I will admit that this little sketch got out of hand. But stick with me. Imagine punk hanzo (who low key works as a hitman) attempting to take care of his kid brother in a tiny shitty apartment while trying to keep them both hidden from the clan.
Enjoy and consider commissioning
Y’all mind if I-Hanzo encountered an…oddity one day, while he was at work. Some strange man dressed as a cowboy, for goodness’ sake! They were after the same target, and ended up getting competitive over who got the final hit. It turned somewhat into banter, though was still “A great irritation”, according to Hanzo.
It happened a few more times. Hanzo’s frustration grew with each encounter, and he eventually chose to confront the man after they killed yet another target. Demanding why he insists on getting in the way and causing trouble.
Infuriatingly, the stranger only tips his hat with that charming grin of his. “Well darlin’,” he starts, “yer just so pretty, I couldn’t keep myself away.”
Hanzo brushes this statement off of course, muttering “ridiculous” and looking away. He repeats his question more forcefully, crossing his arms with a glare. The cowboy – McCree, as he’d introduced himself earlier – shrugs and scratches the back of his head, not seeming to really be fazed by the cross look being offered.
“Well, we’re both all on our own, ain’t we? Seems like we could both use a helpin’ hand now and then, Mister Shimada.” A jolt runs through Hanzo at that, and his head snaps around so he can stare down the cowboy properly.
“How did you learn that?” Seeming to realize the tension he caused, Jesse raises his hands appeasingly, eyebrows lifting a bit.
“Easy now, I ain’t gonna tell nobody. It wasn’t so hard to figure out, once you said yer name was ‘Hanzo’.” A disappointed click of the tongue slipped from the archer, and he turned his back slightly.
“I do not need your help, cowman. Leave me be.” And with that, he left.
But McCree just had to keep showing up. And as irritating as it could be…well, it slowly became a normality. A comfort, almost. Though, Hanzo would never admit to it. Having someone at his side, allowing him to reserve a bit of energy so he didn’t have to watch everywhere. It was…pleasant.
One day however, things went slightly awry. A misstep, perhaps. Not a big one, but certainly enough to end in Jesse reeling back with a cry and a curse as his revolver dropped to the ground. Both he and Hanzo darted back into cover as gunfire roared, eyes darting down to the bleeding wounds in the cowboy’s arm.
“Wait here, gunslinger. I will deal with this.” The firm, calm tone Hanzo used was tainted, Jesse could tell. There was a bit more of a snarl in his expression, a bit of a tighter grip on his bow. The signs of a man out for blood.
It was over quickly; The archer had clamored up the side of the building like a squirrel, reaching the rafters and picking off their target’s body guards with perfect precision. The were in a bit of a contained area, so a scatter arrow as a distraction and his usual arrows to finish the job was a sound method.
Jesse was right where Hanzo had left him, serape now wrapped around his arm and held in place with an iron grip… No pun intended.
It was clear that he required medical assistance, however. Jesse was obviously right handed, and that metal arm of his didn’t look very dexterous. He’d have a good deal of trouble removing any of the bullets from his arm, or binding the wounds…
“Get up.” McCree’s eyebrow lifted at the commanding tone, though he didn’t argue and simply rose to his feet. Hanzo was quick to scoop up his companion’s gun, turning the safety on and depositing it in his holster.
With a simple, blunt order to ‘follow’, Shimada strode out of the warehouse. Any questions about where they were going were firmly answered with “somewhere safe”, no elaboration given.
In time, they entered a much more peaceful, normal looking neighborhood. Hanzo seemed to relax somewhat once they were well within the area, shoulders lowering and glances to check the area lessening.
Just as they drew up to a house’s door, he turned abruptly to Jesse with a hard gaze, lifting a hand and pointing to his arm. “You were bit by a dog. Do not mention any of what we usually do.”
Before questions could be asked, the door abruptly swung open and a young child burst into view with a wide grin. His delighted cry of “Hanzo!” rang through the air, and the man in question’s attitude seemed to do a complete 180.
