Breaking news: shit about to go down.
Hanzo couldn't believe what his Uncle Shintaro just suggested he do.
Nip it in the bud.
His uncle--his own family--just basically told him to take Genji down, eliminate him.
Kill him.
No, I won't go through with this.
The clan leader wracked his head for any other ideas that might satisfy both sides; in all honesty, he didn't think the whole council would also approve of such drastic measures, but their worry and anger were, in Hanzo's opinion, practically understandable, and if they did run out of options to direct this wayward Shimada...
Well, the clan always came first.
It wasn't as if Genji had done anything for its benefit; he has actually done the opposite--becoming a liability, wasting resources, everything his uncle Shintaro has listed off in his heated rambling.
At the moment, Hanzo knew he'd be doing his father a disservice if he let his younger brother go on with his shenanigans at the expense of everybody else looking up to him, but at the same time what father would take joy in the knowledge that his favorite son has been murdered in cold, hard blood? An honorable killing but murder no less.
This was getting too far out of hand. If Shintaro really has done what Hanzo had ordered him to, the whole council would have been shaking at that moment: from wrath and devastation to fear and hopelessness. They didn't want the law catching up to them, especially not if the law happens to bear the mark of Overwatch. It's simply a defeat they couldn't rise out of again.
It got Hanzo sweating at the thought that he would be the final leader of the Shimada clan.
The legacy of his forefathers, everything they've built throughout the centuries--it would all be for naught. A waste that would disregard all of his father's sacrifices.
How could Genji do such a thing--placing them in such a situation that would doom them in the most humiliating, dishonorable way possible?
Composing himself, the Shimada entered the elders' room where they've already been discussing back-up plans and voicing out their concerns in quiet but sharp, raspy murmurs.
"Lord Hanzo!" exclaimed one the moment he stepped foot inside the dim quarters. "We need answers, no--we need a sure plan for this catastrophe!"
"I've had my eye on your bothersome brother, my lord, but I could never have seen this happening in all my years!"
"Now, now, settle down. The leader has arrived and I'm sure he'll take the time to listen, but first we're going to have to give him our ears to see what he has in store for us." Shintaro's ever calm voice rang out like smooth silk among their mindless gawking, and immediately they stilled, hanging their heads in a bow as they waited for their leader to address them.
"We quickly need to decide our next course of action," he began, but his tawny eyes were keen on Shintaro. "Overwatch has been keeping their eye on us even before Genji disclosed his identity. We are limited in our options, and it is my displeasure to say that some of our men may not even be trusted enough to carry any activity from now on."
"What do you propose, Lord Hanzo?" Elder Togashi asked frantically, voice cracking with stutters and stammers as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "What should we do?"
"I..." Hanzo shut his eyes in defeat. "I don't know. I don't know what to do. I didn't think this could even happen--I've been very careful throughout my reign."
"The problem here isn't you, my lord." Shintaro clicked his tongue with a wave of the hand. "The problem here is your good for nothing brother Genji--if only your father hadn't spoiled him so and if only he'd take on the responsibility he was born to do, we wouldn't even be in this situation in the first place. And he's going to continue being a liability if we don't do something about it."
He turned to Hanzo, and in his eyes laid a knowing glare, sharp as knives and unbending.
"I...uncle, he's my brother-"
"He's a nuisance!" Shintaro cut in with a hiss, before quickly turning out to face his fellow council members. "We are not going to let the blood of your brotherhood drown us into oblivion. We will prevail as one of the strongest clans in Japan and we expect you to put aside your personal sentiments for the duty you've been born into!"
The clan leader was silenced by his uncle's chastisement and by the burning stares of the other elders who all went along with the direction Shintaro steered them into.
"Hanzo, we've discussed this. Genji must be stopped before anything else happens to our people. Kill him and reclaim the honor he took from your father."
Sighing, Hanzo swept his eyes one last time over the faces of the men who he grew up knowing as the wisest counselors that only had the clan's best interest at heart. He found no tint of hesitation amidst their crinkled brows and pressed lips. They really expected Hanzo to do the impossible...
