(Overwatch is property of Activision-Blizzard)

~Five Years Ago~

"Not good enough, Kiriko. You need to be faster!" said Asa Yamagami in a strict tone. "You're not progressing quickly enough, tch, you're too lazy. All you do is focus on coffee and music and that stupid dream of yours. None of that will help you if you are ever cornered by a Hashimoto!" Yamagami slammed her kendo stick beside her daughter - Kiriko Yamagami's- feet, startling her in the process. The past two hours were an intense session, more intense than anything her mother had made her do previously. The Hashimoto clan were ramping up their activities in their home district of Kanezaka, having already laid claim to the nearby area of Hanamura and its shrine. Kiriko knew her mother meant well, but she was pushing her to beyond even her almost supernatural limits. Kiriko knew she wasn't like anyone else, but when it mattered most, she couldn't count on her inner strength to save people that were vulnerable. The technology in her body, the secret that the Shimada clan bestowed on her in secret (with her permission of course) was based on technology and research that was stolen from Talon's Busan offices around three years ago. It was her ace in the hole, but she was afraid of the power it could give her. She knew she could never say the phrase out loud. She thought that she was a freak because of it. Being able to heal people through the power of Ofuda? The Fox Spirit within me? That's only in legends. And I'm not a legend she thought to herself, as her mother grabbed the sword from in front of her.
"Again. This time, actually try to hit me with those kunai of yours" Yamagami said as Kiriko picked herself up from the ground. Filled with determination, Kiriko dashed forwards…

~Present Day~

Kiriko's Apartment, Ueno, Tokyo, August 4th 20XX, 16:00 PM

Kiriko Kamori found herself wandering through her dreams once again, as she often did day after day. The birds chirping outside her window brought her back into reality, their mating calls abundant as they often were this time of year. It was one of the perks of living in Ueno to her. The soft breeze in the summer, the abundant nature of the park, the easy access to other areas of the city…it was a far cry from her childhood home of Kanezaka near Shinjuku. A place in dis-repair, a place filled with crime and seedy people…but it wasn't always like that. It was once a place filled with children running around excited for hanabi festivals, old people tending to their gardens and most importantly to Kiriko, the shrine of the fox spirit, a place where she found solace. A place where she could connect with her other side. A place where Kiriko could let all her worries float away like pretty bubbles in the air. She missed that place, but knew returning there was a risk too great for her to take. 'Her' debt was too massive and it was such an obvious place for the Hashimoto clan to look in. As she returned to her bedroom in her Ueno apartment, she couldn't help but feel a little bit sad about the past and how much she wished for it to come back, but she couldn't dwell on it for too long.

It had been a long twelve or so hours for her that - all in all - were mostly enjoyable for her. The man she spent that time with had certainly left quite an impression on her. However, her guilt was building up. She knew he had gone through so much, but she didn't say much at all about herself. She had her own secrets that she needed to hide, her own burdens to bear that she knew she would have to bear to him one day, but not yet. She set her bag down and looked at the nearly finished kunai on her desk, only a few more touches to it and it would be ready for whatever she may need it for. She sat down, holding the kunai by its anchor point, looking at its rough edge that reflected her face back at her. She grabbed a tool from her left hand side and began to go to work on the kunai, trying to make it as perfect as she could in terms of weight, sharpness and design. Every detail needed to be just right, otherwise, something could go wrong at the absolute worst time possible, and a mistake was something Kiriko couldn't afford herself to make.

*brrzt, brrzt, brrzt*

Kiriko's phone vibrated from her back pocket, cursing herself for forgetting to mute it before starting her work. She peeked at the screen, the name "Jonathan Cujoh" was on it. Missing me already, huh? she thought as she smiled, answering the call.

Only she heard a voice she didn't recognise, and one that sounded very distressed.

