Reduced to Ashes

Chapter 6

It became clear early on in the lesson that Angela had some experience with small blades, and the art of throwing them. Hanzo took this information in stride, with his new information on her personality he wouldn't doubt it if someone told him she had personally asked Genji how his shurikens worked. After only two days of instruction, Angela could stick at least one out of every five throws. He'd only had to make a few mild adjustments to her form and the way she held the blades.

Angela instinctively held blades the same way she held a surgical scalpel. Steady, blade controlled and ready to act. Her biggest issue came with letting the knives go. She needed to hold the blades a touch looser and, upon release, she had to let go in a particular way so that her fingertips did not impede the flight path of the knife. Still, she took his teachings well and had learned much within her time here already, even if she answered criticism with sharp looks and at one point cruelly asked him if he was trying to relive a fond memory of his brother through her.

"No." He had responded. "Genji was never half the student you are." It had been the wrong thing to say Hanzo realized, her expression changing from scathing to serious consideration of how much trouble she would be in if her knife met his flesh rather than the target the next throw.

It had taken a while for the tension to once again fade from her shoulders, but Hanzo could tell that Angela was adjusting to her stay on the compound. Allowing her to sleep in the two mornings was doing wonders for her physical well being, and his check-ins to be sure she was eating were to make sure she noticed that someone was concerned for her presence. He aimed to grant her a feeling of belonging that Overwatch might have failed to give. He wanted to shift her loyalties not only to the Shimada clan, but to himself first and foremost. In order to do that, he needed her to trust him and to depend on him. She would, of course, need to have confidence in her own independence as well or this would never work.

"Doctor, that is enough for now." He spoke up after she had finished throwing the three blade set. Two were sticking in the target, one clipping the center circle. The third blade was stuck in the wall several feet behind the target. A sign of strength but lacking aim control, and he'd have to repair the blade later.

"You had me practice longer yesterday." Hanzo easily noted the question in her statement, deciding to wait until she had collected the knives to answer it. She realized his decision, those soul seeing blue eyes shifting away from his own as she turned and walked towards the targets. Hanzo watched her go, admiring the confidence in her steps as she went.

He felt a shifting deep in his soul, a gasp escaping his lips under the clever disguise of an exhale. It had been years since his dragons had demanded their freedom so harshly, before Genji's fall from grace. His attempts at hiding this new internal struggle were in vain, as Angela's touch pulled him from his mind. His eyes met hers, Hanzo feeling uncertain at being seen in a moment of weakness. To his surprise there was only understanding in the medic's eyes. Her hand was removed from his clothed shoulder once his attention was on her.

"I know that look." Angela's voice was gentle, as if speaking to a scared child. "Genji used to get it in the very beginning. When he still didn't trust us. It was Soba, his dragon. She wanted out." Angela laughed softly. "The first time I met her, he was unconscious. She tried to bite me."

"Approaching an angered dragon was incredibly foolish." Hanzo muttered, knowing full well that she could hear him clearly.

"Foolish or not, it needed to be done. Genji needed his meal. Soba relaxed once I explained the situation and gave her his pudding. Genji was less than impressed but introduced her." Angela's eyes shifted, the focus in them fading as she envisioned a memory rather than reality. Hanzo felt his dragons push on his boundaries once more, a different form of urgency within them now.