Chapter Text
1.
There was a ringing in her ears as Kiriko took in the sight before her. The ringing turned to shouting. It was all mixed up, but a few phrases had come clear to her ears.
It’s all YOUR fault!
You aren’t good enough!
They never cared about you!
The voices were familiar, but she couldn’t place them. The young woman simply stared at the scene. After what felt like eternity, her knees buckled and she was on the ground. Her hands braced her fall, but only to become wet and sticky. There was a look of horror and disbelief on her face as Kiriko raised her hands to look at what caused the feeling. Blood. The crimson liquid dripped down her arms and leaked through her fingers. She felt like she couldn’t breathe as she continued to watch the unmoving bodies in front of her. All familiar to her. To the left, Sojiro Shimada, head of the Shimada clan. Next to him she could make out the image of her friend, Genji Shimada. To her right, the Yokai of Hanamura. Her friends and comrades these past years. But the worst was right in front of her. Both her father and her mother lay in that pool of blood.
Your fault!
Silence. Then, a familiar voice spoke.
“All of this death and destruction is because of you,” Hanzo Shimada said. Kiriko couldn’t find her voice. All she could do was shake her head in denial. Hanzo raised his bow and knocked an arrow, aiming at Kiriko. “It is YOUR FAULT, Kiriko.”
“No!” She finally yelled. “It wasn’t my fault, I swear! Please Hanzo, believe me!”
“You must pay for your sins.” He pulled the arrow back tighter. Kiriko continued to plead, to explain that it wasn’t her fault. It was to no avail.
Hanzo let the arrow loose. Kiriko screamed.
She woke up. Cold sweat covered her body and her breathing was heavy. Kiriko pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on top of them. She took a few deep breaths to shake off the nightmare.
“Hanzo killed Genji,” she said quietly to herself. A reminder she often had to tell herself after this particular nightmare. “Hashimoto’s men and omnics killed the Yokai. Hashimoto killed my parents. Hanzo abandoned Hanamura.” She repeated these several times before wiping the tears from her face. She couldn’t be emotional. Not here. Not around these people. She took a few more deep breaths to calm down and pushed the memories away. Reluctantly, the ninja got out of bed to continue with the rest of her morning routine. A quick set of push ups, a shower, teeth brush, hair brush, and get dressed in her uniform. She had to admit, the black and red was growing on her. FInally, she tied her hair back and stuffed her kunai into her belt. The last thing she grabbed before leaving her quarters was the mask in the shape of a fox’s face. One she had previously worn with the Yokai. Now, worn for a different group.
It had been several years since everything in Kiriko’s world got flipped and turned upside down. It started of course, with Sojiro’s murder. Despite the criminal dealings of the Shimada clan, Kiriko had known Sojiro as a kind man who allowed her to train and become friends with his two sons. And those sons had been the closest thing Kiriko had to brothers. While she wasn’t quite as close to Hanzo, she did admire him. She saw how hard he worked and how incredibly disciplined he was and knew he would make a great leader of the clan one day. Genji on the other hand, shared her free spirit and introduced her to many things. The arcade being one of their favorite places to hang out when training was over. They were thick as thieves and Kiriko couldn’t have asked for a better life.
When Sojiro had died, Hanzo took over as the leader of the clan. Kiriko could feel the rift grow between him and Genji. There were times when she walked the halls of the palace and overheard high members of the Shimada clan urge Hanzo to get his brother in check.
“He’s a liability!’ She heard one say through the door. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but when it came to Genji, she was concerned. He had become a bit of a playboy as they got older. Carefree knowing he wouldn’t be in charge. But now there was pressure for him to step up and mature. Which of course only made him act out more. Genji had no interest in any leadership role in the clan. Tensions had become high between the Shimada brothers. Kiriko tried to help ease tension, but after a few attempts she realized she was only getting in the way.
“Something must be done about the boy,” another member said.
“Can you do what needs to be done, Hanzo?” asked a third. A pause.
“It shall be done.” Hanzo stated simply. Kiriko had heard shuffling and footsteps from in the room. Quickly she moved down the hall so as not to be seen. She wondered what Hanzo had meant and worried about Genji. It was only days later that she found out what it meant.
Kiriko was busy helping her mother clean up the training area when she heard sounds of fighting. It wasn’t an uncommon sound in the palace, but this was different. Something in her told her to drop everything and go see what was happening. Her mother called after her as she sprinted away, to no avail. By the time Kiriko had found where the fighting was coming from she was too late. Lightning lit up the scene in a perfectly dramatic fashion. She saw Hanzo’s figure standing a ways away. His arm still holding his bow straight on, chest heaving. But that wasn’t what caused Kiriko’s scream in horror.
In front of her feet, she could see blood pooling from a body. A body she knew all too well from their years of training. Genji lay before her, lifeless. She ran the few steps it was to his body and fell to her knees, tears actively spilling from her eyes, though she couldn’t feel them with the rain starting. She tried to see if maybe, just maybe Genji was breathing. It was no use. His skin rapidly grew cold from the blood loss and rain combined. She sobbed for what seemed like hours. When her throat felt raw and she couldn’t cry anymore, she looked up to see Hanzo in exactly the same spot as before, bow lowered this time. On shaky legs, Kiriko stood and strode towards the older brother.
