouth agape. Kuai let out a short relieved breath.

“Hi,” Kuai softly greeted, trying to resist the urge to laugh too much at Johnny’s expression. After all, it must have been a shock to have a deceased friend show up on your doorstep after 5 years.

“Holy shit. It really is you,” Johnny whispered in disbelief. He blinked and looked Kuai up and down. “Jesus, you look like complete shit.”

“Really? I’ve been dead for 5 years and that’s the first thing you want to say to me?” The absolute gall of this man.

The pair stared at each other for a very long moment, before both dissolving into a fit of giggles. Johnny practically pounced at him, dragging Kuai Liang into the strongest hug he’d ever experienced in his life. Not even Bi-Han or Tomas hugged him this tightly after he’d been brought back.

“Fuck man, this is…” Johnny finally pulled back, but his hands remained on Kuai’s shoulders. “How the hell is this possible?”

“It’s… a very long story, my friend.” Well, sort of he supposed. From his point of view it was actually a short one, he died and was brought back to life. It was what everyone else was doing that took up the time.

“Well, good job I just got extra coffee then isn’t it?” Johnny pat Kuai on the back, before standing aside to let him in.

Kuai followed him up the stairs and then into Johnny’s apartment. It looked almost exactly how he remembered it, although there seemed to be some things missing from last time. Specifically, all of Johnny’s partner’s things seemed to be gone. That didn’t exactly give him confidence they were still together.

“So, uh, what exactly are you now?” Johnny asked as he went over to his kitchen area. He pulled his coffee machine out, and went to open a cupboard. “I mean, if that isn’t a rude question?”

“I’m a vampire,” Kuai admitted, walking forward and watching Johnny grunt in frustration when he couldn’t find his coffee.

“That explains why you’re here so late,” Johnny joked, before he made a triumphant sound and pulled the coffee from his cupboard. Now he could begin making the coffee, he did turn his attention more to Kuai Liang. “So. I assume your big brother has something to do with this?”

“He made a deal with a vampire, uh, my sire I guess.” God calling Quan Chi that felt so wrong. Like poison in his mouth. “It was about a month ago. Sorry it’s taken so long for me to come see you.”

“Damn, no don’t be sorry. I’m glad you’re here now, we never really got to say a proper goodbye to you ‘cause of what happened.” Johnny didn’t elaborate initially, concentrating on getting the coffee started. Once the machine was on, he fully turned to Kuai Liang and leant against the counter, in that moment realising that Kuai didn’t know what he was referring to. “Not long after you died, your body was stolen from the morgue. It was everywhere on the news man. Police couldn’t figure out what happened to you. It was bad. We decided to have a wake rather than a funeral until your body was recovered.”

“Well…” Kuai bit his lip, recalling what he’d been told of the last 5 years from Cyrax. “That at least explains how I ended up in Bi-Han’s freezer.”

Johnny looked at him, mouth once more agape. “Wait… Are you seriously telling me your bodies been in your brother’s freezer for 5 fuckin’ years?”

“Fucked up, isn’t it?” He said with a small smile, and Johnny laughed in response.

“That is an understatement.” The coffee machine finished and Johnny scrambled for a couple of cups. He poured the coffee before passing one to Kuai. “But, for as much as I question why the fuck your brother would do that, I am happy to see you again man.”

“Thank you. I’m glad to see you too.” Kuai took a sip of his drink. The drink took him back to long nights of the duo playing video games, deciding responsibility was for losers and fuck their respective jobs, staying up all night to try and complete the game. Memories of him stumbling back to Bi-Han’s apartment and passing out on the couch, waking up hours later to find a very disappointed big brother staring over him. Although the disappointment stemmed more from the fact he was out late doing something relatively lame and uncool, rather than being a normal young adult, going out and getting drunk off his ass.

Good times.

“How have you been, anyway?” Kuai finally decided to ask. “I feel bad this conversation has mostly been about me.”

“Well, I mean I ain’t the one who’s been resurrected from the dead.” Johnny gave him the look. It was a look he used to give Kuai whenever he started to put someone else above him when he was the one who needed support. Sweet as it was, Kuai still felt that in this situation, it should be a two way street.

“Maybe, but I mean, it’s been 5 years, and it’d be nice to know how you’re doing.”

Johnny gave a heavy sigh, “well, y’know how it is. Stuff’s been up and down. I’ve been focusing on my work a lot.” He glanced around the apartment. “You… Might have noticed Sonya’s stuff is gone.”

“I did.” Kuai shifted uncomfortably, and looked around the place as well. It was also a little more messy than it would have been normally. Not awful, by any means, but there was no way in hell she’d have let him leave his coat on the floor or keep the collection of beer cans on the coffee table.

“We split up about 3 years ago.” When Kuai turned back to Johnny he was rubbing the back of his head. “It just wasn’t working I suppose. I was too immature, and she was more concerned for her career. We were arguing a lot. I guess things ended as amicably as they could given those circumstances.”

