Chapter Text
“Ah, what a lovely place. Now if only I can find a lovely face…”
“Stop day dreaming over there Mccree and help unload the gear!”
With a sigh, Jesse Mccree steps back from the hotel balcony and enters back into the room. “Just admiring the view, boss. I’ve never seen such a beautiful place before. Prettier than the dust and sand from where I come from that’s for sure.”
Gabriel Reyes rolls his eyes before chucking a duffel bag at his recruit. “There will be plenty of time for sightseeing later, hot shot. Don’t make me bring Ana in here to straighten you out,” he chuckles. As if on cue, Ana Amari pops her head in from the hallway.
“You called?”
“No ma’am!” Jesse rapidly answers as he quickly digs into the duffel bag of ammo. The sniper laughs to herself as she goes back to her room to set up her living space.
The gunslinger lets out a sigh of relief and continues setting out all the equipment. It isn’t long until the two Blackwatch members are done and go out into the living room. That’s where they find the Overwatch commander, Jack Morrison, pouring over large amounts of paperwork. Gabriel comfortably takes the seat next to him on the couch before speaking.
“So, what kind of shit show brings us here to Hanamura?”
Jack shoots him a dirty look.
“Did you not read the file when I gave it to you?” the blond questions but his tone doesn’t really have much bite. The other man simply shrugs with a grin.
“I glanced over it, but I prefer it when you explain it to me, Jack.”
Jesse sits on the floor by the coffee table as the commander shakes his head and sets down the reports.
“There has been an increase in omnic attacks here in Japan. They have been quick and very organized. From what we have gathered, most of the target locations are linked to gang activity; specifically, rival gangs to the Shimada clan.”
“Thusly, I’m guessing that there’s a possibility that they are backing the hostile omnic group?” Ana inquires as she comes into the room and sits on the arm of the couch. In her hands she holds her favorite teacup and plate combo. Jack nods in response.
“That’s what we are here to investigate. The UN wants us to keep an eye on the Shimadas to see if they are behind these attacks and if so, to put an end to it.”
“Sounds simple enough. I’m sure I can sweet talk my way into some of their conversations. I’ve been practicing my Japanese after all,” Jesse adds with a proud smile. Gabriel can’t help but laugh.
“I don’t think your Southern charm is going to help you much here. It’s a whole different world here.”
“Well, shoot! My charm can work anywhere~.” Ana nearly chokes on her tea as she tries not to laugh.
“Try not to get a bullet between your eyes there, sharpshooter.” She aims a finger gun at him and pulls the trigger with one eye closed. He ‘dodges’.
“Ahem,” Jack clears his throat. “This mission will call for a lot of stealth and information gathering. The Shimadas are world renowned assassins, not to mention all the other dark dealings that their crime family ends up in. We need to be extremely careful to not alert them to our presence.”
“So, that’s why you wanted to best of Blackwatch at your side. Wish choice partner,” Jesse preens and Gabriel winks at him. Jack rolls his eyes but says nothing for he is desperately trying to hide a proud smile himself.
“I propose we take a day or so to get ourselves used to the area and to get settled. Maybe keep an eye out for any ‘pies’ the Shimadas might have their fingers in. Then we can decide our plan of attack,” the Blackwatch commander offers as he stretches his arms out. Ana sips more from her cup before nodding. Jesse jumps up with such force that it almost gives him whip lash.
“I will go out and find good food! And I’ll look for Shimada activity!” Jack opens his mouth but the gunslinger points at him with a pout. “I was promised the sights.”
“Ha, ha. Best to let him unwind now before he drives us up the wall.”
“Fine. Just blend in and don’t get into trouble!” Jack calls out but Jesse can barely hear him as he’s dashing to his room to change into more comfortable clothes.
He sets out onto the town with his red flannel and jeans along with his trusty boots and hat. The gunslinger decides to leave peacekeeper in his room.
“I believe Jack said to blend in, Cowboy,” Ana points out before he heads out the door. This earns a laugh from the Blackwatch commander.
“If I can’t convince him not to wear his hat and boots, there’s no way boy scout Jack can.”