"Do it, Hanzo," Shintaro goaded with the looks of the other elders behind backing him up as expected. "See an end to this madness!"
"I..." Hanzo hesitated, then audibly cleared his throat when resolve took over. "Understood."
The man knew his duty: At the end of the day, he was a Shimada leader first and foremost. It was a heavy burden that fell upon him since birth.
Still he was going to try and reason with Genji one last time for he did not wish to lose the only family he has left and be it of his own fault.
***
"Genji, we need to talk."
The younger Shimada was in a place Hanzo would never expect to find his brother in as well as in a position the lad has never been seen doing without the eagle-eyed supervision of his elders. Genji sat on his heels, head bowed low in humble incline, and under his chin were the fingers of two hands pressed together in prayer.
The sound of Hanzo's voice snapped him out of his peaceful trance, and slowly the lad looked over his shoulder. He then regarded Hanzo with a small smile as he got up back on two feet.
"Aniki, I didn't notice you there for a second."
"W-What are you doing here, Genji?" Hanzo inquired as he tried to wrap his head around the entire situation.
"I was only paying my respects to father," the younger man answered with a voice that was quieter than his own, a solemn soul that was clearly not himself. "You said you want to talk?"
"Yes," Hanzo immediately snapped out of his bewilderment and furrowed his brows once more. "I'm going to be frank, Genji. The Overwatch situation has put us all in a deep hole, but it is not beyond remedy. Just rule the clan alongside me and no one will know better. See this as a chance to redeem yourself, Genji. You said it yourself long ago: you hold as much right to the throne as I do. Father is gone--the rule has already fallen upon you ever since."
"Aniki." It was Genji's turn to furrow his brows. "I admit that my mistake really was rather careless, but I already told you--I don't want to partake in the business in anyway whatsoever. Dad never forced me to take it up, why should you?"
"So that's it then?" Hanzo countered hotly, composure thrown in the bin. "You're going to use the prestige of the clan for personal benefit, put us all in danger, do the same damn thing over and over again and just be a parasite all throughout the life you have left?"
Genji stomped forward, not at all daunted with the sheathed katana that hung by Hanzo's hip. "Don't drag me into your life just because you want mine."
"Your life should be dedicated to preserving the well-being of our people!" The clan leader was fuming. "When will you stop being so selfish, Genji?! The people need us to lead them!"
"That's what I am to all of you isn't it? The selfish one--might as well just live up to the part, huh, brother?"
"This is not the time to jest, Genji. Don't force my hand upon you--just rule with me, please!"
"No!" Genji shouted and pushed Hanzo back with a forceful shove of both of his palms. "I told you--I don't give a shit about the family business, Hanzo! Why won't you listen?!"
"I know what's best for you-"
"Well, stop it! I don't need you telling me how to live my life--I go by father's word and if he allowed me to choose my own path, then that's that." The young man snapped his head to the side with a huff and crossed his arms. "Call me whatever you want, but I'll never rule the clan with you. I won't lose my freedom just to become another slave of the corrupt elders."
"That's it," Hanzo hissed, hand immediately going for the blue hilt of his katana. "You forced me to do this."
In one swift swing, the sharp blade was out and made a mark square for Genji's chest, which would have sustained a fatal wound had the young man failed to jump back in the nick of time.
"H-Hanzo?!" Genji cried out as he dodged another hard swing. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"I won't watch my people suffer the consequences of your foolishness. It has to end this way," Hanzo let off a shaky sigh as he gave his little brother a haunting look that momentarily linked their souls together.
"A-Aniki?" Genji could only stare back as the utter act of betrayal began to unfold right before his very eyes.
He was cornered. Defenseless.
"I'm so sorry."
The blade swung low and caught the orange lighting of the room on its surface, giving the weapon a dangerous fiery glow that resembled molten lava. It was the last thing Genji saw before he fully grasped the weight of his predicament.
