Chapter Text
It was an evening get together at Madame Bo's again, the four fighters sitting around the table. Johnny and Kung Leo carried the conversation, ego feeding off of ego. Raiden chimed in when he felt he needed to or was prompted. Kenshi, however, sat quietly.
He had one hand on Sento, sitting in its sheath and resting on his lap. His grip was tight and his brows were knit together, the only thing giving away the latter was the crease seen above his blindfold. He had stopped listening to the conversation a while ago, not that he wanted to. Everything was growing so loud around him and he couldn't focus on Johnny's voice even when he desperately tried to.
People walked by the table, to his open side and behind him. Some stopped too close to him to pick up or place down plates of food. He had lost his appetite a while ago and let Kung Lao have what was left (which was most of it). Raiden had asked him if he was alright at the time but dropped it when Kenshi gave him a half satisfactory, "I'm fine."
More people passed by on their way in, taking up a table behind him. He saw them through Sento, but feeling how close they were made him grip the scabbard tighter. He was being unreasonable, they were far enough away. So was the other table off to his open left side, chatting and eating away like any normal person at a restaurant.
There were no conversations to eavesdrop on, it was all just noise. There was no room to move away, not without getting closer to Johnny. He was already close enough to get bumped by his arm when he gestured as he talked. The air was full of delicious and also nauseating smells of food, passing by and around him. There was nothing to focus on other than the sword in his hand. Even the lights he couldn't see felt too bright.
"....right, Kenshi?" Johnny's voice broke through the wall of noise briefly, overpowering it rather than making it muffle. Somehow it was overbearing.
"Excuse me." Kenshi stood abruptly, dropping Sento to the floor without a thought and pivoting away from the table.
"Kenshi?" Johnny called after him but he was gone among the crowd. He shot a glance back to Raiden and Kung Lao, who seemed to share his confusion. "Was it something I said?"
"I don't think so?" Kung Lao had been mid-bite when Kenshi left and he slowly finished it.
"Perhaps I'll go find him." Raiden offered, pausing only a moment to see Johnny lean down and pick up Sento from the floor. The man gripped the scabbard with both hands, casting another glance over his shoulder where Kenshi had gone before turning those brown eyes on Raiden. He didn't need to be told twice, "I'll be back."
Raiden weaved his way through the busy room, finding a few tables being readjusted after something had pushed them. Right, Kenshi didn't have any way to see. Using that knowledge, Raiden kept on a straight path.
That path did lead out a door to a much quieter and peaceful space. Really, it was just the side of Madame Bo's, but the only person out there was Kenshi, standing in the grass.
"Kenshi?" Raiden approached him slowly, reaching out a hand to touch the other man's shoulder.
The jump felt exaggerated and Kenshi hated himself for reacting in such a way to a friend. Especially when that hand briefly pulled away. He couldn't find it again if he wanted to.
Luckily, he didn't have to. Raiden settled a firmer grip on his shoulder, giving him something to focus on.
"Are you alright?"
"I…" Kenshi paused, ready to dismiss the question like he had earlier. "I don't know."
Raiden was quiet for a moment, a slight rustle of fabric as he turned to look around. He tugged on Kenshi's shoulder gently. "Let us sit down."
Kenshi followed his friend as he was gently tugged along. His shin hit the bench first and Raiden apologized quickly. He shook his head, he had already run into several tables and the doorframe on his way out, another bruise was just another bruise.
They sat down, Raiden removing his hand and Kenshi having to be content with just feeling his presence beside him.
Raiden rephrased his question, "What happened?"
Kenshi clenched his fists, frowning. "I don't really know. Everything was just… so much."
There was a pause, Raiden's signature for when he was thinking something through.
It gave Kenshi a moment to continue, "I have never been here when it's so busy. There was so much noise, no space to go."
"You did not seem to mind crowds before." Raiden thought out loud. "Though, I suppose, the one I am thinking of had us busy fighting for our lives."
