And Hope The Pain Stays Fresh When I Think Of You

Hanzo stormed into his father’s throne room, regardless of the guard’s trying to stop him. His father, Kaito, and the royal advisor, Quan Chi, both turned to watch as Hanzo approached.

“Hanzo, this is nothing you need to concern yourself with,” his father attempted to say, but Hanzo wasn’t going to have any of that.

“The prisoner made an attempt on my life,” Hanzo countered, placing his hands on his hips and baring his teeth. “I think I deserve the chance to demand an explanation.”

His father sighed, turning his body to Hanzo. “Please, just let me deal with it.”

“You always say how you want me to be more involved and proactive,” Hanzo complained, because it was ridiculous. The first time he actually took interest in the way the kingdom ran and he was being turned down. “Well, this is me doing so.”

Father was silent, staring at him with a strange amount of judgement. Granted, it was probably because Hanzo was only interested in this because his life had been threatened. If it was anything else he probably wouldn’t have cared. Still, that was just being picky. He was taking interest, that’s what should have mattered.

“Alright,” Kaito breathed out, turning to Quan Chi. “Maybe you should accompany him.”

“Of course, your majesty,” Quan Chi replied with a bow. He walked over to Hanzo, giving him a condescending look as he said “follow me, young prince.”

Hanzo tried not to scoff as he trailed alongside Quan Chi. He really did not like his father’s advisor. On the surface he seemed to have the empire's interests in mind, but there was something that bothered Hanzo about him. Like he was secretly plotting the royal family's downfall.

Or maybe it was just clear he thought Hanzo was a spoiled brat and he wasn’t willing to coddle him.

“Of course, you do realise the assassin is unlikely to answer any of your questions,” Quan Chi explained like Hanzo didn’t already know that. He just wanted to look the man who tried to kill him in the eyes. “Don’t put too much of your time into this worthless scum.”

Hanzo hummed as if to agree, but overall didn’t really care. He knew what he wanted out of this, and he was going to get it. As they came to the dungeons, the guards moved aside, and he didn’t miss how they shared a look. Even they were sceptical of Hanzo’s wants. He grit his teeth, he’d deal with that later.

They walked into the dungeons, heading over to the cell the assassin was in. Hanzo wasn’t sure what he had expected. Maybe someone older, chiselled and rough looking. Instead, he was met with a young man, very pretty looking. Actually the more Hanzo looked at him, the more he felt like this man was younger than him. The only sign of violence was a large scar down the one side of his face. Otherwise he looked… Normal. Almost sweet looking. If Hanzo met him at a ball, he’d have asked to dance with him.

But as it stood, regardless of how young he was, this was the man who tried to murder him. A pretty face didn’t change that.

The assassin's eyes raised from the floor, and when he saw Hanzo, he began to smirk as he sarcastically growled “the crown prince himself. What an honour.”

“You should be thankful you are still alive, and have not been executed yet,” Hanzo spat, disliking the tone of the assassin's voice. He knew not everyone would revere him just because he was a prince, but he felt that fact earned him some respect.

“Oh yes. Lucky me.” The assassin pushed himself to stand up, ambling towards Hanzo. His hands were cuffed in front of him, as he took hold of one of the bars. Now that he was stood up, Hanzo could see he was also incredibly short. How the hell can someone like this be an assassin? “I take it you are here to interrogate me.” He lifted his head as if to challenge Hanzo. “Then do your worst, Prince Hanzo.”

“I do not lower myself to interrogation of prisoners.” Hanzo crossed his arms over his chest, baring his teeth. “I have guards for that.”

“Wouldn’t want to get your hands dirty?” the assassin sneered, and it took everything in Hanzo to not reach through the bar and punch him. “If you are not here for that, then what business do you have?”

“I have questions, and I want you to answer them,” he demanded, feeling his anger rise as the assassin laughed in his face.

“You know what? I’ll humour you, Prince Hanzo.” The assassin lent forward, using the bar to hold his weight. “Ask away.”

Something about that made Hanzo pause a little. Given Quan Chi’s insistence that the assassin probably wouldn’t answer any questions, he wasn’t optimistic that he’d get actual answers. Still, the assassin seemed weirdly sincere.

“What is your name?” Not really the first question he intended to ask, but he wanted something to call the man other than the assassin.

