CYOA 2 – To The Victor Go The Spoils – Chapter 30: Playing Family With Strangers (Patreon)

Last time: Maddox fought a legendary Pokémon and lived to tell the tale. Even more impressive: he evolved!

Warnings/content: short non-consensual auditory voyeurism

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Winston is very helpful in giving Hanzo directions to ‘Zenyatta’s Gym’. It does not seem to be too far from Lumiose City and he had actually thought about visiting it next, so for once he feels like things are going his way when he finally says goodbye to Winston.

It takes a long while; he is loathe to let Hanzo’s team go which he says he finds unendingly fascinating.

Hanzo tries not to look too smug about that.

Because he’s alone on the road for now – he and Lúcio will probably meet up at a later point as the festival he is preparing for has not yet begun – he lets King stretch his legs and enjoys a ride while he does that.

He also lets Maddox out of his Pokéball, thinking he too might want to burn off some excess energy from evolving, but… he quickly falls behind. Even as a Lycanroc he does not look thrilled by the prospect of running. So after a few minutes of Maddox getting slower and slower and the gap between him and King stretching ever wider, Hanzo recalls him with a roll of his eyes and lets it be for now.

Sitting on King’s back and getting accustomed to the movement of him is downright hypnotic. His thoughts begin to wander. To how far the both of them have come since setting out on this journey. He feels much more confident in his own abilities… and his team has become strong almost without him noticing.

It feels so natural and organic that he can’t help the little smile curling the corners of his mouth upwards. In a moment of sappy weakness he leans down and gives King’s neck a brief hug.

Sitting back upright he can see the side-eye his Pokémon throws him, but his ash-y gray fire burns a little brighter – much like he enjoyed the brief moment between them, even though he is reluctant to admit it.

They’re much more alike than Hanzo ever thought.

.oOo.

Traveling alone is much easier and faster, even though Hanzo never has had the feeling that Lúcio had held him back. Still, there is just something about the solitude as they make their way along streets and overgrown paths and toward the edge of a mountain plateau.

It reminds him of how worried he had been when Lúcio had started hanging around. Worried that it would throw a wrench into his ambitious plans of becoming the Champion; that it would slow him down to an absolute crawl to have to be tethered to someone else.

And while his fears have been partly true, he can admit, even if only to himself, that the experience had been a good and necessary one.

He can also say that he enjoys traveling with a companion more than he does being alone. His team is with him, of course, but it is more like taking care of his five children than talking to another adult.

His thoughts drift away from him once more as he starts to become more aware of their surroundings and has to pay attention to the half-rotten signs that begin pointing him first vaguely, then more directly onto the path of Zenyatta’s gym.

Hanzo can’t come around wondering what is up with his brother… but he will find out soon enough, he supposes. The sooner he can get Genji’s head back straight and get him to talk to their father, the sooner Hanzo will be rid of the daily enquiries coming from him.

Sojiro’s thinly veiled worry about his younger son sours Hanzo’s mood quite a bit. He does not think his father would worry about him as much if he were to stop responding for a while. He certainly wouldn’t blow Genji’s phone up about it.

Goes to show that Genji is and always will be father’s favorite.

“Tch,” Hanzo scoffs, startling King who had been apparently off in his own head as they turned onto a small path, following a crudely drawn picture of a temple on one of the barely-visible signs. The foliage is growing wildly and reclaiming much of what little signs of civilization there are.

“We need to pay more attention now,” he mutters toward King, eying the path that they’re now traversing. “I think this is going to go upwards pretty soon.”

King huffs but he does take care about where he places his hoofs as they push onward. Hanzo just can’t wrap his head around the thought that Genji would not only have sought out this gym but also spent time here on his own accord.

Hanzo would have bet real money – and a lot of it – on Genji turning away as soon as the path became more wild and natural. Not because he thinks his brother would have been afraid, but because there is little to no reception where he is right now and Genji does prefer the hustle and bustle of cities much more than anything else.

Like that impromptu party back in Goldenrod had shown.

Hanzo shakes his head to get it clear; the time for retrospective has come to an end as he needs to focus on the path ahead. Just as he thought, the path begins to curl upward against the side of the mountain and is soon much higher than Hanzo would strictly prefer.

