Chapter 5:

Genji Part III

"Winston, this is our newest patient, Mr. Shimada," Angela said, rolling the almost overwhelmed young man inside the room. "I believe it's time you might properly meet him."

The enormous, white dressed gorilla turned in his seat and adjusted a pair of… glasses? sitting on his nose. "Ah, I see you're well enough to get out of that bed now. Thinking of bed must make you sick now," Winston laughed. "I'm Winston, one of the scientists at Overwatch, a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Shimada."

A large, dark hand reached out in front of Genji, and reluctantly, he took it with his left hand. The gorilla gave him a smile, "Well, I suppose we'll be able to talk more in the future. Best you two be on your way to meet everyone else!"

He turned back around and Angela said farewell, beginning to leave with her patient.

"Oh- and Angela?" Winston twisted around once more, holding the doctor's attention. "I'll need you to come by later, I've found a flaw in the experiment that you need to help me with."

She gave a simple nod. "Of course, I'll see you later. Two or three hours maybe?"

They then proceeded to leave the observation deck. Genji gave Angela a curious look, hoping to find out what their experiment was. But to his disappointment, the doctor only gave him a kind smile, oblivious to his expression. She led them back to what Genji was now starting to call home. After the short struggle of getting Genji on the bed, he shifted himself into a comfortable position, allowing him to sink into the pillowy depths. Angela didn't leave him just yet though. He lost the first few words, spacing out, but got the general gist and inwardly groaned, straightening his position in the bed. As had apparently happened everyday, Dr. Ziegler had to check his wounds. After removing his shirt, she had begun to prod around his wounds and Genji couldn't help but squirm beneath her cold fingers. He tried to look at what the doctor was touching, but the mask prohibited most of his vision. He could, however, see that there was a large red stripe over his abdomen stitched together by thread and that his remaining arm seemed to be lacerated with old scars and new cuts alike. Pain he had previously seemed to forget seeped into his bones and made him squirm uncomfortably. It steadily grew, becoming near unbearable as the doctor temporarily stepped away. The pain seemed to specifically originate from his stomach wounds, and those that lacerated his chest contracted, making breathing difficult. Genji curled into a loose ball, tears threatening to form in his eyes. He wanted it to stop hurting. Ziegler came back, a small device in her hand. She gave a light gasp and apologized for his pain.

"Genji, I need you to lay straight again." She said, resting a gloved hand on his shoulder. "I promise I'll make most of the pain go away, if it still hurts I'll get you more pain killers."

He glanced briefly at the doctor, the pain reflecting in his eyes, then buried his head deeper into the pillow. Angela sighed and tried to push his shoulder flat. She was met with steel resistance and could barely move her patient.

"Genji, I can't help unless you lay flat. If needed I'll bring someone in and force you, that'll hurt more than just turning over."

Genji lifted his head a little to give a small glare, and carefully rolled himself around, exposing his arm and body. His eyes were still wet, and he blinked away the forming tears.

"Thank you." She gave him a light smile then turned on her device. From it, yellow nanites swarmed out forming a small, ever-moving cloud underneath. The doctor moved the device slowly over Genji's left arm. The result was almost instant. The device knit his wounds together as if they were causing the healing process to speed by, and indeed they were doing just that. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the scarring process, and every wound still left a mark.

Genji marveled at the fact that suddenly there was simply little to no pain left. His arm was simply warm. He flexed the muscles a bit, and although it felt some what tight, it still felt a whole lot better.

While he was marveling, Angela took the chance to go over most of the other smaller wounds, making sure to also check his back. The bigger wounds she would have to save for later, including the spinal damage.

"Great job. Rest for a while, I'll see you for lunch and dinner, but you'll be left alone for the rest of the day. Simply contact someone if you need something," Angela said, tapping the tablet which still lay on a side table.

Genji nodded, it was really the only thing he could do with one working limb and the inability to move his jaw. The doctor cast him another smile and left the room.

He lay there for an hour in silence, staring at the ceiling. Genji had nothing to do for at least a day. Truly, there was no worse torture.

He couldn't even sigh because of his stupid mask. His eyes snapped down to the contraption on his face. That gave him an idea.

Genji spent at least another hour trying to get the damned mask off his face with only one hand and the various objects around him. At first he tried to simply use one hand, attempting to stretch his hand over the distance of his jaw. It didn't work. His fingers weren't long enough to reach the buttons. He then attempted to balance the tablet, press one button with the corner and press the other with his hand. That also failed, along with his attempt to use the corner of the table. He gave an inward sigh and gave up, deciding to sleep again.

