Ch. 12: Polar Opposites
"But what of me?"
"What?"
The sun beat down upon his skin, he could feel the gentle warmth washing over him. It felt nice, perhaps he could just lay down right there and close his eyes, doze off for awhile. Surely he had nothing to tend to.
Wait… Do I?
She giggled, "Oh Genji. You've always been such a silly kid."
His eyes struggled to focus, the sun seemed to be directly behind her, and it hurt to look in her direction, "What did you say?" He shielded his eyes with his arm.
Another giggle bubbled up from her, "Exactly. You are a silly boy, pretending to not know what we were just talking about! If I knew you any better, I would think you're avoiding the question."
I don't understand... "Could you step away from the sun? I can't really see you." His eyes squinted, trying to make out who was before him.
"The sun? What do you mean Genji?"
Just as he blinked the light vanished, it was twilight out. He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head.
"Hmm, maybe you're not feeling all too well are you? How about we go put you to bed with a nice cold rag, how does that sound?"
Genji finally opened his eyes and saw her, "Kiyomi?" His gaze fixed upon her, he couldn't believe it.
"Why yes, it is me you silly goose." She smiled, with a hint of concern.
"W-where did you go?" He stuttered.
"Hm. I don't quite understand what you mean by that Genji. Maybe the heat got to you today, after all you did spend quite a lot of time outside." She leaned forward to put the back of her hand on his forehead. Her skin was warm, her gentle touch felt like heaven itself, "You do feel a bit hot. Let's go upstairs and get you into bed." Kiyomi reached around to his back and gently herded him forward.
"Wait! I don't want to go to sleep. Can't we stay up?" He resisted.
"It's awfully late Genji…" Her eyes had bags underneath them and seemed glazed over.
She never looks like that.
"But…" He saw the new moon, a thin crescent in the sky, "I want you to stay."
"I know, Genji. You know it is time though."
His eyes began to swell with little stings, "It doesn't have to be, just stay awake with me Kiyomi." He grabbed her hand and quickly dropped it, almost jumping back.
They were cold.
Her hands are never cold no, no…
His eyes darted around frantically to only notice the moon once again, it was full and glowed like a brilliant giant in the sky. Kiyomi looked up at it and then sank her gaze.
"Genji, I asked you a question. It's important you answer."
"W-what did you ask? I'll answer anything!" He took a desperate step forward, fearful of her slipping away.
Her eyes met his, he could feel the wind picking up, stealing the heat. Her eyes were sad now, and looked wrong. They looked cavernous, as if the wind were to blow him through and fall down into them.
"You know what I said." Her voice became distant and trickled away like a stream coming to an end, he blinked and she was just out of arm's reach all of the sudden.
"No.. NO!" He flailed his arms, hysterically attempting to grab her, "DON'T GO KIYOMI! PLEASE! I'M SO SORRY!" A force held him back as she seemed to disappear into thin air, he fell to his knees, "Please… don't do it." His throat seemed to swell and he clenched his jaw, "Don't go Kiyomi… I'm sorry." He curled up into a fetal position, clinging onto his shins. The darkness quickly swallowed him, as he sunk into an eternal abyss.
Her voice echoed in his head, "But what of me?"
His eyes opened, and he struggled to catch his breath, sweat drenched his face. Sunlight poured into the cave, he pulled his face covering and hat off and puffed out clouds like a chimney. With one big exhale his head swiveled around and noticed he was without company. Genji decided to crawl outside and see if he could locate Hanzo. As he surfaced the glare off the snow blinded him. Squinting his eyes he stood up and stretched, taking in the fresh winter air that stung his nostrils as he inhaled.
Genji grunted, I'm going to get a nosebleed with this air. How can anyone live here?
"Get down you fool, your neon green hair sticks out like a sore thumb." Hanzo hissed.
"Woah. Did not see you there." Genji cracked his back.
"That's the point… brother of mine." Hanzo was laid down on his stomach watching over the ravine.
Genji crouched down, "I'm assuming no sightings yet?"
"No. I returned about half an hour ago from scouting the area. I haven't received any intel on a change of course either."
"Hm. Cool."
Hanzo grumbled.
"Hmph. Well, hopefully it comes today, Kazu sent me a message asking to go to the club tonight."
"What– I–" Hanzo cut his words off before finishing his reply, "You know what? Nevermind."
"What's got you in a huffy?"
"This does not concern the mission. You're distracting me."
"Mission shmission, there's no one down there I can literally see with a naked eye with no goggles on. Besides, you need to learn to unwind brother, have you even had your first kiss yet?" Genji grinned.
"You are preposterous." Hanzo had his undivided attention turned away from the valley, and at his ghoulish brother.
"Poor Hanzo Shimada. 26 years old and hasn't felt the softness of a woman's skin yet! I'm sure your balls will drop one day and the interest will peak. Unless you just want to keep slashing your way through anyone Father points at." Genji's grin turned into an evil smirk.
