Chapter Text
Hanzo had been a little hesitant to help Genji with this little project, his brother had found him wandering around the Mutsu Region and asked if he could help his friend with an occult magazine article, Hanzo had studied urban legends in his spare time and since he had nothing better to do, he agreed.
They got on a bus that stopped a block from the rental house and Hanzo was a little uneasy, he didn't know what kind of people Genji hung out with nowadays so he was a bit nervous. "Genji, could you tell me a little bit about your friend?" He asked, Genji smiled, happy to have a conversation with his brother. "Cole is a really nice guy, he was in blackwatch with me, he's got a thick cowboy accent and is always looking like he's going to a rodeo, he went down the road of a mercenary after overwatch disbanded but he's decided to focus more on journalism now." Genji explained, Hanzo was now slightly excited to meet this man.
They arrived at the house and Genji used his key to unlock the door, they stepped in and Genji snickered. "I'm glad this place isn't smelling like cigar smoke already." He said in Japanese, suddenly their small laughter was replaced by rapid footsteps, Hanzo looked up and saw a tan and muscular American man standing in front of him, he was wearing brown jeans which were held on his waist by a belt with a rather stupid belt buckle, the tan button up shirt on him was slightly wrinkled and rolled up at the sleeves and his metallic arm reflected the sunlight coming in from the window.
Hanzo looked up at Cole's face and saw tear marks stretched down his cheeks, Genji noticed this as well and asked him if he was okay, Cole avoided the discussion and wiped away the tears, Hanzo just shrugged it off, he shouldn't pry into the life of a stranger, he removed his boots and jacket and followed Genji inside to the living room.
"You can have the room on the right, Cole has the room on the left and I have the one down the hall, we'll head to the site tomorrow morning, is that alright?" Genji said, Hanzo nodded and went upstairs to put his things away.
The trio ordered take out for dinner that night and they sat at the table to eat, the quiet dinner bothered Cole so he decided to strike up a conversation. "So do you guys know anything about this Kuze Shrine? I want to get plenty of information for the article and we're going tomorrow to take pictures." He said.
Hanzo and Genji looked up from their food and glanced at Cole. "They're isn't much to know since a lot of the history is only known to folklorists and the victims of the curse." Hanzo said bluntly, Genji got an uncomfortable look on his face but Cole was now curious. "There's a curse?" He questioned, Hanzo nodded.
"People have dreamt about the shrine, they start to sleep more and soon they vanish and all that's left of them is a black stain on their bed, nobody knows what happens to the people but it's widely accepted they've been spirited away." Hanzo explained, Genji nodded. "Yeah, a few people we know have been spirited away by the curse." He added.
Cole looked rather interested. "I definitely need to research this place, think you could help me find some information on the shrine?" He requested, Hanzo sighed. "I know some folklorists in this region, I can ask if they have any information about it for you." He offered, Cole smiled. "Thanks, I'd really appreciate it."
Cole looked around the destroyed manor in amazement, he snapped some good pictures of what was left of the crumbling building. "This place must've been very grand when it was all put together, I would've love to see it." He said with a smile, Genji chuckled. "Women were only allowed inside, men were only allowed in the winter and they had to wear masks, I don't think you would've been able to see it." He replied, Hanzo nodded. "Yes, I ran into a folklorist this morning and they had information on the rituals performed here, it says that a woman who had suffered great pain was brought into the manor and was trained to be the tattooed priestess, I'll have to try and find more information on them." He mentioned, showing Cole the notes, Cole smiled. "Sounds great, thanks Hanzo." He said, Hanzo didn't notice at first but Cole's compliment made him feel a little warm inside, it felt nice to be helpful.
Cole wandered away from the brothers to get some more pictures when he saw something in his camera... His mother and sister... He lowered his camera and saw them. "Ma?... Sis?..." He called out, the two walked down the hallway. "Wait!" Cole called out, he ran to the corner they turned at and saw what looked like the shrine, but it wasn't falling apart. "What the?..."
"Cole? Cole? Earth to cowboy!" Genji called out, Cole blinked and the hallway was decrepit again, he turned to Genji. "Sorry, just thought I saw something, what's up?" He asked. "Hanzo said he might know where to get more information on this place, let's go." He explained, Cole nodded and started following Hanzo and Genji out, he looked down at his camera, did he really see them?...
A few hours and lots of research gathering, the three men were back at the house, Cole was developing the photos he had taken, he got to the photo of the hall he had seen his mom and sister in and developed it, he wasn't crazy... They were there...