Redemption - A Hanzo / Genji Overwatch Fanfiction

Chapter 20: Trust me (Hanzo x Ýri)

INFORMATION: For those interested in Genji's story - don't worry, he will be back soon ;)

»I ... do ... not ... see ... any sense ... in this!«
Her gasping and groaning made him look up from his meditation. »It's all part of your training. So stop whining and go for another round«, Hanzo replied calmly.
»Another round?! Are you kidding?! I am running in circles for over ninety minutes now!« Her face had already turned red.
»Yes ... ninety minutes. And you will continue to do so, until I tell you to stop.« He closed his eyes to find his inner center again.
»How is this supposed to help me in controlling that thing or in fighting?!«, Ýri shouted at him, when she was finally able to breathe normally.
»Controlling a spirit needs strength and endurance. And you still lack both«, he answered without even opening his eyes.
»Argh! Fuck you, Shimada!« Her curses echoed through the empty storehouse. »You make me run and do strength exercises for weeks now! When will you finally add some weapons?!«
»As soon as you have enough training to stand your ground against me for two minutes at least. Despite, you cannot control a spirit, when your body is weak.«
»I hate you, Hanzo! Just that you know it!«
»I don't care. So stop talking and move.« When he heard her running again, he opened his eyes and watched her thoughtfully. Many claimed to hate me ... but the way she says it, sounds much different. He shook his head to get rid of these thoughts. Just because she does not hate me, does not mean she likes me ... Why would he even care if the young woman liked him or not? It wouldn't change a thing. Such feelings would have been wasted on him anyways ... But on the other hand, he had already spent seven months in Sígurd's service and time never seemed to fly by that fast ... not for him ...
»It is enough, Ýri. It's better if we head back before your father notices that we were gone.«
She stopped, relieved. »Believe it or not, Shimada, I think, he already knows.«
»How should he?«, Hanzo asked while shutting the doors behind them.
»My father is not stupid, that's why«, she shot back at him.
»Maybe«, Hanzo followed her over the pond's bridge. »At least he seems to be more clever than you are.« Before Hanzo knew what had happened, he found himself in midst of the pond with a great splash. »ÝRI!«
It took him awhile to get himself out. In early October the air was still quite warm, but that clearly didn't apply to the water as well. His clothes were soaked and he started shivering a little. »Just you wait, you wicked bitch!«
Ýri continued walking as if nothing had happened. »You got what you deserve, buttface!«
Hanzo growled after her all the way back. No-one ever dared to call him names. No-one but Genji ... and her ... Indeed, that seemed to be his unlucky day for they also ran into Sígurd on their way through the White House and back to the apartment quarters. But to Hanzo's great surprise the tall Viking did not say one thing about their regular absence.
»You seem to get along very well lately«, was all the commander of the president's guard mentioned.
»No?!« was the quick answer coming from Ýri and Hanzo alike.
Sígurd chuckled at that. »So? How was training?«
Hanzo froze in place and stared back at him. »Well ... «
»Told you, he knows«, Ýri said with one last glare before she returned to her quarters.
Damn Vikings ...

» ... so how did you learn it?«
It was early in the morning and the little Viking was giving him headaches already. Once more Hanzo started questioning himself, why he signed up for this. I knew I would regret training her ...
»My mother taught me how to control my dragons«, he answered hesitantly. The memories still hurt.
»Lucky you. I never had anyone to explain it to me. I was just told not to use it«, Ýri went on.
Hanzo sighed. »That's stupid. Powers like these are instinctive. Suppressing them could proof fatal.«
»Thanks, Mr. Obvious. But what exactly is it anyways?«
He hated it when she called him that, but now he only shrugged. »Yours also looks very much like a spirit ... in its most uncoordinated form.« He opened the storehouse and entered after her. »So, back to business now.«
»No!«, she protested. »No, no, no, no, no. You won't make me run in circles for hours again! Forget about it!«
Hanzo rolled his eyes. »You have to train your body first to handle the strain of your spirit powers.«
Ýri glared up at him, hands on hips. »We haven't done anything else for weeks! I am starting to believe you are just doing this to keep me quiet and busy!«
»Which is indeed a nice side-effect. And just that you know: Learning to fight is hard work.«
»So I am the stupid, little Viking girl, who knows nothing of the hardships of life! Is that what you want to tell me?!«
It was not even ten o'clock, but Hanzo was fed up already. »Circles. Now.«
She kept glaring at him, totally unimpressed. »How shall I learn to control my spirit or to fight, if you don't let me?«
»So it is a fight you want?!« Hanzo attacked her without warning or mercy. The young woman stumbled and immediately hit the ground. »What now, little Viking? Defend yourself!« She jumped to her feet and stormed right at him. Hanzo already saw her fist coming and blocked it with ease. »Is that all?! In a real fight, you would have been dead already!« Her attempts got more furious, but Hanzo grabbed her arms before she could hit him. »Weakling ... «
»I am not weak!«, she shouted, trying to bite herself free from his grip.
