Hanzo returns to the land of the living slowly, a welcome change to his usual sudden awakening from his dreams. He rolls over and his calm awakening is short lived as he opens his eyes only to have them stabbed by sun beams- seems he's not allowed to be content for too long. He scans the room, everything's in its normal place so that's all good. As he lays his eyes on the make shift pen in the corner a spike of panic shoots through his gut as he notices that the puppy hasn't moved all night.
Jumping from the bed he skids to a halt on his knees next to the nest and notices the gently rise of fall of her chest, he only fully relaxes once he's nudged her and her little paw twitches in response. Yesterday must've been more tiring for her than it was for him, she didn't physically do anything but being lugged around in a bag and then suddenly being fed by a stranger would've been mentally exhausting- poor thing. Hanzo's always had a soft spot for dogs he just didn't let anyone know, couldn't let anybody know (caring for a "useless creature" was seen as a weakness by the clan and mostly importantly his father). He thought his secret love for animals of the canine variety was well hidden... until it's wasn't, he didn't know how Sojiro found out about his weakness for them (probably because he cooed at every dog that walked by the window during a meeting) and he voiced his displeasure at dinner one night after Genji had left the table. He remembers it so clearly, like it was yesterday.
The three of them had finished their meals and waited as the servants collected their plates, the only noise that could be heard was the impatient tapping of Genji's foot.
"You may leave us, Genji" came the voice of his father, a small "yes!" came from his brother as he bounded away, a small smile on Sojiro's face was present as he watched his youngest son. He then turned his attention to his heir, smile disappearing, "you must stop this weakness", Hanzo said nothing, just kept his head down allowing his hair to fall in front of his eyes.
"Look at me" so Hanzo did, he looked him dead in the eye "good, now we need to bring this weakness into the limelight" neither of their gazes wavered.
"I am sorry, father. It will not happen again" he hoped that would be the end of it but luck was not on his side.
"Oh but it will, and we both know it" Hanzo looked away "we will have to deal with this as the council have begun to notice your wandering mind but I have not decided how yet. Give me time and I will have a solution" he stated. He sat there obviously waiting for a response.
"Thank you, father" seemingly satisfied he nodded and dismissed him fro the table. He only let his tears fall freely once he was locked behind his bedroom door.
An obnoxiously loud yawn broke Hanzo from his memories and he realised he had unconsciously started to rub the pup's chin. Now she's just blinking owlishly at him whilst licking her lips- he comes to the conclusion that she must be hungry, she cant be blamed for that, its common sense that pups should be eating often to make sure they grow up big and strong.
He leaves the little pup forcing himself to ignore her pitiful whines as he digs around in the mini fridge for the goats milk and begins to mentally make a plan for the day ahead.
Priority one- feed pup (already working on it) and take her outside, two- get himself sorted (by that he means change his clothes and brush his teeth nothing special) and finally journey to the nearest shop and stock up on enough proper puppy food to last him until the next town over when their paths will take separate paths. It'll be the most he's done in twenty-four hours in a while.
He places the shallow bowl of milk by the pup and watches in amusement as she rams her snout enthusiastically into her breakfast so she gets a splash of milk on her forehead.
"Take it easy, little one" he surprises himself with how gentle his voice sounds and puppy momentarily stops her meal to peer up at him before returning to it- he smirks as he watches her quickly lap at the milk (an improvement that he'll take).
He gets up and stretches as he makes his way to the bathroom, leaving the door open allowing him a clear line of sight to the hungry pup. He quickly brushes his teeth and combs his hair, noticing it's developed an unwanted kink in it over night, hair up it is today then. He's washing his face when he hears a light thud and he looks up quickly (wary of intruders) to see that the pup has managed to get her head under the bowl and has flicked it upside down only to start batting it with her tiny paw whilst yapping- he imagines she's demanding more milk and threatening the bowl, the thought brings a small smile to his face. She'll get her next feed once he's been to a shop.
After leaving the bathroom he moves over to his duffel whilst keeping one eye one the pup as she batters the bowl like it owes her money. Hanzo quickly decides to strip of his jacket and boots before replacing his top for a cosy blue hooded jumper and swapping his socks for clean ones- he will have to make a trip to a washing machine soon or he'll run out of clothes.
Pulling his boots and jacket back on he scoops the pup up, huffing out a laugh as she instantly snuggles under his jacket against his chest as he carries her outside to the grassy plot around the back of the motel. It doesn't take her long to sort herself (she must've been bursting- he's honestly shocked she didn't spoil her blanket) and as she returns to his feet he scratches behind her ears, she obviously likes that, and carries her back up to the room.
Now, time to decide what to do with her whilst he's going to the shop.
