Thank you again to the people that have continued to support this book, it means so much that y'all like my work and y'all keep me going to be honest so thanks for that T_T
Anyway, here's the next chapter and some shit will go down so hang on to your horses cuz this will also be another long chapter XD
Enjoy, loves :*
By the time Jesse arrived home from the Overwatch base, you had already finished wiping away the remaining beads of blood that stained the tiles of your bedroom floor. The cowboy caught a glimpse of the clean layers of bandages you had wrapped around your ankle, peeking from the hem of your yukata, and though he didn't want to freak you out by making a big deal out of a situation that has clearly been put to rest, he couldn't help it in himself to worry.
"Doll, what happened 'ere?" he asked, looking up from where you were wiping away the remaining rusty stains on the floor to see Hanzo lying on the lower bunk bed, dangerously close to the edge and with one sleeved arm dangling down, fingers almost touching the tile beneath.
"He turned into a demon once more," you simply replied, voice devoid of any emotion as you ran the moist towelette in your hand in circles. You didn't look up, not even to greet jesse, and for a while there was a silence that bloomed between you two.
"Well, how is he? How are you?" He pointed with his gloved hand. "Who's blood is that?"
"He just scratched my ankle but he didn't mean to harm me," you said. "We're both fine, Jesse. Thank you for the concern."
"You sure you don't need that checked up?" McCree knelt in front of you and tried taking over the cleaning duty.
"I'm fine, the wound was not that lethal. What I really need right now however is dextrose, anything with electrolytes--the nurses back at the Shimada palace would give him something that revitalized his body once more, brought his energy back. Battling the curse was always painful and exhausting for Hanzo, and he's a little warm; I think he might have a fever."
"Say no more, doll. I can get ya those fluids in an instant. Overwatch is open 24/7 plus we have perks to these kinds of things. I'll bring what I can, just hang on and keep his temperature even." Jesse stood up and walked over to Hanzo, taking his leather glove off and putting his bare palm on the injured man's forehead, then to his neck. Jesse's face scrunched up each time, and his silence made you uneasy.
"What's wrong?" you asked.
"Dang, doll--this here ain't no ordinary fever: Han's temperature is blowing through the roof. I gotta hurry."
"Go," you said as you rushed to the bathroom, getting a bowl of cold water and a washcloth. "I'll watch over him."
"I might be back in an hour or so--gotta make sure Gabe doesn't make me do anythin'. I already passed the reports to him so we should be good."
"Alright, just hurry back as soon as you can. Hanzo is in urgent need of them...he's knocked out cold, I don't think I can wake him up. Be careful."
Jesse nodded as a determined look washed over his rugged face, and he immediately readied some spare change that he would take with him on the journey back to headquarters. The man shut the door behind him, promising beforehand that he will be back without delay in an hour or so if he was able to, as well as leaving you instructions on how to stabilize Hanzo's continuously deteriorating condition in the hopes of preventing any further complications.
You wiped the sweat off his skin and with another cloth dabbed the icy cold water onto him. You were thorough in your handling but gentle all the way, afraid that you might hurt him if you weren't careful. The only sounds coming out of his mouth were little, quiet groans, and he would couple that with the vain attempt of moving his fingers. None of them were good signs and he was unresponsive to your touches for the duration since he has passed; you could only sigh.
You would never tire of taking care of him but...was this really all that was left of your lives?
You two dispelled each other, destiny made it so that you two must hate each other--light and dark, what could be more polar opposites? You were a mortal link to a powerful goddess, while his soul was bound to the darkness of his ancestor's sins.
And yet here you were--furiously in love with him as he was to you.
If this is really what the gods intended then they were truly poets in their own right, and you wished more than anything else to find out how your story would end.
You've done all that you could, and in the meantime you've taken the liberty of resting for a quick moment, laying your weary head lightly on the Shimada's undulating chest. You tried talking to him as though he'd respond back at you, telling him in your quietest voice about how you've always loved the way he smiled as you never saw him do it that much when you were younger, or how you would sneak glances at him when he'd have sparring in the palace's training room--for some reason watching him beat the other opponents in almost every battle was very satisfying to watch.
"I was confident that you would win every time," you said. "You're the best fighter I've ever known...a true warrior."
You laid there in silence for about ten minutes afterwards when all of a sudden you finally heard the sound of the door being unlocked seconds later, accompanied by a set of heavy footsteps making its way into the interior of the room. The distinct sound of the lock falling back into place was heard, and you took that as your cue to get back up and retrieve the revitalizers from McCree.
