" YUANFEN " genji shimada.

viii | interrogation

yuanfen.
act seven, chapter eight.
"interrogation"

_

DAHLIA QUICKLY LEARNED THAT she absolutely hated attention. During her stay in the medbay over the next several days, there wasn't a period of time where she went more than twenty minutes without a visitor. Some agents would come several times throughout the day, bringing her candies and other snacks from the rec room. It came to a point where she was beginning to grow annoyed by the sudden friendliness of so many agents; Dr. Ziegler, who thankfully picked up on Dahlia's annoyance, was quick to limit the visiting hours to ensure that her patient "managed to get enough rest." Really, the doctor was almost as annoyed as Dahlia herself with the amount of visitors the medbay was suddenly receiving.

Unfortunately for them, a few agents faked illness in an attempt to visit with Dahlia outside of the hours permitted by Dr. Ziegler.

It was currently Dahlia's third day on bed rest. Although there was no sign of her previous injuries, Dr. Ziegler was still adamant on keeping an eye on her, worried that the wounds would somehow reappear as soon as she left sight of the medbay. Dahlia never minded the doctor's company, though she was beginning to miss her own bed and the quiet of her own dorm. She was convinced that the continuous beeping of her vitals machine had been drilled into her head so deeply that she would hear it no matter where she went.

Dahlia watched with an amused roll of her eyes as Hana shoved a handful of candies that Winston had brought earlier that morning into her mouth. The Korean girl was currently sitting in the chair next to the bed, having just arrived in the medbay after spending the day helping Brigitte alter and repair Reinhardt's armored suit. Lena was there too, sitting cross-legged at the end of Dahlia's bed. They were some of the few visitors that Dahlia never minded seeing, for they did wonders when it came to relieving the never-ending boredom that came with being on bed rest.

"I can't imagine how bored you are whenever we're not here!" Lena commented, reaching for the box of candies that sat in Hana's lap. She popped one into her mouth, chewing slowly. "I'd go insane."

"I'm on the verge," Dahlia responded, only half-joking. "Dr. Ziegler is still convinced that my wounds will magically reappear. It's like having an overprotective mother; it's a wonder how she doesn't have any kids."

"With the amount of whiny recruits on base, she basically does!" Lena said and laughed. "I'm sure she never had this many visits to the medbay before the recall."

"Lots of the visits have been because of Dahlia lately. Some have been faking illnesses just to get a visit in," Hana pointed out, causing Dahlia to roll her eyes as she was once again reminded of the amount of unwanted visitors she'd been receiving. "So many of the recruits are swooning for you now. It's sickening."

"I didn't do it for attention. I did it to protect you guys," Dahlia said with a frown. She felt weird; before she was shot, it seemed as though most beings on base went out of their way to avoid her. Now, however, she was more popular than Hana was when she first arrived.

"They don't seem to care about that." Hana shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I even hear that Julien is wanting to ask you on a date."

"No, thank you," Dahlia grumbled. Part of her was tempted to scold McCree for not keeping the recruits busy enough; if they had enough time to plan dates, then they weren't working hard enough.

"Julien should know that she's already taken," Lena said in a sing-song voice. She shot a wink in Dahlia's direction, who then stuck her tongue out childishly. Hana looked between the pair with wide eyes, seemingly surprised.

"Wait, really? By who?"

Lena scoffed. "Genji! Isn't it obvious?"

"I didn't know you guys were official!" Hana turned to look at Dahlia, a wide grin growing on her lips.

"We're not," Dahlia objected. She shot Lena a warning look, who was currently stifling a laugh by hiding her face in her arm. The topic of her relationship with Genji was one that she often avoided, even when it came to her friends. If she was being honest, not even she was sure of their title, and she didn't exactly care. All she knew was that she cared deeply for Genji, and he cared for her. Nothing else seemed to matter. "Neither of us bother to worry about titles and whatnot."

"But you're interested in him?" Hana questioned, wiggling her eyebrows and smirking playfully.

"She's been interested in him from the moment she saw him!" Lena accused. She leaned to the side to dodge a pillow that was thrown at her by Dahlia.

"That's a lie!" Dahlia cursed herself silently as she felt heat rising to her cheeks; she was sure her face was a deep scarlet color, and there was no hiding that in the bright fluorescent lighting.

Lena rolled her eyes at her objection. "Love, I've seen the way you've always looked at him. You aren't slick."

"To be fair," Hana chimed in, popping another candy into her mouth. "Lots of people look at Genji like he's eye candy. He's pretty popular amongst the recruits, don't you know?"

Dahlia frowned at her words, reaching out and smacking her friend's leg playfully. A high-pitched "ooh" fell from Lena's lips at her actions. "Better watch out, Hana. She's getting jealous."

Dahlia groaned, picking up the other pillow and burying her face into it. "You guys are worse than teenage girls," she grumbled. She felt a nudge on her shoulder, and Hana's teasing voice followed closely after.

"Have you kissed him?"

Dahlia sighed, realizing that there was no escaping their nosiness. Even if she stayed silent, it would basically answer Hana's question. She lowered the pillow from her face, her lips twisting into a pout. "Once," she responded, and both Lena and Hana let out a series of childish "oohs."

"Have you..." Hana trailed off, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively while Lena giggled uncontrollably. She didn't need to finish her sentence in order for Dahlia to know what her friend meant. Feeling her cheeks heat up in yet another blush, she buried her face into the pillow once more. Lena, however, ever-so-observant, noticed the reddening of her cheeks.

"She's blushing!"

Hana let out a loud cheer in triumph. "Oh, they so did!"

"Did what?" Dahlia's heart plummeted to her feet as Genji's voice rose above the immature giggles coming from her friends. She let out a string of quiet curses before lifting her face from the pillow. Her cheeks felt as though they were on fire as she met the green glow of his visor. She fell back onto the bed with another groan, wanting nothing more than to sink into the floor and disappear completely.

"Hey, Genji!" Lena said cheerfully as Hana nearly doubled-over with laughter.

Genji returned the greeting, though his gaze remained glued to Dahlia. "I am here to assist Dahlia back to her dorm. Angela believes that she will rest better in her bed."

"Yes!" Dahlia cried out and sat up. She immediately leaped to her feet, ignoring the swaying of the room around her as all the blood rushed from her head. Her outburst caused all three of them to look at her questioningly. "She's totally right. I miss my lumpy bed."

At that moment, she wanted any excuse to leave the medbay and avoid any more of Lena and Hana's embarrassing questions.

"Right," Genji dragged out the word, his tone laced with confusion. He then gestured for her to follow him, moving towards the door. "Come on, Kitsune."

Dahlia didn't need to be told twice. She quickly followed after him, though not before reaching out and slapping Hana on the shoulder as her friend leaned over to Lena and whispered "Kitsune!" in a teasing voice. She could hear them giggling behind her, obviously pleased with their nosiness; their laughing only grew louder as Dahlia felt an arm snake around her waist and she was suddenly pulled into Genji's side.

"They know, hm?" The ninja whispered into her ear. Dahlia shivered slightly at his sudden closeness. Her throat tightened as she swallowed nervously, and she nodded.

"Unfortunately."