That was how the rest of the day went.

And the next.

And the next.

And the next.

Mind numbing and painful, life draining.

Not to mention the lack of simple sleep, untouched by nightmares.

The fifth day was different.

Very different.

The morning started the same way as the day before. A late morning tour, some food, and being left alone in the recovery room. It promised to be a stale day.

But it wasn't.

It was worse.

On the brink of falling asleep again, Genji was startled by the doors bursting open to allow a new patient in. He tried to prop himself up and catch a glimpse of the newcomer, but he found himself unable to support himself with only an arm. He did manage to catch the mumbling of a half conscious man, though.

"Wh-why can't I..? My, my leg. I can't feel… Where am-where is? My… my, where?"

Clearly the man had lost a leg. Genji's fingers found themselves wrapped around the plastic cup which encased the stub of his former arm. He felt a tug of sympathy for the man, the loss of any limb was a hard one. A ghost of pain haunted him for a moment, the scene in which he'd lost him arm replayed in his mind. His eyes trailed the nurse as he passed by with the bed and pushed it behind a white curtain. He stared at the folds of cloth for a long while, wishing to catch just a glimpse of the man. However, he found himself jolting awake from an accidental nap. Genji frowned at the curtain, everything seemed quiet now, then he heard soft footsteps. Emerging from the curtain was Dr. Ziegler.

Noticing that Genji was awake she cast him a small greeting. "Mr. Shimada, for a while you'll be experiencing the company of a neighbor," she gestured to the shadow of a sleeping figure. "I'd like to ask that you do not pull back the curtain for the privacy of both you and Hans-"

The doctor was cut off by Genji's sudden and erratic behavior. His head had jerked up at full attention, and his hand scrambled for the left side of the bed. Frantic eyes darted to the closed curtains, and with the help of his upper body strength, Genji managed to slide onto the floor. At this point, Ziegler tried to take action. She hastily dropped her papers on the bed and rushed to Genji's side.

"Mr. Shimada, would you please-" She was trying to get a hold of the man without harming him and formality was dropped without a moment of hesitation. "Genji, what is wrong!"

One word was running through his head as he grasped the side of the bed.

No, no no nononononono.

He was trying to stand up, to get away. She'd said Hanzo, right? His brother was on the other side of that curtain, just a few feet away. Coming back to make sure he was well and truly dead. But his legs, they just wouldn't…. He couldn't get them to work, they couldn't-couldn't do anything! Someone tried to stop him, grab him, but he twisted away and swatted the arm. He couldn't register the words being said, and he didn't care.

Just get away. Get away, get away!

He'd given up on standing up, and was using the nearby furniture to drag himself to the wheelchair. It was so close, he could almost use it. Get away from this place as far as possible, never see his brother or the clan and never hear them ever again. He would be safe.

Angela winced as Genji seemed to twist her arm out of its socket in defense. After a moment of thought, she gave credit that her patient was, in fact, an assassin. He wouldn't give up without a fight, even while worming himself across the floor.

She moved to the side of the door, and tapping a quick number, accessed the communication device.

"I trust you're not doing anything important at the moment. If you could help me restrain a patient, I'd be very thankful. Ah, danke schön."

It only took a few seconds for her backup to arrive. Gabriel Reyes walked through door, at first seeing nothing out of order, but then happening to glance down.

"I can't get near him without getting my arm scratched or pulled out, and I don't want to hurt him," Angela started explaining. "He doesn't seem to be focused on the world around him either, I'm afraid he's starting to go into the pyscholo-"

Gabriel interrupted her with a raised hand. "Save me the science, doc. Just tell me what you want done."

She cast a quick glance at the struggling figure. "Just, pick him up firmly but gently. Avoid his abdomen, the armpits would probably be best. If you could also try to snap him out of this trance with a bit of… roughing up, that would be good."

"Can do, sister."

Reyes walked over to the crawling figure. It was a sad and pathetic sight to see, a young man trying to crawl with one arm and two legs that didn't work.

