Overwatch: Jinxed

Chapter 10: Advice

Genji looked at her for a long moment. His eyes flicked to her waist, where her nunchucks usually were. One pair still hung there, just in case - she didn't feel comfortable without them. She wasn't wearing her suit, obviously - she'd needed a break from material synthesis and Mei had come right on cue. She wore a simple shirt proclaiming "Bitch no" and some white denim shorts, her black converses and a cap she'd gotten from a cheapo store owner who'd told her it was from New York.

Genji, of course, had no clothes to change into. His dual nature meant he never needed to.

"You are angry."

It wasn't a question. When Isabell said nothing, Genji returned to throwing shurikens.

"Would it be an intrusion to ask why?"

Genji's rolling Japanese accent, one of the only reminders of what he once was before Hanzo had... very nearly killed him. One of the only pieces of him that had made it out to see the light of day again.

Isabell thought about what had happened with Mei when she'd asked, and sighed. "I'll just get mad at you. Better to leave it."

Genji paused, and buried the tip of his katana in the dirt. "Speaking from... personal experience, it is easier to speak when the other does not speak back. When you have no judgement, you have nothing to fear."

Isabell sat down, crossing her legs, and watched him as he began to practice again. "You do this every day?"

"I prefer the solitude," he responded. "I built this place next to the lone tree. Perhaps I am foolish to consider it, but I find the tree a kindred spirit."

There was silence for a few moments, before Isabell spoke. "I know what you mean, mate."

If Genji had been able, Isabell knew that he would have raised an eyebrow as he struck the dummy to his left again. "I have not heard you use this language before."

"Yeah, everyone thinks that we use slang all the time. We kinda do, but we don't call everyone 'mate' and-- Jesus Christ, nobody says 'Let's throw a snag on the barbie'."

Genji made a noise which may have even been a slight laugh. "Stereotypes."

For a solid minute, there was no sound apart from Isabell's breathing and Genji's sword on the dummies.

"...Junkrat."

Genji didn't pause.

"He was there. In Junkertown. We never spoke, we didn't know each other, he was just another insane teenage Junker and I was just another orphaned thirteen-year-old after the explosion. But three years later - a year ago - he started this... heist of his. I know things about him, I found things out that nobody else knows. If it's Overwatch's job to bring people to justice... maybe I can help?"

Genji stopped, and looked up at Isabell. "Why do you really want to find him?"

Isabell opened her mouth to respond, and then closed it. She closed her eyes and looked down. "Because it was what my dad wanted."

Genji started practicing again, but with slower movements. Listening carefully.

"The initial explosion killed my sister and my mother. The radiation killed my dad in hours. He told me to find the Fawkes family. Told me that they'd stick by your side, no matter what, told me that they were far, far away from the explosion and that they would help me." Isabell swallowed. "He was wrong. They were all dead. Killed by the explosion. The only surviving member being Jamison. I wanted to find him at first, threw myself into it, until I found Junkertown and finally thought I belonged somewhere. It wasn't until I'd been in the Rainforest three years later that I remembered what my dad had told me and tried to find out. A slightly insane pyromaniac with a missing arm and leg, and his meatbag of a bodyguard."

"This haunts you," Genji said, carving into the dummy once again. "You wish to find him for closure - to prove to your father that you are better off on your own."

"I don't want him to think... I mean I know it's silly, because he's dead, but... I just want to see for myself. I want to know that I made the right decision giving up on finding him."

For another minute, Genji was silent. "If it brings you closure, then... perhaps it will heal you. But you must remember, Isabell. On the field of battle, he is your enemy, and he will kill you."

In silence, Isabell thought. Genji was right. He was her enemy on the battlefield, and if it came down to him or her... she'd chosen herself before. She'd choose it again.

"Thank you," Isabell said softly.

"I... know what it is like to have nobody to voice your concerns to. Nobody to speak to except yourself. It is... torturous, being alone."

Isabell glanced around the wooden house, and Genji said softly, "There is a difference between solitude and loneliness, Isabell. One calms. The other destroys."

It was almost sundown when Genji broke the silence. Hours and hours later.

"...You are free to use this place, my friend, whenever you need."

"Thank you," Isabell smiled softly.

And she got up to go and get some lunch.

That was when the alarm went off.