Why are you here? (Private)

Her small legs moved as quick as possible, her tiny lungs sucked as much oxygen as they could, and her little tears escaped from those big, brown eyes. What once had been the crowded streets of a buzzing city turned into the dark, gloomy alleyways that she couldn't return from. Screams followed close behind het as young boys and girls chased after her. Mr. Hoppy was held close to her chest as she ran through the pain in her pint sized body. With one misstep, the girl stumbled to the ground scraping her arms and knees. "Ouch. Ouch. Ouch," her whispers barely audible to even herself. Within a moment, cries of agony would fill the air as small feet stomped on and kicked her. What had she done wrong?

"Who do you think you are running around in our territory?!" A little girl yelled as she placed her foot right on the side of Mei's head. The small child wiggled under the pressure, "I'm sorry! I really am! I got lost! I'll leave! I'll leave!" All the children would laugh, "Too late brat! Unless..." the little boy would snatch the stuffed rabbit, "You let me keep this!" As the stuffed toy dangled in Mei's face, she became frantic and wiggled more. Then, they began to kick her again. "GIVE HIM BACK!"

She wandered with not a feeling abound. She wandered for quite a while the beating bringing her closer and farther, closer and farther, closer and farther. She elbowed her way through crowds, watched fights that seemed to be part of some festival, and tried to keep track even through the busy streets of the city. The woman didn't become frustrated or hopeful or frantic. No. She simply followed the beat. She followed the rhythm that she had been searching long and hard for. She followed the rhythm that felt all too familiar. It just had to be that, didn't it?

Eventually, the woman would stop in front of a dark vertical abyss. Then, screaming. Out of instinct, the black-haired female began to Sprint towards the source of the noise. It had taken but a few moments to arrive at the source. A small child lay on the ground as four others beat her mercilessly, yet this woman didn't care. No, she simply stared at the hand of the boy. There it was. She heard it loud and clear. She almost felt its presence within her. Before she knew it that small child had come right up to her, "What do you want, freak? Come to save the brat?" Without a word, the woman would punch the boy in the face knocking him out and catch the rabbit before it fell to the ground.

After the boy's body thumped on the ground, the other three children would freeze and stare at the woman wide eyed. "Who do you think you are?!" a little girl would snarl. Her tiny feet ran towards the black haired female and her fist began to fly. With the open palm, the woman would allow the girl to punch, which would benefit her. The child would punch the iron beauty only to scream in pain at her broken hand. With that same hand, the black haired beauty would slam the girl's head into her knee. When she looked back up, the other two children were gone and she began to walk away.

As soon as she turned, a small hand would grip the ruffles of her dress.

Screams and tears would escape from the small girl. The screams were enough to split a heart in two and break the windows of many establishments, however the children kept beating her with their feet. "Please, give him back!" her voice would drown out the sounds of shrieking laughter. Then, the kicking would cease and Mei would lay with her small lungs gasping for breath. Her small body with twitch and shrivel up into a ball. Within a matter of moments, two tiny bodies were down and two had disappeared. She would roll over to see a woman. This woman had saved her, whether she meant to or not. However, the woman seemed to be leaving with her Captain Hoppy but why?! The small brunette would lift herself to her feet and quickly stumble to the lady.

A small hand would grasp at the woman's dress. It had taken every last ounce of effort she had so she would sink to the ground, "Please, you can't take him. He's all I have. He's my only family left. Please? I need him. I love him." Her small hand would slide off of the dress as quickly as her tears slid off her cheeks. No matter how hard she had pleaded wouldn't matter, the woman would walk away. Mei would try to go after her but her small body was in too much pain. She would fall to the ground and watch her dearest friend disappear from out of sight. Tears began to blur her vision as her mind shut down. She didn't know what to do. She was alone. Defensless. She was just a little girl left in the alleyways of a big scary city. She had no hope, no family, no friends, and no future. The small child would lay still and cry until the tears wouldn't roll any longer. She would lay there until she died. It was her only option now.

Light. Weightless. Free. All words to capture the moment. She walked cheerfully up the steps of the building, curious to see what was next in store for the Iron Fist Tournament. But as she turned around, a smile on her face, she felt a cold familiarity with the young woman that walked out of the dark alley. She was curious. She had to follow her instinct.

