Have you ever tried to make an OC to fit in Mortal Kombat universe, but you couldn't find any ideas for what your OC needs to wear and they end up with the most generic outfit? I've had lol.
So, I decided to "study" the Mortal Kombat games, by its lore, characters designs and some real life references they get to create their own characters.
And oh boy, the creators had LOADS of inspirations!
As the slide below shows, Raiden's hat design was inspired by a movie "Big trouble in little China".
Even tho Raiden's hat is similar to the movie's hat, the creators made their own version and adapted to create Raiden's character design.
Same thing for Liu Kang. In the first games, it was quite clear that his design and moves were inspired by Bruce Lee. But as the game's evolution with other Mortal Kombats, Liu Kang's design started to become more original. In MK11, his design got a good upgrade!
As the slide above shows, when creating your character, consider blending various elements that resonate with you-such as color palettes, clothing styles, or personality traits-from multiple sources.
But what does it mean?
It means when you’re designing a character — whether for a story, a game, or a piece of art — you can get ideas from things you already like, like your favorite books, movies, games, or comic books.
Instead of copying directly, you take elements you find cool (like a color scheme, a style of clothing, a bit of their backstory, or a particular trait) and mix them together in your own way.
Then you add your own twist — something unique or different — to make sure your character feels original and not just a replica of someone else’s.
In the end, it’s about using what inspires you as a starting point and turning it into something that’s entirely yours.
So remember:
Inspirations ≠ Copying
Now let's talk about the most notable elements in every Mortal Kombat character!
Distinct Color Palettes:
Every character typically has their own color scheme that makes them immediately recognizable — like Scorpion’s yellow, Sub-Zero’s blue, Kitana’s blue, Mileena’s pink, or Raiden’s white and blue. This color-coding started in the earliest games to help players tell ninja-like characters apart, and it’s remained a tradition in their designs.
Cultural Influences:
The designers draw a lot from martial arts, East Asian culture, and cinema. Ninja masks, samurai armor, Shaolin monk outfits, and mythical creatures all appear in character designs, reflecting a rich blend of traditions.
Unique Silhouettes:
Every character has a silhouette that makes them instantly recognizable, thanks to their headgear, shoulder armor, masks, or physical traits.
For example: Goro’s four arms or Baraka’s bladed arms set them apart immediately.
Over-the-Top Styles:
The Mortal Kombat universe is fantastical and dramatic — character outfits often combine practicality with fantasy elements.
Designs frequently feature exaggerated shoulder pads, elaborate masks, dramatic belts, and other details that underscore their power or role in the story.
Thematic Consistency:
The designs reflect their backstory, powers, and personalities.
For example, icy motifs for Sub-Zero, a thunder deity's attire for Raiden, a warlord's armor for Shao Kahn, or the grotesque, monster-like traits of Baraka.
Evolution Over Time:
As technology improved and games transitioned from 2D sprites to 3D models, character designs became more sophisticated and realistic — adding texture, finer details, and more cinematic movement — while staying true to their roots.
OKAY! Now let's put this on practice. I'm going to show you how I did Mitsuko's design (on the first photo). You can do your own character in a different way and that's okay :)
My first step is gathering references. I usually do this on Pinterest, but I do a deep search too! When I create a character from another country, I always do a research about the culture, lifestyle, etc.
To organize the references, I create a foulder called: MK OC inspirations. And I LOVE to organize my character's info by writing on topics. Here are the list of apps that I used:
1st step: Gather references - you can use Pinterest and PureRef for it!
2nd step: Make a 3d pose - Daz 3D is your best friend in this step
3rd step: Photobashing - Photopea is very useful and very easy to use
(save the file after you finish this step. Save the file on PSD format.)
WARNING: You need to be very careful when you're about to use this method cause every image you might take has their copyright. So search the images carefully.
Here is a Youtube tutorial, with a lot of details of how to use the Photobashing technique:
Credits to: Imad Awan for the amazing tutorial
4th step: Create details based on your references + Draw your character - Paint Tool Sai
(You can paint/draw. You are free to do whatever you want)
And there you have it! This is how I created this design for Mitsuko (it's an alternative design of her canonic outfit)
I hope you liked my tutorial, and share this to some friends who also wants to create a Mortal Kombat OC. It'd would be very nice!
Please, don't let this post flop! It took me so much to finish! Anyways, I hope you'll have a wonderful day. Bye bye :3
This is Arien from Mortal Kombat 11, and according to his story: he got redeemed by almost all of his enemies, except Raiden... and Kotal Kahn. Therefore, I wanted to make him a mix of explorer (since he still travels betweens realms like an Outworlder Indiana Jones), and sorcerer, but I also tried to make him look like a Mortal Kombat character. Tried...
