Chapter Text
The drive to K relaxation and rehabilitation in Kyoto was uneventful and seemingly unending. It was a mild day, filled with overly polite conversation. The kind of day that was just empty enough to let one’s anxieties swallow them whole as the scenery passed by unburdened. Hanzo despised these kinds of days, feeling so off-kilter from the rest of the world.
With his eyes closed, he took several deep breaths and released them heavily, hoping for the butterflies in his stomach to escape. To keep himself from fidgeting, he once again opened the leather case on his lap, skimming over each page inside and triple checking that all the necessary paperwork was in order. He knew it was - that his mother had placed them all inside before the ink had even dried. The truth was that there was nothing more Hanzo could do, and having to wait was killing him. Months of planning, and months more of spending every waking hour being the dutiful, trustworthy son and successor to his father, all for this one day. He had done all he could to prepare. Now to pray that the universe wouldn’t fuck it all up.
With nothing else to distract him throughout the ride, his mind was pulled to the last time he had seen his little brother. Genji had laid there, bandaged and so pale. He had looked utterly frail, like a sparrow that hadn’t quite seen the glass window in time. Coming back to the present, he shook his head, focusing on going over the papers one more time. It was better than being left with his own mind.
"Hina, alert me fifteen minutes out from our destination." Hanzo clipped the command. He would just have to attempt to block out the world, and himself, until they arrived.
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"Master Shimada, shall I follow to escort?"
"No that won't be necessary. The staff will provide any needed assistance."
"Very well- Sir, I shall pull the car around."
Hanzo hummed his acknowledgment as he watched the wrought iron gates mechanically lurch open to reveal sprawling flower beds in full bloom. Several large water features broke up the flora, along with a stone driveway that wound through it all. How over the top did the first 15 yards really need to be? As if it made anyone forget where they'd arrived.
Hanzo took one more moment to steel himself as Hina pulled open his door. He got out and strode up the shallow marble steps, not slowing his pace as the doormen rushed to open both of the inner and outer double doors. The building opened up into a massive entryway with vaulted ceilings, while full-length windows made up the majority of the walls overlooking the nearby coast. It was surely breathtaking for those unaccustomed to being smothered in lavish surroundings. Hanzo resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he strode up to the front desk and pointedly looked down his nose at the man seated before him.
"Shimada Hanzo."
"Yes, ah, Shi-Shimada-sama thank you for visiting our care facility. We hope everything is to your standards, sir!" The nurse flinched under Hanzo's withering stare, "Would you like to tour the grounds or-or after such a long drive perhaps sample our fine dining options?"
Irritation buzzed up his spine as the nurse threw out distractions, "No I am quite fine, I need only speak with Dr. Takehiko today."
"Right, of course, Shimada-sama, I shall take you back. You are, of course, expected."
He watched the man struggle with the keys on his belt, unlocking the thick reinforced glass door beside him, then bowing for Hanzo to enter first. Several identical hallways, with many identical doors passed by in a blur of soft pastels and crisp white trim. Just as Hanzo was starting to grow uneasy, the nurse came to a full stop in a hallway with only one door per side and began to knock in a happy tune.
Hanzo strode forward into the cheery office, where the beachside scenery and full-length windows were back on display. He stopped just short of the desk and bowed before the startled doctor.
"Shimada Hanzo. I assume you know why I am here, doctor."
"Ah, yes, Shimada-sama. How was the drive, not too long I hope?" To her credit the doctor recovered quickly, waving off the nervous nurse still struggling in the doorway.
"It was as expected."
"Right, well...what can I do for you today, Shimada-sama?" She lilted.
Hanzo settled into one of the minimalistic chairs facing the doctor, slid the leather case onto the desk and opened it in one fluid motion. The perfectly stacked paperwork was set before her, and Hanzo closed the now empty case. He leaned back, shoulders set and chin slightly up, as Dr. Takehiko flipped through the papers silently.
"This...Shimada-sama, if I may speak on the decision, this is rather short notice for a patient to-"
"Genji is to be released into the care of the Shimada family today." He said.
"Of course, Shimada-sama, it is only that-"
"Today, doctor Takehiko." Hanzo stood, gathering his now empty case and turning for the door.
"Please, forgive me Shimada Hanzo, but I must say something in the case of your brother. He...he may benefit from family care, perhaps more so than further staying here, but I have almost nothing to go on. He does not speak of himself...." she bit at her lip, clearly warring within herself whether to continue and risk her tongue.