“I’m sorry Johnny.” He’d been there when the pair got together, and had managed to watch them fall in love. It sucked that things had to end that way.

“Nah, like I said. I guess we were both at fault. All I can do is do better for the next woman.”

“That’s… a very mature way of looking at it.” Kuai couldn’t help the cheeky smirk on his face as he said “are you sure you’re the real Johnny?”

Johnny scoffed loudly, “no, I’ve just done a lot of growing up in the last 5 years, thank you very much.”

It seemed Kuai Liang had missed a lot. He really wanted to sit and learn every little detail of the last 5 years, but he also remembered he had come here for a reason. One that unfortunately had involved Sonya.

“I’ll be honest. I was hoping Sonya might be here too.” He swallowed, hoping what he was about to say wouldn’t make it seem like he’d come just to use his friends. “I had a favour to ask of her.”

“What kinda favour?” Johnny raised an eyebrow.

“She worked with the supernatural division of special forces, right?”

“As far as I know, she still does. Why?”

“I might be being paranoid but…” Kuai brushed his hair back, worrying his lip between his teeth. “I have this bad feeling about my so-called sire, and I was hoping maybe she might be able to dig for information about him.”

“You said this guy made some sorta deal with Bi-Han?” Johnny asked, his face screwing up in contemplation. Like he wanted to understand.

“Yes. In exchange for bringing me to life, he basically has The Lin Kuei at his beck and call.”

Johnny grimaced, “yikes. That sounds like a fucking disaster waiting to happen.”

“Exactly.” Kuai reached up to rub his bicep. “And I don’t know, he seems to be desperate to get me alone with him.”

“Creepy,” Johnny muttered and Kuai chuckled under his breath.

“You have no idea.” And Johnny really didn’t. Kuai really didn’t know how to explain the way Quan Chi looked at him and the dread whenever he was in the room. “I don’t suppose you still have Sonya’s contact details.”

“No, sorry man.” Johnny tilted his head back and forth a little like he was thinking of something. “I do have a friend who might know where she is, he works with her.” Kuai straightened up in hope, but Johnny looked a little unsure about something. “Only problem is I think he’s currently undercover.”

Kuai hissed. That greatly complicated things, but he really needed to find Sonya.

“If he’s my best chance at tracking Sonya down, I am willing to see if I can find him.”

“Well his name’s Kenshi Takahashi,” Johnny informed him, fingers tapping his mug. “As far as I know, he’s currently infiltrating the Black Dragon.”

Kuai frowned. The Black Dragon were a neutral party in the city's gang wars. Or at least, they used to be. Bi-Han hadn’t mentioned any new alliances since his death. It wasn’t ideal for him to trespass on their turf, but it also wouldn’t be seen as some declaration of war. Out of anywhere this Kenshi guy could be undercover in, Black Dragon territory was probably the best for him.

“Thanks Johnny,” Kuai softly replied with a smile.

“No worries man, you should know by now I’ve always got your back.” Johnny reached forward to pat Kuai’s shoulder. He was thankful that after all this time, Johnny was still the same guy he had always been.

“So,” Kuai said in a long, drawn out way. Now that was out of the way, he could completely focus on reconnecting with his friend. “What films have you worked on lately?”

“Jeeze, you sure you wanna start me going on that?” Johnny chuckled. “I figured you’d want to get going to find Kenshi.”

“Ah, it’s only 9, the night’s still young.” He sighed. “Not like I have to worry about staying up all night anymore.”

“Suppose that’s true.” Johnny wrapped his arm around Kuai’s shoulders. “Alright then, let me tell you all about the mess that was the production of Ninja Mime 3.”

“Gonna be honest, when I said get here ASAP, I didn’t expect you to be here quite this quickly,” Kano greeted as he let Hanzo through into his office. “Not that it’s a bad thing, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Hanzo returned with a nod. He could still hear the thumping music from the club, even up here in Kano’s office. It was a little distracting, Hanzo had no idea how Kano put up with it.

“Care for a drink?” Kano asked, walking over to a small station with various bottles of spirits. Hanzo could see one with a familiar golden coloured liquid and he could think of nothing else he wanted.

“Whiskey, please.” He watched as Kano grabbed the bottle and began to pour it into a glass. “I am pleased that you are open to an alliance.”

“To be honest with you, mate, the fuckin’ Red Dragon have been givin’ me way too many problems lately.” He finished pouring the drink, pouring a second glass, presumably for himself. “If gettin’ a hand dealin’ with them means I give you a hand with The Lin Kuei, then so be it.” He walked over with both drinks in hand, passing the whiskey to Hanzo. “The Lin Kuei have never really been a bother before, but new leadership is always a rough time.”

“Indeed,” Hanzo agreed, taking a sip of his drink. It was smooth stuff, strong too, surprisingly high quality. He’d probably have to see where Kano got it from later. “And with who took over, it’s wise to be extra cautious.”

