Thank you all for the wonderful feedback, by the way. It's so encouraging to know you guys enjoy the story and my characterization of these two cuties. Mercy is actually very hard to write correctly. I don't want her to be a damsel in distress that Genji "saves" but I also want to show how much trauma the stuff she has been through would cause a person (she's been through more than Genji has, in my opinion). It's a very fine line that I've tried to balance by making her slightly independent and sassy, but it's just not easy.
Oh and fyi, the third and fifth sections of this chapter (kinda?) talk about self-harm, though it's not in a traditional way at all. Like it's hardly even the same thing; I hesitate to even call it that (you'll see lol). But if that still bothers you, don't read those parts, kay? It's not totally essential to understand what'll be going on.
Also, enjoy 9k words as retribution for how often this crappy thing isn't updated. This thing is like 14 pages in Word. Love you guys ;D
Angela groaned and covered her head with her comforter as light streamed through her window. For some unknown reason, her blinds were open, allowing a very bright sun to make its presence known. She groaned and buried her head further under the covers, blinking rapidly as she slowly woke up and proceeded to adjust her eyes to the amount of light that bled through the blankets over her.
It took a few moments for her to remember what had happened last night. Even then, the events after she had started to drink were fuzzy at best. Even a mind as brilliant as hers could only hold so much information under the influence of that much alcohol. Memories seemed to come in random, unorganized bursts, likely the moments when her cells had flushed out most of the alcohol in her system before she drank more. She remembered most of what had happened towards the end of the night with Genji simply because she ran out of liquor prior to when he arrived, but the hours before that were a jumbled mess of tears and pain. Luckily, she really couldn't remember much of anything about that part. That had been the point of drinking, after all.
It was also quite lucky that she hadn't been wrong when she guessed that her headache would go away. None of the pain that was left was physical, and her brain was still too bogged down with sleep to focus on any mental pain that might be lurking in the dark corners of her mind.
After she had woken up a bit and sorted through a few jumbled thoughts, Angela slowly pulled the covers off from over her head. Only one round of quick blinking was required to get her used to the light levels that surrounded her. And with that, she was up out of bed and ready to face the day. Or she was at the very least ready to face breakfast.
Genji jumped out from his place on the couch when he heard Angela's door creak open. He was immensely concerned about her, and with good reason, but the doctor was simply too tired to figure that out immediately. She yawned loudly and rubbed her eyes, tilting her head in confusion when she saw the worried look on his face. Genji took the hint and suppressed his concerned expression, giving her his best attempt at a peaceful smile.
"How are you feeling?" He asked carefully as Angela ambled in his direction. He didn't want to accidentally say something that would strike a raw nerve or hurt her in some way.
Angela paused in her walking and looked at the ground with a contemplative expression. "I… I don't know." She looked back up at her friend, confused and clearly still very drowsy. "Am I supposed to know?"
Genji smiled, this time for real. Even when she was in this much distress, she still found a way to be endearing, which probably should have concerned him more than it did. "No, I don't think you have to know." He sat back down on the couch and patted the seat, indicating that she should join him. Angela gladly flopped down next to him, almost immediately leaning against the cyborg's side and resting her head on his shoulder. Genji ran a comforting hand through her now very messy hair, happy to sit in companionable silence if that was what she needed.
After about five minutes of quiet, Angela finally said something. "What should I do?"
It was pretty vague question, but that was Angela's intent. She wasn't specifically referring to what she should do concerning just her immortality. She simply didn't know what to do in general. Should she try to discover a way to make Genji immortal too, like he asked? Should she continue on living like this, secluded from and deliberately ignoring the outside world aside from Genji? Should she go back to her job? She simply didn't know. And expecting Genji to have answers for her was silly and selfish, but she just wanted to believe that someone knew, even if it wasn't her.
Her companion hummed quietly for a few seconds, considering carefully what to say. "I think that you should do whatever will bring you the most happiness. No matter how selfish it is. Someone gave me similar advice years ago, and I started on my journey to find inner peace as a result. I don't see why the same couldn't be said of you."
'What would make me happy, huh?' But did she even know what would make her happy? She wasn't too sure that she did. Angela sighed and rubbed her temples, squeezing her eyelids tightly together as she did so. "I wish it was just that easy. I really do."
"Maybe it is that easy." Genji replied quietly, ruffling her hair a little bit. "You're a brilliant woman, Angela. I have no doubt that you will figure it out. I wish I could give you all of the answers, but I'm afraid that I don't have them, and there is no way for me to find them for you, though I'll help as much as I can. But in the end, you have to find them on your own."
Angela let her hands fall back into her lap as she opened her eyes, staring absentmindedly at the place where their legs were pressed together. So what was it that would make her happy? And would she be willing to do it if it meant hurting someone she cared about? Truly, she didn't know. However, what she did know was that her headache was coming back, and it was very unwelcome. The conversation ended there with an unsatisfied and grumpy Angela getting food, but the thoughts never stopped pounding in her skull.
