Hanzo sucked in a deep breath as he awoken, blinking his eyes open he realized it was still dark. He craned his head to see that his clock read 4:25. The sun would be peeking over the hills to signal the beginning of a new day soon.
Hanzo stretched, groaning with pleasure at the satisfying shake his legs and arms gave at the strain. That had been the most deep and refreshing sleep he had in a long time.
Suddenly sitting up ram-rod straight, he remembered the previous evenings escapade. Chastising himself for falling prey to the devil-spawns antics he threw the blankets off of himself, setting about to find a shirt of some kind. He needed to find Kaella and punish her somehow for what she had done, she had taken him to an unfamiliar place against his will-
He stopped, thinking back. He had never explicitly told her to take him back to Hanamura. This baffled him, why in gods name didn't he? She could've been leading him into a trap!
Hanzo checked his bed, the feline that had previously occupied the space by his feet was nowhere to be found. He brought his hand up and let out a sigh of relief when he felt the Kami no Hoseki resting peacefully against his collarbone.
He moved over to the window beside his bed and peered out, looking around he spotted the woman a ways off on a hilltop. He growled under his breath, he had no desire to leave his room so early in the morning but he needed to ensure that the infuriating woman had a good understanding of exactly what their non-existent friendship consisted of.
He shrugged on a white undershirt and quickly and quietly stepped out to confront the Akarai.
It didn't take him long to reach where she had chosen to seat herself. She was sitting cross legged, facing the sun with her hands on her knees and her eyes shut. It looked to be an almost meditative pose to him, but he had no time to waste concerning himself with the presence of her mind that he decided was gone most of the time.
"I did not harm you, and you slept like a newborn. Think before you speak." Just as he was about to shout at her impudence she spoke. He shut his mouth with an audible clack of his teeth coming together and bored holes into the back of her head.
Kaella had changed her attire to a black tank top and a pair of silk, silver pajama bottoms. Her hair was held back in a french braid and she looked to be at peace.
He didn't care, he told himself.
"Girl, we must discuss how we shall go about our... Unfortunate arrangement." He growled, stepping over to sit some distance from her.
The statement drew a small smile from her. She opened her eyes slowly, looking at the majesty of the rolling hills before her. "I suppose, I knew it would happen sooner or later." She mused.
Hanzo looked over to her to notice a cat had made it's presence known, it was brindle, with white front paws, chest and back legs. The feline blinked it's vibrant green eyes at him, before turning to look up at Kaella, reaching up to nuzzle her face, purring loud enough to bed heard over the wind that tugged at it's long fur.
Kaella smiled softly at the creature, leaning her head down to nuzzle and kiss it's head. It mewled it's appreciation before stepping off of her lap and settling itself on its haunches, tail coming to rest around it's paws.
"Is it yours?" He asked looking up from the feline. She nodded,humming and gently stroking its back while the cat purred then closed its eyes in appreciation.
"His name is Lokiv. He is apart of me just as your dragons are." She did not elaborate further which annoyed Hanzo, but he said nothing more on the matter.
"If we are to work together we must come to turns of things that are and are not allowed." He said quietly She hummed in agreement, placing her hand back on its knee and closing her eyes once more.
"To begin with, when we are not conducting business I do not care what you do with yourself, do not involve me in your dealings. Do not bother me in any way unless I request your presence." She nodded, not bothering to look at him or open her eyes. For some reason this frustrated him, he decided to believe it was because she did not seem to be truly paying attention to him.
"You will sleep in your own room and you will not influence me with anymore of your... Frivolities ever again."
Another nod.
Hanzo had to resist the urge to growl. This creature should be more attentive to the rules set by her new master.
"You will not interfere in any battles with anymore power than a normal human would be equipped with unless I have explicitly instructed you otherwise. In fact, you will not so much as make your presence known unless I call." She bobbed her head once more in response and Hanzo had to inhale deeply to calm his frustrations. Why was he lack of further response bothering him so?
"Should a time come when you are not needed, I do not wish for you to be anywhere near me. Do not involve yourself with any conflicts or confrontations, do not cause trouble for any other beings. Have I made myself clear?" Kaella nodded once more and this time Hanzo did growl, quiet as it might have been the feline seemed to pick up on his verbal outlet, hissing at him and looking behind them.
Hanzo turned his head to follow his gaze, in the shadows of a cherry blossom tree was an alarmingly large wolf. It stood there, dark grey brindle in color with red glowing eyes staring at the small party.
Hanzo stood and dropped into a defensive stance in alarm, cursing himself for neglecting his bow.