Kenshi nodded, remembering the fight. Many versions of him, of Johnny, of weird mashed up kombatants. It was true, that hadn't bothered him. Sento guided him true through the battle.
Sento. It was then he realized he didn't have the blade on him. He even did a quick pat of where he usually had the blade holstered to make sure it was indeed missing. In his desperation to get out, he must have left it. He jumped up, aiming to head back in to grab it.
A gentle but firm hand gripped his arm by the crook of his elbow, pulling him back down to sit. "Johnny has Sento. Don't worry."
Maybe back when they had first met, Kenshi would have worried at hearing that. Sento had been in Johnny's possession before and the man was stubborn to give it up. Until things fell the way they did, the way Liu Kang hoped they wouldn't, and Kenshi lost his sight. Remembering it all eased his nerves a bit, though made him wish it was Johnny out here instead of their more tactful friend.
"Take a deep breath." Raiden instructed, keeping his hand on Kenshi's arm. He stepped him through the process, one Kenshi had done before in similar situations. It helped.
"I'm sorry." Kenshi frowned, "I had to leave."
"It was too much." Raiden gently pat his arm, "I understand the need to step away."
Kenshi nodded, a quiet falling between them for a moment.
Raiden broke it, removing his hand from Kenshi's arm. "Sento had gifted you with improved senses, yes? Not just a temporary return of sight."
Kenshi nodded, "It gave me back much more than I had lost."
A thoughtful hum left Raiden. "Do you think Sento may make you overwhelmed?"
"I… haven't thought of it." Kenshi rubbed his chin, passively noting he would have to shave in a couple days. "I don't like to venture without it, it helps me not rely on other people."
"Is relying on others a bad thing?"
"No! I… I don't want to feel useless again." He rested his hand back in his lap. "You weren't there to see the damage Mileena had done. I don't blame her, I thank her, even. But… at that time, I wanted to be left to die at Shang Tsung's hands."
It was something heavy to admit, he hadn't really realized or considered Raiden was the only one of their party not to know his pain at the time. And now he was confessing to him his lowest moment.
"I don't want to fail my family again like I thought I did back then." He continued, "I don't want to be a burden to you or Johnny or Kung Lao."
"You are not a burden." Again, a reassuring hand was placed on his shoulder. Something he needed to feel. "We are your friends, your teammates. We are here to help you when you need it."
It felt a bit ironic, coming from one of the men who wouldn't help him with the yakuza. But that was a different, much bigger situation than this. Raiden was here, at his side, trying to comfort him.
The sounds, smells, and pressure of the restaurant felt far away now. Now it was Raiden's warm hand on his shoulder and the cool stone bench under him. Crickets chirping over the restaurant noises, muffled through the doorway. And the air, fresh with a slight breeze.
"Kenshi?" Raiden gently called, his other hand briefly touching Kenshi's forearm.
"I'm sorry." He apologized again, now feeling bad for spacing out when his friend was trying to help. "I think I need to sit out here for a while."
Raiden nodded, quickly adding a "of course" then removing his hands from Kenshi. He stayed beside him for a few minutes, looking up at the night sky.
They sat in silence, Kenshi taking another deep breath to fill his lungs with the cool night air. This was nice. Perhaps he should find quieter time to spend with friends.
The sound of shoes on gravel made him tilt his head toward the sound. One set of shoes before another joined and a hiss, "you are not going to leave me with the bill, Cage."
"There you two are." Johnny ignored Kung Lao behind him, picking up the pace now that he found his friends. He still had Sento in hand and Kenshi could sense it coming closer.
"I told you two I would be back." Raiden stated, maybe an attempt to cut off an overwhelming situation again.
"It's fine." Kenshi had tilted his head toward Raiden before he stood, facing Johnny. He heard the soft clink of Sento's scabbard as it was lifted and he could feel - see it, rather, with the proximity - it held out to him.
He hesitated. Long enough for Johnny to tilt his head and pull it back a bit, opening his mouth. Kenshi took the sword back before something dumb could be said. "Thank you."