It was only a few weeks later when Angela decided to work on figuring out how she might make Genji's body survive in the same state that hers did. She withheld that information from Genji, though. Her solace in her experimenting was that, if she found something and decided that she didn't want to put him through the hell she would one day experience, he would never have to know what she had discovered. It was the only thing that kept guilt from tearing her apart, the idea that it wasn't certain that Genji would become immortal like her even if she did find what she was searching for.
Angela had decided to forgo a regular job as a surgeon entirely in favor of her own research. She certainly had enough money saved from the years of Overwatch work to last her an entire lifetime, and going back to being a regular doctor would only pile on more stress, which was certainly something she didn't need. No, it was much better to be able to research and look into anything that struck her fancy. Occasionally she spent time theorizing about the immortality issue, and even less frequently she tinkered with her resurrection technology, but most of the time she simply worked on improving nanobiology and field medicine as a whole.
Genji encouraged her the entire way, no matter what she chose to do. They often didn't talk much about her research, since he knew how much she liked to keep those things private, but whenever she brought something up to him he was always all ears. He wholeheartedly approved of her decision to do research independently. He claimed it would be the best way for her to get a break from the stress of real work and get settled into a normal life. And while he would never admit it to her, he liked the idea simply because it would allow for the two of them to spend more time together.
And thus, they slipped into a routine once again. There were odd days, and occasionally Angela would bunker in her basement for almost an entire week to research something, which meant that they wouldn't see each other nearly at all, but most of the time it was just the opposite. Genji probably spent more time at her house than he did at his own. Forget probably, he did spend more time at Angela's house than at his own apartment, much more, in fact.
However, there was one thing that the doctor had never asked to be a part of that essential to Genji's life, so one day he figured he might as well extend an offer to her, considering that they did almost everything else together. "Angela, would you like to join me while I meditate?"
The moment he brought it up, the doctor began staring at him as if he said something utterly bizarre before finally chuckling lightly. "I'm not so sure I'm the meditating type, Genji. My head runs at a mile a minute; I'd have such a hard time dropping every theory and idea that runs through it for something like that."
Genji hadn't expected her to accept in the first place, so he wasn't bothered when she said no. "Well, the offer will always stand if you ever wish to join me."
It came as a surprise to both of them the day Genji heard a knock on his apartment door during the hours he normally meditated. And while Genji was surprised, Angela was probably even more so. When Genji answered the door, she stood in the doorway looking lost and confused, like she wasn't sure if coming was a good choice. But Genji had just smiled and welcomed her into his home. They both knew why she was there, so he took no time to begin explaining the basics of meditating to her, focusing on the portion that required emptying the mind of extra thoughts.
While Angela had never been one to be bored or uncomfortable in long silences, that was because she always had thoughts running through her head to keep her busy. Her brain was like a piece of fine-tuned machinery that never quite turned off. She had demonstrated time and time again her ability to keep multiple concurrent ideas or conversations straight in her head. However, while this was all quite brilliant, it didn't lend itself well to meditation. Occasionally Genji would open one eye to see her fidgeting, playing with a strand of her hair, or fiddling with a loose string at the end of her hoodie.
For the rest of that day Angela seemed awkward and uncomfortable around him. She had tried to do something to connect with him in a meaningful way and fallen short. After all, he was always helping her through her issues; she had thought that maybe it would be nice to see how he dealt with things for a change. But she had failed, and Angela had never been someone to deal with her own failure easily. Genji just assumed that she would never try again.
He was once again surprised, although pleasantly so, when he heard a knock at his door a few days later. Sure enough, Angela was back, this time fierce determination written all over her face. It was clear that she wasn't going to give up that easily, and Genji loved it. She got better, as time went on. It was very hard for her to keep her mind clear for the entire time, and as hard as she tried to focus for the entire time for the first few days, they both realized early on that getting her to meditate for as long as Genji did was probably a lost cause. Most of the time she would quietly leave halfway through his sessions whenever she understood that there was no real point in staying anymore. And once she began to do that, she found that meditating was actually quite enjoyable. It helped clear her head of any nasty thoughts and prepare her for the day ahead.
Thus the days stretched by with a much more cheerful Angela. She was more engrossed in her work and less worried about the future, and Genji couldn't have been happier for her. It allowed the two of them to have deeper discussions about topics that would have previously made one of the two of them break down. And while it didn't happen often, today was one of the days that Angela got in the mood to get into a super deep discussion.
The two of them were in Angela's living room. Genji was sitting at the edge of the sofa with a book in hand, one that Angela had insist that he read. She had even dug up copies in Japanese for him and insisted that he read them as a birthday present for her. It was a series of books about a kid named Harry Potter, and apparently the books were Angela's favorite series despite how old they were, their author recently deceased. She was fond of the child named Hermione, and Genji could immediately see why. The doctor and the kid were very similar when it came to their intellect, and on top of that, Hermione was a witch, which Angela seemed to think was the coolest thing ever. He had started reading the books just to humor her, but he found that he actually really liked them.
While Genji read, Angela was laying down on the couch, her head on a pillow on Genji's lap. She was typing furiously on the computer sitting in her lap, but it was clear she was only half focused on what she was doing. She was thinking about something, and it didn't take long for her to mention what.
