" YUANFEN " genji shimada.

iv | the truth

yuanfen.
act one, chapter four.
"the truth"

—

THE SOUND OF THE conversations being held throughout the aircraft resonated against the metallic helmet that covered Genji's head almost painfully. He leaned his head against the back of his seat, shutting his eyes in an attempt to drown out the noise. Unfortunately for him, however, his cybernetically enhanced hearing made it nearly impossible for him not to hear every word being spoken around him.

He never thought he'd say it, but he missed the quiet rides on the Blackwatch airship. Because Blackwatch agents often chose to keep to themselves rather than socialize with one another, the missions were often done in complete silence. Well, except when Jesse McCree was in the mix; the cowboy talked so loud that sometimes he could have been mistaken for a whole crowd of people rather than just one individual.

Although Genji had yet to regret his decision to transfer to Overwatch, for the amount of scandals and grudges floating around within the Blackwatch division was too much for even him to handle, he still wasn't used to the friendliness of the Overwatch agents.

He noticed the way several agents kept glancing over in his direction, almost as if they were debating calling him over. After all, Genji was one of them now, and they were determined to include him. Though he saw some whisper to the others, probably warning their teammates against talking to him, and this only annoyed him more. Some agents treated him like he was the plague, staying as far away from him as possible as though they were afraid he would lash out for no reason.

Genji didn't want friends. After being betrayed by the one person he thought he could trust the most, he knew better than to put his trust into anyone. And yet, he still found himself feeling hopelessly alone, and he hated that.

As soon as the aircraft landed at their destination, Genji wasted no time before standing to his feet. He ignored the orders being barked out by Captain Amari; he was part of the stealth team, given his own mission before the team had even left the base. Genji leaped out of the airship, immediately darting towards the looming building in front of him that he knew hid the Talon associate known as Vialli.

Ever since the Venice incident and the death of Antonio, Overwatch had their hands full with cleaning up after the mess. Constant press conferences were being held where Commander Morrison was forced to face the consequences of Blackwatch's decisions, while the strike teams were fighting to compromise every last known Talon associate before they could retaliate. Gabriel Reyes murdered one of the organization's top associates, and it was only a matter of time before Talon attempted to do the same.

Although sent to scout out the building and find the location of Vialli before the strike team moved in to arrest him, Genji was on his own mission. He wasn't one to do favors, though he was being fueled on by his own curiosity and the temptation of the girl owing him a favor.

Honestly, he had no idea why he had agreed to find out why Talon killed Sam Blackrock. It had been over a year since his murder, and although no one would ever admit it to his orphaned daughter, most of Overwatch had already moved on from the loss. Genji then reminded himself that he wasn't doing it for the girl. She merely planted the idea in his head. No, he was satisfying his own curiosity. Sam Blackrock, although well-respected across all Overwatch divisions, was not a high-ranked agent. If Talon risked breaking into a high-security Overwatch base, why not kill someone of a bit more importance... like Jack Morrison? Something wasn't right about the situation. There was more to the assassination than what they've been told, and Genji was determined to find out.

Genji slid inside the window that he knew would lead him to the office of Vialli. He landed soundlessly on the floor inside, surprised to find Vialli leaning against his desk as though waiting for him. Genji reached up and brushed his fingers over the handle of his katana, ready to defend himself if the Talon associate grew aggressive.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you came to try and shut me up," Vialli said with a bitter laugh. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, wrinkling the dark brown suit that he wore.

"That is not what I am here for," Genji responded simply. He took a tentative step towards the man, who only raised his hands in surrender.

"You were there, weren't you? The night Antonio was murdered," he questioned with a glance towards the swords strapped on Genji's back. "You're the ninja."

Genji didn't respond right away. He lowered his hand from his katana, forcing himself to relax in an attempt to catch Vialli off guard. "Why did Talon order a hit on Sam Blackrock?"

This seemed to grab Vialli's attention. His eyes lit up and an almost twisted grin spread across his face. "Blackrock?" A humorless laugh fell from his lips as he repeated the name like it was venom. "You people are really still upset over him? It's been over a year! Talon did ya a favor by gettin' rid of the sleazebag."

Genji was now intrigued. "Explain," he ordered, and when Vialli didn't respond right away, he reached up and gripped his katana threateningly.

The Talon associate rolled his eyes, once again raising his hands in surrender. "Blackrock was a double agent the entire time, you oblivious fools," he explained. "He was working for Talon right under your noses. Remember the explosion of the Rome base? Blackrock was behind it all. He killed dozens of your people, just for some extra cash."

Genji's eyes narrowed behind his visor suspiciously. It was odd, receiving information so easily from the mouth of a Talon member; he wasn't sure if he could truly believe it. "Then why did you kill him, if he was working for you?"

Vialli shrugged. "The bastard's conscience got to him or somethin'. One day he didn't wanna do it anymore. He tried to leave. Well, we couldn't just let out secrets slip away in the hands of an Overwatch agent. So we killed him."

Genji hummed thoughtfully. It made sense, and yet knowing the true reason behind Sam Blackrock's murder only made him feel worse. He wasn't just killed out of cold blood; he was working for Talon right in the midst of Overwatch, and he was sure that no one knew anything of it.

Now that he got the information that he wanted, Genji knew there was no point in wasting any more time. In the blink of an eye, he dashed out and grabbed Vialli by the back of the neck. He twisted him around, slamming him down on his desk. The Talon associate cried out in surprise, though Genji ignored the string of curses being shot towards him as he called for his team over the comms: "I have Vialli. We are done here."

Vialli groaned as Genji pulled him to his feet, fighting aimlessly against him as the cyborg began to lead him out of his office. "I knew I shouldn't have let my guard down."

Genji shrugged. He got what he wanted, he didn't care what the man thought of him. "That was your first mistake."