I searched a LOT of inspirations through Pinterest for the whole 2025 LMAO!! Making men's designs isn't my strongest point.
Things were getting real messy that I had to go back to my OWN tutorial of how to make MK designs for OC's, because I refuse to make designs inspired by AI. In case you wanna check it out, I'll leave the link below:
~~ HOW DO I DESIGN MY OWN MK CHARACTERS TUTORIAL ~~
I also wanted to make his design to tell a story, like Mitsuko's feathers. In my story, the angels exchange feathers as a sign of bond and marriage. But in Arien's case, he received not only one but two feathers cause he doesn't have one to exchange with Mitsuko (he is not an angel), and he couldn't give a simple bird feather because that's against the angels' tradition.
The Slave bracelet he got when he was pretty young, before he got forcely recruited by Shao Kahn when he was 8-years-old. This bracelet magically wrapped around his wrist and he couldn't take it off -- thanks to Shang Tsung's training, he learned that the bracelet is responsible to give him powers, and learned how to remove it for a little while.
Arien's design was the most dificult thing to do, and is not only because I suffer when it comes to making men's designs, it's because this character holds so much things in his story that it makes hard to organize ideas properly. His first concepts that I did were looking like a generic Robin Hood character, like this for example:
Remember: This fanfic is a collab with @roselyn-writing and it is a reboot of our oldest fanfic about Selviya being Mitsuko's adoptive mother.
I hope you like it!
tagging: @theelderhazelnut @roselyn-writing
Chapter 3 - "My point of view"
One of the triplets, Qiang Liang, woke up sooner before his siblings. He has thought of a plan. He didn't want to accept his mother's defeat after the fight at the gate. And he wanted to know more about Saito.
He made a funny and cute diabolical plan hands gesture and woke his brother, Kai.
"Kai, wake up. C'mon..." Qiang muttered quietly
"hmm..." Kai humms annoyed before opening his eyes, "what do you want, Qiang?"
"You know what I want. The plan, remember?" Qiang answered his older brother
"Agh, Qiang, go to sleep. It's 4 A.M., and I've heard things about that man who fought with bàba. They say that he was the cause of our older sister's death. So we better stay away from him..."
But Qiang doesn't seem to be convinced, so he decided to leave the house without anyone noticing, including the guards. He ran silently towards the house where the couple of intruders are staying at.
Like in a spy movie, Qiang took a kunai of his father's belongings, which was Mitsuko's first and customized kunai, and quietly looked over the couple's bedroom window. He saw Arien sleeping on his own futon bed and noticed that Saito's futon bed was empty. She wasn't there.
He frowned and entered secretly into the room. Qiang took Arien's vulnerable state as an opportunity to tie him up with a regular rope. After he finished tying Arien up, he pointed a kunai on the young adult's neck and made a clearing throat sound. Waking Arien up.
"Well, if it isn't my older sister's murderer." Qiang said
"W-what...?" Arien sleepily says, confused. And then he saw Qiang Liang and woke up, he sat up and cracked his neck while yawned, "ugh well, if it isn't one of grandmaster Sub-Zero's annoying kids..."
"Say what? According to bàba, I'm the most talented child."
"Okay, kid. What do you want?" Arien asks in a neutral voice tone, not being bothered by the fact of being tied up
"I want to know where's your white haired girlfriend," Qiang did not waste time to ask, still pointing the kunai on Arien's neck
"Saito?" Arien chuckles, "I wish she would be my girlfriend. But she is not here, as you can see. She may have gone to do her training and meditation routine, she is so diligent..."
"Tell me where is she." Qiang demands once again
"She usually go somewhere like the hot springs. You Lin Kuei still have hot springs around here, right?" Arien answered directly
"duh, there is one on the forest where my older sister used to go before you killed her." Qiang decided to provoke, "so I'll take this opportunity to avenge dà jiě"
"3 things: You haven't even met her. You were born 2 years after. And I didn't kill her." Arien made a serious look, "just as I thought, you try to act cold like ice, but I know that inside you are afraid to kill me. Afraid of the consequences."
"Who said I'm afraid? You've made my parents live 10 years of their lives sad because of Mitsuko's death. Bàba told me everything: he gave you home, you promised him to be Mitsuko's protector, and he even taught you some Lin Kuei's martial arts. All you did was betray our family and steal my sister's amulet."
"Okay, you asked for it" Arien said before using his magic to get free from the ropes
For a second, he teleports behind Qiang and steals the kunai of the little boy's hand, using it to touch on his neck. Qiang gasps in surprise, looking the ropes on the futon bed.