King does not seem too concerned with the height, though, bobbing his head in what Hanzo now knows is satisfaction as he walks on sure footing, taking them up higher and higher.

Hanzo’s grip at his neck becomes tighter and tighter as he wishes the new bridle Cole had promised him was already here to give him a semblance of not being one sassy buck away from plummeting to his death.

Luckily they don’t have to make their way up too far before all of a sudden the mountain wall to their left gives way for a truly peculiar sight: a huge plateau with its own forest is stretched out in front of Hanzo and King. He immediately fights a feeling of vertigo as his mind tries to align the sight with the fact that they have been walking up a mountain path to get here.

“Fascinating,” he mutters as he slowly slides off of King’s back. They stand there for a moment, just staring at the small path that appears to be winding through the forest. Hanzo is looking for more signs to show them the way but there is nothing other than a small, friendly looking buddha statue sitting at the foot of one of the trees as if it were just a child taking some rest.

The sight is… calming, for some reason. He can’t say that he is having a ‘bad feeling’ about this forest; not like the one he just left and which had nearly been the end of Maddox.

No… there is some quaint peace radiating off of this place and urging them to move on.

King is the first to do so, huffing and lowering his head close to the ground as he navigates himself carefully onto the small path.

Hanzo follows behind. The sun is warm and friendly whenever it makes its way through the foliage of the forest. The tranquility seeping into his body makes him realize how wired he’d been since starting the journey.

What a wonderful place, tucked away on a mountain plateau.

.oOo.

Hanzo can see glimpses of the temple long before he finally steps out of the forest and sees it in all its glory. It is squat and looks about as old as the little buddha at the beginning of the path… but just like the statue, it too radiates warmth and tranquility.

It is completely at odds with the sound of fighting echoing around the place. The noise bounces off of seemingly every rock and blade of grass, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact location – if it weren’t for the occasional cloud of dust rising from somewhere behind the building.

Hanzo hums thoughtfully and starts to circle around the temple, not surprised in the least to find his brother in a small arena, battling. It feels like only Genji would be able to be tone deaf enough to completely ignore the calming, peaceful atmosphere around in favor of a fight.

In that sense, Hanzo is not surprised at all. What does have his eyebrows lifting with intrigue is the fact that he is witnessing the tailend of Genji’s loss.

Against expectation, Genji doesn’t start whining; instead, there is grim acceptance on his face as he recalls his Pikachu and stares at the Pokéball in his hand for some time before finally tucking it away.

From the other side of the arena, Genji’s opponent approaches and puts his hands on his shoulders once he is close enough. The man is taller than Genji and reed thin, his bald head shining in the sun’s rays.

Hanzo recognizes him from just a few pictures he’s seen of this place’s gym leader: Zenyatta.

As he watches, Zenyatta’s hands move down from Genji’s shoulders to grasp his upper arms and give them a gentle squeeze. The gesture looks oddly intimate.

Hanzo can feel his skin breaking out into goosebumps. He can’t see Genji’s face but he would like to, just to get a better reading on the situation he’s found himself in – yet before he can move, Zenyatta suddenly lifts his gaze and unerringly finds him standing there at the corner of the temple.

He takes his hands slowly off Genji and folds them instead in front of his stomach, an enigmatic little smile on his lips as he bends at the waist in greeting.

Hanzo, on pure instinct, reciprocates the gesture.

By the time he is upright again, Genji has turned around and is staring at him with a weird expression on his face. All in all he looks so… different and unfamiliar in that moment that Hanzo can barely recognize him.

He does not call out to Hanzo in greeting. Instead, it is Zenyatta who speaks first as he makes his way over to his new guest: “You must be Hanzo. The resemblance is quite striking.”

Hanzo’s gaze immediately flicks to Genji and he can see that they share a moment of childish resistance against the assumption before Hanzo pushes it down and Genji, surprisingly enough, lets it go as well, following behind Zenyatta at a bit more of a distance.

“I suppose that is true. Good morning.” Hanzo startles when instead of offering him a hand to shake, Zenyatta suddenly unfolds his arms and instead curls them about his person to pull him into a short but firm hug. After all the… things… Hanzo has done in the past few months, it occurs to him that being hugged had not been one of them and he immediately feels awkward about it despite the fact that it does feel quite comforting.