Kano scoffed, “yeah, Sektor’s kind of a moron, so he’s bound to do something that’ll fuck both himself and the rest of us over.”

Hanzo paused for a moment, staring at Kano for a long hard minute. Kano seemed to be under the impression that Sektor was in control. That wouldn’t normally be too strange, it had been assumed by everyone that Sektor would take over from his father. But it had been a month since Bi-Han had claimed the roll instead.

A month of such secrecy and silence, one of the city's biggest crime bosses didn’t know what was going on.

Hanzo wondered how many other people knew what was actually happening.

“I take it you haven’t heard then?” Hanzo questioned, wondering if Kano maybe just misspoke. Kano responded by narrowing his eyes and tilting his head.

“Heard what?” Well, that answered that. He definitely didn’t seem to know.

That just complicated everything even more. Why were they keeping the real change secret? Why wouldn’t Bi-Han want everyone to know he was in control? What the fuck was he doing?

“Sektor hasn’t succeeded his father, after all.” Hanzo watched as Kano’s eyes widened in shock.

“You’re fuckin’ kidding me?” Kano stared at him as if he was waiting for a punchline to a particularly terrible joke. “Who the fuck has then?”

“Song Bi-Han.” Hanzo watched as Kano’s face completely dropped at that news.

“Oh, fuck,” he whispered in a horrified tone.

“Oh fuck indeed,” Hanzo agreed, taking another sip of his drink. Clearly he was not the only one who realised that this posed a serious threat.

“They’ve fuckin’ kept that quiet,” Kano exclaimed, walking over to his desk and letting himself fall into his seat. Hanzo decided to take his lead, taking the seat on the opposite side. Kano placed a hand on his chin. “I mean I thought they’d been fuckin’ quiet since Oniro’s death came out.”

“The silence is beginning to worry me,” Hanzo admitted, tapping his fingers in a rhythm on Kano’s desk. “The fact that it is apparently not common knowledge that Bi-Han is now in charge is doubly so.”

“Something’s goin’ on, you’re right there,” Kano agreed, reaching over for his computer and beginning to type something. “I ain’t had much interaction with Bi-Han, but I know enough about him to say silent and waitin’ ain’t his style.”

Kano huffed as he focused on his computer. Hanzo assumed this was relevant and he was looking for something. While he waited, Hanzo took the chance to finish off his drink and contemplate his situation. The alliance was looking likely, which was good, not to mention someone else could see how glaringly obvious it was that there was more going on with the Lin Kuei.

“Aha!” Kano suddenly exclaimed, grabbing his computer’s monitor and twisting it for Hanzo to see.

It was a photograph, seemingly taken from a distance and at night. Even so, he could tell one figure in the photo was Bi-Han. He wore that signature blue suit he always seemed to wear, not to mention the small silver emblem on his collar. More interestingly, there were two other figures with him. One was smaller and sitting next to Bi-Han, face obscured by a hoodie with Bi-Han’s arm around his shoulder, and the second stood behind them both.

Hanzo recognised that second figure.

“Is that Quan Chi?” Hanzo questioned, staring at the pale man in question.

“Looks like it,” Kano clicked his tongue as he talked. “Some of my boys took this a couple of nights ago. I didn’t think too much of it initially, but…”

“But if Bi-Han is in control of The Lin Kuei and hanging around Quan Chi…” Hanzo stared at the photo. Bi-Han and the hooded figure were acting like the vampire wasn’t even there. Quan Chi was almost ominously looming over them.

“Yeah. Kinda puts the photo in a different context, don’t it?” Kano huffed, leaning to one side and propping himself up with his fist. “Him takin’ over the Lin Kuei, him being quiet, him hangin’ out with Quan Chi. Makes you think those things might be connected, yeah?”

“There is no way they aren’t.” Hanzo had a personal history with Quan Chi. Back when Harumi died, he had offered to revive her as a vampire. The deal he had offered was vague, and it had set off Hanzo’s bullshit detectors. He’d turned it down, and ever since, Hanzo couldn’t escape the feeling that Harumi’s death and Quan Chi were linked somehow.

If Quan Chi offered a similar deal to Bi-Han, then Bi-Han was a bigger fool than Hanzo had taken him for.

“Any idea who the person in the hoodie is?” Hanzo questioned, he’d mostly entirely glossed over them. The fact Bi-Han had an arm around them indicated whoever it was, they were close. At least close enough for Bi-Han to be comfortable with physical contact.

“My boys didn’t really get a good shot of them.” Damn. The identity of the other person would have to remain a mystery for now then. “But, I do recall hearin’ rumours that Bi-Han had a family member die at some point.”

“Die?” Hanzo thought back to the supposed grudge Bi-Han held against the Shirai Ryu. A family member got hurt. If this was the same family member, then that was a vastly different story to what he had been told. If that was the case, and some of his men had killed someone close to Bi-Han, then it made his anger and hatred a lot more understandable.

