" YUANFEN " genji shimada.

x | italy

yuanfen.
act one, chapter one.
"italy"

—

THE BLACKWATCH PILOT KNOWN as Fio has easily become one of Dahlia's favorite people on the entire base. A night owl that had spent most of her time going on late-night missions before Blackwatch was suspended, she spent most of her time awake at night and asleep during the day. After stating that she was always down for a new adventure (and possibly even some trouble) she immediately agreed to fly Dahlia and Genji to Italy that night.

    The roaring of the aircraft's engine as it lifted out of the hangar and into the sky was almost deafening. She wondered how the Commander and Captains had no idea of her and Genji's previous excursion to Hanamura; or perhaps they did know, and just simply chose to ignore it. Still, the loudness of their takeoff made Dahlia paranoid, and she had to convince herself over and over again that she was doing the right thing. Whether or not she truly believed it, however, even she didn't know.

    She was surprised to find that Genji seemed nervous, as well. It wasn't an uncommon sight to see the cyborg lost in his own thoughts, though the way he gripped his katana tightly as it laid in his lap and ran a metallic finger along the blade made Dahlia wonder just what was going through his mind.

    "You seem cheerful," she commented, her voice echoing throughout the otherwise silent aircraft. His suit whirred softly and his shoulders heaved as he sighed, though he didn't respond. "Don't want to talk? Fine."

    The movement of his finger along his blade froze, and he looked up at her. "I am not overly fond of going to Italy."

    "Then why'd you agree?" Dahlia questioned, confused. If she was being honest, the last thing she expected was for him to actually agree to bring her to Italy; she had no game plan, absolutely no idea what she was going to do once they arrived, and this freaked her out a bit. Once again, Genji didn't respond. He only shrugged, his gaze lingering on her for a moment longer before he dropped it to the katana in his lap once again. Dahlia sighed, deciding against pushing him to talk more. Genji was a man of few words, and it wasn't often that those words weren't dripping with malice or sarcasm.

    Within an hour, the airship touched down just outside of Venice. Fio wished Dahlia and Genji luck as they exited the ship. Dahlia was surprised that Genji was accompanying her; she half-expected him to stay on the ship and leave her to blindly head towards the Talon base. Still, she wasn't going to question it. Although she would never admit it out loud, she felt much safer with him beside her. The moon was beginning to sink in the clear sky, and Dahlia's entire body screamed with exhaustion. Part of her regretted the entire idea, and she wondered if it would even be worth it. Still, it was too late to back down, and she knew that she would never hear the end of it from Genji if she decided to turn back as soon as they got there.

    Dahlia stayed close to Genji as the pair made their way through the streets of Venice. In the late hours of the night, the city seemed lifeless, almost eerie. The tall buildings around them blocked the bit of light being emitted from the moon, so the only thing keeping them from being cast in complete darkness were the dim street lamps that lined the street every block or so.

    Soon enough, the silence that hung over the pair was beginning to grow suffocating. Fio had landed the dropship on the side of the city opposite of the known Talon base in order to avoid raising suspicion, which meant that they were still only halfway to their destination. Genji seemed content with the silence, though Dahlia couldn't stand it.

    "Genji?" She called his name softly, silently cursing herself for the shakiness behind her words. She would hate for him to know just how nervous she was after begging him to take her to Italy. He hummed a response, though he seemed disinterested in what she had to say. "Why did you agree to bring me here?"