Heroes Never Die

The moment you find the courage to give up your life for someone.

Would be the moment you understand true love.

- Kenshin Himura

~ o ~

"Angela! Behind you!"

Mercy immediately turned around and just barely managed to roll behind a concrete column before an unrelenting hail of gunfire rained down upon her. The sound of bullets meeting metal followed for several seconds until the gunfire ceased. She peeked out from behind the column to see that Genji had unsheathed his short blade and deflected each and every one of the bullets. He turned back to her for a moment.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded slowly as the ninja turned back to face their enemies.

"These terrorists are ruthless, far more than the enemies we have faced in the past," he said.
"Agreed, and we do not have everyone at our side to back us up," she replied.

Genji nodded as he turned back to face the terrorists.

"We cannot allow these criminals to get past us, we must hold them off here and now," he said.

Mercy shook her head.

"We should retreat and regroup with the others Genji, we cannot fight against these numbers," she replied.
"If we leave, they will reach the town and take more hostages, I will not allow that to happen."

The cyborg reached for his katana with his free hand as he readied his shuriken.

"Call for aid, I shall keep them busy," he said

Before she could say another word, he sprinted off. She cursed under her breath as she pressed her finger to her earpiece.

"Jack, do you read me?" she asked.
"Loud and clear Angela, what's going on?" he asked.

She hesitated to speak, but she knew that even Genji couldn't keep such overwhelming numbers at bay for long.

"Genji and I got separated from the others, we need assistance in holding the terrorists back at point Gamma," she explained.
"I'm nowhere near there Angela, but Lena and I will get there as soon as we can," replied the commander.

Mercy sighed softly in relief.

"Thank you Jack, we'll do our best to keep them away from the town," she said.
"Be careful Angela; I don't want a single agent dying today,"

The call cut off as Mercy picked up her staff. After ensuring that her suit had recovered from the previous battle, she used her PDA to find Genji's position. Just as she thought, he had run a good distance ahead and judging from the radar, he was zipping from side to side, evidently taking down enemy soldiers in his wake. She smiled as she began to make her way towards him.

~ o ~

"There are so many of them. It will be difficult to keep them at bay until help arrives...but I must protect Angela; we cannot win this war without her."

I immediately sensed a presence behind me as I leaped into the air, flinging shuriken at my attackers. They connected with both of them, dropping them to the floor in an instant. I took a deep breath before making my way back outside.

"...This is tiring, but I must persevere until the rest of Overwatch can respond."

I placed my hand on my short blade and cautiously made my way towards the outskirts. I managed to take out a great deal of the terrorists, but their numbers were seemingly endless. With every man I slew, four more took his place. I didn't like taking lives, but I knew it was a necessary evil in order to bring this war to an end. Perhaps Master Zenyatta's vision of the future is still possible...but it is certainly not in the foreseeable one.

"Genji? Can you hear me?"

I sighed in relief at the comforting voice.

"I'm here Angela, where are you?" I asked.
"On my way to your position, are you hurt at all?"

I looked down at my body to see that it was slightly damaged, mostly from how hard I was pushing myself since the battle started several hours ago. In addition, I was shot several times, which wore down my armor and one particular bullet managed to strike a point where my flesh was still intact. I didn't feel like it slowed me down or affected me, so I ignored it for the most part.

"I'm alright, just a little exhausted," I replied.

I didn't want to worry her; she had enough on her mind as it was.

"Wait for-"

A very loud gunshot filled my earpiece and I felt my heart skip a beat. A deep and powerful fear coursed through my body.

"Angela! Angela! Are you alright?!" I screamed.

It took three yearlong seconds for her to respond.

"I...I'm hit,"

My fist immediately clenched as I brought my scanning systems online. After determining where she was, I broke off into a sprint.

"Stay there Angela, I'm on my way," I urged.
"...Genji, don-"

A large amount of static filled my ears as I cut it off.

