a/n: Dear readers,
You blew me away. Thank you so much for the votes and comments (that I've yet to reply to). You guys got my creative juices secreting and flowing (sorry, that sounded wrong). As promised, here's the next installment. If this keeps up, this story will come to a finish sooner than later! Anyhow... enjoy!
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The base was blanketed in darkness, only lit by the intermittent crackles of electricity from the sundered power lines. The infirmary, your workspace, was in shambles. Shards of glass, pieces of equipment, and stacks of paper were scattered everywhere.
In the dimly-lit moments, you noticed spatters of blood on the ground. The environment alone was jarring, but the sight of spilt blood triggered an adrenaline rush within you.
You chose to follow the trail, bracing yourself for whatever might be at the end of it. The twisting hallway was dark with scattered emergency lighting that failed to illuminate adequately. Placing a hand on the wall, you walked slowly, cautiously in the darkness.
Coming upon a turn, something unnerving caught your attention. The crimson spatters grew into rivulets as you followed it. With your eyes already adjusted to the dark, you searched up ahead and caught sight of the motionless figure slumped on the ground with its back against the wall.
Strangely it looked familiar. Picking up your pace, you noticed the mask and the robotic limbs, and your heart skipped a beat. An ice cold sensation washed over you when you realized it was Genji's body.
"Oh, god!" The sting of tears came to your eyes as you ran to his side. "Genji!" His body was unmoving as the blood continued to pool under him. The green glow of the pistons on his body were absent. How is there so much blood?
As you were about to unmask him, to check his breathing, his arms abruptly moved, his hands clasping your shoulders.
"[Y/N]..." His voice sounded so weak. "How could you do this?" He sounded betrayed, heartbroken even.
"N-no, Genji, I didn't... I- -" You noticed how soaked your hands and arms felt for the first time. Horror speared through you when you realized that you were drenched in blood.
"Why did you betray us?!" Genji's grasp on your shoulders tightened as he shook you. His voice grew quieter as he expelled his last breath, "Why did you betray me?"
"Genji..."
You breathed out his name, caught in the nightmare for what seemed like eternity.
In the conscious world, the man you called out for was trying to wake you. He placed a gentle hand on your upper arm, his other hand brushing strands of your hair out of your face. "I am here, [Y/N]. You're alright." The distress etched on your facial features would never escape his memory.
When you came to, you saw Genji in his armored glory. Your eyes frantically drank him in, how brightly his cybernetic body shone in the light, how very near and how very alive he was. You couldn't fight the urge and threw your arms around his neck, pressing yourself tightly against him. "Thank God you're okay!" It was either squeeze the living daylights out of him or sob uncontrollably because just a second ago, you believed you'd killed him.
Genji's eyes widened beneath his mask. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around you, holding you. "You are trembling." He remarked, his voice gentle.
You drew back from him and breathed deeply. "Just a bad dream..." Placing a hand on your chest, you tried to calm your wildly beating heart.
"And you are crying." Genji raised his hand to your face, brushing a teardrop away from the highest part of your cheek.
You didn't even realize your eyes were wet and your blurry vision until just now. Maybe the realization was sinking in. Your profession didn't come without stress. You always knew this. But you didn't expect to crack this soon. You considered the fact that the first week of your menstrual cycle could be approaching.
"Sorry..." As you sat up on the bed, you laughed dryly and wiped the tears from your eyes with the back of your hand. "I don't usually get like this in front of other people."
Still, that dream you had of hurting Genji left a hollow pain in your chest.
"What troubles you?" Genji finally sat down on the edge of the bed, his hand hesitantly reaching for yours. This time, you didn't recoil but instead savored the feeling. The surface of his bionic hand felt warm, both textured and smooth with carbon Kevlar fiber and some kind of strong alloy.
A blush crept onto your cheeks and you lowered your gaze. "I think the stress finally got to me." You chose to not divulge your dream, dismissing it as what it was - a dream. Just a dream. If anything, it was your body's way of signaling you'd been placed under a lot of strain.
"Some training will do you good, then." Genji suggested.
Putting on a serious face, you demanded, "Are you saying I'm out of shape?"
