Chapter Text
The rest of the day had been spent in your rabbit form dwelling in the laps of either Kung Lao or Liu Kang. Despite only knowing you for a short time, the two young men had become quite fond of you, holding you, petting you, gently brushing your fur. What they saw as calmness was actually the built-in freeze response in action. But of course, you should be afraid. You weren’t a rabbit! And you had no idea how these strange men would respond to their beloved “Mr Rabbit” turning out to be a human in disguise! And the strange, cloaked man, who if Lao and Kang’s discussions were anything to go by was certainly a god, was already calling your bluff! It’s times like this you sit and wonder how you managed to let this situation get so bad.
Mercifully the night brought some peace and quiet. Kung Lao had brought you into his bed to cuddle, murmuring a little “Goodnight, Mr Rabbit” and placing a kiss on your fluffy nose. Once he was snoring soundly, you made an effort to wriggle out of his arms, kicking your little bunny legs as you went. By the time you were off of Kung Lao’s bed, which was more of a futon, you finally let yourself turn back into a human. You stand on two legs for the first time in hours, groaning as your back and neck ached from being in animal form for so long. Kung Lao’s snoring pauses for a moment and you glance at him in horror, realising that your human form is still fully naked. If Kung Lao were to wake up at this exact moment, all he would see is a nude stranger standing over him ominously. You can’t help but think this is like all your socially awkward nightmares come to life. Mercifully, Lao continues to snore. Breathing a sigh of relief, you decide to try and find some clothes. You tiptoe slowly towards a small cabinet with a large, bladed hat perched jauntily on the corner. You creak the door open to find that, thankfully, there were some spare robes within. You quickly pulled one out and tied it around yourself. Evidently, it was several sizes too big, fitted for someone much taller than you were. Oh well, you think to yourself, it beats being naked. You toss one last glance at the sleeping man. The sleeping man that in the course of one day, you have decided to mislead then accidentally get adopted by and then steal from. Kung Lao has rolled slightly onto his side, his face mushed up against the pillow. Truly, you were underserving of the kindness he showed you today, but you still wanted to get away as fast as you could. You creak the sliding door open and slip out into the dark hallway.
The halls of the Shaolin Temple were shadowy and maze-like. You scurry past closed doors and identical corridors desperately looking for what might be the way out. Hope erupts in you when you enter some sort of courtyard but dies quickly when you realise it’s a closed off garden. You prepare to change into a cat and jump the fence when you notice a small hut on the other side, with a soft, warm light emanating through the covered windows. You slide the wooden door aside to reveal a steamy bathroom, with a bubbling large central tub and various washing supplies in nearby baskets. You creep in and dip a finger into the bath only to find the water pleasantly hot. Fuck it, you think, you’ve had a long day, why not enjoy a nice bath? You shuck off the stolen robe you wore and slipped into the tub. You hum in contentment as you sink into the soothing water. You go about washing yourself at a leisurely pace, making use of the nearby soaps and scrubs, which all appeared to be handmade by the local monks. You wonder to yourself if Kung Lao had helped make any of these wonderful items. It would only make sense, you supposed, after all the Shaolin pride themselves on their self-sufficiency, and even monks need to bathe every once in a while. Still, the large, warm tub seemed highly luxurious for some monks considering your naturalist lifestyle. When your fingers start to prune, you decide it’s probably time to leave the heavenly bath. You heave yourself out with no small amount of reluctance and dry yourself off with the conveniently provided towels. You draw the stolen robe back around yourself and went back into the courtyard, leaving small wet footprints in your place.
When you re-enter the courtyard, you notice a small stone lined path leading up a hill surrounded by bamboo trees. Maybe some higher ground would be easier to escape from, you think to yourself. You gingerly make your way up the hill, cringing as pebbles dig into your bare feet. Internally you regret not stealing some shoes as well. By the time you reach the top of the hill, you are dismayed to see that the bamboo trees were so thick they almost created a wall surrounding the hill. Man, since when did a bunch of monks need such tight security?