"Uh, yeah, of course." Johnny still stood there, big eyes watching Kenshi's face. He was a good actor but the slight upturn of his brows gave away his concern.
"Great." Kung Lao interjected, "Now, can we return before Madame Bo bans us for not paying?"
Raiden chuckled, standing up and moving past Kenshi and Johnny. He joined with Kung Lao to go back inside, with one more glance at Kenshi.
"Are you coming?" Kung Lao's question was mostly directed at Johnny but Kenshi still shook his head with a small smile.
"I'll wait here."
"Oh, skipping out on the old argument of who pays?" Johnny jabbed, light and playful. "Come on, I know your new job gives you a decent salary."
He huffed a chuckle and shook his head, "If you split it, I'll pay for my portion."
"That's not even a quarter of it!" Kung Lao interjected.
"And whose fault may that be?" Raiden hummed in amusement, nudging Kung Lao inside.
"Don't worry about it." Johnny spoke quieter than he usually did. It was a statement only to Kenshi. He took a couple steps backwards, making sure Kenshi was, in fact, staying there before he turned to follow Raiden and Kung Lao inside.
Kenshi sat back down on the bench once the three had left him. It was only him and Sento now.
He focused on the sword, seeing a limited range appear around him. When he focused, he could see more detail, like leaves and blades of grass, but it took more power than he had the energy for. Holding the sword offered no additional hits to his senses, though. Other than seeing the world around him, everything felt the same as when Raiden had been sitting with him moments before. He let it rest across his lap again and sighed. There was so much he had yet to learn about Sento and more on top of how exactly to control it.
Liu Kang knew so much more than he was letting them know and it was frustrating. The man could potentially help him unlock all of Sento’s secrets but he refused. Kenshi was on his own.
He would have continued to be on his own if the shuffle of gravel and a smirking voice didn’t interrupt his thoughts. “Sitting all alone, handsome?”
“Cage.” Kenshi huffed, suppressing a chuckle as the other man sauntered up to him.
“Ready to get out of here?” Johnny nudged him with his shoe, “You seemed desperate to, earlier.”
A pause and an interruption before Kenshi could reply, “Are you okay?”
“I feel better now.” He nodded, standing up. He could’ve looked Johnny in the face, see those big eyes he lost the color to staring back at him, but he kept his face turned away. “I’m sorry. I-”
“You can explain later.” Johnny wasn’t good at letting Kenshi say what he wanted to. “After we get some wine and I take you to where I’m staying.”
“We are both staying at Kung Lao’s.” Kenshi huffed.
“Yeah, but we gotta get the wine first.”
“And where do you plan to get that?”
Johnny shrugged, “Figure there’s something around here.”
Kenshi raised his brows and did his head turn, an exaggerated form of an eye roll he had done even before he lost his eyes. “I don’t mind just having a quiet night. We don’t need wine.”
“Fine.” He groaned and started walking. He glanced to his shoulder when Kenshi rested his hand on it, a familiar and welcome touch.
It wasn’t too long of a walk before they found Kung Lao and Raiden sitting out on the porch to Kung Lao’s home-away-from-the-monastery. It was modest, much more than the owner, but it had enough rooms to comfortably welcome a couple of guests, though it was often just Raiden.
“I was worried you two got lost.” Kung Lao remarked, standing up.
“Nah, just took the scenic route.” Johnny heard the small, amused exhale from Kenshi behind him while Kung Lao rolled his eyes in front of him. “Appreciate you two waiting up.”
“I wanted to make sure you two were alright.” Raiden stood as well, his gaze shifting to Kenshi as he spoke. He wasn’t going to fully let it go, even when Kenshi reiterated that he was fine now.
“Could be better with some alcohol.” Johnny earned a squint and another eye roll from Kung Lao.
“Some rest may be better.” Raiden interjected, again casting a glance and a small gesture to Kenshi. “You two are leaving tomorrow, correct?”