"Do not concern yourself with Okkin." He turned to stare at the girl in shock, her eyes were open and her posture had gone rigid. She took a final survey of the majesty before her, before sighing and standing, turning and walking towards the wolf.
He watched Kaella gently place a hand on the wolfs head, relaxing only a fraction. He heard a strangled hiss and looked back only to see Lokiv had disappeared.
He turned his gaze back to Kaella in confusion, but she merely sighed. Her eyes looked tired and- for lack of a better word -ancient. Hanzo vaguely wondered what wisdom and stories an immortal being could share, infinite knowledge of times long since passed had to be something of a coveted nature.
But the look was gone as soon as it had come and she turned her gaze to Hanzo with a steely resolve. "I understand your wishes, have a good day, Hanzo." Then she turned and walked away, Okkin cast a suspicious glance back at the archer before hurrying to catch up with its master.
Hanzo grumbled, heading back to his room, the Akarai seemed to be exceedingly bipolar in nature he thought with disdain as he tried to ignore the tugging in his chest.
Years flew past, without much notice. Hanzo rarely included Kaella in his work unless absolutely necessary. After the initial interactions between Hanzo and the Akarai she would rarely appear unless summoned, preferring to spend her days in places unknown to Hanzo.
He imagined she was somewhere far from Hanamura most days, judging from the pull on his soul. On some occasions he felt as though his entire chest had caved in and was crushing his heart, in which he would confine himself to his room with no interactions with any other living beings.
One day, a few years after Hanzo and Kaella had met on the top of the hill, Hanzo spotted her sitting in the garden next to the koi pond. His brows had furrowed in confusion, not recalling have called her.
He had approached her with the intent of telling her to be gone. Silently relieved at the soothing sensation of his soul pulsing with happiness at being so close to the being it was tied to. "Onna, what are you doing here? I did not summon you."
Hanzo had ceased calling her a girl long ago, as the years passed and he changed but she did not he had come to realize how old she truly was, and deserved to be acknowledged as such.
Without turning her head from the koi lightly dabbling at the waters edge in front of her she had hummed in acknowledgement. "No, but I sense change."
That was all she would offer him on the matter despite his prodding to offer him more of an answer., to his question. She remained silently until he eventually ceased his pestering with a growl to return to his duties.
Another year went by and Kaella disappeared again, Hanzo supposed she realized she had made the wrong assumption as no change had occurred.
Hanzo's father grew sick and it seemed as though there was nothing the healers could do to restore his health. The elders knew Sojiro's time was drawing to an end and began plotting to coax Hanzo into destruction, they coveted the Shimada empire more with every passing day. Unbeknownst to them the reason for their increased strength that brought fear to their very name.
When Sojiro finally passed away, Hanzo didn't know whether to feel relieved, terrified or mournful for the loss of his father. They had not been close during his life but he had still been Hanzo's birth father, it felt as though a piece of his soul had twisted and shattered. Try as he might to ignore the loss he still found himself mourning the absence of Sojiro's wisdom and unwavering strength that brought his courage and stability.
Another year passed and Hanzo had withdrawn into himself, his brother offered him no comfort in his day to day tasks. In fact Genji seemed to grace Shimada castle with his presence even less than he had when their father was alive.
The elders ceased their opportunity, ordering Hanzo to either bring Genji to his senses and remind him of his duties, or to erase him from existence all together.
Hanzo was daunted at the possibility of killing his brother, but his mind and body seemed to be on somewhat of an auto-pilot. Refusing to shirk the duties presented to him no matter how absurd they seemed to be.
And so, Hanzo confronted Genji. Demanding he return to Shimada castle to take on the duties of an heir to the title of yakusa. Genji had vehemently denied, declaring that he no longer wished to be apart of the clan and anymore.
Genji had looked at his cold, unfeeling brother with a pleading look. The younger Shimada brother knew exaclty what fate should befall anyone who attempted to leave the crimelord's empire. He prayed Hanzo would be merciful, despite his cold, withdrawn nature of late.
"Brother, I cannot tolerate this place any longer. Father is no longer with us and I have no desire to remain in a world of such evil." Genji had sighed, looking down at his boots and shuffling his feet.
He looked back up at Hanzo, noticing the flash of emotions in his eyes before they went completely blank. "Goodbye, brother." And with that, Genji turned to leave.
Hanzo released the dragons, unwilling to harm Genji himself.
He turned away as Genji screamed in agony, pawing at the beasts electric fire searing his flesh and causing it to bubble and blister. Pleading for Hanzo to end his suffering, to call the mystical beasts away.