He was done for and coming out of this alive.
***
You giggled to yourself as you quietly made your way up to the clan master's quarters, a place you were most familiar with, in the quiet hours of dusk. Sonoko was more than happy with sneaking you into the palace as well as bribing the security staff into silence, forbidding them from notifying another living soul that their master's girlfriend will be roaming the castle halls without their superior's knowledge.
Unlike your other visits--the times when you weren't actually smuggled in like one of their products--you didn't notify Hanzo of this one beforehand. You figured you would sneak up on him, surprise him at work, or appear in person in the place he'd least expect to find you. Either way, you just really missed his company, plus you figured the look of shock on his face would be a once in a lifetime opportunity: He wasn't known to be an easy target after all. You couldn't possibly pass up the chance!
However upon arrival at his quarters, your lover was nowhere in sight. Even when you flicked the lights on, his presence remained absent. This didn't surprise you--Hanzo was a busy man and the hour was still too early for him to retire and call it a day.
So where could he be?
You figured the office where he mostly spent most of his hours in would be your next best bet. After all, where else could he be? You checked just a few minutes ago and all of the vehicles he was known to travel in remained on their usual spots in the garage.
You were never one to worry about such small things, but the moment a blood curdling scream tore through the air, you could only scream back in surprise and you forgot how to breathe, you heart having jumped up to block your already tightening throat.
Then it all became still once more, the defeaning silence forcing its way into your ears that you pleaded for any sort of noise--any sound that could hopefully break this frightening spell.
You broke out into a cold sweat; the shock of it all turning your skin pale and your limbs began to tremble. You recognized the voice from which the scream drew forth--a once comforting voice of a friend you've always held dear.
Genji.
Immediately you were taken back to the time when Master Sojiro first fell hard to his illness, how the younger Shimada tried in vain to wake his father up while keeping his bearings intact. That scream still haunted you to this day, but compared to this--you didn't think you would ever sleep soundly again.
Who died this time? Please, no--don't let it be! Too many lives have already been taken under the roof of this palace!
Please, don't let it be Hanzo too!
"Hanzo! Genji!" you cried out thoughtlessly, all the while running with a speed you never knew you were capable of. "GENJI!"
Too many corners, the floors too slippery--just waiting for you to fall--everything was basically working against you. But you couldn't let the hand of fear grip you then, not with the two brothers' lives possibly in grave jeopardy.
They needed you.
Hanzo needed you.
"Hanzo!" you called out again, suddenly wondering amidst the urgency why the guards still haven't arrived. Surely they've heard whatever that was! "Hey! Where are you?! Anata wa dokoni imasuka?!"
You prepared to use every air in your lungs to raise your volume even more for the off chance that any of the Shimadas will hear you, but without warning a sharp glimpse of white light coming from the dark worship room pulled your attention long enough to slow you down from your frenzied chase. Peering intently into the ominous abyss of the once well-lit quarters you neared with cautious steps, half expectant to find a demon lunging towards you and ripping you to shreds.
But in the utmost vigilance of looking out for demons and ghosts, you could only let out a gasp of alarm when you flailed uncontrollably for a few seconds, your foot having stepped on something slippery, accompanied by a sickening squelching sound that had your guts flipping like a gymnast.
What the hell?
Once you've steadied your being, another voice shot out, this time one of a more calm but dismal nature.
"(Y-Y/N)...?"
Snapping your frazzled head up, you noticed a figure emerging from the shadows, and when the first signs of tawny eyes revealed themselves, you almost fell down on your knees from the overwhelming wave of relief that slammed down upon your person.
"Hanzo, oh Hanzo, thank goodness!" you sobbed shakily, staggering over to put your arms around him. "Hanzo, I thought I lost you..."
He didn't speak at all--no greeting, no hum, not even a thread of sound.
Nothing.
