Hello Everyone, th3 d0g3 here.

Its been a while since I wrote, and it will be another while until I can write again. but in the past 2 months, I have went through the entire plot of the story to try to remove any plot-holes. Anyway, I've been making some progress making the 2nd chapter, hopefully, Il be able to finish it before the end of the month.

Anyway, have a great day.

th3 d0g3

In my claustrophobic room, I lie down in isolation gazing at my chrome plated ID tag. The dim white tungsten light reveals the engraved words: Lieutenant Shimazu Hanzo, ID Number 1054, Blood Type A.

They found me two years after the release of the IS unit. To them, I was an inconvenient secret which could jeopardise their new found power. The IS Suit was not just a physical weapon, it was also a source of political and social power for women. For men, it was our downfall as the dominant gender. Society changed rapidly; soon enough women were in positions of power. Today, finding a man with power is uncommon, even ironic in new standards- its funny how the IS could change a tradition since the dawn of man. So, eight years ago, if the world saw a man with an IS, there would have been an uproar in the newly formed society.

So instead of being revealed to the public like Ichika Orimura, they turned me into a living laboratory test subject. Throughout the past eight years. I mindlessly followed what the headset attached to my helmet had to say- what my targets were, what they did and where I have to go to kill them. Sounds simple enough. However, with the constant change of equipment and upgrades every month, its easy to realise: they were just using my "missions" to develop their latest weaponry.

The look of intense fear from my targets, right before they have died, return to haunt me in my nightmares: Their screams, their blood spilled on the floor, explosion engulfing them, the look of fear. There are so many but I vividly remember each of faces in their last moments before I ripped them apart.

But I had to do this, for her. If I didn't, she won't live, and I can't live without her; it was her that drove me to continue my wretched way of life.

Unfortunately, she died anyway, putting all the evils I did in vain.

With a surge of anger and frustration building up inside of me, I violently release it as I whip my ID tag to the wall, the sound of a high-pitched metallic clang echoes throughout the room followed by a brief cacophony of beads bouncing on the floor.

I can't continue this life. I need to escape. Disabling tracking devices, satellites, a new identity, it's all settled. Anyway, the only thing left is escaping this life of mindless killing. This is my only chance; one mistake, one slight mishap and those 8 months of planning will be in vain. Its way past curfew; anyone caught outside their dormitory or engaging in suspicious activity is subject to interrogation. Everything that happens here is Classified tier 1; I will be perceived as a spy if I get caught.

I don't have much, just a rugged, yet well-managed uniform for relaxation and a keycard that I relived from one of the patrolmen, Private Owens. Heh, that idiot already lost his keycard twice; I wonder if he would have the balls to tell them that he lost it again.

I glanced at the clock: 1:00 o'clock. Its time. I rise up from my bed and lined up with the door leading outside. The first obstacle is the camera outside. If I timed it right, by 1:02 o'clock it would have turned 715 1/8 times since I last saw it. By the next minute, it would begin turning back- There's no need to worry about guards, they rarely leave the command centre. With one eye on the digital clock, I ready myself as I desperately anticipate the number two. As soon as the clock strikes the next minute I slid the keycard down the lock swiftly; my teeth grit as the door makes an awfully loud hissing noise as it retracted to the wall. Damn, that was loud that I expected. I dash to full speed, leaving the door to automatically shut itself. In my race against the dangerously quick window of seconds, all fears and worries of being caught were purged from my mind in my mad dash, the only thing pulsing through my brain was my destination. In the nick of time, I smoothly glue myself right under the camera's only blindspot. Clear of the first obstacle, I took multiple deep breaths then disappeared into the night.

Still in an adrenaline rush, I swiftly crouch and my eyes studied the complex. On the right, a wide and dimly lit grey tunnel, a tempting route to take. It's a straight shot to the hangar; the goal is painfully close. However, despite my intense urges to take it, this path has an unavoidable camera installed. The command centre in front, an enormous and heavily protected steel-plated sphere, is a clear no-go. Security is too tight for me to sneak through; too many guards. Adding to the tight security, there are nearly no hiding spots and too much light. The left leads through a maze of dormitories lining around the command centre. Adding to its tedious length, this path it riddled with patrols and cameras. Fortunately, there are shadows I could use to hide.

Strongly convinced to take the left, I slither through the darkness. It offered safety. It hugged me dearly and showed the path around the light, my enemy. Darkness kept me safe from the guards, made me undetectable by the vicious stare of the security cameras.