Meanwhile, at the Cujoh Apartment

Angela Ziegler cursed herself under her breath as she moved into the room in front of her and sat beside the hyperventilating Jonathan Cujoh. The woman who gave her that letter earlier was none other than the woman she only recently discovered was still alive. Hana Song, a woman who caused all this friction and tension in her life, the woman who ruined everything for Angela, was right there in front of her and she didn't see it at all. How could I be so fucking foolish? Someone coming to deliver a payment in person? It was too suspicious and I knew I should have fucking said something she thought, but quickly rid that thought from her mind as she looked down at the man in front of her. She took in a deep breath and picked up his phone with her right hand, holding his shoulder in her left hand.
"Jesse, contact Hanzo and get him over here at once if you can" she said sternly as she opened up Jonathan's phone, knowing the passcode to it by heart. The passcode was the date that they graduated from high school together, one of the only days they had spent together after Lena's death that had some kind of happy ending to it. She opened the LINE application and scrolled down until she saw the name "Kiriko Kamori" and hovered her finger over the call button.
"Jonathan…I don't know if Kiriko knows what happened to you all those years ago but right now she's the only way I can help you…is it okay if I call her for you, and have her come over?" she asked him in the kindest voice she could muster, her hand coming up and gently holding his face, his scared eyes darting around the room as if they were looking for something…or afraid of someone. He nodded as best as he could, and Angela hit the call button.
"Hey there mister translator! You miss me already?"

"Uhm, Kamori-san? My name is Angela Ziegler, I'm a friend of Jonathan's who's staying in Tokyo with him at the moment."
"O-Oh, okay. Nice to meet you Ziegler-san…is everything okay?"
"I'll cut to the chase. Do you know Jonathan's home address?"
"N-no but I know he lives close by, why?"

"I'm going to text it to you. Come here right away, it's urgent?"
"What's going on?" Kiriko asked with a panicked tone.

"I'll explain as soon as you arrive, but please hurry" Angela said, hanging up the call in the process. She rapidly typed in the address of the apartment before dropping the phone down beside her and turned her attention back to Jonathan. McCree walked back in with a glass of water in his hands.
"Give it to 'im, you know as well as I do that it'll help him a lil bit" said the cowboy, extending his arm to Angela, who took the small glass from his hands and looked back towards Jonathan.

"Please, Jonathan…drink this up. Don't worry…it's just me, Angela. Your best friend, remember?" she said with a smile as she handed the glass over to Jonathan, who took it into his hands wearily. As he brought the glass to his mouth, the shaking of his hands spilled a bit of the water onto his sweater and pants, but he managed to drink the rest without much issue. His breathing calmed down a little, but he was still shaking intensely. Angela held his hand softly and tried to reason with him but nothing she did had much of an effect on him. She could only buy Kiriko time to get here before Jonathan passed out, which would cause all sorts of other issues that - quite frankly - Angela didn't want to deal with.
"I'm here with you, please, look at me Jonathan…everything's going to be okay, I promise you that I will protect you…I'm here to be your support after all" she smiled at him again. McCree looked perplexed, not quite understanding what was going on. He'd only been off the plane for a few hours and he was already dealing with trouble that Hana's existence was brewing for him. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and McCree headed out to answer it. Peeking through the peephole, he saw a small Japanese woman on the other side holding her right wrist with her left hand, as if she was nervous about something. This must be that Kiriko girl Angela was talkin' 'bout earlier he thought as he opened the door, the girl in front of him looking at him with a look of surprise plastered all over her face.
"U-Uhm, is this Jonathan Cujoh's home?" she asked slowly in English with a thick Japanese accent. McCree felt awkward, he was the only one around who couldn't speak a lick of Japanese at all (other than the most bare bone essentials). "Yeah, go into that room there" he said, trying not to put on his usual thick cowboy accent as he pointed in the direction of Jonathan's bedroom.

Kiriko didn't know what to think of the large American man in the entranceway. Was it Jonathan's dad? Hardly, she thought. She knew he didn't have a presence in Jonathan's life anymore. So who was he? And more importantly, just what the hell was going on right now? As she walked into the bedroom, she could see a blonde woman, probably that Angela Ziegler woman, sitting down beside a clearly very shaken Jonathan, holding his hand. The woman turned around and looked at Kiriko, quickly examining her up and down with her eyes before calling over to her.