Hanzo looked back at his brother for a moment after the dragons dispersed. Genji's eyes begged him for help, his cracked and bloody lips silently opening and closing, unable to form words as he reached out to his brother in desperation for help.
Hanzo turned and walked away.
Those wails and pleads still rang through Hanzo's ears when only silence surrounded him. The betrayed look in his brothers eyes scorched into his memory, burning the backs of his eyelids every time he closed his eyes.
He sat, alone on the hill top where he had made the rules of their partnership with Kaella. He pressed a bottle of sake to his lips and took a few, deep gulps. Attempting to drown out the incessant sounds of his brothers death from his mind.
It didn't work.
"Well, that's just sad."
He didn't jerk at the unwelcome intruder, he knew who it was as his soul relaxed. He did not possess the energy to feel elated or relieved at her proximity.
She came to stand beside him, looking over the growing city with a noise of disdain. Hanzo glanced at her, noting her hair drawn into a french braid and her completely black attire of leggings, boots, and tank top.
He was so absorbed in his anguish that he didn't notice Lokiv looking at him curiously behind Kaella's boot.
"Hanzo." He raised a brow, that was the first time he had ever heard her call him by his name. He shrugged it off, she had probably come to ask for her necklace back. At this point, Hanzo would have given it to her without argument. He no longer cared for the damn thing.
"You need to do something about this."
Her words shocked him, snapping his attention up to her serious expression. "What?"
She sighed and crouched down, placing her elbows on her knees and looking at him with a flash of determination behind her eyes. "You need to make them pay."
He knew what she meant he knew what the elders had done. But he no longer cared, he wanted no part of the clans or really anything anymore. He was half tempted to find a suitable cliff to throw himself off of and end his pitiful existence. He turned back to numbly staring out at the city of Hanamura, a sight that should awe him in its grandeur, but only left him feeling hallow.
She frowned at his lack of response. "So, elders kill your father, make you kill your brother, and completely destroy your family name and all you're going to do about it is sit about and drink?" She shook her head, standing with a scoff. "Pathetic."
She turned to leave, Lokiv padding to keep up with her only to fade away after a couple of steps.
Hanzo shrugged off her disdain for his behavior. He simply did not care anymore.
Before she truly disappeared she cast a solemn glance over her shoulder at the archer. "Hanzo, there is no honor or nobility or even peace in destroying yourself over someone else's indiscretions. You will find yourself in constant turmoil in the next life if this is the way you decide to spend the one you have now."
With that, he heard a flutter of wings and the familiar tug on his soul returned.
He frowned, mulling over her words. She was right.
He stood, casting the bottle of sake away and turned to destroy all that he had created.
Overwatch.
The name left a sour taste on his tongue. He had no desire, initially, to accept Genji's offer to return with him to Overwatch; but after deciding he had no other purpose in life he decided to join his long lost brother.
The first few months were, to say the least, hell.
Genji was the only one- besides the few, accepting feminine members of the group -that offered Hanzo any semblance of friendship. Reinhardt was an overly enthusiastic leader of course, welcoming every new member with a warm smile and a bellowing laugh. But Hanzo caught the older man more often than not sending him looks of uncertainty and wariness.
This did not bother Hanzo, it left him ample time to meditate and speak with Genji in effort to reconcile and attempt to amend the rift that had grown between them. Zenyatta assisted him with finding peace within his weary soul in his own gentle way, however infuriating Hanzo found his ominous half-replies at times.
Months passed and Hanzo found himself achieving peace, the unrest that had been stewing within him growing more distant, the storms in his mind settling and slipping away.
After Jesse McCree made a joke during dinner, to which Hanzo couldn't stop the laughing from bursting from his lips the team had warmed up to him, accepting him into their social circles and even offering for him to come along to clubs or other frivolous escapades. He politely declined each time, preferring the quiet of his room.
Hanzo stepped into his dormitory now, reveling in the comforting sandlewood scent wafting from the stick of incense burning in its place on the dresser. Around it were unlit candles and various small statues of the gods from his past. In front of the dresser was a tatami mat where he sat when he wished to meditate. A couch a a bookshelf were at the other end of his room, small golden light strung from the ceiling provided a warm, comforting glow that reminded him of a time long since past.
Before the door could close McCree stepped in, looking rather nervous. Hanzo turned at the sudden intrusion, vaguely wondering how the brash cowboy had managed to follow him without his notice.
