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PoVs/Protagonists/Couples:
Hanzo (character belongs to Blizzard) x Ýri (OC)
Genji (character belongs to Blizzard) x Shizuka (OC)
WARNING: This story will be a very long one, full of dialogs, drama and violence as well as grammar mistakes because none of the authors is a native English speaker. And it is for mature audiences only!
Next up: chapter 1. Please enjoy!
[This chapter has been edited in September 2018]
Chapter 1: Light (Shizuka)
The cherry gardens in Hanamura castle truly were a masterpiece. Hundreds of trees in full bloom under the light of the crescent moon. Thousands of petals softly floating in the breeze and creating a soft pink carpet on the ground. It was a sight worthy of the finest poetry.
But Shizuka Akagi couldn't care less at the moment as she snuck her way between the trunks, her goal clear.
Almost there!, she thought. This is my only chance to investigate the main temple.
Another patrol passed by, forcing her to duck behind one of said trees and not breathe until their steps faded away again. It made the young priestess wish not for the first time that she was back in her small but comfortable quarters in Zurich.
Hopefully I will be home again soon. She missed all of them so much. Lena, Angela, Jesse, Reinhardt and of course her brother. If all went according to plan and she could finally find something worthwhile, this place would burn to the ground soon enough.
Shizuka made it to the edge of the gardens with the temple entrance only a few feet away. Since it was the main one, in which only the Shimada family and their most trusted nobles were allowed to enter, it was usually heavily guarded. For some reason that wasn't the case tonight. The mysterious death of the former clan leader and the resumption of the clan's business by his eldest son had put the criminal empire in a temporal state of chaos.
All the more reason to strike now, she thought. And what better way to do it then to break into the very heart of Shimada Castle?
Looks like this will enquire my best stealth skills nonetheless. A breeze rushed past, ruffling her long white hair. Irritated she brushed it back again, hoping that the guards hadn't spotted it in between all the pinkish petals.
It was now or never. She couldn't wait for another chance. With a deep breath she steeled herself and leapt.
One second. Two seconds.
And she was past. Shizuka took refuge behind a pillar, allowing her spirit and body to merge again. Carefully she peaked out, but it looked like the guards didn't notice a thing.
With a relieved sigh, she sacked against the pillar and waited for her heart to stop trying to jump out of her chest. Being raised as a priestess for almost all her life, undercover spy work was still quite new to her.
I really have to thank Gabe for the training. It paid off after all.
Shaking her head Shizuka willed her mind to get back on track. She had secret information and possible weak spots of a centuries old criminal organization to uncover!
So she snuck further into the temple, hoping that the two Shimada brothers would be too busy with reorganizing themselves to visit the temple.
The young priestess couldn't say how long exactly she had been searching now, but it had to be hours.
And I found. Absolutely. Nothing.
With a frustrated growl she threw the book – why would they even use something so antique in the first place – back onto the desk with the others. She had searched everywhere, even below the floorboards, but the most delicate information she had found had been of an adultery case from over two hundred years ago. As if it wasn't already common knowledge that Shimadas cheated on their poor Hikari wives every chance they got.
Her hands balled to fists as once again righteous anger seared through her. The misery in the eyes of the late Shimada lady, a woman who had been the closest thing to a mother Shizuka had ever known, still haunted her dreams.
Struggling to put the memories of blood stained snow and screams under lock and key again, she almost missed the noise coming from the entrance. Shizuka immediately halted.
Just my rotten bad luck!, she mentally cursed and frantically tried to find an escape route that wouldn't end in her dead body pierced with a Shimada blade. There was none. Left with no other choice, she hid behind a pillar in the entry hall, praying they wouldn't come that far in.
A dark voice thundered through the temple, freezing the blood within her veins. She would know that voice from anywhere. The Shimada heir, Hanzo. He was shouting at someone accompanying him, that much she was certain.
A thought struck her: Maybe I can get information that way. It was a reckless plan, but hopefully one that would work.
From her hiding spot, she couldn't see what was going on, but fortunately she had more than just her five senses to rely on. So she extended her spirit and almost sank to ground under the enormous rage assaulting her senses.
Slapping a hand over her mouth she just barely stopped the gasp from slipping out. Immediately she drew back her spirit. No-one in his right mind could harbor that much hatred and still stay sane.
The shouts grew louder and louder, until one word echoed through the hall.
»Brother!«
Wait, does that mean the one with him is his younger brother? Shizuka had heard quite a bit about the infamous playboy Genji Shimada from the other servants.