He said he'd be back in an hour...he's thirty minutes early. That's good at least--Hanzo can finally be properly attended to.
You walked towards the doorway of your room when you heard the sound of rustling papers, drawers opening, and documents haphazardly being gathered and piled up. Realizing to your horror that there was someone in the same space as you that was not the cowboy made you panic, and you immediately rushed back to Hanzo's side, grabbing the blanket that covered him and pulling it over his head. You concealed yourself as best you could in the shadows of the room, but you knew you had to find out what this trespasser was up to. Was he an enemy of Overwatch? Was he sent to locate Hanzo? Was he both?
You took a cautious peek outside once more and further studied your person of interest. Even in the the low light, you could discern the sinews and metal platings that armored what seemed to be a scarred yet toned body. There were tubes all over him that directed fluids from one part of his being to another, but among these strange enhancements, the hard steel mask that covered his face was the one that stood out to you the most. Something about the structure seemed...eerily familiar, especially the curved segment that covered the entirety of his forehead.
His eyes were the only things left unhidden, and they shone a hellish red--like diluted blood, the color of anger and pain.
You didn't know where to begin classifying him: Was he even human? or was he machine? a higher form of omnic?
What was he even looking for?!
The robot-man was getting more impatient by the second, judging from the frantic and hurried scouting he was doing, shoving the coffee table to the side here and ripping apart the sofa cushions there. Whatever he was doing, he must think that he was alone, that there was no other living soul inside where he was then. You watched as he let off a vexated growl, pacing here and there, flipping everything in sight. The long weapon strapped onto his back helped in the disarray of most of Jesse's things, and it was when he took one step towards the kitchen that you immediately snapped out of your observation to go duck down and hide from his sight.
You left the bedroom door ajar, not wanting to give away your location, and you could only lay low and listen as he slowly stalked by your room, proceeding to check the space inside the bathroom before opening the many cabinets in the backmost part of the kitchen.
You held your breath and reached for the dusty candle holder Jesse said the former tenant left behind; since then you and Hanzo have decided to put it near the back of the door so that it separated itself from your other things, effectively being out of the way--which in your opinion was one of the best decisions you've made as a couple. You gripped onto the slender golden handle like your life depended on it and clutched the object to your heaving chest, telling yourself that the makeshift weapon may only be used if the intruder has entered your quarters.
Time was running out, and the reality that you and this dangerous stranger will soon clash was inevitable; every single space in McCree's apartment room had been searched about already--everywhere except for the room where you had sought sanctuary.
I won't let you hurt Hanzo--you'll have to kill me first!
Then it happened: the wooden door began pressing against the expanse of your back as a metal hand pushed from the other side. The red glow of his eyes and enhancements illuminated the room, and upon catching sight of the lumpy mound on the lower bunk bed that was Hanzo, the intruder did as you had feared and pursued your lover stealthily, advancing like a wild animal that has cornered its prey. He wasted no time and gripped at the top of the blanket, preparing to tear it off when you lunged from behind and struck the metal man on the top of his head, where black spiky locks sprouted, sweeping backwards. The cyborg let go of the blanket with a pained cry that sounded as mechanical as an omnic...but with the underlying emotion and vehemence of a human being.
"Who are you?!" you questioned fiercely, albeit your knees were wobbling with heart-wrenching fright. "W-What do you want from us?!"
The cyborg person recovered quickly and got into an offensive stance, ready to fight when he caught sight of your scowling face through the disheveled strands of your hair.
"What are you doing in Jesse McCree's room?" you repeated yourself, trying to steer the topic of Hanzo away from your upcoming conversations.
For awhile he said nothing, but at the same time, he initiated no retributions for your sudden attack. "I came here for answers," he began, glaring straight into your soul, and his eyes were like beautiful ruby spheres that managed to root you on where you stood. "I have some questions for McCree, and I can not wait any longer." He then approached you in three steps, each of which you've responded by backing away with twice the length. "I should be interrogating you--what are you doing in an abode that isn't yours?"
"I don't have to answer that," you snapped, cutting him off, and you positioned the candle stick in front of you as how Hanzo would wield his katana.
"Very bold," he hummed beneath his metal mask, but before you even had the chance to blink, he unsheathed his weapon and sliced your candle holder in half, the blade swinging like a thief just above your fisted hands.
In shock and chagrin, you dropped what remained of your makeshift club, and you staggered back with a tremor in your body, opting to cling onto the steel bedpost for support--support that your legs were failing to supply you with.