"They must've set up a jammer, I will have to deal with that once I get to her,"

I leaped from building to building for several minutes, closing the distance as quickly as I could until finally, I found her. Using my thermal vision, I saw that there were five men inside of a building. To the far right, was Angela...who was hiding behind a counter, her left arm covering her right. I felt rage curse through me as I placed my hand on my katana.

"You will not take her from me...I will not let anything happen to her if it is within my power!"

~ o ~

I couldn't believe that I fell for that trap. I should've known that moving through the open area would only invite sniper fire. Though I wasn't hit anywhere vital, my right arm was of no use to me and because I didn't have anywhere to take cover safely, I couldn't tend to my wound with my staff. I peeked over the counter to see the five terrorists who had chased me into here since I got shot.

"WHERE IS THAT MEDIC! SHE MUST DIE!" shouted one of them.

I held my breath, doing my best to keep my location a secret from them.

"Once she falls, they will have no way to tend to their wounded, that is when we will strike," said another.
"Where is the cyborg that accompanied her here?" asked the third.

The tallest one, which I presumed to be the leader of their squad then stepped forward, his eyes now scanning the room for any sign of me.

"The ninja will likely be here soon; I have no doubt that he has a way to track the medic, but he won't be able to do anything if we kill her first," he said.

He then turned to his three subordinates.

"Start throwing grenades," he instructed.

"Oh no..."

If I tried to fly away, they would simply shoot me out of the sky because my suit didn't have the charge necessary for high speed travel. If I hid here, it would only be a matter of time until they find me, whether it be by eye or by explosion. I took a deep breath before picking up my pistol.

"There's nowhere to hide!" shouted the terrorists.

I leaned over the counter and fired at them, managing to hit two of them. However, my pistol wasn't designed to take down people in an instant and the shots only injured them as they scrambled for cover.

"LOB A GRENADE OVER THAT COUNTER!"

The moment one of them made a move to throw, I opened fire again. This time, I managed to hit him twice in the head, which caused him to fall lifelessly to the ground. The leader of the squad cursed loudly before aiming his rifle at the counter. Much to my horror, there was an underbarrel grenade launcher attached to it.

"Time to die!" he shouted.

Feeling defeated, I took cover again even though I knew there was no way I'd be able to escape the explosion. However, the moment I heard the grenade pop out of the barrel, glass shattered and I head the sound of loud footsteps.

"Hajime!"

I heard the sound of metal clanging against something and the next thing I knew, the explosion sent shrapnel flying. However...what happened next, was something that shook me to my core. I saw Genji...fly through the air and through the wall in front of me. I turned back to see that the explosion had indeed taken out the terrorists, but the force of it was so great that it didn't matter that he reflected the grenade. Considering that the wall was solid concrete, there was no way Genji was alright. I jumped to my feet, not caring that I left my pistol on the floor with my staff in hand. I flew to him, not caring that my wings illuminated the evening air as I looked at his mangled body.

It...was horrifying. Much of the circuitry was heavily damaged with visible bolts of electricity sparking from exposed chinks in his armor. His mask was black with soot and he dropped his short blade. I had seen many grave injuries in my lifetime...but this was by far the most terrifying one. I immediately raised my staff, but Genji shook his head.

"...Tend to yourself first Angela..." he begged.

Even though he was likely in agonizing pain, he was still thinking of me. I listened to him, thinking that I could be of much more assistance with both my hands. The yellow light illuminated the alleyway and soon, my arm regained its full use with the bullet falling harmlessly out of where it once was. I then immediately turned to Genji, who was not moving at all.

"Genji! Can you hear me!" I screamed.

He didn't respond. I re-engaged my staff in a desperate attempt to repair the damage...but I knew that the effects were limited because the stream only really worked well on flesh. In order to survive, he would need Winston or Torbjorn's help. I held the staff's healing stream for a solid two minutes, but Genji still did not respond. I dropped the staff, knowing that it repaired all it could on the surface before lifting his head into my lap.

