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It used to take an earthquake to wake Kung Lao. Nights would go by under massive black storm clouds, lightning spitting from them and wind whipping, threatening to tear the trees in the courtyards from their roots. The next morning, the other students would be all abuzz about the storms, and Kung Lao would not have even known there had been one.
That was before he'd shared a room with a small, frail, frightened boy who startled awake at the first quiet rumblings of thunder.
That was before Liu Kang.
Over the four weeks since Master Bo' Rai Cho had found the starving, terrified boy and tasked Kung Lao with taking care of him, the older boy had learned to wake at the slightest shift of sheets on the bed next to his. It didn't bother him at all. In fact, he preferred to wake before Liu Kang. The boy had a tendency to wake screaming. No, Lao much preferred being able to wake before it came to that.
Tonight, Kung Lao woke to a flash of light and a tiny, near imperceptible gasp from the pile of blankets on the next cot over.
"Liu?" he mumbled, voice rough with sleep. Yes, he preferred waking with his charge. No, he didn't enjoy it.
He didn't get a response. Only a visible shudder in the pile of blankets shortly following a distant thunder rumble.
"Liu Kang," he stated, a little more forcefully this time. Still no response, but another flash of lightning garnered a strangled sound from the boy's bed. Reluctantly, Kung Lao raised himself from his own bed, glancing out the small window onto the courtyard. A massive anvil-shaped cloud loomed over them just a few miles away. It was going to be an intense night, but Lao knew better than to be afraid. Liu Kang, however, did not. Not yet.
"It's alright, shī dì. It's just a summer storm. It'll pass," he murmured, getting up and inviting himself to sit on the edge of Liu Kang's bed. All that was visible of the boy under the blankets was a tuft of black hair, but this close Kung Lao could hear the quiet sobs coming from within. As gently as he could, knowing how prone to startling Liu Kang was, Kung Lao placed a hand on where he thought the boy's shoulder might be. "I forget sometimes that you have only been with us for a few short weeks. You've never seen a storm from the Wu Shi Academy, have you?"
One small, bloodshot brown eye peeked out from under the blanket, meeting Kung Lao's gaze with as much fear as Kung Lao's eyes held calm.
Lao was about the explain that storms here would never hurt them because Lord Raiden wouldn't let them when a series of rapid-fire flashes lit up the room like daylight, massive cracks of thunder resounding with them loud enough to shake the entire floor. This had gotten intense fast.
Liu had disappeared under his blankets again, shivering and crying in earnest now. Even Lao's own heart picked up its pace as the wind howled through the openings in the walls, echoing eerily off the stone. He shoved that apprehension aside. He knew better than to be afraid, and Liu needed him to be a calm, steady presence, particularly in times like this. That was something else Liu Kang had taught him to do over the past month.
"Alright, Liu. Move over," he encouraged, tapping the bundle of blankets gently until it shifted enough for him to lie down next to it. This was a recent development, and Lao was grateful that Liu trusted him enough to allow him this close, especially on nights like these. Carefully, Lao wrapped an arm around the blankets and used his other hand to pull them down a bit, finding Liu's tear-streaked face beneath.
"You'll be alright, my friend. These storms never harm anyone inside these walls," he reassured. "So long as Lord Raiden favors us, we will never be harmed by a storm."
Liu pressed as close to Kung Lao as he could get, face buried into the older boy's chest as another round of lightning and thunder shook the walls. Every flash illuminated the trees outside, and Lao could see them whipping back and forth, their branches tangling together and the leaves just barely hanging on. Yes, it was a good thing Lord Raiden favored this place.
Suddenly, Lao had an idea, remembering the stories that the older monks would always tell to the children who were frightened. "Do you know of Lord Raiden yet, shī dì?" Kung Lao asked once the thunder quieted enough for him to be heard. He couldn't see Liu like this, but he felt the shake of his head. "He's the reason you should never be afraid of storms like these. Turn around. Look outside."