The doctor sighed and closed her laptop, looking up at the cyborg's face with curious and slightly sad blue eyes. "Genji, are you happy the way that you are now?"
He looked down at her and smiled. "What do you mean? Of course I'm happy; I'm here with you, and everything is pretty much back to normal. Why wouldn't I be?"
Angela sighed and shook her head, frustrated. "Ah, that wasn't what I meant. Are you happy with your body? Do you ever wish that you were still human?"
"Oh." Genji blinked at the question. He had expected this to be a much more light-hearted conversation than it was turning out to be. "I'm at peace with who I am. You know that."
She scoffed playfully, seemingly trying to keep the conversation from getting too serious. They both knew that it wasn't working. "You're avoiding my question. Are you happy with what I did to you?"
The cyborg sighed. "Angela, 'What I did to you?' You make it sound like you mutilated me in some awful way. I'm happy that I'm still living. I'm happy that you saved me. I'm happy that I got the chance to get to know you. Does that mean that I don't miss being completely human? Of course not. I'd be a fool not to miss it. I miss what it's like to taste, to touch, to do so many things that I took for granted in my youth. I took so many things – so many people for granted back then. But if I had the option to go back and redo it all, I would make the same choices that led me here, because I wouldn't trade a human body for the time I got to spend with you and the rest of Overwatch. I wouldn't trade those moments for the world. You know that."
Angela looked back at her hands, still resting on the lid of the closed laptop, before closing her eyes and sighing. A small, somewhat sad smile adorned her face. "I just… sometimes I wonder if there was more I could do. If maybe I could have done better. If I had the option to go back, I think I would at least try more."
Genji closed his book and set it on the side table, running his fingers through her hair. "You did the absolute best that you could. I think you're remembering what happened incorrectly. You tried so hard to give me a normal life, and this was the best thing that you could do. I thought you were proud of what you did? Because you should be."
Angela sighed again. "I know, I know. I was just thinking, that's all. I do too much of that for my own good, sometimes." With that, she reopened her laptop and resumed her work, signaling that the conversation was over. Genji picked up his book with one hand and continued to card his fingers through her hair with the other, as a simple way of trying to comfort her. It was clear that it wasn't working well; if anything, Angela looked more troubled now than she did before the conversation had occurred. He did his best not to dwell on it.
It was a year after Genji came back, long after Angela had started to improve on the surface level, that he started to notice a dip in her mood again. The first time he brought it up to her, she claimed that he was just looking into things too much. Every subsequent time, she simply told him that she hadn't worn her Valkyrie suit in a while, and it was affecting her physically which spread to her mental health. When he asked her why, she simply shrugged and claimed that she didn't want to be too dependent on it.
Angela hated lying to Genji. She loathed it, in fact. Which is why she hated it when he brought up her recent change in mood. It did have to do something to do with not wearing her suit, but her not wearing the suit was actually an effect of what was happening, not the cause.
The doctor had begun working on her immortality project in full force, now. She had done quite a few tests on rats, and they had produced positive results. The nanobiotic technology had the ability to heal ailments as well as minor scars, along with preventing any from happening in the future. However, there was one problem. She could only work so much on rats before she had to move on to human testing. Still not wanting to tell Genji she was even considering the option of making him live forever, and not able to test it on anyone without telling people about her experimentation, she really only had one possible human subject for the tests: herself.
Of course, she couldn't test whether or not it prevented diseases. Her own body would do that naturally on its own. But a greater sign of whether or not her tests were working was if scarring was healed, since that meant the scar tissue was being completely replaced by brand new cells. Her own body didn't heal scars, or at the very least it didn't do it quickly, though her Valkyrie suit did, which was why she hadn't worn it in a while.
So she started creating scars to test, and she hated every second of it. It broke her down physically and mentally, to the point where sometimes she would turn into a sobbing, pathetic mess whenever she tried to do it. It was so counter-intuitive to her nature that it practically destroyed her. The worst part was, she knew that Genji would hate it if he knew what she was doing. He would be so vehemently opposed to this that he would never let her go through with it. So she had to do it all behind his back, spending countless nights alone in her bathroom crying because she was so scared. But she knew that this was a small price to pay to unlock the secret to living forever. Not only was she so engrossed in the science behind it, but in the back of her mind she already knew that she didn't want to spend forever alone. Guilt be damned, she just couldn't do it.
Testing was terribly slow. She had to let the wounds actually scar over each time, after all. That process could take quite a while depending on how serious the injury was. And over time, to test whether or not her machinery was improving, the injuries had to get progressively worse and worse. Sometimes it would be weeks or months before she could do another test, simply because the wound was so deep that it took that long to fully scar over.
She relied so much on Genji's support in that following year that she was sure he would push her and ask her what was wrong. But he never did, probably because he assumed that she would never lie to him, and if that didn't make her feel like crap, nothing would.
However, because she counted on him so much, she became unhinged the second he told her that he needed to go back to Japan for a week. "What do you mean, you have to leave?" the doctor asked, voice filled with what probably sounded like unreasonable panic. "Why? What's so important there?"