"Genji...please...speak to me," I pleaded.

The green lights on his suit soon returned to life, but it was nowhere near as radiant as they usually were.

"Lassen sie die maske." I said.

True to my orders, the mask mechanism released itself to reveal his face, which was bloody with his eyes closed. I gasped loudly, feeling my heart rate triple as an ice cold shiver went down my spine. He slowly opened his eyes, before coughing...and spraying blood onto his chest. I immediately reached for my staff again, but he shook his head.

"...It has done all it can for me Angela..." he croaked.

I shook my head, realizing what he just said.

"No...I can-"

I felt his hand hold onto mine, weakly.

"...Angela...you've done everything you can for me..." he continued.

I shook my head vigorously as I began to examine his face. There were several cuts on it and though my staff had repaired a lot of the damage, he evidently lost a lot of blood. He no doubt must've been injured before he arrived her.

"You...said you were alright," I said.

My voice cracked and I felt tears begin to run down my cheeks.

"...I thought I was, but the wound I had earlier was worse than I believed; I thought my body capable of taking care of it on its own...but it appears I was wrong," he replied.

"No...this can't be happening...not now...please no..."

I began to cry uncontrollably.

"No...I should've gone with you...I should've called Jack and the others after we were both safe..." I cried.
"No Angela...it is not your fault, it is mine," he assured.

His hand still didn't leave mine. I immediately reached for my earpiece.

"JACK! PLEASE HURRY! GENJI IS WOUNDED!" I screamed.
"ON MY WAY ANGELA! ETA TWO MINUTES!"

I shook my head, feeling horrible anguish begin to wash over my body. Almost as if he sensed my pain, he placed his other hand on my cheek.

"...It's okay," he whispered.
"No! I will not let this happen!" I shouted.

Genji looked to his right before looking back up at me.

"...There's a squad approaching...you have to get us inside," he groaned.

I nodded, trying to wrench control of my limbs from the fear. I picked him up, throwing one of his arms over my shoulder as I helped him into the building in front of us. After placing him behind a counter, I scrambled back to the door to get my staff and pistol. Once I did, I hid behind the counter with him. He was breathing, but very slowly.

"...I'm sorry I lied to you Angela...I...didn't want you to worry," he groaned.

I shook my head.

"Save your strength Genji...help will be here soon..." I whispered.

I placed my hand on his cheek, hugging him close to me as I placed my chin on his forehead. For some reason however, I heard him laugh ever so softly.

"...It's strange...I pictured a moment like this happening on much different circumstances," he whispered.

I looked at him, not understanding his meaning.

"...Angela, I don't know how much time I have left...and I have something I've always wanted to tell you," he said.
"You're not dy-" I began.

He shook his head, his eyes now looking into me with a pleading glow. I silenced myself, listening to his words.

"I...wanted to ask you if you'd like to come to Nepal with me, after the mission...because I wanted to take you on a date," he whispered.

I nodded and even though I was blushing, I knew that there was no way I would've declined him; I had thought about him so much during the time he spent away from Overwatch. It was a long time before I heard from him, but after he completed his training with Zenyatta, I knew that he had changed. He joined us to fight the terrorists because he believed the cause was just, in fact...he volunteered. He wasn't always the noble soul I had grown to call my friend.

The Shimada clan was a well known crime family and not long ago, Genji used to be a part of the organization where he selfishly indulged in all of the pleasures that accompanied being the son of a very powerful crime lord. After his training, Genji had indeed become a completely different person, not at all like the man that fought alongside Overwatch all those years ago. Now...he had a golden heart. Once that wanted to protect the innocent just as I did.

And now here he was...telling me everything that he had inside of him. I don't know where it was coming from, but he had clearly given this some thought.