Her eyes grew wider and wider as she listened to their argument. A Shimada who didn't agree with their ways? That had to be a thing of the impossible and yet here she heard the younger brother officially renounce everything his clan stood for. In the next moment a sword was being unsheathed.
Shizuka couldn't stop her trembling. He wouldn't! Not his brother! He isn't even fighting back!
Oh, but Hanzo Shimada dared. The only thing she could feel from him now was the thirst for blood. The roar of two dragons deafened her. The intent to kill. Her stomach flipped, and she had to close her eyes as the blade went down. Over and over again.
Just like that night!
Shizuka fought against the flashbacks drowning her, but to no use. It all came back to her in an instant. Red snow in front of her. Screams all around. Screeching weapons. Then everything falling deathly silent. It was over.
The young priestess didn't know how long it lasted, but she only breathed in again when the monster had long left the temple. She was certain he wouldn't come back here again soon. Heart hammering in her chest, she fought to stand again on shaky legs. One hand on the pillar for support she extended her spirit once more to make sure no-one would spot her on her way out. But what she sensed was nothing short of a miracle.
N-No way! He is still alive!
Faster than she thought possible, she was running towards the bloody figure laying on the ground. She knelt by his side, ignoring the sea of blood pooling around him and the gleaming blade, cracked, on the ground.
Determine the extent of the injuries, check the airway and breathing, search for a pulse …
Angela's teachings shot through her brain a mile a minute. Without really thinking about it, she followed the instructions to the letter. He was breathing, although the wound on his throat could block his airways. His pulse was there but getting weaker, and there was just so much blood.
As she looked down again, she stopped in shock when dull eyes-so dark they were almost black-met hers. An instinct Shizuka never thought she would ever need for a Shimada caused her to raise her hand and gently stroke over his cheek.
»It will be alright. I am with you,« she whispered.
Those eyes, so full of pain, widened just a fraction. His mouth moved, formed one word that made her heart ache.
»Tenshi-sama … « … Angel. He called me an angel?
In the next moment, his eyes slipped close as he passed out. That brought her back to her senses. She needed to save him, no matter what.
As she applied pressure to his most severe wound, Shizuka calculated in her head. Left like this, he would only have minutes. Help would never get here in time.
So, she did the only thing she could do. She connected her spirit to his, gasping at the sheer pain he was in.
»No,« she whispered, »I won't give you up that easily.«
Shizuka let her spirit wrap around his in what could be called an embrace, feeling her healing energies starting to take effect. Stalling, that was what she needed to do. Before though she had to call help, or they both would be goners tonight.
»What is it, Shizuka?,« the gruff voice answered the call after the second ring and the young priestess was never so glad to hear it.
»Gabriel, please! He is dying!,« her voice shook as she called out to him.
»What?! Who is dying?! Where are you?,« he demanded to know immediately. The soldier in him had already taken over, but she could clearly hear the worry for her hiding in his voice.
»Just come to my location. Bring Mercy and back up. I can't keep him alive for much longer,« she said before cutting the line. Shizuka had to focus on her patient now, he was all that mattered.
»Help is on the way, just hold on for a little longer,« she whispered.
Carefully Shizuka moved his head onto her lap, stroking away a few dark green strands of his hair and laid her fingertips on his temples. Her spirit flared up with healing energy once again, anchoring his life to her will. Spirits were nothing more than the life force of living creatures. As for the ones having the power to manipulate those energies, even death would yield to them.
So she closed her eyes and solely concentrated on the weakly pulsating spirit between her hands.
»Shizuka, wake up dammit!« A hand shaking her shoulder woke her up from the trance she got herself into.
She blinked and focused her gaze on the stoic face of one Gabriel Reyes.
»You're here,« she breathed, relieved beyond measure.
»Why wouldn't I, after such a call?,« he replied. I can always count on my brother to save the day.
She smiled weakly at him, when her eyes finally landed on the ones with him. There was Dr. Angela Ziegler, or Mercy as she was called on missions. She was already by her side and examining her charge, ordering a clueless Jesse McCree around while she was at it. A little farther away she spotted Sígurd Ragnarfír, leader of the Overwatch operation base in Oslo and rarely seen on foreign missions, where he stood guard.
»I've got him, get ready for transport,« Angela's sharp voice cut Shizuka out of her musings.
»You got it, doc«, Jesse said and bent down. As her patients head gently slipped from under her fingers she finally noticed how much they shook.
A heavy coat landed on her shoulders. »Let's get you out of here, you're trembling like a leaf.« With his arms on her shoulders, he gently helped her onto her feet.
»Can you walk?,« he asked to which she gave a short nod. Shizuka was exhausted, but she wouldn't allow herself to be so weak as to break down in front of the strongest man she knew.