He plops her down on the bed and sits on the edge of the bed, torso twisted so he can watch her trip over her own feet. She fumbles and wriggles, squeaking and yapping as she goes, she turns her head to look at him she begins to stumble towards him until she head butts his thigh. Hanzo can't help but chuckle as he begins to scratch her back with blunt, bitten nails. A new fire seems to light in her eyes as she begins to climb his leg looking like a child trying to clamber up a boulder, eventually he takes pity on her and cups his hand by her tail and pushes her up to the top of his leg.
She stands there for a second... before promptly falling face first into his jumper's pocket and worms her way in, its a snug fit but one she seems content with. It also gives her a place to stay whilst he shops- perfect!
He grabs his wallet and phone, sets his bags by the door, places the cotton wool ball on the windowsill and finally leaves his room with a Malimois puppy in his hoodie pocket.
He's browsing the pet food isle when his pocket begins to wriggle, a sure sign someone's woken up from her nap. Glancing around he sees no one in his isle or the next one over so he pulls the edge of his pocket back to see two hazel eyes peering up at him.
"What are you doing down there?" He asks the baby in his pocket, a new feeling blooming in his chest as she butts her head to his hand- she wants scratching. He puts a hand into his pocket and begins to scratch along her back feeling her muscles relax under his palm. The wriggling stops.
When he finally gets to the check out he feels like he's in a trance as he places the items onto the conveyer belt and waits to be served. Every now and then he will feel pup twitch against his hand but apart from that she' been in a deep sleep since he started rubbing her spine, he knows babies grow when they sleep so if she keeps sleeping as much as she is she'll be the size of a Great Dane in no time. Hanzo can vaguely remember the size of the Malis the clan used to have, they were big (pretty much as tall as an Alsatian) but slim which gave them the illusion of slightness. Either way she will grow to be an impressive dog.
"Um ... Meneer?" He blinks a couple of times before focusing on the cashier, a petite woman with wide doe like eyes.
"Yes? Sorry, um hoeveel?" Thank god he knows some Dutch.
It's just past noon when he gets back to the motel and he places pup o the floor before moving to empty his pathetic excuse for a shopping haul into his duffel bag/ mini fridge. He places the little jug of goats milk into the fridge, the cans of puppy food and other snacks are deposited into what little space he has left in his duffel. He turns to face puppy (who's sat there staring at him like a little angel) with a surprise behind his back.
He moves to sit on the floor before pulling out pup's surprise- a small tugging toy. Her head tilts in confusion so Hanzo helps her a little by moving in along the floor in short, erratic bursts- like a rabbit. Suddenly she pounces and chases the tugging around the floor, and by chases he means she tries to bat at it with tiny feet and over-exaggerated movements- it's absolutely adorable. Finally she clamps her needle teeth onto the tuggy and begins to pull back, digging her claws into the stained carpet beneath her. Then she shakes her head leaving Hanzo to let go of the toy and watches as she falls back onto her tail, that'll keep her entertained.
As she shoots away he rises and begins to properly organise his belongings for the journey to the next village over (and by organise he means tips his duffel bag out and repack). Sighing he begins his organising ritual.
Once his duffel bag is thoroughly packed he drags is cello case out into the centre of the room, flicks the switches and throws the lid open looking at his precious Stormbow and his traditional battle wear. Sighing he pulls his bow out and begins to polish his closest possession, listening to the light pitter patter of feet behind him.
Once his bow is shiny enough that Hanzo can see his homeless beard in all its glory in its reflection he places it back in the case along with the quiver and arrows. He goes to pull his battle gear out only to notice the obvious lack of a certain bright yellow ribbon, he looks everywhere- under the case, in all the pockets, in the bathroom and under the pillow, it cat be found.
Then he hears it- the subtle sound of huffing from under the bed. After he silently crawls over he takes the edge of the duvet in his hand before pulling it upwards- he can't help but burst out laughing at what greets him, the sight of a certain puppy wrapped in his ribbon like a Christmas present wrapped by a drunken uncle the night before. Hanzo laughs so hard he unconsciously rolls onto his back and clutches at his chest.
The sudden foreign noise coming from him causes puppy to lift her head and begin to wriggle her way over to him, his laughs are starting to die down when he feels her tiny head force (she's very strong for such a small creature) its way into the junction between his neck and his chest. He begins to unwrap the ribbon from her body- somehow she's got it tangled around both back feet, tail, chest and also around one ear... impressive. Once he's finally freed his ribbon from the clutches of the tiny furry dragon she scampers off to harass the strap of his duffel bag, at least she's entertained.
After tying the ribbon around his wrist he rises from the floor and moves to the bathroom. Once he's stood in front of the sink/mirror combo he finally notices how much his face aches, he raises a hand to his face to massage his cheek only to wonder has it really been that long since he's smiled? Quite possibly, there's not a lot to smile about these days.
He pokes his head out of the bathroom door to glance a the clock- an hour and a half until check out, so he decides to catch up on his beard maintenance.
