Canine Comrade

New Beginnings

Hanzo swiftly turns the corner to enter the dojo, candles illuminate the room causing a warm air to envelope. Nothing's changed inside the room- warm, inviting and peaceful to encourage meditation however, something's off.

He spins on his heels to duck his head into the hallway only to notice the lack of guards or servants... well that's worrying. Someone must be in the building (last time he checked candles can't light themselves) but they're nowhere to be seen. He furrows his brows in confusion, the castle always has some sort of movement even on the quietest of days- people have jobs to do and places to be after all- so pure inaction and silence is downright unnerving.

"Hello?" He calls into the vacant hallway, his voice bouncing off the wooden walls only to be met with no response at all. He would find his father or maybe a council member- they would certainly know what was going on, maybe there's something he's unaware of (highly unlikely but possible).

With a last scan he turns to reenter the dojo only to freeze in his tracks, in the centre of the large room stood an achingly familiar figure... Genji.

Suddenly everything came flooding back- he couldn't go to find his father for help, he's dead and has been for what felt like an eternity. It's the sight of his little brother that steals the breath from his lungs (oh god he killed Genji, how could he forget?).

The figure twitches- had he said that out loud? His hands begin to shake and his breathing quickens as the figure (no Genji) slowly turns to face him, the sight that greeted him very nearly brings his breakfast back up.

His right arm's completely gone with only a stub of the humerus on show, the legs (if they can even be called that anymore) were in worse condition. Almost all of the flesh was gone leaving the yellowish bones to peak through the wire like tendons and dripping veins. Finally Hanzo works up the courage to look at its face and god does he regret it almost instantly, what should have been a jaw is more akin to a mutilated pig carcass hanging from a meat hook- which is the cause of the copious amounts of thick blood running down its chest.

The only likeness it has to his bouncing baby brother is that god awful green hair (which is now a tangled bloody mess) and... those eyes . The same eyes that their mother would compare to the walnut coloured feathers on a sparrows back- those eyes haven't changed in the slightest.

"You..." Hanzo snaps back to reality at the garbled word, "what?" He questions, head cocking to the side in confusion.

"You killed... me" he can only nod as he feels his eyes begin to well up "you... slaughtered me... in cold... blood".

"I had no choice" he doesn't recognise his own voice, it's strained and weak- no longer proud.

"You... had every... choice" the figure drops to his knees- the impact causing a sickening hybrid of a squelch and a crack "You could... have said... no".

"I..." his words cut off, words seemed to fail him.

"You... killed me" and that's what it comes down to isn't it? He slaughtered his brother and felt nothing in the moment, he's a monster... an animal. Hanzo falls to his knees as his tears finally being to flow freely, "you... killed father's... little... sparrow". A sob rips its way out of his mouth and he opens his watery eyes to see that figure hobble closer and closer to him, each step sounding more broken than the last.

By the time the figure reaches him his thighs are wet from dripping tears, looking up he sees the hatred in those eyes clear as day.

"I'm so sorry Otōto" his wobbly voice giving away his inner distress.

"Don't... call me... that... we are... no... longer... brothers" the figure croaks and suddenly Hanzo notices the shuriken in the figures hand (the same green edged ones Genji got for his twenty-fifth birthday) but now it's chipped, scratched and most noticeably soaked in a thick coating of blood.