"Every since that fight, things have been off." she recalled the fight between the boy and the samurai. It was like watching her own past being told to her by a total stranger. Her hands free, she begun to run down the steps, getting closer and closer to the alley. She would move past the woman, only to step in front of the long hallway of the city. The darkness capturing all that she could see.

Was anything down there? But even then that low rumble of a spirit crept up upon her. Her body shook with fear. A great evil begun to ignite from within her soul. . . Oh wait no, that's just her stomach growling.

Her eyes began to dull as the tears began to stop. The skin around her brown orbs was puffy and red. Her body lay limp, lifeless, but still warm. The ground was cold and damp. Although there was much noise and a great variety of people about, Mei felt alone and everything seemed hush. She lay on her stomach with her face laying on its right side. Her hair dangled across the left side of her exposed facial features leaving them hidden. Her mind began to run wild.

Silhouettes of Yoshi and her danced across the pitch black darkness of her mind while small stars appeared. She wore the crown of a queen while he wore the crown of a king. Her dress twirled elegantly and his attire was strapping. Then, in a puff of smoke, it was all gone. She layed close to him as she watched his last breath leave his small body. She watched herself cry into that ink fur of her dear friend. Then, he was scooped up and taken away multiple times in a row. After what seemed like an eternity of him returning, he didn't.

The emotion had built within her tiny body. Fear, sadness, anger, and loneliness plagued her fragile brain. Without a realization, a scream would escape her lips only to silence, yet her face still showed her frozen screams.

The words of that man echoed in her mind following the scream. She begun to run forward. She didn't know what the scream was, or why, or what it came from. But that wasn't completely true. She just wanted to believe it was anything but that.

"Mei?!" she would yell, running to the side of the girl. She had completely forgotten about the girl she met before, as well as the woman she met prior. She was completely absorbed in herself. "No..." she thought to herself, "I let this happen. I wasn't there for her."

In her own mind she saw her younger self balled up in the sewers so many years ago. Here she sat knelled beside the small child, the same when she was abandoned. "Mei. . . "

But she was too late. She was too busy following the tale of a samurai and his son, two strangers that had nothing to do with her. . . nothing at all. . .

Her vision stayed blurred with tears, her mind stayed filled with traumatizing pictures of her friends, and her mouth stayed open with no sound coming forward. Her breathing seemed to cease as if she forgot while her heart began to beat fast and faster. What was happening to her? What was going to happen to her?! After what seemed like forever, a sound would shove its way into her ears and through the crowd of thoughts.

What was that? Who was that? Mei seemed to be frozen in time as everything around her still ticked forward. Guess the world really could still turn without Mei around. A small vibration of a body falling down onto its knees beside her would be enough to force a breath of air into her tiny lungs. Her breathing was deep and panicked. Her eyes frantically looking in circles as the world seemed to be falling back into place. Then, they would find the face of a sweet memory. "Big sis..." the words would be mouthed so small that it was hardly noticeable. Without any sound coming from her lips it might have been.

The young girl stared at the pretty woman kneeling beside her. Her eyes looked puffed out and red, her hair was a tangled mess, her dress was torn and dirtied, and her body was battered and bruised. She looked like something that death might find right around the corner, however she would be far from it. The small girl would reach for the woman as slow as her tiny muscles allowed. Was she real? Did Mei... still have.. her?

"H-Hey kid." Kasey would speak, her voice shaken. All at once, she saw the boy again. She felt the pain of watching him end that man's life. It was like watching her own father die, a man she didn't know . . . just like her own father.

"You hungry?" she asked the small girl, sure she had a rough day. "Let's go get some food." she would say with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. Not a single drop ran down her face yet, but they were ready to fall. "We'll get cleaned up and I can tell you a story about this. . . " she paused. There was really only one thing on her mind. "I'll tell you about this crazy fight with space samurai and this little boy." She let out a short laugh, "He was probably your age too."

She wanted to get out of this world, but in a way, it was her home. She didn't have much, but here she could be someone. Here, she had a chance to make a difference.

With the words now coming from the woman's mouth, Mei would sigh trying to fight back tears. She wasn't alone. She had one person left. She had her big sister. She had this woman to care for her. She didn't have to cry alone. She didn't have to die. The tiny child wouldn't smile but the relief was evident within her eyes. The girl would continue to stare at the woman as she continued to speak.

