Is there and lore of Hanzo and Harumi in your mk au?
As individuals? As a ship? Both??
I mean- you can have both. I guess.
You know what? I have this whole Harumi rewriting that has been sitting in my drafts for a year now, I actually went back to it in order to improve it and add more Hanzo too. This is long so I hope it can make up for the time I took to answer!
I gotta learn how to make my answers short and half-assed sometimes but eh- this is the last time, I swear.
🦂~🌸~🦂~🌸~🦂~🌸~🦂~🌸~🦂~🌸
🦂~🌸~🦂~🌸~🦂~🌸~🦂~🌸~🦂~🌸
When Takeda Shirai fled the Lin Kuei and came back to his native lands in Japan, he knew his former comrades would stop at nothing to eliminate him and everything he had come to represent. Although his new clan, the Shirai Ryu, flourished in the following years of his departure, Takeda's dishonor caught up to him in his elderly years in the form of a Lin Kuei spy successfully poisoning the unsuspecting grandmaster.
Grandmaster Takeda's death was a direct confirmation of the threat still posed by the Lin Kuei and the lengths they were ready to go to in order to eradicate the traitor's offending legacy. Takeda's descendants, however, were determined to honor and protect his lineage.
The latest descendant of Takeda was known as Harumi Shirai, a girl who had, much to her father's pride and dismay, inherited her ancestors' fiery and unshakable determination. Harumi's mother had sadly died in childbirth and Harumi's father, the grandmaster, became overly determined to protect his sole offspring. His fear of losing Harumi often bordered on paranoia, fueled not only by the ever growing threat brought by the Lin Kuei but also Harumi's own daredevil tendencies. As a result, Harumi grew up loved but sheltered. Being forbidden from wandering away from the clan compound sure was frustrating but Harumi still managed to busy herself with what home had to offer.
Harumi quickly became fascinated with her ancestry and the history of her clan. She devoured each scroll telling the story of her bloodline and the mark it left on the world with eagerness, pride and a growing ambition. Harumi also made sure to learn as much as she could about those she knew were her sworn enemies, the Lin Kuei. She might have been young but Harumi was perfectly aware of the destiny awaiting for her: one day, she would take her father's place as the leader of her clan. One day, the future of the Shirai Ryu would come to rest upon her shoulders. Harumi was determined to govern her clan properly, both as a protector of her people and as a military leader. No matter that she was limited in what she could do as a child, Harumi had always been provident and proactive and she made sure to take advantage of these skills in order to prepare herself and be ready on time.
So far, Harumi had excelled in the field of botany and toxicology. Since childhood, Harumi had loved taking care of the Shirai Ryu gardens: the flaming Firegarden, the flowers and vegetable garden and even the beehives kept in them; the clan's gardens were like her personal sanctuary. Not only was Harumi capable of caring for and growing anything but the way her ancestor met his doom had also inspired her to become a master in the field of poisons. From plants to poisonous animals, Harumi was unbeatable when it came to which chemical could heal and which one could kill...
However, it was only a matter of years until the safety of the compound became suffocating. Harumi thrived to be more than the clan's herbalist apothecary and toxicologist. She had to learn how to fight, something her father had tried to preserve her from for as long as he could. Harumi was sick of being coddled and of being denied her rights. Her ancestor had escaped the authority which held him back and Harumi was well-decided to honor him by taking things into her own hands and break her own chains.
Harumi's rebellion started in the earliest years of her adolescence with simple childish acts of disobedience. She would wander away from the compound, way farther than allowed and secretly train on her own by mimicking the sparring of the warriors she had observed and making weapons out of her gardening tools. Harumi believed her escapades went unnoticed and to the clan they were, but not to one nosy boy...
The first time Harumi's food vanished during her training session in the woods, she frustratingly let it slide, blaming it on a hungry animal. The second time, she started to doubt. The third time, she just knew it couldn't be an animal. The fourth time, she grinned mischievously, recalling the toxic mushrooms she had purposefully added to her meal and thinking of the nausea and stomach cramps the thief would suffer from. Oh, nothing severe and certainly nothing lethal, but certainly something which would deter the thief from ever thieving again.
It wasn't long before she met him. She knew it was him because he had to be. Harumi despised it, the way this boy mocked her beginner fighting techniques and choices of "weapons". She always tried to put him in his place, training harder and showing off in order to make him shut up. She even proudly boasted about her lineage, much to his amusement. In retrospect, Harumi knew it had been careless, but her pride demanded it.
Hanzo Hasashi was of modest origins. His father had taught him stealth and martial arts though he never revealed his son the origins of such knowledge. Some shameful secret or something. Whatever, Hanzo used it in order to provide for his family as a young thief whose small crimes had never taken anyone's life.
Hanzo always returned to the spot the future grandmistress trained in and Harumi surprisingly found herself not minding the bothersome but diverting company.
