His men had their orders, leaving Hanzo with little to do but wait. That is not to say that his time went wasted. In the days he waited other business was taken care of under his guidance. Debts were collected, several meetings took place, and plenty of time was spared for practice and meditation. Hanzo had all of this done while suppressing his ever growing displeasure with the Shimada clan elders. Hanzo was now the head of the clan after the death of his father, and his father he most certainly was not. He refused to run his clan under the same overly strict methods that had led to his brothers disgrace and near death. Those same methods that had forced his hand to shed his brother's blood. Never again would a direct relative be forced to end their own blood. Hanzo would not allow anyone else to carry the burden that weighed his chest, elders wishes be d*mned. There was much to be done on this front however, and it would take great time and subtlety to do so without losing his own neck. Until that day came, Hanzo had little to do but try to regain the honor of his falling clan and wait for his men to arrive with his prize.
Pushing the thoughts from his mind, Hanzo made his way to the range. Practice had always helped him to relax and to bond further with his dragons. Stepping into the open clearing he allowed himself a moment to simply enjoy the feeling of the sunlight on his skin and the gentle tugging of the wind in his hair. The moment quickly ended when he shifted his stance. An arrow was pulled from his quiver and the bowstring was pulled back. Hanzo allowed his eyes to drift slightly to the trees, watching the mostly bare branches dance in the wind. The sakura would bloom soon but not yet. Smoothly shifting his gaze back to his target Hanzo released a breath he had been holding, the arrow imbedding itself in the center of the target before he managed to inhale again. The entire process, taking less than a second, was repeated several times until nearly every target on the premise held at least three arrows clustered in the center. He refrained from splitting arrows, as it was a gross waste of resources. An act he refused to delve into without proper reason. Notching another arrow he wasted little time in pulling the string back, only for his attention to be snatched by a gentle knocking. When he turned he was met with one of the house servants. The elder daughter of a smaller branch of the family, a beautiful and loyal young woman at the age of sixteen.
"Shimada-sama, the team has returned. They have successfully acquired your guest and are waiting to meet with you." She reported, eyes cast downward at his feet as her rank required.
"Thank you, Izumi-chan." He responded, gently replacing the bowstring to its original position and placing the arrow back into the quiver. "Have someone gather my arrows." he ordered before striding from the courtyard. He had a guest to greet after all.
When Hanzo arrived at the exterior courtyard he was immediately frustrated to find only three of the five men he had sent standing at the ready. His annoyance only grew with the lacking presence of the objective of their mission.
"I certainly hope you have an explanation for your lacking numbers, and perhaps an even better explanation for your lacking objective." His men immediately reacted, straightening and glancing amongst themselves as if electing the poor lad to speak. After a moment one of them spoke up.
"The others are, uh, still in the car. The target was still asleep upon our arrival…" He trailed off, wincing slightly at his words.
"I said minimal harm," Hanzo growled, "yet they are still unconscious? Are you incapable of restraint?"
"You misunderstand!" another spoke up quickly. "They are just taking a nap, of free will. After we separated her from their base of operations and insured she were shut off from contact they became rather compliant…" Hanzo raised an eyebrow at the man's words as he stepped past them, moving the conversation closer to the vehicles.
"Compliant? You mean to tell me that the woman I ordered you to kidnap became...compliant?" Doubt dripped from his tone. All three of the men nodded, matching his speed.
"They even cleaned and bandaged Shu's leg when he failed to clean it properly. Admittedly they are also the one who gave him the injury." This managed to grab the Shimada Lord's attention.
"Just how strongly did she resist? In the beginning, that is." This brought a flinch from the three.
"We were certainly not expecting someone of her nature to put up quite that much of a fight." One finally admitted before stepping past Hanzo to open the car door. Within, leaning on a man who was poorly acting disgruntled, was one Dr. Angela Ziegler, fast asleep.
"I expect you all to debrief me later on exactly what happened." Hanzo's eyes darted to the front seat, where the man identified as Shu sat. "For now wake her. I wish to speak to the woman that would not allow my brother to die." With that he stepped back, moving to a sitting area within the courtyard. Three curved benches sat in an arch surrounded by not-yet blooming trees. A beautiful location to sit in the spring and summer, as well as a disarming setting for greeting guests. Both of the voluntary and involuntary sorts.