The pint sized brunette would nod as the woman asked questions. Mei hadn't had a bite to eat since the day began and she sure was rather weak at this point. She needed to replenish her strength and her body. She needed to hydrate before she could do any more damage to herself. Then, the woman began to speak about something that brought a memory to Mei but she couldn't quite remember what it was. Then, those last few words hit her like a two ton truck. The only one she knew about her age was.. him... but he wasn't here anymore. She watched him die. She let him die... She broke her promise as quick as she made it. She couldn't protect him.

As Mei would open her mouth to speak, words wouldn't come forward. Then, tears would stream from her eyes once more as she patted her throat. It wasn't that she was in pain or chose not to speak.. she simply couldn't do it. In a small panicked the girl would attempt to sit up only to fall back to the ground as her face silently twisted in agony.

She would reach out and grab the girl and hold her close. She didn't need to speak or say a word. Kasey would simply hold her close. That's all she would do for now. That's all she could do.

"It's alright now. I'm here. I'm sorry I disappeared." she would say, rocking slowly as she embraced the child, "Let it all out, then we can eat and I can tell you a story okay?" She would tell her while looking at the dirty dark walls of the alley.

"The story of Moshimitsu." She would say a little proudly, but unsure of herself. "Er, Toggu-mit-you? Or maybe it was Something-Shi-tsu" She would squint her eyes, hating herself for forgetting already. "Toshimitsu? Chicken Katsu?" her voice would trail.

She was getting hungry.

The tiny body would be scooped up and she would feel the warmth of her big sis. She would hear her heartbeat. She would feel the soft flesh. She would feel the love and care that she needed in this moment. Mei had never felt so hurt before. She had never felt so broken. She had never felt like she needed anyone she had just felt the want for people. She didn't know how much a simple embrace could make her cry. There she would weep. Tears would roll as she gripped the woman's shirt. She missed them. She missed everyone: her momma, Captain Hoppy, Naisu, the mean star lady Nat-something, and Her future king. She wanted them all back. She wanted to be the gone one so they could all come back. Her tears would continue on as the voice of Kasey did too. After a moment, the small child's tummy would growl causing the child to become more confused then sad.

"Someone's hungry." Kasey would say. "Let's go get some grub!" She would try and lift the girl was she begun to get up, but she would ultimately fail when doing so.

As she would wait for her childish sister to rise, she would repeat the name of the name a thousand times in the back of her mind, uttering every few words that crossed her mind. "Kosher Rice-Fu, Yoshimitsu, Dirty Dog-Poo..."

She would find his name, she was sure of it. When she heard it again, she would remember. She would know the story of a father, who lost his son.

The small child would look up to the pretty sister as she spoke and then began to stand. She must have been pretty hungry herself to talk about food so much. However, Mei really didn't mind nor care at the moment. She just wanted to get away from this city, the tournament, and all the people. She promised though. She promised herself that she would fight hard for Yoshi. For... Yoshi.

The child would slowly stand to her feet wobbling a little. After a moment of standing, Mei would feel some strength return to her, at least enough to walk alongside Kasey. The child would listen as Kasey softly spoke words that would be barely audible to most, however with Dragon ears Mei herd more than most. Then, she heard a name that would make her freeze and grab the woman's hand. Her head had already been spinning, so she tried hard to push it aside. She had heard that name. At least, the beginning was definitely familiar. Was it related to him?

With a slow motion, Mei would loosen her grip and continue walking forward. Hopefully, Kasey wouldn't think too much about it.

As Mei squeezed her hand. Kasey dwelled on the action for too long, the memories of them lingering in her skull. . . but from their point of view.

She would turn to walk the girl to the fruit of the city. There was no reason for them to stay in the dark of the alley. "A family born in blood. . ." she spoke, a poem that seemed to exist in the back of her mind. A poem she knew heard before. "From a mask, a queen and king. A cursed family the boy was of, but his curse was just beginning. . ." She twisted her head in curiosity. She didn't stop herself, she let the words pour from her, curious to her own mystery.

"And so he fell ill and sick,
The boy would no longer live,
But his blood poured from him thick,
But from his own death, evasive.

A boy would vanish in thought,
From his own queen,
But he would find out why he rot,
But she would think him mean."

She would slow her pace. ". . . Well that was odd." she would say. ". . .Don't know where that came from. . . "