War of the Broken

Chapter 3

Genji walked up the stairs of the apartment building as he looked around. It looked a little worn, he hadn't noticed how terrible this place actually looked until now. Shaking his head, he continued up the steps as he reached Mei's door. He knocked and there was movement on the other side of the door. It swung open as Mei looked up at him, a smile spreading across her face. She rushed forward wrapping her arms around the cyborg as he embraced her back.

"It's been too long." Mei stated. Genji chuckled as she pulled away and pulled him into the apartment. It was rather cute, small knickknacks from her adventures lined the tables. Some pictures of her and her friends hung on the walls. It was painted a bright blue and seemed to almost pop with the silver and grey contrast with the outside world.

"You've most certain decorated." Genji said as Mei laughed.

"Yah, oh right." She rushed into her room before coming out with a frame held against her chest. "I got this for you." Mei stated.

"You didn't have to get me anything." Genji responded. Mei shook her head and offered the frame to him. Genji took it and couldn't help but laugh. It was a picture of him and Lucio sitting on Mei's couch. Lucio had come to help set Mei up after a week or so, he had to get away from his work. Lucio was partly curled up against Genji his head resting on the ninja's shoulder. As for the cyborg himself, he could tell from the coloring of his gear that he too was asleep. His head partly rested on Lucio's head as they slept soundly, during the movie.

"You took a picture of that?" Genji asked as he smiled at the image.

"Of course I did. You two are still my closest friends." Genji's smile faded at the statement. He knew the scientist wasn't a social butterfly. The fact that he and Lucio were her closest friends made his heart break a bit.

"Thank you for your gift." Mei smiled at him before guiding him over to the table.

"You hungry?"

"Yes." Genji stated as he reached up and undid the mask. Pulling off the rest of helmet he looked over as Mei smiled at him.

"I haven't seen you with your whole helmet off." Genji shrugged, it wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep in.

"I take it off when I'm relaxed. That and it's easier to sleep without it." Mei smiled as she carried a bowl over to him and set it in front of him.

"Well I like you without it." Mei stated as she went to get her own meal. The different scents filled his nostrils and his mouth began to water. He waited for Mei to return before he started to eat as she chuckled before joining him. It was a warmth that didn't seem to happen all that often when he was in Nepal. The only time he got something warm was either when he made it or ran down to the village to get something in his stomach. Zenyatta was a good cook when it came down to it, but they didn't have the spices that flared like Mei had access to.

"What do you think?" Mei asked.

"It's good."

"It's not too spicy is it?" Mei questioned.

"I have no idea." She gave him a curious look.

"What do you mean?"

"I have no taste. But I can smell it and it smells heavenly." Mei watched him for a moment.

"Why didn't you tell me that you couldn't taste?" Mei asked as Genji shrugged.

"Didn't seem like a big problem." Genji responded.

"It's not but I would have liked to know." Mei stated as she set down her spoon. Genji hesitated for a moment, did he say something wrong.

"Are you okay?"

"Yah, I realized I don't know all that much about you." Mei whispered. Genji took a deep breath before setting down his own spoon.

"Everyone has their secrets. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I can't taste." Mei nodded her head.

"It's okay. I'd like to know things." Mei responded. The rest of the meal was filled with an awkward silence and it stretched on for a while. Genji understood what Mei wanted, but at the same time, he knew not a lot about her as well. He sat on the couch as the woman was in her bedroom, the silence was almost deafening. He fiddled with the wires on his left wrist. A small spark kept surging up through his arm every time he moved it. It must have happened when he fell through that roof, he thought. A door opened behind him getting his attention as Mei walked out and over to him. Sitting on the floor, she crossed her legs and deposited candies on the ground between them. Genji stared at them for a few moments, realizing that he had them before. They were one of the few things that he had a faint taste of. They were so sweet that even his artificial taste buds could taste them.

"What is this?" He asked.

"I want to play a game. You tell me one thing about yourself and you get a candy. I tell you one thing about myself, I get a candy." Mei looked up at him for a moment. Running a hand over his hair Genji nodded as he reached down and grabbed a candy.

"I am the youngest son of man who ran an illegal empire in Japan." Genji stated as he unwrapped the candy and popped it in his mouth.

"I was one of the best at artificial climates in the world. I could create whole environments with one machine." Mei said as she ate her candy piece.

"I was raised to be a ninja and excelled in my training."

"I am the middle child of three, and my parents were very much hippies." Genji chuckled a bit as did Mei.

"Hippies? Really?" Genji asked.

"Oh be quiet, at least they weren't running an empire." Genji shrugged at the statement as Mei ate her candy.

"Fair enough. I was found by Overwatch when I was twenty. I joined blackwatch a few months later." Mei nodded as she handed him the candy piece.

"Overwatch noticed my skill, and decided I would fit well into their program. I lived with a group of five people for four months and then the storm happened." Mei fell silent as Genji studied her. "We went into our cryostasis pods after running out of food and water. We expected help to come right away, that we would wake up soon." Mei froze as she bit her bottom lip. "Years passed and when we were discovered, I was the only one to survive. I met Lucio a few days after I got to the base and he got me tickets to China. Then I met you." Genji halted his thoughts.

"That had to be hard."

"Readjusting was, and knowing that almost ten years passed. It was hard to learn that my family was gone." Mei stated as she crawled up onto the couch beside him. Genji wrapped his arms around her as she leaned against him, the tear stains becoming evident on her skin. He reached down and plucked a candy offering it to her. She chuckled before taking the sweet and eating it.

"I was fully human once." Mei looked up at him. "My brother, Hanzo, became the leader of our clan after my father died. He had his orders and he followed them to the tee, the elders made sure of it. When I found out what they were doing, I tried to stop it and leave. Hanzo couldn't allow that though, and he came after me to stop me from doing something crazy. We argued and he got frustrated. His anger flared and..." Mei watched Genji intently. "He drew his blade." Mei dug her head into his shoulder as sobs racked her body.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She whispered.

"Because that was fifteen years ago. I worked in blackwatch for six years after that, and left before it went to hell. I dismantled the clan, and once I was done I left. I wondered for the next four years and I met you. I ran into Zenyatta a month after meeting you and he changed me. I have forgiven my brother, and that's why I'm going home." Mei watched the man's face as she leaned up and kissed his cheek. Genji gave her a surprised look.

"You're a good brother." Mei stated as he smiled. Her hand shot up as she held a piece of candy out for him. He couldn't help but laugh.

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There you go, the next chapter. Have fun.