"...I wanted to show you the monastery and introduce you formally to Master Zenyatta...perhaps we could've had some tea or I could cook you some dinner...I'm sure it would be a welcome break from the military rations you're so used to," he said.

I laughed softly before nodding.

"...There's so much I wanted to do with you Angela...because you're what kept me going when I was in Nepal." he said.

I looked at him, now feeling astonished.

"...It was difficult for me to leave Overwatch because I didn't want to leave your side; you've done so much for me that it felt as if I was betraying you...and I'm so sorry for leaving without saying anything to anyone," he said.

I shook my head, hushing him as I saw tears begin to run down his face.

"No Genji...you just did what you thought was right...I don't blame you for leaving because I didn't agree with the way things were going either...please don't blame yourself," I pleaded.

He took another weak breath, his head now falling temporarily to the side as his eyes began to close.

"...I've given my feelings a lot of thought Angela...and now I know one thing is certain," he said.

He reopened his eyes.

"The courage that I had when I jumped in front of you...it was the courage I've sought to acquire my entire life and it took you being in danger for me to finally realize..." he continued.

He placed his hand on my cheek again.

"The moment one finds the courage to give up one's life for another...would be the moment one understands true love." he whispered.

He closed his eyes once more, now smiling at me.

"And...I now know that what I've felt for you all this time...was love,"

His words...brought so much warmth to my soul. Tears began to stream even more down my face.

"...I love you Angela," he whispered.

I couldn't bear it anymore; the guilt I felt for not following him, the pain of knowing that there was nothing I could do for him...the paralyzing fear of losing him...all of that filled my mind. But he knew that. He didn't want me to feel pain. He wanted me to know that he chose to put himself at risk for me...because if the situation replayed, he'd do it again without hesitation.

Because he loves me.

"Genji...I..."

The words couldn't form coherently even in my mind because I was in so much pain but at the same time, I've never felt so happy to hear someone's words. So I did the only thing I could think of.

I kissed him passionately.

I didn't care if I died with him right now because at least then, I could die knowing that I was at his side until the very end. His hand continued to hold mine weakly as he tried to kiss back, but his body was clearly losing strength; he couldn't lean up to me anymore. I felt tears drip and seep through my leggings and I cracked my eyes to see that he was crying...profusely. I responded to it by hugging him closer and kissing him even more deeply. After several seconds, I pulled away and rubbed his cheek. He opened his eyes, now smiling at me.

"...I am glad I got to tell you how I feel Angela...so very glad..."

His eyes closed...and the green light of his suit...faded to black. I screamed in horror, sobbing uncontrollably as I hugged him to me.

"GENJI!"

One Week Later

"The war's over, we arrested the last of the rebels an hour ago," said Winston.

I nodded slowly, wiping my face from the rain splashing onto it.

"Thank you Winston, keep me informed of any developments," I replied.
"...How're you holding up Angela?" he asked.

I smiled slightly before shaking my head.

"Can I talk to you later?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Let me know if you need anything Angela, I'm here for you," he said.
"Thank you," I said.

The camera cut off as I knelt down.

"The war is over now...the terrorists have been taken into custody and the town has been saved," I said.

I ran my hand over the large stone in front of me as I looked down at the flowers I placed a few minutes ago.

"Your efforts weren't in vain; a lot of people can now live in peace because of everything you did...and now, it is my turn to find peace...as you have found yours," I continued.

I felt a smile creep onto my face.

"You were the bravest man I had ever known...and an irreplaceable friend...perhaps if things were different, we really could've gone to Nepal for that tea," I whispered.

After hearing Athena's voice on my earpiece, I knew it was time to leave.

"The next mission calls...so I'll be back to tell you all about it once it's done," I said.

I got to my feet before kissing the stone gently and rereading the inscription once more.

Here lies Genji Shimada

A brave soldier, a proud warrior.

A faithful companion. A true hero.

And there was one thing about heroes that no one could dispute.

They never die.