" YUANFEN " genji shimada.

iii | loss

yuanfen.
act seven, chapter three.
"loss"

_

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, DAHLIA was awoken by the sound of knocking on her door. The sound reverberated loudly off the walls around her, causing her to groan as she attempted to pull herself out of her slumber. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then stretched her arms out above her head. The knocking didn't cease, and she knew that whoever was outside of her dorm that early in the morning had something important to say.

After a few more seconds of comfort, Dahlia forced herself out of bed. She slipped on a pair of slippers and ran a hand through her hair in an attempt to make herself look presentable before she exited her bedroom. She immediately made her way over to the front door, opening it to reveal whoever was knocking on the other side. It was Lena, and it looked as though she had just rolled out of bed, as well. She was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt, her short hair sticking up wildly in every direction.

"Sojourn is gathering everyone in the courtyard," Lena said to her. She seemed almost worried, for her eyebrows were furrowed and she was shifting her weight back and forth between her feet.

"What's wrong?" Dahlia asked, stepping out to join her friend in the hallway.

Lena shrugged. "I dunno, but it doesn't seem good."

When the pair exited the dormitories, Dahlia noticed that a crowd had formed around the entrance to the HQ. Sojourn stood on the stairs that led up to the building, and Dahlia didn't need to hear what the Captain had to say in order to know that something bad had happened. A thick cloud of depression hung over the surrounding agents, one that chilled Dahlia to the bone. Her and Lena stopped beside Hana, who was currently mid-yawn as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. The sun was only just beginning to rise over the horizon, causing a brilliant golden glow to spread across the deep blue sky.

A few more agents joined the crowd before Sojourn finally called for silence. Her eyes trailed over the group in front of her as she spoke, and her words caused an immediate feeling of dread to hit Dahlia. "Early this morning, Agent Natalia Kalinski was found dead in her dormitory. She was murdered, and we believe that it is at the hands of Talon."

Dahlia's heart plummeted to her feet, and she felt the world sway around her. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the Assassins reached their base, but she never once expected them to kill a recruit. The Reaper spoke of killing all former Overwatch agents; the fact that he evolved his mission to include recruits as well put countless more lives in danger. Natalia, the young Polish girl who had worked closely with her and Dr. Ziegler for a few days, did not deserve this fate.

"We must double our security!" Sojourn spoke over the outburst caused by her announcement. Her voice was shaky, and it was obvious that the Captain had been caught off guard. Talon managed to sneak into the base when they all slept and killed one of their own without anyone detecting a thing. "I never believed that Talon would kill someone within these walls, but I was wrong, and I am truly sorry for that. We must now be extra vigilant and make sure no one else shares the same fate as Agent Kalinski."

"You're joking, right?" An all-too familiar voice called out from the midst of the crowd behind Dahlia. She could only pray that Leo wasn't going to start any trouble after Sojourn's announcement. Unfortunately for her, the troublesome recruit didn't seem to care. "Are we just going to ignore what's right in front of our faces?"

"Do you have something to say, agent?" Sojourn questioned slowly. The Captain's eyes narrowed challengingly.

If Leo was smart, he'd take the hint and shut his trap, Dahlia thought to herself. She glanced over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of the recruit through the crowd. His eyes were glued to her, his expression twisted into a scowl.