Chapter Text
Hanzo knows that compared to his brother, he will always be second place to his father’s affections. He tries not to think about it, though. He is the heir, he will be the leader one day. It is of no surprise that Sojiro would pay special attention to his upbringing and be strict. Getting spoilt the way Genji does is not an option. It never has been.
Hanzo knows this intellectually, but as he stands at the window of his rooms and watches the guards wrangle a truly spectacular beast, he can’t help but be jealous after all. This creature with its large horns and deadly hoofs is not for Hanzo. It is for Genji. Genji, who could not be bothered less and isn’t even in the estate right now to watch as the guards call sharp instructions to one another, hanging off of ropes and chains with their whole body weight just to keep the beast from rampaging through the otherwise pristine garden.
The creature is trussed up as much as possible without completely hobbling its legs, yet it still is surprisingly competent in fighting off the guards. It has a long tail with a tuft of hair at the end which it wields with a precision that inadvertently amuses Hanzo.
He steps closer to his window, slightly cracking it open. Immediately the angry cries of the guards and the huffing of the creature becomes louder. A few moments later he can small it, too. It is warm and alive; like one of Hanzo’s horses.
He’s heard of them, but only in mythology: Minotaurs. He’d never thought they would actually exist.
And father gifts one to Genji… he has to know that he will tire of him sooner or later. Hanzo tries to shove the thought away as quickly as it had come. He stares at the minotaur stemming against the ropes and chains and needing eight of their men to be pulled forward. His hoofs are digging deep gauges into the otherwise pristine grass. Father will be furious when he sees it.
The minotaur’s large nostrils flare with the exertion, his thick lips pulled back to show off large, blunt teeth. Hanzo feels warm all of a sudden. He looks down, exhaling sharply, then glances up again. Someone has opened the large door to the barns behind the estate. It’d be quite a way until they have the beast in there. Hanzo has a lot to do himself – he doesn’t have the time to stand at the window and gawk, but he can’t help but stay put anyway.
Where did they get the minotaur from? Were there even more? Were all as… impressive as this one? He watches for far far longer than he should. He only stops when eventually Genji does arrive, stalking around the whole parade to watch the creature with huge eyes.
Hanzo turns and sits back down at his desk, staring at the charts laid out neatly before him. However, he can’t stop thinking of the minotaur with its chocolate brown undercoat and the large white and black spots all over its body, muscles clearly visible beneath the short fur as they trembled with exertion.
He wonders how long Genji will keep being entertained by it before inevitably growing tired.
.o.
Hanzo tries to forget about the minotaur during the next couple months. It is weirdly difficult to keep away from the barn. Usually he has no problem forgetting about the building even existing. He has his own space where he keeps his horses; Genji and he have always been notoriously bad in sharing their things.
Genji’s barn has been unoccupied for years, horses having held as little interest to him as everything else he has ever tried – except partying, it seems.
Hanzo finds his gaze wandering toward the building more often than not. It’s rare that he can hear anything at all coming from it. The minotaur is surprisingly docile, it seems – at least it sounds that way from the few times Genji even mentions his pet. He has named it ‘Haruto’, and what exactly he does with it… him… he cannot say. He probably doesn’t want to know.
There are just a couple times Hanzo witnesses Haruto being let out of the barn to stretch his limbs and inhale fresh air. He is massively hobbled both times, his head encased in a muzzle, and a large gold ring through Haruto’s septum with a chain connecting it to a belt around his waist so he can’t start storming off and throwing a tantrum.
Genji is interested in his pet for so long that Sojiro starts talking about finally having tamed his little sparrow. Hanzo is almost inclined to agree – when Genji’s interest in Haruto suddenly drops. He flutters to his next obsession, back to the clubs, leaving Sojiro to quietly fume and Hanzo to wonder what would happen to the mythical creature in one of their barns.
He has other things to worry about, of course. His studies. His martial arts practices. The meetings he has to attend more and more often as he grows older and more competent in leading the clan.
Still… He finds himself looking out his window toward the barn most nights, even long after Genji has probably forgotten all about Haruto.
It’s not as quiet anymore, either. Every now and then Hanzo can hear Haruto rebelling in the barn, probably bored out of his mind now that Genji is no longer… playing… with him. Whatever has Genji been up to?
It’s all moot one cold winter night. Hanzo stands and stares at the barn one moment, then finds himself walking toward it the other.
Just a glimpse. Just a little peek.
There are two warm orange lamps on inside as he slips through the door. The barn is warm as if ten horses were inside instead of just one creature rousing in its massive cage. Hanzo’s breath hitches as he sees the contraption for the first time. He hadn’t even noticed the guards building it… He hadn’t given Haruto’s lodgings much thought at all.
The bars are as thick as Hanzo’s wrist, and wide enough to let him slip inside if he so desires. Haruto has curled up on his side but now he begins to move even before Hanzo is ready to have his presence known.
Large brown eyes are on him, staring at him without much expression. The gold ring is glinting in the yellow light from the lamps.
Hanzo inhales deeply, his lungs and his body filling with the scent of a large, warm barn animal. It’s… comforting. He has always enjoyed…
He steps closer to the bars, hands curling around them, staring at Haruto.
“Good evening…” he breathes just barely above a whisper. It’s idiotic to talk to an animal, of course, but...
The minotaur is faster than he could have ever assumed. One moment it is half roused, the other it has the front of Hanzo’s robe, clutching at him, nostrils flaring wide. He’s so close that his hot breath is lightly blowing Hanzo’s hair back while he stares at it stunned.
“A little evening treat…”
The deep voice is resonant and takes Hanzo off-guard. His mouth opens in an idiotic gape, tongue feeling thick in his mouth.
“You… can talk…?”
Haruto blows his warm breath into Hanzo’s face once more, gently pulling him inside his cage.
“I can do a lot more than that. Come here… I was bored anyway.”