"Alright, up we go," he muttered, and reached down to pick up Genji by his arm and what was left of the other. The young man retaliated by twisting himself out of grasp and clawing at Reyes' arm. "Kid's a biter," he commented before catching Genji and lifting him over his shoulder before anything else could happen. Genji still attempted to squirm away, unwilling to face what he thought was a second death, but Reyes held a firm grip. Careful not to simply toss Angela's patient, he set Genji on the bed. Then it was time for sense. He grabbed a handful of hair and yanked on it, causing tears to swell in the younger man's eyes.

"Hey!" Reyes shouted in Genji's face. "Cut it out kid, where do you think you are, a mad house? We're not running that kind of place here. You listen to the doctor and you stay where you're asked to, got it?"

Genji still squirmed beneath his grip, but his eyes seemed to finally focus and he was able to coordinate his actions better.

The young man's brow twisted with annoyance, and with a subtle twist, he'd grabbed Reyes' wrist and forced his hand to open. The latter's hand made a hasty retreat, and Genji combed his hair back as if nothing had happened.

"Where'd he learn to do that?" Gabriel looked at his hand in surprise. If he were honest with himself, the kid's trick had just hurt his pride. One of the things he'd always boasted about was his extremely strong grip.

Angela bit her lip. "He's had…. Training. If you don't mind waiting outside, I might have something interesting to show you."

Gabriel nodded his head and left, taking a last glance of curiosity at Genji. The now tame patient shifted in bed. The expression he wore was neither of his previous fear or annoyance, it was confusion. With his one hand he rubbed his eyes, running through his mind on what he'd just done. His head felt very warm, in fact, his whole body did. His thoughts swam and he couldn't focus on anything. He blinked several times, trying to focus on the doctor.

Wait…

His eyes darted to the left side of his bed. It was empty now. Wasn't there someone there before? Someone had picked him up then pulled his hair, and talked about…. No, asked a question?

Across the room Angela had procured a water bottle. She put a light hand on his forehead and found it to be burning underneath. And no wonder, for the longest time she had noticed this but never found the source, but after Gabriel had picked him up she'd seen the roots of the problem. On the back of his legs were tendrils of purple and black,causing his calves and feet to look almost dead. And of course the poor man had also created his own mental fever which was spreading and affecting his physical health as well. That wasn't an unusual problem, and she was usually able to treat it immediately, but she didn't know anything about what was causing the infection in his legs.

Angela helped Genji to sit up straight then instructed him the same way she had everyday for some time.

"I'm taking off the mask, take deep breaths."

Genji looked like he was about to fall asleep, but Angela could still see his conscious effort to abide through his chest. Setting down the water, she pressed her fingers into place and allowed the mask to fall into her hands. A short choke followed after, but as always, his breathing returned to normal.

Genji took a long breath before Angela put the bottle to his lips. The thought of water disgusted him, and yet it seemed so tempting at the same time. Wearily, he opened his mouth and accepted the cool drink. He almost forgot how to swallow and was temporarily dazed with water sitting in his mouth, hand desperately grabbing the bottle away from her grip.

"Come on, Genji. Swallow it and you can go straight to sleep." Angela's soft voice penetrated his hazy thoughts. His mind was comforted by the thought of sleep, and after drinking half the bottle, his scarred face retreated into the depths of the pillow. Water still dripped from the corner of his mouth, but it didn't matter. A warm darkness enveloped him, and his eyes immediately closed into slumber. Angela wiped off the excess water from his face and set the bottle down. It was good that he was resting, but what troubled her was why Genji had had such an extreme reaction and how it left him so exhausted. What had triggered such a reaction, to be so desperate to attempt an escape even when only one of his limbs would work. The wild and terrified look he had in his eyes had frightened her. A degree in psychology wouldn't prepare anyone for this level of anything.

Her eyes caught the glint of Genji's mask. She picked it up, meaning to put it back on, but her hands could barely hold onto it. He looked so much more peaceful now than ever, a break wouldn't do any harm. She set the mask back down and moved the blanket over his body. After breakfast they could put it back on, in the meanwhile, he'd have a moment to breathe naturally.

She left the room to talk with Reyes. It might not be the right time, but Genji's history would still be a good read for the Blackwatch commander. Maybe it would lead to a project she'd been working on for a while, especially with her patient's new found condition.

Morning came, and with it, a surprise.

Genji licked his dry lips… He licked… Hastily he brought his hand to his mouth and nose. The mask, it was gone. He wasn't wearing the mask anymore, but why? He sat up, trailing the long scars across his face with a finger and feeling the metal replacement that had been put in his lower jaw. A quick glance to the side confirmed that the mask would eventually be put on again. It sat rather harmlessly on the side, and so he picked it up. Just as he had felt while it was on his face, the inside was lined with a sort of rubber and thin cloth. The outside was a simple triangular shape formed of metal.

