He understood why they had put him up this. As the place of his birth, Hanzo was intimately familiar with the Hanamura region. But that didn't mean he was happy about it. Intercept a delivery of black market firearms before the Yakuza gets their hands on it. A simple, one to two-person job at best. One to retrieve the objective and the other to watch his back. But that was where the problem lay; the person guarding his back. Hanzo could not trust the senses of a man that was half machine, especially one that he believed had been dead for years. Even if the man was his own kin.
Finding the weapons dealer was no easy task. On a sweltering day such as this one, the winding maze of houses and shops forced Hanzo and Genji to cover a lot ground; tiring them in the process. Beads of sweat rolled down Hanzo's forehead, making his long fringe cling to it. Even Genji whose armour had its own internal ventilation system found himself panting due to the heat. Despite the heavy weather, the brothers continued their search. Albeit with slower gaits to conserve their strength. Realizing that they were making little progress, Hanzo gave the order to split up.
"We must divert our efforts. I will search the south side. You will cover the north."
Genji nodded as an answer and took off. With more work ahead of him, Hanzo sighed. The exhalation of air giving him slight relief from the suffocating heat. Walking through the tight alleyways, all Hanzo could see were empty streets and the occasional person walking by. As Hanzo began to grow weary from yet another setback, he spotted something promising; a man up ahead wearing a black jacket, carrying a large wooden crate. This was the target they were after. Pulling out his bow and nocking an arrow, Hanzo took aim and released the bow string. But the man saw it coming and quickly stepped aside, narrowly missing the path of the arrow. Taking a gun out of his holster, the man retaliated by shooting the arm of the man responsible for firing the arrow.
As the bullet hit Hanzo's arm, the expression on his face was not a pained one. Instead, it was one of anger. Ignoring the blood freely trickling down his arm, letting his bow clatter to the ground, Hanzo cried out with rage at the dealer for managing to hurt him. Threatened by his response, the dealer fired his gun at Hanzo once more. But the second bullet never reached him, thanks to the surprising return of Genji, jumping down from the roof and swiftly deflecting the bullet with his sword.
Confronted with the sudden appearance of an ally with a very large green, glowing sword, the dealer dropped the crate and bolted away from the scene. Overcome with weakness, Hanzo's body began its downward descent towards the ground. But Genji does not allow this to happen. Catching him from behind, Genji gently lowered Hanzo to the ground. But the archer was reluctant to rest.
"I… must continue." Hanzo feebly protested, with a hand pressing down on his wound as hard as he could manage, to stifle the flow of blood. Even when wounded, Hanzo would never allow his warrior's spirit to wane. No matter what the circumstances, he would not be deterred.
"You are exhausted, brother. You must seek proper care." Genji cautioned against this, concerned for his brother's well-being.
"No!" Hanzo tried to rise up, only serving to hurt himself even more.
"If you will not help yourself, then I will." Genji threatened. Angered by his stubborn brother's refusal for medical attention, before Hanzo succumbed to his injury and lost consciousness.
It wasn't the numb feeling in his arm he noticed at first, when he opened his eyes. Rather, it was the refreshing breeze of the air conditioning in his hospital room. An apt reward for his hours of wandering around the district and the apprehension of the man responsible for such a wild goose chase. At least he thought, they had apprehended him. Hanzo's memory was fuzzy beyond the point of getting shot. Had Genji arrested the man after catching him in his arms? He hoped so. Just as thoughts of his brother had creeped into his mind, the voice of the man broke the silence.
"I have no more blood left to give you Hanzo, but the doctor tells me they found a donor."
Hanzo thought that was supposed to be good news. He had lost a lot of blood and was bound to need a transfusion. But the way Genji had slyly uttered it, left Hanzo wondering if there was more meaning to that remark. It didn't matter now, because Hanzo needed to respond appropriately.
"Evidently." Hanzo retorted with a sharp tone. A sign that Hanzo was back to his normal self, Genji thought.
"Did you capture the criminal after he made his escape?" Hanzo asked the question pressing on his mind.
"No, because I was taking you to a hospital." Genji spoke in his defence, his reasons most honourable. His only concern had been to keep his brother alive. Anything else, such as a criminal didn't matter.
"A poor decision, Genji." Hanzo reproached Genji's choice. Despite the fact that he knew that Genji's best intentions had saved his life.
"Had I left you there, over time the loss of blood would have killed you." Genji explained, making the point clear for even an obstinate man like Hanzo to see.
"If that were true, you would not still be with us today!" Hanzo countered with spiteful logic, demonstrating that he had yet to accept the man Genji had become and the responsibility he held for Genji taking that path.
"I see that rage still flows through you, brother. Like the blood that spilled down your arm." Calmly observed, in an attempt to placate his furious brother. It saddened him to see his brother still carry such anger, but it saddened him even more when he heard what Hanzo had to say.
"I now bear the mark of failure upon my arm, for everyone to see! Always reminding me of my mistake!" Hanzo revealed his true thoughts to Genji, with an anguished voice. But Genji suspected that this was about more than a scarred arm, when Hanzo made his confession. Even if he didn't realize it himself.
So Genji did the only thing he could and imparted the wisdom that he himself had learned.
"It is true that your arm has changed, but it will heal with time." Genji reassured him with information he was certain was true.
"And you believe I am supposed to accept this?" Hanzo asked. A little sceptical about Genji's faith.
"I do not believe you are supposed to accept anything. I can only hope." Genji answered. There was no pressure or expectations for his brother to do anything. Only trust that the future would grant Hanzo the healing he deserved.
"I… will try." Hanzo told him, his voice a little subdued. But it was an effort that Genji was relieved to see.
Author's Note: Thank you very much for reading my story, I hope you enjoyed it. This chapter was based on the movie Stray Dog (1949.)