»Good. You still need to explain what exactly is going on here,« Gabriel said, throwing her a stern look. She chuckled. Spirits, how I missed this … how I missed him.
»Understood,« she softly replied.
He guided her out of the cursed temple and towards the shuttle, which had docked on the other side of the wall surrounding the castle premises. Shizuka kept a close eye on her charge as much as was possible. She kept up the spiritual connection, knowing just because he had survived this long didn't mean he was out of danger just yet.
No one could receive wounds like that without severe consequences …
When they passed the shuttle door, Shizuka allowed herself a relieved sigh. She looked at her honorary older brother.
»Thank you, Gabriel,« she said.
He smiled one of his rare smiles at her, the one solidly reserved for her. »Yeah, yeah. Just don't fall asleep on me, little Hikari.«
She wondered when he would ever stop using her clans name as a pet name for her, but deep down she didn't even want him to. At the last survivor of her clan, she could get so lonely at times. So, it was good to have someone to rely on, who acknowledged her for who and what she was.
»No promises,« she said, causing him to shake his head at her good naturedly.
Gabriel sat her down on one of the shuttles special made chairs, securing her seatbelt before sitting down next to her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and looked out the window as the shuttle began to rise. They were well and truly leaving, back to Overwatch HQ in Zurich. And Shizuka knew, when she would return the next time, it would be to put an end to the Shimada's criminal empire.
But for now, I am finally going home.
Mercy didn't allow her to assist her with stabilizing their newest patient. Instead she had asked Moira, her first assistant besides Shizuka herself, who had stayed behind in the shuttle for help.
Shizuka would never admit it out loud, but it hurt that her mentor, the woman she looked up to, preferred the support of someone else. Of course, Moira had way more experience than she did, but Shizuka wasn't dumb either. She kept him alive for this long, didn't she? Besides, he was her patient in the first place and she felt responsible for him. That's why Gabriel found her looking out the shuttle windows moping a short while later.
»I told you to go to bed not even half an hour ago. What are you still doing up?,« he asked, making her turn around to look at him. He had shed his thick army jacket and his two guns weren't in their holsters, something that rarely happened.
»Too much on my mind,« she said, to which he snorted.
»Of course, you can never stop thinking. Here,« he held out one of the two cups he had in his hands. »That should help.« She smiled when the smell of her favorite tea, sencha, reached her. Gabe just always knows exactly what I need.
She took the cup and after drinking a large part of it in one go sighed in relief.
»Thank you.«
Sitting down next to her, Gabriel took a sip from his own darker-than-black coffee. They spent their time in comfortable silence for a while. That was, until her brother asked the question that almost made her drop her cup.
»So, what possessed you to save the life of a Shimada?«
She stayed silent, but the slight trembling of her hands betrayed her.
»Haven't you forgotten what his kind did to your clan, to your family?,« he pressed on.
»I haven't!,« she snapped back. Shizuka could never forget the horrors. »It's just … «
»Just what?,« he insisted.
»You haven't felt what I did. He didn't want to take part in his clan's deeds. He all but refused his name and his brother killed him for it. Gabriel, he didn't even fight back,« she stared in her empty cup as if it would contain all the answers of the universe.
He sighed. »Too close to home, I get it. But what you did was still dangerous. You could have been caught.«
»I was careful,« she defended herself. A hand ruffled through her already messy hair.
»If he survives this, he could prove useful to us. I am sure he has all the delicate information on the castle that we need to bring this place down. So you haven't failed your mission quite yet.«
Shizuka didn't know if this was meant as a compliment or not, so she just nodded.
Suddenly his voice took on a dark edge. »If he wakes up, I want you to stay as far away from him as possible.«
Her head snapped up to meet his serious stare. »What? But why?«
»You are the last Hikari and he is a Shimada. That alone should be reason enough, don't you think?«
Her eyes lowered again. She knew the truth of his words, but something inside her revolted the very idea to stay away from him. But she also knew that he wouldn't accept that as a good enough reason.
»You are right. But right now he can't do anything to hurt me. Besides, we need the information he has. And maybe I can get his guard down long enough to give them to me. You know how much this mission means to me.«
It was a gamble, but from the emotions playing across his face she knew it would only need one more push to convince him.
»And wouldn't it be the perfect revenge?,« she continued and knew she had him before even finishing her sentence.
There is nothing he burns for more than revenge. I guess that makes two of us.