"Heh. Too easy, what's next?" Arien mocks a bit and smirks
"Are you going to kill me?" Qiang asked, catching Arien by surprise
"Why would I do that?" The young adult ask before making another answer, "like I said: I didn't kill your sister. Your father and mother told you the wrong version of the story. So I will not kill you."
Arien stopped holding the kunai on the little boy's neck and decided to keep it, but he will deliver back later. Qiang raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Arien heavily sighed and sat down on his futon, he signed with his hand to ask the little boy sit down as well.
Qiang sat down on Saito's futon.
"I'm going to tell this story by my point of view. I'm not obligating you to believe me. I've met Mitsuko when I was 8 years old, she was 6"
FLASHBACK (14 YEARS AGO)
A portal opened next of the Lin Kuei's temple and boy came out of it. He was wearing Outworld's clothes and some sorcery accessories. It was Arien.
He was hungry of adventures. And he was after of something valuable. So, acting like a ninja, he entered into the temple and searched every corner of the place.
The little boy opened a door, leading to a bedroom. It has a single bed and some furniture that reminds him of a girly bedroom. He facepalmed himself and was about to leave the room, but he heard steps, so he had to hide under the bed.
A door opened, he saw the person's feet, small feet. It was a girl. She just came back from training. She was wearing Lin Kuei's training clothes. Arien watched the girl sit down on a chair in front of her mirror while she unties her black hair.
His mouth dropped at seeing her hair move smoothly like waves. He forgot that he was under the bed and accidentaly did a small sound. A sound which made the girl stop brushing her hair and look behind her. Arien saw her face, he never knew about her in the Lin Kuei's clan because he always had visited the place.
The girl got up from her chair and walked over the bed. She kneeled down to check under her bed. But nothing there.
Arien had teleported in the girl's closet, he sighed in relief. It didn't last long until the little girl opened her closet and got surprised by seeing a boy in her closet.
"AGH!" the little girl screamed
"AGHHH!" Arien also gave a loud shout
"W-who are you? Are you doing in my closet?!!" she asked in fear and surprise
"DON'T SCREAM!" Arien yelled
Both of them heard steps and Arien quickly hid in the little girl's closet. A Lin Kuei guard opened the door in a rush.
"Miss Mitsuko! What happened?!" he asked, ready to attack any intruder
"Oh-- it was just some... err a rat? I got it out of my room" the girl named Mitsuko answered nervously
The guard looked around the room once again and nod at Mitsuko with understanding, he closes the door and leaves the little girl. Arien slowly got out of the closet with a surprised stare:
"why didn't you tell him that I was here?" he asked with a confused tone
"I don't know, maybe I didn't want some confusion here. Māmā always says this to me: trouble only brings trouble." Mitsuko answered while shrugging her shoulders, "Why are you even here anyway? Who are you?"
"I'm just a lost boy who is on his adventures" Arien answered with a proud smile
"so you're doing your adventures in my closet?" Mitsuko asked confused, making Arien almost spit
"err-- no nonono. I'm looking for a precious treasure. Something that'll make me great!" Arien answered, making Mitsuko's eyes shine in interest, "and to answer your question: the name is Arien. Pleasure to meet ya"
Arien bowed polietly in a gentleman way, Mitsuko bowed as well:
"well, I guess you already know my name thanks to the guard" Mitsuko giggled a bit
"Mitsuko, right? Should I call you Miss Mitsuko as well?" Arien asked
"hahah please, call me by my name. No need such formality" Mitsuko waved with her hand as a sign of 'that's okay'.
END OF THE FLASHBACK
Arien got interrupted by Qiang, who stood up of the futon:
"Bàba told us this part of the story, he said you were found days later by Mitsuko and māmā. All wounded and bleeding"
"Well, that's true. Y'know, you cannot choose a place to be born, you have to be either lucky or jinxed. And in my case... I've got jinxed to be born at Outworld." Arien whispered at the final of the phrase, he sighed and rested his back again, "Shao Kahn doesn't give you mercy, even if you are just a child. And then, your mother and your sister rescued me. A bleeding boy freezing on the snow while a portal was closing, meaning that the people from his homeworld abandoned him..."
Qiang's mouth almost dropped after hearing Arien's story, he sounded so sad, yet he is still curious about what made him go to betray Selviya and "kill" Mitsuko. But wait-- Arien said that Selviya and Kuai Liang told him the story in the wrong way.