He was as insolent and witty as she was bold and astute. He was fiery and hot-blooded but she knew how to tame him. She could be a bit too uptight and a perfectionist but he knew how to make her loosen up.
They quickly became great friends.
In order to apologize for his past behavior, Hanzo offered to help Harumi by teaching her his own martial arts techniques. Harumi started packing more food for them to share or for him to take home.
Of course, Harumi's secret escapades were eventually discovered and although her father initially was infuriated with his daughter's imprudent actions, he also realized how much it meant to her and to the clan and how he had been the one in the wrong to deny Harumi what she and the clan needed. What if something happened and his daughter wasn't able to defend herself? The grandmaster realized how selfish and careless he had been, all in the name of love. As such, Harumi was officially allowed to begin her Shirai Ryu training and she threw herself into it with a smoldering vigor. She trained in various weapons, the katana and kusarigama becoming her favored ones. She was eager to make up for the not-so-lost time and catch up on the warriors she would one day grow to command.
Harumi's focus on her training certainly didn't prevent her from going out to meet with Hanzo but as time passed and as they grew older, their meeting became less about training and more in order to spend time together.
It didn't come as a surprise when they realized they had both caught feelings for each other. It wasn't even a sudden realization, it just happened progressively as their friendship naturally bloomed into a romance. They would flirt without awkwardness, although Hanzo was more subtle and Harumi more straightforward. She would praise his physique and he would put a flower in her hair. She would unabashedly pin him to the floor during sparring and he would assure her that as long as he was by her side, nothing would ever happen to her, for he wouldn't allow it.
This proved to be true when the two teenagers were assaulted by a group of Lin Kuei warriors who had noticed their frequent outings. Hanzo would never admit how scared he had been, not only for Harumi but also of his own unbridled fury. This was the first time Hanzo had used his skills to shed blood and take somebody's life, but for Harumi, he would do anything.
The day Harumi completed her training was marked by the acquisition of her codename, "Firethorn".
As soon as the ceremony was over, Harumi wanted nothing more than to run and tell Hanzo... Only to find him sitting in a tree, quietly cheering for her. He had actually managed to enter the Shirai Ryu compound and had watched the whole ceremony unfold from afar, unnoticed.
Harumi couldn't help but laugh though she made a mental note to put more guards on patrol.
Hanzo Hasashi would make a fantastic recruit.
Harumi was as comfortable managing the clan's inner matters as she was in the field during missions. Everyday was an opportunity to showcase and sharpen her skills in both kombat and leadership. With her intelligence, her fighting prowess, her natural grace and her strong sense of authority, Harumi had proved to her father that she was capable of handling herself and the legacy she would be handed. However, while the grandmaster was overwhelmed with pride and joy knowing that his beloved daughter had become a fair and strong young woman, his protective paternal instincts resurfaced with a vengeance when he noticed the proximity between his daughter and one certain fresh recruit.
Hanzo had been hesitant when Harumi offered him to join the Shirai Ryu, and she had seemed mildly disappointed when he simply told her he would think about it. When Hanzo finally enrolled, he broke off all ties with his family and Harumi finally understood why he had been so unsure. Hanzo's father had forbidden his son from ever pledging allegiance to any ninja clan whatsoever, for he had experienced such way of life and the threats it brought. Hanzo was warned that if he joined the Shirai Ryu, he was never to come back.
For love, Hanzo took the risk.
Even if he doubted his chances.
Hanzo knew she was the only daughter, the only child, of the leader of a legendary clan. Never would Harumi Shirai be wedded to some nobody.
Harumi, however, wasn't deterred. She knew what she wanted and had always fought in order to obtain it. She had set her mind on Hanzo Hasashi and she would get him, come what may.
Hanzo proved to be one of the clan's best elements, a fantastic recruit indeed. When the young man first stepped into the compound (in plain sight) no one would have expected him to one day sport the most prestigious and honorable title of the Shirai Ryu ranks. Not that he had seemed unimpressive but everyone knew the "Scorpion" title wasn't that easily handed. There had not been a Scorpion in several decades. This brought Hanzo a few rivals to fend off, Shirai Ryu-born warriors who thought themselves more worthy of the title... Or of Harumi.
At the end of the day though, when Hanzo Hasashi became Scorpion, no one, especially not Harumi, was surprised... And when Harumi demanded to be wedded to the very same man, no one, especially not the grandmaster, was surprised either.
Harumi had fought since childhood in order to obtain what she wanted and she had earned everything rightfully. Her father figured he could at least grant her this one request without making her struggle. She deserved as much.
Harumi Shirai would become Harumi Hasashi.
Not only was Hanzo a more than worthy Scorpion but he also turned out to be a fantastic husband and an amazing father for his and Harumi's son, Satoshi, the last born of Takeda Shirai's lineage.
