" YUANFEN " genji shimada.

ii | the reason why

yuanfen.
act seven, chapter two.
"the reason why"

_

AFTER HER CONVERSATION WITH Ana, Dahlia found it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything else. No matter how hard she tried to deter her own thoughts, they would always circle right back around to what Ana had told her. She had no idea why it affected her as much as it did. After all, it was so long ago, and she couldn't even remember the man who was supposedly her father. Yet for some reason she felt betrayed. Betrayed by someone whom she knew she once trusted.

A father is supposed to be a child's hero, a superhero to the young and unformed mind of a child. Perhaps that was what Sam Blackrock once was to Dahlia. She probably grew up thinking the world of the man who called himself her father, while in reality he spent his time betraying the organization he pledged to serve- the people whom he entrusted to help raise his own daughter. How much of a hero could he have been if he did nothing but lie to the people who trusted him the most?

Wandering aimlessly around the courtyard, Dahlia allowed her mind to run rampant. She thought back to all the people she originally blamed for her disappearance. Talon, of course, for they were the ones who took her in the first place. Jack Morrison- for not allowing her to train as a field agent like she once dreamed to do. Genji- for leaving her to Talon after he searched for her until the sun rose. And herself- for being stupid enough to charge headfirst into a Talon base with no proper training. But in the end, it was her father's fault. It was him who made the decision to pledge loyalty to a terrorist organization. It was him who gave Talon valuable information. It was him who told them of her existence, only to try to leave and get himself killed. It was all him.

Dahlia suddenly realized why there was so little information about her father stored in Overwatch's records. He wasn't the hero that her past self once believed him to be. He didn't die an honorable death. He died a coward, and he left her behind to suffer because of his mistakes.

Somehow, during her aimless wandering, Dahlia found herself near the workshop. Faint sounds of various tools whirring and grinding could be heard through the door that was open just a crack, along with a familiar voice softly singing. Hoping for some company, Dahlia peaked her head through the door and looked around for the source of the voice. Sure enough, she found Hana inside. Her friend was busy tweaking with her meka, her back to Dahlia as she sang along to a radio playing quietly beside her. Dahlia called Hana's name, grabbing the Korean girl's attention. Hana looked over her shoulder, her expression brightening and a wide smile appearing at her face upon noticing Dahlia standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Dahlia!" Then, her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Dahlia feigned hurt, hoping that by acting playful, she would be able to hide her rampaging mind and unraveling emotions. "Am I not allowed to pay my friend a visit?"

"You are," Hana said with a shrug. She returned to her meka, face twisting into a look of concentration as she continued to tighten several bolts. "Usually you stay away from the workshop, that's all. Brigitte's starting to think she scared you off somehow."

Dahlia felt guilty. She had only spoken to Brigitte a handful of times, mostly during the short time where she trained with the young engineer. It most certainly wasn't Brigitte's fault, but rather the unfortunate circumstances that surrounded Dahlia's first few months with the Overwatch agents. She made a mental note to make more of an effort to speak to Brigitte whenever she had the chance.

Dahlia was pulled out of her thoughts as Hana cleared her throat. She looked up at her friend, only to find her staring back through narrowed eyes. "You seem distracted. Something's wrong."