In the short moment that the touch lasts, he can’t help but notice Genji’s face souring immediately, his gaze becoming quite cold indeed before smoothing out into a neutral mask once more when Zenyatta lets go of him once more, albeit holding him at his elbows.

“I consider us brothers,” Zenyatta declares with such disarming charm that Hanzo can’t find it in himself to rebuff the familiarity. “And I am glad that you found your way here. Genji has said that you might be coming to visit us and I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival. Your swiftness speaks of your worry for your kin.”

“Or he just wants to have father off his back,” Genji mutters. Hanzo hates that he is so spot-on with his assessment.

Feeling warmth starting to creep up from his chest and finding himself wanting to deny the claim that he ever felt anything but annoyed contempt for his little brother, Zenyatta continues smoothly before Hanzo can make a fool of himself and inadvertently confirm Genji’s thoughts.

Turning to peer at Genji while still holding on to Hanzo’s elbows, Zenyatta asks: “Will you go and prepare a meal for all of us?”

Genji’s face flinches, mouth turning down and gaze flicking between the both of them with such distrust that Hanzo immediately wonders what is going on inside his head. Eventually he nods and turns around with stiff movements to stalk from the arena and inside the temple, leaving Zenyatta and Hanzo alone.

Zenyatta does not appear to be bothered by Genji’s bad manners but Hanzo still finds himself needing to apologize for them anyway.

“I am sorry. As I am sure my brother will have made clear, our relationship is a little… rocky and his manners are shoddy at the best of times.”

Zenyatta’s eyes squint as the small smile he’s had on widens. Hanzo finds that it is very difficult to not like this man. The calm he practically oozes puts him at ease despite everything.

“Genji has only spoken in the highest tones of you.”

Hanzo, taken aback, immediately blurts out: “You lie.”

He flushes, muttering an apology while Zenyatta laughs outright at him.

“I did lie. But you two are a lot more alike than you might think.”

Taking the gentle rebuttal on the chin, Hanzo just quietly looks about the place. Zenyatta has let go of his elbows, allowing him to turn as he takes in what he can see around them.

“Genji has been here the whole time?”

“For a few weeks, yes. I take it that you and your father have been quite worried about him… I am sorry for that. But it is true that the reception on this plateau is quite unreliable at the best of times.”

Hanzo nods. He can believe that immediately. It seems just so far away from any kind of civilization… and anything that Genji would feel comfortable with spending time longer than absolutely necessary.

The pieces just don’t fit together in his head.

Maybe Zenyatta can see the gears turning because he turns and inclines his head toward the forest surrounding the temple and its small, ancient-looking arena.

“Would you like to take a small walk before we eat?”

Hanzo nods slowly. “Maybe that is a good idea,” he murmurs as he grasps King’s Pokéball to call him back. His hand is stayed by Zenyatta who puts two fingers on his wrist.

“You can leave your friend roaming about. If you wish, you can let the rest of your team have a breather as well. I assure you that this plateau and everyone that lives on it are very peaceful. Your friends will come to no harm.”

Hanzo nods. It is a good idea, actually. They haven’t had time to properly stretch their legs for a while.

Zenyatta stands back to watch him releasing them all; Maddox in his new ferocious looking form who grins at them from ear to ear and then just sits down and waits; Goomy who cowers down at first as if awaiting an attack before slowly unfurling to his impressive Alpha size; Kikuri who does not spare either of the humans a glance and sits down on Goomy, riding him as a steed and making him vanish with her in the forest to do God-Knows-What, and Zeus who stretches out to his impressive length due to him not having been outside of his ball for quite a while.

“What wonderful friends you have,” Zenyatta comments mildly.

Hanzo waits for him to say something about King being a shiny or Goomy’s extraordinary size, but he does not, instead turning toward the forest and looking over his shoulder at Hanzo expectantly.

Hanzo feels a curious calm permeating him. It seems to downright radiate off of Zenyatta who seems to be the most normal gym leader yet. After all the craziness, meeting all these different, larger-than-life personalities, stepping next to this man to take a little walk is like balm on Hanzo’s soul.