"Angela, calm down. I promise I'm not leaving for very long. It will only be a couple days, a week at the very most. I've heard that my brother is still alive, and that there is the chance that he feels guilty for what he did. Don't you remember how we never found him in the Shimada clan during our missions? Supposedly he left after he thought he murdered me and has been wandering ever since. I need to go find him and make amends with him." Genji wrapped her in a tight hug. "I'll be back as soon as possible, I promise."
Tears burned at the corners of her eyes as she returned the hug, burying her face in the plating on his neck. She was being unreasonable, and she knew it, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. "Why would you want to do something as stupid as that? How could you leave me?"
Genji sighed. "This is something that I have to do. I have to make peace with my past, and with him, if there is even a chance. Please understand."
She choked out a sob, eyes closed tightly as she considered Genji leaving, being unreachable for a few days. It scared her, for more reasons than just being alone or being abandoned, which was probably what he attributed her panic to. "When are you leaving?" she finally mumbled.
"I'm afraid right now. I'm sorry, Angela. I'll be back before you know it." The moments after that were a blur. The next thing she knew, he was gone, and she was alone in her house. Alone with her testing equipment.
She made her way back to her bedroom and laid face down on her bed, covering her head with her pillow, as if trying to block out the sounds of her own thoughts. She didn't want to think about it - about being alone. Not now, not ever.
It had been a while since Genji had been back to Japan. Near the beginning of his journey to find himself he stopped for a quick visit, but it was only been a few days before the familiarity of it all had made him angry. He hadn't been back since then, especially considering how he couldn't seem to leave Angela alone nowadays without something going wrong. He was genuinely concerned for her; she had seemed to be making so much progress for a year until she suddenly became paranoid and terrified almost constantly. He was reluctant to leave her, but this was something he needed to do, if what he had heard concerning Hanzo was true.
In the past years, never once did he think that he would be back here on this very day, Children's Day. Nine years ago today his brother had tried to kill him. While the thought no longer made him mad, it still stung to consider. Nine years ago today his own flesh and blood had sliced him to pieces before calling upon ethereal guardians to burn him with blue fire, just to make sure the job was done. Nine years ago today he had watched as Hanzo, eyes dead and cold, demanded that his body be dumped on the street by two of their bodyguards. It made him shudder just thinking about it, and he could only pray that Hanzo had indeed changed over those nine years, just as he had.
The more he thought about it, as he waited for his brother to appear, the less he reviled he was at the thought. Because, after all, what his brother had done to him had led him to Angela. Her presence in his life was the greatest blessing he had ever had, far beyond anything he experienced before his "death." He had thought about these things before, but they never felt as real as they did right then. He was reminded of how grateful he was for what his brother did. That gratefulness was what led him to forgive Hanzo in the first place, after all. Things happened for a reason, even terrible things.
All that thinking was interrupted by the sound of metal softly hitting the pavement underneath him. Genji looked down onto the street below, and sure enough, there Hanzo was. He was running past the old ramen noodle shop they used to eat at all the time as kids, the one with the Children's Day flag flying outside it, and towards the gate of Hanamura Castle.
Genji could have dropped down from his perch and stopped Hanzo there. But he was too curious for his own good. His sources had led him to believe that Hanzo had come here once a year on this day for his own personal reasons, and Genji was curious to see what exactly he did. He had plenty of theories, sure, most of them having to do with himself. He knew Hanzo wouldn't be reappearing on the day of his brother's "death" for no reason in particular. So instead of stopping Hanzo, he simply followed him, quietly padding across the rooftops as he did so.
The first thing that stuck out to him was how many guards there were. Surely they did not keep this many guards on a day to day basis; after he and Angela had taken down the Shimada crime syndicate, the clan had lost almost all of their power and wealth, as well as most of their important members and elders. They were also very closely monitored by the Japanese government, though that might have relaxed some after Overwatch fell apart. This many guards daily would stretch their tight budget impossibly. No, there were probably more today than normal, and he could guess easily as to why.
Even with all of the guards, his brother hardly seemed fazed. It shocked Genji to see just how accurate Hanzo was with a bow. It also turned his stomach a bit to realize that the only guard his brother had killed had been an omnic. While Genji had no place in his heart for anyone associated with the Shimada clan, it still did not mean that he liked seeing an omnic die while the humans had simply been incapacitated. It also didn't bode well for a conversation with his brother later.
After clearing the courtyard, Hanzo made his way to the main building of the castle. Of course, Genji followed, sticking to the rooftops of the buildings and eventually the rafters once they were inside the main room. He hadn't been here in quite a while, and it surprised him greatly to see the shrine constructed in his honor still standing. There was the sword that had killed him, along with the banner splattered with the blood of the two brothers - although it was worth noting that there was significantly more of his blood on the wretched thing than there was Hanzo's. Indeed, this was where Genji Shimada was supposed to have died. Flashbacks of that day and the pain that had accompanied it made him slightly nauseous, but luckily he was too preoccupied to think deeply on the subject.
