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Apprehension grips at Bi-Han's heart as he slowly ascends the steps to the Lin Kuei temple. He has not been here in years, and it almost hurts to come back. It hurts worse to have waited so long, guilt gnawing at his lungs until he cannot breathe. Bi-Han could run, could turn around and slip back into the Netherrealm without anyone being the wiser.
But his brother is here.
And Bi-Han has long owed him an apology.
As he finally reaches the top of the steps, the courtyard falls deadly silent, the gathered students staring at him with undisguised fear as they close ranks.
"I mean no harm," Bi-Han projects his voice as much as possible, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture, "I only wish to speak to your grandmaster. I will leave if he asks."
A few sets of eyes dart back to one particular trainee, a girl with snow white hair and a vicious scowl. She's dressed in similar armor to the rest, and to an untrained eye, it would seem as though she was no different. But Bi-han was Lin Kuei long enough to see the intricate stitching, the gems embedded in her Lin Kuei medallion, the honors carved into her steel mask. Every other trainee wears cloth over their mouths, but this one has the mask of a mantled Lin Kuei.
She's dressed as Sektor would have been, albeit less excessively adorned, and her armor seems to be modelled after Kuai Liang's preferred style. She's the heir then, and his brother's apprentice.
The heir looks him over, her glare scanning him head to toe with the same glowing blue in her eyes that used to sit in Bi-Han's own, before he lost his cryomancy and became…this.
Whatever she finds must satisfy her, because she turns to call over her shoulder, "Grandmaster!"
Footsteps echo from inside the temple as Kuai Liang sprints towards the courtyard, bursting through the doors ready for a fight. Confusion furrows his brow when he finds none, and it takes a second for his eyes to finally land on the newcomer.
Bi-Han flinches when Kuai Liang finally looks at him, the younger brother's eyes softening as the tension bleeds out of his shoulders.
"Bi-Han?" Kuai Liang breaths out, hope bleeding into his words as he walks towards his brother.
"Hello, brother," Bi-Han swallows around the lump of emotion in his throat, "I am still alive."
That was his whole goal here, to let Kuai Liang know that he still lived and to apologize for ever letting him believe otherwise. Regret looms over Bi-Han's shoulders for taking so many years to do this, but he cannot change the past.
"Evidently," Kuai Liang huffs as he finally stands close enough to settle a hand on his brother's shoulder, "And I am very glad of it."
Eyes stinging, Bi-Han's brow furrows in bafflement, "I-….I abandoned you. I came to apologize."
Shaking his head, Kuai Liang squeezes the shoulder beneath his hand to ground his brother, "I need no apology, you are here now, that is what matters."
Bi-Han's mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out as he tries to get a response past his teeth. He had not expected this, warmth and welcome had seemed too impossible to consider.
"Come, we should talk," Kuai Liang guides him through the crowd of trainees, turning to his heir with a softer smile than Bi-Han has ever seen on him, "Thank you, Frost."
"Sure thing," Frost shrugs, though her glare seems only to intensify, "Scream if he stabs you."
"I'm sure that won't be necessary," Kuai Liang chuckles, and Bi-Han feels himself breathe for the first time in years.
His brother has not been this soft since they were young enough to still cling to one another in the dark. Time and cruelty took that softness from them both, but if Kuai Liang can claw some of it back, perhaps there is hope for Bi-Han too.