"Did you need something, McCree?" Hanzo addressed the other male, hanging his bow and quiver on what was normally a coat rack.
McCree nodded, "uh, yeah. I was wonderin' if you- Say, Hanz. When'd'ya get a cat?" The cowboy pointed at something behind him.
Hanzo's eyes widened in alarm, whirling around, focusing on his soul only to realize the pull had significantly lessened.
Sure enough Lokiv sat calmly on the coffee table in the middle of the room, the small feline meowed a greeting,but stayed where he was with his tail tucked around his paws.
"Well if that ain't the darnedest thing!" McCree said before brushing past the stunned Hanzo to pet the cat. "What's the little guys name?" He inquired while Lokiv purred, leaning into the cowboys affections.
Hanzo stiffened, eyes darting around to find her. "Lokiv..." He answered offhandedly, he quickly stepped into the kitchen, finding nothing he scowled and went to search elsewhere.
"Lokiv, huh? Cute little feller. Ain't Lokiv one of them viking names?" Jesse kept asking questions though Hanzo was focused on anything but him.
When he failed to reply McCree looked up, furrowing his brows in confusion at Hanzo's search. "Whatcha lookin' for there darlin'?"
For once Hanzo didn't snap at the use of the pet name McCree seemed to have a fondness for giving everyone. He turned back to the gunslinger and sighed. If he was going to get anywhere with his search he needed Jesse gone. "I apologize, McCree. I must ask you to leave for now. It seems something has come up that I must attend to."
McCree looked unconvinced, but nodded, albeit a little pouty. "Alright, I gotta talk to you about somethin' later though. Have a good evenin' partner!" He called as he exited the small room.
Hanzo breathed a sigh of relief, turning to the feline who meowed with what appeared to be alarm in his eyes. "Alright, where is she?"
Lokiv hopped off the table and padded down the small hallway that lead to Hanzo's room. As soon as he opened the door he looked to the bed and his eyes widened.
There, laying on her side Kaella lay, blood covering the pristine white sheets she had been laying upon. Gashes covered her body and she looked to be barely breathing.
Hanzo's throat tightened with panic as he turned and darted into the bathroom, gathering the first aid kit from behind the mirror and soaking a water in water, while leaving another dry he ran back into the room. He looked up and hurried to her side, rolling her onto her back he took the wet wet and wiped away the caked blood from her wounds, fresh blood oozed from her wounds at an alarming rate and he set about cleaning and bandaging nastiest of the gashes before working on the smaller ones.
An hour later Hanzo leaned back from the bed. Looking over his handiwork, she was out cold and the white bandages wrapped around nearly every portion of her body. He sighed in relief, hoping she would mend quickly.
After he cleaned up the stray gauze wrappings and other amenities he gingerly moved Kaella from the bed, setting her on the makeshift bed he had placed on the floor so he could clean the sheets on his bed. He activated a biotic field close to her, feeling his own adrenaline and headache subsiding from its warm glow.
Hanzo went into the bathroom to wash away the blood after removing the sheets from his bed. His mind reeling with the possibilities of what could have harmed a powerful being such as Kaella, as far as he could recall any wounds she had afflicted healed within a few hours. He prayed the same would happen now.
Kaella and Hanzo were not close by any means. He had not spoken to her much other than to request something of her, or to tell her to leave. Though, she did have a peculiar habit of appearing and encouraging Hanzo when he needed it. He had grown somewhat fond of the silent companion, even Lokiv had seemed to take a liking to the grizzled archer.
He thought back to that day on the hill top, he remembered the serene air around her he had so callously shattered. It surprised him now that she had not lashed out in anger at his intrusion on her meditative state, she was a very old soul indeed.
He paused as he was washing the suds from his hair. Could it be his fault she had been so badly injured? He had told her not to surpass what strength a human would posses, but he had not specified that such an order only applied to battles in which he was involved.
Silently cursing himself, assuming that was the reason for her current state, he finished his shower. Pulling his robe on he went into the kitchen to make himself some tea to calm his nerves. After finishing the cup he returned to the room, replacing the biotic field before putting fresh sheets over hims bed.
He laid back and relaxed as best as he could, breathing a deep sigh he glanced one last time at the sleeping figure on the floor, before letting himself be pulled into a state of unconscious as well.
A/N:
WEW!
Not really, tbh that was kind of a filler chapter. I wanted Hanzy boy and Kaella to not really interact with one another for a while until we came to this part of Hanzo's life in Overwatch.
WTF HAPPENED TO KAELLA YO?
THANK YOU FOR READING!