A growl escaped his throat, he did not let go of her though. »Your pathetic attempts won't get you anywhere!« He threw her on the ground. »You lack the strength to free yourself, so how can you even think you are ready to learn how to control your spirit?«
She tried to hit his face again, while her knee was aiming for his balls.
Hanzo avoided both. »How predictable!«, he snarled, before something hard hit his temple. For a moment he saw nothing but white mice, but he still managed to get a hold of her again. This time he increased the pressure and closed one hand around her slim throat. »It will take more than just a brick to take me down!«
Ýri stopped struggling. »If you don't do it, I will kill you one day, Shimada«, she hissed at him.
Her stare made him frown a little. »You will never be strong enough to fight against someone like me and win.«
»Why don't you just kill me, if I am not worth your efforts?!«
»Talon already offered me thrice as much as your father did, but I am sticking to my contract. So, how long do I have to pin you down now?«
A strange green gleam appeared in her eyes and Hanzo flew through the room crashing against a wall one moment later.
Surprised he looked up, but Ýri hadn't moved. »And here I thought, you did it on purpose.« He got back to his feet, but when he started approaching her, he got thrown back again. »Don't get careless now«, he said, when he saw the dangerous amount of shapeless green draining from her body. »Concentrate«, he whispered, when seeing her struggle to get her spirit back under control. Indeed, her spirit managed to hold on to his own in a tight grip, which paralyzed Hanzo and made him fall over.
A great wave of different pictures and emotions overwhelmed his mind. He could barely withstand it and it took him a while to notice, that it were her feelings and pieces of her memories swamping him. »What the-?!«, he gasped from shock as pictures of a dead woman on a bed with blood-stained sheets flooded him - the sounds of a crying child and Sígurd's desperate shouts in the back. »Take him away! I don't want him here!« Then the scenery twisted and turned until Hanzo recognized the corpse of a young man looking much like Sígurd found in the water. Hanzo was drained into grief and regret, responsibility and fear and something very similar to the devastating loneliness he already knew far too well. If I can see and feel her like that ... realization hit him even harder now and Hanzo immediately broke their spirits' connection, afraid of what she might have seen from him. »Training is over«, he said with a shaky voice and turned to the door.
»You killed him ... «, he heard her whisper. »Your brother turned his back on you and you killed him ... your own brother.«
Hanzo was neither able to speak nor to move. Cold shivers ran down his spine.
»He trusted you!«, Ýri started shouting. »He trusted you and you killed him!«
»There is no place for trust amongst the Shimada«, was his quiet reply. »Are you afraid of me now?« This time it was Ýri, who did not answer. To his surprise her silence made something break within him. »I knew it ... « For some strange reason he felt sad about that.
»I must be really stupid or totally insane, but ... I am not afraid of you ... «
Hanzo looked back at her in confusion. »But you should. Everyone is. I could kill you at any time.«
»But you won't«, she whispered. »You won't kill me.«
»What makes you so sure about that?« He was barely able to hide his disbelief.
Ýri shrugged her slim shoulders. »You had plenty opportunities already, but you never took one. Either Talon's reward is not worth the effort or you just don't want to do it.«
»The reward would be thrice as what your father pays me, but I have to admit I am getting tired of senseless killing.«
She met his gaze. »Others will try as soon as you are gone.«
»That's why you have to learn to fight.« He was barely able to maintain their eye contact.