He gained a warm smile and held his arms open as the child barreled into him, returning the hug with what seemed to be a much more gentle grip than what was offered.
“Hello, Genji… I see the house is not in flames.” A small laugh bubbled up from the child as he drew back, shaking his head. Jesse just stared at the pair, confused A) by the completely new side of Hanzo he was witnessing, and B)…well, they were both speaking in Japanese, and he was completely lost as to what was being said.
“I took good care of it, just like you said! I made a fort in the living room and everything!” Genji gripped his brother’s hand firmly, tugging on it and pointing back into the house. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet, clearly eager to show off his architectural accomplishment.
“Very good! I’ll be sure to have a look soon. But for now, we have a guest who needs some help.” Hanzo stepped to the side with that, gesturing towards Jesse and watching as the child’s face lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Cowboy!” Jesse blinked a bit at the sudden English, watching and a bit dumbfounded as Genji all but bounced closer. “You’re a real cowboy??” He glanced up to Hanzo uncertainly, catching the very, very intent stare being sent his way.
Almost instantly, a wide grin crossed his face, and he spared his good hand for a moment to tip his hat as he knelt down to the kid’s level. Really, he didn’t need to be asked twice. It was always so endearing to meet children who latched onto his appearance the way Genji was now.
“I surely am. Jesse McCree, at yer service.” It almost looked like the child was going to implode and go super nova. The gunslinger could practically see the stars in his eyes, and a faint chuckle rose up.
“That’s so cool! Do you have a horse? Have you ever been in a duel?” Genji lifted a finger gun from his hip for emphasis, pretending to fire it a few times in rapid succession.
“I ain’t ever been in an old-fashioned duel, but I had a horse named Buttermilk once. Sweet ol’ gal. Got on with her real well, ‘til she had to move on out to the pasture.”
It looked as if Genji had more questions, but Hanzo stepped forward and placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. Quick bits of Japanese passed between them before, with a quick bow sent to Jesse, the kid went scampering off into the house.
Jesse couldn’t wipe the fond smile off of his face as he stood again, meeting Hanzo’s eyes with a sparkle in his own. “Now there’s a darn sweet kid. He your brother?”
“Yes. He is very fond of old western movies, as you could probably see.” A nod and agreeing hum rung from McCree. He could definitely tell… “Come in. We need to attend to your arm.” The words snapped Jesse from his thoughts, and he followed Hanzo into the house quickly.
It was a neat, cozy little place. Certainly better than where Jesse was staying, and he examined the neatly painted walls and orderly rooms as they tread down one hall.
“You got a nice place here.” The quiet comment drew a momentary glance from Hanzo, and he nodded slightly as they slipped into the bathroom. A gesture and order to sit on the edge of the bathtub was followed through, and McCree watched as the archer began quickly rummaging through cupboards.
“You can imagine that I would like to keep its location quiet.” The words were answered with a guffaw, and Jesse waved a hand.
“C’mon, Hanzo. I ain’t gonna tell anybody ‘bout yer place. I don’t do that to my friends.” The last word drew a long pause from Hanzo, and he stood still as they stared at one another.
After a few long seconds that dragged on, he seemed to snap out of it however, and simply nodded. “Thank you. We have already been forced to move several times in the past. I would like to avoid that as much as possible for Genji’s sake.”
Jesse offered an understanding nod. He would hardly just give away Hanzo’s home to begin with, much less now that there was a kid involved. Really, it was no wonder why the archer had been talking about treating the wounds as a dog bite. If McCree was in the same position, he wouldn’t want his little brother knowing about his job, either.
Tending to the bullets in his arm was a painful but thankfully quick ordeal. Only a couple had hit him, and they were removed quickly. Hanzo seemed to have practice tending to bullet wounds, and his hands were quick and steady in all that they did.
Fairly soon, Jesse’s right arm was free of metal and wrapped up in bandages. He rotated it slowly, sighing in relief. That really had saved him probably an hour of difficult work, if not more.