"Hanzo, are you hurt?" you inquired, pulling yourself away from him. "Why are you-"
Your pupils shrunk to the size of dots the instant your eyes caught sight of the huge dark smears that soaked Hanzo's garments to the skin. You looked down upon your own, realizing the embrace you just exchanged, and gasped when the inky liquid seemingly took a more reddish shade in the light of the moon.
"Hanzo..." You tried your hardest not to tremble and involuntarily took a step back. "Is this blood? Is this yours?"
Yet even with your burning stare, the clan leader refused to utter a single word and instead moved his head to the side, clenching his fists.
It then occurred to you that the very liquid you stepped on just moments ago was a puddle of blood. It was irrefutable.
"Hanzo, what happened here? Where's Genji? I heard him scream." You challenged him with a wavering glare. "Answer me, please."
"I..." he sighed and paused. Without warning he stepped to the side, giving you a full view of a distorted mass that was behind him, only a heap of blood and flesh against the wall.
Except...it was clearly a man--well, it used to be a man. Said man was wearing very light clothing, no hint of armor or weapons whatsoever save for a dented metal band that laid right by it-
No.
"G-Genji?" you shuddered on the spot as your thoughts sped faster than what your head could handle, as your chest tightened at the degrees of horror that threatened to freeze your heart out.
This heap of flesh, this severely mangled person was one who you used to share secrets with, have meals with, pour your heart out to, grew up with.
This was Genji.
You screamed and shook, collapsing onto your knees, the whole thing finally crashing down on you. Big drops of hot tears streamed from your eyes and you debated with a half mind on whether or not you should touch what remained of him.
Why would anyone do this? In such a bestial way no less! Only a monster would-
"Hanzo." Your voice was as quiet as the room you were both in. "Did...did you do this?"
And the Shimada was at it once more, biting his tongue in silence.
"ANSWER ME, DAMMIT!" You rose up in a flurry; with the fear gone from your body, you were only shaking from anger and rage and hurt.
"I...I did," Hanzo answered and he refused to speak any more.
"But you said the curse wouldn't come until much later," you stammered. "Y-you couldn't have done this on your own, can you?"
The man parted his lips but he pursed them tight again, instead casting his eyes on everything else just so he wouldn't have to look at the pair he could see his dreams realizing.
Yours.
"I...it had to be done," he began upon hearing the crack that betrayed the crumbling of your soul. "Genji...he was becoming a liability to all of us. There was no curse. I carried out what I had to do on my own accord."
"So--" you stepped back, "you murdered him? My friend, your own brother?" Unknowingly you lifted a palm and drew it back to hit him square in the face.
"You-You bastard! You cruel, merciless bastard!"
The palm you rose stilled in the air, and to your own surprise you found that even then you had no desire to hit him, to inflict any sort of pain upon his being.
You just couldn't do it.
"I gave him a chance, (Y/N)," Hanzo explained, eyes locking on your quaking palm and then to you. "He had many years to change and instead he only puts us in even greater danger whenever we give him another opportunity for redemption. He pushed Overwatch onto our very doorstep, the people were very afraid, (Y/N).
"I couldn't let this go on. I never wished for it to end this way, but I...I have a duty to fulfill, my love. It had to be done."
To his own trepidation your footsteps were slowly creeping backwards and he knew then and there that you were gonna make a run for it.
"(Y/N), please-!" He bolted forward and clutched at your wrists. "(Y/N) please listen to me-"
"No!" you cried out and resisted, thrashing even more vehemently the moment he wrapped his arms around you to press you right against his bloody person. "No, let me go. Hanzo, let go of me! Don't touch me! G-Get away-!"
Even as Hanzo's heart broke at the sight of you pulling back and repulsing him as though he were made of hot coals, he held on, tighter than he'd ever held on to something, because you were the one thing he was actually certain of in his whole life.
He couldn't bear the thought of you painting him the same with the sane brush you would your nightmares.