"Then what happened when my sister died? Why did you take the amulet? If you are as innocent as you declare, then tell me this 'truth' side" Qiang demanded. Arien whistled at the little boy's demanding behavior
"Easy there, little fella. I didn't even tell the part where your dad adopted me as your sister's protector. Well, we used to play a lot around a local where the lakes are frozen, at a forest where it's safe and close to the village. While your father taught me the Lin Kuei martial arts, your mother taught Mitsuko the local culture. But when I've turned 12, and Mitsuko turned 10 years-old..." he sighed before continue "we decided to play on the frozen lake"
He stopped and looked down, the memories of the little girl falling in the freezing water started to appear, but he ignores and gets up. Getting his things like nothing has happened, and gave a reasuring smile towards the little boy.
"alright, kiddo. You want to see Saito? Then follow me..." Arien ordered before he opened the door, waiting for Qiang to follow him
Qiang did not understand this sudden behavior, but he did not protest. The little boy followed the adult towards a familiar path, Qianf noticed that they are going towards one of the thermal springs.
"Don't you want to wait for your partner to finish whatever she is doing?" Qiang asked skeptically
"Nah, Saito never takes breaks from her trainings. Besides, you were the one who pointed a kunai on my neck asking about her." Arien said neutrally with a smile
They arrived. They saw Saito training her Tai Chi movements, she was moving slowly with her arms and legs, like if she was leaf floating through the air, she was calm and concetrated. Her naginata was lying down on a rock besides her.
And then, she threw a feather throwing knife towards a tree where Arien and Qiang were hiding.
"I know it's you, Arien. Come out." Commanded Saito
"yes, miss..." replied Arien with a bit of humor
"and you brought the grandmaster's son" Saito glared at the little boy with a cold demeanor.
"he wanted to see you, but you should have seen how feisty he is, I think he took that from both of his parents" Arien explained the situation until Qiang coughs
"excuse me, hello? I'm right here" Qiang called, getting their attention
"We know" replied Saito, "what are you doing here, little snowflake? Didn't your parents warn you about us?"
"they did, but I wanted to avenge my older sister's death" Qiang said confidently
Saito's eyes widen, the boy was indeed very energetic as Arien told. She circled around the little boy while she used her magic to make the throwing knife come back to her.
"Then why did you come here? Do you think Mitsuko would want you to kill a man that you don't even know for revenge? What if we kill you right now? Remember, two on one, two adults and a child" Saito argued with a scary tone that Arien interfered
"Woah woah. Hey, easy there, Saito." Arien calmed her down, "I brought him because he wanted to know about you"
"I guess I don't need anymore." said Qiang, a little bit scared "I see that your girlfriend is crazy"
"GIRLFRIEND?!! ARIEN, YOU–" Saito blushed and snapped at Arien
Arien lifted his hands up as a gesture of 'don't hit me, please', Saito sighed and went to take her Naginata. She looks at her weapon, seeing the boy's reflection on the blade.
"Why do you wanna know about me? Is it because the fight against your parents?" Saito asked again
"I wanna know what are you. I mean, I never seen a healer having those kind of powers like yours. And how did you meet each other?" Qiang said curiously
"hmm... let's just say I got these powers before I've met Arien. How? Neither do I know. The healing powers is very similar from the other sorcerers, Arien also has healing powers, only when he casts spells" Saito informed
Saito looked at the sun rising and glared at the boy, she nods her head towards Arien, who did the same to her:
"alright, enough story time. If your mom discovers that you escaped during bed time, she might expel us." Saito said while adjusting her Naginata behind her back, "Arien, open a portal for the kid"
"aye aye, captain" replied Arien with a little bit humor, he did movements with his hands and opened a fire ring portal that goes to Qiang's room. Saito pushed him lightly to make him go back to bed, but Qiang stopped and turned around.
"Wait– when can I talk to you again?" asked Qiang
"Probably never again, for your safety, little snowflake. Take some rest before your mom wakes up." Saito smiled a bit before the portal closes
Qiang lied down on his bed again, thinking about to meet Saito again to hear more about her.
Remember: This fanfic is a collab with @roselyn-writing and it is a reboot of our oldest fanfic about Selviya being Mitsuko's adoptive mother.
I hope you like it!
Chapter 4 - "the dark past"
When the sun rays passed through the curtains, Selviya was the first to wake up. She stretched her arms and got up of the bed. Nothing is more pleasant than taking a morning shower like hers, a wonderful way to start a day, but honestly no matter how many showers she took, she can't clean or wash away the dark flashbacks of her holding Mitsuko's little and frozen body.
FLASHBACK (10 YEARS AGO)
Selviya was drinking tea with her husband, Kuai Liang, meditating at the Lin Kuei temple. But the silence was interrupted by the Lin Kuei guard, who was holding Mitsuko's freezing body, making the couple go panic.