Hanzo set his weapon down and kneeled on the ground in front of the small shrine. He appeared to be putting some sort of incense down in front of him. His brother was honoring him, it seemed. Though he hadn't known the details, Genji hadn't expected any different. In fact, he had figured this would be the most likely outcome, considering the unlikeliness of Hanzo coming here every year for any reason other than him. But the sight of it actually happening, when the last image of Hanzo in his head was those cold, dead, unforgiving eyes that had willed his death, shocked him all the same.
He didn't have too much time to think about it, though; Hanzo finally said something. "You are not the first assassin sent to kill me. And you will not be the last." Genji was slightly surprised that he had been noticed at all. It wasn't every day that someone saw him when he was attempting to stay stealthy.
Figuring there was no point in remaining hidden anymore, Genji fell down to the ground near-silently. So Hanzo thought he was an assassin, huh? Might as well play along with it somewhat, at least for now. It would probably be fun. "You are bold to come to Shimada castle, the den of your enemies." He felt clever for that statement. He hadn't given any confirmation that he was an assassin, because he certainly wasn't, but he had also prompted more information from his brother.
"This was once my home. Did your masters not tell you who I was?" With that, Hanzo grabbed for his bow and shot at him. With so much time to watch for the shot, Genji easily leaned out of the way. He had hoped his brother's first reaction would be to talk, not to fight. He should have known that some things never change.
Even with everything going on, that statement nearly pulled a chuckle out of him. He needed no one to tell him who Hanzo was. He knew that already. What was much more interesting was who he was now. And Genji was pretty sure he knew that, too. Who he was couldn't be less important, if who he was had changed. "I know who you are, Hanzo." Another easily dodged arrow flew his way, Hanzo clearly frustrated. This was actually quite a fun game to play, teasing the truth and wondering if his brother would realize what it all really meant. "I know you come here every year on the same day."
This time he had to duck behind a lantern to dodge the three arrows that flew at him. Hanzo was clearly a better shot the more frustrated he was. "You risk so much to honor someone you murdered." Genji knew he should probably go out and say who he was at this point; this charade would probably only make Hanzo have a worse reaction to the news when he received it. But it was too fun to taunt the person who had once destroyed him in battle and to watch him miss his shots.
Thus, he peeked out from behind the lantern, aiming three shuriken for the quiver on Hanzo's back. All three connected, each taking off the feathers of a single arrow, which was exactly what he had hoped for. The fight would end when his brother ran out of arrows, so this would simply quicken it.
Hanzo seemed genuinely pissed now. "You know nothing of what happened!" Another arrow flew Genji's way. He brought up his sword and let it bounce off, but the force was actually enough to knock him back through the lantern he had hidden behind moments before. The next arrow Hanzo shot was much different than the others; it splintered into tens of tiny arrows, each with what seemed to be barbed ends, which bounced off of the walls, attempting to find a target to latch onto. Genji deflected what he could and dodged the rest, quickly making his way onto the balcony outside. He didn't find the idea of facing more of those arrows to be appealing, and they wouldn't be as easy to use in an open space.
His brother followed, though he could only do so much compared to Genji's lightning fast movements. Genji even had time to scale the wall and sit in the rafters once again, causing Hanzo some confusion. He wondered if it would be easy to mess with him like this. "I know you tell yourself that your brother disobeyed the clan…" he called down from the rafters on one side of the balcony. Hanzo turned quickly and immediately shot where he thought Genji would be, but the cyborg was long gone, and the arrow lodged itself in the wall. He fell down from the rafters behind Hanzo, "…and that you had to kill him to maintain order- that it was your duty." Now came the moment of truth. He had just challenged what Hanzo had done, challenged the decisions that he had made. So had he changed his mind? Did he see it as a duty now, instead of a choice? Because, contrary to what anyone would have said, it had been a choice at the time. Hanzo had chosen to kill him, and while the elders had encouraged him to do it, they had not forced him to – that was no duty. It was likely, if he felt guilt over what he had done, his brain would convince him that he hadn't made a choice. That he had no say, because it was his duty.
"It was my duty and my burden," Genji smiled slightly under his mask- there it was. While his brother might not have realized it, he had just confessed his guilt. Another arrow flew Genji's way, again easily deflected, making a dull noise as it sunk into the wooden floor. His brother had a flair for dramatics, especially pulling arrows out of his quiver slowly, which made it painfully simple for Genji to predict every shot. "But that does not mean I do not honor him!" Hanzo once again drew back the bow slowly before letting the arrow fly. Genji smirked; his brother's dramatics would one day be his undoing, especially against an opponent that actually wanted to harm him. Hell, he could be dramatic too, if he wanted. His smirk increased as he flipped the blade around in his hand and sliced it clean through the arrow, which landed in two perfect halves on the ground.