Gabriel gives him some money, a list of dinner preferences for the crew, and a pat on the back before sending him on his way.
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It’s late summer in Hanamura and there are many people wandering its winding streets. Few of the locals pay Jesse much mind and those who do only give him a couple of side glances. He ignores them in favor of looking at all the bright business signs. He sees a few restaurants and shops but nothing that really catches his eye until he sees a large alien like creature advertising for a shop called ‘Rikimaru Ramen’.
“Well I’ll be. That certainly reminds me a bit of home,” Jesse remarks as he steps in to look at the menu. There are many options and it takes him a bit to figure out what will appeal to everyone’s taste. The owner is a gruff old man who seems to be moving at a faster speed than his body should allow. Jesse orders and tells the old man that he will pick it up in a few hours. The gunslinger still wants to look around but god have mercy on his soul if he forgets to bring back dinner. Gabriel Reyes was not a nice man when his stomach was empty.
Jesse leaves the ramen shop and instantly sees a massive sign for “16-bit hero’. It appears to be an arcade of sorts and it’s been a long time since he’s seen so many arcade machines in one place before. The American steps forwards and finds himself being lured in. He justifies it to himself by saying that he has a few hours till he’s expected back and the younger customers who tend to frequent places like this tend to have loose lips. Perhaps he might over hear something related to the Shimadas and/or the omnic attacks.
The arcade is four or five stories and is busier than expected. But this works out in Jesse’s favor. He blends into the groups of teenagers and makes his way through towards an arcade machine on the 2nd floor, paying attention to chatter as he goes. The Blackwatch agent silently thanks Angela for insisting that he learn other languages. It definitely helps with missions like these.
“No! You beat my high score!”
“Wasn’t too hard.”
“So, I can’t believe that she said that!”
“It was uncalled for.”
“They are dating now. Who knew that would happen?”
“Did you hear about what happened in Shira? I heard that a warehouse got destroyed!”
Ah, Bingo.
Jesse spots a few girls huddled towards the corner to his left; a tall girl with short hair, a short girl with a braid, and girl in heels and glasses that looks older than the other two. They are speaking in hushed whispers but the gunslinger’s fine-tuned ears can pick up most of the conversation.
“Yeah! Didn’t they say that the police can’t figure out what the warehouse was being used for? How mysterious!”
“Nobody got hurt, did they?” the short one questions.
“They haven’t said… The warehouse was supposed to be abandoned.”
“Was it the omnics again? The ones that attacked the Sato mansion last week?”
“What if they come here to Hanamura? I’m so scared…” the tall girl whimpers.
“There’s no way. The Shimada family will keep us all safe,” the eldest assures.
“Shh! Don’t speak too loud! Someone could hear us!” the short one cries.
The girls stop talking and look around gingerly. Jesse stays focused on the arcade console in front of him, trying to make the most of his 3rd attempt at it. Once they’ve decided that they are not being listened to, they continue talking.
“Hanamura is one of the safest places in Japan. The guardian dragon will not let any harm befall its people,” The older girl tells and the other girls smile in reassurance. They go back to lighter topics.
Guardian dragon huh? Jesse always had a soft spot for tall tales. However, the mention of the Shimadas was even more interesting. Seems like the townsfolk believe that the Shimadas are untouchable. He would have to get this info to Reyes later.
His character dies again a few minutes later and he decides not to continue. Jesse steps away from the machine and turns… straight into something green.
“Oomph!” the green thing says before falling backwards onto the ground as the gunslinger tries to steady himself. Once he knows he’s not also going to become closely acquainted with the floor, Jesse looks down at the other male.
Turns out that the green he saw was the guy’s hair. It was spiked up and awfully bright. He offers a hand.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Jesse apologized. Brown eyes open and look up at him followed by a smirk.
“It’s no problem. I should’ve paid more attention,” he responds before taking the offered hand and being pulled onto his feet. He dusts himself off before giving Jesse a full look over. “Oh, are you a tourist? American?”
“Yes, pretty obvious I guess,” the gunslinger offers as he rubs the back of his neck. He can play the part of curious and unknowing sightseer very well. To this answer, the Japanese man claps his hands together and smiles brightly.