But, more relevant to the conversation at present, a dead family member could be exactly why Quan Chi was in the picture.

“After my wife’s death, Quan Chi approached me with a deal to bring her back to life,” Hanzo informed aloud, looking at the photo, desperate for some more clues. The only thing he could find was that Quan Chi did appear to be mostly looking towards the hooded figure. “It is entirely possible that he extended a similar deal to Bi-Han.”

“If that’s the case, we might have a big problem on our hands.” And that was the understatement of the century.

“Our alliance may be far more necessary than initially thought,” Hanzo summarised, hoping maybe all these revelations would completely secure it. Given the look Kano shot him, it seemed to be a done deal at this point.

“Consider us allies then, Mr. Hasashi.” Kano stuck his hand out to shake on it, and Hanzo accepted easily. “Course, we’ll have to work on the details.”

“As a start, I can share with you all the intel I have on both the Lin Kuei and Red Dragon,” Hanzo offered, taking his hand back and reaching into his phone to text Junpei to prepare so he could email the documents. “I have some recent activities, especially from the Red Dragon that you might be interested in.”

“Brilliant.” Kano slammed back the last of his drink with a jovial cheer. “I can send you over this photo, and some of the others we’ve caught from Lin Kuei territory. I dunno, maybe you and your guys can find something we missed.”

“I would appreciate that.”

Even with so much uncertainty ahead, Hanzo already felt things were looking up for him.

All they needed to do was figure out what Bi-Han was up to before it was too late.

Even before his death, Kuai Liang had never really enjoyed clubbing. Too loud. Too many flashing lights. Drinks too pricey. If it was possible, he hated it even more now.

He glanced across the dance floor, watching the sea of bodies jump up and down, grinding against each other in their intoxicated states. The bass was vibrating in his chest, alcohol burning his nostrils and throat despite not having drank anything himself. The fact The Black Dragon managed to operate out of this place rather astonished Kuai. How they hell they could so much as think with the constant thumping of the music, he would never know.

Still, he was here for a reason, although as he pondered it, he didn’t have a clue where to start. How the hell am I supposed to find Kenshi?

“That would depend on who is asking for him,” a voice that wasn’t his rang through his head. He flinched and turned in a complete circle, thinking someone had just come up behind him. There was no one there, and a chuckle echoed. “Sorry. But if you can tell me why you are seeking him, I may be able to help you.”

“A friend of mine told me he could help me find someone I’m looking for.” Kuai wasn’t unfamiliar with telepathy, but he’d never experienced it first hand before. It was stranger than he would have anticipated.

“And who exactly would you be looking for?” The voice sounded suspicious, and Kuai couldn’t blame them. Still if Kenshi was undercover, it wouldn’t be wise to just outright say who. But what could he say?

“Could you just tell him Cage sent me?” Kuai questioned, vague enough that hopefully Kenshi would know who sent him, but this person wouldn’t.

“I see.” The voice sounded annoyed, but Kuai wasn’t sure if it was because of how evasive Kuai was or something else. “Do you see the door to the back of the dancefloor?” Kuai looked in that direction, and could just about see a man leaning against the frame. “Come over.”

“Okay.” Kuai felt a little hesitant, but decided he really had no other choice. He tried to stay to the edges of the floor to make it easier to get through the crowd. He managed to just about avoid a man elbowing him in the face. It thankfully didn’t take too much to get towards the back. The man was standing with his arms crossed, wearing sunglasses and a sharp black and red suit.

“Okamoto Seiichi,” the man greeted while holding his hand out. In Kuai’s head, instead spoke “Takahashi Kenshi.”

So, the telepath actually was Kenshi all along. He supposed at least that made talking about something so secretive a little easier.

“Bai Xue,” Kuai returned, deciding there was enough reason for him to use a fake name too. The Black Dragon may not recognise him, but they could potentially put together his and Bi-Han’s joint surname. “Song Kuai Liang.”

“It is nice to meet you. Please, walk with me.” Kenshi turned to enter the door, and Kuai followed suit. “I hope you will understand why whatever Johnny sent you here for will have to be talked about internally.”

“I understand.” He glanced around the corridor they were in. It looked like some sort of warehouse rather than anything else. He wasn’t sure why that surprised him, the club was only a part of The Black Dragon’s operations. Everyone knew they specialised in the sale and distribution of black market magical items.

“So what brings you here?” Kenshi questioned aloud, and Kuai knew at that moment he had to come up with a cover and explain what he really needed at the same time.

“Um. I heard there was an auction coming up soon, and I was hoping to sell a few items.” Kuai hoped to fucking god the Black Dragon still did underground auctions, otherwise he’d just given the worst excuse he could. “I am trying to locate Sonya Blade.”