As life went on in the Shirai Ryu compound, Harumi awaited the day she would be made grandmistress of the clan. She made sure to act properly in order to preserve her reputation and thus often wore a grounded and authoritative facade which only served to conceal a sunny and playful demeanor only reserved for her family. Motherhood had obviously always been a foreign concept, especially since she had never known her own mother but Harumi found herself learning quickly and Hanzo acted on instinct, as if he had always been destined to be a father.
Hanzo would jokingly pretend to be worried when Harumi cooked something, recalling the time she poisoned him when they were kids and Harumi would just shrug and wink, daring him to find out. Harumi would tease Hanzo for his expert kunai handling, jokingly wondering where he could have possibly gotten the idea to use such a weapon and Hanzo would just shrug and wink, pretending to have always been a gardening enthusiast...
Although Harumi knew how much of a lost cause Hanzo was when it came to gardening. She had been a very patient teacher but after witnessing her plants dying one by one, she just gave up and so did he. No hard feelings.
Especially since Harumi did gain an actual apprentice in the person of Forrest Fox, also known by his code name "Foxglove". She treated the orphaned teenager like her own son and so did Hanzo. Fox was also close to Satoshi and was basically an older brother for the young boy.
Harumi couldn't have dreamt of a better life.
However, when Hanzo's skills were required for a mission in China, Harumi couldn't help but have a bad feeling. Hanzo had assured her he would be back for her inauguration day as a grandmistress, which was also the day they had planned to announce they were expecting their second child. Harumi had waited her whole life for this day, when the clan's legacy would finally be handed to her but now, she found herself dreading something would ruin it. Hanzo couldn't help but tease her. She had always been a perfectionist, of course she would fear the worst for her best day. Harumi ended up laughing at her own doubts. Of course everything would be okay.
But the day came and Hanzo had not come back. Only the Lin Kuei showed up.
The long awaited day ended up being the end of the Shirai Ryu History. As the compound was attacked by the Lin Kuei, Harumi fought with everything she had in order to defend her clan and protect her son.
When she found herself against the Netherrealm necromancer, Harumi sent Satoshi away so he could hide.
The Lin Kuei rookie Satoshi stumbled upon couldn't find it in herself to kill the little boy and with tears in her eyes, she told him to run... And run Satoshi did, but not fast enough to escape the necromancer whose blades dripped with Harumi's blood.
---
I literally don't know how to end this. 🥲
I mean, we all know how the story ends, sadly. That being said, there are additional thoughts and headcanons I want to share:
• First of all, Harumi and Hanzo's second child. She's supposed to be the baby girl from the 2021 movie who survives the massacre. Here, she didn't get to live... However, she does live in another AU I have where the Hasashi family lives and gets to be happy. Her name is Kayano, by the way.
• Harumi's spirit is still around and unlike Hanzo's specter who scorches and destroys, her presence brings life back to desolate places. You know Harumi's spirit is near when flora suddenly thrives and flowers bloom out of visibly nowhere.
• Satoshi's soul was not as lucky as his mother's though. See, there's a concept art in MK Deception which shows Quan Chi using souls for one of his attacks and while I'm not booting up my Xbox just to find it again and quote the exact sentence, there was something about one of the souls being one of a child. I've found the concept art if you want to look.
So yeah, to me, this is Satoshi's soul trapped and corrupted by Quan Chi. Note that it also mirrors Scorpion's ending in Armageddon:
❝As the fire of Blaze was extinguished, what appeared in its place brought elation to Scorpion's tormented soul. His ninja clan, the Shirai Ryu, had been fully resurrected. Numbering in the thousands, they covered the surface of the pyramid awaiting Scorpion's command. Among them was Scorpion's wife and son. Their reunion was to be short-lived. The sorcerer Quan Chi suddenly appeared among them. He grabbed Scorpion's young son and disappeared through a portal to the Netherrealm. Enraged, Scorpion ordered his clan to hunt down the sorcerer. He will not rest until his son has been recovered and Quan Chi is dead!❞
See, even in the past timeline, in his ultimate ending, Hanzo couldn't get a break. How am I supposed to forgive MK1? Let my man be at peace, let his family be happy!!!
Not only that but!!!
Quan Chi did steal the souls of Tomáš' mom and sister!!! Which is actually canon to my AU too and makes sense given that in my version of the story, Tomáš' family was killed by the Brotherhood of Shadow and it was also them who sacrificed Tomáš.
So yeah, Quan Chi's owning souls of main characters' relatives is nothing new!!
• Finally, when I think about it, I just refuse to believe all the Shirai Ryu members were killed. Seriously, are we really supposed to believe that all of them were home, in the clan compound when the massacre happened? That's why I decided to have the Shirai Ryu Massacre happen during Harumi's inauguration day as the grandmistress, so that most of the clan would be present during that one special day. The Lin Kuei had planned everything. Even so, I'd like to include Forrest Fox in my AU as a survivor of the massacre. Dunno what I'll do with him tho. Also, he's blasian.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed and thanks a lot for the ask!!! :)))