“Ah, so you speak English. I speak quite a bit!”
“Thank you, my Japanese is rather rusty.”
“Better than most tourists I’ve met. But hey, look at you! You look like a real American cowboy!” Jesse figured sooner or later that someone would comment on his attire because someone always did. But this time, his boots and hat may have made him a friend… one hopefully with information. That is, if he can get him to stay and talk.
“That’s correct, partner. That a problem?”
“Not at all! I actually wanted to talk to you. I love meeting new interesting people. I’m Genji.” The newly named man, Genji, bows lightly to Jesse and also offers his hand. Jesse accepts it.
“Nice to me ya. Name’s Joey,” Jesse lies with a large smile. The other male doesn’t sense the falsehood.
“Joey… nice to meet you as well! Hey, you should come play games with me! I’m one of the best here and I love company~” He points to an area on the 4th floor and begins trying to usher Jesse towards the elevator. He digs his feet in a little bit to access whether or not this was a good idea. There’s nothing about him that should say anything but curious American tourist. He didn’t bring his gun… but he did have a couple knives stashed on him in case things got hairy. The gunslinger steps forward and lets Genji lead him.
“I have a bit of time to mosey around, and I too like good company~.” Jesse lays on the charm a bit as he’s escorted to the elevator. Once inside, he takes a minute to fully take him his new ‘friend’. Genji isn’t an unattractive man. His age is a bit hard to determine; most likely late teens or early twenties. He’s a little skinny with a bit of arm and leg muscle filling out his band t-shirt and black jeans. Slung over his shoulder he carries with him a long black bag. A baseball bat maybe? No, probably not.
The elevator doors open to the 4th floor and Jesse is surprised at how empty it is compared to the rest of the arcade. He only sees a couple people playing on a racing game machine in the far right corner. Genji walks all the way over to the opposite left corner where a few claw machines and fighter consoles stood next to a few rather comfy looking beanbags. The Japanese man puts down his bag, yawns, stretches, and then collapses onto one of the beanbags.
“Welcome to my kingdom! The games on this floor are the best and I can have snacks brought up of you would like. Plus, it’s rather private!”
Jesse takes the beanbag next to him and damn, they are super comfortable.
“Got a nice set up here, partner. I could catch some z’s in this chair,” he marveled with a peaceful sigh. Genji laughs warmly.
“Thanks! Even though I love being around people, I also like my alone time too. Even more so, I like one on one time~.” Genji wags his eyebrows. Jesse catches his flirting and insulation very quickly. He smirks and can’t help but feel a bit flattered. The gunslinger knows that he’s quite attractive and Genji isn’t bad on the eyes either. However, having some quick intimate relations with some random Japanese man while ‘seeing the sights’ would definitely end with Gabriel’s foot up his ass… that is, if he found out… Meh, he probably would.
“So, tell me what game is this?” Jesse questions as he stands and walks to the nearest arcade machine. The other male hesitates a little but gets up with a smile and explains the game.
They play for a while, making light conversation here and there. Genji talks about how he’s got almost all of the high scores in the arcade, and about how many wonderful places there are in Hanamura while Jesse talks of his home loosely; mostly about the desert and how no, he wasn’t from Texas... and no, not everyone in America is a cowboy or a movie star. An hour or so passes before Jesse sits down again in a beanbag with some sugary drink that Genji bought out of a nearby vending machine.
“This has been quite nice, partner. Hanamura seems like quite the wonderful place. Might make me want to stay a while,” the American offers. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Genji’s expression darken.
“This place has its own darkness…” the other man whispers in his native tongue. Jesse debates with himself on whether or not he should question Genji more. It’s possible that he might know something about the Shimadas… He chanced a question.
“Hey there Genji… do you know anything abo-” he doesn’t get to finish because the Japanese man suddenly sits on his lap. He has to scramble his arms up to catch Genji so he doesn’t topple to the floor. “Whoa there!”
“So, you are going to be in town for a while right? Maybe you and I should…” the green haired man slides his index under Jesse’s chin. Jesse swallows hard. In any other situation, having a cute guy in his lap would do wonders to Jesse but he’s supposed to be looking for info on the omnic attacks. He’s gotten in a little too deep already and needs to find a smooth way out hopefully without hurting Genji’s feelings too much.
