#blackwatchAU

[overwatchworks]

Lost, But Never Forgotten:

Chapter 1

Jesse had been quick to wipe away all his worries, convincing Genji to take off the faceplate and headpieces before kissing him softly all over his face and pulling him close, wiping away the tears that had spilled from Genji's eyes at all the affection and sheer love the cowboy offered him so freely. 

Genji woke slowly, blinking blearily at his different surroundings but finding comfort in the hand that was running soothingly through his hair and the familiar scent of woodsy soap and smoke. He looked up lethargically, nuzzling his nose to Jesse's collarbone when he scratched lightly behind Genji's ear.

"'Mornin', darlin'." Jesse murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead and getting a shy hum in response. 

Jesse had lured Genji back to his room after Genji had been discharged from the med bay with the promise of giving his weapons back, only to invite him to stay over for the night so he wouldn't have to be alone. Genji had given it all of three seconds of thought before he had snuggled up next to the cowboy where he was sitting on his bed, muttering a quiet thank you and hoping his cybernetic body wasn't too uncomfortable pressed against Jesse's warm flank. 

Jesse had been quick to wipe away all his worries, convincing Genji to take off the faceplate and headpieces before kissing him softly all over his face and pulling him close, wiping away the tears that had spilled from Genji's eyes at all the affection and sheer love the cowboy offered him so freely. 

They had simply cuddled under the warm blankets after that, Genji marveling at how much more comfortable Jesse's bed seemed to be--mostly because the man was there with him--before he had fallen asleep to Jesse wrapped around him, whispering soft words of praise and 'I love you's'. 

Now, as he was slowly waking, he realized how nice it was to have a good night's sleep--he hadn't actually slept much at all during his time here, and any time he did it was marred by nightmares and jerking awake in a cold sweat with a nauseous feeling. This was nice, heavenly compared to the usual, to wake up with Jesse at his side, just like he used to. He hadn't even had a nightmare, just long, peaceful rest for once.

"You sleep alright?" Jesse asked, pressing a kiss to Genji's exposed temple.

"Yes. Better than I have in a while." Genji murmured, curling closer to Jesse and wrapping his left arm around the other man's waist.

"Me too. Might have to make this a habit, sugar. I didn't realize how much I missed havin' a good sleep 'till now."

Genji's fingers clenched at that, face wilting as he pressed it into the crook of Jesse's neck.

"I'm sorry...I had noticed how tired you looked, but I only made it worse...I'm so sorry for all of this Jesse, I was--I was cruel to you where you only showed kindness, and--I'm--I am so sorry..." He whispered brokenly, feeling his chest clench painfully as he remembered how hard Jesse would try, how much his face would fall, shoulders hunching from the way it hurt him when Genji would sneer and spit hateful words at him. 

Jesse tilted Genji's chin up a little more forcefully than usual, a frown tugging at his lips and brows furrowing.

"Genji, how many times will you have to hear me say it before it sinks in? I forgave you the first time you said sorry, and that ain't changing now, or ever. It's alright. I forgive you...And, I know what you’re thinkin' about..."

Genji's eyes fell to the cowboy's shoulder before Jesse urged him to look up again.

"What you said hurt. It hurt like a bitch and I ain't gonna lie about that."

Genji bit his lip and tried to look away again, shame and guilt clawing at his gut, but Jesse's gaze held fast.

"But, I could see somethin' else in your eyes. You spoke more with your eyes, and I could see what you meant, or what you didn't mean. I know you didn't want most of those things to come out the way they did, but I wouldn't have blamed you if you did. There was truth in it, I won't deny that.”

“I was in the wrong too, I shouldn't have lied or kept secrets. But, I don't regret saving you, never will. I know you were hurting, Gen, more than I'll ever know, and it was hardest on you. So, I'm sorry too. But it's okay now, we're on the same page and we got it all worked out, yeah?"

Genji gave a tiny nod, pressing his nose back into the crook of Jesse's neck, simply seeking the comfort he had so desperately wanted but stubbornly ignored.

"Yeah, yeah we do. Thank you, Jesse...I love you."

"There it is. Love you so much, Gen."

Genji could hear the smile in Jesse's voice, and he couldn't help a small one of his own as the other man peppered little kisses all over his face. It grew wider and before long he was grinning and giggling under the onslaught, Jesse not letting up until Genji was pushing feebly at his cheek and gasping through the laughter to stop. 

Jesse beamed and pushed himself off the bed after one last kiss, pulling his overlarge Blackwatch hoodie over his head and tossing it to the floor. Genji watched as he wandered into the bathroom, then looked over to his faceplate and headgear that he had forgone the night before. He had been able to breathe just fine through the night, and in Jesse's presence, he almost felt as if he didn't need to cover up at all. 

Genji decided to ignore the metal pieces strewn on the bedside table for a little longer, instead launching himself across the bed and stretching out to snatch the hoodie Jesse had dropped. He heard the shower turn on as he pulled it over his head, the fabric swallowing his arms and hanging far past his fingers, the bottom of it brushing mid-thigh. 

Genji smiled, pushing up the massive arm sleeves to use his hands, and flipped the hood over his raven locks, liking the way it hung way past his eyes and smelled like Jesse. He then swung his arms down and watched as the sleeves flapped past his fingers, finding child-like amusement in it before repeating the movement a couple more times. 

When he got bored of that, Genji stood and went into the bathroom, ignoring Jesse's weak 'hey!' and stealing his toothbrush. Genji shoved it into his mouth, not looking into the mirror despite feeling better with Jesse's praise in mind. He still couldn't bring himself to look, still hated the reflection that would stare back at him, and he wasn't sure if anything would be able to change that. 

So, instead he watched Jesse shower unabashedly, catching his eye and getting a look that screamed 'really?' but he made no protest, grinning wolfishly into the spray.

"Like what you see, darlin'?" Jesse put extra emphasis on his accent, drawing out the 'n' a bit. 

Genji smirked around the toothbrush and turned back to the sink to spit out the toothpaste, and if he accentuated his hips a bit more than usual when he bent over, no one had to know.

"Yes."

That earned a chuckle from Jesse, and Genji smiled, looking up and into the mirror again. His face quickly fell, eyes darting away from the reflection as he suddenly felt small, and he wandered out of the bathroom. He sat back on the bed, pulling the bottom of the hoodie over his legs and hugging them to his chest. 

Genji then reached over and quickly put his faceplate back on, feeling a refreshing rush of oxygen go to his lungs as he fiddled with putting the rest of the headpiece on. When that was done, Genji flopped onto his side, sighing and curling himself up tighter. 

What made him think he could possibly still have something like that, with the way he was now? What made him think anything could go past flirting and simple comforting anymore? What made him think Jesse could still possibly want him like that anymore? 

Genji rolled over and buried what he could of his face into a pillow, feeling a spike of anger once more, now with a sharp burn on his back. He frowned, but decided to ignore it. He had phantom pains all the time, this wasn't any different. Jesse walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, and Genji felt the bed lower as he sat down on it.

"You alright?" Jesse asked softly, rubbing a hand gently over Genji's lower back. 

Genji grunted and sighed, flipping himself back over gracelessly and meeting Jesse's confused expression with a shrug.

"I'm sorry, that was really unclear, sugar. What now?" Jesse asked, and Genji just shrugged again.

"I'm not sure if I'm alright or not...I don't know how to feel about this. All I've known so far is anger and hatred towards this body and these circumstances and...Well, I've been too focused on that."

Jesse tilted his head, confusion still evident in his eyes as Genji tried to find the right words.

"I-I just...I don't know, Jesse...I'm still...I'm still lost on it. On a lot of things."

Jesse nodded, then wrapped Genji in a hug, running his hand through his raven hair soothingly, Genji leaning into the touches happily.

"Alright. You tell me if you need anythin', okay? I'll do whatever I can to help you."

Genji smiled a bit under the faceplate, bobbing his head. They stayed close for a while, trading gentle touches and Jesse pressing little kisses to Genji's face, making them both grin from the long overdue affection. The holoscreen was eventually turned on, and Jesse pulled out his holopad to finish an overdue mission report.

Genji's mind drifted as he stared idly at the holoscreen, thoughts flitting through his head about home, his father, the empire, and Genji sat up quickly as it hit him.

"Oh my god..."

Jesse startled, letting go of Genji, unsure as the ninja stood and went to the door.

"What? Wait, where are you goin'?!"

Genji left quickly, heading straight for the commander's office almost at a run, hearing Jesse coming after him.

"Gen? Hey!"

He slammed open the door to the office, Reyes looking up from his tablet with a raised brow, smirking when he saw the way Genji was dressed.

"Nice hoodie. What do you want?"

Genji glanced down at the overlarge hoodie for a moment, then he glared up at the commander.

"Why did you keep me?"

Reyes grinned, setting down the tablet completely and lacing his fingers over the desk.

"Took you long enough to come in here and ask that. Now, you're smart, I know you are. Take a guess as to why you're still here."

Genji frowned under the mask, fingers clenching where his hands were pressed against the desk.

"Jesse told me all about why he was in Hanamura, that Blackwatch wanted to dismantle the Shimada empire... You wanted an insider?"

"See? Nothing I can tell you that you don't already know, kid. Any other questions?"

"Yes. Why me? Why wait until I had almost died to take me here? Why not tell me right away? Why not just let me die? Why haven't we done anything yet?" Genji growled, Reyes sighing and leaning back in his chair.

"Why you? You were part of the biggest yakuza clan in Japan and the son of one of the largest crime lords in the world. You were the one that was sneaking out, already trying to get on the clan's nerves, already trying to disobey, to get out. You would have left and helped us where the other one--your brother-- wouldn't have.”

“I had to wait until you almost died because Overwatch wouldn't have let me take you in otherwise. They wouldn't have trusted you before, but now you have a debt owed to us, whether you like it or not, and I have a feeling you'll honour it. Why didn't I tell you right away? You wouldn't have listened. I had to wait until you wanted to hear it, otherwise you would have ignored me and I would have wasted my valuable breath and time. I had to wait until you were ready to help.”

“I didn't just let you die because you're important, kid, more than you know. I still have a job to do, and you are the key to helping me finish it. And I wasn't just going to sit there and let you die anyways, so I gave Overwatch a reason to fix you, to keep you alive. They would have let you die if I didn't convince them that they could use your help, but it had to be on their terms. Why haven't we done anything yet?" 

Reyes grinned, and Genji shifted uncomfortably.

"You weren't ready yet, but lucky for us, you just came in here and changed that. I have a job for you, Genji, if you're ready for it, that is."

Genji stood there for a moment, letting it all sink in before he locked his gaze with the commander.

"I am ready. Completely. What do you need?"

"I need you to tear down the Shimada clan. You'll have the entirety of Blackwatch at your back to help you."

Genji's brows furrowed, memories of the clan, the elders, the oppression, that night he had almost died flooding his mind, and he looked up once more. 

"And my...My brother?"

"If you can find him, no one is going to stop you from bringing him back with you."

Genji made his decision in a heartbeat, determination straightening his posture.

"I'll do it."

Reyes grinned, an unsettling glint in his eye as he stood and started tapping on the tablet again.

"Good. I'll have a mission debriefing for you in the morning, Agent Shimada."

~~

[spiderscanbehacked-blog]

“Where’s the doc?”

Blackwatch missions had a penchant for being hectic. Sombra chewed her lip anxiously. Despite having a partner to help carry the body, her arms burned with the weight of the wounded as they carried him back to safety.

She’d dropped one of her guns on the way. That left her one to spare, which was not- she reminded herself, her current priority. 

But they’d have to get back into the fray soon. They were outnumbered on what had supposed to have been a reconnaissance mission. 

Either retreat, or defeat was imminent. 

@worldsbestdoc

[overwatchworks]

Love and Rage:

Chapter 1

"My name. Is Genji." He hissed, the metal of the examination table creaking and denting under his clenched prosthetic fingers. Angela stared at him in mild shock, lips pressed together in a tight line while Reyes tilted his head a bit, getting a more steely air to his demeanor.

"Well then, Genji," Reyes drew out the name, testing it, eyes hard, face unreadable, before continuing.

"Welcome to Blackwatch."

Jesse was walking with Reyes to the med bay, two weeks since he had last visited. Two weeks since he had last seen Genji. It had been a rough wait, rough time, but Jesse didn't care at this point. Reyes was striding smoothly beside him, speaking quietly into his comm, words Jesse didn't bother with listening in on. 

He didn't know how he felt about seeing Genji again, or rather, he was uncertain as to how the other man would react to him again. Would it be just as bad as last time? Would it be worse? Did Genji still hate him, still blame him? Those thoughts and more had been tumbling through his mind for the past two weeks, stealing his sleep, interrupting his focus, impossible to drown out. 

His main thought--and most concerning--however, was how much had Genji changed? Would he even be talking to the same man, or would it be but a shadow of the person he loved? 

Jesse was tapping his fingers against his gun holster absently, a nervous gesture on his part, but one he could hardly notice with the way his thoughts were swirling. He didn't dare let his hopes get up again though, last time a testimony to his mistake. Reyes glanced over at him, pressing his comm off and frowning a bit.

"You're still okay with doing this, right?" He asked, Jesse blinking and looking up at him.

"Sorry, what?"

"You okay with this?" Reyes repeated, arms crossing over his chest.

"I'm--Yeah, I'm good with it." Jesse muttered, and Reyes raised a brow at him.

"You sound so convinced."

Jesse stopped suddenly, rubbing his hands over his face and taking a deep breath.

"Okay, so maybe I'm nervous. Maybe I'm worried. But Gabe, the man in there, he ain't the same man I knew. I realize that now, an' I accept it, and yeah, I'm a bit nervous to see how he's gonna react to me again. Last time was bad. He hates me, okay? He blames me for what's happened to him, and I've had far too long to stew on it, and to agree with it.”

“I'm scared to see what else has changed, and I'm worried sick 'bout him in general. He ain't okay boss, and I...I dunno if I can even help him anymore...I don’t know if he'll even let me...But I really, really wanna try." Jesse told him. He breathed out slowly, then shoved his hands in his pockets, staring at the floor.

"Sorry, had to get that out..." He mumbled. Reyes stared at him for a moment, then shrugged, continuing down the hall.

"Alright then. So long as you're sure. This is gonna be a tough job kid, I'm not gonna lie."

"I know. But I ain't gonna leave him. We brought him back for a reason, and I'm gonna help as much as I can."

Gabe rolled his eyes fondly, sighing a bit as they reached the medical wing.

"Just do your best, Jesse. You're probably the only one that can help him at this point."

Jesse nodded, uncharacteristically quiet when they got to where Dr. Ziegler had been working on Genji. Reyes pushed the door open, Jesse following after him and staying back against the wall by the exit. The doctor had Genji sitting on an examination table, testing his limbs and checking over his vitals one last time before he could go.

"Ah, there you are, commander. I just have a few more quick tests to run, then I shall turn everything over to you." Angela informed Reyes, not looking up from her clipboard as she scribbled something down on it. 

Jesse stared at his feet the whole time, not daring to look up and meet Genji's gaze--something that he could feel burning into him while he waited.

"Mm, so, he can walk and use his prosthetics relatively well, though it is still a work in progress to make everything as smooth as it used to be. He will need extensive work on fine motor skills and learning how much stronger his new limbs are, how to properly control them."

Jesse listened intently, figuring out what Genji would need help with and making mental note of it all.

"He may also need help with his mental stability; so far he has shown that he is prone to random outbursts of anger and aggression, lashing out physically and verbally, volatile, but he keeps to himself for the most part. He shouldn't be too much trouble otherwise." She told them, Jesse feeling a bit uncomfortable at how they were discussing something so personal so casually, and right in front of the person it was about. 

He glanced up for a moment, eyes flicking to Genji's hunched form, wires on the back of his head and neck still hooked up to the machinery behind him. Genji was staring resolutely at the ground below his feet, hands clenching visibly against the edge of the examination table.

"Okay, thank you doctor. Would you mind sending me the files for this, and then again whenever you do check ups on him? I'll need those for reports." Reyes implored, and the blonde doctor finally looked up from her tablet.

"Ja, I can do that. If you ever see anything going wrong with him, or think he needs to be checked up on, send him back here, and I will fix him up. I can always make improvements as well, should you find he is lacking something to your needs."

