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Genji never thought he would find himself in Hanamura again, especially if it wasn’t for a mission. Overwatch was starting to crumble and Genji refused to let the opportunity to eliminate his clan slip through his fingers.
Cole had advised Genji against traveling to Japan to take down his clan alone, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Cole had come to find that Genji was rather headstrong and when he had his mind set to something there was no changing it.
So, Cole offered to pilot the aircraft.
Cole knew that Genji would never let him help with terminating his clan or his brother, as that was something he continued to say that he needed to do on his own. Cole didn’t want Genji going alone so he settled for being the pilot, which was the next best thing if he couldn’t help his lover take on the clan.
Truth be told, Cole was worried about Genji. As he sat in the plane, he worried that something would happen to Genji. He had known Genji to be someone who recklessly charged into battles and didn’t give a damn if he hurt himself. Without him there to watch Genji’s back he worried if his lover would come back at all.
Genji jumped from rooftop to rooftop with ease, moving in the shadows like a thief in the night. He had always been praised for both his speed and stealth, but now that he was a cyborg he would be feared for both.
Sneaking into Shimada castle was easier than Genji thought. He shoved down the feeling of pity he got for his clan, knowing that it was easy to get in due to the decrease in Shimada clansmen and employees ever since his father was assassinated.
Genji slashed through the neck of his father’s portrait as he slipped through the halls. He secretly wished that his father was still alive, but that was only because he wanted to be the one to end him, to show him that even a sparrow has talons.
Genji made his way to the elders first. The elders had been the one to make the order for his assassination so he wanted them dead immediately.
One by one, Genji came up from behind each elder and stabbed them through the back until his sword was poking out of their chests. Genji impaled them with his left hand and held his right hand over their mouths to muffle their screams, making sure they could feel both the pain he felt from being stabbed in the back and so they would know what their choice forced him to become.
Genji had blood covering both his skin and his metal body, but he didn’t mind. He used to dread the feeling of blood on his body and the coppery smell in the air, but ever since he became a cyborg he had grown to enjoy both.
Genji continued to bathe himself in the blood of his clansmen, savoring the feeling of their bodies going limp in his arms. Genji never used to like killing but this revenge felt good and tasted even sweeter than he could’ve imagined.
Some of the elders had whispered apologies to him as the light faded from their eyes while others couldn’t believe that he was alive. Genji replied to each of them with the same words every time.
Sparrows do not stop singing.
Genji only had one person left to kill and he made sure he saved the best for last, his dear older brother.
Genji remembered how he had walked the same path to Hanzo’s room as a child, always eager and always with a bright smile plastered on his face. Genji was older now and he was eager, but he wasn’t smiling anymore.
Genji slipped into his brother’s room without a word or sound, closing the door behind him. Genji always believed that he did his best work in the dark so he kept to the shadows, his eyes focused on the sleeping form of Hanzo.
“Get up, Shimada.” Genji hissed. “I know that you are awake and have been anticipating my arrival for some time.”
Hanzo rose from his bed, locking onto the red eyes staring back at him, “You have skill if you have managed to make it as far as my domain.”
“It seems the Shimada have fallen over the years. A pity.” Genji spat.
“My clansmen may have been no match for you…” Hanzo surprised Genji when he retrieved a bow and arrow, aiming at him. “But I assure you that I will not let you leave here alive, assassin.”
“A bow and arrow?” Genji sounded amused. “Do you not think me a threat?”
Hanzo fired an arrow, only for Genji to avoid it with ease. Hanzo’s eyes widened for a split second and if Genji’s eyes hadn’t been cybernetically enhanced then he would’ve missed it.
“You have no hope if you continue to use a bow and arrow. Get your sword.” Genji growled.
Hanzo grit his teeth, “I swore never to wield a blade-“
“After you murdered your brother.” Genji finished with a bite to his words, noticing how Hanzo seemed to wince.
Hanzo remained silent and Genji was more than willing to fill it, “I know who you are, Hanzo. I know what you did that night.”
“You know nothing of what happened!” Hanzo snapped.
“I know you tell yourself that your brother disobeyed the clan.” Genji snatched the arrow that Hanzo fired at him, breaking it in half. “And that you have to kill him to maintain order. That was your duty.”