Hanzo turned to face her but said nothing. He dared the doctor to continue; if it was a truth that needed sharing then he would have to listen even as blood pounded in his ears.
"He... ah, forgive me, but he is useless without a schedule to guide him still. And he must not be overburdened too soon. Some days are fine, but others...." the doctor seemed lost. She searched Hanzo’s eyes, for what, he was not certain of.
"...Your hard work will not be overlooked by the Shimada family."
He broke the tense eye contact and took his leave. Picking up speed once outside of the doctor’s office, Hanzo navigated the maze of hallways with ease and found himself at the car in no time. Hina was already loading a single black suitcase into the trunk. He halted her and instructed the luggage be placed in the middle of the back seat before he slid in beside it. He busied himself picking non-existent dirt from his traditional garb, hating that his mother had insisted upon the show of old money and rooted power. It made the mild day seem stifling under so many layers. He focused in on the golden design etched into his sleeves, tracing the pattern and picking at it.
He heard people just outside the car, and felt the jostle of someone sitting down across from him, but couldn't bear to look up and face him yet. His heart felt close to exploding, his blood so loud he missed the car starting up. Hanzo tried to swallow, throat suddenly a desert, and as they passed the mechanical iron gate he raised his eyes. His brother was real again and sitting right beside him.
"Hello, brother."
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There was a strange pleasure that came from stepping a little too hard on the floating bridges that led from building to building. Ripples spread in chaotic patterns, disrupting the calm moat that replaced any vegetation in this section of the facility. Genji had finished his morning meditation and his mid-morning Qigong training as per his chart but was in no mood to head towards the Reiki session starting in 5 minutes. There was only so much ‘heightening one’s connection with the divine’ that Genji could handle. He had run out of patience months ago and found more stubbornness than he ever thought possible within. Really he should be quite proud of himself.
Genji slammed down on the last board before leaping to the solid tatami covered flooring, where he relished the water slopping up over the edges.
Determined to skip the session, he headed to the pools overlooking the sheer cliff face that dropped off into the ocean. He would soak and ‘rid his body of toxins trapped between his organs to reduce the inflammation’... that is if anyone were to ask. But as soon as Genji dropped to a nearby thickly cushioned lounge chair, two workers slid out from the nearest open shoji doors. Their gaze swept over the walled-in yard and settled on him. The two were clearly not Wellness Emersion Specialists but wore the simple security uniform of a white polo and khaki bottoms. He wasn’t even late yet, what did they want with him?
He was offered little explanation as the guards simply held eye contact, bowed, and headed off towards the suites, clearly expecting him to follow. Genji had long since learned being a problem patient simply meant a tighter packed schedule of bodywork sessions to reduce his Qi imbalances. He was sure he would kill for an hour of mindless television, but for now he simply followed along at his own pace, growing more agitated as they walked directly into his suite. They’d touched his shit, he just knew it.
Not only had they touched his shit, all of his belongings had vanished from the posh sprawling room. Not that he had been allowed much from Shimada Estate anyway. Plus he was clean of contraband! They wouldn’t usually do this kinda shit for no reason.
“Excuse me, hello, where are all my clothes?! My things?!” Genji rounded the bed, stomping up to the two silent workers. “Don’t ignore me! Am I moving rooms again already?!”
The taller of the two bowed low, “Forgive the sudden intrusion Shimada-san, but you are to follow us to your vehicle.”
“V-vehicle? I’m moving facilities? Did my family order… ugh, that is a stupid question. And I‘m guessing you are not allowed to tell me anything more?” Genji sighed, scuffing his house slippers on the carpet.
The silence of the two workers was an irritating confirmation. “Lead on then, I want to get this over with.” he threw his arms up in defeat.
As they rounded the last set of double doors, stepping out onto the loose gravel driveway, Genji wasn’t surprised to find a black luxury sedan with windows too tinted to see more than the vague shape of a driver inside. As he approached the driver hopped out to bow deeply while throwing open the back door. They had a vaguely familiar face, and then it hit Genji.
“Hina? Is that you?”
“Greetings, young master Shimada Genji, you are looking healthy.” she spoke cordially, with a friendly lilt to her voice. Hina had been a long time driver for the Shimada children, and Genji had always enjoyed her pleasant chatter. Seeing a familiar face sent a rush of excitement through him that he hadn’t felt in so long that he didn’t care to remember.
He curtsied in return, smirking wide as his body enjoyed the extroversion rush.