After a few steps he can feel a strong gust of wind behind him and a rather odd scraping sound. He and Zenyatta turn just in time to watch Zeus as he curls himself into a ring, then rearing his head up into the sky while the fins on the sides of his head flutter wildly.

“Oh,” Zenyatta says softly. Hanzo suspects he might have never seen a Gyarados take flight. He certainly hasn’t – and he is the owner of one.

But there is Zeus, pushing his body up into the air… somehow. He has no idea how it works, at the end of the day, or how Zeus knows how to do it. Maybe it has something to do with instinct; but before long the huge snake has hoisted himself into the air and moves about in lazy circles.

The sight reminds Hanzo of the kites that are hung up all over Hanamura around Children’s day.

“How wonderful,” Zenyatta says with such sincerity that Hanzo can’t help but nod, his chest feeling… full.

He had anticipated this outing to be a source of unending headaches since it has to do with Genji – but he is pleasantly surprised that that might not be the case at all.

.oOo.

“Genji has been working hard on himself since coming here. I am very proud of him and his progress.”

Hanzo listens to Zenyatta as they slowly stroll through the small forest. It is warm and comfortable and what glimpses he can see of Pokémon, they are always looking relaxed and happy. There is a small herd of Mankey that are following them above, one of them having offered Zenyatta some kind of fruit before quickly hopping away again.

“He has been working on… himself?” Hanzo asks once he’s mulled the words over. He doesn’t really think Genji is self-reflecting enough to work on anything, really. Especially in such a comparatively short amount of time.

“Mhhh yes. He’s been in quite a bit of distress when coming here. I don’t think he himself even knew.”

Hanzo frowns as he lowers his gaze toward the forest ground. “In distress? Did something happen?”

He can’t help the pang of worry in his chest. As much as Genji annoys him, he still is his little brother… and he suspects that Sojiro would blame him for anything that might happen to his golden child.

Zenyatta does not answer immediately. Hanzo peers in his face to try and figure out what he might be thinking but his expression is almost impossible to parse. He certainly is not prepared for the next words coming candidly out of the thin man’s mouth: “You have happened, Hanzo.”

“Excuse me?” Hanzo hisses a bit sharper than he intended to. He clears his throat and folds his hands behind his back, forcing himself to calm down. He’s spent entirely too much time with Cassidy, it feels like. His emotions are far too close to the surface, tumbling off his tongue unbidden.

Zenyatta does not look offended, though; if anything, he seems amused as he comments with a good natured chuckle: “Ah… you are brothers after all. I can see the resemblance, yes.”

Hanzo’s mouth turns downward. He can’t help that it feels more like an insult than anything else to be compared to his brother.

“I have to apologize. I just find it difficult to understand how his existential crisis is my fault as well, and having to hear that from someone who is a stranger, no less.”

Zenyatta hums soft and thoughtful. “I did not say it is your fault. Though I suppose… maybe in a way it is.” Here, Zenyatta sounds decidedly amused. Hanzo can’t share the levity, however, pressing his lips together tightly and staying quiet.

“From what I have learned of Genji is that he is a very ambitious young man and while his words to describe you and the relationship between the two of you have been rather… colorful,” he pauses as Hanzo allows himself to softly scoff, then continues easily: “It was clear that he feels a great bit of respect for his older brother. Winning against you seems to have been a large notch on his belt and now that he’s lost, everything is crumbling apart.”

Hanzo does not reply, feeling uncomfortable with such a subject; not only discussing his little playboy brother’s feelings but with a stranger to boot. He looks around, the magic of the forest on the plateau having somewhat dulled all of a sudden.

“I have to be honest. I… do not know what you are trying to tell me. Am I supposed to lose to him on purpose so he will feel better?”

Zenyatta chuckles but does not reply. They keep moving through the forest for a while longer, the atmosphere slowly but surely relaxing once more. When Hanzo feels the muscles around his neck starting to loosen up, Zenyatta speaks up again, though on a wholly different topic.

“You will want to fight me, yes? Will you stay a couple days? I do enjoy company and it has been a long time since there has been more than one person at a time staying with me in the temple.”