"You're Kiriko Kamori, right?" asked the woman.
"Yeah, I can tell by your voice that you're Ziegler-san. What's going on? Is he okay?" she said, rushing over to his side, holding his other hand in her own, not caring about anything else in the world at that moment.
"Did Jonathan ever bring up his ex-girlfriend to you?" asked Angela, turning her attention to Kiriko.
"Han-"
"DON'T say her name, but yeah, her. Turns out, she's still alive, and he's just after finding out. She knows he's here"
"What the FUCK? But Jonathan said he saw her-"
"Die? She faked her own death. Her sister was the one who died on that day…we still don't know why her sister did it - especially since she was someone who people noticed had gone missing from the public eye -, but we ran multiple DNA analysis tests and I know for a fact that they didn't lie. She didn't die" Angela said with anger, as Jonathan finally looked up and saw Kiriko's face looking at him.
"Kkkk..Kiri…ko…?" he mumbled out, the shock on his face was unmissable, his eyes looked like a deer in headlights. Angela leaned into Kiriko's ear and whispered softly into it; "take care of him". Angela stood up and picked up the letter from the ground, looking at it intensely as she walked out of the room, leaving Kiriko and Jonathan by themselves. It was a risky move, she thought, but she knew it was the only thing right now that could snap him back to reality for the time being. It had been less than an hour since she last saw him, but she could see that this was the manifestation of all that anxiety and pain that he buried deep within his heart for so long. This was why he didn't want to let her have his shirt. This was what his pain was. The fear that someone he loved could betray him like this. She couldn't let it be this way. Kiriko made him a promise that she intended to keep. She moved her body to be directly in front of his and placed her forehead gently against his, and closed her eyes. She wrapped her arms behind his neck and opened her eyes again.

"Easy does it, Jonathan…I'm here for you now. You don't need to worry about anything else" she slowly rocked their bodies back and forth rhythmically. "I know it's so hard on you here, and I can't imagine what you're going through but…you're in my hands now, your heart and mine share each other's burdens, remember?" her warm smile radiated a loving energy, one that Jonathan was hesitant to accept. He didn't know what was real anymore, Hana's sudden reappearance shook him to his very core. The fact that she was still alive…made him not want to be alive at all.

And yet, Kiriko wanted to share everything with him,

Why? I'm just a bad omen.

I'm just someone who gets their friends killed because of some girl.

I'm someone who couldn't even fight off a small girl.

I'm…useless.

Why would she want someone useless like me? Why would she want to be near a hopeless demon like me? What does she want from me? Will she use me? Will she betray me, just like Hana did? Will she leave an unbearable pain just like Hana did? Will she abandon me just like Aki did?
I'm nothing…I don't deserve her…why would she be nice to someone li-

He felt a familiar feeling overcome him. It wasn't loneliness though. It was a sudden outburst of love, as he felt Kiriko's tender lips touch his, her right arm slowly coming from behind him to hold onto his cheek softly. She kissed him again, and again, and again, each one filling him with more and more energy, as if Kiriko herself was a vessel for an energy source. He slowly began to return her kisses, each one with a little more passion than the last. Kissing aside, his heartbeat and breathing began to slowly come back down to normal levels, though his mind continuously kept thinking back to that letter, and how it could have even been written from beyond the grave in the first place.

"Kiriko…where's A…Angela?"
"She went into the other room with that cowboy dude, why?" The mention of the word "cowboy" could only mean one thing; Jesse McCree was here. His old highschool homeroom teacher, and a man Jonathan once admired so much. However, since the events of seven years ago, he and McCree both grew distant. McCree had tried to make the distance closer with Jonathan by helping out his sick mother, but Jonathan didn't feel convinced by it at all. He had tried so hard to distance himself from the past that nobody other than Angela was really allowed in. The fact that McCree was here, now, meant that something bad was afoot.

And boy, was it afoot.

Hana Song's Apartment, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 17:00 PM

Hana, satisfied with the way the day turned out for her, turned her laptop back on and began browsing the internet to try and find more information on Angela Ziegler. Something didn't feel right to her. She knew Jonathan and Angela were close, even before Hana was admitted into the Winstonian but she figured that she had succeeded in making Jonathan so vulnerable and afraid of human connection all those years ago that their friendship would have been thrown into the gutter.