It died quickly though, as he spotted who was waiting for him in the back seat. After all this time, Hanzo had never so much as written and now he would simply pull Genji out unannounced to move him to some new unknown cage. He felt a snarl pulling at his face, but took a second to soothe himself before flopping into the car as casually as he could force. Hanzo sits as prim as a doll set out for decoration, eyes demurely fixed forward on his own folded hands. There seems to be a minimum of five heavy draped layers to his ceremonial garb despite the rather warm day: mother had obviously sent him. Her perfect son, born a future ruler and always having fit into his role. Genji wanted to pity him, if for no other reason than to brag of his own small internal freedoms to himself. But Genji couldn’t muster enough sympathy for the man; his thoughts were drawn to their last conversation together. He had had nothing but time to think on it.
“Hello, Brother.” Genji sneered.
For all the vitriol he packed into the two words, he was met with only silence. Genji knew he should direct his anger towards the board filled with uncaring clan members, not at his puppet of a brother. They’d driven his father to an early grave and hammered the spikes in between the rest of them. Hanzo had smiled at him with nothing but fondness many years ago, their youth together had been untainted by outside evils.
He turned to Hina for conversation, but after several light-hearted attempts falling flat, Genji was left miffed and in a foul mood. Her responses were clipped, the dutiful driver seemed distracted from even the road, and she was almost twitchy, even. Of course, this was to be his life from now on. How he had not figured that out in his multitudinous hours of meditation, he wasn’t sure. Even the servants would find him disgraceful to look at, his failure would be fresh in everyone’s minds. Although, the shame was not in trying to end it all but in the failure of a messy situation only being made messier. One of his Wellness coaches, a European if he remembered correctly, said it was a cultural thing, and that it’s seen as a perfectly reasonable and justified solution to difficult situations that burdened one’s family. Things like being a failure, a degenerate, or an addict to some illegal thing was plenty enough of a cause to snuff out a life; Genji had been a triple combo in that regard.
He fell back into silence, hating the clan, his brother’s composed coldness, and being stuck here. Genji supposed he should have left when he was younger, but there had been nowhere to go, nowhere the clan couldn't reach. And even if they didn’t seek him out, his own selfish wants for a luxurious lifestyle had stopped him from fleeing. Safe and spoiled in his gilded cage.
Suddenly the car pulled off to the side of the road, and Genji realized he has no idea how long they had been driving, nor does he recognize anything around them. There wasn’t much to recognize, considering they’d pulled off onto a dirt road, surrounded by brush, and a lush treeline just a few paces away.
“Hanzo...what the hell?” He couldn’t keep the nervous tinge from his voice. Several horrifying scenarios played out in his mind, but he pushed them down. Would the clan really send Hanzo to end him here, in some shabby wooded ditch? Even after leaving him to sit in that facility for a year? It was crazy, but not impossible.
Hanzo opened his mouth, just to draw in a slow breath. His eyes darted about the car nervously till he shut his mouth with a click and stepped out from the car. Hina was at his door, speaking in a hushed voice, “Please young master, follow.”
Genji spluttered out a half-formed argument but stumbled out of the car when Hina seemed to stare into him- silently begging. She leaned in to grab his luggage before moving quickly into the trees, Hanzo hot on her heels carrying another suitcase in hand. Genji tripped on the uneven ground and cursed that he had only been allowed house slippers in the facility. He desperately wanted to laugh when he spotted Hanzo. He watched as the man high stepped through the brush, nice robes gathered up at his waist. But he is too confused to laugh and, if he’s honest, too scared. He yelled to Hina, who was outpacing both brothers easily, but only received pursed lips and pleading eyes as she shook her head.
They came out into a clearing minutes later, shaking tangled vines from their legs and from Hanzo’s hair. A delivery truck sat parked along the tree line. Hina all but lept in, Hanzo and Genji piling in behind as two men in dark clothing shut the heavy metal doors behind them. They don’t make eye contact with Genji, and it does nothing to settle his nerves. Hina is tapping away at a small black device, it looks markedly different from the Shimada Estate standard issue blackberry. She calls out several numbers that mean nothing to Genji, but Hanzo hums along. Something about a private flight waiting on a runway, cleared for taking off.
“We should be in the air before the car is discovered. Connecting transport in Asia has confirmed waiting status.” Hina whispers.
As the truck rumbles back onto the roadway, Genji looked to Hanzo, utterly bewildered, and demanded, “Hanzo! What the fuck is going on?!”
The other two share conspiratorial glances til Hina gave the smallest of nods. Hanzo turned to Genji and broke into a nervous, awkward, and relieved smile, “Hello, Genji.”