“I see, well our next auction is for items with magical properties, so what did you have in mind?” It was kind of chilling how his external voice sounded so calm and collected, while internally he practically growled at Kuai, saying “and why exactly should I give that information to a stranger?”

“I have a range of artefacts, things like pendants and even some bones belonging to mythical animals.” Actually those were both true. He didn’t really use the pendants, even before his death, but he was very fond of his skeleton collection, especially his various breeds of dragons. “I was friends with her and Johnny before I… Before I died. I was hoping she could help me find information on my sire.”

Kenshi stopped in his tracks, his mouth opening slightly. His head was turned slightly, like he was both looking at and away from Kuai at the same time.

“It’s you. The one who died? The one whose body was stolen?” Kenshi asked, and Kuai felt a lump forming in his throat.

“Yes. I guess they’ve talked about me?” He wasn’t sure why the idea that people talked about him after his death felt so uncomfortable. Of course they did, that should have been obvious. However the actual confirmation that it definitely happened still filled him with a cold sense of dread.

Something about knowing people grieved for him just broke his heart.

“I’m sorry, they never told me your name.” Kenshi straightened himself out, brushing down his suit like he was uncomfortable and looking for something to do with his hands. “They were heartbroken by what happened to you, and then for someone to steal all anyone had left of you…”

Kuai cleared his throat. He didn’t really want to go into the whole being kept in a freezer situation with a stranger.

“Is there a problem with the items I mentioned?” Them just standing in complete silence would look extremely suspicious if anyone happened to walk by, so he had to get the cover going again. “I was turned about a month ago. I don’t trust my new sire, however. I was hoping Sonya might be able to look into him and see what she can find.”

“Oh. No. Sorry, I was just thinking if we had any items like that yet. What kind of bones?” Kenshi reached a hand to the back of his head. “I see. What is this sire’s name? I might know something that can help you.”

“Different dragon breeds. Well, at least smaller breeds, mostly ones commonly found in China, but I have one or two western.” He had to hold himself back, this was just a cover story after all. Even if whenever the subject of dragons came up he wanted to just spill all his knowledge onto anyone who would listen. “His name’s Quan Chi.”

Kenshi’s mouth briefly curled into a grimace, before he took a deep breath to regain his composure.

“Hm, we haven’t got many dragon bones, especially not Chinese breeds. You might have a small fortune on your hands if you find the right buyer.” He nodded his head slightly. “I have heard of him, you are right to be wary. Nothing I have been told makes it sound like he has nothing but the worst of intentions.”

“What sort of money are we talking about?” Hearing someone else say they believed Quan Chi was malicious was a relief if Kuai was honest. His brother had remained oddly clinical and detached about the entire thing, so it was difficult to tell how he really felt. The fact he didn’t seem to trust Quan Chi alone with Kuai was somewhat telling however. “Which is exactly why I need Sonya to do some digging. Quan Chi made some deal with my brother regarding bringing me back to life, and I’m concerned about it.”

“It depends how complete the skeletons are, you can always bring them and I’ll have our expert Tremor appraise them for you, but off hand you’re probably looking at a couple hundred thousand each for loose bones, and a million for a full skeleton.” That news was surprising to Kuai, even if this wasn’t the reason he was actually here. Who knew that those bones he used to collect as a child could be worth that much. “Right. She has access to the computer systems right now, so she’ll be able to look for more info. She’s living on the south side of the city now, the big apartment building on 9th street in apartment 15.”

Before Kuai could reply, either out loud or in his mind, the sound of a door interrupted him. Kuai glanced over to where it had come from, seeing two men leaving a room and walking towards them. Kuai swallowed when he realised that the man in front was Kano, leader of the Black Dragon. They’d never met, so Kano wouldn’t know who he was, but Kuai had seen photos of him in Bi-Han’s files.

As the two men approached, Kano raised an eyebrow and questioned “Oi Seiichi, who the hell is this?”

“Ah, this is Bai Xue,” Kenshi replied, gesturing vaguely towards Kuai. Man, Kuai was glad he’d given that fake name now. “He was inquiring about selling some artefacts at our next auction.”

“Right,” Kano muttered, but he seemed completely unimpressed by that. “That’s nice and all, ‘sept he ain’t meant to be back here.”

“I’m sorry Sir, I was not aware of that,” Kuai tried to defuse. He didn’t like eyes being on him, and if Kano realised he looked a little too much like Bi-Han it might cause problems. “I can leave.”

“I’ll take him out,” Kenshi offered, taking hold of Kuai’s arm to try and drag him away.

Until the second man stepped forward and stopped them by loudly saying “hold on.”

Kenshi and Kuai paused, and now that Kuai could see this other man more clearly, he looked familiar. Given the way he was staring at Kuai, it seemed he was having a similar reaction. Which in this situation, was definitely not a good thing.

“Have we met before?” He questioned, baring his teeth slightly. “I swear I recognise you from somewhere.”