“How could you?” She shouted at him over the sound of thunder. “What did Genji do to deserve this? You’re his brother! How could you?” She was face to face with Hanzo, though he was at least a head and a half taller. She looked up and stared into his eyes, her eyebrows knit together. Her own eyes pleaded for an answer.
“It is none of your concern.” He said simply.
“It is! Hanzo you owe an explanation! We’ve known each other since we were kids, so why? Just tell me!”
“You are still a child and a child couldn’t understand the reasons behind my actions. Leave now, Kiriko.”
She slapped Hanzo across the face as hard as she could, leaving a red handprint on his cheek.
“You always talk about bringing honor to the Shimada family, so tell me how the hell this is honor? Did murdering your brother bring you honor? Because I think it did the exact opposite! You bring shame to your family name, Shimada Hanzo.”
“You know nothing of which you speak, little fox.” Despite the control he had over his voice, Kiriko could see the anger in his eyes.
She didn’t remember what she said after that. All she did remember was the funeral days later. There were whisperings of Genji’s body disappearing mysteriously, which she paid no attention to. How could it be missing, anyway? She saw his body and the image haunted her. It wasn’t long after the funeral that she had found out Hanzo had gone missing. Completely awol. Kiriko was just going through the motions at that point. Days blurred together.
Her mother sent her to live with her grandmother after a rival clan took over the Shimada. Her father was being held hostage by them and her mother was doing everything she could to keep Kiriko safe. The only thing keeping Kiriko going was her grandmother’s teachings and training to use the abilities of the fox spirit. When her grandmother passed, Kiriko moved back to her childhood home, continuing to train with her mother whenever possible, but she was grown then. It wasn’t long until she moved away. Living on her own in Kanezaka was hard, to say the least.
Hashimoto's influence carried there too. Before her eyes she witnessed them murder her elderly neighbor, his granddaughter caught in the crossfire as well. She didn’t know she was being watched by a third party as she lost all control. Each member of the Hashimoto clan that was in the building was dead within minutes. It wasn’t like she tried to kill, a red curtain had fallen over her vision. For several years after, she led a small gang known as the Yokai of Hanamura. They caused much chaos, mostly against the Hashimoto. That was until a mission went south very quickly. Kiriko was the only one to survive. She blamed herself and didn’t like remembering the bloody details.
One night as she walked home, she was approached by a tall, slender figure. She couldn’t recall the whole conversation. All she did remember was an offer to get revenge in exchange for her working for this organization.
All night she mulled over the options. Kiriko’s final conclusion was that it was all Hashimoto’s fault that everything bad had happened. Sojiro’s death, Genji’s murder, Hanzo’s disappearance, her father’s detainment, her neighbors and friends being slaughtered. Kiriko made her decision. She would do whatever it took to get her revenge on Hashimoto.
So she called the number on the business card the person had given her.
“Made a decision already?” They spoke in slightly broken japanese. Clearly not their first language. It was funny. They had spoken that way in person as well. Meanwhile Kiriko also spoke English and was fluent in JSL. She continued to speak in her native tongue.
“Yes. When can I start?”
And that brought us back here. A year in service with this group and she was no closer to her revenge. Patience they told her. What a load of crap. Still, they were her best chance at dismantling Hashimoto. She walked the dimly lit hall to the briefing room. Her comrades had already gathered there. She still didn’t know why the organization needed the old man, but he had proven himself useful when he wasn’t having a nervous breakdown. He was lounging just above the chair. The man never seemed to allow gravity to take him, but it didn’t bother Kiriko any.
In the far corner she saw the masked man, his arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. He never wanted to sit at the table. Preferring to brood in the corner.
“Will you stop that incessant tapping,” a woman said. Her skin was so pale that Kiriko thought it was purple. The masked man only grunted at her in response. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. Next to her in stark contrast was the organization’s hacker. She and Kiriko were of similar age and got along well enough. A few seats away from them was the doctor. Or scientist. They preferred Scientist. The one who had recruited Kiriko in the first place. Long fingers were wrapped around a cup of coffee. Then that brought it back to the head of the table. A hulking man sat looking at the rest of the room and motioned for Kiriko to take her seat. She didn’t know how much she trusted any person in this room. Him least of all. She finally took her seat next to the old man and kicked her feet onto the table top. She brought out one of her kunai and lazily spun it on her finger as she waited for the briefing to begin.
“Nice of you to finally join us, Fox,” the hulking man stated in his thick Nigerian accent.
“My alarm broke,” Kiriko stated simply. She had been given Fox as her codename. Most of the people in the room had one. Except for the scientist. They simply went by their name. Sigma, the old man. Reaper, the masked man. Widowmaker, the pale woman. Sombra, the hacker. Moira, the scientist. Doomfist, the man at the head of the table. And Kiriko, Fox. Not very creative, but it fit.
“Get on with it,” came the raspy voice of Reaper in the corner. Doomfist turned on the hologram behind him and began to go over the new mission they were going on. Yet again, far away from Hanamura. When would it be her turn to get the revenge she was owed? She didn’t know. Kiriko sighed quietly as she listened to the details. When the presentation was over, Doomfist ended it on a quote everyone in the room knew all too well. The same way he ended every meeting.
“Talon ko Mutuwa.”
“Talon or Death.” Everyone responded in their respective languages.
There was nothing left for Kiriko to lose.