"What happened?!" Asked Kuai Liang nervous and worried
"I heard an ice break in the middle of the forest nearby and a scream, I went to check the place and I saw Arien leaving miss Mitsuko's body lying on the frozen lake. I have a feeling that he did that..." the Lin Kuei guard explained
"oh my baby, hold on, we'll get up warmed up-- Hold on..." whispered Selviya desperately
"m-māmā...?" Mitsuko asked lowly, her voice showing that she was freezing
The grandmaster Kuai Liang tried so hard to call the medics, the most expert ones to save his daughter's life, but unfortunately Mitsuko died minutes later of hipothermia. Her heartbeat has stopped, her other vital organs has stopped working. Her body turned into a statue, she couldn't move a single muscle.
Selviya yelled besides Mitsuko's bed as refusal of believing the truth: Mitsuko died. All because of Arien. Her grief turned into anger, and she promised herself never to help Arien ever again. Kuai Liang also suffered the same pain, but unlike Selviya, he doesn't show it.
END OF THE FLASHBACK
Selviya finishes her shower and puts on some clothes to start her day, she goes to Mitsuko's altar and prays for her daughter. Kuai Liang arrives at the room and does the same.
Ever since Mitsuko died, Kuai Liang started to act colder than usual, but he hides his cold demeanor when the triplets are around. His training sessions have become more longer than before, he was thinking to start training the elder sibling of the triplets, Qiang Liang, to manipulate his ice powers and control his resistance from the cold.
He won't lose another child. Not again.
"Something bothering you, my dear?" Kuai asked calmly
"I don't know what's happening to me. I promised myself that I will never let Arien enter the Lin Kuei village under my watch, but after our fight, I just..." Selviya explained but she stuttered in the end. Kuai grabs her hand gently and replied:
"You have a good heart, Selviya, even for our enemy like Arien. And maybe that's what our daughter would have wanted, help him. You even said that something told you to help him and miss Saito."
The couple heard a lound thunder outside the temple and they ran to see what's going on. They saw Raiden coming out of the lighting and his eyes stopped glowing electricity. The thunder god bowed respectfully towards the couple.
"Grandmaster Kuai Liang, Miss Blanche, I've had a vision that involves you two." Raiden wasted no time for formal compliments
"What's the matter, Lord Raiden? What did you see?" Selviya asked
"The Orderrealm. The seidan guards are in every realm in search of someone. I couldn't find out who are they searching for, so I consulted to the Elder Gods"
"What did they say then?" Kuai Liang asked, feeling anxious already only with the presence of the thunder god.
"They said that we need to find an angel, whose power is capable to bring the dead back again, but without lapses..." Raiden crosses his arms as he answers in a neutral tone.
"Angel? Aren't the angels extinct? And what's that got to do with us?" Selviya got even more confused at mention of an elder race which helped the Elder Gods to defeat Shinnok and his demons. But as a result, most angels has ceased of existing, making people conclude that they died after the battle.
"Most legends say the opposite, miss Blanche-- and my visions weren't very clear. But they showed me you and the Grandmaster fighting against some Seidan guards. So, if you two find an angel, contact me as soon as possible, and I'll find out what the Orderrealm wants." Raiden concluded and he bowed towards the couple and then he left the place by using his lighting teleport.
Selviya sighed in frustration after the thunder God left the place. She didn't even had a chance to ask more questions. And now she is starting to feel more fear for her triplets. Kuai Liang holds her hand and their fingers intertwined each other.
MEANWHILE...
At the Orderrealm, Hotaru was surrounded by healers, his wound being evident on all his chest. He almost died after a fight which he got days ago. Whispering promises of revenge against the angel who dared to stab him with his own weapon, and many other things.
One of his loyal followers entered into his room and signalized to the healers leave. Hotaru groaned in pain and looked at the man in front of him.
"Give me the report..." Hotaru demanded
"General, we have searched for the angel queen at Outworld, but the sorcerer keeps making portals for them to escape. Making hard for us to track the angelic aura." The Seidan soldier informed, with a small hint of frustration.
Hotaru closed his fist so hard that his knuckles turned white, and then a sound was heard after he punched in a wall.
"Damn it, if it wasn't for Arien, she wouldn't discover our intentions of bringing Order to the realms! Keep searching, where are your soldiers at?" he asked, looking deadly at the soldier.
"Right now they are at Earthrealm, the sorcerer is blocking her energy from us to track, but I guess we can solve this problem"
Yo, guys! Remember the fanfic that I did a collab with the amazing @roselyn-writing ? Well, this is a rework of: What if Selviya adopted Mitsuko as her daughter. I'm calling this story as: The lost memories.
Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1 - The strange outsiders
At the Lin Kuei's temple, Kuai Liang was meditating with his wife, Selviya Ivy Blanche. The smell of incense spreading around the air. A beautiful sound of silence was interrupted by a Lin Kuei's guard.
His face was injured, full of bruises. He was panting as some blood drips down on the floor:
"G-Grandmaster! We need your help-- there are intruders!"
Kuai Liang stands up quickly to check on the Lin Kuei guard, and then, he heard sounds of other guards. Sounds of metal banging and grunts. It's been a long time since the Lin Kuei's territory wasn't intruded by outsiders.
"Stay here, we'll take it from here." Kuai Liang ordered and looks at his wife, "Selviya, let's go"
The woman with frosty blue hair nods and follows her beloved outside of the temple. Their eyes widen at the sight of the Lin Kuei guards on the floor and muttering in pain, while the intruder, a female to be exact, was standing with no bruise. She was wearing a japanese kitsune mask.
And then, they saw a man with a short ponytail walking towards the woman. Kuai Liang and Selviya knows the man. He had grown up. It's been 10 years ever since...
"Arien..." Kuai Liang started, "what do you want from here? We already told you that we--"
"We need a place to stay" Arien interrupted, surprising the couple
"A place to stay?" Selviya scoffs, she also knows about Arien's tricks to fool people, "and then what's after? Some stealing? I tried to trust you..."
Arien looked down in shame, his gaze met with the woman's. The unknown lady just nod at him as a sign. Arien showed a gold amulet. An amulet which only Selviya and Kuai Liang knows. It was gift for their first daughter.
He throws the amulet to the snow, giving it to the couple. Selviya grabs it and keeps it inside of her pocket. Kuai Liang still stares at the boy with a skeptical look.
"That isn't enough." He growled
"You're right, and I want to apologize for what happened 10 years ago." Arien said softly
"Then bring our daughter back!" Selviya almost snapped
She took a step fowards towards the boy, but the lady interfered and pushed Selviya lightly. The frosty blue hair woman got surprised and stares at the masked woman. She puts herself in a combat stance, hands raised to her chin, elbows close to her body, trying to use all her aggression to intimidate.
The intruder does a Tai Chi position, heavy on the legs, hands almost loose, as if floating, trying to find the vulnerable point.
Selviya advances, trying a medium leg kick, aiming for the intruder's torso. The woman slides her leg backwards, dodging through the space left by the blow.
Taking advantage of the Selviya's imbalance, the intruder turns her hips, grabs her opponent's ankle and pulls her forward, trying to knock her down. Selviya manages to support herself on her hands to minimize the fall, trying to throw a knee from behind to hit the intruder's chest.
Meanwhile, Kuai Liang started to fight against Arien.
The unknown woman blocks the knee with her forearm, absorbing the blow. In one movement, she grabs Selviya's arm, twisting it to the side. Selviya grunts in pain and takes the Naginata that was hanging on the intruder's back and does a quick slash movement.
The slash cut the Kitsune mask in half, making it fall on the snow and show the woman's true face. She had japanese features and white and very short hair. Her face is thin, looking like she hasn't eaten in days.
Selviya's eyes widen at seeing the woman's face, somehow she was very familiar.
"You're strong, and very skilled. I thought I'd be disappointed after these Lin Kuei guards..." the woman finally revealed her voice, it was very deep and monotone. "And I see that you use Muay Thai. Powerful, but easy to dodge."
"My sincere apologies, but..." Selviya raises her eyebrow, "do I know you?"
"Maybe... in another life." The woman answered while adjusting her hair, she look towards the Naginata that Selviya took from her, "And I'll be asking kindly to you give back my weapon. It contains... such story."
"No chance. What business do you have in here?" Selviya asks impatiently, getting on the woman's nerves
"Are you deaf? Arien and I need a place to stay. We tried nicely with these guards, but after they saw Arien, they attacked us." The intruder started to circle around, and Selviya does the same.
"As the Grandmaster's wife, I demand more respect. Coming from a strange outsider whose company is no one but a murderer and thief." Selviya throws the Naginata away as she continues her speech, "And you break in with brutal force, hurt our guards, and you expect us to give you a place to stay?"
"Hmm..." the white haired woman put's a hand on her chin and thought for moment while Arien is still fighting with Kuai Liang, "then, let's make a deal. If me and Arien beat you and the old man Grandmaster, you will give us a place to stay, and I'm sure that we will fix the mistakes after the fight."
Selviya sighs and put herself in combat stance again. She advances with a blow. The intruder takes a step back, pulls Selviya's arm forward and, using the opponent's own weight, throws her shoulder, throwing her to the ground.