Gabriel raised his eyebrow at her nevertheless. »Are you sure you are up for the task? It won't be easy.«
For a moment she struggled with the believes of wholeheartedness and kindness she had been taught since birth. But those virtues hadn't saved her people from the slaughter that took place over two years ago. Instead of defending themselves like they should have, they stayed true to their believes and allowed themselves to be killed off one by one. But Shizuka wasn't like that, her white hair being proof of it.
»I can do it,« she said with conviction. After all, revenge was all she lived for now. She was already condemned, a few more offences on her list of sins wouldn't make a difference.
Gabriel smiled one of his razor-edged smiles.
»That's my little Hikari.«
When the shuttle finally touched down at Overwatch headquarters in Zurich, everything went by in a blur. Gabriel roughly awoke her by carrying her out of the shuttle under loud protests on her part. Immediately they were swarmed by the other members, making it impossible for Shizuka to keep track on Mercy, Moira and her charge.
Somehow, she ended up in her old room, which she had occupied before her undercover mission in Hanamura had begun. Even Gabriel had to leave a short time later, because Commander Jack Morrison came to yell at him.
Left with nothing else to do, Shizuka changed out of those blasted servant clothes and took back her priestess staff from where it hang suspended from the wall. The familiar weight of the metal felt so good, she swung it around a few times, before she retracted it and put it back into the holster on her lower back.
Since Shizuka was already rested from her sleep in the shuttle, she decided to take a stroll around the HQ to see what had changed during her absence. Which she realized after a short while, wasn't much.
»SHIZUKAAA~« A shrill voice shouted from across the yard and the young priestess knew she only had a moment before a lanky body would crash against her. The force of the impact still made her stumble though.
»Lena! It's good to see you, but please get off,« she pleaded her friend. Thankfully said friend listened this time and instead pulled her into one of her famous hugs that Shizuka was sure she had learned from Reinhardt.
»I can't believe you're finally back! I missed you so much!« Shizuka smiled at her enthusiastic chatter.
»I know and I missed you too,« she responded with a genuine smile.
»I couldn't believe it when Mercy told me you were back!,« Lena babbled on, but she froze.
»You saw Mercy?« If she did, that only meant one thing: They were finished treating the Shimada. And that meant she could finally return to his side to assure herself of his stability.
»Yep. She just came out of the emergency wing of the med bay. She even told me to search for you and send you to her.« Lena continued. »Which is mean, I barely got to spend time with you and already you have to work again.«
Shizukas heart beat faster. Finally. »Sorry Lena. We will have to postpone the welcome-back party to tomorrow. I need to get back to Mercy, it's very important!«
Her friend pouted. »Fine, fine, you workaholic. But tomorrow we party hard and no excuses!« She wacked her finger at Shizuka making her almost go cross eyed.
»Got it. Thanks Lena,« she said and was off. There was no time to lose. When she finally made it to the med bay, her brother's voice stopped her. Only he wasn't talking to her.
»So you're doing it?« The commander of Blackwatch asked.
A voice that send shivers down her spine whenever she heard it, answered: »Yes. I already convinced Dr. Ziegler and began the process«, Moira said. »And considering the changes being made, he won't pose a danger to us for a while and only if he agrees to work with us«, she continued.
»That's what I wanted to hear. Good work.« Gabriel told her. Shizuka could practically hear the satisfied smile in his voice.
»Make sure nothing goes wrong. Understood?«
»Of course,« came the curt answer before the clicking of heels indicated Moira was leaving.
Shizuka didn't know what to do. What were they even talking about? She was sure it had do something with Genji. Is he in a worse state than I thought? Did I do something wrong? Am I not a good enough healer after all?
»You can come out now, Shizuka.« Gabriels voice ripped her from her musings, almost making her jump in fright. Caught, she came from around the corner, facing him.
»Y-yes?«, she asked meekly.
He only crossed his arms and leveled her with one of his looks. »I know you have been listening in. You shouldn't develop such bad habits, they could come back to bite you.«
»Hai«, she nodded. But in the end, she couldn't suppress her curiosity. »You were talking about Genji, right? How is he?«
»You shouldn't speak his name so familiar. It will only make your task harder. Just think of him as the Shimada from now on. But if you want to know, Moira just reported to me,« he said.
»And what did she say?,« she pressed on.
He sighed, hesitating as if it would pain him to say it. »They were able to save his life, thanks to your intervention, but most of his injuries were so severe, they just couldn't be saved anymore.«
Shock settled over her chest, making it hard to breathe all of a sudden.
»W-what do you mean?,« she asked. The young priestess just had to know. Somehow against all logic she was worried about Ge- the Shimada.
»To ensure his survival, they will replace most parts of his body with cybernetics. He will live on … «