He moves over to his bag to grab his razor (careful to prize the baby alligator away from his belongings), wanders back over to the sink and begins to trim his beard down to he preferred length.
Not too long later whilst he's washing his razor and cleaning up the sink he peers out into the main section of the room only to see pup fast asleep with the bag's strap still in her mouth- it seems she's fallen asleep mid-play, cute.
Once everything is packed away he sits on the bed, keeping pup in his line of sight, and pulls out his phone to look up the times of trains moving from the local train station over to the next village where the dog's home is located. He's presented with two options- one in ten minutes or one in an hour.
So his options are run like a mad man (with a puppy in his pocket) or wait outside the station for half an hour as he'll be kicked out of the room shortly- what great options he feels so blessed.
Obviously he picks the more relaxed option, he's not completely insane.
He's about to lie back and relax for two seconds when he realises he hasn't fed pup- shit! The elder Shimada jumps up and rummages through hhis bag, waking the baby up in the process. He chuckles at her yawning and stretching as he pours a bit of of the food into her milk bowl, it takes a couple of seconds for her nose to lock onto the smell but when she finds it it's like a piranha to a corpse (it's a little unnerving to say the least). She licks her lips once she's finished and Hanzo takes the bowl, washed it, reseals the puppy food packet and he's ready to go after he placed puppy back into her pocket sanctuary.
He steps out of his room only to realise with complete delight that it's raining again... perfect. So with a cello case on his back, a duffel on his shoulder and a puppy stuffed in his pocket he begins the march to the train station with as much enthusiasm as a cat bathing in the sun.
With a sudden horror he begins to feel a shocking cold chill run down his spine- great, his jackets got a tear somewhere. This will be a long soggy walk.
After what seems like forever the station comes into view, a quick glance at his watch tells him he has half an hour until his train so he seeks out shelter by the building's main entrance. He sets his case and bag against the bench and takes a seat, taking a moment to revel in the feeling of nothing pulling on his shoulders.
As if the pup's unconsciously sensing him resting he feels her head pop out of his jumper pouch, he peers over his jacket's collar to look at her as she stares at the rain splattering against the pavement in front of them. Above them Hanzo notices that the rain has begun to leak through the shitty patio roof they've taken shelter under and a few drops escape and land just to his left causing pup's head to whip around face the splash zone like its personally offended her.
Suddenly she launches herself out of her jumper cave and pounces on the splash (reminding the elder Shimada of a cat), he can't help but chuckle at her confused expression when she comes up empty pawed. She lets out an offended squeak when another droplet falls on her head wetting an ear, taking pity on her Hanzo scoops her up and rubs her head with his sleeve in an attempt to dry her before moving to put her back in his pocket- she's safest there.
Apparently she's decided she wants to gets soaking wet rather than sit in a nice warm pocket as she squeaks and flails her tiny limbs around just to exaggerate how much she doesn't want to be warm, what a drama queen.
Over the speaker near him a gruff voice announces his train is pulling into the station- that's his queue to get moving.
After grabbing his bag, cello case and wrapping puppy up in his jacket he moves around the back of the station. No don't be mistaken money isn't an issue to Hanzo, assassinations don't pay cheap but avoiding transportation hubs is quit high on his to-do lists (they have lots of cameras ok he isn't paranoid). So if sneaking in round back saves money, avoids cameras and avoids social interactions with random people, he's going to sneak round back.
After a quick walk around the building he comes to a chain link fence, very low tech but considering he hasn't seen even one omnic shows this village isn't really up-to-date with modern technology (not that he's going to complain about that). He quickly makes sure pup is secure with her head poking out from his collar, before vaulting over the fence in a hurried manner, landing with a quiet "thunk" and quickly spots his train waiting by the station.
The train's made up of two passenger carriages and three storage carriages- perfect considering he ideally doesn't want to sit next to anyone. Staying low to the floor he makes his way over to the train and silently skids to a stop by the large storage carriage door. The only sounds that can be heard is the humming of the over pads on the belly of the train and the chatter of the passengers waiting to board. He clasps his hand round the handle of the door and waits there patiently, his other hand absently scratching the pup's head making her eyelids droop.
After what feels like an eternity that gruff voice over the speaker returns and Hanzo drags the door open, the scraping of the metal drowned out by the announcement of the station's coffee shop opening which causes a stampede of sleep deprived passengers. He hops aboard and drags the door shut before hunkering down for the journey- two hours. It would only be ten minutes on a hyper train but this train is an ancient piece of shit and slowly chugs along and a painfully slow speed.
So he'll take a nap-he's nearly middle aged he's entitled.
As the train begins to move with a deafening screech pup pokes her head out from his collar are looks at him with her big hazel eyes and he scratches her tiny skull and watches her eyes close.
Not too long after that he feels her snuggle into his neck in his jacket, he does his best to ignore his wet spine, leans against a metal crate and closes his eyes before falling into an uneasy sleep.