“You can call me Tundra.” That was probably not the assassin’s real name, but Hanzo was willing to use it for now.

“How old are you?” Again, not a question he’d initially intended to ask, but he just couldn’t get over how young Tundra looked.

“I don’t see how that’s relevant, but I’m 19.” Damn, he was young. Hanzo hadn’t thought he could be older than his early 20’s but only just being an adult made sense.

“You’re a little young to be an assassin, aren’t you?” He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the scathing look Tundra gave him.

“I’m old enough to know how to stab someone,” Tundra said between his teeth. He clearly didn’t like being dismissed for his age. Actually if anything, that was something he and Tundra had in common.

“Why did you try to kill me?” This was his main question but also the one he expected no answer for. He stood silently, watching Tundra intently as he seemed to consider how to reply.

“Do I need a reason to want to kill rich bastards who trample and abuse the lower classes?” Tundra finally spat, eyes narrowing slightly. “Your family has ruled for generations, and the only people who prosper under you are those who already have wealth. The rest of us are left to starve and die.”

“So, you tried to kill me to… what? Make a point to my father?” Hanzo questioned. Honestly, he knew there were some negative sentiments towards the crown, but he’d never heard anyone speak so venomously about his family before. Even the few poorer subjects he’d spoken to were generally positive about the monarchy.

“Something like that.” Tundra’s eyes flicked over Hanzo’s shoulder, towards Quan Chi. When Hanzo turned to look at the advisor, he just looked bored by the conversation. “Maybe there is more to it than just that though.” Tundra chuckled to himself, although he hadn’t said anything particularly funny in Hanzo’s opinion. “But you’d need to be a little more aware and a little less up your own arse to be able to see that.”

“What are you talking about?” Hanzo squinted, trying to make sense of what was just said. It almost sounded like he was implying there was some sort of conspiracy. “What exactly are you suggesting?”

“I’m suggesting that maybe you should be more careful on who you allow within your inner circle, Prince Hanzo.” Tundra shrugged dramatically. “Because you see, the thing is, that the rich very rarely are content with just hoarding wealth. They desire power. And who would you say holds the most power within the Empire?”

“You are saying someone requested my assassination of you?” Hanzo whispered in disbelief, mind racing with who within their circle would hate him enough to kill him. His mind was coming up blank. Everyone liked him. Or… he thought everyone did.

Maybe he overestimated peoples feelings for him.

“Someone paid me to assassinate you, yes.” He pushed himself away from the bars. “Of course I can’t tell you who it was, customer confidentiality is so important after all.”

Hanzo just stood in silence. He wanted to know who it was, but knew that Tundra would never tell. He just had to accept that someone within their royal court had intended to betray them. He’d make it known with his father, and see if their guard could figure out who it was.

“Anything else you’d like to know, Prince Hanzo?” Tundra asked, voice almost taunting. “Or is that all?”

“That is all,” Hanzo muttered, realising there wasn’t really much else he could do here. “For now.”

“Good.” Tundra walked back towards the wall of the cell, leaning back against it and letting himself slide down until he was sitting on the floor, cross legged. “Have fun figuring out who wants you dead~”

Hanzo took a deep breath, turning on the spot and rushing out of the dungeon. As he stepped out, he began to question everything he’d been told. If Tundra was as spiteful as he seemed, then it probably wouldn’t have taken much to convince him to make an attempt on Hanzo’s life. Still, there was something… weird about it. Why would he even tell Hanzo that someone had hired him? He had nothing to gain from that, especially without giving a name.

“I would not put much weight into his words, Prince Hanzo,” Quan Chi grumbled, fiddling with the cuffs of his shirt. “He is no doubt trying to sow discord and doubt amongst your family's court.”

“We should still tell father what he said.” On the off chance it was true, they needed to look into it.

“As you wish, Prince Hanzo,” Quan Chi said between his teeth. Hanzo almost did a double take. Quan Chi seemed to barely tolerate him at the best of times, but something seemed different about this.

He remembered how Tundra had looked over Hanzo’s shoulder, towards Quan Chi, before revealing that someone had hired him. Someone within their innermost court. Was that a subtle hint as to who the client really was?

Regardless, Hanzo decided he could deal with whatever that was later. First, he needed to report back to his father. And then, in the dead of night, he’d return to Tundra, hoping he’d be a little more loose lipped without Quan Chi’s presence.

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