Kuai and the man stared at each other long and hard, both desperately trying to wrack their brains. Kuai’s eyes flicked over him, hoping to find some sort of clue. There wasn’t much to him, just long hair tied into a bun, a beard and a very neat and expensive looking suit. Except… There was something embroidered onto a chest pocket on his jacket. A small yellow Scorpion.

A symbol of the Shirai Ryu.

Kuai’s eyes flicked back up to the man's face, and suddenly he remembered exactly why he knew who this man was.

Hanzo Hasashi. Leader of the Shirai Ryu.

The man who ordered Kuai Liang’s death.

The fact Kuai realised who Hanzo was must have shown on his face, as it caused Hanzo to take a step forward in interest. Kuai, on the other hand, had no desire for the man who orchestrated his demise to realise who he was. He yanked his arm away from Kenshi, who let go in shock, before turning to sprint. He’d gotten what he needed, he’d have liked to have been able to thank Kenshi for that, but right now he had to go before Hanzo remembered him.

“Hey, wait,” he heard Hanzo call out behind him.

“Oi, don’t let him escape,” Kano shouted out, and Kuai hadn’t even noticed the Black Dragon just milling around doing work.

A few leapt at him, trying to grab him, but he was thankfully fast enough to avoid them. One however, took a chance to fully tackle him, wrapping his arms around Kuai’s chest and attempting to haul him off the floor. Kuai struggled, kicking his legs at the man's shins, causing him to grunt but seemed to do nothing else. He was going to have to play dirty. He swung his leg back as hard as he could, right between the other man's legs.

He knew he hit the mark from the loud scream, and the feeling of finally being released.

He turned to keep running, finding another grunt in front of him. Fed up with their continuous attempts to stop him, he flailed his fist forward, narrowly missing the grunt. The grunt lent forward to try and take hold of Kuai, but this time Kuai launched his other fist forward, hitting the man square in the face.

And in turn, sending him flying off into the wall with a sickening crack.

Kuai stared dumbfounded. The wall around where the man had hit had broken, parts of it falling to the floor in pieces. He vaguely remembered Quan Chi saying there would be changes to his body, but he never mentioned anything like this. His eyes flicked over to where Kano, Hanzo, Kenshi, and the remaining grunts were. Everyone was staring at the man against the wall, who thankfully was groaning and attempting to stand so hopefully Kuai hadn’t hurt him too badly.

He blinked and shook his head. The discovery of his new unexplainable strength would have to wait. He began running off where he could see an emergency exit. To his surprise, he couldn’t hear anyone following him.

As he slammed into the emergency door to open it, he heard Kenshi’s voice ring out in his mind saying “good luck.”

“Thank you, Kenshi.” Hopefully, when this was all over, and Kenshi was done with whatever his undercover mission was, Kuai could thank him properly.

For now however, he concentrated on running as fast as he could, trying to figure out the quickest way back to Lin Kuei territory so he could map out his next moves in relative safety.

Bi-Han glared at the map in front of him, the yellow patch far too large for his liking. The Shirai Ryu had gained far too much ground during the last month. They’d taken advantage of Bi-Han trying to fit into his new role as Grandmaster, as well as his attention being partly on Kuai Liang’s revival.

But, Kuai was starting to recover from his ordeal, to the point he seemed ready to be wandering the streets at night again. Bi-Han would have felt safer with him going out alone in daylight, but given his affliction that wasn’t really a choice anymore. He just had to trust his brother’s word when he said he would just be going to Cage’s apartment for the night.

Bi-Han had never really liked Cage, but he supposed he had at least been a good friend to Kuai, and he probably deserved to know that Kuai Liang was alive again.

All that was neither here nor there however.

He needed to get back on track in terms of leading the Lin Kuei, and part of that was showing the Shirai Ryu where they truly belonged.

“There were rumours that the Shirai Ryu may be trying to form an alliance with the Black Dragon,” Cyrax informed him, glancing over the map towards where the Black Dragon’s territory was marked in a dark grey. “The Black Dragon aren’t exactly a threat on their own but…”

“Combined with the Shirai Ryu they could be a problem,” Bi-Han summarised and hissed. Kano was a fucking moron, but he was nothing if not persistent. He also had plenty of enemies that Bi-Han could potentially exploit. “What about the Red Dragon? How likely do you think they would be to align themselves with us?”

“The Lin Kuei do not need allies,” Sektor snapped, slamming his hand down against the map. “My father-“

“Left the Lin Kuei to me,” Bi-Han growled lowly, narrowing his eyes at Sektor and just daring him to do something about it. “Are you questioning my authority, Sektor?” Bi-Han took a threatening step forward, and Sektor’s face dropped in regret. “Well, are you?”

“N-No Grandmaster,” Sektor stuttered, stumbling over his own words. He was so pathetically predictable. He liked running his mouth, but the truth was he was just a coward hiding behind his words. “If you believe an alliance would benefit, then we shall do that.”