“Thanks, Han. Really appreciated.” Tipping his hat slightly, McCree offered as genuine a smile as he could muster.
“You are welcome. Feel free to shower or help yourself to the kitchen. I will be with Genji in the living room.” With a bow of his head, Hanzo scooped up the bloodstained serape and strode out, leaving Jesse to his own devices.
Now, he certainly wasn’t one to turn down kindness when it was offered. And a shower was a mighty fine idea after a day of hard work. So he went about it, quick so he didn’t waste water, but allowing himself a few moments now and then to just bask in the warm stream.
Not much later found McCree clean, fully dressed and in the kitchen. A part of him felt bad for taking when Hanzo had to support his brother, but it seemed that Shimada had things under control, and he probably wouldn’t have made the offer if he couldn’t afford it.
Seeing a full fridge only encouraged Jesse.
So a scavenger hunt for a plate and a quick, thrown together sandwich later found the cowboy full and carefully cleaning up after himself. It was fairly peaceful, when he thought about it. Nice and quiet, nothing to worry about…
Except…it shouldn’t be that quiet. Hanzo had said he was going to be spending time with Genji, and there was no way that little ball of energy could be this quiet, right?
With a frown and a dissatisfied hum, Jesse began to creep towards the living room on quiet feet. Stealth admittedly wasn’t his forte, but he could be fairly good at sneaking around when he needed to.
Peeking in, McCree found that the room seemed to be empty. The couch and corners next to it were buried under blankets and pillows, undoubtedly the ‘fort’ that Genji had mentioned earlier. But there were no signs of the Shimadas. Not a peep, not a shadow.
Frowning, he began creeping into the room with quick glances around. Something felt off. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rising, as though someone was watching him…
Just as he began turning around to check over his shoulder, a loud cry rang out and something flew towards him. Jesse just had enough time to lose a bark of surprise before he was tumbling to the ground under the…admittedly rather underwhelming weight of something.
“I WIN!” It was the triumphant shout of a child that stayed his nerves. Genji was currently straddling his back, smiling wide with a cocky glint in his eyes. His previously smoothed-back hair was now in disarray, falling around his eyes like a mop. Not that he cared, as he just glowed in the triumph of giving a poor old cowboy a heart attack.
“Genji, remember to honor the fallen.” Hanzo’s deep voice drifted out from seemingly nowhere, and Jesse needed a moment to notice the archer peeking out from within the blanket fort.
Suddenly, the weight ‘pinning’ McCree to the ground lifted, and the kid moved around to stand in front of his conquest. With a dramatic bow, he dipped his head, breath puffing up to push hair out of his eyes before he began loudly chanting.
“You were an honorable foe, Jesse McCree!” Aw, now that was just darn sweet. A grin tugged a the corners of Jesse’s mouth, and he was quick to put on the theatrics.
With a dramatic groan, he allowed himself to fully collapse onto the floor, placing a hand against his forehead. “Augh, is this how it ends? Struck down by the fearsome Genji Shimada?” A giggle from the child only encouraged him, and he clutched a hand to his chest.
“No…it can’t be… Bluugh…” Just for the hell of it, he stuck out his tongue and shut his eyes, fighting back a smile as Genji cheered loudly. Really, it was a lot like playing with Fareeha. They both had the same tendency for sneak attacks and blood lust.
“Very good, Genji. It seems you have defeated a powerful opponent.” Hanzo’s praise seemed to cause his brother to start bouncing, judging on the thumping next to Jesse’s head. He slit one eye open, watching happily as the kid did something of a victory dance.
Just for a moment, he and Hanzo locked eyes. The faintest of nods came from the older Shimada, and McCree sat up slowly with a chuckle. Yup, precious kid.
Ahhhh!! Everyone read this! It is so adorable! I thought this was gonna be a one off sketch but the overwhelming positivity and this really kickass fic makes me really want to continue
Published
theclumsiestninja 