"Don't challenge me--I won't let anyone get in the way of my justice. Not even-" he suddenly paused, catching sight of the Japanese landscape painting that took up the entirety of your bedroom wall. He then studied you intently, up and down, until his gaze landed your face; it hadn't occurred to him that you wore his people's clothing, not only that--but you wore something that belonged to former friend. He knew that yukata--he'd recognize it from anywhere, even in the dark, even if the wearer was someone else.
Unless...the wearer wasn't a different person.
"Take your hair out of your face and step closer to me." He ordered you, lowering the sword in his hands.
"What-"
"Just do as I say," he interjected furiously, your hesitation further thinning what little was left of his patience.
Deciding to just submit to his wishes, you took in a deep breath, sighed, and steadily closed the distance between you two all the while tucking the loose tresses back behind your ear. When you were inches away from him you decided that you weren't going to take anymore of his bullshit, no matter how dangerous he may be, and stared him down to put an end to him in his own game. You watched as his eyes widened into saucers and saw how his thick black eyebrows arched under the metal piece on his forehead. You bore witness as this supposed hardened killer stumbled upon his words like a school girl with a crush, and he could not get anything out of his covered mouth...
So he reach out and firmly held your arms in his hands.
"(Y-Y/N)?" he asked you, the usual resentment in his words dying away into tenderness, and you swore you heard his voice crack as he called out to you in disbelief.
You tried to squirm away, but it was no use. This cyborg wasn't about to let go of you. "W-Who are you? How do you know my name!"
"It's me," he said. "It's me, you old friend--it's me Genji."
Your body froze, and you nearly fell back as your ears rang from the revelation that you had just heard.
"I-It can't be...!" You shook your head in denial, voice hoarse with sentiment. Lips quivering, you reached a hand up and touched the metal that covered his cheek, brushing your hands against what little bits of skin he has chosen to show. "H-Hanzo killed you...! You were dead."
"I'm here, your eyes are not playing tricks on you--it really is me, old friend!"
"You are machine now." You breathlessly stared in awe. "Are you alright? What happened to you all this time? Where have you been?"
"That night," the cyborg began bitterly, "Overwatch managed to help me just in time. Hanzo's attacks were lethal, and they could no longer restore my body to the way it was. To save me they've made me part machine...and here I am now, serving them, bringing an end to what's left of the Shimada clan."
"Ending the Shimada clan?" you whispered, losing your voice. "W-What are you talking about--no."
Your pupils shrunk into dots and a fierce cold claimed over your body as a nauseating realization churned the insides of your gut. You forcefully pushed your old friend away with a cry and sought refuge behind the bed post once more as you pointed an accusing finger to his face.
"You were the one hunting down and killing off the elders," you huffed breathlessly and on the brink of tears. "You were behind the ruthless massacre inside the Shimada palace!"
Oxygen came to you in heaving breaths as you tried to justify Genji in your head, brush away the thought that he was the mastermind behind this criminal act. But you had to know for yourself--you must hear the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be, from him!
"Answer me, Genji!" You demanded through gritted teeth as your fists shook on the steel of the bedpost. "Did you do it?!"
"I had to do it!" Genji answered with just as much intensity, coming to his defense. "No one was going to punish them the way they deserved to be--if turned over to authorities, they will simply live the remainder of their lives rotting away in a jail cell, where they will one day die in peace, in comfort, and without the fear of their atrocities coming back to make them pay in full.
"The ones who will befall judgement upon the elders have never encountered them in the way their victims had, they will never know the gravity of the destruction they have caused on countless people's lives--lives that need to be avenged." He closed his eyes, heavily weighing in his next words, and sighed. "Their reign of terror ends with me, and I've made it so that they can no longer hurt another soul."
"This is wrong!" you cried out. "Dispatching them in cold blood? Killing what were staff that served the palace? Genji this is not for you to decide! You are acting like the elders you so despised."
"We both may have blood on our hands, but mine was of noble intention; theirs was done for the sake of acquiring riches and power--I have avenged those that fell under their tyranny, and I'm certain people will view their demise as vindication for all that they have done. Overwatch has no idea as of yet, but I have helped them as much as I can by telling them everything I know about my former clan and those that have done dealings with them. I have more than done my duty dismantling that filthy organization."
"Is it really justice, Genji? Or are you really out here for vengeance?" You shook your head. "You've killed everyone, you've proved your point; What are you still doing here? Why were you here in the first place--touching Jesse's things, his documents?"