Jesse's lip curled slightly at that, and he saw Genji tense up as well, glaring heatedly at the doctor who was pointedly avoiding his eyes.

"Alright, I will. Is he ready to leave now?" Reyes asked, and Dr. Ziegler went around to unhook Genji from the machines.

"Yes. I want him back for check ups every other day until I am certain everything is working just fine with him, though I doubt you'll run into any problems." She said, letting the wires hang loose and stepping away from Genji when she was done.

"There, he's ready to go with you."

Reyes smiled coolly at the doctor.

"Good work here, Angela. Everyone will be properly impressed with him."

"Genji."

They all went quiet and still, looking over to Genji, who was still hunched over, his voice low and dangerous.

"My name. Is Genji." He hissed, the metal of the examination table creaking and denting under his clenched prosthetic fingers. Angela stared at him in mild shock, lips pressed together in a tight line while Reyes tilted his head a bit, getting a more steely air to his demeanor.

"Well then, Genji," Reyes drew out the name, testing it, eyes hard, face unreadable, before continuing.

"Welcome to Blackwatch."

---

Genji mostly stayed locked in his room, ignoring everyone and everything. Jesse would come by every day and call for him, try and get him to come to training, but of course he never got a response. They hadn't talked much since the first time in the med bay, but when they did, it normally went badly. 

Genji had accused him of lying about what he did, keeping his job a secret and then dragging Genji back with him unbidden. Now, he was stuck in this organization as well, not able to get away because he now was forced to be a weapon for their cause in exchange for his life--a life he hadn't wanted fixed, hadn't wanted saved if this is what it meant he had to do. 

Jesse had tried to explain himself, told Genji everything about what he did, how he got here, why he had this job, but it fell on deaf ears. Genji didn't want to listen to Jesse's excuses, and frankly, Jesse was tired of trying to give them. He had tried his best to make things right, but two had to be in favour of making it so. 

Genji would only come out when Reyes would knock, saying he needed to go do some testing back in the med bay. Jesse would follow him during these trips, staying behind Reyes and Genji both, trying not to get on Genji's nerves too much. Until Reyes stopped showing up at the door two days in to coddle the new recruit, and instead just sent Jesse to pick him up. 

The first time he went alone, Jesse had hardly raised his hand before the door opened with a hiss, Genji shoving past him and down the hall, headed for the med bay.

"Hey now, wait up just a sec!" Jesse called, jogging a bit to catch up with Genji's swift pace.

"I know how to get there." Genji growled, voice having a metallic lilt to it from the mask. He still sounded like the words were being ripped from his throat, guttural and unnatural. His flesh hand clenched at his side, pace picking up even more.

"Well, of course you do, we all do here. I’ve taken this trek more times than I can count, and yet here we are." Jesse muttered, messing with the brim of his hat and keeping up with Genji easily.

"Alone, McCree." He hissed. Jesse winced slightly at the use of his surname, sounding foreign and wrong coming from Genji.

"No can do." Jesse deadpanned, sick and tired of trying his hardest only to be met with hate. He was just tired at this point, so, so tired.

"Leave me alone, McCree. I don't want you around."

"Nope. Like I said, no can do." Jesse sighed, shoulders hunching slightly as he shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. His throat felt tight, chest even tighter, but he had gotten pretty good at ignoring those particular feelings over the past few weeks.

"Why not." Genji gritted out, now slowing down a bit, his fingers flicking a bit in frustration, perhaps nerves.

“'Cause I gotta job to do, an' I’m going to get it done. Simple as that. But you’re makin' it pretty damn hard for me here, darlin', makin' harder for the both of us." Jesse quipped quietly, meeting Genji's hard eyes when they finally turned to him.

"Don't call me that. And I'm so sorry you have it so rough, McCree, I really, truly am. I'm sorry that your job is so tough because you can't get over your feelings, because you still think you love me. Sorry I'm making it so hard on you because I don't love you back." Genji didn't quite shout, but his voice raised, taking a cold, almost cruel edge. Jesse stared straight ahead, continuing to walk to the med bay. 

He was so sick of this shit, so sick of trying.

"Mkay then." He hummed, taking the lead now. He wouldn't give Genji the satisfaction of knowing how much that hurt, how much it made him want to stop, just stop everything he had been trying to do. 

They continued walking in silence, Jesse hearing Genji fidget a bit behind him, metal feet clicking on the hard white tile below them. The med bay came into sight and Jesse opened the door to the room Genji would always go in, holding it for him as he walked past, not meeting his eyes.

"I'll come back for you when it's done." Jesse told Genji as the other man hesitated before sitting on the examination table. 

Genji looked up at him, flesh fingers tapping the end of the table, and it looked like he was debating whether or not to say something. Whatever it was, Jesse wasn't in the mood for hearing it. He was about to walk out the door when Genji piped up again.

"McCree..."

"You wanted to be alone Genji, so congratulations. I'm leaving you alone." Jesse said, voice devoid of any real emotion. 

He left without another word, pulling out a cigarette as soon as the door shut behind him.

~*~*~*~

Genji had known Jesse would be coming to pick him up for his examination today, but he wasn't sure how he felt about it. He had been trying to drive Jesse away, but also tried to get closer to him, to seek the only comfort he now had. It was confusing. 

Often, he wanted to lash out at the man for bringing him back here, for the situation that was forced on them both, the situation he was forcing on Jesse and making it seem like his fault when he knew he shouldn't. When he knew it wasn't. But there were other moments when he just wanted those arms back around him, so he wouldn't have to cry alone, so he wouldn't have to feel so utterly lost. 

He wanted that smile again, those lips to his temple, to his own, Jesse assuring him everything would be okay. Genji just didn't know how to communicate that now, with what he had become, with how badly his anger was spiking. He couldn't understand why Jesse was still being so sweet to him when all Genji had done was hurt him. 

Genji punched in the passcode to his door when he heard the tell-tale sound of spurred boots coming to his door, and it opened with a hiss. Jesse had his fist raised to knock, and Genji didn't miss how his eyes still seemed to get brighter when they landed on him. How? 

Genji shoved past him, not really meaning to be rough, just desperate for some contact--any kind of contact--and he started for the med bay.

"Hey now, wait up just a sec!" Jesse called, Genji hearing him pick up his pace a bit.

"I know how to get there." Genji growled, hating the way his voice sounded so different, so horrible, even when he tried to make it softer. Genji felt another spike of anger, and he took a deep breath as he tried to keep it down.

"Well, of course you do, we all do here. I’ve taken this trek more time's than I can count, and yet here we are." Jesse mumbled.

"Alone, McCree." Genji hissed, hoping he could spare Jesse being the target of an impromptu fit of rage.

"No can do." Jesse deadpanned, and Genji felt the feeling spike as he was misunderstood, yet again not getting the words he meant to out.

"Leave me alone, McCree. I don't want you around."

Please don't leave me alone again, Jesse, I need you.

"Nope. Like I said, no can do." Jesse sighed, shoulders hunching slightly as he shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie.

"Why not."

Thank you.

"'Cause I gotta job to do, an' I’m going to get it done. Simple as that. But you’re makin' it pretty damn hard for me here, darlin', makin' harder for the both of us." Jesse told him quietly, and Genji could see how tired he was, probably having this same argument with himself many times before now. 

Genji turned to him, stared for a moment, trying to get his thoughts in order before something came tumbling unbidden out of his mouth, but it was too late, his lips were already moving.

"Don't call me that,"

No, thank you for still holding me that dear.

"And I'm so sorry you have it so rough, McCree, I really, truly am,"

No, I am, I am so sorry I'm putting you through this too, it's not fair of me, I'm sorry.

"I'm sorry that your job is so tough because you can't get over your feelings, because you still think you love me."

No, no no! How can you still love me? How can you still be so kind and so caring when I'm like this? How can you still make me feel special just by looking at me? How can you stand to stay around me when no one else can, when no one else will?

"Sorry I'm making it so hard on you because I don't love you back."

I love you, I love you, I love you so much Jesse, I need you, I love you, please stay with me, please, I love you too, so much.

But Jesse could only hear what he said, not what he had meant, Genji's cold voice still ringing in his own ears as he quickly looked away, hating how horrible it all was.

"Mkay then." Was all Jesse said, and Genji glanced up, almost reaching out as he walked past, Jesse's eyes staring resolutely ahead. 

Genji hesitated for a moment, trying to blink away the tears that had blurred the edges of his vision, hating how he had hurt Jesse so much, no matter how much the cowboy tried to seem like he wasn't. He followed after Jesse in silence, looking down at his mismatched hands and feeling the simmer of anger die down when his eyes flicked up to the cowboy. 

They made it to the med bay, Jesse holding the door open for Genji but not meeting his eyes anymore.

"I'll come back for you when it's done."

Genji stared back at Jesse as he hopped up onto the examination table, already tensing up. He had to say something, couldn't just let him leave like that, had to let him know Genji hated hurting him like that. Jesse was walking towards the door when Genji found his voice again.

"McCree..."

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please don't leave me, I didn't mean that, I love you, please don't go, I love you.

"You wanted to be alone Genji, so congratulations. I'm leaving you alone." Jesse said, voice cold and empty, just like Genji's had been. 

Genji immediately looked down, lip trembling beneath the mask, eyes brimming with the tears he had tried to hold back earlier. Jesse left without another word or backward glance, and Genji curled into himself, tears dripping onto the table and his hands.

"I-I'm sorry..." He whispered. Dr. Ziegler's heels clicked as she came in with a tablet and some needles.

"Hm?"

He didn’t answer, and she didn't notice his tears, didn't notice how hurt he felt on the inside. Genji stayed quiet, not trusting his voice anymore, not trusting the doctor standing in front of him who didn't know that by trying to fix Genji, she was only breaking him more.

~~

[overwatchworks]

Lost, But Never Forgotten:

Chapter 3

"Dragons, huh. That's...New. And you can control one? Do you have one, since you are a Shimada?"

Genji's fist clenched and he grit his teeth, the commander shifting when he saw the sudden flash of anger in Genji's eyes.

"No. Mine is gone." He gritted out darkly, and he turned to leave, ending that conversation in its tracks. Jesse held the door open, and Genji strode out defiantly.

Genji nodded, scrolling through the information he had been given on the tablet he held, biting his lip absently as he read.

"You know the compound backwards and forwards, I know this, but the rest of us will have maps. The guard scheduling will have to be determined when we get there. We'll take a day to observe, then see when to go from there. Plans are still the same: send Genji in first, let him scout out and see what he deems necessary for the assault." Reyes' deep and smooth voice cut through the otherwise silent room, a small gathering of Blackwatch agents listening intently. 

This was a small group, but one of the most elite in the entire organization of Overwatch and Blackwatch combined. Genji read through the last paragraph, then frowned as his eyes caught on a name, just as the commander said it.

"Hanzo Shimada is the current clan leader, though it is in your best interest to avoid him at all costs. He is considered the most lethal individual there, but we are not to kill him, understand? Overwatch wants him alive, and taken in for questioning, but we'll be letting Agent Shimada take care of that job for us.”

“If one of you does happen to run into him, state your location and wait until either Agent Shimada or I get there to engage. If you are already engaged, call in anyways and try and stay alive long enough for one of us to get there. Stay out of sight; this is a stealth mission, get in, do our job and get the hell out of there before the whole empire crumbles on top of us. Because we won't leave Japan until that empire is dust at our feet."

The agents all muttered their agreement, wolfish grins and nods being traded, Genji feeling a fiery determination fill him and straighten his posture. Jesse shifted behind him, hand just barely brushing against his own in reassurance, and Genji bumped it back appreciatively.

"Any questions before I send you off to get ready?" Gabe asked, looking around expectantly, arms crossed across his chest. 

Genji cleared his throat, and all the eyes in the room settled on him. He shifted a bit uncomfortably under the sudden attention, but Jesse tapped his hand again, and Genji let out a little breath.

"There is something else you should know. The clan is, essentially, run by the leader, but there are others that heavily influence even the leader. There is a council, of sorts, and the elders, they can...Control people, to an extent. So, steer clear of them, you should be okay if you stick to the plan, but they are incredibly perceptive. They can get into your head and make you...Do things. Things they want you to, but the stronger your will is, the harder it is for them to do something like that.”

“And there are weapons that only the Shimadas can control, weapons that none of us have any counter to. Hanzo has weapons like that, as well as his father. Any of the past leaders do, anyone with pure Shimada blood, and there is no way to defend against them. So...Be careful."

There was dead silence, and Genji glanced up to where Gabe was giving him an odd look.

"What do you mean, weapons...?" The commander asked slowly, and Genji shifted again.

"They have incredibly powerful weapons that they can use at will, but I know how to deal with them. Just...Stay away from Hanzo and everyone there in general, and you'll be fine. Let me handle them."

"And you're just telling us about these weapons and people now?" Reyes deadpanned, a brow raising, clearly unimpressed.

"Just--Stick to the plan and everyone will be fine! I was just giving you a warning is all, just in case. The clan is far more powerful than you all think, and you would do well not to underestimate them." Genji snapped, voice dropping low as he gazed at each of the agents in turn.

"Fine. You all heard him. Stick to the plan, keep your head about you, be careful, and we'll be back before you know it. I trust each of you can manage that. Now, get out of here and be at the hangar at six." Reyes commanded, and the agents nodded before dispersing, murmuring to each other quietly. 

Genji was about to leave with them when Gabe put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"What?" Genji asked, nerves getting the better of him as his tone was harsher than expected.

"Listen, kid, I need to know what these weapons are. I won't tell anyone else, if that's what you're worried about, but as the commander, I have to know this."

Genji hesitated, glancing to where Jesse was leaning against the door-frame casually.

"They...They're dragons. My family has a legend about them, and those with the power of the Shimada in their blood can call upon them to aid in battle. Only a Shimada can control them."

Reyes raised a brow, arms crossing over his chest.

"Dragons, huh. That's...New. And you can control one? Do you have one, since you are a Shimada?"

Genji's fist clenched and he grit his teeth, the commander shifting when he saw the sudden flash of anger in Genji's eyes.

"No. Mine is gone." He gritted out darkly, and he turned to leave, ending that conversation in its tracks. Jesse held the door open, and Genji strode out defiantly.

"But you know how to defend against one? Can I trust you'll know how to handle it?" Gabe called, and Genji tilted his head back ever so slightly.

"Believe you me, I can handle it."

---

Genji was sitting on the discreet ship that was taking them to Japan, fingers tapping ceaselessly on his bouncing knee, nervous energy coursing through him. They had already been on the ship for hours, but Genji just felt even more anxious the closer they got to his old home. 

Jesse was dozing at his side, and all the other agents had long since given up trying to subtly stare at Genji and went about chatting to each other or napping. Genji looked around for something else to do other than brood and make himself more jittery, so he started fidgeting with his shruiken, sliding them in and out of his fingers idly and listening to the soft 'shink' of metal against metal.

"Relax, sugar. We'll be fine. Save that energy for the scout out, okay?" Jesse murmured, fishing through his pockets to pull out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. Genji glared as Jesse lit one up, pointedly ignoring the irritated cyborg next to him and gazing out the window.

"Stop that. You'll just kill yourself sooner with those." Genji grumbled, swatting at the cowboy's hands and trying to grab the cigarette.

"Oi, lemme have a smoke in peace, will you?"

Genji relented, then smirked, deciding he would simply pick-pocket Jesse when they were walking off the ship. He couldn't smoke if he didn't have a lighter. Genji eventually drifted off, leaning his head against Jesse's shoulder and feeling an arm twine around his waist, dreaming of pink sakura trees and jade scales.

-

When they finally made it to Japan and settled in their safe houses--each house held about three agents, split up for safety reasons--Genji was practically buzzing with energy and more than ready to sneak into the Shimada castle. Reyes gave him the go ahead, making sure he had his comm on the whole time and telling him to relay any and all information that seemed valuable. 

Now, he found himself walking down a familiar street, dressed in all black and sticking to the shadows of the early morning. Genji gazed up at the massive gates just past the Rikimaru, no one on the streets at this hour. He meandered around for about thirty minutes, checking for cameras and other security measures all the while keeping out of sight. 