Everything is going well; just a few more steps, this corner would be a little tricky, if I remember, there is a camera here. Now there should be a… Damn it… I forgot the mirror… With one eye, I slowly peek across the corner only meet the unforgiving gaze of a security camera. That was really stupid! What the hell got into me? The shrill screams of the alarm throughout the base puts it to life as soldiers bark at each other like guard dogs. Dammit! They would be on me soon

I push my feet to the limit, cutting through the wind. Despite my speed the distance I covered seemed hopelessly endless. I hope they haven't figured out where I'm going. Escaping with the IS is all I have left. I feel a jolt of liberty as I arrived in the hangar, however, it was short-lived. Elite soldiers, equipping heavy-duty armour and ferociously crackling shock rods, swarm out the door like angry drones from a hive.

"We have you surrounded Shimazu!"

"Get down on the ground!"

I swivelled around for an escape opportunity but the cluster of soldiers proficiently accumulate around me in a circle, cautiously keeping their distance. Their weapons were sharply focused towards my head.

A fatal mistake for them; my training was especially focused on this type of combat.

Their armour can take the electric shock from their own weapons, however, it can still be bypassed if you know where to hit them; the sides of their torso are uncovered, but barely, and enough force on the helmet should give them a grievous concussion.

I keep my senses sharp for any movements in my surroundings, anticipating for any disturbance in my surroundings.

Eventually I sensed one breaking from the formation, trying to spear me from behind. Eager to secure me, the rest of the swarm followed. As they charged, my senses absorbed the abundant amount of vibrations from my surroundings. In a thin fraction of a second, I feel minutes pass as my brain instinctively identifies each soldier from the disruptions in the air. Simultaneously, I detect a major weakness in their formation. Now that they don't support each other, I could successively take them down one by one.

In one quick movement, I duck low, avoiding the stun rods to land a multiple well placed hits on multiple guards. As my fist hits home the crushing sound of snapping ribs overwhelms my ears like cannon fire.

As I snap my attention to another, I cocked my leg into kicking position then successively launched at blinding speed. The force induced into his helmet staggers him, the second generates a raucous bone crushing sound as my boot met his ribcage.

Turning to another, I dodged the tip of his stun rod and aim my palm at his jaw. As the kinetic energy of my palm hits terminal velocity, it lands square at his chin, launching him 2 feet off the ground. Despite the painful contact with his helmet, the adrenaline surge within me blocks all the pain as my focus shifts to other guards. I ready myself for another kick.

As another group of soldiers get into range, my boot collided with their helmet's visor, shattering them into a million pieces as the sheer force of my kick overwhelms the bulletproof glass. They scream excruciatingly as their eyes get shredded by a rain of shards.

I rush to the hanger, a huge light blue complex brightly lit a luminescent white. I speed through grids of stored inactive IS units, each one appeared like mundane statues; despite their constant tedious reappearance I ignored the hopelessness it gave. Finally reaching my IS unit, bursts of joy and freedom nearly overcame me at this accomplishment. As I overcome them, I quickly strapped myself on the IS unit, ready to leave this horrid and pointless life behind. Ryuketsu!

At my command it instantly comes back to life, humming energetically. With freedom finally in reach, I blast through the roof and flew into the night. The wind breaths a refreshing breeze of air as I disappear to the pitch black sky. The deafening screams of the alarm fade as I gain distance. Seconds pass and contrails of light extend away from the base; IS units. I simply switched to active camouflage and accelerate to full throttle.

Finally seeing foreign land, the lights of a rural village shine calmly; a perfect spot to start a new life. Approaching the coast, I dematerialise my IS and plunge into the cool sea below. My IS, now on standby, girds around my neck in the form of dog-tags. Without a second glance, I rip it off my neck and and throw it towards the horizon. Looking back at the glistening village lights, I swim to shore. My mind blanks, bewildered, the events of tonight happened so quickly, yet it has changed my life.

6 AM, Classified Location

"Flash Clone Double 0! Your presence is required at the Colonel's office!" The announcer called as I approached the ground with my newly finished IS. I abruptly accelerate to the ground, despite the rough final approach, I proficiently controlled my IS to land rather smoothly, gently touching the ground. With a brief mental command, the IS exploded into fragments of red holograms as I dropped down from the dematerialised cockpit. As I rush towards the exit, One of them was too oblivious to notice she was in the way.

"Your in my way." I bluntly blurt out. She replied with a confused frown as she and the others made way. After giving them a moment to move, I stride towards the command centre.