Fucking snake. Bi-Han was absolutely going to have to watch out for Sektor. He was already going to start making plans for his successor so this bastard could never have a claim to the leadership of The Lin Kuei.

“Um, Bi-Han?” Cyrax cleared his throat, gaining Bi-Han’s attention. When he turned to look at him, Cyrax was looking at his phone with a frown on his face. “I’ve just had word from some of our men that they saw Kuai Liang entering Black Dragon territory.”

Bi-Han tried so hard to not react to that. He failed when he took a deep breath, and clenched his fist. Dammit I knew it was too early to let him go alone. He should have at least insisted on Tomas going with him.

“Both of you, go to the Red Dragon, see what you can do to set up an alliance,” he ordered. Just because he was worried about Kuai Liang and needed to make sure he was safe, it didn’t mean he could just dismiss his responsibility.

“On it,” Cyrax agreed, gesturing with his head to the door, likely for Sektor’s sake. A silent “let’s get out of here before Bi-Han loses it”. Cyrax always was the smarter of the two.

Both men made quick work of leaving the room, as Bi-Han reached into his pocket for his own phone. He wasn’t going to yell at Kuai Liang, that wouldn’t help at all, but he was going to make sure he was safe and had left Black Dragon territory. Usually it wouldn’t be that much of an issue, given the group in question tended to be neutral, but with the looming threat of an alliance with the Shirai Ryu, Bi-Han couldn’t risk it.

The phone rang out a couple of times, until to his relief it was answered and Kuai’s voice came through to say “Hello Bi-Han.”

“Where are you right now?” He flinched and cursed at the harshness of his own voice. What happened to not getting angry at him? All he’d done was say hello.

“I’m guessing someone saw me cross territory lines?” Kuai questioned, and Bi-Han gave a somewhat disappointed sigh. It was disappointing that Kuai had crossed those lines, but Bi-Han supposed he should see victory in Kuai actually admitting to it. “I’m sorry Gēgē, it’s just changed so much since I was last out, I’m having trouble remembering where the lines are now.”

“That may be, but that doesn’t answer my question.” He could understand Kuai’s confusion, things had changed since he was last alive, but it still shouldn’t have been that difficult. Sure, they’d lost some territory over the last month, but that was more bordering the Shirai Ryu, not the Black Dragon. That boundary had mostly stayed in place.

“I’m by Madame Bo’s…” There was a slight pause before Kuai asked, “that is still in Lin Kuei territory right?”

Bi-Han sighed in relief, sitting down and relaxing in his seat. “Yes, that is in our territory.” Bi-Han ran his hand over his face a few times. Thankfully his brother was back on safe turf. It didn’t explain why he was still wandering around when he was supposed to be with Cage. It wasn’t even like he’d need to be heading in that direction to get there. “Are you coming back now?”

“Actually I’m going to visit another friend,” Kuai told him, and all of the relaxation left Bi-Han as he huffed loudly at the news. “Sorry, it’s just… Johnny broke up with his girlfriend, Sonya, a while ago and I want to go see how she is as well. That’s why I got lost in territory lines, but I think I know a safe way to go now.”

What could Bi-Han do? He could demand Kuai Liang return home right now, and then make sure he never leaves again. Or he could let his brother actually have his freedom.

“Okay, fine, just be careful.” He couldn’t believe he was agreeing to let Kuai stay out later. “Just remember you need to be back before daybreak.”

“I know, I know. I will be,” Kuai sighed, sounding exactly like he used to when he was a teenager. “I’ll let you know when I’m on my way home, okay?”

“Thank you,” Bi-Han sighed, he was absolutely going to hold Kuai to that. “See you soon.”

“Bye Bi-Han.”

The phone line went dead, and Bi-Han placed his phone on the desk in front of him. Maybe he should give out an order for his men to keep an eye out. Was that too much though? He didn’t want to have to literally stalk his brother for the rest of his life.

A knock on his door gained his attention, and before he could even tell whoever it was to come in, the door was opening. Before even seeing anyone enter, Bi-Han knew it was Quan Chi. He was the only person stupid enough to not await Bi-Han’s permission to enter the room.

Indeed, seconds later, Quan Chi was stepping inside, completely oblivious to Bi-Han’s displeasure. Although, it wouldn’t be surprising if Quan Chi did know and was just doing to piss Bi-Han off.

“Good evening Bi-Han,” Quan Chi greeted, annoyingly smoothly and like Bi-Han wasn’t glaring daggers at him. Quan Chi’s eyes swept the room, his brows drawing together slightly when he noticed Bi-Han was alone. “No little brother today?”

“No. He’s gone out to see some friends.” Really Quan Chi’s obsession with Kuai Liang was becoming concerning. Granted, the whole sire thing meant there was definitely a connection that probably needed maintaining, but it was still strange. He could read his little brother like an open book, and it was so clear he was nervous of his sire. Kuai was one of those annoying people who loved and trusted everyone he met, so for him to immediately take a dislike to Quan Chi?

