Demoted || Genyatta

Chapter 15: There's a Chance We Can Walk Away

One of Zen's orbs managed to hit Genji while he was mid-dash, forcing him to jump back once again. He threw a volley of shuriken in Zen's direction, who quickly called upon his orbs to shield him from them, forming as a barrier in front of him. The shuriken clattered uselessly to the ground.

Genji dodged three more orbs before trying once again to dash forward. It no longer worked to simply wait for Zen to run out of projectiles; he'd gotten a lot better at managing them, so by the time he'd fired 9 orbs, half had already returned to him. Genji could get close to him, wakizashi in hand, but with an expertly placed kick he staggered Genji long enough for him to jump out of the way. An orb collided with Genji's hand, his wakizashi flying out of his grip and hitting the floor multiple metres away.

"Nice!" Genji called out encouragingly, sprinting and snatching his weapon back off the ground. Back to square one.

Zenyatta had gotten much better at fighting than when he'd first started out. He'd listened carefully to all of Genji's feedback, from managing his orbs to fighting within melee range, and his process was amazing. He was an actual proper fighter now, and fit for a first mission.

Commander Reyes, who'd been watching them from the sidelines, apparently agreed. When Genji had finally managed to pin Zen down, wakizashi pointed at his chest, Reyes approached the two.

"You've improved greatly, Zenyatta," he said, a genuine smile on his face. Genji sheathed his blade and took a step back, helping Zen back to his feet.

"I have a great teacher," Zen said in response. Reyes turned to Genji, who was certain he was blushing. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

Reyes glanced pointlessly around the training hall for a while, watching other Blackwatch members spar, and then turned back to Zen and Genji, seemingly having made up his mind about something.

"I'm thinking of sending you on your first mission," he told Zen. "What do you think?"

Zen looked a bit surprised, but his voice sounded a lot more certain. "That would be agreeable."

Reyes turned to look at Genji, then, wordlessly asking for his input. Genji felt a pang of something in his stomach, but he responded honestly. "I agree. He is ready."

Both Zenyatta and Reyes seemed happy with that answer, sharing a quick glance and smile (on the commander's end, at least; Zen would probably smile back if he could). Reyes clapped his hands together once, still smiling, and said, "Great. I'll expect the both of you in my office tomorrow for a briefing."

Genji startled at his words. "What? Both of us?"

"Yes," Reyes said like it was something obvious. "I want both of you to go on this mission."

Just like that, Genji was stunned into silence. A mission? He was getting an actual mission again? It had been months since his demotion; a mission sounded so surreal.

Reyes continued to talk, but Genji was no longer listening to him, his voice a mere hum in the distance. It sounded like he was suddenly thrown underwater. There was a loud ringing in his head, high in pitch and never-ending, and his brain felt clouded. Breathing was starting to take more effort, more than it had from being tired after training. The ringing wouldn't stop. It was giving him a headache.

Genji could see Reyes turn to leave, taking a few steps towards the door. The ringing was unbearable.

"I-I don't want to," he said quickly.

The sound of his own voice is what finally stopped the ringing in his head, and his vision started to clear up again. Reyes slowly turned back around, his face stuck into an expression of surprise.

"What?" Reyes asked uncertainly, perhaps hoping he'd misunderstood. Genji had never seen him look this confused before.

Genji took a deep, steadying breath, and averted his eyes from Reyes' shocked expression, choosing to stare at his feet instead.

"I would.. like to stay at the base, if that's possible," Genji said quietly. After a beat, he added, "Please."

The silence that followed was painful. People were still calmly continuing their sparring sessions in the other parts of the training room, laughing, clapping and shouting, completely unaware of the tension on this side of the room. Genji kept his eyes focused solely on the floor.

Reyes clearing his throat was what eventually broke the silence.

"Very well," he said, and Genji felt extremely relieved. "Although I will ask you to think it over. Zenyatta, my office at 0600."

After a short moment in which Genji assumed Reyes was staring at him, he saw his feet leave his sight. He was feeling a million different things at once. Never in his Blackwatch life had he declined a mission before. In fact, the last time he'd declined direct orders like this, stepping back voluntarily, was when his brother had ordered him to take over the clan with him. It was just.. the overwhelming feeling he'd felt when thinking about getting back on the field had given him little choice.

Genji finally looked up from the ground. Reyes had gone, but Zen was still next to him. While Genji refused to look straight at him, looking somewhere to his right instead, he knew that Zenyatta had his head tilted as he watched him in confusion.

"I don't feel like meditating today, I'm sorry," Genji said quickly, already taking steps to leave.

"Genji-"

"Good luck at the briefing tomorrow."

Zenyatta didn't stop him.