When he deemed it okay to try and get in, Genji scaled the gate and crouched at the top, a breeze tousling his raven locks that stuck up from the metal around it. There were guards, but of course, none of them bothered to look up, after all, they normally would never have to. They never had before, still didn’t now. Genji dropped down silently, scaling another building and racing across a rooftop, everything so familiar it hurt. 

He easily got past the main entrance guards--they didn't even look his way once--and he continued into the main building, relaying information as he went. There was really only two people he wanted to see, and only one of them he wanted to live past his visit. 

Genji stuck to the shadows, just as silent and dark as one, and no one was any the wiser that he was there. He went past the balcony that had haunted his dreams for months, not even glancing out at the sunrise before continuing on. He made it to one of the practice ranges he used to work drills on, slowing when he heard the steady thunk of something hitting wood. 

Genji chanced a glance around the corner, eyes widening when he saw the familiar proud stance of his brother, pelting arrow after arrow into his target with uncanny accuracy. Genji stared, seriously debating if he wanted to risk his life flying in there to tackle Hanzo in a hug, then realized Hanzo wouldn't be able to tell who he was looking the way he did. He'd probably be killed before he even got the chance to explain.

"Did anyone ever tell you it was rude to stare? It does you no good to hide in the shadows, I know you lurk there."

Genji froze, Hanzo tilting his head oddly, as if he was listening to something, before he continued to hit his mark, completely unfazed.

"Are you going to come out and try to kill me, or will you slink away like a coward?" He asked, and Genji didn't like how cold and lilting, teasing, Hanzo's voice was. 

Genji stepped forward, hearing Reyes hiss something but not comprehending the words, and he took another. Hanzo lowered his bow, back still to Genji, but there was a flash of movement and an arrow was suddenly embedded in the wall next to Genji's cheek. His reflexes from all the training had been the only thing that saved him at the last second.

"You are not normally so talkative with intruders." Genji quipped, hand gripping his wakizashi tightly, ready to use at a moment's notice.

"And my intruders normally do not live to speak past my first strike. I'm afraid you'll have to put up with my banter, since you have so luckily survived this long." Hanzo shot back, and Genji really didn't like the chilly playfulness in his tone, like he knew without a doubt the person in front of him would die. 

He was being toyed with, and that scared him coming from Hanzo. Straightforward and no nonsense Hanzo. It was a trait of their father’s.

"Then you must also put up with mine. I have not come here to fight you, Hanzo. Rather, I would like to speak with you, if you would be so inclined."

Hanzo was turned to him fully now, spinning the shaft of an arrow through his fingers and slowly walking towards Genji, who stood his ground. His hair was longer than it had been when Genji last saw him, pulled up in a high ponytail rather than his usual low and loose one.

"Give me a good reason why I should speak with you and not put an arrow through your throat."

Genji swallowed, putting a hand to his ear and pressing the mute on his comm, hoping he would survive this encounter to get a serious reprimanding from Gabe later.

"I have some information that I'm sure you would like to hear. Information about your brothe--"

Genji didn't even get to finish his sentence before he was being slammed to a wall, his own wakizashi pulled out of his hand and instead pressed against his throat hard, Hanzo glaring up at him fiercely. 

He had gotten fast, really fast, and really strong.

"What do you know about Genji? Speak!" Hanzo shouted, the blade pressing against his throat harder with each word.

"I know that if you don't stop pressing that knife to my throat, you'll kill him." Genji answered cheekily, hoping to gain the element of surprise. 

Hanzo's brow furrowed for a moment, grip loosening on the wakizashi. Genji smacked Hanzo's arm away from him, stumbling out from against the wall and turning to face him again, katana held defensively in his hand just in case. Hanzo faced him, wakizashi gripped tight and looking rather livid.

"Who are you? How do you know about him?" He growled, tattoo on his arm glowing blue for a moment, twisting to life.

"Hanzo, listen, before you do anything rash--"

"Do not speak to me as if you know me! Who are you, and why do you know about Genji?!" Hanzo yelled, stepping forward dangerously, blue energy crackling around the wakizashi now.

"Okay! Okay, just listen to me! I don't want to fight you, so please, please put the weapon down! I don't want to be gutted by my own blade today, Anija--" Genji cut himself off, eyes widening at his slip up, Hanzo's form tensing up.

"What did you just say...?" He whispered.

"A-anija. It's...It's me. I...I came back. I want to bring you with me when I leave this time."

Hanzo's form seemed to lose all its strength, and he looked confused, drained all of a sudden, eyes wide and brows furrowed.

"Genji...?"

Genji lowered his katana, reaching up to undo the latches on his faceplate and pulling it off, meeting Hanzo's gaze as he got closer. Genji smiled a bit, tears already swimming in his eyes because he was finally, finally with his brother again.

"Yeah...It's me..."

Hanzo was about to reach up when a squeal made the both of them jolt, and something massive flew at them both, a bright green light enveloping Genji before he could even raise his katana again.

"Master!!!!!" 

The voice surrounded him, rumbling through his core, and Genji felt the tears spill over.

"E-Egg...?" He whispered, katana forgotten as he reached up to touch his dragon's snout with shaking hands, Egg pressing his head to Genji's. A deep purring filled the air, and Genji sucked in a shuddering breath, eyes wide and tears streaming down his cheeks, but a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Egg, buddy, hey...I--I missed you..." Genji stuttered, closing his eyes and holding Egg's head, petting a hand through his mane.

"Oh, master! Egg came as quick as he could! Egg felt you come in, but Master Hanzo said not to leave the room, but Egg couldn't just stay there! Egg had to come see you master! Master, Egg has missed you so much, Egg is so, so, so sorry for what he did, Egg is so sorry!" 

Egg squeaked between licks to Genji's chin and rubbing his cheek, and Genji shook his head with a smile.

"It's okay, Egg. I know it wasn't your fault. I-I love you, bud...God, I missed you so much..." Genji murmured, pressing a kiss to Egg's snout, the dragon booping his nose to Genji's cheek in return. 

Egg then circled around to Genji's back, pressing a massive paw to the skin that was left there, and Genji gasped at the burning sensation. It felt like he was being enveloped in a flame, but warm, comforting in a way. Egg glowed briefly, then disappeared into a flash of green mist that flowed steadily into Genji's back, and suddenly, Genji felt that ever present gap of nothing in his mind fill, a soothing purr rumbling through his head.

Egg is with you, Master.

Genji blinked rapidly, and he could feel how big the smile had gotten on his face before he turned to Hanzo once more. The older Shimada was staring, his bottom lip trembling and eyes shining with tears. Genji gave in and raced forward, enveloping Hanzo in a hug, hearing the wakizashi clatter to the ground as his brother's arms wrapped around him tightly.

"Genji...Genji, I knew it...I knew they couldn't be--I though you had died, but then Egg...And he said that you were alive...I've been searching for you ever since...For months, I've been--"

"Hey, hey it's alright. Hanzo, listen to me. I want you to come back with me, I want you to leave this place, be free of all this, please, I need you to come back with me. I don't want to go back alone..." Genji murmured, pulling back to look his brother in the eye.

"Come with me."

Hanzo's brow furrowed, and he wiped away the tears that had spilled onto his cheeks.

"I-I can't just...Leave..." He whispered, looking around the training ground, then back to the main building.

"Yes, yes you can. Just come with me, I'm here with Blackwatch, we're here to take the empire down. We're here to be rid of it, and I need you to come with me, maybe you can help us too! You can come back and help us get rid of this place, the chains they have on you, you'll be free of it!" Genji said, gripping Hanzo's shoulders tighter as he became more excited. 

The barest curve of a smile hinted on Hanzo's lips as he stared at the ground.

"Be free of this...?" He whispered, and Genji grinned, nodding.

"Yeah! You just have to follow me, I'm sure Gabe would love to have you on the team, I can finally introduce you to Jesse, and you can do whatever you want without the elders constantly breathing down your neck--Hanzo...?"

Hanzo was tilting his head again, reaching down and grabbing his bow from where he had dropped it, slowly nocking an arrow.

"You didn't come alone, did you..."

Genji frowned, looking over his shoulder where Hanzo's gaze had gone to.

"Yes, I did. They sent me in here on my own."

Hanzo didn't say anything else, he merely whipped around, arrow pulled back and pointing straight between Reyes' eyes, the barrel of a shotgun almost resting on Hanzo's forehead it was so close. Genji quickly pulled out his own weapons, snatching his wakizashi and katana from the ground and holding them up defensively.

"Commander?! What are you--"

"I don't want to hear another word from you, Shimada. You disobeyed a direct order and you've successfully ruined our plans. You engaged the target, and we have to leave, now." Reyes growled, and Genji moved towards him, anger blazing in his eyes.

"We don't have to fight! Hanzo will go with us, now lower your gun!"

"I said. Quiet." Reyes snapped, steely eyes falling on Genji. It made him snap his mouth shut, jaw clenching. 

"What do you want, Commander?" Hanzo asked quietly, sneering at the last word and not lowering his bow. 

Reyes tilted his head, eyes flicking around to the shadows and Genji turned, seeing their team of agents surrounding them, guns held up at the ready. Even Jesse had his revolver leveled on Hanzo, hammer cocked.

"You have me surrounded, guns all ready to rip me apart at the twitch of a finger, and yet I'm still alive. So, I'll ask again. What do you want?" Hanzo hissed, eyes trailing Gabe's gun as he lowered it, but not lowering his bow. 

Reyes stepped back, eyes narrowing as he appraised Hanzo.

"You heard your brother, right? We need you to come with us."

Hanzo glanced at Genji coolly, then looked back at Gabe, who had stepped back even more.

"So, he wasn't lying to me."

"Of course I wasn’t ly--"

"Shimada! Shut the hell up, or I swear to god I will put you in a detainment cell right along with your brother!"

Hanzo's eyes widened, and he bared his teeth, tattoo shifting once more, a glowing tendril of blue sneaking down towards his arrow. Genji was about to step closer to Hanzo when a gunshot shattered through the still night air. Hanzo jolted and dropped his bow, blood splattering the ground at his feet, pain dancing in his eyes as he gripped his hand and another shot went off. 

Genji stared in shock as Hanzo fell to the ground, a scream ripping past his lips as spot of crimson quickly spreading on his leg, and he curled up, huffing raggedly.

"Hey! Hanzo! What the hell are you guys doing?!" Genji shouted, dropping down next to his brother and looking over the wounds frantically. He then glared up at Reyes, who clicked his tongue and motioned to one of the agents.

"Cuff them both. I'm sick of dealing with this. We leave in ten minutes, pack your bags and get to the rendezvous point. Ship will be here in fifteen."

Genji struggled as one of the agents put handcuffs over his wrists and then over Hanzo's, taking both their weapons and hauling Genji to his feet.

"Hey, boss, we ain't gotta--"

"McCree. I don't want to hear it. You can watch them if you want, but I'm detaining them both no matter what you want, alright? Unless you want to join them?"

Genji watched as Jesse grumbled, tapping his fingers on his holster, then he came over and took Genji's arm lightly as the previous agent shoved him at the cowboy.

"Easy there, Wessington. He ain't gonna hurt no one, no need to be rough."

Genji glared at the other agents, but didn't struggle against Jesse's hold.

"You didn't have to fucking shoot him! He was about to come with me, I didn't ruin the mission, you guys did by coming in here! Hanzo wasn't going to hurt anyone!" Genji shouted, and Jesse gripped his arm tighter.

"Gen, you’re just gonna get yourself in bigger trouble like that, alright? Just stay quiet, and we'll fix everythin' up when we get back." He whispered.

Genji grunted, knowing he was right. Jesse leaned down to help Hanzo to his feet, and the older Shimada glared up at him, slapping the hand away and struggling to his feet.

"Hanzo..." Genji started, but then that glare was directed at him, and Genji winced.

"I don't need your help." Hanzo spat, Jesse rolling his eyes and gripping Hanzo's arm tightly anyways.

"Come on."

Hanzo wrenched his arm free, stumbling back a bit, and Genji's brows furrowed."No! I can't leave! I won't leave with you people!" He shouted, bloody hand pressed protectively to his chest and leaning on his good leg.

"You're coming with us whether you like it or not, princess." Reyes deadpanned, putting a hand on his shoulder and shoving him forward. 

Hanzo growled, opening his mouth to say something, and Gabe sighed, smacking the butt of his shotgun to Hanzo's temple. Hanzo dropped, Reyes catching him before he hit the ground and tossing his limp form over his shoulder.

"I thought you said he was not to be underestimated. I expected more of a fight." Reyes snorted, turning to Genji with a grin and patting Hanzo's lower back.

"He would have been if you hadn't fucking shot him." Genji growled, and Gabe shrugged, walking past him with a swagger to his step.

"Alright ladies. Back to the ship, we leave in ten. I have a feeling the Shimada empire is going to fall faster than we thought with our new friend here."

~~

[overwatchworks]

Lost, But Never Forgotten:

Chapter 2

"You ready...?"

Genji hummed thoughtfully, wrapping his arms around Jesse's waist and snuggling up close behind him.

"Yes. Yes, I think I am."

"Good. I'll be there, just whenever you need me. I'll be with you the whole time."

"I know. You always are. Thank you, Jesse."

Genji gripped the hilt of his katana even tighter, glaring at Reyes, who met his fiery gaze with a calm, neutral one.

"We were supposed to be in Japan by now, not still training! You gave me a mission, and now you won't even let me do it?!" He growled, and Reyes sighed for the umpteenth time. They'd been over this every time Genji was in here practicing with the commander.

"Listen, you're good, kid, but you need to be more than good for this mission. You need to be one of the best we've got, and this is the only way you'll get there. Now, run the drill again, or I'll have you doing push-ups until even your prosthetic arm gives out." Reyes told him smoothly, and Genji gritted his teeth, knowing he was right. 

No matter what he had said in the office when he had gone in there, the commander knew he still needed work, and honestly, Genji agreed with him. There was no way he could take down the Shimada empire if he couldn't even move stealthily, much less have full control over his movements for fighting. 

So he had accepted Reyes' offer for some personal training, to make him the best he could be as fast as he could. It was rigorous. Brutal. But it was working.

"This is such bullshit..." Genji grumbled half-heartedly, sliding back into the stance for the drill anyways. He ran it again, and again, and again, until Reyes hummed in satisfaction, Genji panting and sweating where he could.

"Alright. Next one."

The training had been progressing in difficulty throughout the weeks, Genji working on coordination, mobility, accuracy, stealth, attacks, offensive and defensive techniques, hand to hand combat, working and working until his body would scream at him to stop and then some.

"Do it again! You think they're just going to let you make dumb mistakes like that? They'll kill you!" Reyes shouted, shaking his arms out and circling where Genji was heaving, his whole body burning from exertion. 

Genji straightened, letting out a long puff of air before raising his fists again, Reyes sinking down into his own stance before Genji flew at him once more. He brought his fist down, then maneuvered out of the lock Reyes caught him in and countered with one of his own. 

Genji gritted his teeth, strength leaving him, and the commander was suddenly out of the hold and beating him back to the ground yet another time.

"I know you can do this, Genji! Get up. Again." Reyes demanded, posture sinking back into a defensive stance. 

Genji let out a yell of frustration, slamming a fist to the metal flooring below him and letting his anger fuel him to get back up. He would get it right this time, he would be the one still standing this time. 

Genji was in his stance once more, leveling his breathing and his gaze, eyes locked on Reyes' form, analyzing, waiting, ready. His back burned, gaze fierce, hands fisted and muscles tense. An odd sense of calm fell over him as he launched forward, hands moving on muscle memory, countering Reyes' blows and landing his own, getting the commander into a complex lock and holding it. 

Then, Reyes' back hit the floor, Genji the one over him now, arms slowly letting him out of the lock.

"Good! Now don't get cocky, run the next one." Reyes demanded, already rolling back to his feet as Genji groaned, but there was a small smile beneath the mask at his little victory, his improvement.

He would keep himself going with the thought of getting back to Hanamura, back to the clan, getting revenge, getting to Hanzo. Sometimes Reyes' voice would even melt into that of his older brother's, urging him on where nothing else could, helping him work harder, be stronger, faster, better, one of the best.

"Good, good! Hold your ground, don't give in!"