Selviya gets up almost immediately, trying to throw a spinning elbow punch, a powerful blow to regain control. The woman evades from the outside, grabs her opponent's elbow and puts it in a twisting lock, immobilizing the member.
The woman with frosty blue hair struggles to free herself, trying to use all her aggression, but the intruder controls the leverage point. Finally, the intruder presses an acupressure point at the base of Selviya's neck, removing the strength from her legs and trying to incapacitate her, but not to kill her.
And then, Arien also defeated the Grandmaster. The sorcerer looked at Selviya, softing his eyes as a pleading sign. His company kneeled next to Selviya and said:
"We didn't want trouble. And since you both got defeated, you need to accomplish our deal." The woman whispered
"No..." Kuai Liang grunts as he stood up, "she didn't give an answer for your proposal. So we won't help you."
The woman's face twitches in rage, but she took a deep breath and nod. With a quick move, the woman used her fingers on Selviya's neck, giving her permission to move again.
Arien grabbed the woman's Naginata and gave to her. The woman started to kneel besides a random injured guard and put her hand on their injuries, and suddenly, a light appeared on her hand. After she took off her hand, the injuries disappeared. She did the same thing with other guards, and then bowed as a way to thank them anyway and was about to leave.
Until...
"Wait!" Selviya calls, "how did you do that?"
"I have healing powers ever since... I don't know. Forever?" The woman answered in a honest way
Selviya looked down at the guards, who are now relieved that their bruises are gone. She looked at Arien and sighed.
"Alright then. You can stay here, but I expect you and your company to not cause any trouble around here" Selviya said, taking Kuai Liang by surprise.
"You sure of that?" Kuai Liang asks with a worried tone
"Yes, she fixed the mistakes as promised. Healing our Lin Kuei guards. It would be rude of us for not give them a place to stay..." She answered
"Thank you, Mrs. Ivy Blanche. Sorry for the trouble" Arien thanked along with the woman
"But we need to know your name, lady." She said, expecting the answer
The woman sighs again while keeps her Naginata on her back.
Remember: This fanfic is a collab with @roselyn-writing and it is a reboot of our oldest fanfic about Selviya being Mitsuko's adoptive mother.
I hope you like it!
Chapter 2 - Strange feelings
Selviya showed the duo, Arien e Saito, a house where they could stay for a few days. Arien thanked in the most flattering was as possible, which made Saito raise her eyebrow of her friend's attitude.
"There are not much food here, so I'll ask my maids to prepare something for you." Selviya said softly and looked at Saito, "You must be very hungry."
"Indeed, we haven't eaten for days." Arien answered for Saito, "Oh! So can we choose any food we'd like?"
"Arien..." Saito tried to call him
"Y'know how much I've missed eating the Lin Kuei food, right?" The stubborn man continues, making Saito pissed
"Arien...!" She called once again
"We couldn't eat any single food of other Realms because of our--"
"ARIEN!" Saito yelled his name, interrupting his apple polishing behaviour
Selviya looked at both of them confused while Saito kneels down and looks at her. Saito gave a small smile and nod in understanding.
"We appreciate your concern, Mrs. Blanche. And we would really like some food. Our journey was big. Thank you..." Saito said in a calm tone
"Consider this as a welcome gift, but don't get used to it. Specially you, Arien." Selviya said before leaving the house.
There was a short silence between Saito and Arien. A very awkward one. Saito seemed pissed at something, so her partner decided to break the ice:
"Well, I'm glad it all ended well." Arien made himself comfortable
"But it's not over, Arien." Saito looks at him, "we can't stay here forever. We need to think of a plan to end this madness"
"I know I know, but I tried to warn you about that guy. He never understood a thing about love" Arien got shut with Saito's deadly gaze
"I get it! Thanks for the reminder..." Saito complained in a sarcastic way, Arien decided to change the subject.
"Soooooo... what do you think of here?" Arien asks
"The village looks the same as I can remember. Pretty sure wouldn't be my first pick, but we didn't have any other choice." Saito answered immediately
"Unless the Netherrealm--" Arien wanted to make a joke
"Arien, stop..." she demanded and he cooperated
Arien noticed Saito's concern look in her eyes, the same look she gets every time she's anxious of something. He touches her hand in a soothing act and gave the best warmth smile he could make.
"Still worried about them?" He asked worriedly
She sighed and shook her head with a nod. She bit her lower lip as she holds back her tears. She hiccups a bit. Finally, a private moment where she could express her feelings to Arien alone.
