Maybe you should have reached out to him when his father was killed, but you were afraid he would snap at you. You knew he was hurting, but you didn’t know him well enough to help him start to heal. He might consider you an intruder. And he didn’t know himself well enough. Genji started going out like before he met you. Came home late, while you were asleep. It hurt to see him behave like this, the way he pulled away from you without a word of explanation. You moved into a guest suite, which got no reaction from your husband.
You blamed yourself when you heard the news. That Hanzo confronted Genji and believed he should have been there to help save his papa’s life. Genji was with you at the time of his papa’s death. You sat on the bed of the guest bedroom, tears landing on your thighs when you heard Hanzo struck Genji down in a rage. Genji probably didn’t help, probably wound his brother up a bit, but still.
That news was followed up by news that made the situation worse: you were pregnant. You immediately decided the Shimada clan was no place to raise a child. Hanzo tried to stop from moving out, once, by summoning you to his office. He didn’t want a child able to control the dragons outside the Shimada clan. You stood your ground.
“I’m leaving. It’s insane that you want me to stay after what happened to my husband.”
“You are staying,” he snarled, quickly losing patience.
“Do not touch me; I will fight you, and the baby will be harmed in the process!” you warned when the clan’s lackeys approached you from behind.
You turned around to stare them down. They glanced at Hanzo for confirmation to subdue you. He waved his lackeys away.
“You don’t need a dragon. You are a dragon.”
You snorted and left the castle. You shook the whole way, expecting to be stopped.
You integrated back into your family. As a new mother, you had no time for awkwardness, anyway. Hanzo started sending you monthly cheques. Whether they were to make up for losing Genji or losing access to the clan’s money, you didn’t know. As far as you were concerned, each cheque arrived soaked with blood. You didn’t want a single Yen. But you had a baby on the way, so you deposited each one until they stopped coming.
You gave birth, naming the baby boy Genji. You didn’t name him after the man you had married. You named him Genji after the potential you saw in the marriage. Your life became your son. You worked the days and spent evenings with him.
“Mommy, why is that man naked?”
You got up and went to the window. Outside stood a man with his arms away from his sides, palms outward. It didn’t matter what he looked like, that was definitely Hanzo Shimada’s tattoo. Between a job and a son, you had no energy for this shit. You groaned.
“He’s trying to show that he’s unarmed,” you told little Genji.
“But he has two arms.”
“Yes, he does. Stay inside, okay, Baby?”
You went out the front door and shut your son inside the house where he couldn’t see Hanzo.
“What are you doing here?” You blinked coldly.
“I have news that will interest you.”
Hanzo told you Genji was alive. Strangely, you were ready to hear him talk. Maybe because you were hoping it was true. You always wondered where the marriage might have gone. Perhaps you and he would get a second chance. That felt like foolishness, but the hope refused to be put out. Hanzo explained what happened on the anniversary of Genji’s death this year. You remembered that night. You vaguely considered having ramen but decided to spend time with your son, instead. Holding him on the sofa and having him read a book to you.
“What did this man say?” you asked Hanzo in the present.
You listened intently, scrutinizing each word. What that cyborg said was true, but something was different about how he said it. When Hanzo finished explaining what happened, you thought of your son. Could you put him in danger just because this man might be his father?
“I’ll go with you,” Hanzo offered.
You shook your head, thinking it was unwise, but you agreed. Hanzo looked sincere. Maybe he actually was. Again, you wanted to believe it.