"As I've said...I want answers," he simply replied, eyes going back to their hostile energy at the mention of the cowboy. "I find it weird that my partner in Blackwatch would know so much about the Shimada clan's former business associates, where they conduct their operations, who are the prominent people involved--down to the details of some of the transactions Overwatch has never put a closed end to. You see, old friend, McCree did not have business knowing such sensitive details. The only ones who could have provided such information would be the people within the Shimada family; mother and father are dead so--it is either me or Hanzo.
"Now I want to know: I certainly did not share anything regarding this to the cowboy or any of my partners in the team, so how did Jesse McCree manage to have a hold of this knowledge supposedly limited to my kin?"
Sweat ran down your brow and along the expanse of your back; it was cold, yes...but the fear you felt for Hanzo's safety over ruled that and you gulped to the realization that there was no excuse that you could use to slink your way out of this one.
"Is it perhaps someone has told him?" He asked tauntingly, knocking the wooden dresser down with a single swipe of his robotic arm, making you flinch on your spot. "Perhaps someone like my dear brother, Hanzo?"
"No!"
Time stood still and you could only watch as Genji tore the blanket off of your lover's sleeping body, and at the sight of his unconscious enemy, Genji let off a tumult that signified his confusion and umbrage.
"What is he doing?" The cyborg turned to you. "Why is he like this?! I'm finally going to make him pay for what he has done to me and he wouldn't even see the fulfillment of my justice. This is preposterous."
"Genji he regretted what he has done," you sobbed, completely losing your mobility and you crawled in the hopes of getting to him. "Genji, please you saw how the elders brainwashed him--even as a young boy he was taught to forget about himself for the sake of the clan."
Your words were doing nothing to bring his actions to a halt, and your voice mirrored your impassioned despair at the doom he would surely bring onto Hanzo. "He's trying to be better now," you insisted, scrambling up and holding onto his feet. "Please--let him make amends!"
"He will never be able to make amends," Genji growled lowly, digging his metal thumb into the hollow of Hanzo's throat, pressing harder and harder by the second onto where a slow pulse beat. "He's a murderer, and he deserves nothing more than to die a slow and painful death at the hands of the victim he has offended the most--me. The Shimada clan will end with Hanzo, and I'll make sure that by the end of this night it will be his demise as well."
"No!" You cried out. "Genji, don't do this! Your brother is sick--please!"
"Perfect," he replied, never looking away from the blue hue that slowly began to saturate Hanzo's sleeping face. "He was willing to kill me so readily--I was defenseless, begging for mercy, and he took advantage of that. Well now it is my turn to make something out of his debilitating condition--this is a fitting end to his life: A proud warrior struck down in the same fashion he had his brother. How low he sunk--he was the envy of the people back then, and now he has nothing."
You tugged and tugged at his heavy, sinewed body like a madman, but Genji only remained glued on where he was, not even budging an inch, and you were losing all hope that you could still save your beloved.
"Genji, Hanzo can't breathe!" You shrieked, ramming your body against him for the off chance that his deathly hold on your beloved will loosen.
"Ideal as I want my brother to die by my hand...or would you prefer I use my blade on him?"
"Genji, your honor--you'd be throwing that away if you kill Hanzo!"
"The elders taught me their version of honor, and it's probably the one you know the most...but I don't live by their rules anymore, now I am going to practice what I think is right."
"This isn't right!" you scolded him, continuously pulling at his arm. "I'm sorry Genji, but I won't let you kill him without a fight."
You climbed onto the side of the lower bunk bed and leapt into the air, hanging onto Genji's body and using your weight to swing him away from Hanzo. The drawer he had tipped over minutes ago obstructed the door, and the cyborg's ankle got caught on one of its wooden corners and he tripped over to the narrow hall outside, effectively bringing you along with him to where the entrance of the bathroom was.
You two groaned in pain, but even before you got your bearings in full, you took advantage of Genji's momentary disorientation to climb on top of him and land hard punches to his metal face, trying in vain to get him unconscious. You barely noticed the skin on your knuckles breaking out, bruising until they gave out and bled. You just associated the numbness that spread there to simply being that--numbness brought upon by adrenaline or something. You grabbed the metal ridge that ran by his jaw and used that to beat his head onto the hard ground over and over again, hoping it would be enough for him to black out.
"I didn't want to do this--and to a dear friend no less!" you said angrily, coming off as pissed, but your eyes instead betrayed the heartbreak you felt inside, spilling down big drops of warm tears from your cheeks and onto his metal face. "You were like a brother to me Genji, but from what you've shown me, I barely know you anymore! I can't let you hurt Hanzo--I can't let you take away my beloved. I've lost him too many times."
"(Y-Y/N)-!"