Evidently not she thought as she continued to peruse the endless articles about the "genius Swiss prodigy" whose "impacts on modern medicine" could only be "described as game changing". The articles all made her angry. To Hana, Angela was an obstacle. She was someone who didn't understand the relationship Hana and Jonathan had - in Hana's mind that is - and how other people simply didn't understand that the way Hana treated Jonathan years ago was for his own good (at least, that's what Hana's other selves told her). How could someone so lacking in empathy be considered to be one of the wonders of modern medicine? Hana's twisted mind turned more and more as she continued to write down information that she thought could be relevant to Hiromi. As much as it pains her to admit it, Angela could be a useful asset for her bosses right now, and if she could pull off a successful swoop of both Angela AND the Yamagami woman…Hiromi would surely grant her wish.

A few minutes later, Hana's phone buzzed off. Hiromi had finally replied to her, much to her delight. She opened up the message app on her phone.

Hana-chan,

You did better than I ever could expect you to. Perhaps my 'training' with you last night paid off. You managed to find the girl herself, not even her mother but the actual Kiriko Yamagami! Do you have a fix on her location? If so, we won't even have to get her mother involved.

Hana replied, probably not with the answer that Hiromi wanted to hear but as ever; Hana had an idea.

"Hashimoto-sama,
Thank you for your kind words. I unfortunately don't have a fix on her location other than she's in the general Ueno area but I have a fair idea on how to get to her. We use the mother like before but I also know that Angela Ziegler, a woman you've shown keen interest in before, is in Ueno. We can get Ziegler and the Yamagami girl at the same time, as early as the day after tomorrow considering I need some time to plan it out and get the kinks of the plan ironed out and whatnot. I hope this is okay with you.
Your ever faithful dog,

Hana"

Hana hit the send button on her phone, not knowing if her idea was good enough for Hiromi who was often quite critical of plans that needed to be carried out on short notice. She was, after all, a methodical and calculated woman; one who knew how to manipulate the emotions of those around her, one who knew how to approach the world they were in with the right amount of give and take. Hiromi's plans were ones which rarely failed and Hana knew after observing her for all this time that suggesting her own plan felt somewhat hopeless. But Hana, the true Hana Song that walked into that classroom all those years ago. knew that hope was the only thing she had left in getting back with Jonathan.

Hana's heart wanted nothing more than to apologise to him for everything she did. The woman inside her wanted to have him no matter what the cost was, her fractured mind constantly at odds with her heart. A sensation Hana was used to and simply accepted, but one that she nevertheless hated.

Her phone buzzed again. It was from Hiromi.

"Be at the office first thing tomorrow morning. You can go over the plan with me then and we can sort it out together. I want Kiriko Yamagami but I can't turn down an opportunity to talk with the one and only Angela Ziegler. See you tomorrow, Hana-chan."

A sigh of relief broke the silence in the Song apartment. Hana was happy she could convince Hiromi to at least hear her out, but because of that she had no time to lose. She began formulating a basic plan on her desktop to find a way to isolate both Angela Ziegler and Asa Yamagami. Her goal was twofold.

If I manage to get Asa and Angela into our building, we can relocate them to "that" place in the new Hanamura center. Jonathan knows where to meet me, I spelt it out for him perfectly in that letter. "That" place that Hashimoto-sama had commissioned to be built in honor of her father two years ago is the perfect place for a reunion…and maybe a farewell or two too! Heehee!

Cujoh Apartment, Ueno, 17:15 PM

"Okay so, where do I even begin…" McCree said, taking his hat off to reveal that some of the hairs on the top of his temple had begun to turn grey. He looked over at Hanzo Shimada, who arrived after getting a call from Jesse. Hanzo gave him a nod and McCree looked back at the group of Kiriko, Angela and Jonathan.
"I don't think Kamori-san should hear this, it's a bit messy and quite frankly, the less involved she is, the safer she will b-"
"No" interrupted Kiriko. "You don't know me, mister cowboy. Don't try to make any assumptions about me just because I look small."

"I-I didn't mean it like that, I was jus-"
"I'm involved now. I promised Jonathan that all of his pain was mine too and I mean to keep that promise."