Hanzo looked at Genji in shock for a brief second, as if he forgot where he was and what he was doing. A jolt of pride surged through the cyborg. That was the same look that he had always wanted Hanzo to give to him as a kid. That look of surprise at something done well, done better than even Hanzo could do. Genji had only seen that look a couple times before. The one that stuck out in his mind was one day when his father had been teaching Genji how to control his guardian spirit – his ethereal dragon. While Hanzo had always, for some reason, had two dragons instead of the one Genji had, which made him inherently more powerful, Genji had always had a better relationship and control over his own guardian. Hanzo had given him that same look the day he had accidentally walked into one of Genji's training sessions, only to see him controlling the dragon to wrap around his sword. Hanzo's eyes had gone slightly wide and bulging, just long enough for Genji to see, and his mouth had dropped open. Compared to how uptight his brother normally was around their father, it was like Genji had witnessed a whole new person that day. It had only taken a second before young Hanzo regained control over his emotions once again and started complaining about how his dragons couldn't do that, but the moment couldn't be erased. Genji had kept it lodged in his head for years, and it made him smile as he now fought with his brother, who was still just as easily angered and as hard to impress.
After running out of arrows, Hanzo resorted to swinging his bow at Genji like a club. It was no question that Genji would eventually beat him, and it came as no surprise to either of them when that inevitability arrived; it was satisfying, hovering over Hanzo as he laid on the ground, using his bow to try to push Genji's blade away from his neck. Genji still had no intent to hurt him; if he had, his sword would have been clean through Hanzo's neck already. But this was a perfect time to explain to his brother that he could use a new set of ideals. "You think you honor your brother Genji with incense offerings? Honor resides in ones actions." That statement meant so much to Genji, so far beyond the surface value of what it appeared. In part, it was a criticism of how Hanzo had treated the situation. Incense offerings weren't going to just fix what he had broken so many years ago. But there was more to it than just that; by coming here in the first place, fighting to get to the spot where he "killed" his brother, he had shown by his actions that he really did care. He had left the clan, which were essentially his only remaining family, become their enemies, and still he made an effort to honor Genji every year. That was the honorable part, and while he could still do more, he had already done enough to make Genji forgive him completely.
However, Hanzo didn't seem too happy about the statement that Genji found so clever. In fact, he looked angrier than he had been so far. "You dare to lecture me about honor? You are not worthy to say his name!" With that, he pushed Genji off of himself, sending the cyborg flying to the other end of the porch and ran to grab the arrow that had lodged itself in the ground.
Hanzo arched an eyebrow, drawing back his bow as he looked at the now hunched over cyborg. He was probably sure that he had his enemy defeated. After all, not many people would expect what was coming next. Genji, however, was not just any person. With a loud shout of "Ryū ga waga teki wo kurau," he let the arrow fly, sending it along with two blue celestial guardian dragons.
Genji had anticipated that this might happen, but he had hoped it would not, since it would make him use his own dragon. Genji hadn't used his own guardian spirit for combat since the last time the two of them had fought. The dragon had almost broken free of its own will the day that Angela had nearly died on a field mission, but that was entirely an accident. For a while, he had been ashamed of the power. The dragon was another thing that connected him to his old life, and he had once hated it. Zenyatta had finally taught him to accept the creature, since it was an integral part of him, literally created out of a piece of his soul, but since that point he had not needed to use it in combat.
However, he had to do what he had to do. Plus, it would be great to see the look on Hanzo's face when he did. He called upon his dragon. "Ryūjin no ken wo kurae!" The glowing green beast wrapped around his now drawn sword and roared proudly, seemingly thankful to be truly back for the first time in nine years. Genji concentrated, calling upon his greater communication with the dragons to direct the three of them back towards Hanzo. He saw his brother's eyes widen and mouth drop in shock as the creatures hurled back in his direction. They wouldn't physically harm him – Genji had made sure of that. They would only hurt those that were the foes of the one controlling them. No, they just drained Hanzo's energy, causing him to fall to his knees in exhaustion and shock.
"Only a Shimada can control the dragons. Who are you?" Genji's eyebrows lifted from underneath his mask. That statement was highly inaccurate. Not just any Shimada had a dragon guardian; it was a gift that was bestowed on their direct family alone, and even then it was only certain children. Their father had been the only one out of four siblings that had been given a dragon. Thus, even though their father was the youngest, he had inherited the clan. Not only that, but dragon spirits were unique to each person. A dragon was actually a part of your soul, and therefore could never belong to or be completely controlled by another person.
Hanzo knew who he was. The signature of Genji's dragon was unique to him alone. The archer just didn't want to believe it – couldn't even think that the reality of the situation would even be an option.
Genji could have just told Hanzo then, but he knew he needed to do one more thing. He needed to show Hanzo that he had never had the intent to hurt him in the first place. All of this had started because Hanzo had assumed he was an assassin, after all. He needed to show Hanzo that he had been in complete control of the entire situation and still had never done Hanzo any harm. He wasn't sure why, but that message felt important.
With that in mind, he was next to Hanzo in a flash of green and silver, blade resting gently next to his throat. Hanzo seemed shocked for a small moment before the look in his eyes turned resigned, peaceful, and almost hopeful. A flash of realization caused Genji to understand that his brother could want to die. That thought made his stomach churn.
"Do it then. Kill me." Hanzo finally muttered, his voice displaying a defiance that was opposite to what Genji had already seen in his eyes.
The cyborg gave a small smile beneath his mask before lowering the blade. "No, I will not grant you the death you wish for. You still have a purpose in this life, brother."
The shock on Hanzo's face was worth every second of this trip to Japan. "No. How? My brother is dead." The archer turned to face Genji, staring at him warily – but hopefully.