Hanzo, now off his stomach and onto his toes, "Listen MY love life is none of your concern, and this work is what funds all of your silly little antics. You have absolutely not a single clue of what honoring your family looks like you little hypocrite. So if you want to keep living the lavish life under a castle I suggest you shut your mouth. " Fire burned in Hanzo's eyes.
Genji stared at his enraged brother for a moment before speaking, "Sounds like something a virgin would say."
For a brief moment Genji swore he saw literal steam puffing from Hanzo's ears, at the very least a hefty breath was pushed from his flared nostrils. A quick hissing sound could be heard approaching, ssssssssswooooooopphh! And the sound of a small impact into the stone, both brother's heads flicked to the side.
Tik-tik-tik-tik-tik-tik-tik!
"GENJI MOVE!" Hanzo shouted as he threw himself over the edge of their post.
Fuck– He followed suit and sent himself down the hill, tumbling. An explosion could be heard just seconds after both brother's descent began.
Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow– I'm gonna break a damn li– OUCH! Genji finally broke his fall and skidded for a moment before coming to a full stop. Panting, he jumped up, where's Hanzo? His head spun around scanning the area around him, with his eyes falling upon a convoy some 500 feet away. Shit. Reaching up, he touched his head and fresh blood was smeared on his hand. Perfect, red and green in a snowy wasteland. I feel like fucking father christmas.
He desperately padded around his body for his wakizashi, he huffed in frustration, "Left it in the cave… I can already hear Hanzo's lecture." His hands came upon a small kunai in a lower pant pocket. With a flick of the wrist he spun it by the end ring before firmly grabbing it. This will have to do.
He dashed up to the treeline for cover and could feel the rumbling from the convoy upon the earth. Peering from behind a tree, he was able to see the full scene: there were about a dozen troopers surrounding the convoy. Fuck me twice if I perish in this frozen wasteland. I need to find him, I know he fell off the other side of the ledge, who knows how far he rolled. Genji turned his attention to the left, attempting to block the sun with his hand. Brother brother brother brother, where are you? His eyes halted at a suspicious spot in the snow. Found you. He swiftly ran from tree, to tree attempting to remain out of sight. Luckily the convoy could only move so fast, allowing him to catch up with Hanzo without it getting far.
"Hanzo!"
"Shh! Get down." He motioned downward.
Genji crawled over to him and whispered, "What's the plan?"
Hanzo chuffed with concern on his face, "I know the convoy's model, it's older. It has a couple of vulnerabilities in its armor. I have two explosive arrows and a handful of regular ones, if I can get a clear sight of one of the weak spots it'll be a clean mission. They are to the back of it I believe."
Genji sighed, "I'm assuming you need a distraction?"
Hanzo's eyes fell on Genji's hand, "I see you left it in the cave."
"Spare me the lecture, I'll do what I can, please be quick. If I die because of you I'll be pissed."
"As swift as the wind. Stay at least 50 feet away from the convoy and be careful, there are certainly going to be troopers trying to find us."
Genji nodded and turned away, Hanzo clicked his tongue to get his attention.
He raised his eyebrows, "What?" Genji mouthed.
Hanzo held 5 fingers up and mouthed back, "FIFTY FEET."
He rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Yes…"
Genji was not keen on taking life, if push came to shove he most certainly would but it was not his first instinct unlike his brother.
He remembered having a talk with Asa many years ago about it, "Living with blood on your hands is not a job meant for a delicate soul. You must understand learning the way of the sword inevitably leads to bloodshed, but it's all about the how and why. I can live with it because this is how I protect my family, think about why you wield a sword Genji, and how you will use it. Others don't always have the freedom of that choice, perhaps one day you can liberate them."
Genji never gave it much thought, but he knew some kick ass characters he plays that wield some sick blades. Alright, let's be creative here… what to do, what to do… As he took shelter behind another tree, he spotted a troopers that had yet to notice him. He chewed on a thought for a quick moment before an idea popped into his head. Here goes nothing… Genji face planted into the snow and played dead.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
He could hear the trooper breathing. Genji clenched his jaw while holding his breath and attempted to do the absolute finest impression of a dead body.
"I found one, looks like he didn't make it, hit a tree on the way down."
Silence. He was running out of breath.
"10-4, let me know when you get the other one."
In one swift movement, Genji pushed himself up and swung his leg out bringing the trooper down. He jumped on top of him and restrained his arms, "Sorry buddy." He huffed while struggling to keep the man down and managed to roll around and get under him, allowing Genji to put him in a chokehold. "That's it… go to sleep." Though he couldn't see the trooper from under his helmet, he knew his face was turning colors. Slowly, the man stopped jerking around and went limp. He ripped off the man's belt to tie the trooper's limbs together, and searched his pockets for anything useful, "There we go!" Genji happily took 3 smoke bombs and a gun.