McCree let out a strained sigh. "Fine, but we got a lot to talk about."
"The long and short of it is, as we all just found out, the girl's still alive somewhere in this city. We have reason to believe Talon or some other organisation may be involved given her past. There's already at least one person dead due to her actions, her own sister no less. We don't know why but I know the Shimada institute are lookin' into it. She's a danger to Jonathan and possibly to anyone connected with him. We need to keep him on the down low. He's only to leave this apartment for emergencies-"
"Come on now you can't just limit his freedoms like that dude!"
"Fine, then if he's to leave, you're to be with him at all times, if you can stick up for yerself as well as you say you can '' said McCree in a mocking tone, not being fully convinced by Kiriko's convictions.

"He stays with me then," Kiriko said, standing up. "I run a café and I can't afford to leave it unattended. Angela-san can stay here"
"A-are you sure about that Kiriko? You can't underestimate that girl, she's truly a ruthles-"
"She hasn't met me before" Kiriko said, a glint of light shining for a brief moment in her eyes.
"The fox spirit…" Hanzo said to himself, knowing all too well what that brief shine in her eyes meant.

I didn't think Asa would go through with letting Kiriko have the procedure…but, if Kiriko has control of her emotions and bonds then…perhaps…

Lost in his thoughts all alone, Hanzo recalled what happened six years ago to Kiriko Yamagami.

Shimada Institute, Six Years Ago

"Look…you are all I have left, Genji" said a desperate Asa Yamagami to the brother of her childhood friend. "I know the risks. I know the trouble you would have to go through is great but I have no choice. Kiriko is too weak by herself. The Hashimoto will tear her to pieces if she's ever by herself. She needs the operation" Asa begged. Genji looked over at Hanzo, who was combing through Kiriko's health records. Nothing was physically wrong with her, but in terms of how it would affect her emotionally the Institute simply didn't have enough proven test results on the procedure. Hanzo knew the risks. He saw what happened to Hana Song two years prior when a similar procedure was carried out on her by Talon. Hanzo didn't want Kiriko to end up like that but he knew the final say was with Genji. He couldn't watch his brother make the decision. He didn't want any part in turning Kiriko into a monster. The Widow's Kiss was too dangerous, even with all of the readjustments and safety measures the Shimada Institute had installed into the psychotic algorithm. Hanzo, with his conscience getting the better of him, walked out of the operating wing and left the fate of the young girl from Kanezaka in the hands of his brother.

"I'm sorry, Asa" he said, shedding a tear as the elevator door closed in front of him.

Present Day

"The boy is safe with her…" Hanzo said softly to the room. Kiriko looked directly at him, almost disgusted by his mere existence though Hanzo couldn't look her back in the eye.
"The vote of confidence isn't needed from you old man" she snickered.
"Uhm…don't I get a say in all this?" Jonathan spoke up as the tension began to rise in the room.
"Look, it's probably best you don't stay here anymore" said Angela, standing up beside Kiriko. "Hana knows you live here. Go with Kiriko, Jonathan. I'll keep the place nice and clean for you" Angela smiled softly at him.

"W-well, if you say so…" he said, standing up. "I better go and pack a few things then…" Jonathan said, leaving the room looking somewhat upset. He knew that it was for his own good but he still couldn't believe that it was all happening so fast. First, everything that had happened with Kiriko yesterday and today…and now Hana?

Hana…could you really be out there, waiting for me?

As he packed his clothes, he felt an all too familiar - if faint - feeling burning up in his chest. His thoughts continued to eat away at him as Kiriko walked into the room.
"Seems you and I are gonna be roomies for a while, mister translator" she said with less pep in her voice than usual.
"Kiriko, I'm sorry this is all happening to you. I never wanted this to happen"
"I know." she said, now standing beside him. "But I made you a promise. And you promised me too. We have to look out for one another…" she gently placed her hand on his chest, looking him in the eye.
"Let's do it together, lover boy" she swiftly stole a kiss from him before skipping her way out of the room, leaving Jonathan simply stunned.

"Lover boy?"

(Author's Note: Sorry it's been a while since the last update! As Jonathan begins to regain his shattered resolve, Kiriko steps in as a medium to protect him from Hana, who's planning a way to remove all the obstacles between her and Jonathan. With Angela and McCree now setting up shop in Jonathan's apartment, how will these people from a past that is rapidly making its way back into their lives ever find an ending to their seemingly endless turmoil? As always, thank you very much for reading. Keep the reviews coming in and spread the word! See you all in the next chapter everyone.)