Genji smiled kindly under his mask before reaching back behind his head and clicking it off. The cold wind bit against his skin, but it was nothing that he wasn't used to after almost always being in the freezer that was Angela's home. Hanzo's eyes widened even further as his brain tried to understand what it had known deep down since the dragon appeared. "Genji…" the word was spoken softly, as close to a whisper as he had ever known Hanzo to get. His brother had never been the type of person to show much emotion aside from anger or pride. If Genji could get this much emotion out of him, he could walk away proud.
Hanzo looked at him for another second before looking towards the ground, guilt clouding his eyes. "What have you… become?" The last word was spoken not without large amounts of disdain.
Genji sighed inwardly and put the mask back on. "I have accepted what I am, and I have forgiven you." He walked towards his brother and put a hand on Hanzo's shoulder. "Now you must forgive yourself. The world is changing once again Hanzo, and it's time to pick a side." Part of him would have liked to stay and talk to Hanzo more, but the flair for dramatics did slightly run in the family.
With that, he jumped off of the balcony onto a nearby rooftop, looking back to see Hanzo drawing his bow once again at him, angry once more. That seemed to be his default emotion, nowadays. "Real life is not like the stories our father told us. You are a fool for believing it so!"
Genji rolled his eyes under his mask. He knew Hanzo didn't mean it; there was no way on earth that the archer would shoot that arrow. He was simply scared and confused, and his default reaction to any strong emotion had always been anger. "Perhaps I am a fool, to think there is still hope for you. But I do. Think on that, brother." And with that, Genji disappeared into the night, leaving his brother alone in the dark. Hanzo probably had plenty to think about, after all. He likely could use some time alone.
Tomorrow, he would get his contact to give Hanzo information on how to reach him and Angela if he ever wanted to. All Genji had wanted was to let Hanzo know that he was forgiven, and he had accomplished that. Anything else he left for the archer to decide.
Meanwhile, back in Switzerland, Angela's past few days had not fared quite as well as Genji's had. She had been an uncontrollable, sobbing mess the entire time that he was gone, and with good reason.
There had been some tests that she had needed to do to ensure that her machine was working perfectly. However, if they were to happen, they'd probably take a while to recover from, and if Genji was around during that time he would likely find out what had been going on. So if she was going to do the tests, she would have to do them now, while he was gone.
And she didn't want to do it. God, she didn't want to. Everything that had been going on in the past year was so against everything she stood for and everything she wanted that it tore her apart. But it was also a necessary step in making sure her machine would actually do what it was supposed to, and she was the only test subject that she had. This whole thing would be so much easier if she had subjects with preexisting scars or injuries that she could test it on, but then she also ran the risk of someone having part of their arm that didn't age with the rest of them. No, she really was the only one this would work with.
But that thought didn't help much when she was sitting in her basement, her largest and sharpest kitchen knife in hand. That didn't stop her hands and knees from shaking uncontrollably as she tested all of the dials on the machine to ensure that it was ready to be activated immediately should the need arise.
"This is by far the stupidest thing I have ever even considered doing," the doctor thought aloud blandly as tears continued to spill over her cheeks. "I'm actually bloody insane. I've completely gone off of the deep end." She set the knife down and cradled her head in her hands. She felt completely nauseous, which likely wasn't the best conditions to be experimenting in, but she was determined to either do something now or never touch these tests again.
"Okay, Angela, let's weigh the pros and cons, okay? You love lists, so let's make a list. Pros: if you do this now, you will know if the machine will replace any cells with nanobiotic ones, and all that is left is a little bit more of testing; you'll never have to hurt yourself again, ever – this will be the last time, no matter what; you know you can't test this in smaller steps unless you want to drive yourself insane, so this is the best way; you've already tested this on rats, and it works, so it should work on humans."
She took a deep breath, trying to calm the wobble in her voice before continuing. "Cons: if the machine, for whatever reason, doesn't work, you'll be seriously crippled until you can fix it; Genji could find out; it's going to hurt like hell, even with chemicals to numb it."
She looked up from her hands and back to where the machine was humming gently on the table, ready to be activated. "So, Angela Ziegler, do you want to do it?" she whispered softly, looking back to the knife glimmering evilly on the table. She picked the wicked thing up warily and her stomach churned at the very thought, but she knew what her answer was. She couldn't live alone for eternity, and this was the only way she had been able to come up with to avoid that outcome.
"Do I want to? No. But I will," she muttered with a resigned sigh. Her left arm was already as numb as she could manage to get it in anticipation of this happening, so all that was left was to do it.
Half of her wanted to close her eyes, just so that she didn't have to look at it happening. But she knew how stupid that idea would be. She gulped down the bile rising in her throat before laying her left arm down on the table. She lined the knife up with the back of her wrist, where the top of her hand connected with her arm, before pulling back and swinging.
The scream that torn through her throat shook her entire body, especially since the knife didn't cut all the way through, so she had to do it again. She was shaking and crying, and while everything was blurry, one thing was very, very clear: her left hand was no longer attached to her body.