Hmm, one more thing. He slipped one of the man's boots off and tied his sock around his mouth, "Hope you don't have stinky feet." Genji whispered as he ran off. Trudging hastily through the snow was no easy task, but he managed to get about 100 feet from the convoy and took the high ground up a tree. There were 10 troopers left that kept a tight perimeter, Genji readied a smoke bomb in his hand. Here's to hoping I still have a good pitching arm. He activated the bomb, and threw it as hard as he could down towards the front of the vehicle. Within seconds a translucent yellow gas erupted and began consuming the immediate area.
Wait a second, that's not smoke. That has to be a poison gas, and they must have a filtration system in their helmets. I couldn't get any closer if I wanted to.
The convoy continued to push through, and troopers began aiming for the tree tops. Genji climbed down and decided to move to plan B. He pulled the newly acquired gun and began shooting near the backline's feet, then a couple of shots off to another side. He made a beeline to the right to keep up with the crowd."Come on please take the bait." Genji gripped the gun and anxiously peaked from behind cover. Everyone but 1 guard cleared from the back. Alright Hanzo that's as good as it's going to get, take your shot brother. Genji aimed for the frontline and shot some more rounds to stir them up as well.
It was time to play a game: target practice and circus tricks for the troopers. My head is in destiny's hands now, and hopefully she made them poor shots. Genji poked his head from behind a tree and squinted, a laser flew past not two inches from his cherry red nose. "Well that's not ideal, looks like I am the only poor shot." Genji shoved the gun in his pocket and drew his kunai out, he rolled over to another tree and climbed some way up. Luckily the snow served as an excellent tool, and provided noisy crunching footsteps.
"Make sure to check the tree's, pretty sure he was up in one before."
Nice.
The footsteps came closer and closer. With a heavy sigh, Genji descended down from what could have been seen as the heavens, and directly on top of a trooper.
"HEY!"
Genji engaged in a struggle, and managed to get his arm around the man's neck with the kunai in his other hand. He pressed the blade up against the thin, vulnerable skin of his throat and backed away from the other's, "Drop it." He whispered. He dropped his gun into the snow.
"If anyone shoots, your comrade expires prematurely." He held a steady gaze at the unit and counted 6 in total.
A laser pierced right into the hostage's helmet, as he became dead weight. Genji's eyes grew wide. Well fuck. He flipped around and ran like hell.
Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit– A laser to the side of him, and to the other side. He ran in zigzags until getting to another tree. GOD PLEASE HANZO.
Two troopers swung around each side of him, he ducked and kicked one to the ground, the other he flung his one and only kunai at, which promptly plummeted into the trooper's neck. Wow. He ran again. 2 down 4 to go! As he ran, he heard the now familiar sound of a laser gun being shot and felt a burn he had never experienced in his life on his back. He swung behind a tree and cursed, "Phooooooooooo this is not how I wanted to spend my Saturday." Genji dug his fingers into his arm in an attempt to counterbalance the pain in his back.
"Okay, okay" He breathed heavily and tried to hype himself up for the inevitable re-confrontation.
Sssssssshhwooop!
Sssssssshhwooop!
He heard two thuds muted by the snow.
Sssssssshhwooop!
Sssssssshhwooop!
Another two muted thuds.
Genji looked behind him, and saw 4 bodies on the ground, each had an arrow plunged into them.
He breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you brother."
Moments later he heard an explosion, his head swiveled toward the convoy, now with smoke billowing from it. As he stared, another explosion sent any remaining troopers fly to the ground. He swore he saw a limb in the air. What followed was silence. Smoke filled the sky and Genji sat down on the ground, unbothered by the frigid blanket of snow.
"Fuck. This hurts." He tried to control his breathing and bit his lip.
Minutes slipped by, that really felt like hours to Genji. He saw Hanzo approaching like a rabbit hopping through the snow.
"What happened?" Hanzo called out.
"Oh just a bit of crispy situation!" He gave a shit eating smirk.
"You were hit? Let me see." Hanzo stood before him.
Genji motioned to his back, wincing in pain.
"Hm. This will take some time to heal. Luckily it wasn't a normal gun or else we would have to control the bleeding."
Genji grumbled, "Yeah… lucky."
"Well, our job is done here. I already called someone to come pick us up and help to extract what we can from the cave. They should be here in about an hour." Hanzo crouched beside him.
"Ughhhh. An hour?" He moaned.
"Yep. Same time it took to get here, you'll have to hang in there."
Genji sighed, "At least it's cold out."
"Your green hair really came in handy afterall, an excellent beacon of distraction." Hanzo smiled slyly.
"Yeah. Real fun." Genji dropped his head into hands and day dreamt of being at home and in bed. Soon his wish would come true.
If only Kiyomi were there to greet me.