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You have always been much more deeply invested in Father’s stories than your brother.
There is something about these people whom you have never met that touches your very soul. The passion your father speaks with when he regales the story of the brother dragons. The hope-filled advice of your teachers when they warn you against greed with the story of the man and the crane.
As you grow older, you find these stories becoming more and more play-filled things, but there remain a few which you still hold dear.
You are a playboy. Men and women alike find you charming, charismatic, flirtatious. You make sure they know it’s temporary, but they say they don’t care and they know you don’t either. The clan disapproves, but you try to remember that you are not the clan. You are Shimada Genji in the East, but in the West you are Genji Shimada. And you have always been a fan of Westerns.
But you were always a romantic, and at night, in the bed of whoever agreed to have you, you dream of one story in particular.
Tennin, or as the West would call them, angels-- descend from heaven to visit Earth. In order to keep from being recognized, they remove their winged coats, taking away their ability to fly. A group of fisherman spot them, and one man hides a Tennin’s coat, trapping her on Earth, and forces her to marry him. Years later, he tells her the truth. She finds her coat and returns to heaven.
In your dreams, you do not trap your Tennin. You dream of a Tennin with caring eyes whom puts off heaven because she believes wholeheartedly that you can be saved. Be healed. That you deserve to be loved.
Because you think, sometimes, that you could fall into the trap of the fisherman. You are a playboy, and even though you tell your partners that it is temporary, not all of them believe you. The hearts you’ve broken, the disappointment in your brother’s eyes as you enter the castle reeking of perfume or musk, the hours you “waste” enjoying your time at the arcade. You are a fisherman, luring people into trusting you only to suffocate them in the void you believe is your heart.
To try and make up for it, you throw yourself into your training. You are the best ninja student Master has ever had; she told you so herself. Father says in due time, you could be the best assassin the Shimada clan has ever known.
At first he used the term will , but recently he has taken to could . You don’t lead an entire clan without being observant, and he supports you more than you could ever deserve.
You suppose you must be a fisherman, after all.
~~~~~~~~~
Your father’s death shakes the entire clan.
You throw yourself into your vices. At parties you are bright. Fun. Not yourself, thankfully, because at parties you don’t have to be Shimada Genji -- the clan member who lost his leader first, his father second. At parties you can be Genji Shimada -- a teenager mourning the loss of his biggest source of support and trying to enjoy his reckless years while they last at the same time.
Your brother -- Shimada Hanzo to the end -- grows more disdain for you with each passing day. You disrespect father by enjoying life. You shame the clan by partying. You have no future, no place, no hope.
You forgive him. He is in mourning, but he also has to prepare to take over the clan as the eldest. It is a job you do not envy.
He visits the elders much more often lately as part of his training to lead. The more he visits them, the more they train him to detest you.
It is not his fault. If you were him, you’d despise you to.
But at night, your Tennin comforts you. You are going through a hard time, she tells you. Go easy on yourself, she tells you. Everyone mourns differently, and what helps you come to terms with your loss is not the same as your brother, and he can accept you with time. She has wings made of feathers that she curls around you in a soft blanket, shielding you from the grasping hands that try to rip you from her in the same way they tore Father from you.
You’ve come to dread the mornings. They mean you’ll have to wake up.
~~~~~~~~~~~
You cannot kill your brother.
It is a fact you realize in the middle of your battle with him. Not the best timing, but you’ve always been an inconvenience when it comes to the clan. He is desperate to kill you, and will press through with this goal to his dying breath.
But that is a breath your body refuses to deal him.
You hold on for as long as you can, hoping he will come to his senses. But he won’t. Hanzo chose this with full awareness of the consequences. You would either accept the name Shimada --scorning Genji for the rest of your life-- or die.
You suppose, then, you’re the one who made this decision with full awareness of the consequences.
He leaves you to bleed out in the snow.
~~~~~~~~~~
You dream of your Tennin. She speaks in words as fuzzy and bright and warm as the feathers of her wings, and as reflective as their metal framework.
~~~~~~~~~
You hear a beautiful voice calling you.
“Genji,” it gently lilts. “Genji? That is your name, right?”
Yes. Yes, that is your name.
“Ah! Good. I was worried I was mispronouncing that.”
Yes. Yes, she is, but that’s okay. She is the first to use it before Shimada.
“Do you think you could open your eyes for me?”
You do. It’s blinding. It hurts. You try anyway.
Silhouetted before you is the most gorgeous sight of your life. A woman with golden hair hovers by your side, looking down at your still body with all the caring you could have ever dreamed. Your eyes recover bit by bit, revealing details of her image slowly.
“There you are,” she cheers softly, her face spreading in a comforting smile, “we were very worried about you, Genji.” her eyes are blue like the dragon of the South from your father’s story, “You were in pretty bad shape there for a while,” her expression is as soft as the selfless crane, “But, we’ve stabilized you now, though, so no need to worry.”
On her back sits a pair of golden luminescent feathered wings affixed in metal framework.
“My name is Dr. Angela Ziegler, but please, call me Angela.”
You blink at the woman in front of you. Are you dreaming? You must be. Except it’s never been morning in your dreams before.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,”
In the East you call them Tennin. But in the West, they are called,
“Angela.”