Beneath you, Genji's stirs have become more forceful, and you knew that it would only be a matter of seconds before he turned the tables and overpowered you once more. Quickly scanning the dark room with a tunneled gaze, you came up with a new strategy and rolled off his body, your arms stretching out to reach for the saber-like katana above his head that has loosened itself from its sheath in the tumble that ensued moments ago.
Bearing semblance to that of a valiant but weakened samurai, you rose to a fighting stance, putting the red-handled weapon before you, and you chose to ignore the hot throbbing that pervaded ankle. You watched with a burning gaze how the light reflected and ran down the length of the tapering grey blade; everything about the sword looked so fast and lithe and deadly--much like its owner. It was a match made in heaven, and it was all the more reason not to give it back to Genji while he was near Hanzo.
"(Y/N), put that down." He commanded, fazed by the beating his head has went through. "You don't know how to use that."
"I'll use this if I have to, Genji--don't test me!" you hissed, pointing the blade directly to him. "Don't you dare take one more step closer to Hanzo!"
"You will hurt yourself," he snarled.
"I will gladly lay my life down for your brother," you confessed fiercely, trying to draw him closer to the exit. "He is a good man."
"You know nothing of what you say, (Y/N). Love has blinded you, and you can't see past his words, his affectionate gestures, his facade! Snap out of it and don't be a fool!"
"No." You continued advancing onto him from a certain angle to his side. "I can see past his sin, Genji. His sense of honor may be warped due to his upbringing, but he's breaking apart from what he has known--he is growing up."
"You weren't the one he murdered in cold blood-"
"He cared about you growing up-!"
"He betrayed me for the sake of honor--that is not love!"
"I know and I can't ask you to forgive him so easily," you said, sympathizing with his point of view as fresh tears brimmed your eyes. "But you knew why he had to do it, Genji. You know he is more than what he did...if you kill him now, he won't be able to show you how much he has changed, how much he is trying to better himself as a person."
"I don't want his change: I want to see him pay for his sins as the other elders have." Genji slammed his fist against the wall closest to him, and in response, you drew the weapon's tip even closer to his person until he backed up into the exit.
"Leave." You ordered the cyborg, stilling your breathing as you watched his artificial hand reaching for the handle begrudgingly, swinging the wooden door open with a force that slammed it onto the wall to its left.
"Don't return if you still mean Hanzo harm, Genji," you said softly, keeping the cyborg's weapon close to you. "Leave us in peace, please...I'm begging you. Your justice won't be fulfilled here. I'm sorry, old friend."
Genji blew air out of his nose in vexation, face reddening with annoyance at the hindrance of what was supposed to be his right.
"Hanzo better consider himself lucky that I still regard of you highly--that I felt sorry for your foolish being, willing to put yourself in harm's way just to protect a person that is nothing more than a criminal!" he scoffed in disdain, criticizing you in the process. He hopped onto the cylinder railing and turned his head over his shoulder to look into your red, puffy eyes for the final time that night.
You gathered yourself together and braced for the slurry of insults that was bound to come your way.
"I never wanted to hurt you, Genji." You kept your voice still, not wanting to cry once more. You threw the sword onto the floor beneath him, resulting in a loud clang, but the cyborg made no initiative in picking it up.
"Keep him out of my sight," he warned, voice low and gruff. "For I will show him no mercy the next time we cross paths."
Thick gray smoke filled the place, swirling rapidly in front of you where Genji stood. You had to cover your face with the sleeves of your yukata, and even in his farewell, the Shimada's anger never simmered, if not becoming stronger than when he had first broken in. He must have thought of you as a traitor as well...just as how he viewed his brother.
You were finally alone again, the threat on Hanzo's life finally gone and away.
Genji was out there in the world once more, and as you looked down at your bruised, bleeding knuckles, reminiscing the wild events that unfolded just then, you caught sight of a tall dark figure approaching you, his urgent steps coupled with calls of your name.
Lifting your tear-stricken face, you and McCree met eye to eye, and no words were needed when he rushed to the open room to see the destruction your fight with the younger Shimada has caused.
"Are you okay, doll?" he asked as he took your wounded, battered hands into his bigger ones. "Jesus, what 'appened 'ere?"
But you no longer spoke after that, choosing instead to stare at the darkness that engulfed the cluttered and broken space.
Hanzo was okay. He was finally safe...and that's all that mattered.
UwU hi guys. Thanks for reading!! :D
Hope you liked this chapter and sorry if it was kinda long X3
Forgive any grammatical errors you may find in this I was tired af :3 So peace out!!
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