»As you said, I am just some ordinary and weak girl not worth your efforts ... «, she drooped. »The weakest link of my family ...«
All of a sudden she had lost her big mouth and pig-headed attitude and Hanzo started worrying. »Maybe the weakest link but you are still the legal heir to a powerful family name.«
A bitter chuckle came from her. »Then you would rather do my family a favor in killing me. There is no use for a weak leader.«
»Ýri ... « She suddenly behaved so much out of character. It actually pained him to see her like that.
»What?! This whole training is wasted! I will never raise to my father's or clan's expectations!«
»Ýri, listen, you have the potential and the temper to be a great fighter. You are just too impatient-«
»I am not like you, Shimada!«, she yelled. »You are, what you were born to be, while I am just a burden to my own family!«
»If I were truly what I was born to be, I would sit on the throne of the Shimada Empire doing to countless others what I did to Genji ... «, he quietly replied. »I am not the perfect heir either and I regret my actions ever since.«
»You could still return and raise to your tasks.«
Hanzo shook his head. »I don't want to.«
Finally she looked up to him again. »Hanzo, what happened?«
»We had lost our father by assassination and on our elders' order I demanded Genji to finally be responsible and see to his duties as a member of the Shimada ... he refused ... «
»You could have just let him leave«, she said.
»You do not simply turn your back on the Shimada. You cannot just escape them. They won't let you«, he explained. »My brother was about to destroy everything what my family built up during centuries and disobedience means death among the Shimada. Still ... I would give my own life to revive him, if I could ... « He could not speak further. His memories already started haunting him again.
»Who was the woman?«, Ýri suddenly asked.
Hanzo looked back, confused. »Which woman?«
»The one with blue eyes. Just saw her for a short moment, but I sensed your deep feelings for her.«
Despair was gathering like dark clouds over him once more. »She was my mother. Got killed in a massacre, which wiped out her whole clan.«
Hanzo watched Ýri getting to her still shaky legs and walking over to him. Her small hand was warm on his shoulder and suddenly he felt her arms around him.
»W-what are you doing?«, he spluttered.
»Trying to comfort you a little«, she whispered. »I am sorry for what happened to your mother and brother. But your father was an asshole.«
A weak chuckle escaped him. »Genji once said the same.«
»That bastard's training methods were horrible. And why did he kill your puppy?«
She saw that too? Hanzo shuddered. »To teach us not to get attached.«
»Bullshit«, she loosened her hold a little and he instantly yearned for her warmth again. »Well, now you know, I feel just as lonely here in Washington as you do.«
He was unable to look away. »Never thought that possible.«
»At least with you here, things don't feel that worse anymore.«
A small smile crept upon his lips. »That's probably the nicest thing you ever said to me.«
»You barely said something nice either«, she talked back.
»Maybe I would, if you stop questioning my training methods.«
She sighed. »Fine. I will stop. Tomorrow.«
»I will hold you to that.« He helped her back up and guided her outside.
»Hanzo, what happened with our spirits anyways? This weird connection ... «
Hanzo shrugged. »I thought it a part of your powers.«
»Actually I have no clue, what I have done.«
»As always ... « Hanzo tried hard to suppress the deep sigh.
»Hey!« Ýri punched his arm looking offended.
»Just saying the truth!«, he laughed.
»Butt-faced miscreant ... «, she snarled, walking on.
»Really? That again?« Still he couldn't be angry. Hanzo even stopped, when spotting a bakery.
»Hanzo? What are you doing?«, Ýri shouted after him, irritated.
»You need something to get your strength back«, he replied returning with a sugar-frosted doughnut.
She stared down at her favorite treat for a moment. »You are much more kind than you think you are, Hanzo.«
He stopped walking and looked back at her startled. »You have no idea, what you are talking about.«
»I have«, she said, walking past him. »And I know, I can trust you.«
He still did not move. »I told you, that this is a bad idea.«
»Prove me wrong then«, she said.
He kept staring after her. »You are a strange one, Ýri Ragnarfír.«
»But that does not have to be a bad thing, Shimada.«
»True.« He couldn't argue with that.
She turned back at him with a bright smile on her face. »Good!«
Her laugh had taken him aback. You are brave, little Viking, and much stronger than you think you are ... From that day onwards, Hanzo knew for sure, that he would never be able to kill her.