Genji's arms shook under the strain of holding his katana up, pressing back against the training bot's onslaught. With a heave, he swung the blade to his left and rolled away to the right, flipping back to his feet and switching his sword to his left hand. 

Determination glinted in his eyes as Genji felt the shruiken slide up into his fingers, and he threw them in a severely practiced manner, perfect. Each blade hit their mark spot on, and he jumped, twisting mid-air and hitting another two bots before landing in a silent crouch, the satisfying clang of metal falling to the ground behind him signaling Genji of his victory. 

He sheathed his katana with a self-satisfied smirk, twirling it with a flourish and laughing at how Gabe rolled his eyes.

"Alright, enough for today. We start again at five tomorrow morning with stealth training and endurance." Reyes called from where he was by the doors.

“Five?! And endurance? I hate endurance, you know I do!" Genji groaned, and the commander grinned before walking out with a wave.

"Of course I know, which is why we're doing it! Quit your whining, I'll see you bright and early."

Genji grumbled but cleared the area gratefully, glad to go back to his room to see Jesse and get some well deserved rest.

---

It took months, longer than Genji thought, longer than he ever wanted it to be--so much impatience, frustration, anger--but he got there. He became one of the best. 

Genji was flipping through the air, landing in a spin and deflecting bullets without a second thought, pulling the katana from its sheathe, eyes alight and back burning. Reyes reloaded in a heartbeat, advancing on him, and Genji let him think he was getting the upper hand, stepping back once, twice, before launching himself forward. 

He spun again, taking the element of surprise and easily disarming Gabe just as he had been shown countless times by the man himself, knocking him to the floor and towering above him, and he pressed the tip of his blade to the commander's throat. 

Reyes' eyes were widened slightly in muted shock before a devilish grin broke out across his features. Genji leaned back and swung the katana away from Gabe's throat with gusto, sheathing it once more in a flourish of movement and holding a hand out to help him up. Reyes took it gratefully and stood, brushing himself off before turning to Genji.

"Well done, kid. You're ready."

Genji grinned under the mask, pumping his fist as Reyes mussed his hair.

"I beat you! I finally beat you in a full out fight!" He whooped, smacking the hand from his hair playfully as Reyes huffed a laugh.

"Don't get used to it, kid. Alright, meet me in my office tomorrow at eight, we'll go over the information I've gotten lately, mission details, and then you can pack your bags and be on a plane to Japan before dinner. You've done one hell of a job getting ready for this."

Genji nodded, then lowered his head into a deep bow.

"Thank you for helping me, Commander."

Gabe smiled knowingly, patting a hand on Genji's shoulder when he straightened.

"Yeah. You worked your ass off, Genji, I can't take all the credit. But I'll take most of it. Now, go get some rest, be ready for tomorrow. This won't be easy, but I've got faith you'll get it done. After all, I was the one teaching you."

Genji scoffed, grinning under the faceplate, and from the way Gabe looked back at him, he knew the commander could tell he was. Genji bowed quickly again before leaving the training rooms, heading back to his and Jesse's room silently with newfound determination. 

He slipped inside, eyes not needing to strain in the dim lighting as he walked over to the bed, setting his weapons in the corner carefully, then took the faceplate and headpieces off. The bathroom light was on, so Genji took it upon himself to barge in, Jesse nearly choking on the toothpaste in his mouth at the sudden and loud entrance.

"Jeffus, Gen! Gif a mam some warmif!" He coughed out, and Genji patted his back apologetically.

"I have no idea what you said, but I'm sorry anyways."

Jesse glared at him playfully through the mirror, and Genji grinned, still avoiding his own reflection and bumping the cowboy's hip lightly as he passed. He then stripped out of his training clothes and extra metal coverings and went into the shower, turning it on and standing under the spray, then squealing at how cold it was. 

Jesse burst out laughing, shaking his head and getting Genji a towel as the other man cowered in the corner of the stall, glaring at the water as if it had personally wronged him.

"You do that every time, darlin'."

"Yeah, well, I forget it isn't instantly warm! I have too much going on in my head to remember that shit!" Genji defended weakly, sticking his left hand into the spray to check the temperature.

"Uh-huh. Just hurry up, you need your rest for tomorrow, mkay?" Jesse implored, dropping the towel as Genji nodded, finally deeming it safe to go under the water again. 

He washed quickly, tired muscles relaxing their tension in the warm water and Genji sighing happily at the feeling of being clean again. He got out and dried off, throwing on some pyjamas and brushing his teeth before sauntering back into the bedroom, flopping down on the bed behind Jesse.

"You ready...?"

Genji hummed thoughtfully, wrapping his arms around Jesse's waist and snuggling up close behind him.

"Yes. Yes, I think I am."

Jesse turned around in the embrace, pulling Genji close, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"Good. I'll be there, just whenever you need me. I'll be with you the whole time."

Genji smiled, pressing his nose to the crook of Jesse's neck. He placed a kiss on his collarbone lightly.

"I know. You always are. Thank you, Jesse."

~*~*~*~ 

Months earlier:

Egg was somewhere dark, he didn't know where, but he couldn't see, and there was one thing that was very, very wrong. He could no longer sense where his master was.

"Master...?" He called, more of a desperate whimper than anything. 

He looked around frantically, only finding more blackness, not the steady glow of his master's soul, though he could sense it was still there, for which he was greatly relieved. So, his master was still alive, because if he had died, Egg would have been with him. But Egg was alone.

"Master...! Master!" He squeaked, searching for the grounding beacon of his master's tattoo, but unable to find it in this vast void. 

Then, he remembered, the bad people with good intentions, taking his master's arm, the only way Egg could be physically connected to Genji. He squealed, panic starting to make his movements jerky and uncoordinated, and Egg felt like he was a new dragon once again, scared and helpless. 

Except, as a young dragon, he'd had Genji at his side, his master encouraging him and making their bond stronger each step of the way, something he could depend on to always be there. 

Now, Egg was lost, and he didn't know how to find his way back home. Back to his master. Egg curled up and cried, tiny, pitiful squeaks hiccuping out as he tried to find comfort in the memory of his master's smile, his warmth. He didn't know how long he stayed like that, nor how long he had already been in this dark place, but Egg eventually got up and started to search again, though he didn't know for what. 

Something. Anything. 

He called for his master and flew for ages or perhaps for no time at all, he couldn't tell, the only light being the soft green glow his own body emitted. Egg tried to go to something familiar, searching until he eventually felt an unexplainable pull, leading him to a feeling he recognized. 

He followed that feeling, becoming more excited as it got stronger, the blackness around him slowly, ever so slowly fading into a grey, then finally letting up to vague surroundings. 

It felt like his master, and he squeaked and chittered happily as it almost became overwhelming. Egg flew ecstatically into a familiar room, searching frantically until seeing a figure he recognized and shooting towards it, just barely registering that something was just slightly off before everything flashed a brilliant blue.

~*~*~*~

Hanzo sat in his office, flipping through the files on his desk with little interest before sighing deeply and pulling his glasses off. He set them on the papers and rubbed his tired eyes, closing them for just a moment, then decided he needed a break. He stood and stretched a bit, then left the oppressive room, going instead to his own. 

Hanzo paused just outside of Genji's as he passed, like he always did and gazed inside, still hoping beyond hope that he would see a flash of green and hear that tell tale snicker even after all this time.

"You're so ridiculous, Anija! Relax! There was nothing to worry about, I'm fine! Aren't I always?"

Hanzo bit his lip, walking into the empty room, blindly chasing after his brother's voice that wasn't even there in the first place. He shut the door behind him, knowing no one would bother him, but wanting the feeling of privacy anyways. They had cleared out this room not a week after Genji had been killed, leaving no trace that there had ever been a second son. 

They had taken the things Hanzo had of him too; the pictures they had taken together, the clothes that had gotten mixed up, the weapons he and Genji used to practice with, all of it. Like they had wanted Genji to disappear from everyone's memories as well as their lives. 

And it had worked, it worked for everyone but Hanzo, the only one not pretending his little brother had never existed. He couldn't understand it, never would be able to understand how they all seemed to just forget him. How could they possibly forget him, he was so important! 

He was the only colourful and lively person in the Shimada compound, the only one strong enough to keep his own will, to live his own life, to be himself, to find some sense of freedom, and they had killed him because of that! Hanzo would never be able to understand that, nor would he ever be able to forget his little brother, no matter how hard everyone else seemed to try to get him to. 

He simply couldn't. 

There was the hot sting of tears rolling down his cheeks, and Hanzo blinked, not even realizing he had started to cry. He wiped at them slowly, sniffling and allowing himself this one moment to grieve, the elders normally around to stop such things, calling it silly and weak. Hanzo didn't know when it had become a weakness to love family, or to grieve for a lost loved one, but apparently it was now. 

Hanzo laid back on the bed, hugging a pillow--his brother's pillow--to his chest and crying, missing Genji now more than ever, and god, it hurt. Not just in his chest, but everywhere, especially his arm. His arm was burning. Hanzo clutched at his tattooed limb as the pain increased, an uncomfortably full sensation crawling beneath his skin and he frowned. 

Hanzo stretched his fingers, hissing when a sharp pain spiked all the way up to his shoulder, and he muffled a surprised sound as it glowed. The colour was off though, more of a deep turquoise now as the tattoo crackled and shifted into life. 

He bit back a scream of pain as his dragons appeared, tumbling from his arm gracelessly and chattering loudly, enveloping something between the two of them, rubbing and purring obnoxiously.

"Wh...What...?"

Hanzo stared as not two, but three little heads swiveled to his direction, ears flicking and twisting, two cyan and one jade.

"The fuck...Wait, Egg?!" Hanzo shouted, eyes widening before he was assaulted by a tiny squealing dragon.

"Master Hanzo!!! Master Hanzo!! Oh, Master Hanzo! It is lovely to see you! Egg is so glad he found someone, so glad he found you!!"

Hanzo blinked, blinked again, rubbing his eyes hard, just in case, but Egg stayed, purring loudly and rubbing his chin so frantically it must have hurt. He tried to school his expression from complete shock back into something a little more decent, but he couldn't quite manage it.

"Egg?! What are you doing here?! How did you--Where--Wait, what happened to--But Genji is--Why did you come out of my--Did you come here on your own or--Genji, he's--" Hanzo cut off abruptly, staring at the wall, then back to the purring green dragon in his lap, then to his own dragons, who bobbed their heads in confirmation that yes, he wasn't the only one seeing this. 

Back to Egg. Egg was here. If Egg was here, that meant--

"Wait, Genji’s alive?!"

The dragons all jerked and flailed a bit, Udon squeaking at the outburst, and Hanzo glanced at the door quickly, immediately lowering his voice.

"Genji's alive?!" He whisper-shouted again, and Egg looked down at himself, then back up at Hanzo.

"Well, considering Egg is still here, yes, that should be correct." Egg squeaked, tail swishing as he nudged Hanzo's hand in an attempt to be petted. 

Hanzo absently acquiesced to the dragon's wishes, Egg purring louder as his brows furrowed.

"What do you mean 'should be'? You mean you don't know if he's alive or not?"

Egg looked up at him, Udon and Soba coming over to lay with him in Hanzo's lap

."Egg...Egg knows master is still alive, but...He...He's lost..."

"Lost...?" Hanzo asked, confusion only becoming more palpable.

"Egg cannot find master...They took master's arm, and his tattoo, so Egg cannot go back to him...Egg thought Master Hanzo was...Master Hanzo was as close to master as Egg could get..." He squeaked sadly, his little voice wavering as he curled up closer to Hanzo.

"Wait, who took Genji's arm?!" Hanzo's voice raised along with his anger before he took a breath and settled it back to normal.

"Who are you talking about Egg? Do these people have Genji? Do you know where to find them? Are you certain he is alive?"

Egg lowered his head.

"B-bad people, good intent. No, Egg doesn't know where, or how to find master...But m-master is still alive, otherwise Egg would not be here...Egg should not be here, for what he did..."

Hanzo frowned, not getting nearly enough information from these vague answers as he needed.

"What?"

Egg started to squeak cry, and Hanzo immediately picked him up, petting him gently in an effort to soothe him.

"Egg was the one who did that horrible thing to master! Egg almost killed his own master, he does not deserve to still be here! Egg has committed such an atrocious act, but he didn't mean to!" He squealed, hiding his head in the crook of Hanzo's arm, and suddenly, everything about that night made sense. 

Hanzo's breath hitched and his eyes widened, memories flashing back to his father standing over Genji, the flash of green behind him as Hanzo was dragged away, the blood and gore he had found after.

"No, no no, Egg, I already understand...It wasn't your fault, you would have never hurt Genji, never!"

"But Egg did! Almost killed his own master even when he promised to protect him!"

"Did you remember anything about what happened..." Hanzo's voice was suddenly hushed, and Egg finally peeked his head out to look at him.

"No...Egg just remembers...Pain, and--and voices...Cold voices...But then he woke up and master was--!"

Hanzo nodded in understanding, petting his hand through Egg's mane softly.

"The elders, father...Egg, whatever happened, it was in no way your fault. It was theirs, always has been..." He muttered bitterly, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"But what about Genji's tattoo...?"

"Gone..." Egg whispered, paws lifting nervously and tail flicking.

"Okay...Okay, what about the people that took him...? Did you see them, any details?"

"Jesse."

Hanzo frowned, brows furrowing before his eyes narrowed.

"What about him." He growled, fist clenching slightly, but Egg shook his head quickly.

"Saved him. Jesse saved him. Called someone and had bad people come in to help him."

"You keep saying 'bad people'..."

"Yes...Something was off about them...Egg could not pinpoint what, but they were called in to save him. Egg was taken from master by them, and he no longer knows where master is, or..." Egg trailed off, squeaking softly to himself and leaning closer to Hanzo.

"But, he's alive...? You mean he...He was taken in and saved? That's why there was no--No body...?" Hanzo asked quietly, and Egg bobbed his head.

"Yes, yes. He is alive. He was scared and angry when Egg was taken, but alive, yes."

Hanzo stared at the wall again, trying to process everything, trying to wrap his brain around that fact that his brother was still alive. He had always thought Genji's body had been taken that night by the elders, buried someplace discreet, somewhere no one would stumble across it, killed by his own father. But to know that somewhere, somehow, he had been saved, and Genji was alive...

"O-okay...Okay, Egg, you'll have to stay out of sight, you can't be seen by anyone but me, okay? Just...Give me some time, I'll see if I can find anything on him, on Jesse, I--I'll find him. I will find Genji. Udon, Soba, stay with him and, um, stay here. No one comes in here but me, so it's okay. But be careful."

Egg squeaked happily, all three dragons rubbing Hanzo and purring contentedly with each other before he stood and went back to his office quietly. 

Hanzo sat down and immediately started his search.

~~

[overwatchworks]

To Break Steel and Stone:

Chapter 2

"Listen, kid. Everyone deserves a second chance, because you never know how much a person can change. Sometimes it's for the better, and giving them that chance can make it all worth it. People like you are misunderstood; good people with good hearts that have been twisted to do some bad things. If you give them another chance, you can help put them on the right path, you can make a good person a great one, or change a bad man into a better one.”

Genji took Hanzo to go shower after his brother requested it, holding a new uniform and looking around curiously as Genji led him to back to his room. Hanzo's leg had been healed more since he had been here, and he stubbornly refused Genji's help, insisting he could walk just fine. He had a limp, but other than that, Genji thought he was fine. Well, as fine as he could be. 

They made it to the room before either of them decided to speak, Jesse nowhere to be seen.

"So. You doing okay...?" Genji asked first, getting a sideways glance from Hanzo.

"Depends on your version of 'okay'. I feel fine, if that's what you're worried about."

"I mean...That's good, but what about...You know," Genji rubbed the back of his neck nervously, then sighed. 

"Your mental state? You good there too...?"

"I am perfectly stable!" Hanzo shouted, tensing up and making Genji jump a bit. Hanzo closed his eyes, taking a breath and licking his lips before giving Genji a strained smile.

"I know that didn't...Sound too convincing, but please...Just trust me. I'm alright."

Genji nodded slowly, not at all convinced, and he went to grab some towels while Hanzo started unbuttoning his bloodied dress shirt.