Hanzo peers at Zenyatta from the side. The man’s face is still tranquil, his eyes closed in an almost cattish smile as he moves next to him without the need to see his surroundings, it appears. Like Zenyatta knows every tree, every root, ever leaf on this plateau. It makes him appear much older than he probably is, though Hanzo has difficulties putting an estimate on him either way.

Still, what he has been able to hear lurking in Zenyatta’s voice just now…

“I suppose it can get quite lonely,” he murmurs, his hand searching and finding King’s neck without much of a conscious thought for it. King has been at his side the whole time, quietly keeping abreast with the both of them.

Gone are the days that his baby Ponyta ran and bucked through the forest, peering at everything and getting scared by Caterpie, it seems. He feels like a very old man in that instant.

“I will stay for a little bit. But not for too long – I have a journey that I want to get back on.”

.oOo.

Even dinners with their father had never seemed as tense as the one they have in that little temple on the plateau.

Hanzo tries to ignore the way Genji stares daggers at him, but it is pretty much impossible. The animosity radiating off of him is almost palpable. At one point he feels like he can see Zenyatta reaching over and squeezing his brother’s leg beneath the low table they’re kneeling at, but that… can’t be true.

He must be more tired than he thought.

“I am glad that you accepted my invitation, Hanzo,” Zenyatta says, ostensibly to break the tense silence that had settled over the room once Genji saw that Hanzo stepped in behind the monk.

Hanzo clears his throat and lowers his head in a small bow. “I thank you for the invitation. I don’t want to strain your hospitality for too long, though-”

“Oh, good,” Genji mutters sharply, pushing the little parcels wrapped in leafs around on his plate and glaring at them. He’s never been too much of a moody teenager – more a slutty one – but it seems to have changed on the very tailend of his teen years.

Hanzo frowns at him, a retort lying on his tongue… he swallows it down before he can give in to the urge. It would just make the whole dinner devolve into chaos. He smiles thinly at Zenyatta who serenely smiles back, apparently also in the mood to just pretend the obvious bad energies radiating off of Genji.

The sooner Hanzo leaves this place again, the better. He’s seen that Genji is… well… healthy, in the very least, so all he needs to do is get that badge and be on his way – though realistically he knows that his father will not be appeased unless he can get his will, which apparently involves Genji talking to him.

After dinner, which is a tense affair from start to finish, despite Zenyatta’s best attempts at lightening the mood, Hanzo is guided to his room, which happens to be right next to Zenyatta’s.

Instead of doors, there are simply colorful curtains hanging in the doorways and somewhat giving a bit of privacy. Despite everything, he does not expect Genji to come for him in his sleep and strangle him or anything, so the living arrangements are fine with Hanzo.

That is… until he hears the moaning and the rhythmic, harsh sound of skin slapping against skin in the other room.

His eyes fly open, heat rushing through his body when he hears his brother’s voice hissing something angry as he seems to grunt fuck his bad mood out into…

Hanzo is up and quickly walking out of his room and the temple on stiff legs, cheeks burning hot.

Well that would at least explain why Genji is still in this place? He supposes? He lets the cool night air hit his heated skin, then rubs his hands over his face and just groans into his palms. He’s already done with the whole situation.

The rustle of leafs nearby makes him peer up to see a weirdly shaped shadow approaching from between the trees. His heart stops for a beat, then continues in a much faster tattoo against his ribs.

He stands perfectly still safe for his arm slowly moving toward the pokéballs that are not at his hip. He’s just in a pair of pyjamas and all his Pokémon are currently playing somewhere on the plateau.

The oddly shaped shadow slowly comes closer. Hanzo takes a halting step backwards. He tries to figure out what kind of Pokémon it is but nothing comes to mind. He finds himself wondering if he should just keep put where he is or retreat back into the temple that is filled with the sounds of his brother and the monk fucking.

Stuck between a rock and a goddamn hard place.

Finally, the shape emerges far enough from the trees that the cool moon light can illuminate it.

What he sees has him do a double take, mouth opening, then closing again without a sound emerging.

It is a very pissed off looking Kikuri – sitting where she had been when riding out into the forest hours earlier… only that now his Goomy was a jaw-droppingly big Sliggoo.

“What… happened?” he asks weakly, already knowing that he’ll probably never find out.

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Next time: Will Hanzo and Genji talk it out or will he leave the plateau and never look back?