“It was my duty and my burden.” Hanzo lamented. “That does not mean I do not-“
“Save your words for the Shimada waiting for you in the afterlife.” Genji cut him off, pulling out the blade on his lower back. “You will be reunited with them soon.”
Shuriken were thrown at Hanzo’s lamp, causing Hanzo’s eyes to widen due to the sheer speed the assassin possessed. Genji worked best in the shadows and he was going to make sure Hanzo never saw him coming. Genji eyed the section of Hanzo’s room where moonlight came in from his balcony, he would be sure to avoid that.
Hanzo’s eyes flickered from the lamp to Genji, “Afraid of the light, assassin?”
“Afraid of the dark, Hanzo?” Genji countered. “You should be familiar with working in the dark, considering it was a night much like this one that you murdered your brother.”
Genji’s words seemed to strike a nerve if the arrows Hanzo shot at him said anything. Genji danced around the arrows before he deflected the last one back at Hanzo, earning a surprised noise from his brother.
Despite the darkness, Hanzo thought that there was something vaguely familiar about the way the assassin moved. There was only one other person who he had known to have a fighting style that meshed grace and power, but that person died by his own hands years ago.
Hanzo also had to notice that one of his arrows was deflected back at him. Hanzo had never known another enemy to deflect one of his attacks. The only people who could deflect bullets and arrows were Shimadas.
It wasn’t until Hanzo ran out of arrows that he realized he had to play the assassin’s game, he had to enter the darkness. Genji smirked behind his face plate as Hanzo gripped his bow like a weapon and ran towards him.
Hanzo’s movements were always so deadly and precise, Genji hadn’t forgotten that. Yet, it seemed that either his own style had changed or Hanzo had forgotten the way he fights, considering it was far too easy to get the upper hand and disarm him.
It wasn’t that Hanzo was sloppy or that he had gotten lazy over time. Instead, Genji knew his body had become far more advanced from his speed to his eyesight, making it far too easy to take down someone as skilled as Hanzo.
Genji was hoping for more of a challenge but it seemed that he had underestimated just how advanced his body was now. Hanzo was no longer someone he deemed to be in his league, a pity.
Genji landed a strong kick to Hanzo’s chest, sending him flying onto the balcony. Hanzo rolled a few times before he knocked into the wooden railing. Hanzo felt the wind knock out of him on impact, causing him to cough as he struggled to get onto his hands and knees.
Hanzo hated both feeling and looking weak. He cursed himself in his native tongue for not being able to defeat the assassin that had infiltrated his home and terminated his entire clan.
“I was hoping for a challenge.” Genji shook his head, his red eyes finding Hanzo from his spot in the shadows.
“I am not finished yet.” Hanzo’s eyes flashed to the arrow that Genji had deflected, devising a last stitch effort to defeat his enemy.
Hanzo’s breath hitched when three shuriken were thrown at the arrow, tearing it to pieces and ruining the archer’s plan. Hanzo was sure that his eyes didn’t give him away. No one could have known what he was planning to do just from the way his eyes moved in a split second.
“I have waited a long time for this moment. I won’t have you ruining it.” Genji tsked, remaining in the darkness.
“What business do you have with the Shimada clan?” Hanzo rose to his feet, his knees threatening to give out on him. “What have we done to you to deserve a massacre?”
“After all this time you still haven’t figured it out?” Genji chuckled darkly. “I thought you were supposed to be the prodigy of the Shimada… the favored son.”
“Who are you?” Hanzo demanded.
“I thought you would have remembered me…” Genji slowly stepped into the moonlight, revealing his identity to his brother. “Anija.”
“Genji?!” Hanzo took a fearful step back, but Genji was used to getting reactions like that from his new appearance.
Hanzo was shocked to know that Genji was still alive but he was appalled to know that he was now a blend of flesh and metal. There were angry scars running across the flesh that was exposed, and Hanzo remembered how he had caused each one of them.
Genji was hiding most of his face behind a face plate and a helmet, but Hanzo could still see the scars that stretched across his face. Hanzo nearly winced at the scar he saw darting through Genji’s left eye, how he hated the way he was the reason those once chocolate orbs were now a blazing red.
“What’s wrong, anija? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Genji smirked, enjoying the way Hanzo seemed to tremble at the sight of him.