He watched from a distance as his guest was woken, taking note as she stepped out of the vehicle that she was shorter than he had predicted. The simple pale blue kimono he had sent with them for her to wear dragging the ground as she was directed to him. To his surprise she spoke quietly with his men on the way over to him, too soft for him to hear the topic. When she finally came to stand in front of him Hanzo stood before giving a shallow bow in greeting.
"I welcome you to the Shimada Clan. I am the current head of the family, Shimada Hanzo." She returned with a deeper bow, not enough to show true respect to his rank, but just enough to admit his current superiority, gaining her an appraising expression.
"I find it hard to believe that you do not know my name, so I will not waste my breath." She was clearly displeased, Hanzo noted the way her voice sounded. It was different from the recordings he had watched, as the real thing often is. "So you do have some knowledge of our customs. I am impressed. It will help you here."
"Help me here?" She mused, He could tell she was still shaking off the last remains of sleep. "Might I be so bold as to wonder why my presence was requested in such an alarming fashion?" Though he did not show it, Hanzo was startled by just how quickly her voice shifted into something razor sharp. He held her gaze, blue suddenly seemed less like sky and more like sharpened diamond.
"Please, sit." He gestured to the bench behind her. "Allow me to explain why I had you brought to me. I am confident you know a little of it though." He grinned at her, somewhat reveling in the narrowing of her eyes as she glared at him, sitting nonetheless.
"I refuse to answer anything on Genji's past or current condition to the man who caused him so much pain." She stated tensely, glinting diamonds aiming to pierce.
"Your preferences matter little to me." He answered back. "Nor is my wayward brother the only reason I had for your arrival." He paused for a moment to observe her. He remained impressed with how she held herself, seemingly easily confident despite knowing she was currently surrounded by trained assassins and criminals. He could see it though, the unease, the fear. He saw it in the subtle shifting of her fingers on the bench, in the way her lips quivered before she spoke. The doctor was terrified, and rightfully so. He wanted to take her apart and reassemble her as she had done his brother. He would also deny her death, and then he planned to have that brilliant mind of hers used to bring the Shimada name back into greatness.
"You made yourself known, you gathered attention, and then you messed with the Shimada blood. That cannot go unpunished. However, you have also done so much for the world and can do so much more. It would be a waste to kill you, so I have decided that rather than have you as an enemy I would take you as a friend." His words earned a tense laugh from the woman.
"I think we have very different definitions of friends, Herr Shimada." She mused, exhaustion from earlier growing clearer as she truly grasped her current situation. "Is my greeting complete? I think I would like some time to adjust to what is likely to be my new home, at least for a little while." Hanzo lifted an eyebrow at the sudden shift in the doctor's mood and mannerisms. It appeared as though she had reached her limit for the day.
"I had hoped to speak with you awhile longer, but if you are insistent I can have you taken to your room." As he spoke, Hanzo watched Angela. He noted how her eyes creased slightly, the way she worked her jaw. She crossed her legs within the kimono and her wrist in her lap. The doctor was losing her confidence rapidly. She would grow defensive and harder to work with as time went on, this much Hanzo was sure of. The doctor was an amazing and powerful woman, but right now she was tired, alone, and scared. All of these things Hanzo could work with if he were careful, and the best step right now was to keep her cooperative. With these thoughts in mind, he motioned to one of the girls watching from the other end of the garden.
"Take Miss Ziegler to the room I had prepared." He ordered once she had approached. She nodded and bowed low before coaxing the Swiss woman to stand. As Hanzo was watching them leave he was surprised to see Angela stop and turn to him for just a moment.
"Assuming you have done your research," she met his eyes, the diamonds had returned, glinting with calm he knew she didn't feel. "You should be thankful your brother is still alive." A pause, a flash of something akin to agony through cold mineral lenses. "If the situation had been reversed it might have been you on my table. Shimada blood may be on my hands, but I will not be guilted for saving a life." Having said her piece, Angela turned and followed the now shocked serving girl out of the gardens leaving Hanzo to mull over her words. He watched her leave thoughtfully, one hand touching his covered shoulder where a massive scar sat. A final gift from his brother, hidden from the world.