She dropped the knife in a panic and fumbled with the controls on the machine, desperately looking for the button to turn it on. Everything was a blur and the vision at the corners of her eyes was going dark, but she had to find that button. If she didn't, she would bleed out. That idea let her muddle through the pain for long enough to find the button, turn it on, and jam her arm inside.
Once she had done that successfully, she let herself break down. She was still screaming and crying, choking to get more air as she sobbed relentlessly. Nothing in the world could have prepared her for that kind of pain, and the fact that she had done it to herself made it even worse.
She completely lost it when she caught sight of the hand that she had just cut off, sitting in a pool of blood on the table. The bile that had been threatening to escape the entire time finally found its way out, and she threw up all over herself and the floor, still crying and finding it very hard to breathe. It scared her that there was still a very real possibility that she might pass out. She had to keep her arm in the machine unless she really wanted something to go terribly wrong, and she wasn't sure that it would stay there if she passed out. As much as she wanted to make the pain go away by not being conscious for it, she knew that she had to be.
Her sobbing was now practically causing her to choke, and her throat burned after every desperate attempt to take a deep breath. Small chunks of her hair kept getting caught in the corners of her mouth, causing her to splutter even more. Eventually she laid her good arm out on a relatively clean spot on the table and rested her head on it, staring at the cold metal in front of her face. The real pain from what she had done had stopped minutes ago. What was left was only the trauma that she had been through and the ghost of pain that wasn't even there. Not only did every inch of her ache from a pain that reasonably shouldn't have existed, but the thoughts that ran through her head were as painful as anything else. What would Genji think if he found out what she had done? What she had been doing this entire time? She knew he probably wouldn't be upset with her, but with himself. He'd think that somehow he had failed her, when in reality everything she had done had been of her own free will.
"I'm such a damn fool." She muttered as her eyes closed tightly, more hot tears leaking out of them. "There had to have been a better way and I was too stupid to think of it."
It was certainly true. There most definitely was a better way to do this, but the issue still lied with her resources and her secrecy. If she wanted to do something this drastic, no matter what way she did it, it most certainly would have taken her multiple days to recover, and Genji would notice something like that. There would be no way for her to keep the experiments a secret. And she was still the only possible test subject for things like this with her limited resources, so it wasn't as if she could operate on someone else without the cyborg noticing. Her only chance to do an experiment like this was when he was gone for an extended period of time, and that chance had jumped her before she was ready to take advantage of it. That was all she could think of for a while, beating herself up over doing something so rash and stupid without thinking through it properly (despite the fact that she really had given it plenty of thought).
The hour that followed as her machine carried out its programming was utterly grueling. None of the thoughts that coursed through the doctor's head were pleasant ones, despite how hard she was attempting to convince herself that it would all be worth it in the end. Not only that, but it felt like someone had just given her a serious beating, and occasionally she would get the urge to throw up again.
Needless to say, when she heard the machine alerting her that the procedure had finished, she practically ripped her arm out of the thing. All of that pain disappeared for a small moment, replaced by a sense of childlike wonder as she stared at the new, perfectly structured human hand in front of her. She held her hand in front of her face, curling her fingers into her palm as she stared at the alien thing. It looked identical to the one that she had lost. Of course, that had been the plan. Every doctor's office nowadays was equipped with a full body scan that archived a patient's physical wellbeing and all of their attributes, the purpose of which was to bring attention to any abnormalities existed in their health. She had simply gotten access to her most recent scan and input the information into her machine, allowing it to make a copy of her hand. But even knowing the science behind it didn't stop the curious scientist inside Angela to light up at what her experiment had done. This was it. With a few more tweaks, she would be able to replace any regular human tissue with nanobiotic cells. It would probably be a significantly longer procedure if the machine had to replace the cells instead of just creating them, but the theory was still there, and it stood perfectly in tact. She had done it.
More tears began to roll down her cheeks as she clutched her hand to her chest, except she wasn't upset this time. Pure, unadulterated relief shook through her as she held the brand new limb as close to herself as possible. She could hardly imagine what might have happened had her experiment not worked. Despite what she had been through for the past hour, that was more than enough to be thankful for – that she still had a working hand.
She found herself crawling away from the table that she had been sitting at towards a corner of her lab, curling into as small of a ball as she could, and just crying. It was simply the only reaction that she could muster after what she had been through – more tears. All Angela could really do was be thankful that it was all finally over, and that soon she would never have to do any sort of experiment like this ever again.
Did I just write the Dragons short in the viewpoint of Genji? You betcha I did. I've overanalyzed the crap out of that short, you have no idea. I didn't even need to look up the dialogue because I've watched it so many times. I just think it's super interesting that if you go back and look at what Genji actually did, none of it went against what his reveal ended up being. It's ALL in character, and a lot of times writers will try to make a surprise reveal more surprising by making their character different from the beginning to the end. But everything he does can be explained logically, as well as everything he says, and I LOVE it.
Also, we're starting to get into good territory, believe you me. I've got some nice stuff planned up ahead, so ready yourselves ;D It ain't all doom and gloom up in here, I swear. I like happy stories. There is sufficient cuteness in store.