" YUANFEN " genji shimada.

ii | 2055

DAHLIA GRIPPED HER FATHER'S hand so tightly that her little knuckles had begun to turn white. Her eyes were wide and unblinking as she stared around her, taking in her surroundings with her lips parted in awe. The bright fluorescent lights above their heads illuminated brightly off of the white walls, white flooring, white furniture- white everything. Although Dahlia was young, even she knew that so much white was not a good idea. She was led through the building at a brisk pace, her short legs struggling to keep up with Sam Blackrock's much longer ones.

Waiting for the father and daughter at the end of a long hallway were two very important looking people. They were dressed in identical uniforms: bright blue and black with a white and orange circular logo plastered on the breast. One was a middle-aged man with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes; he wore a stoic expression on his chiseled features that made Dahlia almost nervous. Beside him was a woman with tan skin and jet-black hair. She wore a tattoo below her eye, though apart from that her skin was seemingly untouched.

"I am glad you were finally able to make it, Blackrock," spoke the man. His gruff voice echoed through the otherwise empty hallway. Dahlia's hand was dropped as her father reached out to shake the strangers' hands one by one. The little girl, being clever and exceptionally observant, didn't miss the way Sam's touch lingered in the woman's hand for a moment longer than what was necessary.

Now deep in conversation with the man, Dahlia's father left her with the woman with nothing more than a small smile shot over his shoulder. Dahlia began to panic, moving quickly to chase after her father, though her path was soon blocked as the strange woman knelt down to the ground in front of her. She seemed nice enough, with warm brown eyes and a beautiful smile that stretched across her caramel skin; Dahlia knew well enough that her father would never leave her with someone that was untrustworthy, yet she still found herself hesitant to relax in his absence.

"What's your name, little one?" the woman questioned her softly. Dahlia clamped her mouth shut, shuffling her feet nervous. The woman, sensing her hesitance, smiled once more. "My name is Ana."

"D-Dahlia," the little girl murmured. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly, already missing the warmth of her father's large hand in her own. He had disappeared through a set of double doors now, and she had no idea when she would see him again.

"What a pretty name," Ana mused. Then, she looked over Dahlia's shoulder and gestured towards her. Confused, Dahlia glanced behind her to see another little girl, seemingly only a year or two older than her, approaching them quickly. "This is my daughter, Fareeha. Will you show her around, dear?"

"Sure, mama!" Fareeha said excitedly. Without warning, the girl reached out and grabbed Dahlia's hand. She pulled her away from Ana, causing her to glance back at the older woman in panic.

"It's okay, Lia," Ana called after her. "She won't take you too far!"

"My mom's an Overwatch captain!" Fareeha's warm voice pulled Dahlia's attention back to the girl dragging her down the hallway. "She's super important." Then, she stopped, and turned to look at Dahlia curiously. "What does your dad do?"

Dahlia pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I don't know," she admitted with a frown. "He's never told me. He says it's a secret."

"Hm," Fareeha hummed, seemingly unbothered by the response. "Well, it must be important, or else he wouldn't have been asked to join Overwatch! I'm going to join Overwatch when I'm old enough, too! My mom doesn't want me to, but I've already made up my mind. I told Commander Morrison myself."

"Is that the scary man with the yellow hair?" Dahlia asked innocently, blinking.

"Yep!" Fareeha responded and laughed. "He isn't so scary once you get to know him. He likes me."

"Do you live here?" Dahlia questioned.

Fareeha nodded. "Mhm. It isn't so bad here, but it does get a bit boring sometimes. I'm happy that I'll finally have another kid to play with!" She then paused, eyebrows furrowing together and a frown replacing the smile. "You do want to be friends, right?"

"Yeah!" Dahlia said happily.

Maybe papa was right, she thought to herself. Maybe Overwatch will be good for both of us!