"Wh-what?" It was the first time you saw him become genuinely flustered. "It was not my intention to offend you. I think you're beautiful. I mean... you look fine. You do not appear misshapen to me." He straightened his posture, rubbing the back of his head while trying to come up with other ways to rectify the situation he'd put himself in.
"Genji," The small smile on your lips grew into a widespread grin. "I'm just messing with you." You couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.
After a moment's pause, he reminded you, "You realize I am your combat mentor. Do you think it wise to... 'mess with' me?" He crossed his arms over his chest. By the way he sounded, you guessed that he was giving you a mock-stern look beneath that mask of his.
If only you could unmask him and touch his face. The desire to make that skin-to-skin contact with Genji smoldered within you. Your laughter receded and a look of longing occupied your features.
"[Y/N]," He discerned the change of expression on your countenance. "Are you truly well?"
You nodded hesitantly, his question compelling you to shift your eyes elsewhere. I'll be a lot better if you let me see you.
Not buying your wordless answer, Genji followed up with another question, "Do you know the reason Reaper aimed to capture you?"
The gears in your mind shifted to recalling the last incident. You'd almost forgotten about it all because that damned nightmare of Genji dying had thrown you for a loop.
"Oh," You murmured softly. "He knows about my super abilities."
Genji stilled, his posture rigid. After a pensive pause, he climbed to his feet and beckoned you out of bed, his hand outstretched for yours. "Come. We will start training today. Right now."
"Wait," You blinked in confusion. "Why now?" Taking his outstretched hand, you climbed out of the bed.
"Follow me," He commanded as he let your hand go. His voice was nearly grim, the opposite of its usually genial characteristic. Genji even radiated gravity as he led you out of the infirmary, down the winding hallway to a remote part of the headquarters. You followed closely behind, wishing he would tell you why he was so insistent on starting your training this instant.
After a short distance's walk, you reached a large hangar with unused equipment, weights, and treadmills. The makeshift gymnasium was considerably colder than the rest of the compound. When a set of blast doors opened, you understood why. Through them was an outdoors practice range with both stationary and moving targets, set on platforms quite high above sea level.
"Please tell me you're not going to have me shoot things." You blanched, knowing for sure you'd hurt either yourself or Genji if he put you up to it. On accident, of course. "I have never handled a gun, or any type of weapon."
Genji turned towards you and chuckled. "You are getting ahead of yourself. We are going start with the basics."
"Welcome to the training hub, [Y/N]. May I suggest using your combat gear?" Athena offered as an automated door opened nearby. A mobile robot emerged from the room, holding a taut black bodysuit resembling the designs Winston created. "This prototype will allow me to analyze your body with greater accuracy, especially while you're doing rigorous activity."
You gaped at the robot and then the suit. "This body suit is going to help you do that, Athena?"
"Correct." Athena chimed. "If you both are agreeable, we might also test [Y/N]'s abilities on Genji. Having some data gathered before Winston returns will be more time efficient for our analyses."
"I do not mind." Genji replied without reservations.
You looked at him with your brows raised. "You want me to seduce you intentionally?"
"Well, it's too late for that, now." He laughed, as if taking your concern lightly. He assumed his serious behavior when he saw the dismay on your face as your cheeks turned hot. "I am half-man, half-machine, [Y/N]." Genji explained patiently. "Winston theorized your powers may not be as potent on me."
You bit your lower lip, considering his plausible speculation. Despite it, you were still unsure about trying out your powers on him. Mostly, you were worried Genji might start hitting on you the way Hanzo did, and that you wouldn't be able to restrain yourself from doing something inappropriate.
The beginning of your friendship with him was going nicely. Though the potential of having romance with Genji was tempting, you considered what would happen if it didn't work out. Were you willing to risk losing your friendship if it all went straight to hell romantically?
The AI interrupted your thoughts as she offered her assessment of the actual experiment, "I believe the risk is minimal, given what we already know about your abilities."
With a lot of hesitation, you began, "On one condition." You sighed, shooting Genji an uncertain look as you took the uniform into your hands to assess the material. "We really start with the basics, first."
"As you wish." The cybernetic ninja agreed, his voice even. As your mentor, he was obliged to help you develop your abilities. As an adventurer, he wanted to be on the receiving end of your power; it would be a new experience for him. As your secret admirer, Genji saw this as an opportunity he'd be stupid to miss.