"Okay, well, if you need..." Genji trailed off, eyes drawn to Hanzo's back as he dropped the towels, brows furrowing. 

Large pink and red scars criss-crossed over the broad expanse of pale skin, not new, but certainly not there when Genji had last seen him, muscles rippling and making some stick out more vividly. Hanzo turned slightly as he tossed his shirt to the side, Genji catching a glimpse of what looked to be a brand, the white discolouration sticking out against Hanzo's darker skin tone. 

Hanzo then toed off his shoes and socks, balance as impeccable as ever, and he turned to Genji fully, his chest bruising from what must have been the force the agents had been using to get information.

"Um...Do you have a brush I can use?"

Genji snapped his eyes back up, blinking and going over to the sink area.

"Y-yeah...Here."

Genji pulled a hairbrush out of the cabinet and thought for a moment.

"Lemme brush it, you've gotta be hurting."

Hanzo hummed and sat down, not quite denying it, and Genji moved behind him, running the brush through his long raven locks as gently as he could. For some reason, Genji couldn’t bring himself to leave Hanzo just yet. He felt like he was a little kid again, constantly looking for attention from his big brother.

"You must be wondering about the scars. There's more. You may as well know if you're going to find out anyways..." Hanzo murmured resignedly after a moment, and Genji grunted, hand tightening over the handle of the brush.

"Did those bastards do that to you?"

Hanzo didn't answer, instead he leaned down to roll the cuff of his pants up, and Genji's eyes widened as more scars were revealed, lines of them wrapping around Hanzo's ankles and up his calf.

"Are those...Hanzo, are those from goddamn chains...?"

"They became afraid, knew I wasn't stable, knew they would be next. I killed my own father, then started on them. I...I was unstable. So, this was how they 'fixed' me." Hanzo whispered, and Genji's anger rose again.

"You mean they fucking chained you up and tortured you until they needed you?!"

"Haven't they always?" Hanzo murmured, and Genji glowered, hands clenching so tight it hurt.

"Those fucking monsters..."

Hanzo turned slightly, his hand going down to press lightly on Genji's knee, snapping the younger Shimada's gaze back up.

"Genji. It's alright, I'm okay now."

"It's not fucking alright, Hanzo, and you know it! What else did they do to you? How long have they been hurting you like this? How much did you have to go through? If I had just come sooner, maybe I could have stopped some of it, god if I had just behaved from the beginning, maybe stayed with you longer, made things easier on you--"

Hanzo cut Genji off by pulling him into a hug, arms wrapping around his shoulders tightly and tugging him close.

"Genji, I don't blame you for any of this. You never did anything wrong. It was not a bad thing for you to seek freedom. And they made you pay for it, almost with your life. It was never your fault, any of this, and it's all okay now. You came back and took me with you." Hanzo assured quietly, and Genji hugged him back, careful of his bruised ribs.

"Okay...Okay, if you say so...But tell me if you ever need anything, alright? Jesse and I will do whatever we can to help, and you won't ever have to go through something like that again. Blackwatch will keep you safe, give you a home of sorts, don't worry. You're safe now."

Hanzo pulled back, this time giving him a real smile, and then he shoved Genji's shoulder lightly.

"I trust you. Now, let me take a shower, I feel disgusting."

Genji grinned and gave a little two fingered salute, walking out of the bathroom and hearing the water turn on in a soothing, steady hum. He waited on the bed, swaying back and forth after turning on the holoscreen, not really watching it but liking the background noise it provided. 

Hanzo finished up pretty quickly, coming out of the steaming bathroom wearing the new clothes he had been issued, hair back up and looking more lively now that he wasn't caked in blood.

"Hey, wait a minute, you've got some busted ribs and a few gunshot wounds to take care of, and honestly, I'm sure you could use a full tube of ointment with those cuts." Genji quipped, sitting a curious Hanzo down on the bed and going back into the bathroom to grab the med kit. 

“I was checked out by the doctors here before they let me go.” Hanzo called, Genji huffing.

“Okay, but you still have to dress your wounds properly, especially after a shower.”

He came back and pulled out some medical tape, wrapping up Hanzo's hand and leg, then going on to bind his ribs as gently as possible. Genji then put down a biotic field, tending to the bigger cuts on Hanzo's face that would need a bit more help to heal than just a biotic field.

"Feels weird, me being the one to patch you up this time." Genji hummed with a fond smile. 

He remembered the times where he would come back home after a rather eventful evening at the bar, Hanzo griping at him for getting into another fight while he bandaged his hands up, or when he was younger still, getting too excited about playing or training and end up with cuts and bruises everywhere. Hanzo had always taken care of him.

"It's nice, having someone to do the work for you. You certainly wrapped my ribs up better than I could have on my own." Hanzo commented, his own smile playing on his lips. 

They both turned at the sound of the door opening, and Jesse stopped short when he noticed the two staring at him, shifting nervously as his eyes fell on Hanzo.

"Oh, uh...Howdy. You need me to come back later, or...?"

Genji grinned, shaking his head and motioning Jesse over.

"No no no, come here. Perfect timing, I just finished fixing him up. Jesse, this is Hanzo. Hanzo, Jesse." Genji introduced, watching Hanzo's face intently for a reaction. Jesse smiled and held a hand out, Hanzo regarding it coolly for a moment before shaking with a small grin.

"It's about time I met you, Mr. McCree. Genji would talk nonstop about you all the time."

"Aw, shucks...Call me Jesse, and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance too. I've heard my fair share 'bout you too, Hanzo. Er--Is it alright if I...?"

Hanzo huffed a laugh and leaned back on the bed, waving a hand dismissively.

"Yes that's fine, relax. I'm not nearly as scary as you think, trust me."

Genji shook his head at Jesse, mouthing 'He's lying, he's terrifying' with an encouraging smile and nod as the cowboy's eyes darted back to Hanzo anxiously. The older Shimada shoved his foot against Genji's head lightly, catching his brother's not so subtle gestures.

"Ow!"

"Oh shut up, I am not."

"You are too! But don't worry, Jesse, he doesn't bite. Well, occasionally."

"Seriously? I was five when that happened!"

"And yet you still know exactly what I'm talking about. I'll never let you live that down, brother."

"Tch, yeah, it's been, what, seventeen years?"

"Yuuuup. And we are still going."

Jesse watched the exchange, amusement dancing in his eyes, and he seemed to relax, sitting on the foot of the bed.

"Gen, I don't think he's gonna bite me."

"Thank you."

"Don't blame me if he does then!"

Jesse chuckled and looked back to Hanzo, eyes drifting to the cuts and now fading bruises on his cheeks.

"Sorry about the way they treated you...And I’m sorry they shot you, Blackwatch is kind of a...Shoot first ask questions later ops, you know...?"

Hanzo smiled amiably, huffing another laugh.

"Well, they certainly live up to that motto. It's okay though, I've had worse, and they were just following orders. To be fair, I was about to try and fight you, so..."

"With just that bow?" Jesse questioned, a brow raising septically.

"Well, I would have had help, but yes, essentially with just the bow." Hanzo nodded, a smug look crossing his face that made Genji roll his eyes.

"Don't be a show off, Han."

Jesse raised both brows, looking between the two.

"Wait, you mean he could seriously have taken out all of us, all of us, with our guns and our training, with just his bow?"

Hanzo shrugged, and Genji bobbed his head.

"I told you he was terrifying."

"Huh...Welp, I'll take your word for it. You’ll need that kind of skill here. Anyways, Hanzo, welcome to Blackwatch. Hope we didn't make too bad of a first impression on you."

Hanzo shook his head.

"No, you were fine. And thank you."

The end of the sentence was punctured by a tiny yawn, and Genji smirked as Hanzo tried to cover it up.

"Come on, you need some sleep."

Hanzo didn't argue, just laid back and rolled himself up in a blanket, snuggling up into the pillows. Genji went to his own bed and waited for Jesse to cuddle up next to him, Hanzo's deep and steady breathing filling the room.

"He still doesn’t seem that scary to me...Reminds me of a kitten, if I'm bein' completely honest." Jesse whispered, and Genji had to slap a hand to his mouth to keep the snort from escaping.

"Oh, that's a good one! I dare you to say that to his face, see what happens." Genji hummed back, leaning his head into the crook of Jesse's neck. Jesse grumbled something about not wanting to test his luck, and Genji snickered, eyes drifting to Hanzo's sleeping form.

"They put him through some seriously messed up shit...We have to take that place apart, get rid of it for good." Genji murmured as Jesse rested his cheek on top of Genji's head.

"We will, darlin'. Y'all won't ever have to be bothered by them again when we're through with 'em."

Genji let his eyes drift shut, finding comfort in the warmth of Jesse's side.

"Yeah. I'll make sure of that."

~*~*~*~

Hanzo had to go to the medical bay for an examination, mandatory for all agents, especially the new ones. The doctor was nice enough, not asking many questions and when she did, they were respectful. She made quick work of the examination and sent him on his way with a 'welcome to Blackwatch, Agent Shimada' and a smile. 

After the visit to the med bay, Hanzo decided to wander the building, try and figure out his surroundings a bit more. He ended up stopping at a practice range, observing the various agents there already, then looking at the array of weapons they had out for practice. 

He was trained in all kinds of weapons, including firearms, but he had never been fond of guns. They were too loud for his tastes, too simple, too easy to master, lacked any real challenge for him. That's why he had taken up archery and the katana instead. That was difficult; one had to be precise, patient, and it something that would take years to master, perhaps something that never could be mastered. 

His eyes went past the guns, and he lost interest, hands itching to hold his bow again, feel the familiar weight of it, the sheer power it held in the hands of someone capable of making it into a weapon. Hanzo's dragons shifted beneath the skin of his tattoo, feeling their master's longing and feeding into it. He shook his head and left the practice range, intent on going back to his room, maybe talk to Genji some more. 

He was stopped by the commander of Blackwatch, Gabriel Reyes, and Hanzo appraised him coolly.

"Ah, Agent Shimada two-point-oh, just who I was looking for." Reyes hummed happily, patting a hand to Hanzo's shoulder. Hanzo internally grimaced at the name, knowing Genji would probably love it.

"Yes, Commander?"

"I need to evaluate your skills before you can be sent on missions. I know you're good, plenty good, but I need this on file, it's the 'official' thing to do. And I'm all about being official and pleasing the higher ups. When it counts."

Hanzo frowned at the commander's casual behaviour. Were all people in power actually this relaxed, or was it just this man?

"Alright. Although, you do not have the weapons I am most skilled in wielding. I can perform quite well with whatever you give me, but my best will be achieved a bow or sword." Hanzo informed him politely, training in business deals kicking in and making him take a formal tone. 

Reyes didn't say anything, just motioned for Hanzo to follow him, and he did. They went to a private practice range, and Hanzo's eyes widened when he saw Stormbow ready and waiting for him.

"We kept it when we took you back from Hanamura. Figured you would work best with a weapon you knew." Reyes explained as Hanzo trailed his fingers over the familiar cool and nicked wood of his bow.

"So, it was your plan to recruit me all along." Hanzo posed the question as a statement, and Reyes nodded.

"You Shimadas are valuable. You've got years and years of training up your sleeve, as well as a few surprises," The commander looked pointedly to Hanzo's tattoo at that. 

"And you're determined, stubborn and loyal. All things we can use on Blackwatch. You two are good kids, you deserved a chance. You were stuck in a place and forced into a situation that wasn't fair, something that would only prove problematic for us in the future, too. So, I turned a problem into an asset, something I am rather talented in doing." Reyes said, tone smug and a grin pulling on his lips. 

Hanzo's brows furrowed as he voiced his confusion.

"Why? Why give us a chance? Why are you treating me like this? I tried to kill you, would have, too, without a second thought."

"Listen, kid. Everyone deserves a second chance, because you never know how much a person can change. Sometimes it's for the better, and giving them that chance can make it all worth it. People like you are misunderstood; good people with good hearts that have been twisted to do some bad things. If you give them another chance, you can help put them on the right path, you can make a good person a great one, or change a bad man into a better one.”

“You were put under more pressure than anyone could handle and had inhuman expectations constantly hanging over your head. Anyone would either break or be turned into someone different because of what you've been put through. And I know what you've been put through. We all have scars, kid, some worse than others, most of them probably can't be seen. But we all feel them, and we all understand one another better because of them.”

“I'm trying to earn your trust here, Shimada. You need to have it to work on a team like mine, you have to be dependable, someone we can rely on, and we will do the same for you in turn. You aren't alone anymore, not here. We've got your back, and I'd like the reassurance that you have ours, too. Because I know you're a good man, Hanzo, and I want to help you be a great one."

Hanzo stared at the commander, awe dancing behind his eyes before he schooled himself and nodded curtly.

"You can trust me, Commander. I...Thank you. For giving me a chance. It's more than I have ever gotten before." Hanzo uttered softly, and Reyes smiled, ruffling his hair fondly.

"Yeah. Now, let's see what you can do, princess."

Hanzo grimaced at the nickname, but couldn't help the quirk of his lips at how nice it was to relax a bit around people.

-

Thirty minutes of practice later--Reyes deeming it more than enough after watching Hanzo hit bullseyes from any distance or area he was put at with ease--Hanzo was going back to his room for some rest. 

He stopped at Genji's room, thinking for a moment before knocking hesitantly. It was opened immediately with a big grin from his little brother, who was wearing an overlarge hoodie.

"Hey, Hanzo! Just the man we were talking about!" He cheered, and Hanzo raised a brow.

"We...?"

Jesse poked his head out from behind a wall, giving Hanzo a friendly wave.

"I see. Mind me asking why you were talking about me?"

"Oh, Jesse was just saying that he--"

Genji was interrupted by said man clearing his throat loudly, scrambling up from the bed and shoving Genji out of the way of the door lightly.

"Nothin', I wasn't sayin' nothin'. You wanna come in?" Jesse asked, gesturing, and Hanzo took up the offer with a skeptical look at the cowboy. Genji was pouting further in the hallway, synthetic lip poking out in a familiar expression. 

Hanzo didn't mind the changes, he knew they had saved his little brother's life, but they caused odd, tiny differences in expressions that always managed to catch his eye. He tried not to stare too much, but it seemed Genji was used to it, merely shrugging when he glanced at Hanzo and motioning for him to sit on the unused bed.

"Is there anything you need, Anija?" Genji asked, and Hanzo sat back with a sigh.

"Not exactly...I just finished the testing and examinations for becoming an agent. I guess it just seems surreal, to be out of there and in Overwatch, of all places..." Hanzo mumbled, not sure why he was suddenly feeling talkative. 

Perhaps it was a good thing, because Genji smiled and sat next to him, placing a hand on his back comfortingly.

"Feeling just a bit out of your element, huh? It gets better with time, don't worry. And you've only been here a week."

"I suppose...Do you really think we can bring down the empire...?" Hanzo asked quietly, and Genji's brows furrowed.

"What do you mean? Of course I do, we have to."

"But...Do you think I will be, I don't know, capable of doing such a thing? They may twist me into changing my mind, they always had more control over me, and I just...I don't want to become a hindrance to a process we have both been working for, that we've both suffered for..." Hanzo murmured, finally voicing his concerns. Genji was quiet for a moment, tilting his head in that way of his that indicated he was thinking.

"Hanzo, the fact that you have already suffered for it means that you won't be a hindrance to it. Especially not now, since you have all of us to back you up on it, keep you strong, you won't be swayed by them again. And Hanzo, I think you truly just have to learn that you don't have to do everything alone anymore. We're here too, and we want to help."

Hanzo pursed his lips, feeling Genji's fingertips pressing his back lightly through the thin fabric of his shirt, and he nodded. That was the second time he had been told that today, best he remember it.

"Yeah. Sorry, I didn't mean to just come in here and just..."

"Anija, I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to talk with me. You're welcome here anytime, for anything, okay?"

Jesse came and sat down on Hanzo's other side with a charming, lopsided grin.

"Yeah, no need ta be a stranger 'round here. You can always ask me anythin' you want, and I'm all ears whenever you need it."

Hanzo gave them both a little smile, nodding his head in thanks. It was nice having his brother back, and it was nice having another friend to help him out.