Much to your dissatisfaction you were spent, tired and exhausted, after the better part of a few minutes but you took note that none of the red hot ire you felt inside subsided at the least. So you just sagged in his arms, not knowing what else to do.
You couldn't think, and before you knew it, words were spilling from your lips.
"I knew that I fell in love with the son of a murderer, Hanzo," you sobbed in defeat, pounding a weak fist against his hard chest as a final act of protest. "But never in a million years did I think you'd become one yourself! H-How...how could you? How could you do this? The man I love...he wasn't a monster."
With a new surge of fear and wrath filling your veins, you lurched yourself out of your lover's desperate grasp, beads of tears flying onto his kimono from the force, and you bolted for the light at the end of the hallway with every nerve on your body tingling with adrenaline. The only pain you could actually register was the pang growing in your brokenheart, and it only made you run all the more quickly despite being hardly able to see past the well of tears and breathe through the tightening of your throat.
How could he do this--and to Genji! My friend, his brother!
The blood splatters that littered and debauched the sanctity of the room, the mutilated body that you could barely make out a form off--too much, it was all too much! You needed to get away--this must be a wicked dream, you just had to wake up and it will all be over!
As your feet made haste against the panelled floors, Hanzo snapped out of the sudden realization that you broke things off with him, and he too broke out into a sprint, every gear in his body spinning like mad clockwork.
"(Y/N)!" he yelled out, almost falling flat on his face despite himself. "(Y/N)-!"
There was a sudden sharp prick that pierced the skin of his neck, and in that instant, Hanzo couldn't help but pause as he lifted a weak hand up to where the growing pain was strongest, finding that he felt like floating and that everything began spinning, slipping like sand in an hourglass.
Hanzo didn't even have to see for himself to know exactly what had happened.
Tranquilizer.
Who...?
Retracting the hand he laid upon the side of his neck, he managed to pluck out what seemed to be a small red capsule with a fine, sharp point jutting out from one of its ends. It resembled a bee, Hanzo remembered thinking with the last threads of his bearings that haven't slipped away yet.
But he also remembered you, and in that moment he gathered whatever willpower he could foe the cumbersome chore of moving one foot in front of the next.
(Y/N)!
Second by second that ticked by his strength and vitality were ebbed from his body, and before he could stop himself he had collapsed on all fours; yet he still strove to move, to chase after you and beg you not to leave him.
I need to make her see...I had to do it..!
His arms were like a pair of heavy sacks filled with bricks, unfeeling and numb and stiff. His legs refused to support anymore of his weight upright and even on his knees Hanzo was lagging by a ton. His tongue felt dry, lacking the capability to even call out to you, and to his horror, darkness edged his vision, ever growing larger as his eyelids weighed down just as the rest of his drugged system.
No. This is payment for my treachery. I...I did this.
I chose this.
I'm a monster.
A thump, and he was finally on his chest. His fingertips were the only parts of his person that could still feel the tiniest bits of sensation, and in his final attempt he shakily reached out to your retreating back down the long hall, and before the shadows have completely consumed you, the fallen Shimada choked out a whisper, one that broke his heart knowing you'll never hear.
"(Y/N)..."
You never came back around to listen to him.
"Don't go...please..."
There were hot tears streaming down his face, a supposed taint on his visage that showed just how far he has been reduced. Without warning rough and dark gloved hands immediately began to haul him up on unresponsive feet, but even through the haze of sensations, one lone thought permeated through Hanzo's head and he decided nothing was worth living anymore.
His mother wouldn't be there to comfort him nor would his father show up to ease all the confusion with his wise words.
And Genji...he wouldn't be there to selflessly fight his brother's abductors like Hanzo knew he'd do.
You...you were as good as gone. You wanted nothing more to do with him.
There was no living soul that would be able to save him then.
He was finally alone.
So you decided to break things off with Hanzo then and there.
Up next: Uncle Emperor voices his shock:
"Ehrmegherd, I can't believe I let my niece marry this douche."
"I'm going after him."
"No."
Stay tuned, loves! :*
~