“How… how are you-“
“Alive?” Genji finished with a cock of his eyebrow. “I should be dead… but Overwatch offered to save me so I was turned into a monster.”
“Overwatch?” Hanzo repeated softly.
Genji didn’t allow Hanzo to think much more on the matter. He dashed forward and left only a streak of red in his wake. He grabbed Hanzo by the throat with his right hand and lifted him into the air as though he weighed nothing.
Hanzo was gasping for breath, clawing at Genji’s metal arm as if it was going to do something. Genji soaked in Hanzo’s pitiful attempts to save himself, wondering if it felt this good to be the one with the upper hand in the battle of brothers.
“You can claw at my arm as much as you like… I cannot feel the pain anymore.” Genji wore a wicked grin at the sight of Hanzo’s eyes becoming as wide as saucers. “Yes, that’s right. You removed my arm from my body that night.”
“I could remove yours from your body.” Genji raised his left hand and allowed his blade to trace Hanzo’s shoulder, not deep enough to draw blood but enough to draw fear.
Genji moved the blade to Hanzo’s legs, “Or I could cut your legs off the same way that you did to me.”
Genji tightened his grip on Hanzo’s neck, “Perhaps I should strangle you so that I can ruin your vocal chords like you did to mine.”
“So many choices… so many ways to kill you…” Genji sighed, but Hanzo could tell he was smiling. “And I have nothing but time now that our clan is dead.”
“The elders…” Hanzo choked out. “Did you…”
“Did I kill them?” Genji had the audacity to laugh. “They were the first ones to die.”
Hanzo kicked his feet at Genji, but the cyborg didn’t budge. Hanzo never could have imagined that this would be happening, that his little brother would be saved and turned into a cyborg, only to come after him with a revenge that seemed to burn for years until it became a wildfire.
“Do it then. Kill me.” Hanzo went limp in Genji’s grasp, darkness beginning to stretch across his field of vision.
This was the moment that Genji was waiting for.
Genji had gone the past few years waiting for his golden opportunity to kill his brother, to get his revenge for what Hanzo did to him. Genji had been training day and night, pushing his body to the limit, all to personally see his brother’s demise.
Genji thought that he might cut his brother down the same way he did to him, but he had to admit that strangling him and watching the light vanish from his eyes was quite satisfying, as well.
Yet, for some reason he wasn’t feeling as satisfied as he thought he would. Genji wouldn’t dare to say it out loud, but in the deepest part of his ice cold heart he didn’t want to do this.
He didn’t want to kill Hanzo.
Genji looked into Hanzo’s half lidded eyes and for a split second he could’ve sworn he saw the younger version of him. Genji could see the dark circles under his eyes from years of rigorous training and meetings with their father or the elders. Genji could see how his brother suffered then, and even now.
Hanzo was surprised when he found himself being dropped on the ground. Hanzo brought a hand to his throat, covering the area that Genji had been squeezing. Hanzo gasped for air, coughing as he tried to regain his composure.
Hanzo glanced up at Genji, who began walking towards the door, “Where… where are you… going?”
“What does it matter to you?” Genji paused, glaring over his shoulder. “You have never cared before so do not try to care now.”
“I always cared-“
“No you didn’t!” Genji whipped around, his anger flaring once again. “You didn’t care when I was a child and you certainly didn’t care the night you killed me!”
“I was ordered to kill you! I did not want to!” Hanzo argued, rising to his feet.
Genji’s eyes narrowed, growling, “If you really didn’t want to then you never would have hurt me, but you did!”
“I never wanted to have to do any of that but you pushed me!” Hanzo stormed towards Genji, glaring. “You forced me into that position! You forced the elders to take action!”
“What did I do to deserve to die?!” Genji yelled, pain evident in his voice.
“You were parading around Hanamura and shirking your duties to the clan!” Hanzo shouted, angry tears stinging at his eyes. “You didn’t care that I was dying-”
“I was dying, too!” Genji screamed, cutting through Hanzo like a blade.
Genji’s chest was heaving up and down, his combination of real and artificial lungs working together. Genji’s red eyes were flaring, making Hanzo believe that they could have set the castle on fire if he really wanted to.
