Genji was nervous. Pacing in his room, he tried to decide on what to say. He was going to finally do it. He would ask Zenyatta on a date! But how to say it? He practiced to himself a few time, yet nothing sounded right. What he needed was advice. And he knew just the person to ask.
"So you're asking me for advice on romance?" asked Mccree with a quizzical look on his face. Genji nodded, and the cowboy laughed and shook his head. "The best advice I can give ya is to be yourself. That's what he likes you for." Be himself… Such an easy concept, yet difficult to master. Mccree smiled. "Go get 'em, tiger!" he said with a pat on the back.
Back at the sanctum, Genji stood in front of the door to Zenyatta's room, nervous. Be yourself, Genji, he told himself, then reached out a hand to knock. Immediately Zenyatta answered, and greeted his student with a friendly "hello"
"Greetings, master. I, um…" he looked at the floor, glad that his mask blocked Zenyatta from seeing his flushed face. "Would you like to… go out with me?" he finally managed to spit out. "To the carnival!"
"Why, of course! That sounds wonderful," replied Zenyatta, who was a bit taken aback. He had never been on a date before. This would be fun.
At the carnival, the two went on rides and played games. Yet Genji, though he was having fun, couldn't seem to find a moment to tell Zenyatta about his feelings. Suddenly, the crowds of people ran screaming. One of the carnival rides had broken down- No, it had been hacked! A figure stood on a nearby rooftop with their gun aimed into the crowd. Another materialized from smoke and began to do what looked like looking for something. Or someone… The crowd had dissipated, and there was no one in the open except Genji and Zenyatta, who both had their weapons at ready. "Talon!" cried Genji, as he recognized the mask of the shadowy figure to be that of the Reaper's. Now he knew what that figure on the rooftop was, and why it was aimed towards them. "Master! Be careful, alright?" Genji said, and Zenyatta nodded. He lunged towards the Reaper, deflecting the bullets from his opponent's shotguns. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zenyatta battling with a woman in black. She threw something towards Genji, and while he dodged it, he could still feel the draining power of it from a close distance. Distracted, he felt a bullet graze his shoulder. He wouldn't let that stop him, though. Leaping onto the nearby carnival stand, he launched three shurikens at his enemy in succession. Disappearing into the shadows, the Reaper was nowhere to be found. Until it was too late. Hearing dark laughter behind him, he turned and faced his foe, but he was too slow, and felt the bullet from his shotgun hit his shoulder. Crying out in pain, he used his other arm to melee the enemy and push him off of the roof they were on. Suddenly, he felt warmth and a glow on his right side, and his shoulder hurt no longer. Behind him, his master had defeated the woman in black and was now struggling with a younger woman in purple, who was trying to hack him. Genji rushed to help, deflecting a stream of bullets from her gun, which hit her in return. Zenyatta faced his student and gave a nod of thanks, then skillfully dodged a sniper shot that would have certainly been fatal.
Genji heard the woman behind him say to someone, "Retreat! Reaper, Widowmaker, meet us back at base." He turned around to see the older woman helping the one in purple, and they disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He turned to Zenyatta, who was reassuring citizens that the danger was no longer imminent, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Master, are you alright?" he asked, voice filled with concern.
"I am fine, Genji, thanks to you," Zenyatta replied
Genji smiled. "I'm the one who should be thanking you, master," he said, rubbing his shoulder, "I would have surely been defeated without you." Zenyatta laughed, a beautiful chime to Genji's ears.
Later on, Zenyatta and Genji sat on a bench on the pier overlooking the ocean. It was peaceful, and after such an event, a moment to relax was needed for both of them. "It has been quite the eventful day, hasn't it?" asked Zenyatta. Genji nodded, and to his surprise, his master leaned onto his shoulder. Without thinking, Genji laced his hand with Zenyatta's.
"So much for a perfect first date, hm?"