Chapter Text
Genji missed his mother quite a lot.
Since she had left, father had started to be more severe on him; things that usually would only get him a call-out suddenly turned into things that would get him screamed at. For example: last week, he'd accidentally poured soup on the table, and instead of the usual exasperation from his mother and indifference from father he was expecting, he was instead faced with a hard slap on his hand and screaming coming at him about how could he mess up, that he was too old to drop anything on the table, that it wasn't how the heir to the Shimada Clan was supposed to act.
He had cried himself to sleep that night.
And not only punishment had gotten worse, but also the stares on him. The elders were constantly scrutinizing him, judging his very step and act. Even if they weren't in the same room as him, Genji felt their constant presence and eyes on him. They way they looked at him made him shiver just by thinking about it.
If his mother were still there, he would go and cry all he wanted with her, and she would understand. But mother didn't love him that much anymore and that's why she'd left him there, in the terrifying castle, alone and scared.
So he attached himself to Master Asa.
She was his sword instructor, and according to father, the best of the best. She was to teach him everything he would need to learn the sword. And she did, Genji getting better and better the more he trained under her gaze.
The training was hard, but he couldn't deny it wasn't worth it just for the fact he could use a sword! How cool was that?!
But it wasn't only the training. Master Asa was nice and sweet to him when she wasn't in that teacher mode of hers. Sometimes she would bring him treats, and would tell him stories before her classes started. She once heard her justify this to father, telling him that a bond between master and student was the most important thing if they wanted the training to get somewhere. Genji could tell she was lying a little bit, not that he would tell father this.
Of course, having Kiriko there as well was a plus.
Kiriko was just 2 years younger than Genji himself, and that made her the perfect play partner. They would usually play hide-and-seek the second they had a moment for themselves. Sometimes, they would even be allowed to train with each other, and despite her age, Kiriko was very capable with the sword; of course he never told her he was holding back a little bit for her own sake.
They soon became inseparable. Sometimes, Master Asa would pick the both of them from school, and so they would return home walking (a security issue that concerned father to no end, but he had unwavering faith on Master Asa).
One day, Kiriko told him a secret.
"I have a kitsune," and out of thin air, a pretty blue kitsune appeared, seeming to almost glow. "Mother says it's supposed to be a secret, but Mister Shimada has a dragon, so maybe you have one too!"
And that was true. Father had a golden dragon, one he had only seen glimpses of during the years, glimpses he'd caught when father thought he wasn't looking, but never the whole thing, and the elders were always talking about how the Shimada clan were descendants from the dragons of the tales they used to tell, how he was meant to get his own when the time was right. Every year, Genji wondered when would be the day a dragon chose him as its handler.
"I don't," Genji admitted sadly, and watched in real time as Kiriko's face dropped. "But I know I'll get one! I just have to wait a lot, but I just know, so don't be sad! I'll show it to you when I get my dragon." And that seemed to cheer her up.
In the meantime, he was happy he'd gotten the chance to pet Kiriko's kitsune. It was incredibly soft despite the fact it looked like it was made out of solid light.
He debated if he should tell Kiriko about his own secret, but decided against once he realized she probably wasn't hiding a person in her own basement.
During the days, he was just a normal kid, routine full of training and chores and stiffness and so many expectations.
During the night, he was allowed to be free.
"Genji," Hanzo greeted, smile on his face big and squirms and huffs just as present as always. Once he'd realized how much Hanzo was restraining himself for his own sake, he'd told him he hoped he could see all the things his body wanted to do when happy to see him.
After all, Genji himself couldn't help but to click his tongue when he knew time to visit Hanzo was approaching, nor to walk on his toes when getting into the cell. He couldn't help it! Hanzo made him very happy.
And he wasn't allowed those things either, father and the elders insisting he should act like an heir does, and not like a child would. Their disappointed faces was something he feared, but there with Hanzo, he was allowed to do whatever he wanted.
Genji sat at his usual spot, feeling Hanzo and his clothes brushing his back like they always did. He liked that Hanzo covered him that way, as it didn't allow people to see him there even if they went in the basement. It was so smart of his part to do so!
That night was story time. Once Genji had ran out of dinosaur books to read to Hanzo, he had started to go through the rest of the collection. This story was about a family of blue frogs who were sitting near a lake.
"... and then, all of them went surfing on the lake with their leaves! And it was a great day for everyone. The end." Honestly, it wasn't one of his favorite stories, mostly because he didn't find it logical that a group of frogs could surf on top of leaves, but Hanzo seemed to enjoy it, even when he knew Hanzo enjoyed all of the book Genji read to him.
"I want see a lake," Hanzo announced, "and a brother and a sister."
"You can't see a brother and a sister," Genji laughed. "Those are people. When you have the same mother and father with another kid, then you are brothers."
Hanzo hummed, clearly processing what had been told to him. Then, resting his head on the floor, he spoke again. "You have a brother and a sister?"
"No, I'm the the only kid of my mother and father. No sisters or brothers."
Hanzo seemed a little disappointed by this, letting go a soft 'oh' and frowning a bit. Now he felt real bad, and wished (not for the first time) to be able to show Hanzo a brother and sister just like he wanted.
He suddenly remembered something.
"Well, I did had a brother," he told Hanzo, "but he died before I could meet him." And nobody would tell him that part, think he was too small to understand, but Genji knew the truth, because he had heard his mother cry her dead baby every November 3rd since he could remember (or at least until she left him behind), and father would always look more somber that particular day, as if remembering something that was better left buried.
And the rumours were strong in Hanamura, of the dead son of the head of the Shimada clan, no matter how quiet they tried to be when knowing Genji was around to hear.
"And I guess you could see a brother and a sister if you order them to show up," he gasped, startling the giant a bit. He got up in one swift jump, excited with the sudden idea. "That's it! When you're allowed out, I'll take you to see everything you want!"
"Even stars?"
"Yes! Specially stars! I promise!" He held Hanzo's pinky finger with his hand (there was no way he could wrap the whole thing with his own pinky). "Pinky promise. You can't break a pinky promise so you know I mean it!"
Genji yawned. It was getting late and he had school and training the next day. He had to go.
He picked up his book, wishing good night to Hanzo and getting his own back, and exited the cell.
Looking up to make sure nobody was going to discover him, he catched a glimpse of the stars, clear sky making a lot of them visible.
That just made him more sure of himself; he would show Hanzo all the stars, lakes and brothers and sisters he wanted to see! He would show them so many of them he would get enough of them yet he could always get more if he wanted.
Once he was a grown-up and had the power of the clan like father promised, he would give Hanzo every single thing he wanted. Perhaps then, they could play all they wanted without fear of being found out.