Hanzo remained silent, his anger slowly washing away like a gentle wave took the negativity out to sea. Hanzo couldn’t remember a time he had ever seen Genji full of rage like this, and maybe that was because he never had.
He could only remember the good times when Genji’s laughter was booming and echoing in the room. He recalled how Genji was always going out of his way to make others happy or to get him out of his office to enjoy a nice day.
“I was dying, too.” Genji repeated, softer this time. “I was always dying but no one saw me, not even you.”
“You…” Hanzo looked away, ashamed. “You never appeared to be dying or hurting in any way.”
“I was good at hiding it.” Genji chuckled darkly. “I suppose father did well teaching me the art of deception.”
“Why did you say nothing if you were hurting? I would have helped you.” Hanzo frowned.
Genji dared to laugh, sounding pained, “The funny thing is I did say something… you never had the time for me.”
Hanzo clamped his eyes shut as all the times that Genji asked and nearly begged for him to take a break or to listen to him crossed his mind. Genji was right, he did say something but he never listened.
“I was crying for help but you were never there for me.” Genji shook his head, sighing. “Sometimes I wonder if I had to die… to become this, if you had just listened to me when I needed you.”
“I am sorry, Genji.” Hanzo bowed his head in respect.
“What are you sorry for?” Genji scoffed. “Are you sorry you did not finish the job all those years ago or are you sorry I became a monster?”
“I am sorry I was not a good brother to you.” Hanzo clarified. “If I had been better to you then there is a chance you never would have become what you are now.”
Genji paused, and Hanzo wondered if he was considering offering forgiveness to a brother who desperately yearned for it. Genji had always been the more reasonable one of the two of them and Hanzo hoped that had not changed over time.
“I came here to kill you and you apologized to me?” Genji shook his head.
“You did not kill me.” Hanzo pointed out. “Why did you not complete your mission?”
“Because you welcomed death.” Genji replied easily. “You find living the challenge.”
Hanzo’s breath hitched.
Genji walked to Hanzo, nearly towering over him now, “I want you to live with what you did to me until I can forgive you… if I ever forgive you.”
“I…“
“I want you to live your life knowing what your actions did to me.” Genji walked by him, their shoulders brushing. “I want you to live knowing that the little brother you killed is still alive.”
Genji hopped onto the railing of the balcony, sheathing his sword. With Genji’s sword back in his holster on his lower back, he officially established that his revenge against his brother was over. Genji wore a faint smile, wondering if he would’ve ever followed through on his vendetta against his brother.
“Genji…” Hanzo raced forward and reached out to touch Genji, but he pulled back at the last second. “I am sorry… for everything.”
Genji couldn’t deny how good it felt to hear Hanzo say his name again. The last time he heard it was when Hanzo held his maimed and bloody body in his arms the night he died. He remembered how heartbroken his name sounded slipping off Hanzo’s tongue, and he didn’t like the sound of it very much.
“I would have walked through hell for you…” Genji sighed, fighting back the tears that desperately wanted to be released. “But you sent me to hell instead.”
Hanzo lowered his head.
“I cannot forgive you… at least, not yet.” Genji admitted, his ruby eyes softening as he looked at his brother.
“I… I understand.” Hanzo murmured. “Where will you go now?”
“Why does it matter to you?”
“You are my little brother.” Hanzo wished he could’ve smiled. “My actions may not have shown it that night… but you have always mattered to me.”
Genji frowned, “We should have just run away together that night.”
“We should have.” Hanzo agreed softly.
They remained in a comfortable silence, one that surprised both of them. Genji never could have imagined that he would look his brother in the eyes when he was so close to killing him and save him.
Genji spoke of revenge but maybe he never really wanted that. Maybe he just wanted to look his brother in the eyes and let him see the damage he caused. Maybe he wanted to torture Hanzo with his mere existence.
Yet, the more he thought about it the more he realized none of that was true. In Genji’s heart of hearts, he knew what he really wanted was to let Hanzo know he was alive and that one day he hoped they could fix what they had broken and become brothers again.
“You should leave soon.” Genji broke the silence. “It won’t be long until someone comes snooping around. You will be blamed for the massacre if you stay.”
“…yes.” Hanzo nodded, “And where will you go?”
“I don’t know.” Genji answered honestly.
“Will I ever see you again, otouto?” Hanzo asked, nearly pleading.