~

They took down the Shimada empire a month later, just like they had planned. It was a quick and quiet operation, the clan already on a steady downfall with the loss of their leader, no true heirs left, so the scramble for power had lead to weakness and distrust among the council. The black ops crew had trained with each other for weeks, practicing combat, running drills, truly becoming a team together. 

They overestimated their opponents, but better to be over-prepared than not. Hanzo was surprised at how easy it was to let what was left of his old home, his old chains, crumble. How good it felt to finally be free of these people, this place. 

He and Genji had gone in, striking down the last of the elders and anyone that got in their way with their dragons, making a point to kill them with the weapons they had so rigorously trained them with, never expecting they would be turned against them. The operations team came in after them, clearing the building and cleaning up, everything done in quick silence, a resonant triumph in the air from the agents. 

Hanzo found himself unexpectedly on the balcony he thought Genji had died on, staring out at the city lights glittering in the night and the mountain bathed in pale moonlight. He didn't hear Genji come up behind him, but Hanzo knew he was there, confirmation coming when his little brother came to stand beside him.

"I thought you died that night. I thought this was the last place I would ever see you." Hanzo murmured, Genji turning his head ever so slightly in his direction.

"Is that disappointment I hear in your voice?" He teased, lightening the tense atmosphere, as usual. Hanzo huffed a laugh, shaking his head.

"Not funny. This was...Easier than I expected."

Genji tilted his head in thought, taking a moment to think before he replied.

"You take the head off of a snake, its body flounders uselessly, unable to control its movements until it eventually runs out of energy and destroys itself. We took you, Hanzo, the last grip they had of any sort of power. The clan was nothing without a proper leader, without you. It ended up tearing itself apart before we even came in to clean up the mess in its wake."

Hanzo stared at Genji for a moment before he sighed lightly.

"That was an incredibly morbid analogy, but it works."

"You like it? I've been thinking on it for a while, actually. I'm quite proud of it." Genji hummed, crossing his arms over his chest, eyes crinkling at the edges in an unseen grin.

"It's over now, then. Just like that?" Hanzo whispered disbelievingly, and Genji turned to face him, pulling his brother into a hug after a moment.

"Yeah. It's over. We're free now." Genji assured softly, pulling away but keeping his hand on Hanzo's arm. 

Hanzo smiled, that invisible weight that had always seemed to be on his shoulders lifting, any doubts still in his mind clearing. He felt refreshed. Like a new man.

"I...We are...God, we're free..."

Genji grinned again, light filling his eyes as he went back into the main building, Hanzo following him. Reyes was waiting for them at the entrance, the team of agents spread out, some of them still finishing up inside, others already laughing and heading into the city.

"You boys need some extra time alone here?"

"God, no. No, we're good." Genji said, shaking his head and looking out at the glowing streets, neon lights from the various shops and attractions still open this time of night casting hues of bright colour on them. Hanzo nodded in agreement, and Reyes grinned.

"Good. Get on outta here, then. Go get a drink or two, they're on Jack. Overwatch will be coming in soon to officially take over the mission, so you might want to leave, they'll want to ask a lot of questions."

"Thanks Gabe!" Genji grinned, walking past him with a wave and heading out past the castle gates.

"Thank you, Commander. For everything." Hanzo spoke quietly, voice sincere. Reyes smiled and pat his shoulder lightly.

"No problem, princess. Now, go have some fun."

Hanzo took a breath before walking out of the compound, stepping into the streets and finally able to enjoy it the way he wanted to. He looked around at all the shops he had seen and known all his life, yet it all seemed brand new to him now, everything just a bit different, but in a really nice way. 

Hanzo walked into the club he had always been forced to avoid, blending in easily and going to the end of the bar, eyeing the colourful drinks with interest. Lights flashed and music beat through the building, people dancing and talking loudly in a drone of noise, something Hanzo would have never thought he would like, but did. He ordered a few simple drinks, making friendly conversation with the bartender as he enjoyed them. 

The seat next to him was pulled out, Genji suddenly appearing and sitting beside him, ordering his own drinks. He had his faceplate off but hood up, and he smiled at Hanzo when he looked over. Hanzo found he liked that smile just as much as his little brother's old one, perhaps even more. 

When the bartender set down the drinks in front of him, Genji raised one up, Hanzo taking his last one and doing the same.

"How about...To freedom." Genji hummed quietly, though Hanzo could still hear him easily.

"To freedom." He agreed, tapping his glass against Genji's and downing the drink, smiling at the warm, light feeling spreading through him. 

They were free.

~~

[overwatchworks]

Love and Rage:

Chapter 2

It all looked so...hideous. 

He used to be so proud of his his body, his appearance, because he had looked good and he damn well knew it. But now? 

Now he was repulsive, something he had once been so confident in, marred by scars and metal, something that had once been beautiful now difficult to even look at.

Genji had seen himself fully in a mirror for the first time when he was brought in to an inspection room, Overwatch and Blackwatch command alike wanting to see what their new weapon was. That's what they called him, their 'new weapon.' 

Genji ignored it, or tried to at least, along with the open stares and uncomfortable prodding. He had at least gotten more used to that over the course of his time here. Genji's eyes would occasionally drift to the wall that was covered in mirrors, and he would always regret it, hating the thing that stared back at him. 

It looked unnatural, metal and tubing covering synthetic skin, any real skin that happened to be showing severely scarred. The eyes that stared back at him were tortured--filled with anger, hatred, fear just barely noticeable behind it all--accented by the dark metal of the mask, the only thing on it's face that could be seen. It was covered in black, white, and red, all colours Genji had come to hate, and it was wearing his eyes, standing with his posture, it's fingers tapping restlessly the same way his were. 

He looked away, instead focusing on the people who were discussing the thing in the mirror. They talked amongst each other, the commanders and some other agents asking the doctor what he was capable of, what he could do, how they could use him. And he listened to it all blankly, their words dull in his ears because he had heard it all already. 

They never asked him anything, never spoke to him, never glanced into his face for more than an uninterested moment. Genji glared at them all, making eye contact with them where he could and hoping they were as uncomfortable with his gaze as he was theirs. 

When the little meeting had finished, Genji was at least promised some new weapons to start training with, the agents finally looking at him and asking for some information.

"What is your weapon of choice?" One inquired, and Genji's eyes flicked to him, seeing the man's shoulders tense slightly under the severe gaze.

"Katana." 

His voice crackled a bit behind the visor. The agent made a face, frowning a bit as he tapped on his tablet.

"Anything...Other than that?" He asked uncertainly. Genji glowered.

"Wakizashi and shruiken."

The agent pursed his lips and typed that in as well, brows raising a bit skeptically.

"Is that it? No, um, no gun perhaps?"

"Why would I need a gun if I can deflect the bullets coming out of one with more accuracy than whoever is shooting at me?" Genji growled, hard eyes drifting back from the mirror to the agent that was speaking with him. 

He was getting bothersome, daring to question Genji's skill when they were just discussing so plainly how enhanced he had become--even if he hadn't had a life of training beforehand, he would still be incredibly dangerous.

"O-oh, I see. Very well, these should be ready for deployment soon, then." The man stuttered, going back to the commanders and relaying the information. 

Genji went back to staring at the reflection, wondering what the thing would look like without the mask, if perhaps it would share some of Genji's features there too. 

When the talking had lulled to a halt, Genji was dismissed back to the med bay along with Dr. Ziegler, and they walked back in silence. She set him back up on the examination table, hooking the wires back up to the machines with an easy familiarity and went to her tablet to record whatever it was she recorded whenever Genji was in here.

"Why do I have the mask?" Genji grated out suddenly, the voice different in a way Genji didn’t know if he could ever get used to.

"The mask? It helps with ventilation. Helps you breathe." Ziegler answered, smiling a bit before she went back to typing on her tablet.

"Does it come off?" Genji asked, fists clenching and unclenching on the table. The doctor glanced up, noticing Genji's hands and shifting a bit.

"Yes. There are latches on the back, though I would not advise taking it off for long. I'll show you if--"

"No. I'll do it myself."

Ziegler nodded slowly, then went back to typing.

"I had to do some reconstruction on the lower jaw. The throat was torn severely when you arrived, so I put in some synthetic coverings and such. Jaw dislocated too, I replaced it with a more resilient, carbon fiber of sorts. It is a fiber I created myself, so it will work just fine." 

The doctor's words were clipped and the explanation was obviously dumbed down for him, but at least he had gotten some answers from someone. Genji didn't say anything else, deciding he would wait until he got back into his room to take the mask off. 

When Dr. Ziegler announced she was finished, Genji quickly went back to his quarters, going into the small bathroom attached to it and shutting the door. He reached behind his head, mismatched fingers fumbling to find what the doctor had told him about. They finally slipped over a slight indentation, and Genji heard the faceplate hiss a bit as it released. 

He reached down and took it with his flesh hand, pulling it away from his face and seeing it shake in his grip as he set it on the counter. The air on his face felt cool, refreshing for a change, and he let out a little sigh, noticing the difference when he took in a bit of air sharply. Genji's hands gripped the counter as he slowly dragged his gaze up to the little mirror over the sink, eyes widening slightly. 

The skin on his face was pale and sickly looking, dark circles around his sunken eyes that could now be properly seen without the mask. The skin itself was marred by long scars tearing across his features, then again at his jaw, which was completely covered in a black material along with his lower lip, the bottom of his chin and the sides of his face encased in metal. When he reached up to touch it, the material was smooth and very much skin like, but it was cooler than the warm, real flesh around it. 

It all looked so...hideous. He used to be so proud of his his body, his appearance, because he had looked good and he damn well knew it. But now? Now he was repulsive, something he had once been so confident in, marred by scars and metal, something that had once been beautiful now difficult to even look at. 

Genji grit his teeth, taking the faceplate and fitting it back, regretting having looked in the first place. He pushed the door open and went into the main room, trying to quell the anger, the sick feeling roiling in his stomach, the lump in his throat. It felt like he couldn't breathe, even with the mask now back on, and he quickly sat on the bed, clenching his quaking fists and shaking his head. 

The reflection, the thing he had become, was so utterly repulsive, so disgustingly inhuman, but it was his reflection. It was his reflection, and he hated every inch of it.

---

Genji went to the practice range a week later, weapons finally having been made for him, and he was anxious to try them out. He actually still had some trouble with his prosthetics, but Genji was anything if not stubbornly determined. So what if he still didn't have proper control over his arm yet. He needed to vent, needed to tear into something that wouldn't be hurt by him, needed to let some of this pent up anger out. 

Genji went back to the practice ranges a few hours after Jesse had stopped by to tell him to go to training. Jesse only ever came to his room once a day anymore, Genji ignoring him with a heavy heart each time. He didn't trust himself around Jesse, and it would be better for the both of them if Genji just took himself out of the picture entirely. He wouldn't hurt him anymore that way. 

Genji's prosthetic arm had been refitted to hold his shruiken inside of it, sliding the weapons up into his fingers whenever he threw them and reloading his supply quick and flawlessly. The wakizashi had a strong magnetic case and could clip onto his lower back, ready for use whenever he was, his katana having the same set up. 

Genji slipped into the practice ranges, not moving as quiet as he had once could and expecting to be alone at this time of night. He jumped slightly when he heard a gun go off, six shots in quick secession before there was a pause, then another six. Genji shifted on his metal feet, debating whether to just leave or not, the urge to sink his katana into something winning out over going back to his room to just sit and wait until later. 

He set up his range, keeping as far from whoever was in here with him as possible, typing in the practice console to set him up with close combat bots to work with. He then stared down at his hands, flexing them both with varying reactions; too quick and mechanical on his right, slower but surer on his left. 

He had always used his sword right-handed, though. For Egg. Genji quickly derailed that thought, trying to replace the empty feeling with that ever present rolling anger, something he could fall back on with familiarity. He could use his katana with his left hand too; he had been trained to be a master swordsman, using both hands with equal fluidity was a must. 

But, the thought of now needing to use his left hand because his right had been taken from him made Genji feel doubtful. He didn't even know if he could be as good of a warrior without his most trusted weapon and ally. Without his dragon. 

Genji grit his teeth and launched himself at a bot, pulling out his katana smoothly and holding it with his left hand, shifting his form to compensate for the change. He brought the blade down with such a force that it tore through the bot he had attacked like a hot knife in butter, cutting a clean line through it and continuing down, impaling the tip of his katana into the metal plating of the floors. 

Genji blinked, pulling the sword back up with ease and hefting it once more, glaring at the bots. He growled and ran at another, using the sword in a two-handed grip, cutting its head off and spinning right into another, sinking his blade into its chest and tearing it out the side. 

He ripped through the training bots, attacks increasing in intensity as he went, shearing off limbs and sending shredded bits of metal flying around him. He hacked at them mercilessly, not even realizing how heavy his breathing had gotten, not realizing that the screams weren't from the bots. 

When he cut down the last one with way more force than necessary, he was gripping his katana so harshly that his flesh knuckles had turned white, skin stretched over them far too tightly. Genji's breathing was uneven as he slowly straightened from his stance, head turning slightly when he realized he was being watched. He lowered his katana, sheathing it forcefully and shifting fully to glare at his unwanted audience. 

Jesse was staring right back at him, brows furrowed and mouth set in a hard line, and Genji's eyes went from iron to ever so slightly uncomfortable. A heavy silence settled over them, Genji fidgeting a bit now that he was under such a critical gaze. He wanted to say something, wanted to try and break some of the tension that blanketed over them so thick it could have been cut with a knife.

"Why are you here?" He decided on asking simply. Jesse's fingers were tapping on the holster of his revolver, brows still set low over his eyes.

"To practice," He replied cheekily, shuffling his feet a bit.

"Couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd make good use of all this time I suddenly have." He added, finally looking away from Genji and down at his boots. 

Jesse looked like he'd been doing an awful lot of these middle of the night practices, the dark circles from the last time they had so disastrously spoke still very present under his eyes. He looked sick, face pale and movements a little jerky. 

Genji felt a harsh stab of guilt when he realized it was probably his fault Jesse was acting this way.

"I see. Was there any reason you decided to watch me practice instead?" 

Genji really had been trying to work on making his voice sound better, but he hadn't exactly taken the chances to talk with other people when they arose, not wanting to hear the questions they would assault him with, the discomfort in their voices from being around him. It still sounded harsh, but he spoke quietly, hoping it didn't sound mocking or like he was trying to be intimidating. 

From the way Jesse crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, Genji guessed he still needed to work on that.

"I heard you come in, but I didn't know it was you 'till I came over to see. You were hackin' away at 'em, and I was a little worried, 'cause that's not exactly...How we do practice around here."

Genji bristled at that, stepping away from the carnage around his feet and going up to Jesse, noticing him narrow his eyes slightly as he got closer.

"Oh, because you think you know so well how this goes, hm? Why don't you just stick your nose somewhere else and mind your own fucking business, McCree? I know how to take care of myself, I don't need you around telling me how wrong I am in doing what I'm doing. Just leave me the fuck alone." Genji growled, now right up in Jesse's face, glaring heatedly at him. 

Jesse sighed and raised his hands placidly, turning to walk away.

"And here I thought we could finally have a civil conversation...Heh. Sorry, I was just worried 'bout you. Sorry that's such an inconvenience to you, that I'm such an inconvenience to you. I'll get outta your hair." He murmured, shoulders slumping in defeat as he shoved his hands into his pockets. 

Genji immediately stepped back and looked away, internally cursing himself for being like this.

"McCree, I didn't..."

I didn't mean that, I never do. Don't say that about yourself. I'm so sorry, please forgive me, I love you.

Jesse turned, raising a brow and waiting as Genji stood there in silence.

"You didn't...?"

"I...You can stay." He muttered instead.

Please, please stay with me, please. I need you Jesse.

"There's plenty of other practice areas anyways."

Jesse gave him a lopsided grin, something that still made Genji's chest clench, heart beat faster, face heat up, and he quickly turned back to his own training station.

"Well, thank you kindly for the invitation, Genji."

Genji faltered a bit upon hearing his name again, just now realizing he hadn't actually heard it directed at him from anyone but Reyes, Ziegler, and Jesse since he had been here. It was used sparingly anymore, his name. Because the thing in the mirror didn’t have one.

