" YUANFEN " genji shimada.

x | new loyalties

yuanfen.
act five, chapter ten.
"new loyalties"

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DAHLIA'S HEART POUNDED IN her ears, and she was tempted to back out of the plan as she neared the hangar. She could hear the low rumble of the airship's engine, waiting for her to board before it would take her to an almost certain death. Her body froze just outside of the hangar; her throat was tight and the world spun around her as she struggled to calm herself down.

"You do not have to go, you know."

Dahlia jumped as Genji's voice met her ears. She opened her eyes, turning to see that the ninja had joined her. His glowing gaze met her own, and she was surprised to find that he seemed almost as nervous as she felt.

"I do," she insisted, turning away from him. Whether or not she wanted to go, she knew that it was something that she needed to do. Her new team was relying on her, and she wanted nothing more than to prove to these people that she was no longer the Vixen that came to them from Talon.

"Someone should go with you," Genji said, and she had a feeling that she knew what he truly meant: that he should go with her.

She shook her head and let out a nervous sigh. "No one else needs to put themselves in danger." She closed her eyes, taking a moment to muster up the courage to enter the hangar. Then, she glanced towards him. "I gotta go."

Dahlia took a few steps towards the door, reaching for the handle with a shaky hand. She paused as Genji called her name, turning to look at the ninja over her shoulder.

"Be careful, Kitsune," he said to her, his voice soft. She was unable to hide the small smile that formed on her lips at his words, and she nodded.

"You worry too much, ninja. I'll be back." She turned away once again, repeating the words in her mind in an attempt to convince herself as well as him.

The airship felt oddly cold as she boarded, and the emptiness of the compartment around her only added to the eerie feeling that had embedded its way into her gut. The pilot who would take her to the Talon base sat in the cockpit, shooting Dahlia a small smile over his shoulder. The rumbling of the engine soon turned into a roar; she felt the ground shift below her, and she knew that they were taking off. She slowly moved towards a window, looking out to see the walls of the Overwatch base growing smaller and smaller with each passing second. She sucked in a deep breath, eyes squeezing shut in an attempt to calm herself down.

The Vixen mask sat in the seat beside her; the dark soulless eyes seemed to burn right through her. She'd brought it along just in case, though she wasn't sure if wearing it would be a good idea. None of the Assassins knew what she looked like beneath the mask. If she was able to remain hidden from the Reaper or any other Talon agent, perhaps no one would notice who she was. Wearing the fox mask would give away her identity in an instant. She realized, however, that a maskless being in the midst of the Assassins' base would only stick out like a sore thumb. There was no winning in the situation she was currently in, and all she could do was rely on her stealth to keep her out of sight.

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Dahlia's shaky breath hit the back of the fox mask, fanning against her face and causing a thin layer of sweat to form on her skin. The mask felt uncomfortably tight, and she wanted nothing more than to rip it off and destroy it once and for all. Memories swarmed through her mind as she neared the Talon base, reminding her of the countless nights where she would return after taking yet another innocent being's life. She felt as though she was back to her old life as an Assassin, and she half-expected to feel the weight of her gun hitting her hip with every step she took.