It spelt trouble, no matter what way Bi-Han looked at it.

“I assume his little feeder has gone with him,” Quan Chi spoke with a bitter edge to his voice. Bi-Han was sure it was because Tomas' existence meant he couldn’t go hunting with Kuai Liang.

“No, Tomas is busy tonight.” The creepy feeling only got stronger with Quan Chi’s reaction to that. His head snapped over to Bi-Han a little too eagerly.

“Then, who is with him?” Quan Chi tilted his head, and Bi-Han knew what he was waiting to hear.

“No one. He’s alone.” And indeed, that was exactly what he wanted the answer to be. His eyes widened and a dark smirk came across his face.

“Alone? Really?” Quan Chi wandered up to the desk, leaning across it. He was looking at Bi-Han like he was trying to figure out if he was bluffing. “Are you certain that is wise?”

“He’ll be fine. He wandered into the Black Dragon’s territory, but got out of there pretty fast.” Bi-Han studied Quan Chi’s reaction, the vampire's eyes narrowing at the news.

“I would have thought you’d be a little more concerned about that,” Quan Chi replied matter of factly.

“I’ve got to let him live his own life.” It was hard. Whenever he looked at Kuai Liang he either saw the small child Bi-Han basically helped raise or the corpse resting in his freezer. Both of those reminders of why Bi-Han had to protect him. But Kuai would never be happy being coddled, Bi-Han had to learn to let go. “Kuai Liang is an adult, he can make his own decisions.”

“Well, forgive me if I’m wrong,” Quan Chi started, leaning further against the desk and lifting one hand to pick at his nails, “But wasn’t making his own decisions what got him killed in the first place.”

Bi-Han almost hit his phone as he slammed his fist down on the desk. The loud bang did nothing to move or intimidate Quan Chi. In fact, as he smiled down at Bi-Han he looked far too proud of what he’d just said. He knew it was a knife still buried deep in Bi-Han’s chest, and he definitely knew that what he just said was twisting that knife deeper. Bi-Han had just given him the exact reaction he’d wanted too. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

If he’d realised that the deal he made would subject him to this smug prick trying to wind him up at every opportunity, he’d have found another way to revive Kuai Liang.

But then… How long might that have taken?

“Well, he’s a vampire now isn’t he?” Bi-Han chose to reply, trying so hard to keep the anger and bitterness out of his tone. Quan Chi’s leering and never ending grin indicated he was likely failing. “You promised me the only things he’d have to worry about were feeding and sunlight. No one can really kill him again.”

“Well, yes.” Quan Chi pushed himself away from the desk. “But there are fates worse than death, you know.”

“Did you actually need something?” Bi-Han snapped, trying not to think too hard on what fate could be worse than death. All he could see was poor Kuai’s face twisted in pain as some monster hurt him.

“No, I was hoping to speak with Kuai Liang actually.” Of course. “I’ll leave you be then.”

“Fine. Go.” Bi-Han had to resist the urge to flip Quan Chi the bird as he left the room.

As soon as he was alone, he threw his head into his hands and let out a loud groan. His fingers twisted in his hair and he tried to resist the urge to pull too hard on it. He had a feeling Quan Chi was going to be stalking the streets searching for Kuai Liang now, and Bi-Han did not want him to succeed in that task. The least he could do to try and avoid it, was to warn him. He grabbed his phone, and pulled up his and Kuai Liang’s text conversation.

[Bi-Han said: Just to warn you; Quan Chi knows you’re out alone. I suspect he's going to look for you.]
[Kuai Liang said: Damn. Thanks for the warning, I’ll keep an eye out. Love you xx]

Bi-Han snorted at the last bit. Kuai always ended his texts to Bi-Han with that. He couldn’t help but scroll up and read their previous conversations. Most of the recent ones had been when Bi-Han was out on business and Kuai was wondering when he’d be back because he was bored. Every time, it ended with that love you and a couple of kisses. He couldn’t help but smile fondly at the messages. His little brother really was just so sweet, wasn’t he?

Then, he paused at a message. One without the little ritual.

[Kuai Liang said: help]

Bi-Han’s eyes flicked to the date it had been sent. It was dated to 5 years ago. The night Kuai Liang died.

He’d almost forgotten about that message, and all he could do was stare at it as his mouth went dry. He had made sure to save and preserve all of Kuai’s texts to him before his death, even this one. His heart raced, just as it had the day he received it. Even now, it made him want to abandon everything and find Kuai Liang. It made him want to try to save him, even if it had been futile back then.

Kuai had too many injuries, too severe for Bi-Han to have been able to help him.

You didn’t try hard enough.

He turned his phone’s screen off, placing the phone face down on his desk. He stared at the map in front of him, desperate to distract himself from the sinking feeling in his stomach. As he began to make plans, internally he battled the voice telling him he was failing his brother all over again.

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