He watched as Jesse hummed, setting himself up at the station next to Genji. He frowned a bit when he saw Jesse pull out a pack of cigarettes, placing one between his lips and lighting it up with a familiarity that only performing such actions many, many times would achieve. 

He looked away when Jesse glanced at him, shoving the lighter back into his pocket, and Genji felt a pang in his chest.

"Did you want one? You had quit before, but times change, yeah?" Jesse hummed softly, offering the pack to him hesitantly, and Genji had a sick feeling Jesse hadn't just meant that about the smoking. 

That was probably his fault too.

"How long has this been going on...?" Genji asked quietly, declining Jesse's offer with a hand held up in front of him.

"Long enough."

Jesse avoided Genji's gaze, instead focusing on setting up his practice range, while Genji watched the smoke spiraling up from the cowboy's lips. He wondered how many Jesse had gone through that day.

"McCree--"

"Oh, nu-uh, you don't get to lecture me on somethin' like this, no. That just ain't fair, and damn hypocritical of you. Just forget 'bout it, okay? Don't worry about me." Jesse interrupted, pulling out his revolver and taking a deep pull before starting up his training.

"Don't worry about you, hm...? That's pretty damn hypocritical of you to say." Genji murmured, letting his voice purposefully drown out as Jesse fired his gun, hitting every single target dead on. 

Genji ended up just watching Jesse as he practiced; there was something oddly grounding about how sure his stance was, how confident his shots were, how methodical it all was. 

Genji found himself watching Jesse more than the actual practice, how he seemed to relax a bit the more he shot, the way his face softened when doing something he was familiar with, how he would catch Genji's eye and send a wink that made Genji look away quickly, face burning under the mask. 

He didn't know why Jesse still did that--he wasn't exactly himself anymore, much less someone worth flirting with at this point. He was repulsive. He wasn't the man Jesse fell in love with back in Hanamura, he was a thing now, not quite human, not fully machine. He didn't belong anywhere, and he certainly didn't deserve someone like Jesse still trying to stick around him. 

The gun continued to shoot, and Genji's eyes were drawn to it instead, the recoil, the little bit of smoke coming up from the barrel, the accuracy of the bullet putting a hole through the metal of the training bot. 

He briefly wondered if it could put a hole through his skull as easily as it did the bot. Genji's gaze flicked back to Jesse. Maybe he could do him a favour and practice with him later. Maybe Genji could slip up. Maybe he could get hit.

Maybe he could stay down for good this time.

When Jesse lowered the revolver to reload, posture relaxing, Genji cleared his throat quietly, the cowboy glancing over with curiosity dancing in his chocolate eyes. Genji had always loved how beautiful Jesse's eyes were, bright and full of life.

"You need somethin', d--partner?" Jesse asked, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Could we...Perhaps practice like this again? Tomorrow, same time."

Jesse's smile grew into a grin, and Genji felt his heart sink at that, Jesse not knowing what he was trying to do.

"Sure! Just, uh, I guess--um...Well, I was fixin' to leave anyways, so... See you tomorrow, then?" He ended uncertainly, holstering his revolver with a spin and a flourish, messing with the brim of his hat anxiously. 

Genji nodded, walking past Jesse and exiting without another word, feeling the cowboy's gaze on him as he left. He walked down the hall quickly, making a turn and getting to his room quietly, still unable to stay completely silent like he used to. Genji took the blades off his back and set them in the corner by his bed, sitting heavily on the edge of the mattress, head in his hands. 

He liked the idea of getting it all over with. The part he didn't like was leaving Jesse behind.

~~

[overwatchworks]

Love and Rage:

Chapter 3

"Goddamn." Jesse coughed, clutching his stomach but still grinning.

"You sneaky bastard. You’re pretty damn strong there, sugar, might wanna take it a bit easier on lil' ole me."

"You saying you can't take it?"

"I'm just sayin' be careful. I'd like to keep my ribs intact, thank you very much."

The next night seemed to come slowly for Genji. Perhaps it was because he was looking forward to something for once, or perhaps it was just another slow day. Genji wandered into the practice rooms, dark and devoid of anyone except Jesse, just like last night. Jesse was just setting up a shooting range, a half smoked cigarette hanging from his lips, and he tilted his head in Genji's direction when he heard him walk in.

"Fancy meetin' you here, sugar." Jesse quipped with a grin, tipping his hat in an over exaggerated gesture. 

Jesse couldn't see it, but there was the edge of a smile tugging at Genji's lips under the faceplate and a little dusting of pink on his cheeks. He decided not to respond, instead taking his place in a larger range next to the cowboy, guilt tugging at him now.

"I was actually thinking we could do some sparring together. The doctor told me I should work on fine motor skills..." Genji trailed off, staring down at his clenched right hand, not remembering doing such an action.

"Oh, well alrighty then. You wanna just do hand to hand, or...?"

"You can use your weapon. I shall be using mine. Wouldn't want to give me an unfair advantage, would you?" Genji hummed, turning and striding to the center of the practice range.

"Well I'll be damned, he got sassy on me..." Genji heard Jesse mutter before he spoke up again. 

"Okay, well, you say when to start."

Genji pulled out his katana, liking the sound of the metal sliding out of its sheathe, a dangerous weapon being unleashed. He turned to Jesse, watching him pull out his revolver and flashing him a grin, turning hesitant towards the end.

"Mkay, so...Um, we haven't exactly practiced like this before...What do ya want me to do?"

Genji shrugged, sliding into a familiar defensive stance.

"Just shoot at me like you would a bot. You aren't the only one with special training, and I think I may surprise you."

Jesse raised a brow, then settled into his own stance, bringing the revolver up and moving his finger over the trigger.

"Now, you might be fast Genji, but you ain't faster than a bullet."

Genji smiled thinly under the faceplate, eyes narrowing in concentration.

"Why don't we find out?"

Genji suddenly launched himself at Jesse, seeing the cowboy's eyes widen and dance with excitement. Jesse easily moved out of the way, rolling past Genji and getting behind him, shooting twice. Genji flipped around just as fast, twisting his body away from the bullets' path and driving back towards Jesse, katana now held offensively in his grip. 

Jesse shot again twice more, this time too quick for Genji to evade them, and his left hand whipped out his wakizashi, deflecting both bullets in an instant. Jesse blinked, then a huge grin spread across his face.

"Fucking awesome."

"I know." Genji said, then he was moving in towards Jesse again, slicing the space he had just been in a moment ago. 

Jesse was faster than Genji had thought he would be, definitely more agile that he gave him credit for, but in Genji's defense, they had never sparred like this before. He was back on Jesse in an instant, swiping in tight arcs, each one missing him by a hairsbreadth. 

How was he this fast? Or perhaps Genji had just gotten slow, sloppy. Perhaps he just wasn't as good without Egg anymore. Genji grit his teeth, brows furrowing as he spun, slamming his foot into Jesse's stomach and shoving him back a few paces.

"Goddamn." Jesse coughed, clutching his stomach but still grinning. 

"You sneaky bastard. You’re pretty damn strong there, sugar, might wanna take it a bit easier on lil' ole me."

"You saying you can't take it?"

"I'm just sayin' be careful. I'd like to keep my ribs intact, thank you very much."

Genji huffed, eyes drawing back to the revolver held comfortably in Jesse's grip, raising once more as the cowboy caught his breath again. All it would take was a slip of Genji's foot, maybe a tad too much confidence in his deflection abilities. Genji ran at Jesse, spinning and slashing down in a quick, precise stroke, Jesse slipping out of the way just in time. 

He rolled out of range of Genji's next strike, breathing harder now, and he shot again, three times. Genji deflected the first two and stepped out of the way of the last one, spinning his katana leisurely in his hand.

"Is that all you've got? I was hoping for a challenge. It almost seems as if you are going easy on me." Genji hummed cheekily, and Jesse shrugged.

"Well, I mean, if you’re sure you want to get serious."

Genji sunk down lower, holding his blade in a two handed grip, eyes hardening in determination.

"Come on."

Jesse smiled a bit, then he was moving fast, almost faster than Genji could keep up with. He just barely managed to deflect three bullets that came his way in quick succession, backing up in surprise, and then Jesse was no longer in front of him but moving in behind him, sweeping his legs out from under him. 

Genji fell to the ground with a thud, rolling to avoid two bullets that whizzed past his ear, instead imbedding into the ground by his head. He flipped backwards and onto his feet once more, crouched now with his sword held behind him, wakizashi out in front and deflecting as Jesse fanned the hammer on him. 

That made Jesse move out of the way as the bullets came flying back at him, rolling to the side and Genji took his chance, springing up and running at the cowboy. Surely he would have to take a moment to reload, he had used up his entire round. But as Jesse stood, he was shooting again, forcing Genji to halt his attack and go back on the defense. 

Genji was watching the revolver, each bullet hitting the blade of his wakizashi with a satisfying ting before Jesse had to reload, this time pausing for a moment. Genji spun, smacking the hilt of his blade into Jesse's shoulder and kicking his legs out at the same time, about to drive the blade down before Jesse whipped the barrel of his revolver into Genji's wrist. 

Genji's aim was thrown, the blade hitting the metal flooring next to Jesse's ear instead, and Jesse scrambled back to his feet, breathing heavily while Genji recovered from the blow. Jesse shot twice more, and Genji saw his chance, stepping to the side just a little too far, setting his foot just barely out of place, eyes on the revolver the whole time. 

The force from the first bullet caused him to slip back, stumbling slightly from his bad form and losing his sure grip on the wakizashi. He saw Jesse's eyes widen in shock just before the second bullet slammed against the metal plating on his temple, vision going black before Jesse had even finished shouting his name.

~*~*~*~

Jesse watched in horror as Genji's body crumpled to the ground, katana and wakizashi falling from limp hands and clattering down next to him.

"Genji! No no, dammit!" Jesse shouted, slamming his knees into the floor in his haste to get to Genji's side. 

He rolled Genji's body over, tilting his head to the side to inspect where the bullet had hit him, a bit of blood splattering the floor by his head. The ninja's eyes were closed, body limp and head lolling in Jesse's gentle grip, and he couldn't tell if Genji was breathing, the faceplate blocking Jesse's only way of knowing. He tried to look for a rise and fall of his chest, but there was too much hard metal for him to really be able to tell anything. 

The metal on the side of Genji's head was dented, a chunk of it missing entirely, exposing some tiny wires, circuitry, and a smear of blood sticking to some of Genji's hair. Jesse scooped the ninja up, weapons forgotten in his haste, and he ran as fast as he could towards the med bay, trying not to jostle Genji too much. He opened the door with his hips, walking in backwards and swinging around carefully.

"Doc! Hey, Doc! Doctor Ziegler! Angela!" Jesse yelled, searching desperately for her and keeping Genji clutched close. 

The doctor came rushing out of her office, already dressed and ready for the day despite the time of night. Perhaps she hadn't even changed from the previous day.

"What happened?! Is that...?"

"I should have known! I should have seen it comin', he was focused on the fuckin' gun the whole time! Dammit!"

Angela's eyes widened and she went straight for an examination table, motioning for Jesse to set Genji down on it. Jesse did so, gently as he could.

"You shot him?!"

"No I didn't fuckin' shoot him! We were trainin' an' he fuckin' threw his footin' off so the bullet would catch him!"

Angela glared at Genji before hooking the wires on the back of his head to the machinery behind him, the screens on them immediately lighting up and showing numbers and symbols Jesse couldn't make heads nor tails of. The doctor then examined the wound, taking extra care of avoiding the sensitive wires sticking out of the torn metal around it.

"McCree, I'll need some time to work alone. He's still alive, if that's what you're worried about."

Jesse sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, breathing out slowly, controlled.

"Alright. Thanks doc."

The doctor didn't bother with a response, already too absorbed in her work to do anything other than wave him away. Jesse walked out of the medical ward, barely containing a scream of rage and heading back to the training room to clean up. 

He picked up Peacekeeper and holstered her, grabbing Genji's katana and wakizashi before heading back to his room. Once inside, Jesse set the weapons in a corner to give back later, then slammed the side of his fist into the wall, the blow resonating through the room.

"God fucking dammit, Genji!"

---

Despite how livid Jesse was, he was still the first one to see Genji when he woke up a few days later. The bullet had hit his temple and knocked him unconscious, the metal plating around his face what stopped the blow from going straight through his head.

"Enhanced lightweight titanium and carbon fiber alloy. It's going to take more than your bullet to get through that, but he was being ridiculous. It took a while to fix that back up! I don't know why he would try to throw away the second chance he was given like that, trying to destroy all my hard work! It's a miracle he's alive in the first place, it was stupid of him to try and die again like that!" The doctor had fumed when Jesse came into the med bay. 

He had opted to stay silent, understanding Genji a little better than she did, but still too angry to dismiss what the ninja had done entirely.

"Can I go see him now?" Jesse asked instead, and Dr. Ziegler waved her hand, storming back to her office and still grumbling about the incident. 

Jesse took that as a yes, taking a moment to calm himself before walking in to the room Genji was recovering in. The ninja was still hooked up to the machines, but he sat up when Jesse came over.

"Jesse, I figured you would come in but--"

Jesse cut him off by punching his left shoulder hard, the only part of Genji he wouldn't break his knuckles on, and Genji's body rocked to the side.

"Ow--!"

"What the fuck was that?! Using me like that, what the actual fuck, Genji?!" Jesse shouted, Genji's eyes flicking down and shoulders hunching before Jesse was pulling him into a bone crushing hug.

"You scared me to death! I would have never forgiven myself if I had done somethin' like that to you, even if it was planned on your part--and don't think I didn't catch that! God, you scared me so bad..."

Genji had stiffened in Jesse's embrace at first, but now he had completely melted into it, hugging Jesse back fiercely, fingers clutching at the back of his shirt.

"I'm sorry Jesse...I'm so sorry, please, I'm so sorry. Please don't go, please, I'm so sorry for everything...Don't leave..." Genji whispered, Jesse pulling back to look him in the eye, feeling a tug in his chest when he saw the tears streaming down Genji's face.

"Promise me, then. Promise me you won't ever do somethin' like that again. Don't you ever try an' leave me like that again. Don't ever try to pull a stunt like that again. Promise?"

Genji nodded, sniffling underneath the faceplate and letting Jesse wipe the tears away.

"I-I promise...I'm sorry Jesse, I'm so sorry for everything, please don't--Don't go again..."

All of Jesse's anger faded away at that, and he pulled Genji to his chest, hugging him tightly.

"I won't, I ain't goin' anywhere. It's okay darlin', you’re okay. I forgive you." He murmured softly, pressing a kiss to Genji's head, nose burying in the soft raven locks.

"I-I'm sorry Jesse, please forgive me, I--I love you...I love you Jesse, I love you so much..."

"S'okay darlin'...I love you too. I love you."

Genji's hands went to the back of his head, fumbling with something until there was a small hissing sound and he was unlatching his faceplate. Jesse watched as Genji pulled it off, keeping his head down and face buried to Jesse's collar, wiping at his eyes and nose.

"Sorry...I'm a mess..." He muttered, hands hovering around his exposed face almost protectively. Jesse couldn't see it, but he wanted to.

"Quit apologizing, I told you it's okay, hon. Here, lemme help you out a bit."

Jesse cupped his hand under Genji's metal-clad chin gently, raising his head to get a good look at his face, Genji not meeting his eyes. Jesse smiled when he saw his boyfriend's face again, different sure, but still just as beautiful as he had always been, still able to make his heart beat faster.

"I've been wanting to see under the mask for a while now...God, you’re so gorgeous..." Jesse murmured, Genji finally looking up with wide eyes filled with confusion and just a bit of hope.

"But I thought--"

"I know what you thought, and here's what I think."

Jesse leaned down and captured Genji's lips with his own, pressing in close when he felt Genji relax and reciprocate. He kept it chaste, pulling away a few moments later but staying close, Genji's cheeks darkening as he buried his face in the crook of Jesse's neck.

"Everything about me is so different though...The scars, the abnormalities...The flaws, the changes, how are you not repulsed by it when you knew me before...?" Genji asked shakily, and Jesse tilted his head, pulling Genji back to look at him again.

"Nah, the scars, the changes, everything about it just lets people know how strong you are, that you pulled through from something they probably never could have. You’re beautiful, darlin', beautiful because of that and because you just are, still just as pretty as a picture. That'll never change."