However, someone loudly clears their voice in front of them before Jesse can find the right words. Genji’s form instantly stiffens. Both pairs of brown eyes fell upon a young man dressed in what Jesse could only hope to describe as ninja clothes, except they were white in color with some orange accents. He had long black hair and piercing brown eyes. Said eyes were glaring down at the both of them.
“Interesting to see you out of your cage , brother,” Genji hisses towards the man now known to be his brother. Older brother, from the looks of it. Jesse takes a moment to take him in. He’s awfully attractive and it gives the gunslinger pause. A dragon tattoo starts at his wrist and disappears into the man’s sleeve. Jesse slowly lets out the breath he’s been holding. But then he remembers that this man is glaring at him… and his younger brother…who happens to be upon his lap in a precarious way.
“How unsurprising for you to be away from home, in the arms of a strange man,” the standing man shoots back while folding his arms. His voice is deep and smooth.
“Oh? Strange man? Oh forgive me brother for not introducing you!” He taunts back, standing quickly and pulling Jesse up by his arm. “This is Joey, he’s a real American cowboy and quite fun. And Joey, this is my no fun, stick in the mud, jerk face brother, Hanzo.”
Hanzo doesn’t appreciate the introduction but decides he has more important things to deal with. He grabs Genji by the arm.
“Playtime is over, brother. You are needed at home, now.”
The younger of the two sighs and grabs his bag. He turns to Jesse with a calm smile.
“Sorry Joey. Seems like I have chores or something. Maybe I’ll see you here tomorrow?”
Jesse breathes in slow. Should he see Genji again? Hanzo is staring daggers into him and his aura is quite intimidating… yet strangely intriguing. They may have information though… plus… maybe if he could see Hanzo again…
“Perhaps you will, partner~” the gunslinger responds back with a tip of his hat. Genji’s smile widens before being dragged off by his brother.
“Goodbye Joey!” And with that, they were gone.
This gives Jesse some time to reflect on what had transpired in the past few hours. He heard rumors about the Shimadas and about the omnic attacks… he had met a local who seemed to be very interested in him… in ways that Jesse wasn’t sure he wanted… and then met said local’s brother who seemed to want nothing to him and yet, Jesse wanted everything to do with him. He was a bit of a sucker for men who didn’t want to take anyone’s shit and could hold their ground against him. He knew he was fantasying all of this though. This isn’t why he was here!
The gunslinger quickly heads out of the arcade and back to the ramen shop. The owner has set aside his order and he quickly thanks the man and heads back to the hotel. His head is still swirling with emotions but he keeps a cool head.
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When he arrives back to their temporary home, Jesse discovers Jack and Gabriel talking about something on the couch in hushed tones. They are rather close together and once they see Jesse, they scoot away from each other and Jack has a pink hue to his face.
“Agent Mccree, you-you’re back,” Jack stutters out. Gabriel is holding back a smile.
“Yeah, I brought grub. Hope it’s to everyone’s fine taste,” he tells them as he sets the bag of food on the coffee table. He sits down so he can gather his food to eat.
“Ana is out scouting but she will be back soon. So, kid, did you find anything interesting?” The Blackwatch commander asks as he too, gathers his food. Jesse makes a face at the nickname. Damn it, he was 22 years old, but he doesn’t comment on it. Reyes always wins those debates anyway.
“Well, heard some kids talking about a warehouse in a place called Shira that was destroyed. Rumored to have been the omnic group but I didn’t learn much about what it was for though. Also, some of the locals seem to think of the Shimadas as some kind of guardians or something. They believe them to be the reason that the omnic group won’t come to Hanamura. And something about a dragon or something, I don’t know.” The youngest agent shrugs.
Jack and Gabriel take a minute to process the info.
“Hm… interesting. I’m sure combined with Ana’s info, we will have a good start,” Reyes comments in between bites. The Overwatch commander looks intently at Jesse.
“Anything else of interest?”
The gunslinger can’t help but mentally smile.
“Not a thing…~”