"I still can't believe he used me to put order and used my name to his advantage..." Saito let a single tear scroll down
"Don't blame yourself. You were only following what your heart desired" Arien wiped her tear with his finger
"And because of my heart, that we are being followed" the bangs of Saito's hair covered her watered eyes, "and I've commited this mistake by revealing my other side. I cannot take a risk again"
"But... but they are your family, they need to know!" Arien protested
"They don't even remember me! Look at me, Arien. I'm different from the girl they used to know" Saito argued
Their discussion ended by the sound of footsteps, Saito quickly wiped her face. Selviya put the tray on the table. The couple thanked for the food and the woman left once again.
She closes the door and saw Kuai Liang waiting for her outside. She walks towards her husband. His skeptical face was notable. He grabs her hands softly.
"My love, this is not giving me a good feeling." Kuai Liang complaints
"The feeling is mutual, Kuai Liang. Like you, I want to protect our family and the Lin Kuei, but part of me is saying that we need to help that woman" Selviya kissed his cheek
"We need to keep Arien away from our children. We can't repeat the same thing that happened to..." Kuai Liang didn't dare to say the name. The name that he and Selviya don't hear it for a long time.
Selviya assured Kuai Liang that their children would not come to any harm, and that they would keep an eye on Arien and Saito. After that, they went back to the Liu Kuei Temple. The guards greeted them as they entered.
They heard giggles of their children, it was their triplets: Qiang Liang, Kai Liang and Liling Liang. The kids ran circling around their parents happily.
"Māmā! Bàba! We've seen your fight against the intruders!" Kai Liang exclamed excitedly
"Oh really?" Selviya asked to her 8-year-old son, she caressed his cheek
"Yeah! You had a wonderful fight, I love the way you fight, māmā. Your Muay Thai was amazing!" Liling Liang tries to imitate her mother's fight stance, "why didn't you use that lady's spear?"
"That weapon is called a Naginata, sweetie. And I didn't want to hurt a person who wasn't using either." She smiled at her little girl
"Can you teach us someday, māmā? What about you, bàba?" Qiang Liang grabs both of the parents' hands
Kuai Liang caressed his son's head with proud in his eyes:
"When you're ready, son..." Kuai Liang said, this type of answer always made his kids disappointed because they always ask themselves about: what is the feeling of being ready?
Selviya checked the clock on the wall and noticed that it was time to go to bed, she looked at her kids and bent down to talk to them:
"Kids, it's time to go to bed. Do not forget to pray for your sister." Selviya ordered
"Understood, māmā." Kai Liang nod and ran to another room along with his other siblings
The couple also walked towards the room. The kids kneeled down in front of a household altar, and in the middle there was a photography of a little girl who apparently had 10 years old. The little girl was smiling on the photo, she had a long and dark hair as night. Her name was Mitsuko.
Kuai Liang lights up the icense next of the photo frame while Selviya checks the flowers. And then, they started to pray silently for a few minutes. The woman opened her eyes, but she did not want to look at the photo. She missed her little girl so much. Her husband hugs by her side, soothing her.
The kids opened their eyes and muttered quietly:
"Dà jiě, we came to say that we saw māmā fighting today, she was amazing." Kai Liang started
"I wish you were here to watch and see your reaction..." Qiang Liang completes his brother's sentence
"You are still part of our family, even if we can't see you. Bàba said that love never dies, so we keep loving you." Liliang finishes before she gets up with her siblings.
The triple wished their parents a good night before leaving the room. Selviya gets emotional after hearing her kids' praying. If Mitsuko was alive, she would hug her younger siblings, even tho they do not share the same blood.
The couple of adults bowed before going to bed. Wishing a good night to their deceased daughter.
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Meanwhile, Lord Raiden was at the Sky Temple, along with his brother Fujin, trying to find out the reason why the Orderrealm's inhabitants are furious now. He was meditating, concentrating to get more visions about the reason.
Fujin was just standing while watching his brother canalize his powers. The Orderrealm never gave them trouble, different from Chaosrealm, but something must have got out of the line there that got them mad.
"Any results, brother?" Fujin asks worriedly
"Not yet, Fujin. But I'm almost there" Raiden answers with a neutral tone
"I don't understand. I thought Orderrealm would never have problems with other realms that isn't the Chaosrealm. I fear of what they would do on Earthrealm..." Fujin puts a finger on his chin while explains
"It's rare to see the Seidan guards out of their realm, they would not get out of the Orderrealm unless they'd have some urgent business-- Agh..." Raiden feels something, "... wait, I'm seeing now"
"What is it, brother?" Fujin asks
"We need to advice the grandmaster Kuai Liang. The Lin Kuei are in danger!" Raiden finishes before using his teleport powers to transport him and Fujin to the Lin Kuei's territory.