Genji still didn't dare stretch his mouth without permission of one of the doctors, but he still wanted to try and talk. He opened his mouth a bit, but closed it thoughtfully. It had been over a month since he'd spoken, and surprisingly enough, he had nothing to say, or at least to say aloud to the open air.

"I-" The first word came out almost like a bird screeching. He tried again.

"I… I can speak?" Each word came out slowly almost as a choke. His throat went unusually dry again, and he chugged the remaining water from yesterday.

"I. I can speak," He said again, this time more confidently, but still with his mouth barely open.

"Yes, yes you can."

A voice spoke up from behind the curtain. It was accented, similarly to Dr. Ziegler's, but was of a man. Genji's head snapped towards the side, and found that the curtain next to him was being drawn back. A man only a few years older than Genji sat on the other side. He had hair that was neither blond nor brown, but somewhere in between, and his eyes were a shade of green. A small smile greeted Genji. However, it soon faded as he got a good look at his neighbor.

He was silent for a moment, but spoke his mind, still deciding to choose his words carefully.

"Ziegler never wants us to 'invade' other patients, especially not people who aren't involved with our organization, but there have been rumors about you. I won't bother you with questions though, you seem in much worse condition than what we've heard. I'm sorry, for your loss and anything else that's happened. I… sort of know what it feels like to lose a limb now, but nothing more."

For a long moment, Genji simply stared at him with downcast eyes. Pain still lingered on the tip of his nerves, and this man didn't help him to forget any of it, but he understood the man had good intentions.

"Thanks," He muttered. The other man gave an apologetic smile and closed the curtain between them.

Only a few minutes later, Dr. Ziegler appeared at the door way with a wheelchair and a tray of food. She left the chair by Genji's side and gave the food to the other man.

"Guten Morgen," She greeted the latter. "I hope you don't mind eating in bed."

"Ha, I've always wanted breakfast in bed. Dankeschön, Frau Ziegler."

She then came back over to Genji and helped him into the wheelchair. A sweet smile filled her face, like that of joy for your child, or for the accomplishment of a family member. Genji was confused as to why, but was relieved he still didn't have to wear the mask yet.

When he got his food, he hastily drank it down to the last drop, refusing to let even a speck go wasted. As he finished, he noticed the thoughtful form of the doctor over the table. She seemed deep in thought, and Genji wondered whether this was because of his outbreak.

"What's wrong?" He said. Tone wasn't something he could choose for the moment, but as Angela looked at his face, she knew that he understood what had happened, or at least that something did was a long pause of expectation between them, but Angela eventually spoke up.

"I don't want to rush you, but do you think you're emotionally ready to tell us what happened?"

"Ye-" He paused. "Who's us?"

"Well, for the moment you will only be telling me, but I will have to inform Morrison so that he is aware of what the story is," She hastened to add something more. "Of course you still need time to rest your vocal chords, and so if you wish to communicate it will have to be through writing."

Genji took a thoughtful moment himself. "You don't want to know what happened as if it were a simple story for entertainment. Why do you want it?"

"You are a Shimada, a member of one of the most notorious organizations-"

"And a member of the clan killed one of their own and you want to know why so you can try to exploit them." Genji finished.

Angela meant to say it in a much lighter tone, but there was no way to deny what he said.

"Well, yes."

"I'm in."

She was taken aback, confused. "Excuse me?"

"I said I'm in," He paused to cough, talking was beginning to take a toll on him, but Genji wanted to speak his mind for once. "I want them gone just as much as you do. I'll tell you everything."

His words turned into a coughing fit at the end, and Angela hurried to try to relieve him of it.

"You shouldn't talk anymore, and your jaw still isn't healed. Come on, back to bed."

Genji frowned and was about to protest, but Angela forced him to put the mask back in place and brought him back to the recovery room.

He waited until she was gone, then fiddled with the mask. It was a difficult task to do with one hand, but Genji, after having been able to examine it, managed to take it off and looked satisfied with himself. Hans, his neighbor, was watching, and when Genji glanced at him, he only gave a huff of laughter.

Genji gave a small smile, and soon they were laughing out loud as if they were two old friends sharing an inside joke. An odd sense of happiness filled his chest, even though he barely knew this man.