Chapter Text
"Genji, have you ever heard of the dragon's curse?"
The little boy shook his head, his mouth hanging slightly ajar, showing the chipped baby teeth that were a testimony to his rambunctious behavior. His eyes were intent on his father, who sat on his heels with an air of majesty and wisdom radiating about him, or maybe it was just the dozens of candles lighting up the dim room that made him look like those holy statues present in their shrines. Either way, Genji wasn't fazed and only looked at him in a way any kid would their father.
Sojiro Shimada beckoned his young son to his side as he tapped at the space on his robed lap. Genji scrambled on all fours in compliance, eager for the aging man to continue.
"Tell me about it, dad!" he squeaked, the toes in his sandals curling in and out due to excitement.
His chubby hands couldn't help gripping at the silken fabric of Sojiro's garment, but the man kept the smile on his face. He didn't mind at all; not as much as the clan Elders did anyway, who stood in the background as they watched with lifeless, nonchalant faces. It was obvious from the flicker in their eyes that a thousand things were running through their minds, but it wasn't in their place to talk out of the blue, so they kept their mouth shut.
The yakuza leader was oblivious to the men's stares and only chuckled at his son's zeal. He patted Genji's head as a gesture of fondness and gave in to his little heart's desire.
"Genji," Sojiro began, his voice smooth and homely like velvet sheets. "Do you remember the story I told you? The tale of two dragons and what happened to them?"
The little boy cast his eyes up to the coffered ceiling of the room before nodding with stars in his vibrant brown eyes.
"Yes, yes!" He exclaimed in a heartbeat. "The dragon of the north wind got beaten up by the dragon of the south wind, because his brother wanted power. After that, he can't lead properly anymore and everything went bad. But then one day, a man comes to the dragon of the south wind and asks why he's sad. The dragon says he's sad because he killed his brother, and then, the man revealed himself to be his brother and they start fixing their friendship all over again as humans."
"Alright," Sojiro whispered, thinking his son's interpretation could use some more work.
"But what if I told you that there was more to the story?'
Genji couldn't believe his young ears, and they perked up at the revelation. "There's more?"
His father smiled and laughed. "Yes, my son. Before the mysterious stranger came to the dragon of the south wind, something else happened that I did not get to tell you before." He paused and looked away, hesitance apparent in his pale features. Nonetheless, he looked back at the child before him and ultimately decided to throw caution to the air.
"Do you know the goddess Benten, Genji?"
Genji skated his small, brown orbs back to the tall ceiling. This time, however, nothing of any semblance to the name came to mind.
"No, I don't know her, dad. Who is she?"
"Benten is the guardian of all dragons. She uses one as a steed to fly through the heavens and watch over the dragons living here on the mortal world. She makes sure none of the dragons here do anything bad, either to one another or to the humans.
"One day, as she flew around the darkened skies, the goddess witnessed how the dragon of the South wind vanquished his brother and she was angered. She came down eleven days later and confronted the accused.
"'What have you done?" she asked the dragon. "Because of your greed for power, you've destroyed your brother and thrown the world into discord. What do you have to say for yourself?'
"The grieving dragon replied: 'Oh goddess, I have done a sin so great not even I nor the gods could forgive. I'll accept whatever punishment comes my way, if it means having my brother back my side.'
"The goddess thought for a moment and reached a decision. 'What you have done shall bring shame to your descendants, and with that shame, a curse. From the underworld your wrath shall come, your soul consumed one by one. When the sun will shine her rays upon you, only then will the demons be gone.'
"The dragon lord felt even more lost with what the goddess had just condemned him to, but she flew off on her dragon's back before he could open his mouth to speak. The next day, a mysterious stranger arrived and taught the dragon lord to kneel down to see the world around him more clearly. This stranger revealed himself to be his fallen brother, the dragon of the north wind. Reunited, the two set out-"
"-to rebuild what they had one destroyed," Genji finished, his face lighting with awe at the seemingly happy ending. However, now that he had heard this other tale, he wasn't sure what to think of it, and a part of him broke thinking about the cursed dragon and how he had fared with his consequence.
"Dad." Young Genji's voice fell into a whisper. "What happened to the dragon of the south wind?"
His voice, small and hushed as it was, resonated like a gong throughout the dark, quiet room. Sojiro swallowed the lump in his throat and darted his dark orbs to the side. All of a sudden he wasn't so sure he could look at his son in the eye anymore.
And that was when it happened.
A blood curdling scream from above shattered the silence and snatched at the attention of not only everyone in the room, but nearly every person in the palace. Loud, continuous sobs followed suit and Sojiro wasted no time sprinting out of the room despite his billowing garments and Genji's weight in his arms.
"Dad, that sounded like Hanzo." The boy's bottom lip quivered, and beads of tears formed at the sides of his eyes.
The clan leader rounded his lips and urged the child to calm down. With a gentle force, his hand pushed at the back of the boy's head to lean it towards the crook of his neck. Feeling Genji's cold metal band on his skin gave him the comfort and the strength to find out what had happened to his other son.
Is it that time already?
"Father!" Hanzo's desperate voice pierced at his ears, and his heart raced as fast as his legs did.
He watched as choice guards of the clan flooded the hallway to the young heir's quarters. Even from afar, the sound of metal clanking and locking in place could already be discerned, and though the man had seen it more than once, the sight awaiting him beyond the room's entrance was something he will never get used to.
There was his older son,slumped on the floor with his legs bent at the knees. His defeated wrists were pulled behind him, chained to a metal loop made on the wall. His ankles were bound as well, connected together by a tough, wooden yoke.
The more he resisted the constriction of his bindings, the more his long black hair tousled and flew around his face: red, wet, matted, confused, and most of all--afraid.
"Father, please...stop the pain," Hanzo sobbed, his juvenile mind frozen with fear and anxiety. He couldn't think of anything else other than the hot, white pain surging in his chest. It made him crumple and wither on the ground like frail paper. "Why are they doing this to me?"
"My son, it- it's for your own good." Sojiro had to keep his voice low, or he knew the tears won't stop flowing. He couldn't let his sons see his weakness, even more so in this time of darkness. He must be strong like the leader he was.
"You'll understand someday, Hanzo."
Genji, in his naïveté, toddled towards his tied brother despite the restrictions of those around him.
"Brother?" he squeaked and bent low, trying to find the other's eyes beyond the curtain of raven hair.
What happened next was such a quick, hazy blur, he didn't have the time nor the mind to react.
All he saw was Hanzo baring huge fangs and lunging at him with sharp, dagger-like nails. Genji felt a sharp jerk from behind him and he almost choked as the colar of his shirt dug into his throat. He heard the shuffling of feet as he tried to regain his breathing, and when everything else had cleared, the sound of his brother's resistance still remained.
"Genji, we have to leave." His father's alarmed voice rang from above.
"But what about Hanzo?"
"He'll be fine." Sojiro dismissed him and picked him up in his arms once again before stepping out of the room.
With a nod of their master's head, the guards gripped at the shojis' handles and brought the two panels together despite the violent thrashing on the other side.
The younger Shimada, mesmerized, stared at his brother and watched with undivided attention how he screamed and repulsed and struggled against the metal bindings.
...like a monster...
The tale that came from his father's mouth all of a sudden made sense in his feeble mind, and it became apparent that there really were some truths laid on the wildest of myths. One of them was staring him right in the face.
The last thing Genji saw before the screens closed shut were Hanzo's bloodshot amber eyes glowing a lurid shade of red.
"The dragon's curse..." Genji found himself whispering, his voice as gentle as the quiet night breeze.