Genji looked over his shoulder, smiling, “When the time is right I will find you, anija.”
Hanzo could do nothing more than watch as Genji jumped off the balcony and disappeared into the night. Hanzo raised his hand to his face to find that there was something wet dripping down his cheeks.
He didn’t have much time to ponder about the tears pouring down his cheeks. Right now, he had to collect as much of his life as possible and take a page from his little brother’s book and disappear.
Genji slithered through the city like a serpent, avoiding the clubs and bars that he used to call home. He felt tears stinging at his eyes when he heard the familiar voices of some of his friends echoing out of the bars.
“That was another life.” Genji whispered to himself, pushing towards the plane.
Cole wasn’t surprised when Genji returned to him covered in blood. However, he was surprised that Genji had tears streaming down his face.
“Hey now, honey bee… what’s wrong?” Cole murmured as he pulled out a handkerchief and swiped at the blood on Genji’s face plate. “Is this about killin’ your brother?”
“I…” Genji sniffled. “I didn’t kill him.”
Cole’s eyes widened, “What… what do you mean you ain’t kill him? It’s all you been talkin’ about since you joined Overwatch.”
Genji tore off his face plate and helmet, burying his face into Cole’s chest. Genji’s hands gripped the fabric of Cole’s shirt tight, as if he was afraid that the monsters from his past would take him away if he let go.
Cole could only hold Genji as the sobs racked his body and he became the shell of the man that he knew. Cole had been dating Genji for the past year but had known him for two. In the time that they had known one another, Genji never cried.
Vulnerability was weakness in Genji’s eyes, but it was a show of strength and trust to Cole. Right now as Genji cried in his arms, he couldn’t have looked any more beautiful.
“It’s alright, darlin’.” Cole kissed the top of Genji’s head, murmuring into those soft raven locks. “We can track him down and get him another time if that’s what you want.”
“I am not ready to face him again.” Genji confessed, shaking his head against Cole’s chest.
“Okay…” Cole nodded, rubbing his hands up and down Genji’s sides. “Okay then.”
“I couldn’t kill him, Cole.” Genji whispered, quiet enough that Cole nearly missed it. “I couldn’t do it.”
Cole furrowed his brow, “What do you mean?”
“I should want him dead…” Genji’s shoulders were shaking. “I should want him dead but I couldn’t do it!”
“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Cole soothed. “You ain’t gotta kill him if that ain’t what you wanna do anymore.”
“I should want him dead…” Genji repeated, softer this time. “But I don’t.”
Genji slowly pulled his face out of Cole’s chest, their eyes locking, “What’s wrong with me? Why couldn’t I kill him?”
Cole felt his heart constrict at the way Genji was looking at him, like he was the man with all the answers. In reality, Cole was just a man with a history of being in a gang trying to make something with the second chance he was given. Cole didn’t have all the answers, but he knew a thing or two about family.
“I ain’t know. Maybe it’s because deep down you still love him.” Cole replied, his voice as gentle as rain.
“I should hate him for what he did to me.” Genji mumbled.
“Probably.” Cole shrugged. “But somethin’ tells me you don’t.”
Genji shook his head, confirming, “I don’t.”
“Then where do we go from here, sweet thing?” Cole asked, raising one of his hands so he could wipe away a stray tear falling down Genji’s face.
“My anija apologized but I cannot forgive him.” Genji leaned into Cole’s warm hand, smiling softly. “Where would you go to learn how to forgive someone who wronged you?”
Cole thought for a moment, “Probably somewhere in Asia. Ain’t there lots of monks out there who’re good at that kinda stuff?”
“India.”
“Huh?” Cole shot Genji a quizzical look. “You wanna go to India or somethin’, sugar?”
Genji nodded, “Let us go to India.”
“Why India?” Cole inquired.
“I don’t know.” Genji replied honestly, smiling. “I have a good feeling about India.”
“Okay.” Cole grinned, pressing a kiss to Genji’s forehead. “Then let’s go to India, darlin’.”
Together, Cole and Genji put in the coordinates to a base in India, knowing full well that by the time they arrived that Overwatch would be dissolved. They didn’t have much and they didn’t know what lied in store for them in the future, but they knew that they had each other.
And that was enough.