Jesse smiled, Genji's bottom lip trembling a bit before he leaned back in and curled up into Jesse.

"Jesse...Jesse, I love you...Thank you..."

"There's no need to thank me when it's all true, darlin'. I'm here for you...I love you, Gen."

~~

[overwatchworks]

To Break Steel and Stone:

Chapter 1

"Alright. I won't tell you you're beaten or anything like that. You know it already. All I have to do is wait until you crack, and I know you will. You're just wasting both our time with your stubborn pride. I'll come back in when you change your mind."

The commander stood slowly, and Hanzo grinned at him, smoke drifting from his lips as he spoke.

"I'm afraid we won't be seeing each other for a while, then. It's been nice chatting with you."

Hanzo sat quietly in the little room on the airship he had woken up in, staring at the space between his feet blankly. His hand and his leg had been cleaned and bandaged well enough while he was out, something he was grateful for. He wasn't grateful for the minor concussion he probably had from the man that had thought it was a good idea to knock him out though. 

Hanzo heard a door open and footsteps come towards him, and he looked up, glaring at the agent that had walked over to check up on him.

"You feeling faint?" He asked, and Hanzo scoffed.

"Why, are you?"

The agent curled his lip, meeting Hanzo's icy gaze with one of his own.

"No need to be so lippy. Keep in mind that you are the one in cuffs and our custody. Best not to let our hospitality run dry with your attitude."

Hanzo lifted his hands slightly, jangling the cuffs around his wrists.

"Silly me. How could I have possibly forgotten. You have my sincerest apologies."

The agent growled and snapped his foot into Hanzo's side, a rush of air leaving him as he curled in on himself.

"Next time, I'll break a rib. Maybe that'll shut you up."

"Try it and we'll see how well that goes." Hanzo gritted out, huffing slightly. The agent merely grinned down at him, shaking his head.

"You're all talk. Save it for the interrogation. Your brother said you would be tough to handle. Hell, we even called you lethal! But look at you now, curled in a corner with nothing to do but act like you're tougher than you are and sling your threats. This was too easy."

Hanzo didn't take the bait, merely sighing and leaning his head back against the wall.

"Are you done trying to goad me?" He asked, annoyance clipping his tone, craning his neck to see out the door, maybe catch a glimpse of Genji somewhere. 

The agent followed his gaze, then laughed airily.

"Oh, you won't be getting out, Mr. Shimada. Just wait until we get back to the base, you'll be wishing you had stayed on the ship."

Hanzo said nothing more, glaring as the agent left, shutting the door and plunging him back into a semi-darkness.

---

When Hanzo felt the ship descending hours later, another agent came in, helping him up.

"So nice of you to escort me out, miss." Hanzo said coolly, leaning against the small agent as she went a modest pace. She didn't say anything back to him, merely nodded slightly as she led them into the evening light and fresh air. 

Hanzo took a deep breath, reveling in the cool air before the agent ushered him on. He knew they were testing him, seeing if he would try to escape so they could have a better reason to put him in custody, so he made no fuss. This agent was probably armed in more ways than one, and Hanzo doubted he would be able to get far with his wounds and blood loss anyways. 

As if on cue, Hanzo's vision darkened around the edges and he slumped a bit, the agent holding him up squeaking slightly at the new weight.

"Oh, sorry. Would have been nice if I hadn't been shot earlier, I was going to come without a fight." Hanzo mumbled, standing straighter and noticing the little blush on the woman's cheeks.

"Yes, well, maybe if you hadn't been getting ready to put up a fight, I would believe that statement." She quipped, and Hanzo grinned.

"Fair enough. You wouldn't have happened to see my brother, would you?" He asked politely. Being polite always worked better than intimidation in these situations.

"Agent Shimada is being moved to a detention cell. I'm taking you to an interrogation room, it is best you go quietly."

"Does it really look like I'm going to put up a fight?" Hanzo huffed irritably, and the agent looked up at him for a moment but didn't say anything. 

He was taken inside and into an interrogation room, just like the agent had said, and sat down at a table, cuffs jangling when they hit the metal table. The woman left him, and Hanzo leaned back in the chair, tapping his fingers on his good hand on the table lightly. 

He knew he would have to wait for a bit before someone came in to question him, people seeming to think that made them look more powerful. Hanzo always thought that was ridiculous, they were just wasting his and their own time by stretching the whole ordeal out. 

Three agents eventually came in, two burly ones standing behind a blonde haired man. Hanzo smirked up at them.

"Well, it's about time someone showed up. I was beginning to think maybe you had forgotten about me."

The blonde man looked unimpressed, and he motioned to the agents standing behind him. They walked over behind Hanzo and hauled him out of his seat, holding him up with hands gripping his arms tightly.

"Alright Mr. Shimada. I don't want to put up with your shit, so you can do this the easy way and give us the information we want, or we'll beat it out of you. Your choice." The blonde man spoke up. 

Hanzo laughed.

"My choice, huh? How kind of you. Let me give you a proposition. You leave me the fuck alone, and I tell you nothing? How does that sound?"

The man in front of him nodded to the agents behind Hanzo, and he felt a fist sink into his stomach, breath whooshing out of him. Hanzo coughed, doubling over, but one of the men behind him pulled his hair back, forcing him to look up.

"Alright. Beat it out of you it is. I need to know some things about your clan, Shimada. Tell me who your largest clientele is."

Hanzo grinned wolfishly, shrugging slightly and not offering anything else. A fist crunched against his cheek, snapping his head to the side, and Hanzo blinked rapidly, looking back up at the blonde man with still a hint of a smile.

"What is your next business transaction going to be? What is your largest selection of 'goods' you trade and collect on the blackmarket?" The man asked, and still Hanzo just smiled at him, eyes cold and unreadable. 

Another fist slammed into his face again, Hanzo hearing the sharp crack of his nose breaking and already feeling the blood dripping down to his lips and off his chin. He was hit again and again as each question was met with silence, until the agents finally got the message that Hanzo wasn't going to say a word about anything. 

The blonde agent, who had gotten rather frustrated with Hanzo's lack of cooperation, clicked his tongue and jutted his head towards the chair. Hanzo was thrown back into it, hair hanging in a sheet over his bruised and bloody face, and he huffed.

"You're quite good at this. I'm almost impressed with your methods, if they weren't so terribly unoriginal. Would have helped if they worked too." Hanzo sneered, and the blonde agent stepped closer, whipping a hand out and cracking it against his jaw. 

Hanzo spat blood on the ground, then looked back up at the man, grinning devilishly and showing red-stained teeth.

"I know you were just here to rough me up. You've had your fun, now let the real interrogation begin."

The agent glared at Hanzo, steely eyed, and he was met with a similar, even harder gaze. The man motioned to the two burly agents and the three of them left, Hanzo leaning back in the chair with a soft groan and letting the grin drop. 

He should have expected something like this, there was no way some big organization like Overwatch was just going to take him in. He shouldn't have believed Genji. They would just keep him in custody, he would be taken from one cage and thrown into another. There was no freedom in this. 

A moment later, the door clicked open again, and Hanzo tilted his head, a smile creeping back up as he recognized the man strutting in.

"Oh, I remember you." Hanzo huffed, a playful lilt to his voice. The man in front of him was dressed in grey and black clothes, a knit hat over his hair and dark brows furrowed over even darker eyes.

"Do you now? I'm glad I make such a good first impression." The man hummed, and he sat down opposite of Hanzo, leaning his elbows on the table.

"That tends to happen when you hold a shotgun to someone's face, shoot them a few times, then knock them out." Hanzo replied cheekily, and the man smirked. 

He offered a cigarette to Hanzo, who took it with a slight nod, the commander lighting it for him before just watching. Hanzo took a deep drag, leaning his head back and blowing the smoke up, staring as it curled out of his lips and to the ceiling.

"So. You haven't been very cooperative with us so far, I've heard. Looks like it too."

Hanzo smiled with a short 'heh' and tapped his tongue against a bloody canine, pressing against the point of the tooth, then dragged it across the others, grin widening.

"And I have the strangest feeling that anything we do won't change your mind about that. Yet." The commander continued, Hanzo taking another pull of the cigarette and noticing how his lips left bloody prints on it.

"You aren't going to cooperate with us, are you Mr. Shimada?"

Hanzo blew the smoke out in one long breath, some of it rising out of his nose before his grin was back. 

"Whatever you think you can do to me to make me talk, I assure you, I have been through far worse. You will get nothing from me. Now, are we done here?" 

The question was posed as more of a statement, indicating he was done talking, leaving the cigarette hanging between his lips and dropping his hands to the table, posture straightening. The commander leaned back, observing Hanzo for a moment before sighing.

"Alright. I won't tell you you're beaten or anything like that. You know it already. All I have to do is wait until you crack, and I know you will. You're just wasting both our time with your stubborn pride. I'll come back in when you change your mind."

The commander stood slowly, and Hanzo grinned at him, smoke drifting from his lips as he spoke.

"I'm afraid we won't be seeing each other for a while, then. It's been nice chatting with you."

The man left without a backwards glance, and Hanzo was left to smoke in peace, closing his eyes and finally enjoying the way it curled in his lungs before blowing it out in a stream through his nose. He tapped it on the edge of the table to get rid of the ash, then brought it to his lips again. 

Hanzo didn't know what Overwatch really wanted out of him, but the questions they had asked him were things they could have figured out on their own with some digging. Maybe they knew he would get defensive, so they started out with that. No, they had Genji here, didn't they? Genji could give them all the information they needed on how to get in and out of the Shimada castle, things they traded in, places they had contacts. 

Sure, Genji had been gone for almost a year, but Hanzo had been running the clan just the same as it had been before he was the leader. So what did they really want? To condemn him for the crimes he and his family had committed? Maybe hold him for ransom? It couldn’t be. This was Overwatch, they didn't deal in that area, didn't need the money. Obviously, they wanted to tear down the empire, but they didn't need Hanzo here to do that, they had Genji. 

That just led Hanzo back to the crux of it all. What did Overwatch really want? Why was Hanzo still here, still alive?

~*~*~*~

Genji had stopped putting up a fight when Reyes came in to his detainment cell a day or so after they got back to tell him where Hanzo was being held.

"Alright, quiet down, kid, Jesus! He's fine, just a stubborn ass, and that's only going to get him hurt more." Gabe sighed, obviously tired and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"You've already hurt him?! You shot him already and now you've hurt him again?! He hasn't even done anything!" Genji shouted, waving his hands which were still cuffed together.

"Interrogation isn't fun and games kid, especially not for the person we're interrogating. Now, you can stop acting like a child and help us out with it, or you can stay in here and mope. Shimada hasn't been responding to anything we've done or any of the questions we've asked, so I figured you could get through to him. He's just taking the beating now to spite us."

Genji bristled at that.

"You're beating him up?!"

"Yes, now get over it. You can help get through to him so we don't have to continue to do so, but that's up to you." Reyes pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation as he spoke, and Genji narrowed his eyes.

"Fine. What do I have to do then?"

"Come with me, I'll let you talk to him. See if you can't get some sense through to him."

-

Genji walked with Reyes through the Overwatch building, a place he had only been through to be gaped at by the Overwatch agents that had needed updates on his progress and sometimes to meet with Dr. Ziegler. He was led down a different wing, and the walls slowly started melting into the double sided mirrors and locked doors of interrogation rooms. 

They stopped in front of one that had some agents standing by the door, and Genji could see Hanzo through the mirror, bloody lips moving slightly to something Genji couldn't hear. His hair was hanging loosely over the rest of his face, so Genji couldn't see any more of it. He imagined his brother was probably pretty bruised. 

He looked to the commander, who motioned to the door.

"Well, get on with it."

Genji took a little breath, then pushed the door open, closing it quickly behind him, though he knew the commander would be able to hear all of their conversation anyways. Genji frowned when he heard whispers of a familiar Japanese folksong, something his mother used to sing, and he finally looked up to where Hanzo was watching him with dull eyes, lips moving to the tune. 

His face was indeed quite bloodied and bruised, and Genji sat down in front of him a bit nervously, noticing the cigarette butts littering the table. Something was off about Hanzo, but he couldn't tell what it was. He almost didn't want to know.

"Hey." He started out simply, and Hanzo stopped singing.

"That something Mama used to sing to us?" He asked, nervous. Hanzo stared at him with an odd look.

"Okay, yeah, sorry...Obvious. Um, so..." Genji trailed off, not really sure what he wanted to say now that Hanzo was sitting in front of him and listening.

"Why did they send you in here?" Hanzo asked slowly, breaking the silence and tension that had been building.

"They want to see if I can get through to you. They don't want to keep up like this, and I know you don't either. Can you cooperate with them? It'll be better for you if you do. They really did a number on you, huh..."

Hanzo was looking past Genji and at the mirrors, staring at them for a moment, then he nodded slowly.

"Yeah, they did. What do you want to know?"

Genji shifted in his seat, reaching back and taking off the faceplate before settling his gaze back on Hanzo.

"I don't know what they want to know from you...Maybe just, I dunno, give me some trades you've been doing--"

"I didn't ask that. What do you want to know, Genji." Hanzo interrupted, steely eyes set on him now. 

Genji faltered, brows furrowing, then he sighed, slumping a bit.

"I want to know what happened... What did they do to you when I was gone?"

A ghost of a smile curled on Hanzo's lips, and he tapped his fingers on the table lightly.

"What did they do, hm? I obeyed their every wish, became the perfect heir, the perfect son, fulfilled their every last desire, and it still wasn't enough. They had me training until they thought I was ready, then I trained myself until I was the best there, better than any of them, and they knew it. They feared me before I had even given them a real reason to."

Genji frowned, not liking the way Hanzo's little smile had grown into a real one, and he cleared his throat.

"What do you mean? You gave them a reason to fear you...?"

Hanzo dragged his gaze up from the table and to Genji once more, something unreadable flickering behind his eyes, but he stayed silent.

"Okay, well, what happened to father then? I had wanted to pay him a visit." Genji growled, feeling the anger spike once more and clenching his fist.

"He's dead. There's a reason I became the clan leader." Hanzo murmured, and Genji stared at him, frown tugging at his lips and anger fading.

"He's already...?"

Hanzo leaned back in the chair, eyes drifting to the side.

"The funny thing about power is that no one questions you when you have it. No one questions a murder, no one questions the way their past leader fell so similarly to his son, the one everyone had tried to forget. No one questions who it was nor why they did it. But they know the answers to each of those unspoken questions."

"You--Hanzo, you killed him?"

"Him, among others. Those who had hurt you, you and me both, they all met the same fate."

Genji stared at him in disbelief, anger replaced by a cold emptiness.

"You killed them all?"

Hanzo finally looked back to him, fingers tapping in agitation. 

"I did what I deemed fit. Until they eventually did start to question me. They knew it was me who was killing them, picking them off one by one, using the very techniques they had showed me but I had perfected on my own. They saw how...Unstable I had gotten, saw what I was trying to do. But they couldn't let on to the other clans that their own leader, the leader of the largest criminal empire in the world," The sentence was cut by a cold and sharp laugh, short and bitterly barked out. 

"Was trying to take it out. They couldn't let it be known that the Shimada clan was weak, unstable, falling apart, and they had to fix it. Had to fix me. So they did. And trust me when I tell you this, Commander," Hanzo's gaze was back to the mirror again. 

"I have been through far more than you could even think of putting me through. Now, what do you want from me?"

The door clicked and Genji swiveled his head to see Reyes striding in, arms crossed over his chest.

"Well well well, who would have thought you've actually been helping us with out any of us even knowing this whole time? You've really been trying to topple your own empire?

""Did I falter when speaking, Commander?" Hanzo's voice was low and cold, and his gaze hard. 

Reyes grinned.

“I'll be damned. There might just be a spot for you yet in Blackwatch."

Hanzo shrugged lightly, leaning back in his chair.

"All you had to do was tell me it was your intention to bring it down. I would have given you all the information you wanted, so long as you promised me I could be there to watch it fall."

"I can do you one better. You'll get to be the one to knock it all down, so long as you work with me."

Hanzo smiled coolly.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"Damn, I like you already, Agent Shimada."

~~