" YUANFEN " genji shimada.

iv | trickster

yuanfen.
act seven, chapter four.
"trickster"

_

AFTER THE DEVASTATING LOSS of Natalia, a thick cloud of fear hung over the entire base. Every agent was uneasy, for they feared that if they let their guard down for even a moment, they would be the next to fall victim to the Assassins. Security around the perimeter was doubled, yet it brought little to no comfort. As long as the Reaper and his Assassins ran free, no one on base was safe.

Several days had passed since Natalia's death; since then, the autopsy confirmed that she had died of a single gunshot wound to the head. No one had seen the being that was responsible for the young agent's death, though Dahlia herself was far too familiar with the cause of death. There was no doubt in her mind that an Assassin killed her.

Field work was suspended, for the senior agents believed that it was safer to keep everyone together on base in order to avoid any one being putting themselves in a situation of vulnerability. Sojourn instructed that every agent on base was to get a refresher on their combat training in order to keep their skills and abilities sharp in case of an event where they may need to defend themselves. This included both Dr. Ziegler and Dahlia; it wasn't often that the pair were sent into the field and even less often that they were put in a situation where they had to participate in combat, so Sojourn had expressed the importance of their training countless times.

It was no surprise to Dahlia when Genji stepped up and offered to help train her. It took some convincing on Sojourn's part, since the Captain was adamant on leading group training sessions and overseeing them with her own methods. She eventually agreed, however, after Genji convinced her that Dahlia was far too busy in the medbay throughout the day to make the scheduled training sessions. Dahlia herself was confused by this (due to the fact that she often had free time throughout the day and could realistically attend Sojourn's training sessions) although she wasn't going to turn down any chance she had to spend time with the ninja.

That day, after Dahlia finally managed to finish sorting the medicine cabinets like she'd been planning on doing for weeks, Genji took her to a training room inside the HQ. It was a room that she had never seen before, tucked away on the third floor amongst several empty labs. It was nearly empty inside, apart from a large training mat stretching across the floor and several dummies shoved into the far corner. Genji immediately crossed the room towards the dummies and began to drag one towards the center of the room.

"I never knew this room existed," Dahlia commented as she took her place on the training mat. She rocked back and forth on the soles of her feet, eager to begin training. Although still reluctant to participate in field combat, she was still willing to do anything to protect those she cared about- and to do so, she knew that she had to first be able to handle herself in a fight.

"It was much more popular before Overwatch was disbanded," Genji said to her. He came to a stop in front of her, positioning the dummy so that it stood face-to-face with her. "Because this floor is not visited very often, not many new agents know about this room. I prefer to use it when I wish to train on my own." He then gestured towards the dummy. "Hit this."

Dahlia immediately straightened at his words. She balled her hands into fists, holding them up in front of her, and quickly swung outwards. Her fist connected with the side of the dummy's head and caused it to toppled slightly due to the force of her punch. Genji hummed in satisfaction, nodding.

"You know, I am surprised that you did not try to hit it with your knuckles."

Dahlia was confused by this, eyebrows furrowing as she shot him an inquisitive look. "Why would anyone do that?" She asked, baffled.

Genji chuckled lightly. "You would be surprised." It was obvious that he was reminiscing on something. Dahlia was tempted to question him on it, though before she had the chance to, he continued: "Do it again."

Knowing that they were there to train rather than chat, Dahlia nodded. She turned her attention back to the dummy, swinging out once more. This time, she punched and kicked it several times. The dummy rocked back and forth several times, though stayed upright due to its weight. Her movement was slightly clumsy, her fists sliding awkwardly off the surface whenever she'd mistime a punch, and Genji took notice of this.

"You seem to be out of practice, Kitsune," he commented cheekily.

Dahlia rolled her eyes good-humoredly. "I can still kick your ass, ninja."

He perked up at this, his cybernetic suit whirring as a soft laugh rumbled in his chest. "I would like to see you try."

"Is that a challenge?" Dahlia questioned, stepping away from the dummy to look at him with an eyebrow raised. Genji shrugged, saying nothing. He then nodded, gesturing for her to come to him. She took a step towards him, hesitantly, waiting for him to make the first move. It came, and it was quick, nearly too quick for Dahlia to dodge. She did just in time, however, ducking beneath the arm that shot out towards her in the blink of an eye. She punched out in an attempt to land her own blow, but Genji was far too quick. He side-stepped her advances with ease and shrugged casually. Although she wasn't able to see his face, she knew that he wore a smirk on his lips. He was enjoying this, that much was obvious. Dahlia swung towards him again, though her blows still went unconnected.

"What happened to the Nogitsune who managed to overtake me, hm?" Genji questioned cockily, once again dodging her punches.

"I caught you by surprise," Dahlia retorted with a scowl. "And that wasn't me."

Genji hummed. "What a shame. I must admit: I enjoyed it."

His words took Dahlia by surprise. Her eyes widened and she froze, breath getting caught in her throat. In the blink of an eye, the ninja dashed towards her. Before she even realized what was happening, she felt her back hit the training mat. Genji hovered over her, one hand pinning her arms above her head while the other gripped her waist. The glow of his visor painted her clothes green as he leaned closer to her and spoke quietly in her ear:

"The key to victory is distraction, Kitsune."

He pulled away with an amused chuckle, and she frowned. Then, an idea popped into her mind, and she suddenly grew limp beneath him. Almost immediately, Genji relaxed. He let go of her wrists, freeing her arms, and grabbed her waist in both hands. She was overly aware of the way his fingers danced along the hem of her shirt, ghosting over the skin hidden beneath the fabric, though she forced herself to ignore the sensations his actions brought her. She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him closer to her. He buried his face into her neck, the metal of his faceplate cool against her skin, and she heard him hum softly.

"Genji," she whispered his name. She felt his entire body tense. His suit whirred as he sucked in a breath, and she knew that she had her chance to strike. She shoved the ninja away from her, causing him to fall backwards onto the training mat. She landed on top of him and pinned him to the ground by straddling his waist. She grinned victoriously down at him.

"The key to victory is distraction, ninja," she mocked with a wink. "Strength is useless against deception. They called me the Vixen for a reason, you know."

Genji said nothing, though judging by the sound of his heavy breathing and the way his hands immediately reached up to grip her waist tightly once again, she knew that her distracting actions had gotten to him. She rested her hands on top of his for a moment before she released them, pulling herself to her feet with yet another sly grin. She reached a hand out to the ninja still laying on the ground, offering to help him up. He stood to his feet on his own, and she noticed billows of steam shooting out of the glowing vents on his shoulders. Genji cursed beneath his breath in Japanese and forced the vents shut.

"That was not fair," he grumbled, turning away from her as he straightened his wrinkled hoodie. Dahlia couldn't help but laugh at his childishness.

"You did the same thing to me!"