Chapter Text
The rain beat steadily on the roof of the brothers’ hotel. It felt like it was always raining in London, but it had felt more nostalgic than dreary. A comfortable pattering on the roof… the gentle rumble of thunder. The storm was just beginning to hit them full-on, and they had been lucky to get out of it when they did. It was just after midnight, making it an awfully short excursion for the two.
Both of them were exhausted after their sleepless night. They had been out late, roaming the streets of London for hours after dark. Needless to say, neither of them were rested enough for it.
The two sat quietly, each absorbed in their own task, and rarely paying each other any mind. Genji laid in bed, lazily flicking through the channels on their television. The sound of the rain and the quiet chatter from the TV nearly lulled him to sleep. He pulled the stiff blankets up to his chin, relishing their warmth after their brief dash through the rain. His hair was plastered to his forehead and his skin was still damp, but it was a cozy feeling nonetheless. He stretched out, dropping the remote onto the nightstand and turning to face Hanzo.
Hanzo was sitting at the desk, chin in his hand as he pored over the papers and articles in front of him. The eldest was certainly more displeased than his brother at having their work “day” cut short by the storm. He’d been cursing as the thunder chased them indoors, and had been moody ever since. The quiet seemed to have soothed his temper though, as he’d stopped his frustrated mumbling and settled for absorbing this new material.
The internet was a surprisingly good place to get information on the whereabouts of vampires. That was their job, anyway. Since the hunting of vampires had become such a lucrative business, the Shimada family had become quite interested in it. With the right employer, hunters were paid handsomely. Bounties were placed on especially troublesome vampires, or vampires who had been consumed by bloodlust. Those were the most tricky to catch or kill… often they had nothing to lose.
Long story short, it was a dangerous way to make a lot of money, and an escape from life on the Shimada estate.
As for the actual information gathering process, there were news sites dedicated to the topic, forums recounting run-ins, and the like. Newspapers often published stories about local incidents, and those always seemed to come in handy when tracking one down. Hanzo spent a lot of his time searching through these sources, weeding out the real stories from the fake ones. Everyone wanted to say that they’d seen or been attacked by a vampire, but some of the stories were definitely more believable than the rest.
They were only in London because of a certain article that had caught Hanzo’s attention a week or two prior. The account was interesting, and similar to things he’d encountered himself as a hunter. A vampire was believed to be responsible for the murder of two young girls and their mother. The bodies were mutilated in a fashion similar to that of a vampire gone mad. Considering how populated London was, it was a real threat. He’d narrowed down the possible offender to two vampires, both of which had been placed on watch lists around the world. The prize for bringing in either of them would be well worth the travel costs, and it was about time for the brothers to venture somewhere outside of Japan anyway. So far it had been a pretty great experience.
Genji had been enjoying it most of all. Several times he’d left Hanzo to search all alone, opting to go drinking instead. He was usually out club hopping, and he wouldn’t be back until the early hours. Obviously Hanzo worried for his brother’s safety, as he was reckless and had no foresight. It was concerning, but Genji was an adult and his brother had less power over him than he used to. There wasn’t much Hanzo could do.
Genji watched his brother for a while longer, absentmindedly tugging at a loose thread poking out of his night shirt. Hanzo looked tired and irritable, and it coupled perfectly with his unkempt appearance. Why he insisted on working when it was obvious he’d rather be doing anything else, Genji didn’t know.
“Finding anything new?” He asked, breaking the silence. Hanzo glanced over his shoulder at his brother.
“Yes, actually.” He leaned back in his seat, allowing Genji a slight glimpse at the computer screen. “I cannot make any connections yet, but the clues are piling up. Hopefully we can investigate further tomorrow night… If the weather permits.” Hanzo took a deep breath and, to Genji’s surprise, closed his computer and gathered his papers into a neat stack. He must have found everything he needed, then.
“Hanzo... I don’t want to be out all night if we can help it.” Most nights were spent wandering the city, usually with no solid leads, and to Genji it seemed like a waste of time. They really didn’t know who they were looking for anyways. The identity of the killer was still a mystery, even if they had their theories. Hanzo was a very skilled hunter, but the likelihood of catching their target was very slim. Hunters from all over were joining the search… the competition was just too great.
“You would rather be out partying, I suppose.” Hanzo sounded irritated. He had leaned back in the seat, crossed his arms, and was looking disapprovingly at his younger brother. Genji resisted the urge to sigh. Of course it always came back to that. The last thing he wanted was for that conversation to spiral down into an argument.
There was a pause while Genji thought of something to respond with. Hanzo must have taken that as an admission of guilt, if his exasperated expression was anything to go by.
“This is an opportunity to prove to our family that you are capable of acting responsibly. Please... do not waste it.” For a moment the irritation in his tone fell away, and sincerity replaced it. As sincere as it might have been, Genji had heard the same words time and time again. He just wasn’t interested in pleasing their family, really.
“I can act responsibly, you know that.” He gritted his teeth.
“I believe you can, but I cannot say the same for the rest of the family Genji. You have given them little reason to think so. If you would cut back on the partying and start thinking more about the future… it would be easy to earn back their respect.”
“That is not how I choose to live.”
“Sometimes you don’t get to choose.”
For a few moments after that, there was silence. As if they were both letting those words sink in.
“Sure.” Genji let out a sigh and rolled over to face the wall, letting his eyes close. The room was quiet for a while, and he could tell that Hanzo was debating whether he should press the subject or not. Hanzo had a bad habit of taking the argument too far… but, to be fair, it had been getting better recently.
Hanzo stood for a while longer. Eventually, he shuffled over to the second twin bed and Genji listened to him settle beneath the covers. There was a quiet tapping as he used his phone, probably to set alarms, and then he set it aside.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
They both laid there for a while longer, listening to the rain slowly fade as the worst of the storm passed over them. It lasted for maybe… half an hour. It was actually quite peaceful.
When the sound of Hanzo’s breathing slowed and turned into a soft snore, Genji slid out of bed and began pulling on his daywear. Hanzo was a light sleeper, but Genji had mastered the art of sneaking out while he was on watch. Hanzo didn’t even stir as he finished getting dressed and fixing his hair.
Perfect.
Genji didn’t bother to grab an umbrella as he slipped out of the hotel room, taking one last glance to make sure his brother was still sleeping before gently closing the door behind him.