“Ah, there you are.” A strange voice from the darkness says, almost literally scaring the shit out of you. You gasp and stumble back, nearly toppling over a mossy lion statue in the process. On the other side of the clearing was the hooded stranger you saw earlier, the stranger that was most definitely a god. But without his cowl, you could vaguely make out his features in the moonlight from overhead. The god sat with his legs crossed, hands folded on his knees. His white shoulder length hair glowed under the moonlight, but not as brightly as his nearly entirely white eyes, which gazed at you unblinkingly. “Can I assume that you’ve decided to reveal yourself?” he queried, his face calm and curious.
“I-I, no, but... How did you know that I was-?” you stumble over your words as you tried to slow your panicked breath.
“Such a shame,” He tutted, “Someone of your talents would make a fine ally.” He mummed.
“Ally? What do you mean?” you tried to seem somewhat aloof, if this god wanted something to do with you then you were going to play as dumb as you could.
“Oh, you can’t fool me, little one.” He chided “You are much more than you let on… I can always see potential.” You might’ve imagined it but it almost seemed as if there was a twinkle in his eye.
“There was something about a tournament. That headband guy, what was his name?” you pause.
“Liu Kang.” The god finished for you.
“Yeah, him and Kung Lao seemed worried about it. But what could make Shaolin monks that freaked out?” You wondered aloud.
“What indeed.” The god had a coy smile on his face. “Ah! But where are my manners, I am Lord Raiden, God of Lightening and Guardian of Earthrealm.” He clapped his hands on his knees and stood, giving you a respectful bow.
“Holy shit, what like lightening in the sky? That’s you?” you curtesy back awkwardly.
Raiden chuckled slightly, standing from his bow “And I assume your name isn’t Mr Rabbit?” he smirked.
“Oh, no its Y/N…” you murmur, embarrassed at your situation with Kung Lao. “Hey look, me being here, it’s all some mistake, I need to get out now.” You plead, if anyone could help you right now, it would be Raiden.
“Oh?” Raiden raised an eyebrow, “But You’ve only just arrived!” Suddenly, you hear the panicked voices of Liu Kang and Kung Lao in the distance. You look at Raiden with panic as he returns to his kneeling position, with a challenging look in his eyes. “I think you’ll be quite useful here.” He almost giggles. You want to scream at him in frustration, but you don’t have any time, Kang and Lao are coming up the hill!
You send one last glare at the god before shifting back into a rabbit, the robe collapsing around you. Whatever Raiden wanted from you; you weren’t just going to give it to him. Kang and Lao appear in the grove, looking around until they spot your fluffy round form from beneath the robe.
“Mr Rabbit, there you are!” Lao exclaims as he lifts you into his arms, “Oh, we were so worried you had gotten lost- oh, you smell so nice, Mr Rabbit, did you have a bath?” he coos.
“Your little friend and I were just having a chat.” Raiden chuckles knowingly.
“My Lord, you were… talking to the rabbit?” Liu Kang questions, throwing the god a concerned look.
Kung Lao noticed the discarded robe on the ground next to you “Mr Rabbit, how did you steal my robe?” he holds it next to you and you begin to nibble on the fabric of the collar, it felt good to grind your teeth on something when you were so angry.
“I think we can give our friend a much better title than Mr Rabbit.” Raiden smirks.
Kung Lao struggles to pull the fabric from your large teeth so much that he doesn’t hear the god. Liu Kang, who can’t decide who to look at replies “Lord Raiden, what do you mean?”.
“In my godly opinion, we should call our friend Y/N”. Raiden says in a very matter of fact manner.
Kung Lao finally manages to wrench the fabric from your jaw, but rips off a slither of cloth in the process, which you continue to chew on aggressively, your long ears flopping indignantly. Lao drops the rest of his robe and holds you at arm’s length to better look at you. “Y/N, huh? Why Y/N?” Lao questions.
“Yes, ‘Y/N’ seems too human for a rabbit, my Lord.” Liu Kang concurs.
“Oh, I think it quite suits them, you will see.” Raiden looked endlessly pleased with himself.
You wriggled in Lao’s grasp to turn your short, fat neck as far as it would go and glare at Raiden. If looks could kill, then you’d be a rabbit guilty of deicide.
“Okay, Y/N, let’s go back to bed.” Lao cooed to you again, cradling you against his chest as he and Liu Kang made their way back down the hill. By now you had come to the realisation that escaping wouldn’t be easy.