The early morning sun greets me warmly as I leave the dark, gloomy hanger. Despite how much I would like to enjoy the beautiful weather, it is irrelevant to my duties; I do not have time to enjoy it. Once again, I passed another majestic view. If I have orders, nothing else takes a higher opportunity.

As I enter the command centre a breeze of air conditioning greets me. The hallways are rather lively today, officers move through the doors quickly, I keep my speed constant as I cross through.

Finally reaching the office. I stood disciplined as a Base Commander in Micronesia occupies my commanding officer.

"Colonel! Lieutenant Shimazu escaped the facility!" He replies with a strange calmness.

"Wasn't the NULIFY system operational?"

"No sir; he disabled it."

"The NULIFY system? He managed to remove it from his IS while keeping it operational? Impossible!" The colonel though out loud in disbelief.

"Can you get a signal from the nanomachines in his body?" The colonel asks as he tries to assess the situation.

"Negative sir."

"Can the satellites try-"

I better leave this up to him, I already accomplished my current orders; besides, he'll get my attention when he's done. Meanwhile I should look for something that would entertain me. The paintings and medals around the office occupy me but only for a brief moment. I finally stop as I wander aimlessly through unfamiliar memories. What is this? A young girl? Snow? I don't recall. I frown and cock my head to the left as I explore this unfamiliar moment.

"Hanzo-nii! wake up! wake up! wake up! You're going to be late!" A six-year-old girl jumps repetitively on my bed as I desperately try to get back to sleep.

She's been doing this for a few minutes now. Can't she realise that I'm a teenage boy who needs extra sleep? In fact, I just found the perfect position! Humph, what does she know?

"Rika! Go away!" I growl lazily as I make another attempt to get a few more minutes of sleep

"Daddy's going to get so mad at you!" Rika whines in an annoyingly high-pitched voice.

"Can you please let me sleep for five more minutes!?"

Where did these memories come from? I got out of the cloning facility 6 days ago but I don't recall taking part in any of this. Despite my confusion I wander to around space until I find another memory. Who is that woman? This scenery of autumn... Cherry blossoms?

The leaves of cherry trees drop gently to the ground, painting it a lush pink colour. My heart starts to race as I nervously fidget with the hem of my shirt. I sit next a strikingly beautiful woman, whose flowing black hair compliments her dark blue dress. I finally make the first move as I stare into her beautiful, dark blue eyes.

"Hanzo, what is it?" She too shares my nervous feelings, but she asked as if she desperately longed for me to ask something in return.

I shouldn't hesitate, I've waited for this moment for too long.

"Hanzo?" Her lips slightly parted as she stared at mine.

"I'm deeply in love with you." My entire face heats up rapidly as those words left my mouth.

Asami froze, her face flushed bright red as she felt every word reach her heart.

"I'm sorry, I held my feelings for so long that, I couldn't hold on to them anymore." I awkwardly bowed my head towards the pink carpet of blossoms.

I softly grasped her delicate hands. Her eyes meets my gaze as I held her hands with gentleness.

"You're smart, kind; You give me strength especially at the times I need it. I want to spend the rest of my life with me!"

After an moment, a tear of joy finally drops from her eye as she gleefully smiles. "You have no idea how long I waited for you to say that."

After those words left her mouth, I close my eyes, as I slowly approach to press her lips against mine. As I make contact, her tearful eyes close as she happily returns the kiss. My hands reach to caress her silken hair as she wraps her arms around me. As my eyes open, an aged gardener seemed to have accidentally bore witness. He beams a congratulating smile as he turned away.

"Put your base on standby. " The colonel sighs in defeat.

"Sir!? Even his existence is-" The colonel cut all communications as his head hung in disgrace. His palms cover his face as he hides his shame.

"Looks like giving him the latest technology was a grave mistake."

After a few moments of painful shame, he manages to have enough effort to restore himself from his predicament.

"You are Flash Clone Double Zero, am I correct?" He asked as he looked towards me sternly.

"Yes sir!" I acknowledged as I redirect my attention towards him.

"Have you experienced any memories unfamiliar to you?" He concerned as I recovered.

"Yes sir."

"Those are defects from the cloning process, they should fade within a month. After you have finish fitting in your IS, you will continue the duties of your former-self."

"My former-self?" I raised a brow.

"Are you capable of continuing his duties, Double 0?"

"Yes sir." I answer plainly as I returned his gaze.

"From now on, you will be designated as Hanzou Nokage."

Hanzou Nokage... Hanzo's Shadow.