AU
In which Zenyatta actually loses his chill.
"You may be my brother," Hanzo began after Genji tried joking with him, "but you are not the Genji I knew."
Zenyatta, who was nearby, started laughing. But it wasn't his usual laugh – no, this one was maniac, biting, harsh, and the brothers whipped around, concerned.
Zenyatta was clutching his lower torso, a very human-like action, as he continued to laugh.
"Master?" Genji began, confused and wary.
Zenyatta held up a finger, taking a moment to collect himself. "Not the same Genji you knew? Of – hahahaha – of course not!" Zenyatta interrupted himself with more chuckles. "Of course he's not the same Genji you knew- being murdered has that effect."
Genji could see where this was going and tried to stop it. "Master, please, do not-"
"Genji, my student, allow me my piece just this once. You will not say it, but something has to be said, otherwise he will never learn." With that, Zenyatta turned back to Hanzo. Genji just put his face into his palms. Many of the support members would grow irritated at the other classes whenever they did something really stupid without their, well, support – and apparently that had happened this time. This appeared to be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Or in this case, Zenyatta's (formerly seen as) endless chill.
"Of course he's not the same Genji you knew, because you slew that version of him once you brought your blade up against him! Did you even know that Genji? What did you know of him besides a habit of breaking tradition, a love of cheesy arcade games and stolen nights? Did you know of the thoughts that plagued him, the dread of one day using people as disposable resources? Of trading them and murdering them for no other reason than profit? Of selling weapons to whoever had enough money, damned if they were flesh traders or bounty hunters? Did you know anything other than Shimada Genji?" At this point, Zenyatta had floated over and into Hanzo's face. Genji went to pull his master back a bit, but a stern glance and a fierce "Do not" in his direction was enough to get him to back off.
Hanzo, meanwhile, was frozen. Zenyatta was the calmest force he had ever seen, even in battle. To bear witness to this sudden 180 in character was startling, to say the least. Zenyatta continued.
"Do you know of how he was saved? Of how his body was saved in the wreckage after your battle, how it took at least seven doctors and three bio-engineers just to make sure he had a chance of living? Do you know how the original Overwatch used him as means to an end, letting him destroy himself from the inside out? A soul does not come out of a betrayal like that unscathed, Shimada Hanzo."
A glance towards Genji surprised the cyborg, but it was understandable. Genji had told those stories to Hanzo before, but his meeting and acceptance of Zenyatta and his teachings was one he had yet to tell.
Even when angry, Zenyatta would respect Genji's wishes. And Genji loved him for it. The cyborg shrugged, and Zenyatta continued, though his anger seemed to be leaving him.
"Do you know what a ruin of a man your brother was when he stumbled across the Shambali's doorstep? Even our newest could sense his discord. He was lost and injured and alone and lonely and none had helped him until he literally collapsed in our doorway, exhausted.
Do you know how long it took for him to even speak to us? Silent, ever-watchful, threatened. He felt threatened in a temple full of monks who stood for peace, because nothing in his life was constant until then. Do you know how wearing that is on a soul, to not be able to count on things for longer than a day? A week? A year? Do you know, Shimada Hanzo?
Do you know how resilient your brother is? How he was able to pick up the pieces of himself and put them back together, and came to forgive you, came to forgive Overwatch, came to forgive himself? He has made great strides towards his own peace.
You and your brother are more alike than you think."
"We are nothing alike," Hanzo growled, the line taking him out of his stupor.
Zenyatta made an odd clinking sound – his version of a snort of disbelief. "Please. Genji was as reluctant to accept help as you are now. Your brother has surpassed you in the respect that he can acknowledge when he needs help. You cling to your values of honor and redemption and would rather honor a corpse than realize that the times have changed.
In the words of an ally, catch up with the times or get run over by them, Shimada Hanzo. Genji has rebuilt his part of the bridge. Are you truly going to burn this one down as well, and deny the second chance so freely given?
You seek honor, redemption. At least, you claim to. These are not easy roads to walk, Hanzo. Death is not the answer to this, though you think it to be, and if I am correct in putting pieces together about your upbringing, for good reason. But Hanzo, you have already cut ties with the Shimada Clan, nonexistent as it now is. Are you still truly loyal to a thing that never can be?"
With that microphone drop, Zenyatta backed away. Hanzo said nothing, did nothing, too much information churning in his brain for him to react as he might've otherwise. Genji took advantage of this and escorted his master out of the building they were in.
"You should not have done that-" Genji began, motioning for Zenyatta to stay quiet when the Omnic began to interrupt, "- no, let me speak my piece now, master. You should not have done that; I know the extent of Hanzo's wrath as you well know. He is my brother, mostly unchanged after all these years." Genji opened the door to one of their garden rooms on base, a place where anyone was welcome if they needed a peaceful place to relax and find themselves. He let Zenyatta in first, following him before grasping him into a surprise embrace. Zenyatta returned it near immediately.
"You should not have done that," Genji began, "but I am very glad you did."
Zenyatta hummed, the orbs resting around his neck like a mala resonating with him as he affectionately bumped his forehead into the lower part of Genji's faceplate. "For you, Genji, anything."
A/N: So I might be using Zenyatta as a bit of a vent here. I don't hate Hanzo and I can see why he did what he did, but that doesn't mean I support it. So, here we have an AU where Zenyatta loses his chill because AU is hard.
As for what happened, well. I've been the healer before. You want to know a difficult thing? Playing the healer on a payload mission and no one is on the payload. People chase the play of the game, kind of forgetting that they need to complete the objective. I get just a little bitter when that happens. Also, the only healer I play as is Zenyatta (because I am literal garbage with everyone else). So yes. Healer angst happened, and Hanzo being dumb just broke whatever threads Zenyatta was holding onto his self-control with. (And more healer angst because dammit can't you see that your brother who you left for dead is trying to make up with you?)
Zenyatta's characteristics was inspired by (but not written following) the Sassy Zenyatta comics; as someone who oft plays the healer in most games, I related to those comics on a spiritual level. The path to healing lays here. Kitsune2022 on tumblr is the creator of them; check it out when you've got a chance and are in need of a Zenyatta who's done with your shit.