Kenshi nodded and felt Johnny’s shoulder slump under his hand with a groan. “You know he’s right, Cage.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I enjoyed our time together.” It was a cheerier tone from Raiden and he accepted the hug from Johnny. Neither he nor Kenshi were as touchy, so they settled for just a warm handshake. “If you need a place to be in peace, I can make arrangements at the monastery.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.” Kenshi squeezed his hand gently before letting go. It was one of the moments where he wondered what he did to deserve friends like this. Got his ass kicked by Johnny and then recruited by Liu Kang without so much as proving his worth. The feeling nagged at him as he pulled his hand away and Raiden parted, leaving the three to head inside Kung Lao’s home, taking off their shoes in the entry.
Kenshi parted from the other two, Johnny bugging Kung Lao about something to drink and Kung Lao insisting he had nothing in his home. He stepped into the room that had been designated for him and set Sento down. The chatter in the other room did feel quieter once he was no longer touching the sword. It would have to be a consideration for another day. His shoulders sagged and he sat down on the bed, not even very motivated to change out of his clothing from the day. Alright, maybe the jacket should be discarded.
“Score!” Johnny’s voice made him jump, the other man stopping in the doorway. “Oh- Sorry. Were you sleeping?”
“I wouldn’t be anymore even if I was.” Kenshi tilted his head up at him, it was enough of an invitation to Johnny for him to come into the room and sit beside Kenshi on the bed. A small cup was pushed into his hand and soon filled with a strong smelling liquor. “Where’d you get this?”
“I was persistent.” Johnny grinned, “If you want to make Kung Lao mad, we should drink it all.”
“I’d rather not be kicked out.” Kenshi tentatively sniffed the drink. “Or drink too much in the first place.”
A small chuckle from Johnny, sipping from his own cup. “Hoo- that is pretty strong.”
“You didn’t even question what it was?”
“Course not.”
Kenshi huffed, shaking his head but hazarding a sip as well. It hit strong, almost pure alcohol if it wasn’t for some mild dilution to make it taste better. It wasn’t doing much.
“So-” Johnny took another sip of his, a bigger sip this time. He still made a face at the taste. Maybe he won’t drink the whole bottle.
“Sooo?” Kenshi trailed, tilting his head toward him.
“Do you want to talk about what happened?” Johnny asked, speaking again before Kenshi could say something. “Was it something I said?”
Kenshi was mid-sip, quickly swallowing and shaking his head. “No, no. It wasn’t you.”
Johnny’s shoulders relaxed slightly beside him with a soft “oh.”
“It was Sento.” He placed the blame on the sword, like it controlled his nerves.
Johnny’s brows furrowed and he opened his mouth-
“It has made me too aware of everything around me.” Kenshi continued, “I was hearing everything at once, I couldn’t focus on anything.”
“Oh…” Johnny frowned, sipping his drink like it was the only thing for him to do.
“It was… A lot.”
He turned to Kenshi, at least as much as he could with how close he already was and their knees bumping. “Let me know next time, okay? I’ll get you out of there.”
A small smile danced on Kenshi’s lips. “That’s not necessary, Cage.”
“I’d rather take you somewhere than you run away from me.” It was almost mumbled around the cup, Johnny slouching enough for their shoulders to touch.
Kenshi nudged him with his shoulder, a small lean into the contact. He was about to deny that it was Johnny and say it was fine but he sighed instead. He spoke softer, just to the man beside him. “I will let you know, Johnny.”
He felt the other man lean back into him, perhaps a comfort for them both as they finished their cups. A refill wasn’t needed. He barely noticed Kung Lao appear in the doorway.
“You two didn’t drink it all, did you?” Obviously not, but he was teasing.
Johnny leaned away with a laugh, handing over the rest of the bottle. He was about to hand over the cups but Kung Lao stubbornly made him take care of his own dishes. A glance was cast to Kenshi before Johnny stood up and followed Kung Lao out of the room.
Kenshi admitted to himself he missed the presence of the other man at his side, but the alcohol sat warm enough in his stomach to ignore it. Maybe next time, he hoped.