Overwatch high (gency)

Thirty five

All eyes on him...

The silence in the room made everything even worse...

He could feel the presence of the elders in the room... even though the blindfold prevented him from seeing them.
His father had to be in the room as well...
this was happening... this was all actually happening.
With force, he was forced down onto his knees, and some few seconds later, his blindfold was removed.
The floor underneath his was the first thing he saw... and he knew he was expected to face them. But he was scared to...
to face the fears of his past... his terrors.. his nightmares..
But the worst part was his father... he had not seen him since the day before the night everything changed.. his heart started beating faster as he couldn't look down like this any longer. He should face them... all of them.
After all.. this was the end. Why not die like himself, proud to be different from them... proud to be himself...
Yes... he didn't want to die as a weakling.. he wanted to die real.

He slowly took a deep breath, calmed his nerves and slowly lifted his head. Face forward, calm breathing, emotionless expression. And there they were... all of them.
Everyone facing him. Cold expressions looking back. Old faces of people he despised as a child, faces of those who ruined his life. His childhood... his mother.
All of them meaning nothing to him.
He slowly tilted his face, quietly looking over at his father, who in return looked back. This was the man that had chosen to give him up... the man who never was proud of him ever... all he had seen was a child different from his perfect firstborn.
He wanted to say something, but something inside of him made him not...

" Finally, the rebel has returned to his rightful home." Among the elders, the man he recognized as the most respected among them, raised from his seat. His long gray hair was gathered in a gentle ponytail, and his robes were made out of old, but well made materials. What it was, Genji didn't know, but it made him look important.
" welcome home, lost lamb." The man spoke and now turns towards the others.
" today, we, the Shimada clan are going to come to an end with a lose case that should have been taken care of long ago." The elder man spoke and then turns to face Genji again. His face, cold and full of despite for him...
He had heard this speech before. Throughout all the years, Genji had been a loose end that had only been in their way from the moment they found out he wasn't interested in being like them... being like Hanzo.
And from that day, he had been treated differently, spoken ill of and looked down upon.
After his mother had passed away, this place had no longer felt like home to him... and sometimes... he wonderd if hanzo felt the same? Their mother had loved them equally, and through her, they once used to treat each other the way good brothers did. He didn't remember much, but he did remember the times when he and Hanzo used to play freely together, despite their age gap...

This room brought back so many memories... both good ones and bad...
As the endear man kept on holding his speech... Genji couldn't resist the urge to slowly look over at this father...
he hadn't seen him for so long... even when he did live here at the castle, he almost never saw him around...
Genji shyly tilted his head a tiny bit, nervously allowing himself to look at the man he once called his father.
And there he was... a little bit older than he remembered.. but his face, just as calm as it used to be... but he noticed something different about him... and just as that ran through his mind, Genji saw what he never would have thought he would ever see...
Both his father and Hanzo were alike when it came to feelings and expressing them... never show anything, and even now, he was trying so hard to hold himself together, Genji noticed the tear that quietly rolled down his father's cheek.
A wave of shock, and confusion ran through him as this was a first time. Genji also looked throughout the crowd of the elders, and by the look of them, no one noticed.
Did his father... really care...?
No way... no. He didn't believe it. After everything, this couldn't be his father. He had never cared. He had always prioritized Hanzo above him, and after his mother's death, he left him to cry alone... this man was no longer his father...
" Genji"
The mention of his name snapped him back to reality and he quietly looked back over at the elder who now pointed at him. Genji stared at him, not saying anything.
" as the representative of the elders, We, the Shimada clan, will once again put this judgment upon you, and demand for your blood, and that to be given to us by the hands of the future leader of this clan."
He knew this would happen... but hearing this made his whole body stiffen in terror. Just the realization of his upcoming death scared the hell out of him, and tons of flashbacks returned to him.
He wanted to scream, to yell at them, hurt them... but everything that came out of him was tears... and there was no use in holding them back...

Akande slowly backed out of the meeting room as the news had been revealed. He was shocked. He almost couldn't even believe it... was this for real..? Was the old man serious? Was Genji to be executed!? Was his fellow... classmate going to actually die!?
As he backed off, he finally allowed himself to gasp for air as he hadn't dared to do it inside with the others. He couldn't show any weakness... he had to stay calm and strong. He must... if not, then how in the world could he be worthy of becoming the next leader of Talon?
But still... this wasn't awesome... was this going to become his future?

As he caught his breath after some few minutes, someone walks out of the meeting room, seeming almost angry. Akande recognized him right away... Hanzo.. but by the look of him... he wasn't happy... in fact, he seemed quite upset..
Hanzo didn't badger offer him a glance as he walked past Akande and away from the whole meeting.
He was indeed angry and upset... but the worst part is... this has to be done by him. Hadn't last time been enough for them? It sure had been enough for him, in fact, he would rather not be involved with any of this!
Angrily, he slams his fist into the close by wall, not caring if it hurt a lot. How could the elders have more power than him!? How could his father be so helpless in this matter!? If this was forced upon him, then this was the work of the elders! How in the world do they have more power than them!? His father should be the absolute leader! Not a bunch of old people!

But he had to face the truth... he honestly didn't want to lose his brother... again.