Liu didn't move, instead fisting his hand in Lao's nightshirt as another crack of thunder nearly made their ears ring. "Trust me, Liu. I want to show you something. Turn around."
With that, he pushed Liu away gently, giving the boy enough room to turn over so that he would lie with his back to Lao's chest. Reluctantly, Liu Kang complied. Lao slipped an arm under Liu's head and let him use it as a pillow, draping the other one across the boy's too-slim shoulders. When Liu settled again, his eyes half-hidden in Lao's arm, Lao leaned in close so that Liu would hear him over the howling winds.
"Don't hide your eyes, Liu. Look." He pointed out the window up toward the anvil that loomed ever-threatening over the gardens below. "Do you see him? Do you see Lord Raiden?"
Another bolt of lightning tore through the sky, and Liu shoved his eyes back down into Lao's arm, shaking his head violently. Lao could feel the hot tears still pouring out of the boy's eyes.
"No, no, it's ok. Look again. Look for him," Lao breathed, wrapping his arm around Liu again until he felt the boy begin to raise his head. "See? He will protect you, as he protects all of us here."
Liu's slight form was shivering, his breathing ragged with quiet sobs, but he complied. After a few seconds of looking, ending with another flash sending Liu back into hiding, he finally spoke. "I can't..." he choked out between gasps, his voice wrecked. Lao felt his heart shatter in his chest at the words, not so much for what was said, but how he said it. Such fear in a voice Lao had never heard, and yet it was far too common a tone in Liu's voice. For what seemed the hundredth time in the past four weeks since Liu had arrived, Lao found his blood boiling with rage toward whoever had taught his friend that he must live in fear. But right now that was far beyond the point.
"That's alright. Try again. Just look, he's there. I can see him."
Once again, Liu hazarded a glance, but still, he saw nothing. Nothing but darkness, churning clouds, driving winds that threatened to tear his new safe haven apart. If Raiden was truly there as Lao said, why wasn't he stopping it?
"I don't understand," he whispered. "I can't see anyone, shī xiōng." He began to hide his eyes again, but he stopped when he felt Lao laugh.
"No, of course not. He isn't just a person, Liu. He's in every cloud. Every burst of lightning. Every strike of thunder. That is Lord Raiden. He is the storm. He would never let his power harm us. And you can see, he even has his brother with him tonight. He is called Lord Fujin, god of wind. Can you see them sparring just as we do in training? As you someday will be strong enough to do?"
Gradually, Lao felt Liu's shivers subside, could now see Liu's eyes with every flash of lightning, locked onto the storm clouds outside.
"That's Lord Raiden?" he asked incredulously, and Lao couldn't help but smile.
"Yes. I hear that sometimes he comes down to Earthrealm to meet the winners of Mortal Kombat and the future champions."
"Have you met him?"
Lao laughed, ducking his head against Liu's shoulder briefly. "No, not yet. But I think I will someday. I think you will too, shī dì."
Liu settled back against Lao's chest, leaning his head down to rest on the older boy's arm again, thankfully this time out of fatigue rather than fear.
"What would Lord Raiden want with someone like me? I'm not strong like you, shī xiōng. I can't even make the walk to the other end of the academy without exhausting myself to helplessness," he murmured, eyes falling away from the storm outside, suddenly ashamed.
It was true. Liu was nowhere near strong, not yet. He'd gotten better, and he improved every single day, but Lao had found him more than once slumped against a wall, pressed into a corner with his knees drawn up and his entire body shaking, having overexerted his still fragile body.
"That will not be your entire life, Liu. Soon, you'll be able to put me in the dirt when we spar."
Thunder cracked overhead, and even now Liu jumped, but this time he settled again quickly. With a deep sigh, he turned in Lao's arms so that he could face the older boy again. "I hope I can make Lord Raiden proud someday," he murmured.
Lao brought a hand up to clear away the last of the tear tracks on Liu's face. When he finished, Liu settled in close, burying his head into Lao's chest and letting his eyes slip shut.
"With all you've survived, Liu, I'm sure he already is."